Saturday, October 1, 2022

It's October!

 


I love this time of year: the cooler weather, the colorful autumn leaves, pumpkins, even watching scary movies. It's also the time of year that I find myself in the mood for a good ghost story. Or any supernatural, spooky, or suspenseful book really. So, when I was at the library yesterday, here's what I checked out to read this month:

The Gates by John Connolly
Opium and Absinthe by Lydia Kang
Death and the Conjuror by Tom Mead
The Listening House by Mabel Seeley
Dark August by Katie Tallo
The Haunted Air by Paul F. Wilson
Fire Burn and Cauldron Bubble by H.P. Mallory
Curse the Day by Annabel Chase


I recently watched this fabulous movie about Marcel Marceau and the French Resistance during WWII: 

It's such a moving story! I didn't even know Marcel Marceau was Jewish. Or that he played a role in saving so many Jewish children. I highly recommend this movie!   


My sister and I started writing a ghost story last month on Kindle Vella and so far we've published the first four episodes.  Are any of you familiar with Kindle Vella? It's a site with serialized stories in every possible genre, and it's a lot of fun. The first three episodes of every Kindle Vella story are free to read. After that you have to buy tokens, but Kindle Vella gives first time users 200 free tokens, and if you want to buy 200 more tokens, it only costs about $1.99. (One token equals about 100 words, so most episodes would be between 10-20 tokens to read.) Anyway...if you want to check out our ghost story, here's the link: Ghosts of Grayhaven. We'll be posting a new episode every week through the end of the year. Plus, there's a dog! Be sure to give us a thumbs up if you like it. 👍


And here's one of my favorite John Atkinson cartoons...a very fitting one for this time of year:



Enjoy...and Happy Reading!

45 comments:

  1. Happy October! It's a brilliant day here in Southeast Texas. I love the John Atkinson cartoon and the horror movie plot generator. I haven't read your ghost story yet but I promise I will later today.

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    1. We're finally getting some cooler temps here in Utah...and even some rain last week. I do love autumn. And thanks for checking out Ghosts of Grayhaven. :D

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  2. It's so awesome that you have a story up on Kindle Vella. I'll definitely be checking it out! :D

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    1. Thanks, Ashley! Hope you have a great weekend. :D

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  3. I agree: yay for October! Looking forward to reading your story.

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  4. I couldn't agree more! I LOVE this time of year (and a scary read too). and how cool about your story! I'm going to go check it out. :)

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    1. This time of year is the best! And you should put some of your stuff on Kindle Vella; you're such a good writer.

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    2. Thank you! I LOVED your story by the way.

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    3. That means a lot coming from you. Thanks!

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    4. I got some tokens because I needed to keep reading :)

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    5. Yay! We'll be posting a new episode every Monday until it's done.

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  5. I have read Death and the Conjuror and loved it. That's exciting news about your ghost story! I'm looking forward to reading it as soon as I have time.

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    1. Thanks, Helen. I'm excited for Death and the Conjuror; your review is one of the reasons I want to read it so much. :D

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  6. What a lovely post. A gorgeous fall photo at the top and a very funny cartoon at the bottom.

    I have seen Kindle Vella on Amazon but was curious about what it was, how it worked. I was in IT (programming) before I retired, but some technical stuff on the internet like that still intimidates me. I will check it out and read some of your story. How exciting to be writing a story and in collaboration with someone else, which sounds hard.

    I am hoping to read The Listening House by Mabel Seeley this month, but I have some much I had planned to read, I don't know how I will fit it all in.

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    1. I know what you mean about trying to fit all the books in! And writing with my sister is making this Kindle Vella adventure easier...I wouldn't have tried to tackle it by myself. (I'm a bit of a technology chicken.) ;D

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  7. I knew those facts about Marceau, but I didn't know about this movie. Thanks for telling us about it-- I definitely want to see it!

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    1. It was so good! And also sad. But I really loved it.

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  8. I didn't know about that movie either, will keep an eye out. I've read The Gates by John Connolly, it's very good. He's probably my favourite writer and funnily enough I'm reading one of his at the moment, Charlie Parker book 14, A Time of Torment. October is probably my favourite month, I love it.

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    1. I need to read more of Connolly's Charlie Parker books. I really loved the first one.

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  9. Happy October! I'm going to have to watch that Marcel Marceau movie, it sounds really good.

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    1. It's a very good movie! Heartbreaking and wonderful at the same time.

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  10. Hi Lark, I have read the first four chapters of the Ghosts of Grayhaven and may I say that you and your sister have a real talent for fiction writing. I have already gotten more tokens so I can find out what happens next. I love short stories set in small isolated towns like Grayhaven and you describe the town so well with the old fashioned diner and the foods that are cooked there and the run down motel and the cemetery. And the characters Zeb and Mariah are so well drawn. They are very different and that's what makes for good chemistry and I want to know what happens next. Hopefully more stories are coming from you and your sister and congratulations on an excellent collaboration!

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    1. Thank you so much, Kathy! Your kind words really mean a lot to me. I'm so glad you read and liked the episodes we've put out; the next one is coming on Monday. :D

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  11. We've had cooler weather these last few days which has been amazing and it almost feels like fall here which I'm loving. The movie sounds amazing and definitely one I would really enjoy. And honestly just reading the horror movie plot generator gave me the creeps!

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    1. You could come up with some really spooky movies with that horror generator! I love John Atkinson's sense of humor. And I hope you get a chance to see the movie. It's really good.

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  12. Such a beautiful picture, Lark. Like you, autumn is my favourite season (as I said on my page) but I'm not a huge fan of horror movies. I'll have to see that movie, though, sounds great.

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    1. Resistance is a good one! And I don't watch a lot of horror movies any more, but every October I get a yen to watch one or two just for fun. :D

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  13. That Kindle Vella sounds exciting. Have fun with it!

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    1. Thank you! It has been fun writing with my sister.

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  14. I love this time of year too. I am so looking forward to it getting cooler soon here.

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    1. I hear you about the cooler temps! We had a run of 100+ days in September that was just awful.

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  15. I love this time of year too! That photo is gorgeous! How fun that you're writing ghost stories! I will definitely check them out.

    That horror movie generator is pretty funny. :)

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    1. Isn't that horror movie generator great? It makes me want to "spin the wheel" and see what story I can come up with for it. :D

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  16. Wow I plan to check out your ghost story. Sounds fun. I had not heard of Kindle Vella before. Thx for the info. Beautiful time of year, enjoy the nature!

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    1. Kindle Vella is a fun idea; I hope you get a chance to check it out and see for yourself.

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  17. Happy October! I love that you and your sister are writing a ghost story - how fun! I definitely plan on reading it :)

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    1. Thank you! We'll be adding a new episode to it every Monday until it's done.

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  18. Happy fall/October :) Sounds like the books you got from the library are somewhat seasonal :) Have a great week!

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    1. I just hope my library books end up being fun reads. Because you never know. ;D

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  19. Autumn seems like a season to do anything spooky-related though I cannot watch horror movie, too much a of scaredy cat. That John Atkinson cartoons is a lot of fun. I hope you enjoy your spooky books.

    Have a lovely day.

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  20. How cool you and your sister are writing a story! I hope it goes well!!!

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    1. Thanks! It's been fun trading off episodes with her. :)

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  21. Autumn is my favourite season. Love those colourful trees, too! That's a beautiful picture you shared there so thanks for sharing it! I haven't heard about Kindle Vella so I'll have to check it out and your story as well. :)

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