I am incredibly happy to have Mia West as my spotlight guest for the next two weeks - please check out the feature by clicking here.

Mia West writes, amongst other things, an amazing historical male romance series set in the years immediately following the collapse of Rome - Into The Fire. I've read each of the six parts that have currently been published - and each one earned a 5 star rating from me - it is an exceptional series that just gets better and better.

But there is a whole lot more to Mia West's output, and a whole lot more to know about the gal herself.

Alp

My new series debuted yesterday - The (mis-)Adventures of Captain Du Bon Le Phare. The first story The Mystery of the Balavoine is now available from all major ebook retailers - click the cover ...

The Mystery of the Balavoine is the first story of The (mis-)Adventures of Captain Du Bon Le Phare, a series of stories with a steampunkish theme, chronicling the high (and low) jinxes of my gay anti-hero, his crew and the rival Lu-Belle captains.

The Mystery of the Balavoine introduces Captain Du Bon Le Phare - usually referred to as simply Le Phare, his business of harvesting Lu - an airborne substance that can only be harvested during stormy weather, his dirigible - The Tiankong, and his partner - Benjamin, who mans the lighthouse.

Ely, the helmsman, makes a mistake while navigating the Tiankong through a bad storm, blaming the error on the mythical beast - the Balavoine. The error, and his story, earns him the sack. Joining forces with Sergei, also summarily dismissed by Le Phare, the partnership sets up in competition with Le Phare and his arch rival Matthias, captain of the Niao.

Little do they know that Sidney, a lackey working for Le Phare, is scheming to bring about a change in his own fortunes ... With disastrous consequences.

Keep a watch for the next instal titled The Mystery of the Crystal Maze ...


ALP
XX

The most wonderful thing about being an author, and a publisher, is the huge number and variety of people that I come into contact with - especially through Twitter.

One such person is Jim Vines, and he very kindly invited me to contribute an essay to his blog - Jim Vines Presents - which you can find here - CLICK

Jim asked me to write about how I started writing fiction, and what keeps me going.

I hope you enjoy the little bit of Alp 'back story'.

Alp
xx

After a very long absence, Dane is back!

The Great Dane Saga was first published in 2013. The six individual volumes and the compendium (All The World) were removed from the shelf in August 2014 for re-editing ... 

Yeah; that took a bit longer than planned. But, the process is now underway and part one of the saga 'Too Much Too Little Too Late' has just been republished (approximately 3 years after it first appeared), having undergone a thorough review. The rest of the individual parts and the compendium, will reappear throughout 2016.

Meet Dane Danois - the most fabulous gay man in the Universe ... in his own, never humble opinion. A man driven to live life to the full, and if there's a chance that he can help a friend along the way, he will. A sharp-suited, sharp-witted, sometimes reckless, sometimes dangerous, always intoxicating agent of change ... and loyal to a T. However, this exacting approach to life - and love - leaves him currently single, and maybe a little bored.

Too Much Too Little Too Late is the first of the six parts of the series called The Great Dane Saga. In this first part, Dane is back in London, touching base with friends and wreaking havoc in his latest job - exceeding the expectations of the client is his personal mantra. In meeting Angelo, the barista who works in the cafe next door to the office, Dane finds something he was not expecting - the possibility of a relationship ... So why then are the alarm bells ringing?

The Great Dane Saga charts the life of Dane Danois, and his many and varied friendships and relationships over the course of a 40 year period.

The six parts of the story do not run in strict chronological order. That is because the story was never going to be a saga, but after I finished part one, it was clear that Dane was not going to shut up until I had written down everything he wanted to say - he was a poor narrator. Dane is neither wholly good nor wholly bad - he is just Dane - perfect in his imperfections.

I really hope you enjoy (re-)discovering Dane Danois - he is, without question, my most cherished character.

Alp
13th January 2016

I am thrilled to be able to share with you the new version of the book-trailer for The Baker of Son Frere, which features a brand new voice over by Stewart Campbell, and a new design by Shannon M. Kirkland.

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I am thrilled to be hosting Charles Raines on my website - please follow this link to find his spotlight, and discover a little more about the author behind Stranger In Translation, Falling Forever, The Man With The Mandolin and Dicing With Danger. He's awesome and one of my favourite authors.

If you missed the spotlights for K Sterling or James Lee Hard, you can still find them under the Cafe Arte blog - link here.

There will be spotlight features throughout 2016.

I am also extremely happy to announce that Too Much Too Little Too Late, the first part of The Great Dane Saga, has entered the final phase of editing/review, and will re-published this coming week, with a brand new cover designed by Shannon M. Kirkland. The re-publication of all 6 parts of The Great Dane Saga will occur throughout the first half of 2016, culminating in the re-release of the compendium - All The World - sometime later this year.

My current WIP - The (mis-) Adventures of Captain Du Bon Le Phare/The Mystery of the Bavaloine - is now complete, and in review, with cover design well underway. Captain Du Bon Le Phare is a steampunkish anti-hero, and these stories, of which The Mystery of The Bavaloine is the first, will form a loose series - all stories will pretty much stand alone.

Alp
Sunday
10th January 2016
(no snow yet)