The Good, The Sad, and the Awesome #publishing #cosplay #TheForceAwakens

I came back to work last Tuesday, and boy did I have a lot to catch up on. Still working on the backlog. And it's been a real mixed bag. I've not done any writing, reading, or editing in two weeks (although I've immersed myself in some Terry Pratchett rereads as a comfort thing). I've been busy finishing up cosplay, there's too much real life stuff as we enter the last half term before the big summer break and big changes for my two eldest monsters, and doing my part in the Portals project. So...

The Good
It's the official release day for Portals: Volume Three (which features the first chapter of my time travel romance Keir as one of the ten samples)! It's up at most reputable online retailers for free including Amazon US, UK and Canada (I can't vouch for the other Amazon sites at this time).
Volume Four is also up for pre-order at All Romance ebooks here:
https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-portalsvolumefour-2057186-153.html
This has been a fabulous project to be part of, with so many SFR Brigade members pulling together and using their differing skills to contribute. And there are whispers of another two volumes to come!

Webpage | Goodreads
Amazon | Kobo | B&N | iTunes
All Romance eBooks
Smashwords | Google Play

Pre-order at
All Romance eBooks

If you've missed either of the previous volumes, you can find them at all reputable online retailers - just click the appropriate retailer link beneath the covers and enjoy!

Webpage | Goodreads
Amazon | Kobo | B&N | iTunes
All Romance eBooks
Smashwords | Google Play

Webpage | Goodreads
Amazon | Kobo | B&N | iTunes
All Romance eBooks
Smashwords | Google Play

Also, while I was on my break, I got to go to the London ComicCon. It's a few years since I've been (more than a decade in fact), and wow! Was it huge!! I felt a bit like a rabbit trapped in headlights wandering around. There was sooooo much to look at. A fantastic amount of stalls, artwork, geek t-shirts, guest stars, panels, cosplay...oh, the cosplay! It's given me high hopes for the Star Wars Experience in July, where I'll be meeting fellow Brigader and fangirl Patty Hammond, and attending in cosplay myself with equally Star Wars mad 11yo.

Random photos coming up!

Super rare selfie in front of the ComicCon sign

Um, no idea who/what this is, I just took a photo because it was HUGE!

Gorgeous sculptures

Huge steampunk themed zone

I also bumped into Andrew Lee Potts (Connor from Primeval) and picked up a signed photo for my eldest and a photo opp for myself. ^-^ He even called me sweetheart! *squee* Okay, so he was calling everyone sweetheart... :P

You should go check out his latest project - Wireless - a current day/very near future scifi/cyberpunk kind of thriller that he's producing himself and uploading to youtube, starring as disgraced police officer Jacob Crow. The episodes so far are HERE and the website HERE.

I also met my name twinsie and fellow Brigader Pippa DaCosta and TOTALLY FAILED TO TAKE A PHOTO! *dies* How did I miss that?! Anyway, it was awesome fun and the universe didn't explode or anything (although that might have looked kind of amazing, right?). I did, however, exchange autographs. This is mine from Pippa (gosh, that sounds weird)...

The Sad

You might have noticed something missing from the right hand side bar (though I'll forgive you if you don't know what). After a slight delay (no surprise in the often slow moving wheels of publishing, and not one that overly concerned me) I received the rights reversion document for Gethyon as it started to come down from retailers. It may be down completely when this post goes live. It's a sad occasion, even though I'm happy to have my last contracted book back in my hands to do with as I will (bwahahaa!), especially as it's part of the same universe as my Keir series and a kind of prequel. Still, after receiving four books back on the closure of my main publisher last year, it's not quite so traumatic. :-P

Bye, bye!

What will happen next? Well, Gethyon has actually been in edits for the past three months as my 'June project'. I had thought to re-release it as soon as I got the rights back, but like so much else lately I've struggled with it and my imagined release date has slipped into a wormhole. With the long summer break just six weeks away and much real life stuff to focus on, I'm thinking a late September release date. Maybe. My plan is to have print copies in time for BristolCon at the end of October at the latest. Oh, yes. PRINT! It'll also include my original short story The Bones of the Sea as bonus material, since both mention the same planet.

The Awesome
Okay, a slight boast maybe. However people have used words such as 'awesome', 'stunning', and 'admirable' when referring to my completed General Hux cosplay. Ta dah! (with thanks to 11yo who gave me permission to post). It's not 100% screen accurate, but that's partly down to it being my first full cosplay AND creating the pattern for it myself from scratch, plus 11yo wasn't wild about the 'billows' on Hux's trousers (I quite understand that). It has the look, and I'm especially chuffed with the hat, and it's not one you can just buy in the standard costume shops either. :) I'm afraid my own Jedi outfit will look somewhat less impressive.
Full details on the entire process including links to resources will go up on my tumblr blog HERE over the summer.

















Happenings
Tomorrow is technically the last day of the Let's Eat! Blog Hop, although the giveaway will stay open until the end of June. You can find the first post on the hop HERE or jump straight to my Time Travellers Soup HERE.

In less than a month, the SFRB Summer Blog Hop will take place - and this year I'm not running it. Yay! :P A little later than usual as the previous ones have been midsummer, but otherwise the same gathering of science fiction romance authors sharing posts - this year on the theme of Other Worlds - and, of course, giveaways galore!

And just as that finishes, the SFR Cross Promo group will be running a 99 cents and free books event. If you want to receive details of that please sign up to my newsletter at: http://eepurl.com/IKX7b

Status Update
Gethyon is in edits. Revived is in edits. Reunion is...somewhere. *shoves it under the virtual carpet*
WARNING: Quickshot will be going up from 99 cents/pence etc to $1.50 after the end of June.

A Space Opera Short Story
Goodreads | Webpage
Amazon | ARe | Smashwords
iTunes | Kobo | B&N

Chook Update
There's been no further sign of the fox. The girls are making do with their restricted access to the open garden being watched over by a member of the family. This will not change. So to finish, here's a rare shot of all six of my girls together. Have a good week!

From left to right: Effie, Fizzgig, Pitch, (tucked at the back) Scoop, Kyru and Chiana