De-blog

Illustration by John Hain Every time I open a text message or email at the moment, it's from one of my utilities providers telling me my bill's about to increase. Meanwhile, my union has paused strike action hoping it will contribute to a more positive negotiation climate. Seriously, the common people are on their knees and STILL we're sucking up to government and big capital, not that those two are separate entities. All is not well in the Western world. Yes, for all of the above, I realise I'm very fortunate. I enjoy a comfortable standard of living but nothing more than that, and my private rants about the unfairness of a system that piles guilt onto us – the barely comfortable – while the bunch of w*nkers at the top don't give a single sh*t on a platinum toilet…are much longer and swearier. But I didn't come here to rant; it escaped and expanded while I was considering the intended topic of this post, which is a couple of recent changes that have impacted

It's WIPpet Wednesday... :) Brief Context This is another snippet from Alumni (HBTC #8). At the end of Reunions (HBTC #7), Josh was stuck in the loft, having gone up there to investigate some psychic tools Dan had discovered earlier. In this snippet, he’s  still sitting on the lip of the loft hatch, and he’s called Dan—I skipped forward a bit. WIPpet Maths for Wednesday 24th October, 2018 18 x 10 – 24 = 156 words And the WIPpet Snippet: A series of thuds, loud and likely emanating from a fist, echoed up the stairwell while a torrent of foul language poured out of Josh’s phone. “I can’t pick this, this…stupid…” There was another loud thump followed by a muted roar. “That’s it. I’m calling the locksmith,” Dan said. “No!” The word was out before Josh could check himself, and he scrabbled to take his phone off speaker. “I don’t want a locksmith.” “The guy’s not cheap, but he’s good,” Dan contended, mistaking Josh’s petulance for miserliness, but the cost was irrele

It's WIPpet Wednesday... :) Brief Context This is another snippet from Alumni (HBTC #8). At the end of Reunions (HBTC #7), Josh was stuck in the loft, having gone up there to investigate some psychic tools Dan had discovered earlier. In this snippet, he’s  still sitting on the lip of the loft hatch, and he’s accepted he’s not getting down on his own. WIPpet Maths for Wednesday 17th October 17 - 10 = 7 This is from p61 of my manuscript. 6 + 1 = 7 (Yes, I know it’s really convoluted…) And the WIPpet Snippet: “Mr. Sandison. Gordon Baines here.” Oh, thank all that is… “Hey, Gordon. Thanks for returning my call. I was…erm…wondering if, perchance, you still have a set of keys to the building?” “Keys to the building…” Baines sucked his teeth, the noise crackly and distorted against Josh’s ear. He moved the phone away and continued listening on loud speaker. “I might be wrong, but I think I only had the two sets I gave to you. Have you lost them?” “Erm… Not lost th

It's WIPpet Wednesday... :) Brief Context This is another snippet from Alumni (HBTC #8). At the end of Reunions (HBTC #7), Josh was stuck in the loft, having gone up there to investigate some psychic tools Dan had discovered earlier. I’ve been trying to figure out for ages how to get Josh down again, and I've done it. But first, here he is, sitting on the lip of the loft hatch, and he’s accepted he’s not getting down on his own. WIPpet Maths 10 paragraphs for the 10th of the 10th. And the WIPpet Snippet: Josh opened his contacts list and scrolled. Adele…no. If she sets eyes on this lot —he glowered at the attic stash— she’ll think all her Christmases have come at once. Andy…he’ll have me abseiling my way out. Would that be so bad? A quick downwards glance assured him it would. Baines Property Services…potentially. He mentally bookmarked Baines and continued scrolling through friends and business contacts, imagining the scenario for each, all of them horrific

Well, my writing is not going well even though I’m on a writing holiday (at home). So far, there’s nothing in Alumni that is a) right for Bi Awareness Week, and b) suitable for a blog that can be accessed by people of all ages. Brief Story Info: For WIPpet Wednesday, I’m posting from one of my longest-standing works in progress (I wrote it in 2011) in the hopes it might inspire me to do some more work on it. The story is titled Meredith’s Dagger , and it’s contemporary fiction with historical interludes (based on real local history), a bit of romance thrown in and some feminist commentary on mental health, witch hunts and modern psychiatry. (Yes, I’m that  good at sticking to a genre). The setting is a university town house shared by Julian and Richie, both students, Anneka (she and Richie are long-term buddies) and Tamara (Tam), who is Julian’s older sister and bisexual. There’s a long history between Richie and Tam— much  longer than either is aware of. This novel needs a

It's WIPpet Wednesday again. :) I've been staying at my mum's for the past week, looking after/being looked after by this fine chap. Now I'm home, and my dogs don't care one way or the other. The cat seems pleased I'm here, though. I didn't get much writing done this week, more focused on audiobooks and getting everything in place for the release of Goth of Christmas Past next month. I've almost made a video trailer, and preordering is in progress. I also managed to add a little bit more to  Alumni . Brief story info: Alumni is Season Eight of Hiding Behind The Couch , and obviously has some elements of the characters coming face-to-face with old acquaintances from university and the like (readers of the series might recognise a name or two in the snippet). This follows from last week's snippet ; Genie has called on Xander—a long-term friend who purportedly sees ghosts—to get to the bottom of strange goings-on in her home. WIPpet maths

Two WIPpet Wednesdays in a row, woohoo! I'm on a roll and snippeting from Alumni again. Brief story info: Alumni is Season Eight of Hiding Behind The Couch , and obviously has some elements of the characters coming face-to-face with old acquaintances from university and the like (readers of the series might recognise a name or two in the snippet). This follows from last week's snippet ; Genie has called on Xander—a long-term friend who purportedly sees ghosts—to get to the bottom of strange goings-on in her home. WIPpet maths for 12th September: 12 paragraphs for the 12th. And the WIPpet Snippet: “You will keep it to yourself, won’t you?” Xander marched across the room and stopped a few feet from her location. No eye contact. She remembered now. He’d been just the same when they were children. “His Lordship doesn’t speak to anyone,” Jonathan assured her on Xander’s behalf. “But you do,” she pointed out. “I am contractually obliged to keep His Lordship’s

It's Wednesday, and I haven't posted a WIPpet since April - if it sounds like some kind of --- Anonymous admission, well, it sort of is. I love my work, so that's what I do. Work. I think I even use it to procrastinate on writing, and I've been...too busy to write, never mind post to my blog. Brief story info: Alumni is Season Eight of Hiding Behind The Couch , and obviously has some elements of the characters coming face-to-face with old acquaintances from university and the like (readers of the series might recognise a name or two in the snippet).  I'm hoping posting will kickstart my brain into writing some more. WIPpet maths for 5th September: 12 - 5 = 7 mentions of Xander by name (yeah, yeah). And the WIPpet Snippet: Standing dead centre of Genie’s daughter’s liquorice-all-sorts-inspired bedroom, Lord Xander Etherington-Bowes flapped his hand—palm up, palm down, palm up, palm down—and hummed a monotone melody. “What’s he doing?” Genie whispered,

First up, sorry if you're feeling a bit like "Yeah, yeah, Deb, I know! You've got a book out today." With so many authors, so many books and the velocity of social networks, I have to send out the message on as many channels as possible. Hence, the overkill some of you might experience. Conversely, you might be thinking "Oh, I'm glad I saw this blog post or I wouldn't have known you had a new book out." In which case, my work here is done. :) Sooo... Tabula Rasa is out today! (June 21st, 2018) Tabula Rasa  is book two of the Gray Fisher trilogy (you can get book one - The WAG and The Scoundrel - for 99c if you're quick - links on the Beaten Track page ). This series is a spin-off from Hiding Behind The Couch - you don't need to have read any of the main series to make sense of the Gray Fisher books. The stories feature Gray Fisher and Rob Simpson-Stone, who were in the police together. The series is contemporary fiction with

But I have news! I submitted a story for Upstaged —the upcoming anthology from Supposed Crimes —and it was accepted! Woohoo! :) It was nerve-racking, I won’t lie. It’s the first time I’ve submitted a story anywhere since my first novel. This writing malarkey never gets any easier. I’ll post more about the anthology nearer publication time. Anyway, it’s WIPpet Wednesday. I’m allegedly writing  No Filter  for CampNaNoWriMo . I haven’t managed much writing, but it’s coming along slowly. Brief story info: No Filter  is a crossover novella of the Hiding Behind The Couch and Checking Him Out series(es), featuring Libby (and others) from HBTC, and Matty (and others) from CHO. This week’s snippet is from Libby’s point of view; it follows from last week’s snippet , where Libby was scheming. Note (and also a spoiler for anyone reading HBTC who hasn’t got as far as Season Six): Josh and George are Libby’s foster/adoptive parents. Highlight to read. WIPpet maths for 11th April: 9 se

I haven’t posted for a couple of weeks because of workload, which hasn’t lessened any, if I’m honest. Uni work, publishing…there are not enough hours in the day/days in the week! Still, it’s WIPpet Wednesday. :) Brief story info: No Filter  is a crossover novella of the Hiding Behind The Couch and Checking Him Out series(es), featuring Libby (and others) from HBTC, and Matty (and others) from CHO. This week’s snippet is from Libby’s point of view; this is the start of chapter two (the previous snippets were from chapter one). WIPpet maths for 4th April: 4x4=16 paragraphs. And the WIPpet Snippet: Libby jiggled her leg impatiently to the FaceTime bleeps. It never took Poppy this long to pick up. In fact, Libby was quite sure if she added up all the seconds of waiting from all of their calls in the two years since they’d become friends, it wouldn’t come close to the hours she’d been waiting this time. She gave up. And called again. On and on it rang. “Come on…come on…

It’s been a funny old week so far. I have so much uni work to do, and I’m…not doing any of it. But I now have four stories on the go, including this one, which I haven’t written any more of since this time last week. :/ It’ll come to me, I’m sure. On the plus side, I’ve done quite a bit of work on Tabula Rasa , which is currently 78k, but it wasn’t quite going where I hoped. I think I’ve pulled it back on track. I also ‘accidentally’ made a start on the story after Goth of Christmas Past , all because of a comment about ‘mansplaining’.  Lastly (but not leastly), I’ve written the first few pages of a story for an anthology call , although whether I can write to the remit is another matter, as I’m not good at shorties (as in, I can’t keep to the word limit). I’m giving it my best shot, though—I’ve been mulling the idea for quite some time! That story is tentatively titled Oh No She Didn’t! So, on to the WIPpet… Brief story info: No Filter  is a crossover novella of the Hiding Be

Quickly flying in to post this (a day late). I’m mid-assignment, mid-editing, mid-grading, mid-everything except writing  No Filter , but I’m still snipping from it today. Brief story info: No Filter is a crossover novella of the Hiding Behind The Couch and Checking Him Out series(es), featuring Libby (and others) from HBTC, and Matty (and others) from CHO. This week’s snippet comes a few paragraphs after last week’s, where Matty had typed an email to Libby (whom he met in Hiding Out ) and is waiting for Noah (his other half) to proofread it before he sends it. WIPpet maths for 8th March: 8 question marks. I know, it’s pants, but my brain refuses to cooperate further. And the WIPpet Snippet: “Yeah, it’s [Matty’s email] OK,” Noah said, nodding and still looking at the screen. “Who’s Libby?” Matty stopped mid-stretch, with his left foot behind his head. “You’re kidding me.” Noah peered up through his eyebrows. “Nope. Oh, wait, is she the girl who…came to…that show ba

It’s so cold here!  Well, for England, at least. It’s been snowing and everything! Brrr. Anyway, there’s my very British opening. :D I haven’t had much time for anything beyond editing for the past couple of weeks, but I did get a bit more writing done on No Filter , which is what I’m snipping from today. Brief story info: No Filter is a crossover novella of the Hiding Behind The Couch and Checking Him Out series(es), featuring Libby (and others) from HBTC, and Matty (and others) from CHO. This week’s snippet continues from last week’s, where Matty had typed an email to Libby (whom he met in Hiding Out ) and is waiting for Noah (his other half) to proofread it before he sends it. WIPpet maths for 28th February: 2 paragraphs for this last day of the second month (not very complex, I know). And the WIPpet Snippet: They’d done the whole ‘don’t be a stranger’ thing and made promises to write or call, and Matty had thought about doing it lots of times, but between thinkin

Another crazy-busy week, but not in a bad way. :) It does mean I missed my Monday blog post yet again, although the way I’ve been ranting, it’s probably for the best. Anyway, I’ve finally re-opened No Filter today, and the first thing I did was change it from first- to third-person. Why? Well, a couple of days ago, I put up a FB status about omniscient narration, which a few people responded to (including some, erm, helpful explanations of what omniscient narration is and is not). I’m OK with any kind of narration—even head-hopping—if it suits the story. But readers generally have their favourites, and there will always be someone who isn’t happy with how the story is told. Well, they can always write their own story if they so wish. Thanks to Bonita for reminding me that, in the end, “we need to satisfy that voice inside that tells us our choice is the right one!” So, third-person it is. :) Brief story info: No Filter is a crossover novella of the Hiding Behind The Couc

All of the news! I've been so busy this past couple of weeks, I didn't blog at all last week, and my house is wall-to-wall dog hair, but... Goth of Christmas Past is written, and alpha-read! Thank you, lovely husband :) Nige is a sound/lighting tech, which is very  helpful when it comes to feeding back on a story that extensively features a recording studio ('you mean haze, not smoke, never tell them it's smoke or they cough and complain', and 'why is he up a tower when they've got programmable lights?' and 'try re-patching cables instead...' and so on and so forth), except that now he wants a job there, LOL. It's also with the first beta-reader, who tells me it's got a good start. Cheers, Al. x That's...a good start! :) My next mission— aside from 'hinting' that I need more beta-readers —is to come up with a series title. Why? Well, this is part of Hiding Behind The Couch , but it's kind of a spin-off too...HBTC

Not new material, or even a work in progress. It's Valentine's Day, which is also Josh's birthday, and it's been a busy couple of weeks. So here's an excerpt that's kind of a story in itself. Bloody Valentine’s 14th February Josh smiled, trying to disguise his unease with his current client—a man in his late fifties who, after twenty minutes of waffling about deaths in suspicious circumstances and violent gangland killings, had declared that he could see ghosts. But not any old ghosts. Oh no. Obviously, these were the ghosts of the victims, and in Josh’s head, he could hear them calling ‘Avenge my death!’ although these words had yet to pass the lips of his newest client. And he’d said he wasn’t going to take on any more. His phone vibrated against his leg for about the twentieth time in the past hour, and he shifted position. Ghosts. Good grief. “When you say ‘see’, can you explain what you mean by that?” “I don’t understand the question,” t

WIPpet numbers for 31st January, 2018: 3+1 = 4 paragraphs  Goth of Christmas Past WIPpet Context: I’m still snipping  Goth of Christmas Past . This follows more or less straight from last week’s snippet  in which Jay was contemplating vending machine soup. Note (to explain the second paragraph): Hadyn has OCD, although he has just been handling a dusty Christmas tree… Emma—my wonderful illustrator—has come up with a second version of Jay and Krissi, which is awesome, and now I’m in a dilemma whether to keep the original (pictured) or go with the new one. I think I know what to do, but I”d appreciate your thoughts. QUESTION: Based on the current cover, what kind of story would you expect? * * * * * Here’s the snippet: [Jay] “Is the hot chocolate working?” “It was earlier.” Hadyn was already on his way upstairs and continued in a hasty but controlled manner all the way to the toilet. Jay eyed the machine and then the coins in his hand. He’d either get a half-dece

I'm posting as part of  Rainbow Snippets , which 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. At the tail end of December, I said I'd try to post more regularly to Rainbow Snippets, but then a spider chomped me, and there was just so much life happening. So, more realistically, I'm going to aim to get in at least one post a month. * * * * * Last time, I posted from  To Be Sure , which is a novella from the Hiding Behind The Couch series. I'm not posting from it today, because I have a (kind of) new release available (on Kindle and Kindle Unlimited) that incorporates  To Be Sure  and Red Hot Christmas — the novella I'm snipping from. I'll come back to that after the snippet, because the context for my choice is actually a conversation on a thread on the Rainbow Snippets page, where I mentioned that Andy (from the