Friday, October 30, 2009

Welcome to Heather Grothaus' guest blog


The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

I know—you usually hear that phrase linked more with Christmas than Halloween, but for me, it's true. Halloween is my favorite holiday, and has been since I was a little kid. I love the jack-o-lanterns, the gory decor, the costumes—and, of course, the candy.

Beyond the haunted houses, pumpkin patches, and ghost stories, for one night, we can be anyone in this world (or another) that we can imagine, and anything at all is possible. That tale about the hitchhiking teenager in the letterman jacket could really be true. That old, abandoned house on the corner might actually be haunted. It is a time of year when your imagination takes hold of you in terrible and frightening ways, and you anticipate it more than the coming of Santa, welcome the vampires and witches and ghosts in wholeheartedly. At least, I do. What if? That is the ultimate question of Halloween, the delicious adventure.

I grew up in a very small town, and some of my fondest memories are of my friends and me holing up in someone's basement after trick-or-treating for Halloween slumber parties. With our loot sacks piled around and a few candles, we’d play spooky games like Light-as-a-Feather-Stiff-as-a-Board, and Bloody Mary. We held our fair share of séances. We’d watch gory movies and tell ghost stories, and basically try to scare each other silly. As I write this, I can't help but imagine how fun it would be to recreate the experience with a bunch of (grown-up) girlfriends now, along with a couple of bottles of wine and our favorite treats!

I still crave the scary, and I have carried on my love of the paranormal in deeper ways. I'm an amateur ghost hunter, and I spend a lot of time researching paranormal phenomenon. I'm the crazy woman running toward the mysterious bump-in-the-night with my mini recorder rather than cowering under the covers. In my writing, I can take those experiences and add them to what I've learned to create a world full of the unknown and unexplained for my readers. In my books you will find witches and ghosts, legends and curses, angels and demons. You'll also find the best of friends, and true love. Because, really, isn’t falling in love sometimes the scariest thing of all?

And now that I have kids of my own, I wonder how long it will be before they leave the sweetness of animal costumes behind and begin to seek out the unknown, the dark and the frightening, on their own. I wonder if they will share my passion for chasing the spooky and unexplained. And I wonder if they will let me tag along.

Take a look at Heather's newest release, Taming the beast:

After years of turmoil, Roderick Cherbon has left the Crusades to return to the home he loves. But the wars have changed him, and the heir who thought to heal his father’s injustices has become a vicious beast of a man, scarred inside and out. He will speak to no one, see no one; he leaves the shadows of his ruined keep only under the darkness of night. And even in death his father mocks him: to retain his land and title, Roderick, the Beast, must marry.

Lady Michaela Fortune is reviled for her poverty, ridiculed for her dreams, and preyed on for her soft heart. Humiliation and want dog her beloved family, and her pride is an indulgence she can ill afford. Cherbon and its shattered lord offer a solution. But to court a man who has fallen so low, Michaela will need all her grace and beauty to harbor any hopes of taming the beast…



Contest:


One lucky winner will get a copy of Taming the Beast, so stop by and say hello. Check back tomorrow to see if you are the winner, because you have 7 days to claim your prize!

15 comments:

Deb's Book Nook said...

Hey Heather! Great to see you here and so excited that you have a new book out! I've been hooked on your books from the beginning and eagerly await your new release! Can't wait to read it!

Happy Halloween to you and yours!

The Scarf Princess said...

I loved Haloween as a child. Now that I'm an adult though, I'm not feeling the love as much. Maybe it's because I now have to give out candy as opposed to receiving it.

And your new book sounds great!

joderjo402 AT gmail DOT com

tetewa said...

Enjoyed the post today, this would be a new author for me! Sounds good.

Jane said...

Hi Heather,
Congrats on the upcoming release of "Taming the Beast." I love the Beauty and the Beast theme.

Pam P said...

Hi Heather, great to look forward to a new release from you.

One sister goes all out for Halloween and the kids love it - decorations all over in and out, up and down the street, graveyards and all. All the candy in their pumpkins and all the special treats she makes.

For several years we used to go to another sister's and sleep over, treats, beer and wine, playing games; then suffering (lol) through another year of Night of the Living Dead and listen to my BIL's cracking up over it.

The Brunette Librarian said...

:) While Halloween isn't my favorite holiday, it is up there. So much fun to dress up...love the idea of you hopping out of bed to find ghosts. Congratulations on your release, the book looks good. Love the hero on the cover!

rachie2004 @ yahoo (d0t) com

Lyoness2009 said...

One of my fondest memories of childhood is trick or treating as well. Didnt' it seem like the world was yours while you were in costume running through the neighborhoods? Just wild and open and simply fun.

I can see why you enjoy it!

lyoness2009 AT hot mail **dot** com

Joan Osborne said...

I have always been a big fan of Beauty and the Beast type stories and am always on the look out for one with that theme so when I read the synopsis for Taming the Beast I knew it was going to be a must have book for me. The cover for Taming the Beast is just awesome too. Wow, what a sexy man and those eyes! I'd say he definitely has a bit of the beast in him, lol. Enjoy your favorite holiday Heather. Have a very Happy Halloween.

LighthouseSandy said...

Congrats on the new release, Heather! I love that cover!

I remember roaming the street my grandparents lived on, house to house with friends trick or treating for hours. Too bad kids nowadays can't do that. That was always the best part of the holiday for me!

Happy Halloween!

Martha Eskuchen said...

That is a great cover! Ha - don't count on older kids (10 and up) letting you tag along! LOL Maybe when they get past high school!
Best wishes on the book and have a safe Halloween!
mesreadsATgmailDOTcom

Linda Henderson said...

Your book sounds great. I can hardly wait to read it.

seriousreader at live dot com

Carol L. said...

Hi Heather,
Your book sounds great. I will put it on my TRL now. Thanks for sharing . :)

Heather Grothaus said...

Thanks to Danny for having me! The post was a lot of fun to write :) Sorry it's taken me so long to pop in--holiday weekends are jam-packed with two little ones! It was freezing here Saturday night! We ended up pulling our knight (of course) and our lady-in-waiting (double of course) back home in the wagon, both bundled up in blankets, poor things. But they had fun, and so did we :)

Deb! Thanks for stopping by! Hope you got the goodies I sent you for your group :) Are you going to the Book Fair next weekend? E-mail me!

joder: I am raiding the candy buckets as the little ones sleep ;o) Really, as a mom, it's my JOB to make sure they don't eat too much candy. Right???

tetewa: Thanks so much for the comment! Hope you enjoy if you get a chance to pick it up.

Jane: Thanks for the congrats! I had a blast with the Beauty and the Beast theme. So fun!

Hi, Pam! I've always wanted to turn our entire house into a haunted house for Halloween! For scary movies, we love The Shining. It's a tradition! :)

RachieG: My husband rolls his eyes at me--a lot :) If we drive by a house that even looks remotely spooky, he knows I'm going to ask him to pull over. He is a patient man! Thanks for stopping by!

Lyoness2009: Oh, my, yes. That is a lovely way to describe it. It was a different kind of freedom. Thanks for the comment!

Hi, Joan! You are so sweet :) I must admit, I LOVE this cover! The eyes are just perfect! I had bookmarks done for this title, and the entire front is simply a tight shot of the hero and his sword. *swoon* (I'm giving them away for the cost of a SASE. Details on the website if anyone's interested.)

Sandy: I agree--a big part of the fun was going without the parents! But it's kinda fun now to socialize with the other parents around the firepits in the driveways ;o) Hope your Halloween was great!

Hi, Martha: That's exactly what I'm afraid of, LOL ;o) Thanks for the kind wishes!

Thanks, Linda! Hope you had a wonderful holiday!

Carol, thank you! Hope you enjoy it!


Okay, did I miss anyone? I hope not! Thanks again for having me, and stop by and visit the site anytime! I love e-mail!

~Heather

Dannyfiredragon said...

Sorry, I forgot to announce the winner due to exam stress, but fortunately I got a reminder from one of our lovely blog readers.

The winner is LighthouseSandy!

Big congrats!

Wendy will contact you soon.

Anonymous said...

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!
cant wait to read this book.
great cover.

reginamayr@aol.com