Guest Post with Tracy March and Giveaway

Please welcome back author Tracy March. Tracy has stopped by today to share her favorite Halloween memory.

Award-winning author Tracy March writes romantic thrillers influenced by her career in the pharmaceutical field, and her interest in science and politics. She also writes lighthearted romances inspired by her real-life happily ever after.

Always up for travel and adventure, Tracy has flown in a stunt plane, snowmobiled on the Continental Divide, ziplined in the Swiss Alps, and been chased by a bull in the mountains of St. Lucia. She loves Nationals baseball, Saturday date nights, and Dairy Queen Blizzards—and rarely goes a day without Diet Coke and Cheez-Its.

Tracy lives in Yorktown, Virginia, with her superhero husband who works for NASA. They recently spent two years living in Washington D.C., and enjoy visiting often—especially when the Nats are in town.

Places to find Tracy: 

| Site | Facebook | Twitter | Dangerous Darlings Street Team | Pinterest | Goodreads | 

Halloween for many is a time to dress up and have some fun. Ever wonder what your favorite Entangled Bliss author’s best Halloween costumes have been or what their favorite Halloween memory is? Follow the Bliss Trick or Sweet Halloween Haunt to check them all out.

A Hansel-and-Gretel and Halloween

Ah, Halloween! A kid’s fantasy come true. Dress up as your favorite character, go door to door, collect as much candy as you can, and EAT IT! Sure it was fun picking out a costume, shopping for it or making it, and pretending to be someone or something else for a few hours. But for me, Halloween was all about the candy! Heath Bars, Reese’s cups, SweeTarts, Milky Way bars. Yum, yum, YUM!

I grew up with three brothers, and we were all within six years of each other, so lots of lots of candy made its way into our house on Halloween. We had different favorites, so the bargaining session after several sweet hours of trick-or-treating could score everyone an awesome stash of their must-haves. Happy Halloween, and happy sugar high for days! Imagine our poor mother…yet it was sure fun for me and my brothers.

But then there was the Halloween when I was ten years old, and feeling really excited about my Pippi Longstocking costume. Sadly, I didn’t have to go to too much trouble to look like Pippi with my skin-and-bones frame, freckled face and pigtailed hair, but wearing the quirky outfit empowered me to happily own all that awkwardness for once. Flashlight shining, my dad led my brothers and I around the neighborhood that Saturday night, up and down the hills. We stopped at nearly every house and one of our neighbors dropped treats into our bags—special ones printed with cartoon pumpkins and ghosts. We’d moved on from carrying plastic pumpkins to collect our candy. Weren’t we cool? Stopping at nearly every house = LOTS of candy! My brothers and I carried our bags home, ready for the big bargaining session, the sweet taste of chocolate and gooey caramel and the sweet tang of powder from a Pixy Stick.

But then the horror began. My little five-year-old brother, who had walked the entire neighborhood with us and gone to every door, set his bag on the table… and it was EMPTY! All that trick-or-treating and there wasn’t one piece of candy in his bag. But there was a big hole in the bottom of it where he’d dragged it home, not realizing he’d been losing his candy with every step.

“Y’all need to share your candy with him,” my mom said to me and my other two brothers as we stared at her wide-eyed, and cast sharp glances at our little brother whose eyes welled with tears.

Share candy? For real? Those words didn’t go together in my mind. I’d never dreamed of putting them side-by-side! Evidently, neither had my brothers who looked protectively at their bags. But under our mom’s watchful eyes, we divided our candy so our little brother’s Halloween wouldn’t be a bust. We weren’t overly thrilled about it, and we were more than a little resentful when she made us share some of our favorites. No doubt it would be a long time before our little brother got the favorite sibling award. We’re all adults now and we still haven’t forgotten about the Halloween when he lost all his candy. I’m even blogging about it!

The next morning was Sunday, and the whole family was headed to church where we were forbidden to bring candy. Not being a fan of rules like that, I stuffed a few choice pieces in my little-girl purse, and piled in the station wagon next to my little brother who still looked down about the night before. We pulled out of the driveway and up the hilly road that led out of the neighborhood. Scattered along the pavement was a Hansel-and-Gretel trail of candy that led straight to our house. My little brother’s trick-or-treats, all smushed and dirty. My oldest brother piped up, teasing him, and my little brother’s bottom lip quivered, tears threatening to fall.

“That’s enough!” our dad said.

All became quiet as my little brother struggled not to cry. I reached into my purse, snuck out a roll of Smarties, put them in his hand and pressed my finger to my lips. “Shh.” I can still remember his wide eyes and his bright smile. “Just don’t get caught,” I whispered. “And if you tell anyone I gave you these…I’ll kill you.”

Yep. Halloween is all about the candy…and the sharing.

I didn’t have a picture of this particular Halloween, but I wanted to share one from an earlier one when my mom dressed my older brother and I like a bride and groom. For some reason, she thought it would be cute. Just like she thought cutting our bangs straight across with kitchen scissors was a good idea, too!

How about you? Is Halloween all about the candy? If so, what’s your favorite treat? If not, what’s it all about for you?

The only thing they agree on is the sultry heat between them

Nothing’s more important to Paige Ellerbee than her struggling bakery, Sweet Bee’s. When Lane Anderson, the temporary new doctor hot enough to rival McDreamy, moves in next door, though, she’s sure things are looking up. Until he threatens her business in their first conversation.

Lane just wants to practice medicine responsibly—not argue with the flighty bakery owner next door. But when he finds himself traveling down to the Caribbean to play guitar for Paige’s best friend’s wedding, suddenly the sight of the blonde in a bikini eclipses the fact they can’t agree on anything. And as their vacation romance grows, his reservations about starting something after getting burned by love are washed away like sand on the beach.

But once Paige and Lane land back home, will these polar opposites be able to forgive their feud and find lasting love?

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Check out what's up for grabs.

Up For Grabs:

• 1 Silver Charm Bracelet

To Enter: 

• Please answer Tracy's question: How about you? Is Halloween all about the candy? If so, what’s your favorite treat? If not, what’s it all about for you?
• US Shipping ONLY.
• Please fill out the Rafflecopter form.

Good Luck! 

Special thanks to Tracy March for sponsoring this giveaway!

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