Happy Hogmany

Christmas may be the winter festival that gets the majority of the attention, but there is also the other one. The celebration of the new year, called Hogmany here in Scotland, was for a long time the bigger of the two celebrations.

Wikipedia gives some explanation of why that happened - you'll not be surprised to find that it was about Churches fighting amongst other things. But for us, the ordinary folk, it means that we get to celebrate mid-winter, the renewal of the year and the steady march towards spring. So I'm all for it.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas_in_Scotland
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hogmany

So, when it arrives in your part of the world, I wish you all a Happy New Year; hope the first person to cross your door is tall, dark and handsome; and that 2014 brings you everything that you wish for.

Scottish Stuff

I've been here for a few weeks now and there are some things that I've noticed that I had to blog about. 

When I moved back home I was all enthusiastic about using solely Scottish locations in the writing that I have planned for 2014.  Now this is fine in principle. After all there are few very unique places any more.  Few places that are so untouched by globalised culture that people from anywhere else wouldn't be able to understand the plot, or characters, or motivations. Whilst this is definitely true of most of Scotland I've become aware of a few things that I'd have to modify in any writing for the stories to be translatable by someone in Australia or America. 

Firstly and most obviously is the language. I don't just mean the Scottish accents (and there are a few, not just one). The way people speak here is unique to the locale and it is a mix of accent and language that make it impossible to write for a broader readership. I'm not sure where I'd even start if I tried to capture both the different words that get used here and the accents that are used. I'd fail miserably at trying to capture these in a written form that others would then be able to read and understand. So most of the speech that I write will have to be in standard English, with the uniqueness of accent and language choice included in description instead. This makes me feel like a bad Scotsman and a poor writer. That's ok though. I can try get better at those things over time. 

One of the other things that I've noticed is the very marked difference in physical height between Scots and those down south in London. I never thought of myself as being overly tall when I lived in London. I was always just about average there. But here in Scotland I am most definitely tall and walking along a busy street I can look over the top of the heads of more than half of the people. I'm only an inch or so above 6 foot tall, so no giant. 

But this quite obvious physical difference is going to have to inform future Scottish characters. They can't all be 6 foot-plus Adonis's. As that just wouldn't represent the local population. So shorter hero's are the way ahead. 

The final thing that I've noticed, or rather I forgot, during my 20 years of living elsewhere, is just how friendly people are. What would be taken for over familiarity, or downright crazy behaviour, in London, is commonplace here. People say hello and good morning to others waiting at a bus stop. People will stop and chat with complete strangers in bars and coffee shops, just to pass some time and it comes without agenda. You know what? It's really lovely that they do that. That open hearted approach to living is one of the reasons that I moved back home. I must remember to include it in the things that I write though, without being dazzled by its peculiarity from an outsiders perspective.

Christmas giveaway

Over on RJ Scott's blog - http://rjscottauthor.blogspot.co.uk/2013/11/twentyfivedays.html?zx=9005c0e738e56852 - you can win things. Most importantly today you can win a $10 Amazon voucher as part of the give away for Christmas Delights anthology.

So go, go now, and enter to win. Oh, and on Christmas Day there will be Grand Draw, with even bigger prizes. 

Christmas Is Coming - Christmas Delights

We are nearly half way through December, so Christmas really is coming. Have you managed to read some of the stories from Christmas Delights yet? If you have then let me know (in the little comment box below) which ones tickled your fancy, or made you swoon a little with how perfect it was. Or anything else you thought as you've been reading it.

Oh, and I do hope you've read Christmas Angel (and enjoyed it). You can get your free copy of Christmas Delights from All Romance here

Christmas Music - second choice

Are you feeling Christmasy yet? No?

Well have some more Christmas music. This one is a lovely version of Winter Wonderland by Nathan Leigh Jones.

Christmas Music - first choice

I'm reading my way through the stories in the Christmas Delights anthology - you really should get your free copy, then you can read my Christmas story (and hopefully enjoy it - it's 'fun and romantic' I've been told)  get your copy here - and it is slowly getting me in the mood for Christmas itself. But you know what totally gets me in the Christmas mood? Music. Specifically Christmas music. So here is the first (of a few) posts sharing seasonal music. I'm starting with a song from my favourite Christmas album ever. Enjoy -

Christmas Is Coming - Music

I always struggle to find just the right presents for people. I like to get them things that I hope they'll like, but that they won't suspect they'll be getting - a nice surprise. It doesn't always work out that way, but I try.

I do like to give music as a present. Music is a timeless present, something that people can keep for years and as time passes they grow closer to it and gain more meaning from. Here are 5 suggested albums from this year that I think would make great presents:



Gracefully by Eric Himan
Red Hot Tears was the leading single for the album and was the song of my summer.


You can hear samples of Eric's music and find out more about Gracefully at Eric's website


The Mystery of You by Spencer Day
Once you hear this man's voice you'll be in love with him, forever. He's also quite a hottie, which always helps.
The Mystery of You the single has a lovely video too. Here is the song:


You can find out more about Spencer and his music at his website 


Drown Before You Swim by Matt Gold
I'd never heard of Matt before this year but he has quickly become one of my favourites.
You can watch a few of his videos here  and if you only have time to watch one of them, then try Ordinary.


Steven Taetz's self titled debut album
This is a short album but each song will grow on you to become indispensable listening.
Find out more here


In Your Care by Bright Light. Bright Light
An EP rather than a full album (for the full album experience you should definitely try out Make Me Believe In Hope).  This is a handful of wonderfully crafted pop music that always makes me love it anew.
The title track is previewed here

And you can find out more about him here



It's no coincidence that all the artists above are out gay men. I strongly support the LGBT community supporting artists from the community and promoting each other. If you can then buy the albums from all five artists and support their work.

Christmas Is Coming

We are finally here, the 1st December, and the lead up to Christmas starts now. You know what else this means? It means that Christmas Delights is released today! That's exciting news - well it is for me, and I'm sure it will be for you too once you start reading it - that means you get a sexy story almost every day between now and Christmas.

The anthology includes stories from 14 new authors and some stories from selected established authors. It includes something to suit everyones tastes (well I think that, you can tell me below if you don't think so).

You can get your free copy here - it's available in all the usual formats, so whether you read on a Kindle, iPad, computer or other device, you can get a copy that'll work.

I hope you enjoy it. If you do then come back and tell me what you liked the most. Oh, and remember to go rate and review it on Goodreads