News Roundup: We’re all Melting but UK Authors are still doing Cool Stuff!

So, I’m sitting here covered head to toe in ice pops, wearing naught very much at all, with a fan blowing directly into my face, and my fingers are still slipping around on the damn keyboard. Yes, summer finally hit the UK! The roads are melting, people are getting told off for turning up to work in flip flops, and everyone’s looking a bit pink and peely. Naturally, stuff is beginning to break, not least my Internet connection, which for some reason is refusing to allow me to log onto WordPress. Consequently, I’m writing this but my lovely co-mistress is putting it all together, and we’re hoping that nothing else goes pear-shaped before we get it posted. Ha! Fat chance.

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The weekend of 12-14 July saw my hometown of Manchester hosting the UK GLBT Fiction Meet, and I popped along on the Saturday to wave the flag for LesFic, invade one of the panels, eat some amazing flapjack and meet some very nice people indeed. The event has been growing in leaps and bounds for the last four years, and there was a real family atmosphere as old friends were reunited and new ones were welcomed to the fold. The emphasis was still very much on M/M fiction but the panels were relevant and entertaining for authors and readers of any genre, and as an F/F writer with an American publisher I found it fascinating to learn of other British authors’ experiences of writing “in Brit”. By the end of my panel (Leave my “ou” alone – How do I retain my Britishness in a world of American publishers) I felt very fortunate indeed to be writing with Bold Strokes, who did “leave my ou alone” and let me use the word pillock.

One of the event’s co-organisers, Josephine Myles, has posted a fun, comprehensive overview of the meet here and here. Stay tuned for details of the 2014 Meet as soon as we get them!

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The aforementioned technical difficulties have buggered the timing of this news post ever so slightly and prevented us from giving you a heads-up about the bookflash for Rachel Dax’s The Legend of Pope Joan, Part 2 – Athens that took place at the Virtual Living Room on Sunday 21^st July. For those of you who want to catch up with the posts for this event, hit the link to join the group and they should be there in the archive for you to read.

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Ke Payne has been keeping herself (and us!) busy of late, with a flurry of interviews and blog posts to tie in to the release of her new book The Road to Her. There’s an in-depth and illuminating interview with Ke over at the Hannah’s Nook blog and she’s also been wrestling with her latest edits at Women and Words. As if all that wasn’t enough to be getting on with, she recently announced that Bold Strokes have signed her fifth novel Because of Her, which should be ready for publication in 2014.

Lastly but by no means leastly in the Ke Payne section of this roundup: Ke has stuck the proverbial pin into the entrants of last week’s giveaway and we have our winner, Sue H. Congrats, Sue. We’ll be in touch for your contact details, and shortly afterwards a signed copy of The Road to Her will be winging its way to you 🙂

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Heading back to the subject of new contracts, Rebecca S. Buck has just announced the signing of her fourth novel. A little while ago she was chatting about a novel set around the time of the Great Fire of London, but so far she’s keeping the details of this current contract under her hat. Which is fair enough; it’s a fabulous hat.

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A little music for the soul now, with Val McDermid discussing her favourite tunes on Desert Island Discs. You can find out what Val picked to be stranded with by listening along at the BBC iPlayer (UK only).

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One of the newest authors to the growing list, Catherine Blackfeather, is offering her debut novella Mitchie for free on Kindle. Head over to Amazon to download yourself a copy today or tomorrow.

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Rounding out this roundup is Jade Winters, whose new novel A Walk Into Darkness has just been published. And when I say just, I mean today! Here’s a little blurbage to tickle your fancy:

Twenty-five years after a young girl goes missing from her home in South-East England, most have given up hope of ever finding closure. But when a renowned psychic has visions of a murder the police reopen the case, placing the puzzle of the ‘woodlands killer’ in Ashley McCoy’s capable hands.  Firmly set in the harsh reality of a world where the young and beautiful are not safe from dangerous hands, A Walk Into Darkness navigates the ups and downs of Ashley’s life; desperate to solve the cold case without letting the trials and intrigues of life get in the way. When the delectable Tasha comes onto the scene, both women struggle to find a balance between their responsibilities and the undeniable chemistry behind their growing friendship. 

A story of murder, intrigue and the twisting path of life and love.

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And on that note, all my ice pops have melted, so I’m going to go and grab a mop and leave you in peace.