De-blog

Ten years ago (to the day), I released Crying in the Rain – a bi/gay love story (MM romance) and a stand-alone novel in the Hiding Behind The Couch universe. Today, I’m releasing the second edition of  Crying in the Rain . I’ve been updating the formatting of all my books for a while now – optimistically I thought I’d have them all done in 2023, and I don’t have too many left to do, but it’s a lengthy task. While I’m at it, I’m reading through each story, correcting any errors I notice and sorting out my British commas. That’s all most of the stories need for me to be happy with them. But then I reached  Crying in the Rain , and, well, rather than paraphrase myself, here’s my Author’s Note from the new edition: To be clear, I didn’t hate the first edition, but seeing the things I didn’t like about it crop up in reviews…well, there’s an argument there for not reading reviews, I suppose, but those readers weren’t wrong. There was too much ‘head-hopping’.  Crying in the Rai...

Another CV / character profile from the  Hiding Behind The Couch series . Profiles posted so far: Kris Johansson Charlie Davenport Sean Tierney Jess Lambert Dan Jeffries Eleanor Davenport Krissi Johansson Shaunna Hennessy Andy Jeffries Adele Reeves Hiding Behind The Couch  is an ongoing series about a group of friends—‘The Circle’ (the original main characters in the series), which has expanded and changed over time to include the ‘extended circle’ (additional main characters, below the circle on the right). It’s Ade’s turn today, who—in my head—looks a bit like the Daz3D image above (if you squint). Images used in these character spotlights (this one included) which aren’t from book covers / Daz3D are from Pixabay . Ade’s first appearance isn’t until Season Three ( The Harder They Fall ) and only then from other characters’ perspectives. You can find both the writing and suggested reading order for the series on this page:  deb248211.blogspot.c...

When my dearest husband read the very first draft of Hiding Behind The Couch (Season One), he must’ve misread ‘Kris’ as ‘Kenny’, because in the ten years since—during which he’s read the first draft of every single story—he’s come up with at least a hundred ways to kill Kris. My favourites include the morning Kris woke up and found all the bodies of his friends downstairs and realised he was completely and utterly alone (not sure how he died that time, to be honest, probably not murder), the multiple occasions he’s been run over by buses, and when he fell off a cliff for no reason whatsoever…there are times I wonder if I should just open a document and let Nige write the next instalment. I permit this indulgence, of course. Nige is my alpha reader (sometimes he pushes it and asks, “Don’t you mean alpha male?” Ha. ) He tells me he’s joking (about killing Kris, not the alpha male thing) and he’d have nothing left to do if I did follow through and send Kris off to Valhalla or wher...

Today, I was accused of 'author preaching' about bisexuality in one of my books, and the best part of it was, on this occasion, I wasn't actually preaching! This, alas, is what comes from writing visible bisexual characters, and I'm going to keep doing it. Without apology. That's not to say I don't get preachy from time to time. At the end of this post is an excerpt of full-on preachy-ness, all of it based on real reactions to bisexual people. Readers of Hiding Behind The Couch will have met Kris Johansson. He's one of The Circle - the nine characters at the centre of the series - and he is the most visible bisexual character in my writing. He's one of the two main characters in the stand-alone bi/gay romance, Crying in the Rain , which is FREE on All Romance eBooks until Sunday 25th September (to celebrate Bisexual Awareness Week). There are other bisexual characters in HBTC, but not in The Circle. Here's a breakdown of the gender/sexu...

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-sentence book recommendation (no spoilers please!). In this group you'll find anything from romance and historical fiction to mystery and YA. The common thread is that every story's main character identifies as LGBTQ+. The snippets could range from zero flames to full-on sexytimes, anything goes content-wise. The only rule is snippets will be 6 sentences long–one for each color in the Pride flag. * * * * * I'm going with a bit more from Reunions ( Hiding Behind The Couch #7) this week. Kris and Ade are flying to Sweden to visit Kris's parents, whom Ade is meeting for the first time. It's also his first time flying, so he's a bit excitable. This wee excerpt follows on from my previous Reunions snippet. Ade has just discovered what he thought was chocolate and vanilla ice cream...

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-sentence book recommendation (no spoilers please!). In this group you'll find anything from romance and historical fiction to mystery and YA. The common thread is that every story's main character identifies as LGBTQ+. The snippets could range from zero flames to full-on sexytimes, anything goes content-wise. The only rule is snippets will be 6 sentences long–one for each color in the Pride flag. * * * * * I'm all over the place with writing this weekend. I have three WIPs on the go, and I'd planned to snip from something else entirely, but I couldn't find a section that worked. I've opted instead for this little section of Reunions ( Hiding Behind The Couch #7), where Kris and Ade are flying to Sweden to visit Kris's parents; Ade is meeting them for the first time. It...

Crying in the Rain is through to round two of the Rainbow Book Awards Cover Competition! You can still vote here: http://www.elisarolle.com/rainbowawards/covers.php (vote for three) Cover design by Natasha Snow www.beatentrackpublishing.com/cryingintherain

I am UNBELIEVABLY EXCITED that my novel, Crying in the Rain , is a finalist in the 2015 Bisexual Book Awards . So excited, in fact, that as I type I have a TENS machine on my lower back and I'm daring to hope for the impossible instant miracle cure to my eighteen-month muscle spasm so I can go to NYC for the ceremony. Am I wondering if I could win this? I suppose I am, but even getting this far...wow! * * * For many years, Ade Simmons has been an outsider, trapped in an abusive relationship, seeking sanctuary in his job as a radio producer, and in the checklists he makes in an attempt to regain control of his sorry excuse of a life. Actor Kris Johansson is patient, gentle and passionate - everything that Ade's ex-boyfriend is not. When Kris takes a role in one of Ade's plays, the attraction is mutual and instant. It is the turning point for Ade. He can either stay on the same path, with Fergus - the bully who has repressed, used and isolated him from his f...

Next Monday (December 15th) marks the release of my second Christmas story of the year, Red Hot Christmas , so we'll start as we mean to go on, by officially revealing the FABULOUS cover, created by Natasha Snow . Natasha's a brilliant cover artist / designer, and such a great person to work with. For both Red Hot Christmas and Crying in the Rain , I gave her a brief outline of the story and her first ideas were what we eventually went with, even though I fuss and fret and go all around the world before I reach the conclusion that she had it right all along. I think it's what comes of writing a series, whereby Crying in the Rain and Red Hot Christmas are chronologically #5 and #11 (full list at end of post), although I wrote Red Hot Christmas last Christmas, and wrote Crying in the Rain during the summer. By this point, the characters are so familiar to me that I have a clear picture in my head of what they are like - it's more of a psychological profile...

There is a school of thought which argues authors shouldn't read reviews of their work, because reviews are written for other would-be readers. Furthermore, those who argue for free expression in reviews contend that once the work is out there, it is a product, just like any other, and authors should not take it personally if a reviewer hates their 'product'. I can agree with this sentiment - up to a point - and it is precisely why we SHOULD read our reviews. In every industry, customer feedback is used to improve products and services. Likewise, if we authors don't read our reviews, we can not improve our product. That said, a piece of creative writing is not the same as an engine part, or a sofa, or a coffee maker, for whilst the inventor of a new and innovative product might well pour their heart and soul into it, the end product that we buy off the production line is tried, tested and far removed from that initial creative endeavour. A bad review for a vacuum cl...