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Apr. 12th, 2019 04:56 pmApologies for the gap in normal newsletter production. We’ve been on a cruise, getting blown away (figuratively) by the amazing volcanic topography of the Canary Islands and blown away (literally) as we passed through a windy Bay of Biscay. We saw many a dolphin and seabird, a couple of whales and more volcanic lava fields than you could shake a fist at.
News
Don’t forget the literary romance quiz in Portsmouth the week after next, with a panel of very interesting romantic novelists (and me!) to follow – tickets available at the door.
I’m delighted to return from holidays to find an excellent review for Old Sins at the Mystery People site, Promoting Crime.
This is a series that gets better all the time and this book is excellent, with an interesting plot, lively dialogue and engaging protagonists. The author has only one problem, she has made Campbell so endearing that he is going to have to be the longest-lived dog in fictional history, because his fans will never allow her to kill him off.
This week’s bargains are Lessons in Love and Lessons in Desire. There’s always a bargain to be had with one or other of the new Endeavour editions of the Cambridge Fellows series.
Today’s excerpt is from one of my darker works, Broke Deep. This is a story of unexpected love found against a backdrop of family crisis and features a leading man whose mother has dementia and who, after a series of strange dreams, fears he’s going the same way.
Excerpt:
Late morning, the doorbell went off with its horribly insistent tone. Morgan smoothed his hair and put on a smile—the best smile he could manage on a day when he’d woken at five o’clock in the morning and not managed to get back to sleep. The fact his waking had interrupted an erotic dream involving James hadn’t made things any easier.
He was bloody glad he’d made some effort on his appearance when he glimpsed the vision of hotness through the hall window. This had to be a lost surfer boy or someone who’d come to the coast to find himself a job as a lifeguard and got hopelessly off track. It couldn’t be Dominic, because blokes like this didn’t usually knock on the door of Cadoc for any legitimate reason.
Morgan hesitated, hand on the doorknob. If real life was like a gay romance book, this would be Dominic and they’d bond over a discussion of James, one full of shared hatred for the bloke. The next minute they’d be taking a romantic walk on the beach, and maybe tonight they’d drag each other up the stairs and . . .
The doorbell rang again, and Morgan realised he was still standing fantasising. He opened the door in a rush just as “surfer boy who might be Dominic” had turned to go back down the path.
“Sorry I took so long,” Morgan said, as brightly as he could manage.
“I thought there was nobody in.” Surfer Boy smiled, which reignited memories of last night’s dream. Morgan squirmed. “There’s a guy here to see you, only he’s gone off to take some pictures, and he asked me to come over and say he’d arrived.” Surfer boy waved airily at a bright-red hire car, parked next to the gate.
“Are you a friend of his?” Surely this couldn’t be Dominic’s boyfriend, although his twin brother would be a good outcome.
“No. We met on the plane, and when he heard where I was heading, he said he’d give me a lift so I didn’t have to wait for a bus. My girlfriend lives up on the main road.” Surfer Boy grinned, looking stupidly handsome, more so for being unavailable. “Stroke of luck on my part. Eh?”
“It worked out well.” Morgan sighed as he scanned the line of the hedge. “Has your chauffeur gone walkabout?”
“Probably. He seems a bit of a fanatic; he’s got a bee in his bonnet about ships or timbers or whatever. I wasn’t paying a lot of attention. I bet he’s seen an interesting piece of wood and gone to take a sample or whatever.” Surfer Boy—straight, unavailable surfer boy—smiled again, then adjusted his backpack. “Right. Unless I want a dose of earache, I’d better be on my way. Bye.” He turned on his heels and walked off down the path towards the gate, duty done.
“Bye,” Morgan answered, watching him go and wondering why life was never like gay romance books.
And finally – caves created by lava flow that made my inner science nerd get very excited.
Charlie
News
Don’t forget the literary romance quiz in Portsmouth the week after next, with a panel of very interesting romantic novelists (and me!) to follow – tickets available at the door.
I’m delighted to return from holidays to find an excellent review for Old Sins at the Mystery People site, Promoting Crime.
This is a series that gets better all the time and this book is excellent, with an interesting plot, lively dialogue and engaging protagonists. The author has only one problem, she has made Campbell so endearing that he is going to have to be the longest-lived dog in fictional history, because his fans will never allow her to kill him off.
This week’s bargains are Lessons in Love and Lessons in Desire. There’s always a bargain to be had with one or other of the new Endeavour editions of the Cambridge Fellows series.
Today’s excerpt is from one of my darker works, Broke Deep. This is a story of unexpected love found against a backdrop of family crisis and features a leading man whose mother has dementia and who, after a series of strange dreams, fears he’s going the same way.
Excerpt:
Late morning, the doorbell went off with its horribly insistent tone. Morgan smoothed his hair and put on a smile—the best smile he could manage on a day when he’d woken at five o’clock in the morning and not managed to get back to sleep. The fact his waking had interrupted an erotic dream involving James hadn’t made things any easier.
He was bloody glad he’d made some effort on his appearance when he glimpsed the vision of hotness through the hall window. This had to be a lost surfer boy or someone who’d come to the coast to find himself a job as a lifeguard and got hopelessly off track. It couldn’t be Dominic, because blokes like this didn’t usually knock on the door of Cadoc for any legitimate reason.
Morgan hesitated, hand on the doorknob. If real life was like a gay romance book, this would be Dominic and they’d bond over a discussion of James, one full of shared hatred for the bloke. The next minute they’d be taking a romantic walk on the beach, and maybe tonight they’d drag each other up the stairs and . . .
The doorbell rang again, and Morgan realised he was still standing fantasising. He opened the door in a rush just as “surfer boy who might be Dominic” had turned to go back down the path.
“Sorry I took so long,” Morgan said, as brightly as he could manage.
“I thought there was nobody in.” Surfer Boy smiled, which reignited memories of last night’s dream. Morgan squirmed. “There’s a guy here to see you, only he’s gone off to take some pictures, and he asked me to come over and say he’d arrived.” Surfer boy waved airily at a bright-red hire car, parked next to the gate.
“Are you a friend of his?” Surely this couldn’t be Dominic’s boyfriend, although his twin brother would be a good outcome.
“No. We met on the plane, and when he heard where I was heading, he said he’d give me a lift so I didn’t have to wait for a bus. My girlfriend lives up on the main road.” Surfer Boy grinned, looking stupidly handsome, more so for being unavailable. “Stroke of luck on my part. Eh?”
“It worked out well.” Morgan sighed as he scanned the line of the hedge. “Has your chauffeur gone walkabout?”
“Probably. He seems a bit of a fanatic; he’s got a bee in his bonnet about ships or timbers or whatever. I wasn’t paying a lot of attention. I bet he’s seen an interesting piece of wood and gone to take a sample or whatever.” Surfer Boy—straight, unavailable surfer boy—smiled again, then adjusted his backpack. “Right. Unless I want a dose of earache, I’d better be on my way. Bye.” He turned on his heels and walked off down the path towards the gate, duty done.
“Bye,” Morgan answered, watching him go and wondering why life was never like gay romance books.
And finally – caves created by lava flow that made my inner science nerd get very excited.
Charlie
