Happy Halloween - All Hallows Read, Halloween Blog Hop & Trick of Treat Book Blog Hop

So this year, rather than just doing a book for All Hallows Read, Soph and I have also signed up for a couple of blog hops: Sara C. Snider's Halloween Blog Hop and Patricia Lynne's Trick-or-Treat Book Blog Hop.

Soph is also doing the hops over at her blog and both of us are doing them over at the Wittegen Press Blog where there are lots and lots of drabbles for all our books with horror or paranormal content.

All Hallows Read 

All Hallows Read is a Halloween tradition supported by Neil Gaiman where the idea is to give someone a scary book on Halloween. As with the past two years Soph and I have written a short story each and put it in a book and it is free just for today.

Cursed - A Horror Collection

by Natasha Duncan-Drake and Sophie Duncan

If Wishes Were … by Natasha Duncan-Drake

Essie and her friend Beth are taking a trip to commiserate Beth’s loss of yet another boyfriend. When they visit a spooky old graveyard and Essie makes a wish on a haunted mausoleum things don’t turn out how she expected at all.

Happy Families by Sophie Duncan

Bridget loves Happy Families, so when she finds and old pack in a junk shop she buys them. She lives to regret it as strange and nasty things start to happen to her house-mates.

You can download it for free from either Smashwords, Google Play or iTunes - just use the buttons below.

  

Halloween Blog Hop

Sara's Halloween Blog Hop is all about sharing something to do with Halloween, be it fiction, poetry, art or something else entirely. To see everyone taking part, scoll to almost the bottom of my post and this Hop is the first list.

I decided to write a little flash fic for you all. I do hope it makes you shiver :).

The Dead of Night

by Natasha Duncan-Drake

Maggie shifted yet again and demanded that her brain turn off. Of course it didn't. It was one of those nights where she kept dropping off, but then something would prod her mental map and she'd wake up again. Unfortunately that was how her mind worked and it made for the odd sleepless night.

She was just contemplating picking up her phone and playing something mindless when the bed beside her shifted.

"Can't sleep?" she asked as the bed dipped and then lifted, creaking along the way.

"Hmm," was the inarticulate response from her husband Jack, "pee."

Such was her other half's ability to communicate when mostly asleep.

In response Maggie rolled over and tried to find a comfortable spot to actually get some sleep.

It couldn't have been more than two minutes later when there was a thud at the base of the bed. She had just been drifting off, finally, so she wasn't overly pleased.

"Did you walk into the bed post again?" she asked, not overly sympathetic.

Her night vision was absolutely crap, but she looked over to the vaguely familiar silhouette against the streetlight diffusing through the curtains. A grunt was the only response.

"Well get back into bed then," she said and rolled her eyes even though Jack wouldn't be able to see her.

Jack when almost comatose was not exactly the life and soul of the moment.

There was some shuffling that made her feel guilty; maybe Jack had actually hurt himself this time, but then the bed dipped and there was the expected creaking as Jack settled in. Maggie put her hand out in a silent apology.

"Shit you're cold," she said; "is the bathroom freezing again. We really have to have that radiator replaced. Want to snuggle to warm up?"

There was only a hum of response. Maggie took that to mean no, but she moved a bit closer anyway to share some of her body heat. The last thing she wanted was a sick husband to deal with. A very cold hand settled on her hip, so she figured the gesture was appreciated.

"Bugger," she said as she tried to fall asleep again, "I'm wide awake."

She really didn't expect a low chuckle to come back at that and Jack's fingers tightened on her hip for a second.

"Don't tell me you took that as an innuendo," she said, but smiling to herself; "you can get horny in under a second can't you?"

Another laugh replied.

"Well don't get any ideas, because you might be the love of my life, but I have a big meeting tomorrow and I have to sleep," she told him firmly.

Jack just laughed again, this time a little higher and he didn't stop.

"Jack," she said, "don't."

He didn't comply, in fact he laughed harder.

"Jack," Maggie tried again, an edge coming into her voice, "that's enough; you're starting to weird me out."

Jack just kept going and the laugh was getting higher all the time. Maggie wasn't exactly afraid, but her heart began beating faster and she didn't like it at all. She slapped his hand. He just laughed more. Her annoyance began to morph into worry; this wasn't like Jack at all.

"Jack," she said, turning over to face him; "what's wrong?"

Then, just as suddenly as Jack had started laughing, he stopped.

"Mags," said the voice of her husband from behind her, "who are you talking to?"

Then the light flicked on and Maggie began to scream.

Trick-or-Treat Book Blog Hop

Patricia's Trick-or-Treat Book Blog Hop is all about giving away books instead of candy (much easier to do through the internet, wouldn't you agree :)). To see everyone taking part, scoll to the bottom of my post and this Hop is the second list.

Soph and I have taken all our horror or paranormal related books that were greater than 99c and reduced them to 99c for one day with a Smashwords coupon. We also have a collection of titles at Wittegen Press that are always free, and, of course, our All Hallows Read book (Cursed - A Horror Collection) is free for today.

The following books of mine are discounted (see their individual pages for details by clicking on the covers):

Here's a tip, if you want all the stories in the books with the orange covers, buy Myriad Imaginings, if you want just the stories by me buy Half of Everything and only go for the other three if you just want a particular genre (Bright Young Things = YA Speculative Fiction, Supernature = Paranormal Romance and Book of Darkness = Horror). Since they are all discounted to 99c I'd personally go for the one with the most stories in it ;).

What is your favourite thing about Halloween?

Halloween Blog Hop List

Trick-or-Treat Book Blog Hop List