OCTOBER WEEKS Guest Post & Giveaway

Things I Need to Write the Dead and the Dark

As a writer, there are three things that I need in order to get a book finished.

1: Being alone. I can’t write when other people are in the room with me. If they’re in the house but in another room that’s fine, but they need to not speak to me. The distraction of another person makes it very hard to concentrate on typing words, so the more alone I am the better, and faster, I write.

2: Tea or Cocoa. I have no idea why this is, but having a cup of tea or hot chocolate around while I’m writing actually helps me write. Taking a sip seems to soothe something inside of me while I type. *Shrug* I’ll chock this up to a writer quirk that makes no sense.

3: Music/Movies. Sometimes having sound in the background helps me concentrate as well. I don’t like writing in complete silence. The trick with this one is that the music has to fit the mood of the book and the movie has to be in the same genre I’m writing, otherwise I get thrown off and can’t write.

Those three things are important to my creative process. Number one is especially important. Trying to carry on a conversation while writing/editing is pretty much impossible and even trying to do it makes me crazy-grumpy  Number two is also important—not even water or another beverage can replace the tea/cocoa. I know because I’ve tried. Number three is tricky but I’ve learned what music goes with what I’m writing so I can pull tunes up on my iTunes with no problem, and as long as the movie is in the same genre I’m golden. If I’m writing vampires, I put on a vampire themed movie. If I’m writing ghosts, ghosts movies go in.

I once thought I was immune to such quirks, that I could write anywhere, anytime, no matter the distractions. I learned very quickly this was not the case. I can still hear my muse and the writing Gods laughing at me!

Over The River by October Weeks
Genre: Dark fantasy, horror, paranormal

About Over The River:

Joslyn Faust passed away in 1940, after losing all but one of her children to death. The Weatherby Mills history books paint her as a kind, generous woman, willing to lend a hand to any one of her neighbors. Weatherby Mills lore, however, blames her ghost for the deaths of at least four men.

That’s where Delilah Isles and Milly West come in.

Working for the New England Spirit Society, the women have seen many violent and cruel attacks by human spirits and non-human entities. After all, the most violent and disturbing cases come to them. They know the myths about Joslyn Faust, so when the case comes their way they are both anxious to start investigating and uncertain whether or not it’s a case for N.E.S.S. But the first time they set foot on the Faust property that uncertainty is vanquished, because Joslyn Faust turns out to be a whole lot darker than they anticipated.

Source: Info in the About Over The River was from the press kit from the publicity team.

Buy Link(s):


Book Trailer:

Excerpt:

Delilah Isles was certain of two things: pork roast in the slow cooker was the best in cold weather, and the woman in her kitchen was dead.

The elderly woman, around seventy-five or eighty with a slim build, lifted the cover of the slow cooker, leaned slightly forward, and inhaled. Her gray hair was in a neat bun and she wore a long lemon-yellow sleeveless nightgown from the nineteen forties. The woman smiled as she inhaled again, closing her eyes.

Delilah hated to interrupt, but it was eleven thirty, and she was tired. She could see, sense, and speak to the dead—amongst other abilities—but she never would have known this ghost was in her house if she had not been awake. The woman was quiet, calm. Benign.

Delilah cleared her throat, hoping not to startle the woman. The gray-haired lady motioned with her free hand but took her time looking back at Delilah, taking a last inhale and putting the cover back on the slow cooker. When their gazes finally met, the lady’s light blue eyes struck Delilah—they were much like her own.

“Hello there, dear,” the lady said. “Did I interrupt your sleep? I hope I haven’t…”

Delilah smiled and walked closer to the woman. “No, I was just getting ready for bed. I’m going somewhere tomorrow.”

“Oh, good! That I didn’t wake you, I mean. I was being very careful to be quiet.” She waved a hand at the slow cooker. “My husband used to cook all the food. He loved to cook, my Nathan.”

Delilah laughed softly. “My name is Delilah Isles.”

Meet The Author:

I’m a dark fantasy/horror writer and a reader with too many books and not enough shelves!

I live in Vermont. Autumn is my favorite season- October and November are my favorite months.

Loves: reading, writing, movies (horror, sci-fi, and fantasy especially), taking walks, fishing, and family

Obsessions: Lindt dark chocolate, the SyFy Channel (Haven and Warehouse 13!), The Discovery Channel, The History Channel, The Walking Dead!

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