Samhain Publishing

I had equipment malfunction problems this weekend, and wrote a brilliant post about the Death of a Keyboard.

(Goodbye keyboard, you served me well.)

But then last night an email that showed up in my in-box that made my keyboard bit suddenly read more like whining than brilliant sarcasm.

My keyboard of 5 years is dead, but on the 1-5 scale of tragedies it rates about .001. So, no complaining today. Instead I’m going to be thankful.

I am thankful…
.. for the husband who complains when his dinner is not on time, because it means he is home with me, not with someone else.
.. for the teenager who is complaining about doing dishes, because it means she/he is at home, not on the streets.
.. for the mess to clean after a party, because it means that I have been surrounded by friends.
.. for the clothes that fit a little too snug, because it means I have enough to eat.
.. for a lawn that needs mowing, windows that need cleaning, and gutters that need fixing, because it means I have a home.
.. for all the complaining I hear about the Government, because it means we have freedom of speech.
.. for the parking spot I find at the far end of the parking lot, because it means I am capable of walking, and that I have been blessed with transportation.
.. for the lady behind me in church that sings off key, because it means that I can hear.
.. for the pile of laundry and ironing, because it means I have clothes to wear.
.. for weariness and aching muscles at the end of the day, because it means I have been capable of working hard and using those limbs.
.. for the alarm that goes off in the early morning, because it means that I am alive.
…. for too much e-mail, because it means I have friends who are thinking of me and are trying to make me smile even when they are out of touch..

And my own – … for hands that can still type, and a mind that can ask “what if”, because it means that I can still spend my days chasing my dream.

It can be hard to see the bright side to a down moment, but if we look hard enough it is usually there. How about you? Is there anything you’re especially thankful for?

Ember Case is chasing her dream, one story at a time. Find her at http://embercase.com

One of my favorite poems starts off –

There is a voice inside of you
That whispers all day long,
“I feel this is right for me,
I know that this is wrong.”

Shel Silverstein made it sound so simple. But what do you do when the voice inside you starts speaking in tongues?

A few months ago, my inner voice started nagging at me. When I was writing, it told me that I wasn’t working on the right project. Wrong people, wrong genre, wrong point of view, everything about what I was writing was just not right. I tried to argue, and kept my fingers on the keyboard long enough to squeeze out the first few chapters of my next elf book. Then I decided I was writing the wrong elf story, and started a new one. A few chapters into that, I finally accepted that the voice inside was speaking was the truth. These were the wrong stories for right now.

Around the same time, the voice started nagging me about a few other things. Personal life things, and again for a few weeks I tried to ignore the voice, or pretend I didn’t understand what the voice was saying. But the longer that voice kept talking, the more I began to realize that again, the voice was right. There were some things that needed to change in my life, things I needed to do for my kids, for our family.

So I stopped fighting myself. I temporarily shelved the elf stories and started this odd little project that was so far outside my comfort zone, I couldn’t even find a safety net. It’s scary, but in a good way. I’ve found something here, something I’m still not sure is going to be important, or marketable. But maybe that wasn’t the point.

I made changes in my life outside writing. Changes that were even harder than the writing ones. Like with the writing, once the decision was made, everything else seemed to fall into place. The kids are happier, the house is more peaceful, and now a few months later we’ve all adjusted to the new rhythms.

You can call that voice whatever you want. Your conscious, your muse, the alien from Upsilon 7 that shares your body. Your smarter twin (or evil twin, if you think you’re the smart one). But when it starts whispering in your ear, try slowing down for a minute and see what it has to say. It just may surprise you.

Find out more about Ember Case

My second novella with Samhain Publishing releases today!

Flawed by Ember Case

Their passion is perfection…but treachery lurks in the shadows.

Emilia ra Elawyn, Princess of the Silverhaven Bright Elves, is shocked when she overhears her stepmother’s plans to banish her from court to the dry deserts of the barbarian horde. Emilia’s sin? Her magical stone, the source of the power to rule over her people, has not awakened. Without it she can never claim the throne.

Desperate to escape her fate, she offers herself to a visiting Shadow Elf ambassador—and his guard. Once compromised, she’s certain the barbarians will refuse her.

Rorek Northmark can’t deny the princess tempts him to distraction. It isn’t as simple as allowing himself—and his guard, Jo’el—to indulge in her luscious body. Touching her means getting tangled up in court politics, the one thing he wants to avoid. Still, her plea touches the only soft spot in his hardened heart, and he can’t bring himself to push her away.

Yet nothing is as it seems in the Bright Court, and their one night of exquisite pleasure could trap them all in a web of mortal danger…

Warning, this title contains the following: explicit sex (including m/m and m/f/m), naughty language, some magical sex along with sexual magic, a desperate princess and the men who love her, elves and spells and betrayal oh my! and enough heat to start small fires. Cold drink recommended.

To purchase, visit My Bookstore and More

Last time I was here at the Samhain blog, I was worried about surviving Spring Break.

The weather wasn’t cooperating with any of my plans, and by the end of the “holiday” I was exhausted and dreading the end of the school year. I was also questioning if I could possibly make it through summer without losing my mind.

Then a wonderful thing happened. So wonderful, it bordered on miraculous.

I found the city Summer Camp program.

You’ve never seen someone as excited about camp as this mom was that day. The programs! Camps are divided into 2 week sessions, and for each session you can choose from themes such as Art Camp, Creationz, Performing Arts, Florida Outback, Fitness Camp, Basketball, Volleyball, Soccer, Surfing, Sports and Nature.

So my kiddo is going to full day camp for the first time this summer. Not every week, but enough that I’m about 94% sure I’ll hang on to my sanity through the eleven week break.

Before she starts Camp Fun Times, we’re going to get in a short vacation to Universal Studios. Three days of riding the movies, eating food someone else cooked, and splashing in the hotel pool (that someone else cleaned). Ahhh, a little slice of paradise.

Later in the summer we’ve got plans to go visit family for a few days. And we scheduled in a few weeks at home between camp sessions, so she can play with her friends that won’t be at camp, and have at least a few day trips to the beach to splash in the waves.

Now that I know I’ve got some quiet days in the middle of a near constant refrain of “Mom, my brother flicked me on my head” and “Mom, my sister touched my stuff – again” the pressure is off. It’s been a lot easier to relax and look forward to the hot months ahead, anticipating the fun parts. Instead of stressing over when I’ll ever find time to work again, I can peak at my calendar and know exactly when those quiet hours are going to happen.

I’ve got my fingers crossed that the camp program works as well as I’m hoping. That she gets the best of both worlds from having structured time during the camp weeks, and free time on the off weeks.

And even if it doesn’t end up being everything I’m hoping it will be, I’ll know she had a chance to try something different, make a few new friends, and experience new things that she wouldn’t have while sitting on the couch watching Phineas and Ferb.

Now that’s a summer vacation I can look forward to.
~
Watch for Flawed – coming June 30th from Samhain Publishing
Ember’s website
Twitter with Ember

Ember Case was born in Louisville, Kentucky, the second of five children. Life in a large family taught her that everyone is the hero in their own life story – lesson one for the writer.

After a dozen years in the Blue Grass State, another dozen in Alabama, several colleges, and working glamorous jobs such as waitress, bartender, office clerk, veterinary assistant, cashier, and bookkeeper she settled on the east coast of Florida. There she met her husband, the great love of her life.

Two children and 12 years of marriage later, she decided it was time to start the adventure she’d been dreaming about her whole life – writing down the stories that play out in her imagination. Now she spends a large part of her day writing about the sort of adventures that only exist in the imagination.

Ember’s website
Twitter with Ember

We’re going on day 8 of Spring Break here. So far we’ve seen rain, lightning, and more thunder, with a special guest appearance of hail. Not quite the sunny days the kids were hoping for to enjoy their break.

I went into the break without a plan. Hubby and I couldn’t take time off work this week, so there would be no trips to places exotic or exciting. Instead I took the kids to the library and let them pick out some books and movies – if their bodies couldn’t travel, at least their minds could have some adventures.

With the beach a short hike away I’d thought we’d have at least a day on the sand – and possibly in the chilly surf for the adventurous ones – but weather has canceled that idea. Instead, we’ve had hot tub time. I haven’t heard any complaints from the four foot crew.

We made a bid deal over the cat on his first birthday, which happened to fall on April 1st. I heard more than I wanted to of “Mom there’s an alligator on your head. April Fool’s!” – six year old humor is nothing if not repetitive.

But mostly I’ve had a taste of summer, which is short 9 weeks away. And what I realized is I’m not going to go into summer without a plan. Ten days of no productivity, squeezing in work in 10 minute bursts that barely let me clear my email inbox, has driven me slightly batty. By the end of a full summer of this I’d be ready for the padded room and the velcro jacket.

I bought a white board many months back, planning to use it for plotting my books. That didn’t work out so well for me, but today I’m going to wipe it clear and put it to good use. I’m going to plot my summer day by day.

There will be goals (reaching August 24th without losing my mind), motivation (wanting my kids to have a good summer without destroying my own) and probably a bit of conflict (short stuff won’t like being told that she has to leave mom alone for 45 minute stretches several times a day). But I hope by the start of next school year we can say we did more than survive summer break. Maybe we’ll even enjoy it!

Watch for Flawed – coming June 30th from Samhain Publishing

Ember’s website – http://embercase.com

Twitter with ember – http://twitter.com/ember_case

I’ve got a holiday hangover. Not the “drank too much” sort – I held my end of year celebration to a modest level, and was clear headed and headache free this morning. But I think I’m ready for the regularly scheduled programming of my life to resume.

It is self inflicted of course. My tree goes up the day after Thanksgiving; the candles and Santas and angels and nativity scenes are displayed soon after. I’ve been listening to Christmas music since Halloween, and there are wreathes and ribbons everywhere you look.

So my holiday spirit gets warmed up nice and early. Before I know it, there are sales and advertisements, holiday specials at Rockefeller Center on tv and Sunday sales ads with adorable munchkins perched on Santa’s lap.

Then as the end of the year approaches, the holiday talk is joined by end of year reflection. The month past has been filled with “Best Of” lists. Everywhere you turn, some website or news anchor is telling you what the best movies, top news stories, most important people of the year were. We take the whole month to look back on what the first 11 brought us, and spend hours deciding what the most memorable moments were.

There is no routine in my life during the holidays. The kids are off from school, and their toys seem to be everywhere. The laundry piles up; the dishes multiply in the sink before I can wash them.

Where does that bring me? To a January 1st where I’m tired of looking back. Tired of looking at my Christmas decorations as well, although I won’t be tackling their removal for another day or two. Mostly, I just want my day to day routine to return. I want to get up before dawn, get the kids out the door to school, and settle down in a quiet, decoration free house. I want to listen to Nickleback and Rush, and if I hear The Christmas Song one more time I think I may take a brick to my speakers.

I want to settle into my chair with my laptop and know that for the next two hours no one is going to come ask me to help them find clean underwear. I want peace, quiet, and normality to return to my world.

It’s not happening today. We’re taking the kids out to the movies, then there’s a family dinner to survive. Tomorrow the tree is coming down, and all the decorations are going back in their boxes in the closet until next November, when I’ll eagerly pull them out and swaddle myself in holiday spirit again.

But I can see the far off lights of Monday, beckoning me into next week. I don’t know if I’ll ever be so glad to see a Monday as when the holiday hangover is boxed away for another year, and the day to day life with all it’s normal, boring routines is back in place.

~~

Happy New Year! May 2009 bring you many happy days and nights with the ones you love, and all the successes and joys you wish for.

~~

You can visit Ember at her website for updates as she tries to get rid of her holiday hangover, and gets back to her normal day to day life as a writer.

This was going to be a golden week, and end-of-summer celebration. Margaritas by the pool with my visiting sis, kids back in school. Many hours a day of silence to write in. Life back on a regular, dependable schedule.

Then my son broke his wrist at football practice. Welcome to ER waiting and orthopedic dr appointments.

Then the tropics got “interesting”. Hello, Tropical Storm Fay.

There went all my shiny, sparkling sunshine filled daydreams. There went my schedule too – I haven’t had time to sit down at my pc for anything but a quick look at email since early Monday.

So we adjusted the schedule a bit. Sis and her husband started their trip here a day early, and will be knocking on my door any minute. Instead of margaritas by the pool, it’s going to be long soaks in the hot tub. We won’t make it to the beach, but we’re having seafood tonight anyway (I make a mean bouillabaisse, and the French bread to go with it is rising now.)

The kids are enjoying an unexpected 2 day “hurricane holiday” their first week of school, all bouncy excitement and giggles.

We’re prepared for the storm, even as it seems to be fizzling out over land and losing steam. But this week has been a lesson to me, that you can plan all you want – and sometimes you’ll end up winging it at the last minute in spite of it all.

We’ve got another day until Fay gets to us up here in NE Florida. A long, wet, sometimes windy day. I’m going to go put up lawn chairs and other possible projectiles, then sit back and enjoy my change in plans. Hope you’re safe and dry, wherever you are.

Ember Case

It’s a happy-release-day dance kinda day in the Case house. Hunting the Huntress, my first release, is now available!

You can read about it at the Hunting the Huntress page on the Samhain site, and get a look at the hot-hot-hot video at YouTube.

*Nilana has one night to make the choice of a lifetime: Accept the love of two men, or keep hunting—alone.

No man has ever tempted Nilana to give up her freedom. Life as a huntress has given this shapeshifter everything she thought she could ever want. But one look at the warrior and the shaman who have come to run the Harvest Hunt has her questioning her own decision.

Tate and Cheveyo have ridden far across the plains, drawn by dreams of the woman they are sure will unite their tribe. They just never thought they’d have to convince their fantasy woman that they are the future she has never considered.

They have one night to convince the huntress that becoming the hunted can lead to a beginning, not the end of all she holds dear.*

Warning, this title contains the following: explicit sex, graphic language, ménage a troi, thrilling chases through the moonlit night.

You can read the full excerpt here, or just click here to buy it today!

I hope you love this story as much as I do.
~Ember