Liz Everly's Blog, page 45
October 11, 2016
He’s Hot, He’s Indian, and He’s Setting Romance Covers On Fire
Well, hello there, Mr. Bollywood.
Today I’m over-the-top excited to have the first Bollywood film actor and now *scorching* hot romance cover model Vikkas Bhardwaj join me for a virtual tête-à-tête. Vikkas was incredibly generous with his time as we hashed over everything from diet and exercise that keep him drool worthy to causes he believes in to karma. Oh, and Vikkas also tells us why we don’t have to be jealous of his girlfriend. Whew!
Elizabeth Shore: Hi Vikkas! Thanks for joining me on Lady Smut. As you know, our audience is primarily readers and writers of romance with particular focus on the sensual side. I know everyone’s going to be excited to learn more about you, so let’s start with the basics. Where were you born, when did you come to the U.S., and how long have you been a model and actor?
Vikkas Bhardwaj: Hi Elizabeth. Thanks for having me. Well, to begin, I was born in Delhi. I came to the U.S. at age 10 and grew up in New York City. I’ve been modeling and acting for 11 years. I went to Bombay in 2001 and became an international model immediately. I’ve modeled in Africa, Sri Lanka, London, all over India, and Dubai doing runways, billboards, music videos, ads, TV, and print. I was also the main lead in two films as a Bollywood actor.
ES: The competition in the Bollywood scene is fierce. Can you talk about how you became part of it? How did you get your first break?
VB: Competition is fierce everywhere. My first break was a Bollywood film called Classic Dance of Love. It came about because I was introduced to director Babbar Subhash through a friend. I read some lines for him and got signed the next day. My second film was an action/thriller, shot in London. I thought it was interesting to do.
ES: You’ve said you’re the first Bollywood actor to be on a romance novel cover. How did we get so lucky? What made you decide to model for book covers?
VB: I’m a little bit on the artistic side and I want to do anything where pictures are concerned. The romance novel cover thing just kind of fell into my lap. I’ve done it for about a year now, so far about 140 covers. I have my own stock site where there are all kinds of book cover images to choose from. (Head on over to Vikkaszone.com to check it out). I do all genres of romance novels, all ethnicities, with all different types of women. That website is my baby, and I’ll promote any of my book covers for my authors. The first cover I ever did was for Grace Burrows. She was so kind and gentle.
Click to buy!
I promote my authors’ books wherever I go. I give readers a special offer to buy two pictures and get one free. That’s very important for me because I like to help my authors in any way I possibly can, and I’ll promote their books wherever I can. I’ll wear authors’ t-shirts, tank tops, I go to conventions, pass out authors’ cards. I promote the heck out of everyone I possibly can, and I think that’s why I’m liked so much, because I’m so friendly and easy to talk to.
ES: Do you see yourself continuing to model for romance covers? What do you like about it? Anything you dislike about it?
VB: I think it’s fantastic to do romance novels to be honest with you. I completely love it. I see myself doing romance covers for a very long time. I’m all about my authors. The only thing I don’t like is that I’ve heard authors cutting down new authors, talking ill about them. I confront them and I say, this is not the right way to do this. If somebody’s up there trying to do their best we should promote them, we should help them.
ES: When you think about your career, is your focus more on modeling versus acting? And since you’re now living in L.A., are you getting involved in the Hollywood acting scene as well?
VB: My main goal is to get into Hollywood. I’ve been doing acting for a very long time. I’ve done soap operas in India and Bollywood. I’m looking for an agent, doing my best to get some films out here (in Hollywood).
ES: You have different interests outside of acting and modeling, and some causes that are important to you. Could you share that part of yourself with our readers and talk about it?
VB: Yes, sure. Well, for one thing, I like to send money to my dad whenever he goes to India to help out a school for boys and girls who are blind. Another thing I do is feed pregnant ladies who live on the streets in Bombay. I also like helping boys and girls who don’t have enough to eat. I always preach about this. In America we waste food, and I don’t agree with that. I get very furious when I see people wasting food. There are people out there who would die to get a loaf of bread. People take things for granted in this country and that’s not cool. For a guy like me, I consider a drop of water a blessing. We must consider 
everything a blessing. Because we have an abundance of everything, we think other countries have the same but they don’t. Look at Africa, India, China.
We must understand and not take everything for granted. Everything is easily accessible and available in America. So we must use as we need and not waste. You must appreciate food, it keeps you going. it. That’s very important for me, being religious, being a strong Hindu as I am. My father is very spiritual and very religious, and he taught those same values to us. Karma does not leave you. We believe in Karma very highly. You give good, you get good, you do bad, you get bad 10,000-fold right back at you. Karma is live, active, right in your face.
ES: I also want to hear about your life as a spiritual yogi. Sounds fascinating!
VB: I have met some of the most beautiful yogis in the world, basically from Himalaya and India. Everything is energy. I believe in the law of attraction, law of the universe, law of karma. What you give up to others, what you think about, you bring about. The law of attraction is active, alive, it’s everywhere, it’s in your face. I definitely believe in that.
ES: OK, let’s talk about that amazing body of yours! How do you keep in shape? What’s your gym routine like?
Click to buy!
VB: I keep in shape by having a good diet. I have a high protein diet, I stay away from carbs. When I have a shoot I stay away from carbs for a month. No sugar no bread no nothing. I just stick to my vegetables and soups. A smoothie I love to make consists of spinach, kale, carrots, apple, apple cider vinegar, protein shake, a few egg whites and there you have it. Super food. I call it Vik’s super food. I totally love it. It keeps me energized, keeps me going the whole day, it keeps me strong.
ES: You’ve stated that “my gym is my girlfriend.” Tell me that’s not true! What do you mean by that?
VB: My gym is my girlfriend, basically. What I mean is, it takes care of me. My gym takes care of me, I take care of my gym. No matter how much I go, and how much I work out it still takes care of me. It’s selfless; a very giving girlfriend. I can do whatever I want, I can lift weights, do my pushs up bicep curls, my back work, and the gym keeps me going, you know? You spend so much time in the gym it kind of becomes like my girlfriend. You respect the weights, pick them up and put them down in a certain place. That’s what I mean. The gym really really takes care of me. Keeps me fit, mentally stable, my heart’s in good shape, body’s in good shape, and it’s because of my gym. So I give a lot of credit to my gym.
ES: Can you tell us about some upcoming projects you’re doing? Where can we see more of you!
VB: At the moment I’m just working on getting some Hollywood films as well as looking for some of the books I’ve modeled on to be made ito films. Basically I’m all about my authors. I say it to everybody and I’ll say it to you. I love my authors. I always mention it on my page. I exist and I’m here because of you. I do my shoots and other things, but you put me here. Why wouldn’t I be kind enough and nice enough to talk to you, explain things to you. I’m here because of you!
ES: And we’re super duper happy that you are! Thanks so much for your time, Vikkas. It’s been a pleasure having you with us today.
October 10, 2016
Lady Smutters Out in the Real World
by Kiersten Hallie Krum
From time to time, we here at Lady Smut step away from our laptops, peek cautiously out the door, and venture out into the real world.
Okay, not really. We tend to go charging out into trouble. Making it if we can’t find it, because what fun is that?
It occurred to us that you, lovely readers, might want to find us out in the wild to chat or hang, share a coffee or a drink, talk romance and/or get a book signed. To this end, we created the MEET US page, right there up in the right-hand corner of the page. There you’ll find where *we* can be found throughout the year. We’ll be updating it regularly, so make sure you keep checking it for new events.
Talk about a timely initiative because we’re already heating up the cooler days of Autumn. Last weekend found Lady Smut bloggers Madeline Iva, Alexa Day, and Elisabeth SaFleur at the Washington Romance Writers Readers & Bloggers Luncheon. (I’m sure there’ll be more detail on that exciting event later in the week.) If you missed it this year, be sure to get it on your calendars for 2017.
Next weekend, it’s my turn as I’ll be at the New Jersey Romance Writers Hearts & Sparks Reader and Blogger Appreciation Brunch. I’ll have some packets of goodies ready to go for those lucky enough to join me at my table and a few extras to random attendees. This brunch follows the conclusion of the New Jersey Romance Writers Put Your Heart in a Book Conference, where you’ll not only find me floating around instigating trouble good times (let’s be honest, usually in the bar), but Lady Smut blogger Elizabeth Shore will also be in attendance!
Next year, Elisabeth SaFleur is taking another wild ride at the Wild Wicked Weekend in San Antonio while a veritable passel of Lady Smug bloggers will be present at the Romantic Times Book Lovers Convention in Atlanta, GA for our first ever Lady Smut Panel!
And we’re just getting started!
For romance novel professionals–authors, bloggers, readers, editors, publishers, etc.–conferences and conventions are like the mothership calling us home. I know for me, it’s a step away from real life, the day-to-day of day jobs (for those of us for whom writing and/or publishing aren’t our day jobs, that is) and family responsibilities. It’s a chance to be with people who know and love romance, who speak the same language whether they prefer sweet or sexy, HEA or HFN, military or Amish. I love these times when I’m with my tribe, be it on a national level at the yearly RWA conference, regional at NJRW’s conference, or every month with my local chapter. Meeting readers is a new aspect for me, and one I love more and more with every new person, that thrill of knowing I gave someone an hour or two of entertainment as they delved into the story and characters I created. This will be my first conference with a book on sale where I’ll be participating in reader-focused events, and I genuinely cannot wait.
So be sure to hit up our MEET UP page for ongoing updates about the wheres and whens of Lady Smut Bloggers out in the real world. I hope to see some of you next weekend–or surely, someplace soon.
Follow Lady Smut. In the real-world or out of it, we don’t disappoint.
Writer, singer, editor, traveler, tequila drinker, and cat herder, Kiersten Hallie Krum avoids pen names since keeping her multiple personalities straight is hard enough work. She writes smart, sharp, and sexy romantic suspense. Her debut romantic suspense novel, Wild on the Rocks, is now available. Visit her website at www.kierstenkrum.com and find her regularly over sharing on various social media via @kierstenkrum.
October 9, 2016
Sexy Sunday Snippet: Under Her Skin
by Madeline Iva
Hey readers–here’s a snippet of Adriana Anders’ forthcoming novel UNDER HER SKIN.
A darkly possessive relationship has left Uma alone and on the run. Beneath her drab clothing, she hides a terrible secret-proof of her abuse, tattooed onto her skin in a lurid reminder of everything she’s survived.
Caught between a brutal past and an uncertain future, Uma’s reluctant to bare herself to anyone, much less a rough ex-con whose rage drives him in ways she will never understand. But beneath his frightening exterior, Ivan is gentle. Warm. Compassionate. And just as determined to heal Uma’s broken heart as he is to destroy the monster who left his mark scrawled across the delicate tapestry of her skin.
Praise for Under Her Skin:
“The perfect romance…a hint of danger, a whole lot of spice, and an HEA you believe in.” -Anne Calhoun, award-winning author of Under the Surface
Excerpt:
“Come closer,” he said. So Uma could see him better? So he could get a clearer look at her? So he could touch her? She wasn’t sure she could take him touching her, but she gave him three small steps.
Still a ways from the rumpled bed in the corner, he stood beside his anvil, shirtless in the half-light. She wished he’d pick up the hammer and make the sparks fly again. She wished for bared teeth to go with the dark smattering of fur across his chest and arrowing down into his waistband. Uma wanted him feral, a beast she could tame. Would he bite her if she let him?
Her gaze slid down his body—taking in the long lines marred by gentle whorls of dark hair and the occasional scar. Thick thigh muscles wrapped in white, white skin. Their heft excited her. Her nostrils flared with some strange animalistic desire to bite him.
Oh, that. That notion was right.
“Will you take your shirt off?” he asked.
She shook her head. “No.” It didn’t even sound like her voice—harder, surer.
A strangled little half sigh escaped his mouth, and Uma felt for him; she really did. Only she wanted so badly to see him that she couldn’t let him off the hook. So she waited.
And then he did it. Throwing his head back to look down his nose at her in that defiant way that big men have—professional athletes in the stadium, soldiers on the battlefield—he curled his fingers around the elastic clinging to his hips.
Without blinking, Uma stared, panting lightly. Nothing could have pulled her away.
For once, she wasn’t the self-conscious one. For once, she was in the position of power, the watcher instead of the watched. Was it wrong to enjoy it? Probably. She nearly put her hand out to stop him. She shouldn’t demean him like this.
He smiled. A strange hybrid of a smile—a perfect mix, much like the man. The kind of smile a gentle monster would give. Half-sweet and half utterly wicked.
Pre-order by clicking on the cover. And follow us at Lady Smut. We promise to always get under your skin.
About Adriana Anders:
Adriana has acted and sung,worked for start-ups, multinationals and small non-profits, but it wasn’t until she returned to her first love—writing romance—that she finally felt like she’d come home. Today, she resides with her tall French husband, and two small children in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains.
Visit Adriana: www.adrianaanders.com
Read more: www.booksmarttarts.com
October 7, 2016
Sexy Saturday Round-Up
Howdy cowgirls! Elizabeth SaFleur, Alexa Day and I (Madeline Iva) are off at the Washington Romance Writer’s Readers & Bloggers Luncheon today. Meanwhile, I hope you have fun with this week’s selection of the freaky, fantastical, outrageous, and familiar–lassoed and hog tied down in this post just for you. Enjoy!
From Madeline:
There’s still a goodly chance you could snag our LadySmut UNBOUND GIVEAWAY
Twelve movies from Fantastic Fest
How to wake up without an alarm
Joey Hill discusses her ten fav BDSM items that you won’t find in a sex shop
One of the earliest SF books was written in the 1600’s by a Duchess
Here are some stereotypes that go with having natural hair
You know we can’t keep our hands off this topic: What would it take for a sex robot to pass the Turing Test?
Eat like a woman not like a picky nine year old
These sex-ed queens of YouTube value experience over a degree
Can’t name any top world leaders? What about top female world leaders? Say with me now: Aung San Suu Kyi
A Girl Who Gets Gifts From Crows
Dive into the FIRST CHAPTER of a new SF romance novel: Crosstalk
From Elizabeth Shore:
9% of women have done it – The rise of nipple piercing.
And the average penis size is…
Your exercise misery is over. New study says one glass of red wine = one hour at the gym. Excellent. Two glasses should having me looking like a supermodel in no time.
12 superfoods to keep your ladybits healthy.
Relax to the soothing sounds of rain without a cloud in the sky. You’ve got to check out rainymood.com.
October 6, 2016
WICKED APPRENTICE: Cover Reveal
by Madeline Iva
It’s here! The WICKED APPRENTICE cover is going out into the world today. I’m so excited. I’ll be flitting about to the various blogs that are posting the cover all day. I’ve included the blurb and an excerpt below. Enjoy!
Genre: Fantasy Magic Romance
Zephyr, apprentice of magical arts, is having a really bad day. Under orders to capture an uncanny creature for her mistress’s latest spell, she chains up a tall, gorgeous elf in a decaying castle only to find out he’s really a wizard with potent powers over human women. Uh-oh.
Theo has suffered heartbreak and betrayal more than once. He’s got a plan to escape, and when he does, he’s taking the curvy little apprentice with him. Her seductive curiosity about all things elvish makes his heart race, driving him into a sexual frenzy. He’s vowed never to unleash his powers of enchantment upon a human woman—yet while she kisses and teases him, longing for an elf romance, his fae side is slipping out of control.
Their world overturns when Zephyr unleashes a curse involving two magic rings. Under its spell, she becomes a mighty sorceress while the elf-wizard who loves her becomes her apprentice. As Zephyr works to turn the brooding, mistrustful elf into the hero the people need, Theo must find a way to contain Zephyr’s new powers before her wild magic destroys them all.
This book is chock full of wizards and sorcerers. If you love castle romances, all things elvish, and can-do heroines, then you’ll relish this novel.Pre-order a copy of WICKED APPRENTICE today!Excerpt:
“They all called you Prin,” he said at last.
“Yes.” He wasn’t going to mention how they behaved. Thank you. She took a bigger breath.
“That’s… an odd name.” His Berbainwick was strangely accented, his words all stretched out instead of clipped off. He kind of gargled them sometimes at the back of the throat. To her ears the language had never sounded half so charming before.
“It’s a nickname,” she explained, and then stopped, not willing to explain more. Touchy ground here.
“What does it stand for?” he asked. His voice was lilting and gentle, another tone entirely from before. “Princess?”
“Bet you say that to all the girls,” Prin replied. In fact, it was an abbreviation for ‘apprentice’ and a way of making fun of Hulgetta’s speech. She wasn’t going to tell him that, of course. Everything about him was gentle and refined. She kinda wanted to muss him up a little bit.
“I said nothing to them at all.” He looked puzzled.
She wrinkled her nose. “Never mind.”
“You are a princess then?” he said. He asked her a question in a language she didn’t understand. She looked down at her calloused fingertips and didn’t reply. Let him think what he liked. The silence stretched on. She looked up and his attractiveness hit her again like a physical blow.
His eyes had gone dark again, and he was a vision of sensitive torment. She felt herself involuntarily reaching towards him. Then, alas, the eyes changed back, and she regained a modicum of self-control. She stood up and paced around the cell, her heart still thudding about inside her chest.
“Who has imprisoned me?” he asked. “A murderous wizard? An evil enchantress?”
I did. “Technically speaking, she’s a sorceress,” Prin replied. “You don’t remember?”
He sniffed at the water in the tumbler.
“It’s not poisoned or tainted,” she said. “I freshened it with herbs myself. See?” She drank from the cup and then held it out to him to show him the sage leaves and borage blossoms. “Perfectly safe.” He took a tentative sip on his own, letting her hold the cup for him. The feel of his fingers sliding over hers. Her eyes widened, but he moved abruptly, pulling the cup away. As if he didn’t want to touch her.
“Thank you,” he said, not looking at her. Then he must have changed his mind about something. He looked up at her again, his eyes flickering black. “I thank you,” he said, this time with a tone of grave respect.
“You’re welcome,” she said, using the same formal tone. And did you know you’re smoking hot?
Lying there pliant, helpless, and half naked, he was so scrumptious her body itched to crawl on top of him. Moreover, all her fairy dust was up and screaming for him, and that just never happened to her with a guy. Ever.
She put the tumbler back on the wooden tray with the pitcher and stood there twisting her fingers up in her skirt. Nervous. Her mind strained for something to say. Her body looked for another excuse to bend over near him and reveal her cleavage. Get a grip, woman.
“And what are you called?” she asked, forbidding her fingers to play with her braids. The traitorous fingers took to the lacings on her corset instead, and she bit her lips a little to make them red. Where was her apprentice side? The scholarly side that wanted to learn? Pathetic.
“Princess, help me,” he whispered.
How was she ever going to refuse him anything when his eyes were all big and noble, yet softly luminous? She had felt loyal to Hulgetta. ‘Had’ being the operative word. Her loyalty was wobbling, big time. This was so wrong.
“Are you okay?” she said, filled with dread and concern. She leaned over the bed and put her hand on his brow again. Yes. It was warm now. She felt his cheek. It was hot. Spell all gone. Reluctantly, she took her hand away.
“Can you move your legs?”
He took her hand again and placed it back on his cheek, his lips parting a little. She went a little gooey and just stared at him, unable to think or move. He took that hand and kissed it.
“Help me escape.”
She stood up straight, breathless. Whoa. There it was. Bright needle-thin fear suddenly pierced the bubble.
“It would mean my life,” she said, simply.
Hope you check out my novel, and thank you all from the bottom of my heart for following us at Lady Smut!
Meet The Author:
Madeline Iva writes paranormal, fantasy, and contemporary erotic romance. Bitten by romance as a teen, she quit her day job in 2009 to start writing full time. She started Love Fest, a day of romance panels at Virginia Festival of the Book and co-founded LadySmut.com. Her work “Sexsomnia” is included in THE LADY SMUT BOOK OF DARK DESIRES published by Harper Impulse.
Friend Madeline on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/madeline.iva
Follow Madeline on Twitter: @madelineiva — https://twitter.com/madelineiva
Madeline obsesses over Pinterest here: https://www.pinterest.com/madelineiva/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8310631.Madeline_Iva
Madeline Blogs every Thur & Sat: http://www.madelineiva.com, http://www.ladysmut.com
The Magicians: A Novel That Stabs Itself in the Heart
Go ahead and click here to buy, but don’t say I didn’t warn ya.
By Madeline Iva
How do you destroy the genre of your own book? Lev Grossman managed this nifty little trick in his breakout novel The Magicians: A Novel[image error]THE MAGICIANS–a book that SFF people love to hate. Meanwhile, everyone else is raving about it. This fantasy book was clearly a huge best seller, but when checking out the reviews I noticed among the glowing accolades, a few ominous warnings: the book was derivative–HIGHLY derivative, and critics questioned the experience of reading the book, saying “What did I ultimately get out of it?” Nothing positive, I’ll tell you that.
By ‘breakout novel’, technically we’re talking about a novel that sells so well it changes an author’s life forever. Harry Potter is an excellent example of this. However, if you look at many other breakout novels, you’ll see that they often conform to a similar structure. While they have a genre framework, the story inside that frame is not really genre at all. Such is the case with THE MAGICIANS.
Often a breakout novel disappoints readers of that genre. Why? To hear Donald Maas tell it in his book HOW TO WRITE A BREAKOUT NOVEL, many breakout novels don’t fulfill the conventions that die-hard genre readers expect. Instead the author explores a literary theme, talking about WWII or about the breakdown of entitled-yet-morally-corrupt-youths, or societal reform almost as if it were as important–if not more–than solving the murder. These books also don’t end with the bad guys punished, order restored and chaos vanquished, or even with happily ever afters–which is why we read genre, isn’t it?
Here are some examples of break out novels: SMILLA’S SENSE OF SNOW, THE SECRET HISTORY, THE DA VINCI CODE, THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO, and LET THE RIGHT ONE IN. These books may start off being mysteries, thrillers, or horror novels, but they have literary themes and are written in a literary style. The genre shell is merely a spoonful of sugar that makes the literary medicine go down.
Case in point: THE MAGICIANS. When I started reading it – I loved it! I thought: This is my kinda book. Really well written, I lurv the main character and all the other characters, yes! Quentin is a tall, mopey, unhappy brilliant teen. I was all over that. He gets invited to a college where he can learn magic. Fabulous!
And then it’s Harry Potter in college–but with a lot of drinking, drugs, n sex. In fact it was a LOT like another crazy brilliant break out book that I highly recommend: THE SECRET HISTORY. Really, it’s THE SECRET HISTORY meets Harry Potter. I said to myself—Okay, I’m seeing the derivative stuff they mentioned, but it’s SO GOOD that I don’t CARE.
Even up to the middle of the book, I was like, Where is this going? Not sure and I. Don’t. Care. At page 274 I said to myself FINALLY!! Now we have a direction once again–Here we go! Wheeeeeee!
And then the author ruined it for me. How? Why? What went wrong?
First I have to ask myself: what do I get out of Fantasy? Why do I like it as a genre? I like it because it’s anti-high school irony. There is an earnestness to fantasy. Enthusiasm and triumphing over difficulties is at the core of many a fantasy novel. Also there are deeply held values of the characters often in play. Even GAME OF THRONES has these aspects–(What is GAME OF THRONES, meanwhile, but a breakout novel about a fantasy world that–aside from a few dragons–explores the bloody brutality of what it took to survive in the middle ages?)
The point is, I savor these fantasy qualities because when I’m operating in the real world I feel out of step. I feel the world is too harsh or complicated, or sophisticated. I am looking to retreat into my sensitive shell, to enjoy something simple, and sincere.
Certainly Harry Potter is sincere. Even Game of Thrones is sincere—as my Sweetie said: the bad guys are sincerely bad. And one token of their sincerity (some of them) is that when they realize they’re being bad, they change. (I’m looking at you Jamie Lannister.) This is what I want out of a fantasy book.
THE MAGICIANS is not such a book. When Quentin realizes he’s being weak–he keeps on being weak. There is no character change. There is no fundamental growth and development. It’s as if the author believes character growth and change are impossible. All there is is time. Time for one to grow older and see over the scrim of youth to the backstage area, where nothing is as wondrous and captivating as you hoped it would be.
What a jaded attitude — especially for characters who learn magic, and travel to new fantastical worlds. To embed a theme of chronic dissatisfaction in the face of such glorious adventure and then turn around and claim, it’s not really adventurous, we don’t know what we’re doing, and it’s all going to shit–it’s disgusting, really. Yes, disgusting.
The Secret History[image error]
This is the one. Click to buy this book.
Now, Donna Tartt does something similar in her book (which came out long before Grossmans, and I highly recommend it,) but there was a point to it. We know the students in The Secret History[image error]THE SECRET HISTORY killed their good friend. We’re told that on page one. The book explores why and how they tried to get away with it. Relationships are destroyed. They suffer–and this makes sense to us. It’s satisfying because THEY COMMITTED MURDER.
I think Grossman is reflecting back some kind of commentary about the lives of the privileged elite – and yeah, I’m calling him that. If you went to both Harvard AND Yale, and you mention that on your freakishly successful book cover jacket, what else could you be?
So what’s he saying? His characters are living lives of fantastical proportions, but it never seems quite real to them. They are always waiting for their “real” life to start. It’s like being in a house where all the doors open onto each other. You keep going through doors, but you only end up going in circles.
Which makes the novel rather nihilistic at its core. This is the antithesis of what fantasy novels and the fantasy genre are about. Lev Grossman stabs his own novel in the heart until it’s dead and the reader is appalled.
Unless, of course, the reader doesn’t particularly care for the fantasy genre and is as jaded as Grossman. Then they might love the book.
Another crime this book commits is that it starts out a leetle derivative, and swiftly towards the last third becomes crazily derivative. The former magic students enter a world called Fillory where we have trees like Tolkien’s Ents, we had Rams like the lion in Narnia, we had bears similar to The Golden Compass. We had a school for magic, like in Harry Potter. I suspect Grossman intends to be derivative. The more derivative the book, the more meta comments the characters make. The meta elements, like the derivative elements spread through the end of the book like a virus, snuffing out a fantasy reader’s pleasure. In the end, the amoral laxity that Grossman injects into his book kills the flourishing novel he’s created.
It’s like watching someone kill a unicorn. What’s the point?
All of this is done with maximal writing skill. I hate him. AND I envy him his writing chops. They’re making the book into a series–I wonder if they’re going to change it at all to accommodate fantasy TV viewer expectations?
CAVEAT: I know someone who is ready to defend the novel to the death (and does so frequently). She is willing to take on all comers. So she must have cared by the end of the book. Or loved NOT caring.
Follow us at Lady Smut. We promise never to kill unicorns.
And come back tomorrow, folks–I’m having cover reveal for my fantasy novel WICKED APPRENTICE, including an excerpt and other fun stuff. You can already pre-order the book on Amazon.
Madeline Iva writes fantasy and paranormal romance. Her fantasy romance, WICKED APPRENTICE, featuring a magic geek, is available for pre-order and releases November 1st.
October 4, 2016
Give Me A Side Of Sex With My Frights
Apparently, it’s happened again. I blinked and suddenly summer was over. WTF? I was just pulling out my floaty flower-print dresses and strappy sandals five minutes ago, wasn’t I? Now I’m hunting for sweaters and boots. Ah well. Tempting though it may be to mourn summer’s demise, let’s look on the bright side. It’s October, peeps! Fall colors, crisp chill in the air, everything under the sun made with pumpkin, everything under the sun made with apples, and, oh yeah. Halloween!
To be honest, I’m not actually a costume kinda gal, so Halloween parties don’t do much for me. On the other hand, Halloween also means horror movies. Scary, spine-tingling, watching-with-one-eye covered spooky thrillers. Yippee! To be clear, horror movies for me are not slasher gore fests. Too much blood and guts just becomes more gross than ghoulish. What I want from my horror movies is a good and proper scare. The kind where you’re curled up into a ball on your couch, feeling the hairs on your head standing straight up, wanting to look away but no way in hell do you dare. Those are the fun ones, the ones worth many repeat views. I remember the first time I saw When A Stranger Calls, the 1979 version. Teenage babysitter alone in the house with kids sleeping upstairs. She starts getting creepy ass phone calls replete with heavy breathing in which a stranger keeps asking if she’s “checked the children.” Suspense builds as the scare-o-meter jumps with every call until finally, after the babysitter asks the police to trace the calls it’s discovered that they’re coming from inside the house!!! Ahhh!!
That’s the kind of horror movie I’m talking about. And yet, being a true Lady of Smut, I’ll readily admit that if a horror movie also weaves in sensual, sexy, even erotic elements into the plot, it’s icing on the spooky cake. The primal fear and desire instincts work in the horror genre, both on film and in print. Why? I think film writer Martyn Conterio aptly explains it this way: Horror films can be seen as the battleground between the mind and the body. Between fears and pleasures of the flesh. Eroticism is a striking feature of so many classics and cult movies, whether forming a small part of the overall experience or more explicitly focused. Psychological terrain explored in nightmare movies can be freaky, scary and downright weird. For it is true that sex and death rule the cinematic imagination as they rule life.
There are now four weekends until Halloween, four weekends in which to enjoy sexy scary flicks. But what to watch? How to know what works? Why, I thought you’d never ask. Below, in no particular order, some suggestions to get your sexy spook on.
First off, let me say something about vampire flicks. Sex and biting go as well together as butts and plugs. Or…well, you get the point. It works. We all know vampires are hot. This is by far the most prevalent theme in the erotic horror genre and there are several scary sexy vamp movies to choose from, including:
Late, great David Bowie, feeling hungry
The Hunger. David Bowie, Susan Sarandon, Catherine Deneuve. Sexy vampire Deneuve needs a new lover when her current one (Bowie) starts aging too fast. She sets her sights on Susan Sarandon. Lesbian vampire sex! And if you need more where that comes from…
Daughters of Darkness. A tale featuring that most ruthless of beauty seekers, Countess Elizabeth Bathory, who killed virgins so she could bathe in their blood and perpetuate her youth. When a young couple has the misfortune of crossing her path, it’s curtains for the husband, but the Countess decides that his young wife is just the lover she’s been seeking. The two women eventually kill the husband and drink his blood and have hot lesbian relations. Yummy! And lastly on this theme:
Vampyros Lesbos. Just like it sounds.
Dracula. I’m specifically talking about the 1992 Francis Ford Coppola version. Keanu Reeves gets down and dirty with three hot Brides of Dracula. This movie has made numerous “sexiest erotic horror movies ever made” lists. Decide for yourself whether you agree.
Thirst. Korean director Chan-wood Park’s spin on a vamp tale, this one involves a priest who gets infected during a blood transfusion and turns into a vampire. The interesting part of this set-up is that in his former life the priest had made a decision to avoid those tempting sins of the flesh. After his transformation, however…well, he feels a little different.
For some non-vampire sexy scares, let me suggest:
Cat People. This is another one on several critics’ “best erotic horror” lists, largely due to the provocative performance of 21-year-old Nastassja Kinski. She plays a young woman descended from an ancient bloodline causing her to mutate into a murderous blank panther after having sex. Kinski prowls about the film like the panther she is, oozing sex appeal with every scene. Oh, and the skinny dipping scene is hot, too.
Jennifer’s Body. Mean Girl Megan Fox is a succubus who must dine on man flesh to stay alive. Yeah, OK, it’s vampire-ish, but not in the classical sense. Written by Diablo Coty (she of Juno fame), Jennifer’s Body is silly and campy, scary and hot.
Hellraiser. Clive Barker’s S&M zombie flick will be 30 years old next year but hasn’t aged a bit in failing to seduce and scare.
And last but not least…Under the Skin. Never heard of this one? You’re in popular company. Scarlett Johansson plays The Female, a woman who gallivants around Scotland seducing men before ending their lives through submersion in a giant vat of black liquid. ScarJo gives us plenty of skin, and so do others. This isn’t a typical Hollywood film and some have criticized its slow pace. But for sure it’s got the creep factor, and the nakedness, and the seductive pull of a good erotic horror.
Have I left anything out? A sexy fright you think should be on the list? Give me a shout in the comments, and pass the popcorn.
Elizabeth Shore writes both contemporary and historical erotic romance. Her newest book is an erotic historical novella, Desire Rising, from The Wild Rose Press. Other releases include Hot Bayou Nights and The Lady Smut Book of Dark Desires.
Insta-Attraction in Romance … and Life: Guest Post by Rebecca Brooks
Rebecca says her heroines *always* get what they want. Click if you’re down with that!
I still remember the moment I laid eyes on my now-husband over eight years ago.
It was in a meeting that was totally unremarkable except for the man sitting across from me. I can picture what he was wearing, the bag he was carrying, the way he held his pen. Most of all, I remember his smile, bright and genuine, the way he lit up when he talked about teaching, research, and writing—the things he cares about most.
If my life were a romance novel, he’d be a billionaire vampire fated to protect clumsy, unassuming little me and we’d have immediately left the meeting to bang against the glass window of a penthouse conference room—as soon as he had me sign a contract dictating when and where I was allowed to come per his commands.
Alas, dear reader, we met for tea. Then beers. Falafel. Shared our favorite chocolate shops. At some point six months later it dawned on me that our marathon hang-out sessions at bookstores and bars were different than the time I spent with friends. I never wanted them to end.
But when I’m reading a romance novel, I don’t want to read about those first six months between spark and follow-through, months in which everyone is busy with work and life and sometimes forgets to text back and who has time for dating, anyway?
I want to read about the moment when the heroine locks eyes with the hero and her mouth goes dry. Her pulse kicks up. She can feel her heart racing, feel the world around her slow. It may not be a good idea. Scratch that—it’s definitely a bad one. But she knows what she wants. And my heroines always get what they want.
I want the hero to think, This is the one. Not the one for forever—it’s way too soon in the story for that. But the one for a night. And then another. As these improbable instances string together, we start to see a relationship grow.
I know some readers don’t like insta-attraction because they think it’s unrealistic. But people meet at clubs, find each other on Tinder, hook up in all sorts of situations that start with a glance, a touch, a moment that can’t be explained. Note that I’m not talking about insta-love, but the sizzling hot attraction characters experience right off the bat. Love, as romance novels teach us, is something different altogether.
Think of Lacey and Hunter in Liberating Lacey (Anne Calhoun). Olivia and Jamie in Bad Boys Do (Victoria Dahl). Katie and Cameron in Instant Attraction (Jill Shalvis). I just watched episode 1 of Luke Cage on Netflix last night and he and Misty Knight make all the eye contact at a bar—and then go home to have all. the. sex. And this is after Luke has turned down another woman, making clear he doesn’t want to take just anyone home. Was I complaining about the unrealistic timeline as Massive Hot Man unzipped her slinky blue dress? No, I most certainly was not.
Austin, the hero in MAKE ME STAY, is an Olympic skier and racing coach. Have you seen those ass-tight racing skins that skiers wear? As the heroine Sam says of herself when she first spies him on the slopes, she’s a red-blooded woman. She’s not falling in love with him on sight alone. But she’s definitely checking him out.
Sam doesn’t expect anything to happen. In fact, it would be a whole lot better for her billion-dollar company if it didn’t. Only that initial attraction leads to more. Flirting. Banter. A kiss in the falling snow. A surprise detour to a shelter on the mountain where things get hot and heavy. The realization that one very delightful afternoon together isn’t going to be enough, and everything both Sam and Austin thought they knew is changing.
That build-up from first glance to full-on romance never fails to make me giddy. It’s why I’m a sucker for insta-attraction, the catalyst that sets the whole story in motion. It sets up a promise I get to spend the whole book looking forward to: when the hero and heroine get their hard-earned HEA.
But first, they have to feel the spark.
Hey, it’s Alexa. Ready to hit the slopes? Me too. Check out the details and grab your copy!
Blurb:
She’s his…for now.
Samantha Kane is about to solidify her father’s legacy by developing sleepy Gold Mountain into the most profitable ski resort in the country. There’s one man standing in her way though. One very sexy, rugged man. When she shows up to convince Austin Reede to sell, she has no intention of hiding her identity. But with a body like his, she’ll take a few risks to get closer.
Austin was the fastest skier on the U.S. Olympic team, until he shattered his knee. Gold Mountain became his refuge—and now Kane Enterprises is threatening that home. When he meets Sam, he has no idea she’s the one to blame, he just knows the attraction between them is one he hasn’t felt in years. A scorching hot one-night stand is just what he needs. Little does he guess that it will change everything…
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Make-Stay-Men-Gold-Mountain-ebook/dp/B01LWI5U6W
B&N: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/make-me-stay-rebecca-brooks/1124588844
Kobo: https://store.kobobooks.com/en-us/ebook/make-me-stay-5
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/make-me-stay/id1153572279
Add to Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/30169610-make-me-stay
Read the first chapter: http://entangledpublishing.com/make-me-stay/
Rebecca Brooks lives in New York City in an apartment filled with books. She received a PhD in English but decided it was more fun to write books than write about them. She has backpacked alone through India and Brazil, traveled by cargo boat down the Amazon River, climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro, explored ice caves in Peru, trekked to the source of the Ganges, and sunbathed in Burma, but she always likes coming home to a cold beer and her hot husband in the Bronx. Her books are about independent women who leave their old lives behind in order to try something new—and find the passion, excitement, and purpose they didn’t even know they’d been missing.
Find out more at rebeccabrooksromance.com.
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/rebeccabrooksromance
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/beccabooks
October 2, 2016
The Shaming of Plus-Sized Women
by Kiersten Hallie Krum
Despite body positivity becoming a rising pop-culture buzzword, the overt shaming of plus-size women continues unabated. This week, it’s back in the headlines as presidential hopeful Donald Trump is called to task for his public shaming of former Miss Universe, Alicia Machado, particularly in regard to her weight.
This isn’t the first, nor will it be the last time a woman is publicly shamed or castigated or made to be less than worthy due to her weight and appearance. Our society and the media in particular put a lot of effort into brainwashing girls and women of all ages how much their intrinsic worth is tied up in how hot they are–or are not–and especially, how fat they are not–or are. A recent report by Yale researchers at Yale Rudd Center for Food Policy & Obesity states, “The prevalence of weight-based stigmatization is now on par with rates of racial discrimination, and has been documented across multiple domains, including employment, medical, and interpersonal settings.”
But more and more lately, this malevolent attitude is not only being challenged but changed. Only a few weeks ago, fashion icon Tim Gunn wrote an op-ed piece in The Wall Street Journal chastising his fellow designers to step up and create fashion for the plus-sized woman. As a plus-sized woman myself, I’ve over snarl over the beautiful clothes for size zero or 2 and bemoan the busy patterns of dresses that look like mumus for a woman wearing a size 22. Because no woman at that size wants to feel attractive right? Why, I like to ask uselessly, can they not just make those lovely size zero clothes 22 sizes bigger??
Tim Gunn doesn’t quite say the same, but he does chastise designers for letting their size biases deny them the rich plucking grounds that are the only marginally tapped market of fuller sized ladies.
“The average American woman now wears between a size 16 and a size 18, according to new research from Washington State University. There are 100 million plus-size women in America, and, for the past three years, they have increased their spending on clothes faster than their straight-size counterparts. There is money to be made here ($20.4 billion, up 17 percent from 2013). But many designers — dripping with disdain, lacking imagination or simply too cowardly to take a risk — still refuse to make clothes for them.”
Preach it, Tim.
Tim’s not the only one taking strides to eliminate the shame incongruously rendered onto plus-sized women in the fashion world. Last week, Refinery29 launched “The 67% Project”. Since 67% of American women are a size 14 or higher but only 2% of media images reflect women of that size, Refinery29 decided to reverse those numbers.
“During the launch week, 67% of the bodies you see on our site, in our newsletter, and on our social platforms will be plus-size. To do this, we’ve made significant changes within Refinery29 to fully represent the 67% this week, and beyond….Not showing the 67% in normalized ways has real consequences: Plus size women earn less and are more vulnerable to discrimination.”
One of the ways they’re doing this is by partnering with Getty Images, plus-size clothier Lane Bryant, and aerie to offer stock images featuring plus-size women.
“The collection of 471 images are intended to increase the amount of diverse imagery being circulated around the web at any given time.”
Look, I’ve trolled stock photos till my eyes cross, always on the hunt for the perfect cover image for my next book. A quick stroll through these images stirs in me the same reaction: who comes up with this stuff? Who picks these scenarios? Because we all sit on the stoop and paint our nails, right? So in that case, these images are right on up there with the more standard 67%. There are even some boudoir and slightly risque shots with a discretely place condom as subtle as a blaring klaxon in case a high school sex ed teacher is looking for some relevant shots.
But where’s the damn romance? Where’s my frolicking couple on the beach with a strapping Navy SEAL, (let’s say, off the top of my head) swanning about with his plump lady love? Where’s the burly biker brooding off into space with his size 20 babe holding tight on the back of his Hog? If we’re really going to feature the 67%, feature ’em all the way. Take that size zero equivalent stock image and give us the plus-sized equivalent in all scenarios, not only the more conventional ones. I applaud the intent and execution, but I still think they’re playing it safe here, keeping to what will be more easily accepted by society at large rather than really giving it the goods.
But hey, this is Lady Smut. So, what about the sex?
Well, thank you for asking. Lemme steer all you inquisitive cusses toward The Adipositivity Project.
From their mission statement:
“The Adipositivity Project aims to promote the acceptance of benign human size variation and encourage discussion of body politics, not by listing the merits of big people, or detailing examples of excellence (these things are easily seen all around us), but rather through a visual display of fat physicality. The sort that’s normally unseen.
The hope is to broaden definitions of physical beauty. Literally.
The women you see in these images are educators, executives, mothers, musicians, professionals, performers, artists, activists, clerks, and writers. They are perhaps even the women you’ve clucked at on the subway, rolled your eyes at in the market, or joked about with your friends.
This is what they look like with their clothes off.
Some are showing you their bodies proudly. Others timidly. And some quite reluctantly. But they all share a determination in altering commonly accepted notions of a narrow and specific beauty ideal.”
Big is beautiful, baby.
For years in Romancelandia, that great bastion of female postivity where women are the heroes of their own story, lady protagonists were always lithe and beautiful with dainty chins and long flowing hair to their waists. Or something like that. But trends in women’s issues tend to take root first in romance novels often putting them ahead of the curve when it comes to birth control to being a single mom to women in the workforce…to plus-size heroines and/or body positivity. Jennifer Weiner’s debut novel Good in Bed, while not nominally a romance novel, was thought to be cutting edge at the time for featuring a plus-sized heroine in her quest for romance and love. Numerous romance novels have confronted the issues and emotional conflicts women have about their own bodies, especially when face with the unforgiving shaming that is societal expectations. Likewise, more and more the “curvy” heroine (what would romance be without our euphemisms?) is steaming up the pages as authors (and heroines) step out from the shadow of societal shame and step forward to find their happily ever after. And those heroes they meet find them to be a whole lot of fine.
What do you think? Would you like to see more women in Romancelandia depicted to be more like the 67%? Do you think those stock images do enough? Should there be more shame in plus-sized women or do there need to be more projects like Adipositivity?
Follow Lady Smut. We’re shameless every day.
Writer, singer, editor, traveler, tequila drinker, and cat herder, Kiersten Hallie Krum avoids pen names since keeping her multiple personalities straight is hard enough work. She writes smart, sharp, and sexy romantic suspense. Her debut romantic suspense novel, Wild on the Rocks, is now available. Visit her website at www.kierstenkrum.com and find her regularly over sharing on various social media via @kierstenkrum.
Illicit Impulse: A Tempting Little Excerpt
What’s a little experimental drug testing between friends? Click to find out.
By Alexa Day
My colleagues and I have been celebrating the re-release of Illicit Impulse, my hot story with one sexy scientist, lots of experimentation, a spirited friend with benefits, and a pill designed to improve women’s sex lives. Sound complicated? Well, here’s the story in a nutshell:
Scientist John March has a problem. He needs the perfect subject to test out his new project, a sex pill called Impulse. His best friend, Grace Foley, might be the right woman for the job. She’s more than willing to see just how far these pills will take her … and her friend with benefits. But can John maintain his objectivity when he wants Grace for himself?
Grace wastes no time testing the big red pills and her own boundaries with her buddy, Tal Crusoe. Grace’s real fantasy is to spend more alone time with the sexy scientist who gave her the drugs, but her best friend has already refused her once. They’ll never go to the next level, but sharing her experiences with him – in explicit detail – might be the next best thing.
Want some more? Let’s join John and Grace at their first interview.
***
“Big smile,” John said. He shut the laptop. “Does that mean you’re a satisfied customer?”
Grace folded her coat over one arm. “More than satisfied.”
“Is that so?” John asked.
She nodded. “Want to hear all the juicy details?”
Of course he did—until she asked. Now, as the end of the question hung in the air, he wasn’t so sure he still wanted exactly what he had asked her for. And the smug look on her face said she knew it.
Grace draped her coat over the empty chair on her side of the desk before sitting. “I’ll go easy on you at first.”
John rearranged his notes, the microcassette recorder, and an overabundance of pencils and pens on his side, just as he had with dozens of other people, sitting close enough to observe their physiological responses and distant enough that they couldn’t see his notes. He tried without success to make himself comfortable in the cheap desk chair.
“Do you mind if I tape you?” he asked. “I want to make sure I get everything. I tell everybody that nobody else will hear it, but that’s doubly true in your case.”
Grace picked up the recorder. “You still use actual tape?” she asked.
“Instead of digital?” He nodded. “But just for you.”
She returned the recorder to its place on the table. “Why?”
“Three reasons. Nothing is ever left on the recorder—once I take out the tape, the recorder’s empty. The tape is easy to keep private—if it’s with me, no one else can get to it.” He looked up at her and smiled. “And if anything goes wrong, the tape will be easier to eat.”
Grace laughed and leaned back in her chair. “Can’t argue with that.”
“This is more of a conversation than an interrogation.” He slid the recorder to the center of the desk. “So you might not feel like I’m asking you many questions. I just want to hear what happened.”
“Sounds simple enough,” she said.
He engaged the recorder with a click. Then he sat back with one of the notepads, which he tapped with one of the over-sharpened pencils. “Okay. Let’s hear it.”
John turned his attention to the blank page, writing the date and time in the upper right corner and waiting for Grace to begin. Often he’d found that his subjects would communicate more if he wasn’t looking at them. In this case, he worried that he wouldn’t be able to concentrate.
“You know I went to see Tal right after I saw you on Monday,” Grace said. “He thinks this is a great idea, by the way. He wants to be first on the list when you come up with one of these pills for men.”
Still holding the pencil, John rotated his hand, listening to the tendons pop. Tal is helping you, he reminded himself.
That’s right. Good ol’ enthusiastic Tal is helping you.
“I know this is a secret,” Grace said, “but I didn’t think it was fair to ask him to do all this without knowing.”
“No problem.” John popped his wrist one last time and glanced up at Grace. “As long as he doesn’t say anything.”
“His lips are sealed. So what do you need to know?”
“Let’s start at the beginning. Right after you took it, did you…feel anything?”
“Anything…like what?” she asked playfully.
“The little chill we discussed.”
“I did feel that. Really cold, but just for a few minutes, until I got to Tal’s.”
The pencil’s scratch seemed very loud between them as he took note of the chill. “And then what?”
“As soon as he opened the door I felt really…agitated.”
“Nervous?” he asked. “Jittery?”
“Horny.”
John looked up from his hastily scribbled notes. Almost everyone had reported fidgeting, pacing, or generally feeling antsy. No one had mentioned an increase in arousal. Not to him, anyway.
“You look surprised,” she said. Her self-assured smile was back in place.
“Me? No, no, no. Not surprised.” And he wasn’t, really. It was just that she was so matter-of-fact about it.
“You’re sure?” she asked.
“I’m sure. Keep going.”
“Okay.” Grace stretched her legs out in front of her, gazing at the ceiling. “So as soon as I saw Tal, I felt this rush. I just had to have him.”
John watched her take a long breath before she moistened the center of her upper lip with the tip of her tongue. She was reliving it now, whatever she had done that night after she’d left him. Inside him, something uneasy buckled and knit, pulsed with his heartbeat as her mind returned to this other man. He wrote down the counter number from the cassette recorder and reminded himself that he’d sent her on this errand. He’d chosen to be in this position, and if he was bitter about it now, he had no one else to blame for the bad taste it left in his mouth. He forced himself back to business.
“Any chance this was just your normal anticipation? For your friend, I mean.”
“No.” She took a deep breath and slid her palms down her thighs. “Usually we’ll talk a little or have a beer first. That night we were all over each other.” She glanced over at John. “It was a little scary, to be honest.”
“Increased urgency.”
“Yeah, definitely.”
He took note of her symptoms and of her movements now as he looked on. Her fingers twisted on her lap. Reluctance. This couldn’t be uncomfortable for her, too, could it? “Okay. Then what?”
Grace turned back to the ceiling. “Everything was more intense. When he put his hands or his mouth on me, it made me so…so wet. Everything he did made me want more.”
Had she lowered her voice for his benefit? The color that bloomed on her face told a different story. She wasn’t spinning a yarn for his entertainment. The recollection was turning her on.
More. He could practically hear her saying it. More. Please. More.
Damn. What would he have to do to make her blush? Would he ever be the one to make her breathless?
He idly traced the margin’s red lines. He’d had his chance with her already.
“And then?” He tried to maintain a neutral tone of voice.
She bit her lip. “I don’t know. It’s hard to describe. I was ready to come as soon as he touched me. It was like being a teenager again.”
“Out of control?”
Her eyes met his. “Yeah! Mmm. Out of control.” Her voice lowered again, as if she was sharing a secret with him.
“Like being in heat. That have-to-have-it feeling, you know? There is something…liberating about losing control. Giving in to biology.” She smiled. “But then I don’t mind having the extra scoop of ice cream either.”
He chuckled. “So you’re aroused.”
She blinked, and he savored that moment, enjoying the rare sight of Grace in shock. He might never share a bed with the woman, but he could still manage a surprise or two. He pointed at his notes with the pencil.
“Oh!” she said. “With Tal. Yes.”
“Everything he does makes it worse.”
Slowly, she shook her head. “Oh, no. Better.”
“Stronger.”
He watched her consider the choice of words. “Stronger,” she agreed.
He took note of her increased sensitivity, careful to use the word they’d chosen together. “And then?”
Silence stretched out after his question until he looked up to find her grinning at him. “Oh my God,” she said, amusement in her voice. “You’re blushing.”
“I am not.” Blushing. He snorted. He did this every day. He’d heard far worse than this. Hadn’t he?
“You know,” she said, “it’s going to get pretty graphic before I’m finished.”
Like he needed the reminder. “Well, that’s why we’re here.” He turned back to his notes and pushed his glasses up on his nose. “So get graphic. I can take it.”
***
Ready to follow the Impulse? Go grab a copy right now.
And follow Lady Smut. There’s always something new to try around here.
