Snow on the Roof, in more than one sense

Goodness, where does time go. I've had a wonderfully busy winter, although only recently has it got cold enough for proper snow. We've had a week of white-washed rooftops and snowball fights, but now two days of heavy showers and sunshine have washed it all away and the world seems very green all of a sudden. There's just a hint of spring in the air, enough to lift the heart.

And I've got a couple of a stories coming out this spring. Firstly, my story "Granddad's Cup of Tea" will be in Dreamspinner's Snow on the Roof anthology which comes out on February 11th (did you see that super-smooth segue, did you, huh?). This story is rather precious to me, because it was the very first m/m romance story I wrote, and the first story of any kind I've finished in a very long time. The theme of the anthology is older couples, and mine is a story about two widowers in a Sussex village who slowly fall in love. I really enjoyed writing about Ewan and Alex and their families and I hope you all enjoy meeting them in a couple of weeks time. Click on the banner to find out more.

I've also had a piece accepted for the Closet Capers Anthology which is due out in April - I'll post more about that one closer to the time.

I've also been pleased with the response to The Ghost of Mistletoe Lock. The reviews on Goodreads were mixed, which I gather is par for the course, but all the review sites gave it 4/5, which is good going for a debut novella, at least in my humble opinion ;) I was also thrilled to bits to discover it had been assigned to Christmas Day in the Advent Calendar. I didn't know in advance and my shriek of excitement on Christmas morning woke up my poor brother, who was staying in my spare room for the holiday. Sadly it didn't snow at Christmas here, merely before and after, and though I considered wandering down the river last weekend to take photos of locks in the snow, it didn't happen. I was at the stage in a bout of flu where every breath hurt and it's a good forty minute walk from the station to the first lock. Unlike Ryan, I've got more sense to take off into the snowy countryside when I'm not ready for it, so I stayed at home in bed and wrote about a disgruntled dragon instead.

I'm now busy finishing off my Nano novel, Reawakening. It's fun to be working on a full-length project again after all these short stories recently, and Tarn and Gard keep making me snicker. Tarn is so laconic and controlled and Gard is such a fast-talking git, and that dynamic just lets me run with every scene. The problem's going to be editing out the swathes of banter which doesn't add anything to the plot.

I've also been busy this week putting together a wordpress site - there's a new free read, When Life Gives You Lemons up there. It's adult-rated, so consider yourself warned ;)