Is it seriously already October?

Hey, hey, hey! Wow...it's October already. Where has this year gone? Wheeeeeeeeee!!!

You must forgive me as I'm wicked busy this week planning events and booking travel. As you can imagine, October is "Christmas season" for us ghost hunters...so we're in great demand!

So, while I'm busy RSVPing to invitations to speak and such, I'm gonna let you win a copy of my "Halloween" book: GHOST HUNTRESS: THE GUIDANCE.



Leave a comment in the trail about what you plan to go as this Halloween...or, if you're not dressing up, then tell us the best costume you've done in the past. For me, it would have to be when I went as a Navy Blue Crayola. LOL!!

Winner will be announced next Wednesday!

Hugs,
Marley = )

Ask me no secret, I'll tell you no lie...

Following the awesomeness that was Stephanie's debut week for THE ALPHA BET, complete with lies, lies, lies...I'm here to talk about secrets...and to celebrate the release of my new book, GHOST HUNTRESS: THE REASON.

Here's Buzz Reader Stephanie with her copy:



So...secrets...we all have them, some of us keep them, most of us tell them. But what if a secret was being help back from you by someone you trusted the most in the world? What if that secret changed the course of your life?

Well, for Kendall Moorehead, she's about to discover a secret that's going to rock her world! How will she react? How will she move forward?

In college, I once knew a friend's dirty secret. Not just any friend...but the person I considered my *first* friend in life. We'd known each other since we were five. Her secret was so bad that I still won't reveal it today. I kept it, supported her, covered for her with her mother, and never told anyone else. It was a hard secret to keep because it involved her doing something that I didn't totally believe in. Something she kept from her parents, and other friends, and her boyfriend. But, I was a good friend to her.

Then, we came back from Thanksgiving break and I walked into her dorm room and there was her mother. She was red-faced and angry and she began screaming at me. She accused me of making her daughter "miserable" and "ostracizing" her. She said I was jealous of her daughter. She told me to get out of her daughter's dorm room and never come back. I had NO idea what was going on? How was I making her miserable? How was I ostracizing her? What was her mother on that was making her insane and crazy like this?

I opened my mouth to speak when I saw my friend's eyes. They implored me not to say anything. To just go with the flow. To not tell her secret. It was then that I realized that her mother didn't know her terrible secret and she had used me as an excuse to justify her sadness and depression. I pitied her and I felt bad for her mother. I told the mother that she had no idea what she was talking about and I walked out of the room. My friend and I weren't friends after that. On a big college campus of thousands of people, we went our separate ways and remain there twenty plus years later. But I never told her secret.

Maybe if she ever Googles me and sees this post, she'll know what a good friend I was and perhaps reach out to me. Who knows?

As Henry Wadsworth Longfellow said: "Secrets are things we give to others to keep for us."

GIVEAWAY

Have you giving a secret to someone to keep for you? Were they true to you? What was the impact of that secret on you? Tell us your experience with keeping secrets. (You don't have to tell us the secret!) Leave a comment in the trail to be eligible to win a copy of GHOST HUNTRESS: THE REASON.

And check back with more books being given away all week long!

Hugs,
Marley = )

Ghosts don't hang up their sheets on November 1st
GHOST HUNTRESS: THE REASON - Available Now!

Greatest Lies...Necessary Lies?

What an awesome week! Huge congrats go out to Stephanie for her brand new release, THE ALPHA BET! Can't wait to read it when my Amazon deliveries catch up to my traveling ways.

Oooo...pretty cover...



We're talking lies this week...and I've compiled a list of, perhaps, the greatest lies of all time. See what you think:

• The check's in the mail.
• I'm from the government and I'm here to help you.
• I thought I already gave you that money I owed you.
• I promise I'll pay you back next Friday.
• Now we're even.
• I'm fine.
• We'll have the repairs on your car done by noon.
• You look like you haven't aged a day.
• No, I don't think that outfit makes you look fat.
• This is what it will cost to repair your car.
• If elected, I promise...
• You're going to love working here.
• I don't know what you're talking about.
• Please hold, and a customer service representative will be with you shortly.
• I'll only take a minute of your time.
• Our cellular phones will give you more freedom...
• 100% compatible with your existing equipment.
• I'm being totally unbiased.
• I'll call you.
• This will hurt me more than it does you.
• I'm doing this for your own good.
• Oh well, no harm done...
• I didn't do it.
• I don't know who did it.
• We are experiencing a peak level of call volume...
• You may already be a winner!
• This product was made in an environmentally friendly manner.
• I know it's none of my business...
• I'm not trying to tell you what to do, but...
• It's nothing personal.
• New and Improved!
• Trust me. We found and fixed the last bug!
• The software will ship on schedule.

And those last two lead me to my confessed lie. Yes...I sold vaporware. (Vaporware is a word used to describe products, usually computer hardware or software, not released on the date announced by their developer, or announced months or years before their release.)

For four years, I worked in the dot.com (or, as I'd like to call it dot.bomb) industry at a company called SureSell Multimedia. We sold software for home builders. It was a noble idea, but, as the term vaperware implies, we just didn't have the finances, the personnel, or the development team to quite pull off the final product. Still, as the marketing and events director, I sent out marketing materials, fancied up the website, went to tradeshows, demoed the software and did all I could to sell it. Mind you...the 1.0 version worked just fine, but to compete in the highly competitive tech market, our 2.0 version had to sparkle, shine, cook breakfast for you and your kids, and drive them to school afterwards. Suffice it to say...the software never came to fruition. I was on vacation in Paris when I got the call that the company went kaput.

The things we do for a paycheck, eh? LOL!! I think that falls into the category of a "necessary lie." Don't you?

CONTEST

So...what "necessary lie" have you told? For a chance to win a copy of THE ALPHA BET and a copy of GHOST HUNTRESS: THE GUIDANCE, let us know you're "necessary lie." Be sure to check out the other posts this week and comment to increase your chances to win! Come back on Sunday, when the list of winners will be posted.

Hugs,
Marley = )

~*~ Ghosts don't hang up their sheets on November 1st~*~
GHOST HUNTRESS: THE REASON, May 2010

Five for Five!

As I'm working to box up my apartment for my move and clearing things out and consolidating space, I thought it would be a great time to give away some books. We all love book giveaways, right?

So...I have FIVE copies of GHOST HUNTRESS: THE GUIDANCE to give away to our lovely blog readers. All you have to do is leave a comment in the trail, as well as leaving the name of four (4) of your friends -- each of you (five in total) will receive a personally autographed copy of the second GHOST HUNTRESS book. Wait...it gets even better! You may enter as many times as you'd like.



I'll announce the winner next Wednesday!

Until then, happy hunting!

Hugs,
Marley = )

Two Releases in One!

Hey everyone! Sorry for the late post, but I'm at Dragon*Con in Atlanta and, boy, has it been insane!

I'm soooooooooo excited about the release of not just one new book from yours truly...but TWO releases this week! Yep...that's right! I have two books out this week.

The first book is the follow up to GHOST HUNTRESS: THE AWAKENING -- book 2 in my series, entitled GHOST HUNTRESS: THE GUIDANCE. I sold a lot of copies of it here at the convention in Atlanta and people seem excited about the book.

Oooo...pretty cover! LOL!!



AND...the non-fiction companion book to my GHOST HUNTRESS series is the second book that is out. It's called THE OTHER SIDE: A TEEN'S GUIDE TO GHOST HUNTING AND THE PARANORMAL.



The book was written with my good friends, Patrick Burns of TruTV's Haunting Evidence, and Dave Schrader of KTLM FM's Darkness Radio. We felt it was necessary with so many TV shows about ghost hunting that teens be given responsible advice about investigating.

Here we are at Dragon*Con where we premiered the book and sold fifty copies! (And yes...we're all wearing sunglasses on our head. Don't ask! LOL!)



Hope you'll pick up the books and let me know what you think! I'm thrilled to have these books out in the wild for people. I've gotten some amazing reader feedback already and each e-mail just makes my day.

Do you have any questions about ghost hunting? Comments? Thoughts? Leave your question or comment in the trail to be entered to win a copy of BOTH books. I'll be giving away a copy of each book every day this week (Monday-Friday).

Thanks and hugs!
Marley = )

Houston, we have a ... cover!

With the upcoming release of my new YA series, GHOST HUNTRESS, on May 4th, with the first book, THE AWAKENING, launching next Thursday at the GhoStock conference in Salem, MA, I'm also thrilled to share the cover of the second book, THE AWAKENING, which is now up on Amazon.com for pre-sale.

Check it out! I'm swooooooooooooning!!!



The cover designers (Ilovedust.com and Houghton Mifflin's graphic artist, Carole Chu) have really outdone themselves on this one. Look how fierce Kendall looks! Ready to take on any ghost that crosses her path.

Here's a blurb for the book:

Kendall and her ghost hunting team is the talk of Radisson, Georgia, but one person isn’t so pleased. Courtney Langdon doesn’t appreciate Kendall’s new popularity or her relationship with Jason, Courtney’s ex. So Courtney begins dabbling in the paranormal world. At first it’s all a game to draw attention away from Kendall. But Courtney doesn’t know what she’s getting into—or what wants in her. This is one game that’s about to turn deadly serious. And for more about Kendall and the ghost huntresses, check out www.ghosthuntress.com!

I have to say...I have been blessed by the Cover Gods with this series. They're working on the cover for the third book, THE REASON, as we speak and I can't wait to see what they come up with!!

And now...for a quick contest: Go to Amazon.com, pre-purchase THE GUIDANCE (release date September 7, 2009), and send me a copy of the order between now and next Wednesday (at marley.h.gibson (at) gmail.com), I will enter you to win an advanced copy of the first book, THE AWAKENING. Pretty cool, eh? I'll announce the winner next week.

And finally...MASSIVE CONGRATS to Tina and Tera Lynn for their Rita nominations. While I won't be in DC to cheer you on, I will be there in spirit! Get it...spirit...I write about ghosts...ahhh...nevermind... ;)

Hugs,
Marley = )

GHOST HUNTRESS: THE AWAKENING (Coming May 2009, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt) GHOST HUNTRESS: THE GUIDANCE (Coming October 2009, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)
GHOST HUNTRESS: The REASON (Coming May 2010, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)
CHRISTMAS MIRACLES (Coming October 2009, St. Martin's Press)
SORORITY 101: Zeta or Omega? (Available from Puffin Books)
SORORITY 101: The New Sisters (Available from Puffin Books)