De-blog

But I have news! I submitted a story for Upstaged —the upcoming anthology from Supposed Crimes —and it was accepted! Woohoo! :) It was nerve-racking, I won’t lie. It’s the first time I’ve submitted a story anywhere since my first novel. This writing malarkey never gets any easier. I’ll post more about the anthology nearer publication time. Anyway, it’s WIPpet Wednesday. I’m allegedly writing  No Filter  for CampNaNoWriMo . I haven’t managed much writing, but it’s coming along slowly. Brief story info: No Filter  is a crossover novella of the Hiding Behind The Couch and Checking Him Out series(es), featuring Libby (and others) from HBTC, and Matty (and others) from CHO. This week’s snippet is from Libby’s point of view; it follows from last week’s snippet , where Libby was scheming. Note (and also a spoiler for anyone reading HBTC who hasn’t got as far as Season Six): Josh and George are Libby’s foster/adoptive parents. Highlight to read. WIPpet maths fo...

I haven’t posted for a couple of weeks because of workload, which hasn’t lessened any, if I’m honest. Uni work, publishing…there are not enough hours in the day/days in the week! Still, it’s WIPpet Wednesday. :) Brief story info: No Filter  is a crossover novella of the Hiding Behind The Couch and Checking Him Out series(es), featuring Libby (and others) from HBTC, and Matty (and others) from CHO. This week’s snippet is from Libby’s point of view; this is the start of chapter two (the previous snippets were from chapter one). WIPpet maths for 4th April: 4x4=16 paragraphs. And the WIPpet Snippet: Libby jiggled her leg impatiently to the FaceTime bleeps. It never took Poppy this long to pick up. In fact, Libby was quite sure if she added up all the seconds of waiting from all of their calls in the two years since they’d become friends, it wouldn’t come close to the hours she’d been waiting this time. She gave up. And called again. On and on it rang. “Come on…come...

It’s been a funny old week so far. I have so much uni work to do, and I’m…not doing any of it. But I now have four stories on the go, including this one, which I haven’t written any more of since this time last week. :/ It’ll come to me, I’m sure. On the plus side, I’ve done quite a bit of work on Tabula Rasa , which is currently 78k, but it wasn’t quite going where I hoped. I think I’ve pulled it back on track. I also ‘accidentally’ made a start on the story after Goth of Christmas Past , all because of a comment about ‘mansplaining’.  Lastly (but not leastly), I’ve written the first few pages of a story for an anthology call , although whether I can write to the remit is another matter, as I’m not good at shorties (as in, I can’t keep to the word limit). I’m giving it my best shot, though—I’ve been mulling the idea for quite some time! That story is tentatively titled Oh No She Didn’t! So, on to the WIPpet… Brief story info: No Filter  is a crossover novella of the ...

Quickly flying in to post this (a day late). I’m mid-assignment, mid-editing, mid-grading, mid-everything except writing  No Filter , but I’m still snipping from it today. Brief story info: No Filter is a crossover novella of the Hiding Behind The Couch and Checking Him Out series(es), featuring Libby (and others) from HBTC, and Matty (and others) from CHO. This week’s snippet comes a few paragraphs after last week’s, where Matty had typed an email to Libby (whom he met in Hiding Out ) and is waiting for Noah (his other half) to proofread it before he sends it. WIPpet maths for 8th March: 8 question marks. I know, it’s pants, but my brain refuses to cooperate further. And the WIPpet Snippet: “Yeah, it’s [Matty’s email] OK,” Noah said, nodding and still looking at the screen. “Who’s Libby?” Matty stopped mid-stretch, with his left foot behind his head. “You’re kidding me.” Noah peered up through his eyebrows. “Nope. Oh, wait, is she the girl who…came to…that sho...

It’s so cold here!  Well, for England, at least. It’s been snowing and everything! Brrr. Anyway, there’s my very British opening. :D I haven’t had much time for anything beyond editing for the past couple of weeks, but I did get a bit more writing done on No Filter , which is what I’m snipping from today. Brief story info: No Filter is a crossover novella of the Hiding Behind The Couch and Checking Him Out series(es), featuring Libby (and others) from HBTC, and Matty (and others) from CHO. This week’s snippet continues from last week’s, where Matty had typed an email to Libby (whom he met in Hiding Out ) and is waiting for Noah (his other half) to proofread it before he sends it. WIPpet maths for 28th February: 2 paragraphs for this last day of the second month (not very complex, I know). And the WIPpet Snippet: They’d done the whole ‘don’t be a stranger’ thing and made promises to write or call, and Matty had thought about doing it lots of times, but between thi...

Another crazy-busy week, but not in a bad way. :) It does mean I missed my Monday blog post yet again, although the way I’ve been ranting, it’s probably for the best. Anyway, I’ve finally re-opened No Filter today, and the first thing I did was change it from first- to third-person. Why? Well, a couple of days ago, I put up a FB status about omniscient narration, which a few people responded to (including some, erm, helpful explanations of what omniscient narration is and is not). I’m OK with any kind of narration—even head-hopping—if it suits the story. But readers generally have their favourites, and there will always be someone who isn’t happy with how the story is told. Well, they can always write their own story if they so wish. Thanks to Bonita for reminding me that, in the end, “we need to satisfy that voice inside that tells us our choice is the right one!” So, third-person it is. :) Brief story info: No Filter is a crossover novella of the Hiding Behind The Couc...

Another Snippet from No Filter - a  Checking Him Out / Hiding Behind The Couch crossover (the first being Hiding Out ), featuring Matty (CHO) and Libby (HBTC). Brief background: Libby and Matty first met in  Hiding Out , when Libby was fifteen and Matty was an undergrad dance student. No Filter   is a year later; it’s a very early work in progress, and it’s a friendship story, not a romance. This snippet is from Matty’s point of view. Noah is Matty’s SO. “Pew.” “Huh?” “Pew, pew!” Noah peered over the top of my phone and held up his apple. “Want me to put it on top of my head?” I grinned. “Yeah. I can boomerang it.” I turned the banana side on and got ready to launch. “Maybe not.” Taking a huge bite out of the apple, Noah went back to reading off my phone. * * * * * Rainbow Snippets is a group for LGBTQ+ authors, readers, and bloggers to gather once a week to share six sentences from a work of fiction–a WIP or a finished work or even a 6-sen...

Snippet #2 from No Filter - another Checking Him Out / Hiding Behind The Couch crossover (the first being Hiding Out ), featuring Matty (CHO) and Libby (HBTC). I should say deliberate  cross-over, as today, I realised I’d accidentally (or maybe not?) put characters from both series in exactly the same place at the same time—even though they live 250 miles apart—although they don’t interact. I wonder if they even noticed each other? Hmm. (For those who are curious, it was in  The WAG and The Scoundrel and The Making Of Us ) Brief background: Libby and Matty first met in  Hiding Out , when Libby was fifteen and Matty was an undergrad dance student. No Filter   is a year later; it’s a very early work in progress, and it’s a friendship story, not a romance. Now I’ve figured out where it fits in the timeline of both series, I sort of know what I’m doing. Possibly. This snippet is from Matty’s point of view. Noah is Matty’s SO. “Did you want me?” A ba...

I’m not supposed to be writing this, but some characters are very chatty! In fact, I wasn’t supposed to be writing (or working) at all today, but, erm, I already made a cover. :D So, here it is: snippet #1 from No Filter - another Checking Him Out / Hiding Behind The Couch crossover (the first being Hiding Out ), featuring Matty (CHO) and Libby (HBTC). Brief background: Libby and Matty first met in  Hiding Out , when Libby was fifteen and Matty was an undergrad dance student. No Filter   is a year later, and it’s a friendship story, not a romance. Now I’ve got to figure out where in the timeline of both series this falls… This snippet is from Matty’s point of view. I couldn’t believe I’d left it so long to get in touch, but we all do it—say stuff like ‘don’t be a stranger’ and make all these promises to write or call. But time flies by, and before you know it, it’s been too long, and you think ‘I must email whoever later’ and then forget about it again. O...