Haunted Halloween Holiday
by Robbie and Michael Cheadle.
Giveaway
For a chance to win one of three US$10 Amazon vouchers or one of three paperback copies of Haunted Halloween Holiday just leave a comment to show you were here.
Follow the tour and comment at each stop for more chances to win.
The prizes will be given away in a random drawing.
Robbie was kind enough to answer a couple of questions!
What 2 writers, living or dead, would you like to spend the day with and why?
Enid Blyton
Enid Blyton is the children’s author who impacted my life the most. As a girl and young teen, I read many of her 762 books for children. I started reading young and the books I loved were Noddy and his adventures in Toyland, The Enchanted Wood series, the Adventures of the Wishing Chair series, and the Mr. Pink Whistle series. My imagination was fired by these adventures involving pixies, brownies, fairies, and other magical creatures, both good and bad.
As I grew older, I progressed to her Famous Five, Five Find-Outers, Malory Towers, St Clare’s, and other series for older children and I loved them all. Enid Blyton was a major contributor to my love of reading. The details and storyline of one of her books, The Land of Far Beyond, remained with me for years after I read it as a youngster. I used my memories of the storyline, namely, the burdens carried by the children, to track down this book and I now have a hardcover version in my library.
I have read that Enid was not a particularly nice person and she is reputed to have treated her first husband, Major Hugh Alexander Pollack, badly after they divorced.
Helen Bonham Carter who played the title role in the 2009 BBC production about Enid Blyton’s life, called Enid, described her as “a complete workaholic, an achievement junkie, and an extremely canny businesswoman” who “knew how to brand herself, right down to the famous signature.”
Her daughter, Imogen, went a step further and described her mother as “arrogant, insecure, pretentious, very skilled at putting difficult or unpleasant things out of her mind, and without a trace of maternal instinct. As a child, I viewed her as a rather strict authority. As an adult I pitied her.”
All the above, being said, it would be fascinating to spend a day with Enid and see for myself what she was like as a person. To write 762 books is an unbelievable tribute to creativity, self-discipline, and obsession.
L.M. Montgomery
Lucy Maud Montgomery wrote two series of books I loved as a girl: Anne of Green Gables and Emily of New Moon. Emily was the inspiration for me to try my hand at writing descriptive prose and poetry, so these books influenced me heavily.
It is sad to know that despite bringing so much joy to readers, Lucy suffered from depression most of her life and was unhappy in her marriage to Presbyterian Minister, Ewan McDonald.
The man Lucy loved, Herman Leard, was not considered by her family to be good enough for her. She broke off her relationship with him as a result. He died a short while afterward of flu and she never recovered.
Her death was controversial and could possibly have been suicide resulting from a drug overdose.
I would like to spend time with Lucy and understand how she overcame her own sadness and depression by escaping into the writing of her novels. Despite confessing to ‘only writing to make a living from it’, Lucy was an incredibly talented writer so it must have been more than just money that inspired and motivated her.
Is there a genre of writing that you would like to try but haven’t as of yet?
To date, I have written eight children’s picture books, two books for children aged 5 to 9, and a book for older teens. I have two published poetry books and two novels, one of which is for young adults, and one is an adult novel. I also have short stories published in eighteen anthologies.
My children’s books are mainly fantasy although Silly Willy is semi-autobiographical and While the Bombs Fell is a fictionalized memoir of my mother’s life as a young girl growing up on a farm in England during WWII. My novels and adult short stories are generally historical or paranormal or a mixture of both.
My current WIP, The Soldier, and the Radium Girl started life as a paranormal novella and has evolved into a historical novel with no paranormal element, so that is a change for me. I don’t envisage myself straying far from my favorite genres to write, namely, historical, paranormal, and dystopian, but one never knows in life. I didn’t think I would ever write romance, but there is a hint of romance in Through the Nethergate, and The Soldier and the Radium Girl has a strong romantic theme.
Thank you, Annette, for the great questions and for hosting my book tour today. (you are most welcome, Robbie!)
About Haunted Halloween Holiday
Blurb
Count Sugular is delighted when the Sugarpop Bats invites his family to a Halloween party at the Haunted House. He and his wife, Witch Honey, decide to hire a caravan and enjoy a weekend away with their family.
Includes some fun limericks to introduce the various characters.
You can find the book trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4fr5OxyUfd4
Purchase links
TSL Publications: https://tslbooks.uk/product/haunted-halloween-holiday-robbie-and-michael-cheadle/
About Robbie Cheadle
Robbie Cheadle is a South African children’s author and poet with eleven children’s books and two poetry books.
The eight Sir Chocolate children’s picture books, co-authored by Robbie and Michael Cheadle, are written in sweet, short rhymes which are easy for young children to follow and are illustrated with pictures of delicious cakes and cake decorations. Each book also includes simple recipes or biscuit art directions that children can make under adult supervision.
Robbie and Michael have also written Haunted Halloween Holiday, a delightful fantasy story for children aged 5 to 9. Count Sugular and his family hire a caravan to attend a Halloween party at the Haunted House in Ghost Valley. This story is beautifully illustrated with Robbie’s fondant and cake art creations.
Robbie has published two books for older children which incorporate recipes that are relevant to the storylines.
Robbie has two adult novels in the paranormal historical and supernatural fantasy genres published under the name Roberta Eaton Cheadle. She also has short stories, in the horror and paranormal genre, and poems included in several anthologies.
Robbie Cheadle contributes two monthly posts to https://writingtoberead.com, namely, Growing Bookworms, a series providing advice to caregivers on how to encourage children to read and write, and Treasuring Poetry, a series aimed at introducing poetry lovers to new poets and poetry books.
In addition, Roberta Eaton Cheadle contributes one monthly post to https://writingtoberead.com called Dark Origins: African Myths and Legends which shares information about the cultures, myths, and legends of the indigenous people of southern Africa.
Robbie has a blog, https://robbiesinspiration.wordpress.com where she shares book reviews, recipes, author interviews, and poetry.
Find Robbie Cheadle
Robbie Cheadle Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/Robbie-Cheadle/e/B01N9J62GQ
Robbie Cheadle Goodreads Author Page: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/15584446.Robbie_Cheadle
TSL Publications Robbie Cheadle Author Page: https://tslbooks.uk/product-tag/robbie-cheadle/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/bakeandwrite
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SirChocolateBooks
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVyFo_OJLPqFa9ZhHnCfHUA
DID YOU MISS ANY OF THE TOUR? HERE ARE THE LINKS FROM THE BEGINNING!
Undawnted: http://www.undawnted.com/2022/10/wordcrafter-blog-tour-haunted-halloween.html
The Many Showers of Blessings: https://theshowersofblessings.com/?p=29443
Patty’s World: https://wp.me/pcZCK2-920
Carla Loves to Read: https://wp.me/p6H3KI-9UE
Zigler’s News: https://ziglernews.blogspot.com/2022/10/wordcrafters-book-blogtour-for-haunted.html
Annette Rochelle Aben: https://annetterochelleaben.wordpress.com/2022/10/08/haunted-halloween-holiday/
Annette Rochelle Aben 