It’s beginning to feel a lot like … Halloween. Author Alicia Dean shares a couple of suitably freaky memories PLUS her latest book You’re Invited. Plenty of Sales and Freebies available in October, too.
Once upon a Gothic
by Alicia Dean
I love this time of year. I love horror movies and haunted houses and all that goes along with the creepy/scary vibe. My very favorite horror movies are the Halloween franchise. I’ve enjoyed all of them, other than Halloween 3, which had nothing to do with Michael Myers. How dare they! 😊
I remember going to see the very first Halloween movie when it was released in 1978 when I was 17. (I cannot believe that movie came out 43 years ago!!). I went with my best friend, Paige, (who is STILL my best friend after all these years) and we drove my parents’ station wagon. Anyone who has seen the movie knows that Michael Myers drives a station wagon in the movie. So, we were a little creeped out by that.
After the movie, we were ‘dragging 12th Street’ in Moore, Oklahoma, which was what teens did back then, which means we drove up and down the street for hours holla’ing at our friends, though it wasn’t called holla back then. 😊 So, we’re driving down the street, and it’s all dark and we’re freaked out about the movie and being in a station wagon, when this girl comes out of nowhere and just slowly walks across the busy street without turning to look at the cars or anything. Creep level multiplied. Then, I get home and I go into the darkened house and reach to turn on my bedroom light and I touch this cold, clammy hand. I screamed. Turns out, it was my onery brother. He’d put his hand in ice water and was hiding in my room with his hand over the switch. No telling how long he stayed that way or how many times he doused his hand so it would be nice and cold by the time I got home. LOL. I still get chills thinking about it. All in all, that was a spooky, fantastic night to remember. (Sadly, that brother, who is my only brother, passed away from cancer in 2018).
I passed along my twisted genes to my three children and they have loved scary movies since they were toddlers…and still do. I’m hoping to see Halloween Kills, the latest in the Michael Myers franchise, with them, though that might be difficult since one of my daughters lives in Texas. We shall see.
Wishing all of you a happy and frightening Halloween!
A Sample of You’re Invited
She pushed at his body, her mind exploding in terror. Frantically, she darted her gaze around the darkened room, then wished she hadn’t. A figure stepped into her vision, looming over the bed, staring down at her. A whispered sound came from him, and she thought she could make out the words, “You’re invited…you’re invited.”
Terror froze her vocal chords but she managed a scream. “Help me! Oh God, help me, please.”
She shoved harder, scrambling out from beneath Leo. She fell off the bed, then jumped to her feet, nearly tripping over her skirt. The door was right there…but seemed like miles away. And he was blocking her path.
Grabbing a lamp from the nightstand, she hurled it at him, then skirted the bed and made a dash for the door. But he was quicker than she was. And stronger. He grabbed her hair and tugged her backward. She landed against his body with a sickening thud. “Goodnight, Princess,” a hoarse voice growled in her ear.
She looked up to see her glass slipper in his hand. The tip of the heel was broken off and jagged glass gleamed wickedly in the dim light. His arm came down, and the scream she’d been working on died in her throat.
Meet Alicia Dean
Alicia Dean lives in Edmond, Oklahoma. She wrote her first romance at age 10 (featuring a hero who looked just like Elvis Presley), and she still has the tattered, pencil-written copy. In addition to reading and writing, Alicia loves watching and re-watching her favorite television shows, among them Dexter, Justified, Ozark, The Office, I Love Lucy, Friends, and Justified.
Friend, Follow or Join Alicia at any or all of these links
Find her on Twitter as @Alicia_Dean_
and on Instagram as AliciaDeanAuthor
October Sales, Freebies, and Giveaways!!
Oh BTW–ZG 1 is on sale for .99 in October. Find her in any of the Promos below!
2 thoughts on “Novel Magic: Once Upon a Gothic”
Enjoyed your Halloween / family stories, Alicia. Sorry about your brother. He sounds like he was a fun guy. I’m not a big horror movie fan, which is kind of odd since I watched The Twilight Zone and later, X-Files, religiously. But even I know who Mike Myers is–Let’s hope Jamie Lee gets him this time around! Yourstory sounds delightful, though, and I will read it 🙂 Good luck.
I am not a huge slice-and-dice horror fan–I like the psychological thrillers that mess with my mind, though. Jeepers Creepers is an exception. My son convinced me to watch the 2nd Jeepers Creepers by asking if I’d like to see a bunch of high school kids die in interesting ways. After 25 years of teaching–How can I refuse that?
The Halloween series is fun for me mainly because of Jamie Lee–I love her. And I’m not too good for the occasional zombie movie. And the classic Frankenstein, Dracula, Wolfman–always fun!!
Thanks for commenting on Alicia’s post. Her story about her brother’s diligence and determination to annoy his sister made me laugh and her book sounds like a fine addition to the Halloween festivities.