Liz Everly's Blog, page 112

Sex Toys—What and How a Woman Wants them

By Liz Everly

A friend of mine turned me on to “Frisky Business.”  Have you seen it? It’s a LifetimeUK show (or in my case a Netflix show) that is basically a reality show about “Love Honey,” one of the world’s largest purveyors of sex toys. Yes, that’s right. And the show is a fascinating glimpse into the sex toy business.

First a bit of history. A few years ago, these two men decided to start this internet-based business up in Bath, England. The idea behind the company was that while there were a lot of sex toys available, they were mostly packaged in a very porn-ish way and very unattractive to most women. How, these two men wondered, could they make sex toys more appealing to women?

The answer was packaging. Their products are lovely to look at—very appealing to women, who might not care for the proverbial woman spread-eagle-across-the-vibrator package. The packaging is very discrete, feminine, and sexy.

They have an exclusive license for a line of “Fifty Shades of Grey” products, all approved by the author of the series, E.L James. How about that? Very clever, given the popularity of the series. And I quite like that she’s involved—quite openly. In fact, she’s quoted on the landing page of their website.

But as for the show, it’s well worth your viewing time. When you watch “Frisky Business,” you never know what you will see. A fake “fisting hand” used as a paperweight. Nipple clamps as a desk decoration. A squishy dildo used to squeeze as a de-stressor.All in a day’s work at the offices of Love Honey.

And, I might add, you never know what you will hear. They have cuts to the customer service women—all extraordinarily professional and polite saying things like “The jelly is mostly an anal lubricant, but might be able to use it elsewhere. But it’s quite sticky. Just so you know.” Or, “Which size anal plug was that again?” “Yes, that dildo does come with balls.” And so on and so forth.

It’s lively entertainment—and it’s all a part of the sex-positive, woman-friendly attitude of Love Honey. (I must add that there are plenty of high-quality toys for the men, as well.)

We can glean many lessons  from this company’s success in terms of women and sexuality. There’s no seedy or even borderline-seedy in the way of packaging, prodct, or attitude. Being open about sex is part of the company ethos. One of the owners of the company regularly takes news products around to their women employees to ask what they think of it.

In one episode, one of the women tells them the button on a vibrating finger toy is in the wrong place, it would make it too uncomfortable to use. This is all done very matter-of-factly. Imagine, asking women what they want in a product made just for them. Why more sex toy companies don’t do this, I have no idea. I mean, really, only a woman would know this—obviously, the male designer, who was standing right there, had not thought the design through. I think he was viewing from the angle of a man using it on a woman. Interesting, isn’t it?

In the mean time take a look around this site that’s a LIFETIME site, but the Frisky Business folks seem to be blogging there. Great stuff. 

Also, do check out their US site here and their UK site here.

After you visit, come back to Lady Smut, where we are always sex-positive. Subscribe so you don’t miss a thing.

Full disclaimer: I’ve not purchased anything from this company and they are not paying me to write about them. I just think they are very cool. That said, if they wish to shower gifts on me, I will be happy to oblige. Wink.

Outlander: A Spanking! A Spanking!

by Kiersten Hallie Krum

Okay, admittedly, I mixed my movie references in the title, but I’m of the opinion that there’s always a reason to quote Monty Python and the Holy Grail, along with Star Wars, The Princess Bride, and often The West Wing, to name a few off the top of my head. I’m hardly going to pass up the opportunity now.

Here be spoilers about Outlander the book and the show. Proceed at your own risk.

We’re mid-way through the first block of eight episodes of Outlander on the Starz network. It’s been a marvel of a show that’s staying true to the book, often lifting lines and passages straight from its pages, while inserting new scenes and making adjustments to others for the television medium that yet fit seamlessly into the ethos of the novel. It’s been a slow build of the Life and Times of Highland Scots as seen through a displaced 2oth-century woman, but there’s been no less tension for all that as Things Are Revealed and players moved into place. It helps that the actors are flawless and compelling in their roles, from the gobsmacking perfection of Sam Heaugan and Caitriona Balfe as Jamie and Claire to the pitch-perfect secondary players of Dougal MacKenzie (Graham McTavish), Geillis Duncan (Lotte Verbeek), and Murtagh (Duncan Lacroix).

The slow burn of Claire and Jamie’s courtship is hotter than any sexposition scene in Game of Thrones. The looks Jamie gives Claire when she’s not watching him (and sometimes when she is) could scorch down the castle. Their growing friendship is faithfully and charmingly rendered, lovely to watch unfold with subtle facial tics, loads of subtext, and tons of non-verbal goodness. It offers the rare opportunity in a TV show to see two people with extraordinary chemistry behave honorably as to their social circumstances even as they’re repeatedly drawn together and form a strong friendship based on respect and just flat-out liking one another that will be the foundation on which their tumultuous future rests.

Yeah. That look.

And yet…we’re waiting on the good stuff.

That would be The Wedding, slated to happen in episode 7, followed by The Bedding, which is sweet and funny and a little sad and helluva romantic. Alas, that is soon followed by The Spanking, which is…something else altogether.

The Spanking is one of the most controversial sequences in Outlander. I know of several women who refuse to have anything to do with the series mostly because they’ve heard about The Spanking. For those of us who’ve read the novel, The Spanking hovers over every episode of the show, certainly over all of Jamie and Claire’s slow courtship. We know it’s coming, we’re waiting to see how it’s rendered with near equal anticipation of The Wedding and The Bedding. It has far-reaching implications on their relationship too, but we’ll come back to that.

Part of the appeal of the historical genre in romance is the chance to subvert the domination of and submission to the authority that existed in those periods. The bluestocking who refuses to be forced into marriage by her father. The witty, spirited ingénue who must marry the mysterious duke to save her family only to heal the wounded beast with love. The beautiful captive who steals the pirate’s mercenary heart. The feisty bookworm who charms the handsome, dissolute duke. Some of that is placing modern feminist ideals onto period plots, but I’m increasingly surprised by how often it’s more about bringing to light documented ways women asserted themselves within the confines of, say, Regency or Victorian societies. In Outlander, a “modern” woman is being submitted to the male dominance of 18th-century society and she instinctively rebels (quite forcefully and vocally) against it.

Many of the objections to The Spanking is the flat-out physical abuse of the heroine by the hero along with the patriarchal notion that a man has not only a right but a duty to chastise and punish his wife. The show (and the book) touched on this 18th-century mind-set in the first episode when Claire swears and shouts at Jamie as she bandages his bullet wound. The Highlanders, unused to such impudence from a women, chide Claire that her husband needs to take her in hand. No doubt accustomed to handling sexiest behavior from soldiers and officers in a battlefield hospital, Claire rolls her eyes and snaps for them to “mind their own bloody business.” As modern women, we cheer her response and attitude, but the point has been made that the Highlanders expect Claire’s husband to discipline her for any untoward behavior, the likes of which, to their minds, she displays on a regular basis. And Jamie is soon to become that husband.

Violence permeates Outlander like a character all on its own. This is a rough era where survival came hard and lifespans were short. It’s also a tumultuous time historically with tensions between the Scots and the English that made any untoward action possibly life-threatening. From her first arrival, Claire is exposed to a skirmish between the English soldiers and the Highlanders. The fact that Claire knows how to behave in a war zone being so recently on the front lines of World War 2 is one of the main reasons she adapts so quickly to her new environment.

Violence is in everyday life at Castle Leoch, particularly toward children and women. The boy is nailed to the pillory for theft. Laoghaire is brought before the laird to be beaten for presumed loose behavior with no more proof or witness than her disgruntled father’s word. When Jamie steps up to take her punishment, it’s not because he objects to the idea of beating a young woman–that is nothing new in his world–but because he wants to spare her pride at having it done before the crowd. Violence is the expected consequence for disobeying or rebelling, particularly (though not exclusively) for women and children.

In the novel, author Diana Gabaldon takes some pains to lay out Jamie’s reasons for spanking Claire based on actions she took that landed her, him, and the rest of the Highlanders with them in mortal danger ultimately because she disobeyed Jamie’s orders.“‘There’s such a thing as justice, Claire. You’ve done wrong to them all, and you’ll have to suffer for it.’ He took a deep breath. ‘I’m your husband; it’s my duty to attend to it, and I mean to do it.’” (Gabaldon, Diana. Outlander: with Bonus Content p. 251  Kindle Edition.)

Eye-sex anyone?

My hackles rise just typing “Jamie’s orders” or even with the idea that a husband has any right ever to physically punish his wife. Hell, I vehemently objected to corporal punishment from my parents–being spanked enraged me. But again, this is something that has to be taken in the vein of the culture of that century. Not excused, mind you, much like we don’t excuse the abuse of black men and women during the era of slavery by recognizing it did indeed happen. Depicting such abhorrent actions in, say, Twelve Years a Slave, is no less an accurate rendition of time and place then Jamie spanking Claire for her “offenses”. No one’s approving it by reading or watching it.

In the pages and pages and pages post-spanking during which Jamie and Claire find their way through its after effects and consequences on their very new and very raw marriage, Claire’s fury and outrage boil over at the realization that her husband enjoyed it to which Jamie heartily admits guilt. The notion that he would get painfully aroused when beating her is the last straw, worse the idea she should be grateful he didn’t act on it by forcing her afterwards. On my first reading, it was at this point when I went “oh hell no”. I get the cultural mores; I may not like them, but as an historian, I get it. But for the hero to admit that Claire’s pain, resistance, and ultimate subjugation, something she clearly was in no way enjoying, got him off? Oh hell no.

Claire responds in much the same way and Jamie gives her back that which he stripped her of through the spanking: her agency. His value of and love for Claire outweigh any disciplinary power his culture and time give him over her. He takes a solemn vow never to raise his hand to Claire again and by doing so, honors her agency, the very thing he violated by spanking her, above his cultural norms. For a man of his time, this is a revolutionary declaration. To Jamie, such a vow is sacrosanct and it elevates Claire to a reverence and commitment that is given only to men of high position. Jamie refused even to give such a vow to his Uncle Colum, Laird of the Clan MacKenzie, as it would violate the one given to his own clan. So by giving it to Claire, he raises her above any loyalty or oath to his clan and family. In effect, Claire has become Jamie’s laird. But she is also his wife, his partner and equal in a way women of the 18th century did not typically enjoy.

The Spanking sequence stands in contrast to the frank and earthy sexual pleasure Claire and Jamie discover together in their marriage bed. On their wedding night, Claire introduces the inexperienced Jamie to a little rough sexual play and later, back at Castle Leoch, before Jamie leaves her for a journey, he most definitely takes those lessons to heart.

“You’re mine, mo duinne,” he said softly , pressing himself into my depths. “Mine alone, now and forever . Mine, whether ye will it or no.” I pulled against his grip, and sucked in my breath with a faint “ah” as he pressed even deeper. “Aye, I mean to use ye hard, my Sassenach,” he whispered. “I want to own you, to possess you, body and soul.” I struggled slightly and he pressed me down, hammering me, a solid, inexorable pounding that reached my womb with each stroke. “I mean to make ye call me ‘Master,’ Sassenach.” His soft voice was a threat of revenge for the agonies of the last minutes. “I mean to make you mine.” (Gabaldon, Diana. Outlander: with Bonus Content (p. 279). Kindle Edition.)

And Claire, strong, speak-her-mind, “modern” Claire who was, more often than not, the sexual aggressor in her marriage to Frank, Claire not only submits to Jamie’s rough dominance, she viscerally responds and is an active participant.

Beads of sweat ran down his face and dropped on the pillow and on my breasts. Our flesh met now with the smack of a blow that was fast crossing the edge into pain. My thighs were bruising with the repeated impact, and my wrists felt as though they would break, but his grip was inexorable. “Aye, beg me for mercy, Sassenach. Ye shallna have it, though; not yet.” His breath came hot and fast, but he showed no signs of tiring. My entire body convulsed, legs rising to wrap around him, seeking to contain the sensation. I could feel the jolt of each stroke deep in my belly, and cringed from it, even as my hips rose traitorously to welcome it. He felt my response, and redoubled his assault, pressing now on my shoulders to keep me pinned under him. There was no beginning and no end to my response, only a continuous shudder that rose to a peak with each thrust. The hammering was a question, repeated over and over in my flesh, demanding my answer. He pushed my legs flat again, and bore me down past pain and into pure sensation, over the edge of surrender. “Yes!” I cried. “Oh God, Jamie, yes!” He gripped my hair and forced my head back to meet his eyes, glowing with furious triumph. (Gabaldon, Diana. Outlander: with Bonus Content (pp 279-280). Kindle Edition.)

And later…

“Oh, aye, Sassenach,” he answered a bit ruefully. “I am your master … and you’re mine. Seems I canna possess your soul without losing my own.” (Gabaldon, Diana. Outlander: with Bonus Content p. 280). Kindle Edition.)

I mean..strewth.

I don’t know how the show will present The Spanking. I hope they give it the time and consideration to make it more than just “they beat women back then, didja know?” That they show the watershed moment it was in the early days of Claire and Jamie’s marriage. But until then, at least there’s this:

Enjoy some rough play with your sexy times?

Check out the Big Book of Submission. Our own C. Margery Kempe’s short story The Rhino is between its pages. Click on the picture to learn more.

 

Follow Lady Smut.  Spanking optional.

Be the Change: Let the Leaked Photos Fade

Can we put what was done in the dark back in the dark? Please?

By Alexa Day

It’s been a tough week for sexy news. Part of the trouble is that my social media feeds have been jammed with the news of the recent celebrity photo leaks and then jammed with reactions to the celebrity photo leaks. Perez Hilton posted some of the photos, removed the photos and then apologized for posting the photos. Fakes and alterations of the photos turned up everywhere. Blog posts debated whether it was right or wrong to actively seek out the photos (which seems to me to be an obvious question, given the circumstances).

One post makes a racial argument of the fact that a person could still get to Jill Scott’s nudes with a simple search while Jennifer Lawrence’s had been removed. The fact that Jill Scott denied any actual nude photos was conveniently overlooked.

I hesitate to add to this discourse, in part because my frustration with the news drove me away from it, but I really just have one more thing to say.

At this point, the women whose photos were ripped off and then leaked seem to have stepped back from coverage of this scandal. News outlets and commentators still taking part in the fray are now more vocal about the leaks than the women who were actually wronged. That’s a problem. If exploitation of the photos for sexual and economic gratification was (and is) a problem, then exploitation of the leaks for support of various sociopolitical stances is also a problem. I do not have standing to be more upset about these leaks than the women whose privacy was violated. If they’re done with this, then I’m done with it.

If we want to live in a society where those who want to be photographed privately in the nude can do so without fear of public censure, I think we need to make that commitment to society today. If we want to live in a world where that kind of self-expression doesn’t cause such a furor, then we need to stop with the furor. We need to stop gawking. We need to stop judging. We need to stop searching and clicking and pointing fingers.

We do need to stop theft by punishing thieves, yes. But how much more is really necessary?

Please, let’s devote our energies this week to doing something sexy. Please?

And follow Lady Smut. It’s safe here. Promise.

Sexy Saturday Round-Up

By Liz Everly and the Lady Smut Bloggers

Hello, Sexy! Happy Saturday! The Lady Smut Bloggers have your reading pleasure covered—from sex myths to sex secrets and skinny-shaming and revenge porn. We curate the best for you, our loyal readers.

From Liz Everly:

Successful women authors—a different expectation? 

Skinny shaming by Nicki?

Nine sex myths that can hurt your relationship.

From Elizabeth:

Nightmares of the internet age. One woman’s experience with revenge porn.

Some stuff you should keep to yourself – like these sex secrets.

Bring the butterflies back to your relationship – seven easy ways.

Wow, not sure what to think of this. Meet a woman who’s crowdfunding her abortion.

From Alexa:

I didn’t need convincing, but here are six reasons to cozy up to a ginger.

What happened to ladies first? Check out the long and winding road to simultaneous orgasm.

To steal a phrase from superstitious sports fans: Your turn-on is only weird if it doesn’t work.

From C. Margery Kempe:

Turn your to-do list into a heroic quest.

10 Female Gangsters

Vintage pics of women and their motorcycles

Stay Hungry,

Liz

From Madeline:

10 surprising ways that sex improves your health from WebMD

NYTimes says Representation for Women In Movies is Improving. True that.

You love the alpha male in romances –but would you want to work with him? Tips for Dealing with a Dominating Personality Type. (Notice the assumption that this person is in charge…)

Sexier than James Bond?

by C. Margery Kempe

My alter egos seem to often do better than my given name — probably because they’re very genre focused and a ‘consistent platform’ is definitely advantageous. One of the first things I wrote when I jumped into the erotic romance genre was Chastity Flame. I really did want to write a female James Bond — or rather, an updated Modesty Blaise.

Just when you thought Chastity Flame couldn’t get any more gorgeous — well, she does! Look at the shiny new print editions from Tirgearr with those ginchy wrap around covers by the ever fabulous S. L. Johnson AKA The Queen of Everything. So if you’ve been holding out on the ebook revolution (why? oh why?) now you can get Chas’ first three adventures in lovely old-fashioned print.

Will there be more adventures from the sexy secret agent? Ask Lady Fleming  ;-)

“Step aside, 007, and make room for Chastity Flame. Ms. Flame outwits, out-spies and definitely out-sexes James Bond in this rollicking, witty and exceptionally well-written erotic spy thriller. If you’re a fan of British media, look for the in-jokes. If you’re not, there’s more than enough humor, action and hot sex to satisfy any lover of romantic suspense!” ~ Dana Fredsti

“I was very pleased to find that book two in the Chastity Flame series was to be released. I really enjoyed book one, the humour and its uniqueness . . . Lush Situation is no exception to this rule. Chastity is on another adventure, this time investigating human trafficking and prostitution, which brings her to a newly opened club in London. It has the author’s signature humour, skilful writing and intriguing plot. More please, Ms. Laity! ~ Lucy Felthouse

“Londoners (and the world) beware! How can you not be drawn into the fire by a beautiful but lethal dame by the name of Chastity Flame? K.A. Laity has been proving for quite some time now that her noir prose ranks right up there with the likes of Meg Abbott, Dorothy B. Hughes, and Sara Paretsky. A Cut-Throat Business only further solidifies her standing as a contemporary master of the genre.” ~ Vincent Zandri, bestselling author of The Innocent, Moonlight Rises, and The Remains

Buy them here for $8.99 (sale price — they’ll eventually go up to $9.99).

And follow Lady Smut here as well as on Facebook and Twitter. we’re watching you ;-)

Beyond Repair: The Charlotte Stein Crush Continues

by Madeline Iva

Girl in beach house winds up with a dripping wet famous movie star on her carpet.  

Don’t you just hate it when that happens?

Movie star tried to o.d. and failed, and our heroine needs to tend to him – fix him up, and help him find some peace. Oh, but she has secrets, big secrets, and her need for peace is as great as his.

Thus we start off the story BEYOND REPAIR by Charlotte Stein.

Beyond Repair

Click to buy.

Sweet gods of erotic romance, thank you for Charlotte Stein.

You’d never ever know it, but having been reassured as a tween that I was really quite hideous, as a young woman I fell upon the briars of insecurity and bled a-plenty. Would I ever confess to a guy that I liked him? No. I’d sooner cut off my big toe. Then start hacking away at the other one.

I lived that experience but as a writer I now understand how horribly difficult it is to convey it in fiction–without wanting to smack the heroine upside the head.  Who wants to read about someone who constantly shoots herself down? Blerg! How she does it I don’t know, but Charlotte Stein perfectly nails this kind of character.  We are hanging onto her journey every second of the way.

If for some strange reason, you’d never read an erotic romance before, I’d recommend starting with Stein’s book RESTRAINT.  Then I’d follow it up with this book, BEYOND REPAIR.  Then I’d recommend reading everything else she’s ever written.

Both RESTRAINT and BEYOND REPAIR qualify as New Adult erotic romance –and I have to say I don’t mind the innocent breath of fresh air that Stein manages to pair with some unrestrained hot sex.  Because her characters have grown up enduring an ugly mean world, they have also internalized that ugly, and they think they are beyond being loved or being beautiful.

Sheltered

Click to buy.

There’s only one remedy for such a situation.  Boy sees girl, boy is deeply attracted to girl, and boy tells girl immediately so she knows where she stands.  This is what an insecure girl needs.  Insta-acceptance.  Having no composure around men, she’s not ready for the sophisticated game where a guy shows interest and then hangs back and waits for the woman to make a positive playful sign herself.  Insecure girls have no game.  They are play challenged.  Flirting? What’s that? Insecure girls need to step onto the rock solid security of acceptance and live there for awhile basking in the sincere affections of a good guy.  It’s a kind of romance therapy that heals the soul from the inside out.

It’s a kind of all-in behavior that also is compatible with uninhibited sex. Because the insecure girl’s own inner jail often protects her from experience, when she does finally start having sex, she’s often passionate and curious, and lacking all caution.

In BEYOND REPAIR, Stein is also talking about people who look for their fantasies in movies.  Our heroine is deeply startled to meet her fantasy in real life.  Yet it turns out she’s had her own brush with notoriety.  She understands someone trying to escape attention, and how soul crushing it is to have a multi-billion dollar industry sucking the life out of one.

So here’s to the funny world of funny super-fans.  Below is an homage to Mel, from the TV show FLIGHT OF THE CONCHORDS—played by the brilliant Kristen Schaal.  Mel is a lone super-fan/ stalker who follows around a geeky New Zealand music duo.

Follow us around, readers, by hitting the follow button.  We already think you’re super!

 

 

Wrath Of The Critic

By Elizabeth Shore

My latest release, Hot Bayou Nights, has officially been out for almost two months now. Although it’s gotten some nice reviews on Amazon, the truth is that it’s with a sense of trepidation when I check to see if any new ones have been added. (And yes, I know I shouldn’t be doing it at all). I’d like more good reviews, sure, because all authors want to get the word out on their books. But the emphasis here is on good reviews. What I fear, even more than a shortage of Ben and Jerry’s peanut butter cup or the release of a new song from Miley Cyrus, is the whip-lash sting of an vengeful critic.

Receiving an angry, bitter, or viciously sarcastic review can leave the recipient feeling as if they’ve been kicked in the gut by a crazed mule. The nasty reviews stay with us, too, much more so than the positive ones. Scientists label it the “negativity bias.” It’s been hardwired into our brains since caveman days when living depended upon remembering what could kill you. Thus, the bad stuff sticks.

What stumps me about critics who post scathing reviews is where the breathtaking bitterness comes from. I mean, really, why be so spiteful? What’s even worse is when an ill-natured review gets personal. Former New York magazine theater critic John Simon was famous for the vituperative diatribes he wrote when he disliked a play, but he took things too far when he attacked the actors personally. This, for example, is what he wrote about Barbra Streisand’s nose: “[it] cleaves the giant screen from east to west,” and “zigzags across our horizon like a bolt of fleshy lightning.” What, exactly, would be the point behind that? How does it relate to her performance? Where does the viciousness come from? Some would chalk it up to jealousy, but I’m not buying it. As biting as his criticisms were, Simon could be just as effusive with his praise. So if he’s just a frustrated wanna be actor, as some would have you believe as the reason for his surliness, why laud anyone at all?

Many writers, those in romance particularly, are familiar with last year’s saga of debut author Lauren Howard. For those who happened to have missed it, Howard was about to self publish Learning to Love when, before it even came out, she began receiving poor reviews on goodreads.com. As a newbie to the site Howard questioned how this could happen prior to the book’s release, and the response was what she described as a form of virtual bullying. One reviewer is said to have claimed that she’d rather be sodomized in prison than read Howard’s book. The whole incident so distressed Lauren that she never published Learning to Love. It also launched an anti-bullying site in response, stopthegrbullies.com.

As authors we need to have four-feet-of-rebar thick skin. Not everyone is going to like our books, and they’re not going to be afraid to tell us. We have to deal with it. Get out of the kitchen if you can’t stand the heat. Free speech is a beautiful thing and those of us in the western world are blessed with the right to use it. Nonetheless, what shouldn’t ever have to be tolerated is the personal attack. Not everything is fair game for the critic. The product we put out, sure. The fact that maybe we could afford to shed a few pounds, or that we come from a poor family? Unless those facts relate to the product, I say no way. And to the bitter critic I would add, have you considered a course on positive affirmation?

P.S. I’m pleased to announce that Hot Bayou Nights has recently been named a finalist in the New Jersey RWA Golden Leaf contest. Now that’s what I call a good review. :-)

The South’s never been hotter. Click it and see.

 

 

 

 

Liz Everly is on Vacation (Not in France, but Still…)

Wish it was here:

But alas, I am visiting family in Maryland and Pennsylvania.

I’m happy to leave you with some reading.

Here’s five of my blog posts you might have missed.

A Little Spanking with my Room Service, please. Sex Tourism.

Blog to Book and Book Expo America

The Lingerie Question: Short? Kinky? Elegant? Nothing?

Lusting after “Vincent”

Interview with a Romance Cover Model

In the mean time, don’t forget to subscribe to Lady Smut!

 

 

 

Happy Labor Day!

Happy Labor Day from all of us here at Lady Smut!

Happy First of the Month too!

May you spend your day doing absolutely no labor at all! Enjoy!!

Come on. Give those muscles a rest today.

Well, maybe just some of them…

 

Follow Lady Smut. We’re happy to let you do all the work.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It’s Soooo Thick: My Relationship with Great Big Books

By Alexa Day

The Memoirs of Cleopatra: A Novel

Click it and be seduced by the hefty goodness.

I remember the night I encountered Vincent Bugliosi’s Reclaiming History for the first time. At the time, I lived across the street from a big box bookstore. (I should say that’s not an ideal situation for someone with a book addiction. I should say that, but I’m not going to.) One night, as I was making my rounds from Romance to Erotica to Literature to the clearance shelves, I noticed Reclaiming History on the corner of its shelf.

It’s hard not to notice it, actually, because it’s a big book. The unabridged edition is about 1600 pages long. The endnotes are on a CD-ROM tucked into the back cover.

It was soooooo big. I had to have it.

I played it cool and strolled around the store for a while, pretending I wasn’t interested in it, but I didn’t really have a chance. I took that weighty tome home with me, and Bugliosi’s exhaustive treatment of the Kennedy assassination has kept me company ever since.

Reclaiming History is not my first Great Big Book, though. I have a history with them.

A Suitable Boy: A Novel (Modern Classics)

Click it if you want this nice, thick book on your lap.

I bought Vikram Seth’s A Suitable Boy because it was big. Sure, I looked at the jacket copy before I bought it. I played the same little game where I picked it up and put it back and walked around and picked it up again. But unlike my periodic dalliances with Bugliosi, Seth’s love story pulled me right in and wouldn’t let go. I turned the last page fully expecting to find more story. When there was none, I flipped back a few pages to make sure I hadn’t gotten a defective copy, something with blank pages where the end of the story should have been. What a strange feeling that was — after so much story, to want more of it. But that’s what a big book can do for you. I felt like I’d moved into A Suitable Boy the way a person moves into a house.

And there have been others. Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander Series was still just a trilogy of nice, hefty books when I encountered them in law school. I should have been reading all my neglected volumes of legal gravitas at the time, but the heart wants what it wants, and it did not much want contract law. The Memoirs of Cleopatra by Margaret George came later, when I needed to get lost in the tapestry of another woman’s history.

Today things have changed a little. I still have a couple of pretty big books around. Next to me right now are two books I bought because they were heavy for their size: Brad Meltzer’s The Book of Fate and Bernice Layton’s Mind Games. Wise purchases on my part – I’m enjoying both of them.

But I can’t sink into the giant books the way I used to. I don’t know if my day job is slowly destroying my attention span or if I’m not making enough sacred space in my life for reading or what. I’m learning to enjoy shorter works, but I certainly miss the Great Big Books. These days I daydream of an afternoon long enough to immerse myself in a long, long narrative. And maybe a little herd of employees to take care of the household while I’m reading.

I daydream big, too.

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