I really think I did - finished the second book about Tom and Mischa, that is. This has taken me incredibly long time; I think it went wrong when I decided that this book was going to be a bit... Well, I thought "better", but I realize as I write this that I hadn't really thought about what "better" meant. Which is your recipe for if not disaster, then a very long work process right there.

But now it's done, and I'm going to send it in. I really have to keep myself for adding "after just reading through it one more time." I have already done that a thousand times so I'm probably completely blind by now - and if I know my editor, she's going to have a suggestion or two:).

Now I'm going to enjoy my holiday (which means working a lot, but working on the stuff that I like. Okay, and lying around in the sun a bit, as well. It is a holiday, after all!). Enjoy your Sunday!

It's Memorial Day Weekend! To mark Memorial Day Torquere Press is offering 15% off your purchases from now through the end of day Monday! Just put 'memday2012' in the coupon code box any time you check out at Torquere Books before Monday at midnight to get 15% off your order.

Sale good now through Monday May 28 at Midnight (est).

Spend Memorial Day with an ebook from Torquere Press - how about having a look at Himiko: Bonding? Matt thinks that it's the end of the world when he's harvested by the Himika. Instead, he gets an endlessly annoying alien, some very unexpected mental powers, and hot sex. God, I enjoyed writing those guys!

Ideas, that is! Yesterday, I asked for ideas for Torquere's anniversary charity sips, and Kristi P. quickly gave me not one, not two, not... Okay, you get it by now, but still: She gave me four great ideas! And now I've just finished my charity sip. So far it's called "Leather and Newfound Land", and it's about having literary names, a dog-skeptic boyfriend, and a Newfoundland puppy. It's a bit of fluff with an adorable puppy - oh, and a hot sex scene.

And, speaking about literary names: I found this quote when I researched a French poet called Gérard de Nerval (one of our heroes is named after him). Nerval is talking about his pet lobster, which he used to take for walks in the Palais Royal gardens in Paris:

"Why should a lobster be any more ridiculous than a dog? ...or a cat, or a gazelle, or a lion, or any other animal that one chooses to take for a walk? I have a liking for lobsters. They are peaceful, serious creatures. They know the secrets of the sea, they don't bark, and they don't gnaw upon one's monadic privacy like dogs do. And Goethe had an aversion to dogs, and he wasn't mad."

After that, I feel wonderfully normal!

My head is still pretty empty when it comes to Torquere's charity sips. I have two half ideas, but one will probably be longer than the 8,000 words of a charity sip, and the other is nothing but a very vague idea. I have had some great suggestions from readers before, so I thought: Why not ask you again? I absolutely can't promise anything; the writerly part of my brain works in mysterious ways.

But if you have an idea, feel free to make a comment here or mail me at cbconwy@yahoo.co.uk. Maybe it'll turn into a charity sip!

Here's Torquere's announcement:

"It's that time again, where all of our great authors get together to donate
to a charity working within the GLBTQ community! This year, Torquere Press
has chosen NOH8 as the donation charity, and authors who contribute agree to
donate 100% of their royalties to NOH8, with Torquere Press matching the
donation.

This year's theme, since this is Torquere Press' ninth anniversary as well,
is leather. Nine is the leather anniversary, y'all! How cool is that?

Leather can be reflected in any way in the story. BDSM may immediately
spring to mind, but leather can also mean cowboys, fast cars, Italian shoes,
jewelry, or any of a million other things."

Intrigued? Let me know!

People often ask me where I get my inspiration, and oddly enough, this is actually a hard question for me. "Daydreaming" is such a weird answer - even if it's true. I find most of my stories by playing through a scene in my head. Sometimes it works, and I spend hours elaborating; sometimes it dies within minutes. Often I come back to it several times, and then suddenly I realize that there might be a story here.

Another way is reading the science pages in the newspaper. Again, it sounds strange, but "what if"s are a great starting point for me. It worked really well with Himiko, and I've just begun another story that was born the same way.

Then there are the mails from readers asking for more stories about one character or another. Funnily enough, my first reaction is often saying no. Even as I'm composing my answer ("No, I can't write a story about Jeff, because that would just be him sitting at home Saturday Night"), I sometimes begin thinking. And yes, Jeff got his story and you can read it here on my website. I might have another one for him as well.

Right now I'm thinking about something for Torquere's charity, though. The theme is leather, and my mind is pretty empty. Except for the suggestion I got in that mail yesterday - or maybe Jeff could finally...

So many men, so little time to write them!