De-blog

Part of Play On... A FREE Valentine’s Day collection of short stories, poetry and prose, inspired by the songs of ABBA. Nina, Pretty Ballerina © 2019 Debbie McGowan I didn’t like her. Not at first. She was too pretty. Too perfect. The box belonged to my sister, a pink, fluffy, glittery little thing—the description suited both—from a boy in her class. I remember her ripping off the paper, squealing in delight and then casting it aside, concerned only with the accumulation of Valentines, not sentiment. She wouldn’t let me see what was inside, but that had never stopped me before. Back then, though, all I knew was the box had two keys. One was for a tiny, pointless padlock that hung from the front like a little robot Scotsman’s sporran— Kick me in the goolies, I dare ye. Oh, dare accepted, my good wee McMan. The other key stuck out the back and would, inevitably, bring about the end of the world. I waited, biding my time for just one opportunity to get at that box....

My Dream Woman , written by C H Clepitt and Narrated by Natalie Husdan is available now as an audiobook. Blurb: When your dreams are real there’s nowhere to escape! Andi is just holding it together. Working two jobs means she doesn’t need to rely on anyone, but doesn’t have much of a life. In her dreams, however, she is a hero: battling monsters and saving innocents. When her dream woman turns out to be very real, Andi’s life begins to spiral out of control. Step into an exciting urban fantasy that will have you on the edge of your seat. Think The Book of Abisan , only sexier! Author’s Note: I loved writing My Dream Woman and was thrilled with the response it received from readers. Hearing it brought to life was absolutely amazing, and Natalie Husdan does a superb job - every single character sounds just as I imagined them. I could not be more pleased with the finished version. Narrator’s Note: My Dream Woman  was so enjoyable to narrate because there were num...

It's been a really busy day. That's what I've been telling everyone, along with mumbled explanations about uploading books, putting together covers, writing reviews and blog posts and so on and so forth. What I've really been doing - spent an inordinate amount of time doing, in fact, is... Finding somewhere to hang my bunting. I kid you not. I probably don't strike you as a bunting kind of person, but this is no ordinary bunting. Oh no. This is homemade, meticulously stitched and ironed(!) bunting. Don't believe me? Well, feast your eyes on these splendiferous triangular beasties! Good, eh? :D The bunting is a lovely release day gift from Dawn Sister - one of my fellow authors in  Seasons of Love   anthology, which is released 31st July (officially - it's already out). Thank you, Dawn. I intend to keep it up for at least a month. Then I'll carefully fold it away into its bag and bring it out again same time next year, and the year afte...

Title:  The Rose Thief Author: Claire Buss Publisher: CB Visions Published: 10th November, 2017 ISBN: print: 1549982443 / ASIN: B076FT93YN Link: http://cbvisions.weebly.com/the-rose-thief.html Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36438619-the-rose-thief Blurb: ​Ned Spinks, Chief Thief-Catcher has a problem. Someone is stealing the Emperor's roses. But that's not the worst of it. In his infinite wisdom and grace, the Emperor magically imbued his red rose with love so if it was ever removed from the Imperial Rose Gardens then love will be lost, to everyone, forever. It's up to Ned and his band of motley catchers to apprehend the thief and save the day. But the thief isn't exactly who they seem to be, neither is the Emperor. Ned and his team will have to go on a quest defeating vampire mermaids, illusionists, estranged family members and an evil sorcerer in order to win the day. ​What could possibly go wrong? Review: What's the worst thing abou...

It’s the first day of my Christmas holiday. Hurray! I’m cracking on with Reunions …soon. I haven’t written any more of it yet. But I have marzipanned (yes, it is a verb, for sure) the cake (that I definitely didn’t buy pre-made). We’ve got a tree and lights and everything, so it’s all going according to plan. Mostly. Sort of. OK, there is no plan. Anyway… Rainbow Snippet time. Snippet context: It’s Christmas morning. That’s all you need to know. :)   Here’s the snippet: “Good morning, Mr. Johansson,” Ade sang—actually sang—holding the ‘-son’ for a count of four as the curtains swished open on a still-dark world. The bedside lamps came on, first one, then the other, and Ade clambered back into bed. “Good morning, Mr. Simmons.” Kris fought a smile, endeavouring to hide his amusement and surprise. Ade was not a morning person. “It’s—” Kris lifted his head and squinted at the clock “—five-thirty? That’s early even for me.” “All the more day to do Christmas with,” Ade sa...

Well, I knew I hadn't taken part in Rainbow Snippets for a while, but I was horrified when I discovered the last time was August! :o I'll leave the explanation at it's been a helluva year for all of us and move on. This week, I'm gearing up to the 15th December release of my Christmas novella - Of The Bauble . It's a young adult humorous fantasy romance, which hopefully readers of all ages (13+) will enjoy. Here's the blurb: When nineteen-year-old Kieran O’Sullivan takes a trip to the attic for the Christmas decorations, it proves to be an illuminating experience. Box includes: - a hapless but not altogether helpless student - a pedantic supernatural being (or two, or…well, quite a few) - a funky older sister - the coolest mum in the world - a naughty rescue bunny and her easily led feline sidekick - an insightful ex-girlfriend - twinkle lights - tinsel - baubles * Warning - may contain traces of magic and a smidgeon of social commentar...

This morning, I got to add ANOTHER phrase to my most-hated corpspeak list, and I thought I'd celebrate by blogging about it! I should also point out that I STILL hate the word 'blog', which is why my blog is titled de-blog (or deb log). Back when I created my blog, I was part of an IT steering group (steering group, ffs), where people 'in the know' talked about these 'innovative new technologies' such as blogging, content management systems, dynamic web content, and so on - what we now call Web 2.0 - a technology scarred by the favourite buzzwords of the time. innovative dynamic we will add your distinctiveness to our own... I knew technology. I'd been writing PHP for six years by that point. I'd been hacked and I knew how to hack. I knew as much as I needed to, all of it self-taught. Skip a couple of years... The web moved on, as did I. Well, actually, I moved back to writing fiction and I'm almost proud to say that I haven't ha...

Today is release day for And The Walls Came Tumbling Down - second edition! For those of you who read the first edition (thank you), the story is the same, but it's a much, much better read. It's a funny thing, going back to an 'old' story. I wrote And The Walls Came Tumbling Down in 2009, so it's not that old. However, when technology or science is involved, a year (or less) is all it takes to date a story. So, there are no flip phones in the second edition, but the Tamagotchi got to stay. Why did I release a second edition at all? Well, in part it's because - I think - I'm a more accomplished author now. I have more of an idea of what I'm doing, at least. I re-read my own stories, and I tweak and refine, but only if I'm not happy with them / I feel I've done a disservice to my readers. Of course, the best I can ever achieve is to be happy with the story at a specific moment in time, and my next revisit will undoubtedly include at leas...