Book News:
Phew! I have today finished the second round of edits for The Executioner's Cane, the third in the Gathandrian fantasy trilogy, and sent it off to the lovely and very talented Sarah Abel for her comments. It feels very much like all three books make an actual saga now and hang together better than I thought they would. Heck, I'm beginning to feel very satisfied with this project. In the end, even if only a handful of people read the trilogy, I still believe it's the best work I've ever done, and I'm quietly pleased. I'm really glad I've followed it through after all.
I'm also happy to announce that gay romance Angels and Airheads, published by Musa Publishing, is now available at All Romance Ebooks, and many thanks to those readers who have already purchased a copy. I do hope it gives you a smile or two along the way, as it's meant to. It's also showcased today at QMO Books, so I'm thrilled about that, thank you!
Meanwhile, it may not be the season, but gay romance Two Christmases has a 20% discount direct from the publisher for THIS WEEK ONLY, so don't miss out ... And over at Vulpes Libris, I write a fan letter to Anthony Horowitz celebrating his marvellous Sherlock Holmes follow-up, The House of Silk. Great stuff and you must all rush out and buy it at once - it's a classic.
Meditation poetry this week is:
Meditation 634
A king and his
mother
are a powerful
force:
their words and
deeds
make or mar
most.
The father has
little
influence of
course
for his
legacy’s
only a ghost.
Meditation 635
Sunlight slips
like a sigh
between the
curtains
and into my
sleeping eye
for the world
outside
is calling me
to fling the
shutters wide
and bring in
the light
so there are no
more shadows
and no more
night.
Meditation 636
Once in a while
the
instructions left by others
can be useful
so it is safe
to let go
our single
thought
and admit
we are not yet
past
the gift of
being taught.
Life News:
Exciting garden news is that my Paris heuchera has grown another flower, making a grand total of two, hurrah! Now the Milan one needs to catch up and all manner of thing shall be well, as it were ... I'm growing fond of my heuchera city names collection - small at the moment, I know, but I'm planning to get more as and when I can. I fear an obsession is commencing, hey ho ... but a healthy one, at least. Other good news is that I've found another clump of tulips hidden behind other plants, so am looking forward to seeing if they manage to make it through the undergrowth, and if so what colour they might be. Oh, and I've also finished mulching the whole of the shrubbery, which is very satisfying indeed. I am the Mulching Queen of Elstead, you know.
Yesterday we finally put all of the furniture back in K's study so the house is now back to its pre-flood status, hurrah! And we also enjoyed the last of our Lent courses at church - though I'm not as fond of the concept of community as I am of prayer, to be honest. Then again neither K nor I are team players, which is probably why we get on so well.
Today, I have sadly developed something of a cold (bah!) but am battling it bravely with Lemsip, Sudafed, Manukah honey, castor oil, Echinacea, Vitamin C, Lucozade and the power of prayer. Do you think I might be overdoing it?... Anyway, I'm off to London tonight, come what may, to see Jane W for a curry and catch-up, so I and my supply of tissues are very much looking forward to it. Come to think of it, a curry might well be kill or cure, hey ho.
Anne Brooke
The Gathandrian Fantasy Trilogy
Gay Reads UK
Biblical Fiction UK
ANNE BROOKE BOOKS: Independent writer of modern fiction
Showing posts with label Lent. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Lent. Show all posts
Thursday, March 29, 2012
Sunday, March 25, 2012
Gardening and gratitude
Life News:
It must be spring. The fountain is back in the shrubbery and we have done huge amounts of gardening. A trip to Wisley for the Spring Fair yesterday furnished us with dwarf tulips, a red carnation, heuchera (Milan, as we already have Paris - I'm determined to grow my heuchera city names collection as they're the ones with the best flowers), three types of mint and a whole plantation of herbs. We've planted all these now in various places, with the mint plants going in one special pot, and the herbs going in another. Oh, and I also bought another shrub with pink flowers for the shrubbery.
Meanwhile the blossom on the apple tree at the front is looking utterly glorious and the bees love it too. If you stand underneath the tree in the afternoon, it's like being in a bee hive, it's so loud.
Today, K and I have, variously, taken out or radically pruned a couple of shrubs at the back which weren't doing any good to anyone, built a fence, and weeded, watered and mulched the shrubbery - the dark mulch is great, as it really brings out the variety of greens and the pink flowers beautifully. Will definitely be getting more of that one. I've also potted up some osteospermum plug plants to add to our collection in the summerhouse. We're also thinking of getting some red, white and blue phlox for the front especially for Jubilee Year, just to show willing, as you do! Oh, and I've cleared the weed tip near the fence at the front and we're hoping to put a euphorbia in as it's very shady there.
So, gardening city this weekend - well, it's certainly been the weather for it! There is other news, however, for the non-gardeners amongst us. I had a lovely time at Elstead Writers yesterday (hello, all!) and really can't wait for the next one. Such an amazing group. This weekend the clocks went forward so I'm missing my hour, that's for sure. However, I'm not the only one - the organist at church this morning didn't turn up until the second hymn, and though I think we bravely battled our way through the first one unaccompanied, it was definitely better when he arrived, phew. Plus K and I have bravely signed up to the electoral roll, which is usually the sign for imminent spiritual disaster to come on my part, but I'm hoping not, as I do like the church ...
On Friday, K was so utterly keen for cake that he actually cut out two perfect greaseproof paper circles and left them on top of the cake mix before he went to work. Ha! So no pressure then - but I think I muddled through and the lemon drizzle cake is going down a treat, I believe. I'm storing it in my new super-large cake storage tin, and am well on the way to becoming Elstead's Domestic Goddess, ho ho ...
And, inspired by the Lent course last week, I've placed two gratitude bowls on the hall shelf. There are lots of lovely white glass beads in one of them and every time I think of something nice that's happened, I put a bead in the emptier bowl. It's great fun and this weekend it's been filling up nicely, hurrah. That said, I did manage to spill the coffee over the living room floor, and wondered if I should return a bead to the original bowl, but I do understand it's not in the spirit of the thing, alas - and besides the floor downstairs is wood, so anything spilt is easy enough to wipe up, thank goodness.
Book News:
Don't forget there's still 30% discount on many of my Untreed Read books till the end of March, so if you fancy a literary, biblical or sci-fi story, now's your chance. I was also really pleased with a lovely review at Goodreads of The Heart's Greater Silence. Many thanks, KZ, for that. And I've been lucky enough to be one of the ten experts giving their opinion about publishing at the Book Marketing Buzz Blog. Interesting times ahead, that's for sure.
And don't forget you can still win a FREE e-copy of fantasy novel The Gifting if you sign up for my newsletter. Go on - you know you want to ...
This week's meditation poem is:
Meditation 633
There is no requirement
laid upon us
to battle with the shadowed
mesh of the days to come
when each moment,
brightly lived and breathed,
possesses every treasure
to the utmost sum.
The Sunday haiku is:
Sunshine slows my day.
It soaks through my fragile skin,
soothes my cares away.
Anne Brooke
The Gathandria Fantasy Trilogy
Gay Reads UK
Biblical Fiction UK
It must be spring. The fountain is back in the shrubbery and we have done huge amounts of gardening. A trip to Wisley for the Spring Fair yesterday furnished us with dwarf tulips, a red carnation, heuchera (Milan, as we already have Paris - I'm determined to grow my heuchera city names collection as they're the ones with the best flowers), three types of mint and a whole plantation of herbs. We've planted all these now in various places, with the mint plants going in one special pot, and the herbs going in another. Oh, and I also bought another shrub with pink flowers for the shrubbery.
Meanwhile the blossom on the apple tree at the front is looking utterly glorious and the bees love it too. If you stand underneath the tree in the afternoon, it's like being in a bee hive, it's so loud.
Today, K and I have, variously, taken out or radically pruned a couple of shrubs at the back which weren't doing any good to anyone, built a fence, and weeded, watered and mulched the shrubbery - the dark mulch is great, as it really brings out the variety of greens and the pink flowers beautifully. Will definitely be getting more of that one. I've also potted up some osteospermum plug plants to add to our collection in the summerhouse. We're also thinking of getting some red, white and blue phlox for the front especially for Jubilee Year, just to show willing, as you do! Oh, and I've cleared the weed tip near the fence at the front and we're hoping to put a euphorbia in as it's very shady there.
So, gardening city this weekend - well, it's certainly been the weather for it! There is other news, however, for the non-gardeners amongst us. I had a lovely time at Elstead Writers yesterday (hello, all!) and really can't wait for the next one. Such an amazing group. This weekend the clocks went forward so I'm missing my hour, that's for sure. However, I'm not the only one - the organist at church this morning didn't turn up until the second hymn, and though I think we bravely battled our way through the first one unaccompanied, it was definitely better when he arrived, phew. Plus K and I have bravely signed up to the electoral roll, which is usually the sign for imminent spiritual disaster to come on my part, but I'm hoping not, as I do like the church ...
On Friday, K was so utterly keen for cake that he actually cut out two perfect greaseproof paper circles and left them on top of the cake mix before he went to work. Ha! So no pressure then - but I think I muddled through and the lemon drizzle cake is going down a treat, I believe. I'm storing it in my new super-large cake storage tin, and am well on the way to becoming Elstead's Domestic Goddess, ho ho ...
And, inspired by the Lent course last week, I've placed two gratitude bowls on the hall shelf. There are lots of lovely white glass beads in one of them and every time I think of something nice that's happened, I put a bead in the emptier bowl. It's great fun and this weekend it's been filling up nicely, hurrah. That said, I did manage to spill the coffee over the living room floor, and wondered if I should return a bead to the original bowl, but I do understand it's not in the spirit of the thing, alas - and besides the floor downstairs is wood, so anything spilt is easy enough to wipe up, thank goodness.
Book News:
Don't forget there's still 30% discount on many of my Untreed Read books till the end of March, so if you fancy a literary, biblical or sci-fi story, now's your chance. I was also really pleased with a lovely review at Goodreads of The Heart's Greater Silence. Many thanks, KZ, for that. And I've been lucky enough to be one of the ten experts giving their opinion about publishing at the Book Marketing Buzz Blog. Interesting times ahead, that's for sure.
And don't forget you can still win a FREE e-copy of fantasy novel The Gifting if you sign up for my newsletter. Go on - you know you want to ...
This week's meditation poem is:
Meditation 633
There is no requirement
laid upon us
to battle with the shadowed
mesh of the days to come
when each moment,
brightly lived and breathed,
possesses every treasure
to the utmost sum.
The Sunday haiku is:
Sunshine slows my day.
It soaks through my fragile skin,
soothes my cares away.
Anne Brooke
The Gathandria Fantasy Trilogy
Gay Reads UK
Biblical Fiction UK
Thursday, March 22, 2012
Canes, carpets and sweet-smelling deer
Book News:
I'm continuing with the edits for fantasy novel The Executioner's Cane and am now on Page 213 of 293, so not bad going really. Meanwhile there've been a couple of nice reviews for The Heart's Greater Silence, including a 4-star one at Goodreads, and a 5-star one at Amazon US. Many thanks to both those readers for their comments.
You can also find an interview with me at Joo's Book Reviews, in which I reveal the one (of many) things that make me feel really stupid ... And many of my stories at Untreed Reads have a 30% discount for MARCH only, so buy early buy often. In addition, if you buy a story at Untreed Reads this month, then you get another one at half-price, so what could be nicer? Enjoy.
At Vulpes Libris today, you can find my review of Katy Gardner's magnificent psychological thriller, Hidden. Definitely one to get, in my opinion. I've thoroughly enjoyed all the novels of hers I've read.
Finally in this section, you can read all about my views on the pleasure of picnics over at the Cupoporn website today. Mmm, bring on those strawberries and cream ...
Recent meditation poems are:
Meditation 631
It’s not the arrival
that teaches wisdom
but the slow slog
of getting there
just as it’s not the answer
that’s important
but the simple trust
of saying the prayer.
Meditation 632
Asking for help
is to be vulnerable,
to cast our solid assurance
of self away
and admit to the vast
eternal sky
that we alone
are not enough today.
Life News:
Much to our joy, the scaffolders have taken the scaffolding away, so we at last have our house and our TV back, hurrah! It'll be great not to have to carry the computer up and down stairs in order to watch television in a civilised way. To my complete surprise, the lovely roofers then came back and did a thorough sweep and tidy around the whole house so it now looks better than even before we moved in, well gosh. Plus they say they're going to pop back to clean the windows as well - so I'd best get some more cake in indeed. Perhaps it's the cake they miss, eh ...
Yesterday was lovely as I took a half-day off and, because the weather was so magnificent, sat in the garden for most of the afternoon just enjoying the sunshine and the flowers. Bliss.
Not only that but the Lent course I've been dreading all week (due to the horrors of the last one) was actually extremely good indeed. Obviously Dr Borg is far better when he's not trying to explain his dodgy theology (yikes!), and just sticking to subjects about which he seems really rather inspirational - in this case, prayer and Christian practice. It was a very rich and intensely interesting evening and we all had a great time. Plus the vicar will be putting on a day's Introduction to Contemplative Prayer in April, which I am desperate to go to, as I really love silence. And, beyond that, there's a six week series on contemplative prayer and meditation planned in the church, so I'm scheduling that in too, hurrah. Blessings do indeed abound, as they say.
Today, the carpet has been refitted and thoroughly cleaned, and I'm impressed with the results. Heck, you can't even see the earlier port wine stain, so in a way the flood did us a favour. Sort of - I definitely don't want another one, please!... And I have spent a happy five minutes or so spraying Brut deodorant all along the garden fence as our garden expert says it will keep the deer out. I do hope the neighbours weren't watching though, as it surely must have looked entirely odd. Even for us. So the garden now has a distinctly 70s tang, and it will either do the trick or we'll have the best-smelling deer in the neighbourhood. Time alone will tell ...
Anne Brooke
The Gathandrian Fantasy Trilogy
Gay Reads UK
Biblical Fiction UK
At Vulpes Libris today, you can find my review of Katy Gardner's magnificent psychological thriller, Hidden. Definitely one to get, in my opinion. I've thoroughly enjoyed all the novels of hers I've read.
Finally in this section, you can read all about my views on the pleasure of picnics over at the Cupoporn website today. Mmm, bring on those strawberries and cream ...
Recent meditation poems are:
Meditation 631
It’s not the arrival
that teaches wisdom
but the slow slog
of getting there
just as it’s not the answer
that’s important
but the simple trust
of saying the prayer.
Meditation 632
Asking for help
is to be vulnerable,
to cast our solid assurance
of self away
and admit to the vast
eternal sky
that we alone
are not enough today.
Life News:
Much to our joy, the scaffolders have taken the scaffolding away, so we at last have our house and our TV back, hurrah! It'll be great not to have to carry the computer up and down stairs in order to watch television in a civilised way. To my complete surprise, the lovely roofers then came back and did a thorough sweep and tidy around the whole house so it now looks better than even before we moved in, well gosh. Plus they say they're going to pop back to clean the windows as well - so I'd best get some more cake in indeed. Perhaps it's the cake they miss, eh ...
Yesterday was lovely as I took a half-day off and, because the weather was so magnificent, sat in the garden for most of the afternoon just enjoying the sunshine and the flowers. Bliss.
Not only that but the Lent course I've been dreading all week (due to the horrors of the last one) was actually extremely good indeed. Obviously Dr Borg is far better when he's not trying to explain his dodgy theology (yikes!), and just sticking to subjects about which he seems really rather inspirational - in this case, prayer and Christian practice. It was a very rich and intensely interesting evening and we all had a great time. Plus the vicar will be putting on a day's Introduction to Contemplative Prayer in April, which I am desperate to go to, as I really love silence. And, beyond that, there's a six week series on contemplative prayer and meditation planned in the church, so I'm scheduling that in too, hurrah. Blessings do indeed abound, as they say.
Today, the carpet has been refitted and thoroughly cleaned, and I'm impressed with the results. Heck, you can't even see the earlier port wine stain, so in a way the flood did us a favour. Sort of - I definitely don't want another one, please!... And I have spent a happy five minutes or so spraying Brut deodorant all along the garden fence as our garden expert says it will keep the deer out. I do hope the neighbours weren't watching though, as it surely must have looked entirely odd. Even for us. So the garden now has a distinctly 70s tang, and it will either do the trick or we'll have the best-smelling deer in the neighbourhood. Time alone will tell ...
Anne Brooke
The Gathandrian Fantasy Trilogy
Gay Reads UK
Biblical Fiction UK
Thursday, March 15, 2012
Gay marriage and the grumpy churchwoman
As the gay marriage debate hots up, I'm pleased to see that the Church Times journalists on the whole don't really get what the fuss is all about. Isn't it quite rightly a done deal apart from the shouting? I'm also perplexed by the recent old-fashioned emphasis on something only being a "marriage" if you physically have children together. Um, does that mean I'm not actually married because neither K nor I want or like children and indeed had that text in the marriage service removed as neither of us wished to say it? For that decision, we must surely be the lowest of the low!
I also don't understand the argument that same-sex marriages threaten the sanctity of marriage. Um, as this wonderful cartoon tells us, what actually threatens the sanctity of marriage is infidelity, alcoholism, addictions, physical and mental abuse, and lying, amongst other factors. I would say that same-sex marriages would enhance the sanctity of marriage, and indeed might encourage us hetero bods to try and get it right more frequently, especially in a society where two out of three marriages currently end in divorce. Hush my mouth, eh ...
Speaking of which, there's a great blog from the talented Jason Shaw about gay marriage which is definitely worth reading. Well said, Jason. Turning to another issue in the gay community, I'd like to highlight this worthy cause to help support LGBTQ youth. All donations welcome!
Meanwhile, I'm really struggling with the Lent course, groan. The theology of the Marcus Borg video seems highly dodgy to say the least. Many apologies to the man, but I simply don't respond well to skewed debate, manipulation of content and the use of a sparkling web of words as a trap. I've come across it too often in the church in the past to give it my full attention now. Besides, I can't really take seriously the theology of someone who neither likes the physical resurrection of Christ much, nor believes that sin is a viable concept. Um, in my opinion, our bodies are hugely important, and if there isn't any sin, then Christ is a liar and there was no point in Him dying. Which, of course, is a theology everyone is entirely welcome to believe but just don't expect me to join in with much enthusiasm. Ho hum.
So, all in all, the Lent course is very draining, and I'm glad there are only two sessions of it left. Though, as I said previously, it has helped me to nail my colours to my own particular theological mast, which is always interesting. So perhaps it's not all bad, eh. But I probably won't be sending the good Dr B an invitation to our Easter service, hey ho.
But to cheer me up, we have a brand-new phone system, which is so advanced that we fear we can't keep up with it. There are four receivers (four!!) so we can have one in my study, one in the bedroom, one in the hall and one in the kitchen, well gosh. They even tell you the time, and you can get different ringtones for different people who ring you. We've decided my mother should be like a warning call, so I can prepare myself ...
This afternoon, I've nipped in to the doctor's as the time is due (yikes!) when we have to review my anti-depressant medication. I have to admit I've not been looking forward to scaling it down as I've been so much better with it - life-changingly better. But the doctor was very sweet and we've agreed that when I next renew my prescription, I'll be given the 10mg Citalopram rather than my current 20mg ones, and see how I am after a month. Seems reasonable to me - maybe I'm just getting overly worried about it (surprise, surprise, eh). Though it is good to see this article about depression which I thought was highly astute. And the more these things are out in the open, the better.
Plus I have to confess I appear to be entering my peri-menopausal zone (turn aside now if this is too traumatic for you, though of course you're welcome to claim I'm way too young for it, ho ho ...), with the dreaded itchy skin and irregular/unusual periods. Ah what it is to be a woman, eh. I remember asking K years ago if he'd still love me when I'm grumpy, sweaty and awkward. His reply was that he wasn't sure he'd notice any difference, so maybe I'm just growing into my real self, hey ho.
I must also praise the customer service skills of the Co-operative Visa people who were total charm and efficiency on the phone today and solved my issue in seconds. Good for them - and a very pleasant surprise. Tonight, K and I are out at the theatre (hurrah!) seeing Bette and Joan - so hang onto your hats for a night of perfect glamour, wit and bitchiness. Much like any normal night here in the outback really.
Book News:
Over at Vulpes Libris Reviews we're having a high old time. Yesterday, we were recommended by The Times as a good book review website, a wonderful surprise which drove our site hits up from the usual 1000 per day to 2250. Well, gosh, I hope our new visitors enjoyed the read! And it's a nice balance with the previous recommendation we had a couple of years back in The Guardian, so the universe is indeed happy.
I'm delighted to say that my literary horror story The Gift of The Snow has now been accepted for publication by Untreed Reads, so I'm looking forward to working on that one at some point. I'm continuing to work on the edits for The Executioner's Cane and have now reached the dizzy heights of page 50, good for me.
You can also find gay thriller The Bones of Summer available at a 20% discount until 20 March at Dreamspinner Press. And one of my writing friends, Mark Wagstaff, is offering free Amazon vouchers if you help him to choose the title of his new short story collection. He's a great and powerful writer so do have a go, and good luck.
I'm also very excited that I've booked my hotel accommodation for the upcoming GLBTQ UK Writers & Readers Conference in September. I absolutely can't wait for this - especially as most of the GLBTQ fiction conferences take place in the US, so it's lovely to have one in the UK too. And if you're a fan of m/m or GLBTQ fiction, then Brighton in September is definitely the place to be.
Also on a hopeful note, there is at last good news about the recent Paypal Censorship issue - so that writers of erotic fiction, such as myself, will continue to be allowed to use Paypal to sell our books. A moment of victory indeed, especially as it's so much easier getting royalties that way. So a BIG thank you to all who have continued to oppose the literary censorship over the last week, and thank you to Paypal for being willing to reconsider.
Looking to the future, I'll be part of the Amber Allure St Patrick's Day Party on Saturday 17 March, and there's going to be lots of fun, frolics and book giveaways, including my own. So come on in on Saturday and enjoy!
This week's meditation poems are:
Meditation 628
Sometimes all you need
to carry on
are a small nearby light
and the distant promise
of sunshine.
Meditation 629
The day is filled
with emptiness
and the faint memory
of fire
while the history
that binds us
falls away as the smoke
drifts higher.
Meditation 630
It’s come to my attention
that we learn far more
from disaster
than success.
So let us be content
to fail and grow wise,
and live well
with less.
Anne Brooke
The Gathandrian Fantasy Trilogy
Gay Reads UK
Biblical Fiction UK
Thursday, March 08, 2012
Elstead goes Hollywood
Book News:
I've had great fun today during the first day of shooting for the Milletti Films project - goodness but these people work hard! I've been filmed going up the stairs, coming down the stairs, going up and then coming down again, leaving a room, making tea in the kitchen for the builders, chatting to the (rather startled) postman, and then interviewed in the living room about my life in Surrey, and in my study about my writing life. Tomorrow, on Day Two of the Elstead/Hollywood extravaganza, they'll be filming me attempting (ha!) to play golf, sitting in the garden, sitting in church, praying in my prayer room (what do you mean you don't have a prayer room?!? Shocking indeed ...) and walking through Elstead. Best wear decent shoes then.
It's been hard work and I have no idea where their energy comes from, but I've had a great time. Shame that my request for a magnum of champagne and a small terrier appeared to fall on deaf ears, but one can only try. I'm still waiting for my trailer to arrive ...
Back in the (slightly) more normal book world, I'm pleased to say that gay short story Brady's Choice gained a 4-star review at Goodreads, and For One Night Only was my most popular book this week at Amazon UK.
I've also just finished the fifth book in the Delaneys series and have submitted it to Amber Allure. Gosh, I do hope they like it.
Finally, I was utterly thrilled that the lovely Sharon Bidwell was kind enough to comment on some of my books recently. Many thanks, Sharon - I really appreciate that.
And my review of the really wonderful Heart of Tango by Elia Barcelo is now at Vulpes Libris Reviews. Read and buy it as soon as you can - it's passionate, powerful and almost perfect - what more could you ask for?
Life News:
We're continuing to dry out the carpet and the underlay after the Sunday roofing disaster, and it looks like it might be getting there, slowly. The underlay seems fine now and the carpet is certainly lighter as we move it around to encourage it, so that's good. I'm a bit concerned about the staining on the ceiling and walls of K's study though, where the water came in - I'm hoping we can just paint over at some point, and it won't get any mould problems. We'll have to see.
Today, I was also exceptionally brave when the roofers asked me to go up onto the roof and look at the chimney to see what I thought. Pause for a round of applause! I was really quite jittery going up and down the ladder, but the walk round the scaffolding was nice and the view from the top just stunning. Not sure I'd want to risk it a second time though - so I've agreed we should get a quote from a chimney man and then take a decision about what to do with it.
We've also managed, in between rescuing the house and attempting somewhat foolishly to live a normal life, to turn the dark and nasty corner of our garden into a riot of bedding plant colour. I really like it now, whereas it's been irritating me before. The rest of the garden has also received a serious de-weeding, and it looks much better. We just have to decide what the heck to plant in it. It's amazing how big the beds actually are, when we come to study them. The garden really isn't as small as we assume it is - it's just that it's wide rather than long, and seems to pack a lot into a limited space. I think we'd like a bed of white flowers to go with the pink and white roses - which now have some leaves/buds coming out, well gosh. You plant things and sometimes they grow - it's a revelation to us.
And K and I had a great deal of fun with the rest of the group at our Lent course on Wednesday. Most of us have decided that the video we're following has some seriously dodgy theology and a curious view of debate, and I also think it would be nice if the chappie in the video would occasionally mention the resurrection as if he might believe it. You know, just so we could see he knew the word, deep sigh. Mind you, getting annoyed with said chappie has made me think about what it is I do actually believe, and I'm beginning to realise I'm probably more traditional than I thought I was. So, K and I have come to the conclusion that we're theologically (and indeed politically) conservative, and socially liberal. Hey, that's about a good a summing-up as any, I suppose.
Anne Brooke
The Gathandrian Trilogy
Gay Reads UK
Biblical Fiction UK
I've had great fun today during the first day of shooting for the Milletti Films project - goodness but these people work hard! I've been filmed going up the stairs, coming down the stairs, going up and then coming down again, leaving a room, making tea in the kitchen for the builders, chatting to the (rather startled) postman, and then interviewed in the living room about my life in Surrey, and in my study about my writing life. Tomorrow, on Day Two of the Elstead/Hollywood extravaganza, they'll be filming me attempting (ha!) to play golf, sitting in the garden, sitting in church, praying in my prayer room (what do you mean you don't have a prayer room?!? Shocking indeed ...) and walking through Elstead. Best wear decent shoes then.
It's been hard work and I have no idea where their energy comes from, but I've had a great time. Shame that my request for a magnum of champagne and a small terrier appeared to fall on deaf ears, but one can only try. I'm still waiting for my trailer to arrive ...
I've also just finished the fifth book in the Delaneys series and have submitted it to Amber Allure. Gosh, I do hope they like it.
Finally, I was utterly thrilled that the lovely Sharon Bidwell was kind enough to comment on some of my books recently. Many thanks, Sharon - I really appreciate that.
And my review of the really wonderful Heart of Tango by Elia Barcelo is now at Vulpes Libris Reviews. Read and buy it as soon as you can - it's passionate, powerful and almost perfect - what more could you ask for?
Life News:
We're continuing to dry out the carpet and the underlay after the Sunday roofing disaster, and it looks like it might be getting there, slowly. The underlay seems fine now and the carpet is certainly lighter as we move it around to encourage it, so that's good. I'm a bit concerned about the staining on the ceiling and walls of K's study though, where the water came in - I'm hoping we can just paint over at some point, and it won't get any mould problems. We'll have to see.
Today, I was also exceptionally brave when the roofers asked me to go up onto the roof and look at the chimney to see what I thought. Pause for a round of applause! I was really quite jittery going up and down the ladder, but the walk round the scaffolding was nice and the view from the top just stunning. Not sure I'd want to risk it a second time though - so I've agreed we should get a quote from a chimney man and then take a decision about what to do with it.
We've also managed, in between rescuing the house and attempting somewhat foolishly to live a normal life, to turn the dark and nasty corner of our garden into a riot of bedding plant colour. I really like it now, whereas it's been irritating me before. The rest of the garden has also received a serious de-weeding, and it looks much better. We just have to decide what the heck to plant in it. It's amazing how big the beds actually are, when we come to study them. The garden really isn't as small as we assume it is - it's just that it's wide rather than long, and seems to pack a lot into a limited space. I think we'd like a bed of white flowers to go with the pink and white roses - which now have some leaves/buds coming out, well gosh. You plant things and sometimes they grow - it's a revelation to us.
And K and I had a great deal of fun with the rest of the group at our Lent course on Wednesday. Most of us have decided that the video we're following has some seriously dodgy theology and a curious view of debate, and I also think it would be nice if the chappie in the video would occasionally mention the resurrection as if he might believe it. You know, just so we could see he knew the word, deep sigh. Mind you, getting annoyed with said chappie has made me think about what it is I do actually believe, and I'm beginning to realise I'm probably more traditional than I thought I was. So, K and I have come to the conclusion that we're theologically (and indeed politically) conservative, and socially liberal. Hey, that's about a good a summing-up as any, I suppose.
Anne Brooke
The Gathandrian Trilogy
Gay Reads UK
Biblical Fiction UK
Thursday, March 01, 2012
Free Giveaway Competition at my first Author Week!
Book News:
I'm thrilled this week to be the subject of the first ever Author Week at Pants Off Reviews, and I must say I'm having a thoroughly enjoyable time so many thanks to Darien for that. As part of the week, four reviews have been posted so far, including Give and Take, The Delaneys and Me, Entertaining the Delaneys and The Art of the Delaneys. I do hope you enjoy reading Darien's take on my fiction.
Not only that but you can read all about my views on Ferrero Rocher chocolates and French knickers at my site interview, and don't forget to leave a comment to enter a FREE competition to win an ebook from my backlist - make sure you don't miss out on that one! Happy reading.
Other book-related excitements this week are that thriller Thorn in the Flesh was an Amazon UK bestseller during the week, and also up there in the Amazon UK charts was gay short story The Heart's Greater Silence. I hope those who've purchased both books have enjoyed the read.
Meanwhile, after my recent bout of illness has at last subsided, I'm back in the routine of writing again, although it's been a bit tricky this morning now the roofers are in situ (see below ...). I've also managed to get back into my morning meditation poems:
Meditation 624
Balanced between
the city’s vibrant hum
and the wilder grey
of the sea
there’s a cliff-top moment
to remember
how you arrived here
before you cease to be.
Meditation 625
All the battles
and rages of men
silenced by the thorns
and cedars of Lebanon
until the whole earth
is at peace again.
Meditation 626
Forgive my prejudice
but no matter
what a man has done
I can’t help
judging him kindly
if he’s a lover
of farming or wine
Meditation 627
You recall that dark night,
the air possessed
with incense’s sour assault
and the flicker
of the candles’ shadow
against the silent altar.
Most of all you remember
when a thousand failures
in their perfumed breath
overcame the sacred space
to pattern your skin
with slow unforgiven death.
Life News:
K and I have been very excited indeed (steady, people ...) by the arrival of our brand-new recycling bins. They're so new! So shiny! So colourful! Well gosh. We now have a big blue bin where everything can go - instead of the three sets of bins we've been used to where you have to spend hours (hours, my dears, hours!) dividing things out or the Recycling Men will leave a plastic carton or two on your pillow ... As it were. Plus, for the first time ever, we have a food bin which comes in two sizes - the smaller one goes in the kitchen and then fits into the bigger one for when it's collected. Plus we have huge numbers of instructions which I will have to read through before the big change-over day happens. In April apparently, so time is on my side ...
And yesterday, K and I attended the first of the church's Lent meetings, which will look at how to have an adult faith. I suspect they're not using the word "adult" in the way that I would do so, however, so absolutely no need to write to the papers. One hopes. Last night we looked at God, and decided he's maybe not as bad as everyone thinks - though being the die-hard traditionalist that I have apparently now become - I kept alive the small flame which offers the thought that God is mystery and ultimately unknowable. Though we catch glimpses of who he really is now and again. Much like people then, hey ho.
Today, the four roofers have arrived and will be with us for the next two-and-a-half weeks. Most of the scaffolding went up yesterday, though more has joined it today, so there's another couple of men to add to the teas/coffees/cake list. Really, it's all very grand and we're beginning to look like a cathedral. We're thinking of draping a trompe l'oeil with a castle scene across the frontage and claiming independence. You heard it first here. Anyway they've all been very lovely and have been happily hammering away, and occasionally chatting about who has the best work trousers. I think the jury's still out on that one.
Plus, as they all arrived and went to work at 7.30am, I suspect I will have to get up earlier tomorrow - if only to avoid opening the door in my dressing gown. Yes, yes, I know - my dressing gown doesn't have a door, but I just couldn't resist typing it. I think I might have to get more cake too, and maybe some biscuits. I don't want anyone to faint with hunger and fall off the scaffold ...
Anne Brooke
The Gathandrian Trilogy
Gay Reads UK
Biblical Fiction UK
Not only that but you can read all about my views on Ferrero Rocher chocolates and French knickers at my site interview, and don't forget to leave a comment to enter a FREE competition to win an ebook from my backlist - make sure you don't miss out on that one! Happy reading.
Meanwhile, after my recent bout of illness has at last subsided, I'm back in the routine of writing again, although it's been a bit tricky this morning now the roofers are in situ (see below ...). I've also managed to get back into my morning meditation poems:
Meditation 624
Balanced between
the city’s vibrant hum
and the wilder grey
of the sea
there’s a cliff-top moment
to remember
how you arrived here
before you cease to be.
Meditation 625
All the battles
and rages of men
silenced by the thorns
and cedars of Lebanon
until the whole earth
is at peace again.
Meditation 626
Forgive my prejudice
but no matter
what a man has done
I can’t help
judging him kindly
if he’s a lover
of farming or wine
Meditation 627
You recall that dark night,
the air possessed
with incense’s sour assault
and the flicker
of the candles’ shadow
against the silent altar.
Most of all you remember
when a thousand failures
in their perfumed breath
overcame the sacred space
to pattern your skin
with slow unforgiven death.
Life News:
K and I have been very excited indeed (steady, people ...) by the arrival of our brand-new recycling bins. They're so new! So shiny! So colourful! Well gosh. We now have a big blue bin where everything can go - instead of the three sets of bins we've been used to where you have to spend hours (hours, my dears, hours!) dividing things out or the Recycling Men will leave a plastic carton or two on your pillow ... As it were. Plus, for the first time ever, we have a food bin which comes in two sizes - the smaller one goes in the kitchen and then fits into the bigger one for when it's collected. Plus we have huge numbers of instructions which I will have to read through before the big change-over day happens. In April apparently, so time is on my side ...
And yesterday, K and I attended the first of the church's Lent meetings, which will look at how to have an adult faith. I suspect they're not using the word "adult" in the way that I would do so, however, so absolutely no need to write to the papers. One hopes. Last night we looked at God, and decided he's maybe not as bad as everyone thinks - though being the die-hard traditionalist that I have apparently now become - I kept alive the small flame which offers the thought that God is mystery and ultimately unknowable. Though we catch glimpses of who he really is now and again. Much like people then, hey ho.
Today, the four roofers have arrived and will be with us for the next two-and-a-half weeks. Most of the scaffolding went up yesterday, though more has joined it today, so there's another couple of men to add to the teas/coffees/cake list. Really, it's all very grand and we're beginning to look like a cathedral. We're thinking of draping a trompe l'oeil with a castle scene across the frontage and claiming independence. You heard it first here. Anyway they've all been very lovely and have been happily hammering away, and occasionally chatting about who has the best work trousers. I think the jury's still out on that one.
Plus, as they all arrived and went to work at 7.30am, I suspect I will have to get up earlier tomorrow - if only to avoid opening the door in my dressing gown. Yes, yes, I know - my dressing gown doesn't have a door, but I just couldn't resist typing it. I think I might have to get more cake too, and maybe some biscuits. I don't want anyone to faint with hunger and fall off the scaffold ...
Anne Brooke
The Gathandrian Trilogy
Gay Reads UK
Biblical Fiction UK
Thursday, February 23, 2012
Daffodils, coconuts and literary comparisons
Book News:
Some nice news about my fantasy novel The Gifting this week. First of all, for a couple of days, it was my bestselling ebook at Amazon UK, and then the lovely Nithu gave it a 4-star review at Goodreads, and even compared my hero Simon Hartstongue to the quite magnificent Thomas Covenant from the bestselling Unbeliever Chronicles series by Stephen Donaldson. Well, gosh, excellent company indeed! And even more heartening as in my teens and twenties I was a huge fan of Thomas Covenant and I like to think my Simon is in some way the next development of that kind of character.
To add to my successes with Bluewood Publishing, I'm equally pleased to note that today my most popular Amazon UK ebook is historical short story Dido's Tale. Hurrah, you go, gal!
Also today, you can find me at TWLIB Reviews with an article taking a look at the concepts of love and obsession in fiction - all visitors welcome and let me know what you think! Love certainly makes the world go round, for better or for worse ...
At Vulpes Libris Reviews, you can find my review of Simon Van Booy's literary novel, Everything Beautiful Began After. It's certainly a beautiful beginning but I fear the finish is rather disappointing, sad to say. I suspect he's more a short story writer than a novelist, but that's only my personal take on the book.
And I'm very happy that my money from the ALCS author funds has come through for this year, so that's a nice little boost to the bank balance, hurrah, and thank you.
Oh, and this week the Surrey Advertiser has interviewed me about the Guildford setting in gay short story The Heart's Greater Silence, and sent a photographer to take a shot too, so I'm looking forward to seeing that article in print at some point. I only hope they understood me as I could barely understand myself, with all the coughing, snuffling and sneezing ...
Life News:
For most of this week, I've continued to be ill, though I did make it into work on Monday (probably a mistake, as it then took Tuesday to recover ...). I'm feeling a lot more normal (ha!) now though, and heartfelt thanks to some very helpful Facebook friends who've suggested some high-quality catarrh/vomiting remedies. A BIG thank you to you all, as I really seriously needed some help! I'm definitely stockpiling everything I can think of ready for the next nasty bout of the wretched beast.
Also this week, Lent has begun. I was toying with the idea of giving up teasing my husband for Lent, but he is still laughing hysterically at the notion that I might last more than 30 seconds in the attempt (such marital confidence, eh!) so I've decided, along the lines of last year, to give up worrying instead. Much healthier, in my opinion.
Recent Nature News has been that the blue tits finished the coconut bird food we'd hung from the apple tree in the front garden - and then very cunningly angled the empty shell towards us so we could see that they needed more, and soon. Clever, clever birds ... Thankfully, K rushed to replace it so we are no longer in danger of being dive-bombed by half-starved birds when we leave the house. Phew. And today, we have our very first daffodil in bloom in the garden. Double hurrahs and hang out the bunting! I hope some daffodil friends come and join it very soon, but in the meantime we are both still hugely excited by the delights of nature.
Tonight, K and I are off to Woking Theatre to see Yes Prime Minister, so we're looking forward to a few laughs and some political irony in order to round the day off nicely.
Anne Brooke
The Gathandrian Trilogy
Gay Reads UK
Biblical Fiction UK
Also today, you can find me at TWLIB Reviews with an article taking a look at the concepts of love and obsession in fiction - all visitors welcome and let me know what you think! Love certainly makes the world go round, for better or for worse ...
At Vulpes Libris Reviews, you can find my review of Simon Van Booy's literary novel, Everything Beautiful Began After. It's certainly a beautiful beginning but I fear the finish is rather disappointing, sad to say. I suspect he's more a short story writer than a novelist, but that's only my personal take on the book.
And I'm very happy that my money from the ALCS author funds has come through for this year, so that's a nice little boost to the bank balance, hurrah, and thank you.
Life News:
For most of this week, I've continued to be ill, though I did make it into work on Monday (probably a mistake, as it then took Tuesday to recover ...). I'm feeling a lot more normal (ha!) now though, and heartfelt thanks to some very helpful Facebook friends who've suggested some high-quality catarrh/vomiting remedies. A BIG thank you to you all, as I really seriously needed some help! I'm definitely stockpiling everything I can think of ready for the next nasty bout of the wretched beast.
Also this week, Lent has begun. I was toying with the idea of giving up teasing my husband for Lent, but he is still laughing hysterically at the notion that I might last more than 30 seconds in the attempt (such marital confidence, eh!) so I've decided, along the lines of last year, to give up worrying instead. Much healthier, in my opinion.
Recent Nature News has been that the blue tits finished the coconut bird food we'd hung from the apple tree in the front garden - and then very cunningly angled the empty shell towards us so we could see that they needed more, and soon. Clever, clever birds ... Thankfully, K rushed to replace it so we are no longer in danger of being dive-bombed by half-starved birds when we leave the house. Phew. And today, we have our very first daffodil in bloom in the garden. Double hurrahs and hang out the bunting! I hope some daffodil friends come and join it very soon, but in the meantime we are both still hugely excited by the delights of nature.
Tonight, K and I are off to Woking Theatre to see Yes Prime Minister, so we're looking forward to a few laughs and some political irony in order to round the day off nicely.
Anne Brooke
The Gathandrian Trilogy
Gay Reads UK
Biblical Fiction UK
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Read an Ebook Week!
Book News:
Welcome to Read an Ebook Week! I hope that those of you who read ebooks are having a great time and those of you who haven't taken the plunge yet might get the urge to have a go, especially in view of the range of discounts offered during the week by a wide variety of publishers.
In terms of my own books on offer this week, here's what there is:
1. 20% discount on all my work at Rainbow Ebooks - until this Saturday
2. 25% discount on The Hit List - direct from the publisher
3. 20% discount on all my ebooks at Dreamspinner Press
4. 20% discount on my haiku collection, Sunday Haiku - direct from the publisher
5. If you buy A Woman like The Sea, then my other books at Untreed Reads are at a 40% discount
And what could be nicer than all that? Enjoy!
Other book news is that Creative Accountancy for Beginners was briefly at No 43 in the Amazon UK Kindle charts, and The Delaneys and Me came in at No 90 in the Amazon UK Kindle Gay charts, so that certainly put a smile on my face.
In addition, Entertaining the Delaneys is now available from All Romance Ebooks, and I'm also happy to announce that I'll be taking part in the British Author Fortnight at Brief Encounter Reviews - my slot is 22 March so I'm looking forward to that.
Meanwhile, I'm quietly pleased to say that I've reached my 500th meditation poem. Doesn't mean a lot to anyone else, I know, but I feel pretty happy about it. Maybe I'll reach No 1000 one day - there's plenty of bible left to read, that's for sure! Here are the most recent poems:
Meditation 499
To make a fresh start
sometimes all you need
is a trusted road
and an open heart.
Meditation 500
God is best discovered
in the search
for something else
when we become aware
of the shimmer
at the edge of vision,
the thought
we can’t quite capture,
the friend we’ve forgotten
to meet:
that borderline land
where dreams still stand.
Meditation 501
Words when spoken aloud
create their own
unknowable life:
they break down
ancient temples,
destroy the history
we thought we knew,
change men’s lives,
reshape what is to come.
Meditation 502
After activity
the time comes
for celebration and rest,
the rhythm
of life’s seasons
being only the best.
Life News:
Well, we've had Pancake Day on Tuesday (mmm, pancakes - always good with ice cream and treacle, mmm ...), so Lent has begun in full. Forty days of trying to ease down on the worrying - I'm doing okay so far, but hey it's only Day Two. But I'm not worrying about it (ha!) so that's all right. My mantra, or rather two of my mantras, so far are: it might just work out well if I leave it alone; and God's more worried about this than I am, so let him do his job ... Not catchy, I know, but I'm letting them settle. The anti-depressants are good so far too, and are no doubt helping my Lenten focus. I feel surprisingly calm, even measured. That's not a feeling I've had for a while - it's very pleasant change. It may be psychosomatic as I've not been on them for more than a week, but I'm not complaining.
I even quite enjoyed staffing the Student Care table at last night's Postgraduate Open Event with one of my colleagues from Student Advice. It was great to catch up and we had some good conversations with visitors. At one stage, I even sounded fairly knowledgeable, which surprised me most of all. I doubt that will last long as really I don't know a bean.
And television is weaving its strange and mystical spell upon me. I was severely disappointed with the utter melodrama and laughable plot of the last episode of South Riding on Sunday. What were they all thinking? I giggled all the way through it (is it the pills?). As Andrea at work said, how can a cliff fall down onto a beach taking horse and rider with it and not one person notices that the cliff is missing. What??! I blame the lack of electricity they appear to have oop North - as everything was done in the utmost gloom. Somebody switch a light on and we can all head for the door ...
Mind you, I am still gripped with the huge amount of Awful People (capitals deliberate) who work at The Model Agency. They are all utterly horrid, my dears, honestly. It comes to something when the sanest, nicest and most sensible people in a TV programme are the teenage models themselves. It's the old people at the agency I despair of. What is the world coming to?
Anne Brooke
Welcome to Read an Ebook Week! I hope that those of you who read ebooks are having a great time and those of you who haven't taken the plunge yet might get the urge to have a go, especially in view of the range of discounts offered during the week by a wide variety of publishers.
In terms of my own books on offer this week, here's what there is:
1. 20% discount on all my work at Rainbow Ebooks - until this Saturday
2. 25% discount on The Hit List - direct from the publisher
3. 20% discount on all my ebooks at Dreamspinner Press
4. 20% discount on my haiku collection, Sunday Haiku - direct from the publisher
5. If you buy A Woman like The Sea, then my other books at Untreed Reads are at a 40% discount
And what could be nicer than all that? Enjoy!
Other book news is that Creative Accountancy for Beginners was briefly at No 43 in the Amazon UK Kindle charts, and The Delaneys and Me came in at No 90 in the Amazon UK Kindle Gay charts, so that certainly put a smile on my face.
In addition, Entertaining the Delaneys is now available from All Romance Ebooks, and I'm also happy to announce that I'll be taking part in the British Author Fortnight at Brief Encounter Reviews - my slot is 22 March so I'm looking forward to that.
Meanwhile, I'm quietly pleased to say that I've reached my 500th meditation poem. Doesn't mean a lot to anyone else, I know, but I feel pretty happy about it. Maybe I'll reach No 1000 one day - there's plenty of bible left to read, that's for sure! Here are the most recent poems:
Meditation 499
To make a fresh start
sometimes all you need
is a trusted road
and an open heart.
Meditation 500
God is best discovered
in the search
for something else
when we become aware
of the shimmer
at the edge of vision,
the thought
we can’t quite capture,
the friend we’ve forgotten
to meet:
that borderline land
where dreams still stand.
Meditation 501
Words when spoken aloud
create their own
unknowable life:
they break down
ancient temples,
destroy the history
we thought we knew,
change men’s lives,
reshape what is to come.
Meditation 502
After activity
the time comes
for celebration and rest,
the rhythm
of life’s seasons
being only the best.
Life News:
Well, we've had Pancake Day on Tuesday (mmm, pancakes - always good with ice cream and treacle, mmm ...), so Lent has begun in full. Forty days of trying to ease down on the worrying - I'm doing okay so far, but hey it's only Day Two. But I'm not worrying about it (ha!) so that's all right. My mantra, or rather two of my mantras, so far are: it might just work out well if I leave it alone; and God's more worried about this than I am, so let him do his job ... Not catchy, I know, but I'm letting them settle. The anti-depressants are good so far too, and are no doubt helping my Lenten focus. I feel surprisingly calm, even measured. That's not a feeling I've had for a while - it's very pleasant change. It may be psychosomatic as I've not been on them for more than a week, but I'm not complaining.
I even quite enjoyed staffing the Student Care table at last night's Postgraduate Open Event with one of my colleagues from Student Advice. It was great to catch up and we had some good conversations with visitors. At one stage, I even sounded fairly knowledgeable, which surprised me most of all. I doubt that will last long as really I don't know a bean.
And television is weaving its strange and mystical spell upon me. I was severely disappointed with the utter melodrama and laughable plot of the last episode of South Riding on Sunday. What were they all thinking? I giggled all the way through it (is it the pills?). As Andrea at work said, how can a cliff fall down onto a beach taking horse and rider with it and not one person notices that the cliff is missing. What??! I blame the lack of electricity they appear to have oop North - as everything was done in the utmost gloom. Somebody switch a light on and we can all head for the door ...
Mind you, I am still gripped with the huge amount of Awful People (capitals deliberate) who work at The Model Agency. They are all utterly horrid, my dears, honestly. It comes to something when the sanest, nicest and most sensible people in a TV programme are the teenage models themselves. It's the old people at the agency I despair of. What is the world coming to?
Anne Brooke
Thursday, March 03, 2011
The Importance of Fruit and the welcoming touch
Book News:
It is a matter for general astonishment on all sides that during February when it was offered as a free story, How to Eat Fruit was actually downloaded 4,800 times. Ye gods and little fishes, that's more than a 1,000 times a week! I know at least a couple of those who took the punt didn't enjoy it, but I hope some of the others did. Now, just imagine how big a smile I'd have if it hadn't been free! But in any case it's lovely to think of 4,800 readers, or potentially so - therefore a BIG thank you to all who clicked on that button! Well gosh.
A Woman Like The Sea now has its earlier review up at Queer Magazine Online, so thank you to Victor and Anders for that. In addition, if during March you buy A Woman Like The Sea, than you can get any other of my Untreed Reads books with a 40% discount - so there's another good offer to whet your reading appetite. Keeping with Untreed Reads, I was pleased to see that The Girl in the Painting was No 3 on their international bestseller list for February, gosh again.
Reviews this week so far have been as follows:
The Delaneys and Me gained a 4.5 star review at MichelenJeff Reviews.
At the same review site, Entertaining the Delaneys gained a 5 star review.
And Brady's Choice received a 5+ star review, so that was thrilling, I can tell you. Gosh indeed! And thank you to Jeff for reviewing all those so kindly.
Not to be outdone, Sunday Haiku was briefly at No 68 in the Amazon UK Kindle chart, and I even managed to reach the 110,000 word marker in The Executioner's Cane, huzzahs galore and put out the bunting. Heck, I might even finish the trilogy one day - who knows.
This week I've reviewed Ron Butlin's Vivaldi and the Number 3 for Vulpes Libris, which is a musically surreal short story collection that it's wisest not to consume all at once. And recent meditations are:
Meditation 494
The shadow from the sun
retraces the silent step
for a paste of figs
and bitter tears
so one man’s grief
exceeds the worth
of the truth carved out
through all the years.
Meditation 495
Do not trust
the messengers of Babylonia,
do not let them in:
they’ll admire
everything you own then take it
when they leave again.
So do not trust
the messengers of Babylonia,
my friend:
they come
with gifts and smiles but they’ll only hurt you
in the end.
Meditation 496
To be remembered for water
is how to begin
so still the tongue
and let the brightness in.
Life News:
A difficult week, health-wise, but also positive really. Without the HRT, I've been all over the place so I finally bit the proverbial damn bullet and went to the doctor this week about my mood (low, if you're asking). I did the mercifully short (as I didn't have my reading glasses) test she gave me and we discovered I'm 9/21 for anxiety and 8/21 for depression. Which apparently makes me moderately, but not severely, depressed. So it's not all bad news and gloom really! Lord knows it could be worse ... Anyway, the upshot is I'm now on my first medically-prescribed anti-depressant (ah, welcome to mid-forties womanhood indeed ..) which is called Cipramil. Yes, of course I looked up the list of side effects on the NHS site but it was so long I thought I'd stop reading before I jumped out of the nearest window. Ha! Anyway, I'm now on Day 2 of the new Happy Pills and am feeling surprisingly perky. Which must be psychosomatic as they're not supposed to kick in for at least 2 weeks. I can't take the St John's Wort with these, alas, so they're on their own, the pesky little devils. We will see, eh ...
On a happier note, I have decided, along with the lovely Kirsty at Vulpes Libris, to give up worrying for Lent. I was toying with giving up chocolate, but hell I could do without the pressure right now, so an attempted lack of worrying seems like a better idea. I've also enjoyed finishing off the story of Joseph and his brothers at bible study this week. Now there's a disfunctional family if ever I saw one. Too much favouritism is never anything but a dangerous game, my dears ...
I also spent a lovely lunchtime at Wisley yesterday, though I'm afraid there were no cupcakes and the cappuccino just isn't as good as at The Savill Garden, but nonetheless the camellias were out, alongside some gloriously scented daphne sprigs and irises, amongst others. It was all very relaxing which was just what I needed really. And I've popped in to see my former neighbour in Woking today, so that was good to catch up.
I'm hoping all this positive input will help me through the no doubt agonising final episode of the increasingly grim South Riding on TV - I am still traumatised by last Sunday so who knows what I'll be like after the weekend. Someone get me some happy TV to watch, soon!
Finally, I am beyond thrilled to announce that it's now official: UK students have voted our University as the most welcoming in Britain, and my boss gets to have a few words in the article too, hurrah! Good for Student Care is what I say - we all put a heck of a lot of work into Welcome Week arrangements and changes (which takes up a good portion of our year and takes me a month to recover from afterwards!) and it's lovely to think that the students do get something out of our efforts. Well done to them and us, and here's to this year's Welcome Week also - the champagne's on me ...
Anne Brooke
It is a matter for general astonishment on all sides that during February when it was offered as a free story, How to Eat Fruit was actually downloaded 4,800 times. Ye gods and little fishes, that's more than a 1,000 times a week! I know at least a couple of those who took the punt didn't enjoy it, but I hope some of the others did. Now, just imagine how big a smile I'd have if it hadn't been free! But in any case it's lovely to think of 4,800 readers, or potentially so - therefore a BIG thank you to all who clicked on that button! Well gosh.
A Woman Like The Sea now has its earlier review up at Queer Magazine Online, so thank you to Victor and Anders for that. In addition, if during March you buy A Woman Like The Sea, than you can get any other of my Untreed Reads books with a 40% discount - so there's another good offer to whet your reading appetite. Keeping with Untreed Reads, I was pleased to see that The Girl in the Painting was No 3 on their international bestseller list for February, gosh again.
Reviews this week so far have been as follows:
The Delaneys and Me gained a 4.5 star review at MichelenJeff Reviews.
At the same review site, Entertaining the Delaneys gained a 5 star review.
And Brady's Choice received a 5+ star review, so that was thrilling, I can tell you. Gosh indeed! And thank you to Jeff for reviewing all those so kindly.
Not to be outdone, Sunday Haiku was briefly at No 68 in the Amazon UK Kindle chart, and I even managed to reach the 110,000 word marker in The Executioner's Cane, huzzahs galore and put out the bunting. Heck, I might even finish the trilogy one day - who knows.
This week I've reviewed Ron Butlin's Vivaldi and the Number 3 for Vulpes Libris, which is a musically surreal short story collection that it's wisest not to consume all at once. And recent meditations are:
Meditation 494
The shadow from the sun
retraces the silent step
for a paste of figs
and bitter tears
so one man’s grief
exceeds the worth
of the truth carved out
through all the years.
Meditation 495
Do not trust
the messengers of Babylonia,
do not let them in:
they’ll admire
everything you own then take it
when they leave again.
So do not trust
the messengers of Babylonia,
my friend:
they come
with gifts and smiles but they’ll only hurt you
in the end.
Meditation 496
To be remembered for water
is how to begin
so still the tongue
and let the brightness in.
Life News:
A difficult week, health-wise, but also positive really. Without the HRT, I've been all over the place so I finally bit the proverbial damn bullet and went to the doctor this week about my mood (low, if you're asking). I did the mercifully short (as I didn't have my reading glasses) test she gave me and we discovered I'm 9/21 for anxiety and 8/21 for depression. Which apparently makes me moderately, but not severely, depressed. So it's not all bad news and gloom really! Lord knows it could be worse ... Anyway, the upshot is I'm now on my first medically-prescribed anti-depressant (ah, welcome to mid-forties womanhood indeed ..) which is called Cipramil. Yes, of course I looked up the list of side effects on the NHS site but it was so long I thought I'd stop reading before I jumped out of the nearest window. Ha! Anyway, I'm now on Day 2 of the new Happy Pills and am feeling surprisingly perky. Which must be psychosomatic as they're not supposed to kick in for at least 2 weeks. I can't take the St John's Wort with these, alas, so they're on their own, the pesky little devils. We will see, eh ...
On a happier note, I have decided, along with the lovely Kirsty at Vulpes Libris, to give up worrying for Lent. I was toying with giving up chocolate, but hell I could do without the pressure right now, so an attempted lack of worrying seems like a better idea. I've also enjoyed finishing off the story of Joseph and his brothers at bible study this week. Now there's a disfunctional family if ever I saw one. Too much favouritism is never anything but a dangerous game, my dears ...
I also spent a lovely lunchtime at Wisley yesterday, though I'm afraid there were no cupcakes and the cappuccino just isn't as good as at The Savill Garden, but nonetheless the camellias were out, alongside some gloriously scented daphne sprigs and irises, amongst others. It was all very relaxing which was just what I needed really. And I've popped in to see my former neighbour in Woking today, so that was good to catch up.
I'm hoping all this positive input will help me through the no doubt agonising final episode of the increasingly grim South Riding on TV - I am still traumatised by last Sunday so who knows what I'll be like after the weekend. Someone get me some happy TV to watch, soon!
Finally, I am beyond thrilled to announce that it's now official: UK students have voted our University as the most welcoming in Britain, and my boss gets to have a few words in the article too, hurrah! Good for Student Care is what I say - we all put a heck of a lot of work into Welcome Week arrangements and changes (which takes up a good portion of our year and takes me a month to recover from afterwards!) and it's lovely to think that the students do get something out of our efforts. Well done to them and us, and here's to this year's Welcome Week also - the champagne's on me ...
Anne Brooke
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