-
Good Morning Monday ~ And Excerpt, and It’s Almost December?
“Um what?” is right. December. Pretty sure it was March yesterday but whatever. Good news this week was that I did manage to finish my first draft of Kennard’s Story! Bad news is I had a techfail and managed to lose a bunch of words and research when my iMac gave my laptop the silent treatment and failed to sync. Actually, it’s more a case of my laptop not listening to iMac. It’s kind of a long story. The short version is the words are gone forever and I’m diving back in today to redo it.
In other news, it’s only six more days until A Soldier’s Wish is released!! I’m super excited for you all to meet Richard and Gary. They’re adorable guys and totally deserve their HEA. And I thought I’d share a little excerpt from Chapter One…
This is Gary’s POV…
I began to study the other folks in the diner. The hippie-hating farmers were still there, sour-faced, scowling in their cups of joe. And there was a young family; I smiled as the kids enjoyed their pancakes. But then there was a guy, by himself, in a booth staring out the window. He was wearing slacks and a sweater. His blond hair was the good ol’ short back and sides. He was so tidy and clean-cut, he couldn’t be anything but military. The duffle bag at his feet confirmed my suspicion.
U.S. Army.
Normally I wouldn’t look twice at his type, and Lord knew, his type never looked twice at me. But there was a look of such profound sadness on his face, I couldn’t look away.
“Gary?” Lyman called my name.
I turned, not having heard any of what he’d said before. The three of them were watching me. “Hey, I’m just gonna go say hi.” I took my cup of coffee and slid out of the booth.
“We’re leaving in five,” Kathryn called after me.
I gave her a nod to let her know I’d heard her and made my way over to the sad army guy. He was still staring out the window, looking like he was fighting tears. “Hey,” I said so as not to scare him. I nodded to the seat opposite him. “Can I join you?”
He startled anyway and shifted in his seat. “Oh, sure,” he replied.
I slid in and put my coffee between us. “I was just sitting over there with my friends,” I explained. “I couldn’t help notice.”
His eyes, so blue, shot to mine. “Notice what?”
Wow, okay. So that was an overreaction. And over what? What did he think I noticed? He swallowed hard and looked back out the window, a deep blush staining his cheeks.
I put my hand up. “I couldn’t help but notice you were here alone.”
He glanced at me again, then kept his eyes on his hands that were now clasped on the table. “Sorry, I… I…” He sighed. “It’s been a helluva day.”
“It’s early morning.”
The guy almost smiled, then shook his head. “Feels longer.”
It was pretty clear he wasn’t having a good day, so I gave him a smile. “My name’s Gary Fairchild.”
He looked at me then, like really met my eyes. His cheeks pinked up a little. “Nice to meet you, Gary. My name’s Richard Ronsman.”
Release day will be December 2nd! I can’t wait for you guys to meet these two <3
This coming week, I have delusions of grandeur of finishing Kennard’s Story redo, then starting my next book. I’m SUPER excited to start this one. These two boys have been waiting a while for their story to be written, and it should be fun!
Okay that’s it this week. I hope every one is well, and all my American friends survived Thanksgiving <3 I’ll be posting on Sunday with buylinks for A Soldier’s Wish.
Until then…
<3
-
Good Morning Monday ~ Avoidance and distraction, thy name is procrastination!
Procrastination. I haz it, and I haz it bad. I should have had my current WIP finished two weeks ago. It’s only short – currently 26K words and another 5K should see it done. But can I do it? My brain says no, apparently.
I should preface this by saying I have actually been doing other work. I’ve managed some accounting stuff, some edits, more edits, formatting and releasing ARCs. I’ve also managed to clean, scrub bathrooms, watch TV (which I don’t normally do), organise shipping of book orders, sooooo much laundry, and a whole range of other things… anything to avoid actually writing.
I’m pretty sure I know why. The thing I’m supposed to be writing is weird. Actually, it left weird and drove straight to crazy-town. And while the left side of my brain thinks this is awesome, I’m pretty sure the right side of my brain is telling me to pull back. So while there is a civil war in my brain, all else is lost.
I know I’ve been hellabusy. And I’ve also been/still am sick. I know my productivity for the last twelve months has been crazy. I’ve written and released a LOT of words. Maybe this is my brain’s way of telling me to take a breather. But then not being productive gives me hives. So this is quite the conundrum. It adds to the anxiety and that exacerbates the issue.
I need someone to *make* me sit down and write this goddamn book. I know I can fix it later. I know I can’t fix a book that isn’t written. I KNOW THIS. But damn, I’m avoiding this ending like I’ve never avoided anything.
So, I’ve decided I’m going to finish this book this week, or scrap it. That’s what I’ve come down to. I can shelve it for a while if need be. But I can’t keep doing nothing. My next characters are ready and talking to me. I don’t *want* to scrap it, but I need to think of the bigger picture.
Anyway, we’ll see what my brain lets me do 😉
So, the ARCS for A Soldier’s Wish were sent out yesterday. This is my first stand alone Christmas book. All my other Christmas stories were short snippets of existing characters but these boys are brand new. A Soldier’s Wish is part of a series with six other authors, where a Christmas angel gets passed down throughout history to help give some guys a nudge into the love they deserve.
My story involves two guys who meet on their way to Woodstock, before one of them is shipped off to the Vietnam War. It does involve some sad truths about that war, but it’s a love story at heart and hopefully you’ll enjoy their journey towards their HEA.
It was a joy to write this story. Admittedly, it’s not overly Christmassy, but then again, neither am I. LOL You can find it on Goodreads, it will go live on Amazon on December 2nd.
The Christmas Angel Series page with all the books by these amazing authors can be found on Goodreads HERE
In some more exciting news, I have the cover for the Thai translation of Sixty Five Hours!! It’s so cute and fun, and I love it!
The book will be out later this month. I’ll post links when I have them!
And I’d love to say thank you to everyone who has read and reviewed Nova Praetorian!!
It still has the pretty #1 Best-Seller banner in LGBT Historical <3
And the paperbacks are simply stunning! The photo doesn’t do it justice.
Okay, so that’s it for this week! Wish me luck with this bloody book that doesn’t want to be written! LOL
Until then…
-
Good Morning Monday! A Cover Reveal, A Deadline, and a Chest Infection
Sounds exciting, doesn’t it? Well, minus the chest/lung infection, that is. It’s not that bad… I only cough every time I breathe. 😉 My doc gave me some antibiotics and told me to rest (obviously doesn’t know that rest doesn’t apply to a working mum LOL) Though I am trying to take it easy/easier. This infection has also brought on a spike of chronic fatigue which is a double whammy. Basically I’m too tired to get better. LOL Fingers crossed I see an improvement this week. I’m leaving on Friday for a four day trip to Brisbane with my daughter, my sister, and my niece. Which would have been fab if I wasn’t hacking up a lung every other minute. I’m sure I’ll be feeling better by then…
My next release!
Anywhooooo, I mentioned a cover reveal!! Woo hoooo! I love doing these. It is for my Christmas story, called A Soldier’s Wish. But the big reveal isn’t here today. The big reveal is happening on My Fiction Nook on the 5th November. I know it’s technically the 5th of November here in Australia but we know all dates and timezones for these things are set default to the US. So you’ll have to wait a day. This is part of the Christmas Angel anthology – seven authors, seven different stories involving one Christmas Angel ornament that gets handed down throughout history.
The Christmas Angel Series
In 1750, a master woodcarver poured all his unrequited love, passion, and longing into his masterpiece—a gorgeous Christmas angel for his beloved’s tree. When the man he loved tossed the angel away without a second thought, a miracle happened. The angel was found by another who brought the woodcarver True Love.
Since then, the angel has been passed down, sold, lost and found, but its magic remains. Read the romances inspired by (and perhaps nudged along by) the Christmas Angel through the years. Whether it’s the 1700’s England (Eli Easton), 1880’s New York (Kim Fielding), the turn-of-the-century (Jordan L. Hawk), post World War II (L.A. Witt), Vietnam-era (N.R. Walker), the 1990’s (Anyta Sunday), or 2018 (RJ Scott), the Christmas Angel has a way of landing on the trees of lonely men who need its blessing for a very Merry Christmas and forever HEA.
Christmas Angel (Book #1) – Eli Easton
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/41718418-christmas-angelSummerfield’s Angel (Book #2) – Kim Fielding
https://www.goodreads.com/…/sh…/41718433-summerfield-s-angelThe Magician’s Angel (Book #3) – Jordan L. Hawk
https://www.goodreads.com/…/s…/41718440-the-magician-s-angelChristmas Homecoming (Book #4) – Lori Gallagher Witt
https://www.goodreads.com/…/s…/41718469-christmas-homecomingA Soldier’s Wish (Book #5) – N.r. Walker
https://www.goodreads.com/bo…/show/41730466-a-soldier-s-wishShrewd Angel (Book #6) – Anyta Sunday
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/41718481-shrewd-angelChristmas Prince (Book #7) – Rj Scott
https://www.goodreads.com/bo…/show/41718495-christmas-princeThe books can be read in any order. They are all completely standalones. They are only tied together with a common theme. You can read one, or all seven. And you know you want to read all seven, right??? 😉
Mine is set in Woodstock and Vietnam. Gary and Richard are two characters I simply adored writing. This is my first ever full length standalone Christmas story. Christmas is not really something I get into much (bahumbug, and all that) and I did worry that this wasn’t very Christmassy, but my pre-readers said it passed the Christmas test. The book will be released on December 2nd and will go straight into KU. It is 55,000 words long and follows these boys from when they meet going to Woodstock and the two years that follow.
I hope everyone enjoys reading their story as much as I did writing it! <3
Nova
Nova Praetorian has been out a week now and the feedback I’ve had has been really positive. Thank you to everyone who has read and reviewed this book. I know historicals aren’t for everyone – I knew that before I wrote it. But I wouldn’t change a thing. Quintus and Kaeso remain one of my favourite couples I’ve ever written, and I’m very proud of this book.
My WIP update:
I’m currently 22K words into my newest venture. If you were at GRL or saw a few clues on social media, my current WIP is Kennard’s story from my Cronin’s Key series. Yes, Kennard and Stas are getting their story! It’s only going to be shorter (under 30K words) but there’s crazy adventures abound, because as well know, history is never what it seems! 😉
And I can honestly say I have NO clue what’s going to happen is this book. I never plan anything and this is one crazy ride. I’m just as keen to see where it all goes as anyone else! LOL I really want to finish it this week. As I mentioned, I’m going away on Friday for 4-5 days and I’d love to get the first draft finished before I leave. Not sure how possible that is considering every time I add a chapter, something crazier happens. Let me just say, that Eiji is in his element here. The weirder it is, the more he loves it. <3
Okay folks, that’s it for this week. I’ll be away next Monday so there might not be a post next week. Don’t miss me too much 😉
Until then…
<3
You must be logged in to post a comment.