S.R.Claridge writes Mystery and Romantic Suspense novels. Her work has been said to have the energy of Dan Brown, the mystery of Mary Higgins Clark and the humor of Janet Evanovich. Claridge novels will take you to the edge of your seat, keep you guessing until the very end and ultimately warm your heart. It is on the pages of every S.R.Claridge novel that Mystery and Sensual Suspense collide.

For more information on bookings, interviews and upcoming releases, please visit the author website and Facebook fan page.

Thursday, January 12, 2012

Welcome to my Friday the 13th Blog Hop Stop

Friday the 13th is all about FEAR.  At least it has been since the debut of the first Friday the 13th movie in 1980 when Jason and his hockey mask scared the crap out of every teenager in America. 

The only other movie to rival its lasting ramifications of fear-scarred adolescents was the debut of Jaws in 1975.  I was five when Jaws hit the theatres and was afraid to take a bath or swim in a pool for years.  I'd like to tell you I've overcome this fear, but even as an adult, I dare not dip a toe into the ocean without hearing that chilling, shark-approaching music in my head.

Duh-dun, duh-Dun, duh-DUn, duH-DUN, dUH-DUN.... faster and faster and louder and louder the music grows until panic grips me.

One year, while in the Bahamas, my husband and I took a Catamaran on a snorkeling expedition.  The boat was anchored in what I call the middle of the ocean, as there was no land to be seen.  The captain explained we would be snorkeling around a reef area known for it's beautiful coral and fish.  Every passenger was given fins, a snorkle and a mask and once we were all adorned in our gear, we lined up to descend the stairs and submerge ourselves into the beautiful, clear blue water.  My husband was in front of me and he gleefully plopped into the water and started looking for fish. I tentatively lowered myself into the ocean only to feel my chest tighten, my throat go dry and my breathing quicken until I sounded like Darth Vader through the snorkle tube.  Suddenly feeling like a floating appetizer for any shark that might be passing by, I shreiked aloud, thrashed my way back to the ladder and climbed over the fifteen people still on the staircase, trambling them with my big black fins.

This was not one of my prouder moments.  When I got to the top of the ladder, the last woman in line shook me by my shoulders and with wide-eyed concern, yelled, "What did you see?!"

I dropped my head in utter humiliation as I admitted to her I had seen nothing.  "I panicked," I sighed.

After I had stripped off my gear the Captain approached with a smirk and a island drink.  "Dis is for you," he said in his Bahamian accent.  "We call it da chicken drink."

I laughed, knowing there was no way to deny I was a chicken and deserving of the chicken drink.  "I'm afraid of sharks," I sheepishly smiled.

"I see dat," he grinned ear-to-ear.  "We all see dat."

We all experience fear.  Sometimes it's rational and sometimes, well, it's not.  It can be humiliating, frustrating and downright comical, but I think the important thing is that we learn to find the silver lining within even our greatest fears.  For me, I may not get to swim in the ocean, but I get to sit on the boat, enjoy a cocktail and look at the beautiful water.  Overcoming our fears sometimes means just being smart enough to remove ourselves from their chilling grip.

As a thank you for visiting my blog today and participating in the Friday the 13th Blog Hop, I'd like to send you a free download of one of my books.  You can download it in any form you like (kindle, nook, kobe, ipad, sony, .pdf, etc.).  All you have to do is write in the comment section below and tell me which book you would like to receive.  All my books are listed in the sidebar where you can watch the video trailers and decide which looks most interesting to you.




Thanks for dropping by and don't forget to Hop to the next Blog Stop and enter for a chance to win a FREE Kindle!


Write a comment in my comment section and then click on the picture below to automatically advance to the next HOT Bog HOP Stop!
 and she will display the link to the next stop in the Hop in her post.  Each blogger will do the same, so you'll be visiting every link in the Hop's chain. If that host is offering a giveaway on his/her blog, go ahead and enter to win their contest.  Tell your friends!

18 comments:

  1. Oh my, what an experience you had, one you will never forgot but I am sure would like too. I too, am not a fan of the ocean, because I am always wondering what is out there that is going to get me. Meanwhile my husband loves being out in it.
    "No Easy Way" sounds like a book that would really interest me.
    skpetal at hotmail dot com

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  2. I love the ocean, but I'm terrified of heights. For example, I could never, ever jump out of a plane like some authors do! ;-)

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    Replies
    1. I'd jump out a plane any day...just don't dip me in the ocean! :)

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  3. "No Easy Way" sounds really good. I'd love a copy for my Nook. writinginwonderland@gmail.com

    Sylvia
    www.writinginwonderland.blogspot.com/

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  4. What a great offer! Thank you so much! i would love to read No Easy Way on my Kindle.

    bessieinthewell@yahoo.com

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  5. No Easy Way, please! I don't have a kindle so pdf format please! Thank you!

    brandon_savannah@yahoo.com

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  6. I would also love No Easy Way. A Kindle format would be perfect for me.
    June M.
    manning_j2004 at yahoo dot com

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  7. Wow I am with everyone else (LOL). I would like the Kindle format of No Easy Way Out...
    Thank you so much.

    koonie2888 at yahoo dot com

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  8. I'm afraid of the water and heights. Other than that I'm pretty good. I'd like a kindle copy of No Easy Way Out.

    seriousreader at live dot com

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  9. I don't like heights. I would go for the Kindle copy.

    lead[at]hotsheet[dot]com

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  10. Traitors among us nook please :)
    I'm terrified of heights....

    shadowestr@aol.com

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  11. I'd like a Kindle copy of Tetterbaum's Truth :)

    Morganlafey86(at)aol(dot)com

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  12. I have to commend you - at least you earned your "Chicken Drink"...They would have never even gotten me in the water, LOL!!

    Thank you SO Much for your generous and wonderful gift!! I would love to read Tetterbaum's Truth in Kindle format, please, and THANK YOU!!

    Also, thank you for participating in this hop - if not for that, I would not have found you! I'll be following up with the rest of the books in this series (I read the descriptions of them all, and I know that I will HAVE to follow up on them, hehe).

    Gena Robertson
    robertsongena@hotmail.com

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  13. Tetterbaum's Truth, please. Nook!

    mary hazlett
    marytattoo@yahoo.com

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  14. Well, as your work is new to me, I'd be happy with any you would suggest I start with, for kindle please! And thank you for a chance to enjoy a new to me author!!
    seritzkoATgmailDOTcom

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  15. I love reading romance and checked out your books! NO EASY WAY looks so good!

    For me, my fear is heights, and that includes flying. I did once and poor people who took me, it was so hard to get me back on to go home! Its the height that scary for me.

    cathiecaffey @ gmail.com

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  16. All of your books look so good but I would love to have a copy of No Eat Way for Kindle please.
    sstrode at scrtc dot com

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  17. I thought I left a comment here...

    Just wanted to thank you for running a very successful and dynamic blog hop. It was great fun to be a part of it.

    Chelle

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