Monday 25 November 2013

Been busy & then some...


























Okay, so I have been busy as fuck since last Thursday. My eldest sister (Saff) is in hospital so I have been running around doing errands for her. Also with trading in my car I've had to do stuff for that (so much fricken drama). Then I went to the Chiropractors with my kiddo - mainly because I wanted to go shopping - I picked up a dress to wear when I go out to dinner with Z Allora, her hubs, & my kiddo.

This what the dress looks like (model so isn't me). Em picked it out for me to wear. It feels really nice on. I have a coffin hand bag that I will use. All that's left is to decide on what shoes to wear with it. Should I go chunky heels or delicate heels? Mind you I am more the chunky type of girl. I'll also be wearing black stocking under the dress as my legs are so white you need sunglasses to look at them. I just don't want to be held responsible for blinding some poor innocent human being.

Em and I are excited to be seeing Z and her hubs again - also we've never been to Dracula's so  it should be loads of fun. Hopefully will have the new car by then.


This is the handbag I was talking about. My sister in-law gave it to me a couple of years ago. When not in use it's an ornament in my office. It looks right at home sitting amongst all my Gargoyle ornaments/statues.

Though in between times I have been organising to have some wonderful authors on my blog during the month of December.

Also: The talented and amazing Kris J, has let me know Experimentals: Blessed With A Curse has been given a release date - you will know when I do.

Thursday 21 November 2013

Dawn Flemington ~ Hometown Secrets


Hometown Secrets is my first published book. I got the idea by piecing together some of my past, sprinkled with a little of my present. Originally titled Dirty Little Secret, it started out in 2011 as a story for an anthology – but the characters wouldn’t let me cut their story short, and so I wrote past the 12,000 word limit with my eyes set on a novel.

Then, my tranquil writer’s life became out of control and I stopped doing everything I loved. Though I had plenty of encouragement to continue writing, it wasn’t until 2013 that I found myself in a frame of mind to be able to sit down and finish Pete and Asher’s story.

It was both thrilling and sad to type ‘THE END”. At last, I had something completed to submit to a publisher, yet Pete, Asher, and the whole town of Delton felt like family to me and I didn’t want to say good-bye.

I hope someday to write a couple more stories with other characters based out of Hometown Secrets.

Tag = a small town explodes when secret gay lovers must unite for a church event

Genre = M/M contemporary romance

Publisher Buy Link = Loose Id Publishing

Release date = November 19, 2013


Blurb:
An old secret. A new secret. A surprising secret. A dirty secret.

Coming to terms with his sexuality, Pete Stubbs has found his ‘Mr. Wonderful’ and wants to celebrate his happiness by coming out. Yet admitting he is gay to his family is taking a bit more courage than he originally thought, especially when his mother stuns him with her unexpected homophobic hatred. He starts to wonder if his coming out will be more selfish than freeing.

Out and proud Asher Gilford is tired of always being the ‘throw away boy’ in past hush-hush liaisons. He feels he deserves to be loved by a man who is not ashamed to be with him. Though his current lover reassures him ‘a little more time is needed’ before they can go public, Asher is beginning to fear he is becoming someone’s ‘dirty little secret’ and vows it will not happen to him again.

When a church sponsors Pete and Asher for a charity event, it becomes the catalyst for a series of startling secrets to explode within the community. In his silent confusion, Pete watches life crumble and realizes that by remaining in the closet, he could lose his nephew, his best friend and most important, Asher.


Excerpt: 396 words, PG rating.

Pete’s thoughts drifted, and he became uncomfortably warm. Yes, it was an honor to represent the church in the cowboy games, but to do it with Asher Gilford? Did he really want to chance an association between them, no matter how benign? The two of them together in public could draw too many questions he did not want to think about, let alone answer. 
Brother Billy thumped Pete’s back, “We are pleased both young men agreed.” 
“Peter hasn’t signed the contract yet.” His mother sipped at her coffee. “And I doubt he’s going to now. Too much of his valuable time will be spent in training a novice, and as for Mr. Gilford? My son has a reputation to think about.” 
“Sister Stubbs.” Brother Billy frowned, his manner noticeably more formal in tone and gesture. “The events require teamwork, and all the participants who enter the games take the time to train together, regardless if they grew up with the skills or not. And as far as Asher is concerned, he’s a virtuous congregational member of good moral standing.” 
“And you can’t get any more of a straight moral compass than Pete and Asher.” Agnes leaned back in her chair. “Oh, they’ll make a wonderful pair, those two.” 
Pete winced, wishing Sister Agnes had kept her opinion to herself. 
“Agnes Klotz! Don’t you understand?” his mother shot through pursed lips. “Asher Gilford is an outright, unrepentant homosexual.” 
“Judge not lest ye be judged, Sister Stubbs.” The quiet comment flowed from Brother Billy’s lips. 
At Brother Billy’s words, his mother simmered down and regained her composure. “I’m not judging here. I’m full of love and compassion and concern for the church.” 
“Hey, you.” Lucy nudged Pete with her elbow. “You’re being awful quiet about this. How do you feel?” 
Chirp-chirp-chirp. 
Pete jumped and sought out the cell phone in his pocket. 
Brother Billy rose from his chair. “Yes, what do you have to say? Are we still in agreement that you’ll represent the church for the cowboy games, even with Asher Gilford?” 
Pete hesitated. He loathed being in positions like this. Yes, he wanted to be a part of the team. Yes, he waffled at the thought of being with Asher in public. Yes, it bothered him that his mother was expecting him to do what she believed was right. But what was right for Peter Stubbs?

Wednesday 20 November 2013

Catching up!!!

Trying desperately to catch up on my NaNoWriMo - Sons of Evenmore: Blood To Blood. If I stick to my own personal schedule I figure I can pull it off. the story may not be finished but I should be able to reach the required 50K - So keep you fingers crossed for me.

On other news: Experimentals: Blessed With A Curse has finally been sent to Formatting. I'm starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Also The Lines of Marsden: Living in Shadows is in first edits with the wonderful Christie N - I hate first edits as it shows how many punctuation errors I've made - I've said it before and I'll more than likely say it again - I totally suck at punctuation.

Tuesday 19 November 2013

Looking at buying a new car

This is the car I'm thinking about buying. I'm going to check them out this arvo.

Monday 18 November 2013

What's up...

Saw this picture on Face book and instantly had new story ideas running through my head.

I'm not sure if the plot line is even plausible so at  the moment I have just jotted it down so that I can come back to it at some later date in time.

I'm supposed to be caught up in NaNoWriMo but in all honesty I have fricken writers block... So Sons of Evenmore: Blood to Blood is slow going.

I have so much going on in my home life that I don't have enough time in the day to get everything done - & doesn't that just suck.

We are also experiencing some freaky-arsed storms lately. The roar of the wind before the rain comes sounds like a huge river rushing towards us... The bad part is I know it's just the beginning of our storm season so we will have worse to come - fingers crossed we don't flood again this year.

Friday 15 November 2013

Em's Turn



Four Songs that are helping with my NaNoWriMo story
Sons of Evenmore: Blood to Blood
Enjoy!!!









Thursday 14 November 2013

Releasing Tomorrow - Karenna Colcroft: With My Heart

Releasing Tomorrow


BLURB:
Merit Hartwick and Cole Dellany have worked to build a relationship in the months since Cole’s apology for bullying Merit in high school led to love. But Cole is having a hard time adjusting to city life after the small town in which he and Merit grew up, and Merit’s responsibilities to his ballet troupe and the classes he teaches are taking time away from Cole. After an argument the two agree to see other people, but will their relationship survive?



With My Heart
There’s a country music song called “Dancing Away With My Heart” which caught my attention a year and a half ago or so. The song is a reminiscence about dancing with someone at a high school prom and wondering where that person is today.

That song gave rise to a story, as songs often do for me. I wanted to write a male/male romance, a sequel to a male/female romance I’d written about a year earlier called You Shouldn’t Kiss Me Like This (which is also based on a country song), and “Dancing Away With My Heart” fit what I wanted to do. What would happen if the dance at the prom was part of a prank perpetrated by bullies? And what if one of those bullies tracked down the person on the receiving end of the prank to apologize?

That story, Dancing Away, was released in August 2012, and sold enough copies to go into print. But since it was only a novella, it couldn’t go into print by itself, so my publisher, editor, and I discussed my writing a sequel. And that sequel, With My Heart, releases tomorrow! 


EXCERPT:
At lunchtime, he gave in and called Merit, hoping Merit would answer this time. He did so within seconds and sounded happy when he said, “Hi, Cole. How was your night last night?”

For a moment, Cole considered not telling Merit about Derek. But he couldn’t stand being dishonest. “It was okay. Went out for drinks with a guy from work.”

“Just drinks?” Merit sounded guarded.

Cole opened his truck door and got into the vehicle, giving himself a semblance of privacy for the conversation. “Yeah, just drinks. I didn’t want anything more. You and I are still together, aren’t we?”

“Of course we are.” Merit hesitated slightly as he spoke, unless Cole was imagining it. He hoped he was. Hesitation might have meant only that Merit wasn’t in a place where he could talk much, or it might mean something Cole didn’t want to think about.

Something along the lines of Merit hooking up with another guy the night before.

“What did you do after rehearsal last night?” he asked, trying to sound casual.

“I went out with a few others.” Merit hesitated. “Look, we’re seeing other people, right?”

“Just tell me.” Cole couldn’t help snapping. He didn’t want to be angry with Merit, but he refused to sit there and let Merit get away with not being completely honest. “You were with someone else last night.”

“Yeah.” Merit exhaled loudly. “Yeah. I kind of figured you were. I mean, I tried calling you and you didn’t answer.”

“I didn’t get a call from you.” Cole felt as if his heart was coated with ice. Merit had fucked someone else. After all the promises they’d made to each other and all the time they’d spent building their relationship, it had taken nothing for Merit to say “Let’s see other people” and then do exactly that.

He should have hung up right then, but some perverse part of his brain wanted to know what had happened. “I checked my phone all night, and I tried calling and texting you. You were the one who didn’t answer.”

“I know.” Merit paused. “I wasn’t in a position where I could answer the phone.”

“Yeah, I can imagine what position you were in,” Cole snarled. If Merit hadn’t phrased it that way, Cole might have been able to keep his temper. But now he didn’t see the point in bothering. Merit had had some other guy’s dick up his ass and he wasn’t even trying to soothe Cole’s feelings. Cole didn’t need the shit. “Fuck you, Merit. I figured at least you might wait a little while before you acted on the seeing other people bullshit, but you went out the same fucking day. Good for you. Hope he’s good in bed.”

“Wait.”

Cole held the phone away from his ear, thumb poised to disconnect the call, but the pain in that one syllable from Merit stopped him. He wasn’t about to stop being angry, but he couldn’t hang up. “What?”

“I’m sorry.” Merit sighed. “I know. Lame. And I didn’t do anything I should need to apologize for, since we agreed to see other people. You’re angry and hurt, though, and that’s what I’m sorry for. I never meant to upset you.”

“You should have thought of that before you fucked someone else.” Cole paused as a realization sank in. He had been right to be worried about the way some of the dancers looked at Merit. “It was someone from the troupe, wasn’t it? You always say you never had time to really meet anyone else because you’re so busy.”

“Besides which, I just said I went out with some of the other dancers after rehearsal,” Merit pointed out. “So yes, it was someone from the troupe.”

“Don’t tell me who.” He had no idea whether Merit had been about to do so, and he didn’t want to take the chance. He spent enough time with Merit’s fellow dancers that he refused to risk the visual should he encounter Merit’s fuck-buddy.

“I wasn’t going to,” Merit said. “Cole, I won’t tell you not to be angry. You feel how you feel, and I’d probably feel the same way if I were you. But I didn’t do this to upset you.”

“I know. It’s just a side effect.” Cole rolled his eyes. He couldn’t think of anything even remotely nice to say at the moment, so he didn’t try for long. “You did what you did, and as you said, you weren’t betraying me or anything because you decided we should see other people.”

“You agreed.” Merit’s voice was hollow.

“What else could I do?” Cole bit his lip, unwilling to let fly with the words that came to mind. Some things would be even less forgivable than Merit’s not-really-cheating. “I can’t talk about this right now, Merit. I don’t want to think about it, and I have to eat lunch and get back to work.”

“Can we see each other tonight?”

This time, Cole couldn’t help a snarky retort. “You don’t have a party or something?”

“I don’t have anything to do except try to fix what I’ve obviously broken with you.”

Wednesday 13 November 2013

Confessions:

As we all know I'm so far behind on my NaNoWriMo - not because I'm a slacker - but because for some strange reason I decided to publish Sons of Evenmore before the two series which precede it. Why did I do things arse about? Because I'm an idiot that's why. I should have finished the other two series first.
  • Pack Matters
  • Watson Falls
In some ways doing it backwards is easier as I already will know how it ends. but when I have cross over characters enter each others series. I have to go back and take notes. As asinine as it seems and believe me it is I've had to make a combined notebook so I can cross check everything so I don't screw it all up.

Monday 11 November 2013

Damn!

Day 1 of exercises are over and done with, and let me just say that I hate push-ups... There is no way in hell that my body can do them in the shape I'm in... I got through three... I'm supposed to do 10 reps of a set of 3 Push-ups wit 60 seconds in between each rep... so not going to happen - I think they're something I'll have to work myself up to. On a brighter note: I could do the rest of the exercises... not great with the balancing ones but I did them.

Now I'm off to get some more of my NaNoWriMo done - Sons of Evenmore: Blood to Blood.

Sunday 10 November 2013

Busy as...

Why is November always so fricken busy that I always end up falling behind on my NaNoWriMo? I have no clue either, but I vow in the next couple of days I will catch up and stay on track...

I dismantled the double bed in the spare room and replaced it with a single bed and trundle that converts into a double bed when needed... much more space in the room which has become my closet.

I start on my diet and exercise routine tomorrow. So I'll keep you all informed on how I'm going - everyone needs a support group and you've all just become mine. I have exercises and a diet to follow... I might find the diet a bit hard to follow as I don't eat some of the ingredients - but I'll make do. 

As the saying goes - I'll never know unless I try.

The new nutritionist took some measurements:
  • Shoulder Circle = 130cm
  • Waist = 103cm
  • Weight = 105.2KG (231.92lbs)
  • Height = 168cm

Thursday 7 November 2013

Book Review...


Good or bad I will let you choose. Though I would like to say that many of the things that have taken place in this book have really happened inside my family...unbelievable as it seems. I did change names and places so my family stays partially hidden. 

Book 2: Beautiful Goodbyes does in fact start where this book leaves off... though Book 2 is not about Ray & Viv even though they are still very present in the book, and book 2 is not a HEA. I can't even class it as a HFN it's more a filler book so what happens in 3,4, & 5 make more sense.

Wednesday 6 November 2013

Woo-hoo! Contract signed.

This morning I woke up to the best surprise in my inbox... A Contract waiting to be signed with MLR Press for the The Lines of Marsden: Living in Shadows... I can't wait for you all to read the next instalment of Michael Marsden's life. I should start edits in just over a month. I now have to fill in blurb forms and cover art requests.

I'm also staying on track with NaNoWriMo - The Sons of Evenmore: Blood to Blood. I've just started writing chapter four.

Dang it - I just took the bins out to the curb to be emptied and got attacked by ants and bitten all under the ball of my left foot. Fricken hell, it hurts like a bitch... I'm allergic to ants. So now waiting and watching as my foot swells up (not deathly allergic which is a good thing.)

Monday 4 November 2013

So fricken hot...

It is so fricken hot where I live today that even the air-con isn't doing it's job. Though, I've noticed the cats are all with me in my office as it is now the coolest room in the house. I've had to tape up a huge sheet of cardboard in my office window until my hubs can either fix the screen he broke or replace the lower windows with wood... I am tired of my feel getting sunburnt.

Today I'm back to working on my NaNoWriMo story Sons of Evenmore: Blood to Blood. It is coming along nicely over the next two days I hope to catch up and get back on track to finishing on time.

FUCK!!! I have the worst cramp in my right upper arm it is burning like crazy...Bring on the Ice Gel spray and get rid of that sucker.

Okay enough chatting for today I have to get back in and get some more writing done... Before I forget here's an update on Experimentals: Blessed With A Curse will be in formatting in about two weeks... The Lines of Marsden: Living in Shadows is being looked at now, and The Gaean Prophecies: Admetus Gaea is still waiting for the editor to accept it.

Sunday 3 November 2013

WHY?

Why is life so strange that sometimes even I have to shake my head and wonder: Now why the hell did you just do that? Like,  why am I thinking all these questions when I should be concentrating on my NaNoWriMo?

These hands are they evil or innocent?

What's the story behind the tattoos?

Is he hiding from something or expressing himself?

Do the Tattoo's cover his whole body or just his hands?

Long hair or short hair?

What's the colour of his eyes?

Human or some other paranormal/supernatural being?

Friday 1 November 2013