Samhain Publishing Ltd. Weblog

What Inspires You?

Recently someone asked me, ‘what inspires you the most to write’? I’m kind of embarrassed to admit the question took me by surprise. It shouldn’t have. It’s a common enough question people ask writers, but somehow, until that moment, I’d never really stopped and thought about it.

The dictionary defines inspiration as, ‘stimulation for the human mind to creative thought or to the making of art’. The word muse is defined as, ‘the source of an artist’s inspiration’.

So, what exactly is it that stimulates me to write? What really fires my muse?

As I mulled the question over, I realized that different things inspire me at different times. It can be something random like a scene from a movie, a picture of a gorgeous hunk, or an unusual circumstance I’ve heard about. Or sometimes it’s directly related to the book I’m working on like a character’s personality quirk, or a sexy situation one of my characters lands in, or even an interesting line of dialogue that pops into my head.

All of these things can get me thinking and get my creative juices going. But the fundamental thing that inspires me is my love of the written word coupled with the desire to tell a story that others can enjoy.

I really believe we all have a creative side that we express in our own unique way. And any creative endeavor requires the artist to be inspired in order to produce. It doesn’t matter what it is we love to do, whether it’s writing or painting, knitting or icing a cake for dinner, we all have something special to contribute.

So, what inspires you? =)

~~*~~

Anara Bella
Romance that’s sexy with a touch of sass
www.anarabella.com
For a fun and sexy free read check out Stupid Cupid

Shoulda Worn A Blindfold

I learned a valuable lesson a few weeks back.

Hubby and I went to PetSmart to buy cat food for our two year old tabby, JuJube. An innocuous enough end to our day. Or so I thought.

Batteries Not Required – Just Released!!

I’m absolutely thrilled to announce the release of my latest book, Batteries Not Required!

Wanted: One wild fling, orgasmic satisfaction guaranteed.

In Dana Appleby’s experience, really bad, boring sex and long-term relationships seem to go hand-in-hand. Enough is enough. She’s now on a mission and her main objective is finding excitement in the bedroom. And she knows just who she wants to give it to her: Reese Cooper.

Short-term relationships are Reese’s specialty—and so is sex. Dana’s proposal to have a little fling is right up his alley, but things go awry when he starts to realize short-term isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. And suddenly the idea of Dana moving onto someone else doesn’t appeal one bit.

So, what’s a guy to do? The only thing he can do. Set out to show Dana that long-term doesn’t necessarily mean boring. Not with relationships—and definitely not with sex.

Warning: This book contains graphic sex, a scorching-hot office quickie and the teensiest bit of newbie handcuff play. Please note: Batteries not included with this book. But don’t worry, you won’t need any. =)

Pure Bliss

When was the last time you spent an entire day reading a really good book? I mean, just ignored the sink full of unwashed dishes and piles of dirty laundry, curled up in your favorite chair with some chocolate close at hand, and read until your eyes crossed.

The Busyness of Life

I don’t know if I’m coming or going.

I find myself using that expression a lot. Probably because I seem to constantly have days, or even weeks of days, where that’s exactly how I feel. The frustration builds to the point where I don’t know whether to pull my hair out or just end it all by running off the nearest cliff. Since neither scenario particularly appeals (I both value my life, and am kind of partial to my hair just the way it is, thankyouverymuch) I struggle to find ways to cope with the sheer busyness of my life.

I’m sure we all feel this way far more than we’d like. Family, friends, work, responsibilities, all conspire to eat up our time so that we don’t have any to spare.

Ever Wanna Escape?

Sometimes I sure as heck do. And I’m willing to bet most of you would say the same.

But, escape from what? Am I talking about the weather? When it’s frigid outside like it is today, then escaping to a tropical island is definitely on my mind, but that’s not the kind of escape I mean. I’m talking about escaping from daily life. Just for a little while.

Now, since most of us here are avid readers, you might think I’m going to talk about books. But I’m not.

Holy Clutter, Batman!

The truth is out.

I’m slightly embarrassed to admit this but I’m drowning in a humungous sea of junk. Well, it’s not really junk but rather piles of stuff consisting of clothes, books, magazines, clipboards, notebooks, scraps of paper and anything else I’m not quite sure where to put.

Am I talking about my basement? My spare room? If only.

The Trouble with Curses – Just Released!!

I’m very excited to announce the release of The Trouble with Curses, my first foray into Paranormal Romance!
 

A powerful attraction is the last thing these arch enemies need. Or is it?

Selena Tremayne is different. For one thing, how many vampires do you know faint at the sight of blood? Despite the problems her “differences” cause, she’s grateful. It means she’s not an all-out-evil killing machine. It also means she can’t afford to let anyone get too close. And a guy like Rafe, delicious as he is, is to be avoided at all costs.

Rafe Hunter is a vampire slayer, an odd job thrust upon him by dint of birth. And with his augmented abilities, no one else does it better. Those abilities run into a major short-circuit, however, when he meets Selena. The mysterious beauty clouds his every instinct—something he can ill afford in his line of work. Because of her, his quarry has somehow slipped out of his grasp. Twice.

Coincidences are piling up, and he can’t help but wonder if simple lust is the culprit. Or if it’s something deeper—with dangerous repercussions that extend beyond anything either of them imagined…

Warning: This title contains explicit, sizzling-hot slayer/vamp sex. Please note: No vampires were harmed during the writing of this book.

Rafe and Selena took me to unexpected territory with their story and managed to become very dear to my heart in the process. And while Selena’s a vampire and Rafe is the slayer, romance is very much the focus of their tale. I hope you enjoy reading The Trouble with Curses as much as I enjoyed writing it.

There’s an excerpt after the jump.

Enjoy! =)

Anara
Romance that’s sexy with a touch of sass
www.anarabella.com

No thanks! I think I’ll pass.

Have you ever found yourself so busy you wanted to pull all your hair out? As if that would somehow help? I tried it recently. Trust me, it didn’t do a thing.

One month ago, all was well in my world. I was busy with the usual day-to-day stuff each and every one of us has to deal with. Now, I knew the upcoming weeks would throw some monkey wrenches into my usual routine and chances were high my writing schedule would be the first to suffer. But I wasn’t worried. I was prepared. Or so I thought. Ignorance is bliss, isn’t it?

Fill ‘Er Up!

Half empty. Half full.

No doubt that expression immediately brings to mind the well-known illustration of the half-filled glass. This, of course, relates to the differences between how optimists and pessimists view the same glass of water.

A few years back, thanks to a well-aimed kick-in-the-pants from a good friend, I had it pointed out to me that my outlook on life had gotten pretty darned pessimistic. At first disbelieving, it didn’t take long for me to realize she had a point. Color me surprised. I saw myself as a realist, but at some point, when I wasn’t looking, I’d been taken over by (gasp!) the dark side.