Welcome to the Howloween Blog Hop! There are so many wonderful authors participating in the hop, I wasn’t even able to count them all. You can find all the other wonderful blogs taking part by clicking on the graphic or the link above. Each blogger is offering wonderful prizes, so be sure to check them all out!
My prize? An ebook copy of your choice of my Dreamspinner Press releases. You can check them all out here or by clicking on the “My Books” link to the left of this post. Enter by commenting on this post, and don’t forget to leave your email address so I can contact you if you win! I’ll be drawing a winner on October 30th.
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Halloween is one of my favorite holidays, mostly because I love to dress up in costumes! For years, we hosted elaborate Halloween parties and I bought a new costume for each party. Great excuse, right? I suppose my obsession with costumes and dressing up isn’t too surprising, coming from a former opera singer. I got to wear some amazing costumes and wigs over the years I was performing, got made up by some phenomenal makeup artists, and got to trot all over stage pretending I was someone else. This little girl’s dream, for sure! So now that I’m not singing anymore? I guess you could say I went one step further with the fantasies: I started writing them.
I’ve written stories about secret agents, genies and princes, but by far my favorite “creations” are my Blue Notes Series 
books. They are stories about the men who inhabit the world of classical music, the world I was a part of for about fourteen years. In a real sense, they are my personal fantasies in print, on several levels.
The Blue Notes novels are stories about men who make their living performing (that one was definitely a fantasy of mine, especially when I worked at jobs I hated just to pay the bills between singing gigs!). The characters struggle to survive as musicians, some of them coming from humble beginnings, some born into wealth and privilege. But they all come to music because they are driven to express their musical souls. And believe me, being a professional musician is about as frightening a career choice as they come, so that sort of drive is a prerequisite for success. It’s hard work, and there’s a great deal of sacrifice involved. In my upcoming release, “Aria,” the third book in the series (12/24/12 release date), it’s not a person or an event that gets in the way of true love–it’s an operatic career and a long-distance relationship.
The books are also my fantasies in that each and every one of them has the happy ending I always dreamed of. Considering most of the operatic roles I performed ended 
with my character dying, I’d say my singing career didn’t rate really high in the happily-ever-after category! I got stabbed to death, jumped from a parapet to my death, and even died of consumption (several times!). And while my Blue Notes boys have to work hard for their happy endings, unlike the heroines I sang, they do get them.
So I hope when you celebrate Halloween this year, you’ll indulge in a few of your own fantasies. And if you’re interested in checking out a few of mine, be sure to comment below to win a copy of one of my own. Happy hauntings! -Shira
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