Harper Bliss's Blog, page 40

NEW RELEASE: Summer’s End

It’s no secret that it was a minor struggle for me to finish Summer’s End, but that only makes me more proud of it. It required many a dramatic blog post and several rewrites to get to the finish line, but here it is: all (sun)shiny and dramatic and, above all else, romantic. With every new book I’ve written this year, the stories have grown more and more romantic and this one really goes all out. Not to worry, there are still plenty of cathartic love-making scenes in it, but Emily and Marianne, the two main characters, go on a bit of a soul-searching journey first. This also makes it my most lesbian book ever.

So, if you need something to warm you up on a cold December day and/or you enjoy reading about women falling in love on a tropical Thai island, here’s a preview.

Here’s the blurb:

Can love be so instant it changes everything?

After losing the woman she loves, Marianne has chosen to live in exile on a tropical Thai island. At first glance, Emily Kane is just another guest passing through the small B&B she runs, but Emily has demons of her own and, together, they just might find a way to live again.

And you can get it from these retailers:

Amazon US

Amazon UK

Amazon DE

Amazon CA

Smashwords

All Romance

Direct from author

buy

And here’s a little teaser excerpt:

Emily found Marianne in the kitchen downstairs. She inadvertently blinked when she walked in. Should women over forty not always wear a bra? Even merely to counter the laws of gravity? Marianne obviously didn’t think so. Maybe she was one of those wild chicks her mother sometimes talked about with a wrinkle of disgust curling under her nose. The ones who burned their bra and regarded them as a symbol of female oppression.

“Hey,” Marianne greeted her.

She’d been so absorbed with stealing glances at Marianne’s chest that she hadn’t even taken in the kitchen yet. It looked as if it had been designed by Nigella Lawson herself.

Emily whistled between her teeth. A cat call the old her would never have dared to utter. Then again, this wolf whistle was only aimed at the stainless steel of the kitchen and the pots and pans suspended from hooks along the walls. “Jesus. I’m not a psychologist, but could there be some overcompensation going on here? You know, like middle-aged men with flashy sports cars?”

Marianne looked her over. It was hard for Emily to keep her gaze fixed on her face because the chef’s nipples clearly had a life of their own and poked pointedly through the flimsy fabric of the faded The Cure t-shirt she now had on.

“But no chef’s whites, huh?” Emily couldn’t help herself.

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Latest releases: Summer's End and A Christmas to Remember

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2013

Before I reflect on my year… first things first: e-mail me (harperbliss at gmail dot com) for an ARC of Summer’s End in return for an honest Amazon and/or GoodReads review!

Now… 2012 was so amazing it made me wonder if things could get even better, and then they did. 2013 was a really good year for me, both on a personal and professional level, not without challenges (on both fronts), but so rewarding. Let’s see… Ladylit published 12 Harper Bliss solo titles, I edited my first multi-author lesbian erotica anthology (Anything She Wants) and put together 2 mini-anthologies (Sweat and A Christmas to Remember) with stories by some crazy-talented authors. We also published Beatrice Donahue’s gorgeous novelette The Blue Hour (via Ladylit), Laila Blake’s well-received novella Driftwood Deeds and a historical erotica novella about a very feisty and sexy Roman Empress called Faustina (both via A Hotter State).

2013 was also the year in which I realised I could well be doing this lesbian erotica writing (and publishing) thing for the rest of my life… and, as of early 2014, I won’t be doing it alone anymore. One of the challenges my wife and I faced was having to decide between staying in Hong Kong and her leaving her job or going back to Belgium and her keeping her job. We chose Hong Kong (and Ladylit.) Yep, my missus will be working for Ladylit fulltime soon, which means I will have much more time for writing. (She’s not a writer but has many other talents. ;-o)

This brings us to something that quite shocked me about the past year. I did some calculating and came to the horrid conclusion that I’ve only produced 136.000 new words in 2013, amounting to approximately 11.000 words every month. It’s simply not enough. So, my only real goal for 2014 is to produce 30.000 new words every month. I have other hopes and expectations, things I can’t fully control mostly, but the amount of words I write is something that I do have control over. And I already know (sort of) what the first 120.000 will be about.

I can’t read it either…

On Monday I start writing a new series (for which you’ll find the notes in the picture above ;-)). I’m bursting with excitement to begin. It will be set in Paris and, if the drama unfolding in my head is anything to go by, will be extremely lesbian (and sexy).

2014 is going to be great. Before I end this post, I would also like to thank every one of you for reading my stories. Without you, my year wouldn’t have been nearly as exciting. Thank you!

(This is not my last blog post of the year though, as Summer’s End is coming out next week and I’ll have a few things to say about that, of course. ;-))

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Latest releases: A Christmas to Remember and Girls Only: The Collection

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NEW RELEASE: A Christmas to Remember

I’ve decided to celebrate the release of A Christmas to Remember with an excerpt frenzy. Instead of me going on about why I love these stories (and their authors) so much (variety, skill, talent and all that hotness being the main reasons), I will let the stories speak for themselves.

But first, here’s the blurb:

From the obligatory office party to a cabin in the woods, Christmas celebrations come in all shapes and sizes. The ladies in this Christmas anthology like to keep it original though, and get their festive groove on in bed shops and the Australian outback, not to mention the ‘Mermaids and Mistletoe Masquerade Ball’… A Christmas to Remember contains five lesbian erotica stories that will make your Christmas merry AND hot.

Caution: This title contains graphic language and festive lesbian sex and is suitable for adults only.

Table of contents

Mermaids and Mistletoe by Erzabet Bishop

Outback Christmas by Cheyenne Blue

Bedding Down by Lucy Felthouse

Midnight Clear by Laila Blake

Dress Code by Harper Bliss

It’s available from the following retailers: Amazon US / Amazon UK / Smashwords / All Romance / Direct from author

EXCERPTS (Needless to say, these are NSFW!)

Mermaids and Mistletoe by Erzabet Bishop

Hélène held her arm as Rachel stepped out of the pool of yellow fabric, clad only in her black satin panties. She covered her breasts with her arm, blushing at being so exposed in public. “Do you think I should move into the screened area?”

Eyes twinkling with mischief, Hélène nodded. “If you like. I think I have just the dress and mask in mind.”

Rachel smiled in relief. “Great. I’ll just be behind here.” She scuttled behind the screen, embarrassed at the wetness that had now dampened her panties to an uncomfortable level.

“Try this.” Hélène appeared in the mirror behind Rachel, her eyes drawn to her breasts in the bright light of the changing area. “Here. Let me.” She unzipped the dress, pulling it off the hanger. “You might want to take those off. They’ll show.” She said, pointing to her satin panties.

Casting her eyes down, Rachel did as she was bade and slipped the damp undergarment from her body, letting it fall to the floor. Hélène’s gaze strayed from hers to the obviously wet fabric and her eyebrows arched upward in elegant response.

“Well now. That changes things, doesn’t it?” Hélène watched her with a pointed look, her lips curving up into a smile.

Outback Christmas by Cheyenne Blue

“No present? You have something I want, Casey Jane Morotti, and it’s time you delivered.” She stepped around the bed and locked eyes with her lover. There was a wicked gleam in Casey’s eyes, one that Simona hadn’t seen since the day she’d found her crumpled in a heap at the bottom of their roofing ladder. Dark eyes locked together, offered, accepted, and sparkled in anticipation.

“I’ve been working hard,” Simona said in a conversational tone. “I’ve exercised four horses, backed the colt, taken the ute down the bore paddock to fix the fence along the creek. Had to push start it by myself too, which isn’t easy. Killed a mulga snake, finished the guttering you left incomplete when you inconveniently fell off the ladder. Talked to Matt about the colt’s progress, and you know I loathe talking to owners. Swept the yard, done the laundry, fixed the dishwasher, and cooked dinner every night. Not bad tucker either, if I say so myself. But now it’s reward time.” She kneeled on the bed, swinging one lean thigh over Casey, so that her spread thighs were above Casey’s face. “I want to come twice before we even think about you. Tongue only the first time; the second you can use fingers or toys as well.”

There was just time to see the surprise in Casey’s eyes before she lowered her pussy onto her face. Surprise because Simona was seldom the assertive one, preferring to satisfy her lover before taking her own pleasure. She clutched the iron bedhead to help support her weight, and closed her eyes.

Casey’s fingers smoothed their way up Simona’s thigh, their light touch deepening the well of desire that already pooled in her belly. Simona tightened her calves around Casey’s ears. “I said tongue only.”

Bedding Down by Lucy Felthouse

They regarded each other in silence for several long seconds, not caring that the music was still blaring out. Then, having no idea what the hell she was doing, Andrea reached out to cup Joanne’s cheek and stroked it. She tucked the other woman’s hair behind her ear, then, after a pause, leaned in and kissed her.

Her deputy’s lips were warm and dry and beautifully soft. Andrea pressed harder, scooting over so their bodies touched as well as their mouths. She had one hand trapped beneath her, but she used the other to touch Joanne’s hip, to grip and eventually sneak it around to grab the other woman’s bottom.

Joanne had remained frozen in place for several seconds, but once she snapped out of it, she quickly thawed and responded in kind. Slipping her free hand behind her boss’ neck, she pulled them closer together, so their kiss became almost bruising, but at the same time increasingly erotic. Parting her lips, Joanne poked out her tongue and sought entrance to Andrea’s mouth, groaning when she was admitted.

Midnight Clear by Laila Blake

I lick my way down her sternum, bite at the fleshy softness of her stomach and push my fingers under her jeans. There has to be a button there somewhere and a zip and—open sesame—there will be a beautiful little cunt and it’s going to be all for me. And then she stops me, halts my hand and sits up. I feel like a bucket of ice has dropped into my stomach but then she grins, all wicked little elf creature.

“You’re queue jumping,” she pants, shaking her head. She’s so red everywhere, flushed and with bee stung lips she’s been biting. “Get back on the bed. I seduced you, remember?”

I remember.

“I have been getting off to the idea of licking you for so many years, you’re not queue jumping now. So. Get back on the bed.”

I feel a whining little groan in the back of my throat, keep my fingers on her jeans just a moment longer, but then I yield. I sit up on my knees, and her hands are on my jeans so fast, it makes me dizzy. She opens them, pushes them down over my ass, and then I lie down and she pulls them off all the way.

“You, too,” I pant, looking up at her. “Strip for me.”

Dress Code by Harper Bliss

“Exactly how expensive is this blouse?” she whispers in my ear, while her fingers tug at a button.

“Ridiculously overpriced,” I hum back, hardly recognising my own voice. “Rip it off.”

I feel her lips widen into a smile against the skin of my neck. “You’re just full of surprises, Boss.” As she pronounces the last word, she yanks my blouse open, sending its buttons tumbling to the floor.

I inhale sharply at the sudden exposure of my torso to air. I feel my nipples stiffen to hard pebbles against the fabric of my bra.

With a few swift movements, Emma slides both my blazer and blouse to the floor. She regards me from a small distance for an instant before bringing her face right in front of mine.

“I’d be lying if I said I haven’t indulged in some fantasies myself.”

Although she’s barely touched me, my clit throbs wildly beneath the panel of my drenched panties.

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Latest releases: A Christmas to Remember and Girls Only: The Collection

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Things I Did This Week #15

- Published Laila Blake‘s gorgeous novella Driftwood Deeds

- Followed Laila‘s blog tour here, here, here and here (Do check these out if you like smart observations about writing, erotica and BDSM.)

- Breezed through Write. Publish. Repeat. by Sean Platt and Johnny B. Truant (Everyone even remotely interested in writing and/or publishing should read it. No arguments!)

- Got hooked on Danish political drama Borgen (Don’t you just love it when a strong female character gets to play the lead?)

- Unpacked some boxes, and then some more…

- Went to Ikea again (I believe a record has been broken) to buy more closets for all our stuff

- Decided to push the release date of Summer’s End back a week (I know, I know, this is becoming my most-postponed and blogged-about book, but with everything going on I just need a tiny bit more time.)

- Started gearing up for the release of A Christmas to Remember (Yes, that link means it’s on Amazon already… ;-o)

- Decided to start writing a brand new series (quite possibly set in Paris) as soon as Summer’s End is ready!

- Discarded the writing challenge I briefly mentioned in my previous list (because I want to get cracking on the new series first)

- Realised I change my mind a lot

- Released a boxed set which contains 7 of my novelettes for $3.99 (aka a 75% discount even if you received Hired Help for free after signing up to my mailing list!) (Only 2 days left!)

- Explained how to get everything I’ve ever written for less than $15

- Made this list

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Latest releases: Girls Only: The Collection and I Still Remember

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Everything I’ve written for less than $15

Crazy title, right? But… true! Remember that boxed set I talked about a month ago? Until Sunday 15 December you can get it from Amazon US and UK for $3.99! This bundle includes all 7 of my novelettes:

1. I Still Remember

2. A Hard Day’s Work

3. Younger Than Yesterday

4. Summer Heat

5. Learning Curve

6. The Honeymoon

7. Hired Help

And it’s my early Christmas gift to everyone who has read one of my novelettes and wanted more. Here’s your chance. I didn’t count, but a rough estimate puts the orgasm count of this boxed set at about 35… be quick about it though, because this promotion ends in 5 days.

Seeing as I bundled all my short stories in Girls Only: The Collection for $3.99 and the four High Rise novellas in High Rise (The Complete Collection) for $6.99, you can get everything I’ve written (and have the rights to) for less than $15. Yes, this includes all the titles (and orgasms) going with every cover image in the sidebar. May your Christmas be budget-friendly and hot!

P.S. Additionally, if you buy the paperback version of High Rise (The Complete Collection) and Can’t Get Enough on Amazon, you get the e-book for free! Ideal for Christmas presents: give the paperback, keep the e-book!

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Latest releases: Girls Only: The Collection and I Still Remember

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Q&A: Laila Blake on Driftwood Deeds

It’s no secret that I have a serious soft spot for Laila Blake. As a consequence, it should come as no surprise that today, on the release day of Laila’s novella Driftwood Deeds, I am beaming with pride. Some authors just have that magic spark, that turn of the phrase, the right words to draw you in and Laila has it in spades. To have a hand in publishing her novella (via A Hotter State) is not just a source of pleasure, it’s a real honour. Because, to me, it’s so clear that Laila’s is going places, and quickly. (Check out any erotica anthology in the coming two years and you’ll spot her name in the table of contents!)

I fully realise most people visiting my blog are looking for F/F erotica, but if you happen to enjoy gorgeously written, thoughtful and realistic BDSM erotica, then Driftwood Deeds will not disappoint you.

Here’s the blurb followed by what Laila herself has to say about it:

When journalist Iris Ellis visits a sleepy seaside town to interview recluse screenwriter Paul Archer, he offers her insights into never acted upon fantasies of dominance and submission. Too curious to deny herself a taste of them, Iris gives herself up to Paul’s gentle guidance, but when she realizes that a taste can never be enough, she must find the courage to ask for what she needs or risk losing it all.

1. Sell us your book in one sentence.

Driftwood Deeds is a story about longing and imperfections, about kindness and consent in bdsm – and about falling, falling in so deep.

2. Favourite line (or paragraph) from Driftwood Deeds

“He served tea, a weakness he admitted he hadn’t picked up until years in the

country, and while I took milk and sugar, he just squeezed some lemon into his mug. The fruit groaned under his touch, yielding its juice drop by drop and it smacked suggestively when he loosened his hold.”

3. Last book that blew you away?

Purple Hibiscus by Chimanda Ngozi Adichie

4. Which celebrity is at number one of your imaginary to-do list?

I always have to keep two – the male list is more stable and has pretty much been revolving around John Krasinski for a year or two, and the female list is complicated, and fluctuates because the girls who have dominated for a long time, kind of faded downwards a little in recent months (Alison Sudol from A Fine Frenzy just isn’t the same without her red hair that she seems to have exchanged for her new Juice-Cleansy attitude, I’m sorry!) I also get confused with who I’d just desperately want to be friends with, but staying on theme, I’d probably say it comes down to Felicia Day and Karen Gillan – what, I’m a nerd and I like redheads!

5. What’s your favourite sexy song?

I have somewhat odd ideas of sexiness when it comes to music, I guess. I find sadness and soul-striptease really sexy. Revealing, intricate lyrics that are a little bit like opening up a vein and bleeding into the song – super sexy, but it’s more the artist who is sexy in that case. Honestly I am not sure I have a favourite sexy song. Mary Lambert’s ‘She Keeps Me Warm’, is pretty sexy, though, right? A little bit? Or is that her again?

6. What are you most proud of?

Professionally, I think I still have a lot of work ahead of me until it can be something I am most proud of. At this point, I am proud of the fact that I am not giving up – not on me or my dreams, because there was a time when I was very close to both.

7. Who’s your favourite TV Character?

This took a shameful amount of thought, but I will go with Mary Crawley from Downton Abbey. I just find her such a fascinating, versatile person and a real rarity for a female character on TV. Honorary mentions go to Abed from Community, Arya from Game of Thrones, the 10th Doctor, Emily Fitch from Skins and Kenzie from Lost Girl.

8. Which author’s books are a must-read?

You really like asking the tough questions, don’t you? I have a few favourites, but I also know that Murakami or Hornby just aren’t for everybody, and I wouldn’t want to force it on them. I do think that some classics are must-reads, though, books like 1984 or The Handmaid’s Tale, book that make us think. Also the children’s books by Michael Ende, but unfortunately the English translations are a nightmare.

9. Anything else you want us to know?

Driftwood Deeds is my second publication and it holds a special place in my heart. It’s a complete rewrite of a story I wrote when I was 19, my first erotic story and it felt terribly daring at the time (even if, compared to Driftwood Deeds, it was positively tame). It also opened up ideas in me – about myself, my sexuality, my ambitions. I changed almost everything about the story, maybe because in 10 years so much about me changed as as well, but the feeling remains and I couldn’t be more excited to be sharing it now.

10. What’s next for you?

Together with my best friend L.C. Spoering, I am about to dip my toes into self-publishing with our post-apocalypse love story After Life Lessons, coming in the spring of 2014, and apart from that I have a lot of editing ahead of me. I spent the last few months writing and assembling ideas and stories and I need to spend some time polishing and submitting them now. Apart from that, I have several short stories coming out in really awesome anthologies over the next months, and I’m definitely looking forward to that.

Driftwood Deeds is available from Amazon US, Amazon UK, All Romance, Smashwords and directly from A Hotter State (more retailers will follow soon.)

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Latest releases: Girls Only: The Collection and I Still Remember

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Things I Did This Week #14

- Spent four days in a house in Phuket with a bunch of gay men.

- Was very surprised by the fact that nothing untoward happened and I was in bed every day by midnight (no joke.)

- Made them watch Miranda (they loved it.)

- Added a good chunk of words to Summer’s End (and came to the logical conclusion that it won’t be released by mid December… sorry!)

- Went to see Catching Fire and was so impressed (especially by Jennifer Lawrence) (but the wife and I agreed she’s too young to openly have a celebrity crush on, so, yeah…)

- Started reading The Murder Wall by Mari Hannah (because it won the Polari first book prize) and saw a dream come true before my very eyes (because all I’ve ever wanted was for DCI Jane Tennison to be a lesbian.)

- Made good progress on edits for A Christmas to Remember (scheduled for release on 16 December.)

- Made some very, very, very (yes 3x very) exciting plans for Ladylit’s future (but more on that later once the paperwork is done.)

- Started packing because we’re moving house next week!

- Watched my wife get in touch with her uber-lesbian self while she assembled some Ikea furniture in our office (as for me, I couldn’t even put together a loo roll holder after staring at it for 10 minutes) (after which the missus simply clicked it together in one second.)

- Got my winter booties out (after the HK Observatory issued a cold weather warning because the temperature dipped below 20 degrees.)

- Came up with a writing challenge for the first six months (!) of 2014

- Debated if I should discuss said challenge on my blog (I will, but I want to finish Summer’s End first.)

- Made this list.

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Latest releases: Girls Only: The Collection and I Still Remember

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The Hottest Women On My TV – Part 3

1. Melinda May

Obviously, the biggest mistake the producers of Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. made (apart from naming their show that) was not choosing Agent Melinda May as their main character. I tend to start snoozing every time Agent Coulson appears on my screen, only to be rudely but pleasantly awakened every time Melinda starts kicking some butt. She’s the mysterious, quiet type who lets her actions speak louder than her words and she rocks a leather suit like no one else. And she steals every scene. Spin-off, please!

2. Saul’s wife

Homeland is not a show I watch because of its high density of hot ladies (The L Word and Lip Service were ;-p), but whenever Saul makes it home after a very rough day at the office, I do get a little excited. Then I start shouting at Saul my TV, uttering expletives because of what an idiot Saul is for not going home earlier because his wife Mira is so hot, I just don’t understand. I guess it’s not easy being the chief of spies, but at least he has Mira.

3. Every female character on Miranda

Funny is the new sexy, right? Even if it’s not, Miranda is my new idol. I’ve reached the point where I can recite good portions of dialogue (and go to withdraw Johnny Cashingtons instead of just money from the bank). Whenever I almost trip, I do dressage and say ‘I was meant to go out that way’ and whenever I feel gloomy I watch an episode of Miranda and end up saying ‘such fun!’ (I know this doesn’t make any sense when you haven’t seen Miranda. Sorry. Watch it!)

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Latest releases: Girls Only: The Collection and I Still Remember

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Happy birthday, Fool for Love

Time really does fly when you’re having fun. I was puttering around in my Amazon KDP account yesterday and my eye fell on the day I uploaded Fool for Love. That happened to be 19 November 2012. I had no way of knowing this at the time (all I knew was that I desperately wanted to write a series set in Hong Kong featuring sexy lesbians) but the High Rise series took things to a different level for me. Most e-mails I get from readers are about the series, stating either a preference for Alex & Maddie or Nat & Isabella (still about a 60/40 edge for Alex & Maddie).

Of course, Fool for Love has been free for a while, and if you haven’t tried it yet.. what are you waiting for? Anyway, writing a series is so much fun because, when it’s done, you end up with a novel-length work (which readers really seem to appreciate), but while you’re writing it, it doesn’t feel like writing a novel because the separate novellas are much shorter. All of this to say, I think I may have to start a new series in 2014…

But, before that, I need to finish Summer’s End, of course. As my wife gently pointed out after reading it… it may need some work (*). I know what needs to be done though, and as it happens, Summer’s End is set (mostly) in Thailand and I’m going to Phuket this weekend. This week I’m knee-deep in edits for the Christmas mini-anthology and Laila Blake’s amazing novella Driftwood Deeds (to be released by A Hotter State in December!), but next week when I come back, I hope to finish the rewrites Summer’s End needs, inspired by a few evenings of drinking cold beer and eating delicious Thai food while watching the sunset on the beach like my characters (if the weather forecast is anything to go by, though, I’ll mostly be seeking shelter from thunderstorms, but hey, it’ll still be hot.)

(*) Maybe I shouldn’t be publishing this on my blog, but I did promise to share the entire writing process of Summer’s End and, let’s face it, hardly anyone writes stellar first drafts…

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Latest releases: Girls Only: The Collection and I Still Remember

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Want more FREE stories? Download Fool for Love (High Rise Novella One), Wetter, All of Me and New Girl

Things I Did This Week #13

- Did a search on my blog and came to the horrific conclusion that I haven’t done one of these lists since March!

- Realised consistency is not my strong suit (well, re-confirmed more like, because I already knew that, but sometimes, because of my lack of consistency, I tend to forget.)

- Finished the first draft of Summer’s End (The verdict from the wife is not in yet, please tweet her and tell her to hurry the f*ck up!)

- Wrote my story for our Christmas mini-anthology, just beating my own deadline (shht, don’t tell the others. )

- Realised that, despite not having set foot in a ‘real’ office for more than three years, I appear to have a really big thing for characters getting it on at work (evidence to come in my Christmas story)

- Wondered if that is one of the reasons we’re getting a Ladylit office…

- Ordered the most important piece of equipment for said office (a Nespresso machine)

- Was utterly thrilled to find that Film 2013 with Claudia Winkleman is back on (I could watch Claudia talk about movies on my TV for at least 48 hours on end)

- Was appalled by the fact that Claudia’s co-host Danny still hasn’t learned that sitting with your legs wide apart doesn’t make you more of a man

- Started counting down to our mini-getaway to Phuket next weekend

- Slept with a duvet for an entire night for the first time in six months

- Watched every single episode of the three seasons of Miranda back-to-back, after just having seen them last week (such fun!)

- Sent about a hundred e-mails to Laila Blake

- Was shocked, amazed and then incredibly thankful after seeing the October sales numbers for I Still Remember. (Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!)

- Made this list

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Latest releases: Girls Only: The Collection and I Still Remember

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Want more FREE stories? Download Fool for Love (High Rise Novella One), Wetter, All of Me and New Girl