Elin Gregory

Well …

June 28, 2014 by Elin Gregory

I guess I wasn’t really back to business, was I?

There’s just so much going on at the moment and that, combined with a laptop that won’t recognise the internet – oh it accepts that it’s there in theory but in practice doesn’t want to know – means that I have been even scarcer than usual.

What’s going on? LOADS and it’s making me make this kind of face:

However, nobody loves a whinger and since we writers are all about the UNreal lives over which we do have a little control here’s what I’ve been doing.

Eleventh Hour is finished bar the double checking. I’ve been checking back through my files and I started writing it on September 8th 2011! Didn’t make a note of when I actually typed the last few words, because there’s always a LOAD of changes to make, but it was a couple of weeks ago. So two and three quarter years to produce about 50k words. Not very good, is it, when there are so many writers who write 3 or 4 books a year. I’ll just comfort myself with the reminder that we do what we can when we can. The only way I could write more is by giving up reading and I really wouldn’t want to do that!

But, since Eleventh Hour is finished I’m going to celebrate by posting a little snippet from chapter two. London, 1928, Allerdale, a tough field agent, returns to England with news that an anarchist cell has moved to London and may be planning an assassination. He needs a partner to observe one of the cell members – cue Miles Siward, well bred, well connected sponge for languages and a keen amateur actor in the Traditional Shakespeare society. His Portia was sublime!

Miles knew that he was keeping Allerdale waiting and didn’t much care. He also knew that it was unfair to blame the man for his present plight but he needed – really needed – to direct his ire somewhere and Allerdale didn’t look as though he would be bothered by a little professional terseness. No, he could take it. His shoulders were broad. He was probably outside now, drinking coffee and sniggering over Maugham’s secret service stories, having performed feats himself that made Ashenden look like a village bobby.
“Too tight?” his helper asked and Miles shook his head.
“It’s fine,” he said and eased the frock down over the light padding they had applied to his hips. It was a good frock from a great Parisian designer and less than a year old. Just the thing for a well-bred provincial miss to have worn on her honeymoon. In two tone grey wool, with long sleeves and a high collar, the pleated skirt skimmed a little below his knees. It fitted well. Miles tilted his head and studied his reflection. She – he – Millie looked good. Smart. Miles adjusted one of his spit curls and let out a long calming breath. He deliberately lowered his shoulders and felt the first easing of tension as he began to relax into the role. The excitement would come later. “How is that cut?”
Throckmorton – who had been in the flickers before the Great War spoiled his looks – pursed his lips and lifted the hem away from Miles calf. “Fine,” he said. “The styptic pencil stopped the bleeding. Tonight, when there’s time, do your thighs and the rest of your chest. You can’t be too careful. And for pity’s sake buy a safety razor. That sabre of yours is only fit for cutting throats.”
“It cuts closer than anything else,” Miles said, “and then I don’t have to wear so much slap.”
“All I can say is, thank God you’re blond.” Throckmorton grabbed Miles’s chin, turning his face towards the light. “Shall I do your eyebrows?” he asked.
Miles groaned. “All right. But not too thin. I’m supposed to be a not too bright, provincial lass from the Home Counties not Theda Bara.”
Throckmorton snorted – as well he migh,t because Miles had to admit that he looked nothing like Theda Bara. Elissa Landi, perhaps. Millie would be a handsome girl if not conventionally pretty. He closed his eyes and tried not to wince as Throckmorton plied the tweezers.
“How much do you know about this Allerdale chap?” he asked after a few moments.
“Not much,” Throckmorton replied. “And what I do know is classified as ‘most secret’. But I can tell you that he’s sound. You’ll be fine. All you have to do is watch and keep notes. Allerdale will do any of the active stuff. You’ll come to no harm.”
“That wasn’t exactly what I meant,” Miles snapped.
Throckmorton clapped him on the shoulder. “Well, I don’t want you to come to any harm. You’re the only person who fits that set of clothing and it cost a pretty penny. Take care of it. You’ll need these too.” He offered Miles a leatherbound case and Miles snapped it open and nodded glumly. Adam’s apples were inconvenient things but a pearl choker would camouflage it in the evening. By day a scarf would do.
“If you’re serious about this, you should have your ears pierced.” Throckmorton flicked one of the accompanying pearl drops with a fingertip. “Clip-ons give one the most frightful headache.”
Miles shut the case with a snap and slipped it into his handbag. “I’m not contemplating having to wear them for that long,” he said.
Once his tamed eyebrows had been darkened, ditto his eyelashes, Miles applied powder and a little discreet lip colour.
“Pinch your cheeks,” Throckmorton advised.
“You pinch yours,” Miles growled. He got up, gave himself a little shake to settle his pleats then picked up his hat and set it carefully on his head. With a scarf – silk printed with peonies in the Chinese style – snugged up under his chin, he draped his coat over his elbow and picked up his handbag. He looked into the mirror and Millie Carstairs, blonde but nobody’s moppet, gave him a cheeky grin.
“Will I do?” he asked.
“You’ll do. One last thing.” Throckmorton gave Miles a squirt of Arpege then tucked a smaller bottle into his handbag. “Break a leg, darling.”

The rather splendid person in the photo is Barbette a drag artist circus performer on the trapeze and high wire who was glamorous beyond belief.

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Today in the Comfy Chair – Penny Hudson

June 26, 2014 by Elin Gregory

My guest today is Penny Hudson, an intrepid lady who has just written a book set in the more dangerous areas of the US.

In the UK our wilderness is reasonably safe, we might get midged and people regularly fall off things but there are no predators scarier than us.

So Penny, how did you research the setting for your story? Did you go where there are BEARS?

Thank you so much for inviting me to visit and babble from the comfy chair! All large animals have the potential to be dangerous, not just predators. Cows are herbivores and they squish people into jelly all the time. Well, maybe not all the time, but it does happen. Interestingly enough, roughly 85% of a black bear’s diet is vegetation, not meat.

I’ve only been where there’s bears once in my life, and it was fairly memorable. As a teenager, my Venture crew (a kind of coed boy scouting) went on an eighty mile hike in the mountains of New Mexico. Black bears, mountain lions, snakes, we were going into the wild. (I also almost stepped on a rattlesnake, but that’s another story.)

We were lectured by a ranger on how to backpack in bear country safely before we were allowed to go out on the trail for our week-long adventure. He said as long as we hung all of our ‘smellables’ high in a tree in a special bag at night–and kept our hiking backpacks away from our tents–the bears wouldn’t come into our campsite and we’d be fine.

Provided we didn’t get between a mama bear and her cub. If that happened, all bets were off.

I had done very little to get in shape and completely ignored the fact I was going from sea level to mountains. It rained on us almost the entire time. I froze. My backpack was a sodden sixty pounds. So pudgy, footsore, out-of-shape me was huffing and puffing about fifty feet behind everyone else–viciously hating everything–when suddenly the entire crew screamed and ran back down the trail toward me.

There was a bear. They’d turned the corner and a three hundred pound black bear was thirty feet away, hanging out in the middle of the narrow mountain trail. We got into a protective huddle, waved our walking sticks and shouted–but the bear didn’t move. She was looking at something. Something farther up the mountain and behind us.

Her cub.

This wasn’t any random bear. It was a mama bear. I think we all realized we had managed to do one of the two things we were told specifically not to do at the same moment.

Being dramatic teenagers, we thought we were all going to die. We ran backward in a terror-huddle until her cub was ahead of us. I’m not ashamed to say the yelling took on a very shrill, desperate edge. Even from the boys.

Thankfully, the cub decided we were too loud and too weird to be around and scooted to mama, who turned and ambled down the mountain. They were both out of sight in seconds and barely made noise when they moved through the dense undergrowth. Squirrels in a city park are noisier. It wasn’t until they’d gone that we realized not a single person had thought to take a picture. They blended in so well we might’ve walked past fifty bears and not noticed them. Let me tell you, we went onward with a close eye on the brush!

I drew on that experience a lot for this story. Bears will leave people alone unless they associate people with food or are threatened. The bears in this particular area got three chances. If they were tearing up campsites (because they’d learned people=food) then they’d get a yellow ear tag and released somewhere else. If they did it again, they got another yellow ear tag.

After two tries–if they persisted in approaching people–then they were considered a nuisance bear and would be shot. Because by then they had no fear of people and could be very aggressive and dangerous.

But they’d learned the lack of fear from people carelessly leaving food out, which ties directly into my book and the opposing viewpoints of the two main characters about how to manage the wilderness area they both love.

Can you tell me a little about yourself? For instance, do you have to have a day job as well as being a writer?

I used to be a farrier, but I had to give it up due to an old injury in my elbow. Right now I’m focusing on writing. It’s working out for me so far. I read constantly and have an ever-increasing list of movies and tv shows I adore, and adore to analyze.

When you aren’t writing, is there any other creative activity you enjoy? Have you ever written about it?

I brew my own beer. I drink a wide variety of other beer too, but it’s fun to brew my own. My Not Quite Shakespeare story takes place in a pub, and my beta reader said I managed to make a description of drinking beer as sensual as someone getting a blow job! At the time, she was drinking the chocolate stout I’d brewed as inspiration for that scene.

What are you reading?

At this very moment I’m rereading the third book in the Black Tide Rising series, Islands of Rage and Hope by John Ringo. It’s my favorite zombie series right now. I read a lot of things that aren’t romance, but I did just finish Angel Martinez’s scifi romance Prisoner 374215 which was a brutal and brilliant portrayal of a man caught up in an intergalactic war. I loved it.

In that crucial inspiration stage of a new story which comes first? Plot, situation or character?

I usually have situation. For Winter’s Risk, I wanted to challenge myself by taking a trope and burying it under well-rounded characterization and witty dialogue. So I picked ‘huddling for warmth’ and decided a park ranger should be one character…and who would a park ranger have a natural conflict with? An enthusiastic environmentalist! Two seconds later, Alex and Martin stepped onto the page.

Do your characters arrive fully fledged and ready to fly or do they develop as you work with them? Do you have a crisp mental picture of them or are they more a thought and a feeling than an image?

They absolutely do not arrive fully fledged. I wish that were the case. I need my characters to do certain things to move the plot along, but they have to have a personal reason for doing it besides to move the plot along. The plot has to move because of the choices they make, not the other way around. Discovering the reasons behind the choices is how I develop my characters into realistic people. Alex has a deeply personal reason to loath Martin’s interference with the trail system Alex wanted to install.

Is there any genre you would love to write, ditto one you would avoid like a rattlesnake?

I love romance, of course. A close second would be science fiction and fantasy. I keep threatening to write a zombie apocalypse book. There’s not really a genre I’d avoid. If I had an idea for a story, I’d write it.

Do you find there to be a lot of structural differences between a relationship driven story and one where the romance is a sub plot?

As Kipling says, ‘There are nine and sixty ways of constructing tribal lays, and every single one of them is right’.

There’s far more than sixty-nine ways to structure a book. WWZ is a hundred short stories. The Book Thief is narrated by Death. The Giver employs the absence of color to illustrate a futuristic society and Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children depends on old photography tricks to bring the story to life. First person, third person, flashbacks, voice-over–the choices are endless. The point of a story is you tell the reader a story. It always has a beginning, a middle, and an end. No matter what the genre.

So, no, I don’t think there is much difference structuring a romance. Perhaps that’s just me. I liked how I could really sink my teeth into this question!

Villains are incredibly important in fiction since they challenge the main protagonists and give them something to contend with beyond the tension of a developing relationship. The cruel sea. The serial killer. The society itself. Your hero’s inner demons. What sort of villains do you prize?

Oh lordy, it depends on the story. All of the above? I just had a wild thought about a serial killer on the Titanic…. I love the hero’s inner demons. I want my main character to work through something huge and change as a person (hopefully into a better person). But what if the inner demons win? What if they come out on the other side a worse person? Cute little Anakin Skywalker grew up to be Darth Vader. But I blame the Jedi temple–and am getting off the subject.

What are you working on at the moment?

I always have several things going at once. Right now my favorite thing is a science fiction/romance about prisoners at a mining facility in the Von Ryan belt. Our plucky hero is plotting to hitch a ride to freedom by sneaking aboard a colony ship, except he doesn’t know the colony ship has been targeted by terrorists.

Could we please have an excerpt of something?

Absolutely. I’m giving away a copy at the end of my blog tour to a lucky reader who comments on any of the posts at any of the stops. Only one entry per person per blog will be counted! A complete list of tour stops is posted at my blog. Comments are eligible until July 21th.

Winter’s Risk by Penny Hudson
Winter’s Risk Blurb:

Veteran park ranger Alexander Doyle is tracking a nuisance bear when he runs across obnoxious environmentalist Martin Ramirez. He and Martin have clashed before, when Martin and the protestors under his leadership ended a plan to expand the network of paved trails and improve accessibility. Given a choice, Alex would rather face the bear.

When the dangerous grizzly attacks them and Martin is gravely wounded, his only chance of survival is Alex’s determination to keep him alive through the night. But they’re stranded miles from any hope of rescue with the year’s first snowstorm coming in fast.

Alex’s lip lifted in a sneer. Fancy finding him all the way out here. For a moment he forgot he was trailing a bear that had already killed two people. He called out to the other man.
“It’s a little out of the way for a protest, don’t you think?”
He was gratified to see Martin jolt and drop his expensive camera. Pity he had a strap around his neck, and it didn’t plunge all the way to the bottom.
“What the hell?” Martin spun around and snapped right back, recognizing him immediately. “Doyle, it’s a free country. I can hike and take pictures if I want to.” He sounded rather petulant for a man pushing fifty, but he still acted like it was the 60s. Go flower power and all that crap.
Alex rubbed his shoulders against the tree, idly scratching his back. “I’m not after you, you big twat. Have you seen a grizzly? Two yellow tags?” He didn’t expect Martin to do something as civilized as help him, and he wasn’t disappointed.
Martin paused, considered his answer, and then jutted his chin out and glared. Alex had two decades of experience dealing with tourists, summertime volunteers, cheating boyfriends, and random idiots. Like the idiot standing in front of him. He knew he was about to hear a lie even before Martin answered like sugar wouldn’t melt in his mouth.
“No sir, Mr. Ranger, sir,” he said sweetly. “I haven’t seen anything bigger than a bird all day. Can I assist you further, Mr. Ranger, sir?”
“Don’t fuck with me,” Alex snarled, and walked to meet him on the edge of the . He could still see the girl’s mangled body if he closed his eyes. He jabbed a finger toward Martin’s chest, disgusted that he had ever bothered to ogle him from the treeline. It just wasn’t fair that someone so useless could have such a nice ass. Martin looked down at his finger and raised one perfect eyebrow.
“What?”
“I don’t have time for your bleeding heart—”
The sharp crack of a stick breaking in the forest interrupted him.
“Shut up,” Alex growled, even though Martin wasn’t talking at that moment. He wheeled around to face the woods, rifle ready. “Just shut up. It’s here.”

The next stop on the tour is The Hat Party on July 1st. There will be witty banter and a picture of me in a very cool hat, so don’t miss it! http://raineotierneyhatparty.blogspot.com/?zx=727ad04cfdf657de

Elin, thank you again for hosting me. I enjoyed the view from the comfy chair!

Penny Hudson lives in the Midwest with her husband, ancient dog, and a pair of scheming cats who are nearly always doing something they shouldn’t. Since they’re called Basement Cat and his Minion, it’s probably to be expected.
When she’s not writing, she occupies herself playing with fire and home brewing delicious beers and ciders. Stouts, porters, and barley wines have been particularly successful favorites, but the cider experiments remain inconclusive.
The “fire” is contained in a forge next to her anvil. She deals with stress—usually brought on by characters being difficult or wort refusing to ferment—by beating on steel. She makes bottle openers and hoof picks, along with assorted other smaller projects as a hobby. Yes, she’s even made knives, and no, she has no desire to ever beat out a giant Merlin-sword. The blacksmithing is a holdover from her years as a farrier and the home brewing is just because… it seemed like a good idea at the time.
She blogs at http://www.anypennyhudson.blogspot.com/ and tweets @AnyPennyH and will babble about favorite books, TV shows, and movies to a slightly unhealthy degree. If any of that speaks to you on a spiritual level, drop her a line, she rarely bites.

My blog: http://www.anypennyhudson.blogspot.com/

My twitter: @AnyPennyH

Posted in Guests | Tagged author interview, new release | 1 Comment »

Back to Business

June 15, 2014 by Elin Gregory

So now it’s all over, most of us are home and back at work and we’re feeling that horrible post-Meet tristesse that follows the best weekend of the year. I’ve been at home for the week catching up on housework, being a taxi, getting rid of books!!, ditto old paperwork and trying to recover from a whole weekend of unaccustomed company.

I’ll write up a few thoughts about it in a bit but first I have a book to give away!

Every few days throughout May and the beginning of June I featured interviews and excerpts with authors who had contributed stories to the Not Quite Shakespeare anthology from Dreamspinner Press. I also invited comments, promising to enter all commenters names into a draw to win a copy of the anthology.

And the winner is …. Petronella Ford, who I will be emailing forthwith.

So the Meet. *sigh* I always love the Meet. Friday to Sunday I can find people who want to talk about LGBT fiction. Sometimes I even find people who want to talk about LGBT history! I get more hugs on that one weekend that I do the rest of the weekends of the year put together. It’s a really happy place for me and I look forward so much to seeing friends from all around the world. I know Meet time has arrived when I get my first hug from Charlie Cochrane, followed, if I’m lucky, by one from Blaine Darden! Both ladies are superb huggers as well as all their other accomplishments.

This year we were graced by some wonderful overseas visitors. Belinda MacBride made a delightful keynote speaker for Saturday, telling a tale of triumph over adversity and offering good advice about how sometimes it’s okay to give yourself permission NOT to write but to do those things that recharge creative batteries instead. Jordan Castillo Price led some informative panels on demystifying publishing and how to avoid a mid-novel crisis. Susan Lee shared her marketing expertise. We had bloggers, publishers, reviewers, readers and authors from Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Canada, the USA, Belgium and a few places whose flags I don’t recognise. We had Brits returning from homes abroad. We had the usual suspects coming in by road, rail, air, bus and, for all I know, llama cart from every part of our fair land.

High points? In no particular order, ‘kay?

I was so excited to meet K J Charles that I couldn’t think of much to say other than ‘hi’.
I was a little more coherent by Sunday when I saw Harper Fox and tried not to gush at her too embarrassingly.
I was able to hug Aleks Voinov – a much looked forward to once a year event – and was blown away with everyone else by his Sunday keynote speech – NEVER be ashamed of what you read or write struck a particular chord for me, as did his comments about writing what YOU want to write and ignoring what the market seems to be demanding.
I was delighted to spend some time with Elisa Rolle and am excited to hear that she has written a non-fiction book due to be released in December!
I hugged Marc Fleishauer, who is doing so much to promote gay literature on his review blog.
I met Hendrick DeJong, writer of stupendous sci fi, and bought his book.
I met Julie Bozza! Author of The Definitive Albert G Sterne and The Apothecary’s Garden, which actually made me cry dammit! Way to go, Julie, and I can’t wait to see you again.
Monique Lehane, wicked lady, discovered she could make me blush to order!
Mark Wills – thank you sweetheart.
I kept missing Susan Lee! I saw her on panels and across the room but we never coincided. Hugs next year then, sweetie.
I was kissed on the cheek by a handsome young man with a bare bottom, which startled me so much that I bit my cheek and it bled for an hour. But I think I can say it was worth it. 🙂
The Aleks Voinov/Lori Witt double act was as good as ever.
I loved getting to know luminaries like Sarah Granger, Sam Evans, Jay Northcote, Annabelle Jacobs, and finally getting to meet Rebecca Cohen.

Oh this list is so long and I know I’ve left people out. It’s really not intentional – my memories of the weekend are just a whirl of colour and kindness and happiness.

Thank you all so much and millions of thanks and hugs to the organisers. Charlie, Clare, Jamie, Jo and Liam, ably assisted by Cathy – you made the event supreme. 2015 can’t come soon enough.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged giveaway, uk meet | 4 Comments »

New Release – Winter’s Risk by Penny Hudson

June 11, 2014 by Elin Gregory

Winter’s Risk by Penny Hudson

Blurb:

Buy it here!

Posted in New Release | Tagged new release | Leave a Comment »

Release Day for Sue Brown!

June 9, 2014 by Elin Gregory

I’m reading this new release by Sue Brown and loving it!

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New release

June 5, 2014 by Elin Gregory

Bollocks! out today.

That’s not an instruction, by the way. Not a reference to some exhibitionistic gent giving his danglies an airing. No, this refers to the very British anthology of short stories from Wayward Ink Publishing – Bollocks!

Here’s the cover and blurb:

Bollocks as a word is a little naughty. It’s a little cheeky. It’s a little rude.
And it’s the tongue-in-cheek theme for this collection of short stories celebrating all things English.

You’ll discover a bonk is not a typo for somewhere to keep your money. A shag isn’t something thick and plush under your feet to keep them warm, though it is guaranteed to heat you up! And as for a snog, the boys of Bollocks! can assure you it’s worth finding out what that Brit term means.

The stories will make you laugh. They’ll make you snort. They’ll make you blush. Sigh—they’ll probably make you shake your head. They may even make you want to catch the next flight to England to find something a little British of your own!

It’s not just cricket, or jolly hockey sticks, it’s more… it’s the very British, Bollocks!

This is a fun bunch of stories, folks, with something for everyone – tension, passion, erotica and the daftest story I’ve ever written. 🙂 Would I recommend it? Of course I would. Short stories are briliant for filling in that little gap between going to bed and sleep, or waiting for a bus or to read in your lunch hour. These stories are fun, good humoured and generally life affirming – something we all need from time to time.

But don’t take my word for it.Those lovely people at Sinfully Sexy Book Reviews have already reviewed it and you can see their opinion here plus a terrific Rafflecopter giveaway!

If you’d like your own copy you can do the Rafflecopter thing there, or you could buy it directly from Wayward Ink, from B&N, from Amazon US and from Amazon UK

Click read more for the list of stories and watch this space because I’ll be offering a copy when I get back from UK Meet in Bristol.

Posted in New Release | Tagged anthology, contemporary romance, gay romance, humour, new release, short story | 2 Comments »

Not Quite Shakespeare – Sue Brown

June 4, 2014 by Elin Gregory

So this is my last interview with a contributor to the Not Quite Shakespeare anthology from Dreamspinner Press. I’m really going to miss all these marvellous guests and the terrific variety of excerpts I’ve enjoyed reading.

The book is available NOW from Dreamspinner – just click on that rather lovely cover to go to the page. As promised I have bought two copies – one for me and one for a commenter to one of the interviews. Please comment to this interview or any of the others for a chance to win. I’ll be announcing the winner on Friday.

My guest today is a contributor who has not added a story to Not Quite Shakespeare but is equally important – Sue Brown the editor of the anthology! Many thanks, Sue for visiting today, and congratulations on your own new publication, Stormin’ Norman, which will be released on Monday.

Hi Sue.

Have you always lived in the UK? If not what drew you back?

I’m a south Londoner born and bred. I live about ten miles from where I grew up.

Is there any place that is a must-see for any visitor to the UK?

London. It’s hardly a surprise I’d say that, is it? I think that London is unique in its feel compared to other cities.

Is this the first time you’ve been the editor of an anthology?

Yes, I was a virgin in all ways.

What did you enjoy most about it/least about it?

Reading the stories. Rejecting great stories.

Could you please tell me about your other work?

I write a mixture of so many sub-genres, contemporary such as the Isle series, or cowboy such as Morning Report series, or just plain tear your heart out, such as Final Admission.

What are you working on at the moment?

A follow-up to Frankie & Al, called Ed & Marchant. If you’ve read the first you’ll remember Frankie’s nasty boss, Ed.

Please could we have an excerpt?

Yes, here’s an excerpt of Stormin’ Norman: Out 9th June 2014

Blurb:

Dan had been Jesse’s partner for many years, and always there for Jesse on his return from difficult assignments. However, after breaking his promise not to leave again, Jesse learns to his cost that Dan can be pushed too far. When he returns home, broken in body and spirit, Jesse finds his house empty and Dan in the arms of someone else.
To fill his life, Jesse decides to get a dog. His friends and neighbours take him to choose a puppy. What he doesn’t expect is for Norman to choose him. As Jesse takes on a new job, with Norman’s assistance, he realises that Dan isn’t far away, and he still loves him. Dan has moved on with his life. Can Jesse do the same?

Jesse knew he was being scoped out from the minute he entered the bar. It was his job to be vigilant, to be aware of any potential danger to himself or others. The man with his gaze fixed on Jesse had the potential to be dangerous, but it had nothing to do with harm and a whole lot to do with a sexual package wrapped up in lean muscle and topped with dark eyes and tousled hair.
He had come to the gay bar knowing it would be quiet this time of day. He just wanted a beer and a chance to unwind without being hit on by hopeful women. In this bar, he could head off any potential interest easily enough and relax. The guy watching him was destined to be disappointed, even as cute as he was. Jesse wasn’t interested.
The barman stopped polishing the glasses and grinned at Jesse. “You’re back again. It’s been a while.”
Jesse inclined his head. It had been ten months, three weeks and five days. He was anal enough to keep records of his whereabouts in case his handler needed to know.
“I’ve been working. It’s good to be back.” He scanned the pumps, searching for the real ale. “Hobgoblin, please, Sean.”
The barman gossiped about the recent gas explosion in the pub down the road Jesse listened with half his attention, keeping an eye on the dark-haired bloke in the corner.
The man didn’t disappoint. As soon as Jesse had his beer, he came over and sat on the bar stool next to Jesse. To give him credit, he didn’t piss about.
“Hi, I’m Dan.”
Jesse assessed him carefully. He was older than he’d appeared in the shadows—early forties maybe, the start of lines around his eyes and a sprinkle of grey at his temples. Not Jesse’s type. Jesse was in his mid-thirties. He usually went for men younger than him, searching for uncomplicated hook-ups and nothing more.
“Hi.” Jesse didn’t say any more, hoping his off-hand tone would tell the guy he was wasting his time.
Dan ordered another beer and turned back to him. “I haven’t seen you in here before.”
“I’ve been away.”
“Do you want a beer, a chat, and then see what happens?”
His approach caught Jesse’s attention. Normally blokes started off with “Do you wanna fuck me?” Nine times out of ten Jesse said no.
“I’m not the marrying kind,” Jesse said.
Dan blinked. “I asked you for a beer, not a ring.”
Jesse shrugged. “You’re older than me. I thought I’d get that off the table.”
“Thanks,” Dan said drily. “So all older men are desperate for a ring and kids. I’ll remember that next time I ask for a hook-up. I’ll only go for the younger twinks.” He got up and smiled sadly at Jesse. “Sometimes a beer is just a beer.”

Author Bio: Sue Brown is owned by her dog and two children. When she isn’t following their orders, she can be found plotting at her laptop. In fact she hides so she can plot, and has become at ignoring the orders.
Sue discovered M/M erotica at the time she woke up to find two men kissing on her favorite television series. The series was boring; the kissing was not. She may be late to the party, but she’s made up for it since, writing fan fiction until she was brave enough to venture out into the world of original fiction.

Come over and talk to Sue at suebrown.stories@gmail.com.
Her website can be found at http://www.suebrownstories.com/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/suebrownstories
Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/suebrownstories
Blog: http://suebrownsstories.blogspot.com/
Email: suebrown.stories@gmail.com

Posted in contest, Guests, New Release | Tagged anthology, author interview, excerpt, gay romance, new release, short story | 4 Comments »

Not Quite Shakespeare – S A Garcia

June 2, 2014 by Elin Gregory

Monday 2nd of June – which means it’s only a few more days until you’ll be able to get your copy of Not Quite Shakespeare from Dreamspinner Press and a list of terrific authors.

I’m really looking forward to getting my copy and if you comment to any of the interviews in the NQS series your name will go in the hat to win a copy of the anthology as a gift from me! On the other hand, if you don’t want to wait you can pre-order it HERE.

My guest today is S A Garcia. 🙂

Have you ever visited the UK?

Yes, seven times. In 1977, I visited my brother who was stationed in Scotland. My last visit was in 2003… I am long overdue to return.

Where did you go?

My partner and I have traveled through almost all of the UK. We love ruins: churches, abbeys, castles… hell, we’re easy to please. Throw in standing stones, barrows, tombs; the weird and wonderful mystical places not found in the US. Granted ancient Native American sites in the Western US have the same special dynamic, but the dry desert settings are so different.

Desolate moors, jagged mountains worn down by time, and crooked timbered buildings capture our fancy.

I just studied a UK map and realized, to my surprise, the only English county I missed is Isle of Wight. The only English National Park I haven’t visited is Pembrokeshire… see below as to why! I visited New Forest and the area comprising the South Downs Park before the government granted those beautiful areas National Park status.

In Wales, I visited every county except Pembrokeshire, because our landlord told us the coast wasn’t that great. Let’s hear it for Dave Davies’s advice. As far as Scotland goes, I’m been as far north as the Isle of Sky but have yet to visit the Hebrides, Shetland, or the Orkneys, although I dearly want to see them some decade.

As you can tell, I’m in love with the UK.

What would you most like to see if you were able to visit again?

Although I already have visited Cornwall, I need to return. Back in 1984, during my second UK trip, I missed many standing stones in the area. Worst of all we arrived at Tintagel Castle, legendary birthplace of King Arthur, five minutes after it closed. My string of angry curses probably still floats above the place. At least Merlin’s Cave was still open, although the tide was coming in.

What inspired you to write your story for the anthology?

Our stay on a wonderful pig farm bordering the Yorkshire Dales.

Could you tell me a little about it?

A delightful couple had purchased the tumble down farm and had worked for years to restore the large old farmhouse while they lived in a trailer behind the barn. We rented the house for a week during the final rental year— the next year they planned to move in to live there year round.

The thing is they had gone over the top in decorating the house— there really was an abundance of silver and blue furniture. Much of the description of the house from the story is accurate, including the spectacular conservatory featuring views on three sides and the lush walled garden.

Could you please tell me about your other work?

You’ll be sorry you asked me that question! I am definitely a late bloomer. I always seemed to be writing, but sending out stories to publishers terrified me.

That all changed in 2009. I started sending out short stories and novellas. Bold Strokes Press accepted my vampire novel to the Blood Sacraments anthology for a 2010 release. Directly after Dreamspinner Press released the romantic Serpent Prince and elf slave fantasy Canes and Scales, the dark fantasy comedy To Save a Shining Soul, sad short “Baron’s Last Hunt” and the sci-fi dramedy Divine Devine’s Love Song. The former Silver Publishing released Temptation of the Incubus, a dark supernatural comedy about dangerous incubus Amando. Yep, now the novel needs a new home.

My next short stories, “Love in Focus”, and “The Colors of Pastor Saul”, were released in 2012 via DPS’s summer and winter anthologies. An Elf for All Centuries, a comedic fantasy introducing sexy, bratty Prince Fabion, released through Silver. Yes, it also needs a new home.

In late 2012 my first contemporary comedy in what I call the Cupid realm, Cupid Knows Best, arrived via Dreamspinner. I followed it up with The Gospel According to Cher in late 2013.

In late 2013, MLR Press released Love in the Shadows, a romance mixing contemporary and historical together. I don’t think anyone knows about it yet. I’m still working on the problem.

Early 2014 has been quiet. That ends in June. I’ll have a story in the Not Quite Shakespeare anthology, a wild sci-fi comedy involving spliced species, space smugglers, and tunnel ghouls in Mended, DSP’s Daily Dose anthology, and the release of Canes and Scales: The Novel.

I also have stories in various charity anthologies and way too many free stories roaming around.

My writing is strongly character-driven. The stories blossom around their growth. My characters are seldom heroic or cliché, not unless I write a cliché to make fun of the cliché. They also tend to drink lots of wine. Wonder who they inherited that habit from?

What are you working on at the moment?

I’m finishing up the edits of Canes and Scales: The Novel for Dreamspinner. I took the initial novella, overhauled it, added new chapters within the novella part, new storylines and characters, and then topped everything off with plenty of tasty angst and danger. The novella is now a 120,000 word epic. Verbal Miracle Gro really works!

I’m also finishing a short story for submission to DSP’s YA anthology First Time for Everything. In-between work and gardening this summer, I want to finish a fantasy trilogy series titled A Fairy in Rittenhouse Park and find new homes for my orphaned Silver novels. Realistically I’ll probably fail on finishing the trilogy but better to aim high, eh?

Please could we have an excerpt?

Of course! Here’s the opening of “Apollo, Heathcliff, and Hercules”, my Not Quite Shakespeare story.

Simon arched his brow. “Excuse me, you want to holiday where? Did I hear you say on a pig farm in Yorkshire? Dear boy, are you barking mad?”

Damn, why did Simon use such a mocking tone? His lofty tone made me feel like I owned ten working brain cells, which was far from true. His new trick of firing snarky questions at me needed to stop. I should be pleased; sometimes I thought vain Simon incapable of learning anything new aside from styling his wavy blond hair.

Another thing—my sanity was intact, although why I endured Simon’s self-centered nonsense—well, maybe I was Bedlamworthy.

Simon’s dismissive expression prodded my normally even temper. Heavens, the good boy in me—the calm, level history professor—wanted to scream at Simon like a raving diva. Could I channel Maria Callas’s operatic volume? Hmmm, better to channel her than Jack the Ripper. Less messy all the way around.
Instead of screaming with frustration, I imagined wearing a ball gag, a little trick I had learned during my university days. Quite a wonderful way to center my thinking. “Please look at the photos, Simon.” I swiveled my tablet toward Simon. I deserved a peach tart for not smacking it against Simon’s handsome head. No use breaking my toy. “The quaint cottage is a beautiful place with views of nothing but nature. Isn’t the setting perfect? Imagine the two of us, alone, far from the madding crowd.” I added a positive smile.

Instead of cooperating, Simon scowled at the burgundy Lincrusta wallpaper. He still refused to look at the tablet. Come on, even a three-year-old would at least look out of curiosity. Not Simon. When he wanted to act petulant, he put a three-year-old to shame. Some ex-amore must have told Simon he looked adorable when he pouted. I couldn’t deny it; he did look fuckable. He also looked sluggable.

Thanks, Elin, for hosting me today!

My absolute pleasure 🙂

Readers, you can follow S A Garcia on Facebook and Twitter. Don’t forget to comment for a chance to win a copy of the anthology.

Posted in Guests, New Release | Tagged anthology, author interview, new release | 4 Comments »

Saturday Recommendations

May 31, 2014 by Elin Gregory

So, what lit up your world this week?

Last week I was all excited about reading the Brandstetter novels, and I am still reading those when my eyes feel as though they might cope with the ridiculously tiny print. But it was pay day recently so I splurged a bit on ebooks and have been binge reading. This is something I do regularly the week after payday, and even more so if as now, I have writing of my own to do. All the “How to Write” books stress the importance of reading so I can follow their advice AND procrastinate at the same time. 🙂

Three books in particular have stood out for me recently and since I really can’t choose between them I’m going to do a combination post rather than my usual coin tossing. These books are in order of reading not of preference. I found things to revel in in all three.

Necropolis by Jordan L Hawke

The Whyborne & Griffin stories are very close to my heart so imagine my joy on winning an ARC of the latest instalment in a Facebook event. Here our two heroes have abandoned the dangerous climes of Widdershins for the even edgier environs of Egypt where friend and colleague Christine is making discoveries that will put them all into deadly danger.
By this time Whyborne and Griffin have settled into their relationship and are at the stage of finding things to disagree about [which is just as it should be] so I was delighted to find myself reading a good old fashioned action adventure yarn with loads of hairsbreadth escapes, eerie lurking half seen dangers and some truly horrible monsters. Christine never disappoints, she’s such a lovely hard case, but in this displayed some welcome vulnerabilities that made her character even more interesting. There were also developments with Percival’s use of magic that bode well for the next instalment in their story. So, hardships gallantly met, enemies confronted, monsters vanquished and a bit of a tease – thank you, Jordan, for another terrific read.

Stranger on the Shore by Josh Lanyon
I can’t be the only one who grabs each new Lanyon as soon as time and finances allow. My internet arm is short and I doubt that anyone I can reach will have failed to hear about this book. Let’s just say that this is a pleasing mystery with an evocative setting and some moments of genuine pathos and alarm. The tension between protagonist Griffin and is he the antagonist or isn’t he Pierce just jumps off the page and I was completely blind-sided by finding the sex scenes a little bit hot instead of winnowing through the acrobatics for traces of plot or character development, which are there too, of course – trust the master.
The plot thickens admirably and took its own sweet time in reaching the denouement. Naturally, because I’m God’s passive and accepting gift to mystery writers, I couldn’t guess who done it, I was having too much fun letting the story unfold to even try to guess.

Mark of Cain by Kate Sherwood

Definitely a last but not least, this story of a priest slowly and unwillingly falling for the man who murdered his brother impressed me so much! It’s not easy reading, both protagonists have their moments that made me scowl at the screen, and the whole situation is one rife with moral and ethical problems. There are ample well rounded secondary characters, oodles of character development where good people do bad things, bad people do good things and one can never relax because anything might happen.

Thinking it through again the only real points of comparison between the three books is that they all achieve a happy ending, they are all superlatively written and I’m giving them each a bit of a plug because I loved them. Give them a go, you might love them too.

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Not Quite Shakespeare – Jay Northcote

May 30, 2014 by Elin Gregory

Happy Friday. This time next week I’ll be fretting myself silly as I scramble round gathering my bits to head off to Bristol for this year’s UK Meet, but that also means there’s only a week until we can get our sticky paws on an ecopy of Not Quite Shakespeare, the anthology of British themed stories from Dreamspinner Press. You can either wait or you can pre-order it HERE. Or you can leave a comment on any of the interviews with contributing authors and your name will go into the hat to win a copy in the eformat of your choice.

We have another interviewee today, someone I hope to see next Friday – Jay Northcote, fellow Bit and a fairly new author who is definitely on her way up the ranks.

Hello, Jay, and welcome.

Have you always lived in the UK? If not what drew you back?

I lived abroad for two short periods as a child (in Germany and Cyprus) when my father was posted overseas for his job in the army, but I’ve lived in the UK permanently since the age of six.

Is there any place that is a must-see for any visitor to the UK?

There are so many, and I’m sure there are hundreds of incredible places that I’ve never been to yet myself. But of the places I’ve visited the ones I would most highly recommend to tourists are (in no particular order): Stonehenge, Avebury, The highlands of Scotland (Glencoe and the Isle of Skye), The Cornish coast – Land’s End and Sennen, Snowdonia. I’m expect I’ve forgotten loads though. As you can see, I’m more of a history and natural beauty fan than a city person. But if you like cities then my local one, Bristol, is a wonderful place to visit. Of course, it’s also the location for the UK meet this year!

In how many counties have you lived? Cosmopolitan or rural?

I had to make a list and I’m still not sure. Army children move a lot! But I’ve definitely lived in Kent, Wiltshire, Hampshire, Oxfordshire, and what used to be Avon (in the city of Bristol). I’ve never officially lived in Cornwall but my parents moved there after I left home so I have spent a lot of time there. I currently live in South Gloucestershire.

As a child I mostly lived in small towns or suburbs. Then as a student I lived in the city of Bristol and ended up settling there for about ten years after graduation. But we moved out to a more rural area several years ago when our children were small and now live in a village.

What inspired you to write your story for the anthology?

As a morris dancer myself, I’ve wanted to write a story with morris dancing in it for ages, and this anthology seemed like a perfect opportunity. You don’t get many things more quintessentially English than morris dancing, even if it’s a bit of a national joke.

Could you tell me a little about it?

The story is called Tops Down, Bottoms Up (see the extract below to find out why). Here’s the blurb:
Rowan is stuck at a folk festival for the weekend and it’s really not his scene. Early morning meditation, yoga, and singing workshops are bad enough, and when he hears there are morris dancers too, it’s the last straw. But all Rowan’s preconceptions about morris dancers are shattered when he meets Seth, who looks like all Rowan’s fantasies rolled into one. Rowan decides he’ll do just about anything—even attend a morris dancing workshop—if it means he can get closer to Seth.

The fact that a lot of people are rather rude about morris dancing seemed like a fun set up for two characters meeting with the potential for awkwardness. Poor Rowan makes a bit of a fool of himself at the start, but he redeems himself later. Tops Down Bottoms Up was a lot of fun to write, and I was really pleased with how it turned out. I hope people will enjoy reading it!

Could you please tell me about your other work?

I have three books out with Dreamspinner Press. Nothing Serious, The Little Things and Not Just Friends. They are all contemporary romances set in the UK. I also have a novella due out in August called Nothing Special and another one in the pipeline that I’m hoping will be out in November as long as it gets contracted.
My stories are usually feel-good reading with not too much angst and drama. The Little Things is the exception to that rule, but generally with one of my stories you can expect it to be mostly light-hearted and a little bit smutty. Happy endings (or happy for now) are guaranteed of course 

What are you working on at the moment?

At the time of answering this question I literally pressed submit on my latest novella less than an hour ago. So I’ll be starting something new soon—hopefully! I’m not sure what though. I have a document full of plot bunnies so I need to kick some ideas around and see which characters shout the loudest.

Please could we have an excerpt?

In this scene, Rowan is taking part in a morris workshop (having been persuaded to join in by Seth, the sexy morris dancer). He’s learning a dance, and Seth is his partner.

*****

The figures were mostly straightforward and some were reminiscent of things Rowan had learned in country dancing at primary school. He enjoyed the warm grip of Seth’s hand when they did a ‘hands around’—which involved clasping hands as you did a full turn with your partner. But the thrill of the physical contact made Rowan forget what his feet were doing. When he stumbled and nearly tripped, Seth caught him with a strong arm around his waist that fucked up Rowan’s concentration even more.

After that, everything went smoothly until they got to learn two figures called ‘tops down’ and ‘bottoms up’.
“Seriously?” Rowan met Seth’s gaze and tried to keep a straight face.

“That’s how you name the couples in a morris set.” Seth replied, utterly deadpan. “Top couple, middle couple and bottom couple. So we’re the bottoms.” A quirk of his lips betrayed him.

Rowan couldn’t resist “Both of us?” He raised his eyebrows. “Could be awkward.”

“Pay attention. That’s our cue.” Seth grabbed Rowan’s arm and guided him as they danced up the middle set for a few steps, and then back to where they’d started. “See? Bottoms up.”

When they got back to their place, Seth leaned in close so only Rowan could hear him. “I’m actually more of a top.” His words sent a jolt of heat through Rowan that left his heart pounding as Seth pulled away.

Rowan stared into Seth’s eyes and saw a clear invitation there this time. Oh yeah, he thought. Game on. He licked his lips deliberately and watched as Seth caught the movement. “I was hoping you might be.”

*****

Jay lives just outside Bristol in the West of England, with her amazing, occasionally ridiculous husband, two noisy-but-awesome children, and two cats.
She comes from a family of writers, but she always used to believe that the gene for fiction writing had passed her by. She spent years only ever writing emails, articles, or website content. One day, she decided to try and write a short story–just to see if she could–and found it rather addictive. She hasn’t stopped writing since.

Links
Website: http://www.jaynorthcote.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/jay_northcote
Facebook profile: https://www.facebook.com/dellamere
Facebook Author Page: https://www.facebook.com/jaynorthcotefiction
Jay’s books: http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/index.php?cPath=55_953