My Childhood Love of Books

Favorite books from my childhood.

Today I added one of my favorite childhood books, Johnny Tremain, to my Kindle Fire. I remember that as an awesome story and couldn't pass up the opportunity to reread this wonderful book.

That's what I love about having a Kindle and which I'm sure is the same for a Nook, iPad or any other eReader. I love the immediacy of downloading a book which catches my eye. And yes, I do add way too many books to my Kindles (my old Kindle Keyboard and my new Kindle Fire).

I'm writing this post tonight due to my childhood love of books. If I hadn't fallen in love with books all those many years ago, well, I probably wouldn't be in love with books today. I got to thinking about all those wonderful books I read as a child and promptly started making a list of them. For those of you who follow my blog, you know that I love making lists of books. Well, this particular list is one that's dear to my heart.

I have to admit that reading all those extraordinary, magical, exciting, adventurous, heartwarming books are what brought about my dream to someday be an author. So if you want to know what authors influenced me through the years, well, just take a look at my list. Talk about inspiration ...

My Favorite Childhood Reads (in no particular order):

Johnny Tremain by Esther Forbes
Old Yeller by Fred Gipson
Savage Sam by Fred Gipson
The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster
Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O'Dell
A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle
The Enormous Egg by Oliver Butterworth
Hitty Her First Hundred Years by Rachel Field
The Bronze Bow by Elizabeth George Speare
Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder*
Winnie-the-Pooh by A. A. Milne*
Misty of Chincoteague by Marguerite Henry*
King of the Wind by Marguerite Henry
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott*
Hans Brinker or The Silver Skates by Mary Mapes Dodge
Silver for General Washington by Enid LaMonte Meadowcroft
Caddie Woodlawn by Carol Ryrie Brink
The Borrowers by Mary Norton*
Nancy Drew Series by Carolyn Keene*
All-of-a-Kind Family by Sydney Taylor*
Betsy-Tacy by Maud Hart Lovelace*
Strawberry Girl by Lois Lenski
Five Little Peppers by Margaret Sidney*
Ballet Shoes by Noel Streatfeild*
Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lundgren*
Mary Poppins by P. L. Travers*
A High Wind in Jamaica by Richard Hughes
Polyanna by Eleanor H. Porter
Heidi by Johanna Spyri
A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett
The Yearling by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings
Cheaper by the Dozen by Frank B. Gilbreth
Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevensen
Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm by Kate Douglas Wiggin
The Incredible Journey by Sheila Burnford
Peter Pan by J. M. Barrie
The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood by Howard Pyle
Kidnapped by Robert Louis Stevenson
Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain
Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
Swiss Family Robinson by Johann David Wyss
Thomasina by Paul Gallico
That Darn Cat by The Gordons
The Friendly Persuasion by Jessamyn West
The Moonspinners by Mary Stewart
Hailstones and Halibut Bones (Poetry) by Mary O'Neill
Greyfriars Bobby by Eleanor Atkinson
Lassie Come-Home by Eric Knight
Lad: A Dog by Albert Payson Terhune
Black Beauty by Anna Sewell
My Friend Flicka by Mary O'Hara

*Note - These are books where I read and loved the whole series.

It seems to me that all these books would make wonderful Christmas presents for young and old alike. Many of these are also available in eBook format.

Let it be known that I owe my love of books to my mom who started reading to me when I was just a baby. Through the years we spent countless hours together in the library. Every Christmas and birthday she gave me wonderful books. The three books in the photo above were all given to me by my mom. To this day, my mom and I still share books.

I'll add other books to this list as I remember them. Please feel free to add some of your own childhood favorites in the comments below.

Florida is a State of Mind

A typical Florida day at Navarre Beach.

I fell in love with Florida years before I moved here. A childhood friend of mine had vacationed in Miami and came home with stories about the beautiful beaches, palm trees, a rainbow of flowers, bright blue skies, huge white marshmallow clouds and water that went on forever.

To a Southern California beach kid, I think I was seven at the time, Florida sounded like paradise. I vowed then and there that someday I'd go to that exotic land.

Through my school age years I read what books I could find at the library and learned about crocodiles, sea turtles, dolphins, manatees and colorful fish. I was hooked. I was also surprised that the state didn't have any mountains. How could that be?

The west side of Navarre Beach.

I've always been in love with the beach, so heading to Florida, a state surrounded by beaches, was just a dream away. I could envision swimming in those turquoise waters and building sandcastles in that sugar-white sand.

As years passed I met more and more people who had either vacationed in Florida, lived there or intended to travel or move there. I kept that goal in mind as I went through college and started a family. Florida was out there, on the other side of the world it seemed, just waiting for me.

Sometime in my mid-twenties I was introduced to the wonderful Travis McGee books by John D. MacDonald. I raced through that series and knew that Florida was where I belonged.

Eventually, my husband, Ben, and I moved to Florida. By that time, his parents had retired to the Florida Panhandle and mine were working on the east coast, in Daytona Beach. So we also had the excuse of moving closer to family. It was also a great place to raise our daughter.

We started out in Pensacola, on the Florida Panhandle, just minutes away from the Gulf of Mexico and those beautiful beaches I'd been dreaming about all those many years. After a year we moved to Ormond Beach, which is a bedroom community right next to Daytona Beach. A couple years later we were back on the Panhandle, in Fort Walton Beach. The next year we were living on a bayou off Escambia Bay.

The east side of Navarre Beach.

Florida is a state of mind, one of exotic sights and sounds and smells. In the years we've lived here, my husband and I have traveled from one end of the state to the other.

The Keys and Key West are favorites, so is Sanibel Island. Orlando is exciting with Disney World, Epcot, MGM Grand and Universal Studios. The Everglades is filled with those alligators I'd read about as a child and every kind of bird you could imagine, my favorites being Great Blue Herons, Egrets and Osprey.

The best part of Florida is the beaches, every kind of beach you can imagine. The beaches of Miami and Fort Lauderdale are trendy. Sanibel beaches are wall to wall seashells. In Daytona Beach you can drive along the sand. In the Keys, the beaches are thin strips of sand with turquoise waters in every direction. The Panhandle beaches are sugar-white sands, sand dunes covered graced with gently waving sea-oats and the most beautiful turquoise and emerald waters you've ever seen.

A view of Navarre Beach from the pier.

I fell in love with Navarre Beach from the very first moment. Back then, thirty years ago, only a few cottages and motels were built along the beach. You could walk at water's edge for miles if you wanted and only see a handful of people.

Now there are high-rises built along the west side of the Navarre Beach Pier and untold numbers of huge beach houses. The west side of the pier has been left in its natural state with the exception of a scattering of picket fencing designed to protect the sand dunes.

My husband and I have lived in Florida off and on over the last thirty years. We moved away to Las Vegas for eleven years, but frequently vacationed back here and checked on our bayou house that was rented out to a succession of renters.

When my husband retired we moved back to our bayou house, which had to be renovated after renters tore up the house and hurricanes took out dozens of trees. Living on the bayou was never the same after Hurricane Ivan in 2004 and Hurricane Dennis in 2005.

Our house was built on tall pilings, so it didn't flood. But most of the other houses around the bayou flooded out and many were never rebuilt. After a couple years we sold our house and moved away to the Texas Hill County. But like I said, Florida is a state of mind, and it didn't take us long to move right back. Plus, our daughter and grandkids are here, so we're back in Florida to while away the days.

The Pier Bar at Navarre Beach.

We now live only a couple miles from Pensacola Beach. If we had the energy, we could walk or ride our bikes over the bridge, but we don't have that kind of energy these days.

Our beach days are only now and then, for leisurely strolls along the beach or sitting under beach umbrellas and gazing out at that turquoise water. Florida is a place to dream about warm sun, tropical breezes and paradise.

I'll be doing a lot of Florida posts this month, so please check back for more photos of other Florida beaches, the Everglades, the Keys, Sanibel Island and even Orlando. This is a beautiful, exotic state and I hope to share it with you all.

For those who know I love to add lists of books to my blog posts, here's one I'm sure you'll enjoy. As I already mentioned, I fell deeper in love with Florida while reading John D. MacDonald's Travis McGee series. So here is a list of those wonderful books in order. All the series is now available in eBook format for those, like me, who love to read their books on a Kindle, Nook, iPad or other eReader.



Floridians fishing on the Navarre Beach pier.

The Travis McGee Series by John D. MacDonald:

The Deep Blue Good-By
Nightmare in Pink
A Purple Place for Dying
The Quick Red Fox
A Deadly Shade of Gold
Bright Orange for the Shroud
Darker than Amber
One Fearful Yellow Eye
Pale Gray for Guilt
The Girl in the Plain Brown Wrapper
Dress Her in Indigo
The Long Lavender Look
A Tan and Sandy Silence
The Scarlet Ruse
The Turquoise Lament
The Dreadful Lemon Sky
The Empty Copper Sea
The Green Ripper
Free Fall in Crimson
Cinnamon Skin
The Lonely Silver Rain

Me on the pier with the beach high-rises in the background.

I've read every single one of the Travis McGee books and highly recommend them all. I guarantee that you'll soon fall in love with Florida too.

I'd be remiss if I didn't mention my book, Bayou Blues and Other Sorrows, which is a collection of eight short stories and eight poems, many of which originated from the years when we lived on a Florida bayou.

The cover on Bayou Blues and Other Sorrows is from a photo I took of a sunset on our bayou. Yes, Florida is a state of mind.

BAYOU BLUES - Amazon/Kindle/US

BAYOU BLUES - Amazon/Kindle/UK

BAYOU BLUES - Barnes&Noble/Nook

BAYOU BLUES - Apple/iBookStore/itunes

Bayou Blues and Other Sorrows is also available at Sony, Kobo, Diesel and Smashwords.

Bayou Blues and Other Sorrows is a collection of short stories and poems touching on issues that all may face at one time or another, from lost love to life changing crossroads to moments of pure happiness. These are heartwarming stories you won't want to miss.

The short stories are:

"A Kiss is Just a Kiss" – People are not always who and what they appear to be. A kiss is not always just a kiss, it may have consequences.

"I Love You, Joe Montana" – This is a story about love renewed.

"Checking Out" – There are many crossroads in life. Check out? Or is life too beautiful to leave behind?

"The Night of the UFO" – Pure happiness can come at the oddest of moments. So how many Whiskey Sours do you need to see a UFO?

"Earthquakes" – Some people enter the world with a bang.

"Faded Love" – Faded love is better than no love at all.

"Harry's Garden" – How far will a scorned woman go to get even with her cheating husband?

"Old Dogs Need Love Too" – A story about love lost and love found.

The poems are: "Bayou Blues," "Cartwheels," "In a Café," "Sweet Lips of Time," "Barefoot," "Sunshine and Promises," "The Turtle," and "Tumbleweeds."

I hope you'll give Bayou Blues and Other Sorrows a try. These are heartfelt stories and poems which I believe you'll savor and enjoy.

As always, please feel free to add comments below. I love hearing from my readers. Also, feel free to add Florida books that you have written or your favorites from other authors. Be sure to check back from time to time for more Florida posts.

Have a Howling Good Halloween!

When I was a kid Halloween was simply spooktacular. I grew up in Southern California in a small college town. It was one of those idyllic towns where you never had to lock your doors.

On Halloween we kids ran wild through the neighborhoods. We didn't walk anywhere. We ran from house to house and probably made a great deal of noise. Most everyone knew who we were and didn't seem to mind too much that we'd trick-or-treat at each house twice.

My usual Halloween costume was a cowgirl. Jeans, cowboy boots and hat, a plaid shirt, a bandanna and my brother's six-shooter cap-guns  with holster was all I needed. My BFFs dressed the same.

My brother would sometimes tag along, but he'd dress like a gorilla or something else that was different from us. I remember my brother's friends dressed as hobos. No one wore store-bought Halloween costumes, just whatever could be thrown together.

I was thirteen the last time I went trick-or-treating. My side-kicks and I were in our usual cowboy dress and we made the rounds of the neighborhoods gathering quite a haul of candy. Then at one house, a woman who didn't know who we were said, "You kids are too big to be trick-or-treating." I remember being shocked at her words. Was there such a thing as being too big to trick-or-treat? Sadly, we never did it again.

In my college days I'd dress up for Halloween. One year I was Elvira and danced away the night. Another time I dressed as a French Maid and that was quite a hit. In later years I'd dress as a witch and trick-or-treat with my daughter, who also dressed as a witch. One Halloween we witches went to New Orleans and went trick-or-treating with my sister-in-law who was also dressed as a witch. I have to say that was a fun night. This year my granddaughters are little twin witches and my grandson is a vampire. I'm sure they'll have a fun Halloween.

These days I'm content with handing out candy to neighborhood trick-or-treaters.  The best part is eating my share of Halloween candy. My favs are Reeses Peanut Butter Cups, Snickers, Three Musketeers, Mounds and Almond Joys. Yum!

In celebration of Halloween, here's a list of witch, vampire, ghost, werewolf and other fiction. All of these are available in eBook format. The books are listed in no particular order.

Witchy, Witchy (Spellbound Trilogy #1) by Penelope King
With You In Spirit (The Bassinville Witches #1) by Miranda Stork
No Shoes, No Shirt, No Spells by Rose Pressey
Witch Anonymous by Misty Evans
Be Witched by H. P. Mallory
Something Witchy This Way Comes by H. P. Mallory
Opal Fire (A Reluctant Witch Mystery) by Barbara Annino
Wicked Witch Murder (Lucy Stone Mystery) by Leslie Meier
Brownies and Broomsticks (A Magical Bakery Mystery) by Bailey Cates
A Modern Witch (Modern Witch Series #1) by Debora Geary
Hexes and Hemlines (A Witchcraft Mystery) by Juliet Blackwell
Witch Weigh by Caroline Mickelson
It's Not The Great Pumpkin, Maxie Duncan by Melissa L. Webb
Haunted Spouse by Heather MacAllister

Dead Until Dark (Sookie Stackhouse/True Blood #1) by Charlaine Harris
Deadlocked (Sookie Stackhouse/True Blood #12) by Charlaine Harris
Lord Viper (Infernal Night #1, Ellora's Cave) by Ruth D. Kerce
Craving Lady Star (Infernal Night #2, Ellora's Cave) by Ruth D. Kerce
Come Hell or High Water (Broken Heart Vampires) by Michele Bardsley
Must Love Lycans (Broken Heart Vampires) by Michele Bardsley
My Blood Approves by Amanda Hocking
How to Date a Vampire (Rylie Cruz) by Rose Pressey
Darkness Falls (Darkness Falls #1) by Jessica Sorensen
Vacation with a Vampire (Harlequin Nocturne) by Michele Hauf
Sex, Lies & Vampire Hunters (Night Shift) by Myla Jackson
The Source (A Mountain State Vampire Novel) by J. B. Stillwell
MoonLife (Sadie Jones) by Sherri Ann Smith

Once Upon a Ghost by Day Leclaire
Touch Me in the Dark by Jacqueline Diamond
For Sale: Old Manor House (free ghosts included) by Merabeth James
Lily's Ghosts by Laura Ruby
Trouble in Mudbug (Ghost-in-Law Mystertery/Romance Series) by Jana Deleon
What a Ghost Wants (A Ghost Hunters Mystery) by Victoria Laurie
Haunted House for Sale by Jane Monson
Dead Bolt (A Haunted Home Renovation Mystery) by Juliet Blackwell
Somebody Tell Aunt Tillie She's Dead by Christina Miller
The Ghost Hunter (The Hunter Series) by Lori Brighton
Ghosts (The Complete Series #1-8) by Amy Cross

How to Date a Werewolf (Rylie Cruz) by Rose Pressey
Conner by Miranda Stork
Erin by Miranda Stork
Before the Moon Rises (Ritter Werewolves) by Catherine Bybee
Prince of Wolves (Grey Wolves Series) by Quinn Loftis
The Werewolf's Wife (Harlequin Nocturne) by Michele Hauf
No Remorse (Heart of a Wolf Series #1) by MaryLynn Bast
Dreams of Gray (Marked Clan) by Maurice Lawless
Were Love Blooms (Southern Werewolf Chronicles #1) by J. Morgan
Taken by the Alpha Werewolf  by Bonnie Vanak
Lupine Howl (The Complete Series #1-8) by Amy Cross

Haunted on Bourbon Street (Jade Calhoun) by Deanna Chase
Brazen Moon by Ruth D. Kerce
Wuthering Frights by H. P. Mallory
Ghouls Night Out (Larue Donavan) by Rose Pressey
Hollowland by Amanda Hocking
Elemental Magic byAngela Wallace
Land of Mountains by Jinx Schwartz
Promise (Soul Savers) by Kristie Cook
Pixie Dust (Karli Lane #1) by Laura Lee
The Shifter's Destiny (Harlequin Nocturne) by Anna Leonard
Space Orville by Jeff Whelan
Dragon's Curse (Harlequin Nocturne) by Denise Lynn

I would be remiss if I didn't once again mention my very own witch, vampire, ghost, werewolf, dragon, paranormal romantic comedy, Moon Over Madness.

Chantel Deneuve is a half-witch who doesn't want to acknowledge her witch heritage. Riordan "Rio" Martainn is a hunky vampire who just moved into the neighborhood. Add to the mix a couple of adorable kids, a dog named Jake who only "talks" to kids, a resident ghost, a couple werewolves, some witches from the neighborhood and a very pissed-off dragon, you can't go wrong. I know this sounds a bit crazy, but you're sure to enjoy the read.

My mom insists that Moon Over Madness is her very favorite book and thinks that it should be made into a movie. As we all well know, moms know best. So maybe you need to read this book?




MOON OVER MADNESS - Amazon/Kindle/US

MOON OVER MADNESS - Amazon/Kindle/UK

MOON OVER MADNESS - Barnes&Noble/nook

MOON OVER MADNESS - Apple/iBookStore/iTunes

Thanks so much for reading this post. I had a fun time putting together the list of books above. Please feel free to add comments below. You're welcome to add your own books or favorites by other authors. Now you all go out and have a howling good Halloween!

Krispy Kreme Doughnuts and Coffee

I must confess, I have a weakness/passion for donuts, particularly doughnuts from Krispy Kreme. For this reason, my BFF, Regina, and I meet there for coffee and donuts once a week. There is nothing better than having a girlfriend chat over coffee and donuts.


Well, when we had our last chat at Krispy Kreme I decided this was a perfect subject for my next blog post. After all, who can resist all those yummy donuts? So that's when I snapped these photos for this post.

I think my favorite part about Krispy Kreme is that they make the donuts right there. So the heavenly smell of warm donuts greats you the second you walk in the door.

I can't resist a still-warm glazed donut which melts in your mouth. Ahh, just thinking about it makes me want to have one just this very minute.







Krispy Kreme has so many yummy donuts: Jelly-filled, Lemon-filled, Pumpkin Spice, Double-Dipped Chocolate, and my all-time favorite, a Chocolate-frosted Custard-filled donut.


Given a choice, I'd have donuts with my coffee every single morning. On the other hand, if I did that, I would definitely weigh more than I do now. So I'll stick with that once a week Girls' Day Out visit to Krispy Kreme.


Krispy Kreme - Pensacola

Variety of Doughnuts at Krispy Kreme




For those who know I love to add lists of books to my posts, here's my latest yummy list. I haven't read any of these books, but they all look interesting.

Donuts and Coffee Books (in no particular order):

Powdered Peril (A Donut Shop Mystery) by Jessica Beck
Drop Dead Chocolate (A Donut Shop Mystery) by Jessica Beck
Donut Days by Lara Zielin (YA)
Dollars to Donuts by Kathleen Kole
Half a Donut and Other Short Stories by Peter Holub
Doughnuts for Amy by John Malik
Like Coffee and Doughnuts (Dino Martini Mysteries) by Elle Parker
Slimming with Doughnuts by Deborah Correnti
Doughnut Dollies: American Red Cross Girls During WWII by Helen Airy
Rolling in Dough: Lessons I Learned in a Doughnut Shop by Glenn G. Sparks (Memoir)
Glazed America: A History of the Doughnut by Paul R. Mullins
Coffee Break Romance by Susan Stovall
An Order of Coffee and Tears by Brian Spangler
Coffee with Poe: A Novel of Edgar Allan Poe's Life by Andrew Barger
The Coffee Girl by Shanna Hatfield
Coffee Clutch (Jan Birch Mystery) by Marshall Thornton
Murder by Mocha (Coffee House Mystery) by Cleo Coyle
Roast Mortem (Coffee House Mystery) by Cleo Coyle
Coffee in Common by Dee Mann
One Coffee With (Sigrid Harald) by Margaret Maron
Jetting Away by Teri Heyer

I couldn't resist adding my short story, Jetting Away, to the above list. After all, Priscilla is having one-of-those-days where lots of coffee and some yummy donuts help her get through the day and make a life changing decision. Jetting Away is a short story prequel to my romance novel, Outback Love, but can be read as a stand-alone. Best of all, it's FREE, so I hope you'll give it a try.

JETTING AWAY - Amazon/Kindle

JETTING AWAY - Barnes&Noble/Nook

JETTING AWAY - Apple/iBookstore/iTunes

Jetting Away is also available for FREE at Sony, Kobo, Diesel and Smashwords.


As always, I hope you'll add your comments below. I'm guessing that you all love donuts and coffee too.

The Pensacola Interstate Fair

 

 I am one of those people who loves going to the fair. I love the carnival rides, the food concession stands, the animals. The fair is a great place to walk around, people watch and take lots of photos.

The Pensacola Interstate Fair

Yesterday I spent the afternoon with my grandkids at the Pensacola Interstate Fair. What an awesome day enjoying the fair through their eyes.









The kiddie carnival rides were their thing - Fun Houses, Kiddie Roller Coasters, the Ferris Wheels and rides I could not even begin to name.


Since they had day passes (courtesy of their parents), they went on every kiddie ride numerous times. I was exhausted just watching them. Where do kids get all that energy?

These days I don't go on the rides. Since I had back-surgery in 2004, Roller Coasters and the like are a no-no for me. But I still enjoy all the sites, sounds and smells of the fair.


Hot dogs on a stick, curly fries, cotton candy, candy apples, you name it, all the traditional goodies were there. No, I didn't eat all those things, I just enjoyed being there.

As a kid in Southern California, the Los Angeles County Fair in Pomona was "The Fair" for me. Every year I eagerly awaited the fair days. My dad loved the fair, so we always went on opening day and then usually a couple more times before the fair was over.


Yes, back then I rode every carnival ride. The Ferris Wheels, Round-Up, Hammer and Roller Coasters were all favorites. I loved playing the midway games, even though I never won anything.

Back then I ate the hot dogs on a stick, cheese on a stick, lemonade, cotton candy and fresh-from-the-oven gingerbread heaped with whip cream. I was ultra-skinny then. These days, if I ate all that I'd weigh a gazillion pounds.

As a kid, my absolute favorite part of the fair, even better than the carnival rides and food, was all the animals. I'd spend hours petting and talking to all the horses, cows, goats, pigs, etc.

Of course, the horses were always my favorites and the Pomona Fair had lots of them - from Clydesdales to Shetland Ponies, from Palominos to Appaloosas, every kind of horse you could imagine.


I'd moo with the cows, watch baby pigs being born and baby chicks hatching. It was awesome.







Well, the Pensacola Interstate Fair is small in comparison, with few animals (primarily cows), but a good number of carnival rides. But for my grandkids, this is "The Fair." In their eyes, this fair is huge.


I lost track of the number of times they went through the Fun Houses. They enjoyed the giant slides, the flying elephants, the spinning green dragons, the spinning cars and the yellow bus that went up in the air. In fact, I don't think there was a ride they didn't love.

My twin granddaughters loved the rabbits, cows, calves and the big Brahma Bull. My grandson was impressed with the two Texas Longhorns.

The fair photos on this post were ones I took yesterday. I selected the most interesting ones for this post. No, I'm not in any of the photos in case you wanted to know.

By the way, my grandkids said the big Ferris Wheel is awesome. Of course, they thought all the rides were awesome. All in all, it was a grand day.


For those of you who know I love to put together lists of books, I managed to find a few books with a fair theme. So here they are, in no particular order (all are available as eBooks).







A Fair to Remember (Welcome to Redemption) by Stacey Joy Netzel*
The County Fair by Katherine Valentine
State Fair (Benni Harper Mystery) by Earlene Fowler
World's Fair by E. L. Doctorow
Murder at the Ingham County Fair (Lou Searing Mystery) by Richard Baldwin
The Carousel Painter by Judith Miller
Death at the Fair (Emily Cabot Mystery) by Frances McNamara
The Last Queen of the Gypsies by William Cobb
Meet Me in St. Louis by Robert Jackson (YA)
The Carousel by Belva Plain
The View from the Ferris Wheel by Courtney Parker

*On my Kindle.

I was surprised to find so few books with a fair theme. I'm sure there has to be others out there that I've missed, so please feel free to add them in the comments below. I hope you'll also share your fair memories.

What are you Reading for Halloween?

Halloween is almost here, again. That means witches, vampires, ghosts, goblins, werewolves and other "spooky" beings are out there waiting for their special night. It also means there is a lot of great Halloween and paranormal fiction that we all ought to be reading.

Well, this is where I point out that you all ought to be reading my paranormal romantic comedy, MOON OVER MADNESS, which is a great Halloween read. If you love witches, vampires, ghosts, werewolves, dragons, oh, and a dog named Jake, then this is just the book for you.

Chantel Deneuve is a half-witch who denied her witch heritage and moved away to the cottage town of East Hill, Florida. She has a quiet life with her two young daughters, Aria and Lucia, until something extraordinary happens. One night, much to her surprise, a vampire, Riordan "Rio" Martainn, comes knocking at her door and invites himself inside.

Rio is hot and Chantel flustered, but he manages to explain to Chantel that King Murdoc and his minions will be coming after her to retrieve the stolen Blue-Star. The Blue-Star? Chantel hasn't a clue. Rio, on the other hand, vows to protect Chantel. But who will protect Chantel from Rio? Together they search for the Blue-Star in order to return it to its true owner, a very pissed off dragon lady named Sabilla. Join Chantel, Rio, a dog named Jake, and an assortment of other-beings in their quest for the missing jewel. In the meantime, will Chantel and Rio fall in love in spite of all the madness?

Now here is where I swear that you'll love MOON OVER MADNESS. Rio is a hunk and Chantel can't resist his charms. Rio's companions, an assortment of vampires and werewolves, are to-die-for hunks too. Then there's Jake the dog who almost steals the show. The action builds and Halloween night is explosive. Then there's the problem with dragons. Sabilla is one dragon you'll not soon forget.

Well, if you're looking for a romantic, lighthearted, fun, action packed, Halloween read, then why don't you give MOON OVER MADNESS a try? This book is novella length and only $1.99.

MOON OVER MADNESS - Amazon/Kindle/US

MOON OVER MADNESS - Amazon/Kindle/UK

MOON OVER MADNESS - Barnes&Noble/Nook

MOON OVER MADNESS is also available at Sony, Apple, Diesel, Kobo and Smashwords.

I've put together a list of fun, romantic, exciting, spooky, haunted reads that are perfect for Halloween. So here's the list, in no particular order. (Note - I slipped in some scary reads too.)

The Corset & The Cowboy (A Sensual Short Story) by Ruth D. Kerce
Livin' Lahaina Loca (Islands of Aloha Mystery) by JoAnn Bassett
Wilder Family Halloween (Darkness Chosen) by Christina Dodd
All Hallow's Moon by S. M. Reine
A Skeleton at Her Door (Halloween/Fall Romance) by E. Ayers
Passion & Pumpkins by Lily Rede
Halloween is for Lovers by Nate Gubin
Dumb White Husband vs. Halloween by Benjamin Wallace
Halloween Romance by Denaya Haymond
Under a Halloween Moon by Beverly Breton-Carroll
The Pumpkin Thief (A Chloe Boston Mystery) by Melanie Jackson
A Catered Halloween (Mystery with Recipes) by Isis Crawford
Halloween Honeymoon by Merline Lovelace
Lady Hilary's Halloween (A Regency Paranormal Romance) by Anne Barbour
The Halloween Collection (Indie Eclective) by M. Edward McNally, et. al.
A Halloween Homicide by David W. Robinson
Uneasy Spirits (A Victorian San Francisco Mystery) by M. Louisa Locke
A Halloween Collection Anthology: Sweet by Charlotte Raby, et. al.
A Halloween Collection Anthology: Stimulating by Rebecca J. Vickery, et. al.
All Hallow's Eve by Carolyn McCray
Hallowe'en Party (Hercule Poirot Mystery) by Agatha Christie
The Halloween Tree by Ray Bradbury
Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury
The October Country by Ray Bradbury

Check out my next post for an assortment of witch, vampire, ghost and werewolf fiction.

(Note - Please feel free to add more Halloween reads in the comments below.)