Debbie McGowan's Blog, page 6

Newish Release: Hiding Behind The Couch Box Set Two

I haven't had time to blog properly on a Monday for a few weeks, so my apologies if you're a regular reader. I'm doing my best to get back in the swing of it.

This is just a quickie to announce the release of Box Set Two of Hiding Behind The Couch, which is available on Kindle only (and Kindle Unlimited).

BOX SET ONE

BeginningsRuminationsHiding Behind The Couch (Season One)No Time Like The Present (Season Two)The Harder They Fall (Season Three)Crying in the RainFirst Christmas

BOX SET TWO

In The Stars Part I (Season Four)Breaking WavesChain of SecretsIn The Stars Part II (Season Five)A Midnight ClearRed Hot Christmas

BOX SET THREE (sometime in 2018/9)

Two by Two (Season Six)Hiding OutClass-AThose Jeffries BoysBreakfast at Cordelia’s AquariumThe WAG and The Scoundrel

NOVELLAS/SHORT STORIES BOX SET

BeginningsClass-AFirst ChristmasBreaking WavesChain of SecretsA Midnight ClearRed Hot ChristmasHiding OutBreakfast at Cordelia’s AquariumTo Be SureThe novellas/short stories box set is also available as a paperback - readers asked for print editions of the novellas and short stories, so here they are. Note: these stories will all appear in the numbered box sets.
The novels are also available in paperback editions. :) Visit Beaten Track Publishing for all purchase/download links

Thanks for reading!
Deb x

#WIPpet Wednesday - No Filter: Very Odd - #lgbtqia

But I have news! I submitted a story for Upstaged —the upcoming anthology from Supposed Crimes—and it was accepted! Woohoo! :) It was nerve-racking, I won’t lie. It’s the first time I’ve submitted a story anywhere since my first novel. This writing malarkey never gets any easier. I’ll post more about the anthology nearer publication time.

Anyway, it’s WIPpet Wednesday. I’m allegedly writing No Filter for CampNaNoWriMo. I haven’t managed much writing, but it’s coming along slowly.

Brief story info:
No Filter is a crossover novella of the Hiding Behind The Couch and Checking Him Out series(es), featuring Libby (and others) from HBTC, and Matty (and others) from CHO.

This week’s snippet is from Libby’s point of view; it follows from last week’s snippet, where Libby was scheming. Note (and also a spoiler for anyone reading HBTC who hasn’t got as far as Season Six): Josh and George are Libby’s foster/adoptive parents. Highlight to read.

WIPpet maths for 11th April:
9 sentences, 2 paragraphs… 9+2=11.

And the WIPpet Snippet:

Only Josh was home, so she wouldn’t get a definite yes or no until later, but she could still sound him out. She’d have preferred to talk to George first—it made sense to wait until he got in from work, but sense and patience were not playing on the same side this afternoon. Plus George would say ‘who?’ and then she’d have to tell the whole story to remind him, whereas Josh would remember exactly who she was talking about the second she mentioned the name. Possibly even before.

Pocketing her phone, Libby clicked the remote control to lower the stairs from her attic bedroom into Josh’s office, drawing breath as she descended, her speech at the ready, but she’d have been addressing an empty room. Very odd. She reached the bottom of the stairs and cocked her head, listening. He usually called up to say if he was going out, but she couldn’t hear much of anything, although…it sounded like the TV was on, which was even odder. She went to investigate.

* * * * *
What is WIPpet Wednesday?
WIPpet Wednesday is a blog hop where authors share from their current works in progress - expertly organised/hosted by Emily Wrayburn - and the excerpt has to relate to the date in some way. For links to other fabulous authors' WIPpets, visit: http://www.inlinkz.com/wpview.php?id=355404


Thanks for reading
Deb x

#WIPpet Wednesday - No Filter: No Patience - #lgbtqia

I haven’t posted for a couple of weeks because of workload, which hasn’t lessened any, if I’m honest. Uni work, publishing…there are not enough hours in the day/days in the week!

Still, it’s WIPpet Wednesday. :)

Brief story info:
No Filter is a crossover novella of the Hiding Behind The Couch and Checking Him Out series(es), featuring Libby (and others) from HBTC, and Matty (and others) from CHO.

This week’s snippet is from Libby’s point of view; this is the start of chapter two (the previous snippets were from chapter one).

WIPpet maths for 4th April:
4x4=16 paragraphs.

And the WIPpet Snippet:

Libby jiggled her leg impatiently to the FaceTime bleeps. It never took Poppy this long to pick up. In fact, Libby was quite sure if she added up all the seconds of waiting from all of their calls in the two years since they’d become friends, it wouldn’t come close to the hours she’d been waiting this time. She gave up.

And called again. On and on it rang. “Come on…come on…what is she do— At last!”

“What?” Poppy’s puzzled frown appeared onscreen at too-close range, like she was stuck inside the phone.

Libby backed off in mock-horror. “Nothing.” Objectively, it probably hadn’t taken Poppy any longer than normal to answer, but Libby was desperate to share.

Desperate, but not stupid.

She mouthed, “Is your mum there?” then, after Poppy’s nodded confirmation, said at a normal volume, “Did you ask your mum about coming over to do the project?”

Poppy’s eyebrows shot up into her hair. “Um…no…not…yet?” Her panic-stricken expression, along with excitement, almost set Libby off giggling. Poppy mouthed, “Project?”

“I dunno. Make something up!”

Poppy shrugged helplessly—“OK”—and tilted her head back to shout, “Mum, can I go to Libby’s to work on our project?”

“What project?”

“One for…sixth form.” Poppy shrugged again. She didn’t look optimistic.

“You don’t start sixth form for another month.” Her mum’s voice was closer now, and she appeared in the background, in rubber gloves, viciously attacking a baking tray with a scouring pad.

“We want to make a head start.”

A brief silence followed, in which Poppy was turned mostly the other way, but Libby saw her cheek lift a split second before her mum answered, “I suppose so. It’s only your summer holiday you’re wasting.”

“Thanks.” Poppy turned back to Libby with a grin and talked on the move. “The bus is due in two minutes and I need to get my trainers on.”

“OK. See you soon.” Libby ended the call. On to the next stage of her scheme.

* * * * *
What is WIPpet Wednesday?
WIPpet Wednesday is a blog hop where authors share from their current works in progress - expertly organised/hosted by Emily Wrayburn - and the excerpt has to relate to the date in some way. For links to other fabulous authors' WIPpets, visit: http://www.inlinkz.com/wpview.php?id=355404


Thanks for reading
Deb x

Book Review: In The Present Tense by Carrie Pack

Title: In The Present Tense
Author: Carrie Pack
Publisher: Interlude Press
Published: 19th May, 2016
ISBN: 9781941530788

Blurb:
Miles Lawson goes to sleep dreaming of a future with his boyfriend Adam, but wakes to find he is married to Ana, an acquaintance from high school. When he learns he has been time traveling, Miles is consumed with finding a cure for his rare condition—and finding his first love.

Traveling more frequently, Miles assembles the puzzle pieces of his life and, in doing so, alienates his wife. As he loses control, Miles must realize that sometimes fixing your past mistakes means changing your future. But will he be able to convince Adam he is telling the truth before it’s too late?

Review:
In The Present Tense isn’t literary fiction. I appreciate this is a curious way to start a review – what the book is not – but most novels I’ve come across that take on topics of an intellectual/political nature in the way Carrie Pack does are, ultimately, vessels through which the author can show off their leet writing skills through a complex story arc, spectacular vocabulary and their ability to come up with the most convoluted sentences ever. It’s nice – if they’re aiming to appear on the A’ Level English Literature syllabus at some point in the future – but there’s too much clutter between execution of concept and the reader’s ability to just enjoy the story.

In short, Carrie Pack cuts the crap – which makes this book accessible to a wide range of readers – and gets straight down to the storytelling. And wow, what a story this is. It tackles issues around mental health and illness, and I’ve got to say, as someone who has worked/teaches in the fields of psychology/psychiatry, it is wonderful to read realistic depictions of mental ‘disorders’ such as dissociative identity disorder and schizophrenia.

I also want to applaud the author for portraying the horror of enforced psychiatric incarceration. The way it’s done is not ‘thrilling’ in the typical thriller novel sense, but it is thrilling. My heart was hammering so fast at times, and I felt nauseous – the same reaction I get to real-world oppression. I’ll admit, my worldview incorporates an anti-psychiatry stance, and I sense the author’s sentiments are not incongruent. We might have left behind the vast asylums of the past, but a diagnosis of an acute mental disorder is, for some people, tantamount to throwing away the key. We need to see these people in our stories if for no other reason than they are invisible in the real world.

That’s only part of the story, albeit a very significant part. The time travel is done so well, but there’s little more I can say about it without either repeating the blurb or giving away key elements of the plot. I, like most readers, have a brain that skips past chapter headings and subheadings, so I generally had to hop back a few lines and read the author’s helpfully included dates. Truthfully, I was too desperate to keep reading the story, so mostly I gave these a cursory glance before once more submerging into Miles’s world.

While Miles is most certainly the main character, we do get a few different points of view, and again, these are all clearly marked by subheadings, but they’re also easy to identify if you do just keep reading, like I did, into the night. I forced myself to stop at 92% to squeeze an extra day out of this story. It’s so good.

Finally, the characters…well, this is where the author has really hit it out the park for me. LGBTQ+ main character, the politics of mental health, time travel and damn fine characterisation. There’s no sweetness and light in here; all of the characters have huge flaws, like real people. Some situations cast them in a poorer light than others, and the emotional impact on the reader is the same roller-coaster ride we get from our interactions with people we know. The only character I was 100% onside with was Miles, even though at times I wanted to give him a good talking-to or simply remove him from the situation. The traits/behaviours distinct to Miles at different points in time were also a nice touch.

I loved In The Present Tense from beginning to end, and the sequel is out this summer (2018)! I’ll be at the front of the queue.

Received through NetGalley.

The Hunt Begins! #Easter #Giveaway #Books

Join in the Sparkly Badgers Easter Egg Hunt!Find the eggs, solve the puzzle, win books!


Find/follow the Sparkly Badgers on Twitter

Angelique Anderson
C M Clepitt
J Crawford Steel
Nicole DragonBeck
Chloe Hammond
Joyce Hertzoff
Margena Holmes
AM Leibowitz
Leo McBride
Debbie McGowan
Terry Poole
Maria Riegger
Lyra Shanti
Joanne Van Leerdam

#WorldPoetryDay - Battle Fatigue (or why I no longer teach in a high school)

BATTLE FATIGUE
©2005 Debbie McGowan

God loves a trier,
But I tire of healing cerebral hamstrings
Torn by leaping without training over hurdles
That simply were not there yesterday.

Of backs chewed through to fronts,
Remains spat in the sawdust with disgust
And downtrodden through the years
Into a pithy pile of organisational waste.

Of promises that never saw the light of day…
Of honoured guests who outstayed their welcome upon their invited arrival…
Of great oak trees that were grafted on the graft of
Another lowly acorn’s shoot…
Of spine-blunted daggers drooling with the blood of comrades
While they feast on the sinewy shavings
Of lost ambitions,
Spanish moss draped in avenues leading to nowhere…

Of paper and pens and boxes to fill,
Of statistical accusations,
Of schemes.

Of pretty girls, words, rooms, hours to kill,
Of breeding germs feeding on failing thoughts,
Of careers perused on the crest of a doubt,
Of axes unground and festering dreams,
Of wishing to change yet remaining the same,
Of breaking down bridges when boats are alight,
Of caressing the hook while consuming the bait.

And all the same seeing no light in the past,
And all the while wishing I’d fail the test,
And all the time hoping I’ll choose not to stick,
When one look at the cards shows I hold the wrong pack.


More of my poetry (and other writing) here: http://debbiemcgowan.co.uk/?n1=read

#WIPpet Wednesday - No Filter: What if? - #lgbtqia

It’s been a funny old week so far. I have so much uni work to do, and I’m…not doing any of it. But I now have four stories on the go, including this one, which I haven’t written any more of since this time last week. :/ It’ll come to me, I’m sure.

On the plus side, I’ve done quite a bit of work on Tabula Rasa, which is currently 78k, but it wasn’t quite going where I hoped. I think I’ve pulled it back on track. I also ‘accidentally’ made a start on the story after Goth of Christmas Past , all because of a comment about ‘mansplaining’.  Lastly (but not leastly), I’ve written the first few pages of a story for an anthology call, although whether I can write to the remit is another matter, as I’m not good at shorties (as in, I can’t keep to the word limit). I’m giving it my best shot, though—I’ve been mulling the idea for quite some time! That story is tentatively titled Oh No She Didn’t!

So, on to the WIPpet…

Brief story info:
No Filter is a crossover novella of the Hiding Behind The Couch and Checking Him Out series(es), featuring Libby (and others) from HBTC, and Matty (and others) from CHO.

This week’s snippet comes a few paragraphs after last week’s, where Noah had finished proofreading Matty’s email to Libby (whom they met in Hiding Out ).

WIPpet maths for 14th March:
14 paragraphs. Simples. :)

And the WIPpet Snippet:

“What if Libby gets the email and feels like she’s got to meet up? I don’t want that. I don’t want her to agree because she thinks she has to.”

“She won’t be like that,” Noah said certainly.

“You don’t know.”

“All right, put it this way. I mixed her up with Lauren because they’re kind of similar. What would Lauren do in this situation?”

“She’d delete the message. No, wait…she’d leave it in her inbox. Seriously, Noo, you’d have to see it. There is so much email in there, it’s unbelievable. No wonder she could never find the stuff on assignments. I even offered to set up folders for her, same as I’ve got. She got the right hump.” Matty smiled at the mental image of Lauren turning the screen away from him like she’d always done because he was ‘sticking his nose in where it wasn’t wanted’ again. He was going to miss that now they weren’t studying together. He was going to miss her. Apart from her tantrums. He wouldn’t miss those.

A light thud of something landing in the bin across the room brought him out of his thoughts, and the smell of orange drifted into his nostrils. Noah was making good headway with his fruity feast. “I need chocolate. Go buy me some? Please?”

Noah sighed but was already on his way to the door. “What sort?”

“Any—oh! What was your point about Libby and Lauren?”

“I reckon Libby will be really happy to hear from you.”

“And if she’s not?”

“Matty…just send it already.”

“But—”

“No choccy…”

Matty scrabbled to unlock his phone screen and clicked send before he could change his mind. “There!” He grinned victoriously. “Mars bar, please. Make it a big one.”

* * * * *
What is WIPpet Wednesday?
WIPpet Wednesday is a blog hop where authors share from their current works in progress - expertly organised/hosted by Emily Wrayburn - and the excerpt has to relate to the date in some way. For links to other fabulous authors' WIPpets, visit: http://www.inlinkz.com/wpview.php?id=355404


Thanks for reading
Deb x

#WIPpet Wednesday - No Filter: Who's Libby? - #lgbtqia

Quickly flying in to post this (a day late). I’m mid-assignment, mid-editing, mid-grading, mid-everything except writing No Filter, but I’m still snipping from it today.

Brief story info:
No Filter is a crossover novella of the Hiding Behind The Couch and Checking Him Out series(es), featuring Libby (and others) from HBTC, and Matty (and others) from CHO.

This week’s snippet comes a few paragraphs after last week’s, where Matty had typed an email to Libby (whom he met in Hiding Out ) and is waiting for Noah (his other half) to proofread it before he sends it.

WIPpet maths for 8th March:
8 question marks. I know, it’s pants, but my brain refuses to cooperate further.

And the WIPpet Snippet:

“Yeah, it’s [Matty’s email] OK,” Noah said, nodding and still looking at the screen. “Who’s Libby?”

Matty stopped mid-stretch, with his left foot behind his head. “You’re kidding me.”

Noah peered up through his eyebrows. “Nope. Oh, wait, is she the girl who…came to…that show back…whenever?”

Matty unhooked his foot and let it drop heavily to the floor. He marched over to the bed and snatched his phone back. “You ain’t actually got a clue, have you?”

For what it was worth, Noah grimaced guiltily. “No, sorry.”

“D’you remember my Starlight dance?”

The grimace flipped into a grin. “Yep. Not exactly gonna forget it, am I?”

“Oh, yeah? Well, while you’re all ‘I’m so special he created a dance for me’, can you remember how you found out?”

“Lauren told me.”

“Nope!”

“She did,” Noah argued. “In the interval. I was outside, looking for you, and…” His words trailed off. “Lauren didn’t tell me.”

“Nope.”

“I was sure…it was…” Noah rubbed his hair—or the black hair-shaped shadow—with his palm. It made a sound like a tiny saw. He looked totally bamboozled. “Jeez. Where the hell was my head at?”

“Up your arse,” Matty said, matter-of-fact, even though thinking back to their ‘break’ could still knock him sideways.

* * * * *
What is WIPpet Wednesday?
WIPpet Wednesday is a blog hop where authors share from their current works in progress - expertly organised/hosted by Emily Wrayburn - and the excerpt has to relate to the date in some way. For links to other fabulous authors' WIPpets, visit: http://www.inlinkz.com/wpview.php?id=355404


Thanks for reading
Deb x

#WIPpet Wednesday - No Filter: Second Thoughts - #lgbtqia

It’s so cold here! Well, for England, at least. It’s been snowing and everything! Brrr.

Anyway, there’s my very British opening. :D I haven’t had much time for anything beyond editing for the past couple of weeks, but I did get a bit more writing done on No Filter, which is what I’m snipping from today.

Brief story info:
No Filter is a crossover novella of the Hiding Behind The Couch and Checking Him Out series(es), featuring Libby (and others) from HBTC, and Matty (and others) from CHO.

This week’s snippet continues from last week’s, where Matty had typed an email to Libby (whom he met in Hiding Out ) and is waiting for Noah (his other half) to proofread it before he sends it.

WIPpet maths for 28th February:
2 paragraphs for this last day of the second month (not very complex, I know).

And the WIPpet Snippet:

They’d done the whole ‘don’t be a stranger’ thing and made promises to write or call, and Matty had thought about doing it lots of times, but between thinking it and getting to his laptop, he’d forget or decide it had been too long. He had Libby’s mobile number—he could’ve texted or called when it came into his head—but what if she had a boyfriend and he saw her phone? Then he’d ask ‘Who’s this Matty, then?’ and Libby would be put on the spot. It was too awkward, too risky.

So, here he was, a year and a half later: email typed, ready to send, and he wished he’d just hit the button and sent it, because he was starting to have doubts. What if she didn’t remember him? She’d turned his life around, no exaggeration, but that was something he’d learned the hard way as a kid—that someone could be mega important to him while he meant next to nothing to them. Some people had trouble dealing with that, but not Matty, because he also knew that when it was the right people, he mattered as much to them as they did to him, and the love was like new paint, covering up all the horrible stuff.

* * * * *
What is WIPpet Wednesday?
WIPpet Wednesday is a blog hop where authors share from their current works in progress - expertly organised/hosted by Emily Wrayburn - and the excerpt has to relate to the date in some way. For links to other fabulous authors' WIPpets, visit: http://www.inlinkz.com/wpview.php?id=355404


Thanks for reading
Deb x

#WIPpet Wednesday - No Filter Take Two - #lgbtqia

Another crazy-busy week, but not in a bad way. :) It does mean I missed my Monday blog post yet again, although the way I’ve been ranting, it’s probably for the best.

Anyway, I’ve finally re-opened No Filter today, and the first thing I did was change it from first- to third-person. Why? Well, a couple of days ago, I put up a FB status about omniscient narration, which a few people responded to (including some, erm, helpful explanations of what omniscient narration is and is not).

I’m OK with any kind of narration—even head-hopping—if it suits the story. But readers generally have their favourites, and there will always be someone who isn’t happy with how the story is told. Well, they can always write their own story if they so wish.

Thanks to Bonita for reminding me that, in the end, “we need to satisfy that voice inside that tells us our choice is the right one!”

So, third-person it is. :)

Brief story info:
No Filter is a crossover novella of the Hiding Behind The Couch and Checking Him Out series(es), featuring Libby (and others) from HBTC, and Matty (and others) from CHO.

WIPpet maths for 22nd February:
(I'm a day late)
22/2 * 18 = 198 words

And the WIPpet Snippet:

“Will you check through this email?” Matty started reading over what he’d typed. No squiggly lines. That was a good sign. “Noo?” He glanced behind him. “Oh! He’s gone.”

Noah had been lying on the bed when Matty started typing, he wasn’t sure how long ago that was. Writing emails took all his concentration, but maybe autocorrect would be enough. If he’d thought about it, he’d have used his laptop, which had text-to-speech, because his phone wasn’t that clever, but it was done now.

I’ll just send it as it is—did I tell Libby I was dyslexic? I think I did.

He went to click send, wavered, and hit ‘save’ instead. Noah couldn’t have gone that far, and a few more minutes wouldn’t make any difference.

Matty couldn’t believe he’d left it so long to get in touch. Nearly a year and a half had passed since he’d shown Libby around campus and they’d exchanged email addresses. Taking prospective students on guided tours was part of his mentoring job, and he’d given plenty in the past three years, to lots of interesting young people from all walks of life, but he’d only swapped email addresses the once.

* * * * *
What is WIPpet Wednesday?
WIPpet Wednesday is a blog hop where authors share from their current works in progress - expertly organised/hosted by Emily Wrayburn - and the excerpt has to relate to the date in some way. For links to other fabulous authors' WIPpets, visit: http://www.inlinkz.com/wpview.php?id=355404


Thanks for reading
Deb x