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Good Morning Monday – Merry Christmas!!
MERRY CHRISTMAS, HAPPY HANUKKAH, HAPPY DECEMBER, HAPPY SUNDAY!
I’ve had another busy week! My kids finished school for the year, which means all sport is on break as well. Except for my daughter’s CrossFit and barbell classes – they’ll go all year. But tennis and basketball is over until the new year! I’ve been busy with first and second round edits of Switched this week, and have been adding some words to my new WIP as well. Oh, and did you notice my blog posts have a pretty new design? I thought it matched in better with my website 🙂
The word count on my WIP has stalled at 14K while edits are going on, but I’m hoping to add some more this week. I can now tell you all that my WIP, instead of calling “my WIP” has a title, and that title is Imago. Pronounced imargo, it is the story of a lepidtopterist (one who studies butterflies – hence the title of Imago) who meets a man that works for Parks and Wildlife Services. It’s a cute, gorgeous story set in Tasmania, Australia. I can’t wait for you guys to meet them! I just need to finish their story first LOL I’m going to aim for a February release, all things going well.
I’d love to get my word count on Imago up to 20K by the end of the week, but that might be aiming a bit high. I have my in-laws coming up this week, so I’ll be busy with them, and also getting final proofreading edits done for Switched for release day on the 27th.
Not to mention last minute Christmas shopping for presents and food, which I’m still putting off. I might make the kids come with me. I mean, if I have to suffer, it’s only fair they suffer with me, right??
We had another milestone in our house this week, with the 18th (yesterday) marking our two year anniversary of bringing Ruby, our crazy dog, into our lives. As you can see from this photo, she’s not spoilt at all 🙂
I know I’ve shared the cover to Switched, but it’s so pretty, let’s look at it again. And a blurb for those who might not have seen it on my social media.
BLURB:
Israel Ingham’s life has never been easy. He grew up in a house devoid of love and warmth. Nothing he ever did was good enough. The fact Israel is gay just added to the long list of his father’s disappointments.
Then a letter from Eastport Children’s Hospital changes everything.
A discovery is made, one of gross human error. Twenty-six years ago two baby boys were switched at birth and sent home with the wrong families.
Sam, Israel’s best friend, has been his only source of love and support. With Sam beside him every step of the way, Israel decides to meet his birth mother and her son, the man who lived the life Israel should have.
Israel and Sam become closer than ever, amidst the tumultuous emotions of meeting his birth family, and Sam finds himself questioning his feelings toward his best friend. As Israel embraces new possibilities, he needs to dissect his painful relationship with his parents in order to salvage what’s left.
Because sometimes it takes proof you’re not actually family to become one.
<3
Oh, I’m also in the final round for AUTHOR OF THE YEAR at Gay Book Reviews which is pretty freakin’ amazing!!! If you’re inclined to vote, you can do so HERE. I’m in some incredible company on this poll, and I’m truly honoured to even be nominated. <3
And Spencer Cohen Book One is in the final for BOOK OF THE YEAR! You can vote for him HERE.
That’s it for this week. Short and sweet, much like me! LOL
I hope you all have a wonderful time over the holidays. I know not everyone celebrates at this time of year, so regardless of faith/beliefs, enjoy your weekend anyway. It doesn’t bother me one bit which/what/how/when you believe, I wish you all health, happiness and peace.
Much love, to you and yours. <3
Until next week…
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Good Morning Monday! Twas two busy weeks before Christmas…
Two busy weeks before Christmas… OMG this year has really flown. I will do a recap on 2016 in the next couple of weeks, but for now all I will say is I’m kinda glad it’s almost over… It’s been a SUPER busy week, and the next two will be even more so. *sigh*
My kids finish school this week. Aussie kids are winding down their school year and getting ready for summer break. It’s six weeks of “Muuuum, I’m bored. What can I do?” I’m looking forward to the sleep-ins, I will admit, but not to the constant interruptions. Working from home is awesome in so many ways, except during school holidays LOL. I can foresee a lot of hours spent at the local library … And for the record, whenever my kids tell me they have nothing to do (as they put down their iPhones and step over the PS4 and XBoxOne, ignore the dog, and their bikes and sports gear) I give them housework chores to do. This usually insures two things: One, they do some housework that I’ve put off doing because I hate it. And Two, they don’t complain to me again. It’s a win/win 🙂
Okay, so for some news on the writing front…
Switched, all 74K words of it, is with my editor. I’m still shooting for a release date of Dec 27th, but this is tentative. My poor editor has been unwell, so basically Switched will release when it’s ready. I’d love for it to be before the year ends, but I can’t guarantee it.
Perfect Catch, my 20K short story which was part of the It Was Always You anthology with the other awesome M/M Daily Grind authors will also be out as a separate release in early January.
I have an awesome cover for it, made by the very talented Sara York 🙂
The Blurb:
Calvin Lynch and Troy Hoffman have been best mates since they were fourteen years old. They’re both hard-working tradesmen, both love weekends away fishing, both gay, but have never been single at the same time. Until now.
What is supposed to be a weekend away fishing with a group of mates, changes at the last minute when friends bail out in an attempt to give Cal and Troy some alone time.
With more than just hooks on the line, can these two see what’s been right in front of them the whole time?
The Perfect Catch is a short story about falling for your best friend hook, line, and sinker.
<3
Please Note: Perfect Catch will be exclusive to Amazon for 90 days upon release. It is currently available at all retail sites as part of the anthology. You can grab it now from iBooks ~ Amazon ~ Kobo
<3
The N.R. Walker Starter Pack also went live!!!! I’m super excited about this. A collection of five of my books (Red Dirt Heart, Cronin’s Key, Sixty Five Hours, Spencer Cohen Book One, and Blind Faith) in the one book for new-to-me readers, or those who might be new to the m/m genre can grab five best-selling books at a bargain price!
You can grab it at Amazon 🙂
And finally, instead of having a break and resting my poor sore hand/wrist, I’ve dived straight into a new WIP. It was an idea that came from nowhere and it wasn’t even on my schedule to write, but the idea and the characters wouldn’t go away. So I did the only thing I can do to shut them up, and that’s to write them down. I’m only 5K words into it but I have a title and a cover already, which I’m keeping it under wraps for now. I don’t want to jinx the story – it’s flowing really well – and I feel if I do a show-and-tell too early, the characters will stop talking. All I will say, is that it’s Australian based, will be approximately 30K words long (I think) and will be fluff and smut 🙂 I envisage a release date sometime in February 🙂
Okay, told you it was a busy one… Until next week.
<3
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LGBT Fantasy Weekend!!
I’m honoured to taking part of Olivia Helling’s LGBT Fantasy Weekend, where you can grab some awesome LGBT Fantasy reads for free or just .99c!!
Cronin’s Key is listed as a .99c read, and it’s in VERY GOOD company. Check out the other awesome titles HERE and immerse yourself into a whole new world!
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Good Morning Monday – Cover Reveal!!!
Okay guys, this one will be a short and sweet post today. I’ve been super busy getting Switched finished. It’s now at 73K words and the first draft is DONE!! Wooooo hooooo!! It needs some work still, which I am aiming to tackle today and tomorrow, before I send it to pre-readers.
I’m going to shoot for a release date of December 27th, whether this happens or not will remain on how much editing it needs. I have a feeling my editor will want to strangle me with this manuscript LOL
I don’t have a blurb yet BUT I do have a cover!! And it’s gorgeous! I found the photo and knew it was my Israel (the main character). I sent it to Sara York who made it perfect. I do love it, and yes it’s dark, but the story isn’t exactly light and fluffy. I’ll post more on the story itself, and hopefully a blurb soon.
Okay folks, here it is…
Until next week…
<3
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Good Morning Monday! It’s almost December!
Can you believe it? It’s almost December. I know this because my daughter made me help put the Christmas tree up on the weekend. I know it’s not technically December, and therefore trees aren’t supposed to be up yet, but we won’t have time on Thursday, being Dec 1st.
I cannot believe how fast this year has gone. And 2016 has been a clusterfuck of a year, let’s face it. Political upheaval, many celebrity deaths, and the general demise of humanity (okay, slight over exaggeration LOL). I’m truly hoping 2017 will be a year of positive change. But I’ll post more on New Years’ stuff in a month or so. I’m sure 2016 still has some bite in her yet.
The month of November is Nano – a month where authors bang their heads on their keyboards in hopes of reaching 50K words in 30 days. I’m very happy to say that I reached 50K words in 24 days.
Switched, my WIP, is currently at 62K words!! And I’m thinking there’s probably 10-15K to go. This story has turned out nothing like I thought it would. I went into it, thinking the story line/plot would revolve around the fact the MC found out he was switched at birth. But it hasn’t. It’s been more about his budding romance with his best friend, but also his relationship with his father, which is awful, to say the least.
*shrugs*
You know me. I only write what the characters tell me to write. I am hoping I’ll have a cover to share with you soon. I’ve sent my ideas off to Sara (my cover miracle creator) and I’ll post it asap 🙂
In other news, I have put together a N.R. Walker Starter Pack bundle, for all those new-to-me readers. It has a broad range of my titles, to give new readers a taste of all genres. Red Dirt Heart, Cronin’s Key 1, Sixty Five Hours, Spencer Cohen Book One, and Blind Faith. I’m hoping to have it uploaded in the next day or two… Look at the gorgeous cover Sara made for me!
And I’ll also have my very first BookBub promo this week!! Spencer Cohen, Book One will be FREE for a few days. I’ll post more on that when it goes live!
So that’s it for today. I hope everyone is well, and until next week…
<3
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Another blog post? Wait, what?
Okay, so there’s been a change of plans.
I know I said I wouldn’t be posting here anymore and I’d be moving over to my new website. But I’m having some issues the blog aspect of my new site, so until that’s all fixed, I’ll continue to post here. I’d hate for anyone to think I’d dropped of the face of the planet or anything. 🙂
First things first, isn’t my new website pretty? 🙂 I do love it, even though I’m still finding my feet with it. LOL Those who know me, know that technology is not my friend, and neither is spare time. So learning the ins and outs will take me a while. But as I have mentioned above, I’ll be posting here on WordPress for a little while yet.
I’m also looking at taking on an online assistant. I’ve made contact with a professional author assistant company, not exclusive to the LGBT genre. I felt I needed to employ a company removed from my every day social media dealings (basically someone who is not a ‘friend’ so to speak) so if, God forbid, they don’t do as I’m paying them to do, I can fire them. Kinda sad that that is my end game, but once bitten, twice shy. But you know the saying “don’t mix business with pleasure” is a hard lesson I’ve learned a few times over the years.
So, what that means: I’m aiming to have more time to write and do the fun side of my job, and leave all the time-consuming not-fun things to someone else. Win and win, right? 🙂
Okay, so now onto my US trip. Short version: it was awesome!! Long version: it was fucking awesome!! LOL I fully intend to do a huge post with details and pics for those who are interested, but again this will come down to time. So, suffice to say, I had an amazing trip. The places we visited were beautiful, the people even more so. My favourite city was Boston, followed by Washington DC (and Toronto in Canada) though the true highlights for me were Universal Studios, and of course, GRL in Kansas City.
GRL (Gay Romance Literature) is a readers and writer meet, where everyone comes together and talks of their love for our genre. It was such a special time for me, so very removed from my every day life, that I am trying my very hardest to go back in 2017. It’ll be in Denver, and I can not wait! I will also do a post on my GRL experience and post some photos, so I can share the love I felt, and the fun I had!
Moving onto other things…
The first time in my writing career, I have nothing ready to be published. I have nothing with my editor, nothing with pre or proof readers, nothing in waiting. Nothing! And that’s a little bit scary. It was such a mad rush to get The Weight Of It All released before I left for the US, and I was so busy organising a five week travelling holiday for four people, not to mention all my GRL stuff… So, I’ve come back to a clean slate, and have dived straight into a new novel. It will be a standalone (well, the characters haven’t told me there’ll be a sequel yet lol) and it’s rather angsty – which is not really my MO. Though as we know, I write the story they tell me to write, and yeah, this guy is hurting.
The book is titled Switched. It’s the story of Israel Ingham’s discovery that he was switched at birth, and subsequently where he belongs. I’m currently 35K into it, and I think it will be around 60K all said and done. I’ve sent my cover ideas to Sara (my cover master) and I’m hoping I’ll have something to share with you all soon.
I’m actually partaking in NaNo this yea! NaNo, or NaNoWriMo, or National November Writing Month, is where writers the world over join together to encourage each other to write 50K words in the month of November. Failing a catastrophe, I should make this goal and it’s my real hopes to have Switched completed by the end of November, for a release either late December or early January.
Oh, and I have a sign-up link for my NEWSLETTER!! I plan to do an e-newsletter mail out every month or so, on updates, promos, giveaways etc. You can sign up HERE. I’ll also be adding a permalink to my site 🙂
Okay, so that’s all my news for the time being. I am so busy right now, but I promise to post again next week. And I will, at some point, get my US Trip and GRL posts done as well.
Until then…
<3
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This blog is closing!
But don’t fret! It’s just moving to my new website! 🙂
To stay up to date, please join me at https://nrwalker.net/en/blog
I will be setting up a newsletter ASAP for regular updates etc, and my weekly blog posts will continue. Although it has served me well, this wordpress struggled to meet my needs and so, I decided to upgrade to professionally run and maintained site.
You can check out it out HERE
This account will soon be deactivated.
I look forward to seeing you in my new website <3
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Good Morning Monday – Vegas Style
Hello from Las Vegas! It’s not quite Monday here in the US, but this post is late, according to Sydney time, so here it is, my first US post!
After a long and somewhat hellish trip, we finally made it!! We left for Sydney airport at 7am Saturday 17th, flew out at 10:30am, the flight was 14 hours, on which the food made me ill. We arrived in LA at 7am Saturday 17th (weird, huh? lol) then went through customs etc and left LAX for Las Vegas at 9am. Arrived and checked into the hotel by 12:30. Then, approx. 30 hours without sleep, two bouts of vomiting and three migraine medication doses later, I slept like the dead.
We woke up this morning all set for our first day. And after a full day of shopping and walking and experiencing The Strip, I can say Vegas is pretty damn cool.
My kids love it. My husband, who is doing some international recognised gaming course which includes tours of casinos, loves it too. The weather today was a fabulous 99F today, the a dry, baking heat is just like home! Most people we saw were walking the streets and casinos, half dressed and half (or mostly) drunk, but it’s a party town on the weekend, so I get it. It’s part of the deal, and I can appreciate that people come here to let their hair down. But everyone’s been super friendly, and very helpful 🙂
I will say this though. Iced coffees at Starbucks are NOT what we get at home. I drank it anyway, but it wasn’t good LOL. And not only do y’all drive on the wrong side of the road, but it also means foot traffic stick to the right, where we instinctively go to the left. Even escalators are on the wrong side! It’s a left side/right side thing, and that is a habit hard to break. I’m sure we’ll get used to it, it’s just one of the main differences I’ve noticed on our first day. 🙂
In book related news, The Weight Of It All has done fantastically well. Six days after release, Henry and Reed are still NUMBER ONE in SIX countries, and #3 in two more countries!!! And, not only that, but it peaked at #64 in all of the Kindle Store, which is AWESOME! And my Author Rank went to #30 in General Fiction.
These might just sound like a bunch of random numbers, but I can tell you these figures are impressive, and I am in awe of how incredible my readers are. The love and support for this book has been HUGE, and I am so grateful for each and every person who has bought, read, reviewed, pimped, liked, and posted about this story.
Please know, I could never write the books I do without you.
I really do appreciate everything you guys do. Truly. And it just reinforces something I’ve been saying for years: I’ve got the best readers on the planet.
So, I will still be in Vegas next Monday and should be able to post, but after that I will be in transit somewhere between New York City and Montreal, so I might miss a post or two but I will always try. I’ll also try and upload some more pics for you all. These aren’t too exciting LOL I have to get used to the idea of actually putting myself in the photos to share. Will try again tomorrow 😉
On our walk this morning 
Las Vegas shopping centres are very different to ours back home LOL 
Caesar’s Palace is one of my favourite places! 
The view from our room at sunset. Faces away from The Strip, but still pretty. Until next time…
<3
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The Weight Of It All is now LIVE!!
I CAN’T WAIT FOR YOU TO MEET HENRY AND REED!!
TWOIA is now live and available on Amazon/KU! *twirls* I’m soooooo relieved to have this book out in the world. Now I can concentrate on this US trip that I’m so overwhelmingly not prepared for… LOL
BUY LINKS:
Universal: http://mybook.to/TheWeightOfItAll
US: https://www.amazon.com/Weight-All-N-R-Walker-ebook/dp/B01LYGV7HD
UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Weight-All-N-R-Walker-ebook/dp/B01LYGV7HD
DE: https://www.amazon.de/Weight-All-N-R-Walker-ebook/dp/B01LYGV7HD
AUS: https://www.amazon.com.au/Weight-All-N-R-Walker-ebook/dp/B01LYGV7HD
CAN: https://www.amazon.ca/Weight-All-N-R-Walker-ebook/dp/B01LYGV7HD
<3
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Good Morning Monday – I’m all outta days…
*looks at calendar*
*claws face*
So apparently no one has yet figured out a way to stop time. I have to say, I’m disappointed… LOL I am fresh out of days. We leave for Sydney on Thursday, before flying out to the US, for what will be five weeks for my family, six weeks for me. That’s a hellalong time to be travelling and living out of suitcases, especially with two teenagers, but I’m also really excited!
This post will be suuuuuper short, just for me to say all things going well, I’ll be loading The Weight Of It All into Amazon (it will be on KU) tonight or tomorrow. I’ve done a final read through, tweaked a few things, and now just have to make those changes to the document (I proofread on a Kindle – my brain finds mistakes if it’s on a Kindle, not in a word document. I don’t know why LOL) and will attempt to finalise the ecopy and paperback copy online tonight.
Today is accountant appointments, chiropractor appointments, vet appointments, crossfit and tennis. Tomorrow is a dog groomers appointment for Ruby – I’ve told her it’s a day spa, but I’m pretty sure she knows. Have I ever mentioned that Ruby hates bath-time? LOL And I still want to tidy my Tupperware drawers/cupboards and pantry before our house-sitters arrive, so they don’t think there was an earthquake or a break-in or something.
Wednesday is meeting with the school to arrange/collect any school work my kids will need to do, and I hope to do some packing at some point… >.<
Oh, and I also decided that 10pm on Saturday night was the perfect time to rearrange my office and the front sitting room, swapping furniture, moving lounges and bookcases. Because I didn’t have enough to do before this… o.O
I am expecting my new website to be up and running soon. Everything should transfer over smoothly, so there’s no need to worry about doing anything. I can’t wait to show it off. It’s gorgeous!
Anyway, that’s it for now. I have no clue when I will post my next Good Morning Monday post. But when I do, chances are it will be from the US. Eeeeeeeeeek!!
Much much much love,
Until next time.
<3
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