by Chris GoffCarved by Chris GoffI've never been really big on Halloween. Suffice it to say, I grew up on a mountain in Colorado with only two other houses around--and they were filled with old people. Any trick-or-treating I did required my mom or dad to bundle me into the car and drive me...
THE GLAMOROUS LIFE OF AN AUTHOR
by Sonja StoneTrue Confessions from the Trenches.I do everything obsessively, including decorating cookies.As a child, Halloween was my favorite holiday (second only to Christmas). I enjoyed dressing in disguise, stealing through the neighborhood incognito (spy fanatic, remember?). But my love of...
GROWN-UP TREATS FOR THE FALL SEASON
Jessica Emily Marx for The New York TimesBy Francine MathewsI've never been a girl who loves Halloween. But I'm totally infatuated with autumn: crisp walks, brilliant blue skies here in Colorado, the smell of decaying leaves and cooling dirt as the dogs stir up the undergrowth with their paws. I...
Ghosts and Monsters Oh My!
by Jamie FrevelettiKraken, by Pierre Denys de MontfortHalloween is upon us, and our topic today is Ghosts and Monsters. I'll admit, I love a good ghost story and I also love a good mystery. Not surprising, huh? But when you have a mystery solved as recently as 2013, well that's the best of all...
HALLOWEEN – WHY?
...by Karna Small BodmanWhy do our children dress up in costumes and go door-to-door on October 31 calling out "Trick or Treat?" Besides knowing it's a great time to have fun and gather up enough candy for a month of sugar-overload, there is quite a history here....one of mystery and intrigue...
HOLIDAYS AROUND THE WORLD
by KJ HoweThe topic of the holidays fires up my engines, as I'm all about finding a reason to celebrate. In my world, raising a glass of champagne and being thankful should be an everyday experience. My father worked in telecommunications, so I lived in many different countries growing up....
DRACULA AND ME
S. Lee Manning: It’s Halloween in two weeks, and in honor of the holiday, I’ve decided to talk about my lifelongconnection with vampires – and how it has affected my writing.It all started when I was thirteen years old – which probably has some psychological significance. At thirteen, I officially...
YES, HOLIDAYS IMPACT WRITERS … HOW ABOUT YOU?
Gayle Lynds: All right, folks. Confess. You’re now over 30 years old, or maybe 50, or even 60. Do you have childhood Halloween memories you can’t forget — or wish you could? From costumes to candy, from pranks to ghost tales, it’s a holiday that feeds a budding...
THE BANE OF ANIMALS
by Chris GoffI'm not sure I have any animals other than the human-kind in my thrillers. There may be a stray cat in DARK WATERS. It takes place in Israel, often in Tel Aviv, and there are hundreds of thousands of stray cats living there. The cats are everywhere. There are special programs to...
THE TRUTH ABOUT CATS AND DOGS
By Sonja StoneCats are useless. There, I said it. Let the hate mail begin.Sleek and beautiful: Raja and Raven, my DobermansCONDITIONS OF COHABITATIONI know I’m about to make a lot of enemies, but here’s my feeling about pets: If an animal is going to live in my home, eat my food, drink my water,...