It seems no time since I discovered we had a pirate on our family line. Ever since then, I’ve been reading and writing 24/7 about pirates, and am thrilled to say that I have a new novel coming out on 30th August, all about pirates. And a little about the Royal Navy.
I’ll post more details closer to the time. For now, I’ll share the gorgeous art that Getcovers have created featuring one of the characters.
Lone Wolf is now available to buy on Amazon and other third-party sites. To celebrate this, I’m undertaking a book tour organised by the lovely people at Gay Book Promotions and offering a Rafflecopter prize of a $15 Amazon voucher.
I’m delighted that Love Bytes has given Lone Wolf a 4.5 heart review. If you want to check it out, don’t forget to enter the draw for a voucher while you’re there.
Keep up with stops on the tour at Gay Book Promotions Facebook page.
A family member has been doing some genealogical research lately. Apparently we have lots of worthy ancestors, including many clerics (some of whom felt strongly enough about theological issues to risk death for these) and more lawyers than any one family should probably possess. But the discovery that has me most intrigued is that of a pirate in our family line, back in the seventeenth century.
I’d been vaguely aware that pirates during the Golden Age of Piracy were more democratic than was the norm at that time, but I hadn’t realised the full extent of it. They elected their captains (and also voted them out again) and, once elected, the captain didn’t have the same god-like status that captains in the Royal Navy possessed. It’s thought that up to a third of pirates were former slaves, some of whom had been freed by pirate crews that encountered slave ships. And, of course, there were female pirates.
While in no way a utopia – some crews were brutal and fully deserved their criminal status – the world of piracy was more nuanced than I had realised. To some extent, their historical reputation for savagery is due to propaganda by the British Government, which was determined to wipe them out due to their interference with trade. Because, of course, everything comes down to money.
I’m now trying to convince myself that I don’t want to write m/m romance set in the world of historical piracy…
What happens in the wilderness stays in the wilderness. Until it doesn’t…
When his alpha invites a bunch of cougar-shifters to visit, wolf-shifter Karl Griffin is not happy. All he wants is a quiet life protecting his pack and forgetting his past. Instead, the big cats arrive and disrupt everything.
Leon Fitzroy has never found anywhere he can belong. The only panther in a cougar pride, he’s fought to be accepted, but he doesn’t really fit in. And now he’s expected to spend time with a wolf pack. Wolf-shifters are infuriating. Even worse, the most annoying wolf is also ridiculously hot.
When Leon ambushes a member of Karl’s pack to prove a point, tensions between them threaten to boil over. Sparks continue to fly as they’re forced to work together. But out in the wilderness, they find there are worse dangers than bossy wolves and smug cats. Survival depends on learning to trust one another—if they can.
Exclusive to Bookstrand: https://www.bookstrand.com/book/lone-wolf-mm-1
(Amazon, Kobo etc to follow in a few weeks.)
Lone Wolf is the sixth and final book in the Strength of the Pack series. It focuses on Karl, Mr Competence Porn himself.
What happens in the wilderness stays in the wilderness. Until it doesn’t…
When his alpha invites a bunch of cougar-shifters to visit, wolf-shifter Karl Griffin is not happy. All he wants is a quiet life protecting his pack and forgetting his past. Instead, the big cats arrive and disrupt everything.
Leon Fitzroy has never found anywhere he can belong. The only panther in a cougar pride, he’s fought to be accepted, but he doesn’t really fit in. And now he’s expected to spend time with a wolf pack. Wolf-shifters are infuriating. Even worse, the most annoying wolf is also ridiculously hot.
When Leon ambushes a member of Karl’s pack to prove a point, tensions between them threaten to boil over. Sparks continue to fly as they’re forced to work together. But out in the wilderness, they find there are worse dangers than bossy wolves and smug cats. Survival depends on learning to trust one another—if they can.
Lone Wolf comes out on 5th May and is available now for pre-order at Bookstrand.com.
I’m delighted to share that Lone Wolf, the final book in the Strength of the Pack series, will be published by Siren Bookstrand on 10th May. It’s been a lot longer coming than I ever anticipated; unfortunately, I’ve been battling ill-health for a long time and for most of that time, ill-health was winning. I can only apologise to those of you who’ve been waiting so patiently.
I also have another book, The Earl’s Awakening, which is a Regency m/m, coming out with Extasy Books in October but more of that closer to the time. In the meantime, wolves!
The indefatigable and generous Stormy Glenn is this month hosting Manlove Fantasies Contest Winter Edition:
Winter is here. It’s time to snuggle up to something hot…
There’s a chill in the air, snow on the mountains, and it’s time for a little snuggle with some of our hottest ManLove authors. Join us daily to catch some amazing stories, excerpts, teasers, and for your chance to win some MM magic of your own.
The contest runs from January 1st to January 31st. Each day a new author will be showcased, and each day you will have a chance to enter to win our grand prize of a brand new, just released Kindle Fire HD with an eBook loaded on it from every author in our contest. So, come visit every day to read a new winter fantasies snippet, discover which new book is being added to the Kindle, and leave a comment/email addy to be entered in our contest.
I’ve been spending an enjoyable time investigating breeches (for research purposes, honest) and learned that neither gentlemen nor ladies tended to wear underwear during the Regency period. It sounds rather uncomfortable to me, but it does make for smoother sex scenes!
I’ve also been reading a fascinating book on the history of duelling (Pistols at Dawn by Richard Hopton) and was surprised to find that ladies engaged in duels. Some ladies, in fact, fought gentlemen in duels and won.
One of the most widely reported duels between female protagonists (though denied by one of the alleged participants and not mentioned by Hopton) was in 1892 between Princess Pauline von Metternich and Countess Anastasia Kielmannsegg. They are said to have fought one another with rapiers over flower arrangements. I can’t quite imagine what insult one could offer a flower arrangement that would be unforgivable, but that’s probably why I’ve never called anyone out.
They fought with rapiers. The medical attendant, Baroness Medinska, who had a degree in medicine, had seen the horrific infections caused by war wounds and insisted the principals fight topless. It is still in dispute as to who won (though thankfully not disputed enough to cause further duels). The princess received a cut to the nose and the countess an injury to her arm.
I can see why a story with such potential to titillate spread far and wide, even if it isn’t true. And perhaps it is.
Duel Metternich–Kielmansegg by Paul Balluriau
This summer’s ManLove Fantasies contest is now open. It’s a fab opportunity to see what different writers do with the same prompt and also to have a chance of winning a Kindle Fire HD loaded with m/m romances. Simply comment, with your email address, to enter the contest – and you can enter every day.
Find it here:
For those who are not already aware, Siren Bookstrand have an ongoing special offer, with a selection of books available for 99c on the anniversary of their original release date (and for a few days thereafter).
So if there’s something you’ve always meant to get round to reading – I think we all have the same problem of too many books and not enough time! – or you just want to browse, looking for a new author, it’s a great place to visit.
Siren Bookstrand time machine is here.
MM romance novels 