Fright in the Night, a Scary Read for October! #MFRWHooks

 

Book Hooks Blog Hop #MFRWHooks

Hello and welcome to the Focused on Story Blog. Today we're joining the Book Hooks Blog Hop sponsored by the Marketing For Romance Writers Group. Each participating blogger shares an excerpt from their book. I'm sharing my scary novel, Terror on Sunshine Boulevard. It's the perfect read for this frightul time of year, Halloween!

Terror on Sunshine Boulevard by J.Q.Rose

Mystery, horror

Back of the Book: Rescuing a naked woman lying in a geranium bed? Investigating mysterious murders Not the usual calls for first responder Jim Hart. He expects slip and fall accidents or low blood pressure emergencies in his retirement community of Citrus Ridge Senior Community and Golf Resort. The ghastly crime scenes turn the winter time fun into a terrifying season of death and mystery when the authorities cannot track down the predator responsible.

Jim and his wife Gloria could escape the horror and grief by returning to their northern home, but concern for their friends and residents keep them in Florida. With the entire community in a dither over the deaths, the Harts participate in the normal winter activities of golfing, dancing, and pool parties with their friends to distract them from sadness and loss.

Can Jim and Gloria work with the authorities to discover who or what is killing the seniors on Sunshine Boulevard and stop the increasing body count?

Excerpt: Chapter Four, Terror on Sunshine Boulevard

Meet Jingles, Mr.Tweeble's Dog

Doris set aside her cereal bowl on the end table. She pulled her frail body from the deep seat ready to make a phone call to Ralph Tweeble to complain about the dog. Of course, once she was up, the pet quit yapping. She looked out the window to scan Ralph’s yard to see if he had let the dog out into the backyard, but the motion light wasn’t on. She cocked her good ear toward his house and listened. Ah, silence from next door. Maybe now she could watch her movie without that annoying barking.

Doris picked up her cereal bowl and returned to the kitchen to fill it with more raisin bran and milk. She settled down in front of the maple TV console. As she brought a spoonful of her midnight snack to her lips, the terrier next door began raising the roof with his howls and yelps again.

She had enough of that damn dog. She wrestled herself up from the recliner as fast as her stiff body would allow and spied out the window. She stood mesmerized by a dazzling yellow light blazing through Old Man Tweeble’s house. Momentarily blinded by the amazing brightness, she scrambled out to her screened-in porch to get a better view and caught a whiff of the most putrid odor she had ever smelled in her seventy-nine years on this earth.

Doris moved as quickly as her legs tolerated to call 911. Where was that dad-burned phone? Whoever thought of cordless phones anyway? When there were phones hooked up to the wall with a cord on the handset, no one ever missed a call because they couldn’t find the damn thing. She was exasperated, but she was more scared the house next door might explode into flames if she didn’t call right away.

Doris checked the kitchen table, the couch cushions and the nightstand by the bed for the phone. Finally, she found it where it should be…on the desk in the charger. She grabbed it and called 911.

“Come quick! There was a flash of bright light next door. Something’s on fire!” Doris clutched her chest, unable to breathe. “Hurry!” Everything turned black as she passed out and fell to the floor, the phone clattering down next to her.

* * *

 In that early morning, the first responders discovered two bodies in their respective homes on Sunshine Boulevard—Mr. Ralph Tweeble and Mrs. Doris Hadley. The aura of death and mystery overshadowed the dazzling sunny day.

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Click here to download your digital copy of Terror on Sunshine Boulevard by J.Q. Rose from your favorite online bookstore.

Click here to order your paperback copy.

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Thank you for stopping by. Please join in the fun by clicking below to visit more authors and discover entertaining books for your fall reading!

 

Need Suggestions for a Really Scary Book or Movie?, Horror eBook Giveaway

Do these ghosts scare you??? hee hee

Hello and welcome to the J.Q. Rose blog.

This week my friend, Emaginette, asked "Where has all the horror gone?" She loves being scared and recalls some of her favorite scary movies and books. Emaginette shares on her blog her disappointment with the new batch of "monsters" e.g. the "alpha wolves and pretty, even sexy, vampires". Can you recommend some great scary books or movies for her?

I can't suggest any for her since I stay away from the horror genre. I was scared out of my wits when I was about six years old. My mother didn't do her homework when my older brothers asked if they could go to the movie starring the Three Stooges. Anybody remember those crazy guys and their slap-stick comedy? 

The Three Stooges
Photo from Monster Kid Online Magazine #5

To Monster Kids it was always a special treat when the creatures they loved occasionally crossed paths with their favorite funnymen. ABBOTT AND COSTELLO MEET FRANKENSTEIN with Bela Lugosi, Lon Chaney, Jr. and Glenn Strange in their famous monster roles was the ultimate crossover of horror and comedy and will probably never be topped.  from Monster Kid Online Magazine #5   

Mom told the boys they could go, and since I whined and stomped my foot, she allowed me to go with them. I know they didn't appreciate me tagging along, but they really, really wanted to see the movie, so we took off. 

I had no idea Frankenstein would show up in a movie which included that zany, wise-cracking trio. Needless to say, I spent the entire movie under the theater seat on the sticky floor, along with the gum wads on the underside of the seat. No, my brothers wouldn't take me home. They didn't want to miss out on a great movie!

That was the end of my horror movie experience until...

In the eighth grade, Donald asked me to see a movie at the local theater, the Palace, exactly where I had suffered through the three stooges catastrophe. Of course, I wanted to go with Donald. All my friends and their boyfriends went every Friday night. Each couple lined up behind the other along the wall of the theater. I don't remember asking what the movie was, but I was in for a shock again when I discovered it was a horror movie about a huge monster taking over the city. Well, the monster wasn't too real looking, mostly like a big stiff puppet put together with screws and rubber bands. Computer enhancement of monsters was a long way off in the '60's.

I wasn't frightened by the monster, but scared to death when Donald leaned across the arm of the theater seat to give me a kiss on the lips. I turned toward him, ready to experience my first real kiss, just as the monster disappeared into the ocean. The credits began to roll and the lights were coming up in the theater. All I could think of was everyone was going to see us kissing and the word would spread in my small town and my parents would find out. Oh, noooooooo. 

I don't remember what happened after that, if my mom found out I'd been kissed, or not. I do know my first kiss was a memorable one, but for the wrong reason. Instead of the thrill of a first kiss, I was scared to death the whole world would know. 

Do you like reading horror stories or watching horror movies? Can you help out my friend, Emaginette, and share some recent horror books or movies you have enjoyed? 

# # #

You can imagine my consternation when my first published book was published in the horror genre! MuseItUp Publishing accepted what I thought was a quirky mystery with a few suspenseful moments. I do remember writing the story during the day because if I wrote before bedtime, I was too afraid to go to sleep. 

The reviews for the book confirmed readers thought it was scary too.

~~"The novella contains a good amount of snarky but good-natured humor in addition to the mystery and body horror. It was a fast, fun, easy read. It reminded me of one other book I read before in the same horror subgenre, but alas, to name what that subgenre is would spoil the mystery. Best to just read it for yourself, if you're any kind of a comedy/mystery/horror fan." ~~ by reviewer Erin O'Riordan

Since it'is the Halloween season, and for those who enjoy being scared out of their wits, I will be giving away an e-copy of Sunshine Boulevard. Easy entry--leave a comment and you're in! Deadline to enter is Sunday, October 25 at 9:00 pm EDT.

Sunshine Boulevard

Mysterious deaths upset the Florida retirement community 

interfering with their seasonal activities and turning up more than dead bodies

Back of the Book: Sunshine Boulevard by J.Q. Rose

Who or what is killing the seniors on Sunshine Boulevard?  Follow Jim and Gloria Hart, snowbirds who annually migrate to Florida for warm sunshine, fun, and games in snow-free winters. However this season, Jim Hart, a volunteer First Responder in his retirement community of Citrus Ridge, is drawn into the investigation of the mysterious deaths. Even in the midst of the unfortunate demise of the residents on Sunshine Boulevard, the Harts try to enjoy the winter with friends. They don't realize that their friends are getting together for their own kinds of affairs with each other. The neighbors are in a dither over the deaths, but perhaps more intrigued by the gossip about the affairs and why the naked lady was found lying in the geranium bed.

For those of you who can't wait to see if you win the book, here are the buy links.

The e-book is available at all major online booksellers.

Buy Links:

Muse It Up PublishingBookstore

 Amazon 

Kobo Books 

Or click below to read Sunshine Boulevard now on your Kindle or Kindle app. Thank you!

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What Frightens You?

What frightens you? What makes your blood run cold, makes your teeth chatter, scares you to death? Ah, yes, all clichés which writers hate. Hmmm, maybe clichés scare you off from reading a piece?

Does a little mouse darting across the kitchen floor scare you? How about snakes, spiders, bugs? All real things that can set a heart pumping.

Then there are the creatures like Frankenstein, monsters, zombies, werewolves. Are they fantasy or actually walking around in our world?

How about the staircase leading to the unknown, the face of the serial killer reflecting in your mirror, the hand reaching out of the grave, the bloody dagger on the floor of the car, the dark room containing mysterious sounds…

Does one of these scary things cause your heart to pound faster and your mind to whirl more than another? Is a mouse skittering across your toes comparable to spotting a Zombie? Are there various degrees of horror for you?

What scares you the most? Now, don’t say your mother-in-law!

A skilled horror writer can make even the tiniest mouse sighting become frightening to the reader. Using words to paint the picture in the reader’s mind and build the suspense allows even the mundane to take on the aspect of horror.

My best girlfriend laughed when I told her my book, Sunshine Boulevard, contained elements of light horror. She said you can’t have light horror. That’s like being a little pregnant. Scary is scary.  I tried to explain that it is light horror as opposed to dark. No torture, blood and guts.

I must admit the story does include some frightening stuff as well as secrets and suspense. It also has lighthearted comedy mixed in with the everyday lives of the folks in Florida’s senior golf resort community.

                                                 

What frightens you? Leave a comment here to tell us.

Every commenter’s’ name will be saved in a handsome oak coffin for a drawing to win the PDF of my mystery/horror novella, e-book, Sunshine Boulevard. Be sure to leave your email address so you can be notified. Yes, that’s all you have to do to be a winner here at the J Q Rose blog. The coffin will be opened to draw out the lucky winner’s name on November 1. I promise not to disturb the body lying in repose. Good luck!

Now trudge on over to visit more blogs listed at the coffin hop website. You can win even more prizes!!

While you are hopping about in cyberspace, you're invited to join me at Jane Richardson's website for the One Link Lowdown  Jane asks fun questions and even makes me tell a fib. Hope to see you there!