Hey folks,

The world is a scary place right now and we could all use some peace. I’ll be taking some time away from social media and the constant news updates this week to try and save my sanity. Luckily we have the world of romance to escape to, where HEA’s are guaranteed. I absolutely understand everyone’s need to take some time out as well.

But first some updates:

RARE 2020 (Edinburgh) has been postponed to July 16th and 17th 2021.

At this point in time, I am still going. It’s a dream trip for me, and I have every intention of being there. I will try my best to transfer all flights and accommodation to make this trip happen. I’m currently waiting on my travel agent to get back to me – they have closed their office due to Covid-19 restrictions here in Aus, so I’m not sure when I will hear anything.

If any reader who has ordered books from me requires a refund, please email me at nrwalker2103@gmail.com   I know it’s an uncertain time for everyone, and there are bound to be disappointed people, but I do believe postponing this event is the right thing to do. As it is right now, Australia is at a level 4 travel ban (we can’t fly out of the country so I couldn’t have gone this year anyway), but giving us another 12 months to ensure the health of safety of everyone involved is a good thing.

I will advise on my confirmed plans when I can. I have a LOT to work out, and appreciate your patience about this.

The Dichotomy of Angels is now available at all retailers!

B&N: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-dichotomy-…/1135800673…

Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/the-dichotomy-of-angels

Apple: https://books.apple.com/…/the-dichotomy-of-ang…/id1504563962

Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1011257

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0834PV5Z2

For a limited time only! Grab it while you can 

Tallowwood is now on Audio!!

💚
https://www.audible.com/pd/Tallowwood-Audiobook/1541440862
🖤
2019 Goodreads M/M Romance Members’ Choice Awards
1st Place – Best Mystery
1st Place – Best Law Enforcement
1st Place – Best Action/Suspense

Some good news!!

We adopted a dog!  We found him at the RSPCA and decided he needed a forever home. We named him Murphy, but he gets Mr Murphy, or Murph. He’s adapting well and has sacrificed many, many things to the god of destruction, including computer chargers, a bra, two hats, a sock, many plants, three ceramic plant holders, a cushion, and four cacti – YES CACTI.  Who would have ever thought that you’d need to say ‘don’t eat the cactus’. He’s also destroyed FOUR rolls of toilet paper!!! Does he not realise how valuable that is right now?? haha

But he’s still learning and he’s only 10 months old, so we have some chewing time to go. And yes, he has a hundred dog toys to choose from. LOL

Ruby (our other dog) loves him and has adapted quite well to having a brother. I thought I’d share a pic…

Okay that’s it for this week. Please take care of yourself and your loved ones. Stay home if you can, wash your hands, and be kind. It’s a rough world out there right now and we need all the love we can get.

Until then…

Just a quick post this Monday.  I have a super busy week coming up, lots of real-life stuff to deal with but I’m still aiming to meet my daily word count goals.  My WIP is at 22K words and I’d like to see it reach 32K by the end of the week even though I’m likely to get first-round edits as well  🙂

Moving forward in 2020, I also intend to cut back my social media time, focusing on just a few places instead of trying to do everything. My Readers’ Group on FB will be my main hangout (I love that group). I will be mostly intermittent on twitter and Instagram, posting when I am able or if I have news/sales/new releases. There’s no other reason for this but time. It’s hard trying to do everything, to be everywhere. I need to focus my energy into my writing.

Oooh, I have audio news as well… the following titles have been booked in, though I can’t confirm actual release dates yet.

• The Dichotomy of Angels – narrated by Nick Russo
• Throwing Hearts – narrated by Glen Lloyd
• Tallowwood – narrated by Antony Ferguson (release date March 24th)
• Imago – narrated by Antony Ferguson
• Imagines – narrated by Antony Ferguson
• Private Charter – narrated by Antony Ferguson
• The Hate You Drink – narrated by Antony Ferguson

I will post the other dates when I have them!

Okies, that’s it for this week. Next week I should have an excerpt from Throwing Hearts to share…  Can’t wait for you to meet Leo and Merrick!

Until then…

I have some very exciting news to share!!  You might have already seen me boasting about this on social media but I wanted to share it here as well…

Every year, the Goodreads M/M Romance group (some 25,000+ members) hold some awards/polls for their favourites of the year, and I am very honoured to say I won some amazing awards!

CHECK THESE OUT!!

THIS IS THE BIG ONE…

TALLOWWOOD

SIR

RED DIRT HEART

UPSIDE DOWN

THE HATE YOU DRINK

GALAXIES AND OCEANS

Thank you to everyone who nominated and voted!! And a HUGE thank you to everyone who has bought, read, and reviewed my books. I’ve been writing for almost a decade now and it still blows my mind that anyone wants to read my words, and saying thank you seems grossly inadequate. But thank you. From the bottom of my heart.

AUDIO NEWS:

The audio of SIR is due out any day! It’s been loaded into the system and we’re completely at the hands of the ACX/Audible gods.  Please spare a thought for poor Nick Russo, the amazing narrator, whose only instructions for Sig’s accent was “a touch British, mostly not.”  LOL  The character Sig spent his first 16 years living in 14 different countries, and he’s lived most of his adult life in the US and Italy. So this accent was never going to be easy. But Nick just NAILS it!!

I will only have the buy link when it goes live, but you can keep an eye out at my AUDIBLE AUTHOR PAGE.

SIR won first place in the BDSM-Kink category in the M/M awards, so if you’ve been curious, this audio might be for you!

WIP UPDATE:

I now have a title to share with you!  Throwing Hearts is currently at 33K words and probably has 20K to go. I need to finish it before February, so I will be mostly off social media until I can get the first draft done. Throwing Hearts is a sweet and fluffy romance, a bit sexy, and a lot of fun. Will be showing off the cover soon, so stay tuned!!

Until then…

What could possibly better than starting a new year, a new decade, with six free books?? Five other very awesome, talented (and generous) authors are giving away a book each! I know it’s not winter here in Australia, but it is for five out of six authors in the giveaway LOL

Lane Hayes, Annabelle Jacobs, VL Locey, Garrett Leigh, RJ Scott, and myself, are all involved but it’s only until the 10th so be quick!

All you need to do is go to this link:

BOOK GIVEAWAY

SPECIAL THANKS

I’ve had a lot of messages and emails asking if I’m safe from the terrible bushfires that are ripping through Australia right now. Yes, I am, thank you! My region has some smaller fires that are all contained at present, though that could change. But nothing like what other areas are experiencing. These are truly catastrophic fires which have decimated much of our very unique wildlife.

But thank you all for reaching out to ask. My family and I are all safe. Fingers crossed we get rain and a lot of it!

WIP UPDATE

Still slow going, but now at 15K words. I need to finish it this month, so I really need a whole lot more words. But life should return to normal (ish) this week so hopefully I can get some writing done. Still not sure on a title yet either though I’m sure that will come later. I’m expecting it to be around 50K words. It’s a sweet and cute romance, set in Brisbane, Australia, and the two main characters are Leo and Merrick.  I can’t wait for you all to meet them!

I have so many stories I *want* to write after this one haha but I just need to focus and get it done 🙂

Will see you all next week! Until then…

I wrote this post for Love Bytes Reviews  and I wanted to share it with you as well, because it’s important to me, and I’m too lazy to type out another post that’s basically the same as this one LOL

My next release, Upside Down, is the story of two asexual men who are trying to navigate their way through life in a very sexualised world. Everywhere we look, on TV, in books, movies, music videos, YouTube, Instagram (the list is endless) sex is front and centre. We’re told sex sells. And it does.

But not for everyone.

The over-sexualised world we live in has been normalised to the point where asexuality is considered ‘abnormal’. I’m here to tell you that asexuality is not abnormal. It’s just not common.

It’s estimated that Asexuality accounts for approximately 1% of the general population, which isn’t a lot in the scheme of things. But those 1% of people are still important, are still valid, and still need to be respected.

This story hit home for me. It’s something I’ve been struggling with, and trying to get my head around. I’ve been at odds with myself over this for years but it wasn’t until I began reading into what asexuality means that I began to see myself for what I am. And here’s my truth: I am somewhere on the asexual spectrum. I lean more toward the grey (like my hair LOL) and I realised there’s more me in Jordan (a main character in Upside Down) than I probably realised before I started writing.

Guys, I didn’t know how much I needed to write this book.

Will everyone love it? Probably not. There is NO sex in this book. And I know some readers won’t even consider reading it because of that fact. And that’s fine. It’s totally their call.

All I ask is that readers remain respectful. If reviews start to come in saying “OMG there is no sex in this story, why did I bother!!” then they’ve missed the point of the story, they’ve missed the message, and to me, that means I’ve failed as a writer.

Only time will tell.

So there it is. I said it. This book is my story. Much like Henry in the Weight of It All was my weight/fitness story, Jordan is my asexuality story.

This book is not a gospel, or a guide, or a check list to tick off. Everyone’s story is different. I just hope to give some other asexuals a voice, and some characters to identify with.

Upside Down will be out later this month. There will be no preorders, and it will be in KU for the first three months. If you’d like to keep updated, follow me on Amazon, and you’ll be notified when each new book is released!

Blurb:

Jordan O’Neill isn’t a fan of labels, considering he has a few. Gay, geek, a librarian, socially awkward, a nervous rambler, an introvert, an outsider. The last thing he needs is one more. But when he realises adding the label asexual might explain a lot, it turns his world upside down.

Hennessy Lang moved to Surry Hills after splitting with his boyfriend. His being asexual had seen the end of a lot of his romances, but he’s determined to stay true to himself. Leaving his North Shore support group behind, he starts his own in Surry Hills, where he meets first-time-attendee Jordan.

A little bewildered and scared but completely adorable, Hennessy is struck by this guy who’s trying to find where he belongs. Maybe Hennessy can convince Jordan that his world hasn’t been turned upside down at all, but maybe it’s now—for the first time in his life—the right way up.

A quick WIP update: Currently at 32K words. Being away and not writing for 2 weeks slowed me down but I’m back to writing this week and will try for ALL the words!

Okay folks, that’s it for today. Until next week…

Well, Finders Keepers is almost here! ARCs have gone out and the first reports back to me is that it is incredibly sweet and lovely! So, yay!! And thank God! LOL

Waiting for that first feedback, to say what they think, is terrifying! But I can breathe a little easier now knowing that people have enjoyed it <3

So, who wants an excerpt??

Griffin

I got all moved into my new place and had everything unpacked on day one. I’d met my downstairs landlady for the first time as the two bulky removalists were lugging my bed up the stairs. I was at the bottom of the stairs watching them, not entirely ogling, when a tiny, five-foot-tall woman stood beside me.

She didn’t say anything for a while, just stared at the men straining to get the wooden bedhead up the flight of stairs. Still without looking at me, she hummed. “Nice arse.”

I almost choked on my sip of water. “Uh…”

“Don’t tell me you weren’t looking. I might be a little hard of hearing, but I ain’t blind.”

Right then.

I held out my hand. “Name’s Griffin Burke.”

She shook my hand, and her hard, firm grip surprised me. She looked kind of frail at first, but then I noticed her tattoos. Her entire right arm was now a mottled, wrinkled mass of blue and coloured ink on sun-leathered skin. Given she looked to be in her seventies, she must have had a full sleeve done forty or fifty years ago.

Jesus.

“Bernice Warren.”

She was wearing a sleeveless tank top and a flowing skirt. Upon closer inspection, she looked like a hippy that peace, love, and time forgot. Her face had seen too much sun as well, wrinkled and leathered, though I imagined she would have once been stunningly beautiful. Her blue eyes still had spark, her long once-blonde hair now ash grey.

“Come with me,” she said, turning on her heel and walking toward the roller door. When she turned, I noticed her left arm. Old, mottled blue tattoos went to her elbow, as well as two scars that looked like lightning strikes. They looked surgical and my first thought was shoulder reconstruction, but then I noticed one scar ran underneath her shirt and up her neck. She turned the latch on the roller door, and using her right arm only, lifted the door to review a storage space. Inside was a lawnmower, wheelbarrow, and some gardening tools.

Ah, right. I was the resident mower of lawns.

“I’d do it myself,” she said. “But the old arm doesn’t work like it used to.” She lifted her left arm rigidly. It didn’t hang useless but there was definitely restricted movement.

“It’s fine,” I said. “I don’t mind mowing lawns at all. My weekends will be Monday and Tuesday though, not Saturday and Sunday. If that’s okay?”

“It’s fine. Don’t much care what day you do ’em.” She nodded to herself. “Last tenant was a nice girl. Started out with good intentions, and she was gonna do all sorts of things to help me out, but that didn’t last long.” Bernice looked up at me and stared for a good long minute. “You’re not the churchgoing type, are you?”

“Uh…”

“I don’t mind if you are, I just don’t wanna offer you one of my special brownies and for you to totally hash out on me and start mumbling biblical shit at me every time you see me.”

I fought a smile and lost, and I tried not to laugh but couldn’t help that either. “Not biblical. Not in that sense, anyway. Unless you consider my earlier staring at that guy’s arse a religion. As for the special brownies, I haven’t had any for a while. Not since college.”

Bernice grinned and nodded slowly. “So you know what I mean when I say special brownie. Not like the last poor girl who thought it was my grandma’s special recipe or some shit.” She shook her head slowly. “Dunno what she was thinking. Do I look like Betty Fucking Crocker to you?”

<3

My God, I love Bernice!

Finders Keepers will be live on February 2nd, if the Amazon gods are willing.

In other news, I’ve signed contracts for the translations of Cronin’s Key series, Red Dirt Heart series, and Sixty Five Hours into Thai. That’s EIGHT books!! I’m super excited about seeing my books in the Asian market. <3

When I started this writing thing, I never imagined it would go this far. It’s truly incredible, and I have moments when I’m humbled and honoured and wonder how on earth I ever got so lucky.

And I owe it all to my readers. <3

I’ve started a new WIP and it’s working title is “Galaxies and Oceans” which will probably change. My working titles usually do. LOL  I’m only 7K words into it but I think these boys might be something special… And I’ve only said that once or twice before. *sigh* Their names are Aubrey Hobbs and Patrick Carney.  Patrick’s 15 years older than Aubrey and both have a tonne of baggage and emotional scars. I just hope hope hope I can do them justice.

A little pic to whet your appetite…

I’ll have some new covers to show off soon!!  The incredible Reese Dante is working on three for me at the moment: the re-release of Three’s Company and Taxes and TARDIS, and the cover for Evolved.

I do have the cover of Galaxies and Oceans (title pending) but will wait until I have the title confirmed before I show it. It was a pre-made cover from Harper Design (the fabulous artist who made my Imago and Imagines covers) and I’m hoping for a late June / early July release date.

That’s it for now. As always, until next week…

October… it is now just 2 weeks until I fly out of Sydney, LA bound! I keep saying I’m unprepared but I don’t think anyone believes me. GUYS, I’M SO UNPREPARED!!

My pre-orders have closed and I now have 94 books to get to Denver.   o.O   It’s amazing and awesome that readers want my books, but the logistics is tricky. Anywhooo, I’m sure it will all work out. (that’s what I keep telling myself anyway LOL)

In case you missed it, POINT OF NO RETURN is on sale at Amazon for just 99c!

BUY LINKS:

US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B073V5LMHL
UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B073V5LMHL
CA: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B073V5LMHL
AU: https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B073V5LMHL
DE: https://www.amazon.de/dp/B073V5LMHL

Aaaaaand some big audio news… THE WEIGHT OF IT ALL will be out Oct 3rd!! Which is tomorrow for us Aussies!! Woooot!!

You can find it AUDIBLE

That’s it for this week’s post. A super short one. For those interested in my WIP updates, ON DAVIS ROW is now at 76K and nowhere near being done… one day – I swear, one day – I’ll write a short story! 😉

Until next week!  <3

YANNI’S STORY – OUT NOW!!

Blurb:

When Yanni Tomaras is kicked out of his family home, his parents’ final words are religious insults and an order to never return. Homeless and desperate, he’s lured in by Lance—charming on the outside, an evil predator underneath—who abuses Yanni until he finds the courage to leave.
Yanni should feel free. But by the time Spencer Cohen finds him, he’s resigned to being handed back to Lance and once again being caged by fear.
Starting school and a part-time job, Yanni begins to reclaim his life. But a love for silent films leads him to Peter Hannikov, a man with a kind heart but who’s twice his age. An unlikely friendship between them blooms into so much more. Neither man knows what he wants, at first. Finding out exactly what he needs is Yanni’s story.
“I’d spent years as a bird, caged with my wings clipped, tormented and beaten.
I thought I’d escaped when I’d left my abuser, but in hindsight, I could see that I was still caged, this time by fear and self-doubt.
Spencer and Andrew, and Andrew’s parents, opened the door to the cage that confined me.
But it was Peter who taught me how to fly.”

120,000 words. 
Trigger Warning: Descriptions of violence, suicide, and sexual assault. Reader discretion advised.

BUY LINK:

<3