My poor neglected blog (aka Fiction Friday - the Clare London edition)

It's been a month since I last posted here. And nearly two since I've done a Fiction Friday post. That’s what happens when you try to write and publish a book in two months. (Just Hanging Out, for any of you that might have missed it.)

Hasn't stopped me reading though and I've decided to share my highlights over several posts until we are all caught up. So Fiction Friday will be cropping up on other days, don't let that confuse you. I take no responsibility for confusion over the day of the week from reading my posts.

While compiling these posts I noticed one author got a lot of my attention in these last few weeks so I have decided to dedicate this post just to her. Welcome to

Fiction Friday (on a Thursday) - The Clare London Edition

Normally I pick my favourite cover to illustrate
these posts. Not this time. Publishers take note,
this is not an enticing cover. The cover models
bear no relation to any of the characters &
it gives no indication of the content of the story.

Out of Time – A short read (less than an hour). An interesting take on vampires (although that word is never used), the effect of immortality, and of being turned against your will. Well written and slightly melancholy as the two MCs meet periodically over time and their attraction turns to affection. Lovely.

No Angel – Okay. Let’s get my grumps out of the way first. I hate this cover. It has no bearing on the story and the models don’t seem to resemble any of the characters. But this cover is for the out of print edition so anyone buying in the future won’t need to put up with it. Second grump: It’s out of print. Boo *thumbs down* (as opposed to Boo!) Because yes, this story is about ghosts, or one in particular; Bryn, a ghost who pinches Felix’s bum on the bus. Be prepared to dislike Bryn at first, he’s a dick, but he’s dead and he’s not had any (dick, that is) for a while. And he’s not the love interest. The love interest is Mickey who is adorable.  This is a really fun read, with lots of Clare London’s trademark humour.
Rest assured this is being repackaged (with additional content - yay!) and will be available again soon. So add it to your GR shelf for a future purchase. You won't be disappointed.


Looking for a quick read. Try...

Chat Line  - Short read. Less than 30 mins. Jerry needs a hand cleaning up his flat. He phones Helping Hands, surprised to find them open on New Year’s Eve. But the service Sean is offering isn’t quite what Jerry was expecting. Sweet, sexy, and funny.

And my highly recommended, must read choice...

Romancing the Ugly Duckling - Clare's latest release and part of the Dreamspun Desire range from Dreamspinner. Gorgeous re-telling of The Ugly Duckling. It had the perfect balance of gentle comedy and romance. Some nice fish out of water moments with Perry. But it’s Greg, all gruff and self-deprecating (and the perfect book boyfriend for me) who steals the show. I got to the end and I wasn’t ready to let this story go. Brilliant. 5 stars.
And I don't have to let them go because I have just purchased this book in audio. I'll let you know how that goes in a future post.


I could recommend Clare London's books until the cows come home but these are the books of hers that I've read in the last six weeks. Enjoy.

It's Release Day - Just Hanging Out

Just Hanging Out

Only 99p

The Book
“Come and honour the Oak King.” 

The countdown to the company solstice picnic is one of Shawn’s favourite times of the year. The scents of sage, mint, basil, sunflower, and lavender fill the air as the workshop mixes up the final batch of Litha, their solstice soap. It’s celebration time! This year, Shawn has an extra spring in his step, and it’s all for the new buyer, Tim. Shawn’s fine having a crush on the gorgeous new straight guy. Until he isn’t. 

As the clock ticks down to Picnic-Day, Shawn’s confidence and Tim’s sexuality become mired in doubt and second guesses. It’s a minefield of embarrassed glances and missed opportunities. Seems like they’ll never get together… 

To cap it all, Shawn’s drawn Tim in the secret solstice gifting. What to get for the quiet man who turns Shawn’s legs to jelly and has the best underwear hanging from the washing line in his garden? And will that tempting rainbow of colour be forever seared onto Shawn’s brain?

Word count: ~16700

Cover designed by Lillian Francis at Finally Love Press


Buy Links: Kobo // Payhip // B&N // Smashwords
Universal Amazon link: myBook.to/JustHangingOut_LF

Add it to your Goodreads bookshelf here. 

About the Author

Lillian Francis is a self-confessed geek who likes nothing more than settling down with a comic or a good book, except maybe writing. Given a notepad, pen, her Kindle, and an infinite supply of chocolate Hob Nobs and she can lose herself for weeks. Romance was never her reading matter of choice, so it came as a great surprise to all concerned, including herself, to discover a romance was exactly what she’d written, and not the rollicking spy adventure or cosy murder mystery she always assumed she’d write. 

http://lillianfrancis.blogspot.co.uk/

Twitter @LillianFrancis_

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Email: lillianfrancis@rocketmail.com

Excerpt
“Come on, everyone. Time to honour the Oak King.” Miriam stood in the centre of the office and jiggled a deep wooden bowl, exquisitely carved with the face of the Green Man. “Come and pick your giftee.”

Yes, I did say Oak King. Miriam’s a new-age hippie, whose 100% natural soap has taken her from cooking the stuff up in her kitchen and selling it from a stall at various markets, to a thriving shop and workshop with a staff of twenty plus. We’ve branched out into candles in the last few years, but it’s the soap, especially the seasonal range, that brings in the punters. Oh, and she’s a Pagan. Hence, the honouring the Oak King statement.

Don’t worry. There’s no sacrifice involved. We have a massive picnic on the Downs on Midsummer’s Eve, drink too much local ale, and the Oak King—normally Ali from Packaging, in a headdress made of antlers and a myriad of leaves, flowers, and herbs—hands out our jokey gifts. Then we settle in to watch the sunset and bid the Oak King farewell for another six months. In other words, it’s a chance to eat well, drink better, and have a laugh, all the while showing appreciation for an amazing boss and honouring her beliefs, even if we’re a mix of Christians, Muslims, Hindus, and atheists. Dunno why the atheists can’t have their own capital letter. Me, I’m probably an agnostic with Taoist leanings.

“You too, Shawn,” Miriam called over to me. “Stop hogging the copier and grab a name.”

I glanced at my watch and then flicked my gaze surreptitiously out the window. Still time. If I was quick, and Miriam didn’t choose that moment to chat, I could be back at my station without missing a moment of the action. Shaking a leg, and my impressively pert behind, I slipped in between two of the admin clerks and plucked a slip of paper from the pot. Without bothering to even glimpse at the name written on it, I stuffed the folded slip into the front pocket of my jeans and returned to the photocopier. One more glance at the time—8:52—and I pressed the button to start my items printing.

There were enough pages in this print run to keep me at the copier for a good few minutes. I saved up all but the most urgent for these five minutes just before nine. It was a routine I’d been keeping for the last few months. As the copier warmed up after a night of inaction, with the gentle whirr of reanimated machinery, I took a moment to enjoy the view from the window. The azure blue of the sky contrasted with the white blossom on the tree just on the edge of the company’s land at the rear entrance. Beyond, a neat row of cottages caught the eye and drew the gaze of anyone who had time to stop and watch.

As I appreciated the view, a door of one of the cottages opened and a tall, broad man stepped out onto the path that led down a well-kempt front garden to the road. Yeah, I know that kempt means well cared for, so the well is redundant. I work in communications and I’ve a Desmond in English Lit and Environmental Science. That’s lower second class honours for those of you not in the know. Not bad for a lad from Saath London. Of course, four years at Canterbury, another four living in this small Sussex town, coupled with some conscious effort, have more or less knocked that accent out of me.

Less about me, back to another thing that was kempt and well put together. The object of my voyeuristic tendencies stepped through his gate and out onto the pavement then turned in my direction. A happy sigh escaped me as the early morning sun caught his wavy hair just right; fiery copper reflected back to me in reds and gold. His eyes were green, and flecked with amber. Not that I could see his irises from this distance—I could barely make out the strong features that made up his ruggedly handsome face. And the freckles that gave him an oddly incongruous boyish look were filled in from memory at this point. I sighed again, far too dramatically for my own liking.

Rather than concentrate on the parts of him that required my imagination, I studied the visual feast in front of me. Now he’d cleared the obstruction of his neighbour’s privet, I had an uninterrupted view, where I could drink my fill without the risk of getting caught.

Chinos—the russet pair today—encased long legs, and heavily muscled thighs bunched beneath the material with every determined stride that brought him a step closer. Finally, the man disappeared below my sight line. The photocopier whirled to a stop, spitting out the last few pages of my weekly comms report and a stack of sample leaflets for Miriam’s perusal. I had about five minutes to school my features and get back to my desk, or get caught tongue-tied. Again.

A flash of colour caught my eye as I turned away from the view and I spun back to the window expecting to see the swoop of ring-necked parakeets. The birds were becoming a more common sight in local gardens these days. Maybe the green bastards thought I was homesick and followed me from London.

Instead of the expected flap of wings, my gaze found the source of the flashes of colour: a washing line strung in the back garden of one of the cottages. Clothes hung from the line, fluttering in the gentle breeze of a pleasant June morning. Not just any clothes, though.

Nope, a whole line full of bright, skimpy, tight underwear. Underwear that I’d seen advertised in Attitude that very morning as I read on my bus journey to work. And by seen, I meant studied. Intently. Double-page spread. Three all but naked guys getting handsy with each other and appearing to love every minute of it. Hell, I’d even stuffed in my headphones, thanked any deity who wanted to listen that I was sitting in the back, and watched the ‘making of’ video. Those models were having fun, no doubt about it.

Get A Grip. Flamboyant, colourful, crotch-cupping, butt-caressing underpants. With a marketing campaign that focused on the gay man. Ask a straight guy about GAG and 95% wouldn’t know what you were talking about.

Not only that, but the garden the washing line was located belonged to—

“Morning, Shawn. Printing again?”

Now I was close enough to see the green of his eyes. The deep rumble that came from his broad chest caressed the vowel sound in my name and threatened to turn my legs to jelly.

Stupid! Answer him. All I could do was echo the greeting, anything else was beyond me, the sight of those pants hanging in a neat rainbow of colour seared on to my brain. “Morning, Tim.”

Tim faltered as though expecting there would be more forthcoming, but I had nothing. Nothing workplace appropriate, anyway. Asking your colleague to model his undies for you was probably frowned upon, even for a liberal employer like InScents, and Tim was still comparatively new and seemed kinda shy for a big guy. I wouldn’t say we were friends yet but I hoped we were getting there. So I kept my mouth shut.

The moment stretched on but it could have lasted no more than a second or two, then Tim carried on past, heading for his desk. I thought I’d detected a dusky flush of rose under his freckles but I was easily distracted and couldn’t quell the urge to watch the tight pull of Tim’s chinos as he walked away from me.

Not an unfamiliar feeling any time Tim walked in front of me.
But now I couldn’t stop myself from imaging his muscular arse cheeks enclosed in a pair of GAGs.

* * * * *

Cover Reveal - Just Hanging Out

Everything is a mad rush for this release. Why?

Because it takes place at midsummer, which is a week away, and I'm determined to align the release to the celebration (provided Amazon plays ball).

About the book

“Come and honour the Oak King.”

The countdown to the company solstice picnic is one of Shawn’s favourite times of the year. The scents of sage, mint, basil, sunflower, and lavender fill the air as the workshop mixes up the final batch of Litha, their solstice soap. It’s celebration time! This year, Shawn has an extra spring in his step, and it’s all for the new buyer, Tim. Shawn’s fine having a crush on the gorgeous new straight guy. Until he isn’t.

As the clock ticks down to Picnic-Day, Shawn’s confidence and Tim’s sexuality become mired in doubt and second guesses. It’s a minefield of embarrassed glances and missed opportunities. Seems like they’ll never get together…

To cap it all, Shawn’s drawn Tim in the secret solstice gifting. What to get for the quiet man who turns Shawn’s legs to jelly and has the best underwear hanging from the washing line in his garden? And will that tempting rainbow of colour be forever seared onto Shawn’s brain?

Add it to your Goodreads shelf here.

Fiction Friday

The end of the month is nigh. I think it’s time to round up the last two weeks of reading.

The Last Light of Day by Rachel Kane – Don’t let the cover, or the blurb, fool you, this is a contemporary. It’s moody, atmospheric, and just a little bit creepy. I’ve not read this author before, she seems to be comparatively new, with her first release in December ’16 and 10 releases in the 6 months since. If they are all like this I would certainly buy them but I’ve noticed one of her series is dragon based, and I’m really not sure about that.

Rain by LA Witt – I must confess to being a numpty with this one. I didn’t realise this was a sequel. In fact, I was over halfway through before the thought occurred to me.  This is the sequel to Rules of Engagement, which I actually have unread on my Kindle *facepalm* Anyway not having read the first book didn’t impact on my enjoyment at all. I just thought I was going into a new book with an established couple for leads.

I don’t often bring low rated books to your attention but I feel I should here. Making Anthony Watch by Anita Dick. I one-starred this book. To me this book screamed sexual assault, pure and simple. There was nothing romantic about it. Luckily this was a free read and it was also quite short so I didn’t waste either time or money on it.

To cleanse the palate after that one something fairy tale sweet. And who better to go to for that than Megan Derr.

The Rapier Brothers by Megan Derr – A collection of stories about the three Rapier brothers and how they find love.  Low steam but perfectly sweet.

The Maker Jock by SA McAuley – Cute story that is classed as a HFN by the author. I had no problem with how the story ended but I have the sequel to read anyway.

The Magician’s Assistant by LF Blake – This is a very dark read. Again it is free, and I doubt I would have willingly picked it up. I can’t say I enjoyed it because the subject matter really doesn’t allow for that but it kept me enthralled until the end.

An Unseen Attraction by KJ Charles – Despite the fact that the graphic taxidermy parts always seemed to appear when I was eating, I thought this mysterious tale was excellent. Well written and diverse leads, and a plethora of interesting side characters inhabited this historical tale of a Lord’s bastard, his manipulative brother, and a quirky little animal stuffer. Even with their quirks, or maybe because of them, the two leads fit together perfectly. 5 stars



This is a really mixed collection, I hope you find something that takes your fancy.

Big Gay Fiction Giveaway

There are some great books on this list, including Waiting for a Spark. You've got until 29th of May to take advantage of lots of free books so don't miss out.

Click the link to see what's on offer.

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.

Fiction Friday

Let's try and get this bi-monthly at least.

Leo Loves Aries (Signs of Love #1) & Leo Tops Aries (Signs of Love #1.5) by Anyta Sunday. Absolutely adorable. Who knows why I waited so long to read these books. This is slow burn and so delicious. And the short sequel is more than just the rumpy pumpy that the title implies. 5 stars.

The Winter Courtship Rituals of Fur-Bearing Critters (Granby Knitting #1) by Amy Lane. Another book I've had on my Kindle for ages. You know I love a grumpy, reticent MC, right? Yeah, this. Bring on the rest of the series...

Taken by the Geeks by E. Davies - PWP. Remember that fandom saying 'I'll be in my bunk'? *cough* Well you know where to find me ;)

The Locked Room by RayeAnn Carter. This is an interesting novella. I can't say too much without giving away the secret of what is behind 'the locked door'.

Bare Studs - A Dreamspinner Anthology.  Of these 10 stories I liked all but 2. Several would have benefited from being novellas rather than short stories.  My absolute favourites: Coffee a run by Jess Roth. 4*/Executive Decision by Alice Archer. 4*/Flat packed by Henrietta Clarke. 4.5*/Moonshine by Charlie Tannen. 4.5* (Gutted I can find no other work by this author)/Love on the Tarmac by Quinn Dressler 4*/How to Build a Shed by Kim Dias. - Adorable. A little white lie. It can't do much damage, right? 4*   Overall an above average anthology.

Where There's Smoke (Panopolis #1) by Cari Z. - Great take on the superhero story where the ordinary guy falls, not for the hero, but for the Villain. Can't wait t read the next one.

Prosperity (Prosperity #1) by Alexis Hall - First off this is not a traditional style romance. It's an adventure, with airships, robotic dead men, deranged priests, kraken, and the most diverse bunch of characters you'll ever fall in love with. Ruben and Milord damn near broke my heart. 5*

Not bad for less than a fortnight's worth of reading. And I've been writing this last few weeks, and beta reading.