• Good Morning Monday! 2.5 weeks to go!

    Good Morning Monday pic

    OMG there’s only two and a half weeks until we leave for the U.S.!!!    It’s getting real, folks. And I still have so much to do!  BUT, it does look like my next release, The Weight Of It All will be released before I go.  Yay!!

    JSYK, there won’t be pre-orders for The Weight Of It All.  And chances are there won’t be a blog tour, unless I can pull one together at the last minute. It also means there won’t be my usual new release gift card giveaway etc because I’ll be in transit and can’t guarantee I’ll be able to send the Amazon gift card or even ebook prizes on time.  So, it’s probably going to be a low-key release, but at least the book will be out before I leave.  Waiting until early November would have killed me LOL.

    So, this week, I’ve done one round of edits, and my lovely editor said she’s never laughed so much while editing!  🙂   Glad it’s not just me who thinks Henry is adorable.  <3

    I have also sent Red Dirt Heart 2 to be narrated!   Hopefully it will be out toward the end of November.  So, yay for that! <3

    Next week, I have appointments and RL stuff to do, including accountant/taxes stuff which I hate LOL.  Though I will also be doing the final edits for The Weight Of It All and sending it off to my lovely proofreaders. I also have to plan and fit in a quick trip to Sydney in the next two weeks. So it’s busy busy busy times, as per usual for me.

    I also have two different sets of characters in my head at the moment. As usual, my characters don’t waste much time in wanting their story told, but normally they wait their turn. I can’t decide which story to start first. Neither one is yelling at me to be done first, and neither one is strictly romance…  And after writing The Weight Of It All, which was all romance and LOLs, I’m hesitant to jump into an angsty drama or crime/mystery.  One is a drama, stand alone novel, the other is a crime series, and while they will have hints of romance, it’s not the driving plot.  Both will require research, and time.  And let me tell you, writing fluffy romance is so much easier.  BUT my characters are usually stubborn and get what they want in the end. I will write them at some point, of that there is no doubt.

    Given I’ll be traveling and will be too busy doing touristy things to get much writing done, I might work on a light and fluffy Christmas story, and leave diving into something meatier until I get back from GRL.

    If my brain, and the characters in it, keep to that plan is anyone’s guess.  😉

    To finish up this week’s post, I thought a little excerpt of The Weight Of It All might be in order.

    TheWeightOfItAll Cover 200x300

    EXCERPT:

    The next morning I was just as sore, if not a little sorer than the day before. But I was determined, and like a sucker for punishment, I dragged my sorry arse to the gym. I arrived with two minutes to spare, and Reed’s whole face broke out into a smile when he saw me.

    “Glad you made it.”

    “I’m sore as hell. Please make it stop.”

    “Okay,” he said with a chuckle. “Come this way.”

    I followed him over to the far corner where there were mats on the floor. He said goodbyes to the people who were just finishing up and leaving, sweaty and smiling. It was pretty clear everyone liked him. He was just that type of guy. Not like me, I was socially awkward, said things that were cringe worthy at best. Like now…

    “G’day,” one fit looking guy said to me as he walked past.

    “Good thanks.”

    It wasn’t until he was a metre or two behind me that I’d realised what I’d said. I just shook my head, like the socially inept idiot I was, and kept walking.

    When we’d reached the corner, Reed stopped and turned to face me. “So, where hurts the most?”

    “Everywhere.”

    “Legs? Arms? Chest?”

    “Yes.”

    Reed smiled. “Okay then, sit down for me.”

    “Sitting down is fine. It’s the getting up that bites.”

    Reed planted himself easily, gracefully, despite his size, on the ground. “Legs spread comfortably.”

    I lowered myself to the floor, trying to keep the grimace and yelp to a minimum. “Jesus. And this is normal?”

    Reed nodded. “Take a deep breath, keep your chest up straight.”

    I did that and didn’t die, so I relaxed a little.

    “Now stretch forward and grab your ankles.” He folded himself in half and held his feet with no trouble. I could barely reach past my knees. “Knees are fine.”

    “Ow.”

    He nodded encouragingly. “Hold it for twenty seconds.”

    Ugh. “I’m so unfit.”

    “But you’re here.”

    I nodded and breathed through the stretch and burn in my hamstrings, but by the end of the twenty seconds, I was grabbing my calf muscles. At this point, I’d take any advance I could get. Then he had me stretch arms and shoulders, then my lower back. It probably took fifteen minutes, and I felt like I’d already done a workout session.

    He leapt to his feet with the agility of a cat, then extended his hand to me. His hand was warm and calloused, which I had to admit, felt nice. I wasn’t used to rough hands. Graham’s hands were soft, like mine…

    “So, we’ll start on the treadmill to get the blood pumping.” He obviously read the trepidation on my face. “Just slow, nothing strenuous.”

    I took a deep breath and stepped onto the machine. Once I started walking, Reed seemed to sigh in relief. “Perfect,” he said.

    He left me to it for a few minutes, and truthfully, it wasn’t that hard. It was just hard on already-sore muscles. When that was done, I did equal time on the elliptical StairMaster, cardio-killing machine. It wasn’t overly strenuous, but I could feel every muscle burn. After quite possibly the longest five minutes of my life, I stepped back off the machine, wiped my face down with my towel, and took a sip of water, trying not to die.

    “How you feeling?” Reed asked.

    “Like I’ve been set on fire, thanks for asking.”

    He just grinned and clapped his hands together enthusiastically. “Time for strength and core conditioning.”

    “I’m sorry, was that full strength coffee and air conditioning?”

    He laughed, and his eyes shone bright blue. “Oh, you crack me up.” Then he led me over to the weights. “The weight and pulley machine is good, but it might not always be available,” he said. “Some days you might need to use free weights.” He handed me two five kilo dumbbells, he picked up some for himself, and together we did a range of exercises like tricep extensions, lateral raises, and hammer curls. He called it body strength exercises. I called it brutality.

    He put his weights down. “Okay, now get down on the floor for me.”

    I collapsed in a panting, sweating, aching heap. “Thank God.”

    Then he made me do cruel, cruel things like leg lifts, leg holds, bridges, and planking. And to finish, we did torso twists and sit ups. I mean I only did about thirty seconds of each, but good fucking Lord! And I signed up for this shit?

    After he’d made sure I’d stretched properly and that I could still breathe and wasn’t going to drop dead, he held his hand out to me where I was now lying flat on my back for a high-five. It was an effort to even lift my hand up to reach his, but I did it.

    “Would you mind terribly if I just died here for a little while?”

    He grinned. “Nope, no dying today.” He held his hand to me and pulled me to my feet without any effort. “You did great today.”

    “Can we go back to blinking? One for yes, two for no. My eyelids are about the only thing that still works.”

    He blinked once for yes.

    I laughed and let my head fall forward, a mix of exhaustion and relief that my second official training session was finished.

    “You did real good today, Henry.” He spoke to me―and to all his clients, I presumed―like I was the only person in the room. “For the next two days, do some gentle walking, gentle stretches. Give your body a rest, but try not to be still for too long. And I’ll see you on Sunday at eight o’clock, yeah?”

    I nodded. “Yep. If I’m not dead.”

    “I’ll text you tomorrow to see how you’re getting on. Is that okay?”

    “Sure. But isn’t tomorrow your day off?”

    Reed nodded. “Yep. I have Wednesdays and Fridays off. But I don’t mind.” He perked up and gave a mock salute. “It’s my duty as your personal trainer.”

    I found myself smiling at him. “Sure. I better get going. I gotta go home and get showered and into work by nine.”

    Reed looked at his watch. “Shoot. It’s eight o’clock now.”

    “Ten minutes to home, twenty minutes to shower and shave, and fifteen minutes to drive to work. Believe me, the longest part will be the walk from the elevator to my desk.” I did my best rusted Tin Man impersonation, though I wasn’t acting, and walked/shuffled out of the gym.

    And by the time I fell into my office chair, the familiar, yet still surprising at every turn, muscle pain mowed me down again.

    <3

    That’s it for this post, folks. Until next week…

  • Good Morning Monday! What’s on this week?

    Good Morning Monday pic

    Okay so this one is gonna be the quickest, shortest update ever!  I’m supposed to be walking out the door LOL.

    What happened last week?  After my pre-readers input, The Weight Of It All is now with my editor. Yay!!  It is looking more and more likely that I will release it before I leave for the US. I was aiming for Sept 14th but it might be a day or two before that, to save my sanity, as we leave for Sydney, U.S. bound on the 15th.  Fingers crossed I don’t have major rewrites to do…

    I also revealed the amazing cover and blurb!!  For those that missed it, don’t fret. Here it is again 🙂

    TheWeightOfItAll Cover 200x300

    Blurb:

    After being dumped by his long-term boyfriend for being overweight, Henry Beckett decides to make some drastic changes. In a vain attempt at getting his boyfriend back, Henry does the most absurdly frightening thing he can think of.

    He joins a gym.

    Reed Henske is a personal trainer who isn’t sure he’ll ever be ready to date again. He’s sick of guys who are only interested in the perfect body image, never seeing him for who he really is.

    As Reed tortures Henry with things like diet and exercise, Henry enamours Reed with recipes and laughter. As the friendship lines start to blur, Henry is convinced there’s no way Thor-like Reed could ever be interested in a guy like him.

    Reed just has to convince Henry that life isn’t about reaching your ideal bodyweight. It’s about finding your perfect counterweight.

    <3

    I love love love Henry.  I hope you guys do too!

    What’s on this week?  I’m heading to our flight consultants to finalise the visas for Canada this morning! Yay!!  Boy, it’s getting close now and I’m still in denial about being woefully unorganised.

    I will have first round edits at some point later in the week, and I will be working on some promo etc.  I may pick a date and see about doing some kind of blog tour, now that I’m more confident the book will be released before I leave. I also need to finish off my accounts (yes, don’t fall over. I actually started them lol)  And I’ll be organising the GRL signed books to be delivered to the US this week.

    I’m feeling better this week, and even went back to Crossfit on Friday. I had two weeks off and thought I may possibly die, but I survived. Woot! Go me.

    Oh!!  And super excitedly!!  My new website is coming along fabulously.  There should be a reveal before I leave for the US!  You guys don’t need to worry – everything will transfer over and the address will stay the same. And I’ll still be posting my Monday morning drivel.

    And that’s it!  I think…   Until next week!

    <3

  • Good Morning Monday ~ US Trip Countdown: One Month To Go

    Good Morning Monday pic

    It’s one month until we leave for the US.  This holiday has been coming for months, and I’d put it in my “it’s ages away” brain basket and now, as my daughter just reminded me, it’s only four weeks away.

    For the most part, I think I’m organised.  Doing a four-person family, five week trip across the US is a bit daunting, but exciting for the most part. But not only do I have all that to plan/organise/do/try and enjoy, I also have GRL to plan for. So whatever I need to organise for GRL, also needs to happen in the next four weeks or it doesn’t happen.  So while I remember…

    Please note, if you’re going to GRL and want signed paperbacks from me, you MUST fill out THIS FORM.

    I will then order the book/s required and will organise shipping to the US to have them at GRL for you. I can’t/won’t have any other books with me.

    Now, what was I’m saying. Oh, that’s right… I’m getting through my to-do list, slowly but surely.  I’ve been mowed down by some horrid headcold flu type thing that has knocked me for a six. But, I did manage to finish my WIP.  Hoorah!!

     

    The Weight Of It All came in just under 64K words, though no doubt after pre-reader feedback and edits, it will go over that.  My sister, who is a pre-reader of mine, said the MC, Henry, is “the most me” character I’ve ever written. In other words, there is a lot of me in Henry, and I’ve quite often said in my Facebook Reader’s Group, that everything Henry says to his fitness instructor is something I have said to mine. LOL

    I love Henry to pieces, and Reed, his new love interest is just adorable. He’s a big sweetie, and is completely perfect for Henry.  <3

    Speaking of fitness instructors, I’ve been just too sick to go to Crossfit this week. I did Monday night, then woke up Tuesday and felt like I’d been hit by a bus and I feel a bit slack for not going this week. I’ve also had a houseful of guests all weekend, which hasn’t helped at all. Here’s hoping things get better this week.

    My to-do list this week includes: a thousand non-work related things, writing two blurbs (one for The Weight Of It All, and one for Perfect Catch) finalising the cover to The Weight Of It All and showing it off to the world.  I will also have some pre-read edits to do, then will send the manuscript to my editor so she can commit commacide to it LOL.  I don’t know if I’m crazy, but I am going to try and get this book out before I leave.

    I think (and this is a very big leap of faith) that Sept 15 will be the release date. I’ll be cutting it fine. That’s the day we actually leave for Sydney to fly out, but I figure I can upload it the day before if need be. In saying that, there might not be pre-orders for this one… it will depend on how I’m going for time.

    That’s all for today.  I hope you all have a great week!

    Until then…

    <3

  • Good Morning Monday! Another week gone, another thousand things to do…

    Good Morning Monday pic

    I’m happy to report it was a productive week on the word count front. Yay!!  My WIP, titled The Weight Of It All is now at 52.5K and, all things going well, I should finish the first draft this week!!

    I can’t wait for you all to meet Henry and Reed.  I just love them to bits.  <3

    A little insight into the story and the characters might be in order, yes?  LOL  Okay, here it is:

    Thirty five year old socially awkward Henry suddenly finds himself single after eight years, when he’s told it’s because he’s let himself go. He’s overweight, unfit, unwanted.

    In a mad attempt to get his ex back, he joins the local gym where his new personal trainer, Reed Henske, will change his life in ways Henry can’t possibly imagine.

    Henry is adorkable and sassy, with no social filter. Reed is a sweet character, who is shaped by his backstory, and he is the perfect counterbalance for Henry.

    I still don’t know have any clue on a release date yet. I’m hoping it will be out before I leave for the US but given that is now less than 40 days away, and I still haven’t finished the first draft, it’s not looking likely. I have seen the prelim cover (done by the amazing Sara York) and I just CAN’T wait to show you all.  It’s so utterly perfect for Henry, and it really suits the tone of the story.

    And just so you all know, Henry and Reed don’t even kiss until the 45K word mark, so while this book is heavy on the  character growth and romance, there isn’t much heat.  But as always, I let the characters drive, and their story is theirs to tell.

    This week I’m hoping to wrap up the first draft and get it out to my betas and pre-readers. It will be my main and only focus this week. And nope, I still haven’t touched my accounts… sshhhhh, don’t tell my accountant. LOL

    In GRL news, I have put together my bookmarks that I’ll be giving away and will be posting them off this week to my friend in the US who I’ve dubbed my “swag manager”.  LOL  Here’s a pic of how many there are and it’s not even half the swag I’ll have there… ugh. It seemed like a good idea at the time LOL

    IMG_1021

    I’m also working on having my website updated and more professional. I’ve seen glimpses and it looks amazing so far.  Can’t wait to show it off!

    Facebook kindly reminded me yesterday in their “here’s your memory” thing, that it was FOUR years since I submitted Blind Faith to Silver Publishing.  Wow. Four years.  It’s a bittersweet memory, given that Silver Publishing turned out to be a nightmare. It’s also bittersweet because while I learned a lot from whole experience, apparently I didn’t learn enough because four years later I find myself, all over again, waiting for publishing contracts to expire.  Believe me, it’s not a mistake I will make again.

    In happier news, in case you missed my last post, here’s the gorgeous cover of the Anthology the M/M Daily Grind authors are doing for charity.

    Antho cover

    It’s called It Was Always You, and all proceeds from this anthology will be donated to the LGBTQ youth organization ONE.N.TEN: http://onenten.org!

    PRE-ORDER is available now for only $0.99 and is EXCLUSIVE to iBooks:http://apple.co/2aup8hL!    **Please Note – Regular price one release day will be $2.99!

    It will be released on all sites October 4th, and you get SEVEN stories for the price of one, while helping out a great organisation.

    Okay, that’s it from me today.  I will have house guests next weekend, so whilst I will try and do a Good Morning Monday post, I can’t promise it.

    Until next week…

    <3

  • Cover Reveal and a $5 Amazon GC giveaway!

    I am so so SO excited to show you all this amazing cover… Isn’t it just gorgeous??

    Antho cover

    ★ ★ ★ COVER REVEAL + AMAZON GC GIVEAWAY ★ ★ ★

    It Was Always You by Cardeno C, Ella Frank, Riley Hart, Lane Hayes, Christina Lee, Felice Stevens & N.R. Walker

    Release Date: October 4th, 2016
    Genre: M/M Contemporary Romance
    Cover Designer: Hang Le

    IT WAS ALWAYS YOU charity anthology will be released on October 4th!

    It’s the collaboration of seven MM romance authors who also run the private Facebook group called The MM Daily Grind. We’re pumped to bring our readers SEVEN BRAND NEW NOVELLAS and to help raise money for a worthy cause.

    All proceeds from this anthology will be donated to the LGBTQ youth organization ONE.N.TEN: http://onenten.org!

    PRE-ORDER is available now for only $0.99 and is EXCLUSIVE to iBooks:http://apple.co/2aup8hL!

    **Please Note – Regular price one release day will be $2.99!

    I hope you help us support this wonderful organization.
    **You can also help these LGBTQ youths right now by buying back to school and camp items on ONE.N.TEN’s AMAZON WISHLIST: http://amzn.to/2arygA5.

    ★ GIVEAWAY: If you would like a chance to win a $5 AMAZON GIFT CARD all you have to do is go to our Facebook pages    Ella, Christina, Riley, Felice, Lane, Cardeno & N.r. Walker find the COVER REVEAL POST (mine is pinned to the top)   and share the cover & TAG a friend and each of us will choose ONE winner at random! That’s SEVEN chances!!

    ★ If you are a blogger and would still like to sign up for the release day blitz you can do so here —> http://bit.ly/2atYrWB

    Thank you all for sharing!!!!

    <3

  • Good Morning Monday ~ Again!

    Good Morning Monday pic

    Boy these Mondays keep coming around fast!  Today is the first of August which means it is now less than six weeks until we leave for the US… which I am so unbelievably not ready for.  LOL

    So this week has been yet another busy one. I’ve managed just 8K words on my WIP, but have had some RL issues to deal with. In light of everything, 8000 words is pretty damn good. Of course I’d like some more, but any words are good words and I’ll take them. LOL     It is, however, looking more and more likely that this book will not be ready (or even finished) before I leave for the US.

    I’ll still try though. It’s just that these boys are chatty, and of course there’s thing called plot and secondary character development that gets in the road every time.  😉

    Some exciting news!!  It was announced this week that I will be taking part of an anthology to help raise money for the fantastic organisation called One n Ten.

    The M/M Daily Grind is a Facebook group, consisting of seven fabulous authors, which I am lucky to be a part of.  Cardeno C, Ella Frank, Christina Lee, Felice Stevens, Lane Hayes & Riley Hart (and myself LOL) have all contributed, which is SEVEN brand new short stories to be released as an anthology, and the proceeds are going to One n Ten.

    Pre-orders will go up soon, and the anthology goes live on October 4th.  I am so excited about this, and I can’t wait to show of the amazing cover very soon!!

    My short story is titled Perfect Catch, and its the tale of Cal and Troy.  It’s a sweet friends to lovers story, and is almost 19K words long. They’re Aussie boys who like to go fishing, motorbike riding, and camping together, and they’re the only two who can’t see how perfect they are for each other.  *cue the squishy feels*

    I will be posting the gorgeous anthology cover asap.  And each addition to the anthology will be released as a separate title by the end of the year, which I think I’ve found the cutest stock photos for that cover too.   Will share as soon as I have it made <3

    This week I will be writing like a crazy woman, trying to get this WIP closer to being done. I also have some family stuff that this week that will cut into my work/writing time, which means I need to be extra focused when I write.  I dare say I’ll be spending a few days at the local library this week, because I tend to write more when I’m there rather than being distracted by things at home.

    On a completely related note, why is it, when someone works from home, other people tend to assume they do nothing?  I’m seriously half tempted to rent out an office somewhere so me being “at work” is a concept they’ll understand.  *deep breaths*

    Anywho, I still haven’t touched any of my accounts/taxes, so I’m only getting further and further behind on that front as well.  *exhausted sigh*  One day I’ll be ahead of myself, I promise. It just looks like that day won’t be any time soon LOL

    Okay, so that’s all from me for now. Until next week…    <3

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