Tuesday, October 29, 2013

A Short Story: A Haunting First Date

Six years ago, D and I went on our first date. I had no idea our first date would lead to many many more! (Seriously, I thought he was kinda a goober, but I guess he grew on me :) Since it's so close to Halloween I thought I would write a short (ish) story! Don't worry, our first date wasn't nearly this terrifying.  Enjoy! Oh and Stella and Ricky? They might make appearances in future short stories. 

And to my wonderful husband--I am so happy you are always there to hold my hand through the happy times and the more scary times in our life. Thanks for being my stone ;)




I stood there shifting back and force trying to get warmth back into my legs. Standing here in the cold with my new boots I hadn’t worn in yet was a bad idea and this walking tour hadn’t even started yet. Awkwardly, I looked around, wishing I had agreed to Ricky picking me up. Our first date. A date I had been looking forward to when six months ago he opened his store two doors down from my bookstore. 

I stood in Collie Mansion in one of the oldest parts of town, waiting for a tour to start. It was two days before Halloween and this was supposed to be the most haunted part of the town. Also, rich with history and I was banking on the history part rather than the haunting part. I did not do scary movies, let alone haunted mansions. Nope. Nope. Nope. But I was happy Ricky had finally asked me out on this date and I was going to say yes no matter what. Even if I had made a fool of myself as I freaked myself out. It would be worth it. Hopefully.

While I waited for Ricky, I stared up at the huge mansion. I wasn’t too familiar with the story. It was apparently owned by a Croatian family who had decided to steer away from their Illinois based home and moved west in hope to find gold. They ended up here instead and well….they never found gold. They made their money in various ways and I doubted they were all legal means of entrepreneurship.

The house loomed over me; hidden in the last of the sun, turning the gray stone into a deep purple. It was a huge structure, with tales of it having over fifteen bedrooms and twice as many rooms for entertaining purposes. Each window had a light in it, an old-fashioned candle flickering in the thick paned glass, an eerie darkness behind the small light. The uppermost window was in a tower type room, a turret I think they called it. A light in the window flickered feverishly, like a wind was blowing it out and it was struggling to survive. I was transfixed by the flame, slightly confused. The rest of the lights looked like the fake plastic candles, but this one looked real, even so far away. I saw a dash of white for only a split second and felt someone grabbing my shoulder. I screamed and spun around, ready to attack to only see Ricky holding up his hands and a look of surprise mixed with laughter. “I am so sorry Stella! I didn’t mean to scare you. I tried calling your name a few times but you didn’t answer.” My breathing resumed a normal pace as my nerves settled.

I hadn’t said anything yet. “Are you ok?” Ricky asked me as he gently placed a hand on my shoulder. His touch on my arm brought me back to my senses.

“mmhmm” I said tight lipped. Doubts crept in about whether or not this was a good idea. 

Ricky smiled at me and grabbed my hand as we walked up front to the guide who was already making his way into the house. We were the last in the crowd to pass over the threshold and as soon as we passed over the doorway, I felt a cold tingle attach itself on the back of my neck, making me shiver.

Ricky this time didn’t say anything but looked over to me, gave me a reassuring smile, and grabbed my hand. My attention went back to the guide as he told us the story of the Collie Mansion,

“Alright everyone, before we start going through the house lets give you a brief history about the Collie Mansion  Andro and Mirna Collie moved to this town around 1890, trying to make money by finding gold in the mines nearby. They lived in a smaller house closer to the center of town ,but they found gambling and opium to be a better money making business. Only a year after moving here, they started construction on this house. At the time Mirna was pregnant with their daughter Brigita. The house took over two years to build and the family moved in shortly after. The extra rooms only helped their illegal businesses, as they entertained high profile people from all over the state.

Years went on and the family started to turn their more lucid dealings into legitimate business as they grew their empire. Soon they owned a large part of the town around the time their daughter, Brigita, was about sixteen. One of the businessmen Andro Collie dealt with was from New York and at the time twenty-one. They say the exact moment this businessman, Paul was his name, and Brigita saw each other it was love at first sight. He was five years older than her but they didn’t care. Her parent’s did care and were against it. Brigita and Paul had a secret love affair every time Paul came into town and soon she found herself pregnant with his child.

Mirna Collie, very much the lady of the house, was livid and forbid Brigita to ever see Paul again. The family had an image to live up to so they locked Brigita in the tower room through her pregnancy. They had decided they would pass off the baby as a distant cousin’s, saying the cousin had died during childbirth and they were raising the baby. Andro cut all ties with Paul and Brigita went into a deep depression.

Locked up in her room, Brigita threatened to kill herself if she never got to see Paul again, but Mirna made sure that was not possible. Brigita eventually gave birth to a baby boy who she named Jeremy. But even after having the baby, Mirna still didn’t let Brigita out of her tower room, instead taking the baby and limiting the time she got to hold her child. Brigita went crazy; screaming at all hours, voicing her hatred for her mother. One day a servant went up to give Brigita her dinner. Brigita stabbed the servant with a piece of wood she had broken off her bed, ran downstairs and then killed her mother with the same piece of jagged wood. Her father came into the room, seeing his wife surronded by blood, and demanded Brigita to tell him what happened. Brigita, in a rage, took the wood and told her dad he would have to live with her son and tell him why his mother and grandmother were dead, then proceeding to kill herself.

The empire Andro Collie made, quickly fell apart. Paul eventually came back and took the young boy away from Andro. Soon Andro had no one and joined his wife and daughter by taking his own life, some say with the same piece of wood his daughter used. They say all three of them still haunt this mansion, Brigita forever stuck in the tower room.”

Holy shit. What a tragic and screwed up family. The tour guide started to talk again, moving the group along but I felt a tug on my arm. I slightly freaked out, the story still running through my head, to turn and see Ricky had pulled me aside.

“Let’s see if we can get up there.”

Uhhhhh

“What?”

“Yeah..let’s see if we can get up into that tower room. “

My eyes widen. Was he serious? There was no way you were getting me up to that room filled with an angry teen girl of a ghost. Teen girls were already terrifying, no need to add the dead part to it. But before I had time to answer, Ricky was already dragging me up the stairs, simply stepping over the velvet-lined rope blocking our path. I couldn't believe I was doing this. My heart started to race and the house was drenched in darkness. 

We hit the second floor but Ricky kept going and found the spiraled stone encased staircase leading up the tower room. The farther up the stairs we went, the deeper the fear set in. I was in no way possible a daring person. This was not something you would ever find me doing. Ever. Yet here I was, following Ricky on our first date into a haunted secluded room. I was insane.

We reached the top of the stairs; the large wooden door loomed in front of us.
“You think it’s that simple.” Ricky asked me as he pushed the door open.

“I guess so.” I barely answered. We stepped into the circular room. It was a bizarre mix, like be thrown back in time. The stonewalls had a medieval vibe but the décor was mid 1970s. The small metal bed had an orange and green crocheted bedspread on it, the layer of dust visible even from the door. A poster of Neil Diamond was tapped on the wall, one corner hanging down covering half his face.

“Odd...” Ricky said as we walked further into the room. “But I think spirit free.” Ricky turned around and moved his arms around me, his hands wrapping around my waist and settling on my lower back. “I might have had a different motive besides trying to find ghosts.”

I raised an eyebrow. If I focused on the hot man in front of me, I was less likely to freak myself out about the potential angry ghost. “What was the motive then?” I asked Ricky

He smiled. And oh that smile. “This.” Then he was kissing me and what a kiss it was. After a few heavy moments of kissing he broke apart from me and said, “I have wanted to do that since I met you in your bookstore Stella.” I smiled shyly as Ricky traced kisses up my neck. I glanced over to the small bed, my thoughts distracted by the man in front of me when I caught a glimpse of something white.

As I focused more on the bed I saw a women with curly black hair on her knees on the side of the bed, acting like she was praying. My breath caught and the grip I had on Ricky tightened. He lifted his head and looked at me but I didn’t see his eyes because mine were stuck on the women. Her head lifted and her face was white, her eyes black as the hair that curled around her head. Ricky turned his head around to see what I was looking at. His breath matched mine as it slowed. We were both transfixed by the women in front of us. Her hands clenched together but slightly transparent, though it looked like she clutched a very real blood red rosary in her tiny hands. This could only be Brigita, a daughter scorned.
Her obsidian holes that were her eyes connected with mine. I could hear in my mind the pacing of footsteps; suddenly the ghost of Brigita was in front of my face. 

Ricky no longer held me, flung to the side. I heard him hit the stone wall and a grunt but I couldn’t move my eyes away from the young woman. Fear filled every minuscule pore of my body and my heart was racing so fast I thought it would leap out of my chest.

Brigita didn’t open her mouth this time but in the deep hallows of my mind I heard, “You have to save him….my baby boy…..all I want to do is hold him. Why can’t I hold my baby boy?Where have you taken my baby boy? If my beloved was here, we would be a family but you awful wrench, you have ruined it all, taken away my family. I hate you.”

I couldn’t move a single muscle. My feet felt like the stone in the room, stuck to the ground, which was a pity when I saw in the women’s hand a jagged piece of wood, as real as the rosary I had seen only moments before. She lifted her hand and the sharpen piece of wood was caked in dried blood, the death of Brigita and her family forever embodied on the wooden stake. She held the stake up high above my head, ready to plunge into my body. The starry sky from the window behind Brigita leached through the ghostly pale form, a twisted version of the Milky Way. The light I had seen outside no longer glowed.

I glanced up to see the black holes of her eyes. I could only imagine the hurt and torture that would fill those eyes, the damaged soul of Brigita Collie. I saw her swing down the wooden stake and suddenly felt myself fly out of her path, hitting the stone floor with enough force to hear a crack in my arm. A heavy body was lying on top of me, but this one warm and breathing. Ricky rolled off me grabbing my hand and lifting me up. I clutched my right wrist close to me, pain radiating off in the same rhythm of my fast paced heartbeat. I looked over as Ricky pulled me out of the room to see Brigita gone but the wooden steak rolling around on the floor.

We rushed down the stairs and onto the second floor when Ricky abruptly stopped in front of me, causing me to crash into his back, bringing a whole new wave of pain to my wrist. I sucked in a breath and tightened my grip on his hand, leaning over him to see why we had stopped. In front of us was another form of a woman, this time her curly hair was gray and piled on top of her head.

This could only be the lady of the house. Mirna Collie. She stood there with her arms cradling something, but nothing was there. There was no baby in Mirna Collie’s arms. A small victory at this point. I have no idea what we would have done with a real life baby. The women looked past Ricky, staring at me.

Why me? Why were these women targeting me? The women glided towards me, like her feet weren’t even touching the ground. I heard her in my mind, just like I did with her daughter.

“I regret everything.” Her voice was like cold air, shrouding me in an icy blanket of sorrow.

And then she was gone. We both stood there, not sure what to do. It only took a split second and we were both on the move again, racing towards the stairs that brought us up here. We clomped down the old stone stairs, each step echoing through the stairwell. As we hit the bottom, we saw the guide bringing the group out of the house. We had somehow missed the whole tour.

The guide stopped and looked at us both. I was positive we were a sight to see. He smirked and said, “Looks like you two saw a ghost or something.” Then chuckled at his own joke, leaving us unable to respond.

Or something was right.


3 days later

I parked my car and locked the door as I walked the block to my bookstore. After our terrifying first date, Ricky was a gentleman and took me to the hospital to get my wrist set. I had fractured it when I landed on it but Ricky saved my life so I wasn’t too upset. Even after our date, he still asked me out again and I agreed ONLY if he never took me anywhere with angry spirits. He was quick to agree. I looked into my purse for my store keys. As I finally grabbed the keys and unlocked the door I heard a clinking against the window-lined door. That was weird, I didn’t have anything hanging from the inside of the door. I took the key from its lock and looked inside.

Hanging from the doorknob was Brigita Collie’s blood red rosary. 

 The End

Sunday, October 27, 2013

Book Review: Making Faces by Amy Harmon



Synopsis 
 Ambrose Young was beautiful. He was tall and muscular, with hair that touched his shoulders and eyes that burned right through you. The kind of beautiful that graced the covers of romance novels, and Fern Taylor would know. She'd been reading them since she was thirteen. But maybe because he was so beautiful he was never someone Fern thought she could have...until he wasn't beautiful anymore. Making Faces is the story of a small town where five young men go off to war, and only one comes back. It is the story of loss. Collective loss, individual loss, loss of beauty, loss of life, loss of identity. It is the tale of one girl's love for a broken boy, and a wounded warrior's love for an unremarkable girl. This is a story of friendship that overcomes heartache, heroism that defies the common definitions, and a modern tale of Beauty and the Beast, where we discover that there is a little beauty and a little beast in all of us.




 Review 

I fell in love with Amy Harmon's A Different Blue  earlier this year. So when I heard about this blog tour I immediately signed up, I don't even know if I knew what the book was about, I just trusted Harmon to deliver another stunning novel. And she did. Oh did she deliver a beautiful heart wrenching novel. Harmon doesn't just write a book, she takes a rainbow of emotion and paints them on paper in the prose of words strung together ever so eloquently. 


"Everybody is a main character to someone."


You can't help but fall in the depths of this story and feel for these characters, their story so well developed. That was one of the things I loved about this book. We got to see the whole story. Many books (and this isn't necessarily a bad thing) start after the "tragic" event, but Harmon takes the extra step and shows us the whole story, making it easier to connect to not only the love story but their pain and joy and strength. You feel apart of the story, not simply an outsider looking in. You feel like you're standing in the bakery late at night watching Ambrose and Fern interact. It really is a beautiful thing. 


"Then lost, because alone feels permanent, and lost can be found."


I would say one of the main reasons why I love Amy Harmon's book so much is because there always seem to be that extra something, she takes the extra step to illuminate a story and give it life. It's like looking at stained glass window in a church. You see it, but when the sun shines through it comes alive, the colors popping out and the scene playing out in front of you. That is what Amy Harmon does with her books, gives light where there is dark. 


"Maybe everyone represents a piece of the puzzle. We all fit together to create this experience we call life."

And lets talk about not only the heroism of Ambrose but that of Bailey. Bailey was a breath of fresh air as a character. There are side characters and then there is Bailey. More than a side character, but an integral part of this story, showing how anyone can be a hero. I loved the relationship of Fern and Bailey, the banter they had and the honest moments between them made me feel all the feels. As Ambrose comes back from war, they three of them together was fascinating to watch, how they pushed each other, dealing with the loss of so many things, people, and ideas. It takes a lot of courage, strength, and tears to deal with the loss of one dream, one life plan, and to learn to accept and strive in a new dream. But that new dream can be as rewarding and beautiful as one can ever hope. 


"There's a lot I don't understand....but not understanding is better than not believing." 

Amy Harmon is an author I will pick a book regardless because I know she has the talent to tell us such amazing stories. I hope you all pick up this book and enjoy it as much as I did!



Connect/Purchase

iTunes: COMING SOON 


About Amy Harmon 




 Amy Harmon knew at an early age that writing was something she wanted to do, and she divided her time between writing songs and stories as she grew. Having grown up in the middle of wheat fields without a television, with only her books and her siblings to entertain her, she developed a strong sense of what made a good story. Amy Harmon has been a motivational speaker, a grade school teacher, a junior high teacher, a home school mom, and a member of the Grammy Award winning Saints Unified Voices Choir, directed by Gladys Knight. She released a Christian Blues CD in 2007 called “What I Know” – also available on Amazon and wherever digital music is sold. She has written five novels, Running Barefoot, Slow Dance in Purgatory, Prom Night in Purgatory, the New York Times Bestseller, A Different Blue and coming October 20, Making Faces. Facebook | Goodreads | Twitter 





Blog Giveaway (OPEN INTERNATIONALLY) 
 1st Prize: · Kindle Paperwhite · $50 Amazon Gift Card · Signed set of all 5 of Amy Harmon’s books! 2nd Prize: · Signed copy of Making Faces · $25 Amazon Gift Card


 a Rafflecopter giveaway

Wednesday, October 16, 2013

Book Review: Beyond Fate by Heather Lyons


I am pleased as punch to share with you guys today my thoughts about Beyond Fate! And of course it is important to know I am saying this all from the view point as an esteemed Team Kellan member. Because I love my Kellan and was coming into this book fiercely devoted to him. Below you will find links and info about the blog tour, plus a giveaway. Make sure to enter! 

BEYOND FATE Synopsis:

There are always two sides to every story . . .

His whole life, Jonah Whitecomb has strove to meet everyone’s expectations of him: the perfect student, dutiful son, loyal twin, accomplished surfer, and powerful Magical. But behind his carefully composed façade hides the truth of how his family has fallen apart, leaving Jonah more often than not feeling adrift. To complicate matters, he fell in love long ago with a girl in his dreams, one he’s never told anyone about, including his twin brother.

Just when life seems its bleakest, Jonah discovers that Chloe is real. Wanting to finally reach out and grab happiness for himself, he embarks on a journey to track down the girl of his dreams, only to find that happy endings aren’t always guaranteed, the best laid out plans can go horribly awry, and sometimes, you have to simply let yourself go along for the ride.

* Beyond Fate is Jonah’s point-of-view of the events of A Matter of Fate, and is a companion novella.





Review

Heather Lyons weaves this story of not just Chloe and her journey, but also a tale of how love and family and Life can be the most wonderful and frustrating thing in the Worlds. This novella we get to see A Matter of Fate through Jonah's eyes and a glimpse into his life before moving to California. And damn if my heart wasn't torn into two after reading this. Because when you read this, knowing what Chloe went through, you see that this situation doesn't only affect Chloe, it turns the world upside down for many many people. One of these people is Jonah Whitecomb.

I'm overwhelmed by just how deeply engrained this girl is in my soul. I love her. Gods, I love her more than I've loved anyone else in my entire life. 

Oh Jonah. You fell in love with a girl you only knew in your dreams and seeing how everything played out made my heart swell in the love you feel for Chloe. At first, you didn't let anything stop you from getting to her, that was of course until your (amazing, wonderful, hot, please-just-hold-me) twin brother decided one day to talk to the girl of your dreams. Seeing that scene from Jonah's POV totally made me fist pump for Kellan. Don't Judge. But then I remembered how torn Jonah felt during this and how complicated the situation got. I was again pulled into a story of not only what twin I like better, but suddenly I was overcome with the emotion and knowing, at this point  in the story, one of these people was not going to win. One of these characters I had fallen in love with had the potential of not getting a HEA and I didn't know if I could deal with that. I felt like my heart was torn out. Because this love triangle is NOT a case of good/evil or picking the the right guy, it is three amazing people having to make really hard decisions and all I want to do is take these characters and give them a big hug and tell them it's all going to be okay. 

She is my siren, calling me home 

If you only take one thing away from novella, know this, Jonah is fierce in his loyalty for not only his true love, Chloe, but also for his brother. He is aware how hard this is for everyone, showing a quality of selflessness that is admirable. With that said, you also see how he loves Chloe and will fight for her no matter what. He won't give up. In the other books, you saw this from Kellan, maybe one of the reasons I also leaned towards him, but it is not different for Jonah if not even more intense. Jonah just doesn't express himself the same as Kellan, something important to know. And you also see the similar qualities Jonah and Chloe share: guilt. These poor characters carry a lot of quilt and it sucks because it's not anyone's fault, it's what fate has thrown at them. Stupid Fate. I think I should officially be Team Screw Fate.

Love can inspire such wonderful blissful feelings, and then, once it's gone, the worst emotions possible. Depression, hopelessness, pain...two sides of a coin. And because love is so rare and precious, we risk his without question when ay day the rides could turn. 

In short, Jonah's story is a good one. No, it's a GREAT one that gives depth into an already amazing heart filled emotional story. 

And because I know how important music is to me and to Heather, I am sharing a song that reminded me of Beyond Fate. Mostly because there is one line in this song I just love and think of Jonah when I listen to it. 

Swoon by Big Deal
"You are a diamond that fits into my heart so easily."









Blog Tour Schedule:

October 9th

October 10th

October 11th
Simply Sarah’s Corner-Character Interview (Jonah)
Brianna Lee Book Reviews-Guest Post

October 12th

October 13th
YA Book Addict-Dream Cast
The Phantom Paragrapher-Review Only

October 14th
Reading the Alphabet-Author Interview
A Bookish Escape-Review Only

October 15th
The Last Chapter-Author Interview
Deal Sharing Aunt-Excerpt

October 16th
Strong Novels-Excerpt
The Road is You-Review Only

October 17th

October 18th
The Book Hookup-Review Only
Reading Rainblog-Guest Post

About Heather Lyons:

Heather Lyons has always had a thing for words—She’s been writing stories since she was a kid. In addition to writing, she’s also been an archaeologist and a teacher. Heather is a rabid music fan, as evidenced by her (mostly) music-centric blog, and she’s married to an even larger music snob. They’re happily raising three kids who are mini music fiends who love to read and be read to.

Links:


And don't miss this amazing giveaway!

Wednesday, October 9, 2013

The First Day of Fall

This is me, not doing homework, such is life...And for the full effect of this post, I suggest listening to the song below. 

Part two of our Weekend Away to Salt Lake. We didn't really have any concrete plans on Sunday so DJ decided to show me Ogden Canyon, a beautiful drive he had made before on a geology seminar trip a year or so ago. We decided to not only go up the canyon but to follow the Ogden Scenic Byway up through Bear Lake and Soda Springs on the way home, eliminating the freeway almost entirely (which I love, I will always always pick to go off the beaten path rather than the normal. This I is due to many family vacations where we always picked the path less traveled. Thank you Mom and Dad for that.) 

We stopped right below the lake up the canyon and went on a little hike. We saw a creek below and climbed down and tried to get some pictures. D and I were trying to get a picture of us together, I think we got one good one and the others? They are pretty funny. And D, of course, was like "you can never show them to anyone" hahah! I giggled about one of the pictures the whole way back to the car and for the rest of the day. The drive was amazing, it was so gorgeous and the fall colors were just starting to change.

The road led us up over a pass and you could all of the valleys around. I had the song "Montezuma" by Fleet Foxes playing. Here is a fun fact about myself. I used to do Choir in High School and College. I had a love for hymnal type music. I am not religious but man I love some church songs (like the really old ones you might sing in a huge gothic type cathedral church), sometimes I only go to Midnight Mass during Christmas time for the music. 


On that Sunday drive with the serene valleys below us, the cool wind rushing through the windows, and "Montezuma" by Fleet Foxes playing. That was my church, that was my time to take in life at its more simplest perfect moment. I felt a wave of emotion in the three and half minutes of this song.  I took this moment, wrapped it up and stored it away for when I would need it, when things are hard and I can remember the perfection of the moment and feeling of complete peace that moment brought. Because you never know when you will need strength in this life. When those moments truly come in handy. If you plan to read my book, you will find (crazy enough) my main character, June, and I share this view.

We drove up by Bear Lake, took some great pictures and had a nice dinner outside. I looked over to DJ and told him how much I loved this weekend. I felt very blessed. The time with D was much needed and it nice to just be, to not have to worry about anything. It was nice to get lost in the changing trees and disconnect. I am thankful for the weekend of serenity, as life moves on in its ever changing frantic

pace. Check out below for pictures!



                                      























Monday, October 7, 2013

The Last Day of Summer

There are two things in the world I love more than anything. And Two weeks ago (I know...why did this take me so long to post!?!?!) I got to do both things! It just so happened it was the last day of summer and first day of fall when we spent the weekend in Salt Lake. So today is a post about the last day of summer. Of course below is for your listening pleasure:) 


For my birthday in June I asked for two things: A headlamp (Hey, they are super handy when camping) and concert tickets of my choice. So I waited and stalked concerts in Boise and Salt Lake and then I found our Stars was playing in Salt Lake. I did a happy dance! Have I told you how much I love this band and have since 2007? Well, if not it's true. Their albums are ones you can listen to over and over again and they never get old. Each song is a masterpiece of artwork as they lyrically and musically create these stories that grip you right in the heart and don't let go. 

So really, it was a no brainer. Tickets were bought and hotel was reserved. I was excited but the weekend was actually pretty perfect. We got to Salt Lake in the afternoon, checked into our hotel, and walked around downtown looking at the different Non-Mormon Churches, grabbed some beer, had a great dinner and headed to the concert venue. All walking by the way which I love, sometimes this country girl envisions living in a big city.

Now the concert venue was super small, which is great and I love! The opening band was a group called Highs Highs.  I don't know how many concerts I go to and I never know who the opening band is or I do but kinda/not really. This time I was prepared. I looked up who they were before the concert and listened to their songs in order to be prepared. 






And I must say- the High Highs are pretty damn cool. Their music reminds me a bit of bands such as Washed Out or Beach House. They are from Australia and have an album out called Open Season. I wish I would have taken a picture of the set up they had but I loved it! The red lighting with the lit up microphone stands and the small setting seemed so intimate and their music has a similar feel, this intimate sound that lingers in your body even after the song ends. You can easily close your eyes and take in their music as in encompasses your emotions and senses. Their music has all of these tones and voices working together for this magical melody of harmony. Music to get lost in and sometimes getting lost is the best way to experience music. 


After a great set by the High Highs, Stars came out to play. I think I say this every time I go to a concert but this was easily one of the best concerts I have ever been too. There is just something about live music, it takes you in this cocoon of sounds and encompasses your whole body, you cant help but succumb to the sounds filtering through every pore of your mind and soul. The music is so much, so MUCH you can't think of anything else except of the music. All of your worries float away and the music settles into you as you find escape from the life you live. It is one of my most favorite feelings in the world. I have experienced such great joy when I am listening to live music,  pockets of perfection. 
They played all my favorite songs, I sang along and felt every emotion the song brought out. 

One of the encore songs was called My Favourite Book which I believe I have highlighted at some point on this blog, but they played this song acoustically and listening to this love song, sitting next to my husband who I love so much (and the three drinks I had probably) I was brought to tears. 






So overall- it was AMAZING. I loved it. I lived it. I felt it. 

Until Next time Stars and High Highs!! Can't wait till you come back to Salt Lake City! 


Tuesday, October 1, 2013

Cover Reveal: Ashes to Ashes by Karina Halle



Title: Ashes to Ashes
Series: Experiment in Terror #8
Author: Karina Halle
Release date: December 11, 2013
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17608219-ashes-to-ashes
Cover Designed by: Najla Qamber Designs (http://najlaqamberdesigns.com/)

Book Description:
It’s been two months since Perry Palomino and Dex Foray’s relationship reached a new turning point, two months since Perry started a new life in Seattle, and two months since their Experiment in Terror show took on a new partner, ex-Wine Babe Rebecca Sims, and a newfound level of success. But whenever there is light in their lives, the madness still has a way of coming back in.
When the team is sent back to the stormy Oregon coast to investigate a haunted school, Perry wants to use the opportunity to reconnect with her family and reintroduce Dex into their lives. Only Perry’s not the only one who’s reaching out – her grandmother Pippa has started appearing to her with disturbing warnings and Perry’s presence at the school has ignited a chilling new wave of supernatural phenomenon. Once used a century ago as a sanatorium to house children dying of tuberculosis, the school’s past residents are slowly coming back to life and with one thing on their mind: They want someone to play with, someone to join them. Forever.

Even when dead, some children get whatever they want.

And they want Perry.


A little about the Experiment in Terror series:
The Experiment and Terror series is a sexy and scary romantic series about the ghosts that haunt us and the ones that hold us back.

After filming a creepy experience in her uncle’s dilapidated lighthouse, 22-year old Perry Palomino becomes a YouTube and internet star overnight. She attracts the attention of Dex Foray, a producer and cameraman for a site that specializes in various webisodes, who convinces her to be a host for a low-budget ghost hunt­ing series. The only problem is, neither Perry nor Dex are entirely “with it” — I mean, they see ghosts, after all. And when the duo isn’t wrestling with the very notion of reality, they’re grappling with a working relationship that’s deepcut with sexual tension and the ongoing question of will they or won't they?



Book #1 (Darkhouse) is FREE on Amazon, Smashwords, and Nook.
LINKS to Darkhouse:
   






About the Author

Karina Halle is the USA Today Best Selling Author of The Artists Trilogy (On Every Street, Sins & Needles, Shooting Scars, and Bold Tricks) published by Hachette, the Experiment in Terror series, and The Devil's series published by Diversion.

The daughter of a Norwegian Viking and a Finnish Moomin, Karina Halle grew up in Vancouver, Canada with trolls and eternal darkness on the brain. This soon turned into a love of all things that go bump in the night and a rather sadistic appreciation for freaking people out. Like many of the flawed characters she writes, Karina never knew where to find herself and has dabbled in acting, make-up artistry, film production, screenwriting, photography, travel writing and music journalism. She eventually found herself in the pages of the very novels she wrote (if only she had looked there to begin with).

Karina holds a screenwriting degree from Vancouver Film School and a Bachelor of Journalism from TRU. Her travel writing, music reviews/interviews and photography have appeared in publications such as Consequence of Sound, Mxdwn and GoNomad Travel Guides. She currently lives on an island on the coast of British Columbia where she's preparing for the zombie apocalypse with her fiance and rescue pup.

Karina is represented by Scott Waxman of the Waxman Leavell Literary Agency

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