OLD HAUNTS contest winners!

Congratulations to the OLD HAUNTS contest winners: Louann Matsumoto, Elaine Charton, and Tina Trevino! Louann won the OLD HAUNTS travel mug, and Elaine and Tina each get an OLD HAUNTS t-shirt! Thanks to everyone who entered--we got a really impressive response this time!

For those interested: The contest asked you to let us know who your favorite Haunted Guesthouse Mystery character might be, and those who hadn't read any of the books in the series were encouraged to vote for THE HOUSE. So finally tallies:

THE HOUSE: 19

Maxie: 16

Melissa: 10

Alison: 9

Paul: 8

Loretta: 4

1 vote each for Steven (the Swine), Lt. McElone, Phyllis Coates, and Alison's dad Jack (who will be more in evidence in the upcoming CHANCE OF A GHOST)

Thanks to all who entered!

The Wait Is Over!

OLD HAUNTS, the third Haunted Guesthouse mystery, is now available at your local (or remote) bookseller! Waste NO time in getting your copy, because you'll want to be in on the fun as Alison deals with everybody's failed relationship: Maxie's ex-husband is found murdered, and she wants Alison to investigate. Paul's almost-intended-bride, still living, is hard to find, and he wants to know she's all right. And Alison's notorious ex, The Swine, is not the least bit missing--he's on the doorstep of her guesthouse on the Jersey Shore, talking about reconciliation. And making Alison wonder what he's REALLY doing here...

Take a look, then enter our contest below! And please, when you read OLD HAUNTS, get in touch and let me know if you enjoyed it--an author ALWAYS wants to hear from readers!

OLD HAUNTS Contest Time!

The box of books arrived today, and the launch of OLD HAUNTS, the third Haunted Guesthouse mystery, is less than three weeks away, so it's time for a contest! Get ready, because this one is going to be fun!

It's also really easy: Just send an email to: ejcopperman [AT] gmail [DOT] com naming your favorite character in the Haunted Guesthouse series. (If you haven't read any of the books, just say: THE HOUSE.) Make sure we have your snail mail address. That's it.

First prize: The only official OLD HAUNTS coffee travel mug, pictured to the left. This 16-oz. mug bears the image of the OLD HAUNTS cover, and, you know, will hold coffee (or any other beverage) in it, too. What's not to like?

Next prize (2 to be awarded): An OLD HAUNTS t-shirt! This shirt (size L) bears the image of the OLD HAUNTS cover and will hold, um, you in it, as well. Stylish and comfortable, it's the shirt to be wearing while reading OLD HAUNTS (or doing pretty much anything else you might like to do) this winter/spring.

Winners to be determined by a completely random selection of the email address out of a hat (probably an OLD HAUNTS hat, which bears... never mind) on Wednesday, February 29--that's right, Leap Day! (Why not?)

Enter as many times as you like, as long as it's once. Duplicate entries will be shredded and made into birdcage lining as soon as I get a bird. No purchase is required, or even possible.

Tell your friends; tell your enemies; tell total strangers--OLD HAUNTS is on its way!

Read the first chapter of OLD HAUNTS!

It's less than two months until the release of OLD HAUNTS, the third Haunted Guesthouse mystery! But you don't have to wait all that time for a taste of it: the first chapter is now available to read for free by clicking here! 

OLD HAUNTS has Alison Kerby dealing with figures from the past of everyone in her Jersey Shore guesthouse--even the ghosts. Paul wants her to find a woman he was going to ask to marry him. Maxie is distraught because her ex-husband's remains have been found is a secret grave under the boardwalk. 

But worst of all: Alison's ex-husband (The Swine) has arrived unannounced from Los Angeles and seems to have an agenda, but Alison can't figure it out. 

Plus, there's a full house of guests, a handsome biker wooing Alison and renovations to be done in the attic. When someone starts sending her threatening texts, Alison's just about at the end of her rope. 

Don't wait--start NOW! Read the first chapter of OLD HAUNTS and get started early! Then come back here and comment below to let me know what you thought!

Congrats to the Contest Winners!

Congratulations to Patti Seratte and Pamela Michalek, winners of the completely useless empty covers of Old Haunts, signed by the author! Thanks to all who entered the contest! Keep watching this space for more contests, and remember: Old Haunts, the third Haunted Guesthouse mystery, is due February 7, 2012!

New (Really Odd) Contest!

One of the things that a publishing company does for an author--or at least, that my lovely editor does for me--in the process of making a book is to send said author some sample covers once the design has been agreed upon and the book is in the process of being printed. It's a nice way to get something in your hand, as an author, to look at and say, "This will be my book."

But let's be real: This is not the most useful item on the planet. It's a cover. It's flat (both front and back covers are included, but it's not folded). There's no book inside. It's nice to look at, but that's about it.

So when I got the three copies of the OLD HAUNTS cover, for the book due in February, one thought leapt immediately to mind: "I only need one of these."

That's where you come in.

If you'd like to get a first look at the cover of OLD HAUNTS, and have it in your hand, SIGNED BY THE AUTHOR, here's your chance. I'm announcing the first (as far as I know) EMPTY COVER CONTEST in publishing history.

Here's how it works: You quote your FAVORITE LINE from the Haunted Guesthouse series. Either published book. If it's from OLD HAUNTS, I'm going to want to know who your mole inside Berkley Publishing might be. Otherwise, I'll assume the line is from NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEED or AN UNINVITED GHOST. 

Send that quote in an email to ejcopperman [at] gmail [dot] com. Send it before midnight, Monday October 17. (That's the night of October 17, not the first moment in the morning. You have all day Monday, I'm saying.) 

All entries received on time will be ceremoniously dumped into the nearest hat and two (because I have two extra covers) will be pulled out at random. They'll be signed by the author (that's me) and sent to the winner (hopefully, that's YOU!). Winners will be announced Tuesday, October 18.

For more information (or the same information in different words), go to my website and look under "CONTEST."

Good luck!

Woo-Woo Indeed

People tell me their ghost stories.

It's not like I ask--I figure the ghost stories I make up should be just that (made up), so I'm not looking for extra "research" in the way of people telling me how their Cousin Bob, gone these 14 years, still pulls the cereal box out of the cupboard in the morning or how the house they bought during the real estate boom (remember THAT?) is inhabited by the spirit of a Revolutionary War draft dodger named Ezekial.

I don't mind hearing the stories; far from it, since most of them are really entertaining. But it's funny that 1. everyone I meet seems to have a supernatural tale or two from their "real" life, while I'm trying to make a living writing ones that I guarantee you never happened and 2. they launch into these stories unprompted, assuming that if I write ghost stories, I must want to hear as many as possible.

A few (not many, but a few) readers have complained--alas, out loud on Amazon and elsewhere--that my ghost stories aren't accurate, that ghosts don't act that way, and that I am, therefore, a fraud. Hardly. I've never made an claim to knowledge of an afterlife, and hope not to have any such knowledge for a very long time. I make stuff up. I hope it will entertain those who choose to read it, and if it does, I've done my job adequately. If not, no amount of "accuracy" is going to make much difference.

What strikes me more than anything else is the certainty with which the people I meet lay out these fantastical tales. I am something of a skeptic--no, I am EVERYTHING of a skeptic--but the sincerity with which the stories are told is striking. I'm not sure which one of us they're trying to convince, but it's taking a lot of effort either way.

When I meet you, if you feel like telling me your ghost story, please do. I love to hear a good tale, supernatural or just natural, and I'm always happy to be enthralled with a person's passion. But if you're expecting me to smite myself in the forehead and shout, "Finally! The proof I've been seeking!", well, I'm afraid you might be a tad disappointed.

And I hate to disappoint. So be prepared.