What a beautiful morning

January 2, 2020March 9, 20202 Comments

I got today’s video knocked out a bit earlier than yesterday’s. There was a beautiful sunrise this morning, and I couldn’t help shooting it:

Mornings are so pretty in Iowa. But it would be even more peaceful if the boys didn’t argue about every little thing.

Of course, since I’m me, I decided to add to the challenge by writing a poem to go with each day’s video. Yesterday I wrote a haiku about two of my kitties; today I wrote another one about how nice it would be if my kids did’t spend each morning’s wait for the bus in an argument over something. They argue about everything lately.

I’m excited about the poem aspect of this challenge. I’ve gotten back to work on The Lokana Chronicles, but I don’t want my poetry to fall to the wayside, and this will be a great opportunity to keep those poetic muscles in shape.

Well, that and the two poetry groups I’ve joined in the last six months. 😄

What about you – have you set any new year’s resolutions?

The Devil Dogs

March 26, 2017March 26, 2017Leave a comment

It was a dry snow; I could tell by the way it swirled in the wind. I shivered.

Old Man Winter wasn’t about to go quietly into the night. Oh, no. He raged outside me window against the coming of the light, huffing and puffing with all of his might. We’d have another foot by morning, or I wasn’t Effie McCray.

At least it would move easily, being so dry. Thank goodness it weren’t packing snow.

Packing snow was heavy, wet stuff, perfect for felling timbers and building snowmen. But we didn’t have any old trees, or even any young ones, to worry about anymore, nor any young’uns itchin’ to build a snowman. The ice storms had already taken care of ’em.

They’d taken care of a lotta things.

I rolled over in bed so’s I faced away from the window. The fire was out in the hearth, and I was out of logs. Oh sure, there were plenty out in the woodshed, but I weren’t about to fetch more. Not after dark, no siree. My Peter had always kept…

A work in progress

February 18, 20172 Comments

Work on my novel continues…slowly. I’m my own worst critic, I know, but it’s very hard to turn that inner critic off.

Still, I didn’t think this bit was all that bad:

It was then that he noticed the silence. Riverdell was a small, quiet town, but it had nothing on this place. Even on the quietest night in Riverdell, there was always traffic thrumming in the distance. Electricity sang through the power lines; streetlights hummed on otherwise dark streets; kids toting stereos pumped up the bass loud enough to rattle a whole building.

There was none of that here. There was only the wind in the trees here, tall grass waving in the breeze, a cricket choir backed by a bug band singing him to sleep.

It was another beautiful day here today, and the warmth of the sun has been most welcome. I hope you’re all having a fantastic weekend!

Writing bunnies

February 10, 2017February 10, 2017Leave a comment

I’m home from work today with a sick little Thumper bunny and taking advantage of the unexpected time off to catch up on a bit of writing. I’m working on revisions for another novel, and it’s not going as well as I’d initially thought it would. There’s so much more to cut than I’d first thought: trying to keep it to one POV per scene is a major challenge.

I’ve been fiddling around with these books for a good decade. I even queried them a few years ago, but didn’t get anywhere. That, of course, happened long before I decided that one book should become two, but even then it was a hot mess. It’s still a hot mess, but at least I think I’ve grown as a writer since then. I still feel like the head-hopping isn’t such a big deal, but others (okay, pretty much everyone else) disagree, so I’m changing it.

And it’s hard. So very, very hard.

Silencing my diligent and devoted inner literary critic is even harder.

I think the changes I’m making will…

Night of the Living Potato

January 17, 2017January 18, 2017Leave a comment

As I was scrolling through Facebook tonight, I happened upon the following picture:

That could be fun, I thought. I’ll give it a try.

It seems simple enough, right? Ah, but coming up with the perfect potato title…

Things I’ve found inspiring this weekend

January 15, 2017January 17, 2017Leave a comment

Ice storms.
My children.
Old episodes of Dancing With the Stars (I’m playing catch-up).
Climate change.
My current WIP.

What inspires you?

A question of confidence

November 21, 20162 Comments

I am happy to have with me once again that inimitable poet, Tallis Steelyard, to talk a little about his latest adventures in Port Naain with his esteemed cartographer friend, Benor Dorfinngil.

cover-a-bad-penny It is, I freely confess, a sore point. I feel somehow that my honour has been traduced, that my good name has been taken in vain. Indeed I, Tallis Steelyard, leading poet of my generation, has been shamelessly taken advantage of.
It started simply enough when I was asked to promote a short tale, ‘A Bad Penny.’ You’ve heard of it perhaps? I thought not. Perhaps I’ll have to explain further.

Some petty hack called Jim Webster, a writer of penny dreadfuls of the worst sort, inveigled his way into the confidence of an old friend of mine, one Benor. Now in his youth Benor lived for a while in Port Naain and we were (and still are) friends. So doubtless under the influence of a heady combination of generously plied strong drink and even more generously plied flattery, Benor started telling tales of his adventures in our proud city. So many of these stories were there that this Webster chap produced a collection of them under the title of the ‘Port Naain Intelligencer’.

Are you still with me? Anyway, I have to tell you, as between friends…

It’s blitz time!

October 3, 2016September 23, 2016Leave a comment

It’s release day for The Impending Possession of Scarlet Wakebridge-Rosé!

tiposwr Welcome to the blitz for S. L. Saboviec’s latest release! Just in time for Halloween, pick up this tale of a supernatural menace, strained family ties, and unavoidable destiny:

Scarlet Wakebridge-Rosé, busy executive and less-than-stellar mother and wife, has a problem that only an exorcist can solve. Except she’s not precisely a devout Catholic parishioner any longer, and to gain assistance from the Church means telling a whopping lie of omission.

Fortunately, she discovers Father Angelo Ambrosio, whose commitment to helping the afflicted means he’s willing to overlook the things Scarlet prefers to keep hidden. Unfortunately, his sordid past keeps him under a microscope with the bishop, who’s not so liberal in his views.

But the demon harassing Scarlet is relentless. It makes its motives clear: in a previous life, she struck a bargain, promising it her body on her fiftieth birthday. Now, she and Angelo must unravel the mystery surrounding her forgotten past in order to stop the possession by next week or risk losing her to the depths of Hell forever.

This stand-alone novel set in the Fallen Redemption universe extends the series to modern day. Enter a world where humans reincarnate, demons interfere in daily life, and the currents of fate carry us all to our destinies.

99 cent Sale!

Until the end of release week, The Impending Possession of Scarlet Wakebridge-Rosé is 99 cents through Kindle and free through Kindle Unlimited! Don’t wait – the price goes up to next Monday.

About the Author

Samantha grew up in a small town in Iowa but became an expat for her Canadian husband, whom she met in the Massive Multi-player Online Role-Playing Game Star Wars: Galaxies (before the NGE, of course). She holds a B.S. in Physics, which qualifies her to B.S. about physics and occasionally do some math for the sci-fi stories she concocts. Her dark, thought-provoking science fiction & fantasy contains flawed, relatable characters and themes that challenge the status quo.

Her short fiction has appeared in AE and Grievous Angel, and her debut novel received an honorable mention in the 23rd Annual Writer’s Digest Self-Published Book Awards.

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An impending review!

September 24, 2016September 23, 2016Leave a comment

tiposwr Ah, books. Glorious books! Wonderful books! How I love thee! 🙂

Yep, I’ve been reading again. This time, my literary obsession is The Impending Possession of Scarlet Wakebridge-Rosé by S.L. Saboviec. It’s a stand-alone novel from the same universe as Guarding Angel and Reaping Angel, and it was the perfect way to whet my appetite for the next book in the Fallen Redemption series.

Wow, so that’s a lot of titles right there. A person could be confused by all that, I suppose, so allow me to tell you what this book is all about …behind the cut!

Cover reveal time!

August 19, 2016August 17, 20162 Comments

Welcome to the cover reveal for S. L. Saboviec’s The Impending Possession of Scarlet Wakebridge-Rosé, an urban fantasy stand-alone novel set in the world of her Fallen Redemption books. But that’s not all — after you check out the cover, stay tuned for details on how to enter an epic giveaway of a $1,200 Amazon gift card!

The cover for The Impending Possession of Scarlet Wakebridge-Rosé is by Clarissa of Yocla Designs, and you’re going to love it. I know I do! 🙂

But before we get to all that, what is the book all about? Keep reading…