De-blog

Just a quick post this week, in the interests of giving readers as many opportunities to find me online as possible. My Blog: deb248211.blogspot.co.uk   My Newsletter: http://eepurl.com/b8emHL You can find my books here: Beaten Track Publishing: beatentrackpublishing.com/debbiemcgowan Amazon: amazon.com/author/debbiemcgowan Smashwords: smashwords.com/profile/view/debbiemcgowan Barnes and Noble: barnesandnoble.com/s/debbie mcgowan   My Websites:   debbiemcgowan.co.uk hidingbehindthecouch.com   Social Networks:   Facebook Profile: facebook.com/beatentrackpublishing Facebook Page: facebook.com/DebbiemcGowanAuthor Twitter: @writerdebmcg YouTube: youtube.com/deb248211 Tumblr: writerdebmcg.tumblr.com LinkedIn: uk.linkedin.com/in/writerdebmcg Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/writerdebmcg/ Google+: plus.google.com/+DebbieMcGowan Goodreads: goodreads.com/DebbieMcGowan

Brief explanation: I finished writing Reunions on Wednesday. Phew! It finished up at 237,000 words, and you can read the final snippet (posted on WIPpet Wednesday ) here: http://deb248211.blogspot.co.uk/2017/02/wippet-wednesday-reunions-josh-and-sean.html . Reunions is available to preorder and will be published on 19th April, 2017. So…this is the very first snippet from The Making Of Us ! This is the fourth book in the Checking Him Out series , but it’s a stand-alone story about friendship, love and romance—LGBTQIA, with the emphasis on the B, Q and I. The main characters are Jesse (Noah’s best friend) and Leigh (Noah and Matty’s new housemate). So, without further ado, I’d like to introduce you to Jesse. :) Here’s the snippet: Some days, I wake up thinking… so what? I’m a fatty. Get over it. I put on my Big and Tall jeans—impossibly enormous, with an invisible diamond section in the crotch so they don’t split—and stride out with pride, shoulders back, ready to take ...

WIPpet numbers for 22nd February, 2017: 17 (year) - 2 (month) = 15 paragraphs from Reunions ( Hiding Behind The Couch Season Seven) It’s done! I think. :D It’s with Andrea - my friend/editor/critic/beta-reader and all-round good egg (I borrowed that phrase from her, but it fits so well). She’s freelance, and you can find her at expresseditingsolutions.co.uk . The final word count is 237k, or thereabouts, but I’m waiting on feedback on the ending, because…well, I can’t say. Nige read it, and his feedback was very useful (grumble, grumble)… Just kidding. It was useful, and he enjoyed it/felt lost once he’d finished it, which is a good thing. He’s a very honest alpha reader (methinks he also likes that title, seeing as he self-ascribed it today). So, anyway, this is probably my very last snippet from Reunions , which is sad, but it’s a relief, too. I was starting to think I’d never finish it. WIPpet Context: This is from Episode Six ( Reunions is divided into six episodes,...

I read an interesting post about sensitivity readers over the weekend, and by interesting, I mean more than a bit offensive and - accidentally, I'm quite certain - an excellent demonstration of why sensitivity readers are important if an author/editor/publisher wants to avoid a public trouncing. (I'll come back to why I have phrased it this way.) For those reading this post who don't know already, a sensitivity reader is someone a publisher/author asks to read a manuscript to check for potentially offensive/problematic content. This includes the deployment of discriminatory/offensive language, events that may act as psychological triggers and anything else that may be considered a 'sensitive subject' for some readers. Sensitivity readers have specific expertise, either through professional affiliation and experience (e.g. a nurse in palliative care fact-checking a book dealing with the treatment of terminal illness) or because they are part of the political mi...

Brief explanation: This is another snippet from Reunions (Hiding Behind The Couch Season Seven), which is currently a little under 230k, and I’m on the home straight! Woot! I decided to go with six short paragraphs rather than six sentences, because I’d have had to make it seven sentences, and I felt the number was more important (the colours of the Pride flag) than the briefness of the snippet. In this snippet, George is meeting Gabby—an art therapist and fellow student of Josh’s from their undergraduate days—for the first time, with a view to commencing art therapy to treat his dissociative attacks. Josh has just offered to make drinks in order to give George and Gabby time to chat. Zara Lederman (mentioned in the snippet) is a psychotherapist/art therapist who lives and works in George and Josh’s local town, and she rubs George up the wrong way, so he’s come to this introductory meeting with some reluctance. Here’s the snippet: “Be right back.” George followed Josh’s...

WIPpet numbers for 15th February, 2017: 1+5 = 6 paragraphs from Reunions ( Hiding Behind The Couch Season Seven) The current word count is…225,922. Nearly there… WIPpet Context: It’s New Year's Eve. Josh has just dropped Libby (foster daughter) off at her friend’s place and is trying to figure out how to fill the time until George (husband) finishes work. Iris (in WIPpet) is George’s mum. Monty is Iris’s Westie. * * * * * As with all days where Josh was at a lonely loose end with a dozen or more thoughts vying for pole position, each driving decision came with the ‘or I could visit Iris’ option, which was not to say she was there only for when all else failed. One of their more salient points of commonality was valuing their solitude, and there was no guarantee she’d welcome the company just because he needed it. Nonetheless, at the next junction, he took his chances and turned right towards Campion House, rather than left towards home. She’d let him know if she did...

In this post: Anniversaries and Birthdays When in Paris... from Josh's Journal Celebratory Freebie Love Unlocked Giveaway Coming Soon Anniversaries and Birthdays I'm going to cut to the chase in this blog post, because there is SO MUCH to get through! Ten Years of Hiding Behind The Couch First up, this year is the tenth anniversary of Hiding Behind The Couch , which wasn't meant to be a series. I wrote the first book (from which the name of the series was derived) to prove I could write another novel. The following year, I was stuck for an idea for NaNoWriMo and wrote No Time Like The Present (Season Two). Long story short (hahaha), as I near the end of writing Reunions (Season Seven), the series consists of 11 novels, 7 novellas and 2 short stories - 1.7 million words! That's a lot of words. :) As existing readers will know, the series is about a group of nine (+/-) friends who met at school and university, and with the exception of Brea...

Brief explanation: This is another snippet from Reunions (Hiding Behind The Couch Season Seven), which is currently a little under 220k. I have no defence; I write long stories. I was only writing a novella. ;) This snippet is another scene with George and Josh, or, at least, it should be. They are having lunch at a restaurant with Vincent, a local jeweller, and Josh is in the toilet/restroom. Thus, this conversation is between George and Vincent. This may give some insight into Josh’s odd behaviour in last week’s Rainbow Snippet . Or not. Here’s the snippet: George trained his eyes on the toilet door. “Why d’you think he helped you find your father?” “Because we are friends. Why else?” “That’s not how Josh sees it. Although he doesn’t see it for what it really is, either.” “I am not sure I understand.” “You have feelings for him.” George slowly turned back, once again fixing his gaze on Vincent, who looked like he’d been slapped in the face. “My soufflé has collaps...

WIPpet numbers for 8th February, 2017: 2(month) 8(day) 8(1+7) = 288 words from Reunions ( Hiding Behind The Couch Season Seven) The current word count is…214,901. :| WIPpet Context: If last week’s was my first ever snippet featuring Dan and Adele, this is the second, and it follows directly from last Wednesday’s WIPpet . Dan and Adele are moving house. * * * * * “Fine. Whatever.” Dan took the razor and returned to the bedroom—“Oh, for f*ck’s sake”—where there was no longer a mirror, and stomped through to the bathroom. At least she couldn’t pack that room away, or not beyond the toiletries, which was why he was using his electric shaver. Or not. “Damn it.” By some small wonder, he kept hold of it, returned to the living room and put it back in the box. “That was quick,” Adele called through. “Needs charging,” he said. He looked over the lines of boxes, shaking his head. “Where’s it all come from?” Adele didn’t offer any reply, which meant most of it was hers...

Brief explanation: This is another snippet from Reunions (Hiding Behind The Couch Season Seven), which continues to grow. And grow. Current word count: 209,000. I’m aiming to stay under the word count of Two by Two (Hiding Behind The Couch Season Seven) …now I’ve passed all the other limits I set at the start. ;) Here’s a little more of Josh and George, this time together. Here’s the snippet: Josh looked him up and down as he got in the car. “Whose clothes are they?” “Mine.” George was thrown by the question and forgot to deliver his customary kiss. He attempted to rectify that, but Josh dodged him. He was still eyeing George’s clothes. “Are they?” “Who else’s would they be?” “Well, Jake’s, or…I don’t know. It just dawned on me you came to work in overalls.” “Under which I wear clothes,” George said like he was stating the obvious, because he was, in fact, stating the obvious. Josh remained perplexed. “What’s up?” * * * * * Rainbow Snippets is a group for L...

WIPpet numbers for 1st February, 2017: 1+17=18 (short) paragraphs from Reunions The current word count is…201,639. :o WIPpet Context: This is (I think) my first ever snippet featuring Dan and Adele. Dan is Andy’s younger brother (by one year), and Adele is Shaunna’s best friend. They are part of The Circle—the group of friends at the centre of the Hiding Behind The Couch books. When I first started writing, I’d intended for Josh and Dan to be the two main characters, but they brought all their mates along, which is why the books are so long. That’s my story, and I’m sticking to it. Dan and Adele get a lot less page time than the others, which is, perhaps, because they’re a very private couple. They’ve also been together on and off since they were in primary school, and they bicker. A lot. As you’ll see. :) * * * * * “Adele?” Dan slammed the drawer shut and opened another, established that one was also empty and gave the dresser a kick. “Yes, sweetie?” She appeared ...