Thanks to the blend of airborne smoke and alcoholic haze, Stefan mistook the figure before him for a boy, until she spoke.

            “You are in so much trouble.”

            The sound of Charlotte’s irate voice had the effect of sobering him up a little. Prising himself out from between the two wenches who had been keeping him company, he made a valiant effort to stand up.

            “Bloody hell,” the trousered female before him added, evidently amused. “Look at the state of you. How long have you been in here?”

            He pondered the question for a while before replying. “What day is it?”

            “Thursday.”

            “Only since yesterday then.”

            “She knows what you’ve done, and she’s very likely going to kill you.”

            Leaning on the table for balance, he said, ‘Slow down. Who knows what? Which ‘she’ are we talking about here?”

            “Mother.”

            “Ah. Oh.”

            “Too bloody right ‘oh’.  There were a couple of men came round last night, said she’d been given as a guarantor for a debt.”

            “Oh. That.”

            “Right now, I think it depends on who finds you first, them or her. They may break a few bones, but she’s likely to shoot you if you show up at the house.”

            “She’ll calm down in a day or two.”

            “I wouldn’t bank on it.”

            “Are you here to round me up and take me back then?”

            “Not likely! I thought I’d come and give you a hiding on my own account, but in the state you’re in, I don’t think that would be much fun.”

            “Thank you so much.”

            “Any time. So, how are you going to get out of this one?”

            “I’m sure something will occur to me.”

            “You think?”

            “And you have a plan then?” he asked, tone as withering as he could manage.

            “Well, in the short term I thought I might take you outside and sober you up, and then kick you repeatedly in the shins. How does that sound?”

            “Can we miss out the bit with the shins? Actually, I’m not so sure of the sobering up bit, or the out...”

Charlotte and Stefan aren't planning on a life of piracy, but for the siblings, it's that, or a very long swim! Find out more about their exploits and conquests by visiting http://www....com/c9evo5
Loveyoudivine.com

slightly smutty poem!

These days, Seale Hayne in Devon, is a college. http://www.seale-hayne.com/ During the First world war it was a used as a hospital, treating shell shocked soldiers. Under the remarkable guidance of Dr Hurst – a medical man who was also a Major in the army, Seale Hayne cured shell shocked men. The vast majority of those who came through its doors were able to return to service within a matter of weeks. I have no idea why Hurst and his exceptional success aren’t better known.

                When the British Expeditionary Force first went to France, shell shock was an unknown issue. Warfare was radically changing, with new technology, and the advent of trenches. At first shell shock was ascribed to cowardice, then came the theory that it was a result of physical trauma. It took a while for the nature of the problem to be understood, by which time a great many men had suffered from mental breakdown as a consequence.

                Hospitals active during the war years concentrated on getting men fit so they could be sent back to face the guns again. Dr Hurst had a remarkably simple strategy for treating the afflicted. He fed them well, encouraged them to take exercise in the fresh air, gave them farm work to do and encouraged them to talk about their troubles. Apparently he also used hypnosis, and the men’s belief in his extraordinary skills as a healer. His methods included sending groups of men out hunting on the moors to get them sued to the sound of gunfire again.

                But what of the small percentage Dr Hurst could not save? What of the men whose trauma could not be relieved by a few weeks of peace and decent food? In my research, I found nothing to say what had happened to them.

                There began the story of Captain Jack Hunking. Writing a tale involving a mix of real and imagined people was challenging indeed. I hope I have done some justice to the brilliance and vision of Dr Hurst, and to the courage of men caught up in the bloodiest years of modern history.

‘The White Hare’s Lament’ is a mix of history, fantasy, madness and magic. It’s now available from www.loveyoudivine.

Nix Winter is one of my favourite authors. She’s the person most responsible for getting me into m/m stuff, both as a reader and a writer. I love her stories, and she’s a joy to edit. She agreed to do an interview for me! Yay.....

Bryn: So, what are you working on at the moment?....

Nix:  um... I'm finalizing Knowing Curves, working on the edits for that with my editor and the cover.  I'm also working on a free read for The Pet, The Pet 11, Cain and Shelly, poshing up Sarah's Hawk, Mark and Luke needs finishing, and there's London Heat that needs to be finished. My final project for my lighting and textures class is a scene of Jewls the Lucky in a castle hallway, so I need to model both Jewls and the hallway. My final for the modelling class is my violin. I also have a couple of canvases I'm paining, a prize art piece that I promised someone and I just have to figure out what it might actually be, and a cover with a pirate ship I want to do!  I'm having a lot of fun!....

Bryn: I'm taking it sleeping doesn't feature heavily in your schedule then? Very much looking forward to seeing what you do with my pirates. I think Sarah's Hawk was the first story of yours I encountered at a certain, now defunct publishing house. Are you planning to re-release that one? And if so, where?....

Nix: I promised Mary Winter I'd give her a story and I hear so many good things about here. She was also at that same pub where Sarah's Hawk started. The story needs to be updated a lot... Jewls' world has changed a lot since I wrote that. I think I'm a stronger writer as well. The editor I had for Sarah's Hawk didn't like the ending... It wasn't supposed to be a HEA... I might get brave and take it back to that.  But I'm going to offer it to Pink Petal. I hope they like it and that it does well with their audience.....

Bryn: Sounds good! HEA is over rated, in my opinion. You mentioned having updated Jewls world, how organised are you with that? How do you track how your fantasy worlds grow and change?....

Nix: With a world like The Knot Universe, where Blue Promises is set, organization is really important and I am working on character sheets, on timelines.
            With Jewls -  a lot of it is more concepts, playing with how social groups interact, trying to understand how values would be translated into the world... So like the bards, and a lot of people around them, believe the gods are spirits, and a mix of the dead, of nature spirits, of the waiting to be born (born again), and that these spirits are moving around us constantly. There is a belief that if the spirits get stuck, that events that should happen for the good of all life, may not happen, and this can lead to illness, poor luck, lower fertility, these kinds of things. Many people believe that right angles cause the spirits to become confused, trapped, and so the circle is a sacred shape. Buildings are built round, all corners need to be curved at least a little, so that even if  a spirit lingers, the curve will guild them out. Keeping the spirits moving is also a function of the bards. If they sing in a down, in each house, at least once a year, then that will keep life flowing well.
            Jewls' world should have more notes, more documentation, but right now most of it is all in my head. Aside from the bardic alphabet and such. :)

Bryn: And finally... what's your latest release and where can people find it?....

Nix: Blue Promises! :) It's available from Loveyoudivine. www.loveyoudivine.com (cut and paste the url)....

www.nixwinter.com
http://www.sparkpeople.com/mypage.asp?id=PINKCHAOS....