De-blog

WIPpet numbers for 26th July, 2017: 20+17 – 26 = 11 paragraphs from Tabula Rasa WIPpet Context: Another snippet from Tabula Rasa  (Gray Fisher #2)—I’ve still got little idea of where the story is going. This novel follows on from The WAG and The Scoundrel , featuring two former undercover police officers, Gray Fisher and Rob Simpson-Stone. Their investigations relate to white-collar crimes (fraud, embezzlement, etc.), and there are also romantic relationship story arcs (however, not between Gray—who is gay, and Rob—who is straight). This snippet follows on from directly the previous snippets —the first line is Rob’s, and he’s taking a phone call from ‘Jock’. Just in case: bought a gaff = bought a house; still got flat feet? = are you still a police officer? * * * * * “How’re you doing, man?” Rob caught the microsecond pause before Jock—aka Corporal Harry ‘Jocky’ Wilson—answered, “Yeah, I’m doing all right. You?” “I’m doing great. I thought you were stil...

When the 13th Doctor was announced, I didn't think anything of it - beyond 'hurrah, Capaldi's going!' I have no reason to dislike him. I'm sure he's an excellent actor, but sometimes there's just...something you can't put your finger on, and so, as I did when Peter Davidson took on the role, I stopped watching Doctor Who. If it's not clear already: a) I'm a moderately avid fan of Doctor Who (yes, I know it's an oxymoron - see above); b) I don't think there's anything wrong with the 13th Doctor being played by a woman. There's no canonical reason why the Doctor should always be of one specific gender, and it's a positive move in a series that began in the early 1960s - a time when all TV/movie heroes were male. However... I have a problem with why , because it smells a bit dodgy, like the 1980s 'multiculturalism' in the UK that caused a great deal of social disharmony (more a social meltdown) in some areas...

WIPpet numbers for 19th July, 2017: 19 - 7  = 12 short paragraphs from Tabula Rasa WIPpet Context: A first snippet from Tabula Rasa  (Gray Fisher #2), which so far consists of around three chapters. I started with the cover, and I have very little idea of where the story is going at this stage. This novel follows on from The WAG and The Scoundrel , featuring two former undercover police officers, Gray Fisher and Rob Simpson-Stone. Their investigations relate to white-collar crimes (fraud, embezzlement, etc.), and there are also romantic relationship story arcs (not between Gray and Rob). This snippet is the start of what is currently chapter one, but that may change. * * * * * Leathers over slacks and shirt, helmet in hand, Rob was at the door and ready to leave when his phone buzzed against his chest. Leave it, answer it, leave it… If it was important, whoever it was would call back. It stopped. Rob turned the catch and opened the front door a coupl...

Title: Leaps of Faith Author: A.M. Leibowitz Published: July 12, 2017 Categories/tags: LGBT literature, Christian fiction, bisexual, genderqueer, romance, contemporary, disability Synopsis: From Christmas to Easter and from childhood through the end of life, here are ten interconnected stories revolving around one couple and the people who love them. These are tales of friendship, family, sensuality, and all the intimate moments that make them who they are, together and apart. The stories, while standalone, also fill in the gaps before and around the events in the novels in the Passing on Fatih series. Included: a youth embraces his identity; two women build a life together; a former rebellious teen finds her way; a pair of lovers explore each other's minds and bodies; a man copes with loss and grief. Review: It's no secret that I love character-driven fiction, which is also why I love book series. Whilst a skilled author can realistically depict characters withi...

WIPpet numbers for 12th July, 2017: 7 + 12  = 19 short paragraphs from To Be Sure Between illness and an overwhelming editing load, I didn't get around to visiting my fellow wippeteers last week - sorry, my loss. :( (There’s a link at the end of the post for where you can find more WIPpet snippets.) WIPpet Context: Another snippet from To Be Sure — my story for ‘SAGA’ (title TBC): an anthology of stories featuring older LGBT+ characters (out later this year, from Beaten Track Publishing). This is my last WIPpet from this story, as I finished writing it a couple of weeks ago, but I wanted to end with Saorla and Aileen arriving in England for Dylan’s (Saorla’s grandson) baptism. The main character of  To Be Sure  is Saorla (seer-la) Tierney, a seventy-one-year-old woman from Derry in the North of Ireland. For readers of the Hiding Behind The Couch series, she’s Sean’s mum. Finn is Sean’s older brother, and Sophie is Sean’s partner/Dylan’s mum. In this ...

Wherever you look, my online profile will tell you: author, publisher, social scientist . I was twenty-eight, with two small children, before I graduated with a first-class degree in applied social sciences, and I'm bloody proud of it. I messed up school, lost faith in myself, started to believe I was stupid when I really  wanted to be clever. I wanted to join Mensa, have letters after my name, but all I ever seemed to get was 'U's and 'F's - U must F***ing try harder... My degree finally convinced me that I  am  clever. I know stuff, I can think about stuff on a higher level, and I'm OK at teaching that stuff to others. It also made me realise that the way I interact with the world is possibly unique, certainly unusual. I don't see physical characteristics, but in case there's any doubt, I don't see auras either. I see  psychological characteristics - personalities, beliefs, emotions, judgements. I see the person within. It wasn't my ...

WIPpet numbers for 5th July, 2017: 17 (year), 7 (month)  = 177 words (not very mathematical, I know) from To Be Sure WIPpet Context: Another snippet from To Be Sure , which continues directly from previous snippets . This is last bit of chapter one of my story for ‘SAGA’ (title TBC): an anthology of stories featuring older LGBT+ characters (out later this year, from Beaten Track Publishing). The main character of  To Be Sure  is Saorla (seer-la) Tierney, a seventy-one-year-old woman from Derry in the North of Ireland. For readers of the Hiding Behind The Couch series, she’s Sean’s mum. Finn is Sean’s older brother. In last week’s snippet , Finn had arrived home from wherever he’d been; he and Saorla are discussing their hotel arrangements for their upcoming trip to England. (This needs the  previous snippets  for context). * * * * * When she realised Finn had said no more, she asked, “So you’re getting a double room, then?” “Aye. Rig...

No kidding, at 1:30 a.m., when I was ready to chop off my head if that was what it took to stop coughing, I went online, typed: How to stop a cough spasm and read, fervently, desperately, dropping my phone at least twice in the midst of yet more coughing. Water, cough medicine, painkillers, cough sweets - did all that. The internet said: Use steam (in the middle of the night?) Watch the humidity (watching) Clean bedding (check) Salt water gargle (hell, no) Warm fluids (let's not think about the strain this much coughing puts on your pelvic floor) ...and so many quack remedies, but really, I was up for trying every last one. I started with the more conventional: Honey and lemon Honey and tea Honey and hot water Honey and honey Well, I've never seen a bee coughing...but no, the honey didn't work. Nor, I imagine, would menthol vapour rub on the soles of my feet, but I couldn't find it or believe me, I'd have given it a go. Then this: If your throat ...

Another Snippet from No Filter - a  Checking Him Out / Hiding Behind The Couch crossover (the first being Hiding Out ), featuring Matty (CHO) and Libby (HBTC). Brief background: Libby and Matty first met in  Hiding Out , when Libby was fifteen and Matty was an undergrad dance student. No Filter   is a year later; it’s a very early work in progress, and it’s a friendship story, not a romance. This snippet is from Matty’s point of view. Noah is Matty’s SO. “Pew.” “Huh?” “Pew, pew!” Noah peered over the top of my phone and held up his apple. “Want me to put it on top of my head?” I grinned. “Yeah. I can boomerang it.” I turned the banana side on and got ready to launch. “Maybe not.” Taking a huge bite out of the apple, Noah went back to reading off my phone. * * * * * 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-sen...

WIPpet numbers for 28th June, 2017: 28 + 6 - 17 = 17 paragraphs from To Be Sure WIPpet Context: Another snippet from To Be Sure , which continues directly from previous snippets . This is from the first chapter of my story for ‘SAGA’ (title TBC): an anthology of stories featuring older LGBT+ characters (out later this year, from Beaten Track Publishing). The main character of  To Be Sure  is Saorla (seer-la) Tierney, a seventy-one-year-old woman from Derry in the North of Ireland. For readers of the Hiding Behind The Couch series, she’s Sean’s mum. Finn is Sean’s older brother. In last week’s snippet , Saorla had just got off the phone with Sean, and was preparing a meal while waiting for Finn to arrive home. * * * * * It was only when the front door opened that Saorla remembered the potatoes, which didn’t even have a lid on them, and they were all but boiled dry. “That you, Finn?” she called and grabbed a fork. The click of Finn’s crutch prec...

I've just finished re-reading The WAG and The Scoundrel (Gray Fisher #1) in preparation for writing Tabula Rasa (Gray Fisher #2) - or, at least, making a good start on it - during July's CampNaNoWriMo . It led to a startling discovery (which I mentioned in my RainbowSnippets post on Saturday ): I'd accidentally situated characters from two different stories in different series in the same place at exactly the same time! Eek! On one level, that's rather fun, particularly as the location in question is a close approximation to Watergate Bay in Cornwall (pictured, with Newquay in the distance), which is quite possibly my favourite place to be. I say 'possibly' because I'm no longer sure if it's the real version or my fictional one that I love most - a point I'll come back to shortly. So, my first response was 'how cool!' and it gave me lots to ponder. Would the characters have noticed each other? What would have happened if they had?...

Snippet #2 from No Filter - another Checking Him Out / Hiding Behind The Couch crossover (the first being Hiding Out ), featuring Matty (CHO) and Libby (HBTC). I should say deliberate  cross-over, as today, I realised I’d accidentally (or maybe not?) put characters from both series in exactly the same place at the same time—even though they live 250 miles apart—although they don’t interact. I wonder if they even noticed each other? Hmm. (For those who are curious, it was in  The WAG and The Scoundrel and The Making Of Us ) Brief background: Libby and Matty first met in  Hiding Out , when Libby was fifteen and Matty was an undergrad dance student. No Filter   is a year later; it’s a very early work in progress, and it’s a friendship story, not a romance. Now I’ve figured out where it fits in the timeline of both series, I sort of know what I’m doing. Possibly. This snippet is from Matty’s point of view. Noah is Matty’s SO. “Did you want me?” A ba...

WIPpet numbers for 21st June, 2017: It's my wedding anniversary! 18 years! :o 20 x 6 + 21 + 17 = 158 words from To Be Sure Sorry for any other WIPpet posts I missed last week. I was very late visiting and had to go a-hunting. WIPpet Context: Another snippet from To Be Sure , which continues directly from previous snippets . This is from the first chapter of my story for ‘SAGA’ (title TBC): an anthology of stories featuring older LGBT+ characters (out later this year, from Beaten Track Publishing). And I also have a cover! The main character of  To Be Sure  is Saorla (seer-la) Tierney, a seventy-one-year-old (I miscounted, as usual) woman from Derry in the North of Ireland. For readers of the Hiding Behind The Couch series, she’s Sean’s mum. Finn is Sean’s older brother. In last week’s snippet , Saorla had just got off the phone with Sean, and she’s waiting for Finn to arrive home. * * * * * To be fair, Finn was trying, and Sean was being the diffi...

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...

June is Pride month. As a somewhat introverted and asocial author/academic, I find big social occasions (like Pride parades) a bit wearing (to say the least), but I can celebrate and fight in other, albeit quieter ways. To this end, I've written this post to answer some of the questions I've been asked, mostly by those outside of the LGBT+ community (apologies if it comes across as 'splaining). This is my understanding. It's only one perspective, and I welcome respectful discussion. I've also included a list of the LGBT+ characters in my stories, as this is another way in which I try to contribute to visibility and acceptance - as both an ally and member of the community. What is Pride? Wikipedia's definition is quite good (I don't usually quote from there): Gay pride or LGBT pride is the positive stance against discrimination and violence toward lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people [sic] to promote their self-affirmation, dig...