Mice, machines and mischief

Book News:

Much to my astonishment (well, I haven't been there for a while ...), gay erotic story For One Night Only was a July bestseller for Amber Allure. Thank you hugely to everyone who purchased it and got me in the list, and I hope you enjoyed the read. To add to the huzzahs, this week it became available at All Romance Ebooks (where people don't seem to like it much ...), Amazon US and Amazon UK - where people haven't yet expressed an opinion but do at least seem to be buying it. Heck, it was even, very briefly, in the Amazon UK charts, so that was nice. Thank you.

Not to be outdone, and on a completely different literary note, biblical story Dancing with Lions has just become an All Romance Ebooks bestseller - so many thanks to readers for that also.

I've also signed my first Kindlegraph for gay psychological thriller The Bones of Summer so many thanks, Karin Wollina, for asking, and don't forget other books are also available for signature!

This week, I've also been utterly bamboozled when I was sitting by the lake at the University yesterday in that lovely sunshine (remember that?...) and discovered that just as I was seriously getting into Madeleine Wickham's lovely romantic comedy Cocktails for Three, the binding went straight from Page 208 to Page 257 without me even noticing the join! Arrgghh!! I did wonder how the heck we suddenly went from Roxanne's traumatic breakdown on the plane to Maggie's loved-up getaway with her husband. What?!? I now feel hugely frustrated and I have rushed online to order another copy as I am totally desperate to know what happens next, especially to Roxanne. They promise delivery on Saturday and if I don't get it then I may have to chew the postman in desperation. I've also checked to see if the other two Wickham novels I bought at the time have all their pages, and I think they do. My dears, I can't go through another literary trauma like this one ... It's just too much.

Here's another few lines from fantasy novel The Gifting for you:

Even the name Gathandria stands against them: in the old language, it means the place where peace dwells.

There are two meditation poems this week:




Meditation 553
There is always joy.
Even in the middle
of the greyest
and bleakest of days

its treasured gold
lies waiting
to be tasted
by patient hearts:

the shimmering silence
before the music starts.




Meditation 554
In this field of blessings
lies the forgotten man,
his name abandoned
since the celebrations began.

He’s only a whisper
caught as you turn away,
a memory relived
at the end of the day.

A throwaway clause:
nothing to make you pause.


Life News:

There is news on the Elstead house!!! Goodness me, I think I need to repeat that - there is news on the house, well gosh. After nearly a year of searching and two traumatic near-misses, we are now once again and for the third time almost at the point of exchange. Heck. The vendor has answered all our questions quite happily (unlike the wretched people in House Number 2 ...) and we now have to confirm our mortgage insurance, return the signed copy of the contract and then exchange and completion dates can be agreed. Please God let it all work out this time, as I'm not sure I could bear a fourth attempt. Watch this space then, or you might just hear the screams ...

In terms of my long-running battles with machinery, I'm pleased to say that my car is now mended and the garage even cleaned it inside and out for me for no charge so that was a delight. It seems to be running well so far and there've been no more further disasters with the engine coolant, hurrah. In addition, we have had our replacement washing-machine delivered today - by a couple of very sweet men who were incredibly relieved that we live on the ground floor. They installed it in record time and took the old one away, double hurrahs - and I am now just waiting for K to come home so we can find out about the new arrival together. I don't want to spoil his fun, after all. But, hey, no more hand-washing will be good.

I have also done a Terrible Thing with my remote mouse batteries. They said they were low last week so I replaced them and threw the old ones away (yes, I'm sorry - no battery recycling facilities here, as far as I'm aware ...). Come Sunday night and K asks if I'm enjoying the lovely new rechargeable batteries he secretly put in for me at the beginning of the week as a surprise. Cue fixed grins and frantic backing away to the door in order to rummage through the rubbish - but alas the binmen have already been and gone, and I have just thrown away some rather expensive renewable batteries, thinking they were the same as the other ones. Hey ho. This is indeed a lesson for the Vital Importance of Marital Communication. I will take a jolly good look at them next time ...

At work, I've had my appraisal and actually enjoyed it. Maybe I'm feeling more confident these days? Must be the drugs, you know ... I'm even getting into thinking about what I might like to get involved in over the next five/ten years, and how to develop the role - so perhaps I've been swopped for my better twin after all? About time then.

Finally, I'd very much like to draw your attention to the fundraising a colleague of mine is doing on behalf of the Marie Curie Cancer Fund - which is a very worthwhile cause, and well done, Jon, on taking part. If you are able to spare a few coppers at all, I'm sure the charity will be very grateful, though I fear Jon himself (according to the photo on site!) will be best advised to buy a new pair of trainers before taking part ...

Anne Brooke

Haircuts and hospitals

Life News:

Great news! Someone at work actually noticed my new haircut! Gosh indeedy. So a big thank you to Andrea, and also to Carol, for commenting on it - positively of course - and without having read my blog too. I'm still smiling.

This week I've also had my appointment with the lovely specialist (hello, Alli!) who has been reading my blog and therefore commented on my wonderful new haircut - not sure whether that might have been cheating or not, now I come to think of it, but thank you anyway! Health-wise, I'm much happier than I was a couple of weeks ago, so we've decided to keep off the HRT for the moment and see how things progress between now and when I next see her in February. It makes sense, but I'll keep an eye on it to see if I suddenly plunge into the slough of despond again. You never know really. They also took a blood test to see how my oestrogen levels are doing, post-HRT, so that will be interesting to find out too. Never say the middle years of a woman's life are not exciting, eh ...

In the meantime, I've been struggling with estate agents, again. There are still zilch viewers for our poor unloved flat, which continues to be hugely frustrating, but we've decided to go and see three houses this Saturday anyway, just to keep our hand in. Interestingly, one of them in Woking is on the market at a price we could actually afford without even having to sell our flat, which is certainly food for thought. I do like the look of it as well, but we'll see. The thing that really got my back up, however, is the fact that when I rang up to arrange a viewing for one of the other houses with an agent new to us, the extremely callow young man was very rude when he found out our flat was on with Mann Countrywide. What is it about callow young male estate agents (well, apart from the evident lack of brains, that is)??? Don't they have any concept at all of professionalism??? I am therefore extremely proud of myself that I stopped his boring sales spiel and bitchiness in mid-flow, and told him in no uncertain terms not to be so rude about his fellow professionals as I thought it was frankly appalling. (Say what you like about Mann Countrywide but they have never at any time been rude or bitchy about other estate agents, at least not in my hearing, and that is something I do admire, whether or not they know how to get viewers for us ...). Said Callow Young Man's response to that was weak laughter, which I didn't take kindly to either, so I told him I wasn't interested in his opinions, but I simply wanted him to arrange an appointment and confirm it with me without more ado. The loser ... The good thing is that CYM isn't available on Saturday, so a colleague will show us round. Thank God for that, really. I hope the colleague is more pleasant, but I don't hold out much hope. But good to know that being a stroppy-minded woman in her forties has some benefits - I would never have dared express an opinion such as that in my twenties, more fool me.

Anyway, tonight, K and I are off to the theatre in Woking to see House of Ghosts, which is a play featuring Inspector Morse, so it should be interesting for sure.

Book News:

I'm happy to say that A Dangerous Man gained a lovely 5-star review on Amazon, so many thanks, Amos, for that. The novel is now also available at The Book Depository with free worldwide delivery, so that's good to know. It's even got a sales ranking there too, which is heartening.

This week's meditations are:


Meditation 462
A wild ride,
vain hope of escape
and certain knowledge
of death

reveals to us all
how this need to live
drives us onward
until the last frail breath.


Meditation 463
I’ve always liked Jezebel:
the way she puts on
her eyeshadow
and arranges her hair

before a bloody,
undignified death
is, I feel, a lesson
for all women, everywhere.


Meditation 464
Call me too delicate
for the world we live in
but the concept
of seventy dead men’s heads
lined up in baskets
really doesn’t suit me
as an appetiser.


Really, they were a funny old lot in the Old Testament ...

Anne Brooke

The house buying queen ...

... hits the road today. Goodness me what a whirl it is. Yesterday, 3 estate agents came round and valued our flat rather higher than we actually thought it was going to be, 2 of them estimating it at the £240k mark, though the other agent valued it ridiculously highly. So, with cautious smiles on our faces, we have discounted the latter and gone with one of the other two agents and it should be on all the usual house-buying websites sometime fairly soon. Gosh, I almost sound like an adult, ho ho.

In the meantime, I have been viewing. I didn't like yesterday's house in Bramley though it was very well done indeed. The rooms simply felt a bit small and the garden ditto. This morning was a riot - the first house the agent took me to see we couldn't actually get into as the lock was jammed, poor chap. It's burglar-proof for sure ... Though now I've seen the location, I'm not as keen as I was. The second viewing was then cancelled as the house-owner couldn't get home in time (I'm not really sure why they need to be there at all - is it my criminal past??), but that one I would like to reschedule if we can. The third viewing was of a property in Normandy which is our favourite so far (K managed to make it there during his lunch hour, hurrah!), though there's not much to compare it with yet. The rooms downstairs were a bit small but two of the bedrooms were spacious and it had a good garden, though whether we can manage one-third of an acre is anyone's guess, frankly. And the location is pretty dang good too. We'll see, eh. A lot depends on whether we can get a buyer for our place - then and only then do people start to look at us as a serious option.

Other life excitements this week is that I've had my annual flu jab - though I nearly forgot to pay and was halfway down the Tesco aisle before I remembered and hurried back - they were very grateful! And isn't Whitechapel just great - I can't wait for next Monday's episode. It's utterly bizarre, but gripping and the characters are wonderful.

Book news:

I have a fabulous new cover for my upcoming GLBT short story, Brady's Choice, which I love as it's incredibly strong as an image in my view. The story is due out on 23 January and you can read the beginning here.  I'm also pleased to say that The Hit List found itself at No 64 in the Amazon charts though it's dropped a little now.

And my review of Natasha Solomons' Mr Rosenblum's List can be found at Vulpes Libris today. A decent enough story, but not very meaty and I think the real plot lies in the war ...

Anyway, here are this week's meditations:


Meditation 446
Under this dry river bed
the secret water flows

diamond-bright
when it comes

and blood-red
when it goes.


Meditation 447
All you really need
for a miracle

are a few drops of oil,
a lot of empty jars

and the will to begin.

Anne Brooke

The Decluttering Queen

Book News:

This week I've been delighted that Martin and The Wolf gained a 4-star review at Goodreads - many thanks, Chris. Tuluscan Six and The Time Circle received a 4.5 star review at Jessewave Reviews, so thank you to Val for that.

Meanwhile, Tommy's Blind Date has been doing well, with a review at Tam's Reads (scroll down to view), and two 5-star reviews at Goodreads, one from Lisa and one from Stephanie, so a big thank you to you both! And, for the blink of an eye, The Delaneys and Me found itself at No 40 in the Amazon charts but has dropped out now.

Finally, in this section, K and I have been parsing the verb to Kindle, and have decided it's an irregular verb: I Kindle; you don't have a Kindle; he/she/it doesn't know what a Kindle is ... Really, I'm loving it.

My latest meditations are:


Meditation 430
To question God
with raw honesty

is better
than a thousand pleasant lies

told in the secret passages
of your heart.


Meditation 431
Sow in the field
of desire

and reap
a harvest of death;

sow in the field
of kindness

and reap
a harvest of life.


Meditation 432
A whisper from the sea
seven times softer
than the salty air
you breathe.

When the dark clouds dance
and the wind sings,
run before the promise
of rain, rejoicing.

Life News:

Well, it's been inevitable really, and certainly since the beginning of September when it all went horribly wrong, but K and I have this week now officially withdrawn from the flat-buying disaster and have, in a brief email to them and their solicitors, wished the vendors luck in whatever they decide to do with their flat from now on. Well, a former boss of mine once told me - and he was right - always to end a quarrel with courtesy so that is what we have attempted to do. Time to lick our wounds, take a deep breath and move on, once our solicitor's bill is paid, of course!

With this in mind, we've been continuing to paint and declutter our flat ready for potential buyers, and have managed to clear the place of nine bags of recyclable clothes and two bin-bags of clothes not even charity shops would take. We have also thrown away a lot of our old video tapes (though I can't bring myself to part with all my Star Trek ones - no way!) and have therefore all but filled three wheelie-bins full of rubbish again. And the binmen aren't collecting rubbish until Tuesday week as we're on a fortnightly cycle so Lord knows where I'll be putting the old/unwanted food leftovers ... Help!

We have also given at least one coat of paint to everything in the hallway that needs lightening up, apart from the skirting board as we need to take the carpet up for that. And I have washed the spare room walls where I can get to them between the bookcases ready for giving that a coat of paint too. There'll be more stuff to throw away from the spare room but some of that is a council tip job so I think K and I will have to tackle that together.

In the midst of all this, I've also had my regular hospital appointment with the lovely Alli, and we've now decided that I'll be coming off the HRT to try to avoid the need for another operation to take my right ovary out, as it's not very good really. Poor thing, I'm quite fond of it, you know - I think it's called George - and I'd like to try to save it. But I am a bit worried as to what it might do in terms of my mood swings, which the HRT was helping a lot with, so I will have to try to keep a close eye on how I am (not easy when I could be either screaming with rage and brandishing the nearest weaponry or weeping like a klutz all over the dining room table, and sometimes both!...) and keep taking the St John's Wort which is also marvellous for my happiness levels. We'll see.

So, thank goodness for a night out on Tuesday with the lovely Jane and Tanya, the latter of whom I'd not seen for ages so it was great to catch up. The French restaurant Jane chose ( Cote in Guildford) was fabulous too and the food top-notch though we were all puzzled as to why there was a choice of having your mushroom soup either hot or cold. Yuk! The French are a mysterious folk indeed. We're also at that age where none of us can read the menu unless it's at arm's length, which caused great amusement to our fellow diners. Ah well. We're not getting any younger, you know ...

Anne Brooke