It's really going to happen, isn't it?

It's been a bit of a fraught weekend here. My writing had to take a back seat to mopping the excess water off the kitchen floor every hour. Now that the culprit has been identified it's time to dive back into the WIP, 'Mourning Jack'. Well....I'd like to dive back in but I'm at one of those "So what happens next?" stages. This always happens to me when I'm about to throw the main characters into the volcano again. I hate to ruin their happy moments but it has to be done.

So, while I'm dithering over what to do to Ade and Cal I've been pootling about online and the usual Monday morning 'New Releases' announcement from Total E-Bound distracted me. It distracted me because I realised that five weeks from today 'Stolen Summer' will be on that particular web page. Yup, my book wot I rote.

I'm nervous.

I'm thinking 'ohmygod what if it just sits there and only friends and family buy it? There's so many good m/m writers out there with dedicated followers....who's going to buy this book by someone no one's heard of before?

and

ohmygod, what if people buy it and think it stinks?

I'm going to be promoting the book over the next few weeks. I'm going to do my best not to be all 'in-your-face-buy-my-book'. I get really really annoyed when my Tweetstream is flooded by writers pushing their books and tweeting about nothing else, so I really won't do that. If you spot me doing it feel free to smack me.

So that's it for now. Just a Monday morning panic. Now I need to think, or write, or think about writing.

Blurbage

It's been a busy week or two and I've been neglecting the blog...again.

I received the promotional art work for 'Stolen Summer' a week ago and apart from splashing it all over AW and my Facebook page, I've done nothing with it.

In a post-coffee moment of lucidity I thought I might as well show everyone the postcard. There are two reasons for this:

1. It's gorgeous.

2. It has the blurb for 'Stolen Summer' on it.

Given that the book is let loose on the world (well, the e-world) at the end of August, I may as well let people know what it's about.

So, without further babbling from me, here's the postcard:

BRAND NEW SHINY COVER!!!

So... there I was checking my Yahoo email account and what do I see but an e-mail from the good people at Total E-Bound entitled 'Stolen Summer - Cover Art'

With shaking fingers I click on 'download' and here is the prize.

I absolutely love it. It's perfect. I want to marry it and have its babies.

Lyn Taylor is the artist who created this. I can't thank her enough.

Here's the full size:

So, time to wake this puppy up again.

I've been woefully neglectful of this blog of late. Real life has a habit of getting in the way as some of my previous posts have shown. Now that things are happening on the writing front it's time to sweep out the cobwebs, evict the spiders and start posting again.

For starters, I have a book coming out.

Yup, it's absolutely true.

When I started writing seriously in July of 2008 I had visions of being snapped up by a agent, getting a nice little three book deal and writing my way out of my previous job. Of course that hasn't happened...yet.

It was always my intention to write historical fiction and I still do. But, in January of 2010 I responded to a challenge thread on the Absolute Write forum. The challenge was to write an erotic scene in a point of view that was the complete opposite to the one I always used, which in my case is third person close from a woman's point of view. I wrote the scene from a man's point of view in first person. It was a very naughty scene with an unfeasible amount of sex. I had great fun writing it and my fellow forum members thought that, by and large, it worked.

Evan and Colin, the two characters in the scene, wouldn't leave me alone. They kept tugging my sleeve and whispering in my ears. I had to tell their story. I cobbled together a plot on a flight from Phoenix to LA and I started the first chapter in a Santa Monica hotel room. Four weeks later I had a finished first draft. I remember joking to my Dad... "You watch, I bet this is the book that gets published."

I sent it to two wonderful betas, received some honest feedback, made some repairs and sent it away to another beta reader. More feedback ensued, more changes. Then Real Life got in the way, I lost my job and moved back to the UK. My writing brain was all over the place. You'd think that being unemployed for months would give me an ideal chance to write. I don't work like that. I need stability in my life to be able to write.

Once things were more settled I took it in my head to send Stolen Summer to an e-pub. I started with a big U.S. based one. I made my submission, received a request for the full manuscript, sent it and waited. A week or so later, the editor responded and said that, while the story had promise, there were some things that could be improved. If I revised it they would consider my resubmission. I made the changes, they all made sense and I had two more beta readers hold my hand through the process. Back went the Shiny New Improved manuscript and back came the rejection.

To be honest, it didn't hurt. I'd come close and in the end it had come down to an editor's personal preference. She didn't connect with the main character and that's fair enough - it happens. It made me realize that Stolen Summer is very 'English'. So I squared my shoulders and submitted it to Total E-Bound, a British publisher. A request for the full followed about an hour and a half after the editor emailed me to ask where the attached chapters and synopsis were (for some reason they fell off the original email somewhere in cyberspace). Four days later the editor emailed me back with an offer to buy Stolen Summer.

So, there you have it. I've signed the contract and I'm waiting for Rebecca, my editor, to get back to me with edits. I've filled in the forms and said what kind of cover I'd like and I've been given a release date:

29th August.

I'm still pinching myself. My filthy little thousand-word scene has turned into a proper novel with a great plot and two very real characters. I love Evan and Colin. I hope, when you read Stolen Summer, that you'll fall in love with them too.

So...watch this space. I'll keep y'all posted. If you want to know what the picture at the top of this post is all about you'll have to read the book. :D

Being Human - So long Mitchell. (contains spoilers)

I've been very neglectful again, haven't I? Truth is I've been busy writing, revising, inventing dishes out of leftovers and juggling bills. Now, the novel has gone back to the e-publisher following revisions, the novella is in the knowing hands of beta readers and the new story is tugging at my sleeve. So, I really have no excuse. I need to kick the old blog back to life, yet again.

Where better to start than the recently concluded third series of 'Being Human'.

Oh, bloody hell, she's not rabbiting on about that again is she?

Why yes, yes I am.

I don't even know where to begin. This series has been a wild ride, showcasing all that I love about BH - clever writing, brilliant acting and a make-up department let loose with the fake blood. There was the usual deft mix of humor, tragedy, sorrow and drama, enhanced by some stellar guest appearances, including Robson Green at his most manly as the werewolf McNair, Michael Socha as his 'son' Tom, a delightfully dotty performance by Nicola Walker and the long anticipated reappearance of Jason Watkins wreaking havoc as Herrick.

The regular cast were at their very best, led by Aidan Turner portraying Mitchell as a vampire whose unraveling throughout the eight episodes was the main thread running through the series. The chemistry between Russell Tovey and Sinead Keenan was even stronger and they provided some memorable moments - my favorite being a scene at the police station when both Nina and George were moments away from transforming. Lenora Critchlow, as Annie, was finally brought to the fore a bit more in this series and I suspect more of Annie's powers will be revealed in Series 4.

Jason Watkins was remarkable, as always as he slowly transformed from the creepy 'Uncle Billy' in the attic to a dramatic and horrific return to Herrick in ruthless form, leaving a bloody trail of dead police officers in his wake. Watkins really gives the impression that he loves every moment and his performance in this series really stood out.

The final nod really has to go to Aidan Turner playing John Mitchell for the last time in this series. The die was cast with the massacre of the Box Tunnel 20 and the main thread that ran through all the episodes was the acceleration of Mitchell's unraveling, kick started by Lia's false prophecy in the first episode about a 'wolf-shaped bullet'. His final moments tear at the gut, a heartbreaking exchange, which ends with George plunging a stake into his best friend's heart out of love. I usually get burny eyes and sniffles when I watch something sad but this scene had me sobbing. It really was the right true end to Mitchell's story and kudos to all involved for making that bold leap in the dark.

So, yeah, that's my take on this season of Being Human. I know there's many a red-blooded female rending her clothes and wailing at Turner's departure and forthcoming dwarfdom and there's a few wondering how Season 4 will shake out without Mitchell but I have every faith that, this time next year, I'll be writing yet another blog singing Being Human's praises.

Thanks guys.

Possess!

Today I have the honour of being able to share the cover of my friend, Gretchen McNeil's book with you. It's called Possess and it's released on the 23rd of August this year.

When it's released, I'll review it. Until then, I'll give you this link and you can read what Gretchen has to say about it all.

I'm so thrilled for Gretchen and, when you read the book, you'll be thrilled!

Possess

New Year, new life.

I'll say it right here and right now, I loathe New Year stuff. I have no resolve therefore I don't make resolutions. I can't drink more than a couple of glasses of wine or champagne without getting a thumping headache. I can't stay up much past 10.30 most nights. So, I don't do New Year.

However, there's one thing I don't think anyone can avoid at this time of year and that's reflection. New Year's Day is one of those fixed points in time where I just can't help looking back and thinking...'this time last year..' and wondering 'where the hell will I be this time next year?'.

So, here I am, literally thousands of miles away from where I was this time last year. 2010 was a year of upheaval for me and my family. After 8 years in Arizona, the rug was snatched from under our feet and we had no choice but to walk away from everything we'd built up over those years. I'm not going to dwell on that because it's done and dusted. We can't do anything about it, we have to move on. Move on, we did. I'm writing this from the living room of a 250 year old cottage in one of the loveliest villages in Wiltshire. We love this house. No, it's not ours, we rent it but we love it nonetheless. It's a cozy refuge that we found at the end of a turbulent year.

So that's the rambling, blathery bit over with. I think I'm supposed to write what I intend to do this year, which I won't because I don't trust life to go in a straight line any more. Instead, I'm just going to post a list. To those of you who find your way to this blog, feel free to add a list of your own. At the very least, just sign in and say 'hello'. Statcounter is a Big Tease, I see that I've visitors from all over the place. Just make yourself known, satisfy my curiosity. I don't bite...much.

Anyway, *harummph* ... my list:

1. My family, here and in the US. You are my anchor and my solid ground. Thank you;
2. My friends, both real life and online. You have all been incredible and restored my faith in humanity. In no particular order: My Purgies, My Pervies, My Purple Place pals. Extra special love to: Louise, Scarlett, Becky, Gretchen, Amy, Lisa (California), Joyce, Lisa B, Lisa C, Cath, Alice, Kimmi, Cindy, Richard B., Jess, Deb, Deborah, Dys, Sirayn and others...you know who you are.
3. Four seasons a year.
4. Writing. It's what I do. I can't help it. I love it and I hope I never run out of words.
5. Music. It's fuel for my imagination.
6. Good television, at long last: Being Human; Downton Abbey; BBC News; Doctor Who.
7. Eye Candy. Richard Armitage; Aidan Turner; David Tennant. If any of you are available when my books are adapted for film/TV, let me know. :D

Right, I'll stop here otherwise you'll all find out what my favorite cheese, chocolate, cuisine, coffee, etc. are. You really don't need to know that.

So...here's to 2011, may it suck less than 2010. :D