Black Wolves (aka the perils of research)

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I’ve just been reading about a recent study which discovered that black wolves’ coat colouring derives from the historical mating of wild grey wolves with black dogs.

I found that to be interesting in a fairly abstract way, but that’s all. Until I read this quote from Robert Wayne, one of the academics involves in the study:

“It [the black coat] must have adaptive value that we don’t yet understand. It could be camouflage, or strengthening the immune system to combat pathogens, or it could reflect a preference to mate with individuals of a different coat color.”

So a certain dark-coloured wolf (yes, Karl, I’m looking at you) is now bugging me about his preferences when it comes to a mate. Damn it. So much for my carefully planned story.

Back to the drawing board. Or the blank word processing document….

I should be mowing the lawn but…

Instead I am enjoying the dual excitement of release day for An Impossible Mate and the fact that A Gilded Cage has just received a wonderful 5 Sweet Pea review from Becky Condit at Mrs Condit & Friends Read Books. Simply log in below the review to be eligible to win a copy of the book.

“When things suddenly turn dangerous and even deadly I not only couldn’t put the book down, I couldn’t read fast enough! What a thriller. Besides the exhilaration of the chase, the sex is unrestrained and the use of toys is quite inventive for the period.”
Jack and his toys…  He has a fertile mind!

A Liar’s Moon

I’ve just signed the contract for A Liar’s Moon, the sequel to An Impossible Mate which comes out next month. And I promise that the next book in the series, which I’m currently working on, has a title that doesn’t start with an article!

How to upset your dog in one easy lesson

Listen to different types of wolf howls, again and again, all in the name of research, and only notice after about half an hour that the faithful old Lab is no longer curled up safely snoozing in his basket but is instead stalking around, eyes practically popping out of his head. Oops. Lots of cuddles and a venison ear later, he seems to have forgiven me. I never had these problems when researching the best types of Regency furniture for Our Heroes to have sex on.

Speaking of whom, Carnevalehas received another lovely review, this time from Becky Condit at Mrs Condit and Friends Read Books, who has awarded it 5 Sweet Peas. I’m truly delighted that people are enjoying Perry and Jack’s adventures.

A 5 star review for ‘Carnevale’

Some days are better than others, as a minor character in one of my favourite Blake’s 7 episodes was fond of saying. Today I woke up to a lovely surprise – a really wonderful review of Carnevale from Susan MacNicol on The Romance Reviews website.

“Beautifully written in the period, this is an ornate tapestry weaving story of men falling in love, of realizing their humanity and their frailties and their strengths. This is a definite recommended read and I can’t wait to read the next in Jack and Perry’s story.”

Luckily, the next part of their story, A Gilded Cage, is already available! There is one more book to come in this series, to give Perry and Jack their ultimate happy ever after, but I’m taking a little break from the formalities of eighteenth century Venice to explore a somewhat dysfunctional shifter pack in modern day Colorado.

Carnevale is available from Siren-BookStrand here. A Gilded Cage is available here.

Release day for A Gilded Cage

I’m not sure where the summer is going, but somehow the release day for A Gilded Cage is already here!

Set once more in 1790s Venice, with its licentious Carnevale and gorgeous clothes and masks, the book is a sequel to Carnevale (though either book may be read as a stand-alone). A Gilded Cage is available from Siren-BookStrand here, with a 10% discount until 28th August.

The coffee house to which Perry takes Gilbert is based on Caffe Florian, partly because it was in the right place at the right time, partly because I longed to use a place frequented by such men as Casanova and Byron, but mainly because I couldn’t resist tormenting Gilbert by having ladies present in a coffee shop. The horror! 

Venice – gay history

A couple of months ago, I wrote a post for the excellent series about gay history on the Manlove Authors website. With Carnevale, the first in my Venetian series, being published tomorrow, it occurs to me it might be a good idea to link to the post which gives some background about the history of gay sex and the law in Venice.

While I’m afraid the write-up I’ve done is a little dry, I hope people find the facts as interesting as I did when doing the research. I also love the picture that accompanies the article. My heroes don’t wear anything quite so elaborate (which has nothing to do with the fact they wear precisely nothing for much of the book!), but the pictured masks and hats are beautiful.

Publication date for ‘A Gilded Cage’

A Gilded Cage, the sequel to Carnevale, is due to be released by Siren on August 21st. I don’t want to say any more about its contents yet, as to do so would give away what happens in the first book, released on July 30th.

Instead I will mention that I am currently in the midst of a completely different style of book. It’s a contemporary paranormal, involving gay cowboy shifters. And that’s a sentence I never expected to write. I’m not quite sure where the inspiration for this one came from; I was contemplating taking a break from 1790s Venice and writing something a little less formal, and my brain was suddenly taken over by an argumentative shifter and his reluctant mate, who would not rest until I’d written their story.

So if werewolves suddenly turn up in Venice, or a cantankerous shifter starts wearing silk knee breeches and speaking in full sentences, you’ll know I’ve got myself a little confused.

 

Sizzling Summer Reads party in June – prizes to be won!

From 1-30th June over at The Romance Reviews, there are games to play and prizes galore to be won, including gift certificates and books. Click on the poster below to reach the site, and come and join the fun! (You will need to be registered and logged in in order to play and be entered for prizes.)

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