Coffee, Cake and Keanu

Posted on May 17, 2018 by lgflannigan

Happy New Year! Five months in and this is my first post in 2018!

Besides being busy with renovating and working, I’ve been enjoying coffee and cake with friends and family. And we’re still loving living in town and being five minutes from the sea.

Here’s a photograph I took yesterday evening. Warmish sun, a gentle breeze and the sea lapping at the shore. What more could a person want…

After making the decision to self publish Ordering Flynn Matthews in 2016 I’ve not bothered sending any work off to agents or publishers, however this January, after much nagging/encouragement from my gorgeous friend Jenni (newly signed with an agent!), I joined the Romantic Novelists’ Association’s New Writers’ Scheme. It’s allocated on a first served basis and the membership allows unpublished authors to take part in all RNA activities and also submit a manuscript of a full-length novel for appraisal. I have one ready to send however a casual comment about Scotland from my lovely friend, Tina, after a Reiki session, had a new idea spinning in my head. Now, a few weeks later and 35,000+ words in I’m thinking I’ll have it finished by Aug 31st deadline. I suspect the only thing that will hold me up is the synopsis which usually takes me as long to write as an 85,000 word novel.

I’ve also joined the newly formed RNA Bristol Chapter – we first met in March and they are a wonderful friendly bunch of authors who are willing to share their experiences to help each other especially us newbies. I’m looking forward to our next meeting on 21st July. Ooh and we meet at River Cottage restaurant in Bristol. Great venue and delicious food.

This month I have published the third and final (sorry Nicki!) novel in the Addicted Series, Working Flynn Matthews. To please one of my readers (Nicki) there will some more extras posted over on the Flynn Matthews website soon!

And if you haven’t read any in the Addicted Series yet, get over to Amazon now where they’re available for only 99p each. Plenty of 5 star reviews on all three! Thank you to everyone who has bought them and an extra thanks to the people who have found the time to leave reviews, they help in raising the profile of each novel 🙂 so it’s much appreciated.

A big thank you to my family and friends for their continued support for my writing. You’ve been amazing!

Anyone who knows me well is aware of my love for Keanu Reeves and today I saw a trailer for a new movie he’s in called Destination Wedding. The story of two miserable and unpleasant wedding guests, Lindsay and Frank, who develop a mutual affection despite themselves.

The Matrix is in my top 5 movies and I liked John Wick however it’s good to see him free from blood and not holding a gun. Most people say he can’t act, I disagree. Bim Adewunmi in her article Why I love…Keanu Reeves says it better than I can:

Reeves is somehow reassuring, with an enviably serene manner. This makes people see him as wooden, but I think it’s actually more about a man who likes to measure his movements; a movie star who understands space.

And I love the way she describes his walk: rangy and relaxed, but precise; the gait of a man who never needs to hurry.

Back to the movie coming out late August. He’s playing opposite a woman of his generation and not a young twenty something. How novel is that. I love Winona Ryder, especially in Stranger Things. I tend to write stories about younger people but watching the trailer for Destination Wedding got me thinking that at least one of my novels should be about similar aged characters to me. I have plenty of ideas 🙂

Anyway, here’s the trailer:

Glit-er-ary

Posted on December 6, 2017 by lgflannigan

Don’t you just love it when WordPress goes all Christmassy and falling snowflakes appear across the page.

Eeek, can’t believe how long it’s been since I posted! And I’ve published another novel since then too. Failing Flynn Matthews is available on Amazon now and only 99p! It’s “totally addictive reading” and apparently an “‘Effin’ awesome book!!! This is every bit as gripping, enthralling and at times frustrating as the first book.
You won’t want to put it down until you get to the end.” Thank you dear reader 🙂 and thanks to all the other 5 star reviewers too for Ordering Flynn Matthews and Failing Flynn Matthews!

I’m in the middle of formatting Working Flynn Matthews so you never know it might be published before Christmas. Move over Ellie, there’s a new girl in town.

A short story of mine, The Stuff of Fairytales, has been published in Bridge House Publishing‘s anthology, Glit-er-ary and is available in book and kindle form. There’s a wonderful variety of stories, some sad, some funny and some glittery 😉

I love the cover of the Anthology.

Click on cover to take you to Amazon

A little teaser from The Stuff of Fairytales:

I’ve been paid a mighty sum to kill her. It would cost the villagers nothing to do it themselves but they are simple god-fearing folk who don’t want her blood staining their hands…darkening their souls. Still I’m not complaining as their fear gives me work.

I collect her from the gaol, shackled at the ankles and wrists and wrapped in an oversized cloak. People never cease to surprise me. They want her dead but still they give her protection against the winter cold. A tiny slip of a thing, possibly no more than seventeen winters old, she is easy to bundle in the back of my cart. I make sure her chains are secure so there’s no means of escape. She doesn’t struggle. How this girl evokes such fear astonishes me. True her kind exist but I refuse to believe that she could tear me to pieces and rip out my heart – that is the stuff of fairytales.

It’s usual to provide some proof of death, the body for instance but not this time. Not one single drop of her crimson blood is to return to the village. I’m an honourable man so I’ll do as they ask. I will earn the bag of gold that’s stowed away in my cart.

As I drive the horse along the track it clears of people, dust flying up as they hurry towards the safety of their homes. Doors bang shut and the scraping and rasping of furniture being pushed up against them echoes out. As we round the corner and disappear from view a breath-like breeze ruffles my hair as if the villagers sigh in collective relief.

Three Manuscripts Later…

Posted on December 1, 2014 by lgflannigan

This year has flown by. My last post was in February. I had intended to post every month which is a reasonable aim I think however ten months later here’s my second post of the year!

So where was I? Ah yes, Ordering Flynn Matthews – no agents interested yet so after being ‘nagged’ by a couple of my readers, you know who you are ;), I’ve entered it into the Choc Lit Search for a Star Competition hoping they find my flawed heroes irresistible! You never know…

My Blood Rain manuscript is currently with an agent. In anticipation of her liking it, channelling positivity, finally this month I edited the second novel in the trilogy, Blood Moon. I need to write the finale, Blood Stone – story outline written so I’ll get to that after I’ve finished my latest project.

So what have I done in the ten months since I last posted? Written three novels (80,000+ words each) that’s what! Whether they get published is immaterial (although it would be vindication for the time spent away from my family and all the burnt, late dinners!) I won’t give up writing. I get agitated if I don’t get time to write! It’s an addiction. It truly is.

Ordering Flynn Matthews is a stand alone novel however I have written a sequel Failing Flynn Matthews. I took a break from Flynn and wrote a romantic suspense novel No Blame – it’s dark and unlike my other novels has two points of view. Two weeks ago I completed Working Flynn Matthews. I’m resting all three for the moment. I will do another edit before sending them to my kindle for a read. I find it helps me with spotting typos and seeing if it flows like an actual book! After saving up the pennies I’ll send them to my editor Debz Hobbs-Wyatt who provides a wonderful service. In celebration of the first birthday of her debut novel she’s offering a limited number of reduced price in-depth novel critiques this December. So for anyone looking for a professional edit I can’t recommend her highly enough and her normal rates are very competitive too.

I have plenty of ideas for new stories and have started on my next project The Horse’s Head inspired by a gorgeous notebook (my weakness) I bought on a trip to Camden Market in the summer. It’s become our favourite market to frequent, slightly inconvenient considering we live in Somerset!