Halloween Bingo is kicking off this Saturday, which here in Australia is tomorrow. I’ve sworn off the fancy, involved planning I did in previous years because I suspect, with me fighting a slump, it will back-fire on me.
But today, with some special assistance, ahem, I sat down and jotted down a chart of my squares – mainly so I could get a handle on how I want to use the Spell Pack cards. I have 7 squares on this year’s card that aren’t in my wheelhouse and only 5 cards that will let me change them in some fashion.
I think I’ve got it all sorted out. I think. The last two squares, Noir and Lethal Games are still hanging out there, giving me the side-eye and making me anxious. But this year’s goal is not a black-out of the card, but to find the fun again. That’s my HB mantra this year. “Find the fun again. Find the fun again.”
So, the spell cards for this year are:
Wild card author: I’ve chosen Ilona Andrews and I’ll use her books on the Splatter & Plagues and Diseases squares.
Amplification: I’m choosing to read The Cannonball Tree Mystery by Ovidia Yu and using it on the Truly Terrifying square
Bingo Flip: I’ve flipped my Psych square for Highway to Hell with Christina, a/k/a Moonlight Reader.
Transfiguration Spell: I’m using this to change my Stone Cold Horror Square into – weirdly enough, because I normally HATE this square – Creepy Carnivals. But I was digging through the TBR shelves last night and I found an old Jennifer Crusie/Bob Mayer book I’d forgotten about, and its setting is a possessed amusement park.
Call Conversion and Double Trouble are cards that are more on-the-spot plays, so I haven’t included them, although I think I have at least one book that’s going to work for Double Trouble, though sadly not to cover either of the remaining dreaded squares.
As for Saturday’s start, I plan to pick up Naked Brunch by Sparkle Hayter, and Once and Future Witches, by Alex Harrow. I’ve read both authors before, though I have to admit to some trepidation with Once and Future Witches; I loved, loved, loved The Ten Thousand Doors of January but OaFW feels from the synopsis like it’s going to be way too girl power for my personal tastes. We’ll see.
This year’s mascot is a newbie, but she’s ready and raring to go. Let the games begin!