Book tours and honey cake

Children's fantasy book The Origami Nun has been on tour this week and there's a giveaway which lasts until 30 September, so there's still lots of time to leave a comment on the tour and be in with a chance of winning. Here is a list of the tour stops for you:

An excerpt at Reading A Little Bit of Everything

A review at The Cover Reviews

A post about Lori's favourite children's authors at Reading Away The Days

A promotion at My Devotional Thoughts

A 5-star review at My Devotional Thoughts

A post about the background story behind the Nun and my own bullying experiences (together with some really lovely and thoughtful comments)

A review at Fire and Ice Reviews


Do feel free to pop in and leave a comment, and I'd like to say a VERY big thank you to the lovely Megan at Reading Away the Days for arranging the blog tour, and to all tour hosts and participants. It's very much appreciated.

Keeping to the subject of giveaways, though of a more adult nature in this case, you have until tomorrow (23 September) to enter the giveaway at Hearts On Fire Reviews. Good luck to all entrants there!

Other items of book news this week include:

Lesbian paranormal story The Girl in The Painting is at No 17 in the Amazon UK Lesbian stories chart.

My Sunday Haiku collection made it to No 8 in the Amazon UK Haiku charts, well gosh.

And gay BDSM story Give and Take gained a lovely review at KazzaK Book Reviews and Therapy (many thanks, Karen).

Meanwhile, over at Vulpes Libris, I revisited that long hot UK summer of 1976 with a review of Judith Allnatt's A Mile of River. A book that was flawed, in my opinion, but with heartening moments of genius. If she could hang on to the genius moments, I'd certainly be interested in reading more.

For the rest of this week, I've been falling asleep in front of the TV more times than I care to remember - though in my defence, I've apparently been working up to the bad cold I currently have (groan) - and which I'm desperately trying to kick into touch before I need to go in to the University tomorrow to help with Move In Weekend. Plus it's Freshers' Week next week and I really do need to be in for that!

Speaking of work, I've managed to take on more hours, which will be great for the household budget, so I'll be working 3.5 days (or 4 shorter days depending on work schedules) from the start of October, rather than the standard 3 days. Many thanks to the boss for letting me do that.

Oh, and I've really enjoyed the latest episode on TV of the documentary Vikings. At last - I've found my people ... I always knew we'd only come across for the shopping and social life. All that pillage stuff is just bad PR, hey ho.

And today I've made Devonshire Honey Cake, and I'm really rather pleased with it. I think that's about as energetic as it gets today as I need to conserve my strength (such as it is) for tomorrow and the rest of the week. Wish me luck.

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

Come to the cabaret, my friends ...

I'm just craftily sneaking in a preview of the glorious cover art for upcoming novel Number Two in the Gathandrian Trilogy, Hallsfoot's Battle. It's courtesy of the supremely talented Penelope Cline, and I love it. I'm on the proofing stage now so we're nearly at lift-off. Am beginning to get rather excited about it too.

Have had a great week - our 19th wedding anniversary was on September 11th, so we really feel grown-up now. Will we have to start being sensible? Heaven forbid! It's astonishing that K hasn't sent me back in despair to the Wife Shop really. Twenty years next year, and we don't feel a day over sixteen. Well, almost sixteen ... Anyway, we started the day with chocolate cake (the healthy breakfast, don't you know ...) and ended it with champagne, so a truly balanced diet all round. Hurrah for us!

It's also been a hugely exciting weekend for me, as I attended the UK GLBTQ Fiction Conference in Brighton as a small part of the presenting team for a couple of sessions ("First 150 words of a novel", and "Ideas - Where Can I Get Some?"), and also as a very enthusiastic participant. We had a wonderful night out on Saturday at a Burlesque cabaret at the Brighton Proud Ballroom, which was marvellous and gloriously cheesy, and I swear I will never see The Ugly Duckling in quite the same way again. Really, it's astonishing what women can do with a power drill and nipple tassels. Perhaps not one to try at home, people ... It was also wonderful to meet people I've only met online before, and catch up with those I've met in "real" life too, and the chance to chat with fellow-writers, readers, publishers and reviewers without having to explain why I write and love gay erotic/non-erotic fiction was really great also. I loved it. Can't wait for next year's meeting in July in Manchester. Bring it on ...

Other book-type news is that Untreed Reads have accepted my comic surreal short story about a dictionary, Candy and Catharsis, for publication next March, so I'm thrilled with that. And the book tour (plus prizes!) for The Origami Nun starts tomorrow, so that should be fun. Hope as many of you out there as possible will come and join me with my Lori Olding hat on - she's a great gal. Honest!...

Meanwhile, over at Vulpes Libris on Thursday, I reviewed the crazy but utterly charming novel, Jane Austen Ruined My Life by Beth Pattillo. Definitely worth a read, and a class ending to die for. Great stuff.

Finally, I broke my Star Trek mug last week - oh the trauma. There was weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth, I can tell you. Luckily SuperHusband came to the rescue and ordered me a new one, so has gained at least a thousand Husband Points in one easy move. What class that man has ... I am treating my bright, shiny Star Trek mug with great care, and I'm sure the coffee in it tastes much better. Cosmic almost ...

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

Holidays and Hallsfoot

Have taken this week off in order to get my holiday days down - as usually I get to the end of the holiday year at work and have to scrabble around to take time off. So K and I have been out and about visiting various gardens and houses, and buying yet more plants to fill the garden with late summer colour. Am also attempting to look for flowers which will take me through autumn, but there don't seem to be many around as yet, oh well. Maybe I should have got some bulbs in and planted them before now? I'm probably sadly too late for the autumn crocuses, sigh...

Anyway, my Russian Giant sunflowers are now over 6 feet tall (how do they get so much in such a small seed??) and one of them even has a flower. Result! Plus there are more mauve hibiscus flowers out now so that's very jolly. And the phlox is doing well too - now I've cut a space through the cotoneaster so it can actually see the sun ... That cheered it up no end.

Oh, and the sweetpeas have at last started to blossom, so I brought a bunch in for the dining room yesterday, and the smell is glorious.

Beyond that, I've been a wee bit down really. Saw the doctor yesterday, and we've decided to keep the same level of anti-depressants at the moment, and see how I've doing at the start of October. It makes sense for sure as, money-wise, things might be a bit clearer then.

Speaking of which, I've decided to try to self-publish more work directly to Kindle in an effort to help out with finances, but so far the experiment with Not a Shred of Evidence isn't really working. Since publishing it (though I know it's only been a week so probably way too soon to tell!), I've altered a couple of things on the Amazon landing page and fiddled around with my tags etc, so will see if that makes any difference. Beyond that, my best bet might be to choose stories which are more erotic than satirical, so I'm making preparations for that purpose. I'm hoping my next Kindle offering will be two lesbian erotic stories which I'll package under the title, The Truth about Butterflies. I still have to think about the cover though.

Plus there are a couple of Bible stories, which might do well, as Dancing with Lions doesn't do too badly, and of course there's my long-suffering novella The Prayer Seeker, but they'll be Numbers 3 and 4 on my self-publishing list. Onward and upward.

Book news for now rather than the future is that children's book The Origami Nun is now out in paperback, and you can even buy it directly from Karabeth Publishing at a 10% discount if you put the code AUG10 at check-out until TOMORROW.

Recently I've been asked about how to buy copies of my ebooks for those of you without Kindles. The good news is that you can also find much of my work on the Nook at Barnes and Noble, hurrah.

I've also finished the first round of edits on fantasy novel Hallsfoot's Battle (Gathandria *2) and returned them to Bluewood, so am looking forward to the next stage of the process. The cover's fantastic too so can't wait until I'm allowed to reveal it to you.

Meanwhile, over at Vulpes Libris Reviews, I find myself rather disappointed with Sophie Hannah's crime novel, The Other Half Lives. And she's usually such a great writer too, oh well. Hope to try something else of hers soon ...

And, goodness me, but I've joined Pinterest. Whatever next, eh! Am enjoying having fun with cover art and pics though.

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

Going slow and a strange lack of magic

Book News:

The review for fantasy novel The Gifting is now up at Awesome Indies so I'm very pleased about that.

There've also been a couple of nice reviews of Where You Hurt The Most at Goodreads, one 5-star one, and one that certainly made me smile. Many thanks, both.

I'm also pleased to say that, with my children's author hat on, I'm going to be interviewed as Lori Olding over at Emma Walker's blog on 12 August. I'm very much looking forward to that one.

Meanwhile, over at Vulpes Libris today, I'm not really impressed with Jane Green's Spellbound. The magic just didn't happen, which is a shame as usually she's a very good author indeed. Oh well, I'm sure the next one will be better.

Recent meditation poems are:




Meditation 677
Where I least
expected it
is a clear voice
amongst the shadows –

a calm expression
of intent that lifts me
from my reality
back to a land

I’ve never known
in a time I cannot reach:
the miracle of connection
from the character of speech.




Meditation 678
Saying yes to God
is saying yes
to discomfort
where nothing seems to fit

but then again
the oyster never made
the pearl
without a little grit.


Life News:

Yesterday evening I was knocked for six by a really vicious if thankfully short bout of depression. Haven't had one like that since before I started taking the pills. It left me drained today, but I've now come down with some kind of flu/virus thing, so maybe it was just the start of that. So most of today, I've spent being asleep or curled up on the sofa with my Kindle or a crossword puzzle, and sipping lots of Lucozade. All those plans I had to get some writing done, ah well.

Nice things have happened in the week too though. I met up with Jane W in London on Tuesday night and that was great. There's nothing like a gin & tonic, or two, followed by an Indian to clear the head. And always wonderful to catch up also. Plus I had lunch with my lovely writing friend at work, A, who looks like she may have some very exciting news soon about her children's book, which is fantastic. Can't wait for the next update!

And things are moving on in the garden. K's sweet peas have finally produced two pale pink blooms, which is very heartening. And the nasturtiums I grew from seed myself have produced one lovely red flower. Bliss! I hope it gets some friends soon, but even if it doesn't I still feel very proud.

Anne Brooke
The Gathandrian Trilogy
Gay Reads UK
Biblical Fiction UK
Lori Olding - children's author

Treasure Hunts, Nuns and getting rid of the baggage

Book News:

I'm delighted to say that my children's book The Origami Nun has received its first review at Goodreads and it's a 5-star one. Many thanks, Bonnie! So glad your grandchildren enjoyed the read.

Turning to slightly different literary matters, the Erato GLBT Treasure Hunt is now taking place, and you can win some lovely prizes, so don't forget to take part! The event ends on 2 July, so there's still time.

In addition, you can find a revisited interview with me at Joo's Interviews - I hope you enjoy the read this time round. And at Vulpes Libris, you can find my review of Karin Altenberg's Island of Wings. An interesting book, but it doesn't quite work as a novel, in my view. Have a read and see what you think ...

Recent meditations are:




Meditation 671
The sense of satisfaction
when a task is over
or a job done well

is worth that roller coaster ride
you took to get here
with the tales you have to tell.




Meditation 672
The silence between
words and thought
is filled with riches
not easily bought

and the way you take
through the shadowy lane
is laced with singing
beneath the rain.




Meditation 673
It only takes
one person
in the right place
at the right time
to change the world

and it only takes
one moment
for us to consent
with a clear heart
to live our lives unfurled.


Life News:

Well, after ten days of tricky discussions, during which we have gained new insights into the meaning of the words "malicious" and "posturing" (and some amusement from them...), I'm very happy to say that we're about to be rid of one of the nastiest people in our lives at the moment, double huzzahs and put out the bunting! It's such a relief - even more than we imagined it would be, which is definitely the best way round. Can't say anything more at the moment (except HUGE thanks to the lovely Superstar Duo for today - you know who you are ...!), but we're looking forward to a very relaxing summer, where though we'll be poorer we'll definitely be happier. As they say, it's always good to get rid of the excess baggage. Phew. Bring it on.

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

A pre-birthday blog and a fun competition

Life News:

It's my birthday tomorrow, hurrah, so I'm blogging a day early. I'll be 48 years old, and exactly two days younger than the Blessed Boris - so just imagine what life might have been like if I'd been born with fair hair and the ability to ride a bike, hey ho. A lost opportunity or a lucky escape? Who can tell ...

Speaking of birthday, my boss very kindly bought me a very beautiful orchid to celebrate my twilight years, so thank you hugely to him for that. It looks amazing on the living room windowsill, I must say.

Apart from that, I've not done much that isn't book-related, though the office did go out yesterday afternoon for a Happy End of Academic Year party, which was great - I thoroughly enjoyed it. We're gearing up for the next academic year already, as ever.

Book News:

Congratulations to the five winners of yesterday's competition to win a FREE ebook of my children's book The Origami Nun - I hope you all enjoy the read! To celebrate my birthday, I've decided to throw it open for another couple of days to five more lucky people, so anyone leaving a comment on this blog is still in with a chance. The competition will close at 5pm UK time on Friday 22 June, so don't forget to take part, and good luck! To remind you, 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. 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 in for some very big surprises.

Meanwhile, Karabeth Publishing have a lovely selection of books for you to choose from at Amazon UK and Amazon US - happy browsing.

There's been a flurry of book reviews etc this week which has been lovely. First off, The Delaneys At Home is now available at both Amazon UK and Amazon US, and was even at No 28 in the Amazon UK gay fiction charts for a while, well gosh. The book also gained a 4-star review at Goodreads - thank you, Marsha.

Not to be outdone, The Hit List received a 4-star review at Goodreads (thank you, Grandmat), and Where You Hurt The Most gained the same (thanks to Page Crusherz for that - wonderful name, btw).

And don't forget that, as part of the continuing focus on Pride Month, Untreed Reads are still offering a 25% discount on my lesbian literary stories - buy early buy often ...

Turning to upcoming books, the GLBTQ UK Meet conference anthology, Lashings of Sauce, can now be found at JMS Books in their "Coming Soon" section. It includes my quirkily erotic BDSM story School for Doms, so watch out for that one. In more ways than one!

On the poetry front, I'm delighted to say that Vulpes Libris have just republished Kirsty's lovely review of my Sunday Haiku collection as part of their Poetry Week. I hope you enjoy revisiting Kirsty's very talented haikus - I know when I'm outclassed!...

This week's meditation poems are:




Meditation 668
The letters you write
reveal nothing truer
than who you are,

each stroke and swirl
of the pen a way
to know yourself again.




Meditation 669
Everyone in the world
has a secret place
where quietness grows
in the colours of grace;

mountain or valley,
garden or sea,
its magic is boundless
and sets our lives free.




Meditation 670
I offer the words
as a sop
to the silence

not yet comfortable
with its slow
and subtle demands.

Something is coming
but it’s not here yet
so what I do

for now is bridge
the unbridgeable gap
with my own small voice.


Anne Brooke
The Gathandrian Fantasy Trilogy
Gay Reads UK
Biblical Fiction UK
Lori Olding, children's author and baker of cakes

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

Seeking Pleasure and an Unexpected Gift

Book News:

Much to my delight, fantasy novel The Gifting (featuring gay scribe Simon Hartstongue) received a lovely review at Goodreads from Tahlia Newland (many thanks, Tahlia). She comments:

"The character development is exemplarity. It’s rare that you see characters grow so deeply and well supported by the action ... I recommend it for anyone who likes something different and especially if they like a bit of psychological depth in their reading."

All this for only £1.91 at Amazon UK, and also available at Amazon US. Naturally it also comes as a paperback, so the choice is yours. In the very near future, the book will also be featured on the Awesome Indies website, so watch this space. In the meantime, if you buy now and pay very special attention to Chapters Four, Six and the Third Gathandrian Interlude, then you could be in with a chance of winning a brand-new Kindle when the anniversary book tour starts next week! Further details to follow very shortly ...

Turning to my gay erotic fiction, The Delaneys at Home (Delaneys *5) received a review today from Brief Encounters, so thank you to Jen for that one. Over at Goodreads, it's also gained two 5-star reviews, one from Judianna and one from Kazza, and a 4-star review from Sandra. Many thanks to all for reading and commenting. There's one more book in the series left: The Delaneys, My Parents and Me, and I hope to start writing that one at some point later this year.

In addition, Where You Hurt The Most has just been reviewed at QMO Books, so thank you, Serena, for that.

Today, I'm also officially blogging at two other locations: my review of Richard Mason's wonderful rush-out-and-buy-it-right-now novel History of a Pleasure Seeker is now up at Vulpes Libris; plus you can find out just how big a step living with someone actually is over at the Amber Quill Press blog. Happy reading!

I'm also very pleased to say that new British Gay Romance website is now up and running, and you can even find me there, amongst other authors who also write UK-based gay fiction. Come over and browse, and you're guaranteed to find something to your liking - all visitors welcome.

The most recent meditation poem is:


Meditation 664
In returning
to what we did not know
was lost

we grasp
our inheritance
no matter the cost.


Life News:

Happy work anniversary to me! Today, I've been at the University for 8 years, which is the longest I've worked anywhere, to be honest. I'm quietly pleased and hoping they keep me on for a little while yet. Really, it's the most fun I've had in a job since I went to work in the first place.

K and I have had a good couple of bank holiday days earlier this week - we love the Jubilee! We spent a happy morning at The Savill Garden (where else on such a royal weekend?...), then moved on to a local garden centre followed by an afternoon's planting in the garden. We've discovered a new love of alliums (so alien and so beautiful), and plan to get more, definitely. Apparently, as an added bonus, deer hate them so I don't have to worry about spraying the Brut deodorant on them as a deterrent, hurrah.

This morning, I have had the first session on my brand-new exercise bike (the pedal fell off the old one - no, please don't comment on that ...), and honestly it's so quiet even I don't know I'm using it. Though, as always, the seat needs a towel or two before the essential comfort is achieved, deep sigh. Plus the car has had its MOT and service at Chandlers the local garage - who were very good indeed. Thank you, Caroline, for being so efficient and so lovely. I do so love a garage I can actually walk to, and now the car is acceptable for another year - I hope!

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

Books, flowers and the Olympic Blog

Book News:

It's the start of Ebook Fortnight at Vulpes Libris Reviews, where you can find my post confessing how ebooks saved my life, amongst other fascinating articles. Happy (e-) reading.

Gay comic romance Angels and Airheads received an A rating at Brief Encounter Reviews, and over at Goodreads, The Delaneys and Me gained a 4 star review, and Entertaining the Delaneys a 5-star one. Thank you to Kazza for those comments. And, talking of the Delaneys, I've just given the final edits to Amber Allure for The Delaneys At Home, which is due out on Sunday 3 June. Not long to go now!

Meanwhile, there's a sale of all my books over at Books on Board - so hurry over and don't miss out ...

And we GLBTQ UK 2012 Conference writers are not letting the Olympics go unnoticed. We've started a daily Carrying The Torch Olympic blog, and my first post there is all about the joyous cream teas and toilets of Exeter. Perfection indeed!



Recent meditation poems are:




Meditation 658
Power comes
when it will
and leaves
when it must:

its promises
thrill,
though it’s nothing
but dust.




Meditation 659
In these days
prophets are few
and far between

their wisdom
cooling in the air
while the leaves are green

and if we seek them
their shapes are only shadows,
sight unseen.


Life News:

Returning briefly to the importance of supporting the GLBTQ community, Go All Out seems to be a good place to be, so I've added it to my favourites. The focus there is on building a world where we can all live freely and be accepted for who we are - and there's nothing fairer than that. Come and join me - I make good cake! Well, sometimes, eh ...

The last couple of days have been wonderfully garden-friendly. Our strawberries are developing nicely, the choisya is out, the sunflower seeds are starting to sprout, and the remaining two rhododendrons are coming into flower and are both going to be purple. Bliss indeed. On the minus side however, I discovered yesterday that our internal food bin was providing a home from home for a very determined ant community, so I dumped it all into the outside food bin, and it's being recycled tomorrow. Whilst driving out the interlopers, the food bin closed itself very nicely on my finger and I somehow managed to cut myself. Which is pretty impressive, seeing as it's plastic. Luckily I worked the injured digit free, as otherwise the ants would have been in clover, ho hum.

Today, I have planted out the flowers we've grown from seed - so the beds are now full of our jubilee (red, white and blue) petunias, plus verbena, antirrhinums, sweet peas and cuphea ignea. I looked quite charming in my floppy hat and carrying my trusty trowel. It felt like being in an episode of Midsomer Murders before the body is discovered ...

Later on, I'm getting my hair cut, so I'll be able to see out, and then tonight, K's boss is taking us both out for dinner as it's K's 10 year work anniversary. Well done indeed! And what a star boss he has.

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

Book Tour Extravaganza and the Grateful Author

Book News:

Well, gosh. This week has certainly been astonishing. Literary gay short story Where You Hurt The Most was published on Monday, and since then the party hasn't stopped. I've never had so many people buy so many copies of one of my books and be so generally very enthusiastic about it. Thank you very much indeed - I'm utterly gobsmacked by it all, and very appreciative. I'm so glad you seem to be enjoying the read.

To put all this amazement and gratitude into some kind of order, I'd like to acknowledge the following with a great deal of thanks:

Seven official reviews have been received, including:

4.5 stars from Joyfully Jay Reviews
4 stars from Hearts on Fire
4 stars from Pants Off Reviews
4 stars at Amara's Place
5 stars from The Novel Approach
A-/B+ from Words of Wisdom Reviews
5 stars from Top 2 Bottom Reviews

Not only that but the book has also gained the following:

* 26 reviews/ratings at Goodreads, mostly 4 or 5 star

* Reviews at Amazon US where it reached No 48 in the charts, and at Amazon UK where it reached the dizzy heights of No 20 in the charts.

* Additionally, it's already a bestseller at All Romance Ebooks and even has a rating there too, goodness me.

Honestly, I swear it must be something in the water as never, at any time in my writing life, have I had a book be so popular in so short a space of time, if indeed at all. The only thing I can say is thank you hugely.

Meanwhile, the book tour for Where You Hurt The Most is in full swing, with a competition at each stop for you to win THREE ebooks of your choice from my backlist, so definitely worth having a go. Here are the stops and themes so far:

1. An interview with high-class escort Adrian at All I Want And More blog
2. An article about the pleasures of art at Words of Wisdom
3. An interview about my writing life at Long and Short Reviews
4. An interview and extract at Top 2 Bottom Reviews
5. A feature on the Meet An Author Tuesday slot at Pembroke Sinclair's blog
6. An article on change and how to survive it at Tracy's Place
7. An interview with facially disfigured Dan at Pants Off Reviews
8. An article about the healing power of parks at Joyfully Jay Reviews.

So there should be something there for everyone and I hope you enjoy the reads, and don't forget to enter the competition! Good luck.

Other writing news this week is as follows (goodness, there's been more? What fun!...):

* Lesbian paranormal short story The Girl in The Painting reached No 7 in the Amazon UK charts which, after two years of being on the market, is pretty damn amazing. Again, I hope people are enjoying the book.

* Gay romantic comedy The Hit List is still on sale at a 25% discount direct from Amber Allure Press

* Lesbian paranormal short story The Gift of The Snow has just been accepted by Untreed Reads and should be published sometime this month. Further news to follow ...

* At Vulpes Libris, my review of Madeleine Wickham's wonderful romantic comedy Sleeping Arrangements is now available - definitely a book I can recommend to you, and perfect summer holiday reading.

This week's meditation poems are:




Meditation 652
Some discoveries
lie waiting
for years until
we turn and see them

for in the richness
of our secret life
we must be strong enough
to free them.




Meditation 653
Words spoken aloud
change the shape
of the air
into something
rich and rare

for the fact
of them lasts forever
carved in your skin
in the silent place
where your memories begin.


Life News:

On Bank Holiday Monday, K and I braved the metropolis of Kingston (no, it's not improved much in the years since we've been, and if anything I think it's got worse ...) for the joys of John Lewis. They're quite magnificent and how I wish they had an outlet in Guildford, sigh ... Anyway, we ordered a double futon for the Reading Room, and if that works out we'll get one for the Music Room as well. Hey ho, there's a pretentious sentence if ever I wrote one, but what the heck, eh. Live dangerously. We also bought a tea-strainer, a jumper (him), a cardigan (me) and a swiss roll tin in preparation for this weekend's cake. How very suburban we are.

Back home, one of our three rhododendrons is suddenly and delightfully coming into flower and it's going to be a wonderful rich dark pink. Bliss. Perhaps its two friends will follow suit soon. We can but hope. K and I were also thrilled to see a barn owl on the hunt earlier in the week - our first sighting of one at Elstead, and in full view of the house too.

Meanwhile, I'm delighted to see that Barack Obama has come out on a personal level in full support of same-sex marriage. Good for him, and let's hope it can become law as soon as possible in as many countries as possible. It's a matter of justice and equality, after all, so please do consider signing the Thank You form if you're able to. I have. With this in mind, I'm also very happy to say I'm now a member of the Lesbian & Gay Christian Movement. Because, to my mind, there should be no divide at all between being GLBTQ and being Christian if you want to be. God includes everyone (and occasionally even straight redheads with a mouthy attitude, if my luck's in and the wind's in the right direction ...), and so should we.

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

Book tours and happy pills

Book News:

The next month or two are going to be excitingly busy. The book tour for gay short story Where You Hurt The Most starts on Monday 7 May, and includes a competition giveaway for three of my backlist ebooks. So make a note of the date and do pop in - you'll be most welcome. You can also read an extract of the book now up at the Riptide Publishing website.

Then from 11 to 22 June, the anniversary book tour for fantasy novel The Gifting will take place, and you'll have a chance to win a FREE Kindle ereader, as well as other prizes, if you take part in the competition! Further details to follow, but do mark that date in your diaries too. It's going to be fun.

I'm also pleased to say that comic sci-fi story Creative Accountancy for Beginners has been purchased by Reading Library in Pennsylvania, so I hope borrowers there enjoy the read.

Meanwhile gay comic romance Angels and Airheads received a very lovely 4-star review at TWLIB Reviews - thanks for that, Nicci. And, not to be outdone, another gay romantic comedy The Hit List is now available at a 25% discount direct from Amber Allure Press. So the ideal moment to add this one to your shopping cart - thank you!

Over at Vulpes Libris Reviews, you can read all about Megan Taylor's rich and poetic novel The Lives of Ghosts. Another stormingly good book from Taylor and definitely one I can recommend.

My biggest excitement of the week though has been receiving my first piece of fan mail for 2012, well gosh - it really started off my day with a big smile this morning, and huge thanks to the couple who sent it. It's much appreciated.

Here are this week's meditation poems:




Meditation 648
Hidden in the stream
the white stone
calls to me

sings for me –
a voice for me alone
in my dancing dream.




Meditation 649
In our beginning
we know the echoes
of our end –

the flower
already blooming
from the smallest seed

and the bird’s flight
written on the sky’s
clear creed.




Meditation 650
Even the distant glimmer
of the furthest star
travels this far
to reach us

so the smallest hope
we cannot believe
can still weave
a pattern to warm us.


Life News:

This week is the week I move off my 20mg Citalopram happy pills and down to my 10mg ones. I've taken the last of the old stock this morning, so tomorrow I begin my new regime. I know it's good to be slowly coming off them after eighteen months or so, but I can't help being rather worried about how it will affect my state of mind. Honestly, things have been brilliant since I've been on them and I seriously don't want to go back to the horrible mental and emotional state I was in before. Ghastly for everyone really. Anyone, a heartfelt thank you for all the advice I've been receiving today - it's made a big difference. And yes the plan is to come off them slowly so the side-effects are kept to a minimum. I hope!

Anyway, earlier this week K and I actually had a moment or two after work when the sun was out (the sun?! What's that?...) and we could sit in the garden and have a mug of tea. Bliss. Sadly, it's not happened again, but we'll always have the memories, eh. Also, today I have had a lovely lunch with G, and it was great to catch up with her news, especially as we don't seem to have seen each other for ages. Where on earth is this year going?

Oh, and I must say how much we've enjoyed the latest series of Scott and Bailey (or Bott and Scaly as we call them, as it took us an age to work out which one was which, sad to say) - but must there be quite so much domestic trauma? Surely there are some nice men in Manchester ...? Anyway, it was all so traumatic on Monday that K and I had to work our way through a bag of giant chocolate buttons just in order to have the courage to keep watching. Really we need something jollier for a Monday night. I hope the TV schedulers are listening.

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

Nuns, pens and plants

Book News:

Great news today! My children's book, The Origami Nun, has been accepted by Scottish Press, Karabeth Publishing, and I've sent the contract back to them just now. I'm really pleased about that, and am very much looking forward to working with them.

At the same time, I've returned the final proofs of gay short story Where You Hurt The Most to Riptide Publishing, and ARCs (Advance Review Copies) will be sent out to a variety of places over the next few days. I hope people enjoy the read.

And don't forget it's the LAST FEW DAYS of the five ebook giveaway of fantasy novel The Gifting at LibraryThing. The final day is 29 April, so don't miss out. There are now 63 people entering - for which many thanks - and I wonder if we can make it to 65. That would be great. Thank you. Other nice news is that literary paranormal short story The Girl in The Painting was earlier this week at No 11 in the Amazon UK short story charts, so thank you for that as well.

Meanwhile, there is still 30% discount off ALL my Untreed Reads ebooks direct from the publisher - so shop early shop often. Because there's only ONE DAY left on that offer ...

At Vulpes Libris Reviews, I find little to keep my attention in P.D. James' mishmash of a novel, Death Comes to Pemberley. Sigh. It just doesn't work, and I was really rather hoping it would. Oh well.

This week's meditations are:


Meditation 644
All that we are and do
recorded in the unchanging
book of our lives,
written on the skin

when our greatest need
is an interpreter
to measure with grace
the truth which lies within.




Meditation 645
There are times
when the seduction
of sin

is more than enough
to tempt
the devil in

but when the joys
we grasped at
are no more

then we are left
in a far worse state
than before.




Meditation 646
The slow grace
of returning
to the place
we started

is a gift
to make the birds sing
and all the stars
take wing.


Life News:

Happy St George's Day for 23 April! I hope you all had a great day and were kind to the dragon. As it were. In celebration, here's a rather scary photo of me and my fluffy pens at the office. Always the professional, that's me, eh ... Well, maybe in my dreams.

Lots of nature news this week. I've spotted a couple of sparrows on our apple tree, which is wonderful - as they're the first sparrows I've seen in Elstead. I hope they come back.

Plus we've taken delivery of another set of plants for potting on and then getting into the garden as and when. This time, we have five cuphea ignea (which I love) and five opium poppies (which K loves). So the perfect combination for something - but who knows what!

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

Rentboys, boardrooms and hope

Book News:

I was very happy to see that the upcoming Rentboys Anthology from Riptide Publishing,  which includes my own story Where You Hurt The Most, was mentioned on Top 2 Bottom Reviews this week - very exciting indeed.

I've also just caught sight of the book cover for gay short story The Delaneys At Home (Delaneys *5), which will be available on 3 June and very happy I am with it too. Just the right amount of humour and cheekiness that I hope people get from the series, ho ho.

In the midst of all this, I've started a gay short story/novella set in a boardroom battle scenario which I'm hoping to submit to Riptide Publishing over the summer. Very early days at the moment and definitely no title as yet, but hopefully that will turn up at some point ...

Meanwhile, you can find an interview about me and gay short story The Heart's Greater Silence over at Blak Rayne's Blog, where you can discover my favourite colour, my favourite film and who I'd really like to be. Could be in for a surprise then ...

And at Vulpes Libris Reviews, I find myself a little disappointed with Ken N Kamoche's short story collection, A Fragile Hope. Rather more fragility than hope there, in my opinion, ah well.


This week's meditation poems are:


Meditation 640
Following the party
the riot –
it’s the way
after far too much wine.

So stick to the safety
of bread
and beware
the fruit of the vine.




Meditation 641
In the face of disaster
and a vast sea
of enemies and fear

it’s a powerful act
to step back and trust
that somehow God is near.




Meditation 642
Every word we say
and decision we take
are ripples on the pond
of the whole world

for we cannot measure
by tongue or hand
the secret influence
of our life unfurled.


Life News:

Fabulous news from work this week! We've been shortlisted for the second year running for the Times Higher Education Student Services Awards, which is really thrilling. I'm hoping we'll win this year as the awards ceremony takes place on my birthday, and of course because the University of Surrey Student Support team is obviously the best there is, by a long chalk. Wish us luck!

At home, we've now spotted goldfinches in the garden (hurrah!) and now K and I have both heard the first cuckoo of the year, well gosh. I did actually hear it a few days ago on 12 April, along with several other people in Elstead, so it's arrived earlier than last year when (in case you're interested ...) you might like to know that the first cuckoo in 2011 arrived in our parts on 17 April. So a week early this year - must be the call of the countryside.

Had a great time last night catching up with some friends from the company I used to work for during dinner and chat in Guildford (many thanks, J, M & A!) - though much amusement arose from the fact that somehow A and I managed to miss J & M in the restaurant/bar, and we were only united by the fact that J could hear my voice from a whole room and a dividing wall away and eventually realised it wasn't some kind of auditory nightmare, but was in fact me ... Well, who ever said I needed a phone? I just open the window and shout.

Tonight, K and I are out at the theatre to see Wife Begins At Forty. Which is rather curious as we originally booked tickets for Two Into One, also by the same playwright. So we've been bamboozled for a while as to which alternative universe we are currently in, but the theatre have rescued us from our displacement anomaly by explaining they couldn't get the actors for the original one so had to replace it. Apparently the letter telling us all manner of thing would be well in spite of us having the incorrect tickets never arrived, alas. Good job I looked it up then (I usually don't) though whether we would actually have noticed is anyone's guess. Well, one farce is much like another, isn't it? Hush my mouth.

Finally, I've been impressed by the NHS's First Steps for Emotional Wellbeing site, which has been set up to help us all with our wellbeing. Some interesting stuff there, and as I'm facing scaling down my antidepressants over the next month or two, then I'm sure it will come in very useful indeed.

Anne Brooke
Gay Reads UK
Gathandria Fantasy Trilogy
Biblical Fiction UK

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

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