On our first night at RomCon 2010 we sat down to dinner with someone that we thought was another reader, come to find out she was a brand new author. Her name is Erin Kellison. We had a great time getting to know her that night and through out the week-end. That was the start of our friendship with Erin.
The third book in her Shadow Series came out this month and there was no question that we wanted her to stop by. We left the topic up to her and I have to say that you are in for a treat with her guest post. So sit back, grab your beverage of choice and let Erin sweep you into her world.
Games Kids Play
First of all, thank you to Heather and Melanie and all the Book Reading Gals. They’ve been so tremendously awesome. I am honored to be here today. And thank you to the readers who stop by and comment. I am giving away a $25 gift card on the blog to a lucky commenter who answers the question at the end.
Today, I’m talking about a spooky game kids play. My little family right now is super excited about Halloween. My kids have been buzzing since we got the first Halloween catalogue in the mail, and of course, Target has all their fun stuff out. We went to Barnes and Noble the other night. The store has a major selection of spooky, Halloween-oriented books on display at the entrance of the kids’ book section, and we got a bunch. So it’s ghost story time at my house too. A Dark Dark House is a favorite and I am very good at telling it, if I do say so myself. (I have a whole repertoire of little kid friendly ghost stories that end in giggles. I once tried a truly scary one and paid the price for a long time every night thereafter.)
I’ve got a ghost in my September release, Shadowman. Her name is Therese Amunsdale and she haunts the Segue Institute, a paranormal research facility made out of a turn-of-the-century hotel. She was featured in book one in my Shadow series, Shadow Bound, as well. In this book, she can be heard chanting the following:
Dead man, dead man, come alive
Come alive by the number five
One, two, three-four-five
Dead man, come alive!
I didn’t make up that chant. I was happily writing one day when I heard my kids chanting it in the living room. Apparently, they’d learned it from kids in the neighborhood, who’d learned it at school—a game passed down on playgrounds the way “Light as a Feather, Stiff as a Board” is passed down over time. And just today, I heard that a form of Bloody Mary is being played at their school as well. I remember playing that when I was in 4th grade.
I searched the words online and came to this resource: http://gamesweplayed.com/2010/01/10/playing-dead-man-dead-man-come-alive/
The chant was too scary-good to pass up, and I had to use it in my book, where it becomes an invocation of sorts that challenges my heroine, Layla, who is living on borrowed time. I have to say, my kids give me great material. They scare me more than any movie or book can. For example, my littlest informed me, quite nonchalantly, that my closet is haunted. She was dead serious, though I tried to tease a smirk out of her. Now, I swear, my own closet freaks me out.
My question for readers today is… what creepy childhood games did you play? If you never played any, what’s a favorite ghost story?
One commenter will win a $25 gift card. Just answer Erin’s question. Contest rules apply. You need to follow both us and Erin on twitter, and like both of our pages.
Ghosts
They haunt the halls of the Segue Institute, terrifying the living, refusing to cross over. But one soul is driven by a very different force.
Love
It survives even death. And Kathleen O’Brien swore she would return to those she was forced to leave too soon.
Shadowman
He broke every rule to have her in life; now he will defy the angels to find her in death.
The Gate
Forging it is his single hope of being reunited with his beloved, but through it an abomination enters the world. Leaving a trail of blood and violence, the devil hunts her too. Pursued through realms of bright fantasy and dark reality, Kathleen is about to be taken…
I met Erin this year at RomCon. Mel and Heather were pimping her books out to everyone. I bought the first two books on my Kindle and I did a give away for one of her books that I got at RomCon. The winner of that book already read it and loved it, now she’s bought the 2nd book and is reading it now. I have not had time to read Erin’s books yet – but I will be putting them to the top of my TBR pile. Great interview!
When I was younger (a looooong time ago), we also played with an Ouija board in my grandmothers basement. It used to scare the bejeebrs out of us. Love the Shadow series and thanks for the giveaway.
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I don’t remember the name of the book, but I remember a story my teacher read to us in kindergarten where a little girl always wore a ribbon around her neck. When some one finally untied it, her head fell off. I stayed away from anyone wearing choker-style necklaces for awhile. Lol.
Actually remember friend telling me about Blood Mary and mirror. It involved the room being dark and you had to change her name. Needless to say I’m very receptive and my mind plays tricks (over active imagination). Yeah couldn’t have a mirror in my room after that.
We played the stiff as a board, light as a feather game. I was the board once and when I opened my eyes they had me over their heads but I came down FAST!
I had a ghost in my house from ages 7-11 (then we moved to a ghost free house but I babysat in haunted houses) so my games could never outdo them.
Never was brave enough to try Bloody Mary, just the idea was enough to scare me! But we did do Light as a Feather, Stiff as a Board very successfully. We used to play it at all the sleepovers along w/using the Oujia board. Once we managed to raise up a 5’6″ adolescent with just our fingers and then had trouble waking her back up afterwards. Freaky!
And Erin, you are such a nice person! Met you at Rom Con 2011, you made the games we played tons of fun! I have Shadow Fall on my TBR pile! Now can you conjure up more free time for me?
My sister in law always talked about having an evening with a Ouija board, I didn’t even know what she was talking about; after discussing it, we tried the board even though I was leery; but to no avail, we couldn’t get it to do anything for us. Then many years later, I found my daughter and her best friend hiding in our basement with a Ouija board and after asking them what they were doing, they told me trying to find out who they were going to marry!
A creepy childhood game I used to play was the Ouija boards. I remember I was so fascinated with it but also scared because I heard that by “playing” with it we were conjusring up spirits and some might not leave us. *shudder* I think earlier this year I even goggled ouija and found a lot of warnings against playing with it.
Erin, I am hearing a lot about your Shadow series and it sounds like you have created a wonderful magical world.
I follow both Erin and The Book Reading Gals on Twitter (FieryNa).
Ive definately played light as a feather, but we also used to play with a oiuja board a lot
We used to play with the Ouija board. Dont remember where we got one, but I remember we hid it from the grown ups. And of course scared ourselves silly.
It is so exciting to have Erin join us today, if you ever have a chance to be at a conference and she is there you must meet her, she is one of the best! I never got into those scary games, I always had nightmares growing up and did not need to encourage more terror. I did have paranormal experiences though, they started when I was really young and the nightmares were the worst. Every night there was an image of a man on my ceiling above my bed, the nights he was there I would sleep without any problems. I like to think it was my grandfather who died before I was born. I had many other experiences, some just feelings and others down right scary. Maybe that is why I relate to Shadow so much?
I don’t recall playing any ghost stories, but I do remember that when I was 6 or 7, there was a boy in my class who told everyone who would listen about how he had been playing with an ouija board and had suddenly felt someone or something punch him in the shoulder. It freaked me out!
Erin, this Shadow Series sounds great!
(Following both BRG and Erin on Twitter (Mierke88))
Not big on scary childhood things here in Holland, can’t remember anything at all. Favourite ghost stories, nothing really comes to mind, except a book that creaped me out, even the second time I read it, as it is by one of my favourite authors, when I was in my fantasy period:
Raymond E. Feist – Faerie Tale.
O girls, especially for you and your lovely contests, I have re-activated the facebook and twitter accounts I had made a long time ago. And have added you and Erin on both. Hope I did that correctly. But don’t expect me to actually talk on there 😉
When I was little we played our own version of flashlight tag. You would watch a scary movie like nightmare on elm street and then you would go outside. The seeker would have a flashlight and the rest would hide. Then the seeker would try to find everyone before we scared them bad enough to make them pee themselves. It was always a blast but I am a chicken and usually had to be it.
I don’t have a twitter account.
OOOOH! I’ve been lusting afte this series forever!!! It’s on the top of my wishlist. Sorry girlies… but I intentionally do not have Facebook or twitter. I try and keep my life tech simple. If this disqualifies that’s ok.
Thanks for the great post!