Month: November 2014

Final NaNoWriMo Update

Final NaNoWriMo Update

Or, The End Is Finally In Sight!

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This year I’m writing the final novel in my Dark Caster series for National Novel Writing Month, and so far it’s going great. Maybe it’s that I’ve already written two other novels this year (Panacea and Spell of Vanishing) so I’m in the groove, but this year has been the easiest so far. I’m over 40K words and I haven’t even written the climax or resolution yet. I know I’m going to be able to finish the contest with no problems (barring emergencies–knock on wood).

I’m thrilled to get this final book finished and edited so I can share it with those of you who have been reading my Dark Caster series from the very beginning.

Happy Thanksgiving!

<3 Anna

Oklahoma’s Most Haunted

Oklahoma’s Most Haunted

Or, A List Of The Most Haunted Sites In OK

Read the original article here.

Five Supposedly Haunted Places in Oklahoma

Written by Corie King in August 2014

Every town seems to have a few places everyone thinks is haunted. That is true for most places in Oklahoma. The stories behind these hauntings are often passed down by locals and seem to get more eccentric with each passing generation. Here are some [unlikely] state hauntings.

 1. Cain’s Ballroom – Tulsa

Bob Wills began his career at Cain’s, and according to some people, he’s still there. Many believe that he haunts the venue that gave him his start, often appearing on stage. Other people swear to see a woman wearing a red dress, while most claim to see the ghost of a cowboy. Cold spots and light orbs have also been reported.

2. Mason’s Children’s Home – Guthrie

If you or a friend has ever considered getting married at the Dominion House in Guthrie, they may want to rethink the venue. Back in the 1920’s it was a children’s home and acts of brutality allegedly occurred there. Some people have seen the ghost of a nurse who killed herself while other people hear the cries of children. According to legend, a headmistress beat a six-year-old girl to death and her ghost haunts the building and grounds. The same headmistress also supposedly buried four boys in the basement.

3. Thunderbird Youth Academy – Pryor

Locals claim that there used to be an orphanage on these grounds, but it was destroyed by a tornado in 1942. The storm killed many of the children inside the building, and their ghosts still haunt the area. One person witnessed waking up in the middle of the night to a little girl next to his bunk.  A boy named Hector supposedly roams the third platoon building, and some people believe he was killed by the cook and fed to the other children.

4. Highway 20 – Claremore

Many people have picked up a young boy hitch-hiking along this highway east of Claremore. Around Pryor, the boy asks to be let out of the car in an area where no houses are present. The boy claims he lives in the area and promptly disappears. Vanishing hitch-hiker stories occur in many towns across the United States.

5. Ghost Hollow – Cushing

In our very own Payne County near Cushing and a mile north of the Cimarron River, there is an elm tree where outlaws used to be hanged.  In 1887, an innocent man was accidentally hanged, and the next day all of the bark fell off of the tree. According to legend, on the night of a full moon the tree is said to glow white as if it has no bark on it.

 

My Review of Elizabeth Hoyt’s Darling Beast

My Review of Elizabeth Hoyt’s Darling Beast

Or, Scorching Hot Sex Scenes Ahead!

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Back Cover Blurb:

A MAN CONDEMNED . . .

Falsely accused of murder and mute from a near-fatal beating, Apollo Greaves, Viscount Kilbourne has escaped from Bedlam. With the Crown’s soldiers at his heels, he finds refuge in the ruins of a pleasure garden, toiling as a simple gardener. But when a vivacious young woman moves in, he’s quickly driven to distraction . . .

A DESPERATE WOMAN . . .

London’s premier actress, Lily Stump, is down on her luck when she’s forced to move into a scorched theatre with her maid and small son. But she and her tiny family aren’t the only inhabitants-a silent, hulking beast of a man also calls the charred ruins home. Yet when she catches him reading her plays, Lily realizes there’s more to this man than meets the eye.

OUT OF ASH, DESIRE FLARES

Though scorching passion draws them together, Apollo knows that Lily is keeping secrets. When his past catches up with him, he’s forced to make a choice: his love for Lily . . . or the explosive truth that will set him free.

My Review:

Darling Beast is a fantastic and romantic read that I had trouble putting down. I adored the hero, Apollo, and the heroine, Lily, was sparkling from beginning to end. Indio, Lily’s little boy, was by far the best character in the novel and his early scenes are both hysterical and endearing.

My only issue with the story is that the trait that makes Apollo so interesting–his voice was literally beaten out of him–is miraculously reversed halfway through. After that, he’s not nearly as exciting. He’s just another well-dressed lord.

But I can overlook that because everything else in the story is so great. And the sex! Wow. Hot doesn’t even cover it. Hoyt has written some of the best sex scenes I’ve read in a really long time.

If you’re a fan of historical romances with hilarious kids, mischievous dogs and secret aristocrats falling in love with lowly, though spunky, actresses–you’ll love Darling Beast.

<3 Anna

Tuesday Tease #27

Tuesday Tease #27

Or, An Excerpt From My New Paranormal Romance Spell of Vanishing

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“Did you draw all these?” Talia ran the pads of her fingers over the illustration and felt a spark, as if the glyph itself held power. “They’re beautiful.” When Cole didn’t respond, she asked, “What’s so special about them?”

He plucked the book from her hands. “They channel black magic.”

Spell of Vanishing, ms pg 78

<3 Anna

 

“I Lived In A Haunted House” And More!

“I Lived In A Haunted House” And More!

Or, Swing By The Final 2 Stops In My Blog Tour & Enter To Win A Free Ebook

Enter to win a free ebook copy of my new release Spell of Vanishing here.

SOV quote 1400x2100Fangtastic Books hosted a guest blog for me today. I got to tell my very own ghost story, “I Lived In A Haunted House.” Make sure you read it here, and leave me a hello in the comments.

At my final blog tour spot today is a fun interview on Creatively Green Writer. Read it here.

I had so much fun on my blog tour, visiting new blogs and making new friends. Don’t forget to enter the contest here, and then stop by each blog using this master list.

<3 Anna

 

Haunted Sites in York, UK

Haunted Sites in York, UK

Or, Explore Britain’s Most Haunted City

Read the original article here.

York: Ghost Tales From The Most Haunted City in Europe

Written by Hannah Osborne in August 2014

york-minsterYork has a lot of ghosts. In 2002, the International Ghost Research Foundation said it was the most haunted city in Europe, with 504 hauntings within the confines of the ancient walls.

Founded by the Romans in 71AD, the city’s violent and volatile history – including Viking invasions, the Norman Conquest and the Civil War – makes its ghostly legacy easy to understand.

The Minster, which stands towering over the city, is said to be haunted by Seamus the dog, whose barks echo through the halls at night. Legend has it that Seamus and his stonemason master worked on the Minster when it was being built. Other workers did not like the pair so one night decided to brick Seamus in behind a wall. With his master unable to find him, Seamus died alone terrified in the darkness, his barks never answered.

In one of the houses behind the Minster, another ghost wanders the upper floors. A family that had moved into the house quickly became aware of a strange presence. A crying sound would come from the children’s bedroom upstairs and people who entered would be overcome with feelings of sadness and regret.

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The girl had lived in the house in the late 14th century. Just six years old, her parents had died from the Black Death in the family home. Fearing she too had the disease, the child was locked in with her parents’ bodies by locals. However, she was not infected and after the doors and windows were boarded up, she slowly starved to death all alone.

Rachel Lacy, a paranormal historian from York worked in the Haunted House, on Stonegate, before it closed down just a few days ago. As a paranormal historian, she used to lead ghost tours of York and has researched ghost stories from the city for many years.

Explaining why York was so haunted, she said that before the Romans arrived about 2,000 years ago, there were early tribes that had kept the land as sacred ground. “Then the Romans came and built a great city on sacred site. Maybe they disturbed something much earlier,” she said.

While working in the Golden Fleece, one of York’s most haunted pubs, Lacy said she and many other members of staff saw ghosts or experienced paranormal activity. “The Fleece is weirder than anywhere I’ve ever worked. I’ve heard a lot of stories from different people. I saw things there that I’ve never seen anywhere else.”

Staff members told stories of seeing their colleagues walking through rooms only to later discover they weren’t there or had only just arrived. People heard furniture being moved around when alone in the pub, while others heard their names being called.

Discussing her favourite ghost tale from York, Lacy said she had personally interviewed Harry Martindale, whose story about the Roman soldiers walking on their knees is one of the city’s most legendary.

Martindale had been working at the Treasurers House where a Roman road had been discovered in a cellar. He went down on a broken ladder and began work. However, as he came to the end of his shift he heard music coming from the wall he was leaning on. He fell down and scrambled into a corner, when he saw Roman soldiers emerge from the wall and march down the road. He could only see to their knees – however, when they walked over the hole to the Roman road, he could see their full legs. He could hear them talking, but could not work out what they were saying.

“Now I could see them exactly as I can see you now, they weren’t no wisp of smoke, they weren’t whirly, you know, the atmosphere didn’t change, they were human beings as came out of the wall except they were dressed as roman soldiers,” he said.

Martindale’s story gained legitimacy after describing several aspects about the Roman soldiers’ clothing that he would not have known at the time, including how they laced their sandals, their tunics and their shields.

Lacy said that although a number of popular ghost stories in York have been corrupted over time, there was a great deal of evidence and sightings to support the city’s ghostly reputation. The Haunted House has now been bought by a property development group which plans to refurbish and rent out the house.

She said that after Haunted House closes, they will be working to purge the property of ghosts through rituals, including the spirit of a girl cursed by her own mother in York Minster. The girl had been betrothed to a boy living next door. However, she was caught sneaking out from his house and the moral police dragged them to court.

After being questioned, the pair supplied contadictory stories and she was cursed. She ended up marrying a different man who turned out to be “incredibly violent”. After trying to flee, he caught up with her during an Easter Parade and beat her so severely doctors believed she would die. However, her ultimate end remains a mystery. “The court records stop before the story ends, so either moneychanged hands to make it go away, or the documents were lost. But the last documents with the husband’s name showed he had married another woman, so she either died or he killed her,” Lacy said.

“I can’t think of a better reason why she would haunt the house.”

<3 Anna

My Review of Cold Case: Reopened

My Review of Cold Case: Reopened

Or, My Thoughts On Mark Garber’s Book

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Back Cover Blurb:

For centuries one great historical crime mystery has been capturing the imagination of the world – the fate of the Princes in the Tower.

Shakespeare casts Richard III as the ultimate villain, murdering his nephews in order to usurp the throne. This has always been the traditional view. In recent years alternative theories have been suggested that let Richard III off the hook and lay the blame elsewhere. However, with the recent discovery of Richard III’s body in Leicester a whole new wave of interest has been stirred in all things related to Richard III. Was he really the child killer portrayed by Thomas More and William Shakespeare?

In this short book a retired detective reopens this true crime cold case and attempts to piece together the evidence and answer the great historical crime mystery about what really happened to the young Princes in the Tower.

Were they really murdered? If so, what happened to the bodies and who did the evil deed? Or were they left unharmed and left to live out their days in peace? Was a challenging offered up in place of Richard, Duke of York by Elizabeth Woodville and was that why Henry VII was so concerned by Perkin Warbeck? How much did the sister of the Princes and Henry VII’s wife Elizabeth of York actually know about this true crime.

As the author delves deeper into the evidence he finds intriguing facts including doubts about dental evidence used to determine the ages of the skeletons found in the Tower of London, the fact that skeletons were abandoned for years in the Tower after their discovery and details of two mysterious coffins buried at Winsor.

In addition, he highlights the key suspect that no historian seems to even contemplate could be responsible for the Princes disappearance.

Finally he gathers the suspects in one room to revel what he believes really happened. The question is, do you agree?

My Thoughts:

I have been obsessed recently with the mystery of the princes in the tower and the role their uncle, Richard III, played in their deaths. Garber, as a former detective, has a very logical and evidence-centric approach to the case, which I really enjoyed. His conclusion makes a lot of sense and ::spoiler alert:: his prime suspect is not Richard III. Though, because of the lack of real evidence, any of the major players of the time could have been responsible for the boys’ murder, so I don’t think the case will ever be fully solved. In some ways, that makes the mystery more intriguing and frustrating.

If you like true crime stories from history, you’ll enjoy this brief take on the famous case.

<3 Anna

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