Quirky Heroines, Happy Endings
Music soothes the savage beast and if you’re lucky, you’ll have a few of them around for the various Halloween parties you’ll be attending. For help on your Halloween party playlist, you’ve come to the right place.
Here they are, in no particular order, five songs for your player.
Welcome to more BLOGTOBERFEST!!
I’m going to continue today to chat with you about a time that I was scared as a child. This moment is so vivid in my mind that I can recall it clearly to this day. Three words.
Now, I know what you’re thinking. “Dahlia, don’t be so foolish, doll! I mean, two out of the three words are so nice!
What could be bad about ‘crystal’ and ‘park’?”
I do see the logic in that, but separating those two lovely words is the word CAVES. Dark, underground caverns, which of course were on the verge of collapsing, trapping silly tourists inside in the dark.
As a wee child, about seven or so, the idea of visiting a cave seemed fun. It was well lighted, there were guides, restrooms and a gift shop. Great! I was game.
Everything was going well until they got us deep in the cave, chatting about rock formations and crystal and the like. Then, they announce they are going to turn off the lights, so we can see what it’s like to be in complete darkness.
Wait a g*dd*mn minute. I did NOT sign up for this. Whaaaaaa?
When those lights were turned off I literally could.not.see.my.hand.in.front.of.my.face.
Darkness. How dark?
I couldn’t tell if my eyes were open or closed. Holy crap.
Even as I recount it I get the shivers. The same things, the people, were there with the lights off as they were with the lights on right?
RIGHT???…was that a thump? In the dark?
This cave is pretty big, have they explored every single bit of it? There could be anything here.
Somebody better turn on these lights. Eff these stalactites and stalagmites, get me to the gift shop.
Boo!
Books are frightening in a whole different way that movies, because your imagination has no boundaries. With movies, once you see the “horror” manifested on screen, the mind tends to deflect the horror by trying to figure out how the special effects actually worked and wondering if they really used colored corn syrup for the blood. In addition, you can always look away from the horror on the screen.
But books…books make your imagination work overtime, taking the author’s words and twisting it into your personalized nightmare, images so horrifying that they may stay with you long after you’ve closed the book and [amazon-product align=”left;”]B004TPFNVI[/amazon-product]moved on with your real life.
And when/if you see the movie, that same scene is nothing like you imagined. In fact, seeing the director’s interpretation of the scene may take all the “scare” out of it.
One of the scariest stories that I’ve ever read, and for some reason, they allowed us to read this horror in high school was “The Cask of Amontillado” by Edgar Allen Poe. Even thinking about it gives me the shivers. I won’t go into details, but it is a tale of revenge.
It is free on Amazon.
D
Hello, all you lovely readers! So glad you joined us today. Our special guest in the Luscious hot seat is Rosanna Leo and she’s bringing us some oceanic 
sexiness with her newest release, The Selkie. Let’s get to know Rosanna a little better.
Out of your published stories, which character is your favorite?
I think my fave will always be Maia, my dorky heroine from For the Love of a God. Out of all my heroines, she’s most like me. A little too scholarly, a little too awkward but her heart is in the right place. She’s devoted to her friends and family and her passions. When I think of her, I still get a little smile on my face.
How do you come up with the titles of your books?
Great question! It is really is a case of inspiration striking as it will. I find titles are often really difficult to come up with. Sometimes it hits me immediately, but sometimes I just labor over them. I try to reflect the theme of the novel, but those titles just don’t always hit me right away.
What are some of the challenges you’ve faced as a writer?
Patience! Patience after being rejected several times. Patience waiting for books to come out. Patience waiting on edits. It’s a never-ending process but it’s made me more appreciative of that process. I’ve also had to overcome that pesky “I’m not good enough” mentality which likely strikes a lot of writers. You just have to put that work out there and hope it resonates with someone other than yourself.
Who is your favorite author and what is it that really strikes you about their work?
Well, I’ve always talked a lot about Diana Gabaldon. Her dedication to the history in her books is awe-inspiring. She is able to write romances that strike such a chord in me, but also do it with such respect for historical accuracy and detail.
Do you have a favorite out of the books you have written?
I couldn’t possibly choose! LOL. I love them all for different reasons and am proud of all of them.
If you had to choose, which writer would you consider a mentor?
I’d have to pick my good friend Savannah Chase. I am so fortunate to live close to her and we’ve been able to meet up and talk writing on a regular basis. Not only is she super-talented, she’s a great buddy and a wonderful person to share a piece of cake with!
What’s your favorite scary movie?
Ooh! The one that still scares the bejeezus out of me is the original Hallowe’en movie. There are images from that film that haunt me still!
What’s the first costume you remember wearing as a child?
As a little girl, I was a fairy. I had only homemade costumes (back in the 70’s). My fairy costume consisted of my mother’s silky nighties- no wings!
Favorite Halloween candy?
Oh dear, I could eat those little bags of chips for ages! And because they’re so small, surely it’s not a crime to eat 10 in one sitting…right? Please, no one disagree with me!
If you could dress up as anyone for Halloween, who would it be?
I think, because I’ve been so inspired by mythology, I’d go as a goddess. But not a cheesy one. Really beautiful robes and laurel leaves and golden bracelets, with my hair done up in Grecian bands! The real good stuff!
Now that you’ve heard a little about what makes Rosanna tick, as well as her penchant for snack bags of chips, let’s take a peek The Selkie.
Blurb:
This was supposed to be her year. However, after losing her job and discovering her fiancé cheating, Maggie Collins has her doubts. When her grandmother dies, she hits rock bottom. Maggie travels to her grandmother’s home in Orkney, Scotland to sort through her gran’s things, only to discover the old woman has left her a seal pelt as her 
inheritance. She also learns that others are after the pelt.
To add to her frustration, Maggie’s dreams are filled with luscious images of a long-haired man, images that draw her to the magical beaches in Orkney. Although she’s lost her trust in men, this dream man inspires her with a lust she’s never known before.
Calan Kirk has also been dreaming. Dreaming of Maggie, the mortal woman who arouses him as no other woman ever has. Meeting her in the flesh when she arrives in Orkney is nothing short of spontaneous sexual combustion. But she is a human, and not to be trusted. He needs the seal pelt, not a red-haired temptress.
As a thief ransacks Maggie’s grandmother’s house, Maggie and Calan are thrust together. They must search for the animal skin, a mythical relic which once found, will either bring them together or rip them apart forever.
Excerpt:
She was attempting to stand on her wobbly legs, only to fall back down on her bottom, when she heard the sound of splashing water. Thinking it was her seal, Maggie turned to look.
Her breath caught in her throat. It wasn’t the animal at all.
It was a man. He was rising out of the waves, walking toward her. She froze. He was nude, utterly nude, and was staring at her with overflowing intimacy. As if they’d had, God help her, relations.
And she realized, with sudden panic, they’d had! In her dreams. He was the seal-man from all her sex dreams.
No. Impossible.
Her first instinct was to call for help, but there was no one near. And then she realized with frightening awareness that she didn’t want any help anyway. Glued to her spot, she couldn’t help but drink him in.
He was beautiful, if unnervingly wet and naked. He had long, shiny, brown hair that hung down past his shoulders. His face could have belonged on an ad for expensive cologne, and he had a body to match. Sculpted shoulders gave way to arms corded in muscle. His defined chest was blanketed by a smattering of sparse, brown hair that led tantalizingly to his rock-hard abs.
Maggie held her breath as her gaze traveled lower on his body, taking in trim calves and thighs a quarterback would envy. And, she noted with simultaneous hunger and horror, his penis was the biggest she’d ever had the pleasure of seeing. It was thick and long and glistening with the droplets of water that yet cascaded over his body. And it seemed to be reaching for her. She gulped, and forced herself to look back up at his face.
There was a faint glow about his skin, a shimmery aura. Dismissing it as a trick of the moonlight, she shook her head.
He was almost upon her, and his full lips were taut in a teasing grin. Maybe he was a surfer who’d lost not only his board, but his shorts in the waves. She knew she should be frantic, but wasn’t. There was something in his brown eyes that was so familiar, so soothing, even as they swept over her own body with lustful appreciation.
He stopped in front of her, and stood boldly, unashamed of his glorious nakedness. She managed to spit out one hushed word. “You.”
“You,” was his equally awed reply.
Buy Links:
http://www.lsbooks.com/the-selkie-p698.php
https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-theselkie-930496-140.html
In a pitcher combine the cranberry juice, apple juice and grenadine. Stir together then add the seltzer water.
Squeeze the candy gel onto a small plate. Rim the edges of 4 low-ball glasses in the candy gel. Pour in the drink evenly into the glasses. Garnish each glass with the gummy vampire teeth and serve.