Merry Christmas

This is always a busy time of year for me, especially this year as my assistant broke up yesterday leaving me to deal with the pre-Christmas rush myself. Tomorrow I have to do a full day's work in half a day and drive down the M1, around the M25 and along the M20 to get to Dover by 6pm to catch a ferry.

So please excuse my blogging and tweeting tardiness over the past week or so and until the new year.

I'd just like to thank everyone for reading during the past twelve months. 2008 has been a shitty year in many ways for many people, but Marc Nobbs has had a pretty good year overall. Two novellas released and a full length novel accepted and due for release next yer. Not bad going really.

Can I wish you all very merry festive period, a spelnid new year's celebration and let's hope for all out sakes that our political masters can sort out the mess they've gotten us into by the end of 2009.

cheers and beers

Marc

Yesterday's Tweets

Tweet, Tweet, Here's a list of all my twitter postings in the last 24 hours.

• 09:42 On the Blog : Yesterday's Tweets tinyurl.com/4zjrtu
• 06:34 On Flickr Santa's Coming: marcnobbs posted a photo: tinyurl.com/9apq9h
• 06:34 On Flickr Santa's Coming: marcnobbs posted a photo: tinyurl.com/7pgf8p
• 06:34 On Flickr Santa's Coming: marcnobbs posted a photo: tinyurl.com/9n59jv
• 06:34 On Flickr Santa: marcnobbs posted a photo: tinyurl.com/7ty5pt

Automatically shipped by LoudTwitter

www.twitter.com/marcnobbs

marcnobbs.com

Yesterday's Tweets

Tweet, Tweet, Here's a list of all my twitter postings in the last 24 hours.

• 09:39 Okay, so, it's Christmas meal day. All the ladies in the office look Glamourous, all the Gents look fine and not very dandy. Should be fun
• 10:36 I have this year's apprasial in half an hour. I'm sooooo looking forward to it.
• 10:58 Off to see the boss for my apprasial. Wish me luck.
• 12:22 Apprasial went well. Now off for a two hour Christmas Lunch. Lovely
• 15:48 Back from Lunch and I was 'pursuaded' to play Santa for the office secret santa. What fun.
• 16:29 I just got an e-mail from Santa! How cool is that?
• 16:30 Write & Email Santa Claus for a North Pole Christmas! tinyurl.com/d3ne4 via @ShareThis
• 16:31 @emily83176 You want to be careful - sit on Santa's lap and you might have a problem with his north pole.
• 16:36 @emily83176 North, South, what's the difference. All you need to know is that it's long, hard and stripy. Red and white stripes, no less
• 16:43 On the Blog : E-mail from Santa tinyurl.com/3ny4u2
• 16:56 @emily83176 Ahh, do you WANT it to taste like peppermint?
• 16:57 @emily83176 I know - Santa Rocks!
• 16:59 Right, that's me done. I'm off home for the day. Byeess

Automatically shipped by LoudTwitter

www.twitter.com/marcnobbs

marcnobbs.com

E-mail from Santa

Today, I sent Santa an E-mail. And I got a Reply! How cool. See below for my e-mail and the reply.

Dear Father Christmas,
My name is Mark. I am a boy and I am already 34 years old!! I live in the great city of
Northamption. Of course, that's in Northamptonshire, United Kingdom, but I'll bet you knew
that!! This year I've been so good that, well, ok, maybe my halo has been to the repair shop a
few times this year.
Father Christmas, some things I might like for Christmas this year are:
- a red Ferrari;
- a silver Aston Martin; and,
- a Pussy Cat Doll.
Father Christmas, I almost forgot to say... My friend at work says you're not real. But we all
know you are. Please make sure you don't send Mr. Fursey any presents as he doesn't believe in
you.
Love, Mark

And here's his reply, although, I'm not sure Santa knows what a Pussy Cat Doll is. Either that or Mrs Santa has discovered a liking for girls herself.

Merry Christmas Mark!
Thank you for sending me your email all the way from Northamption! HO!! Ho!! ho!! We get
wonderful Christmas emails from boys and girls around the world but everyone at the North Pole
sure gets excited when we get one from you Mark!
Jumping Jingle Bells, Mark! Are you fibbing to ol' Santa Claus?!? You can't possibly be
34 years old already! Why it seems like only yesterday that I was leaving presents for a
certain little boy and here you are now, practically one of Santa's elves! (*grin*)
Sorry the presents the last little while probably haven't been quite as exciting as they were
when you were a little boy but, well, you know how these things go (*wink*). Anyway, Santa's
glad to see some of the 'older kids' (not to mention anyone in particular!) still take the time to
write. I also hear you've been a sorta good boy. (Of course, you won't mind if I do a little
checking, will you? HO!! Ho!! ho!!).
What's this? Someone doesn't believe in Santa Claus? Why, that's like not believing in love,
imagination and the spirit of childhood! I hope Mark that, no matter what, you will always keep
the spirit of Santa in your heart.
Let's see what you put in your letter for Christmas wishes: 1. red Ferrari; 2. silver Aston martin
and; 3. pussy cat doll. HO!! Ho!! ho!! Mrs. Claus will be tickled to hear you like pretty doll stuff
as much as she does! She just loves helping the elves make all the wonderful doll
things. Even with Mrs. Claus helping though we never seem to make enough of
them for everyone so I hope you won't be too upset with me if I can't bring you everything you
asked for.
HO!! Ho!! ho!! The elves are diving into the present wrapping machine again! Such silly elves!
They're okay, but I guess I better go help unwrap them. Take care Mark and don't forget to
come back and visit me here at EmailSanta.com on Christmas Eve!! And remember... only 7 more
sleeps until Christmas!!
Wishing you a very Merry Christmas,

SANTA

Now, how cool is that?

Yesterday's Tweets

Tweet, Tweet, Here's a list of all my twitter postings in the last 24 hours.

• 08:41 On the Blog : Yesterday's Tweets tinyurl.com/6lk3yc
• 09:48 The pub I pass on the way to work is advertising its Valentine's night dinner ALREADY! It's not even Christmas YeT for God's sake!
• 11:08 @KarenNolan My fave hobby is whatever my wife tells me it is. I'll leave the rest to your imagination
• 11:12 It's 11:10, had three cups of tea so far today, tons of things to do, no motivation to do them. Oh, sut up and just get on with them.
• 13:40 Today seems to be dragging along realllllllllllyyyy slllllooowwwwly. I need some more tea.
• 14:22 I've been for a walk to the bank and it's so cold outside that now I'm back inside I'm roasting. Is it my age do you think?
• 14:23 I really need to sit and write a blog entry today. I just don't know what to write about.
• 16:09 my eyelid keeps twitching. It's really, really annoying.
• 16:54 just had a slightly depressing conversation with the boss. Damn these economic woes.
• 16:55 Anyways, I'm off home now. Byeess

Automatically shipped by LoudTwitter

www.twitter.com/marcnobbs

marcnobbs.com

Yesterday's Tweets

Tweet, Tweet, Here's a list of all my twitter postings in the last 24 hours.

• 08:41 On the Blog : Yesterday's Tweets tinyurl.com/5usqy5
• 09:09 It's morning and I'm dertermined to remain postive and be nice to everyone all day. Well, at least until 9:10. wait, it IS 9:10
• 10:35 England - Uncyclopedia, the content-free encyclopedia tinyurl.com/58unp4 via @ShareThis
• 10:42 On the Blog : I'm confused dot com tinyurl.com/5rhnk3
• 13:39 "Extended Family" on StoriesOnline (Membership required) rurl.org/18xb

Automatically shipped by LoudTwitter

www.twitter.com/marcnobbs

marcnobbs.com

I'm confused dot com

Seriously, I am. I'm confused. Today, I learnt that in America a state governor can appoint someone to a senate seat if it is vacant and there isn't an election due.

Can someone please explain this to me as I was under the impression that America was a democracy.

I'm talking, of course, about the seat in Illinois that has been made vacant by Obama's election as President and the 'shocking' news that the governor has been accused of trying to sell the set to the highest bidder. Now, regardless of if he if guilty or not, what I don't understand is why he has the power to appoint someone to the seat in the first place.

You see, in the UK, when a seat in any elected body, be it Parliament, the county council or the committee of the local allotment association, is made vacant for whatever reason be it resignation, death or any other reason (such as when George Robertson was made a Baron and appointed secretary-general of NATO) then we hold a by-election - a one off election to ensure someone fills the seat until the next scheduled election.

So why isn't that happening in the US?

Seriously, can someone explain it to me because I don't understand.

Yesterday's Tweets

Tweet, Tweet, Here's a list of all my twitter postings in the last 24 hours.

• 08:42 On the Blog : Yesterday's Tweets tinyurl.com/5r2xk9
• 09:39 Second week in a row that the server has shut down over the weekend and I get an earbasing as a result! It was an MS update this time.
• 09:40 So it's yet another great start to the week. Why can't people understand I can't fix things if I'm not here.
• 09:40 DO they expect me to work all weeekend - just in case?
• 09:41 As you can tell, I'm a tad pissed off right now. Maybe some caffine will calm me down a bit.
• 10:42 Just processing some invoices then I'm going to have a cup of coffee and do some sneaky writing
• 10:42 I'm currently working on two pieces. DId a ton of work on one of them last night. I've got an idea for a third too.
• 10:42 Need to get the opening to the third out of my head before I lose it.
• 10:58 just been offered a scone with jam and fresh cream. Lovely.
• 11:42 On the Blog : The Meaning of Life tinyurl.com/6pbgbq
• 13:19 I'm sneezing so hard right now (well, not RIGHT now, you know what I mean) I think my brain is going to come out through my nose.
• 16:06 God, I've had enough of today. Now I understand what the Boomtown Rats meant about Mondays.
• 16:21 I tell you, today couldn't have been much worse than it has been. Server problems again, mostly. Roll on tomorrow.
• 16:21 I think I'm going to NEED to do some writing tonight just to clear my head.
• 16:23 @morrismoresca sorry, only just seen this. I'm in the UK so I'm at least 5 hours ahead of you, maybe more.
• 17:10 On Cbeebies they end the Bedtime hour with a song "the end of a lovely day" Today has not been a lovely day.
• 17:11 So I'm off home. I might have a few beers tonight to compensate. Byees

Automatically shipped by LoudTwitter

www.twitter.com/marcnobbs

marcnobbs.com

The Meaning of Life

Last night I had one of those "muse" moments. You know the sort of thing, a story idea comes to you and before you know it you've plotted the whole thing out and drawn the characters and are ready to go.

Except it was the middle of the night and I wasn't going to get up and start typing. So i had to wait until this morning when I was at my desk and could bash out the opening to get things going.

So here it is. The opening to a new story that popped into my head last night. Let me know what you think.

-----

It was like waking from a dream. Not a nice dream, or a bad dream, just a dream. And it was dark. But it would be since she had her eyes closed. She opened them. It wasn’t dark anymore. It was white. Bright white. So bright and so white that her eyes should have hurt. But they didn’t. Nothing hurt. It should have, after what she’d done, but it didn’t. There was no pain at all. There was nothing. She wasn’t hot, or cold, or anything. She just was.

It was about then that she realised she was lying face down on the floor. Or it could have been the floor, she couldn’t tell since it looked no different from anything else around her. She stood up. She stood up and stared into the infinite whiteness.

Nothing. There was nothing. Except for that bench. Where had that come from? It wasn’t there earlier. Or was it? She couldn’t remember. The bench, like everything else, was white. A white, wooden, park bench. She had nothing else to do—there was nothing else to do—so she sat on the bench and again stared into the infinite whiteness.

“Hello, Katherine.” It was man’s voice. She whipped her head around in the direction it had come from. There was a man. Just a man. Ordinary looking. Nothing special about him. Except that he was naked. She realised she was naked too. But then she wasn’t. And neither was he. He wore a white T-shirt and white trousers. As did she.

“It’s Kat,” she said. “Just Kat.”

“My apologies. I only get confirmation of formal names, not nicknames. May I sit with you?”

“Whatever.” Why not, there was no one else to sit with.

“Well,” said the man. “Here we are.”

She looked at him. He looked smug. No, not smug, just... He just looked. “And where is here, exactly?”

“Just here, where we are.”

“Right. That makes sense.”

“Good.”

“And who are you?”

“I’m whoever you want me to be.”

“Right. Good. Glad to know.”

They sat in silence for a short while. Or it might have been a long while, she had no way to tell. Eventually, it may have been after a few seconds, minutes or hours, she said, “What do you mean, whoever I want you to be?”

“I have many names, Kat. Many names given by many people.”

“So you’re God.”

He shrugged.

“So I am dead? It worked then? I am dead.”

“I don’t think so. Not yet.”

“Not yet?” She thought again—she didn’t know how long for. “So this is, like, a half-way house. Between worlds, so to speak?”

“You could say that. Is that what you think?”

“Yes. That’s what I think.”

“Then that’s what this is.”

Another pause of indeterminable length while she thought about this.

“So, what now?”

“What do you think?”

“I think you have to decide if I go to heaven or hell.”

He didn’t answer.

“Well, it’s not much of a choice is it?” She held up her arms to show him her wrists. She expected to find a the wound, or scars, but there was nothing. She put her arms down again. “I took my own life. That’s a sin, right. It’s off to hell with me.”

The man hummed then said, “No. Not just yet. Or maybe never.”

“What then?”

“Kat, let me explain something to you.”

“Go on.”

“I’ve seen many people like you. Many. And I always ask them one thing.”

“What’s that?”

“I ask them my one thing and depending on their answer, I decide if they are ready to continue with their journey, or if they have to go back and finish their other journey.”

“So what’s the question?”

“Are you ready?”

“Yes, I’m ready. Can I go now?”

“No, I mean, are you ready for the question?”

She signed. “Just get on with it.”

“Okay. Here goes. Katherine Sharp, what is the meaning of life?”

She laughed. “Ha! How am I supposed to know? After two thousand years of civilisation, mankind doesn’t have an answer, how do you expect me to know?”

“Would you like a clue?”

“Yes.”

“There is no universal answer. The answer is different for each person.”

“So... You mean, what is the meaning of my life?”

“Well, it is your life we’re discussing.”

After some thought, she said, “Well, my life has been all about pain, suffering and abject loneliness.”

“Is that your final answer?”

“What is this, Who Wants to be a Millionaire? Yes, that’s my final answer.”

“Then you’re wrong. That is not the meaning of life. Your life or anyone else's.”

“So I have to go back.”

“Yes. You do. And the next time we meet, maybe you’ll have the right answer. I think you need a long, long time to figure it out.”

“Do I have to go back?”

“Back to a life of pain, suffering and abject loneliness.”

“Oh, I think that’s all about to change. Would you mind closing your eyes for me.”

She did so without thinking. The last thing she saw was his hand reaching out. The last thing she felt was his hand on her forehead. Then everything went black. There was nothing else that could have happened.

Yesterday's Tweets

Tweet, Tweet, Here's a list of all my twitter postings in the last 24 hours.

• 08:41 On the Blog : Yesterday's Tweets tinyurl.com/6by7ly
• 09:25 There was a light dusting of snow on the car this morning. Thermo in the car read -2C. I was hopeful, but it's just drizzling now.
• 09:26 Top off the very grey day with back pain. I 'twinged' it when I put my bag down this morning. Am in agony. Looks like an ibuprofen job.
• 11:46 It's been another long morning again.
• 12:38 Lunch time! God, I'm starved.
• 12:49 YouTube - trick-soccer-throw-in-destroys kid tinyurl.com/5mhe7e via @ShareThis you've probably seen this, but it is funny
• 13:10 managers job tinyurl.com/pn3jb via @ShareThis This is hilarious. Wish I had the balls to do this sort of thing.
• 13:27 I suppose I better get on with some work now, hand't I?
• 13:58 Told a co-worker I'd hold her down and stick it in if she didn't take one. I was talking doughnuts. I really should think before I speak.
• 14:32 iPod on. Kelly clarkson - Because of You. Flippin' great song that.
• 15:13 Now playing in my ear - Fergie - Big girls don't cry. Another great flippin song.
• 15:15 @ladlem Okay, what did I say that made you giggle. Was it the doughnuts?
• 15:16 @Alessia_Brio Mine has trouble with tune carrying too. But he is only 3 so I'll et him off. (that and I'm pretty bad too)
• 15:17 @MeghnaK Texting takes too long to type in with out a proper keyboard and too long to read with all the damn txtspk
• 15:18 Now in my ear - Natalie Unspellable&unpronounceable - Big mistake.
• 15:42 Now playing in my ear - Bittersweet Symphoney. Love this song.
• 15:49 @morrismoresca Morning? It's nearly hometime for me. It's dark outside and everything. I'll still go read the blurbs thou - thanks.
• 16:03 Some Excerpts from my June release "Kissed by a Rose"tinyurl.com/6z2x9c via @ShareThis
• 16:04 Kissed by a Rose - Sneak Peek tinyurl.com/5spgx5 via @ShareThis
• 16:21 @Jaye_Valentine Still prefer the original - Such a powerful song and she sings it so well.
• 16:55 @MeghnaK Can't you tell I'm too old to be a student now?
• 17:02 HOMETIME! Bring on the weekend - Come On! TTFN Twitter Peeps

Automatically shipped by LoudTwitter

www.twitter.com/marcnobbs

marcnobbs.com

Yesterday's Tweets

Tweet, Tweet, Here's a list of all my twitter postings in the last 24 hours.

• 08:42 On the Blog : Yesterday's Tweets tinyurl.com/5ksp8p
• 09:31 great start to the day - Lights are out in one room. Nothing I've tried can bring them back on. Bugger.
• 10:10 Just editing my MySpage page to profile 2.0!
• 10:34 MySpace profile 2.0 - Shit. Will not allow me to drag and drop modules where I want them to go. In Firefox OR IE. Shit, shit, shit.
• 10:52 My new MySpace profile has the largest twitter badge in history on it. And I can't change it. All set correctly. Just won't size correctly.
• 10:53 MySpace profile 2.0 - You can't centre selected bits - eg, pictures but not text. It's all centred or nothing at all. shit, shit, shit.
• 13:40 My redesigned MySpace page - still needs tweaking, thou. tinyurl.com/6rcglt via @ShareThis
• 14:21 @jmsnyder23 ouch. Hate those things
• 15:41 One of my co-workers is walking around without shoes cause he trod in dog shit when out on his lunchtime walk. Ha Ha!
• 15:42 On the Blog : Tough few days tinyurl.com/57z6te
• 15:42 On the Blog : Kissed by a Rose - Sneak Peek tinyurl.com/5spgx5
• 16:00 Kissed by a Rose - Sneak Peek tinyurl.com/5spgx5 via @ShareThis
• 16:02 Another 'pre-edit' excerpt tinyurl.com/48wyjp via @ShareThis
• 16:03 Yet Another 'pre-edit' excerpt of Kissed by a Rose tinyurl.com/67em4q via @ShareThis
• 16:04 One more 'pre-edit' excerpt of Kissed by a Rose. tinyurl.com/595g93 via @ShareThis
• 16:05 And the last Kissed by a Rose Excerpt of my Blog tinyurl.com/6dzl2j via @ShareThis
• 16:43 On the Blog : Some Earlier Excerpts tinyurl.com/6z2x9c

Automatically shipped by LoudTwitter

www.twitter.com/marcnobbs

marcnobbs.com

Some Earlier Excerpts

I've been posting excerpts from Kissed by a Rose on this blog for a while now. Here are links to some of them.

http://marcnobbs.blogspot.com/2008/10/im-certianly-putter-inner.html

http://marcnobbs.blogspot.com/2008/09/from-first-draft-to-second-and-beyond.html

http://marcnobbs.blogspot.com/2008/07/awge.html

http://marcnobbs.blogspot.com/2008/06/chloes-education-excerpt.html

Kissed by a Rose - Sneak Peek

"Kissed by a Rose" is scheduled for release by Phaze in June 2009. Here's a sneak peek.
Blurb

Who'd have thought tears in the library could change your life? For Adam Smith they led to love. But when your girlfriend is the latest English Rose to grace the silver screen, life's not going to be easy. Hounded by the press, autograph hunters at every turn, she's his power, his pleasure and his pain. An addiction he can't deny. The more he gets, the stranger he feels. But a student and a superstar just don't mix. Do they? They're from two different worlds. Aren't they? And remember what the song says: Every Rose has its Thorn.

---------
From Chapter 5... (please remember, this is pre-edit text - a special sneak peek)

He found his booth, unoccupied as always, and spread his lecture notes out across the desk. He picked out what he'd written about Nineteen Eighty-Four and began reading. He was halfway through when heard something. He stopped and listened. It was coming from the other side of the bookshelf behind him. He lifted his head and listened harder but the noise had stopped. He thought it had sounded like someone sobbing, but he must have been mistaken. He returned to his notes. He'd read just a few sentences more when he heard it again. He listened. There was no doubt this time. Someone was in the next booth, and they were crying.

He put his notes down and went to see who it was. He stared in disbelief—Chloe Goodman sat at the desk with her head in her hands. He considered his next move. Should he say something or return to his work? After all, he'd been attending lectures and seminars with her for nearly three weeks and they'd yet to exchange two words. On the other hand, they were due to have a tutorial together the next day. He coughed. "Erm… Are you okay?"

Chloe looked up. "Do I look okay?"

In Adam's opinion she looked better than okay, even in her current state. But he thought better of telling her that. "Not really. I was working in the next booth and I heard you crying."

She huffed. "You heard the big film star sobbing so you thought you come and get the gossip? Why don't you take a photo on your phone? The magazines will pay more for the story if you have a good picture to go with it."

"Actually, I didn't know who it was. I just came to see if there was anything I could do to help. Clearly there isn't. I'll leave you to it."

Adam returned to his desk and picked up his notes again. What a bitch, he thought. I was only being polite. I guess it must be right what people say about her. He resumed reading, but found it difficult to concentrate. He was about to give it up as a bad job and pack away when he heard a delicate cough from the entrance to the booth.

"I... I'm sorry," said Chloe. She looked at the floor. Her big brown eyes were puffy and wet—her face red. Was this really the same girl who'd won Fame magazine's sexiest actress award last year? The same girl for who's eighteenth birthday Ladz magazine had celebrated because she was no longer 'Jail Fodder'. Adam remembered that headline—It's Okay to fantasise about her now. She's Legal!

She flicked her eyes up to meet his and Adam's heart nearly stopped. "I didn't mean to be so rude. It's just that I'm not used to people being nice to me for no reason."

Adam gulped. "Don't worry about it. Apology accepted."

"Good. I don't want you to think bad of me." The hum of air conditioning units filled the silence. Adam couldn't decide how to respond. Chloe shuffled her feet before saying, "Well... I, erm... I should leave you to get on with whatever you're doing. Bye."

She turned to leave. She'd only taken two steps when Adam called after her. "Miss Goodman. Wait."

She stopped and faced him. "Chloe. My name is Chloe. The only people who call me Miss Goodman are normally trying to sell me something I don't really want."

"Right. Sorry. Erm, Chloe, why don't you sit down for a bit? I'm a good listener. Or so I've been told."

"Thanks, but I don't want to trouble you with my problems. You'll only think I'm being silly. I mean, what's a big film star got to get upset about? Right?"

"I don't know. What has a big film star got to get upset about?"

"But I hardly know you."

He stood and held out his hand. "Adam Smith."

She smiled weakly and shook his hand. "Chloe Goodman. Although I guess you knew that." He nodded. "Your name sounds familiar," she said as she sat down.

"It should. We're in the same tutorial group."

"Yes! I knew I'd seen you somewhere before. You sit with that pretty dark-haired girl in lectures, don't you?"

He nodded. "That's Kim. She's in our tutorial too."

"Yeah, that's right. I remember now. Well, it's nice to finally meet you. I'd have introduced myself before now, but I thought you'd think I was being too forward."

Adam smiled. "The exact opposite in fact. We figured you didn't want to associate with the commoners."

Chloe's eyes glazed over and glistened. She looked as if she would burst into tears again. She wiped the corner of her eye and struggled to say, "I'm sorry."

"Jesus. What did I say?"

She shook her head. "Nothing really. It's just that… well… that's what I was upset about."

"What was?"

She breathed deeply to regain some semblance of control. She shook her head as she said, "I'm so lonely here."

"Lonely?"

"I know it sounds crazy. I'm the big star, right? I should have tons of friends—and to be honest, there are always people hanging around, but you couldn't call them friends, exactly. Not real friends. They're all superficial idiots who think that being seen with me makes them look good. I haven't met anyone I can really talk to. Do you know what I mean? Talk about important stuff. Stuff that matters. It seems that everyone already has this perception of me. Either they expect me to be a diva, or they think that I'll think I'm better than them. Like you did. Am I making any sense?"

Adam nodded. "I sort of know what you mean. The first night we were here, I was in the Union with my flatmates and we saw the crowd around you. We all made assumptions. Which is stupid really because none of us know you."

"Yeah, but I bet you think you do. You see me in films and on the TV, you read the interviews and gossip in the magazines and you build up a picture."

"Yeah," said Adam, "I suppose we do. It's not fair, it's not right, but it's what people do."

Chloe sniffed and wiped her eye again. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't be burdening you with my problems. I mean, it's not as if anyone's died is it? I'm just a spoilt little actress having trouble adjusting to the real world. At least, that's what is said in Fame last week." She chuckled, but it sounded false and forced. "I suppose they're right. D'you know, I've lived almost my whole life in this strange celebrity bubble. And it's only now that I'm starting to see it. For more than ten years I've had people running around looking after me, catering to me, making sure I was sheltered and protected. I've been all around the world, been to more countries than I can remember, but I've seen nothing. Experienced nothing."

Adam stared at her. He couldn't quite believe it. He was sitting in the university library, next to one of the world's leading young actresses, and she was pouring her heart out to him. He thought about her media image—strong, confident, powerful, beautiful—and studied her as she looked at the papers scattered on the desk. She was beautiful, that was undeniable—even without the make-up artist's magic touch. But she was also vulnerable. Vulnerable and alone. A scared little girl, lost in a world she didn't understand.

Tough few days

As you might guess from the title, it's been a tough few days. I do seem to have a slightly smaller mountain of work, but I also seem to have lost some of motivation to get through it. I think I might be the kind of character who needs to be under pressure to get my best work done. I wonder why it's taken me thirty-four years to figure that out.

Or maybe it's just that I've slipped into "Advent mode". You know, that state of mind we often find ourselves in during the couple of weeks in the run up to Christmas. Either way, I've been putting off finding new ways to procrastinate and just using the old stand-bys, MySpace, YouTube and erotic fiction.

Hang on, since when did MySpace become an 'old Stand-by'?

Actually, I've just had a discussion about how we could drag the firm into the 21st Century by finding ways to use Facebook and MySpace to the firm's advantage. Well, I say a discussion, it was more of a "we don't and I don't think we ever will" kind of discussion.

Anyways.

I don't really have much to talk about right now. Maybe that's just a Thursday afternoon thing. I am considering opening up this blog to guest writers, so if you're interested give me a shout and we'll see what comes of it. Nothing's definite yet. It's just an idea.

Stay tuned though as I'll be posting a 'pre-edit' extract from my June release Kissed by a Rose later today.

Oh, and before I forget. I've updated my MySpace profile to 2.0. It still needs tweaking, but it'll do for now. Take a look.

Yesterday's Tweets

Tweet, Tweet, Here's a list of all my twitter postings in the last 24 hours.

• 08:41 On the Blog : Yesterday's Tweets tinyurl.com/5buyhf
• 09:04 I left the lights on my car on all day yesterday. Battery was flat when I tried to start it to go home. Not happy.
• 09:05 But at least a mate could jump start me and the battery was jucied up enough by the drive home to start this morning.
• 09:05 I think it's going to be a long day to day - worrying if the car will start tonoght or not.
• 09:34 Nobby Jr wouldn't fall asleep last night so I started singing to him. Ran out of songs and ended up doing a "slow" "Sweet Child O Mine"
• 09:58 @ladlem nope. I resorted to "my way " in the end.
• 11:11 Back from mt management meeting. Man, it was fascinating. Not.
• 11:42 Nearly time for lunch!
• 11:45 YouTube - Kissed by a Rose Teaser Trailer tinyurl.com/5lkvph via @ShareThis
• 11:45 YouTube - Daily Commute part 1 tinyurl.com/5bopzs via @ShareThis
• 11:46 YouTube - Daily commute part 2 tinyurl.com/6raopj via @ShareThis
• 11:47 YouTube - Driving Rant tinyurl.com/58q6v3 via @ShareThis
• 12:30 had to change my logon password this morning and keep forgetting it and using the old one.
• 13:11 YouTube - Star Wars Music Video - Everybody Was Kung Foo Fighting tinyurl.com/5bgjfd via @ShareThis
• 13:20 YouTube - Star Wars - How To Save A Life tinyurl.com/5ur4xd via @ShareThis
• 13:20 As you can - i had a productive lunch hour.
• 13:54 @chrisredding You're welcome.
• 15:56 I was hoping to write a blog entry today. Where has the day gone?
• 16:50 £ is now worth just €1.15. This is getting silly. It'll be worth the same soon. Bang goes the Booze Cruise.
• 16:51 And while we're moaning £=$1.48. It was $2 at the start of the year. Gordon has a lot to answer for. He can't blame the previous admin.
• 17:43 On the Blog : Love Romances Chat Room Qs - 10 Dec 2008 tinyurl.com/5gswcz

Automatically shipped by LoudTwitter

www.twitter.com/marcnobbs

marcnobbs.com

Love Romances Chat Room Qs - 10 Dec 2008

Why not start off telling the readers about the person behind the author
name? Tell us something readers would be surprised to know about you.

Well, the man behind the nym isn’t actually a man! Kidding, I’m kidding. I am a bloke. Really. I’d post pictures to prove it but I’d get arrested. Seriously, what’s to say that isn’t on my website already? I’m married with one son (who is at the tender age where smacking Daddy every couple of minutes is ‘fun’) and I
spend my days counting other people’s money.

I guess it would surprise a few people to find out that I studied Physics and Maths in my youth – not English Lit. Now, how’d have thought that of a Romance author?

Now that we have settled in, why not discuss your latest
release?

“Kissed by a Rose” will be released by Phaze next June. It’s with my editor right now and we’ve still got some work to do on it, but, at 90000 words, it’s the biggest project I’ve ever undertaken. I can’t wait for you all to be able to read it.

I have a ‘teaser trailer’ on YouTube.

It’s the story of a young man, Adam Smith, who discovers that he’s on the same university course as Britain’s latest movie star – Chloe Goodman - who’s taking some time off to study. Now, it wouldn’t be a romance novel if they didn’t fall for each other, and it’s wouldn’t be very interesting of there weren’t a few ups and downs along the way. And, of course, I write “erotic” romance, so that means plenty of hot, hot sex.

But you’ll find yourself constantly asking if you, or rather if Adam, can trust Chloe. After all, she is an actress, and pparently, a bloody good one.

What is the biggest misconception about being an author?

That it’s easy. Some people think it’s just a case of sitting at a keyboardand bashing out a few thousand words every now and then. But it is so much mor ehard work than that. You’ve always got things like plots and characterization and grammar and overuse of words and a hundred other things going through your head before you even get near a keyboard.

How do you know what to name your books or the characters?

See, now that’s a struggle. “Kissed by a Rose” is the fourth or fifth title this book has had. I think I finally got it right, but I went through all sorts of problems getting there. Character names are different. I just pick them at random, but I know pretty quickly if the name ‘fits’ the character. If it doesn’t, I normally, by that stage, have a good idea of a name that does.

Do you have any bad writing habits?

Loads, but I’m not telling anyone what they are. Some things are best kept secret.

Of all the individuals you have created, do you have a particular favorite? What appeals to you the most about this character?

Right now, my fave is still “The Colonel” from “Lost & Found”. People who read the book tell me that he’s an idiot, or that he’s a pig. But I think he’s misunderstood. He’s just a man trying to protect that which is important to him – his family. He’s proud and he’s stubborn, but he’s got a good heart. He was great to write.

You find yourself stranded on a desert island, what things could you not survive without?

My laptop. And an electricity supply to run it. And an internet connection. God, I’d be a jabbering wreck without it.

Has being published changed you at all?

It’s probably given me more confidence. But I’d say that’s all.

What do you do to relax?

I write. I know, sounds silly coming from an author, but I only write part time. I have a full time job to contend with, as well as being a Dad and a husband. Writing is my escape, my way to wind down and get my sanity back.

What makes a great book to you?

The words “by Terry Pratchett” on the cover.

Do you have any indulgent behaviors one might find surprising?

Wouldn’t you like to know.

For Fun: Soothing bubble baths or hot showers?

Ah, now, that depends on who you’re taking said bath/shower with. And how long you’ve got.

Please share with us your path to being published. (How long did you write before your first book was published?

I really started to take writing seriously in 2004. Up until then I’d dabbled but not really been very good. In 2004 I joined a writing group to learn my craft. The group was run by the same people that run the erotic story website “Ruthie’s Club” and many of the members had been published there. I was encouraged by some friends to submit some pieces and was fortunate enough to have them accepted. That was in late 2005/early 2006.

I wrote exclusively for the website for a year or so. The stories they publish are considered ‘exclusive’ for six months. After that time they can be sold elsewhere. I took one of the stories, “Charlotte’s Secret” and subbed it to Phaze for inclusion in the “Coming Together” series. It was deemed to be too long, at 15000 words, but was accepted for regular publication instead. It came out in April 2008.

So, I suppose it’s been a four year journey. Although, in reality it’s been a lot longer than that if you take into account my ‘dabbling’ days.

How many books did you write before the first was published?

I think I had about 20 or so short stories on the free story website, StorieOnline, before Ruthie’s accepted my first story.

Most of them are now available for free on my website.

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/mark.everitt/html/free_stories.html

Have you ever finaled or won in a writing contest? If so, which contest(s), which book(s), and which year(s)? Do you feel contests are a good use of your energy and time? Would you recommend that writers enter them? Why or why not?

I tend not to enter contents. I’m a terrible loser and an even worse winner.

What is your favorite animal, real or mythical and why?

I’m a dog person. Always have been.

If you decided to no longer write, what would you do instead?

I’d enter the X-Factor and become Simon Cowell’s “Next Big Thing”

Where do you get your ideas for your stories?

That is the question that every writer dreads. And I don’t think I’m any closer to answering it than I’ve been. I don’t know, is the truth. They just sort of… I don’t know.

Yesterday's Tweets

Tweet, Tweet, Here's a list of all my twitter postings in the last 24 hours.

• 08:42 On the Blog : Yesterday's Tweets tinyurl.com/6o6a9w
• 08:56 Seriously thick frost on the car this morning. It's so damn cold so far this month.
• 10:14 Just spent an hour filing - I really should file more often instead of letting it build up.
• 14:39 We only have three typists in the office today. That's less than half our usual number. And people woder why the letters aren't being typed?

Automatically shipped by LoudTwitter

www.twitter.com/marcnobbs

marcnobbs.com

Yesterday's Tweets

Tweet, Tweet, Here's a list of all my twitter postings in the last 24 hours.

• 10:17 YouTube - Kissed by a Rose Teaser Trailer tinyurl.com/5lkvph via @ShareThis
• 10:24 Belated moring everyone!
• 10:41 On the Blog : Weekend Shenanigans tinyurl.com/6m8sqt
• 11:24 Just had a major blue screen system crash. That's not good. I don't even know what's wrong.
• 12:42 On the Blog : X Factor semis - all over are the shouting? tinyurl.com/5rccgf
• 13:11 I am so tired right now. I'm literally falling asleep at my desk. I think I need an injection of caffine right to my brain.
• 13:13 I see LoudTwitter has started working again.
• 14:11 BBC NEWS | dot.life | A blog about technology from BBC News | Wikipedia is censored tinyurl.com/5mj8na via @ShareThis
• 14:28 I need some wake up pills. seriously, i'm having trouble keeping my eyes open.
• 15:28 YouTube - Kissed by a Rose Teaser Trailer tinyurl.com/6d7kqf via @ShareThis
• 15:30 Is it worht opening up my blog to guest bloggers? I wonder.

Automatically shipped by LoudTwitter

www.twitter.com/marcnobbs

marcnobbs.com

X Factor semis - all over are the shouting?

It was the final of the X-factor this weekend and, if the British public have got any sense or any musical taste at all, then this year's contest is all over bar the counting of the results. In truth, it's been over for a while now - Alexandra is so head and shoulders above anyone else that it's getting silly.

That said, if they have a good night next week, I reckon JLS could be the first group to win it. And I fear that the young Irish lad with the unspellable name (yet it's pronounced Owen - huh?) might nick it just because he's "Cute".

Anyway, here are some of the recent performances.

Weekend Shenanigans

Okay, so I enticed you in with a title that hints of lots of naughty things I did at the weekend, when actually, I didn't do very many naughty things at all. Sue me.

One thing I did do was post the teaser trailer for Kissed by a Rose to YouTube. And here it is for you to enjoy.

Mid-week thoughts

Sad news today that one of the conjoined twins born to an eighteen year old at Great Ormond St late last month has died. The twins were called Hope and Faith, and ironically it is Hope that has died. I hope that Faith will continue to get stronger and survive. My thoughts are with her. More details here.

This does raise an interesting question though. They say that twins, particularly identical twins (i.e. those from a single egg) have a special bond that is difficult to describe or explain. i wonder just how the death of her sister will affect little Faith Williams - or if she'll ever feel truly 'complete'.

To other matters, LoudTwitter, the service I've been using to ship my daily twitter posts to me blog seems to have stopped working. That's a shame as a few people have told me they like the format - particularly on days after I've been a bit 'tweet happy'

I've been working when I can on Professional Misconduct which is the rewrite of what used to be Reunion. I've laid out the basics of the plot by chapter, but I'm finding that I need to insert new chapters here and there. Hence I currently have a "Chapter 2a". I renumber everything when I'm finished, but it seems silly to keep changing chapter numbers each and every time I insert something new.

i think i might try and re-write College by the Sea as well alongside of what I'm doing. Yes, yes, I know. I should concentrate on one story at a time, right? Well, trouble is, I keep getting flashes for College, and I don't want to lose them. Working on two stories when I know where both are going might work. It might not and if that's the case, I'll switch back to one at a time. But we'll see.

I'm also need to decide when i start posting extracts from Kissed by a Rose. At 90000 I've plenty to choose from. I'd like to try and build up some anticipation for the book, but not so much that people get bored of it before it comes out. I'm also considering offering one lucky person the chance to 'beta-read' the book and let me know what they think of it - and if it can be improved.

Oh, I didn't win the REC awards I was nominated for. Never mind - it was cool just to be nominated. Maybe next year.

Kissed by a Rose - Coming June 2008

I heard this weekend that my latest novel, Kissed by a Rose, has been picked up by Phaze Books and has been scheduled for release in June 2009. I know schedules change, but I'm really excited by this. It's only six months away.

Kissed by a Rose is the story of an ordinary student who falls in love with a movie star. Here's the blurb :

Who’d have thought tears in the library could change your life? For Adam Smith they led to love. But when your girlfriend is the latest English Rose to grace the silver screen, life’s not going to be easy. Hounded by the press, autograph hunters at every turn, she’s his power, his pleasure and his pain. An addiction he can’t deny. The more he gets, the stranger he feels. But a student and a superstar just don’t mix. Do they? They’re from two different worlds. Aren’t they? And remember what the song says: Every Rose has its Thorn.

At 53 chapters and approximately 90000 words, it's by biggest and longest story to date and will be my third release with Phaze after Charlotte's Secret and Lost & Found.

Speaking of Charlotte's Secret, voting for Best Female Character in a Contemporary Erotic Romance and best author of Contemporary Erotic Romance at the Romance Erotic Connection yahoo group ends tomorrow, so if you haven't voted (for me) then get over there and help me out. :-)