The mating what?

At present I have all three bitches here in full season.......... and Ivan spending most of his time rolling his eyes or pretending to be very firmly asleep

Apart for some reason just after breakfast at about 5.30 am where for the last couple of mornings I've had to spend at least 20 minutes on my knees holding him and Hope up and the silly sod got carried away and they ended up tied..... thankfully he's too scared of Gretchen and Kammi to try it ... well that and they aren't having any of it!  That said, the three girls flirt like mad and hump each other .... I daren't have visitors till it's all over!

Now all of this canine hormonal overload has kind of coincided with me discovering there was a list of "Gay shifter books featuring the mating knot".... which of course I had to go read a couple of (yes even knowing how wolf shifter books wind me up)... and this has made me laugh quite a lot.... because seriously... so not sexy at all......

Well not if you've ever had to stand for 40 minutes in a muddy field in the pouring rain when the two labradors you were trying to mate finally tied........... or when you have to kneel for around an hour on a concrete patio with your hand bleeding from a bite - because the small dogs you were trying get to mate finally decided they'd tie... but the bitch wants to eat the dog at the same time...... or you have to hold up the adolescent Alaskan Malamute dog who got so overexcited at his first mating that he passed out when he tied and you have to stop him crushing the bitch......

Then there is the other side of it.... the dog that was too eager to mate and ended up injuring himself and bleeding all over the floor...... or the idiot dog that was humping his blanket and managed to retract part of it into the sheath and you've got to tease it back out...... or my favourite... where the over amorous male develops "fifth leg syndrome" and you ended up dipping him in a glass of cold water till his glans go down enough for him to retract before he dries out....

These things will happen with wolves too - okay not so much the blanket, and I am not following a randy wolf around with a glass of cold water....... but in the books the tie ... sorry "mating knot" seems to be this uber wonderfully sexy thing.... oh and it hits the prostate every time... which makes for me envisioning interesting positioning as the glans are on either side not all the way round...... of course there is the ultimate killer...... it's the bitch that actually completes the tie, not the dog, so erm, two males... yep, not sure how that works...

February's reading material

February is a short month, so the list this time is a little shorter (okay, so not much).... that might also have had something to do with the amount of knitting I've been doing.

Stand out book for me this month, and, shock horror, it's a shifter book.... which given my persnickertiness about the sub genre is rather surprising.  The book is The Tameness of the Wolf by Kendall McKenna.... where everyone knows about wolves, they make up a substantial part of the armed forces (a job in which they excel) and for once the dominant partner is the human.

The other favourite this month is Screwing the System by Josephine Myles.... an author whose work I generally enjoy, but this had the added D/s twist without the uber-rich Dom, the club setting or that everyone in the entire book was in the scene.

Now to the rest of the list...

1. Second Hand – Marie Sexton
2. Dirty Laundry – Heidi Cullinan
3. Acquainted with the Night – Tymber Dalton – this surprised me, it is an M-preg sci-fi story which whilst it does have repetitive sex scenes throughout kicked me in the gut at the ending.

4. Widdershins – Jordan L. Hawk
5. By the Creek – Geoff Laughton – YA (Andrew Grey’s alter ego)
6. A Volatile Rang – Andrew Grey – the whole story was totally ruined by really bad formatting on the Kindle which meant no full stop was followed by a space before the next sentence, words were run into each other and spelling and grammatical errors ran through the text.

7. He Speaks Dead – Adrienne Wilder – (pick it for me book for February) – not my usual thing, but a fairly good read

8. Sub-mission – Sage Marlowe
9. Re- Submission – Sage Marlowe – I quite enjoyed these two fairly light D/s novels which are set in the UK (must pick up the third)

10. The Tameness of the Wolf – Kendall McKenna (see above)
11. Social Skills – Sara Alva
12. Screwing the System – Josephine Myles (see above)
13. Once a Brat – Kim Dare
14. Blood Games – Faye Kellerman (not M/M) – great addition to a long running series of crime fiction books I’ve been reading since about 1992

15. Redemption by Fire – Andrew Grey (r)
16. Strengthened by Fire – Andrew Grey
17. Burnished by Fire – Andrew Grey
18. Rough Edges – Jane Davitt (short free story on Archive of Our Own – was in Toybox: Paddles originally)

19. Winter Wolf: A Werewolf Romance on Snow – S.P. Wayne – erm, major issues with this behaviour of the so called “lone wolf” behaving like a domestic dog rather than a wolf....

20. Dead in LA – Lou Harper – 2 kind of quirky paranormal detective stories which I enjoyed – I hope she continues with the series

21. Out of the Fire – Ariel Tachna (r)
22. Stroke Rate – L.M. Somerton – previously a free read online but now published, not much changed from the free version. Some issues for me about the portrayal of the D/s relationship

23. Once in a Lifetime – Ariel Tachna – nice story with no angst, drama or big misunderstanding told in the format of a diary

24. Hard Fall – James Buchanan (r)
25. Spin Out – James Buchanan (r)

I've also been dipping in and out of some reference books I bought - and looking at maps..... and sometime early next week I get to go visit the police station... okay that's not research, I got pulled over for having a break light out earlier this evening and need to go and prove I've had it fixed....

In the meantime, it's definitely bed time as I appear to be struggling to fight off the office stomach bug that's going round.... only rather than just being stomach crampy and feeling sick, my immune system has gone into overdrive and I have a stonking temperature that means I am either shivering enough to make my teeth ache or roasting...... joy!

March Reading Madness.....

Every month I budged carefully put aside a small number of pennies to purchase books..... I also have a tendency to troll the interwebs looking for freebies .... as a result of which I now have 92 books currently sitting on my Kindle which have not been read.

These books are a mixture of books I've bought, chosen myself as freebies from either Amazon or the publishers site, or won in a give-away... but for some reason I have just not got round to reading them before buying more books which in my mind are newer and shinier... (I am sure they aren't really!)

So, in an effort to reduce this number I am decreeing that next month shall be......

The March Madness Book Reduction Month

In which:

1. I will not buy any new e-books (this starts from 27th Feb which is when I get paid and would usually go book shopping) - with the exception of what ever is picked for me as my March "pick it for me" challenge book in the M/M group.

2. I will allow myself to re-read up to five books from my Kindle archive

3. I will be allowed to download books that are free on Amazon or which I win in giveaways.  I will not go hunting for books to download for free on other sites when I can't decide which book to read next.

4. I will try and organise my GR bookshelves a little more accurately - including creating a favourites file.

5. If I am struggling to chose the next book to read I will ask for someone to pick for me from the "lurking-in-Kindleland" shelf I've created


Right, I need to find my willpower to do this..... and turn off the "one-click" button on Amazon....... for some reason I can see my knitting productivity increasing substantially with this challenge........

(betting on how long I last before I give in and buy something is allowed...)

Books I read in January...

So here we are again, another month gone, another reading list to post.....

Okay, so this year I am trying to read the book of the month books for both the M/M group and the YA GLBT groups...... (Though I've read all 4 of the Feb books chosen in the M/M group already)... I am also going to try and do the Pick it for Me challenge and have signed up to the best of 2012 challenge (though out of the 67 books I have already read 31 of them....)

So to January - complete list below - but two stand out favourites this month.

Rentboy by Fyn Alexander... which just clicked with me. Aside from the MC's,  I particularly loved the twins and their Aspergers characterisations (such as food on a plate not touching, the not being able to make choices etc) were just so well done..... on and the brief cameo from Kael and Angel made me smile.

The other standout book was Skybound by Aleksandr Voinov.  I am not usually a fan of short stories, but this was an excellently written historical whose characters really gripped you from the start and the whole thing left me rather choked up.

as always (r) = re-read.

1. Bound to Please – Kimberly Gardner (r)
2. A  Strong Hand – Catt Ford (r)
3. Calling the Show – J.A. Rock (r)
4. Kamikaze Boys – Jay Bell (YA GLBT book of the month)
5. Moonstruck – M.J. O’Shea & Piper Vaughn - Sadly this was really an unnecessary third book with characters who did not have enough about them to make their own story.

6. Love, Hypothetically – Anne Tenio
7. Snow Angel – Sharon Bidwell (Jan pick it for me book)
8. Beggars & Choosers – Mia Kendrick (YA GLBT book of the month) - edgy content makes this one really suitable for older teens only.

9. Heart in Hand – Salifiable (M/M group book of the month) - Yes Chris, I finally read a hockey fic :)

10. The Student Prince – Fayjay (M/M group book of the month) - This Merlin fan fic came at the right time as I was gutted by them ending the TV series but it made me laugh a lot.... and wish to introduce the word "twatwaffle" into everyday conversation.

11. Secrets, Skin & Leather – Sean Michael - I'd wanted to read this for ages, but it was only recently made available on Kindle - much better than some of his more recent books

12. Falling into Place – Tia Fielding - High up on my list of favourites this month

13. The Rise of Alex Caldwell (volume one) – Casey Cox
14. The Rise of Alex Caldwell (volume two) – Casey Cox
15. When I say when – Tia Fielding
16. Rentboy – Fyn Alexander (see above)
17. Too stupid to live – Anne Tenino
18. My roommate’s a Jock, well crap! – Wade Kelly
19. Offside – Ryan Loveless
20. Not his kiss to take – Finn Marlowe
21. Change of Heart – Mary Calmes - gah, the words are "have to", not "hafta" really, this winds me up completely for some reason...

22. Know Not Why: A Novel – Hannah Johnson
23. Shane and Trey – Anyta Sunday
24. Rare than Rubies – E.M. Lynley
25. His Own Worst Enemy – Stephani Hecht (YA) - Way to short and highly predictable 3rd book in the Haven Coffee House series...

26. Conquest – S.J. Frost
27. Skybound – Aleksandr Voinov (see above)
28. Chase of a Lifetime – Ryan Field
29. Chase of a Dream – Ryan Field
30. How to Repair a Mechanical Heart – J. C. Lillis - geeky fun read but with a very abrupt ending

31. Where Nerves End – L.A. Witt

More book type stuff....

In which I am going to mumble semi incoherently about star ratings, Marmite and books (not that I recommend getting Marmite on your books... particularly if the books are on your Kindle)

I've recently read a couple of books which come highly recommended by all and sundry, have excellent star ratings and "must be read" apparently........ thing is for me, they just didn't work.... and to borrow a phrase I've seen bandied about, it maybe that these are Marmite books - you either love them or you hate them - though admittedly for me hate is too strong a word.... I don't actually know if I am capable of hating a book... I can dislike it, not get on with it, be bored to tears by it... but hate? no, probably not...

I am wary now of reading books which "everybody" ... okay so say 95% of all readers and raters on Goodreads think are 5 stars, though this is not because I worry I'll dislike them, but rather because in my own mind I will build up the book thinking it's going to be brilliant only to feel kind of let down by it when it doesn't really grab me the way I'd built it up to.

The thing is.... there isn't really a problem with this at all.  People are all different, they like different things.... it would be boring if we didn't..... and this includes the books they read.... There are a few reviewers on Goodreads and on the blogs I follow whose reading opinions appear to gel pretty much with mine and whose opinions I will trust but I am no longer looking at the overall star rating for a book, or going for the popular choice.....

Which brings me to star ratings....... I am sticking with the fact that my star ratings are for my interpretation... pretty much I can say though, if it gets a 4.5 bounced up to 5 or a 5 stars it will definitely be a book I re-read (and yes, more than once)... 3 or 4 stars means to me it was an enjoyable book... and I think I've only given one book a 2 star review...  I have left some books I've read without star ratings at all.... not because they don't deserve any but because these have either been hugely popular books but just not for me or because something in the story bugged the hell out of me and I can't rate it because that one thing overshadows the rest of the book for me, but is really not the be all and end all of the story.

One thing I can't stand is seeing people questioning someone else's rating or review.... after all these ratings are personal opinions nothing more... some readers and authors have said they hate seeing low ratings that aren't justified with reasons... but really, if the star ratings are just personal opinions and what one person loves another may hate.... and we are back to Marmite again......Upon which note I want Marmite on toast.. but I am pretty sure there is no bread in the house......

Book type stuff....

Having finally done some maths....

Last year in total I read 392 books
Of which 41 were re-reads
2 were non fiction for the purpose of research
the majority of which would fall into the category of M/M romance but with there also being books in the genres YA GLBT, crime, fantasy and historical

On average I read 32 books a month
I have 88 books sitting on my Kindle waiting to be read (around 60% of these were freebies).  3 of these are books I have read and sit on the Kindle all the time as ultimate comfort reading.  I really need to read at least 10 of these a month before I buy any more books!

I still don't review - save for the comments I put on the books read list each month as I still maintain that my opinion is probably not going to be that helpful to the majority of other readers given my own personal slightly warped view of life and books (not to mention I have my personal bugbears concerning transatlantic spelling & grammar)

In reality I have been reading M/M romance for a short time .... but I have some firm favourites author wise who will remain on auto buy (despite the occasional book just not quite being as good as I had hoped). I have no preference between stand alone books and series (though I prefer series with the same MC's rather than those that spin off with new MC's each book).... the completest in me will keep reading a series, even if it seems to have gone off the boil.

I am astounded by the amount of work some authors in the genre are putting out there or have in progress at anyone time...... and I fear it does show in terms of deterioration in quality of plot lines and editing.... I still maintain that one or two good, high quality, well edited and polished plot driven books in a year is really the maximum an author should be looking to publish. I also think there are a fair few publishers that need to take a step back and look at what they are putting out and whether in their push to put out more in volume they are leaving their readers disenchanted and tarnishing their writer's reputations.  With the sudden interest by many of the adult M/M publishers to  have a range dealing with YA GLBT books I am worried that there will be a sudden decrease in the quality of these books given the push to get them out there onto the market.

One of my main issues at the moment appears to be the "ooh, look, a minor character, quick, spin it out longer and give him is own story" even when there isn't really a story for him to tell...... these books tend to be a high sex to storyline ratio and a rush to a happily ever after with virtually no plot.

So, that's some reading thoughts..... as for writing... it was pointed out to me that I haven't got any course work to do any more, so I have no excuse for not getting back into my writing..... a few more books which leave me feeling meh about them and I will probably start thinking that I can actually write but until that happens I will probably stick to reading

Books I read in December....

A day early, but I wanted to do some totals and favourites tomorrow (well whilst everyone else is out enjoying New Year's Eve I shall be at home with the critters due to an excessive amount of fireworks!)

So, this month I have read...

1.     Papa’s Boy – Sue Brown 

2.     Country Mouse – Amy Lane - It took me ages to get into this one, I am not sure why but just something didn't gel the first couple of times I tried to read it, got there eventually though and really enjoyed it

3.     Shying Away – Kate Sherwood

4.     Blind Items – Kate McMurray

5.     Diplomacy – Zahra Owens - This probably has to be one of my favourite books this month

6.     Sorcerer’s Knot – Tali Spencer

7.     Silver/Steel – Belinda McBride - I really enjoyed Blaque/Bleu so was pleased to see a sequel, unfortunately I found it a little muddled and quite rushed towards the end

8.     Reclaiming Love – V. L. McElfresh (December’s pick it for me choice)

9.     Aaron – J P Barnaby - This is again one that sat on my Kindle for a while before I read it.  I loved the story line and was so glad to see that the author didn't go down the "magical healing penis" trope to give it a HEA.... this one could only have a HFN ending given what the MC had been through, his age etc.  Also had a good supporting cast of characters.

10.  Domestic Relations – K-Lee Klein

11.  The Long Way Home – Z. A. Maxfield

12.  An Isolated Range – Andrew Grey - I enjoyed this series to start with but they are all becoming a touch formulaic now

13.  Marked Yours – Elizabeth Noble

14.  Vanilla Free Christmas (manlove edition) – various - Meh - just don't even go there

15.  Bound by Honour – S. E. Jakes

16.  The Condor – Isa K - this was a freebie I picked up and enjoyed, the MC (first person dialogue) has a snarky sense of humor and for a very long story it moves along quite quickly.

17.  Naked Tails – Eden Winters 

18.  Beaten – Sean Michael - I had high hopes, it seemed to have a plot.... then it turned into the typical things to be expected from the author/series

19.  In the Red – Kari Gregg

20.  Luke’s Present – Sue Brown

21.  Half Moon Chambers – Harper Fox - This author's writing is exceptional, sadly I think I read too many crime novels/police procedurals from other UK authors, not to mention working in the legal field, which meant a couple of technical things pulled me out of the story

22.  Lorcan’s Desire – S.J.D. Peterson (r)

23.  Quinn’s Need – S.J.D Peterson (r)

24.  Ty’s Obsession – S.J.D Peterson (r)

25.  Connor’s Courage – S.J.D Peterson

26.  Jess’s Journey – S.J.D Peterson - Another series I really enjoy, I also read the short (Riveted) on Good Reads - looking forward to reading the series that will branch of from Ty's story and the short.

27.  Frat House Troupers – Xavier Mayne - I read this on Literotica a couple of years ago, post editing it is slightly more polished, the main storyline has been done before but the characters make this, particularly the supporting characters of Nestor and Bryce.

28.  Room at the Edge – Jane Davitt - I was really pleased to see a follow up to Room at the Top, and it didn't disappoint at all.... and well.... fire play... for a happy little pyromaniac this was a huge plus :)

Musing about anthologies...

I recently bought, and read, a couple of anthologies.  Now this is unusual for me, as I am not a big fan of anthologies..... which I think goes hand in had with me not being a huge fan of short stories (at least not when I have to pay as much for them as I would for a novella).....

Anyway, these were billed as being "kinky" Christmas stories........ which should suit be just fine..... now one anthology I did enjoy most of the stories... the other unfortunately was a reminder of exactly why I don't usually read them..... from 5 stories, 1 I enjoyed (and admittedly it was from an author whose work I've read before for free on Literotica so I know their style), 2 were okay at a push, the other 2.... well, I wondered how on earth they got into the anthology at all (in a sort of ... what really? did they not get any better submissions??)

And this is the problem..... in any anthology I find that for me there is always going to be at least 30% of the work in there that I just can't get on with..... which leads on to another problem......... and one which is probably in my mind..... but it's there anyway.... and that is that my LiAW story is going to be part of an anthology....

My story will be in the 5th volume.... along side stories by real, proper, popular authors....... my story! written, well scribbled, by me, a complete novice at this sort of thing...... My stomach kind of flips when I think about it... because yes, I am pretty sure that for a lot of the readers mine will be in that 30% giving readers a "WTF is this crap?" moment...... I suppose at least they can just skip it and at least it's free so they won't have wasted money on it....... 

I know it's probably just nerves.... after all the ratings it's had have been good..... but still... *sigh*

Right, I shall go off to brood some more, and stand by the phone waiting for my mother to call me.....she informed me yesterday she'd borrowed a couple more books - I recently lent her Tigers & Devils and Tigerland to read, she enjoyed them and wanted another of the same sort of thing.... trouble was she chose herself and is currently reading My Fair Captain..... I have a horrible feeling I am going to have one of those slightly squicky conversations involving me trying to explain the concept of fisting to my 75 year old mother......

Books I read in November

My reading was severely hampered by my exams (dammit!) in fact I didn't really read much for the first half of the month at all.....

1. Carpe Jugulum – Terry Pratchett (r) – I try to read something Halloween-ish every year, it was a toss up between two favourites, this one or Robin McKinley’s “Sunshine” this year.  This one won because I needed the humour and familiarity of the characters

2. Dex In Blue – Amy Lane
3. A Red Tainted Silence – Carolyn Grey – November pick it for me challenge – enjoyable book even if I did have to suspend my disbelief in places

4. Tigers and Devils – Sean Kennedy (r)
5. Tigerland – Sean Kennedy – I really love Simon’s voice in these books... pleased that it’s set up for a 3rd book if Aus pass marriage equality, but if that is the last we hear of Simon and Declan I will know they are quite happy with their lives...

6. Ricochet – Xanthe Walter
7. The Gravediggers Brawl – Abigail Roux
8. Sauntering Vaguely Downwards – Nessa Warin  - one of several books I picked up during the Dreamspinners’ October give away that I wouldn't usually have bought.... I hated the tense the book was written in but quite enjoyed the story ... the references to Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett’s works kept me amused as I am a fan of both (particularly PTerry.... after all I am the person whose warped mind resulted in writing a cross over Discworld/Chalet School fic ..... don’t ask!)

9. A Knitter in his Natural Habitat – Amy Lane

10. Falls Chance Ranch – Rolf & Ranger (r)
11. Three Traders – Rolf & Ranger (r)
12. Mustang Hill – Rolf & Ranger (r) – these are rapidly turning into some of my favourite comfort reads... and were where I wanted to be in between some majorly heavy revision and whilst I had a horrible cold.

13. Ascendance – Lissa Kasey – this is the fourth in this series and the characters are continuing to develop and evolve... and although I am not really a vampire kind of person (okay, you know what I mean!) I really do like the way Gabe is portrayed (and hoping Sam will “grow-up” to be another interesting multidimensional character)

14. Nighttime Wishes – M A Church (r)
15. Nighttime Dreams – M A Church – I first came across MA’s writing on Literotica and fell in love with her series The Harvest (sadly no longer available), she does great snarky characters, tongue in cheek humour and likeable aliens ... with in this case tentacles...

16. This Old House – Sean Michael
17. Bound by nature – Cooper Davis
18. Hold Still – Megan Derr
19. Complete Faith – Sue Brown
20. Hajiri’s Pet – Auburnimp
21. Marathon Cowboys – Sara Black
22. A Matter of Time – Mary Calmes
23. The End of Innocence – John Good – this is the follow up to Tales of Foster High, again it’s YA, and there’s no happily ever after.  It’s gut wrenching in places but beautifully written.... and if you aren’t in tears by the end then the authors note will probably send you that way.

24. Sock it to me, Santa – Madison Parker – YA – very sweet short story.
25. The Stardust Diaries 2007 - Tarn Swan (which for some reason hasn't made it onto Goodreads yet...)

This month I’ve also re-read most of the Falls Chance Ranch short stories, Team Trials (which is a series which combines rugby players and domestic discipline – and a lot of humour) as well as numerous other short stories from lurking about the net.....

No clear outstanding best of for this month...  

The weekend by numbers...

1.  I did it, I was examinated, it is over and done with... results mid-December... bugger all I can do about them so I am refusing to worry.  When I got home, did I celebrate my freedom from academia after 3 long hard years?  Did I have a drink or three to get over the exam stress?  Did I go paint the town red (well pale pink, I'm old and not that energetic)?  Nope, none of the above, I took lots of cold cures and went to bed early.... I really am an old woman at times!

2.  Saturday started ridiculously early with the realisation that in fact I couldn't breathe .... no nothing drastic.... I have a heavy cold, so of course Gina is trying to aid my recovery (not) by lying in the crook of my neck, with her head resting heavily over my windpipe....The rest of the day was rather boring... I did some serious comfort reading .... and confirmed to myself that, why yes, I do in fact have a crush on a fictional character!.... not so unusual? well perhaps, only in this case object of said crush is male... which for me makes it a bit odd...... ah well, never mind, no one is going to have a problem with me taking him home and looking after him are they?? (though given his Top like tendencies this maybe a mistake on my part)

3.  Laundry happened at some point yesterday... cos clean clothes are a helpful thing for the working week.... only problem is.. lack of heating and wet clothes does not a happy mix make... upstairs in my house feels like a slightly damp laundrette.  I have the heater on in the book room to get things dry... the cats however think this is just on for them....

4.  I don't know about anyone else, but when I have a cold my lips tend to dry out and crack... they did this overnight but I didn't realise until after I'd reached out and drank the lemon squash I had by the bed.... erm... OUCH!!  really not to be recommended... I was very awake and cursing in seconds!

5.  I have no voice!!  The dogs think this is a wonderful thing as unless I can get my hands on something non breakable when they open their gobs that I can throw towards them they've realised I can do nothing to shut them up (usually I shout, well I don't, I just say "Gretchen" in a very loud and stern tone.... which works, well on all bar one dog.... okay, guess which... I tried it earlier and sounded like Kermit on Helium... not good!)

6.  I have been beta reading a story today (which I am really enjoying) but appear to be trying to eat my own body weight in satsumas as I do it...

7.  I had planned to do some baking as well today, but discovered when I bent down to put the oven on that going dizzy was possibly not a good thing to have happen to you when you are using an electric mixer, hot gas oven etc.... well particularly as this is me we are talking about.

8. I need to get rid of my germs before tomorrow... work is not a fun place at the best of times, though I suppose I can run a quarantine flag up the back of my chair and wheeze at people till they go away and leave me alone...... I shall have to find a friendly minion to answer my phone for me though... what a shame ;)

So, this is it....is it?

By this time tomorrow three and a half years of hard work and assignments will be over.  Each year for three years I've done and passed eight assignments in key subject areas and been to a compulsory seminar.... but all of that counts for nothing.... it all hinges on tomorrow and whether I can pass two exams starting with a theory type paper at 11 am and then a practical paper at 2 pm.......to pass I have to secure a minimum of 65% in both........ and I won't get the results till mid December.

Despite that when I get home tomorrow evening I know I can do nothing about the outcome, so it is time to put it behind me and do other things with my free time....

Thanks to reading Amy Lane's knitting books recently (okay, so I finished the last one earlier tonight after my brain reached critical saturation point on the revision front) I appear to have re-discovered my knitting mojo ... just in time to at least get a couple of projects I'd promised done for Christmas... with the knitting it's then onwards to March when two of my friends have babies due... I feel mini socks may be on the cards...

Rupert the evil plot bunny gave me an idea for the November story prompt, which I am hoping to get written up this weekend - so nice not to have to shove what I really want to write to one side for the sake of my course!  I'd also like to work on one other story, which I have the characters for and the very bare bones of a story, but I have no idea where it's going save the opening scene and a bit of background....... I shall just let my characters lead me.

I have a story to beta read this weekend too which I am really looking forward to.

Other than that, my time is my own.... I should really do something to celebrate finishing my course.... something that doesn't get me into trouble.... or arrested ... that is.... perhaps if I have a couple of celebratory vodkas something will come to me on this subject.

In the meantime, I am taking my germ ridden self and a box of tissues to bed for an early night.....

Spookily enough... books I read in October...

Blessed Samhain (or happy Halloween).... early post tonight before I go light candles in the windows to keep away the spirits.  If you are going out trick or treating, stay safe.

So, to the book list...

1. Outcast Mine – Jamie Craig
2. Dirty Kiss – Rhys Ford (r)
3. Dirty Secret – Rhys Ford
4. My Relegence Rake – J.L. Langley.... I’d been caught up in the hype on this one, given that I also really like the first two in the series, but this just didn’t live up to it possibly because as readers we already knew of both the MC’s (though it was nice to see minor characters from the previous books getting more page room)  It felt more like a fill in arc to get from the first two books to the next two...

5. Magic Mansion – Jordan Castillo Price – October challenge book – I have been recommended this author on numerous occasions but just not got round to it.. This book wouldn’t have been my first choice as I don’t do reality TV or in fact stage magicians.... but the writing was superb and I really enjoyed it

6. Gilliflowers – Gillibran Brown – ah Gilli, I have such a soft spot for these books... I am really hoping he continues to turn his diaries into books, despite the fact his website says that he probably won’t.

7. Salad on the Side – Karenna Colcroft

8. Out of the Woods – Syd McKinley
9. Twice-Caught – Syd McKinley – This duo of fantasy books were well written and fun, but the world building could have done with a lot more work, luckily the main characters personalities carry the story really well.

10. Home Work – Kaje Harper
11. SUBlime (collected shorts) – Rachel Haimowitz – I am not a fan of short stories but breaking it down and showing individual scenes did work better for me

12. Lost & Found – Syd McKinley
13. Rock Stars & Size Queens – Sean Michael  - meh, I really don’t enjoy the Velvet Glove series, I do not know why I buy and read them because I could basically read the blurb and tell the predicable story in my head...

14. Your biggest FAN – Missy Welsh
15. Duck! – Kim Dare (r)
16. Magpie – Kim Dare
17. Concubine – Jill Knowles
18. The Druid Stone – Heidi Belleau
19. Galway Bound – Heidi Belleau

20. Wee Free Men – Terry Pratchett (r)
21. Hat full of Sky – Terry Pratchett (r)
22. Wintersmith – Terry Pratchett (r)
23. I shall wear midnight – Terry Pratchett (r) – comfort reading!

24. The Winter Courtship Rituals of Fur-Bearing Creatures – Amy Lane
25. Super Sock Man – Amy Lane
26. How to Raise an Honest Rabbit – Amy Lane  - I bought all three of these in one go and read them one after another, very sweet yet amusing stories.... and free knitting patterns too – a friend of mine is getting married soon and I am knitting him the willy warmer from the back of the first book to throw when his wife throws her garter.... I’ll probably knit the gloves from the third book too... but the socks alas have cables, and I have a morbid fear of cables....

27. Peter and the Wolf – Fabian Black – this is a “scene” from a story, not a book!

28. Conduct Unbecoming – L.A. Witt

29. Andy Squared – Jennifer Lavoie – (YA – Goodreads GLBT group read).... Fairly light coming out story.  Spoilt for me by the fact that the actions of the female twin (Andrea) were in my mind over the top, she was a bully from the start, outed her own twin brother, forged his college application, was supremely controlling of her family and friends, yet was forgiven in the blink of an eye... my view, but if an author gives their characters qualities like these they should really have to work for redemption.

30. One small thing – M.J. O’Shea & Piper Vaughan (r)
31. One true thing – M.J. O’Shea & Piper Vaughan – I was disappointed with this.  I can do “insta-love” stories if they are sci-fi/fantasy/paranormal, but I really struggle in a contemporary.  Although this was Dusty’s story he kind of got swallowed by the twins and the debt issues (and just how did Asher get past the credit check for his lease? And why didn’t he notice the letters coming to the shared house in his name not his brothers?) the happy family resolution with his sister just seemed thrown in at the end as in “ta da!” happy ending!

32. Chase in Shadow – Amy Lane.... see continuing my quest to understand angst... really liked the story, and am coming to the conclusion angst is just putting your characters through the wringer emotionally and physically as frequently as you can to get to the happy ending ....

Ok, so it looks like I average about 30 books a month from the stats this year so far!  Thank goodness for Dreamspinner and their October give away as I am going on a book buying diet for the next month to save some pennies for festive presents....

Living in a fantasy world....

Okay, well I did say I was on a bit of a fantasy kick at present....

At the back end of last week I fancied some comfort reading so I read the Tiffany Aching series of Discworld books (Wee Free Men, Hat Full of Sky, Wintersmith & I Shall Wear Midnight) by Terry Pratchett..... (I won't take the Kindle up to bed for fear of death by feline so I tend to re-read paperbacks I already own as I don't seem to be buying them any more).... I then started, at stupid o'clock on Saturday morning re-reading the prequel to the Belgariad (Belgarath the Sorcerer by David Eddings).....

Switching to the Kindle a few hours later and Concubine by Jill Knowles was next on my to read list.....

After a little light research on line for my NaNo Project... thankfully non fantasy (Ha! I say this now) ... I decided that I would do some TV watching and through the magic of cable TV and in my wisdom decided to spend a good few hours watching The Lord of the Rings.... well dozed on and off on the sofa whilst it was on..... only switching over to watch Merlin (after safely hiding the plot bunny as his ideas about Sir's Gwaine and Percival are, well, lets just say, it would get them kicked out of the Knights of the Round Table for sure....)

This morning I finished watching the Return of the King after I'd taken the dogs out at a time on a Sunday morning which for normal people only happens on the way back from a really good night out.... and then started reading The Druid Stone by Heidi Belleau & Violetta Vane.....

and then I fell asleep......... and landed in the most visually real but at the same time disturbingly surreal dream  in which I was thrown into a highly weird (and very blue like the picture above) fantasy world...... thankfully there were no dragons.... but it was a good thing I know how to use a bow and arrow or I might not have got out alive.........

As it was, reality returned when Gretchen landed on my head to see if I was interested in perhaps getting up and feeding her........... I think I might have to read something other than fantasy next.....

Books I read in September

What a busy reading month I seem to have had!!

1. Counterpoint – Rachel Haimowitz
2. Crescendo – Rachel Haimowitz
As a bit of a fantasy junkie I’m not really sure what took me so long to get round to these two but really glad I did as I really enjoyed them... Though I did read the reviews from those that read the first long before the second came out and laughed at the wailing.... for me it isn't at all unusual for a multi book fantasy series to take several years to complete - I remember waiting for most of the books in the Belgariad/Mallorean and other fantasy series by David Eddings taking forever... mind you it wasn't as bad, or so my mother tells me, as waiting for the final book of The Lord of The Rings to come out.....

3. Hoarse Play – Sean Michael
4. Lord and Master – Jules Jones
5. Texas Heat – R.J. Scott
6. Heaven – Jet Mykles
7. Bear, Otter & the Kid – TJ Klune
8. Of Being Yours – Anna Martin
9. A Serving of Love – Andrew Grey
10. With Love – J.L. Langley

11. Rocking Out – Emily Veinglory
I had reasonable hopes for this story, but whilst it was good premise for a story but it doesn't work if your mc’s are only on the page together for about 1/8th of the book .... that and it might win awards for how many things can you put and mc through in one not very long book....

12. Chaser – Rick Reed
13. Spoils of War – Kari Gregg ..... so want there to be a sequel to this short story
14. False Colours – Alex Beecroft
15. Keeping Promise Rock – Amy Lane
finally read this one, enjoyed it though the middle dragged... but it’s official, I still don’t get “angst”

16. Mind Magic – Poppy Dennison (r)
17. Body Magic – Poppy Dennison .....roll on early 2013 for Soul Magic – really enjoyed this one and looking forward to the next

18. Inherit the Sky – Ariel Tachna (r)
19. Chase the Stars – Ariel Tachna
20. Russian Bear – C. B. Conwy (r)
21. Happily Ever After – C.B. Conwy
22. Unacceptable Risk – Kaje Harper (r)
23. Unexpected Demands – Kaje Harper (r)
24. Above the Dungeon – SM Johnson
25. Gemini – Chris Owen
26. The Good Fight – Andrew Grey
I have a very hit and miss relationship with this author, whilst I enjoy The Range series most of the others I am not that bothered about. For me, this was probably the best book of his that I’ve read

27. Dark Horse – Kate Sherwood... took ages to get to grips with the tense this is written in

28. Letting Go – M. J. O’Shea .... a disappointingly pro-forma type story that this genre seems to churn out more and more frequently

29. Beyond the Edge – Elizabeth Lister.... I should have enjoyed this more than I did but the characters and situations just didn’t work for me

30. The Good Thief – James Buchanan
31. Gasp! – Z.A. Maxfield
whilst I enjoyed the book, as I do most of this author's writings, as someone whose musical tastes really evolved in the Britpop era that was supposed to have spawned one of the MCs I struggled to relate to him as he bore little resemblance to those British musicians who I am very familiar with from the time and have followed since.

32. Power Exchange – A.J. Rose.... aside from the rushed ending a good combination of mystery and kink in this story

33. For the long run – Elizabeth Noble
34. The Hot Floor – Josephine Myles
probably the best book of this month (though it gets extra points as I am a sucker for UK based books with correctly done local accents and a good sense of locale)

35. Switch – Sean Michael
36. Bound: Forget Me Knot – H. B. Pattskyn ....what  is it with rushed endings... am beginning to think some publishers are putting word/page limits on authors

37. Pressure Head – J.L. Merrow

Hum, I wonder if I can make 40 books in a month next month...... well I have to avoid revising somehow!

Right, off to go see how much hair dye I spread around the bathroom whilst I was applying the chemical concoction and sniggering to myself as my mind rolled into the gutter at the rather mysteriously kinky (well in my mind) black plastic gloves they now supply.......

It's definitely been a Monday....

Today has been one of those days where I wished I'd never bothered to get out of bed in the first place.... okay, so that never happens in reality as I am usually half way down the stairs throwing on clothing of some sort by the time the first early warning whimper is issued by the dogs....

Today did start reasonably well.... I was organised enough to make a proper lunch and clean the kitchen before work.... only for Hugo to turn his nose up at his own breakfast and go raid the veggie chicken sandwich I'd made and spread the contents across the hall.... by the time I'd cursed, quite a lot, at him and cleaned up I was five minutes late and lunchless...

I have a huge long list of files I need to draft documents on .... so did I spend my day getting on with them... no instead I had to hand hold a fully trained and allegedly competent solicitor through a task which usually would be left to an admin assistant to do... but no he wanted to do it himself.... I think I had about 30 e-mails or telephone calls, all in a tizzy about what he should be doing..... okay, so not entirely his fault as the person who supervises him was in court in the other side of the country.... I gave up on trying to do my own work in the end...

I did go on a bit of a spending spree at lunch time though... that is to say with no opportunity to purchase shower gel I found myself logging onto Amazon and through the joy of their one-click option... and my ability to demonstrate a highly possessive kleptomaniac when I am pissed off... bought, erm, a few, books.... thank goodness I am well enough trained to stay in budget or the mood I was in I'd have a to read list sat on the Kindle that I couldn't get through before next March.....

That said, the first one I want to read, Body Magic, means re-reading Mind Magic first to refresh my memory.... but I can start that tomorrow as I finally got round to reading Keeping Promise Rock (as recommended in my quest to work out what exactly angst is)...... I really enjoyed the book (though the middle dragged a bit).... but alas I am still none the wiser as to the whole angst thing..... I will trawl through some reviews of other books and find more books people say are "angsty" and try them .... I might work it out one day......

And to round the day off.... it is tipping it down with rain and none of the dogs want to go out which means I shall be up at midnight when they remember that there was a reason I kick them out before bed time......

In August I read....

Okay, so there is still one day to go, but I am not going to finish the book I am currently reading tomorrow so, here we have the, erm, 39 books I managed to read this month..... (yeah, well I was sofa bound for two weeks so no wonder there are even more than normal!!)

This month there has been lots of series.... well, it's rude not to read the whole lot if you've got the option to!

1.       Dangerous Ground – Josh Lanyon

2.       Old Poison – Josh Lanyon

3.       Blood Heat – Josh Lanyon

4.       Dead Run – Josh Lanyon  (I loved this series, but really, the books are way to short)

5.       Catch me if you can – L.B. Gregg

6.       Everything Under the Sun – Rachel West

7.       Fallen – Pia Veleno (I remember why I don’t really do angels after reading this)

8.       Houseboat on the Nile – Tinnean

9.       By the Numbers – Chris Owen (argh, irresponsible dog ownership!!.... yes I know, it’s a personal thing, but really, if you are going to portray a litter of pups, some accuracy would help)

10.   King Perry – Edmond Manning (it may be me, I enjoyed the book but I don’t see what everyone sees in the book that makes them rave about it)

11.   The Corridor and other stories – Fabian Black

12.   Final Admission – Sue Brown

13.   The Rare Event – P.D. Singer

14.   Stars & Stripes – Abigail Roux (argh, as much as I love these books – this one whilst really well written lacked plot ... hopefully this will improve as the author settles into writing the series on her own)

15.   Four Corners – Kate McMurray

16.   Daddy, Daddy & Me – Sean Michael

17.   Texas Winter – R.J. Scott

18.   Guarding Morgan – R.J. Scott

19.   The Only Easy Day – R.J. Scott

20.   Face Value – R.J. Scott

21.   Still Waters – R.J. Scott

22.   Full Circle – R.J. Scott (again another series I enjoyed but the books were too short)

23.   Cost of Repairs – A. M. Arthur

24.   Family Unit – Z.A. Maxfield

25.   Scrap Metal – Harper Fox (possibly my favourite this month – really loved the story and the writing)

26.   An Uncommon Whore – Belinda McBride

27.   Song of Oestend – Marie Sexton

28.   Wake me up inside – Cardeno C

29.   Del Fantasma – Black Wolf – Jade Buchanan

30.   The Square Peg – Jane Davitt

31.   Almost Paradise – Caitlin Ricci  (this was a really weak story and one I’d say do not read if irresponsible dog ownership pulls you out of the story..... guess who lost it half way through and nearly threw her kindle across the room when a supposed two year old (okay another issue – authors should perhaps spend time around 2 year olds when writing about them, at times the child portrayed characteristics of a six month old at times a 4 year old) was left with two adolescent bitches of a large guarding mastiff breed to sleep on the floor when the only adult was upstairs....so easily could have been a story about a child being torn to pieces by the dogs due to the idiocy of the parent...)

32.   Dark Heart – Thom Lane

33.   Healing Heart – Thom Lane

34.   Hidden Heart – Thom Lane

35.   Runaway Heart – Thom Lane (possibly the best of the series I read this month – not really bdsm though it is tagged as that, these are really slave fic, but well drawn fantasy set in an interesting world)

36.   The Price of Falling – Melanie Tushmore (one too many UK English words crept into an American based book at the beginning which I found quite frustrating)

37.   A Matter of Trust – A. C. Katt

38.   Personal Demons – Jay Lygon – really pleased I finally got round to finishing this series, last book was possibly the best one.

39.   Stained Glass – Jaime Samms

Reader Greed....

Well I haven't quite fallen off the face of the planet.... I am however still quarantined and banished to the sofa with strict instructions to stay there till my leg gets better.... I was hoping to be back to work today but the interesting side effect of suddenly coming out in an all over body rash and spending most of the afternoon asleep kind of convinced me I might still be a bit poorly.

One of the things I've been doing whilst resting is, of course, reading..... which has led me to do some pondering....

I am an unashamed series addict.... after all why buy and read one book when there are three or four out there and possibly more to come.  Now here's the thing.... I've been doing a bit of digging around and am kind of astounded by the speed at which authors can put books out there.  Now I know this is the digital age, but really, 4 books in a single year for a new author?  Even some more established authors seem to be rushing forward into getting the next book out regardless.

Which leads me to ask.... is this normal, or is this down to reader greed??

Taking one of the most prolific writers of this century (and the end of the last) and someone whose books I love and have been collecting since about 1984, Sir Terry Pratchett..... who has a huge fan base, that beg and plead for more stories, who have conventions all over the world..... I still wouldn't expect to see him put out more than one title a year... I am sure that he could write and publish faster than this, but why would he? I can't see him sacrificing anything within his books just for a faster turn around.

In fact looking at my shelves, the minimum for most authors appears to be one title per year to 18 months, with fantasy and historical novels taking significantly longer (my favourite historical writer, Sharon Penman, had a huge gap between the publishing of When Christ and His Saints Slept and Time and Chance, one of her writers actually wrote to her a single line enquiring about the book which read "did Eleanor get lost in Aquitaine", but as the author explained, she had glandular fever which put her writing on hold for several years - it was worth the wait).

Going back to the M/M genre, in which I appear to be mainly stuck, I am left asking myself.... what price are we paying as readers for the speedy and frequent release of books?  Most of the books are in e-format and to be honest, in a great many I have found poor editing, continuity and little niggly issues that I am sure could be solved with a greater time spent in editing/proofing.  These aren't issues for the self published, these are issues for those publishing through some of the larger presses.  The lack of attention to detail shows and it is off putting.

There is also the big sacrifice regarding actual plot lines....... characters and plots need to develop, and whilst a particular pair of MC's or an author themselves may have a huge fan base that means what ever is put out will seemed be universally loved, there are some readers that will be put off, that will perhaps take an author or series of auto-buy.

I do love the way that the majority of the M/M authors are involved in the community, but I sometimes wonder if perhaps they need to step back for the sake of their work and not listen so much to the chants and pleadings for yet more story...

Books I read in July....

Considering that I was trying to finish three assignments before the end of the month I seem to have done a fair amount of avoidance by hiding in my Kindle....

1.       Three Wishes – Sean Michael

2.       Three more Wishes – Sean Michael

3.       A Foreign Range – Andrew Grey

4.       Word on a Wing – Jamie Craig – possibly my favourite his month

5.       The Jack & Danny Chronicles – Fabian Black

6.       Kit’s Demerits – Fabian Black

7.       The Sacred Sword – Scott Mariani  - not M/M – but I retain a huge soft spot for the MC, Ben Hope, and think these are by far the best of the “action adventure” type books available

8.       Swan Songs (Tarn Swan) – very amusing diaries similar to those of Gillibran Brown with a domestic discipline background and an over dramatic cross dressing brat

9.       The Stardust Diaries 2006 – Tarn Swan

10.   Going to the Chapel  - Tarn Swan

11.   Two Men for Two Brothers – Sean Michael

12.   Loving Peter – Bonnie Dee

13.   Light outside the closet – Stephani Hecht – YA  - GLBT Group read for July (short but good)

14.   Left in the Darkness – Stephani Hecht – YA – again short and with a hell of a cliff hanger ending

15.   Packing Leather – Kim Dare

16.   Crossing Borders – Z A Maxfield (R)

17.   Tattoos & Teacups – Anna Martin – I was loving this until really close to the end when a potential story line that had only been hinted at was suddenly dropped in and resolved as if by magic

18.   Obedience Training – Mya

19.   Breaking Cover – Sean Michael

20.   End of the Beginning – John Goode – YA

21.   Raise your Glass – John Goode – YA

22.   Under Contract – Helen Saito

23.   Wild Horses – D. River

24.   Angel and The Assassin – Fyn Alexander (R) – I read this back in February and thought at the time I’d missed something because it had everything about it that I should have liked... it really clicked this time round so I bought the other two in the series and lost a whole day.....

25.   Be Brave (Angel and The Assassin) – Fyn Alexander

26.   Sins of the father (Angel and The Assassin) – Fyn Alexander

27.   Calling the show – J.A. Rock

28.   Redemption by Fire – Andrew Grey

29.   Love Runes – Jay Lygon

30.   Horizons – Mickie B Ashling

31.   Taste – Mickie B Ashling

32.   Daddio – Mickie B Ashling – This series got progressively better throughout and for once you got character development, plot and kinks without one overshadowing all the rest.

33.   Office Hours – Sean Michael

34.   Straight as an Arrow – Sean Michael

35.   The Isle of ... Where? Sue Brown

36.   A thread of Deepest Black – Finn Marlowe – I’d had this on the Kindle since Christmas and just never felt in the right mood to read it, I am glad I persevered this time as I really enjoyed it particularly as for a werewolf type book there were no Greek letters, fated bonds or soulmates....

37.   Morning Report – Sue Brown

And because, you know, I need to challenge myself to read more *rolls eyes* I signed up to the August challenge on the M/M goodreads group giving myself a head start list of 10 books (though one of them is the first of the Dangerous Grounds series - which I am sure will mean reading the whole lot before I am through.....