Debra Zannelli Author

It’s almost here. Please stop by and walk on the wild side. You can visit me any time you choose to come.

Halloween means different things to different people. To me, even though it’s been a long time, Halloween means candy my family couldn’t afford, a night spent with the most important people in my life and my cousin joining us always dressed as a bum. My sister and I wore different customs crafted by my talented mother. Chocolate was a special treat and we made sure those candies lasted past Christmas. My father would drive us to the new housing development where the candy was more forthcoming and the roads less dark. The candy was plentiful, the smiles few. A few non-smiling adults suggested we stay in our own neighborhood. There were less than ten houses we could walk to in ours. When our pillow cases were almost full we’d head to Central Falls, join my cousin and see what the poorer people could provide. There wasn’t a lot to expensive candy but there was candied popcorn, caramel apples which we ate before getting back into the car, and little toys that broke in a couple of weeks. All the goodies were given with love, always accompanied by the oohs and aahs we hoped our costumes deserved. When the darkness was too consuming and the voices of other kids faded away, we’d drop off my cousin and head home, always lying about how much candy we got. We had to have some mom didn’t know about.

I don’t remember thinking about how much money we did or did not have. What I remember is my sister’s giggles, my cousins full throated laughter and my love for them both.

Though times have changed and I’m a lot older what I wish for those who’ll trick or treat this year is not candy. I wish them the company of those around them, smiles at their costumes bought or hand made and the comfort of knowing they’re with the people they love, and who love them in return.

Does any other author cry when they kill off one of their characters. (I’m not telling you who, there are 7 books and plenty of characters to kill). Please don’t tell me I’m alone. I miss the characters I no longer write about, hoping to find someone I like/hate or both, as much as the ones I left behind. Then I get a review like this and I find myself smiling. “Started reading Dark Night of the Soul last night. I was ‘hooked’ in the first pages.” I can only hope that’s true for all my readers. The reviews I’ve gotten have all been good. Please keep reading and sending in those reviews. I’d like you to know there’s a lot of talk about making Dark Night of the Soul into a movie. The problem is it’s only me and my husband doing the talking. He wants the Ferrari I told him I’d buy him, if it were a hit. Me, I just want to see Marcus brought to life.

The first of the Darkness and Light Series is now available through Amazon in hard copy format. I know my mother’s smiling, just wish she could see it. I got my love of books from her. I’d watch her caress the hard bound book as she read to my sister and I, and I knew I would love books forever.

Pumpkin Sugar Cookies

2 cups sugar 1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 cup water 2 eggs

1 cup butter (2 sticks) 1 tsp vanilla

1/2 teaspoon salt

and approximately 3 1/2 cups flour.

Mix all ingredients except flour. Add flour a little at a time, until dough is stiff, amount varies.

Roll dough onto a waxed paper and cut into circles. Place on slightly greased cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees until edges are golden brown. About 10-20 minutes. Cool completely.

Topping

Orange icing One – fifty count black candy, many use licorice, but my favorite is black candy melts.

Cut some of the candy into V’s

Spread icing to the outer edge of the cookie . Using candy V’s make jack-o-lantern mouth and nose, use rounded candy for eyes.

Eat the remaining candy

I’M SURE YOU’VE ALREADY MARKED YOUR CALENDERS, BUT JUST IN CASE:

I’ll be at the RHODE ISLAND COMIC CON on the 4th, 5th and 6th of November. It’s a fun way to meet some of the authors from the Association of Rhode Island Authors. Shopping from other vendors, meeting the attending stars, and seeing the visitors with their original costumes is a real treat. I hope to see you there.

THE RI AUTHOR EXPO is a great way to either start or finish you Holiday shopping. I’ll be there, I hope you will be too.

I will soon be releasing a hardcopy version of Dark Night of the Soul. I’ll let you know when the process is complete.

It’s almost here. September 24th is the date of the Exeter Fall Festival. It’s held at Yawgoo Valley Ski Area, Exeter, RI. It starts at 10am and ends at 3. For entertainment there’s Matt Roberts, famous RI magician, music provided by the RI Bluegrass Alliance,Balloons by Bjorn, Kool Kat Face Painting, Pumpkin Painting and a K9 Demonstration. Hungry? Visit Nonnie’s Kitchen, Joes’ Snack Shack, The Cupcakery or The Milk Cafe. Baked goods will be provided by the excellent bakers of Job Corp. Vendors include local RI authors, Thom Ring, Mary Catherine Volk, and Gary Benassi. They’ll be signing and selling their original works. There’s LJ’s Jams and Jellies,Newman Candle Co., Simply Stitched by Lou, Tastefully Simple, J & T’s Seaside Treasures, Sewing for Infants and young children, Never Enough Purses,Lighthouse Fiber Arts, Bent Bow publishing, Cindy’s Workshop, Lavender Waves Farm, Harry Here Farm, and Simply Fun Games. There’s carnival games with prizes. The state is sending a representative of the Unclaimed property department, Renewal by Anderson, the Rythmn Dance Center and the Exeter Fire Station will be represented. Then there’s the friendly people of Exeter. All proceeds go the support the Exeter Public Library and it’s community program. Come for fun, come to support and since it’s my 43rd wedding anniversary, stop by and say hello. Please forgive me if I missed something. My son is getting married this weekend and I’m a bit flustered. I hope to see you there.

To all you trivia lovers, I have a question for you. There’s a $10.00 Amazon Gift card prize going to the first person who answers the question correctly, but first, let me explain.

I may not have posted on my website that I have been collecting stuffed animals since I was a child. They can’t just be teddy bears though I do have a few. Many of my animals I’ve been given or bought myself are tied to an event, an important person in my life, or something I loved when I was a child. Their names have meanings. Sometimes they represent places I’ve visited; the state animal or an animal I encountered in one way or another. The shark came to me when my son went to Biomes with his boy scout troupe and I got to hold a Sand Shark. The manatee came from the gift center near Silver Springs park in Florida, where you can still see them. I love wolves, always have. I got to walk with one in the Garden of the Gods in Colorado. One of the things on my bucket list.

To give you an example of how I choose the name, my first wolf is Amadeus, for Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Of course I had to have a Chaka Cow. Now I come to the question of the month. I just got a Manta Ray from St Johns. I decided to call it Fay, yes it rhymes and that helped me choose the name, but can you tell me what brought it to mind? Don’t forget this is a trivia question. Post your reply on my Debradarknight Facebook page. Guesses will be accepted until my birthday, October 18th, and I am not going to tell you the year, though you might get a sense of when by the answer. I think that’s a big enough hint.

Dark Night is available in all formats. I’ll have a supply of the updated books and the few remaining old ones with me for RI ComicCon (November 4-6) and the RI Authors Expo, Saturday December 3, 2022 from 10:00 AM – 5:00PM The Expo will be held at the Crowne Plaza, Warwick- Grand Ballroom – 801 Greenwich Ave, Warwick, RI 02882.

If you’re like me and love a good horror or science fiction/fantasy novel, ComicCon is the place to go. There’s lots of things to do and a great group of RI authors. The Darkness and Light series is complete. All five books are available. If you’re looking for Horror, Psychological horror, romance, and a crime thriller, you’ll find them all in the Darkness and Light Series, as you follow Marcus’ evolution from victim to survivor, from a man alone to a man able to enter the world he thought would never welcome him. Of course there is a sprinkling of humor for that’s one of the ways we survive the horrors we all face.

I’m not sure Sister World, Back to Terah will be completed in time, but you can’t rush genius. If you haven’t started reading the trilogy, now is the time to begin. Science fiction with many science facts mingle with the people of two worlds as they fight together to save one and free another.

If you have an interest in books of every genre, whether it’s for yourself or to give as a gift, the Expo is the place to go. Many talented Rhode Island Authors will be there and you’re sure to find something to put under the tree or beside your bed. I like to read sitting in my rocking chair. Of course they also make long trips in crowded airplanes less painful.

I hope to see my old friends and make new ones.