So, this happened! To one of my books.

Escaping From Him (available now on Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk) received an honorable mention in the Rainbow Awards.

This is what they had to say: This is my first book by this author.  From the beginning I was pulled into the world he created.  I could not put this story down needing to see what would happen next and how the story would end.  I will be looking for more from this author in the future.

*blushing, throwing glitter, disappearing off stage*

Liam Livings xx

Most of the stops on the tour have been posted now, so if you'd like to check them out the links are below. Most of them have a competition for a lucky commenter to win an ebook from my published books. Do check out the blogs I've been visiting, make yourself a coffee / tea / gin and tonic and settle down to find out more about me, and the book.

Charlie Cochrane - practical jokes and my years at university.
RJ Scott - best thing a taxi driver has said to me.
JL Merrow - my best clothing items and why.
Jo Myles - how many frogs a boy has to kiss before he meets his Prince Charming.

Enjoy!

Liam Livings xx

I have finalised the where and what of this short, 5 stop blog tour, which is below with links to the websites. I don't yet have links to the actual posts until they're live. I will reblog them as and when they're published.
On 25 October I was talking on RJ Scott's blog about the best thing a cabbie (taxi driver) has ever said to me, and my favourite shops.

On 26 October, I'm talking to Charlie Cochrane about where I went to university and if I'm a practical joker.

On 27 October, JL Merrow is having me over to chat dressing up for Halloween and my best clothing purchases.

Jo Myles has me over on 30 October to talk about my biggest extravagance, if you can hop into the Best Friends Perfect series at any point, and how many frogs a boy has to kiss to meet his Prince Charming.

Also on 30 October, NR Walker is helping spread the word about the final book in the Best Friends Perfect series.

Most of the blogs have a comment with a response to a question and you'll be in with a chance to win one of my ebooks, so please stop over at the various places on the way.
Until next time,
Liam Livings xx

Love Lane Books is producing a free male male romance (sometimes called gay romance)* anthology for new authors who've yet to be published, or authors who have only two books or so published.

Love Lane Books doesn't make money from this anthology, it is all done for free, it's run as a project to promote new authors in the male male romance genre. LLB also does the awesome cover art.

For more details check out the Love Lane Books blog post.

And check out the pretty cover for their Christmas anthology from 2013 *strokes cover*

Love Lane Books has been a pleasure to work with and I have two stories with them; And Then That Happened (out now) and The Guardian Angel, (out next month) thanks to the amazing RJ Scott and Mr RJ.

 Liam Livings xx

*if you're not sure about the difference between gay or male male romance AND gay fiction just search on line for the phrase and there's loads of articles. And here's a good one to get you started.

I asked all spotlight delegates for UK Meet these three questions, and finally, I answered them myself, below:

If you wrote an autobiography, what would its title be and why?
Write! Write! Write! But you’d have to sing it to chorus of Shame Shame Shame by Shirley & Co.  So many people ask me how I fit in writing among my busy life, and my answer is I just write write write because it’s such fabulous fun*, and why wouldn’t you make time in your life for something you enjoyed?

What has your writing/ blogging journey been like from the start until now?
I wrote Best Friends Perfect as a challenge to myself to actually write a novel. Then, through the BF’s auntie being Clare London’s hairdresser (work that one out if you can) after an initial meeting many years ago at BF’s auntie’s wedding, I was re-introduced to Clare London and the world of GLBTQ stories. I attended UK Meet 2012 in Brighton as a delegate, trying out my new Liam Livings persona for the first time, and have made loads of helpful author, reader and blogger friends, and talked about my stories. Every time a reader says she’s read one of my stories I’m always amazed, embarrassed and a little bit scared, all at the same time. I attend RNA London chapter meetings, their annual conference, read for their New Writers Scheme, and help run a local Essex writers group with Jean Fullerton and Victoria Robertson. I’m published with 4 publishers and my laptop and touch typing fingers are trying to keep up with the ideas as they jostle to be written each day. Writing has taught me so much about telling stories, character arcs, 3 act structures, comma splices, general grammar, and has enriched my life in so many ways through the wonderful people I’ve met all over the world.

What do you hope to get from UK Meet that’s different from other conferences?
It’s wonderful to meet other gay romance authors. It’s great to meet readers and bloggers, other conferences I’ve attended were only for authors and it adds a great richness by having readers and bloggers there too. Butlers in the buff – they were, sadly absent at other conferences I’ve attended. It’s an opportunity to catch up face to face, maybe even with a hug, all the friends I’ve made in this genre.
Liam xxx
*there are of course knock backs, upsets, dramas, tears, torn tiaras, and times when some things seem too much to cope with, but having a supportive group of author friends at the end of an email /phone means these moments soon pass and it’s back to being fab-u-lous!

And, simply because I love it, it's kitsch, and it's as fab-u-lous as the Shirley and Co song, here's a link to another classic by Carol Douglas - inspired by the Sex and The City episode where the girls take a trip to Staten Island and Charlotte gets very drunk and Samantha disappears with a fireman. Good times!

Enjoy!

Liam Livings xx

I'm pleased to announce that the final part in the Best Friends Perfect series will be published on 21 October. I'm currently working out blog tour dates, locations and discussion topics. If you'd like to know anything about the book, do let me know through comments or facebook / twitter, and I'll do my best to respond as part of the blog tour. Review blogs who would like an ARC and haven't recieved one from Wilde City Press, do let me know.

I hope you enjoy reading about how it all ends for Kieran and his friends,

Liam Livings xx

Best Friends Perfect Book Three

What happens when your perfect new best friend isn’t so perfect after all?

1999, Kieran, 18 is at uni searching London for Prince Charming with new best friend, Jo. Between his new uni friends, American students Julie and The Sarahs, his work at the hospital and his studies he’s keeping himself busy.

But all Kieran wants is to share this with Jo, but he’s disappeared with his boyfriend, Irish student Andrew.  Why doesn’t Sean call Kieran back?

And then something happens to turn Kieran’s world upside down, when he really needs his friends around him.
How far can you really push a practical joke? How many frogs does a boy have to kiss, until he meets his Prince Charming? And what do you do when your friend can’t see what’s in front of his face?

Here's the last stop on my blog tour for Heat Wave Astoria, me talking about the world of gay romance to a fellow RNA member Jenny Harper, and giving some tips for authors. Here's a sneak peak into the author tips, click on the link above for the full article:

1. Read lots and lots of books, not just books about writing, but books in the genre you want to write, and also in other genres. Read them for pleasure, then go back and make notes about what worked, how the author’s done various things, phrases that jump out at you.
   
2. Write a lot, and make sure you write to the end of what you’re writing. It’s easy to write the first three chapters then move onto another shiny new idea. The hard work is slogging right through to the end, then going back and editing it until it’s as good as you can make it.
3. Learn the craft of story telling – plot, pace, structure, character, dialogue. You can do this by doing the other 5 points in this list.
4. Don’t give up. Think of each rejection as a piece of armour on your body.
5. Talk to other writers. Writing is essentially a very lonely job; it’s just yourself and a laptop with your made up characters. I’m an extrovert, and I thrive on the company of others. I love talking story, books, reading, anything really to other writers. The RNA conference and London chapter have been a wonderful way for me to get to know other authors. Every author I’ve met has been very friendly, and willing to help others.
6. Live your life. You have to live a life, you can’t just write write write. Where else do you get your ideas from? Catherine Alliott says she sits next to people at dinner parties and uses other people’s stories as inspiration for her books. I do this too, only sometimes it’s on the bus, or Tube, or something that happens to me in real life, or one of my friends. It’s all inspiration for stories. You need to replenish the creative well in a more ways than only reading about writing in books or the internet.
   

Hello,
October is Queer Romance Month. Check out the link for loads of great posts throughout October.
My post is in this link, and it's about why I loved Queer As Folk so much when it came out in the nineties.
Enjoy,
Liam Livings xx