Read Around the Rainbow - Do you write about where you live?

 I'm a member of Read around the Rainbow, a rag tag collection of authors who are part of or who write about all letters of the LGBTQ+ rainbow. Each month we'll be posing a question or subject up for discussion. This month the question posed is 'Do you set your books in the place you live (or have lived) in?'

My answer is, as always, suitably vague. Sometimes, but only in the broadest terms, or not at all. Helpful, yes? No, not at all. I don't blame you if your response is "Whatever do you mean?"

Let's try and clarify. 

I live in the UK. South East to be more precise. And some of my books are set in and around that area. 

Waiting for a Spark is set the closest to home, in fact the Polish shop that Jerome visits when he runs out of milk is 5 minutes walk away. I used it myself, when I ran out of milk, and more recently when I couldn't get a bottle of Advocaat in the supermarket (I can't put the Christmas Tree up without a snowball). They do a gorgeous poppy seed cheesecake. 

Also set in the vicinity, although a few more miles out, is New Lease of Life. And yet the books couldn't be more different in tone as to the type of people that populate the pages. If Pip ran out of milk, he'd go without until he could order in a food delivery, and Colby, well he's far less likely to run out of milk and would stop off at Waitrose on his way home. Colby might have been a council estate lad but he's got money now, and Pip, well, he's the entitled elite, public schools, Royal Ascot, and Henley Regatta. He probably never had to wonder how the milk got in the fridge, it was just magically there. And then his accident happened and he just didn't care about milk (or food at all, really) to worry if it wasn't there. One city (and the outskirts), such a variety of people. 

In my Village Love series I made up my own village, based on all the villages in the South Downs that I've visited or driven through over the years. Look on a map, you won't find Slopy Bottom on any of them, but if you drive that corner of England you'll pass through any number that could be Slopy Bottom. The sights, the sounds, even the smells. 

Check out the posts from the other members of the RatR crew. 

Nell Iris: Read Around the Rainbow: Setting Books Where You Live

Ofelia Grand: Read Around the Rainbow | Do You Set Your Stories in the Place You Live?

Fiona Glass: Read Around the Rainbow: Setting Books Where You Live

Amy Spector: Read Around the Rainbow • Setting Books in Your Hometown #RAtR

Holly Day: Read Around the Rainbow | Do you set your books in the place you live?

KL Noone: Read Around the Rainbow: setting stories where you live?

Addison Albright: READ AROUND THE RAINBOW ~ WebRing ~ Have I set books where I've lived? ~ #RAtR

New Lease of Life has been re-released!

I'm afraid I let New Lease of Life linger in the wilderness for several months after I requested my rights be returned from Dreamspinner. I won't go into my reasons why I questioned even re-releasing the book here. This is not the place for that. This is a joyful page.

I dusted off the old MS. Changed it all back to UK English. Took away that damn glossary that nobody except DSP saw the point of. And added a short epilogue.

For anyone that has the original version, the only real difference is the epilogue and I will be putting that out as a short freebie (watch this space) so that you can pick that up without buying again.

The book is currently available across the board. At some point I will probably put it into KU for a few months but not at the moment.

Universal Buy Link: https://books2read.com/newleaseoflife

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/27973790-new-lease-of-life


Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/books/new-lease-of-life-by-lillian-francis-2020-03-18

The Book

There’s a fine line between independence and isolation.

Phillip used to laugh a lot, back when his friends called him Pip. However the good deed that left him hospitalised not only marred his body, it stripped him of his good humour too. Ever since, he has pushed his friends away and shut out the world. Donating his vintage clothing to a charity shop should have been the final act in a year-long campaign to sever the links with the man Pip used to be, but the stranger on his doorstep awakens feelings in Pip that he hasn’t experienced since the incident that left him angry at the world and reliant on the cold metal of the hideous hospital-issue crutch.

Colby forces his way into Pip’s life, picking at the scab of his past. Colby isn’t interested in Pip’s money or his expensive address. He has only one goal: to make Pip smile again.

With every moment in Pip’s presence, Colby chips away at the walls Pip has built around himself. Pip knows it’s impossible to fight his attraction with Colby’s sunny disposition casting light into the darkness in his soul. 

And I just want to send out a massive thank you to Paul Richmond who allowed me to keep his gorgeous cover. 

For anyone who may want a paperback copy I am working on that and will post new links when that is available. If you find a paperback copy at the moment, it belongs to DSP and I won't recieve any royalties for your purchase. 

New Lease of Life - Sale

£1.52! It's a random price, I know, but New Lease of Life is currently on sale at Amazon UK.

I've no idea how long this is for (it's still full price on the Dreamspinner website and everywhere else) so take advantage while you can. 

New Lease of Life on sale

To celebrate National Book Lovers Day, Dreamspinner have got 30% off across the store from 9th to 14th August

This includes New Lease of Life.

Phillip used to laugh a lot, back when his friends called him Pip. However the good deed that left him hospitalized not only marred his body, it stripped him of his good humor too. Ever since, he has pushed his friends away and shut out the world. Donating his vintage clothing to a charity shop should have been the final act in a year-long campaign to sever the links with the man Pip used to be, but the stranger on his doorstep awakens feelings in Pip that he hasn’t experienced since the incident that left him angry at the world and reliant on the cold metal of the hideous hospital-issue crutch.

Colby forces his way into Pip’s life, picking at the scab of his past. Colby isn’t interested in Pip’s money or his expensive address. He has only one goal: to make Pip smile again. With every moment in Pip’s presence, Colby chips away at the walls Pip has built around himself. Pip knows it’s impossible to fight his attraction with Colby’s sunny disposition casting light into the darkness in his soul.

New Lease of Life on Sale

It's celebration time at Dreamspinner this May. That means 35% off all British authors. Which includes me.

That makes it a perfect time to pick up a copy of New Lease of Life.

There’s a fine line between independence and isolation.

Phillip used to laugh a lot, back when his friends called him Pip. However the good deed that left him hospitalized not only marred his body, it stripped him of his good humor too. Ever since, he has pushed his friends away and shut out the world. Donating his vintage clothing to a charity shop should have been the final act in a year-long campaign to sever the links with the man Pip used to be, but the stranger on his doorstep awakens feelings in Pip that he hasn’t experienced since the incident that left him angry at the world and reliant on the cold metal of the hideous hospital-issue crutch.


Colby forces his way into Pip’s life, picking at the scab of his past. Colby isn’t interested in Pip’s money or his expensive address. He has only one goal: to make Pip smile again. With every moment in Pip’s presence, Colby chips away at the walls Pip has built around himself. Pip knows it’s impossible to fight his attraction with Colby’s sunny disposition casting light into the darkness in his soul.



Praise for New Lease of Life

"Once again, Lillian Francis has written a story and characters guaranteed to capture your heart." - MelanieM, scattered thoughts and rogue words


"New Lease of Life is a story about a young man losing his way when something unexpected happens to change his self-perception. ... Lillian Francis has dealt with this issue compassionately in New Lease of Life, as we watch the journey one man takes to learn to like, and then love himself, again, with the help of his special someone." - Divine Magazine.

"Colby comes into his life like a rainbow after a storm." - Cookie, Inked Rainbow Reads

"What I liked best about this story was that it was a slow burn romance with a lot of angst, mainly in the form of miscommunication and misunderstandings. I also liked that the two characters didn’t immediately jump into a physical relationship. In fact, readers don’t begin to see any heat until almost the end of the book. Therefore, instead of sexy scenes, readers are treated to a an extended period of getting to know each other before things heat up…and heat up they do!" - Joyful Jay

"If you are a fan of a good hurt-comfort storyline, one with a lot of angst and short on sexy scenes, you are going to love this book." - Joyful Jay

"Once I warmed to Pip’s character this was a very enjoyable read. I recommend it to lovers of the MM romance genre, who like stories that focus more on angst and relationship development than sex." - Love Bytes Reviews.

Dreamspinner are 10 years old

And to celebrate they have 35% off across the store until 18th May. 

That means you can pick up New Lease of Life and many other goodies. 

There'll be other celebrations going on, so keep your eyes peeled on Facebook and Twitter.

Rainbow awards

The Rainbow Awards have recently been announced.

I'm overjoyed to discover that:

     Resistance garnered an Honourable Mention 

and 

New Lease of Life was a finalist in the contemporary category.   


Even better news was that the awards raised over $14000 for various LGBT charities this year,

New Lease of Life on sale

One day left to take advantage of this Dreamspinner sale.

Get 25% off New Lease of Life and do your bit towards stocking a library.

"I absolutely loved New Lease of Life. It's a feel good story that will touch your heart and keep you riveted to the very end." - Divine Magazine (4.5 stars)

Want more info on New Lease of Life? Want to see what else people are saying?

We all love a sale

To celebrate Pride month Dreamspinner are have a 30% sale across the store. That includes paperbacks. Did you know that if you buy the paperback you get a copy of the ebook absolutely free?

You not take advantage of the sale to pick up New Lease of Life for less than $5.


See what people are saying about New Lease of Life.

"Once again, Lillian Francis has written a story and characters guaranteed to capture your heart."

"This is a story to treasure and Lillian Francis an author to put on autobuy.  This is just so well written, its entertaining and just such a lovely romance. I so highly recommend them both.   Make it your New Year’s resolution to seek them both out and find out why!" - MelanieM, Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words.

A review for New Lease of Life

This one from Joyful Jay.

"What I liked best about this story was that it was a slow burn romance with a lot of angst, mainly in the form of miscommunication and misunderstandings. I also liked that the two characters didn’t immediately jump into a physical relationship. In fact, readers don’t begin to see any heat until almost the end of the book. Therefore, instead of sexy scenes, readers are treated to a an extended period of getting to know each other before things heat up…and heat up they do!"

"If you are a fan of a good hurt-comfort storyline, one with a lot of angst and short on sexy scenes, you are going to love this book."

3.75 stars

Read the rest of the review here.


Interested? Click the banner to take you to Amazon. More buy links in the sidebar.

One, two, three

Yep, not one but three 4 star reviews from Inked Rainbow Reads.

"The two of them together – watching Pip come out of his shell and Colby learn to respect Pip, but do so in a way that also pushed his boundaries was great to read.

Both were given a new lease on life and it was a sweet, not a lot of drama story." - Avidreader

"Colby comes into his life like a rainbow after a storm." - Cookie.
LOL Love this description of Colby. So much the way I wrote him. (LF)

"I liked this couple together and was hoping for more of them.
 Maybe a part 2? I want Pip to meet Colby’s family. I want both their worlds to mesh and see how they handle it. It felt like book one was a set up for a book 2, or maybe that’s my wishful thinking." - Cookie

"I really liked the way this author wrote this characters and this story! You get some angst with this book but you also get so much sweet too!" - Kira

See the reviews in full here.

Interested? Click the banner to take you to Amazon. More buy links in the sidebar.

What d’you mean, it’s March?

Sorry guys, I know I have been sorely lacking in keeping this blog up to date since the start of the year. March is probably too late to be expounding on my good intentions and New Year’s resolutions—although, too be fair I don’t do NY resolutions because I feel you are only setting yourself up to fail—especially as one of my good intentions was to blog more regularly. *has déjà vu moment from 2015/14/13*

An update post is probably a good idea though.

I’m ashamed to say that New Lease of Life arrived in this world on 25^th December with very little in the way of fanfare. I pushed it here and had a spot on the Dreamspinner blog a couple of days after release, but apart from that I did no blog tour or promo. In spite of that, New Lease of Life spent several weeks in the Dreamspinner Best Seller list and has garnered some favourable reviews. Some of which I still need to post here. Dreamspinner have a 25% off across the board sale until tomorrow so you could pick NLOL up at a reduced price until then.

RL has been somewhat hectic and of course the first thing to suffer is my writing in whatever form, but I am attempting to put pen to paper in some form at least a couple of times a week.

The sequel to Resonance (currently free at Are), tentatively titled ‘Resistance’, has been thoroughly betaed and I’ve just put the finishing touches to the third and, hopefully, final draft. It’s a sweet, low angst story looking at how Rick and Mal cope with life after their cutemeet. I'm currently looking for some pre-readers including some from Sussex. In the next few weeks I need to make a decision about whether to send it out to publishers, of which there are fewer by the day, or if I can justify the cost of self-publishing with my limited fanbase.

Next up in the pipeline is a story dealing with Smudge, another resident of Slopy Bottom. He plays quite a pivotal role in Resistance and demanded his own HEA. In fact there are a slew of characters in Slopy Bottom that want to tell you their stories so I may have to spend some time there. I have signed up for Camp NaNoWriMo in April and plan to use this focus to work on Smudge’s story. More on that later this month.

At some point this year I need to organise getting Lesson Learned re-released. Ellora’s Cave returned the rights to me in December and I intend to self-publish this novel with very little changes (apart from swapping back to the UK English it was written in). It’s been a long time since I’ve read this book and l’m looking forward to revisiting Drew and Nathan. I’ve been trawling the premade covers over at Meredith Russell and Garrett Leigh’s cover art sites in case anything strikes me as suitable but I’m yet to find anything. I should check out Lou Harper and some other cover artists, I suppose. Any suggestions? Failing that it looks like I’ll be subjecting one of my go-to cover artists to my own form of torture. Ask Meredith what I mean, she’ll be happy to enlighten you.

Also planned for this year: reworking of my WW2 submarine story, Under the Radar.  I’ve been working on this on and off for years. Maybe 2016 will be the year I finally get it finished and submitted.

And I’ve had several questions about writing a sequel to Theory Unproven. Hopefully I’ll be able to start something later this year. Although whether it will be set at the elephant reserve with Eric and Tyaan—Andrew really needs his story told—or back in England with Benedict and his (unrequited?) love for his boss, or maybe even in some other part of the world where animals are in danger, I couldn’t rightly say just yet.

Are there any stories that you want to see from me?

Rainbow Snippet 6/7 Feb

Rainbow Snippets is a Facebook Group that invites authors to post 6 sentences of their work each weekend. It can be from anything you like, your current WIP, a recent release, the golden oldie that even you had forgotten you had written, or just a scrap of an idea (as long as it has 6 coherent sentences). Nothing of your own work worth mentioning? How about a 6 sentence review of your favourite LGBTQ+ story.

What to do this week? How about a snippet from my latest release 'New Lease of Life'? A contemporary romance set in London, it is available here from Dreamspinner Press. And if you time it right you could still get 25% in store.


“Uh-huh.” One of Colby’s large fingers hooked under Pip’s chin, bringing their faces level. “That’s better. Pip, you’re not damaged goods and you never have been, not to me. You’re a flawed hero. No, you’re my flawed hero, and I would be honored to be your sidekick. If you’ll have me?”


Divine Magazine said "I absolutely loved New Lease of Life. It's a feel good story that will touch your heart and keep you riveted to the very end."

Another 4.5 star review for New Lease of Life

this time from Divine Magazine.

"New Lease of Life is a story about a young man losing his way when something unexpected happens to change his self-perception. ... Lillian Francis has dealt with this issue compassionately in New Lease of Life, as we watch the journey one man takes to learn to like, and then love himself, again, with the help of his special someone."

"I absolutely loved New Lease of Life. It's a feel good story that will touch your heart and keep you riveted to the very end."

Check out the full review here.

4.5 star review for New Lease of Life

An excellent review from MelanieM over at scattered thoughts and rogue words. 

"Once again, Lillian Francis has written a story and characters guaranteed to capture your heart."

"This is a story to treasure and Lillian Francis an author to put on autobuy.  This is just so well written, its entertaining and just such a lovely romance. I so highly recommend them both.   Make it your New Year’s resolution to seek them both out and find out why!"

Read the whole review here.


Available to buy in all the usual places.
Dreamspinner Press
Amazon US
Amazon UK
AllRomance ebooks
Kobo

Also available in paperback.

I'm not here

I'm over at the Dreamspinner Blog chatting about New Lease of Life.

If I were a Boy can be found here.

New Lease of Life - Release Day

My new novel New Lease of Life is out today.

Despite its release date New Lease of Life isn't a Christmas story. It doesn't even take place in December. But the ideals of Christmas can be found within its pages: giving, forgiveness, and extending a helping hand to a stranger. There may not be snow on the ground or sleigh bells in the air but hopefully this story will leave you with the same feels as the best Christmas stories.

Cover by Paul Richmond

Blurb

Phillip used to laugh a lot, back when his friends called him Pip. However the good deed that left him hospitalized not only marred his body, it stripped him of his good humor too. Ever since, he has pushed his friends away and shut out the world. Donating his vintage clothing to a charity shop should have been the final act in a year-long campaign to sever the links with the man Pip used to be, but the stranger on his doorstep awakens feelings in Pip that he hasn’t experienced since the incident that left him angry at the world and reliant on the cold metal of the hideous hospital-issue crutch.

Colby forces his way into Pip’s life, picking at the scab of his past. Colby isn’t interested in Pip’s money or his expensive address. He has only one goal: to make Pip smile again. With every moment in Pip’s presence, Colby chips away at the walls Pip has built around himself. Pip knows it’s impossible to fight his attraction with Colby’s sunny disposition casting light into the darkness in his soul.


It's available now (yes, you can now get your sticky paws on it) at.

Dreamspinner Press
Amazon US
Amazon UK
AllRomance ebooks
Kobo


It's also available in paperback.

X is for

X-cited (and a little nervous)

Tomorrow is release day for New Lease of Life.

Cover by Paul Richmond

Blurb

Phillip used to laugh a lot, back when his friends called him Pip. However the good deed that left him hospitalized not only marred his body, it stripped him of his good humor too. Ever since, he has pushed his friends away and shut out the world. Donating his vintage clothing to a charity shop should have been the final act in a year-long campaign to sever the links with the man Pip used to be, but the stranger on his doorstep awakens feelings in Pip that he hasn’t experienced since the incident that left him angry at the world and reliant on the cold metal of the hideous hospital-issue crutch.

Colby forces his way into Pip’s life, picking at the scab of his past. Colby isn’t interested in Pip’s money or his expensive address. He has only one goal: to make Pip smile again. With every moment in Pip’s presence, Colby chips away at the walls Pip has built around himself. Pip knows it’s impossible to fight his attraction with Colby’s sunny disposition casting light into the darkness in his soul.


It's available now to pre-order.

Dreamspinner Press
Amazon US
Amazon UK
AllRomance ebooks
Kobo


Don't forget I'll be over at the Dreamspinner Blog on 27th December.

Oh yeah and it's Christmas too.

One more sleep!

T is for

Terror

Cover by Paul Richmond

Yes indeed, as I realise that today is the twentieth. 

That means only five days until the big day. Yes, the 25th December and the release of New Lease of Life.

I got the blog post finished for my appearance on the Dreamspinner blog. I'm over there on the 27th, not release day, because apparently I'm clashing with some minor celebration and I will probably be too stuffed to move anyway. I'll stick a link in here so you know where to find me. 

and Tours

I've not arranged a blog release tour as yet. The whole 'coinciding with a major holiday' issue has thrown my planning for a loop. I'm hoping to organise something for January though so watch this space.

For anyone who has missed my previous posts and wants to know more about New Lease of Life, here's some details. 

There’s a fine line between independence and isolation.

Phillip used to laugh a lot, back when his friends called him Pip. However the good deed that left him hospitalized not only marred his body, it stripped him of his good humor too. Ever since, he has pushed his friends away and shut out the world. Donating his vintage clothing to a charity shop should have been the final act in a year-long campaign to sever the links with the man Pip used to be, but the stranger on his doorstep awakens feelings in Pip that he hasn’t experienced since the incident that left him angry at the world and reliant on the cold metal of the hideous hospital-issue crutch.

Colby forces his way into Pip’s life, picking at the scab of his past. Colby isn’t interested in Pip’s money or his expensive address. He has only one goal: to make Pip smile again. With every moment in Pip’s presence, Colby chips away at the walls Pip has built around himself. Pip knows it’s impossible to fight his attraction with Colby’s sunny disposition casting light into the darkness in his soul.

Available to pre-order.

Dreamspinner Press
Amazon US
Amazon UK
AllRomance ebooks
Kobo

Also available in paperback.


As for that other celebration on the 25th, I'm still not ready. There are still presents to buy and wrap and a couple of cards that didn't make the post box because I ran out of stamps. But the tree is up and there are mince pies in the cupboard, so things aren't too dire.

N is for

Nativity 

Taken by Me!

Ahh, the nativity. Who can forget it? Snotty nosed kids in sheets and tea towels with their Dad's dressing gown belt marching across the stage with a stuffed sheep tucked under their arms. Or the kid at the back all in brown with ears and tail, and picking his nose 'cos the donkey has no lines and doesn't do anything. The darlings that have to be Mary or Joseph or the Angel, even when they don't want to be.

We can attribute the first nativity to St Francis of Assisi in 1223. Concerned that Christmas was becoming too focused on gift giving (sound familiar) St Francis set up a nativity scene in a cave near Greccio, Italy to remind people of the story of the nativity. This first nativity used live animals and possibly people--of that the accounts are uncertain--while St Francis preached the story of the birth of baby Jesus to the gathered villagers.

While researching the nativity this timely story caught my eye--luckily I was late putting this post together or I would have missed it.
Man crashes car after drink driving, decides to hide from the police in a nativity scene.
The tweets in response are priceless.


and New Release
or New Lease of Life.

Both apply.
My new novel New Lease of Life is due for release on the 25th December.
Despite its release date New Lease of Life isn't a Christmas story. It doesn't even take place in December. But the ideals of Christmas can be found within its pages: giving, forgiveness, and extending a helping hand to a stranger. There may not be snow on the ground or sleigh bells in the air but hopefully this story will leave you with the same feels as the best Christmas stories. *glances up* No, not that one.

Cover by Paul Richmond

Blurb

Phillip used to laugh a lot, back when his friends called him Pip. However the good deed that left him hospitalized not only marred his body, it stripped him of his good humor too. Ever since, he has pushed his friends away and shut out the world. Donating his vintage clothing to a charity shop should have been the final act in a year-long campaign to sever the links with the man Pip used to be, but the stranger on his doorstep awakens feelings in Pip that he hasn’t experienced since the incident that left him angry at the world and reliant on the cold metal of the hideous hospital-issue crutch.

Colby forces his way into Pip’s life, picking at the scab of his past. Colby isn’t interested in Pip’s money or his expensive address. He has only one goal: to make Pip smile again. With every moment in Pip’s presence, Colby chips away at the walls Pip has built around himself. Pip knows it’s impossible to fight his attraction with Colby’s sunny disposition casting light into the darkness in his soul.


It's available now to pre-order.

Dreamspinner Press
Amazon US
Amazon UK
AllRomance ebooks
Kobo


It's also available in paperback.