Today it is my pleasure to Welcome author Joss Wood to HJ!
Hi Joss and welcome to HJ! We’re so excited to chat with you about your new release, Halloween Town!
Thanks for having me!
Please summarize the book for the readers here:
Poppy McMaster was supposed to be getting married, not climbing out of a bathroom window in her wedding dress.
So she does what any woman with a ruined wedding and a rapidly collapsing life would do: she runs home. Back to the quirky little town where she spent her summers with her grandparents.
Except…Solstice Springs is different now. Her grandparents are gone, Halloween now lasts all year, and ghosts have opinions. But it’s still where she feels most like herself.
Her grandparents’ beloved inn now belongs to Thom Sheffield—her childhood hero, her ex-fiancé’s brooding older brother, and the one man Poppy absolutely should not be fantasizing about.
Unfortunately, Thom is very hard to resist.
And in a town where ghosts are nosy, magic is everywhere, and starting over rarely goes according to plan, Poppy and Thom are about to discover that falling in love might be the scariest thing of all…
Please share your favorite line(s) or quote from this book:
Then, her sigh hit his lips, sweet and warm, and he took control of the kiss , his tongue sliding past her teeth to tangle with hers. She tasted mysterious, of magic and moonbeams. He couldn’t get enough of her.
Deepening the kiss, he used his free hand to angle her head so that he could kiss her deeper, to swallow her sighs. This, God … this was better than anything he’d ever experienced, more amazing than he’d imagined. Kissing had always been a means to an end, enjoyable, but this kiss was…
It was everything. It was a ‘hello, I’ve missed you’, and a ‘welcome back’. A God, ‘you look good grown up’, and a, ‘who are you now’? It was then and now, thirteen years of suppressed longing and 3 a.m. imagining.
He could’ve stood there for the rest of the day, forever, but Poppy pulled back and rested her forehead on his, the swing swaying under her feet. He steadied her, which required both hands on her shapely bum––not a hardship at all. “I shouldn’t be doing this,” she murmured, the words hitting his lips.
“Probably not,” he agreed. He pulled back, just a little, to look in her eyes. Not seeing any regret in hers, just naked want, he mentally shrugged and whipped her off the swing to hold her against his much bigger body. “But let’s do it anyway.”
Please share a few Fun facts about this book…
- Poppy is Wren’s (from Summerween) best friend.
- Something major happened that made her run away from her wedding, barefoot and holding only her phone. (Honestly, I’d run too!)
- Despite peeing on her wedding dress when they first meet (an action Poppy thoroughly approves of) Felony, Thom’s dog, falls desperately in love with Poppy. He also features in my next book, Hot Ghoul Summer, and he’s even more unhinged.
- Halloween Town was originally supposed to be the first book in the Halloween Series, and the opening scene sparked inspiration for the entire series.
I had the best fun writing the book.
What first attracts your Hero to the Heroine and vice versa?
Thom was Poppy’s childhood hero and her best friend when she was growing up. He was SAFE. Now, under her hectic attraction to him (Thom grew up into a very good-looking guy!) she still feels safe with him.
For Thom, Poppy shedding her wedding dress in his kitchen on a Saturday afternoon and looking at her in her wedding lingerie transforms her from the girl he remembers to a sexy woman.
Did any scene have you blushing, crying or laughing while writing it? And Why?
Thom and Poppy getting hot and heavy in the empty, darkened theatre during Luna’s Witching Hour Singles Social was pretty blush-making!
This is the start of a pretty steamy scene which weakens Poppy’s knees…and her resolve to keep Thom at a distance.
“I want to kiss you,” Poppy murmured.
“I know,” he replied. “I want that, too, but I don’t know if you are ready for this, ready for me. For how much I want you.”
She wasn’t. But she didn’t care. “Let’s do it anyway.”
Thom’s eyes met hers, and he just stared at her, naked desire for her blazing from his eyes. Against her stomach, his erection hardened and lengthened. Thom simply held her eyes, not trying to hide his desire. He wanted her. She liked that he did.
But it scared her. And because she was scared, thoughts of too soon, their history, her past failures, and her ex, washed over her.
“Stop thinking, Poppy. If you have to, only think about me,” Thom growled, and Poppy heard frustration and a hint of empathy in his voice.
How did he do that—slip past her defenses and land inside her thoughts? He seemed to know, instantly and unfailingly, what she was thinking without her saying a single word.
It was something no one but him had ever managed.
Readers should read this book….
Ah, it’s fun, and it’s perfect for October and the season. It has two endearing MCs, a crazy dog and Luna, who’s a terrible witch but an excellent mayor! It explores what home looks and feels like, and finding yourself and living authentically. It has pets with VERY healthy egos, and ghosts.
Lots and lots of opinionated ghosts.
What are you currently working on? What other releases do you have in the works?
I’ve just finished Hot Ghoul Summer, the third book in the Halloween Town series and am about to start writing the fourth book, Talk Turkey To Me. All set in my Halloween-obsessed town of Solstice Springs. There are even more unhinged pets and crazy events and Luna, H-Town’s mayor is, yet again, stirring up trouble.
Thanks for blogging at HJ!
Giveaway: I’m giving away two e-book copies of HALLOWEEN TOWN.
To enter Giveaway, please share this post on your Socials and Leave a comment below to this Q: Are you a ‘read for the season’ reader? Or are you the rebel who will read a Christmas book in the July heat?
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Excerpt from Halloween Town:
A week later, Poppy, Thom, and Felony wandered down from Solstice Deep to Blackweather Green. It was Friday night, and they’d agreed to meet up with Wren, Dane, and Hayes, to join them on the green for a mini version of H-Town’s famous Moonlight Night market. Instead of the craziness that was the real Christmas market, there was just a sprinkling of activity. A few stalls—Cilla, the tarot card reader was working, and the Boozy Broomstick––a drinks truck she recognized from past events––was peddling cocktails and homemade cider. Other stalls sold charms, homemade soaps and slices of cake and pie. Old Mrs. Reynolds was wandering around, offering blocks of her chocolate-brownie cookies. An incident from years ago reminded Poppy to check whether these were dope-enhanced or not. With Mrs. Reynolds, as old as God and an original hippie, you couldn’t always be sure, or that she’d tell the truth.
“If we don’t want to be absolutely lit, it’s best we avoid Mrs. Reynolds and her brownies,” Poppy told Thom.
Thom looked around. “Who’s that again?”
Poppy pointed to the old lady, who’d swapped her summer bikini for skinny jeans, leopard-print boots and a bright pink, fake-fur jacket. “Got it,” he said, unfazed.
“It’s a pity, because they are damn good cookies.”
Poppy returned her attention to the activity on the green, thinking that, tonight, the town was flirting more than trading. People, both residents and tourists, paused to chat, lingered, breathed. Some people sat on blankets chilling, others stood in groups, catching up. Madame Calliope, Luna, wearing a—Poppy squinted––Witching Rest Face T-shirt, and Andrea, the head witch from her coven, sat on a bench discussing weighty H-Town matters. Or plotting world domination.
Or complaining about the menopause. You never knew.
Poppy hummed along with music coming from the band playing in the iron bandstand. She didn’t know the tune, but what did that matter? She felt lighter than she had in months, enjoying the freedom of being with Thom, this crazy, vibey town and being in the moment without having to perform, free from expectation. She wasn’t used to feeling calm and grounded. And safe.
Poppy winced as Felony darted off, chasing what he thought was a rabbit and nearly jerking Thom’s arm out of its socket. Her weeklong lover sent her a dark look, and she winced. He’d told her that bringing Fel to this event was a really bad, terrible, awful idea, but she’d insisted. She knew how much the puppy hated to be alone, she was also worried about leaving him unsupervised with her shoes. So far, he’d nibbled away at one pair of leather boots and her favorite Vans.
“I hate you, McMaster,” Thom said, as Felony barked at a massive pumpkin with foot-long eyes and a sinister mouth. Thom wrapped the leash around his wrist to keep Felony at his side. “I’m not going to be able to use my arm tomorrow.”
She shrugged and sent him a naughty smile. “As long as you can use your mouth, I’m golden,” she said, referring to the very steamy, in more ways than one, shower they’d shared earlier.
Thom groaned. “I don’t need you misbehaving too, either.”
Poppy grinned and looked down at his half-demented dog. He was turning circles, and his leash was a lot shorter than it was before. Okay, enough was enough. Dropping to her haunches in front of him, she waited until Felony locked eyes with her and lifted her index finger. “Felony, enough. Sit.”
She looked up to see Thom’s expression as his huge, impossible, unruly dog plopped his butt on the grass, his expression now suggesting that he was heaven-sent.
“He’s never done that before,” Thom stated, looking down. .
Poppy stroked Felony’s ears and rubbed his chest. “He’s always done it for me,” she said, sounding offhand. Thom didn’t need to know that when she was supposed to be sanding windowsills or stripping wallpaper, she spent most of that time training Felony.
“Do you have any idea how much effort I put into training him? How many hours, and treats he ate? I gave up, assuming he was too stupid to learn!” Thom said, sounding pretty pissed off. She grinned.
“He was dissing you.”
Thom bent down to look Felony in the eye. “You’re an asshole,” he told him, frowning.
Poppy immediately covered the dog’s ears with her hands. “Don’t say that,” she hissed, sotto voce, “you’ll hurt his feelings.”
“He’s a manipulative, disobedient shit,” Thom retorted, doubling down.
Poppy dropped a kiss on his furry head. “Shh, baby, don’t listen to him,” she murmured, rubbing his neck. “You’re gorgeous and my boy.” Felony stood and snuggled into her, trying to wiggle all the way in. Yep, they were besties now.
Thom, obviously thinking he needed to yank back some control, lifted his finger and pointed it at Felony’s nose. “Sit!”
Felony sniffed and buried his head under Poppy’s arm, moving his body to point his butt in Thom’s direction. Lol, cute try, but not even close. Poppy stroked Fel’s back from his neck to his rump, and Felony wriggled in delight.
“It’s not his fault he doesn’t say it right, Fel,” she murmured, giving Thom shit with a smile.
“I do say it right! I say sit just like you do.”
Poppy rolled her eyes and Thom threw his hands up in the air. “My woman and my dog have teamed up against me.”
Poppy smiled at him, telling herself not to read too much into my woman. They were having a fling, were temporary housemates, exploring their chemistry. That was all there was to this … whatever this was. Poppy took Thom’s hand and he pulled her to her feet. She was surprised when he kept her hand in his. Were they announcing the shift in their relationship to H-Town? How did she feel about that?
Before she could answer her own question, Thom nodded to the people hanging around on Blackweather Green. “Would you and His Lordship like to carry on?” he asked.
Poppy lifted her nose and tried to look aristocratic “How come he gets a title, and I don’t?” she demanded.
Thom tried to hide his smile, but she saw it, and her heart stuttered at the humor in her eyes. “Come along then, Duchess.”
“Better.”
“Thom!”
Poppy saw a woman, her age and pretty, running across to them, a little unnerved by the excitement in her eyes. Who was this woman, and why was she looking at Thom like he hung the moon and all the stars? Poppy tried to pull her hand from Thom’s and shot him a look when his hand tightened around hers. So, okay, he didn’t seem to care who knew they were together.
Right.
She sent Thom a smile full of admiration and excitement. Thom responded with one of his more lethal smiles, the one Poppy loved best: a little flirty, a lot fun. Poppy narrowed her eyes. Seriously, why was he smiling at another woman while holding her hand?
Even Felony was going a little nuts for her. What was she—chopped liver? Though, to be fair, Fel rather liked chopped liver.
The woman reached them and instantly dropped to her knees, throwing her arms around Fel’s neck. As he had with Poppy earlier, Fel burrowed in. Poppy rolled her eyes. Fel was so damn easy.
“Oh, I’ve missed you so much! How’ve you been, darling boy? Have you been good, huh?”
No, of course not. He’d eaten her favorite green Vans. Her left shoe now had a hole right above her big toe.
“Poppy, meet Edie, she’s Fel’s dog-walker. She’s been away, so you haven’t seen her around. Edie, meet Poppy.”
Fel’s dog-walker? Well, then.
Edie smiled at her. “Hi.”
Hi, back, dog-walker person.
Thom handed Edie Felony’s leash. “If you’ve missed him that much, you can take him. I’ll pay you double your hourly rate.”
She looked up, narrowed her eyes, and cocked her head. “Triple.”
“Deal,” Thom said, and without further argument, tugged Poppy into a jog. When she asked him why they were running, he looked down at her. “I don’t want her to change her mind,” he admitted.
“Poor Fel,” Poppy said, trying to keep up with his long strides. “You’re abandoning your baby.”
“He’s, as we both know, your baby.” Thom stopped and smiled down at her. “And you really don’t have to worry about him. Edie will feed him hot dogs will spend a few hours patting him and stroking him, telling him how marvelous he is. When he comes home, his head won’t be able to fit in the door.”
Poppy laughed at his grumbling. “You and your dog have the weirdest relationship,” she said.
“Tell me about it,” he said. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and looked at it. “Shall we text Wren to find out where they are?”
“She said they’d be on the lake side of the meadow, close to where Hayes broke his leg.”
Thom instantly nodded. That was the thing about having a history that went back to their childhoods, they had references that most people didn’t.
With her hand still in Thom’s, they hurried through the crowds to the big oak tree—the same one Hayes’d tumbled from when he was thirteen. Hayes and Thom had a bet to see who could go highest, when Hayes slipped and fell and ended up breaking his tibia, putting him in crutches for the rest of the summer.
“Remember how grumpy he was?” Thom asked, picking up her train of thought.
“He was impossible,” Poppy replied, laughing. “I also remember sneaking him into Dr. Morris’s rooms to get his cast replaced because he got it wet in the lake, and him trying to bribe the doc into not telling his mom.” Thom grinned, pulled her in for a side hug, and, with their arms around each other, approached their friends, who were lounging on a picnic blanket under the tree. Instead of giving them shit about their relationship-status change—something Poppy’d expected—they all as one got to their feet as they approached. One glance at Wren’s frustrated face was enough—Poppy wasn’t going to like what was coming.
Wren lifted up her hands. “It’s not bad bad, Popsicle.”
Bad bad was a childhood code, reserved for things like death and grave injuries and massive injustices, like the grocery store running out of their favorite ice cream or being smacked in the face by a dodgeball thrown by their crush. Poppy released some of the tension she was holding.
After greeting Dane and Hayes, she sat down on the picnic blanket and tucked her dress under her knees. Wren followed her down to the blanket.
“Can I get a beer first before you hit me with your not-so-bad news?” Poppy asked.
Hayes handed her a beer, and Thom sat on the grass next to her. She looked at Dane, then at Hayes. While she wasn’t very worried, she didn’t like the emotions flickering in their eyes. Anger? Protectiveness? Extreme annoyance?
Thom took the can from her hand, popped the tab, and handed it back to her. She thanked him and took a sip. Then another. Then she looked at Wren, who was holding her phone in a white-knuckle grip. “Why didn’t you tell me … us, Poppy?” Wren asked.
She frowned, not sure what she was getting at. “Tell you what?”
“The real reason you ran from your wedding!”
Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
Book Info:
Poppy McMaster was supposed to be getting married, not climbing out of a bathroom window in her wedding dress…
She’s leaving her life behind and fleeing to the only place she’s ever truly felt like herself: the small town she grew up in, where Halloween lasts all year.
But home isn’t waiting for Poppy the way she imagined. Her grandparents’ beloved inn is now owned by Thom Sheffield, who just happens to be:
Her childhood hero
Her ex-fiancé’s brooding older brother
The last man on earth she should be fantasizing about…
Because in a town full of pumpkins, cosy traditions, and Halloween magic, falling in love might be the scariest thing of all…
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Meet the Author:
Joss Wood writes romances packed with messy emotions, crackling chemistry, witty banter, and hard-won happily-ever-afters. Her books feature independent heroines, hot heroes, quirky small-towns, lovable chaos magnets, nosy neighbours, fast friendships and enough spice to steam up a window or two.
She’s been telling stories for as long as she can remember and has written more than eighty books for various publishers. She aims to feature characters who are flawed, funny, emotionally exposed, and deeply human.
When she’s not writing, she’s usually fuelled by too much coffee, avoiding exercise with impressive dedication, plotting her next adventure, checking in on her grown children, laughing with her husband, or being expertly manipulated by two cats and one enormous, spectacularly ill-behaved dog.
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