A. L. Kaplan

Tag: halloween

  • Pumpkin Contest!

    I hope you all had a fun Halloween.

    Head on over to Patrick Dugan’s website and vote for your favorite pumpkin!

    It’s been awhile since I carved one, so I made sure I had fun carving mine.

    MARK OF THE GODDESS

    Sometimes a blessing can be a curse.

    Young Maya bears the mark of the moon goddess, a sign that would doom her to be sacrificed in her village where the death god is revered. Forced to dye her golden eyes dark, Maya lives in constant fear of discovery. To save her family and the village’s future, she must find the courage to stand up to the high priest before he can bring the death god into this world.

    HUMMINGBIRD

    Plagued by memories not her own, a young hummingbird struggles to decipher the visions and powers that set her apart from her fellow birds. But the road to awareness is fraught with danger that could doom her to repeat history.

    One step toward understanding.

    One stride toward survival.

    One leap toward flying free from the past.

    STAR TOUCHED

    Sometimes it’s hard to be who you are meant to be.

    Especially when your powers can get you killed.

    Eighteen-year-old Tatiana is running from her past and her star-touched powers eight years after a meteor devastates earth’s population.

    Her power to heal may be overshadowed by more destructive abilities. Fleeing the persecution of those like her, Tatiana seeks refuge in a small town she once visited. But this civil haven, in a world where society has broken down, is beginning to crumble.

    Only by harnessing the very forces that haunt her can Tatiana save her friends…and herself.

    WOLF DAWN

    A Hidden Past – A Deadly Secret

    Gifted with the ability to wolf-talk, Kara has lived with the wolves since she lost her memories eight years ago. Now at sixteen, snippets of her past send her searching for answers.

    But the warm welcome she receives in the human village hides more danger than life with the pack.

  • ConTinual Convention Hot Off the Press 81

    Hot Off the Press

    Authors and their new releases

    Check out the latest Hot Off the Press at ConTinual’s You Tube channel.

    “Hot off the Press 81 has a bit of something for everyone this Halloween season with new releases from Paige L. Christie, J.D. Estrada, John L. French, A.L. Kaplan, Gini Koch, Lucienne LeBeau, Patricia Sargeant, Marisa Wolf, and host James P. Nettles. Romance, mystery, sci-fi, fantasy, horror, poetry and short stories abound to load up your to-be-read pile!”

    MARK OF THE GODDESS

    Sometimes a blessing can be a curse.

    Young Maya bears the mark of the moon goddess, a sign that would doom her to be sacrificed in her village where the death god is revered. Forced to dye her golden eyes dark, Maya lives in constant fear of discovery. To save her family and the village’s future, she must find the courage to stand up to the high priest before he can bring the death god into this world.

  • Little Squirt – Illustrated in Miniatures on Candid Canine

    Laila’s 2020 Halloween Photo

    It might be a little be after Halloween, but take a look a this post on Candid Canine.

    I love the way Christina Verstraete illustrated my story, Little Squirt, with miniatures. Very clever. Make sure you visit and check out her other creations.

    Halloween in #Miniature: Happy Halloween! Trick or Treat!

    STAR TOUCHED

    STAR TOUCHED

    Sometimes it’s hard to be who you are meant to be.

    Especially when your powers can get you killed.

    Eighteen-year-old Tatiana is running from her past and her star-touched powers eight years after a meteor devastates earth’s population.

    Her power to heal may be overshadowed by more destructive abilities. Fleeing the persecution of those like her, Tatiana seeks refuge in a small town she once visited. But this civil haven, in a world where society has broken down, is beginning to crumble.

    Only by harnessing the very forces that haunt her can Tatiana save her friends…and herself.

    WOLF DAWN

    WOLF DAWN

    A Hidden Past – A Deadly Secret

    Gifted with the ability to wolf-talk, Kara has lived with the wolves since she lost her memories eight years ago. Now at sixteen, snippets of her past send her searching for answers.

    But the warm welcome she receives in the human village hides more danger than life with the pack.

  • Happy Halloween Y’All

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  • LITTLE SQUIRT

    Chocolate, gooey caramel. My mouth almost waters. If only I could still taste that luscious candy, but the reanimated can’t do that. It wouldn’t be bad if I got out more. I mean, Grandma is great and all. She brought me back to half-life after I was killed. It’s just not the same without other kids to play with. Halloween is the only day I can go outside without freaking the living. Believe me, you don’t want the pitchfork and torch brigade chasing you.

    “Trick or Treat.” I hold out my sack with the other children.

    A lady hands me a handful of candy. “Great Costume.”

    I thank her and hurry toward the next house. Two little girls sob at the curb. Halloween should be fun, not sad.

    “Are you ok?”

    The bunny points a gloved paw at three disappearing teens. Her ears bounce with each sniffle. “They…took… our…candy.”

    I hate bullies. “Here, take mine.”

    Big, round, adoring eyes look up at me. Being undead has its perks. I track the thieves faster than a bloodhound.

    “That candy isn’t yours.”

    They laugh and tower around me. “Get lost or get pounded, squirt.”

    “Squirt, is it.” I take a deep breath and squirt them with inky old blood.

    A moment of stunned silence, then they clench their fists. I point down. They stare as skeletal hands reach up and pull them into the ground. Half-buried, they shriek and struggle.

    “Don’t steal, especially from little kids on Halloween. I’ll be watching.”

  • THE DIG

    Lush green covered the banks of the river. It would have been beautiful were not for the scull in my hand. Finding bones on an archaeological dig wasn’t unusual, but his one was different. Caucasian, male, one gold tooth, just like Brendan Harper, one of the students who disappeared three years ago.

    The university didn’t seem to notice how many students dropped Professor Hamilton’s classes or simply vanished over the years. And I mean years, as in decades. My boss red flagged the case and I’d spent two years undercover waiting for him to slip up.

    “Are you ready to join your classmates, Miss Van?”

    Icy fingers touched my shoulder and the scull crashed to the ground. It felt as though the temperature dropped fifty degrees. I could feel a tug on my soul, feel my life force drain away even through the protections. Panic closed in. If I didn’t act soon I’d be nothing but a withered corpse for some future victim to find.

    A twist of my wrist slipped the magic dagger into my hand as I spun around. I plunged the weapon deep into the lich’s emaciated chest. His red glowing eyes widened in their dark sockets. Bony hands clenched my neck even as his body disintegrated.

    “You can’t destroy me,” he hissed. “I’ll be back within a week. Your soul will be mine.”

    “Not this time, Lich. I destroyed your phylactery this morning. Oh, and my name isn’t Miss Van. It’s Miss Van Helsing.