JL Merrow

Yes, it’s the last stop on the Wight Mischief blog toddle, and today I’m over at Joyfully Jay talking about the things I’ll do for a story!  Why not pop along – this is your last chance to enter to Win the Wight!   I’ll be making the draw tomorrow, at 9pm GMT.  Good luck!

Today I’m over at Clare London’s blog, talking about saucy seaside postcards.  Oo-er, missus!

Why not pop along for more colourful innuendo – and a chance to Win the Wight! ;D

What the well-dressed Englishman is wearing on the beach this year

Surely British people don’t really go skinny-dipping? Find out the truth over at Top2Bottom Reviews today!

– and don’t forget to comment for a chance to Win the Wight!

Merrow does a wonderful job evoking a place that is probably unfamiliar to most readers.  The island is almost a character unto itself…a wonderful story – exciting, suspenseful, romantic, beautiful setting, and unusual plot.  Definitely a recommended read. Rating 4.5.  – Jayhjay at Joyfully Jay.

The ostensible reason for Baz and Will’s trip to the Isle of Wight is to research ghost stories for a book.  But just how haunted is the Isle of Wight? Find out over at Well Read today, where the lovely Jenre is hosting me – and don’t forget to comment for a chance to Win the Wight!

Yes, it’s finally out!

Here’s the blurb:

A stranger could light up his world…or drive him deeper into darkness.

Will Golding needs a break from his usual routine, and he’s been looking forward to a holiday helping Baz, his friend-with-benefits, research a book about Isle of Wight ghosts. When an evening beach walk turns into a startling encounter with Marcus Devereux, Will can’t get his mind off the notoriously reclusive writer’s pale, perfect, naked body. And any interest in ghostly legends takes a back seat to the haunting secrets lying in Marcus’s past.

Marcus, painfully aware of his appearance, is accustomed to keeping to himself. But the memory of tall, athletic Will standing on the beach draws him out from behind defenses he’s maintained since age fourteen, when his parents were murdered. While his heart is hungry for human contact, though, his longtime guardian warns him that talking to anyone—particularly a journalist like Baz—is as dangerous as a day in the sun.

As Baz gets closer to the truth, the only thing adding up is the sizzling attraction between Will and Marcus. And it’s becoming increasingly clear that someone wants to let sleeping secrets lie…or Will and Baz could end up added to the island’s ghostly population.

Product Warnings

Contains perilous cliffs, elusive might-be ghosts, a secret tunnel, and skinny-dipping by moonlight.

Available from Samhain or on Kindle. (Cheaper from Samhain, though, for the first week!)

To celebrate the release, I’m going to be doing a mini blog tour (tourette? That doesn’t sound right. Blog toddle?):

Tuesday 8th Nov: Samhain blog (excerpt post)

Wednesday 9th Nov: Well Read: This Haunted Isle

Thursday 10th Nov: Top 2 Bottom Reviews: Skinny Dipping in Britain

Friday 11th Nov: Clare London’s LJ: Getting Saucy at the Seaside

Monday 14th Nov: Joyfully Jay: The Things I’ll do for a Story

And there will be a competition!

COMMENT TO WIN THE WIGHT: All commenters to any of my Wight Mischief blog posts will be entered into a prize draw for this sterling silver Isle of Wight charm (1" wide; I’ve put it on black cord but it could also be worn on a bracelet):

I’ll make the draw on 15th November, 9pm GMT, so you have until then to leave your comments

Merrow’s trademark humour sparkles throughout the book. Parts of it are laugh-out-loud funny, while other bits are completely deadpan. The dialogue bounces with wit, and even the minor characters are drawn with a light touch… and there’s a real sense of menace in the final action-packed scenes. – 4.75 stars. Leslie S at Jessewave’s blog.

I was also chuffed to see the reviewer’s opinion of one of the side characters, Baz: He’s an arrogant wanker who shamelessly takes advantage of Will and everyone else around him, but at the same time I actually liked him!

Exactly what I was going for!

And don’t forget – there’s still time to enter the contest to win a copy over at Stumbling Over Chaos, here.  Contest ends 7pm, CST on November 7th.

Hope you’re all having a spooky time!  Before I dash off to eviscerate a pumpkin, I thought I’d share with you my winning entry for a recent VWC competition, the snappily-titled: 

October 19^th, ’06, Uncommon Era

(in which I channel the unquiet spirit of the late Joyce Grenfell)

Right, settle down, class, settle down. Ronan, leave it alone; you don’t know where it’s been. Even if you do know where it’s been, please put it down.

Now, I’ve marked your essays, and I have to say I’m a little bit disappointed, not least because of the rather poor turnout. Peter, nobody, least of all me, is going to fall for the old "zombies ate my homework" excuse.

What’s that? A zombie really did eat your homework? I hope you’ve got a note from one of your parents to substantiate that, then. Oh. I see. The zombies ate your parents as well… For heaven’s sake, boy, what on earth are you doing in school today, then? You know perfectly well you’re entitled to a day off for the loss of either parent. And a half day for each sibling—did you have any siblings, Peter?

I beg your pardon? You didn’t want to hang around the house with a bunch of zombies? Well, I can certainly sympathise—I’ve been to a few staff meetings like that, ahahaha. Ahem.

But, ah, Peter? I think perhaps you should pop along to see the nurse after class. That bite wound on your cheek is looking a little nasty…

Settle down, everyone! Really, you’re in year ten—I should have hoped you’d be aware there’s no possibility of infection. Not unless you’ve shared bodily fluids with Peter since he came in this morning, ahahaha…

Ah. Well, in that case, Leona, perhaps you’d better go along and see the nurse as well.

Cheryl too? Well, class, while you’re clearly to be commended for comforting your classmate in his bereavement, I should have thought—good heavens, Peter, Ronan as well? I must say, Ronan, this does make me rather doubt the sincerity of your central argument in your essay on the possible causes of the End of Days, "It’s them gays getting married what done it." A shame—I thought you had quite a promising theory going there, although I should have liked to see a little more deductive reasoning—or, indeed, anything at all other than that one sentence.

Running out of candles is not an excuse, Ronan. Just because the National Grid has collapsed does not mean we cannot maintain standards. Oh, and Ronan? Peter appears to be drooling. Perhaps it would be a good idea if you and the girls took him to the nurse right now…

Thank you.

Now, as you’re all aware, Halloween will shortly be upon us. I trust I don’t need to remind you that dressing up in costumes is strictly forbidden. I’m sure nobody wants a repeat of last year’s accidental staking of poor Simone—yes, Jonathan, I’m looking at you, here.

And the after-school self-defence class has, I regret to say, been cancelled for tonight, it being Mr Gibson’s time of the month. Yes, Melanie, I’m quite aware of the essential irony of poor Mr Gibson having failed to defend himself when it counted, thank you. And, I might add, leaving doggy treats on his desk is infantile and not at all amusing—Melanie, I hope I have your full attention here?

Well, dusk appears to be drawing on, so I think that’s all for today—oh, yes: the vigilantes have asked me to remind you that anyone found hanging around Rothamsted Park after dark will be decapitated and buried under a crossroads with their mouth stuffed with garlic.

Class dismissed.

***

Hope you enjoyed!

I used to write short stories, didn’t I..?

Apparently I still do, and three of them have recently been accepted for publication:

Permanently Legless (m/m) is the story of a casualty of the war in Afghanistan:

The Taliban may have taken both Chris’s legs, but he came back from Afghanistan with his sense of humour and his lust for life firmly intact. The one thing that can shake his confidence is meeting Josh, the one-night stand from before his tour of duty he hasn’t been able to forget.
It turns out Josh hasn’t forgotten Chris, either. But with Chris such a changed man, can they still have a future?

Due out from Amber Allure on January 22nd, 2012.

And I’m delighted to say that Nine Days and Seven Tears and Belling the Kat (both f/f) will both be appearing in She Shifters, a Cleis Press anthology of lesbian shapeshifters. More details on the anthology when I have them!

The lovely Chris over at Stumbling Over Chaos is running a contest to win a copy of Wight Mischief – all you have to do to enter is leave a comment on this post.  Simples!

The draw will be held on the evening of November 7th (the day before the book is released). Good luck!