Life News:
Our roof is now complete, and very lovely it looks too! The scaffolding and skip is due to be taken away early next week and then our house will be our own again, hurrah. Mind you, the roofers have been lovely, and I think I'm going to miss the company at the end of the week when I'm usually in the house on my own. They've been great fun. When they said goodbye yesterday and gave us the invoice, they also very sweetly handed us a bottle of wine for being such lovely customers. Ahh, I felt quite moved actually. Mind you, one of them said he'd miss being here as he never got cake at home, so I fear there might be domestic rumblings in his house in the very near future. Oh well ...
Yesterday, I donned my apron, got out my electric whisk (steady, people ...) and made a chocolate swirl cake with icing. I am indeed a genius. Which of course you already knew. I have to say it tastes marvellous and I am hugely proud of my efforts, as is K. The only slight set-back is it's so tall that it won't fit into the cake tin, so I've had to surround it with tinfoil and hope for the best. Anyone know anywhere that sells tall cake storage tins, please do let me know!
Also yesterday, K and I went to hear Guildford Choral Society sing Handel's Messiah at Guildford Cathedral - and very lovely it was too. It's one of my favourite choral works and you can't really go too wrong with it, but I thought the choir were magnificent last night. Well done to all. Plus we had a great time at the post-concert party, so thank you to L & J for hosting that. It was great to catch up with everyone.
So today we've had a much-needed lie in and then spent the rest of the day doing garden stuff. We visited a local garden centre and I have now joined The Gardening Club as the special offers and discounts are just so good that we couldn't resist them. Plus it's free to join so what could be better? Whilst there, we bought another shrub for the shrub garden which we've now planted. Plus we stocked up on manure (as you do) for potting and for the roses, and also added in a whole lot of plug plants for potting up for our hanging baskets and containers. These we have now put into the necessary pots. The kitchen's a mess, but what the heck, eh.
Not only that but we took a soft stem cutting from our new shrub so I've potted that up too and am hoping for the best. Oh, and the heuchera I planted last year has started to flower again and my potted silver birch is coming into bud. So not dead after all, well gosh!
Book News:
Not much going on really, except to say that I've drafted an article for one website and need to do a set of interview questions for another which I'm looking forward to getting my teeth into. In the meantime here's the Sunday haiku (written just after yesterday's concert):
I know only this:
music clarifies the soul
in the harshest storm.
Anne Brooke
The Gathandrian fantasy trilogy
Gay Reads UK
Biblical Fiction UK
ANNE BROOKE BOOKS: Independent writer of modern fiction
Showing posts with label concert. Show all posts
Showing posts with label concert. Show all posts
Sunday, March 18, 2012
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Prostitution, pimps and pornography
Book News:
Much to my delight, Brady's Choice gained an "Excellent" review at Well Read Reviews, and Entertaining the Delaneys received a 5-star review at Literary Nymphs Reviews, so many thanks to both reviewers for their comments.
My review at Vulpes Libris was on Jonathan Kemp's London Triptych, which must be the most unsexy erotic novel I've ever come across. Probably more pornographic than erotic, to be honest, and I certainly didn't take to it. Still (and strangely), many have, so I am obviously a lone voice of dissent in the reviewing wilderness. Again!
My latest meditation is:
Meditation 503
When the work is done
the party starts
so he captures their strength
and then their hearts.
And the Sunday haiku is
Small bright narcissi
dance in the shade of the house
where my neighbour lived.
Life News:
I've had a good haircut this week and played a bad game of golf, so the universe is balanced once more, hurrah. The haircut must have been more radical than I'd thought as I popped in to the local Quaker service again today and they didn't recognise me. Though, on second thoughts, they don't often recognise me, bless them, so I must try to make more of an impression. Perhaps I'm simply too quiet?? No, don't laugh ...
Yesterday, K and I had a lovely day out at The Vyne, near Basingstoke. The gardens and woods were very relaxing though there's not much out yet in terms of flowers. It should be wonderful in two or three weeks or so however. We'd forgotten, in our tour of the house, how keen the National Trust volunteers are in the early part of their season to talk to you and tell you everything they've just learnt. I did have a desperate urge to rugby tackle one sweet old gent just to make him be quiet for a second, but managed to stifle the urge. That said, the volunteer in the Stone Gallery was great and I learnt a lot of interesting stuff about the Kent school that was evacuated to The Vyne during the war. Some fascinating stories there.
And last night, we attended the Guildford Choral Society concert at the Cathedral and cheered on Robin, Gavin, Beryl and Liz (yeah, all!) in their singing endeavours. I enjoyed the Rutter piece in the second half, but thought the first half might have been a tad too relaxing. It was great to catch up at the bar after the show too - it's the first time the Cathedral has left the bar open after the interval's done and I'm sure it's a tradition in the making. One hopes.
Anne Brooke
Much to my delight, Brady's Choice gained an "Excellent" review at Well Read Reviews, and Entertaining the Delaneys received a 5-star review at Literary Nymphs Reviews, so many thanks to both reviewers for their comments.
My review at Vulpes Libris was on Jonathan Kemp's London Triptych, which must be the most unsexy erotic novel I've ever come across. Probably more pornographic than erotic, to be honest, and I certainly didn't take to it. Still (and strangely), many have, so I am obviously a lone voice of dissent in the reviewing wilderness. Again!
My latest meditation is:
Meditation 503
When the work is done
the party starts
so he captures their strength
and then their hearts.
And the Sunday haiku is
Small bright narcissi
dance in the shade of the house
where my neighbour lived.
Life News:
I've had a good haircut this week and played a bad game of golf, so the universe is balanced once more, hurrah. The haircut must have been more radical than I'd thought as I popped in to the local Quaker service again today and they didn't recognise me. Though, on second thoughts, they don't often recognise me, bless them, so I must try to make more of an impression. Perhaps I'm simply too quiet?? No, don't laugh ...
Yesterday, K and I had a lovely day out at The Vyne, near Basingstoke. The gardens and woods were very relaxing though there's not much out yet in terms of flowers. It should be wonderful in two or three weeks or so however. We'd forgotten, in our tour of the house, how keen the National Trust volunteers are in the early part of their season to talk to you and tell you everything they've just learnt. I did have a desperate urge to rugby tackle one sweet old gent just to make him be quiet for a second, but managed to stifle the urge. That said, the volunteer in the Stone Gallery was great and I learnt a lot of interesting stuff about the Kent school that was evacuated to The Vyne during the war. Some fascinating stories there.
And last night, we attended the Guildford Choral Society concert at the Cathedral and cheered on Robin, Gavin, Beryl and Liz (yeah, all!) in their singing endeavours. I enjoyed the Rutter piece in the second half, but thought the first half might have been a tad too relaxing. It was great to catch up at the bar after the show too - it's the first time the Cathedral has left the bar open after the interval's done and I'm sure it's a tradition in the making. One hopes.
Anne Brooke
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Give and Take
I'm happy to say that my GLBT erotic short story, Give and Take, is now published by Amber Allure Press and you can find buying information, together with an erotic extract, here. You can also find out more details, and read another, non-erotic, extract at my website. For your added pleasure, there's also a book trailer. Enjoy!Keeping to the book news (there's been a fair amount of this over the last couple of days, so bear with me!), Thorn in the Flesh can now be found in paperback at both Amazon UK and Amazon US so it's great to feel that particular project is now complete. I'm also happy to see that the new all-singing all-dancing version of The Hit List is now up at Amazon US though not yet in stock. A piece of good news still to come indeed!
In the meantime, I've finished the first full round of edits to Hallsfoot's Battle and will let that breathe a while before going on to the second phase of editing. The final edits for short story, The Delaneys and Me, are now also complete and I've sent them back to Amber Allure ready for publication date on 21 April.
In terms of reviews, I'm very happy with Sharon Maria Bidwell's review of A Stranger's Touch - much appreciated, Sharon, so thank you! And I'm over the moon to see that Maloney's Law is in the lovely Clare London's list of her Top 10 GLBT books - Paul Maloney is at Number 5, and he and I are both very grateful. Thanks, Clare!
In my other life, Lord H and I thoroughly enjoyed Guildford Choral Society's concert yesterday - you can't really go wrong with Copland and Carmina Burana though those pesky Cathedral seats leave much to be desired. Is it my age? And today I have spent a fun time with the RAC trying to fix my car. The upshot is that the radio display won't turn off so is draining the battery - so the man had to disconnect the radio to make the battery happy. So I now have a car that starts but must rely on my own voice for entertainment. That'll frighten the neighbours for sure ...
Tonight, we're off to hear Marian (golf partner) sing in a rock choir in Guildford, so we are preparing to rock around the clock and watch great balls of fire whizzing by - lordy, does that show my age way too much once more? I fear so ...
Anne Brooke - where a little give and take can work wonders
The Prayer Seeker's Journal - quiet but not entirely forgotten
Saturday, March 21, 2009
Gardens and song
A sun-filled and surprisingly peaceful day today. Well, after the thrills and spills of the week, we probably deserved it. Here's this morning's meditation:
Meditation 96
Rock gives birth
to water,
gushing, streaming
over the people’s eager hands
and parched mouths.
The river gives life to all
but carries death’s
cold sprinkling to some
who will not taste such refreshment
again.
Four more meditation poems to go before I hit the 100 marker, well gosh! What on earth will I do to mark that occasion? Who knows indeed. Anyway, today, Lord H and I have popped to Guildford Cathedral to renew his supply of library books, pausing to admire the very eye-catching exhibition of icon paintings they have on display there at the moment. Very fetching - though it would have been nice if an artist's name had been added to all of them. Some of them admitted to their creators but some of them didn't. Most odd - I would have liked to know more really.
After that, we drove through Guildford and worked out where it is I have to get to on Monday night - as it's the Thorn in the Flesh reading group night. Hurrah and gosh - so soon! So I'll be nervous enough about meeting people, most of whom (I hope) will have read the book, without having to worry about how I get there as well. Anyway, now I'm in the know so it's one less thing to be concerned about.
We then visited Claremont Landscape Garden for a walk round and lunch. It's a lovely place - so peaceful. We managed to spot a buzzard and a couple of nuthatches, and also three scaups - which is a new bird for this year, huzzah! The only strange thing about it is that the loos are in the carpark so once you've got in, you then have to go out again in order to locate them. Still, they're not that far and very nice, so worth the visit, ho ho.
This afternoon, I've added about 600 words to Hallsfoot's Battle while Lord H has been watching the rugby. Rugby? Is it on??... To me, it appears to be a game consisting of lots of men rushing round a field, shouting and having sex - but I accept that might be simply my strange mind. I do understand that's not the point of it all. Ah well, dream on.
Tonight, we're back at the Cathedral (we can hardly bear to keep away) for the Guildford Choral Society concert, so I'm hoping that a bit of Mozart will round off our day nicely.
Ooh, and I've had my first Maloney's Law promise of a purchase as a result of the movie! So thank you hugely, Val, and I hope you enjoy the read.
Today's nice things:
1. Poetry
2. Icon paintings
3. Geographical knowledge
4. Gardens
5. Birds
6. Adding more to Hallsfoot
7. My concept of rugby
8. Concert
9. A possible Maloney sale.
Anne Brooke
Anne's website - getting in touch with nature
Meditation 96
Rock gives birth
to water,
gushing, streaming
over the people’s eager hands
and parched mouths.
The river gives life to all
but carries death’s
cold sprinkling to some
who will not taste such refreshment
again.
Four more meditation poems to go before I hit the 100 marker, well gosh! What on earth will I do to mark that occasion? Who knows indeed. Anyway, today, Lord H and I have popped to Guildford Cathedral to renew his supply of library books, pausing to admire the very eye-catching exhibition of icon paintings they have on display there at the moment. Very fetching - though it would have been nice if an artist's name had been added to all of them. Some of them admitted to their creators but some of them didn't. Most odd - I would have liked to know more really.
After that, we drove through Guildford and worked out where it is I have to get to on Monday night - as it's the Thorn in the Flesh reading group night. Hurrah and gosh - so soon! So I'll be nervous enough about meeting people, most of whom (I hope) will have read the book, without having to worry about how I get there as well. Anyway, now I'm in the know so it's one less thing to be concerned about.
We then visited Claremont Landscape Garden for a walk round and lunch. It's a lovely place - so peaceful. We managed to spot a buzzard and a couple of nuthatches, and also three scaups - which is a new bird for this year, huzzah! The only strange thing about it is that the loos are in the carpark so once you've got in, you then have to go out again in order to locate them. Still, they're not that far and very nice, so worth the visit, ho ho.
This afternoon, I've added about 600 words to Hallsfoot's Battle while Lord H has been watching the rugby. Rugby? Is it on??... To me, it appears to be a game consisting of lots of men rushing round a field, shouting and having sex - but I accept that might be simply my strange mind. I do understand that's not the point of it all. Ah well, dream on.
Tonight, we're back at the Cathedral (we can hardly bear to keep away) for the Guildford Choral Society concert, so I'm hoping that a bit of Mozart will round off our day nicely.
Ooh, and I've had my first Maloney's Law promise of a purchase as a result of the movie! So thank you hugely, Val, and I hope you enjoy the read.
Today's nice things:
1. Poetry
2. Icon paintings
3. Geographical knowledge
4. Gardens
5. Birds
6. Adding more to Hallsfoot
7. My concept of rugby
8. Concert
9. A possible Maloney sale.
Anne Brooke
Anne's website - getting in touch with nature
Saturday, November 15, 2008
Birds, hunky firemen and song
Lord H and I have spent the day wandering around Hampton Court Park and Bushy Park. And what wonderful sections of parkland they are. We managed to see the grey phalarope that we went in search of very easily indeed, hurrah! And what a pretty and surprisingly small wader it is. Astonishingly tame too, but that appears to be the nature of phalaropes. They are the robins of the water world. So another tick for our new bird list, Other new birds and therefore new ticks to the list (gosh indeed!) included several red-crested pochards, and a veritable plethora of goldcrests. Which are delightfully small and a total pleasure to spot. We also caught sight of the usual suspects, including Egyptian geese, long-tailed tits, huge numbers of ring-necked parakeets (that now-typical south London bird) and a higher than usual amount of jays. Ooh, and plus a stonechat or two as well - which gave us great excitement when we thought it might actually be a whinchat, but 'twas not to be, alas. So nearly another new bird, but not quite.
The tiny takeaway cafe we found also does shit-hot cappucinos and freshly-grilled bacon rolls - both much needed by the time we got to them. Oh and we also enjoyed sighting the fallow deer and red deer, although we did at the end get rather too close to a rutting red deer for comfort. Of any variety. It wasn't too happy, I can tell you. But we managed to get away unscathed. Phew. Deer: lovely animals but this is so definitely not the season to stumble over one ...
On the way back, we nipped into Waitrose in Godalming for our usual Chinese, and passed the Godalming firestation which was having a car-wash extravaganza for Children in Need. As you know, I'm not a huge fan of the child, but I am a huge fan of hunky, wet firemen so I made Lord H get his car cleaned. Mmm ... Then I went home and took my car for a wash too. Ah, the soap suds, the big hoses and the straining muscles. Bliss ... Really, what more could a woman want?
Tonight we're eating early as we're out to support Robin, Gavin & Liz at the Guildford Choral Society concert. Not my favourite selection of pieces, I must admit, but it will be a pleasant end to a rather good day. I'll be sorry to miss Strictly Come Dancing, however, plus the return of the wonderful Outnumbered (good even in spite of the plethora of children in it - possibly because they're not played as icky or cute, thank the Lord) - but I've set the video so I'll just have to wait till tomorrow.
Today's nice things:
1. Birds
2. Randy deer
3. Bacon butties
4. Hunky firemen
5. Song.
Anne Brooke
Anne's website - squeaky clean, almost ...
The tiny takeaway cafe we found also does shit-hot cappucinos and freshly-grilled bacon rolls - both much needed by the time we got to them. Oh and we also enjoyed sighting the fallow deer and red deer, although we did at the end get rather too close to a rutting red deer for comfort. Of any variety. It wasn't too happy, I can tell you. But we managed to get away unscathed. Phew. Deer: lovely animals but this is so definitely not the season to stumble over one ...
On the way back, we nipped into Waitrose in Godalming for our usual Chinese, and passed the Godalming firestation which was having a car-wash extravaganza for Children in Need. As you know, I'm not a huge fan of the child, but I am a huge fan of hunky, wet firemen so I made Lord H get his car cleaned. Mmm ... Then I went home and took my car for a wash too. Ah, the soap suds, the big hoses and the straining muscles. Bliss ... Really, what more could a woman want?
Tonight we're eating early as we're out to support Robin, Gavin & Liz at the Guildford Choral Society concert. Not my favourite selection of pieces, I must admit, but it will be a pleasant end to a rather good day. I'll be sorry to miss Strictly Come Dancing, however, plus the return of the wonderful Outnumbered (good even in spite of the plethora of children in it - possibly because they're not played as icky or cute, thank the Lord) - but I've set the video so I'll just have to wait till tomorrow.
Today's nice things:
1. Birds
2. Randy deer
3. Bacon butties
4. Hunky firemen
5. Song.
Anne Brooke
Anne's website - squeaky clean, almost ...
Saturday, March 08, 2008
Shopping, the final furlong and a night out
Had a lovely time with Jane W last night in London - and Lord H enjoyed his art session too. We even managed to meet up at Waterloo before catching the train home. Bloody hell but it's good when things work out without too much effort or angst. Bloody amazing actually.
This morning, I have psyched myself up for the weekly Godalming shopping experience and got through it by talking to as few people as possible. Hurrah! Managed to get most things on my ever-growing list, but gave myself a break by not bothering with Easter stuff just yet. That can be next week's worry. Hell, it's good to have a hobby and hey worrying is cheap. Mind you, I think I upset the flower sellers in Secretts Garden Centre as I waltzed into their flower shop and asked if they had any flowers which might cheer me up. They looked at me as if I'd spoken in a foreign tongue or had something very peculiar on my head. Maybe both. Ye gods, they're flower sellers! You would have thought this sort of query would turn up daily - after all, what are flowers for? Anyway, they pointed me in the direction of the farm shop where, after much deliberation, I chose three lovely bunches of narcissi - which look lovely and have a fantastic scent. Now if only the flower ladies could have been friendlier about it, eh ...
Anyway, I've finished the read-through of Part Three of The Gifting and am now about to tackle the final furlong of Part Four. So only 100 pages to go then, hurrah! Ooh, and the lovely Margaret Gill, author of exciting young adult books, Secret of the Scrolls and Narwhal, has emailed me to say she thinks Thorn in the Flesh is my best yet and she's intending to do a proper review of it soon. Gosh, thanks, Margaret - much appreciated, especially as I struggled so much with both the story and Kate, my main character, than I now no longer know what it's about at all, let alone whether it's better or worse than anything else!
This afternoon, Lord H and I have tackled the cleaning - although the ironing is still lurking in the basket like an unforgotten sin. Sigh. Hell, I'll leave it till tomorrow. Again ...
Tonight, we're out at the Guildford Choral Society concert at the Cathedral, so I'd better remember to take a thick coat as the seats are crap and I always need something to muffle the pain. Still, the singing is always first-rate, so it'll be great to have a chance to relax and simply listen.
Today's nice things (of which there are four, good grief!):
1. The continuing read-through of Gifting
2. Margaret's comments about Thorn
3. The concert
4. Narcissi.
Anne Brooke
Anne's website
Goldenford Publishers
This morning, I have psyched myself up for the weekly Godalming shopping experience and got through it by talking to as few people as possible. Hurrah! Managed to get most things on my ever-growing list, but gave myself a break by not bothering with Easter stuff just yet. That can be next week's worry. Hell, it's good to have a hobby and hey worrying is cheap. Mind you, I think I upset the flower sellers in Secretts Garden Centre as I waltzed into their flower shop and asked if they had any flowers which might cheer me up. They looked at me as if I'd spoken in a foreign tongue or had something very peculiar on my head. Maybe both. Ye gods, they're flower sellers! You would have thought this sort of query would turn up daily - after all, what are flowers for? Anyway, they pointed me in the direction of the farm shop where, after much deliberation, I chose three lovely bunches of narcissi - which look lovely and have a fantastic scent. Now if only the flower ladies could have been friendlier about it, eh ...
Anyway, I've finished the read-through of Part Three of The Gifting and am now about to tackle the final furlong of Part Four. So only 100 pages to go then, hurrah! Ooh, and the lovely Margaret Gill, author of exciting young adult books, Secret of the Scrolls and Narwhal, has emailed me to say she thinks Thorn in the Flesh is my best yet and she's intending to do a proper review of it soon. Gosh, thanks, Margaret - much appreciated, especially as I struggled so much with both the story and Kate, my main character, than I now no longer know what it's about at all, let alone whether it's better or worse than anything else!
This afternoon, Lord H and I have tackled the cleaning - although the ironing is still lurking in the basket like an unforgotten sin. Sigh. Hell, I'll leave it till tomorrow. Again ...
Tonight, we're out at the Guildford Choral Society concert at the Cathedral, so I'd better remember to take a thick coat as the seats are crap and I always need something to muffle the pain. Still, the singing is always first-rate, so it'll be great to have a chance to relax and simply listen.
Today's nice things (of which there are four, good grief!):
1. The continuing read-through of Gifting
2. Margaret's comments about Thorn
3. The concert
4. Narcissi.
Anne Brooke
Anne's website
Goldenford Publishers
Saturday, December 08, 2007
Reviews and naps
The delightful Jilly Weekes has made my day twice by posting two reviews of A Dangerous Man. One is on Amazon, as below:
“As another reviewer has mentioned, this is a very unsettling book. Michael is enthralled by his art. He had an abusive upbringing and is constantly trying to escape from it. A tragic figure, it soon becomes clear that he is unable to escape from his own history however far he moves away from it. Michael is also gay and seems drawn to the type of relationships which can only damage him further. Then he falls in love with Jack - a business tycoon - who adores him too and is willing to encourage his art and help him to overcome his past. Michael is unable to recognise Jack's love and tenderness for him as genuine and ultimately betrays him because he knows no other way of relating. There are several characters in the book who try to help Michael - Joe, who also loves him but never declares his love, Lee-Anne who works for Joe, and the bar owner Frank. Michael gets his solo art exhibition but his success comes too late to save him, and those around him, from disaster. The ending is frightening, violent and inevitable. I would recommend this book if you want something out of the ordinary. It is above all a character study of obsession and how difficult it is to overcome our own flaws. Without self awareness and acknowledgement of our problems we too could end up like Michael in our own hell.”
And the other is on her blogspot as of today's date:
“I finished reading Anne Brooke's A Dangerous Man this week. It is a book that lingers in your mind long after you've finished it. It doesn't really fall into any particular category - it contains a crime and a love story but does not fit under either heading. It is a story of Michael's obsession with his art, and his need to transcend his past. There is Joe, who has an unrequited love for Michael, and Paul who is a nasty piece of work. Then there is Jack, a wealthy business man, who loves Michael from when he first meets him. Because of his abusive upbringing Michael finds it impossible to accept Jack's love for what it is, and ultimately it is this flaw in his character that causes the violent and tragic ending. Here is a lesson in how by trying too hard to escape from our flaws we will ultimately destroy the things we love. Powerful and dark, the book describes gay relationships in a way which brings home to the reader the similarities between all relationships.”
Gosh, thank you so much, Jilly - I really appreciate you taking the time to do two reviews! And a huge gold star to you for now being someone who's actually read all my current novels. I hope you enjoy next year's selection just as much. And I also hope next week goes well for you.
This morning, Lynda arrived at 8.30am for my pre-Christmas haircut, so at least I can now see out and look (for a while) as if I do actually have a hairstyle. I also gave her her Christmas present, which means there's one less on my pile, hurrah! God, but I'm anal. I know. Inspired by all these things, I have even managed to do 1000 words to The Bones of Summer which brought me neatly to (a) the end of a chapter, and (b) 50,000 words. Ye gods, Carruthers and sound the trumpets indeed. My, how I love a round number.
So, feeling strangely satisfied (and even more anal for feeling that way, no doubt), I have left it there for today and had an utterly delicious nap this afternoon. How I've missed my regular supply of naps too - I don't seem to have had one for ages. Even Lord H remarked upon it. Post-nap, I almost feel like a human being.
Tonight, we're out at a friend's concert and then I'm hoping for a relatively early night. Haven't had one of those for a while either. And I must absolutely remember to video "Strictly Come Dancing" so I can be glued to it tomorrow evening. I have also done something I rarely do (steady, people, steady ...) and voted before we go out and therefore before the show is even on. I am also slightly ashamed to say that I am being ruled by my hormones rather than my heart and have voted for Gethin instead of Letitia. Ah, Fickleness, thy name is Woman.
Today's nice things:
1. Jill's two reviews
2. Napping
3. Getting to 50,000 words.
Anne Brooke
Anne's website
Goldenford Publishers
“As another reviewer has mentioned, this is a very unsettling book. Michael is enthralled by his art. He had an abusive upbringing and is constantly trying to escape from it. A tragic figure, it soon becomes clear that he is unable to escape from his own history however far he moves away from it. Michael is also gay and seems drawn to the type of relationships which can only damage him further. Then he falls in love with Jack - a business tycoon - who adores him too and is willing to encourage his art and help him to overcome his past. Michael is unable to recognise Jack's love and tenderness for him as genuine and ultimately betrays him because he knows no other way of relating. There are several characters in the book who try to help Michael - Joe, who also loves him but never declares his love, Lee-Anne who works for Joe, and the bar owner Frank. Michael gets his solo art exhibition but his success comes too late to save him, and those around him, from disaster. The ending is frightening, violent and inevitable. I would recommend this book if you want something out of the ordinary. It is above all a character study of obsession and how difficult it is to overcome our own flaws. Without self awareness and acknowledgement of our problems we too could end up like Michael in our own hell.”
And the other is on her blogspot as of today's date:
“I finished reading Anne Brooke's A Dangerous Man this week. It is a book that lingers in your mind long after you've finished it. It doesn't really fall into any particular category - it contains a crime and a love story but does not fit under either heading. It is a story of Michael's obsession with his art, and his need to transcend his past. There is Joe, who has an unrequited love for Michael, and Paul who is a nasty piece of work. Then there is Jack, a wealthy business man, who loves Michael from when he first meets him. Because of his abusive upbringing Michael finds it impossible to accept Jack's love for what it is, and ultimately it is this flaw in his character that causes the violent and tragic ending. Here is a lesson in how by trying too hard to escape from our flaws we will ultimately destroy the things we love. Powerful and dark, the book describes gay relationships in a way which brings home to the reader the similarities between all relationships.”
Gosh, thank you so much, Jilly - I really appreciate you taking the time to do two reviews! And a huge gold star to you for now being someone who's actually read all my current novels. I hope you enjoy next year's selection just as much. And I also hope next week goes well for you.
This morning, Lynda arrived at 8.30am for my pre-Christmas haircut, so at least I can now see out and look (for a while) as if I do actually have a hairstyle. I also gave her her Christmas present, which means there's one less on my pile, hurrah! God, but I'm anal. I know. Inspired by all these things, I have even managed to do 1000 words to The Bones of Summer which brought me neatly to (a) the end of a chapter, and (b) 50,000 words. Ye gods, Carruthers and sound the trumpets indeed. My, how I love a round number.
So, feeling strangely satisfied (and even more anal for feeling that way, no doubt), I have left it there for today and had an utterly delicious nap this afternoon. How I've missed my regular supply of naps too - I don't seem to have had one for ages. Even Lord H remarked upon it. Post-nap, I almost feel like a human being.
Tonight, we're out at a friend's concert and then I'm hoping for a relatively early night. Haven't had one of those for a while either. And I must absolutely remember to video "Strictly Come Dancing" so I can be glued to it tomorrow evening. I have also done something I rarely do (steady, people, steady ...) and voted before we go out and therefore before the show is even on. I am also slightly ashamed to say that I am being ruled by my hormones rather than my heart and have voted for Gethin instead of Letitia. Ah, Fickleness, thy name is Woman.
Today's nice things:
1. Jill's two reviews
2. Napping
3. Getting to 50,000 words.
Anne Brooke
Anne's website
Goldenford Publishers
Saturday, November 24, 2007
The empty booksigners' corner and a cheery lunch
Up at the crack of dawn today - or almost - in order to get myself ready for the Goldenford booksigning at Book Boyz in Farnborough. I set off an hour before I needed to be there as I live in utter fear of driving to strange places and getting kidnapped by aliens lying in wait to pounce on weary travellers. Yes, my brain is like that. However, I managed to find the right carpark and even got myself onto the levels which provided cheaper parking (hurrah!). I must admit to being rather spooked by the fact that, at 10.30am on a Saturday morning before Christmas, I was the only one there. However, I soldiered bravely on. As one does.
I even managed to find the bookshop without too much trouble and set up half an hour before we were actually due to start. Um, not that anyone was waiting for us, I'm sad to say. And even when Jennifer arrived to liven up proceedings, the situation remained unchanged, thus proving that the Curse of Goldenford holds sway over Hampshire, as well as Surrey. I did do a lot of smiling, however, with the special plastic smile (the one formed of despair and faint, fluttering hope) that I keep for these occasions. I'd polished it specially this morning. However, to break up our sad time in Solitary, I did have one conversation with a man who played golf, who picked up a copy of Pink Champagne and Apple Juice on the assumption that it was a book about wine, but dropped it pretty sharpish when he realised it wasn't. We also talked to a woman who wanted to know where the DVD of "Hamlet" was, as it wasn't in the Military Campaigns section which she thought was very odd. Hmm, we thought it was odd too, but in a different way, I suspect. By this time, we were so desperate, cold (we were near the open door ...) and lonely that Jennifer purchased a magnetic poetry set and we played with it for a while.
I produced this:
A poem found whilst passing time at a book signing
Who
did
sit
cold
diamond
eye?
How
wise
lobster
caught
champagne
sky.
Actually, I think it says it all really. Bizarrely, this frenzied activity drew the attention of a poet in the bookshop, with whom we had a marvellous conversation about poetry, writing, the Titanic and Julie Christie, and who finally took pity on us and bought a copy of Jennifer's The Gawain Quest. So we broke our duck: one book sold, hurrah! Thank you kindly, good sir, and I do hope you enjoy it. It's a fabulous novel. If you like it, please tell all your friends. Heck, we need the cash.
Considering that it would be nice to end on a high, we then immediately packed up and made good our fairly humiliated escape ... A plan of action made far smoother by the fact that Lord H popped in to see us on his birdwatching tour of Farnborough and was therefore able to take my (intact) box of books back home while I went to lunch with Julia. (Hello, Julia!) Which was great, and cheered me up no end.
Back home, I am looking at some of the edits for Thorn in the Flesh, which Jennifer has given me, though there's more to come. From a quick flick through, I can see already that she's picked up on some of my glaring errors (though possibly not as glaring as the ones Jackie picked up on!) - thank goodness for editors, I say. We writers constantly need to be saved from ourselves ...
And tonight, Lord H and I are off to the Guildford Choral Society concert at the cathedral. We're usually invited to the post-concert party, due to knowing some of the choir very well (hello, Robin & Liz!), but I think, after today's exhaustions, I'd just prefer to come home and flop.
Oh and, talking of music, here's a poem I wrote yesterday:
On listening to Bach
Notes shower my skin,
easing the week’s
spiked tension.
They wash me clean:
allegro moderato;
siciliana; allegro
again. Flute
and piano blended
into an ointment
not tasted before
until all my muscles
are flowing
with the melody
and I am wrapped
in gold and sunlight.
It raises me
into myself again:
this swift, strange
musical alchemy.
Today's nice things:
1. Surviving a rather desperate booksigning!
2. Lunch with Julia
3. Playing with poetry.
Anne Brooke
Anne's website
Goldenford Publishers
I even managed to find the bookshop without too much trouble and set up half an hour before we were actually due to start. Um, not that anyone was waiting for us, I'm sad to say. And even when Jennifer arrived to liven up proceedings, the situation remained unchanged, thus proving that the Curse of Goldenford holds sway over Hampshire, as well as Surrey. I did do a lot of smiling, however, with the special plastic smile (the one formed of despair and faint, fluttering hope) that I keep for these occasions. I'd polished it specially this morning. However, to break up our sad time in Solitary, I did have one conversation with a man who played golf, who picked up a copy of Pink Champagne and Apple Juice on the assumption that it was a book about wine, but dropped it pretty sharpish when he realised it wasn't. We also talked to a woman who wanted to know where the DVD of "Hamlet" was, as it wasn't in the Military Campaigns section which she thought was very odd. Hmm, we thought it was odd too, but in a different way, I suspect. By this time, we were so desperate, cold (we were near the open door ...) and lonely that Jennifer purchased a magnetic poetry set and we played with it for a while.
I produced this:
A poem found whilst passing time at a book signing
Who
did
sit
cold
diamond
eye?
How
wise
lobster
caught
champagne
sky.
Actually, I think it says it all really. Bizarrely, this frenzied activity drew the attention of a poet in the bookshop, with whom we had a marvellous conversation about poetry, writing, the Titanic and Julie Christie, and who finally took pity on us and bought a copy of Jennifer's The Gawain Quest. So we broke our duck: one book sold, hurrah! Thank you kindly, good sir, and I do hope you enjoy it. It's a fabulous novel. If you like it, please tell all your friends. Heck, we need the cash.
Considering that it would be nice to end on a high, we then immediately packed up and made good our fairly humiliated escape ... A plan of action made far smoother by the fact that Lord H popped in to see us on his birdwatching tour of Farnborough and was therefore able to take my (intact) box of books back home while I went to lunch with Julia. (Hello, Julia!) Which was great, and cheered me up no end.
Back home, I am looking at some of the edits for Thorn in the Flesh, which Jennifer has given me, though there's more to come. From a quick flick through, I can see already that she's picked up on some of my glaring errors (though possibly not as glaring as the ones Jackie picked up on!) - thank goodness for editors, I say. We writers constantly need to be saved from ourselves ...
And tonight, Lord H and I are off to the Guildford Choral Society concert at the cathedral. We're usually invited to the post-concert party, due to knowing some of the choir very well (hello, Robin & Liz!), but I think, after today's exhaustions, I'd just prefer to come home and flop.
Oh and, talking of music, here's a poem I wrote yesterday:
On listening to Bach
Notes shower my skin,
easing the week’s
spiked tension.
They wash me clean:
allegro moderato;
siciliana; allegro
again. Flute
and piano blended
into an ointment
not tasted before
until all my muscles
are flowing
with the melody
and I am wrapped
in gold and sunlight.
It raises me
into myself again:
this swift, strange
musical alchemy.
Today's nice things:
1. Surviving a rather desperate booksigning!
2. Lunch with Julia
3. Playing with poetry.
Anne Brooke
Anne's website
Goldenford Publishers
Sunday, December 03, 2006
Christmas letters, earrings and lying low ...
Whilst Lord H led this morning's advent service (and only apparently got locked out of the church twice whilst attempting to process ... How I wish I'd seen that!), I typed up our Christmas letter. Which means we have finally arrived in the Sad Married Couple with Christmas Letter brigade. Seasonal joy indeed. I decided not to do a spoof in the end - as anything more than 2 sides long and I think the friends you never see (ie those to whom you send the damn thing) tend to lose the will to live after that. I certainly do. But I did try to keep the tone fairly light so everyone won't think we're too much up our own arses. In spite of the fact that I am too much up my own arse - though Lord H of course is not. Oo-err, missus!
I also managed to get to 79,000 words of "The Gifting" (oh for 80,000 by the end of next week - that would be grand ...) and write a poem on emptiness. Hey, my themes are getting more depressed - even though this weekend I'm actually feeling a lot happier. Weird, eh? The secret of contentment is obviously found in (a) speaking to as few people as possible, and (b) not going to church. I accept this route to happiness might not work for everybody.
Speaking of people (and vast crowds of them), I have to say that last night's concert wasn't my favourite though of course the choir sang like a dream and the band was great. I liked the first piece, and one note of the last (you can't go wrong with a George Herbert poem), but if this is what Vaughn Williams (spelling? Hell - who cares!) comes up with in his eighties, then maybe he should have stuck to the bedpans and stick. My opinion only, of course. Though I do have to say that I spent most of the second half absolutely fascinated by the dangly earrings of the woman sitting in front of me. A perfectly normal woman in her thirties - as far as one can tell - but every so often her earrings would flicker outwards in unison as if responding to a hidden message. I'm always impressed by people who can wiggle their ears, but synchronised wiggling takes the biscuit. When I told Lord H afterwards, he wondered if the mother ship was calling her home, or if it was a special government way of receiving emails. Now there's a thought for the future ...
This afternoon, I've caught up with the highs and lows of "Strictly Come Dancing". Thank goodness Mark & Karen are still in! But I was sorry Carol had to leave - she performed like a real trouper this time. Shame. Tonight, there's the prospect of comedy repeats on TV and a phone call to mother. Still, at least I feel more capable of performing my normal daughter routine than I did last week. Thank God. Ooh, and there's chocolate squares and baclava (which Lord H thinks is a type of hooded mask) in the fridge. Bliss.
This week's haiku:
Down the winter road
a man carries his mattress.
I too search for sleep.
And today's nice things:
1. Doing the Christmas letter
2. Writing
3. The wiggly earrings (not strictly today, but what the hell ...)
Anne Brooke
http://www.annebrooke.com
http://www.goldenford.co.uk
I also managed to get to 79,000 words of "The Gifting" (oh for 80,000 by the end of next week - that would be grand ...) and write a poem on emptiness. Hey, my themes are getting more depressed - even though this weekend I'm actually feeling a lot happier. Weird, eh? The secret of contentment is obviously found in (a) speaking to as few people as possible, and (b) not going to church. I accept this route to happiness might not work for everybody.
Speaking of people (and vast crowds of them), I have to say that last night's concert wasn't my favourite though of course the choir sang like a dream and the band was great. I liked the first piece, and one note of the last (you can't go wrong with a George Herbert poem), but if this is what Vaughn Williams (spelling? Hell - who cares!) comes up with in his eighties, then maybe he should have stuck to the bedpans and stick. My opinion only, of course. Though I do have to say that I spent most of the second half absolutely fascinated by the dangly earrings of the woman sitting in front of me. A perfectly normal woman in her thirties - as far as one can tell - but every so often her earrings would flicker outwards in unison as if responding to a hidden message. I'm always impressed by people who can wiggle their ears, but synchronised wiggling takes the biscuit. When I told Lord H afterwards, he wondered if the mother ship was calling her home, or if it was a special government way of receiving emails. Now there's a thought for the future ...
This afternoon, I've caught up with the highs and lows of "Strictly Come Dancing". Thank goodness Mark & Karen are still in! But I was sorry Carol had to leave - she performed like a real trouper this time. Shame. Tonight, there's the prospect of comedy repeats on TV and a phone call to mother. Still, at least I feel more capable of performing my normal daughter routine than I did last week. Thank God. Ooh, and there's chocolate squares and baclava (which Lord H thinks is a type of hooded mask) in the fridge. Bliss.
This week's haiku:
Down the winter road
a man carries his mattress.
I too search for sleep.
And today's nice things:
1. Doing the Christmas letter
2. Writing
3. The wiggly earrings (not strictly today, but what the hell ...)
Anne Brooke
http://www.annebrooke.com
http://www.goldenford.co.uk
Saturday, December 02, 2006
Christmas shopping - the horror of it ...
Lord H and I made a brave decision today and got up early to do our Christmas shopping. God, it's horrific. We've also decided not to buy presents for our friends, but only for children that we know - this has caused some unexpected dissension in the ranks (and also some rather surprising bitchiness from a most unexpected source!), but hell we're sticking to our guns. Christmas is ruddy awful enough as it is. Still, only buying for people under 4 foot tall brings its own hurdles - namely (a) we both hate children anyway, (b) we have none (thank God!) of our own, and (c) no retailer thinks to put helpful stickers on child items saying "this is suitable for an x year old" any more. Cue our two puzzled frowns in Waterstone's today - and my heartfelt admiration at Lord H for somehow making a differentiation between what the average child can read at 5 years old and what they might be able to read at 8 years. So, we've done it - and frankly, m'dears, if they don't like it they'll jolly well have to lump it. Christmas? Bah! Humbug ...
However, I was cheered to find a large and suitably ego-satisfying picture of me in this month's copy of "Writers' Forum" (not a magazine I've ever been that impressed with, I have to say, but it's somehow redeemed itself this month - Page 4 if you're interested ...) - courtesy of the efforts of the generous people at Writers Promote (http://www.writerspromote.com) - thank you, David Caldo! - who have even managed to get my WP web page (http://www.writerspromote.com/annebrooke) in the advert. Lord H is having to dissuade me from photocopying it (in colour) six zillion times and putting it in all this year's Christmas cards. After a brief marital tussle (ooh, lovely!) I've managed to get him to agree to a Christmas letter instead - as long as we put spoof items in it too. Which sounds great to me - cue bollocky statements like "Jemima won the pony club awards for the fifth time this year and is now being headhunted for the Olympic horseriding events ..." Hurrah and tally-ho.
This afternoon, I've been glued to Star Trek on TV before falling victim to the siren-song of an hour's nap on the bed while Lord H watched the rugby. A writer's life is just so exhausting, you know ... Tonight, we're out at the Guildford Choral Society concert - a Christmas medley this time, which might be the nearest thing to fulfilling my Christian duties that I manage this year. Hey ho.
Today's nice things:
1. Getting most of Christmas bought
2. Finding a mugshot of me in "Writers' Forum"
3. Star Trek.
Anne Brooke
http://www.annebrooke.com
http://www.goldenford.co.uk
However, I was cheered to find a large and suitably ego-satisfying picture of me in this month's copy of "Writers' Forum" (not a magazine I've ever been that impressed with, I have to say, but it's somehow redeemed itself this month - Page 4 if you're interested ...) - courtesy of the efforts of the generous people at Writers Promote (http://www.writerspromote.com) - thank you, David Caldo! - who have even managed to get my WP web page (http://www.writerspromote.com/annebrooke) in the advert. Lord H is having to dissuade me from photocopying it (in colour) six zillion times and putting it in all this year's Christmas cards. After a brief marital tussle (ooh, lovely!) I've managed to get him to agree to a Christmas letter instead - as long as we put spoof items in it too. Which sounds great to me - cue bollocky statements like "Jemima won the pony club awards for the fifth time this year and is now being headhunted for the Olympic horseriding events ..." Hurrah and tally-ho.
This afternoon, I've been glued to Star Trek on TV before falling victim to the siren-song of an hour's nap on the bed while Lord H watched the rugby. A writer's life is just so exhausting, you know ... Tonight, we're out at the Guildford Choral Society concert - a Christmas medley this time, which might be the nearest thing to fulfilling my Christian duties that I manage this year. Hey ho.
Today's nice things:
1. Getting most of Christmas bought
2. Finding a mugshot of me in "Writers' Forum"
3. Star Trek.
Anne Brooke
http://www.annebrooke.com
http://www.goldenford.co.uk
Wednesday, November 29, 2006
Concert and shopping
Another dull day. At one point late afternoon, I felt like screaming and pushing time to persuade it to go a little faster. I didn't though - which the office are grateful for, I'm sure (if only they knew ...). Went to the lunchtime concert at the Performing Arts centre - haven't been for a while as Counselling used to be on a Wednesday - but I enjoyed it. Great singing, and the piano piece was grand. Always prefer the older, more tuneful stuff though - which probably goes to show what a pleb I am, but what the hell.
Went shopping after work, and actually got some Christmas presents - standard girlie stuff, which I'm sure will find a use for someone! My, how noble I am ... Got home to yet another rejection from bloody Mslexia - honestly, I don't think I'll bother sending to them again. It's a waste of time, and I get the same old condescending standard reply each time. You'd think they'd change the reel at least once in a blue moon. I also wonder if you have to be a 1970s-style faux-lesbian to get accepted these days (with some honourable exceptions of course, amongst those folk I know ...)! And I've sent off another partial of "Maloney's Law" to Two Ravens Press (http://www.tworavenspress.com), courtesy of a Writewords (http://www.writewords.org.uk) tip-off. My, I'm a glutton for punishment.
Tonight, it's Oz & James' marvellous wine journey (very tongue-in-cheek!) and "Torchwood" on TV, so that'll be good. Might do some ironing though - just to show willing.
Today's nice things:
1. The concert
2. Sending out "M's L" - to somewhere, at least!
Anne Brooke
http://www.annebrooke.com
http://www.goldenford.co.uk
Went shopping after work, and actually got some Christmas presents - standard girlie stuff, which I'm sure will find a use for someone! My, how noble I am ... Got home to yet another rejection from bloody Mslexia - honestly, I don't think I'll bother sending to them again. It's a waste of time, and I get the same old condescending standard reply each time. You'd think they'd change the reel at least once in a blue moon. I also wonder if you have to be a 1970s-style faux-lesbian to get accepted these days (with some honourable exceptions of course, amongst those folk I know ...)! And I've sent off another partial of "Maloney's Law" to Two Ravens Press (http://www.tworavenspress.com), courtesy of a Writewords (http://www.writewords.org.uk) tip-off. My, I'm a glutton for punishment.
Tonight, it's Oz & James' marvellous wine journey (very tongue-in-cheek!) and "Torchwood" on TV, so that'll be good. Might do some ironing though - just to show willing.
Today's nice things:
1. The concert
2. Sending out "M's L" - to somewhere, at least!
Anne Brooke
http://www.annebrooke.com
http://www.goldenford.co.uk
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