Had a real thrill this morning when Paul Burston (http://www.myspace.com/paulburston) who edits the Gay Section in Time Out emailed me to say how much he'd enjoyed A Dangerous Man (http://www.flamebooks.com), as below:



"I finished off A Dangerous Man and I have to say I loved it. Michael is a wonderful…

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This morning's counselling session felt very thoughtful. Or rather I was doing a lot of thinking about how things had been in the past, and how they are now. Kunu seemed keen to get me onto the subject of religion and church, which I suppose had to happen sometime or other. I hadn't been sure how I'd feel about that but, in the event, it was okay. We talked about how and why I'd originally become a Christian, how it had been then and how it was now. Short answer: very bloody different. But…

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A fairly relaxed day today. It feels soooo good to get my luggage back. Everything feels much calmer, as if I’m really here now rather than being in transit. Hmm. Maybe I do attach too much importance to my things after all. But they’re my things. Thank goodness it’s counselling tomorrow, eh? I obviously need the input.



And the office is glad I’ve got my case, as it means I can finally donate the Madeiran honey cake to the National Office Cake Shortage Society. Hmm. It’s lovely too…

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Bloody BA. Bloody BA courier. What the bloody hell do they think they’re doing?? Honestly, they’re so thick they couldn’t stuff a bloody luggage trolley up their own arses and turn it. And how I wish I could do the deed for them – that would be sooooo satisfying. We waited up till nearly 11.30pm last night for the non-existent ruddy delivery, and I am shattered today as I then lay awake worrying about it. Their bag-tracking system & website information is…

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Lord H’s alarm failed to go off this morning, but I was only ten minutes late from my planned getting up time, so it could have been far worse. Heck, we probably needed the extra time anyway. Oh, and I must say that last night’s TV production of “Northanger Abbey” was marvellous – a perfect lead and a great interpretation. It really cheered me up. Naturally, that hasn’t stopped the Monday morning post-holiday blues though, but hey there you go.



However, Ruth has cheered me up by… Continue

Honestly, the Sunday after you come back from holiday but before you go back into work is just so a day out of time. Like a bridge between two worlds. Which feels somewhat more twitchy this time, I think, as without my luggage I'm still not properly "back" yet. I hope to God that BA do deliver it tomorrow - I want my books! And my face cream. And my jumpers. Not to mention everything else that maximises my reality factor. Damn it.



Had a lazy lie-in today, a fact not…

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Sorry but I just have to blog this before I go - I've had a lovely review from crime writer, Lesley Horton (http://www.lesleyhorton.co.uk) about ADM (http://www.flamebooks.com), as below:



“To say A Dangerous Man is different is an understatement. Anne Brooke has delved into the minds, lives and loves of gay men…

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The usual twitchy day prior to travel - is everyone like this, or is it really just me? There's something about a journey that makes me very unsettled. Possibly because I hate flying and I do actually hate travel - but it will be nice to be in Madeira tomorrow. At least it won't be ruddy snowing, though showers are forecast. Hell, I don't mind - it will be warmer. So I've made a start on the packing though the fear of forgetting something remains. And the new airport rules are making my head…

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Woke up this morning feeling blank. A feeling which rapidly disintegrated into anger, with the odd wave of depression. Great start to the day then. Lord H went to church, as he was doing the prayers, but I cried off, as the thought of the Mothers' Day jollity was beyond bearing. I got so frustrated during the morning that I resorted to taking two calming pills. Thank God for Lane's Quiet Life remedies, eh?



There are really two things which have been upping the rollercoaster levels…

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Oh, the .... Pinter last .... night was so .... full of .... pauses that at times I think I may have lost the will to live. I have no real idea what it might have been trying to say either and I even may have got to the point where I didn't much care. Which is odd as I've seen some quite sharp Pinters. This ("Old Times") is not one. It even managed to make the glorious Neil Pearson appear dull, which is quite a feat. Only an hour and a half (including a 20 minute interval), but I've never been… Continue

Lord, what a disjointed day it's been. One minute calm and the next in the depths of frustration - never say my life is not a rollercoaster ride. You must get tired reading about it, but that ain't nothing compared to actually being on the damn thing! Ah well.



The good news however is that my friend with the dead grandfather (at last! at last!) has this week just bagged her first headteacher job - hurrah!! No, double hurrah!! And I'm seeing her tomorrow at her husband's 60th (he's…

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A very intense counselling session with Kunu today, but a worthwhile one too. She's halfway through "A Dangerous Man" (http://www.flamebooks.com) and is finding it "gripping", so that felt nice. We talked about family and my place in it - a subject we looked at briefly last week, but in more depth today. To be honest, I got rather tearful about it but even that felt like a good place to be. A couple of times towards the…

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Relatively early to bed last night, so feel much less like a squeezed-out sponge today, thank goodness. Mind you, I’ve been feeling specially cheered by “A Dangerous Man” (http://www.flamebooks.com/) reader reactions, including Jane H’s brother, who thought it was excellent (thanks, Jane’s brother – much appreciated!) and Ruth at work who thought it was terrifying and gripping (thanks, Ruth!). Both comments mean a…

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Had another nice review of “A Dangerous Man” (http://www.flamebooks.com) last night – from Julie Lewthwaite, author of Negotiate to Succeed, who emailed me to say the following:



“I loved A Dangerous Man. Nagged at me while I was reading it and stayed with me after I'd finished. Can't ask for much more than that. Nice work!”



Hey, thanks, Julie! I appreciate that. Very much. Not only that…

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