The Angel's Assassin ~ Medieval Romance At Its Finest!

I can't say that I've ever know anyone from Warwickshire, England! Welcome Samantha Holt. It's nice to have you visiting today.

Wow, that's quite the cover. I know I'll be heading over to pick up this free book today. Well, lets jump on in and find out a little bit more about you.

What is the name of your latest book, and if you had to summarize it what would you say?

The Angel’s Assassin is a historical romance set in 11th Century England. It’s an exploration of the anti-hero and whether or not love can change him. It looks briefly at some of the events in history at the time but at its heart, it’s the connection between my hero and heroine that drives the story.

What genre would you place your books into?

I write historical romances, or more specifically medieval romances. Haven’t tried Regency or anything else yet!

What made you decide to write that genre of book?

I’m not sure when it happened but I developed a great love for reading medieval romances in the past few years. I love all romances but medieval always stuck with me. I think generally it’s because the blend action with romance and I adore history. When I finally sat down to write, it seemed the most natural thing for me to do.

Do you have a favourite out of the books you have written? If so why is it your favourite?

 The Crimson Castle was my first, and most successful, book to date. Honestly if I wrote it again, I’d do a lot different but I think it will always hold a special place in my heart. My writing has developed since then and I believed it was going to be my one and only book so I tried to cram a lot into it. That said, there are still bits that I read back to myself and just love. The dialogue between Gabriel and Evelyn still gets me sometimes and I struggle to remember that it was me who actually wrote it!

Do you have a favourite character from your books? Why are they your favourite?

Currently Nicholas from The Angel’s Assassin is my favourite. I tend to fall in love with my heroes and I enjoyed creating his journey from bad to good. However, I’m sure it won’t be long until he’s replaced in my heart by my latest hero from the next book I’m writing.

Is there anything you find particularly challenging in your writing?

Trying to balance the marketing side of things with the writing side! I still haven’t perfected it. Today I spent about 4 hours answering emails and writing blog posts and about 45 minutes actually writing. Things have been a little hectic recently as I’m just finishing up a blog tour but I hope to get into a better routine of things and get back to what I really enjoy (writing books!) soon.

If Hollywood made a movie about your life, who would you like to see play the role of you and why?

I grew up being told I was like Lisa Kudrow as Phoebe from friends - I’m blonde and I guess we look a little alike (though she’s a good deal older than me!). I can come across as quite buoyant and I think people mistake that for ditsiness but those that know me will know I’m quite a control freak and can be fairly serious at times. I’m not sure I’d like her to play me though, as much as I love her as an actress. Sienna Miller is my girl crush; she has the most gorgeous ‘girl next door’ beauty, so I’d be quite happy for her to play me!

What piece of advice would you give to a new writer?

I answer this question a lot and my advice changes frequently as I’m still forever learning new things but very basically, keep writing, ignore what others are doing and don’t compare yourself to them. Also become friends with other authors - the vast majority of them will bend over backwards to help and I’ve learned a lot from them.

Would you share a deep dark secret about you with us?

I’m terrible about keeping secrets (my own that is!). I’m a little too forthright at times and everything tends to come out so I don’t think I have any. It’s a bit sad really, I’d quite like a deep, dark secret.

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Samantha Holt is the author of several medieval romances including the bestseller, The Crimson Castle, and a series of historical erotic shorts. She lives in Warwickshire, England with her twin girls and occasionally her husband, who works abroad. She credits her ability to write about romance to his long absences! You can follow Samantha on Facebook for new releases, free stories and giveaways. http://www.facebook.com/romanticfiction

Her latest book, The Angel’s Assassin, is available to download for free on Amazon on the 31st October - 1st November.

http://www.amazon.com/The-Angels-Assassin-ebook/dp/B00989J3PM/ref=la_B008FKHIXY_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1351006674&sr=1-2

As a rebellion sweeps England, Lady Annabel finds her home overrun by rebels. Much to her relief, a dark knight comes to her rescue, claiming to have been sent to protect her by her uncle.

But Nicholas holds a secret about the job he was sent to do and it is a far cry from what Annabel believes it to be. As the attraction between them grows, Nicholas begins to question the dark life he has lived. But is it enough to change him and will Annabel ever trust again after learning the true nature of his sinful duty?

Pepper

A couple weeks ago I blogged about having a new addition to my family, well, Pepper is her name and she’s already giving me inspiration to write.

I thought she would be black, but not so. The two little kittens that were black turned out to be males. I was looking for a female and that turned out to be the little grey one. She still pretty young, but is fitting in just fine with our family. To my surprise, Mandarin, our Bengal, is actually being friendly! Not just friendly to the kitten, but friendly to us humans as well! Nothing could have shocked us more.

We went camping to Peppers lake this past weekend. It’s our favorite lake. My husband thought Peppers would be her name. So we have a Pepper. She adorable, very sociable and she sleeps with us at night.

This morning I was up at 5:00 am and behold, guess who was at my feet! It was PURR-FECT! I smiled while I sat at my computer writing. Pepper chew on my toes which made me smile harder. It was a great writing morning thanks to Pepper.

Hoping for a new addition to our family!

I’ll start by saying, NO I’m not having a baby…two-legged one that is. I’m looking for a kitten. Right now my hubby and I have an Alaskan Malamute, a Bichon Shizu, and Mandarin who is a Bengal cat. Does anyone out there have a Bengal? It goes without saying that I LOVE all my animals, but I have to say Mandy (short for Mandarin) is the most unlovable cat I’ve ever known. We love her to death, but I can honestly say I have never heard her purr…not ever.

We can’t pick her up unless we sneak up on her and grab her. Needless to say she’s never happy when we do that. She cries like we are pulling her nails out. When she does want affection she’ll come to us but only close enough for us to scratch her cheeks. She’s so funny. Occasionally if she’s cold at night she’ll jump on the bed, and scratch at the covers. I’ll lift up the blankets and she’ll crawl under and sleep on my tummy. That’s the most loveable she ever gets. She doesn’t stay for long, basically only as long as I pet her cheeks. If I stop she leaves.

Mandarin loves Daisy, who is the Bichon Shizu. Mandy will groom Daisy all day long. It’s very cute to watch. I’m glad she likes something, and Daisy is so tolerant with her.

Any way, I have always had a cat in my life. Catz was with me for twenty-four years before she passed away, and Duma after Catz only lived for four and a half years dying with cancer. Both of them were affectionate, not overly, but would come for hugs and I could pick them up and carry them around. My point is that I miss that, so I decided to get another cat. Of course I still love Mandy and that will never change.

I had special criteria for getting another cat. Kind of like a rescue. Yesterday, I found a lady who bought a house on a farm and unbeknownst to her, the large garage came with two pregnant female strays. I fell in love with one of them, but the problem is that the kitten is only four weeks old and I didn’t know how to tell if she was male or female. I want a female so for now I’m calling her a she. My issue is that I’m worried she won’t be lovable? Perhaps I’m being paranoid. This week I will pick up all the little kitties and have a vet let me know if they are males or females.

Of course I link everything back to writing and about a year and a half ago I had a dream and in this dream I dreamt of a little pure black creature. It was adorable. In my dream it was named Mawgraw. But I don’t want to use that name for my new kitten. Mawgraw will be in one of my upcoming novels J I hope because I had this dream that this little kitten is meant to be with me <fingers crossed>.

I could use some help with names. Please shout them out. She is a little black kitten with a tiny tiny spot of white on her chest.

Also, I would love to know if anyone out there also has a Bengal cat. Is it typical for them to be so wild like? I think it might be.

I’ll do another blog post next week with an update and photos.

I’d love to hear from everyone.

What’s Your Animal Totem?

According to native Indians, everyone has an animal spirit guide. The question is typically what animal?

A couple years ago while I was in Whistler, British Columbia, my husband and I popped into a local artist’s studio. Her beautiful sculptures were exquisite and totally captivated my attention. There was a large grizzly she had carved out of stone. It looked so life-like it was actually frightening.

As I chatted with her I told her that I frequently have dreams about a white grizzly bear and sometimes that grizzly seems to be crossed with a wolf of sorts. The dream terrifies me, and I’m always running away from the chilling creature.

She looked at me and said, “Perhaps the Grizzly is your animal totem?” I was fascinated while she explained that each person has an animal totem. Eventually the animal will let you know who they are. Her elders explained this to her when she was young. Like myself she’d always been terrified of bears. One day she explained that a bear revealed itself to her as her spirit totem or guide. She’d been canoeing along the river when a grizzly wandered out onto the gravel bar. She said the bear stood up on his hind legs and locked eyes with her. She knew at that moment the grizzly was her totem. She now no longer fears bears.

Personally I would have been petrified. She told me I’d have to wait for my animal totem to show himself. I wonder if I can have two totems. All my life I’ve had encounters with wolves, so maybe a wolf is my spirit guide.

It’s no surprise why I write novels, which always have an animal in them. They play such an important part in our lives. Maybe I’m still waiting to encounter my animal Totem.

So my question today is do you know what your animal totem is? Please share your story with me I can’t wait to read them.

To Have...or... NOT to Have

When do I decide not to bring another pet into my life?

This is a question throughout my life that I have never contemplated. I can’t imagine not having an animal companion with me forever.

I certainly don’t consider myself old, but at what age would I say perhaps I shouldn’t have another dog or cat? Perhaps it’s not an age, but more about circumstance within one’s life.

Right now life with my babies is good. It’s my Alaskan Malamutes second birthday TODAY! His name is Dozer. 
IT'S MY BIRTHDAY!


I know we will have many happy years together, but when that horrible time comes, will my husband and I consider having another Malamute in our lives? I’m not sure and that’s a tough thought to swallow.

Maybe it’s a matter of owning smaller animals, ones that don’t require a ten-kilometer run everyday.

Daisy is my little Bichon Shih Tzu, who is eleven year’s old. She actually belonged to my mom and dad. When my mom was about 67 year’s old I thought it would be a good idea to get her a little pup for her anniversary. You see mom and dad have also had pets all their lives, and it seemed to me that a pup would give my mom something to focus on other than her aches and pains. I also knew she’d enjoy taking her new baby for little walks, which would be beneficial.

Mom and dad were happy to have her, and we agreed that it seemed to be the best gift they could have received, but after a couple years mom’s health deteriorated to the point where they needed to move to a senior’s lodge. Of course there wasn’t even a moment’s hesitation, Daisy would come live with us. At the same time I believed I’d made a horrible mistake. I’d given them this little baby that they loved to death, and now I had to take her away.

So at what point do you know when you shouldn’t have an animal? Perhaps mom and dad knew, but I interfered. All of that said everything turned out extremely well. Daisy loves our home and mom and dad get to see her all the time.

Have you contemplated the same thoughts? What did you decide and how are living with your decisions? I don’t think my stuffed animals are going to be able to fill the void.