De-blog

I had a tough time at school - for lots of reasons, but the one that's relevant here is competitiveness, and not my own. By the time I figured out what the problem was, I was in my mid-twenties and studying for a degree. For brevity: I was fairly clever but shy, not good at sports, lousy at socialising, average height, average looking, an average musician - in general a bit of a wall flower. With adolescence, I put on weight, and that was so not  the attention I wanted to bring to myself. In fact, I didn't want attention at all. I just wanted to get on with being me, doing what I was good at, which is also what I enjoy: People watching. Writing. Reading. Listening to music. Discovering new things I'm good at. Thinking round corners. Being the best I can be. So, all those competitive team sports? Pure torture. Being ranked on exam results? Much the same. Eventually, I realised that my position relative to my peers was of no consequence. I knew  if I'd do...

I've extended the giveaway to the end of Hanukkah. Here are the links and coupon codes: Smashwords: https://is.gd/bfjmQG (coupon: KV22Z) Beaten Track: https://is.gd/3XBEKT (coupon: KV22Z) All Romance eBooks: https://is.gd/nGRgDO Blurb: Freelance engineer Sol Brooks doesn't do the festive season. He thinks it's boring and overly sentimental. With the rest of the household laid up with 'the flu', Sol's planned on using the time to crack on with some work. His mother, however, has other ideas. And so does Sol's husband, Adam. A stand-alone holiday special featuring Sol and Adam from Checking Him Out. * * * * * WARNING: this story contains sex acts between consenting male adults. * * * * * In this series: Checking Him Out (book 1) Checking Him Out For The Holidays Hiding Out Taking Him On (book 2 - Noah and Matty) Checking In (book 3)

WIPpet numbers for 21st December, 2016: 21 for the date and 7 Davenports = 217 words :D * * * * * This week, I’m following on from my last WIPpet post, when Pete made a saucy remark and (mostly) got away with it. In context, Eleanor is one of ‘The Circle’—the nine friends at the centre of the Hiding Behind The Couch series. Now aged 40, she’s the eldest of the Davenport ‘children’. Charlotte—aged 35—is third eldest and still lives with their parents, as does Pete—the youngest at 23. This scene takes place on the last Sunday before Christmas; the Davenports are getting ready to go to church before heading down to Ben’s (second eldest) for the Davenport family Christmas. “We’ll wait in the car,” Eleanor said curtly. She thought she’d got the gist of Pete and Charlotte’s conversation, and she wasn’t impressed. With a firm grip on Toby’s hand, she ushered her mother out of the house. Charlotte stood to zip her jacket. Pete’s mischief amused her, but she didn’t dare show ...

WIPpet numbers for 14th December, 2016: ((14x12)/16)x(2+0)=21 paragraphs * * * * * I’ve missed a chunk out to keep this as short as possible, but this week, I’m following on from my last WIPpet post, when readers wanted to know: “Who’s staying in Pete’s bed?” Read on! In context, Eleanor is one of ‘The Circle’—the nine friends at the centre of the Hiding Behind The Couch series. Now aged 40, she’s the eldest of the Davenport ‘children’. Charlotte—aged 35—is third eldest and still lives with their parents, as does Pete—the youngest at 23. This scene takes place on the last Sunday before Christmas; the Davenports are getting ready to go to church before heading down to Ben’s (second eldest) for the Davenport family Christmas. Toby (in the snippet) is Eleanor’s son. Note: this is ‘hot off the keyboard’. “Who’s Pete got staying?” Eleanor timed the question badly, as her mum was on her way back down and heard her. “It best be nobody,” she grumbled on her way to the toast...

Yesterday, we finally got around to putting up our Christmas tree...which means we first had to buy one. A few years back, in an attempt to persuade the rest of my family, I compared the ecological impact of having a real tree every year vs manufacture and disposal of an artificial tree, thinking I'd win with logic and statistics. I lost. Unless we were to keep an artificial tree for more than five years, it's greener to stick with the real deal, especially if it's recycled after Christmas, which ours always is. However, finding a real tree this year was a bit of a trial. The place we used to buy from was only a mile down the road from us, but they stopped selling Christmas trees a couple of years ago, so we've had to go further afield. I also insisted on a Scots pine, which - according to the seller we got our tree from this time - is rarely being grown for the Christmas tree market because they're less reliable and not as uniform as the spruces. So now yo...

It's WIPpet Wednesday! Hurray! So...I chose this particular scene from Reunions (which at this rate won't be finished until 2018!) because it's the 7th and there are seven ‘children’ in the Davenport family. In context, Eleanor is one of ‘The Circle’—the nine friends at the centre of the Hiding Behind The Couch series. Now aged 40, she’s the eldest of the Davenport ‘children’. Charlotte—aged 35—is third eldest and still lives with their parents, as does Pete—the youngest at 23. This scene takes place on the last Sunday before Christmas; the Davenports are getting ready to go to church before heading down to Ben’s (second eldest) for the Davenport family Christmas. Toby (in the snippet) is Eleanor’s son. As it was every Sunday, the most difficult part was getting Toby washed and dressed in time for Mass, but for once, it wasn’t Eleanor tearing her hair out whilst her terrible toddler screamed blue murder. She hid behind her mug of tea and tried to keep her face ...

I haven't posted in almost a month, which is madness, but then, my work schedule has been full to busting. Between teaching for the Open University (three assignments to grade within a month) and preparing ten separate publications (one of them an anthology) for November/December releases, I've stopped only to sleep...and to win NaNoWriMo by the skin of my teeth. And I wrote a Christmas novella, which is out next week (15th December) - more on that next time. For now, you can find out more and/or (preferably and) preorder it via the links on this page: Of The Bauble (Beaten Track)   So...all of that means I've missed the Wednesday WIPpets and the Rainbow Snippets for ages . It's about sharing, and I didn't have time to fulfil my part in that, but I'm hoping to get back on track over the next few weeks. Well, I'm hoping to finish writing Reunions and do some reading for pleasure, actually. I also have a few editor reviews to catch up on (as i...

Slight blog overload this week, but life is unpredictable, so I'm posting a few days early. My Christmas novella, A Midnight Clear , is available for free until July 31st in the Smashwords Summer/Winter sale (use SFREE at checkout). If you're not a 'Christmas in July' person, you could download it and save it for later. ;) The blurb: It's a cold, desperate December when a young girl flees home, in search of food, shelter and the real Santa Claus. Stranded in George and Josh's hometown, she discovers that the spirit of Christmas can be found in the most unexpected of places. Includes the story of The Little Match Girl, by Hans Christian Andersen. Length: 26,000 words (75 pages) approx. Suitable for younger readers and adults, aged 12+.  A stand-alone story from the Hiding Behind The Couch series. Also part of Boughs of Evergreen - A Holiday Anthology (proceeds to The Trevor Project). * * * * * An excerpt: "Hey," George said ge...

So there I was, in the midst of responding to Q&As for our* Where the Grass is Greener ** blog tour when my co-author just chucks in an answer that leads to this blog post. * 'our' being the delectable and awesomely talented Raine O'Tierney and my adequate self **  Out today! 28th September, 2015 - Where the Grass is Greener The short version of a very long (two months) journey... I wanted a cover for my novel, When Skies Have Fallen , which was appropriate to the era in which the story is based. The story begins in 1944, when RAF corporal Arty Clarke meets USAAF technical sergeant Jim Johnson at a local dance hall. The novel follows their romance from 1944 through to 1967, against the social backdrop of war, post-war, persecution of homosexuals and decriminalisation of homosexuals in 1967 (in England). Now, there are a lot of old black and white photos of men being affectionate with each other—some of whom are definitely men who love men—around the internet,...

My new novel, When Skies Have Fallen is out today - 8th July, 2015. It's  free!  I'll explain why in a moment, and just mention that there is also a paperback edition available (for £8.99) - you can order it from Beaten Track directly now. It will appear on other retailer sites in due course. Buy When Skies Have Fallen Paperback (£8.99): Beaten Track  •  Amazon UK  •  Amazon US Waterstones Download When Skies Have Fallen eBook (free): MMRomanceGroup  •  Beaten Track  •  ARe  •  Smashwords (it will be available on Kindle soon) Story Post on Goodreads (MM Romance Group members only) Also available: Checking Him Out Paperback! Buy  Checking Him Out  Paperback (£6.99):   Beaten Track  •  Amazon UK  •  Amazon US B&N  •  Waterstones Download  Checking Him Out  eBook (free): MMRomanceGroup  •  Beaten Track  •  ARe  •...

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 ...