It's Hallowe'en! Time for the Coffin Hop Web Tour!
October 24-31, 2011

 Glowing Green Ghosts image courtesy Freeimages.co.uk

What better month than October for horror writers to crawl out of their coffins and spread the Halloween spirit!

Join in to win  great horror fiction and Halloween goodies! I'm entering my newest spooky story, Dark Clouds. Click the tab above to download a FREE e-pub copy!

 

Enter my contest by clicking the Subscribe button on the right. Every subscriber gets one entry into a draw for a Free e-pub copy (or MOBI, for Kindle owners) of my upcoming Novella, "Initiation Rites" in November. Follow this blog using the buttons in the lower left column for another entry.

Click on the links below to participating authors' websites. Each author has a contest to enter on their site.

Over 80 chances to win!

Dark Clouds:
Chapter One of The Mandrake Ruse

Matt always knew when his mother arrived in town: the wind would swirl from every direction at once, sending the neighbour’s weather-vane spinning clackety-clack and the yellow and brown leaves whirling along the road like a child’s top.

“Let’s get out of here,” Matt said to his wife, Teri. They packed a few things into a single suitcase and drove out of town, over the bridge to Wakefield. “We might as well stay somewhere nice,” he said.

“It’s too bad it’s so expensive,” Teri replied. She looked worried, but not about the money; she was weary of her mother-in-law’s antics.

They arrived at the hotel; Teri loved the way its rustic pretence did not mask its luxury. She lay on the bed and squirmed on the thick duvet. “This is so nice.”

Matt flopped down beside her and tried to undo a button. “There’s lots of time for that,” she said, gently pushing his hand away from her blouse. “I want to take a walk and see the fall colours.” She smiled and kissed him lightly, then sprang off the bed and opened the door. Matt sighed and shoved his feet into his runners again, then followed his pretty wife out.

They found a path that climbed a hill through a yellow and bronze forest. At the top, rock like a shield held the trees back enough to give them a view of the river where it bent to flow south toward Ottawa. They looked for the city’s skyline, holding hands. “Let’s make love under the trees,” Matt said.

Teri pushed his shoulder. “Silly,” she said, but then she frowned as she looked at the sky.

Matt followed her gaze. Overhead, the sky was blue, but black clouds were drawing together to the south, blotting out the sun. A gust ruffled Teri’s hair. She cried out, blinking and rubbing dust from her eye.

A small black cloud detached itself from the host over Ottawa and headed toward them, fast. Matt put his arm around his wife’s shoulder and pulled her back to the path. “We have to get off this hill, now.”

Somehow, the clearing had become wider, and the opening under the trees to the path, where they would be safe from the sky, was farther away. Matt recognized the phenomenon: his most common nightmare involved an expanding landscape that pushed his destination farther and farther away when he was racing against time to reach it. He held Teri tighter and started running.

Too slow. The black cloud got closer, was right on them and turned into a hail of dust, rocks and sticks whirling around them. Matt choked on dust. The wind knocked Teri to the rocky ground and she cried out again.

The Coffin Hop Horror Web Tour—the gory details:

 

1) Have a spooky fun time!

2) Invite your friends and spread the word!

3) This tour starts: Monday, October 24, 2011 at midnight (PST)

    This tour ends: Monday, October 31, 2011 at midnight (PST)

    Winners will be drawn and posted november 1, 2011

4) Meet and mingle with the authors! Experience a new destination at every stop! Participate in every site's contest and be entered for chances to win multiple prizes! Every blog visited is another opportunity to win!

5) Participation at all sites is recommended, but not required. The more sites you hop, the better your chances of winning prizes.

6) Did I mention to have a spooky fun time?

***Authors have full discretion to choose an alternate winner in the event any winner fails to claim their prize(s) within 72 hours of their name being posted or after notification of win, whichever comes first. Anyone who participates in this tour is subject to these rules***