Anne Brooke's Writing Journal

Hedges and haiku

2012-01-29T17:52:00.001Z

Life News:

Had a great time yesterday at Elstead Writers' Group and got some wonderful ideas about a story I'm struggling with about a widow and a very special library - loads to think about so thank you to all! I've also continued with my baking extravaganza and this weekend's delight has been chocolate fudge cake. There were one or two dodgy moments with the icing but it was a lot better if I didn't follow what the packet said, sigh. Anyway, I think I managed to salvage it and there've been no complaints, hurrah.

And, with thanks to Jacqui at Elstead Writers, I have rushed to Waitrose and bought gingerbread porridge. Mmm, can't wait to try this. Apparently it's amazing. For most of this weekend, K and I have been planting our red dogwood hedge in the front garden - we did half yesterday and have just finished it off today, and it looks pretty good. Mind you, it's certainly heavy work so I don't think we'll be doing another hedge for a while.

We've also obtained a second quote for our roofing problem from another recommended chappie and are now even more confused than we were before, sigh. I'll try to chase up the third company tomorrow and see if I can get them to come round at some point. It might be a little clearer after that - I'm hoping so anyway as it's totally messing with my head at the moment, sigh ...

I've also just completed this weekend's RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch, and have spotted 2 great tits, 4 blue tits, 2 long-tailed tits and 2 redwing, so have submitted those to them, and will look forward to seeing the results for the UK later this Spring. It's great to be able to take part in this for the first time ever, as of course we've never had a garden to do it in before (as it were). Hell, it's almost like being grown-up, you know.

Oh, and in case you were wondering, having a big packet of Giant Chocolate Buttons in the house does make the days seem brighter, double hurrah and hang out the bunting. Plus there's even some left for tonight, mmm.

Book News:

Just a reminder that in case you're looking for something to read that'll take you to places you've not been to before, then I'm happy to point you in the direction of the first in my fantasy trilogy, The Gifting. The Kindle ebook is only £1.91, and the paperback only £7.68 with free delivery worldwide so buy early and buy often! Don't forget you can browse the reviews and read an extract to whet your appetite. Thank you.

And the Sunday haiku is:

A pair of buzzards
master the sky, their wingtips
caressing bright cloud.

Anne Brooke
The Gathandrian Fantasy Trilogy
Gay Reads UK
Biblical Fiction UK

Author of The Week and Daughter of The Year?

2012-01-26T16:28:00.003Z

Book News:

Gosh, indeedy, but I appear to be in the running for Author of The Week over at Pants Off Reviews - which, you may remember, recently gave me a rather nice review for upcoming gay literary short story The Heart's Greater Silence. Well, if you like, you can even pay them a brief visit and vote for me - and many thanks if you do. Honestly, I'm blushing ... No, really.

I'm also pleased to see that gay erotic short story Dating the Delaneys is now finally up at Amazon US, and Amazon UK - and for a while it was even at Number 69 (no, please, say nothing, people!...) in the Amazon UK charts, so that was very heartening.

Meanwhile my Twitter ebook giveaway fortnight went quite well (it ended yesterday) and I had nearly 40 new followers and gave away about 20 ebooks, so I hope everyone enjoyed their reads. I know some did, as they were kind enough to comment - thank you! I'm planning another giveaway in February to coincide with the advertising campaign for fantasy novel The Gifting - so watch out for that one too. 2012 is the Year of the Giveaway, that's for sure.

Finally, I'm thrilled to announce that the final part of The Gathandrian Trilogy, The Executioner's Cane, has been accepted in advance by Bluewood Publishing (many thanks, Paulette and David), so I need to get the edits sorted out and submit it properly to them by the summer. Am very much looking forward to getting my teeth into that one, hurrah.

Here are the latest meditation poems for you:

Meditation 615
The ocean ofblood
connecting afamily
cannot be denied:

it’s a wildcurrent
where strangefeelings
dance or hide

and when thewind shifts,
the waterspress down
in thisoverwhelming tide.

Meditation 616
The clash ofgreat armies
swallows up theair
and is neversilent.

Its echo sings
in the sky
and drifts

across thetreetops,
tainting allages
and people tocome:

a memento ofpain
when thefighting
is done.

Meditation 617
Perfection lies
not in thewanting
but the waiting

as the wholeuniverse
from thebrightest star
to the smallest

blade of grass
lies in grave
expectancy

knowing one daysoon
it will come
to pass.

Meditation 618
Out of thequiet shadows
into the fulllight
and noise ofthe day

you creepblinking,
with handswhich stutter
for a safer way

and you know
the path isalways forward
so you cannotstay.

Life News:

Great excitement once more on the garden front as our dogwood hedge has been delivered, so we'll need to plant that in over the weekend. I'm praying for sunshine then, as I no longer have a working brolly, alas. Not that a brolly would be useful when planting a hedge, but there you go, eh.

Yesterday's girly fun was finding one of my colleagues in automobile distress in the car park after work, as her battery was flat. Heck, I've been there so often that I had every sympathy (K and I still wake up screaming at the memory of the time the battery on our rickety old removal van died on the main roundabout linking the A12 to the M25. My, what joy that was ... though the mention on the Radio 4 traffic news was nice). Anyway, as I'm the only person on the planet who actually has jump leads in the back of her car, we managed to get it started though I admit we did have to Ring A Man to ask how to put the jump leads on. Yes, I hear you laughing, but probably not as loudly as the Security staff were as they watched us on the CCTV, hey ho ... Girl Power "R" Us, but only after we've powdered our noses.

And today we've had a recommended builder round to give us a quote on our loose tiles and guttering at the back of the house. Ah, what innocence there is in that statement. After getting to the top of a very tall ladder (me - please admire my courage at this point ...) and crawling round and over the roof (him), it is fairly obvious that the roof of our lovely new house is Not A Happy Place. The cement is disintegrating, hence the falling tiles and damaged guttering and, actually, none of the roof tiles are fixed to anything as a result and can be lifted off without any effort at all. Meanwhile at the front of the house, someone has done a veneer cementing job to fool the casual passerby (a category which, evidently, included our surveyor, sigh) and added chicken wire to keep the tiles on. Chicken wire! Whatever next?... There'll be no damn eggs from that, I fear. Ah, Carruthers, I foresee trouble ahead and a Very Big Bill (as it were - and please excuse appalling Use of Capitals, but really it's that kind of a day). Ah well, we hadn't planned on having a holiday this year - and maybe best to make that two years. Groan.

Add to that a bit of a Tricky Moment with Mother (TMM for short) last week during our regular phone call and all is jolly interesting indeed in Elstead this week. Mother was telling me all about a woman she met on the bus into Colchester who visited her dying father every day at the hospital, come rain or shine, and then came out with the fatal thought (Note to people: never ever say this phrase or anything like it to anyone if you don't really want to know the answer ...): I don't think any of my children would ever do that for me, would they? Ah, Manipulation, you are indeed a dying art. My less than kind answer to this was: No, probably not, but isn't that what nurses are for? Hmm, I suspect I'm not in the running for Daughter of The Year this year, or any other year indeed ... Situation normal, then.

Finally, as I come from a family of both victims and survivors of this disease and am on the Hit List for testing when I reach 50 (always have something to look forward to, is what I say), I'd like to bring to your attention that this week is Bowel Cancer Awareness Week - so don't forget to get involved and save a life, maybe even your own, especially as it's one of the easiest cancers to cure if it's caught early enough. Keep well and keep going, as they say!

Anne Brooke
The Gathandrian Trilogy
Gay Reads UK
Biblical Fiction UK

Hellebores, Haiku and Heart

2012-01-22T17:40:00.000Z

Book News:

There have been two really lovely 4.5 stars reviews of The Heart's Greater Silence late this week - one at Pants Off Reviews (many thanks, Darien) and one at Between the Covers Reviews (thanks, Alex).

I've also been more than happy to receive a 4.5 star review for Dating the Delaneys at Jessewave Reviews. So many thanks to Raine for that one, and of course apologies that you'll never be able to watch Four Weddings and a Funeral in quite the same way again. Such a great film too, ah well!...

Not only that, but I was pleased to see that Tommy's Blind Date has received two interesting reviews at Goodreads - one from Mandy, and one from Victoria who thought the story was "sweet and spicy". Many thanks to both of you!

Meanwhile I've now had the fully signed contract for upcoming gay short story, Where You Hurt The Most, returned by Riptide Publishing, so that's great. The likely publication date is sometime in May, I gather, but this has yet to be confirmed.

And there's only THREE DAYS left for my Twitter Giveaway - so if you follow me up to and including 25 January, you'll receive a FREE ebook of your choice - happy tweeting!

I've also updated my meditation poetry page so you can find all the latest poems there, but in any case here's Number 614 for you:

Meditation 614
All that secret
wisdom hidden
in the heart
of books
we no longer
understand:

the mysteries
of the sea
waiting deep
beneath thewaters
which playfully
kiss the sand.

The Sunday haiku is:

My grandmother's voice
in its electronic soul:
the satnav's secret.

Life News:

Great excitement in the garden this week: we've trimmed the red dogwood stems at the back and brought them in for display in the dining room - and very beautiful they look too. With any luck we'll get new and even more colourful growth this coming year, so something to look forward to indeed. Plus our dogwood front hedge is due for delivery this week so K and I staked out the position of each plant today. They'll be fifty of them and it looks like a pretty good fit to us. The excitement's certainly mounting.

Plus we now have one snowdrop in the back garden, with its friend looking like it will make an appearance very soon (hurrah!), the crocuses at the front are pretty much in bloom, and the hellebores we planted last year are definitely on their way. The miracle of nature - if you plant things, sometimes they actually grow, ye gods and little fishes. Whatever next?

Meanwhile, further miracles abound - yesterday's baking opportunity was blueberry muffins and they're very tasty indeed. However, I must really get a proper muffin tray (as it were) and an apron to avoid potential disasters (blueberries are very ... um ... blue, aren't they?). Perhaps soon it will be time for my new book, Cooking by the Skin of Your Teeth. Any buyers? Hey ho ...

This morning was church, and the greeting of the wedding couples due to get married in Elstead or our sister church in Thursley throughout the year, and very jolly it all was too. Always good to practise those old wedding favourites just to see what they sound like - it's almost as if Spring were here in truth.

Anne Brooke
The Gathandrian Trilogy
Biblical Fiction
Gay Reads UK

Crocuses and crime

2012-01-19T17:15:00.002Z

Book News:

I'm pleased to say that crime does actually pay, hurrah: my most borrowed library book over this last year has apparently been psychological thriller Thorn in the Flesh, so that's very pleasing, I must say. Good for my heroine, Kate!

At the same time, gay crime thriller A Dangerous Man garnered a 4-star review at Goodreads this week - thank you, Suzette! I particularly enjoyed the phrase about "sifting through the darkness to find the light." Ah, as in writing, so in life, indeed ...

This week, I've written three more blog posts for my upcoming book tour, including articles on bullying and the call of the dark, and have reviewed Jane Gordon-Cumming's novel, A Proper Family Christmas, for Vulpes Libris. So, I've not been idle, you'll be pleased to hear.

At the same time, I've decided to bring to a close my experiment with thoughtful blogging at The Thoughtful Corner for a variety of reasons, not least because the year is set to continue to be busy in writing terms so I don't believe I can spare the time for it. But many thanks to those of you who did pop in for a visit, and I hope we can all keep up the rather slower approach to life in the months ahead. Thus making this paragraph something of a contradiction in terms, I know, but there you have it. As it were.

I've also been rather wickedly amused with a couple of recent articles about the state of publishing: one on the different approaches of the big publishers and Amazon; and one on how local independent bookstores aren't really local and don't do much to encourage reading. Do take a look and see what you think - when it comes to it and even though Amazon don't appear to be that keen (still!) on gay literature, my sympathy is actually with Amazon on both counts as I don't think much of the attitudes of the big publishers or agents, and I've long since given up on the concept of the local bookshop - even though I appreciate that's distinctly not what I'm supposed to say, it is when it comes to it what I really think. My writing and reading life has, after all, long since gone online and that's where my heart lies.

Recent meditations are:

Meditation 611
We live in thebalance:
floatingsomewhere between
our wrongdecisions
and theoccasional good
we do

whilst farbeyond
ourunderstanding
the planetsturn
and ancientstars
still shine.

Meditation 612
When themeasured dance
and glance oftime

meets the wildlight
of brighteternity

then the strongharmony
we long for

will like aforgotten chord
finally berestored.

Meditation 613
In each life
there’s a time

for silence
and a time

to speak.
The wisdom

is finding
the difference.

Life News:

We now have a crocus that is actually in bloom in the front garden, well gosh! It's absolutely beautiful and I hope it manages to hang on in there somehow. Almost a miracle to find such a sign of spring in the middle of winter. We do indeed have to grasp the small hopes when we see them, eh.

And it's back to my normal working routine so that's a relief - I feel much more settled than I did last week anyway. Plus I had a lovely lunch with a writing friend of mine at the University, Ali, yesterday, so it was great to catch up there. Keeping to the socialising theme, I invited a couple of neighbours round for coffee and shortbread this afternoon after I'd finished writing my blog articles, so that's been fantastic too. Heck, I'm almost sounding like a normal member of the community - whatever next?...

Tonight, K and I are off on our first theatre trip of 2012 to see Alan Ayckbourn's new play, Neighbourhood Watch. It looks more sombre than his earlier offerings, so I'm interested to see how it goes. Recently I think he's been taking a more serious tone in his plays and I've really enjoyed it, so I have high hopes. But the best joy of the week is certainly the news that crime drama Whitechapel is coming back to our screen on 30 January for a series of 3 two-parters, hurrah! Bliss. I can't wait.

Anne Brooke
The Gathandrian Trilogy
Biblical Fiction UK
Gay Reads UK

Signs of Spring?

2012-01-15T17:48:00.001Z

Book News:

Have been very industrious this weekend and written up 5 interviews/blog posts for the upcoming book tour for The Heart's Greater Silence and for other sites who've requested one too (thank you!), so feel I'm gradually getting on top of that. One more to go at the moment, and I must say I'm enjoying it. It's certainly making me think - which can surely only be a good thing.

Speaking of which, I'm delighted to see that the 5-star review for The Heart's Greater Silence is now up at Top 2 Bottom Reviews - so many thanks for that!

Life News:

Friday was a work day due to a big morning & lunchtime meeting involving all departmental staff - thankfully it seemed to come off well, and things went smoothly. The only thing was afterwards I was utterly shattered and my stomach was hellish, darn it, so I struggled through the afternoon. I think part of the issue is that, lovely though everyone is, I'm not my best with a lot of people, so I think I've probably done all my social inclusion for the next three months - at least. A nice quiet week ahead to recharge those batteries is what I need ...

Mind you, Saturday was great, as our good friends, Pauline, Tony & their son Darren came for the day, so we had a wonderful time catching up. As they're keen gardeners, that was pretty dang useful too - we now know the names of some of the plants we weren't sure about and, thanks to Pauline, we've noticed that there are actually mauve crocuses coming out into bloom in the garden. Gosh, indeed! A sign of Spring already, perhaps ... but it's the first ever Spring flowers we've had, so we're hugely chuffed indeed.

Whilst they were with us, we also paid a visit to Watts Gallery, which was great, and I picked up another couple of good but cheap pictures for the house, hurrah. The only thing is I need to sort out the frame for one of them, and buy a new frame for the other before I can actually hang them. Might have to wait until next weekend then.

This morning, we paid our first visit to church for 2012, and very nice it was too, though I was puzzled by the hymns and their tunes - I'm not sure I quite understood where some of the notes were going, my dears. I was also delighted to hear that the vicar has some further group workshop plans up his sleeve for Lent and beyond, so will be looking forward to that, for sure. Roll on Ash Wednesday (um, 22 Feb, since you're asking ...).

Afterwards, we strolled round the monthly Farmers' Market at Secretts Garden Centre and managed to pick up some essential organic and local provisions, as you do. The cakes were nice too, though I suspect they won't last long. And tonight, it's the utter joy of the glorious Sherlock on TV - I can't wait, though my happiness will be tinged with a bitter grief (as it were), seeing as it's the last one, sob ... When oh when will we see the like again?

The Sunday haiku is:

Morning's icy start.
The field outside my window
vanishes in mist.

Anne Brooke
Gay Reads UK
The Gathandrian Trilogy

More January sales and a new publisher

2012-01-12T16:00:00.002Z

Book News:

Much to my delight, gay comic romance Angels and Airheads, which was originally published by Torquere Press but went out of print last year, is to be republished by Musa Publishing, so I'm really excited by that. I've just now sent the signed e-contract back so it's great to be part of their line-up.

At the same time, the January book sales are still here, so don't miss out! You can get 40% off ALL my Untreed Reads books, provided you enter the coupon code NEWYEAR at the checkout.

Plus you'll find 25% off ALL my Lulu Books, so long as you search for my name and enter the code LULUBOOKUK305 at the checkout. Hurrah!

In terms of books yet to be published, I've now uploaded the first chapter of children's book The Origami Nun onto the Biblical Fiction website, so I hope you enjoy the beginning of that story.

Over at Vulpes Libris Reviews, you can see my opinion on Nicci French's novel Complicit - a book which at the very least does tell us what not to do at a crime scene. You never know - this could come in useful one day ...

Here are meditation poems so far this week:

Meditation 608
That deadlycorrelation
betweenholiness
and possessions

makes those ofus
who don’t quite
have enough

appeardistinctly second-class
just for thelack
of brass.

Meditation 609
Truth is notfound
in the greatnumber
of people whotell you
a thing.

It is as small
and delicate
as a bird
about to takewing;

therefore bestill
and wait,trusting
for its magic
to sing.

Meditation 610

Ahab

All day hewaits
for death,
that singlepointed fire
in the joints
singing him todarkness

and when itcomes
at last
itsaccompaniment
is the flashand wild flame
of the fastfading sun.

Life News:

I'm working odd days this week due to an important meeting at work on Friday, so I do feel rather unsettled. Really, the only thing lying between me and complete lunacy is my familiar routine, ah well.

Still, it was utterly lovely to meet Jane H (hello, Jane!) at Costa Coffee in Godalming for a few drinks and a chat yesterday. Though we were both rather overcome by the sheer size of the large cappuccino I ordered - makes mental note to go for the medium sized one next time. Really, what with the amount of caffeine in my system, I didn't manage to scrape myself entirely off the ceiling for hours, hey ho.

Anne Brooke
The Gathandrian Trilogy
Biblical Fiction
Gay Reads UK

Delaneys, cake and FREEBIES!

2012-01-08T16:29:00.000Z

Book News:

I'm astonished and indeed delighted to tell you that I've received the first royalties for gay literary short story, The Heart's Greater Silence, even though it's not out till 6 February. Well, gosh, thank you to those of you who've preordered it and don't forget those of you who haven't yet still have a chance to win a year's supply of free books if you do! What could be nicer?

Speaking of which, there was a fascinating pre-publication review of The Heart's Greater Silence this week at Amos Lassen Reviews. One of the things he wrote was:

"Since I began reviewing some five years ago, I have noticed that there are certain authors that continuously deliver good reads. Anne Brooke is one of those and she never disappoints … Brooke has created an unforgettable character in Mark and in his despairs and conflicts. His desires ruled his decisions and the fact that he has two very different boyfriends shows that he is searching for himself. When the story is over, we are still not sure of what he plans to do but whatever it is, if Anne Brooke lets us, we will be there to find out."

Many thanks, Amos - really appreciate your comments.

Turning to other books, I'm very excited that fantasy novel The Gifting has won a week's free advertising at the Kindle Users UK Forum from 1 February, so I'm hoping people might catch the advert as they pop in and out and be tempted to give it a whirl. You never know!

I'm also rather chuffed with a 4.5 star review at Goodreads for gay short story Martin and The Wolf, many thanks, Jerry. That one's been around for a while so it's nice people are still reading it now and again. And I've also stared on Number Five in the gay erotic Delaneys series, The Delaneys At Home. I'm a thousand words in now, so only another 9,000 or so to go. It's nice to be back with them, I must say. I've rather missed them over the Christmas and New Year break. I suspect that, contrary to my original expectations, this won't be the last we see of them either, as I still have the idea for the final story, The Delaneys, My Parents and Me in my head. We'll have to see, eh.

Plus there's FREE GIVEAWAY news I must tell you about, hurrah! Anyone who follows me on Twitter between now and 25 January is entitled to one FREE ebook from my backlist, so spread the word, and a very happy new reading year to all of you!

This week's meditation is:

Meditation 607
God is not

to be seized inalarm
from the air
as he passes by

but like abutterfly
enticed byprayer
let him rest onyour palm:

something weforgot.

The Sunday haiku is:

Three little robins
on my tree; I smile at them
and they chirp at me.

Life News:

Ah, the dangers of Christmas have come upon me. There was I tidying up the decorations we put up (minimal but elegant, I like to think ...) and wondering vaguely where the holly was that I put on the windowsill when I ... um ... trod on it. Goodness me, but holly's quite sharp, isn't it ... Hey ho. Next time, I'll keep my eyes to the floor.

And I've made another cake, well gosh, and shake out your aprons! This time it was Mary Berry's Lemon Drizzle cake mix and very nice it is too - though I had a moment of panic when I put it in the oven and realised I'd forgotten to add the water, and it might therefore turn out to be a lemon brick. However, either the good Lord was smiling upon me or my use of three medium eggs instead of two large ones (possibly both ...) saved the day and all was well, thank goodness. I might seriously get into this cake mix lark - but I'll definitely get an electric hand whisk if that turns out to be the case.

Today, K and I have rehung the gate in the back garden - which was rather more challenging and ... err ... fun than we anticipated, but we got there in the end. Part of the issue is that the end of our garden backs onto a drainage ditch so the only way to do the job was if K got into his waders and stood in the stream while I held onto the gate - for dear life. What fun we have in the country, my dears ...

Anne Brooke
The Gathandrian Trilogy
Gay Reads UK

Hearts, webs and daffodils

2012-01-05T20:09:00.000Z

Book News:

I now have the dates and stops for my upcoming book blog tour for literary gay short story The Heart's Greater Silence, which takes place from 6 to 16 February. Hope to see as many of you there as possible - there will be loads of competitions, goodies, giveaways and some big prizes so well worth putting it in your diary! So far this week, I've completed and sent off a couple of interviews for it, and the questions have been very searching indeed - so watch this space.

Meanwhile, on the first day of the new year, I sold a copy of fantasy novel The Gifting, which is very heartening news indeed - as sadly it's not one of my best-selling works, I fear, ah well. So if anyone would like to double this quarter's numbers and make it 2, I'll be your friend for life! Scary thought there ... Mind you, I'm thrilled that The Gifting has won free advertising on the Kindle UK Users' Forum in February, so perhaps I might persuade a few others to take the plunge too. You never know.

In other book news, I now have a website purely for my gay and lesbian fiction which I hope will enable readers and visitors to find what they're looking for more easily. So now, I have a gay fiction site, a Biblical fiction and poetry site (which includes my latest meditation poetry) and a fantasy site for The Gathandrian Trilogy. I'm thinking about a literary fiction site as well, but I'll have to see how things go for that.

Over at Untreed Reads, lesbian short story The Girl in the Painting was their no 3 International bestseller for last month and also reached No 22 in the Amazon UK charts earlier this week, which was nice. Surreal short story The Secret Thoughts of Leaves was purchased by a Canadian library, and literary short How To Eat Fruit gained a 4-star review.

Not to be outdone, literary short story Painting from Life also received a 4-star review, as did erotic gay romance Dating the Delaneys. Many thanks to you all for your comments. And over at Preditors & Editors, you can vote for romantic comedy Rosie By Name in the Short Stories (Other genres) category and historical fiction Dido's Tale in the Romantic Short Stories category. Many thanks indeed if you do!

During the week I've also found this wonderful website which combines internet book shopping with support for your local independent bookstores so I've ordered a couple of books and am looking forward to seeing how it works. Well done indeed to the Hive Network.

Here's this week's meditation poems:

Meditation 604
The whisper ofsilver
and glitteringgold

is a siren song
to make menbold

but the gentlerwhisper
of God’sredemption

is never athing
they like tomention.

Meditation 605
Theunderstanding
that God seesall

is both apromise
and a threat;

it makes ourgood deeds
just a littlebetter

and our badones
a far greaterdebt.

Meditation 606
At the end oflife
the onlymementos

are the shadow
of the deepencroaching rock

and the whisper
of spices.

Finally in this section, I'm delighted to announce that if you follow me on Twitter up to and including 25 January, then you win a free ebook of your choice from my backlist. Happy New Year to you!

Life News:

This week, I've been back at work for a couple of days and I must say it's rather satisfying to get back into my familiar routine - what a creature of habit I am, eh. It's also been very useful to catch up before the students return next week, as now I feel I'm prepared for them, hurrah. So nice to get in and get acclimatised again before the rush - always a wise move.

We've also finally bought the curtains we wanted and have put them up in the reading room (as we like to call it). They look amazing and cosy up the place no end. Lovely. Now we're planning to get matching cushion covers (how very Surrey!...) and then at last we'll be a really grown-up couple ...

Today, I've also done battle over the phone with Tesco Bank, groan. All I wanted to do was change my address, but I had to go through a whole rigmarole of personal questions, including a list of former jobs I've had etc etc, before they'd accept I was who I said I was, sigh. They then said that as I wasn't on telephone banking and didn't have a pin number it wouldn't be official, and please could I set up telephone banking and get a pin number in order to make it so. Deep sigh. Call me old-fashioned, but I actually don't want to - on the grounds that by the time I've gone through the list of questions to make telephone banking work, then I might as well have got into the car, driven into Guildford and spoken to my main bank directly. It would at least be quicker. Hmm, I don't think they took kindly to my saying that, nor to the moment I reassured the call-handler that I knew we were both nothing more than pawns in the capitalist system but could he please just update my address before we both imploded? Oh well, who knows where my next Tesco letter will end up? If you find it, just pass it along, will you? Many thanks ...

The day was however considerably lightened in its existential suffering quota when I saw there were actually daffodils in bloom on the Research Park. Gosh indeed! Is it Spring already? What fun.

Anne Brooke
Gay Reads
The Gathandrian Trilogy

Happy New Year!

2012-01-01T17:05:00.004Z

BookNews:

Happy newyear to you, and I hope you're all having a great 2012 so far. I certainly am.There are several items of book news today so hang on to your hats. First off,I'm thrilled that literary gay short story The Heart's Greater Silence has received its first review of 5 stars at The Novel Approach,prior to publication on 6 February. Many thanks, Lisa, for that! If thereview stimulates your interest (as it were), then don't forget you can preorder a copy at Riptide Publishing andthereby (a) get the book early and (b) be entered into a competition to getfree books for one year - so happy shopping!

Here's aquote from Lisa's review:

"AnneBrooke has written a somber and beautiful story of a man who had everything andlost it all because he coveted two very different men. It is dark and solemnand resonates with a sense of conflict and despair that wove the idealatmosphere. It was moving and played beautifully against the knowledge thatsometimes free will and human nature simply don't leave room for happyendings."

Meanwhile,gay comedy The Hit List also gained a 4-starreview at Goodreads (thank you, Fynn) and romantic comedy Pink Champagne and Apple Juice received a 5-starreview also at Goodreads (thanks, Nell!).

I'm alsothrilled to say that fantasy novel TheGifting received a fascinating and lovely review from Sharon Bidwell onFacebook (thanks, Sharon!), which certainly made me think. It'sgreat that you loved Simon the Scribe so much as he appears fromreader reaction to be a "Marmite Man" - like many of my fictionalheroes, I suspect. I was also fascinated by the connection to StephenDonaldson's Thomas Covenant in the Thomas Covenant Chronicles,as he was who I had in mind when I was writing Simon. That was certainly a fantasy seriesthat had an extremely powerful effect on me when younger, and how I do love awounded hero ...

Icouldn't let New Year go by without some sales news, hurrah! So for todayand tomorrow only, you can find 25% off ALL my Dreamspinner Press books, sohappy shopping to you.

And, muchto my delight, gay thriller A Dangerous Man was one of the Top 2011 Picks at Top 2 Bottom Reviews. Well,gosh, and a big thank you.

Finally(well, sort of ...), I've now created a websitefor my biblical fiction, where you can find my bible-basedshort stories, the latest news, and a list of Christian links I've found useful orconsider to be interesting, amongst other delights. Enjoy!

The NewYear haiku is:

The yeareases round

until itbegins again.

Slowepiphany.

LifeNews:

I mustsay a HUGE thank you to our friends and neighbours, L & J, with whom wespent a wonderful New Year's Eve yesterday. Just a few of us for dinner, drinksand chat so perfect really. I'm afraid I was therefore too tired to make churchthis morning, but I suspect God can manage without me for a week or so ...

It's beena strange couple of days though - yesterday I actually baked (baked!! Whatevernext?...) chocolate buns which aren't bad really, though I say it myself. Mindyou, I did use a cake mix and an icing mix from the shop, so yes it's cheatingbut hey life's too short to get flour under my nails. That's sooo last year ...And K isn't complaining. In fact I'm having trouble keeping him away from thetin. I hope he doesn't think this is going to happen again for at least anotheryear, ah well ...

We alsoattempted to have a morning at the sales on Friday, but it was rather adisaster. We couldn't find the curtains we wanted in the size we needed them inand the shop assistant told us they weren't going to make them any more(groan), I couldn't remember how to buy books from an actual bookshop where Ican't click onto what I want, and then the art gallery we wanted to buypictures from was shut. Deep sigh. I don't think I'll be doings-commerce again for a while. Still, at least K ended up with some garden stuffhe wanted and a new computer desk which looks lovely, so some joy was salvagedfrom the morass of gloom. As it were.

Andtoday, we find our narcissi are starting to sprout shoots in the pot we put theseed in, so nature does work, hurrah! Is it Spring yet?...

Anne Brooke

The GathandrianTrilogy: a fantasy series to make you think

Hearts and minds

2011-12-29T17:48:00.001Z

Book News:

Heck, it's been busy over the Christmas period, but great fun too. First off there's good news about my literary gay short story The Heart's Greater Silence which is now being sent off to reviewers prior to publication, so I'm looking forward to seeing what people think. You can read a short extract from the beginning at Riptide Publishing's site. Don't forget that if you pre-order, you're also in with a chance of winning a year's supply of Riptide books, so order early to avoid disappointment.

Meanwhile, I've also developed a website devoted to my fantasy series The Gathandrian Trilogy. There you can find out everything you need to know about The Gifting, Hallsfoot's Battle and The Executioner's Cane, as well as getting to discover the ins and outs of the characters in the story, including feisty red-haired women, magical mind-canes and mysterious snow-ravens. There are also extracts from The Gifting and Hallsfoot's Battle, so you can try before you buy. Have fun exploring!

Until tomorrow, you can also win a copy of gay erotic short story Dating the Delaneys at Brief Encounter Reviews. Ideal for keeping you extra warm at New Year. Failing that, you can still get 20% off all my books at Rainbow Ebooks, so don't miss out.

And a BIG thank you to everyone at Amber Allure Press and also Riptide Publishing for the lovely Christmas cards I received from them both. It's really very much appreciated!

Life News:

Christmas has been great this year - really lovely and quiet. Just me and my loved one, which is how I like it, hurrah. Talking of which, K bought me a new Kindle and therefore takes possession of my old one. Plus he was kind enough to buy me the whole of the first series of Blake's 7 on DVD so I can drool over the glorious Avon whenever I like. Mmm, bliss ... Other joys of Christmas were the Christmas Day service at church where the vicar asked the children in the congregation what presents they'd received. Cue one small boy: "I got a toothbrush, and toothpaste!" Well, there's nothing you can say to that really, except to rejoice in how delighted the little chap sounded. Treat 'em mean, keep 'em keen is obviously the way to go, though even I do hope he received rather more than that!

It's also been a time to sort things out in the garden. Together K and I have radically pruned the roses, put up some more trellis (which is looking fantastic, I must say) and sanded down the gate ready for repainting. Having fun outdoors has kept my mind well away from the utter disaster of attempting to change from my MobileMe account to the new so-called improved iCloud. Lordy, it's the worst ever IT change we've had to try (and we must do it as otherwise all our emails and websites disappear next summer without a trace) and I think Apple have done exceedingly badly in making up such a hugely complex set of steps to go through. It actually took us three whole days, one and off, and we're not done yet. The extra pain is that all my MobileMe websites have to find other hosts as iCloud doesn't do websites. Stupid iCloud, eh. I am distinctly not impressed with the whole palaver, deep sigh. And apparently I'm not the only one complaining either.

Still, we've had a couple of great trips out, one to Wisley where I bought a lovely apple-shaped doorstop which can now replace the piece of cardboard which has been holding the living-room door open for three months, phew. Plus we had a fantastic day out at The Hillier Gardens, which has the largest winter garden in Europe. It's amazing, I must say, and the food is to die for too, so we'll definitely be back.

Anne Brooke

The Gathandria Trilogy: for the best in fantasy fiction

Happy Christmas

2011-12-24T16:46:00.001Z

Book News:

Many congratulations to Judi P who was the winner in my Winter Newsletter Competition and chose gay erotic short story Tommy's Blind Date as her prize. I hope you enjoy the read, Judi!

And exciting news for Christmas Day ONLY: my gay romance Two Christmases will have a 30% discount direct from the publisher, so well worth popping in to grab your bargain while you're waiting for the turkey to roast ...

I've been doing the second round of final edits (if you see what I mean!) for gay erotic short story The Heart's Greater Silence for Riptide Publishing, so that's just now gone back to them for comment. I've also been thrilled to get a lovely Christmas card from Amber Allure Press, so many thanks to Trace and the team for sending that. Much appreciated.

Here's a Christmas haiku for you:

Bare branches outspread,
my tree gives the clouded sky
a sure resting place.

Life News:

I have to admit I never find Christmas the easiest of festivals. Too much jollity, sociability and tremendous amounts of pressure to get it right, to my mind. So I was relieved to to be reminded in this week's Church Times that Christ wasn't born when we were ready for Him, but in fact arrived right in the middle of family traumas, homelessness, political instability and huge personal mess. Indeed if everything had been perfect, then He wouldn't have needed to bother turning up at all. Somehow that small fact makes me feel a whole lot better about the season - though I did get a session of what I call my "Christmas gloom" earlier this week. I took a couple of calming pills and just sat down for a bit - that helped.

Today, K and I have decorated the house with greenery from the garden, put a set of lights up in the apple tree and I've made my grandmother's special rum butter, so I think that's it really.

I hope you all have a happy and peaceful Christmas, whatever you're doing, and I'll catch up with you next week.

Anne Brooke
The Thoughtful Corner

A Little Death publication day

2011-12-22T16:19:00.001Z

Books:

Lovely news today: my literary biblical short story A Little Death has just been published by Untreed Reads, and is available from all good e-stores, as they say. Here's the blurb:

When Abigail marries Nabal in the time of the rebel king David, she quickly discovers her husband's bullying ways and cruelty. Trapped in a loveless relationship but determined to fight, she finds solace in her growing friendship with servant girl Anna. Soon the two women are plotting to kill Nabal, but the increasing attacks from David threaten to destroy all their hopes for happiness.

I do hope you enjoy the story! Keeping with Untreed Reads, I was very happy to receive this quarter's royalties from them today - another nice Christmas surprise, that's for sure.

For today only, you can also find lots of FREE giveaways of gay fiction at Jessewave Reviews, though sadly my offering of all four books of the erotic Delaneys Series has already been claimed (many congratulations to the winner!). But there's plenty more left to grab, as it were, so don't miss out ... And you can still win a copy of Dating the Delaneys at Brief Encounter Reviews on 26 December, so definitely worth getting up on Boxing Day, ho ho.

Meanwhile, gay romance The Hit List found itself briefly at No 99 in the Amazon UK charts this week, so that was very nice too. It's slipped down from this dizzy height now but hey it was fun while it lasted.

And I must also announce that my literary relationship with DWB Publishing has now come to a fairly amicable end, so my children's story The Origami Nun and my spiritual novella The Prayer Seeker are once more footless and fancy-free. Another learning curve for us all indeed. I'm sure that both sides wish each other all the best with our very different endeavours.

Ending on a very positive note, I'm slowly making changes to my website, which now includes a good-size extract from fantasy novel The Gifting and also from gay thriller A Dangerous Man, the latter including erotic content. Plus there's also an Events and Activities page which I'm planning to keep updated as news comes in. Ooh, and I'm also deep in editing literary gay short story The Heart's Greater Silence for Riptide Publishing, so keep an eye out for more news on that one too. Next year I'm planning to start seriously editing the third in my fantasy series, The Executioner's Cane, as well. No rest for the wicked, they say. And they'd be right!

This week's meditations have been:

Meditation 601
There is no love
so small,
no hope tooweak
that God can’tsee
and use it.

So if you judge
your cause
too poor
keep faith
and you’ll notlose it.

Meditation 602
A cold night
when thebitterness
of a longwinter

freezes yourbones
as you wait
almostimpatient

for any sign
of warmth
in thisunforgiving land.

Keep onwaiting,
enduring thedark.
Learn tounderstand.

Meditation 603
When all thegreat arguments
in the world
are done

the truth
is God’sgreatest talent
lies in beingfound.

His onlyrequest
is that wesimply
and truly look.

Life News:

Those vicious rumours of me actually having a life have been greatly exaggerated, I fear, but here's what I've got up to in the non-book world this week:

I have nobly defrosted the work fridge and sent to the Great Bin in the Sky the yoghurt with a 2004 sell-by date on it, yuck. And no, I didn't open it first to check if it was still okay. Lord forbid. I also popped into town to attempt to get some last minute items before the holiday sets in, and was caught in some pretty heavy rain - which required me to divest myself of my shoes and socks when I got back to the office and attempt to dry them out with the fan heater. Whilst paying due care to Health & Safety issues, naturally ... The sight of my bony feet (I really hate my feet!) lolloping round the office seemed to keep any visitors away, and I can't say I blame them.

On Tuesday we had the last of our Advent compline services, which was as bliss as ever. Heck, but I'm going to miss those - so I hope the vicar puts something else in place for us silence junkies. We seriously need it. And yesterday, I had a lovely time up in London with Jane M and Jane S-D (hello, both) and playing catch-up on a grand scale. It's been over a year since we last saw each other and I must remember not to leave it quite so long again. Mind you, I'm sure the years fly by faster as age catches up with me, hey ho.

Anne Brooke
The Thoughtful Corner

Death, dinners and silence

2011-12-18T17:43:00.001Z

Book News:

For the first time ever in my writing life, I actually have a book you can pre-order, well gosh. I'm delighted to say that literary gay short story The Heart's Greater Silence can now be pre-ordered from Riptide Publishing (and if you do so, then you also enter their giveaway competition!) and is also up at Goodreads. The cover's pretty classy too and it's due out on 6 February.

Here's the blurb:

Mark isn't sure he believes in love, especially when he's torn between two very different men: his reliable boyfriend, Craig, and his illicit lover and priest, Richard. Mark knows what he should do, but he can't bring himself to give Richard up. The sex with Richard is unlike anything he's ever known with Craig, and he hungers for it as much as - if not more than - the truer intimacy he finds in his boyfriend's arms. When Craig discovers his betrayal, Mark is forced to look at his life more closely, but the path to self-knowledge is never an easy one. Richard seeks the way back to God, but Mark finds no solace there. Can he ever discover the truth of his own soul, or is he too afraid of what he will - or won't - find inside his heart?

Keeping with Riptide Publishing, I'm also happy to say that another literary gay story, Where You Hurt the Most, has just been accepted by them, so I'm looking forward to working with them on that one also. You can also visit my author page with Riptide here.

Meanwhile, I've just sent back the final proofs for biblical short story A Little Death to Untreed Reads, so that should be available soon. Watch this space ...

Don't forget my newsletter competition is still running, so enter soon to be in with a chance of winning something from my backlist! And a big thank you to Elstead Writers' Group and the lovely Sue who hosts it for a wonderful Saturday morning talking about writing. Fabulous.

This week's meditations are:

Meditation 599
Whatever we maysay
or secretlythink
about God

He’s moremerciful
a leader
than any mereman.

Meditation 600
A lifetimeremembered
for theincrease of power
and a passion
for all that iswrong

does not in theend
whatever we say
make for a very
meaningfulsong.

The Sunday haiku is:

Each ripe red berry
plucked one by one from my hedge
like vanishing stars.

Life News:

It's been an odd week this week, what with working on Thursday and Friday, and having Tuesday and Wednesday at home instead. Most disorientating. Still, we had the office Christmas lunch on Thursday, at All Bar One in Guildford, which was great as I could actually hear what people were saying (hurrah!) and the food was wonderful. We had a lovely time. On Friday we had the Managers' Away Day which was very worthwhile indeed, in spite of the fact that we saw our first snow of the season (yikes!). Thank goodness it didn't settle. How I hate snow ... And in the evening, K and I were at Marian's for dinner, during which - for some strange reason - we were nearly visited by the local youth group's Santa sledge, but he somehow escaped so we never actually saw him. Probably too busy trying to find where the good children are, ho hum.

Yesterday, we spent the afternoon gardening and in the evening we were at Liz's two doors down for her pre-Christmas dinner - great company, great food, including a home-made Yule log to die for, and possibly rather too much wine than was good for us. Hey ho, it's Christmas after all.

And today, we've spent a lovely day (though a chilly one!) with Peter and Sue at The Vyne, catching up and exchanging presents. Unfortunately, I seem to have bought poor Peter something he already has, but there are other gifts too, so all is - probably - not lost. I hope ...!

Anne Brooke
The Origami Nun

Discounts and a double dose of champagne

2011-12-14T15:38:00.001Z

Book News:

Gosh, indeedy, it appears that the paperback version of romantic comedy Pink Champagne and Apple Juice is experiencing a sudden surge of popularity. I wonder if people are buying it for Christmas? It's been pretty flat (AKA non-existent) on sales for months so it's lovely to have an unexpected change on that front. If you have bought it, then many thanks and I hope you or the person it's intended for enjoy the read. And don't forget the ebook version is also available, so never say I don't try to cater for all tastes.

Speaking of unexpected sales, you'll be pleased to hear that all my Amber Allure Press books currently have a 25% discount, so that's well worth a browse for sure - and with any luck they'll warm your winter up too and put you in a glowing mood for the Big Season. Enjoy!

At the same time, I'm really getting back into writing my gay fantasy novella, The Taming of the Hawk. I'm just getting to the adventure/political struggle sections now so they should be fun. I do so love writing adventure and battle sections - must be my calm and contemplative nature, eh.

Across at Vulpes Libris Reviews, I find I really don't love all in my review of Madeleine Wickham's The Tennis Party, but hey at least the ending was good. All rather disappointing really, as I've definitely enjoyed some of her other work.

Recent meditations are:

Meditation 597
The fields,woods
and pastures
lie empty.

Only the wind
brushes over
the waitingsoil

and grasses,
setting theleaves,
the crookedbranches

whispering
of everything
that wentbefore.

Meditation 598
The larger thefamily
the greater thepotential
disaster

as each of them
in theirvarious
ways

constantly
strives to be
master.

Life News:

This week so far has been a week of health appointments. Yesterday I had my eye test and was greatly relieved that I don't have to buy new glasses - thereby saving huge amounts of money which can be put to very good use elsewhere. And today it's been the dental hygienist, so my teeth are lovely and shiny for Christmas, hurrah.

Yesterday evening was the third in the church's special Advent & Compline quiet services - it was just so very relaxing I could have stayed there for ever. Such a wonderful change from the huge busyness and general gubbins going on elsewhere. Honestly, there should be more times set aside for group quietness. It's a real boon.

Oh and we've opened our first champagne of the season - K had one bottle left over from his bulk-buy for the office Christmas so we've celebrated by drinking it. Lovely. You can never really have too much champagne, to my mind. Bring it on.

And, in the virtual world, some Evil Person from Indonesia (where they obviously have nothing better to do ...) has this week hacked into my FB account for reasons known only to themselves. Luckily, FB seem pretty hot on this sort of stuff, so contacted me at once so I could change my password (thank you, FB). So I think I'm normal now (relatively), but really who can tell?...

Finally, in the wonderful world of TV, K and I are devastated that we've seen the last of Series One of the marvellous comedy crime programme, Death in Paradise. We've thoroughly enjoyed its quirkiness, humanity and downright simplicity and we hope that some wise person will hurry up and make a second series - in spite of the fact that nobody but us seems to have liked it, sigh. Anyway, you can never go wrong with Ben Miller. In anything. He's great.

Anne Brooke
The Origami Nun

Rewrites and Rev

2011-12-11T17:57:00.001Z

Book News:

Much to my surprise, another reader asked for for a signed Kindle copy of one of my books this week so I was happy to oblige - many thanks, Kimberly. Literary lesbian short story The Girl in the Painting also made it to No 14 in the Amazon UK GLBT Short Stories chart this week, which was lovely though it's fallen somewhat now.

This week, I've also started back with writing my fantasy novella, The Taming of The Hawk, which was a relief as I've not tackled it for ages, what with other stories taking precedence. I've also been doing rewrites of literary gay short story The Eye of The Beholder for Riptide Publishing, but I'm not sure if it's quite there yet. I'm thinking of changing the title, as the focus is shifting a fair amount, to Where You Hurt Most, but we'll have to see.

And at The Thoughtful Corner, I'm thinking about what TV sitcom Rev. says about faith and life. And, believe me, there's quite a lot there, as it's a programme which just keeps getting better, hurrah. I love it!

Here's a recent meditation:

Meditation 596
Each unfamiliarname
drives mefurther
from the truth
that lieswithin:

a barrier topeace
where Bethzur,Mareshah
and Gath
find theirfaiths begin.

The Sunday haiku:

This winter evening
wraps the house in slow silence,
quieting my heart.

Life News:

Had my six-monthly trip to the dentist on Friday, which went okay, actually - though I did have to have one small filling though thankfully without the drill, double hurrah. We had a nice chat afterwards about the old days when there were no computers and we all shared happy nostalgic memories about carbon paper. Ah indeed - whatever happened to that?... It's amazing how much has changed only in the last twenty years.

Yesterday K and I had our Christmas trip to see Mother. I took a good strong dose of Quiet Life pills to keep me smiling and all, I believe, was well. She was in high spirits indeed, or perhaps that was the effect of the drugs. Whose drugs, nobody can tell, hey ho ... And today, we've spent a long time in the garden, weeding the shrubbery and some of the remaining borders, and also planting twelve rose bushes along the trellis at the back. I'm going to have to get a nailbrush to de-garden my hands, I think. Nature certainly ain't that clean!

Anne Brooke
The Origami Nun

Newsletters, Kindles and lunch

2011-12-08T15:42:00.001Z

Book News:

My winter newsletter is out today and includes a free giveaway competition, some exclusive fiction and my latest writing news - enjoy! I'm also happy to announce that gay thriller A Dangerous Man gained an Honorable Mention in the 2011 Rainbow Cover Awards, hurrah. Many thanks indeed to all those who voted for it.

Meanwhile, gay erotic short story Dating the Delaneys was No 6 in the Amber Allure Bestseller Lists for November, so that's very exciting too. I do hope those of you who've bought it have enjoyed the read. More from the Delaneys and Liam in the new year, I think.

In other writing news, I've signed two Kindlegraphs this week - so many thanks to Nikyta for requesting those. It's much appreciated. And there's 30% off all holiday titles at Untreed Reads at the moment, so what are you waiting for ... Happy holiday reading!

Today at Vulpes Libris you can find my review of Ron Rash's stonkingly brilliant short story collection, Burning Bright - it comes highly recommended indeed, and it was a pleasure to review it.

This week's meditation is:

Meditation 595
When one man’sword
can stop a war
by being heard

then let usalways pray
for prophets
to have theirsay.

Life News:

Much to my astonishment, I've got Christmas almost all wrapped up (ha!). On Sunday I wrapped all the presents except a couple that I need to sort out this week and send, and I wrote and posted all my cards on Monday. What a Christmas angel I am indeed - and I'm sure you all hate me for it, hey ho. But I do dislike the whole Christmas thing so much that simply for my own sanity I need to get it out of the way as soon as humanly possible or my head implodes. Not a pretty sight, believe me.

However, all is not doom and gloom and pesky tinsel as on Tuesday I went to the second of the church's Advent compline services. Such a relief to have forty-five minutes of peace and quiet after the frantic busyness of work, I must say. I really enjoyed it - and especially lovely to stay and chat with writing friends, Stella and Rich afterwards, and to learn something more about John the actual vicar (rather than John the no 2 vicar) and his wife afterwards. Strangely, they lived in our road in Godalming for many years and not that far from our flat either, but I never knew it. Which just proves what an antisocial hermit I actually am (people? there are other people in the world? Well gosh ...). Hey ho.

And today I've enjoyed a wonderful ladies' lunch at the house of another Elstead Writers' Group friend, Sue (hello, Sue - and indeed Stella and Jacqui too!) - it was great to see some people I knew already and also a few neighbours I hadn't yet met. And the food was fabulous. How I love a woman who can cook.

Anne Brooke
The Origami Nun

Showers, sherry and the chance to vote ...

2011-12-04T16:50:00.001Z

Book News:

Great news indeed! The cover for gay thriller A Dangerous Man has made the finalists of the Rainbow Cover Awards 2011 and you can even vote for it to win, should you be so inclined. If you do, then thank you very much in advance. In any case, I'm really thrilled it's got this far, especially as the cover is just so perfect for the book, in my opinion.

Not to be outdone, gay erotic short story Dating the Delaneys gained a lovely review at Brief Encounter Reviews - so thank you, Jen, for that.

I've also added the link to children's story The Origami Nun to my main website, just in case anyone fancies a change of pace and theme. Enjoy!

Plus you can find all my current Kindle fiction at the Kindle Users UK Forum for ease of reference, hurrah. And you can even recommend those you might have read and enjoyed, well gosh.

Here's the most recent meditation poem:

Meditation 594
When men listenonly
to what theywish
with all theirheart
to hear

then wisdom
will not befound
and we willalways live
in fear.

And the Sunday haiku is:

This frosty morning
has scattered a thousand stars
on my acer tree.

Life News:

This week's excitement has to be Friday morning, when I not only fell in the shower, but actually slipped and fell out of the shower, bounced off the toilet seat and landed on my bottom on the bathmat, bringing the shower curtains with me. My, what fun we have in downtown Elstead, hey ho. Damage done includes: a slightly cracked toilet seat (but still workable with glue, phew), broken shower curtains (now mended by K, hurrah), a small bruise and some severely dented dignity. Ah well. I fear I probably won't be repeating this elegant manoeuvre in the upcoming 2012 Olympic gymnastic displays. At least not without alcohol. On Saturday morning, K offered to stand outside the shower to catch me when I catapulted out but I wisely opted for the bath option. I'll measure up to the beast (that's the shower, not K ...) on Monday when I hope to remain upright. Wish me luck.

Friday's other delights were my Christmas haircut in the afternoon at the local hairdresser who (bless her) still cannot believe that my hair colour doesn't come from a bottle. I'm thinking of wearing a t-shirt saying: yes, this colour is genetically created. Really ... But I fear nobody in the village will believe me. Much to my delight I was offered a Christmas sherry as well, so that went down well. And rather quickly too.

On Saturday, we had a thoroughly rural day and I spent the whole day in the garden. It was even warm enough (in December!) to have our morning coffee outside. I've now raked the lawn free of the remaining leaves, weeded the border on the right which I hadn't tackled yet, and re-weeded the bed behind the seats. Oh, and I've also cleaned the fountain and we've taken it in for the winter. As all the books tell us we must. Meanwhile, K has been painting and hammering for Britain and we now have a rather lovely trellis at the back on the right, which we hope to extend all the way across, depending on how we can work our way around the pretty little trees on the left.

This morning was the second in Advent, and K and I were once again the chosen people taking the bread, wine and water up to the altar during the collection hymn. I think I got it right this time and didn't canter up as if taking part in the local gymkhana. The congregation were no doubt stunned into silence by my unexpected dignity. Well, they hadn't seen me in (or rather out of) the shower on Friday, I suppose. Meanwhile K and I found ourselves giving some considerable thought to today's sermon which challenged us to think what John the Baptist's last word might have been if his head on Herod's platter might have been able to talk. K thought it would be: Surprise! Whereas I instantly thought it would be: Murderer! Well, it's what I would have said to the rather glorious Herod in that position anyway. Sadly, however, I fear we might have missed the point entirely as the vicar (obviously far holier than are we) thought it would have been: Repent! Which just goes to show, I imagine, that in extremis, K reverts to his trademark humour and I to my trademark melodrama. Ah, 'twas ever thus.

This afternoon, we've had lunch out and a look round Osterley Park, near Heathrow. Some lovely Christmas displays but the craft fair wasn't as large as I'd hoped, though nice enough. I must say the treacle tart and cream were to die for, however. Total bliss.

Anne Brooke
The Origami Nun

The Origami Nun goes live!

2011-12-01T15:25:00.001Z

Book News:

I'm very pleased to say that my first ever children's book under the pseudonym of Lori Olding (actually, it's another version of my name so still me, just in different clothes) is now published and you can read all about The Origami Nun here. I do soooo love that cover art - it's perfect for the story. The blurb is:

Seven-year old Ruth can't speak, but that doesn't mean she can't think. She knows her birthday is going to be good as her beloved great-aunt has exciting plans for her. But what she doesn't expect is a magical paper nun, an encounter with a bully who may not be what she seems or a school day to remember. Because, before her special day is over, Ruth is is for some very big surprises.

The story has some themes that are very close to my heart, including bullying (arrghh, don't mention primary school or my first ever real job!!... though if the story or the link makes one child - or even adult - feel a little bit safer or decide not to bully someone, then I'll be a very happy woman indeed ...), blueberry muffins and lemon meringue pie. Not to mention origami! And The Origami Nun now even has her own special store where you can buy mugs, t-shirts, mousemats and postcards - so every opportunity to add colour and fun to your life. Enjoy!

Meanwhile, back with the somewhat wilder world of Anne Brooke (Lori's much more sensible and a thoroughly good woman, you know ...), I'm pleased to say that gay erotic short story Dating The Delaneys gained a lovely 5 star review at Top 2 Bottom Reviews (thank you, Lisa!), so I'm thrilled about that. And I'm very happy indeed with the cover for literary gay short story The Silence of The Heart, which will be out in January/February with Riptide Publishing - but it's under wraps at the moment, so I can't reveal anything. You'll have to be patient and wait ...

I'm also rather relieved that I've just now finished the first draft of another literary gay short story The Eye of The Beholder, which I need to go through and edit fairly soon. I'm hoping to pitch it to Riptide again, so we'll have to see if they like it.

Finally, I'm delighted to announce that Untreed Reads will be publishing my biblical short story A Little Death later in December - so I'm looking forward to that too. The end of this year is certainly proving very busy, but in a good way!

Recent meditations are:

Meditation 592
When cedar ismore plentiful
than sycamore
and silver ascommon
as stone

then thehistorical world
of the bible
is as nothing
that we’ve everknown.

Meditation 593
The secrets ofthe past
are hidden inthe subtle pages
oflong-forgotten books.

Out of sightthey wait for us,
whispering of aknowledge
we only halfremember

or believe in.
The clouds ofglory
we were bornwith

nothing but amist
layering ourskin.
A quiet lyingin.

Life News:

Advent is finally upon us and the year is fast completing, hey ho. The church is holding 4 Advent meditation and compline (short evening service) services every Tuesday evening and the first one was this week. It was great. All done by candlelight and with just a short address, 15 minutes silent meditation and then the service. Lovely. And just soooo relaxing - can't wait till next week's.

Meanwhile, in utter contrast, I'm off to the bright lights big city tonight to catch up with Jane W (hello, Jane!) - I'm looking forward to our customary Indian, drinks and chat - and I'm praying it doesn't rain. Wish me luck with that one, eh!

Anne Brooke
The Thoughtful Corner

Covers, crafts and queens

2011-11-27T17:03:00.001Z

Book News:

I'm both surprised and happy that the cover art for critically acclaimed gay thriller A Dangerous Man has managed to get through to Round Five of the 2011 Rainbow Cover Awards - where you can now vote for it if you're feeling generous and if you scroll down in the poll itself to slot two. And if you do, many thanks indeed!

Meanwhile you can now buy fantasy novel The Gifting at the NEW discounted price of $2.99 (£1.90) at All Romance Ebooks - so grab yourself a bargain today. And there's very exciting news on the review front as Vulpes Libris Reviews had our one millionth visitor earlier this weekend, so huge thanks indeed to all those who read and enjoy our book blog. Here's to the next million!

In a brave attempt to work out what networking actually means, I have signed up to join the Writers, Agents and Editors Network, but they haven't yet approved my application so perhaps they're still reeling from the shock of it all. We'll wait and see what happens next week but so far there's been not much sign of interaction, hey ho.

Here's my most recent meditation poem:

Meditation 591
The queen ofSheba
travels manymiles
and throughmany dangers

to ask the king
the mostdifficult questions
she can find.

All this shouldcome
as no surprise
because it’sexactly

what women arefor.

The Sunday haiku is:

My dreams are of wood:
curved bowls, beads and twisted trees
framed against the sun.

Life News:

Great excitement on the work front as we win the Queen's Anniversary Prize for the quality of our water research, hurrah! A huge honour indeed, but heck we're worth it, eh. And this week has seen the usual round (ha!) of golf and gardening - though I feel I've definitely done more good in the latter than in the former. I'd be better off using the shovel on the golf course, I think. I certainly couldn't be any worse ...

Yesterday, K and I visited craft fairs at Wisley and at Guildford Cathedral in order, ostensibly, to stock up on Christmas presents. But in the end, all I did was get stuff for the house, including three gorgeous miniature paintings from artist Iona Mackenzie Laycock, which look utterly stunning in our guest bathroom.

Speaking of churches (well, sort of ...), today's advent service was very enjoyable - advent hymns are top of my favourites list though I do feel that the last hymn, whilst magnificently complex, did rather outclass our abilities as a congregation to sing it. Ah well. Aim for the stars is what I say. And, in the spirit of the season, I have joined the Natwivity census, though I have no actual idea what it entails or what it's really about. Much like my relationship with the good Lord then ... A virtual adventure, I hope.

Ooh and it was lovely after church to catch up with local friend Denise (hello, Denise!), and to have coffee, tea & further chat back home afterwards, hurrah. Plus I finally returned the garden chairs she lent me ages ago, so at least she'll have something to sit on this Christmas.

Finally, I'm thrilled to say that another friend, Jane, was up at Strictly Come Dancing yesterday with her mother (hello, both!) and was apparently sitting next to Bruce & Tess, behind the judges - so if you catch a glimpse of two blonde glamorous gals lurking in the background, that'll be them. I'm planning to watch it on iplayer just as soon as it's up there.

Anne Brooke
The Thoughtful Corner

Riptide, prayer and the joy of naked farmers

2011-11-24T16:21:00.001Z

Book News:

Things at Riptide Books are getting very exciting indeed. I've just seen the raw draft of my cover art for upcoming literary gay story, The Heart's Greater Silence, and I'm very happy indeed. A wonderful bleak and autumnal feel which is just perfect, to my mind. Further details to follow shortly ... Not only that but today they've just made their first acquisition of another publisher, so that's very good news for all. Many congratulations!

Keeping with the subject of publisher news, I'm also thrilled to say that all my ebooks at Bluewood Publishing are now being sold at a new discounted price. So you can pick up fantasy novel The Gifting for $2.99 or £1.90, literary short story Dido's Tale, for $1.29 or 80p, and naughty comedy Rosie by Name also for $1.29 or 80p. So do pop along and get some good reads at a definitely decent price. You'll need to sign in first but it only takes 30 seconds and the rewards are more than worth it. Enjoy!

Over at Untreed Reads, you will find 30% off all mystery stories for this week only plus a whole host of other bargains as well. And at Dreamspinner Press, you can find 20% off all my books until the end of November, hurrah!

I'm also pleased to see that comedy sf story Creative Accountancy for Beginners achieved a 4-star review over at Drive Thru Fiction Reviews - so many thanks, Megan, for that.

And I've reviewed Cocktails for Three by Madeleine Wickham (AKA Sophie Kinsella) over at Vulpes Libris Reviews today. Rather a bland concoction, I thought, and not at all up to previous Wickham novels I've read. Sigh ... I hope the next one will be somewhat better.

This week's meditation poems are:

Meditation 588
The greatest
astonishment

when involved
in praise

or prayer

is when
God responds

almost as if
there’sactually

somebody there.

Meditation 589
Behind therain’s whispered threat
and the rattleand hum
of the locusts’destructive dance

lies the hopeof kinder skies
and the sureknowledge
that everythingpasses.

Meditation 590
Solomon takeshis wife
from the holycity
in case shetaints it.

Today’s churchwomen
stronglysuspect they know
how she felt.

Life News:

An irritating moment or two with the car this week, I fear. I've been thinking it's been sounding rather dodgy lately when attempting to fire it up (as it were), and then on Tuesday night I stopped off at the village shop on the way home from work and it just wouldn't start again, dang it. Naturally I rang the RAC (Gawd bless 'em) and then left a message for K, who wasn't home yet, and waited. The woman on the line had said it was likely to be an hour and a half, but I might get quicker service as I was a woman on her own (we're very dangerous, you know, and they need to protect the innocent public from our fearful machinations ...) so I had a drink and some rather gorgeous salted cashews at The Woolpack to while away the hours. It's the first time I've been in since the change of ownership after the previous change of ownership (and we've only been here a couple of months!) and I rather enjoyed it. I also felt hugely brave going into a pub on my own (something I've never done before, being the shy, retiring type) but actually it was fine and I had a nice chat with the barman about the traumas of cars. Indeed I'd only just got myself settled in when the RAC man phoned me to say he was on his way. I must be scarier than most women on their own in a car then ...

Anyway, he arrived at my side at about the same time as the lovely K, who'd been home, got my message and then dashed to my rescue (what a hero!), and everything was sorted out in a reasonable timescale, thank goodness. It's the age-old problem of only doing short drives in Miranda (the car) and therefore her battery getting confused. But the RAC were once again to the rescue for the long-term as well as the short-term and I am now the proud owner of a smart battery recharger (only c£55, which I thought was a bargain) which seems so far to be doing the trick. Early days though!

We're also the proud owners of a brand-new Canon printer, which also scans and photocopies, and in colour, hurrah! It doesn't quite know how to clean the house yet, but I'm working on it. And it's soooo fast too - bliss. I love it.

Today I've gone for my second follow-up appointment post the cyst operation and I don't have to take a third tranche of antibiotics, so that's a relief. The surgeon was very happy with progress and doesn't want to see me again or do another operation (hurrah!) unless it flares up unexpectedly. So I'll have to keep a careful eye on it as it continues to heal, but I'm hoping for the best. Good news indeed.

Tonight, K and I are at the theatre to see Star Quality, so will have to look as glamorous as possible, whilst seeming suitably and deliciously theatrical, simply in order to keep up. Hmm, could be quite a challenge then ...

Meanwhile, as Christmas approaches, I'm very happy to see that the Naked Farmers' Calendar is once more on sale for the season. Naturally I've ordered my (and my mother's) copies and shall look forward to seeing if there's anyone we recognise, having been brought up in the farming community, hey ho. No, don't laugh - two years ago, we did actually know someone indirectly, but no, I couldn't possibly say who it was ... And the proceeds go to a worthwhile cause, so what could be nicer!

But, to end, it just has to be this week's top quote, courtesy of my boss - which really says it all:

"There's no problem in life that can't be solved by a hot bath, a large whisky and the Book of Common Prayer."

Wise words indeed ...

Anne Brooke
The Thoughtful Corner

Giveaways, gardens and golf

2011-11-20T15:23:00.001Z

Book News

For TODAY only, you can win a free copy of gay erotic short story Dating the Delaneys over at Jessewave Reviews, so pop over and leave a comment to be in with a chance, and good luck to all! However, fear not, if you don't win, there's no need to despair as you can still buy a copy at All Romance Ebooks for a snip of a price, hurrah.

I've also pleased to say that comic sf story Creative Accountancy for Beginners is the first story sold into The Netherlands by Untreed Reads, so that's nice to know - I hope whoever it was enjoyed the read.

In terms of children's writing, I've set up a Facebook page for The Origami Nun so you can read all about her there. I've now sent back the final version to DWB Children's Publishing and am awaiting the cover art which should arrive soon. In the meantime, here's the blurb to keep you going:

Seven-year old Ruth can't speak, but that doesn't mean she can't think. She knows her birthday is going to be good as her beloved great-aunt has exciting plans for her. But what she doesn't expect is a magic paper nun, an encounter with a bully who may not be what she seems or a school day to remember. Because, before her special day is over, Ruth is in for some very big surprises.

Yesterday, I had a really great time at the Elstead Writers' Group - so thank you to all for that. We got a heck of a lot done, and I can't wait till the next one. Roll on December!

Here's this week's meditation poem:

Meditation 587
At the heart
of every smallplea
for mercy orjustice
however rare

there lies
almostunnoticeable
the secretstrength
of prayer.

The Sunday haiku is:

This rich earth rises
to meet my fingers: warm gold
caresses my skin.

Life News:

Had a good game of golf on Friday with Marian who was on top form and beat me by miles. Honestly, my game is rubbish these days, but we do have such a lot of fun so it doesn't matter a jot, hey ho. Plus we got absolutely hysterical on the 7th hole when I hit the ball into the brambles and we both got totally stuck in a brave and ultimately vain attempt to get the dang thing out. At one point, Marian was caught by her sleeve and her collar and I was caught by my woolly hat, my fleece and my golfing glove. Golf's a dangerous sport, don't you know ... However, in the end, I decided to leave the ball to its fate in order to save lives. A good decision, I feel.

Brambles and hats must be the theme for the weekend as I've been de-brambling the rest of the front garden now that the hedge is gone and I can get to it - which resulted in my woolly hat being caught on the rose thorns and lifted off entirely whilst I flurried about in the undergrowth. My, how the neighbours must have laughed - watching us learn to garden is better than the TV really. And certainly cheaper. So, in gardening terms, this weekend's results are a de-brambled front garden, a totally de-weeded back garden, and K is putting in trellis at the back even as I type. What a hero and how lovely it looks! We're hoping to grow roses up it but we'll have to try to think about keeping the deer at bay somehow.

In the front garden, we think we might take up the small bit of lawn there is, add a gravel path all the way round, put a bed in the middle with something colourful in (our theme for the front garden - AKA the "fire garden" - is red, by the way), and then put a panel at the corner where the bench is to create privacy there. We'll see though. My secret desire for the bed outside the kitchen now that the hedge has gone there too is to have a poison garden, as you can get some amazing plants that are both deadly and beautiful, but again I don't want to terrify the neighbours, so we'll have to see on that one too.

This morning was the Feast of Christ the King at church (AKA Stir Up Sunday - and the time when we're all supposed to be making our Christmas puddings, dream on eh ...), which was good fun. K and I were asked to take the bread and wine up to the altar during the service, which was a first at Elstead for us. As I don't process slowly by any means, I think I was up there rather earlier than the vicar (hello, John!) anticipated, with K all but running in my wake as he tried to keep up. But as experienced church hands, the two of us are well versed in the art of waiting with dignity (which is much of what church is about, in so many ways) so I don't think anyone noticed the join. I even managed to do the bowing thing at the end, though it goes against my essentially protestant heart, I must say. Hey ho.

Anne Brooke
The Thoughtful Corner

Contracts, covers and children's books

2011-11-17T15:16:00.001Z

Book News:

Great news on the book front! My first (and so far only) children's story has been accepted for publication by DWB Children's Books, so I've sent back the contract, the final edits and the cover art form to them today. Well, goodness me - who'd have thought it? It's a story about a girl who can't speak, a tricky confrontation with a school bully and a very magical nun. I've considered the options long and hard, and have decided (though I've always promised myself it was something I'd never do - but, hey, gals are entitled to change their minds, you know) to publish the story under a pseudonym, particularly bearing in mind the subject matter of my more adult fiction. Choosing the name today felt very strange, and rather displacing, but now I've got more used to it, it actually feels rather liberating. And, in many ways, it's not too far from who I actually am - just a different emphasis on it. Gosh, a whole new name I can write under! Maybe there's a sequel in me yet ...

Ooh and I've just seen that the cover art for gay thriller A Dangerous Man has made it to Round 3 of the 2011 Rainbow Awards Cover Contest and is currently lying at joint 3rd place in the Jury Vote. It probably won't make it through to the next round then, but it's been lovely being up there for a while, that's for sure.

This week's meditation poems are:

Meditation 584

Everythingfinds its place
from thehighest hill
to the smallestblade
of grass.

It will come topass
when all thingsfade
that we arebound still
by grace.

Meditation 585
The music oflinen
encompasses theskin
with notes andcrotchets
and quavers

so everymovement
sings a storyout
to thelistening air:
a breath onesavours.

Meditation 586
When a greaterlight lives
in our darknessand cloud

everything shifts
to what itshould not be

so a measuredsilence is found
in the bomb’scruel blast,

the tongue’ssweet luxury
in thestrictest fast

and the aromaof hope
in rankdespondency.

And all wedream of
becomes what isallowed.

Life News:

We've been attempting to sort out our finances more sensibly over the last couple of weeks, which has proved tricky in some ways. I think we're getting there though, and are even trying to squirrel away a tiny amount of savings in the midst of all this spending here and there. Hmm, best wish us luck then!

Today the tree men have been round (which has given me a few enjoyable Diet Coke break moments, I must say - maybe it's my age?...) and removed our two monstrosity hedges, two of our overgrown trees and two elderly yews from our front and back gardens. What incredibly polite young men they were too. So now the garden looks utterly fantastic - it's really opened up the space and gives us a heck of a lot more to work with. And it's made my lovely neighbour very happy also, as he gets rid of that terrible hedge as well. A win-win scenario indeed.

Tonight, K and I are off to the theatre to see The Holly and the Ivy - so that should be good. One vicar, two irritable aunts and an errant daughter? Sounds so me, dahlings, and in oh so many ways ...

Anne Brooke
The Thoughtful Corner

Dating dilemmas, discounts and drama

2011-11-13T15:58:00.001Z

Book News:

There's good news on the review front for gay erotic short story Dating the Delaneys - I'm very pleased to have gained both a 4 star review (thanks, Nithu) and a 5 star review (thanks, Marsha) at Goodreads. Plus you can find out more about my own particular dating dilemmas (ah, the bitter truth!), not to mention Liam's rather naughtier ones, at today's Amber Allure blog - go on, you know you want to ...

Meanwhile, over at Untreed Reads, there are some excellent discounts throughout November, so don't forget to visit and pick up a bargain this month!

I'm continuing on with the first draft of my gay erotic story, The Eye of The Beholder, and am now, I think, about halfway through. It's taking off in directions I hadn't bargained for, but that's par for the course with the writing game. You never know what's really going to happen when the fingers hit those keys. That's part of the fun of it all indeed.

The Sunday haiku is very seasonal this week:

Leaves rustle my feet,
path of gold for my journey:
autumnal delight.

Life News:

I had a very inspirational day on Thursday - I had a day's workshop in the big city on Putting Students at the Heart of the System which was really very good indeed, and gave me, and the office I suspect, a whole load of things to think of and plan for in the future. It was also wonderful to sit and chat with people I knew of from the business, but hadn't had the chance to have an in-depth conversation with before. Well worth it - but totally exhausting as I'd forgotten how soul-destroying the commute to London actually is. Thank the Lord I don't have to do it any more - honestly, I could never go back. It's a young person's game.

Then it was a mad dash back home, as K and I went to see Henry V as done by the Propeller Theatre Company at the Yvonne Arnaud in Guildford. Wonderful stuff - it's always fabulous to see a production where the actors aren't afraid of the text and in fact can make it sing. Really the older I get the more I object to productions which aim to make the text easier by cutting it or changing the sense - I didn't much mind when I was young but now I think if they don't have an actor who can make the text come alive, then get one who can. After all, Rachmaninov ain't easy to play but nobody tries to change the notes to enable people to do so, harrumph. Anyway sermon over. I particularly enjoyed the way the actors divided the chorus speeches so that each man on stage had a few lines of it - it made total sense in the battle setting. The use of music was also very cleverly done and didn't detract from anything. The only issue I had was that the actor playing Henry himself was good but not great. You needed someone with a lot more charisma in the role, as charm maketh the man. It was also interesting that it was an all male company - which made me think I'd love to see the play done by an all female company as I think that would be even more powerful. But I'd definitely go and see Propeller do Shakespeare again. Macbeth anybody? Please ...

Yesterday, K and I spent a very pleasant day at Mottisfont Abbey Garden, admiring the Winter Garden and the new art exhibition based on paper. Astonishingly some of the roses were still out so we must go back in summer next year when they'll be at full bloom. You can never have too many roses, to my mind.

And today, of course, was the Remembrance Service at church, and then the ceremony round the war memorial. It's the first time we've attended in Elstead and I thought they did it very well indeed. It was eye-opening too when they were reading out the names of the dead how many families must have had all their sons wiped out in such a short time. Horrendous really.

For the rest of the day, we've gardened for Britain. I've done the rest of the weeding at the back, thus creating a fabulous amount of space to put new plants in, hurrah. And K has trimmed the laurel trees at the side. So we have yet more bags of garden waste for the nice people at the Council to collect at some point.

Finally, at the risk of being the only voice in the country to say this, I must confess that the new John Lewis Christmas advert with that pesky goody-two-shoes boy leaves me utterly cold. What on earth is everyone "sobbing with joy at their desks over it" for?? Hmm, perhaps they're on drugs ... Anyway, it's a one-trick pony with sentimentality daubed on like treacle and sets my teeth on edge. The whole dull family should be given a good sharp slap and told to get real, for heaven's sake. Whatever can John Lewis be thinking?!?

Anne Brooke
The Thoughtful Corner

Dates, drugs and days in lieu

2011-11-09T20:04:00.002Z

Book News:

Much to my delight, sales for gay erotic short story Dating the Delaneys were, according to Amber Allure Press, brisk on the first day of publication, so that's very heartening. There are one or two good ratings at Goodreads already (for which thank you!) and the lovely Angie Jarrett tweeted this:

"I finally read @AnneBrooke Dating the Delaneys, freaking loved it! Can't wait for the next one."

Many thanks, Angie - really appreciate that!

Ooh, and I've been greatly amused this week as, while I was flicking through the first edits for fantasy novel The Executioner's Cane, I realised that the bridge I'd destroyed in Chapter One magically reappeared intact at the end of Chapter Three. Hey ho, you can't put anything past those pesky Lammas Landers, you know - they're ridiculously keen on DIY ... Anyway, suffice it to say I've now gone through the beast again and removed the bridge. People will just have to cope with wet feet and skirts, alas.

Life News:

I had a day in lieu on Monday (as I'm on a student support course in London tomorrow - hence the early blog), which was lovely and I got a lot of writing/editing done - but my week now feels utterly unfamiliar and I'm at least a day behind (or in front) of my own life. How I do love my routine, and how twitchy I become when I can't rely on it. Must be my age, ah well.

Anyway, yesterday evening, we had the man from the bank around to advise us on how to make the most of our (sparse, due to house move) finances, so that was actually really interesting and we may be able to make a penny or two here and there if we follow some of his advice. Perhaps there might be Christmas dinner in Elstead after all. You never know.

And today, I've gone to my follow-up appointment after the cyst operation last week. Apparently it's doing nicely but still inflamed so I have to be on the antibiotics for another couple of weeks. I was really hoping not to have to carry them on as they do make my throat burn for a while after I've taken them (though not in a truly horrid way!), but I now have enough of them to sink the Titanic again - so I just have to make sure I remember when I've taken them and when I haven't. And I was brave today (pause for applause!) and took the plaster off for a while - well, the surgeon had to see the site of Carlos the Cyst, so I had to, really - but it began to hurt a bit later on, so I've put a new one now. I see it as a fashion accessory, don't you know. Soon, everyone will be wearing them. You heard it here first.

Anne Brooke
The Thoughtful Corner

Dates, blogs and bestsellers

2011-11-06T18:42:00.001Z

Book News:

The fourth in the gay erotic Delaneys series of short stories, Dating the Delaneys, is now published by Amber Allure Press and available at a first week discount from them. I hope you enjoy the read!

Much to my amazement, literary lesbian short story, The Girl in the Painting, has now been in the Top 5 International Bestseller lists at Untreed Reads for a whole year, well gosh. Not only that, but today it reached No 7 in the Amazon UK short story lists, so that was a real boost too. Heck, maybe I should do a sequel at some point? Now there's a thought.

I've finally completed the first round of edits for the final part in my Gathandrian Trilogy, The Executioner's Cane. My, that felt like a real milestone, and I was more pleased with how it hangs together than I initially expected, phew. Now I need to draft a synopsis (my least favourite writing job ...) and unleash some outside editorial input on it. Still some way to go then. Speaking of the Gathandrian Trilogy, you can get the first in the series, the critically acclaimed The Gifting, for only about $2 (c£1) at Books on Board - so now's your chance to try my magnum opus Part 1 at a very decent price. Happy shopping to all!

During the week, I've also created two more blog posts (one about my favourite Christmas present ever, which will probably be a surprise to all ...) for my upcoming blog tour in December with Riptide Publishing. I'll let you know the schedule as soon as it's confirmed. And I've added a new blog post to The Thoughtful Corner, this time about people, communities and prejudice.

Yesterday, I recorded my third short story, The Singing Road, for Celtica Radio. I gather that two of my short stories will probably be broadcast on their monthly arts programme during December, and then another early next year. They're hoping to get an hour's worth of short stories from me - which means about six or so - and then they'll see how it goes. Maybe I have the face for radio after all!...

I've also been rather heartened that the latest quarter's royalties from Amber Allure Press nicely dovetail with the costs of my cyst operation (see below for update ...) so I just about break even there, hurrah. God indeed works in mysterious ways his wonders to perform.

Meanwhile, you can find all my latest writing news on my website, updated for November.

The Sunday haiku is:

The long-tailed tits dance
across my bare apple tree:
flock of soft pink leaves.

Life News:

The aftermath of my cyst operation has, I admit, been a bit tricky, though it's been utter bliss to be able to move properly again and sleep without pain. But (squeamish alert!) I've had to lay in a supply of large plasters as so far it keeps bleeding now and again, depending on how much I've been moving around. The initial bandage change was gross, and this morning was a bit dodgy too - sorry! But so far today, I've kept as still as possible and it's been much improved. Let's hope that continues. It's also been something of a challenge to remember to take my various doses of antibiotics four times a day but I've kept up to speed more or less successfully, I think. Not being a mathematician, after two I lose count ... But certainly the beast is way better being off, that's for sure.

On Friday afternoon, I attended the monthly church healing service in the hope that some of the miracle of prayer for the sick in the parish might rub off on yours truly. Hell, there's a selfish motive, if ever I heard one! But, actually, it was a nice quiet and traditional short service and I really enjoyed it. I've kept the prayer list handed out and have put it in my prayer room so God can glance at it now and again. Just in case He might have forgotten the names, hey ho. But I'll certainly be back for the next one.

Yesterday, K and I spent a happy day wandering around The Savill Garden admiring the autumn planting, as you do. It's also a fabulous winter garden and is free in December, so well worth going next month if you're near. We also popped into the Wisley plant shop on the way back, and between them both bought hellebores, tulips and raspberries. Which K has planted in our garden today. Looking forward to that early spring colour, we hope!

Anne Brooke
The Thoughtful Corner

Blogs, Bones and boils

2011-11-03T17:11:00.001Z

Book News:

Much to my astonishment, comic sf short story, Creative Accountancy for Beginners, has sold a copy in Slovakia, well gosh. Many thanks, kind Slovakian reader - I hope there are more of you out there! I'm also pleased to say I've sent back the galley proofs for gay short story, Dating the Delaneys, which is published on Sunday 6 November, and you can now read an erotic extract on the Amber Allure site. Enjoy ...

At the same time, Riptide Publishing have asked for two more blog posts ready for the upcoming blog tour - one about favourite Christmases and one about the story behind writing gay short story The Heart's Greater Silence. So I'm getting my brain in gear (don't wait up ...) for those projects.

And I'm very happy with the Quarter 3 royalties made by gay thriller The Bones of Summer. I'm surprised it's still selling, but hey I'm not complaining. Never think that.

At Vulpes Libris meanwhile I've discovered my best book of the year (hurrah!) and can only encourage you all to rush out and read Evelio Rosero's Good Offices. A marvellous little novella.

This week's meditation poem is:

Meditation 583
Solomon builds
his temple
with a gloriousexcess
of gold:

a reminder
when startingyour project
you shouldalways attempt
to be bold.

Life News:

Hmm, what can I say? The title of this post has probably given you the clue so all I can say is if you're squeamish, best to skip to the very end, ho hum ... As you may remember, the pesky little cyst (AKA Carlos) on my collarbone has been giving me hell all week and has shot up from a brief and fairly idyllic childhood to be three times its original size in its difficult teenage years, all in the space of seven rather unholy days. My, what fun. It's had its rather painful moments too, and getting into bed without gritting my teeth and wincing (let alone attempting to sleep) has been tricky.

Well, my op was scheduled for 6.30pm this evening and I was starting to get rather angsty as the last time I had an infected cyst removed (from my back) twenty odd years ago, on the NHS, there were several rather unfortunate events which may be best simply listed: a trainee doctor out of his depth (bless him), a call for an emergency surgeon on the hospital tannoy system, being left in a room on my own bleeding onto my t-shirt while everyone rushed around trying to find said surgeon, being told that they couldn't give me any more drugs as I was over the limit now so the rest of the op would be painful (it was ...), no aftercare, wandering round the hospital in my blooded shirt (heck, no wonder people were staring!), and eventually getting home without any clear idea of how I managed it. My lodger at the time (a nurse) took one look at what they'd done and shrieked: Lord, they've butchered you ... Which did at least have the effect of making me laugh while I drank my gin. I bear the scars with something like a survivor's pride really ...

So, today I was a little nervous. However, in the event there hasn't been time to think. I went in to the clinic at 11.30am for a pre-op consultation, the very lovely surgeon took one look at it, said he'd need to do it there and then as it was infected and by the way please could he take a few photos as he'd never seen a furuncle cyst (aka boil, for the uninitiated in these things) so badly advanced before (naturally I let him - I do so love the camera under any circumstances ...). He had to bring the beast down in size before he could use the drugs (no, please, don't ask ...) and he then whipped up a few nurses and an ops trolley and did the dirty deed. After the drugs kicked in, it wasn't as bad as expected, hurrah.

I now therefore have the largest neck dressing I've ever seen - which did rather startle the good people of Tesco as I popped into the pharmacy on the way home - and enough antibiotics to kill a giraffe. The surgeon has also booked me in for a follow-up appointment next week - let's hope he doesn't discover anything else he wants to whip out, eh - and has commanded me in any case to ring the clinic immediately if I think the wretched beast might be on its way back again before then.

However, in the midst of all this, I am strangely heartened to think that the op scars on my back will now at last have a matching set on my front. How I do love to be symmetrical. But, then again how will I know which way I'm facing?...

Stay healthy, folks!

Anne Brooke
The Thoughtful Corner

Crumbles, brambles and trilogies

2011-10-30T17:02:00.003Z

Book News:

I've completed and submitted my first pre-publication interview for gay fiction press, Riptide Publishing, so many thanks to Sally Wolf for being the first to express interest in my upcoming blog tour - which will probably take place in December ready for a January/February publication date. And today is especially exciting as it's the first day that Riptide have been official, so do pop along and join in the celebrations - there are loads of prizes to be won!

I'm also very pleased to say that fantasy novel The Gifting has made some royalties in this last quarter, hurrah - so a big thank you to those of you who are taking the plunge and buying the first part of my grand opus. The second part, Hallsfoot's Battle, should be out sometime late summer/autumn 2012, depending on Bluewood schedules, so there's still time to catch up before you fall behind. Readers are either loving it or hating it - so why don't you decide which camp you fall into?...

In the meantime, I'm getting through the first tranche of edits for the third book in the Gathandrian Trilogy, The Executioner's Cane, and now only have about a hundred pages to go, which is great. Much to my relief, it's not as bad as I'd feared though there are one or two feeble moments I'm attempting to sort out - this is very heartening as I'd been dreading starting the edit on this one purely due to cowardice so have left it pending for ages. Just goes to show that if you face the enemy it's never as bad as you fear.

And I must say publicly that E.J, my lovely editor at Amber Allure Press, is an absolute and ruddy genius. Entirely due to excellent editorial input, I have improved gay erotic story, Dating the Delaneys, no end, and it will be published on Sunday 6 November, hurrah! Not only that but I believe I now have two more book ideas in the series, rather than the one I thought I had. Well, gosh. Honestly, good inspirational editors are pure gold, and E.J. is one of them.

The Sunday haiku is:

Golden explosion
of autumn's leafy richness:
my small acer tree.

Life News:

Alas, Carlos the Cyst (remember him? - cue Squeamish Alert!) is rather worst than he was before, groan. He's running riot across my collarbone in an extremely nasty manner and I'm thinking of charging him rent, especially as he's three times as large and wicked-looking as he was last week, lordy. Honestly, I can't wait for Thursday when I'll be rid of him. However, the interesting thing is I've discovered how much one actually uses one's collarbone in everyday life, which I'd never realised before. Utterly nonsensical actions now hurt, much to my surprise - such as biting into an apple, putting on or off coats, cardigans and jumpers, etc. Though I'm managing the difficulty by reversing the way I put on a coat (no, no, not like that, people!) - I mean I'm starting with the Carlos side of the body rather than the other side, which is more natural to me, and then I can manage it without getting stuck, hurrah.

That said, today has been better and I think either he's easing off a little or I'm getting used to him being there, as I've been able to have a relatively ordinary and pain-free day, thank goodness. However, no matter how much Carlos and I are bonding despite the circumstances, I'll be keeping the plaster on and buttoning my shirts right to the top to avoid frightening the horses, and indeed my poor colleagues ...

Turning to somewhat healthier matters, J from London spent the day with us yesterday, which was fabulous. We caught up big-time, she admired the house & garden, and we then spent the afternoon at the recently refurbished and newly open Watts Gallery. It was great - all that excellently overblown Victoriana, the sharp charm of the smaller paintings, and the sheer magnificence of his sculptures. Bliss. I was also delighted to find there's a modern gallery attached to the shop which sells prints and the frames to go with them at incredibly reasonable prices. I bought a print of quirky colourful houses for the living room and a light coloured frame to go with it - which the man in the shop was kind enough to frame for me - and it's simply perfect in the place I thought it would go. All that for £25 all in. Bliss. Seeing as we have huge amounts of empty picture hooks all over the house that we need to fill, I'll definitely be back.

This morning, we celebrated All Saints' Day at church, though I do seem to be sadly out-of-voice, as it were. I just couldn't get those high notes, darnit as the hymns were so good. Even better, there were some free Bramley apple windfalls outside the church so we snaffled some and made apple crumble - improvising with some golden syrup flavour porridge oats for the topping. It was heavenly, though I say it myself and shouldn't. I'll be using these oats again for sure - just as long as I can get some more apples, that is. Anyone for scrumping, hey ho?...

For the rest of the weekend, K and I have gardened with a vengeance - Carlos seems to like this too, strangely, as he hasn't objected too much. We've raked leaves from the lawns and started a leaf mulch bag. K has dug for Britain and I have filled two garden bags with the wicked (and I mean wicked ...) brambles in the front garden. Honestly, they were utterly huge and utterly evil. Lord knows what the previous owners' gardener actually got up to when he was here, but it obviously didn't have much to do with weeding. In fact at one point, K and I wondered if we should just keep the brambles as a feature and dig up the plants - it might have been quicker, though possibly not an approach recommended by our very own lovely Monty Don. Ah well ...

Anne Brooke
The Thoughtful Corner

Reviews, loos and blogs

2011-10-27T16:12:00.001Z

Book News:

I've just finished the second round of edits for gay erotic short story, Dating the Delaneys, which is due out from Amber Allure on Sunday 6 November. My editor, the lovely and extremely wise E.J., is a pure genius and I am very grateful indeed for her suggestions for improvements to the story - thank you! I think, as a result, there are a good couple of books to go in the series, rather than the original one I was intending, well gosh.

Much to my delight, gay thriller, A Dangerous Man, has reached Round Two in the Rainbow Awards Cover Contest 2011, and is even a jury finalist - so many thanks to the judges for that.

Meanwhile, it's all go at my new publisher, Riptide Publishing. For the first time ever, I'm becoming involved in pre-launch marketing, which is fabulous. So far, I've drafted one set of general interview questions and six blog posts for use in a blog tour. It's hugely exciting and I can't wait to see what happens next. And as they open for business on 30 October, it's certainly going to be a fabulous lead up to Christmas. You can find out more at a recent Riptide interview - enjoy the read.

And at Vulpes Libris, I remain in a state of deep disappointment at the standards of Anne O'Brien's Devil's Consort. Sigh. Will nobody rid the reading world of badly-written historical novels? I won't hold my breath, alas ...

Here are some recent meditation poems:

Meditation 580
To build hisbeloved temple
great KingSolomon
puts all theforeigners to work

which provesbeyond doubt
how wisdom ishis
but justiceeludes him.

Meditation 581
Every word wespeak
seeps into ourskin
like water

and covers ourbones
with the oil
of our owninvention.

Our words are abelt
keeping uswhole
or constrainingus

so we areclothed
in the variablecolours
of thought.

Meditation 582
In the sacredtemple,
of all theobjects
to name

the two bronzecolumns
wouldn’t havebeen
my choice

but then again
to greatSolomon’s
greater shame

thiscontemporary woman
wouldn’t havehad
a voice.

Life News:

Annoyingly (look away now if you're squeamish - please!...), the cyst on my collarbone that I've had for a little while has decided to make itself more fully known, as it were, so I spent rather too much of last night waking up and going: ow, ow, ow while I tried to find a comfortable position again. It took a couple of Nurofen Plus this morning to beat it back into some kind of normality. I've stuck a plaster on the pesky beast but it's still giving me twinges when I laugh or ... um ... move my arms, dang it. Not a pretty situation all round really. I'd been saving up to have it removed privately with my usual clinic (cosmetic issue, blah, blah - doctor therefore can't refer, blah blah ...) but today I bit the proverbial bullet and booked an operation for next Thursday in the evening. They did offer me tonight, but K and I (well, K and I and Carlos the Cyst) are off to the theatre tonight to see Alan Ayckbourn's Season's Greetings, and Carlos is very keen to go ... Thank God I don't have to buy him his own seat, eh. Though, actually, if I laugh too much, it may well come to that, hey ho (sorry!) ...

Keeping to matters bodily for a while, I'm delighted to know that The Guardian is finally acknowledging the cultural importance of loo-reading. I come from a family of keen loo-readers (though K has never understood it) - heck, on the apple farm we had special loo books which had their own loo shelf. What could be nicer? One should always keep essential reading matter as well as a steady supply of crosswords and pens in both the guest room and the Smallest Room in the house - hospitality is all ...

Moving to higher matters (phew, I bet that's a relief - ha! - for you all), I've been keeping my poinsettia in the dark for 8 hours a day as the Internet advises me and, by gum, some of the leaves are indeed turning red. Will it be fully red by Christmas? I do hope so! Though, really, I'm astonished the plant has survived so long under my less than tender care as I've had it for nearly a year now. It even somehow bounced back when it lost all its leaves during the summer and we were considering throwing it out. How I do admire a hardy spirit.

During the week, I've enjoyed a session of Lectio Divina at the University Chaplaincy, which included a very nice soup and bread lunch. It's a new project for them, and I'm very keen to support it. The more meditations and times of silence there are, the merrier - though I did used to be oh so much better at them. I've also had a great time catching up with A at work over lunch in the Cathedral Refectory - I am hugely envious of her recent holiday in Spain and we really must revisit it one day. It's my favourite country.

Finally, I must sing the praises of James May's Man Lab on TV, and also the wonderful new and very quirky detective series, Death in Paradise. Really, you can't go wrong with Ben Miller. Whatever he does, he's just great, and surprising sexy too. Or is that really just me?... In any case Tuesday nights are television nights for the next few weeks, that's for sure.

Anne Brooke
The Thoughtful Corner

Discounts, disappointments and the evil deer

2011-10-23T15:30:00.000Z

Book News:

There's a nice Goodreads review of gay paranormal short story, Martin and The Wolf, so thank you, Mandy, for that. And thank you also for wanting a sequel - I shall have to add that to my increasingly long sequel list and give it some thought!

And let's not forget (as if I'd allow it, eh ...) that my Amber Allure gay fiction remains discounted at All Romance Ebooks until the end of October - rush now to avoid disappointment ...

Ooh, and earlier this month, I discovered from the lovely and very talented Stella Wiseman that there's an Elstead Writers' Group who meet every month, so I went along yesterday morning and had an incredibly good time - thank you, everyone, for making me feel so very welcome and I'm looking forward to the November meeting already!

Here's the latest meditation poem:

Meditation 579
We cannotcontain God
in all thevastness of heaven
or the grandeurof earth

so how can wecontain him
in a thought,
a plea, aprayer?

One moment
of courage
might carry usthere.

The Sunday haiku is (and I think I am being hugely noble by putting it down at all - but see below for explanation, grr!...):

The roe deer gallops
in sunlight, on frosted grass,
and slips out of sight.

Life News:

Dang it, but the wretched deer (ah, the cursed beasties) have found their way into the garden and eaten 90% of K's lovely vegetable and winter salad garden. Ah, the pain, misery and gnashing of teeth - you could probably hear it from space! I popped out one evening to add some salad to our meal and alas the cupboard was bare, my dears. Utterly bare. The hooved demons have ripped up and eaten all the spinach and Swiss chard, though they have left the rocket and the pak choi - which they obviously turn their nostrils up at. They've also taken most of the roses at head height, left their footprints all over the vegetable patch, along with a polite note asking for more. Well, almost. Deep sigh, eh. And just when I was waxing lyrical about how beautiful they are in the field (hence the haiku), so more fool me. Now, of course I will be chasing them round the garden waving my loppers (as it were) at every opportunity. One had forgotten the joys of country living indeed, hey ho.

Yesterday, after Writers' Group, K and I spent a happy afternoon at Wisley and bought yet more plants for the parts of the garden we (well, he, actually) is/are digging up. Not surprisingly, we didn't get any roses. I've also spent a long time today ripping up weeds with my (gloved) hands, battling with recalcitrant hedges and lopping everything that dares to stray from its allotted path. K keeping surprisingly quiet indeed ... though unless he turns green and starts growing leaves I think he's fairly safe. I must say things look a lot tidier now and there's a much greater sense of space, but of course (as we're learning) there's always more to do.

This morning, we really enjoyed church - the hymns were great and I knew all the tunes, hurrah. It was also Bible Sunday and we were celebrating the 400th anniversary of the King James Bible with an exhibition on the history of it in church. Great stuff - wonderful to see the old manuscripts, and I also learnt that during the 1600s, you couldn't print a bible unless you were the official Royal Printer, but you could print one if you also added notes and annotations to the text - as it wasn't then seen as a "proper" bible. Well, I never knew that. Honestly you learn something new every day.

Though sometimes, alas, it can be disappointing. One of my local acquaintances (whom I've had the pleasure of meeting a couple of times and whom I like very much indeed) has decided to unfriend me on Facebook as they don't believe I should be writing gay erotic fiction if I profess to be Christian. Naturally I feel rather saddened by this but, of course, there are many different views across the whole spectrum of Christianity, and people's beliefs are their own and must be respected as such. Still, I was tempted to advise that, like most of my friends - both Christian and otherwise - they simply don't read what they don't like, and give the other stuff a go if they're so inclined. It's not obligatory after all.

From the other side of the equation, it did make me smile that there are aspects of my acquaintance's religion that make me shudder but I wouldn't like to tell anyone they're wrong. Well, not until I know them a lot better, ho ho. And, of course, if on the great Day of Judgement the good Lord finds me severely wanting (which he no doubt well may), then I suspect it won't be because I've written gay erotic fiction but for all the many sins in my life that I've wilfully committed, such as hypocrisy, bitchiness, anger, meanness, lying, laziness, selfishness and pride. To name but a few - and indeed only those committed within the last half-hour, alas. Lordy, never a dull moment here in Elstead, you know! Ah well, onwards and upwards, as they say.

Anne Brooke
The Thoughtful Corner

Deer, dreams and devious goings-on

2011-10-20T16:36:00.001Z

Book News:

Today at Vulpes Libris, you can read all about dreams, dementia and devious goings-on in my review of Richard Mason's marvellous The Lighted Rooms. Definitely an author to get acquainted with, and I'm a long-term fan indeed.

Speaking of books, if you want to read about "a fantastical place where almost anything is possible" (as one reviewer puts it), then this book is the one to go for. It also has its own webpage too, which may well prove of interest to you. Live dangerously!...

Meanwhile at Untreed Reads, their literary romance line has big discounts until the end of October, and includes some of my own books, so buy early buy often. And I hope you enjoy the reads.

Recent meditation poems are:

Meditation 577

Better thanwealth
or treasure orfame
or victory orlife
is the quietclarity
of wisdom.

The trick
in theseshallow
delirious days
is to know
the difference.

Meditation 578
The richness ofhorses
is morevaluable
than silver orgold.

They are asfirm
as stone,
and as joyfulas cedars

when theygallop
through theEgyptian fields,
encompassingthe sun.

Life News:

It's been a very difficult two weeks at work, I have to say, due to an unfortunate accident involving two of our students, some of which, sadly, came to a head earlier this week. Our Director and a lot of the support team have been working all the hours God sends and more to offer the support and guidance needed, but it's not been easy. Most especially for the students and people concerned. As part of my job, I've been fighting a rearguard action behind the scenes to try to preserve the boss's time and put him where he's most needed when it's needed, and I think on the whole we've struggled through it all, but it's certainly taken its toll. Stupidly, I came off a difficult phone call yesterday when I was alone in the office as everyone else was out at an assortment of necessary meetings, and then started crying myself. Not a great position to be in. At that point, the new chaplain walked in - poor chap, he probably thinks he's come to a mad-house as he's only been here a month and has had to be part of the team dealing with more bad stuff than we've faced in the seven or so years since I've been here. He was very sweet though, and proved to be a great listener, so thank goodness he did come in, really. When I was back into my normal kick-ass-and-let's-get-this-done-now persona, I did try to convince him that things weren't usually this tricky and our biggest problem was usually students not exiting the building during fire drills, but I'm not sure he believed me. Hey ho. Anyway, huge respect for all the teams that have been working flat out recently, and I hope next week things start, slowly, to arrive at a more even keel ...

Back in the non-University world, my Tesco shopping has been delivered today (hurrah!) but I appear to have misunderstood the amount of kitchen rolls I've ordered. We now have enough to clear up the whole of the Lake District if it flows this way, but hey, as the lovely delivery man said, at least they don't go off. And I do appear to have moved on from over-ordering on the cheese, so I suppose it's progress.

I've also been fighting womanfully with the complexities of the British Gas customer service system. Yesterday they sent me an email asking me to read our meter and send them the numbers online. I jotted them down and then tried to log on, but their system refuses to accept either my Home Care number or my Customer number as valid, so I couldn't complete the task. I then tried to contact them using the Contact Us If You're Having Trouble button - but (grrrrr!) that won't work either if it won't accept your Home Care or Customer numbers. Deeeep sigh ... So I then tried to ring them but their message said they were too busy to answer my call and could I ring back tomorrow. Ho hum.

Today, I tried to ring again, but got the same message saying they were too busy to take my call. This time, I refused to be put off and hung on in the hope of some kind of resolution. Eventually the automated system suggested I key in my telephone number and they'd ring me back. I tried to do this but got the number wrong by mistake and it took me back to the position I'd just been in, saying it "wasn't a valid number." Hell, I know all about those - none of my numbers in relation to British Gas appear to be valid. After a while, I got through to a chappie and tried to give him my meter reading but he said he wasn't the right department and he'd have to send me elsewhere. So once again I was at the bottom of the pile and in a call waiting queue. Sigh. This time however, the automated system said I'd have to wait for ten minutes until I could speak to someone. As I'd already been struggling to contact British Gas for an evening and a morning, this seemed like a mere drop in the ocean of eternity, so I held on. Finally I reached someone in the meter reading department and he took my reading down. He then (bless his courage!) had the audacity to ask me why I didn't get our electricity through British Gas as well (which we don't). I told him that we used a separate provider for electricity as they were far easier to contact than British Gas and appeared to have a computer and phone system that worked, so why should I struggle with having to contact British Gas for two readings and bills when I could minimise my existential pain and only have to contact them about one. Well, he did ask ... He ended the call shortly afterwards - funny, that ...

I have then spent a lovely afternoon chatting to the neighbours, S & K, and taking tea and biscuits - as one does in Elstead, you know - so that definitely made me feel more human, hurrah.

And this week's nature highlight has been the wonderful sight of a roe deer running and bounding (literally) across the frosted field at the bottom of the garden while K and I were having breakfast. Total bliss. That really made my day.

Anne Brooke
The Thoughtful Corner

Riptide, recording and writing

2011-10-16T18:28:00.002Z

Book News:

Success! I have, at my second try, sold a story to exciting new publisher, Riptide Publishing. It's a literary gay short story about the end of an affair which is now called The Heart's Greater Silence. It should be available in January or February 2012, so I'm thrilled about that and very much looking forward to being a Riptide author.

I've also recorded my second short story for Celtica Radio. This one is called Candy and Catharsis, and is about life, love and desire in a dictionary. Well, you just don't know what those words get up to when you're not looking, you see. I'm lined up to record another story next Saturday, which looks set to be the new routine for a little while, at least.

Meanwhile, you can find my latest writing news at my website, and I'm also happy to say that all my Amber Quill books are now discounted until the end of October at All Romance Ebooks - so even more reason to shop as the autumnal nights draw in.

Much to my amazement, literary lesbian short story, The Girl in the Painting, was at No 36 in the Amazon UK short story charts for a while, so that was very heartening, while it lasted. And I'm happy to announce that Untreed Reads horror books are discounted at Kobo Books, especially for the season. Enjoy!

The latest meditation poem is:

Meditation 576
From beginning
to end
every thought,
act, fear
and dreamunderstood;

his onlyprotection
that quiet
belief
in a God
who isultimately good.

The Sunday haiku is:

When the work is done
we sit drinking tea: sunshine,
quietness, shadow.

Life News:

Lots of domestic shenanigans this week. Some of our electric sockets failed on Friday, and the phone was dodgy as well, so we had to use lots of cable to plug stuff into other, more distant sockets that did appear to be working. Then last night, we realised there was no hot water or heating as well. Much gnashing of teeth, etc etc, but this morning K has solved everything, hurrah! Apparently we have an RCD system on the electrics (which sadly doesn't stand for Royal Chocolate Dispensary, but something far more technical ...), and when I foolishly spilt water on my Mac keyboard on Friday, the slight change in electricity current caused it to trip and cut off nearby sockets, and the telephone (which did start whining its alarm a second or so after I spilt the water, I have to admit). Goodness, what a sensitive beastie. Lucky it wasn't whisky, eh. I wish. When we tried to sort it out last night by turning all the electrics off, it then stopped the water/heat system which didn't reset afterwards, which we hadn't realised. What drama, eh. So today we are now fully functional in every way and life is warm, cosy and bright again. I'm being extra careful with the water glass too ...

At the same time, K - now fully into his role as Super Husband and Saviour of the Universe - has bought a new cold water pipe for the washing machine as the old one was rather kinked which meant the water couldn't get to it, hence the lack of washing. Mind you, we did have rather a lot of fun in the kitchen (steady, people, steady ...) with the new pipe by using it as a trumpet for a while and yodelling through it (as you do - the sound is fabulous!...) before actually fixing it to the washing machine. Thank goodness for the enormous hedge outside that stops the neighbours looking in. Hmm, perhaps there's a reason for said hedge after all then, and we're wanting to get rid of it too. Hey ho.

Yesterday, I was in work (shock! horror!) in the morning to help staff the Student Support table at the University's open day. We had lots of business and loads of questions about finances understandably, but I have to say the admin was rather traumatic. I'd requested a selection of brochures/info about 4 times and they simply weren't there, groan. So I was actually rather angry and extremely frustrated, as I had to spend half my time frantically photocopying vital information parents need to know and rushing back and forth from the office to do so, and then sourcing other brochures to make up for the gaps we had. So not the best open day experience I've ever had - especially as the w/e ones are organised by me, so the buck stops here. As you might expect, tomorrow I'm going to make every effort to make sure that next week's open day goes rather better. Harrumph.

However, to balance the universal angst, I had a great game of golf with Marian on Friday, and actually won the game, goodness me and put out the bunting. That hasn't happened in a while. Perhaps I've been swopped for a good golfer? The club cafe cook was also super kind as I mentioned there weren't any cupcakes on display while I was paying at the beginning - and when I went back afterwards, she'd made a fresh batch, what a lovely woman! I took four. Mmm, they were amazing - and I even allowed K to have some, so gained essential Wife Points.

This morning we popped into church, and met the actual vicar for the first time. Each time we've been, he's been elsewhere so we've had the stand-in vicar. Conveniently both are called John so it's easy to remember. I enjoyed the service - they factor in quiet moments, which I appreciate so there's time to think or just be still. That said, the tunes for a couple of the hymns had me fooled, but at least they were traditional, which is a relief. One does prefer an organ, as they say ...

This weekend, K and I have been busy in the garden once again, tidying the shrubbery and pruning plants back so the gravel paths are more visible. It does open it out much more so we're quietly pleased with our efforts. We've also planted 3 buddleias in the spaces now available in the shrubbery and I have replanted one of our pots at the front to give it some autumn colour. Lilacs and soft pinks are the way to go. Funny how time flies when you're in the garden - you go out there just to do a couple of small jobs and it's like an addiction so you're actually out there for hours. Bliss.

Anne Brooke
The Thoughtful Corner

Recordings, reviews and the washing machine queen

2011-10-13T14:09:00.000Z

Book News:

Well, I've now recorded my literary short story, The Drive Home, for Celtica Radio, and that should be broadcast in about a month's time so I'll keep you posted. The lovely Bill seemed happy with it and has asked me to record another one on Saturday evening via Skype. This time, I thought I'd go for something much quirkier and have chosen a rather jazzy story about the thrills and spills of life, love and desire in a dictionary. It's called Candy and Catharsis, and I've given it a couple of practice runs this morning. I'm hoping for the best, come the day.

I've at last started the editing process for the final part of my Gathandrian Trilogy, The Executioner's Cane, which I anticipate will take quite a while. But at least I've begun. That in itself feels like progress, though I fear there will be much to change about it. I'm also pleased to say that gay erotic short story, For One Night Only, gained a 5-star review at Goodreads - many thanks, Michele!

Meanwhile, I've completed the literary lesbian short story I was working on, The Gift of the Snow, and have begun the submission process for that one. Wish me luck. Heck, I always need it.

Across at Vulpes Libris, you can find my review of Harlan Coben's thriller, Caught. A very exciting book with some very interesting things to say about forgiveness, and I can definitely recommend it.

Here are the most recent meditation poems:

Meditation 574
The gift is not
what we have
but how we useit.

True charactergrows
in the giving.

To holdsomething fast
when it needsto be free
is to lose it

and true lifeis found
in the living.

Meditation 575
We are at times
strangershiding
in the shadows
of night

scarcely aware
of thosethousand others
walking thesame path
out of sight

whilst beyond
our smallunderstanding
shines asteadfast
unknowablelight.

Life News:

I was much bamboozled by the charming historical elements (Temperance Society hymns, anyone??) in last night's episode of Midsomer Murders, not to mention the tradition of the menfolk putting on stag horns and plighting their troth with the womenfolk in the neighbouring village. Goodness me, not at all like the home life of our own dear Queen, I can assure you ... Or indeed anyone else I know. And I speak as a village-dweller, my dears, so you can rely on me. Still, the one good thing is that the new, terse and irritable Barnaby has finally (thank the Lord) stopped bullying poor Sergeant Jones, and actually appears to like him, phew. As do we all. It's a relief that the two main characters are now beginning to get on as that's a large part of the series, for me. I must also say that much as I love Warren Clarke with a deep and abiding regard, stag horns aren't actually his look. Not only that, but as I'm seeing him in Three Days in May at the Guildford Theatre tonight, playing Winston Churchill, I fear that I will not be able to get that image out of my head as the Great Man is taking us through the start of the war ... Yikes indeed. Though, having said that, if Winston had decided to put on stag horns and tackle the Third Reich dressed in this fashion, then perhaps the war would have been won far earlier ... There's one to ponder on for you.

Today's excitements have included the washing machine breaking down once more. Deep sigh. According to the code flashing on its display panel, it can't find any water, so I fear I must wait for K to return home and solve the mystery for me. Perhaps it's objecting in some way to last week's flood? When it had more water than I've ever seen produced by one machine in a minute ... So, we have yet to get the water table balance right in Elstead, it seems.

I've also had my flu jab so that should ensure I maintain my usual high standards of health throughout the winter, ho ho. And our third tree surgeon has arrived and taken details of our tree and hedge plight, and will give us a quote over the next few days. Ah decisions, decisions.

Anne Brooke
The Thoughtful Corner

Radio, gardening and golf

2011-10-09T17:56:00.001Z

Book News:

This week I've had a lovely conversation with Bill Everatt of Celtica Radio, and the upshot is next week I'll be attempting to record one of my literary short stories, The Drive Home, for potential broadcast on one of their programmes. Ah the joys of Skype! Many thanks to Graham Sclater for the tip-off and to Bill for his kindness.

Meanwhile, gay erotic short story, Dating the Delaneys (Delaneys *4), now has new cover art which I'm very pleased with indeed (thank you, Trace). It's due out on Sunday 6 November. And I've finally finished my literary erotic short story, now called The Heart's Greater Silence (possibly), so am in the middle of publication discussions about that one.

I've also updated my philosophical blog, The Thoughtful Corner, and this month's topic is the garden. I hope you enjoy it.

The Sunday haiku is:

The day starts like this:
pain au chocolat and tea.
A perfect morning.

Life News:

Much focus on the garden over the last few days, which I've really enjoyed. K has completed clearing out one of our messier corners (as it were) and I have pruned to within an inch of its life the lavender, the lemon balm, and five large shrubs. We've also planted four new shrubs into the shrubbery (well, it seemed a sensible place ...), and planted up two pots with daffodils and snowdrops. Here's hoping that in the spring they put up a good showing. We've also had two quotes from tree surgeons for removing the two tall trees and two hedges, amongst other items, and are awaiting a third quote later this week. But, goodness me, these things aren't cheap! Hey ho, and who needs to eat anyway?

On Friday, I played golf with Marian as usual - and as usual she won (curses!) but I covered myself with glory on the 9th hole by getting a birdie from off the green. Ha! I am indeed Ms Smug Golfer 2011, in case you hadn't realised. Ah, genius will out, you know. It just doesn't always win, double sigh.

And our weekend breakfasts have been a delight. K went to the Elstead Spar for pain au chocolat and croissants on Saturday and I did the honours today. Bliss. It's how the weekends should be, I can tell you.

Well, apart from the disasters that have struck us. Yesterday, my Mac mail box vanished entirely from sight and there was much weeping and gnashing of teeth. However, I threw myself on the mercy of the Apple Mac Help Team, and the delightful and very understanding Kevin talked me through it on a virtual basis. So, I'm now back up, and Kevin has a friend for life. Worrying for him then.

And today, our washing machine cold water connection has thrown a wobbly and utterly flooded the kitchen at a speed that was truly impressive to watch. It took five large towels and one whole kitchen towel roll to clear it up. But, hey, at least the cupboard and floor are now finally clean. K has turned our new indoor water feature off, however, and is getting a new joining thingy (whatever that is) for it tomorrow. These things are indeed a mystery.

Anne Brooke
The Thoughtful Corner

Space, surgeons and streams

2011-10-06T13:18:00.001Z

Book News:

I've started producing a daily paper on Twitter, composed of articles I find interesting. Today's edition looks at pets, poets and fantasy so if you're interested in any of these subjects, do take a peek!

One of my publishers, DWB Publishing, has just started a children's book site so please do log on and find out what's happening there. It's a very exciting year for them indeed.

Meanwhile it's World Space Week and Untreed Reads is discounting all sci-fi and fantasy books all month. This includes some of my own books, so grab a bargain today ... Some are only 50p so you can't go far wrong!

Not to be outdone in the bargain basement, Amber Allure Press is offering 25% off my books throughout October, so there's plenty here you can snuggle up to as autumn begins.

I'm also writing the final scene of my current gay short story, In the Silence of the Heart, which features desire, obsession, faithlessness and religion. Which is everything you could possibly want in about 10,000 words, hey ho.

Anyway, in honour of National Poetry Day (which is today), here's a poem I wrote about my garden:

Scarlet joy
The rose I find
written in red
beneath thelattice
knows its ownglory

and radiatesthe strength
of this dyingsun
into adifferent life,
another story.

Recent meditation poems are:

Meditation 572
Behind thisbrief list
of jobs and men

lies the need
of one man

to clothehimself
in wisdomagain.

Meditation 573
Peace cannotcome
from thespilling
of blood.

Fire breedsfire.

There is noanswer
that violence
has ever trulygiven

and war isalways a liar.

Life News:

Key excitements this week have included K nobly clearing the stream (AKA drainage ditch, but really I prefer the word stream ...) at the bottom of our garden of all its weeds and overgrown nastiness. What a hero. As a result we now have more general foliage than can possibly be crammed into our composter, or indeed any of our neighbours' composters. I feel a trip to the council tip coming on.

On Monday, we staffed the last of our new students' information points and were kept surprisingly busy throughout the day. In the past, we've taken the decision to shut up shop at about 1 or 2pm as the semester begins in full, but this time we only closed it at 4pm, well gosh. It's proved very popular throughout and I think we managed to help a fair amount of people, hurrah. If only because we are supremely good at interpreting what the room numbers mean. This week has actually been horrendously busy in the office as well - and at levels we weren't entirely expecting, but I think we've managed to muddle on through. I hope! I have to say it's nice to have the campus full of students again - makes it all worthwhile, you know.

Yesterday, K and I paid our first and introductory visit to our new doctor, who seems very nice indeed. Rather sweetly, she has a new application in which you feed in your health and family background data, and then it gives you your percentage survival chance. What fun! Apparently, K has a 96% chance of surviving the next ten years, and I have a 99% chance of so doing. Might be worth treating ourselves to those longed-for ten year diaries in this case. Keep breathing ...

Today, I continue to be the Queen of Busyness. This morning, Tesco have delivered my shopping (hurrah!) and this afternoon, I am expecting (a) the tree surgeons to arrive to give us a quote for removing 2 big hedges, 2 tall trees, 2 round trees, 1 spindly tree and nine or ten stumps (and possibly a partridge in a pear tree as well, but I thought they might throw that one in for free ...); (b) to go out and get my hair cut for the first time in three months (I might even be able to see out, goodness me) and (c) an evening trip to the ballet in Woking, to see Cleopatra. I do so love the Northern Ballet Theatre - I think they're great. Mind you, this does depend on whether K manages to leave work on time as he's been hugely busy this week as well. Here's hoping, eh.

Anne Brooke
The Thoughtful Corner

Tea, Telegraphs and teatowels

2011-10-02T17:43:00.001Z

Book News:

Untreed Reads is having a massive sale throughout October, so this month is an ideal time to snap up a bargain, or several. As part of that, my literary lesbian short story, A Woman like the Sea, is on sale for 30% discount, as is lesbian paranormal story, The Girl in the Painting, which is also selling at a 30% discount, both direct from the publisher. Hope you enjoy the reads!

The Sunday haiku is:

The quiet grass gleams.
My garden is a haiku,
brief and full of dreams.

Life News:

The great news is that my lovely husband has sorted out the looming disaster of our new dishwasher not fitting into its allocated space by means of swopping it with our slightly smaller washing machine. Pure genius, don't you know. The result is I am now madly in love with the dishwasher and can't begin to imagine how I've survived living here a whole month without one. Ah the joys of technology.

On the same day we were also expecting a delivery of a long ladder so K can get up and look at the roof. We were told it would be delivered by 8pm but actually it arrived at 9pm when I'd given up and was slobbing around in my dressing gown. The delivery man was much amused, as I'm sure the neighbours were when I was prancing round the drive trying to open the garage in my night attire. (Query: why exactly is there a garage in my night attire??...) Really, my dears, I am seriously lowering the tone here in downtown Elstead ...

Speaking of Elstead, we love it. The people are very welcoming and there's a great village-y feel. We also feel spiritually at home as the village Spar shop has three ENORMOUS piles of The Telegraph newspaper and only one small pile of The Mail, whereas in our brief stay in Woking it was always the other way round and we could never get a Telegraph (without which no Saturday is truly complete) for love nor money, no matter how early we ventured out, sigh.

And this weekend has truly been a weekend of delights. The weather has been glorious (ha!) and I do believe the UK is finally experiencing its summer, hurrah. We harvested the first of our vegetable crop and had Swiss chard with our Friday night pizza and garlic bread. Honestly, we're just so proud, never having grown anything we can actually eat before. Or not outside anyway. K also bought a melon at the shops and so weekend breakfasts have involved lolling around in our night wear (really, why bother getting dressed at all?...), eating melon and watching the garden grow. Bliss.

Yesterday, we also invited some of the neighbours and our more local friends round for tea and cake in the afternoon, which was lovely - though it did rather turn into Pimm's and cake due to the soaring temperatures. Nobody complained, however, and we had a great time. Thank you, everyone, for coming.

This morning, we finally - after holiday and my bout of illness - managed to get back to church, which was all very enjoyable, though we still haven't met the actual vicar. The same stand-in man we first met a month ago was there again today, and actually remembered our names and where we live - so give that man a medal. Either that or he couldn't get over the trauma of making our acquaintance last time, hey ho. Poor chap - perhaps he thinks I'm stalking him and will never come back again.

I have also finally, after many months of threatening it, bought a William & Kate Royal Wedding teatowel. I feel fulfilled and am looking forward to using it and giving my glasses (the only things that don't go in the dishwasher) that sheen of royal glamour they so evidently need. I must practise my special wave.

Finally, I must say that Dr Who goes from bad to worse, I fear. Last night's series finale was hammy in the extreme and borderline dull. How I wish they'd ditch the rampant emotionalism and bring back the adventure and sense of excitement. Less kissing (yuk! The Doctor is soooo not meant to be married - it just doesn't work!) and more Daleks - that's what we need.

Anne Brooke
The Thoughtful Corner

Freshers, fig trees and fans

2011-09-29T13:59:00.002Z

Life News:

This week has been Freshers' Week at the university so it's been all systems go all week, with not really much time for anything else. Luckily, I was well enough to go in on each day, though I still can't honestly say I'm functioning on all cylinders yet. Same old, then ... I must say this year's freshers' arrangements have gone really well and I found myself enjoying the process even, so that's been good. I think partly that's to do with the fact that my role took a more backseat position this year, and I spent less actual time on our information point table - though I did manage to set it up, get it started with the volunteers and take it down again each day. Having the extra time meant I kept up with the job back at my desk and that's been great too. How I hate it when I get behind.

Plus the really wonderful thing is seeing (and feeling!) the general states of anxiety from our new student intake lessen substantially as the days go by, hurrah. We've got one more day with the information point on Monday when lectures actually start and they're into their real timetable, but it's never so pressurised a day - so on the whole I feel I've survived Freshers' Week (and even enjoyed it!) rather well. Gosh indeed.

Meanwhile at home, it's all go on the domestic front. We had a dishwasher delivered this morning and - silly me - I happily signed and sent the delivery men off on their way. Only then did I think to see if it fitted in the space. Hmmm, sadly not. Groan. Well, the top fits but the bottom doesn't as the wooden frame of the cupboard unit on the right isn't straight. Deep deep sigh. I'm waiting for Super Husband to come home and see if he can work miracles but I fear we will have to tackle the shop to see if they'll take it back and offer us something smaller. It's really irritating me too, as I was so looking forward to using it tonight. Cue weeping and gnashing of teeth ...

This afternoon, I'm also waiting for delivery of a long ladder so K can get up onto the roof and work out if we need to sort any tiles out. With my current luck, it'll probably be too ruddy big to get through the house, sigh. We'll wait and see.

Turning to the garden (or "the estate", as we like to call it, my dears), I fear that my precious fig tree is not long for this world. I haven't a clue what I'm doing wrong. Over-watering? Under-watering? Too shady? Too sunny?? Lord knows - but its leaves are now all curly and yellow, and I don't know how to make them straight and green again. Not only that but the lovely grasses in front of the dining room window are turning all yellow and droopy too from being all shiny and green last week. Should I be watering more? Is it something that should happen in autumn, though aren't they meant to be evergreen? Sigh, it's a mystery. If anyone out there has any answers, please feel free to share them. We need all the nature help we can get.

Book News:

Not much to say - I'm continuing, very slowly indeed, to write the short story I'm currently working on but it's no use holding your breath. Mind you, I was extremely heartened yesterday to receive not one but two pieces of fan email, so that was really lovely. Thank you, both! I usually only get two in a year, and to have them both on the same day is surely a coincidence no fiction writer would ever dare get away with. Onwards and upwards, eh.

Anne Brooke
The Thoughtful Corner

Roses and recuperation

2011-09-25T18:04:00.001Z

Life News:

Sadly, I've been sick since Friday - the usual nasty catarrh virus thing that's given me a couple of relatively sleepless nights and put paid to my appetite, groan. Rather a dramatic way of losing weight, but there you go. It was all rather annoying as I had to be in work on Friday for an important meeting at the end of the afternoon - and I so nearly made it there too. I kept my head down most of the morning and early afternoon and managed, near enough, to catch up on the outstanding stuff (thank goodness) but then I made the foolish error of going to the campus shop to stock up on Lucozade and felt really really sick. All that cold fresh air is definitely not good for you ...

So I made the decision to give up and go home - and managed to get home more or less unscathed though there were several distinctly dodgy moments when I got into the house when I wasn't sure whether I would go one way or the other. Since then it's not been great but at least I do feel a bit more human now. Have even succeeded in eating a bit of lunch today though, to be honest, I couldn't really taste it so I suspect that's probably it until tomorrow.

Nice things that have happened over the weekend include K mowing the lawn and doing wonderful things to the garden as I drooped around groaning a lot. He also very sweetly brought me in a rose which was lovely and made me cry (heck, I am ill, so you shouldn't blame me for the gush ...) but I couldn't actually smell it. Today I can though, and it's very nice! What a superhero.

I really need to be in work tomorrow first thing as well as it's Freshers' Week and I ought to be there, helping Student Support to do its stuff - so I'm hoping I can get a decent night's sleep tonight and feel okay tomorrow. We'll see. Stupidly, even doing normal things is totally wiping me out - probably the lack of food, sigh ...

Book News:

I'm pleased to announce that the winner of the competition in my inaugural quarterly newsletter is Deb F - so well done, Deb, and do get in touch to claim your prize! Which is either the ebook of fantasy novel The Gifting or gay erotic short story For One Night Only. The choice is yours ... Commiserations also to those who entered and didn't win - but better luck next time!

This week, gay erotic short story The Art of The Delaneys has gained a 4-star review at Goodreads, so I'm thrilled with that.

And here's the Sunday haiku for you (you should be able to guess the story!):

You bring me a rose.
I'm too sick to smell it but
the colour shimmers.

Anne Brooke
The Thoughtful Corner

Commitment, competitions and covers

2011-09-22T15:04:00.001Z

Book News:

Gay thriller, A Dangerous Man, has received a fascinating 4-star review at Goodreads (many thanks, Vio) and at the same time it's been voted as one of the finalists in the Rainbow Awards covers competition - so many thanks to the judges for picking it. It certainly is a cover I've always really loved.

Keeping on the subject of reviews, gay BDSM short story For One Night Only gained a 4-star review at The Romance Studio - so thank you to Gabrielle for that one.

Over at Vulpes Libris Reviews, you can see my review of Dan Savage's The Commitment - which is a sharp and lyrical memoir about one man's path to gay marriage. Definitely worth a read, whatever point on the sexual preference spectrum you appear on, and highly recommended.

Meanwhile, don't forget that there's still one more day before the giveaway competition included in my recent newsletter ends - so there's time to enter before the winner is chosen! There's a choice between fantasy novel The Gifting or gay short story For One Night Only as the competition prize so enter early enter often!...

This week's meditation poem is:

Meditation 571
The man incharge
of olive oil
glows withhope.

His smoothcountenance
eases the ways
and words ofmen

while theaftertaste
in his speech
brings to theirmemories

the wind’smysterious power
and the dapple
of sunshine onskin.

The late Sunday haiku is:

Under roofs of sky
the abbey breathes its secrets
to unheeding air.

Life News:

We had a fabulous time on holiday, and the first five or six days were blazing sunshine, which was great. I spent a lot of time reading on the sun-deck whilst sipping my cocktail du jour. Ah, this is the life, eh. The food was magnificent, although the cabin was rather more bijou than anticipated, hey ho. But no need to spend a lot of time there, what with the sun deck and the programme of excursions. It's such bliss when you don't even have to think and you just go where you're told. I suspect that is a holiday pleasure which comes with age, but my how we're enjoying it. Particular pleasure were Arle, Avignon and the Carmargue. How I loved the horses and the bulls. Wonderful. Hmm, there's a story there somehow but it might be a while in arriving, which may of course be a good thing.

Anyway we're back into normal life now - though the day after our holiday and our first day back at work started rather earlier than anticipated when my alarm clock when off at 5am instead of 6am due to still being on French time. Zut alors indeed. I won't be winning any awards for the Most Popular Wife any time soon, I fear ...

Speaking of work, we've held an open day for prospective students yesterday and are gearing up to the tribulations and joys of Welcome Week next week, so there won't be any time to breathe until at least October. Or not if previous years' experience is anything to go by! Still, as long as the students get settled in relatively painlessly then everyone's smiling.

Anne Brooke
The Thoughtful Corner

Hallsfoot, heucheras and hazelnuts

2011-09-11T18:15:00.000Z

Book News:

I've just signed the contract for the second in my fantasy series, Hallsfoot's Battle, which will be published by Bluewood Publishing probably sometime next year, hurrah! Here's the blurb just to stimulate your interest:

In the second book in TheGathandrian Trilogy, Gelahn the mind-executioner begins his campaign. Hispowers 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 possessthe Lammas Overlord. Recently appointed Acting Elder andleft in sole charge of her people, Annyeke Hallsfoot draws on all hermind-skills and courage as the fight for Gathandria rages. The precious ancientLegends 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 strangepowers. But Simon is distracted by his own demons and only fears the artefact.Supported by Johan and Talus, her young charge, Annyeke plots a desperatestrategy to defeat the enemy. As the Gathandrians rally behindtheir new leader, Gelahn strikes at the heart of the city.

And before Number Two in The Gathandrian Trilogy arrives, don't forget there's still time to read the first in the series, The Gifting. Don't delay - buy today! Here's the next small snippet:

It's damning for Johan in so many ways, as Chief Advisor to the Sub-Council of Meditation, but it's true.

Other good book news this week is that gay erotic short story For One Night Only gained a 4.5 star review at Top 2 Bottom Reviews - so many thanks to Michele for that. In addition literary thriller A Dangerous Man gained a lovely 4-star review at Goodreads - thank you so much, Blake.

I've also uploaded a new blog to The Thoughtful Corner which, this month, concentrates on fresh starts and what they mean, or might mean. I hope you enjoy the read.

This week's meditation poem:

Meditation 570

A people saidto be

as numerous asstars

must alwaysremember

not to bedistant,

sterile, and areminder

only of history

but a light

in the darkness

and an absolutepromise

of hope.

The Sunday haiku is:

The cardboard boxes

now unpacked and gone: old lives

give way to the new.

Life News:

I appreciate very much that today is a day of quiet remembrance, but it's also K's and my 18th wedding anniversary, so we've been celebrating, but quietly. We've had a lovely lunch out at The Woolpack and then wandered round Wisley Flower Show where we bought a Paris heuchera for one of the borders at the back - K has already planted it and it looks fabulous.

Other house and garden excitements this week have been: we've bought a shoe tidy, a washing line, pegs, a peg bag and some compost, well gosh. And I've hung the washing out to dry for the first time in our married life (18 years today, don't you know! Did I say that already? ...). A fact which, strangely, has made me extraordinarily happy - it's almost like being an adult really, ho ho. I've also sorted out the wardrobes so we know where everything is, and K has planted the French lavender, the rose and the azalea which Jane and Liz (thank you, both!) very kindly between them bought us as house-warming presents. He's also planted our own rose and nemesia, but we have yet to see how they cope with not being in a pot.

And, to cap it all, we've harvested the first hazelnuts from our hazelnut tree - all two of them, and yes they were utterly delicious. Perhaps we'll harvest some more one day ...

On Friday, Marian and I played golf for the first time in ages and I actually won, hurrah! Which just proves that I'm better if I don't play for a while - the weirdness of golf indeed. Practice makes me worse, ah well. And in the afternoon, Liz came round and we had coffee, cake and chat - all perfect for a Friday afternoon really. Ah, this is the life.

Yesterday evening, we took Liz & John to a Proms party at the house of a friend of theirs in Woking - supper and chat in front of the TV. What could be nicer? We were, sadly however, rather late, as I'd confidently programmed the route into Celia SatNav and merrily directed K there from the back seat - but when we "arrived" I realised it wasn't Liz's friend's house at all, but some other address I'd keyed in, and we had to start all over again. Ho hum. Naturally enough, someone else directed on the way back ...

And the Spider Sagas continue. Liz kindly lent us her new spider vacuum (which allegedly allows you to get the spider in a tube and then deposit it in a nature-friendly way in the garden) and we had occasion to use it earlier in the week when I got up at about 1am and discovered one of the evil beasts next to the loo. Well, one can't really go when there's an enemy in the camp so K nobly rushed to get the spider doom machine and attempted to vacuum it into the tube. Alas, the power wasn't strong enough to suck the enormous beast up the tube (as it were ...), and I was so desperate by then I had to dash to the other loo to answer Nature's call - thus abandoning poor K in the ensuite with a cylindrical plastic tube planted on top of a rather large spider. I think he understood, but I may well have lost Wife Points ... By the time I got back, he'd somehow tipped the spider into the loo and flushed it away, hurrah. So whilst I fear that the nature-friendly nature of the vacuum might have been missed, at least it did the job. Sort of.

However, we decided we really needed something stronger so when, after the Proms party, we discovered another spider, this time in my bathroom, K dashed to get the real vacuum and we sucked it up to its doom in a matter of moments, aha. Nature? Bah, humbug and Death to the Enemy, eh. We are indeed the Spider Destroyers of Elstead - call us anytime, hey ho.

Anyway, for a week or so, our unwanted house lodgers will be safe as we're off on holiday cruising down the Rhone and enjoying the Colours of Provence and Beaujolais and, hopefully, having a lovely relaxing time from tomorrow. I suspect it will be our last holiday abroad for quite a while but, hey, we definitely deserve it, though I think we'll both be looking forward, secretly, to coming back to our new home afterwards. Who wouldn't!

Anne Brooke

The Thoughtful Corner

Tesco and topiary

2011-09-08T15:37:00.001Z

Life News:

We've been in our new home for a week now and I'm loving it. The only downside is the influx of spiders we're getting (yuck!) but of course that's with having a garden and the joys of the season, I fear. Still, battling back, I have bought some spider doom equipment and a keep away spray so here's hoping that will thin out the wretched beasts. Even so, it's not as bad as where I grew up on a farm where the spiders were the size of wheels and frequently armed. Double yuck.

Other discoveries we've made this week are that we have a hazelnut tree, complete with nuts, in the garden and some hazelnut sprigs scattered around, and that the weird switch near the kitchen door lights up the under-the-cupboard areas around the kitchen walls. All very odd, but I imagine it will give the kitchen a romantic aura in winter, hey ho. Not convinced how vital it is however.

Our lovely friends, L & J, have once again come to the rescue and donated us their no-longer-wanted fridge freezer as our fridge has been broken for weeks. At the Woking flat, we'd resorted to keeping things in cool boxes in order to avoid serious food diseases. Now, it's bliss - we hadn't realised margarine could be so firm (as it were) as recently we've been all but drinking it. So another big round of applause for L & J - I fear that soon their house will be nothing but an empty shell as all their worldly goods eventually make their way to ours!...

This week, K has removed the area of dead lavender bush near the vegetable patch, and trimmed the topiary ball, which now looks far better. Hey, I've always wanted a topiary ball and now I have one! K didn't look keen when I mentioned wanting a matching pair, but he did so well with the trimming that I don't want him to lose the skill ... We've also ordered a composting bin from the council so we're seriously getting stuck in.

Yesterday, I popped into our old doctor's as I was due an appointment anyway and I wanted to say a proper goodbye as we're in the process of joining the Elstead one. She's been ruddy brilliant with me and my various ailments and I'll really miss her - but apparently not too much as I found out she lives two roads away from me in the village. Honestly, Elstead is truly the centre of the known universe, you know. All the best people come here.

Today, Jane H (hello, Jane!) came round for coffee, a chat and a tour of the estate (well, in my dreams, eh), which was fabulous. And she bought us a lovely French lavender bush as a house-warming present - thank you, Jane! - so we can plant that where we pulled out the dead lavender earlier on, hurrah. Plus, just now, Tesco have delivered enough shopping to feed the British army (should they arrive for tea ...) and I have fed the freezers, which should keep them happy for a while.

In the meantime, I'm waiting for British Gas to arrive to give us a first service, but no signs yet. Still, if we didn't have to wait for a gasman, then it wouldn't really be England, hey ho.

Book News:

I've started writing again, which has been very much on the back-burner for a week or so. I'm working on a literary gay short story at the moment, tentatively entitled In the Silence of The Heart, but I'm taking it steady and I think it be a while before I get properly into a routine again. But it's nice to be back, however lightly.

Literary lesbian short story The Girl in the Painting has surprised me again by turning up as the No 2 international bestseller in August at Untreed Reads, well gosh. And don't forget that there are a lot of book bargains to be had in September at the Untreed Reads bookstore - shop early, shop often!

Meanwhile, at Vulpes Libris Reviews, you can find my review of To Marry a Prince by Sophie Page, a right royal romance that's light-hearted and great fun and should take you happily into the autumn.

Here are this week's meditation poems:

Meditation 567
Somewhere inthis cacophony
of trumpet,horn and harp,
shouts, wildapplause and song

there must be amemory
of silence, anunheard voice
to rest upon.

Meditation 568
Even the holyLevites
neededadministrators

which just goesto show
that a goodsecretary

is always worthher weight
in blessings.

Meditation 569
A list of holynames
in which I have
no realinterest
fills my mind
and this quietroom.

I cannot catch
any wisdom here
and my frailattempts
at prayer
end too soon.

Anne Brooke
The Thoughtful Corner

Hallsfoot, horses and home

2011-09-04T18:36:00.002Z

Life News:

We're in our new home at last, and it's absolutely wonderful! We seriously love it. The move went very smoothly and because we've blitzed it over the last couple of days, we're now fully unpacked - though some of the bookshelves/book cases and wardrobes might need sorting out at some point. It's nice to have themed rooms and try to suit the books to the theme - though the same can't be said of the wardrobes of course! It feels like we're really starting to settle in. The horses in the field at the bottom of the garden are an added bonus, especially with the foals (ah, sweet!), we have bought gardening equipment and K has already planted out - with autumn veg - one of the three raised beds in the vegetable plot. All very rural, m'dears. Next gardening job - attempting to work out how to make the fountain functional. Don't get too excited - it's not Versailles (though to us it probably is)! The fountain's small, but hey it's there and we're going to get it working. One day. STOP PRESS! K has got the fountain working already, so now we have a mini Versailles, sort of - what a hero!

Interesting things about moving to a house from a flat. We have an upstairs where you go to bed - heck, that's strange. We have our own wheely-bin and recycling bins - which feels very grown-up as we've always shared these before. There is more than one bathroom (hurrah!) which saves the morning panic as we both try to get ready at the same time. And - wait for it!! - I am at last a Woman with an Electric Garage Door which (possibly sadly) has been my dream for so many years I can't even begin to tell you. Fan-bloody-tastic!! I could play with it for ages, but K advises against it as I'll wear the batteries down. But, honestly, it's better than the telly.

Already, we have eaten out at the local pub, The Woolpack, which was very good indeed with very friendly people, and bought our papers from the local Spar - which is much larger and with a wider variety of goods than you might expect in a village, and is open every day except Sunday from 7am to 9pm (Sundays it closes at 7pm) - gosh, that's better than shops in town really. Today we have dropped in at St James' Church for Parish Communion which I really liked, and enjoyed a BBQ with our very good friends, L & J, who happen to live 2 doors down (hurrah!), so have met a raft of other new neighbours which was lovely. We feel we've arrived now - we may well lower the tone but, hey, we're here!

While I'm on, I must also seriously sing the praises of L, who left a big box of "Welcome to Your New Home" presents AND a box full of quiche, salad, strawberries, cream & champagne, and coffee in a flask for our supper when we moved in - all of which were hugely appreciated. Honestly, L is the most generous woman I know, and it actually made me cry. She is definitely my Heroine of The Year. Big time. Thank you, L.

Book News:

Stop Press! I'm delighted to say that Bluewood Publishing have agreed to publish the second fantasy novel in my Gathandrian Trilogy, Hallsfoot's Battle, so a huge thank you to Paulette and David for accepting it. I'm really thrilled and what a very lovely week it's proving to be indeed.

Meanwhile, not to be outdone, the first in the series, The Gifting, has just been purchased as an ebook by the Singapore National Library, so that's a great surprise.

At the same time, gay thriller A Dangerous Man gained a five star review at Goodreads (many thanks, Nithu) and the ebook version will be on sale for September only at £2.10 in the UK and $2.99 in the US - so now's your chance to snap up a serious bargain.

Speaking of bargains, ALL my books at Amber Allure Press are on sale at a 25% discount throughout September as well - so there's yet more good reading shopping to be done! Buy early, buy often ...

And, in terms of other reviews, gay erotic short story For One Night Only gained an interesting review at Goodreads, so thank you to Book Robot Reviews for that. Don't forget you can win a copy of For One Night Only or The Gifting by signing up to my newsletter - you still have until 23 September to enter! Don't miss out!

This week's meditation poem is:

Meditation 566
They task us
to guard thegate,
a way out
and a way in:

a concept
entirelydependent
on what youthink of
as home.

The Sunday haiku is:

One small grey squirrel
dancing on the neighbour's tree,
gazing right at me.

Anne Brooke
The Thoughtful Corner

On the move again!

2011-08-31T19:51:00.000Z

Life News:

Tomorrow we're on the move again into a lovely and permanent home in Elstead, so we absolutely can't wait. We know the previous owners have now moved out and the mortgage money reached our solicitors today so there's nothing - God willing! - barring a smooth completion and move-in tomorrow. Wish us luck.

In the meantime, my literary legal situation has been satisfactorily resolved so that's good news for all parties. Many thanks to all of you out there for the support you've given me with this one - it's been very much appreciated. But I can't discuss the actual outcome - as part of the agreement is that I don't mention anything in public, apart from in the most general of terms, as above. Thank you!

For Bank Holiday Monday earlier in the week, K and I spent the day wandering around Loseley Park Gardens, where the gardens were surprisingly colourful compared to others at the moment, and where the cream tea was excellent, and much needed. And, speaking of nature, we harvested our raspberry crop on Monday - all three of them were very good. Hey, it's quality, not quantity that counts, you know ...

One sad thing this week however is that the very lovely Ruth left us today to take up her promotion in the Registry, so I'll really miss her in the office. She's been great to me - a great mentor and fantastic to work with, and there's going to be a real gap. Still it's good news for Ruth whose bid for world domination continues successfully, and for me there's always a catch-up lunch to be had. I'm planning one very soon (run, Ruth, run for the hills ...).

Book News:

I was hugely pleased to see that fantasy novel The Gifting gained a 4-star review at Goodreads - thank you, Danalia. And here's the next line from the book:

He has been searching for an answer to the wars for some week-cycles now that their mind-skills have failed.

And gay crime thriller A Dangerous Man received a lovely review at Queer Magazine Online (thank you, Cas) and was also mentioned in Fred Bubbers' Reading & Writing Daily News site. Many thanks, Fred.

Turning to the short stories, literary romance Dido's Tale became a bestseller at All Romance Ebooks, surreal short story The Secret Thoughts of Leaves was briefly in the Amazon UK Metaphysical and Visionary charts (which astonished me, and at less than 90p really it's a snip ...), and literary lesbian romance A Woman like the Sea received a very pleasing review at Queer Magazine Online (thank you, Victor). Well gosh.

Finally, before the long-for move comes upon me, here's a meditation poem:

Meditation 565
Joshbekashah
is a musical man.
He plays on the cymbal
and harp.

He makes a loud noise
when the worship is due
so always stays eager
and sharp.

His sisters are nameless
and he wonders if he
might give a few letters
as spares

but he has thirteen brothers
and he’s proud of his name
which is oh so much longer
than theirs.

See you after the move!

Anne Brooke
The Thoughtful Corner

Four days to go ...

2011-08-28T11:41:00.000Z

Life News:

Only 4 days to go now until we finally move to a permanent home, hurrah! I really can't wait. The drip in the ceiling in the rented flat had a bit of a surge yesterday with the torrential rain, but it's calmed down now. Sunshine is indeed our friend, or at the very least dry weather. Still, it does give our collection of buckets a purpose, which has to be a good thing.

Thursday night found us at the local theatre watching an adaptation of Wilkie Collin's The Woman in White. Hmmm, not convinced it's persuaded me to read the book. I appreciate it was originally a serial, but having no fewer than thirty-five scenes in a play doesn't really help the audience connect to anything. Also, the actors were startlingly melodramatic and a couple of times I got an attack of the giggles and felt like I might be heading into the twilight zone. Again. Still, K and I had fun trying to guess the evil baronet's (the most fully rounded person on stage) guilty secret. We thought he might be a Morris Dancer (ah the shame ...!), but in the end it turned out to be nothing more interesting than a marriage certificate problem. Sigh. Also, it did annoy us that the mad Woman in White kept rushing onto stage, telling everyone how much she hated the baronet and would do anything to destroy him, but never got round to telling everyone his secret (which she knew). Ridiculous! If she'd said something at the start, we could easily have cut thirty-two scenes, at least. However, the ice cream in the first interval (of two ...) was very nice - salted caramel. Mmm. Am definitely having that one again.

Have also had a lovely lunch and catch-up with G, my ex-neighbour's daughter, so that was great. And a nice break from houses and moving, etc. Hello, G! Yesterday, K and I visited Waddesdon Manor for the day - fantastic house and well worth a visit (you'll need to book before you go ...), but the gardens are seriously dull. They look like they've been done by someone trained in designing municipal parks - not that there's anything wrong with that, but it just doesn't enhance such a gorgeous house on any level, sadly. Indeed, when we drove through the town nearby, the colour schemes and plantings were almost exactly the same - perhaps the Council does the Manor gardens on the cheap? It wouldn't surprise me.

This afternoon, K and I are off to see The Turn of The Screw at Glyndebourne - which is their last opera of the year, sob. It's a great production and we've seen it before, but honestly it's utterly worth seeing again, multiple times, I think. Haunting and compelling stuff.

Book News:

Gay short story Tommy's Blind Date gained a 4-star review at Goodreads (thanks, Dlee!), which was very pleasing indeed. And the comments thread there also discussed my gay crime novels The Bones of Summer and A Dangerous Man, so that was nice too. Thank you, all.

Here's the next small section from fantasy novel, The Gifting:

It is Johan himself who has proposed this solution to Gathandria's troubles. Even now, he can't quite believe it.

The latest meditation poem is:

Meditation 564
The last thing I want
is a long list of Levites
but that’s exactly
what I get

which just proves the point
that following God
is always
a challenging bet.

The Sunday haiku is:

After this dark rain
the day begins with silence
under brighter skies.

Anne Brooke
The Thoughtful Corner

A legendary romance and an unexpected shower

2011-08-25T15:09:00.000Z

Book News:

Literary romance short story, Dido's Tale, is now published by Bluewood Publishing and you can find it at Amazon UK - for only 90p! - Amazon US and All Romance Ebooks. I hope you enjoy the read. Of course you can also have this story and indeed all my other Kindle books signed at Kindlegraph for free - so there's an offer you Kindle buyers can't refuse ...

Meanwhile, erotic gay short story For One Night Only gained a very thoughtful and pleasing review at Goodreads (thank you, JJ) and also a 4-star review at Goodreads (many thanks, Kris).

And fantasy novel The Gifting was showcased this week at Reading & Writing Daily by Fred Bubbers - so thank you for that, Fred. Here's another small section of the book:

... but Johan swallows the laughter out of respect for the place they are in.

This week's meditation poems are:

Meditation 561
When the shouting
is done
and the battles
are dust

the one truth
that remains
is to know
whom you trust.

Meditation 562
The place where sins
are forgiven
is quieter
than a feather
and wider
than the sea.

In these travels
through my life
I stumble on it
rarely
but still it calls
to me.

Meditation 563
Today behind the words
lacing this holy page
there is nothing

but silence and the sense
that God might just
have departed

before I even thought
to arrive.

Life News:

As the rain falls, still our living room ceiling leaks, sigh. I've had to put towels and buckets down this morning as it was so heavy but it's stopped now, thank goodness. In true recycling glory, I've poured the water from the bucket onto the garden so I feel I've at least put the rain where it was originally intended to go. Never mind though, only 1 week to go and we're moving so I'm hoping for a more reliable roof in sunny Elstead, hey ho.

This afternoon, the flat cleaner has come round to quote for the post-rental clean organised by the agents. What a very nice woman. If money allows, I might try to see if she'll come to Elstead now and again. Goodness, how very Surrey I am these days - my northern grandmother would turn in her urn to hear me. Though then again, I'd probably be fairly startled to hear her also.

Tonight, K and I are off to the Yvonne Arnaud Theatre in Guildford to see The Woman in White so we're looking forward to an evening of thrills and spills. Other excitements of the week are that I've finally, after three painful weeks of trying, persuaded BT to allow me to pay my new bill by direct debit once we're in Elstead. Lordy, but it was terribly complicated. They sent me a survey asking how they'd performed, so I told them. In no uncertain terms. At least today, the woman on the phone - once I'd spent ten minutes pressing all possible buttons in order to get through to a real ruddy person - was very nice and seemed to know something, hurrah. However, even she couldn't tell me what my new phone number - of the three different ones they've so far provided us with - was actually going to be until they connect it. So it must be almost as much of a mystery to them as it is to me, hey ho.

And - at last! - the first of the glorious English apples are in the shops for the season, double hurrahs and put out the bunting. Well done to Waitrose for choosing such a classy crop too, English apples of course (says she, speaking as an apple farmer's daughter) being the only ones worth eating at all ...

Anne Brooke
The Thoughtful Corner

Dating the Delaneys, controversy and an unexpected trip

2011-08-21T16:59:00.000Z

Book News:

I'm happy to announce that the fourth in the erotic Delaneys Series, Dating the Delaneys, will be published by Amber Allure Press on 6 November, so something to cheer your late autumn months, I hope. This week, I've also sent out my first newsletter, which includes an exclusive 50-word fiction and a giveaway competition so there's still time to enter and win, if you'd like to.

In terms of book reviews, erotic short story For One Night Only gained a lovely 4.5 star review from Jessewave Reviews, though the comments show people do indeed have mixed reactions to it. Psychological crime thriller A Dangerous Man also had an interesting review at Goodreads - so many thanks to both reviewers for those.

Meanwhile, fantasy novel The Gifting continues to court controversy, with people either loving it or absolutely hating it, so here's the next couple of lines from that tricky little book for you:

Simon Hartstongue of The White Lands. If the situation wasn't so serious, Johan almost believes he would laugh ...

At Vulpes Libris, I've reviewed Madeleine Wickham's glorious romantic comedy, The Gatecrasher, and I can't recommend it highly enough. It's just wonderful, so rush out and get it now if you can.

The latest meditation poems are:

Meditation 559
Fighting with giants
is a frightening task
as they’re always
so very much taller

but the bulk of the business
is in keeping one’s cool
and ensuring
they end up much smaller.

So take a deep breath
and whisper a prayer
to the one
who makes everything right

and remember the truth
it’s not simply who wins
but who
has the courage to fight.

Meditation 560
The Lord’s vengeance
once stopped here
where my sons
threshed wheat
as God threshed men.

A merciful sparing
but to save what is mine
I would have killed
all the dead
for the Lord again.

Here's the Sunday haiku:

Autumn comes early
this year as the air whispers
a soft golden song.

Life News:

Popped into London on Wednesday evening to see Jane W (hello, Jane!) and we had a great catch up over drinks and an Indian. And the big surprise of the week was that I was unexpectedly whisked away to Munich on Thursday as part of K's work trip with one of the other "office wives" as a couple of spaces had come free in the group. I only found out on Tuesday so I had to pack madly and frantically on Thursday morning in order to be ready in time.

And I had a really fantastic time. It was great to catch up with some of K's colleagues I'd met before and to meet those I hadn't (hello, C & G - great to meet you!). The mainly French clients were lovely too, and I think I managed to resurrect some of my schoolgirl French in order to communicate rather better than I thought I might - if you see what I mean. We stayed in accommodation owned by the client and had a great time walking and chatting by the lake while the meetings took place, then visiting King Ludwig II's castle in Neuschwanstein, as well as the BMW museum in Munich itself. We also had a Bavarian beer tasting (my favourite - the 4th one), a brief but fascinating history lesson about Bavaria and a wonderfully Germanic supper at the Andechs Monastery.

So a big thank you to K's work for allowing the odd wife (distinctly odd) to tag along, and to Denis and the rest of the clients for putting on such a wonderful programme of events. A fabulous way to spend a long weekend indeed.

Anne Brooke
The Thoughtful Corner

Celebrations and crocodiles

2011-08-14T18:50:00.000Z

Book News:

I'm very happy (in fact so happy that when I first read it I was actually crying, how embarrassing is that ...) to say that fantasy novel The Gifting has gained a very thoughtful 4-star review at Top2Bottom Reviews (so thank you, Lisa, for that one). I'm also thrilled that the novel has been the subject of a radio feature by journalist and writer, Graham Sclater (thank you, Graham) which you can listen to via my Latest News webpage.

And here's the latest few lines from The Gifting:

Even then success seems so unlikely. Given the circumstances. Given the man who is supposed to save them.

There's also been a 4-star review at Goodreads for A Dangerous Man - so thank you for that, C.S. Much appreciated.

Meanwhile, there's still time to sign up for my quarterly newsletter, which includes my latest writing news, upcoming treats, exclusive fiction and free giveaways, and a snappy quote or two from the great and the not so great, so what could be better? The first newsletter will wing its way to subscribers later next week, so book early to avoid disappointment ...

This week's meditation poem is:

Meditation 558
In spring great princes
go to war.
It’s how they mark
the season.

I would have thought
a calming stroll
gives life
a better reason.

The Sunday haiku is:

Happy sunflowers
dance inside the shining air.
Summer's best reward

Life News:

K and I visited our soon-to-be new home in Elstead on Friday to measure up and sort out what goes where when we move in - in three weeks' time! It was fantastic to see the place again and - hurrah! - we still both really love it. Honestly I found it hard to tear myself away and I simply can't wait to get there for real. 1st September can't come fast enough ...

Yesterday, we paid a visit to Mother down in deepest Essex, and actually it went quite well. Must be the extra calming pills I took before we set off, ho ho. Or maybe I'm mellowing with my advancing years. Don't answer that. And this afternoon, we've spent a glorious afternoon helping my golfing partner Marian celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary (she was a child bride, you know ...) with an utterly glorious tea party. Goodness me, how English I sound sometimes. Would someone pass me the cucumber sandwiches?... The cake made by her daughter Jane was to die for - and I praised it so much and looked so sad when my slice was gone that the merciful Jane cut a portion of it for me to take away. What a superstar. Ah, there's method in my madness, you know ... One day I'll grow up to be nearly as devious as my mother. Surely not, we cry!

Finally, I can't end without saying how incredibly wonderful I thought Channel Five's Croc Man was earlier this week. Really, how can anyone resist a good-looking man who collects crocodiles? If he ever gets that zoo of his open, I am so definitely there. Piercing blue eyes and that essential hint of imminent death - really, what could be more thrilling?...

Anne Brooke
The Thoughtful Corner

Riots, reviews and Brokeback Mountain revisited

2011-08-11T16:31:00.000Z

Book News:

Some lovely reviews of my books from a new Italian reader, Anncleire, this week, who's been kind enough to give me a veritable riot of reviews for the following:

A 4-star review for Martin and The Wolf
A 4-star review for Tommy's Blind Date
A 5-star review for The Delaneys and Me
A 5-star review for Entertaining The Delaneys
A 5-star review for The Art of The Delaneys
A 5-star review for A Stranger's Touch.

All reviews are in Italian but Google Translate is a marvellous tool, Many thanks, Anncleire - it's much appreciated.

I also gained a 5-star review for Two Christmases, so many thanks, Arthur, for that one.

To put all this joy into the universal balance once more (and avoid my head getting way too large ...), The Gifting received a very mixed review from TWLIBReviews, so I'm rather less confident about my magnum opus than I was. Probably a good thing then! Though actually that makes one good official review for it and one mixed one, so there's an internal balance there too. Perhaps Simon (bless him!) and those Gathandrians are an acquired taste, like olives? Who can tell ...

Anyway, here's the next line or two of this evidently tricky fantasy novel:

There is no peace in the mind's battles. Only one chance to stop it now ...

Meanwhile, my full interview at Reasons to be Beautiful Magazine (click and scroll through to read) is now published (so many thanks, all, for that!), and Vulpes Libris have revisited my article on Brokeback Mountain. Many thanks for that one, Hilary!

And, for the first time, my pic is now up at DWB Publishing's author page for upcoming Christian novella, The Prayer Seeker, so that's exciting, well gosh. Other very exciting news this week (and hey it's not about me, so miracles can happen ...) is that best-selling crime novelist Vicki Tyley has a new book out called Fatal Liaison, so rush along now and get a copy. She's a dang fine writer.

This week's meditation poems are:

Meditation 556
Success doesn’t come
through winning the war,
the moment the victor relaxes;

he’ll know he’s on top
when the clear-up is done
and the losers are paying him taxes.

Meditation 557
It’s too early
in the morning
for the politics
of war.

I need coffee
and a shower
before sorrow
strikes me at the core

but the images
still haunt me:
something darkened,
something raw.

And I understand
how far we’re changed
by what we see
and what we store.

Life News:

We've exchanged on our Elstead house!!!! Hurrah, at long last we have managed to successfully navigate an exchange date. Third time lucky indeed, and we're both so very happy and relieved about it. Completion date is 1 September and we'll be moving in then. Which is why I've spent almost every spare house over the last few evenings and most of today trying to change our address details with the millions of businesses and utilities etc etc that we appear to be connected to. Who knew our lives were so entangled up with commerce and admin? I think I've all but worked through the ones I can do beforehand now - though I did get hugely cross this morning with the M&G who insisted I wasn't a real person in spite of the fact that we've been with them for about 20 years. My, I did get snippety. However, the fault was in the end entirely mine as I realised about an hour later that I'd been getting my various postcodes utterly muddled and what I'd insisted was correct to the unfortunate chappie at the other end of the line was nothing but bunkum and puff. Well, I simply have too many postcodes to deal with, my dears ... In the end they are melded into one vast generic code, much like Shakespeare plays seem to be as I get older. Mea culpa indeed. And to the young M&G man: heartfelt apologies and it actually wasn't your fault ...

Also this week, we woke up to a flood on Monday as the torrential rain had come through the upstairs neighbour's terrace and found its way across our living room floor. Deep sigh. The lovely Lara (thank you a thousand times ...) from Flat 4 womanfully sorted it out as the upstairs neighbours were away, and Lara knows who all the tradesmen are (in a decent and upstanding way, I have to say at this point ...). However we're not sure there's much that can be done about it as it's the way the house is built, and we shall either just have to pray for less heavy rainfall, or put up a plethora of umbrellas in the remaining three weeks we have here. Ah well.

And indeed we must move quickly for other reasons - this morning K and I were making silly faces at each other (as ... um ... usual) as he went off to work, and another neighbour unexpectedly popped round the corner. Leaving our faces frozen into positions the good Lord probably did not intend. Ah, the embarrassment. I bet they all want us to leave now ...

Finally, there have been a heck of a lot of riots in the UK. And I suspect that everything that needs to be said on the generally horrific nature of them has already been said, at least twice. However, there is something pleasingly odd in being surely the only country in the world who riots and then cleans up after ourselves. It must be the empire spirit, hey ho.

Anne Brooke
The Thoughtful Corner

Garden delights and The Thoughtful Corner

2011-08-07T17:26:00.000Z

Book News:

Lots of exciting news this week, so hang on to your hats. As it were. I'm really pleased to say that my Christian novella, The Prayer Seeker, is set to be published by DWB Publishing on 5 December 2011, so the ideal Christmas present for your spiritually-minded friends indeed.

You can now find the latest August news on my website, and I've also started a quarterly newsletter which you're more than welcome to sign up for. It will contain fascinating writing snippets, exclusive extracts and free giveaways with each edition - so what have you got to lose! Go on, you know you want to, and hey it won't cost you anything either. What could be nicer?

On a rather more philosophical level, I've also started a new and quieter blog, called The Thoughtful Corner - where I'll be posting monthly on issues that make me think, so please do feel free to visit if you need a bit of a break from the demands of life, and indeed the fast-moving parts of the Internet. I like to think of it as a small opportunity to experience "life in the slow lane" and hey we all need a taste of that sometimes. The first issue I'm looking at is demands and delays, and how we can balance these contrasting pulls in our lives. I'd love to hear how you do that, or even if you do it, as I know it's something I find very hard, and more so as I get older! Heck, I need all the help I can get ...

In terms of reviews, I'm very happy to have received an interesting review on gay comedy The Hit List, some lovely comments on gay BDSM story Give and Take, and a 5-star review of gay romantic story Two Christmases. All from Goodreads, all in Italian (but Google Translate solved my problems in no time!) and all from a lovely lady called Anncleire - so very many thanks for that!

Meanwhile the equally lovely bestselling and very talented crime novelist Vicki Tyley has kindly showcased The Gifting on her blog - so thank you so much, Vicki - I'm really touched by that gesture. Well, you knew I was pretty odd anyway ...

There's one meditation poem this week:

Meditation 555
He fills the space
for prayer
with so many words

I can barely remember
if God is there
at all.

This week's haikus (the second one as we've had a rather tricky time with Celia Satnav this weekend, Gawd bless 'er ...) are:

Two grey cats yowling
their displeasure like soldiers
preparing for war.

Take the first exit
for joy, the fourth for sorrow.
Recalculating.

Life News:

We attended our old neighbour's funeral on Friday - it was a very moving occasion, as these things often are, but I learnt a great deal about what we like to call his "middle years" which was great - as both M & G, his children, gave wonderful talks at the Crematorium. I knew a fair amount about Henry's war years, and of course about the last twenty years when he lived in the same house as us, but knew little about the time between. It was good to fill out the picture. I'll certainly miss him.

There's also some very positive news once more about the Elstead house. It looks like the completion date might end up being 1 or 2 September, which suits us fine, but we can't tell until tomorrow when our solicitor gets the final signed documents from ourselves (which we dropped in to her today) and I can get hold of our removal people to see if either of those dates are free for them. Ah, the tension is mounting, you know. I only hope we can actually get to exchange date without more disasters this time round! God willing.

And our new washing machine is totally fabulous. I think I am in love with it. It's sooo big. I could stuff a whole roomful of clothes in there and still have room for the odd extra cardigan or two. Bliss. It's just a damn shame we can't take it with us, sigh.

This weekend we have gone garden-mad, and really enjoyed it. Yesterday was the delights of The Savill Garden - which is well worth a visit, and the cappuccino and cupcakes were, once again, to die for. Mmmm. But, much to my horror, they've changed the shop!!! That shop was wonderful when we last visited, but they've now made it a lot smaller (why, oh why?...) and there's virtually nothing to buy. What could they have been thinking? Deeep sigh indeed.

Today, however, we are more than mollified by our visit to the utterly wonderful Old Croft Garden in Dorking. It was very beautiful indeed, incredibly peaceful and oh so cleverly designed. Ooh, and the mini cream tea was pretty good too. However, the definite comic highlight was the delightful old couple who were looking closely at the list of plants to work out what was what:

She: Are you sure you can read that without your glasses, darling?
He: But, my dear, I'm wearing my glasses ...

Honestly, you couldn't make it up. We're still chortling ... Sadly though, it's the last day this particular garden is open this year, but they're re-opening on both Sunday and Monday of both May bank holidays next year - so we plan to be there. I can thoroughly recommend it.

Anne Brooke
The Thoughtful Corner

Mice, machines and mischief

2011-08-04T14:59:00.000Z

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

Cars, Kindles and cash

2011-07-31T19:18:00.000Z

Book News:

I'm happy to say that all my Kindle books are now available to be signed at Kindlegraph so the virtual world is really upon us indeed. Other good news this week is that I've been very pleased with my quarterly royalties from Amber Allure Press and Dreamspinner Press - so many thanks to the people who've purchased in the last three months. It's very much appreciated.

In terms of reviews this week, there's been a 4-star review of Martin and The Wolf, and another nice review of For One Night Only, both at Goodreads, so thank you, Meggie, for those. And, much to my astonishment, my blog has now received over 50,000 hits since first beginning, so a very big thank you to all visitors. I've hope you've enjoyed at least something of my semi-crazed meanderings ...

Meanwhile, The Gifting had in the end 692 entries in the recent Goodreads free giveaway competition, which was about 682 more than I was expecting. So thank you to everyone who took part and congratulations to the 5 winners, who will be receiving their prize in the very near future.

Here's the next few lines from The Gifting:

In the land of Gathandria, they have not been used to war.

Ah, but how all that will change, and rather sooner than they expect too ...

In the wonderful literary world of Vulpes Libris, we're all going on a well-earned 2-week break, but today's post will give you a few hints about what's in store when we're back.

This week's haiku is:

Leaves begin to fall
and a hint of autumn's chill
drifts across the grass.

Life News:

Sadly, my car is sick and when I took it to the garage on Friday, it didn't come back. Apparently, the coolant container has gone rather badly wrong - something to do with the temperature gauge attached to it - and they couldn't put a new one in until Monday, so I have been totally relying on K's car all weekend. Hmm, no change there then ... It's going to cost me about £260, they tell me, which isn't great but, hell, it could be a lot worse. Hey ho.

On Saturday, we spent a lovely day with Peter and Sue (hello!) at Hinton Ampner, which is fascinating and well worth a visit - although they really do need to improve the cafe - surely the bleakest National Trust cafe I've ever been to, sad to say. My advice - go anyway, admire the house and the man who last lived in it, and enjoy the gardens. They're magnificent. But take your own sandwiches ...

Today has been a catalogue of unexpected events. Our washing machine has broken so we've spent an interesting couple of hours hand-washing everything in the kitchen sink and the bath and then attempting to get it dry in the garden. Thank goodness it's been sunny. Ah, it takes me back to my holidays spent in my grandmother's house in Newcastle, you know - where's that mangle of hers when I need it?!?

And this afternoon we've been to tea at the vicar's house. Which was very enjoyable indeed until the lovely US lady with the marvellous voice decided that having a communal sing-song with her guitar for about an hour and a half was a good thing to do. And yes, of course I know it is but I just can't help it - I really do hate that sort of thing which makes me feel nothing less than edgy and totally frazzled. As if people are cutting pieces off my skin and flesh with a spoon, and not replacing them with anything. I was trapped at the far end of the table near the hedge and couldn't get away without it looking obvious so developed a no doubt desperate smile in case anyone looked my way. My dears, I was faintly hysterical by the time we left, but I don't think anyone noticed. Now I feel totally exhausted as if I've been route-marched across the Sahari without a flask of water or a map. Really, I just don't do sociable ... but the tea itself was lovely.

Finally, I must just say - and I'm probably swimming against a vast tide of fandom here - how utterly dreadful the current series of Torchwood is. The plot seems to be the same thing over and over again and we can't even begin to see how they can stretch this dull nonsense over 10 weeks. Lordy, 10 weeks! I'm told that Episode 5 is the first good one - which begs the question as to why they didn't start there - but in all honesty you can get everything you need to know from the first 30 seconds of it when they recap the last episodes, and the final 30 seconds when they tell you what will happen next week. It's really like a haiku story put into the framework of a saga, and desperately trying to find its way. Soon, I fear, all of us will lose the will to live entirely - which may well solve their problem of finding a solution to eternal life. Yawn. Ah well, another potentially good TV drama bites the dust.

Anne Brooke

Books, Loss and Prayer

2011-07-28T15:09:00.000Z

Life News:

I'm very sorry to say that my lovely former ground floor neighbour in Godalming died in his old people's home on Sunday night. It's been something of a shock, really, even though he was elderly (nearly 90 - how I wish he'd made it to that big day) and had become increasingly unwell over the last few months. I'm glad I was able to see him last Thursday for half an hour or so - I didn't know then it would be saying goodbye - and I'm glad we were able to chat, albeit briefly.

Funny how I've known Henry for 18 years as a neighbour sharing the same house as us, and funny how it became friendship almost from the start. He was very much part of the reason we stayed in the house all that time, and odd how when he left it for the home early last year, everything changed. I'll really miss him. He was always kind and courteous, and nothing was too much trouble - in many ways, and K agrees, the fact that he's gone seems like the end of an era for us. There's no-one left in our old home now who was there when we arrived, and that feels odd.

Things I'll remember about Henry:

* His daily chopping of wood for his fire every morning at 6.30am, come sunshine or rain, or even snow - it was somehow very soothing and an excellent alarm call.

* His fascinating and very moving stories of the war, and how the terrible things he'd experienced as a young man in Germany changed his life and led to his absolute and deep-seated belief in peace, his hatred of any kind of war and his commitment to Communism.

*The time when we went on holiday and forgot to leave contact details - and when we got back our water tank had burst, flooding his flat below for a week, and he'd misplaced our keys so he couldn't get in. While I was traumatised at what happened and couldn't apologise enough, he smiled and said (in that inimitable accent of his), "Ach, Anne, it was nothing compared to the Russian front in Winter ..." No doubt very true, and there's no answer to that.

* The time when I was trying to find him at the home, and was told he was in the living room having a sing-along with the other residents. I asked the staff not to disturb him as I was happy to wait, but he came along anyway as it was me (what a gent!). He happily told me he'd been learning some wonderful English war songs which he'd really enjoyed singing and, how much he'd loved learning Pack Up Your Troubles in Your Old Kit Bag as, "with those sort of tunes, no wonder the English won the war." Marvellous. However, he did admit, with a twinkle in his eye, that he was probably wise not to offer to teach them the war songs of the German army ...

* The marvellous fact that he was possibly the only man in the country who has been decorated both by the Third Reich (for looking after his tank which had broken down in Russia and which he managed to hang on to) and the British Government (for saving the life of a tramp who was on the railway line when he was working here as a prisoner of war). And did Henry ever tell me that himself? No - I had to find out from his daughter.

Anyway, this morning it was good to meet up with his son and daughter again over a coffee and just catch up with what happened, although we would all have preferred different circumstances could have instigated it. He was a good man and I'll miss him. RIP Henry.

Book News:

The free giveaway of The Gifting at Goodreads continues for another 16 hours only so there's still time to enter. I'm amazed that 450 people have thrown their hats in the ring (I expected 10!) and I hope the 5 winners enjoy the read. Sadly, however, I've been blooded at the hunt (as they say) with my first 1-star review from someone who really hated every word of the beast. Ouch, indeed! Though I do wonder if it might be my mother getting her own back for the fact that I almost forgot her wedding anniversary, shame on me ... In which case, I deserve all of it and more!

However, some kind of balance was achieved in the literary universe by the fact that the Los Angeles Public Library has just bought an e-copy of The Gifting, so I'm hoping some good people might borrow it once that's available. Here are the next few sentences:

In any case, this battle has been a bloody one. Even though it has been fought largely in the realm of the mind, already it has claimed too many. And destroyed too much.

Other good and unexpected news is that my spiritual novella, The Prayer Seeker, has been accepted for publication by DWP Publishing - so that's a huge thrill and I've sent the signed contract back to them today.

Along the same lines, I've finally had the courage to press the "send" button for the second in the Gathandrian Trilogy, Hallsfoot's Battle, and so it has today winged its way to Bluewood Publishing for consideration. Here's hoping ...

On a rather naughtier note, you can enter the free giveaway at Jessewave reviews today for a copy of For One Night Only, so good luck with that one! You can also read a brief 4-star review of For One Night only, and Tommy's Blind Date also gets a 4-star review at Goodreads, so thank you to both reviewers for those.

Vulpes Libris has a review of Alice Hoffman's marvellous literary and very human novel, The Story Sisters, and I do thoroughly recommend that one. It's intense but definitely worth it.

Finally, to end, here are this week's meditations:

Meditation 550
Water on your skin
and the sharp dazzle
of sunlight
through the dark curtain

wash your sins
clean away
and prepare you
to serve God one day.

Meditation 551
Music and laughter
draw you to the window –
echoes of delight,

sunshine and dancing
in this bright morning sky –
and you catch sight

of such celebration
to welcome God’s arrival.
Something right

whispers behind you
where riches and old comfort
bind you to the night.

Meditation 552
The music is already here.
It’s existed for all time
and no time.

It’s folded into the air’s
cooling molecules
and contained afresh

by the arching sky.
It whispers over your skin,
waiting to be allowed within.

Anne Brooke

Hallsfoot, Hit List and free giveaway!

2011-07-24T17:10:00.000Z

Book News:

In case any of you out there are confused by the amount of information that's gone missing on my recent posts, it's not the gremlins (whoever they may be!), but, as part of the continuing legal negotiations with my US publisher, my lawyer has asked me to remove sections mentioning their name and in the interests of working towards an amicable agreement I have been happy so to do. As they say. Just so you know then ... But a heartfelt thank you to all those of you out there who have been and continue to be so supportive throughout, and indeed those of you who've challenged me - I really appreciate it.

Turning to more straightforward literary matters, I'm happy to say that I've finished the final read-through of Hallsfoot's Battle (the second in the Gathandrian Trilogy) and that artist Penelope Cline has agreed to draft a book cover for it. Once that's sorted, then I'm planning to submit Book Two to Bluewood Publishing, and I really hope they like it ...

Meanwhile, The Hit List continues to have a 25% discount direct from the publisher during July - so buy early while there's still time. And I'm equally happy to announce that from Monday 25 to Friday 29 July, I'm giving away 5 copies of The Gifting at Goodreads - so if you'd like to win a copy of this cutting-edge fantasy novel (if I can say it myself at all ..), then please do enter, and best of luck to you all.

As a taster, here's The Gifting's next couple of lines:

They have all failed; it is not simply himself. At least, he prays it is not.

Not to be outdone, For One Night Only gained a review at Brief Encounter Reviews and was also mentioned at the I Love Books Blogspot - many thanks, both! And, equally not to be forgotten, though possibly rather unseasonal, Two Christmases gained a 4-star review at Goodreads - thank you, Lucy.

The Sunday haiku is:

When I sweep the floor
a history not my own
rises with the dust.

Life News:

After building my new website on Sandvox, you can now find out more of the whys and wherefores behind that at the Sandvox site - they're really very nice people, you know.

As you know, I've been having trouble with my car - and we've now worked out that my coolant container is gradually leaking, dammit. So I'm carrying round several bottles of water and coolant in the car just in case of more disasters and I've booked an appointment at the garage next Friday for them to sort it out. Here's hoping I can make it relatively unscathed through the week till then, hey ho.

During the week we also watched The Only Gay on The Estate - well, I watched it while K kept me company and played on the iPad. He must have been paying some kind of attention though as at the end he snorted and complained that Michael, the film-maker and subject of the short documentary, was really not a very nice man at all, but was somehow surrounded by incredibly nice and forgiving friends, boyfriend and family who could, to a man (or woman), do a lot better than Michael. Indeed, I could only agree - Michael's boyfriend was being hugely tolerant and also had some very wise words to say about whether his man's search into his past wasn't about making it right for others, but was only making it right for himself (not a great reason to go digging about in the past, to my mind). And I have to say that the very lovely girlfriend Michael messed around with for 5 years before ditching and fleeing to a gay life in London was a damn sight nicer about it than I would ever be in such circumstances (though her mother, understandably, looked as if she might grab Michael's hand-held camera at any moment and shove it where the sun don't shine ...) and could certainly do a whole lot better for herself. Hell, I'd snap her up in a second myself, if I was that way inclined - though it would have surely been a perfect ending if Michael's current boyfriend decided he wasn't quite so gay after all and went off with her. Or perhaps with the charming and very cute bloke Michael was so incredibly nasty to at school. Either would do. Sigh.

However, I cast aside all irritations on Friday and thoroughly enjoyed a game of golf with Marian - it's ages since we've played due to illness (mine) and holiday (hers), and it was great to get out in the sunshine. Sunshine, my dears - whatever next! I even made a stonkingly good putt at the eighth which I aimed away from the hole to take some kind advantage of the sharp incline it was at the bottom of, and the bloody thing actually went in!! Professional golfers treat this kind of gift from the golfing gods with a nonchalant shrug and a half-smile. I screamed, waved my putter in the air and danced (carefully - you don't want to ruin the grass) around the green, yelling yes, yes yes! Goodness, I am just so classy. And I didn't even win the overall game and I was still smiling when K came home.

Anyway, yesterday K and I went from the ridiculous to the sublime at a thoroughly enjoyable and utterly magical performance of Rusalka at Glyndebourne - it's the second time we've seen it and it's even more perfect and magical than before. A definite recommendation there. Not only that, but whilst in the restaurant, we were treated to a visit by their new chef, the very wonderful Albert Roux, who actually spoke to us at our table, well gosh. Honestly, I went all giggly and girly and gurgled on about how wonderful his starter of veal sweetbreads had been (which it was, totally) - although I was so busy being starstruck and gushy (much to K's shame) that I said sweetmeats instead of sweetbreads - which is of course an entirely different concept. Ah, the humiliation - I shall never be able to look M. Roux in the face again, although no doubt he just thinks it nothing more than the strange food combinations endured by unfortunate British women, poor man. Ah well.

Today, we have popped in to church to pay our respects to the Almighty - some great hymns and ah the incense. You can never go wrong with incense and processions - it's what the CofE does best. Much to my joy there was a cake sale after the service (heaven indeed) and I bought four brownies for tea. Can't wait really until tea-time rolls round. Rather delightfully, the vicar also invited us round for tea and scones in the vicarage next Sunday afternoon (which is very civilised and somehow so very Midsomer ...) so we're looking forward to that, whilst wondering if any murders will actually take place. We'll have to wait and see ...

Anne Brooke

Cars, contracts and cash

2011-07-21T19:23:00.001Z

Book News:

You'll be pleased to hear that my US lawyer and I have agreed a wording for the new termination contract, so we've sent that off and await to hear a response ...

In the meantime, I'm carrying on with the final pre-submission read-through of Hallsfoot's Battle, the second in my Gathandrian trilogy. There are only about 100 pages to go now, so I'm hoping to get that done by the weekend (though it does depend on whether or not I have another day like today - see below ...). Once that's done, I'll send it to Bluewood Publishing and see what they think about it. Keeping with Bluewood, I've sent back the final proofs of literary short story, Dido's Tale, to them and that should be coming out soon, hurrah.

I'm also happy to say that The Hit List gained a lovely 5-star review at Amazon - many thanks, Sharon! It's especially pleasing as I know my main character, Jamie, isn't easy and people either love him or hate him, with nothing in between. Hmm, there's a lot of me in that bloke, you know - which probably says it all really. And For One Night Only gained a 4-star review at Goodreads - so many thanks, Enny.

Here's the next line of the prologue in The Gifting:

Neither is she the only one who weeps, but he cannot admit the full reasons for this now.

This week's meditation poems are:

Meditation 547
When even touching
God’s covenant box
in order to save it
is a mortal sin

then best to let
your treasures die
than use a box
to keep them in.

Meditation 548
Of all the gifts
in all the world
my first choice
would never have been
cedars and stonemasons;

the quiet dignity
of stone
and the gnarled depths
of this ancient tree
all but bypassed me.

Meditation 549
A sound in the trees
that is neither the wind
nor the cries of some night bird

but something absurd:
a reminder for we who have sinned
that somebody still sees.

Life News:

The mortgage survey for our Elstead house has finally come through and looks okay. Our new conveyancer has also contacted us to say she's going over the land searches now and has contacted the vendor's solicitors to ask for the necessary information from them. At the same time, the estate agents have rung us to say it's possible that we could exchange in three weeks' time and complete two weeks after that - which would bring us near enough to the end of August/start of September - and this is the first break point in our rental contract, so that would be convenient. However, I'm now never convinced by the optimism of estate agents, so I'm maintaining a wary approach to it all. But I have rung our moving company and so far that timing is good for them, although obviously dates disappear the nearer we get to any potential move day. Lordy, it's all go here in the shires, you know.

I've also fitted in a regular visit to the doctor (I was too ill to go last week ...) and everything with the anti-depressants looks good for another two months, so that's a relief. I really do think they're brilliant - I could probably never cope with all this hassle coming our way without them, and they certainly do make me feel more like I think I should, that's for sure. Never scorn the joys of normality, eh ...

Mind you, I've certainly needed their calming effects today. This morning, I popped in to see a good friend of mine in one of the local old people's homes, and on the way back, the alarm on my car dashboard went off and lots of red lights started flashing at me to say that the car engine was overheating. When I looked at the dial, it was way past 120 degrees centigrade and well into the red-light zone. I was panicking like a trooper (a wimpy, panicky trooper ...) so drove the few minutes to the nearest supermarket (where I was intending to go anyway to pick up some lunch) and waited for the engine to cool down while I phoned K and sobbed down the line at him like a 1950s teenager. My, I'm so dignified, you know. As if. Anyway, K suggested ringing the RAC for help, but I thought if it was just a coolant problem, then I could get some more coolant and put it in without disturbing our Knights of the Road too much. The supermarket unfortunately had no coolant so I drove to the garage attached to it whilst keeping a close eye on my dashboard and they had no coolant either. So there was no option but to drive home, at which point the dashboard went crazy again and the alarms sounded. It was only a couple of minutes to get home but honestly every traffic light was against me and every cyclist in Woking today insisted on getting ahead of me and not letting me pass, so I was praying and swearing in equal measure as I limped home.

Once there, I thought I'd let the beast cool down again before tackling it. However the traumas of the day weren't over yet. As I was eating my lunch, the rental agent phoned to say they hadn't received our rental for July which had been due with them on the 1st of the month. I apologised, panicked again and rang K who said he was sure he'd filled in a standing order at the start of June. The other agent I've been dealing with (the lovely Jenny) said she was sure we had as well so didn't know where it had gone and would look into it. K rang our bank and they confirmed they had no standing order instructions for rent, so after I'd tackled the car crisis and poured the whole of our one bottle of engine coolant into the vast desert wastes of my engine coolant holder, I walked into town at about 4pm and tried to pay money for July and August as a bank transfer to the rental agent's bank, the Natwest. Well, ho ho and there's a bank that obviously don't like the colour of our money. They said (even though I've done this with Santander and goodness knows they're certainly not the best bank in the market ...) that I couldn't transfer money from the Nationwide to them as I'd have to go to the Nationwide in order to do so, but in any case the Nationwide wouldn't let me do that with such a large amount of money and I'd be better off taking out as much actual cash as I could and then walking it over to them. Well, I mean to say! As if anyone could actually walk across the metropolis of downtown Woking carrying great wads of cash and expect to be alive after ten minutes ... Words failed me!... In the end, I gave up arguing my point and accepted that Natwest in Woking appears to live in the 1950s, wrote them a cheque payable to our rental agent for two months' rent, and accepted it wouldn't actually go into the agent's account until next Friday.

When I rang the rental agent to explain all this to them, they were astonished also, and couldn't believe nobody would accept a bank transfer from me. The only explanation I can think of is that unfortunately I had to deal with a staff member who didn't know her proverbial from her elbow, and wasn't going to ask any higher-up staff member for help either. Alternatively, I have a face with the words Criminal and Fraudster tattooed across my forehead and nobody has ever had the heart to tell me, deep deep sigh ...

Anyway, whilst in Woking I thought I'd shop for a few bits and pieces, including spare engine coolant, and managed to get everything apart from (of course) engine coolant. Apparently, Halfords is a twenty-minute walk (or a short drive, if you have a car you can trust ...) outside Woking, so I bit the bullet, rearranged my shopping bags (thankfully, not too much) and headed off into the sunset. Ye gods, that was further than I thought, though I did get a nice view of Woking's mosque on the way. Luckily Halford's were open until 8pm, so getting there at 5.15pm wasn't a problem, thank the Lord. Mission accomplished, I trudged back down the wearisome rainy road, wearing my woolly hat and fleece and looking like the height of fashion, I'm sure, and eventually reached home at about twenty minutes to six. I deposited the fresh bottle of coolant in the back of the car so if I get into trouble tomorrow when I'm hoping to play golf with Marian, at least I'll have something to drink if things get too bad. Hey ho.

Really, if it weren't for the magic happy pills, who the hell knows where I'd be. Has anyone got the smelling salts? Surely today - this nice quiet day I'd had planned - must be over by now ...

Anne Brooke

For One Night Only ...

2011-07-17T15:37:00.001Z

Book News:

My gay erotic short story, For One Night Only is now published at Amber Allure Press - here's the blurb:

Jake Morrison's position as Dom has been deeply shaken by his unwitting role in the recent death of his sub. When he's allowed back into Langley's Pleasure House after a six-month ban, he longs to make amends in any way possible. Club-owner Langley's surprising request for an unexpected encounter, however, tests Jake's sense of purpose to the core. He's willing to learn, but the lesson might not be one he expects...

Enjoy!

Other nice writing news is that I've had two or three very positive responses from people who've read or are in the middle of reading my first fantasy novel, The Gifting, so that's lovely. I don't usually get quite so many responses of any kind quite so soon. Plus it's especially nice to hear with this particular novel as every fantasy publisher in the UK and US utterly ignored it, my ex-agent and me, not even bothering to grace us with a rejection letter or two during the two years we waited, and ... um ... waited. So you can imagine how downhearted I've felt about it ever since, despite the brave facade (ho ho). Lordy, in this business, I'm always astonished anyone keeps going at all ... It can be exceptionally confidence-destroying.

Anyway here's the next line from The Gifting:

Over two moon cycles since the death of her lover and still he hears her weeping in the morning.

Ah, but what's the real story behind Isabella's tears - that's the mystery ...

NB THIS SECTION HAS BEEN REMOVED DUE TO LEGAL NEGOTIATIONS WITH THE PUBLISHER CONCERNED, AT THEIR REQUEST.

So, watch this space, and we'll see what happens next week. Hey ho.

Oh, and I have a lovely new website, made with the help of a wonderful website app called Sandvox. I love it - the people are just sooo helpful and it's just soooo easy - instead of fiddling about on Dreamweaver with HTML coding and getting really confused, I just drag & drop. Bliss, my dears, bliss. And it's easy to publish onto the web too - I just press a publish button instead of fiddling about with Filezilla apps. Wonderful.

This week's haiku is:

The shadowed fox waits,

eyes glistening with intent.

Somewhere a dog barks.

Life News:

Yesterday, I have indulged in another spot of Tesco online food shopping and am seriously beginning to love it. Anything that saves me from hours of actually trawling round Tesco gets my vote. I can even go back afterwards and add things in that I've forgotten, hurrah! All that set us up nicely for a lovely high tea and opera at Glyndebourne where we saw the simply magnificent and life-enhancing L'Elisir d'Amore. Really, you can't go wrong with a Donizetti opera. Bliss again.

Speaking of music, we watched the final section of the First Night of the Proms late last week and I was reminded again just how wonderful Janacek is. The Glagolitic Mass is an astonishing work - just how all masses should be, really.

And today, we've had a relaxing lunch at Wisley, wandered around in the rain admiring the roses and bought an assortment of plants for the garden. How wonderfully suburban we are here in the rural idyll of Woking.

Anne Brooke

The strange unreality of being an author ...

2011-07-14T15:46:00.001Z

Book News:

NB THIS SECTION HAS BEEN REMOVED DUE TO LEGAL NEGOTIATIONS WITH THE PUBLISHER CONCERNED, AT THEIR REQUEST.

Speaking of difficult literary organisations, I've been deeply saddened, not to mention frustrated, by the attitude of the Society of Authors to authors with ebooks to their name. They tell me that I can't be a full member because I haven't sold enough paperbacks and "at this time, we do separate e-publishing and physical publishing, because of the lack of costs involved in online publication." So, being a "real" author has nothing to do with the fact that a commercial e-publisher has agreed to publish your book or how well your ebooks perform, but it's all to do with how much your publisher is prepared to spend on their production. Looks like the costs of editing, creating cover art, marketing, staff time, conference attendance etc etc, which are just as much associated with ebooks as paper books, are meaningless to the SOA then. Naturally I've asked for my membership to be refunded and, at the same time, I told them I assumed the admin charges would be minimal as of course all our correspondence has been via email which according to them costs nothing, even in terms of people's time ... They have at least therefore had the grace to refund me in full. But I certainly won't be bothering to contact them again, at least not until they've caught up with the authorial world they're supposed to represent. Harrumph indeed.

I'm very pleased to say that The Gifting has received a positive comment from one of the people at the book launch last week. She's already read it (thank you, Claire!), thought it was a page-turning read, and wants to know when the next one is out. Gosh! I'd best get to grips once more with the final read-through of Hallsfoot's Battle then - which has rather ground to a halt due to this week's ongoing illness (see below).

Anyway, here's The Gifting's next line: His sister Isabella Montfort's tone is bitter, but he doesn't question it.

Ah, but you should, Johan, you should ... It would have saved so much trauma if you'd been paying more attention at the time, you know ...

And The Art of The Delaneys has gained a 4-star review at Goodreads - thanks, Clover. That's cheered me greatly.

At Vulpes Libris, you can read my review of The Pink Hotel by Anna Stothard, which is a seriously classy and well-written novel and I thoroughly recommend it. Meanwhile, I'm also trying to do some major renovation on my website but, in the manner of all modern women everywhere, I need my husband to come home and press all the right buttons to make it work (um, as it were). Watch this space, possibly ...

Life News:

I've continued to be as sick as the proverbial this week. All nasty cold/catarrh stuff and, no, you really don't want to hear more. Suffice it to say I left work early on Tuesday and haven't been out from the flat since. Another sleepless night in the living room on Tuesday (with some seriously dodgy moments), but I did manage to get some real rest last night, thank the Lord. I think I may have broken the back of it now, but I'm sorry to have missed (a) seeing Jane & Ang on Tuesday night, (b) going to the Wisley roses event tonight, and (c) golf tomorrow. I'm attempting to get seriously well for another opera at Glyndebourne on Saturday. No more relapses please!

What with all this coughing and snorting and ... err ... stuff, I must have got confused today as the Virgin Media connection man turned up this morning, instead of this afternoon when I was expecting him. The poor chap - he found me unwashed, undressed and with absolutely no make-up on which, bearing in mind the kind of week I've had, was even more not a pretty sight than usual. And, yes, before you say it, I did have to open the door in my dressing gown (why has my dressing-gown got a door? Boom, boom!), sigh. Anyway, even though he was only about twelve, he was totally unperturbed by this vision of horror before him (perhaps he gets it all the time?...) and managed to fix me up in no time (again, as it were). Mind you, he was probably desperate to escape, the poor dear ...

More positive news this week has been the fact that we harvested another two of the garden strawberries at the weekend and thoroughly enjoyed them. Perhaps we should buy a couple more with the PD royalty cheque, eh? Oh, and my rose pot plant has a second bud on it so it looks like we might be getting two flowers this year, hurrah!

Anne Brooke