Halloween fun with Lorrie Struiff

Cate: Yay, Lorrie Unites-Struiff agreed to be part of my special Halloween celebration. Lorrie, please tell us a little bit about yourself.

Lorrie:  Thanks for the invite, Cate. This is one of my all time favorite blogs.
Well, I live near Pittsburgh, Pa. I love to entertain readers with my stories. I write across the genre board and just have fun with whatever pops into my head. There is a lot of space up there for popping.

Cate: What do you love most about Halloween?
Lorrie: Taking my grandchildren out trick or treating. I get to share the treats.

Cate: Do you have a favorite memory of a Halloween past?

Lorrie: Yes, but it’s a baaaaad one. Nope, not telling.

Okay, you win. I lived in a very rural area when I was a kid. One main road. Ahem, we filled a purse with (use your imagination) and put it under a streetlight. We hid and watched the sparse traffic, or the cars that stopped to pick up the purse, the person put their hand inside –because it was dark- and made the funniest/naughtiest, comments I had ever heard. Phew. When they threw the purse away, we’d retrieve it and do it all over again. Bad, bad, bad. I’m sorry car stoppers. *sob* I was such a brat.

Cate: Oo, you were bad! Wish I'd have been there, lol Have you ever had an unusual experience you couldn’t explain?

Lorrie: Yes. I get, I guess you’d call them vibes at times. Strong feelings. How do I explain? One time these vibes saved me from a horrible wreck just by me pulling over to the side of the road. A few times I knew, just knew when someone died. Honestly, they creep me out. Some are good, some not so good.

Cate: Glad your vibe saved you from a wreck! What frightens you the most?

Lorrie: Elevators, backseat of a two-door car, a small ladies room without windows. Can you tell I’m a horrible claustrophobic?  And going to a morgue scares me.

Cate: *shudders* Definitely can relate. Ever gone on a ghost tour? Or ghost hunting on your own?

Lorrie: Nope. I’m chicken.

Cate: Tell us about your latest release, and where readers can find it online.

Lorrie: The Call on the Dead Club series. Or COD Club on Bookstogonow, and Amazon.

Talk about a spook-speaker, Winnie’s your gal.

Cate: Care to share a blurb or excerpt?
Lorrie:  Two stories in one buy, this is from # 2 Going in Style

 I read the notes. Jack Daniels, AKA, Double Shot, and his two unidentified buddies, had pulled four bank robberies in the last couple of months in two states. They’d stolen over a million bucks. Double Shot tripped off a curb during the last heist and fell onto the street. Then the getaway driver made a pancake out of him in his hurry to flee the scene.

 “Well,” I glanced up, “it’s not like I can beat a confession out of his dead body, so what do you need?”

Maxwell rolled his eyes heavenward. “Do your so-called… thing. If it’s true.” He leaned his elbows on the desk. “We need to recover the cash and get Daniels to give up his buddies.

Cate: What inspired you to write about the theme?

Lorrie: I thought it would be neat to write a comedy series about an older, spunky, smart- mouthed woman who always gets into trouble. But, I think all ages will take to it. Think of  comic “Murder She Wrote.” Winnie is quite the character.

Cate: Can't wait to read her. :) Anything else you’d like to share?

Lorrie: Also have a book just released by Museitup. A Heap of Trouble. Romance/western/comedy/adventure.

Pop over to see my other stories at http://struiff.wordpress.com/

I’d love to hear from you.

Cate: Guys, you're in luck. Lorrie's agreed to give away her two short stories, both published with Bookstogonow:

- Wild Blackberries, a paranormal

- The Last Dance, about young love gone awry.

Don't forget your email address in your comment!

Thanks for sharing in the Halloween fun, Lorrie!

Because Lorrie's so sweet, it reminded me of a yummy recipe perfect for the occasion.

Pumpkin Dip

A super easy, super tasty recipe that’s super cute when served up in a small hollowed-out pumpkin.

Ingredients

1 8- ounce package cream cheese, softened

2 cups confectioners' sugar

1 15-ounce can pumpkin

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice

1 teaspoon frozen orange juice concentrate

Directions

Blend cream cheese and confectioners' sugar until smooth. Gradually mix in the pumpkin. Stir in the cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, and orange juice until smooth and well blended. Chill until serving.

Makes 4 cups.

Blogger friends' news

If you're looking for the Last Days of Freedom Blog Hop, click here or scroll to the post below this one. Thanks!
 
Congrats to Ciara Knight on the release of Weighted!

Here's the blurb:

The Great War of 2185 is over, but my nightmare has just begun. I am being held captive in the Queen’s ship awaiting interrogation. My only possible ally is the princess, but I’m unsure if she is really my friend or a trap set by the Queen to fool me into sharing the secret of my gift. A gift I keep hidden even from myself.  It swirls inside my body begging for release, but it is the one thing the Queen can never discover. Will I have the strength to keep the secret? I’ll know the answer soon. If the stories are true about the interrogators, I’ll either be dead or a traitor to my people by morning.  


Isn't that a gorgeous cover? Check Ciara's blog for details on how you can get your copy!


Congrats to Lorrie Struiff on the release of The COD Series!

Here's the blurb:

Winnie Krapski hugged a cherry tree during a lightning storm. The bolt slammed her, splitting the tree in half. The near-death experience bestowed her with a gift–one she’d rather not have.
Drafted into the C.O.D. Club (Call on the Dead) by Fat Phil Phillips, her mission is to grant the newly deceased’s ghost one last reasonable request. Can Winnie honor her oath?

Check Lorrie's web site for details on how you can get your copy!




Congrats to Maria Zannini on the (almost) release of Mistress of the Stone!

Officially, release day is August 28, but if you pre-order, you get a great deal - only $3.85 from Samhain Publishing.

Here's the blurb:

She was ready for his steel, but not for his flesh.
Luísa Tavares has a list of sins the length of the Antilles, but there’s no time to repent for them now. When a pockmarked Frenchman hands her Papa’s ring—still attached to his severed finger—she orders the Coral back to the Caribbean, despite her father’s earlier warning never to return.
It’s Luísa’s luckless fate that the only man who can help her is a blasted Inglés pirate hunter who’s more dead than alive and locked in a curse he doesn’t want lifted. Worse, his feral sensuality sparks a hunger she can’t ignore.
Xander Daltry hadn’t planned on kidnapping this wild woman—or succumbing to his uncontrollable desire for her. But he needs Luísa and the moonstone she wears around her neck to rescind a witch’s spell. His sister, long dead, and others like her have been cursed to remain in the mortal plane for eternity. Only the stone can set them free.
The only way to convince the reluctant pirate queen to help him is to withhold one small bit of the truth. For if she learns who really betrayed her father, the longing in her fiery eyes could easily turn to murderous wrath…

Check Maria's site for more details!

Congrats to Marva Dasef on the release of Setara's Genie!

Here's the blurb:

Abu Nuwas sits in the bazaar on his threadbare rug; a cup and sign proclaim him a teller of tales. For one small coin, he bids passers by to listen. A poor girl, Najda, sells spices from a tray. Would he, she asks, trade a tale for a packet of spice? Abu Nuwas agrees and begins the epic adventures of a girl and her genie.
As did Scheherazade before him, Abu leaves Najda hanging in the middle of each yarn to keep her coming back.
He relates the adventures of the bored daughter of a rich merchant, Setara, and her genie, Basit, as they encounter the creatures of legend and folklore: a lonely cave demon seeking a home; a flying, fire-breathing horse who has lost his mate; a dragon searching for his family; an evil genie hunting for the man who put him in a lamp; and a merboy prince cast out of his undersea kingdom.

Available from MuseItUp Publishing. Catch up to Marva on her blog tour.

All these titles feature strong female heroines, so they all appeal to me. How about you?