De-blog

Reunions : I really am beginning to wonder if it will ever be finished. Current word count: 195,000. Brief explanation: My last couple of Rainbow Snippets have been George’s reflections on his and Josh’s relationship, so this time, I’ve gone with (one of) Josh’s (many) reflections. Note: if you’re reading the Hiding Behind The Couch series from the beginning, this contains a spoiler for anything before The Harder They Fall (Season Three) ( Reunions is Season Seven). Here’s the snippet: We’re together. Josh laughed a little and shivered. These days, it felt as if they’d never been apart, but then, this was the calm after the storm: a week of hypomania, dip into hell bypassed. He felt happy and at peace, and he had the house to himself, which meant he could finally get on with his research. Josh had wanted to use his heightened cognitions to escalate his investigation, but George had made him promise not to. It wasn’t George being mean or bossy; for as much as Josh revell...

WIPpet numbers for 25th January, 2017: ((25*20)/17)-1=28 (short) paragraphs from Reunions The current word count is 192,000! Forget what I said about being finished in 200k. Ain’t happenin’! This scene follows on from last week’s WIPpet. WIPpet Context: Shaunna and Andy are an established couple with twin six-month-old daughters. It’s bedtime, and they’re talking to pass the time whilst Shaunna expresses breastmilk (she has something on her mind). Other characters mentioned in the snippet (Sean, Sophie, Josh and George) are some of their close friends; Josh is a psychotherapist. For readers of the series, this give a bit of a teaser of (some of) what’s in store in Season Seven. If you don’t want to know, look away now! * * * * * “Hmm.” There wasn’t a whole lot going on in their lives, but talking would stop her thinking and fretting. “Did I tell you about Sean and Sophie?” Andy frowned. “Dunno.” “Sophie’s going to London to do her PhD.” “Ah. So that’s what’s up wi...

Title: Regeneration Author: Louise Lyons Published: January 15, 2017 Genre: Gay fiction, science fiction, MM romance Length: 75,000 words Cover design: Simon Searle   Purchase Links: Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01NAL4NJ8 Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01NAL4NJ8 Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/688822 Blurb: In the 23rd Century in the galaxy of Sigma Kappa, Kim Fortune was the first surviving experimental enhanced human—a regenerate. Aged fifteen, he escaped the lab and years later, his failings as a regenerate and the suspicion of regular humans, leave him lonely and lacking in self-worth. Stranded on an abandoned planet, the arrival of a stricken ship and its crew give him hope that he may finally find what he always longed for—love. Christian Novak is a successful regenerate with all the intended attributes—including lack of human emotion. Despite their immediate attraction to each other, Kim's failing confidence, ...

Reunions: yep, I’m still writing that beast of a WIP. Today, the word count stands at 186,321, which means I’ve written 13,000 words in the past week and I’m still no closer to finishing it! That’s how it feels, at least, because I’ve been patching holes rather than moving towards the conclusion. Brief explanation: This snippet follows on from last week’s: George is thinking back to the verbal bullying he went through in high school, as well as his mum, who is much ‘lovelier’ than she comes across here. OK, she’s not that lovely, but she means well. Here's the snippet: Josh the boy genius, who remembered everything—every cruel and kind word spoken, every fight, argument, every mundane moment. All those times he’d recounted events of which George had no memory, yet when Josh had said those words, playing down the courage it had taken to stand up to Suzie Tyler, they had tattooed George’s brain. You make me brave. He wished he’d been braver. He wished he could have done...

WIPpet numbers for 18th January, 2017: (18-1)*17=289 words from Reunions The current word count on this beastie is 182,500! I think it’ll be finished in less than 200k, but don’t hold me to that. I decided to go with this particular scene because daughter #2 brought her second tiny son home from hospital today. He was born six weeks early (tiny grandson #1 was twelve weeks early), and a short while ago, she was chatting to me on FaceTime whilst expressing, which she’s doing to keep her milk flow, and because tiny grandson #2 doesn’t like the right breast (I had this with daughter #1 – it’s rather fun to compare notes). WIPpet Context: Shaunna and Andy are an established couple with twin six-month-old daughters. Just prior to this scene, Shaunna and Andy were…well, you can figure it out from the first line. ;) * * * * * “I’ll get the machine in a sec,” he slurred, drunk on sex hormones. “Don’t worry about it. They don’t need me anymore.” “Whoa.” Andy lifted on one ar...

Reunions: the never-ending WIP. Sigh. Today, the word count stands at 173,100. It’s a mess, still not finished, but I do believe it’s getting there. That said, trying to find six sentences that make sense in isolation is getting a bit tricky. Brief explanation: George is thinking back to the verbal bullying he went through in high school. Here's the snippet: Of course it bothered him. He hated being gay first, everything else second. It was what he’d always loved about Josh; he wasn’t ‘gay George’ or ‘star footballer George’. To Josh, he was ‘just George’, and when Josh had taken on Suzie Tyler, it hadn’t been only for George’s sake. He’d given her hell on Shaunna’s behalf, and Kris’s, and Rob’s—the list was endless. You make me brave. * * * * * 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...

WIPpet numbers for 11th January, 2017: 11th January - 11+1=12 paragraphs from Reunions Sean Tierney is one of the main characters from Hiding Behind The Couch , and first appears in Ruminations (Prequel #2). WIPpet Context: This scene is from a few pages after last week’s WIPpet : Sean is in Derry with his son, Dylan. They’re spending Christmas with Sean’s mum and his older brother, Finn, who was in a serious car accident in his teens and has a long-term disability and (subsequent) painkiller addiction. Erin is Finn’s girlfriend, a nurse practitioner, whom Sean knew nothing about until she turned up with Finn for Christmas dinner. Finn has gone for a lie-down; Sean and Erin are finishing up from washing the dishes. * * * * * For as much as Sean hated what Finn had become, he tried not to hate him , to keep an open mind. Whenever he heard of a new pain treatment, Sean emailed the information to his old GP, who, as far as he knew, was still Finn’s GP. In a way, he supposed...

I’m at a bit of a loss today. I’m still trying to…oh, I don’t know anymore, lol. Reunions is driving me nuts! So, I decided to step away from it for the purposes of this RainbowSnippet and go with something from the opening pages of Spread Your Wings (the opening pages being all I’ve written so far). Brief explanation: Spread Your Wings is the sequel to Champagne —my first novel, originally published in 2004. I wrote it in the mid-1990s, which was a very different era in LGBTQ fiction, added to which, the story covers the first half of the 1980s. Spread Your Wings is set ten years later (1995-ish).  Champagne doesn’t have even so much as a ‘happy for now’ because, honestly, none of the characters deserved it. Spoiler alert for anyone intending to read Champagne ! (Highlight below to read synopsis.) Champagne tells the story of Sammy, a young man who goes to London in search of his abusive father and instead stumbles upon a seedy revue bar, where he promptly falls i...

WIPpet numbers for 4th January, 2017: Going US style on the date - Jan 4 - for 14 paragraphs from Reunions Sean Tierney is one of the main characters from Hiding Behind The Couch , and first appears in Ruminations (Prequel #2). WIPpet Context: Sean has arrived in Derry with his son, Dylan. They’re spending Christmas with Sean’s mum. * * * * * Alas, Sean’s optimism was crushed when he heard the front door open, followed by the foreboding click of an aluminium crutch. A familiar cold sweat descended. “Was your bathwater a bit on the hot side, Sean?” Finn limped into the kitchen and grinned at Dylan. “You’ve shrunk since I last saw ye.” “All right, Finn?” Sean greeted neutrally and then was stunned to the point he muttered “Jaysus” by his brother’s embrace. “I’m not bad at all.” Finn gave him a good, firm pat on the back and released him. “Yourself?” “I’m grand. You’re looking well, Finn.” Finn nodded noncommittally, but to Sean’s eyes, he looked healthier and hap...

Am I going to rant? I don't normally. Haha. OK, I'm not going to rant as such , but I am going to make a number of points in this post that are powered by utter fury and frustration, but I'll do my best to remain objective and not shoot my mouth off. First up, in my last post - 2016 Writing Round-up Part 1: Those Jeffries Boys - I said "I've stuck to [taking Christmas off] with one exception, which was a Boxing Day discount event on All Romance eBooks . Obviously, that couldn't wait, but the twelve emails I've set aside can ." Well, what a total bloody waste of time that was! Between Boxing Day (26th December) and 28th December, All Romance eBooks went kaput. I won't go into the nitty-gritty, but what I can tell you is the email I received on 28th December, announcing the closure of the site, offered to pay 10% of royalties owed to authors and publishers. Authors for whom ARE acted as publisher were offered their rights back, and I believ...

Well, I wanted to post a New Year’s Eve snippet, but the only part of Reunions I’ve written for NYE is about Shaunna and Andy, and they’re not LGBTQ. But! I do have a scene from Christmas Day that links to the NYE scene by one degree of separation. ;) Brief explanation: Shaunna and Andy are a couple. Ade (in the snippet) is with Kris, who was married to Shaunna. Barbara (in the scene) is Andy’s mum. They’re all at Barbara’s rather grand house for Christmas dinner, and there’s some (huge) awkwardness going on between Kris and his stepdaughter (Shaunna’s daughter). Barbara is worried it will ruin the day for everyone. Here's the snippet: “It won’t,” Ade assured her. “Kris respects you. I’d even go as far as to say he loves you. You’re his second mum.” “I’m very fond of him, too, and it’s lovely to see him happy at last. Well, I imagine he was happy with Shaunna…” Barbara pursed her lips before she said something she ought not. Ade made a point of looking around the room...

How exciting! This is my first cover reveal for another author, and I feel like I've been holding this precious secret for ages. At last, I get to share it with everyone else. What a privilege! :) Before that, though, here's what you need to know about the book: Title: Regeneration Author: Louise Lyons Release date: January 15, 2017 Genre: Gay fiction, science fiction, MM romance Length: 75,000 words Cover design: Simon Searle Blurb In the 23rd Century in the galaxy of Sigma Kappa, Kim Fortune was the first surviving experimental enhanced human—a regenerate. Aged fifteen, he escaped the lab and years later, his failings as a regenerate and the suspicion of regular humans, leave him lonely and lacking in self-worth. Stranded on an abandoned planet, the arrival of a stricken ship and its crew give him hope that he may finally find what he always longed for—love. Christian Novak is a successful regenerate with all the intended attributes—including lack of h...

I made the decision this year, to take a couple of weeks off for Christmas. You may well be reading this and thinking 'that didn't go very well, did it?' which would be fair comment, although my intention was to take time off from Beaten Track , and I've stuck to it with one exception, which was a Boxing Day discount event on All Romance eBooks . Obviously, that couldn't wait, but the twelve emails I've set aside can . The break from publishing was mostly so I didn't miss Christmas again (that's what's happened the past couple of years), and it's been lovely to spend time at home, mostly with Nige + dogs and cat. Jasmine comes and goes - more so than Beth, which is amusing, as Beth's left home and Jasmine hasn't (she says she's never leaving). It's also been a chance to do some writing-related stuff that needed my attention long before now, and I'm really going to try to properly set aside time for my own writing in 201...

I've extended the giveaway to the end of Hanukkah. Here are the links and coupon codes: Smashwords: https://is.gd/bfjmQG (coupon: KV22Z) Beaten Track: https://is.gd/3XBEKT (coupon: KV22Z) All Romance eBooks: https://is.gd/nGRgDO Blurb: Freelance engineer Sol Brooks doesn't do the festive season. He thinks it's boring and overly sentimental. With the rest of the household laid up with 'the flu', Sol's planned on using the time to crack on with some work. His mother, however, has other ideas. And so does Sol's husband, Adam. A stand-alone holiday special featuring Sol and Adam from Checking Him Out. * * * * * WARNING: this story contains sex acts between consenting male adults. * * * * * In this series: Checking Him Out (book 1) Checking Him Out For The Holidays Hiding Out Taking Him On (book 2 - Noah and Matty) Checking In (book 3)

WIPpet numbers for 21st December, 2016: 21 for the date and 7 Davenports = 217 words :D * * * * * This week, I’m following on from my last WIPpet post, when Pete made a saucy remark and (mostly) got away with it. In context, Eleanor is one of ‘The Circle’—the nine friends at the centre of the Hiding Behind The Couch series. Now aged 40, she’s the eldest of the Davenport ‘children’. Charlotte—aged 35—is third eldest and still lives with their parents, as does Pete—the youngest at 23. This scene takes place on the last Sunday before Christmas; the Davenports are getting ready to go to church before heading down to Ben’s (second eldest) for the Davenport family Christmas. “We’ll wait in the car,” Eleanor said curtly. She thought she’d got the gist of Pete and Charlotte’s conversation, and she wasn’t impressed. With a firm grip on Toby’s hand, she ushered her mother out of the house. Charlotte stood to zip her jacket. Pete’s mischief amused her, but she didn’t dare show ...

I've been tagged by the gloriously talented author Jonathan Hill to write a blog post on writer's pet peeves. If you haven't read any of Jonathan's stories, go and do it right now! My blog post will still be here when you're done. OK, so, pet peeves, hmmm... I'm not sure I have any. Ha. Who am I kidding? (No-one, I imagine). I have loads, although they're either so ginormous they're less 'pet' and more 'keep in a safari park in an enclosure marked PLEASE KEEP YOUR VEHICLE WINDOWS SHUT AND LOCK ALL THE DOORS!', or they're so tiny and fleeting they're gone and forgotten before I can get too peeved. I love writing. There is not one story I've written that I don't at least like, and of the 'works in progress' on my computer, there are only a couple I'm not fond of...right now. It's more a case of how daunting the task is of turning them into stories I'd be happy to put out there for others to read. ...

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...

WIPpet numbers for 14th December, 2016: ((14x12)/16)x(2+0)=21 paragraphs * * * * * I’ve missed a chunk out to keep this as short as possible, but this week, I’m following on from my last WIPpet post, when readers wanted to know: “Who’s staying in Pete’s bed?” Read on! In context, Eleanor is one of ‘The Circle’—the nine friends at the centre of the Hiding Behind The Couch series. Now aged 40, she’s the eldest of the Davenport ‘children’. Charlotte—aged 35—is third eldest and still lives with their parents, as does Pete—the youngest at 23. This scene takes place on the last Sunday before Christmas; the Davenports are getting ready to go to church before heading down to Ben’s (second eldest) for the Davenport family Christmas. Toby (in the snippet) is Eleanor’s son. Note: this is ‘hot off the keyboard’. “Who’s Pete got staying?” Eleanor timed the question badly, as her mum was on her way back down and heard her. “It best be nobody,” she grumbled on her way to the toast...

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...