✨ Cover Reveal ✨

Guys! I'm so excited to show you the cover for my upcoming novel, Ten Mile Bottom! Jay Aheer from Simply Defined Art did an outstanding job, as usual, I love her work! I adore this cover, it captures the mood of the books so well! 

Book Description:

Hitting rock bottom is just the beginning...

I’m a son, a brother, a friend. 

A writer.

An addict.

Dead.

Cardiac arrest isn’t enough to keep me dead, though. The doctors brought me back, but for what?

At twenty four I’ve already achieved what most people do in a life time. I’m a successful author, own a flat in the heart of London and drive my dream sports car. 

Or at least that’s what people see.

Once the spotlight fades, I’m left alone with my overactive mind, alcohol and drugs the only way to quiet down the noise.

Until an overdose nearly kills me and drags everyone I love down with me. 

With the help of my best friend, I leave London and its toxic influence behind, moving to a small town in the outskirts of Cambridge to try and put my life back together again.

If only it were that easy.

Ten Mile Bottom is a stand alone contemporary romance novel. 

Release date: 22 February

Add it on Goodreads

2017 in books

In terms of books, 2017 was a "love it or hate it" kinda year, with very few in-betweeners. I'm not complaining, though, because the ones I loved, I loved with passion well beyond what's considered healthy. Or sane.

I live by the mantra that we should focus on the things we love instead of clogging our brains with negative feelings, so in this post I'm going to talk about some of the books I absolutely adored in 2017. I've divided them in four sections for easier reading: fiction, manga, audio books and non-fiction. Check them out!

📚 Fiction

📗 Call Me by Your Name by Andre Aciman

I have to start with this book because it's been sitting at the back of my bookshelf long enough! I've had it for years, I even remember buying it from a vintage bookshop in London, but for some reason I never got to reading it, always getting distracted by newer, shinier things. This year, when I heard the movie will be coming out in the UK in November, I dug my vintage paperback from the back of the bookcase and started to read. 

I was blown away by Aciman's prose. I loved every second of that book! Even if it broke my heart a little. 

(The book is also mentioned in the audio book section because when I found out Armie Hammer was narrating the audio edition I had to get it!)

📗 The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee

Guys, this book!!!! It's so so good! One of the best written novels I've read in a while! It's funny, it's witty, it's emotional, it's action-packed.... It's everything a brilliant novel should be! If you haven't read it do yourself a favour and run to the nearest bookshop! You can thank me later.

📗 The Dark Artifices series by Cassandra Clare

There's two books currently out of the trilogy, Lady Midnight and Lord of Shadows, with the third book scheduled for release towards the end of 2018.

I have to say, I'm a huge fan Of Clare's and I've read all her books, but this series is probably my favourite! I loved Lady Midnight, and I adored Lord of Shadows! I'm stupidly excited for the last book in the series, especially considering how LoS ended! If you're into fantasy/paranormal YA you can't go wrong with this series, or any of Cassandra Clare's books for that matter.

📗 Bonfires by Amy Lane

I put off reading this book for ages and I don't even know why. I love Amy Lane, the books I've read by her always make my heart ache, sometimes with fuzzy feels, but most of the time with not so fuzzy feels. (No, I'll never get over Beneath the Stain, don't talk to me about it.)

📗 The Remaking of Corbin Wale by Roan Parrish

I don't often read holiday romance mainly because I'm not a huge fan of Christmas, and also because they tend to be a bit samey-ish after a while. But when I found out Roan Parrish has a holiday book out I jumped on it straight away! And, of course as always with Roan's writing, I was blown away! The Remaking of Corbin wale is a gentle, sensual book that grabs you by the heart and doesn't let go till the last page. Loved everything about it and can see myself rereading it every Christmas.

📚 Manga

2017 was definitely the year of the manga and anime for me. I rediscovered my love for the genre and devoured everything I could get my hands on. So here are my top picks of 2017:

📙 Attack on Titan by Hajime Isayama

With the release of season 2 in 2017, the AoT fandom was jolted back to life! I've seen the first season ages ago when it was released (in 2013 I think) but I'd honestly lost hope of any more of the manga being animated. When season 2 was released I had to rewatch season 1 and fall in love with the characters all over again.

After that, I had to continue reading the manga and find out what was going on. It's an ongoing, torturous process, but AoT is hands down one of the best manga series out there.

📙 Black Butler by Yana Toboso

I got that manga on a whim, and to be honest it took me a while to get into it. But when I did I became completely obsessed! It's a fantastic series, undoubtedly very eccentric and, at times, mind-boggling, but brilliant nonetheless. 

📙 Noragami by Adachitoka

My Gosh, I'm so in love with Yato I can die! Amazing manga series, the art is incredible but so is the story. Loved everything about it! 

📚 Audio Books

📘 Call Me by Your Name by Andre Aciman

I have to start with Call Me by Your name again because Armie Hammer's narration is incredible! His voice compliments Aciman's words like seas salt in caramel. The only way this book could have gotten any better is with a brilliant audio narration and that's exactly what happened!

📘 The Raven Cycle by Maggie Stiefvater

Maggie Stiefvater has been a favourite author of mine for years. Her books are always entertaining, but with a touch of something else. She manages to find a twist in every story without being obvious about it.

I've wanted to read The Raven Cycle for ages, but when I started book one, The Raven Boys a few years ago when it came out, I couldn't get into it. So I put it aside and nearly forgot about it. But then the series because super popular and audio books were produced, and I had to have them. 

The narration, by the awesome Will Patton, is spot on! He manages to inject just enough drama and intensity to suit the story without making it melodramatic. And his Ronan voice is just dreamy!

📘 Simon vs the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli

I read the book ages ago but now with the movie coming out I wanted to reread because I remember I liked it a lot. I decided to get the audio because I've heard good things and I'm so glad I did! The narration by Michael Crouch is perfection and made me love the book even more! 

📘 When All the World Sleeps by Lisa Henry and J.A. Rock

Mr Greg Tremblay (who I met at Euro Con in Berlin this year and who is an amazing human being) did a fantastic job with this very difficult book. The book is dark and grim and very, very sad, but the narration made it bearable. I honestly don't think I'd have been able to keep on reading if it wasn't for his brilliant performance.

Don't get me wrong, the book is brilliant and I loved it, but I didn't enjoy it, if that makes any sense. I highly recommend it, but be warned that the story goes to some pretty dark corners of the human mind.

📘 Catch my Breath by M.J O'Shea

Catch My Breath is the exact opposite of When All the World Sleeps above. It's fluffy and cute and teeth-rotting sweet, but I loved every second of it. Tyler Stevens' fantastic narration has a lot to do with that positive experience. I definitely recommend the audio over the ebook/paperback, trust me on this!

📚 Non-fiction

📒 Goodnight Stories for Rebel Girls by Elena Favilli

What a gorgeous book! The cover, the illustrations, the thought process that had gone behind the scenes... All of it is gorgeously done, making the book a must read for anyone, not just rebel girls. 

📒 Literary London by Eloise Millar and Sam Jordison

I've lived in London for over 15 years and I still can't say I've seen everything this beautiful city has to offer. This book focuses on the literary sights in London, meaning the places where famous authors liked to hang out, lived or frequented. I've already bookmarked half the book, waiting for the weather to get a bit warmer so I can explore them without freezing. (I'm a summer person, don't judge me.) It's written with humour and holds many interesting facts about the sights and the authors themselves. Definitely recommend for any literary fan living in London or visiting for a few days.

📒 Being a Writer by Travis Elborough and Helen Gordon

This is an inspiring collection of essays from some of the most famous writers in the world about their struggles with their craft, their joys, as well as musings on how they even became to identify as writers. It's fascinating, really, to read that someone who has achieved world-wide fame and whose writing I admire has struggled with similar self-doubts and insecurities as I have, but has managed to overcome them and keep writing. Definitely recommend for anyone who aspires to be a writer.

New Translations + news

Hi guys!

This year I've been mainly focusing on translations instead of developing new projects - I needed a break from writing. Last year was very stressful for me and by the end I was getting anxious just looking at my laptop. So I gave myself a bit of a break, but I never stopped working. Currently I have a few projects on the go, and quite a few translations were released very recently, including the Italian translation for Piece by Piece, and most recently Dreaming of Snow, which concludes the West End series. So the entire series is now out in Italian, check it out on Amazon (available on KU as well).

          

     

   

If Christmas romance is your jam, I've got Kiss and Ride coming out in Italian very soon! Just in time for the Holidays ;)

Also, my German publisher tells me the German edition of Cookies did very well, especially for a new author in that market, and they signed a few of my other books as well. The German translation of Snowed In was released this weekend by Cursed Verlag, check it out on Amazon and Cursed Verlag website. 

                   

I hope 2018 will be a bit more productive for me and I'll be able to release the projects I'm currently working on. I'll be able to say more a bit later on. For now, here's a little excerpt from my current WIP:

The music cut through my insides like a hot knife in butter, melting the edges and seamlessly sinking into me, leaving me open and raw. Every thump of the bass punched me in the gut; every high electronic screech shocked my nerve endings making my limbs twitch. Nobody noticed my movements were a bit unnatural, or if they did they didn't care. I danced and shook and shuddered on the crowded dance floor, time slowing down to an agonising crawl. The colourful beams of light passed over sweaty faces slowly, carefully, as if they were flashlights carried by rescuers, lingering on people’s features, trying to locate someone in need.

The thing was, everyone was in need here. In need of a release, of a good time, of a quick, uncomplicated fuck in the back. Everyone was chasing a high, one way or another. In my case, I wanted to forget; to silence the constant flow of thoughts and images chasing one another in my mind, fighting for dominance every damn second.

You killed him. You fucking killed him.

I was shouting at my mother as my father’s casket was lowered into the hole in the ground. Everyone was staring at us. Renee was holding me back. I couldn't see, my eyes were blind from rage and pain and tears.

I blinked.

It took a fraction of a second but felt like I closed my eyes for hours. When my heavy lids finally lifted I saw time had resumed its usual speed. A wall of noise hit me making me stagger backwards. I didn't go too far, half a step at the most, bumping into bodies moving to the fast rhythm. They jostled me back and forth for a while until I found my footing again.

I smiled. Raised my arms over my head and let the music take me again.

It felt good.

It always felt good.

I needed this, today more than ever.

You killed him.

You fucking killed him.

Stop!

“Finn,” Someone shouted in my ear, too loud even for the club. “Finn!”

Instinctively, I put my arms around the body currently invading my personal space. I let the familiarity of it, the closeness, the scent, wrap around me like a soft blanket on a cold day, and shivered.

“Don’t,” he said when I placed my lips on the pulse point of his neck. Strong hands gripped my shoulders, but didn't push me away. I straightened and met Aiden’s eyes.

Indie Hour - Nicola Haken

I'm so happy to welcome Nicola Haken to Indie Hour today! She's an author of both contemporary and LGBT romance, and I'm a huge fan!

TK: Hi Nicola and welcome to Indie Hour! So glad to have you as my fabulous guest!

How are you? I know you had some heath trouble over the recent months and got us all worried! Glad to see you on your feet and writing again.

NH: Thank you for having me! Thanks to a cocktail of medications, I’m feeling way better than I was. I’m still waiting for some tests and appointments because I’m proving to be a bit of a medical mystery at the moment! But, now anything sinister has been ruled out, my head is back in the game. Woohoo! 

TK: Tell me about your new book The Making of Matt. It’s the third book in your Souls of the Knight series, right?

NH: It is and, for now, the end of the series, but I never say never to anything. Matt was never supposed to have his own story, but readers saw something in him that, at the time Being Sawyer Knight was released, I didn’t. Several asked for his story, which at first I dismissed because this was an M/M series and Matt was not only straight, but a complete whore! Once the seed was planted, however, it continued to grow, and, now, here we are. I can’t see any other way for Matt anymore.

His story, of course, stays true to the personality everyone fell in love with. Matt continues to be immature, sarcastic, unwittingly offensive, and sometimes downright stupid. I’m biased, obviously, but it’s hard not to love those things about him. He’s an arsehole, but an adorable one! In this book, though, we see Matt Carter is also so much more than that. Beneath the humour lies a sensitive, caring, sometimes vulnerable man. He has some pretty tough things to deal with in his story and he doesn’t always react to them in an ideal way at first, but the important thing is he learns as he goes along. As a person, I think he grows a lot throughout this book. I doubt he’ll ever ‘grow up’ so to speak, and really, I wouldn’t want him to. I kinda love him!

TK: Congratulations on the enormous success of the book – it’s been in the top 100 of the entire Kindle paid store ever since it was released, along with a few other MM romance books released around the same time. How do you feel about the success of the MM genre in recent months?

NH: Holy freakin’ crapballs is all I can say to that! Matt’s success has blown me away and I can’t thank everyone who helped get him there enough. Anyone who follows my posts will have seen that I’ve been just as excited to have my fellow m/m authors there with me last week! I’ve only been a part of this genre for 18 months and it’s already grown so much in that time, which is AWESOME! I’m so honoured to be a part of it. I’ve met some of the best people in it, made some incredible friends, and I’m beyond happy that more people seem to be finding us. Next step for the m/m genre? Take over the world! 

TK: I know you write both MM and MF romance books, which I think is awesome. There’s a stigma attached to authors who openly cross genres, however. Have you been affected by it?

NH: Oh there definitely is, for some people at least. When I released Being Sawyer Knight I had my fair share of ‘this is why mf authors shouldn’t write mm’ comments. I refused to give those kind of statements a second thought. I write about people falling in love. If I can write one man convincingly in an m/f story, I can write about two in an m/m/. If they didn’t enjoy the story, they didn’t like my writing style, they thought it was a pile of crap, I accept that. No book is for every reader. But what I’ve written previously shouldn’t come into it.

I’m of course only referring to a few people there. On the whole, this genre and the people in it – authors, readers, and bloggers – are amazing! I’ve gained so many new readers and discovered some fantabulous authors too. All in all, I’m surrounded by awesome people and I try my best to concentrate on them and ignore anything negative. 

TK: Do you plan to go back to writing MF romance or are you more likely to concentrate on MM in the near future?

NH: As much as I love my m/f characters, and the readers and friends I made while writing them, I feel like I’ve found my home. I’ve always written in dual POV and even when writing m/f, I always enjoyed writing from the guy’s perspective more. I connect with them better somehow, I always have. I tell people this all the time, I genuinely had no idea the m/m genre existed until around two years ago when I accidentally stumbled upon a Kindle Alexander book. As soon as I read it, I felt like I’d been searching for this genre all my life! But it does, and I love it, and I’m afraid you won’t get rid of me easily! 

TK: How do you manage to run your own business – because let’s face it, being an indie author is a business, and it takes a lot of time and effort to run it – around your family and your kids? I only have one kid and I can barely breathe some days, let alone find time to write! What’s your secret?

NH: My secret is very little sleep! I have four kids aged between 12 and 3 (yeah, I don’t know what I was thinking either!) so I do most of my work when the two smaller ones are asleep at night. I don’t often go to sleep before 2AM, but I’m lucky to have a husband who works nights and does the school run when he comes home in the morning so I get to lie in till a whopping 9AM some days haha! Also, I’m not what you’d call a domestic goddess. I make time for all things work related by ignoring all things housework related :D 

TK: Is your family supportive of your career choice?

NH: Very. I wouldn’t be able to do this alone. My three boys are at school during the day, so my mum takes my daughter during that time so I have those hours to do my author thing. She also helps out with the things I never get around to, like washing, ironing, and cooking at weekends lol. In fairness, I’d probably never do those things anyway even if I wasn’t busy writing, but don’t tell my mum that ;-) 

TK: Do you like being an indie author? Have you considered publishing with a publishing house?

NH: When I first started out, like a lot of new authors, it was my dream to be traditionally published someday. But now? I’m not sure. I like the control I have over my own things. I’m happy (and tremendously grateful) for the success I’ve had on my own so far, and I also don’t cope well with deadlines or being told what to do lol. But I guess I can’t say for sure without ever having a discussion with a publisher. I’ve heard good and bad stories from both sides of the fence. But for now, I’m happy and proud to be an indie author! 

TK: What can we expect from Nicola next? Do you have any publishing schedule planned or are you taking it in stride?

NH: I’m not good with schedules! I’m well over half way through my latest work in progress which I plan (or should that be hope?!) to release in March 2016. It follows my new boys, James and Theo, and is worlds apart from Matt’s story in so many ways. New characters, new country, my first time writing in present tense… Also, these guys have a difficult, emotional, story to tell and I can only hope I do them justice. 

Right, it’s all fun and games until the Lightning Round!!!!

·         Do you prefer to be right or liked? Whichever causes the least drama!

·         Superman or Batman? Superman (come on, the dude can fly!)

·         Do you sing in the shower? I sing everywhere (much to the detriment of others!)

·         Are you a night owl or an early bird? Night owl

·         Who’s your dream mentor? I admire such a long list of people I couldn’t possibly choose!

·         Your phone or your kindle? Phone (although I have a kindle too!)

·         What’s your favourite food? Potatoes (cooked any way!)

·         Did you ever read a book because everyone else was reading it? If yes, which one? The only book I’ve ever done that with is Fifty Shades of Grey because I needed to see what all the hype was about. For the record, I loved it!

·         Pizza or sushi? Veggie I’ll go with pizza because the idea of sushi weirds me out, but I don’t really like either.

·         TV series or full length movies? TV series. I usually end up falling asleep through movies, yet I can binge watch TV shows for hours!

TK: Thank you, Nicola, for being such a brilliant guest!

NH: Thank you for having me!

If you want to get in touch with the fabulous Nicola, or just stalk her for updates about her new books, here's how:

Facebook      Website     Twitter     Amazon     Goodreads

Most anticipated books of the summer

I seriously can't wait to get my hands on these beauties! 

Against the Grain by Charlie Cochet

This is the 5th instalment in Ms Cochet's THIRDS series. If you haven't read them yet, please do! One of the best shifter series out there. Seriously addicting. 

Book Description:

As the fiercest Defense Agent at the THIRDS, Destructive Delta’s Ash Keeler is foul-mouthed and foul-tempered. But his hard-lined approach always yields results, evident by his recent infiltration of the Coalition. Thanks to Ash’s skills and the help of his team, they finally put an end to the murdering extremist group for good, though not before Ash takes a bullet to save teammate Cael Maddock. As a result, Ash’s secrets start to surface, and he can no longer ignore what’s in his heart. 

Cael Maddock is no stranger to heartache. As a Recon Agent for Destructive Delta, he has successfully maneuvered through the urban jungle that is New York City, picking up his own scars along the way. Yet nothing he’s ever faced has been more of a challenge than the heart of Ash Keeler, his supposedly straight teammate. Being in love isn’t the only danger he and Ash face as wounds reopen and new secrets emerge, forcing them to question old loyalties.

Release date: August 3rd 2015

Pre-order at Dreamspinner Press

Sutphin Boulevard by Santino Hassel

Santino co-wrote my all time favourite series In the Company of Shadows. It's the best thing I've ever read so I think it's safe to say that I'll read anything he ever writes.

I'm super excited about this book! It's his first contemporary erotic romance and I just know it'll be AWESOME!

And what about that cover?? I'm in love!!!

Book Description:

Michael Rodriguez and Nunzio Medici have been friends for two decades. From escaping their dysfunctional families in the working-class neighborhood of South Jamaica, Queens to teaching in one of the city’s most queer friendly schools in Brooklyn, the two men have shared everything. Or so they thought until a sweltering night of dancing leads to an unexpected encounter that forever changes their friendship. 

Now, casual touches and lingering looks are packed with sexual tension, and Michael can’t forget the feel of his best friend’s hands on him. Once problems rear up at work and home, Michael finds himself seeking constant escape in the effortless intimacy and mind-blowing sex he has with Nunzio. But things don’t stay easy for long. 

When Michael’s world begins to crumble in a sea of tragedy and complications, he knows he has to make a choice: find solace in a path of self-destruction or accept the love of the man who has been by his side for twenty years.

Release date: July 31st 2015

Pre-oder at Dreamspinner Press 

On the Clock (a.k.a. Rolex's story)

On the clock is co-written by the epic co-writing duo Aleksandr Voinov and L.A.Witt. Their Market Garden series is an erotic gem! I absolutely love them! While the rest of the books in the series are more of a novella length, On the Clock promises an over 200 page goodness! I can't wait to dive into it and finally read Rolex's story.

Book Description:

When Blake Raleigh’s favorite rentboys retire from Market Garden, they’re sure their friend Jason will be a perfect replacement. Though Tristan and Jared are a tough act to follow, Blake returns to London to test out their recommendation.

Jason is right on the money. Negotiations turn him on. Getting paid turns him on. The higher the stakes, the hotter things get. Each trip to London is more expensive than the last, and the webcam sessions don’t run cheap, but Jason is well worth the sticker shock.

The more time they spend together, the more Blake wants, and not just sex and transactions. But Jason’s been burned before by men who thought they were in love with him, and he’s not making that mistake again. When the lines between personal and professional start to blur, it’s going to take more than money, jewelry, and sports cars to keep Jason from clocking out and walking away.

Release date: July 13th 2015

Pre-order at Riptide Publishing

Rio de Janeiro

Do not go to Rio de Janeiro. You'll fall in love and never want to leave!
Yep. That's exactly what happened to me. I researched house prices, nice neighbourhoods and average wages on day three.
The reason I went was the launch of my book In a Heartbeat (Num piscar de olhos in Portuguese) in Brazil. My wonderful publisher Ediora Charme organised a fabulous signing event for me and invited me to visit Rio. How could I resist?

Even the thought of an eleven hour flight with a seven-year-old didn't make me hesitate one bit.

Veronica Goes - one of the partners in Editora Charme - met us at the airport with her lovely daughter Julia holding a huge poster with my name on it. She's an amazing human being and I'm so lucky to have met her in person!. This is someone who's never before met me, has never even talked to me besides a few comments on my Facebook posts, and she treated me like a life-long friend. She introduced me to her family, took us all out to show us around, checked in every day to make sure we were fine and repeatedly asked us if we needed anything at all. Such a warm, kind person - I'm blown away!

Ju, me and Veronica

Just like her, most Brazilians are very warm, touchy-feely kind of people. They'll hug me without any reason at all, always be smiling and welcoming, and ready to help in any situation.

We spend most of our time at the beach. 

May is not Rio's peak season - it's actually their autumn/winter. But the weather was gorgeous - very hot and humid! The beaches were not overcrowded so I could ogle the hot men without any problems. 

It was our first time in Rio so we had to do all the touristy things like take the cable car to Sugar Loaf mountain (scary!!!)...

And feel at the top of the world once up there...

 Visit the statue of Christ the Redeemer...

Try Acai berry smoothie...

It looks gross but I promise you it's very delicious!

We also drank green coconut juice straight from the fruit, walked along the black and white waves pattern on Copacabana, drank our weight in caipirinhas, went to a football match at Maracana... OK, that last one is not exactly touristy but I'm a huge football fan so it was unthinkable that I'll go to Rio and not visit Maracana. 

I can honestly go on for ages! There's so much to do and see in Rio de Janeiro that 10 days were definitely not enough! I can't wait to go back next year.

Now, let's not forget I was there for work. It might seem like fun and games, but I had a very, very hard job to do - meet my readers, sign their books and be hugged to death by sweet, Brazilian women. Yep, it's a hard job but someone's gotta do it!

The day before the event I went to the bookshop where it would be held and couldn't resist taking a picture with the giant poster right at the front of the shop window.

How cool is that?? My very own gigantic poster! I must admit I was ecstatic, and yet nerves were starting to settle in. I've never had my own signing event. It's always been shared with other authors and being the sole focus of so many people's attention was frightening.

I forgot all about my nerves when we got to the event and everyone was so sweet! They were so happy to see me - some of the girls were literally shaking when they met me. I can't believe someone can get that excited about meeting me!

I also met the entire team working in Editora Charme and on my books. Brilliant, talented, smart women who inspired me to keep writing more books so that they can publish them all.

After everyone had their books signed, we sat down and had a chat. It was so much fun! We talked about everything, and laughed so much my cheeks hurt!

I had the best time and didn't feel nervous at all, all thanks to everyone who made me feel so at ease and so welcomed. I can't wait to go back for the launch of my next two books - Then, Now, Forever and Colour me Inside.

Till next time!! xx

All my books are now on Kindle Unlimited

You can now find all my books on Kindle unlimited and read them for free with your subscription.
I've been thinking about doing the move for a while since 90% of my sales are through Amazon anyway, and decided to take the plunge. I'll keep the KDP subscription for at least 3 months according to the contract, and decide if it's worth it after that. Until then, feel free to try any of my books for free.

Till next time!! xx

Rainbow Book Fair, NYC and a girls holiday

I know, I know... I'm super late writing this post! It's been over a month since I came back from NYC but life has been crazy and I'm so bad at regular blogging...
Anywhooo, they say better late then never, right? That's certainly true for a lot of things, including blogging, haha!
I've been desperate to go to New York for ages, but I never found the time, money or reason to make it happen. So when I stumbled upon Rainbow Book Fair, I knew that was my chance! I loved what I saw about the book fair and I really wanted to be a part of it, plus - it would give me a reason to visit one of the most iconic cities in the world. Win-win!
And it was! I went with my sister for about a week and we had an amazing time. It was a girls holiday and I loved it. My sister was even more excited than me about going to NYC, so I had someone to share my enthusiasm with.
Before I go into any more detail about the city and the trip itself, let me just say that I had a fabulous time at Rainbow Book Fair and I'm definitely planning on going again next year. I shared a table with my dear friend Rhys Ethan and we had so much fun!

We met with readers who were enthusiastic about the genre and who were happy to stop and chat; we met fellow authors who we've only chatted on Facebook with and who turned out to be so sweet and welcoming! I can't wait to see everyone again at the other book events I have planned for the rest of the year, mainly Euro Pride Con and UK Meet.

The organisers of the event - all of them volunteers who did not get paid - were simply flawless. The event was very well organised and we all know how hard that is to do for an event of that size. Everyone was really helpful and really friendly, and it'd be a pleasure to attend the event again.

As for NYC itself, it's a city that needs to be experienced. We've all seen countless movies set in New York and somehow I felt like I knew the city before I even got there. I was wrong. I might have known some of the sights by name, but that was about it. New York is a vibrant place, a place where contradictions hit you harder than expected and where you can be swallowed and eaten alive. But it's also a fun place, somewhere where you can be yourself and if you show it who's boss, it'll treat you right.

I don't know if any of that will make any sense to anyone who's never been there, but I'm not going to bore you with an account of our sightseeing, daily manicures, way too many cocktails and late nights. New York is something different for everyone, it really depends on what you're looking to find there.

If I had to sum up my trip in a few pictures, it would be these:

Oh, and when you do visit NYC, go see a musical on Broadway! Book it well in advance though - we went to see Aladdin (it was brilliant!!!) and booked our tickets in December! The theatre was packed, I couldn't see a single available space.

Till next time!! xx