Liz Everly's Blog, page 109

Kink Goes Paranormal With “Magically Kinky” Author Gianna Simone

Paranormal category Golden Leaf Finalist

By Elizabeth Shore

Hello Sexies! We’re chatting up paranormal and historical BDSM author – and fellow Golden Leaf Finalist! – Gianna Simone. She’s stopped by to tell us why she loves the dark side of romance, why listening to a nun is a good thing, and how not to get burned by a publisher. 

Elizabeth Shore: Thanks for stopping by, Gianna! Let’s first talk settings. I love the twist you give on traditional BDSM stories by generally placing yours in either a historical setting or making them paranormal. What made you decide to go those routes?

Gianna Simone: Basically, I like to break rules! lol It’s true – I have a bit of a dark side to my own preferences, and sometimes those types of things don’t work as well in a contemporary modern mindset of BDSM. And part of it harkens back to the “bodice rippers” of the 70’s and 80’s – so many of those books contained a lot of elements that I incorporate into my stories – though I must make it clear, the heroes don’t brutalize a woman just for the sake of violence. My heroes, while they take what they want, make sure their partners enjoy the encounter.

ES: As all men should. :-)

But even if you do go historical, you throw us another intriguing curveball by giving us Vikings! Or Medieval! No traditional English Regency for you. Tell us more about your choice for the unique settings.

GS: I like settings that are raw and real and gritty and dirty and… well, you get the picture. The women in those times had to be very strong, just to survive, and talk about it being a man’s world in those eras! Actually, though, the Vikings respected women and didn’t discourage them from being as strong and brutal as they were, which is rather different than many “civilized” cultures of the time. I also like those kinds of settings because there is very little of the modern “noise” that comes between the characters. No cell phones, internet, etc. When you have nothing else to focus on but the other person, things take a much more intimate turn. The only thing that matters is the here and now and all the accompanying emotions.

ES: No cell phones – no rude talkers! Sounds good to me. Tell us … when you start developing a new book, do you think first about the characters or about the plot?

GS: It’s characters all the way. I think of a hero, or a heroine first, then put them into a situation that can be quite life-threatening at times. Not all of them are dealing with such dire circumstances, but basically, the worst thing that could happen to them happens. And now they have to deal with it and all the crap that accompanies it.

ES: Your writing journey is an interesting one. What made you first decide you wanted to write?

Gianna Simone

GS: It seems I’ve been writing my entire life! In 4th grade, I had a teacher who would cut out a small magazine picture and staple it to a lined piece of paper. You could write a story about that picture for extra credit. I must have done 5 or 6 a week! By the time I hit middle school, I was writing fan fiction, though I don’t think anyone had a label for it then. But you name it – Starsky & Hutch, Kiss and Bruce Springsteen (see the evolution there?) In freshman year in high school, I wrote my first completed novel. My English teacher, Sr. Maureen, read it and said I should get it published. Damn, I should have listened to her! So I’ve been writing pretty much forever. I found RWA (thanks to a fan letter I sent to Brenda Joyce!) in 1993 and haven’t looked back.

ES: I wrote a post last week questioning whether it’s ever time to quit. Luckily for us, you haven’t and the result is some really great books. But I know it took a long time before you got published and I think other unpublished authors could take inspiration from your story. Could you talk a little bit about what you went through.

GS: You know what? I almost DID quit. Until recently, I worked full time, so the writing had to take a secondary role for a while (kids suck a LOT of time! And energy!). But things changed as my children got older and I could dive deeper again (fan fiction helped get the juices going again). But I hit a ton of brick walls – things would look great, then they’d crash and burn in spectacular fashion. Even had a publisher tell me not to submit again. They said I wasn’t a good fit for them, but it was basically “we don’t want to see anything from you again.” Ouch! Everyone I knew, including several I’d been “in the trenches” with, around me was selling. And I was having door after door slammed in my face. Not long after, a friend posted a comment on another friend’s blog. And it was clearly about me and it was harsh and brutal and made me think “why the hell am I killing myself here when even my friends are slamming me?” I literally said at that point, I’m done, I just can’t do it anymore. I had one more place I’d taken a shot at on a whim and promptly forgot about. Turns out, they snatched me right out of the jaws of defeat!

EM: Wow. And you said the Vikings had it tough! So you survived everyone, including “friends” telling you to give it up but you persevered and finally got published. But wait – there’s more! Because once it happened, you had a tough time with a publisher who eventually went out of business. That had to have been difficult.

GS: Be careful what you wish for, right? Bottom line, I’ve learned to do much better research. There are some things going on right now in the publishing world that are just blowing everyone’s mind, and I’m glad I didn’t have to go quite that far. I had high hopes and I also had some doubts about where I landed, but I looked at it as a chance to get out there, and this publisher was getting noticed. I found out some things later on that would have raised a few red flags if that info was available. And there was the typical and expected “implosion,” followed by inexperienced management (as in NO publishing experience whatsoever) that told us they knew better how to work the business. Yeah, they’re out of business now.

ES: I know you’re legally bound by how much you can say, but is there advice from that experience you can pass along?

GS: Do your research – if enough people are raising questions and sharing issues, then be wary. Where there’s smoke, there’s fire. Don’t be afraid to speak up and ask for changes to contracts. If the people running the business are truly running it as a business, they will work with you. And don’t be afraid to walk away from something that seems wrong to you – in this business, you have to cover your back. I’ve been lucky ever since, my current publishers respond to me and work with me and do what they can to help me promote my books.

ES: What gets you in the mood to write? What’s on your desk at all times?

GS: I work best in the mid-morning to early afternoon and late at night when everyone else is asleep. Don’t need much more than to get my ass in the chair and start reading a few paragraphs of wherever I’m picking up. As for what’s on my desk – clutter!

ES: Finally, tell us what’s up next for you.

GS: I’m starting work on the second book in my Vikings series, and I also have a few pages of the next book in the Bayou Magiste Chronicles, set back around the time of the Spanish Inquisition, but that’s more of a general outline than a real story. And I have a few other ideas percolating that I’m either drafting a scene or writing notes so I’ll be ready to get going when I have those two in good shape. I tend to work on more than one project at a time, I’m a Gemini, so all my personalities are screaming for time!

Being a fellow Gemini, I completely understand! Thanks so much for spending time with us, Gianna. And best of luck in New Jersey!!

You can get hold of Gianna’s books here.

And find her here:

www.giannasimoneeroticromance.com

http://giannasimone.blogspot.com

https://www.facebook.com/GiannaSimoneRomanceAuthor

Or via Twitter: @Gianna_Simone

The problem with being one writer with two names

By Liz Everly

Most days I can handle being a writer with two names–with enough planning and breaks that fall my way. Today is not one of those days. Today, I’m launching one of my mystery novels. And I’ve been so busy with a new job and other promotional events that I’ve not really had the time to come up with a post for today. (Violins, anyone?) So, since most of you didn’t make it to that Girl’s Night Out that Lady Smut recently held at Derriere de Soie, in Charlottesville, Va., I took some photos and thought I’d share them here. Enjoy! And see you next week!

xo

Liz

Fiction vs Real Life

by Kiersten Hallie Krum

This weekend, I was amused to watch romance writer Megan Mulry tweet read of Jane Eyre in snippets that went like this:

"He made me love him without looking at me." #JaneEyre

— Megan Mulry (@MeganMulry) October 5, 2014

"…it is my wish; don't neglect it." Oh. My. God. He is such a sadist. How did I never see any of this? #JaneEyre

— Megan Mulry (@MeganMulry) October 5, 2014

"But in other points, as well as this, I was growing very lenient to my master." #JaneEyre

— Megan Mulry (@MeganMulry) October 5, 2014

@rebeccamallary @JanetNorCal @juliabroadbooks I guess, in this case, one person's asshole misogynist is another's well of salvation.

— Megan Mulry (@MeganMulry) October 5, 2014

It was that last one that got me thinking. Ultimately, Rochester is a misogynistic shit, but he’s still considered a classic romantic hero. Why is it we love characters in fiction we would drop kick to the curb in real life?

Dark, brooding, trapped in a marriage with a crazy woman, Rochester has the moody hero trifecta. He tunes in to Jane partly because he has complete control over her. She plain, she’s low-born, she has no one to fight for her, so she is the perfect victim. Now we all know Jane can fight for herself and it’s her sense of self and her core of strength that draws Rochester in and eventually makes him fall in love with her. But really, he’s one move away from a restraining order and an episode of 48 hours.

Or how about Mister Darcy? Self aware enough to know his faults, he doesn’t regret them. He’s proud and arrogant and happy to tell anyone about it. He believes it not only his right but his duty to be so and to inflict his will over those around him. Truth is, we love Colin Firth as Mister Darcy more than Mister Darcy. Let’s face it, on his own, Mister Darcy is a bit of a wanker.

I have a great deal of affection for Nelson DeMille’s character John Corey, but he is a smart-ass, jackhole prick of the first degree. He’s also screamingly funny, takes no shit, and keeps going long after many other “heroes” would quit. I love to read him and be entertained but I’d want to slap him upside the head if I had to deal with him in person.

What is it that makes us not only put up but actively enjoy the kinds of people we would kick to the curb in real life? Is it because it’s fiction, so there’s no consequence for a little indulgence? And is it only male characters or are there heroines who we love on the page but would throttle if we had to spend time with them in real life.

What are some of character you love in fiction who you know would drive you crazy in real life?

Follow Lady Smut. Fiction or real life, you’ll love how we drive you crazy.

In California, Yes Means Yes! A Thousand Times Yes!

“You good?”
“Yes!”
(Image by Pavalache Stelian)

By Alexa Day

Last week, California passed the Yes Means Yes law.

Yes!

What is it, exactly?

Well, the Yes Means Yes law requires universities that receive state funds to use affirmative consent to determine whether sexual assault has taken place. California is the first state in the U.S. to do this.

On the practical side, it means that both sex partners must affirmatively consent to each step of the sex act. It means that nothing should happen until everyone agrees that it happens.

But there’s more to it than that.

I’m going to be frank about the typical sexual assault legislation — it’s designed to protect women. I recognize that the nation is filled with men who have been sexually assaulted, and I recognize that we as human beings are not doing enough to acknowledge and protect them. But the typical legislation exists to protect women.

I love Yes Means Yes because of its paradigm shift. It changes the salient question from “Did you say no?” to “Did she say yes?” Effectively, then, for sex partners to stay clear of the shadow of sexual assault, women are going to have to get used to saying yes to sex.

There are, of course, the critics. The opposition I hear most often is that this is not how college students go about having sex. I’ve been hearing this most often from people who haven’t been in college for some time, but that’s neither here nor there.

The challenge, according to the critics, is that when college students have sex, they’re not checking in with each other all the time to make sure all parties are affirmatively consenting. It’s possible I’m missing the point altogether, but wasn’t that the problem that gave rise to problematic consent in the meantime? I don’t feel any sort of compassion for folks who think it’s just too troublesome and awkward to keep checking for yes. For one thing, it suggests that those same people were too preoccupied to check for no.

(I heard some students interviewed on NPR, however, and they seemed more than willing to adapt to any conversational awkwardness.)

The more insidious problem is America’s apparent cultural preference that women say no to sex, at least until some societal entity gives them permission to say yes. I just read that the University of New Mexico had to apologize for content in its Sex Week programs, in response to backlash from conservatives. Sade Patterson, vice president of UNM’s Students for Life, said, “An informative workshop on diseases, unplanned pregnancies, and sexual abuse would be something we’d like to see on this campus.” She didn’t want anyone’s tax dollars supporting workshops on blowjobs and threesomes and getting laid in general. (As it happens, neither does UNM. Tax dollars don’t support Sex Week.)

I think this country needs to get used to the idea that women don’t mind saying yes to sex. We retain the option to say no, for any reason or for no reason at all. We say no to some things but yes to others. But we do say yes. We will say yes.

And I like the idea of anything that encourages sex partners — especially women — to keep saying yes. Yes to this. Yes to that. Yes to all of it.

Yes. Yes! A thousand times yes.

Are you good with following Lady Smut? Are you into that? Yes? Click that button.

Sexy Saturday Round-Up

By Liz Everly and the Lady Smut Bloggers

Hello, Sexy! We have some fabulous, entertaining, and funny blog posts for you today. Have a great weekend!

From Liz:

Sex toys with your burger?

Confused about titles? Jenna Jaxon clears it up. 

Think your way to a better orgasm. 

From Elizabeth:

Armpit fetishes. Really? Yes, really.

What kind of porn do women like watching? Pornhub goes statistician on us and gives us the fascinating data.

Here’s a “happy” mission: one woman’s goal of getting a happy ending massage.

Got plans this weekend to attend a swinger’s party? Better brush up on these etiquette tips first.

Why does “having it all” for women only mean having a career and kids? Can you “have it all” by having something else?

From Alexa:

If you can get all the way through this classic article about male anatomy modification, I salute you.

Where are all the Asians? I hope they’re with John Cho. He’s changing the game and stuff.

And speaking of changing the game, I give you Shonda Rhimes.

From CMKempe:

What women want in porn: more men (h/t Kemberlee Shortland)

Amazon’s next gambit is about to be revealed: advances

Over in the world of lit’ry fiction: trolls and hipster misogynists

Stay Hungry,

Liz

Choose Your Own Scandal

by C. Margery Kempe

I had an idea on Twitter: I need to manufacture a good juicy scandal involving me to increase book sales! What should it be? Some suggestions:

GET CLOONEY TO BREAK THOSE VOWS

Okay, a very unkind thing but it was the first suggestion someone gave me on Twitter. Not that I would ever do a thing like that, of course! What sort of woman do you take me for (don’t answer that O.O)? But it sure would move a lot of books, right?

POLITICAL SCANDAL

I certainly can’t be arsed to run for office and try to make people like me — my idea of a campaign slogan would be something like “I’ll make this job look easy!” — but it might be worth it just to have the position to lose. Taking bribes would probably risk jail time, so I’ll have to go for the traditional sex scandal, I suppose. Pity there aren’t any attractive politicians.

START A CULT

Well, I kind of already have (Cult of Kaity) but this time a real, for-profit religious one. Think of it — so many fabulous possibilities. I could declare myself an emissary from the gods, demand gifts, tributes and sexual favours, live a lavish lifestyle and command my followers do all kinds of weird things that would land us all in the news. There might be a trial if some socialite joins our ranks and we prevent him or her from leaving, I suppose. I’d probably have to write some kind of handbook of revelations. Oh, that sounds rather dull. Hmmm…

LITERARY FEUD

Oh, there’s an idea! Think how much potential there is this sort of scandal. I could have a feud with one of my fellow Lady Smut authors, so we could make sure both our book sales rose! Alternating posts that excoriated one another and people would stand by breathless, waiting for the other shoe to drop — preferably spike heel downward on someone’s tender flesh.

But the truth is like most writers I like the quiet life (because that’s what you need to write a lot) and more importantly, I like my Lady Smut cohorts so it wouldn’t make for a very convincing feud. Ah well.

What scandal would make you check out a book? Do you want to vote on a scandal for me? Here at Lady Smut, we know what you like — you like choice! Two year of giving you choice stuff — long may it continue! Follow us on Facebook, too.

What Happens At Girl’s Night Out…

Originally posted on madeline iva:

We had an anthology contract.  We formed a plan.  The plan was to have FUN while promoting our forthcoming anthology.

So here’s what we dreamed up:  GIRL’S NIGHT OUT.

Women only.  With spiked pink lemonade & nibbles.  And chocolate. In a really swank lingerie shop.

And now it’s actually happening! Our dream is coming true.  In between the partying and trying on lingerie, we planned some evening events — because you know, we want this event to be *cough* educational.

Hi Mr. Bunny. What do you do?

7:30pm Who is LadySmut & Why the Party?  We’re talking about Lady Smut–the blog, and THE LADY SMUT BOOK OF DARK DESIRES–our anthology, as well as our stories in the anthology.  (My story is called Sexsomnia.) Then we give out lots of romance novels.  Rating: PG-13.

8:00pm & 8:30pm Food Play Fun & How To Have Sex With…

View original 228 more words

Is It Ever Time To Quit?

Hmmm … maybe I should tell him to quit.

By Elizabeth Shore

Have you ever heard of Maurizio Seracini? Me neither. But I saw a fascinating documentary about him over the weekend, and it got me thinking about the concept of quitting. I don’t mean obvious stuff, of course. We really should ditch bad habits like smoking or binge drinking or … I don’t know … collecting comic books past age 8. But what about quitting something you really really really want. Like trying to get published, for example. Should you ever have a true heart-to-heart with yourself and admit that maybe the 10,000 reject letters piled up in your desk drawers (another habit worth ditching, I dare say. Those reject letters are definite buzz kills) are trying to tell you something?

While pondering that question, let me tell you about Seracini. He’s a forensic detective of Italian Renaissance art. He’s also a scientist and engineer, having developed several non-invasive methodologies of art analysis. In 1975 he became involved in a project to find a lost masterpiece by Leonardo DaVinci titled The Battle of Anghiari. This painting was made in 1505 but lost 50 years later during the reconstruction of a hall where it’s known the painting had hung. So what the hell happened to it? Seracini has spent the better part of 30 years trying to figure that out. He’s overcome technology challenges, bureaucratic quibbling, and numerous false leads. He’s staked his entire reputation in the art world on asserting his claim that the painting still exists, lying preserved but behind one of the walls in Florence’s Palazzo Vecchio. But for everything Seracini has done, all the hypotheses, and papers, and endless searching, after 30 years he still hasn’t found it. He believes he knows where it is, but trying to prove his theory led to a massive uproar among those in the art world and his work has been stopped by bureaucracy since 2012. Seracini says those trying to make him quit only inspire him to try harder. But for 30 years?

What if that painting is supposed to remain lost? What if Seracini, instead of searching for a painting he still hasn’t found, had quit that effort and used his illustrious wisdom for the analysis and education of art that does exist? On ensuring that future generations retain the knowledge Seracini worked so hard to acquire? Should he have thrown in the towel on the lost Leonardo, finally cried Uncle and declared that he quits?

It’s difficult to say when enough is enough, or whether we ever should. There are lots of writers who’ve gone before us who tried and tried and never did get published. Their dreams weren’t realized. Of course, this applies to anything. I have a wonderful friend who used to work with me in the corporate world. At the end of 2009 he was caught up in a company-wide layoff, received a severance package, and bid his corporate life adieu. He decided he was going to become an actor. Today, four years into the dream, he’s an actor. Oh, did I mention he’s not making any money? He’s not contributing to a retirement plan, pays through the nose for insurance, and were it not for his savings he’d be living under a bridge. Should he quit? You can probably guess his answer: a big fat NO.

My friend, however, is a single guy. He has no family to support, no kids to put through college, so in that sense it’s easier for him to pursue his dream than someone who does have those obligations. But he gets frustrated and discouraged and has, in darker moments, wondered if he should “get a job.” Except what if the next unpaid gig turns out to be his big break? What if that next manuscript you write is the one that puts you on the publishing map? Then again, what if it’s not? How many times do you hit your head against the wall before deciding it’s a good idea to stop?

I saw an interview once with, of all people, Tiger Woods. It was done prior to his tumble down that long dark hole when he was at the top of his game. He’d been acquiring titles with the ease of a true master and was asked if all those wins made him think about retiring. Woods’ response was that titles don’t mean anything in terms of his decision when to hang up the cleats. “I’ll keep playing golf,” he said, “as long as it’s still fun.”

There you have it: wisdom from Tiger Woods. But hey, it seems like the right approach. Whether published or not, as long as the act of writing and creating is still fun, let’s not ever call it quits.

And while we’re at staying with the program, why not hit that little follow button to your right. If you don’t quit on us here at Lady Smut, we sure as heck won’t be quitting on you. Awesome new posts every day of the week.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tempting Will McGlashen–Cover Reveal, Plus A Tasty Excerpt

By Liz Everly

So if you’ve been following Lady Smut—and so many of you are for which we are very, very grateful, you’ll remember my posts about my historical romance, “Tempting Will McGlashen.”  If you don’t remember them, click here. I’m thrilled that Tirgearr Publishing will be releasing this book on October 14. And here is the cover:

I simply adore it.

But in looking at it and all of my other covers, it occurred to me that it’s very different for the Liz Everly “brand,” isn’t it?

All of the publishing and author experts out there might say this will confuse my readers and therefore it’s unwise to publish a historical. All of my other books are sassy, sleek, and contemporary.

I call bullshit on that attitude. Readers are a smart bunch. My sense is that a lot my readers are like me and read all across the genres and subgenres. Just give me a good story—I don’t care what you call it.

I began to think about what similarities and differences there are in my books and short stories. I think they are more alike than different. At the heart of my romances, of course, is the relationship. Whether it’s a contemporary set in Scotland, or a historical set in Virginia, the romance is the focus.

But one thing seems to run consistently through all of my work, even my mysteries that I publish under another name: food.

Food is front and center in “Tempting Will McGlahsen” because Mathilde is a cook for her family inn, or “ordinary” which is what Virginians called them at one point in history. Of course, this research was fascinating.

Since Lady Smut readers are special to me, I’m going to give you a snippet of one of my favorite food scenes in the book. (Unfortunately, you can’t order the book yet. Stay tuned on when pre-orders and orders are ready!) Enjoy this snippet!

 

“Mr. McGlashen,”  Rosa said, coming toward him. “Please have a seat. We have coffee this morning. Would you like some?”

He was not a big coffee drinker. He much preferred tea in the morning, though tea was sometimes harder to come by as many of the colonists were refusing to serve it, let alone buy it. And he was warned when he drank his last cup of tea in Philadelphia that it may be hard to come by in the frontier of Virginia, even this part. But the coffee smelled good this morning and he nodded as he pulled up a chair.

She brought over a pewter cup steaming with the drink and a plate with blackberry pie and several slabs of ham. He’d seen ham in Edinburgh, but didn’t eat it because his clansmen preached against eating pig. He developed a taste for it in Philadelphia, though he thought it odd to have ham in the morning, but it seemed Virginians ate it all day long.

He took a bit of the pie, which he did not get a chance to eat at last night’s supper, and it was as if all the pores in his tongue opened and melted at once. The flavors and the textures in his mouth sent delicious sensations throughout his body. The warmth in his stomach spread throughout his body as he took another bite. What was happening to him? It was embarrassing and frightening—oh, for heaven’s sake, the warmth was spreading delightfully down his body to his nether regions. Food can’t do that to a man, he decided. Must be all the pretty young women about; Rosa and Mathilde, both beautiful, offered tempting images to any young man as they walked around the dining room, chatting, smiling and leaning over pots, plates and tables.

Control yourself, man, he thought as he sipped the coffee. It was the bitter drink he remembered, but the edge of it was taken off by another flavor. Whatever spice it was, it made the drink more palatable. And the drink was clearing his head a bit.

He bit into the salty ham, which gave his mouth another set of flavors to consider. Salty. Sweet. But the pie . . . dare he eat the rest of his slice? What was it doing to him? It felt like it was reaching inside and pleasuring him in the most delightful way.

He yielded to the temptation. He had no choice. The flavor hung there and enticed him to the point of no return. He braced himself and opened his mouth again, shoveling in as much as his fork could hold. The jellied berries wobbled around in his mouth. He liked the way they felt next to the crusty edge he bit into and he closed his eyes, willing himself to not get too excited again. It was ridiculous. He focused on the sloppy purple mess on his slate blue plate. He stopped himself from licking up the purple juice off the plate. Will tried not to allow his eyes to wander from it to either of the pretty sisters or the other woman at the table next to his, whom he noticed looking at him from time to time. The woman’s heavily made-up face looked out of place in this clean, spare establishment. Her eyes focused on his, she gave a little smile, and he settled his on the pie. But he couldn’t help feeling a surge.

He needed to find a woman soon, but he saw no way out of his need in this hamlet, and even if he did, he had so much work to do there was no time for that. His urge for bedding women was so strong sometimes that it was almost a curse. He prayed sometimes for it to go away. But mostly, when he had the chance, he took it.

It was the pie beckoning to him now.

Will found the color curious; it was somehow deeper and more mysterious than black, like a swath of a moonless night sky. He could lose himself in the color and flavor. He was careful not to spill a drop of the juicy treat; he could see that the baked berries would stain whatever they touched as indelibly as a compliment publicly offered, he grinned. These pious Virginians.

 

Hungry, yet? Grin.

Rogue Spy by Joanna Bourne: A Review

by Kiersten Hallie Krum

Full disclosure: I was sent an ARC copy of Rogue Spy by Joanna Bourne (who I frequently refer to/call “Miss Jo” for no reason other than that it seems right and fitting to me to do so) with only the request to review it if I so felt inclined.

And I do.

Here be (mild) spoilers. Proceed at your own risk.

There are some books that you dive into and plow through in a messy gorge of gluttony, sucking down each word as fast as your eyes can send the message to your brain, like empty calories you can’t wait to consume over and over again. Then there are those books that you savor like a long, gourmet meal with several courses. A banquet of words whose delicious flavor lingers on your tongue long after the pages are read.

Rogue Spy is such a feast.

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Click to purchase!

The Napoleonic and post-Napoleonic era are two of my personal favorite historical eras that aren’t Medieval. It’s a time rife with political intrigue as France and England deal with the complex and complicated fallout first from the horrors of the French Revolution and then from the mad rush of Napoleon’s rise and fall. The fashions are some of my favorite too as the elaborate (and, to me, ridiculous) panniers and headdresses and wigs of the 18th-century are reigned in by the austerities of the militaristic style from Napoleon’s influence.

Joanne Bourne’s novels thrive in this era. Her books are labyrinths of intrigue, deception and loyalty constantly vying for the upper hand even within the bastions of Meeks Street, the home base of Bourne’s British Secret Service. These are characters whose lives have been intertwined for decades, often without them knowing the lengths of those connections until current intrigues bring those secrets to life. Men and women of ruthless commitment who find themselves at a point where all the lies and secrets and deals and old loyalties are challenged with calamitous results. Whether French or English, Bourne’s characters are passionately patriotic (sometimes not to the expected side) and face their most conflicting crucibles when their devotion to duty wars with the demands and desires of their hearts.

Camille Leyland has lived with the Fluffy Aunts since she washed ashore as a 12-year-old waif, the lone survivor of her family’s massacre. When threats and blackmail threaten her idyllic life, she recalls the training of her youth and sets out to confront a vicious French terrorist and save the innocent whose life she stole…only to find her old friend, Thomas Paxton, already on the case. A product of the same “charm school” as Cami, Pax has spent 10 years as a ruthless assassin for the British crown…and a French spy in the belly of the secret service. Now unveiled, he’s come home to Meeks Street confession in hand to accept sentencing from the men who made him only to recognize Cami before he can get to the door and thus stray from his expected path.

In Rogue Spy, Bourne brings back her Cachés spies whose origins were deeply explored in The Black Hawk, those abandoned children brutally trained in all things English and all things murderous that they might infiltrate English secret service as sleeper agents at key social levels. With the fall of Napoleon, the Cachés children, now grown, are left to acclimate to the society to which they’ve become accustomed even as lingering zealots of the Revolution pose an ongoing threat. Pax and Cami formed a unique bond while “students” at The Coach House where they each played roles in keeping the other children alive whenever possible and at great personal risk. After ten years apart, they come together to capture Cami’s blackmailer–a man for whom Pax also has a blood debt–only for that friendship, forged in horror, to cinch into a passionate bond.

This is quite a cerebral story. Cami and Pax are constantly thinking, one reasoning the pathways of the other, their knowledge of each other so intimate and intricate, they can anticipate the other’s movement and reactions move by move. Yet for all that, they do not know one another as man and woman and the shifting of that perspective quietly and quickly rocks their worlds because these are people who do-not-have-time. The whole of the book takes places over a matter of a few days and the stakes on all sides are very, very high.

We talk about erotic romance here at Lady Smut a lot. About bare, sweaty chests and BDSM and sexual power and sexy shoes. It’s good to be reminded how much eroticism can be expressed in much less erotic language or raw depictions. How the restraint of attraction can be as arousing as its enactment.

That had been the smell of him last night. That was what she’d tasted on his skin and breathed in his mouth when he’d kissed her and she’d kissed him back. The scent that snuck past her defenses and struck wanting into her flesh. In the daylight, on this open path, in the midst of children rolling hoops and pigeons chasing bugs through the grass, madly, and stupidly, and immodestly, with great exactness and specificity, she wanted him. Her body was not wise.

This is not to say there isn’t a full course of overt passion:

Pax’s hands closed convulsively. Not by his will. Not by his intent. He couldn’t help it. Where she wasn’t soft skin, she was the slide of the thin cloth that barely wrapped her up. Her breasts grazed his chest, swift and startling. Her belly slipped across his. She was everything womanly–strength, softness, mystery. Since she was Vérité, she added a good dollop of deadly to the mixture.

He had a cockstand the size of a pine tree. You don’t think of her that way, a voice inside him said. But he did. She’s not twelve anymore. He wanted her in the most straightforward, simple, earthly way.

Pax and Cami do not have the time to pussyfoot around about their emotions and desires and they don’t need to as they’ve already such a deep understand of one another. But they’re also accustomed to making life and death decisions on the turn of a coin and so don’t waste time pretending on those rare occasions when they don’t have to pretend.

Cami: “I’m not here because of any threats you made.”

Pax: “I know. You’re here because I kissed you. It changed everything. You couldn’t walk away from that. I can’t walk away either.”

It’s refreshing in a media era that thrives on delayed gratification for romantic couples to have two characters be so baldly forward about their emotional entanglement. The delayed gratification in Rogue Spy isn’t built around if so much as when. When Pax and Cami make love, it’s absolutely an act of love, and it’s passionate and sweet and lovely because it is weighted with so much emotional fulfillment that has for so long been denied to both of them. I’m working really hard not to ruin the spoiler aspect of this moment because it rolled out so smoothly without a single anvil sighting anywhere and I want all of you, lovely readers, to be as touched and charmed by it as I was, but dayam Miss Jo.

They sat on the bed and she enjoyed every nuance of undressing him for the first time. There could be only one first time, though there would be many other times, if they lived.

“I’ll paint you naked if we both live. I’ll paint you in red silk and rose petals.”

She had never, not once, considered the possibility of being covered in rose petals. Her voice became husky. “You hollow me out until I’m full with wanting you. I can’t hold anything back. This is no light moment for me.”

“It isn’t light for me either. There’s been no one else. No one but you.” She watched him follow his own fingertips as they journeyed from her mouth, down her neck, to the pulse in the hollow of her collarbone. He said, “You hold me in the palm of your hand, Cami.”

To be told, so simply, that she had so much power. That she was the first woman he felt this for. It left her without words.

He slid her shift off, down her arms. “Let me unveil you. Let me see.”

 

 

Other highlights:

Pax views the world through a painter’s eye, constantly choosing what image he would paint with what color and in what light to bring out the soul of the moment, which makes tactile descriptions form on the canvas of the mind.

The Fluffy Aunts are an absolute delight.

Cheeky Miss Jo.

Pax ‘s interactions with fellow spies and best friends Adrian Hawkhurst (The Black Hawk) and William Doyle (The Forbidden Rose) show the steel bonds formed by their deadly work and liven the tense proceedings with the needling required from such bromances. They’d kill each other if they had to, but they’d bleed out alongside their friend for doing it too. Hawk’s a smart ass, so of course I love him, and I’m glad to see him have a secondary role in the proceedings. The brief references to his injuries and current personal predicament remind the informed reader where Rogue Spy fits in Hawk’s ongoing story and whet the appetite of the uninformed to find out what the hell he’s talking about.

My one and only complaint was the surfeit of Baldoni references. The Baldoni are an excellent addition to Bourne’s ever-expanding world, but after the first third of the book, I almost began a drinking game for every time they were name checked, but realized in time that I would then too quickly become too drunk to keep track.

Okay, one more nit pick. It’s been a while since I’ve read The Black Hawk and My Lord and Spymaster where I suspect much of Pax’s back story plays out leading up to the beginning of Rogue Spy, but I don’t remember. I could’ve used a bit more of a refresher course as to how he got to his opening predicament. His allegiance is crystal clear, but the path there less so.

Rogue Spy is available on November 4, 2014. Click here to preorder.

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