A kingly caper

Book News:

I'm delighted to be able to announce that gay thriller Maloney's Law will be republished by Amber Allure Press as an ebook on 7 April 2013, and then as a paperback in May 2013. I'm absolutely thrilled about it all as it's been a long dark tunnel of a journey with this particular book, and it's more than wonderful to be out in the light again. I can't wait till April!

I'm also very pleased indeed that out of the Top Bestselling Authors during 2012 at Untreed Reads, I'm at the No 5 position, well gosh. Thank you so much for buying a book last year - I'm very grateful.

Meanwhile, there's a 25% discount on all my books at Amber Allure during February, so if you fancy something to read that will get you through till March, now's the ideal shopping time.

Life News:

A very happy special birthday to my lovely husband for yesterday, and what a grand week we've had. I took him off to London for a birthday treat to see the new Man Ray exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery, and we also visited the Courtauld while we were up there. All wonderful stuff.

On Friday, I managed to rustle up a Chocolate Fudge birthday cake, which seems to be going down very well indeed, and in the evening we went for a birthday dinner over at our good friends, R&G, together with L&J. It was fantastic, and thank you very much to all for making a special weekend even better, and for providing an unexpected extra cake & champagne too - what could be nicer?...

K and I have also been continuing to sort out the garden and even plant some spring flowers, and we managed to pop across to Winkworth Arboretum yesterday, in spite of the rain. Great to see their new winter garden over there, and lots of winter daffodils too, hurrah.

Finally, the saga of the rediscovery of Richard III has been causing great excitement - I've always been rather fond of him actually, but anyone who dislikes children always gets my vote, eh ... Shows great sense, to my mind. So fabulous to know the rediscovered king is keen to pick up where he left off. I can't wait!...

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

Flu thoughts, battles and the author at play

Here's this morning's meditation:

Meditation 182

I’ve never been a gardener
so all this talk
of vines, fruition,
destruction, pruning, fire
and the unceasing flow of sap

passes me by
like an east wind,
the flight-filled clouds
or the migration path
of distant, unknowable birds.


Keeping on religious matters, church today was rather strange. We now have a three-line whip from the Powers that Be (who I suspect probably aren't God) that, because of the swine flu threat, we're not allowed to take wine at communion or shake hands with non-related people during the Peace. We were also told not to come to church if we felt ill, and advised that the Rector had washed his hands with anti-bacterial soap before starting the service. It all made me feel distinctly unsettled. What next? Casting people who cough into outer darkness? Beating people who happen to sneeze with twigs?? The plot thickens indeed, but I wonder if we're giving in rather too quickly to media panic?... I may yet have to eat my words (Lordy, that's been known several times at least ...), but it seemed an edict too far to me. We do know how to behave after all. We're all sensible rational human beings. Well, apart from the church attendance of course ...

I've been continuing the edit of Hallsfoot's Battle and am now within spitting distance of the ... um ... actual battle. I must admit it's worrying me a little and I'm holding off from actually getting to that chapter, but I'm going to have to face it at some point. I just think I need to be stronger. Don't wait up.

And this afternoon, Lord H and I have been having great fun with taking more photos of me for use on the web etc. I'm attempting to look like a writer but I fear the worst. New shots of the author at play (ho ho) appear here and here, the latter being the picture where I was admiring my screensave of swimming fish while Lord H was fiddling with his tripod. As you do.

I've now read Vanessa Gebbie's short story collection, Words from a Glass Bubble. I'm hoping to review it for Vulpes Libris once I get my act together, so I won't say much about it now. But what I will say is that it's certainly a mixed bag - some wonderful tales and some definitely not-so-wonderful ones - but more on this to come. I hope.

Tonight, Lord H and I are hoping to watch the first episode of the new Midsomer Murders series which we videoed earlier in the week. Perfect Sunday night viewing indeed. You really can't go wrong with a country location and a good murder or two. And here are this week's haikus - as you get two for the price of one today, you lucky people, you!

I sit on a bench -
the first time I've stopped this week.
Sunlight warms me through.


Between silent tracks
layers of pink and cream stone
remind me of joy.

Today's nice things:

1. Poetry
2. Editing Hallsfoot
3. A mini photo-shoot
4. Books
5. TV
6. Haikus.

Anne Brooke - I'm ready for my close-up, Mr DeMille ...

Wedding snaps, holy libraries and scary school photos

We’ve decided to have a bit of a girlie day at the office today and have brought in our wedding piccies to coo over. There’s nothing like a white frock and a vol-au-vent memory to raise those essential oestrogen levels, you know. And there was much amusement at my very 80s Charles I hairstyle. Well, I’ve always been at the cutting (ho ho) edge of fashion, after all …

And here’s this morning’s meditation poem:

Meditation 53

Outside the city,
it’s cold,

the desert
a carpet of desolation

but it’s where
you’re headed,

blood-spattered, guilty.
If only

you could walk
facing the sun,

the sky above
might warm you.


I’ve also been fiddling around with the Personal Tutors’ Handbook again – honestly, if we ever manage to get it to the print stage in my lifetime, I swear I’m going to miss the beast. It’s taken up such a large proportion of my office hours over the last few months that I think we might be engaged. And I’ve also been trying to sort out staffing for this year’s open days again. The Central Team all know what we’re doing now, hurrah, but I just have to see what the other services come up with.

I popped into the Cathedral library at lunchtime (goodness, how very holy I am) to pick up three books that Lord H wanted. I had his card and the list of required texts and had to look as if I was (a) serious-minded, (b) an upright citizen of the parish, and (c) my husband. It’s amazing they let me in at all. Was it the haircut?... And stepping into the library is like going back twenty years. As I wrote in the book what I’d taken out, I felt quite overcome with nostalgia. No quill pen though, shame on them …

Talking of nostalgia, for today’s scary moment, my old school is 100 years old this year and they have our class photo on the front page of their website as “missing people”! You can have a good laugh here though you’ll need to scroll down to see it. It's Number 53 in the 100 years archive list if the front picture is on a rolling schedule. I think it’s about 1979/1980 when we were all 15 or 16 but I could be wrong about that. I’m no good with numbers. I’m the one on the far right at the back row. Can you tell?? We were standing on boxes – we’re honestly not that tall. Groan …

Tonight there’s nothing on TV – again!! Doesn’t the BBC ever get my letters with my programming requests?? It’s quite shocking, Carruthers … – but Lord H and I are going to make a concerted effort to book our March holiday instead. We’re hoping for Istanbul but, failing that, Assisi. Now there’s a strange religious mix to play with.

Today’s nice things:

1. Wedding pictures
2. Poetry
3. Libraries where you have to write down your borrowings
4. School nostalgia
5. Thinking about holidays.

Anne Brooke
Anne's website - she hasn't changed a bit, you know ...

First day back

Much better than expected. Not as many emails to sort out from the holiday period as I’d feared and no phone messages. Bliss! Did a lot of chatting with those in the office today (the boss doesn’t come back until next week …) and took down the Christmas tree and decorations. Have decided to book myself into the new UniSport back strengthening course which starts later in January – I’ll find my ruddy inner core if it kills me.

And there’s fame at last for my office fluffy pen selection – my picture of what my world looked like at 5pm one day last December has now finally been uploaded onto the Radio 4 Window on Your World site and can be found here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/news/pm/galleries/901/63/#gallery901

The other six zillion photos are fun to browse through too, but I think I win on the sad git factor.

I’ve also spent time filling in my work online calendar with the stuff already in my new paper 2007 diary. There are things in there up until September now so the year will happen after all, thank God. Control freaks of the world unite … And last of all, I’m thinking about our March holiday – I think Sardinia might be the one – I got very excited about http://www.justsardinia.co.uk as it seemed to be the one tour operator that actually allows people to have a March holiday. All the other mainstream names seem to think that the year starts in April or, if it doesn’t, then they want to send us to Dubai or Tenerife. Thanks, and one day I suspect I’d probably like to go to Dubai, but the idea of Sardinia is more attractive right now.

This afternoon, we had a team effort focusing on the regular Let’s Untangle the Window Blind Cords crisis. This involved three people, a window hook and a lot of tugging. Goodness know how the cords got like that in the first place – it must have been one hell of a Christmas party. But we are now free and ready for all eventualities over the coming month. At least in terms of seeing the outside world. Phew.

Tonight, I am intending to do more slumping – the emotional rollercoaster of having to go back to work is really more than enough for one day – but I will try to watch the News later on. As per my resolution.

Today’s nice things:

1. Seeing my office photo on the Web
2. Looking at Sardinia
3. Slumping.

Anne Brooke
http://www.annebrooke.com
http://www.goldenford.co.uk

Lunch with strangers and Radio 4 photos

Did more to the work website today and eked (eeked?!) out the time. It's been puzzling me recently that I've changed my earring routine (I think I have earrings on the brain at the moment). I usually change them each day and go for the dangly ones, but lately I've been going for studs 'n' pearls. And more lately still just keeping in the same old boring gold hoops I've had since I was 16. Hmm. Is this laziness, old age or depression? Or is it just that I can't be arsed? It's a mystery. Perhaps in the end I'll give up wearing them at all - much like I gave up wearing mascara last year - and my ears will heal over. This will please Lord H who had a Baptist upbringing and thinks any body piercing is the work of the devil.

Anyway, I had lunch with strangers - one of the gals in the Registry got wind of the fact that I used to work (many, many years ago) for Guildford College and organised a get-together for ex-Guildford College survivors at the University. However, I've been stressing for days that I don't actually know any of the names on the list and I would have to walk into the restaurant (packed full of curious students) and look lost and lonely. How I hate walking into anywhere on my own - it reminds me of always being picked last for whatever sport we happened to be doing in the games lesson at school. Hey, look, Billy-No-Mates - honestly, I should have it emblazoned on my t-shirt. Anyway, in the event, I recognised one of my lunch people after all and we had quite a good time. I do so like my social events to be small (there were only 6 of us) and time-constrained (a lunch-hour only). That constitutes my social inclusion fill for the week. Possibly the month.

This afternoon, I took part in the Radio 4 "PM" Window on Your World project - which involved taking a photo of whatever you happened to be looking at at 5pm and sending it to Radio 4 for collation. For me, this was my work collection of fluffy pens (hell, I have to have my soft side somewhere ...) and my Wuthering Heights mug. Hmm. Maybe I need to get a life? Though, actually, I thought the end result was quite charming and does indeed give a snapshot view into my psyche at 5pm on a work day. Swinging somewhere between ditzy and psychotic. Lovely.

Tonight, it's Guildford Writers (http://www.guildfordwriters.net) and I'm going to be brave and take something to read out this time. Probably. Oh God. Which means I'll need to go to the loo twice before the meeting starts and will feel sick until my part is over. If anyone out there has a confidence pill, please send a year's supply.

Today's nice things:

1. Lunch (surprisingly)
2. Taking my photo (sadly)
3. Guildford Writers (hopefully).

Anne Brooke
http://www.annebrooke.com
http://www.goldenford.co.uk