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I was recently in Marseille. I went partly because I mentioned the city in "Harry and Xavier" and wanted to have a look at the place first hand. But before I went I read a good number of books set in Marseille or written by Marseille authors.

From an LGBTQ+ perspective, I really enjoyed 'Romance in Marseille' by Claude McKay. I also read 5 novels by Jean-Claude Izzo. And through the works of Izzo I discovered the poetry of Louis Brauquier.

While in Marseille, I finished translating one of...

I have a couple of my books available now through the Indie Author Bookstore, "Green Twining" and "Harry and Xavier".

Both stories are set on the Lincolnshire Marsh in the 80s and centre on mm romances.

In "Green Twining" the three members of an impromptu folk band, each representing a different shade of Queer, are looking for love.

In "Harry and Xavier" two friends from very different backgrounds and with different challenges in life find unexpected qualities in each other which could lead to...

I wanted to share the beautiful cover of my new novel, "Harry and Xavier" which Harrold-Vincent Villanueva made for me.

The novel is set in Lincolnshire and Paris between the years 1980 and 1985.

Here is the cover blurb:

"Teenager Harry Dixon is feeling ill, desperate and lonely as the last summer term at his dreadful high school grinds on – until his quirky Parisian friend Xavier comes to visit. Mischievous, amiable, distracting… and attractive, Xavier might be just the medicine Harry needs......

I'm working hard on the finishing touches of a new novel right now. It's a French-English themed mm queer romance. I chose the image for this blog because the view from this café in Brum reminds me of being in Paris - the art nouveau touches, and - if you could see them - the retro interior of the café itself with its old staircase winding up through the building. Everything was going well until the project manager of the launch had to pull out following a personal life challenges, at least...

Arcana Anthology

I missed going to the book launch for the new 'Arcana' Anthology. But I managed to pick up my copy at the writers' group last week.

I have a piece in the anthology called 'Rabindranath Bodhisattva'. I'm enjoying dipping in and savouring the different pieces, each one inspired by a different Tarot card.

Its available from Amazon: ...

I felt that there wasn't enough romance in my blurb, so I've added some! Here it is with added romance:

19-year-old Joe Coffin lives with his parents at Green Twining Farm, a place of bad memories and angry ghosts, which block Joe’s every move. His workmate at Scawthorpe Town Hall, David, to whom Joe feels romantically drawn, has a past which isn't what it seems, but if it became known to the wrong people could destroy what little standing in the town he still has.

When an unpredictably odd...

Here is my alternative new blurb for Green Twining:

When an unpredictably odd friend of a friend comes to stay at the farm, bringing with him his own...

I've been writing the new novel for about a year now. It started out as a fairly simple romance but the more I 'discovered' about the characters, the more complex the narrative became. I suppose that's what happens when you have characters living with neurodivergence. You have to work out what comes from where and how characters with different divergencies interact and fail to interact.

I'm having a break from it now, and letting it all sink in. Meanwhile, I'm reading about trauma, and Queer...