COSTUME REVEAL...and NaNoWriMo

Ta da!

Bet you didn’t see THIS costume coming! Instead of my typical (and predictable) costumes this year, I chose to go with a “character” from one the Superman Duffy comics, Amelia Xerces Duffy. (I wanted to be a Beetle Mite from the new book, Beneath the SOIL, but I couldn't find anything close.)

Kinda creepy, right? The truth is, most spiders in Alberta—even Wolf Spiders— are pretty harmless to humans. You’ll find out more about them in the book…but trust me on this. The author took some creative liberties to make the fictional ones more scary.

Speaking of authors, I’m going to do NaNoWriMo this year. You know, take part in National Novel Writing Month. You’re supposed to write 50,000 words in November, but that’s a bit ambitious for me since I’m only in elementary school. So, I’ve set my personal goal at 100 words a day. Multiply by the number of days in November and it’s definitely a short story! (Besides, the object is to just get people writing…)

NaNoWriMo starts tomorrow (Nov. 1)—so tonight I’m going to show off my new costume, eat some candy, and then get a GREAT night’s sleep…because I’m going to need a rested brain to start  this new writing project. I can’t wait!

Are you doing NaNo?

— Chase Superman Duffy

Haunted houses, mazes, ghosts & more!

Halloween falls on a Friday this year, which means, there’s only THIS weekend to cram in some of those creeptastic events going on around the province.

I don’t know about you, but I love a good scare—which is why I’ll be heading to Fort Edmonton Park this weekend for Spooktacular, where the place is turned into a Halloween land of ghosts and goblins. Sounds spooky, right?

Of course, this is just one of MANY events across the province. Here are a few listings I’ve scared up—but I’m sure with a little research you’ll find some things going on in your hometown as well. Feel free to add to this list in the comments if you know of something I missed!

• Haunted Pumpkin Festival — Prairie Gardens & Adventure Farm (Oct. 25 & 26)
• Halloween Trick or Treat Festival — Galaxyland, West Edmonton Mall (Oct. 25 & 26)
• A Ghostly Walk Through Old Strathcona — Mon-Thurs, 7 p.m. (Meet at Walterdale Playhouse)
• Nosferatu: A symphony of horror —Winspear (Oct. 31)
• Spooky Science — Telus World of Science (Oct. 26 & 27)
• Edmonton Corn Maze & Farm of Fear — Spruce Grove (nightly)
• Boo at the Zoo (Oct. 27)
• Harvest Pumpkin Hunts — Butterfield Acres Farm (Oct. 25 & 26)
• Flashlight Nights at Cobb’s Corn Maze — Calgary (nightly)
• Screamfest Haunted House & Freak Show — Canada Olympic Park (Oct. 25 & 26)
• Ghouls Night Out — Heritage Park (Oct. 25 & 26)
• Thrill Calgary 2014 — Southcentre Mall (Oct. 25)
• Boo at the Zoo Sleepover — Calgary Zoo (Oct. 29) 

PLUS, we’re doing some great Halloween activities in class, like carving potatoes instead of pumpkins, using construction paper to make Jack-O-Lantern faces, and even writing “real estate” ads for Haunted Houses for sale.

What are YOU doing to celebrate Halloween this year?

— Chase Superman Duffy

P.S. — Next week, check out my blog for my COSTUME reveal. I can hardly wait to show you what I decided on.

Halloween costume planning just got serious

Where has the month gone?

We just had Thanksgiving and suddenly, HALLOWEEN IS RIGHT AROUND THE CORNER! Not that I’m complaining or anything—Halloween is the most spook-tacular time of the year! It’s just that, with less than two weeks before the BIG EVENT, I’m still pondering my costume.

And THAT is scary!

A few years ago, I went as Superman. Not the most original costume, I guess, and pretty predictable. The year after that, I dressed up as an astronaut. That costume was inspired after my class met Mr. Robert Thirsk, the Canadian astronaut who took 250,000 canola seeds into outer space. You can learn more about him in It’s a Blast! the third book in the Chase “Superman” Duffy adventure comics series.

Last year, I spooked things up a little with my Frankenstein costume. Actually, my friends and I all went as classic “monsters”—trick-or-treating was super fun!

But I’m stuck this year. I thought about being the tortoise from Aesop’s famous fable, The Tortoise and the Hare (for a modern twist on this story, check out Cut! To the Chase…), but I’m not sure it’s the right costume for me. What do you think?

This weekend, I’m hitting the Halloween stores and thrift shops for some inspiration. Have you thought about your costume yet? If you have any extra ideas, send them my way!

Gotta jet!

— Chase Superman Duffy

Turkeys, family, and crafts — giving thanks this weekend!

It’s Thanksgiving weekend, which means these five things are DEFINITELY happening:

1. I will visit with a LOT of family.
2. I will eat a LOT of turkey. Mmmmm…turkey.
3. My Mom will make her famous pumpkin pie.
4. We will say LOTS of thanks. (There’s so much to be thankful for…)
5. And, I will be roped into crafting with my little sister, Amelia.

I know, number five sounds boring, right? Actually, it’s not so bad. Last year, Amelia and I made “Trees of Thanks” — we painted a tree trunk and empty branches onto a piece of paper. Then we cut out construction paper leaves and wrote something we’re thankful for on them. We glued the leaves onto the tree. It looks pretty neat. My Mom actually framed it, and it hangs in our dining room all year…which is great, since Thanksgiving isn’t the ONLY time you should count your blessings, right?

THIS YEAR, Amelia and I are making pinecone turkeys for each place setting. We gathered up the biggest and nicest pinecones from the yard, and Mom is stopping at the craft store to pick up the rest of our supplies — pipe cleaners, construction paper, googly eyes, and whatever else she finds. Then it’s time to pull out the hot glue gun and get constructing!

Amelia and I have a lot of work ahead of us, though, since we’re having TWO family Thanksgiving dinners this year. That’s okay — family is one thing I am DEFINITELY thankful for.

Gotta jet! Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family.

— Chase Superman Duffy

The most SPOOKTACULAR month!

It’s FINALLY October — the most SPOOKTACULAR month of the year. Pumpkins and costumes and candy and…

…A new FEAR STREET book! Yes, it’s true — the creeptastic R.L. Stine has a new FEAR STREET coming out this month, just in time for Halloween. It’s his first one in almost 20 years!

I also love his GOOSEBUMPS series (I’ll read anything scary), but his FEAR STREET novels are the best. (I have a GIANT collection of them…) And guess what? You can read the first chapter of PARTY GAMES here: http://www.wattpad.com/story/20535094-fear-street-party-games-excerpt#sthash.TxtLrB3Q.dpuf — it’s FREE!

Speaking of NEW books…I’m also excited about the “Superman Duffy” comic that will be published at the end of the month. It’s called, BENEATH THE SOIL, and if you like thrilling reads as much as I do, you’re going to want to get your hands on this book. It’s guaranteed to give you goosebumps!

Until then…don’t forget to read the first chapter of R.L. Stine’s new FEAR STREET book. I have and it's AWESOME!

Gotta jet — it’s time for ME to start thinking about what I’m going to be for Halloween this year! I can hardly wait to go costume shopping.

— Chase Superman Duffy