Reviews are in!

This spring I "googled" myself as I often do to keep track of where my books are listed and things of that sort. At that time I must have viewed more than the first several pages because I came across a site - TCM Reviews. I'm not one to ship my titles off for review anywhere, especially not hard copies, but this one had my initials so I thought - What the heck. So off I shipped The Unseen, Book one of The Manipulated Evil Trilogy. Not long after, a good review was up on their site so I requested reviews for the following two in the trilogy, Scattered Souls: Book Two and Scorching Eden: Book Three.

The reviews are wonderful and reconfirm I've accomplished with my trilogy what I set out to do. My goals with telling this story was to make people think about very important and soul-searching type issues as well as thoroughly entertain them. It's wonderfully to hear from readers and reviewers from Maine to Tennessee and even Australia that someone has fully enjoyed Ravyn and Kyle's story to the fullest and are left with resonating thoughts after they turn that last page.

And to top it off the great news for this month, the Manipulated Trilogy is finding its way to bookstore shelves at Waldenbooks (also Borders) Bookstores. If you have one near you, ask about them by title and author.

If you want a peek at the full reviews for each book at TCM Reviews, pop into my home site - www.tcmcmullen.com and scroll down to "News Flash." The links for each are there.

The Wonders of Halloween

October. I was born in it, I enjoy it the most. It's a favorite month of many here in Pennsylvania because of the excellent views with the changing leaves. We've gotten some beautiful days lately, days that don't stir images of anything demented or dark. But decorations are popping up everywhere from ghosts and goblins to witches and foam gravestones. Halloween – it’s a favorite of mine, right up there with Christmas. Though Christmas wins top rank because of family gatherings, Halloween ranks because of its history and promises of mystery and intrigue.

Oh, the history. What I’ve learned of ancient civilizations I’ve learned on my own, digging in research for my novels and what I found surprised me a bit, especially because of the images and thoughts around Halloween today.

It wasn’t a holiday of evil things but rather a celebration of harvest. It is the time of year when the growing seasons come to an end. It’s a time to prepare and settle in for winter – the start of the new year by the Celtics.
Where did the images come from that we see today? It was thought on the eve of Samhain that the lines between the dead and the living would thin. Scary images and masks were used to frighten evil spirits away (though I have to wonder why anything evil would be frightened of anything).

I’ve never seen fall as the “end” of anything but rather a beginning, the same as I view the night. I’ve been told over and over how “backward” I am because I don’t truly come awake until evening hits and then my creative side soars late into the night. But I have to wonder, am I really the backward one? If fall was really the start of a new year and night seen the start of a new day, maybe I’m not so odd after all :)