October Things (Sung to the tune of My Favorite Things)
Pumpkins on porches and black cats on ladders,
Mummies and werewolves and spiders and adders,
Chocolate, presents and World Series rings,
These are a few of my October things!
When the muse leaves, when the NO! stings,
When I’m feeling sad,
I simply remember my October things,
And then I don’t feeeeeeeel so bad!
Yay, October! How can you not celebrate candy and creepy stuff, baseball and birthdays? Well, you simply can’t. Which is why for each of my October things, I’m having a giveaway!
First up, we’ll celebrate all things spooky and speculative! I love to write twisted, macabre tales and if I could write them like Neil Gaiman, I’d be rich, rich, rich! Alas, I cannot. But I can learn from a master storyteller, which is why I read his books. Fortunately for you, I have a copy of Mr. Gaiman’s, M is for Magic, a collection of tales to chill and amuse the young reader.
Unfortunately, it is not autographed. I purchased it so Neil (as his friends call him) could sign it when he was here last year for a visit. But I had to leave. Which, now that I think of it, may be fortunate for you. I probably wouldn’t give away an autographed copy of M is for Magic.
Just keeping it real, folks. Anyway, I am giving away his lovely, albeit unautographed book during the October Things Giveaway! And I’ll throw in a delicious chocolate bar, too! All you have to do to win is leave a comment! Tell me who your favorite mystery or horror writer is, and oh! I’d love a reading recommendation. I’m always looking for a good, creepy story during October!
And if you spread the word, on Twitter or Facebook or your very own blog, let me know, and I’ll give you an extra entry for each shout out. Oh, oh! And if you’re not a follower and sign up, I’ll give you an extra entry for that, too.
So, off you go! Fly, my little pretties, and bring me back a good book to read! (But do so by the 8th. I’ll be drawing the winner on Finding Something Friday next week!)
P.S. Is it just me or does there seem to be a totally inordinate number of exclamation points in this post? I’m just so freakin’ excited!!!! October! Yay!
Cathy C. Hall Writes 
I LOVE your poem — that would be perfect for Writer's Digest or one of those magazines. Happy October!
I think I like your version of the song better! :)STILL MISSING by Chevy Stephens is terrifying on a number of levels. Lisa Gardner's stand alone novels are really good. Love the Monkeewrench series by PJ Tracy. And for pure horror and creepiness you can't go wrong with CUJO by Stephen King. (I scared myself just thinking about that one!)
Why, thank you, Anita! Maybe next spring I'll send it out for a fall market!And thanks, Madeline, for all the creepy recs! I read CUJO back in the day, and scared myself silly. (I'm starting a list and will add your authors/titles now.)
October birthday?? Is your birthday this month? That's what I'm the most interested in!! 🙂
Then I will tell you, Becky-Yes! My birthday's this month! Wheeeeee! Mostly. 🙂
Well, you know already I love Stephen King for horror. He's my fave. Graham Masterton writers some seriously creepy stuff, too. 🙂
You, funny lady, a horror writer? I made an attempt once, surprised myself and won a contest. If you care to read it, it's a short-short about an experience I had with rats, but I fictionalized it. eww! email me at billin7@yahoo.com
Thanks, Lisa. Masterson sounds familiar…I wonder if I read a short story by him?And, Linda, my horror is usually funny, but I have been known to scare myself. Like writing something and saying, "Where did THAT come from?"Ooooooooooooo. :-)P.S. You'll be hearing from me!
What a fun poem, Cathy! I love it. That tune is a definite earworm!As for scary writers, Stephen King's The Shining really freaked me out as a teenager. Still Missing, that Madeline recommended above is multi-layered creepy too. Seeing myself in the mirror every morning is scary enough for me…so I don't read much horror these days. 🙂
Well, I'd love to win the book (not to mention the chocolate) but I'm not a big horror fan. Suspense, now that's another story. So here's my recommendation for you: "Promise Me" or "The Woods" by Harlan Coben. You won't be able to put it down. Enjoy!
Love your poem.Chocolate and books. Yum. Throw in some wine and you have my three favorite vices. Wait. I'm getting carried away. This isn't about me. Hmmm. Scary book. This summer I read "Running from the Devil" by Jamie Freveletti. It was good and scary and I think it won an award.And I really like just about anything Tess Gerritsen writes.Donna V.http://donnasbookpub.blogspot.com
Ooooh, Stacy, The Shining scared me to death! (Or at least kept me away from big, empty chalets in the winter!)Deb, I'll try Harlan Coben-I've heard he's masterful. P.S. Neil's stories aren't too scary ;-)And Donna, I'm beginning to think my mom had a love child-I'm right there with you, sister! :-)And Tess Gerritsen, I really like her, too. (But then, that's not a surprise, huh?;-)
Chocolate? And books? I'm here!I don't read a lot in the mystery genre. I do have a favorite classic mystery–Daughter of Time by Josephine Tey. It's about contemporary detective researching Richard III.For an additional, creepy recommendation, I suggest John Connolly's The Book of Lost Things. It reminded me a lot of the movie Pan's Labyrinth. (If I win that chocolate, be sure to put it in a ziplock bag. I had some chocolate mailed here when it was over 100-degrees last week. Um… yeah.)
It's propbably a good idea to wrap chocolate no matter who wins-wouldn't want Neil to turn into a gooey mess.And thanks for the book rec- I think I tried to check out The Book of Lost Things and there was a looong wait. I shall try, try again!
My favorite mystery writer is actually for adult books — Nevada Barr. Her books are based in National Parks which touches the nature lover in me.
I'm a big fan of Stephen King. That and just about anything written in the AJC…scary stuff.
Jo, I love those kinds of mysteries where you end up learning tons about a subject (like National Parks!). Thanks!Oh, Anon, you know what they say about truth being weirder than fiction. 🙂
I'm here for the chocolate. 😉