The Mask
Posted by Candace Havens in Candace Havens, tags: covers, Halloween, Harlequin Blaze, romance
Do you dress up for Halloween? 
Its a fun day and I enjoy seeing all the little kids dressed up in their favorite superhero, Transformer and princess costumes as they parade around the neighborhood. The little ones take it all so seriously and they look at you as if they aren't sure you are going to give them that candy you have in the bowl.
We live in what I call Beavercleaverville. It's a small village type neighborhood tucked into a sprawling metropolis. Many of the neighbors do elaborate decorations and have very cool haunted houses. I'm lucky if I remember to put the fall wreath on the door, and to tell my husband to buy candy. But I enjoy the festivities just the same. This year Halloween falls on a Saturday so there's a pretty good chance we'll be invited to more than one party.
And that's my problem. I'm not big on dressing up in costumes. I like them, but only when other people wear them. I've been this way since I was a little kid. I never wanted those store bought costumes my kids adored. Put a rain hat, rain coat and galoshes on me and call me the Morton Salt Girl and I was a happy kid. (That was a rainy Halloween, and man did I rake in the candy. My dad took me around with his umbrella, but we only saw one other kid doing the same.) The crazy thing is, I don't know why I'm that way. I love the way costumes look, and the idea of masking one's identity. But I don't like wearing them. If I do anything it's something like a sweatshirt with a giant P and I blacken my eye so that I'm a black-eyed pea. Or a t-shirt with a small box of cereal velcroed to it and a knife stuck in the box, so that I'm a cereal-killer. And one of my favorites, a witch's hat and black clothes.
My friend Shannon was gnome last year. It was hilarious. My friend Deb was Elvis down to the wig, jumpsuit, white shoes and dark glasses. She also did the coolest Medussa costume ever. I wore black.
So I'm curious about several things. Do you like to wear costumes? What are some of your favorites now, and from when you were a kid? Do your kids like dressing up? (My oldest is into it, but it depends on the situation when it comes to my youngest.) What do you think will be some of the popular costumes this year? What will you be wearing?
And I'd like to know your thoughts about my new cover. Consider it my treat, no tricks, for you! I LOVE IT! TAKE ME IF YOU DARE is a Feb. 2010 release. HAPPY HALLOWEEN!
Take Me If You Dare Cover
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Candace Havens: Thank you for your post.
Unlike you, I loved to dress up in costumes when I was a kid. My favorite was an Indian (as in native American) costume based loosely on that of Tiger Lily in the Disney movie version of “Peter Pan.” Probably not terribly authentic, but fun. I must have some old snapshots of it somewhere.
I still like to dress up, or would if I could. However, I can recall doing so for Halloween during my adult years only once, twenty-odd years ago. I went as an alien—and since I didn’t have any documentation, that made me an illegal alien. I wore green powder on my face and hands, my most futuristic dress, pipe-cleaner antennae on my head, and padding on my torso to make it look like I had three breasts.
Nowadays the most fun part of the holiday for me is to watch the kids in their costumes. I bet there will be lots of vampires this time. Though I don’t think I’d want to be one. Not my cup of blood!
Keep up the good work!
Love the pipe cleaner antennae.
I love Halloween… I am the one who answers the door to trick or treaters. It is amazing to see all of the different costumes… I really love seeing the little ones all dressed up! As for me, I love to paint so I usually paint things on my face…
Colleen,
I like seeing the trick or treaters too, especially the little ones.
You know, I don’t remember my costumes as a kid. I remember the ones my kids have chosen, but not mine. I do think that this year, if I dress up, I will be a Play Boy Bunny – mainly because I have the outfit, but I’m not sure I can take the kids trick or treat in those heels.
Maybe I could do the cereal-killer. Can I steal that idea from you?
You can totally steal the cereal killer!
I’m not big into wearing costumes now, but as a kid I think I dressed up as Madonna two years in a row. I used my first communion dress with the veil and wore lots of bangle bracelets a la the Like a Virgin MTV performance. Let’s not talk about how inappropriate that was for an eight year old, lol.
Love the cover! Can’t wait to read it.
Eight? LOL. Love it. And thanks about the cover.
I love Halloween, but the candy haunts me for weeks afterwards. Or maybe years. I’m pretty sure I’m still wearing a snickers bar from 1999 on my left hip.
I’m laughing about the candy. I tell my husband DO NOT buy the kind I like I will be wearing it for years to come!
It’s a point of pride that if I do dress up, it’s a costume I made, not a rental. I can come up with a disturbing number of options out of my regular closet–I thought I looked pretty normal most of the time,
My default is “hobo,” but I can also do a passable pirate, hippy, gypsy, or Maria from the Sound of Music. And definitely no heels–kid escorting, yes, and you never know when you might have to run away from a ghost!
My favorites are the costumes that people make. I think they are so inventive!
Love the cover! And I love dressing up in costumes and will do it at any opportunity. My kids are the same way. My 8 year old had to wear a toga to school today because they are learning about Greece and he LOVED it!
Thank you about the cover. LOL about the Toga. I had a really bad experience with a Toga in college. I can laugh about it now….
It was fun as a kid but we pretty much wore paper sack masks no costumes not enough money last one I remember was around 9 maybe. I don’t do costumes never have. Where we live we dont get many trick or treaters no kids, just ak my two little great nieces who get bored unless both are here. They did a thing at work one year and wore costumes to do trick or treat at the Fish Hatchery with other companies. I lucked out I was off didnt’ have to go, I really didn’t want to either. I guess I figure Halloween is for kids and I just never got into it, since i have no kids. I love decorating for Christmas and having everyone who can come to my house. I love it with my husband’s family because they are now doing a Chinese Christmas where you bring a guy gift and a girl gift depending of course. And they draw numbers and you choose a gitft. This has turned into so much fun.
Oh, I LOVE CHRISTMAS. Trust me that will be an upcoming blog.
I like Halloween, but I love how other people get into it. I have friends, grown ups, who say it is there favorite day of the year. I think that’s cool. But Christmas Eve is my favorite. I love the anticipation of lovely things to come.
Cover definitely looks enticing.
For as far back as I can remember I’ve dressed as a witch. Hmmm One year I went outside the box and dressed as a clown. My mom was in the hospital so I visited her and the childrens ward. I didn’t talk.. just blew a kazoo for responses. Later, I met my husband downtown and he didn’t know who I was. Imagine the trouble he was in when he bought ‘the clown’ a drink. LOL You’d think he would have recognized his own shoes on my feet.
LOL. What a great story. Hmmm. My husband would definitely be in trouble.
I love dressing up for halloween. I dress up every year with my kids and walk around trick or treating with them. We always try to make our costumes really unique and interesting. Last year I spiked up my son’s hair and painted it blue put him in a blue outfit with red high top sneakers and white gloves and he was sonic the hedgehog. lol I got a paper bag and decorated it with stickers and colorful twisty ties and put on a big polkadotted pink bowtie and red nose and went as a clown. My other son was a cowboy with a real red cowboy hat and a blue bandana and a black vest and he carried around his hobby horse
It was so much fun. This year I’m going to be a lady bug with antenas and red and black wings and freckles. I’m looking forward to it 
Awww, I love lady bugs. Sonic the Hedgehodge is brilliant.
BUT I adore little boys in cowboy stuff. They are so adorable!
I love all holidays so Halloween is no exception. I decorate in the house and outside. I don’t go too crazy, but I do decorate. I always dressed up when I was a kid. Now I just do a little something. I’ve been a football player and witch. This year I got a cat getup, it has a tail, ears, and collar. To me that’s all I need, I pass out the candy at my grandparents so the kids get a kick out of me dressed up. I love seeing what the kids are dressed up as, some are just so darned cute.
Love the cover of your book! Very sexy!
I don’t mind the cat ear idea or maybe even a big jersey. Hmmm. Might try that. And thanks so much for the kind word about the cover.
My last kid was born in Late Nov so I was big and prego 1 Halloween. Hubby and I always throw a big costume party for grown-ups and kids. That year, hubby was a priest and I was a pregnant nun. I carried a cigarette around in the side of my mouth ( I don’t smoke) and a mostly empty bottle of JD. I guess it might be considered sacrilegious, but we’re Catholic, so I figured it was ok.
LOL! Great idea for a Halloween costume of the unhallowed kind!
You as a pregnant NUN! I would have paid money to see that!!!
Hi Candace-
Great post!
As a kid I would say a gypsy and I carried around one of those eight ball fortune telling things.
As an adult – I dressed up as Morticia from the Adams family. The rest of my unit dressed as the Adams Family and we won best group.
What a lovely cover, Candace. I don’t like to dress up for Halloween unless costumes are a must for the party. I wouldn’t want to waste money and buy a new one, so I’ll probably dig out the fallen angel costume I worse a few years ago.
Oh, I like the idea of a fallen angel. Very cool.
I don’t do anything myself for Halloween but I enjoy seeing what my grandkids will be wearing. My 6 year old grandson is going to be a pirate this year and my 4 year old granddaughter is going to be a princess. My daughter finds the cutest costumes at TJ Maxx at resonable prices. My 6 month old granddaughter is just wearing a zip up sack with ears on the hood. She isn’t supposed to get around people anyway so we will probably just take her picture in it and thats all. She spent 4 months in the NICU so she won’t be able to get around a lot of people for at least a year. So her first Halloween will be pretty quiet.
Hugs to you and those grandbabies!
Candace et alles:
Here’s an article about the most popular Halloween costumes this year, according to CNN:
http://money.cnn.com/2009/10/02/news/economy/halloween_costumes/
One of the hottest trends this Halloween is dressing up like a recently-deceased celebrity. It’s cute for a kid to pretend to be David Carradine, Farrah Fawcett, Heath Ledger, or Patrick Swayze. But Michael Jackson?
Oh, cool. Thanks so much for sharing!!!
Here’s an article about the most popular Halloween costumes this year, according to CNN:
http://money.cnn.com/2009/10/02/news/economy/halloween_costumes/
One of the hottest trends this Halloween is dressing up like a recently-deceased celebrity. It’s cute for a kid to pretend to be David Carradine, Farrah Fawcett, Heath Ledger, or Patrick Swayze. But Michael Jackson?
Did I just submit the same comment twice? Sorry!
I like costumes, but strangely, in my adult life I’ve not had much opportunity to pull one off the rack. (School Dress up Days with a wand and a Harry Potter track jacket don’t really count, do they?)
Anyhoo, I keep thinking it would be fun to dress up alongside my kiddo. Maybe Conor and I could be McCartney and Lennon. Sans Yoko, of course.
I Love the cover, Candy! I Love that she’s on top, taking control. Just as it should be.
As far as costumes, a couple of years ago I went to a party and dressed as a garden ho. So funny. I had on a teddy and covered that with a gardening smock. I also wore one of those long black flowy robes (so no one could see my girly bits) and fuzzy shoes. All night long people asked me what I was dress as, and then laughed their heads off when I told them. *grin*
I Love to dress up.
Candy,
First, I love your new cover!! Very cool. Or, rather, very hot.
I love to dress up. I have all these sides to my personality that I usually try to keep in check, but when I’m in costume they can come to the fore.
I was the Bride of Frankenstein one year — made a white gauze drapey thing,wore long red nails, wrapped my arms in bandages, whitened my face, crimped my hair to within an inch of its life and sprayed it straight out … even used baby powder to make a streak. I was in college, so I had to make the costume for like $5. (Thankfully, this was the 80s, so everyone and his dog had a crimping iron.)
Still, it was cool, and I loved walking around all crazy-eyed. Because I *want* to walk around crazy-eyed many days of the year, but Halloween is the only one where I can get away with it.