I’ve signed with Spectrum Books for my first contemporary novel, TEACUP PROMISES! It will be released early 2024 in paperback and ebook. I’ll let you know when it’s available for pre-order. In the meantime, here’s the blurb:
Andrew Peacock is almost forty, sleeping with an older, straight, married man, and tired of the lies. So what better time to drag everything into the open than at a party for his lover’s wedding anniversary?
Told across six instalments, three decades, and one pandemic Teacup Promises charts the key moments in the relationships of Andrew, his boyfriend Jack, Jack’s wife Harriet, and Harriet’s lover, Stephen.
My new mmromance short story, Use as Wallpaper is out now! This is a fun, gay, romantic story set in the beautiful country of Georgia.
Here is the blurb:
Stuart is a reporter for a seldom-watched history channel, forty-one years old, and recently single. His latest assignment has taken him to the beautiful country of Georgia to film a traditional polyphonic choir—one of the last of its kind. The choir is run by Otar, a gruff man of strong opinions who is used to getting his own way.
When it’s suggested that Stuart get involved with the choir’s latest performance, he will have to quickly learn how to sing in Georgian, perform a traditional dance, and avoid butting heads with Otar. He probably shouldn’t drink too much wine the night before the show, either.
As Otar struggles to keep the past alive, can he help Stuart to leave his behind?
Here are some links to places you can buy Use As Wallpaper, published by Ninestar Press.
This is my first contemporary story and my first published short story. It’s a fun, gay rom-com (mm romance) and I’m excited for you to read it. It’s had some great advance reviews over on Instagram already!
I sent out some advance review copies and I’ve gotten my some lovely reviews already:
This story is a great introduction to this author’s writing. His affectionately drawn, intensely human characters are relatable and likeable, the dialogue sparky…
Stuart is a reporter for a seldom-watched history channel, forty-one years old, and recently single. His latest assignment has taken him to the beautiful country of Georgia to film a traditional polyphonic choir—one of the last of its kind. The choir is run by Otar, a gruff man of strong opinions who is used to getting his own way.
When it’s suggested that Stuart get involved with the choir’s latest performance, he will have to quickly learn how to sing in Georgian, perform a traditional dance, and avoid butting heads with Otar. He probably shouldn’t drink too much wine the night before the show, either.
As Otar struggles to keep the past alive, can he help Stuart to leave his behind?
I’m very pleased to present the cover to USE AS WALLPAPER. This is my first contemporary story and my first published short story. It’s a fun rom-com set in the beautiful country of Georgia.
Here is the blurb:
Stuart is a reporter for a seldom-watched history channel, forty-one years old, and recently single. His latest assignment has taken him to the beautiful country of Georgia to film a traditional polyphonic choir—one of the last of its kind. The choir is run by Otar, a gruff man of strong opinions who is used to getting his own way.
When it’s suggested that Stuart get involved with the choir’s latest performance, he will have to quickly learn how to sing in Georgian, perform a traditional dance, and avoid butting heads with Otar. He probably shouldn’t drink too much wine the night before the show, either.
As Otar struggles to keep the past alive, can he help Stuart to leave his behind?
USE AS WALLPAPER will be released on 23rd August by Ninestar Press and will be available on their website, Amazon, and most major e-book retailers. I’ll update this post as soon as the pre-order and buy links are available!
This story is totally stand-alone and unconnected to my novels. If you’ve been thinking about trying out my writing, here’s an easy and affordable way to do so. I’m very excited for people to read this story!
To keep up-to-date with my writing, you can sign up for my newsletter using the form below:
This Hallowe’en, I have a brand new spooky short story for you! The innkeeper of the Moth & Moon loves to tell ghost stories, so while two sailors take shelter from a storm he tells them a tale about a hard-working coach driver, her mysterious passenger, and the terrifying secrets they uncovered in THE HOUSE ON GRAVEL HILL!
The story is free but at the bottom of the page you’ll find a link to my Ko-fi where you can leave me a tip or buy me a coffee. As a thank you, you’ll get THE HOUSE ON GRAVEL HILL in PDF, MOBI, and EPB format to read on your Kindle or other device. This story isn’t available anywhere else!
It’s a pleasure to welcome back Valentine Wheeler for today’s W5!
Who is the star of your book?
GIVE WAY stars Kevin McNamara, a retired lawyer who’s found himself at loose ends after years of pushing himself to succeed. Now he’s got more time than he knows what to do with, and that means he’s having to confront a lot of things within himself that he’s avoided dealing with for years.
What is your story about?
It’s about getting to know yourself and finding your place in the community! Kevin has lived in the same town his whole life, known the same people for sixty years. Sometimes the way you’ve always seen yourself–the way you’ve presented yourself to others and the way they’ve perceived you–is a real barrier to self-knowledge.
When is it set?
GIVE WAY is set in 2018, at the same time as NO PARKING. While they do overlap in a few parts, they can be read in either order!
Where is it set?
Swanley, Massachusetts is a fictional town in the middle of the triangle of Boston, Providence, and Worcester. It’s a place where people know each other and it’s a little bit of a queer haven. After NO PARKING was released last year, I got a lot of comments on it saying that a town this queer (and this accepting of queer folks) was unrealistic, and that broke my heart. Massachusetts has a lot of issues–no place is perfect!–but we have towns with huge, vibrant queer communities, and Swanley is based off those towns. I wanted to build a town where people had space to be themselves while also keeping their deep roots.
Why this story?
After writing NO PARKING, I wanted to spend more time in that world. One of my favorite relationships to write was that of Marianne, the protagonist of NO PARKING, and her ex-husband Kevin. I started playing around with the idea of a story for him, and out came GIVE WAY. It’s about a man who’s spent a lot of time thinking about the kind of man people think he should be, rather than the kind of man he actually is (and it’s about how incredibly attractive postal uniforms are, too… and the people inside them!).
Valentine Wheeler (she/her) lives outside Boston with her spouse and child and spends her days chasing mail carriers and citing obscure postal regulations. She goes by Lis in meatspace and her life’s ambition is to eat the food of every country.
Find heron twitter orgoodreads and her work at Ninestar Press and the Future Fire. She also serves as Fiction Editor and Logistics Manager forWizards in Space Literary Magazine, as Logistics Wizard and Managing Editor forMermaids Monthly, and as a slushreader for various genre publications.
You can watch my interview with DUBLIN CITY FM here:
We discussed my writing and in particular my new novel THE LION LIES WAITING. From how I went about building the world of the book to the way it builds upon events in THE MOTH AND MOON.
You can buy both novels using the following links:
For this instalment of W5, I’m delighted to welcome JP Jackson!
Who is the star of your book?
James Martin is the protagonist of Magic or Die. He is more
of an Anti-hero. At the beginning of the book, he’s drunk, living in a studio
apartment, lost – just a mess of a human being – when he gets a call from the
CMRD (Centre for Magical Research and Development). That call changes
everything and drags James back through haunted memories he’d rather not face.
The facility that once saved him now threatens to destroy him.
What is your story about?
Magic or Die is about a few things. Survival, becoming
part of a team, learning to trust others, and finding out how to let go.
When is it set?
The story takes place in the here and now – but in an
alternate reality where a percentage of the population is born with
magical/supernatural abilities.
Where is it set?
I’m always careful to ensure that my stories are Canadian
based. But I’ve never really said exactly where the story takes place. It could
be Edmonton, (where I’m from) or maybe Calgary, or Saskatoon, or…Somewhere on
the Canadian Prairies. That much is certain. I toyed with the idea of it taking
place in Vancouver – but Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver always get all the
action and I wanted to spread the Canadiana love around.
Why this story?
I have a serious love of all things dark and magical. If it looks like it might eat you or maybe help you…that’s my jam. There’s not really enough Urban Fantasy/Paranormal books out there that dance on that fine line – The Sookie Stackhouse series – the books the TV show True Blood were modeled after, are close. Those were written by Charlaine Harris. She has another series called Midnight Texas. Love both of them…but I wanted something edgier, a little darker, and of course, where the main characters were LGBTQ+. Both of those series have gay and lesbian side characters, but I’m tired of being the side character. I want books where we’re the heroes.
Magic or Die is the first book in a series, and each book will progressively get a little darker. Hopefully, someone will get eaten. ;o)
Blurb: James Martin is a teacher, a powerful Psychic, and an alcoholic. He used to work for the Center for Magical Research and Development, a facility that houses people who can’t control their supernatural abilities, but left after one of his students was killed, turning to vodka to soothe his emotional pain. The problem is he still has one year left on his contract.
When James returns to the CMRD to fulfill the rest of his contract, he finds himself confronting the demons of his past and attempting to protect his new class from a possible death sentence, because if they don’t pass their final exams, they’ll be euthanized.
James also discovers that his class isn’t bringing in enough sponsors, the agencies and world governments who supply grants and ultimately purchase graduates of the CMRD, and that means no profit for the facility. James and his students face impossible odds—measure up to the facility’s unreachable standards or escape.
J.P. Jackson works as an IT analyst in health care during the day, where if cornered he’d confess to casting spells to ensure clinicians actually use the electronic medical charting system he configures and implements.
JP Jackson
At night however, the writing happens, where demons, witches and
shape shifters congregate around the kitchen table and general chaos ensues.
The insurance company refuses to accept any more claims of ‘acts of the
un-god’, and his husband of 21 years has very firmly put his foot down on any
further wraith summoning’s in the basement. And apparently imps aren’t
house-trainable. Occasionally the odd ghost or member of the Fae community
stops in for a glass of wine and stories are exchanged. Although the husband
doesn’t know it, the two Chihuahuas are in cahoots with the spell casting.
J.P.’s other hobbies include hybridizing African Violets (thanks to grandma), extensive travelling and believe it or not, knitting.
