.jpg)
I love Halloween. But I am totally not into blood, guts, and/or gore. I like my holidays cozy, thank you very much. For me it's ghosties and gobblins and pumpkins and adorable trick-or-treaters.
When I decided to add a Halloween book to my holiday repertoire to join my Christmas and Thanksgiving stories, I kept this very much in my mind. Even though my story has a vampire theme, there is not an ounce of horror to be found. Cozy was definitely the feel I was going for in this case. Well, cozy with a healthy dose of sexy thrown in! :)
As part of the story, Kelsey and Rafe (my heroine and hero) host a Halloween party at the library where they work. Patrons are able to visit various stations and themed activities throughout the celebration...
A kids' costume party/sleepover with a showing of It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown and pumpkin pancakes in the morning.
A Twilight Saga movie marathon.
A Halloween themed reading area with hot cider and pumpkin donuts.
Jack-o-lantern carving.
A midnight showing of Bela Lugosi's Dracula. (More kitschy and classic than horror.)
A horror movie marathon. (Okay, so there's the mention of a little horror, but Kelsey is sure to stay far away from it. Here's a little peek at her description.)
“So, we have twenty-seven with the proper intestinal fortitude signed up for the horror movie marathon.” She shuddered.
“Scary monsters not your thing, huh?”
She tilted her head to look at him, a peculiar expression on her face. “Monsters are fine. It’s the slasher films I don’t have the stomach for.”
“Ah, so no blood and guts?”
“Exactly.”
In one scene the conference room at the library is 'shown' complete with tissue paper ghosts hanging from the ceiling and grinning jack-o-lanterns taped to the windows.
The story opens with a costume party in which guests were invited to dress as their favorite literary characters. Music like The Monster Mash and the theme song from The Addams Family and Michael Jackson's Thriller played throughout.
See? Cozy. Fun. All the best parts of Halloween. And no blood or gore in sight. Now that's my kind of holiday.
So how about you? Are you a cozy Halloween fan or a creepy, spooky Halloween fan? Or perhaps Halloween isn't your thing at all.
Until next time,
Happy Reading!
Debra
www.debrastjohnromance.com
The Vampire and the Vixen now available from The Wild Rose Press.
I love Halloween, and used to sew costumes for my children, but now we live too far out in the country to get many Trick or Treaters. Parents take their little goblins to town, where houses are close together and Main Street businesses pass out candy.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was a child, Hallowe'en was a non-event, and even when my daughters were small, it wasn't as 'high-profile' (or commercialised) as it is now. In fact, our main autumn event in the UK is Bonfire Night on November 5th, with firework parties and other traditional customs.
ReplyDeleteI used to love Halloween and decorate the house for it. We'd go to costume parties and everything. But there is so much pressure now to make everything perfect and the costume discussions begin in September and it has gotten to be a bit much the past few years. But I'm looking forward to the trick-or-treaters this year!
ReplyDeleteAna, My mom used to make all of our costumes. They were great!
ReplyDeletePaula, I love the sound of Bonfire Night. Anything with fireworks is magical in my book.
Jen, I do go all out and decorate, but I agree...it seems to be about outdoing the neighbors these days.
And I hate that everything is rushed. I mean, there are Christmas things out in the stores already. And they've been out for a while. It's just too soon.
Thanksgiving is almost passed over--commercially. It's my favorite holiday.
ReplyDelete