THANK YOU GIVEAWAY!!!

Kay Springsteen and I wanted to say a huge THANK YOU to each and every one of you who has supported us by purchasing our Regency Romance A Lot Like A Lady. We know you have hundreds of books to choose from, and we’re honored that you picked ours. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU! To really show our gratitude, we’re going to hold an amazing giveaway from now until Sunday night at midnight (EST). And boy, what a giveaway it is! We’re going to have SIX winners!! Yes, you read that right – SIX WINNERS!! And what are the prizes? Three lucky winners will receive swag packs that will include pens, bookmarks, and…books! The winners will each receive TWO surprize paperbacks by assorted authors. SQUEEEE! The other three winners will receive swag packs with pens and bookmarks and an ecopy of any book of their choosing available on the Astraea Press website! YIPPPEEE! There are a couple of ways to enter and you can either enter through me on this blog or through Kay Springsteen on hers by clicking HERE (NOTE: We will choose a total of SIX winners from our combined entries): 1. Email your receipt # to me at kimbowman2008 @ yahoo (dot) com showing you purchased A Lot Like A Lady for two entries in the contest. Leave a comment below that you’ve emailed me so I don’t miss it! 2. Post on a social media site of your choosing that A Lot Like A Lady is on sale for $.99 along with either the Amazon buy link) or the Barnes and Noble buy link. Leave a comment below that you’ve done this to be entered in the contest. That’s it! Simple and easy and our way of saying a HUGE thank you for supporting us. Good Luck and Happy Reading! Kim

Sweet Saturday Sample: A LOT LIKE A LADY

Happy weekend! Time to snuggle up with a good book. And do I know just the one!

Kay Springsteen and I are happy to announce that our Regency Romance A Lot Like A Lady is currently on sale for $.99!! SQUEE!! You can pick it up at:

AMAZON.COM or BARNES & NOBLE

BLURB: Ladies’ maid, Juliet Baines has gotten herself into a pickle by agreeing to go to London and taking the place of her mistress and best friend, Annabella Price, stepsister to the Duke of Wyndham. After all, what does a servant know about being a lady? But Juliet soon finds that pretending to be a lady isn’t nearly as hard as guarding her heart against the folly of wanting a man who’s completely out of reach.

Graeme "Grey" Roland Dominick Markwythe, Sixth Duke of Wyndham, approaches his duties as a nobleman with great dedication and meticulous care. And he’s a man who is not easily fooled...except when he tries to convince himself he's not utterly and madly in love with the beautiful imposter who has turned his life upside down. Will society and his responsibilities to his noble status keep him from opening his heart to the woman he loves?

And here's a sneak peak of one of our favorite scenes from Chapter 2:

“I’m sure I didn’t understand you, Higgins. Did you say my father’s coach is here?” Grey glanced up from the ledger opened before him with a frown.

His heart clenched and his throat tightened at the thought of the beautiful town coach his father had personally designed being used by someone else. Let alone by a virtual stranger. Burning irritation flooded Grey’s veins at the thought. He should have had the ducal carriage removed from the country home and brought to London. But it had been a source of distress to think of seeing the coach his late father had loved so much every day. Even now, four years later, it was still too much to bear.

Four years. Had it really been that long since his father had died? Since he’d seen his brother…

Grey raked his hands over his face to dislodge the direction his thoughts were taking and breathed deeply. The arrival could only mean one thing. His stepmother had deemed it necessary to come for a visit. No doubt to ask for more money, if the condition of the country estate’s finances was correct.

“Yes, your grace.” The butler stood straight-backed in the doorway of the study, neatly attired in black and unruffled as usual, his long, gaunt face devoid of any expression. Behind him, daylight flooded the normally dim foyer.

Distaste crowded Grey’s throat. “Inform Mrs. Markwythe that I am indisposed and send her on her way.”

”I beg your pardon. I wasn’t clear, your grace. This appears to be more than a social call. The footman who accompanied the carriage is unpacking it—”

Grey stared in disbelief at his manservant and nearly choked before he found his voice. “Why the deuce would he do that?”

His secretary cleared his throat, drawing Grey’s attention toward the slight man behind the mahogany writing desk across the room. Petry shifted uncomfortably in his seat. The heavy damask draperies behind him had been pulled back, leaving his face in shadow. As if gathering his wits, he hastily pushed to his feet.

“What is it, Petry?”

“If I may, your grace? Mayhap the letter you received from the Duchess of Wyndham a few weeks ago discussed the visit.”

Grey’s hand tightened around his quill. The note. The blasted note from his stepmother. He had forgotten about it. Squeezing his eyes shut, he struggled to recall what Regina had said in the message. Something about Annabella needing a season in London. Whyever for?

Gently, Grey set the pen down, struggling for a modicum of composure. He stole one more look at the figures that weren’t quite adding up and decided they would have to wait in view of more pressing circumstances. Such as uninvited company. With a sigh, he slammed the book shut and tapped the cover with the tips of his fingers. Impatience tugged a breath from his chest and he stood. “Send the Duchess of Wyndham in.”

“I-I beg your pardon, your grace. The duchess isn’t with her daughter.”

“Not with—” Grey broke off and let out a curse.

He lifted his gaze heavenward. What had he done to deserve this?

Looking after his stepsister was the last thing he wanted to do, next to staying in town for another Season of mothers shoving their debutante daughters toward him at every social function. And now, not only would he have to worry about that, but he’d have to care for a debutante of his own. Bile threatened his embarrassment.

Grey ran his hand through his hair and let out a sigh, cursing himself for not dealing with this sooner. He’d made London his home these last four years, and the longing for his country estate had finally subsided as the comfort of his townhouse had begun to fit him like his favorite breeches. He caressed the top of the walnut and rosewood desk that had once been his father’s. Fulfilling the responsibilities that came with his father’s title hadn’t come easily, but moving the furniture from the country had made him feel like Alexander was still with him somehow, guiding him through his initial uncertainty.

“Your grace?” The butler’s soft query startled Grey from his reverie.

“Where is she, Higgins?” Irritation took root and his eye began to twitch.

“She is still outside, your grace. Shall I show her in?”

Grey wanted to tell the servant no, just send the girl away. But he knew that wasn’t an option. “Yes, show her in. Then send the coach to the livery for fresh horses.”

“Right away, your grace.” The butler gave a stiff bow and backed from the room.

Grey refused to spend the Season caring for the spoiled girl. It was bad enough his father’s second marriage had bound him to the chit and her mother. He provided them with a home — his beloved Wyndham Green no less — a generous allowance, and the protection of his title and status. His generosity was stretched to the limit, and he had no intention of inconveniencing himself any further. He would explain the misunderstanding to the girl, apologize, and send her back to the country.

Before he could put action to his thoughts, the gentle peace of his home was fractured by the clatter and scrape of nails against the wood floor of the foyer, approaching with the grace of a runaway horse. Grey groaned. The last thing he needed was his uncle’s bulldog attacking someone, even if it might get rid of his unwelcome guest. He hurried to the door and stepped into the hallway, but leapt back as the nasty brown and white animal pushed past him, racing straight for the surprised footman who held open the heavy front door.

“Blasted dog! Lucien, if that mongrel bites someone, so help me, I will shoot you!” Grey warned as the older man hurried by.

Lucien had the nerve to give him a disgruntled look. “Why, nephew, Lord Perceval Randolph Neville—”

“Stop calling him that or I shall have to pick my second with the marquess,” Grey snapped. Bad enough his uncle had named the fiendish dog after a neighbor; now it was running loose around London terrorizing an arriving guest. Unwanted though she may be.

Why did Lucien continually insist on shocking people? The man had once named his horse, a sorrel thoroughbred stud, after the vicar’s wife because, as Lucien had so graciously explained, “The horse was the spitting image of the woman.” Grey’s father had lined the coffers of the church well for almost a year to appease the insulted vicar and his wife.

“Be a dear boy and grab the leash,” Lucien said with a flick of his hand. Straightening his rotund form, he managed a majestic waddle as he followed the bulldog outside.

Grey gritted his teeth and turned to retrieve the leash from its undignified resting place wrapped around the iron umbrella stand. Before he’d gone two steps, a loud, shrill scream punctured the air, followed by the dog’s wheezing bark. Grey wheeled around. His great uncle stood as motionless as one of his stone statues just outside the front door, both hands clutching his chest.

“Lord Perceval, get off that woman this instant!” Lucien’s voice rose an octave and ended in a wheezing squeak as he regained his senses and hurried down the walk.

“I’m going to shoot that blasted dog!” Grey yelled as he stomped out the door. First he’d ensure the rotted beast hadn’t taken a hunk out of someone. After that, he’d send his unwanted guests on their way. Maybe then a return to his normal routine would restore peace to his home.

On the landing, Grey froze. His stomach performed a slow turn like a rabbit on a spit.

Lucien’s monstrosity stood growling on top of his victim, who lay sprawled half in and half out of the coach, her skirts up around her waist. The beast shook his head, sending spittle flying through the air.

“Oh my heavens!” Lucien approached the fallen victim. He raised his voice. “Madam! Madam, can you hear me? Have you been wounded?”

“Her ears were not injured, you old fool,” snapped a slender woman of middle years wearing a black velvet pelisse. She proceeded to whack Lucien repeatedly with her reticule. “Get that wretched creature off my sister this instant.”

Lucien raised one arm against the attack while reaching for the irate lady’s reticule with the other. But she only changed hands and continued to lash out at him. The driver stepped between the prizefighters, receiving a thwack to his shoulders for his effort. The footman abandoned his task of unloading the coach and hastened to the lady’s side, placing a tentative hand on her arm, evidently trying to still her agitation.

A yelp came from beneath the dog as his victim flailed her legs.

Grey glanced about. Lady Rossington and her ridiculously giddy debutante daughter had halted their walk along Newport Street and stared enraptured at the sight. He bit off a curse. The whole of London will be laughing about the scandalous scene by nightfall.

He stepped forward only to be stopped again when a young girl darted from the rear of the carriage. Presumably this was Annabella, though she’d grown some since their last encounter. Her yellow and cream traveling gown swirled about her legs with each step, and she tugged a short dark green jacket into place as she walked. Golden curls peeked from beneath a green bonnet decorated with flowers and cascaded over her shoulders.

With quick movements, she grasped the dog’s collar and gave it a yank, tugging against the massive brute. Grey’s stomach twisted into a tight knot. He’d soon have two injured people on his hands.

He opened his mouth to tell her to get back when the animal let out a high-pitched yelp and the girl stood, dragging the dog up with her.

“You naughty boy, that’s quite enough.” She spoke sharply, her tone brooking no argument.

The dog jerked its head around and snapped at her.

She simply thumped him on the nose and he let out a shocked yap. “You mind your manners.”

The dog growled and wheezed and showed his teeth; all the while the rest of his body wiggled and his tail wagged wildly.

I wonder if she could do that with Lucien.

The girl shifted, presenting Grey with a view of her profile, and his breath caught in his throat. She crouched on the ground in front of the beast, removing remnants of an ostrich feather from the corner of his mouth. Instead of the creamy white skin most of the gentry favored, which, in Grey’s opinion, made the girls look like death, she had a slightly darker sheen that enhanced the golden locks framing her face. Her mouth curved upward in a gentle smile. Soft laughter bubbled from her lips and combined with the way she now stroked the dog’s head to send a shiver up Grey’s spine.

I hope you enjoyed the excerpt! Happy Reading. And don't forget to pick up your copy of A Lot Like A Lady while it's on sale!

Click HERE to return to the Sweet Saturday Sample list.



AND THE WINNERS ARE…

 

Thank you so  much for participating in the Spring Fling Blog Hop! I loved getting all the comments and having all the visitors. I hope to see you all stop by again soon!

And now…THE WINNERS! Using randomizer.org, here are the winners. BTW, I had so many people sign up, I decided to do TWO Ebook copies of A LOT LIKE A LADY!

First place: winner of the paperback copy of A LOT LIKE A LADY:

Christine - isabelli3619 (at) aol (dot) com

Second place – winner of an Ebook copy of A LOT LIKE A LADY:

Jenn - jennirv4967 at gmail dot com

Third place – winner of an Ebook copy of A LOT LIKE A LADY:

Lauren - Lmackesy @ gmail.com

Fourth place – winner of an Ebook copy of Waltzing with the Wallflower:

Margaret - singitm(at)hotmail(dot)com

 

Thank you all so much for participating. I will be contacting the winners via email today. And I hope you will all check out A LOT LIKE A LADY!

 

Happy reading!

~Kim

SPRING FLING BLOG HOP


   Welcome to the Spring Fling Blog Hop! I’m going to make this short and sweet and easy – just the way I like it!

The theme for this blog fits my and Kay Springsteen’s new release A LOT LIKE A LADY. The story is set in London, England, 1813, during the Season – specifically April and May. What a wonderful, magical time that was! Attending balls, dancing, searching for the perfect marriage match…It is the inspiration for several of my favorite books! So I thought it would be fun for commenters to share their favorite historical book that includes the London Season.
For me, I have to say it’s my own book A LOT LIKE A LADY! Hey, why would I not pick my own book? Kay and I made the plot what we wanted, created characters we fell in love with, and check out how awesome our cover is!! LOL! But if I have to pick a book besides my own, it’s gotta be Judith McNaught’s Whitney, My Love. Once I read that story, I was hooked on the genre.
So what’s your favorite book that is set during the London Season? Leave a comment below (be sure to include your email address) for a chance to win the Grand Prize of a paperback copy of A LOT LIKE A LADY or a second place prize of an Ecopy of A LOT LIKE A LADY. And for a third place prize, an Ecopy of Rachel Van Dyken and Leah Sander's Waltzing with the Wallflower.*

I’m so glad you stopped by! Click on the Spring Fling Icon above to return to the list of blogs on the hop!
Kim
*Contest runs from April 30 to May 8 at midnight. Winners will be announced May 9th. Must leave email address in order to win.

NEW RELEASE! A LOT LIKE A LADY

OH! EM! GEE! It’s finally here! Kay Springsteen and I are happy to announce the release of our Regency Romance A Lot Like A Lady! We are thrilled with it.
To celebrate, I want to share one of the best scenes in the book with you. And once you read it and Kay’s excerpt, here are the buy links (cuz ur gonna want to read all of it!).
Amazon
Astraea Press
BLURB:
Ladies’ maid, Juliet Baines has gotten herself into a pickle by agreeing to go to London and taking the place of her mistress and best friend, Annabella Price, stepsister to the Duke of Wyndham. After all, what does a servant know about being a lady? But Juliet soon finds that pretending to be a lady isn’t nearly as hard as guarding her heart against the folly of wanting a man who’s completely out of reach.
Graeme "Grey" Roland Dominick Markwythe, Sixth Duke of Wyndham, approaches his duties as a nobleman with great dedication and meticulous care. And he’s a man who is not easily fooled...except when he tries to convince himself he's not utterly and madly in love with the beautiful imposter who has turned his life upside down. Will society and his responsibilities to his noble status keep him from opening his heart to the woman he loves?
EXCERPT:
Pleasure embraced him and he smiled. “If you would like, I could take you to the Lion Tower. Although not quite the same as the wild, you can at least see several live wild animals such as lions and tigers.”
Her cat’s eyes sparkled with delight. “Truly?”
“I have engagements I cannot postpone.” Especially after rescheduling them today. He shrugged. “But perhaps a couple of days after the masquerade—”
She squealed with delight, threw her arms around his neck, and kissed his cheek. “Thank you!”
Grey’s body jumped to life and he stiffened. Her innocent gesture had him ready to explode if he didn’t put distance between them. He wrapped his hands around her arms and set her back slightly.
She tensed, but didn’t pull away. Grey needed no further encouragement. He crushed her to him and applied pressure to her mouth until she parted her lips. It wasn’t nearly enough. Driven to feel more, he deepened the kiss, savoring the tangy sweet taste of her.
When she softened in his arms and touched her tongue to his, it was nearly his undoing. He must stop soon, before he wasn’t able to.
With a sigh, Grey pulled back, but left his lips against hers and whispered, “Please… tell me your name.”
She opened her mouth as if to speak, and his heart stuttered in his chest. Oh, let the words fly back into his throat. Why had he uttered the cursed things? And yet he waited in anticipation of her answer all the same.
Eyes widened, Magpie closed her mouth and turned from him to stare out the window beside her. The carriage stopped.
“Magpie—”
She shoved the door open and scrambled out. Her knuckles where she clutched the carriage whitened as her foot slipped on the cobblestones. Then she raced toward the townhouse, her honey-colored curls and the pale blue ribbons of her dress whipping in the wind.
Cursing under his breath, Grey stared after her, mired in the anguish of his own doubt and unable to move.
“Your grace?” The bewildered footman hovered in the carriage doorway. Grey frowned and the man stepped back.
What had possessed him? He’d ruined the moment by pushing her to reveal her true identity. And blast the deceitful chit for making him care.
“To White’s,” he ordered the driver.
****
I hope you enjoyed it. I’d love to hear what you think. And don’t forget to check out the excerpt from A Lot Like A Lady on Kay Springsteen's Blog
Also stop by Leah Sander's Blog and Rachel Van Dyken's Blog for more amazing excerpts from they awesome books!
Happy Reading!
~Kim Bowman

SWEET SATURDAY SAMPLE

Welcome to my blog!! I’m going to share something near and dear to my heart with you about two people I admire—My parents. Yeah, yeah, very sweet, just don’t tell them I said it. It’s from my self-published book about their wedding titled The Ballad of Brenda and Willard. And check out the freain’ awesome cover the wonderful Bridget Lashbrooks made for it! This is the special note at the start of the story. Enjoy! And don’t forget to go back to Sweet Saturday Sample to visit the other great blogs!

The Ballad of Brenda and Willard

“I knew the first time I saw Brenda I was gonna marry her. She and her sister Sue were riding in the back of their dad’s pickup truck. I was fifteen and she was about twelve,” my dad explained as I interviewed him for this book.
“How?” I asked like I’d never heard the story before.
Dad shrugged his shoulders. “I just did. She looked so cute…I just knew I’d found the person I was meant to marry.”
“Even at that age?” I could listen to this story a hundred times—probably had—and still love it.
Dad looked at me, eyebrows raised. “Even now.”

Sigh. How romantic.

I loved getting the opportunity to write this for my parents. The best part was watching as they read the story, stopping to laugh at something they’d forgotten, giving me the chance to live—really live—the moment with them.
Their life hasn’t been easy. But if after more than four decades Dad can still say he knew she was the one for him—is the one for him, and Mom can remember every detail of starting their life together and recall it with that faraway look in her eyes, well, then, that’s a true love story. One I’m proud to tell.

Thank you for stopping by! Happy reading.

~Kim
Available at amazon.com

SWEET SATURDAY SAMPLE

OH YEAH!! This is my sweet treat of choice. Add a tall glass of Coke and a good book and I’m in H-E-A-V-E-N! Make that book the new Regency Romance I co-authored with my wonderful friend the very talented Kay Springsteen and I’ll die a happy woman! Okay so that could have more to do with the very sexy hero in A Lot Like A Lady, but still

Sooooo…for my contribution to Sweet Saturday Sample this week, I’m showcasing one of my favorite scenes (a kiss) between our heroine and…sigh…Grey.

She rested her hands on his arms and her gaze connected with his, sparking warmth in the vicinity of his heart. “Thank you so much for this.”

“Thank me with a kiss.” He held his breath, didn’t dare move, silently cursing himself for asking her to kiss him and praying she would.

After what seemed an eternity, she lifted her face and touched her lips to his. Tentatively at first, then her arms went around his neck, pulling him closer. Grey fought to maintain control. He wanted to let her set the pace, but his body screamed for him to jerk her into his arms and devour her. When her tongue darted out and touched his, he lost his resolve and deepened the kiss, pulled her up against his length. His body came to life with a desire so strong he lost the ability to think, could only feel.

*SIGH* I can’t wait to share this story with all of you! It’s getting close! Should be published this month!! (March 2012)

Thank you for stopping by. Click HERE to return to the list for Sweet Saturday Sample.

~Kim

Sweet Saturday Sample

Thank you so much for stopping by to visit me for Sweet Saturday Sample! I’m very excited to have a new book to share. I have partnered with the very talented Kay Springsteen to write a Regency Romance titled A Lot Like a Lady and today I’d like to share one of my very favorite parts with you.

I have to say, when you write a story that is set 200 years ago, be prepared to do your homework. I bet Kay and I spent as much time (if not more) researching as we did writing. For instance, the War of 1812…not really called that back then. Talk about work to figure out what it was called! But researching was a highlight for me. I loved reading about the great London Museum and hope you love how Kay and I tied the history of the time with our romance:)

SWEET SATURDAY SAMPLE:

Laughter broke into his morbid thoughts, and he realized the sound came from the young lady standing next to him. The sing-song sound bounced off the walls and filled the room. Grey darted a look around, noticing other patrons were staring at her with censure for her inappropriate outburst, and then moving away.

Her face was flush and her eyes danced with delight.

“You might try to contain yourself. People are staring,” Grey chided softly.

“I am sorry. It’s just…oh my!”

She covered her mouth with her hands, attempting to silence her mirth. “In the guide book it says rhinoceros…fury—” She broke off laughing again, unable to speak, and handed him the pamphlet, pointing to the section causing her to giggle.

Grey furrowed his brow and started reading, wondering what could be so amusing about such an enormous beast. “…it seems at times to be subject to paroxysms of fury—”

At the word fury, her laughter bubbled out again, interrupting him.

“P-p-paroxysms of f-fury!” She guffawed louder.

Grey glanced around once more, embarrassed that her outbursts were making them the center of attention. He clenched and unclenched his jaw, resisting the urge to drag her out of the museum.

“I beg your pardon? Perhaps you might share with me and the rest of the visitors you are disturbing what is so funny about a large animal’s fury.”

She straightened her stance and glanced around sheepishly at the people watching. “I do apologize, your grace. I am sorry. It’s just…we…”

“Yes?”

“It’s you!” she announced, then covered her mouth to stifle more laughter.

Grey was taken aback. “Me?”

Her head bobbed up and down. “Yes, you. Why, even now you’re glaring at me in the same manner as the beast. And I am almost certain when you entered the parlor you were having a paroxysm of fury!” Her voice lost its customary genteel quality and raised an octave with the word fury and her whole body shook with mirth. She lifted her eyes to meet his and pointed first at him, then at the rhino. “See, even now you have the same expression on your face.” She then bunched her eyebrows together, squinted her eyes, and puckered her lips in a tight thin line.

Grey hid the chuckle that escaped through his mouth by coughing. “Indeed. I believe I am about to subject you to that…um…fury again. Unless one of the other patrons beats me to it.” He took her by the arm and led her around the rest of the exhibit. “Come along, we have much to see, if you think you can behave yourself.”

“I promise to be on my best behavior, your grace.”

Grey gave her a sideways glance. “In that case, we should probably leave now.”

The smile she bestowed on him sent thunderclaps of heat racing through his body to knock against his heart, the sudden surge of warm desire melting a huge part of the cold barrier he had surrounded it with. Of their own accord, his lips curved up in response and he gave her arm a little squeeze.

I hope you enjoyed this snippet from A Lot Like a Lady. Keep watching for our cover to be unveiled and for our release date to be announced!

Click on the link below to return to the list and HAPPY READING

~Kim Bowman

Sweet Saturday Samples

Astraea Press Holiday Release Party Blog Hop

My release is actually a Halloween release and I'm happy to be part of the blog hop! Thank you all for stopping by. For a chance to win a PDF copy of my Halloween story Ghosts in the Graveyard, leave a comment below (don't forget to leave an email address).


While most kids can’t wait to dress up in costumes and go out trick or treating, Charlie, Jack, and Millie Foster dread Halloween. Even the promise of receiving a slew of candy doesn’t interest them. How could it when they know the truth about All Hallows Eve? That it’s really a day to fear, a day when the dead walk the earth again.

With their house sitting directly behind a graveyard, they are prime targets for the spirits to haunt.

Available now for $1.99: Astraea Press 

Amazon 

Barnes & Noble

Now follow the link to my very good friend and awesome author Kay Springsteen's blog for her portion of the hop!

Thank you for stopping by, and happy holidays!

Kim Bowman

Seven Days of Spooks–Day 3

HAPPY HALLOWEEN! I’m sorry I didn’t have a post yesterday, technical difficulties. I’ll post Day 4 a little later! Right now I’d like to share a story from Jennifer Smith. She shared it on my blog during the Spook-A-Licious Blog Hop and agreed to let me post it! Thank you, Jennifer!

I definitely believe in ghosts! When my hubby and I were dating we pulled into a little clearing in some woods we knew about. It was the perfect little hidey hole. We were sitting out there one night in the car and I looked out the windshield and saw a man walking toward us. I freaked! There was woods in front of us, nowhere from him to be coming from, so I automatically assumed he was some crazed killer coming to get us. I will never forget what he looked like. He had on a flannel shirt, overalls and one of those railroad looking caps.

Mike cracked his window to call out to him and turned on the headlights and there wasn't anyone there. He was convinced we were both just seeing things when he turned the lights back off there the man was again. He never got very close to the car. There was nothing for someone to hide behind or conceal himself so I truly believe it was a ghost. We didn't stick around to see what he wanted or if he was friendly and to this day we haven't gone back.

OOOOOOO! Great story, Jennifer! I have goose bumps running up and down my spine. I’d love to hear some stories from others who’ve had similar things happen!

Remember to leave a comment for a chance to win a PDF of my new release Ghosts in the Graveyard.

Blurb:

While most kids can’t wait to dress up in costumes and go out trick or treating, Charlie, Jack, and Millie Foster dread Halloween. Even the promise of receiving a slew of candy doesn’t interest them. How could it when they know the truth about All Hallows Eve? That it’s really a day to fear, a day when the dead walk the earth again.

Seven Days of Spooks–Day 2

I’m happy to have fellow Astraea Press author Sherry Gloag on my blog sharing her ghost story with us! Thank you Sherry.

I was around 7 or eight years old at the time and away at boarding school. The dormitory door opened toward my bed so anyone entering the room had to be right inside the room before I saw them. There were eight beds in that room, four on my side and four on the other. It was winter term -can't remember exact month but Oct/Nov probably. The door did NOT open but a woman stood beside my bed. She wore a tight-bodiced floor-length dress and pointed head gear. She stood beside my bed for what seemed like an age. No I was not frightened, I sensed no menace, only sadness.

Eventually she walked to the end of my bed, round the end of it toward the full-length windows at the other end of the room (we were three floor up from the ground outside on this side of the building.)
She walked THROUGH the closed windows and vanished. After a couple of minutes I *quietly* asked if anyone else was awake. One girl named Sheila Balfour answered me. We shared our experiences and discovered we'd both seen the same thing.
There’d been no ghostly stories anywhere the day/evening before, so not preconceived apparition.

The next morning we told our 'house mistress' about the night-time visit.
There was another adult in the room and we both saw their shared glances and knew what we'd seen was a real and known phenomenon even though the adults dismissed it as a bad dream.
That too simply confirmed to me what we'd seen was real, because neither of us described the event as 'bad' because neither of us were scared by it. A little in awe and uncertain, sure, but not scared.

We later learned that poor Lady Jane Grey stayed there on a visit before traveling south to England for her marriage.
This event took place in a house/school called Semour Lodge, in Crief, Perthsire Scotland. More decades ago than I can to remember!

OOOOO! Thank you so much for sharing. What a great story. I’d love to hear similar stories from anyone willing to share.

Remember to leave a comment for a chance to win a PDF of my new release Ghosts in the Graveyard.

Blurb:

While most kids can’t wait to dress up in costumes and go out trick or treating, Charlie, Jack, and Millie Foster dread Halloween. Even the promise of receiving a slew of candy doesn’t interest them. How could it when they know the truth about All Hallows Eve? That it’s really a day to fear, a day when the dead walk the earth again.

With their house sitting directly behind a graveyard, they are prime targets for the spirits to haunt.

Seven Days of Spooks–Day One

I’m very excited to be releasing a new Halloween story! YIPPEE!! Check out my awesome cover! Okay, I’ll quit with the exclamation points. I’m just happy dancing!!!!!
To celebrate, I thought I’d do seven days of true ghost stories. I shared mine for the Spook-A-Licious Blog Hop so I’ve requested some volunteers to share their stories. For the first post, I thought I’d share some of the inspiration for Ghosts in the Graveyard (Available now for $1.99 at Astraea Press and soon on amazon.com and barnesandnoble.com).
First, a little history (don’t worry, VERY little history) about Halloween. The word Halloween is first mentioned in the 16th century and represents a Scottish variant of the fuller All-Hallows-Even. See, told you the history part would be minimal. One thing I found interesting when I was researching Halloween (besides how far back it dated – 1556) for my book, is some of the cool games. We all know bobbing for apples, dressing up in costumes and going trick-or-treating, but I was fascinated by some of the other games I read about.involved forms of divination. A traditional Scottish form of divining one's future spouse is to carve an apple in one long strip then toss the peel over one's shoulder. The peel is believed to land in the shape of the first letter of the future spouse's name. Unmarried women were told that if they sat in a darkened room and gazed into a mirror on Halloween night, the face of their future husband would appear in the mirror. However, if they were destined to die before marriage, a skull would appear. This was so popular, it was commemorated on a greeting card.
And the most popular tradition for Halloween is the telling of ghost stories and viewing of horror films, which leads me to how a real-life experience inspired a scene in Ghosts in the Graveyard.
A little back story, when my sister and I were about nine and ten respectively, we became obsessed with horror movies. At the time, one of the local television stations played scary movies all night on Friday and Saturday. She and I would sneak into the living room after our parents were asleep and watch the horror movie marathon until we couldn’t take it anymore. On one such night, one of the movies really freaked us out. Neither of us can remember the name of the show, but we both remember when this woman—this DEAD woman—got up off a gurney and I swear it looked like she was going to run through the TV and get us. I will NEVER forget the way that woman’s eyes looked.
Well, my sister and ran screaming to our parents’ room, burst through the door, and dove on the bed. Did I mention we were screaming the whole time. I think Mom and Dad were more frightened than we were. Did we ever get lectured to. For at least an hour.
We were sent to bed. Our parents grudgingly allowed us to leave the light on and told to stay there for the rest of the night.
This next part is what I added in the book. I’m not sure how long it took us to fall asleep, but my sister woke me in the middle of the night because she had to go to the restroom, couldn’t wait, and was too afraid to go alone. So, I went with her. I think that walk to the restroom was the longest of my life. We made it and then we were too afraid to leave. We were closer to my parents’ room than ours and talked about going in there and sleeping on the floor, but we didn’t want to get into trouble. We sat in the bathroom all night, too scared to go to back to our room. Believe me when I tell you that cured me and my sister of those late night horror movies.
Okay, so it mostly cured me. What really cured me was a movie I watched with my husband after he had to have major hernia surgery. They ended up having to cut him open from his belly button to his side and ha was off work for eight weeks. I rented us some movies. I’m a huge Kevin Bacon fan and there was a new movie out called Stir of Echoes. I honestly didn’t realize it was that much of a scary show. I mean the description said after a guy’s hypnotized he starts seeing visions. I’m thinking he’s psychic and seeing visions of how the girl died.
Yeah right!
If you want to jump out of your skin, that’s the movie to make you do it! My husband had his blanket pulled up to his chin, white-knuckling it, eyes wide. Scared the crap out of both of us. I was cured! Even thinking about that movie gives me the heebie jeebies!
But I still love true tales of the supernatural and I had a lot of fun writing this book. I hope all of you enjoy it to. I’m going to offer a PDF of Ghosts in the Graveyard to TWO lucky commenters each day of my Seven Days of Spooks blog posts! Just leave a comment with your email and if you have a ghost story, I’d love to hear it!

Happy Reading!

~Kim

*Disclaimer: Greeting card picture and Halloween information obtained from wikipedia.com

Spook-A-Licious: Where the Boo-ks Devour You Blog Hop Winners

 

I’m soooo sorry this is late! I had a deadline to meet in getting my latest short story finished and ready to publish for Halloween. First, thank you all for stopping by. This hop was so much fun. Second, for my tardiness, I’m throwing in my newest Halloween short story as part of your prize! Third, let’s get to the winners!

Using randomizer.org, the first place winner is:

Becky C. cherringtonmb(at)sbcglobal(dot)net

The five 2nd place winners are:

Geschumann geschumann at live dot com

Pam M.  kydirtgirl68 AT gmail DOT com

Laura H. BornajhawkATaolDOTcom

Krystalkat Morganlafey86(at)aol(dot)com

Eva evitap67(at)gmail(dot)com

Thank you so much for stopping by and commenting. Please email me at kimbowman2008(at)yahoo(dot)com and let me know the PDF you’d like!

Happy Reading!

~Kim

Spook-A-Licious: Where the Boo-ks Devour You Blog Hop

Happy Halloween all! Ghosts and goblins and spooks, OH MY! Well, and wonderful, delicious candy. I’m so glad you came by to visit me! First, let’s cover a few rules for the hop and then we’ll have some fun!

THE RULES:
1) HAVE FUN!!!
2) INVITE ALL OF YOUR FRIENDS!!! SPREAD THE WORD!!!
3) THIS TOUR STARTS: Monday, October 17, at Midnight (Arizona Time)
THIS TOUR ENDS: Monday, October 24, at Midnight (Arizona Time)
Winners will be drawn and posted October 25th! ***
4) MEET AND MINGLE WITH ALL THE AUTHORS & BOOK PAGES! EXPERIENCE A NEW DESTINATION AT EVERY STOP! PARTICIPATE IN EVERY BLOG CONTEST AND BE ENTERED FOR CHANCES TO WIN MULTIPLE PRIZES! EVERY BLOG VISITED IS ANOTHER OPPORTUNITY TO WIN!!
5) PARTICIPATION AT ALL BLOGS IS RECOMMENDED, BUT NOT REQUIRED. REMEMBER, THE MORE BLOGS YOU HOP, THE BETTER YOUR CHANCES OF WINNING PRIZES. EVERY AUTHOR & BOOK PAGE IS WAITING TO MEET AND INTERACT WITH YOU, SO PLEASE BE SURE TO SHOW THEM SOME LOVE!
6) DID I MENTION TO HAVE FUN? WHOO! HOO!! HERE WE GOOOOOOOOOOOO!***Authors & Book Pages have full discretion to choose an alternate winner in the event any winner fails to claim their prize(s) within 72 hours of their name being posted or after notification of win, whichever comes first. Anyone who participates in this blog hop tour is subject to these rules**

Halloween is full of myths and legends that either originate with the holiday or are just fun to tell. The headless horseman, Bloody Mary, Resurrection Mary…the list is endless. Some of my favorite true ghosts stories can be found in Leslie Rule’s Coast to Coast Ghosts and Ghosts among us. I’ve read these books over and over and if you like ghost stories, I highly recommend them!

For the blog hop, I thought I’d share my own personal experience with spooks. Several years ago, our neighbor, Joe, died very unexpectedly. He was like a father to me and I took his death very hard. A couple weeks after Joe’s death, strange things started happening in our home. We had our air conditioning on, set to about seventy, but it would get so cold in our bedroom you could see your breath. I started feeling like I was being watched while I slept and I HATED being in our bedroom. Our precious dog Derby even refused to go in our room and would stand at the door and growl. But surprisingly, our dog Tess LOVED our room and would whine if the door was shut and she couldn’t go in there.

But that wasn’t the strangest thing. First, I started hearing this screaming in my head very clearly in our deceased friends voice. Joe was angry and not afraid to express it. “I’m not dead! Would you people stop saying I’m dead! I’M. NOT. DEAD.!” This mantra plagued me for the better part of a month every time I closed my eyes. I was a mess and couldn’t sleep. I truly thought I was going crazy. More afraid everyone else would think it! So I didn’t tell a soul.

Then, the phone calls started. Our caller ID would read Joe and Liz’s name and number, but when we picked the phone up, no one was there, not even a dial tone. Even my unbelieving husband was a little freaked by that, but not as much as what happened next.

You had to know our neighbor. Joe was a character and he loved to shock people. For the longest time he had a very offensive message on their answering machine. Liz had finally had it with the message and people complaining, so she disconnected the answering machine and got voicemail, and she left the message (the answering machine had been unplugged for at least three years when he died).

Fast forward to roughly two months after his death. I picked the phone up to call and check on Liz. To my shock and horror, Joe’s old offensive message greeted me after four rings. I push the end call button and threw the phone and started to cry. My husband was looking at me like I was a crazy woman. When I told him what happened, he rolled his eyes and called himself. You should have seen how pasty white Tony’s face got. His hands were trembling and he let loose a few explicitives. We were both quiet for a few minutes, then Tony the nonbeliever decided someone had hooked up the answering machine again was all. I sighed in relief, glad to have a logical answer. Then I jumped up. “Liz! We can’t let Liz or their kids hear that. It freaked us out.”

Tony agreed so we jumped in the car and drove to their house. We walked inside and I excused myself to go to the bathroom. I knew where the old answering machine was and I didn’t want to alarm Liz. so I went to the room to unplug it without saying anything, only to find it wasn’t plugged in! I ran back to where Tony and Liz stood crying and hyperventilating. When I finally got out what had happened, Tony thought I’d lost it and goes to unplug it himself. Liz and I follow him and sure enough, the answering machine is unplugged.

We can tell Liz is shaken and we apologize for freaking her out and tell her what happened. Liz’s eyes got really huge and she started to cry. She then does plug in the answering machine…and it doesn’t work!

Still, I don’t say anything about Joe haunting me.

The following weekend, I went with Liz to a psychic party. I went for one reason and one reason only-Joe. I never said a word to the psychic. I sat down and he told me he was a psychic medium and asked me if I’d recently lost anyone that I wanted him to try and contact. I said yes.

The medium jumped back nearly knocking his chair over. “Whoa! Man, we just ticked someone off. Honey, I’m sorry, but alls I’m hearing is someone repeating over and over ‘I’m not dead’. Wow! Now he’s cussing at me. Honey, this person, wait…” The medium closed his eyes, then started shaking his head and opened them again. “Yeah, the only thing he’ll say is to stop saying he’s dead. He won’t even give me his name. Honey you have to help him cross over.”

Needless to say, I’m a mess. Liz, on the other hand, is annoyed and furious after her reading and is ready to go. On the way home, she tells me what a fake the psychic was that he couldn’t even tell her husband had been dead less than three months. Never even mentioned Joe to her. I become so upset she has to pull over. There are other people with us, so I don’t want to tell her what has happened, what’s BEEN happening. So I tell her I’m fine and asked her to come to my house after Tony goes to work.

Our readings were tape recorded, so instead of telling Liz what happened, I let her hear the tape and then I tell her what’s been happening. That I hear that same thing—I’m not dead—every night and it’s scaring me. I also tell her that I think the medium didn’t pick up on Joe being dead for her because Joe doesn’t think he’s dead.

It took some convincing, but with a lot of sage, praying, and telling Joe he needed to let go, he finally listened and I had peace again. Although I still miss him every day.

So, that’s my encounter with ghosts. Any of you have a story you’d like to share? Or a scary book you’d like to recommend? I’d love to hear from you! Leave a comment for a chance to win some great books.

For one lucky poster, I’m giving you your choice of THREE PDF’s from the list below. And for five other commenters, you get your choice of ONE PDF from the list!

1. Matrimonial Mayhem Anthology (contemporary romance)
2. Heartsight by Kay Springsteen (contemporary romance)
3. Lifeline Echoes by Kay Springsteen (contemporary romance)
4. Elusive Echoes by Kay Springsteen (contemporary romance)
5. The Picture by Stephanie Taylor (contemporary romance)
6. Lucky for Her by Stephanie Taylor (contemporary romance)
7. Double Crossing by Meg Mims (historical fiction)
8. The Last Wizard of Yden by S.G. Rogers (fantasy)
9. Wayward Soul by Kim Bowman (paranormal)
10. Ghosts in the Graveyard by Kim Bowman (Halloween paranormal) upon release
11. Emily Dahil CID Part I by Lindsay Downs (YA, mystery)
12. Trophies by J. Gunnar Grey (mystery)
13. Blackbird Flies by Chynna Laird (YA)
14. Legend of the Oceana Dragon by J.F. Jenkins (paranormal)
15. Vala: Agendas by J.F. Jenkins (paranormal)
16. Scent of a Witch by Bri Clark (Halloween paranormal)
17. Glazier by Bri Clark (paranormal)
18. Shawnee’s Creek by Stephy Smith (contemporary romance)
19. Rescued From the River by Stephy Smith (historical romance)
20. Lizzie and the Rebel by Stephy Smith (historical romance)

The blurbs for all of the above titles can be found on Amazon.com.

Thank you so much for stopping by and I hope you enjoy the rest of the hop. Just follow this link Spook-A-Licious back to the list.

Trying To Move On

I want to say a HUGE thank you to everyone for their thoughts and prayers following the loss of our beloved Derby. Life at the Bowman house is slowly getting back to normal. S-L-O-W-L-Y. And by that I mean I’ve stopped crying every day. We still have times when Tony and I just sit and talk about how amazing our boy was and how cheated we feel, but mostly about how blessed we were to own such an amazing dog. He truly brought joy to us.
I know I’ve pretty much been MIA for several weeks, and probably still would be if a couple of things hadn’t occurred to prompt me to share my feelings and seek advice from all of you. And to asked for you help for another family and their much-loved dog.
The first thing is, we got a puppy a couple weeks ago. Tony came home from work, tears swimming in his eyes, and said, “I just can’t stand it, Kim. For almost eight years there hasn’t been a day when I wasn’t met at the door by Derby. Even after almost two weeks of him not being here, I still expect him to be the first thing I see when I get home.”
My heart broke for him. This was his baby. Derby loved us all, but he was definitely Tony’s dog and best friend. So, I asked him if he thought it would get better if we had another dog. He didn’t come back with the answer I expected. Instead, he hugged Cage and said, “No, not really. Nothing will make it better. But Derby protected us. I felt better knowing he was here with guys while I was at work, so I think we need to get another dog.”
I was still on the fence and didn’t want to rush into getting a dog just to fill the void Derby’s death had left. We were still in mourning. And honestly, I didn’t want to grow attached to another pet just to lose it. I’m still grieving over losing my Tessie and now Derby was gone too. I NEVER wanted to go through that torture again.
But then I looked at Cage playing with his kitty and thought, Is it fair to cheat him because I’m afraid?
There happened to be an ad in the paper for pit bull puppies a few days after we found and buried Derby. I got up, called the lady with the puppies, and told her we were on our way. We walked in, and what did we see? This little girl was looking at us like, “Where’ve you been? I’ve been waiting for you.” It was like we’d been handed back a piece of Derby and Tess. Tony and I looked at each other and said, “We’ll take that one!”
OH BOY! We haven’t had a puppy in eight years! To say we’re rusty is an understatement. Lex definitely keeps us on our toes! Between her, the kitty (Possum), and Cage, our house is like a three-ring circus. And now for the part where I need advice. How do we not feel guilty for loving this bundle of fur? How do we stop feeling like we’re somehow “cheating” Derby by getting Lex so soon after his death? I’d love to hear from you guys about losing a beloved pet and how you dealt with moving on with another one. It would really help me.
The second thing that happened is my friend, the wonderful author, Kay Springsteen, posted a story on Facebook about this family who has had their dog Smokey taken from them. (For more details and the whole story, please follow the two links and read this family’s story). With the sting of Derby’s death still heavy on my heart, this hit close to home, and my mission is to make damn sure to do all I can to help this family get their Smokey back so that they have a much happier ending than we did. I’m HORRIFIED by what I’m learning about these so-called “chip-in” groups. I won’t elaborate on that, follow the link above and then do an Internet search and you’ll be as appalled as I am.
This family is now in a legal battle to have their beloved Smokey returned. I donated to their Chip-in account. Even $1 will help. Can you find it in your hearts to help Smokey. We are his voice! If you can’t spare a $1, will you follow the link above to the Facebook page for Smokey and share it and then do the same with the Chip-in link so we can spread the word and reach as many people as possible. Who knows, maybe even FIND Smokey for this family. Then can you take a few minutes and send a complaint to Kim Alboum, the State Director of the North Carolina Humane Society asking that these groups not be allowed to pass judgment and keep families and their beloved pets apart. Now, let me make it clear that we worked with an awesome rescue group when we adopted at pit bull years ago. They were amazing, and most of them are working to save these poor animals. But some of these “chip-in” rescue groups are giving a bad name to legitimate organizations who want to help these animals.
Let’s do all we can to help this family. Keep in mind, this could be you. Trust me, I never thought I’d be burying Derby until he was old and gray. I know you guys are all awesome and will whatever is in your power to help this family. After having to explain to my son that his dog was dead, nothing would make me happier than to see this little girl reunited with hers.