Samhain Publishing Ltd. Weblog

Taking Off the Gloves

You’ve heard the term “kid gloves.” Well folks, I’m taking them off. I’m both fascinated and frustrated by the “educated” people in society who continue to put down my favorite form of literary entertainment. The romance book.

Once termed “bodice ripper,” yesterday’s romance used to embody the stereotypical hero saves heroine happily-ever-after book. Hell, I cut my teeth on Johanna Lindsey and Kathleen Woodiwiss. I remember the heroine crying “no no” while the hero persuaded her to scream “yes yes.” In the twenty plus years since I’ve been a loyal reader, romance has undergone major changes, following society’s lead. Women are no longer burning bras or looking for white knights to save them.

Rachel's Totem, Now Available!!!

Rachel’s Totem introduces Rachel Penny to the funny little town of Cougar Falls, where the people seem more animal than human, and a rude stranger does more than put her back up, but pins her against a wall for some unexpectedly delicious… interaction.

Cougar Falls is much more than a small town, and to Rachel Penny, it might very well provide a new beginning to a life she’s happy to leave behind. Recovering from an ugly divorce, Rachel has no intention of falling for a “pretty face” ever again, so her attraction to a rude Adonis in the local diner makes no sense. But then, nothing has made sense since she’s stepped foot in Cougar Falls. Having just arrived for a reading of her aunt’s will, Rachel quickly finds herself embroiled with brawling mountain men that seem more animal than man, orgasmic from a scorching sexual encounter with the rude stranger from the diner, and up to her eyeballs in town mysticism and tales of the Ac-taw, Shifters—people with the ability to transform into animals. But the Ac-taw aren’t just legend, they’re real. And Rachel soon finds she’s inherited much more from her aunt than some property, but a destiny to protect her newfound home, and a love she’s been waiting for her entire life.

I Dream of Dragons vol. 1 Releases Today!

Today is the release of I Dream of Dragons Volume 1, my first print book with Samhain. I’m very excited, not only about the print release, but also to be in such fine company with my fellow authors Bianca D’Arc and Summer Devon. We’ve written some steamy stories about dragons, and it never ceases to amaze me how one subject can spawn such different stories.

• In my story, The Dragons’ Demon, a demon deals with a prank gone wrong, an egg, and an angry dragon wanting a bit of justice, his way.
• In Bianca’s story, Wings of Change, two knights must come together to save an ailing dragon, but only with a special woman will a cure be found.
• In Summer’s story, Knight’s Challenge, a wily dragon meets his match in the beautiful knight determined to keep him in line.

The magic of dragons is something that tantalizes our minds and hearts with fantasy. But dragons are never as much fun to read as when they’re falling in love or fighting for their hearts.

To read an excerpt from I Dream of Dragons Volume 1 click here.

Simple Minds, Simple Pleasures

I thought I’d post today about simplicity. I’m a simple person. Read into that any way you want to. smile I have a cell phone I use to make calls. A camera I use to take pictures, and to occasionally shoot videos. And I have an e-reader with which I read books. Now I’m techno-geek like the best of them. I have an i-Pod, a new laptop, a high speed computer with cable modem, better programs, faster download speed… But when it comes to reading, I like it simple.

I recently attended Celebrate Romance, a heck of a fun conference in South Carolina (I think it’s in Denver next year.) And there, Chrissy B. happened to attend as well, carrying a bevy of e-reading devices. I saw the Kindle, a Sony reader, a Palm Pilot, an eBookwise (my favorite) and a few others I can’t remember. But my favorite remains the eBookwise.

I’m not as busy as a lot of people, so I don’t need an electronic organizer. My wall and desk calendars at home work well for me. I don’t need to store phone numbers or tasks in my e-reader; I have a Day Runner for that. No, I need an e-reader to read books. And the eBookwise does that for me.

It has a backlight, big plus. The capacity to store a butt-load of books, and you can interchange the memory card at your whim. It takes different formats, but not PDF, unfortunately. (Though I have heard rumor there’s a converter around, somewhere.) But I have the e-librarian program that allows me to convert html and .doc/.rtf files into my eBookwise format.

However, the real reason I purchased an eBookwise is its battery length. When I sit down to read, I read a book until it’s done. And the eBookwise lasts up to 12 hours at a shot, and I’ve recharged that sucker many, many times since owning it.

I download many of my books from the eBookwise website, a simple USB cable that downloads files for me. I also purchase books from Fictionwise, MBaM—Samhain (of course), and other publisher sites. And I like rating what I read.

The eBookwise might not be the best e-reader for everyone, but it works for me. Like I said, simple minds, simple pleasures. :)

My next Samhain release will be out April 15th, so to celebrate tax time, check out the feline shifter books coming out that Tuesday!

Happy Wednesday!

Marie

Enjoying the Show

It’s been a year in the making, but finally, my first submitted release to Samhain, Enjoying the Show, is here! Oddly enough, I’ve had two other releases come out earlier this year, but both were part of special anthologies. When I wrote Enjoying the Show, I tried to break out with something different for me—a contemporary romance. It definitely sizzles, and I’m in love with Mr. Tool myself. But I won’t spoil it for you. I’ve included a blurb and excerpt below.

For more on my books, click here to go to my website.

To purchase Enjoying the Show, click here.

Blurb:
It’s “Look, but don’t touch.” Until the object of Hailey’s fantasies catches her looking and demands she touch him. Everywhere.

Hailey Jennison is smart, funny and, unfortunately, stacked like a blonde brick house. She’s well aware the impact her looks have on the male gender, and she hates it. Socially awkward, she keeps to a safe, boring routine, meeting friends once a week for dinner, some laughs, and entertainment. Entertainment comes in the form of a little harmless voyeurism, watching the living, breathing sex god across the quad parade around his apartment half-naked. Hailey watches and yearns, indulging in this weekly fantasy that almost—but not quite—satisfies her every desire. When Gage catches Hailey in the act of ogling him, he gives her a choice—go out with him, or he’ll call the cops. But he has no intention of calling the law down on every man’s wet dream. For he’s been watching her, as well. And he has plans to fulfill her naughty fantasies.

Warning, this title contains the following: explicit sex, graphic language, and a man named “Mr. Tool”.

THE DRAGONS' DEMON by Marie Harte

Hurray! Release day is here for The Dragons’ Demon, part of the I Dream of Dragons stories. I’m so pleased to be in the company of such wonderful authors: Bianca D’Arc, Summer Devon, Nina Mamone and Kathleen Scott.

The Dragons’ Demon was a fun story to write, and involves a demon, a dragon and an egg… and a prank gone wrong. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it!

In the Ordinary world, forces are at work which keep the balance of the universe in order. Enter Eve Sinclair, a higher demon with a mission: to sway those souls on the brink of Decision, to push them toward heaven, or toward hell, as they are meant to go. But a prank played by her brothers puts a kink in her plans. Eve finds herself holding the proverbial bag, accused of stealing a precious dragon egg. Even worse, it’s a royal egg, as she learns from the furious commander of the dragon legion, Ranton. Not a creature to have on one’s bad side, Ranton shifts between his human and dragon forms, keeping Eve off-balance and off her game. Though Eve is a master at manipulating males, Ranton proves the exception…as does his brother, the new dragon king. In their arms she’s mere putty. And soon they’re not only molding her desires, but her heart as well.

To read an excerpt, click here.

Enjoy!! Marie

Food For Thought

For Friday’s post, I thought I’d talk about food in the novels we read. It’s an odd topic, but one that struck me since we don’t often talk about it. I mean, how many times have you read about the hero that eats a sandwich and then kisses the heroine? Is she tasting mustard, and if so, excuse me, but how sexy is that?

Normally, when I think erotic romance, I think of strawberries dipped in chocolate, whipped cream, honey drizzled over some body part needing to be licked clean, yum, or edible panties. Then we have oysters and the like, the ocean’s aphrodisiac. Or the hero who wines and dines the heroine on a lobster dinner with an expensive bottle of something (sorry, not a wine connoisseur) before taking her home to make sweet, sexy love to her?

Okay, obviously I’m in la-la, fantasy land. But we are talking fiction. That said, as writers, we weave worlds around reality. Our characters breathe, work, play… and eat. So when a character goes a week without eating, even if the plot’s stellar, I can’t wrap my mind around the fact that he or she must be starving. The same goes if the heroine is on a fixed budget but is living on filet mignons every night.

Food can tell the reader a lot about a character, as much as the setting or background can. For instance, when the heroine is eating peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, or hot dogs and Oodles of Noodles every night, she might be on a fixed budget. Or if she has a hankering for pickles and ice cream, and feels ill at the smell of anchovies, maybe she’s pregnant. Or how about that hero who can’t stop his craving for bloody rare steaks, or better yet, just blood? A werewolf or vampire, perhaps?

Food can be a wonderful way to expand on a character. And it’s all about the details. Let’s face it, being on a diet sucks. So if you want some easy conflict, put your heroine on a diet and have her fall in love with a hero who’s a pastry chef. Remember, food is just one hunger that can easily be replaced by another. Sex and love feeding body and soul.

Food for thought, and happy Friday! And if you’d like the recipe for the chocolate trifle in the picture, click here.

Marie
www.marieharte.com

Beat the heat with A SCORCHING SEDUCTION

Hi! I’m very happy to be a part of Samhain’s Midnight Summer Steam collection. Along with authors Ally Blue, Bonnie Dee, and Mary Wine, I’m excited to kick start the summer’s heat wave with some fun and sexy short stories. And these are going on all through the summer with terrific authors!!

My contribution, A Scorching Seduction, is a futuristic erotic romance.

Duty wars with affection when Racor’s greatest spy must decide who to trust, the evidence against her sexy suspects, or her heart?

Here’s a blurb to tease you