Samhain Publishing Ltd. Weblog

Changes all around

I’ve been reading over the recent Samhain author blogs (I’m one of those eternal lurkers!) and have noticed that a lot of changes have been happening in people’s lives at the moment. I have to say, ours is no different.

The past two weeks have been taken up with moving countries, which is why I couldn’t think of a topic to write about today. Last time, I went through a bit of the background of The Dragon of Ankoll Keep, and there was a vague thought this time to do the same with Combat!, but all my best intentions flew straight out the window, surrounded as I am by unpacked boxes and — to be honest — a floor that could use a good vacuum and mop.

Yeah, but do you want to HEAR them?

What do you think about author readings? Do you like them? I have to say, I’m really not all that fussed. When I read a book, I have my own mental narrator, and the characters have voices that are distinctively their own, all tucked away right there in my imagination. Do I really want to hear the author speaking those words? Especially as authors as not notably professional voice actors? I know it’s expected of authors, especially well-known ones but, for me, the jury’s still out on that one.

'Strike' the bells & may 'Aldanen' wishes come true!

Hey, what are you doing here? Outside the United States perhaps? Or inside, but just relaxing and letting that turkey digest? Welcome! I wish I had a warm and homely Christmas anecdote to share with you but my memory is like a sieve and the years have just sped past in a blur. Sorry.

My first Samhain release

Wow, it’s finally here. Release Day. I feel I’ve been part of the Samhain family for so long and it was a bit of a shock to realise that my very first release was only slated for today! And, you know, I have to laugh, because The Dragon of Ankoll Keep is a fantasy romance and I’m usually a sci-fi junkie! I know, the obvious question is, then why did you write it?

We're all in this together

A lot has been written about why writers write. Isaac Asimov, for example, encapsulated much of how writers think in this little snippet from his book Asimov Laughs Again:

Isaac Asimov: I was once being interviewed by Barbara Walters in three segments, all at once, though they were to be run on three separate days. In between two of the segments, she asked me how many books I had written, and I told her. She said, “Don’t you ever want to do anything but write?”
“No,” I said.
“Don’t you want to go hunting? Fishing? Dancing? Hiking?”
And I said, “No! No! No! and No!”
She said, “But what would you do if the doctor gave you only six months to live?”
I said, “Type faster.”