ANNE BROOKE BOOKS: Independent writer of modern fiction
Showing posts with label roses. Show all posts
Showing posts with label roses. Show all posts
Friday, May 23, 2014
The first roses of summer
The first of our Harlow Carr scented roses are out, as is the last of our rhododendrons. There's also a rather nice pale pink lupin, which is new this year.
Sunday, June 09, 2013
Gifts, birthdays and gay marriage
Book News:
Epic gay fantasy The Gifting is now available in all formats at Smashwords and Omnilit Books (where you can also read through the first chapter) at the bargain price of only $0.99 or 65p. Here's a quick reminder of the blurb together with a couple of reviews it's garnered in its previous life:
Simon Hartstongue is a mind-reader, and branded a coward and a murderer. When his overlord and lover Ralph Tregannon turns against him, he is forced to embark on a treacherous journey to the distant and magical land of Gathandria in order to save his country and his own soul. During a series of terrifying trials, Simon must encounter the trickery of the deadly Mind Executioner and the secret dealings of those he ought to trust.
"The Gifting is a unique fantasy where mental and physical worlds merge in a flight of unrestrained imagination. Unlike much fantasy I've read lately, this book soars with hope. It's a story of redemption gained through a mystical journey through earth, air, fire and water that tests the deepest recesses of a man's soul." (Awesome Indies Reviews)
"The Gifting is merely the introduction to the Gathandrian Trilogy; it's a big world, filled with intrigues and magic, loss and redemption. It's a fantastical place where almost anything is possible, where a coward can become a hero, where the promise for more excitement and enchantment are guaranteed, and I look forward to seeing where Anne Brooke will take us next, as well as discovering what Simon's future holds." (Top2Bottom Reviews)
It's quite interesting that in the two years this book was with a small publisher, it managed to sell the grand total of 20 copies, even with being showcased by the Awesome Indies website (see above review comments) - but now I've self published it, I've sold 16 copies in the first week. Not bad going really. A lesson to ponder on, that's for sure!
Gay mystery The Bones of Summer (Maloney *2) is also featured over at the Amber Allure Blog, so do feel free to pop in for a visit at any time.
And as June is Pride Month, all my gay titles have a 25% discount at Amber Allure Press, and my lesbian titles carry a 30% discount at Untreed Reads for the whole month. Happy shopping!
Life News:
The Anglican leadership has been playing silly devils with us all again (surprise, surprise ...) over the issue of equal marriage. I was immensely proud to take part in the Equal Marriage Rally outside the House of Lords on Monday, and only wish I'd had a flag to wave during the event. Or even a jazzy umbrella like the one Peter Tatchell is holding in the picture.
So I was utterly thrilled when the bill passed through the House of Lords with such a strong majority - and not all all surprised (though deeply angered and ashamed) when of the 14 Anglican Bishops present in the House on the occasion, 9 voted against the Bill and 5 abstained (even those who'd spoken for it). However it was lovely to realise that, by the grace of God, the Lords are thankfully well able to save us from the spiritual cowardice of the Bishops.
Anyway, as a result, I wrote an open letter to the Archbishop afterwards, as he'd made some stupid, hurtful and very crass comments during his speech, a letter which I have put on my Angry Anglican blog. I doubt the Church of England is listening, but I wanted to have my say. I've also been highly amused most recently by the fact that the Church of England is now saying that it will "graciously concede defeat" and work towards supporting the Equal Marriage Bill (even though they were actually rather ignominiously defeated by the majority of opinion against them, and really have a decent amount of egg on their faces right now). But Lord preserve us!! The last thing we folk want is that mealy-mouthed bunch of bishops getting their hands on a perfectly good Bill. Please God they don't manage to mess it up as much as they messed up the Women Bishops vote. Perhaps we can somehow distract them with some other crisis - say, sex abuse and bullying in the church, for instance - while reasonable people get on with the task of bringing God's kingdom to earth? It's the only way, I fear ...
Mind you, I have been highly amused by this article on the possibility of the Archbishop setting up fertility clinics for engaged couples, if he's so keen on peopling the nation. Now that would be truly wonderful! And would at least give the wretched man something useful to do, hey ho.
Turning to happier news, I was rather startled to be greeted by my lovely neighbour, L, earlier in the week as I returned home from work - who simply couldn't wait to tell me that after weeks of thorough searching, she'd finally got THE perfect 50th birthday present for me later on this month. I whooped with joy and delight and danced round the car for a bit with her, as one does - and then asked if it could keep for a year, as actually I'm 49 this month as I'm a 1964 baby. Oh no!! Apparently it can't keep and I have traumatised the neighbours by not being old enough, alas. However, after some hysterical giggling, we have agreed that I will officially be 50 this year and 49 next - so problem solved. I can't wait to see what the present is either.
June indeed must be here at last, as the first of our roses is fully in bloom, and there are loads of buds on the others, which is hopeful. I look forward to a riot of colour and scent in the next few weeks, deer willing, of course.
Finally, yesterday's cake was Lemon Cake, which is one of the easiest recipes I have and tastes really lovely. Thank goodness I have a new electric whisk which works like a dream, hurrah.
Anne Brooke
Gay Reads UK
The Gifting: gay spiritual fantasy
Biblical Fiction UK
Lori Olding Children's Author
Simon Hartstongue is a mind-reader, and branded a coward and a murderer. When his overlord and lover Ralph Tregannon turns against him, he is forced to embark on a treacherous journey to the distant and magical land of Gathandria in order to save his country and his own soul. During a series of terrifying trials, Simon must encounter the trickery of the deadly Mind Executioner and the secret dealings of those he ought to trust.
"The Gifting is a unique fantasy where mental and physical worlds merge in a flight of unrestrained imagination. Unlike much fantasy I've read lately, this book soars with hope. It's a story of redemption gained through a mystical journey through earth, air, fire and water that tests the deepest recesses of a man's soul." (Awesome Indies Reviews)
"The Gifting is merely the introduction to the Gathandrian Trilogy; it's a big world, filled with intrigues and magic, loss and redemption. It's a fantastical place where almost anything is possible, where a coward can become a hero, where the promise for more excitement and enchantment are guaranteed, and I look forward to seeing where Anne Brooke will take us next, as well as discovering what Simon's future holds." (Top2Bottom Reviews)
It's quite interesting that in the two years this book was with a small publisher, it managed to sell the grand total of 20 copies, even with being showcased by the Awesome Indies website (see above review comments) - but now I've self published it, I've sold 16 copies in the first week. Not bad going really. A lesson to ponder on, that's for sure!
And as June is Pride Month, all my gay titles have a 25% discount at Amber Allure Press, and my lesbian titles carry a 30% discount at Untreed Reads for the whole month. Happy shopping!
Life News:
So I was utterly thrilled when the bill passed through the House of Lords with such a strong majority - and not all all surprised (though deeply angered and ashamed) when of the 14 Anglican Bishops present in the House on the occasion, 9 voted against the Bill and 5 abstained (even those who'd spoken for it). However it was lovely to realise that, by the grace of God, the Lords are thankfully well able to save us from the spiritual cowardice of the Bishops.
Anyway, as a result, I wrote an open letter to the Archbishop afterwards, as he'd made some stupid, hurtful and very crass comments during his speech, a letter which I have put on my Angry Anglican blog. I doubt the Church of England is listening, but I wanted to have my say. I've also been highly amused most recently by the fact that the Church of England is now saying that it will "graciously concede defeat" and work towards supporting the Equal Marriage Bill (even though they were actually rather ignominiously defeated by the majority of opinion against them, and really have a decent amount of egg on their faces right now). But Lord preserve us!! The last thing we folk want is that mealy-mouthed bunch of bishops getting their hands on a perfectly good Bill. Please God they don't manage to mess it up as much as they messed up the Women Bishops vote. Perhaps we can somehow distract them with some other crisis - say, sex abuse and bullying in the church, for instance - while reasonable people get on with the task of bringing God's kingdom to earth? It's the only way, I fear ...
Mind you, I have been highly amused by this article on the possibility of the Archbishop setting up fertility clinics for engaged couples, if he's so keen on peopling the nation. Now that would be truly wonderful! And would at least give the wretched man something useful to do, hey ho.
Turning to happier news, I was rather startled to be greeted by my lovely neighbour, L, earlier in the week as I returned home from work - who simply couldn't wait to tell me that after weeks of thorough searching, she'd finally got THE perfect 50th birthday present for me later on this month. I whooped with joy and delight and danced round the car for a bit with her, as one does - and then asked if it could keep for a year, as actually I'm 49 this month as I'm a 1964 baby. Oh no!! Apparently it can't keep and I have traumatised the neighbours by not being old enough, alas. However, after some hysterical giggling, we have agreed that I will officially be 50 this year and 49 next - so problem solved. I can't wait to see what the present is either.
June indeed must be here at last, as the first of our roses is fully in bloom, and there are loads of buds on the others, which is hopeful. I look forward to a riot of colour and scent in the next few weeks, deer willing, of course.
Anne Brooke
Gay Reads UK
The Gifting: gay spiritual fantasy
Biblical Fiction UK
Lori Olding Children's Author
Sunday, June 24, 2012
A day of two halves and roses galore
Book News:
Many thanks to the wonderful KazzaK Book Reviews for commenting on all five books of my gay menage Delaneys series as below (with the straplines in brackets, and in order):
The Delaneys and Me (Small but refreshing and intriguing)
Entertaining the Delaneys (Witty, charming. I love "my" boys)
The Art of The Delaneys (The Delaneys are developing)
Dating the Delaneys (It gets better and better with the Delaneys and Liam)
The Delaneys at Home (My love affair continues)
Gosh, much appreciated, Karen! There'll be one more to go in the series - The Delaneys, My Parents and Me - and then we're done. I have yet to start it though, and it probably won't be till later this year.
The Delaneys at Home (Delaneys *5) also received a 5-star review at Oh My Gigi Reviews, and Where You Hurt The Most gained a 4-star review at Goodreads (many thanks, both!).
Keeping to the gay fiction theme, all my Amber Allure books have a 25% discount until the end of June, and watch out for the Erato Musa GLBT Treasure Hunt starting later on today. Watch this space ...
The Sunday haiku is:
When the dark rain stops
there remains only silence:
a promise of light.
Life News:
As you may recall, it was my 48th birthday on 21 June, and a HUGE thank you to all those lovely people who sent message, cards and emails - it's very much appreciated. It turned out, in the end, to be a day of two halves. K and I spent a wonderful time at Wisley admiring the roses and having lunch, and I received some utterly lovely presents (even from Mother, whose gift buying ability can occasionally be dodgy!...). Then when we returned home, and with such deliciously exquisite timing you couldn't make it up, we received the piece of commercial bad news we'd been waiting for, ah well. I'm sorry I can't say anything useful about this, but there it is. All of which made the rest of the day rather difficult. However, we rallied enough to enjoy our champagne supper later on (hurrah!), and we know that we'll do our best to roll with the punches. And, of course, the best revenge (ha!) is always a happy survival.
That said, a further piece of information turned up the next day (Friday), which made the news somewhat more bearable, at least for a while. Things will, we hope, become clearer throughout the week, not least because we're pretty damn determined to make them clearer in spite of the obstacles thrown in our way. As a good friend of mine said (many thanks, Jane H!) where one door closes, there's another window opening somewhere else. And very true that is too. In the meantime, K and I are indeed very much the better for making our way at last out of the whole Nonsense Area, hurrah and thank the Lord.
Over the weekend, K has very nobly washed my car, mowed the lawn, trimmed the hedge, and created a beautiful pair of rose bowls from the roses in our garden. What a superhero indeed. I have to say the roses smell utterly gorgeous and I love them. They're my favourite flowers.
Yesterday, I also made some funny-face fairy cakes to give ourselves a lift, and very tasty they are too. And we also enjoyed an afternoon out (and more cake & coffee - it's a tough life, but someone's got to do it, eh ...) at the Cleeves Open Garden in Haslemere. Well worth a visit.
Today, we've finally managed to get to church in what seems the first time in ages. I wouldn't be surprised if God had forgotten what we looked like entirely. Some great hymns today, and it was good to get back into the structure of it all. Oh, and for lunch, we've eaten the first crop of our very own potatoes - they were marvellous! Ah, the good life eh ...
Anne Brooke
The Gathandria Fantasy Trilogy
Gay Reads UK
Biblical Fiction UK
Lori Olding: Children's Fiction
The Delaneys and Me (Small but refreshing and intriguing)
Entertaining the Delaneys (Witty, charming. I love "my" boys)
The Art of The Delaneys (The Delaneys are developing)
Dating the Delaneys (It gets better and better with the Delaneys and Liam)
The Delaneys at Home (My love affair continues)
Gosh, much appreciated, Karen! There'll be one more to go in the series - The Delaneys, My Parents and Me - and then we're done. I have yet to start it though, and it probably won't be till later this year.
Keeping to the gay fiction theme, all my Amber Allure books have a 25% discount until the end of June, and watch out for the Erato Musa GLBT Treasure Hunt starting later on today. Watch this space ...
The Sunday haiku is:
When the dark rain stops
there remains only silence:
a promise of light.
Life News:
As you may recall, it was my 48th birthday on 21 June, and a HUGE thank you to all those lovely people who sent message, cards and emails - it's very much appreciated. It turned out, in the end, to be a day of two halves. K and I spent a wonderful time at Wisley admiring the roses and having lunch, and I received some utterly lovely presents (even from Mother, whose gift buying ability can occasionally be dodgy!...). Then when we returned home, and with such deliciously exquisite timing you couldn't make it up, we received the piece of commercial bad news we'd been waiting for, ah well. I'm sorry I can't say anything useful about this, but there it is. All of which made the rest of the day rather difficult. However, we rallied enough to enjoy our champagne supper later on (hurrah!), and we know that we'll do our best to roll with the punches. And, of course, the best revenge (ha!) is always a happy survival.
That said, a further piece of information turned up the next day (Friday), which made the news somewhat more bearable, at least for a while. Things will, we hope, become clearer throughout the week, not least because we're pretty damn determined to make them clearer in spite of the obstacles thrown in our way. As a good friend of mine said (many thanks, Jane H!) where one door closes, there's another window opening somewhere else. And very true that is too. In the meantime, K and I are indeed very much the better for making our way at last out of the whole Nonsense Area, hurrah and thank the Lord.
Today, we've finally managed to get to church in what seems the first time in ages. I wouldn't be surprised if God had forgotten what we looked like entirely. Some great hymns today, and it was good to get back into the structure of it all. Oh, and for lunch, we've eaten the first crop of our very own potatoes - they were marvellous! Ah, the good life eh ...
Anne Brooke
The Gathandria Fantasy Trilogy
Gay Reads UK
Biblical Fiction UK
Lori Olding: Children's Fiction
Thursday, February 09, 2012
Blog Tour Day Four and a Birthday
Book News:
It's Day 4 of my blog tour, and today you can get to know Mark, my main character in The Heart's Greater Silence, a little better at the Book Wenches Site. Happy reading and don't forget to leave a comment or enter the competition for a chance to win a prize. Good luck!
Life News:
A big Happy Birthday to my lovely husband! We've had a great day today - though it did get off to a strange start when I accidentally gave him his Valentine's Day card instead of his birthday one, groan ... I managed to snatch it back before he'd actually finished reading the verse, but I suspect I may have to get him another one anyway - it's a matter of honour, you know.
And more strangeness at breakfast when Roofer Chappie Number 3 unexpectedly turned up with the scaffolder to take a look at the situation in terms of scaffolding - so while we were enjoying our coffee & porridge, the workmen were measuring the side of the house with a tape measure - how quaint. Always good to watch the servants work while the posh folk eat, dream on eh ... Plus I was rather taken with the older chappie who told me in the tones of an ancient prophet that it would be cold for another month and we'd be lucky to see spring before at least April. We're all doomed, captain, doomed ...
Anyway, after they'd departed, as part of K's present, we both attended the Roses Pruning and Maintenance morning workshop at Wisley - which was fantastic and very useful indeed. We shall set to with our pruning with much more confidence now, thank goodness. We then had lunch at the cafe, a walk through the spectacular butterflies in the glasshouse, and a wander round the really very chilly gardens (I fear my roofer prophet might be right ...), before spending our hard-earned cash in the shop. Mainly on roses equipment and two new climbers for the garden gate. Bliss.
Tonight it's definitely a champagne supper and celebrations all the way to the finale, hurrah!
Anne Brooke
The Gathandrian Trilogy
Gay Reads UK
Biblical Fiction UK
Life News:
A big Happy Birthday to my lovely husband! We've had a great day today - though it did get off to a strange start when I accidentally gave him his Valentine's Day card instead of his birthday one, groan ... I managed to snatch it back before he'd actually finished reading the verse, but I suspect I may have to get him another one anyway - it's a matter of honour, you know.
And more strangeness at breakfast when Roofer Chappie Number 3 unexpectedly turned up with the scaffolder to take a look at the situation in terms of scaffolding - so while we were enjoying our coffee & porridge, the workmen were measuring the side of the house with a tape measure - how quaint. Always good to watch the servants work while the posh folk eat, dream on eh ... Plus I was rather taken with the older chappie who told me in the tones of an ancient prophet that it would be cold for another month and we'd be lucky to see spring before at least April. We're all doomed, captain, doomed ...
Anyway, after they'd departed, as part of K's present, we both attended the Roses Pruning and Maintenance morning workshop at Wisley - which was fantastic and very useful indeed. We shall set to with our pruning with much more confidence now, thank goodness. We then had lunch at the cafe, a walk through the spectacular butterflies in the glasshouse, and a wander round the really very chilly gardens (I fear my roofer prophet might be right ...), before spending our hard-earned cash in the shop. Mainly on roses equipment and two new climbers for the garden gate. Bliss.
Tonight it's definitely a champagne supper and celebrations all the way to the finale, hurrah!
Anne Brooke
The Gathandrian Trilogy
Gay Reads UK
Biblical Fiction UK
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