My cat Sushi-Ball making his best scary face.
#amwriting #Poppy @20,000 words 
Friday, May 29, 2015
Thursday, May 28, 2015
Wednesday, May 27, 2015
#Paranormal Wednesday - #CharlieCharlieChallenge
Who...or What is Charlie?
According to the rumors, "Charlie" is not one, but a group of Mexican demons. They may seem helpful at first but if you don't say a proper good-bye, they retaliate by causing chaos and poltergeist-like activity. What is a proper good-bye? Ending the session by saying, "Charlie-Charlie, can we stop?" Once the pencils move in any direction, drop both pencils to the ground as a means of closing the portal Charlie has supposedly entered.
Omg! For Real?
Actually...no. There are no demons named Charlie in Mexican folklore. Sorry, but no. It may have started as a social media experiment to see how far it would go. With over two million people utilizing the hashtag #CharlieCharlieChallenge in the past 48 hours, I would say the experiment has gone far.
As fun as it sounds, I probably won't be trying this any time soon. If I want to tempt fate, I'll dig up my old Ouija board in the attic. I'm waiting for the Charlie Charlie movie.
Monday, May 25, 2015
May 25-29 Review Tour & #Giveaway for VOICES #paranormal #suspense
Genre: Paranormal Suspense
Author: Clarissa Johal
Editor: Bobbie Metevier
Published by Permuted Press May 2015
ISBN: 9781618685698
ASIN: B00WAH55JW
Pages: 264
About VOICES:
Sometimes the ghosts from your past…are real.
Moira Flynn is arrested for attacking a door-to-door solicitor with a knife. She claims a voice told her the man was intent on assaulting her. The trouble is, she was the only one that heard that voice. Moira strikes a plea bargain and is sent to a psychiatric hospital for voluntary treatment. Dr. Richard Cassano is hesitant to treat her as schizophrenic, as she does not show the standard symptoms. As their sessions progress, Moira confesses there are two voices—and they aren’t voices in her head, but the voices of ghosts. Are they imaginary? Or are they actual spirits, attached to her for reasons of their own? As Moira’s doctor uncovers more of her past, he begins to realize that her ghosts are real. And one of them is determined to drag Moira into the afterlife with him.
Buy Links:
Amazon
Barnes and Noble
KOBO
Smashwords
TOUR SCHEDULE
#MeatlessMonday - Veggie Filled Chinese Pancakes #vegetarian
This is a super-simple recipe and can be adjusted according to taste. If you haven't tried them, Chinese pancakes are kind of like crepes. I was first introduced to them when I lived near San Francisco and frequented Chinatown. (If you get a chance to visit, I highly recommend) Enjoy!
Ingredients
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups milk
1 T butter, melted
1 large egg
1 T minced chives
1/4 teaspoon Chinese five-spice powder
Cooking spray
Preparation:
Combine milk, melted butter and egg. Add mixture into flour and whisk until blended. Stir in fresh chives and five-spice powder. Cover and chill for 1 hour.
Coat crepe pan with cooking spray and heat over medium-high heat. Pour a scant 1/4 cup batter into pan. Quickly tilt pan in all directions so batter covers bottom of pan. Cook about 1 minute and flip. Cook about 30 seconds on the other side. Set pancakes aside
 |
| Photo courtesy of adamclyde via Flickr |
Chinese Pancakes
Ingredients
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups milk
1 T butter, melted
1 large egg
1 T minced chives
1/4 teaspoon Chinese five-spice powder
Cooking spray
Preparation:
Combine milk, melted butter and egg. Add mixture into flour and whisk until blended. Stir in fresh chives and five-spice powder. Cover and chill for 1 hour.
Coat crepe pan with cooking spray and heat over medium-high heat. Pour a scant 1/4 cup batter into pan. Quickly tilt pan in all directions so batter covers bottom of pan. Cook about 1 minute and flip. Cook about 30 seconds on the other side. Set pancakes aside
Chinese Pancake Filling
1 cup mushrooms, sliced
2 T soy sauce
2 spring onions, finely sliced
Half a cucumber, deseeded and sliced into matchsticks
1/2 head Chinese lettuce lettuce, shredded
4 T hoisin sauce
Serve the mushroom mixture with the spring onions, cucumber, lettuce, carrots and hoisin sauce in separate dishes,
To assemble, spread a little hoisin sauce on a pancake, add the mushrooms, onions, cucumber and lettuce. Fold and enjoy!
1 cup mushrooms, sliced
2 T soy sauce
1/2 tsp five spice powder
1 T rice wine
1/2 T sesame oil
1 tsp sugar
1 T rice wine
1/2 T sesame oil
1 tsp sugar
2 spring onions, finely sliced
Half a cucumber, deseeded and sliced into matchsticks
1/2 head Chinese lettuce lettuce, shredded
1/2 cup shredded carrots
4 T hoisin sauce
Preparation:
Heat a small frying pan. Add the mushrooms, soy sauce, five-spice powder, rice wine, sesame oil and sugar. Stir until the mushrooms are cooked and the sauce is thick and bubbly.
Heat a small frying pan. Add the mushrooms, soy sauce, five-spice powder, rice wine, sesame oil and sugar. Stir until the mushrooms are cooked and the sauce is thick and bubbly.
Serve the mushroom mixture with the spring onions, cucumber, lettuce, carrots and hoisin sauce in separate dishes,
To assemble, spread a little hoisin sauce on a pancake, add the mushrooms, onions, cucumber and lettuce. Fold and enjoy!
Friday, May 22, 2015
Frightening Friday - A Short Film for your Screaming Pleasure
If you haven't seen this short film by Matt Sears, it's quite good.
Just don't watch it before bedtime.
Thursday, May 21, 2015
Thoughtful Thursday - And then...the bunnies came
 |
| Photo-Wildlife Rescue One of the wild baby bunnies I helped rehab/release in 2011. |
At which point I'll slam on my brakes, causing my dog's leashes in the back seat to be propelled at 20 mph into my head...and again, there is cursing involved.
Damn bunnies. Damn squirrels. I know you do it on purpose.
Wednesday, May 20, 2015
#Paranormal Wednesday - Time for a Ghost Story
 |
| My writing view in the daytime |
It was late night and the house was silent. I was working away--letting my fingers tap, tap the words out in Scrivener as my scene unfolded. There's a certain "feeling" that I experience at night. A feeling of being watched. It's as if someone is standing behind me, pressing against my personal space. I tune it out for the most part but sometimes, that's easier said than done. There are times things get knocked off the kitchen counters while I'm working. I tune that out too. I know it's not the cats because they settle down as soon as everyone goes to bed. Sushi-Ball goes upstairs, Sinbad holds down the couch, and Clover settles in my papasan chair. They have their routines, after all.
But so does my house ghost.
This particular night, it seemed to be more restless than usual. I turned to check behind me twice, which made me feel silly because there's never anyone there. Several times, there were disturbances in the kitchen. Nothing crazy like plates or glasses flying off the shelves, but small things. A pencil rolled off the counter and fell to the floor. A flicker of movement in the corner of my peripheral stopped my train of thought. A stack of papers on the counter shifted, followed by several pages drifting to the floor. My betta fish tank light went out with a loud pop. Moments later, the utensils my kiddos were supposed to set in the dishwasher, clinked in the sink. I went to check and the spoons lay flat, all lined in a row. I put them in the dishwasher and lo and behold, the dishwasher turned itself on as soon as I sat to write again.
Oh yes, writing. That thing I do. It's a wonder I get anything done around here.
Tuesday, May 19, 2015
Release Day Extravaganza Tour for VOICES #paranormal #suspense
Genre: Paranormal Suspense
Author: Clarissa Johal
Editor: Bobbie Metevier
Published by Permuted Press May 2015
ISBN: 9781618685698
ASIN: B00WAH55JW
Pages: 264
About VOICES:
Sometimes the ghosts from your past…are real.
Moira Flynn is arrested for attacking a door-to-door solicitor with a knife. She claims a voice told her the man was intent on assaulting her. The trouble is, she was the only one that heard that voice. Moira strikes a plea bargain and is sent to a psychiatric hospital for voluntary treatment. Dr. Richard Cassano is hesitant to treat her as schizophrenic, as she does not show the standard symptoms. As their sessions progress, Moira confesses there are two voices—and they aren’t voices in her head, but the voices of ghosts. Are they imaginary? Or are they actual spirits, attached to her for reasons of their own? As Moira’s doctor uncovers more of her past, he begins to realize that her ghosts are real. And one of them is determined to drag Moira into the afterlife with him.
Buy Links:
Amazon
Barnes and Noble
KOBO
Smashwords
TOUR SCHEDULE
Friday, May 8, 2015
Coming Soon - THE ISLAND #paranormal #horror #booktrope
THE ISLAND. This is my fifth book and I'm very excited! Stay tuned for a release date.
Here's a blurb to entice you...
THE ISLAND
Exploring a remote island can get you into trouble.
Especially when you stumble upon a cave and awaken two demons.
Rumors and superstition.
That’s what Emma thinks about local gossip concerning her grandmother’s “cursed” private island. Emma journeys to the island to ready it for sale. While out exploring, she unearths a hidden cave–a cave which holds answers to the island’s dark past.
There may be more to the rumors than she thought.
**You may hear crickets chirping in my blog for the next few weeks. My new paranormal psychological suspense novel VOICES will be released on May 19th via Permuted Press. It will be a busy month for me!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)