Canes, colds and Christmas

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