Paranormal October: Dissolve into the Paranormal with Andrea Heltsley

Paranormal October continues and today I welcome back to the blog author Andrea Heltsley. Andrea has a new release in the adult paranormal genre and it's part of the Dissolve series. She has given us two nice excerpts to whet our appetite so check them out. And make sure to enter the Giveaway at the end of the post ;-)

Cora is thrilled to leave high school behind and kick start her summer with her boyfriend and best friend, Nessa. In an unexpected turn of events, tragedy strikes and Cora turns to Nessa for help.

Cora and Nessa discover they are not alone and become entangled in things much bigger than they expect. As the two of them meet new allies, it’s obvious that clearing Cora’s name and going home seem like the least of their worries. The further they travel; the more complicated their lives become. Someone is after them and they are just getting started.

Book One in the Dissolve Trilogy

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Excerpt:

Through all the mess, I managed to have a peaceful dream. I dreamed I was an incandescent purple butterfly floating 

lightly through the summer air. I reveled in 

the warm night and the soft breeze that 

encompassed me. Looking up, I took in the 

sight of a gibbon’s moon waning in the inky 

night amongst twinkling stars.

Gentle as the breeze itself, I landed on a 

blade of grass. I was surrounded by an 

entire field of swaying grass, and I sank 

down to the soft earth. Time seemed to stand 

still as I took in the warm peaceful night.

That was when I woke up, and I mean I 

really woke up. I was lying in a meadow, the 

cool earth beneath me. My blue eyes snapped 

open in panic. I soon realized that the moon, 

the breeze, and the grass were no figment of 

my imagination.

Naked and panicked, my mind raced as 

all the thoughts course through it at once. 

Where was I? How was I going to get back to 

the motel? Exposed, I tried to steady my 

breathing for fear of a panic attack. I stood 

up, looking around under the cover of 

darkness. My heart raced and then skipped a 

beat as I saw the motel just off to the left 

of my field of vision.  

1.     Codes and Keys- Death Cab for Cutie

2.     Dark Blue- Jack’s Mannequin

3.     The Creationist- Kerli

4.     Secrets- One Republic

5.     Just Tonight- The Pretty Wreckless

6.     Drown- Carolina Liar

7.     AM/FM Sound- Matt & Kim

8.     Fixed at Zero- Versa Emerge

9.     This is For Real- Motion City Soundtrack

10.   Done- Charlotte Sometimes

11.  What You Want- Evanescence

12.   Saying Sorry- Hawthorne Heights

13.   Northern Downpour- Panic! At The Disco

14.   Firefight- Jimmy Eat World

15.    Make a Run for It- Hit the Lights

16.  This is War- Thirty Seconds to Mars

Cora and her friends encounter one problem after another on their search for the truth. Questions about their genetically altered states and the mass bombings that plague the country, lead them to the place they least expect, and a threat they didn’t anticipate.

As the search for answers grow more complicated, they must learn to trust new allies as well as each other. If only Cora could just dissolve away from this mess, but she’s determined not to leave anyone behind.

With shocking twists, steamy romances, and heart-pounding action, find out what happens when danger is just a step ahead and their fate waits in the shadows. 

Book Two in the Dissolve Trilogy

November 15, 2015

Excerpt:

True panic didn’t set in until I heard screams and gunshots. The loud pops shattered my hold on reality. The only thing I could feel was my need to get away from the awful scene. My body was going to unravel, right here, right now, in front of the agents. This had disaster written all over it, but I couldn’t stop it. It was like a safety mechanism built inside me—run, escape, hide, get away, or flee. I was consumed by these thoughts as they ran on repeat in my fragile mind.

It started at my feet, one foot, and then the other. The shoes I had on, emptied, the transition moving up my legs in a slow tingling feeling. My eyes had involuntarily closed, waiting for the peace of freedom dissolving would bring. This transition was slower than most. I couldn’t concentrate with my mind so busy.

 

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1. Somethin’ Bad - Miranda Lambert and Carrie Underwood

2. Begin Again - Taylor Swift

3. Carry the Fire – Automatic Loveletter

4. Cruel World – Lana Del Rey

5. Hysteria – Motion City Soundtrack

6. My Racing Thoughts – Jack’s Mannequin

7. Never Gonna Let You Down – Colbie Caillat

8. Pumpin’ Blood - NoNoNo

9. Shatter Me – Lindsey Stirling and Lizzy Hale

10. Waiting for a Friend – The Pretty Reckless

11. Warpath – Ingrid Michaelson

12. Whitecoats – Foxes

13. Give Me Back My Hometown – Eric Church

14. Loved – Lucy Hale and Joe Nichols

15. Immortals – Fall Out Boy

16. This Nothin’ Town – Jason Aldean

17. Mission Bells – Matt Nathanson

18. Hold My Hand – The Fray

19. Hope – Natasha Bedingfield

20. Line of Fire – The Veronicas

 

About the Author:

Andrea Heltsley is a new adult and young adult author. She started writing in 2012 and hasn’t stopped since. She lives in Missouri with her husband and two Italian Greyhounds. Ice cream, coffee and candy are a few of her serious addictions. 

When writing, Andrea loves to listen to all kinds of music and always has a candle burning. Her dogs curl up in a nearby chair and burrow in a blanket most of the day. She has more book ideas than time to write them. Andrea is fascinated by the paranormal, supernatural, shifters, love triangles and romance. Her books reflect that. 

When she’s not writing, you can find her nose in a book. 

Her ideal forms of entertainment are: 

She reads mostly Indie authors including: Alyssa Rose Ivy, Ednah Walters, Molly McAdams, Rachel Van Dyken, Shelly Crane, Addison Moore, J.L. Weil, Stephanie Hudson, Amy Bartol, Amelia Hutchins and Chelsea Cameron are just a few.

A few NYT authors she reads: Rachel Vincent, Jennifer L. Armentrout, Chloe Neill, Richelle Mead, Rachel Caine, Kim Harrison, Sophie Kinsella, Kelley Armstrong, Kiera Cass, L.J. Smith and Alyson Noel.

She loves listening to Shakira, Taylor Swift, Andrew McMahon, Death Cab for Cutie, Kerli, Eric Church, Miranda Lambert, Lana Del Rey, Marina and the Diamonds and The Pretty Reckless.

TV shows she loves are The Vampire Diaries, The Walking Dead, Bitten, The 100, iZombie, Under the Dome, Graceland, The Originals and Orphan Black.

Movies that are her must watches: P.S. I Love You, Elektra, The Host, Veronica Mars, The Underworld Movies, The Terminator Movies, The Resident Evil Movies, Coyote Ugly, Alice in Wonderland (Tim Burton's), Nicholas Sparks movies, Sweet Home Alabama and Salt.

 

Follow her blog at Andrea Heltsley Books
Follow Andrea on Twitter
Like Andrea on Facebook
Follow Andrea on Pintrest
Andrea's Goodreads Author Page
Andrea's Amazon Author Page

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Paranormal October

Today I welcome writer K.M Hodge to the blog. She writes suspenseful stories and today shares her thoughts on the art of suspense. And don't forget to enter the Rafflecopter Giveaway at the end of the post.

What Happened to the Art of Suspense?

As a young girl with an overactive imagination I was always afraid.  The black soulless eyes of the characters my mother painted on my wall would follow me wherever I would go. The Mickey Mouse playing golf hook rug that hung on my wall still gives me chill to this day. What scared me more than anything was anything involving aliens. My parents owned a copy of Whitley Strieber’s Communion, with the creepy big eyed alien on the front cover. Whenever I would pass by the book I would flip it over so I wouldn’t have to acknowledge the alien on the page. Maybe because a part of me believed the claims on the front that it was based on a true story.

As I got older I sought out all things scary. Scary in the 70’s and 80’s was all about suspense. We knew it was a bad idea for the main character to walk into the dark and spooky room alone. We knew the killer was there, but when would he strike? Just when you thought maybe it wasn’t’ going to happen after all, the killer jumps out and attacks the unsuspecting main character. A great example of this is the movie "The Thing", based off the John W. Campbell, Jr.'s novella Who Goes There?  Back then it was also about what you didn’t see—the suspense of the unknown. When you see or read the big bad scary right away, something is taken away from the story.

When I was in high school I read every Steven King book that I could get my hands on. He understood and had perfected the art of suspense. While his stories and movies had their fair share of gore and sometimes violence, it was the suspense that kept me up late into the night reading by flashlight. Steven King’s Pet Cemetery and IT were terrifying. Who wouldn’t be freaked by something as simple and intrinsically creepy as a supernatural killer clown? Afraid of heights? Watch "Vertigo" and tell me if it doesn’t give you chills. Playing on every day fears is a simple yet effective way to scare the viewer or reader.

Now, films and books take things in a very different direction. Instead of using suspense and playing on simple every day fears we are exposed to a violent bloody disturbing story that are not so much frightening as troubling. We want to be scared to escape the challenges of everyday life, not be reminded of all the horrible things that could actually befall us. The odds of a psychotic clown stalking my children is pretty unlikely, but a child molester who kidnaps children from their front lawns can and does happen.

I miss the days of suspense. This time of year I find myself longing for a good scare. Toni Morrison once said, “If there's a book that you want to read, but it hasn't been written yet, then you must write it.” So that’s what I do. I write the books I want to read and try to bring back the art of suspense each page turn at a time. I have two suspense series that will be coming out early next year. Check out my blog for more information on my Syndicate Suspense Series and my Book Cellar Mystery Series.

What do you think? Is the art of suspense a dying art? 

K.M. Hodge, Author

K.M. Hodge grew up in Detroit, where she spent most of her free time weaving wild tales to spook her friends and family. These days, she lives in Texas with her husband and two energetic boys and once again enjoys writing tales of suspense and intrigue that keep her readers up all night. Her stories, which focus on women's issues, friendship, addiction, regrets and second chances, will stay with you long after you finish them. When she isn't writing or being an agent of social change, she reads Independent graphic novels, watches old X-files episodes, streams Detroit Tigers games and binges on Netflix with her husband. She enjoys hearing from her readers, so don't be shy about dropping her a line. Learn more about her and her current projects on Facebook, Twitter and Google+.  You can sign up for new release emails at: The Land of Hodge. 

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A Spooky Bedtime Story by Stephanie Albright for Paranormal October

A spooky bedtime story today by my guest (and childhood friend!) author Stephanie Albright. This is a fun one and an excerpt from her forthcoming novel, The Storm. I hope you enjoy this glimpse into her new book and don't forget to enter the giveaway at the end of the post. :-D

Gavin’s Bedtime Story

Excerpt from The Storm

Available November 17, 2015

by

Stephanie Albright

     “Can ye tell us a story afore we go ta bed? Please Grandda?”

     “Ooh aye, I’ll tell ye my favorite story of all, but ye mus’ promise to be quiet and let yer mam rest, the new bairn is making her verra tired.”

     “We will, Grandda, Willie too,”

     Willie nodded his head solemnly.

     Once the lads were settled, one on each side he began, “Back in Scotland there was a man named Angus Stewart. When he was a young man, he had a beautiful wife and six bonnie bairns and a lovely cottage and farm. But a sickness came and took his wife and all his bairns. He buried them all within a fortnight.

     “After that he wasna such a nice man anymore because he had endured such sadness. He ne’er smiled or had anything pleasant to say. There were three young lads who didna kin why he was as he was and they tormented him o’er and o’er. Turning loose his kine, dumping manure on his doorstep and any other mischief they could think up, they did to poor Angus.

     “One night, they waited until Angus was dead asleep and they banged pots, rang bells and howled like demons. Poor Angus jumped from his bed and ran out the door yelling, ‘Whoever ye are, I will find ye and when I die ye willna e’er ken a night of peaceful sleep again.’ He stumbled on the threshold and fell, hitting his heid on a large stone. He was dead afore the three lads could reach him.

     “The lads left poor Angus lying dead on his own doorstep and ran all the way home. The next morn they met by the creek. The first lad said, ‘I dreamt of Angus all night. He said that for the rest of my life, everytime I close my eyes to sleep, he will be waiting to torment me.’ The other two lads grew pale, ‘We had the same dream,’ they both said. And for the rest of their lives, every time they fell asleep, Angus Stewart was waiting to torment them all the night long.”

     Gavin had been so engrossed in the telling of his tale that he had forgotten about the lads. When he looked down at them, Wee Gavin was sobbing and shaking and Willie was hiding under the blankets. “Ooch lads, was jus’ a story, no need to be scairt.” Both boys looked up at him and began crying in earnest.

The Storm

The Storm is available for pre-order and will be released on November 17, 2015. A young girl survives a hurricane on an island in the Caribbean with her grandmother. Afterwards, she moves to Colonial America just before the Revolutionary War.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0160LJXGE?*Version*=1&*entries*=0

The Storm

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00JOC4I80?*Version*=1&*entries*=0

The End

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00N8A9EUQ?*Version*=1&*entries*=0

After the End

    

Stephanie Albright grew up in Amanda, Ohio. She moved to West Point, Mississippi in 1986 and graduated from Mississippi University for Women in 1989 with a degree in Paralegal Studies. She now lives in Charlotte, North Carolina. Stephanie loves to travel and to camp. Georgetown, South Carolina is her favorite place and much of her work takes place in and around Georgetown County.

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Paranormal October: Adventures of a Real Ghost Hunter by Lisa Kovanda

Paranormal October!

Paranormal October continues on my blog and today I welcome author Lisa Kovanda. Lisa is a real life paranormal investigator who has seen lots of ghosts. Check out Lisa's description of the day in the life of a real ghost hunter. And make sure you enter the Rafflecopter at the end of this post for a chance to win an audiobook copy of Lisa's book Flight Plan (as well as all the other prizes author's are giving away this month!). Enjoy :-D

Adventures of a Real Ghost Hunter

If you haven’t seen a television show or movie about ghost hunting, you must have spent the past decade in a coma, in which case, this post is the least of the things you need to catch up on. But, as a real-world paranormal investigator, I’d like to tell you how things in the trenches differ from what you see on TV or the big screen. The good, the bad, and the downright dirty truths.

First of all, they only skim over the tedious and sometimes backbreaking work of lugging equipment around—not to mention the fact that real-world paranormal teams aren’t handed the newest technology in exchange for promoting it on air—we pay out of our own pockets for that stuff, and none of it is cheap. My team specializes in private residences and businesses. Our goal is to help  people who are afraid in their own homes.

Television shows make it look like it’s non-stop action, but that’s not how it usually goes. Paranormal investigation is usually 99% boring, and 1% “Holy crap, did that just happen??” They also don’t show the tedious hours in front of computers after each investigation reviewing video and audio footage. For every hour of recordings, it take up to three hours to thoroughly analyze the results. That’s for each device, so it adds up in a hurry. We spend a lot of our time looking for man-made causes for the client reports. It can be life-saving if we discover faulty wiring, dangerous levels of carbon monoxide, or can attribute experiences to a crumbling foundation and house settling.

If you’re doing this for a thrill or entertainment, this is where I am going to suggest you find another hobby. Go on a haunted tour led by experienced investigators in you want to dabble, but if you get involved with true ghost hunting, you will run across real ghosts. No way around this, some people were assholes in life, and death does nothing to improve their personality. A few don’t know they’re dead. Others are fiercely protective of what they believe to be their property, and will do anything they can to get the current residents to leave. I’ve been hit, scratched, and forcibly thrown six feet across a room. There are also the exceptionally rare cases of inhuman entities like demons. In almost ten years, I’ve only been in one location where I even suspected something demonic, and that was determined by religious experts long before I arrived on the scene.

Yet I keep coming back for more. Why? The answer for me is simple. I lived in a haunted house long before ghost hunters were on every channel. I was terrified and thought I was losing my mind, and I don’t want anyone to go through that alone.

Here’s a link to my author page on Amazon. http://www.amazon.com/Lisa-Kovanda/e/B008AR7I64

I’m a Nebraska girl, by way of Tehran. I’ve lived a lot of life, and the best is yet to come. I write because only writing keeps me sane. I am also a paranormal investigator and a student of life.

I write fiction and non-fiction books, stories, and screenplays. My works include urban fantasy, horror, paranormal, and historical. People in my life tend to find their way into my work, so consider yourself warned!

Want to learn more? Follow Paracon at  https://www.facebook.com/paraconinvestigations  http://www.paraconinvestigations.com/  

Follow Lisa on Social Media:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lisakovanda.author 

Website: http://lisakovanda.com/  

Twitter: https://twitter.com/lisa_kovanda

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