Reawakening Cover Reveal, nominations for Ys, and winter sunshine over the North Downs (this post is multitasking and IMAGE-HEAVY)

So, it’s been a busy December, and I’ve not been very good at blogging about it all. Firstly, I can finally reveal the gorgeous cover art and release date for Reawakening, my first full-length fantasy novel, which will be released by Dreamspinner on 17th January. It’s the story of a dragon who falls in love with a desert (and then, of course, things get really complicated, with bonus undead).

Pre-order link

It’s also been a good month for some older stories. I’ll be blogging more about Gaudete, Christmas markets and cathedrals later this weekend (it would have been the straw that broke the camel’s back on this post, and deserves some attention of its own, methinks). I’ve been really delighted to see people enjoying it. I expected it too be far too British and quirky to get much attention. Thank you, everyone 🙂

As well, a few earlier pieces have been treated kindly in the Goodreads M/M Romance Group’s Member’s Choice Awards nominations. Lodestar and two of the anthologies I’ve been in have been nominated for various categories. The poll is still open, if any of you haven’t voted yet. There’s some stonking good books been nominated, in every category, and I’m flattered to be included.

  

Download The Lodestar of Ys for free

 

Buy Steamed Up here

 

Buy Snow on the Roof here

Urgh. That’s so much promo and boasting that I feel slightly nauseous. To clear everyone’s palate, here’s some prettiness to make up for it. No matter what’s happening with my writing, one of the things I’m always grateful for is that I live in such a lovely part of the country. I’ve worked in London and done my share of commuting, but I would hate to live in a city. In term time, my classroom looks out over a misty valley, and in the holidays, I take to the hills. This is what I did yesterday: the North Downs Way, between Guildford and Dorking. It’s about fifteen miles, if you include the walks to and from the stations at each end, so it was a bit of a push on a short day, but so very worth it. The sun was low but bright, the woods were bare of all but firs and holly and the last brown traces of autumn, and the hills faded into a blue and misty distance.

The walk begins along the bank of the River Wey (which is Isaac’s river in Mistletoe Lock), as it slips through Guildford. Look carefully and you will spot the keep of Guildford Castle through the trees. This was the view of the weir from my breakfast stop.

Looking back towards town from further along the river. My grandmother, who is in her eighties, remembers skating on these meadows as a child, although we haven’t had that hard a winter in my lifetime.

Looking across the river. That hill there is the only serious challenge of this walk, St Martha’s Hill.

Mist over the water at the bottom of Ferry Lane. The shallows here were first a ford. The now long-gone ferry and bridge came along when the river was made into a navigation in the industrial age. It’s deep and wide enough to carry barges for another five miles upstream.

Although you can’t see it clearly because of the fallen leaves, the exposed ground here is sandy. It’s called greensand, and is the underlying stone of most of the local area, a sort of sandstone that erodes into sandy paths. Here, the colour gives the city of Guildford it’s name: gild-ford, the golden ford.

Across the river is the long climb through Chantries Wood and up St Martha’s Hill. This is a slow climb through dark woods which then turns into a steep climb up sandy paths. It’s very pretty, but slow-going, until you finally glimpse your destination through the trees.

This is St Martha-on-the-hill, a church that is still only accessible by foot. It sits 175m above sea level (573 feet for imperial users), about 140m above the river.

And this is what makes the climb worth doing. The view from the top.

Heading down the other side. Once you’ve made it to St Martha’s, you’re on the escarpment of the Downs for the rest of the walk. No more hills to climb!

Looking along Albury Down. These are chalk hills now, which means far slimier mud to negotiate.

Looking back towards St Martha’s.

A hunter in the sky.

Looking south, just before noon.

Through the woods, over a coating of beech leaves.

Looking east, with the sun behind me.

And south, from the same spot.

          By then, of course, I was racing the sun. I’d known from the time I left St Martha’s that I wouldn’t make it all the way to Dorking station before dark. The sky was clear, though, and I knew that the last two miles, through Denbies vineyard, were along a clear, tarmacked track with no turnings until it reached the road to the station. The aim now was to get through the deer gate and into the vineyard by dusk.

And here I am, with the deer gate at my back. This last stretch was surprisingly lovely, with the rush over and the wind rising in the trees as I wandered through the gloaming.

Ten minutes later, I turned down towards my final destination. The little white building there is part of the Denbies complex, and I had enough light left to turn that way, stop in their shop for a bottle of (excellent) English wine, and walk safely the rest of the way into town.