Phew, it's exhausting

Today I'm carrying the torch. Trudging the streets of this fine land, the skies mercifully clear of rain.

Well, the clear skies are true enough. The rest of those first lines, not so much. I won't be pounding the pavements between Grimsby and Lincoln today, that honour falls to dedicated people far more deserving (and fitter) than I am. What I am doing, is carrying the GLBTQ torch on this leg of the journey.

Don't know what I'm talking about? Check out the blog here, various posts from writers involved in the GLBTQ UK Meet, coming from and/or about the various points of the torch's journey. My post 'Panic Mode and Tenuous Links' has gone up today (Day 40 for those who are counting) and can be found here.

There's a new Blog in town

If you like your m/m stories set in Britain then check out this Blog, 'UK M/M romance' where authors can share information about themselves and their British based stories.

I've got a post over there today. If you'd like to check it out you can find me here.

How important is a title?

Titles, much like the dreaded synopsis, can be the bane of a writer’s life. For me, titles either come to me immediately or have to be dragged from the text, kicking and protesting all the while. These second type are often barely satisfactory and rarely my favourites.

Take my recently sold Christmas story, as an example.

When Love Flue In

The title is, I hope, frivolous, amusing and gives an indication to the type of tale you will find within the book’s pages.

It hit me in a lightning flash, with no thought required, and it is one of my favourite titles to date. I tried not to get too attached to it though because publishers have the right to ask you to change your title. Thankfully, Silver appear to have no issue with it and my little play on words has survived the editor’s pen.

Unfortunately this isn’t always the case. A recently suggested title for a possible publication, ‘Ripples from the Past’, has been turned down because it wouldn’t appeal to the publisher’s mainly romantic readership.

So, how important are titles to you when making your purchasing decision?

As a reader I would suggest the title is quite some way down my list, certainly behind author, blurb and friend’s recommendations. Possibly on a par with cover art.

However, when you stop to think about it, what are the first two things you see as you are streaming through the huge number of new releases every week?

Cover art and title.

Consequently, neither of these aspects might make you buy the book, but either could be the reason why you stop to look in the first place.

With that in mind, can I ask, if all you had to go on was a title which of these would make you want to stop and investigate further?

Conquer the Past

Our time, this time

Through Dreams we Collide

In Dreams

Past Love, Future Hopes

Dreams of Past Love

Pasts Entwined

Tracing Desire

Descendants and Desire

Ancestral Guidance

Historical Precedent (for Love)

What went before

Ancient History

Love Redux

Timeless Hearts

Deja Hearts

Deja Love

Ho, Ho, Ho... Merry Christmas!

Yes, I know it’s May and you may be excused for thinking that the rain we’ve been experiencing has seeped into my brain. But it hasn’t.

No, I have Christmas news.

My story ‘When Love Flue In’ has been accepted by Silver Publishing as a release in their 2012 Christmas range ‘Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow’.

Look out for future posts over the coming months when I'll be sharing more details about this story.

Lesson Learned Giveaway

Head over to Stumbling over chaos where I'm offering a chance to win a copy of Lesson Learned.

http://www.stumblingoverchaos.com/archives/17605

Lesson Learned - Now available from Amazon

So the title pretty much says it all and really I should have posted this ages ago.

Lesson Learned is now available to buy from other vendors.

Here at Amazon UK

Here at Amazon.com

Here at Barnes & Noble

And from All Romance ebooks where it is hugely expensive.

If you like you can leave a review at these sites to encourage others to enjoy it.

Guest Blogger - Katherine Halle

When Lillian asked if I wanted to blog over here on my release day, I jumped at the chance and then immediately was faced with the "Oh my god what do I talk about!" fear.  And so we started e-mailing about what I could write about. I kicked around a few ideas. Then I had an epiphany in the shower.  So without further ado, let me introduce you to Lane and let him tell you the top ten things he loves about Greg and maybe even share one of his recipes.

So there are a lot of things about Greg that I love, but these have got to be my top ten.

Ten:  He makes a mean crème brulée.  Sometimes you want jello and sometimes you want crème brulée and Greg makes the best chocolate crème brulée on the planet, hands down.

Nine:  His arms.  He's not that big of a guy, but he's wiry muscled, and that's most apparent in his arms.  Especially his forearms.  I love to watch him cook, watch those muscles move under his skin and know just what those muscles can do in other activities.

Eight:  His intensity.  He gives one hundred percent to everything he does – running his restaurant, cooking, caring for his employees, and loving me.  To be the focus of all that intensity can be really overwhelming at times but I love him for it.

Seven:  His voice.  It can be soft and sweet or growly and gruff.  Both make my heart do funny things in my chest.

Six:  He loves Lexie.  Lexie and I have been friends for so long. I don't know what I would do if the two of them didn't get along.  The two most important people in my life and they adore each other.  I couldn't be happier.

Five:  He cooks for me.  You laugh, but I can burn water without even trying.  I subsisted on fast food, chips, and beer before I met him.  Now I have to actually work out to make sure I stay in good enough shape to hunt demons.  He's making me fat!

Four:  Massages.  He is amazing at them.  Maybe this connects back to number nine and how much I love his arms, because obviously he uses his hands and arms to do a massage.  But I think his massages can be their own thing, they are that good.  There's nothing better to come home to than a hot meal and a first class massage after hunting demons.

Three:  His laugh.  Greg laughs with his whole self. It lights up his face, makes his eyes twinkle, and his whole body shake. It's a real honest to goodness belly laugh.  In my line of work, laughter is the best medicine there is to combat the nightmares I face everyday.

Two:  The way he kisses.  It's like the way he laughs. He puts everything into a kiss: all his emotions, his lips, his tongue, his arms, full body press.  No quick pecks from Greg.  They're mind blowing and they're all mine.

One:  His heart.  He loves with his whole heart – sensing a theme here?  He's the most giving, most caring, most generous person I know.  For some reason he's chosen to love me, and I feel blessed each and every day because of it.

So, now you know the top ten reasons I love Greg.  Quickly though, before he comes back and realizes I've snuck into his recipe box lemme give you this recipe.  It's a favorite of mine; it was one of the first meals he cooked for me and, well let's just say that if he wants something from me, this is a surefire way to get it. 

Thanks for letting me tell you about Greg. Hopefully you all will check out the story of how we met. 

Bye for now! 

Lane

Cranberry Chicken

8 oz Catalina Dressing

1 pkg dry onion soup mix

1 lb can whole cranberry sauce

2 celery stalks chopped

½ green and red peppers chopped

½ onion chopped

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

Mix together dressing, soup mix, and cranberry sauce.  Place chicken breast and vegetables in a greased baking dish and pour sauce over top.  Back at 350 for 60 – 90 minutes until internal chicken temperature reaches 165.  Serve with rice or noodles.

Katherine's Bio

The nickname "Queen of Happy Endings" is an apt one for Katherine Halle.  She firmly believes that no matter what the obstacles, what the struggles, or how much angst is involved in the journey that the ending should always be a happy one. 

Katherine's love of the written word started at a very early age with repeated demands of "read to me" to any who would listen.  It was only natural that writing would follow.  As a child, she could often be found daydreaming, thinking up fanciful stories and writing them down.  Now she does it on a laptop.  Much faster.

Katherine's favorite animal is her dog.  She likes books, movies, and quirky tv shows such as Buffy the Vampire Slayer.  She is a closet foodie.  Although currently living in Europe, Katherine is an American by blood and heart.  When she's not writing or plotting, Katherine enjoys spending her time having movie/tv quote-athons with her husband or cuddling her kid.

She can be reached at http://katherinehalle.wordpress.com/  or @KatherineHalle on Twitter.

Thanks, Katherine.

A Watched Demon Always Boils is available on Torquere Press from today.

Here's the official blurb:

Lane is a professional photographer hired by Greg to do a photoshoot and magazine spread about his restaurant in hopes of making his business more profitable. Trouble is Greg's got a demon on his back, literally. Now Lane is in a race against time to save Greg from the demon and convince him that Lane isn't crazy, he wants to help Greg.

Take one stubborn chef, a determined photographer, mix in an evil demon and a slightly crazy best friend, and watch it come to a boil.