Tag: Halloween

Halloween Fun (Prizes too), and a book review!

On By Willow CroftIn Uncategorized4 Comments

As one of Resurrection Media’s “Scream Queens”, I wanted to share their horror-themed challenge they’ve created! It’s perfect for some Halloween fun…and you have the chance to win prizes!

Face your fears, and take RM’s Horror Villains’ quiz now! https://resurrection-media.com/the-villains-challenge/

And, while you wait for the witching hour on All Hallows’ Eve, immerse yourself in a literary encounter with a villain of a different sort. (Well, depending on your perspective, that is. But that’s a philosophical discussion best saved for another time.) https://horrortree.com/epeolatry-book-review-craft-stories-i-wrote-for-the-devil-by-ananda-lima/

And, a bit of sad news…Sirens Call Publications is closing up shop. Many of us horror and spec fic writers (myself included) have had pieces published within the digital pages of their fantastic eZine. They’ll be sorely missed. Here’s their “Swan Siren Song” post here: https://sirenscallpublications.wordpress.com/2024/10/28/scp-news-sirens-call-publications-is-closing-its-doors/.

I hope your Halloween is full of more delightfully spooky treats than tricks…and haunted locations to explore! See you in November!

(The photos below were taken at Fort Union, a location haunted by both history and by spirits, if you believe the lore. Sadly, I just learned that the also-haunted St. James Hotel in Cimarron, New Mexico served up its last spirits back in September of this year. Perhaps someone will buy it and continue to preserve its historic legacy. https://www.exstjames.com/)

Photos Credit: Patti O’Berg

CIMG0053

CIMG0054CIMG0114CIMG0113

CIMG0075
The St. James Hotel. https://www.exstjames.com/

 

Spooky Season is here!

On By Willow CroftIn Uncategorized30 Comments

Yay, October! Whee!

I love autumn!

Here’s some links to get you into the season!

October Horrorscopes: https://horrortree.com/october-2024-horrorscopes-literary-serial-killers-costume-edition/

Tarot Cards for Author Inspiration: https://horrortree.com/october-2024-tarot-cards-for-author-inspiration/

What are you creating for your costume this Halloween? I’d love to know…please share in the comments! Or let me know if you’re inspired to dress up as one of the literary serial killers I include in the horrorscopes over at Horror Tree!

Goodbye, Summer Blues–Hello, Fiery Autumn!

On By Willow CroftIn Uncategorized11 Comments

Well, if Walmart’s seasonal schedule is anything to go by, it was already Autumn (and Halloween!) three weeks ago. Not only did the Halloween stuff start appearing, but also winter clothing, which was very disorienting as the temperatures were still reaching up into the 90s.

Cooler temps have arrived over the past week, but I’m still feeling sluggish and unmotivated to do very much (including keeping up with my blog-reading) except for hanging out with my cats when I’m not working at the day job.

Trying to catch up some today on blogs, but I at least managed to create my horrorscopes and tarot readings for September over at Horror Tree! Hope you find some inspiration or guidance!

Let’s escape the heat into our zodiacal-determined magical academy!

September 2024 horrorscopes: https://horrortree.com/september-2024-horrorscopes-which-magical-academy-should-you-attend/

September’s Tarot Cards for Writing Inspiration: https://horrortree.com/september-2024-tarot-cards-for-writing-inspiration/

Happy Halloween, All You Spooks and Ghouls!

On By Willow CroftIn Uncategorized37 Comments

Hunter's moon 1
Photo Courtesy of Canva.com

Happy Halloween!

I wish October could last another month. Yes, the feeling of October is purely symbolic, but, still…

At the same time, I’m counting down to November 8th, and I’m hoping some new doors open by then, so that I can escape through them.

Hopefully, my next new start will be the one that sticks.

I’m gettin’ a little weary over here, universe.

In any case, here’s hoping your day, and evening, is filled with lots of Halloween magic, and this is the year the “Great Pumpkin” will visit us all!

Plant trees.

Put up bat, bird, bee houses.

Adopt a shelter animal.

Reduce plastic use, and eliminate pesticides.

Nature’s Decorated for October…What About You?

On By Willow CroftIn Uncategorized25 Comments

Hunter's Moon 2
Photo Courtesy of Canva.com

I hope you all are enjoying the Halloween-y glow of the Hunter’s Moon!

Nature’s sure putting on a show…so how about you? If you haven’t decided on your Halloween decorating theme, Haunt Jaunts and I are swooping in to the rescue! 

https://www.hauntjaunts.net/halloween-decorating-guide-by-zodiac-sign/

Hunter's moon 1
Photo Courtesy of Canva.com

In celebration of both the Hunter’s Moon, and my favourite season, I’m offering a special on tarot card readings from now to November 6th. Simply mention the code “Six for Six” to receive a six-card draw for six dollars (PayPal) in an email to croftwillow [at] yahoo {dot] com! (One code redemption per person, please.)

Happy Haunting!

Hunter's Moon Tarot
Photo Courtesy of Canva.com

Enjoy Halloween with Eva Pohler’s The Shade of Santa Fe

On By Willow CroftIn Uncategorized12 Comments

I signed myself up to do this book tour thingy…I guess it’s good practice, right? But I’ve seen other bloggers’ “Book Blitzes” and they all look so glitzy and polished.

TheShadeofSantaFeBlitzBanner

Makes me realize my blog is a little low-key. But I like it that way.

Anyhoo, as you can see from the banner, the author that’s being book-toured is Eva Pohler. Yes, the very same Eva Pohler that I interviewed as part of my infamous “Five Things Friday” author interviews. https://willowcroft.blog/2021/06/18/five-things-friday-mini-interview-with-author-eva-pohler/

She’s got a new book out today…the seventh in her “Mystery House” series, and it’s called The Shade of Santa Fe.

Hopefully for Pohler’s “Ghost Healers, Inc.” characters, the ghosts they seek won’t be as elusive as internet and cell phone service is in New Mexico!

Here’s what I do know, from the “case file” information I received from Xpresso Book Tours:

Synopsis:

A haunting in Santa Fe will either reunite Ghost Healers, Inc. or disband the group forever.

When Ellen decides to buy a fixer-upper in an art community in Santa Fe, New Mexico, she’s reassured by the realtor that nothing evil has ever occurred there. What she doesn’t know is that the bridge near the back of the property is notoriously known in the town as Suicide Bridge. As she and her friends try to uncover why so many people have taken their lives there, they are shocked by what they find. Can the reunion of Ghost Healers, Inc. untether the troubling spirits near Ellen’s fixer-upper, or will their discoveries be too much for them this time?

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/57832268-the-shade-of-santa-fe

AUTHOR BIO:

After earning her Ph.D. in English and teaching writing and literature for over twenty years, Eva Pohler became a USA Today bestselling author of over thirty novels in multiple genres, including mysteries, thrillers, and young adult paranormal romance based on Greek mythology. Her books have been described as “addictive” and “sure to thrill”–Kirkus Reviews.


Author links:
https://www.evapohler.com/
https://twitter.com/EvaPohler
https://www.facebook.com/EvaPohler/
https://www.instagram.com/evapohler/
https://www.bookbub.com/authors/eva-pohler
https://www.youtube.com/evapohler

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4888434.Eva_Pohler

B9

I don’t know about you, but this picture is exactly how I’m hoping to spend my Halloween evening. Unfortunately, it’s too late for me to get a print copy of The Shade of Santa Fe (even if I did have the money), but you can find digital versions at the links below (or wait for your print version to arrive!).

Amazon: https://amzn.to/2XTQd6K
B&N: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-shade-of-santa-fe-eva-pohler/1140118780?ean=2940162426004
iBooks: https://books.apple.com/us/book/the-shade-of-santa-fe-paranormal-womens-fiction/id1561369824
Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/ca/en/ebook/the-shade-of-santa-fe-1
Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/books/details?id=KeUmEAAAQBAJ

So, that’s that! How’s my first hosting of a book tour go?

That great, eh?

*wry laugh*

Hope you have a wonderfully spooky Halloween, however you spend your magical evening! (You are spending it reading, right?)