October 29, 2012

The Non Reluctant Reader YA Paranormal Spooktacular Day Eight:

Hey guys, welcome to the eight day of The Non Reluctant Reader YA Paranormal Spooktacular! I'm pleased to welcome Kathleen Peacock, author of HemlockFirst Lisa will guest post, then there will be a giveaway! So read on and prepared to be scared! And make sure when tweeting about it you use the hashtag #NRRYASpooktacular! See the schedule of the entire event and all the authors featured HERE.
Mackenzie and Amy were best friends. Until Amy was brutally murdered.
Since then, Mac's life has been turned upside down. She is being haunted by Amy in her dreams, and an extremist group called the Trackers has come to Mac's hometown of Hemlock to hunt down Amy's killer:
A white werewolf.
Lupine syndrome--also known as the werewolf virus--is on the rise across the country. Many of the infected try to hide their symptoms, but bloodlust is not easy to control.
Wanting desperately to put an end to her nightmares, Mac decides to investigate Amy's murder herself. She discovers secrets lurking in the shadows of Hemlock, secrets about Amy's boyfriend, Jason, her good pal Kyle, and especially her late best friend. Mac is thrown into a maelstrom of violence and betrayal that puts her life at risk.
Kathleen Peacock's thrilling novel is the first in the Hemlock trilogy, a spellbinding urban fantasy series filled with provocative questions about prejudice, trust, lies, and love.
Graveyard Girl
Flash Back

“Don’t you think that’s a little… morbid?” My mother stands in the middle of my first apartment and stares at the huge black and white photo hanging above the sofa.

As far as tombstones go, it’s massive—made even more so by the fact that I practically stretched out on the ground to get the angle I wanted.

I shrug and lie. “I never really thought about it. It’s just a school project.” If I told her the truth—that I thought the picture was beautiful and spent twenty dollars on a sheet of large format photo paper to blow it up—she’d worry. If I even hinted at how often I used to go to the graveyard back home—an isolated spot on the edge of town—she’d freak.

As far as parental units go, my mother is pretty understanding, but given that I've rapidly gone from an introvert with self-esteem issues to an extrovert whose been bombing her first year of college, this doesn't seem like the time to tell her about my attraction to cemeteries.

After a long moment, she lets the subject of the photo drop and turns away.

The picture ends up being the first of many.

Flash Forward

Once it occurred to me to start taking photos in graveyards, I couldn't stop. Weeks go by—even months and occasionally years—and then I get the itch to point a camera at weathered inscriptions and sightless stone angels.

When I’m writing and get stuck on a chapter or plot point, I grab my iPod and ramble down tree lined paths, past plots and crypts, while listening to Death Cab for Cutie or Matthew Good.

It probably sounds totally EMO (Death Cab for Cutie? Tombstones?), but it’s not. For one thing, I’m terrified of death. Forget going gently into that dark night: I’ll be clinging on by my fingernails, wailing and screeching. I can barely make it through an episode of Six Feet Under without freaking out.

And, yet… I love cemeteries.

I love looking at markers and inscriptions and the mementos people leave behind. An entire passage in the second Hemlock book was inspired by Celtic knot work I spotted on a grave during one ramble and a small path tucked into a forgotten corner of my favorite graveyard—an inexplicable path that seemed to go nowhere—provided the inspiration for a major plot point in another book.


Death frightens me, but cemeteries fill me with a weird sense of calm—almost like walking through white noise. It doesn't make a whole lot of sense—how can you love cities of the dead when you fear death?—but it’s my one slightly spooky quirk.
Giveaway
Kathleen has generously donated one copy of Hemlock along with some awesome Hemlock swag! Enter after the page break!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

36 comments:

  1. There is something very peaceful about cemeteries, but I don't hang out in them by habit!

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  2. Honestly, I don't really like them. So sad

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  3. I don't really enjoy them. Too many sad memories surrounding them.

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  4. I think cemeteries can be a calm and quiet place. I enjoy looking at the names on the tombstones. At night however... no thanks. lol

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  5. Yes, I love the older ones with all of the old stonework!

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  6. There are certain cemetaries that really make me nervous but in general, I find them peaceful places.

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  7. I do like cemetaries. I am fascinated by the old headstones and what people leave for their loved ones.

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  8. I don't mind them. I like the old ones with all the cool head stones.

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  9. Cemeteries are mostly pretty peaceful with a few creepy ones. But I suppose you'll get that occasionally! I love looking at the really old headstones and learning (even if its just a tiny bit of info) about a person. Thank you for the chance to win Hemlock! Its been on my reading list and I can't wait to read it!

    melissargolden@yahoo.com

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  10. I do like wandering through cemeteries, especially those that have been around for more than 50 years. I like seeing how many seem to be family members and imagining what the families were like.
    Mel

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  11. I like cemeteries, especially the older ones.. I'm from Cincinnati, and there is a massive cemetery there that is known for its' gardens... people actually make appointments to have wedding photos taken there :)

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  12. It's been years since I've been inside a cemetery. I don't think I mind being inside one in the daytime, but at night... no way!

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  13. I love old cemeteries; they always seem so peaceful, but new ones just freak me out.

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  14. I like walking through cemeteries and reading the all the tombstones! But, I don't think I'd like pictures of them on my walls!

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  15. I love older cemeteries. Death is more calming than scary, for me, and I love the sense of history and stories hidden in every graveyard. I like reading the tombstones and wondering about the people laid to rest so long ago.

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  16. I don't like spooky cemeteries at night, but I do think it's interesting to walk through old cemeteries and wonder what those people's lives were like.

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  17. I actually really love cemeteries even though they are kind sad they are peaceful and in a way I feel calmed by them. Like there is history flowing through them because of all the spirits.

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  18. I do! I think they're beautiful and peaceful. Love them!

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  19. I think their peaceful when people don't go tramping all over them.

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  20. Dude, cemeteries are so CREEPY. Nope, I don't like them :)

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  21. Yes, cemeteries that I have been in have been peaceful and well-kept. But then again, I've never been to one at night... :P

    Thanks,
    Leanne

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  22. I don't really go that often so I wouldn't know.

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  23. I recently added a page called Taphophilia to my blog, and my latest ms has many scenes in a cemetery. Yes, I adore cemeteries and gravestones (the old ones are the best) and I've been thinking about doing a taphophile bloghop because I know there are many of us out there :)

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  24. Yes, the older the better! Some of the stones & markers are beautiful, in an eerie, gothic-way! ;)
    Mary DeBorde M.A.D.

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  25. I must say I don't really enjoy cemeteries because they just remind me that life doesn't last forever and it just makes me sad to think of it. I do think they are beautiful, but saddening at the same time.

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  26. "Forget going gently into that dark night: I’ll be clinging on by my fingernails, wailing and screeching." - love it lol. Such a great post. I've always found cemeteries very peaceful, and I enjoy wandering around in them too, looking at the markers and checking out dates and inscriptions and stuff. Great post. :-)

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  27. I LOVE cemeteries! I seek them out when I travel and take tons of pictures- Victorian cemeteries and Military cemeteries are my favorites.

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  28. No, I don't like cemeteries. They are creepy and sad and no one ever goes to visit one on a happy occasion.

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  29. definitely historic ones and the ones in New Orleans-- so interesting to tour!!

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  30. Oh no I don't! I don't mind them so much during daytime though...

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  31. I like cemetaries during the day but not at night! I like to go where my relatives are buried and remember them or imagine what their life was like!

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  32. Cemeteries really creep me out. I would never go into one at night, haha.

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  33. Yes I like cemetaries. They have alot of history and peacefulness,

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  34. No, I don't like cemeteries. They make me sad thinking about the people that I have lost in my life, and that we never know when will be out last day or a loved ones.

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Thank you for the comment, I love and appreciate each and every one! As of March 2012, The Non Reluctant Reader is an awards-free zone. I'm honored to be considered, but do not currently have the time to pass the award on. Comments are the best award I can receive though! If the comment requires a reply, please be sure to check back for one. If it is a feature/meme leave a link to your post and I will stop by and comment if I get the chance!

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