HALLOWEEN FOR SCAREDY CATS

Just a few days to Halloween. I’m always torn about the day. A little part of me thrills to the creepy… possibilities of the day. The rest of me—you know, the natural coward part—wants to pull the covers up and stay there until it’s all over.

In 2016, I wrote a post for the now-defunct Not Your Usual Suspects blog. It was about an experience I had staying at an older hotel on the Oregon coast. I went to this hotel at least once a year, to attend amazing writing workshops. I never thought twice about it until the day someone told me about the ghosts that lived there. Here’s the link to the post. It might give you chills. Or it might make you laugh at my foolishness.

Anyway. At this time of year, I like to remind folks about the only two remotely scary stories I’ve ever written. One is a spooky novel, based on my experience at the hotel. The other flirts with horror—again, not my comfort zone (and honestly, not that horror-filled a horror story).

Here’s the write-up for Shelter, my spooky novel:

After six long months on the run from her abusive husband, Ash Gantry finally finds a place to call home in Albans, Ontario. It doesn’t take long for her to fall for the small town with the big heart. But more than the town itself, more than its inhabitants, it’s the house on Hawk Street she falls in love with. Then she discovers that her new home hides a dark secret, one even more dangerous than the man hunting her. By the time he finds her, she may already be dead…

A buy link, in case you’re interested: https://books2read.com/u/mYRKPd

As for the short story, “On a Dark Road to Nowhere” is the story of Naomi, whose car breaks down on a deserted road in the middle of a Yukon winter night. She’s lucky to stumble across Maggie’s cabin. Then Maggie shows her what’s hiding in the woods around the cabin…

Buy link: https://books2read.com/u/mvvrX8

Have a Happy Halloween, all. Don’t let anything bite…

And now for something spooky…

I’m the original scaredy-cat. I don’t watch scary movies or read scary books. Those stories bury themselves in my psyche and come out to play in the middle of the night. Every once in a while, however, an idea sticks its creepy hooks in me and I have no choice but to write it out. So, in honour of Halloween, I present a novel that may put a tingle up your spine. It did for me.

SHELTER

After six long months on the run from her abusive husband, Ash Gantry finally finds a place to call home in Albans, Ontario. It doesn’t take long for her to fall for the small town with the big heart. But more than the town itself, more than its inhabitants, it’s the house on Hawk Street she falls in love with.

But while her heart wants to stay, her head tells her to keep moving. If she keeps moving, her husband will never find her. Only, she’s tired of hiding. Tired of running. Tired of being afraid.

Let him come. She’s staying.

Then she discovers that her new home hides a dark secret, one even more dangerous than the man hunting for her. By the time he finds her, she may already be dead…

Praise for Shelter:

“Ms Dube likes to get a bit of the paranormal into many of her mysteries and in this case the ghost is pretty prevalent and plays quite a large role in the present-day story, especially it’s spectacular and quite satisfactory ending, and is what really ties the two stories together.” –Amazon reviewer

“Gripping from beginning to end. Loved it.” –Goodreads reviewer

“Hard to put down and a great read for Halloween! Or any other time of the year when you want a tingle in your spine and your breath to speed up with anticipation.” –Goodreads reviewer

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