From Ash's Penn

New Release - The Zombie with Flowers in Her Hair by KevaD

2012-01-16T17:12:00.000Z

1969 was a busy year for the young woman nicknamed Isis. She graduated high school, engaged in a lesbian relationship, died, and rose from the dead as a pot-smoking, flesh-eating zombie in need of a good orgasm. Yet, in death she ended up as alone as she had in life. But when a beautiful zombie with flowers in her hair forgets her sweet butt on a toilet seat, Isis's undead life will never be the same. Nor will it be one she could ever have envisioned, even on the wildest acid trip. Because for Isis, her true reason for life lies in her death.

Web Site: http://www.kevad.net/

Buy Link: https://www.nobleromance.com/Authors/116/KevaD

Cherise Sinclair Interview

2011-11-29T23:23:00.001Z

Cherise Sinclair is being interviewed by Lillian Grant today over at Silken Sheets and Seduction.

Mergers and Acquisitions by Lillian Grant

2011-10-20T17:02:00.001+01:00

Mergers & Acquisitions

Accountant, Emily Armitage is stuck in Sydney for the weekend, working on the numbers for a hotel sale while fighting off the unwanted attention of her boss. However, things begin to look up when she steps on her balcony and meets the man of her dreams. When her new neighbor delivers room service, along with a shoulder massage, delicious foot rubs, and easy charm, she succumbs to their obvious attraction.

Having spent a passionate weekend together, Monday morning brings an unwanted revelation. Randy’s been keeping secrets that could change her life. Suddenly uncertain, she is forced to make a choice between her career and a man who adds up to perfection. Should she stick with the hotel acquisition or take a chance on their passionate new merger?

Excerpt

Emily rubbed her cheek against his chin. “They do say you’re never too old.”

Randy wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her closer, nuzzling her cheek with his lips. “I thought the expression was you’re never too old to learn.”

Emily tipped her head back as he showered her neck with kisses. “I’m sure I could give you lessons.”

Randy chuckled and pulled back. “In what?”

She stared into his eyes. She seriously couldn’t take much more of this teasing. She was desperate to taste his mouth, but he seemed determined to keep up the torture. Her mouth was dry, and her heart pounded. Should she make the first move? No, not yet, she wanted to see where he intended to lead her.

“Whatever you like.”

He grinned and returned to kissing her neck, causing her to moan.

Finally, when the torture was about to become too much, he kissed his way along her jaw and gently pressed his lips to hers. When he moved back, so their lips were barely touching, she tried to steal the kiss she longed for, but he refused to give in.

Instead, he rested his forehead against hers and stared into her eyes. Emily smiled at him. “Tease. You do know you’re the best date I ever had?”

He smiled back and pressed his lips gently to hers. She felt, more than heard, his reply as he mumbled it against her mouth.

“But you haven’t had me….yet.”

Suddenly the playing turned to something more. His soft tongue gently touched her lips, and she gladly accepted the passionate kiss she had been longing for all evening. They clung together. She fisted his hair to hold him to her as he slid his hands up her back, pulling her closer. His lips took possession of her. His tongue danced in her mouth. He tasted just as she imagined—smoky, spicy, and warm. The sensation of her breasts pressed to his firm chest, the growing bulge in his jeans digging into her abdomen, and the magic of his mouth, left her breathless. Her nipples hardened, her pussy throbbed. She thought she would pass out, but she never wanted it to end. She could stand on the balcony kissing him forever.

He finally broke the kiss, leaving her with a couple of playful nips of her bottom lip. She took some deep breaths, trying to get her pulse to slow down before she had a heart attack.

He grazed her face with his fingers. His dark eyes drilled into hers. “How would you like to watch the sunrise with me?”

His voice was a purr of barely contained lust sending a bolt of passion to her heated core. Emily swallowed slowly. Oh, my God, he wanted to spend the night. She wanted him to spend the night. In fact, she never wanted to spend a second without him.

She whispered her response. “I would love to.”

Randy planted a kiss on her cheek, trailed one hand over her hip, and entwined his fingers with hers before leading her inside. He pulled the balcony door shut behind them, and she expected him to lead her to the bed, but instead he walked toward the room door.

“Where are you going?’

Available at Bookstrand now or win a copy over at Lillian's blog until 22nd October www.lilliangrant.com

Book Giveaway - Keep it Under Wraps by Lillian Grant

2011-07-16T23:13:00.000+01:00

To celebrate the release of Keep it Under Wraps on 19 July Lillian Grant is giving a copy away to one lucky person who leaves a comment on her website www.lilliangrant.com

Leave a comment and check back on the 19th to see if you are the lucky winner. Oh, and you don't need to have read book one to enjoy book two.

If you don't want to wait you can preorder it at Sirenbookstrand. And it is available at a discount price until the 26th July.

Blurb
A sex scandal threatens to destroy reformed Hollywood bad boy Jonathon Deveraux. PI Georgina Stanvers can save him – if they can trust each other.

Reformed Hollywood bad boy, Jonathon Deveraux, doesn’t remember starring in the DVD in his mailbox, and he’s not sure he trusts the female PI hired to find out where the movie came from.

Georgina Stanvers needs the work but she doesn’t like Jonathon. He’s a smooth talker, like the movie makers who ruined her father. She only suggests re-enacting the bondage scene to jar the actor’s memory. But untamed passion rewrites the script, and inhibitions are stripped away along with their clothing.

When bullets fly it appears an impending sex scandal is the least of Jonathon’s troubles. Needing to discover the truth, “George” puts her heart on the line, and her life in the hands of killers bent on revenge. If Jonathon is to prove his attraction to the PI is more than lust, he’ll have to save her. But first he needs to trust George, and his heart.

Excerpt

George swallowed, breathing deeply in an effort to slow her racing pulse. There he sat, on a bed. The bed. The one where the two ladies had tied him up and done to him what they would. Knowing what happened here should disgust her, but it didn’t. She had never thought being a voyeur was a turn-on. Porn did nothing for her, but she had to admit she’d watched the DVD more times than strictly necessary to solve the case. If she made the suggestion swirling in her brain would she be able to resist temptation? From the expression on Jonathon’s face, she got the impression he wouldn’t be disappointed if she didn’t.

“Perhaps a reenactment would help you remember something.”

His gaze met hers, and she took an involuntary step toward him. Dark eyes filled with desire held her enraptured. Now that she stood within reach, his hand circled her arm and tugged her to stand between his legs.

“Reenact how, exactly?”

George forced herself to break eye contact and stared at the headboard instead.

“You could lie on the bed, like in the video, and I could tie you up. It might trigger something?”

The smile teasing his lips left her in no doubt he had deliberately taken the last comment to mean something sexual. Is that what she meant? She didn’t know.

He agreed with a small nod, and she stepped back as he pulled off his boots. His socks came off with a quick tug then he began to slowly unbutton his shirt. Eyes locked on his, she fought not to drop her gaze to his chest as his tanned torso gradually came into view. The garment slid down his arms and he tossed it aside before getting to his feet. Battle lost, she took in his toned muscles, brown skin, and dark nipples erect from the cold, or maybe with lust. Her own nipples hardened in response, sending a shiver down her spine. She stood mesmerized as he slid his hands down his chest, over his stomach, before they came to rest on his belt buckle.
Her eyes focused on the oversized steel clasp. Fingers sliding behind the scuffed black leather, he started to tug the belt free. George took a deep breath and looked away. She was disgusted with herself. Lust may have melted her resolve, but she didn’t have to show it. What was wrong with her? She was practically drooling.
She dropped her bag to the floor and rummaged around inside, deliberately focused on what she was doing.

“You don’t need to go all the way. How about you keep your jeans on, Tiger?” She glanced up at him and smiled. “I’d hate for you to catch a chill.”

With his belt unfastened and his button undone, he climbed on the bed, lying in the middle, arms by his side.
George finally retrieved what she was searching for. She stepped to the bed, and he moved from staring at the ceiling to see what she held in her hands.

“Handcuffs? But they tied me.”

“I don’t carry rope. Hands above your head.”

He moved his hands to rest them on the pillow. Her gaze shifted away from his sparsely haired armpits, tight pecs, and defined shoulders, to his face. He chuckled. “But you do carry handcuffs? For work or pleasure?”
She bit her bottom lip, determined not to let him bait her. Leaning across him, she closed the cuff around his left wrist before sliding it through the bars in the headboard and then fastening it around his right wrist. The effort caused her chest to brush against his face. When he rubbed his lips against her protruding nipple she gasped. Pushing herself back up to a standing position, she folded her arms. Both her nipples had beaded at his touch and now threatened to break through the thin fabric of her T-shirt. She made a mental note to always wear a bra in future.

“Lie still and concentrate. You won’t remember anything if you’re fooling around.”

He sighed and stared back at the ceiling. “I figured if this was a reenactment then fooling around would be the order of the day.”

God, he was right. How was having him lie on the bed seminaked supposed to achieve anything? So far all she had managed to do was turn herself on. The sight of his bare chest along with the soft hair that started below his belly button and thickened just above the zipper on his jeans wasn’t helping much either. The only one likely to have flashbacks was her.

Want to know what happens next....check the adult excerpt at SirenBookstrand.

Stray in Print

2011-04-18T10:19:00.000+01:00

It's out now on Amazon My copies may take a while to get here. They have to cut across America and the Atlantic ocean first. Once they arrive I shall be doing a giveaway, possibly on Goodreads

Stray in Print

2011-03-19T16:21:00.000Z

Fantastic news. I just heard today that my first novel Stray is going to be released in print from Loose Id. I will actually be able to hold a copy of my very first book in my hand. I'm so pleased by the news that I may just have excited myself out of my latest bout of writer's block. I shall begin work on the last chapter of my WiP right after I've cleared a space on my bookshelf for Stray.

Book Release Day

2011-03-15T21:06:00.001Z

Passing Time is released today from Loose Id

Blurb

When world-weary Louis Duncan returns to the English town where he grew up, the last thing on his mind is finding love. He's come home to be at his estranged mother's side as she lies comatose in a hospital bed.

The always-sunny barman Jake Harvey yearns to offer Louis much more than a willing ear. After an evening of too much wine, too much Indian take-out, and too much of Jake's soft lips, Louis succumbs to the young man's charms. Jake proves to be a passionate lover as well as a loyal friend.

When his mother’s condition deteriorates, Louis leans on Jake to help him through the difficulty of another loss. The love of his life died two years before, but to Louis he remains every bit alive as Jake. He and Carter continue to chat, smoke together, even argue over whether Louis is living or merely existing. They do everything as they always did, except have sex. Now, despite Carter urging him to take the risk, can Louis give up his first real love and take his chances with the living?

Excerpt

Toward the end of yet another tedious day, Louis Duncan found himself wandering streets he’d not trekked in twenty years. Since his unexpected return to his hometown, he’d tried a variety of the pubs and bars that had sprung up along the High Street in his absence, but only one managed to draw his attention night after night.

The Prince of Wales public house had undergone a total transformation since the dark and dingy days of his youth. It was now a classy-looking modern bar called Harvey’s. Wood paneling and floor-to-ceiling windows had taken the place of the traditional beer-and-nicotine-stained walls Louis recalled as being off-limits to a teenager looking younger than his years.

The usual hum of voices permeated the low-level music as he entered the bar and approached the array of bottles. He took a moment to scan the various spirits, although he never ordered anything other than a large bourbon.

“Hey, Lou.” The barman, Jake, greeted him as though Louis had been a regular for years. “How’s your mum?”

Louis had spent most of the day at her side, the rhythmic chug and beep of the complicated machinery keeping him company. Occasionally a nurse would rustle up a coffee, and a doctor might pop in to update him on her progress, but apart from that the only conversation he’d shared these past couple of weeks was with a fresh-faced, eternally cheerful barman.

“No change,” he said, catching the faint nasal vowels of his own adopted New York accent.

Already the longed-for bourbon, a drink he had yet to order, sat before him. For all his youth, this guy knew how to keep his customers happy. Louis lifted the glass and swallowed the contents, savoring the thin heat flaming down into his belly.

“Another?” Jake asked, already reaching for the drained glass.

Louis smiled. For reasons unknown to himself, he always tried to arrange his features into an expression that might pass for pleasant with this particular guy. “Thanks, Jake.”

Jake returned the smile and then turned away to fetch the bourbon, affording Louis a prime view of plump ass. He wasn’t totally desensitized to the allure of a well-presented body.

“Cute,” Carter said softly, taking a perch on the stool next to Louis’s.

“I’m a little long in the tooth for cute.” Louis glanced at his lover, a handsome, smartly dressed man with a shock of sandy hair. Carter grinned, his gray eyes bright and mischievous, exactly like the man he was before the illness had yellowed his skin and ravaged his body to a wispy husk.

“You’re a little long in the tooth for spending yet another evening alone in a bar, but that doesn’t seem to bother you so much.”

Louis hunched forward on his stool. “Every day I get to sit by and watch the mother I haven’t spoken to in twenty years slip closer to death. I think I’ve earned myself a few lousy drinks, don’t you?”

“You don’t think you might have earned yourself more? A shot of that, perhaps?” Carter gestured to the barman on his return.

“Only you, my love,” Louis muttered as Jake set a fresh bourbon in front of him.

“Sorry?”

Louis glanced up to meet Jake’s curious gaze. “Nothing. Just talking to myself.”

“Is that something you do a lot?”

“More than I should.” Louis was long past caring whether he looked like a fool or a loon.

“Do you answer yourself too?”

Louis shook his head. “Now that would make me insane.” He tried another of his smiles, but his lips refused to tilt.

“Well, I’m here,” Jake leaned his arms on the bar, all traces of humor gone. “If you feel like talking to someone.”

Louis laughed. “Haven’t I bent your ear enough these past couple of weeks?”

“With that accent you can bend my ear any time you like.” Jake gazed at him, although to Louis it felt more like a stare. Did he expect an answer? A few more bourbons, and perhaps Louis might have one for him, but not tonight.

He downed his drink and reached for the wallet in his jacket pocket. “How much do I owe?” he asked in his best business voice.

Jake waved a hand. “On the house.”

“You think that’s a good idea?” Louis took out a note anyway. “I wouldn’t want you getting yourself fired because of me.”

“That’s not likely to happen. I have a very understanding boss.”

Louis set the note on the bar. “No boss is that understanding.”

“Mine is.” Jake slid the note right back. “Did I never tell you my last name?” He grinned. “It’s Harvey. My dad owns the place.”

He’d not mentioned it, but then Louis had no cause to ask. “Still, I’d rather pay what I owe.”

“I’ve got a better idea.” Jake took the ten pounds, folded it neatly, and leaned over to slot it into Louis’s shirt pocket. “Why don’t you repay my hospitality by taking me out sometime?”

He stroked a thumb across Louis’s nipple through the cotton. Louis pulled back as a jolt of pleasure tingled down his body.

What was this? Flirting? No. No, it was part of the job to amuse the sad fucks who visited bars alone in order to drink themselves senseless before bedtime.

“I don’t think that’s… Uh, actually, I’ve been thinking about heading back to New York in a week or so.” It was the best—the only—excuse he could come up with on such short notice. “That’s if nothing improves with my mom.”

“A week’s a long time.” Jake leaned closer, a flirty sparkle lighting the depths of his eyes. “Besides, I’ll be heading back to uni myself soon.”

What was he after? A quick fumble with an older man? Something to joke about in the lecture halls to entertain the crowds on a wet Wednesday afternoon?

“If you’re not busy later tonight,” Jake said, casting a lazy gaze down Louis’s chest, “I know of an incredible Indian takeaway up the road.”

“To take away where?” As soon as the words were out, Louis winced. He’d lumbered straight into that one.

A faint blush rose to Jake’s cheeks. “Well, I’m staying with my parents for the summer, but, I mean, you’ve got your apartment and…” He obviously hoped Louis would fill in the blanks.

Louis forced a laugh. “And with that, I think I’ll be going.” He gripped the bar top as he made to slip off the stool. A hand closed over his own. It surprised him, the only body contact he’d had lately, not counting his holding mother’s withered hand, or Carter’s feathery yet imagined caresses. Jake’s hand sat on his, warm and weighty. Louis studied the fine blond hairs, the short, trimmed nails. He raised his head to find Jake staring back with something like lust smoldering behind those blue eyes.

“Red or white?” Jake flicked out the tip of his tongue to wet his bottom lip.

“Huh?” What would that silky scrap of tongue feel like lapping at his balls?

“Wine. Which do you prefer?”

“Neither.” Louis pulled his hand away and took a step back. “I don’t touch the stuff.”

“You only drink bourbon?”

“Pretty much.”

“Your liver must love you,” Jake said, collecting up the empty glass.

“My liver and I get along great. Catch you later.”

“Here’s hoping.” Jake grinned.

Louis hurried for the exit.

Cover Art

2011-02-13T15:00:00.000Z

I have cover art for my novella Passing Time, due out March 15. The artist is Valerie Tibbs. She's done a great job of capturing Jake's youthful exuberance and Louis' rather sombre reserve.

Editing

2011-01-03T22:36:00.003Z

I'm doing a lot of it lately. At the moment I'm working on edits for my second release with Loose Id, Passing Time. That's due out on March 15th.

As well as that I'm working hard to finish the novella I started around June last year. Almost there. I'm still stuck for a title so this story is still going by the name No Angell for now.

I have to write a fifteen minute screenplay for my latest English assignment. I took care of that today, although it'll need a good few edits before it's ready to go. Cut off date is January 6th. Hopefully I should make it.

New Year’s Resolutions

2011-01-02T13:33:00.004Z

Most of us have them. And most of us abandon them the second week of January. Or maybe it's just me who does that. All of my resolutions this year have to do with building myself a career out of this erotic writing business. There's a long way to go, granted, but hopefully as long as I'm able to stick to the resolutions I'm going to make over the next couple of days, I'll be four steps closer to making a living from writing by the end of the year. I've come up with a rough list to which I'll be adding more as new ideas come to me, but for now this is what I've got.

I will not skirt the truth when people ask what I write. In the past I've said anything from contemporary fiction to romance. Or contemporary romance with erotic elements. My stories are exactly that so it's not as if I'm lying...not really. It's more that I haven't told the whole truth. I write m/m romance. I write gay romance. And that's what I'm going to tell folks from now on
Spend more hours writing and less on internet forums or other things that don't involve writing. I'm a big time waster. I fanny about online for hours doing nothing useful. That's going to stop. I've said it many times before but this is a new year and I've got to mean it this time. Which also means no more five hour sessions on Mass Effect, or checking out Mass Effect forms to see if there's any way to play male Shep as gay (there isn't).
Finish all the stories begun in 2009/10. There are a few of those and it may take a while to get around to them all. I have so many I doubt I'll begin anything new this year at all.
Promote myself. This one brings me out into a cold sweat. I'm useless at putting myself out there but if it means more people buy my books, then that's what I'll do.

New Home

2010-12-11T18:17:00.002Z

I had certain issues with my previous domain that have been nagging at me for a few months now. Because of this, I decided to change it before my second book is released. I've also given up on trying to figure out the intricacies of Wordpress and have returned to the ease of Blogger. Hopefully, a revamp of this blog is to follow.

Which Doctor Who Companion Am I?

2010-11-04T22:19:00.000Z

Susan
Take Which Doctor Who companion are you? (girls) today!
Created with Rum and Monkey's Personality Test Generator.

SWiH blog post

2010-10-23T16:07:00.000+01:00

I'm over at ERA's Some Write it Hot blog today with a deleted scene from Stray.

Sold!

2010-09-27T18:05:00.001+01:00

My second book, Passing Time (formerly known as Ghost of a Chance), has just sold to Loose ID. It's coming out sometime in 2011.

Good Intentions

2010-09-15T21:53:00.002+01:00

I started out with them. This month I planned to document my progress on Angell. I thought a post a day might motivate me to get it done by the end of this month. I am still floundering at chapter 7 - the first sex scene. Neither character has a huge amount of experience in the bedroom department. One of them, Steve, has none at all. I'm almost cringing on their behalf. Beau's reluctance to give up his fantasy man coupled with Steve reluctance to undress in company is making for a very slow, very stop-start kind of a scene. I'm hoping my difficulties in writing it may translate as awkwardness between the characters on the page.

New Story

2010-09-02T17:48:00.002+01:00

I have a short piece I wrote a while ago over at Gay Flash Fiction. The site has a wealth of fiction and it's all free, so take a look.

Some Write it Hot

2010-09-02T17:44:00.000+01:00

Here is a new blog site to showcase everyone at ERA. We've got some exciting things planned for this blog, so pop on over, take a look around, post a comment or two, and maybe buy a book or 4 from our talented authors.

For one month...

2010-09-01T13:45:00.000+01:00

...starting 1st September (a clean and tidy date), I shall blog a little every day and chart the progress of my novella No Angell. Today I aim to complete scene 1 of chapter 10. I had big plans when I got up this morning to write all day. So far I've written...well... this. In between watching something intellectually stimulating on BBC4 iPlayer ( In Their Own Words: British novelists: The Age of Anxiety 1945-69), and waiting patiently for the latest Ultimate Big Brother episode to go up on 4oD. Oh yes, I'm just full of productivity today.

British Authors and the ITIN

2010-08-26T10:27:00.012+01:00

Today I thought I'd make an actual proper blog post which may interest British authors who have an American publisher. A few people have contacted me over the past few months asking how to go about getting that hallowed tax number from the IRS, so I'm going to detail the process I went through before I finally got mine. I'm not going to waste time telling you all about my two previous rejections, just the third, final, and successful time.

It's a bit of a frustration but worth it in the end because it beats having to give 30% of royalties to the IRS when there is absolutely no need. These are instructions for those people who can't make it to the Embassy in London and need to do everything by post.

So here are the instructions. I can't guarantee you will be successful, but I now have my ITIN so I must have done something right somewhere along the line.

1. The W7 form. You'll either receive this form from your publisher, or you can download it from the IRS website.

The first question on the form asks you for the reason you are submitting form W-7. Here you check box a and box h. Write 'exception 1 (d) royalty income' under additional information.

The treaty country is UK, and the treaty article number is 12.

Questions 1a and b are self explanatory.

So is question 3, applicant's mailing address and birth information.

Questions 4 and 5 are easy enough.

6a is UK, and in 6b write your national insurance number. 6c you can leave blank, and in 6d, check the passport box (if you have a valid one) as this is the best form of ID. Also fill out the details beneath 6d. 6e is a no, unless of course you have a reason to check yes. 6f you can leave blank if it doesn't apply. 6g can be ignored too.

Finally sign the form at signature of applicant, and date it (the American way - month, day, and year).

2. That's the W-7 all filled out. Next you will need a letter from your withholding agent (your publisher) stating why you need the ITIN. It's very important that you send an original letter, not a photocopy. If you send a copy you won't get your number, all you will get is a rejection, stating that you have sent invalid documentation. So get that original letter from your publisher by snail mail.

3. Once you have the letter, you can put the W-7, your passport, and your publisher's letter in an envelope, pop down to the post office, and send it all off by Special Delivery to the American Embassy in London. The address is available on their website. It will cost you about five quid, but you will be insured, so if anything does go missing you shouldn't be out of pocket. Once all that is done, what you do is wait for about two months. Then with a bit of luck your ITIN will arrive.

4. Now, you fill in a W-8BEN form, which will either be sent from your publisher or you can download one from the IRS. Fill that out and send it off to your publisher and that's you all done. You should now get 100% of your royalties rather than a mere 70%. BTW, if you have been paying tax on your royalties you should be able to claim the money back at the end of the tax year.

Short Update

2010-08-22T01:22:00.003+01:00

Since I now have my ITIN, the good news is I am able to start submitting stories again. August 19th, I submitted my novella Ghost of a Chance. I suppose it was about time I finally did something with the story since I've had draft 1 sitting dormant on various hard drives since 2007. I started reworking it about the same time as I began to whip Stray into shape for possible (and eventual) publication.

While I await the publisher's response, I am once again working away on Angell. This story stalled pretty badly for a good few weeks on account of me taking a wrong turn and losing both myself and my poor characters in a labyrinth of burnt toast, baked beans, and idle conversation. I've since swapped all that for a sex scene. Or will have, once I get it writ. Angell, I think, is my favourite story so far. I've kind of fallen in love with Steve, who has a big soft heart hidden beneath an intimidating outer shell. I need to get this story written for him, if no one else.

Stuck in Revisions

2010-08-08T12:11:00.001+01:00

A couple of days ago I made a bit of a radical decision to cut Angell by around 15,000 words. The finished product will now come in at 30,000 words or thereabouts. I'm now two chapters from the end.

I have to say, Steve is turning out to be my most favourite character yet, and it's fun trying to balance his naivety with Beau's more jaded outlook on life. The story has morphed into something quite different from how I'd originally planned but in a positive way. I've compressed it down so that all that's left is character driven tension, and a sex scene of course. I'm working on the sex scene now.

When Posts are a Bit Like Buses

2010-08-06T12:44:00.000+01:00

Here's another one. After eight (yes eight) months of battling the IRS for a ITIN I finally got mine today. Now all I have to do is figure out how to claim back all that unnecessary tax I've been paying for the past month.

Hate it When a Plan Doesn't Come Together

2010-08-06T12:15:00.001+01:00

Somewhere along the line I have taken a wrong turn with Angell in Chains (or whatever the new title will be when I get around to finding one that hasn't already been taken). Around 10,000 words have now been wiped off. I'm replacing those with a sex scene. Maybe even a 10,000 word long one if I can get away with it.

Because of this, the novella is now returning to my original estimated 30,000 words. I can't believe I just let Steve And Beau sit around talking about life, the universe, and everything for the past two months. This is supposed to be a mildy erotic story and so far the only guy showing some skin is a painting on Beau's bedroom wall.

Today I shall bring the story back to 20,000 words. And I'm still hopeful of getting the whole thing done by the end of the month.

Interview

2010-08-06T11:49:00.000+01:00

I also forgot to mention this

Reviews

2010-08-05T18:28:00.011+01:00

Here are a list of reviews for Stray so far

Dark Diva Reviews

DH Starr

Jessewave

Kestrelrising

Literary Nymphs

Practicalkatz BoE

Rain on the Roof

Sensual Reads

Whipped Cream

and my friend and crit buddy Debbie Vaughan has a review up here

Update

2010-07-23T23:41:00.002+01:00

I have just finished chapter eight of Angell in Chains, which I've decided to re-title Snow Angel. Again, this could change, but I'm thinking of recycling the previous title for my next project. My next project is a paranormal short story. Or maybe it's more urban fantasy. I'm not sure. What I am sure of is that it should come in at around 12,000 words. The first draft is already complete.

Back to Snow Angel, my initial deadline (self in imposed) was the end of July. As I still have around five chapters to go, I'm revising that date to the end of August. Bit of a jump, but I'm erring on the side of caution. I really don't think it will take another five weeks to complete.

In other news, I've been so busy lately I've sorely neglected my e-reader. And I'm keen to get my hands on some top quality m/m romance. So if anyone has any recommendations, feel free to clue me in.

Taking a Break

2010-07-11T00:05:00.000+01:00

This will be my last post for at least a week, maybe a bit longer, until I can get another couple of chapters done of my novella. I'm also cutting out all forums (except ER, of course) and FHS (frequently haunted sites) in a bit of an experiment to see how much extra time I can scrape up for writing. This is the only way I will stand a chance of getting this novella done by the end of the month.

If I could physically cut my connection to the net right about now, I'd probably do it, but hey, other people live in my house so me taking the scissors to my broadband cable might not go down so well with them.

Angell in Chains

2010-07-07T12:34:00.001+01:00

Thiat is the title of my latest WiP, a novella which will hopefully weigh in at 40,000 words, and yes, the double l is deliberate. I wrote the first draft a good six months ago, and it's been languishing on my hard drive since then. The first draft of a story usually comes to me fairly easily and I can bang out 20,000 words in a week no problem. The real work starts when it comes to fleshing the FD out into complete chapters. In a month this WiP has increased by about 5-6000 words. So it's a very slow process. I'm working on chapter 4 right now, which means I'm almost half done with the book. I've just finished the cameo scene where Terry and Dan from Stray make an appearance. That was a fun little scene to write and I would have liked to make it longer, but this is Beau and Steve's story, so I've kept it brief.

Today I hope to finish chapter 4 and get a better idea of where chapter 5 is headed. I still have hopes for getting this one finished by the end of the month, in which case I'd better started.

The Internet Sucks...

2010-07-04T00:20:00.001+01:00

...away at my productivity, that is. The only way I've managed to get any writing done is by shutting off my wireless connection until I'd written 1000 words. I managed it in half an hour. HALF AN HOUR! 1000 words with the internet would take me two days. Of course, those words weren't perfect, and I lost about a quarter of them as soon as I'd run the chapter through Autocrit, but the point is I can be a productive writer...just not while I have constant access to those darned interwebs.

Time for a New Post

2010-07-02T20:47:00.001+01:00

Today I have written 700 words of chapter 4. Part of the reason I haven't written very much today (aside from my terminal workshy ethics) is because I was watching the Murray/ Nadal match. Now Federer is out of the running I really thought our Brit might be in with a chance of winning this year. Obviously, I thought wrong. I admit I haven't watched as much tennis as I usually do this year, but that's because I have been struggling to put in some serious writing hours. What I really need is my own private office with a lock on the door. We have a room going space, the problem is it used to be a kitchen before we had the new on put in, so the room I want to use as an office has worktops, a tumble dryer, a sink, and worst of all, spiders. It's the spiders that make the room off limits. So I write from the couch. With the TV as a permanent distraction. Even when there's bugger all on it will often tempt my attention away from my writing. I should turn it off I know, but I like background noise and I can't write to music.

Oh, and chapter four of Angell in Chains has a cameo appearance by Terry and Dan from Stray. It was nice to catch up with the guys for a few minutes, and yes, in case anyone is curious, Terry is still a complete arsehat.

The Day After Book Release Day.

2010-06-30T10:01:00.000+01:00

First of all I'd like to say an official thank you to Sarah over at my crit group ER Authors for my wonderful blog header. Beautiful, isn't it? She's a very talented lady.

Yesterday, my first book was released. Today, my second book (novella) is sitting in limbo on my hard drive, and I'm beginning to wonder if book three, another novella, will ever get done. Since the beginning of June I've managed to finish three chapters. Works out at almost chapter a week, which is lightning speed for me, but still not fast enough. However, I'm still on course to get four books written this years (I'm including my published book here because it means one less book to reach my goal. Might be cheating, but, I'm only cheating myself :D)

Today I need to rewrite a 1000 word story and change the POV from first to third. That shouldn't take long. And I really need to make a start on chapter 4 of Angell in Chains. I want this book done by the end of July, which will hopefully coincide with the arrival of my hallowed ITIN. This is my third attempt to get a number and if they turn me down again, there is nothing else I can do except live with the fact 30% of everything I earn will go to the US government even thought I'm not an American and I've never even visited the country.

First post

2010-06-27T12:22:00.000+01:00

I wanted a blog separate from my website, as a sort of progress chart for my current WiPs. Right now I have two stories, one is more or less done and the other I'm about a third of the way through. Oh yes, and I have a third story on hold while I figure out how it's going to end. And maybe I should mention my fourth story which is at first draft stage? Okay I have four WiPs on the go right now. All of them are character driven because I am not a plotty writer. My conflict comes from within my characters and not from external sources.

That's something else I'd like to use this blog for, analysing my own writing. I'm a university student, studying for an English degree, so analysing prose has been drilled into me for the past four and a half years. Analysing myself, after hours and months and years of Dickens and Shakespeare, should be a doddle right?

I'll start with something I'm just beginning to realise in myself as a writer. My stories explore a similar theme. The genre is romance, homoerotic romance to be precise, and the MCs begin by being in love with someone who is entirely unsuitable. The unsuitable person can range from a best friend, to a rock star, to a vampire, an angel, and not to be left out, a ghost. I'm not sure what that says about me as a writer, but the theme crops up in every story. It's where I get most of my angst, hence the character driven rather than plot driven aspects.

Also, one of my biggest problems is my writing speed itself, which is pathetically slow. It'll take me a week to write a chapter, and another to edit. Plus I am so easily distracted, especially by the internet, usually two weeks' worth of distraction per chapter. A chapter a month is my average, but won’t get me four books written this year, which is my current goal.

I've just withdrawn from a university course and I've got to wait until October for my new course to begin. In the meantime I have a novella entitled Angell in Chains to write. It's going to be around 40000 words long and I have about 20,000 right now. Three chapters done. Seven to go. I'll post an extract or two on this blog to chart my progress. Beginning at chapter 4 because there's no point charting stuff that's already been written and I'm happy with chapters 1-3.

I'm looking forward to beginning a level 3 Creative Writing, and I'm sure this blog will come in useful for that too. And yes, I shall be writing about men loving men. On my last creative writing course I was afraid to fully express myself in case other students, and indeed the tutor, thought me a bit odd. But I want to make a career out of my homoerotic writings so, if I turn anyone's hair green with my subject it’s their problem, not mine. At least, I'll try to think of it as their problem seeing as I can't choose what I write (it's true, I can't change my genre. I’ve tried and the result is not pretty). If there are any problems, no doubt the blog will come in useful for a bit of a rantfest too.

So that's it for my first post, and it's a long one for me. I'll be amazed if I don't get bored with blogging within the week, but I'll try very hard to keep updating.

From Ash's Penn

New Release - The Zombie with Flowers in Her Hair by KevaD

Cherise Sinclair Interview

Mergers and Acquisitions by Lillian Grant

Mergers & Acquisitions

Book Giveaway - Keep it Under Wraps by Lillian Grant

Recommended Read - Dare to Dream by Debbie Vaughan

Recommended Read - A Demon Affair by KevaD

Recommended Read - Speak to me of Abduction by Lillian Grant

Recommended Read - Dragon Wish by Judith Leger

Recommended Read -Khyber Run By Amber Green

Stray in Print

Recommended Read - Turncoat by Amber Green

Stray in Print

Book Release Day

Recommended Read - Back in the Closet by KevaD

Cover Art

Editing

New Year’s Resolutions

New Home

Which Doctor Who Companion Am I?

SWiH blog post

Sold!

Good Intentions

New Story

Some Write it Hot

For one month...

British Authors and the ITIN

Short Update

Stuck in Revisions

When Posts are a Bit Like Buses

Hate it When a Plan Doesn't Come Together

Interview

Reviews

Update

Taking a Break

Angell in Chains

The Internet Sucks...

Time for a New Post

The Day After Book Release Day.

First post