He sees you while you're sleeping!
Twenty-Two Tales of Christmas Terror ranging from ancient Iceland to modern-day Iraq by New York Times Bestselling and award-winning authors, including: a new ghost story by Heather Graham, a Repairman Jack Christmas adventure by F. Paul Wilson, a spine tingling tale by master of horror Thomas F. Monteleone, and a special tale of Christmas wonder by Jon Land. In a unique experience—a story within a story—you will follow along when the MacDonald family discovers an unidentified present under their Christmas tree. Who gave it to them? Where did it come from? No one seems to know. And when they open the mysterious gift, it sets them on a course to a Christmas of terror they could never have expected.
Hey, thanks for stopping by! Today I'm a part of a blog hop with other authors from my new release Never Fear Christmas Terrors. 19 novellas about the holidays and horror! On this tour you're going to be able to learn a little about the authors, get a nibble on the different stories offered and be able to enter to win a copy of the book!
For those of you new to me...here is a little info about me!
Kristi Ahlers is a California girl! She grew up in Northern California in a small city called Yuba City. Since then she's lived in Brussels, Belgium, and England along with a myriad of other locations. A former flight attendant, she was able to continue to feed her love of travel. This has greatly influenced her writing, allowing her to pen stories about places she's managed to visit and things she's experienced.
What inspired my story?
I have long been fascinated by lighthouses. There is a lighthouse at Point Arena in California, it was really the first lighthouse I remember seeing. It’s not grand like the east coast lights, but still, it called to me. I now live in North Carolina and I love spending time on the outer banks. There are five iconic lights located here and each time I’ve visited one, I’ve “felt” the spirits of those from the past. Well, if you know me I’m big on “what if?” as a writer. One of my last trips out there was a storm coming in, I’d never seen an actual Atlantic storm blow up, it’s rather impressive if I do say so myself. I was on the island of Ocracoke, you need to take a ferry to this island in order to see the light there…It’s a forty-five minute crossing and when I watched us race the storm back to Hatteras I began to do my “what if” thing. It’s what I do to entertain myself when bored. I tucked the idea away until this project came up. It was perfect. Haunted light, Christmas, vengeful ghosts…what more could you ask for?
Do I have any experience with the supernatural?
When my family moved back to the USA after 7 years living abroad, I was ready to park it, let me tell you! We’d been living out of suitcases (a natural occurrence in the military when doing large moves) for over two months. I can promise you this wears thin after a few days at best. We came back to the states, being reassigned to Scott AFB in Illinois. Before we left Brussels, I’d done my research and was intent on living in a small little village of Lebanon. We came and drove through the town, it was just as I pictured it. Main street is bricked and full of restaurants, antique stores and sweet Victorian homes lines by large shady oaks. We looked at the rental listings and picked on. It was perfect…it was on the corner, in shades of green, Victorian (I’d always wanted to live in a Victorian) complete with a porch swing and all. Picking a house is a family affair (at the time my two sons were still with us) and we all went to look at this house. We wandered the place, small, three bedroom, two stories…nice small kitchen, hardwood floors, well…you get the picture. It was Victorian perfect. What wasn’t perfect was the “sense” of something not being right. But I kept my mouth shut. I wasn’t a fan of the dining room despite the bowed windows and fireplace. But again I kept my mouth shut. My husband and both boys kept their mouths shut too. No one talked to anyone. Everyone wanted to park ourselves, unpack and start life.
Well long story short. This place was evil. Haunted by a spirit of a man who we found out later killed his wife and then himself, not long after the house had been built. The dogs, and cat refused to be in the dining room, no one would walk through this space even though it was the shorter way to the stairs that led to the bedrooms. Final straw, I was in the bathroom in the antique claw foot tub ( another bonus that made it easy to ignore things at first) when my cocker spaniel and yorkie came tearing into the bathroom, hackles raised making noises I’d never heard them make before. I called out to my husband who I thought had just walked past to our room (saw a dark shadow out of the corner of my eye) and I was getting frustrated that he wasn’t responding to me. Before I could fuss more the hot water came on, to the point of boiling, scalding my ankle. I have never moved so fast in my life. That night we talked, we had all experienced something on our own. For the first time ever we broke the lease and moved. Lesson learned here? Always go with your gut. If a space feels evil, it probably is.
What coming next for me?
Well, I’m a published romance writer along with this new genre that I am embracing wholeheartedly. I’m currently working on my next full length horror, and I’m putting the finishing touches on a suspense novel. I find 2016 is going to be an amazing year for me.
Where can you find me?
www.kristiahlers.com
https://www.facebook.com/Kristi-Ahlers-Author-327686303909139/
http://kristiahlers.blogspot.com/
Excerpt of “I’ll be Dead by Christmas”
It’s happening again.
Fear left a knot in her throat, as she retraced her steps back to the hall. The sensation of being watched overwhelmed her. Ainsley stopped, as an icy breath ticked the back of her neck. Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath.
“Ainsley.”
The whisper of her name A tremble jolted through her entire body, propelling her towards the staircase. Gripping the wooden railing, Ainsley ran down the stairs.
It was happening again. Fear and panic lashed at Ainsley’s heels. She had to find her grandmother.
Logically, Ainsley knew her grandmother hadn’t been in the house for quite sometime. She wouldn’t have let the fire burn low. Never on a stormy Atlantic night like tonight. And especially not when she knew to expect Ainsley.
The lighthouse.
Her grandmother couldn’t be out there. Not in this storm.
But it was Christmas Eve. When things that went bump in the night came alive. When the sound reverberating through the house wasn’t that of Santa and his reindeer on the roof.
For more information about this awesome collaboration follow the links below, learn how to win a free copy of the title and enjoy the sneak peek from the other authors I'm proud to be working with!
Rich Devin: https://www.facebook.com/rich.devin
Mat Kafuman: www.facebook.com/mathewkaufmanauthor
Crystal Perkins: https://www.facebook.com/crystalperkinsauthor?hc_location=ufi
Debbie Grahl: https://www.facebook.com/debbygrahlauthor/posts/555183617980788:0?hc_location=ufi
