My Say What Blog Archives - Page 28 of 53

Nov 6th #L&SR’s #Wednesday’s blog Challenge 11-6-19 Books I’ve Recommended & Why

Welcome to #L&SR’s #Wednesday’s Blog Challenge November 6, 2019, Books I’ve Recommended & Why. It’s is a long list so lets get started in no particular order.

1. Molly Harper. If you’ve read this blog much you’ll find that I recommend all her paranormal books and a few of her contemporary ones. She is a talented writer, worked for six years as a reporter and humor columnist for The Paducah Sun. She is best known for her Nice Girls vampire series and Naked Werewolf series. Harper is well-known for her success in audiobooks. Her pairing with voice actress Amanda Ronconi has made her a “legendary pairing” at Audible. Check out her Mystic Bayou series on Audible. Yep, I have them all.

2. Linda Howard. Trouble Maker is a delicious book where the four pawed character takes front and center mixed with a yummy black ops hero and a strong sassy heroine.The tale continues with A Woman Left Behind. For animal lovers Troublemaker is a must read. Her delivery and humor is entertaining.

3. Deborah Harkness – Discovery of Witches, Shadow of Night and Tree of life are well written tales of vampires, witches and nearly anything in between. Her historical accounts of Victorian London are great and I don’t usually care for historical. But I truly enjoyed walking though the city with Deborah’s descriptions and lively characters. I believe you would too.

4. Dan Brown – Yeah he’s a little different from my usual reading preference. Still his characters and descriptions make you feel part of the story. Figuring out the puzzles he creates is one of the reasons I read his books.

5. Ernest Cline – Ready Player One and Armada – Ready Player One – Again not my usual book preference, but exciting just the same. Sci-Fi with an intriguing plot for gamers.These deal with gaming skills and knowledge of 1980s pop-culture trivia to find clues left by billionaire James Halliday. I love the world he created and the unlikely heros and heroines he created.

Armada is a surprising thriller, a coming-of-age adventure, and an alien invasion tale like nothing you’ve ever read before. The audio books are fantastic narrated by Wil Wheaton.

6. Nora Roberts – The Witness and O’Dwyer Trilogy are a couple of my favorite books. I’m not so much a fan of her Contemporary Romances as I am her paranormal ones listed. I guess contemporary for me is ordinary. I want to be entertained with magic, mob bosses and things like that. LOL

7. The Harry Potter Series. What’s not to like, a school for wizards, magic and friendships. I have to admit that the first book, The Sorcerers Stone is still my favorite. Love when he gets his letter, the lengths the Dursleys go to in order to avoid him getting it, and the snake scene when the glass disappears and Dudley falls through. I laugh every time. Lets face it this series changed the landscape of writing. Young and old enjoy Harry Potter! Right?

8. So tell me what books have you recommended and why. Please list them in the comments.

Alas, I need to get back to my writing cave where deadlines loom, so let’s see what the other authors in this blog challenge claim as to what scares them. L&SR

Pssst… While you’re here, don’t forget to check out my paranormal romance/mysteries click here. I’ve got a new release, Charm Me Again, coming out December 9, 2019, avaiiable for pre-order now. Please check it out. Also, don’t miss my holiday Sale mid-November!

Teaser from CHARM ME AGAIN –

For several months a Scottish Highland Ghost has haunted Daylan, in his personal life, his professional life and at his forge. Yet, being a talented warlock, he is no closer to discovering what the ghost wants or why he chose Daylan. A trip to his estranged sister’s home in Colorado may have unforeseen consequences especially when family history leads him to a shocking discovery.

As his attraction blooms for Josie, a yoga instructor in his sister’s studio, he realizes there may be more to Josie than he can imagine. When an ancient rogue Fae Warrior set on revenge kidnaps her in an attempt to claim her as his own, a devastating curse comes to light.

Daylan’s world spirals out of control as he searches for Josie. Can he break the age old curse to save her and their future, or will she be lost to him forever?

Next week on the L&SR Weekly blog challenge is A Strange or Useless Talent I Have. LOL Do you have one? I’d love to hear from you.

Posted in My Say What Blog and tagged #L&SR's #Wednesday's Blog Challenge, Book's I've Recommended & Why, Charm Me Again, Paranormal Romance/Mystery, Tena Stetler by Tena Stetler with 13 comments.

Oct 30th #L&SR’s #Wednesday’s Blog Challenge, October 30, 2019, Things that Scare Me!

Welcome to #L&SR’s #Wednesday’s Blog Challenge October 20, 2019, Things that Scare Me. That is a long list so lets get started.

1. Monsters under my bed scare me, Yeah I never got over that as a child. Now I have drawers under my bed but they have a recesses down the middle between the two stacks.

2. Dark rooms, scary and unexpected noises in a quiet house scare me. You know the stair creak as you crawl under the bed covers and you’re the only one home.

3. I have an over-active imagination. Which is why I write Paranoramal Romance/Mystery so my characters don’t scare me.

4. But my over-active imagination isn’t always a good thing. It works over time after watching things like horror movies. They scare me. So consequently I’m not allowed to watch them. My hubby hates when I leave every light in the house on all night. The utilities company loves me. LOL

5. I fear failure. I think that’s normal for most determined people. What do you think?

6. It used to scare me to put myself and my work out there. But to succeed as an author, you have to do it. So I sucked it up and did it in 2015, never looked back. Keeping in mind writing is subjective, not everyone is going to like your work. And people can be down right mean. I’ve gotten an thick skin and I’m all right with that. Not mean people.

7. I’m always scared of burning the toast. Yeah my toaster is not the best. That smell is awful and it lingers.

8. So tell me what scares you? Please list them in the comments.

Alas, I need to get back to my writing cave where deadlines loom, so let’s see what the other authors in this blog challenge claim as to what scares them. L&SR

Pssst… While you’re here, don’t forget to check out my paranormal romance/mysteries click here. I’ve got a new release, Charm Me Again, coming out December 9, 2019. Please check it out. Also, don’t miss my Autumn Sale! Another of my award winning books, A VAMPIRE’S UNLIKELY ALLIANCE , on sale now for 99¢! Be swept away in a magical, romantic, fantasy adventure that you’ll never want to leave! Download your copy today!

Teaser from A VAMPIRE’S UNLIKELY ALLIANCE –

Stefan is a Native American vampire, former assassin for the Vampire Council. In a twist of fate, he now DJ’s the midnight shift for a small radio station in Whitefish, Montana, on the edge of Glacier National Park where his secret is safe until…

Born in Ireland, Brandy now works as a park ranger and trail guide in the park. During a full moon, Stefan and Brandy’s paths cross in a near physical collision on a trail. Their attraction is immediate and undeniable, almost as if fate demanded it.

Their union was foretold long ago in Irish folk tales where vampires and gryphons, warlocks and demons, witches and faeries must work together for the good of man and magic kind. Is a trip to Ireland the key to unraveling secrets and returning the magic? And even more importantly, will their love survive the trip?

Next week on the blog challenge Books I’ve Recommended & Why. LOL Do you have one? I’d love to hear from you.

Posted in My Say What Blog and tagged #L&SR's #Wednesday's Blog Challenge, Tena Stetler, Things that Scare Me by Tena Stetler with 18 comments.

Oct 22nd Halloween Hauntings Cripple Creek- Part Two

With its wild and turbulent past, Cripple Creek has a history of unexplained, supernatural occurrences, no wonder it’s earned the reputation of one of the most haunted towns in America. Tales of haunted Cripple Creek hotels, casinos, and homes flourish. What better way to celebrate Halloween than visit a haunted Cripple Creek?
The Imperial Hotel at Third Street and Bennett Avenue known originally as the Collins Hotel, was built after most the town burned to the ground in 1896. As a young man, George Long emigrated from Europe and eventually made his way to Denver. He married his first cousin and together they ran the hotel. The union produced two daughters and a son. The eldest daughter, Alice, was mentally disturbed and the parents were forced to keep her locked in their apartment next to the lobby for her safety and the safety of others. Soon after George fell to his death while negotiating the narrow stairs to the basement. Or some say Alice escaped, waited for him at the top of the stairs, struck him over the head and he crashed to his death from the stop of the stairs. It’s rumored his ghost haunts the hotel to this day.
My experience at the Imperial Hotel was at the performance of Dracula by the Imperial Players in early 1990’s. The performance was excellent, but the strong feeling of someone watching, icy patches and pressure on my arm and lower back, when no one was there. The hair on the back of my neck stood straight up. After meeting the cast in the lobby for an autograph session, my family and I quickly exited the hotel and raced to the safety of our vehicle, thankful that we hadn’t booked a room. Looking back on the experience, was it the performance of Dracula in the supposedly haunted hotel that caused my imagination to run wild, or was there really something there? I admit to having an overactive imagination, but not that time. In the years since, I’ve visited Cripple Creek on numerous occasions, to explore old buildings and mining shacks. My husband and I drive up Hwy 67 to enjoy the turning of the Aspens in autumn, used to camp at the Lost Burro Campground but I haven’t set foot in the Imperial Hotel since that night.
** Next week, more Halloween Haunting with traditions, legends and spooky fun. You don’t want to miss it.

Posted in For Fun, My Say What Blog, The Pikes Peak Region and tagged Colorado, Cripple Creek The Imperial Hotel, Dracula, Halloween, Haunted Towns by Tena Stetler with comments disabled.

Oct 15th Halloween Hauntings- Cripple Creek – Part One

Cripple Creek Mining District of Colorado is extremely rich in history and it is also touted to be one of the Most Haunted Places in the United States.
On Highway 67, at the base of Pike’s Peak, southwest of Colorado Springs, Cripple Creek sits at an elevation of 9,500 feet. There are mine shafts, head frames, miner’s cabins long abandoned tumbling down. A lonely stone fireplace may be all that’s left of a miners home. Standing among the rubble might cause the hair on the back of your neck to stand on end. A brief visit to one of the abandoned cabins still standing, gives you a window into what it was like back in the late 1800’s or early 1900’s. Can you imagine a more inviting place for ghost to spend Halloween?

Cripple Creek, Colorado was the land of opportunity beckoning men from across land and sea to claim their fortune in the gold fields. Most of the men came from the east where they were farmers and had little knowledge of gold mining. Pikes Peak or Bust was their battle cry, it was painted on covered wagons and carts. But the Rocky Mountains didn’t give up its gold easily, buried deep in the mountain, it was fifty years after the first wave of gold fever hit that the mountain gave up its gold.

Many prospectors lost everything they had, some even their lives in the pursuit of gold. With the tales of fires, (Cripple Creek burned to the ground in 1896) floods, mining accidents, general lawlessness in the beginning then bloody battles between mine owners and labor unions, it’s no wonder stories abound of ghosts haunting this historic town that once boasted one murder a day.

Hotel St. Nicolas

So let’s take a closer look at those ghosts. First up, The Hotel St. Nicholas boasts a colorful history. Today its spectacular view of Cripple Creek, 15 guest rooms, furnished with elegance of a bygone era and one restored historic miner’s cottage still includes tales of the supernatural and unexplained. Originally built as a hospital that served the flood victims in the region in the late nineteenth century, it also served as a home for the Sisters of Mercy. As time went on, the hospital served prospectors and their families and then expanded adding a ward for the mentally ill. The hospital closed in the 1970’s. St. Nicholas is rumored to be haunted by several spirits including children, former patients of the mental ward, nuns and an old cantankerous miner. For more information see Hotel St. Nicholas.

** Next week we’ll take a look at more Halloween hauntings in Cripple Creek including the Imperial Hotel where I once attended a theater production of Dracula during the week of Halloween. That was a hair-raising experience I can’t wait to share with you. Until then Happy Haunting! Bawahahaha

Posted in For Fun, My Say What Blog, The Pikes Peak Region and tagged Colorado, Cripple Creek, Halloween, Haunted Places, Hotel St. Nicholas by Tena Stetler with comments disabled.