As the nights draw in up here in the Northern hemisphere, I’m feeling in need of some sunshiney warmth. Here are three pics of naked men having fun in the great outdoors, playing games and generally indulging in a bit of horseplay. They’re not explicit erotica, and could probably be viewed as naturist pics, but they’re definitely homoerotic!

Enjoy!

#1: Okay, I think these two are actually wearing thongs or perhaps jockstraps, but the straps are so thin you can barely tell! Not sure I’d want to risk climbing a tree in the nude, but hey, to each his own. (photographer and models unknown)

#2: This has got to be a seventies pic. Nothing like a game of blind man’s buff… in the buff! (photographer and models unknown)

#3: Check out the legs on these blokes! Do you think they might be soldiers? Love this pic for their expressions. I’m guessing it was late fifties/early sixties from the hairstyles. (photographer and models unknown)

Which is your favourite pic, and why?

Next time: I think I’ll probably post some sailor pics…

Disclaimer: as far as I know I’m posting pictures that are now copyright expired. I make every effort I can to track down the original source and credit both photographer and models, but it’s rarely possible to find this information. If you know anything more about any of the pictures (or are the copyright holder and wish for them to be removed), then please get in contact to let me know.

The post Vintage Smut Sunday: summer fun (male nudity – NSFW) appeared first on Josephine Myles.

Happy Monday everyone! Hope you’ve all had a good week, and that the dreary November weather isn’t getting you down if you live in the Northern hemisphere.

Here’s what I hoped to do last week, and how I actually managed:

• Write 10,000 words of Custom Fit – I only wrote 3551 words in the end, but I’m still happy with this. I’ve planned out all the rest of the scenes, so I’m confident I can get this wrapped up in the next few weeks.
  
• Post some Vintage Smut Sunday pics – yes, at last!
• Get some framed photos up on the wall – I did frame one picture, but realised I would need to get a different sized mount than the one that came with the frame. I think I might have to learn how to cut them myself…
• Go shopping for essential baby stuff at the local 2nd hand NCT sale. – Done! Got a rocking moses basket and a barely used washable nappy system, along with some smaller stuff like a bunny snowsuit (cute!) and a sleeping bag. My house is slowly filling up with baby stuff–so far all of it second-hand, which is nice.

This week’s goals:

• Nap every day, even if only for fifteen minutes.
• Write 10,000 words of Custom Fit
• Write a couple of guest blog posts I’ve been asked for.
• Send in my Maternity Allowance claim form. Ugh. Forms.
• Complete the back piece for at least one of my unfinished quilts.
• Do a bit more Christmas and/or baby shopping.

There, that’s plenty, methinks.

What have you all been up to this last week? Do you have any plans for the week ahead?

Jo x

The post Motivation Monday: in which napping becomes a life goal appeared first on Josephine Myles.

Hi everyone! One thing I’ve discovered this week is that my motivation is seriously waning. I don’t know if that’s driven by baby hormones or simply because I’m no longer getting a decent night’s sleep, but I’ve decided I’ll start claiming Maternity Allowance at the beginning of December, and will no longer be officially “working” then. I’ll do a bit of work on Custom Fit when I feel the urge, but I’m not going to give myself official deadlines and targets as I don’t think that would be helpful right now.

I’m also feeling more of a nesting urge, and would rather spend my days sorting out the house and getting it ready for the new arrival (two new arrivals, if you count Andy who will be unofficially moving in when the baby’s born) than on writing.

• Nap every day, even if only for fifteen minutes. I’m getting good at this napping lark.
• Write 10,000 words of Custom Fit – Nope. Didn’t happen.
• Write a couple of guest blog posts I’ve been asked for. – Wrote these, and they’ve both been posted already! Check out my one on Thanksgiving for It’s About the Book, and an interview (with giveaway!) for Boy Meets Boy Reviews.
• Send in my Maternity Allowance claim form. Ugh. Forms. – Done!
• Complete the back piece for at least one of my unfinished quilts. – Nope.
• Do a bit more Christmas and/or baby shopping. – I’m getting there, slowly…

This week’s goals:

• Write a Christmas short story for the blog, featuring Dan and Robin from Barging In. I asked on Facebook, and that was the pairing most people were keen to catch up on. Quite a surprise, considering it was my first novel!
• Do a bit more Christmas and baby shopping.
• Get the living room rearranged, ready for the Christmas tree.
• Complete the back piece for at least one of my unfinished quilts.

That’s plenty, isn’t it?

How are you all doing? Anyone else turning their mind to Christmas preparations? I’m not usually quite this organised, but I know I need to get things ready earlier this year, just in case the baby comes early!

Jo x

The post Motivation Monday: winding down appeared first on Josephine Myles.

Reveal day has finally arrived! So quick, what are you waiting for? Head on over to GGR-Review and check out the awesome cover for the new Brit Boys: On Boys Box Set designed by Posh Gosh. This awesome collection of M/M novellas are all written by British authors and star British characters in British locations and my story LOCKED OUT is nestled within these seriously steamy pages.

Brit Boys: On Boys is due for release on 30th December 2014 from all good eBook retailers at a bargain introductory price. Find all the links HERE.

Brit Boys: On Boys

From east to west and north to south, these British boys are having a blast in and out of the bedroom with the men of their dreams. They’re topping and bottoming from London to Cardiff, living out fantasies in the wildest fells and hooking up while serving HRH Queen Elizabeth II.

With passion and lust the name of the game, nothing is off limits. Throw in honed muscles, high-strength testosterone and an accent to die for and there is nothing they can’t do and no one they can’t get in this world or another.

Don’t miss Brit Boys: On Boys—a smokin’ hot box set, containing 147,000 words/440 pages of unforgettable M/M erotic romance from eight popular British authors.

Bodywork
By Ashe Barker

Alex is doing okay. His body repair shop makes enough to live on, he has a decent apartment, life is fine. That all changes when he runs into Graham in a supermarket car park – literally. He offers to fix the damage to Graham’s car free of charge. The sparks soon fly, and the heat between them has nothing to do with welding equipment.

Breaking the Marine
By M.K. Elliott

Brandon Rosen hadn’t planned for his final night before enrolling in the Royal Marines to involve a hot stranger and a pub car park. And he certainly hadn’t planned for that same hot stranger to turn up at the barracks in the form of his Drill Instructor, Corporal Will Stewart. In thetestosterone fuelled environment of the training camp, can Brandon and Will overcome past pains and face up to what they really want? Or will the Royal Marine Commando School break their relationship before it even gets started?

Love on Location
By Lucy Felthouse

When Theo Samuels heads off to film on location in the village of Stoneydale, he’s expecting drama to take place on camera, not off. But when he meets gorgeous local lad, Eddie Henderson, he struggles to ignore his attraction. A relationship between the two of them would be utterly impractical, yet they’re drawn together nonetheless. Can they overcome the seemingly endless hurdles between them? Or is their fling destined to remain as just that?

Landscapes
By K D Grace

Alonso Darlington has a disturbing method of keeping landscaper, Reese Chambers, both safe from and oblivious to his dangerous lust for the man. But Reese isn’t easy to keep secrets from, and Alonso wants way more than to admire the man from afar. Can he risk a real relationship without risking Reese’s life?

The Chase
By Lily Harlem

Steve’s killing time working in a comedy club. Why not? It makes him laugh and both the clientele and the comedians are not just fit but also great company. One stand up joker decides to create a wild goose chase for Steve and his ex Robert. Cavorting around Cardiff on a frosty night, however, does more than just show them the way to a threesome, it also reveals the reasons why they should give each other one more shot.

Dish of the Day
By Clare London

Richie’s sunk all his hopes and savings into a new restaurant in south London promoting British ingredients and recipes. His best friends Craig and Ben should be around to help him celebrate the grand opening, but it looks like it’s all heading for disaster – until his friends step in to tell him some home truths. Then they’ll help him relax and enjoy their loving, intimate menu instead.

E2
By Sarah Masters

When Archie meets Dan after The Change, he realisesthere is no such thing as a random meeting of soul mates, it’s all mapped out in the stars. Now all he’s got to do is hope those orbiting planets stay in alignment and true love finds him again.

Locked Out
By Josephine Myles

Getting accidentally locked out of his hotel room on Valentine’s Day night is embarrassing enough for teacher Martin Cooper, but the fact he’s stark naked makes it even worse. It doesn’t help that the one person he runs into is Rod, the gorgeous man he’d been checking out earlier in the hotel pool. But when Rod offers Martin a refuge, the night heats up. Now if only Martin could get the hang of this seduction business…

Find out more and pre-order your copy at Brit Boys: On Boys.

Awesome British M/M Authors

Ashe Barker

M K Elliott

Lucy Felthouse

K D Grace

Lily Harlem

Clare London

Sarah Masters

Josephine Myles

The post Brit Boys: On Boys Box Set Cover Reveal appeared first on Josephine Myles.

Hi everyone! Hope you’ve had a wonderful Christmas. I’ve been absent from the blog for a while now as the last few weeks of pregnancy were hard work and I went on official maternity leave (they’re pretty strict about how much self-employed people can work while still claiming maternity allowance). However, Andy and I now have a beautiful baby boy. Woohoo!

He’s called Gabriel James Marr, born on the 23rd December, and he was 7lbs 11oz. What’s more, he’s absolutely gorgeous and an amazingly contented, sweet-tempered baby. When he isn’t demanding milk…

Labour was… interesting. I’m going to give you the opportunity to skip the next two paragraphs if you’d rather not know any details.

I had wanted a natural labour and waterbirth at the local midwife unit. However, a few weeks before my due date I discovered my platelets had dropped to a level which put me into a high risk group, meaning I’d have to give birth at the hospital in Bath. I wasn’t thrilled at the prospect (bad memories of Daisy being whisked off to intensive care after I gave birth to her there) but was assured I could still have a waterbirth. But when I went into early labour and got to the hospital, they took my blood again and said my platelets had dropped again. If labour didn’t progress quickly I would need to be induced, and an epidural would be out of the question, meaning I’d have to have a general anaesthetic should I need a ceasarean.

It wasn’t what I wanted to hear and my contractions slowed right down as a result. I ended up being put on a hormone drip to get labour started after the more gentle inductions failed. No one warned me just how much more violent this would make the whole process. I managed to birth Daisy with no painkillers whatsoever, but this time I was huffing on the gas and air like a crack addict. Poor old Andy did his best to support me through it with massage but I have never been in so much pain in my entire life, and because I was hooked up to a drip and the baby heartbeat monitor I couldn’t move around as much as I wanted to to help take my mind off the pain. Fortunately the whole process was relatively quick, and after going on the drip at 2pm, my baby boy was born at 6.08pm. I was pretty shocky and shaking like a leaf, but then my baby boy was in my arms and everything was right with the world

SAFE TO LOOK BACK NOW!

We ended up having to stay in hospital overnight as they wanted to monitor Gabriel, but we finally got to go home on Christmas Eve and have had the best (if most chaotic) Christmas ever. I’m still trying to catch up with myself, but am having an idyllic time with my newly blended family. Daisy adores her little brother even if her Christmas presents are currently more interesting to her! Anyway, here’s a few pics because I can’t resist showing off

A couple of hours after birth.

One day old and wide awake

Just about to leave the hospital

Boxing day family selfie

My three favourite people in the world: Daisy, Gabriel and Andy

Gabriel: three days old and in his first hoodie!

Please excuse me if I take a while responding to any emails/comments, etc. I’ll do my best, but I have so much to catch up with and a very hungry little boy to feed!

Hope you’re all having a wonderful time, and Happy New Year!

Jo xxx

The post The Baby Gabriel! appeared first on Josephine Myles.

Hey, I have a new novelette out today! It’s part of a box set of m/m erotic romance novellas by British authors, and will be available for the bargain price of $0.99 for the whole of January. At that price, you can’t really turn it down, can you?!

From east to west and north to south, these British boys are having a blast in and out of the bedroom with the men of their dreams. They’re topping and bottoming from London to Cardiff, living out fantasies in the wildest fells and hooking up while serving HRH Queen Elizabeth II.With passion and lust the name of the game, nothing isoff limits. Throw in honed muscles, high-strength testosterone and an accent to die for and there is nothing they can’t do and no one they can’t get in this world or another.Don’t miss Brit Boys: On Boys – a smokin’ hot box set, containing 147,000 words/440 pages of unforgettable M/M erotic romance from eight popular British authors.

You can read all the individual story blurbs on my web page for the anthology, but here’s the one for my story. I think it’s a good introduction to my work as it’s contemporary, sexy and humorous, and I’m hoping you’ll all enjoy it too

The post Out today: The Brit Boys box set! appeared first on Josephine Myles.

Today we’d like to welcome the dynamic duo Kat and Agnes who write as K A Merikan to the blog. Their latest release, Guns n’ Boys: Homicidal Instinct (Book #2) came out today!

RM: It’s been an exciting and busy time for you the past few months, you’ve moved back to Poland from the UK and are now writing full time. How are you settling in to your new routine?

K & A: It’s great, we finally have days off When we still needed our day jobs, free time and socializing were pushed to the backburner because we knew we needed to produce content if we wanted to eventually write full-time. Neither of us has any serious obligations (no children, no mortgage, etc.) so we figured if we’re gonna do this, we need to focus all our efforts on writing. For the last few years we came back from work, ate, and then worked until we were too tired to go on. Now that writing is all we do, we can actually organize our days around it and do other things, like going to the pool or sightseeing without feeling that we’re compromising the work that matters. Of course, we frequently end up writing a bit even on our days off, but that’s completely up to us.
We now live in the countryside and take long walks through the fields and the nearby woods, which really helps us clear our heads, as well as come up with new ideas. It’s pretty great

RM: 2015 is going to be another busy year for you, there’s Guns ‘n Boys Book 2, Pride – The Copper Horse #2 and personally I may be a little excited about Ghost from The Devil’s Ride getting his own book! What else can we expect this year? (Because of course 3 books isn’t enough )

K & A: Unless there’s a change in our plans and we come up with an idea we absolutely need to write ASAP we’re gonna focus on continuing with ongoing series. We might write the final book of The Copper Horse later this year, but first things first, so expect at least two biker books – Ghost’s story will be our next project. The other book in the Sex & Mayhem series we will probably release this year will be the story of a nomad assassin whom Tooth discussed with Luci in The Devil’s Ride. We also plan to release Guns n’ Boys books 3 and 4, which is what we’re probably most excited about. There are some side projects we’re considering, but nothing’s set in stone yet.

RM: In addition to the M/M books you’re releasing you’ve also created the pen name Miss Merikan for writing M/F romance. How did this come about?

K & A: For a very long time we weren’t interested in M/F, both as authors and readers, but 2014 brought on some changes, and both of us actually read some good books from this genre. I believe it inspired us to think about possible M/F plotlines, and ideas started coming. I know some authors use stereotypical M/F plotlines in M/M, but we believe it doesn’t work that well most of the time. Writing M/F gives us the possibility to explore the topics we have so far rejected because we didn’t think they would be suitable for our M/M books. It’s also a lot of fun to show our take on M/F relationships. You can expect as much weird and wonderful as from the books we write as K.A. Merikan.

RM: What should we expect from Miss Merikan this year?

K & A: Very soon we’ll be releasing a contemporary New Adult romance called All Strings Attached. It’s a London-based story about a crazy doll collector and a goth makeup artist, who struggle with defining their relationship, among other things. We really loved writing this one because it’s very close to our experience, focused on how difficult and silly love can be. Next in line is a biker book that we’re writing now. The working title is Stripped Raw, but we don’t want to reveal much yet, as it has a very surprising twist. The third novel is a paranormal biker book with time travel, this one’s called Mabel and the Beast. And last but not least, Split, Astaroth’s story

RM: How is writing M/F romance different to writing M/M and was it easy to make this transition?

K & A: The biggest challenge was vocabulary, i.e. we needed to learn more words for various lady parts Apart from that, the transition was really smooth. Now that we unlocked this door, we’re full of ideas

RM: How did you start writing together? Have either of you ever written anything without the other?

K & A: We’ve written some short stories and fanfiction on our own, but that was years ago. Both of us realized that we prefered writing with a partner and tried it with different people, but when we started working together, it was a perfect fit. Our goals are the same, and we inspire one another. Having shared many interests, we knew each other long before we started our first project, but one time we were at a friend’s house for a few days and started honestly talking about books. We chatted through the night, and before the sun came up we had a story planned out

RM: With regards to your writing, what’s your process, do you each write a character or do you write everything together?

K & A: Each of us is “responsible” for one main character, everything else is done together. We usually alternate writing a paragraph or two, but it can be more or less, depending who is more inspired at the moment. We also plan everything together.

RM: Have you ever completely disagreed as to where a story is going?

K & A: There were minor disagreements, about what to do about a character, whether to include an epilogue or not, but nothing major. We usually agree, and if not there’s always a way to reach compromise.

RM: You don’t write in your native tongue, has this ever caused you problems?

K & A: It definitely postponed the moment we felt confident enough to write in English. If it weren’t for Kat’s sister and her dare, we’d probably still be writing for fun only. I suppose that’s an issue for many non-native authors who choose to write in English. We have to be extra careful of grammar and the possibility of false friends slipping into the manuscript. On the other hand, I believe that the perspective of coming from a language that’s very different in structure and stylistics can be beneficial. It makes us think differently about our language choices.

RM: Thanks for taking the time to talk to us today and congratulations on your new release!

KA Merikan’s Website / Guns n’ Boys Website

Links to Buy Guns n’ Boys: Homicidal Instinct
Amazon US / Amazon UK / AllRomance / Smashwords

Guns n’ Boys: Homicidal Instinct (Book #2)

— You can take a killer’s memory, but not his instinct —

All Seth wants is to live free with the man he loves. But escaping death at the hands of the mafia is just the beginning of an uphill struggle. When Domenico wakes up from his impromptu surgery and doesn’t even remember Seth’s name, Seth’s world falls apart. Suddenly it’s him who has to plan an escape from New York City and navigate their way to Mexico. All that without even knowing if the man of his life will ever love him again.

Domenico doesn’t know who to trust and what to believe. The man who introduces himself as his brother seems to hide dark secrets behind a cheerful smile. With the mafia breathing down their necks, there is no time to piece together the puzzle of Domenico’s life, and each time he thinks he’s solved it, a new part appears to be missing. Dom needs to find out who he really is, what he’s capable of… and what is the real story hidden behind Seth’s intense eyes.

Themes: mafia, homophobia, assassin, organized crime, amnesia, road trip, chase

WARNING: Adult content. If you are easily offended, this book is not for you.
‘Guns n’ Boys’ is a gritty story of extreme violence, offensive language, abuse, and morally ambiguous protagonists. Behind the morbid facade, there is a splash of inappropriate dark humor, and a love story that will crawl under your skin.

The post K A Merikan Interview appeared first on Josephine Myles.

Gabriel approves of the new release!

I’m taking a few minutes to type this while balancing a sleeping baby on my lap. Yes, Scrap is out today. It’s the third in The Bristol Collection (previous books: Junk and Stuff), and it features two minor characters from Stuff who ended up demanding their own story. I hope you all enjoy the read!

Also, check out the release day review, excerpt and giveaway over on Sinfully Sexy

http://sinfullysexybooks.blogspot.de/2015/03/scrap-bristol-collection-3-by-jospehine.html

The Bristol Collection #2

When things come to a head, there’s nowhere to go but down…

That’s all for now, folks. I hope I’ll be back to more regular blogging at some point soon, but for now the most important thing is to look after my little man and the rest of my family. Rest assured I’m ridiculously contented and all is well!

Jo x

The post New release: Scrap out today! appeared first on Josephine Myles.

Today we’d like to welcome Racheline Maltese and Erin McRae to the blog to talk about their latest release, Room 1024.

While Room 1024 was in production, our editor pointed out a place where one of the main characters, an older dom named Lou, came off as kind of a jerk.

“Well, she’s not wrong….” Erin said.

“Man, we always write guys like this,” I replied.

And while all of those observations are true, Lou (and a lot of our other characters) are people who are very comfortable with themselves, very outspoken, and inclined to be somewhat amused by what other people will do when they aren’t comfortable with themselves.

Depending on where you set the mix for these traits you get everything from Lou, slightly abrasive dom, to Victor, the not-actually-a-villain of our Love in Los Angeles series.

Why write characters like this? Sometimes, it’s because we know guys like this. Sometimes, it’s because we aspire to be guys like this. And sometimes, at least in some circumstances, we already are. Mostly, though, we’re interested in how someone who thinks they have everything under control, upsets the apple cart when they inevitably don’t.

Blurb:

When Cameron takes his submissive boyfriend Noah to a gay men’s leather convention in San Francisco, Cam expects to spend the week exploring their relationship and experimenting with non-monogamy. What he doesn’t expect is to run into his own former dom, Lou, in an embarrassingly public reunion.

While Noah is enthusiastic about the opportunity to play with the former international leather title-holder, Cam is more wary. He and Lou have unfinished business. A four-way encounter with Lou and his sub Stephen could be great fun—or it could show Noah that Cameron can never quite be the dom he wants and needs.

As Cameron and Noah work through the uncertainties in their relationship, Noah is offered everything he ever wanted, in a completely different way than he ever expected, leading all four men to discover that sometimes the only way forward is to revisit the past.

Bio: Erin McRae and Racheline Maltese are authors of the gay romance series Love in Los Angeles, set in the film and television industry — Starling (September 10, 2014), Doves (January 21, 2015), and Phoenix (June 10, 2015) — from Torquere Press. Their gay romance novella series Love’s Labours, set in the theater world — Midsummer (May 2015), and Twelfth Night (Fall 2015), is from Dreamspinner Press. They also have a story in Best Gay Romance 2015 from Cleis Press and edited by Felice Picano.

Racheline is a NYC-based performer and storyteller; Erin is a writer and blogger based in Washington, D.C. They write stories and scripts about the intersection of private lives, fame, and desire. You can find them on the web at http://www.Avian30.com.

Social media links:

Joint Blog: http://Avian30.com
Joint Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/Erin.and.Racheline
Erin’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/erincmcrae
Racheline’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/racheline_m

Buy Links:

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Room-1024-Racheline-Maltese-ebook/dp/B00VU85MSG

All Romance: https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-room1024-1778353-147.html

Torquere: http://www.torquerebooks.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=78_85&products_id=4373

Excerpt:

“Cameron Evan Beck, get your perfect ass in here!”

Cameron turns to follow the voice, so familiar and fond coming from one of the workshop rooms, before he even thinks about it. It’s only as Lou, completely dressed in leathers and holding a bullwhip in his hand, pulls him into a hug in front of what’s clearly a workshop Lou’s leading, that Cam starts to realize just how fucked he is.

“This,” Lou says, introducing him to the room before Cameron can even manage to make a sound, “is Dr. Cameron Beck, professor of queer studies at Boston University. ” There’s only the slightest of dramatic pauses before he adds, “Cameron used to be my boy.”

With that, Lou gives him a wet, smacking kiss on the cheek.

Cameron can’t help but look sheepish. This is not how he wants to be introduced to a room ever, even if reflex and history leave him a little proud.

Lou calls a break with his class and then turns to Cam again. “Are you here with anyone?” he asks quietly, glancing down appraisingly at the leather band on Cameron’s left wrist. He looks good. Lou’s not tall, but he is broad with wide shoulders, a strong chest and more than a bit of a belly. His charisma is as intense as ever, and although the touch of gray now at his temples is startling to Cam it’s also really hot.

“Yeah,” Cameron says, unsure why he doesn’t mention Noah’s name or any of his many places in Cam’s life. Forming sentences seems really hard.

“Good. Me too,” Lou says and tips his head toward a man who must be in his early thirties sitting on the floor in the corner of the room, quietly rebraiding a whip he’s obviously in the process of repairing.

Cameron feels his jaw tense with unavoidable and incredibly stupid jealousy; his fingers were never nimble enough to be really good at that sort of work.

“Are you competing?” Lou asks as if Cameron has actually been keeping up his end of the conversation.

“No,” Cam says. The whole leatherman beauty pageant competition thing may be fun to watch, but it’s never been among his aspirations. “You?”

“Oh no. Enjoying my emeritus position and a lack of annoying travel way too much. ”

The post Guest Post – Racheline Maltese & Erin McRae appeared first on Josephine Myles.

These two monkeys have been stealing all my time!

Hello all you lovely people! Yes, I’ve been a negligent blogger, but I think in the grand scheme of things, that’s better than being a negligent mother and I’ve been concentrating on my family for the last six months. Yep, hard to believe it, but Gabriel is now 5 1/2 months old. Wow. How did that happen? And yes, I’ll be sharing more pictures

So, what’s been going on? Well, in April we had to move house. Long story short: the landlady was selling the house and we hadn’t yet found somewhere we wanted to buy, so we’re in another rented house. However, this one is bigger and it has this at the end of the garden:

Yep, that’s cows in that field, and they come right up to the fence. It’s a nice big garden too. The house is a 1960s semi on an estate of similar houses and I feel like I’m living in the kind of cosy suburbia I’d have hated when I was younger, but these days I’m loving it. The perfect place to raise kids, and a pleasant walk to Daisy’s school.

Moving was a bit of a nightmare, though, not least because I’m more of a hoarder than I was willing to admit (though nowhere near as bad as Jasper), and seeing all my stuff pulled out of the corners where I’d stashed it was a wake up call. I’m now committed to doing a KonMari overhaul of all my possessions and am currently almost finished with the paperwork blitz. It feels so good to let go of things that don’t “spark joy” in my heart! Lewis and I both heartily endorse The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying. Most useful book I’ve ever bought.

But you all want to know about Gabriel and Daisy, don’t you? Have some pictures:

Yes, my children are adorable! Daisy loves being a big sister and has become a real help around the house, although she does still need some occasional nagging to get off her tablet and tidy up (she’s developing some tweenager traits). Gabriel is a delightful baby. Full of fun and joy and relatively chilled out, although he does still have his moments of angry frustration (when attempting to crawl) and loud crying (hungry and tired, usually). But that’s babies for you–I can’t really complain as he’s happy 95% of the time. He’s also growing really fast and has started eating mushy veg in the last couple of weeks. They tell you to wait until six months these days, but I just couldn’t wait any longer as he was desperate to get at my food. At the moment he’s a fan of bananas, parsnip and sweet potato.

Andy and I are getting along marvellously–he’s loving being a dad and is very easy to live with. We’ve been taking long walks at the weekend, and are working our way along the Collier’s Way cycle path which runs along a disused railway line. The scenery is absolutely stunning. Here’s a couple of pics from one of our recent walks:

So, life is great, if very different to how it was a year ago. I’m now in a different house with two extra people to look after (Andy works such long hours with his commute, that I end up doing most of the cooking and housework, but that seems only fair). And writing hasn’t happened at all in the last six months. To be honest, I’m struggling to work out how I’m ever going to concentrate for long enough to write the next novel (which is brewing inside my head and really wants to be written), but then again I know that once Gabriel can sit unsupported and crawl he’ll be able to entertain himself for longer stretches than he can at the moment. All the same, I think I might have to write a few shorts first to test it out, and then see about finding a co-writer for the novel.

One thing I will be doing from now on, though, is a weekly blog post–even if just a few lines and a picture–to let you all know what I’m up to. And I have a few competition ideas too, so that will be fun

Something I’ve also been up to is sewing, and for some reason I set up a sewing (and knitting and crocheting) blog–because if you’re having trouble updating one blog, you really need another, right?! But anyway, it’s there if any of you are interested in taking a look. I wanted to document what I make and share any tips and tricks I come up with to help other textile craft enthusiasts. My crafting alter-ego is Anna-Jo and you can find me here: https://annajosews.wordpress.com/

And I’ll leave you with a pic of me and Gabriel at the bottom of the garden:

What have the rest of you been up to? I’ve missed hearing your news. Fill me in!

Love and hugs,

Jo xxx

The post Hellooo! Long time, no blog post… appeared first on Josephine Myles.

This is me, starting as I mean to go on by posting weekly on a Tuesday

Not a great deal to report here. The children are growing, as are the weeds in the garden. I did get out there and tame some of them into submission, but there’s a whole load more that need a good thrashing. At least the wind has finally died down and it’s nicer to be out there now.

Gabriel is keen to try all kinds of new foods, although less keen to be left with anyone other than me or Andy. I don’t remember separation anxiety like this with Daisy, and should probably go and Google some ideas of how to help him out, as I’m meant to be going to a wedding celebration next month that will involve leaving him from 3pm till late. God, I’d feel awful if he cried the entire time.

As far as writing goes, I’m discussing the possibility of writing with someone–more on this as we firm up ideas. I think it’s the only way I’ll get a novel out this year, and I’d welcome the motivation and camaraderie of co-writing. I hope…

Occasionally I manage to get out for a run. I’m aiming for three a week and am vaguely following the c25k plan to ease back into running (and into my old clothes /sighs/). I’m on week 5 at the moment, where it suddenly steps up a notch. Here are a couple of views from recent runs:

Yeah, it really is beautiful around here! This afternoon we’re having a picnic by the river while Andy fishes. I’d better go make sandwiches, hadn’t I?

What have you all been up to?

xx

The post Fly by post appeared first on Josephine Myles.

This last week really feels like summer for the first time all year–probably because the wind has finally dropped and I can properly enjoy being out in the garden. The poppy field photo above is from one of last week’s runs–I do love where I live!

Not a great deal to report on the work front, although I have written a blog post for the Samhain blog, so that’s something. And today I have to do my accounts. Ugh. Hence the major procrastination and sudden fascination with housework

Here’s your cutie pic of the week: Gabriel on Monday’s supermarket trip. He rode in the trolley for the first time and thoroughly enjoyed it

I realised this week that I haven’t been reading any fiction since Gabriel was born. I think I need to get back into it, although not sure when I’ll find the time. Still, there are new books out by some of my favourite authors, so I’m going to do some online shopping

I suppose I haven’t missed the books too much because my hunger for stories has been fulfilled by the telly. We’ve been watching some seriously good box sets. I’ve recently finished Justified and Six Feet Under (loved the endings to both!) and have started with House of Cards (the new Kevin Spacey one) and True Detective. And I’m still slowly working my way through House MD on Netflix, although I think I might allow myself to be distracted by the new series of Orange is the New Black.

Isn’t video streaming a wonderful thing? Just a few years ago I’d have had real difficulties getting hold of all these titles, and now I can get them all whenever I want. It means I only ever watch truly fantastic television, which is as it should be.

Anyone else seen or read anything good lately?

Big hugs,

Jo x

The post Summer at last! appeared first on Josephine Myles.

These two have been keeping me busy. Lots of trips to soft play when the weather didn’t co-operate!

My poor blog has been horribly neglected lately. Apologies for that, but it’s only now I’ve finally got Gabriel sleeping through the night that I’ve realised just how sleep deprived I’ve been. Two nights of gloriously uninterrupted sleep and it feels like my brain has come back online. All of a sudden, previously insurmountable tasks are the work of minutes (okay, sometimes longer). And today my mum started looking after Gabriel. She’ll be doing regular babysitting on Thursdays so I can get things done–the rest of my work time is going to be snatched while he naps!

Anyway, it’s been a long time. We have some catching up to do! The rest of this post is going to be picture heavy, as I give you a brief run down of my summer.

It begins with Daisy going to her leavers’ disco on the last day of the summer term. Doesn’t she look cute?! I helped her put on some of my lipstick as a treat.

And here’s me and Andy all dressed up for our friends’ wedding. Oh yes, I’m wearing a white dress and it was fine, because there were two grooms.

It was a fabulous event with singing waiters, fireworks, a string quartet, a photo booth, and of course, what event would be complete without the Butlers in the Buff?!

Gay weddings rule

I also had a chance to get on with a bit of sewing over the summer. Here’s Daisy, showing off her completed quilt. I only started it, ooh, maybe seven years ago…

And here’s me making some macrame handcuffs at Eroticon.

I made some clothing too, but have so far failed to take any pictures of the finished outfits. I will do, and blog about them over on my sewing blog, https://annajosews.wordpress.com/

We went on some day trips too. Here’s us all dressed up at the American Museum. Gabriel wasn’t too thrilled with his lacy bonnet

And we got away for a few short breaks as well. Andy has a friend who recently moved down to Crantock in Cornwall–possibly the most beautiful beach in the whole of the UK. So naturally, we went and gatecrashed for a couple of days

Gabriel loved his first time on the beach, and didn’t eat too much sand!

Then we went on an impromptu trip to Belgium. Okay, so it’s never been on my hit list of countries to visit, but we found a cheaper version of CentreParcs over there and thought it was worth a trip. But first, we spent the night in Bruges (inspired by the fantastic film, In Bruges). It really was a fairytale city!

Gabriel enjoyed a bit of continental life (especially my breakfast waffle!)

Andy and I enjoyed the beers. Oh, such wonderful beers! These were all mine. I loved being able to order a selection of “tasters”. Rather large tasters at that!

Daisy enjoyed the chocolate and the ice cream.

A view from our boat trip on the canals:

And after Bruges we headed a short distance to De Haan, which has the most gorgeous beach. Who’d have thought Belgium could be such a seaside paradise?! The weather was wonderful too. I got to go swimming in the sea, and it was surprisingly warm.

The swimming pool at Sun Parcs was amazing, but I don’t have any pictures of that so here’s another taken on the beach at sunset.

Our final short break was over the August Bank Holiday, when we went down the Haven caravan park on Chesil Beach, near Weymouth. The weather wasn’t quite so kind that time, and the beach right by the park was muddy, but we still had fun.

And on our way home we passed the Cerne Abbas Giant, who you might just be able to make out in the background of this picture. I’m pulling a face appropriate for when you see a giant erect penis carved in a hillside.

And here’s another picture of me with a hill in the background. This is Cley Hill, which I live close to but didn’t climb until last week. What took me so long?! It was absolutely beautiful up there with the most incredible views over Somerset and Wiltshire.

Do I need an excuse to post this next picture?!

And finally, here’s Daisy modelling her new school uniform on her first day. She’s been having loads of fun and is looking forward to all the cooking, horse-riding, soft play and swimming that’s included in the curriculum. Special schools are so much more fun than regular ones!

So that was a quick run down of my summer. I’m now gearing up to start writing again for the first time since… ooh, November, I think. But first, I’ve got the UK Meet at the weekend, over in Bristol. Will I be seeing any of you there?

And what have you all been up to? Fill me in, please!

Love and hugs,

Jo xxx

The post I’m back! And this time I mean it :P appeared first on Josephine Myles.

Hello everyone! Bet you didn’t believe I’d really be back to regular blogging, but here I am, starting as I mean to go on. Really, you’re lucky as I had a pretty disturbed night, what with Gabriel cutting his second tooth (he’d already cut his first in the afternoon). Admittedly, he was nowhere near as bad as Daisy when teething, but I’m still operating on less than the recommended amount of sleep. Although more than Maggie Thatcher, so there’s no danger of me dismantling the welfare state

So, my big news for this week is that I’ve started writing again! I have just over 2k of my new novella (working title: Bugger My Neighbour – which will have to be changed to something more sensible!), which might not be much but it’s more than I’ve written in ten months so I’m happy. It’s all about a rather unlikely web cam model and his neighbour–smutty and comic escapades ahoy!

I’ve been feeling really inspired since the UK Meet at the weekend. This was my first year since the very first when I haven’t been involved on the organising team, so in many ways it felt like a holiday for me. I did attempt to make the most of the networking opportunities, though (by which I mean I spent far more time chatting to people than I did in the panels!). It was so lovely to catch up with old friends, to make some new ones and to finally meet someone I’ve been friends with for ages online:

It’s only the wonderful Rhys Ford! I was so excited to meet her! And amazingly I hadn’t known she was coming. I’ve clearly been living under an online rock lately.

There are some less worksafe pics under the cut…

Here I am just after getting ready for the Gala Dinner up in Rach and Sara’s hotel room. We had a cheeky vodka and coke before heading on down, hence the weird angle selfie. Oh, okay, that’s just the way Rach likes to take ’em!

And here I am with the lovely JL Merrow, enjoying the faux-Baileys filled sperm that were a gift from Mark at Sinfully Sexy reviews. Cheers, Mark!

And here’s a pic of us with Mark, minus the giant sperm. This came out pretty well for a drunken selfie, I reckon! I’d had more to drink by this point than at any point in over a year. Which really wasn’t that much, but I think my tolerance has probably gone down. Let’s just say I was happily tipsy and dancing in the aisles to the drag queen who was entertaining us.

And what blog post would be complete without a gratuitous shot of the Butlers in the Buff?! I know there has been some online controversy about their presence, but I think it was all in good fun. They certainly seemed to be having a good time, anyway. Although I was shocked to learn I was old enough to be the mother of the two on either side of me…

Right, that’s it for now, folks! I should probably write about the sex scene panel I moderated, but I can’t think of anything witty to say about it now (other than mentioning I had fun banging a riding crop on the table to bring the room to order!)

So, who else was at the Meet? And who is planning to go next year?

And do you think half-naked men are appropriate at a ticketed evening event like that, as part of a GLBTQ convention? Or does it cheapen everything?

Hugs,

Jo xxx

The post The UK Meet: now stress-free! appeared first on Josephine Myles.

Hey peeps, how’s things? This last week at the Myles household has been bogged down by a head cold doing the rounds. Luckily no one got too ill with it, but I’ve just been feeling a bit sluggish and Gabriel hasn’t been napping so well with all the snot. And just when he’d got over the teething *sigh*

Anyway, despite the cotton-wool brain I’ve managed to write a little bit more on the new story, so that’s something. I’ve also had the excitement of going to view a property Andy and I are thinking of buying. I know, I don’t really want to move again so soon, but it would be great to be in a place of our own rather than renting. It’s difficult to child-proof a rented place properly without putting up high shelves and drilling into the walls for stairgates, etc. Plus I want my own pictures up on the walls. We always knew this place, beautiful though the view from the back is, would only be temporary.

We’re going back to have a second look at the place on Saturday, so wish us luck! It’s a bungalow on a good size plot, with plenty of potential for extending. Also, it’s quiet, not overlooked and close to town. And really light and airy inside. Fingers crossed.

Apart from that I’ve been cooking up a storm (my recipe for Chicken, Bacon and Leek pasties coming soon!) cleaning the house, doing admin, looking after the kids and watching telly. Have started Game of Thrones and Peaky Blinders, both of which are excellent so far. I know, it’s taken me a long time to get on the GoT thing, but I had to get over my fantasy aversion. Luckily it doesn’t have any of the pomposity of the High Fantasy stuff that put me off the genre.

Oh, and I’m reading again too. Beta read an excellent story by JL Merrow, which will be out next year (Lover’s Leap), and have just started the Charmed and Dangerous anthology. It’s great to be reading again after such a long break!

As for this next week, I’m pleased to welcome Edmond Manning back to the blog, who’ll be talking about his new release, King John. If you haven’t yet encountered the Lost and Founds series, then I order you to go and check them out! It starts with King Perry, and they’re all utterly compelling reads. Gay fiction rather than romance, I’d say, although they’re all love stories too in their own, unique way.

Edmond will be blogging on Monday, so do stop by to say hello. He’s lovely

That’s all for now, folks. How are things in your neck of the woods?

Love and hugs,

Jo xxx

The post Autumn is here. Cue head colds. appeared first on Josephine Myles.

Hello again.

It’s me. Remember?

Nah, probably not. The last time I visited Jo’s blog was years ago. Since that day, February 29, 2012, you readers have read hundreds of Jo’s posts and visited a hundred other blogs. Since that date, I’ve written a ton myself. But I remember that day quite vividly because visiting Jo for an interview was my first “big” of public relations, like, ever.

Dreamspinner Press allowed me to take over their page a few days later, so I did have other opportunities. But Jo volunteered to interview me, and I eagerly said, “Yes.”

I was a first-time author who Jo befriended through a Josh Lanyon-sponsored critique group. I felt honored to be granted admission with other names in the industry who I had come to know as “authors.” Jo Myles. Anne Tenino. L.C. Chase. These were a few people I met when I was unpublished and trying to figure out what the hell I was doing.

I sent Jo a preview copy of my first book, King Perry, and she wrote a gorgeous review on Goodreads. I was quite dizzy that she’d taken the time to write a review of my book. Looking back, I am still grateful and impressed by her willingness to invest in an unknown author. I’m a busy guys these days, trying to write books, work a day job, and build a life as an author. To take time out of a busy schedule to read the book of an unknown author, well, that’s special. So is Jo. Plus, she had a kid to take care of, a lovely daughter named Daisy. Now she has two kids, Daisy and Gabriel.

She interviewed me.

One of the questions she asked was:  “How many more “kinging” novels do you have planned for us?”

I answered with the following:

I have written plot outlines for the first six books and strong ideas for two more after that. Book 2 is halfway finished. Book 5 is mostly written. The first six books are the first story arc, and are all interrelated: small mysteries in King Perry are answered in the second book. A few mysteries in Book 5 are answered in King Perry, though the details themselves may not seem important right now. I like it when fiction snaps together like puzzle pieces.

Yup. The plan is coming together. I’ve now published four books of The Lost and Founds and Vin Vanbly’s tale is unfolding just as I dared to dream it.

These books are the story of Vin coming home, and how long it took him to get there.

I knew this journey would hurt the readers who loved him. I was sorry for that. But a homecoming only means something if you have been wandering lost in the desert for a long time. If you went out for a Diet Pepsi at the corner deli and came home (plus a spontaneous-purchase of a big bag of Cheetos), when you got home everyone would look up and say, “Oh. Hey. Cheetos.”

No big deal.

Vin’s homecoming needs to be a big deal.

I wrote four books about him wandering lost in the desert (and in this most recent book, he literally wanders lost in the desert), but what a gorgeous and lush desert he wanders! New York City! San Francisco! Small town America! For a ghost, he’s got a pretty wide haunting range. He likes to travel the globe. There’s only one place he hasn’t been.

Home.

I’m so delighted to be back visiting Jo Myles again, an old friend who was once a brand new friend. It feels like home. Since I feel happy and lucky to be visiting again, I think I’ll make an announcement that I hinted at in King John, but I’m going to make more clear right now.

In Come Back to Me, the fifth book of The Lost and Founds series, Vin Vanbly comes home.

Of course, the usual caveats apply. It’s probably not going to happen the way you imagine. You may get some sadz on the way to his big party because that’s how I write, and that’s how you reach your king- or queenship—by bringing that vulnerability with you, not leaving it behind. All “terms and conditions apply”-type language should go here. But it’s going to be Vin’s party, and I hope you’ll come.

My circumstances are different than they were a few years ago. Josh Lanyon is still making romance-world news, confirming the long-suspected belief that he was a she wrapped in a pseudonym. Since my initial days, I’ve seen fights within our community about conference registration, reviews, who-did-whom-wrong-type stuff. I’ve witnessed a few scandals. Upsetting as it is, you try to grow together as a community.

For me, the best part about spending a few more years in our romance genre is making more friends with authors and readers. It’s pretty great. Jo Myles’s review was one of my first three reviews on Goodreads and possibly the very first, now that I think of it. As of today, there are 146 reviews.  Someone hand me a Virginia Slim. I’ve come a long way, baby.

So has Vin.

I’m looking forward to finishing the next two books, Come Back to Me and King Daniel, in 2016. As I had planned, the series isn’t exactly over, but I may take a break and write something else before returning to this. I don’t know. It’s nice to start making plans beyond the initial six books.

Who knows what the following years will bring?

It’s a little scary looking forward.

Which is why it’s so great to turn around toward the past and see the path littered with friendships, like Jo Myles. L.C. Chase. Anne Tenino. Far too many authors and readers to mention.

Thanks for inviting me back, Jo.

It’s nice to visit your lovely home again.

* * * * *

Edmond Manning is the author of the romance series, The Lost and Founds. The books in this series include King Perry, King Mai (a 2014 Lambda Literary finalist), The Butterfly King, and King John. King John takes place at Burning Man.

* * * * *

Giveaway!

Winner’s Prize: An eBook copy of King John

(Leave a Comment here and then click the link below)

King John Rafflecopter Giveaway

* * * * *

Where to get your copy of King John:

King John on Amazon

King John at All Romance eBooks

***

King John on Goodreads

* * * * *

About King John:

English attorney Alistair Robertson can’t quite believe an astonishing tale of kingship and transformation he hears at Burning Man, the annual counter-culture art festival in the Black Rock desert. Who are the Found Kings? Is “being kinged” as magical as it sounds?

Determined to find the mysterious garage mechanic named Vin who helps men “remember who they were always meant to be,” Alistair catches his quarry amid the extravagant sculptures, fire worshipers, mutant cars, and lavish costumes. After searching for three years, he’ll finally get to ask the question burning inside him: “Will you king me?”

Wandering together through the desert, Vin Vanbly and Alistair explore Burning Man’s gifting culture and exotic traditions, where they meet the best and worst of their fellow burners. Alistair’s overconfidence in Vin’s manipulative power collides with Vin’s obsessive need to save a sixteen-year-old runaway from a nightmarish fate, and the two men spiral in uncontrollable, explosive directions.

In this fourth adventure of The Lost and Founds, beneath the sweltering summer sun and the six billion midnight stars, one truth emerges, searing itself on their hearts: in the desert, everything burns.

* * * * *

King John Blog Tour:

Mon, Sept 7                    My Fiction Nook

Mon, Sept 7                    AJ Rose Books             pre-release excerpt #1

Tues, Sept 8                    Thorny, Not Prickly     pre-release excerpt #2

Wed, Sept 9                    Love Out Loud             pre-release excerpt #3

Thurs, Sept 10                Facebook Release Party, 7p-9p Central, hosted by Bike Book Reviews

Fri, Sept 11                     Reviews by Amos Lassen

Sat, Sept 12                    Vanessa North.com

Tues, Sept 15                  MM Good Book Reviews

Wed, Sept 16                  The Novel Approach

Thurs, Sept 17                Purple Rose Tea House

Fri, Sept 18                     Posy Roberts.com

Sat, Sept 19                    Zipper Rippers

Tues, Sept 22                  Joyfully Jay

Wed, Sept 23                  Boys In Our Books

Thurs, Sept 24                It’s About the Book

Fri, Sept 25                     Lou Harper.com

Sat, Sept 26                    Love Bytes Reviews

Sun, Sept 27                   Sinfully Addicted to Male Romance

Mon, Sept 28                  Josephine Myles.com

Tues, Sept 29                  Molly Lolly

Wed, Sept 30                  Coffee and Porn in the Morning

Wed, Sept 30                  Stumbling Over Chaos

Thurs, Oct 1                   The Blogger Girls Reviews

Sat, Oct 3                       Because Two Men Are Better Than One

Sun, Oct 4                       The Hat Party!

Fri, Oct 2                        Jessewave

Mon, Oct 5                     Prism Book Alliance

Tues, Oct 6                     Jaycee Edward.com

Wed, Oct 7                     Hearts on Fire Book Reviews

The post Reflections – a guest post by Edmond Manning appeared first on Josephine Myles.

What a cutie! Gabriel has been enjoying the sunshine in the garden this week.

Hey peeps, just a quick post from me this week as I’m still feeling ill (sore throat, tired, not sleeping properly) so am keeping computer stuff to an absolute minimum. Unfortunately that means no writing from me so far this week, but I managed a bit more last week so I’m getting there… slowly.

I’ve mostly been chilling out, and the gorgeous weather is helping with that. I managed to wake to see the supermoon eclipse on Sunday night, and that was magical. I’ve never seen a lunar eclipse before and it was the perfect clear and mild night. I watched it over my beautiful garden, and while the moon was red I also spotted a shooting star. Just incredible

And chilling involves sewing. I did post over on my crafty blog about a top I made over the summer, so if you’re interested in that kind of thing, here’s the linkie: https://annajosews.wordpress.com/2015/09/25/simplicity-1469-nursing-top-by-megan-nielsen/

I’ve also started making a quilt for Gabriel. The colours are making me happy just by themselves! Here’s hoping it doesn’t take me as long as I took to finish Daisy’s quilt. That was literally YEARS.

Andy and I have been watching Peaky Blinders in the evenings, and have very mixed feelings about the first series. It looks incredibly cinematic and polished (too much so, sometimes) and it’s an intriguing time period and setting. If you treat it just as a bit of fun it’s quite enjoyable, but it’s so clichéd and some of the dialogue was just awful. Predictable and clunky, with 2 dimensional characters. Shame really, because it could have been so good. It could have been the British answer to Boardwalk Empire. Ah well. Maybe I’m just getting too fussy as I age. Has anyone else seen it?

I hope you enjoyed Edmond’s post on Monday. I think there’s still time to enter the giveaway too

Oh, and if anyone feels like voting for How to Train Your Dom in the GLBT BDSM category of The Romance Reviews Readers Choice Awards, then you can vote here: http://glbt.theromancereviews.com/viewbooks.php?bookid=15113. I think you have to be a signed up member of the site, though.

And now I’m off to lie down and read the Psycop short in the Charmed and Dangerous anthology. Ah, Vic and Jacob back again!

What have you all been up to? Anyone else see the eclipse?

Jo xx

The post Indian summer and a lunar eclipse appeared first on Josephine Myles.

Hello peeps, apologies for the radio silence. First I wasn’t very well, then I thought I was better, then Gabriel became ill, and then I relapsed (probably because I wasn’t getting much sleep looking after a feverish, grumpy baby).

Anyway, you’ll be pleased to hear we’re all better now, and Daisy and Andy only had a mild version of the virus. Gabriel is a bit wheezy still (bronchiolitis), but he has an inhaler if he needs it. I thought perhaps he was going downhill again yesterday as he howled for about half an hour after waking from his lap, but then later on I noticed he’d cut another tooth. He’s going for a vampire look, with his lateral top incisors coming in before the middle two. Aww, baby vampire, just in time for Halloween!

As you might imagine, I’ve managed to do the sum total of bugger all as far as writing goes, but at least I’ve managed to sort through all my photos since Gabriel was born and upload them onto Photobox, in order to create a printed album. These things seem to take so much longer in the digital age, but then again, the results are pretty spectacular. I’m really looking forward to seeing the album in the flesh. I never really get prints done anymore, so this will be really special.

I’ve also been doing a very small amount of sewing, but I’m going to write about that on my sewing blog instead of here. I’ve also been watching telly. I’ve only got one episode left to go of Lie To Me (*wibble* Why didn’t they make more? It’s fabulous!), and am in the middle of Netflix’s new series, Narcos, the story of the drug cartels in 1980s Columbia. It’s a period of history I knew very little about, and it’s absolutely fascinating. Plus lots of Spanish to listen to, which I love. I also read Edmond Manning’s new book, King John, which I LOVED! But why did you have to leave it on that note, Edmond? Curse you! I can’t wait for the next installment now!

So, not much to report. I am currently in the planning process for getting out some anthologies of short stories with my partner in crime, JL Merrow, so more on that in the near future.

And I’ll leave you with a picture of Gabriel playing with Henry Hoover:

How’s everyone doing out there? I hope you’re all healthy and happy!

Jo x

The post Yay for feeling well again! appeared first on Josephine Myles.

Gabriel has a new bear suit. Oh, the cuteness!

Hey Peeps, how’s things?

I’m feeling much more energetic this week. I think that’s mostly because I’ve been making the effort to force myself into exercising for half an hour first thing. I don’t particularly enjoy doing it, but always feel so much better afterwards. I’m following an 8 week plan on Fitness Blender, which is a fantastic free resource for exercises you can do at home. I’m already feeling fitter even if I can’t yet see any difference

And I’ve also been making myself sit down and write for an hour every day when Gabriel naps. It’s another one of those things I always feel better for afterwards, even if there are a million other chores competing for my attention (or just a nice sit down with a cup of tea and a biscuit!). The story is now at about 15k, and I think I should have it finished at around the 20k mark. Now I just need to come up with a better title than Bugger My Neighbour…

At the moment I’m also busy planning for Daisy’s 10th birthday party, which is on Tuesday in the half term. I can’t believe my (not-so-little-anymore) girl is going to hit double digits! Luckily she still wants a fun party with lots of games and Frozen-related things. I have snowflake cookies to make this weekend, but I’ve made life easier on myself by ordering a printed cake topper. Now I just have to work out how to make Gabriel a quick Olaf costume, as Daisy insists he’s a little snowman.

Okay, I’m off now. Lots of work to do while my Mum looks after my little man. I have a story to finish writing!

Hope you’re all well. Give me your news! I’d love to hear what you’re all up to.

Love and hugs,

Jo xx

The post Little and often gets things done (eventually) appeared first on Josephine Myles.

Hi there,

I’ve been having an awful lot of bounced email notifications when posting to my blog over the last month, and am wondering if that’s something to do with my hosting change. It’s been awfully quiet in the comments too–I miss you all!

If you subscribe to my blog by email and you receive this, please could you send me a quick “got it” reply either to the email or as a blog comment. If I don’t get any, I’ll investigate further.

Thanks

The post Email blog subscription testing–please respond if you get this! appeared first on Josephine Myles.