Tuesday 31 December 2013

Writing Update: Goodbye, 2013!

A big thank you to all who have enjoyed my books over the last year! Another big thank you to the wonderful authors who write such heartfelt books, and thank you to everyone in the M/M community for simply enjoying what you love. <3



My books and short stories for 2013 were:

Sam Scores A Date
The Haunted Pub
Happy Sodding Valentine's
The Green-Eyed Monster (Crucifox #1)
Rhys Has A Crush

and finally, Goblins (Book #1)!


Considering I'm quite a slow writer, I'm quite surprised at myself  >.< heh.


My greatest writing achievement of 2013? Well, not sure about 'greatest', but the moment that resonated most with me, and made me the happiest, was being able to give a paperback copy of Goblins (the nice, fairy tale one!) to my Gran, and seeing her so happy to read it.

Gran keeps her copy of Goblins next to her bed, and her being proud of it means a lot to me. :) She's read it twice already, and keeps asking when the next one is coming. (Again, I feel bad that I'm such a slow writer! Sorry, Nan! I've told her the next one will be dedicated to her.)




Hello, 2014!


What will the year ahead bring?

I'm excited to announce I've just signed a contract for a new novella, the 'next in line' story to A Bar Tender Tale (Dreamspinner). While the story doesn't feature the same couple as before (Nathan/Auryn) it does take bartender Justin into the spotlight for his own story, as suggested by my muse, Piper Vaughn. :)

Projected release, late summer. And I can't wait!



Other projects:

Yes, I did have rather a lot on my plate, and I am still a slow writer. My sincere apologies for anyone waiting for stories or sequels; I do try my best. If I could hire a ghostwriter, I would! ;p

Last year I started a story which was supposed to be short and breezy but --hah!-- ended up being shelved, then picked back up recently and finished at mega-novel length. (Oops.)

However, I love the story and today, the last day of 2013, I plan to do final tweaks, then submit the story in the new year. Whether it gets approval or not, I do intend to publish it in 2014.

This novel is another contemporary, and a spin off from the Crucifox universe. (No, it's not the sequel to Crucifox #1, sorry about that! It's a different band. Yes, they are mentioned in Cruxifox #1. Yes, the stories do interweave; because I like to make my life difficult, apparently!)




My Writing For 2014: 

Goblins (Book #2) will be my top priority.

I also have a few fantasy-themed short stories I'd like to finish. Wish me luck on all counts!



Happy New Year everyone, have a brilliant 2014 

Much love, Tush <3






Sunday 15 December 2013

MM Romance Members Choice 2013: I've been nominated!


I'm honestly so pleasantly surprised to find that 3 of my books have been nominated in the Goodreads M/M Romance Members Choice Awards for 2013.

I'm so bowled over I can't even think what else to say, other than 'thank you' so much for the nominations! *blush*









Goblins is nominated for: Best Cover, Best Fantasy














The Green-Eyed Monster (Crucifox) is nominated for: Best Performance Art














The Haunted Pub is nominated for: Best Mystery/Whodunnit, Best Paranormal.








I'm literally so overwhelmed!


Thank you to those who nominated me, those who read and liked my books, and everyone who's been so lovely to me as a writer this year.

I'm truly touched.

*wibble*




Monday 30 September 2013

Goblins Blog Tour Posts


All in one handy place... Melanie's blog posts for 
Goblins



 


1. Goblins, in the beginning... @ The Armchair Reader


2. A little bit of English  @ Guys Like Romance, Too


3. Goblins: The Age of Witchcraft  @ Elin Gregory


4. Goblins and Elves  @ Megan Derr


5. Goblins and Shape-shifters  @ Kay Berrisford


6. Quiller  @ Babes in Boyland


7. Goblins and Cavaliers  @ Jordan L Hawk






Excerpt from 'Goblins' Book 1:
The rider's foot caught in one of the stirrups as he fell, and he cried out in pain. "Midnight!" he shouted, as the beast stamped its hooves. "Stop, stop!"
"Oh dear!" the birds called. "Stupid human!"
The rider managed to free himself, and fell to the ground in a heap. The horse snorted, shaking its head, then stamped a few paces away. "Midnight!" the rider called. He shifted on the ground, trying to stand. His ankle blazed in pain; I could feel the rush of hot energy from where I sat watching. His anguished cry echoed through the trees, and the birds continued to laugh. He sat still on the forest floor, clearly stunned and unable to move. His hat had been lost, revealing a head of long, russet red hair. "Oh, no," he murmured. "No. God … God, please. Please, help me."
I hadn't heard many humans speak. To me, their voices sounded thick and heavy. This voice, however, sounded light and different. I simply couldn't help myself as I answered, "What is wrong, human?"
The rider looked about in shock, trying to see who had spoken. "W-Who's there?"
"You asked for help, did you not?"
He still couldn't work out where the voice had come from. Perhaps my dark feathers made me hard to pick out in the gloom but, honestly, were humans really this stupid?
"Y-Yes," he said. "God, who are you?"
In a dramatic display—because how could I resist?—I flew down from the tree in front of him and changed into my human likeness. My legs lengthened and I stood on the ground with human feet. My wings changed into arms, my feathers smoothed into pale skin. My beak shrank into lips as I smiled at him. "Whatever I am, you may call me a god if you wish."
His eyes bulged as he stared at me. "But y-you're a m-man."
I grinned, flashing my teeth. "Man, no. Male? Certainly. Would you rather me a female, human?"
"W-What?" He leant back, trying to shuffle away. I dropped forward and crawled over him. He stilled, blinking at me with large blue eyes.
Tilting my head, I stared in wonder. Never had I seen eyes like these before. I pulled back a little, taking in more of the human, close up. His face was hairless, like mine, but creamy and smooth.
Mmm. What would he taste like? I flared my nostrils, scenting him. His lips quivered, and I could smell his breath as he exhaled. He had eaten sweet meats not long ago, and drunk wine. The smell of his skin was even more enticing, damp with human sweat. The scent of fear was strong. There was something else, too; a deep, irresistible smell resting below his skin, in his blood. I longed to sniff more, to lick and taste him.
I quirked a smile. "You smell interesting."
"W-What?" he squeaked, like a timid mouse. He blinked at me, wary, unmoving. I let my gaze rove over him, from the long red hair that framed his pretty face, down to the clothes that held his slim body. I wanted to press my face against him and smell more. 
"How is your injury?" I held his eye as I moved back.
"I-I'm fine," he said, trying to move away. A sharp wince and he stilled again.
"Come, come. Don't be shy. Let me see." I moved to sit by his injured ankle, lifting it gently in my clawed hands. Oh dear, claws. I'd forgotten about those. I willed my claws to retract; I was clearly too excited. Carefully, I removed the riding boot from his foot.
He gasped, wincing again. "It hurts."
"Yes, I'm sure it does." I glanced at the empty boot I now held, and gave into the temptation to sniff it.
"Excuse me!"
I grinned at him. "Yes?"
"What do you think you're doing?"
"Smelling your boot. Very interesting."
His lips pursed, and colour rushed to his cheeks. He looked deliciously indignant. I had to admit, it was a good look on him. I chuckled to myself, setting his boot aside. "Let me have a look then." I examined his foot, then his ankle. The pain came from there, but it was only a minor sprain.
"Nothing broken," I said, lowering his foot. "Easily mended." I rose and strode off, looking amongst the brush.
"Wait! Where are you going?"
"Looking for plants. Have patience, human." I located thistle-wood, linlem, and doc leaves, cradling them in my arms. I walked past the human, throwing him a smile as I approached his horse.
"What are you doing?" he demanded. "Don't touch my horse!"
"Your horse is injured," I said over my shoulder. "I'll tend to him first."
"What? The horse first?"
"Yes."
He muttered something in response. I grinned, amused that he was so put out. A haughty tone had entered his voice, replacing his fear.
Interesting.
To make the medicine, I had to chew the linlem and thistlewood, grinding the plants to a paste in my mouth. Not terribly pleasant. Then I spat the paste onto the doc leaves. "This will help," I whispered to the horse. It understood, and waited patiently, letting me rub its lower hind leg; a sprained muscle, not as bad as the human's injury. With rest, it would recover soon.
With the horse seen to, I gathered my plants and returned to the human. He glared at me, his jaw set. He probably wished the look to be intimidating. As the blood pumped around his body, it gave off more of that delicious smell.
"Why, human," I teased. "You're pouting."
His eyes narrowed. "I am not, sir. And I insist you address me properly."
"Oh?" I stuffed linlem and thistle-wood into my mouth, chewing as I spoke. "And what should I call you?"
"My name is Cashel."
"Ah." I spat the plants into my hand, holding his blue gaze as I reached for him. He winced when I touched his ankle, but otherwise made no sound. Such a stoic little human. He pressed his lips together as I massaged the plant paste into his skin. The tendons and sinews underneath shifted with my touch, and I had to mind my claws, which had grown long again. I didn't want to scratch him, not yet.
The plant juice mixed with my spit cooled the inflammation as I rubbed his foot. "Cashel." I grinned, trying out his name on my tongue. "Is that better?"
"That's enough now." He glared, pulling his leg back. "Tell me who you are."
I let him pull away, raising an eyebrow as I studied him. "Hmm." I grasped the doc leaves. "Hold still, human."
"I told you, my name is—"
"That's not your name."
He stilled at my words. I finished binding his ankle, then looked up at him.
"Y-Yes, it is."
"Oh, no." I cocked my head. "No, that's not your name." I would've been able to spell you, otherwise.
He stared back at me, silent.
"Hmm. You're very interesting, human. You smell so heady and strong. You sound different. You're not from here, are you?"
"I-well, no, I'm-But it doesn't matter where I'm from!" The colour rose in his cheeks, and I could smell the blood heating him. I inhaled deeply, closing my eyes.
"Mmm. I want to lick you."
"What?" He all but shouted, shuffling back over the ground. "No! Get away from me! What the devil are you?"
I crawled after him, smiling. "You won't get far, human. Not with that swollen ankle."
"Stay back!" he ordered, his eyes blazing defiantly. "Stay back, or so help me—"
"Ah." I stilled in surprise. "You're a royal."
The angry expression was wiped clean off his face. I knew instantly that this human would be a terrible, terrible liar. "What?" he croaked. "N-No, I'm not."
"Mm, yes, you are." I bent forward again, scenting him. "Who are you? A prince of humans?"
"What? No, don't be ridiculous! I'm-I'm not— " He swallowed, then asked quietly, "Are you going to kill me?"


Blurb:
In the 17th Century, the ancient sprawl of Epping forest is bursting with magic and those who go unseen by human eyes: the elves who rule the summer court, and the goblins who rule the winter court. It is said that if a human catches the eye of one of the fey, they are either doomed or blessed.

Wulfren & the Warlock

When Wulfren wakes from a strange dream of a human captor with long silver hair, and grey eyes, his brothers tell him they rescued him from a warlock, and take Wulfren back home to the goblin king's palace. But Wulfren isn’t so sure the matter is that simple. Why was he missing so long? What are the strange dreams of the beautiful man with the silver hair? Dalliances with humans are severely frowned upon, especially by Wulfren’s father, but Wulfren is willing to risk the scorn of his family to find the human who haunts his dreams.

Quiller & the Runaway Prince

After a hard winter, Quiller is sent deep into the forest on a family errand, and is surprised when a human stumbles into his path. Quiller swoops in to pester him, perhaps even eat him, but there is something special about the human: his scent is royal, though he protests that he is not, and soon Quiller finds himself agreeing to help the human with his troubles—in exchange for a kiss.


Melanie’s twitter
@melanietushmore






Monday 22 April 2013

#Flashfiction and free short story 'Rhys Has A Crush'


New release ~

'Rhys Has A Crush' by Melanie Tushmore
Free short story from Storm Moon Press






Add it on Goodreads

Download the story for free!




Blurb

Nineteen-year-old wannabe rockstar Rhys spends his days hanging out and drinking with his garage band in his friend's house. 

It's not like there's anything else to do in their boring home town.

Then Seb's older brother appears; a gorgeous vision in tight, black clothing, and long dark hair. 


Rhys is instantly attracted, though his attempts to flirt with the mysterious Damien don't go all that well. 

So Rhys resorts to a fail safe plan: steal Damien's phone number, and send him anonymous love-texts.

What could possibly go wrong?


Download now from Storm Moon Press





Excerpt


Lucky for me, Seb left his phone lying around his house. It’d been easy to swipe it, copy Damien’s number, and save it to my own phone. 

But I wasn’t going to use my phone; I wasn’t that dumb. From the mall, I purchased a cheap model phone, and a pack of new SIM cards. Genius. 

When I was home alone on Tuesday night, I set up my new anonymous, stalker-intent phone, and entered Damien’s number in. 

I almost put a pet name in the ID – something like Lust God, or Sex On Legs – then I told myself to get a grip, and focus.

First part of operation ‘Entrap Damien’ had begun...


© Melanie Tushmore



Sunday 10 March 2013

Tush's Birthday Fic Prompt


Tush's Birthday Fic Prompt!

Ends 30th March




The end of March brings my birthday, and it looks like my main birthday present will be a new tooth filling root canal (oh goody goody!) :o/

Real-life has been a mega drag lately, so I thought I'd make use of my lovely writerly friends and tap your talent & wizardly fingers to help me escape drab reality!

WRITE ME A BIRTHDAY FIC!!!

Pretty please? 

It doesn't have to be a full story; even just a scene would be cool. I promise I will love your effort. Be it funny, serious, fantasy or abstract, I want to see it! 

Preferably M/M, as I like to read about men, please. Doesn't have to have smexin' in it. I'm all for lust-filled looks, crushes, or loving gazes from afar. Drabble length; it's all good!



Below I'm going to list some themes I like, and also put in photo prompts. Feel free to run wild, or use your own ideas.

My birthday is the end of the month (March) and I'll run this contest until Sunday 30th March. Please post a link to your offering in the comments section on this blog post. You can post whenever your fic is ready, and feel free to write as many as you want!
(I'm being hopeful, here!)


And now, without further ado, the inspiration prompts!



Prompt 1: Ancient Egypt, specifically, ANUBIS. Gold-sheened, tan male bodies in short skirts, sandals, and metal jewelery. Mmm.
 

    


Prompt 2 Mermen! Slippery wet scales, the sea, long drifting hair, and nubile bodies :3
Or men in water, bathing! Water is good in general. 









 Prompt 3:   Bad boy rockers! Unstable, unhinged, a little beat up and in need of rescue!





 Prompt 4Any rockstar band-fic in general, actually. Whatever you fancy!













Prompt 5: Red-haired men



And those are my prompts!



Thank you!

*waits patiently by computer* 








Sunday 3 March 2013

Crucifox UK Word Glossary

For those who aren't familiar with Brit-speak, I've compiled a handy word glossary while writing the Crucifox series. If there are any other words you were confused by, let me know and I'll include them in the glossary!

Crucifox are from London, England. There are no 'cor blimey, guv'nor's, but there are lots of other words and phrases. Brandon is from Glasgow, Scotland.

Enjoy! (or "knock yourself out", as we'd say.)










Crucifox Word Glossary

Argy bargy – Fight, Drama, a 'to do'
Arsed – Bothered
Awright – Hello
Cabbie – Taxi driver
Chod, Turd, Poo, To 'take a dump' – Shit
Chuffed – Pleased (Not to be confused with 'Chuff' – Vagina)
Flat, Bedsit – Apartment
Gob – Mouth
Greasy Spoon РCaf̩
Handy – Useful
Jo Ho – Jehovah's Witness
Knickers – Female underwear
Leary – Aggressive
Loo, Lav, Bog, Shitter, Bathroom – Toilet
Lift – Elevator
Nancy, Fanny – Wimp
Nick – Steal
Paddy, Strop – Tantrum
Pants, Kecks – Underwear
Pull, Pulling, to 'cop off'  – To score a date
Rolf – Vomit
Row, Barney – Fight, Argument
Sarnie – Sandwich
Scrap, Ruck, Tussle, Shillelagh's law, To 'deck someone' – Fight
Skint – Broke
Spliff, Jazz Fag – Joint, Marajuana
Tory – Conservative Political Party
Trousers, Trewsers, Strides – Legwear
Weed, puff, henry, ninebar – Marajuana
Whinge, Gripe – Complain



Crucifox Phrases

Argy, Eggy, To 'get a cob on' – Bad Mood
A bollocking, to 'tear them a new one' – A telling off, to have a go at someone
Betty swollocks – Sweaty bollocks
Bog Wash – Stick someone's head down a toilet
Do you want a belt in the gob? – Be quiet
Eh up – Hello / Check that out
Flapping – Fussing
Have a paddy / strop on – Throw a tantrum
Have it off / Cop off – A romantic encounter
If you can be arsed – If you wouldn't mind
Tit about – Mess about
Up the duff – Pregnant
You what? – I beg your pardon?



Crucifox Curse Words

Bollocks, Balls, Knackers, Nads, Goolies – Testicles
Bugger, Roger, To 'go in the back door' – Anal Sex
Chuff, Twat, Fanny, Flaps, Minge – Vagina
Dick, Prick, Todger, Tackle – Penis
Dickhead, Plank, Berk, Git, Twat, Tit – Idiot
Fuck, Shag, On The Job, To 'have it off'  – Sex
Wank, Toss – Masturbate
Wanker, Tosser – Masturbator


Brandon's from Glasgow

Aye – Yes
Away wi' ye – Go away / Be quiet
Eejit – Idiot
Eh? – I beg your pardon?
Hauld yer wheecht – Be quiet
Houe you – Hey, you
Nae borra – No bother
Scunnered – Drunk
Stander – Erection
Trewsers – Trousers
Wee – Small






Friday 1 March 2013

Crucifox #1: The Green-Eyed Monster

Crucifox #1: The Green-Eyed Monster is out now!





Buy the e-book from Storm Moon Press here

(Paperback copy available approx. end of March 2013)


Novel categories: gay, bi sexual, rockstars, humour





Blurb



Sky Somers is an ex-traveller; the son of a folk musician and a new age hippy. Sky's form of rebellion is electric guitars, and he wants his own band. His desire is to set the world to rights through music. 

Brandon Cruikshank is new to London, recently arrived from Glasgow. Charismatic, charming; a natural born performer. Brandon is openly bisexual, with a penchant for dressing in women's clothes. His desire is to be adored.
From the moment Sky meets Brandon, he knows he has to have him. Brandon, in turn, wants Sky. But that's when it becomes clear they both have very different desires in mind. Brandon wants Sky as a lover, yet Sky only wants Brandon as a singer in his band. 

Misunderstanding set aside—or apparently so—Brandon and Sky become firm friends. To escape equally troubled pasts and families, they change their names. Now, Brandon Fox and Sky St. Clair are ready to take over the world.
As the years roll on, Brandon's desire for Sky still simmers, waiting. Then a chance night sharing a hotel room sparks the desire between them, and this time, Brandon wants it all. Sky has never explored his desires before. Now, the passion and jealousy Brandon has unleashed in him threatens to shake the whole band apart.





© Melanie Tushmore





The Crucifox blog tour:

Fans, Groupies & 'Band Aids' - Babes in Boyland

Rockstars & The Spirit of Rock - Well Read

Band Leaders & Managers - Pants Off

Gigs From Hell! - Bending The Bookshelf

Why Brandon is Scottish - The Armchair Reader


Attraction & Desire - Joyfully Jay


More to come!  







Crucifox is also proudly taking part in the #bandslash blog tour, currently happening every #MusicMonday in March. 

The Crucifox blog post is coming up Monday 18th March, hosted by Z. Allora Allora. 


Do be sure to check out all the #bandslash blog tour posts by each and every band-fic author. 

It's a veritable rockstar slash fest!