​

Nope, I'm not practicing my Cher tribute act.

I'm thinking about what I could do if I had that power. The Extractor series is all about using time travel to fix things in the past to make a better future. Escape in Time's mission is about rescuing a doctor incarcerated in Nazi Germany because she masqueraded as a man so she could continue her work on curing cancer. Landry and the team are sent to retrieve her and get the hell out of dodge, but these things rarely go to plan, do they?

But as I delve into time travel, my thoughts are more selfish. Bear with my rambling (or skip to the series cover reveal below if you're not up for a sad tale)... As you may know, my mum has been suffering with dementia for over five years. My parents have always been the gold standard in romance and love for me; they've always been obsessed with each other, always touching, holding hands, and kissing, always making sure the other one is happy and safe. My dad, who suffers from depression and has prostate cancer, has always said that if Mum should die first, he'll be following along soon after, by hook or by crook. And I accepted that (though it's far to say that the rest of my family struggle with the concept); their love has always been very much in the Romeo & Juliet tradition, with everyone around them against their union, and the thought of being apart simply unbearable for either of them.

However...

In the past couple of years, the mum I knew has slowly slipped away, along with her ability to participate or follow a conversation and her interest in many, many things. The wife my dad knew has also disappeared, and though she's always with him, she's not really with him, and he's become incredibly lonely. For the sake of brevity, this is a massive over-simplification of the situation, but that's the gist of it.

Three weeks ago, I asked Dad if his plans to leave this mortal coil were still the same, and he instantly said yes. And once again, I accepted that. And then, two weeks ago he popped around to see us and said, "You might not want to hear this, but..." Basically, he's decided to give the life without Mum a go when the inevitable happens. Because he suffers from low self-esteem as well, he had no faith in the idea that we might actually love to hear that he's chosen to stick around.

So there's a new silver lining to my mum's dementia, or at the very least, the heartening knowledge that I'll get more time with Dad when I lose Mum: a proverbial double-edged sword. So, you might ask, what's all that got to do with the power of time travel?

I'd go forward in search of definitive research for the cause of dementia (in all its forms), find the exact way to stop my mum developing it, and then go back in time to ensure those elements were in place. Then Dad wouldn't have to be lonely; Mum would still be properly here with us; and life would be peachy. Not asking much, eh?

I suppose it's not that selfish, because I'd find some way to share that knowledge so that hundreds and thousands of families don't have to suffer this cruel disease. But let's say you had the power of time travel; what would you do with it? Maybe you can even give me the idea for book four 😉

SERIES COVER REVEAL!

Anyhoo, back to what I can actually achieve in the real world...

I'm currently 15k into my new Helena romance, but once that's finished at the end of March, I'll be back to my Extractor series. Change and Death will be released simultaneously late 2025, and there'll be more to come in the series in 2026 too!

Escape in Time is out with our wonderful ARC team right now, and reviews aren't due back until the end of next month, but I was lucky enough to get an early one come in a few days ago...

In other author news, my wife's romance alter-ego released her very first audio book today! She's super excited, so we're off to Tea on the Green to celebrate later today 😉 And as Brey Willows, she's got the fantastic romantasy Ship of Dreams coming out on February 1st (pre-order available now). Early reviews are in, and they're all 5*, praising Brey's amazing world-building skills...which is no surprise; she's done a fantastic job of building my world up to be amazing over the past ten years ❤️

I can finally officially announce that our Queer the Shelves event will be back on Saturday 28th June at our new home of the Nottingham Central Library! We've got an extra room this year, so we'll be hosting intimate author chats, and we're currently talking to a brand new queer publisher (specialising in science fiction, fantasy, and horror) about hosting pitching sessions. And I'm super excited to announce that DG Coutinho, winner of the Bloody Scotland Harvill Secker Crime Writing Award, will be joining us as well as Allan Radcliffe, author of The Old Haunts, which was adapted for the BBC Radio 4's Book at Bedtime slot. It'll also be the debut public appearance for JP Preston and Aster Quinn.

You can see it's already building up to the UK's creative event of the year, and tickets are available right now. They're £10 for the day, which includes the after-party. If our funding application is successful, your ticket will include a £5 credit toward book purchases. So cross your fingers and send good vibes the way of the Arts Council!

Brey and I spent last Tuesday preparing six proposals for this year's GCLS conference, many of which we're hoping will feature our co-Butterworth Books authors. New authors JP Preston and Sydney Lear will be there with us (books out April and May, respectively - sign up to our Butterbookers newsletter for more info), as well as E.V. Bancroft, Valden Bush, and Addison M Conley. And if our application for a book table is successful, sci-fi and fantasy author AJ Mason will be joining us too (to woman the store and of course, sign your copies of The Helion Band). We're hoping to chat about all sorts of things from making your editor cry to how happy endings are a bold act of resistance, and from nurturing your metamorphosis from writer to author to finding your tribe.

It's been a while since we were in the States for a book event, and we're really looking forward to catching up with all you lovely readers and authors over there!

​

Ciao for now, lovely peeps, and remember, le bonheur c'est maintenant!