A Spooky First Friday With Your GLIAS Crew!

Welcome to October GLIAS friends! The crew and I are returning to the cliche' for this post, since it is the month of Halloween. No costume blogging, however. Instead, we want to know a little about the scary things in your life. Read on to find out what scared the GLIAS ladies early in their formative years, what scary things have happened to us, and what our favorite scary movies are.

Plus--stock up on our latest releases. Even if THEY don't happen to be very scary at all!

LIZBETH SELVIG

What were you scared of as a little kid?

I hated any kind of faces in the dark! Pictures of people on the walls, decorative masks, the idea of a face in the window, going past a mirror--all of it was terrifying to me! And the she-needs-a-therapist thing about that is, the fear is still with me. To this day I shield my eyes at night from mirrors or windows. And I always leave magazines flipped so that no faces on covers show, in case I happen to walk past them in a dimly lit room. So, so weird.

What’s the scariest thing that’s ever happened to you?

Nearly a mother's nightmare. My daughter at age sixteen was in a rollover car accident on a very snowy Minnesota night. She was not being careless, she was where we knew she was going to be and, once it started to storm, we'd called the father of the young man she was chauffeuring and told him to keep her there and we'd come get her. She never arrived, the boy's father called and said there'd been an accident, and his son was in the hospital but nobody knew where my daughter was. The utter panic for ten long minutes before she called was awful. Turned out the police had refused to let her ride in the ambulance with her friend, taken her to a nearby gas station and left her. (The anger over that is a different story.) I'm very happy to say that everyone involved was fine--except the 1994 Ford Explorer and daughter's glasses. Small prices to pay for a good end to my own potential horror story!

Horror movies and books—yes or no? If yes, what’s your favorite?

I am such a big no on this--at least for movies. I've never even read Stephen King. I so much don't like scary movies that I will totally let people tell me the endings so I know ahead of time (same with death movies--if a character I come to love dies, I am MAD!!). I have read a few scary books--Silence of the Lambs comes to mind. I deal better with the written words so, nope, I never did see the movie :-)

Check out my very UN-scary current books:  Betting on Paradise--the
fourth book in my Seven Brides for Seven Cowboys series. And then
pre-order my exciting new romantic suspense Missing By a Heartbeat. 

AVRIL TREMAYNE

What were you scared of as a little kid?

Something under the bed! Not helped by the fact that I was one of five practical joke playing children, and have twice checked under the bed only to actually find someone under there!

What’s the scariest thing that’s ever happened to you?

This is a bit of an Aussie thing, but when I was a kid, I was swimming at a Sydney beach with my sisters, and was swept out to sea in a rip. It happened so fast I don't have a real understanding of how it felt - only that the three of us were jumping over waves with a group of other kids, and at one point we said out loud that it was time to get out of the water because the waves were rough, and next second (it really was that fast) I was swept completely away with one of the other kids and he was hanging around my neck and dragging me under in terror. A friend of my father's (who was related to the other kid) jumped bravely into the rip to reach us and basically dragged us back to shore where we all collapsed from exhaustion not unlike a scene from a movie.  My mother was mid-meltdown, my sisters had been saved by two surfers, adults had been throwing themselves into the surf all over the beach to save everyone caught in that rip, but that other kid and I were the miracles.  

Horror movies and books—yes or no? If yes, what’s your favorite?

Not books so much, but movies...? Oh, yes! I love so many, but my two absolute favourites (also the scariest) are Italian director Dario Argento's Deep Red and Suspiria. These films also are the best illustration I can think of as to why I love horror films but don't really read horror - it's all in the colour saturation and the intensity of the visuals. Yowzer!  It's a toss up which movie is the more terrifying, but I can tell you that I sneaked into Suspiria (set in a ballet school - isn't that enough to whet the appetite?) as one of a group of underage teenagers, and one of us ended up on tranquilizers!

Check out my latest duet, which may not be horror stories but have nevertheless got a touch of Alfred Hitchcock in the Tippi Hedren complex that rates a mention in each of them - think the movie The Birds - sooo scary! (And I confess it is a complex I have myself!)

ANGI MORGAN

What were you scared of as a little kid?

Vampires. It was the time of Dark Shadows. Oh and black crawly bugs (STILL). My mom recently told me that we were in a house where they kept hearing things in the wall. Dad broke the wall open and out poured all these beetles. Yes, this really happened in front of me. No wonder I can’t watch The Mummy.

What’s the scariest thing that’s ever happened to you?

Being broken down in the middle of absolutely nowhere and having to hitchhike.

Horror movies and books—yes or no? If yes, what’s your favorite?

I read Stephen King’s The Shining–alone and in one sitting. By the end of the book I was buried in pillows and screaming at every creak. BUT…I have always laughed through horror/slasher movies. Come on, how many times can you watch someone leave the safe cabin and get picked off by the guy in the woods? Now…ghost stories. Different

thing. I love a good ghost movie.

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All Texas Ranger Jack MacKinnon has to do to is keep Megan Harper alive while they hunt down whoever's framing her for a fatal shooting. But the gorgeous intelligence analyst is too

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With a false murder rap and hit men gunning for her, Megan has no choice but to trust the cowboy-handsome lawman. She isn't used to playing it safe. Yet how can she let Jack put his career and life on the line? And how can they ignore the desire ratcheting up the stakes, tempting them to take one last risk before a killer erases their future?

PJ FIALA

What were you scared of as a little kid?  

Clowns.  I hate clowns.  So you can imagine that the IT movie that's out now is not one I'll be attending.

What’s the scariest thing that’s ever happened to you?   

See below.  **Shivvers**

Horror movies and books—yes or no? If yes, what’s your favorite?  No.  I made the mistake of going to a movie with a girlfriend once titled, The Grudge. Honestly, I didn't sleep for weeks afterwards.  And, it freaked me out so much that every time I saw a woman with long dark

hair afterward, I got the creeps. That was the last time I've watched a horror movie.

AMANDA McINTYRE

What were you scared of as a little kid?

We always lived in big old houses. Great and full of character when you're an adult. As a kid a fortress of rooms and closets and in general dark spaces. I saw the movie Wolfman with Michael Landon when I was little and that stuck with me. Maybe that's why I don't write

shapeshifters?

What’s the scariest thing that’s ever happened to you? 

My first visit to New Orleans was interesting & certainly memorable. Scary in terms of a what is possible and making a believer out of me that

there may exist a fine line between this world and the next. I was sharing a room at a writers conference  with friends. It was late , we were talking about the day and I got a phone call. Signal was bad, so I stepped into the empty hallway to see if I could call them back. As I'm dialing I walked a few feet down the hall past the bank of elevators to a short flight of steps that led to a suite. I sat down and heard something akin to elevator doors opening, then shortly thereafter the sound of a breathy sigh near my left ear. The hairs on my neck stand up even now as I speak of it. I sort of shook it off, telling myself it was the Hotel

Monteleone, and yeah everything in NOLA is haunted, right? Still, I got up and peeked around the corner and no one is at the elevator.  So, I sauntered back to the step, sat down to dial the person and again with the low-timbered sigh in my ear. At that point I stood-my insides screaming to stay calm as I walked back to the room ( you know that feeling if you turn around something will be there?) It was similar to that.  The next morning, my friend in the next bed asked if I'd gotten up in the middle of the night (no) because she saw someone standing between the two double beds (shiver across the shoulders).

Later that weekend, I had gone upstairs to pack while my friends were downstairs. I didn't have the TV on or anything and I'm busy laying things on the unmade bed when there is a knock at the door. Assuming its room service, I call out, " Just a minute!" Seconds later I walked to the door and looked through the peephole first-no one. Puzzled, I opened the door , looking down the long and very empty corridor and saw nobody. Now, it was not until later that I was reading the history of the hotel that I discovered the ghosts (friendly but mischievous) that haunt the hotel. I gained a new appreciation, respect and belief in such things after that experience.

Horror movies and books—yes or no? If yes, what’s your favorite?

I enjoy the thrill of the horror movie if done well and not meant to be so graphic that its more gore than horror.  I do think the term "horror" has changed by definition over the past decade or two--whats scary to me are the movies that play to your imagination. Some of my favorites include, The Sixth Sense, The Shining (w/Jack Nicholson), An American Werewolf in London (Rick Baker's special effects are amazing), Lost Boys (campy,  but good) , The Others, !408 (John Cusak),  The Skeleton Key , The Birds, --to name a few.

My latest release is a follow up story to my first Hell Yeah Kindle World for Sable Hunters Hell Yeah series. Set in and around New Orleans and its famous plantation row-it touches on the experiences I've had in New Orleans and how I've come to love that historic city!

 Thunderstruck 

exclusively at Amazon Kindle World)

Hurricane Season

In addition I am thrilled to be part of a special multi-author project soon to be revealed!!  It's a trek into a historical genre I've not written before and I have so enjoyed getting to know these amazing authors!  When the time is right-you all will be hearing about it right here at GLIAS!!  

Until next time-#kindnessmatters

Amanda ❤

REGAN WAKER

What were you scared of as a little kid?

Monsters appearing in my bedroom at night

What’s the scariest thing that’s ever happened to you?  

I imagined Dracula appeared in my room one night at the foot of my bed

Horror movies and books—yes or no?  

Cannot watch them. Cannot read them. My imagination is too vivid. They give me nightmares.

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JILLIAN STONE

What were you scared of as a little kid?  

I was a very impressionable child—witches, goblins, aliens—any creature that was the least bit scary on film or TV gave me nightmares. 

What’s the scariest thing that has ever happened to you? 

When I was in high school, my BFF and I took a space ship ride at an amusement park. After the ride was over, the freaky attendant let everyone else off and then slammed the door and chased us around inside the ship. We escaped though an emergency exit door and ran! (We also reported him.)

Horror movies or books—yes or no? If yes, what’s your favorite?

I enjoy novels that are inspired by real life events or books that are written as non-fiction accounts of something scary, like The Exorcist by William Peter Blatty or Communion by Whitley Strieber

The last good movie monster was the creature in Alien, which came out in 1979. How sad is that? Nowadays when I want a good scare I turn to zombie movies like 28 Days Later. I also find the survival aspect of

dystopian zombie tales inspiring or challenging—LOL!

NANCY ROBARDS THOMPSON

What were you scared of as a little kid?  

The show Dark Shadows was all the rage when I was a little kid. I had a love-hate relationship with it. I tuned in faithfully. I even had the Dark Shadows board game that came with a nifty set of glow-in-the-dark vampire fangs. However, at night I was terrified that a vampire would find its way to my room and bite me.  When I was six or seven, I went through a phase where I'd sleep with a little white cross under my pillow and a scarf around my neck. 

What’s the scariest thing that’s ever happened to you?  

My daughter and I were in a car accident. A woman plowed through a

stop sign and broadsided us. It happened so fast. It made me realize how life can turn on a dime.

Horror movies and books—yes or no? If yes, what’s your favorite? 

NO! NO! NO! But it hasn't always been a hard no - hence my Dark Shadows days. Until I was in middle school, I loved scary books and movies. But then I saw the movie the Exorcist and it felt like it damaged a part of my soul. That marked the end for me. I decided that I would much rather be able to walk around my house late at night without getting creeped out. Now, I go for the happily ever after. All books and movies must make me laugh or sigh or think happy thoughts.   

Speaking of happily ever after.... I have a new book! THE COWBOY WHO GOT AWAY hit the shelves on September 19. It's book 12 in my Celebration, TX series. Here's the back cover copy:

From homecoming crowns to wedding rings 
Hunky bull rider Jude Campbell seems to have the world by the proverbial horns. But when the world champion returns to Celebration for his high school reunion, he's confronted by the ghosts he'd worked so hard to forget. Not to mention the high school love who got away…

Bridezilla wrangler Juliette Lowell is as gorgeous and genuine as she was as Jude's homecoming queen. And the spark between them burns as bright as ever. But Jules still smarts from Jude's betrayal years before. And as successful as he seems, Jude's struggling with the prospect of hanging up his spurs. But with his queen, Juliette, by his side, maybe this homecoming will take once and for all…

KATHERINE GARBERA

What were you scared of as a little kid?

Snakes.  We lived on the edge of the Green Swamp in Florida and I had seen a snake once in our yard but in my mind they were always outside waiting for me. I would stand on our front porch and wait checking the grass before I’d feel brave enough to leave the house. One time I put my dad’s boots on and stomped around the yard for my younger sisters one of them yelling out “Dad’s with us.” so that snakes would know not to mess with us!

What’s the scariest thing that’s ever happened to you?

I can’t think of anything where I was really terrified.  A couple of parenting things like my son has asthma and when he was about 18 months old before it was diagnosed he was playing on our living room floor with his sister while I fixed dinner and I heard her say Lucas, stop doing that.  And then she called me over and he was struggling to breath.  His entire body (chest cavity, stomach) were heaving in and out and I almost freaked out.  But kept calm and got him into the car and to the emergency room. 

Horror movies and books—yes or no? If yes, what’s your favorite?

No! I’m not a bit into being scared.  I love Halloween, but more for the dressing up and the candy…okay, mostly for the candy since I just wear

a Halloween T-shirt and go as a “suburban mom” every year.

NAN DIXON 

What’s the scariest thing that’s ever happened to you?  

I was in a house fire when I was a sophomore

in college. Very old house. Middle of the night. Had to go out the window. The fire was so hot, the paint was melting off the window frame. Horrible. Everyone was safe except the kittens.

Horror movies and books—yes or no? If yes, what’s your favorite? 

NO. NO. NO. Nope. No way. (See answer to first question for reason why!)

EE BURKE 

What were you scared of as a little kid?

Santa Claus! OMG, I was terrified of the old man with a white beard at the store, and I resisted going to see him. He terrified me! I just wanted him to drop off those presents and get

What’s the scariest thing that’s ever happened to you?

I've had some bad things happen, but I wouldn't call them scary. Once, I played a practical joke on some friends and scared one so badly she peed her pants. Does that count?

These pictures are of my kids, who also love scary things and share my ghoulish sense of humor.

Horror movies and books—yes or no? If yes, what’s your favorite?

Oh my gosh, yes! I devoured (pardon the pun) Stephen King novels and loved to read Edgar Allen Poe to my friends during sleepovers. The Shining is probably still one of my favorites from King, and The TellTale Heart is the BEST for sleepovers.

Put a ticking clock under a blanket and get out the flashlight. Hehehe.

My current favorite movie is "It" based on Stephen King's novel of the same name. Pennywise, oh whoa. That clown is truly creepy!

Much as enjoyed horror movies and books, I'm an even bigger fan of historical romance. Here's my latest release, a box set special on The Bride Train. Only $2.99 for the whole set! Now that's not too scary, is it?

Amazon: http://bit.ly/BrideTrainZon

Apple: http://bit.ly/BrideTrainiBook

Kobo: http://bit.ly/BrideTrainKobo

Barnes & Noble: http://bit.ly/BrideTrainBN

So, friends, what do you think? Can you top our stories? Give it a try! We'd love to know what scares you--then and now!!