De-blog

Title:  Minuet Series:  Notes from Boston Author:  A.M. Leibowitz Publisher: Supposed Crimes Release Date: 1st September 2019 Full disclosure: I beta-read Minuet (along with books 2 and 3 - Nightsong and Drumbeat ), which doesn't make any difference to what I will say - I'd love this series just as much had I read it in the usual way. But it has given me an insight beyond each novel, as I've kept in mind how the various arcs fit together and developed strong feelings towards certain characters. Those feelings don't always run in line with 'heroes' and 'villains', although...the one uber villain, well, let's say he gets his comeuppance quite satisfactorily in  Minuet . Central to this instalment are the characters Mack, Amelia and Jomari, and I must admit that I still don't feel I know Jomari as well as the other two, purely because I've known him for a shorter period of time. In some ways, he's more closed off than Mack, altho...

I realised today that I still haven't reviewed Drumbeat , which is shocking. It's been out for... [goes to look...cough] a while. OK, September 1st, it was released, and it was a while before that when I read it, because I struck lucky and got to beta-read. I honestly don't know what the process is like for other beta-readers, but for me it's like getting books on super early pre-release AND getting the chance to talk about the characters and events with the author. A private fan convention, essentially. I love it! Drumbeat  is the third book in A.M. Leibowitz 's Notes from Boston series , and I've got to say before I get into talking about the story itself, I love these covers so much. How much? I've got them up onscreen as I type. They're exactly right for the series and for each story. The observant will notice the series title and the book titles are music-themed, and the characters are all somehow connected to the performing arts (as well as t...

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...