A Month of Firsts or With a Lot of Help From My Friends

Two days ago I uploaded my new Valentine’s Day story to Amazon. This is my first foray into self-publishing, but publishing the book was also the last in a long line of firsts. To say I’ve been on a very steep learning curve for the past three weeks would be the understatement of the century, and if it hadn’t been for the people I’ll mention below, Valentine’s Love would never have seen the light of day.

Adira, Tanja, Dermot, Elin, Paul, and Lily are not only worth their weight in gold when it comes to their beta reading powers, they also proved to be speed readers extraordinaire. Sally Hopkinson managed to pull off what I deemed impossible when she edited the full story over the course of a few days. And without Theo Fenraven my book wouldn’t have had its gorgeous cover.

Let’s just say that there’s nothing like trying to get my own story ready for publication to make me appreciate all the work my publishers have done for me in the past. If I ever wondered why I had to split my royalties, I know fully understand.

I’m immensely grateful for and in awe of the patience displayed by Isobel Starling, K.C. Wells, Posy Roberts and Brigham Vaughn. They helped me with formatting the Word document, creating an Instafreebie account, setting up a newsletter, and publishing the book on Amazon without ever losing their patience or telling me how very useless I am when it comes to all matters IT.

If I needed proof that the writing/reading community I’m part of is a very supportive and loving place, my journey to producing this book provided it in spades. I can’t begin to express how incredibly grateful I am for all the help and hand-holding I received.

As for the book: It will always hold a special place in my heart. Not only is it the first title I self-published, it is also the story that proved once and for all that I’m a very lucky writer to have found so many invaluable friends.

Blurb

Ty O’Malley loves Spoilt for Choice, his gift shop. He enjoys nothing more than helping his customers find the perfect present. The only exception is Valentine’s Day. Ever since his partner left him, three years previously, Ty hasn’t been able to enjoy the love-themed holiday, and goes out of his way to avoid dealing with it. This year will be no different — until his assistant interferes.

When Ben Cronin walks into his premises, looking for presents for a man he doesn’t know but has been admiring from afar, Ty can’t deny Ben is everything he would look for in a man — if he happened to be looking, which he isn’t. Besides, Ben has obviously set his sights on someone else.

As Ty instructs Ben in the art of finding the perfect gift, the two men grow closer. But there are only four weeks until Valentine’s Day. After February fourteenth, Ty will probably never see Ben again … Or will he?

Valentine’s Love can be found on Amazon for $.99/£.99/€.99 or through KU.

Universal link: http://mybook.to/ValentinesLove

Valentine's Love - An M/M Romance Valentines Giveaway

Valentine’s Love

Yes, it’s that time of year again where we get to celebrate love (even more than we do every other day of the year).

In order to bring new love to your E-reader, eighteen authors, including yours truly, got together to organise a Valentine’s Day MM Giveaway. All of us have created new stories for the occasion, and there’s a nice variety of sub-genres so everybody should be able to find at least a few books to their taste. The participating authors are: Isobel Starling, Jackie Keswick, Irene Preston & Liv Rancourt, Dale Cameron Lowry, Chris McHart, Frank W. Butterfield, Alina Popescu, A.M. Arthur, Sue Brown, Tanya Chris, Teodora Kostova, April Kelley, C.L. Mustafic, B.L. Morticia, Bronwyn Heeley, Lillian Francis, Kate Pavelle, and Leona Windwalker. 

You can find all titles included here: Valentine Giveaway Clicking on the covers will take you to the relevant Instafreebie giveaway pages.

For the curious, here’s the information on my story.

Blurb

Ty O’Malley loves Spoilt for Choice, his gift shop. He enjoys nothing more than helping his customers find the perfect present. The only exception is Valentine’s Day. Ever since his partner left him, three years previously, Ty hasn’t been able to enjoy the love-themed holiday, and goes out of his way to avoid dealing with it. This year will be no different — until his assistant interferes.

When Ben Cronin walks into his premises, looking for presents for a man he doesn’t know but has been admiring from afar, Ty can’t deny Ben is everything he would look for in a man — if he happened to be looking, which he isn’t. Besides, Ben has obviously set his sights on someone else.

As Ty instructs Ben in the art of finding the perfect gift, the two men grow closer. But there are only four weeks until Valentine’s Day. After February fourteenth, Ty will probably never see Ben again … Or will he?

This giveaway and my participation in it wouldn't have happened if it hadn't been for the enthusiasm, patience, and fabulous organisational skills of Isobel Starling, who also has a wonderful sounding story included in the giveaway. 

Happy reading! And, Happy Valentine’s Day!

Monday Flash Fics - The Reality of Love

The Reality of Love

I watch as the ropes drop from the helicopter hovering high above my hide-out, unsure how I feel about the fact that my journey has come to an end.

I wonder about the fact that they’ve lowered two lines. What if he hasn’t come alone? I don’t want to pursue that line of thought. It’s out of my hands now anyway. I made my move and left him with a choice. His decision will be the answer to all the questions I wasn’t brave enough to ask.

I squint at the tiny shapes, slowly making their way down. One of them is obviously human. Whether or not it’s him I can’t tell. I don’t know what’s attached to the other line though. If it’s also a person he or she has no idea what they’re doing and I fear for what might happen when they reach the ground without straightening up.

As they descend, the little chip implanted in the back of my neck, starts to tingle, providing me with the answer to one of my questions. The human coming down is almost certainly him. He’s found me. Did he come to extract his revenge or... I refuse to finish the thought as my mind flashes back to our last encounter.

“My need for you has nothing to do with the fact that I own you.” Darius, my Master sounded almost angry.

“Maybe not,” I replied. “But you can’t deny the bond between us is artificial; only established and maintained by the chips.”

“I refuse to believe that.”

I didn’t want to believe it either. I wanted him to yearn for me the way I longed for him because of real feelings, not an electronically generated emotion, created by the technology that’s supposed to keep Masters happy and slaves obedient. But I knew better than to get my hopes up. I had no doubt that only proximity kept us bound together. As soon as the distance between us was bigger than the chips’ range, any such feelings would evaporate.

“You’re wrong. You have to be.” The combination of hope and desperation in his voice decided me. When he left me alone, I fled. Not the smartest decision I’d ever made, considering that running from my Master is punishable by death, but I couldn’t take the conflicted emotions we were exchanging any longer.

The person and the object disappear from view, swallowed by the forest. I close my eyes as common sense reasserts itself, killing any hopeful fantasies I might entertain. It won’t be him; chances are he’s already replaced me and has given my electronic tag to a hunter. My punishment would arrive soon.

I close my eyes and try to prepare myself for what’s to come. I don’t want to die, but can’t help feeling it has to be better than the lie I’ve been forced to live for the four years since I was sent to his house. I understand why the Rulers decided that it was better, more peaceful, to have Masters and slaves love each other. And maybe it works for others. For me it has been hell. Knowing our feelings are artificial hurts more than I can bear.

I recognise the sound instantly. No two engines sound exactly the same and I’ve been a passenger on that one often enough to identify this machine instantly. He brought his bike? I try to figure out what this development means, coming up with nothing.

“Sam?”

I bite back the sigh wanting to escape. “Yes, Master.”

“No!” For the first time in years his voice holds the authority I would expect from a Master. “My name is Darius.”

My mind reels, but before I try to establish what this development means I need the answer to one, very important, question. “You came looking for me. Why?”

He stares at me for a few moments, a smile tugging at his lips. “Because I love you.”

“But I was too far away.” I’d made sure of that, studying how big the chip’s range was and travelling well beyond that distance.

“Did your feelings change?”

Such a simple question, and yet I never asked it. Only now do I fully realise that the miles between us failed to lessen my love for him too.

“But how?”

He shrugs. “Who cares?” He pulls me to his chest and I surrender. “Maybe one day we’ll figure it out,” he continues. “But even if we don’t. These feelings are real, whether they’re supposed to be or not. And you —" He plants a kiss on my lips. “You belong with me.”

He said “with” and not “to”. My last doubts evaporate. “I do.”

****

760 words

I’m not sure where this flash came from. Except that it’s loosely related to a longer story I’ve been playing with for over a year now. Maybe it’s time to open that document again?

More stories, inspired by the same image, can be found in the Monday Flash Fics group on Facebook. Since I’ve already read a few of them, I can safely say they’re well worth a few minutes of your time. Enjoy!