Reviews and naps

The delightful Jilly Weekes has made my day twice by posting two reviews of A Dangerous Man. One is on Amazon, as below:

“As another reviewer has mentioned, this is a very unsettling book. Michael is enthralled by his art. He had an abusive upbringing and is constantly trying to escape from it. A tragic figure, it soon becomes clear that he is unable to escape from his own history however far he moves away from it. Michael is also gay and seems drawn to the type of relationships which can only damage him further. Then he falls in love with Jack - a business tycoon - who adores him too and is willing to encourage his art and help him to overcome his past. Michael is unable to recognise Jack's love and tenderness for him as genuine and ultimately betrays him because he knows no other way of relating. There are several characters in the book who try to help Michael - Joe, who also loves him but never declares his love, Lee-Anne who works for Joe, and the bar owner Frank. Michael gets his solo art exhibition but his success comes too late to save him, and those around him, from disaster. The ending is frightening, violent and inevitable. I would recommend this book if you want something out of the ordinary. It is above all a character study of obsession and how difficult it is to overcome our own flaws. Without self awareness and acknowledgement of our problems we too could end up like Michael in our own hell.”

And the other is on her blogspot as of today's date:

“I finished reading Anne Brooke's A Dangerous Man this week. It is a book that lingers in your mind long after you've finished it. It doesn't really fall into any particular category - it contains a crime and a love story but does not fit under either heading. It is a story of Michael's obsession with his art, and his need to transcend his past. There is Joe, who has an unrequited love for Michael, and Paul who is a nasty piece of work. Then there is Jack, a wealthy business man, who loves Michael from when he first meets him. Because of his abusive upbringing Michael finds it impossible to accept Jack's love for what it is, and ultimately it is this flaw in his character that causes the violent and tragic ending. Here is a lesson in how by trying too hard to escape from our flaws we will ultimately destroy the things we love. Powerful and dark, the book describes gay relationships in a way which brings home to the reader the similarities between all relationships.”

Gosh, thank you so much, Jilly - I really appreciate you taking the time to do two reviews! And a huge gold star to you for now being someone who's actually read all my current novels. I hope you enjoy next year's selection just as much. And I also hope next week goes well for you.

This morning, Lynda arrived at 8.30am for my pre-Christmas haircut, so at least I can now see out and look (for a while) as if I do actually have a hairstyle. I also gave her her Christmas present, which means there's one less on my pile, hurrah! God, but I'm anal. I know. Inspired by all these things, I have even managed to do 1000 words to The Bones of Summer which brought me neatly to (a) the end of a chapter, and (b) 50,000 words. Ye gods, Carruthers and sound the trumpets indeed. My, how I love a round number.

So, feeling strangely satisfied (and even more anal for feeling that way, no doubt), I have left it there for today and had an utterly delicious nap this afternoon. How I've missed my regular supply of naps too - I don't seem to have had one for ages. Even Lord H remarked upon it. Post-nap, I almost feel like a human being.

Tonight, we're out at a friend's concert and then I'm hoping for a relatively early night. Haven't had one of those for a while either. And I must absolutely remember to video "Strictly Come Dancing" so I can be glued to it tomorrow evening. I have also done something I rarely do (steady, people, steady ...) and voted before we go out and therefore before the show is even on. I am also slightly ashamed to say that I am being ruled by my hormones rather than my heart and have voted for Gethin instead of Letitia. Ah, Fickleness, thy name is Woman.

Today's nice things:

1. Jill's two reviews
2. Napping
3. Getting to 50,000 words.

Anne Brooke
Anne's website
Goldenford Publishers