Samhain Publishing Ltd. Weblog

Distance Really Does Help!

With the new year—and all those resolutions—I decided I needed to finally tackle a project I’ve been putting off for, well I’m ashamed to admit this, but for two years. I have a book I need to rewrite (cleaning, tightening, cutting out all the boring bits which I let creep in). And while I agreed in theory that this book needed all this work, I’ve been making excuses not to look at it for awhile now. Yes, having a baby is a good excuse, but Destructo is not the reason I was avoiding these edits.

After 10 years, THE PROMISE OF KEIRNA'RHOAN in PRINT!!

Yes that’s right, THE PROMISE OF KIERNA’RHOAN has been in and out of print for more than 10 years now, but this is the first time it’s appeared in paperback and I’m just thrilled. Especially since Samhain gave me such a lovely cover—it looks gorgeous in a bookstore :) The book has been updated and added to for this version, and I’m really pleased with the outcome. I hope readers are too!

Below is a little excerpt. This starts where the excerpt on the book’s Samhain page (http://samhainpublishing.com/excerpt/the-promise-of-kiernarhoan) leaves off (with a little cross over). Here you’ll get to meet Kira Farseaker’s ex-husband (he’s the bad guy). Enjoy!

Characters to Root for

I had no idea what to write about for this blog. I just got back from a holiday, I’m exhausted and dealing with a jet lagged baby who won’t sleep at night, and I have all this work to catch up on. I was thinking about a gripping blog about needing a holiday after my holiday. Then as I was watching Bones, I turned to look at my little boy sitting on the floor with his back to me reading a book (or pretending to since I’m pretty sure he can’t read yet—pretty sure…). He looked so cute and skooshy and I thought how protective I am of him, how I’d do serious damage to anyone who even dared to hurt him. That got me to thinking about the heroines I write. And the heroes for that matter.

Every single one of them has a protective personality. Even if they don’t think of themselves as strong or protective, they all end up being just that.

Just discovered a writing pattern I didn't know I had

Thanks to the introduction of a baby into my life, getting back to any kind of a writing schedule has proven pretty interesting. I’m finally writing regularly again—which is wonderful! But I’ve discovered a part of my process I never noticed before.

When I was living in Ireland, I worked as a front desk receptionist for a business bank. The job was pretty quiet and I had a lot of time on my hands. Because I was the first person any customer would come in contact with, they didn’t allow the internet on my computer—wouldn’t look good to have the receptionist surfing the web instead of working—so there wasn’t much to occupy my time when there were no customers or phone calls.

When I was living in Ireland, I worked as a front desk receptionist for a business bank. The job was pretty quiet and I had a lot of time on my hands. Because I was the first person any customer would come in contact with, they didn’t allow the internet on my computer—wouldn’t look good to have the receptionist surfing the web instead of working—so there wasn’t much to occupy my time when there were no customers or phone calls.

The Scientist and the Romance Novel

At the end of February, I spoke at a brilliant little romance conference called Celebrate Romance. For those of you who love romance novels, this is an excellent conference to go to. We do a lot of chatting about books and it’s all great fun. This year, my talk was on how I came to read romance novels. I wasn’t one of those people who was introduced to the genre by a family member or good friend. I had to discover Romance on my own. And I’m ashamed to admit now (this was especially hard to admit in front of a room full of romance fans!) that before I started reading romance novels, I was one of those who believed the worst about the genre.

I know, I know. But I got over it! (You should see my To Be Read pile!)

Taking Stock for the New Year

And not of my TBR pile because, well that would keep me occupied until 2010. For me, this is my substitute for resolutions. I’m not good at making or sticking to resolutions. I’m too much of a procrastinator. And now that I’m a mom for the first time, I have this really great, 22lbs excuse to put off a lot of things. (Can you believe he’s 22lbs already and not quite 6 months old yet!)

Anyway, for me taking stock of my life to date is the way I approach a new year. What have I done, what do I still want to do, where does my life stand, and how do I feel about all that?

Back to Work

The last time I blogged, I talked about how I was missing writing. I’d just had a baby less than two months earlier—my first—and I was finally starting to settle into my new role as mommy. Though that process is still ongoing. :)

Not long after that, I got “back to work” as the edits for my December release (The Promise of Kierna’Rhoan) arrived in my inbox. Within the first week of editing, I realized two things. First, I was really glad my editor was a mom because, Two, it was going to take the month she gave me to do the edits rather than the two weeks I’d anticipated.

Breaks are Good

As some of you may have heard, I had my baby boy in the middle of July. Meet Jack. You’d never guess that face could cause any trouble. But the trouble is worth it because, I mean really, look at that face…

This being a mommy business—as all you mommies know—takes everything you’ve got during the first few months. It’s wonderful and exhausting and, at least in my case, came with an interesting side effect. I haven’t been able to write in six weeks. And you know, I really miss writing!

Adventures of a first time mom-to-be

Some of you may know, I’m pregnant with my first baby. I’m about five weeks away from my due date. And I’m both excited and terrified. Truth be told, it’s easier to take care of this new life while it’s still inside me. I’m a little nervous about what comes after. As for labor, well I’m not thinking about that at all! I mean at this point, baby is coming out no matter what so it’s easier not to fret about the impending birth.

What I am fretting about is preparing my apartment so it’s not a baby death trap! And learning how to balance my new life.

Celebrate Romance got off to a bang

I’m here in Columbia, South Carolina with JC Wilder, Rosemary Laurey, Crissy, Marie Harte, and Beth Williamson at the always enjoyable Celebrate Romance. This is a small conference geared for readers; they move around the country every year and some of their biggest draws are the annual book trade and the one-on-one time with favorite authors.

And Friday night saw us off to a very entertaining start to this year’s conference.