C.F. White's Blog, page 7

Hard Time, the second book in my Responsible Adult serial, is out for pre-order later this month with Pride Publishing, so here's a little snippet :)****“Now?” Dan started, sucking in a deep breath. “Now, I’m in love with him.”The listeners around the table went quiet at that. His mother chewed on her biscuit, darting her gaze to her husband. His father returned her stunned expression and coughed into a balled fist. They simultaneously picked up their mugs and took noisy slurps. Plonking his back onto the table, Frank gave a curt nod to his wife and finally raised his graying bushy eyebrows at his son.Dan knew the declaration was a lot for his parents to take in. He was seeing someone he hadn’t mentioned before. And not only that, he was in love. And that someone was now possibly looking at a prison sentence, all the while his disabled brother slept in Dan’s old bedroom.All in all, it hadn’t been the best way to introduce his new love interest to the folks.****Love isn't always responsible.After Micky O’Neill is remanded in custody for breaching his court order, his already tempestuous relationship with Dan Peters is tested to the limits.Having to battle their way through a court case that could end with Micky in jail, social workers breaking up the family home, and the return of Micky’s deadbeat father, it seems everything is set to destroy their relationship before it even had the chance to start.With such high stakes involved, not just for Micky but for once-burned, twice-shy Dan, they both have to learn that falling in love isn’t always responsible.****Rainbow Snippets is a group for LGBTQ+ authors, readers, and bloggers to gather once a week to share six sentences from a work of fiction–a WIP or a finished work or even a 6-sentence book recommendation

Wanted to let you all know that I am over at Joyfully Jay today for my next stop on the blog tour for Misdemeanor. I talk a little about the inspiration behind the book, what led me to write it the way I did and why the characters are the way they are. You can check it out atJOYFULLY JAYAnd there's still time to enter the giveaway! Signed copy of my first self-published novel The District Line, which will soon be going through a major overhaul so this is your chance to own an original :) One final link to where you can now buy Misdemeanor in ebook with 25% discount at Pride Publishing Birthday Blitz today only (7/7/17). Or paperback available from Amazon. Love isn’t responsibleAfter his mother tragically dies and his deadbeat father goes off the rails, nineteen-year-old Micky is left to care for his disabled little brother, Flynn.Juggling college, a dead-end job and Flynn’s special needs means Micky has to put his bad-boy past behind him and be the responsible adult to keep his brother out of care. He doesn’t have time for anything else in his life.Until he meets Dan…

Celebrating the general release of Misdemeanor (Responsible Adult #1) this coming Tuesday 4th July, my snippet comes from Micky and Dan.For a little background info, Micky is caring for his disabled eight-year-old brother, Flynn, after the tragic death of their mother. Flynn has a rare genetic condition called Williams Syndrome. Here is the first time Micky opens up about it.****Micky’s eyes glazed over as he swished the glass in his hand. “He’s an eternal child. Sees the world like it should be in a fairy tale, minus the evil characters. Everything is bright and beautiful and everyone is his friend.” Micky paused. “It’s a real shame that life isn’t like that. Because a world full of Flynns would be the one I wanna live in.”Dan paused for a moment, trying to take it all in. What Micky said. Flynn. The condition. The ideal. And how Micky described it all.“I’m sorry you’re dealing with all that by yourself,” Dan finally said. “I had no idea.”He’d just been lusting after his body all week. Now Dan knew the bloke had a soft, loving and caring side, what the hell was that going to do to him now?****Rainbow Snippets is a group for LGBTQ+ authors, readers, and bloggers to gather once a week to share six sentences from a work of fiction–a WIP or a finished work or even a 6-sentence book recommendation.

Another weekend, another snippet, another one from Misdemeanor as it's available for early download at Pride Publishing :)Stuck to the required 6 lines only this time!****“Hey,” Dan whispered. “You’re shaking.”“I’m just cold,” Micky replied. But he didn’t move and shut his eyes.“Micky?” Dan uttered after a few moments of holding him.“Yeah?”“Tell me what happened to you.”****Rainbow Snippets is a group for LGBTQ+ authors, readers, and bloggers to gather once a week to share six sentences from a work of fiction–a WIP or a finished work or even a 6-sentence book recommendation

As Misdemeanor (the first book in my Responsible Adult serial) is due for pre-order this coming 23 May, I'm back to snipetting!Here's an, albeit little late, snippet from Micky and Dan :)Sorry, it is a little longer than the 6 required sentences.****“Shit!” Dan exclaimed, throwing his arms up in front of his face for cover.Micky brought down the bat to rest at his side and inhaled a large breath.“You have a phone,” Micky stated clearly, through his hammering heart.Dan flapped his arms down, regaining some composure at having nearly been bludgeoned to death. He felt around in his pocket and pulled out his mobile.“It’s on silent,” Dan admitted. He looked at the display, and back up at Micky. “You called me?”“Yeah.” Micky threw the bat back into the pot.“What did you want?”Dan swallowed hard and his breathing still wasn't evening out. Micky guessed a near-death experience would have that effect.Micky inhaled. “You.”****Rainbow Snippets is a group for LGBTQ+ authors, readers, and bloggers to gather once a week to share six sentences from a work of fiction–a WIP or a finished work or even a 6-sentence book recommendation.

Bit late for this, but I'm here to offer my snippet for the weekend. Sticking toMisdemeanorfor this one as it is now up on the Pride Publishing website under Coming Soon - which is very exciting!Keeping to six sentences is hard. but here's a little snippet from Dan and Micky.****Dan’s eyes glazed over as he rested his head back on the sofa and smiled over at Micky.“What?”“You are an enigma,” Dan said. He pointed a finger out from around his wineglass, then shook his head and chuckled, taking yet another sip.“Not really,” Micky replied. “I’m an onion.”“What?” Dan asked, narrowing his eyes in confusion.“Not seen Shrek? Lots of layers,” Micky explained. “And if you start to peel mine off, you’ll probably end up in tears.”****Rainbow Snippets is a group for LGBTQ+ authors, readers, and bloggers to gather once a week to share six sentences from a work of fiction–a WIP or a finished work or even a 6-sentence book recommendation.Misdemeanor, book one in the Responsible Adult serial out for Pre-Release by Pride Publishing 23 May 2017

Coming at you with another entry to the excellent Rainbow Snippets group on facebook. Decided to go back to my forthcoming releaseMisdemeanorfor this one and introduce another character. This time we have Dougie. The rotund Shelf Stacker, sorry Grocery Floor Assistant, at the supermarket where our MC's work. I realise the picture may not be the thing to sway anyone to read this book.... but trust me, he's a hoot!****“Girls are like anyone, Doug. Just talk to them. Like you talk to me.” Micky grabbed a few more packets of flour and pushed them to the back of the shelf.“I talk to you about my farts,” Dougie said.Micky grimaced. It was true. He did. He’d only been working with the guy a week and already Micky had been given a blow-by-blow account of Dougie’s problem with personal flatulence.“Okay, don’t do that, then.”“Girls don’t want to talk to me. I mean, look at me. Dan gets more girls than me and he doesn’t even want them.” Dougie accidentally ripped his thumb through the top of the flour bag with his more animated grumbling. Micky saw him peep shiftily around, relieved no one had noticed. A small hole in a packet of flour wasn’t the end of the world, was it?“Yeah,” Micky agreed, “it’s the dimples.”****Rainbow Snippets is a group for LGBTQ+ authors, readers, and bloggers to gather once a week to share six sentences from a work of fiction–a WIP or a finished work or even a 6-sentence book recommendation.And a little intro to our Dougie...

I normally keep my private life and this writer's one I am embarking on completely separate. But something happened this week that I feel compelled to write about as the two seemed to horrifically collide.This week there was a tragic school shooting in California. I live in London, so it wasn't the close proximity that resonated with me. It was the unintended victim of this awful event - an eight year old disabled boy. It was revealed last night that the boy, Jonathon Martinez, had a rare condition called Williams Syndrome.Why is this so important for me to comment on here? Well, not only does my son have the very same condition as little Jonathon but also he was the inspiration behind my upcoming book series, Responsible Adult (the first due for pre-release next month called Misdemeanor). In my book nineteen year old Micky is left to care for his disabled brother, eight year old Flynn, after his mother tragically dies. Flynn has Williams Syndrome. Whilst the book isn't solely focused on the condition, it has a huge part to play. Which is why I couldn't let this recent event go uncommented on.Jonathon was eight. Flynn, in my book, is eight. It was just too much of a similarity not to mention it.This isn't a shameless promotion, this is awareness raising for a condition that is relatively unheard of. The reason I chose to write about it in my m/m romance novel was so I could help spread the word about the condition in the only way I know how.Williams Syndrome is a rare genetic disorder affecting 1 in 20,000. It has a multitude of health problems including heart defects, kidney defects, bowel problems, hyperthyroid, hypercalcaemia, feeding difficulties, poor sight, poor coordination, hypomobility and a string of others. Plus mild to severe learning difficulties.But aside from all of these struggles, Williams Syndrome also brings with it an affinity for music and an overly social personality. Williams Syndrome people simply love people. They love hugs, they love kisses, they love smiling, they love talking and they love making friends. Every stranger is a potential new best friend and "hello" is their most overused word to around forty times a day (unless in a supermarket where it can reach the triple figures, trust me).Therefore, this is such a heartbreaking tragedy that a little boy who had nothing but love and affection to give has been lost to the world due to the callous, evil, nature of an adult. And if he had survived this awful event, he would still have had a smile on his face and a hug for everyone. And that's shatters my heart in two.So I implore you to take a little time and reflection for this little boy, Jonathon Martinez, and their family who had already bore many struggles in his brief eight years in this world. The family have hoped that if anything good can come out of this tragedy, it's that more people understand, recognise and are made aware of Williams Syndrome. This is my little bit to help do that. I couldn't not.But also take time to think about the woman, Karen Smith, Jonathon's teacher and the intended victim of the shooting, who lost her life. She had been a victim of an abusive relationship - another thing that is touched upon in my book and why I couldn't let this one go.For more information on this, you can find details by clicking on the link:Thank you so much to anyone who took the time to read this, it really does mean the world to me and I hope my small contribution has raised awareness for Jonathon, his family and the whole WS community.

Another week, another snippet. This time I thought I'd share something from an old one of mine as I don't want to give too much away from my new release,Misdemeanor.The District Linewas my first ever attempt at writing a novel, which then became a trilogy. The first book is currently up on Amazon as a self-published piece, but will soon be coming down to have a bit of a major overhaul and hopeful re-release. But if you fancy seeing where it all began, you can here:Blurb for info:Jay Rutland only ever wanted to be one thing, a professional footballer. A disastrous brawl on the pitch has him released from his pro-Academy and living his backup plan as a university Sports Scholar. Head down, train hard and get scouted is his mantra. Until the day he crashes into the man who may just shoot all that to hell.Mike Saunders only ever wanted to be one thing, a Rock Star. His father has other plans for him. Live it up, chase the dream and rock out is his mantra. Until he crashes into the man who may just change his tune.Mike and Jay live opposite ends of the District Line in London. Separated by wealth, status and their own life-long dreams, this modern-day romance series is a story of overcoming barriers, facing fears and beating rejection to finally get the love you need to achieve it all.****"You should tell your friend to leave well alone," Mike added, another point of his finger out to bloke who was now sucking face with the blonde. "He's kind of a dick.""I'm pretty sure she already knows that," Jay replied, finally straightening up, his piercing blue eyes glazing over. "She kinda goes for dicks."Mike snorted. He twisted in the stool to face Jay and cocked his head."And how about you, Jay?""What about me?""Do you go for dicks?"****Rainbow Snippets is a group for LGBTQ+ authors, readers, and bloggers to gather once a week to share six sentences from a work of fiction–a WIP or a finished work or even a 6-sentence book recommendation.In this group you’ll find anything from romance and historical fiction to mystery and YA. The common thread is that every story’s main character identifies as LGBTQ+. The snippets could range from zero flames to full-on sexytimes, anything goes content-wise.

I had a sudden urge today to write something that wasn't one of my books. I then remembered I had this blog thing that I wasn't making full use of and thought, hey, why not? I'm sure people will be vastly interested in my inner ramblings. So here I go...Something compelled me to write this and it came from one sentence said to me recently after I had told an acquaintance when she asked what I do that I, now, consider myself a writer. I have a backlog of around nine books (two scheduled for publishing this summer 2017 by Pride Publishing). The person gazed on at me with awe, to which I obviously revelled in, and then she replied:"I'd love to be a writer but I just don't have the time."Something struck me from this. The person has as much time as me. We all live in a twenty-four hour day. It's not like I suddenly have extra time thrown at me. I don't have one of those magic time pieces like Hermione Grainger. I, perhaps, choose what I do with my time differently.I, of course, understand that she meant enough time in her busy day because she works. I, sadly, or perhaps not so sadly, left my job back in September due to redundancy and kind of haven't bothered looking for anything else to do, so yes I do probably have a bit more available time right now. But I do have two small children. One, of whom, is disabled and the main reason why leaving my job was the best choice I could make. My son's appointments take up a rather lot of my time, plus all the forms I have to fill in for his needs, plus all the demands he adds to my day on a regular basis. Then there's the school run for my other boy, the homework, the football matches, the games nights, the movie nights.Back when I started out with this writing lark, with the intention to do something about all the voices and stories that swam around in my head, I did have a job. So that's two small children, one disabled, and a 21 hour a week job at a busy university department. In that time, I wrote four books (five, actually, if you consider one of those was eventually split into two) in one single year. Other's have often asked where on earth did I find the time to do this?My answer now... it is the gift of writer's time.I basically make time. I choose to write instead of doing all the other things I probably should do. Like right now, for example, I'm being taken out to dinner. Which is a lovely prospect. I'm not ready. Not even close. I know any minute now the door bell will go and I'll have an earful about why I'm not ready. And why am I not ready? You guessed it, because I'm writing.I prefer to write than to watch television, than to bake, than to do arts and crafts, than to weed my garden (which is looking a bit Day of the Tryffyds right now). Some days I find myself going without eating because I am so immersed in writing. I choose to write instead of going to sleep even though I am ridiculously tired. I wake up in the night and write. I find any teeny tiny moment in my day to write. Waiting at a doctors surgery or hospital appointment, to which my son has many, and whilst he skips off to play with the duplo, I seize the opportunity of a few minutes to whack a few sentences down in notes on my phone.I glance at the clock whilst frenziedly typing and think, yes, I have one more minute before I absolutely must leave this house for one thing or another. I can get at least 200 words down in that time. They might not be perfect words and they'll no doubt end up being deleted at a later date, but they are words and they are written.So this rambling post was merely to highlight that if you really want to do something, or achieve something, its about making time to do it. We're all busy people, whether we are parents, career people, students. But if you want to write, the beauty of it is you can pretty much write anywhere. I wrote the opening of a new story when I was waiting for a delayed train. I wrote a whole scene when I was in a hospital waiting room. I wrote an entire chapter in the middle of the night when my child wouldn't sleep unless he was being held - he snored away on my lap and I tapped away on my phone.So, if you want to be a writer, it really is quite simple. Write. When you have time, of course.And a nice gif to sum it up. Quite apt I thought ;)