Sam Hartman

Biography

I'm passionate about love and connection. We can get better at connecting and
finding love; it's not something that just happens to us, but like everything else, connection is a skill.
All throughout my life I've been amazed by the power of books to bring us to
new and intriguing worlds. And so I write to bring myself and my readers to
worlds where connection and intimacy work just a bit different. Through these
differences we can better understand our own world, and hopefully find ways to improve our own skill at connection.
When not writing, I work as a computer programmer, sex/intimacy educator, and
spiritualist. I've also been known to play as an amateur DJ from time to
time.

Smashwords Interview

Where do you write? What does the room look like?
I'm writing in my ritual room. The altar is off on my right, our goddess of abundance burbling away in her fountain. It's going to be warm today, but there's a bit of chill this morning, so the fire place is on to my left. My laptop sits in my lap as I rock in my chair, my right leg pushing me, while my left leg is curled under my right knee. Music plays in my bluetooth headphones.
Across the room there's a futon; some of the rituals need that.
I'm in the ritual room, because writing is a part of my spiritual practice. I've taken vows to teach about love and intimacy. Fiction is part of that. Our imagination is strong enough to let us live for a time in worlds just different enough from our own that the differences give us perspective to actually understand our world rather than just living in it. Fiction also lets us put aside a bit of the fear that fills us: it's not real, which gives us permission to be more vulnerable than we might be on our own.
One other detail would be obvious to you if you were here even though it almost slipped my mind. The music and fountain are not the only noise. As I type, my computer speaks the letters: I am totally blind.
How does being blind affect your writing?
Honestly, I don't know all the ways. I live in my own head, and it's hard to know how we're different from other people.
Book covers suck! Graphic artists want to deal in pictures. "So, something like this?" they ask, as they send you something to look at. Dealing with the cover is the most vulnerable, demotivating part of the entire process for me. Some day I'll find someone who is able to work with me more in words. Oh, at the end of the process, I'll find someone I trust to review the final work. But I dream of a day when I can find a graphic artist who can help me turn ideas about theme and setting into images rather than expecting me to come with an idea of the images I want.
Clothes are hard too, as are facial expressions. This is an area where AI tools like Chat GPT can be useful. Fans are helpful too, and if you'd be interested in helping bring a bit of color to my worlds, please join us on the Discord; there's a link from immortalitycurse.com
Read more of this interview.

Where to find Sam Hartman online

Series

Immortality Curse
When a group of industrial AIs controllers said they were bored and wanted to use excess capacity to create an online game, they were met with ridicule. Then the beta came out, and the joke was on the rest of the industry. The world was the ultimate in virtual reality. The AI touch mattered. The NPCs were just that much more realistic. There were no limits to what players could do. David knew about the realism first hand. In the moment, with his heart pumping, the adventure was unbelievable. But he couldn't save everyone; some of his NPC friends would never be coming back. He needed a break. He found it in the seductive sway of the tavern wench Hulda. He imagined her days filled with happy flirtation rather than soul-scarring decisions of who lived and who would die. Before he could rethink his decision, Ariel was born: David's foxy, curvaceous goddess of a character. And for one nightAriel's life was just as care-free as he imagined. But the more Ariel learned about Hulda's world, the more she learned that things were not as they seemed between the NPCs and the Players. If David and Ariel could find the courage, an entirely new adventure awaited: an adventure of th

Books

The Desires Within (Ariel's Pride #1)
Price: $3.99 USD. Words: 126,420. Language: American English. Published: April 26, 2023 . Categories: Fiction » Romance » Sci-fi, Fiction » Romance » Polyamory
Even in a virtual world, stopping a war between gods won't be easy. But if Ariel, and her player David can't manage, the consequences will be all too real in game and out. Chandra Lansing understands this more than most: Ariel's play has given her hope of overcoming her shame. When she gets a chance to play alongside Ariel, only her fear stands in the way of finding the acceptance she craves.
When a Goddess Calls (Immortality Curse Book 2)
Series: Immortality Curse. Price: $2.99 USD. Words: 123,810. Language: English. Published: February 18, 2023 . Categories: Fiction » Science fiction » Cyberpunk, Fiction » Erotica » Fantasy
Princess Aubrielle Berman knows that when a goddess calls, nobility must answer. If she cannot renew the pact between land, commoner, and noble at The Great Lady's Beltane rite, then the death of a village, cursed when blood was spilled on the common, will be the least of her problems. Without Ariel's help, the princess has no hope of saving the village.
The Immortality Curse: Phoenix Rising
Series: Immortality Curse. Price: $2.99 USD. Words: 112,220. Language: English. Published: February 9, 2023 . Categories: Fiction » Science fiction » Cyberpunk, Fiction » Erotica » Fantasy
Through his character Ariel, David enters an entire new world of virtual-reality gaming. Raids, monsters? No, he's looking for something different Ariel's quests are quests of the heart and emotional connection. Her world touches him in ways he never imagines.

Sam Hartman's tag cloud

Sam Hartman's favorite authors on Smashwords

Smashwords book reviews by Sam Hartman

  • Sister Seekers: A Dark Elf Epic Fantasy Bundle (Books 1-3) on April 09, 2023

    This series combines excellent world building and steamy intimacy. Like my writing, it also delivers on sexuality and intimacy that actually adds to the character development rather than simply being a romantic reward. The consent was dubious at times, and there are a few cases where outright rape is celebrated. I flag that only because it was not mentioned in the book metadata.
  • Starlight on April 09, 2023

    Teasdale never disappoints with excellent world building and characters that are easy to like. Starlight is no exception. Like most of the rest of Teasdale's work, the world is by no means perfect, but we have hope that the characters will overcome the obstacles before them and enjoy the companionship and connection the find along the way. The only disappointing part of Starlight is the ending. We're left hanging as for no apparent reason the book suddenly ends. I appreciate that a lot of Teasdale's fiction is episodic, but generally the stories fit together into a better whole. IN this instance, it felt like the author ran out of pages and just stopped.
  • The Rogue Prince on July 31, 2023

    Overall disappointing. This was supposed to be a comedy of errors, that somehow worked out in the end. But the errors were too great, and the main character never quite came across as capable enough to be enjoyable. So it was just a bunch of errors that accidentally worked out in the end, with the humor flattened by the implausibility and unrelatability.