PUBLICATION DAY ONE: THE GILDED SCARAB

PUBLICATION DAY!

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Dance With The Devil - JD March on how everyone wants to be a cowboy...

Friend and writer JD March publishes Dance With The Devil TODAY. Read all about it at my website 

But as a taster: Johnny Fierro’s a gunfighter‚ maybe the best. He’s hunted trouble and a reputation all his life. But the killings and the range wars have worn him out and brought him to a point where he would welcome death — until he hears that his estranged and hated father faces a battle to hold onto his land in the Cimarron Valley. Fierro has sworn to kill his father and this is too good an opportunity to miss. What he hasn’t bargained for is a share of the ranch‚ or a brother he never knew existed. While his upright‚ authoritarian father and Harvard-educated brother struggle to come to terms with his violent past and vicious reputation‚ Fierro wrestles with the unwelcome realization that his mother didn’t tell him the whole story about the past. He doesn’t know what to believe‚ but he has to make a choice when the bullets start flying.

AvailableTODAY  at Five Star Publishing

Launch all space ships! We have a date!

That’s the likely publication date for the first Taking Shield book, Gyrfalcon.

I am beyond excited. Ridiculously so! It feels real again, after the inevitable time of waiting in the editing queue. Well, I still am in the editing queue but soon, my pretties, soon.

I’m not entirely sure what to expect when the editing starts. The two short stories I’ve had professionally edited had very little changed. Commas, mostly. I think I over use them so I strike the wriggly little tadpoles down. The editor tuts at me and puts them back. I’ve never had a content edit done and I am rather nervous. I can only hope the editor loves Bennet and Flynn as much as I do.

Anyhow, for those of you who are unfamiliar with Shield (that is, those of you I haven’t managed to bore witless about it yet), let me tell you a little about it.

Shield is set in an alternate universe where Earth’s a dead planet, dark for thousands of years; lost for so long no one even knows where the solar system is. Her last known colony, Albion, has grown to be regional galactic power in its own right. But its drive to expand and found colonies of its own has threatened an alien race, the Maess, against whom Albion is now fighting a last-ditch battle for survival in a war that’s dragged on for generations.

It’s not certain anyone has ever seen a true Maess. They have seen drones: cyborgs animated by a small neural node of organic cells. The first drones the humans met (more than a century previously) were not humanoid in shape but, as the war progresses, the Maess start to produce human-shaped drones.

Taking Shield charts the missions and adventures of Shield Captain Bennet, scion of a prominent military family. Bennet, also an analyst with the Military Strategy Unit, will uncover crucial data about the Maess to help with the war effort. Against the demands of his family’s ‘triple goddess’ of Duty, Honour and Service, is set Bennet’s relationships with lovers and family. When the series opens, Bennet is at odds with his long term partner, Joss, who wants him out of the military and back in an academic, archaeological career. He’s estranged from his father, Caeden, who is the commanderof Fleet’s First Flotilla. Events of the first book, Gyrfalcon, in which he is sent to his father’s ship to carry out an infiltration mission behind Maess lines, improve his relationship with Caeden, but bring with them the catalyst that will destroy the one with Joss: one Fleet Lieutenant Flynn, who, over the course of the series, develops into Bennet’s main love interest

Over the Taking Shield arc of six novels, Bennet will see the extremes to which humanity’s enemies, and his own people, will go to win the war. Some of it is not pretty.

The next big step after editing will be the cover design, I think. Sadly, I don’t think it will look like this. But a girl can hope.

Grins at you all.  Writing is fun, isn’t it?

Stranded with Louise Lyons

Over at the website, Louise Lyons is visiting to talk about the new anthology from Wayward Ink Press, "Stranded", and gifts us with an extract from her story in the anthology, One Snowy Night. Come and read all about it!

Twirling A Moustache: Sarah Madison and "Walk A Mile"

Come to my website where I interrogate Sarah Madison on her moustache twirling and shake a sad head at her lack of technical ability with computers... More seriously, come over to find out a little more about her brilliant new best seller, Walk a Mile and read a sexy little excerpt...

Quenching the fiery darts

Over at my website I'm talking about parakeets and pantomime moose. All in the same post as promising you exciting authors stopping by to talk about their books and squee-ing about Dreamspinner starting work on the cover art for The Gilded Scarab. Not bad for a Monday!

Wet Wet Wet

Over at my website, I'm hosting Kim Fielding on her Fieldingpalooza blog tour to promote her five--count 'em!--FIVE new releases. There are nymphs and kelpies and THREE prizes to be won! Come and see.

LAUNCH DAY FOR SARAH MADISON'S 'WALK A MILE'

Today is book launch day for my good friend and fellow critique group member, Sarah Madison. Read my thoughts about it over at my website.  Walk A Mile is published by Dreamspinner and sorry, why are you reading this and not rushing out to buy it?

Struttin' My Stuff

Over at my website, I am mourning the demise of the humble bookmark, wondering how to gild (or even geld) scarabs and wittering on about

Read all about it there.

Basinets and Brassarts--Elin Gregory, Historical Romances and "A Taste of Copper"

I'm delighted to be hosting Elin Gregory over on my website today, where she talks about armour and world-building and her wonderful new book, A Taste of Copper. The stuff about armour is *fascinating*. I have to admit that before today, if I'd been asked to name the parts of a suit of armour, the only bit I'd have got would be 'vambrace' and that's because archers use 'em and I have a pair in the same box as my bow... Come along and enjoy Elin's post!






Lovely cover, too, isn't it?

Season of Mists and Pumpkin Soup

Over HERE at my blog site, I am wittering on about autumn, discuss culinary matters and the sleeping habits of cockerpoos

Sweet, isn't she? Well let me tell you, she is not so sweet when she's been rolling in fox shit. 

Devils, Details and Design

Another post on world building - because it *fascinates* me and because it gives me a great excuse to point out that I've redesigned the website a bit to start including background notes on the Taking Shield series and The Gilded Scarab.

Vigoro—or why research is good for your health

In 1902, there was a serious attempt to merge cricket and tennis. Yes, you did read that aright. Someone tried to **merge cricket and tennis**. At my website, you'll find me rhapsodizing about the delights of a writer's life when it comes to the gems you find when you're researching something.

Squeeing like a very squeeing thing

With thanks to Baldrick for the title, I’m squeeing very hard indeed today.

I signed the contract with Wilde City this morning for the first two Shield books in the series. Bennet and Flynn are on their way!

Whose Is That Throbbing Member?

Over at the website, author Megan Reddaway talks to us about the pros and cons (and ins and outs; cough) of writing sex scenes in the first person. Megan's witty, sharp story 'Wrong Number' is published in Dreamspinner's latest anthology, Not Quite Shakespeare.  Pop along to read an excerpt and read Megan's wise words about how to make sure your character isn't TMI-ing all over the shop.

Friday the Thirteenth - the luckiest day in the almanac`!

Over at my website I am squealing and twirling and generally carrying on something chronic. Good news about Taking Shield, is all I'm going to say here. Grins at you. Very good news.

SWAG, glorious swag! A view of the Uk LGBT Writers meet

So, am wittering on today about the weekend's meet and how wrong, wrong wrong it is to get a chest infection a few days before and consequently miss the chocolate torte. Darn. Some compensation , though, in the wonderful swag bag, the contents of which are scattered in artful confusion on my hotel dressing table:

Over at the website, as per.

And we're off...

I'm wittering on over at the website about uneven chapter lengths and you just would not *believe* the angst.  What do you all do? Write the chapters as they come or strive to get them all an even length? Do tell.

But as compensation for demanding you answer intrusive questions like that, here's a picture of the gorgeous Matt Bomer, who is Shield Captain Bennet to the life. Soooooo inspirational.

Hitting a century

Over at my website I'm celebrating and mourning this:

A Minor Inconvenience - but a major triumph!

Over at my website, read an exclusive extract from Sarah Granger's wonderful Regency m/m romance, where there are dashing Napoleonic war officers, uniforms, balls, Almacks, French spies and BREECHES!!!  Follow her blog tour here  and enter for giveaways and generally just join in the delighted squeeing.