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Category: A to Z Challenge

“A Quick Bite” Offers Bite-Sized Tales of Vampires, Werewolves & Zombies

Do you read Flash Fiction? Flash Fiction is a term referring to bite-sized stories ranging from 5 to 1500 words in length. They’re fun to read when you’re not in the mood to commit to a novel-length book, but you’d like a break from the real world. What’s a Drabble? A Drabble is a 100-word-long Flash Fiction story. A 200-word-long story is called a Double Drabble. Like any genre, not all Flash Fiction is created equal. When done right, the storyteller reels you in, surprises you with a sudden twist, and/or makes you care so much about the characters you…

Exploring Historic Cemeteries: Zinc Monuments a.k.a. White Bronze

April A to Z Challenge 2020: It’s that time of year! Every April, bloggers around the world make posts for each letter of the alphabet. It’s a lot of fun and a great way to make friends online. Here’s my post for today: [The following is an adapted excerpt from my travel guide to haunted places, a book called Paranormal Texas.  I hope you enjoy it! Also, full disclosure: that’s an Amazon affiliate link. If you buy stuff after clicking it, I make a few pennies at no additional cost to you.] What are “White Bronze” monuments? From 1874 to 1914, the…

Exploring Historic Cemeteries: X Marks the Spot!

[The following is an adapted excerpt from my travel guide to haunted places, a book called Paranormal Texas.  I hope you enjoy it! Also, full disclosure: that’s an Amazon affiliate link. If you buy stuff after clicking it, I make a few pennies at no additional cost to you.] XP is Ancient Greek shorthand for “Christ” When you see an XP symbol on a headstone it is a Christian symbol. Since Christ’s name starts with the letters X and P when spelled in Greek, XP (pronounced KEE-roe) is often used as shorthand for “Christ.” That’s where Xmas comes from In fact,  that’s…

What are Grave Goods?

Check out my brand new book: Guess what? I’ve got a brand new book about historic cemeteries coming out on Sunday! It’s called Grave Goods. Here’s a one-minute book trailer I made for it: What are Grave Goods? Grave goods are items left at a gravesite or buried with the deceased. Flowers are the most common modern-day example. You’ve probably seen a bouquet at a gravesite, but people actually leave a whole bunch of different things on graves. I’ve seen everything from fire hydrants to clown noses! And, yes, I’ve got photos of those things – and more. 50+ Full-page…

Virtual Cemetery Tour: Seashell Mounded Graves

April A to Z Challenge 2020: It’s that time of year! Every April, bloggers around the world make posts for each letter of the alphabet. It’s a lot of fun and a great way to make friends online. Here’s my post for today: Virtual Cemetery Tour For the letter V, I thought I’d take us on a Virtual Cemetery Tour here in North Texas! Since we’ve been on lockdown, I’ve started sharing cemetery videos on YouTube. If you enjoy exploring historic cemeteries, then I invite you to join me on these fun adventures. Here’s the link: Exploring Historic Cemeteries. Maybe…

Urban Legends vs Cemetery History: Smiley’s Grave in Garland, Texas

April A to Z Challenge 2020: It’s that time of year! Every April, bloggers around the world make posts for each letter of the alphabet. It’s a lot of fun and a great way to make friends online. Here’s my post for today: [The following is an adapted excerpt from my travel guide to haunted places, a book called Paranormal Texas.  I hope you enjoy it! Also, full disclosure: that’s an Amazon affiliate link. If you buy stuff after clicking it, I make a few pennies at no additional cost to you.] Urban Legends vs Historic Facts Urban legends are fun stories,…