The Witching Hour with Rose Pressey

By - August 23, 2013

There's something magical in the air right now, and it's not just that we're raising money for the Leukemia Lymphoma Society by selling a book and giving away a bunch of other books. Nope, it's that we have reached THE WITCHING HOUR, and Amazon bestselling paranormal fiction author Rose Pressey is in the house to take this 6 p.m. guest spot!

Don't forget to check out the bottom of this post to see how to enter Rose's giveaway, as well as to have your shot at winning two additional giveaways in this post from the author of a new paranormal YA thriller, Debut YA Author & Editor for the Meadowland Review, Jennifer Walkup, and Debut Novelist & Literary Podcast Co-Producer, Maer Wilson!

Take it away, Rose!

I’m excited to be a part of the Trade the Day blog-a-thon. I’d like to thank Colby for inviting me and a big thank you to you all for stopping by and helping Team Alaina.

The witching hour…when magic is its most powerful.

It doesn’t have to be Halloween to enjoy the magic of witches and witchcraft. Of course the first image that probably comes to mind when you think of a witch is an old and gnarled woman with wart-covered green skin and a cackling laugh. Obviously, that couldn’t be further from the truth.  Luckily, there are a lot of lighthearted movies that depict an entirely different image.

There’s something appealing about creating magic just by wiggling your nose or waving a wand. Just imagine wiggling your nose like Samantha from Bewitched and the dishes are clean, or the laundry is neatly folded.  However, much to my chagrin, this is only possible in fantasy.But that doesn’t stop me from watching some great movies about witches though, andI thought I’d list some of my favoritesfeaturing beautiful, fun, and exciting witches. And a few scary ones too!

1.  Practical Magic with Nicole Kidman and Sandra Bullock. This is one of my favorite movies. Not only is this romantic comedy delightful, but the movie’s set upstages the entire cast. This movie has it all: magic spells, curses, and the undead.

From IMBd: The wry, comic romantic tale follows the Owens sisters, Sally and Gillian, as they struggle to use their hereditary gift for practical magic to overcome the obstacles in discovering true love. Written by WARNER BROS.

2.       The Witches of Eastwick:  You know with Jack Nicolson starring in this movie that it’s going to be great.

From IMDb: Three single women in a picturesque village have their wishes granted - at a cost - when a mysterious and flamboyant man arrives in their lives.

3.       The Craft:  Sometimes magic seems like a good idea, but in the end, it can have a not so great outcome.

IMBd: A newcomer to a Catholic prep high school falls in with a trio of outcast teenage girls who practice witchcraft and they all soon conjure up various spells and curses against those who even slightly anger them.

4.       The Wizard of Oz. When I was a kid I wanted to be the good witch, not Dorothy. Of course this movie needs no introduction.

5.       The Crucible:  This movie has two of my favorite things: it’s historical and has witches.

The movie is centered around the Salem Massachusetts witch trials of 1692 and based on the play "The Crucible" by Arthur Miller.

6.       The Good Witch:  This is a delightful series starring Catherine Bell on the Hallmark Channel.

From IMDb: A mysterious woman comes in to town and inhabits the local haunted mansion, making everyone wonder if she's a witch or "The Grey Lady".

7.       I Married a Witch:  This is a wonderful romantic comedy from 1942 starring Veronica Lake.

IMDb: A beautiful 17th-century witch returns to life to plague politician Wallace Wooley, descendant of her persecutor.

8.       Hocus Pocus is a great family fun movie with Sarah Jessica Parker and Bette Midler.

IMBd: After 300 years, three sister witches are resurrected in Salem Massachusetts on Halloween night, and it us up to two teenagers, a young girl, and an immortal cat to put an end to the witches reign of terror once and for all.

9.       Simply Irresistible starsSarah Michelle Gellar. This is a charming romantic comedy that isn’t necessarily about witches, but more about magic in general. It’s still one of my all-time favorites.

Synopsis from IMDb:  A magical crab works wonders for a terrible chef's culinary skills, leading her towards the man of her dreams.

10.   An American Haunting stars Sissy Spacek. Obviously she’s a great actress, and I’d want to watch any movie with her in it. The movie is about witchcraft and curses…it’s a scary one.

From IMDb: In 2006, in Red River, Tennessee, a teenager has frequent nightmares. Her mother reads an old letter from 1817 written by her ancestor, Lucy Bell. After a dispute of lands judged by the church, her husband John Bell is cursed by his opponent KatheBatts, who has a fame of being a witch. From this moment on, an entity threatens John and her daughter Betsy Bell, attacking the girl during the nights. With the support of Betsy's school teacher Richard Powell, who tries to find rational explanations for the manifestation; her brother John Bell Jr.; and their friend James Johnston, who unsuccessfully tries to exorcize the entity from the house, the family does their best to protect Betsy in the haunted house.

And I can’t forget to mention a few TV series:

Charmed

Bewitched

Sabrina the Teenaged Witch

I hope you enjoyed my list! Leave a comment and tell me your favorite witch for a chance to win a copy of my book, Forever Charmed and a copy of my new mystery, Crime Wave.

 

***Rose is giving away a signed copy of Forever Charmed to one lucky person who comments on this post, as well as a signed copy of her new mystery, Crime Wave, to another commenter.  So, don't forget to comment!***

ABOUT ROSE:  Rose Pressey is an Amazon Top 100 bestselling author. She enjoys writing quirky and fun novels with a paranormal twist. The paranormal has always captured her interest. The thought of finding answers to the unexplained fascinates her.

When she’s not writing about werewolves, vampires and every other supernatural creature, she loves eating cupcakes with sprinkles, reading, spending time with family, and listening to oldies from the fifties.

Rose lives in the beautiful commonwealth of Kentucky with her husband, son and three sassy Chihuahuas. Find out more at rosepressey.com.

 

With An Additional Giveaway From

JENNIFER WALKUP

***Another lucky commenter on this post will win an autographed Advanced Reading Copy of Jennifer Walkup's upcoming paranormal YA thriller, Second Verse (releases fall 2013).***

ABOUT SECOND VERSE:  Bad things come in threes. In Shady Springs, that includes murder.

Murder Now
Lange Crawford's move to Shady Springs, Pennsylvania, lands her a group of awesome friends, a major crush on songwriter Vaughn, and life in a haunted, 200-year-old farmhouse. It also brings The Hunt: an infamous murder mystery festival where students solve a fake, gruesome murder scheme during the week of Halloween. Well, supposedly fake. 

Murder Then
Weeks before The Hunt, Lange and her friends hold a seance in the farmhouse's eerie barn. When a voice rushes through, whispering haunting words that only she and Vaughn can hear, Lange realizes it's begging for help. The mysterious voice leads Lange and Vaughn to uncover letters and photos left behind by a murdered girl, Ginny, and they become obsessed with her story and the horrifying threats that led to her murder. 

Murder Yet to Come
But someone doesn't like their snooping, and Lange and Vaughn begin receiving the same threats that Ginny once did. The mysterious words from the barn become crucial to figuring out Ginny's past and discovering how their own past is connected to hers. They must work fast to uncover the truth or risk finding out if history really does repeat itself.

Find out more at jenniferwalkup.com

 

 

With Another Giveaway From

MAER WILSON

 

***Another lucky commenter will win an autographed copy of Relics by Maer Wilson.***

ABOUT RELICS:  When the creatures of myth and magic return to Earth, they're nothing like your mother's fairy tales.

Most of Thulu and La Fi's clients are dead. Which is perfect since their detective agency caters to the supernatural. So, a job finding relics for an ancient daemon is simple.

The daemon needs the relics to keep a dangerous portal closed. His enemy, Gabriel, wants the relics to open the portal and give his people access to a new feeding ground - Earth.

Hoping to create chaos, Gabriel opens portals to other worlds and the creatures of magic return to Earth, stunning humanity with their existence.

When Gabriel threatens their family, Thulu and La Fi's job becomes personal. They'll need powerful allies in the race to find the relics before Gabriel does. But maybe that's what grateful dead, magical allies and daemonic clients are for.

Find out more at maerwilson.com

 

Comment for your chance to win Rose's, Jennifer's, and Maer's giveaways- leave an e-mail address so we can contact you if you win!

 

Which brings us back to Rose's question:

Which witch is your favorite witch?