De-blog

A Hiding Behind The Couch flash fiction, written for the Sparkly Badgers. Theme: extreme weather (British style ;)). *** A pink straw sunhat dropped onto the patio table. Iris glanced up from her magazine as Pauline passed between her and the sun—not that it mattered when she was under an umbrella. Pauline gingerly lowered herself onto the other recliner and lifted the hat, revealing a bottle of sun lotion—no, make that oil. “Bloomin’ hot, in’t it?” she said. She flipped the lid and upended the bottle, generously greasing her left arm, then her right. “Here we go. Back in 1976, we was frying eggs on’t car bonnets… ” “Well, we was!” “Aye. You told me last time we had a heat wave.” About ten years ago, if memory served. Pauline squinted with one eye shut, checking her arms were well coated before she squeezed dollops onto both thighs. “Nowt wrong with making the most of it.” “You could’ve just had a barbecue, love.” “I don’t think they was invented then, but that wer...

Blurb: C H Clepitt has a knack for creating real, relatable characters, who face adversity with humour and humanity, and Curtain Call is no exception. “Possibly the best thing I’ve read by C H Clepitt so far.” - Murray McLean When an assistant to the director role turns into P.A. to her favourite film star, Jen can’t believe her luck. Eleanor Francis is charming, kind and funny, but she has a secret, and when tragedy strikes, things threaten to unravel at an uncontrollable pace. Despite being out of her depth Jen has to adapt to her new role quickly, to protect Eleanor, with whom she is rapidly falling in love. This is a sweet, understated story that will have you laughing and crying in equal measure. If you’ve enjoyed C H Clepitt’s other books then this is not to be missed. Release Date: 6th May 2018 Reviews: “The story is very well written and flows nicely... I would love to read more about the two main characters in future books.” - Simon Leonard - Black Books Blog ...

I haven't had time to blog properly on a Monday for a few weeks, so my apologies if you're a regular reader. I'm doing my best to get back in the swing of it. This is just a quickie to announce the release of Box Set Two of Hiding Behind The Couch, which is available on Kindle only (and Kindle Unlimited). BOX SET ONE Beginnings Ruminations Hiding Behind The Couch (Season One) No Time Like The Present (Season Two) The Harder They Fall (Season Three) Crying in the Rain First Christmas BOX SET TWO In The Stars Part I (Season Four) Breaking Waves Chain of Secrets In The Stars Part II (Season Five) A Midnight Clear Red Hot Christmas BOX SET THREE (sometime in 2018/9) Two by Two (Season Six) Hiding Out Class-A Those Jeffries Boys Breakfast at Cordelia’s Aquarium The WAG and The Scoundrel NOVELLAS/SHORT STORIES BOX SET Beginnings Class-A First Christmas Breaking Waves Chain of Secrets A Midnight Clear Red Hot Christmas Hiding O...

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 fo...

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...

Title:  In The Present Tense Author:  Carrie Pack Publisher:  Interlude Press Published:  19th May, 2016 ISBN:  9781941530788 Blurb: Miles Lawson goes to sleep dreaming of a future with his boyfriend Adam, but wakes to find he is married to Ana, an acquaintance from high school. When he learns he has been time traveling, Miles is consumed with finding a cure for his rare condition—and finding his first love. Traveling more frequently, Miles assembles the puzzle pieces of his life and, in doing so, alienates his wife. As he loses control, Miles must realize that sometimes fixing your past mistakes means changing your future. But will he be able to convince Adam he is telling the truth before it’s too late? Review: In The Present Tense isn’t literary fiction. I appreciate this is a curious way to start a review – what the book is not – but most novels I’ve come across that take on topics of an intellectual/political nature in the way Carrie Pack doe...

Join in the Sparkly Badgers Easter Egg Hunt! Find the eggs, solve the puzzle, win books! Find/follow the Sparkly Badgers on Twitter Angelique Anderson C M Clepitt J Crawford Steel Nicole DragonBeck Chloe Hammond Joyce Hertzoff Margena Holmes AM Leibowitz Leo McBride Debbie McGowan Terry Poole Maria Riegger Lyra Shanti Joanne Van Leerdam

BATTLE FATIGUE ©2005 Debbie McGowan God loves a trier, But I tire of healing cerebral hamstrings Torn by leaping without training over hurdles That simply were not there yesterday. Of backs chewed through to fronts, Remains spat in the sawdust with disgust And downtrodden through the years Into a pithy pile of organisational waste. Of promises that never saw the light of day… Of honoured guests who outstayed their welcome upon their invited arrival… Of great oak trees that were grafted on the graft of Another lowly acorn’s shoot… Of spine-blunted daggers drooling with the blood of comrades While they feast on the sinewy shavings Of lost ambitions, Spanish moss draped in avenues leading to nowhere… Of paper and pens and boxes to fill, Of statistical accusations, Of schemes. Of pretty girls, words, rooms, hours to kill, Of breeding germs feeding on failing thoughts, Of careers perused on the crest of a doubt, Of axes unground and festering dreams, Of wishi...

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 ...

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 sho...

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 thi...

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 g...

Title:  The Rose Thief Author: Claire Buss Publisher: CB Visions Published: 10th November, 2017 ISBN: print: 1549982443 / ASIN: B076FT93YN Link: http://cbvisions.weebly.com/the-rose-thief.html Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36438619-the-rose-thief Blurb: ​Ned Spinks, Chief Thief-Catcher has a problem. Someone is stealing the Emperor's roses. But that's not the worst of it. In his infinite wisdom and grace, the Emperor magically imbued his red rose with love so if it was ever removed from the Imperial Rose Gardens then love will be lost, to everyone, forever. It's up to Ned and his band of motley catchers to apprehend the thief and save the day. But the thief isn't exactly who they seem to be, neither is the Emperor. Ned and his team will have to go on a quest defeating vampire mermaids, illusionists, estranged family members and an evil sorcerer in order to win the day. ​What could possibly go wrong? Review: What's the worst thing abou...

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 ...

WIPpet numbers for 24th January, 2018: 24-1=23 || 8-1=7 … 237 words Goth of Christmas Past WIPpet Context: I’m still snipping  Goth of Christmas Past —another snippet of Jay. I’ve moved on quite a bit to skip over Jay’s reminiscence of goth adolescence. In this snippet, Hadyn—Jay’s flatmate and sound engineer—has dug out the fibre-optic Christmas tree at the studio… * * * * * And here’s the snippet: Hadyn unwound the cable and plugged in the transformer. The tree illuminated in a brief, glorious wave of purple verging on ultraviolet…and went off. “Poop. I’ve got my soldering iron upstairs.” “Wouldn’t it be easier for us to buy a new tree?” “Easier, yes, but they’re mega-expensive.” “How much?” “A hundred and fifty quid.” It was a lot for a tree, but the studio could afford it. “Order one,” Jay said. Hadyn took out his phone. “Actually, order two. We can have one down here and one upstairs.” “You’re full of festive spirit this year,” Hadyn ribbed without...

I'm going to be totally up front here. I've not yet read any of Rose Montague's books, but I'm going to be rectifying that very  soon, and I'll tell you why. What you're getting is my first impression of an author who is new to me, of whom I know nothing. No interview, no review tapping; I'm going in cold. Before I go any further, I should mention that one of Rose's books is on a Kindle Countdown deal, and it's available at $0.99/£0.99 until 27th January, 2018. For the impatient who aren't interested in reading on, here are the links: Amazon US:   http://amzn.to/1FdKmWL Amazon UK:   http://amzn.to/18KgEfd Teaser: A presidential election. A witch with a target on her back and a magical arrow. A shadowy government agency made up of witches with unusual abilities. A game called Witch Pong. The Mighty Thor? See how it all comes together in a school you will never forget. Blurb: Jewel has a problem. She's in a witch school and c...

WIPpet numbers for 17th January, 2018: (18-17) + 1 = 2 paragraphs from  Goth of Christmas Past WIPpet Context: I’m still snipping  Goth of Christmas Past —and also still playing around with the cover to see if I can increase the readability of the title. I might get it to something I’m happy with before December… This is another snippet of Jay. It comes a few paragraphs after last week’s , so again, there is passing reference to self-harm. Here’s the blurb for further context: Black hair and band hoodies had a lot to answer for. That day, eleven years ago, when Gothboy mooched into their business studies class for the very first time, Krissi had taken one look at him and thought, What a freak. He’s so cool! Now in their mid-twenties, Krissi Johansson and Jay Meyer are successful businesspeople and still best friends. But while one of them is moving forward with their life, the other is sliding ever backwards…revisiting the past and wallowing in regret...