Things that scare me

 I'm back on the Long and Short Reviews blog hop after a break as I liked this one. I probably have a few phobias which are shared widely, but I can think of two that people often find weird.

One is thalassophobia - fear of wide expanses of water and what might be underneath them. For me it's less a terrifying fear and more a "let's watch thalassophobia videos on YouTube" type of fear. There are lots available involving rogue waves, krakens and the like, and all of that I find scary - which is one of the reasons I've never been on a cruise, since I get nervous if I can't see the shore.

The other? Mirrors in the dark. I've seen far too many horror films where someone looks in a mirror at night and sees their face distorted, or someone else behind them, or their reflection tells them to get out of the house. There's just something creepy about a mirror at night, which is why I make sure the light is on if I'm in the bathroom.

I'm curious to see what everyone else will suggest!

How I handle bad days

 After a break enforced by a short holiday and some medical issues, I'm back on the Long and Short Reviews blog hop for this one.

Believe me, I've had to find methods of self-care, ever since working at my previous job where people, including me, were off sick with stress multiple times a year. That's less of an issue with my current day job, but it's still something I have to keep an eye on.

So how do I handle a bad day?

It's quite simple really. I have two major guilty pleasures which I combine when I need to chill out.

I pour a glass of wine and put on a quiz show.

I'm not going to explain why I go for the wine, but quiz shows have always been something I love to relax to, and luckily there will always be at least one on Challenge.

So how do you handle bad days?

Books I had to read in school and didn't like

 I had to laugh when this topic from Long and Short Reviews came up. I have often had people ask me if, as a writer, I enjoyed English literature at school and my simple answer is that no, I didn't. The entire process of reading a book slowly out loud in class, paragraph by paragraph, analysing every word in every sentence, seemed designed to destroy any love of literature - as was proven to me by the fact that I enjoyed "To Kill a Mockingbird", which I read by choice, whereas my friends who were forced to study it hated every word in that book.

The two that I remember specifically? "The Catcher in the Rye" and "Lord of the Flies". I imagine I would have enjoyed them more had I not been forced to write essays comparing Roger and Simon or dissecting Holden's memories of his younger brother. The only part I didn't mind was when we were asked to write an extra chapter of "The Catcher in the Rye", which I used to give Holden a second shot with his childhood sweetheart. I liked having the chance to adapt my writing style to match the book, and apparently I did a reasonable job at it since I got a decent mark.

Hmm. Maybe that's why I liked working with Totally Bound on "The Tenant of Wildfell Hall" so much. 

So which books did you read in school and dislike?

Fictional worlds I'd love to visit - and PRE-ORDER

 Having seen this topic from Long and Short Reviews, my first thought was to a universe that might surprise some people, as technically the series is dystopia.

"Uglies".

The idea behind "Uglies" is that teenagers, when they reach a given age, are allowed to graduate from Ugly to Pretty and are given full-body plastic surgery to make them manga-beautiful. They then get to move into New Pretty Town and spend years partying before they have to settle down. The secret, of course - and spoiler alert - is that Pretties also have minor brain surgery to make them docile and less likely to revolt.

I'll be honest, I think I could live with that if I could be made beautiful and not have to worry about my life for years. 

I have a couple of my own books I'd love to move into, while I'm at it - "Watch the Skies" and the "I Heard Your Voice" trilogy, simply because both are paranormal (aliens and ghosts) and I'd love to live in a universe where paranormal happenings could regularly happen, rather than just being the occasional knock on the pipes.

And I just have to announce that I have a pre-order now available:

THE BOYS ARE BACK IN TOWN

Avril Coker, ex-girlfriend of young rockstar Levi Eshton-Gold, is staying at the house of his father, rockstar Ty Eshton-Gold, having been abandoned by her parents due to a pregnancy. However, when Levi arrives home early from his tour with his voice destroyed, he soon makes it clear that he hopes to rekindle their romance.

 

Avril still feels a spark between them. However she also knows Levi is unaware of the real reason Avril is staying with his family – and the deranged fan who caused Avril’s miscarriage.

 

Ty, as the band’s manager, has plans to keep the band going, including a reality TV show and a new album which Avril herself will be singing on. As her and Levi’s passion soon reignites, Avril finds herself working to support Levi’s band Astral Shudder and to help Levi regain his voice – but can Avril and Levi see a future together, or will Levi’s career and his cruel fan keep them apart?

 

Amazon UK: https://tinyurl.com/mr4tuh73

 

Amazon US: https://tinyurl.com/48xz4r5d

 

Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1799486

 

Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/gb/en/ebook/the-boys-are-back-in-town-9?sId=e65e2815-f710-43a0-b7a7-5943e0738e05

I loved writing this one, so I hope everyone enjoys it!

Humorous book titles

 I love this particular topic from Long and Short Reviews, as one of the benefits of writing romance, especially erotic romance, is you can get away with humorous titles.

A favourite of mine is "In Appreciation of Their Cox" by Janine Ashbless. It is, of course, about the cox of a rowing team who has a multi-way celebration after the team win an event. I had to buy it as soon as I heard the name.

Another is "Here Be Sexist Vampires" by Suzanne Wright. Also explicit, but a really great story with a kickass heroine who takes no nonsense from the sexist vampires around her.

And I had to include my own, which is downloadable as a freebie from the Totally Bound website - "I Can't Believe You Used My Butter". I had wanted to use that title for ages, and the chance to do a free short story inspired by "Last Tango in Paris" was irresistible.

I'm interested to see which titles everyone else will share!

Favourite things to do in the summer

 Decided to have another go at the Long and Short Reviews blogs after a break as this one interested me.

The obvious answer to favourite things I like to do in the summer is probably go on holiday, but that only amounts to one week of the summer, so what do I like to do the rest of the time? I don't do well in heat, so most outdoor activities are a bit much for me - I've never been a sporty person and even walking in hot weather can be hard going.

So my favourite thing to do in summer is sit out in the garden with ice cream and a drink, most likely cider or a cocktail.

In fact, one thing I do like about summer is I have the excuse to eat ice cream whenever I like, be that mint choc chip or blackcurrant sorbet - the more interesting the better.

So what's your favourite thing to do in the summer?

Characters I never want to meet

 Two characters immediately sprang to mind when I saw this topic come up on Long and Short Reviews - one from classic fiction and one of my own.

The first is Angel Clare from "Tess of the D'Urbervilles". I read this mainly because it was set in my dad's home village (Marlott in the book, Marnhull in reality). I really did try to like it, but it's a deeply depressing read, primarily because Tess's love Angel Clare is such a hypocrite. The tragic conclusion comes as a direct result of Angel abandoning Tess for something that wasn't even her fault - he rejects her for lack of purity even while at the same time he tries to take one of her friends as his mistress. Oh, how I hate that man.

The other is Reed James from my three-book series "I Heard Your Voice", "Tamar Rising" and "Spiritwalker". Reed James is a celebrity medium, insufferably arrogant and incapable of considering anyone other than himself. I've had people come up to me and tell me they just wanted to give him a slap, which means I did my job, because I want to give him a slap too. He remains unredeemed, as I couldn't find a way to redeem him.

So which characters would you never want to meet?