*Face Palm* I am a techno idiot

Some how I have managed to delete all the comments on all my posts. Don't ask me how, not paying attention probably (I have too many windows open to concentrate on any of them).

Just so you know this wasn't done intentionally, I value each and every comment I recieve here. If you're new here this isn't a lonely loveless blog, it's just run by someone with the brains of a rocking horse!

In search of a topic (and not the chocolate nutty sort)

What to say…

Today is the release of Lashings of Sauce, an anthology which I am proud to be part of since I am sharing pages with the likes of Jo Myles, Charlie Cochrane, JL Merrow, Clare London and Jordan Castillo Price. It celebrates what it is to be, not just British but, European in this year of commemoration and festivity.

So, as my title proclaims, what should I write about?  To be honest I’m still slightly in awe of all the names my story nestles in amongst and the insightful, witty blog posts that will undoubtedly be out there to promote this release. Which reminds me, I used the word amongst in my story. It’s a word I have used for too many years to stop myself writing it naturally, but on the read through I edited it out, changing it to among to bring it in line with what I had come to expect publishers would want. Amongst is an old fashioned word apparently and not one that would be immediately recognised by English speakers worldwide, one that would jar them from the reading experience, much like leant (leaned) or dreamt (dreamed). Imagine my joy when I was told since it was a British publication, celebrating all things British, I could use the word amongst.

Hah, there was my subject matter for my blog, the difference between UK and US English. Imagine my horror when I opened my Google Reader on Monday to find Jo Myles had done a blog post on that exact subject! Back to square one then…and preventing the use of my favourite line from my briefly sketched out plan: “I’m all for having your lead character pound his boyfriend’s arse, but having him pound his boyfriend’s donkey is just all sorts of wrong.” (aka the difference between arse and ass)

Why don’t I just tell you about my contribution to the anthology?

It’s called Waiting for a Spark and it’s set in our teeming metropolis.

Ooh, London. Bright lights, big city. The West End. Soho. Chinatown. Big Ben. The streets formerly roamed by Jack the Ripper.

Is it a theatre story, all greasepaint and glitz? Or werewolves changing beneath a full moon reflected in the dark glistening water of the Thames? Maybe lust and unbridled passion in the Houses of Parliament? Or 19^thC bobbies tracking a notorious killer?

All very exciting, yes?

Nope. To be honest that part of London that you all know is tiny in comparison to the rest of it. The meandering outer boroughs where one town slides easily into the next is where this story is really set. Towns where people are getting on with lives which are humdrum in comparison to the images living in London conjures up.

And that is what my story is about. Everyday, mundane things. The bus ride to work in the mornings where you break the routine by fantasising about the gorgeous man that always sits near the back of the bus. Or running out of milk on a Sunday evening after all the shops have closed, except one. Of how, even inadvertently, we can all be just a little bit racist. Sometimes in thought, word, deed or just in the things we don’t say and the assumptions we make.

Yes, I know. Two things have happened. I’ve mentioned racism and most of you have decided not to read this story. It’ll be one you skip, after all you don’t have to read every story in an anthology, right? The second thing that has happened is that all of you that have seen Avenue Q are now humming a little song. I wish I could find a decent copy to link you all to but You Tube is awash with crackly camera phone copies of this song. I thought at this point about putting in the Racist Rap by Doc Brown but it wasn’t really appropriate for the sentiment my story is trying to portray.

*slaps forehead* But of course, Doc Brown has done other comedy raps and one that goes back to where I started this blog post. A celebration of all things British. And what can be more British than a nice cup of tea.

(Probably not safe for work. Contains swearing.)

Lashings of Sauce
AUTHOR: UK MAT
ISBN: 9781611523386

PRICE: $6.99

GENRE: Anthology • Contemporary • Erotic Romance • Fiction • Gay • Historical • Lesbian • Transgender
LENGTH: 77,891 words
We Brits love our sauce, whether it's what we lash on our food, read on our seaside postcards, or write in our stories. Come and enjoy a buffet of tasty LGBTQ treats!

From marriages to reunions, via practical jokes and football matches, to weresloths and possibly the oddest Tarts and Vicars party in the world, join us as we celebrate the UK Meet in the best way we know: telling the story.

As a follow-up to the critically acclaimed British Flash and Tea and Crumpet anthologies, our talented writers bring you sixteen stories about gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and genderqueer characters enjoying what Britain and mainland Europe have to offer, with their wonderfully diverse range of cultures and landscapes and some incredibly colourful and quirky people.

Contributors include: Tam Ames, Becky Black, Anne Brooke, Charlie Cochrane, Rebecca Cohen, Lillian Francis, Elin Gregory, Clare London, Sandra Lindsey, JL Merrow, Emily Moreton, Josephine Myles, Zahra Owens, Jordan Castillo Price, Elyan Smith and Robbie Whyte. Edited by: UK MAT (UK Meet Acquisitions Team: Alex Beecroft, Charlie Cochrane, Clare London, JL Merrow and Josephine Myles).

This anthology is a souvenir of the 2012 UK Meet, an occasion for GLBTQ supporters to get together in a relaxed setting to celebrate and chat about the fiction community they love. Funds from the sale of this anthology will go towards future UK Meets, to which all are welcome. Please visit the website for details, or contact UK MAT through the publisher.

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