Samhain Publishing
Good morning! I’m Anne Scott and I’m an editor at Samhain Publishing. We’ve been around since 2005, and I’ve been here since 2006. I love my job and I’m excited to be entering my fourth year of working for Samhain.
Samhain is an epublisher. Our books come out in digital first. If the book is long enough (somewhere over 50K usually), it is also released in trade paperback ten months later. We publish books with word counts from from 12K to 120K.
While we’re known to some extent as a publisher of erotic romance, we actually publish a complete range of heat levels, from sweet, close-the-door romances to sexy to red-hot. As well as romance and erotica, we publish fantasy and science fiction, as long as they have romantic elements.
One of the great things about epublishing is the versatility it offers. We don’t have a certain number of slots we have to fill with, say, contemporary romance or historical romance—though we definitely love to publish those. We can choose to publish the best stories that come to us, and it doesn’t matter the size (within our 12-120K range) or subgenre. This versatility allows us to publish cross-genre and niche books that might not easily fit at a mainstream publisher, or books that might be difficult to market. That historical set in Africa or that gay futuristic romance set in another galaxy can find a home at Samhain. I love having the freedom to simply buy books that are good 🙂
I’ve been busy editing this year and have had a number of different types of books come out in the last third of 2009.
In the cross-genre and niche category, Blood and Roses by Aislinn Kerry is a historical, paranormal gay romance set in Holland. Not easy to pin down in terms of genre, but very evocative and romantic. With vampires.
For science fiction, Happy Snak by Nicole Kimberling is a novel that will be released December 22 in ebook format. There is more than one romance within the book, but the major focus is on the hermaphrodite aliens and the narrator’s developing relationship with them. Excellent sense of humor, wonderful world-building.
But I buy more well-known subgenres too, such as romantic suspense. Beneath the Surface by MJ Fredrick is action-adventure, wherein archeologists on the brink of divorce rebuild their fractured relationship and save each other’s lives while diving off the Yucatan Peninsula.
I wouldn’t want you to think I don’t love to read and buy red-hot romances too. One wonderful example of a straightforward, sexy contemporary is Sami Lee’s Sunset Knight, in which the inexperienced heroine sets out to seduce the playboy hero. It’s a very emotional read.
I’d love to give away a couple of Samhain books. I’ll choose two people who comment below to win their pick of one of the books I’ve described today.
I’d like to take this moment to wish everyone the best in December, and enjoy your coming holidays.
would love to add any of these books to my ereader. as an aspiring romance writer samhain books are great learning tools.
Great blog, Anne! Samhain sounds perfect for my daughter, a writer of paranormal romances. May you have a wonderful Christmas and a blessed New Year. Lori L.
Hi again Anne,
I’m guessing the PDF format would be readable on the Nook, but please update the ebooks page of your site when you know for sure which format is best. I liked the excerpt of Sunset Knight and I’m looking forward to getting it once I have my ereader!
I look forward to hearing from you and Fedora, Cathy!
This was so fun, thank you very much, Anne, and congrats to Fedora on her book win. Will check my wish list and get an email right out to you. Happy Holidays
I’m so pleased that you read and loved Sunset Knight!
We work hard to bring out wonderful, diverse books and it’s great to hear we’ve succeeded where you’re concerned. Thanks for letting me know.
Hi Anne,
Just want to thank you and all of the people at Samhain for bringing such wonderful books to readers. I just found Samhain this year, and have to say I have bought more books published by Samhain than any other publisher (print or digital) this year. I love the diversity of authors!
I just got done reading Sunset Knight and loved it. It was the first book by Sami Lee that I read and am now going to go back and get the first one in the series.
Congrats for the great year, and keep up the good work!
And now for the winners, via random.org
1. Cathy M.
2. Fedora
Please email me at anne AT samhainpublishing DOT com, and let me know which title you would like and in which format.
Thank you, everyone, for entering and commenting. I’ve really enjoyed talking to you all. I hope the rest of your December goes wonderfully.
I’m glad you enjoyed the interview, Lisa. Happy Holidays to you too!
Happy Snak will be out next week, so I’m glad you’ve heard some buzz, Paula.
Hey, Nicole, nice to see you here 🙂
Hi Anne! Thanks for the shout out. 🙂
I just read about Happy Snak elsewhere and it sounds very interesting. Also, Blood and Roses sounds good because of the unusual setting (for starters).
Thank you for a great interview! I love winning new books! Happy Holidays! 🙂
Thanks, Armenia, and I’m so glad you think so! Samhain is a very exciting place for me to be right now, I have to say. We have some wonderfully talented artists too.
Just to let everyone know, I’ll be picking the two winners tomorrow morning and posting the names here then. I know some people do their blog rounds in the evening and I want to give them a chance to be able to enter the contest.
Hi Anne, Samhain has some of the best authors and are always adding new talent to their list. The cover art and stories have all been top notch!!
Thanks, Cari, and it’s wonderful to hear you’ll be submitting to Samhain.
Fedora, I’m thrilled you’ve loved the Samhain titles you’ve read. Thanks for your good wishes and kind words.
I also love romantic suspense, Mariska! Happy Holidays to you too 🙂
The last book, romantic suspense genre, really intrigued me 🙂 coz i love that genre.
happy holidays !
Hi, Anne! I’m relatively new to reading Samhain, but have loved the titles I’ve had the chance to read so far! I do love the variety available, and it’s a pleasure to meet someone who has a hand in making sure the books we have to choose from are among the best out there! Best wishes to you and Samhain for continued success!
All of these books sound wonderful, Anne. Submitting several projects to Samhain is at the top of my To Do list for the New Year.
Happy Holidays! 🙂
Elise: You’re more than welcome, and that’s great that you’ve been considering Samhain for your own book 🙂
TW: Glad to know some of these books are right up your alley! Especially since i loved them.
Capella: That’s so cool. I totally enjoyed the archeology angle in Beneath the Surface. Very fresh.
Debbie: Happy Holiday to you too. I can’t believe how quickly the holidays are approaching.
Okay, I’m back 🙂
CC, Samhain books are available at B&N’s ebookstore:
https://books.barnesandnoble.com/search/results.aspx?store=EBOOK&WRD=samhain+publishing&box=samhain%20publishing&pos=-1
And at other etailers. Just a tip, at My Bookstore and More new Samhain releases are 10% off their first week on sale. If you buy PDF or epub at MBAM, these can be read on your Nook.
https://www.mybookstoreandmore.com/shop/
I hope that helps!
Merry Christmas ~ Happy Holidays to you and yours
Beneath the Surface sounds awesome to me because I’m an archaeologist in training and the plot sounds fantastic.
Giggle-paranormal, gay, vampires-that is just the sort of thing that gets read around here as does hermaphrodite aliens.
Oh wait, we read the other two as well, because I am a reader who reads anything.
But mostly…glbt and paranormal romances get fought over in this house.
I have my eye on Samhain for my own book in the next coming months and all those books look like good research to me! MMM…research! Thank you for sharing Anne!
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Hi everyone!
Linda: Wishing you the best this holiday season too!
CC: I am pretty sure the Nook has access to Samhain books, but let me get back to you after I confirm that.
Eva: Thanks! I loved editing these books.
Cathy: I’m so glad you love the variety of stories we publish. That’s one reason I love working for Samhain, that’s for sure.
Hi Anne, Samhain is one of my favorite publishers, love the variety of the stories and the different heat levels. I can always find something to fit my mood.
I love to get new books for my wish list, all these books sound great!
It’s so cool that you can publish great stories without arbitrary genre limits! I’m getting a Nook e-reader for Christmas. Is it possible to read your e-books on it?
All the books sound great. Wishing all of you a wonderful and safe holiday season.