Take a character from your manuscript, for example, any character you choose. How would they handle the early hours of Halloween Eve when the kids come knocking. Are they the type of person who couldn’t be more excited? Perhaps they went to the store and bought three different types of candy because they weren’t sure what kind the kids would like most. Perhaps they have an elaborate costume of their own and they’ve decked their house out in spider webs, gravestones, flashing lights, and fake blood. And, for the entirety of trick-or-treating hours, they are perched on their porch with a huge smile on their face asking the kids about their costumes and telling them how cool they look.

On the other hand, perhaps your character is not much of a Halloween fanatic. They care enough to go grab a bag of candy from the store to prevent their house from getting egged, but they aren’t going to be spending their Halloween interacting with a bunch of snot-nosed kids. They’re the type to set out the candy on their porch in a giant bowl with a sign that says ‘take one’ to which each of the kids will take two. They spend the early hours of their Halloween evening prepping for a party with friends later while listening to the kids laughing and screaming in the distance.

Additionally, your protagonist could be decidedly anti-Halloween, promptly shutting off all the lights in their house at 6:00 PM sharp. Or perhaps they come up with a clever plan to deter future trick-or-treaters by gaining a reputation as the house with bad candy, finding the most obscure and off-putting candy at the store and excitedly handing them out to the neighborhood children.

Creating a scene that forces your character to both interact with children and participate in a holiday can give you an excellent opportunity to get to know your character better. This type of exercise can be used to highlight how they feel about children, holidays, ceremony, merriment, family, privacy, and how they prefer to spend their time. Think about different themes within your manuscript or different aspects of your character’s personality you’re attempting to highlight. Focus on attempting to feature those things in this exercise.

Writing Prompt: Choose a character from your manuscript and write a scene where they are handing out candy to trick-or-treaters on Halloween. You can either make this scene timeless or you can set it in a significant year in your character’s life. Attempt to convey different aspects of your character’s personality through this event. How do they feel about trick-or-treaters and why? For example: if they don’t like trick-or-treaters, are they dissatisfied with their family or the lack of family in their life? How do they feel about the holiday in general and why? How would they spend their time (if they could choose) and why? And how do all of these factors affect the chain of events that evening?

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Halloween night can be a fun setting to explore your characters, get to know them in new ways, and even throw them outside of their comfort zone. For example, perhaps your character is the type that likes the dark and scary side of the holiday, always ready with fake blood capsules and fangs to play pranks on friends. Imagine this person is asked to attend their nephew’s Halloween party this year. Will they be able to tone down the spookiness and give their nephew a fun party? Or will they scare a bunch of children with their costume and bloody Mary spooky stories?

How a character feels about the holiday can also show off different aspects of their personality. If they obsessively love the holiday, why is that? Are they a macabre person, fascinated by the haunted nature of the holiday? Or do they have a particularly fond memory from their childhood associated with Halloween celebrations?

It also allows you to play around with more specific aspects of character, which allows them to feel more fleshed out and real. What is your character’s favorite scary movie? Favorite Halloween tradition? Favorite Halloween candy or snack? Favorite Halloween decoration in their house? What kind of costume (if any) do they like to wear?

Writing Prompt: Write a scene or short story about how your character spends their Halloween night. Use the day and setting to reveal aspects of your character by showing how they act surrounding the holiday, how they like to spend it, and why. Let this Halloween celebration push them a bit out of their comfort zone and show the reader why that is and how your character handles it.

The post Writing Prompt: Halloween Night appeared first on Dorrance Publishing Company.

1) The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne

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One of the classics we all had to read in high school, all you need really need is a giant A to pin to your chest and you’re good to go!

2) Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen

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A classic couple’s costume comes from one of the greatest romances of all time, Pride and Prejudice. Getting dressed up as your favorite romance couple, Elizabeth and Darcy, is fun and also simple. You’ll love role-playing as this classic romantic duo- most ardently.

3) Coraline by Neil Gaiman

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Not only is the book a classic, but the 2009 movie adaptation truly brought this character to life. Spend your Halloween in the bright colored outfit of this dark protagonist!

4)The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

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One of the easiest costumes on the list by far comes from the F. Scott Fitzgerald classic The Great Gatsby! If you’re looking for a great couples costume, all he’ll need is a suit and all you’ll need is a flapper dress and presto- Daisy and Jay!

5) Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin

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A classic brought to life through the hit show on HBO, there’s truly no limit to the number of different characters and costumes you could put together from this series. Don’t be afraid to get creative with it.

6) Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling

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Whether you decide to go with a member of the trio or go a little more out there and dress up as a Veela from Beauxbatons Academy, this is another series with endless costumes to choose from. Just pick your favorite and Accio!

7) The Princess Bride by William Goldman

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From page to screen as well, this book is among the top ten list of a wide variety of readers. You could go with this very simply made couples costume or even if you’re going to a party with friends, you could dress as the classic trio- Fezzik, Inigo, and Vizzini. Inconceivable!

8) Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood

Recently revived by the award-winning Hulu show, this simple costume is a great choice for a group of book-loving girlfriends.

9) A Wrinkle In Time by Madeleine L’Engle

There haven’t been many costume adaptations of these three quite yet, but the recent successful film will no doubt change that this year. These costumes are more complex, but for a group of crafty girlfriends, it’s a great way to celebrate a classic YA book.

10) Romeo & Juliet by William Shakespeare

So many Shakespeare characters to choose from, but Romeo and Juliet are likely the most recognizable of the bunch. If you aren’t doing Halloween as a couple, though, may we recommend carrying a skeleton around and going for the Hamlet angle instead?

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Here are five tips on how to write a horror story:

1. Read – This piece of advice is universal when it comes to writing a book. Reading other books in your chosen genre will help you gather ideas as well as learn the typical flow of these types of stories. So, familiarize yourself with the horror genre, read the most famous stories and be like a sponge, soaking up as much knowledge as you can before writing your own.

2. What scares you? – By writing about what scares you, you’ll be able to tap into raw emotions that can transpire in the plot of your book. Perhaps you have a fear of being trapped in a confined space. Channel that fear to create a situation where your main character’s movements are limited. By doing so, you’ll be putting your character in a situation where danger is imminent, a major factor of horror stories!

3. Practice – As they always say, “Practice makes perfect.” Before you begin to write your novel, take the time to practice your horror writing skills. One way to do so is by taking a seemingly normal situation and transforming it into a terrifying experience. Use your imagination to spin a normal activity into one that is hauntingly good.

4. Don’t be afraid – Though we’ve encouraged you to write about what scares you, keep in mind that your fears are not the same as another person’s fears. Writing a horror story can be difficult in that it’s a challenge to appeal to all readers – so remember you don’t have to. Though your story might not be scary to all it may be scary to some, and if you’ve inspired at least one reader to sleep with the lights on, you’ve done a good job.

5. Make mistakes – We are not talking about you as the author. We are referring to your main character making mistakes. It’s crucial that your characters make bad decisions to get your readers’ hearts thumping. You’ll want to put your character in danger; however, that danger should be a product of the choice that he or she has made. Get your readers frustrated and yelling at the pages!

In the end, don’t put pressure on yourself to scare every reader who reads your book. Writing a horror story can be as fun to write as it is to read.

Happy haunting!

The post How to Write a Horror Story appeared first on Dorrance Publishing Company.

Haunted Estate Sale: 2 Angry Spirits, written by Elkossei Ashraf, is a book that will make the hair on the back of your neck stand up straight as you cautiously turn the pages.

The novel centers around Ash, a recent college graduate who sets out to take on the world by himself. He leaves his mother and his country in order to pursue the American dream.

Once he arrives in the United States, he immediately finds success as a homecare physical therapist in the suburbs of Chicago. His patients and coworkers love him for his optimistic attitude and sparkling sense of humor. With everything going right for Ash, what could go wrong?

The answer is Mr. and Mrs. Lipinski, the first two patients that have ever caused Ash any problems.

The Lipinskis live in a beautiful house, yet the elderly couple only inhabits a small, filthy, freezing back room. Baffled by their living situation, Ash inquires about why they choose to be pent up in the back room. Rather than answer, the couple becomes enraged and kicks him out of the house.

Soon after Ash is kicked out of their home, he learns that the couple had frozen to death in their lonely back room.

It’s at this moment that Ash puts on his detective cap and attends the couple’s estate sale. Though the Lipinskis’ bodies have since been buried, Ash and the other customers have no idea that the spirits of Mr. and Mrs. Lipinski are still alive and well in the house and have only one goal in mind: revenge.

Are you curious as to how this hauntingly good novel ends? Purchase a copy from the Dorrance Bookstore today and find out for yourself!

The post Two Angry Spirits, One Haunted Estate Sale appeared first on Dorrance Publishing Company.

Although Halloween is this Friday, have no fear, we won’t be delivering any tricks today; just four treats that come by way of our Dorrance-published books!

The kids are surely excited to dress in their best costumes this weekend, so match their excitement with a great book!

A McSpooky Halloween – This book by Dorrance author Chris Roberts, is about Marvin McSpooky’s most beloved day of the year, Halloween. Marvin McSpooky is a monster, and Halloween is the only day when he doesn’t have to hide his monstrous appearance from the public. This year, Marvin begs his parents to let him trick or treat alone, and they reluctantly let him go. This is where the fun begins! In this book, the young reader in your family will live vicariously through Martin McSpooky’s adventures as he navigates his way through the ups, downs, twists and turns of trick or treating! A McSpooky Halloween is a lighthearted, funny story that’s perfect for the young child in your family!

The Person Who Turned into a Monster – Dorrance author duo Luke and Karon Pope wrote this “spook” tacular book, which offers another great read for the kids in your family. The book tells a tale of horror when every night at midnight, Dan turns into a monster! This interesting yet scary story will surely keep young adult readers on the edge of their seats!

After a long night of trick or treating with the kids, what better way for the adults to relax and unwind than with a good book? Check out these two books that are filled with mystery and suspense – perfect for the adults in your family!

The Butler – What’s a better setting for a mystery than a mansion? Author Audrey Rogers Lundy weaves a suspenseful tale in this Dorrance book, where the main character, Andrea, leaves her small town and makes her way to Paris, where she ends up at the mansion of her French benefactors. Soon after arriving, she uncovers a dark family secret – a murder! Through its elements of intrigue, danger and romance, this book will have you asking yourself, “who dunnit?!”

The Detective – Left with no family to come home to, Homicide Detective Russo makes his way to Richmond, Virginia. It’s here where he gets pulled into a new case by the Richmond Chief of Police. This isn’t your average case, though. A corrupt scheme was conceived by the members of City Council, and the Chief is determined to stop them in their tracks. But just like any good detective, Russo needs a sidekick; this is where Judy, a private investigator, steps in. Once the two join forces, they both come to the same conclusion. What could it be? The only way to find out is to read this gritty page-turner by Dorrance author Phillip S. Grant!

So whether it’s for the young readers or the adults in your household, the Dorrance Bookstore is sure to have exactly what you’re looking for! This Halloween, we hope that you avoid the tricks but enjoy these four literary treats from Dorrance Publishing!

The post Scaring up a Good Read: Dorrance’s Spooky Reading List appeared first on Dorrance Publishing Company.