A Dangerous Knowledge

Book News:

Literary gay erotic story The Beginning of Knowledge is now available at Amazon US, Amazon UK and All Romance Ebooks. It also gained a review this week at Brief Encounter Reviews who say:

"This isn't a romance. The sex is not tender and romantic; it's bloody and violent with a strong dose of self loathing from Alan. It is, however, very well written and, as a study of Alan, torn between desire and reason, it's well worth reading."

Many thanks to Jen for those comments.




Not to be outdone, the paperback collection of the whole Delaneys series, The Dangerous Delaneys and Me, is now available at Amazon US.

Meanwhile, gay comic romance Who Moved My Holepunch? gained a 4.5 star review at Reviews by Jessewave who says:

"I particularly liked the warmth and kindness that both men show throughout the story; this infuses the hot sex with individuality, which of course makes it even more effective. As I read this book I just found myself continually smiling and it left me feeling both amused and nicely content."

The book also gained a 4 star review at Goodreads, so many thanks to all commenters for your thoughts on this story.

Gay thriller Maloney's Law received a 4-star review at Mrs Condit Reviews, and says:

"This book is disturbing on many levels. What has happened to Paul in the past, what happens to him in the present, and what will happen to him in the future are all brought to light in a tale of life, death, blackmail, murder, corruption and so much more. It's a good read."

Ooh and my comic short story about love in a dictionary, Candy and Catharsis, gained a 4-star review at Goodreads, so I'm thrilled about that.

Finally in this section, over at the UK GLBTQ Conference 2013 blog, you can find out all about my secret liaison with Dr Who and if I do really wear a teapot on my head. Enjoy!


Life News:

It was a great relief this week to see the House of Commons pass the proposed Gay Marriage bill - phew, that's a result! It was the highlight of my week, I must say. I can only hope the House of Lords shows the same common sense, justice and equality, but I can't say I'm hugely confident in that respect. Oh well, time will tell, eh. In the meantime, I thoroughly enjoyed the speech of Mike Freer MP which is well worth a listen.

The blog setting out the 31 Arguments Against Gay Marriage (and how to destroy them) is also spot on and very wonderful indeed. It was bliss to read.

This week, I was finally well enough (hurrah!) to go and see Star Trek Into Darkness - in my stylish 3D glasses, naturally. My dears, we loved it. A brilliant film, I've already pre-ordered the DVD and I can't wait for the next one.

My attempt at cake baking this week was Whisky and Sultana Cupcakes. They turned out a bit messy, but very tasty indeed. And I had the added joy of having (ah, it's a hard life ...) to lick out the whisky icing bowl at 10 in the morning. Really, it's the only way to start the day.

For most of today, K and I have been busy in the garden, planting up yet more flowers, including rudbeckias, zinnias and whatever else needing getting into the soil, really. Only the dahlias and nicotine plants, and a few bits and bobs, to go now. And what a glorious day it's been - couldn't have asked for better weather.

All this sun has meant our azalea has burst into life, and the earliest of our three rhododendrons isn't doing too badly either. What with that and the fact that the horses (with the foals from last year) have arrived for their summer in the field behind the garden and it's pretty damn idyllic right now.

Anne Brooke
Gay Reads UK
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

Maloney revisited and the keyboard queen

I'm very happy to say that my literary gay thriller Maloney's Law is now available with this lovely brand-new cover at Amazon UK (where it briefly hit No 56 in the gay fiction charts earlier this week) and Amazon US. The blurb plus its credentials are:

Paul Maloney, a small-time private investigator from London, reluctantly accepts a case from his married ex-lover, Dominic Allen. Before he knows it, Paul finds himself embroiled in the dark dealings of big business and the sordid world of international crime. The deeper he pushes, the closer he comes to losing everything he holds dear.

Can he solve the mystery and protect those he loves before it's too late?

Maloney's Law was shortlisted for the Harry Bowling Prize 2006 (for novels set in London) and the Royal Literary Fund Scheme, and longlisted for the Betty Bolingbroke-Kent Novel Award.

The book has also just gained a 5-star review at Amazon which says the following:

"I don't read that many mystery novels but this one caught my attention and after reading a sample I had to read the entire book ... The plot was great and I couldn't turn my e-reader off."

That certainly put a smile on my face. I hope you enjoy the read.

Following on from that, The Bones of Summer (which is the sequel to Maloney's Law) has been chosen by a book group for their January read and they're enjoying it so far. Well, gosh.

Keeping to nice book news, gay short story Where You Hurt The Most gained a 5-star review at Goodreads, and my biblical short story collection The Betrayal of Birds reached No 82 in the Amazon UK Christian short story charts. So that was nice too.

Meanwhile, I've finally finished the first draft of the last story in the gay menage Delaneys series - so will need to get that edited over the next few days to see if it makes sense at all. Here's hoping, eh.

And I've booked myself into the UK GLBTQ Fiction Conference up in Manchester in July, so can't wait for that. Roll on the summer!

On the home front, I believe I'm at last getting well after about two weeks of cold/catarrh nastiness. I did go back to work on Wednesday last week, but that was a big mistake, and so I was off sick on Thursday. Start the year as you mean to go on, eh. Hopefully, tomorrow will be better.

The good news is that for the first time ever in my life, an orchid under my care and attention has actually grown two more flowers. Heavens above, this is indeed the Christmas miracle. The trick - at least for me - appears to be to do nothing that the orchid experts tell you to do, but simply to ignore the plant entirely, at which point it produces blooms to prove to you it still exists. Ha. That's my answer then.

Stirred by such unexpected success, I have this weekend got myself back into cake-making and have produced a Lemon Flower Cake. I cheated with the flowers - the recipe calls for me to go into the garden, pick edible flowers and then sugar-coat and dry them, but if you think there's a hope in hell of me ever doing that, then it's time to think again ... so the decorations are shop-bought and all the tastier for it.

Ooh, and my lovely husband has worked out how to make our electronic keyboard function properly - so I can now play When the Saints Go Marching In, The Banks of the Ohio and By The Rivers of Babylon, all with one hand only. How happy the neighbours are! Believe me, these long winter evenings are simply going to fly by, my dears ...

Finally over at The Angry Anglican, I take issue once more with homophobia and discover the real meaning of the TARDIS. You have been warned.

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