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Welcome to WordCrafter’s “Midnight Oil” Book Blog Tour Day 3

Kay Castaneda, October 29, 2025October 29, 2025

Day 3 Tour Stop – Midnight Oil  

 

Welcome to Day 3 of the WordCrafter Midnight Oil Book Blog Tour. Today, we’ll be learning a little about three stories in Midnight Oil: Stories to Fuel Your Nightmares, volume 3 in the Midnight Dark Fiction Anthology Series from WordCrafter Press. First, well see excerpts from stories whose authors weren’t able to participate in the tour, “The Snow Globe”, by Chris Barili, and “Darkness Tolls”, by Zack Ellafy. After that, it will be my pleasure to introduce you to author Roberta Eaton Cheadle, who will tell you about her story, 

“Just Desserts”, by Roberta Cheadle

https://youtube.com/shorts/sS2fBm7fjHo?feature=share

“The Snow Globe”, by Chris Barili

https://youtube.com/shorts/eB7Zs9LIcxk?feature=share

“Darkness Tolls”, by Zack Ellafy

https://youtube.com/shorts/J1IaW9o3hyg?feature=share

 

Meet Author Roberta Eaton Cheadle

Roberta Eaton Cheadle, is a South African writer and poet specialising in historical, paranormal, and horror novels and short stories. She is an avid reader in these genres and her writing has been influenced by famous authors including Bram Stoker, Edgar Allan Poe, Amor Towles, Stephen Crane, Enrich Maria Remarque, George Orwell, Stephen King, and Colleen McCullough.

Roberta has two published novels and a collection of short stories and has horror, paranormal, and fantasy short stories included in several anthologies. She is also a contributor to Ask the Authors 2022 (WordCrafter Writing Reference series).

Roberta is also the author and illustrator of sixteen children’s books, illustrator to a further three children’s books, and the author and illustrator of four poetry books published under the name of Robbie Cheadle, and has poems and short stories featured in several anthologies under this name.

 

About “Just Deserts”, by Roberta Eaton Cheadle

“Just Desserts” came about as a result of three different inspirational sources.

The first was the idea of writing a ghost story about the Castle of Good Hope in Cape Town. South Africa’s oldest building, this 17th century bastion fort was built by the Dutch East India Company. This building replaced the earlier fort called Fort de Goede Hoop which was constructed by clay and timer and bult by Jan van Riebeeck when he arrived at the Cape of Good Hope in 1652. I have a fascination with history and wanted to write a story including this historical landmark.

Secondly, I read a book review about a book that was written from the perspectives of various items in a museum. I liked that idea and decided to write this story from the perspective of the walls of the castle which have seen much throughout the building’s history, including secret meetings.

Thirdly, I was inspired by the idea presented in The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde, where your life decisions and behaviours reflect in your aged face and body.

Adding more would give too much away. I hope you’ll read it in the anthology.

 

Book Description

Midnight Oil: Stories To Fuel Your Nightmares A WordCrafter Midnight Anthology

14 authors bring you 16 dark tales that explore your deepest fears. These are the stories which nightmares are made of. Tales of monsters, mayhem, and madness which will make you shiver in the dark. Read them while you burn the Midnight Oil… if you dare.

Contributing authors include Mario Acevedo, Joseph Carrabis, Jon Shannon, Rebecca M. Senesse, DL Mullan, Zack Ellafy, Christa Planko, C.R. Johansson, Kaye Lynne Booth, Robert White, Roberta Eaton Cheadle, Chris Barili, Paul Kane, and author of the winning story in the 2025 WordCrafter Short Fiction Contest, Denise Aparo.


Purchase Link: https://books2read.com/Midnight-Oil

_______________________

That wraps up today’s tour stop, but you can join us tomorrow over at Carla Loves to Read. to meet contributing author Paul Kane, the Shadow Writer and learn about his story, “The Whistling”, and see excerpts from “Inside Out”, by C.R. Johansson, and “The Stairs”, by Jon Shannon.

The Giveaway

You can follow the links in the tour schedule below to visit any stops that you’ve missed, and be sure to comment at each stop, for a chance to win one of five digital copies WordCrafter Press will be given away in a random drawing at the end of the tour.

Tour Schedule

Day 1– Masticadores Phillipines & Hotel Masticadores – Christa Planko Guest Post/Excerpt “Sangoma, Zombie Elephants, & Tokoloshe, Oh, My!” & “Cattails” https://masticadoresphilippines.wordpress.com/2025/10/27/opening-day-midnight-oil-tour/

Day 2 – Undawnted – Joseph Carrabis Reading – “Jeremiah”/Excerpt “The Boy Who Loved Horses” & “Them Doore Girls”  https://josephcarrabis.com/2025/10/27/paul-kanes-the-whistling-in-midnight-oil/

Day 3 – Book Places – Roberta Eden Cheadle Guest Post/Excerpt “Darkness Tolls” & “The Snow Globe” 

Day 4 – Carla Loves to Read – Paul Kane Guest Post/Excerpt “Inside Out” & “The Stairs”

Day 5 – Writing to be Read – Denise Aparo Interview & DL Mullan Reading/Excerpt “The Price of Beauty” 

https://writingtoberead.com/?p=51449

Thanks for stopping by. 

Book your WordCrafter Book Blog Tour today!

 

 

 

 

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Comments (9)

  1. kayelynnebooth says:
    October 29, 2025 at 8:59 am

    Thank you for setting up this lovely tour stop, Kay. :) I noticed the links for the short quotes from Robbie’s and Chris Barili’s stories didn’t work for me. Not sure why. I hope you can get that fixed soon. Other than that little technical glitch, this stop is fantastic. Thanks so much for hosting. :)

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    1. Kay Castaneda says:
      October 29, 2025 at 11:23 am

      Hi Kaye,
      I edited the links and updated. I don’t know why that happened! They seem to be fine now. Let me know if anything needs fixing.

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      Reply
  2. Dawn Pisturino says:
    October 29, 2025 at 11:16 am

    I always enjoy Robbie’s works!

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    Reply
    1. Kay Castaneda says:
      October 29, 2025 at 1:01 pm

      You’ll enjoy Robbie’s story, Dawn. Thanks for visiting on Day 3 of the tour.

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      Reply
    2. robbiesinspiration says:
      October 29, 2025 at 1:18 pm

      Thank you, Dawn 💖

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      Reply
  3. thomasstigwikman says:
    October 29, 2025 at 12:29 pm

    That sounds like a very intriguing and exciting book. It is the first time I hear of the book but I’ve read several of Robbie Cheadle’s books and I know she is an amazing author and that she write great scary short stories, as well as great poetry and nature books.

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    1. Kay Castaneda says:
      October 29, 2025 at 1:04 pm

      Robbie and all the other authors have entertaining stories in Midnight Oil Anthology! Thank you for stopping by today, Thomas.

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      Reply
    2. robbiesinspiration says:
      October 29, 2025 at 1:20 pm

      Thank you, Thomas for your lovely comment. I am looking forward to reading this anthology.

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      Reply
  4. robbiesinspiration says:
    October 29, 2025 at 1:21 pm

    Hi Kay, thank you for hosting this stop 🤗💖

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Kay Castaneda, Author

The Beauty Lesson

Kay Castaneda,
September 17, 2025

I still fume when I remember a boy in my 5th-grade science class. That was a very long time ago. I was shy and silent at that age and everything bothered me. My mom had moved my sisters and I away from Indianapolis to Detroit after she and my dad got a divorce. It made me sad and angry to leave my dad and other relatives here.

A mean boy told me one day that my hair was dirty. At the time, I didn’t care about hair or clothes because I was too young and depressed. When he told me that, I went home and scrubbed my hair VERY hard and soaked in the tub in steaming hot water for an hour. I poured some of my mom’s perfume, Evening in Paris, in my wet hair and went to bed. The next morning, I brushed it 100 times because I’d read that in Good Housekeeping magazine. It was so shiny! He sat next to me. I wanted to sit somewhere else, but the teacher wouldn’t let the students change seats. The boy sneered at me and didn’t complement me, but he did tell me I should use curlers. My hair was stringy, according to his opinion. What did I do that night? Of course, I curled my hair! I borrowed Mom’s brush curlers and fastened them to my head. I slept in them and tossed and turned all night because the pain in my scalp was so bad. I took them out slowly because that was the advice from Redbook magazine. I combed gently and applied tons of hairspray. The next day, that boy didn’t compliment my curly hair.

He insulted me even more when he told me I had fat lips. I used to have full lips, a lot fuller than I have as an adult, especially now as an older women. If I showed you my school picture from that year, you would see what I mean. Anyway, the boy laughed at me, and even pointed at me to the other kids. That night I practiced ways to make my lips smaller; keeping them closed and not talking to anyone, covering them with several layers of Mom’s foundation and keeping my head turned away from him.

He insulted me in many ways. According to him, I didn’t have any breasts. I was a bit confused about that one because I was obviously a girl. I went home and asked Mom to buy me a bra but she didn’t have the money. I put one of hers on and stuffed it with socks and toilet paper to make them “big”. No compliments from him, of course. I endured suffering from him about my body until Mom decided to move back home at Christmas. I never had to sit by him again.

“A girl should be two things: who and what she wants.” Coco Chanel

I thought about him the other day, and I don’t know why. Maybe it was when I washed my hair and used the curling iron. Hurt lasts a long, long time. Those people who were abused when they were younger make me feel sympathy with them. I secretly rejoice when the bad guys get outed. But those celebrities and so-called important people escape to sex-addiction clinics with equine therapy, yoga, gourmet meals, and other luxuries at the $30,000 six week stay. Six weeks to ride horses and have aromatherapy massages? Baloney! Caca in Spanish.

Now many people are coming out of the woods to bring the evil to light, and it is evil when somebody assaults a person sexually, emotionally and physically. Words can hurt. I wish I would have said something to my Mom or a teacher about that boy.

And I wish I could have told someone about abuse at my jobs as an adult. That is another story…
... See MoreSee Less

The Beauty Lesson

Kay Castaneda, 
September 17, 2025

I still fume when I remember a boy in my 5th-grade science class. That was a very long time ago. I was shy and silent at that age and everything bothered me. My mom had moved my sisters and I away from Indianapolis to Detroit after she and my dad got a divorce. It made me sad and angry to leave my dad and other relatives here.

A mean boy told me one day that my hair was dirty. At the time, I didn’t care about hair or clothes because I was too young and depressed. When he told me that, I went home and scrubbed my hair VERY hard and soaked in the tub in steaming hot water for an hour. I poured some of my mom’s perfume, Evening in Paris, in my wet hair and went to bed. The next morning, I brushed it 100 times because I’d read that in Good Housekeeping magazine. It was so shiny! He sat next to me. I wanted to sit somewhere else, but the teacher wouldn’t let the students change seats. The boy sneered at me and didn’t complement me, but he did tell me I should use curlers. My hair was stringy, according to his opinion. What did I do that night? Of course, I curled my hair! I borrowed Mom’s brush curlers and fastened them to my head. I slept in them and tossed and turned all night because the pain in my scalp was so bad. I took them out slowly because that was the advice from Redbook magazine. I combed gently and applied tons of hairspray. The next day, that boy didn’t compliment my curly hair.

He insulted me even more when he told me I had fat lips. I used to have full lips, a lot fuller than I have as an adult, especially now as an older women. If I showed you my school picture from that year, you would see what I mean. Anyway, the boy laughed at me, and even pointed at me to the other kids. That night I practiced ways to make my lips smaller; keeping them closed and not talking to anyone, covering them with several layers of Mom’s foundation and keeping my head turned away from him.

He insulted me in many ways. According to him, I didn’t have any breasts. I was a bit confused about that one because I was obviously a girl. I went home and asked Mom to buy me a bra but she didn’t have the money. I put one of hers on and stuffed it with socks and toilet paper to make them “big”. No compliments from him, of course. I endured suffering from him about my body until Mom decided to move back home at Christmas. I never had to sit by him again.

“A girl should be two things: who and what she wants.”   Coco Chanel

I thought about him the other day, and I don’t know why. Maybe it was when I washed my hair and used the curling iron. Hurt lasts a long, long time. Those people who were abused when they were younger make me feel sympathy with them. I secretly rejoice when the bad guys get outed. But those celebrities and so-called important people escape to sex-addiction clinics with equine therapy, yoga, gourmet meals, and other luxuries at the $30,000 six week stay. Six weeks to ride horses and have aromatherapy massages? Baloney! Caca in Spanish.

Now many people are coming out of the woods to bring the evil to light, and it is evil when somebody assaults a person sexually, emotionally and physically. Words can hurt. I wish I would have said something to my Mom or a teacher about that boy.

And I wish I could have told someone about abuse at my jobs as an adult. That is another story…
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In 1963, a young teenage girl moves with her mother and sisters from the suburbs to the downtown of a Midweste...

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