Liz Everly's Blog, page 126
May 2, 2014
Sexy Saturday Round-Up
By Liz Everly and the Lady Smut Bloggers
Happy Saturday, Sexy! check out some of the fascinating blog posts we’ve gathered for you.
From Liz Everly:
Prostitutes in 18th century Paris.
Exotic fruits you need to try.
What is your novel’s theme?
More on romance serials.
From Madeline Iva:
Hair Discrimination in the Army? Not on THIS woman’s Watch.
A slide show on Worshipping the Stiletto.
The new college graduation gift for women? Freezing your eggs. (Btw I had to laugh–poor Joanna Coles, obviously nervous & grim yet trying to smile whenever the camera points her way…)
Stay Hungry,
Liz
Romance and Young Readers
You may have heard that ‘New Adult’ is all the rage now, eclipsing even Young Adult; I don’t know about that. Marketing terms can be hard to parse exactly, but there’s no doubt about one thing: books aimed at younger readers are selling like hot cakes — and who doesn’t want to be young again? The appeal of romance to young readers is taken up by our guest, Kemberlee Shortland, writer of the Irish Pride series. She’s also head of one of my publishers, Tirgearr!
Take it away, Kem!
I was recently asked what age I thought was too young for reading romance novels. My first inclination was to say at least 16. But then I got to thinking, what was the first romance novel I read and how old was I? I started reading romance when I was 13 but really, it was probably earlier.
I distinctly remember buying my first romance novel and knowing it was romance. That was in 1981 when I was 16; the book was Highland Velvet by Jude Deveraux. I was an early reader though and thought romances were adventure stories. I can’t remember titles or authors prior to Deveraux, but I do remember being captivated by tales set on the high seas, wagons crossing the prairie, or epics taking place in far off places. I was a young woman on the brink of adulthood and where I’d previously ignored the intimate scenes of the characters, I was now intrigued by them.
The question of how old a girl should be before being allowed to read romances has long been asked. Friends who started reading romance at a young age say, “The sex? I just turned the pages until the next action scene started.” Secretly, we read the mushy stuff because we were all growing up. Sex was something we didn’t understand. We read romances to see how the whole boy-girl thing worked. Sex Ed classes were basic and focused on the physical rather than emotional. What romance did for young girls was introduce us to the emotional. We craved the knowledge of a real loving relationship. We giggled over the purple prose, but we were growing up, and we wanted boyfriends!
The publishing industry recognized this need in the market and started publishing books like Ann Brashares’s Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, Francine Pascal’s Sweet Valley High, Judy Blume, Jenny O’Connell . . . even V.C. Andrews. And more recently, Stephanie Meyer’s Twilight. These authors focus on relationships and emotional attachments of love while giving us great adventure.
So what age is too young for romance? Only a parent can answer that question, especially romance with graphic sex. But if you ask me, given a choice of books about love or war, the adventure of life over quests filled with horror, I’ll pick love and adventure every time.
And secretly, I still giggle over the purple prose — even when I’m writing them!
What was your first romance?
Irish Pride Series
Available April 2014
Don’t forget to follow the Lady Smut team: we’ll keep you abreast of things ;-)
May 1, 2014
Fast Balls: Q&A with Mindy Klasky
How are his fast balls? ;>
By Madeline Iva
Hey yo! Just stuffing my face with creme-O’s at 8:20 am. Today we’ve got Mindy Klasky in the house. She’s got a series about baseball players and babes, so let’s dish.
Reigning beauty queen Samantha Winger is launching her pet project, a music program for kids. All she has to do is follow the pageant’s rules—no smoking, drinking, or “cavorting” in public.
That’s fine, until D.J. Thomas—God’s gift to baseball—throws her a wild pitch. He slams her in an interview, and the video goes viral. Sam’s no shrinking violet. She parlays D.J.’s apology into a national T.V. appearance—and a very unexpected, very public kiss.
Soon, paparazzi catch the couple in a steamy make-out session, and Sam’s music program is on the block. The blazing hot relationship is threatened even more when D.J.’s son begs to trade in Little League for music class.
Can Sam and D.J. sizzle past the sour notes and find their perfect pitch?
MADELINE IVA: Let’s talk about your Diamond Brides Series. I presume we’re talking baseball diamonds and not a Girl’s Best Friend? ;>
Players have lots of stamina…heh, heh.
MINDY KLASKY: We’re talking about both! When I first came up with the idea for the series, “diamond” certainly meant a square of green grass. But as I developed the individual stories, each one became the tale of a woman finding her true, life-long partner. And that sort of compatibility – in the bedroom, in the business world, wherever – seemed appropriate to reward with diamond engagement rings.
Oh. Wait. By “Girl’s Best Friend” were you talking about sex toys?
MADELINE IVA: Bah-hah. You wish. That’s next week’s post. ;>
MINDY KLASKY: Now I’m going to have to rethink the last few books in the series…
MADELINE IVA: What got you interested in writing a series that’s sports related?
MINDY KLASKY: At first blush, I’m the last person in the world who would write sports-related books. I was always the last person chosen on school sports teams, I have terrible hand-eye coordination, and I’ve never learned to love any organized sport (on the field, anyway).
But my husband is an avid baseball fan. And once I started watching games with him, I realized that baseball offered up a pool of sexy, confident men who were among the 750 best in the world at their chosen career. And that started to sound an awful lot like the beginnings of a great romance series.
(And let’s face it. An athlete is naturally going to be aware of his body, of all the things he can do with it. Plus, he’ll have a hell of a lot of stamina…)
Steamy locker room shower scenes, please.
MADELINE IVA: Now I’ve got all these steamy locker room fantasies going on in my head. (Gotta love a steamy locker room fantasy.) So, I’m curious–there are baseball players and then there are baseball playahs. Which kind are your heroes?
MINDY KLASKY: My guys are all over the place. They range from a hot-headed first baseman who’s never considered being faithful to any woman longer than it takes to get her into bed (REACHING FIRST) to an older, wiser catcher who realizes he has to take special care of the woman who’s had a crush on him since she was a kid (CATCHING HELL).
That’s the joy of writing a series – you get to meet all sorts of guys. I’m so not a fan of playahs in the real world, but that just gives me ample inspiration for, um, punishing them in my books ::wicked grin::
MADELINE IVA: Whoo-cha! Feisty goreous women punishing hot-bodies athletic playahs in steamy locker rooms. I think I need a minute alone. *** Okay, I’m back. So, Mindy, you used to write paranormal – what made you switch from witch-y women to contemporary sports romances?
MINDY KLASKY: I enjoy experimenting with a wide variety of stories. My paranormal romances are relatively long (100,000 words), and they involve a lot of serious issues (women coming to trust themselves and their female friends and relatives as forces for good in the world around us.) Okay, they also involve some flirting, and some comic misunderstandings both magical and mundane, and food – all my books involve food.
MADELINE IVA: Never a bad thing.
Witcheh-ay woman, she’s got stars in her eye-eye-eye-eeeeeeyes!
MINDY KLASKY: But when I came up with the idea for Diamond Brides, I wanted to explore a different type of story. I wanted to write books that were sexy, where women could ask for and work for what they really want – in and out of the bedroom. I wanted to explore some hot relationships that were a lot more explicit than the ones my paranormal readers had come to expect. And Diamond Brides was the perfect place to do that exploration!
MADELINE IVA: I’m very interested in your book CATCHING HELL. DH is a huge fan of baseball and was glued to the set every night last summer. I started getting into it too with the help of Red Sox third baseman Jose Iglesias. (Check out my post on Baseball men here.) Then not even a week later Jose was traded! I was stunned. Betrayed. It’s a cold cruel world out there for baseball fans. How clever of you, then, to use a trade as a plot device.
MINDY KLASKY: I so understand your sense of betrayal! My introduction to baseball was through the Red Sox (my husband’s lifelong team). Let’s just say that the names of Johnny Damon and Jacoby Ellsbury are not mentioned in our house…
To some extent, the big, hulking men who are baseball stars can be traded at an owner’s whim, sold off to the highest bidder. And I’m just wicked enough to want to explore what that does to a guy’s ego…
In CATCHING HELL, Zach Ormond actually has a coveted no-trade clause – his team can’t trade him to anyone without his approval. But Anna Benson, the acting team owner must trade Zach, if she’s to keep her team in contention for the rest of the season. Anna considers it a personal challenge to see if she can make Zach waive his no-trade clause.
I heart paranormal romances that are also about food.
MADELINE IVA: Were you worried that your readers would feel betrayed as well?
MINDY KLASKY: With each of the Diamond Brides books, I worry that my readers will feel a bit betrayed – after all, I’m showing them a complex hero, with real issues and a complicated life on and off the field. And then, I match that hero with a woman who has the wherewithal to challenge him.
MADELINE IVA: What’s next, Mindy? :)
MINDY KLASKY: The Diamond Brides books will be published through November 2 – one new book on the first Sunday of every month. I have an idea for a series of hot, contemporary romance novels built around a small law firm and the lawyers who work there… So many ideas! Now I just need to find the time to write those books!
MADELINE IVA: So funny that you mention lawyers. I have a trilogy proposal on my editor’s desk and one of these books deals with a lawyer/small law firm situation too. Brilliant minds, eh? Maybe we’re the start a new ‘Lawyers in Love’ romance trend. ;>
Hey Jose, need me to massage your stress fracture? Let’s go into that steamy locker room shower…
Well, my hungry little readers–I’m going to go sugar crash on the couch while re-watching Fever Pitch. You, meanwhile, might want to click on these links and buy these wonderful books:
CATCHING HELL
and
REACHING FIRST
Meanwhile, if you’re ready to go to third base with Lady Smut follow us & git your fresh smelling, ever lovin’ blog posts 7 days a week. xo
April 29, 2014
Couples Who Read Together …
Hey Sexies! I’m out of town this week so I’ve pulled up a post I wrote about a year and a half ago for all those who may have missed it the first time around. See you next week. xoxo
I have a good girlfriend who told me once that she and her boyfriend enjoyed reading passages from my historical erotic novella to each other as a prelude to lovemaking. She said reading to each other like that really got them in the mood for some good time fun. I was flattered – and happy to be of service! – but it also got me thinking about readers of erotic romance and the differences between the girls and the guys.
My assumption, and I dare say it’s likely a proven fact, is that the majority of erotic romance readers are women. The stories are written (largely) by women with the target readers being women. It works because women know what turns them on and write the steamy scenes knowing it will turn their readers on, too. There are variances, of course. Some women love the soft roses and candles kind of lovemaking while others squeal with delight when their guy has his way with them up against the wall. The talented writers out there still know their readers and know how to please them. But is erotic romance interchangeable? Do men read it? And would women enjoy reading erotic romance targeted for guys? I had a male friend once read a steamy section of one of my manuscripts. While he certainly seemed to enjoy reading it, his verdict at the end was that it was clearly written for a woman. Well, yeah. But I would argue mightily that plenty of female writers out there could whip out a story that would leave their male readers panting throughout.
Ellora’s Cave has a section on its site called EC For Men. Each of the covers shows a scantily clad female (men are visual, after all), and – unless the writers are actually men using female names – appear to be written by women. My question is, are men reading them or are women? I for one am going to download a few of them (for research purposes, naturally), and in a future post will give you my verdict. I can already say that I’m intrigued by the concept and I’d love it if a male reader out there would share his viewpoint as well.
Perhaps the conclusion is that we all just like reading hot stuff no matter who the intended audience, which is A-OK by me.
Happy Hump Day, Everyone!
April 28, 2014
Sizzling Serials
By Liz Everly
One of the exciting markets wide open for writers is serial fiction. Serial fiction has ebbed and flowed in popularity over the decades—but the internet and digital publishing have really enhanced things further. Publishing a series of stories that are linked or a novel that leaves your reader hanging on and wanting more is a great way to engage with your readers and to stay in touch with them between books. One of the things my readers want? More books—and yet, even if I could write them faster, my publisher can’t publish them any faster.
Some writers are publishing stories for free on platforms like Wattpad, gathering interest in numbers. The idea behind it, of course, is the same as the freebie books offered on Amazon, BookBub and so on. If readers like your free stuff, they will buy your other books. That has worked for a lot of writers. Will it continue to work? It remains to be seen.
But for Hannah Jayne the author of a paranormal romance series, the “Underworld Detective Series “, as well as young adult thriller novels, Wattpad has been amazing.
Sourcebooks, the publisher of her YA books “Truly, Madly, Deadly” and “See Jane Run,” helped to set her up on it. For See Jane Run, they published a chapter a week before the release of the book. For free. She’s not sure yet how this is translating to sales but she’s had close to 2 million reads on Wattpad and fans write her daily and tell her they read her stuff there, but bought the book anyway. She’s also had fans come to signings who knew her from Wattpad.
Hannah Jayne loves the platform. ” I’m crazy about it and the fan interaction is invaluable. Spurned ideas for my next two books,” she said.
I’ve not dipped my toes into the Wattpad water—I’ve only looked around a bit. It seems invaluable for certain types of fiction—young adult, primarily. I did not see any erotic romance, but I’m going to check into it further.
Where I have dipped my toes is into publishing serials on Amazon. Like almost all of my publishing forays, it’s going well, but slower than I had hoped. I published the first of my series awhile back and now, I’ve published the second one in the EIGHT LAYS AROUND THE WORLD series. This one is set in Hong Kong, with a gorgeous Asian man on the cover. (We’ve talked about the lack of Asian men in romance here and here on Lady Smut and I just wanted to do my part. Grin.)
I’m offering it for free from now to the end of the week. So take advantage of it—this one is very short. And if you’re into YA, check out Hannah Jayne’s work. I’m a big fan of her “Underworld Detective Series. ” Young women characters that kick ass, anyone? Unfortunately, Hannah Jayne doesn’t write erotic romance–yet. Wink.
Have any of you played around with Wattpad? Or published serials?
April 27, 2014
How I Learned to Love the Bard
by Kiersten Hallie Krum
William Shakespeare’s official birthday (though the actual date is not known for sure) was last week. He looks good for being 450 years old.
I came late to appreciating Shakespeare and spent my high-school years and some of college wondering what the hell the big deal was about such convoluted language and pretentious posturing on the stage. I saw it; I read it. I just didn’t “get it”.
Tho never shalt hear herald anymore
And then came Kenneth Brannagh’s Henry V during my sophomore year of undergrad and for the first time, Shakespeare became more than just something to be endured. Brannagh’s Henry took the material down from loftier “forsooth” and “verily” places of exact pronunciation and prestigious poses. Instead it was viscerally real, deeply emotional, included a few moments of romantic comedy— “Can any of your neighbors tell, Kate? I’ll ask them”—and resonated with great risk for questionable reward.
Much of my fondness for this play comes out of Brannagh’s and Emma Thompson’s performances, true, but therein lies the point: Shakespeare is meant to be experienced, to be performed, if it’s to really resonate. I don’t think I’ve ever laughed as hard at anything as I did the first time I saw Twelfth Night but reading it alone doesn’t illicit the same response. Even so, there wasn’t a switch that flipped when I first saw Henry V; it took several viewings for me to understand all that went on and once a line by line reading of the text while I watched the movie. I still struggled with the language and much of the convoluted plot points and why what was happening when. But in my gut, I finally Got It. And then came Brannagh’s Much Ado About Nothing and I Really Got It.
You have witchcraft in your lips.
I’ll never be a Shakespeare scholar—my one bout of serious study on the matter was while a student at Oxford and resulted in the lowest grade of my short tenure there—but I’ve come not only to love the language but to reveal in it. It is rich and meaty, a tangle of lexicon I delight in unraveling to limited comprehension, I’m sure. In learning to love Shakespeare, I learned to celebrate the richness of language and its many complexities and that has colored how I speak and write ever since.
I gravitate toward the comedies and the tragedies before the romances because Shakespeare’s idea of romance and women mostly reflects the time he lived in when marriage was a bargain between two houses and women second-class citizens at best. I find that his best representations of love aren’t found among the Romeos and Juliets, but rather in the B stories of other plays where he habitually depicts clever women of great strength.
Princess Katharine’s role may be small and short, but she’s key to the political proceedings and Henry is smart enough to recognize this. He makes her hand in marriage a nonnegotiable part of the peace. Katharine has no choice in these decisions that direct her life, she’ll go and marry where and to whom she’s told, but she still makes Henry work for her acquiescence. More, knowing her value, he pursues her for it.
Unhappy as I am, I cannot heave my heart into my mouth. I love your majesty according to my bond, no more no less.
—Cordelia, King Lear, Act 1, Scene 1
Though there are more ladies in King Lear than are in Henry V, Cordelia in has the least time on stage and on the page and yet she has enormous impact. She knows her father curies adoration he has not earned by holding his kingdom as ransom against his daughters’ protestations of love. She’s afraid; she can see what’s coming. She watches her sisters pontificate and lie and sees them gain for it and knows she cannot possibly do the same.
Why have my sisters husbands if they say they love you all? Haply when I shall wed that lord whose hand must take my plight shall carry half my love with him, half my care and duty. Sure, I shall never marry like my sisters, to love my father all.
It’s not a decision she makes lightly either. Cordelia knows the risks. She will almost certainly lose her father and her place at court and with that, she’ll most likely lose her royal fiancé, the King of France. She could lose any chance of having even a roof over her head much less a head still on her shoulders. A fickle king such as her father won’t hesitate to punish the insult to his pride and repent later. But Cordelia won’t play Lear’s game no matter the cost. When finally her father challenges her, she speaks the truth, literally risking it all rather than prop his ego up with more lies for profit.
Her fiancé could’ve turned against her as she’s disinherited. Instead, he takes her to safety, marries her, and later provides the army by which she eventually comes to her father’s (thwarted) rescue. Cordelia pays for her honest love with her life (naturally; it is Shakespeare after all) but not before she’s restored to her now-penniless father’s grace as, in his madness, Lear learns the truth of things (as so often happens) as elder daughters Regan and Goneril scheme and betray him.
But then there was a star danced, and under that was I born. —Beatrice, Much Ado About Nothing, Act 2 Scene 1
There are so many things to love about Beatrice and so much about Much Ado About Nothing that is pure gold. This line is one of my favorites. It comes after Beatrice has refused the duke’s sincerely offered hand in marriage. Her frankness and honesty are deeply valued by the disappointed duke as she playfully eases the sting of her rejection by saying that he is “too costly to wear every day.”
Your grace is too costly to wear every day.
After excusing that she was “born to speak all mirth and no matter,” Beatrice settles into silence. The duke chides her for her late-placed reticence in his presence, claiming that “to be merry best becomes you for out of question, you were born in a happy hour.” Beatrice counters that, in fact, her mother cried when she was born, “but then there was a star danced, and under that was I born.”
Beatrice’s fierce honesty is so much a part of her makeup. She does not suffer fools, not even when she’s in love with one. She is unquestionably secure in herself and needs not a man to make her whole. “Well niece, I hope to one day see you fitted with a husband,” her uncle lectures. Beatrice immediately replies:
Not till God make men of some other metal than earth.
Would it not grieve a woman to be overmastered with a piece of valiant dust? To make an account of her life to a clod of wayward marl? No, uncle, I’ll none. Adam’s sons are my brethren, and truly I hold it a sin to match in my kindred.
I would not deny you, but, by this good day, I yield upon great persuasion, and partly to save your life, for I was told you were in a consumption.
Indeed, Benedict is her equal, not her conqueror, and it is only after he recognizes and concedes that fact that they are able to reach their happy ending, and they reach it without Beatrice compromising herself or her nature to get there.
A few years ago, I discovered When Love Speaks, a CD of renowned British actors and musicians reading and sometimes singing Shakespeare sonnets and other snippets from the canon. While I’ve never seen or read The Tempest (yet), this bit from the demon Caliban, read by actor Joseph Fiennes, ends with this quote that speaks to every dreamer.
“And then in dreaming, the clouds methought would open and show riches ready to drop upon me that when I waked, I cried to dream again.”
Happy Birthday, Shakespeare. Thanks for teaching me to love the music of words.
Follow Lady Smut. We’ll teach you to love all kinds of things.
Mouthy and Marvelous for #NoBareLips30
My hero, Grace Jones, wearing Whatever The Hell She Pleases on her lips.
By Alexa Day
Midnight Stroll. Revolution. Rise and Shine. Mistress. Scott.
They’re all names of lipsticks and lip glosses. Even Scott, who’s a nude from the e.l.f. Ex-tra Lip Gloss line.
I’ll be getting better acquainted with all of them and more in the next few weeks for #NoBareLips30. For the next 30 days, I’ll be taking to Facebook with photos of my mouth in various lip colors to celebrate my personal concept of beauty, to inspire other women to expand their beauty horizons, and to honor the memory of Karyn Washington.
In the face of critics who complained that dark-skinned black women shouldn’t wear red lipstick, Karyn started the #DarkSkinRedLip Project. She asked women of color to send pictures of themselves proudly wearing red lip color. Her goal was to inspire women of color to rock their own beauty choices, without fear of criticism and without bowing to stereotypes.
Blogger Keiko Kaveri also embraced the cause with #NoBareLips30, encouraging women of color to take on their stash of lipsticks and lip stains and lip glosses and spend a month experimenting with them. The idea is to restore the sense of fun and possibility to something as simple as lipstick. For the next 30 days, lipstick won’t just be for dates or special occasions. Purple will be a viable option. That scandalous red color, previously earmarked for late-night assignations and underground parties, might make an appearance on a weekday.
Maybe we’ll discover something new. Maybe we’ll decide never to wear the purple again. Maybe nothing different will happen. But we’ll play and experiment for 30 days, and then we’ll know for sure.
Karyn’s work was geared toward women of color, but I think women of every color sometimes allow vocal, misinformed criticism to dictate their beauty choices. Even the most confident women sometimes look in the mirror and wonder if they can actually pull off that one daring look. This project encourages us to try, and it encourages us to encourage others by doing so.
I also want to briefly address the notion that it is somehow unfeminist to get this wrapped up in makeup. My particular brand of feminism is about choice. At the very least, it’s about your choice to do what you want with your appearance. It means we can choose the plain lip gloss or a subtle pink or something like Mistress, but as feminists, I think we must choose that for ourselves. I think that allowing other people — even other feminists — to make that decision for you is as unfeminist as making that decision for other people.
#NoBareLips30 starts tomorrow, on April 28, so there’s still time for you to join up. You’ll need to gather up your lipsticks and glosses, and the goal is to have at least a red color, a pink, a nude, and a fun color. If you’re feeling unsettled about wearing one of those colors, this is your chance to go for it! You won’t know until you try.
There’s a schedule you can choose to follow if you’d like. There are participation guidelines you can choose to follow if you’d like. And if you’d like, you can see all the fun on social media under the hashtag #NoBareLips30. Check out Keiko’s post for all the details.
Pucker up, buttercup! And follow Lady Smut. We’ll never give you the kiss-off.
April 25, 2014
Sexy Saturday Round-Up
By Liz Everly and the Lady Smut Bloggers
Hello Sexy! Happy Saturday?! Are you taking it easy? Or are you a party animal? Maybe you can do both–check out the post by Terri Osburn about Facebook parties. In the mean time, you may be wondering what to do with your kitty or what foods are best for sex. Are you worried about confidence? We’ve got you covered. Check out our round-up.
From Liz Everly:
How TV Sex Fails Us
Foods for sex. (You know I love this one!)
How to have a Facebook Party. (By party animal Terri Osburn!)
From C. Margery Kempe:
Is literary fiction just clever marketing?
Win chocolate and a copy of the novel White Rabbit if you know any rabbit jokes.
Special desk to keep your kitties occupied while you work.
How the duties of writers have grown exponentially while their pay recedes.
From Madeline Iva:
This Atlantic Monthly article discusses The Confidence Gap women face and how it can cripple success.
Got Confidence? Take this Quiz and see how you score.
Kat Perkins’ performance of Magic Man on The Voice this week was a hit but here’s the awesome original version of MAGIC MAN performed by Heart. So 70′s it hurts.
Stay Hungry,
Liz
P.S. Please don’t forget to subscribe. Come on. You know you want to.
Character Flaws
I’m turning the blog over to my alter ego K. A. Laity today to talk about the hero of her novel White Rabbit and the appeal of the flawed character. I’ve blogged before about ‘likability’ in a character, but how many flaws is enough? How many are too many? Take it away, Kate –
There’s a dismissive term, Mary Sue, used in the SFF world to describe impossibly virtuous characters that are assumed to just be the author inserted, flaws scrubbed away in a wish-fulfilling fantasy. Not surprisingly, it’s often gendered in its use (*cough* Conan, John Carter, just about ever pulp hero).
I find flawed characters much more fun: for one thing, flaws make conflict that much easier and conflict is the motor of a story. Most of us have good intentions but we’re easily tempted by easy outs or short cuts. Characters who are too good just aren’t believable.
In my new supernatural crime novel, White Rabbit, the main character James Draygo is haunted — literally. He has a death on his conscience but he also has an ability to communicate with the dead — an ability he has done his best to avoid for a long time. He’s done all kinds of things to block it out including his abuse of a certain substance he refers to as ‘dust’ but he continues to work as a fake psychic, as if to further denigrate his real gifts.
Then two women come into his life and upend it.
The first is a trashy socialite named Peaches who gets gunned down at his tapping table, which of course puts the blame on him. The second is Helen Saunders, who bails him out of jail. He mistakes her for a lackey from his legal representative at first, but discovers she’s a journalist investigating Peaches’ husband, an unscrupulous media mogul.
There’s a spark of attraction between these two unlikely people meeting under far from ideal circumstances. Saunders rescues him from a holding cell, but his troubles are just beginning. Draygo wants to sink back into the oblivion of his life, but the woman reappears. Here’s the scene where that first spark gets awkwardly revealed:
Looking at the light filtered through the curtains I would guess it wasn’t much more than eleven. And probably the same day. It wasn’t that bad after all. I was pleased to see Jinx had the hot water heating already and started my bath running. For a moment I thought I could smell peaches but doubtless it had been only an illusion. Was there a word for an illusion of smell? Nasal illusion? No, what’s the word? I needed to recharge the nasal passages anyway and pulled open the drawer next to the bed. Ah, cornucopia.
I lay in the warm waters in bliss. Nothing as restorative as a nice hot bath. Well, a nice hot bath with chemical enhancements. And I could hear Jinx’s step in the hall, doubtless bringing me some caffeine as well: good man.
Olfactory illusions, that was the word. I could smell the coffee before it arrived and it gave me a shudder of pleasurable anticipation. ‘Jinxy, I have been looking forward to your magic beans.’
‘I’m glad to hear it.’
My eyes popped open and I splashed helplessly. ‘You can’t come in here!’ My voice screeched a little with unexpected alarm.
‘Nothing I haven’t seen before, Mr. Draygo,’ she said, balancing the mug on the tray with the soap and sponge. ‘We need to talk.’
‘I’m having a bath here, in case you haven’t noticed,’ I said, trying in vain to cover up my unmentionables.
‘I’ll look the other way,’ she said, chuckling, which did not endear her to me. Crossing over to the window, she made a show of staring out it, which was a bit difficult given the textured glass and all.
‘Who are you anyway,’ I asked reaching for the mug and taking a good gulp of it. Ah, bless your craggy heart Jinxy! The only thing better than his java was a cup of his java with a little kick of scotch. Almost made me feel human again which is to say, curious now. ‘And why did you spring me?’
‘I’m working on exposing Dockmuir and I want to know what happened before you get all cagey with legal counsel and whatnot.’ She held her elbows in her hands, close against her body despite the heat of the bathroom.
‘Journo, eh?’ I took another gulp and let it burn its way down my throat. My brain began to wake up. ‘Trying to take him down from the inside?’
She laughed, a short bark without too much humour in it. ‘Yeah, I work for the rags. You know, for a washed-up has-been, addled by too many abused substances you’re quick off the mark.’
‘Washed up? Says who?’
‘Most accounts of your brilliant career. Teaming up with Psychic Sally next?’ I could hear the smirk in her voice. She seemed less tense, too, releasing the grip on her arms and leaning against the sill instead. It gave me a chance to notice the rest of her. Clad in a sensible grey suit, the tailoring didn’t really enhance the fact that she had a nice form, but there wasn’t much that could conceal a fact like that for long. Was she really a journo? My experience with the species generally skewed more toward pear-shaped nail chewers of the grizzled variety but maybe that was the crime beat.
‘I have a booming and, might I add, legitimate business, at least when it’s not being interrupted by trashy socialites who insist upon getting snuffed at my table.’ I was moving back toward irritable although I had to say there was a lot to enjoy in the view before I left curious. A little more caffeine woke up the rest of my corpse and I realised I was going to need to hide my nether regions again. ‘What paper are you with?’
‘I have a broad portfolio. No one can afford to work for just one paper anymore. Get with the 21, Draygo.’
‘I like things fine back in thenineteenth, where women were women and men were men.’
‘And everyone died of cholera or tuberculosis,’ she said turning around to stare me down.
A contest I lost immediately. ‘Hey, turn back around. I’m still naked here.’
‘I see.’ She smirked. I shriveled a little.
‘What’s your name anyway?’ I said to cover my embarrassment. ‘I usually like to know the name of people who interrogate me in my bathtub.’
‘Helen Saunders. I’d shake hands but—’
‘Yeah, all right. Well, here’s the deal. Let me finish my ablutions while you go get Jinxy to rustle us up a full English—’
‘I don’t want a full English.’
‘Well, I do. We can talk over brekkie. I refuse to say another word until then.’ I crossed my arms over my chest.
She stared at me, but slowly cracked a smile. I was right. She had nice lips. Reluctantly she walked to the door. ‘Don’t forget to wash behind your ears.’ Laughing she closed the door behind her.
Bloody woman.
Is he too damaged to follow through on this attraction? Can he believe in himself enough to find out more about this intriguing woman? And who is Saunders after all? Is she just using him to get to a good story? You’ll have to read the novel to find out.
Win chocolate and a copy of the novel White Rabbit if you know any rabbit jokes.
April 24, 2014
Man Giz & Rock Star Romance Research: Q&A with Carlene Love Flores
Clive Owen and Monica Bellucci having sex in SHOOT ‘EM UP. Monica is a call girl who caters to a very special clientele.
MADELINE IVA: Carlene, what’s the most shocking thing you’ve ever written about?
CARLENE LOVE FLORES: Hi! Oh! This is interesting timing that you’ve asked me this as I just recently found out erotic lactation is not the sexy, romantic fantasy I imagined it being! I’m enough of a newbie not to have known it was taboo when I submitted a short hot mess with that as the main theme.
MADELINE IVA: My first involuntary response is ‘Ew.’
But if you followers out there are suddenly panting over the idea, I will refer you to a really puerile Clive Owen movie called SHOOT ‘EM UP which does contain the suggestion of lactation sex. (Why do I even mention this horrible film??? A: because I don’t like to suffer alone. and B: while Clive Owen can be sexy as hell, at heart he’s a total goofball. This movie proves it.)
The blogger in me, however gives you double plus points for starting off ANY INTERVIEW ON PLANT EARTH by referencing erotic lactation. I mean, you’ve definitely got my full attention. Go Carlene. Gold star.
Do we always separate sexy & babies in this MILF age?
CARLENE LOVE FLORES: I completely understood the decision to pass on it but it did get me thinking… a woman can ingest man giz but a man taking breast milk is a no-no. Why?? I asked hubby and his best answer was, “Breast milk signifies life.” Which of course made me think, “So do sperm!” I’m really curious to know what you think about this. Is there a gross factor and why am I not grossed out by it? What’s wrong with me, Madeline????
MADELINE IVA: I don’t know, Carlene. I do know I shall from now on refer to ejaculate as man giz. ;>
Seriously, people fall all over the map on the topic of what’s sexy vs. what’s gross. You’re out there–way out there, and yet your logic is pretty flawless. I think the opposition would suggest breast milk is for babies, and thinking about babies in relation to sex is gross. Yet some would disagree–essentially equating fertility with sexy. Do we always separate sexy & babies in this MILF age? For instance there’s that moment where you’re having such amazing sex that you compulsively scream out ‘I want your baby!’ You know?
But enough about sex and babies. So, Sin Pointe – how did you come up with this community?
Sin Pointe, somewhere near Buggscuffle Tennessee
CARLENE LOVE FLORES: I knew there were already hot romances out there chronicling the bad boys of rock n roll. I decided I wanted my books to be about the whole rock family and not necessarily their life on stage. In the Sin Pointe series, you’ll find stories about the jaded personal assistant, the quirky webmaster, the ambitious opening act and yes, the bad boys of the band too. They just won’t be sexing it up on a tour bus because I thought it would be fun to pluck them up out of Rock Star, California and plop them down in tiny, out of the way towns like Bugscuffle, Tennessee…where they are free to romp around in the buff, get into loads of naughty trouble and yes, sex it up quite a bit. They’re just more likely to do it by a creek or at Grandma’s.
MADELINE IVA: What draws you to write about rock n roll singers? Has your research revealed any interesting tid-bits about ‘the life’? Or is it sheer boredom that leads bands into sin?
CARLENE LOVE FLORES: Watching a grown man get lost in a song on stage, seeing the child come alive and battle it out with the cool guy. As a woman, I see the complete vulnerability that I don’t think the man is even aware of while he’s playing and singing. Does Caleb from Kings of Leon understand how sensual it is when he sings about getting head while he’s driving? I honestly don’t think so. It’s a really intimate moment to witness, especially live and close up. That’s what I love capturing about musicians in my stories.
The small print says FREE READ, people. Click on the photo to git you some.
Rock Star romance research rocks. Say that fast, even just once! In 2006, I hung out with Depeche Mode’s security manager at one of the band’s shows. I went backstage for an in-depth, behind the scenes view of the inner-workings of the tour. Incredibly, everyone from the carpenters to the sound guys to the seamstress and masseuse and even the guys in the band were all 100% down-to-earth. So in a way, I found out that my fantasies are a lot more debauched and naughty than the real deal. I did get warned while backstage that at any moment, someone could go walking by in their skivvies. ;-)
To answer the last bit about boredom, in my Sin Pointe free read, Touch of Sin, the hero has this thought: “Luke would never understand how they could be as busy as they were making the music and still find time to fuck it all up.” That’s my boys…making time to sin.
MADELINE IVA: Nice. We know all the stereotypes of what men do on the road…but what about women who do rock n roll? What makes the main character Trista, from Sidewalk Flower, become so jaded? What is it about being on the road that steals her innocence?
CARLENE LOVE FLORES: Even though Trista isn’t in the band, she’s one of the guys. By virtue of being their personal assistant for the last sixteen years (she started out too young, at 16), she’s seen it all. I’m sure the first few times she walked in on Jaxon or Stefan getting backstage favors, she may have skittered back out blushing. But now it’s nothing. She might even wave in passing. Trista loves the guys but like she says in Sidewalk Flower, “She just didn’t know how much longer she could keep on chasing him around—his personal rodeo clown.” Him is Jaxon James, the founder of Sin Pointe and her best friend, but not her hero. These Sin Pointe guys are the definitive examples of Real Bad Boys but Very Good Men. That’s confusing to a young woman still growing up and ultimately what steals her innocence. I think when you begin to hate what you love, it leaves you jaded.
Heart says ‘He’s a magic man.’
MADELINE IVA: We like innocent women in romance. What draws you to writing about innocent-ish guys? (One hero in your books hasn’t been exposed to ‘the life’. Another was the victim of a prank, and then the heroine lied to him…)
CARLENE LOVE FLORES: The draw of an innocent guy is that he’s still a guy at the end of the day. Lucky worries that as a carpenter, he can’t compete with Rock Stars for Trista’s hand but there’s still nothing more he’d like than to make her his and be good and tender to her in and out of bed.
Ben, my quirky webmaster who must deal with the woman who saved him by lying to him, jokes that his biggest wish is to show Mrs. Right he’s got game other than Xbox. I don’t quantify a man’s sex appeal to his sexual experience. If he’s got it, he’s got it. Can you imagine tapping into all that when it’s rarely been touched? I can tell you, writing that gets me every time.
MADELINE IVA: Whew. Yes. Okay, tell me honestly—have you ever played air guitar? In the privacy of your own home, or you know, out in public?
CARLENE LOVE FLORES: Is there a woman alive who doesn’t break into air guitar on Heart’s Crazy on You, Magic Man and Barracuda? Seriously, a woman’s hands are making those sounds! To be that talented. I want, I want, I want! I also play air microphone and pretend I’m Maja Ivarsson of The Sounds. Her leg kicks blow my mind. Um, yeah, but only at home…and in the presence of my cat. :>
Does Caleb from Kings of Leon understand how sensual it is when he sings about getting head while he’s driving?
MADELINE IVA:They did a Heart song “Magic Man” on The Voice this week and it was Soooooo good! Love it! I was not doing air guitar but I will confess to singing along full volume while doing the dishes.
Please tell us about your series…
CARLENE LOVE FLORES: The Sin Pointe Novels are sexy, intimate and dark stories about good men and women testing their limits. If they’re bound to hurt the ones they love, is the right choice to stop loving? In the official series free read that just came out this month, loving Mrs. Right means the hero risks sacrificing his band’s second chance. Is there shame in choosing love? I’ve seen too many people with good hearts go down because of the shame heaped on top of them. These stories are for them and anyone who identifies with that feeling.
MADELINE IVA: Nice! And tell us about yourself – who are you Carlene? You say on your website that you grew up in a traveling family – did those road experiences lay the groundwork for your series?
CARLENE LOVE FLORES: I could happily live my entire life on the road. I remember making the monthly drives from Las Vegas to San Diego to visit my dad. By ten, I knew the hand signals to sign to the truckers to get them to blow their horn. Mom raised me in Vegas. She’d work all week and on the weekends we’d go watch the local bands play live in the casino lounges then on the weekends attend their charity softball games. Most recently, I was an army wife for 21 years and my hubby has never been sexier to me than he is now that we’re out in the civilian world together, preparing for another move. The road is in me. Music is in me. Sacrifice and Romance are in me. I’m also notoriously goofy. And I blush a lot. Yeah, I think I was made to write this series. You know what they say…they’re never lived a luckier girl. ;>
Crazy on You.
MADELINE IVA: It’s been a real treat to chat with you today, Carlene. :)
CARLENE LOVE FLORES: Thank you for making me feel like a rock star, Madeline.
Folks, you can get Carlene’s books right here.
Sound off in the comments section if you like rock star sexy reads.
Heart would say that you don’t have to love us, but you can get your Lady Smut high for a while–by following our blog.
