Winner Of The Halloween Blog Hop

I shall now announce my winner of one of my paranormal books for the Halloween Blog Hop. The winner is... Jennifer Smith! Congratulations and thanks to all who entered. Keep an eye on my blog for the Christmas Blog Hop. I'll give away another book in December. 


For those interested in reading the books I offered as prizes during this contest, both are paranormal erotic romances. You may find information about "An Unexpected Guest" and "The Haunting Of The Sandpiper Inn" at links at the top of this page.

Happy Halloween! Trick Or Treat Blog Hop

Welcome to my blog! This is my Trick Or Treat Blog Hop post. Comment and get a chance to win your choice of either An Unexpected Guest or The Haunting Of The Sandpiper Inn, two of my spooky novels for Halloween. For more information on these two books, check my links at the top of this page.

It's almost Halloween so that means it's time for  scary stuff! I'm a sucker for a good ghost story. Of all the paranormal creatures, ghosts are my favorite. One of my favorite books of ghost legends is "The Screaming Skulls And Other Ghosts" by Elliott O'Donnell. I also like all the ghost legend books written by Hans Holzer. If you've never read any books by these two gentlemen, I highly recommend them.

My two novels The Haunting Of The Sandpiper Inn and An Unexpected Guest are ghost stories. I based both books on a haunted bed and breakfast on Maryland's Eastern Shore. This B&B dates back to the Revolutionary War, and it sits on a river. I had heard about it several years earlier, and after much planning finally stayed there when I was in town for a theater stage crew convention. The story behind the haunting is as follows: British soldiers came up the river and proceeded to set the small town on fire, destroying most of it. Soldiers threw torches on the porch of this B&B, which was originally a brothel. The proprietress swept the torches off the porch with her broom. She made a deal with the soldiers. She would house them, feed them, and allow them to use her services as long as they didn't burn the place down. They agreed, and this B&B was allowed to stand whilst homes around it burned to the ground.  The haunting involves the ghost of the proprietress wandering the halls in the dead of night, checking on her clientele and the women to make sure everyone was comfortable. There have been other sightings as well. The B&B itself is absolutely beautiful, decorated in Victorian splendor. It includes a lovely bar and discounted dinners every Friday night. The rooms are beautiful, spacious, and very homey in that Victorian style I liked very much.

The first time I stayed it was off-season in mid-winter. I was in a room overlooking the river. What a view! I enjoyed a delicious meal and the company of a man I met in the bar. He came to the B&B several times per month to enjoy dinner when in town on business. No, I did not take him to bed, although he was very handsome. We ate dinner together. That night I slept well until about 3 am when I heard a party going on in the room next to me. There was a lot of noise. I managed to go back to sleep. At about 4:30 am I heard heavy footsteps walking up and down the hallway. I immediately thought of the ghost of the proprietress stalking the halls checking on everyone and went back to sleep. I wondered whys she wore combat boots, since her footsteps were very loud and heavy. I felt very safe, secure, and comfortable. Not the least bit scared.

The next day, when I went down for breakfast, I told the clerk about the party and the footsteps. She told me I couldn't have heard anything because I had been alone in the building all night. Yeeeahhh!!!!! The party! The footsteps! None of it could have happened!!!

Of course, I had to return. J

The second time I stayed I was with my husband. While we slept, someone turned on the overhead light in the middle of the night. I was a very light sleeper and I snapped awake the moment the light turned on. He snored away next to me. I was far too tired to get up and turn off the light, so I went back to sleep. When I woke up shortly before dawn, the light was out. I asked my husband later about the light and he said he had turned it off before going to bed. He didn't get up during the night at all.

So who turned on the light? And who later turned it off?

I heard those footsteps in the hallway again, and felt as safe as I did the first time.  No party this time, though. At least this time there were other guests in the place. I wasn't alone in the building again.

So there you have it. I had my own ghostly experiences. Granted, I think there were perfectly natural explanations for what I heard. The kitchen was downstairs right off my room and noise from clean-up could have carried up the stairs. I could have mistaken those noises for a party. It's also likely my husband simply forgot he didn't turn off the overhead light. But I like to think I had ghostly experiences both times I stayed.

Happy Halloween, everyone! Don't forget to comment. You have a chance to win a paranormal erotic romance novel. And visit Drea Becraft's site to learn what other authors are participating in the Trick Or Treat Blog Hop. Increase your chances to win a prize!

Man Candy Tuesday #12 - The Rapture Edition

It's that time again - Man Candy Tuesday! In honor of the hot men who appear every Monday on "Hawaii Five-0", I've dedicated Tuesdays to the most mouth-watering man candy out there!


Now that The Rapture That Didn't Happen is last week's news, I had to devote this week's Man Candy Tuesday to sexy priests. Enjoy the taboo!

What kind of tribute to hot priests would this be without Father Ralph from The Thorn Birds?

If you love Man Candy Tuesday, you'll love my books! I specialize in paranormals and erotica. Enjoy!

Books By Elizabeth Black:

 

 

Tomorrow Is The Rapture! It's The End Of The World!

As you know, the world ends tomorrow, May 21, 2011.

Again.

This latest date is according to interpretations of holy Biblical scripture. Again. J I'm taking it seriously this time. See, I know I'm not going anywhere near Heaven even if I bought my one-way ticket long in advance. I mock God. I doubt holy scriptures. I watch horror movies and read "Satanic" books. I say naughty words, especially the "F" word when I'm pissed. I'm a feminist. I don’t submit to my husband. I had sex outside marriage. I listen to rock music. I will play Dungeons And Dragons someday soon. I write smut, which makes me look bad in God's eyes. I don't hate, condemn, or pity gays and lesbians. I don't have a problem with abortion. I laughed at Monty Python's Life Of Brian. I think Richard Dawkins and P. Z. Myers are righteous dudes.

So, since I'm not going to be called forth to the Happy Hereafter, but I know I have to do something about this monumental event. So… are you afraid your soul is going to be yanked out of your body without warning on the 21^st, and you don't want to spend eternity praying, hanging out with self-righteous souls, and strumming a harp on a cloud somewhere?

Here's the answer to keep you from that horrid fate - buy my books now and read them before the Rapture! I write smut so that automatically excludes you from crossing beyond the pearly gates. Choose my four books: Feral Heat, The Haunting Of The Sandpiper Inn, Tales Of Lust And Longing, or An Unexpected Guest. Or choose any of the numerous anthologies that include my short stories. Just go to my web site/blog and click on the links in my bar at the top of the main page. Everything you need is there: buy links, excerpts, review snippets, and blurbs.

I'm not the only one with plans for the Rapture. Get a load of this guy who posted on Craiglist:

Are you attending the rapture on May 21st, 2011? I expect to be left behind when it happens, so if you aren't going to need your worldly possessions; be they money, cars, canned food, durable goods, etc; I would gladly take them off of your hands. Serious responses only, please. And remember, time is short! You can contact me by replying to this ad. I live in Ronkonkoma, But I'm willing to travel for said goods.

And kind souls will take care Fluffy and Spot after you're gone, since according to Christianity, animals don't have souls so they don't get to join you. I would hope that more people think of their pets before leaving for The Great Beyond. Some atheists have offered After-The-Rapture pet care, and Christians are actually using these services! They aren't cheap. One service costs $135 per pet plus an average of $20 per additional pet. Pets covered include cats, dogs, birds, rabbits, and small caged animals. Other sites offer care for animals like horses, camels, llamas, and donkeys. So far this one place has 250 customers, and those slated to care for pets and other animals after the Rapture are, of course, atheist as well. Wouldn't do for the new pet carers to be called to Jesus after agreeing to care for the animals, would it?

Then there's this amusing story that appears on Snopes:

ARKANSAS CITY (AP) A Little Rock woman was killed yesterday after leaping through her moving car's sun roof during an incident best described as "a mistaken rapture" by dozens of eye witnesses. Thirteen other people were injured after a twenty-car pile up resulted from people trying to avoid hitting the woman who was apparently convinced that the rapture was occurring when she saw twelve people floating up into the air, and then passed a man on the side of the road who she claimed was Jesus.
"She started screaming "He's back, He's back" and climbed right out of the sunroof and jumped off the roof of the car," said Everett Williams, husband of 28-year-old Georgann Williams who was pronounced dead at the scene. "I was slowing down but she wouldn't wait till I stopped," Williams said.
She thought the rapture was happening and was convinced that Jesus was gonna lift her up into the sky," he went on to say. "This is the strangest thing I've seen since I've been on the force," said Paul Madison, first officer on the scene. Madison questioned the man who looked like Jesus and discovered that he was dressed up as Jesus and was on his way to a toga costume party when the tarp covering the bed of his pickup truck came loose and released twelve blow up sex dolls filled with helium which floated up into the air.
Ernie Jenkins, 32, of Fort Smith, who's been told by several of his friends that he looks like Jesus, pulled over and lifted his arms into the air in frustration, and said , "Come back here," just as the Williams' car passed him, and Mrs. Williams was sure that it was Jesus lifting people up into the sky as they passed by him, according to her husband, who says his wife loved Jesus more than anything else.
When asked for comments about the twelve sex dolls, Jenkins replied "This is all just too weird for me. I never expected anything like this to happen."

Anyway, if you are thrilled about leaving this world for the Great Hereafter, at least you have organizations that will adopt out your pets. And if you don't want to participate in the rapture, read my smutty books! That way, you'll be added to God's No Fly List. J

Books By Elizabeth Black:

 

 

Inspiration: A Haunting In Maryland

[This post first appeared on Lindsay Below's blog on April 15, 2011.)

My first two novels have something in common – ghosts. The first one, An Unexpected Guest, was inspired by Vita Sackville-West's short story An Unborn Visitant, about a stick-in-the-mud woman in the early 19^th century visited by the spirit of someone important to her who changes her life. I took that story to heart, ran with it, and An Unexpected Guest was born. This book takes place in the fictitious town of Norwich, Massachusetts, which is on the northeast coast between Rockport and Ipswich. I imagine it sitting next to Innsmouth, the fictitious town H. P. Lovecraft created for his horror story A Shadow Over Innsmouth. No, there are no fish people in Norwich. J

Here's a blurb from the book:

Annie's life is in crisis, and it's time for her to change things. She is determined to be controlled no longer by her arrogant boyfriend and overbearing mother: for the first time in her life, she is going to follow her dreams and do something she truly wants for herself. Her dreams lead her to a picturesque Bed and Breakfast by the ocean that is rumored to be haunted. As she throws fear to the wind and opens up to life's new possibilities she meets Jason, whose long blonde hair and cheeky attitude she cannot resist.

The bed and breakfast is called the Abigail Blackburn House, and I based it on a haunted bed and breakfast on Maryland's Eastern Shore. This B&B dates back to the Revolutionary War, and it sits on a river. I had heard about it several years earlier, and after much planning finally stayed there when I was in town for a theater stage crew convention. The story behind the haunting is as follows: British soldiers came up the river and proceeded to set the small town on fire, destroying most of it. Soldiers threw torches on the porch of this B&B, which was originally a brothel. The proprietress swept the torches off the porch with her broom. She made a deal with the soldiers. She would house them, feed them, and allow them to use her services as long as they didn't burn the place down. They agreed, and this B&B was allowed to stand whilst homes around it burned to the ground.  The haunting involves the ghost of the proprietress wandering the halls in the dead of night, checking on her clientele and the women to make sure everyone was comfortable. There have been other sightings as well. The B&B itself is absolutely beautiful, decorated in Victorian splendor. It includes a lovely bar and discounted dinners every Friday night. The rooms are beautiful, spacious, and very homey in that Victorian style I liked very much.

The first time I stayed it was off-season in mid-winter. I was in a room overlooking the river. What a view! I enjoyed a delicious meal and the company of a man I met in the bar. He came to the B&B several times per month to enjoy dinner when in town on business. No, I did not take him to bed, although he was very handsome. We ate dinner together. That night I slept well until about 3 am when I heard a party going on in the room next to me. There was a lot of noise. I managed to go back to sleep. At about 4:30 am I heard heavy footsteps walking up and down the hallway. I immediately thought of the ghost of the proprietress stalking the halls checking on everyone and went back to sleep. I wondered whys she wore combat boots, since her footsteps were very loud and heavy. I felt very safe, secure, and comfortable. Not the least bit scared.

The next day, when I went down for breakfast, I told the clerk about the party and the footsteps. She told me I couldn't have heard anything because I had been alone in the building all night. Yeeeahhh!!!!! The party! The footsteps! None of it could have happened!!!

Of course,  I had to return. J

The second time I stayed I was with my husband. While we slept, someone turned on the overhead light in the middle of the night. I was a very light sleeper and I snapped awake the moment the light turned on. He snored away next to me. I was far too tired to get up and turn off the light, so I went back to sleep. When I woke up shortly before dawn, the light was out. I asked my husband later about the light and he said he had turned it off before going to bed. He didn't get up during the night at all.

So who turned on the light? And who later turned it off?

I heard those footsteps in the hallway again, and felt as safe as I did the first time.  No party this time, though. At least this time there were other guests in the place. I wasn't alone in the building again.

My experiences affected me so much I wrote about them later in An Unexpected Guest.  This book includes information about the flu pandemic of 1918 and how it affected the region. Plus it's a very romantic and haunting love story. The town of Norwich is based on the Massachusetts coastal town where I live. It has all the homes that date back to the 1800s, the ocean, the cliffs, the beaches, and the rustic romance.  If you love a good and romantic ghost story, you'll love An Unexpected Guest. Once you finish it, read my second haunted B&B book, The Haunting Of The Sandpiper Inn.