Mice, machines and mischief

Book News:

Much to my astonishment (well, I haven't been there for a while ...), gay erotic story For One Night Only was a July bestseller for Amber Allure. Thank you hugely to everyone who purchased it and got me in the list, and I hope you enjoyed the read. To add to the huzzahs, this week it became available at All Romance Ebooks (where people don't seem to like it much ...), Amazon US and Amazon UK - where people haven't yet expressed an opinion but do at least seem to be buying it. Heck, it was even, very briefly, in the Amazon UK charts, so that was nice. Thank you.

Not to be outdone, and on a completely different literary note, biblical story Dancing with Lions has just become an All Romance Ebooks bestseller - so many thanks to readers for that also.

I've also signed my first Kindlegraph for gay psychological thriller The Bones of Summer so many thanks, Karin Wollina, for asking, and don't forget other books are also available for signature!

This week, I've also been utterly bamboozled when I was sitting by the lake at the University yesterday in that lovely sunshine (remember that?...) and discovered that just as I was seriously getting into Madeleine Wickham's lovely romantic comedy Cocktails for Three, the binding went straight from Page 208 to Page 257 without me even noticing the join! Arrgghh!! I did wonder how the heck we suddenly went from Roxanne's traumatic breakdown on the plane to Maggie's loved-up getaway with her husband. What?!? I now feel hugely frustrated and I have rushed online to order another copy as I am totally desperate to know what happens next, especially to Roxanne. They promise delivery on Saturday and if I don't get it then I may have to chew the postman in desperation. I've also checked to see if the other two Wickham novels I bought at the time have all their pages, and I think they do. My dears, I can't go through another literary trauma like this one ... It's just too much.

Here's another few lines from fantasy novel The Gifting for you:

Even the name Gathandria stands against them: in the old language, it means the place where peace dwells.

There are two meditation poems this week:




Meditation 553
There is always joy.
Even in the middle
of the greyest
and bleakest of days

its treasured gold
lies waiting
to be tasted
by patient hearts:

the shimmering silence
before the music starts.




Meditation 554
In this field of blessings
lies the forgotten man,
his name abandoned
since the celebrations began.

He’s only a whisper
caught as you turn away,
a memory relived
at the end of the day.

A throwaway clause:
nothing to make you pause.


Life News:

There is news on the Elstead house!!! Goodness me, I think I need to repeat that - there is news on the house, well gosh. After nearly a year of searching and two traumatic near-misses, we are now once again and for the third time almost at the point of exchange. Heck. The vendor has answered all our questions quite happily (unlike the wretched people in House Number 2 ...) and we now have to confirm our mortgage insurance, return the signed copy of the contract and then exchange and completion dates can be agreed. Please God let it all work out this time, as I'm not sure I could bear a fourth attempt. Watch this space then, or you might just hear the screams ...

In terms of my long-running battles with machinery, I'm pleased to say that my car is now mended and the garage even cleaned it inside and out for me for no charge so that was a delight. It seems to be running well so far and there've been no more further disasters with the engine coolant, hurrah. In addition, we have had our replacement washing-machine delivered today - by a couple of very sweet men who were incredibly relieved that we live on the ground floor. They installed it in record time and took the old one away, double hurrahs - and I am now just waiting for K to come home so we can find out about the new arrival together. I don't want to spoil his fun, after all. But, hey, no more hand-washing will be good.

I have also done a Terrible Thing with my remote mouse batteries. They said they were low last week so I replaced them and threw the old ones away (yes, I'm sorry - no battery recycling facilities here, as far as I'm aware ...). Come Sunday night and K asks if I'm enjoying the lovely new rechargeable batteries he secretly put in for me at the beginning of the week as a surprise. Cue fixed grins and frantic backing away to the door in order to rummage through the rubbish - but alas the binmen have already been and gone, and I have just thrown away some rather expensive renewable batteries, thinking they were the same as the other ones. Hey ho. This is indeed a lesson for the Vital Importance of Marital Communication. I will take a jolly good look at them next time ...

At work, I've had my appraisal and actually enjoyed it. Maybe I'm feeling more confident these days? Must be the drugs, you know ... I'm even getting into thinking about what I might like to get involved in over the next five/ten years, and how to develop the role - so perhaps I've been swopped for my better twin after all? About time then.

Finally, I'd very much like to draw your attention to the fundraising a colleague of mine is doing on behalf of the Marie Curie Cancer Fund - which is a very worthwhile cause, and well done, Jon, on taking part. If you are able to spare a few coppers at all, I'm sure the charity will be very grateful, though I fear Jon himself (according to the photo on site!) will be best advised to buy a new pair of trainers before taking part ...

Anne Brooke