Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Spooked

Happy Tuesday everyone! Thankfully, this morning is going a bit smoother than the past few weeks, thanks in large part to a healthy dose of Elmo blaring on the television. And good thing, since I'm so excited to talk about Tracy's latest book: A BREATH OF MAGIC!

I absolutely loved the fun combination of romance, magic and plot twists in her first two books, so I'm betting that I'll eat up her latest. It's hard to believe that in the short time we've all been blogging together, some of us have two books out already, and now...a third! It seems that publishing truly is a roller coaster--it might take a long time to get up the hill, but once the ride starts, it just keeps going!

For her release week, Tracy has chosen the topic of all things paranormal/mystical/spiritual. This is perfect since I'm in the middle of writing a proposal for a spooky ghost story set on my college alma mater's campus. I've always loved scary movies, and routinely creep myself out by watching all the ghost documentaries and shows on television like A Haunting, Paranormal State, Haunted History and Ghost Hunters. Of course, I usually end up screwing my eyes shut at night and trying not to think about any suspicious noises! In fact, when I told my husband about this book, he gave me a quick side-eye and asked if I'd have to start sleeping with the lights on after all my research!

And Chicago is the perfect place to enjoy ghost stories. There is so much haunted lore and reported paranormal sightings each year, this writer has inspiration all around her! In fact, last year, some friends and I went on a ghost tour of the city. We rode around in a school bus and stopped at a few locations while actual paranormal investigators talked about the history of each locale. At one spot--Jane Addams Hull House--the stories were so creepy, my friend refused to get off the bus. I, of course, loved it!

My enjoyment of all things spooky was present even as a child. My birthday is the week before Halloween, and every year I'd have a slumber party with my friends. We'd go to a Haunted House and then watch scary movies until dawn, creeping each other out when we heard tree branches scraping against the window panes or a floorboard creak in my parents' 100 year old house.

So, fellow readers, what creeps you out?

Make sure you comment this week, to be entered to win a signed copy of A BREATH OF MAGIC! Also make sure you pop over to Tracy's website for more contest goodness, including Borders gift cards and a reading with a Clairvoyant! Pretty cool, huh? And for more fun, be sure to check out Tracy's interview with the Examiner here!

5 comments:

Van Pham said...

What creeps me out?
- Spiders, Lizards, and ghost stories

Van
Littopandaxpress(at)yahoo(dot)com

Tracy Madison said...

Aw, great post, Maureen. Thanks! As to what creeps me out? Sitting with my back to a room full of people, snakes, and driving on really, really busy highways that have 4 or more lanes.

Yes, seriously.

donnas said...

Great post. Thanks!

The creepiest thing to me is spiders. They just make my skin crawl.

Anonymous said...

What creeps me out?...um, what doesn't creep me out? LOL. Lets see. There are spiders { all shapes and sizes }, scarecrows, scuba divers swiming beneath me at the springs. Semi-trucks driving by the vehicle I am in. People staring at me for more then 3 seconds. Birds! Gah, I hate them.

CSlater said...

Spiders. I do not like spiders.