De-blog

I wrote the opening paragraphs as the start of a story for the Take a Chance anthology , but I didn’t get any further, and it’s been loitering on my computer since, so I thought I’d throw down a few more words (577 words in all) and share it. That was the first time Robbie saw him. He remembered the smell of the dirty rain that pelted the streets and his stinging cheeks, the heavy grey sky draped over the world like an unwashed blanket, the wa-wa of the music and the beeps and the clicks, the spiralling zooming lights that seemed a million times brighter in the dead cold of the wet November afternoon. And he remembered him—the boy in torn tracksuit pants, too-big t-shirt and trainers with no laces that flipped and flopped until they were finally flung aside. Robbie wasn’t allowed in the arcades. When he’d told his parents about the Saturday job in the fish and chip shop, it was the first thing they’d said. Not ‘well done’ or ‘good for you’. Do not— we repeat —do NOT go in th...

Yesterday, we finally got around to putting up our Christmas tree...which means we first had to buy one. A few years back, in an attempt to persuade the rest of my family, I compared the ecological impact of having a real tree every year vs manufacture and disposal of an artificial tree, thinking I'd win with logic and statistics. I lost. Unless we were to keep an artificial tree for more than five years, it's greener to stick with the real deal, especially if it's recycled after Christmas, which ours always is. However, finding a real tree this year was a bit of a trial. The place we used to buy from was only a mile down the road from us, but they stopped selling Christmas trees a couple of years ago, so we've had to go further afield. I also insisted on a Scots pine, which - according to the seller we got our tree from this time - is rarely being grown for the Christmas tree market because they're less reliable and not as uniform as the spruces. So now yo...

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 week, I've been working on two WIPs: Reunions and Of The Bauble . I'd written the opening to Of The Bauble back in 2014, but I ran out of time to work on it, but I found some - inspired by Bec from Bike Book Reviews ' call for Christmas MM romances, although...this isn't quite an MM romance. It IS a romance, and it does have a bisexual male main character (young adult), but...well, I'll leave it at that for now or there won't be any surprises later! What is WIPpet Wednesday? WIPpet Wednesday is a blog hop where authors share from their current works in progress - expertly organised/hosted by Emily Witt - and the excerpt has to relate to the date in some way. For links to other fabulous authors' WIPpets, visit: http://www.inlinkz.com/wpview.php?id=355404 Wednesday 12th October, 2016 (it still is somewhere...) 12x10+20+16=156 words I hopped over to read A.M. Leibowitz's WIPpet post for this week , which is themed on 'coming out' in...

Slight blog overload this week, but life is unpredictable, so I'm posting a few days early. My Christmas novella, A Midnight Clear , is available for free until July 31st in the Smashwords Summer/Winter sale (use SFREE at checkout). If you're not a 'Christmas in July' person, you could download it and save it for later. ;) The blurb: It's a cold, desperate December when a young girl flees home, in search of food, shelter and the real Santa Claus. Stranded in George and Josh's hometown, she discovers that the spirit of Christmas can be found in the most unexpected of places. Includes the story of The Little Match Girl, by Hans Christian Andersen. Length: 26,000 words (75 pages) approx. Suitable for younger readers and adults, aged 12+.  A stand-alone story from the Hiding Behind The Couch series. Also part of Boughs of Evergreen - A Holiday Anthology (proceeds to The Trevor Project). * * * * * An excerpt: "Hey," George said ge...

My first proper WIPpet Wednesday - there's maths involved! :o WIPpet Wednesday is a blog hop where authors share from their current works in progress - expertly organised/hosted by Emily Witt - and the excerpt has to relate to the date in some way. For links to other fabulous authors' WIPpets, visit: http://www.inlinkz.com/wpview.php?id=355404 So, it's the 13th July, 2016, and I'm going with easy maths because my brain is tired. Page 13, I counted 7 lines down and 'wipped' the next 16. This is from my just-gone-to-editor WIP, Class-A , which is both part of Take a Chance - a YA/NA LGBTQ (M/M) anthology (which I'll explain more about in a future post) - and a very short interlude in my series, Hiding Behind The Couch . For followers of the series, Class-A happens during Ruminations (starting with the law halls of residence party). The characters in the excerpt below are Simon and Jess, law undergraduates. Simon is the main character in this story,...

Spanish Bay by Hans M Hirschi Spanish Bay by Hans M Hirschi Published by Beaten Track Publishing Genres: Romance, LGBT Cover Design: Natasha Snow 196 pages   Release Date: October 10, 2015 Synopsis Spanish Bay is a feel-good novel about two young men who, despite having the odds stacked against them, never give up, always see the silver lining, work hard, and are committed to their families, come what may. Chris, a Texan native who recently moved to Carmel, rescues wheelchair-bound Neil from bullies. Neither question the love that develops between them, although their life together is not without challenges. When Chris’s parents die in a car accident, their young love faces the ultimate test. Will they be able to cope with the additional responsibility of raising Chris’s baby brother Frank, who is also confined to a wheelchair? Spanish Bay is about love overcoming obstacles, and finding happiness, wherever you are. * * * * * Check out th...

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