To End the Month of Halloween: A Contest!!

To end the Halloween spirit on a high note, we're giving away free books! To enter, just comment in this post for a chance at not one book, but THREE! That's right, I've bundled three books that I loved and would be happy to pass on. I've tried to pick books with the Halloween-type theme. Good luck to all! Please comment by Sunday, November 1 at 10:00pm PST. I will post the one winner on Wednesday, November 4.

Please have a safe and fun Halloween! Eat tons of candy and watch your favorite spooky movie! Want a tip on a few classic horror films? Check out my post from a few weeks ago here.

On another note, don't forget to set your clocks back one hour before going to bed Saturday night, as we are moving back to Standard time (or at least those of you who live in an area that changes their clock for daylight savings.

We gain an hour, which is great news for all participating in NaNoWrimo this year. I'll be posting about my trip through NaNoWrimo this year here at YAedge. Stay tuned! If you need a NaNo buddy or just want to follow my progress, search for me under username Seeker4! The more the merrier.

Now, what you have all been waiting for...the list of free books!


Eighth Grade Bites by Heather Brewer (Paperback)

From Amazon: Thirteen-year-old Vladimir Tod really hates junior high. Bullies harass him, the principal is dogging him, and the girl he likes prefers his best friend. Oh, and Vlad has a secret: His mother was human, but his father was a vampire. With no idea of the extent of his powers, Vlad struggles daily with his blood cravings and his enlarged fangs. When a substitute teacher begins to question him a little too closely, Vlad worries that his cover is about to be blown. But then he faces a much bigger problem: He’s being hunted by a vampire killer.





Spirit by J.P. Hightman (ARC)

From BN.com: Now, ages later, in the cold, dark heart of the Victorian era—an age of black clothes and black moods—one train is bound for Blackthorne, near Salem, where a winter carnival awaits. The cars are full of the promise of fireworks, sleigh rides, and skating. But for Tess and Tobias Goodraven, this train will take them to a place much darker than they imagined.

Even a seasoned pair of ghost hunters like Tess and Tobias didn't expect a witch like Old Mother Malgore—a witch who stalks the forests, silent as snowfall, hunting, hungering. When the train derails and the casualties climb, the Goodravens must bridge the gap between past and present tragedies if they have any chance of quieting the souls of the living, the dead, and the haunted.

In J. P. Hightman's richly woven story of ghosts and witchcraft, the simple is sinister, the dead stalk the living, and the only real weapon is love.

I heart you, You haunt me by Lisa Schroeder (paperback)

From Amazon:

Girl meets boy.

Girl loses boy.

Girl gets boy back...

...sort of.

Ava can't see him or touch him, unless she's dreaming. She can't hear hisvoice, except for the faint whispers in her mind. Most would think she'scrazy, but she knows he's here.

Jackson. The boy Ava thought she'd spend the rest of her life with. He's back from the dead, as proof that love truly knows no bounds.

Leap Books Halloween Exclusive Reads

My publisher is having a cool promotion that blends Teen Read Week with Halloween. Enjoy two free reads by YA paranormal authors, Kitty Keswick - and me, under my pen name, Judith Graves.

They're spooky, fun, romantic reads, just for you!

My story, Old Flames Die Hard, features characters that also appear in my debut novel, Under My Skin (March 27, 2010). It's kind of cool to know a smidge about the paranormal activity in the small town of Redgrave - before you really get dumped in it when you ready UMS. Cause you're gonna read it, right? ;)

Anyway, here's the official press release:

To Carve or Not to Carve...Pumpkin Carving Tips

I don't know about you, but I love carving pumpkins. The smell that erupts from a pumpkin when you take off the top, the goo inside that stains your hands orange. There is nothing like it. I thought today I would give some pumpkin carving tips that I keep in mind as I carve each year. Remember, you're never too old to carve a pumpkin!

1. When picking your pumpkin, make sure to find one that doesn't have any cuts or bruises. These two issues can cause molding/drying out/becoming mushy. Also, make sure it is a good shape, one with at least one side good for carving. One of the things I find important is the stem. I love a pumpkin with a good stem that makes it easy to carve and also take the top off by.

2. One of the things people don't think to do is wipe your pumpkin clean. It's easier to tell what is the best side to carve, avoiding all imperfections. Make sure to dry it off once it looks clean.

3. When cutting the "lid" of the pumpkin, make sure to cut in slanted so that the lid will be able to sit in the pumpkin. A secret I usually do is to cut a notch so that you know how the lid fits back on.

4. Here's the gooey part. You can use just about anything to scoop out the seeds and strings, but the best thing I've found it an ice cream scoop. This leaves the inside of your pumpkin super clean without any of the stringiness that tends to make carving harder and can even catching on fire (if you use traditional candles).

5. I usually separate the cleaner seeds (and I also clean them in a colander and blot them dry) and put them on a cookie sheet. I salt the seeds (garlic salt or seasoning salt is good too) and then put them in the oven (at 250-275F) until they are starting to turn golden. It usually takes about an hour and make sure to turn them over a few times.

6. Now that you have a sparkly clean pumpkin, inside and out, you get to carve it! I usually search Google for patterns. You can find a ton of great free ones and will make your pumpkin look like it was carved by a professional.

Just print it out on your home printer, slit the corners and tape it to your pumpkin. To "trace" the pattern to your pumpkin, use a toothpick or something of the sort (closed scissors that come to a point work or even sharper tweesers) to make little holes/marks along the parts you want to carve. Make sure you make enough that you can see the pattern once you untape the paper from your pumpkin. Once you're sure you'll be able to see it, take the paper off and keep it near you to verify as you go. They make many tools that are kid friendly to make the actual cuts. If you are an adult and feel comfortable, a semi dull knife (but sharper than a butter knife) will cut into the pumpkin smoothly. Small, even, slow cuts should get the job done. If you rush it, especially when the shapes get very close, the pumpkin skin can collapes. If this happens, and a piece that is important to you design starts to come out or is totally detached, you can reattach with a toothpick inside. It won't be as good as new, but at least people will still be able to see what your design is all about.

7. This is the most important part of the whole process, make sure to have fun. We usually put newspaper down on the dining room table where we can see the TV and watch a scary movie. It will get you in the Halloween spirit!

8. Remember not to put your pumpkin out or even carve too early, or it will dry out (or if you live somewhere moist, will mold). Dusk is a great time to get a good picture of your little beauty! I'll try and take some pictures of my pumpkin this year to share with you all next week!

Make Your Own Monster Mash Video

Speaking of our favourite horror flicks and classic monsters, why not create your own ghoulish flick starring you and your friends? That's right - you can star in your own Monster Mash video!

Thanks to the amazing artists at jibjab.com, getting into the spirit of the Halloween season is just that much groovier. Choose the video that suits your mood, upload pics of your choice (works best with close face shots) and in minutes you and your friends can be rattling your bones in an awesome Halloween video.

Go to JibJab now to get started.

There are also tons of other theme related videos and ecards to create at this site, you might want to become a registered member to access them all.

Enjoy!

Movies to get you in the Halloween mood

Horror films are always a favorite on my household, regardless of time of year. I thought I would share some of our favorites we recently watched to get you into the Halloween mood.


The Birds

Summary from Amazon.com:

The Birds follows a chic blonde, Melanie Daniels (Tippi Hedren), as she travels to the coastal town of Bodega Bay to hook up with a rugged fellow (Rod Taylor) she's only just met. Before long the town is attacked by marauding birds, and Hitchcock's skill at staging action is brought to the fore.

My thoughts:

The Birds is one of Alfred Hitchcock's greatest. After watching this movie, you will feel chills down down your spine and duck every time you hear crows cawing in the trees. The acting is pretty good, with Jessica Tandy leading the way. The effects is way above it's time, and despite the ending falling someone flat (at least for me but I don't want to give it away), the dvd version includes the script to an alternate ending which is fun to read. This old classic is a perfect movie to watch during the Fall and Halloween season.



Psycho

Summary from Amazon.com:

Alfred Hitchcock's landmark masterpiece of the macabre stars Anthony Perkins as the troubled Norman Bates, whose old dark house and adjoining motel are not the place to spend a quiet evening. No one knows that better than Marion Crane (Janet Leigh), the ill-fated traveler whose journey ends in the notorious "shower scene." First a private detective, then Marion's sister (Vera Miles) searches for her, the horror and the suspense mount to a terrifying climax where the mysterious killer is finally revealed.

My thoughts: Sticking with the Hitchcock theme, Psycho should always be on the top of your horror list. If you haven't seen Psycho in awhile, make sure to run out and rent it (and please do not even THINK of renting the 1998 version). If you don't think The Birds is Hitchcock's best, than Psycho has to be up there. All around classic.



Dracula

Summary from Amazon.com:

It gets off to an atmospheric start, as we meet Count Dracula in his shadowy castle in Transylvania, superbly captured by the great cinematographer Karl Freund. Eventually Dracula and his blood-sucking devotee (Dwight Frye, in one of the cinema's truly mad performances) meet their match in a vampire-hunter called Van Helsing (Edward Van Sloan). If the later sections of the film are undeniably stage bound and a tad creaky, Dracula nevertheless casts a spell, thanks to Lugosi's creepily lugubrious manner and the eerie silences of Browning's directing style.

My thoughts: I haven't seen this one in awhile but when I think of Halloween, I think of the great Universal monsters. Dracula is just that and with Bela Lugosi, it can't get any better. Bela one of the best at what he did, his career should have been bigger than it was if not for people type casting due to his nationality.


Frankenstein

Summary from Amazon.com:

"It's alive! Alive!" shouts Colin Clive's triumphant Dr. Frankenstein as electricity buzzes over the hulking body of a revived corpse. "In the name of God now I know what it's like to be God!" For years unheard, this line has been restored, along with the legendary scene of the childlike monster tossing a little girl into a lake, in James Whale's Frankenstein, one of the most famous and influential horror movies ever made. Coming off the tremendous success of Dracula, Universal assigned sophomore director Whale to helm an adaptation of Mary Shelley's famous novel with Bela Lugosi as the monster. When Lugosi declined the role, Whale cast the largely unknown character actor Boris Karloff and together with makeup designer Jack Pierce they created the most memorable monster in movie history: a towering, lumbering creature with sunken eyes, a flat head, and a jagged scar running down his forehead. Whale and Karloff made this mute, misunderstood brute, who has the brain of a madman (the most obvious of the many liberties taken with Shelley's story), the most pitiable freak of nature to stumble across the screen. Clive's Dr. Frankenstein is intense and twitchy and Dwight Frye set the standard for mad-scientist sidekicks as the wild-eyed hunchback assistant.

My thoughts: Bela Lugosi should have never turned this down, but he did which lead to Boris Karloff taking the role. If you're Bela Lugosi, that was a mistake, but for fans of horror films, it was a great move because it brought us Boris Karloff. For our younger readers, you may know Karloff as the narrator in the classic animated special How the Grinch Stole Christmas. If you don't know much about Boris Karloff, make sure to check out the list of his movies and tv appearances on IMDB.

Although these old movies don't have the flashiness of current films, most of them were way before their time in effects. If you don't think about the classics when browsing Netflix or whichever rental company you use, check it out for the next few weeks. Trust me, you won't be disappointed.

Winner of Shadowed Summer by Saundra Mitchell

Thanks for those who participated in the contest for a copy of Shadowed Summer by Saundra Mitchell. To pick the winner, I used a random number generator. I'm happy to announce, the winner is:

Gina

Gina, please email us at YAedge AT yahoo DOT com with your address so that I can have the book sent to you!

Watch for another contest next week to win free books!

Halloween Theme Party Tips

The main problem I see with Halloween parties is people try to do too much everything and the décor ends up looking like The Nightmare Before Christmas projectile vomited in your living room. Why not choose a specific ghoulish theme and really dig into a set genre? Once you do, you’ll be surprised at how a single idea can branch out in so many unexpected ways.

Take the latest theme party I attended, hosted by my most amazing friends. They’re particular, they love details, and they throw one hell of party. Our last theme night was all paranormalville (for details see my post as Judith Graves on the Wolfy Chicks Blog), this time, the party theme was magic. DISCLAMER: No offence intended to those who practice the craft – this was purely a night to celebrate magical stereotypes and popular culture.

Witchy Woman by the Eagles was playing in background as guests arrived. Tip #1. A theme soundtrack is a must!



Black cats, green-skinned witches, caldrons, brooms and wizard wands were scattered around the house. Bookcases were transformed into the shelves of a mystical apocothery and a library of magical spell books and grimoires. Tip #2: Stash your “non-theme” related stuff in a spare room so your Star Wars figurine collection doesn’t stifle the mood. Unless you’re having a SW theme party, of course. ;)

To dine, the menu featured: Dead Man’s Toes (chicken fingers), Bat Wings (chicken wings), Fungus Cubes (cheese cubes), Pickled Brains (pickled cauliflower), Entrails Dip (salsa for taco chips). For dessert: Death Brownies (lol…not magic brownies!) and Graveyard Grahams (graham square cookies with chocolate icing, a cookie tombstone and green-dye coconut grass). For more ideas on gravely good desserts go here, because they have pictures – and I can’t make a recipe work without pictures.

No party is complete without mood lighting and a few games. We played Harry Potter Scene It?, had a crazy-funny tarot card reading from Madame Esmeralda (we called her “Ezzy”), a little 5 in 10 (eg. Name 5 famous witches in 10 seconds), movie quotes from witchy/magical films (eg. “I’ll get you, my pretty! And your little dog, too.”) and my favourite game – name that tune (play the first 10 seconds of theme related songs: I Put a Spell on You, Bewitched TV theme song, Abracadabra, etc). Tip #3: Put a little effort into theme games, be creative and never try to bob for apples after a few sips of Essence of Dragon’s Blood brew.

Tip #4: This Halloween, have a zombie theme (the walking dead are all the rage this year), a twisted fairytale theme, a Rest in Peace – graveyard theme, a shapeshifter theme – but make your party one of legend – get focused. For added fun, check out the cool Halloween candy at The Candy Warehouse. The black candy selection looks hauntingly delicious. And now I think I have to get my hands on a copy of Saundra Mitchell's YA ghost story, Shadowed Summer. Looks like an awesome read!