Robert Gray's Blog

The Eve Hallows and the Book of Shivers Blog Tour kicks off tomorrow, January 14th and will be running until January 24th.  It's loaded with all sorts of fun things like a $25 giveaway, interviews, spotlights, top ten lists, and, of course, some special posts by Eve herself.

Here's a link to the complete tour schedule, including the giveaway.



And here's where you'll be able to find me over the next ten days:

Tour ScheduleJanuary 14th
I Am A Reader, Not A Writer – Interview
Curling Up With A Good Book – Interview
Laurie’s Paranormal Thoughts and Reviews – Character Interview
Moon Shine Art Spot ~ USA – Review
From the Bootheel Cotton Patch – Review
deal sharing aunt – SpotlightButton the Push – SpotlightJanuary 15th
readalot – Review
Kelly P’s Blog – Spotlight
BookHounds YA – Spotlight
Reading In Twilight – Guest PostJanuary 16th
Cuzinlogic – Tens List
Sweeping Me – Spotlight
Cassandra M’s Place – Interview
Word Spelunking – Tens ListJanuary 17th
Nazish Reads – Tens List
Reviews By Karen – Spotlight
Lili Lost in a Book – Character Guest Post
Bunny’s Review – InterviewJanuary 20th
Bound 4 Escape – Review
We Do Write – Spotlight
Gustosa Giveaways – Guest Post
Not My Circus, Not My Monkeys – ReviewBook Lovers Life -SpotlightJanuary 22nd
Amethyst Daydreams – Spotlight
Mythical Books – Guest Post
Book Reviews from a Christian Gal – ReviewJanuary 24th
Our Wolves Den – Review
The Opinionated Me – Spotlight
3 Partners in Shopping, Nana, Mommy, & Sissy, Too! – Spotlight
The Solitary Bookworm – Review

CHRISTMAS LITES III, an anthology I'm amazingly proud to be a part of, is now available.  Of course, I'm proud because a little story of mine has been included alongside so many other fantastic authors' stories, but more than that, I'm proud about what the book stands for--100% of the proceeds will go directly to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence (NCADV).

I don't need to mention the importance of eliminating domestic violence.  You all know how devastating it can be to someone's life.  But with all the holiday hoopla going on, it's easy to forget that a lot of people out there are scared and suffering.

Here's a way you can help:

Twenty-one of us writer types got together and wrote a book.  It's 4 bucks. (Print edition will be more, though I don't think it's available yet.)  Not only do you get some great holiday stories, you're also helping those woman and children affected by domestic violence.  Way I see it: win-win for everyone.

My contribution is a special Eve Hallows short called Eve Hallows and the Home Invader.  If you're a fan of the series, the story fits neatly at the end of Book 2, EVE HALLOWS AND THE BOOK OF SHADOWS.  The story also stands by itself, if you're not familiar with the series.

I've just started reading the anthology myself, and I'm already blown away by the stories I've read so far. Seriously, there's something for everyone in these pages.  Here's a full list of the authors involved in the project:

Addison Moore
A.F. Stewart
Amy Eye
Angela Yuriko Smith
Ben Warden
Cassie McCown
Elizabeth Evans
J.A. Clement
JG Faherty
Jonathan Tidball
M.L. Sherwood
Monica La Porta
Ottilie Weber
Patrick Freivald
Phil Cantrill
Ron C. Nieto
S. Patrick Pothier
Tricia Kristufek
Vered Ehsani
Brandon Eye bonus story
C.S. Splitter bonus story 

The Christmas season is upon us yet again. Yes, my friends, it is a time of giving, loving, and sharing. Within these pages is a way you can help many people desperately in need of love, support, and goodness: the victims of domestic crime. By purchasing this anthology, you are sending every last dime made off this book to the National Coalition Against DomesticViolence. The NCADV is an amazing charity that saves these people and lets them know there is still hope, still goodness, and still a reason to carry on.

Twenty-one authors have joined in this year, giving their time and their stories to these people – and to you. We all hope you enjoy our holiday tales captured in bite-size pieces. Whether you read this on the bus, before bed, or snuggled by the fire, please,do read – and share.

 

Authors in this anthology:

Addison Moore

A.F. Stewart

Amy Eye

Angela Yuriko Smith

Ben Warden

Cassie McCown

Elizabeth Evans

J.A. Clement

JG Faherty

Jonathan Tidball

M.L. Sherwood

Monica La Porta

Ottilie Weber

Patrick Freivald

Phil Cantrill

Robert Gray

Ron C. Neito

S. Patrick Pothier

Tricia Kristufek

Vered Ehsani

*Brandon Eye bonus story

 

Editor/compiler: Amy Eye of The Eyes for Editing

Cover Design Kyra Smith

 

Link to the charity: www.ncadv.org

 

Every once in a while I receive an email asking if I'll ever create a recipe book of the foods found in Gravesville.  Eh, probably not.  I like my readers and prefer not to subject them to stomach viruses.  I did, however, write a post a while ago that for whatever reason never went live.  So here's Eve talking about one of her favorite Gravesvillian recipes: hot pumpkin.    





Eve: Thank you, writer person. As you probably know, my all time favorite drink in the cold weather is hot pumpkin. Now, this is a recipe that's been passed down for like hundreds of years in my family, so let's just keep this between you and me, okay?
RG: Um, Eve. You know this is going on the internet, right? A lot of people are probably going to see it.
Eve: I don't interrupt you when you're doing your guest post thingies, do I?  And somebody should, because you try to act all important like, Oh, look at me, I'm an author. It's really embarrassing.
RG: I just wanted to warn you.
Eve: Anyway, before I was interrupted … oh yeah. So, to make a really good hot pumpkin, you need a cauldron, preferably heated with green fire … because it looks perfectly horrible at night --Why are you looking at me like that, Mr. Grown.
RG: It's Gray. Robert Gray. And I just wanted to let you know we don't have green fire in our world. Cauldrons are pretty hard to find, too.
Eve: Fine, then be boring and use a regular pot and a stove. Next, take some goblin milk, about 3 cups--What!
RG: We don't have goblin milk here, either. We use regular milk. From cows.
Eve: Cows? Really? That's adorable! Well, use whatever milk you have and pour it into your boring pot and put the boring fire on medium until your disgusting milk starts to simmer. Then, add your pumpkin, but make sure it's not alive, because--Okay, now what?
RG: You stuff a whole pumpkin into the pot?
Eve: Of course not. You melt it first. I thought everyone knew that.
RG: Yeah, I think maybe a can of pumpkin puree would work better.
Eve: So do you want to finish my family's secret recipe, or should I?
RG: Sorry.
Eve: Then, pour in the pumpkin and add in your spices.  Most of them can be found in your local graveyard, but--Oh, my Jack, now what?
RG: Nothing.  Keep going.
Eve:  Then add chunks of chocolate. I like white chocolate for mine, particularly from Treats n' Treats, but I suppose you can use whatever chocolate you can find. About ten pounds should do the trick.
RG: She means about six ounces.
Eve: Did I say six ounces? No. I said ten pounds. You can never have enough chocolate. But it's only my family recipe. What do I know? So after you add all the ingredients, mix it up real good until the chocolate is melted. Then, pour the mix into a giant mug and finish it off with a huge scoop of whipped cream. You can even add more chocolate shavings on top of the whipped cream, which is how I like mine, but it's totally up to you.
RG: And there you have it, folks, Eve's no-longer-secret hot pumpkin recipe.
Eve: You just had to get the last word in, didn't you? You're impossible.

Audible just sent me 25 free download codes for Eve Hallows and the Book of Shrieks.  If you're interested in a free copy, email me at evehallows1031[at]gmail[dot]com and I'll send you a code along with the download instructions.

Also, as a reminder, the ebook version is on sale for $0.99.  If you're already an Audible member, you can snag both the ebook and audiobook for dirt cheap.
And let's not forget Eve Hallows and the Book of Shadows, which has officially become the middle child.  Give it some love, too.  It's only $2.99.

Just in time for Halloween, EVE HALLOWS AND THE BOOK OF SHIVERS (Book 3 in the Nightmare Series) is now available for your Kindle.  In the coming weeks, the print edition will be out, as well.  So find yourself a comfy couch, grab a mug of hot pumpkin, and enjoy!



So far, Eve's summer vacation has been uneventful, but when her grandparents—traveling all the way from the monster world known as Gravesville—appear at her doorstep, she learns that the URNS Director has gone missing. Worse, a new director, bent on destroying humans, has taken over URNS.

Eve and her family are no longer safe in the human world, and as they race to escape this new threat, Eve stumbles into a trap, which forces her back to Gravesville along with her family and friends. But once there, everything goes adorably wrong, and her best chance to get out of this mess is to seek out The Book of Shivers and the elusive author Sedrick Creach—the only creature who knows the secrets of the Nightmare Books. Unfortunately for Eve, searching for Sedrick and the next book in the series will reveal uncomfortable details about her own murky past.

Once again, Eve and her friends find themselves on an incredible adventure—one that involves underground battles with bloodthirsty creatures, a lightning-fueled train, and some unexpected new allies.

Hilarious and bone-chilling, this third book continues the story of an unlikely hero trying to save not one, but two worlds … This time around, though, Eve's not sure she can even save herself.

Note to bloggers: If you're interested in a review copy, contact  me at EveHallows1031@gmail.com.  

I've been pretty quiet on the update front, so I thought I'd let everyone know what you'll be seeing from Eve in the coming months.  Here it goes, in no particular order.

Eve Hallows and the Book of Shrieks Audiobook — Yup, the awesomely talented Anne Gill will be bringing Eve and her family to life in the unabridged audio version.  I've listened to about 18 chapters so far, and I'm totally in love with it.  The audiobook should be ready to go by the end of the summer and will be available at Amazon, Audible, and iTunes.  Stay tuned, I'll post more information and possibly some samples as we get closer to the release date.


Eve Hallows and the Book of Shivers —  I'm happy to report that I've just sent off a bunch of pages to my editor, which makes me both immensely happy and terribly frightened.  What does that mean to you?  Absolutely nothing.  But we are getting closer to the release of book 3 in the Nightmare Series, and this one is sure to knock your socks off ... or at least bunch your socks up in the front of your shoes.  If everything goes according to plan, we're looking at a late August-early September release.






Book Signing—If you're in the Poconos, PA area on Saturday, July 27, stop by the Eastern Monroe Public Library for their annual book expo.  I'll be there signing books along with a bunch of other cool authors.  Doors open at 10 a.m. and close at 3 p.m.

Last night I had the pleasure of being on Journal Jabber, an online radio program that focuses on literature and author interviews.  I talked about Eve Hallows, how the series came about, and even explained my silly profile picture.  You can check out the full interview below.

From Journal Jabber:

Guess what today is??  That's right!  It's Tuesday, which means we have another wonderful guest on the show tonight.  His name is Robert Gray, and I have been a fan of his since I first picked up his book Eve Hallows and the Book of Shrieks.  As many of you know, I am a huge MG/YA fan, and I'm always on the lookout for new and exciting reads.

I came across his book on my never-ending quest for new books.  I read it, and contacted him immediately to have him on the show. So now he is here to talk about gorgons, shape shifters, ghouls, and all of the other lively creatures who live in this book.  So, be sure to be here as we talk about some awesome literature. Brought to you exclusively by Gravesville.  :)



Listen to internet radio with Journal Jabber on BlogTalkRadio
  

In celebration of Children's Book Week, I'm giving away 20 signed paperback copies of  EVE HALLOWS AND THE BOOK OF SHRIEKS, which is the first book in the Nightmare Series and is appropriate for girls and boys ages 9 and up.

To get yourself a free copy, simply live in the U.S., send me an email at evehallows1031@gmail.com with your name and address ... and that's pretty much it.  I mail you a book.  Easy peasy.  Oh, and if you would like your copy personalized, say so in your email.

For the rest of the world, I'm offering up ebooks.  As it turns out, I have an unlimited supply.  Just let me know in your email which e-format you prefer.

The giveaway ends May 19th, though I imagine I'll run out of print copies before then.  If you miss out on getting yourself the dead tree version, there's always those ebooks I mentioned.  I'll update this post with the number of books I have left.

And, yeah, one per customer please.  Don't be like those crazy people on Hoarders.

One last thing ... The idea of the Children's Book Week is to support and encourage children's literacy.  I'm just trying to do my small part.  While I'm not going to say no to anyone who wants a copy, please do your best to get them into the hands of girls and boys who might like to get to know Eve and her monster family a little better.  If that means reading the book and passing it on, even better.   

For a writer, there are few things more amazing than having this idea in your head of what you want your cover to look like, and then getting something far better than you imagined.

Here's the finished cover for EVE HALLOWS AND THE BOOK OF SHIVERS by artist Scott Findlay.

Hope all of you like it as much as I do.

Okay, now off to make words to put beneath the cover.