Samhain Publishing Ltd. Weblog

Public Displays of Affection

Have you ever visited the mall and seen a couple holding hands or kissing? That, my friend, is a public display of affection. PDAs (public displays of affection) are a more recent thing, something that has occurred with the relaxing of social rules and less stringent attention to etiquette. It’s quite common to see people getting frisky and many couples like to have sex in public places because it’s naughty and risqué and a bit of a turn-on.

From a meager 8 to 150,000

I think I read somewhere that Chris Baty started National Novel Writing Month with 8 people…maybe it was 7. Anyway, that was 11 years ago. This year, almost 150,000 people are writing novels in November.

I don’t know about you, but I think that’s just awesome. Not because it’s going to turn out some fantastic literature, although I guess it could. I love it because art for art’s sake is FUN. It’s like kindergarten all over again, and no messy fingerpainting is ever rejected. It’s all “art”! It’ll end up on the refrigerator! Woot!

If you’re a writer, you know the thrill of a new project, the excitement of that first idea and the big opening. Of course, things get tough pretty quick, but the cool thing about nano is the set-up: writing is how you win. You just write. Doesn’t have to be good. Just has to be words. I like that kind of low expectation! LOL

So, I’m working on my nano novel…don’t have a title yet. I did do a plot outline, though. 30 plot points, one for each day. I’m on plot point 4 so far, even though it’s day 5. Up to 8000+ words.

Hey, it’s not too late to dive in. www.nanowrimo.org I convinced a couple of people to try it, and they are having the time of their lives. If you’re looking for a little harmless, wild fun, take a ride with me on the nano train.

See you for edits in December.

Moira Reid
www.readmoore.com

A little about me...

I’m new to blogging here and haven’t figured out how to use all the functions, so no pics today! Plus, I’ve been deep in NaNoWriMo (an annual, month-long international writing challenge), so my mind’s just a bit consumed with the next scene of the story I’m working on.

But I wanted to come by, introduce myself, and promise you I’ll get this all figured out so that we have some fun here in the future!

I’m Delilah Devlin. I have two books published so far with Samhain and two more coming shortly. Three contemporary westerns and one paranormal (gargoyles and gods) story. Over the course of my career I’ve published over fifty stories, many of them in paperback now. Be sure to check out my website to get a feel for what I do.

Being an author is the last career I intend to have. I’ve been an army officer, a project manager, a comptroller, a teacher. I was raised an Air Force brat and continued to travel all over the world when I disappointed my dad with my choice of branch of service. So, I don’t really have any place I call home, although I lived in Texas a total of fourteen years and Germany for seven.

All that traveling, all those varied experiences have fed my imagination. And until I started writing, I lived in two worlds. The real world and my imagination.

Imagine my relief when I started writing and could blend the two!

Now, when I talk to myself I can shrug my shoulders and say I’m working out a character’s dialogue while I argue with the hero. When my daughter nudges me because I’ve zoned out during a conversation, she doesn’t think I’m nuts. She knows I’m in my other world, tearing down a mountainside with a shapeshifting dragon on my heels.

I have the best job in the world and I’m grateful for the talent the “powers that be” have blessed me with.

I blog nearly every day and have an active chat loop. I make time to connect with readers, so don’t be shy about contacting me. And pretty often I go to my readers to ask them what they’d like to see next.

That’s it. Again, I promise to get this thing figured out and then we’re gonna play!

Delilah Devlin
www.DelilahDevlin.com

A Long Awaited Release

Brody and Lana’s story available today!

Brody Nash has been in my head for a long time. He started off as the ex-boyfriend and occasional lover of the female lead in a book that went nowhere. Then when I needed a second man for my menage novella Chasing Sunset, I decided to bring him in. Really, I was quite happy to have him, so to speak.

Protecting Phoebe is out today!

With her life on the line, can she protect her heart?

Protecting Phoebe is officially out today!! This is the third novella in my Chances Are series (but each book is stand alone and you don’t have had to read the others to read this one!)

Blurb:

Phoebe’s work at Second Chances, a women’s shelter, has gone a long way toward her own healing after surviving an abusive relationship in college. She’s moved on in every sense—except when it comes to dating.

Everything changes when Craig visits the shelter. The hot, young cop sets her pulse racing in a way that makes her consider making a move—and moving him into her bed for a casual fling. The first step: ask him out. Subtly, of course.

Craig has been attracted to Phoebe for months, so he’s more than happy for the chance to get to know her better, in bed and out. His interest goes way beyond casual, but convincing her to think long term is going to take some time.

When it becomes clear her violent ex has come out of the woodwork, though, time is the one thing they don’t have…

Available at Samhain!

ALL JACKED UP -- by Lorelei James -- Releases TODAY!!!

The 8th book in my Rough Riders series, ALL JACKED UP, releases today from Samhain Publishing — check it out!

ALL JACKED UP
Lorelei James
Genre: Contemporary Romance, Red Hots!
ISBN: 978-1-60504-684-6
Publication Date: November 3, 2009

Pulling off the ultimate con…if they can keep from pulling off their clothes

Rough Riders, Book 8

Keely McKay knows Jack—and Jack Donohue is a certified pain in her Wranglers. The lone girl in the prolific McKay family, Keely needs another man giving her orders like she needs a hole in her boot. What she does need is a restoration specialist so she can open her physical therapy clinic—and prove she’s left her wild-child days behind. That means dealing with buttoned-down, uptight Jack.

Jack is this close to securing a career make-or-break project, until he learns his lack of marital status puts him out of contention. When the notoriously hot-tempered and hot-bodied Keely begs him for help, he proposes a crazy idea. He’ll oversee her project—if she acts the part of his loving fiancée.

Their sizzling lust makes it all too easy to go from butting heads to knocking boots—but outside the bedroom they’re as mismatched as ever. The McKays remind Jack of the humble upbringing he left behind, and cowgirl Keely feels she doesn’t measure up to Jack’s big-city lifestyle.

When the dust settles, Jack and Keely must face the fact they’re not fooling anyone but themselves—or they’ll risk losing the real deal.

Warning: this book contains one hot-blooded cowgirl and one cool-headed businessman in a stripped-down, revved-up game of sexual truth or dare.

For more information on Lorelei James books, including additional excerpts, author notes, family trees and a link to Lorelei’s yahoo group the wild and crazy James Gang, visit: Lorelei James’ Website

How NOT To Get Automatically Rejected 101

This blog gives a little peek into one facet of an editor’s job. It applies not only to Samhain, but to probably almost every other publisher/editor out there. The Rejection Letter.

That Ahhhhhh.... Moment

We all have them. You know what I mean. It can happen anywhere and at anytime. Sometimes when you least expect it. That single moment in time where you are watching something happen and when it does you get that gooey feeling inside…that silly grin on your face and you heave a big sigh of Ahhhhhh…

Silly? Not really. We all have them. Even those big tough guys we all know. Their Ahhhhhh… threshold maybe higher or different than ours, but they have one. And what makes you go Ahhhhhh… is different for everyone.

For example, I’m a sucker for Hallmark commercials. I’ll tear up in a heartbeat over something as silly as a kid making a valentine for his teacher, or a puppy trotting over to a young bride with an “I’m sorry” card from a repentant husband.

This blog came to be when I found one of the best Ahhhhhh… moments I’d ever seen online. It is a marriage proposal. One of the best I’ve ever seen and once it was done, I was Ahhhhhhing all over the place as were most of the people watching. Check it out…

Tools for Writers (and anyone else who works from home).

Lying in bed one night, thinking about what I’d do if my computer corner were destroyed by flood, fire or plague of electronics-eating locusts—is it just me whose imagination tends to the paranoid?—I found myself making a shopping list of the things I’d have to replace as soon as the desk, chair and computer were back in situ.
And I realized it’s actually quite a useful shopping list for any writer—or anyone who works from home. So I’m sharing it, together with the offer to join in my late-night paranoia.

People Watchin' is my Favorite Hobby!

When I first sat down to write this blog post a few days ago, I had no idea what I wanted to say. Did I want to be quirky and funny? Perhaps serious and inspirational? Or just excited about my upcoming release, which will hit the ebook shelves in less than a month?