Cornelia Quick

Halloween is my favorite holiday – the costumes, the candy, and all the spooky vibes send shivers of delight up and down my spine. And spooky pairs well with sexy, I think; fear and desire are all tangled up in my nervous system, at least, and I suspect I’m not alone.

I’ve got three books that sit at the spooky/sexy nexus; if that’s your sweet spot, too, you might enjoy one of these tonight:

Lightning in a Bottle, Passion in the Stars is a cosmic science fiction horror erotica novel (packing a lot into 46,000 words, and it’s just 99 cents TODAY) that weaves together two stories:

In 1957, Jeremy, a physics student, and Paul, a young architect in training, begin experimenting with the mysterious properties of orgone, an energy field emitted by, and enhancing, sexual passion. Over the next three decades, their experiments grow bolder, and more dangerous.

In 2023, Clarissa, an architect who works alongside her husband to transform unique locations into vacation destinations, explores the possibilities of the abandoned Benedict Institute, founded by the eccentric Jeremy Benedict and designed by his friend and, it was rumored, lover, Paul Jordan. Clarissa had an experiment with passion herself that has left her marriage in a rocky condition and her desires ignited and thwarted.

These two strands come together with mysterious, powerful, and passionate possibilities.

On a lighter note, A Touch in the Dark is a Halloween romp with the Fox Run Swingers’ Club.

When Gabbie sees the old van on her husband Ron’s car lot, she knows just what the Fox Run Swingers’ Club’s next adventure needs to be – a group trip to a spooky haunted house! But the Mauquon Mansion of Terror holds secrets that are more frightening than the thrilling chills the gang expected to help rev up their engines ahead of a little playtime. As they scatter in the dark, each member of the club encounters a terrifying and arousing mystery.

This one plays around with some classic ghost stories (apologies to M.R. James and Shirley Jackson!), and definitely brings the sexy vibes to the Halloween party.

And finally, my latest entry in the Callie’s Costume Closet series, PURSUED, gets the Gothic on.

After the nurse and cheerleader outfits, it’s Callie’s turn to pick a scenario for their next bedroom play date. Callie expects to find mystery and passion when she puts on the velvet cloak and insists that Luca become a dark and brooding duke. But has she taken an unwitting step into a world of peril, with danger around every dark corner and escape tantalizingly out of reach?

I’ve got some ambitious plans for Christmas and New Year’s stories, but for now, let’s lean into the thrills and chills of All Hallow’s Eve, and let the spooky and sexy vibes wash over us while we nibble on some candy!