Gay marriage, a high-handed Church and The Origami Nun

Book News:

My new children's book The Origami Nun has just been published by Karabeth Publishing under my pseudonym Lori Olding. It's in ebook version right now from Amazon UK and Amazon US, and will be out in paperback version sometime in August.

The blurb is:

Seven-year old Ruth can't speak, but she can certainly think. She knows her birthday is going to be good as her beloved great-aunt has exciting plans for her. 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 when her special day is over, Ruth is in for some very big surprises.

I hope you enjoy the read!

Other nice book news this week is that gay short story The Delaneys At Home (Delaneys *5) received a lovely 5-star review at The Novel Approach. Many thanks, Lisa. You can now also find The Delaneys At Home for sale at All Romance Ebooks. Gay comic romance The Hit List also gained a 4-star review at Goodreads, so thank you for that, Suze.

Meanwhile, Gay Pride Month continues at Untreed Reads, where you can find some of my books for sale at a 25% discount. Hurry before June ends!...

Today at Vulpes Libris you can find my review of Donna Hay's charming novel The Two Mrs Robinsons. A quirkily different book, and I do recommend it.

Here's my latest meditation poem:


Meditation 666
Hold back the four winds
and let the silence
come thundering in
until you see

there is a space
at the heart of the world
which waits for you
to find it.


Life News:

This week I've been highly frustrated and deeply saddened by the ridiculous statements coming from the Church of England supposedly speaking for all Anglicans. You can read this week's particular load of baloney here. Utter rot and nonsense, say I. Here and now, I'd like to make it perfectly clear (as indeed I have before, many times) that this straight Anglican is very much in support of all GLBTQ people and is also extremely supportive of same-sex marriage. As indeed are many other Anglicans, so the Church's statement does not in any sense of the word speak on behalf of its people. Churchman Giles Fraser, as ever, puts it so much better than I do - here's his marvellous and very wise article. You can also find out more at the Changing Attitude website, and support the cause of same-sex marriage here. May I encourage you to do so, if you haven't already. I really do feel we should stand up for the cause of justice and equality in a real and practical way in order to make our voice count. Thank you.

I've not been too well this week, and I was starting to dread another horrible catarrh session was just round the corner - but I somehow seemed to have kept it at bay with the use of some serious medication, thank the good Lord for that. Anyway, I'm feeling better now, and let's hope it stays that way. Mind you, I was at the dental hygienist today so now have very glittery teeth which are probably blinding you even from this distance. I suspect all that glitter might have caused any lurking illnesses to flee to the hills ...

We're hugely pleased that our Bowl of Beauty peony has come out and is looking exceptionally beautiful. What a joy in a dark and dismal week. So dark and dismal indeed that it's astonishing it's blossomed at all - as apparently they only come out in the sun. We probably won't see it again for a while then.

And, in the garden this week, we've spotted a male bullfinch (an increasingly rare sight in the UK, so we're thrilled) and a nuthatch. We hope they both return at some point.

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