Samantha MacLeod's Blog, page 17
November 16, 2017
This All Sounded So Much Better in My Head: Adventures in Editing
I know, I know, I’ve been talking about my second novel for a very long time. But there’s a light at the end of the tunnel!
[image error]Of course, sometimes that light is a train…
As I’ve said before, I tend to be a slow writer. It’s not the actual writing which slows me down, though – it’s everything that comes after: Revisions. Editing. Freaking out.
And The Wolf’s Lover has gone slowly, for a lot of reasons (like jobs, kids, and moving across the freaking country). But I think it’s a good story, and I’m excited to release it into the world.
I’m also excited to be at the last step of that journey:
Editing!
I’ve already picked my story apart for inconsistencies, and gotten advice from a few beta readers.
Now I’ve got all 90,000 words printed and in a three-ring-binder, ready for me to take a red-pen-scalpel to each and every sentence. This is usually the process where I discover I’ve got a real weakness for fragment sentences and saying the same thing about fifty million times.
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Yes, the above passage is the preview I posted here.
No, I am never satisfied. 
November 14, 2017
The Night Watch Teaser
The Night Watch, my sexy M/M fantasy romance, comes out with Less Than Three Press on November 29th!
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When Prince Liam returns to his kingdom after five years away, there’s only one person he wants desperately to see: Cerdec, his closest friend since childhood. But Cerdec is now a knight sworn to protect the kingdom, and Liam fears he is the only one who remembers their stolen moments together.
Newly-sworn knight Cerdec has had no shortage of lovers since Liam left, but he’s never felt as close to them as he once felt to the prince. Now that Liam has returned, Cerdec is prepared to serve as his personal guard, even if the position torments his with longing he’s terrified to voice.
Even if it means he must welcome and protect the bride Liam’s father has selected.
But you don’t have to wait until the 29th to have a sneak peek…
November 9, 2017
Norse Hel v. Marvel Hela
Thor, Loki, Odin – these characters lived in Norse mythology for thousands of years before they became stars in the Marvel universe.
And if you’ve seen Thor: Ragnarok, you might be wondering if badass Goddess of Death Hela comes from Norse myth as well.
(Warning: This post contains spoilers. If you haven’t yet seen Ragnarok, get thee to a movie theatre!)
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The answer?
Well, kinda….
Five Differences Between Norse Hel and Marvel’s Hela
1. Daddy Issues?
In Thor: Ragnarok, Hela’s parentage is the biggest, dirtiest secret in the Nine Realms.
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She’s Odin’s firstborn, sister of Thor and Loki (although, you know, he’s adopted). And when Odin could no longer control her, he cast her out of Asgard and literally covered up any record of her existence.
Which left her super happy and well-balanced.
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In the Norse myths, Hel is one of three children born to the giantess Angrboda (also known as She-Who-Offers-Sorrow) and Loki.
[image error]Hel (1889) by Johannes Gehrts
Also leaving her super happy and well-balanced.
2. One Scary-Lookin’ Goddess
Hela is pretty intimidating in Thor: Ragnarok. Those horns. That scowl. That eyeliner!
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In the Norse myths?
She’s scarier.
The Prose Edda, one of only two surviving primary text we have for the Norse myths, describes Hel as “half light and half dark” and “somewhat downcast and fierce looking.”
[image error]“Hermod before Hela” (1909) by John Charles Dollman.
In some interpretations of Norse mythology, Hel isn’t just half dark and half light.
She’s half living and half dead, which is way scarier (black eyeliner notwithstanding).
3. Goddess of What Now?
“I’m the goddess of death,” Hela growls at Thor in Ragnarok.
She also brags about drowning empires in blood.
Like I said, super happy and well adjusted.
[image error]Happy, right?
Hel in Norse mythology is a goddess as well, but not of death.
Instead, Hel rules over the inglorious dead in her eponymously-named realm. If you don’t die a glorious death in battle, according to the prose Edda, you end up in Hel.
With Hel.
While the realm of Hel isn’t quite modern-day Hell – no demons, no pitchforks, no eternal torment – it’s usually not described as a very cheerful place. The Edda notes Hel has a feast hall called Hunger, a bed called Sickbed, and a threshold called Stumbling Block.
Sounds fun, right?
4. That Wolf, Yo.
The wolf Hela rides in the hidden ceiling fresco. The wolf who has been waiting, in chains, beneath Odin’s treasure room for centuries.
You know, that wolf.
[image error]That wolf!
Turns out Norse mythology also has a monstrous wolf who plays an important role in Ragnarok.
Fenris, or Fenrir, is another child born of Angerboda and Loki. He’s an enormous wolf who was tricked into chains with a sword thrust between his jaws, and his foaming saliva forms a river. When Ragnarok begins, Fenris will kill (and be killed by) Odin.
So in Marvel, Fenris is Hela’s friend from work.
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In Norse mythology, Fenris is her brother.
And, no, he’s not adopted.
5. Queen of a Realm
Still, there is some clear common ground between Hela and Hel.
They’re both bad-ass rulers.
Marvel’s Hela is Odin’s first-born child, and the rightful heir of Asgard.
[image error]The lady’s got a point, Thor.
In Norse mythology, Hel is the only woman who rules an entire Realm.
Granted, it’s the realm of the dead, but she still wields real power. When Odin’s son Baldr dies, no one in the Nine Realms – not even Odin himself – can force Hel to return him to the lands of the living.
[image error]“Each arrow overshot his head” (1902) by Elmer Boyd Smith
And if you’re thinking that sounds like a great set-up for a novel, I totally agree.
Hel and Hela: Two badass women who take zero shit.
For more on Norse myth v. Marvel’s universe, check out my posts on Norse v. Marvel Thor, Loki, and Odin.
Like what you’ve read? Join my newsletter and I’ll send you a free copy of Tam Lin, my sexy modern take on the Scottish folktale.
November 8, 2017
Get Lucky with Loki!
Wouldn’t this look damn good on your bookshelf?
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Why, yes. Yes it would.
Well then, I’d love to send you a copy. For FREE! I’ll even toss in a kick-ass Loki keychain for you, just because I can.
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November 7, 2017
Get Naughty with Thor
The fantastic Janine Ashbless has very graciously agreed to host part of Claiming Thor’s Hammer, my newest erotic short story featuring Norse gods Thor and Loki, on her blog.
What part, you ask?
The naughty bits!
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I should say some of the naughty bits… In a story with this many naughty bits, it was hard to pick just one scene.
November 2, 2017
Claiming Thor’s Hammer
Claiming Thor’s Hammer, my very naughty erotic M/M/M short story with Thor and Loki, is now available!
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All of Asgard depends on Thor, and his legendary hammer Mjölnir, to protect them from their foes. So when Thor returns one night without his hammer, refusing to say how it was lost or where it may be, all of Asgard is at risk. Loki tracks Mjölnir to the muscular arms of the fearsome warlord Thrym, who reluctantly agrees to a deal: Thrym will return Thor’s hammer in exchange for Freyja, the most beautiful woman in Asgard.
There’s only one problem with Loki’s deal. Freyja refuses to marry the ruthlessly handsome Thrym. Low on options, Loki insists he can still retrieve the hammer. All it takes is wrapping Thor in a wedding dress obnoxious enough to allow him to pass for Freyja.
Once inside the dark confines of Thrym’s castle, however, things take an erotic turn not even Loki the Trickster could have predicted…
What Readers are Saying
“I love how seamlessly the author blends the original myths with erotica. MacLeod keeps the tone and humor of the original tale, while simultaneously plunging us into a new story that is both fun AND blazingly hot!” —Genevieve, Goodreads
“One of the funnest dips into mythology ever, a quick and fun little piece of erotica I highly recommend.” —Jayne, Goodreads
Like what you’ve read? Join my newsletter and I’ll send you a free copy of Tam Lin, my sexy modern take on the Scottish folktale.
October 31, 2017
The Internet is Down!!!
A massive storm hit New England this weekend, knocking down trees all over the damn place.
And knocking out our internet.
Now, of course I don’t have a smart phone; no WiFi means no internet for me.
I’m also not complaining. Apparently there are 400,000 homes in southern Maine without electricity, and the MacLeod household enjoyed light, heat, and water for the entire storm. I’d rather have ice cream and hot baths than the internet, honestly.
So, I’ll be chillin’ off-grid for the next couple of days.
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If I start naming volleyballs, you can worry…
Like what you’ve read? Join my newsletter and I’ll send you a free copy of Tam Lin, my sexy modern take on the Scottish folktale.
The Romantic Lead Wears the Tightest Pants: Paranormal Romance at the Ballet
I went to the ballet last weekend. Not because I know anything about the world of dance (I don’t), but because I’m the kind of person who rarely turns down an opportunity to get out of the house. And someone else bought the tickets.
October 26, 2017
Thor is Such a Tease
Looking forward to my new deliciously naughty M/M/M erotic short story with Loki and Thor, Claiming Thor’s Hammer?
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All of Asgard depends on Thor, and his legendary hammer Mjölnir, to protect them from their foes. So when Thor returns one night without his hammer, refusing to say how it was lost or where it may be, all of Asgard is at risk. Loki tracks Mjölnir to the muscular arms of the fearsome warlord Thrym, who reluctantly agrees to a deal: Thrym will return Thor’s hammer in exchange for Freyja, the most beautiful woman in Asgard.
There’s only one problem with Loki’s plan: Freyja refuses to marry the ruthlessly handsome Thrym. Low on options, Loki insists he can still retrieve the hammer. All it will take is wrapping Thor in a wedding dress obnoxious enough to allow him to pass for Freyja.
Once inside the dark confines of Thrym’s castle, however, things take an erotic turn not even Loki the Trickster could have predicted…
The story releases on November 3rd…but you don’t have to wait that long for a sneak peek.
I’ve already showed the opening scene, so here’s one a bit closer to the action…
October 24, 2017
Book Review: Rewritten by Bronwyn Green
I’ll be honest: This book had me at sexy Scottish sci-fi author.
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But that’s not all. It also has a Comic-Con (complete with Stormtrooper jokes), a protagonist with serious emotional baggage, a steamy, kinky, slow-burn romance, and an HEA that was genuine and deeply satisfying.
In other words, it was just about perfect.
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Rewritten, by Bronwyn Green, tells the story of Angus Domhnull, the afore-mentioned sexy Scotsman. He’s a wildly successful sci-fi author who’s been struggling to complete his latest book for five years when his publisher sends him one Eliza Burrows to help him get his ass in gear.
And oh, those characters!
Angus is the perfect mix of grumbling sass and sex appeal, with a depth and sensitivity that make him nigh irresistible.
Eliza, however, tries her best to resist.
Poor Eliza has a heartbreakingly believable backstory, but she’s not a victim. Instead, she’s rebuilt her life (under an assumed name – yes, her backstory is that bad), and she’s moving on. When Eliza decides to stay the hell away from men, especially men with a kinky side, she’s got damn good reasons.
But Bronwyn Green pulls these characters together, slowly and naturally, until the sizzling sexual tension between them was just about killing me.
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And that’s when the story got really interesting!
