Goldilox and the Three Scares Kickoff Post

It's that time of year again - time for Goldilox and the Three Scares!

Because it's called three scares, this year we've asked a few of our favorite authors to give us a scary (or Halloween-y) top three list. We'll have a new author and a great giveaway every day this week. But first here's one of my top three.

My Favorite Monsters

3. Frankenstein's Monster - I have a newfound affection for Frankenstein's Monster because of Penny Dreadful. He's both tragic and hopeful and he kind of makes you want to take care of him.

We're starting to see a lot of retellings of Victorian literature, like Penny Dreadful. Perhaps they'll even replace fairy tales as the next big trend. I kind of hope they do. The monster is a character that I'd love to see re-imagined in lots of different ways.

Also, I wanted an excuse to share this cute handprint art.

2. Witches and Wizards - Witches were really my first supernatural love. I went as a witch for many Halloweens as a child. And while I realize that they're not all monstrous - Glinda looks a lot like Cinderella - the bad ones are often the most fun. I love fact that anything is possible when magic is involved. It can be spectacular or go spectacularly wrong. Whether it's Gargamel or Gandolf, the wand-wielder is usually my favorite character.

Though I've just given two male examples, I think that witches are some of the first powerful females we encounter in life. Even though in fairy tales not all of them use that power for good, I suspect that's what drew me to them as a child. I still love a story with lots of girl power.

1. Vampires - I might have mentioned before that it was vampires that got me started reading Urban Fantasy. I watched the first season of True Blood and had to read the Sookie Stackhouse books, of which there were seven or eight at the time. That was enough to get me hooked. So the vampires still have a special place in my heart because they got me reading again.

One thing I love about vampires is that almost everyone has a different take on them. It's so interesting to see how different authors take the classic mythos and twist it into something new, but still recognizable. Even the naked, mindless things they become in the Kate Daniels world, which are probably the least like Stoker's Dracula of all contemporary literary examples, bear some resemblance to Murnau's classic Nosfratu.

 

What's your favorite monster?

 

 

Our first giveaway includes a copy of Spider's Trap, the latest Elemental Assassin novel by Jennifer Estep, and some spider-themed goodies including earbuds, socks, and Crawly the Beanie Boo spider. This giveaway is U.S. only.

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