Samhain Publishing Ltd. Weblog

Why God Intended Children For The Young

Did you ever wonder why women in the old days had their babies at a very young age?

I confess I never really gave it much thought until I became a grandmother.

At forty-eight, I thought I was in pretty good shape. I mean, I have a daily rountine of walking and I try to take care of myself.

But as it turns out, I’ve been living under a delusion. My daily workout is nothing compared to the one I get trying to keep up with a twenty-one month old toddler who loves to take her grandmother on LONG walks peppered with multiple stops along the way to bend and squat. Oh and don’t forget those floor exercises. You know, horse back rides and crawling on the floor, then there’s the hours spent building towers of blocks only to tear them down again and again. And Again.

And then there’s the late night cram sessions. You know when my precious baby girl wakes up at 2AM full of giggles and needs grandma to watch the Backyardigans with her and carry her on her hip so that she can go back to sleep.

Oh, don’t get me wrong, I wouldn’t trade a second of my wonderful time with her, but I can say that it was during one of these late-night sessions that I had an epiphany.

I now understand why God intended children for the young and why grandparents are supposed to spoil their grandbabies and then when they are pooped send them home to mom and dad so that grandma can take a nap.

All the best…

Mary Eason
www.maryeason.bravehost.com

David vs. David

All right, I admit it. My children have turned me into an American Idol fangirl.

Not that I needed much encouragement. This year, David Cook had me at “Hello.”
Meanwhile, David A has his own rabidly faithful following, but for me, some of the best AI moments this year came from Jason. His “I was thinking BOB MARLEY!” was probably one of the funniest things I’ve seen on television, let alone AI.

So who was your favorite this year? And what were your favorite performances so far?

—Emma
http://emmawayneporter.com/blog/

I cringe in the face of technology

Seriously, technology freaks me out! Okay, with some things. Microsoft Vista? Just saying those two words make me tremble and not in a good way. I’m not EVEN going there until I have to!

It's Almost Summertime...Yay!

The temperatures are rising and soon it will be summertime, when the livin’ is easy. Makes me want to kick back in a hammock with a good book and a cold drink. Have you made your plans? What are you doing this summer? Taking a family vacation or maybe going somewhere with a group of friends? Perhaps thinking of something a bit more…exciting?

I Need Florida

A few weeks ago, when I was standing in the guidance counselor’s office, in the middle of my panicked rant about how my juniors were not going to be ready for their upcoming high-stakes graduation testing because we were almost to spring break and I wasn’t at the same point as last year in the curriculum and they weren’t taking anything seriously and… (you get the picture), our graduation coach glanced over at the guidance counselor and said, “Linda needs spring break.”

Writing and Remodeling

Writing and remodeling don’t mix. I don’t know what I was thinking when I said I thought I could have workmen traipsing in and out all day and still write.

The noise bothered me.

My husband and I started this kitchen remodeling project in January (if we don’t count the two years we used as research time, pre-selecting appliances, etc.) and it’s now April. The actual work of the project started two weeks ago when the granite company came in to demo the kitchen countertops and make the template. After that, we had a kitchen without a sink, a cook top and countertops for ten days. But this was no problem. I like eating out.

Still, I thought I could ignore the noise and continue to write. Ha!

Interstitial

My first novella with Samhain, Interstitial, is now out. You can buy it here. Blurb below.

Read An Excerpt Online

Love triangles. Alien monsters. Planetary war. Just another day in space.

Sebastien ven Hester, decorated war hero and captain of the sentient cargo ship Naurus, can face any danger—except his own feelings. Jason North, his pilot, finds out the hard way that Seb’s not ready for a relationship after his recent divorce. And Jatila Kan, their engineer, discovers her feelings for North aren’t returned—because her lover’s pining after another man.

Not the best situation for a crew starting a three-week run across the galaxy.

But there are bigger terrors in space than their messy love triangle. A ruthless, horrifying enemy stands ready to test them to their physical and emotional limits.

Failure means certain death not only to themselves and their passengers, but to the entire planetary alliance.

Warning: This title contains explicit sex, a messy love triangle, sniping, bad language and ravening space monsters.

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My thanks to my editor at Samhain, Anne Scott, and to my friends and readers who have worked so patiently and graciously with me to bring this story out. It’s really been a joint effort, so feel proud of what you’ve done.

All royalties from this novella in 2008 will be going to Medecins sans Frontieres Australia. Please consider sending them a donation anyway, to help with their work around the world, including with the Burmese Cyclone victims

OUT OF THE DARK by JoAnn Smith Ainsworth

I am delighted to invite you to enter the world of Lynnet and Basil as they struggle against social condemnation and villainy.

OUT OF THE DARK (ISBN 1-59998-941-7) e-released today. The heroine is sight impaired. I love that her eyes are closed on the cover, blocking out what little sight she has. The artist, Anne Cain, did a marvelous job of expressing love by touch, don’t you agree?

My writing has been called “lushly sensual” because my historical settings are so vivid you can reach out and touch them. I grew up with grandparents in a rural neighborhood and was surrounded with tools and cooking implements from pioneering days. Having experienced canning in the heat of summer and growing our own vegetables and embroidering, I can bring them alive for you.

What A Morning!!

I’m sure you’ve all had mornings where you shake your head and wonder just what you’ve gotten yourself into. That’s how my mornings have played out for the last few days. Most of you know when I’m not writing I run a motel. Let me tell you, being in the hospitality industry is not all beer and skittles. Sometimes it’s a pain in the butt, dealing with all the differing characters who come through this place.

Spring Fever

I’m woefully behind on my writing goals and I’m even writing this post at the last minute. I find this time of year particularly hard for getting work done. I suppose I have a classic case of spring fever. The weather has been lovely here and there is a constant parade of flowers bursting into bloom. My preschooler exclaims about a new flower every time she walks through the yard.