Samantha Warren's Blog, page 27

Updates!

Some of you might be wondering what the heck I've been up to this month. Well, to be honest, not much. But I have lots planned.

What I've accomplished so far:
-I planted my garden! We have cantaloupe, two types of squash, cucumbers, beets (lots of beets. I love beets), radishes, carrots, potatoes, tomatoes, peppers, garlic, and onions.
-I finished and published Blood & Tears (Jane #3). Ok, so this was done at the end of May, but it was "officially" out June 1st.
-I dropped Vampire Assassin (Jane...

Rant Warning: "Piracy isn't stealing." Um... what?

So, twice now I've heard someone use the argument that "piracy isn't stealing." All I have to say is WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU SMOKING????? By definition, piracy is stealing. It absolutely, completely, and totally makes me frustrated beyond belief that people are even trying to claim it's not. Arguing against DRM is one thing. But saying that if someone steals someone else's work, it's not theft? That's just not even logical!

Piracy: a : the unauthorized use of another's production, invention...

Sample Sunday: Blood of the Dragon

This excerpt is from chapter 6 of Blood of the Dragon. The full novel is available on Kindle, Nook, and in paperback.

Lana was having her last dinner with her parents, after which they would head to the hatchery to move the egg, when a member of the SC burst through the door.

"Nilon knows!"

Before anything else left the woman's mouth, the family was in the hall throwing on their boots and grabbing their sweaters. All four raced through the darkened streets toward the hatchery. Despite the exp...

Crazy Idea

So, I read about this somewhere, but I don't remember where or many of the details, but it sounds like a cool idea and I've been pondering the plausibility of me actually accomplishing it.

My Idea: Sit in the local coffee shop and write a novella. I'd sit there for a good 6-8 hours, just typing away. I could probably knock out between 10k and 12k, depending on how fast I typed and how diligent I was. Characters, locations, plot, etc could come from the other patrons.

First, does anyone remember...

99 Cent Books for Reader Appreciation Month

As writers, we all know how important the readers are. So for the entire month of June, readers can purchase many novels in the speculative fiction genre from the Bards & Sages Reader Appreciation Outlet at a discount, including my own novella, Vampire Assassin. Titles are available in urban fantasy, paranormal romance, horror, epic/high fantasy, science fiction, speculative anthologies, and single author collections. All titles are $0.99! You can also win a $50 Amazon gift card, one of four ...

Memorial Day Charity Drive

In honor of our troops, for each copy sold today of Blood of the Dragon , I will donate $2 to AnySoldier, a website dedicated to sending care packages to our men and women who are overseas. Please help support our troops!

I'm also including purchases of New Blood and Blood & Tears.

A Big Thank You to Our Troops

On this day of remembrance, I would like to give a big thank you to all those who have died in the service of the United States of America. Without your sacrifice, we would not have the opportunities and freedoms we have today. We all owe you much more than we can offer, so we will simply say thanks.

Sample Sunday: Blood & Tears (Jane #3)

Blood & Tears is the third in the Jane novella series. If you have not read the first two, you may wish to do so before reading this sample, as it contains spoilers.

"Ready?"

"Baby, I'm always ready."

"Getting cocky in your old age, I see."

"No, I just had a magnificent teacher." I grinned at Felipe as the men behind us grumbled and rolled their eyes. No matter how much the men moaned, though, I knew they would do anything to protect me.

Ronin, the vampire priest who lived in the sanctuary with ...

DRM: Bane of existence? Or necessary evil?

I've heard a lot of complaints about DRM (digital rights management), and I wanted to address some of the complaints here. DRM tends to be a very touchy subject for people, much like airport check-in or homeland security (neither of which I understand the complaints about). So I wouldn't be surprised if this earns me a few nasty comments, but oh well. To each his own.

First, what is DRM? According to the Wiki article, it is access control technologies that are used by hardware manufacturers, p...

Blood & Tears (Jane #3)

Blood & Tears, the third installment in the Jane novella series, will be released for Kindle and Nook on June 1st. Jane is back and she's part of an elite fighting force designed to take out the evil rogue who has been plaguing them since book 2. How will the team fair? Will Jane's relationship with Felipe progress, or will it come to a standstill? Has Donna been able to cope with the loss of her sister? Find out the answers on June 1st!