De-blog

For many in war-torn 1944, love blossoms in the dance hall, and airman Arty Clarke is no exception. He's a thinker and a dreamer; however, it's not the beautiful, talented dancer in his arms - his best friend Jean - who inspires his dreams. For when his gaze meets that of Technical Sergeant Jim Johnson, Arty dares to imagine a different dance. Their love is forbidden, by both the armed forces and the law, but with Jean's cunning and support, Arty and Jim try to bridge the distance between them and find true love despite the danger and a life-threatening disaster that could destroy Arty's dreams for good. Can the pair stand strong together, no matter how many skies have fallen? * * * * * When Skies Have Fallen is a novel, written as part of the Love is an Open Road Anthology (Don't Read in the Closet, 2015). In This Blog Post: About Love is an Open Road Research and Video Clips Excerpt from When Skies Have Fallen * * * * * About Love is ...

So, the thing is this. I got to the end of Checking Him Out , and it was all ready for submission. And, as all writers will know, it's a bit difficult to... ...just let go. I had plenty of other stuff to be getting on with, but I was watching the forums for Love's Landscapes . As I explained a couple of posts back , members of the MM Romance Group submitted "Dear Author" letters, detailing the story they wanted to be written, and authors claimed these prompts, which is their agreement to write that story. Unfortunately, circumstances mean that some authors have to pull out, and their prompt is then 'open' again for someone else to claim. On this particular evening, I was home alone, when two prompts became available at the same time. One was a sports-related prompt, which I had ideas for, but the prompter was hinting heavily at baseball, and I know next to bugger all about baseball (played with bats, and has that weird ballpark organ music, that g...

Checking Him Out is back from round #1 with my editor*, and she's pretty bloody awesome, that editor. I'd be lying if I said that I wasn't a bolshy, stubborn author who digs her heels in. Luckily she seems to know how to handle me, as I've come out the other side smiling and happy - a very different outcome to the one I had recurring dreams about two nights ago! *Addendum: it is now edited and with the proofreaders! There was also an interesting plot hole that she spotted, and it took me about ten minutes of sitting, staring at the screen, saying, "What the hell is she on about?" over and again, before the penny dropped. It's fixed now, and I've got to say that right at this point in time I think this is the best story I've ever written. It's probably just a post-writing / post-editing moment of euphoric bias, because I love my Hiding Behind The Couch series beyond the capacity for rational thought. However, Checking Him Out was a ne...

I've just submitted two stories to my publisher. That sounds pretty awesome, doesn't it? And you know what? It is! But this isn't any old publisher. It's not a traditional publisher, nor an indie publisher. It's an online community endeavour to publish a massive anthology of around 200 stories. Do not think for one minute that this makes it anything less than professional. The support from the moderators, the editors, proofreaders - they are truly incredible, and the community itself really is one on its own. About The M/M Romance Group The community I'm talking about is the M/M Romance Group on Goodreads , and I'm a member. That feels a bit like coming out, because if you're unfamiliar with the terminology, "M/M" is male/male, and it's a genre I'm still learning about, even though I've discovered that my first novel, Champagne (2004, 2014), is, in fact, a M/M romance. However, much of what I write falls under the umbrell...