by Katerina Lorenzatos Makris ~

It just occurred to me that although I’ve been crowing on Facebook all week about my newest Spicy Story, “Home for Halloween,” I never breathed a word about it here on the Spicy website. Silly me.

This negligence was partly the result of trying to get a second Halloween-themed story, Faraway Valley, spruced up to publish on Amazon, encountering beaucoup technical difficulties along the way, and thus getting discombobulated.

But it’s important to get the word out and sell as many copies of “Home for Halloween” as we can, since 100% of profits from it will go to six hardworking, boots-on-the-ground rescue groups.

So now, on Halloween night, with spooking and screaming and trick-or-treating in full swing in neighborhoods across America, it’s finally time to present a Spicy version of this strange holiday, from the point of view of heroine Louise, whose quiet, cozy little rented home just so happens to be situated smack-dab next-door to a cemetery.

And if you could spread the word about it to friends and family we’d be eternally grateful, so to speak.   😉

Summary

When Louise’s doorbell rings on Halloween, she expects to find trick-or-treaters, not a distraught little boy apparently searching for a lost pet, and looking pretty lost himself. Her efforts to help him find his dog lead her to find the answers she has been seeking in her own life, and into the arms of a man who both spooks and spellbinds her.

Excerpt

Halloween mood or not, Louise wasn’t keen on traipsing among tombstones alone, in the dark, and in a storm.

Picking up the phone to make yet another call to the police, she found that her line had gone dead. So had her cell.  Great. Things were just getting better and better.

What now? She had no idea who the little boy was, or whether it was a dog or a cat or a lizard he was he was looking for, but she couldn’t leave a kid out there wandering and sobbing through a cemetery on his own.

At Rose Park Eternal Home’s front gate, gusts of wind pelted her face with rain. Blinking it away, she saw that the gate yawned wide open. That gave her pause. The gate was never open after hours.

She thought hard about whether or not to go in.  A better plan might be to get in her car, drive to the police station, and haul some cops back out here with her.  But the boy’s mournful wails continued, coming from somewhere amidst the graves.

Louise summoned her courage, buttoned her coat tighter, and walked through the gate.

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Spicy Stories Save Lives proudly sponsors several needy animals on the Greek island of Kefalonia.

Meanwhile, Kefalonia Animal Trust (KATs) provides free spay/neuter for hundreds of animals per year–one of the best ways to prevent the abandonment and misery of puppies like Noah and Kyla. Please give to KATs via PayPal or bank transfer. Spay/neuter and education are the animals’ best hope for a better future.

Also please consider Animal Rescue Kefalonia (ARK), another group on the island who run a shelter (and took care of Julia) and work miracles with terribly few resources. 

Spicy Stories Save Lives and the author of this article have no affiliation with KATs and ARK other than as a friend, volunteer, and donor.

Seen our book?  Your Adopted Dog: Everything You Need to Know About Rescuing and Caring for a Best Friend in Need, by Shelley Frost and Katerina Lorenzatos Makris, available through Amazon.com.