Author at Large, J.F Lewis, is starting things off for Halloween weekend here on Amberkatze's Book Blog! Here is his guest blog (posted by moi because Jeremy is hopefully having fun at a convention!) about the zombies under his back porch!Keep reading to the end because Jeremy has a book to giveaway!
------------------------
I'm afraid of the dark. This doesn't mean that I won't go outside at night or anything silly like that, but it does mean that *sometimes* late at night, whether I'm checking to make sure the house is locked up tight or letting the new puppy out for a walk, when the wind is howling and the moon is dark, when the leaves are rustling in the trees and the bats are flying. I am struck by the overwhelming suspicion that there may be zombies in the crawl space under my back porch, just far enough back that I won't see them until it's too late.
Weird, I know, but then again. is it so weird?
One of my favorite movies, Madadayo, is about the wonderful relationship between a teacher and his students in Japan. Every year the student visit their teacher on his birthday and ask him if he is ready to die and his response, each year, is Madadayo. In English, "Not Yet!" In one of my favorite scenes, the lights have gone out at the teacher's house and his wife calls his students. They come, light candles, and calm down their sensei. He berates them for not being afraid of the dark and goes into a wonderful tirade about how those who are *not* afraid of the dark suffer from a deplorable lack of imagination.
After all, it is not the dark that I fear, but rather, the unknown which may lurk within the dark. Darkness is not the only thing of which I'm afraid, either. My fears don't keep me from walking up my back steps and into my house (where I'll be safe from the zombies), but they do color my fiction. Now, as we near Halloween, it's natural to talk about the things that we fear, to watch spooky movies, and purposefully inflict the Shivers upon ourselves. So, then. since I've shared one of my fears with you, why not share yours with me? Each reader willing to leave a comment about one of his or her phobias will be entered into a drawing to receive a signed copy of STAKED
. So, c'mon, tell me. What are you afraid of?Best,
Jeremy
-----------------------
The winner will be drawn on Sunday 2nd Nov at 4pm CET! So hurry!!
This contest is only open to people in the US!
You must answered Jeremy's question to be entered!
You will get an extra entry for posting about Amberkatze's Book Blog Halloween Weekend somewhere on the web! Remember to post a link so I can confirm your entry!
Labels: Contests, Guest Blog, Halloween, J. F. lewis
At 30 October 2008 at 11:25, 
Rebekah E.
One of my biggest fears is the dark and I agree with it not actually being the dark but the unknown. I have watched way to many horror movies and they are always set during the night. I also scared of spiders my poor children have to kill them for me because I'm afraid they will jump on me when I try. And Lastly there is always the closet, I still can't sleep with that open. It is funny how alot of childhood fears can still stay with you through adulthood.
I have two fears right now and both of them are irrational.
The first one is death. Not dying. I'm not afraid of dying, but of what comes next. What comes next?! We don't know and I have this irrational fear that I'll still be conscience, but completely devoid of all senses. I keep thinking I'll be able to still think about what my son is doing and how he's coping, but I won't be able to witness any of it. Irrational, I know, especially since there's nothing wrong with me, but it's still creepy.
Another fear is being a single mom. What can be more scary than that? Having lost my husband, I'm now responsible for providing for this little guy and I don't know how I'll be able to do that. I'm a SAHM. My husband does all the providing. Again irrational since there is nothing wrong with my husband, but it's still there.
At 30 October 2008 at 12:40, darbyscloset
I am tramatized by spiders, especially brown recluses...they can jump on you before you even see them!!! I hate spiders!!!!
As a child had a book "All About Spiders" (somebodies idea of a joke) and I use to keep it locked up in my bedroom.
I'd love a copy of your book!
Thank you,
Darby
darbyscloset at yahoo dot com
Hi All! Believe it or not one of my biggest fears is bats. I love bat halloween decorations, and of course vampires which everone relates to bats ( LOL ) but the real thing scares me to death! I can't even handle them at the zoo. My other fear is of grasshoppers. They really scare the you know what out of me! I would love to win a copy of Staked!!!! I have had it on my TBB and TBR list for a while now. Thanks for holding the contest.
At 30 October 2008 at 13:24, Jackie Uhrmacher
I'm afraid that my cats are going to crawl onto my chest and suck my breath out while I'm sleeping. For real. We won't let them sleep in the same room with us anymore but anytime I heard a noise I'd shoot up like a firecracker and swear I saw a feline shape slinking the shadows, waiting for its next opportunity to pounce.
Cat's Eye really did a number on me!
At 30 October 2008 at 13:25, Nancy
My fears? The biggie is spiders, especially since I'm allergic to even grass spider bites. Most bugs are up there, too - though if I see them before they have a chance to surprise me, I'm okay.
As of recently, I have a healthy dread of Mecury in retrograde. Yep, the last one fried parts of my computer.
I loved the blog, Jeremy, and would love to be entered in the contest!
Light,
Nancy Haddock
At 30 October 2008 at 14:07, Ladytink_534
I was afraid of the dark for years and would run out of a room every time the light went off (or into the room and jump on the bed) until I was almost a teenager. Now of course, I love it. Of course now every time I go outside at night I'll start thinking about zombies lol!
I do have a few phobias like clowns, spiders, and most recently germs lol. I'm not OCD exactly but I do seem to be washing my hands alot and I can't NOT think about it when I feel like I've touched something dirty like a doorknob lol. To a lesser degree, the idea of ghosts kind of scares me too. I'll watch Ghost Hunters or some other paranormal investigation show and I always manage to freak myself out at least a little bit! Yep, I'm weird.
At 30 October 2008 at 14:46, Unknown
So I can't enter the contest myself...one of the big downsides of running these things ;) But I can tell you all what I am afraid of!
Ok the biggest fear is spiders. I have burnt myself because of them and they follow me if I try and get away from them!! Seriously!
But the other fear I have, which I still can't understand, is of ladders. I can walk under them, I can carry them etc but I can't go up one. Even if I get to the top of one it doesn't do me much good because I can't let go! I don't even have a fear of heights!
Thanks to Jeremy for the guest blog! I am sure he will pop in at some point!
At 30 October 2008 at 15:07, Terri Garey
What totally freaks me out is the idea of demonic possession, particularly of someone you know well. One minute they're your loving husband/mother/sister/brother, and the next they're something else entirely.
And roaches. And ghosts. I'm very afraid of ghosts, which is why I write about them. :-)
Great cover, J.F.!
At 30 October 2008 at 15:10, Terra57
I have a number of phobias but the one that bothers me the most is I'm afraid of daytime. I don't like crowds of people, being openingly exposed to any person or thing within walking distance. I also am scared to death of heights but that is a common one.
I love the night. The dark where I can travel without being noticed. The peacefulness of not having crowds trying to smother me. I love gazing at the stars, hearing the night call of animals and feel the cool chill as I stand using senses that would otherwise not be used in daylight. I'm not afraid of things that go bump in the night as they have been a part of my life for many, many years. The night is my reality while daytime is my nightmare.
huggs,
Terra
P.S. Yes I know I am weird but I am human.
At 30 October 2008 at 16:30, shaunesay
My biggest phobia is pretty common, and yet Halloweeny! Spiders, definitely my biggest phobia! Regular bugs, not such a problem, and I like snakes, not enough to have one as a pet, but they don't inspire the slightest revulsion, I just think they're neat. But spiders, I have a physical inability to get near larger ones, they just make me shudder!
Thank you for the contest!
At 30 October 2008 at 20:18, Stephanie
I'm afraid of basements. Well-lit basements are tolerable in small doses, but if the lights go out I am a mess. Despite this, I insisted on having the basement bedroom when I was a kid. I had an elaborate system of turning lights on and off which involved quite a bit of sprinting across dark rooms in order to get to bed before the scary basement ghosts snuck up on me.
When I was house hunting last year, I immediately rejected a very nice home because the basement was intolerably creepy. Not even the amazing sun room could redeem the place.
At 30 October 2008 at 21:10, Kimberly B.
I'm scared of heights. Unfortunately I discovered this when I was on vacation in Wales, exploring the castles of Edward I. They had all these tiny little stone steps, and only ropes to hang onto---it was quite nerve-wracking. Despite this phobia, when I visited Florence I climbed to the top of the Duomo and was so proud of myself---little did I know, the really scary part was climbing back down!
At 30 October 2008 at 22:36, Dawn M.
I'm scared of scorpions. I grew up with them in the house and was stung many, many times. I've had them fall on me in bed, found them crawling in my shirt & up my pant legs or just stepped on them walking across the floor. Yeah, they love me. Freaks me out whenever I see one now.
I'm also scared of falling. I'm not scared of heights - just falling from them. As long as there's something between me and that drop off, I'm okay, but if it's an open edge, I'm not going anywhere near it!
At 31 October 2008 at 06:22, Daelith
Jeremy, you are just going to have to put your foot down with Mark and tell he can NOT stash his zombies under your porch. If he wants to keep them, he can do so at his house.
:P
My biggest fearss are of spiders, clowns and heights.
No need to enter me in the drawing since I have a copy of your fantastic book.
At 31 October 2008 at 08:34, Jeremy F. Lewis
Wow! From fellow achluophobiacs to taphephobes. Thanks for sharing for fears! I'll be in and out this weekened, so feel free to keep posting and Happy Halloween!
Daelith: Heh. Mark's zombies. Are you kidding me? There is no way Amanda would ever hide under my porch. There's dirt and stuff under there! ;)
At 31 October 2008 at 08:54, StyleVamp
O.k. I have two fears..
I don't like silence, When I'm home I like to put the tv on..even if I'm not watching it (that humm the tv makes is very calming to me) If the TV is off..the house feels weird & less welcoming. My paranoia takes over & it feels unsettling to me.
Shadows..in the dark (I like the darkness to fall asleep) however sometimes things change shape & when you look at it again it looks nothing to what it should be..sometimes it doesn't bother me..but soemtimes it does (it also varies as to what I've been reading lol)
At 31 October 2008 at 18:24, Cherie
I have way too many fears, but I'll pick one of the more Halloween-y ones to mention here. LOL I can't sleep if there's a spider on the ceiling because I have this irrational fear that it'll crawl into my mouth while I'm sleeping and lay eggs. I've had this fear ever since I was a little girl and when Mike and I saw something similar on a movie recently, I turned to him and said, "See? I told you it could so happen!" LOL
I'd love to win a copy of Staked as I've had it on my wishlist for awhile now. So please ENTER ME TWICE :) since I also mentioned it on my own blog, CheriePie's Books at http://books.cheriepie.com. direct link
At 31 October 2008 at 20:32, Wrighty
I don't have too many fears although as a parent I'll always fear for my children's safety. It does give me the creeps sometimes to be in water, like at a lake, where I can't see below me. I can be in it but I think the Jaws movies put that little bit of doubt in my mind. It's a good thing spiders and snakes don't bother me because I grew up on a farm. Thanks for the contest. All of the books sound great!
I added the Halloween contest to my blog
www.wrightysreads.blogspot.com
5wrights1@verizon.net
At 1 November 2008 at 17:42, Unknown
I am terrified of frogs and toads. When I was a little kid I squatted down to get a closer look at a toad in our garden. It promptly jumped and hit me square in the face. I've hated the things ever since then! Of course, I'm always the one in our family that almost steps on them in the yard, usually with my sandals on. Yuck!
by Kelley Armstrong
Hello :) My fear are spiders and creepy crawlies, but please don't enter me in the contest I already have a copy of staked that I reviewed last week :)