Sherri Lupton Hollister's Blog

Happy Holidays, Seasons Greeting, or whatever salutation you prefer. I know there are many who do not like Happy Holidays especially instead of Merry Christmas, but with so many other holy days around this time of the year saying Happy Holidays seems like the perfect greeting.

I love the holidays, especially in the “Ber” months. Halloween has lost some of its pagan beginnings but there is still the hint of what it once was. Even with early Christianity doing its best to Christianize old pagan holidays, Halloween has never quite lost its dark beginning. Now, most people celebrate the more innocent version of Halloween with its focus on harvest, dressing up and having a bit of a scare.

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays even with its ugly history. What should have been a beautiful act of friendship and sharing was only the beginning of the end of the natives who befriended the strangers. What I feel we should focus on is not what happened afterwards, but the offer of friendship, the celebration of the harvest, and the celebration of survival.

We cannot change the bad things that have happened in the past. All we can do is try to be better in the future. We can make excuses for the ignorance of our ancestors, or we can accept that sometimes good people do bad things, make bad choices, or go along with the mob mentality. I think the hardest thing for me to accept is the prejudices. I can’t understand the way our forefathers could justify treating Native Americans as less than human. Their attitudes towards anyone of color, of a different religion, and even other white people from other countries were all treated with disrespect and distrust. For a group of people who came to the new world to have a new start because of religious persecution to then turn around and treat others in the same fashion makes you wonder.

Christmas for me is a time of friendship, family and community. I love the holidays, but the most important part is spending time with the people I love. Celebrating Jesus’ birthday, even though it probably wasn’t December 25th, the date matters very little because it is the act of faith that is the important part. Christmas is a for the Christian a time of hope and love. The gift giving is a symbol of remembrance and love. Each part of this holiday has a symbolic meaning that is so important to the celebration.

For the other holidays I know very little about, I do not wish to slight them in anyway. Custom, celebration and tradition are very important to every religion and ethnic group. It is a part of our history, our beliefs and what unites us. Even with our differences, there are similarities among all of our traditions and respecting each other’s beliefs are important. So whether you celebrate Christmas with me, or some other holy day, I wish you peace, joy, and many blessings of this holy season.

Happy Holidays!

They say not to judge a book by its cover but I need you to do just that. If you liked the cover of my book, How to Murder a Duke: An Applegate Mystery (An Applegate Series Book 2), please vote for it for the Cover of the Month contest on AllAuthor.com! 

I’m getting closer to clinch the “Cover of the Month” contest on AllAuthor! I’d need as much support from you guys. Please take a short moment to vote for my book cover here:

https://allauthor.com/cover-of-the-month/20104/

Do you ever read a book or watch a movie that leaves you emotionally wrecked or feeling buoyant? The characters resonate with you on some level, either their story is similar to your own or you empathize with them to the point that you begin to feel their emotions. What is it about this style of storytelling that affects the reader or viewer so intensely? What is it that reaches out and grabs you?

I’ve been reading excerpts from stories on Facebook that are over the top. The heroine is usually extremely abused even tortured before her alpha hero arrives. Sometimes he is almost dreaded because he is the big, bad guy, but we begin to see that he is the one who brings out her power (if it’s a good story) or another abuser she has to overcome or tame. What is it about these over emotional, over written stories that draw us in? It isn’t necessary good writing because most of them are full of errors. So, what is it that makes us keep reading, wondering what happens next? We get emotionally involved with the characters. We feel something for the character, even if it is over the top drama. I believe it is also because they are so over done and unbelievable that they can entertain us. We can suspend our beliefs and just enjoy the story. It’s not real, yet it makes us feel.

I’d love your take on how and why we get emotionally invested in a story. What makes us laugh or cry? Why do some stories linger with us long after we’ve read them or watched them? What makes one story touch our heart while another feels trite? Tell me your thoughts on this, because I’d love to know if it’s just me crying over here, or if you’re feeling it too.

My new book, My Unforgettable Rockstar comes out Sunday, November 16th, 2025. I hope you will check it out. My characters deal with a lot of emotions from grief, to anger, to family drama, and of course love. This is the second book in the Flintlock and Steel Rock Romance series.

Book 1 https://books2read.com/Rockstar-on-the-Run

Book 2 https://books2read.com/u/4EXEkE

EBooks on sale for 99 cents! Get them NOW!

No matter your favorite genre, fiction is more than entertainment. It is often through fiction that we find our deepest truths. I’ve heard many people talk about how their favorite detective story, sci-fi, or romance helped them through a difficult time in their lives. I’ve mentioned before how my husband took me to the book store after we lost our home to a fire. He knew I would need a book to help me through the chaos and displacement of losing our home. I still remember the book, it was The Truth About Lord Stoneville by Sabrina Jefferies. The book gave me a way to escape for just a little while. It helped me recharge my batteries so I could go on.

Fiction, whether it’s reading a book or watching a movie or even a television show, can do more than even the most well written non-fiction book. It can immerse you into a world vastly different from the one you know, and help you see things with new eyes. It can allow you to step into someone else’s shoes and live for a moment a life unlike your own. Fiction can teach you new things, open your mind to questions you have never thought to ask, and help you empathize with people of different cultures, religions, ethnicities, and even sexes.

One of my favorite series has always been Sherlock Holmes. I’ve enjoyed the original stories, but I’ve also enjoyed the many interpretations of Holmes in movies and in television series, but I’ve also read stories where he was a secondary character to a younger sister. Each of these have allowed me to experience Holmes in different ways, and they have all peeled back layers of the character and his abilities, as well as give a little enlightenment on his flaws and weaknesses.

How does reading Sherlock Holmes help anyone other than by giving entertainment? For me, it helped me think of things in a more logical manner. I learned to peel back layers to uncover the truth about people, life, choices, etc. It also gave an inkling that problems in someone’s mental health didn’t always cripple a person, but could give them a strength others did not possess. One’s strength could become one’s weakness depending upon the situation.

Through fiction we can gain insight, knowledge and strength in enjoyable little bites. We find characters who represent us, who understand us, and who allow others to see us and relate to us.

So the next time you feel guilty for picking up an enjoyable book of fiction instead of something more enlightening, remember, fiction does more than just entertain, and it’s okay to indulge.

By Beverly Horvath

As the local organizers began preparing to hold the first annual Aurora Historical Shiver Tour on November 14th and 15ththey knew they needed to call in the ghosting experts, YouTube sensation Ghost Trucking! The long-haul trucking team is fascinated by the paranormal and often stop to investigate interesting locations while traveling the country. The team has recorded apparitions from The Old City Jail in St. Augustine, Florida to The Silver City Ghost Town in Bodfish, California. Having previously hunted ghosts in Aurora they are excited to return. During the Historical Shiver Tour they will have their equipment set up at the old Aurora Jail (now being renovated into the Aurora History Museum). Other guest performances during the tour will be provided by Haunted Pamlico out of Washington NC, plus Jeff and Flora Aydelette of Pamlico County.

Check in for the two walking tours/ghost hunting experience in Aurora is fifteen minutes prior to each tour (5pm and 7pm) at The Venue, 468 Main Street. Rides will be provided for those unable to walk the one-mile-long tour. Concessions and souvenirs will be available for purchase before and after each tour. Presale ticket cost for the walking tour only are $15, there is a VIP ticket option that includes the ghost hunting experience for $25.00. Tickets bought at the door will have an additional $5.00 fee. Contact Bev Horvath (252-635-8104) at the Blue Crab Boutique on Main Street Aurora for more information and to reserve your tour as spots are limited! We look forward to your presence.

John Bonner’s tombstone is located behind the United Methodist Church in Aurora. On it is the traditional born, March 21, 1812, but then it says “was killed” November 23rd, 1895.

“Was killed” tells a story and it is the story we’ve chosen to begin our Historical Shiver Tour.

From Washington Gazette reported by H A Latham published Thursday, November 28th, 1895. Terrible Tragedy in Aurora the headline read. Banker and merchant J B Bonner murdered and robbed. Coroner’s jury find four persons guilty. Our town was shaken from center to circumference on Sunday by the news that Mr. J B Bonner had been murdered and robbed on Saturday night about 8 o’clock, near his home, and his body thrown over the fence into the field and not found until the next morning.

When Detective Fowler was interviewed, he shared that he, coroner Joshua Tayloe, and attorney Rodman went to Aurora Sunday afternoon on the steamer, the Gazelle. At the time of their arrival there was no suspicion as to who had committed this heinous crime. The coroner’s jury convened Sunday night, Dr. Tayloe decided the bullet wounds caused the death. The next morning Detective Fowler questioned several people, visited the scene of the tragedy, and discovered a footprint for a man’s size nine shoe. Other prints at the scene led to another suspect and both men were taken into custody and placed under secure guard. A confession was later given when one of the suspects’ employers came and talked to the accused.  

Our skit, “Wrong Step” gives the evidence and confession of one of the suspects with the haunting of the victim, Mr. John Bryan Bonner.

“Was killed” tells a story that needed to be researched and shared. We hope you will come out and join us Friday and Saturday night as we explore this and other moments in Aurora’s past. From the life of Betty of Betty Town, to that of a young butcher from one of Aurora’s illustrious grocery markets we combine history with a little horror to give you a shiver.

Do you like spooky stories, scary movies or haunted houses?

I am not a fan of haunted houses. Although I’ve worked several, I usually cannot handle going through them. I’ve never been to a haunted maze or spooky trail, and I’m not a big fan of horror movies. Even though I write mysteries, suspense and thrillers, and I enjoy reading about the macabre and the eerie, true horror isn’t my favorite genre. I don’t like the jump scare, but I enjoy the intense build up of suspense, the worry of danger, and the emotional payoff of facing one’s fears.

I have read and watched several Stephen King stories and loved them. I also consider them more thriller than horror, at least the ones I liked to read. I’ve read other authors who combine horror and thriller to give the reader the best of both genres.

Horror evokes dread, disgust and terror like the story It. Not one I wanted to watch or read. But in Carrie, Tommyknockers and even Jurassic Park (not a King story) there is more of the thriller elements. We constantly wonder what is going to happen next, what are the characters’ reactions to events going to be, and how they will survive. But I think the main difference between horror and thriller is that we feel the main characters will survive the harrowing events, but with horror, we’re not so certain. In horror, even if they do survive, they will be forever changed and not always in a good way.

Dean Koontz is a master of bringing thrillers to the edge of horror. His stories are often a bit bizarre. Something supernatural has happened or is happening, and the main character has to survive it. But the character proves to be up for the challenge. They are constantly threatened but they survive because of their knowledge, cunning, courage, and determination. Sometimes they get lucky, but mostly, it is due to their strength, courage, and knowledge that they are able to outwit the evil pursuing them.

In comparing horror and thrillers, Google says this:

Horror:                                                                                                                Thriller:

Goal: to evoke fear, dread, disgust   to create suspense & excitement or terror                                     

Elements: supernatural, gore and                   complex plots and high stakes disturbing themes 

Atmosphere: uses weather and setting            builds tension by asking what to create unease next?

Audience expectations: to be scared                 to be on the edge of their seat or disturbed 

Jaws is considered horror and yet we are in constant suspense to when the shark will attack. While the plot is hardly complex, the stakes are high. The atmosphere, a lovely beach shouldn’t evoke dread or fear, yet there were many of us who grew up watching jaws who were not sure if we wanted to go back into the water. The beach and the water become a place of dread and fear because we (the reader/watcher) know what is lurking under the water.

The same could be said about the Jurassic Park series. The atmosphere doesn’t evoke dread but just because everything looks pleasant and peaceful, we know it is not. Playing God with technology coupled with wild animals capable of eating you, is not a recipe for a happy story. While this has a more complex theme and plot, it still comes down to the big bad out there threatening the main characters. It is only courage, knowledge and determination that allows them to survive the horrors of dinosaurs on the loose.

The Silence of the Lambs by Thomas Harris is both terrifying and thrilling. It straddles the lines and often blurs them together taking the reader on a quest between psychological thriller and horror. We are constantly in fear for our main character, but her courage and intelligence give us hope of her survival.

Misery by Stephen King is one of the best examples of a psychological thriller tiptoeing into horror. It is gruesome, intense and we fear our protagonist will not survive. Where The Silence of the Lambs leans more into thrillers despite its horrific story details, Misery, has a hopeless and dread that marks it more into horror.

In the movie Seven, which is considered a thriller with horror elements. I find it more horrific, especially the ending, because there is the loss of hope. It starts out definitely in the thriller genre as the detectives try to stop a madman, but it descends deeper into the horror genre as the movie goes on.

The Sixth Sense, a supernatural thriller with horror aspects, is more eerie than horrific. I felt it was more a thriller than horror even though there were ghosts.

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn balances precariously between psychological thriller and horror. The disturbing undertones of deceit and manipulation evoke feelings of dread that gives the feel of a horror story while leaning closer to thriller.

What stories do you find difficult to put into one genre or the other? What do you like better horror or thriller? Do you like elements of horror, thrillers, and mystery in your other entertainment? One of my favorite authors, Jayne Ann Krentz, aka Jayne Castle and Amanda Quick, uses elements from horror and thriller to create her stories in the romance genre. I believe that is why she is one of my favorite authors.

When I first started writing, I didn’t know about tropes much less know how to use them in my writing. Yet, I still managed to put a few tropes in my earlier stories even without understanding them.

Now, with my sixteenth novel coming out soon, I’ve learned to lean into the tropes. What is a trope? According to the dictionary, a trope is a recurring theme. I have been studying etymology and learning where the word originated has been a fun to understand the words more. Trope comes from the root words trepein~to turn, or tropos~turn, way, both are from ancient Greek.

There are numerous tropes, each genre has its favorites. From young adult fantasy we are familiar with “the chosen one,” as in Harry Potter, or “the ticking clock” in thrillers like 24, and one of my favorites, “the fake relationship” like While You Where Sleeping. Each trope has expectations, but the best stories take the familiar trope and turn it sideways.

In my new series, Flintlock and Steel Rock Romance series, we have an underdog band who makes it big, but after reaching the height of their profession, they are also suffering from the phoniness of fame. In the first book, Rockstar on the Run, Cypress Jones runs away from home, the loss of his mother and his own mistakes, only to realize it was home that grounded him. A few years of the limelight and he’s ready to return to his roots. But going home isn’t easy. His mother is gone, the girl he loved his marrying another, and his life is falling apart.

Cypress and Loretta agree to a fake relationship for the sake of their careers and to allow their daughter (secret baby) to get to know her father. But Cy is playing a long game and he’s hoping to turn their fake relationship into something real (a second chance romance).

In book two, My Unforgettable Rockstar, Grey Meadows is the forgettable member of the band, Flintlock and Steel. He’s best man in his cousin’s wedding, but what he wants most is a second chance with Morgan. Their whirlwind romance ended because of his stupidity, but he’s determined to win her back. This is a found family, forbidden romance and second chance romance amid a location wedding.

What are some of your favorite romance tropes? It’s exciting to explore the different tropes and try to interpret them in a different way.

https://books2read.com/Rockstar-on-the-Run

Fear and grief are tools our minds use to protect us. Fear is a throwback emotion from when we were living in caves and had to worry about what might eat us or steal our young. Grief is a more modern emotion, at least as it is associated with value and loss of life. In earlier times, death and loss were too much a part of daily life. Children often didn’t make it to age five, and adults were lucky to live past their fortieth birthday.

Fear and grief often shape our personalities, our expectations, and even hinder or aid our path to success. Fear can make us cautious but it can also paralyze us into inactivity. I am somewhat of a fraidy cat. I have had to overcome fears, many of which were self-induced, of inadequacy and insecurities in order to achieve my goals. I wanted to be a writer but I was afraid to share my stories, afraid they weren’t good enough. They weren’t but in sharing my raw talent, I was able to learn and grow. I was afraid to publish my first book but I’ve recently published my sixteenth novel. I was able to push past the fear, with the help of friends and family, to reach a place I was more comfortable. Sometimes I had to get angry with myself and not allow fear to hold me back. I’m still afraid, but doing what scares us, I believe makes us stronger.

Grief, is another emotion that can cripple you or give you strength. When we have suffered loss, we often fear the loss of others. We hold on tighter or we close ourselves off that we might not feel anything else. Everyone experiences grief in different ways. I always felt like the emotion was too big to contain. I could only deal with it in small sections. I’d pluck off a piece of it and deal with it and then tuck it back in a safe place until I could handle more. I don’t know if this is because I experienced a lot of loss early in my life or if this is just how I’m made.

In my upcoming book, My Unforgettable Rockstar, my main characters Grey Meadows and Morgan Henries are both dealing with grief and loss, as well as fear.

Grey lost both his parents when he was in high school. He hated being the kid whose parents died. People treated him differently. It was like they were afraid it would happen to them, like it was contagious or something. He closed off a part of himself afraid to love too much for fear of losing someone else he cared about. This affected his relationships and even his choices.

Morgan’s grief and fear is fresher, newer and traumatic. She and one other member of their film crew are the only survivors of a freak storm that floods the village where they were doing a documentary. She also has some family drama that adds to her fears and insecurity concerning her relationship with Grey.

Together they will have to overcome or accept their fears, face their grief, and decide if being together is worth the risks or if they would be better off alone.

I hope you will check out My Unforgettable Rockstar. It is available for pre-order and releases November 16th. https://books2read.com/myunforgettablerockstar

In the meantime, check out the new cover for Rockstar on the Run, the first book in the Flintlock and Steel Rock Romance series.

https://books2read.com/Rockstar-on-the-Run

I love zucchini. It is so versatile. You can use it in savory dishes or in sweets. It’s even good raw. I love zucchini bread and muffins. My husband on the other hand turns up his nose to anything but the bread and muffins. After hurricane Irene we had three extra teenage boys living with us and two other adults. One of my friends would leave me a bag of vegetables on my back porch every couple of days. That summer he had a bumper crop of zucchini. I put zucchini in everything. Hey, I had five extra people to feed, three of them hungry teenage boys. I got by with it for a couple of months until I got caught. One of the boys saw me and complained. He was like, “I don’t like the taste of zucchini.” Zucchini doesn’t have much taste. It takes on the flavor of whatever is around it. I cooked it with ground beef to extend the pounds for spaghetti and chili, I’ve chopped it into my homemade spaghetti sauce to help sweeten tart tomatoes.

Recently a friend brought my husband a box of zucchini. I’m truly surprised he brought it home. I gave away a few pieces and had to through one away, but the rest I chopped, sliced and grated putting most in the freezer. After running out of space in the freezer I got the bright idea to make zucchini brownies. Using 2-chocolate cake mixes, I melted 1 1/2 sticks of butter, 4 medium eggs, and a cup of shredded zucchini that has been drained and pressed to remove extra moisture.

When they were done my husband grudgingly agreed to try a small one. I convinced him he’d want a big piece. Hot out of the oven, I cut us both a piece and topped them with a couple of scoops of vanilla ice cream. He loved it. I thought it was okay. It tasted like banana and chocolate to me. I thought it needed some salted nuts, but it was tolerable.