"It's the most wonderful time of the year."

It certainly is and something else wonderful is the free Christmas anthology being offered by RJ Scott and Love Lane Books.

Christmas Delights comprises of 21 short stories based around Christmas and the winter season written by a mix of new and established authors.

My story is Spiced Apple and Cinnamon, a brief snapshot set on Christmas Day morning.

Blurb: It's Christmas morning but Keegan can't bring himself to enjoy the day. Not just yet. Not until Alex is home and safe and in his arms and they can celebrate the day together.

The story was inspired by a scene from a commercial I saw on TV. I don't remember what it was selling, but was of a woman sitting on a window seat and she is wrapped in a large woollen jumpy, the sleeves over her hands. I just thought it was sweet and from there Keegan was born, sitting in the window waiting for his lover to return home.

Download Christmas Delights now from - Love Lane Books | All Romance ebooks
Also head over to RJ's blog to take part in today's competition.

Merry Christmas xx

Cloud Atlas - Movie Review

 



For a while, I had been put off by the length of the movie, 3 hours is a long time to just sit and focus on something, (I hadn't done that since the Lord of the Ring movies) and like many people, I have so much other stuff I should be doing. But last night I decided, sod it, and settled down for the movie. I knew very little about the film, I've never read the book so was coming to it from trailers and advertising.

For the first hour, I confess I was a little bored, well, not bored as such, but with 6 stories, 6 sets of characters, an hour only gives me a possible 10 minutes to connect with each story (each could easily have been expanded into a film in their own right) and this hour was designed to allow you to meet the various characters so it was quite slow as each story was set up and we moved back and forth between each one. After the first hour, however, the pace picked up, the dramatic music kicked in and it started to become clear how the stories entwined and impacted on one another.

I loved the idea of lives being connected across time and the possibility of rebirth and the soul, some people destined to repeat mistakes and behaviour, better themselves or fall in love again and again, how actions in the past mirrored those in the future, and how threads worked their way through time from one lifetime to the next. For example, the journal written in the 1800s is read by the main guy in the 1930s, whose music and love notes end up in the hands of the 1970s protagonist. Or Doona Bae who first plays the wife of Jim Sturgess' character in the 1800s. She is a minor character at her husband's side as he makes a decision to join the fight to abolish slavery. Yet in the future, the character she plays has an important role in the fight for freedom (yet again alongside Jim Sturgess). She is inspired by a movie of 2012 events and her words go on to inspire in a god-like way the tribes people in the future and final part of the timeline. *head explodes*

There was so much stuff that just wove the stories together and I could ramble on but I'll leave it for you to discover and make your own mind up and if you think you miss anything, with a quick Google you can find lists of other connections and also ideas about how the stories/characters/lives/souls are connected and comparison to the book - but be careful, seriously, I had a look and my head started hurting with all the thinking it brought on lol

Whatever you take away from the movie, it is a journey starting in the 1800s all the way to the 2300s and it's all very clever. I have no idea about the book, but the visual representation is incredibly intricate in its storytelling and I think I was happier seeing it (like with Game of Thrones) than perhaps reading it because it certainly helped me to keep track of characters and all the links across time and places.

Despite my initial reaction, by the end I was well and truly smitten with the movie. The paralleling emotions in each story and how they were edited together was very moving. The sadness, intensity, humour, romance and everything in between played out wonderfully and the dialogue overlapped between stories showing how similar the threads were. And yep, I cried as certain stories drew to their conclusions. I'm a sucker for a dramatic song and the build up it accompanies so got rather emotional, invested in characters and involved in it all :)

Anyway, I would say the film is either a love or hate kind of film, visually it was stunning and the storyteller in me was fascinated at how plot points, small and large, were carried throughout the film to its conclusion. I actually cared about the characters and their individual tales. It was pure escapism, just as a movie should be :)

Christmas Giveaways

More Christmas fun can be had over at www.keiraandrews.com who is hosting a series of promos and giveaways for Christmas themed books. The event has been running all month and runs through to December 22nd with a different book being given away each day. Today's book is Christmas in the Sun so head over there now for a chance to win.

QTA Christmas Blog Hop

I'm joining Queer Town Abbey for the Queer Town Abbey Christmas Blog Hop!

The hop runs Dec 8th 12:00 am EST through 13th 11:59 pm EST and there are lots of prizes to be won on the main post and some of the blogs taking part.

Find a list of those involved here: http://queertownabbey.com/qtas-christmas-blog-hop/


What does Christmas mean to me?

Christmas is one of my favourite times of year. I love wrapping gifts and sending out cards and decorating the house. It's always a time to catch up with friends with Christmas get-togethers and most importantly, it's a time for family. I enjoy getting to sit down and just spend time with people even if it's just lazing around in front of the TV after one too many roast potatoes. Family is very important to me and in recent years I've come to realise you have to enjoy these kinds of moments and make each year more special than the last. Christmas is about love and being able to share that with those dearest to you.

My favourite Christmas Cookies.

I'm not much for baking though I wish I was as I love the smell of warm cakes or cookies in the oven. At this time of year, something that makes me think of Christmas is a Terry's Chocolate Orange. Every year my nan used to get me, my brother and my dad a chocolate orange for Christmas when we went round on Boxing Day. The best bit had to be the idea of opening a Chocolate Orange by 'Tap and Unwrap'. Tap? Yeah right. We used to throw it at the floor a few times to manage to separate the chocolate segments lol

So, for me, I'm going to say that chocolate and orange cookies is the way to go at Christmas. Partly for the memories and partly because it tastes bloody gorgeous :)

Enter the QTA Giveaway.

My question is: To open a Chocolate Orange you are told to 'Tap and ...' what?

Go to http://queertownabbey.com/qtas-christmas-blog-hop/ and use the answer to enter the giveaway on the main post. You can also find a list of prizes and other blogs taking part to have a chance of further entries.

Merry Christmas!

Saving Mr Fox - Release Day at Totally Bound

 

Saving Mr Fox is released today for early download over at Totally Bound. It will go on general release at the start of next month. I'm really excited about the release, my first with the publisher and can't wait for you to meet the guys. I hope you enjoy the story.

Blurb

How can you hope to find love if you cannot love yourself?

Eric Fox is an actor faced with his most difficult role yet—being himself. Seven years ago, on the way to his high school prom, an accident drove him from the arms of his young love, CJ. Eric ran away to LA, and CJ was left to pick up the pieces of his broken heart and broken life.

Guilt and regret has eaten away at Eric since that day, leading him to turn to the darker side of celebrity—to sex and alcohol. On a downward spiral and after a series of bad choices, Eric makes the difficult decision to return home. But returning home and having to spend two weeks with the man he left behind could be an obstacle Eric is nowhere near ready to face.

Can Eric find the strength to ask for CJ's forgiveness? And more importantly, can he find the courage to forgive himself?

You can find an excerpt and download the story from Totally Bound here: https://www.totallybound.com/saving-mr-fox

Coming Soon

Saving Mr Fox is out for pre-order on the 22nd November. Now with updated cover art for the Totally Bound rebranding.

Blurb Eric Fox is an actor faced with his most difficult role yet--being himself. Seven years ago, on the way to his High School prom, an accident drove him from the arms of his young love, CJ. Eric ran away to LA, and CJ was left to pick up the pieces of his broken heart and broken life. 

Guilt and regret have eaten away at Eric since that day, leading him to turn to the darker side of Celebrity—to sex and alcohol. On a downward spiral and after a series of bad choices, Eric makes the difficult decision to return home. But returning home, and having to spend two weeks with the man he left behind, could be an obstacle Eric is nowhere near ready to face. 

Can Eric find the strength to ask for CJ's forgiveness? And more importantly, can he find the courage to forgive himself?

Saving Mr Fox

New cover art for my future release with TEB.

Blurb

Eric Fox is an actor faced with his most difficult role yet--being himself. Seven years ago, on the way to his High School prom, an accident drove him from the arms of his young love, CJ. Eric ran away to LA, and CJ was left to pick up the pieces of his broken heart and broken life. 

Guilt and regret have eaten away at Eric since that day, leading him to turn to the darker side of Celebrity—to sex and alcohol. On a downward spiral and after a series of bad choices, Eric makes the difficult decision to return home. But returning home, and having to spend two weeks with the man he left behind, could be an obstacle Eric is nowhere near ready to face. 

Can Eric find the strength to ask for CJ's forgiveness? And more importantly, can he find the courage to forgive himself?

Sunday Snippet

I was tagged to share the latest paragraph of my WIP.

So, here you have a snippet of The Bad Wolf (unedited)

  Michael leaned against the door jam and watched Evan sleep. The pain had gotten too much for the man. Doc Anderson had spent the last hour carefully removing the silver pellets from Evan's shoulder, chest, and stomach, and then suturing the largest of the wounds. The man had regained consciousness once Michael and Mason had gotten him back up to the house. He'd been evasive, choosing to remain silent as they had cleaned him up and changed his clothes. There had been so much blood, the silver pellets keeping the wounds fresh and bleeding.

Chase The Sun

Chase The Sun
(Sapphire Cay 3) written with RJ Scott

Out now from Love Lane Books, Amazon and ARe

In Chase the Sun, Scott Antonelli is about to get the shock of his life. Six years ago, Adam Ross broke his heart and it was the trigger that set Scott off travelling around the world. For the last few years he has worked at Sapphire Cay with Dylan. On a simple supply run to Marsh Harbour, he is left reeling, as he comes face to face with his first love. Can he trust Adam this time round?

Adam Ross was an idiot. Looking for quick and easy cash, he got himself mixed up in the wrong crowd and paid the price - three years in prison and he lost the one person who had ever meant anything to him - Scott. Adam has done his best, tried to turn his life around and is in the Bahamas looking for a second chance. Finding Scott was the easy part. Getting him to trust him again, could be harder than he ever imagined.

The Good Wolf Now On Amazon

To celebrate The Good Wolf (released with eXtasy Books) now available on Amazon, I'm going to have a little giveaway.

Leave me a comment to this post with your email address and I will select one person to receive the first of my Lone Wolf Books, The Good Wolf. The giveaway will remain open until Sunday evening.

CLOSED

Blurb Sometimes the only way to let love in is to let the wolf in, too.

Ten years ago, Mason fell for his best friend while at university. Little did he know just two years later, that same friend would turn his world upside down in a way Mason could never have imagined. Now, he lives a cursed life. Living in solitude, Mason does everything he can to keep people away, not only for his safety, but for theirs, too. The night of the full moon. Niall has no idea he's a werewolf, but fate brings him and Mason together. A trick of the moon or something deeper, the men are drawn to each other. Together they must find a way to deal with what has happened to them both. But first Mason must learn to trust Niall and realize being alone is not always for the best.

You can also read the prologue on my previous blog post here

Release: William's Heart with Love Lane Books

Thank you to Love Lane Books for the opportunity to publish with them.

William's Heart

NOTE: This short story was previously part of the Hearts of England Anthology.

Now available from Love Lane Books, Amazon,
ARe, and Smashwords

Blurb
Jude is confident, happy, and views his world through the lens of a camera.

Brody is a writer, haunted and searching for inspiration in Stratford-upon-Avon.

In Jude, Brody finds something his heart longed for—strength, acceptance, and the love and warmth of a man.

Chapter 1

"Nana, come and see!" The young child tugged at the sleeve of her grandmother's coat and shifted impatiently from one foot to the other. She waved toward the river, excited to see two large swans standing at the water's edge. One of the swans stood to its full height and spread its wings out wide. The elegant bird let out a throaty noise as it flapped its wings, causing a plume of soft, white feathers to fall away and float to the ground.

Jude Jennings pointed his Nikon camera at the girl and digitally captured the moment. The young girl was wide-eyed in awe of the oversized birds, and he admired her innocent fascination. Briefly, he dipped the camera and smiled. The world was a magical place when viewed through the eyes of a child.

Looking through the viewer, he slowly adjusted the focus and zoomed in so her face filled the shot. He guessed she was maybe three or four years old as she was out in the middle of a school day. Short blonde curls hung from beneath her pink sunhat and framed her face. Her blue eyes were bright as she laughed excitedly. She was a sweet little thing.

Taking the shot, Jude lowered his camera and looked down at the screen. He took a moment to examine the half-dozen images of the swans, the girl, and her grandmother. The mid-April sunshine provided unique lighting and the warmth of the day radiated from the people within the pictures. April was a strange month for weather and lighting. It was unpredictable at best. In a single month the UK had seen snow, rain, and sunshine. He looked around the park he was sitting in. Today was a brilliant, almost summer-like day, and the weather had brought out an eclectic mix of people.

Both locals and visitors filled the large open space adjacent to the River Avon. Scanning the river bank, he tried to guess a little about his subjects. On the grass, lying on two huge blankets was a group of five scantily-dressed teenagers. He figured, like him, they were from the college. Two of the girls in the group were making notes from an oversized textbook, a third was trying to angle an electronic tablet to read in the sunlight, and the two guys they were with seemed far more interested in getting themselves a tan.

There were teenagers in school uniforms playing football, an elderly couple walking hand-in-hand through the park, each seasoned line on their faces creasing as they stopped and smiled at each other before sharing a kiss.

Jude then spotted a solitary man on a park bench staring out across the water. Against the backdrop of greenery and the reflective surface of the water, the image was stunning. Jude raised his camera and zoomed in, watching the man and grabbing a few shots.

There was a quiet stillness about the way he was just sitting there, staring across the water with clear, green eyes. He was stunning. An open journal lay across his lap. A pen was in his hand, though he didn't seem to be writing anything. He seemed lost, deep in thought, and surrounded by an air of sadness that made Jude's heart ache for him. What was the guy looking at?

I'm over at UKGay Romance

A brief post on art, writing and my career change :)

http://ukgayromance.co.uk/2013/08/16/welcome-to-author-and-cover-artist-meredith-russell/

Plus pretties and an excerpt of recent release, The Good Wolf.

The Good Wolf released today

The Good Wolf Available from eXtasy Books from August 15th here.

Blurb

Sometimes the only way to let love in is to let the wolf in, too.

Ten years ago, Mason fell for his best friend while at university. Little did he know just two years later, that same friend would turn his world upside down in a way Mason could never have imagined. Now, he lives a cursed life. Living in solitude, Mason does everything he can to keep people away, not only for his safety, but for theirs, too. The night of the full moon. Niall has no idea he's a werewolf, but fate brings him and Mason together. A trick of the moon or something deeper, the men are drawn to each other. Together they must find a way to deal with what has happened to them both. But first Mason must learn to trust Niall and realize being alone is not always for the best.

Prologue
Eight years ago.

“Having fun?”

Mason looked at the beer in his friend’s hand. “Fun is subjective,” he said, pulling off his glove of plastic knives and then taking the offered drink. The red and black woollen sweater he wore was itchy and despite it being October, the evening was strangely warm. He glanced up at the trees and the full, orange moon breaking through the canopy. Peach and silver illuminated the open space, creating shadows, which danced across the forest floor. 

Mason Pearce removed his brown Fedora and brushed back his sweat-damp bangs. He rubbed tiredly at his eyes, watching as the partiers danced, talked, and drank. He’d already had several beers topped off with vodka shots and it had gone to his head. He was drunk and tired and he wanted to go home. But he couldn’t. He’d made a promise to the host, who just happened to be his best friend, and maybe one day, if luck was on his side, something more. Kaine Hudson had asked him to be here and here he was.

He watched one of the many loved-up couples in Halloween costumes—a vampire and a cat grinding seductively against each other in front of the lights of Kaine’s old truck. They moved in time to the base-heavy music playing over the hooked-up sound system. The vehicle’s headlamps lit the makeshift dance floor and the wooded area was filled with noise and people. By the beer cooler, a guy dressed as a ghost nodded, looking only half-interested in what the hooker-nurse was saying, and a Jedi raised his glass and smiled over at Mason. Maybe he had a thing for woollen sweaters and Fedoras.

To Do List

I've focused on art a lot this last week or so - (this being my first week of taking writing and book cover design to the level of making it a career for myself).

After the weekend I intend to spend the next week on writing. The projects for August so far are:

1) Complete the final chapter on Chase The Sun. My and RJ's baby has kind of been pushed to one side in the last month due to other commitments.

2) The Bad Wolf - a sequel to my upcoming release The Good Wolf with eXtasy on 15th August. These books will be part of a trilogy, focusing on the interweaving lives of three different wolves.

3) William's Heart - formerly part of the Hearts of England Anthology. I need to create new cover art for the book and then am looking to self-publish the story as a short story in the next month.

4) Plan out a short Christmas story for the call for submissions for a free anthology at Love Lane Books by RJ Scott.

I think that should keep me quite busy for now :)

New Beginnings.

So, here it begins, my new career as an author and cover artist. I'm excited to moving forward with something I love and enjoy. It's been a long time coming, but it's what I need.

To celebrate I have given myself a style makeover with a new banner and icon set here and on facebook. I hope you all enjoy the ride. I plan to. :)

Excuse the mess!

I'm in the process of 'tarting' this blog up a little.

Thank you,

Meredith xx

Under The Sun (Sapphire Cay #2)

The Book
Opposites Attract on a sun drenched Cay

Edward McAllister, wedding planner extraordinaire arrives at Sapphire Cay for a wedding. He has four days to go until the big day and his plans are smashed when he spots the stage he was setting is destroyed.

Doesn't matter that the guy pulling down the old gazebo and digging trenches is hot - he is messing with Edward's OCD and Edward isn't afraid to let the other man know exactly how he feels.
Jamie Durand is an ex marine and son of the former owners of Sapphire Cay. He is on the island to get his head around his new life after leaving the forces due to injury.

When Edward arrives in his space he is bemused at the instant dislike the uptight man is showing towards him.

Not an auspicious start. But just you wait when Edward relaxes and Jamie opens up. Then you will see fireworks.

Buy Links

Love Lane Books :: Amazon :: Barnes and Noble :: Smashwords :: All Romance Ebooks :: Kobo :: Also available in paperback

RJ Scott's April Blog Tour for Autism Awareness

A fact about Autism: 
Autism costs a family $60,000 a year on average

The topic of this years blog tour is PREJUDICE.

When I see the word prejudice the things that come to my mind are the larger social issues like race, sex, and sexual orientation. These are things I would never claim to have any prejudice toward. I see variety and gender and love, and I don't see how anyone can have a problem with that. My friend having a girlfriend makes no difference to how I live my life or view my relationship with my husband. Another friend falling in love with and marrying a guy from India didn't leave me thinking the sky was going to fall. On the large scale, I don't think about it. However, I have to confess that in some ways I guess I can and have been prejudice and I think we all can be, often without even thinking.

Two examples - A hard habit to break:

* The way someone looks, speaks or acts. Most of us are guilty of prejudging a person from a look or the minute they open their mouth. Films and TV shows will often reflect these stereotypes - the ditzy blonde, the OTT special needs guy, the crazy religious nut, the 'no way he's passing for a girl' transvestite - and we laugh. It's not meant in a bad way, but we do laugh. Reality shows about certain groups within society also do nothing to overcome the preconceived ideas about people. In the UK there are so many shows about different class groups in society - the posh ones are OTT posh, eccentric, frivolous, and ridiculous, the people living on estates are shown as out of work, large families and everybody's on benefits. It does nothing to change those ingrained prejudices.

*Blows away dust*

I've been neglecting my poor wee blog recently and really, really need to get back into things.

It seems taking on jobs for cover art has completely side-tracked me from 1. finishing my blog story (ignores the fact it was Christmas based) and 2. Finishing a couple of WIPs.

But, honestly, I am having the best time ever. Really! My health has been a little up and down recently, so it has been an absolute joy to have something I could get stuck into and distract me from other things. Yes, I need to get back to my writing, but it has been a welcome change.

So, thank you to RJ Scott, Amber Kell, Lisa Worrall, Sue Brown and Silvia Violet for engaging my imagination and giving me something beautiful to create.

The Next Big Thing

A Blog Hop about what's up next. So, it's 2013 and I have high expectations for myself this year and to start it off, I'm going to answer a few questions about my current WIP and also giveaway a book from my backlist - winner's choice.

First the questions:

What is the working title of your book?
The first book I'm working on this year is Under the Sun, which I am writing with RJ Scott.

Where did the idea come from for the book?
This is part of a series that we dreamed up in the middle of last year about the loves and lives of men visiting an island in the Bahamas called Sapphire Cay. The idea came about from wanting to write an easy read, romance series, and first was an idea based around a secondary character from The Art of Words. But instead we decided to set it free by itself and it's slowly growing into its own little world.