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Summer road trip? Get TRICKS AND TREATS on audio!

Tricks & Treats CT Audiobook Cover

Nothing makes a road trip go faster than a good audio book…Tricks & Treats: A Collection of Spooky Tales by Connecticut Authors–which contains my short story “Crawl” and was selected as Best Anthology in Preditors and Editors Readers’ Poll 2016 — is now available in audio format; you can pick it up here: http://a.co/hP5G4l5

IF YOU ARE A REVIEWER, WE HAVE CODES AVAILABLE! Please reach out to me through my Contact Page.

antho

 

With a Foreword by writer Rob Watts, Read the rest of this entry

TRICKS & TREATS named Best Anthology in P&E Poll

Tricks and Treats Bank Square Books

Some of the contributors of TRICKS AND TREATS signing at Bank Square Books, Mystic, CT, October 26, 2016. From left: Dan Foley, Melissa Crandall, John B. Valeri, Ryanne Strong, Stacey Longo, me (Kristi Petersen Schoonover).

I’m pleased to announce that Tricks and Treats: A Collection of Spooky Stories by Connecticut Authors–which contains my story “Crawl”–has been named Best Anthology in Preditors and Editors Readers’ Poll 2016! You can see the results (as well as the results for the other categories) here: http://critters.org/predpoll/final_tally_antho.ht

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The collection includes stories by Stacey Longo (Amston), Melissa Crandall (Hebron), G. Elmer Munson (Vernon), Dan Foley (Manchester) and John Valeri (Portland) and Ryanne Strong (Norwich). It also includes lesser-heralded ghost stories by Mark Twain, Harriet Beecher Stowe, and Charlotte Perkins Gilman.

In the fall of 2016, several of us did readings around the state. I was able to participate in one at the Whiton branch of the Manchester library, and one in Mystic at Bank Square Books. What a blast we had!

Stacey, Me, Melissa, Bank Square Books Mystic

Raising a glass! Left to right: Stacey, me, Melissa. Photo by Jason Harris.

Kristi signs Stacey's name Bank Square Books.

At Bank Square Books, we group-signed many copies. At some point I started signing Stacey’s name. Duh. Photo by Stacey Longo Harris.

Signing at Whiton Branch Manchester Library.

Signing at the Whiton branch of the Manchester Library, October 24, 2016. Left to right: me (Kristi Petersen Schoonover), Melissa Crandall, Ryanne Strong, Dan Foley.

If you’ve not picked up your copy of Tricks and Treats, it’s available in several bookstores around the state–or you can order it on Amazon here: http://a.co/8kFkXAf

Tricks and Treats Cover

My story “Crawl” now available in TRICKS AND TREATS, signings slated, check out the trailer!

Tricks and Treats Cover

Sometimes babysitting on Halloween in a centuries-old house isn’t a good idea.

My short story, “Crawl,” is now available in Tricks & Treats: A Collection of Spooky Tales by Connecticut Authors. Published by Books & Boos Press, it’s available at several bookstores in the state, but the easiest place to pick it up is probably on Amazon. You can get it in print or for Kindle here: https://amzn.com/0997932902

With a Foreword by writer Rob Watts, also in the collection are stories by Connecticut writers Stacey Longo (Amston), Melissa Crandall (Hebron), G. Elmer Munson (Vernon), Dan Foley (Manchester), John Valeri (Portland), and Ryanne Strong (Norwich), but what makes this collection really stand out is the appearance of a couple of lesser-heralded creepy stories by Mark Twain, Harriet Beecher Stowe, and Charlotte Perkins Gilman. Twain’s rarely-discussed “The Californian’s Tale” is a ghost story (of sorts) that’s really about the nature of grief, while Stowe’s framed narrative (very typical of the ghost stories of the time) is one with a moral bent.

Gilman’s “The Giant Wistaria” (a personal fave of mine) is only one of three ghost stories she wrote; the other two, I believe, are “The Rocking Chair” and “The Yellow Wall-Paper.” “The Giant Wistaria” pre-dates her infamous “The Yellow Wall-Paper,” for which she’s most known, and it, too, has early feminist themes. It’s atmospheric and disturbing.

a-giant-wistaria

A giant wistaria vine.

Finishing out the book is John G.C. Brainard’s poem “Maniac’s Song.” Brainard was a poet and lawyer who was born and lived in Connecticut in the late 18th and early 19th centuries.

Come and meet the (still living, ha!) writers and hear some samples to whet your appetite for the spooky at a couple of pre-Halloween readings/signings! We’ll be at the Whiton branch of the Manchester library (N. Main Street) in Manchester, CT (http://library.townofmanchester.org/) on Monday, October 24, at 6:30 p.m. We’ll also be at Bank Square Books in Mystic, CT, on Wednesday, October 26, from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Here’s hoping I see you there!

Read more about this exciting seasonal collection in the Hartford Courant: http://www.courant.com/community/hebron/hc-ugc-article-new-halloween-anthology-comprised-of-all-conn-2016-09-05-story.html, and watch the official trailer here: https://youtu.be/GkaGyqts8oE

TRICKS AND TREATS cover revealed!

The cover for Books & Boos Press’ Tricks and Treats: A Collection of Spooky Stories by Connecticut Authors has been released!

Creepy tales by famous Connecticutians Mark Twain, John G. C. Brainard, and Harriet Beecher Stowe will be featured. The Table of Contents will also include my story “Crawl” as well as stories by writers Melissa Crandall, G. Elmer Munson, Ryanne Strong, Stacey Longo, John Valeri, and Dan Foley. Rumor has it the volume will also include Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s “The Giant Wisteria,” which is one of my favorites!

Currently, the release date is slated for September.

Tricks and Treats Cover

“Crawl” to appear in CT Halloween collection

Crawl Blog Cover Art JPG

I’d watch out for that baby blanket if I were you.

I can announce this now! I just signed the contract for my short story “Crawl,” which will appear in Books and Boos Press’ Tricks and Treats: A Collection of Spooky Stories from Connecticut Authors this September. As its title suggests, each story Read the rest of this entry

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