Hi, I’m Christy Sloat, author
of The Visitors Series, The Past Lives Series and The Slumber Duology, and I’m your host for this stop in the Hunt.
Somewhere
on this page is a hidden number. Collect all the numbers from all the authors’
posts, and then add them up. Once you’ve added all the numbers, and if I am
your last author, please head to the official website and click on the ENTER
HERE page to find the entry form. Only entries will the correct number will
qualify to win.
The author I’m pleased to
be hosting for Virtual FantasyCon’s Blog Hop Hunt today is paranormal author,
L.D. Rose.
Ten
Reasons Why I Love The Paranormal by L.D. Rose
Thank
you so much for featuring me on your blog! My name is Linda (writing as L.D.
Rose) and I’m a doctor by day and author of PNR/UF by night. Since I’m a big
fan of everything dark, sexy, and creepy, I figured I’d share my top 10 reasons
why I love the paranormal. ;)
I was accused of being a vampire
in the first grade.
Yep.
That’s right. I went to an all-girls Catholic school for kindergarten and first
grade (my mother yanked me out before second grade for acting out—oops!). My
classmates already thought I was weird since I spoke broken English (my first
language was Portuguese and I didn’t go to preschool; I learned English from
Sesame Street). All of us kids were playing a game of tag at recess and I
tripped on a rock and sliced my finger open. I immediately put my hand in my
mouth to suck the blood away (c’mon, didn’t you do that when you were a kid?!).
The girls freaked out and ran away from me, screaming “vampire.” I guess it
didn’t help that I had a widow’s peak, dark hair and pale skin. I had no idea
what a vampire was, but my feelings were hurt and I cried.
This
was obviously quite traumatic since the concept of a vampire invaded my brain
and I became obsessed with learning (and writing!) about them. ;)
I grew up in a haunted house.
Yep,
that’s right too! My family was poor growing up and we bounced from apartment
to apartment when I was a toddler. My parents bought a house when I was about
five, both of them incredibly excited to have a home.
Too
bad it was haunted, haha!
This
could be a whole blog post in and of itself but my parents’ little Cape was
over a hundred years old and two ghosts apparently haunted the premises (an
eight year old boy and an elderly woman who died in the upstairs bathroom;
later, my deceased German Shepard made a few ghostly appearances too). I never
actually saw them, but their roaming
footsteps, cold patches, whispers, and little games such as dropping the
blinds, turning off the radio and the occasional “push” made their presences
unmistakably clear. I have no doubt
there’s a ghostly world among us, no matter how much my logical doctor brain
wants to argue it.
My first memorable books were
horror stories.
Thanks
to my vampire accusation, I began to read horror stories—a lot of them! My
absolute favorite books as a kid were the SCARY STORIES TO TELL IN THE DARK
series by Alvin Schwartz. I couldn’t stop staring at the creepy images and
rereading the melodious yet disturbing passages. My absolute favorite was THE
HEARSE SONG and I used to sing it constantly while jump roping outside like the
freaky little kid I was. As I grew older, I transitioned to R.L. Stine, Clive
Barker, and Stephen King, then it was all downhill from there.
See,
kids? Be careful what you call your classmates!
Naturally, my favorite movies
were horror movies growing up.
Gremlins.
Ghostbusters. Poltergeist. The Exorcist. Friday the 13th. Nightmare
on Elm Street. Halloween. Jaws. The Shining. Silence of the Lambs. CLASSICS!
Although the horror movie industry has sorely disappointed me as an adult,
these were my most memorable movies. My parents would let me watch a few of the
more “benign” ones, but I usually snuck out of my room in the middle of the
night (or hit the theaters) to watch the more graphic films.
My first writing ventures were
horror stories.
Surprise,
surprise! I’ve been writing for as long as I remember. The first actual “story”
I wrote was on a typewriter at ten years old. It
was called "The Secret Door", about fifteen pages long, and starred a
haunted house that held a portal to another dimension (no kidding!). My first
ever publication is a short story in an anthology called “Horrors of History”
(Fey Publishing) and it’s about two depression-era gangsters who get more than
they bargained for during a bank heist (two words: zombie cops). I plan to do a
lot more with these two boys in the future, since I loved writing them so much.
Every story I’ve written has a preternatural edge to it—I just can’t help it,
it’s part of who I am.
I wanted to be a paranormal
investigator.
As
a teenager, I used to raid abandoned houses (particularly those rumored to be
haunted), trek into the woods after dark in hopes of running into a cult (or at
least see a hanging body), and I played Ouija way too much (I’ve had some interesting
experiences with that demonic game, let me tell you!). I know it sounds crazy
but I loved to be scared; it was a
rush, an addiction even, and my morbid curiosity never ceased to be satisfied.
I never got into the real complex “ghost hunting” with detectors and such, but
I still visit the occasional haunted spot (although my sixth sense has petered
out, unfortunately). My hubby is quite averse to the supernatural world, so now
I tend to explore it through writing and art. That and an occasional episode of
Ghost Hunters. ;)
The type of music that draws me
in most is rock, metal, and rap of a darker flavor.
The
darker the lyrics, the better. I’m madly in love with Trent Reznor (he’s my
musical god) and some of my favorites are Marilyn Manson, Deftones, Godsmack,
In This Moment, Disturbed, Staind and Stonesour. DMX is my favorite rapper of
all time because he’s brutal and doesn’t hold anything back in his music.
There’s something exhilarating about expressing one’s fears and discussing
subjects most people are uncomfortable with through music (or any art in
general). I try to do the same with writing and give it the realism it
deserves.
Jogging in cemeteries gives me
peace.
So,
do you think I’m a total weirdo yet? P Although my running tends to be on the
street and residential neighborhoods as of late, I used to run through
cemeteries all the time in college. I loved the silence and isolation—no
people, no cars, just me, the trees, and the graves. My favorite used to be Oak
Grove Cemetery in MA, where the infamous Lizzie Borden is buried. Many of them
were hilly too, which made for a great workout.
My acceptance of death and all
things disturbing helped me to become a doctor.
Amongst
other things, of course, but having a thick skin and a gut of steel helps. I’m
going to let you in on a little secret: being a doctor is terrifying. You end
up in situations so crazy you can’t even imagine and you must act quickly. There’s
no staring or jaw dropping or sudden paralysis. A career that starts out by
asking you to take apart a human body requires some serious nerve…and that’s
only the beginning! Not to mention you need to soothe the fears of others and
understand them. Needles, scalpels, blood and gore is no biggie to me, but my
hubby will drop like a bomb at the sight of his own blood or an uncapped
syringe. Being able to resist passing out is a major plus.
My passion for the dark and sexy
(like vampires!) led to my first novel being published by SMP.
Yes,
I love writing horror, but I also love writing about love. The books I’m most invested in involve a romantic
relationship with a ton of conflict (usually of the frightening variety) and
after much chaos and destruction, the hero and heroine have their well-deserved
HEA. Dark paranormal romance and urban fantasy became my favorite genres to
read…and write! I strive to put my readers through the same rollercoaster of
emotions the characters experience—terror, lust, anger, sadness, relief, and of
course, happiness. I think both fear and love bring out the best and worst in
us, and I try to depict those ups and downs in my work. Now that my 1 debut novel is out in the world, I hope it’ll be
something memorable, whether you love the paranormal, horror or a romance that
keeps you teetering on the edge of your seat.
Thanks
for sticking it out this far, dear reader. ;) If you’re so inclined, check out my
novels on Amazon. My debut dark PNR, RELEASING THE DEMONS released in August of
two thousand and fifteen and the next novel in the series, BLACK BULLET
releases in October of two thousand and sixteen.
BIO:
L.D. Rose is a neurotic physician
by day, crazed writer by night, and all around wannabe superhero. She writes
paranormal romance and urban fantasy, but she’s been known to delve into
horror, sci-fi, and medical suspense on occasion. L.D. Rose is a member of the
RWA, FF&P, NEC-RWA and CoLoNY. She currently lives in Rhode
Island with her studly hubby, her hyperactive boxer, and her two devious
cats.
Sign
up for her newsletter for the latest on the Senary, sneak peeks, giveaways, and
other fun stuff: http://eepurl.com/bKvuXD. You'll receive a free horror short
story with sign-up! You can also join her street team on FB for more
shenanigans. ;) https://www.facebook.com/groups/1544747369161573/
Where to find her:
Did
you find the number? If you did, then click L.D. Rose’s link –
