Samhain Publishing Ltd. Weblog

Let's Have Fun with Titles

Thinking of titles for a work in progress can be fun or frustrating, depending on your mood. Fun because thinking of a title is a form of wordplay and I’m pretty sure most authors enjoy wordplay. It’s frustrating because so much can ride on that title. Along with the cover it is what gives a potential reader their first impression of your book.

So…today I’m going to play a little game with several Samhain books. Picking a new release and several genre novels, I’m going to write what I think the book is about according to its title. I’m holding a paper over the cover image (Those covers are just too damn good). Then I’m going to look at the summary and see what these authors have really written about

Click Read More to come play with me!
Margo Lukas
Half Moon Rising
The Werewolf Romance is a Whole New Beast

If You Like That, Try This!

Trying something new. It’s good for all of us, but sometimes we’re hesitant to go too far out of our comfort zone for fear we’ll really hate that “new” thing. Retailers understand a buyer’s fear of spending their dollars on something new, so they often give us handy little buying guides. Perfume retailers are always doing the “If you like multi-floral scents, try Eternity®”. Or how about Pandora’s custom radio stations? You type in Portishead and you’ll get a slew of mellow, trance tunes.

So why don’t we try it with romances? I’m going to focus on settings, because personally, that is one of the strongest factors in why I’ll buy one book over another. It’s also pivotal to writing interesting stories. So here it goes.

Margo’s Romance Setting Guide (which is totally based on my biased opinions).

Check it out!
~Margo Lukas
Half Moon Rising

Track Santa and "How He Gets In"

Okay, time to be honest. How many of you watched for Rudolph’s red nose on Christmas Eve? I sure did. Saw him every year, too! Now it’s my little girls who press their noses to the cold car windows and watch for the tell tale red blip as we drive into the evening church service. As a parent all I can say is, “Thank goodness for satellites!”

Margo Lukas
Half Moon Rising
This Werewolf Romance is a Whole New Beast

Orphan Copyright Bill and Our Right to Private Property

Yesterday Marie-Nicole Ryan posted a little message on the Samhain Author Loop. It caught my eye on the daily digest, because I had just seen a similar titled post on my PRO loop.

“Hmm….maybe this is something important?” I thought. It is.

Here’s the link:

http://www.owoh.org/index.php

If you don’t want to follow the link (though I highly recommend you do so), read more for my shortened version of what is happening with this piece of legislation (and yes, I’ve interjected my opinion into this paraphrasing).

~Margo Lukas
Half Moon Rising

Birthday Rituals

I bake and decorate doll cakes. My mom made doll cakes. Between her three daughters, we once figured she had made 62 angel food cakes with the perky little blond doll perched on top.

Margo Lukas

4 Tools for Busy People

I’m busy. You’re busy. We are ALL busy!!!! Will it ever get better? Did “simpler times” once exist? Are modern women busier than men?

I’m sure you have opinions about those questions (I sure do), but I’m not going to worry about them at the moment. I have a different priority…

Helping You!

HALF MOON RISING Print release October 30th!

“Margo Lukas has done an excellent job of creating fantastic characters and a memorable plot that readers won’t soon forget.”
~ Reviewed by Angel for Romance Junkies. Full Review

Free Story: Half Moon Rising Origins: The Witch’s Spellbook

“…Margo Lukas has one really big trump card up her sleeve – Half Moon Rising is a fantastic story. It’s most enjoyable – I cannot stop reading once I begin.”
~ Reviewed by Mrs. Giggles for Romance Novel Central. Full Review

Thirteen Things Being Published Taught Me

Jean Marie’s excellent post inspired me to stay with the Thursday Thirteen theme. Today I’m writing about things I’ve learned from my first foray into the publishing industry.

1. Getting the “call” (or e-mail, in my case) is great validation for the years spent on novels that will never see the light of day. Writing “the end” is great, but finding out someone else enjoyed reading your story is even better.

Getting Serious: The Romance Genre and Some Really Smart People (a.k.a. Romance Scholars)

WARNING. RHETORICAL QUESTION AHEAD!

Do you think the Romance Genre deserves respect?

Today I’d like to introduce you to some people and blogs that aren’t waiting for the public at large to give our genre respect. Without an ounce of sarcasm, interested and intelligent people are examining the romance genre on a level that was once reserved for the great literary works of our time. I believe these scholars have taken a cue from our ever-endearing Alpha Male hero: Forget about asking for respect—just take it!

HALF MOON RISING Released: Lost Secrets...

How much do you know about your great-grandparents? Perhaps you know their names, birthdates, off-spring. Maybe their occupation. But I bet that is about it. Unless your ancestors left letters or journals, their secrets died with them.

What if their secrets included the ability to shift form into either a wolf or a monstrous Beast? Surely they would have made certain all necessary knowledge was passed to the next generation. Unfortunately, for the modern-day werewolf pack in my novel, Half Moon Rising WWII broke the chain. Werewolves were killed. Documents destroyed. Knowledge, lore, and secrets lost forever.

To learn more about my werewolf hero, Trey Nolan, and my kick-ass human heroine, CJ Duncan, and their world where no one seems to have the answers, read my blurb and excerpt, or click the Read More link.