All the doom and gloom I've been reading lately has recently become a bit too much for me, so if anyone knows any happy books out there they can recommend, please do let me know. The only rule is that it can't be your own, for obvious reasons. Many thanks to those who've offered suggestions so far - I'm really grateful.
Speaking hopefully of happy things, Lord H is loving his new iPad, even though it can't quite pick up the GPS signal to make the SatNav work. The good thing though is that the SatNav works on his iphone, even though it's not the quickest of connections, and the blessed Mary (the SatNav voice) sometimes gives you directions that she's already given you or that you've already done. So I think it works only as long as you do actually know your way anyway. Or simply take a map. The choice is yours.
I'm also pleased to see a good couple of episodes being broadcast in the latest Dr Who series - a brilliant two-parter, though I deeply mourn (SPOILER ALERT) the loss of Rory just as he was shaping up nicely, dammit. And I have to say I don't like the pesky Amy - Spoilt Brat Alert springs to mind ... Still, laughing at Eurovision and Graham Norton's wonderfully snide commentary cheered me up big-time. How wonderful to be so gloriously last! And another middling career for a young hopeful UK singer gone for ever (say she, bitchily) ... You think they'd have more sense than to enter, really. It only ends in tears. Theirs.
In writing news, I've uploaded the last part of chapter twelve to The Prayer Seeker's Journal and in my offline writing of it I've reached the big milestone of 30,000 words, hurrah. Yes, I appreciate hardly anyone is reading it (thank you to the happy few, the very few who do) and so that experiment has been something of a glorious failure, but it's still a big thing for me and I shall therefore continue until it's done. Plus, as it's a novella and I don't expect will go beyond 50,000 words, tops, that cheers me greatly in terms of reaching my goal. Still, the mysteries of how exactly blogged fiction gets an audience remains as ever beyond me.
Meanwhile, at Untreed Reads, there's a discount in operation over this bank holiday weekend, so if you put MEMDAYSALE in at the checkout stage for any of their offerings, you'll make a nice lot of savings. Including on some of my books, so that's double nice.
In terms of reviews, The Delaneys and Me gained a 4.5 star review at Rainbow Reviews and is also now available for purchase at Amazon Kindle.
Today's meditation poems are:
Meditation 362
Victory balanced
by sorrow,
success matched
with loss
proving beyond
all reasonable doubt
that the worst gift
is to get what you want.
Meditation 363
When love is more overpowering
than the man
who contains it
then he will be happy
only if all else should die
and the lover live.
Meditation 364
It all comes down
to this:
after the war
the politics
and nothing
really changes.
And the Sunday haiku is:
Cool air bites my skin
and though morning comes too soon
the birds are silent.
Anne Brooke
The Prayer Seeker's Journal
ANNE BROOKE BOOKS: Independent writer of modern fiction
Sunday, May 30, 2010
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Branded Words
Lordy, but this week seems to be hugely difficult - I'm really way too tired to cope with it and goodness knows when I'm going to get any sleep, but we struggle bravely on. The Empire Spirit, don't you know.
Anyway, I'm pleased to say that you can now find all my romantic fiction at 1Romance Ebooks and, with romance in mind, I now have a brand-new web page for upcoming gay short story, Angels and Airheads, (plus extract) due out from Torquere Press on 12 June.
Meanwhile, a new anthology of prose and poetry, Branded Words, is now out at Amazon UK and Amazon US and contains a poem from me, so buy early, buy often. As they say.
I've also send the final edits for Martin and The Wolf back to Amber Allure, and that's due out 13 June. So that's going to be an exciting weekend for sure! Though, as I'm away on holiday then, I'll have to catch up with marketing when I get back. I've also sent back the contract for straight and slightly naughty short story, The Boilerman and The Bride, to Amber Quill Press, and that's due out on 4 July.
Ooh and I'm delighted to see my author details are now at Cheyenne Publishing, hurrah!
Finally, here are this week's meditation poems so far:
Meditation 358
The first act
the new leader performs
is sleeping
with the old leader’s women.
I wonder how much
that would liven up politics
if it happened today.
Meditation 359
To defeat the one
you hate
and fear
bring twelve thousand men
and as many ropes
into the city.
Leave behind
not a single stone,
not a single breath.
Meditation 360
On a day like this
the only thing to do
is hide in a well
covered with gravel
and wait.
Meditation 361
It’s not the words
that speak
but the pictures:
a young man
hanging from a tree
in a wild uproar
of life;
an old man
waiting quietly
as death holds out
its gentle
unavoidable hand.
Anne Brooke
The Prayer Seeker's Journal
Anyway, I'm pleased to say that you can now find all my romantic fiction at 1Romance Ebooks and, with romance in mind, I now have a brand-new web page for upcoming gay short story, Angels and Airheads, (plus extract) due out from Torquere Press on 12 June.
I've also send the final edits for Martin and The Wolf back to Amber Allure, and that's due out 13 June. So that's going to be an exciting weekend for sure! Though, as I'm away on holiday then, I'll have to catch up with marketing when I get back. I've also sent back the contract for straight and slightly naughty short story, The Boilerman and The Bride, to Amber Quill Press, and that's due out on 4 July.
Ooh and I'm delighted to see my author details are now at Cheyenne Publishing, hurrah!
Finally, here are this week's meditation poems so far:
Meditation 358
The first act
the new leader performs
is sleeping
with the old leader’s women.
I wonder how much
that would liven up politics
if it happened today.
Meditation 359
To defeat the one
you hate
and fear
bring twelve thousand men
and as many ropes
into the city.
Leave behind
not a single stone,
not a single breath.
Meditation 360
On a day like this
the only thing to do
is hide in a well
covered with gravel
and wait.
Meditation 361
It’s not the words
that speak
but the pictures:
a young man
hanging from a tree
in a wild uproar
of life;
an old man
waiting quietly
as death holds out
its gentle
unavoidable hand.
Anne Brooke
The Prayer Seeker's Journal
Sunday, May 23, 2010
A Dangerous Man, books and interviews
Lots of exciting news this week, so hang on to your hats! I'm thrilled to say that Cheyenne Publishing will be publishing a new edition of A Dangerous Man later in 2010, so more news to follow shortly on that front. A big thank you to Mark for saying yes!
I'm also happy to say that all my Untreed Reads eBooks are now available at Books on Board and Powell's so thank you to Jay for sorting all that out. It's much appreciated.
Other writing news is that my GLBT fantasy short story, Tuluscan Six and the Time Circle, will be published by Amber Allure on 18 July and you can also read an extract here. Love the cover too! In terms of reviews, it's been a nice week also: The Bones of Summer gained two reviews at Goodreads, which you can read here and here - two very different reactions, but thank you to both readers for sharing their comments. At the same time, Maloney's Law gained a 5-star review at Goodreads, and Painting from Life also gained a similar review at Goodreads - so many thanks to those readers also.
Astonishingly, and thanks again to Jay at Untreed Reads, I've been interviewed twice this week, once talking mainly about The Delaneys and Me at Author Offerings, and once more generally about my writing life by Kipp Poe. I hope you enjoy finding out my little never-before-revealed secret in one of those! Ah, the shame ...
Meanwhile, GLBT Week at Vulpes Libris comes to a stonkingly riproaring finish (oo-err, missus ...), with my review of Clare London's wonderful PI novel, Freeman; Sam's review of Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides; and last but by no means least, Rosy's amazing article on Brideshead Revisited - a big thank you to everyone for taking part and for reading. We've all had a fabulous time! Let's hope we can do it all over again next year.
Speaking of things fabulous, Lord H and I had a great time out at the Guildford Theatre on Thursday seeing Headlong Theatre's production of Oscar Wilde's Salome. I have to admit I wasn't hugely looking forward to it, as I've studied the play in the past but have never seen it - it's rarely performed, and though the poetry is rich and lush and amazing, it's always been hard for me to really "get" it in my head. Well, Thursday was a revelation and it completely opened up the whole thing for me as a play rather than as a poem-drama, proving once again just what an astonishingly good playwright Wilde was, in whatever genre he was writing in. I loved the passion, the humour, the teenage angst, the hugely complex adult relationships shown, the setting and the actors. Everything really - especially that marvellous scene at the end where Salome drinks the blood pouring from John the Baptist's head. Oh, yes, bring it on - I'm a Jacobean tragedy girl at heart and really can't get enough of that sort of thing on stage - Lord H said when that happened I was the only one in the audience smiling and sitting up. Ah well - the more blood and death and drama, the better really ... Anyway, the play was amazing - if you get the chance to go, for heaven's sake do, as it may not be an opportunity we'll see again in our lifetimes. And kudos galore to Headlong Theatre for having the balls to revive it when the audience can be counted on the fingers of one hand - hell, we may have been small in number, but we loved it.
But, keeping to the theme of poetry, I'm pleased to say that two of my poems have just been published in the spring edition of Mayo Review. And there's been 3 meditation poems in the latter half of this week, plus the Sunday haiku:
Meditation 355
Just when you thought
everything you held dear
was lost,
someone you hardly know
steps forward
to stand with you,
taking with him something
of the pain and making
everything clearer:
even the wilderness journey,
even the wild river crossings,
even the grief.
Meditation 356
If you want to steal
your master’s life,
take as much
bread, raisins, fruit
and wine
as you can carry
to your master’s master
and wait
for your ship
to come in.
Meditation 357
Sometimes it’s necessary
to endure the stones
and insults,
knowing the truth
that lies
within them.
This week's haiku:
A silent poem
drifts across the page, seeking
the margin's embrace.
Anne Brooke
The Prayer Seeker's Journal
I'm also happy to say that all my Untreed Reads eBooks are now available at Books on Board and Powell's so thank you to Jay for sorting all that out. It's much appreciated.
Astonishingly, and thanks again to Jay at Untreed Reads, I've been interviewed twice this week, once talking mainly about The Delaneys and Me at Author Offerings, and once more generally about my writing life by Kipp Poe. I hope you enjoy finding out my little never-before-revealed secret in one of those! Ah, the shame ...
Meanwhile, GLBT Week at Vulpes Libris comes to a stonkingly riproaring finish (oo-err, missus ...), with my review of Clare London's wonderful PI novel, Freeman; Sam's review of Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides; and last but by no means least, Rosy's amazing article on Brideshead Revisited - a big thank you to everyone for taking part and for reading. We've all had a fabulous time! Let's hope we can do it all over again next year.
Speaking of things fabulous, Lord H and I had a great time out at the Guildford Theatre on Thursday seeing Headlong Theatre's production of Oscar Wilde's Salome. I have to admit I wasn't hugely looking forward to it, as I've studied the play in the past but have never seen it - it's rarely performed, and though the poetry is rich and lush and amazing, it's always been hard for me to really "get" it in my head. Well, Thursday was a revelation and it completely opened up the whole thing for me as a play rather than as a poem-drama, proving once again just what an astonishingly good playwright Wilde was, in whatever genre he was writing in. I loved the passion, the humour, the teenage angst, the hugely complex adult relationships shown, the setting and the actors. Everything really - especially that marvellous scene at the end where Salome drinks the blood pouring from John the Baptist's head. Oh, yes, bring it on - I'm a Jacobean tragedy girl at heart and really can't get enough of that sort of thing on stage - Lord H said when that happened I was the only one in the audience smiling and sitting up. Ah well - the more blood and death and drama, the better really ... Anyway, the play was amazing - if you get the chance to go, for heaven's sake do, as it may not be an opportunity we'll see again in our lifetimes. And kudos galore to Headlong Theatre for having the balls to revive it when the audience can be counted on the fingers of one hand - hell, we may have been small in number, but we loved it.
But, keeping to the theme of poetry, I'm pleased to say that two of my poems have just been published in the spring edition of Mayo Review. And there's been 3 meditation poems in the latter half of this week, plus the Sunday haiku:
Meditation 355
Just when you thought
everything you held dear
was lost,
someone you hardly know
steps forward
to stand with you,
taking with him something
of the pain and making
everything clearer:
even the wilderness journey,
even the wild river crossings,
even the grief.
Meditation 356
If you want to steal
your master’s life,
take as much
bread, raisins, fruit
and wine
as you can carry
to your master’s master
and wait
for your ship
to come in.
Meditation 357
Sometimes it’s necessary
to endure the stones
and insults,
knowing the truth
that lies
within them.
This week's haiku:
A silent poem
drifts across the page, seeking
the margin's embrace.
Anne Brooke
The Prayer Seeker's Journal
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
GLBT Week at Vulpes: halfway through ...
We're now halfway through GLBT Week at Vulpes Libris and I hope everyone's enjoying it. I certainly am! So far we've had a look at: Sarah Waters' Fingersmith; the love affair between Sylvia Townsend Warner and Valentine Ackland; and a rollercoaster ride through gay teen fiction. It's all go, my dears, and there's still so much more to look forward to!
I'm also pleased to say that Amber Quill Press have accepted my (straight) erotic short story, The Boilerman and The Bride, for publication on 4 July - and a special thank you to Ruth at work for the title. But, trust me, the story behind her boilerman and bride is entirely different and very proper. Honest! I'm also at the 40,000 word marker in The Executioner's Cane, so about one-third through, which is nice. Heck, there's almost hope there. Almost ...
This week's meditation poems have so far been:
Meditation 352
If in doubt
send for a clever woman:
they’re much better
at fooling a man
into doing the right thing
than a thousand messages
from God
would ever be.
Meditation 353
Never trust a man
with beautiful hair
and don’t respond
to a neighbour
who burns your fields
to get your attention:
it’ll all end in tears.
Meditation 354
His promise
becomes a betrayal
and kisses
are nothing but scars
in the making
while it’s best not to mention
his deceitful web
of words
drifting through the air
to catch you.
Meanwhile rejections this week: 1
Under serious consideration: 1
Anne Brooke
The Prayer Seeker's Journal
I'm also pleased to say that Amber Quill Press have accepted my (straight) erotic short story, The Boilerman and The Bride, for publication on 4 July - and a special thank you to Ruth at work for the title. But, trust me, the story behind her boilerman and bride is entirely different and very proper. Honest! I'm also at the 40,000 word marker in The Executioner's Cane, so about one-third through, which is nice. Heck, there's almost hope there. Almost ...
This week's meditation poems have so far been:
Meditation 352
If in doubt
send for a clever woman:
they’re much better
at fooling a man
into doing the right thing
than a thousand messages
from God
would ever be.
Meditation 353
Never trust a man
with beautiful hair
and don’t respond
to a neighbour
who burns your fields
to get your attention:
it’ll all end in tears.
Meditation 354
His promise
becomes a betrayal
and kisses
are nothing but scars
in the making
while it’s best not to mention
his deceitful web
of words
drifting through the air
to catch you.
Meanwhile rejections this week: 1
Under serious consideration: 1
Anne Brooke
The Prayer Seeker's Journal
Sunday, May 16, 2010
GLBT Week and Sunday haiku
I'm happy to announce that Vulpes Libris is holding its first ever GLBT Week next week, so do pop in as there'll be loads of good stuff to read about during the week.
Meanwhile I've uploaded the next section to The Prayer Seeker's Journal, and I'm also quietly pleased with an Amazon review of The Secret Thoughts of Leaves.
Here's my most recent meditation poem:
Meditation 351
Revenge is best taken
at mealtimes
after years of thought
and careful planning:
a modern and acceptable
alternative
to after-dinner chat.
And here's this week's haiku:
A chaos of cracks
dances across the pathway,
imitating life.
Anne Brooke
Vulpes Libris
Meanwhile I've uploaded the next section to The Prayer Seeker's Journal, and I'm also quietly pleased with an Amazon review of The Secret Thoughts of Leaves.
Here's my most recent meditation poem:
Meditation 351
Revenge is best taken
at mealtimes
after years of thought
and careful planning:
a modern and acceptable
alternative
to after-dinner chat.
And here's this week's haiku:
A chaos of cracks
dances across the pathway,
imitating life.
Anne Brooke
Vulpes Libris
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Nightingales and Fruit
Life news:
Lord H and I went for a group evening walk in Bookham Common earlier in the week, and were lucky enough to spot - and hear - our first nightingale of the year, hurrah! We also spent some time attempting to track down a cuckoo - often heard but rarely seen - but sadly it proved elusive. Ah well, you can't win 'em all.
It made up for the fact that work has seemed to drag on and on this week - I swear I'd be beavering away for hours and when I looked at the clock it would be only 9.30am, sigh. Mind you, yesterday wasn't helped by the fact that I had a headache all ruddy day, and a tricky two-hour long meeting to minute over lunchtime, so I really wasn't in a good mood at all. At the end of the day, I could barely concentrate on anything anyone was saying, and I collapsed on the bed when I got home and slept for an hour and a half. And the headache was still there. Despite the fact that I'd taken the upper limit of headache pills, deep deep sigh. At least, I managed to wake up in time for Midsomer Murders on TV though - it's my mid-week brightener. And today, thank the Lord, the headache has gone. Still hugely tired however.
The other thing about last night was we had a three-hour power cut starting at 10.30pm - when I was about to go to bed anyway, but Lord H lost some stuff from his computer but he can remember what it was, thank goodness. However, when we rang Southern Electric, there was a recorded message saying that our planned power cut would last until 1.30am. Planned???!! Surely, if it was planned, they should have told us? I noticed the whole street was dark and some of the neighbours were wandering around with torches, looking confused. None of us knew a thing about it. What if we'd had people round for dinner? (Okay, a rare event, but you get my meaning ...). The Water Board at least have the courtesy to leave us a note when there's a planned loss of service - you would think that Southern Electric would have the sense to do the same! Anyway, Angry of Godalming has sent a snippety email to them setting out my complaints, and I await their response. Which apparently takes 3 days to arrive. What are they up to over there? Filing their nails? Waiting for inspiration?? Perhaps they can't find the ruddy electricity socket to turn on the computer ...
Thankfully, today is proving rather better - Jane H has popped round for coffee this morning and so we've had a delightful chat & catch-up. And tonight, I'm out in London to see Jane W. So many Janes, so little time!
Ooh, and I'm utterly delighted we now have a Conservative PM again - honestly it surprised even me (a dyed-in-the-wool and deeply instinctive Tory) how much it felt like coming home and how very pleased I was. By the way, I apologise in advance for this very honest statement, as I know how very left-wing most of my friends are, but actually I do feel that as I'm very happy for everyone around me to follow what politics (or religion) they wish without me making a big fuss about it - or indeed any fuss at all - then I hope they'll show the same courtesy back to me ... It's also delightful to see such a rainbow cabinet and I do hope it makes things better for the country - but of course the main and extremely pressing issue, and one that the nation deserves an answer to, is now that we're Tory-Liberal, will they be combining the party uniform so the men can wear blue-and-yellow striped ties instead of the one-colour options? We wait with interest for this issue to be resolved ...
Writing news:
All very quiet on this front. I'm beginning to feel I've been forgotten by any publishers that might be out there. Ah well. However, I'm carrying on with The Executioner's Cane, and also delighted to see this review of How to Eat Fruit.
Meanwhile, the lovely Kirsty McCluskey and I have published a review and article about Haiti at Vulpes Libris. Food for thought indeed.
Anne Brooke
The Prayer Seeker's Journal
Lord H and I went for a group evening walk in Bookham Common earlier in the week, and were lucky enough to spot - and hear - our first nightingale of the year, hurrah! We also spent some time attempting to track down a cuckoo - often heard but rarely seen - but sadly it proved elusive. Ah well, you can't win 'em all.
It made up for the fact that work has seemed to drag on and on this week - I swear I'd be beavering away for hours and when I looked at the clock it would be only 9.30am, sigh. Mind you, yesterday wasn't helped by the fact that I had a headache all ruddy day, and a tricky two-hour long meeting to minute over lunchtime, so I really wasn't in a good mood at all. At the end of the day, I could barely concentrate on anything anyone was saying, and I collapsed on the bed when I got home and slept for an hour and a half. And the headache was still there. Despite the fact that I'd taken the upper limit of headache pills, deep deep sigh. At least, I managed to wake up in time for Midsomer Murders on TV though - it's my mid-week brightener. And today, thank the Lord, the headache has gone. Still hugely tired however.
The other thing about last night was we had a three-hour power cut starting at 10.30pm - when I was about to go to bed anyway, but Lord H lost some stuff from his computer but he can remember what it was, thank goodness. However, when we rang Southern Electric, there was a recorded message saying that our planned power cut would last until 1.30am. Planned???!! Surely, if it was planned, they should have told us? I noticed the whole street was dark and some of the neighbours were wandering around with torches, looking confused. None of us knew a thing about it. What if we'd had people round for dinner? (Okay, a rare event, but you get my meaning ...). The Water Board at least have the courtesy to leave us a note when there's a planned loss of service - you would think that Southern Electric would have the sense to do the same! Anyway, Angry of Godalming has sent a snippety email to them setting out my complaints, and I await their response. Which apparently takes 3 days to arrive. What are they up to over there? Filing their nails? Waiting for inspiration?? Perhaps they can't find the ruddy electricity socket to turn on the computer ...
Thankfully, today is proving rather better - Jane H has popped round for coffee this morning and so we've had a delightful chat & catch-up. And tonight, I'm out in London to see Jane W. So many Janes, so little time!
Ooh, and I'm utterly delighted we now have a Conservative PM again - honestly it surprised even me (a dyed-in-the-wool and deeply instinctive Tory) how much it felt like coming home and how very pleased I was. By the way, I apologise in advance for this very honest statement, as I know how very left-wing most of my friends are, but actually I do feel that as I'm very happy for everyone around me to follow what politics (or religion) they wish without me making a big fuss about it - or indeed any fuss at all - then I hope they'll show the same courtesy back to me ... It's also delightful to see such a rainbow cabinet and I do hope it makes things better for the country - but of course the main and extremely pressing issue, and one that the nation deserves an answer to, is now that we're Tory-Liberal, will they be combining the party uniform so the men can wear blue-and-yellow striped ties instead of the one-colour options? We wait with interest for this issue to be resolved ...
Writing news:
All very quiet on this front. I'm beginning to feel I've been forgotten by any publishers that might be out there. Ah well. However, I'm carrying on with The Executioner's Cane, and also delighted to see this review of How to Eat Fruit.
Meanwhile, the lovely Kirsty McCluskey and I have published a review and article about Haiti at Vulpes Libris. Food for thought indeed.
Anne Brooke
The Prayer Seeker's Journal
Sunday, May 09, 2010
Parties and politics
Life news:
Am gradually getting to feel a bit better, hurrah, though I'm still dosing up on catarrh remedies and blowing my nose for Britain. How delightful. I've taken to carrying wads of tissues and 2 handkerchiefs everywhere with me, just in case. A girl in her prime can enjoy several.
Still, I did manage to get round the golf course fairly unscathed with Marian on Friday - we haven't played for ages, what with Easter and conferences and holidays and such like, so it was nice to get back on the course. Neither were we as bad as we'd feared we might be. Also lovely to see two beautiful song thrushes on the course. Talking of which, Lord H and I enjoyed seeing a deer in the garden yesterday evening, and we also spotted a garden warbler (a lifetime first!) at Pulborough Brooks on Saturday. Huge excitement but really what a dull bird. It has absolutely no distinguishing features except a very lovely voice. Almost like a template for all other warblers, which at least have more interesting markings, poor thing.
Meanwhile, the election excitements continue. Lord H and I were rather bemused when watching the film of David Cameron going home after election night to see that he had to ring the doorbell of his own house in order to get in. What???!? Is he just too posh to carry his own key? Or does he expect the butler to open for him? Or perhaps the lovely Samantha doesn't allow him to carry housekeys? The plot thickens indeed ... Perhaps, Lord H says, it's because he and Nick Clegg got on so well during their first date that Dave gave his keys to Nick so he could call round "for a quick chat" later? Lordy, but then people wonder where I get my book ideas from?? I fear Lord H is not as innocent as he seems ... Best to keep a close eye on the "Dave & Nick talks" and see if they exit their meetings with their hair messed up and wearing each other's ties. You heard it here first.
Anyway, this weekend's favourite headline comes from The Sun: Squatter Holed Up in Number 10. Yes indeedy. Say no more.
Today, we've helped our friend Liz celebrate her 60th birthday party with a buffet lunch and flowing champagne. Though I did think it was probably best not to let the champers flow my way, what with the drugs. As it were. We didn't stay too long due to (a) illness, and (b) a deep-seated terror of parties. But happy birthday, Liz, and here's to 60 more of the same!
Writing news:
Not much to report this weekend. I'm carrying on writing more to The Executioner's Cane, and I'm also continuing with my erotic straight short story, The Boilerman and The Bride. 3000 words and rising. Ho ho. I've also sent out a couple of submissions, one of which is the possibility of a haiku chapbook. We'll see how that goes, but it would be nice to have a poetry collection out somewhere, however small, that I haven't had to produce myself. I don't think I'm as bad a poet as my poetry sales actually indicate, hey ho.
Talking of which, I've written two haikus this week and here they are:
All that voting angst,
tremors of expectation -
and no-one in charge.
Suddenly the sky
is filled with swifts: boomerangs
piercing silent clouds.
Anne Brooke
The Prayer Seeker's Journal
Am gradually getting to feel a bit better, hurrah, though I'm still dosing up on catarrh remedies and blowing my nose for Britain. How delightful. I've taken to carrying wads of tissues and 2 handkerchiefs everywhere with me, just in case. A girl in her prime can enjoy several.
Still, I did manage to get round the golf course fairly unscathed with Marian on Friday - we haven't played for ages, what with Easter and conferences and holidays and such like, so it was nice to get back on the course. Neither were we as bad as we'd feared we might be. Also lovely to see two beautiful song thrushes on the course. Talking of which, Lord H and I enjoyed seeing a deer in the garden yesterday evening, and we also spotted a garden warbler (a lifetime first!) at Pulborough Brooks on Saturday. Huge excitement but really what a dull bird. It has absolutely no distinguishing features except a very lovely voice. Almost like a template for all other warblers, which at least have more interesting markings, poor thing.
Meanwhile, the election excitements continue. Lord H and I were rather bemused when watching the film of David Cameron going home after election night to see that he had to ring the doorbell of his own house in order to get in. What???!? Is he just too posh to carry his own key? Or does he expect the butler to open for him? Or perhaps the lovely Samantha doesn't allow him to carry housekeys? The plot thickens indeed ... Perhaps, Lord H says, it's because he and Nick Clegg got on so well during their first date that Dave gave his keys to Nick so he could call round "for a quick chat" later? Lordy, but then people wonder where I get my book ideas from?? I fear Lord H is not as innocent as he seems ... Best to keep a close eye on the "Dave & Nick talks" and see if they exit their meetings with their hair messed up and wearing each other's ties. You heard it here first.
Anyway, this weekend's favourite headline comes from The Sun: Squatter Holed Up in Number 10. Yes indeedy. Say no more.
Today, we've helped our friend Liz celebrate her 60th birthday party with a buffet lunch and flowing champagne. Though I did think it was probably best not to let the champers flow my way, what with the drugs. As it were. We didn't stay too long due to (a) illness, and (b) a deep-seated terror of parties. But happy birthday, Liz, and here's to 60 more of the same!
Writing news:
Not much to report this weekend. I'm carrying on writing more to The Executioner's Cane, and I'm also continuing with my erotic straight short story, The Boilerman and The Bride. 3000 words and rising. Ho ho. I've also sent out a couple of submissions, one of which is the possibility of a haiku chapbook. We'll see how that goes, but it would be nice to have a poetry collection out somewhere, however small, that I haven't had to produce myself. I don't think I'm as bad a poet as my poetry sales actually indicate, hey ho.
Talking of which, I've written two haikus this week and here they are:
All that voting angst,
tremors of expectation -
and no-one in charge.
Suddenly the sky
is filled with swifts: boomerangs
piercing silent clouds.
Anne Brooke
The Prayer Seeker's Journal
Thursday, May 06, 2010
Bitterns and bunting
Life News:
Am still sick, groan. I did manage to get into work on Tuesday to deal with my 90 or so emails I'd gathered over the weekend, but the boss sent me home at 3.30pm saying how awful I looked. Can't say I blame him really. I just couldn't stop sneezing and my eyes were red and raw. Nice. I didn't go in yesterday as I felt so shattered with it all. Though I did feel better around lunchtime. False dawn however, as I fell into a significant relapse yesterday afternoon, and haven't got myself out of it yet. How I wish the sneezing would come back - it might take this terrible catarrh nausea/exhaustion thing away. Ho hum.
So I've cancelled my planned Clarins massage this afternoon (lying on back with catarrh - not a good idea ...), but I have gone to my Alexander Technique lesson, which surely must have done some good. Oh, and I've voted. I desperately wanted to vote for the Pirate Party, but decided I wasn't quite dressed for it. I'm the only one out there wearing a fleece and a woolly hat, but hell I have to keep my ears and neck warm somehow.
However, some nice things have happened. There's a lovely video clip of a booming bittern and the John Lewis ad remains its utterly gorgeous self.
Writing News:
I must first of all say how utterly gobsmacked I am at getting my first quarterly royalty statement from Amber Allure. Ye gods, but I swear they've managed to sell more of my books with them in three months than I've managed with all my publications in three years. And more. I actually have decent royalty money, for the first time ever - so a heartfelt thank you to Trace, Karin and the team, and let's hang out the bunting. Amazing stuff! Not only that, but I'm told that they've already sold 200 copies of The Delaneys and Me (which is at No 6 in the Amber Allure April Bestsellers chart) and it only came out in April. Which just goes to show the old adage that Sex Sells is undoubtedly true. As Lord H says, best try writing some more of it then! I do hope those of you who've been kind enough to buy any of my stuff have enjoyed the read, and a special thank you to you.
In other book news, I'm pleased to say that you can read an excerpt of The Girl in the Painting and get a 25% discount till May 9th - but be sure to follow the instructions in the link. I've also gained a 4-star review of The Secret Thoughts of Leaves at Goodreads and a 5 star review of Give and Take at TwoLips Reviews, so all that excitement is making up for any health issues, hurrah.
Ooh and the free download of my gay romance story, A Serious Business, is now available at the Queer Magazine Online bookstore, along with a variety of other lovely free e-reads - enjoy!
Anne Brooke
The Prayer Seeker's Journal
Am still sick, groan. I did manage to get into work on Tuesday to deal with my 90 or so emails I'd gathered over the weekend, but the boss sent me home at 3.30pm saying how awful I looked. Can't say I blame him really. I just couldn't stop sneezing and my eyes were red and raw. Nice. I didn't go in yesterday as I felt so shattered with it all. Though I did feel better around lunchtime. False dawn however, as I fell into a significant relapse yesterday afternoon, and haven't got myself out of it yet. How I wish the sneezing would come back - it might take this terrible catarrh nausea/exhaustion thing away. Ho hum.
So I've cancelled my planned Clarins massage this afternoon (lying on back with catarrh - not a good idea ...), but I have gone to my Alexander Technique lesson, which surely must have done some good. Oh, and I've voted. I desperately wanted to vote for the Pirate Party, but decided I wasn't quite dressed for it. I'm the only one out there wearing a fleece and a woolly hat, but hell I have to keep my ears and neck warm somehow.
However, some nice things have happened. There's a lovely video clip of a booming bittern and the John Lewis ad remains its utterly gorgeous self.
Writing News:
I must first of all say how utterly gobsmacked I am at getting my first quarterly royalty statement from Amber Allure. Ye gods, but I swear they've managed to sell more of my books with them in three months than I've managed with all my publications in three years. And more. I actually have decent royalty money, for the first time ever - so a heartfelt thank you to Trace, Karin and the team, and let's hang out the bunting. Amazing stuff! Not only that, but I'm told that they've already sold 200 copies of The Delaneys and Me (which is at No 6 in the Amber Allure April Bestsellers chart) and it only came out in April. Which just goes to show the old adage that Sex Sells is undoubtedly true. As Lord H says, best try writing some more of it then! I do hope those of you who've been kind enough to buy any of my stuff have enjoyed the read, and a special thank you to you.
In other book news, I'm pleased to say that you can read an excerpt of The Girl in the Painting and get a 25% discount till May 9th - but be sure to follow the instructions in the link. I've also gained a 4-star review of The Secret Thoughts of Leaves at Goodreads and a 5 star review of Give and Take at TwoLips Reviews, so all that excitement is making up for any health issues, hurrah.
Ooh and the free download of my gay romance story, A Serious Business, is now available at the Queer Magazine Online bookstore, along with a variety of other lovely free e-reads - enjoy!
Anne Brooke
The Prayer Seeker's Journal
Sunday, May 02, 2010
Tea and sympathy
Life News:
Lordy, but I'm sick. As the proverbial. My bank holiday weekend has been spent coughing pathetically, trying to be brave (ho ho, as if), quaffing Lemsip, Sudafed and Echinacea as if they're all going out of business, and trying to breathe through the catarrh. Whilst smearing castor oil on my throat. Odd but it does help, I'm sure. Oh joy abounding. Not much sleep has been going on, but I've done a heck of a lot of reading and crosswords. There's indeed a silver lining to every cloud. And, as Lord H tells me, at least we're not missing out on the glorious weather.
I only hope I haven't infected my friend Pauline who came for tea yesterday with her family - lovely to catch up, but I just wish I hadn't done quite so much snorting. Um, in an innocent way, I hasten to add ... We had scones, jam & cream - which I did eat, hurrah! Very bad for me, but what the heck, eh.
All this is, I'm sure, playing merry havoc with my Alexander Technique exercises, but I did manage to make it to Reflexology on Friday. Oh Lordy though, I hope I haven't infected these good people - I wasn't quite so bad on Friday ... I don't want to be known as the Bringer of Misery in the local area. No more so than normal anyway.
Writing News:
I've finished the read-through of A Dangerous Man and am sending very slow feelers out to see if there might be any reaction, but I don't want to rush into anything. Not this time. The Delaneys and Me has managed to gain a 4-star review at Goodreads and is graded Very Good at the Well-Read Book Blog - scroll down to see the review.
I'm also pleased that Give and Take gained a 5-star rating at Goodreads, How To Eat Fruit gained another 5-star review at Smashwords - thank you, Padraig! - and for one brief moment of glory Maloney's Law found itself at Number 90 in the Amazon UK gay fiction charts. Sadly, not any more but it was nice while it lasted.
Meanwhile, I'd like to draw your attention to this wonderful source of independent e-reading - from our newest and most exciting independent ePublisher, Untreed Reads. It's definitely one of the best places to be seen in on the Web, and not just because you can find some of my books there. Go explore!
You can also read an interview with me, and find out more about my approach to writing at the Midnight Seductions site - many thanks to Cassandra for posing the questions. And my GLBT Hot Fiction Tip for May can now be found at Queer Magazine Online - it's a great book from one of our best known GLBT authors, Josh Lanyon, and it's a story I just couldn't put down. Wonderful stuff, Josh!
Finally, the latest chapter - about the spiritual hot potato of speaking in tongues - can now be found at the Prayer Seeker's Journal, so never let it be said I bypass the difficult issues at least. And here's this week's haiku:
Summer clogs my throat
as the air spills out tulips,
bluebells, memories.
Anne Brooke
The Prayer Seeker's Journal
Lordy, but I'm sick. As the proverbial. My bank holiday weekend has been spent coughing pathetically, trying to be brave (ho ho, as if), quaffing Lemsip, Sudafed and Echinacea as if they're all going out of business, and trying to breathe through the catarrh. Whilst smearing castor oil on my throat. Odd but it does help, I'm sure. Oh joy abounding. Not much sleep has been going on, but I've done a heck of a lot of reading and crosswords. There's indeed a silver lining to every cloud. And, as Lord H tells me, at least we're not missing out on the glorious weather.
I only hope I haven't infected my friend Pauline who came for tea yesterday with her family - lovely to catch up, but I just wish I hadn't done quite so much snorting. Um, in an innocent way, I hasten to add ... We had scones, jam & cream - which I did eat, hurrah! Very bad for me, but what the heck, eh.
All this is, I'm sure, playing merry havoc with my Alexander Technique exercises, but I did manage to make it to Reflexology on Friday. Oh Lordy though, I hope I haven't infected these good people - I wasn't quite so bad on Friday ... I don't want to be known as the Bringer of Misery in the local area. No more so than normal anyway.
Writing News:
I've finished the read-through of A Dangerous Man and am sending very slow feelers out to see if there might be any reaction, but I don't want to rush into anything. Not this time. The Delaneys and Me has managed to gain a 4-star review at Goodreads and is graded Very Good at the Well-Read Book Blog - scroll down to see the review.
I'm also pleased that Give and Take gained a 5-star rating at Goodreads, How To Eat Fruit gained another 5-star review at Smashwords - thank you, Padraig! - and for one brief moment of glory Maloney's Law found itself at Number 90 in the Amazon UK gay fiction charts. Sadly, not any more but it was nice while it lasted.
Meanwhile, I'd like to draw your attention to this wonderful source of independent e-reading - from our newest and most exciting independent ePublisher, Untreed Reads. It's definitely one of the best places to be seen in on the Web, and not just because you can find some of my books there. Go explore!
You can also read an interview with me, and find out more about my approach to writing at the Midnight Seductions site - many thanks to Cassandra for posing the questions. And my GLBT Hot Fiction Tip for May can now be found at Queer Magazine Online - it's a great book from one of our best known GLBT authors, Josh Lanyon, and it's a story I just couldn't put down. Wonderful stuff, Josh!
Finally, the latest chapter - about the spiritual hot potato of speaking in tongues - can now be found at the Prayer Seeker's Journal, so never let it be said I bypass the difficult issues at least. And here's this week's haiku:
Summer clogs my throat
as the air spills out tulips,
bluebells, memories.
Anne Brooke
The Prayer Seeker's Journal
Thursday, April 29, 2010
A Serious Business
I'm happy to say that the lovely Anders at Queer Magazine Online will shortly be offering my gay short story, A Serious Business, as a free download in his new eBook store - so watch this space. And I do love that cover. Thanks, Anders!
I've also signed and returned the contract for Angels and Airheads to Torquere Press so it's great to be part of their author team as well. Meanwhile, The Delaneys and Me received a 4.5 star review at Goodreads - so thank you to Carole for that. And The Hit List gained a 5-star review at Amazon US, and many thanks to Amos for that one, as well as a 4 star review at Michelenjeff Reviews. Thanks, Michele!
In other book news, Thorn in the Flesh is now available (with free worldwide delivery) from The Book Depository, The Secret Thoughts of Leaves is now available in Kindle edition and I'm going through the text of A Dangerous Man to prepare it for its (hoped for) second life. So, never say I haven't been busy and there's surely something there for everyone.
Finally, my review of Audrey Niffenegger's Her Fearful Symmetry is now up at Vulpes Libris. A fascinating book, but it rather lost steam in the final section, I fear.
Life News:
The week's excitement so far has definitely been seeing a sparrowhawk in the garden - a first for this year, hurrah! Though I do rather fear for the fate of our nesting blue tits ... we will have to see how it all pans out.
I've also been rather worried by the fact that the hospital didn't like the results of my recent CA125 blood test, so I have to take the damn thing again in May when I go in for my scan. Lordy, but these medical types do like a rummage. I had a bit of a panic (um, a lot of a panic, if I'm being honest ...) when the letter came through, but I was okay last year so I'm assuming it's just my hormone issues playing up again. So I've calmed down now (hurrah) and will have to wait for May. Many thanks to the kind commenters over the last couple of days who've been hugely supportive - much appreciated.
Anyway, today, I've had a lovely time at my Clarins massage, and tonight, Lord H and I are out at Guildford Theatre to see My Darling Clemmie - which I'm looking forward to as I'm a real fan of the glorious Winston. What a superhero.
Anne Brooke
The Prayer Seeker's Journal
Sunday, April 25, 2010
Holidays and assorted fun stuff
A short blog as I really have to go to bed but here are the edited highlights:
1. We've had a really wonderful few days away.
2. Birds seen for the first time this year are: stone curlews, great bustards (lifetime first - and you can find out more about the reintroduction of these fantastic birds to the UK at the Great Bustard Group), a wheatear, house martins, a mandarin, reed warblers, sedge warblers, Cetti's warbler (the loudest bird on the planet), a whitethroat, a red kite and a swift.
3. Longleat is marvellous - I held my first snake at the snake handling session - a corn snake which was absolutely beautiful and incredibly warm. I loved it. However I passed on the tarantula holding session - mainly by running screaming from the spider handler woman. Ah the shame ...
4. We heard our first cuckoos, and our first ever booming bittern (though we didn't see it).
5. At the Hawk Conservancy, we flew a Harris hawk (briefly) and held a barn owl and a tawny owl. Marvellous. I love birds of prey. They're the best.
6. The Delaneys and Me received a very nice review at Jessewave Reviews - so thank you for that!
7. My review of Simon Van Booy's short story collection, Love begins in winter, is up at Vulpes Libris.
8. I wrote 2 haikus and here they are:
Elegant giraffes,
glorious gaudy ceilings:
Longleat in the spring.
Eight swans drift over
startled cattle: air shimmers
an ancient magic.
Anne Brooke
The Prayer Seeker's Journal
1. We've had a really wonderful few days away.
2. Birds seen for the first time this year are: stone curlews, great bustards (lifetime first - and you can find out more about the reintroduction of these fantastic birds to the UK at the Great Bustard Group), a wheatear, house martins, a mandarin, reed warblers, sedge warblers, Cetti's warbler (the loudest bird on the planet), a whitethroat, a red kite and a swift.
3. Longleat is marvellous - I held my first snake at the snake handling session - a corn snake which was absolutely beautiful and incredibly warm. I loved it. However I passed on the tarantula holding session - mainly by running screaming from the spider handler woman. Ah the shame ...
4. We heard our first cuckoos, and our first ever booming bittern (though we didn't see it).
5. At the Hawk Conservancy, we flew a Harris hawk (briefly) and held a barn owl and a tawny owl. Marvellous. I love birds of prey. They're the best.
6. The Delaneys and Me received a very nice review at Jessewave Reviews - so thank you for that!
7. My review of Simon Van Booy's short story collection, Love begins in winter, is up at Vulpes Libris.
8. I wrote 2 haikus and here they are:
Elegant giraffes,
glorious gaudy ceilings:
Longleat in the spring.
Eight swans drift over
startled cattle: air shimmers
an ancient magic.
Anne Brooke
The Prayer Seeker's Journal
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Leaves, Angels and interviews
I'm happy to say that my literary short story, The Secret Thoughts of Leaves, is now published at Untreed Reads, and you can also read an extract here. And isn't that cover wonderful? I love it.
Other writing news is that my gay fantasy short story, Angels and Airheads, will now be published by Torquere Press, so I'm looking forward very much to that. Further publication details will follow shortly.
I've also now received the author copies of The Hit List and they look great. No, I haven't licked them or slept with them under my pillow, but hell it's been close ...
And in terms of The Delaneys and Me, I'm delighted to say that I've been getting some very positive 4 and 5 star ratings and reviews which you can see at the Goodreads Delaneys page - so thank you for all who've read and made comments. It's very much appreciated.
Finally in this section, I'm happy to say that the very lovely Rick R Reed has uploaded a snapshot interview with me, and you can find out why I write at all here. Enjoy!
Life News:
After the disasters of not getting to Pompeii this week (groan!...), the lovely Lord H is whisking me off from tomorrow for a long weekend at The Bath Arms at Longleat, so I'm really looking forward to that, hurrah! Heck, I think we deserve it. Back on Sunday, so I'll catch up with you then. I hope you all have a totally fabulous few days.
Anne Brooke
The Prayer Seeker's Journal
Sunday, April 18, 2010
From the ashes of disaster ...
Seeing as I am (fairly evidently) not having my week's holiday in Pompeii (ah the irony of it all ...) - of which more later - here's some happy writing news: my gay erotic short story, The Delaneys and Me, is now published by Amber Allure, and you can find out more and purchase a copy here - there's a 35% discount for the first week so it's worthwhile rushing! Plus, for TODAY only, Jessewave Reviews is offering a FREE copy of the story to one lucky winner if you leave a comment at her review site here - good luck to all, and may the best man or woman win. Finally, for your viewing pleasure, don't forget to click onto the book trailer - enjoy!
I'm also very pleased to see that Give and Take is now available in Kindle edition at Amazon US. And that The Bones of Summer received a 5-star rating at Goodreads - many thanks, Tracy.
Other exciting news is that Untreed Reads is having a 25% discount off ALL their books until 22 April, and this includes three of my literary short stories, amongst others - so do pop across and browse their bookshop - but don't forget to use the coupon code FBFRIENDS at checkout. Have fun!
Finally in this section, amidst yesterday's holiday disappointments, I was delighted to receive a proof copy of Clare Morrall's latest novel, The Man Who Disappeared, from the lovely Carole at Sceptre Press - I'd chatted for ages with Carole at the recent Sceptre event and said how much I love Morrall's work, and so I was thrilled to receive this surprise package in the post - thanks, Carole! It's much appreciated, and I can't wait to get my reading teeth into that one ...
Other News:
Yes, well, what can I say? The delicious irony of not being able to go on my longed-for week's holiday to Pompeii & Naples because of volcanic ash has indeed not escaped me. But I really can't recommend the existential pain of unpacking when you ... um ... haven't actually been anywhere yet. Don't do it, folks! It's not pleasant. Though it does save a hell of a lot of washing and ironing, so I suppose there's always a silver lining to every volcanic cloud. Page & Moy promise us that refunds will be sorted on Monday, as we can't reschedule as this coming week was the only week we could do, Lord H's and my schedules being hugely tricky to juggle, alas. Ah well. Maybe Pompeii next year? Who can tell?
So we have spent the weekend having a mini-holiday and drinking champagne to give ourselves an essential lift - where planes could not perform that task. Yesterday, we had a lovely day out at Knole House in Sevenoaks and managed to spot two new birds for this year: a redstart and a willow warbler, hurrah! We also treated ourselves to a truly scrumptious holiday cream tea and admired the gorgeous butterflies, which this weekend have included several orange tips and a light scattering of brimstones. Bliss. Plus we just managed to get back in time for Dr Who, which was thankfully a whole lot better than last week's disastrous episode, hurrah! Phew, as I was starting to lose the faith a little, perish the thought ...
Today, our mini-non holiday continued with a day spent at Wisley Gardens - more butterflies and a riot of colour in the flowers, but way too many people wandering around the arts & crafts fair. We had to eat in the cafe, shock, horror! And they ran out of salad to serve with our pizza so it looked very lonely on the plate, sigh. Mind you, I argued successfully at the tills that we should have had the salad as it was part of the meal, and they took £2 off, so I am indeed the Bargaining Queen of Wisley, ha!
However, Wisley had its revenge in the end, as halfway round our afternoon stroll, I came over all peculiar and had to take a stomach pill in order to make it back to the car at all. I am a slave to my stomach pains, sadly. Anyway, I'd just been admiring the tee-shirt on a small boy which said: Zero to Naughty in Six Seconds, so after a few moments of sitting on a bench, groaning and wondering if I was going to be sick or worse (thankfully I was neither), I told Lord H that I should have a tee-shirt that said Zero to Sick in Three Seconds. However, Lord H reassures me that such a talent is merely an expression of my particular Super-Power, and I am saving many other people from being sick by taking it all on myself. Now, there's a thought. Though, like Lord H, I'd really rather have the ability to fly or be invisible. Ah well.
So, back to work tomorrow (sigh), but here's this week's haiku, inspired by events near Heathrow Airport, where apparently they can hear the skylarks for the first time in living memory:
All the planes are stilled.
Instead the song of skylarks
laces the bright sky.
Anne Brooke
The Prayer Seeker's Journal
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Contracts and consultants
A lovely surprise today to receive my author copies of The Hit List - they look amazing. I've packed up one for a friend, one for my mother and one for a reviewer, and plan to post these off tomorrow, hurrah.
Other nice news is that I've sent off my contracts for Tuluscan Six and the Time Circle (gay fantasy romance) to Amber Allure Press, and for literary short story, The Secret Thoughts of Leaves, to Untreed Reads Press - so thanks to both publishers for this.
Depending on volcanic ash and planes (of which more shortly), I may be on holiday at the weekend, so this is also a reminder that gay erotic short story, The Delaneys and Me, is published on Sunday 18 April by Amber Allure. I hope you'll enjoy the read.
Strangely, I've also started writing a straight erotic short story (well, gosh!), whose title - The Boilerman and the Bride - has been supplied by Ruth at work (thanks, Ruth!) I've only written the first 130 words so it's early days, but I think I'm going to enjoy this one. And, on a less happy note, along with a small group of like-minded authors, I'm now in the middle of extracting myself from a contract for an earlier novel. The response to our reasonable request has been as expected by us all, sigh. The plot indeed thickens! Meanwhile, we carry on, being polite but firm.
Life News:
I've had to go back to my lovely gynae consultant this week, and she's moved hospitals from Guildford to Kingston, so I had to face the trauma of a longer drive to a new place - never my best concept, I admit. I arrived hugely early as parking is tricky, but at least I got a space. Thank the Lord for school holidays and a therefore easier journey. The upshot is that I'm doing okay at the moment - despite what the GP said ... - though I'll need regular check-ups once every 6 to 12 months or so. I also took another CA125 blood test while I was there so hope that's okay, and she's booking me in for a scan. Hey ho, and roll on the menopause, say I.
This morning, I've popped into see my neighbour in his Home in Woking - had a lovely chat and a stroll round the really quite beautiful gardens. The tulips are out! How glorious. The big news is that they're getting tropical fish in the corridor outside his room - I am hugely envious as I've always rather fancied fish. So very calming. Aren't they good for hormones? Surely they must be.
And, all things being equal and if the wind (ho ho) is in our direction, Lord H and I will be off to Naples on Saturday for a week's holiday, including one trip to Pompeii and one to Herculaneum. I'm so looking forward to it - or will be depending on the current wave of volcanic ash sweeping over northern Europe, deep deep sigh. All flights are cancelled from the UK until Friday, so I really don't know what will happen on Saturday. I do so hope we can get there, as I've always longed to go ... However, at the moment I'm trying not to get too anxious or excited, and hoping for the best. As ever.
Anne Brooke
The Prayer Seeker's Journal
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Birds, butterflies and bars
I'm pleased to say that my gay erotic short story, The Delaneys and Me, is now up at Amber Allure Press although it's not published until Sunday 18 April. I'm noting it now as I'll be away on holiday at that point so won't be blogging until I get back.
I'm also happy to say that Give and Take received a very positive review at Tam's Reads - you'll need to scroll down a little to see it. Many thanks, Tam!
And I've uploaded the final part of Chapter Ten of The Prayer Seeker's Journal where Michael is still dealing with the ex-wife.
Finally in this section, there are two haikus this week, which I hope you enjoy:
Grey heron flying,
painted across the bright sky:
harbinger of spring.
The peace of water
sinks into my skin: sunlight,
air and deep silence.
Other News:
I had a very enjoyable time representing Vulpes Libris at the Sceptre Press Book Bloggers party at the Hospital Club Bellini Bar in London on Friday afternoon. Thankfully I don't think they quite realised which Bookfox I actually am, or they very politely ignored it, and we all had a very good time talking with passion and commitment about books. We stayed so long that they had to throw us out in the end. Plus we all got a book goody bag, hurrah - thank you to the lovely Polly et all for that. It was nice also to meet some of their newer authors and fellow-bloggers too. I was on my best behaviour and said nothing about my thoughts concerning their new and distinctly dodgy marketing approach, but I was on the other hand (sorry, in-joke!) happy to say that I was very much enjoying the proof book they sent me, hurrah! I hope we can all do it again sometime, and that other publishers might take the proverbial leaf from Sceptre's party book. Speaking with my failing-would-be-mainstream-writer hat on though (ah how well it fits me), it was really incredibly refreshing to have any kind of conversation at all with a mainstream publisher that doesn't involve them either ignoring me, laughing at me or insulting me in suitably bitchy fashion, ho ho. And, yes, all that has happened in the past. Thank goodness I've now found publishers to whom my work is far more suited, eh. Saves all the pain really.
Yesterday, Lord H and I did a quick recce to find out how to get to Kingston Hospital - as I have to go to see my nice gynae woman there on Wednesday and I've been hyperventilating for days about the terrors of having to find somewhere new. Having done the journey once though, it looks fairly straightforward and the only real problem (apart from the inevitable traffic) is going to be finding someplace to park when I'm there, groan. Wish me luck ...
We then went on to spend a very pleasant day at Barnes Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust, where we managed to spot sand martins, a little ringed plover, a great black-backed gull and lots of great crested grebes - all new for this year. I was also thrilled to see my second butterfly of the year - a common white. We spotted a beautiful peacock butterfly on the neighbour's chimney earlier in the week ... Plus Barnes actually had chicks, including some gorgeously bizarre moorhen chicks - and yes they really do look like that. Amazing.
Meanwhile, we've suffered the appalling disaster of yesterday's disappointing Dr Who episode - it felt like a nine-year old had been allowed to write it with no supervision and was, frankly, laughable. We trust the writer has been cast into the mouth of the beast, and that next week's offering will have at least more class. I can only admire the actors for not running screaming from the set, sigh ... Mind you, there is one good thing that came out of it - Lord H thought the idea of casting naughty schoolchildren into the Mouth of Hell where they are never seen again was a brilliant idea and all schools should take it up at once. That'll teach the little beggars not to learn their sums, eh ...
Talking of which, we have survived the traumas of being responsible for coffees at today's Family Service!! Pause for applause - go on, you know you want to. We practised our polite religious smiles before we went and they seem to have done the trick. It was, to be honest, less problematic than I'd feared, though we did have to sing a wretched Graham Kendrick song. Deep sigh. He must be the only songwriter around who's utterly unable to put the right number of words in a tune, and it's all so relentlessly glittery and bland. I did find myself turning to the song again to see when he was born (1950, if you're asking) and therefore when he might retire from the fray, but then thought that was probably way too bitchy even for me. Surely not! I am indeed the soul of loving kindness and warmth. Well, in my dreams anyway ...
Anne Brooke
The Prayer Seeker's Journal
Thursday, April 08, 2010
Reviews, ratings and reflexology
Am pleased to say that Give and Take has a new review at Three Dollar Bill Reviews, so thanks for reading, Kassa - much appreciated!
At the same time, The Hit List gained a 4 star rating at Goodreads, so that's very heartening too. Which is good as I must admit I've been feeling rather hopeless this week - the post-Easter droop, I fear. Ah well. Other good news is that Amber Allure Press have accepted my gay space travel story, Tuluscan Six and the Time Circle, and will be publishing it on 18 July, hurrah! Maybe it's time to stop drooping around like a sick puppy then ...
And I've finally (finally!) cancelled my subscription to the increasingly dreadful Mslexia Magazine - it's so terribly 70s and pretentious pseudo-feminist, not to mention headmistressy, these days that I couldn't even bear to take the last issue out of its wrapper before disposing of it. However no more copies will arrive now so I feel truly liberated. Perhaps time to burn my bra then. Yikes.
Life News:
Am rather stressed out with church at the moment - Lord H and I appear to have to do the coffee rota this Sunday and it's the family service, and I absolutely hate the family service, but don't feel there's enough time to get someone else. In our defence, it wasn't the FS when we signed up - the pesky religious powers have changed the damn thing! The woman running the service also rang us up and it appears to be chock-full of children, sigh, so am dreading the whole thing already. If I don't feel strong enough to have to pretend to be normal once more, I might just send Lord H into the lion's den, and pray a lot, ho ho ... I feel an attack of the vapours coming on.
Anyway, I've had a lovely reflexology session today and I feel slightly more balanced (hurrah!). Plus I've had lunch and a pleasant afternoon's shopping with Robin & Liz, so feel like a more integrated member of society. Hmm, I'll have one delivered then ... And, thanks to the true shopping genius of Robin, I have a new handbag and purse, 4 new tee-shirts and a lovely present for Liz's upcoming 60th birthday (so here's hoping she's not going to be reading this). I am indeed - with the right support - a genius.
Anne Brooke - a genius in disguise
The Prayer Seeker's Journal - in existential mood
Monday, April 05, 2010
Hit Lists, hot tips and haikus
Writing News:I'm happy to say that The Hit List has received a very thorough 4-star review at Goodreads and I'm immensely pleased with that. Thanks, Kassa.
At the same time, Give and Take gained an "Excellent" grade at The Well-Read Book Blog so that's been a nice boost too. I was also thrilled to see that it's reached the dizzy heights of Number 4 in the Amber Allure March bestsellers list, well gosh, so thank you to everyone who's bought it, and I hope you've enjoyed the read.
Keeping to the subject of gay fiction, I've now chosen my Queer Magazine Hot Gay Fiction Tip for April, and you can read all about it at Queer Magazine Online. A great read and particularly enjoyable if you have a penchant for the military!
Turning to matters rather more spiritual, Vulpes Libris has now published my review of Nicholas Buxton's Tantalus and the Pelican which is an excellent book on monastic spirituality written by a fascinating man. Well worth a look indeed.
And here, rather later than usual due to Easter, is last week's haiku:
The grey dog trots by,
mouth holding two red mittens
for warming the paws.
Life news:
Easter's been fun. We spent the day with Mother on Good Friday - a penance for all involved indeed! - and I've been rather startled to see that Mother and I bought ourselves the same presents. Hmmm, must be something in the genes. If only we'd known, we could have saved all that wrapping paper, dammit. Ah well. We shall both be smelling of raspberry body cream in the future then.
On Saturday, Lord H and I spent a lovely day at Pulborough Brooks, though we managed to avoid the child influx, thank the Lord. Birds spotted included stock doves and a little gull (both lifetime firsts), plus skylarks and swallows. Swallows!! Heck, they're early. And we also spent some time gazing at an adder sleeping on the grass, which was fabulous. You don't see adders very often. Amazing.
Anne Brooke - feeling chocolatey ...
The Prayer Seeker's Journal - in quiet mood
Thursday, April 01, 2010
Chocolate, wolves and bones
Happy Easter weekend! I hope you all have a glorious time and manage to avoid the worst of the rather bizarre weather we're having at the moment. Did summer already happen and I missed it??
Writing News:
I'm really thrilled with the cover art for my upcoming GLBT short story, Martin and The Wolf, which will be published by Amber Allure Press on 13 June 2010. You can also read an extract from the beginning here.
What with having to update my website with the new information, I've also improved my Short Stories page at the same time so it's now divided into 4 categories:
GLBT stories
Literary stories
Biblical stories
Comic stories
Of course, some of these fall into more than one category but I've taken that into account and put the various stories wherever I think they fit. I hope you enjoy the new look.
Meanwhile, Give and Take gained a 4-star rating at Goodreads, and The Bones of Summer was for a while at Number 93 in the Amazon UK gay romance charts, hurrah!
Finally, I'm pleased to say that All Romance Ebooks now stocks Dancing with Lions, How to Eat Fruit and The Girl in the Painting. All of which is very good news indeed.
Ooh, and I've just heard that Maloney's Law is in Elisa Rolle's Top 10 GLBT Referrals List for March, so that's lovely to hear - thanks, Elisa!
Other news:
I rather enjoyed the University Administrators' conference, which I returned home from yesterday. Though I must say my skills in the Learn To Juggle seminar were sadly lacking. The poor tutor had to put me back down to two balls when he saw the chaos I was creating with three. And, what with all that jumping about and picking up my lost balls for an hour and a half, I have to say my legs are aching in places I never even knew I had. I must be so unfit! It was so bad that yesterday when I popped into Tesco on the way home and accidentally dropped something out of my trolley, I could barely hunker down to pick it up. And there was a hell of a lot of groaning ... Really, you don't even want to know how long it took me to get myself out of bed this morning, and how Lord H laughed at the sight.
Other exciting conference news is that my room actually had a bath. A bath!! What luxury. All the other times I've been, I've had a seriously frightening shower that's so powerful that it's all but blasted me to the other side of the room and I've been unable to breathe, such has been the force of the water. So a bath was bliss indeed. Must be a sign of my age, I fear.
Tonight, Lord H and I are off to see The Graduate at the Guildford Theatre, so are preparing ourselves for "an evening of impure theatrical delight", as the Evening Standard puts it. All that and nudity too, hurrah!
Happy Easter!
Anne Brooke - impure but utterly delightful, naturally
The Prayer Seeker's Journal - the essential Easter read
Writing News:
I'm really thrilled with the cover art for my upcoming GLBT short story, Martin and The Wolf, which will be published by Amber Allure Press on 13 June 2010. You can also read an extract from the beginning here.What with having to update my website with the new information, I've also improved my Short Stories page at the same time so it's now divided into 4 categories:
GLBT stories
Literary stories
Biblical stories
Comic stories
Of course, some of these fall into more than one category but I've taken that into account and put the various stories wherever I think they fit. I hope you enjoy the new look.
Meanwhile, Give and Take gained a 4-star rating at Goodreads, and The Bones of Summer was for a while at Number 93 in the Amazon UK gay romance charts, hurrah!
Finally, I'm pleased to say that All Romance Ebooks now stocks Dancing with Lions, How to Eat Fruit and The Girl in the Painting. All of which is very good news indeed.
Ooh, and I've just heard that Maloney's Law is in Elisa Rolle's Top 10 GLBT Referrals List for March, so that's lovely to hear - thanks, Elisa!
Other news:
I rather enjoyed the University Administrators' conference, which I returned home from yesterday. Though I must say my skills in the Learn To Juggle seminar were sadly lacking. The poor tutor had to put me back down to two balls when he saw the chaos I was creating with three. And, what with all that jumping about and picking up my lost balls for an hour and a half, I have to say my legs are aching in places I never even knew I had. I must be so unfit! It was so bad that yesterday when I popped into Tesco on the way home and accidentally dropped something out of my trolley, I could barely hunker down to pick it up. And there was a hell of a lot of groaning ... Really, you don't even want to know how long it took me to get myself out of bed this morning, and how Lord H laughed at the sight.
Other exciting conference news is that my room actually had a bath. A bath!! What luxury. All the other times I've been, I've had a seriously frightening shower that's so powerful that it's all but blasted me to the other side of the room and I've been unable to breathe, such has been the force of the water. So a bath was bliss indeed. Must be a sign of my age, I fear.
Tonight, Lord H and I are off to see The Graduate at the Guildford Theatre, so are preparing ourselves for "an evening of impure theatrical delight", as the Evening Standard puts it. All that and nudity too, hurrah!
Happy Easter!
Anne Brooke - impure but utterly delightful, naturally
The Prayer Seeker's Journal - the essential Easter read
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Give and Take reviews and a bit of a spat
Writing News:
I'm happy to say that The Hit List is now available in paperback at Amazon US and it's received two 5-star reviews at Goodreads here and here. Thanks to both readers!
I'm also pleased to tell you that Give and Take has today received a thought-provoking 4.5 star review at Michelenjeff Reviews and another 4 star review at Rainbow Reviews. Many thanks to both reviewers for that. Give and Take is also now available for purchase at All Romance eBooks, so lovely to be there too.
There's also an interview with me which you can find at Michelenjeff Reviews Site, and a special thank you to Jeff for making me sound almost normal. That must have been very hard work indeed, Jeff!
Meanwhile, A Stranger's Touch received a 4 star review and a 5 star review, both at Goodreads, so thank you again to both reviewers for your comments.
And, if you'd like to try some of my Dreamspinner Press books, they're all at 20% discount for TODAY only so there's still time to buy The Bones of Summer or Two Christmases, or maybe even the pair!
In other book news, the latest chapter of The Prayer Seeker's Journal can now be found here - in which Michael begins to deal with his ex-wife. And I've reached the 30,000 word marker of The Executioner's Cane, hurrah!
There's also been a small but interesting disagreement by commenters responding to one of my Vulpes Libris reviews, which does at least prove that books can raise great passion in us all. A result always to be admired indeed ...
Finally in this section, I'm pleased to say that my poem, Meditation 37, is to be included in the upcoming Short Story Library Best of 2009 collection, which should be published early summer. Lovely to have that to look forward to.
Oh, and here's this week's haiku:
A woman in pink
walks slowly past cool water,
trailing dreams of spring.
Other News:
Marian and I played some pretty reasonable golf on Friday and even managed to produce two good tee-shots just behind the club pro as he was taking a playing lesson. Dammit but he didn't notice, and we certainly couldn't produce them again! And Lord H and I spent a lovely afternoon yesterday wandering around Wintershall Gardens as part of their Open Afternoon, and I have to say the grounds are very attractive indeed. And the staff do particularly wonderful cream teas, mmm ... What could be nicer? Even in spite of the rain.
Yesterday, we spent an exhilarating evening having supper at Liz & John's (hello, both!) and I think I was even relatively well behaved. Well, for me anyway. But this morning, I certainly felt my missing hour, what with the clocks going forward. I won't catch up till the autumn, I tell you.
This coming week, I'm away on the University Administrators' Conference in Warwick from Monday to Wednesday, so will have to look both intelligent and professional for three days. Not much hope there then ... Mind you, I've managed to book myself on to the Learn to Juggle seminar, and apparently you get to keep the balls! Gosh. I can't wait.
Anne Brooke - evil but interesting
The Prayer Seeker's Journal - dealing with the ex ...
I'm happy to say that The Hit List is now available in paperback at Amazon US and it's received two 5-star reviews at Goodreads here and here. Thanks to both readers!
I'm also pleased to tell you that Give and Take has today received a thought-provoking 4.5 star review at Michelenjeff Reviews and another 4 star review at Rainbow Reviews. Many thanks to both reviewers for that. Give and Take is also now available for purchase at All Romance eBooks, so lovely to be there too.There's also an interview with me which you can find at Michelenjeff Reviews Site, and a special thank you to Jeff for making me sound almost normal. That must have been very hard work indeed, Jeff!
Meanwhile, A Stranger's Touch received a 4 star review and a 5 star review, both at Goodreads, so thank you again to both reviewers for your comments.
And, if you'd like to try some of my Dreamspinner Press books, they're all at 20% discount for TODAY only so there's still time to buy The Bones of Summer or Two Christmases, or maybe even the pair!
In other book news, the latest chapter of The Prayer Seeker's Journal can now be found here - in which Michael begins to deal with his ex-wife. And I've reached the 30,000 word marker of The Executioner's Cane, hurrah!
There's also been a small but interesting disagreement by commenters responding to one of my Vulpes Libris reviews, which does at least prove that books can raise great passion in us all. A result always to be admired indeed ...
Finally in this section, I'm pleased to say that my poem, Meditation 37, is to be included in the upcoming Short Story Library Best of 2009 collection, which should be published early summer. Lovely to have that to look forward to.
Oh, and here's this week's haiku:
A woman in pink
walks slowly past cool water,
trailing dreams of spring.
Other News:
Marian and I played some pretty reasonable golf on Friday and even managed to produce two good tee-shots just behind the club pro as he was taking a playing lesson. Dammit but he didn't notice, and we certainly couldn't produce them again! And Lord H and I spent a lovely afternoon yesterday wandering around Wintershall Gardens as part of their Open Afternoon, and I have to say the grounds are very attractive indeed. And the staff do particularly wonderful cream teas, mmm ... What could be nicer? Even in spite of the rain.
Yesterday, we spent an exhilarating evening having supper at Liz & John's (hello, both!) and I think I was even relatively well behaved. Well, for me anyway. But this morning, I certainly felt my missing hour, what with the clocks going forward. I won't catch up till the autumn, I tell you.
This coming week, I'm away on the University Administrators' Conference in Warwick from Monday to Wednesday, so will have to look both intelligent and professional for three days. Not much hope there then ... Mind you, I've managed to book myself on to the Learn to Juggle seminar, and apparently you get to keep the balls! Gosh. I can't wait.
Anne Brooke - evil but interesting
The Prayer Seeker's Journal - dealing with the ex ...
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Second novels and The Ministry of Fear
Book News:
I've had a fascinating review of GLBT short story, Give and Take, which you can read at Jessewave Reviews. I'm more than happy with the 4 star rating, but fascinated by the reviewer's comments on the bleakness and realism of the story. Actually I'd thought it was fairly upbeat, and had even made the ending far more hopeful for the future than my first ending had been. Amazing how many different takes can be found in a story - it's certainly opened my eyes! Perhaps my view of life is grimmer (more grim?) than I'd realised ... In the meantime, it's received both a 4-star rating at Goodreads and a 5-star review also at Goodreads, with a slightly different take on it in the latter link, I believe.
Another review received this week has been for Two Christmases which gained a 4-star review at Goodreads. Many thanks to all reviewers/raters - it's much appreciated.
Meanwhile, at Vulpes Libris, you can read my disappointment at Maria McCann's Orange Prize longlisted novel, The Wilding. Oh dear. I'd been so looking forward to it too as I absolutely loved her first novel, As Meat Loves Salt. Is it the dreaded Second Novel Syndrome??...
And I fear I missed offering you last week's haiku in my Sunday posting (shame on me!), so here it is. Late, but still relevant, alas:
Rain drives away plans,
makes the umbrellas blossom,
quietens the world.
Other News:
I have chilled out this morning with a lovely Clarins massage from Romana - it was so relaxing that I actually fell asleep. Still I needed the down-time as I've been working like the proverbial all week. Both on book stuff and University stuff. Heck, I deserve a break - roll on Easter.
And Lord H and I have had a wonderful time at the Aldershot production of Fiddler on the Roof. To my shame (again!), we'd never seen it before, and what a marvellous musical it is. Such a brave ending and all those tunes. Fabulous. I loved it. Tonight we're off to the Guildford Theatre to see The Ministry of Fear so I suspect all my relaxation points might well disappear sooner than I'd anticipated. Note to self: arrange massages for after thrillers, not before ...
Oh, and a new car radio has been delivered today, so I'm hoping Lord H might do his magic and put it into the car so I don't have to listen to the sound of my own voice singing for too long. Believe me, it's not been pleasant. The neighbours would no doubt agree.
I'm also proud to say that Lord H now has official superpowers - he has perfected the technique of standing next to a dysfunctional computer until it operates properly again. Without even touching it. Honestly, it works every time! And at the office as well as at home, apparently. Really, it's a pleasure to watch a superhero at the top of his game, though he does confess to rather preferring the ability to fly or be invisible - but superheroes must accept and work with the powers they're given ... Tomorrow: the world!
Anne Brooke - pondering what her own superhero status might be ...
The Prayer Seeker's Journal - rarely seen but somehow vital
I've had a fascinating review of GLBT short story, Give and Take, which you can read at Jessewave Reviews. I'm more than happy with the 4 star rating, but fascinated by the reviewer's comments on the bleakness and realism of the story. Actually I'd thought it was fairly upbeat, and had even made the ending far more hopeful for the future than my first ending had been. Amazing how many different takes can be found in a story - it's certainly opened my eyes! Perhaps my view of life is grimmer (more grim?) than I'd realised ... In the meantime, it's received both a 4-star rating at Goodreads and a 5-star review also at Goodreads, with a slightly different take on it in the latter link, I believe.
Another review received this week has been for Two Christmases which gained a 4-star review at Goodreads. Many thanks to all reviewers/raters - it's much appreciated.
Meanwhile, at Vulpes Libris, you can read my disappointment at Maria McCann's Orange Prize longlisted novel, The Wilding. Oh dear. I'd been so looking forward to it too as I absolutely loved her first novel, As Meat Loves Salt. Is it the dreaded Second Novel Syndrome??...
And I fear I missed offering you last week's haiku in my Sunday posting (shame on me!), so here it is. Late, but still relevant, alas:
Rain drives away plans,
makes the umbrellas blossom,
quietens the world.
Other News:
I have chilled out this morning with a lovely Clarins massage from Romana - it was so relaxing that I actually fell asleep. Still I needed the down-time as I've been working like the proverbial all week. Both on book stuff and University stuff. Heck, I deserve a break - roll on Easter.
And Lord H and I have had a wonderful time at the Aldershot production of Fiddler on the Roof. To my shame (again!), we'd never seen it before, and what a marvellous musical it is. Such a brave ending and all those tunes. Fabulous. I loved it. Tonight we're off to the Guildford Theatre to see The Ministry of Fear so I suspect all my relaxation points might well disappear sooner than I'd anticipated. Note to self: arrange massages for after thrillers, not before ...
Oh, and a new car radio has been delivered today, so I'm hoping Lord H might do his magic and put it into the car so I don't have to listen to the sound of my own voice singing for too long. Believe me, it's not been pleasant. The neighbours would no doubt agree.
I'm also proud to say that Lord H now has official superpowers - he has perfected the technique of standing next to a dysfunctional computer until it operates properly again. Without even touching it. Honestly, it works every time! And at the office as well as at home, apparently. Really, it's a pleasure to watch a superhero at the top of his game, though he does confess to rather preferring the ability to fly or be invisible - but superheroes must accept and work with the powers they're given ... Tomorrow: the world!
Anne Brooke - pondering what her own superhero status might be ...
The Prayer Seeker's Journal - rarely seen but somehow vital
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