Click on this image to find out who the lucky Winning Author is...Your prize print copy of "Tales for Canterbury" will be on its way to you in the New Year 🙂
Click on the Creepmas tree to take you to more creepy posts on the blog tour...Hurry! There are Prizes!
It’s the 24th…the last night of Creepfest…the night before Christmas…
and in creeps a green elf…
She bears the names of 2 winners …
tales of Creepmas to spin was their task…
Their houses visited by the Ghost of Creepmas Past…
what horrors did he foretell, what terrors did he awaken…
The Ghost of Creepmas Past took you to the dark place of your Nightmares…
Tim C Ward
…this was his trip back in time courtesy of the Ghost of Creepmas Past…
He took me back to a time when my ears stuck out and my mom covered them with my shaggy hair. My brother and I had only one present that year, a long electronic train set. We shouted at the top of our joy when we entered the living room–me in my dino pjs and he in his ninja turtles. I pushed him aside; he hit his head on the corner of the couch and cried. I took a seat at the controls near the train station, flicked the switch, pressed the red button. Nothing happened. My mom looked at me, hiding most of her face behind the hall. “I’m sorry. It doesn’t work.” Tears burned as if they were lava trails burning my sorrow into permanent scars down my cheeks. The salty taste creeping over my lips drove nails through my heart. This was the worst Christmas ever. The blood dripping down my brother’s nose and the shade of purple coloring his squinted face were too much to bear. I went to hug him but fell right through his form. I looked up at the Ghost of Christmas. “Take me away. I’m going to be sick”
Ash Krafton
…this was her trip back in time courtesy of the Ghost of Creepmas Past…
I could never sleep on Christmas Eve. I’d lie in bed, listening to my baby sister snoring, straining to hear what was going on down the hall.
Every noise would make me sit up. Was that a sleigh bell? Were those hooves tapping on the roof? The wearier I got, the more frequent the noises became.
A creek from the closet. Did Santa come out of the wrong side of the chimney and fall into my closet? Would he find my Barbies and decide I didn’t need any more toys? Would he find where I hid Sissy’s squeaky baby doll? I *hated* that thing and hid it so she wouldn’t annoy me with it. Baby toys were stupid but if Santa found it, he wouldn’t understand. He’d just bump me onto the naughty list.
The night wore on. I heard breathing outside my window. Was that a reindeer? Why did it growl? Did they eat children? Did they only eat the naughty ones?
Dawn came. I jumped out of the bed and ran to my mom’s room. “Merry Christmas!” I shrieked, relieved the ordeal was over.
“Back to bed,” mom mumbled. “Today’s not Christmas. It’s Christmas Eve.”
Congratulations to both Tim and Ash…I loved both flash pieces…
Click on the Creepmas tree to take you to more creepy posts on the blog tour...Hurry! There are Prizes!
Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.
The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,
In hopes that St Nicholas soon would be there.
The children were nestled all snug in their beds, While visions of sugar-plums danced in their heads. And mamma in her ‘kerchief, and I in my cap, Had just settled our brains for a long winter’s nap….
Hold that thought…
Nope….wrong 12 days…
You have just arrived on the 12th day of CREEPFEST…
Yes! Readers I am afraid we have reached the last day of Creepfest…
(Moans and groans ensue…)
Wait this means you have 1 day to creep to all the wicked minds on this hop…
Click on the Christmas tree above and it will take you to a world of Creepfest…
Don’t go too far…because coming up I will be announcing the 2 winners of my reader challenge…Watch this space
“Twas the last night of Creepfest
when all through the Bloggosphere
creatures were stirring, children knew to fear
the voodoo dolls were pinned with scare
In dread that soon Patti Larsen would creep in there…
Run…she’s coming…scaring children is what she does best…”
Patti: “I love fairy tale villains. I really do. In fact, part of me wishes they could win, now and then…
My favorite of all? The Big Bad Wolf. The poor guy, I mean really. He’s the Wile E Coyote of the story realm, isn’t he? First it was those stupid pigs. Come on, people–pigs are FOOD. He was just doing what comes naturally. And he was hungry. Hell, I had pork for dinner last night. Does that qualify me in the BBW category?
Then there was that stupid little girl in the red hood. Talk about an idiot. Everyone knows going out in the woods alone with a basket full of food makes you a target. Sheesh. Grow up, kid. And the Wolf, well, he knew the Huntsman was on his trail, right? It’s not his fault Granny died of a heart attack when he tried to hide in her house. That little brat of hers told her own story, though, didn’t she? Made BBW look, well, big and bad.
And what about the boy who cried wolf? Trying to get BBW into trouble like that? Kids have no sense these days, nasty little bullies. He had to know it would just add to BBW’s already degraded reputation.
Yup, poor Biggie. He’s had it rough. But I aim to change all that. My upcoming novel, Red, tells the story as it really happened, as he partners up with Riding Hood to destroy the Huntsman, the real culprit of the story. Maybe then folks will start showing BBW a little respect.”
About the Author: Patti Larsen is a middle grade, young adult and adult author with a passion for the paranormal. Her YA thriller series, The Hunted, is available now. Books one and two of The Hayle Coven series, Family Magic and Witch hunt are also out now, with the sequels, Demon Child and The Wild, due in December of this year. She is a full time writer and a part time teacher of her Get Your Book Done program. Patti lives on the East Coast of Canada with her very patient husband and four massive cats.
Thanks Patti…Red sounds Amazing…I know we all look forward to its release. Don’t keep us waiting too long. Thank you for that first little glimpse on this last night of Creepfest…It has been a pleasure hopping with you this Creepfest! Wishing you a happy last night of Creepfest and a Merry Scary Christmas… 🙂
Click on the Creepmas tree to take you to more creepy posts on the blog tour...Hurry! There are Prizes!
It’s eleven days in…almost the end but not yet…there are still plenty of tales to read, interviews to follow and giveaways to enter…so if you have been one of the naughty ones this blog hop and not entered yet…click on the Christmas tree above and get hopping…There is still time! Hurry!
Today I have the pleasure of Ruth Barrett on the blog…Ruth specializes in ghostly tales…
The fat man blinked hard as he returned to consciousness. His head roared with pain and a heavy, drugged sensation. He tried to lift his arm to rub his bleary eyes, but found himself immobilized.
What the hell…?
With difficulty, he peered down the length of his rotund body. He was naked. His bulging stomach strained against what looked to be yards of Saran Wrap pinning him down onto a table. Confusion turned to terror as his twinkling blue eyes darted about the room. Beneath sheets of plastic meticulously taped in place, he recognized his own North Pole stables. His breathing quickened in visible white puffs in the chill air as he went over the last moments he recalled: slipping down a chimney in Miami, bending over his gift sack… then a sharp prickle in the side of his neck.
The fat man’s gaze landed on a display of photographs: dozens of reindeer who had served him well, only to be served as venison when they grew too old.
A man’s voice spoke low in his ear:
“Greetings, Santa. I am your Ghost of Christmas Past.”
Santa gasped as a blade deftly sliced a thin cut on his cheek…
[Note to bloghoppers-Aside: So just a reminder…Ruth’s Flash Fiction is the eighth entry into the Creepfest Challenge…Let me know what you think of it and check back here tomorrow for the seventh offering as you are going to help pick the winning Creepfest author at the end of the tour. Please let me know, in your comment below (or rate it at the top with stars), how you rate this eighth entry, in the challenge, by the imaginative Ruth Barrett out of 5 stars (5 = Brilliant).]
Ruth Barrett
Ruth Barrett is the author of Base Spirits: In 1605, Sir Walter Calverley’s murderous rampage leaves a family shattered. The killer suffers a torturous execution… but is it truly the end? A noble Yorkshire house stands forever tarnished by blood and possessed by anguished spirits.
Some crimes are so horrific, they reverberate through the centuries.
As an unhappy modern couple vacation in the guesthouse at Calverley Old Hall, playwright Clara, and her scholar husband, Scott, unwittingly awaken a dark history. Clara is trapped and forced back in time to bear witness to a family’s bloody saga. Overtaken by the malevolent echoes, Scott is pushed over the edge from possessive husband to wholly possessed…
Inspired by a true-life drama in Shakespeare’s day, this is itself a play within a play: a supernatural thriller with a historical core.
Also available as a paperback through Fanfare Books fanfare@cyg.net or Callan Books jcallan@orc.ca I will personally inscribe them upon request before shipping.
Ruth, you had me at “Dark Passenger”…Loved this festive spin on “The Dark Passenger”… Great story. Looking forward to tucking into your book, Base Spirits over the festive season. Happy Creepfest & Merry Christmas Ruth! 🙂
Don’t forget to enter my #Creepfest Reader Challenge….This is the last day to enter…Tomorrow I post the results and the winners…Hurry you could still be a WINNER!
Question: The Ghost of Creepmas (Creepfest’s Christmas) Past is making a house call and this week he is visiting your house. He takes you back through time to your worst Christmas Nightmare. (This can be real or imagined.) Tell me about it in 200 words (max) in the comments section.
…then complete the following tasks set by the Creepfest Grinch to be eligible for the prize
after all this is done: tweet that you have been visited by#GhostofCreepmasPast and tag me @AuthorKimKoning
Also make sure that you are hopping to the other blogs in this #Creepfest Blog Tour
These 5 tasks will make your entry eligible for the prize….
I will choose a winner and a runner-up on the 24th.
The winner will win an ebook copy of Tales for Canterbury + $10 Amazon voucher
The runner-up will win a $10 Amazon voucher.
For more info on Tales for Canterbury (which includes my debut short story “The Ring of Fire), click below…
A fantastic anthology of 34 talented authors including: Neil Gaiman, Jeff Vandermeer, Jay Lake, Sean Williams along with others. (Includes my debut short story - a YA dystopian "The Ring of Fire)
I thought I would share a little insight on December Solstice or Night of the Midnight Sun in honour of both the event and #Creepfest…
December Solstice usually occurs between 20/12 and 23/12 every year. This year it falls on the 22nd. This solstice celebrates the return of light and the continuing circle of seasons and life. Here are some ways that cultures around the world have celebrated the Solstice…
Yule is also known as Alban Arthan and was one of the “Lesser Sabbats” of the Wiccan year in a time when ancient believers celebrated the rebirth of the Sun God and days with more light. This took place annually around the time of the December solstice and lasted for 12 days.
Yule: The Feast of Juul was a pre-Christian festival observed in Scandinavia at the time of the December solstice. Fires were lit to symbolize the heat, light and life-giving properties of the returning sun. A Yule or Juul log was brought in and burned on the hearth in honor of the Scandinavian god Thor. A piece of the log was kept as both a token of good luck and as kindling for the following year’s log.
In England, Germany, France and other European countries, the Yule log was burned until nothing but ash remained. The ashes were then collected and either strewn on the fields as fertilizer every night until Twelfth Night or kept as a charm and or as medicine.
In Ancient Rome the winter (December) solstice festival Saturnalia began on December 17 and lasted for seven days. It was held to honor Saturn, the father of the gods and was characterized by the suspension of discipline and reversal of the usual order. Grudges and quarrels were forgotten while businesses, courts and schools were closed. Wars were interrupted or postponed and slaves were served by their masters. Masquerades often occurred during this time. It was traditional to offer gifts of imitation fruit (a symbol of fertility), dolls (symbolic of the custom of human sacrifice), and candles (reminiscent of the bonfires traditionally associated with pagan solstice celebrations). A mock king was chosen, usually from a group of slaves or criminals, and although he was permitted to behave in an unrestrained manner for seven days of the festival, he was usually killed at the end. The Saturnalia eventually degenerated into a week-long spree of debauchery and crime – giving rise to the modern use of the tern saturnalia, meaning a period of unrestrained license and revelry.
In Poland the ancient December solstice observance prior to Christianity involved people showing forgiveness and sharing food. It was a tradition that can still be seen in what is known as Gody.
In the northwestern corner of Pakistan, a festival called Chaomos, takes place among the Kalasha or Kalash Kafir people. It lasts for at least seven days, including the day of the December solstice. It involves ritual baths as part of a purification process, as well as singing and chanting, a torchlight procession, dancing, bonfires and festive eating.
Many Christians celebrate St Thomas’ Day in honor of St Thomas the Apostle on December 21.
In Guatemala on this day, Mayan Indians honor the sun god they worshipped long before they became Christians with a dangerous ritual known as the polo voladore, or “flying pole dance”. Three men climb on top of a 50-foot pole. As one of them beats a drum and plays a flute, the other two men wind a rope attached to the pole around one foot and jump. If they land on their feet, it is believed that the sun god will be pleased and that the days will start getting longer.
The ancient Incas celebrated a special festival to honor the sun god at the time of the December solstice. In the 16th century ceremonies were banned by the Roman Catholics in their bid to convert the Inca people to Christianity. A local group of Quecia Indians in Cusco, Peru, revived the festival in the 1950s. It is now a major festival that begins in Cusco and proceeds to an ancient amphitheater a few miles away.
Aside – One of my favourite books deals with the legends of the Solstice as well as other ancient stories that permeate early European cultures…
Click on the Creepmas tree to take you to more creepy posts on the blog tour...Hurry! There are Prizes!
We’re behind the EIGHT-ball today, eight days into #Creepfest and the fun is still not over…
Have you been hopping to the other blogs on the tour…click on the tree above to get the full tour list…
You do not want to miss out…these are chances at early Christmas gifts that you won’t just be able to get in a shop…they have each been specially chosen for you by the #Creepfest authors…there are books, there is swag…hop to it…there is still time…
Talking of which…I need some more entries for my contest…you can own a collection of 34 short stories by authors far and wide…including tales by Neil Gaiman, Jeff VanderMeer, Jay Lake…
+ my debut dystopian tale: “The Ring of Fire” + Amazon Gift Vouchers…
HURRY…there are only 4 days left of the tour…4 days left to hop to all the blogs and grab as many contest entries as your hot,greedy little hands can hold…Hurry..Hurry…The clock is ticking….
Today I have some bone-rattling and spine-chilling Creepmas poetry to share with you offered up for sacrifice by the deceptively innocent Marissa Farrar…
#Creepfest Author’s Flash Fiction Challenge
1.) Re-imagine Santa’s visit to drop off gifts by putting a #Creepfest spin on it. Max words: 200
Christmas Eve, I’m woken by the sound of moans,
And in the distance comes the rattle of bones.
Outside I come to stand and stare,
For what monstrosity should I find there?
Not bells but strung skulls are what I hear,
The elves who didn’t work so hard this year.
The reindeer snort, huffing hot air in plumes,
Eyes glow red as they paw with cloven hooves.
Santa’s not fat or jolly – those were lies,
He’s a skeleton with black holes as eyes.
Nightmares in his sack contain little cheer,
He’s here to deliver Creepfest this year.
[Note to bloghoppers-Aside: So just a reminder…Marissa’s Flash Fiction is the seventh entry into the Creepfest Challenge…Let me know what you think of it and check back here tomorrow for the seventh offering as you are going to help pick the winning Creepfest author at the end of the tour. Please let me know, in your comment below (or rate it at the top with stars), how you rate this seventh entry, in the challenge, by the deceptively innocent Marissa Farrar out of 5 stars (5 = Brilliant).]
2.) On Santa’s list this year, would you be naughty or nice? Tell me three ways you got on to either the naughty or the nice list.
I think I’d have to be on the nice list. While I certainly have my vices, I do try to be good! Okay, so three ways I’ve been nice… 1.) I’ve helped out a number of my author friends with new covers for their eBooks and by writing reviews. 2.) I regularly have a house full of children because I’m often helping out fellow mums by looking after their kids. 3.) Hmm… I can’t think of a third! Perhaps I should be on the naughty list after all! 3.) Who is your favourite villain in a classic fairy-tale and why?
It has to be the Snow Queen from Hans Christian Anderson’s fairy tale, ‘The Snow Queen’. It’s so haunting and eerie. I just love the beauty and sorrow of the story.
4.) If you were a character in “The Christmas Carol”…who would you be and why?
The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come. I’m terrible about always looking ahead. Sometimes I have to remind myself to appreciate what I have here and now.
5.) What gift would you leave under the tree if you were the Christmas Grinch?
It would have to be the gift my uncle gave my mother one year – a carrier bag with his company’s name on the front. I kid you not…
Caught in a violent and abusive relationship, Serenity thinks there is no escape.
Upon meeting a stranger, Sebastian, she is shown the possibility of a different future.
Only Sebastian has a dark secret; he is a vampire.
As Serenity’s life takes a terrifying turn, she finds herself drawn into a world she never knew existed; one of murder, love and immortality. She is forced to confront her own weaknesses to save both her own life and that of the vampire she has come to love. But in the end all that matters is; can she find the strength to be Alone?
Book two in the ‘Serenity’ series, ‘Buried’ is also now available to buy from your favourite eBook store!
Thank you Marissa for that very chilling poetic twist on Creepmas…I think I hear moans even now as I write this…better bolt the doors tonight! Happy Creepfest and Merry Christmas Marissa! 🙂
The Reader Challenge
~13/12 – 23/12~
I am going to ask you a question and you are going to answer it in the comments. Only 1 entry per person is allowed. However, to be eligible you need to:
after all this is done: tweet that you have been visited by#GhostofCreepmasPast and tag me @AuthorKimKoning
Also make sure that you are hopping to the other blogs in this #Creepfest Blog Tour
These 5 tasks will make your entry eligible for the prize.
~~~~~~
So drumroll…Here is the question challenge.
Question: The Ghost of Creepmas (Creepfest’s Christmas) Past is making a house call and this week he is visiting your house. He takes you back through time to your worst Christmas Nightmare. (This can be real or imagined.) Tell me about it in 200 words (max).
~~~~~~
I will choose a winner and a runner-up on the 24th. The winner will win an ebook copy of Tales for Canterbury + $10 Amazon voucherThe runner-up will win a $10 Amazon voucher.For more info on Tales for Canterbury (which includes my debut short story “The Ring of Fire), click below…
A fantastic anthology of 34 talented authors including: Neil Gaiman, Jeff Vandermeer, Jay Lake, Sean Williams along with others. (Includes my debut short story - a YA dystopian "The Ring of Fire)
Click on the eye to take you to my sneak peek excerpt (Hosted by Ash Krafton)Click on the Creepmas tree to take you to more creepy posts on the blog tour...Hurry! There are Prizes!
Click on the Creepmas tree to take you to more creepy posts on the blog tour.
It’s the 19th….Seven days into the #Creepfest Blog Tour….Having fun yet? Chilled to the bone!! Winning some early Christmas gifts? Are you talking it up? Are you hopping along to all the spots on the tour (click on tree above)?
Today this seventh day in the Blog Hop…I have the pleasure of Jessica McHugh on the blog…Jessica is a fantasy author who spins some wickedly crooked flash fiction too….Have a look at her latest offering…
#Creepfest Author’s Flash Fiction Challenge
1.) Re-imagine Santa’s visit to drop off gifts by putting a #Creepfest spin on it. Max words: 200
“This one is perfect. There are quite a few elves beneath this house,” Santa said as he landed his reindeer by the back door. “Calling them ‘elves’ doesn’t make it any less creepy, you know,” Dasher snorted. “Maybe you should just stop being lazy and deliver the presents the old way, down the chimney.” “If you don’t shut your snout, I’ll send you down the chimney.” “Okay, forget the chimney. How about those elves?” “I thought so.” Santa twisted his mittens into the snow and the ground began to shake. Then, up through the ivory banks, a multitude of skeletal hands wriggled. Santa hooked bows on bones and placed presents on palms. When a beagle’s rotting skull popped out of the snow, Santa tossed the gift cards and Fido caught them with a yip. “Be careful with those gifts,” Santa warned the decrepit “elves” as they pulled the presents underground. “Oh, and do mind your manners if there are any children around when you pop in. Especially you, Fido. If a kid catches a glimpse of you, it might put them off dogs forever. Gift cards too.”
[Note to bloghoppers-Aside: So just a reminder…Jessica’s’s Flash Fiction is the sixth entry into the Creepfest Challenge…Let me know what you think of it and check back here tomorrow for the sixth offering as you are going to help pick the winning Creepfest author at the end of the tour. Please let me know, in your comment below, how you rate this sixth story, in the challenge, by the wickedly, imaginative Jessica McHugh out of 5 stars (5 = Brilliant).]
2.) On Santa’s list this year, would you be naughty or nice? Tell me three ways yougot on to either the naughty or the nice list.
Except for all of the holiday flash horror in which I’ve killed Santa, I think I’ve been pretty nice this year. Or I just haven’t been especially naughty. I drank lots of champagne, but not excessively. I ignored an annoying co-worker instead of bitching about her. And I set aside my writing many times when my husband needed a good cuddle.
3.) Who is your favourite villain in a classic fairy-tale and why? I do love the cannibalistic witch from the Hansel and Gretel story just because I find it incredibly clever to use a candy house as bait. However, you’d think someone that clever wouldn’t lean so far into the oven… Oh well, I imagine she had a good run.
4.) If you were a character in “The Christmas Carol”…who would you be and why? I’d prefer to be “Fozziwig” from “The Muppet Christmas Carol” because I like to party hearty and I laugh at my own jokes.
5.) What gift would you leave under the tree if you were the Christmas Grinch? A huge bottle of wine one must drink entirely to read the note at the bottom which says, “You’re working tomorrow. Merry Christmas.”
Jessica McHugh is an author of speculative fiction that spans the genre from horror and alternate history to epic fantasy. A prolific writer, she has devoted herself to novels, short stories, poetry, and playwriting. She has had ten books published in three years, including “Rabbits in the Garden”, “The Sky: The World” and the first three installments in her “Tales of Dominhydor” series. More info on Jessica’s speculations and publications can be found at JessicaMcHughBooks.com.
Thanks for that sneak peak into your imaginative mind Jessica…I am not going to be able to look at elves in the same way again…what did I hear someone say they are made up? Wash your mouth out…as Jessica has just shown, even if you cannot see them, does not mean they don’t exist! Happy Creepfest and Merry Christmas Jessica! 🙂
The Reader Challenge
~13/12 – 23/12~
I am going to ask you a question and you are going to answer it in the comments. Only 1 entry per person is allowed. However, to be eligible you need to:
after all this is done: tweet that you have been visited by#GhostofCreepmasPast and tag me @AuthorKimKoning
Also make sure that you are hopping to the other blogs in this #Creepfest Blog Tour
These 5 tasks will make your entry eligible for the prize.
~~~~~~
So drumroll…Here is the question challenge.
Question: The Ghost of Creepmas (Creepfest’s Christmas) Past is making a house call and this week he is visiting your house. He takes you back through time to your worst Christmas Nightmare. (This can be real or imagined.) Tell me about it in 200 words (max).
~~~~~~
I will choose a winner and a runner-up on the 24th. The winner will win an ebook copy of Tales for Canterbury + $10 Amazon voucherThe runner-up will win a $10 Amazon voucher.For more info on Tales for Canterbury (which includes my debut short story “The Ring of Fire), click below…
A fantastic anthology of 34 talented authors including: Neil Gaiman, Jeff Vandermeer, Jay Lake, Sean Williams along with others. (Includes my debut short story - a YA dystopian "The Ring of Fire)
Click on the Creepmas tree to take you to more creepy posts on the blog tour.
It’s scary 6th day…half way through the #Creepfest and that much closer to Christmas!
To scare you silly this 6th day of #Creepfest…I have the rare honour of the lovely Ash Krafton, dark poetess, author and blogger…She brings you “A Christmas Terror”
God damn ye, scary gentleman I’m begging—go away Remember when I saw you on the night ‘fore Christmas Day? You slithered down my chimney toward the tree where presents lay No tidings of comfort or joy.
At first I’d thought Saint Nicholas had come to visit me I saw the fat pack on his back and almost danced with glee But then he turned—I saw the face I wasn’t meant to see— Where are tidings of comfort and joy?
The scarlet eyes that smoldered there looked treacherous and cruel They burned a hateful fire that fed on demonic fuel His teeth were long and vicious, dripping incandescent drool No tidings of comfort or joy.
I didn’t want his presents, didn’t want to see that face I shut my eyes in terror but my mind would not erase All images of Christmastime were tragically replaced No tidings of comfort and joy
He loosed the strings and tugged it open I saw what’s inside A group of children, bound and gagged their wrists and ankles tied He could have turned and seen me but I’d run away to hide Forget tidings of comfort and joy None for this boy— No more tidings of comfort or joy.
[Note to bloghoppers-Aside: So just a reminder…Ash’s Flash Fiction is the fifth entry into the Creepfest Challenge…Let me know what you think of it and check back here tomorrow for the sixth offering as you are going to help pick the winning Creepfest author at the end of the tour. Please let me know, in your comment below, how you rate this fifth story, in the challenge, by the wickedly, terrifying Ash Krafton out of 5 stars (5 = Brilliant).]
Hi, everyone. I’m Ash Krafton and, as you can see, I have the tendency to take the happy and innocent things in life and kind of ruin them just a little bit. I don’t think I ever intentionally set out to become a dark poet. That’s just where I ended up.
Maybe that’s why I ended up on the Naughty list. No matter how much good a person does, it’s the bad stuff everyone remembers. Santa is no different. Shoot, can he hold a grudge or what?
So maybe I dug up a lover’s corpse in The Vigil (Danse Macabre). Well, two, if you count The Downside of Undying Love (Lightning Flash). But I’m not all about reanimating corpses. Sometimes, I make them—like I did in So Long, Warren (Red Penny Papers)—but that time, I think I pled insanity.
Anyway, Santa’s a jerk who won’t remember all the nice things I’ve done because the naughty things were just too great to overlook.
My favorite villain in a classic fairy tale is Godfather Death in the tale of the same name. Although he is meant to be the adversary in the story, I can’t help but sympathize with him. Damn, those Grimms were twisted. They really knew how to tell a dark tale.
When it comes to A Christmas Carol, I’d definitely be Jacob Marley. It might be too late to save myself…but it won’t stop me from trying to save someone else. There is always hope for the living. We can change our ways. We can learn from another’s mistakes. I love what Jacob Marley represents.
He also gets the best light and sound effects in live productions.
If I were the Grinch, I’d leave a broken candy cane under the tree. There is nothing more depressing than a broken candy cane, especially if the cellophane is loose and the broken section hangs like a dislocated shoulder. *shudder*
All in all, I suppose I don’t get invited to many Christmas parties…but that’s okay. I’ve seen the true Spirit of Christmas and it’s not something I want to drink punch with.
Thanks, Kim, for being such a great hostess…and for giving me the chance to show off my Christmas Creepfest side. I’m also glad to share my own tidings of comfort and joy—for me, anyway—by announcing the upcoming release of my debut urban fantasy.
BLEEDING HEARTS: Book One of the Demimonde by Pink Narcissus Press. Available March 2012
When shy advice columnist Sophie meets dark and alluring Marek, she learns life-changing secrets about them both—he’s a demivampire struggling to avoid evolution and she’s an empathic oracle destined to save him. Sophie possesses the rare ability to reduce the spiritual damage that causes a demivamp to Fall, making her the only thing to stand between a DV and his evolution into vampire. However, as Marek’s dangerous past propels him toward his desperate fate, his enemies make darker plans for him: once vampire, Marek would be second only to the Master himself. The vamps want to cause Marek’s Fall and they intend to use Sophie to do it.
As a special treat, I’ll give commenters on this post an extra chance to win a prize. Once you’ve entered to win on The Kraftmatic Adjustable Blog, leave a comment here and I’ll pick another lucky sonofagun. Easy, peasy, baby-squeezy and you’ve got two chances to win. (More if you’ve been stalking me. In a non-threatening manner, please.)
Thank you for that frightfully scary Christmas Terror Ash. Oh I agree with you, loved those Grimm brothers. Give me the Brothers Grimm over Disney any day. Happy Creepfest & Merry Christmas! 🙂
The Reader Challenge
~13/12 – 23/12~
I am going to ask you a question and you are going to answer it in the comments. Only 1 entry per person is allowed. However, to be eligible you need to:
after all this is done: tweet that you have been visited by #GhostofCreepmasPast and tag me @AuthorKimKoning
Also make sure that you are hopping to the other blogs in this #Creepfest Blog Tour
These 5 tasks will make your entry eligible for the prize.
~~~~~~
So drumroll…Here is the question challenge.
Question: The Ghost of Creepmas (Creepfest’s Christmas) Past is making a house call and this week he is visiting your house. He takes you back through time to your worst Christmas Nightmare. (This can be real or imagined.) Tell me about it in 200 words (max).
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I will choose a winner and a runner-up on the 24th. The winner will win an ebook copy of Tales for Canterbury + $10 Amazon voucherThe runner-up will win a $10 Amazon voucher.For more info on Tales for Canterbury (which includes my debut short story “The Ring of Fire), click below…
A fantastic anthology of 34 talented authors including: Neil Gaiman, Jeff Vandermeer, Jay Lake, Sean Williams along with others. (Includes my debut short story - a YA dystopian "The Ring of Fire)
Click on the Creepmas tree to take you to more creepy posts on the blog tour.
It’s the 17th and the stretching out bloody hand tells us we are 5 days in, the blood is creeping through…Hope you have been hopping to all the above blogs…there is plenty tales of horror and freebie flash fiction as well as some great giveaways, sweepstakes and prizes…
Five days in...
Today I have the pleasure of the wicked hilarious man with a sharp tongue, the one and only Axel Howerton – lately of #CoffinHop 2011 fame…He spins some flash fiction for us that can only be pure “Axel” and tells me a little about his Christmas favourites…did you think he makes the naughty or the nice list? Find out here…
1.) Re-imagine Santa’s visit to drop off gifts by putting a #Creepfest spin on it. Max words: 200
“Who’s next Larry?” The booming voice echoes across the rooftops, the giant in his red suit struggling out of the chimney stack, blazenly ignoring every law of physics held dear by the most serious of men. When he finally wriggles free, like a fully-inflated beach ball magically erupting from the business-end of a wrapping paper tube, there’s a squishy “pop”, and a barely audible snicker from the midget standing next to the ornate wooden sleigh with the quad-thrust boosters and touch-screen GPS control panel.
“McGinty, Jimmy. 43, lives with his mom, owns a comic-shop…” Larry squeaks his words out like a mouse in heat.
“43? Jesus. Are you kidding me?”
“You know the rules, Boss Man. As long as they believe.”
The big red beast shakes snow from his long white beard and makes a long reach back to scratch at the expanse of red velvet covering his well-fed haunches.
“But 43. Why hasn’t his mother given him the damn “talk”. We can’t afford to be giving gifts to kids until they’re 50! 12… 13… max! Then we have a nice rollover that allows us to keep up with the… what is it now? 10 MILLION a year?”
“10, 964, 998.8”
Bushy white eyebrows rise as gleaming blue eyes narrow to slits.
“Point-eight?”
“Don’t ask.”
[Note to bloghoppers-Aside: So just a reminder…Axel’s Flash Fiction is the fourth entry into the Creepfest Challenge…Let me know what you think of it and check back here tomorrow for the fifth offering as you are going to help pick the winning Creepfest author at the end of the tour. Please let me know, in your comment below, how you rate this third story, in the challenge, by the wickedly, twisted Axel Howerton out of 5 stars (5 = Brilliant).]
2.) On Santa’s list this year, would you be naughty or nice? Tell me three ways you got on to either the naughty or the nice list.
This may be a little gross for a happy-go-lucky Creepfest interview, but my poor, lovely, saint of a wife lives with 3 boys. SO I spend a lot of time cleaning in front of the toilet. Santa knows what I’m talking about. You hardly ever see girl elves in mainstream depictions of the North Pole… Who do you think cleans up after all those little buggers? It probably is not Mrs. Claus. Nick feels my pain. Ergo – always on the nice list. I could chop up a scientologist and feed them to a nun, I’d still be gold… You know, there’s a whole separate afterlife for janitors and plumbers. They get to sit in a big shiny white room that never gets dirty. They sit there and they eat ribs and drink whiskey and they watch Monk on the greatest HD TV in the Universe.
3.) Who is your favourite villain in a classic fairy-tale and why?
Let’s see, Rumpelstiltskin was a black-market human trafficker, the witches in Hansel & Gretel were cannibals, the Queen in Snow White was a Republican and the “evil” stepmother wasn’t evil, so much as a real buzz-kill. Soooooo… Grendel. I mean, he was just a giant BAMF berserker looking for his revenge on the men who tormented him out of religious bias. He’s minding his bidness, slaughtering townsfolk and sending half-eaten Viking warriors off to Valhalla, when that smarmy jag Beowulf shows up and rips his damn arm off… Where’s the respect?
4.) If you were a character in “The Christmas Carol”…who would you be and why?
Well, when we JibJab it, my kids always make me Bob Cratchit and, I suppose, he’d be who I would both most resemble and most relate to. I’m just a poor shmoe trying to afford the proverbial Christmas goose and a couple of lumps of coal. I’m happy and content with being in the middle. I don’t need to be the richest man in town, but neither will I let my kids go hungry or without Transformer KRE-O. Also, my boss is a dick.
5.) What gift would you leave under the tree if you were the Christmas Grinch?
Zee Grinch cares about nosing, Lebowski! Zee Grinch leaves nossing. He comes from nossing and creates nossing! The Grinch is the personification of nihilism.
Axel Howerton
Axel Howerton is most often described – in order of import – as: Badass Dad. Attendant Hubby. Loverman. Author. Reviewer. Time Lord. Bookhouse Boy. Coffee Addict. Dudeist. Sox National. Enmascarado. Reformed pugilist. Ink Monkey.
His work has appeared in Dark Moon Digest, Dark Eclipse, Kitschykoo Magazine, Last Writes, My Good Eye, The Den of Iniquity, EyecraveDVD, and many more. Axel’s zombie novella Living Dead at Zigfreidt & Roy is available at most online retailers and his story “Hum” is featured in the anthology A Career Guide To Your Job In Hell, alongside the likes of Scott Phillips, Robert Vardeman and Victor Milan.
Click here to Buy Axel's novella...but read it with the lights on...
Axel spends most of his time braving the frigid tundra and rampaging sasquatch tribes of Canada – usually two steps behind his two brilliant young sons and a wife that is way out of his league. He is also currently hard at work on several new short stories, as well as putting the finishing touches on his crime/comedy novel, “Hot Sinatra”.
Thanks Axel…As always your macabre wit had me in stitches – pun meant in the spirit of Creepfest. EEww…so glad I am a girl…yes you get to be on the “Nice” list for your good deeds in toilet hygiene. Happy Creepfest & Merry Christmas! 😀
The Reader Challenge
~13/12 – 23/12~
I am going to ask you a question and you are going to answer it in the comments. Only 1 entry per person is allowed. However, to be eligible you need to:
after all this is done: tweet that you have been visited by #GhostofCreepmasPast and tag me @AuthorKimKoning
Also make sure that you are hopping to the other blogs in this #Creepfest Blog Tour
These 5 tasks will make your entry eligible for the prize.
~~~~~~
So drumroll…Here is the question challenge.
Question: The Ghost of Creepmas (Creepfest’s Christmas) Past is making a house call and this week he is visiting your house. He takes you back through time to your worst Christmas Nightmare. (This can be real or imagined.) Tell me about it in 200 words (max).
~~~~~~
I will choose a winner and a runner-up on the 24th. The winner will win an ebook copy of Tales for Canterbury + $10 Amazon voucherThe runner-up will win a $10 Amazon voucher.For more info on Tales for Canterbury (which includes my debut short story “The Ring of Fire), click below…A fantastic anthology of 34 talented authors including: Neil Gaiman, Jeff Vandermeer, Jay Lake, Sean Williams along with others. (Includes my debut short story - a YA dystopian "The Ring of Fire)
Kim Koning 