The most wonderful time of the year

I've always been a bit of a freak. Most kids love Christmas...not for me, thanks. Don't get me wrong, I loved getting presents that came with Christmas, but for me the best holiday of ALL TIME was (and still is) Halloween.

I love the freaky, creepy, scary and bizarre--a love I have proudly passed on to my daughter. (For her Sweet 16 she had very definite ideas: the theme was Not-So-Sweet Sixteen. We had skulls, tombstones, fakeblood, ghost pinatas, candles that dripped blood...it was AWESOME! Of course finding that sort of stuff in February wasn't easy. I'd been wiping out all the Halloween clearance stuff for months prior.)

Anyway...this time of year people are pulling out the horror flicks. As a freak child of the 80s I was big on horror flicks. (See my blog at www.donicacovey.com for the movie that won my STINKOID award.) And I thought I'd share some of them with y'all so that you can have ideas to fall back on if you're looking for a classic horror flick.

Back when I was a kid, I travelled alot with different groups: high school choir, church youth group, that sort of stuff. One of those trips found us being housed with people who were farmers. Corn farmers.

Now this wouldn't be a bad thing...not really...except...

Three days before the trip I'd gone to the movies and had seen this AWESOME Stephen King flick...Children of the Corn.



Now, at the time of seeing the movie I was sufficiently freaked out--not terror stricken--but freaked out.

Then I arrive at the house where I'm to spend the next several days. It's a lovely white clapboard home. Wrap around porch. Huge white barn. Perfect in everyway. Then I go into my room. There, out the window, is rows and rows and ROWS of corn stalks.
The window in the bathroom has a similar view.

Each night I swear there was a breeze and these people kept their windows open and their ac off. Listening to the breeze gently ripple through the corn didn't relax me...oh hell no! It triggered glimpses of the movie.

To this day whenever I see a cornfield I flash to that movie and for a split second the hair on the back of my neck lifts, and shivers trail down my spine.

So, if you're looking for a flick to freak your sense, might I suggest an evening with the Children?

Hugz!
Donica

Raising Awareness and Making A Difference with Michelle Houston

I know it is already a few days in to October, but I wanted to let everyone know, October is Domestic Violence Awareness month. (Visit: http://www.ncadv.org/ or http://dvam.vawnet.org/ for more information)

I have a spouse who treats me with love, support and affection. I am very fortunate in that regard. But I am very aware, due to close friends and family as well as the stories of strangers, that this is not always the case.

For the month of October, I will be donating a portion of my royalties from the sale of any of my Second Chance stories (DIGGIN' UP BONES, HER BEST MAN, A CHANCE OF PACE and A BID FOR LOVE) on the Phaze website to an area women's shelter.

This issue demands more of us than showing our purple ribbons. It demands that we help. And in this time of economic struggle, for many, that just isn't possible for them to give.

But a little bit here plus a little bit there times a thousand adds up quick.

So give where you can.

And if you want to take part in my donation, simply follow the links below.

You all helped greatly in August, with my conservation drive. We can do this together as well ...

Because Phaze gives us monthly stats, it is possible to see what titles sold during October to figure what I need to donate, which is the only reason I exclude Fictionwise and ARe from the factoring. It takes months to get a block or sales stats from them.

Let's make a difference together.

Michelle

All of the stories can be found on the series page:
http://www.king-cart.com/Phaze/product=Second+Chances+Series/exact_match=exact

Or individually at:

A BID FOR LOVE -- http://www.king-cart.com/Phaze/product=A+Bid+for+Love

A CHANGE OF PACE -- http://www.king-cart.com/Phaze/product=A+Change+of+Pace

DIGGIN' UP BONES -- http://www.king-cart.com/Phaze/product=Diggin

HER BEST MAN -- http://www.king-cart.com/Phaze/product=Her+Best+Man

What would you do?

Your life is currently in deep turmoil. You are stressed beyond stress and suddenly this Golden Opportunity pops up:

You can be whisked away from ALL your responsibilities. No housework, laundry, cooking, cleaning, kids, work, stress. All you have to do is eat, sleep and occasionally visit with friends or family. With the FULL support of your spouse and family.

Of course in all perfection there is a catch. In this case, there are a couple of catches. No Internet...No television...oh, yeah...you can't come home for ONE MONTH. 4 weeks of not wondering what to make for breakfast/lunch/dinner. 4 weeks of not doing laundry, or dishes. 4 weeks of no arguing with the hubby or the teenaged daughter. Of course that also means 4 weeks of sleeping alone in a bed not your own wihtout your hubby or your dog.

Would you go? Would you abandon EVERYTHING for one month of freedom? 4 weeks of being a kid again? Or would you let the fact that it IS a month prevent you from going?

What Would YOU Do?

hugz
Donica

Say what? New interview with Michelle Houston

The interview I did last month with Love Romance and More is now live. : )

http://loveromancesandmore.blogspot.com/

I hope that you learn something about me from it that you didn't know before. I know I always go into the interviews hoping for interesting questions, and something that provokes me to think about my answer.

Michelle Houston

The jaguar has been unleashed ...

Animal Attraction: Unleashing the Jaguar

Available now from Phaze, www.phaze.com

Michael found himself in the most awkward of situations. Trapped in his jaguar form as the newest inhabitant at a zoo, he has to figure out how to get free, without anyone finding out about his people’s existence, and without getting caught. When his ex shows up, Michael isn’t certain of allowing Danny to ride to the rescue is such a good idea, especially given how things between them ended. But if he wants to have a life beyond one trapped in his animal form, he has to take the chance of his feelings rekindling.

www.king-cart.com/Phaze/product=Unleashing+the+Jaguar/exact_match=exact

Also available in the Animal Attraction series are:
Taming the Wolf
Embracing the Leopard

Coming in December:
Caging the Tiger

Be sure to check out the post ‘Making A Difference with Michelle Houston’ to find out how buying a copy of any of the Animal Attraction books during the month of August will help with conservation efforts.

http://moauthors.blogspot.com/2009/07/help-make-difference-with-michelle.html

Help Make A Difference with Michelle Houston

I’ve always been a strong supporter of conservation efforts. With the hurry of back-to-school time, I can fully understand how people don’t have the time to volunteer and the money to donate.

So I am going to do it for you.

Here’s the deal. I will donate a portion of my royalties from the sale of any of my Animal Attraction titles purchased from the Phaze website (www.phaze.com) during the month of August to a conservation organization (local, national or international, depending upon the sales). That includes Unleashing the Jaguar, which comes out on the 10th. The reason I am selecting the Phase website only is because the stats are generated monthly, unlike the resellers which often report quarterly, so I can tell at the end of the month how many copies sold and thus what I need to send out.

The eligible titles are:
Taming the Wolf
Embracing the Leopard
Unleashing the Jaguar
(http://www.king-cart.com/Phaze/product=Michelle+Houston/exact_match=exact) or (http://www.king-cart.com/Phaze/product=Animal+Attractions)

You don’t have to email me any information. You don’t have to forward receipts. My sales stats will tell me everything I need to know. If you want to send along what you think of the stories, I am always appreciative of reader comments. : )

I understand that not everyone wants to read M/M stories, so I will be doing this sometime soon with my M/F works, once I decide upon a beneficiary.

If you want to make a further difference (or if M/M isn’t your cup of tea), all of the proceeds from the sale of anthology Coming Together: Al Fresco, edited by Alessia Brio and published by All Romance e-Books, are donated to Conservation International.
(http://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-comingtogetheralfresco-14361-166.html)

And if you email me a copy of your receipt for that title (minus you payment info of course), I will add a bit to my donation in recognition of that.

Any questions, feel free to contact me. And happy reading!

Michelle Houston
www.michellehouston.com

A fang-tastic good time!

I did a guest post at Fang-tastic Books today about writing in the paranormal genre.

Swing by and let me know what animal you would shift into and why, for a chance to win the title of your choice from my backlist and a kick-ass goody bag, now with even more stuff. (Pens, magnets, playful dice, and more ...)

http://fang-tasticbooks.blogspot.com/2009/07/join-guest-author-michelle-houston-for.html

While you're there, check out the 4.5 Fang review of BLOOD SLAVE. "Michelle Houston does a wonderful job creating compelling characters and situations with hot outcomes."