Samantha MacLeod's Blog, page 30
January 6, 2017
Mourning
There were chickadees at the bird feeder the morning after you died.
They didn’t seem to mind the paramedics, the whirl and flash of the ambulance lights, the police officers assuring me the autopsy results would allow some measure of peace.
They like the sunflower seeds, those chickadees.
The rest they just push aside.
I wanted to hold them in my palm, cup them close to the aching emptiness of my chest, those soft little puffs of black and white.
I wanted to break all their bones, to feel them vanish beneath me. That they would feed, would fly, would alight from branch to backyard table to the bird feeder you had
so recently
filled.
For my dear friend Barbra Vickers. You will be so deeply missed.
January 5, 2017
2017 Resolution: More Rejection!
I’m not usually one for making New Year’s resolutions.
I mean, sure, I’d love to get skinny and organized and handle my finances like a mildly competent adult instead of careening from one disaster to another. But I’d like to have those things in the same sense that I’d like to have a little apartment in Paris, or a completely clean house.
As in, I want them, but I don’t want them enough to bust out the Windex.
However, I do have a New Year’s resolution for my writing! (Other than finishing my damn second novel.)
I WANT MORE REJECTIONS!
I’ve gone with indy publishing for Trickster’s Lover, Honeymoon, and Persephone, but I’m still submitting to literary magazines both as Samantha MacLeod and under my super top secret real name.
Last year I started on rejection art, and that’s helped encourage me to slam myself into the brick wall of publishing rejection…
[image error]This used to be prettier, but my six-year-old has been “helping” me color in the swirls.
I counted the swirls today, and…only ten rejections. Since May. Not a great track record.
So this year, screw getting into shape, getting organized, and getting a handle on my finances.
I’m going to write more, submit more, and by God – I’m going to get REJECTED!
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January 3, 2017
Cover Reveal for Persephone Remembers the Pomegranates!
I’ve got a treat for you, my friends!
My erotic short story, Persephone Remembers the Pomegranates, comes out on Valentine’s Day!
And a sexy retelling of a Greek myth needs a sexy cover, no?
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The fabulous Teresa Conner designed this beautiful cover for me and I LOVE IT!
[image error]LOVE IT!!!!
Here’s the short, sexy blurb for the short, sexy story:
You’ve heard it was the pomegranate.
Those six juicy, ruby seeds, staining my lips and fingers. Sealing my fate. Damning me.
Well, maybe so.
But that’s not entirely the truth.
You can read an excerpt from Persephone Remembers the Pomegranates here.
AND you can pre-order your own copy on Amazon or on iBooks for a whole .99!
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December 31, 2016
Looking Backward, Moving Forward
So long, 2016!
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Here’s my obligatory New Year’s post where I take stock of my life personally and professionally. I was going to include politically, but that’s just too goddamn depressing, so it’ll have to wait for another blog post.
Personally
I don’t want to become one of those people who often blog about their personal life. Not because I have something to hide (wouldn’t that be fun?) but because my personal life is, on the whole, pretty damn boring.
But I’ll give a brief recap: 2016 was an awesome year for the MacLeod family. We left a job my husband did not much enjoy (professor) in Buffalo, NY for a job he loves (high school teacher) in southern Maine. And we bought our dream house – a 180-year-old farmhouse in the country that’s only somewhat falling apart.
[image error]Wild turkeys in our backyard. Also, the wall that’s falling apart.
Good show, MacLeod family. Good show.
Professionally
2016 was the year I became a published author.
I started writing again in 2015. But my very first publication came out in March of 2016 (under my real name), and was followed by a second real-name publication in August.
Samantha MacLeod’s first publication, “The Ballad of Tam Lin,” came out this summer as part of A Two Dame Production’s anthology of erotic fairy tales Lustily Ever After.
I also published “John Cutter Entertains a Visitor” in Typehouse Literary Magazine, which was NOMINATED FOR A FREAKING PUSHCART PRIZE!!!!
And – oh yeah – I independently published a novel (The Trickster’s Lover) and a novella (Honeymoon).
Publishing has been a bit of a rollercoaster.
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The Good:
I’ve met fabulous new people! (If you’re reading this post, chances are you’re one of them.)
I’m sharing my work and getting feedback, which is a wonderful process almost all the time. It’s amazing to let these stories out into the world.
New Year’s Eve
“Time to check the traps,” the old man said.
The boy lit the lamps and followed him through the door, toward the darkness of the liminal lands.
The old man turned back as they neared the edge. “Watch your step,” he said.
“You always say that,” the boy replied.
The old man chuckled.
They came to the moments first, small and struggling in the gossamer bonds. The old man held the lamps steady as the boy bend to unwind them. He first released a word unspoken, then a backwards glance. A sharp cry – whether in anger or pleasure was unclear – came last. Once freed, they trembled in the lamplight.
“Off you go, then,” the old man said, and one by one the moments slipped over the edge, to the hungry darkness beyond.
They found the hours next. The last hour of school in June, thick and syrupy in the lamplight. The witching hour between dusk and dark flowed over the edge like oil. The boy burned his fingers on the final hour of childbirth; the old man tsked but bandaged him with white linen.
They found the entire month of August caught there in the ropes, straining as it stretched toward oblivion.
“Gentle, now,” said the old man, pulling a silver knife from his belt. He sliced the ropes and August was off, leaping over the edge.
They heard the year before they saw it, a strained wheezing heave in the darkness. Then its tattered bulk loomed before them, panting and bleeding in the straps, smelling of rusted metal.
The old man hissed through his teeth. “This was a mean one.”
He looked to the boy and nodded in the lamplight. Together they cut the thick straps of the trap, touching the year as little as possible, minding where their feet fell. When their work was done, they stepped back.
“There you go, now,” the man said.
The year shifted, turned dark, hungry eyes on the old man.
“You’re done,” said the man. The silver of his blade gleamed in the lamplight. “Off you go.”
The year hissed and wheezed, shifting its grey mottled bulk toward the edge. It moved very slowly on its many legs, so slowly the boy felt it was hardly moving at all, and that he may spend the rest of his time standing there, on the edge of the darkness, the lamp trembling in his hand.
When the last of the year slumped over the edge the old man sighed and clapped the boy on his shoulder.
“Well, that’s that,” he said.
Together they turned toward home, where the pale light of the coming dawn had just begun to paint the horizon.
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New Year’s
“Time to check the traps,” the old man said.
The boy lit the lamps and followed him through the door, toward the darkness of the liminal lands.
The old man turned back as they neared the edge. “Watch your step,” he said.
“You always say that,” the boy replied.
The old man chuckled.
They came to the moments first, small and struggling in the gossamer bonds. The old man held the lamps steady as the boy bend to unwind them. He first released a word unspoken, then a backwards glance. A sharp cry – whether in anger or pleasure was unclear – came last. Once freed, they trembled in the lamplight.
“Off you go, then,” the old man said, and one by one the moments slipped over the edge, to the hungry darkness beyond.
They found the hours next. The last hour of school in June, thick and syrupy in the lamplight. The witching hour between dusk and dark flowed over the edge like oil. The boy burned his fingers on the final hour of childbirth; the old man tsked but bandaged him with white linen.
They found the entire month of August caught there in the ropes, straining as it stretched toward oblivion.
“Gentle, now,” said the old man, pulling a silver knife from his belt. He sliced the ropes and August was off, leaping over the edge.
They heard the year before they saw it, a strained wheezing heave in the darkness. Then its tattered bulk loomed before them, panting and bleeding in the straps, smelling of rusted metal.
The old man hissed through his teeth. “This was a mean one.”
He looked to the boy and nodded in the lamplight. Together they cut the thick straps of the trap, touching the year as little as possible, minding where their feet fell. When their work was done, they stepped back.
“There you go, now,” the man said.
The year shifted, turned dark, hungry eyes on the old man.
“You’re done,” said the man. The silver of his blade gleamed in the lamplight. “Off you go.”
The year hissed and wheezed, shifting its grey mottled bulk toward the edge. It moved very slowly on its many legs, so slowly the boy felt it was hardly moving at all, and that he may spend the rest of his time standing there, on the edge of the darkness, the lamp trembling in his hand.
When the last of the year slumped over the edge the old man sighed and clapped the boy on his shoulder.
“Well, that’s that,” he said.
Together they turned toward home, where the pale light of the coming dawn had just begun to paint the horizon.
Like what you’ve read? Subscribe to my newsletter for updates, teasers, and free stories!
December 28, 2016
“Well, isn’t this a bite sized morsel of yumminess?”
Jo from A British Bookworm’s Blog just posted a lovely review of Honeymoon!
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She said, “There is, I believe, a skill in being able to tell a story in a small number of pages.”
Awwwww, thank you!
[image error]*blush!*
You can read the full review here.
And yes, there is more on the way…
December 27, 2016
Featured Author on Amazeballs!
Good morning, my friends!
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I’m delighted to be the Featured Author this morning on Amazeballs Book Addicts blog. The lovely ladies behind Amazeballs are featuring both The Trickster’s Lover AND Honeymoon, as well as an interview with yours truly.
If you’d like to find out what I’m working on now, or (far more importantly) what super powers I’d chose, you can check out the post here.
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Sexy Loki Scene on Lilah E. Noir’s Blog!
Happy Tuesday, my friends!
I’m delighted to be Lilah E. Noir’s guest this sexy Tuesday with a very naughty excerpt from my contemporary romance novel with the Norse god Loki, The Trickster’s Lover.
[image error]Have I mentioned it’s on SALE this week for only .99?
You can read the sexy excerpt here. I promise it’ll heat up your Tuesday!
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December 26, 2016
12 Days of Sexmas!
What’s the best way to celebrate the holidays?
I’d say steamy, erotic romance novels!
And what if I told you those steamy, erotic romance novels were either free or cost just .99?
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Best. Sexmas. Ever.
I’m excited to be a part of the 12 Days of Sexmas, where you can find deals on hot romance novels from now through the New Year.
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I’ll be featured on Day 3.
