De-blog

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...

Read on WattPad: https://www.wattpad.com/myworks/115931648-the-pastors-last-drop I will update this post as I add more chapters to the story. (images are all in the public domain, used under Creative Commons Licence) Cover (Derived from 'Liverpool from Wapping' , John Atkinson Grimshaw, 1875) Chapter One Jacques Brel - La Chanson de Jackie John Atkinson Grimshaw painting (snipped and edited from 'Glasgow Docks', 1881 ) Cobblestones (snipped from 'Last Call' ) Chapter Two Becker - Piketipeli (snipped and edited from 'Piketipeli' ) Chapter Three Plimpton and Ruggles - View of a Canal Boat (snipped and edited from 'View of a canal boat, Lockport, N.Y.' )

It's here! Release day is finally here! I bet you're all really pleased about that. :D That's the trouble with social media; no matter how many times we share our news, there will be some people who miss it entirely whilst others are thinking enough of the constant bombardment already! So, yeah - sorry if you fall in the bombardment camp. The Making Of Us is a story I didn't foresee, but in truth, I realise now that - like When Skies Have Fallen - it's a story I needed to tell. Back in 2014, when I wrote the first instalment of the Checking Him Out series , it was my first foray into writing M/M Romance, and it was intended to be a tongue-in-cheek, quirky story - and a one-off! It's my most-read story, helped in no small part by being free - I'd have made a 'real' bestsellers' list had it not been free. Checking Him Out is about Sol and Adam - two British guys (competitive, annoying, alpha-male types) who meet in the US, fall in...

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...

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 ...

Seventeen-year-old Josh Sandison has been waiting his whole life to go to university. Gifted - and bullied for being different - he hopes moving away to study will mean a change for the better. Instead he encounters the unexpected, when strange things start happening in his room - the blinds falling down by themselves and notes from an illiterate prankster. Add to this the myth of the haunted third floor, and cynical Josh has had just about enough, when Sean Tierney arrives at university, three days late and with not a penny to his name. The two strike up an unlikely friendship, bonded by their passion for learning and compassion for others. But will their intellectual prowess be enough to solve once and for all the mystery of the third floor? A stand-alone novel from the world of Hiding Behind The Couch Click here for purchase links: beatentrackpublishing.com/ruminations