C. Margery Kempe's Blog: Lady Smut, page 174

For Ray: A Sex/Love Scene from a Steampunk Romance

Ray Bradbury died at 91 years of age this week.  In my view, he was a truly magnificent writer, always fun, always pushing the boundaries, always exploring.  Yes, he was a science fiction author.  He was a man with vision. When I was barely a teen, I went to the town library and ask if the librarian could recommend something exciting.  She gave me a Nancy Drew book.  Not to knock Nancy Drew, but it wasn’t my type.  I took it back the next day and clarified I wanted something really, really exciting and adventurous.  She gave me The Illustrated Man by Ray Bradbury.  I loved it.  I read everything I could find by Ray Bradbury and it really influenced the kind of writer I wanted to be.  I became a science fiction and fantasy author of short stories.  If you visit my website, you’ll see the links under  About Us (http://www.susanhannifordcrowley.com/aboutus.htm )  It has even influenced how I write paranormal romance–I world build.

You might be wondering what is steampunk romance?  Steampunk originally came out of the science fiction genre.  According to the Urban Dictionary, steampunk is a subgenre of speculative fiction, usually set in an anachronistic Victorian or quasi-Victorian alternate history setting. It could be described by the slogan “What the past would look like if the future had happened sooner.” It includes fiction with science fiction, fantasy or horror themes.

Medieval Steampunk: Speculative fiction set during the Middle Ages.

Victorian Steampunk: A modern Science Fiction work (post-1930s) that is set in the early parts of the industrial revolution.

Western Steampunk: Science fiction set in the American Old West.

Industrial/Modern Steampunk: Science fiction taking place in the late industrial age, early modern age; i.e. World War 1, World War 2

Examples of steampunk: Wild Wild West, Final Fantasy 7, Van Helsing, The Time Machine, Hellboy, and Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow.What is steampunk romance?  Take all of the above and add a focus on a heroine and hero, who save the world, and find their happily ever after with each other.So to honor the memory of a great science fiction author, I’m going to be sharing a sex/love scene from my steampunk romance Mrs. Bright’s Tea Room.  Due to the adult nature of this scene, I have to ask anyone below the age of 18 years to please leave.

For those 18 and older, please, follow this link to ADULT CONTENT:   http://romancebystarlight.wordpress.com

–Susan

Susan Hanniford Crowley

http://www.susanhannifordcrowley.com

Filed under: Love/Sex Scenes, romance, steampunk romance, Susan Hanniford Crowley

Running on Empty by Gerri Brousseau

This has been a very busy week for me because Sunday is my daughter-in-law’s baby shower.  We are having it at a lovely resort hotel, so all the big stuff is taken care of, but there’s still quite lot of little things that have to be done.  In addition to running around taking care of those last minute little details such as buying cards and wrapping paper, putting the favors together, and wrapping the presents, I still wrote three blog articles and also a few more chapters on my current work in progress.

Sometimes when my life gets so busy, I find it difficult to write.  I wouldn’t call it “writer’s block,” it’s more like burn out.  I find myself sitting here in front of my computer today and I’m at a loss for what to say to you.

Whether you are a writer or not, I’m certain you have all experienced being burned out.  It could be from your job, or in a stale relationship, but we have all been there.  So, I left my computer and went for a walk, which usually helps, but the creative well was still empty.  I took a nap, but that only resulted in a deep feeling of guilt for neglecting all that still needed to be done.  But, the clock is ticking and I need to post this.  So, when nothing works, what do you do to regenerate yourself and refill your creative well?  All serious suggestions will be entertained, cuz frankly … I’m running on empty.

Filed under: romance

Ugly Duckling Cake by Gerri Brousseau

Over the span of the next five weekends, I have five parties to attend, from birthdays to graduations and even a pool party.  A few of the parties are a pot luck type of thing.  I have been assigned dessert, so I decided to bring an ugly duckling cake.  What? Never heard of such a thing?  This cake is easy to make and delicious.  I thought perhaps many of you might have the need for a recipe for something different, so I decided it might be a good idea to share this recipe with you.

Ugly Duckling Cake

1 Package yellow cake mix

1 can (16 oz.) fruit cocktail

2 ½ cups sweetened coconut

2 Eggs

½ cup brown sugar

1 container of cool whip

Preheat oven to 325°.  In a mixing bowl combine cake mix, fruit cocktail (with the syrup), 1 cup of coconut and the eggs.  Blend.  Beat at medium speed for 2 minutes.  Pour into a greased pan (I use 9 inch round).  Sprinkle with brown sugar.  Bake at 325° until a toothpick comes clean.  Cool completely.  Frost with cool whip and top with coconut.

Filed under: romance

Infusion of Contrasts and Opposites

I moved to the desert because I’d lived in a fairly rainy place all my life and I wanted a change, most especially a change for something drier. Now that I’m in the desert (and nearing the summer), I’m dreading the heat the next few months will bring and most definitely not a fan of the sun which probably shines almost 360 days of the year here.

I know the saying that we are never happy is a common and true one, but I still wonder why that is. Why is it that opposites attract or that we love contrasts? Even in writing novels, we are told to build in conflicts to hold readers’ interest. In romance novels, you will most often see the heroes and heroines starting out at odds. That’s because while we want the happily ever after, we want some strife and conflict at the beginning. Why would it be interesting to read about two happy people with no issues for 350 pages? It’s not, and I’m sure that in that answer lay deep psychological complexities that we’ll tackle another day.

As I write this blog, I’m half watching the movie Leap Year, which is basically about a woman who decides to propose to her boyfriend on February 29th as part of an Irish tradition. Her aim is to get to Dublin where he is attending a conference so she can go through with her proposal. For nearly the entire movie, the woman and her designated driver to Dublin (who is of course not her boyfriend) bicker. Of course there are moments of tenderness and chemistry, which gives it that “reel them in and let them loose” effect. And well, it’s a romance so you can guess there is a happy ending, but with who? The perfect, predictable boyfriend or the unpredictable, not-so-perfect designated driver? I’ll let you guess.

What about you all, what do you feel is attractive in conflict? Is there something in your real-life hero that is opposite to you and oh-so-appealing?

Thanks for joining me and happy writing this week!

Filed under: Toni Kelly, Writer's Life

Movie Review – The Huntsman by Leia Shaw

Another movie review from yours truly! After the roaring success of my rambling, nonsensical movie review of The Avengers a couple weeks ago, I figured I’d entertain you with even more rubbish! You’re welcome.

Hubby forced me to see Snow White and the Huntsman this weekend. I was skeptical because I’m not a Kristin Stewart fan but Chris Hemsworth (Thor, with the sexiest biceps ever) was in it so I figured either way I had some eye candy to go along with my real candy and popcorn. So here’s my review.

Plot: So we start with a loving queen who sees a rose in winter and decides she wants a baby. Snow White is born and becomes the apple of the kingdom’s eye at age 7. Then, in a series of narrated tragic events, her whole family dies and she’s stuck with an evil step-mother (aren’t they all?) and locked up in the north tower (aren’t they all?).

Fast forward a decade or so. Ravena’s evil magic has ravaged the land and everyone hates her, except for her creepy as hell brother who looks like an albino version of Moe from the Three Stooges and apparently has no balls because he lets his sister walk all over him.

Ravena spends her days sucking the youth out of various victims to stay young and taking milk baths – you know, the usual queenly tasks. She consults her magic mirror (which isn’t a mirror at all, it’s this gold goo with a voice like Denzel Washington) obsessively to make sure she’s the “fairest in the land.” One day Goldie says “Ravenna, you got beat out, bitch. Snow White’s what’s up now.”

She wigs out (Vanity, thy name is Ravena) and demands Snow’s beating heart – to eat, or dance around, or burn, I’m not sure. But apparently some prophecy that comes out of nowhere says Snow’s heart is the secret to eternal youth. With the help of some birds, Snow escapes the tower and runs and swims and rides a random horse that just happened to be in the right place at the right time and runs some more then ends up in the Dark Forest.

Ravenna is all like “Get me that bitch so I can crush her heart even though I’ve been keeping her alive for no good reason and could have, at any time, killed her.” Hindsight’s twenty twenty, isn’t it, Your Evilness? Anyway, in comes Chris Wensworth. Whoo-hoo! He’s all rugged and handsome with his scruffy beard and long blonde locks. So he lost his wife and spends his days drowning his sorrows with alcohol and bar fights. Ravenna convinces him, by a false bribe a two year old could see through, to go to the Dark Forest to hunt down Snow White.

So the Huntsman and Moe and a few minions gallop to the edge of the forest. He finds her in, like, three seconds flat, which leads me to my main point. Snow White is stupid. Or at least not very special. The next hour of the movie leans heavily on this random prophecy that she’s to be the salvation of their land. But there is literally nothing special about her. I think they were counting on her beauty to carry the film, but she’s not even that pretty! I could forgive that if she had some redeeming qualities, but she doesn’t. She’s not strong or a good fighter or funny or resourceful or smart. The only think that’s remarkably interesting about her is that she spent most of her life in a prison cell. But she’s not even pale enough to believe it!

So everyone is on Snow White’s side because she’s so…nothing, but whatever. They travel and fight bad guys and finally run into the dwarves. They’re funny-looking, I’ll give you that. But I couldn’t understand a damn thing they said. Were they speaking English? I have no idea. I couldn’t decide if they were supposed to be the comic relief or not, but believe me, by this point I was begging for some relief, comedy or otherwise.

It dragged in the middle – some walking in a magical forest with gratuitous use of CGI effects. More prophecy shit. Something about a stag that didn’t make any sense at all. I can’t exactly remember because I was too busy looking pictures of cats saying funny misspelled words on facebook. Yes, it was that boring.

Meanwhile, Ravena and bro get more and more pissed they can’t find her. So she does some crazy ass magic to kill Snow that leaves her morphing from a bunch of dead ravens into her Queen form. Oh. Aha moment! Ravena. Like ravens. Hmm. Still doesn’t redeem the movie.

Anyway, Snow dies. They bring her body to the hide-out of the rebels and she lays all dressed up in a room looking dead. It reminded me a lot of the latest Twilight movie and I decided Kristin Stewart is pretty good at laying around looking dead. More about that in the acting section of the review. Anyway, the Huntsman kisses her. She wakes up then gives a rousing speech in varying degrees of British accent proficiency about why they should fight Ravena.

Unifying, charging castle, fighting, and finally the final show-down between Snow and Ravena. I won’t give away the ending except to say it was very anti-climactic. Makes you want to spend $12 to see the movie, doesn’t it?

Acting: Chis Hemsworth was awesome. He had depth and humor and all those other adjectives reviewers use to describe good acting. My only issue was the serious lack of bicep footage. Charlize Theron was brilliant as an evil Queen and way prettier than Kristin Stewart, I might add, even covered in what looked like elmer’s glue. Speaking of Kristin Stewart, I hated her in Twilight. Though she was a smidgeon better in this, it wasn’t enough to make me like the movie or the character. The best scene in the movie was while she was dead. Harsh but true.

Overall I give this movie a thumbs down. That being said, other people seemed to like it. Maybe you would too.

 

Filed under: romance

Weekly Paranormal-Scope

While I’m not qualified in any way to read neither stars nor planets, I am intimately linked with the paranormal in the world.   In many ways, so are you.  Things are heating up.  Let’s see how much!

The week ahead for:

Aries

A fox looks at his pocket watch and tell you it’s time you had a makeover.  Enjoy the experience.

Taurus

Nessie sings to you of tropical breezes.  It’s time to plan a vacation.

Gemini

Vampires have invited you to a party.  Wear white and enjoy yourself.

Cancer

Pigs can fly, and hogs are on the highway.  Rethink that vacation for a later time.

Leo

A sprite from your past will cross your path.  Memories can be fun.  It’s your choice whether to indulge.

Virgo

Elves are planting luck trees in your area.  Be sure and pluck a leaf.

Libra

Dormouse sings a song for you.  Okay, so he’s  a bit off key, but he’s quite a dancer.  Go dancing.

Scorpio

A fairy has given you a gift.  Accept it.  Some gifts are life changing.

Sagittarius

Hide out and enjoy a good book.  Then spend some time with werewolves and howl.  Howling is good for you.

Capricorn

A dragon has offered you a ride.  This is a rare gift.  Accept and enjoy your new heights.

Aquarius

Eagles are circling your home, and others are finally noticing your leadership qualities.

Pieces

A vampire has crossed your path and promised goodies.  This time it’s safe to accept.

–Susan

Susan Hanniford Crowley

http://www.susanhannifordcrowley.com

Filed under: romance, Susan Hanniford Crowley, Weekly Paranormal-Scope

You’ll Laugh, You’ll Cry, You’ll Buy Chocolate

by C. Margery Kempe

How do you boil down genius into a pithy phrase?!

“It’s like Die Hard…on a bus!”

One of the toughest parts of the writing process for many of us is describing the stories we’ve written. “Just read the story,” we plead. But no, we need to tempt readers with a hook, a tagline, that will make them want to buy the book or at least read the longer description.

Sure, you’ve spent hours, days, weeks, months, maybe even years writing that fabulous story, but your agent/editor/publisher/best friend says, “Sum it up in a sentence for me.”

Argh!

How to reduce the nuance, excitement and vibrant characters to a mere sentence?! And that’s not even the hard part. The hard part comes with making that sentence irresistible. When you find yourself on that elevator with a big time editor or the hottest agent around, you want them to say, “Send it to me!” with enthusiasm, because they can’t wait to read your book. But it’s not easy.

You have to get at the heart of the appeal. Stop thinking about the plot. Picture a pivotal scene. What does it tell you about the story? Think about this tagline for the movie Bonnie and Clyde: “They’re young…they’re in love…and they kill people.” That’s just about perfect. Even if you don’t know the story of the real duo, you have all the essentials you need to be hooked into their “Romeo & Juliet with guns” story.

Likewise the iconic tag for the original summer blockbuster, Jaws: “Don’t go into the water.” I know a lot of people who obeyed that injunction for the rest of their lives once they saw Bruce the shark in action. Coupled with the simple imagery of the movie poster, it certainly offered a good chill. Okay, but what about the other kind of chill? The happy one that you get from romance?

A good one that comes to mind is the tagline for Bull Durham: “Romance is a lot like baseball. It’s not whether you win or lose. It’s how you play the game.” Now there’s a short description that tells you what you need to know: the setting and the stakes. You know there’s romance against a baseball background, so your interest is likely to be piqued if you have any interest in the game.

Another one that works so very well is for the film Somewhere in Time, based on Richard Matheson’s novel Bid Time Return and filmed on Mackinac Island in my home state (a gorgeous location). Matheson’s time travel story and its yearning romance gets telegraphed instantly: “Beyond fantasy. Beyond obsession. Beyond time itself…he will find her.”

Isn’t that just lovely? There’s a knack to these quick and punchy summations, but you can work on them and improve your ability. Like everything else we do, practice practice practice helps. What are some of your favourite taglines for books or movies? You’ll be able to remember them right off the top of your head!

Filed under: Business, C. Margery Kempe, contemporary romance, erotic romance, Kit Marlowe, Marketing, Noble Romance, Promotion, romance, What Are You Reading?, What inspires you?, Writing Topics

It’s Getting Hot..Sex/Love Scenes Continue

I’m back with Vampire in the Basement, the 4th in the Vampires in Manhattan series.  But before I abscound with you elsewhere through the magic of a link, I have to go through the usual legalities.  The following link to the following blog site is for ADULTS ONLY and contains ADULT CONTENT!  So blush and giggle, but if you’re not 18 and over, please, leave.

Now for the magic of the internet, as I whisk you away for a glimpse into what happened after When Love Survives to Regina, our fairy/leprechaun heroine, and her hunky bear shifter Gregor.  It’s a wedding you don’t want to miss.  Chaos ensues and Regina calls in the Arnhem Knights, those vampires dedicated to protecting human life and defending supernaturals in trouble.  Regina’s bunny shifting sister-in-law Lorraine is about to find out how hot a vampire knight can be.  Ah, weddings…wink!

http://romancebystarlight.wordpress.com

–Susan

Susan Hanniford Crowley

http://www.susanhannifordcrowley.com

Filed under: Love/Sex Scenes, paranormal, paranormal romance, romance, Susan Hanniford Crowley, vampire books, vampires

How Fishing is Like Writing by Gerri Brousseau

What a beautiful day to lie around in the sun and just be lazy.  Today is the perfect day to sit beside the water and cast out a line.  Yep, it’s the perfect day to go fishing.  And fishing is a lot like writing.  How, you ask?  Well, have you ever gone fishing?  When you do, you get to the water’s edge, put your bait on the hook, and you toss in your line.  The bait hits the water and the fish takes notice (Chapter One).  You wait a while and reel your line in a bit, and the fish follows (Chapter Two).  You slowly draw the interest of the fish to your bait by reeling it in ever so slowly, one click at a time (reeling your reader in one chapter at a time).  But the fish is interested and hungry for more … and he takes the bait.  He’s hooked.  Now you simply have to reel him in and he’s yours.

When I read a book, much like the fish, I want to be interested from chapter one and drawn in by the enticing bait as the writer reels me in.  Like the fish, I’m hooked.  Like the angler, the writer must take his or her time to draw the reader in.  The angler doesn’t get to the water, jump in and ram the bait down the fish’s throat, and so the writer must hold back and not ram the entire plot down the reader’s throat in chapter one either.  He must give out the bait, one click (or chapter) at a time.

Still, unlike the fish, I like my bait, er … I mean story … to keep me interested and to have a bit of romance going on to spice things up.

Why am I telling you this?  Because I’m in writing mode and when I am I can’t seem to get anything else done.  No housework, no grocery shopping, no laundry and I barely take time to eat.  I’m involved in getting this story written because it is burning to be told.  Yet, I must treat my story like bait and like the angler, I must only let out the bait a little at a time so as to entice my reader into the story.  To capture them.  A lazy day by the lake would be nice, but I can’t go now … because I’m writing.

When you are writing, do you seem to have blinders on to the dust bunnies floating across the floor?  When you are reading a great book that you just can’t seem to put down, do you ignore the pile of laundry for just one more chapter?

Filed under: romance

The Hatfields & the McCoys by Gerri Brousseau

This week, the History Channel showed a mini-series about The Hatfields & The McCoys, starring Kevin Costner as “Devil” Anse Hatfield.  Normally I don’t talk about movies or TV programs, but I felt compelled to comment.  The story dramatizes a spat between the two families that escalated into the historical blood feud; the McCoy’s who lived on the border of Kentucky and the Hatfields, who lived across the river in West Virginia.  The movie attempted to depict the hate filled feud between these families; a hate that was passed down to the next generation.  The senseless killing was difficult to wrap my mind around.

But after investing three nights watching this film, I started to think about how similar this blood feud is to the gangs that war upon each other in many of the cities in the US; young men shooting each other simply because they were part of a different family, or in this day and age, gang.  Drive by shootings, shoot-outs in the middle of malls, executions of young men because they choose to wear the designated color of a rival gang.  Senseless.

I couldn’t help but wonder if during the Hatfield & McCoy feud any of the family members thought the feud was senseless.  I wonder if any of the gang members of today realize how senseless the fighting and killing is.

Did I enjoy the series?  It was just ok, but it did make me wonder, and I suppose in that regard it had some merit.  Did any of you happen to watch it?  I wonder what your thoughts are.

Filed under: romance