I Don’t Like Halloween

 Please don’t hate me, but I don’t like Halloween. I never did. I don’t like to be scared. I don’t enjoy masks and costumes. And I really don’t like clowns!

I love Christmas, Thanksgiving, and Easter. But Halloween is different. It is intended to frighten.

When I was little, my mom made all of my costumes.

The first one was when I was twenty-six months old. My grandfather had just passed away, so she and my grandmother pinned a sheet around my neck. I think I look frightened in the photo.

One of my favorites was Little Bo Peep. I adored that one. It was pretty, and I got to carry my stuffed lamb. The “staff” was made from my great-grandfather’s cane, wrapped in crepe paper.

Another year, Mom took an old wine velvet dress of hers and made it into a princess costume. My dad painted a pair of my shoes in gold and made me a crown. I rather liked it.

When I got to grammar school, Mom made us several different simple costumes. One I remember was a graduate. She used a cotton blouse for a robe and made a “mortarboard” from cardboard and crepe paper.

I often forget how creative Mom was.

We always had a carnival at school, and they were fun. They weren’t meant to be scary. They featured games and contests. I remember the dunking machine. The older boys all wanted to sit on the seat so other boys (nearly all of those who tried to dunk them were also boys) could throw a baseball at a lever. If they hit it hard enough, the person on the seat would fall off into a tank of water.

A teacher or other staff member would take a turn during the day. Whoever the “mystery guest” was that year was the favorite target. I especially remember when the principal took a turn. He was a real surprise since he always seemed very formal and proper.

When Kim was little, I made her costumes as well.

The Halloween she was one, I made her an angel outfit. Her friend, Matt, who was a month younger, was dressed as a devil. He carried a pitchfork. Kim carried her halo, which she refused to wear.

A couple of years later, she was a bride. Once again, I fashioned her costume—this time from a set of curtains.

Next, she was a witch. (The hat and wig reappeared several more times in later years.)

When the TV show Isis was popular, Kim and her best friend, Cheryl wanted to be the superhero. So, Cheryl’s mom and I made the girls these outfits.

Later on, she and her work team were dalmatians. They wore hooded white one-piece pajamas, painted with black spots. These were really cute.

Okay, so I enjoy the cute and pretty costumes. I just don’t appreciate the scary ones.

Oh, and I do miss seeing the kids in their costumes. Most parents don’t let their little ones go from door to door anymore. Churches now have trunk-or-treat events. And many malls have trick-or-treating. I can totally understand parents’ reluctance to have their children visit neighbors, who may well be strangers. We have very few kids in our neighborhood. But I miss seeing the little ones.

Once Halloween is over, I look forward to Thanksgiving and Christmas. I’ll start playing holiday music next week!

Where Does F.M. (aka Marilyn) Meredith Get Her Ideas?

Lorna:

Today I am hosting good friend and wonderful mystery author Marilyn Meredith. Murder in the Worst Degree, the tenth book in her rocky Bluff P.D. series, has just been released, and It’s my very favorite yet. So I asked her where she gets all her ideas since she writes two books a year, one for each of her two mysteries series. This is her answer:

Marilyn:

Ideas are everywhere.

For instance, just by being observant and letting your imagination go wild, you can come up with all sorts of ideas. Watch people and wonder. Why is she in such a hurry? Is someone following her? Is that man on his cellphone really watching that man who is going into his house?

Another way to get ideas is to watch the news—or read about something happening on the Internet. Then ask yourself, what if it happened this way instead?

I’ve collected news stories for years, ones that I thought I could change around and use as a partial plot and I’ve done it many times. Of course no one would recognize them because they’ve been changed so much as I’ve worked them into a story.

Sometimes I’ve asked a police officer friend to tell me some outlandish thing that’s happened to him, or his most scary arrest, one that could’ve gone wrong. Once I asked for a funny vice story and got a lulu and yes, I did use it in a book.

I love to listen to cop friends share stories and yes, I’ve used many of them. Of course they are never exactly how it was told because I need to work it into a plot that works for my Rocky Bluff P.D. guys.

One of the easiest ways to pick up ideas is listen to what people say on their cell phones. Everyone talks so loud on them you can’t help but eavesdrop. And speaking of eavesdropping, listening to conversations in restaurants can sometimes trigger ideas too.

A new way to pick up ideas for both characters and plot is on Facebook. It is amazing what people reveal about themselves in such an open forum.

So really, the best advice I can give anyone about accumulating ideas is to pay attention to everything that is going on around you. Jot things down in a way that works for you. When plotting a new book, sort through all these gems and see what occurs to you.

Writing is fascinating—and so is gathering your ideas.

Thanks for hosting me today, Lorna.

Murder in the Worst Degree:

The body that washes up on the beach leads Detectives Milligan and Zachary on a murder investigation that includes the victim’s family members, his housekeeper, three long-time friends, and a mystery woman.

Marilyn aka F. M. Meredith is the author of over 35 published books. She enjoys writing about police officers and their families and how what happens on the job affects the family and vice versa. Having several members of her own family involved in law enforcement, as well as many friends, she’s witnessed some of this first-hand.

Webpage: http://fictionforyou.com/

Blog: http://marilynmeredith.blogspot.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/marilyn.meredith/

Contest:

Once again I am offering the opportunity to have your name used for a character in a book if you comment on the most blogs during this tour for Murder in the Worst Degree.

Tomorrow you can find me visiting http://www.rebeccabuckley.blogspot.com/

How We Get Our Ideas

This week I’m guest blogging at the Oak Tree Press blog on how we get our stories. Drop by and see what I have to say:

http://otpblog.blogspot.com/

NEXT WEEK:

Join us on Saturday, August 18 at The Book Corral in Mission Viejo where we will be signing our books between 1:100 and 3:00 p.m.

The Book Corral

25571 Jeronimo Rd, Suite 4

Mission Viejo, CA 92691

(949) 855-8054

And on Sunday, August 19, come and see us at the OC Great Park Farmers Market between 10:00 and 4:00.

6990 Marine Way
Irvine, CA 92618

http://ocgp.org