Hallsfoot and Holepunches

Book News:

It's a double book week this week, I'm happy to say. First of all, the second book in my fantasy trilogy, Hallsfoot's Battle, is now out. The blurb is:

In the second book in The Gathandrian Trilogy, Gelahn the mind-executioner begins his campaign. His powers are sublime, unmatched – even without the mind-cane in his possession. Using fear and pain he enslaves his victims, but next he will break and possess the Lammas Overlord.

Recently appointed Acting Elder and left in sole charge of her people, Annyeke Hallsfoot draws on all her mind-skills and courage as the fight for Gathandria rages. The precious ancient Legends are her bedrock and she begins teaching their wisdom to the scribe, Simon Hartstongue, who must quickly learn to work with the mind-cane’s strange powers. But Simon is distracted by his own demons and only fears the artefact. Supported by Johan and Talus, her young charge, Annyeke plots a desperate strategy to defeat the enemy.

As the Gathandrians rally behind their new leader, Gelahn strikes at the heart of the city.

If you've missed out on the first of the trilogy, which is The Gifting, then you can find out more about that book here.

At the same time, gay romantic comedy Who Moved My Holepunch? is now available at Amber Allure Press as part of their Office Affairs collection. The blurb for that one is:

Darren Fording works as a Senior Timetabling Officer for his local college. When Max Sheldon arrives to take over as Acting Registrar, Darren finds himself consumed by lust for his new boss and making the kind of decisions he as a stuck-in-his-ways administrator has never made before.

When Darren initiates a full-on kiss during a meeting with Max, the enthusiasm of the Registrar's response takes him by surprise. Max is reluctant to pursue a relationship with an employee, but Darren is equally determined not to take no for an answer. Can he prove his worth to the man he's beginning to love and show him he's a dab hand at educational politics as well?

It's already gained one pre-publication 5-star review from Mrs Condit Reads Books (many thanks, Josie) and she says:

"I found this book a breath of fresh air; it was funny, witty and very cute. I loved Darren; he was just perfect as the insecure (well, at the beginning) quirky administrator … His two assistants, the chatty, gossipy Miranda, and the quiet sensible Stewart were well written as well, and the aloof Max was simply adorable. … I can't recommend this book highly enough. If you want to laugh, giggle and smile as you turn every page then this book is perfect. My only regret is it isn't twice as long."

Not to be outdone, gay thriller A Dangerous Man was showcased at the Gay Books site (thank you, Richard), and also gained a 4-star review at Obsidian Reviews. There Val says:

A Dangerous Man is not a gay romance with a traditional happy ending, but it is a compelling work of gay fiction and a real page-turner. Things to praise include the flawless writing and the subtlety with which Michael's tragic past is revealed. The London setting is vivid and three-dimensional, and the author has a perfect ear for dialogue.

Many thanks, Val.

Meanwhile, Biblical short story collection, The Betrayal of Birds, was briefly at No 77 in the Amazon US Christian short story charts, so that was jolly nice.

This weekend, I had a great session at Elstead Writers, which was much needed amidst the bleak midwinter this spring has suddenly turned into. Snow - how shocking! Oh, and I joined the Christian Erotica Readers and Writers Group on Facebook, which has in some respects caused a bit of a stir. It should more accurately be called the "Group for Christians who Read and/or Write Erotic Fiction of All Flavours", but that's a tad long for anyone to remember. It's nice to have a group just for us, I must say - it's about time we came out ...

Life News:

Earlier in the week, K and I enjoyed a wonderful evening at the production of Calamity Jane at Haslemere Hall - a fabulous show, starring my colleague Ruth from work in the chorus - who looks rather fetching in pink, I must say. And it was nice for K to work out that behind all those good old songs I sing in the shower, there is actually a story - a revelation as he's not seen it before, well gosh!

Yesterday's cake was Pumpkin Cheesecake Muffins, which I took from the recipes at the back of the US crime novel The Pumpkin Muffin Murder. They're really nice too - spicy and moist with a lovely crunchy topping, mmmm ... And always great to have a fictional mixture of murder and baking, with the recipes, hurrah.

It's also been a lovely weekend for coffee and catch-up with the neighbours - so many thanks to you all in the road for that. Much appreciated.

Today, K and I bravely visited the Wisley Spring Plant Fair - aka the Wisley Winter Fair, alas - and caused great joy amongst the stallholders as, with the snow, very few people had turned up and they're all having a rather dull weekend. Whilst there, I bought a new tiarella - Mystic Mist, which has lovely soft pink leaves, so it's rather unusual. We decided against the full Wisley tour but, thankfully, the glasshouse was open, and the orchid display there is as stunning as ever.

Finally, over at The Angry Anglican, I'm taking the new Archbishop to task for his latest statement, sigh.

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

Champagne and cake

Book News:

It's Novel City here in the outback at the moment, I'm happy to say. I've now signed the contract for Musa Publishing to republish my chick lit novel Pink Champagne and Apple Juice, and that is scheduled in for 6 September. No cover yet, but I'm looking forward to seeing how that looks.

In the meantime, I do have a cover for bisexual thriller Thorn in The Flesh, which will be republished later this year by Untreed Reads. I'm really very pleased with it, I must say.

I've also signed off the proof version of fantasy novel Hallsfoot's Battle (Gathandria *2), so Bluewood Publishing should be advising a publication date in the near future. Watch this space.

There've also been a couple of very nice reviews of other work this week. Gay thriller A Dangerous Man received a 4-star review at Goodreads, which included the following:

"A Dangerous Man is not a gay romance with a traditional happy ending, but it is a compelling work of gay fiction and a real page-turner. Things to praise include the flawless writing and the subtlety with which Michael's tragic past is revealed. The London setting is vivid and three-dimensional, and the author has a perfect ear for dialogue."

And gay short story Where You Hurt The Most also gained a review at Goodreads. Part of that review said:

"Anne Brooke always impresses me. I quite literally love her writing. There’s a sophistication and refinement to the clean, sparse prose that sets her apart ... Overall I’m pretty pleased with this short story due to the excellent writing, drama without being overwhelmingly intense, and engaging characters. The themes of pain, need, and longing are woven into the story in many different ways and skilfully deployed to add depth and nuance to even this short length. I’m pretty impressed with the level of skill displayed, but honestly I know to expect that from this author. I’d easily recommend this to newcomers and fans alike."

Gosh, many thanks indeed to both reviewers for your comments!


Life News:

A rather snowy few days here recently, which meant my game of golf on Friday was one of the coldest I've ever experienced. Didn't do much for my play either, but really the least said, the better ... The weather certainly put paid to my weekend plans of getting out into the garden and seeing what it was up to, though I did manage to buy a couple of new house plants while we were out and about.

Plus we've also given the garden bridge a fresh lick of paint as it's been looking rather shabby lately. I fear it will need quite a few extra coats too before it's ready to take its place in the garden again. Next DIY stop: the love seat - but only when the weather's better, as it's too heavy to move.

This week's cake has been Carrot and Mascarpone cake, and we're very happy indeed with the results. How I love a recipe where you just throw all the ingredients into a big bowl and mix them. Saves all that faffing around, you know.

Finally over at The Angry Anglican, I discover women are really and truly the secret weapon after all.




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

Celebrations and snow

Some good news this week as I received the letter telling me my mammogram was clear and I don't have to go back for three years, hurrah. I don't come from a breast cancer type family, but it's still a great relief, so I do encourage all you women out there to go along if you've got the invite. At the very least, it's a trip out, eh.

Earlier on, before the snow arrived, I popped up to London after work and had a few drinks and an Indian with Jane W (hello, Jane!) - we'd missed our pre-Christmas get-together due to illness on both our parts, so it was great to catch up now.

Oh, and we've had snow (did I mention that already?) - which looks very pretty but is really rather deadly if you want to drive or walk anywhere, hey ho. I'm not a great fan of snow, and I fear there's more to come ...

To calm my snow-infested nerves, I've baked a coffee and walnut cake this week. I forgot to add my usual spoonful of mayonnaise to ensure moistness, but actually it's turned out fine, but possibly more by luck than judgement. K's certainly not complaining, anyway.

Today, I was going to go back to church for the first time since the start of December, but snow has stopped play, so instead I've started writing a new gay BDSM story tentatively called Training Thomas. I suspect that title will change later on when I've worked it out however. And always a fun thing to have church and BDSM in the same sentence. Live dangerously indeed.

Speaking of gay stories, I'm happy to announce that all my gay fiction is currently running at a 25% discount at Amber Allure Press until the end of January - do feel free to browse and see if anything takes your fancy. Um, as it were.

I'm also quietly pleased that lesbian short story The Girl in The Painting made it to No 24 in the Amazon UK short story charts this week. Goodness me.

Looking ahead to later in the year, the GLBTQ Fiction Conference 2013 now has a draft programme of events online, all of which look great fun. Can't wait for the summer! Ooh, and K has got a part in the Elstead play in April, which is An Eye For An Eye, Darling. He's playing Colin, the second detective, and rehearsals start this week, so it's all very exciting.

Finally, over at The Angry Anglican, I'm blogging this week about sex, submission and Christ - enjoy!

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

Blog Tour Day Five and a little quirky romance

Book News:

Here we are at Day Five of my Blog Tour for The Heart's Greater Silence, and today you can find me at:

Ren Thompson's site - where you can find out the 10 worst things I've ever done in church, and add your own too, if you like!
Shannon Leigh's site - to discover the secret superpowers I really wish I had.
Ebook Addict Reviews - where you can read about my all-time favourite song and why I chose it ...

And let's not forget that all the competitions are still open throughout the blog tour so don't forget to leave a comment to enter!

At the same time, today is a very special day, as I'm also the focus of this Friday's Author Spotlight at the Amber Heat Readers Yahoo Group - where I'm posting information and extracts about the Delaneys gay erotic series all day long. If you join the group and leave a comment, then you're in with a chance of winning a FREE ecopy of The Delaneys and Me, AND Entertaining the Delaneys - i.e. the first two books in the series. Good luck to everyone!

Speaking of which, I'm very happy to see The Delaneys and Me gained a 4-star review at Goodreads (thanks, Mickie) and a 5-star review at Amazon US (thank you, Lyne). So a red-letter day for Liam and those twins indeed.

And keeping to the subject of reviews, I was also happy to see that gay thriller A Dangerous Man also gained a 5-star review at Amazon US - so many thanks again to Lyne for that one. It's much appreciated.

Life News:

Not much today apart from books, I have to admit. Though today's snowfall has meant no golf this morning, sadly. Which is a bit of a shame, but I did need the time to get on with book stuff (see above!) so perhaps a blessing in disguise ... Hopefully it'll be all bright and warm next week (ho ho) so we'll be able to get out on the course. You never know.

Anne Brooke
The Gathandrian Trilogy
Gay Reads UK
Biblical Fiction UK

Blog Tour Day One

Book News:

Yes, it's here at last, hurrah. My literary gay short story The Heart's Greater Silence has been published today and you can find it at Riptide Publishing, All Romance Ebooks, Amazon US and Amazon UK, alongside other major ebook stores. Happy reading to all.

At the same time, today is the first day of my blog tour which will last until 16 February. There are loads of prizes and giveaways, so do pop in and leave a comment or enter the competition for a chance to win THREE ebooks from my backlist - there's nothing to lose and everything to gain. Today you will find me at Top 2 Bottom Reviews where you can find out 10 very strange things about me; and Long and Short Reviews where you can discover what 5 items I'd take to my own desert island.

Today's other book news is that it's Day 6 of the Buy One Get One Free offer on The Gifting - so there's still time to pop a copy into your shopping basket and get a FREE ebook from my backlist. Don't delay, as the offer only lasts till Tuesday 7th Feb ...

Meanwhile, literary gay short story Brady's Choice received a 4-star review at Goodreads - so thank you to Meggie for that.

And, speaking of Amber Allure Press, I will be their Spotlight Author on Friday 10 February and this event will include a FREE giveaway of a backlist ebook, so please do pop along to that and join in the fun there too. You'll be more than welcome.

Finally, here's today's meditation poem:




Meditation 621
So many voices
in the world
pushing at my ear’s
tender skin
in an attempt
to be heard

when only one voice
is needed
and its final arrival
makes the harsh demands
of every other whisper
faintly absurd.


Life News:

Not a great deal has happened today which isn't writing-related, except the snow appears to be melting - so a cause of great celebration indeed. Oh, and I am enjoying a week off to use up my holiday days before the end of March, which is the end of our holiday year. So that's lovely.

Plus, in a less lovely way, I did get an email from British Gas asking me to give them a meter reading online. Bearing in mind the series of disasters which took place the last time I attempted to do this - including an inability of their website to recognise me as a customer at all, several abortive attempts to contact them by telephone, and the fact their engineer eventually turned up to read the meter - I've told them I won't do this but to simply send the engineer instead to avoid customer disappointment. No response yet, but we won't wait up, eh ...

Anne Brooke
The Gathandrian Trilogy - still time for a free book!
Gay Reads UK - naughty but nice
Biblical Fiction UK - because faith turns up when you least expect it

Blog tours and beauty

Book News:

Well, it's almost here - as of tomorrow until 16 February, my literary gay short story The Heart's Greater Silence is going on tour and will be appearing at a variety of venues at a computer near you. Don't miss out! Especially as there's a big bag of goodies and other fun stuff to give away while we're travelling. Plus don't forget you only have till Monday 5am UK time to preorder and be in with a chance of winning a year's supply of books - happy shopping! Also because of the tour, I'll be posting a quick blog each day to update you as to where I am and what I'm up to (in the politest possible sense, naturally ...).

In addition, I'm pleased to say that I've received a few very nice reviews for The Heart's Greater Silence in the past couple of days: there have been three 5-star reviews at Goodreads, one from Nithu, one from Suzette, and one from Aija. Thank you so much to all of you, both for reading and commenting. Plus there's also a lovely 4.5 star review at TWLIB Reviews - many thanks indeed, Nicci.

Meanwhile, my Buy One Get One Free offer continues - so if you purchase a copy of my fantasy novel The Gifting in ebook OR paperback version, you get a FREE ebook from anything on my backlist as well. This offer absolutely has to end on 7 February so don't miss out on that one either!

Keeping to the subject of The Gathandrian Trilogy, I was thrilled to receive back the first impressions from my independent editor in response to the final part of the trilogy, The Executioner's Cane. She very kindly said it's a "powerful evocative final book for the trilogy." Gosh, thanks, Sarah! This was especially welcome as the so-far poor sales record of The Gifting has left me feeling rather down recently, and I was wondering if I had the ability to finish it properly at all. Well, maybe I have, and maybe it's not as awful as feared. I hope not anyway. I'll certainly be getting lots of edits and alterations from Sarah (I hope - as I really love getting my teeth into a good editing task), but now I feel there might be something there worth improving. You never know, eh.

Other book news is that there's a 20% discount on my Sunday Haiku collection direct from the publisher, so it's the ideal opportunity to slip some nature poetry into your shopping basket. Enjoy. Speaking of which, here's my latest Sunday haiku:

This golden evening
dreams away the honeyed time,
making winter warm.


Life News:

As both a traditional Christian and a staunch believer in LGBT equality, I'd like to draw your attention to this petition to allow vicars to bless the civil partnerships of gay and lesbian couples in church in the UK. It's something I believe in very strongly indeed and I've already signed it, so I hope some of you out there will consider signing it also. One day - surely! - the church has to show at least some understanding of equality and justice ...

On a more practical level, our roof problems continue. The third roofer chappie came round for a third time this week to discuss options, and he's coming round again next week with a scaffolding expert so he can begin to get together a proper quote for us. Really, it's all fun and games here in the shires. As always.

Plus there's wonderful local news: I've won a free MOT with our local garage in Elstead, so I'm looking forward to taking that up later in the year. And my neighbour and friend, L, and I sipped champagne on Friday afternoon at the reopening of our local beauty salon, hurrah, and hic! It looks marvellous, and we've both booked treatments for next week. I'm having the rebalancing facial and they're going to cut through my eyebrow hedge at the same time. Good luck to them on that front, eh ... Honestly, I'll be a new woman next week - you won't recognise me.

Astonishingly, I also managed to win our golf game on Friday morning - I can't remember the last time I beat Marian so we were both severely shocked. Perhaps I've been swopped with an alien? Who can tell ... I've also had a haircut which I'm very pleased with and can now see out (well, apart from the eyebrows problem), hurrah. And on Friday evening, we had L & J, and R & G round for dinner, which was fabulous. Our first dinner party at the house, dahlings - what fun! K really pushed the boat out, and we ate pate and crispbreads, followed by mushrooms in Yorkshire pudding with potato wedges and green beans, all finished off with pears roasted in honey and pine nuts with clotted cream. Oh and not forgetting the cheese & port course, and coffee and chocolates. Bliss .... That should keep us nicely going through this sudden onset of winter.

Because, arrggh, the snow! Horrid. Though thank goodness it appears to be melting. Let's hope that continues. After all, I don't want anything coming between me and my new eyebrows next week, ho ho ... Perish the thought.

Anne Brooke
The Gathandrian Trilogy - critically acclaimed but commercially sagging
Gay Reads UK - for intelligent kink (as it were)
Biblical Fiction UK - for a new look at those old stories