Samantha MacLeod's Blog, page 19

Erotic Literature You’ll Respect in the Morning

Say, you look like a sophisticated reader. (Yes, you!)

Are you looking for intelligent, high quality erotica and romance?

[image error]Of course you are!

Cleverotica, the website for lovers of intelligent, steamy romance and scorching hot literature, is hosting a FREE BOOK DRIVE!

On September 25th, you could receive sexy and free books of your choosing in exchange for an honest review on Amazon and Goodreads. All you have to do is sign up here, my virtual friend.

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.

Read Me Naked!

Have you read Death and Beauty?

It’s my sexy fantasy romance novella inspired by the Norse myth of Baldr the Beautiful, who ends up in the realm of Loki’s daughter Hel.

[image error]

And right now, it’s also FREE!

Death and Beauty is one of over 80 (!) sexy stories available for free in the Love Me Naked – Read Me Naked Instafreebie giveaway.

[image error]Clothing Optional

Check it out from now until October 3rd… and ditch those pesky clothes!

Release Date for The Night Watch

I know what you’re thinking.

“Samantha,” you say, “are you ever going to write anything that’s not inspired by Norse mythology?”

Well, yes. Yes, I am.

It’s called The Night Watch, and it’s being published by Less Than Three Press.

[image error]So there you go.

The Night Watch is a departure for me in a lot of big ways.

It’s my first time working with a publisher for an independent piece instead of a story in an anthology. It’s my first long piece with third person POV, and my first attempt at shifting viewpoints. It’s also my first M/M romance (which eventually becomes an M/M/M/F romance).

And, of course, there’s nary a Norse god in sight!

Here’s the blurb…

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.

So when do you get to read this awesome fantasy romance?

[image error]

November 29!

Excited yet?

GOOD! You can preorder your very own e-copy right here!

And stay tuned for more, like teasers and the cover reveal!

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.

We Can Buy a Toaster: Reflections from the First Year as an Indy Author

Way back in April, I posted a really explicit article… about money, baby!

Now that I’ve reached the one-year anniversary of The Trickster’s Lover‘s publication – and the one-year anniversary of my start as a small business – I thought I’d add another post about the financial realities of independent publishing.

Because what’s sexier than financial realities?

[image error]Anything. Literally anything is sexier.
The Numbers

Let’s run those numbers!

In the year since I started this crazy publishing journey with The Trickster’s Lover, I’ve made just under $700 (that doesn’t count my July or August sales, since I only tally up the profits once they’re in my f’ing bank account).

Of that, roughly $500 came from Amazon sales, and the rest trickled in from various other vendors (Barnes & Noble and Apple being the biggest of the non-Amazon sites).

Of course, Trickster’s Lover isn’t the only smut I’m peddling. I have two novellas (Honeymoon and Death and Beauty), plus my erotic short story Persephone Remembers the Pomegranates (It’s free now, but it did cost .99 for a good chunk of this year).

I’ve also gotten paid for two short stories – The Ballad of Tam Lin in Lustily Ever After and On Selkie Beach in Sinful Pleasures.

Still, $700 sounds pretty awesome, doesn’t it?

The Downside

But…

[image error]

I’ve spent it all.

And I don’t mean “went out for beer and hot wings” spent it all.

No, I mean “business expenses” spent it all.

As an indy publisher, I buy my own covers and advertising. I also buy paperbacks for giveaways and pay fees for things like this blog and my newsletter. All told, the expenses side of my business isn’t huge… but then again, neither are the profits!

The Bottom Line

Profits are the difference between the amount a business earned, and the amount a business spent.

[image error]

To date, Samantha MacLeod’s independent publishing company – Vestal Valley Press – has not made a profit.

That is to say, I’ve sunk every penny I’ve earned right back into promoting my books or buying covers for the next story in line.

And to be totally honest – just between you and me, internet – if I take into account the money I spent before The Trickster’s Lover was published, I’ve sunk more into publishing than I’ve made.

I’m in the red.

[image error]

Yet another thing I have in common with Natasha Romanova.

Goals

I suck at setting goals (and I’m going to write a blog post about that someday), but I am a business, and businesses have goals, damn it!

So, as I stare another year of independent publishing in the face, I’m hoping to both decrease expenses and offer some new sexy stories. Maybe, just maybe, next year will be the year I break even, or come away with some actual profit.

Like enough to buy a toaster.

[image error]The sweet smell of success!!!
But…

I’m not going to freak out about these numbers. Because publishing is a business, yes.

But writing is not.

And, while I want to be explicitly honest about the money I’m making (or not) – in part because I wish I’d done more research before I started this journey, and in part because I wish people were more explicitly honest about everything – I don’t want to focus on the money.

I didn’t start publishing for the money. In fact, publishing is a terrible way to make money — almost as bad as becoming a writer.

I started writing because I had an idea that just wouldn’t shut up, and I decided to publish independently because I liked the idea of creative control, hated the idea of querying agents, and suspected my paranormal romance novel with nary a vampire or werewolf in sight was a bit too unconventional to be an easy sell to a publishing company.

If I look at that decision from the profits perspective, well, maybe it wasn’t the greatest. But then again, if I look at any of my life decisions from a profits perspective, they don’t look so good. I mean, I am a philosophy professor, after all…

[image error]One f or two?

So, while I want to be honest about the money and smart about the business side of things, I also want to keep it in perspective.

Because in the end, writing is about telling a good story, creating something from nothing, evoking emotions in your audience, and perhaps even capturing something beautiful.

Making enough money to buy a damn toaster is just a nice bonus.

Hey, It’s a Series!

I’ve got Danielle Hardgrave at Caldwell Publishing to thank for this realization.

You see, she’s got a fabulous series going with vampires, werewolves, and Norse mythology (check out my reviews of To Trust a Wolf and Sleuthing with the Enemy).

[image error]Sweet cover, too!

But unlike some series – J. R. R. Tolkien, I’m lookin’ at you – both of Hardgrave’s novels are standalones. You can pick them up, enjoy the heck out of them, and never once worry if you’re reading them out of order.

But if you have read one, you’ll get a kick out of seeing the same characters showing up in both stories. (Especially Benji.)

It finally dawned on me, as I very, very slowly revise my second novel, that…

Hey. This is a series!

It’s a standalone book, to be sure. But certain characters reappear, several years older than they were in The Trickster’s Lover.

And that’s not all.

Honeymoon is (obviously) the sequel to The Trickster’s Lover.

Death and Beauty is a bit of a prequel. It takes place about a thousand years before The Trickster’s Lover, and Loki shows up in several scenes, notably killing the protagonist Baldr the Beautiful.

[image error]It’s cool. Dead guys have more fun.
So What Else is Coming?

Alright, I’ve got four – yes, four – projects in the works that are directly related to my Loki series.

The Wolf’s Lover, my next novel, takes place several years after the events of Honeymoon.

The Briar and the Rose, a novella, takes place after The Wolf’s Lover (and includes a fair bit of Loki’s past that happens well before Death and Beauty).

My as-of-yet-unnamed WIP about Fenris takes place after The Briar and the Rose but before Death and Beauty. (Yes, I’m digging my distant past fantasy world right now.)

Oh, and I have an absolutely filthy Thor/Loki short story that takes place around the same time. More about that later.

[image error]stay tuned!
All I Need…

There’s only one thing I need now.

[image error]

Okay, make that two things!

Coffee and a kick-ass series name.

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.

What Have We Here..?

Hmmmm, it’s a Viking longship sailing into the sunset.

[image error]

It’s almost as if someone is planning to release a very, very naughty short story about Thor and Loki this fall…

[image error]

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.

Happy Book Birthday, Trickster’s Lover!

One year ago today, I published my first novel.

[image error]

The Trickster’s Lover, my paranormal romance with the Norse god Loki and the University of Chicago graduate student Caroline, went live on Amazon on September 6, 2016.

Celebration Sale!

And that means it’s time to celebrate!

[image error]

For the rest of the week, The Trickster’s Lover is only .99 on Amazon and everywhere else.

Pick it up, and treat yourself to a little Loki over the weekend…

Because Paperbacks are Sexy

I love password-protected e-readers as much as the next erotica fan with small children, but let’s face it: Paperbacks are sexier.

[image error]SEXY!!!

So this week, to celebrate the one-year anniversary of The Trickster’s Lover‘s publication, I’d like to send you a sexy paperback copy of the entire Samantha MacLeod collection.

Check out this video for the details:

Enter to win all the books by joining my newsletter here, or sharing on Facebook and Twitter.

And in the meantime, check out The Trickster’s Lover, Honeymoon, and Death and Beauty for yourself…

Good luck, my virtual friends!

Win ALL THE CONTESTS!!!

I’m gearing up for The Trickster’s Lover‘s one year anniversary next week by joining a ton of contests!

And I’m sharing them with you, my virtual friend.

Because I like you.

[image error]Yes. I do.
Urban Fantasy Giveaway
I’ve teamed up with 15 urban fantasy authors to give away a huge collection of novels (including The Trickster’s Lover ) to two lucky winners, alongside a number of bookstore gift cards, PLUS a Kindle Fire or Nook Tablet to the Grand Prize winner!

Enter the urban fantasy contest here!

[image error]

All The Romance, for Free!

You know what sounds good when the weather starts to cool down and we all head back indoors?

ROMANCE BOOKS!

And hey, have I got a deal for you…

[image error]

Yes, that’s over 100 free romance stories, including my sexy short story inspired by Greek mythology, Persephone Remembers the Pomegranates.

Find them all here, and then just go ahead and take the rest of the day off…

Paranormal Romance Steals

This isn’t a contest, but it’s still awesome!

For the next week, you can pick up over 20 paranormal romance stories on super sale. So, if you’re looking for werewolves, shifters, or (of course) Loki, check it out right here.

[image error]

Of course, I have some giveaways of my own planned for next week… stay tuned!

“Happy to recommend to lovers of erotica.”

The lovely Kay at Love Bites and Silk Ties has a fabulous double feature for you today!

First, she offers a glowing review of the Sinful Pleasures anthology.

[image error]

“Every story in this anthology deserves to be here and I enjoyed them all,” she writes. “Happy to recommend to lovers of erotica.”

Awwww, thank you, Kay!

[image error]

And second, you can read the story behind my piece On Selkie Beach.

Find it all right here, my friends!

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.