Sally Malcolm's Blog

I’ve just got back from a couple of weeks in North Devon, one of my favourite places in the world. Spectacular clifftop paths, wide sandy beaches, excellent surf, piping hot pasties—you just can’t beat it for an English summer holiday. It’s also the inspiration for the setting of Perfect Day. 
Which got me thinking about some of the many m/m romances set around the coast of South West England. 



Here are five of my favourites…
Seven Summer Nights – Harper Fox
This is a beautiful book. I couldn’t it put down. The wonderful cast of characters don’t let you go, and the sense of place is deftly drawn and intense.
The story takes place over seven nights in an idyllic English summer, shortly after the end of WW2. The sense of place and season are vivid, and I loved the hints of mysticism and the power of the feminine. The unfolding mystery around the women in the village, and around the heroes’ pasts, is full of magical realism but most of all I loved the deeply romantic story and the ending that’s full of hope and love.
Highly recommended at any time of year, but this makes a perfect summer read.

It’s 1946, and the dust of World War Two has just begun to settle. When famous archaeologist Rufus Denby returns to London, his life and reputation are as devastated as the city around him.
He’s used to the most glamorous of excavations, but can’t turn down the offer of a job in rural Sussex. It’s a refuge, and the only means left to him of scraping a living. With nothing but his satchel and a mongrel dog he’s rescued from a bomb site, he sets out to investigate an ancient church in the sleepy village of Droyton Parva.
It’s an ordinary task, but Droyton is in the hands of a most extraordinary vicar. The Reverend Archie Thorne has tasted action too, as a motorcycle-riding army chaplain, and is struggling to readjust to the little world around him. He’s a lonely man, and Rufus’s arrival soon sparks off in him a lifetime of repressed desires.
Rufus is a combat case, amnesiac and shellshocked. As he and Archie begin to unfold the archaeological mystery of Droyton, their growing friendship makes Rufus believe he might one day recapture his lost memories of the war, and find his way back from the edge of insanity to love.
It’s summer on the South Downs, the air full of sunshine and enchantment. And Rufus and Archie’s seven summer nights have just begun...
Shining in the Sun – Alex Beecroft
A contemporary romance set in Cornwall, this gorgeous book captures the sense of escape we all feel when we head to the coast for the summer.
The two leads are each escaping something—Darren’s difficult past, Alec’s oppressive family and his own sexual confusion. But in finding each other will they find the courage to make their escape for real?
This is an emotional story, full of romantic angst, with Beecroft’s beautiful prose and lush descriptions adding the kind of detail to places and people that will be familiar to readers of her historical novels. In fact, Cornwall itself is very real character in the story—from the traffic jams to the coves, from the cliffs to the seaside towns. They’re brought to life so well you can hear the seagulls and feel the sand between your toes.
A deliciously romantic read, this is absolutely perfect for enjoying on the beach with a Cornish pasty or an ice cream. 

Heir to a business empire worth millions, handsome and wealthy Alec Goodchilde has everything a man could want except the freedom to tell the truth about himself to someone who will love him for it. Once a year, he motors down to an exclusive yacht club on the Cornish coast and allows himself to take the summer off from his demanding father, his stifling mother, his unwanted fiancée and a life he thinks of as a trap.
Once a year, poverty stricken surfer Darren Stokes allows himself to take the summer off from his life of grinding overwork and appalling needy family, financing his holiday by picking up the first rich man to show an interest.
When Alec's car breaks down, leaving him stranded on the beach where Darren is surfing, he is struck as if by lightning by the thought that Darren is the summer made flesh--freedom, wrapped up in one lithe package, dripping wet from the sea.
But Alec is so deeply in the closet that he hasn't even admitted to himself that he's gay. And Darren is recovering from last year's disastrous fling with a rich guy who turned out to be more than he could handle. Even if love is possible in the holidays, can it survive when the boys of summer come home?
A Gathering Storm – Joanna Chambers
A delightful historical romance, set against beautiful Cornish scenery. I loved the exploration of mesmerism, and the uniquely Victorian overlap between science and the mystical.
The two central characters were well drawn, as was the whole village of Porthkennack, and their relationship felt real and tugged at the heartstrings in all the right ways. I enjoyed the contrast between the uptight, yet more experienced, Ward with the down to earth yet inexperienced Nick, and the development of their relationship had enough sweetness and angst to keep this romance addict very happy.

When grief-stricken scientist Sir Edward Fitzwilliam provokes public scorn by defending a sham spiritualist, he’s forced to retreat to Porthkennack to lick his wounds. Ward’s reputation is in tatters, but he’s determined to continue the work he began after the death of his beloved brother.
In Porthkennack, Ward meets Nicholas Hearn, land steward to the Roscarrock family. Ward becomes convinced that Nick, whose Romany mother was reportedly clairvoyant, is the perfect man to assist with his work. But Nick — who has reason to distrust the whims of wealthy men — is loath to agree. Until Fate steps in to lend a hand.
Despite Nick’s misgivings, he discovers that Ward is not the high-handed aristocrat he first thought. And when passion ignites between them, Nick learns there’s much more to love than the rushed, clandestine encounters he’s used to. Nevertheless, Nick’s sure that wealthy, educated Ward will never see him as an equal.
A storm is gathering, but with Nick’s self-doubts and Ward’s growing obsession, the fragile bond between the two men may not be strong enough to withstand it.
The Lawrence Browne Affair – Cat Sebastian
This is a warm and delightful historical romance for a lazy summer day.
Georgie Turner, clever, conflicted and gorgeous, was the highlight of the novel for me. He’s a swindler escaping trouble in London, who finds himself posing as a secretary for the ‘mad’ Earl Radnor. Georgie ends up helping the anxious, brilliant earl to venture back into the world and to reconnect with his son—and along the way finds himself in love and uncertain how to extricate himself from the criminal life that threatens to destroy the domestic bliss he’s accidentally stumbled into.
This is a page-turning read, with a pace that fairly clips along. The external plot is firmly subordinate to the romance, and the characters are all warm, interesting and beautifully realised. Perfect for your summer, wherever you’re spending it!

An earl hiding from his future . . .
Lawrence Browne, the Earl of Radnor, is mad. At least, that’s what he and most of the village believes. A brilliant scientist, he hides himself away in his family’s crumbling estate, unwilling to venture into the outside world. When an annoyingly handsome man arrives at Penkellis, claiming to be Lawrence’s new secretary, his carefully planned world is turned upside down.
A swindler haunted by his past . . .
Georgie Turner has made his life pretending to be anyone but himself. A swindler and con man, he can slip into an identity faster than he can change clothes. But when his long-dead conscience resurrects and a dangerous associate is out for blood, Georgie escapes to the wilds of Cornwall. Pretending to be a secretary should be easy, but he doesn’t expect that the only madness he finds is the one he has for the gorgeous earl.
Can they find forever in the wreckage of their lives?
Challenging each other at every turn, the two men soon give into the desire that threatens to overwhelm them. But with one man convinced he is at the very brink of madness and the other hiding his real identity, only true love can make this an affair to remember.


Driftwood – Harper Fox
Another Harper Fox story, this one contemporary. I read it on holiday this year and loved it. The Cornish setting is vividly drawn, recognisable to anyone who’s been there, and really forms a central part of the story.
It’s difficult to know how to categorize this book—it’s kind of romantic suspense, but not in the usual way. The two protagonists, Tom and Flynn, are both damaged and their romance isn’t easy. Neither does it ‘heal’ them. But it had me rooting for them from the start and turning the pages until the end. For me, it was a perfect holiday read.


Thomas Penrose is a village doctor in rural Cornwall. Popular with patients and friends alike, and handsome into the bargain, he lives in a romantic clifftop tower by the sea. It’s a wonderful life – if only Dr Tom could enjoy it. He’s a veteran of the conflict in Afghanistan, fighting a lonely battle against alcoholism and PTSD.
Determined not to inflict his troubles on anyone else, Tom keeps himself to himself. But fate has other ideas, and brings a handsome surfer crashing to his feet after a dreadful wipe-out on Porth Beach. Just another crazy surf bunny? Not a bit of it – Flynn Summers is one of Cornwall’s heroes, a fearless search-and-rescue helicopter man. Why is he risking his beautiful neck in the stormy off-season waves?
Despite the rocky beginning, Tom and Flynn become friends. Both are concealing sorrows behind a tough facade, and for once in his life Tom thinks he’s met someone who can handle him, shadow-side and all. But Flynn isn’t a free man. He’s unhappily locked into a bond of obligations and bad memories with formidable pilot Rob Tremaine – and Rob has no intention of letting Flynn go.
As Tom and Flynn begin their high-risk, high-reward romance, will the tides of the past sweep in to destroy their new love?
If you've got any suggestions for a great summer read, I've love to hear them!


_________________________________________________________________________


Perfect Day, my contemporary male/male retelling of Jane Austen’s Persuasion, is out now!

Love doesn’t burn out just because the timing’s wrong. It grows. It never leaves.
When Joshua Newton, prodigal son of one of New Milton’s elite, fell in love with ambitious young actor Finn Callaghan, his world finally made sense. With every stolen moment, soft touch and breathless kiss, they fell deeper in love.
Finn was his future…until he wasn’t.
Love stays. Even when you don’t want it to, even when you try to deny it, it stays.
Eight years later, Finn has returned to the seaside town where it all began. He’s on the brink of stardom, a far cry from the poor mechanic who spent one gorgeous summer falling in love on the beach.
The last thing he wants is a second chance with the man who broke his heart. Finn has spent a long time forgetting Joshua Newton—he certainly doesn’t plan to forgive him.
Love grows. It never leaves.
Pre-order links here:AmazonKobo
Nook

Perfect Day, a contemporary male/male retelling of Jane Austen’s Persuasion—published August 13th 2018.
Pre-order Amazon | Kobo | Nook
When Joshua Newton, prodigal son of one of New Milton’s elite, fell in love with ambitious young actor Finn Callaghan, his world finally made sense. With every stolen moment, soft touch and breathless kiss, they fell deeper in love.
Finn was his future…until he wasn’t.
Eight years later, Finn has returned to the seaside town where it all began. He’s on the brink of stardom, a far cry from the poor mechanic who spent one gorgeous summer falling in love on the beach.
The last thing he wants is a second chance with the man who broke his heart. Finn has spent a long time forgetting Joshua Newton—he certainly doesn’t plan to forgive him.
Chapter One
Then
There was one last perfect day.

High in the dunes on the east side of the bay, in the secret hollow that had been their haven all summer, Joshua lay with his head in Finn’s lap and watched the gulls wheel across the evening sky.
Happy laughter drifted from the other end of the beach where the season’s last visitors kept a tenacious hold on summer. Joshua felt the same, all too aware that life after this magical few weeks might spin out from beneath his feet.
“When we’re in LA,” Finn promised, “we’ll hang out on the beach all year.”
Joshua gazed up at him, at his sun-kissed skin and the face he loved. Freckles danced across the bridge of his nose, his eyelashes tipped with gold from spending too long in the sun, and that perfect bow of a mouth curved into a warm smile. “You won’t have time for the beach,” Joshua said, finding a smile of his own. “You’ll be too busy being a big-shot actor.”
Finn gave a self-deprecating laugh, but Joshua saw the dream in his eyes. “Nah,” Finn said, shaking his head. “I mean the odds of that ever happening… You know.”
They’d been through it a hundred times, but Joshua could go through it a hundred times more. There was nothing he wouldn’t do for Finn Callaghan. Of all the unknowns ahead, Finn’s inevitable success was the one thing Joshua didn’t doubt. Sitting up, he settled himself next to Finn and dug his toes into warm sand, squinting out across the sun-burnished ocean. “The odds are crappy,” he acknowledged, “for most people—those who lack talent, drive, and movie-star good looks.”
“Dude,” Finn said, embarrassed and pleased all at once.
His unfeigned modesty made Joshua’s heart soften and he nudged his shoulder against Finn’s. “You’re the real deal,” he said. “You’re going to be a star, Finn, surrounded by beautiful people all day long, and I’ll probably never see you except at movie premieres.”
Finn leaned into him, shaking his head. “You’ll be too busy dazzling everyone at Colburn to have time for pointless things like movie premieres.”
“I’ll make time. Now and then. Only for the major movies, obviously. With the big stars.”

Finn scooped up a handful of sand and let it run through his fingers. “Only for the A-listers, huh?”
“That’s right. You’ll have to make it worth my while. I’ll expect at least, um…” He ran through his tiny list of movie stars and came up wanting. “Brad…”
After a beat Finn turned to look at him, one eyebrow lifted. “Pitt?”

“Right. Yes, him.”
“Because you liked him in…?”
Joshua narrowed his eyes. “That old movie. The one we watched in your trailer.”
“Uh-huh. Which one?”
Laughter gleamed behind Finn’s bright eyes. It made Joshua smile as he floundered. “Um… Titanic?”
“Seriously?”
Flinging his arms wide, he yelled, “I’m the king of the world!” He grinned at Finn. “Right?”
“Right.” Finn fought a smile. “Except that was DiCaprio, you doofus.”
Joshua laughed—as if he could tell them apart. As if he cared. He only had eyes for Finn. 
“Whatever.” He flopped back onto the sand and gazed up at him. “You can introduce me to them both at some horrible Hollywood party you’ll be forced to attend.”
After a silent beat, Finn said, “Don’t want any of that without you, Josh.” He looked at him intently, in that way he had of making Joshua feel like the whole universe was spinning around them, as if they were right at the beating heart of it all. “Don’t want anything without you. You get that, right? You get that this—” he threaded their fingers together and held tight “—you and me? This is the real deal, Josh. I mean it. You’re it for me. You get that, right?”
“I do,” Joshua assured him. “These last couple months, this summer… Finn, it’s changed everything.”
Finn searched his eyes, a slight frown creasing his brow. “And what about your dad?”“Soon.” He tensed guiltily. “I’ll tell him soon.”
“That’s what you said last week.”
“Tomorrow, then.” The prospect of telling his father about Finn, about his radical new plans for the future, had crouched like a storm on the horizon all summer. And no matter how hard he’d ignored it, it hadn’t gone away. He swallowed. “I’ll tell him tomorrow.”
“Will you—?”
“I don’t want to think about it now. I only want to think about us, Finn. Tell me about us.”

Finn’s expression warmed. “This is just the start for us, man. It’s like… It’s like we’re at the beginning of a road and it’s rolling out ahead of us, long and straight, and so fucking bright. I can see it, man. I can taste it.”
“Finn…” Joshua pulled him down next to him, touched their foreheads together. He wanted so much to see Finn’s gilded road, but when he closed his eyes all he could see was the gathering storm. “I love you,” he whispered urgently. “I love you more than anything, Finn. More than everything. Remember that.”
Finn smiled against his lips, trailed his fingers through Joshua’s hair and kissed him long and sweet. He smelled like sun cream and the ocean, like fresh air and summer. “This is the beginning, Josh. This is the beginning of everything for us.”
But of course it wasn’t. It was the end. It was the last golden hour of the last perfect day.

Chapter Two
Now
Autumn arrived with precocious zeal.
Cold rain rattled leaves from the trees, herding them into disconsolate piles in the old orchard. Joshua ignored them as he slammed the door on his rusted Honda Civic. Tucking his fingers into the pocket of his sweatshirt, he gazed up at Hanworth Hall. The Newton family mansion brooded in the dank fall morning, gazing back at him with vacant eyes. Many years ago he’d called this place home, but it had stopped being that long before he’d left and now it just looked austere and empty. He wished he cared more than he did.
His father’s Town Car lurked farther along the gravel drive, the waiting driver’s face lit blue by the screen of his smartphone. Joshua supposed his brother was using the car now. He shouldn’t have been surprised; like their father, Michael Newton had never suffered from an excess of shame. He noticed Aunt Ruth’s car parked farther down the drive and suppressed a sigh. It was a genuine gathering of the clan, then. With a sinking feeling, he made himself head inside.
The front door wasn’t locked, which was lucky because the staff had all been dismissed—more collateral damage from his father’s misdeeds—and Newtons didn’t generally carry keys to the family pile. He supposed the Realtor had one now and the thought provoked a grim smile. Michael would hate that.
The door opened silently on well-oiled hinges and Joshua closed it just as quietly, giving himself time to adjust to being back. It had been, what, seven years since he’d last set foot inside? It looked different now, just a shell of what it had once been. All the pictures and furniture in the hall had been packed up and shipped out, nothing personal remained. Soon, Hanworth Hall would be owned by someone else. The rooms he’d played in as a child would belong to other children and the grounds he’d once loved would be walked by other feet.
He felt some regret, now that he was here, but not a great deal. Mostly he just hoped that the sale would write off the bulk of the debt—at least the part owed to the innocent creditors—even if it couldn’t wipe away the disgrace.
Cold, he hunched deeper into his sweatshirt, running a hand through his mist-damp hair. He would have rather been anywhere but here: home in his one-bedroom cottage, at the school listening to seventh-grade violinists screech through “Au Clare De Lune,” or even working a shift at Dee’s for a little extra cash—anywhere but in this house with these people. But duty was duty, so here he was ready to do what needed to be done.
Voices drifted from the drawing room. Bracing himself, he headed toward the sound, his boots clumping softly on the polished wood floor. Four heads turned when he stepped into the room.
“Joshua.” Michael managed to make the greeting sound like an insult.
He nodded toward his brother, then to Isabelle, Michael’s wife. “Hello.” He smiled at Aunt Ruth who watched him with sympathy.
“Mr. Newton?” The other man, the one he didn’t recognize, stepped forward. “I’m Tim Dexter, the Realtor.” He held out his hand to shake. “Pleasure to meet you.”
Joshua smiled, glanced around at the others. “So…?”
“We’ve agreed on a buyer,” Michael announced, pleased. “We both need to sign the papers. Just a formality.”
“He’s a lawyer,” Isabelle offered. “The buyer. So it’s going to someone reputable.”
Joshua huffed a laugh. “You mean, unlike its previous owner?”
Isabelle glared. Michael just gave him an icy look, dismissive in its lack of passion, as if Joshua and his opinions didn’t matter anymore. Not that they ever had. “You only need to sign,” Michael said.
“I have no problem signing. The sooner we sell the better.”
Dexter led him over to the table and started setting out papers, little crosses marking where his signature was required. “All the proceeds will go to the creditors I’m afraid.”
Quite right, Joshua thought, but kept his thoughts to himself as he picked up the pen.
Aunt Ruth drifted past him, resting a supportive hand on his shoulder. To Michael, she said, “You’ll be living in the city now?”
“In the Park Avenue condo, yes. It’ll be easier to keep an eye on the business from there. I never understood our father’s obsession with this place; it’s so remote and the town is nothing.” With a smirk, he glanced at Isabelle. “It’s hardly the Hamptons.”
“I think he loved New Milton because your mother did,” Ruth said, and that shut him up.Their aunt was much like her sister, their mother, in terms of looks if not temperament. Since their mother’s early death, Aunt Ruth had kept a watchful eye on the Newton boys but had always taken a particular interest in Joshua. He reminded her of her sister, she told him. She’d always had his best interests at heart, and he was grateful to her for that. He truly was. Only, Ruth’s idea of his best interests hadn’t always coincided with his own.
“So,” she carried on, “what else do you know of the purchaser?”
“Something of a rising star,” Michael said. “Made partner at Thompson Glass two years ago. Damn fine lawyer. Name’s Sean Callaghan.”
Joshua froze. The name was a coincidence, surely? It had to be. Even so his heart rattled away in his chest and his fingers stuck clammily to the pen. He put it down and wiped his hand on his jeans before continuing to sign.
“Brother’s a different sort, though.” Michael tugged at his cuffs and all but sniffed in disdain. “Some kind of actor, apparently. On television.”
The pen jerked halfway across the box Joshua was signing. It drew Ruth’s attention. She looked at him with a concerned frown and he dropped his gaze back to the paperwork, face burning. He hated that she knew what he was thinking.
He signed the rest of the papers quickly, his head full of memories he’d rather forget. Setting down the pen, he shoved his shaking hands into the pouch of his hoodie.
Sean Callaghan. Of all the impossible, agonizing coincidences.
“…think these country retreats are quite old-fashioned,” Isabelle was saying. “It’ll be so much more convenient to be in Manhattan.”
“Quite,” Ruth said, but her attention was fixed on Joshua. “And how about you? Will you be moving to New York too? You’re welcome to stay with me, but I know you don’t like the city.”
“I don’t,” he said, pleased that his voice didn’t shake, no trace of his distress on show. “Thank you for the offer, but I’m staying in New Milton for now.”
Ruth raised a sculpted eyebrow. “And you’re still…?”
“Teaching. Yes, I am.” Michael and Isabelle exchanged an expressive look. Joshua ignored them. “In fact,” he said, “I have a student in half an hour, so I’d better get going.”
That was a lie. He didn’t have another lesson until this afternoon, but he had no compunction about bending the truth for his family. His brother and father had made a career out of it, after all. “If there’s nothing else I’m needed for…?”
“Actually there is one thing.” Michael stepped forward, fishing a yellow sheet of paper out of a leather folder and holding it out to Joshua.
He took it, narrowing his eyes at the list of items: dresser (1), four-poster bed (3), armoire (2) and so on. He looked up. “What’s this?”
“It’s the contents of the house the buyer didn’t want included in the sale. Most of it’s in storage, but there are a couple of items still here—including the car collection. We need someone to oversee their disposal. And since you’ll be in the area…”
“You want me to sell our parents’ belongings?”
“It’s legally mandated,” Michael said, without a shred of embarrassment. “All proceeds to the creditors, naturally. You don’t mind, do you?”
“Of course he doesn’t,” Isabelle said. “It’s not like he’s got anything else to do.”
Joshua didn’t want to argue; he didn’t want to stay in the house for one minute longer. “I’ll do it. It’s fine.” He gave them both a steady look. “Goodbye, then,” he said and headed for the door.
“Joshua?” Michael took a couple steps toward him. “You haven’t been to see him.”
“No.”
“You should. It’s difficult for him in that place.”
Joshua felt a hot flash of anger, of the shame and fury Michael didn’t seem to share. “It’s meant to be difficult. It’s prison.”
“But especially so, for him.”
“Well, he should have considered that before defrauding the government out of millions of tax dollars, shouldn’t he?”
“He’s still our father,” Michael said, with that cold voice he’d inherited.
Joshua shook his head. “He gave that right up a long time ago.” He spared one last look for the house they’d lost, a brief nod for Ruth, and then stalked back the way he’d come, through the echoing hallway and out the front door.
The gravel crunched beneath his boots and he sucked in a cold, damp breath as he slowed down. The rain had stopped, but everything dripped and the air was ripe with the loamy scent of grass and rotting leaves. A lump rose in his throat, taking him by surprise. But he supposed this had been home once, despite everything, and it was lost to him now. Whatever happened from this day on, he’d never be able to go home—even if he wanted to.
“Joshua?”
Sighing, he turned to find Aunt Ruth picking her way across the gravel in high heels. She looked ridiculous and out of place in her metropolitan chic. “I have to go,” he said.
“But are you alright? I mean about the brother moving here.”
He swallowed hard but didn’t feign ignorance. He didn’t want to talk about it, though.
Ruth tipped her head, touched his shoulder. “Oh, Joshua, still? It’s been eight years, darling. I’d have thought—”
“I’m fine,” he said, looking away from her concerned gaze. “It’s fine.”
“I’m sure he won’t come here,” she said, lowering her voice as if Michael might overhear. As if he’d care, even if he knew. “I’m sure you won’t have to see him.”
Joshua shook his head. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to see Finn Callaghan again—he did. But he was afraid that Finn wouldn’t want to see him again, and he didn’t know whether he could handle how much that would hurt. “He’s probably forgotten all about me.”
“But you haven’t forgotten him.”
“No.” He dipped his eyes to the driveway, the gravel damp and glistening. “No, I don’t suppose I ever will.”
She squeezed his arm, more hesitant than she’d been eight years ago. Then she’d been so sure, so convinced she knew what was right—for him, for the family. Even for Finn. “I know it was difficult,” she said, fingers biting into his arm, “but I still believe you made the right decision. To give up everything you had—your education, your place in the business, your home—for…for a summer romance, Joshua? And with a man. It would have been foolish.”
Pressing his lips together, he resisted telling her that he’d long ago come to believe that there was nothing wrong with a little foolishness. But he’d learned that lesson too late and he couldn’t blame Ruth for having been cautious. She’d tried to do her best for him, tried to fill the gap his mother’s death had left behind.
“I understand,” he said, offering her the best smile he could muster. “And at the time, staying did feel like the responsible thing to do. But I—I suppose, given how things turned out, I wish I’d made a different choice.”
“How things turned out?” She dropped her hand from his shoulder.
He shrugged. “Well, look at me…” No direction, no ambition, and no career beyond a little peripatetic music teaching—certainly not the glittering future everyone had assumed would follow his Harvard MBA. No money, thanks to his father cutting him off when he finally came out, a year after ending things with Finn. And, while less pressing, no less disheartening, no relationship. Joshua remained chronically single.
“There’s still time,” Ruth said, encompassing his failure at life in one platitude. “Your life’s not over at thirty-one, you know.”
But he couldn’t agree with her optimism; his life had ended eight years ago—the day he chose his family over Finn Callaghan.
The day Finn walked out of his life and never looked back.




Perfect Day, a contemporary male/male retelling of Jane Austen’s Persuasion, is published on 13th August 2018.
Love doesn’t burn out just because the timing’s wrong. It grows. It never leaves.
When Joshua Newton, prodigal son of one of New Milton’s elite, fell in love with ambitious young actor Finn Callaghan, his world finally made sense. With every stolen moment, soft touch and breathless kiss, they fell deeper in love.
Finn was his future…until he wasn’t.
Love stays. Even when you don’t want it to, even when you try to deny it, it stays.
Eight years later, Finn has returned to the seaside town where it all began. He’s on the brink of stardom, a far cry from the poor mechanic who spent one gorgeous summer falling in love on the beach.
The last thing he wants is a second chance with the man who broke his heart. Finn has spent a long time forgetting Joshua Newton—he certainly doesn’t plan to forgive him.
Love grows. It never leaves.
Pre-order links here:AmazonKoboNook

Introducing Mr. Winterbourne by Joanna Chambers
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

What a delightful read! The characters are so well drawn and their relationship so compelling, it's difficult to believe it's all been done in one short story. I was rooting for them from page one, and the ending is so sweet and hopeful it's left me with a happy smile. :)

If you're a fan of Joanna Chambers' other works, you'll love this. If you haven't read her before, then let this be your first taste. You'll be in for a treat--Joanna Chambers is one of the best romance writers out there.

View all my reviews

We all know that writing The End isn't the end. But what’s the best way to self-edit your manuscript before sending it off to beta readers, agents, or editors? There’s lots of advice online, but while I’m nervously awaiting my editor’s comments on Between the Lines (the follow up to Perfect Day), I thought I’d jot down my top five tips for doing that initial self-edit.
1. Put it in a drawerNot a literal drawer, unless you actually write longhand. (Some people still do!) But once you’ve got your complete first draft—and I  mean the first draft you’re intending to show people—you need to put it aside for a week, a month, or even six months if deadlines aren’t an issue. And use that time well. Take care of all the things you didn’t have time for while writing (tackling the garden, doing paperwork, seeing friends). Do anything, in fact, to avoid thinking about the manuscript sitting in your drawer. What you’re trying to do is get some distance between yourself and your work so that when you come back to it, you can read it like a reader.
2. Read it like a readerWhen you come back to your manuscript, read it straight through and resist the temptation to start tinkering. If you notice something you want to change, make a quick note and move on. I write using Word so I use the comment function at this stage, noting things like ‘delete this scene?’, ‘Boring’, ‘Check spelling of his name’. The key here is to keep reading, because you want to give yourself the reader's experience of your novel. It's the best way to spot pacing issues, plot holes, and problems with character arcs. Is your story suffering from a soggy middle? Is the pace so fast you’re missing character detail? Does the emotional payoff work? Reading it like a reader will help you identify those global issues.
3. Eliminate your writer’s ticksOnce you’ve made the changes from step two, it’s a good time to go through and eliminate your writer’s ticks. We all have them—some that follow us from book-to-book, some that crop up in one title only. These are over-used words and phrases that start jumping off the page with each repetition. For example, characters who are always nodding, sighing, blinking, or chuckling. Eye descriptions often fall into this trap—my beta reader picked up many mentions of ‘dark eyes’ in Between the Lines. Changing these descriptions, or just deleting them, is a great way to tighten up your writing.You will have your own ticks, but here's my personal hit list:a littlealmostseemedthatsuddenlynoddedblinkedpaleprobably
Regarding the first three—a little, almost, and seemed—these are words that can suck the impact right out of your writing.There are times when they’re exactly the right words, but always check your usage. For example, if you write ‘Josh arrived the next morning, seeming pale’ do you mean he appeared to be pale but wasn’t really? Or would ‘Josh arrived the next morning, ashen-faced’ have more impact?
4. Read it out loudProbably best to be alone for this one! It takes time, but reading your whole manuscript out loud is a great way to spot unrealistic dialogue, missing words, and awkward sentence construction. You don’t need to put in an Oscar-winning performance, just speak the words aloud. You’ll be amazed by what you pick up.
5. Do a final read in a new formatI always find it helpful to read my manuscript in a new format for the final read-through. For me, that either means my e-reader or printing out a hard copy. A hard copy makes it easier to note any changes you want to make, but I find an e-reader to be closer to a read's experience and therefore more valuable.
By the time you’ve finished all that, you’ll have polished your manuscript as much as possible on your own and it’ll be ready for a new pair eyes. After which you’ll pull it apart, revise it, and start again at step one...
Meanwhile, I’ll go back to nervously waiting on revisions for Between the Lines._________________________________________________________________________
Perfect Day, my contemporary male/male retelling of Jane Austen’s Persuasion, is published on 13th August 2018.
Love doesn’t burn out just because the timing’s wrong. It grows. It never leaves.
When Joshua Newton, prodigal son of one of New Milton’s elite, fell in love with ambitious young actor Finn Callaghan, his world finally made sense. With every stolen moment, soft touch and breathless kiss, they fell deeper in love.
Finn was his future…until he wasn’t.
Love stays. Even when you don’t want it to, even when you try to deny it, it stays.
Eight years later, Finn has returned to the seaside town where it all began. He’s on the brink of stardom, a far cry from the poor mechanic who spent one gorgeous summer falling in love on the beach.
The last thing he wants is a second chance with the man who broke his heart. Finn has spent a long time forgetting Joshua Newton—he certainly doesn’t plan to forgive him.
Love grows. It never leaves.
Pre-order links here:AmazonKoboNook

Over the past several years we’ve seen a flood of Austen reimaginings. From Bollywood’s ‘Bride and Prejudice’ to ‘Lost in Austen’ and ‘Clueless’, Austen’s characters have found themselves far away from their Regency drawing rooms. And it’s not just screen adaptations. The Jane Austen Project from Harper Collins recruited big name authors to reimagine all six of Austen’s novels in contemporary settings. Excitingly, this year we’ll also be seeing a number of LGBT+ retellings—including my own, of course! 
But why Austen? What is it about her works that inspires writers to retell her stories over and over, to adapt them for the screen, and to transpose them into a world so markedly different from Austen’s?
Perhaps the most fundamental reason is that they work so well.
Austen’s heroines and heroes slip out of their muslin gowns or buckskin breeches and into a pair of jeans with ease. Unlike Dickens, whose characters shoulder a weight of social commentary, or the Bronte’s, whose characters are drenched in Victorian melodrama, Austen’s characters travel light. They leave her pages almost naked, ready to step seamlessly into the modern world. None of which is to imply that her characters lack depth. They are rich, fully developed people who readers find relatable and compelling even 200 years after Austen’s death. And that’s not an easy trick.
Hey, don’t I know you?Austen’s ability to create characters that not only leap off the page through their dialogue but also feel fresh and real even two hundred years later is remarkable. Who hasn’t tried to escape a Miss Bates around the water cooler, or sat next to a Harriet Smith on the bus and listened to her obsess with her BFF over her latest boyfriend drama?
But just as importantly, they exist independently of the period in which they live. Their nineteenth century speech patterns and language aside, the characters talk and act like people you might meet at work, people who could easily be your friends, your family, or the love of your life. They feel like real people because Austen wrote real people. She didn’t write stereotypes or caricatures, and the only points her characters make are about fundamental human nature. “For what do we live,” asks Mr. Bennet, “but to make sport for our neighbours, and laugh at them in our turn?” It turns out that, by and large, people are as risible today as they were two hundred years ago.
Spare me the details“Mr. Bennet protested against any description of finery.” And so does Austen. Look as hard as you like and you’ll see no description of finery, or anything else, in Austen’s work. Even the delectable Darcy is only sketched as ‘tall’ and ‘handsome’. Austen’s characters reveal themselves in different ways, through their actions and words, and Austen allows them to earn our respect or ridicule accordingly. Which leaves readers plenty of room to interpret the characters as they choose, and so each generation can find something of themselves in her heroes and heroines.
It’s not only physical details that Austen avoids. She’s often criticised for the lack of social context in her work. Where are the conversations about the abolitionist movement, the wars with France, or the social unrest ravaging Regency England? Helena Kelly’s book Jane Austen, The Secret Radical makes a compelling argument that readers of the day would have read more subtly and knowingly than modern readers, that they would have understood more than we do about what Austen’s characters were and were not saying between the lines. (And let’s not forget that Austen was writing at a time of repressive sedition laws that restricted severely what she could print). Kelly’s book is a fantastic read and I recommend it thoroughly to any Austen fan.
But perhaps one of the side-effects for modern readers of being somewhat blind to Austen’s subtle social commentary is that her characters appear to be highly context-free. We can lift them from her pages and put them in our own world without losing anything essential. Better than that, we can allow them to interact with our own society and contextualise them in a way that reflects our world without it feeling forced.
Get me out of here!If Austen’s novels have one consistent theme, it’s the heroines’ pursuit of freedom. Whether it’s Emma Woodhouse finding a way to marry and yet keep something of her independence, or Elizabeth Bennett finding the financial security her careless father failed to provide, Austen’s heroines start the novels trapped by society and circumstance and end them free—or as free as was possible for a nineteenth century middleclass woman. Perhaps Anne Eliot, consigned to an uncertain spinsterhood by poor choices and her vain, profligate father achieves the greatest freedom in the end. We can imagine Anne Wentworth accompanying her husband beyond the far horizon, seeing a world far beyond the claustrophobic constraints of Uppercross drawing rooms.
Enlightened as we see ourselves in 2018, we’re still bound by social conventions—race, class, sexuality, and gender all play their part in limiting our freedoms and opportunities. Perhaps that’s why Austen’s novels adapt so readily to an LGBT+ retelling; social attitudes toward the LGBT+ community still reflect many of the restraints nineteenth century England imposed on its inhabitants.
We’re not worthyAusten was a genius. No doubt about it. She was a genius of observation, of dialogue, and of craft, and no re-telling or adaptation of her work will ever equal the original. If you haven’t read them, you’re missing out. But what a re-telling or an adaptation can do is have fun with beloved characters and stories, allow us to spend a little more time with them, and perhaps hint at what Austen may have been writing about had she been living today._________________________________________________________________________
Perfect Day, my contemporary male/male retelling of Jane Austen’s Persuasion, is published on 13thAugust 2018.
Love doesn’t burn out just because the timing’s wrong. It grows. It never leaves.
When Joshua Newton, prodigal son of one of New Milton’s elite, fell in love with ambitious young actor Finn Callaghan, his world finally made sense. With every stolen moment, soft touch and breathless kiss, they fell deeper in love.
Finn was his future…until he wasn’t.
Love stays. Even when you don’t want it to, even when you try to deny it, it stays.
Eight years later, Finn has returned to the seaside town where it all began. He’s on the brink of stardom, a far cry from the poor mechanic who spent one gorgeous summer falling in love on the beach.
The last thing he wants is a second chance with the man who broke his heart. Finn has spent a long time forgetting Joshua Newton—he certainly doesn’t plan to forgive him.
Love grows. It never leaves.
Pre-order links here:AmazonKoboNook

Cash Plays by Cordelia Kingsbridge
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Cash Plays continues at the same pace as the first two books in the series, and if you loved them you’ll love this one too.

The mystery of the SoS takes a new turn, and the underlying fracture points in Levi’s and Jake’s relationship start to show. I especially appreciate how the growing conflict between them results from issues present in each character from the start of book one, rather than being imposed by external events. Makes the whole inevitable train-wreck all the more painful to watch.

Just like the first two books, Cash Plays left me wanting more. Luckily, more is on the way in September—if I can wait that long!


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First love conquers all in Perfect Day, a captivating contemporary male/male retelling of Jane Austen’s Persuasion.

Love doesn’t burn out just because the timing’s wrong. It grows. It never leaves.

When Joshua Newton, prodigal son of one of New Milton’s elite, fell in love with ambitious young actor Finn Callaghan, his world finally made sense. With every stolen moment, soft touch and breathless kiss, they fell deeper in love.

Finn was his future…until he wasn’t.

Love stays. Even when you don’t want it to, even when you try to deny it, it stays.

Eight years later, Finn has returned to the seaside town where it all began. He’s on the brink of stardom, a far cry from the poor mechanic who spent one gorgeous summer falling in love on the beach.

The last thing he wants is a second chance with the man who broke his heart. Finn has spent a long time forgetting Joshua Newton—he certainly doesn’t plan to forgive him.

Love grows. It never leaves.

***
There was one last perfect day.

High in the dunes on the east side of the bay, in the secret hollow that had been their haven all summer, Joshua lay with his head in Finn’s lap and watched the gulls wheel across the evening sky.
Happy laughter drifted from the other end of the beach where the season’s last visitors kept a tenacious hold on summer. Joshua felt the same, all too aware that life after this magical few weeks might spin out from beneath his feet.
“When we’re in LA,” Finn promised, “we’ll hang out on the beach all year.”
Joshua gazed up at him, at his sun-kissed skin and the face he loved. Freckles danced across the bridge of his nose, his eyelashes tipped with gold from spending too long in the sun, and that perfect bow of a mouth curved into a warm smile. “You won’t have time for the beach,” Joshua said, finding a smile of his own. “You’ll be too busy being a big-shot actor.”
Finn gave a self-deprecating laugh, but Joshua saw the dream in his eyes. “Nah,” Finn said, shaking his head. “I mean the odds of that ever happening… You know.”
They’d been through it a hundred times, but Joshua could go through it a hundred times more. There was nothing he wouldn’t do for Finn Callaghan. Of all the unknowns ahead, Finn’s inevitable success was the one thing Joshua didn’t doubt. Sitting up, he settled himself next to Finn and dug his toes into warm sand, squinting out across the sun-burnished ocean. “The odds are crappy,” he acknowledged, “for most people—those who lack talent, drive, and movie-star good looks.”
“Dude,” Finn said, embarrassed and pleased all at once.
His unfeigned modesty made Joshua’s heart soften and he nudged his shoulder against Finn’s. “You’re the real deal,” he said. “You’re going to be a star, Finn, surrounded by beautiful people all day long, and I’ll probably never see you except at movie premieres.”
Finn leaned into him, shaking his head. “You’ll be too busy dazzling everyone at Colburn to have time for pointless things like movie premieres.”
“I’ll make time. Now and then. Only for the major movies, obviously. With the big stars.”

Finn scooped up a handful of sand and let it run through his fingers. “Only for the A-listers, huh?”
“That’s right. You’ll have to make it worth my while. I’ll expect at least, um…” He ran through his tiny list of movie stars and came up wanting. “Brad…”
After a beat Finn turned to look at him, one eyebrow lifted. “Pitt?”

“Right. Yes, him.”
“Because you liked him in…?”
Joshua narrowed his eyes. “That old movie. The one we watched in your trailer.”
“Uh-huh. Which one?”
Laughter gleamed behind Finn’s bright eyes. It made Joshua smile as he floundered. “Um… Titanic?”
“Seriously?”
Flinging his arms wide, he yelled, “I’m the king of the world!” He grinned at Finn. “Right?”
“Right.” Finn fought a smile. “Except that was DiCaprio, you doofus.”
Joshua laughed—as if he could tell them apart. As if he cared. He only had eyes for Finn. 
“Whatever.” He flopped back onto the sand and gazed up at him. “You can introduce me to them both at some horrible Hollywood party you’ll be forced to attend.”
After a silent beat, Finn said, “Don’t want any of that without you, Josh.” He looked at him intently, in that way he had of making Joshua feel like the whole universe was spinning around them, as if they were right at the beating heart of it all. “Don’t want anything without you. You get that, right? You get that this—” he threaded their fingers together and held tight “—you and me? This is the real deal, Josh. I mean it. You’re it for me. You get that, right?”
“I do,” Joshua assured him. “These last couple months, this summer… Finn, it’s changed everything.”
Finn searched his eyes, a slight frown creasing his brow. “And what about your dad?”“Soon.” He tensed guiltily. “I’ll tell him soon.”
“That’s what you said last week.”
“Tomorrow, then.” The prospect of telling his father about Finn, about his radical new plans for the future, had crouched like a storm on the horizon all summer. And no matter how hard he’d ignored it, it hadn’t gone away. He swallowed. “I’ll tell him tomorrow.”
“Will you—?”
“I don’t want to think about it now. I only want to think about us, Finn. Tell me about us.”

Finn’s expression warmed. “This is just the start for us, man. It’s like… It’s like we’re at the beginning of a road and it’s rolling out ahead of us, long and straight, and so fucking bright. I can see it, man. I can taste it.”
“Finn…” Joshua pulled him down next to him, touched their foreheads together. He wanted so much to see Finn’s gilded road, but when he closed his eyes all he could see was the gathering storm. “I love you,” he whispered urgently. “I love you more than anything, Finn. More than everything. Remember that.”
Finn smiled against his lips, trailed his fingers through Joshua’s hair and kissed him long and sweet. He smelled like sun cream and the ocean, like fresh air and summer. “This is the beginning, Josh. This is the beginning of everything for us.”
But of course it wasn’t. It was the end. It was the last golden hour of the last perfect day.
***
Perfect Day is out August 13th and is available for pre-order here! 

Object of Desire by Dal Maclean
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Maclean’s novels are unputdownable. They’re the kind of books that distract you at work because you can’t stop thinking about the characters and the story and wondering what on earth happens next.

Object of Desire starts with one of my favorite angsty tropes—the bruised ex-lovers being forced to work together. The emotional angst of the main characters is palpable and drew me in from the start. Maclean masterfully interweaves the romantic thread with the intense psychological drama and mystery, leaving echoes and reflections all over the place. It’s marvellous, and clever. And it packs an emotional punch that you feel right in the pit of your stomach.

Maclean has the rare knack of making you fall in love with her flawed heroes from the first page, even when they’re making very bad choices. I loved both Tom and Will, their emotional tension was intense from the start and lasted right up to the very last page.

Good job there’s a third book on the way in this series, because I am seriously addicted.


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Bitter Legacy by Dal Maclean
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is a fantastic read. Full of emotion and tension, the romantic angst tied my stomach in knots in the best possible way.

The suspense plot is very strong, and when the reveals come they don’t feel out of the blue. The evidence is all there but I didn’t feel ten steps ahead of the characters at any point, which I really enjoyed. But it’s the romantic story that really gripped me. Jamie’s heartbreak is visceral and right to the end I wondered how he’d get his happy ever after—but when it came it felt absolutely right and well-earned, and was incredibly satisfying.

The writing was excellent, vivid but not distractingly showy. And it’s pretty hot, too, although the sex scenes are also really emotional which makes them all the more intense.

Basically, if you’re a fan of romantic suspense, do yourself a favour and get hold of Bitter Legacy. It’s one of the best I've read in the genre.


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Trick Roller by Cordelia Kingsbridge
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I can’t recommend this series enough! The writing is excellent, the characters are compelling (especially if you have a thing for competence-kink), and their romance is real, sweet and visceral. It’s also probably going to break my heart before we get our final HEA. (But I don’t mind—give me all the angst!)

This is book two, and it's just as good as the first, with the romance between Dominic and Levi deepening while the mystery of the Seven of Spades hovers in the background--of both the story and their relationship. I have my theory about the identity of the Seven of Spades, which only makes the story more gripping, and I gasped out loud in the final chapter! SO GOOD.

I simply can’t wait for the next three (yes, it’s a five book series) books to be out. If you’re a fan of m/m romantic suspense, do yourself a favor and start the Seven of Spades series RIGHT NOW!


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