Ellie Thomas: London in the Rain

This week Ellie Thomas is dropping in to talk about her new release, London in the Rain. Welcome, Ellie!

Thank you so much, Ally, for having me as your guest today! I’m Ellie Thomas, and I write Gay Historical Romance. In this blog, I’m chatting about London in the Rain, my story for the April Rain or Shine submissions call for JMS Books.

When I decided to pick the Rain option, I immediately thought of London (for some strange reason!) and, after exploring the city during the Elizabethan era in my Valentine’s story, The Spice of Life, it was fun to move five centuries forwards to the 1930s.

As I wanted my story to be atmospheric, I turned to the Lord Peter Wimsey books by one of my favourite Mystery Golden Age authors, Dorothy L. Sayers, to see the scale of early 20th century London through her eyes and get an ear for the language of the times. I have to say it felt like an indulgence to leaf through my well-thumbed copies of Murder Most Advertised and Strong Poison to get a mental map of 1930s London. 

In homage to the author, my main character, Raymond, lives in Bloomsbury (like Sayers herself and her mystery writer heroine Harriet Vane) and he also works in Southampton Row, where Pym’s advertising agency is based in Murder Most Advertised. Also, David, Raymond’s love interest is an Oxford graduate, like Lord Peter Wimsey, and if asked, he’d confirm he’s also a Balliol College man. 

As Raymond, although sexually active, lives an outwardly closeted life, I had already decided that David would be much more open in his attitude and was at least an observer of the vivid Berlin scene in the late 1920s and early 1930s, where anything went in terms of artistic and sexual expression. What I was fascinated to discover, was that by the mid-1930s, London had a vibrant LGBT (or to use the contemporary term, “queer”) scene of its own, despite draconian laws. 

Unsurprisingly, as it has been for many years, Soho was also the centre of this earlier hub. Although Charlie’s, the bar in my story, is a figment of my imagination, other clubs that I mention like the Shim Sham and Billie’s were real if relatively short-lived due to police intervention.

I discovered a fascinating virtual walking tour that rediscovers and celebrates this forgotten and colourful world and is well worth a look.

I also used references from the National Archives for my chapter set in Billie’s club, including descriptions of the spacious club room featuring a grand piano. Also, regular performers and some of the clientele mentioned in this excellent article.

Much of the writer’s observations are taken from the criminal and prosecution files, which is a desperately sad indictment of that period, but also contain fascinating details of the décor, acts, and the atmosphere of fun and escapism.

These sources inspired to me recreate that ambience in the concluding scene of my story, set in Billie’s Club. Here, at last, Raymond relaxes his inhibitions enough to dance in public with David, surrounded by an inclusive and vibrant crowd.

London in the Rain

Cover: London in the rain by Ellie Thomas

A life of set routine is the norm for Raymond Smith. Now in his mid-thirties, a fleeting wartime romance far behind him, he is an exemplary clerk at a London insurance firm where he’s perceived as dry and conventional.

But Raymond has a secret. Every month or so, he visits Charlie’s, one of the more understated bars in Soho’s flowering gay scene in the 1930s. There, he seeks relief with strangers to get him through the next few weeks.

On one of these visits, he encounters suave David Carstairs, a well-travelled linguist with the Foreign Office. Rather than a brief encounter, David offers him friendship and even affection. Despite Raymond’s misgivings, the two men, with their contrasting backgrounds and experiences, start to form a bond in the spring of 1936 as Europe inexorably begins to march towards war. Will Raymond fearfully reject this chance of happiness? Or can he unbend enough to allow David into his heart and life?

Read on!

Raymond was almost breathless when he entered Charlie’s, the doorman lifting the curtain for him without hesitation. He paused in the inner doorway, taking in the quiet scene. As it was so early, very few tables were occupied, and the pounding in his head increased as he fruitlessly looked around the room. At last, his gaze locked on a familiar figure, sitting in the same position as Raymond had occupied the previous Thursday. 
Charlie, the owner, elegant in black satin with her brassy hair piled high, was leaning over the bar talking to him in a familiar way that indicated long association. As he approached, the man gave a welcoming smile and Raymond’s headache vanished.
“Scotch and soda?” The man queried before giving his order to Charlie. As he chatted with the proprietress, Raymond looked at him surreptitiously. He’s not out on the town tonight, he thought, as the stylish dress clothes had been replaced by a tailored Savile Row suit. He must have come straight from work in much the same way as Raymond, and he wondered if his gentleman was something in the city or even a cog in the wheel of government.
Placing down their drinks with a vermilion-lipped beam, Charlie moved down the bar to serve the next customer. The man smiled at Raymond, picked up his glass, and said, “Cheers!”
Braced for the first taste of harsh spirit, Raymond’s eyebrows rose when the contents proved to be far superior to what was normally served. He must be more than a vague acquaintance of Charlie’s, thought Raymond, as this is the good stuff. He took a long swallow, appreciating the fine flavours. 
“Bad day?” The man asked sympathetically.
“Oh, you know,” Raymond shrugged. “The usual ups and downs of office life.” Although his companion smiled understandingly, Raymond would have been astonished if the man had any familiarity with his humdrum routine.
The gentleman took a sip of whisky, and after hesitating, he began, “Well, whatever happened today, despite any inconvenience to you, I’m glad it brought you here. I was hoping I might see you again,” he finished with a shy smile.
Raymond said nothing, hiding his confusion with the rest of his drink. He must be joking. Why would someone like him give me a second glance? 
Embarrassed, he changed the subject, pretending to peer into the corners of the room, saying, “Your young friends not with you tonight?”
The man laughed, “Thankfully, no. One round of the delights of Soho was sufficient for my young cousin and his chums. From the amount and variety of booze they put back, I wouldn’t be surprised if they are still suffering from sore heads. Talking of which, would you like another?” 
He gestured to Charlie, who took away their glasses to refill them from her private supply, returning their replenished drinks with a conspiratorial grin. Raymond took a sip of his fresh drink, letting the fine whisky roll around his mouth. 
“By the way,” the man said, “I don’t know your name. How remiss of me. I’m David Carstairs.” 
Taken aback by such openness, Raymond paused before he shook the proffered hand, his own captured briefly by a warm, firm grip. 
“Raymond Smith,” he muttered in response. Meeting David’s amused, slightly disbelieving glance, he laughed and said, “No, it’s not a false name.”
“There are plenty of genuine Smiths in the world, I suppose,” David said lightly. “And not merely assumed for reasons of disguise.”
Raymond felt keenly aware of their surroundings and all the secrets this place of assignation held, including his own.
As though on the same wavelength, David said casually, “This bar is a pleasant place to unwind and not too far from King Charles Street where I work.”
So he’s in the Foreign Office, then, Raymond thought. I should have guessed. He’s got the looks and poise and, no doubt, the education too.  
He cleared his throat, “I’m not far away either. My office is in Southampton Row.”
It seemed oddly personal to trade such information here, where Raymond had exchanged greater intimacies with men, never knowing a single fact about their lives. 
David glanced at his watch. “I assume you haven’t had the chance to eat as yet? Perhaps after we’ve finished these, we might get a spot of supper somewhere?”
After gulping down his first drink, Raymond had been slowly sipping his second glass of whisky to remain as long as he could in David’s presence, convinced the other man would excuse himself at the first opportunity.  
Raymond blinked, taking in the import of the invitation. “I’d like that very much,” he replied. David’s shoulders relaxed as though they had held some invisible tension.

Buy London in the Rain

About Ellie

Ellie Thomas lives by the sea. She comes from a teaching background and goes for long seaside walks where she daydreams about history. She is a voracious reader especially about anything historical. She mainly writes historical gay romance.

Ellie also writes historical erotic romance as L. E. Thomas.

Website : Facebook

Guest Post: Ofelia Grand drops in to talk about The Blood Witch

Hello, everyone! Thank you, Ally, for allowing me to swing by again 🥰 (You’re always welcome!-Ally)

A couple of days ago, The Blood Witch was released. It’s a story I wrote for National I am in Control Day. If you don’t know me, I write stories for all those silly days out there – today, for example, it’s National Black Forest Cake Day. Always nice with an excuse to eat cake, right?

National I am in Control Day is observed annually on March 30th. It was created because when, back in 1981, there was an assassin attempt on Ronald Reagan, the secretary of state told everyone at a press conference that he was in control. Chaos erupted since some folks thought he was trying to take over after Reagan when he had no right to do so.

Sometimes it doesn’t take much to create a holiday 😄

I seldom read stories where the characters are royalty – some, of course, but I’ve never gone looking for a story with a king or a queen, and I’ve most definitely never written one.

I’m Swedish, and Sweden is a monarchy. The royal family is mostly there as decoration and a waste of money. In case you didn’t catch it in my tone, I’m not a fan. I don’t dislike the king as such, the poor sod never had a choice, and I would never want to trade places with him, but…

So when I decided to write a king, I also decided there would be no fancy clothes, balls, princesses in expensive dresses, and the king would not be there as some kind of ornament.

Conri is a werewolf, and he rules over Northbridge, a small city. The world is divided into areas, most pretty small, and the supernatural population are ruled by a king or queen. The supes have fewer rights than humans – they’re not allowed to own businesses, they’re not allowed any higher education, the legal system doesn’t treat them fairly and so on.

To make sure no supernatural being is lying about their race, there are blood tests when applying for school and other things.

Nick is a blood witch, and as a blood witch, he can change blood. This makes him a great asset to a kingdom, but blood witches are often kept prisoner by their kings or queens so they can be forced to work for them. Nick managed to escape his former king, and he has no plans of going back to working for a king ever again.

He’s managed to hide in Northbridge for six years, but one day he outs himself, and now the king demands he come and pay his respects.

I loved writing this one, and who knows, I might write more kings in the future LOL

Available now: The Blood Witch

Excerpt:

A blood witch—Conri had a blood witch in his kingdom, and it could earn him power and freedom beyond any king’s dreams. He wasn’t sure how it would work, but it was what he’d heard—a blood witch could strengthen a king’s power in ways no one else could.
Conri had promised no harm would come to the man who’d saved Cellica, but now the little shit refused to pay his respects, and Conri was running out of options.
People flocked around him. They came to Twilight, his nightclub, simply to be close to him. His bed never lacked lovers, and his schedule didn’t have any gaps unless he put them there—which he tried to do as often as possible. Everyone wanted to be close to the king, and when he summoned someone, they showed up. He did not beg for anyone’s attention. He didn’t have to. He was king. The fucking witch.
“I’m going to talk to him.” He grabbed his phone and called Urien, his second in command.
Most would frown at a werewolf having a vampire as his closest ally, but it worked great. Conri didn’t do packs, so he didn’t have a beta, and if he’d picked an alpha from another shifter group, all hell would break loose. Urien was a godsend.
As soon as the call connected, he spoke. “Will you be in soon?”
Urien slept through the day, so Conri couldn’t fault him for not being in earlier—it was the only downside with having a vampire as his second.
“I’m already in the building. There was some trouble by the stage. It’s sorted.”
Conri hummed. In one area of the bar, they had live performances during opening hours. If there was trouble, it often started there.
“I’m going out for a bit. You can reach me on my cell.”
He ushered Zephirah out of the office and locked the door.
“I’ll come with you.” Zephirah fluffed her hair.
“No, I’m going alone.”
She pouted. “But it could be dangerous.”
He gave her an impassive look until she snarled “Fine!” and stomped away. Conri feared she’d become a problem one day soon.
The closer he came to the house where the blood witch lived, the deeper his frown became. Blood witches were wealthy beyond belief, and yet this one lived in the worst part of the city.
Cellica lived here because the pack had shunned her. She’d broken a mating—no one ever did. The male she’d been mated to had been picked for her and wasn’t her true mate. He had personally made sure the mate wouldn’t come back. He could do nothing about how the pack treated her, not without becoming a member, and he wasn’t going to. He had tried to move her to a better area which she had refused, but she had allowed him to pay her rent a couple of times when things had been worse than usual.
He jogged up the stairs of the decrepit building where he’d been told the blood witch had his apartment and knocked on his door.
“Hello?”
Conri frowned at the door but didn’t reply. When the footsteps moved away, he knocked again.
“Yes?”
“Open the door.” Conri would not shout through a closed door.
“No.”
“Open the door or I’ll open it myself.”
“I’m calling the cops.”
Conri cursed. “I only want to talk to you.”
“Don’t patronize me.”
Conri frowned again. He wasn’t patronizing. “I wasn’t.”
“How naive do you think I am?”
According to Cellica, the man was short, slim, and young-looking. Conri had been thirty-one when he’d become king, and he’d ruled this city for eleven years. When Cellica had said young-looking, he’d assumed the witch was in his early twenties—a pup. Someone he could intimidate and control. The months leading up to this day had told him the witch wasn’t easily intimidated. “Open the door.”
“I think not. Calling the cops now.”
Conri growled. “I’m the king.”
“I don’t care.”
For a second, anger flared in his chest, then he pursed his lips. “You’re not human, which means you belong to me.”
“I’m human. Now go away.”
A second later, Conri heard the witch talk on the phone, informing someone—the police most likely—there was someone trying to break into his apartment.
Conri growled. “I’ll be back.” He gave the door a soft knock before slinking down the stairs and out on the street. He walked to the back of the building and counted the windows. The tiny balconies didn’t look sturdy enough to carry his weight, but it was worth a try.

Buy The Blood Witch: JMS Books :: Amazon :: books2read.com/TheBloodWitch

About The Blood Witch

The Blood Witch cover

Nick Adore has been in hiding for six years. He does his best to pass himself off as human and only wants to be left alone. But one day, he walks in on a robbery. Instead of quietly walking away, he reveals himself as a blood witch, and now the werewolf king demands to see him.

Conri Biast is king. He has been the king of Norbridge for eleven years, but someone is trying to take him down. For months, he’s known there’s a blood witch in his territory who refuses to pay his respects, and that puts him on the top of his list of suspects. But when he goes to confront the witch, things don’t turn out the way he’d planned. The witch is his mate.

 Nick doesn’t want to be anywhere near Conri. Being close to kings always ends with him getting hurt, but he finds himself sucked into the power struggle. Conri doesn’t know who he can trust, but he knows he needs Nick by his side. Together, they’re strong, but are they strong enough to keep the throne?

Gay Paranormal Romance: 43,009 words

Buy links: JMS Books :: Amazon :: books2read.com/TheBloodWitch

About Holly Day:

According to Holly Day, no day should go by uncelebrated and all of them deserve a story. If she’ll have the time to write them remains to be seen. She lives in rural Sweden with a husband, four children, more pets than most, and wouldn’t last a day without coffee.

Holly gets up at the crack of dawn most days of the week to write gay romance stories. She believes in equality in fiction and in real life. Diversity matters. Representation matters. Visibility matters. We can change the world one story at the time.

Connect with Holly on social media:

Website :: Facebook :: Twitter :: Pinterest :: BookBub :: Goodreads :: Instagram

Guest Post: K. L. Noone, Demons and Rock-stars!

Today K. L. Noone is here to talk about her new box set, A Demon in Love!

Hi there! A.L. Lester was kind enough to let me pop in and share some exciting news with you – so glad to be here, and thank you! (You’re most welcome and any time!)

K. L. Noone. A Demon in Love box set.

I’m K.L. Noone, and I write a lot of LGBTQ romance – often m/m, but occasionally f/f, or m/f with bi main characters, or even m/genderfluid fairy-person! My first-ever published novel, back in 2018, was A Demon for Midwinter, which went on to have a few (all right, eight – which is more than a few…) bonus stories and stories for side characters…and that’s the subject of today’s post, in fact!

Specifically, this month JMS Books has released the beautiful A Demon in Love box set, with all new cover art, and all the stories in one place – including the brand-new flash fiction short “A Demon’s Very Good Morning”! (You can buy that one separately if you already have the rest – no worries!)

When I wrote Demon, it was very much a love letter to…well, lots of things in my life: paranormal and urban fantasy, romance, queerness, hurt/comfort, pizza, Filipino desserts, and the history of rock-and-roll. It’s about famous-but-getting-older rock star Kris, and his manager-turned-eventual-boyfriend (and secret half-demon) Justin, and the two of them falling in love. It’s also about being lonely, and about not wanting to be lonely anymore, and about trying hard to be a good person, to be there for someone, to help when they’re in trouble.

It’s also got many many sneaky rock band and song references, especially if you happen to like seventies and eighties punk bands – but there’re others, too! (If you think you’ve caught them all, let me know…)

Since Demon first came out, I’ve written more in that universe – like the historical prequel, and the Justin & Kris wedding story, both of which’re included in the box set – and I’ve written other stories too, some high fantasy, some contemporary, some more paranormal, some longer and more complex and more personal in other ways. (Magician, for instance, which lived in my head for a decade!) But your first published novel is always special, I think – there’s a joy about it, a sense of sheer look what I made, I get to do this, this is real! delight, in that first cover art, first paperback, presence of your own book in your hands (or your computer screen; but you get the idea). So Justin and Kris will always be special for me, and I love that people are still finding them and loving them and their love story.

And now we’ve got this luscious new box set, with everything collected, so you can read them all start to finish – all the happy endings, all of Justin’s cheerful noisy family, all the quiet moments of Kris and Justin sitting together and learning how to touch, and of course all the music!

I’m so excited to share this new version (and the new final story, set on a sunny morning, at home together) with you – and thanks again to A.L. Lester for letting me drop by! I hope you enjoy A Demon in Love – I know I will.

Buy A Demon in Love

JMS BooksAmazon : Barnes & Noble

Meet K. L. Noone

K.L. Noone teaches college students about superheroes and Shakespeare by day, and writes romance – frequently paranormal or with fantasy elements, usually LGBTQ, and always with happy endings – when not grading papers or researching medieval outlaw life. She lives with the Awesome Husband and a large black cat named Merlyn, who demands treats on a regular basis.

Twitter : Instagram : Blog (I’ve utterly failed at actually updating the book list on here, but the blog gets updated!) : Facebook : Amazon author page : JMS Books author page

Introducing Read Around the Rainbow

Read Around the Rainbow, Writers and bloggers of LGBTQIA+ romance

So, here’s our New Thing! My Office Writing Buddies ™, Nell Iris and Ofelia Grand and I all run blogs and we like to drop in to each other’s places and make things collaborative. So we have set up a little group of like-minded people who write similar stories and we are all going to pick a topic once a month and write about it.

I have [please insert your drumroll here] set up a webring. Webrings are an ancient and venerable part of the internet and some of you might not even know what they are. My memories of them from the glorious nineties and noughties are…variable. There weren’t many easy options to find like-minded people on the world wide interweb, so bloggers and website hosts with similar interests got together in groups and directed one-another to our sites. You signed up, stuck a bit of code on your webpage that produced something like this and off you went:

Read around the RainbowVisit the rest of The Rainbow bloggers!

Previous Random Next

(Purely in hopes of admiration, I need to say at this point that I forked a repository on Github to make this happen—I regularly say my coding days are over and they definitely are, I found it tortuous!)

The result of all this is that a handful of us are going to pick a topic, write about it on the last Friday of the month and link to each other’s posts. Because we are all high-stress people, the plan is to be very easy going and not put pressure on ourselves…if we don’t fancy a topic one month, we just don’t do it.

Our first posts will be going up on the Friday 25th of March, so do keep an eye out! We hope to see you around!

Ofelia Gränd/Holly Day :: Nell Iris :: A.L. Lester :: Lillian Francis :: Fiona Glass :: Amy Spector :: K.L. Noone :: Ellie Thomas

Read Around the Rainbow

Guest Post: Mags Hayward and Sweet as Candy

New author Mags Hayward is here today to talk about her new release, Sweet as Candy and let you read an excerpt. Welcome, Mags!

Hi Ally, thank you so much for inviting me over to your blog. It’s the first time I’ve been here and I’m very excited.

My name is Mags Hayward and I’m a new author writing lesbian romance and erotic romance for JMS Books LLC. I’m here today to talk about my fourth publication, Sweet as Candy, which was written for the JMS Books sweet or spice submission call and published on February 19th.

Sweet as Candy is a gentle lesbian romance centred on Kate, a nineteen-year-old student who’s never found love. Kate’s lost faith that she’ll ever find the one and certainly doesn’t believe in love at first sight. Meeting Candy, however, is about to change all that.

The story unfolds over one day, from morning ’till late, with the action taking place at a Pride festival organised by Kate’s best friend, Danny.  It’s this festival I’d like to talk about.

Jubilee Park Pride is based on a Pride festival that took place in a town near my home in the UK Midlands in 2019. It was the first Pride event the town had staged and was a much anticipated event. I attended in the morning and did my favourite trick of wandering around, blending in invisibly, while people-watching and listening to chatter. I gathered that many of those attending had travelled miles to support the event, some obviously having never visited that town before. There were frequent where’s this, where can I find that questions being asked, all politely answered by the police and other emergency services workers who’d kindly volunteered to act as stewards for the event.

There were locals there too, of course, but I didn’t recognise as many faces as I’d expected. The weather may have been partially to blame. Unlike Jubilee Park Pride’s all-day blazing sunshine, the real 2019 event was plagued by heavy downpours of rain. It didn’t spoil the fun, and I remember everyone smiling and having a great time, but it may have reduced the number of last-minute attendees. Who knows? Anyway, for the purposes of my feel-good short story, I decided to let the sun shine all day.

The decorated shop fronts, outlandish costumes and live events such as the bands in the park and the pub drag night are all based on the real-life Pride festival. It was quite a party – a bright, colourful, rainbow party. Sadly, the 2020 repeat celebration, which was scheduled to be bigger and feature a carnival-style street parade, was cancelled thanks to Covid. The 2021 event was also cancelled. Again, I chose not to reflect this in my story. Jubilee Park got its second Pride festival as, I hope, the town that inspired it will in 2022.

As I said, Sweet as Candy is my fourth publication with JMS Books LLC. My first book, Sydney, One Way, is a lesbian erotic romance flash fiction published the same month as Leap of Faith, a longer sweet lesbian romance. My third book is also a ‘Hot Flash’ – lesbian paranormal romance this time. My next project is another short paranormal romance.

Thank you for reading. Best wishes, Mags x

Sweet as Candy by Mags Hayward

Sweet as Candy by Mags Hayward

The first Jubilee Park Pride is in full swing and Kate’s soaking up the carnival atmosphere and energy of the flamboyant crowd. Although she’s there to support the event organiser, her best friend Danny, Pride has a special place in her heart.

She loves being a part of it—but doesn’t expect to find love. Never having had a girlfriend, Kate lacks confidence and can’t imagine meeting a girl and falling in love on the same day. That happens to other people. Certainly not to her.

But Candy’s different: beautiful, confident, yet down to earth and easy to talk to. Kate’s never met anyone like her. Has Fate brought her and Candy together—or will Kate be broken-hearted when the Festival ends?

Read an Excerpt

Crossing the road, Kate ran ahead, eager to explore. Like the theatre, Jubilee Park was bigger than she’d expected, and the town’s first ever Pride—Danny’s debut as an event organiser—was buzzing. Bunting fluttered from anything tall enough to tie it to; stallholders lined the paths, selling everything you’d expect at a festival from handmade, tie-dyed clothing, to local honey, and sizzling ‘healthy alternatives’ fast food. 
The park sloped downhill, and the lower area was filled with giant inflatable slides, bouncy castles, and kiddies’ roundabouts. Children’s shrieks and laughter cut through the pounding music pumping through speakers strapped to the trees. The park was alive with colour, music, delicious smells, and an atmosphere so joyous it brought a tear to Kate’s eye. 
“Danny”—Kate flung her arms around Danny’s neck—“I’m so proud of you.”
“Aw, babes… Now get off me and take a proper look. The bands will be performing on the bandstand over there.”
“Where?”
“Step to your right. See it?” 
Kate spotted a hexagonal structure in the centre of the park, partially hidden behind an ancient oak. She walked a few steps further to get a better view. With ornate pillars and intricate trellises around its conical roof, the bandstand was an impressive relic of Victoriana. The raised stage was piled high with speakers, drum kit, and keyboards, while a DJ had squeezed his equipment onto the top step. Wearing oversized headphones, he waved his arms to the beat, rallying the crowd. 
Kate eyed the multitude already gathered around the bandstand and gasped, heart leaping into her mouth—the girl with the multi-coloured hair was right there. She was talking to the blond girl and three others, hands moving animatedly as she chatted. The girl suddenly threw back her head, coloured locks flying, then she swayed to the music, arms above her head, dancing like no one could see. 

Meet Mags

Originally from North Wales, Mags Hayward lives in the UK Midlands with her family. Theatre Administrator by day, she started writing in 2012 and her debut novella, The Devil on Her Shoulder was published in January 2017. Mags is a hopeless romantic who’s forever daydreaming. She writes lesbian contemporary romance and erotic romance.

WordPress : JMS Books LLC Author Page : Amazon.com Author Page : Twitter