Archive | January, 2013

The Dark Erotica Champ: Q&A with Erica Chilson

31 Jan

Brace yourselves readers! Last weekend Liz Everly reblogged this post against saccharine romance by Erica Chilson.  Here’s a shortened version of Erica’s thoughts on your typical alpha male transformation in an average erotic romance novel:

      The first 25% or so of these saccharine romance novels is the best of the book. The male is strong, gruff, often misunderstood.Yummy, angsty goodness ensues![...]The female is usually a career woman in her early twenties, who is a spunky little spitfire. Hot as F*ck, too! Yet, she is always a mary sue virgin. Yup, they manage to make it through high school, college, and work, without anyone tapping that hot, tight ass[…]Back to our alpha male. He is so fine that he woos that lacy thong (on a virgin, no less. *rolls eyes*) right off her perfect ass within hours of meeting her. He is so hot he could melt paint or burn Satan. He’s also a total badass.*Fans self* [...]Cut to a hot smutty sex scene where our virgin is always shaved bare and an expert (no fumbling embarrassment whatsoever). They connect on a deeper level just hours after meeting. The I love yous flow like water. *Gags* [...]Next morning my alpha male is a pussy-whipped, spineless doormat. EVERY FREAKIN’ TIME! I get turned the hell off. “Honey, let me do that for you. We don’t want you to break a nail. Let me carry that for you. Don’t worry your pretty, empty head for a moment…” You get the point… *caresses her cheek and tucks her hair behind her delicate ear*[...]I’m like, “What the F*ck, Batman. Where did my alpha go?”…I realize woman love this shit- NOT ME- EVER! Even in small doses. Yes, romance is supposed to be fantasy, but the lesbians in a ff book [have] a stronger personality than the alpha male once he has a taste of that irresistible, personality-changing cunny.

I about died reading this.  Like Tiffany Reisz, Eric Chilson has successfully tapped into this world of loving to hate and hating to love.  She does it with a brawler’s spirit that called to me. I simply could not resist asking her to participate in today’s Q&A.

A note of caution first–what is Dark Erotica you ask?  Well, according to Good Reads dark erotica books (most of which seem to be written by Kitty Thomas) involve a much more tortured side of erotic sex–and I mean that literally.

good girlMADELINE IVA: You say ‘there are no good girls and no bad girls, that we’re all just human beings’. But, come on, Erica, don’t bad girls have much better sex lives than the good girls? ;>

ERICA CHILSON: I’m a very good girl who can turn into a very bad girl in an instant. I hold my inner-bitch back for the safety of the universe.

MADELINE IVA: (!)

ERICA CHILSON: I let her out to stretch her legs every once and a while. She leaves chaos in her wake. You’ll recognize her by her throaty, sadistic laugh and the trail of victims begging her to come back.

MADELINE IVA: Back to your blog post: how bad can a fight get between a ‘spunk bitch’ and her ‘mean, gruff alpha male’? And what’s the make up sex like afterwards?

ERICA CHILSON: A fantasy I’ve had for years is beating the ever loving shit out of my ex. I want to ride him to the ground, sit on his chest, and pound all of my aggression out on his patronizing face. The release would be epic.

checkmateI brought this lifelong fantasy to life in CHECKMATE. Two characters who hurt each other in countless ways engage in therapeutic ass-kicking sessions. Regina & Jamie beat each other until they reach climax. Anger and hatred [...] are funneled into fiery passion that is stoked through sex or violence.

MADELINE IVA: Is there an erotic romance you’ve read in which the Alpha falls in love but doesn’t (in your own words) ‘lose his massive set of testicles’ afterwards?

ERICA CHILSON: Oh, wow! I’ve read thousands of books. I’ll seriously have to think on this one. I understand why a woman thinks the power of love will soften an Alpha male. Soften the edges perhaps, but not castrate him.

MADELINE IVA: I’ve never seen such unanimous reviews on Good Reads before. People say that reading to the end of your first book was ‘like watching a car wreck–I just couldn’t look away.‘ They also seemed to believe that the ending was ‘massively f***ed up.’ And these are the people that liked the book! Give us a hint–what are they talking about?

ERICA CHILSON: HEA! HEA! People only want to read about happily ever after. I put my characters through their paces. I offer them a glimpse of their HEA and rip it away just before their fingers find purchase.  Fantasy is sweet and everyone is happy in the end, [but] life is a wicked mistress. She doesn’t believe in HEA. A romance novel usually ends with a marriage. I can attest that a marriage is not HEA- it’s work, the hardest work you’ll ever trudge through. I don’t write HFN, either.  Life will tear a partnership to bits, but if you’re strong, you’ll survive.

RestraintMadeline Iva: I can believe what you say about the trudging hard work…I’ll have to take your word on the tearing partnership to bits part. Tell us about your book RESTRAINT.

ERICA CHILSON: RESTRAINT dealt with rape, the loss of innocence. Everyone was f*cked up in some unique way. They weren’t right within themselves. In no way were they ready by book’s end to be right with each other. Broken people will break anyone in their path.

MADELINE IVA: I hadn’t thought of it exactly that way before, but I can see what you mean. Your book comes with a warning that forced sex is involved. Do you draw the line at writing certain kinds of sex in erotic romance?

ERICA CHILSON: I draw no lines in my work. RESTRAINT’s foundation was built on the violent, life-altering effects of force. Something that happens to countless women every day. I’m drawn to Dark Erotica for a reason. I’ve been through situations that turned me into someone I won’t acknowledge. I read and write it to prove that I’m not there anymore.

As for whether or not rape lessens the saccharine nature of a book: It depends on the author, the way the force was presented, and the personalities of the characters. I’ve read a lot of this type of book and it has ranged from extremely syrupy sweet to a punch to the gut you’ll never forget. I don’t want my readers to forget the trials I put my characters through. They should expect that sharp jab.

unleashedMADELINE IVA: Part of the reason why I was drawn to your blog post was that it was written with a sort of over-the-top sort of intensity that made me cheer. Valentine’s Day is just around the corner. What’s an ideal Valentine’s Day with your favorite hottie like? Whips? Chains?

ERICA CHILSON: My answer will undoubtedly surprise readers. I’m a highly cerebral person, who finds sex to be 90% mental. Our date would involve tests of mental and physical prowess. Nothing gets me hotter than a man who can best me. If he can catch me, he can have me- in any way he pleases.

MADELINE IVA: What’s an average hospital visit from your favorite hottie like? Whips? Chains?

ERICA CHILSON: Hmm… now, why am I in the hospital? The answer is drastically different if some toxic relationship with an asshole landed me in the hospital. That would be the moment for a long lost badboy hottie from my past to swagger in.  My TRUE knight in shining armor’s first words will be, “You look like shit. Is the other guy still breathing?”

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Gettin’ Off In The Office

30 Jan

Office GuyLike many corporate slugs, I spend a lot of time in an office. I mean, like gross mega-maniacal amounts of time sitting in my chair, in front of my computer, doing sometimes seemingly pointless work. I’d venture to say that many folks feel imprisoned in the office and dream of better days spent lounging on a beach chair just listening to the waves. Alas, life calls, and there are bills, and so we keep coming back whether we want to or not. But there are some folks who’ve managed to spice up their bland corporate existences and, dare I say, even have some fun. I refer, of course, to the ol’ office romance.

 Throw two people together who wouldn’t otherwise necessarily have anything in common, get them working together for long periods of time and you’ve got the perfect recipe for office lust. Office Joe begins realizing that Sue over in billing is suddenly starting to look hot. Now, if Office Joe were to see Sue on the street, she wouldn’t necessarily cause a rise in Joe’s Levi’s. But when he sees her in the office day in and day out, and his mind grows numb with the work he’s been hired to do, a fling with Sue seems like the perfect cure for what ails him. In my day job I have access to a lot of confidential information, and it’s interesting to see what some people do at work besides working. Texting, sexting, flirting over e-mails, long “lunches” away, a quick feel in the closet, a romp on the desk, on and on and on. A 2011 CareerBuilder survey revealed 38% of respondents said they’ve dated a colleague. Other surveys put the number even higher. But other than the mere fact that you’re spending a lot of time with someone, what’s the appeal? Where are there so many trysts? What’s so darn fun about having sex in the office?

 I’m thinking that for starters, there’s a multitude of places in which to do the deed. Your office, their office, conference room, closet, bathroom, breakroom . . . a plethora of options! But I also think that part of the appeal of office romances is the illicitness of it all. You have sex in the boardroom with a colleague, and the next day you and he are sitting together in that same boardroom in a meeting, stealing glances at each other as you remember what happened a mere few hours ago. It’s yours and his dirty, juicy little secret.

 The problem with office romances is that often, inevitably, they end, and you and your now ex are still expected to work together. There’ve been situations in which former office lovers turn into office enemies and it can be career suicide if someone decides to get nasty. But as you’re flirting with that hot guy in marketing, you’re not thinking about how things will end just as you’re focusing on getting them started.

I’ve never had an office romance myself, but I’d love to hear about experiences from others and whether the risk was worth the reward.

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Shut up and F–k Me

29 Jan

F–k used to be my favorite word. (Yes, the f-bomb, can’t really write the word here, without setting off the blog censor alerts.) It is with some regret that I acknowledge that it is no longer my word of choice. I sometimes wonder why it doesn’t speak to me the way it used to—is it because I am a mother and need to watch my language around my children? Is it because I am turning into an aging prude? I have given it much thought and am pleased to report it is neither one of those seemingly obvious possibilities.
Here is the thing I used to say about f–k. It is so versatile. You can use it so many different ways. So many different meanings. It’s wonderful for that. When you are a word person, the different ways in which you can use certain words can keep you entertained for hours. “F–k you!” “What the f–k?” “F–k, I forgot my purse.”

“What a f–king bitch. “

Photo by Dollen

Photo by Dollen

My favorite is “Just shut up and f–k me.”

Photo by Dollen

Photo by Dollen

It used to be there was a bit of a shock value in it, as well. Imagine me as a sweet-faced 18-year-old saying, “Who the f–k do you think you are?” (This would have been, what, 1981 and it was still a bit unused, especially in mixed company. I said it to a group of steel-mill workers kicking back drinking beer and putting their feet on my aunt’s new table. One guy almost choked on his beer.) Now, think of me as a mature woman saying it to the same group of men. They’d probably just shrug me off or turn around and say, “F–ck off, lady.”

Now it seems to me that the word is overused. Gratuitously used. Let’s face it, there really is no shock value in it anymore. And I think that it’s become a bit of a lazy way of writing and talking. I recently read a book by a very good friend, a hard-working writer that is much more successful than I am. It was a nonfiction book and a good story. But the word f–k stopped me dead in my tracks. It seemed out of place—I have never known this Southern gentleman to use it in my company and I wondered why it was in his book.

I still love the word, don’t get me wrong; it is just no longer my favorite word. I love the way it feels in my mouth, the way your teeth have to slightly bite into your lip to get the fffff sound and the way in which it kind of moves back to your throat for that harsh KKKKK.  Ffffffuuuuucccckkkkkk. Nothing quite feels like it.

So, I am not railing against the word, and would fight for anybody’s right to use whatever word they want. I am just saying that it’s not always the word to use. A little restraint is called for sometimes. In good writing, it’s what you leave out that can be the most compelling part of the story and I think that applies for word use, as well.  So, when you use it, you feel it, it packs an emotional punch. You know what’s happening. The readers feel that. I think that if we overuse it, readers get kind of immune to it. Maybe I am wrong. God knows, I’ve been wrong before.

These thoughts might seem odd coming from writer of erotic romance , where the f–k is the key and no matter how well-crafted the story, it’s a major reason why we are there, both reader and writer. Will she get laid? And how will it be? Will he get to f–k her and will it be as good as he think it will be?  But over the past few months, both as a reader and writer of erotic romance, I get to see the word and use it a lot, myself. There are times, my friend, when only f—ck will do. Yet, a stretching oneself to find a new vocabulary is something we should all aspire to, maybe most especially those of us interested in quality erotic romance.

Any effing thoughts? heh.

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I’m A Bad, Bad Man

28 Jan
Peter Capaldi, the common man's bully.

Peter Capaldi, the common man’s bully.

I’ve been hooked lately on a BBC British television comedy called THE THICK OF IT.  It’s the kind of British TV where I miss at least 1/5th of it because I don’t understand the references or can’t quite understand what they’re saying with such thick accents.  I muddle through straining my ears to catch the fast flying wit.  I can’t tear myself away because of the leading anti-hero, Malcolm Tucker.

Malcolm spends most of his time spewing explicit images of sexual assault and torture at the people who’ve made him angry–which is most of the people most of the time.  He does this with great inventive satiric force. He’s a bully.  While I’m sure in real life someone like Malcolm would terrify me, giving me permanent heart palpitations, as I’m watching the show, I confess,  I relish his appearance.  When Malcolm shows up, you  knowing the sh** is going to fly.  It’s just so wrong, but I’m finding him more and more attractive.

Why? Why is this happening? I don’t know.  Well, actually…I think I do know.  Malcolm’s a bully, but he’s a labor bully.  It’s like the labor party members are rats hopelessly lost in the idiotic maze of bureaucracy and scandal. The rats all want to huddle in a corner, but Malcolm’s job is to keep giving them random shocks so they’ll scamper towards the cheese. He’s a motivating force, the engine of fear and aggression that drives the satirical show.

Moreover, Malcolm speaks nicely to all the cleaning people who come into the government offices late at night and polish the place up. Top all that off with the cherry on top –Malcolm has a great Scottish accent.  I sit there listening to the foul invective spitting from his lips like it’s the poetry of Robby Burns.

I wonder if the show's creators realized how hot Hugh Laurie would be as House?

I wonder if the show’s creators realized how hot Hugh Laurie would be as House?

I guess it’s like being attracted to Hugh Grant’s character on House.  Cranky, mean, disrespectful?– yes, yes, and yes.  But the characters share some traits in common:

1) They care about their jobs with a single-minded intensity.

2) They don’t stop caring. They care way more than anyone else.

3) They keep trying and won’t stop trying until they are successful (or the patient is dead).

4) They exude absolute confidence, intelligence, and dexterity in all their doings.

Sounds heroic, yes?

5) Other than that, they keep the bar really low when it comes to behaving well.  This trait is something that I, for some perverse reason, always find super-comfortable to be around.

These admirable traits, buried in obviously flawed characters, make them deeply appealing–to me at least.

House’s character — much like Malcolm Tucker’s character — is basically heartless.  That just adds to the appeal somehow.  It’s so unfair, but when these characters do show a tiny drop of compassion or decency, it goes a long, long way.

Richard III woos Anne. "Was ever woman in this humour woo'd?Was ever woman in this humour won?"

Richard III woos Anne. “Was ever woman in this humour woo’d?
Was ever woman in this humour won?”

So are there any heartless anti-heros out there that you sigh over? I have a friend who had a crush on Richard III for awhile.  Meanwhile, they say a book is only as good as its villain.  Recommend your favorite romance villains in the comments section below.  Or maybe mention them on twitter? #GreatRomanceVillains Here’s my twitter handle–  @madelineiva.

P.S.  You can find THICK OF IT on hulu.  There was a movie called In The Loop that is based on the television show that’s every bit as good.

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Sexy Saturday Round-Up

26 Jan
Photo by Dollen

Photo by Dollen

Hello sexy! I’ve been surfing the web this week and think I’ve come up with some fascinating blog posts for you. But first, a bit of blatant self-promotion. SAFFRON NIGHTS is launching on Feb, 6, just around the corner. If you get a chance hop on over to my site and check out all the blogs that will be a part of my launch day. If you comment on them that day, you’ll get a chance to win a lovely saffron and cedar body wash and soap–organic and handmade.

Back to our regularly scheduled post! I hope you love the posts I found for you this week as much as I do.

This first, even thought it’s the last one I’m adding. I met Jennifer Porter on a Twitter chat about romance yesterday and she’s done a “Great Spurt Study.” I’m not going to explain because you really have to read it to believe it.

Jayne Ann Krentz answers questions at Bookpage.

Have you seen The Romance Man blog? Check it out

I loved this post on how to write what you don’t know and the research it takes. I also loved the thoughtful comments.

Slate runs a piece on porn for women.

Steve Almond pens a brilliant manifesto on why he writes smut, posting on the Rumpus.

Erica Chilson on saccharine romances. Much to chew on there.

Check out what one blogger has to say about critique partners.

 

Stay Hungry,

Liz

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All Choked Up About Taboo

25 Jan

Choking

When actor David Carradine died back in 2009, there was speculation aplenty that it was the result of “erotic asphyxiation.” In other words, getting off by getting choked. Never having practiced that form of kink, I did a little reading up on it. Apparently, from what I’ve been able to learn, cutting off the oxygen supply just before orgasm and then releasing the choke as your lover comes, heightens the orgasm by the resulting sudden rush of air combined with the natural rush of endorphins that we all get when having le petit mort, as the French so French-ily call an orgasm.

All of that sounds OK in theory, but I don’t see it written about much in erotic romances and as these things go, it got me thinking. Why? How come fetishes in general, as Rodney Dangerfield might say, ”don’t get no respect” in erotic romances?

The expansion in the field of erotic romance has included group sex, vampire sex, other worldly sex, homosexual sex, and BDSM, but what about real “kink” stuff? People who like having sex with toy dolls, for example? I saw a show once in which a couple shared the experience of having sex with each other and their blow-up doll. It was, as I recall, a rather expensive doll and very realistic looking. The girl of the couple fondled the doll’s “breasts” while her lover made love to the doll. Now, I’m all for different strokes (ha!) for different folks, and isn’t that shared experience – odd for some, perhaps, but it worked for the couple – not something that should be incorporated into erotic romance? Or is, really, just a little too weird?

I’m wondering, too, if a hero who’s aroused by things that are definitely not in the mainstream viewed as not being heroic enough? Not manly enough? If a hot guy really likes wearing women’s underpants does it make him less hot and therefore less desireable as a hero? Does he dive from delectable to detestable in a not-so-hot nanosecond?

We’re always hearing in the corporate world about “thinking outside of the box.” So how about thinking outside the romance box? There are plenty of authors who’ve done it, and done it well. I think it’s why the genre continues to thrive today just as it did 30 years ago – because it changes with the times, adapts to readers wants and needs, and leaves us panting for more. But my question is, how much more? How far is too far? When does taboo become no longer sexy?

Questions to ponder over the weekend. And speaking of that, have a great one!

What’s Your Kind of Naughty? Q&A with C. Margery Kempe

24 Jan

best new eroticaWelcome dear readers! Madeline here with a kicky author to introduce you to–if you haven’t read her work already. C. Margery Kempe has been rocking the anthology world with her naughty stories for some time. We get to chat with her today and find out more about what inspires her various story ideas.

MADELINE IVA: You are (under other names) known for writing fancy literary stuff. What drew you to the world of smut?

C. MARGERY KEMPE: I was always there! I just wrote it for a very select audience ;-) Then in 2008 an agent I knew said she was starting up an ebook publishing company focused on erotic romance. Hey, you mean I could make money writing these?! So I tried my hand at it. It was easy to write the sex; romance is a lot more challenging. But I’ve become much better at that. It kind of woke the slumbering romantic in me. I credit my fortuitous meeting of my current partner to my alter-ego Ms. Kempe (well, her and Twitter [http://www.asininepoetry.com/works/view/1845] both) because writing about love under the name of C. Margery made me open to the possibility once more.

spinning goldMADELINE IVA: Erotica or erotic romance?

C. MARGERY KEMPE: I’m not bothered — I write both and while I know some people definitely believe that they are completely different things, but I don’t see it that way. They are different kinds of narratives and the sex means something different when you add the element of romance, but the sex is the same — hot!

MADELINE IVA: I have a feeling that you (like myself) are drawn to fairy tales.  Tell us about SPINNING GOLD.  What interested you in taking the beloved Rumplestiltskin story and turning it on its head? Tell us about your other fairy tale inspired erotic romances as well.

C. MARGERY KEMPE: My story SWAN PRINCE from Tirgearr is another fairy tale and I have a few more in me (I wrote a fairy tale novel PELZMANTEL under my own name as well as a collection of stories based on Finnish folk and fairy tales, UNIKIRJA). They’re just endlessly entertaining. We have a deep bond with those stories and they are infinitely elastic. I was on a panel with Graham Joyce talking about them and we both agreed on that: the elasticity. So yeah, I could make Rumpelstiltskin full of twists — a boy masquerading as a girl because his mother didn’t want to lose him to war, swan princefalling for a prince who isn’t quite what he seems, either.

MADELINE IVA: You like spanking stories, yes? What can we modern feminist women do to understand our forbidden desires for fantasizing about spanking & sex?

C. MARGERY KEMPE We can accept and not judge them! Your sexual persona cannot be shaped into something that ‘should be’ — it is what it is. We should not be ashamed or afraid to say what we desire, though clearly we do. Feminism is about EVERYONE being who they really are and treated fairly. For all the scorn heaped upon 50 SHADES, it did a little bit to normalise some kink practises to the wider public. People do like to experiment and there’s now a vogue for spanking and some mild B&D, but a lot of people still see anything but vanilla sex as ‘deviant’. We need to get over our puritan cultural training and just accept that there are all kinds of ways to experience excitement.

MADELINE IVA: You also seem–interesting author that you are—to be dabbling in stories that involve cross-dressing.  Tell us more about the forbidden appeal of a man in a skirt and pumps.  You’ve done cross-dressing stories that are m/m as well as f/m, too. Did you work them differently, or at heart are they the same kind of story?

cymbalsC. MARGERY KEMPE: I’ve never really thought about it specifically — I guess I do love masquerade. There’s that wonderful quote from Wilde: ”Man is least himself when he talks in his own person. Give him a mask, and he will tell you the truth.” This is why Halloween is so popular: people get to experiment, don another persona and walk around in it for a while. The story SEX CYMBALS was inspired by a friend’s music video, where he wore a wig and dress and it was really sexy, so I thought up the story at once. But there’s a lot of medieval stories where women have to pretend to be men; romances, but also saints’ lives. There are so many issues to explore. Fortunately there’s a lot more acceptance of gender blurring today, so it’s less about transgression than it is about blending. Playfulness! That’s the key.

man cityMADELINE IVA: What are you working on now?

C. MARGERY KEMPE: I’m working on a second MAN CITY story: another menage set in Manchester. I’m also trying to make headway on my erotic sequel to The Tempest called MIRANDA. It’s a challenge, but there’s magic and mystery as well as sexy goings on. Much fun!

MADELINE IVA: As one of our favorite people in the biz, Lady Smut wishes you much success and we hope to have more fun interactions with you in the future.  Thanks again for answering our questions, Margery.

ambrosiaReaders, you can click on any of the covers for a link to C. Margery Kempe’s stories on Amazon.

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Wronged By Romance

23 Jan

Scorned There’s been a lot of talk in the sports world lately about athletes who’ve misled us. There’s Lance Armstrong, of course. He lied and lied and lied about not doping, and then finally fesses up and admits that well, actually, he was doping. Then we’ve got the Manti Te’o story and the girlfriend who died of leukemia hours after his grandmother passed away. Except that apparently the girlfriend never existed, or maybe she existed but he never met her, or maybe he was the victim of a giant hoax. Or something.

Whatever the situations with these athletes, they did get me thinking about being duped. Misled. Outright lied to, and how bad that feels. And then I started thinking about how that’s happened to me, and I bet to some of you, when it comes to the covers of romance novels.

Remember back in the 80s and 90s when it seemed as if the buff bod and streaming long hair of Fabio was plastered on nearly every historical romance being published? It didn’t matter if the hero was a pirate or a Viking or a cowboy, Fabio’s mug graced the cover. Eventually that started to change and publishers realized that if the hero of the romance is the sexy CEO of a global securities firm, he’s not necessarily going to be spending his time 24/7 in the gym and looking like The Rock. In essence, they’d been duping us. The cover models started resembling the story’s hero. Personally, I’m on board with that. I want my guy on the cover looking like the guy in the story.

But wait! There’s more. We readers of romance are a proud, smart, devoted bunch, but it doesn’t necessarily mean that we  want to hold up a sign every time we pull a romance out of our bag that practically screams, “Hey everyone! Look what I’m reading!” So the covers started going to the opposite extreme. Instead of misleading the readers with cover models who look nothing like the story’s hero, we had no cover models at all.

9780821773994[1]

My book, Season of Splendor, is a perfect example. Published in 2002, it depicts a garden path on the cover. It’s not about a garden, or a gardener, nor does it take place in a garden. No, rather it’s the story  of a poverty-stricken hero growing up in the slums of 19th century London who finds a way to get a servant’s job in a noble family because the daughter in the family unknowingly witnessed the murder of the hero’s’ best friend. With no other way to speak with her due to the chasm of their class differences, he infiltrates his way into the family via the job so that he can talk to her about the murder. Do they fall in love? Sure. Have sex? Of course. But not in a garden, I can assure you.

Now, of course, I’m very aware that publishers started doing the benign cover thing (a picturesque house, jewelry atop a nightstand, perhaps just the heroine standing demurely by herself in a pretty dress) because the cheesy “bodice ripping” covers were, let’s face it, embarrassing. But now we’ve got e-readers, and we can read all the super steamy erotic romance we want on a bus, in a plane, sitting on a park bench, without anyone being the wiser about what we’re reading. So why do covers still sometimes mislead us? Why don’t the models always preview a taste of what the hero and heroine look like? Alternately, do we care?

When I see a picture in a magazine of a model wearing some kind of makeup, I’m fully aware of the fact that no matter what, I’m just not going to look as good as she does with that same makeup. Perhaps romance covers are the same. It’s not that the hero and heroine in the story are going to resemble the beauties on the cover, but that you will indeed get a tale of some really attractive people, having hot sex, and spinning a good yarn. Maybe I just need to rejigger my expectations. I can – and do – read the blurb on the back and usually . . . er, sometimes . . . it tells me what the story’s about.

What do you think? Do you ever feel that you’re duped by the cover?  Do you expect the cover to give you a glimpse of the kind of people you’re going to read about? Or could you care less, assuming that no matter who’s on the cover you’ll paint their pictures as you would depending upon the author’s talent at describing them and the depths of your own imagination. I’d love to hear your thoughts!

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Sexy Podcasts, Anyone?

22 Jan
Photo by Penny Spitter

Photo by Penny Spitter

I am a big radio listener. I grew up listening to the radio, not that we didn’t have TV, but the radio was on all night and I woke up to it, got my news and entertainment from it. I spent many summers sitting outside listening to music on my portable radio and dreaming. My husband and I have spent many Saturday evenings curled up listening to A Prairie Home Companion. Maybe that’s why I always think of radio as a more intimate form of communication than TV.

As you know, if you’ve been following Lady Smut at all, I also love the Internet and come up with a weekly round-up of some of my favorite blog posts of the week.

Well, I have discovered a technology that allows me to blend my love of radio and technology—along with my love of a little smut now and then and it’s podcasts. Yep. I think I’m a little late on this bandwagon. But now that I have an iPad, I started exploring the podcast scene. I can carry it with me where ever I go in the house–which make it so easy to say clean the kitchen as I listen erotic news and events. (Imagine that, if you will. Grin.)

Now, this is all new to me so I am not reviewing these show at all. I’ve only just discovered them. And I’m sure there are more out there. But these are what I have found so far:

My favorite was Alex Anders’ Sounds Erotic: The Voices of Erotica. He interviews experts in the field. It’s sort of a podcast magazine. The interview I listened was with Tina Engler aka Jaid Black, one of the founders of Ellora’s Cave and a writer of many erotic romance novels. Fascinating!

Erotic City Radio: A College Radio Show that Takes Sex to a Whole New Level. Hmmm. After listening to the lead in, I almost shut it off.  But after the general silliness, they calmed down and delivered a fascinating take on interracial relationships. The cover a lot of other subjects and it’s great to listen to if you want to know what’s going on with college students these days.

Erotic Awakening: An informative entertaining exploration of All Things Erotic. This had more of an educational bent than the others and I liked it.

There are a lot of erotic and erotic romance stories that you can listen to that, of course, also direct you to a place where you can buy more. I have no problem with that. One of the podcasts I found appealing was “Bored Housewives” stories, which was a lot of fun.

Wholesome Addiction “Fans of the Hotness” is quite illuminating, especially for those of us who try to figure out guys. This podcast seems to be just a group of guys talking about sex. They have news and opinions and are funny to boot.

Not that I need another distraction my life, but this has opened up a whole new set of possibilities for me. How about you any podcasts that you listen to?

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Forbidden Pleasure

21 Jan

Liz Everly’s Sexy Saturday Round Up this week linked to an interesting article at MODERNMAN.COM about “7 Sex Moves You Use That Women Hate”.

The article definitely hits upon a few home truths about sex in our modern times.  (Mister, if you know what’s good for you, don’t mess with Madeline’s beauty sleep.)

While the article perhaps gives the unflattering impression that most men are like eager young dogs–pantingly happy to have any kind of sex, any time, any place, the tips are mostly for men who perhaps aren’t very observant or quick to pick up on subtle female behavioral and verbal cues.

Why is all the pressure on men to understand what women want instead of women speaking up? Why can’t women speak up without bruising the oh-so-sensitive male ego? Ah, communicating about sex!  It just ain’t easy.

Unmade Bed by catphrodite at deviantART

Unmade Bed by catphrodite at deviantART

How nice then to take a break from the reality of men and women not communicating in our modern world and go over to the land of erotic romance. In a good erotic romance all that non-communication is transmogrified into perfect, mind-blowingly great sex.  But how do erotic writers create such great sex on the page?

One ingredient of the best erotic romances — or indeed any romance — that creates amazing sexual magic between two people is when they like exactly the same thing in bed.  But is that really possible?

Well…yes.  It’s not about the slim odds of two people with some unusual predilection who happen to find each other [ "Joseph, I want you to rub my body all over with yogurt and honey, then lick it off."] It’s more often about one of the partners being extremely open minded and happily rolling with the preferences of the other partner.  In other words:

Joseph = most men = someone happy licking yogurt & honey off your body

Yet I suspect it’s not that easy to write a successful erotic romance scene merely by portraying the heroine speaking her fantasy out loud and the hero enthusiastically responding.  There’s got to be more there than just the magic of communication and a willingness to commence with some kink.

lora leighSo what’s the secret of great erotic romance?  There are two books I’ll refer to here.  One is Lora Leigh’s book, aptly named FORBIDDEN PLEASURE, and the other is J.R. Ward’s book LOVER ETERNAL.  In each book there is a kind of structure at work that leads the reader to a satisfying conclusion.

1. The Partner Who Listens & Percieves

The article Liz linked to at MODERNMAN.com had some basic advice for guys: listen, think about it, then proceed with patience. Normally, there is nothing hotter in a romance novel than this kind of perceptive guy who’s a good listener, aka the mind reading hero.  Lora Leigh tips this trope on its head with FORBIDDEN PLEASURE, because it’s her heroine Keiley who starts off listening and perceiving that something’s going on with her man.  Keiley’s going to figure out what it is, and then address the issue, because she’s full of sass that way.

Meanwhile, in LOVER ETERNAL, our hero Rhage, a vampire, has such a vast experience of women, along with his uber-vamp-hotness powers, that he’s able to perceive every itty bitty thing about Mary at a glance.  She’s saying no-no-no, but why? He scratches his head over this because her body is saying yes-yes-yes and they’re obviously meant to be together for forever.

2. Understanding the Forbidden Desire

In FORBIDDEN PLEASURE, once Keiley knows what the issue is (her husband Mac wants to share her with his best friend Jethro) she’s freaking out.  They can’t do that.  She’s not that kind of girl, etc. At this point Mac is the one who takes over with the listening and perceiving.  He watches Keiley and notes that she’s wobbling between her own fears–and desire.

J.R. WardIn LOVER ETERNAL, Rhage finds out a secret about Mary. (Spoiler alert! She’s dying.)  Her forbidden desire is to have once–just once–a hot fling with an amazingly hot guy, and Rhage is her dream come true. So what holds her back from fulfilling her desire? Rhage is serious about Mary.  He wants a no-holds-barred kind of relationship.  She doesn’t want him to fall in love with her and then later rip his heart out by dying.

3. Building Up to the Forbidden Desire

Is exactly what Mac does with Keiley.  Slowly, patiently, listening and watching her all the time to see what’s driving her crazy for more, and holding back from what’s too much (for now).

4. Overcoming the Inhibition Against the Forbidden (whatever it is).

Rhage picks his moments when Mary is vulnerable and feeling too pissed off at her own bad luck to care about making wise decisions.  He’s there to catch her when she abandons common sense and lets their mutual desire sweep them away.  Lots of very intense, hot sex immediately follows.

5. Fulfilling the Forbidden Desire

This is the moment we wait for and wait for as readers.  In real life it can provide a touch stone of trust to look back upon and strengthen the relationship.  In books, this is where we’re headed towards the HEA ending a.s.a.p.

In the future, we’ll see how this this “fulfillment of forbidden desires” trope develops.  One modern development that I already like is when its the guy’s turn.  It’s not only a heroine who won’t-can’t-omg yes! these days.  Charlotte Stein’s story RESTRAINT presents us with an inhibited male who has a secret desire and the woman who will tease it out of him.  There are many  m/m romance authors showing us the guy-in-the-closet getting his “no, that’s not me, I can’t” protests on.  Let’s face it, men are being targeted as the object of desire more than ever before.

Not only that–more authors are embracing male virgins in the genre these days.  And there’s no rule saying that the more open-minded and experienced partner can’t be female.  In fact, Ellora’s Cave has a whole line of older women-younger men romances called SOPHISTICATE that seems to call out for this kind of trope.  I’ll check it out next week and report back.

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