feel the FORCE!!!!

I am so chuffed today! I've been waiting and waiting to announce this, but couldn't until the closing date for submissions was past... and now it is!

I'm pleased to announce that my micro novella EYES OF DESIRE has been accepted by Phaze for their FORCE collection, to be published in July.

EOD is a particular favourite of mine, because it's a very warm and positive story. Megan, the heroine, is recovering from an eye operation, and her vision is still a bit wonky... but that doesn't stop her falling for a tall, mysterious stranger with a proud, soldierly bearing who is kind to her while she's taking a country holiday to recuperate. You could say she falls in love with Guy at first sight... but without the sight!

The Force collection is dedicated to all kinds of personnel from all walks of service and duty life. Soldiers, cops, pilots, paramedics, firefighters... all those who risk their lives for others. It's a splendid theme and I'm proud to be a part of it.

Shown above is the advance mockup for the collection covers... not sure this guy is quite like my Guy... but you have to admit he has an excellent bod... and a rather fine weapon! Tee hee!

I'll be posting more details about this publication in the near future... but suffice it to say, colour me very delighted with my news today!!!

Read a short excerpt from Eyes of Desire

--
Telly: snooker
Choc/Yummy: turkish delight
Mood: excellent
Writing: 1k Gothic Heat
Reading: ComputerActive
RSI/FMS: not too bad


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Mulder... my first YouTube

This is my first ever YouTube. It's not very good because my camera is cheap and old, but you can get an impression of my little baby puddycat frollicking in the back garden.

my mood

I was going to do so much today... even allowing for Snooker and World Superbikes. I had my list all sorted out, and my productive head on... and then stuff happened. Stuff that makes me want to get out into the garage, fire up himself's chainsaw... and go on the rampage!!!

--
Telly: World Superbikes
Choc/Yummy: Frys Turkish Delight
Mood: beyond belief
Writing: sod all
Reading: Passion
RSI/FMS: a bit sore


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snookered

Okay, I admit it, I'm not getting nearly as much done as I should at the moment because I'm addicted to the World Snooker Tournament from The Crucible, in Sheffield. Above is a pic of Ali Carter, currently doing well against one of the long time champs of the game, Stephen Hendry.

I can't play snooker, obviously, as I have virtually no hand to eye coordination of any kind. But I do so love to watch it, and I love the commentaries and the punditry and the fun little asides of the BBC coverage. The cats seem to like the game too, and I often see them watching the run of the coloured balls on the table... I wonder if they think that they're mice?

When the snooker is over, I'm making a serious pact with myself to really buckle down and write. I don't have a strict deadline as such yet, but there's a strong possibility that I may have one soon... And once I've got that deadline, I'll need to meet it. I do feel it's one of the things that's an absolute given if you're to conduct yourself professionally in this game, and make life easier for your editor. I think the only time I ever had to ask for an extension was when I had a major operation! And even then, I got the MS on the editor's desk before my extra tranche of allotted time was over...

--
Telly: snooker, obviously
Choc/Yummy: turkish delight, lemon cake slice
Mood: okay, although wish I had more discipline
Writing: nothing today so far
Reading: Passion
RSI/FMS: wrists a bit sore


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Gothic Heat thoughts

I'm finally working on it... but I'm not sure how it's working out. There doesn't seem to be any sex in it yet and I've already written about 2K words. Usually in a PDC, the protagonists have got down to it by this time, but I think there's going to be more 'story' in this one than is usual for me. Not that it's all *that* hugely complicated a story, perish the thought. At the moment, it's more like a paranormal fic with sensual and psychological elements than an erotic novel, although are some mildly sexy bits in it. And things are about to get hot and heavy any minute. :)

I'm also still thrashing out the details of the heroine, Paula's 'predicament'... She's sort of possessed by a demon, but not quite. She's more 'influenced' than possessed, and I have to get the balance of that influence correct... She's still basically in control, but keeps sort of getting nudged into doing foolhardy and dangerous things... I still haven't really nailed down her story yet, I suppose... I also have to work out just *how* bad my bad boy type hero is...

Everything is pretty fluid at the moment...
--
Telly: NCIS
Choc/Yummy: mostly cupcakes today
Mood: okay
Writing: 1K Gothic Heat
Reading: Passion/Lisa Valdez
RSI/FMS: so so


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Recommended Read

More hot titles here!

motivational speaker...

Had a bit of a downer today... a book proposal rejected. Wasn't something I was expecting anything of anyway, but the news was still a bit of a bummer.

However, I find that this motivational speaker helps me to stop feeling sorry for myself!

better?

Am feeling marginally less croney today, although still malevolently inclined towards certain issues and people... But that's perfectly normal for me! :)

The big news is that I've finally made a start on Gothic Heat! Just a modest 500 words, but at least the thing is under way. It's like any book, any project... I'm scared of it. I'm always scared that this time, I just won't be able to do it. That I've run out of mojo or whatever, and have written everything I'm capable of writing... But then, I have this with every single book, and I've had it since I wrote Return to the Pleasure Zoneback in 1992! I fear that every book is the last I'll be able to manage... but I've kept on managing.

Gothic Heat may be a tricky one though, as there are a few different things going on, and I've a feeling that for me, it's going to be unusually story orientated, rather than just the usual plotless wonder of a few sex scenes slung together and casually linked by a bit of characterisation and 'lurrrve'... There's got to be some magic stuff and paranormal stuff, and that's scary because it means so much more work... and me being the most rampantly bone idle writer on the face of the earth, it's a tough call when I have to work these plotty things out. Eek! And agh!

When I started thinking about the idea for this, the heroine, Paula, was foremost in my mind... but now, it seems to be all about Rafe, the hero/anti-hero... I seem to want to focus on him, and be in his mind. He interests me more than Paula... For this reason, I'm choosing to do this book in third person. I did a couple of novels [Entertaining Mr Stone and Suite Seventeen] in first, and I've often written shorts in first, but even though it's fun, I'm not permanently switching to that voice because I do enjoy the freedom of third, in terms of getting in the heads of more characters. So I think that for a book with a proper story, I need third... I'll miss the intimacy and momentum of first, but I'm hoping I'll still get those qualities if I do my third right!

--
Telly: CSI
Choc/Yummy: Fabulous Bakin' Boys Strawberry Cupcake
Mood: better
Writing: Gothic Heat 500 words
Reading: Passion/Lisa Valdez
RSI/FMS: so so


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images...

Copyright 1939 Walt Disney Productions

Yesterday was a crap day, for various reasons, and above is an illustration of my self image at the moment... Today hasn't started well either, for a whole bunch of other reasons.

But in an effort to fight the forces of darkness, today, I will be mainly concentrating on...

This!

This!

And this!

--
Telly: thing about alchemy
Chocolate: as much as I can get my hands on
Mood: bloody
Writing: hope to be doing some...
Reading: Passion by Lisa Valdez
RSI/FMS: loads of it


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****! Torturing myself with my bad reviews....

In the course of foofing about with setting up some Amazon aStores, I came across some scathingly abysmal reviews of one of my slightly older books... and needless to say, it wasn't a pleasant experience. Now, I freely admit that I'd defend a person's right to express their opinion with the last fibre of my being *and* I also freely admit that the book in question isn't one of my best... in fact, it's probably pretty much a pile of pooh. If it were me though, I'd just turn away and not bother to review... but as an author, putting my work out in the market place, I've just got to suck it up and smile if others do choose to review unfavourably. One has to accept that reader reviewers are providing a service to other readers - by preventing them wasting their money on substandard books.

Note to self...

Must.do.better.

Must.raise.my.game

Ah... chocoate beckons...

--
Telly: snooker
Chocolate: Frys Turkish Delight
Mood: fine until I went to Amazon
Writing: brainstorming Gothic Heat
Reading: Passion of Isis
RSI/FMS: sore


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foofing with my camera again...

Been foofing around with my camera again, trying to get a decent headshot... and out of around a hundred snaps, this was probably the only where I look like a human being rather than a mutant alien with a retrograde IQ... You might notice that, as ever, my glasses seem to be on a bit skew whiff... This always seems to happen, and I think it's because my ears are attached to my head at different heights! They're wonky! The thing is, though, that I don't actually wear my specs all the time, just for working... but I can't see the swingout LCD screen on my camera without them, so all my self taken piccies tend to be bespectacled ones!

ack, now they've done it... the snooker is on!

The World Snooker Championship is being held now, at the Crucible in Sheffield, and I'm going to have a hard time not letting it take over my life for the next couple of weeks! I'll be particularly interested in the progress of the unexpected contender shown above. More information about his prowess at The Man Who Fell Asleep.

Although I haven't actually laid down any text of Gothic Heat, I have been having some good plot and character ideas for it over the last couple of days, including a couple of lightbulbs at around 1.30am this morning, just after we turned out the light for the night. Luckily himself was fast asleep, because at least twice, I had to put the light back on and scribble down some notes. There's no way I would have remembered my bright ideas without writing them down...

--
Telly: snooker
Chocolate: lemon drizzle cake
Mood: okay
Writing: brainstorming Gothic Heat/proof checking Watching The Detective
Reading: Passion of Isis
RSI/FMS: general soreness


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