07 October 2010


Paranoid About the Paranormal
By Sara Bennett Wealer

I really wish I had an awesome story about my experiences with the paranormal. Wait, no I don’t. Because if I had such a story, then that would mean I’d actually had an encounter with the paranormal, and I that is one thing I DO NOT WANT.

Or do I?

You see, I’m one of those people who is fascinated by paranormal activity and, from time to time, thinks it might be cool to come face-to-face with a ghost. Only problem is, I know if I ever did see a ghost I’d be too terrified to uncover my eyes, and then I’d miss the whole darned thing.

Back when I lived alone, I was so terrified of things that go bump in the night that I was known to call the police on a regular basis and have them check out my apartment. Once I lived in the second story of an old house, above a space that the owners were remodeling into a gift shop and meeting room. Nobody told me that newly refinished hardwood floors pop and crack, so just imagine how freaked out I was at what sounded like someone moving around downstairs at 3 a.m. One night I snuck out of my apartment in 6 inches of snow and crept around the house in my pajamas and boots, peering into the windows, trying to see who (or what) was making all that noise. I’m surprised nobody called the cops on ME!

These days I can say with confidence that the little house I call home is not haunted, except by the spectre of unfolded laundry. Now it’s horror movies that freak me out. When you’ve got children and grown-up responsibilities, especially in an economy that feels like it’s constantly on thin ice, then you know that enough terrifying things are possible without bringing the dead or the undead or whatever unholy else into the equation. I avoid scary movies like the plague.

Until I get on YouTube and start watching snippets of them.

I guess I can’t resist peeking through my fingers just a bit, which might mean a spirit could have a ghost’s of a chance of being seen by me if one ever decided to visit.

I hope one doesn’t, though.

Or maybe I hope it does…




Title: Rivals

Synopsis: What if your worst enemy turned out to be the best friend you ever had?

Meet Brooke: Popular, powerful and hating every minute of it, she’s the “It” girl at Douglas High in Lake Champion, Minnesota. Her real ambition? Using her operatic mezzo as a ticket back to NYC, where her family lived before her dad ran off with an up and coming male movie star.

Now meet Kathryn: An overachieving soprano with an underachieving savings account, she’s been a leper ever since Brooke punched her at a party junior year. For Kath, music is the key to a much-needed college scholarship.

The stage is set for a high-stakes duet between the two seniors as they prepare for the prestigious Blackmore competition. Brooke and Kathryn work toward the Blackmore with eyes not just on first prize but on one another, each still stinging from a past that started with friendship and ended in betrayal. With competition day nearing, Brooke dreams of escaping the in-crowd for life as a professional singer, but her scheming BFF Chloe has other plans. And when Kathryn gets an unlikely invitation to Homecoming, she suspects Brooke of trying to sabotage her with one last public humiliation.

As pressures mount, Brooke starts to sense that the person she hates most might just be the best friend she ever had. But Kathryn has a decision to make. Can she forgive? Or are some rivalries for life?

Available from HarperTeen on  Feb. 15, 2011

Preorder online here:

Amazon | Borders | Barnes and Noble | The Book Depository | HarperCollins

About Sara:

Sara Bennett Wealer grew up in Manhattan, Kansas (the “Little Apple”), where she sang with the choir and wrote for her high school newspaper. She majored in vocal performance at the University of Kansas before deciding she had no business trying to make a career as an opera singer. She transferred to journalism school, where nobody cares if you can hit a high C or convincingly portray a Valkyrie. Sara now lives in Cincinnati with her husband and two daughters. She still sings when her schedule allows—most recently with the May Festival Chorus, the official choir of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra.

Where to find Sara online:

Website | Blog | Twitter | Facebook For Rivals | Facebook for Sara




Enter for your chance to win a Signed copy of Rival!!! Note that this is for a promised copy, that once Sara gets her author copies one will be mailed out to you then.


Here are the rules and how to enter:

You MUST complete the form to enter. No entries in comments please they won't count. Comments are welcome, so share your love with Sara!
You must be at least 13 years old to enter.
This contest is open to to US residents only. Sorry!
Contest ends: Oct. 21th, 2010

THIS CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED!
CLICK HERE TO ENTER


Good luck to everyone who enters. If you have any questions, please see my policy page or feel free to email.

A HUGE thank you goes out to Sara for her time, post and for the donation. We're happy that you were able to be part of our Halloween Event.

Check out Jessica's Haunted Halloween post with a guest post & story from @The_Omega_ of the Black Dagger Brotherhood! (note this is from a online twitter role playing group. See her post for additional information.

REMINDER: *If you are interested in the COMMENT CONTEST, remember to include your email address with your comment for an extra entry!
Please ready full entry rules HERE.


Sara's Current Giveaways:

Sara's giving away 5 advance reader copies of RIVAL to teens. If you want to mention it, then more information is available here: Sara's Giveaways. Make sure you check there often, because I think she has some other contests up her sleeve!

Sara, thank you so much for taking the time to write out this post and for allowing me to share it with everyone. I hope you all enjoy it as much as I did. 

*covers are always subject to change.
*I am not compensated at all for any of the links within this page.

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30 comments:

  1. I have to agree with Sara. I would pull the covers over my head and hope that if I can't see them they can't see me. lol
    I have NO desire to ever see a ghost.

    romancebookjunkiesdanielle at yahoo dot com

    ReplyDelete
  2. Oh My! Her and I have something in common. I have called teh cops a time or two to check out my house. I swore someone was living in my attic once- I too didn't realize a new house would make noises when settling.

    Great non-haunted story.

    -Stacey
    areadersrecord@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  3. Oh, this sounds like an interesting book and these kind of things happen all the time..sorta.. Don't they? :)

    Heeh, hearing creepy sounds in the middle of the night is the WORST thing ever!!!
    It has happened to me a lot.. Especially in winter.. There was once a week I barely got 3 hours of sleep a night! lol

    ReplyDelete
  4. I'm fascinated by paranormal activity too but I don't know if I'm that courageous to face a ghost either.

    nalynboni AT gmail DOT com

    ReplyDelete
  5. Thanks for sharing. I often think it would be cool to live in a truely haunted house, but Im pretty sure I wouldnt last there long.

    bacchus76 at myself dot com

    ReplyDelete
  6. Cool Story. I hope I can have some memories like that.
    Pokadots1121@yahoo.com
    Thanks for another contest!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Ooh creepy. The paranormal fascinates me too, and yet in reality it kinda freaks me out lol. This book sounds really interesting :)

    aprilxu2222@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  8. Creepy. Sounds interesting too!!

    jessbess2505[at]yahoo[dot]com

    ReplyDelete
  9. Haha, nooo paranormal activity for me - like EVER!

    email: beautiful_molly (at) hotmail (dot) com

    ReplyDelete
  10. Your story about you calling the cops all the time reminds me of this summer. It was about 10pm and we were home alone (ages 16 and 18, I'm the older one lol). Our mom wasn't supposed to be home until at least midnight because she was working. Suddenly I saw a man walking down the street. Whatever, right? Well then he decided to walk up our driveway about 3/4 of the way, stop stare in our BIG bay window (the lights were all on so he could clearly see us). He stood there smoking his cigarette and watching. Then he started walking towards the house some more!! I was on the phone with our aunt, so she made us stay on the line with her and SHE called the police on her cell phone telling them to get over RIGHT NOW!! Lol....they came walked around our house and patrolled the neighborhood with their spotlight a few times. The rest of the night they kept driving by especially until our mom got home. It was SO scary!!!

    This books sounds terrific!!
    Hannah
    hccelie[at]gmail[dot]com

    ReplyDelete
  11. It's scary even being home alone, let alone living alone!

    msdarcy22@aol.com

    ReplyDelete
  12. great story- I loved this post:)

    bchild5@ail.com

    ReplyDelete
  13. Thanks for the giveaway and story!

    ashleysbookshelf[at]gmail[dot]com

    Ashley's Bookshelf

    ReplyDelete
  14. Good story! I'd love to read your book!

    Stephanie
    2love.stephanie@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  15. You see, I’m one of those people who is fascinated by paranormal activity and, from time to time, thinks it might be cool to come face-to-face with a ghost. Only problem is, I know if I ever did see a ghost I’d be too terrified to uncover my eyes, and then I’d miss the whole darned thing.

    That EXACTLY describes me! I love to get scared, but at the same time, once I'm actually scared, I turn into the biggest chicken!

    mindfulmusings(at)live(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  16. Sara, I'm with you...the mountains of unfolded laundry that lurk in the corners of my upstairs hallway all the time at my house can be pretty darn frightening during a 3AM trip to the bathroom!

    That's as scary as I want to get, unless, of course, the ghost that wants to haunt my house will agree to also folding all the laundry for me...then I'd welcome him or her with welcome arms! LOL!

    Crazy Cat Lady
    ccllibrary(at)aol(dot)com
    http://crzycatladyslibrary.blogspot.com/

    ReplyDelete
  17. I'm the same, I will NEVER watch another scary movie. When I was younger I used to be able to watch scary movies all the time. But now that I'm married and have kids for some reason I can't anymore.

    This books looks great!

    jacindahinten(at)gmail(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  18. I agree with the whole if I can't see you, you can't see me. Always cover my eyes at something scary.

    DforDarla(at)gmail(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  19. I never could live alone, so kudos to you for managing that much (of course my roommates were 3 cats but they made me feel safer...lol)

    Right now though, I agree with you, horror movies are the main thing that freak me out...but I still go if my friends ask me...lol

    jlynettes @ hotmail . com

    ReplyDelete
  20. Wow it must have been scary hearing all those weird noises when you're alone! I get freaked out when I'm home alone at night and I hear all the creepy noises my house makes ^.^ The Rival sounds really interesting! The description makes me want to read it now :) Thanks for the giveaway too!

    sophiayunjin @ gmail . com

    ReplyDelete
  21. I avoid scary movies like the plague, also. I will adamantly refuse anyone who asks me to go see one. I'd be way too scared if I actually did!

    I'm sure I'd be hecka scared living on my own, too!

    angelmistress[at]hotmail[dot]com

    ReplyDelete
  22. That red flower is just striking.

    deadtossedwaves at gmail dot com

    Vivien

    ReplyDelete
  23. I'm the complete opposite of Sara. I live for scary movies, scary stories, the whole thing. But I'm not a huge fan of paranormal stuff around the house. My family is convinced that our house is haunted though, but the ghost is nice, so it's all good.

    wickedawesomebooks(at)hotmail(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  24. Hahah I am just like her: I have such a love/hate relationship with scary movies and such.

    booksobsession(at)gmail(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  25. I have a love/hate relationship with scary movies. I'd love to watch them but I get scared too!

    twilightforever.edward at gmail dot com

    ReplyDelete
  26. Mary DeBorde

    Not sure if I'm scared of ghosts or not, but like the above commenter said - I have a love/hate relationship with scary movies ;D

    ps - not sure if I've already entered for this one or not, but I filled out the form anyhoo. better safe than sorry lol

    ReplyDelete
  27. gorgeous cover
    i voted
    pheonixandsirens@aim.com

    ReplyDelete
  28. I'm the same way! I like the scary feeling I get when something scary happens lol but I am totally fearful and wont sleep for nights. So I am not sure whether I do want something scary happening to me or not HAHAHAH

    truthbetold004 at gmail dot com

    ReplyDelete
  29. I am really interested in the book. Thanks for the feature!

    ilikethesebooksblog@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  30. Yeah, encountering a ghost sounds cool in theory, but meeting one for real probably wouldn't be cool at all. I'd freak big time, and run away! And I don't think anyone would believe me, anyway. :)

    Great post!

    germaine.dulac@yahoo.com

    ReplyDelete

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Hi, I’m Lisa and I'm a proud bibliophile.

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