Book News:
A Woman like The Sea gained a very kind review at GLFiction Reviews this week (many thanks, Victor & Alan), and that same review has also found its way to the San Francisco Examiner, so that was lovely too.
Not to be outdone, Brady's Choice received a very thoughtful 5-star review at Goodreads (thank you, Nicci), and A Dangerous Man gained a 4-star review at Goodreads (many thanks, Andy!). I was also pleased that, very briefly, The Hit List found itself at No 50 in the Amazon UK Kindle charts, well gosh.
And I also received my annual influx of cash from the ALCS (Authors' Licensing & Collecting Society) who give much-needed support to poor authors, so that was very nice, thank you. And, if you are an author who hasn't joined them yet, it's definitely worth it.
And news hot off the press is that the third in my Delaneys' series, The Art of The Delaneys, will be published by Amber Allure Press on 15 May, hurrah! Many thanks, Trace ...
Meanwhile, at Vulpes Libris, you can find my review of Chris Bohjalian's magnificent crime novel, The Double Bind, which is one of the best and most startling novels I've read in a long, long time. Go treat yourself to it!
Today's meditation is:
Meditation 493
The silent grass
and the rooftops,
bleak against a clear sky,
wait for the east wind
to blast them
with its dark unforgiving
purity.
And the Sunday haiku is:
On my downbeat walk
they stop me with dark glimmer:
purple crocuses.
Life News:
Much to my delight, our flat now has the magical note "Sold STC" on its website entry. Phew. Let's hope that keeps there then. And I was also sneakily delighted that the lovely next-door neighbour had a chat with me about the pesky middle neighbours over the weekend and it transpires that they don't much like them either and were really sorry and shocked about what happened last year. Which made me feel a lot better, I must say, and it's nice to know that it's not just us overreacting either. Ha!
Anyway, K and I had a really fantastic day yesterday visiting The Savill Garden. It's astonishingly beautiful even in February, and we were frankly amazed at how much the rhododendrons had come out, giving fabulous splashes of unexpected colour around almost every corner. I also had a deeply moving experience in the cafe where we indulged ourselves in cupcakes (free with a voucher because we visited before!) and cappuccino. I suddenly realised exactly how happy the cupcake was making me feel - which is quite rare as normally I don't realise when I've been happy until after it's over. Is this my nirvana moment? If so, then if my ashes are scattered across the restaurant at Savill when I'm dead and gone, I'll be a contented woman indeed.
Finally, a very happy wedding day to Laura Ives at work who got married yesterday - and I hope the sun shone internally if not in reality, thanks to our pesky English weather. Many congratulations indeed!
Anne Brooke
ANNE BROOKE BOOKS: Independent writer of modern fiction
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Thursday, February 24, 2011
The nameless blogger and other literary matters
Book News:
What a week, eh. I think we've all come through it slightly dusty and wide-eyed but relatively unbowed, so well done us! In case you're wondering if I've finally slipped over the edge into madness (ah, a long long time ago, my dears ...), on Monday I was mentioned though not by name (until I outed myself in the comments section, that is!) in this article by author Chris Cleave in The Guardian who was a little upset about a review I wrote about one of his books for Vulpes Libris. Yes, I am indeed the cold-hearted and spidery blogger who dare not show her face. Well, if you had a nose like mine, would you?... Joking apart though, I have to say it's a dang good article and (if I may be so bold), if he'd used even half that passion, poetry and precision, not to mention ease of expression, throughout the novel itself, all might have been rather better.
Anyway, the very lovely Book Foxes (thank you, all) were inspired to come up with a response to the Guardian article which, we hope, sets out our aims for our review site in terms of fair, honest and very committed reviewing. Enough said. And actually, when all's said and done, it's the books that count, so I hope Chris Cleave and I can give each other a virtual handshake and a wry smile (because everything passes ...), and then we can all move on.
As for my own far less significant book world, it's been quite a busy week too so far, so here's what's been going on since Monday:
1. The Delaneys and Me came in, briefly, at No 91 in the Amazon UK Kindle charts so someone must have bought a copy - thank you.
2. Entertaining the Delaneys gained two 4-star reviews at Goodreads, one here and one here. It also gained a 3-star review at Goodreads with some lovely comments, so thank you to all three readers for sharing their thoughts on the story.
3. A Woman Like the Sea gained another 5-star review at Amazon so thank you, Victor, for that - I really appreciate it.
4. Finally, in this section, Brady's Choice gained a B+ review at Brief Encounters, and a 5-star review at Jessewave Reviews - a big thank you to both reviewers for that.
On a slightly different tack, I'm sneaking in a quick reminder that all my Untreed Reads books are at discount prices in February and one of them is free! That includes A Woman like The Sea so, bearing in mind the reviews it's gained recently, it might well be worth a punt ...
And, astonishingly, I'm struggling back into writing my meditation poems again. Feel a bit shaky about it as I'm not really very sure about God at the moment and there's nothing like prayer remotely on the horizon at all right now, but for what it's worth here they are:
Meditation 491
There’s a cleansing note
about sackcloth and grief
but letting them go
must be a relief.
Meditation 492
In all the long bible
there’s nothing that moves me so much
as King Hezekiah’s simple taking of the letter
containing his enemy’s
bitter and bloodthirsty threat,
laying it out in front
of the throne of God
and praying in despair
and a kind of trust:
see my agony, help me.
Life News:
I slipped into the bible study group this week and tried to keep relatively quiet (ho ho). I was rather jazzed up about it but in the end it was okay. Nothing too demanding, and actually the history behind the story of Joseph and his brothers is interesting. I had no idea it was made up of three different literary approaches cobbled together later by an editor which explains the little anomalies such as Joseph's status which changes throughout, and the different ways of referring to God, and what that means. Fascinating. I do always find that the more I see the very human mistakes and oddities in the bible, the more I actually believe in what it's trying to convey. It's only when you think a book is the unalterable word of God (whatever that may mean!) that it becomes so much less likely. There speaks the inveterate reviewer, eh ... Give me the mistakes and I'll ferret out the truth for myself.
Meanwhile I've been having fun with TV. I did rather enjoy South Riding on Sunday night, but I could have done with more jokes. I'm told by friends who've read the book (I haven't - ah, the shame of it) that it gets grimmer so I'm preparing myself with boxes of tissues and a whippet. Hey, I can be rude about the north - my mother's a Geordie ... though God knows what the whippet will do. I am also strangely gripped and guffawing in amazed laughter at the false crocodile tears produced by The Model Agency. Lordy! I was more than relieved that the rather sweet India managed to escape from the profit-crazed hands of her band of agents in order to live a normal life at school. Isn't there some kind of charity to free these poor gals? There should be questions in Parliament, I feel - particularly about the very odd father who included the opportunity to make more money for the family as a reason for encouraging his daughter to join the slave - ahem - I mean model trade. Run, my dear, run! I foresee several nail-biting evenings ahead in front of the TV over the next few weeks ...
Anyway, today, I have had two removal firms round to give a quote for getting us to our next home - please God let us have an exchange date soon! - they were both very lovely and seemed happy to cope with our oddities, so we'll have to wait and see what figures they come up with. They both include the option to have everything packed for you, which we are so definitely taking up - having always moved ourselves with great trauma and angst in the past. I'm really not going through that again. Ever.
This afternoon, I've had the last session of my physiotherapy for the frozen shoulder and all looks good, hurrah. I'm managing to remember not to carry heavy things, eg shopping or golf clubs, so I think that's definitely helping. And if I forget, I certainly know soon enough! Tonight, K and I are off to Woking to indulge ourselves in the joys of the National Theatre tour of Hamlet, so I am preparing myself for an evening of misplaced love and family angst. Just like a normal night out in Essex really, hey ho.
Anne Brooke
What a week, eh. I think we've all come through it slightly dusty and wide-eyed but relatively unbowed, so well done us! In case you're wondering if I've finally slipped over the edge into madness (ah, a long long time ago, my dears ...), on Monday I was mentioned though not by name (until I outed myself in the comments section, that is!) in this article by author Chris Cleave in The Guardian who was a little upset about a review I wrote about one of his books for Vulpes Libris. Yes, I am indeed the cold-hearted and spidery blogger who dare not show her face. Well, if you had a nose like mine, would you?... Joking apart though, I have to say it's a dang good article and (if I may be so bold), if he'd used even half that passion, poetry and precision, not to mention ease of expression, throughout the novel itself, all might have been rather better.
Anyway, the very lovely Book Foxes (thank you, all) were inspired to come up with a response to the Guardian article which, we hope, sets out our aims for our review site in terms of fair, honest and very committed reviewing. Enough said. And actually, when all's said and done, it's the books that count, so I hope Chris Cleave and I can give each other a virtual handshake and a wry smile (because everything passes ...), and then we can all move on.
As for my own far less significant book world, it's been quite a busy week too so far, so here's what's been going on since Monday:
1. The Delaneys and Me came in, briefly, at No 91 in the Amazon UK Kindle charts so someone must have bought a copy - thank you.
2. Entertaining the Delaneys gained two 4-star reviews at Goodreads, one here and one here. It also gained a 3-star review at Goodreads with some lovely comments, so thank you to all three readers for sharing their thoughts on the story.
3. A Woman Like the Sea gained another 5-star review at Amazon so thank you, Victor, for that - I really appreciate it.
4. Finally, in this section, Brady's Choice gained a B+ review at Brief Encounters, and a 5-star review at Jessewave Reviews - a big thank you to both reviewers for that.
On a slightly different tack, I'm sneaking in a quick reminder that all my Untreed Reads books are at discount prices in February and one of them is free! That includes A Woman like The Sea so, bearing in mind the reviews it's gained recently, it might well be worth a punt ...
And, astonishingly, I'm struggling back into writing my meditation poems again. Feel a bit shaky about it as I'm not really very sure about God at the moment and there's nothing like prayer remotely on the horizon at all right now, but for what it's worth here they are:
Meditation 491
There’s a cleansing note
about sackcloth and grief
but letting them go
must be a relief.
Meditation 492
In all the long bible
there’s nothing that moves me so much
as King Hezekiah’s simple taking of the letter
containing his enemy’s
bitter and bloodthirsty threat,
laying it out in front
of the throne of God
and praying in despair
and a kind of trust:
see my agony, help me.
Life News:
I slipped into the bible study group this week and tried to keep relatively quiet (ho ho). I was rather jazzed up about it but in the end it was okay. Nothing too demanding, and actually the history behind the story of Joseph and his brothers is interesting. I had no idea it was made up of three different literary approaches cobbled together later by an editor which explains the little anomalies such as Joseph's status which changes throughout, and the different ways of referring to God, and what that means. Fascinating. I do always find that the more I see the very human mistakes and oddities in the bible, the more I actually believe in what it's trying to convey. It's only when you think a book is the unalterable word of God (whatever that may mean!) that it becomes so much less likely. There speaks the inveterate reviewer, eh ... Give me the mistakes and I'll ferret out the truth for myself.
Meanwhile I've been having fun with TV. I did rather enjoy South Riding on Sunday night, but I could have done with more jokes. I'm told by friends who've read the book (I haven't - ah, the shame of it) that it gets grimmer so I'm preparing myself with boxes of tissues and a whippet. Hey, I can be rude about the north - my mother's a Geordie ... though God knows what the whippet will do. I am also strangely gripped and guffawing in amazed laughter at the false crocodile tears produced by The Model Agency. Lordy! I was more than relieved that the rather sweet India managed to escape from the profit-crazed hands of her band of agents in order to live a normal life at school. Isn't there some kind of charity to free these poor gals? There should be questions in Parliament, I feel - particularly about the very odd father who included the opportunity to make more money for the family as a reason for encouraging his daughter to join the slave - ahem - I mean model trade. Run, my dear, run! I foresee several nail-biting evenings ahead in front of the TV over the next few weeks ...
Anyway, today, I have had two removal firms round to give a quote for getting us to our next home - please God let us have an exchange date soon! - they were both very lovely and seemed happy to cope with our oddities, so we'll have to wait and see what figures they come up with. They both include the option to have everything packed for you, which we are so definitely taking up - having always moved ourselves with great trauma and angst in the past. I'm really not going through that again. Ever.
This afternoon, I've had the last session of my physiotherapy for the frozen shoulder and all looks good, hurrah. I'm managing to remember not to carry heavy things, eg shopping or golf clubs, so I think that's definitely helping. And if I forget, I certainly know soon enough! Tonight, K and I are off to Woking to indulge ourselves in the joys of the National Theatre tour of Hamlet, so I am preparing myself for an evening of misplaced love and family angst. Just like a normal night out in Essex really, hey ho.
Anne Brooke
Sunday, February 20, 2011
Entertaining the Delaneys and other delights
Book News:
Entertaining the Delaneys is published today at Amber Allure Press at a first week discount. This is the sequel to erotic bestseller, The Delaneys and Me, so now's your chance to catch up on the various naughty but nice goings-on of Liam, and those tricky twins. Enjoy!
Speaking of which, The Delaneys and Me has gained a 4-star review at Goodreads (thanks, Nene). So I like to think that in some way I'm keeping the British tradition of Carry On type humour alive ... Also this week, The Girl in the Painting received a 4-star review at Amazon US, so thank you to Darlene for that one.
And I'm happy to say that Brady's Choice is now available for the first time at Amazon UK Kindle, and, in terms of ratings, The Hit List reached No 35 in the Amazon UK charts, while Sunday Haiku came in at No 10 in the Amazon UK poetry charts, well gosh.
Meanwhile, the haiku for today is:
My garden of dreams
is sunlight-soft and scented:
lavender and hope.
Life News:
I'm gradually getting rid of my pesky cold and catarrh thing, but slowly slowly. Dammit. Alongside, or perhaps as a result (I'm not really sure), I'm having a bit of a depression moment or two, again. Double dammit, eh. What I really want to do is scream a lot and hit someone very hard, but sadly being a middle-aged woman in UK society doesn't really allow for that kind of behaviour outlet - which is a shame as it's exactly the kind of outlet we middle-aged UK women need. At our time of lives, you know. Sigh. K thinks I should get a punch-bag, and it's certainly a tempting option. Maybe in the new house?...
However, the good news is that our mortgage application has been approved in reality (hurrah!), and the survey for the house was pretty damn good really, and certainly a hell of a lot better than the survey for the flat when we bought it in 1993. I'm really hoping things move along pretty damn swiftly from now on, though I know there are land searches and all sorts of legal stuff to go through first. And the pesky middle neighbours need to sign the lease for the man who's bought our flat etc etc as it's a shared freehold. As they're so damn horrible and really rather selfish, then I doubt they'll be hurrying to do that then, eh. More sighing. Though, on the plus side, we also have to sign to agree the buyer for their flat in turn, and really, my dears, I'm not hurrying on that one either. Maybe we'll even "go on holiday and be unable to do it for a while", as they said to us when we got to exchange date with them last year, the losers. Ha! K and I can foresee a time when all four of us will be eyeball-to-eyeball in an independent solicitor's office handing over the documentation in one concerted and closely-watched move. Because you absolutely can't trust them an inch.
So, as you can see, I am indeed as full of the milk of human kindness and Christian charity as I ever am. Ho ho, as if. And, sadly, today's sermon about loving our enemies and being nice to the neighbours got rather short shrift from me, as well as a knowing snort. Well, I've never pretended to be a good person, at any level, so what can one expect? I might well start to be nice when I'm in the next house but, as St Augustine is reputed to have said: not yet, Lord, not yet. Being a dried up, bitchy, embittered old prune is the new nice, after all.
Finally, I'm sorry to say that my invitation to the Royal Wedding appears, unaccountably, to have gone missing in the post. As a result, I may well delay buying my hat, just in case they've forgotten me (how can that be?!) ...
Anne Brooke
Entertaining the Delaneys is published today at Amber Allure Press at a first week discount. This is the sequel to erotic bestseller, The Delaneys and Me, so now's your chance to catch up on the various naughty but nice goings-on of Liam, and those tricky twins. Enjoy!
Speaking of which, The Delaneys and Me has gained a 4-star review at Goodreads (thanks, Nene). So I like to think that in some way I'm keeping the British tradition of Carry On type humour alive ... Also this week, The Girl in the Painting received a 4-star review at Amazon US, so thank you to Darlene for that one.
And I'm happy to say that Brady's Choice is now available for the first time at Amazon UK Kindle, and, in terms of ratings, The Hit List reached No 35 in the Amazon UK charts, while Sunday Haiku came in at No 10 in the Amazon UK poetry charts, well gosh.
Meanwhile, the haiku for today is:
My garden of dreams
is sunlight-soft and scented:
lavender and hope.
Life News:
I'm gradually getting rid of my pesky cold and catarrh thing, but slowly slowly. Dammit. Alongside, or perhaps as a result (I'm not really sure), I'm having a bit of a depression moment or two, again. Double dammit, eh. What I really want to do is scream a lot and hit someone very hard, but sadly being a middle-aged woman in UK society doesn't really allow for that kind of behaviour outlet - which is a shame as it's exactly the kind of outlet we middle-aged UK women need. At our time of lives, you know. Sigh. K thinks I should get a punch-bag, and it's certainly a tempting option. Maybe in the new house?...
However, the good news is that our mortgage application has been approved in reality (hurrah!), and the survey for the house was pretty damn good really, and certainly a hell of a lot better than the survey for the flat when we bought it in 1993. I'm really hoping things move along pretty damn swiftly from now on, though I know there are land searches and all sorts of legal stuff to go through first. And the pesky middle neighbours need to sign the lease for the man who's bought our flat etc etc as it's a shared freehold. As they're so damn horrible and really rather selfish, then I doubt they'll be hurrying to do that then, eh. More sighing. Though, on the plus side, we also have to sign to agree the buyer for their flat in turn, and really, my dears, I'm not hurrying on that one either. Maybe we'll even "go on holiday and be unable to do it for a while", as they said to us when we got to exchange date with them last year, the losers. Ha! K and I can foresee a time when all four of us will be eyeball-to-eyeball in an independent solicitor's office handing over the documentation in one concerted and closely-watched move. Because you absolutely can't trust them an inch.
So, as you can see, I am indeed as full of the milk of human kindness and Christian charity as I ever am. Ho ho, as if. And, sadly, today's sermon about loving our enemies and being nice to the neighbours got rather short shrift from me, as well as a knowing snort. Well, I've never pretended to be a good person, at any level, so what can one expect? I might well start to be nice when I'm in the next house but, as St Augustine is reputed to have said: not yet, Lord, not yet. Being a dried up, bitchy, embittered old prune is the new nice, after all.
Finally, I'm sorry to say that my invitation to the Royal Wedding appears, unaccountably, to have gone missing in the post. As a result, I may well delay buying my hat, just in case they've forgotten me (how can that be?!) ...
Anne Brooke
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Sickness and sold signs
Life News:
A tricky week in terms of being sick, groan. I've had a cold plus my usual catarrh difficulties since Sunday evening so wasn't able to go in to work yesterday at all. The thing I really hate about being ill like this is the not being able to sleep part of it, so was pleased last night that I did actually manage to get some decent sleep for the first time since Saturday and in the bedroom too, hurrah! (I usually stick to the living room in times of difficulty as it's warmer ...). The other good thing is the number of property programmes on daytime TV - what bliss.
Am planning to go into work tomorrow for a staff event that we're doing so my usual working week is a bit confused anyway. Lord know what day I'll think it actually is tomorrow! Due to being ill, I've also had to cancel the specialist appointment I had at Kingston Hospital today (ah, the irony of it all ...) but it appears that my specialist is now moving to St George's so I am desperately trying to catch up with her, but no luck yet.
However, I'm delighted to say that our flat now has a "Sold" sign on the street, so K keeps admiring it when he leaves for work. It feels great to have it there, I must say. Not only that but the house we're in the process of buying in Mayford has a Sold STC notice on its web entry so that's very pleasing too. I'm only hoping and praying the potential move goes relatively smoothly from now on ...
And is it just me, but is "Outcasts", the new SF serial on TV, really just a rehash of "Heroes", "The Deep" and "Lost"? BIG yawn. It's all too stupidly mystical and pretentious for words really, and I did have such high hopes at the start, as I'm usually a fan of Hermione Norris - what on earth is her agent thinking?!? They really need to stop the pretentiousness and actually give us some plot and decent characterisation. As K says, it's a planetary outpost where the security team appears to be run by Benny from Crossroads (bless ....) and some children's TV presenter. It's also very odd, bearing in mind they are supposed to be the only humans on an empty planet, how often they receive visitors they've never come across before. At least one or two every episode roll up. K thinks that over the hill there's actually a vast city the size of Las Vegas if only they realised it. Sigh. However, it does make you realise how sharp and well-written/plotted the episodes of any of the Star Trek series actually are - at least they understood about the need for action and character back then.
Book News:
I'm happy to say that the lovely Graham Sclater was kind enough to give another on-air review of A Dangerous Man on Live Wire Talk Radio last night, so many thanks for that, Graham. I am definitely envious of the daffodils in your study though ...
And Pink Champagne and Apple Juice briefly found itself at No 77 in the Amazon UK Kindle charts, so that was a surprise for us all, I can tell you.
Anne Brooke
A tricky week in terms of being sick, groan. I've had a cold plus my usual catarrh difficulties since Sunday evening so wasn't able to go in to work yesterday at all. The thing I really hate about being ill like this is the not being able to sleep part of it, so was pleased last night that I did actually manage to get some decent sleep for the first time since Saturday and in the bedroom too, hurrah! (I usually stick to the living room in times of difficulty as it's warmer ...). The other good thing is the number of property programmes on daytime TV - what bliss.
Am planning to go into work tomorrow for a staff event that we're doing so my usual working week is a bit confused anyway. Lord know what day I'll think it actually is tomorrow! Due to being ill, I've also had to cancel the specialist appointment I had at Kingston Hospital today (ah, the irony of it all ...) but it appears that my specialist is now moving to St George's so I am desperately trying to catch up with her, but no luck yet.
However, I'm delighted to say that our flat now has a "Sold" sign on the street, so K keeps admiring it when he leaves for work. It feels great to have it there, I must say. Not only that but the house we're in the process of buying in Mayford has a Sold STC notice on its web entry so that's very pleasing too. I'm only hoping and praying the potential move goes relatively smoothly from now on ...
And is it just me, but is "Outcasts", the new SF serial on TV, really just a rehash of "Heroes", "The Deep" and "Lost"? BIG yawn. It's all too stupidly mystical and pretentious for words really, and I did have such high hopes at the start, as I'm usually a fan of Hermione Norris - what on earth is her agent thinking?!? They really need to stop the pretentiousness and actually give us some plot and decent characterisation. As K says, it's a planetary outpost where the security team appears to be run by Benny from Crossroads (bless ....) and some children's TV presenter. It's also very odd, bearing in mind they are supposed to be the only humans on an empty planet, how often they receive visitors they've never come across before. At least one or two every episode roll up. K thinks that over the hill there's actually a vast city the size of Las Vegas if only they realised it. Sigh. However, it does make you realise how sharp and well-written/plotted the episodes of any of the Star Trek series actually are - at least they understood about the need for action and character back then.
Book News:
I'm happy to say that the lovely Graham Sclater was kind enough to give another on-air review of A Dangerous Man on Live Wire Talk Radio last night, so many thanks for that, Graham. I am definitely envious of the daffodils in your study though ...
And Pink Champagne and Apple Juice briefly found itself at No 77 in the Amazon UK Kindle charts, so that was a surprise for us all, I can tell you.
Anne Brooke
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Snowdrops and silence
Book News:
I now have a new webpage for upcoming literary short story, Dido's Tale, which is due to be published by Bluewood Publishing later this year. You can also read an extract to whet your appetite. Enjoy!
In terms of reviews, How to Eat Fruit gained a 4-star review at Goodreads - many thanks, Dlee. And Brady's Choice gained a lovely review at Amos Lassen Reviews, so many thanks for that, Amos.
This week, you can also find The Bones of Summer is being offered at a 20% discount at Rainbow eBooks, so an ideal opportunity to buy.
You can also find my review of The New Uncanny: Tales of Unease at Vulpes Libris, which is a short story collection guaranteed to add a frisson or two of literary horror to your day. What could be nicer?
The Sunday haiku is:
One green woodpecker,
ant-attracted, waits on grass
dancing with snowdrops.
Life News:
Astonishingly, we have agreed a very reasonable offer on the flat, hurrah a zillion times and put out the bunting! Mr Makeover Man (who will no doubt make our little corner of Surrey look like a mini-Versailles once he's had his way ...) put in an offer, and after a little to-ing and fro-ing we were more than happy to accept. If it all goes through, it'll certainly take a chunk off our mortgage repayments for the Mayford house (assuming that goes through okay also ...). Phew then. So we are now neck-deep or thereabouts in mortgage applications, life insurance, mortgage protection schemes, removal quotes and a hundred and one things to do if you're moving. Yes, I know it's early days but I like to get ahead. Ever hopeful, eh.
Yesterday, K and I had a very relaxing day (which was very much deserved, I must say) admiring the snowdrops at Polesdon Lacey and enjoying a very pleasant lunch as well, and today I have spent an hour in silence at the Quakers again. Well, almost in silence, as my impending cold (arrgghh!!!) meant rather more snivelling than I'd hoped to have. Still the woman sitting in front of me was very courteous about my snuffles and snortings so has no doubt already performed her kind deed of the week. And I have so many kind deeds to catch up with on my own account, alas ...
Thursday, February 10, 2011
A glimmer of hope somewhere ...
Life News:
There's a glimmer of hope on the house horizon, thank the Lord. The Mayford vendors have accepted our revised, revised offer, so we're on the road to exchange, hurrah. I hope. I'm really hoping this time that we survive the exchange date with some measure of success, bearing in mind the outright disaster of the one we lived through last year (b****y middle neighbours, eh). It would just be soooooo good to get out of this place which is seriously bringing me down now. I simply need to escape.
Meanwhile our strange potential buyer of the flat is still behaving oddly. He's now been to see us three times, once with his parents, once with a builder and, most recently, yesterday with an interior designer. Apart from being hugely frustrating, we're now thinking of charging him rent if he comes a fourth time. Or perhaps he actually does think he lives here now? He's certainly in the place more often than we are. And still no hint of an offer ... Sigh. I really feel I've lost any hope on that one, to be honest. You know what they say with buyers: the longer they are in a place, the less likely it is they'll bite. People make their minds up in thirty seconds. The rest is just filling, ho hum.
Anyway, we have a potential house, hurrah, and a lifetime of poverty to look forward to so it may not be all bad! Plus yesterday was K's birthday so we celebrated with cake, chocolate and champagne. As you do. And there's cake left over too - gosh, however did that happen?...
Today, I was supposed to be going to the Sceptre Reviewers Lunch on behalf of Vulpes Libris, but I found out yesterday that the event was taking a speed-dating format which utterly horrified me, so I have given it a very very wide berth. Lord preserve us! Parties of any kind are bad enough as it is without having to meet lots of self-important (sorry, but we are rather self-important as a breed!...) authors in quick succession without any kind of body armour to defend against the experience. And if anyone's going to be self-important around here, it's going to be me. I'm a genius at it. Besides, two of the authors lined up have both been given negative reviews by me, which you can see here and here, and I didn't want there to be blood on the carpet, my dears.
Tonight, K and I are out spending money we probably can't afford at the theatre seeing The Reluctant Debutante. Here's hoping there are a few laughs and it's better than last week's play, which shouldn't be too difficult then.
Book News:
I've sent the final galley proofs for Entertaining the Delaneys back to Amber Allure Press, and that's due out on 20 February, so not long now. In the meantime you can find bestselling short story The Girl in the Painting at Amazon UK for the first time, and How to Eat Fruit is now also keeping it company, hurrah. The Bones of Summer has also been briefly at No 29 in the Amazon UK charts this week, which was nice.
There have also been several nice reviews this week (see how self-important I am - gosh, I must be an author, ho ho!...):
Maloney's Law gained a 4-star review at Goodreads (thank you, Dlee)
Painting from Life received a 5-star review at Goodreads (thank you, Ann)
How to Eat Fruit gained a 5-star review at Goodreads (thank you, Sarah).
In addition:
A Woman like the Sea was given a 4.75 star review at Book Wenches (many thanks, Bobby)
and
Brady's Choice gained a 4-star review at Three Dollar Bill Reviews (many thanks, Kassa).
Both of the above were the first "official" reviews for each of these new stories, which I wasn't honestly sure that anyone would like, so that's given me hope too. So perhaps the year might be improving after all? Who can tell ...
Anne Brooke
There's a glimmer of hope on the house horizon, thank the Lord. The Mayford vendors have accepted our revised, revised offer, so we're on the road to exchange, hurrah. I hope. I'm really hoping this time that we survive the exchange date with some measure of success, bearing in mind the outright disaster of the one we lived through last year (b****y middle neighbours, eh). It would just be soooooo good to get out of this place which is seriously bringing me down now. I simply need to escape.
Meanwhile our strange potential buyer of the flat is still behaving oddly. He's now been to see us three times, once with his parents, once with a builder and, most recently, yesterday with an interior designer. Apart from being hugely frustrating, we're now thinking of charging him rent if he comes a fourth time. Or perhaps he actually does think he lives here now? He's certainly in the place more often than we are. And still no hint of an offer ... Sigh. I really feel I've lost any hope on that one, to be honest. You know what they say with buyers: the longer they are in a place, the less likely it is they'll bite. People make their minds up in thirty seconds. The rest is just filling, ho hum.
Anyway, we have a potential house, hurrah, and a lifetime of poverty to look forward to so it may not be all bad! Plus yesterday was K's birthday so we celebrated with cake, chocolate and champagne. As you do. And there's cake left over too - gosh, however did that happen?...
Today, I was supposed to be going to the Sceptre Reviewers Lunch on behalf of Vulpes Libris, but I found out yesterday that the event was taking a speed-dating format which utterly horrified me, so I have given it a very very wide berth. Lord preserve us! Parties of any kind are bad enough as it is without having to meet lots of self-important (sorry, but we are rather self-important as a breed!...) authors in quick succession without any kind of body armour to defend against the experience. And if anyone's going to be self-important around here, it's going to be me. I'm a genius at it. Besides, two of the authors lined up have both been given negative reviews by me, which you can see here and here, and I didn't want there to be blood on the carpet, my dears.
Tonight, K and I are out spending money we probably can't afford at the theatre seeing The Reluctant Debutante. Here's hoping there are a few laughs and it's better than last week's play, which shouldn't be too difficult then.
Book News:
I've sent the final galley proofs for Entertaining the Delaneys back to Amber Allure Press, and that's due out on 20 February, so not long now. In the meantime you can find bestselling short story The Girl in the Painting at Amazon UK for the first time, and How to Eat Fruit is now also keeping it company, hurrah. The Bones of Summer has also been briefly at No 29 in the Amazon UK charts this week, which was nice.
There have also been several nice reviews this week (see how self-important I am - gosh, I must be an author, ho ho!...):
Maloney's Law gained a 4-star review at Goodreads (thank you, Dlee)
Painting from Life received a 5-star review at Goodreads (thank you, Ann)
How to Eat Fruit gained a 5-star review at Goodreads (thank you, Sarah).
In addition:
A Woman like the Sea was given a 4.75 star review at Book Wenches (many thanks, Bobby)
and
Brady's Choice gained a 4-star review at Three Dollar Bill Reviews (many thanks, Kassa).
Both of the above were the first "official" reviews for each of these new stories, which I wasn't honestly sure that anyone would like, so that's given me hope too. So perhaps the year might be improving after all? Who can tell ...
Anne Brooke
Sunday, February 06, 2011
Parties, interviews and houses
Book News:
Yesterday was an all-day party time as all us Untreed Reads authors celebrated our publisher's one-year anniversary at Coffee Time Romance - and there's still time to join in the fun so please do pop along and say hello. You'll be more than welcome! In terms of my own books, you can pick up a FREE copy of literary romance, How to Eat Fruit, plus discover exactly who is The Girl in the Painting, and have a riotous time in space with Creative Accountancy for Beginners. Not only that but you can enjoy the bittersweet historical romance of Dancing with Lions, and get dangerously close to Nature in The Secret Thoughts of Leaves, and, finally, get in touch with your sensuous side with literary lesbian romance, A Woman like the Sea. And, apart from the FREE copy of How to Eat Fruit, all the others have a 25% discount attached, so that's definitely something to celebrate. Enjoy!
Other nice news is that somehow I managed not one, not two, not even three, but a grand total of four entries in the Amazon UK Kindle charts yesterday, well gosh: Tommy's Blind Date was at No 23; Give and Take at No 22; The Hit List at No 21; and Martin and The Wolf at No 20. So it was lovely to have them all in the Kindle charts for a while, and even lovelier that they were huddling so close together, obviously for warmth ... And coming in on the outside was Pink Champagne and Apple Juice at No 36 (now down to No 88) and A Dangerous Man at No 88 in the US Kindle charts. So a very big thank you to whoever it is who's buying - I'm very grateful.
Meanwhile, Brady's Choice is now available for the first time at Amazon US Kindle, whilst A Woman like the Sea is now available both at Amazon UK Kindle (for the grand total of 79p so a real bargain to be had there) and at Amazon US Kindle.
I've also been interviewed at the 1 Place for Romance blog - so thank you, Valerie & Jay, for arranging that, and I hope you enjoy the read.
And I have some very thrilling news about a hugely talented writing friend of mine, Sarah Ann Watts - Sarah's first stand-alone title, Heart of The Kingdom, is published today and I already have my copy which I can't wait to read, so hurry along and buy this story, and many congratulations, Sarah.
The Sunday haiku is:
Hyacinth petals
soften this vanilla air:
promises of spring.
Life News:
House news is moving along, thank the Lord, though still way too slow for me. We've decided not to worry about selling the flat and simply to concentrate on getting out to somewhere new as soon as we can. With that in mind, we made an offer on a house we liked in Bisley, though that's been rejected. But, at the same time, another house we really like in Mayford may be coming down in price very soon, according to the agent (though as they're all lying toads really, who can tell, eh?...), so we've made an offer on that instead. No response on that one as yet, so I assume they'll deign to ring us up next week to give us an update. If that's a no-go zone, then there's actually yet another house on the outskirts of Guildford that's just come on as well so we may well go and view that and see if we prefer it if nothing else useful happens by Wednesday.
Whilst all that is going on, we did have a second viewing of our flat on Friday - where they appear to have moved everything they could think of to move, including the fridge and washing machine, in order to find out our guilty secrets (which I do think is a bit much for people who haven't put in any kind of offer yet, but there you go ...), but I assume they somehow missed where we've buried the bodies, as there's been no sign of the police as yet. Hey ho.
Nice things that have happened include our trip to Wisley today to see the exotic butterflies in the Glasshouse - this is definitely well worth doing so if you're in the area before the end of February then do go along if you can. I'm sure there's a wider variety of butterflies this year than before too, which is grand. There's also been a recurrent visit of a very fat green woodpecker in the garden and the sudden appearance of snowdrops, both of which have cheered me somewhat.
Mind you, I needed cheering as the new Alan Ayckbourn play at the Guildford Theatre on Thursday was a huge disappointment. Long-winded and dull, The Life of Riley is definitely not one I'd recommend, though the unfortunate actors tackle a very thin script with great courage, I think. Sigh. Perhaps the Great Man really does need to take a break?
This morning, after a good week to ten days when frankly the concept of God has been way too much for me, I did manage to get to church. Which was okay, as long as I didn't think about it too much. The hymns were nice. At the moment anything involving more than the occasional and desperate prayer is out of bounds really, and bible reading has fallen by the wayside (ha!), hence the lack of meditation poems, in case anyone had missed them. I'm not sure I'll be able to get back to them next week either, so the exercise bike (where I do my bible reading and start off the poems, oddly enough) has never had such an easy life. We'll see how it goes, or rather how it doesn't.
Last night, we did have a lovely time having dinner at Marian's though, which was grand. It was great to catch up properly, and she certainly makes a top class custard, which always does it for me. There's something about custard which somehow makes everything worthwhile.
Anne Brooke
Yesterday was an all-day party time as all us Untreed Reads authors celebrated our publisher's one-year anniversary at Coffee Time Romance - and there's still time to join in the fun so please do pop along and say hello. You'll be more than welcome! In terms of my own books, you can pick up a FREE copy of literary romance, How to Eat Fruit, plus discover exactly who is The Girl in the Painting, and have a riotous time in space with Creative Accountancy for Beginners. Not only that but you can enjoy the bittersweet historical romance of Dancing with Lions, and get dangerously close to Nature in The Secret Thoughts of Leaves, and, finally, get in touch with your sensuous side with literary lesbian romance, A Woman like the Sea. And, apart from the FREE copy of How to Eat Fruit, all the others have a 25% discount attached, so that's definitely something to celebrate. Enjoy!
Other nice news is that somehow I managed not one, not two, not even three, but a grand total of four entries in the Amazon UK Kindle charts yesterday, well gosh: Tommy's Blind Date was at No 23; Give and Take at No 22; The Hit List at No 21; and Martin and The Wolf at No 20. So it was lovely to have them all in the Kindle charts for a while, and even lovelier that they were huddling so close together, obviously for warmth ... And coming in on the outside was Pink Champagne and Apple Juice at No 36 (now down to No 88) and A Dangerous Man at No 88 in the US Kindle charts. So a very big thank you to whoever it is who's buying - I'm very grateful.
Meanwhile, Brady's Choice is now available for the first time at Amazon US Kindle, whilst A Woman like the Sea is now available both at Amazon UK Kindle (for the grand total of 79p so a real bargain to be had there) and at Amazon US Kindle.
I've also been interviewed at the 1 Place for Romance blog - so thank you, Valerie & Jay, for arranging that, and I hope you enjoy the read.
And I have some very thrilling news about a hugely talented writing friend of mine, Sarah Ann Watts - Sarah's first stand-alone title, Heart of The Kingdom, is published today and I already have my copy which I can't wait to read, so hurry along and buy this story, and many congratulations, Sarah.
The Sunday haiku is:
Hyacinth petals
soften this vanilla air:
promises of spring.
Life News:
House news is moving along, thank the Lord, though still way too slow for me. We've decided not to worry about selling the flat and simply to concentrate on getting out to somewhere new as soon as we can. With that in mind, we made an offer on a house we liked in Bisley, though that's been rejected. But, at the same time, another house we really like in Mayford may be coming down in price very soon, according to the agent (though as they're all lying toads really, who can tell, eh?...), so we've made an offer on that instead. No response on that one as yet, so I assume they'll deign to ring us up next week to give us an update. If that's a no-go zone, then there's actually yet another house on the outskirts of Guildford that's just come on as well so we may well go and view that and see if we prefer it if nothing else useful happens by Wednesday.
Whilst all that is going on, we did have a second viewing of our flat on Friday - where they appear to have moved everything they could think of to move, including the fridge and washing machine, in order to find out our guilty secrets (which I do think is a bit much for people who haven't put in any kind of offer yet, but there you go ...), but I assume they somehow missed where we've buried the bodies, as there's been no sign of the police as yet. Hey ho.
Nice things that have happened include our trip to Wisley today to see the exotic butterflies in the Glasshouse - this is definitely well worth doing so if you're in the area before the end of February then do go along if you can. I'm sure there's a wider variety of butterflies this year than before too, which is grand. There's also been a recurrent visit of a very fat green woodpecker in the garden and the sudden appearance of snowdrops, both of which have cheered me somewhat.
Mind you, I needed cheering as the new Alan Ayckbourn play at the Guildford Theatre on Thursday was a huge disappointment. Long-winded and dull, The Life of Riley is definitely not one I'd recommend, though the unfortunate actors tackle a very thin script with great courage, I think. Sigh. Perhaps the Great Man really does need to take a break?
This morning, after a good week to ten days when frankly the concept of God has been way too much for me, I did manage to get to church. Which was okay, as long as I didn't think about it too much. The hymns were nice. At the moment anything involving more than the occasional and desperate prayer is out of bounds really, and bible reading has fallen by the wayside (ha!), hence the lack of meditation poems, in case anyone had missed them. I'm not sure I'll be able to get back to them next week either, so the exercise bike (where I do my bible reading and start off the poems, oddly enough) has never had such an easy life. We'll see how it goes, or rather how it doesn't.
Last night, we did have a lovely time having dinner at Marian's though, which was grand. It was great to catch up properly, and she certainly makes a top class custard, which always does it for me. There's something about custard which somehow makes everything worthwhile.
Anne Brooke
Thursday, February 03, 2011
A Woman like the Sea
Book News:
I'm happy to announce that my literary lesbian romance story, A Woman like the Sea, is published today and available at Untreed Reads (at a 25% discount), and at All Romance Ebooks, amongst other outlets. I'm also pleased to say that you can find all my Untreed Read books at discount prices at 1 Place for Romance bookshop - enjoy!
Other book news is that The Girl in the Painting was the 3rd highest bestseller at Untreed Reads during January, so that was a boost at the end of what has been a rather difficult month. Many thanks to those of you who've bought that one. And, in a brief (very brief) blaze of late glory, Pink Champagne and Apple Juice found itself at No 83 in the Amazon UK Kindle charts, well gosh.
Meanwhile, at Vulpes Libris, we have not been slack; on Monday, Moira was in conversation with Tim Bentinck who plays David Archer in The Archers, and today, you can take a closer look at my nasty and nice sides (ha!) in my review of Philippa Gregory's The Other Queen. Suffice it to say I was not greatly impressed with that one ...
Life News:
Life's still not that good, really, to be honest. Am feeling rather debilitated, to say the least, by last week's meltdown, but am busy taking a regular supply of happy pills in all shapes and sizes in order to attempt to keep things on some kind of even keel. Double ha, eh. If you shake me, I'll rattle.
Mind you, K and I were rather amused (after being really quite angry) with yesterday's estate agent who booked us in for three viewings of properties today when we'd only asked for one. We weren't interested in the other two, but the wretched man booked us for them without being asked. When he rang back to tell us, K sacked him on the spot and said we wouldn't bother viewing the one we actually wanted to see unless someone else from the agency escorted us round, and then put the phone down. That'll show 'em, eh. Sure enough five minutes later, another agent from the same firm rang up, apologised profusely and said he'd be showing us round said house, instead of the pushy agent. Fair enough, though I did rather worry that when we turned up this afternoon, he might actually have signed the contract for us and we'd be moving in tomorrow. It did give me some considerable pleasure that we didn't like the house anyway. Triple ha!
In any case, we have actually seen a house we like very much in Bisley though, which is hopeful, especially as we can afford it without having to sell this place, so that gives me much hope that I'll be able to leave the pesky flat and Godalming before I do indeed run mad. That said, we have a second viewing here tomorrow, so I think we'd like to see if that results in someone making an offer for our flat before we make any final decisions. Though I don't want to miss out on anything good ...
I'm also very excited by the advent of this England & Wales crime statistics site, where you can have great fun finding out where all the crime is, and where the dubious and not-so-dubious parts of your town are. All very jolly, and an excellent tool for house-hunting. I'm pleased to report there is absolutely no crime in our street so this flat is even more desirable as a purchase for someone indeed.
Other cheery news which put a more Schadenfreude-shaped smile on my face today was that earlier in the week the downstairs neighbours accidentally smoked out the nasty middle neighbours when they put their fire on, as the chimney was faulty, and said middle neighbours had to turn up and spend several hours cleaning up. My, how I laughed. I apologise for the huge meanness of this paragraph, but that's how I feel about things right now. I have good reason, but sorry. I used to be so nice when I was younger too. Ah well.
Last night, K and I were glued to the television watching the last ever episode of Midsomer Murders with Tom and Joyce Barnaby in it. A good farewell to a great series, I thought, though I will miss Tom and Joyce and the body count they inspired, sob. However, I'm pleased to see that Neil Dudgeon will be taking over the police office role as cousin John Barnaby, so I look forward to more Midsomer madness in the future, hurrah.
Finally, a big hello to Jane H whom I met for coffee in Godalming today, or rather hot chocolate with cream and marshmallows, if I'm honest - but we had the semi-skimmed milk so it was the healthy option, ho ho. Lovely to catch up with all the news and, really, we must do it again soon.
Anne Brooke
I'm happy to announce that my literary lesbian romance story, A Woman like the Sea, is published today and available at Untreed Reads (at a 25% discount), and at All Romance Ebooks, amongst other outlets. I'm also pleased to say that you can find all my Untreed Read books at discount prices at 1 Place for Romance bookshop - enjoy!
Other book news is that The Girl in the Painting was the 3rd highest bestseller at Untreed Reads during January, so that was a boost at the end of what has been a rather difficult month. Many thanks to those of you who've bought that one. And, in a brief (very brief) blaze of late glory, Pink Champagne and Apple Juice found itself at No 83 in the Amazon UK Kindle charts, well gosh.
Meanwhile, at Vulpes Libris, we have not been slack; on Monday, Moira was in conversation with Tim Bentinck who plays David Archer in The Archers, and today, you can take a closer look at my nasty and nice sides (ha!) in my review of Philippa Gregory's The Other Queen. Suffice it to say I was not greatly impressed with that one ...
Life News:
Life's still not that good, really, to be honest. Am feeling rather debilitated, to say the least, by last week's meltdown, but am busy taking a regular supply of happy pills in all shapes and sizes in order to attempt to keep things on some kind of even keel. Double ha, eh. If you shake me, I'll rattle.
Mind you, K and I were rather amused (after being really quite angry) with yesterday's estate agent who booked us in for three viewings of properties today when we'd only asked for one. We weren't interested in the other two, but the wretched man booked us for them without being asked. When he rang back to tell us, K sacked him on the spot and said we wouldn't bother viewing the one we actually wanted to see unless someone else from the agency escorted us round, and then put the phone down. That'll show 'em, eh. Sure enough five minutes later, another agent from the same firm rang up, apologised profusely and said he'd be showing us round said house, instead of the pushy agent. Fair enough, though I did rather worry that when we turned up this afternoon, he might actually have signed the contract for us and we'd be moving in tomorrow. It did give me some considerable pleasure that we didn't like the house anyway. Triple ha!
In any case, we have actually seen a house we like very much in Bisley though, which is hopeful, especially as we can afford it without having to sell this place, so that gives me much hope that I'll be able to leave the pesky flat and Godalming before I do indeed run mad. That said, we have a second viewing here tomorrow, so I think we'd like to see if that results in someone making an offer for our flat before we make any final decisions. Though I don't want to miss out on anything good ...
I'm also very excited by the advent of this England & Wales crime statistics site, where you can have great fun finding out where all the crime is, and where the dubious and not-so-dubious parts of your town are. All very jolly, and an excellent tool for house-hunting. I'm pleased to report there is absolutely no crime in our street so this flat is even more desirable as a purchase for someone indeed.
Other cheery news which put a more Schadenfreude-shaped smile on my face today was that earlier in the week the downstairs neighbours accidentally smoked out the nasty middle neighbours when they put their fire on, as the chimney was faulty, and said middle neighbours had to turn up and spend several hours cleaning up. My, how I laughed. I apologise for the huge meanness of this paragraph, but that's how I feel about things right now. I have good reason, but sorry. I used to be so nice when I was younger too. Ah well.
Last night, K and I were glued to the television watching the last ever episode of Midsomer Murders with Tom and Joyce Barnaby in it. A good farewell to a great series, I thought, though I will miss Tom and Joyce and the body count they inspired, sob. However, I'm pleased to see that Neil Dudgeon will be taking over the police office role as cousin John Barnaby, so I look forward to more Midsomer madness in the future, hurrah.
Finally, a big hello to Jane H whom I met for coffee in Godalming today, or rather hot chocolate with cream and marshmallows, if I'm honest - but we had the semi-skimmed milk so it was the healthy option, ho ho. Lovely to catch up with all the news and, really, we must do it again soon.
Anne Brooke
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Strippers and stars
I'm going easy on any non-writing life news at the moment as it's not very pleasant and I don't really want to rehash it. Sorry. Book news is better though, phew!
I'm pleased to say that A Dangerous Man gained a 5-star review at Michelenjeff Reviews, so a big thank you to Lisa for that. At the same time Two Christmases was lucky enough to get a 5-star review at Goodreads, courtesy of Edina Rose - for which thank you.
In the meantime, as part of the Birthday Celebrations at Untreed Reads, all my titles there are being offered at 25% discount from now and throughout February and, as an extra special treat because it was their first ever title and I was their first ever author, How to Eat Fruit is being offered for free - enjoy! And Happy Book & Publisher Birthday to us all. What are you waiting for indeed?...
Slowly coming online across ebook sellers is Brady's Choice, which can now be found at All Romance Ebooks - and it looks as if people are actually buying it there too, which is nice. Thank you.
Upcoming this week is my literary lesbian romance, A Woman like the Sea, which now has its own webpage where you can also read an extract. I'm very happy indeed that this one will be the first of the new Candlelight line for literary romance stories at Untreed Reads - so thank you for that, Jay. It's great to be another First for you.
I've also, in the midst of it all, been attempting to do some actual writing (well, gosh!) and have now broken the 100,000 word barrier of The Executioner's Cane, and broken the 2000 word barrier of the third in the Delaneys series, The Art of the Delaneys. Double gosh, eh. It's keeping my mind off other stuff nicely, that's for sure.
Out, briefly, in the wider world beyond my own head, I'm happy to see that Ereaders have at last reached the Booker Prize judges and that, at Amazon US, Ebooks are now outselling paperbacks - this certainly tallies with my royalty statements recently, where ebooks have taken off in a big way (hurrah, and thank you to those of you who buy them!) and are outselling my paperbacks by far.
Next week, you can see the delights in store for you at Vulpes Libris which includes an interview with Tim Bentinck who plays David Archer in The Archers, Chinese New Year and alternative realities, so never say we don't push the boat out for you, on all fronts.
Oh, and K and I saw an utterly fabulous gem of a play at The Mill Theatre in Guildford last night - Stripped, and the amazing Hannah Chalmers who plays all the roles with style and pizzazz, are definitely both forces to be reckoned with. If she and the play comes your way, don't miss it - it's only an hour long but it's pure genius.
The Sunday Haiku is, interestingly, being seen by readers so far as marvellously positive, whereas for me it's entirely negative, as the week's been so bad. Which just goes to show you never know what it is you're actually writing. Here it is:
Somehow the week stopped
and I was left floating free
in an empty room.
Anne Brooke
I'm pleased to say that A Dangerous Man gained a 5-star review at Michelenjeff Reviews, so a big thank you to Lisa for that. At the same time Two Christmases was lucky enough to get a 5-star review at Goodreads, courtesy of Edina Rose - for which thank you.
In the meantime, as part of the Birthday Celebrations at Untreed Reads, all my titles there are being offered at 25% discount from now and throughout February and, as an extra special treat because it was their first ever title and I was their first ever author, How to Eat Fruit is being offered for free - enjoy! And Happy Book & Publisher Birthday to us all. What are you waiting for indeed?...
Slowly coming online across ebook sellers is Brady's Choice, which can now be found at All Romance Ebooks - and it looks as if people are actually buying it there too, which is nice. Thank you.
Upcoming this week is my literary lesbian romance, A Woman like the Sea, which now has its own webpage where you can also read an extract. I'm very happy indeed that this one will be the first of the new Candlelight line for literary romance stories at Untreed Reads - so thank you for that, Jay. It's great to be another First for you.
I've also, in the midst of it all, been attempting to do some actual writing (well, gosh!) and have now broken the 100,000 word barrier of The Executioner's Cane, and broken the 2000 word barrier of the third in the Delaneys series, The Art of the Delaneys. Double gosh, eh. It's keeping my mind off other stuff nicely, that's for sure.
Out, briefly, in the wider world beyond my own head, I'm happy to see that Ereaders have at last reached the Booker Prize judges and that, at Amazon US, Ebooks are now outselling paperbacks - this certainly tallies with my royalty statements recently, where ebooks have taken off in a big way (hurrah, and thank you to those of you who buy them!) and are outselling my paperbacks by far.
Next week, you can see the delights in store for you at Vulpes Libris which includes an interview with Tim Bentinck who plays David Archer in The Archers, Chinese New Year and alternative realities, so never say we don't push the boat out for you, on all fronts.
Oh, and K and I saw an utterly fabulous gem of a play at The Mill Theatre in Guildford last night - Stripped, and the amazing Hannah Chalmers who plays all the roles with style and pizzazz, are definitely both forces to be reckoned with. If she and the play comes your way, don't miss it - it's only an hour long but it's pure genius.
The Sunday Haiku is, interestingly, being seen by readers so far as marvellously positive, whereas for me it's entirely negative, as the week's been so bad. Which just goes to show you never know what it is you're actually writing. Here it is:
Somehow the week stopped
and I was left floating free
in an empty room.
Anne Brooke
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Wolves and Candlelight
Book News:
Much to my delight, Martin and The Wolf is Book of The Week at Queer Magazine Online and also has a very positive review there, so many thanks, Anders & Serena for that - it's much appreciated.
Yesterday, I sent back the final proofs of Entertaining the Delaneys to Amber Allure Press, so am looking forward to publication on 20 February. I'm also happy to announce that my literary lesbian romance, A Woman Like The Sea, will be published in February by Untreed Reads and it will be the first story in their new Candlelight literary romance line - so many thanks, Jay, for that.
This week at Vulpes Libris, I've reviewed Emily Barr's inspired-but-lunatic novel, The Sisterhood, which is a definite Must Read, whilst remaining totally insane. Absolutely one for your lists ...
Meditations so far (and they may be the last for a while, I think) are:
Meditation 489
Sometimes the best answer
is silence
and a deep acknowledgement
of grief.
Meditation 490
Only when things
are really bad
do men turn to the Lord;
how irritating it must be
when things are good
to be constantly ignored.
Life News:
Not a good week, all in all. Am feeling incredibly low and stressed (not a good combination!), and have therefore added in more happy pills so I'm taking one St John's Wort with Passionflower in the morning, 2 Quiet Life pills at tea time and another plain St John's Wort in the evening. Not really sure they're hitting the spot, but hey it's early days yet. Am also not convinced I can take any more without actually going insane, but remain unsure if anyone will notice the difference. Hey ho.
I think it would be a load better if I could just leave the flat, and Godalming, as I hate both with a vengeance all the time at the moment, if I'm being honest. I even hate going out of the flat and coming back into it as it reminds me that I actually live here, more's the pity. So I'm cutting down on having to do that more often than I really need to, which might help. We'll see. Really, the only thing that makes departure and arrival remotely bearable is the terribly rude things I'm chanting about the place and the nasty middle neighbours in the car.
So, alongside all this, I'm desperately trying to dig a tunnel out and have therefore made arrangements to see four houses in Bisley on Saturday that we can actually afford without having to sell this place, but I'm not convinced K is that keen on the smaller house option (though he does like Bisley!) but, again, we'll see. My Plan B, if he doesn't like any of them, is to suggest that we rent somewhere just to get out of (a) the ruddy flat, and (b) ruddy Godalming, and then we can have some space to start afresh, depending on whether we ever sell this place or not. If he doesn't like that idea, I will just have to go completely insane and have done with it. Deep deep sigh and gritted teeth.
Anyway, apart from all that, things are fine and nobody will ever notice the join. Stiff upper lip and all that jazz, eh. However, the slight glimmer of light on the horizon (which no doubt also reveals the presence of an oncoming train I haven't taken into account yet) is that the shoulder is distinctly better and we're going to leave having my final physio appointment for a couple of weeks and see how things go. So I may well be a virtual recluse with a bad attitude (so what's new?...), but physically I'm top class. What joy.
Anne Brooke
Much to my delight, Martin and The Wolf is Book of The Week at Queer Magazine Online and also has a very positive review there, so many thanks, Anders & Serena for that - it's much appreciated.
Yesterday, I sent back the final proofs of Entertaining the Delaneys to Amber Allure Press, so am looking forward to publication on 20 February. I'm also happy to announce that my literary lesbian romance, A Woman Like The Sea, will be published in February by Untreed Reads and it will be the first story in their new Candlelight literary romance line - so many thanks, Jay, for that.
This week at Vulpes Libris, I've reviewed Emily Barr's inspired-but-lunatic novel, The Sisterhood, which is a definite Must Read, whilst remaining totally insane. Absolutely one for your lists ...
Meditations so far (and they may be the last for a while, I think) are:
Meditation 489
Sometimes the best answer
is silence
and a deep acknowledgement
of grief.
Meditation 490
Only when things
are really bad
do men turn to the Lord;
how irritating it must be
when things are good
to be constantly ignored.
Life News:
Not a good week, all in all. Am feeling incredibly low and stressed (not a good combination!), and have therefore added in more happy pills so I'm taking one St John's Wort with Passionflower in the morning, 2 Quiet Life pills at tea time and another plain St John's Wort in the evening. Not really sure they're hitting the spot, but hey it's early days yet. Am also not convinced I can take any more without actually going insane, but remain unsure if anyone will notice the difference. Hey ho.
I think it would be a load better if I could just leave the flat, and Godalming, as I hate both with a vengeance all the time at the moment, if I'm being honest. I even hate going out of the flat and coming back into it as it reminds me that I actually live here, more's the pity. So I'm cutting down on having to do that more often than I really need to, which might help. We'll see. Really, the only thing that makes departure and arrival remotely bearable is the terribly rude things I'm chanting about the place and the nasty middle neighbours in the car.
So, alongside all this, I'm desperately trying to dig a tunnel out and have therefore made arrangements to see four houses in Bisley on Saturday that we can actually afford without having to sell this place, but I'm not convinced K is that keen on the smaller house option (though he does like Bisley!) but, again, we'll see. My Plan B, if he doesn't like any of them, is to suggest that we rent somewhere just to get out of (a) the ruddy flat, and (b) ruddy Godalming, and then we can have some space to start afresh, depending on whether we ever sell this place or not. If he doesn't like that idea, I will just have to go completely insane and have done with it. Deep deep sigh and gritted teeth.
Anyway, apart from all that, things are fine and nobody will ever notice the join. Stiff upper lip and all that jazz, eh. However, the slight glimmer of light on the horizon (which no doubt also reveals the presence of an oncoming train I haven't taken into account yet) is that the shoulder is distinctly better and we're going to leave having my final physio appointment for a couple of weeks and see how things go. So I may well be a virtual recluse with a bad attitude (so what's new?...), but physically I'm top class. What joy.
Anne Brooke
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Mamma Mia and the marvels of Nature
Book News:
I'm delighted to announce that my first short story of 2011 is now published and therefore Brady's Choice is now available at Amber Allure Press at a discount price during the first week. And I do love that cover - it's perfect. Not only that, but today you can win a free copy at Jessewave Reviews and so there's definitely still time to have a go.
Another publication this week, and one I also feel very pleased about, is The Best of Every Day Poets Anthology One, which includes two of my poems and has a lovely cover as well. It's nice to be part of a poetry publication as well as a fictional one, that's for sure - I do enjoy the balance.
Speaking of fiction, I've just started the third story in the Delaneys series, which I'm calling The Art of The Delaneys. It's at the very early stages at the moment, but it's great to be on the way - to somewhere and very very slowly ...
There's one meditation today:
Meditation 488
The bronze snake waits
to be broken
and its spirit released
to whisper
in the ears of men
its ancient story again.
And the Sunday haiku is:
May I always dwell
in that deep silence before
the music begins.
Life News:
Today I am still in recovery from spending the day in London with Mother yesterday and will no doubt continue to be in recovery for several more days to come - in the end it was actually surprisingly enjoyable but as always very full-on and insanely intensive. Much like being put through a mangle at very fast speeds over and over again. Hmm, does that description actually fit me? Very possibly ... K is keeping sensibly quiet. Anyway, my eyes are now permanently wide and my hair standing on end - or would be if brushes and exhaustion hadn't been invented. During the day, Mother and I managed to do battle with the Tube which failed constantly to understand the validity of tickets from Essex, we shopped in John Lewis (I spent her vouchers on things for me but gave her the money for them as even I am not that mean!), had lunch in the National Gallery cafe, wandered round the National Gallery and had the best seats in the house for the very wonderful Mamma Mia at the Prince of Wales Theatre. So I think I'm safe in saying she thoroughly enjoyed her 80th birthday Mother-and-Daughter experience. I may even have those elusive Daughter Points, at least for a while ... You never know. Roll on the 90th is what I say, hey ho ... The utterly fabulous thing however was when I finally returned, bloodied and fairly bowed, to Guildford Station, K was waiting for me at the exit carrying a huge bunch of flowers and a hip-flask of almost pure gin. How I needed both! K's first words of greeting: was she still alive when you put her on the train?... Anyway, I drained the gin before we'd got fully out of the station concourse and had another large one (as it were) the moment I took my coat off at home. What a super-hero indeed.
Sad to say though, K is at work today sorting out the IT system ready for tomorrow so a super-hero's work is never done, really. In his absence, I attempted to go to church and be holy, but it was obviously not in the universal plan as the car wouldn't start, so I had to ring the RAC man to come and sort it out. Which they did very efficiently, I must say, but not in time for me to be holy. When I explained this to K when he rang from work, he asked if I wanted to confess my sins to him instead, but I fear he doesn't have enough time in his working day to hear them, alas. Not if he wants to mend the IT system as well.
The great news of the day and my definitive grand finale is that our silver birch sapling now has six twigs and three buds on it. Spring must be well on the way to being sprung at last, hurrah. Nature is indeed a marvellous thing.
Anne Brooke
I'm delighted to announce that my first short story of 2011 is now published and therefore Brady's Choice is now available at Amber Allure Press at a discount price during the first week. And I do love that cover - it's perfect. Not only that, but today you can win a free copy at Jessewave Reviews and so there's definitely still time to have a go.Another publication this week, and one I also feel very pleased about, is The Best of Every Day Poets Anthology One, which includes two of my poems and has a lovely cover as well. It's nice to be part of a poetry publication as well as a fictional one, that's for sure - I do enjoy the balance.Speaking of fiction, I've just started the third story in the Delaneys series, which I'm calling The Art of The Delaneys. It's at the very early stages at the moment, but it's great to be on the way - to somewhere and very very slowly ...
There's one meditation today:
Meditation 488
The bronze snake waits
to be broken
and its spirit released
to whisper
in the ears of men
its ancient story again.
And the Sunday haiku is:
May I always dwell
in that deep silence before
the music begins.
Life News:
Today I am still in recovery from spending the day in London with Mother yesterday and will no doubt continue to be in recovery for several more days to come - in the end it was actually surprisingly enjoyable but as always very full-on and insanely intensive. Much like being put through a mangle at very fast speeds over and over again. Hmm, does that description actually fit me? Very possibly ... K is keeping sensibly quiet. Anyway, my eyes are now permanently wide and my hair standing on end - or would be if brushes and exhaustion hadn't been invented. During the day, Mother and I managed to do battle with the Tube which failed constantly to understand the validity of tickets from Essex, we shopped in John Lewis (I spent her vouchers on things for me but gave her the money for them as even I am not that mean!), had lunch in the National Gallery cafe, wandered round the National Gallery and had the best seats in the house for the very wonderful Mamma Mia at the Prince of Wales Theatre. So I think I'm safe in saying she thoroughly enjoyed her 80th birthday Mother-and-Daughter experience. I may even have those elusive Daughter Points, at least for a while ... You never know. Roll on the 90th is what I say, hey ho ... The utterly fabulous thing however was when I finally returned, bloodied and fairly bowed, to Guildford Station, K was waiting for me at the exit carrying a huge bunch of flowers and a hip-flask of almost pure gin. How I needed both! K's first words of greeting: was she still alive when you put her on the train?... Anyway, I drained the gin before we'd got fully out of the station concourse and had another large one (as it were) the moment I took my coat off at home. What a super-hero indeed.
Sad to say though, K is at work today sorting out the IT system ready for tomorrow so a super-hero's work is never done, really. In his absence, I attempted to go to church and be holy, but it was obviously not in the universal plan as the car wouldn't start, so I had to ring the RAC man to come and sort it out. Which they did very efficiently, I must say, but not in time for me to be holy. When I explained this to K when he rang from work, he asked if I wanted to confess my sins to him instead, but I fear he doesn't have enough time in his working day to hear them, alas. Not if he wants to mend the IT system as well.
The great news of the day and my definitive grand finale is that our silver birch sapling now has six twigs and three buds on it. Spring must be well on the way to being sprung at last, hurrah. Nature is indeed a marvellous thing.
Anne Brooke
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Fame and physio
Book News:
A Dangerous Man gained a 4-star review at Goodreads so many thanks, Tizi, for that. You can also now listen to the radio review of A Dangerous Man at Venture Radio UK - the recording is towards the top of the page, so I hope you enjoy the listen!
Much to my delight, The Bones of Summer rose rapidly up and found itself at Number 2 in the Amazon UK gay & lesbian charts, so that was very heartening really.
And at Vulpes Libris you can find my review of Graham Sclater's We're Gonna Be Famous, a lively and enjoyable children's book which shows beyond all doubt that music really can save a life.
Meditations today are:
Meditation 486
The object you love
is the object
you become:
a fine truth,
if it weren’t the same
for the object you hate.
Meditation 487
The gods of each land
may be silent
but they still remain
whispering in the leaves
or basking in the sunlight
of a lion’s roar.
Life News:
I was up in London last night having drinks and a really wonderful curry with Jane W, so it was great to catch up after Christmas and New Year. But, my goodness, the Big City was rather busy, or at least the train back certainly was - I had to stand all the way to Woking, which was highly unusual. Don't these people have homes to go to?...
This morning, I've popped in to see my former neighbour also now in Woking (all roads do indeed lead to that vast metropolis of culture this week), and we had a good chat about all the other neighbours (as you do), travel and tea. The ideal combination indeed.
And the physio's going well. I can now do everything with my arm (hurrah!) though it does ache fairly continuously at a relatively low level so it's bearable enough. Only two more sessions to go, and we'll see how it is then. That Helen is a miracle worker indeed.
Anne Brooke
A Dangerous Man gained a 4-star review at Goodreads so many thanks, Tizi, for that. You can also now listen to the radio review of A Dangerous Man at Venture Radio UK - the recording is towards the top of the page, so I hope you enjoy the listen!
Much to my delight, The Bones of Summer rose rapidly up and found itself at Number 2 in the Amazon UK gay & lesbian charts, so that was very heartening really.
And at Vulpes Libris you can find my review of Graham Sclater's We're Gonna Be Famous, a lively and enjoyable children's book which shows beyond all doubt that music really can save a life.
Meditations today are:
Meditation 486
The object you love
is the object
you become:
a fine truth,
if it weren’t the same
for the object you hate.
Meditation 487
The gods of each land
may be silent
but they still remain
whispering in the leaves
or basking in the sunlight
of a lion’s roar.
Life News:
I was up in London last night having drinks and a really wonderful curry with Jane W, so it was great to catch up after Christmas and New Year. But, my goodness, the Big City was rather busy, or at least the train back certainly was - I had to stand all the way to Woking, which was highly unusual. Don't these people have homes to go to?...
This morning, I've popped in to see my former neighbour also now in Woking (all roads do indeed lead to that vast metropolis of culture this week), and we had a good chat about all the other neighbours (as you do), travel and tea. The ideal combination indeed.
And the physio's going well. I can now do everything with my arm (hurrah!) though it does ache fairly continuously at a relatively low level so it's bearable enough. Only two more sessions to go, and we'll see how it is then. That Helen is a miracle worker indeed.
Anne Brooke
Sunday, January 16, 2011
House hunting can be murder ...
Book News:
I'm happy to say that A Dangerous Man received a 5-star review at Goodreads - many thanks for the comments, Lucy. And I'm also about to fax back the contract for A Woman Like the Sea to Untreed Reads, so I'm looking forward to that one being published next month.
My most recent meditation is:
Meditation 485
Best to keep silent
and pay
before the danger
of words
brings you to the dark
where all you can do
is pray.
And there are two Sunday haikus this week:
Pale lily flower,
how you delight in the warmth
of the mighty sun.
All ladders should be
pale pink with hints of glitter
climbing to the stars.
Life News:
Marian and I managed to get in some practice on the golf range on Friday as rain stopped proper play - but it was good to see how my arm coped with thirty minutes of swinging (as it were). Answer: pretty okay really, though it ached slightly afterwards for a while. Still, it looks hopeful for getting out next Friday and actually playing a game, weather dependent, and all the more so as in an actual game I'm not using the arm as constantly as I was on the range.
Yesterday, K and I viewed some more houses, but weren't terribly impressed with the gardens, all in all. We also drove past (several times) a really nice one that we hadn't arranged a viewing for and where the garden was lovely - so on getting home, I was all set to contact the estate agent, but luckily K did a Google search on it to find out some more, as he is inclined (thankfully!) to do, and we discovered that two years ago, the house-owner murdered his live-in girlfriend for having an affair with her boss, and then set fire to the house in order to cover up his tracks, whilst leading their two children to safety. Goodness me, but it's scary here in the shires - and no, I do not want to live in a house where that's happened so recently, call me a wimp but there it is! So my phone call to the agent was never made and certainly won't be now, garden or no garden.
Yesterday evening, we had a lovely dinner and catch-up with Liz & friends, and talked for ages, resulting in us not getting home until gone 2am. So my plans for church today have been thwarted by the need for a lie-in and a lazy day, which I am thoroughly enjoying. There's Primeval and QI from yesterday's TV to catch up on too, plus Larkrise and Zen tonight - this is the life, you know ...
Anne Brooke
I'm happy to say that A Dangerous Man received a 5-star review at Goodreads - many thanks for the comments, Lucy. And I'm also about to fax back the contract for A Woman Like the Sea to Untreed Reads, so I'm looking forward to that one being published next month.
My most recent meditation is:
Meditation 485
Best to keep silent
and pay
before the danger
of words
brings you to the dark
where all you can do
is pray.
And there are two Sunday haikus this week:
Pale lily flower,
how you delight in the warmth
of the mighty sun.
All ladders should be
pale pink with hints of glitter
climbing to the stars.
Life News:
Marian and I managed to get in some practice on the golf range on Friday as rain stopped proper play - but it was good to see how my arm coped with thirty minutes of swinging (as it were). Answer: pretty okay really, though it ached slightly afterwards for a while. Still, it looks hopeful for getting out next Friday and actually playing a game, weather dependent, and all the more so as in an actual game I'm not using the arm as constantly as I was on the range.
Yesterday, K and I viewed some more houses, but weren't terribly impressed with the gardens, all in all. We also drove past (several times) a really nice one that we hadn't arranged a viewing for and where the garden was lovely - so on getting home, I was all set to contact the estate agent, but luckily K did a Google search on it to find out some more, as he is inclined (thankfully!) to do, and we discovered that two years ago, the house-owner murdered his live-in girlfriend for having an affair with her boss, and then set fire to the house in order to cover up his tracks, whilst leading their two children to safety. Goodness me, but it's scary here in the shires - and no, I do not want to live in a house where that's happened so recently, call me a wimp but there it is! So my phone call to the agent was never made and certainly won't be now, garden or no garden.
Yesterday evening, we had a lovely dinner and catch-up with Liz & friends, and talked for ages, resulting in us not getting home until gone 2am. So my plans for church today have been thwarted by the need for a lie-in and a lazy day, which I am thoroughly enjoying. There's Primeval and QI from yesterday's TV to catch up on too, plus Larkrise and Zen tonight - this is the life, you know ...
Anne Brooke
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Radio fame and a riot of reviews
Book News:
I was bowled over last night with a review of A Dangerous Man which was broadcast on Venture Radio UK as part of their John Peters Show, which has a monthly book review slot. Honestly I was sobbing with delight whilst huddled with K round my computer listening in. Never say I'm not professional, eh ... Ho ho. Really it's almost like being a proper writer. Anyway, huge thanks to the lovely Graham Sclater who was kind enough to give the book such a positive review - many thanks indeed, Graham! I'm told that I'll get the link to the review over the next couple of weeks or thereabouts so will post it here when I can. Gosh indeedy.
Other news on A Dangerous Man is that it's gained a 4-star review at Goodreads (thank you, Erin) and in addition shortened versions of both Erin's and Graham's reviews can be found at the Amazon Kindle entry.
Not to be outdone, The Delaneys and Me gained a 5-star review at Goodreads, so thank you, Sidney, for your comments.
Meanwhile, I'm carrying on with The Executioner's Cane and have, much to my surprise, found a new plot twist which I think will help carry me through to the end. Here's hoping anyhow. And I've sent back the final galley proofs for Brady's Choice to Amber Allure Press, and the first edits for Rosie By Name to Bluewood Publishing, so I'm keeping busy, hurrah. We don't like any slacking here in the shires. So much so that I've spent some time fighting womanfully with the computer and attempting to reorganise the website listing of my GLBT Stories into some kind of order and I hope it lasts for a while. Because goodness me but that was a late night ...
Today at Vulpes Libris, you can find my review of E Lynn Harris' In My Father's House, in which I do battle with the Beautiful People and live to tell the tale - possibly ...
Meditations so far this week are:
Meditation 482
Men plot and plan,
lay siege to cities,
imprison and kill
whilst women wait
silently in the shadows,
enduring war still.
Meditation 483
When all is finished
amongst the dead,
a whisper of hope
remains as shadow,
unsaid.
Meditation 484
All the silver and gold
in the land
cannot wipe away
the blood and shadows
staining the earth
and for him
there is no road
to rebirth.
Life News:
I have a life? Who'd have thought it ... Anyway, it was the first complete week of work after Christmas this week and I think I survived well enough, hurrah. Actually it is nice to get back into a routine - there's safety in structure, don't you know. And I think we're reaching slowly towards the final few of my physio sessions to get my arm back to full and functioning form (hmm, nice alliteration there, methinks ...). It's been aching more in general this week, which is probably due to getting back to work properly, but nothing too bad, thank goodness. It will be interesting to see how it is if I get to play golf tomorrow - that will be a real test for sure.
The marvellous news of the week though is that Ruth at work got her Accountancy exam results back and got 68%, well gosh and yes we all knew she would do well even though she wasn't confident! I am so pleased about it that I spent several minutes screaming with joy at the email which she kindly sent me today, and then just had to ring her up at work and do some more screaming. All rather startling for the neighbours, and certainly for Ruth. But huge congratulations anyway. It's a fabulous achievement.
Anne Brooke
I was bowled over last night with a review of A Dangerous Man which was broadcast on Venture Radio UK as part of their John Peters Show, which has a monthly book review slot. Honestly I was sobbing with delight whilst huddled with K round my computer listening in. Never say I'm not professional, eh ... Ho ho. Really it's almost like being a proper writer. Anyway, huge thanks to the lovely Graham Sclater who was kind enough to give the book such a positive review - many thanks indeed, Graham! I'm told that I'll get the link to the review over the next couple of weeks or thereabouts so will post it here when I can. Gosh indeedy.
Other news on A Dangerous Man is that it's gained a 4-star review at Goodreads (thank you, Erin) and in addition shortened versions of both Erin's and Graham's reviews can be found at the Amazon Kindle entry.
Not to be outdone, The Delaneys and Me gained a 5-star review at Goodreads, so thank you, Sidney, for your comments.
Meanwhile, I'm carrying on with The Executioner's Cane and have, much to my surprise, found a new plot twist which I think will help carry me through to the end. Here's hoping anyhow. And I've sent back the final galley proofs for Brady's Choice to Amber Allure Press, and the first edits for Rosie By Name to Bluewood Publishing, so I'm keeping busy, hurrah. We don't like any slacking here in the shires. So much so that I've spent some time fighting womanfully with the computer and attempting to reorganise the website listing of my GLBT Stories into some kind of order and I hope it lasts for a while. Because goodness me but that was a late night ...
Today at Vulpes Libris, you can find my review of E Lynn Harris' In My Father's House, in which I do battle with the Beautiful People and live to tell the tale - possibly ...
Meditations so far this week are:
Meditation 482
Men plot and plan,
lay siege to cities,
imprison and kill
whilst women wait
silently in the shadows,
enduring war still.
Meditation 483
When all is finished
amongst the dead,
a whisper of hope
remains as shadow,
unsaid.
Meditation 484
All the silver and gold
in the land
cannot wipe away
the blood and shadows
staining the earth
and for him
there is no road
to rebirth.
Life News:
I have a life? Who'd have thought it ... Anyway, it was the first complete week of work after Christmas this week and I think I survived well enough, hurrah. Actually it is nice to get back into a routine - there's safety in structure, don't you know. And I think we're reaching slowly towards the final few of my physio sessions to get my arm back to full and functioning form (hmm, nice alliteration there, methinks ...). It's been aching more in general this week, which is probably due to getting back to work properly, but nothing too bad, thank goodness. It will be interesting to see how it is if I get to play golf tomorrow - that will be a real test for sure.
The marvellous news of the week though is that Ruth at work got her Accountancy exam results back and got 68%, well gosh and yes we all knew she would do well even though she wasn't confident! I am so pleased about it that I spent several minutes screaming with joy at the email which she kindly sent me today, and then just had to ring her up at work and do some more screaming. All rather startling for the neighbours, and certainly for Ruth. But huge congratulations anyway. It's a fabulous achievement.
Anne Brooke
Sunday, January 09, 2011
Candles, quakers and lesbian romance
Book News:
I'm really pleased to say that A Dangerous Man gained a lovely 5-star review at Goodreads, so many thanks for that, Lisa. I was particularly touched by the comment at the end that:
"A Dangerous Man is a taut psychological thriller that one doesn’t necessarily consume as much as savor. It is too rich and satisfying to finish quickly."
That certainly made me smile. In the meantime, Creative Accountancy for Beginners briefly appeared at No 57 in the Amazon UK Kindle charts, so that was a nice boost too. And, after a month away from it, I have written an extra 2000 words of The Executioner's Cane - and my goodness what a horrendous struggle the first thousand words were. Like climbing a mountain with no oxygen mask and a broken leg. Though why a mountain would need an oxygen mask or indeed legs is anyone's guess, ho ho. Not a pleasant experience then ... Anyway, I'm not sure how good those newly written sections are but at least I have some glimmer of a notion as to where it's all going and as to how Annyeke and Simon might possibly make it all come right. I think the Great Library of Gathandria might even have a part to play, but at this stage nothing's set in stone.
I'm also thrilled to say that Untreed Reads has accepted my literary lesbian romance, A Woman Like The Sea, for publication early this year, so I'm very happy indeed about that. Strangely, it's a story that started out, a few years back, as a heterosexual story but there was something not quite right about it, I couldn't make it work and I've been dissatisfied with it ever since. Last month I looked at it again and thought maybe it would be a lot better, and certainly a lot crisper, if my lead character was a woman. I started rewriting it in that way and the whole thing came together in my head. Ah how astonishing it is when that happens with a story, especially one I feel I've been failing at for so long. Miracles do indeed occur! It's interesting too how I get more responses to announcements about my literary lesbian fiction than I do about all my other fiction put together - perhaps that's the way to go then? ... Certainly, at the moment anyway, I have a few ideas about a lesbian detective story once the Gathandrian Trilogy is finally completed (ye gods, will there ever be such a time?? Seems like a distant mirage, you know!), but we'll see.
Back at Vulpes Libris, you can see what's coming up this week, a mix that includes some interesting confessions, dating for book lovers, and the Beautiful People, so it'll be well worth a visit during your week - promise!
This post's meditations are:
Meditation 480
The feel of silver
between the fingers,
the glitter, the fizz
of it as it slides
seductive as sin
over the skin.
What you could do
with it, the men
you could manipulate,
the history you could change.
Meditation 481
A muddle of names,
dates and facts
bamboozles my memory.
I only hope
God is keeping count
somehow.
The Sunday haiku is:
In this quiet night
stars are messengers of time
and bright memory.
Life News:
I've had a happy dentist experience (hurrah!) when I went to get a filling done on Friday morning, as the usual receptionist and dentist were there, and they're just lovely, so made me feel human again, thank you both! I actually had a very enjoyable time - which is strange to say when you're getting a filling done, for sure - and my teeth are now perfect, hurrah. However, I missed the marvellous Margaret who also makes it all worthwhile but who wasn't working that day, alas, and will have to catch up properly next time. With or without a mouth full of dental implements ...
Yesterday, K and I had lunch at Secretts restaurant in Godalming, which was great and we then wandered around looking at plants. I bought a poinsettia and some extra treats for the orchid, eg orchid food spray and some nice-looking butterfly clips for its stem. Hmm, how girly I am today - is it the lack of drugs? .... However we couldn't find any Yankee Candles, which I was really wanting, but we popped in to another garden centre in Woking and I now have the four candles (or fork handles, though I suspect you have to be British to get that classic and glorious comedy reference ...) I was looking for, hurrah.
This morning, I've had a very enjoyable time being quiet with the Quakers in Godalming. It's a couple of years since I've been but there's something about it that keeps drawing me back, now and then. I think this year I'm going to try to go more often, maybe once a month or so. Talking with the rest of them afterwards was good too - something I thought I'd never say, seeing how much I hate the post-service coffee zone, but actually the conversation was interesting and meant something and wasn't the usual remarks about the weather or traffic that people seem to stay with. On the other hand, perhaps I was simply in the mood to listen more, rather than being stressed out by the concept of socialising - now there's a thought.
Mind you, the obstacles that arose during my attempts to get to the Meeting at all were fun, um not - my face powder somehow managed to explode all over the sink and bathroom tiles, and I had to get the bathroom cleaner out to make it look normal again. Then when I reached the car, running slightly late, someone had broken my wing mirror so I had to go back to the flat to get K's car keys and take his instead. Ah the joys of Sunday morning, eh. Still, K has mended the wing mirror now (what a hero!) and I'll pick up some more face powder during the week, so all is not entirely doom and gloom in the shires. Gosh, how calm I sound - must the be Quakers' influence - or have I been swopped for a nice, cheery alien? Who can tell ...
Anne Brooke
I'm really pleased to say that A Dangerous Man gained a lovely 5-star review at Goodreads, so many thanks for that, Lisa. I was particularly touched by the comment at the end that:
"A Dangerous Man is a taut psychological thriller that one doesn’t necessarily consume as much as savor. It is too rich and satisfying to finish quickly."
That certainly made me smile. In the meantime, Creative Accountancy for Beginners briefly appeared at No 57 in the Amazon UK Kindle charts, so that was a nice boost too. And, after a month away from it, I have written an extra 2000 words of The Executioner's Cane - and my goodness what a horrendous struggle the first thousand words were. Like climbing a mountain with no oxygen mask and a broken leg. Though why a mountain would need an oxygen mask or indeed legs is anyone's guess, ho ho. Not a pleasant experience then ... Anyway, I'm not sure how good those newly written sections are but at least I have some glimmer of a notion as to where it's all going and as to how Annyeke and Simon might possibly make it all come right. I think the Great Library of Gathandria might even have a part to play, but at this stage nothing's set in stone.
I'm also thrilled to say that Untreed Reads has accepted my literary lesbian romance, A Woman Like The Sea, for publication early this year, so I'm very happy indeed about that. Strangely, it's a story that started out, a few years back, as a heterosexual story but there was something not quite right about it, I couldn't make it work and I've been dissatisfied with it ever since. Last month I looked at it again and thought maybe it would be a lot better, and certainly a lot crisper, if my lead character was a woman. I started rewriting it in that way and the whole thing came together in my head. Ah how astonishing it is when that happens with a story, especially one I feel I've been failing at for so long. Miracles do indeed occur! It's interesting too how I get more responses to announcements about my literary lesbian fiction than I do about all my other fiction put together - perhaps that's the way to go then? ... Certainly, at the moment anyway, I have a few ideas about a lesbian detective story once the Gathandrian Trilogy is finally completed (ye gods, will there ever be such a time?? Seems like a distant mirage, you know!), but we'll see.
Back at Vulpes Libris, you can see what's coming up this week, a mix that includes some interesting confessions, dating for book lovers, and the Beautiful People, so it'll be well worth a visit during your week - promise!
This post's meditations are:
Meditation 480
The feel of silver
between the fingers,
the glitter, the fizz
of it as it slides
seductive as sin
over the skin.
What you could do
with it, the men
you could manipulate,
the history you could change.
Meditation 481
A muddle of names,
dates and facts
bamboozles my memory.
I only hope
God is keeping count
somehow.
The Sunday haiku is:
In this quiet night
stars are messengers of time
and bright memory.
Life News:
I've had a happy dentist experience (hurrah!) when I went to get a filling done on Friday morning, as the usual receptionist and dentist were there, and they're just lovely, so made me feel human again, thank you both! I actually had a very enjoyable time - which is strange to say when you're getting a filling done, for sure - and my teeth are now perfect, hurrah. However, I missed the marvellous Margaret who also makes it all worthwhile but who wasn't working that day, alas, and will have to catch up properly next time. With or without a mouth full of dental implements ...
Yesterday, K and I had lunch at Secretts restaurant in Godalming, which was great and we then wandered around looking at plants. I bought a poinsettia and some extra treats for the orchid, eg orchid food spray and some nice-looking butterfly clips for its stem. Hmm, how girly I am today - is it the lack of drugs? .... However we couldn't find any Yankee Candles, which I was really wanting, but we popped in to another garden centre in Woking and I now have the four candles (or fork handles, though I suspect you have to be British to get that classic and glorious comedy reference ...) I was looking for, hurrah.
This morning, I've had a very enjoyable time being quiet with the Quakers in Godalming. It's a couple of years since I've been but there's something about it that keeps drawing me back, now and then. I think this year I'm going to try to go more often, maybe once a month or so. Talking with the rest of them afterwards was good too - something I thought I'd never say, seeing how much I hate the post-service coffee zone, but actually the conversation was interesting and meant something and wasn't the usual remarks about the weather or traffic that people seem to stay with. On the other hand, perhaps I was simply in the mood to listen more, rather than being stressed out by the concept of socialising - now there's a thought.
Mind you, the obstacles that arose during my attempts to get to the Meeting at all were fun, um not - my face powder somehow managed to explode all over the sink and bathroom tiles, and I had to get the bathroom cleaner out to make it look normal again. Then when I reached the car, running slightly late, someone had broken my wing mirror so I had to go back to the flat to get K's car keys and take his instead. Ah the joys of Sunday morning, eh. Still, K has mended the wing mirror now (what a hero!) and I'll pick up some more face powder during the week, so all is not entirely doom and gloom in the shires. Gosh, how calm I sound - must the be Quakers' influence - or have I been swopped for a nice, cheery alien? Who can tell ...
Anne Brooke
Thursday, January 06, 2011
Discounts, dentists and danger
Book News:
For a brief but happy time, A Dangerous Man found itself at No 77 in the Amazon US Kindle charts, but it's not used to those dizzy heights so it's not there now, ah well. Other amazing news is that I have received my first ever royalties for this novel from Cheyenne Publishing (the book's previous outing with another publisher I cannot mention will remain ... um ... unmentioned ...), so thank you, Mark, for that. Hurrah!
I'm also pleased that The Girl in the Painting was the No 2 International Bestseller in December for Untreed Reads, so that's heartening news too. And, not to be outdone, the 25% discount on my Amber Allure books is still in place until Saturday 8 January, so there's still sale shopping time.
Meanwhile, I've finished the publisher edits for The Gifting and have sent those back to be put into the proofreading process. And I've made some formatting changes to Hallsfoot's Battle ready to send them to my second lovely independent editor. Well, she made such a wonderful job of the edits and the blurb for The Gifting prior to submitting that novel to places that I really hope she's got time for the second in the Gathandrian Trilogy also. Good editing makes such a difference, so much so that I go through one consultancy stage and two independent editing stages before I even think of submitting a novel anywhere. Never say I don't take writing seriously, eh!
And at Vulpes Libris today, you can find my review of Yasutaka Tsutsui's picaresque novel, The Maid, which is definitely worth a read and a fascinating addition to my list of Japanese novels in translation.
This week's meditations are:
Meditation 477
All your history
written on
your skin:
the grief, pain
and shadows that let
the hope come in.
Meditation 478
What man abandons
is left to God
to finish
and in the beginning
is already written
the end.
Meditation 479
When you’ve killed once
anything
is possible
but nothing you do
will bring back
that life again.
Life News:
Back at work this week, which is always a shock. Really, I think my true vocation is not being at work, but there you go. Though actually it wasn't as fearsome as I'd been dreading, but of course it's been a shorter week, so let's see how things go when the real week kicks in next week ... Mind you, the Dean brought chocolates in to keep us all going, so gains at least ten Dean Points for that generous act. We definitely needed it.
Today, I've started off my year with glittery teeth as my rescheduled appointment (due to weather and the frozen shoulder crises) was this lunchtime. I was a bit peed off though as I turned up twenty minutes early as usual but they wouldn't let me in as they close between 12 and 1pm (which I didn't realise), and my appointment was at 1pm. Not a problem usually, as they are charmingly old-fashioned, but it would have been nice if when I'd attempted to get in the locked door, someone had at least come to chat to me, apologise and ask me to come back at 1pm. But no - they were sitting in the waiting room having their lunches, from where they could all see me (shivering and soaked through with the rain, btw ...), they all turned round to stare, but nobody smiled and nobody got up, and then they just all turned round and went back to eating and chatting again, which I thought was rather on the rude side of rude, really. Seeing as I pay privately for treatment, a modicum of customer service would have been nice! So I trudged back to the car feeling sad and rejected (cue violin music ...), from where I then decided to walk to the nearby garage to get a sandwich, and as a result got more soaked by cars/buses going through puddles on the way, and then came back to sit in my car till the magical hour of 1pm turned up.
Once inside, I did make my point clear to the unfamiliar dentist who happened to be on Reception, but she didn't seem greatly interested, and she didn't apologise but just pointed out to me that the sign on the door said they closed for lunch. Hmmm, not the pleasant attitude I'd been hoping for then - especially as I wasn't querying the sign, but just the staff response. Ah well. Hell, if I'd been in their position, I would have at least got up and been nice when I saw a customer trying to get in. I would probably have let said customer in too, and sod the rules, just to get them out of the cold and damp - but perhaps it's me that's the old-fashioned one these days? With all that, I didn't make much conversation with the hygienist (who was, I think, one of the ones who'd ignored me in the first place), and just grunted when asked questions. Because, when it comes to discourtesy to someone who's not a customer, I of course am the Queen of the Art, ho ho. Still, at least I have shiny teeth. Perhaps when I go tomorrow - for a filling this time; Lordy, what fun my week is proving to be! - my teeth will be so dang shiny that the nice dentist I actually know might let me in without argument. At least I'm not going at lunchtime though!
I also had some difficulty when at my physio appointment this afternoon as I was trying to check whether I'd come to the right place (as the physio has other locations in the area she goes to as well), but the surgery receptionist kept trying to send me away to sit down as she said she didn't have a list from the physio today. Which wasn't actually the question I was trying to find the answer to. Seeing as I am of course a calm and loving individual full of the milk of human kindness, I did not collapse to the floor weeping and kicking my legs - though it was tempting - but just asked again until the receptionist finally understood what I was getting at. I did a lot of smiling too - good teeth, you see - so I hope to get my reward in heaven, one day. And at least I was allowed to be inside.
Anne Brooke
For a brief but happy time, A Dangerous Man found itself at No 77 in the Amazon US Kindle charts, but it's not used to those dizzy heights so it's not there now, ah well. Other amazing news is that I have received my first ever royalties for this novel from Cheyenne Publishing (the book's previous outing with another publisher I cannot mention will remain ... um ... unmentioned ...), so thank you, Mark, for that. Hurrah!
I'm also pleased that The Girl in the Painting was the No 2 International Bestseller in December for Untreed Reads, so that's heartening news too. And, not to be outdone, the 25% discount on my Amber Allure books is still in place until Saturday 8 January, so there's still sale shopping time.
Meanwhile, I've finished the publisher edits for The Gifting and have sent those back to be put into the proofreading process. And I've made some formatting changes to Hallsfoot's Battle ready to send them to my second lovely independent editor. Well, she made such a wonderful job of the edits and the blurb for The Gifting prior to submitting that novel to places that I really hope she's got time for the second in the Gathandrian Trilogy also. Good editing makes such a difference, so much so that I go through one consultancy stage and two independent editing stages before I even think of submitting a novel anywhere. Never say I don't take writing seriously, eh!
And at Vulpes Libris today, you can find my review of Yasutaka Tsutsui's picaresque novel, The Maid, which is definitely worth a read and a fascinating addition to my list of Japanese novels in translation.
This week's meditations are:
Meditation 477
All your history
written on
your skin:
the grief, pain
and shadows that let
the hope come in.
Meditation 478
What man abandons
is left to God
to finish
and in the beginning
is already written
the end.
Meditation 479
When you’ve killed once
anything
is possible
but nothing you do
will bring back
that life again.
Life News:
Back at work this week, which is always a shock. Really, I think my true vocation is not being at work, but there you go. Though actually it wasn't as fearsome as I'd been dreading, but of course it's been a shorter week, so let's see how things go when the real week kicks in next week ... Mind you, the Dean brought chocolates in to keep us all going, so gains at least ten Dean Points for that generous act. We definitely needed it.
Today, I've started off my year with glittery teeth as my rescheduled appointment (due to weather and the frozen shoulder crises) was this lunchtime. I was a bit peed off though as I turned up twenty minutes early as usual but they wouldn't let me in as they close between 12 and 1pm (which I didn't realise), and my appointment was at 1pm. Not a problem usually, as they are charmingly old-fashioned, but it would have been nice if when I'd attempted to get in the locked door, someone had at least come to chat to me, apologise and ask me to come back at 1pm. But no - they were sitting in the waiting room having their lunches, from where they could all see me (shivering and soaked through with the rain, btw ...), they all turned round to stare, but nobody smiled and nobody got up, and then they just all turned round and went back to eating and chatting again, which I thought was rather on the rude side of rude, really. Seeing as I pay privately for treatment, a modicum of customer service would have been nice! So I trudged back to the car feeling sad and rejected (cue violin music ...), from where I then decided to walk to the nearby garage to get a sandwich, and as a result got more soaked by cars/buses going through puddles on the way, and then came back to sit in my car till the magical hour of 1pm turned up.
Once inside, I did make my point clear to the unfamiliar dentist who happened to be on Reception, but she didn't seem greatly interested, and she didn't apologise but just pointed out to me that the sign on the door said they closed for lunch. Hmmm, not the pleasant attitude I'd been hoping for then - especially as I wasn't querying the sign, but just the staff response. Ah well. Hell, if I'd been in their position, I would have at least got up and been nice when I saw a customer trying to get in. I would probably have let said customer in too, and sod the rules, just to get them out of the cold and damp - but perhaps it's me that's the old-fashioned one these days? With all that, I didn't make much conversation with the hygienist (who was, I think, one of the ones who'd ignored me in the first place), and just grunted when asked questions. Because, when it comes to discourtesy to someone who's not a customer, I of course am the Queen of the Art, ho ho. Still, at least I have shiny teeth. Perhaps when I go tomorrow - for a filling this time; Lordy, what fun my week is proving to be! - my teeth will be so dang shiny that the nice dentist I actually know might let me in without argument. At least I'm not going at lunchtime though!
I also had some difficulty when at my physio appointment this afternoon as I was trying to check whether I'd come to the right place (as the physio has other locations in the area she goes to as well), but the surgery receptionist kept trying to send me away to sit down as she said she didn't have a list from the physio today. Which wasn't actually the question I was trying to find the answer to. Seeing as I am of course a calm and loving individual full of the milk of human kindness, I did not collapse to the floor weeping and kicking my legs - though it was tempting - but just asked again until the receptionist finally understood what I was getting at. I did a lot of smiling too - good teeth, you see - so I hope to get my reward in heaven, one day. And at least I was allowed to be inside.
Anne Brooke
Sunday, January 02, 2011
Books, plants and trains
Book News:
I'm happy to say that both Vulpes Libris and I have been shortlisted in two separate categories for the Book Blogger Book Awards, and there's still time to vote, so all support greatly appreciated! Vulpes is in the Best Literature Blogger category and you can find me in the Best Author's Blog section. The "submit" button appears at the very bottom of the lists once you've ticked some, just in case you're wondering, as we were. Nice to be in such good company for sure.
Much to my surprise and delight, The Girl in the Painting has received its first official review, with some very thoughtful 4-star comments appearing at Three Dollar Bill Reviews - many thanks indeed, Emily, and I will be writing more of these literary feminist shorts in the future, I hope. Not to be outdone, A Dangerous Man gained a brief 4-star review at Goodreads, so many thanks, Alli, for those comments also.
For today, and possibly tomorrow also, you can get 25% discount off all my Amber Allure books so there's still time for that essential New Year bargain shopping experience. Go on, you know you want to!... And I'm continuing with the publisher edits for The Gifting so hope to get that finished within the next week or so. All things being equal.
Today's meditation is:
Meditation 476
Surely this punishment
will not last
for long
and better days
will rise once more:
may this be
our song.
And the Sunday haiku is:
This winter morning
begin the year with haiku:
my seasonal vow.
Life News:
Frankly I'm very glad to see the back of 2010. The last section of it has on the whole been quite nasty and difficult, and good riddance to it is what I say. I hope 2011 is better, the main thing being getting out of the flat and away from our tricksy middle neighbours. That's my aim for this spring and I really want to be out of it all by Easter or I may well run mad. You have been warned. Anyway, I'm trying not to think of it too much as it just makes me really upset, angry and depressed, and I don't want to go there too ruddy often really, not so early on in the year. Deep sigh.
Nicer news for this week is that K and I enjoyed our trip to Kew Gardens, though the broccoli soup was rather overwhelming, I must say. We left half of it and consoled ourselves with cake. As you do. We've also bought an orchid, a hyacinth and an African violet so at least there's something nice in the flat apart from ourselves.
And today we've had a great time with Peter & Sue (hello, both!) trundling up and down the Watercress Line and indulging ourselves with ham, egg & chips (bliss ...). Great to catch up, though I'm not convinced the photos will show any degree of sanity amongst us. Ah, the slow pace of life is definitely the best one.
Anne Brooke
I'm happy to say that both Vulpes Libris and I have been shortlisted in two separate categories for the Book Blogger Book Awards, and there's still time to vote, so all support greatly appreciated! Vulpes is in the Best Literature Blogger category and you can find me in the Best Author's Blog section. The "submit" button appears at the very bottom of the lists once you've ticked some, just in case you're wondering, as we were. Nice to be in such good company for sure.
Much to my surprise and delight, The Girl in the Painting has received its first official review, with some very thoughtful 4-star comments appearing at Three Dollar Bill Reviews - many thanks indeed, Emily, and I will be writing more of these literary feminist shorts in the future, I hope. Not to be outdone, A Dangerous Man gained a brief 4-star review at Goodreads, so many thanks, Alli, for those comments also.
For today, and possibly tomorrow also, you can get 25% discount off all my Amber Allure books so there's still time for that essential New Year bargain shopping experience. Go on, you know you want to!... And I'm continuing with the publisher edits for The Gifting so hope to get that finished within the next week or so. All things being equal.
Today's meditation is:
Meditation 476
Surely this punishment
will not last
for long
and better days
will rise once more:
may this be
our song.
And the Sunday haiku is:
This winter morning
begin the year with haiku:
my seasonal vow.
Life News:
Frankly I'm very glad to see the back of 2010. The last section of it has on the whole been quite nasty and difficult, and good riddance to it is what I say. I hope 2011 is better, the main thing being getting out of the flat and away from our tricksy middle neighbours. That's my aim for this spring and I really want to be out of it all by Easter or I may well run mad. You have been warned. Anyway, I'm trying not to think of it too much as it just makes me really upset, angry and depressed, and I don't want to go there too ruddy often really, not so early on in the year. Deep sigh.
Nicer news for this week is that K and I enjoyed our trip to Kew Gardens, though the broccoli soup was rather overwhelming, I must say. We left half of it and consoled ourselves with cake. As you do. We've also bought an orchid, a hyacinth and an African violet so at least there's something nice in the flat apart from ourselves.
And today we've had a great time with Peter & Sue (hello, both!) trundling up and down the Watercress Line and indulging ourselves with ham, egg & chips (bliss ...). Great to catch up, though I'm not convinced the photos will show any degree of sanity amongst us. Ah, the slow pace of life is definitely the best one.
Anne Brooke
Thursday, December 30, 2010
Gardens, glasses and angst
Book News:
Much to my surprise, A Dangerous Man briefly found itself at No 25 in the Amazon UK charts, so that was nice. In addition, The Hit List gained a 5-star review at Goodreads, so many thanks for that, Chris - much appreciated.
On the sales front, there's 25% off all my Untreed Reads titles until the end of the year, so shop early shop often, and start your New Year with a bang. As it were.
Only one meditation this week as I slowly slowly get back into the habit again, and here it is:
Meditation 475
Sometimes the best victory
and the one
you remember
is simply to outlive
the one
you hate.
Life News:
A bit of an up-and-down week really. We've had a lot of nice outings, including visiting The Egyptian Book of the Dead exhibition at the British Museum, which is well worth it especially if you're into death rituals and bodies, as I am. We also enjoyed seeing the Lewis chessmen, which are wonderful - much smaller than I thought they'd be (silly me, eh) but absolutely exquisite.
We've also visited Wakehurst Place in the fog, where the gardens were interesting but ... um ... foggy and we probably need to go back when we can actually see things. And today, we've had a lovely time at Savill Garden, which I love and which is just as beautiful in winter, with some amazing winter displays and trails, as it is in the summer. The shop's good too and I've finally managed to buy some decent new soapdishes, which I've been looking for for ages, and a nice big happy mug too. So I can aim to be happier in 2011, ho ho.
On the way back we popped into a garden centre to look for candles, and I managed to smash one of the displays and cut myself with glass whilst doing so. Good for me, eh. The staff were lovely though and I didn't have to pay for the chaos I caused, for which I am hugely grateful - it was probably the look of total shock and the blood dripping from the finger that brought out their compassionate side. Anyway, I've calmed down now, thank the Lord, and next time I want to look at anything breakable, I will get K to lift it up for me.
Meanwhile, I've also had another physio session and the frozen shoulder is definitely on the mend, though it makes itself known every now and then. And I've bought a really lovely winter coat in the sales at Debenhams, with which I am hugely happy.
This week's drama has been the Crisis of the Missing Glasses. I attempted to watch the Rolf Harris (I have a soft spot for dear old Rolf) art show last night and realised I couldn't find my tv watching/driving glasses anywhere. Cue frantic searching of the flat, weeping and sobbing (the latter two being mine, naturally). And cue recording of Rolf. I felt really stupid and assumed I'd somehow lost them in Guildford yesterday whilst meandering round the sales. So this morning I spend 45 minutes ringing round shops I can remember being in to see if they had found them. Everyone was really lovely but sadly no glasses. I then did some more weeping and rang the optician's to make an emergency appointment to get replacements. Bearing in mind you never know how long they're going to take and I do take a while choosing new ones anyway, I decided to chance it as it's only a short trip to Godalming and take the car in myself rather than make K wait around while I faffed about. I got in the car and there the buggers were!!! What joy and bliss abounding!!! You can't imagine the relief ... especially as I've just saved myself c£300 replacement costs, double hurrahs and put out the bunting.
Anyway, K has now made me put my phone number in both my reading and my "missing" glasses cases so if they do genuinely go astray at some point then I have a better chance of getting them back. And, when I rang the optician to cancel the appointment, they were hugely pleased that their long-distance customer service skills were as top-notch as ever, gawd bless 'em. How I love a happy ending.
As a result of all that, K and I have also had a discussion about how much of a stressed-out drama queen I'm becoming - though as he freely admits that when he first met me I was stressed-out and hugely unhappy way back then, then perhaps it's not as much of a shock to him as I always assume it is when I get myself in a state now. But I do think I'm getting much worse as I get older - is it my hormones?? Or perhaps the general lack of the sort of hopeful attitude I had twenty years ago that I most definitely don't have now? I'm sure I used to assume in my twenties that things would improve no matter how bad they were, whereas nowadays I just assume they'll probably get worse and I get very angry and frustrated about it. Lordy, what a delight I am to be with indeed ... Anyway, as a result of all this deep thought, I've bought myself an anger management book and a set of bible reading notes to start in January to see if that helps. I should also do more meditation too, I think, as I'm not really very committed to it these days, particularly as my church life went downhill earlier in the year. I'm wondering about going back to the gym too, maybe, as in the old old days beyond recall I used to get rid of a hell of a lot of steam there which helped with the aggression levels, but let's not get too over-enthusiastic. Bloody Rome wasn't built in a bloody day, eh. And I don't want to set myself up for too much personal failure before the year has even begun - there's plenty of time for that yet!
Happy New Year, in any case, to all.
Anne Brooke
Much to my surprise, A Dangerous Man briefly found itself at No 25 in the Amazon UK charts, so that was nice. In addition, The Hit List gained a 5-star review at Goodreads, so many thanks for that, Chris - much appreciated.
On the sales front, there's 25% off all my Untreed Reads titles until the end of the year, so shop early shop often, and start your New Year with a bang. As it were.
Only one meditation this week as I slowly slowly get back into the habit again, and here it is:
Meditation 475
Sometimes the best victory
and the one
you remember
is simply to outlive
the one
you hate.
Life News:
A bit of an up-and-down week really. We've had a lot of nice outings, including visiting The Egyptian Book of the Dead exhibition at the British Museum, which is well worth it especially if you're into death rituals and bodies, as I am. We also enjoyed seeing the Lewis chessmen, which are wonderful - much smaller than I thought they'd be (silly me, eh) but absolutely exquisite.
We've also visited Wakehurst Place in the fog, where the gardens were interesting but ... um ... foggy and we probably need to go back when we can actually see things. And today, we've had a lovely time at Savill Garden, which I love and which is just as beautiful in winter, with some amazing winter displays and trails, as it is in the summer. The shop's good too and I've finally managed to buy some decent new soapdishes, which I've been looking for for ages, and a nice big happy mug too. So I can aim to be happier in 2011, ho ho.
On the way back we popped into a garden centre to look for candles, and I managed to smash one of the displays and cut myself with glass whilst doing so. Good for me, eh. The staff were lovely though and I didn't have to pay for the chaos I caused, for which I am hugely grateful - it was probably the look of total shock and the blood dripping from the finger that brought out their compassionate side. Anyway, I've calmed down now, thank the Lord, and next time I want to look at anything breakable, I will get K to lift it up for me.
Meanwhile, I've also had another physio session and the frozen shoulder is definitely on the mend, though it makes itself known every now and then. And I've bought a really lovely winter coat in the sales at Debenhams, with which I am hugely happy.
This week's drama has been the Crisis of the Missing Glasses. I attempted to watch the Rolf Harris (I have a soft spot for dear old Rolf) art show last night and realised I couldn't find my tv watching/driving glasses anywhere. Cue frantic searching of the flat, weeping and sobbing (the latter two being mine, naturally). And cue recording of Rolf. I felt really stupid and assumed I'd somehow lost them in Guildford yesterday whilst meandering round the sales. So this morning I spend 45 minutes ringing round shops I can remember being in to see if they had found them. Everyone was really lovely but sadly no glasses. I then did some more weeping and rang the optician's to make an emergency appointment to get replacements. Bearing in mind you never know how long they're going to take and I do take a while choosing new ones anyway, I decided to chance it as it's only a short trip to Godalming and take the car in myself rather than make K wait around while I faffed about. I got in the car and there the buggers were!!! What joy and bliss abounding!!! You can't imagine the relief ... especially as I've just saved myself c£300 replacement costs, double hurrahs and put out the bunting.
Anyway, K has now made me put my phone number in both my reading and my "missing" glasses cases so if they do genuinely go astray at some point then I have a better chance of getting them back. And, when I rang the optician to cancel the appointment, they were hugely pleased that their long-distance customer service skills were as top-notch as ever, gawd bless 'em. How I love a happy ending.
As a result of all that, K and I have also had a discussion about how much of a stressed-out drama queen I'm becoming - though as he freely admits that when he first met me I was stressed-out and hugely unhappy way back then, then perhaps it's not as much of a shock to him as I always assume it is when I get myself in a state now. But I do think I'm getting much worse as I get older - is it my hormones?? Or perhaps the general lack of the sort of hopeful attitude I had twenty years ago that I most definitely don't have now? I'm sure I used to assume in my twenties that things would improve no matter how bad they were, whereas nowadays I just assume they'll probably get worse and I get very angry and frustrated about it. Lordy, what a delight I am to be with indeed ... Anyway, as a result of all this deep thought, I've bought myself an anger management book and a set of bible reading notes to start in January to see if that helps. I should also do more meditation too, I think, as I'm not really very committed to it these days, particularly as my church life went downhill earlier in the year. I'm wondering about going back to the gym too, maybe, as in the old old days beyond recall I used to get rid of a hell of a lot of steam there which helped with the aggression levels, but let's not get too over-enthusiastic. Bloody Rome wasn't built in a bloody day, eh. And I don't want to set myself up for too much personal failure before the year has even begun - there's plenty of time for that yet!
Happy New Year, in any case, to all.
Anne Brooke
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