Werewolves, Vampries and Witches OH MY! —Snarkology Halloween Hop

UPDATE! UPDATE! 

The giveaway is over and Kristi Van Howling is the winner! She'll receive a copy of Wolves' Knight when the edits are done. Congratulations, Kristi!


Werewolves, Vampires, and Witches, oh my! Welcome to another stop on the Snarkology Halloween Hop. I'll be giving away an e-book copy of Wolves' Knight to one lucky winner. Details at the end of this post.

I wanted to write y'all a short story for Halloween, but the darn thing wants to turn into a book. Instead, I'm going to share a few memories of Halloween, and I've been around for a few of them.

Living in the country, trick-or-treating was different than it was for the city kids  We might not have ended up with as much candy, but in some ways it was better. Many of the neighbors handed out two different categories of treats—normal small candy to the kids from out of the area, and the "good" stuff to the locals. Yes, they'd ask if we were from the neighborhood and all we had to do was mention our last name. That served as the key to unlock the treasure chest.

Made-from-scratch cookies were common, and one house handed out home-made caramel apples. Another made popcorn balls. That was long before the first scare of razor blades and hazardous items being placed in the treats. Some people gave us full-size candy bars instead of the small ones. 

So even though we might have ended up with fewer treats than our city friends, I think our "take" was better. Sure, we had to walk longer distances since the houses had bigger yards and there were empty lots between the houses, but we were country kinds, and that didn't faze us.

Of course, that meant we had to take into account the walking when we made our costumes. We didn't do the store bought thing, except for our masks. Ingenuity was king as we pulled together costumes from things around the house. Each year, one of my siblings managed to talk my mother out of an old sheet to make a ghost costume. Hobos were also a popular choice.

Coming from a large family, the fun didn't stop once we got home. That's when the trading began. We each had our favorite treats and the swapping rarely got out of hand. Of course, we also shared with our parents. Why should they be left out of the fun?

Now that I'm all grown up (and my kids are grown-ups too!) I'm the one handing out treats. No full-size candy bars or home-made popcorn balls, but I always give out chocolate candy. I love seeing the costumes and the smiles on the littlest kids' faces when I drop the candy in the bag. I believe I was thinking of myself when I wrote the scene in "The Marquesa's Ring where Harmony, my main character, is handing out treats on Halloween. Her bodyguard isn't happy with the idea.

And Halloween? I didn’t expect the kids to tromp up the outside steps to my place, and I enjoyed handing out candy and seeing the costumes. Normally, I wrapped up in a blanket and sat at the bottom of the stairs with a cup of hot cocoa and handed out treats from there. Mr. Grumps-A-Lot didn't like the idea at all. Heck, he was scarier in his every day long black coat than the kids in their costumes. He wouldn't stay in his van but I made him sit on the landing behind me so he wouldn't upset the youngest children too much. The teenagers escorting their younger brothers and sisters thought he was a cool prop I'd added to my minimal decorations.


You can find my books HERE.

Now for my contest. One lucky person can win a e-book copy of my next book, Wolves' Knight, before it's even finished. I'm hoping for a December release date, but that's not written in stone. Wolves' Knight is a follow-up to Wolves' Pawn, and is the second in the Free Wolves series. The winner will receive their copy once it's released. Enter here: a Rafflecopter giveaway


Follow the hop for more fun and prizes. you can head over to Snarkology blog hop for more blogs, or follow the link at the end of this post.


The Blog Hop has a giveaway! 
Enter for a chance to win by heading to the address below
(1) $100 Amazon or B&N Gift Card or
(1) $50 Amazon or B&N Gift Card or
(1) $50 Amazon or B&N Gift Card or
(1) $50 Amazon or B&N Gift Card

URL: http://goo.gl/forms/C8m0B2NQ3d

More stops on the blog hop below: