Trick or Treat with Aimee Agresti

Trick or Treat everyone! So, I've already offered up one treat for the day, don't forget to get entered into today's giveaway, but because y'all are so awesome, I have a little something extra! Today, Aimee Agresti, author of Illuminate, which I completely loved everything about, has joined us and brought along all my favorite characters! And those characters that I thought were so great, are back here, to tell us about their Halloween plans!

So, join me in welcoming Aimee Agresti to Fuzzy.Coffee.Books!

I’m a huge fan of Halloween--in fact, I’m nibbling on candy corn right now!—so I’m thrilled to get to be part of the fab Fuzzy.Coffee.Books celebration! (Thanks, Courtney!)

In my novel, ILLUMINATE, teen angel Haven and her pals Lance and Dante are thrust into a world full of Halloween-worthy horror when they’re forced to battle a pack of soul-stealing devils. But how might this trio mark the holiday if they weren’t busy fighting demons? 

Let’s take a peek at what they’re up to…. 

Dante appears at Haven’s locker first thing Halloween morning. He’s wearing a headband of red, sequined devil horns. “It’s ironic, don’t you love it?!” he asks with that mischievous twinkle in his eye. In between bites of a mini-Snickers bar, he begs her to join him in crashing the big bash a senior football player is throwing that night. Dante knows it’s a long shot, they’re not the party-going types, but “everyone” is going and he admits he’s kind of curious. “Don’t worry about the costume thing, just wear your work uniform, be a sexy nurse or whatever,” he jokes.

 

She rolls her eyes. “Please. I wear scrubs at work. Scrubs!” she shakes her head. He, of course, knows this, and is making fun of her. “Anyway, I have that AP Euro test to study for and…” 

“Blah, blah, blah,” he cuts her off, giving up. “I know, I know. Forget it. Plan B,” he declares.

 

Plan B? A candy-filled scary-movie marathon at his place.

First, Haven swings by her after school job at Evanston General Hospital (where her adoptive mom, Joan, also works) to join in the festivities in the pediatric ward: costumes, sweets, face-painting, good cheer. With a witch’s hat perched on her head, Haven snaps photos of the patients and their families-- she knows everyone well--for a collage she’s planning to put together.

After work, Haven walks to Dante’s house. His mom answers the door, gives her a hug and sends her into the TV room. Lance is already there, he’s carving the pumpkins that had been sitting on Dante’s front porch, giving them perfect, mathematically symmetrical faces. He’s also armed with all manner of trivia on the history of All Hallows Eve. “Quick: name the Celtic holiday that Halloween derives from,” he greets Haven as she arrives. 

Easy: "Samhain, ancient festival of the dead,” she says, planting herself on the floor in front of a coffee table laden with treats. Dante, the budding chef, has whipped up cupcakes decorated with pumpkins, spider webs, and ghosts all artfully constructed from frosting. They’re almost too beautiful to eat. He pokes his head out of the kitchen where he’s roasting pumpkin seeds, the toasty scent wafts out as he opens the oven door.

  

Haven pulls the DVDs from her backpack: all highbrow horror classics, of course, because she takes her movie selections as seriously as she does her schoolwork. Hitchcock’s “The Birds” and “Psycho.” Stephen King’s “The Shining” and “Carrie.” “…Because every day of high school feels like being doused with pig’s blood, doesn’t it?” Haven deadpans as she presents her film choices to the boys. They nod in agreement. She also takes out individual goodie bags of candy Joan has prepared for all three of them. Snacks in hand, they trade quips about what they’re missing at the party then cue up “Carrie” and  settle in on the couch. 

By the end credits, Dante and Lance have dozed off and Haven has cracked open her AP Euro book. A truly scary thought for Halloween: The idea of not being prepared for tomorrow’s test. 

 

Anyone else want to chill with these three? Cause I do! And I really want some toasted pumpkin seeds! Big thanks to Aimee for joining in the festivities, and if y'all haven't read her book Illuminate, you are really missing out! Add it to your TBR so you'll be ready when Infatuate hits the shelves in March!