Meet the Author

I’ll be over on the Dreamspinner Group at Goodreads today from 1:00 to 6:00 (eastern time) to chat, answer questions about Wolf’s-own, and whatever comes up. (Or, you know—stare at the walls and listen to the crickets.) The direct link is HERE. Stop by and wave, if you can. Also, I’m still at the YA LGBT Books group at May Featured Author and Aisling - Guardian, talking about Aisling (and fantasy and world-building and Lois McMaster Bujold, among other things) until the end of the month. Hope to see you!

The Erotic Romance Scavenger Hunt is a blog hop featuring nineteen authors, a ton of exclusive material and fantastic giveaways, and an amazing grand prize for one lucky scavenger hunter. Just joined the hunt? Click here to start from the beginning. RULES: Hidden within each post on the hunt will be a single letter that is red. Jot those letters down because they're part of the following mystery phrase you'll need to unscramble: _ _ _ _ I _ _     _ _ _ _ _ _ _     _ _ R     _ _ _ _ At the bottom of each post will be a link to your next stop on the hunt. Once you've completed the hunt, read all the fantastic exclusive material and entered all the individual giveaways, unscramble the letters you collected to reveal the mystery phrase. When you've uncovered the phrase, fill out the entry form in order to qualify for the grand prize. Grand prize is open internationally. You must be 18 or older to enter. The hunt will only be open for 72 hours so play fast! Entries sent without the correct phrase or without contact information will not be considered. All entries must be received by May 28 at noon Central Time. On with the hunt! It’s my very sincere pleasure to introduce Ms. Ava March!" ----- Ava March is an author of smoking hot M/M historical erotic romances. She loves writing in the Regency time period, where proper decorum is of the utmost importance, but where anything can happen behind closed doors. She is published with Loose Id, Amber Quill Press, Samhain Publishing, and Carina Press. Ava loves to hear from readers. Please visit her on the web at www.AvaMarch.com. She can also be found at her blog www.avamarch.blogspot.com, www.facebook.com/avamarchbooks/ or www.twitter.com/ava_march. NOW FOR AVA'S EXCLUSIVE MATERIAL!

The second scene in chapter 7 of BROOK STREET: THIEF was originally started in Benjamin's POV. Then I got into writing the sex and realized the scene needed to be from Cavin's POV. Because I'm one of those who saves everything, I kept the old intro to the scene. And here it is, Benjamin's thoughts as he takes Cavin up to his bedchamber after a short stay in the study....

Benjamin stopped short in the corridor and opened the door at his right. Moonlight streamed through the windows, providing enough light for him make his way to the side of the bed. With each step, his cock, still wet from Cavin's mouth, rubbed against his drawers, keeping the lust roused in the study honed to a razor sharp edge. As he quickly pulled back the coverlet and sheet, he heard footsteps enter the room. The door snapped shut. A familiar pair of hands palmed his hips. "Not here," Benjamin murmured, though he belied his own words by pushing back. The hard arch of Cavin's erection pressed against the crease of his arse. Benjamin let out a little grunt. "My bedchamber's at the end of the corridor. This one is officially yours, but in the event my housekeeper checks the room in the morning, I want it to appear as if you actually spent the night here." Lips nuzzled the small space behind his ear, sending shivers down his spine. "Wise man." Benjamin turned in Cavin's arms. "I try, though it's my first time displaying such wisdom." With a tug on Benjamin's hips, Cavin brought their bodies together, his mouth covering Benjamin's. He gave himself a moment to indulge, but only a moment, then pushed on Cavin's chest. "Let's get to my bedchamber so we can get rid of these clothes." Cavin nipped at his lower lip. "I couldn't agree more." A handful of minutes ago, he'd discovered how to gain Cavin's agreement to stay the night – a repeat of their prior activities on the study floor, except this time he'd had the presence of mind to stop before Cavin's seed had coated his tongue. Cavin had only hesitated long enough to take Benjamin's cock out of his mouth before he'd replied with a hasty, "Yes. Bed." Determined to keep Cavin's mind focused on satisfying the erection tenting the placket of his trousers, Benjamin grabbed Cavin by the hand and quickly led him down the corridor. Mrs. Gilroy never entered his bedchamber until after he'd made an appearance at the breakfast table, and he rarely had guests stay the night – most of his friends resided on the same street, within an easy walking distance even for those who left foxed – so the housekeeper wouldn't assume there'd be a need to check the guest bedchamber. He barely had time to notice the fire in the hearth in his bedchamber was already lit when Cavin shoved him back, using Benjamin's body to snap the door shut. Cavin's lips slanted across his, hungry and eager. As Benjamin shoved his tongue into Cavin's mouth, he blindly slapped the door near his hip. His fingertips found cool brass, and he turned the lock. They made very quick work of divesting each other of their clothes. Hands tugged, buttons gave way, fabric was pushed down and off and over heads. They tumbled onto the bed, mouths crushed together, hands roaming over bare skin. Cavin shifted, moving onto his back and taking Benjamin with him. Sprawled over Cavin, Benjamin pushed and looked down into Cavin's shadowed face. That wouldn't do at all. He leaned left, toward his bedside table. "Need to light a candle." "But the fire's lit." "Not enough," he said, grabbing the tinderbox. "I want to be able to see you in all your glory." Cavin let out a sound that was halfway between a snort and a chuckle. "All of my glory?" The candle flared to life.

------------- Mm, yummy, yeah? Many thanks to Ava for sharing and participating in the hunt. Keep following the breadcrumbs and collecting your clues, and maybe you'll win Ava's book along with many other fabulous reads. Ready to move on? The next stop on the Erotic Romance Scavenger Hunt is... Marie Sexton! Good luck!

New release

Now available in paperback and ebook at Dreamspinner Press. (Don’t forget—download the free read Rapport and look for the easter egg before you buy!) The Kindle version is also available at Amazon. Also—the winner of the random drawing for the ebooks of ghost and Weregild is Kym B. (Kym, if you’re here, I’ll be contacting you shortly.)

and the winner of the Koan eARC is...

I want to thank everyone very sincerely for playing along. This was great fun for me, and so interesting to see what you all came up with. I’m going to share the answers with you, but let this serve as a warning to anyone who hasn’t read Ghost or Weregild that there are some major spoilers to follow. There were a ton of great answers to the question What happened to the braid after Malick cut if off? Some of them surprised me, some of them didn’t, but there were plenty to pick from—hilarious, thoughtful, a little bit bizarre, poignant… they ran the gamut. There were many variations on ‘Malick secretly kept it’, though Marleen’s was the one that stood out there: Bitch, please, the answer is so obvious. Malick keeps the braid. Helloooo? Can you say 'FETISH'? Pretty soon, (when Fen's a little more stable), he'll be using it to tie Fen up during sex. Duh. *snicker* She definitely knows Malick. And Fen, as you’ll see when you read chapter two of Koan. Addie, Aaron, Jelena, Russ S., Brandi, Dawn, Jeff and Michelle all gave similar answers, though Marleen gets points for the duhness of hers. ;) To be quite honest, this was the first answer that popped into my head when I asked myself the question, so it’s definitely not wrong. But there were others. Addie kept me entertained this morning as I went through all of hers: There was 1) It was donated to the cancer society of Ada for wigs. And then there was 2) It was used at Immortals’ parties to play ‘Pin the Braid on the Untouchable.” OMG. *falls down* For whatever reason, I started picturing piñatas and all the unfortunate possibilities that come along with them. But then she sucker-punched me with 3) It was kept in a glass case at the Court building in Fen’s honor and as a reminder to all citizens of what the Untouchables suffered. Oooooh. That one hurt. In a good way. Nikki R. thought Shig stole it, though Shig’s so weird, who knows why? Even she doesn’t know. Somehow, I think Joori would agree with that assessment. Speaking of Joori, Erin B. thought he took it and is keeping it hidden away in case he ever has to disguise himself as Jacin. I’m not sure if that’s kinkier than Malick taking it or not. Though Erin also thinks there’s “twin-cest” going on off-screen, so I’m thinking yes. ;) Nikyta almost took it with this one: After Malick cut off Fen's braid, the braid took on a life of its own and started attacking people and causing them to freak out because now they were hearing the ancestors in their heads. It spread like wild-fire. Poor people had no idea what was coming when Malick freed Fen. Sad, sad. I mean, come on! The mental pictures alone are going to keep me chuckling for a week. And then Robin caught me off my guard with this one: Husao took it and dropped it into the remains of Subie along with the amulets. Husao never even crossed my mind, so that one made me sit up and really think about it. And it’s very plausible. It might have been what happened. But then CindyR completely blew me away with her answer, and I think you’ll see why when you read it: After Subie was destroyed, after the Ancestors went home to Wolf, after Malick cut Jacin-rei's braid, after Jacin-rei wasn't dying anymore, after, after... The braid was a symbol, and maybe the way to take power away from a symbol is to ignore it, let it be trampled into the earth. But Morin didn't feel that was right. Didn't Jacin-rei bind Asai's spirit to the earth by stomping his heart into the ground? Maybe for Jacin-rei to be free, the braid must be burned. Well, Morin wasn't going to give the damn thing it's own pyre, but maybe there was a more fitting way. When no one was paying attention, Morin gathered the braid up. When he found his mother, he would put the braid in her hands, send her to the afterlife with the proof that her son was free. She would like that, Morin thought. She had tried to shield her Untouchable son from the Ancestors. She would want to know that he was free of them. That's what Morin would do when they found what was left of her. After he'd ended her tormented existence. After. Because he would be the one to do it. Jacin-rei wasn't able, and Joori was mostly concerned with Jacin-rei. Damn this thing was heavy. How had Jacin-rei been able to move with the braid weighing him down, physically as well as symbolically? Maybe Jacin-rei would be just Jacin now, no longer the ghost. His mother would have liked that, too. I know, right?! That’s it. I mean, tears. Actual honest-to-god tears *sniffle* That’s the one. I wish I could give everyone who entered a copy, but this one has to go to Cindy. Thank you to everyone who played, and thank you so much for your support of this series. I hope the rest of it makes you as happy as you all have made me. xoxo Carole P.S. The random drawing giveaway for Ghost and Weregild continues until Monday. I'll announce the winner when Koan is officially released.

eARC

Two days left to enter to win an advance reader copy of Koan. See THIS POST for details. The random drawing for Ghost and Weregild goes until Monday.

GHOST, WEREGILD and KOAN giveaway

For those of you who have not read them but were thinking about it: GHOST and WEREGILD e-book May 14th - May 21st Random drawing for e-books. That's it. To win both books, just email me at carole AT carolecummings DOT com (SUBJECT: Ghost/Weregild) or leave a comment here within the timeframe and I'll choose a name at random on the 21st and notify the winner. One entry per person, please. You will need an account at Dreamspinner Press in order to collect your e-books. If you don't have one, it only takes a minute, and there is no credit card info or anything like that required. Now don’t peek at the next one, because there are spoilers. ;) For those who’ve read the first two: KOAN e-ARC May 14th - May 18th Simply answer the question: What happened to the braid? and email it to carole AT carolecummings DOT com. Make sure you put KOAN CONTEST in the subject line. You will need an account at Dreamspinner Press in order to collect your e-book. If you don't have one, it only takes a minute, and there is no credit card info or anything like that required. A winner will be chosen by me on May 18th and awarded the e-ARC for Wolf's-own, Book Three: Koan. Just in time for weekend reading. ;) There is no right or wrong answer. There is no answer at all, which is why I'm asking the question. And there will be no blind drawing or objective criteria for awarding the prize. 'Wow' me, entertain me, make me think--whoever gives me an answer that makes me laugh or groan or say 'Ah-ha! That's it!' gets the advance copy of book three. You can enter as many times as you like, but please do not comment here with your answer. Email only to the above address. My daughter will be screening my email for me so that all I see are the answers with no names attached to them.

Cover art

By the always fabulous Anne Cain