Samhain Publishing Ltd. Weblog

Public Displays of Affection

Have you ever visited the mall and seen a couple holding hands or kissing? That, my friend, is a public display of affection. PDAs (public displays of affection) are a more recent thing, something that has occurred with the relaxing of social rules and less stringent attention to etiquette. It’s quite common to see people getting frisky and many couples like to have sex in public places because it’s naughty and risqué and a bit of a turn-on.

Good Goodies

This weekend I’m at the New Jersey Romance Writer’s Conference, and I’m excited for three reasons.

(Well, MORE than three reasons, but I’m only listing three due to time restraints)
1) I get to attend a three hour workshop with Jenny Crusie. (Woo-hoo!)
2) I finally get to meet my Samhain Editor face to face. (Woo-hoo!)
3) I get to take home lots of author goodies. (Woo-hoo!)

Quirky and Thankful

This past week was Thanksgiving in Canada. I don’t know how other people do it, but we always tell some of our favourite stories around the table. The only requirement is that the stories are quirky and things for which we are thankful. I had two. One story was about how I met my friend, the other about how my cat found me.

Perfect Coincidence

I’ve got a three-day weekend coming up. It’s also the same weekend of my RWA Chapter’s Conference. So, what did I do? I took the two previous days off, too. Five days off work, and heading to the mountains to play with my writing pals. Life doesn’t get any better than this.

Unless you count coming home and having an empty house to myself. Whoa! Life just got better.

It's officially Autumn...

It’s officially Autumn…

and I’m looking forward to, amongst other things, the joys of colder weather coming down the pike. For when I go outside, I’ll bring out the thick sweaters, long coats, and hats. Knowing me, I’ll be spending more time inside, and that means limitless cups of hot chocolate or apple cider while I’m curled up on the couch reading. That’s not all I’m looking forward to, a few of the other things are:

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.

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.

Me and My Palm TX Making Friends

Well, I finally did it. After a ridiculously long time, I broke down and bought an e-reader. Not a dedicated reader but a Palm TX so it has multiple functions. When the new toy arrived a couple of days ago I was very uncertain if we were going to get along together. The screen was smaller than I’d imagined it would be and the process of learning how to sync it with my desktop was a little daunting. But here we are a couple of days later, my Palm and me, making friends.

I read a book on it last night and found that only having about half a page on the screen at a time actually makes it easier to focus for me. Plus a backlit page is far easier on my eyes than print on paper. I’m very excited to be able to read without sitting at my computer, where, let’s face it, I spend enough hours every day.
Yes, I think I’m going to keep her.

What kind of reader do you use? What are the pros and cons of the one you use? What advice can you give someone who may be trying to decide which e-reader or other device to buy? And can anyone tell me why I’m having trouble syncing an Adobe reader program and having it show up on my Palm?

Seventeen Reasons Why DragonCon is a Regency Country House Party

“You’re gonna need Sherpas,” Greg taunted.

The spouse person always says that when I’m compiling my lists of what to pack for a trip. I wanted to flip him off, but this time he was… um, right. When he caught me I was tallying the costumes I need for this year’s DragonCon.

There’s the Pirate Ball, but everything about that costume packs flat. Except the boots, which can’t use for the Steampunk Ball, but I might be able to match up with the costume for the DragonCon attempt on the world’s largest “Thriller” dance. Then there’s the growing contingent of waitresses from Merlotte’s, the bar in Charlaine Harris’s Sookie Stackhouse novels and HBO’s True Blood series, assembling for the parade. Alas, my days of playing not so sweet juveniles like vampire Jessica are long past. Still, I’d make a killer Arlene. Maybe I could re-use the top for one of my panels.

But what am I going to do about the high tea?

Oh for the days of capacious trunks and well-sprung coaches. Of footmen to carry your luggage to your room and maids to tend to your every need. Of dancing all night and sleeping ‘til the afternoon…

And if you don’t count the panels, that’s exactly what I’ll be doing at DragonCon. I stared at my list, while my mind cycled through the amusements contained in every Regency novel I ever read. “Well, day-um,” I said, “I’m summering at a Regency house party.”

Greg stared at me.

“No. Really. I’ve got seventeen reasons to prove it…”

(Click the link for the reasons—all seventeen of them.)

RIP: Mourning the Deaths of Fictional Characters

Jen: The first time I remember suffering over a fictional loss was when I was a teenager and went to see the movie Ghost. At the end of that movie when Patrick Swayze says “Ditto” and goes into the light, I sobbed so loud that other people in the theater actually laughed at me {ask Lisa about it, she was with me at the time. (Lisa: Yes, I was there…and laughing at her, too!)} Perhaps it was the teenage hormones at work, or maybe I like to suffer, but I went and saw that movie several more times in the theater—and cried every time. Recently, I caught the ending on cable…and balled all over again.

Why is tragedy and death of beloved characters in popular fiction so prevalent? Is it the shock value? Is it to showcase how life is precious? As a writer, I get why death is necessary. It creates great emotional angst, it allows us to explore the darker side of life. It can create great conflict. But still, from the other side of the table, why do we, as readers and viewers, keep coming back to shows—or rewatch movies and reread books—that rip our hearts out time and time again?