2026, The year of living dangerously

 

(Reminder: this site is now ONLY my blog. If you're looking for my book links or contact options, events, or any other aspects of my writer life, please visit http://dangerouswhenbored.com )

 

Welcome to the first Wednesday of the month. You know what that means! It's time to let our insecurities hang out. Yep, it's the Insecure Writer's Support Group blog hop. If you're a writer at any stage of career, I highly recommend this blog hop as a way to connect with other writers for support, sympathy, ideas, and networking. If you're a reader, it's a great way to peek behind the curtain of a writing life.

Our Twitter handle is @TheIWSG and hashtag is #IWSG. The awesome co-hosts for the January 7 posting of the IWSG are Shannon Lawrence, Olga Godim, Jean Davis, and Jacqui Murray!

January 7 question - Is there anything in your writing plans for 2026 that you are going to do that you couldn't get done in 2025?

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2025 in my writing life was in some ways a year of endings. 

I finished my Menopausal Superheroes series, which has been my major focus as a writer for the past decade, bringing that vision to a close. The last novel (Change for the Better) came out nearly exactly ten years after the first novel (Going Through the Change), which had a nice feeling of perfect timing. 

I've been on this roller coaster a long time, and while it's been a great ride, I'm excited about moving on to other projects and ideas. 

 

 

 

I've also spent 2025 gearing up for  

2026, the year Samantha goes indie! 

It is both exciting and terrifying. But I feel good about what I've done to get ready to make the leap and try to move my "hobby that pays for itself" writing life into a real business. 

• Incorporated as an LLC (Dangerous When Bored)
• Trademarked my Imprint/Business Name
• Built my new website: http://dangerouswhenbored.com
• Moved my newsletter to Mailerlite 
• Sought education on a variety of publishing topics (Women in Publishing has been SO HELPFUL) 
• Quietly published my first book (Stories from Shadow Hill) under the imprint, mostly to learn how to do this
• learned Vellum for formatting
• learned about various distribution options (I went with Ingram, with a separate upload to Amazon) 
• began learning Canva for promotional image creation 
• Wrote three short GenX romance novels and contracted for editing, cover art, and audiobook production. (The first one is already available for preorder and my proof copy is soooooo pretty)

 

So, 2026 is when it all comes to fruition, and we find out if I can make a go of this. It's a lot to juggle, and has definitely already felt overwhelming. But it's also super-exciting to make all the decisions myself and have more control over timetables and other publishing decisions. 

I'd love to hear from others about your publishing journeys and what you learned along the way…and if GenX romance sounds up your alley, let me know if you're interested in being an ARC reader and one of my early reviewers for release day!  

2025: The Year That Was

2025 was…not my favorite year. Even though it all came out surprisingly well in the end, it wasn't light and easy and a lot of it felt like windy trudge uphill in the snow. 

Challenges to my personal life included a lot of caregiving demands as those near and dear to me went through health struggles and romantic misadventures as well as stress and worry related to the political landscape of my country. The hateful behavior and attitudes of people who ought to be working for a common good really wore me out. It was A LOT. 

Here at the waning of the year? Mostly, I feel tired.  

That's not to say there wasn't any joy. There absolutely was! The youngest Bryant graduated high school and started attending college as well as landing a good first job. 

Landmark birthdays for everyone but me this year

 

Our eldest is thriving in her chosen career, settling into the cutest house, and finding love. Sweetman and I are rock solid in our love (eyeballing that 20th anniversary in 2026 and wondering if we can swing that honeymoon we never took), and totally in this together every step of the way. The doggos are happy and healthy. Our grandsnake and grandcats are doing well, too. In fact, as I look back over the year, there's a lot to smile about. 

 It was a busy one for my writing life, too. I FINISHED MY SERIES! In July, Change for the Better, the fifth and final Menopausal Superheroes novel came out, bringing the work of the past ten years to a close. 

 

Three of my short horror stories made it into anthologies! Technically Dark Spores came out in December 2024, but all the events were in 2025, so I'm counting it. Behind the Shadows III and Dread Mondays were both just a couple of months ago. 

  

In a year with more firsts than you might expect at twelve years into this endeavor, I was invited to submit to an anthology. Though I've had my work included in many anthologies, I've always gotten in from cold call. It was really a boost to my ego to be specifically invited to submit to Disruptive Intent. The Kickstarter was successful and the book will be coming your way in 2026. 

 

If all that wasn't enough, I also made the leap into indie publishing. I set up my LLC, Dangerous When Bored, set up my new website (dangerouswhenbored.com) and put out my first book under the new imprint, a collection of weird suburban tales called Stories from Shadow Hill. 

 

I learned so much about the intricacies of indie publishing from this project, and I'm proud of the stories! In fact, in another first, one of them has been released as an audiobook! I'm collaborating with Charlotte Chiew to release several of them as mini-audiobooks and then promote them as a collection. Beware Cheap Houses is a cheeky bit of Lovecraftian horror, narrated by a cat named Punkin. 

 

Dangerous When Bored, LLC will bring you three romance novels this spring, so watch for news of Not Too Late, Acid Reign, and Ready or Not, my GenX romances! I've already got audiobook versions in the works, too!

So, 2025 might have been a tough year emotionally, but there's a lot to celebrate. Here's hoping 2026 brings all of us a step closer to exactly what we want out of life. Happy New Year! 

Winter weather, an open book blog hop post

 

Welcome to Open Book Blog Hop. You can find us every Monday talking about the writing life. I hope you'll check out all the posts: you'll find the links at the bottom of this post.

Winter is coming to the northern part of the world. (It's here!). Do you have any plans, or do you prefer to hide from the cold?

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Currently I live in North Carolina, about halfway down the eastern seaboard of the United States, pretty much the northern part of what we call "the South." Since I grew up in the Midwest and spent my early adulthood in Alaska, I don't really find my current home truly cold most of the time (the mountains of NC do get "real" winter, but that's not where I am). 

In fact, I don't own a proper winter coat anymore. The two or three days a year I might need one, I wear a thick sweater beneath a heavy jacket. 

On the dark side of fifty now, I'm more sensitive to the cold than I used to be, especially where I have arthritis. But despite that, I like a nice snap in the air, at least for a little while. It's invigorating. And after I've gotten chilly, I have a great excuse to cozy up with a cuppa and a fire in the fireplace when I come back inside. Cozy heaven. 

 It's actually harder for me in the summer. I wilt in the heat. My favorite is that "cool enough for a sweater" weather in early spring and in the autumn.  

How about you? Do you relish winter? 

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

The Best Gift, an IWSG post

(Reminder: this site is now ONLY my blog. If you're looking for my book links or contact options, events, or any other aspects of my writer life, please visit http://dangerouswhenbored.com )

 

Welcome to the first Wednesday of the month. You know what that means! It's time to let our insecurities hang out. Yep, it's the Insecure Writer's Support Group blog hop. If you're a writer at any stage of career, I highly recommend this blog hop as a way to connect with other writers for support, sympathy, ideas, and networking. If you're a reader, it's a great way to peek behind the curtain of a writing life.

Our Twitter handle is @TheIWSG and hashtag is #IWSG. The awesome co-hosts for the December 3 posting of the IWSG are Tara Tyler, Ronel Janse van Vuuren, Pat Garcia, Liza, and Natalie Aguirre!

December 3 question - As a writer, what was one of the coolest/best gifts you ever received?

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Winter Holidays, 2010. We had opened all the packages and were sitting there basking in the glow when my husband announced that there was one more gift. He left the room and came back with a little scroll, then handed it to me. 

When I unrolled it, I found that Sweetman had bought me a writing retreat! I'd be going to Pelican House for a week of quiet and writing. 

 It was quite a gift--not only in the dollar value of the retreat itself, but because it was also a promise to take on the extra labor to grant me the time. He'd be a single dad to our kids (they were nine and two at the time), take care of our house and dog, and leave me free to ignore my part of those responsibilities for a whole week and just focus on my writing!

 It was an amazing show of support.  

That week ended up being really important to my writing life. Not only did I make great progress on the book, but I made friends with a group of supportive women who boosted my confidence and helped me see the value in my work. It did a lot to fight my imposter syndrome and make me feel like this was something I could actually do. 

It's easier to find writing time now. Our kids are older. I changed jobs to something less stressful. I've got better at focusing under less-than-ideal conditions. But the writing space inside my head still looks a lot like the room at the top of the cupola at Pelican House. 

Favorite Holiday: an Open Book Blog Hop post

 

Welcome to Open Book Blog Hop. You can find us every Monday talking about the writing life. I hope you'll check out all the posts: you'll find the links at the bottom of this post.

Which is your favorite holiday and why?

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I find this one difficult to answer. There are a LOT of holidays that have brought me joy, but most of them are also a ton of work and sometimes that doesn't balance out. Some of my best family times AREN'T on holidays at all, and I think that's because there's less pressure or expectations on the day and I can relax. 

So, some thoughts on several holidays: 

Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur: Usually falling in September or October of the Christian calendar, this is basically Jewish New Year, a time for reflection and appreciation, celebration and atonement. I'm not a very religious Jew and I've never really had a religious community in my life, but I've developed my own quiet practice and often get to share a festive meal with family and friends. It's tricky to make space for around a public school schedule, but we try and it's getting easier now that I no longer teach. 

 

I'm pretty famous for my challah.

 

Halloween: I've got a serious spooky streak and I enjoy the aesthetics of Halloween a great deal. Decorating, making treats, etc. It's different now that my kids are grown and no longer trick or treat, but I'm enjoying the new traditions we're developing of hosting parties and watching spooky films together, too. 

Thanksgiving: I used to really resent this one. It didn't feel like a holiday to me, but more like a challenge or hurdle to overcome. A big festive meal of this sort is exhausting. It was especially bad when I was teaching because I really needed the time off just for recuperation. But then my husband and I came up with a system in which we order some of our dishes pre-made and make others ourselves. I'm looking forward to it this year because my 18-year-old is hosting a friends-giving and we'll have a houseful of young people. 

Chanukah/Hannukah (pick your favorite spelling): Since we're a two-religion family, some years ago we decided that our Chanukah observation would be simpler and involve fewer gifts since it's often so close or intertwining with Christmas. We plan a family activity together for each of the eight nights, and make sure we get some of the traditional foods and a chance to play dreidel together at least once. Some of my happiest family memories come from one of the nights of Chanukah. 

Christmas: I find Christmas overwhelming. It's huge. It's loud. It's flashy. My husband's family is Catholic. Luckily, we live at some distance and don't go up to be a part of the whole shebang every year. The gift-a-palooza is always fun and a couple of quiet days setting up and enjoying our new toys and items can be really nice. And it does have some lovely music. It's usually the longest stretch of days off in a row that I get every year, too, which can be lovely if it's not too full of travel and hoopla. 

How about you? Which holidays bring you light and joy? I'd love to hear about it in the comments 

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

What I thought a writing life was, an IWSG post

 

 

Welcome to the first Wednesday of the month. You know what that means! It's time to let our insecurities hang out. Yep, it's the Insecure Writer's Support Group blog hop. If you're a writer at any stage of career, I highly recommend this blog hop as a way to connect with other writers for support, sympathy, ideas, and networking. If you're a reader, it's a great way to peek behind the curtain of a writing life.

Our Twitter handle is @TheIWSG and hashtag is #IWSG. The awesome co-hosts for the November 5 posting of the IWSG are Jennifer Lane, Jenni Enzor, Renee Scattergood, Rebecca Douglass, Lynn Bradshaw, and Melissa Maygrove!

November 5 question - When you began writing, what did you imagine your life as a writer would be like? Were you right, or has this experience presented you with some surprises along the way?

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 I "began" writing several different times in my life. 

The first time, I was a child, so I had no idea how money and life in general really worked. I imagined that I'd have a tower room to write in, a horse to ride in the forest, and I could simply dream away every day making up stories. 

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Somewhere along the way, I realized that the likelihood of my ever having the money to afford that life, as a writer or anything else, was low. 

I began again as a college student, when I was around twenty. This version continued into my early thirties. Although I taught for a living, I aspired to be poet. Not just to write poems, but for writing poems to be my vocation. 

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I understood it wouldn't make me famous and that I'd need to do something else to make a living by then, but I wanted to write poetry that changed and moved people, poems that got quoted and that I was invited to read at big public events. 

It's hard to pin down why--becoming a mother? different kinds of inspiration? the lure of other artforms?--but I moved away from poetry in my mid thirties, at least with the kind of intensity I brought to it when I was younger. I still write poetry, but it's gotten to be a more private art form for me these days, something I do for myself and not something I write to share. 

The third time I began was in my later thirties. I joined a novel-writing critique group to light a fire under my creativity and help pull myself out of a pretty deep post-partum depression spiral. I had never really considered writing a novel before, and most of those early efforts were pretty terrible, but I kept going. I think part of me thought I could still be Jo March all these years later. 

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When I finished my first novel (unpublished, and probably never will be--it was the book I wrote to learn how to write a book), I started to imagine what that kind of writing life would be like. I imagined that having a book accepted for publication would be life-changing and allow me to stop my other money-making pursuits. After all, movies and TV certainly present it that way. 

Now I am really am a novelist, with five of them published, and three more in process for next year. It's up and down so far as what it earns me. I'll have a stellar month with lots of sales and new acceptances, followed by a month or two or three with no flow. 

Though the income and reception may not be steady, I am. I write every day, and I'm always working on something new as soon I've finished a project. At this stage, the writing life I imagine and am building toward is the one that comes with being retired and not being tied to the time and mental space the day job takes up now. I've got a writing life that can easily fill full-time hours…but not the income to allow me to give it full time hours. 

All the same, I never seriously consider giving it up, even when the going gets rough. I can't imagine NOT having a book I'm working on. That would be like not reading, not eating, not breathing, it's so ingrained into my life. My tower room may never become a reality, but I can write one for my characters and it feels almost the same. 

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PS--unrelated to today's prompt. I've built a new author website through BookBub. You can check it out at http://dangerouswhenbored.com  But it's not going to work for blogging, unless they make some updates, because their blog pages don't include comment functionality. Blogger, where I've been since 2009, is no longer well supported. I'd love suggestions about what to use! Feel free to comment here to to contact me another way (email: samantha at samanthabryant dot com, samanthabwriter on most social media) to give me your suggestions or feedback on my new website!

New author home

I've got a new author website: 

http://dangerouswhenbored.com

For now, I'll still be BLOGGING here (since my new platform doesn't support comments properly yet), but all the other stuff (info about my books, events, etc.) will be on the new site. Come check it out!