Tag: sam hain

  • Gothic Romance x Genre Romance: Two Takes on the Same Pairing

    So, as I’m working on my current manuscript, a Louisiana Gothic novel tentatively titled The Casquette Rose, it’s come to my attention that I’ve done something similar before… in Carmilla’s Ghost, my second novel in The Adventures of Sam Hain. And what is it that I’ve done? Write Louisiana Gothic in both? No. What I’ve…

  • Destiny’s Gambit: The Book that Almost Was

    Destiny’s Gambit: The Book that Almost Was

    So, today I want to muse about a book I almost wrote as the seventh installment in The Adventures of Sam Hain: Destiny’s Gambit. That’s right, the original plan for the book that became Carmilla’s Gambit was to focus on Destiny’s mental and emotional struggles with her past as she returns to the field to…

  • Villainous Stakes and Motives

    With the release of Carmilla’s Gambit only a few days away, this post is going to contain a complete scene, an early scene, that should have no spoilers for anyone who has either read the book’s blurb or followed the series. That being said, this scene will demonstrate some of the stakes that are being…

  • Carmilla’s Gambit – 7 Days Out

    Two book releases in the next three weeks. Carimlla’s Gambit enters the world next Tuesday, 3 June, and Wolf in the Sanctuary howls from the bayous on 10 June. I’ve put my dark fantasy Patreon, Tales of the Veiled Rose, on hold for now. In fact, I’m going to be taking a break from Sam…

  • Toasting the End and the New Beginnings: Changes to Sam Hain’s Adventures After Carmilla’s Gambit

    Carmilla’s Gambit will bring the first major arc of the Adventures of Sam Hain to an end, for the most part. There is only one loose thread from the promises put forward in Liam’s Doom that needs to be resolved. But we are moving toward two major changes in the world that will impact the…

  • Carmilla’s Gambit: Building a Phantom Strike Team

    Carmilla’s Gambit: Building a Phantom Strike Team

    So, I’ve said before that Carmilla’s Gambit will do some world-building and reveal some secrets and relationships that I’ve had planned for a while. I won’t give too many spoilers, but I will reveal a few tidbits that I hope will pique interest in the novel. Again, yes, this is the seventh book in my…

  • Horror, Heart, Humor: Essential Elements in Carmilla’s Gambit

    So, this is going to be a busy marketing month for us here at Cursing Raven Books. In addition to the Tales of the Veiled Rose dark fantasy novelette series patreon, both Carmilla’s Gambit and Wolf in the Sanctuary release next month. And while I do not want to spam post, I will be posting…

  • State of the Draft: Updates and Upcomings

    State of the Draft: Updates and Upcomings

    So, I didn’t post an update last week, and that was because the week got away from me. It’s Mardi Gras here in Louisiana, so my plan is to throw you something worth more than cheap beads. This post will serve as a formal announcement of where I am in the drafting process, what is…

  • Blue Moon: Soundtrack to a Novel

    Blue Moon: Soundtrack to a Novel

    One thing I’ve noticed a lot of younger writers doing is creating a soundtrack that captures the vibes of their novels. I have never really been one to do that, preferring to write with either a TV series or a podcast on in the background. There’s something about the hum of conversation that helps me…

  • Blue Moon Release Day Q & A Part II

    Blue Moon Release Day Q & A Part II

    I said there would be a second set of questions regarding Blue Moon, and here they are! You can read Part I, here. A lot over the years and in many different ways. I read a lot of fantasy novels growing up and played a lot of TTRPGs, so there’s a lot of learning by osmosis…