I hope this update finds everyone well in these
intense days of lockdown. I know some people are finding it easier than others,
and my heart goes out to anyone stuck at home, facing the days alone. My
husband is an essential worker and continues to go to work, so I’m on my own
for eight hours each day, but that’s nothing when I know he’s coming home each
night and we can enjoy dinner and watching a bit of TV together. For anyone on
their own, stay strong.
I enjoy being by myself and working on my books, but
even I find it lonely at times. I’ve found the best way to break up the monotony
of the day is to get out of the house and go for a walk. In the UK we’re
(currently) allowed to take one hour of outside exercise, as long as we
maintain social distancing measures. That hour is the highlight of my day and
had definitely kept me on an even keel. Everyone copes in their own way and
people need to do what works for them.
Anyway, I’ve used some of my free time to finally put
together a mailing list. Once up and running I’ll send occasional emails with
book notifications, special offers and updates. In the meantime for anyone signing
up, I’m giving away a free short story.
Sleep is the last thing on their minds.
When lawyer Travis Milton joins a group of his colleagues to celebrate
the birthday of a senior partner, things couldn’t go much worse. The older
men’s idea of a good time is to act like drunken frat boys cruising from casino
to strip clubs. Their bad behaviour gets them through out of one place after
another. Travis is ready to cut them loose when they end up at Rubens, a high
class bar in a luxury sky scraper, where he meets Oscar, a harassed but very
sexy waiter.
Oscar is counting the minutes until the end of his shift, but when the
hot young lawyer intervenes in a conflict, his night takes a turn for the
better.
I hope everyone is staying safe in these strange
times. It’s not easy and I know some people are having a real struggle to cope
but I think I’m doing okay. At least, I haven’t cracked under the pressure yet.
I suppose writers have an advantage in that we’re used to spending long periods
of time alone. In many ways, a day by myself working on a book is one of my
favourite things. That’s not to say I’m not missing things. Going out, catching
up with people, movies, music, theatre. I can’t imagine when we’ll be able to enjoy
those things again. I know I won’t take them for grant anymore.
My husband and I are trying our best to keep things
going as normally as possible. We celebrated his birthday at the end of March.
I did all I could to make it special for him, all things considered. We had a delicious
take-away meal of Indian food, drank a lot of wine and ended the night with a
kitchen disco for two, which I’m sure the neighbours were thrilled about.
Hopefully we’ll be able to make up for it next year.
The most important thing is to keep safe and though
lock down might seem a pain, it’s doing just that. I’ve tried to keep keeping
busy most days. There’s a lot coming up this year and I’d like to stay on track
with it all.
I’ll be launching a newsletter in May with a brand new
story The Night, which I finished this week. The story will be free to
anyone who subscribes to the newsletter. Stay tuned for more info and check out
the great cover art below.
Also in May, Pride Publishing are re-issuing The
Anthem Trilogy in box set format. I can’t tell you how proud I am of the
Anthem books and how much fun they were to write. If anyone missed them the
first time around the pre-order links are live now.
LINKS:
And one more bit of info. My next novel North Point
will be released in July by Pride Publishing. Watch this space for a cover
reveal very soon. It’s awesome. Possibly my favourite cover yet.
I’m currently outlining book three in the Success
series and hopefully I’ve be able to announce the release date for book two
when the newsletter launches next month.
So, there’s my news for the moment. Everyone has their
own way of dealing with the current situation, but I can honestly say that
keeping busy has been the best coping strategy for me. Whatever you do, stay
safe.
Love Thom
