Cover Up with Karen Nutt

 

 

Karen Nutt

 

 

Back to school favorite:  pens or notebooks?

 

Notebooks. When I was in school, there weren’t a lot of really cool covers like there are now, but I could pick the color I wanted. I loved green! Any shade would do.

 

Hiking or jumping in a pile of leaves?

 

Hiking. I like to explore and see new sights.

 

Halloween or Thanksgiving?

 

Definitely Halloween. I’m a big fan of anything paranormal. I love the costumes and the chance to be someone else for the night—a vampire, a werewolf, or a zombie. The list goes on and on. You can let your imagination soar. I also love the decorations. Pumpkins, skeletons, ghosts, and witches adorn my home during the month of October. And don’t get me started on the Halloween stories and movies. Nothing too gory—I like eerie, where the fine hairs on the nape of my neck stand at attention and gooseflesh rise on my arms.

 

 

Hot buttered rum or hot chocolate?

 

Hot chocolate. Chocolate rules!

 

Who's book (besides one of yours) are you most looking forward to reading?

 

The King: A Novel of the Black Dagger Brotherhood by J.R. Ward. It’s next on my list for a must read! I love this series!! The Brothers are my kind of vampires.

Cover Up with R.E. Mullins

Back to school favorite:  pens or notebooks?

 

I could give you my children’s preferences. Personally? If I can remember that far back, it seems I do recall being entranced with a pen that had several

colors built in. I remember writing out assignments, changing colors on a whim, until my instructor told me to knock it off.

 

 

Hiking or jumping in a pile of leaves?

 

Nowadays for me to throw my body into a pile of leaves, it would have to be pretty dog-gone deep. As a child, though, I did love hurtling into a pile of crunchy leaves. I liked lying there, almost buried in them, and inhaling their uniquely musty and slightly acrid scent.

 

These days I’d better stick to hiking. I loved the trails in Red Rock Canyon and Cheyenne Mountain when I lived in Colorado. My sons and I frequently hiked them. Now that I’m back in Missouri I’ll head down to Shoal Creek and walk along the river or scramble the rocks around the falls.

 

Love those fall colors. 

 

 

Halloween or Thanksgiving?

 

That is a tough one. I’d usually go with Thanksgiving. Hands down. I love the holiday as it is a time for family and food (two of my favorite things).

However, this year is going to be different. My children are grown and now scattered in different states. With work, time, and money constraints, I don’t believe we’ll be able to get together this year. 

 

This year, however, Halloween holds a special significances for me. My second book, Vampire in the Scrying Glass, releases that day. I consider this to be quite apt and fun. The storyline is set during the Halloween season, and it even has a masquerade party!

 

 

Hot buttered rum or hot chocolate?

 

Chocolate of any kind for me…come to think, I don’t believe I’ve ever tried hot buttered rum. Am I missing something here?

 

 

Who's book (besides one of yours) are you most looking forward to reading?

 

Wow, that’s another tough question. I just finished reading The Chase by Janet Evanovich and Lee Goldberg. I believe the next in the Fox & O’Hare series releases in November. When I’m looking to walk on the naughty side—yet read something well written—I head toward Cherise Sinclair.

Cover Up with Andrea Downing

Andrea Downing

Back to school favorite:  pens or notebooks? 

 

This has to be notebooks!  When I was about eight or nine years old, I wrote my first novel in one of those speckled black and white school notebooks and, ever since, I’ve had a great attachment to them.  I always keep a Moleskine Notebook in my handbag and have some kind of pad by my bedside.  I’ve been known to get up in the middle of the night several times with thoughts for books that need jotting down.  The trouble is, by morning those thoughts are not always readable. 

 

Hiking or jumping in a pile of leaves? 

 

Definitely jumping in a pile of leaves.  I’m not the most enthusiastic of hikers; I think my desire to hike was first killed off by my ex-husband, who saw hiking as some sort of endurance test.  Then, of course, out west you need to take along bear spray so that also dulled the enthusiasm.  Now, jumping in a pile of leaves, you can listen to the crackle and crunch of the leaves underneath, watch the leaves float off like rare birds and enjoy the colors, all without much effort or danger.

 

Halloween or Thanksgiving? 

 

Difficult one since I love both.  At Halloween I’m really pleased to answer my door to all the children and see what costumes are popular this year, chat with the kids a bit and listen to their comments about the candies I’m offering.  On the other hand, really nothing beats Thanksgiving and sitting around a fabulous meal with all those you love.

 

 Hot buttered rum or hot chocolate? 

 

Hot chocolate, hands down.  I’m a chocoholic so it has to be.  If I’m allowed to mention a brand, let me tell you Valhrona is heaven on earth, heavy and like drinking a melted chocolate bar.

 

 

Who's book (besides one of yours) are you most looking forward to reading?

 

It would have to be The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt, which just won the Pulitzer Prize.  I’ve read her other books and they are always lessons in what a book should be.  One can only aspire…

Covered Up with Diana Rubino

Back to school favorite:  pens or notebooks?

 

My grammar school years ended in 1971—so during the ‘hippie era’ notebook covers were psychedelic and ‘mod’—multicolored swirls, geometric patterns, loud designs. Pens were still kinda ‘blah’ – we did have Bic ballpoints—but the notebooks were definitely more ‘groovy’.

 

Hiking or jumping in a pile of leaves?

 

I enjoy hiking on rather easy trails—I’m not a mountain climber (too cowardly) but I did hike the shortest trail on Mt. Washington in New Hampshire, a few miles, nothing treacherous. There are some beautiful trails on Cape Cod, and I hike the unpaved ones. The paved ones are definitely for biking!

 

Halloween or Thanksgiving?

 

That’s a close call, but I’d have to say Halloween. Fall in New England is spectacular—apple crisp days, Honey Crisp apples, the colorful reds, yellows, and bronzes of the foliage. I enjoy going to Salem, Mass. in October—all month long, thousands of revelers show up in outrageous costumes and roam the streets, past the 17^th century Witch House, the House of the Seven Gables, and other historic houses there. It’s crowded but a lot of fun—I enjoy going on the nighttime ghost tours, and the walking tours guided by actual witches, who explain the history of witches in Salem and the infamous witch craze and trials of 1692.

 

Hot buttered rum or hot chocolate?

 

Since I don’t drink alcohol, it’s definitely hot chocolate. I make it with a few squares of dark chocolate and coconut milk, microwave for 2 minutes, add a dollop of whipped cream, and it’s dreamy. 

 

Whose book (besides one of yours) are you most looking forward to reading?

 

One of my favorite authors is Barbara Erskine. She’s British, and her books are set in Essex, on England’s east coast. She writes spooky, creepy paranormals. Having lived in England, I’ll read anything set there. But Barbara’s books never disappoint me. Her latest is THE DARKEST HOUR. I’m saving it for the dark and stormy nights that’ll be here soon!

Cover Up with Roe Valentine

Back to school favorite:  pens or notebooks?

 

This is so hard! I’m a sucker for both notebooks and pens. But, I think I will have to go with pens. I have every type of pen: rolling ball, felt tip, metal roller, and fountain. I also have pens that vary in price. The one common thread with these pens is I love to write in purple ink.

 

Hiking or jumping in a pile of leaves?

 

I’m not that athletic, so I will have to say jumping in a pile of leaves!

 

Halloween or Thanksgiving?

 

That’s a hard one too. On the one hand I love to dress up and the other I love to eat pumpkin pie. I refuse to choose J

 

Hot buttered rum or hot chocolate?

 

 Neither. I’m a cider kind of girl.

 

Who's book (besides one of yours) are you most looking forward to reading?

I love anything by Sylvia Day. Looking forward to the next in the Crossfire series.

 

Covered Up with Ash Krafton

Back to school favorite:  pens or notebooks?

 Ash Krafton

 

 

 

As anyone in my house will attest: notebooks! I’ve always had a serious thing for school supplies…when I was growing up, my mom worked as a purchasing agent for a major healthcare company. She always had a box full of samples under her bed and it was a mini-store, full of every kind of pen, marker, and notepad.

 

When I had kids of my own, I ran the school store in their small parochial store. I purchased most of the items myself and donated them. Kids got to shop every week, but I got to do what I loved best—fool around with every sort of back to school goody. Fuzzy folders. Colored pencils. Mini staplers. Squee!

 

See, I told you I had a serious thing. J

 

My kids are in high school now, but I haven’t have to abandon my stock piles of school supplies in the basement closet. I have had to slim down the inventory a lot, since my 15 year old is too cool for sparkly crayons or adorable animal folders. One thing we all still use are notebooks. My most recent score was a stack of 13 composition notebooks in all different colors. Out of my mind happy.

 

My husband groans, but all he sees are stacks of blank tablets. I see a potential book in every single one.

 

Hiking or jumping in a pile of leaves?

 

Hiking, for sure. Jumping in a pile of leaves implies I have to rake up said pile first. Gack. (Plus, we own a dog. Never know what you’ll land in.)

 

Both of my kids are active in Scouting so we actually do a lot of hiking. Since my son is working on rank advancements, he usually has a five-mile hike or two to complete so we just make it a family outing.

 

Our favorite hiking spot is at the Gettysburg Battlefields National Park. We’ve done both the Billy Yank and Johnny Reb trails—a great way to relive history since the guidebook explains troop movements, discussed battle decisions, and describes each of the monuments you pass along the way.

 

We did a bus tour the first year we were there, which was very informative, but hiking these trails allows you to follow the footsteps of each of those Civil War soldiers. We always come away with a profound sense of connection to the struggles and the sacrifices of those men.

 

Halloween or Thanksgiving?

 

Halloween! In fact, I keep some decorations up all year round. My yard ghosties are solar powered and they change colors all night long. Just delightful…

 

I also have a six-foot-tall Grim Reaper in the furnace room. His hooded skull is on a heavy spring so he nods at you if you carelessly bump into him, as if he were saying, “Yes, dearie…you’ll be next, soon enough.” I hug him when no one is looking.

 

Our family has a tradition of vacationing in October, which is all the excuse I need to go to Disney. Every inch of those parks are decked out in glorious Halloween extravagance. How can you beat Mickey Mouse with vampire fangs? Other than resurrecting Edgar Allen Poe, I can’t think of anything more hauntingly brilliant.

 

 

Hot buttered rum or hot chocolate?

 

Hot chocolate, for sure. Cold chocolate, if I must. And solid chocolate whenever humanly possible.

 

I’ve never tried spicy hot chocolate but I’ve heard so much about it. If anyone has a recipe, please share! I did pick up some McCormick’s chili cocoa spice. Now I just need to figure a way to use it.

 

 

Whose book (besides one of yours) are you most looking forward to reading?

 

This one is the easiest of all…THE WITCH’S KISS by Tricia Schneider. She’s a paranormal romance author with The Wild Rose Press. You can find her books about the Merriweather witches here

 

http://www.wildrosepublishing.com/maincatalog_v151/index.php?main_page=index&manufacturers_id=666

 

I’ve had the distinct pleasure of sneaking a peak at the cover for her next book…so excited!

Covered Up with Christy Effinger

Christy Effinger

Back to school favorite:  pens or notebooks?

 

Notebooks! I love a blank notebook. There are few things that make me want to write more than the sight of empty pages waiting to be filled.

 

Hiking or jumping in a pile of leaves?

 

Hiking. I enjoy a long walk in the woods, especially in fall when the leaves are brilliant and the squirrels are fat and sassy.

 

Halloween or Thanksgiving?

 

I love both, but Thanksgiving is my favorite. It’s such a peaceful holiday, and it ushers in one of the brightest and happiest times of year, the Christmas season.

 

Hot buttered rum or hot chocolate?

 

Hot buttered rum. I’ve only had it once, but there’s something quaint and cozy about it that seems just right for a cool autumn evening. Hmm, now you’ve inspired me. I think I’ll attempt to make hot buttered rum at home. Sounds like a good blog post. I’ll be sure to take pictures.

 

 

Whose book (besides one of yours) are you most looking forward to reading?

 

Smolder on a Slow Burn by Lynda J. Cox. Lynda and I went to grad school together. She had her first novel published by The Wild Rose Press. I knew she was a good writer and I admired her work, so I added TWRP to my query list. I’m glad I did, because they accepted my first novel, too. Smolder on a Slow Burn is Lynda’s second book and I need to go order it right now. Thanks for reminding me.   

 

 

Covered Up with KyAnn Waters

 

Back to school favorite:  pens or notebooks? Notebooks!

 

I love fun spiral notebooks. I have them in my purse, in the door storage of the car, in drawers in the kitchen and a stash stacked in my office supplies. I’m never without a little notebook. I have a few beautiful notebooks of handmade paper. I almost hate to write in them because the paper is so beautiful.

 

Hiking or jumping in a pile of leaves?

 

I love hiking. I live on the bench of the Wasatch Mountains in northern Utah. I’m about a 3 minute walk to the trailhead. Contrary to this beauty out my front door is the incredible amount of fallen leaves that litter my yard every October. We usually have at least 50 black yard bags full of mulched leaves by the time we are done with fall clean-up. Piles of leaves just looks like yard work to me.

 

Halloween or Thanksgiving?

 

Thanksgiving! I love to eat. LoL. I love candy too, but Thanksgiving is in the midst of my favorite time of year. I love crisp mornings and sunny afternoons. I love when there is a hint of snow in the air.

 

Hot buttered rum or hot chocolate?

 

I wish I could tolerate alcohol, but alas, I’d have to be a hot chocolate girl. But actually, I prefer hot tea. I have quite the collection of flavors to choose from. Right now, cinnamon apple is my favorite. I’ll get something pumpkin in October, by Christmas, I’ll be sipping on peppermint tea. Celestial Seasonings makes a fun Candy Cane flavor.

 

 

Who's book (besides one of yours) are you most looking forward to reading?

 

I’m looking forward to hot holiday stories. I love a naughty historical and am always browsing for a new author. I love a recommendation so if someone has a hot holiday story they loved, let me know.

 

 

 

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