Reading · Anne’s Substack

This week, I’ve put actual writing to one side and focused on editing. This meant getting my MM romance The Hit List thoroughly and uncompromisingly updated. Which proved very satisfying indeed. I’ve even removed a whole chapter that was, frankly, doing absolutely nothing for the story or the characters. And if fiction is about anything, it’s about the story and the characters. So, during the week, Jamie & Robert slowly carved their way through their author's nonsense in order to reach the story they should always have had. In the end, my word count went from a ridiculously overstuffed 100k words to a far more workable 88k words, go me! And I’m happy to say that Jamie & Robert have finally got their story the way they've always wanted it (woohoo!) so are smiling upon me. It’s now available as a paperback on Amazon in the new version, and as a Kindle too - so a warm welcome to this fabulous new updated romance! 🥰

I’ve also written about 4-500 words of my MM romance Jack’s Party, and have joined up a couple of scenes to be in the right place, so that’s positive news.

Meanwhile, here's a warning for us all from MM romance The Paranormal Detection Agency - never eat & laugh at the same time! I hope this lovely reviewer is okay now! 😁

And this reader found my YA fantasy The Honeymaker’s Daughter both gripping & beautiful - so that's made my day! 😍

This week's poem is called Barn Owl and is found in my poetry collection Learning to Swim. They are such beautiful birds & it's a rare pleasure to spot one. 😍

I’ve read On The Rocks by Fiona Glass: this is such a lovely & super-cute romance with just the right amount of spice. The push-and-pull attraction between Jed the rock star and upcoming singer Simon is just great, and I loved the way their relationship develops. Jed is such a sympathetic character and so unsure of himself which was a nice change from the usual rock star character. The secondary characters provide good strong support and I loved the various strands of the plot. A recommended read!

And I’ve read Vianne by Joanne Harris: this is a fabulous prequel to the equally wonderful Chocolat, here we see Vianne starting over after her mother's death and trying to find her way in this strange new world. There's a wonderful mix of magic and reality, and a great sense of excitement too as Vianne begins to learn all about chocolate and indeed people. I particularly loved the fact that initially she doesn't even like chocolate (which made this reader smile!), but slowly realises how wrong she's been. The descriptions are as luscious and sharp as ever, and there's a wonderful supporting cast of characters. I loved it. Highly recommended.