October is Almost Here!

By the end of this coming weekend October will be upon us!
There has definitely been a shift in the air today. Last night I walked out of a meeting at 8:30PM into 82 degrees humid heat! Ugh! Tonight, there's a crisp coolness to the air and a breeze with an 18 degree drop in the temperature compared to last night! The still green leaves on the oaks are rustling as I type this with the kitchen windows open, but I had to close the door as it was too cold sitting here with the breeze coming through the door.


October 14th is the Fall Family Festival/Pumpkin Fest event downtown. I want to thank the Wordsmiths who contacted me about table space for this event in the old Town Hall- Kelly, Sandy, Geri, and Sonia. We'll also have Connie Bombaci from CT with us (courtesy of Shawn Flynn who suggested her in his stead as he was already engaged on the 14th for another event.


For this event, Kelly and I collaborated and created a co-authored book of tales that we titled Disturbing. I've been self publishing Miss Peculiar's Haunting Tales and Ghost Stories since 2015. My stories have Miss Peculiar's byline. Kelly has chosen to call herself Miss Spectyr (her choice of spelling). It was fun picking stories, many of them unpublished, for this volume which features the eerie eyes of our linden tree in the front yard gazing back at the reader from the cover. Had to hunt through a gazillion photos on the computer to find this shot- it's creepy...and disturbing!


On October 21st I'll be at Blue Umbrella at 2PM to discuss my somewhat different vampire novel, Out. In Central Europe, vampires have been being outed (involuntarily and then voluntarily) over an eight year or so span. A man whom Irina has had a crush on since childhood has come out as a vampire- but that hasn't swayed how she feels about him any, despite her father being a member of the anti-vampire group the Silver Sword Society. Irina works for Dimitra Chernova, a late night talk show hostess who has a reputation for provoking her guests and putting them on the spot. That's about all I will say here about the book except that it's a romance, a social commentary on intolerance toward certain groups, and a smidge of horror.


Immediately after the author event at Blue Umbrella will be the WhipCity Wordsmith's October meeting. Melissa Volker will be leading a talk on how authors need to engage their audience at read-ins and author events to increase interest in the book and make more sales. I probably could use her advice prior to the meeting, but I'll do my best- and then learn some more from her afterwards for the next event!! Be sure to bring your periodic table element notes so you can write during the meeting!


On October 24th, Kelly, Melissa, and I will be on Bob Plasse's Tuesday morning radio program on WSKB 89.5FM broadcast from Ely Hall at Westfield State University. I have no clue what we'll be talking about but I'm sure some of it will be about books!! If Kathleen Palmer is thrown into the mix it ought to be a crazy morning! I've known Bob since my 13 years working behind the counter at Conner's, Inc at 34 Elm Street.


October 28th is the next edition of Ghost Stories LIVE! at Blue Umbrella, a recurring ghost story telling/performance art event hosted by Russell Atwood and Pugsley, the Fiendish Ghost. This will mark the one year anniversary at Blue Umbrella for this event. I've been fortunate enough to be a cast member since last October. I enjoy writing new ghost stories to read. Russell put together an anthology last year, and I'm hopeful there will be a second anthology this year! Kelly and Melissa have also participated in Ghost Stories LIVE! for which they've also written and read new ghost stories. It's a great event, gaining in popularity.


What else is happening in October? It's the perfect time of year for cemetery crawls (Kelly and I are taphophiles who like to photograph old cemeteries), visiting haunted houses to chase ghosts, dancing with witches, chasing werewolves across the fog-shrouded moors, hunting vampires, and so forth. Whatever it is that you like to do in the fall...even if it's jump into a humongous pile of crisp, brightly colored leaves, and then go back inside to toast your toes before a crackling fire while sipping apple cider or hot chocolate- well, enjoy!