Goodbye to all that

What else could I post on Hogmanay but a yearly round-up?

First up: a review of 2010's writing goals which were listed here, if you can stand to get through such a rambling post.

Regular working hours.
Fail. I had a couple of weeks here and there where I was disciplined, but an overall big, red X for me on this one.

Edit and sub Book #4 to a particular publisher and, all being well, send them Book #2.
Here I was talking about By the Book, which sold to Loose Id and is released in four days. Book #2 was Dark-Adapted Eyes which I'm thinking of trunking, rewriting or cannibalising. Not sure, yet. Hmm... *strokes chinbeard*

Use Book #3 as agent-bait.
Referring to Plus One here. I didn't sub it to agents at all! I decided to keep my name current, try to build a name for myself and sold it to Carnal Passions instead. It was released last month.

Five publishing contracts (for the purposes of this item, these contracts can be for novels or novellas).
Three, for Long Time Coming, Plus One and By the Book (purchase links on my 'books by' page above). Does a revise-and-resubmit on my vampire story count? Currently at 47k, it'll be well into full-length novel territory by the time I'm happy with it. So we'll say kinda success. Three and a half contracts.

Write four complete novels.
Fail, fail, fail.

Rewrite my trunk novel as a novella.
Win. Except, as mentioned above, it became a category-length book, and will grow still further during revisions. I'm confident of selling this in 2011.

Write 500k words.
Less said about this the better.

2009 was a writing year. 2010 was an editing year. 2011 will combine the two more evenly.

Read 150 books.
Easy peasy lemon squeezy. I bought an ereader (Sony Touch edition) in February so most of my reads have been ebooks, and those tend to be shorter than print books, but even so, 180 is a very respectable total. Favourite reads to be listed later.

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So 2010 was the year in which I became a published author. It all kicked off on Monday, 8th March when Carnal Passions decided Leonardo Thomas Carson and his gay parakeet with Tourette's (yes, really) deserved to be splurted across the intertubes.

I still can't believe I got away with the parakeet thing, but hey, who am I to argue if someone shoves a contract up my emailhole?

In August I sold another two books - within four days of each other. By the Book sold first, but isn't out yet. Plus One sold last and jumped the gun, release-wise.

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So, yeah. It's been a successful year, but I look back and see areas where I coulda woulda shoulda done better - primarily with regard to self-discipline. Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining - ingratitude for one's achievements makes me want to hurt people, after all - but it's something to work on in the new year.

I could have been more productive if only I'd knuckled down and treated writing like a job as well as a career. No need to beat myself up, though. I've come a long way, baby.

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Other highlights?

• Discovering the wonders of Being Human. I say 'wonders'. I mean Aidan Turner. Regardez. I have Sue Laybourn to thank for me seeing the light. I say 'light'. I mean Aidan's lovely, lovely, lovely face.
• Richard Armitage. What? Whaaaaat? I've only ever watched one episode of Spooks but it was a good 'un. I'm pretty pissed off at myself for only discovering the lovely Dick (fnarr) as his character was written out, but hey, that's why baby Jesus invented DVDs, right?
• Getting cover art with mantitty from Christine M. Griffin. Although, having said that, Amanda Kelsey came up trumps with my first two pieces of cover art, for Long Time Coming and Plus One. It's not for nothing I am a total Kelsey fangirl.

I ranted about shitty BDSM fiction and will continue to do so for as long as it's a fetid carbuncle on the spotty arse of the genre. If any BDSM authors are offended by what I say in the posts entitled Consent matters and Instant dom - just add water! then they're perfectly welcome to either not read my blog, or stop writing stalker-doms who rape their subs and call it BDSM.

I also ranted about the difference between erotica and porn - and yes, there is a difference - and people who think it takes ages to edit a book.

But with a tendency to rant, comes a tendency to rave, and rave I did - about words and what they can do. Anais Nin's letter to the Collector. Why I love writing mottos.

I like to post something inspirational from time to time. Honest I do.

And I like to clear the shit out of my life at any time of the year, not just in December. Streamlining is a good thing and if it doesn't serve me, it's gone baby gone.

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As I got my reading mojo back, why not talk about books I enjoyed? It's a given I'll say anything by Marie Sexton, with a (dis)honourable mention going to Strawberries for Dessert, because it's Cole's story, darlings. And yours truly has a mention on the dedication page.

And it made me cry both times I read it.

Samhain publications enjoyed this year included: Ship of Dreams by Reilly Ryan and not just because one of the guys on the cover looks like Joaquin Phoenix. I emailed the author to tell her how much I'd enjoyed it. She replied, which made me squee like a silly little fangirl. Fell in love with Arjen and Maikel from Aislinn Kerry's Blood and Roses. Cried like a baby at Lauren Dane's Always. I have a complaint about Scarlet Blackwell's Just Desserts and Second Helpings - they were too damn short! SH especially made me laugh out loud. Honourable mentions also go to Dakota Flint's Seeing You, K. A. Mitchell's No Souvenirs and Dawn McClure's Azazel. And yes, I know - most of these books are M/M, with the exception of Always and Azazel, that is. I love men who love men. Sue me.

The standout from Lyrical Press, for me, was Lux Zakari's Coercion. You won't regret buying and reading this.

And now to one of my publishers - Loose Id, LLC. Of course I'm gonna say this, but God damn I love their books. As soon as I started buying them...well, let's just say my bank account is much smaller than it would have been, had this publisher never come into existence.

More M/M! Kate McMurray's In Hot Pursuit was the shizzle, as was Ash Penn's Stray. (I mention Ash in the acknowledgements to By the Book as well - for all her help with my quest for an ITIN. Still waiting on that, still waiting...) And for the love of Christ, you have to read L. M. Turner's Resistance. I don't know anyone who's read this who hasn't loved it. And thank you, thank you, thank you, Cherise Sinclair for writing BDSM fiction that doesn't make me want to put my fist through a brick wall. I mean, I like pain, but not that much... Anyway, where was I? Oh yeah. The Dom's Dungeon. Buy it. Read it. Touch yourself. But don't come, slut. It's not for nothing that I have three more of her books on my ereader and I'm itching to get to them.

Onto print books. Far fewer read this year than others. Why? Well. My ereader and my addiction to erotic romance.

But some paper-and-ink books I loved were Jay Asher's Thirteen Reasons Why, Ian McEwan's Atonement, Mark Billingham's Sleepyhead and Camilla Noli's The Mother's Tale.

I also enjoyed Alison Weir's The Lady in the Tower: The Fall of Anne Boleyn, despite her complete 180 on the matter of where Anne falls on the virgin/whore spectrum. Perhaps because of this.

Another historical book I enjoyed, though a novel this time, was Suzannah Dunn's The Confession of Katherine Howard. I even blogged about it here.

The Power by Rhonda Byrne. Yeah, yeah, laugh all you want. I liked it.

I re-read Anne Enright's The Gathering this year and got a lot more out of it this time around, even if she did seem overly-obsessed with bodily fluids and genitals.

Mrs Fry's Diary by...well, Mrs Stephen Fry, made me laugh out loud. A very quick read, and most enjoyable.

And let's just say anyone who doesn't enjoy Kazuo Ishiguro's The Remains of the Day is no friend of mine. The. Man. Is. A. God.

If you want to check out any of the print books I mention, I'm afraid you'll have to seek 'em out yourself. I'm not posting Amazon links because I despise that site and everything it stands for. I'm quite happy to take any royalties it earns me, but that's it. They're not getting any of my money, and will have to make do with any publicity this little section of my blog generates.

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So that was 2010. I have goals in mind for 2011 but I'll save those for another post. To wrap it up, here are two of my favourite discoveries of 2010.

And a happy new year to you all.

Excerpt from BY THE BOOK: their first kiss

Reece and Daniel's first kiss, taken from chapter seven.

This takes place right after Daniel's been talking about his smexy angel wings tattoo, visible on the cover.

Cover art by Christine M. Griffin

In this extract, he is, bear in mind, shirtless. Rawr!

***

"Shall I tell you why you’re so jittery?" Daniel bit his lip, paused as if wondering whether or not he should go on. Then he jumped. "You’re wondering if I’m going to kiss you."

"You what?"

"That wasn’t a denial." He took another step closer. "Well? Am I right or wrong?"

"Just because I…" I couldn’t handle the mocking in his eyes. He knew more than I was willing to acknowledge. "This isn’t… I mean I can’t…"

"Can’t you?" Daniel’s brows quirked. "What can’t you?" he asked with a taunting lift of his chin.

Mute and rooted to the spot, I silently bade him continue. Silently bade him stop. Please stop. Oh, there were a thousand and one reasons why this was a bad idea, and I couldn’t remember any of them.

Daniel moistened his lips with the tip of his tongue, then reached up to my neck.

I shook my head without shaking it, moved it slowly from side to side, fighting to calm the maelstrom of thoughts and guilt and what-ifs in my mind. But each time I turned my head, even one degree, I moved under Daniel’s hand and the halfhearted attempt to say no, I can’t became a reminder of how much I wanted to say yes.

If Daniel’s hand hadn’t been on me, if he’d been standing only a foot farther back, if there had been more air between us, maybe I would have been able to breathe, but the slow back and forth of his thumb on my jaw hypnotized me into silent compliance.

"You know something," he murmured, inching closer, ever closer until even daylight wouldn’t get between us. "I’ve been wondering what it would be like to kiss you for a while."

Oh God, this isn’t why I came here, I --

"And you’ve been thinking of the same thing."

Every time you speak, I forget myself.

"We should do something about it." Daniel dipped his head, drew back, furrowed his brow, and I thought, surely he can’t be nervous; he’s Daniel Cross, but he wanted to make sure I was sure. Again he inclined his head, his thumb’s rhythmic back and forth slowing still further, and I couldn’t stop myself moistening my lips, whether in readiness for his kiss or simply because being close to Daniel made me nervous.

His hand on my waist made me jump, and the short path to its resting place on the curve of my hip blazed a trail of electricity. When I gasped, Daniel closed the distance between us by pulling me in closer, and in an instant I thought, no, he’ll be able to tell just how --

And despite the fact that we both wore jeans, he couldn’t hide how hard he was.

"I know you want this," he whispered, so close his breath warmed my skin. "Just let me…"

I’ve never kissed a -- Oh God. My resistance, such as it was, melted away when his bottom lip dragged over mine. The gentleness of the kiss was incongruous with his stubble. Though soft rather than prickly, it was a constant reminder that I was kissing -- or being kissed by -- a man. But I didn’t care because that man was Daniel.

He rested his forehead against mine, breathing deeply but slowly, and his mouth curved into a smile. Still cradling my neck with one hand, his fingers flinched, making my skin tingle. "There. That wasn’t so bad, was it?"

***

There. Daniel Fucking Cross in action.

He will be available in his naked entirety this coming Tuesday, January 4th, from Loose Id, LLC, right hyuh.

L.T.C. stands for...

...Leo takes Christmas.

Sorry, it was the best I could come up with at short notice. Today - okay, yesterday, as it's now after midnight - I received the print copies of Long Time Coming which had been delayed due to bad weather conditions, postal depots having a backlog, etc.

Yes, I did the flick-and-sniff. Fresh paper and ink, mmm!

Yes, I read a few pages here and there and thought, "Hey, this is actually good." And there's nothing arrogant about that. Of course it's good - someone was willing to offer me a contract to publish it. Folks have shelled out to buy it. I've got a right to feel damn proud of myself.

It's pretty cool that I got to hold in my sweaty little paws, the print copy of my first published novel on Christmas Eve.

And this is why I write: something exists that wasn't here before I came.

Here's to much more filth being written, contracted, sold and enjoyed in 2011!

Long Time Coming is available in ebook or print format from Carnal Passions.

By the Book - cover art

My cover artist was Christine Griffin, and the book will be available from Loose Id on the 4th of January.

*continues drooling over Daniel's tattoo*

My four

Lia tagged me, blogwise!

1. Four shows that you watch:

• Being Human (Don't pretend you're shocked).
• Rome (Okay, it's finished now, but I have the complete box set).
• The Tudors (Historically inaccurate, but Jonathan Rhys Meyers disrobes with alarming regularity).
• QI (Or pretty much anything with Stephen Fry in it).

2. Four things you are passionate about:

• The English language
• Solitude
• Honesty
• Self-improvement

3. Four phrases you say a lot:

• "Mightily!"
• "I would do him so fucking hard." (No prizes for guessing...)
• "Suck my fat one."
• "A cup of tea would be nice."

4. Four things you’ve learned from the past:

• I'm not willing to sacrifice my honesty on the altar of someone else's ego.
• Just because something hurts doesn't mean it's not the right thing to do.
• The only way out is through.
• Always give of your best, whether you're submitting a manuscript or merely writing a quick note to someone, because dedication to getting things right will speak volumes for you.

5. Four places you would like to go:

• Florence
• Sydney
• Paris
• Dublin (Shut up, Sue).

6. Four things you did yesterday:

• Worked on revisions for my vampire novel
• Did the dishes
• Squeeflailed over By the Book's cover art
• Ate loads of crisps. (Productive day, obviously).

7. Four things you are looking forward to:

• The menopause (No, really. I never want children so I can't wait 'til my reproductive organs get the message).
• January 4th, 2011. Danielgeddon.
• My next publication contract. It's coming. Oh, it's coming...
• My next chocolate bar.

8. Four things you love about winter:

• Sitting by the window watching electrical storms and snowfall.
• Having an excuse for not leaving the house for days on end.
• The year end coming up. Hogmanay always gives me a sense of hope.
• Laughing at other people getting into debt over Christmas.

9. Four bloggers who should share their list of fours:

• Sue Laybourn
• Tara Lain
• Elle Field
• A strange man with a beard

And because Lia does this on her blog and I want to be just like her when I grow up:

Currently Reading: Mrs Fry's Diary by Mrs Stephen Fry

Feeling Human

Boy do I feel good after a highly traumatic time. My baby's come home! Yeah; I'm sad enough to be that attached to my netbook. It recently experienced the BSoD (that's Blue Screen of Death to any fortunates who have never had their machine put them through the wringer like this) and refused to boot up again, so into the computer hospickle it went. There were some problems retrieving the data on it, which I had religiously backed up anyway so I told the computer tech just to strip it, give it a lobotomy and I'd reinstall everything myself at home.

You do all back up your files at regular intervals, right?

Good.

It's not all been computer-based problems causing my blood pressure to skyrocket, however. No, a one Mr. Aidan Turner has also been responsible for me feeling a bit funny in the head and other bitz.

Thanks to Sue Laybourn introducing me to the TV show Being Human, I have been converted. I now see the light. For months now I've thought 'meh', but the other day I caught a link to an interview with The Turner, discovered something about him I hadn't known, and promptly emailed Sue to say, "He's Irish? Why the fuck didn't you tell me he's Irish?"

Yes. I am that fickle, easy to please and flighty. Sue me.

She blogged about the show here.

One quote from her blogisode:

BH is a compelling combination of brilliant writing and top class acting. The story carries humor, pathos, tragedy, darkness and light with no effort at all. There are moments that made me cry, moments that had me giggling helplessly and moments where all I could do was stare, open-mouthed, at the screen. I can't remember the last time a television programme has done that to me. It's also rare for something I've watched to linger with me long after the closing credits have rolled.

So it's not all about the eyecandy. Honest!

The other day when I was in town I thought about buying the DVD of Being Human as I had a bit of money to burn - yes, the advance cheque for By the Book HOLLA!!! Lo and behold, Seasons 1 & 2 as a box set, £25, thank you and goodnight Vienna. Only seen the first three episodes so far but I can confirm two things:

1. Aidan Turner is my new favourite Irishman (sorry Colin and Jonathan).
2. Everything Sue said about the show above, is correct.

I cried at one scene which didn't even have Aidan Turner in it and no, it wasn't because Aidan Turner wasn't in it. The writing, the acting, the atmosphere, everything about the scene packed such an emotional punch. George (the werewolf) and Annie (the ghost) sat by the window, talking about people they'd loved, people they'd lost and yes, Scarlett 'Cold, Black Heart' Parrish teared up.

The great thing about this show is it isn't all tragedy and it isn't all comedy; there's the perfect balance between the two which reflects real life...which is weird, given that it's about a vampire, a werewolf and a ghost...but anyhoo...

"I killed it."
"You killed it?"
"With...a shoe."
"You killed a pigeon with a shoe?"

Okay, you had to be there. Try this on for size:

"Tully's a twat."
"Yeah, but he's my twat!"
"Oh-kay...that probably sounded better in your head."

In short, I cannot believe it's taken me so long to discover such a refreshing, entertaining, intelligent TV show. Neither can I believe it took a recommendation from a friend who lived on another continent when she first saw it, but there you go. Better late than never, and this way I don't have to wait another week to see the following episode; I have all twelve on DVD and the new series, I am told, starts in January.

Which means the rest of my month will be spent binging on the loveliness of this guy...er, purely to catch up on Being Human before the new series starts, you understand:

Oh, it's a bind.

But I think I'll manage.

More Dick, anyone?

Groovy

For the groove is what I are in.

Months of writing next to no fresh material and what happens today? Just a few words shy of 3k. I've been trying to get back into Family Jewels for a while now. Tried a routine. Tried writing out of the house. Tried writing in different rooms in the house. Well, the stars must have been in the correct alignment today. Whatever it was, I ain't gonna question it. Chapter eighteen is now complete, and the novel is 50% done. That's as long as Devon Fucking Scott doesn't decide I need to add any more chapters to the outline.

*glares at male MC*

Anyhoo. Today also marks one calendar month until Danielgeddon strikes. And yes, I'm bouncing up and down with anticipation for my cover art. As soon as I receive it, I'll squeeflail all over this blog. As soon as I'm given the go-ahead, I'll post it all over this blog.

Aside from that, not much else to report, but I'm doing well. Feeling like a writer again. And here is a Shannon: