Monday Madness....well... sort of..

Start of the week, so time for a what's on the agenda this week post.....

Last week I finished another round of edits for my LL story, A Point of Honour, and have had confirmation that it is now queued for release.... though I have no idea when this will be - I am guessing towards the end of the month.

As I posted on Friday, I also adopted an orphan prompt, which meant much of this weekend was spent on researching.  I have a plot line, character names and some idea of what life was like in Paris in the 1740's and I am starting to sketch out scenes... but haven't yet hit on a starting point for the story - this could be one of those that gets written scene by scene and then joined together at the end.

House wise, I have a shed load of housework to do.... because at tea time on Thursday my dog sitter arrives for the weekend :)

I am extremely excited to be going away this weekend.  Last year I had serious nerves before the UK meet, and spent a lot of time hiding behind my knitting.  Okay, so the knitting is coming with me again, but I doubt I will be hiding behind it as much.

I leave mid morning on Friday to drive down to Bristol. I've not booked to go out on the Friday as I am pretty sure my leg will be in a state of rebellion from the drive and demand that I rest for the evening - which is a pain, but if I want to enjoy the weekend I need to make sure that I am mobile.

I need to pack.... and find something to wear for the gala dinner.... but for now I am just quietly bouncing up and down being quite excited about not only the meet but getting away for the first time in 19 years without the critters!

Books I read in May.....

So, five months down this year already.... not really sure how that is happening... and 19 books read this month.  Though there was some dipping in and out of other books for research I've not listed them as I didn't actually read the whole of them.  I did also do a beta read for one of the Love's Landscapes stories, which is novel length... 

Favourites this month are the 4th book in the Mahu series by Neil Plakcy, these really work for me as crime fiction with gay protags rather than M/M Romance.... and The God Eaters by Jesse Hajicek, which for an online freebie I thought was an excellently one high fantasy with some interesting concepts.

It's actually been a very good month reading wise with the majority of the books read coming in at 3.5 stars or above.

So the full list....

1. Cited to Death – Meg Perry
2. Snakeskin Boots – Xara X Xanakas
3. Old Loyalty, New Love – Mary Calmes
4. Poster Boy – Anne Tenino
5. The God Eaters – Jesse Hajicek
6. My Heartache Cowboy – Z.A. Maxfield
7. Necropolis – Jordan L Hawk
8. Clarity of Lines – N.R. Walker
9. Stealing the Wind – Shira Anthony
10. Rasputin’s Kiss – L.M. Somerton
11. Mustang Hill – Rolf & Ranger (r)
12. Mahu Vice – Neil Plakcy
13. Bloodlines – Robin Saxon & Alex Kidwell
14. Of Last Resort – Megan Derr
15. Perfect Love – A.M. Burns
16. Belligerent Beta – Poppy Dennison
17. Isle of Waves – Sue Brown
18. Pickup Men – LC Chase
19. The Tin Star – J.L. Langley (r)

Love's Landscapes Event.... part 2....

My story for the event, A Point of Honour, came in a just around 28,000 words, done by the deadline, and has now made it through editing and QA... it's in the queue for the start of posting on Sunday... I am guessing it will be out towards the end of June.  As it's historical I know it won't have the general appeal of last year's contemporary piece, though I am much happier with the story this time round.

So, it should all just be a question of waiting for publication date......... only...... another historical prompt was orphaned an although it's not my period of preference Rupert, insistent bunny that he is, wiffled his nose and said "we could probably do this...."  Then, some other people on line said... "go on, do it" and sent me all sorts of pictures for inspiration....... and before I knew it..... I suddenly had another prompt.....

I've a deadline of 15th June for the characters and title (characters are already named thanks to my wonderfully supportive cheerleaders who have refrained from telling me I am nuts) and the story itself is due by 15th July.  So six weeks to write it....... I don't think it will be anything like as long as the  first story and I need to do a shed load of research this weekend before I can start.... but this is the picture and prompt

Dear Author, 

I would love to read a story set in a historical, or at least close to historical, setting in 18th century France, full of court intrigue, backstabbing and duels. I'd like them to be fashion-conscious for the times, but not too effeminate in personality.

Enemies to lovers?

Maybe one of them is an artisan baker, or party planner for the court?

Or an assassin sent to the court from another country?

Please no:
Military/Navy/Soldiers
No BDSM
Crossdressing as part of sex
Over the top angst

Please include:
HEA or HFN
explicit sexual content
Historically appropriate attitudes to sex

Thanks, <3

Sincerely,


I am wobbling a little bit about this - not least because the prompt for this one is the writing partner of the prompter for the other prompt and they are proper published writers and I am, well, a scribbler of words who occasionally strings them together in something roughly resembling a story..... 

keep your fingers crossed for me!!

Things for a short working week...

It's a bank holiday here in the UK here - or public holiday I should say - which is a bit of a joke really given that the majority of shops are open as usual ... it's basically a holiday for those of us who work in offices really..... though for some lucky people like my sister who works at a University they have tomorrow off as well as one of their statutory extra days (they essentially get three extra days holiday a year - in the legal profession we used to get the same - called Law Society Days - but they disappeared years ago).  So on the plus side - only 4 days at work this week :)

Anyway.... last week's round up...

Work - The right eyebrow is hanging on by a thread....... seriously... it looks moth eaten - I need to find another way of dealing with stress (something which my counsellor will be overjoyed that I've decided)

Writing - yeah this didn't happen - I did do a second round of edits on my LL story .... guess what, Brit's don't hyphenate half as much as the Americans would like us to ;)

Knitting - I'm half way through the scarf... and it looks very pretty.  I'd like to finish it by the end of the month.

House - I appear to have lost the potential plumber....... and the house is still a tip........ but the garden looks nice ;)

Reading - I do this best when stressed, so I have finished my LGBT Fantasy Group's monthly challenge, my Bingo book and read a couple of others...

UK Meet - I now have my Flip Chart pad and marker pens, and a suitcase. I still need to make up my table sign and send it to my sister who will laminate it.... oh and I nearly bought a posh frock for the Saturday night... then didn't.....


So to do this week...

Work - I am acting team leader again this week ... and our head of department is away on holiday too - so I shall have to be quite responsible!

Writing - do some...... seriously, it's June.... it will be August before I know it and that is when the LT3 submission is due.....

Knitting - finish the scarf and start the baby blanket for the newphewit due in August.... again with the it's June already get your finger out!

House - sort out the bloody plumber... seriously, I need to at least get the new cooker put in before I turn over my house to the dog sitter

Reading - June reading challenges start next Saturday, before then I think i shall do some re-reading

UK Meet - finish the sign, get the house sorted out for the dog sitter, and groom the hell critters so they don't look a complete mess before you leave them with someone else!

I think that's about it - today I am baking - we have a charity bake sale tomorrow at work and I am up to my eyeballs in cake......... which means I am seriously craving garlic bread and all things savory!!

Saturday Song....

I've not heard this song in years, but it just played on the radio.  I love the band anyway - a couple of their albums are major features of my driving music in the summer... but this song is one that my pacifist self totally gets the lyrics of.....

On not getting the job upgrade.....

Over a week after the interviews, I found out today that I didn't get the job upgrade....

Now, I had lots of wonderful people encouraging me, thinking positive thoughts for me and even other candidates convinced that I would get it.... I didn't.... and you what....... that's fine.

I am not upset, or disappointed, in fact, if I think about it I am rather relieved....... it's not that I couldn't do the job, or didn't want it (I wouldn't have applied if that was the case), I am just not sure that now would have been the right time for me.

In effect, I was rejected, but really, it doesn't feel like a rejection at all.  Sure I've had job interviews where I didn't get the job before, though to be honest only 2 of those... one I minded bitterly about the other I couldn't have cared less.  This just feels, I don't know, kind of right.

I got more worked up about my last round of edits to be honest...... which probably goes to show I am more personally involved with my writing than I am with my job...... I don't think that's a bad thing, after all the writing comes from within, the job as much as I enjoy it, is something I do to pay the bills and keep me off the streets.

I think for now I shall just enjoy the working day and come home and enjoy being more creative, whether that is writing or knitting (okay, or baking that sometimes gets creative, particularly when you've forgotten half the ingredients you need)......

Better late than never... things to do this week...

I meant to do this on yesterday... but a serious bout of insomnia on Sunday night meant that I couldn't string a coherent sentence together verbally let alone get my fingers to co-operate with making a blog post...

The weather here has been wonderful for the last week... but alas today we have clouds and that feeling of approaching thunder... joy...

I also have a sneezing cat... which I am hoping will resolve itself in the next couple of days or we shall be heading to the vet :(

So.... what happened last week...

Work - Yeah, well Wednesday was hell - okay, so my appraisal was fine and I'm a good employee, but they won't be announcing who got the upgrade posts till Friday and quite frankly the wait is a nightmare!  I've got a busy week this week acting up as my team leader is on holiday... but on the plus side, it was a colleague's birthday today.... there were cupcakes...

Knitting wise -The May project is finished... rejoice!!

Writing - I've done some plotting for the LT3 submission and some research (read oggling pictures on the net... I need a man with  a specific tattoo)....I've also, for fun, started writing a very short D/s piece which my writing cheerleaders (enablers!) have been pushing for...I don't think I write contemporary that well, so we shall see what happens with that.

House - the plumber never showed up.... but as the last post shows... the gardener did :)  I still haven't got over the novelty of looking out onto a tidy and neat garden!

Reading - I read my bingo book, am reading another challenge book... but the PIFM book still lingers... it's just really not my thing.

And so to this week....

Work - Just need to get through to Friday with my right eyebrow intact... yeah, seriously, chances aren't high...

Writing - finish the D/s piece and send it to my beta readers and get started with the LT3 piece

Knitting - I'm working on a scarf at present (fairly basic feather and fan lace) which was promised for last Christmas... yeah, I know... anyway, I am banning myself from the computer after 7.30 pm at night which means I get a good couple of hours of knitting in most evenings whilst I watch TV or talk on the phone.

House - chase the plumber!  well not literally, cos that would scare him..... I still need to do sme serious housework in preparation for the dog sitter coming

Reading - yeah, I will do some...

Other things I need to do include - make a sign for the Readers Only table I am running at the UK meet and check my sister has got the flip chart and marker pens for me.  Bath and groom the dogs now that their seasons are all over.

Could be a busy week.... well... what's left of it!