Happy Friday! This week, we celebrate new books 2023 (mine included) and Halloween, just over a weekend away. Don’t you hate it when Halloween falls on a weekday?
Can you believe this great idea–gas can pumpkins (ha! pumpkin pun)! But back to new books 2023. One Thing Better launched on Tuesday, and Amazon reviews are coming in (slowly). It has over seventy Goodreads reviews and should be an easy copy and paste to anyone who has reviewed it there. If you are one of my early readers, please post an Amazon review. Thanks!
Now that business is out of the way…
People LOVE Halloween. So do I, but my heart breaks a little as it gets closer. It’s our first Halloween as empty nesters. Though Abby stopped trick-or-treating ages ago, she’s not here to dish out candy, carve pumpkins, or watch scary movies. Rather, she’ll be on-campus at Virginia Tech, in pirate garb, having too much fun while her poor parents are lonely and sad at home, crying over candy we shouldn’t eat. Oomph.
A really great book is the perfect way to escape my sorrows. Perhaps something a little quirky?
If you’re looking for something you can read in small-ish doses, say between trick-or-treaters, here are two “spooky” recommendations: If It Bleeds by Stephen King and Marple by many contemporary mystery writers. Both offer “short” stories. You don’t have to be a huge King fan to enjoy If It Bleeds—it’ll really make you think. Marple is best read by Agatha Christie fans. The stories are written by contemporary authors but in Christie’s style and with the same Marple characters fans know and love. Experiencing a wide range of authors is a bonus, too.
Other new books in 2023 that I’m looking forward to reading…
- A Winter in New York by Josie Silver. I’m enjoying The Two Lives of Lydia Bird, which is sad, sweet, and British. So, I’m sure her latest book will be awesome, too. Plus, maybe it’ll put me in the mood for winter.
- The Mystery Guest by Nita Prose. It’s the second installment in the Molly the Maid series—I loved The Maid! It comes out November 28th, but it’s available for preorder now.
Speaking of new books, this happened…
Signed copies will be going out this week!
Also coming soon… The Delilah Duffy Mystery Series box set! Check out her beautiful new look.
Here are some Halloween-ish quotes for a spooky vibe:
“Believe nothing you hear, and only half that you see.” – Edgar Allan Poe
“The 3 types of terror: The Gross-out: the sight of a severed head tumbling down a flight of stairs, it’s when the lights go out and something green and slimy splatters against your arm. The Horror: the unnatural, spiders the size of bears, the dead waking up and walking around, it’s when the lights go out and something with claws grabs you by the arm. And the last and worse one: Terror, when you come home and notice everything you own had been taken away and replaced by an exact substitute. It’s when the lights go out and you feel something behind you, you hear it, you feel its breath against your ear, but when you turn around, there’s nothing there…” ― Stephen King
Gosh, Stephen–how do you sleep at night?
Happy Halloween!
Jessica
