Gay BDSM, sexual obsession and the church: The Beginning of Knowledge

There's an interview with me, plus a giveaway of gay BDSM erotic story The Beginning of Knowledge, over at On Top Down Under Book Reviews today.

Topics discussed include:

• the inclusion (or otherwise) of LGBTQ people in the church
• same-sex marriage
• my reasons for leaving the Church of England
• the attraction of BDSM literature for all
• the pros and cons of sexual obsession.

So probably enough to be getting along with for now - enjoy! And good luck with the giveaway, which is definitely for over 18s.

Anne Brooke Books
Gay Reads UK
Biblical Fiction UK

Freebies galore and garden delights

Book News:

My epic gay-themed fantasy series The Gathandrian Trilogy now has its own Facebook page, and many thanks to those who've already joined up. All visitors more than welcome, and don't forget all the books are FREE.

The first in the series, The Gifting, can be downloaded for free at a wide variety of online book retailers, the newest of which is Obooko Books and Free Ebooks websites. So far in total (as far as I can tell, or am told), about 200 readers have already downloaded it, so I hope at least some of them are enjoying the read.

Meanwhile the second in the series, Hallsfoot's Battle, is due out in July and will also be a free book. As you can see, the cover art is now chosen and I'm very happy indeed with it. This one concentrates more on the story of Annyeke Hallsfoot, the kick-ass redheaded (hmm, wonder where I get that from, eh ...) new Acting Elder of the Gathandrian city, although the ongoing rollercoaster saga of Simon and Ralph is not overlooked at all. Here's the blurb:

Gelahn the Mind Executioner begins his battle campaign. His powers are unmatched - even without the mind-cane in his possession - and next he will break and possess Ralph Tregannon the Lammas Overlord. Recently appointed Acting Elder and left in sole charge of her people, Annyeke Hallsfoot draws on all her mind-skills and courage as the fight for Gathandria rages. The precious ancient legends are her bedrock and she begins teaching their wisdom to the scribe, Simon Hartstongue, who must quickly learn to work with the mind-cane's strange powers.  But Simon is distracted by his own demons and only fears the artefact, so Annyeke must plot a desperate strategy to defeat the enemy. As the Gathandrians rally behind their new leader, Gelahn strikes at the very heart of the city.

Keeping to the subject of free books, my Christian novella The Prayer Seeker is now FREE at Smashwords and Omnilit Books. So far it's been downloaded about 80 times, which is nice. Here's the blurb:

Michael Woodthorpe hasn’t attended church for many years, not since his time as an evangelical in his early twenties. One winter he decides to take early retirement in order to search for the God he used to know.

As he comes to terms with his new existence, he must face opposition from both his ex-girlfriend, and his ex-wife, whom he hasn’t seen for many years. Meanwhile, he begins a series of religious encounters with a spiritual director and slowly discovers the riches of prayer. When his journey brings him face to face with the mistakes in the past which had made him walk away from God, he must find a way to resolve them if he is to fulfil his God-given potential at all. 

In other book news, I am offering three free ebooks of gay thriller Maloney's Law in a BookLikes giveaway competition, so enter now to avoid disappointment! The competition ends on 5 July. Maloney's Law has just gained two new 4-star reviews at Goodreads, one from Lorraine, and one from Tricia who says:

"A thriller, a mystery, a tragedy, and a romance in only a dark sense. Totally worth the read and impossible to put down. New author for me, I will be looking for more titles from Anne Brooke."

In addition, Maloney's Law gained a 4.5 star review at Top2Bottom Reviews which included the following:

"Once you get into this book it's impossible to put it down. Every time you think you have it figured out, it proves you wrong. In other words it's the perfect detective book! The characters were very strong and the backstory couldn't have been better."

Goodness, many thanks indeed to all these readers and reviewers. Not to be outdone, The Bones of Summer (Maloney *2) is now available as a paperback at Amazon US. It has also this week gained a 4-star review at Goodreads (many thanks again, Lorraine).

Turning to short stories now, gay literary erotic story The Beginning of Knowledge gained a 4-star review at Pants Off Reviews, which included the following:

"Once again Anne Brooke has pulled off an emotional winning read in so few pages. Her talent for capturing human emotions, kink, and flawed characters never ceases to amaze me … The ending is bittersweet but it felt right and I am happy with it (satisfied). If this is the kind of read Wilde City Press is pushing out, then I am so on board. The Beginning of Knowledge is another winner by the queen of shorts, Ms Anne Brooke."

Well gosh, thank you. Gay romantic comedy Who Moved My Holepunch? received a 5-star review at Amazon US, and also free gay poetry anthology Falling Awake was given 5 stars at The Novel Approach Reviews, who say:

"Each piece is but a small window through which the reader is able to catch a glimpse of the authors' creative talents, each piece telling a story - a beginning, middle, and end - in all the rich tones of a free-form and lyrical language …Falling Awake, in some ways, reads like flash fiction that has been structured with a cadence and rhythm all its own."

Life News:

I was more than startled when one of our church ladies rang up this week to say how thrilled she was that I've agreed to join the group set up to read Christian stories to the children at the local school. What??!!?? All my most hated activities in one fell swoop, oh what joy. I told her it was the first I'd heard of it, I hated children and avoided them at all costs and it would be like putting Cruella de Vil in charge of the kennels. She sounded a tad put-out at my response, but certainly not as put-out as I was. Mind you, immediately afterwards, K said I'd missed a golden opportunity to introduce the local Young People to the joys of gay erotic fiction, and I should have said I'd go along and then read them some of my own work. After all, as one of my Facebook friends reminded me, my erotic comedy School for Doms is surely an educational story (it's set in a school at least ...) and would be perfect for the occasion. Hey ho. Maybe I should ring her back? Ah, the temptation ...

This week's cake was a disaster, my dears, a disaster. Though thankfully, the lovely K managed to salvage it with the icing I'd left him to cope with when I went off to help out at the University open day. It's supposed to be White Chocolate Coffee Gateau but I have renamed it (thank you, Karen!) to White Chocolate Coffee Terror Gateau. It surely has one of the most complicated recipes known to humankind - some of which involves heating two different sets of substances at the same time whilst whisking one of them with an electric whisk. Arrgghhh!! Who creates such torture?? They should be stopped at once.

Suffice it to say that K appeared in the kitchen at exactly the right time to point out that I was managing to melt the electric lead in the gas flame and some of the bits were dripping into the mixture. Oh hell. It's astonishing we're all still alive and in one piece really. Though I like to think the wiring added extra protein to the cake. I also think I baked it too long (well, I was frightened to bring it out in case it turned against me, my dears) and it has basically turned into biscuit wrapped in custard (ie that icing). But what the hell - we're English and we'll eat the dang thing if it kills us. It's the Empire spirit, don't you know.

Anyway, thank goodness for the garden to make everything calm again and the joys - today - of coffee, juice, croissants and pain au chocolat on the patio for breakfast. True bliss.

So here are sweetpeas fresh from the garden, clematis, lilies, the petunia and pansy bed, the rose garden, the trellis roses and the lychnis.

Happy Sunday!

Anne Brooke
Gay Reads UK
The Gathandrian Trilogy: free fantasy series
Biblical Fiction UK

Poetry, cupcakes and fan mail

Book News:

Gay poetry collection, Falling Awake, is now available for FREE at Wilde City Press, and includes some of my own gay poetry, including the title poem:

Falling Awake

Burnt ochre sands

the colour of my lover's hair

flame with the evening's pulse

a skin-whispered prayer

for I am falling

to where dusk-dark waters enfold me,

each floating step a liquid heat

drawing me down until I see

only flesh and ocean

and the sea-green pull of his eyes.

Drowning I breathe in salt

which laps my tongue's surprise

until he is gone

when, dream-shimmered, I shake

and cry, drifting with loss

in the tide's lull, falling awake.

I hope you enjoy the read, and don't forget - it's free! Also this week, all my Amber Allure gay fiction is discounted at All Romance Ebooks, so the ideal shopping time for you.

Meanwhile, I'm very happy to say that gay romantic thriller The Bones of Summer is now available at Amazon US and Amazon UK, and so far it's doing all right. Phew. Not to be outdone, the prequel Maloney's Law gained a 5-star review at Goodreads, with the below comment:

"One of the old school mysteries. It was great."

Gosh, thank you - I really appreciate that. Also at Goodreads, gay erotic story Where You Hurt The Most gained a 4.5 star review, which included the following:

"This was a fantastic story about healing and connection. It had depth and was thoroughly enjoyable. I definitely recommend it."

Again, thank you.

Finally and, for me as a below-the parapet (way, way below) writer, it was lovely to receive my first piece of fan email for 2013. A lovely comment from a reader who enjoyed my gay spiritual fantasy The Gifting so much that she wanted to know when the follow-up, Hallsfoot's Battle, would be out.

Gosh, many thanks indeed! My current plan is to publish Hallsfoot's Battle in July, and then the final part of the trilogy, The Executioner's Cane, in September/October. I hope some of you out there might still join me on Simon's and Ralph's journeys, not to mention keeping up with the developing relationship of Annyeke and Johan. Something for everyone there, I hope. 

Life News:

A wonderful sermon today about the extravagant love of God which gave me much inspirational food for thought. And which is sadly opposed to the view of God's love which the House of Bishops obviously has, as I point out in my Angry Anglican blog today. Is it time to call the wretched House of Bishops to account? Lord preserve us, I really do hope so, as their God is assuredly way too small ...

Anyway, turning to happier subjects, this week's cake is Marbled Cupcakes. And not Married Cupcakes as some have misread it. Mind you, surely married cupcakes are something the Church of England might be happy to bless, just as long as their marbled patterns were opposite to each other, rather than similar. Ho hum and a deep enduring sigh.

Anne Brooke

Gay Reads UK

Gay Spiritual Fantasy

Biblical Fiction UK

Bones, fantasy and equal marriage hope

Book News:

I'm happy to announce that my gay fantasy, The Gifting, is now published on the Kindle with a brand-new cover, which I really do love. So you can pick up a copy at the bargain price of only 77p at Amazon UK and $1.15 at Amazon US.

Here's the blurb:

Simon Hartstongue is a mind-reader, and branded a coward and a murderer. When his overlord and lover Ralph Tregannon turns against him, he is forced to embark on a treacherous journey to the distant and magical land of Gathandria in order to save his country and his own soul. During a series of terrifying trials, Simon must encounter the trickery of the deadly Mind Executioner and the secret dealings of those he ought to trust.

The Gifting is an Awesome Indies novel, and is showcased at the Awesome Indies website.

Reviews:

"The Gifting is a unique fantasy where mental and physical worlds merge in a flight of unrestrained imagination. Unlike much fantasy I've read lately, this book soars with hope. It's a story of redemption gained through a mystical journey through earth, air, fire and water that tests the deepest recesses of a man's soul." (Awesome Indies Reviews)

"The Gifting is merely the introduction to the Gathandrian Trilogy; it's a big world, filled with intrigues and magic, loss and redemption. It's a fantastical place where almost anything is possible, where a coward can become a hero, where the promise for more excitement and enchantment are guaranteed, and I look forward to seeing where Anne Brooke will take us next, as well as discovering what Simon's future holds." (Top2Bottom Reviews)

The romance between Simon and Ralph is a difficult one, and very slow-burn over the trilogy, so watch out for the follow-up, Hallsfoot's Battle, later in the summer, and the finale, The Executioner's Cane, coming in the autumn. Happy reading!

And published today is gay thriller, The Bones of Summer, the sequel to Maloney's Law. You can pick up your copy at a first-week discount price at Amber Allure Press, and also at All Romance Ebooks.

Here's the blurb:

When Craig Robertson's religious fanatic father disappears, Craig is forced to return to the home he left behind after an underage affair in order to look for answers. He takes with him his new lover, private investigator Paul Maloney, who is more than willing to help solve the mystery.

The search soon becomes an investigation into Craig's past, and, because of distressing gaps in his memory, he's terrified of the truths he might find. As Craig's obsession with uncovering clues grows, his fragile relationship with Paul begins to disintegrate. Haunted and stalked, Craig has to face down the horror of his memories if he wants to have any hope of a future at all.

The Bones of Summer was awarded third place in the inaugural 2009 Rainbow Mystery Fiction Awards, and was also Commended in the Annual Writers' Conference Novel Competition 2008.

Speaking of Maloney's Law, it gained a 5 star review at Goodreads this week, which said:

"It was very enthralling to read about his [Maloney's] obsession/amour fou and how this develops intertwined with the crime plot."

Not to be outdone, gay romantic comedy Who Moved My Holepunch?received a 5-star review at Goodreads, and a 4-star review at Amazon US. The Goodreads review called it a "gorgeously funny story" and the Amazon review considered it to be "smart and funny erotica". That's certainly put a smile on my face - many thanks, both.

Meanwhile, biblical short story collection The Betrayal of Birds was briefly at No 82 in the Amazon US Christian Short Story charts, so that was jolly nice too.






Life News:

The vitally important news of this week is that the Equal Marriage Bill will be debated in the House of Lords on Monday and Tuesday coming. Once again the Church of England House of Bishops is very high-handedly stating publicly that we as a Church don't support it. Well, excuse me, but I don't believe the House of Bishops has ever had the humility actually to consult the silent presence in their pews over what we believe and long for, so right back at them, I say this: I one-hundred percent support the Equal Marriage Bill precisely because I'm a Christian, and not in any way in spite of it, so put that in your pipes (or indeed elsewhere) and smoke it. After all, you, dear Bishops, messed up the women bishops vote, so you've long since lost my trust, really. I don't credit a single word you say, and I don't think God does much, either. Harrumph!

Anyway, there's going to be an Equal Marriage Rally in Westminster tomorrow evening from 5.30pm onwards, and I am going to be there, as a straight Christian supporting justice, equality and simple common sense. I hope others of you out there of like mind will perhaps feel able to join me. I'm not convinced the House of Lords will do the right thing (does it ever?) but I want to make my small stand as best I can. With this in mind, I have also sent the House of Lords an email, which I hope they might ponder over for a least a few seconds. It said this:

"I understand the discussion about the Equal Marriage bill is happening in the House of Lords next week, and as a Christian and Church of England attender, I would somehow like to convey my support of and belief in this very important bill.

It saddens and angers me when the media and indeed the House of Bishops themselves produce statements which say that all Christians are against equal marriage - well, not in my name as, on the contrary, I believe in it precisely because I am a Christian.

I would love to think that in my lifetime people of the same gender who are adult and love each other could also make the same wonderful commitment to each other in marriage that I have had the benefit and joy of for the last 20 years. I hope therefore that someone in the House of Lords might be willing to speak for the bill, and the desire and will of the majority of the British people, and indeed some of the Christians in this country too.

Many thanks indeed".

In other news, the horses have returned to the field at the back of our garden for their summer (which is lovely) and they have a new foal.

And the garden is also looking good, with the second rhododendron now fully in bloom, hurrah. The third one isn't too far behind either. Speaking of the garden, we spent a wonderful morning yesterday at the Crocus Nursery buying lots of goodies from their post-Chelsea Flower Show sale. So we now have an orange poppy, a pink peony, an orange euphorbia and three really tall and totally fabulous Irises which I am now in love with. Amongst other delights. I've now planted them all out and even potted on the dahlias so feel very smug.

Yesterday's cake was Chocolate Gooey Cake, which was all going swimmingly until I tried to get it out of the tin and it broke into 5 pieces. Disaster and weeping in the shires, I can tell you! Still, I've wedged it together as best I can and hope it won't taste too bad when we tackle it this evening.

Oh, and church this morning was actually very enjoyable - which I wasn't expecting at all, being the Gold Medal Cynical Christian of The Year (for several years running, actually) - but I fear we, as a small country church, are somewhat outclassed by the evident skills of our new organist. We'll have to up our game, for sure! Interestingly, after the service one of the church ladies asked if we were on the electoral roll (we came off it in March for spiritual and political reasons). I said we weren't. She asked if we would like to be on it, and I said no thank you, but thank you for asking. She looked rather bemused, but didn't ask why not, which was a shame as my answer was all prepared too. If anyone's interested out there, it's this: we enjoy coming to worship God in our local church, but we don't actually want to be an official part of a larger organisation which is self-evidently both homophobic and misogynistic. Which no doubt makes me a hypocrite, but really I'm doing the best I can. Hey ho.

Anne Brooke
The Gifting: gay fantasy romance
Gay Reads UK
Biblical Fiction UK
Lori Olding Children's Author

Celebrations and snow

Some good news this week as I received the letter telling me my mammogram was clear and I don't have to go back for three years, hurrah. I don't come from a breast cancer type family, but it's still a great relief, so I do encourage all you women out there to go along if you've got the invite. At the very least, it's a trip out, eh.

Earlier on, before the snow arrived, I popped up to London after work and had a few drinks and an Indian with Jane W (hello, Jane!) - we'd missed our pre-Christmas get-together due to illness on both our parts, so it was great to catch up now.

Oh, and we've had snow (did I mention that already?) - which looks very pretty but is really rather deadly if you want to drive or walk anywhere, hey ho. I'm not a great fan of snow, and I fear there's more to come ...

To calm my snow-infested nerves, I've baked a coffee and walnut cake this week. I forgot to add my usual spoonful of mayonnaise to ensure moistness, but actually it's turned out fine, but possibly more by luck than judgement. K's certainly not complaining, anyway.

Today, I was going to go back to church for the first time since the start of December, but snow has stopped play, so instead I've started writing a new gay BDSM story tentatively called Training Thomas. I suspect that title will change later on when I've worked it out however. And always a fun thing to have church and BDSM in the same sentence. Live dangerously indeed.

Speaking of gay stories, I'm happy to announce that all my gay fiction is currently running at a 25% discount at Amber Allure Press until the end of January - do feel free to browse and see if anything takes your fancy. Um, as it were.

I'm also quietly pleased that lesbian short story The Girl in The Painting made it to No 24 in the Amazon UK short story charts this week. Goodness me.

Looking ahead to later in the year, the GLBTQ Fiction Conference 2013 now has a draft programme of events online, all of which look great fun. Can't wait for the summer! Ooh, and K has got a part in the Elstead play in April, which is An Eye For An Eye, Darling. He's playing Colin, the second detective, and rehearsals start this week, so it's all very exciting.

Finally, over at The Angry Anglican, I'm blogging this week about sex, submission and Christ - enjoy!

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

Flowers and discounts

Book News:

There've been a couple of nice reviews for psychological thriller A Dangerous Man this week, which have really cheered me. One 4 star review at Goodreads (thank you, Sungrave), and one at KazzaK Book Reviews and Therapy, who says, amongst other comments and much to my delight:

"I recommend this book to those that are interested in a well written book about fragile psychology, tenuous control, with real cause. It is an intense (LGBT) book where romance is not the all encompassing theme, rather individuals' complexities are, and how easily tragedy can collide with everyday life. A Dangerous Man is a very powerful and haunting book."

Many thanks, Karen!

Over at Amber Allure Press, throughout the whole of July there's 25% discount on all my books, so do pop over and choose some summer reading. At the very least, it will take your mind off the weather.

Plus if you leave a comment on my article about the power of dreams at Long and Short Reviews, then you're automatically entered in their monthly book competition - so don't miss out. And it will make me look less like Billy No-Mates, so thank you in advance!...

My most recent meditation poem is:




Meditation 676
Biblical lists
have a deadening force
that causes my head
to forget them.

There are so many names
and long ones of course –
I’d have looked like a fool
if I’d met them.


The Sunday haiku is:

In scented sunshine
bright flowers sparkle the air,
making me dance too.


Life News:

Lots more garden excitements this week. Our pink hydrangea is finally in bloom, my Inky Fingered coleus has tiny blue flowers at the top, and we have tiger-striped lilies in one of the beds, well gosh. Not only that but today's trip to the glorious Rake Garden Centre netted us a delphinium, a tray of dianthus, a tray of cosmos, some antirrhinums, a Vanilla Scent nemesia, two Iceland poppies and some blue bedding plants. All these are now in the garden, and it all looks lovely. Bliss. Really, one can never have too many flowers ...

This week's cake is Classic Cherry cake, and I have to say it's much tastier than it looks - what a relief! I think my cherries have sunk though (as it were), but I've never known anyone's cherries actually rise. Hey ho.

Friday was golf in spite of the rain, and I think I was better than last week, but only just. I blame the weather, myself. And yesterday was a big party day - as my lovely friend P came for the day and we had a good look round the Godalming Food Festival. She bought some fabulous soap in the shape of cupcakes, and I indulged in strawberries (now our own harvest is over, I don't want to miss out ...) and also a Japanese picture from the charity shop for K.

Then in the evening, we celebrated our vicar's 25 years of priesthood with a really very good service (where everyone read superbly, I must say) followed by champagne and nibbles. Personally I think every church service should be followed by champagne and nibbles, and perhaps we could even introduce them at the altar rail instead of the wine and wafers, but I appreciate that's probably a minority view, ah well ... Anyway, well done to J and his long-suffering wife V, and here's to the next twenty-five.

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

Garden and giveaways

Book News:

The Celebrating Independence Blog Hop has started today and lasts till 4 July. You can find my post here, and if you leave a comment on it, you're in with a chance of winning one of THREE ebooks from my backlist - good luck! You can find all the other participants and their competitions at the Celebrating Independence website. Happy browsing.

Yesterday, we had a great session at Elstead Writers, as ever, with lots of inspiration and advice. And it was even sunny enough to sit outside with our coffee & papers, so that was great. Can't wait till the next meeting.

In terms of current writing projects, I've just started an office-based gay romance for Amber Allure Press, which I'm tentatively calling Who Moved My Holepunch? I think I've fairly safe in assuming the title hasn't been used before ...

The Sunday haiku is:

Held within my throat
all the words I couldn't say:
woman's destiny.


Life News:

Had a good time at golf on Friday, despite the wind which I'm sure was invariably against me. All was going swimmingly until the last hole when I lost my ball in a ditch and had to take a shovel in order to retrieve it, metaphorically speaking. Ah well.

Yesterday afternoon, K and I had a trip out to Nymans to admire their rose garden amongst other splendours and very lovely it was too. The smell was gorgeous. Once back home, I flung myself into baking cupcakes from my new cake book, Marian Keyes' Saved by Cake. Hmm, she seems to have an extremely sweet tooth judging by the amount of icing I had for my cakes, yikes. Even K queried it. Plus, bearing in mind the fact that my icing equipment broke halfway through, and there was more of the actual icing on the kitchen work surfaces and in my hair than on the cake anyway, I think her book should be renamed Traumatised by Cake. I wonder if I should suggest it ... Or maybe just write one of my own.

Beyond that, we've done a fair amount of gardening, and popped into church today, so are single-handedly keeping suburbia going. Lordy, I'll be joining the Women's Institute next, God preserve them.

And, finally, K is now looking for another Accountancy role, so if anyone knows of any finance-type jobs out there, don't hesitate to let us know - many thanks indeed.

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

A day of two halves and roses galore

Book News:

Many thanks to the wonderful KazzaK Book Reviews for commenting on all five books of my gay menage Delaneys series as below (with the straplines in brackets, and in order):

The Delaneys and Me (Small but refreshing and intriguing)
Entertaining the Delaneys (Witty, charming. I love "my" boys)
The Art of The Delaneys (The Delaneys are developing)
Dating the Delaneys (It gets better and better with the Delaneys and Liam)
The Delaneys at Home (My love affair continues)

Gosh, much appreciated, Karen! There'll be one more to go in the series - The Delaneys, My Parents and Me - and then we're done. I have yet to start it though, and it probably won't be till later this year.

The Delaneys at Home (Delaneys *5) also received a 5-star review at Oh My Gigi Reviews, and Where You Hurt The Most gained a 4-star review at Goodreads (many thanks, both!).

Keeping to the gay fiction theme, all my Amber Allure books have a 25% discount until the end of June, and watch out for the Erato Musa GLBT Treasure Hunt starting later on today. Watch this space ...

The Sunday haiku is:

When the dark rain stops
there remains only silence:
a promise of light.

Life News:

As you may recall, it was my 48th birthday on 21 June, and a HUGE thank you to all those lovely people who sent message, cards and emails - it's very much appreciated. It turned out, in the end, to be a day of two halves. K and I spent a wonderful time at Wisley admiring the roses and having lunch, and I received some utterly lovely presents (even from Mother, whose gift buying ability can occasionally be dodgy!...). Then when we returned home, and with such deliciously exquisite timing you couldn't make it up, we received the piece of commercial bad news we'd been waiting for, ah well. I'm sorry I can't say anything useful about this, but there it is. All of which made the rest of the day rather difficult. However, we rallied enough to enjoy our champagne supper later on (hurrah!), and we know that we'll do our best to roll with the punches. And, of course, the best revenge (ha!) is always a happy survival.

That said, a further piece of information turned up the next day (Friday), which made the news somewhat more bearable, at least for a while. Things will, we hope, become clearer throughout the week, not least because we're pretty damn determined to make them clearer in spite of the obstacles thrown in our way. As a good friend of mine said (many thanks, Jane H!) where one door closes, there's another window opening somewhere else. And very true that is too. In the meantime, K and I are indeed very much the better for making our way at last out of the whole Nonsense Area, hurrah and thank the Lord.

Over the weekend, K has very nobly washed my car, mowed the lawn, trimmed the hedge, and created a beautiful pair of rose bowls from the roses in our garden. What a superhero indeed. I have to say the roses smell utterly gorgeous and I love them. They're my favourite flowers.

Yesterday, I also made some funny-face fairy cakes to give ourselves a lift, and very tasty they are too. And we also enjoyed an afternoon out (and more cake & coffee - it's a tough life, but someone's got to do it, eh ...) at the Cleeves Open Garden in Haslemere. Well worth a visit.

Today, we've finally managed to get to church in what seems the first time in ages. I wouldn't be surprised if God had forgotten what we looked like entirely. Some great hymns today, and it was good to get back into the structure of it all. Oh, and for lunch, we've eaten the first crop of our very own potatoes - they were marvellous! Ah, the good life eh ...

Anne Brooke
The Gathandria Fantasy Trilogy
Gay Reads UK
Biblical Fiction UK
Lori Olding: Children's Fiction

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