When a good thing comes to an end...

Quite a few things are going to change on Wednesday. The publisher that brought the Lusty Linguists together will be closing it's doors for good.

Samhain Publishing will cease to exist at the end of this month. 

Two days are all we have left.

This is not a drill, people.




We try and make you smile when you come here, but sometimes some real stuff needs to be explained.

So here's what you need to do if you're a Samhain Pub shopper.

1. DOWNLOAD YOUR LIBRARY

If you have an account with Samhain, and even if you've bought a Samhain Publishing book from other places, download it and back it up. I use Calibre to manage my digital library.

These books and the support are going away on Wednesday. Some of the bigger players like iBooks and Amazon should keep your files for you, but if you're paranoid like me, back that ish up.

2. BUY ANY SERIES BOOKS YOU NEED

Like a lot of publishers, series books are popular at Samhain. If there are a few series that have books out and you haven't grabbed them...Hurry your butt up and buy them now. Make that plastic melt.

The authors are getting their rights back, but reformatting, re-covering, and re-publishing takes a lot of time and money, and most authors don't write as their primary day job. Some books may not even come back. There are thousands of Samhain titles. If you are on the fence about any, grab 'em while you can.





3. STALK THE AUTHORS

Some of us were waiting to get our rights back to continue a series or two. (*cough* me *cough* more Hart Clan *cough*)

So the best way to do that is to find them and figure out what comes next is on social media. They will be announcing new releases and re-releases. Trust me. They want to sell these books again.

For example...

You can like my author FB page... HERE
You can follow my ramblings on Twitter....HERE
You can sign up for my soon-to-be-a-newsletter...HERE
Or you can just hit up my soon to be very naked website...HERE

All authors have these and many more ways you can follow and reach out to them. Newsletters are usually the easiest because the info comes to you, and unlike FB that switches up what you see on your feed, the emails you'll get.


4. FORGIVE US FOR GETTING SENTIMENTAL




Samhain Publishing gave me my first "Yes." They allowed me to work alongside authors I admired and fangirled over. They gave me a sink or swim education that can't be learned in a class or at an event, and I will always be grateful for that. Samhain Publishing was the publisher I wanted. Their funny warnings fit so well with my humor and writing style that I still plan on emulating it as I try my hand at some self-publishing.

It's going to be hard over the next month or so at minimum. For all of us.

If you know an author, send them a virtual hug, or a funny meme, or a LOT of chocolate. Hell, just drop them an email and tell them which Samhain title of theirs is in your re-read pile. It would mean the world to them. Trust me. It can be your good deed. I'm going to start off with some of my own favorites. Let's blow up twitter and FB with #myfavoriteSamhainbook. I won't judge you if you tweet out more than one. ;)

If you are a fellow Samhain author...





~Roxy

To find Roxy's books with buy links and what she has coming up next check out her website at RoxyRocksMe.com

Roxy's #CheapDate with a Flirty Bird

Flirty Bird Sauvignon Blanc

I threw away the damn receipt. So I don’t have an exact amount, but I know it was the cheapest bottle I picked up at Aldi. (Less than $4, I think.)

I would wait until I can go back and check the price, but it is National Wine day today according to FB, so I simply can’t put off tasting this any longer. And I’ve been cleaning all day in a house full of men. Things have been seen that can’t be unseen and momma needs a drink.

FIRST IMPRESSIONS

This is called “Flirty Bird”. Which is adorable. I like the name. The label is cute. And it’s wine. We’re in good shape here.

Nice thing about this wine is on the back label (for wine noobs like myself) there are all kinds of little facts. And it tells me if it should be room temp or chilled. Thank goodness. This way we don’t have another BotaBox incident where I have to wait an hour before I can enjoy the booze.

Guess you’re supposed to have one of those fancy ass seal cutters because this sucker doesn’t have a pull tab. 

Eh. I have a knife.

And I didn’t stab myself. Batting 1000 this evening.

This bottle is corked. I’m always amused when the cheapest wines have corks. For some reason I equate corks with quality. The name is even printed on the cork. Fancy pants wine, ya got here, Aldi.

I’m ready though. I remember the last time I had a generic Aldi wine. (Check out that cheap date HERE)

 

THE POUR

Smells nice.

During this time I realize I didn't wash my wine glass from the last cheap date. So I take 5 minutes to unpack a wine glass rather than wash the dirty one.

Don’t judge me.

Wine has a good drag down the glass when I swirl it. I’m pretty sure good wine is supposed to do that.

FIRST SIP

Oh. That’s good.

That’s really good. That’s go stock up and buy more of this ish good.

Fruity taste is playing at the back of my tongue, with enough bite to satisfy my “I don’t want to drink sugar water”ness.

Hubby did his cursory taste test. He grimaced, said it was okay, but it was not sweet. Again, this isn’t a super sweet-lover’s drink. But I like this way way more than the champagne I got from Aldi last week.

FINAL CONCLUSION

Let’s be real. I would say this would be a great bottle to take to a dinner party, but I’m gonna polish this fucker off tonight. This is good.

Buy this. Buy multiple bottles of this. You can feed your wino habit and not go broke. Yum. Also, by the time I got to this point…half the bottle might be gone. 

Seriously. 

Yum.

I have one more Aldi find coming your way for next time. Until then...keep your eye out for a good cheap wine!

~Roxy

 To find Roxy's books with buy links and what she has coming up next check out her website at RoxyRocksMe.com

Roxy Mews's #CheapDate with Brut Cuvee No.5

Brut Cuvee No. 5.  No, it’s not a perfume. It’s a small bottle of Rose sparkling wine I picked up at Aldi for $4.99.

Since it’s close to Valentine’s Day, I figured a little bottle of pink champagne was the perfect way to have a cheap date!

This bottle is smaller than the usual 750ml size (half the size to be exact), but it would be a great treat to toss in a picnic basket or to accompany a dinner. Would also be a good one to sneak inside a coffee cup at the movies.

Not that I have ever done such a thing…

First Impressions

I am a sucker for packaging. And this bad boy has a real cork and is going to give me that satisfying pop I look for in champagne.

YES. Perfect pop, and OMG. It even has a cute little star on the bottom of the cork. Adorable.

Nice sweet tang to the smell. I think this is going to be a winner.

The Pour

I know this isn’t a champagne flute. I still haven’t unpacked those. Don’t judge me. It takes everyone a full year to unpack, right?

But there are tons of bubbles in this bad boy. It’s dancing and daring me to take a sip.

I’m excited about this one.

First Sip

Well…huh. I am surprised. This is a lot more dry than I was expecting. With the scent and the description of fruit on the back I thought this would be really sweet.

I need to taste that again. For research.

I don’t hate it. At all. But my nose is smelling something different than my tongue is tasting and it’s fucking with my brain.

Maybe this is what people talk about when they say a flavor is complex. But I’m not that complex of a person so culture like this fucks with me.

I feel like the back of my tongue is folding in on itself. Is that what dry wine does to your tongue?

I’m going to make hubby try some. I need more data.

**Time Lapse 10 minutes. 2 of taste testing, 8 of me laughing**

I should have had a camera. That was damn near bitter beer face. Hubby didn’t approve. So for the sweet lovers out there, this is not your jam. Trust me.

Final Verdict…

Am I going to drink the rest? Yes. Am I glad it’s not a full bottle? Yes. With the punch the flavor gives, it’s not a gulpable wine.

Packaging is adorable, wine is drinkable, and it would make one hell of a cute gift for valentines day if you are giving someone a gift basket. It’s even pink for crying out loud. Slap a valentine on this bad boy and give it to a teacher. She needs a drink after dealing with all those kids, I’m sure.

I wouldn’t run out to stock up on this, but it’s a solid 3 stars out of 5 for me. Since it’s not overly sweet, it would go best with a meal that has a little savory punch to it.

I’d drink it. It’s less than $5. Cheap date status achieved. It’s not like y’all are here for refined reviews.

See you next week. I've got two more bottles to check out.

~Roxy

To find Roxy's books with buy links and what she has coming up next check out her website at RoxyRocksMe.com