Hallsfoot and Holepunches

Book News:

It's a double book week this week, I'm happy to say. First of all, the second book in my fantasy trilogy, Hallsfoot's Battle, is now out. The blurb is:

In the second book in The Gathandrian Trilogy, Gelahn the mind-executioner begins his campaign. His powers are sublime, unmatched – even without the mind-cane in his possession. Using fear and pain he enslaves his victims, but next he will break and possess the Lammas Overlord.

Recently appointed Acting Elder and left in sole charge of her people, Annyeke Hallsfoot draws on all her mind-skills and courage as the fight for Gathandria rages. The precious ancient Legends are her bedrock and she begins teaching their wisdom to the scribe, Simon Hartstongue, who must quickly learn to work with the mind-cane’s strange powers. But Simon is distracted by his own demons and only fears the artefact. Supported by Johan and Talus, her young charge, Annyeke plots a desperate strategy to defeat the enemy.

As the Gathandrians rally behind their new leader, Gelahn strikes at the heart of the city.

If you've missed out on the first of the trilogy, which is The Gifting, then you can find out more about that book here.

At the same time, gay romantic comedy Who Moved My Holepunch? is now available at Amber Allure Press as part of their Office Affairs collection. The blurb for that one is:

Darren Fording works as a Senior Timetabling Officer for his local college. When Max Sheldon arrives to take over as Acting Registrar, Darren finds himself consumed by lust for his new boss and making the kind of decisions he as a stuck-in-his-ways administrator has never made before.

When Darren initiates a full-on kiss during a meeting with Max, the enthusiasm of the Registrar's response takes him by surprise. Max is reluctant to pursue a relationship with an employee, but Darren is equally determined not to take no for an answer. Can he prove his worth to the man he's beginning to love and show him he's a dab hand at educational politics as well?

It's already gained one pre-publication 5-star review from Mrs Condit Reads Books (many thanks, Josie) and she says:

"I found this book a breath of fresh air; it was funny, witty and very cute. I loved Darren; he was just perfect as the insecure (well, at the beginning) quirky administrator … His two assistants, the chatty, gossipy Miranda, and the quiet sensible Stewart were well written as well, and the aloof Max was simply adorable. … I can't recommend this book highly enough. If you want to laugh, giggle and smile as you turn every page then this book is perfect. My only regret is it isn't twice as long."

Not to be outdone, gay thriller A Dangerous Man was showcased at the Gay Books site (thank you, Richard), and also gained a 4-star review at Obsidian Reviews. There Val says:

A Dangerous Man is not a gay romance with a traditional happy ending, but it is a compelling work of gay fiction and a real page-turner. Things to praise include the flawless writing and the subtlety with which Michael's tragic past is revealed. The London setting is vivid and three-dimensional, and the author has a perfect ear for dialogue.

Many thanks, Val.

Meanwhile, Biblical short story collection, The Betrayal of Birds, was briefly at No 77 in the Amazon US Christian short story charts, so that was jolly nice.

This weekend, I had a great session at Elstead Writers, which was much needed amidst the bleak midwinter this spring has suddenly turned into. Snow - how shocking! Oh, and I joined the Christian Erotica Readers and Writers Group on Facebook, which has in some respects caused a bit of a stir. It should more accurately be called the "Group for Christians who Read and/or Write Erotic Fiction of All Flavours", but that's a tad long for anyone to remember. It's nice to have a group just for us, I must say - it's about time we came out ...

Life News:

Earlier in the week, K and I enjoyed a wonderful evening at the production of Calamity Jane at Haslemere Hall - a fabulous show, starring my colleague Ruth from work in the chorus - who looks rather fetching in pink, I must say. And it was nice for K to work out that behind all those good old songs I sing in the shower, there is actually a story - a revelation as he's not seen it before, well gosh!

Yesterday's cake was Pumpkin Cheesecake Muffins, which I took from the recipes at the back of the US crime novel The Pumpkin Muffin Murder. They're really nice too - spicy and moist with a lovely crunchy topping, mmmm ... And always great to have a fictional mixture of murder and baking, with the recipes, hurrah.

It's also been a lovely weekend for coffee and catch-up with the neighbours - so many thanks to you all in the road for that. Much appreciated.

Today, K and I bravely visited the Wisley Spring Plant Fair - aka the Wisley Winter Fair, alas - and caused great joy amongst the stallholders as, with the snow, very few people had turned up and they're all having a rather dull weekend. Whilst there, I bought a new tiarella - Mystic Mist, which has lovely soft pink leaves, so it's rather unusual. We decided against the full Wisley tour but, thankfully, the glasshouse was open, and the orchid display there is as stunning as ever.

Finally, over at The Angry Anglican, I'm taking the new Archbishop to task for his latest statement, sigh.

Anne Brooke
Gay Reads UK
The Gathandrian Fantasy Trilogy
Biblical Fiction UK
Lori Olding Children's Author

Thorn in The Flesh

Book News:

My bisexual literary thriller Thorn in The Flesh has been republished by Untreed Reads this week. There's currently a 30% discount if you buy direct with the publisher, so definitely worth a look. You can also find it at Amazon UK and Amazon US, with a variety of reviews from its previous incarnation.

It was longlisted in the Crime Writers' Association Debut Dagger Awards in 2006 and the blurb is:

Kate Harris, a lecturer in her late thirties, is attacked in her home and left for dead. This terrible assault and the anonymous hate letters she starts to receive bring to light the past she'd prefer to leave behind, a past which includes the son she bore in her teenage years and whom she chose to give away.

What happens to Kate also affects the people she counts as friends and colleagues now. She has been in love with her best friend, Nicky, for a long time but Nicky is happily married with two young children, and Kate is determined never to upset the lives of those she cares for.

However, when she makes the momentous decision to contact the father of her long-forgotten son, and then to trace her son as well, Kate inadvertently sets in motion a series of frightening events she seems to have no control over. Can she protect herself and those she loves from the menacing enemy who stalks them all?

At the same time, I've taken the opportunity to update my general website with all the latest book news, so you can see what's being published in March and in the months to come too. There's something for every taste, I think.

Meanwhile, biblical short story Dancing with Lions is on special offer at All Romance Ebooks at the moment, so the ideal time to pop that one in your shopping basket. And I'm very happy to say that there are only three days to go before fantasy novel Hallsfoot's Battle, the second in the Gathandria series, is published on 20 March, so I'm very much looking forward to that.


Life News:

Earlier in the week, I've been battling bravely with the onset of a cold, but I appear - unusually for me - to have kicked it into touch at the moment, so I jolly well hope it stays there.

K and I have also been busy in the garden, as we've potted up our new and overwintered dahlias for storage in the summerhouse until the frosts are gone. Plus we've pruned the cornus hedge and potted up a new magnolia - which is basically a big stick really, but promises greatness in the years ahead. I hope. And, taking my courage into both hands, I've repotted the orchid so I hope it's going to be a lot happier now its roots aren't seriously squashed, poor thing.

This week's cake is the old faithful of Coffee and Walnut Cake - I don't think it's quite as good as the one I baked in March, but hey nobody's complaining, phew. At least it got rid of the walnuts I had left over. Trouble is, I bought a new packet just in case, so I am now probably stuck in a coffee-and-walnut loop until time itself ends. Hmm, still no complaints being heard, however.

Finally, over at The Angry Anglican, I'm blogging about the brand-new pope and the Argentinian revenge ...

Happy St Patrick's Day!


Anne Brooke
The Gathandria Fantasy Trilogy
Gay Reads UK
Biblical Fiction UK
Lori Olding Children's Author

Delaneys and daffodils

Book News:

Gay erotic short story The Delaneys, My Parents and Me is now available at Amazon UK (where it was even briefly in the Top 100 Gay Erotic Fiction charts, well gosh) and Amazon US. You can also find it at All Romance Ebooks.

It's also been getting some positive reviews, including a 4-star review, a 5-star review and another 5-star review, all at Goodreads, and one from On Top Down Under Reviews, which included the following comments:

"This is the last in the six book series/serial of The Delaneys and I'm so very sad to see my lads leave me. Every ebook was a joy to read. Nover long but each one was beautifully written, perfectly edited, and used the English language the way it was meant to be used. Never once did they fail to make me laugh out loud, and there was some incredibly erotic times … It was this series that introduced me to Anne Brooke and it is with great sadness that I say farewell to Liam, Mark and Johnny."

Many thanks for that, Karen! The lads are sorry to leave you too ...

Other exciting news is that gay thriller Maloney's Law, which will be republished on 7 April by Amber Allure Press, has a brand-new cover, and pretty dang wonderful it is too. I love it.

And, much to my delight and astonishment, Leeds Library has bought an ecopy of fantasy novel, The Gifting, so many thanks for that, Leeds, and I hope it gets many borrowers for you.


Life News:

The delights of the dentist this week, so I have survived a rather deep filling, phew. Apparently, if it doesn't work, then I might have to have root canal treatment (oh joy!...) so I'm praying very hard that it works, ho hum.

Mind you, I was pleasantly distracted by the surprise visit from the first butterfly of the season - a red admiral - here on our winter heather. So wonderful. I only hope it survives the snow that's forecast for tomorrow, groan ... I also bought myself some spring daffodils and they've been cheering up our kitchen windowsill no end.

And, keeping to the nature theme, we've done a great job in keeping the weeds down this weekend, and we've even eaten the first of our home-grown potatoes, goodness me. Mind you, if I'm honest, they were actually the potatoes we were trying to grow for Christmas so they're just a tad late, but very tasty nonetheless.

Yesterday, K and I spent a pleasant morning at Nymans, and thoroughly enjoyed their spring walk, in spite of the bleak weather. Whilst there, I treated myself to a new tiarella and have planted it out this morning.

Meanwhile, cake baking has not been neglected and this weekend's offering is Farmhouse Orange Victoria Sponge, which is pretty tasty - though I say it myself and shouldn't. Still, when has that ever stopped me, eh?

And, over at The Angry Anglican, I'm talking about cardinal sins and celibacy, possibly both at the same time, hey ho. Don't say you haven't been warned.

Though, as a final warning, I really can't do better than this cartoon which somehow says it all, at least for me. Really, it's astonishing I'm still allowed to roam free across Surrey, for now ...

Anne Brooke
Gay Reads UK
The Gathandrian Fantasy Trilogy
Biblical Fiction UK
Lori Olding Children's Author

The Delaneys, My Parents and Me: Publication Date

Book News:

The Delaneys, My Parents and Me, the final story of the Delaneys erotic menage series, is published today, so if you would like to find out what happens in the end for Liam and his delectable but dangerous twins, then rush along to Amber Allure Press and pop a copy in your shopping basket at the special first week discount price.

Speaking of discounts, there's 30% off all my Untreed Reads books for their special Anniversary deal, so do feel free to browse there as well. The discount will be taken off at the checkout point.

In the meantime, I've sent the final proofs for bisexual thriller Thorn in The Flesh back to Untreed Reads, so hope to hear about a publication date soon.

There is also news about Hallsfoot's Battle, the second in the Gathandrian fantasy series. It will now be published on 20 March, so I'm really looking forward to that too.

March is certainly looking to be an enjoyable and busy month, that's for sure. Elsewhere, lesbian literary short story The Girl in The Painting was briefly at No 25 in the Amazon UK lesbian short stories chart, which was very pleasing indeed. And biblical short story Dancing with Lions gained a lovely new 5-star review at Amazon US. Gosh indeedy.





Life News:

Great product news this week, which I absolutely must share with you all. Due to K's excellent lateral thinking, we have discovered that Steradent Active Plus denture cleaner is brilliant at clearing limescale completely from your toilet. You heard it here first, folks! And I'm sure the marketing team at Steradent will be delighted with our discovery. All you need is 15 of the little tablets (it comes in tubes of 30) in the loo overnight and all is perfect by the morning. A Lenten miracle indeed, and certainly saves all that frantic scrubbing. As it were ...

Turning to slightly more ordinary matters, I'm pleased to say that this week's cakes are Chocolate Brownies and very nice they are too. I think I just managed to save them from being overcooked, which I believe is always a danger with Brownies, though the amount of whisking at the beginning of the process was utterly exhausting, my dears. Still, we think they're worth it.

This weekend, K and I have spent a great deal of time in garden centres, and planting lots of spring colour - primroses, big pansies etc etc - in our borders, hanging baskets and pots. It has definitely brightened up the garden, though as always there seem to be vast spaces left still to fill. Plus we've got the weeding under control, which is great news.

Finally, over at The Angry Anglican, I'm blogging about the essential gayness of Rome and the essential importance of women. Definitely a week to ponder on then.

Anne Brooke
Gay Reads UK
The Gathandrian Fantasy Trilogy
Biblical Fiction UK
Lori Olding Children's Author