A Year in the Allotment: A Beginner's Guide to Losing the Plot

I'm happy to say that I have a new non-fiction book out: A Year in the Allotment (A Beginner's Guide to Losing the Plot).

What about having an allotment? So my husband asked me one day when I was innocently opening the wine and planning our weekend. The shock of the question made me blink and of course I laughed away the very idea: too much effort; not enough time; and besides we don’t know anything about allotments. All well and good then, and I thought that was that, but strangely enough the idea kept niggling away and resurfacing on various occasions. 

Then a mere couple of months later, my objections were somehow swept aside by his enthusiasm and we found ourselves the proud and very nervous owners of an allotment. With not a clue what to do with it. 

This is the story of our first year as allotment beginners and how we survived it. And even came to love it. 

Find out more or buy the book today!

Anne Brooke Books

Death in the Physic Garden by Karen Lowe: interesting but muddled thriller

This is a quite interesting cosy crime thriller involving new garden designer Fern (love that name!) and the unexpected murder of her first client. The plot line is gripping enough but it does get very confusing, especially towards the end when a lot of things happen very quickly indeed. The ending could do with a bit more teasing out in fact, in my view.

Fern is a strong character however and I enjoyed the juxtaposition between her love of gardening and the really quite frightening things going on around her. The descriptions of the plants are also truly lovely, and I learnt a lot about them as well, which was nice.

However, some of the writing itself is rather clumsy - for instance there are scenes with a lot of point of view changes between Fern and Ross Drummond, the policeman investigating the murder. This only serves to push the reader out of the story, as we're not quite sure who we should be rooting (ha!) for.

Which brings me to Ross. Sorry, as I know he's supposed to be one of those straightforward and strong-minded "salt of the earth"-type policemen, but I really disliked him, and was utterly unconvinced about his supposedly growing attraction to Fern, and her positive response. He's really not suited for her at all, and some of his actions were just crass. Fern - bless her - can do a lot better than this!

So a pleasant read, but I could have done without the romance. 

3 stars.

Anne Brooke Books

Gay Reads UK

The Gathandrian Fantasy Trilogy

Thorn in The Flesh

Book News:

My bisexual literary thriller Thorn in The Flesh has been republished by Untreed Reads this week. There's currently a 30% discount if you buy direct with the publisher, so definitely worth a look. You can also find it at Amazon UK and Amazon US, with a variety of reviews from its previous incarnation.

It was longlisted in the Crime Writers' Association Debut Dagger Awards in 2006 and the blurb is:

Kate Harris, a lecturer in her late thirties, is attacked in her home and left for dead. This terrible assault and the anonymous hate letters she starts to receive bring to light the past she'd prefer to leave behind, a past which includes the son she bore in her teenage years and whom she chose to give away.

What happens to Kate also affects the people she counts as friends and colleagues now. She has been in love with her best friend, Nicky, for a long time but Nicky is happily married with two young children, and Kate is determined never to upset the lives of those she cares for.

However, when she makes the momentous decision to contact the father of her long-forgotten son, and then to trace her son as well, Kate inadvertently sets in motion a series of frightening events she seems to have no control over. Can she protect herself and those she loves from the menacing enemy who stalks them all?

At the same time, I've taken the opportunity to update my general website with all the latest book news, so you can see what's being published in March and in the months to come too. There's something for every taste, I think.

Meanwhile, biblical short story Dancing with Lions is on special offer at All Romance Ebooks at the moment, so the ideal time to pop that one in your shopping basket. And I'm very happy to say that there are only three days to go before fantasy novel Hallsfoot's Battle, the second in the Gathandria series, is published on 20 March, so I'm very much looking forward to that.


Life News:

Earlier in the week, I've been battling bravely with the onset of a cold, but I appear - unusually for me - to have kicked it into touch at the moment, so I jolly well hope it stays there.

K and I have also been busy in the garden, as we've potted up our new and overwintered dahlias for storage in the summerhouse until the frosts are gone. Plus we've pruned the cornus hedge and potted up a new magnolia - which is basically a big stick really, but promises greatness in the years ahead. I hope. And, taking my courage into both hands, I've repotted the orchid so I hope it's going to be a lot happier now its roots aren't seriously squashed, poor thing.

This week's cake is the old faithful of Coffee and Walnut Cake - I don't think it's quite as good as the one I baked in March, but hey nobody's complaining, phew. At least it got rid of the walnuts I had left over. Trouble is, I bought a new packet just in case, so I am now probably stuck in a coffee-and-walnut loop until time itself ends. Hmm, still no complaints being heard, however.

Finally, over at The Angry Anglican, I'm blogging about the brand-new pope and the Argentinian revenge ...

Happy St Patrick's Day!


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

Delaneys and daffodils

Book News:

Gay erotic short story The Delaneys, My Parents and Me is now available at Amazon UK (where it was even briefly in the Top 100 Gay Erotic Fiction charts, well gosh) and Amazon US. You can also find it at All Romance Ebooks.

It's also been getting some positive reviews, including a 4-star review, a 5-star review and another 5-star review, all at Goodreads, and one from On Top Down Under Reviews, which included the following comments:

"This is the last in the six book series/serial of The Delaneys and I'm so very sad to see my lads leave me. Every ebook was a joy to read. Nover long but each one was beautifully written, perfectly edited, and used the English language the way it was meant to be used. Never once did they fail to make me laugh out loud, and there was some incredibly erotic times … It was this series that introduced me to Anne Brooke and it is with great sadness that I say farewell to Liam, Mark and Johnny."

Many thanks for that, Karen! The lads are sorry to leave you too ...

Other exciting news is that gay thriller Maloney's Law, which will be republished on 7 April by Amber Allure Press, has a brand-new cover, and pretty dang wonderful it is too. I love it.

And, much to my delight and astonishment, Leeds Library has bought an ecopy of fantasy novel, The Gifting, so many thanks for that, Leeds, and I hope it gets many borrowers for you.


Life News:

The delights of the dentist this week, so I have survived a rather deep filling, phew. Apparently, if it doesn't work, then I might have to have root canal treatment (oh joy!...) so I'm praying very hard that it works, ho hum.

Mind you, I was pleasantly distracted by the surprise visit from the first butterfly of the season - a red admiral - here on our winter heather. So wonderful. I only hope it survives the snow that's forecast for tomorrow, groan ... I also bought myself some spring daffodils and they've been cheering up our kitchen windowsill no end.

And, keeping to the nature theme, we've done a great job in keeping the weeds down this weekend, and we've even eaten the first of our home-grown potatoes, goodness me. Mind you, if I'm honest, they were actually the potatoes we were trying to grow for Christmas so they're just a tad late, but very tasty nonetheless.

Yesterday, K and I spent a pleasant morning at Nymans, and thoroughly enjoyed their spring walk, in spite of the bleak weather. Whilst there, I treated myself to a new tiarella and have planted it out this morning.

Meanwhile, cake baking has not been neglected and this weekend's offering is Farmhouse Orange Victoria Sponge, which is pretty tasty - though I say it myself and shouldn't. Still, when has that ever stopped me, eh?

And, over at The Angry Anglican, I'm talking about cardinal sins and celibacy, possibly both at the same time, hey ho. Don't say you haven't been warned.

Though, as a final warning, I really can't do better than this cartoon which somehow says it all, at least for me. Really, it's astonishing I'm still allowed to roam free across Surrey, for now ...

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

Conferences, covers and sheep

Book News

I'm thrilled with the book cover for my upcoming gay office romance, Who Moved My Holepunch? It's absolutely perfect for the story, which will be published on 24 March. Always good to have something in the spring to look forward to, eh.

Speaking of which, the cover for the last of the gay menage Delaneys series has now come through. Delaneys No 6 is called The Delaneys, My Parents and Me, and will be published on 17 March. That'll be a busy and exciting month for sure.

I'm also pleased to say that fantasy novel The Gifting now has its own BookPulse page, so I'm hoping it makes some new friends there.

Yesterday, I had a great time at the Elstead Writers Group and I for one can't wait till next month's meeting. And, talking of meetings, the UK GLBTQ Conference 2013 group now has its own Goodreads page, so do come along and say hello to us all there, and find out more about our July weekend. It's going to be amazing, I promise you.

Life News:

My lovely husband has repainted our dining room this week - it was previously a colour we can only describe as Prison Cell Grey, and it's now a lovely pale pink and really warms the whole room up. I love it. Moreover, in his mission to achieve sainthood, K also took advantage of the 2 hour nap I just had to have yesterday (well, I was tired, you know, and I'm very delicate. Honest ...) and secretly did the weekly clean by himself. Except for the Hoovering, which he did only after I woke up. I'm expecting the letter of confirmation of glory from the Pope any day now.

Mind you, I have done the ironing, so I'm not really useless in my own home. Not utterly anyway.

Meanwhile, this week, I have struggled with the concept of watches. I've bought 2 cheap ones from Amazon over the last few months and they've both died on me, as well as the straps wearing down. And I absolutely have to wear a watch as I'm obsessed with knowing the time - I feel lost in the universe if I don't know it, sad to say. Anyway, I decided to push the metaphorical boat out and buy a more expensive watch from good old Amazon with a bracelet strap that won't wear down. All very well and good, but I'd forgotten my stick-thin wrists, and it's rather too big for me. Oh well. At least I know the time, even though I can't always tell where on my wrist it is.

Yesterday, we celebrated the departure of the dreaded snow (at last - hurrah!) by tidying up the garden so K and I are both now feeling supremely smug, as there's nothing we need to do in it until February. Which of course is next week, so only a few days' grace.

I also made a Chocolate and Prune Torte which seems to have survived my ministrations very well, and we're both happy with the results. Heck, I can do posh! Whatever next?

And K and I have both been deeply moved by the tale of the Lost Sheep of Heathfield. I'm sure there's a parable there somewhere though I have to admit that if some farmer turned up to collect the sheep I'd been looking after unexpectedly on his behalf, I'd want a damn sight more than a miserly bunch of flowers. Hey ho.

Over at The Angry Anglican, I believe it's just about time for the tide in the increasingly wilted Church of England to start turning. When oh when will we start to be a prophetic voice for the world? Don't wait up, eh.

Finally, I know this is a lone voice crying in the wilderness (once one has these biblical analogies, it's really tough to let them go ...) but I have to say I do find Brian Cox the most irritating man on TV right now. He's just so infuriatingly smug that I can't listen at all to whatever words of knowledge he's trying to impart to me. I just want to push his face in a bowl of lukewarm custard and have done with it. Yes, I am a really bad person, but at least I'm a dab hand at custard. Every cloud, as they say ...

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

Sunflowers, sales and snow

Book News:

I'm happy to say that Where You Hurt The Most is still doing okay in reviews, which is lovely. It's recently received a review rated A- at Brief Encounter Reviews, one at the Well Read Book Blog, plus a 5-star review at Goodreads, and a 4-star review also at Goodreads, this latter from a reader who usually doesn't read contemporary fiction. Many thanks to all for picking up and reviewing the book.

Meanwhile my blog tour continues, with Day 5 taking place at the Book Wenches site where you can find out why I write m/m fiction. And let's not forget you can also enter the competition to win 3 ebooks from my backlist - good luck.

This week, you can also buy any of my books at All Romance Ebooks in their sale - so buy early buy often. After all, who can resist a bargain ... And at the same time, all my books at Dreamspinner Press have a 30% discount right now, so do feel free to have a browse in both of these stores and pick up anything that takes your fancy. As it were. Happy reading!

I've also sent back the proofed copy of my literary paranormal short story The Gift of The Snow to Untreed Reads, so watch this space in terms of a publication date for that one ...

Here's my most recent meditation poem:




Meditation 654
One fact people
so easily forget
is how much
God loves to laugh

for otherwise
He would have created
a far duller world
by half.


The Sunday haiku is:

In this summer hush
a barn owl floats through the trees:
messenger of dusk.


Life News:

We had a great night out on Friday, having dinner and chat with R&G, along with L&J, so many thanks to all for a wonderful time. The food was excellent too, and I had second helpings of everything available. Bad me ...

Yesterday's cake effort was the Swiss Roll - all went fairly well until it got to the rolling up stage, which was something of a nightmare. However I now have lots of great advice from Facebook friends (many thanks, all), and the joy of it all is it tastes pretty damn good, even though it looks rather weird. Phew ...

Last night was also the grand reopening of The Woolpack in Elstead, so we went along with J (L up in London) for our free buffet and champers. All very nice, and we'll definitely be back. The focus is going to be slightly more Italian, which is more than fine as far as I'm concerned. Apparently the coffee's going to be grand, so I can't wait to try it out. Strangely they'll also be open for breakfast from 6am, but that's rather too early even for me, I fear.

This weekend the weather has been glorious, my dears, glorious. So we've been out whenever possible mowing the lawn, finishing off our second gate (why make do with only one?...), getting more bedding plants in and, most importantly of all, getting our sunflower seeds planted. The big problem there was trying to find somewhere the Russian Giant (ooh err, missus) which can get to 4-5 metres tall would be happy, but hurrah that's where the second gate comes into its own. We hope. To encourage appropriate growth, I also bought a lovely sunflower plant from our local flower shop, Teasels, and that looks wonderful. You can't go wrong with a sunflower really.

And, talking of weather, I've been very impressed with Prince Charles' weather forecasting moment, which still makes me laugh even though I've watched it several times. I tell you, he's a natural ...

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

Cake, bunting and a giveaway

Life News:

Yesterday's baking extravaganza was a brave attempt at Grasshopper Cake - i.e. chocolate cake with a peppermint fondant icing. As my cake mixture has been proving a little dry in the new oven, I added a dessert spoon of mayonnaise, and it's worked a treat. All perfectly moist now. Mind you, with one small success comes a little failure - the icing didn't really work, and what you see in the picture isn't at all how it looks in the book. Not sure what I did wrong - but at least it tastes okay. The peppermint gives a nice edge to the rich chocolate cake, which I like. Next week it's the turn of Boston Cream Pie, so watch this space ...

Other excitements of the week are that we're planning a Jubilee party in the road, so I've ordered a job-lot of Jubilee bunting for the occasion. Hey, maybe I should make a cake, but goodness knows what.

Yesterday, I was planning to attend a day's Introduction to Contemplative Prayer with the local church, but sadly that had to be cancelled, but I'm hoping we can still get to do it later on. Silence is so wonderful. Instead K and I visited the Festival of Tulips at Dunsborough Park Gardens. I don't think it was as good as the last time we went - I suspect the weather has held the poor tulips back, but some of them were out, at least.

On the way back we popped into the Wisley plant shop and bought two skimmias, four wallflowers, six chrysanthemums and one monkshood - which, dodging the raindrops, we've planted out this afternoon. I also took the opportunity to prune (i.e. hack down to manageable proportions) the forsythia against the front fence as it was utterly out of control. Much to our delight we found a plant underneath it we hadn't known was there as it was hidden in the forsythia branches. Goodness knows what it is, but at least it will get some sunlight now. Um, if there is some ...

And, oh joy and rapture unforeseen, the azalea in the shrubbery has a wonderful scattering of pink buds on it so can't wait for those to come out. It's going to be quite something, I think.

This morning, K and I attended our first Mattins at church and very nice it was too. I could have done with one or two fewer hymns, frankly, but chanting the psalms is really the perfect way to start any day. In my opinion.

Meanwhile, I've grasped the technological nettle and linked my Nectar card to my British Gas account. Mind you, the amount we appear to be paying British Gas, we should be able to earn enough Nectar points to get a Caribbean island any day now.

Book News:

Don't forget - today is the LAST day to enter the FREE giveaway LibraryThing competition for fantasy novel The Gifting. So far 67 people have entered, and I'm hoping that somehow we can get to 70 by the end of the competition. Only three people to go. All help with this is greatly appreciated!

This week, I've also sent back the first round of edits for gay menage short story The Delaneys at Home to Amber Allure. It's due out on 3 June, so not long to go now. At the same time, I'm working on an office-based gay short story I'm hoping to submit to Riptide Publishing by the summer. Trouble is it seems my main character, Alan, has a mind of his own - I wanted him to be dark and dangerous, but he's fighting back as he'd rather be quirky and wry. Goodness knows how I'm going to work that into my planned-for plot line, but I'd best go along with it for the moment and see where he takes me. Ah, the joys of writing, eh. The author is always the last person to know just what the heck is going on, dammit.

My most recent meditation poem is:




Meditation 647

This morning sun
and silence

are a setting
and a space

for the cuckoo’s
soft call:

the promise of spring
and its dying fall.


Which is cunningly linked with my Sunday haiku:

The cuckoo's soft song
drifts over these morning fields,
announcing the sun.


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

Gardens and Gifting

Book News:

I've sent back the second round of edits for Where You Hurt The Most to Riptide Publishing now, so I think we're nearly there, hurrah. I'm really pleased with the improvements made, that's for sure.

I'm also happy to say that Angels and Airheads received a nice 4-star review at Goodreads, (thank you, Cole!) and The Heart's Greater Silence has been my bestseller this week at Amazon UK.

Meanwhile, 45 people have so far signed up for a FREE copy of fantasy novel The Gifting. Five copies are available and the offer ends on 29 April, so don't forget to put your name down to be in with a chance of winning. Good luck!

The Sunday haiku is:

Past a certain age
it strikes me that more nights in
are the new nights out.


Life News:

Exciting news! I have baked my first real cake for a long time - from scratch, without the aid of any cake mixes, well gosh. There was a slight existential crisis with the amount of baking powder the recipe insisted on, but all worked out in the end, phew. So my Victoria sponge which, although not as light and fluffy as I would have liked, is going down a treat. Whatever next? I am indeed the Domestic Goddess of Elstead. Nigella: eat your heart out ... She just can't wear an apron like I can, you know.

There has also been a heck of a lot of gardening going on over the weekend. K has made a good start on his White Garden, and I have planted up some of the pots, added pansies to my Happy Corner, sowed a "quick flower" section for some late spring colour, sprinkled wildflower seeds in places I couldn't think what else to do with, and also sowed my Jubilee sweet peas (i.e. red, white and blue) at the front. Honestly, at this rate, we'll be starting our own TV programme. But, of course, the real question is: will anything grow? We can only hope ... Oh, and our strawberries are growing flowers, so that's a good sign. And I saw my first orange tip butterfly today, so that was wonderful too.

On Friday, I also had a very enjoyable morning with a good friend of mine at the Museum of Kent Life, so great to catch up and admire the donkeys and pigs, as you do.

Finally, we had a moment of drama in the downstairs bathroom today when I heard a fluttering sound, and then realised a starling had somehow worked its way into the loft, then down the disused flue and through the cupboard into the bathroom. Brought back happy memories of my life on the farm, that did - we were always having to sort birds out or send them quickly to the Great Nest in the Sky, depending on how lucky they were. K and I gave the starling every chance by leaving the window wide open and the door shut, but in the end - starlings being just too damn intelligent for their own good - I think it tried to go back the way it came in. So I expect that glorious smell of dead bird to be floating round the downstairs area at some point over the next few days. And how that will bring back those farmhouse memories too. There's just nothing on earth like the smell of dead bird! Ah well.

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

Blog tours and bestsellers

Book News:

I'm busy working on the edits for Where You Hurt The Most, due out on 7 May from Riptide Publishing - the first round has now gone back to them, so am looking forward to responding to the next edits fairly soon. At the same time, I'm hard at work drafting two interviews and six articles for my upcoming blog tour (with giveaways!), and now have one more article left to write, but I think I'll leave that now to another day. Subjects so far have touched on facial disfigurement and our attitudes to it, the sex industry, the joy of parks and what my two main characters really think about their story - so hopefully something there for everyone indeed.

Speaking of blogs, I've now signed up for the blog hop in July for Independence Day as the Easter one was so successful. So keep an eye out for details to come for yet another prize-giving extravaganza to keep you in a sunny mood over the summer, ho ho.

I'm also really excited to be a part of the upcoming GLBTQ 2012 Meet in Brighton, and you can now find a fabulous list of participants here (including myself - *cough*) and that's only the first third. Can't wait to finally be in the same event as so many other GLBTQ fiction writers and readers - it's going to be wonderful.

Over Easter, I'm proud to say that gay comic romance The Hit List was my bestselling book on Amazon UK, so that was a pleasant surprise, and I shall definitely be celebrating with a good dose of chocolate. Somehow I feel Jamie my main character would approve.

And for this week only you can find my gay thriller The Bones of Summer has a 20% discount directly from Dreamspinner Press, so don't miss out on that one!

This week's meditation poems are:




Meditation 637
Truth is never expected
and rarely welcome.

It is the fiercest ray
of sunshine dividing

the dark we cling to,
dispelling the comfort of night:

the heat of the day’s desire,
an almost unbearable light.




Meditation 638
Prayer’s steadiness
in our drifting
is like
the strongest rope:

it is simpler
than we imagine
and surer
than we hope.




Meditation 639
Joy’s too precious
to shut down

your week-long party
when it’s going so well

so why not
make it a fortnight

and damn the work
and its sorrows to hell.


Life News:

This week, I've been busy in the garden, and have managed to plant tiger lilies, phlox, cosmos, osteospermum and a chrysanthemum that's really on its last legs, just in case it might somehow survive. In fact it was so on its last legs that I initially thought it was a geranium but my lovely husband soon put me right, bless him. I do not pretend to be a proper gardener indeed. Anyway, I've labelled up almost everything so we know what it is (except the husband - I recognise him without help, you know ...) - although I've made a bargain with the chrysanthemum that I'll only label it if it survives. So it's a battle of wills from now on in ...

Today, I was lulled into a false sense of security by a sunny spell and put the washing out to dry, hurrah. Alas, an hour later I was cosily sitting inside watching the hail and thunderstorm that has suddenly burst upon us and feeling smug - when I remembered the washing. Whoops. But hey, at least there's no need to attempt the ironing tonight.

Speaking of weather disasters (well, sort of), hush my mouth, but I'm really really bored with the Titanic right now. Yes, I know it's an historical event of great importance and we must commemorate it as such, but do we have to with such obsessive glee? After all, one wouldn't wish to make so much of a to-do about 9/11, and it does smack of Victorian freak show voyeurism that we have to watch so many people die horribly over and over again, and then talk about it ad infinitum afterwards as well. Sigh. The absolute last straw has been the recent advert for an interactive child's toy of the Titanic. Where I assume they can make it sink as much as they wish until there is nobody left at all. My husband did wonder if it came complete with a recording of the screams and sobs of the drowning, but the advert didn't specify. Thank goodness, eh. Really, I despair ...

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

Angels and Airheads

Book News:

I'm happy to announce that my gay romantic short story Angels and Airheads has just been republished by Musa Publishing, and is available at Amazon UK for 77p and Amazon US for $1.22. You can also find out more at the Musa Erato blog, and I've already received two 4-star reviews, here and here. Many thanks to both commenters.

The blurb is:

Ricky has been secretly in love with his best friend Jez forever, but he's never dared confess his feelings because he thinks Jez is too high-class for him. One evening, while sharing a quiet evening with Jez, a mysterious angel, Madred, appears and tries to persuade Ricky to take a chance on love. Too bad Ricky doesn't believe in angels. Madred is forced to take desperate measures in an attempt to show the reluctant Ricky the truth. When the angel leaves, can Ricky find the courage to declare himself to Jez, and what will happen to their friendship if he does?

So if you're in the mood for a little light romance, then Angels and Airheads is the one for you - enjoy!

Gay erotic short story For One Night Only also received a 5-star review at Goodreads, so many thanks to Melissa for that.

This week, I've edited an upcoming interview and written two articles about male prostitutes, but from different angles. Um, as it were. I've also start a new gay short story about an unusual romance with a boardroom setting but it's very early days and there's certainly no title yet.

And, much to my delight, I've now signed the contract for literary short story The Gift of The Snow, which will be published later this year by Untreed Reads, hurrah.

The Sunday haiku is:

Sunlight and birdsong
infiltrate my sleepy eye.
The day begins. Soon ...


Life News:

Have had a mercifully short bout of the usual catarrh illness this week, but the mix of drugs recommended by people during my last session (for which many thanks), plus the early downing of a regular supply of Mucron tablets and Manukah honey, all seem to have meant it's not been either too bad or too long drawn-out. So I had to have two nights on the sofa but I did manage some sleep on both occasions, and I wasn't actually sick, hurrah.

Neither has it stopped me keeping busy on the domestic and garden front. We cleaned all the windows during the week so we can actually see out of them after the roofing work. The builders were supposed to do it, or so I believed, but have sadly disappeared, ah well ... but at least we can see out now. K and I have also weeded the garden thoroughly, planted the sweet peas, potted up some more plants and seeds, and put the chitted grass seed on the lawn. So nearly set for summer then. Oh, and the Paris heuchera now has three flowers on it, well gosh.

Yesterday, we spent a lovely day entertaining some old University friends and their tribe, which was great - though the weather could have been a tad better, I have to say. Obviously, the Universe didn't get my email about it ... I then spent most of the evening searching for where on earth I put the Vick's vapour rub (so good for the catarrh, don't you know), before giving up - and discovering it in my handbag this morning where I'd obviously put it for safekeeping. Sigh. I swear I looked TWICE in my handbag yesterday night and it definitely wasn't there. I blame the gremlins.

Today was the Palm Sunday service at church, and we even managed to process the entire way round the church building singing an appropriate hymn and keep so much in time with the organist who remained inside playing the tune that we were only half a note in front when we all came back in again. Gold stars to us, I believe! Hey, we rock.

Anne Brooke
The Gathandrian fantasy trilogy
Gay Reads UK
Biblical Fiction UK

Gardening and gratitude

Life News:

It must be spring. The fountain is back in the shrubbery and we have done huge amounts of gardening. A trip to Wisley for the Spring Fair yesterday furnished us with dwarf tulips, a red carnation, heuchera (Milan, as we already have Paris - I'm determined to grow my heuchera city names collection as they're the ones with the best flowers), three types of mint and a whole plantation of herbs. We've planted all these now in various places, with the mint plants going in one special pot, and the herbs going in another. Oh, and I also bought another shrub with pink flowers for the shrubbery.

Meanwhile the blossom on the apple tree at the front is looking utterly glorious and the bees love it too. If you stand underneath the tree in the afternoon, it's like being in a bee hive, it's so loud.

Today, K and I have, variously, taken out or radically pruned a couple of shrubs at the back which weren't doing any good to anyone, built a fence, and weeded, watered and mulched the shrubbery - the dark mulch is great, as it really brings out the variety of greens and the pink flowers beautifully. Will definitely be getting more of that one. I've also potted up some osteospermum plug plants to add to our collection in the summerhouse. We're also thinking of getting some red, white and blue phlox for the front especially for Jubilee Year, just to show willing, as you do! Oh, and I've cleared the weed tip near the fence at the front and we're hoping to put a euphorbia in as it's very shady there.

So, gardening city this weekend - well, it's certainly been the weather for it! There is other news, however, for the non-gardeners amongst us. I had a lovely time at Elstead Writers yesterday (hello, all!) and really can't wait for the next one. Such an amazing group. This weekend the clocks went forward so I'm missing my hour, that's for sure. However, I'm not the only one - the organist at church this morning didn't turn up until the second hymn, and though I think we bravely battled our way through the first one unaccompanied, it was definitely better when he arrived, phew. Plus K and I have bravely signed up to the electoral roll, which is usually the sign for imminent spiritual disaster to come on my part, but I'm hoping not, as I do like the church ...

On Friday, K was so utterly keen for cake that he actually cut out two perfect greaseproof paper circles and left them on top of the cake mix before he went to work. Ha! So no pressure then - but I think I muddled through and the lemon drizzle cake is going down a treat, I believe. I'm storing it in my new super-large cake storage tin, and am well on the way to becoming Elstead's Domestic Goddess, ho ho ...

And, inspired by the Lent course last week, I've placed two gratitude bowls on the hall shelf. There are lots of lovely white glass beads in one of them and every time I think of something nice that's happened, I put a bead in the emptier bowl. It's great fun and this weekend it's been filling up nicely, hurrah. That said, I did manage to spill the coffee over the living room floor, and wondered if I should return a bead to the original bowl, but I do understand it's not in the spirit of the thing, alas - and besides the floor downstairs is wood, so anything spilt is easy enough to wipe up, thank goodness.

Book News:

Don't forget there's still 30% discount on many of my Untreed Read books till the end of March, so if you fancy a literary, biblical or sci-fi story, now's your chance. I was also really pleased with a lovely review at Goodreads of The Heart's Greater Silence. Many thanks, KZ, for that. And I've been lucky enough to be one of the ten experts giving their opinion about publishing at the Book Marketing Buzz Blog.  Interesting times ahead, that's for sure.

And don't forget you can still win a FREE e-copy of fantasy novel The Gifting if you sign up for my newsletter. Go on - you know you want to ...

This week's meditation poem is:




Meditation 633
There is no requirement
laid upon us

to battle with the shadowed
mesh of the days to come

when each moment,
brightly lived and breathed,

possesses every treasure
to the utmost sum.


The Sunday haiku is:

Sunshine slows my day.
It soaks through my fragile skin,
soothes my cares away.


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

Further garden delights

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

Film Friday and Garden Delights

Book News:

My gay comic romance Angels and Airheads is due to be published on 30 March and is now available for pre-ordering at Musa Publishing. Shop early shop often, as they say! I do so love the cover.

Over at Amazon US, gay thriller A Dangerous Man was my most popular book this week, so that was very heartening. And literary gay short story The Heart's Greater Silence gained a 4-star review at Goodreads (thank you, Zaa).

Plus there's exciting news about the 5th in the Delaneys series - The Delaneys At Home will be published by Amber Allure Press on 3 June, so I'm looking forward very much to that. Only one more story to go and the series will be done, well gosh.

And don't forget that the majority of my Untreed Reads books are discounted by 30% for the whole of March - enjoy!

Oh, and I thoroughly enjoyed Day Two of my filming experience with Milletti Films - which involved playing golf, going to church, and another interview, amongst other items. Many thanks to Sam, Roxanne, Randy & Christine for making it such great fun, and I hope the project goes very well for you!

On a more serious note, the problem with the new Paypal literary censorship approach is causing me and indeed all writers of erotic fiction grave concerns. You can find out more about the issue and what can be done about it at the Internet Censorship Petition site and the Stop Censorship site. I've signed both petitions, and I hope some of you will also feel moved to do so. Many thanks.

The Sunday Haiku is:

Your car's steady hum.
Tall masts against a grey sky,
the sea drifting by.


Life News:

K and I had a lovely time down in Kent yesterday celebrating the 65th birthday of our good friend, Tony. It was fabulous to catch up with everyone, and the cake was stupendously good. Many thanks indeed to P for arranging it!

The rest of our time has been spent working in and thoroughly enjoying the garden, hurrah. I've kept the weeds down today, and K has mulched the roses. Much to our joy we spotted our first butterfly - a yellow brimstone - in our very own garden, so that was truly magical. Plus the forsythia we didn't know we had at the front is starting to bloom, the apple tree and our dogwood hedge are both in bud, and there are general signs of spring ahead. I can't wait to see what other surprises the garden holds for us.

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

Elstead goes Hollywood

Book News:

I've had great fun today during the first day of shooting for the Milletti Films project - goodness but these people work hard! I've been filmed going up the stairs, coming down the stairs, going up and then coming down again, leaving a room, making tea in the kitchen for the builders, chatting to the (rather startled) postman, and then interviewed in the living room about my life in Surrey, and in my study about my writing life. Tomorrow, on Day Two of the Elstead/Hollywood extravaganza, they'll be filming me attempting (ha!) to play golf, sitting in the garden, sitting in church, praying in my prayer room (what do you mean you don't have a prayer room?!? Shocking indeed ...) and walking through Elstead. Best wear decent shoes then.

It's been hard work and I have no idea where their energy comes from, but I've had a great time. Shame that my request for a magnum of champagne and a small terrier appeared to fall on deaf ears, but one can only try. I'm still waiting for my trailer to arrive ...

Back in the (slightly) more normal book world, I'm pleased to say that gay short story Brady's Choice gained a 4-star review at Goodreads, and For One Night Only was my most popular book this week at Amazon UK.

I've also just finished the fifth book in the Delaneys series and have submitted it to Amber Allure. Gosh, I do hope they like it.

Finally, I was utterly thrilled that the lovely Sharon Bidwell was kind enough to comment on some of my books recently. Many thanks, Sharon - I really appreciate that.

And my review of the really wonderful Heart of Tango by Elia Barcelo is now at Vulpes Libris Reviews. Read and buy it as soon as you can - it's passionate, powerful and almost perfect - what more could you ask for?

Life News:

We're continuing to dry out the carpet and the underlay after the Sunday roofing disaster, and it looks like it might be getting there, slowly. The underlay seems fine now and the carpet is certainly lighter as we move it around to encourage it, so that's good. I'm a bit concerned about the staining on the ceiling and walls of K's study though, where the water came in - I'm hoping we can just paint over at some point, and it won't get any mould problems. We'll have to see.

Today, I was also exceptionally brave when the roofers asked me to go up onto the roof and look at the chimney to see what I thought. Pause for a round of applause! I was really quite jittery going up and down the ladder, but the walk round the scaffolding was nice and the view from the top just stunning. Not sure I'd want to risk it a second time though - so I've agreed we should get a quote from a chimney man and then take a decision about what to do with it.

We've also managed, in between rescuing the house and attempting somewhat foolishly to live a normal life, to turn the dark and nasty corner of our garden into a riot of bedding plant colour. I really like it now, whereas it's been irritating me before. The rest of the garden has also received a serious de-weeding, and it looks much better. We just have to decide what the heck to plant in it. It's amazing how big the beds actually are, when we come to study them. The garden really isn't as small as we assume it is - it's just that it's wide rather than long, and seems to pack a lot into a limited space. I think we'd like a bed of white flowers to go with the pink and white roses - which now have some leaves/buds coming out, well gosh. You plant things and sometimes they grow - it's a revelation to us.

And K and I had a great deal of fun with the rest of the group at our Lent course on Wednesday. Most of us have decided that the video we're following has some seriously dodgy theology and a curious view of debate, and I also think it would be nice if the chappie in the video would occasionally mention the resurrection as if he might believe it. You know, just so we could see he knew the word, deep sigh. Mind you, getting annoyed with said chappie has made me think about what it is I do actually believe, and I'm beginning to realise I'm probably more traditional than I thought I was. So, K and I have come to the conclusion that we're theologically (and indeed politically) conservative, and socially liberal. Hey, that's about a good a summing-up as any, I suppose.

Anne Brooke
The Gathandrian Trilogy
Gay Reads UK
Biblical Fiction UK

Rain, roofs and the joy of the garden

Book News:

I'm happy to announce that for the whole of March, you will find 30% off all my books at Untreed Reads, plus for TOMORROW (Monday 5 March) only, literary romance How To Eat Fruit will be totally FREE. So the ideal opportunity to pick up a bargain, or even two - enjoy!

Meanwhile, gay erotic short story For One Night Only gained two reviews, one at QMO Books and one at Pants Off Reviews, the latter as part of my Author Week there. Speaking of which, there's still time to enter the Pants Off Reviews competition to win one ebook from my backlist - good luck! The competition will end on 6 March.

Gay short story Dating the Delaneys gained a 4-star review at Pants Off Reviews and, not to be outdone, comic fantasy Creative Accountancy for Beginners was my most popular book at Amazon UK, and is currently No 89 in science fiction short stories. Well, gosh.

Keeping to the writing front, the planning for the short film about writing psychologies and stereotyping from Milletti Films is continuing, with most of the filming taking place later next week. It should be fun, so I'm certainly looking forward to it.

The Sunday haiku is:

The warm earth quivers
beneath my searching fingers:
something rich and strange.


Life News:

A rocky ride this week through the roofing alterations. We discovered on Thursday night that the scaffolding means we have no TV as our satellite dish is now pointing towards the wooden walkway instead of the satellite. So no "proper" TV for the next two weeks, sadly, but we've tuned the computer to pick up the live channels and it's a good temporary alternative, hurrah.

Rather more drastically - and which has ruined our lovely weekend (see below ...) - we returned home today at about 5pm only to discover that the rain has come in through an unprotected part of the roof, flooded the loft, K's study and the living room. Sound of wailing and wild gnashing of teeth from Elstead ... We rang the roofers at once, and they were with us within 5 minutes, full of apologies and making good the hole. As they should. They're really very sweet and I can't fault their general loveliness but, really, I would have preferred them to leave the roof in a decent state when they left on Friday, ah well. So, once the roofers left, K and I have spent most of the evening laying down all our towels and 6 rolls of kitchen towel across the floor before moving the books, the bookcases, and various furniture items out of K's study, then taking up the carpet and the underlay, and laying it in various parts of the house and garage to try to dry it out before mould sets in. I've put the portable heaters on and opened the windows to help speed the process, so fingers crossed. However, K suspect that some of the water is gathered above the living room ceiling as it's still dripping into the bucket and bowls in the living room. So tomorrow (we really can't bear the thought of it tonight!) K is going to take the study floorboards up to assess the damage.

The roofers have agreed to pay for any damage - quite right too - but we hope to minimise it as much as possible. Really, the whole thing is giving me something of a headache and severely challenging my Lenten vow not to worry about stuff. But, hey, surely the good Lord will understand just this once.

On a happier note (literally!), I'm delighted to see that Engelbert Humperdinck - my first crush when I was 11 years old, happy sigh! - will be representing the UK in the Eurovision Song Contest this year. Bliss! I've always loved his songs, though I gather his voice is not so good now. Still, as he's about 180 years old, it's good news for the more mature amongst us, and I shall be glued, that's for sure.

And we've had a totally wonderful weekend at Wisley on our Learn to Garden course. It's been amazing, and we can't wait to put it in to practice tomorrow. Hell, it'll probably be drier outside anyway, so we have nothing to lose. I suppose you've got to laugh, eh, through the tears.

Anne Brooke
The Gathandrian Trilogy
Gay Reads UK
Biblical Fiction UK

Hedges and haiku

Life News:

Had a great time yesterday at Elstead Writers' Group and got some wonderful ideas about a story I'm struggling with about a widow and a very special library - loads to think about so thank you to all! I've also continued with my baking extravaganza and this weekend's delight has been chocolate fudge cake. There were one or two dodgy moments with the icing but it was a lot better if I didn't follow what the packet said, sigh. Anyway, I think I managed to salvage it and there've been no complaints, hurrah.

And, with thanks to Jacqui at Elstead Writers, I have rushed to Waitrose and bought gingerbread porridge. Mmm, can't wait to try this. Apparently it's amazing. For most of this weekend, K and I have been planting our red dogwood hedge in the front garden - we did half yesterday and have just finished it off today, and it looks pretty good. Mind you, it's certainly heavy work so I don't think we'll be doing another hedge for a while.

We've also obtained a second quote for our roofing problem from another recommended chappie and are now even more confused than we were before, sigh. I'll try to chase up the third company tomorrow and see if I can get them to come round at some point. It might be a little clearer after that - I'm hoping so anyway as it's totally messing with my head at the moment, sigh ...

I've also just completed this weekend's RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch, and have spotted 2 great tits, 4 blue tits, 2 long-tailed tits and 2 redwing, so have submitted those to them, and will look forward to seeing the results for the UK later this Spring. It's great to be able to take part in this for the first time ever, as of course we've never had a garden to do it in before (as it were). Hell, it's almost like being grown-up, you know.

Oh, and in case you were wondering, having a big packet of Giant Chocolate Buttons in the house does make the days seem brighter, double hurrah and hang out the bunting. Plus there's even some left for tonight, mmm.

Book News:

Just a reminder that in case you're looking for something to read that'll take you to places you've not been to before, then I'm happy to point you in the direction of the first in my fantasy trilogy, The Gifting. The Kindle ebook is only £1.91, and the paperback only £7.68 with free delivery worldwide so buy early and buy often! Don't forget you can browse the reviews and read an extract to whet your appetite. Thank you.

And the Sunday haiku is:

A pair of buzzards
master the sky, their wingtips
caressing bright cloud.

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

Happy New Year!

Book News:

Happy new year to you, and I hope you're all having a great 2012 so far. I certainly am. There are several items of book news today so hang on to your hats. First off, I'm thrilled that literary gay short story The Heart's Greater Silence has received its first review of 5 stars at The Novel Approach, prior to publication on 6 February. Many thanks, Lisa, for that! If the review stimulates your interest (as it were), then don't forget you can preorder a copy at Riptide Publishing and thereby (a) get the book early and (b) be entered into a competition to get free books for one year - so happy shopping!

Here's a quote from Lisa's review:

"Anne Brooke has written a somber and beautiful story of a man who had everything and lost it all because he coveted two very different men. It is dark and solemn and resonates with a sense of conflict and despair that wove the ideal atmosphere. It was moving and played beautifully against the knowledge that sometimes free will and human nature simply don't leave room for happy endings."

Meanwhile, gay comedy The Hit List also gained a 4-star review at Goodreads (thank you, Fynn) and romantic comedy Pink Champagne and Apple Juice received a 5-star review also at Goodreads (thanks, Nell!). 

I'm also thrilled to say that fantasy novel The Gifting received a fascinating and lovely review from Sharon Bidwell on Facebook (thanks, Sharon!), which certainly made me think. It's great that you loved Simon the Scribe so much as he appears from reader reaction to be a "Marmite Man" - like many of my fictional heroes, I suspect. I was also fascinated by the connection to Stephen Donaldson's Thomas Covenant in the Thomas Covenant Chronicles, as he was who I had in mind when I was writing Simon. That was certainly a fantasy series that had an extremely powerful effect on me when younger, and how I do love a wounded hero ...

I couldn't let New Year go by without some sales news, hurrah! So for today and tomorrow only, you can find 25% off ALL my Dreamspinner Press books, so happy shopping to you.

And, much to my delight, gay thriller A Dangerous Man was one of the Top 2011 Picks at Top 2 Bottom Reviews. Well, gosh, and a big thank you.

Finally (well, sort of ...), I've now created a website for my biblical fiction, where you can find my bible-based short stories, the latest news, and a list of Christian links I've found useful or consider to be interesting, amongst other delights. Enjoy!

The New Year haiku is:

The year eases round

until it begins again.

Slow epiphany.

Life News:

I must say a HUGE thank you to our friends and neighbours, L & J, with whom we spent a wonderful New Year's Eve yesterday. Just a few of us for dinner, drinks and chat so perfect really. I'm afraid I was therefore too tired to make church this morning, but I suspect God can manage without me for a week or so ...

It's been a strange couple of days though - yesterday I actually baked (baked!! Whatever next?...) chocolate buns which aren't bad really, though I say it myself. Mind you, I did use a cake mix and an icing mix from the shop, so yes it's cheating but hey life's too short to get flour under my nails. That's sooo last year ... And K isn't complaining. In fact I'm having trouble keeping him away from the tin. I hope he doesn't think this is going to happen again for at least another year, ah well ...

We also attempted to have a morning at the sales on Friday, but it was rather a disaster. We couldn't find the curtains we wanted in the size we needed them in and the shop assistant told us they weren't going to make them any more (groan), I couldn't remember how to buy books from an actual bookshop where I can't click onto what I want, and then the art gallery we wanted to buy pictures from was shut. Deep sigh. I don't think I'll be doing s-commerce again for a while. Still, at least K ended up with some garden stuff he wanted and a new computer desk which looks lovely, so some joy was salvaged from the morass of gloom. As it were.

And today, we find our narcissi are starting to sprout shoots in the pot we put the seed in, so nature does work, hurrah! Is it Spring yet?...

Anne Brooke

The Gathandrian Trilogy: a fantasy series to make you think