#Inkripples- Fears/Things That Go Bump in the Night

Can you believe it's the second week of October already? This year seems to be flying by faster and faster!

With Halloween at the end of the month, our theme is Fears/Things That Go Bump in the Night. Don't miss Katie and Kai's posts!!

Now, for my true life, bump in the night tale.

I love Halloween, mostly because I've never outgrown playing dress up! As a child I eagerly looked forward to carving pumpkins (or decorating with shoe polish) as well as dressing as a princess or an old-fashioned ice skater and going trick-or-treating. Yes, I was a girly-girl.

To this day, I still vividly remember when I was six, and my brother took me trick-or-treating. It was a dark and chilly night, with a hint of rain in the air. We were walking across a lawn from one house to another and I stepped in a hole. I looked down and could see light around my foot and was completely convinced some demon monster was trying to drag me to hell.

It took my brother some time to convince me that it was just a light in the hole and that I was safe. And then he spent more time convincing me to finish trick-or-treating. I don't remember the rest of the night, but that moment is seared into my memory.

How about you? Do you have any bump in the night tales from your childhood? Share in the comments below, or on your blog and share the link in the comments. Be sure to tag #inkripples in your promotions so we can find you!!

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Ripples in the Inkwell is a themed meme hosted by Mary Waibel, Katie L. Carroll, and Kai Strand. We post on the second Monday of every month. If you would like to participate compose your own post regarding the theme of the month, include any of the images displayed on this page, and link back to our three blogs. Feel free to post whenever you want during the month, but be sure to include #inkripples when you promote so readers can find you. The idea is that we toss a word or idea into the inkwell and each post is a new ripple. There is no wrong interpretation.

October: Fears/Things That Go Bump in the Night
November: Remembrance /Thankfulness
December: Celebration /Gifts

New Release-Family Secret by Kay Lalone

Today I'm excited to share with you an upcoming release from Kay Lalone. This sounds like a great read just in time for Halloween. So, if you're looking for something a little spooky to add to your TBR pile, take a look at this!

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Sixteen-year-old Thomas Patrick Henry is thrown into a web of secrets and demons after his mother’s murder.

On the road to solving his mother’s murder, sixteen-year-old Thomas Patrick Henry discovers a secret his father has kept from him for years. Tom thought Dad’s secret put him in danger, Mom’s secret is far worse. Magic. Witches. Ancient Book of Spells. Magical Amulet. Ghosts. Demons. Tom never thought these things existed until he is face to face with them. There is nothing else to do but destroy the demons before someone else Tom love dies. He already lost his mom and a close friend because this secret was kept from him. No one else will die. No one else will be possessed. Tom faces his demons. A mother’s love gives Tom the strength to slay his demons.

Excerpt:

“Ow.” Tom yanked the chain and dragged the burning amulet from under his shirt. Even the chain was warm, but there was no way he was going to take the stupid thing off. He let it drop to his chest and rest warmly on the top of his shirt as he stared at the demon.

“It’s not your grandfather,” Tom whispered. Anger rolled around inside him because of what this thing did to Sarah.

The dark figure stepped out of the shadows causing the boys to take two steps back. The demon looked like a man dressed in thunderous storm-like clouds from head to toe. Even his face was black and the eyes a dimly puke-yellow that churned Tom’s stomach. He felt Rob’s heavy breathing just inches behind him, but it didn’t stop a chill from shimmering up his spine like fingernails on a chalkboard.

“I know who you are.” Tom tried to sound confident even though his voice shook with fear. He swallowed hard. “What do you want?”

The demon raised a shadowy arm and then his stormy cloud-like body started to swirl like a mini tornado. In a gust of black smoke, the demon shot up into the air and zipped right over Tom and Rob’s heads. The boys ducked and laid flat on the wet grass, afraid the demon would consume them.

Tom turned his head to see the black smoke head toward Mr. Watson’s house. Tom got to his feet while Rob remained on the ground. The black smoke swarmed over the house and then drifted back down. It slithered around the house like a snake looking for a place to sneak in, circling several times before seeping through the crack in the window and disappearing inside.

Rob scrambled to his feet. “That thing is inside my grandfather’s house.” His voice was high-pitched in fear. “My…” He glanced toward the empty driveway. Then he sighed. “Mom must still be at the hospital.”

Tom touched Rob’s arm to prevent him from doing something crazy. He didn’t want another one of his friends to get hurt by this thing.

“We need to do something, but I don’t know what.” Tom glanced over to the tents in Granddad’s backyard, hoping Matt or Granddad would come running to save the day. But there was no movement over there.

Inside the house, Jake growled and then started to bark wildly. Before Tom could stop him, Rob dashed upon the back porch and flung the backdoor open. Jake continued his wild barking as if protecting Rob and the house. If only the dog could save the day, but Tom feared nothing would save them.

A cracking noise caught Tom’s attention, and he turned his head toward what he assumed was Mr. Watson’s bedroom window. The glass appeared pitch black at first, and then a face appeared. The same puke-yellow eyes stared at Tom and gave him an evil grin.



Author Bio:

I’m Kay LaLone author of Ghostly Clues, my first MG novel. Family Secret is my first YA novel. Both published by MuseItUp. I live in Michigan with my husband and teenage son (two older sons and a daughter-in-law and my first grandbaby live nearby) and two dogs. I love to get up every morning and write about ghosts, the paranormal, and things that go bump in the night. I write PB, MG and YA novels. No matter the books I write, I want my readers to feel like they have met a new friend. I’m an avid reader of just about any type of book (mystery, paranormal, and ghost stories are my favorites). I do reviews and post them on my website and blog. I love to collect old books, antiques, and collectibles. You can find many of my antiques and collectibles selling on ebay and at fleamarkets.

MuseItUp: https://museituppublishing.com/bookstore/index.php/young-adult/family-secret-detail

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ghostlyclues

Amazon Pre Order: http://www.amazon.com/Family-Secret-Kay-LaLone-ebook/dp/B014X7C59O/ref=sr_1_3?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1442342055&sr=1-3&keywords=family+secret

Amazon Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B00AGK32ZE

Blog: www.kaylalone.blogspot.com

Website: www.kaylalone.weebly.com

Twitter: www.twitter.com/kaylalone

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6580388.Kay_LaLone

NaNo update and More Halloween Pics

So far, I haven't reached my 2000 word a day goal (well, I have, but more in that in a minute), but I have been around 1800+ for the first 3 days.

Today I worked on my NaNo story, The Ruby Dagger, and made my 1800+ word count, then went back to Quest of the Hart and began reworking that based on some comments from Trisha.  (She pointed out my story really started much further in than where my beginning was-- too much backstory!)  So, here's my question:

If I am working on two works during NaNo, can I count the words from both of them?  I mean, obviously if I cut and pasted stuff I had previously written I wouldn't count them, as they are not new.  But what about the stuff I am creating now?  Any thoughts?  Let me know in the comments.

Now, for some more Halloween pics!

Erik's Mom and Dad

My Mom and Dad

The Motley Crew!

What a couple!

Watch out for the gun...I mean viola!

This gives a new meaning to hair band!

Halloween 2010

We had a great time at our Halloween Party on Saturday.  Thought I'd share a few pictures with you from it. I hope to put more up on Thursday-- want to get permission from the parent's before I do! (I had a difficult time getting the photos where I want them, so I will post more later this week-- too frustrated to continue now!)

So, here we go!

The Rock Star (AKA- my hubby)

The Pop Princess (AKA- me)

The Mask-less Ring Wraith (AKA- son)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Frankie and Johnny (AKA my niece and her boyfriend)

Sorceress (AKA my friend Jackie)

 

 

 

 

Jeff and Kevin (Friends of Erik (and me))

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Costumes!

I love Halloween.  It's one of the few times you can dress up as something else and not look out of place (the other time, at least for me, is at Renaissance Faires.)

We usually try to theme the family-- one of us stays home, the other takes our son out. In the past I've been Dora the Explorer to my son's Boots, Mary Jane to his Spider-man.  But this year, we are breaking the mold.  My son has chosen to be a ring wraith from Lord of the Rings, while I have amassed an outfit for an 80's rocker.  It all started with a skirt I found on sale and has grown from there.  (I even found a gold lame barrette I've had all these years to use!)  I believe my husband is going the rocker route, too.  (I found a blond wig in the Halloween box that will be great for him-- can't remember what costume I used it for, though).

I'll dress for the party they are having at school, for the party we are having at home, and to take my son out (or give candy- whichever he chooses!)

What about you?  What are you going to be for Halloween?  Are you having a party? Going to one? Just dressing up for the kids getting treats?  Share in the comments!

Happy Monday!

We had a very nice weekend, hope you all did too!  Saturday, we went to the apple orchard, all excited to pick apples, unfortunately the picking was closed for the day as the ground was too wet.  So, we had a nice lunch in their store and bought a peck of already picked apples--apple crisp and apple pie here we come!

After lunch, we went to a pumpkin farm and had fun looking at the displays (we figured out what all were, except one-- there was one with a woman (pumpkin head and grey, long haired wig) in a long blue denim dress-- if you know what story/nursery rhyme/movie she could be, let me know!)

We did the corm maze, but didn't get lost-- found a few dead ends, though!  Then we picked out our pumpkins.

Back home, we decorated more outside, then did our pumpkin carving.

I picked a white pumpkin  this year- mostly because I liked its face.

I was going to do a Pumpkin Masters carving of a mummy, but didn't want to reduce the outline, so I free handed it.

When everyone was done, we placed them in the graveyard growing in our front yard for some pictures.  (The second is taken with a candle light option).

How are your Halloween preparations coming?