Everybody's creeped out by something, right? The Pen Dames are no exception. Some things just plain terrify us.
Let's take Loretta Rogers. She is a fearless and prolific author who skillfully gives her readers chills with her paranormal romance and detective stories. Here's what she has to say:
Rattlesnakes
"I am deathly
afraid of snakes. It doesn’t matter what kind, harmless or not, what color,
alive or fakey rubber, it’s still a snake, and to me, all good snakes are dead
ones. Why? Because I was bitten by a rattlesnake, spent thirteen days in the
hospital, and nearly had to have my leg amputated.
A long time
ago, a friend of my hubby, knowing my fear, thought he’d play a practical
joke and threw a (live) baby corn snake at me. Before I fainted, I think the
entire neighborhood heard me scream. Hubby cold-cocked the guy who sported a
swollen nose and a black eye for several days.
Because of
this experience, many of my books include snakes. I guess it’s my way of trying
to conquer my fear—not!"
Loretta C.
Rogers, author of The Witching Moon
Next up, we have the mysterious and talented Flossie Benton Rogers. She writes spine-tingling fantasy, and her book of poetry based on mythological creatures is brilliant.
THINGS THAT SCARE
MY SOCKS OFF
Flossie Benton Rogers:
"Octopus holes / suction cups. Other similar hole clusters are also repulsive but octopi even more so because they move and curl and uncurl and look gruesome. I suppose this is a mild case of trypophobia, which means I try not to see it.
Long incongruous tails and things that resemble tails, such as the arms of OCTOPI. When my grandsons, the Snickerdoodles, were younger, they played a video game at my house called Little Big Planet. The game allowed a high degree of customization. The Snickerdoodles chortled in delight at my horrified reactions to their pinning long scary tails on everything in sight.
Rictus smile or sardonic grin.
At a young age I saw the 1961 movie, Mister Sardonicus, in which a man’s face
froze into a rictus smile as he was robbing his father’s grave. Creeped me out.
Oddly enough, the smiling chauffeur in Dan Curtis’ 1976 Burnt Offerings (Karen
Black, Oliver Reed, Bette Davis) didn’t scare me, but the rictus smile on one
of the main characters near the end of the movie did. No, I’ll not be viewing
2022’s Smile movie.
Other shuddery turnoffs:
The sensation of falling
through the air.
Being confined in
a closed space such as a train or MRI.
Snakes (let’s face
it, they’re long slithering TAILS)."
Who doesn't like witches at this time of year? Another one of our Pen Dames, gifted Katherine Eddinger Smits, delights her readers with stories about mermaids and sexy mermen. And she has just the thing for Witch Story Enthusiasts.
Our southern charmer, Linda Tillis, writes amazing historical romances filled with love and adventure. Who doesn't like to indulge in a little time travel at Halloween?
That leaves me, Jennifer Taylor. What creeps me out? Those innocent, adorable squirrels. Eek! It's their tails that give me the willies, always quivering and shaking. They hold a grudge against me for some reason. On my daily walk down the driveway, I get pelted with pine cones and acorns. They must sense my scorn.
I have a fear of those drive-through car washes. Don't ask me why, but I cannot drive through them. I do feel a bit of success, because I recently conquered my fear of pneumatic tubes.
Here's for something really scary: Like most of us, I imagine, I have a fear of being buried alive. In my first historical romance, Mercy of the Moon, someone is buried alive but survives--and that's just in the first chapter. You can only imagine the ramifications of that----wait! You can read the book. 
All three books in my Rhythm of the Moon series are on sale for 99 cents until Thursday night. Just in time for Halloween.
Some authors write about what they're most afraid of. Maybe it's a way of dealing with it, or maybe we're all just a little bit creepy.
