Liz Everly's Blog, page 64
March 5, 2016
Sexy Saturday Round Up
Hello readers! March is marching in, and after a week off from SSRU, we’re back with all kinds of links to whack stories about awesome sexy stuff. Dive in and enjoy, gentle readers. Happy weekend.
You’re not getting old or dying–you’ve just got the grey hair gene.
One girl stands up to forced marriage.
A woman talks about what she learned from dating women who have been raped.
A history of transgender performances and Oscar history.
China’s high-speed sexual revolution.
From G.G. Andrew:
The Ghostbusters trailer has landed!
There’s a new Baywatch movie coming. With The Rock. And Zac Efron. (Why did this need to happen?)
Need a bedtime story? Jennifer Garner reads Go The F**k to Sleep.
From Elizabeth Shore:
So….Dirty Dancing remake, anyone? No one can take Patrick Swazye’s place, but the new Johnny is Cole Prattes, and he’s a scorcher. If you haven’t seen him in Pink’s Try video, you must. Oh, you must.
Thinking about having sex in a hot tub? Think again.
Tips from the wise: what not to do during foreplay.
Captain Obvious says you should clean your sex toys after every single use. Does somebody not do that?
March 4, 2016
Why Short, Hot Reads are Awesome
by G.G. Andrew
A novella with an erotica writer/bookstore owner, a billionaire, & lots of sexytimes.
I’ve noticed this past year that several book bargain and review sites expressly state that they don’t feature novellas, those 20,000-40,000-word stories that fall under novel length.
I understand that some readers like to sink into a long, involved novel, but I feel like the novella is underappreciated. Of course, I’m biased; several of us here at Lady Smut, myself included, have published novellas. But in addition to liking to write novellas, I also love to read them. (It’s one of the reasons “a short, hot novella you read in one sitting” is one of the items on our #ReadHotter book challenge.)
Want to know why you should be reading these short, hot reads, if you aren’t already? Read on for the ways they’re awesome, with recommendations of novellas that I’ve read or are sitting at the tip-top of my TBR.
I once read Brazen in an hour. Okay, I read it twice.
*You can read novellas in one sitting.
After a long, hard day at the salt mines (or wherever your place of work or earthly toil), there’s just something great about coming home, pouring a glass of wine, and reading an entire story in one sitting. Of course, some of you speed-readers can read an entire novel at once, too–but I can’t, and I’m willing to bet there are many others like me. Reading a whole story in a night feels complete, and productive, and allows you to tell someone the next morning, “I read a book last night.” Because you totally did.
Recommendations: The hot reads Brazen
Brazen by Cara McKenna or Craving Flight
Craving Flight by Tamsen Parker
*They’re a quick way to sample new authors or genres.
If you’re like us, you probably have a staggering pile of books you want to read, but it’s hard to know where to start–which authors or genres are really going to be your thing. Reading a novella gives you a chance to sample an author you’ve been wanting to try, or see if science fiction romance is right for you, without the commitment of a big book. Of course, you can sample the first few pages from a longer novel, but that’s not like reading a story to, er, completion. It’s helpful to know if an author not only begins a story well, but ends well, or if a subgenre delivers what you expect.
Recommendations: The paranormal romances Hot as Hades
Hot as Hades by Alisha Rai or Three Wishes by Paula Millhouse
*You can read more subgenres, historical time periods, and authors over time.
Sweet, sexy, geeky–and short!
Similar to above, if you insert more novellas into your reading life now, you’ll probably be exposed to more writers and types of stories by the year’s end. Paranormal romance, early twentieth-century love stories, m/m–if you haven’t tried them out by now, read some shorter stories and see what you think.
Recommendations: Waiting for Clark by Annabeth Albert (m/m), or the 1960s romance Strawberry and Sage
Strawberry and Sage by Amanda Gale
*You can get introduced to a story world or characters.
In addition to short reads allowing you to sample authors and genres, they also allow you to meet characters and decide if you want to spend another novella or even a whole novel with them. It’s like that first, brief date over coffee to decide whether you like someone enough to have dinner with them.
Recommendations: The bookstore owner and the billionaire in Tamara Lush’s Tell Me a Story (The Story Series Book 1)
Tell Me a Story or the workaholic and forest ranger in Tina Ellery’s White Pine
White Pine
And last but certainly not least:
Intro to a 20th century astronaut romance series.
*Novellas are cheap, and often free.
Since novellas are shorter, and often used to introduce readers to a world or cast of characters, they’re often .99 or under, and increasingly are free. (Check your favorite authors; some may have free reads, too.) And, really, right up there with free coffee and free love, free books are really the best thing ever.
Recommendations: Cath Yardley’s Level Up: A Geek Romance Rom Com, Book 1 (Fandom Hearts)
Level Up or Emma Barry’s A Midnight Clear (A Fly Me to the Moon Holiday Novella)
A Midnight Clear are both free now. (Craving FlightCraving Flight and Waiting for Clark from above are currently free on Amazon, too.)
Want more recommendations? Check out the novellas and short stories the Lady Smut authors have written. They’re short and hot, we promise. And follow us here for more on books, the short and long and everything in-between.
G.G. Andrew writes quirky romantic comedy–stories about people who fall in love with the most unlikely person, and stumble through some awkward conversations, mistaken identities, and ill-advised kisses along the way. Her latest book is GRAFFITI IN LOVE, a romance between an infamous British graffiti artist and the American woman who hates him.
March 3, 2016
Anywhere But Here: Why We Love Another Time, Another Place in Romance
by Madeline Iva
Hey lady-kittens. I’m off on a trip tomorrow. Hoping to see the sea, shore birds, sand—even some alligators if I get lucky. :) For once, I’m excited to travel, happily packing up and running errands around town, getting fancy chocolates for the folks we’ll be visiting. And Just. In. Time. Cause I realized last night I am ready to be anywhere but here.
THE GLORIOUS 20’s:
I realized this while I was watching The Danish Girl
THE DANISH GIRL the other night, which is a sweetly tragic tale of the first person to get a sex change operation. But what I noticed most about the film was not the gender politics at play, but the sets, the costumes–it was set in the 20’s and so very gorgeous! I cannot believe how intensely I wanted to just live in that twenties world.
Some of that may also have had to do with the film’s plot. Just as Einar is becoming Lily for good, his wife Gerta must wrestle with the fact that saying ‘hello’ to Lili, means saying goodbye to Einar –i.e. goodbye to their sex life (Lili’s preference, not necessarily Gerta’s), goodbye to having a husband, and goodbye to financial support. Gerta’s up to the challenge, but she’s emotionally wrung.
Just at that point Matthais Schoenfield shows up. 
You remember Matthais, don’t you? He was Mr. Oat in FAR FROM THE MADDING CROWD. So hot. So sympathetic! He arrives and really wants to, um, console Gerta. Thank goodness! It’s just such a sad, sad, sweet film, it needed a injection of sex to hotten it up at that point.
I tried writing a post about The Danish Girl: A Novel by David Ebershoff (2001-02-01)
THE DANISH GIRL, which was a fictionalized novel first but got tangled up with all my questions, despite liking the film. (Why another tragic tale of transgender-hood? Why not a triumphant one? Why does being a ‘real woman’ mean being a mother when being a real man doesn’t seem to include being a father?) At ANY RATE, the upshot was that I was drooling more over the costumes and settings than I was the film.
I’m in a phase where I’m just done with contemporary romance and the here and now for awhile.
HISTORICALS: — yes, please! In the words of Liz Lemon I want to go to there. Last weekend I found myself fuming that there were not another five or ten romance novels as perfect as Pride & Prejudice that I could pick up and read.
GOT GOTHIC ROMANCE? I got me some! A novel by friend Elf Ahern, A Rogue in Sheep's Clothing (The Albright Sisters Book 1)
A ROGUE IN SHEEP’S CLOTHING, and I can’t wait to dive into it on the plane. Think I may have to watch Crimson Peak
CRISMON PEAK again too. I’m just chittering for anything Gothic. If you have some good Gothic romance recommendations–please leave them in the comments section below. I’m all ears!
I mean, this cover is to die!
DARK CASTLES & MAD SCIENTISTS — sounds good to me! I got this book I’ve been drooling over from afar for a long time. Don’t know why Samhain felt the need to retitle it and change the cover — but it’s original title was Julian's Sins
FRANKENDOM (now called Julian’s Sins), and sometimes a girl just needs a little cray-cray BDSM to bright up her day, you know?
DEEP SPACE: Sure! Just re-read Charlotte Stein’s The Horizon
THE HORIZON. So good. So very very good. A quick little novella with moment by moment tension of the Did-he-just-say-that-and-is-my-face-now-exploding-in-response kind of stuff that is to my mind the best kind of erom writing evaaaaaaaaah!
I have been working hard lately. There’s a whole lot of adulting going on in our house and plenty more to deal with (Can you say bathroom remodeling?) Don’t get me wrong–it’s all good, and I’m very happy, but the introverted reader part of me has just got to go away for awhile.
And I mean far far away, even if it’s only in my head with a good book for a few hours.
All in all this little trip is coming just in time. Going to go sync my kindle and say shhhh! to anyone who tries to interrupt my reading for the next few days. Unless they’re pointing out an alligator. ; >
March 1, 2016
Should We Be Writing If Nobody’s Reading?
By So, did you happen to watch the Kurt Sutter – he of Sons of Anarchy fame – period/fantasy drama The Bastard Executioner? No? Me neither. Nor, apparently, did anyone else. Recently I came across a really fascinating article in The Hollywood Reporter about how Sutter himself, knowing the ratings were in the toilet, pulled the plug on his own show. What was particularly intriguing, however, was what Sutter had to say about why he made that decision.
“I love this show, I love the mythology, but, you know, it almost f—ing killed me. I don’t write in a vacuum. I’m not the guy sitting in my ivory tower spitting shit out not caring if anyone is watching. I like an audience. I don’t want to write something that nobody’s f—ing watching.”
So, realizing that the show simply wasn’t catching on with the audience, he decided to cancel it. Admittedly, he says, part of the reason to stop was ego. He doesn’t want to be behind something that people aren’t watching. But he also said that he feels if people aren’t watching then he’s not necessarily doing his job. I found both of these comments rather thought provoking as I applied them to my own writing career, and I asked myself: should I be writing something if no one is reading it?
The truth is, I didn’t get into this writing business for any reason other than the personal enjoyment and satisfaction I get from doing it. I’d venture to say that’s truth for most all of us. Sure, it would be amazing to have sales like Nora Roberts. Or Eloisa James. But creating and telling stories is what we like to do, so that’s why we write. I had the sense when I read Kurt Sutter’s comment that he’s placing a pretty heavy emphasis on his definition of success by how many people are watching his shows. If he doesn’t connect with an audience then, by his own admission, he’s not doing his job. Yet there are so many variables behind gaining traction with viewers and, in our case, with readers. As someone said to me just today, hard work is good, luck is better.
Gaining readership takes monumental, on-going effort. Blogging, tweeting, adding your content to Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, Goodreads…and on and on and on. But it all starts with the fundamental no-brainer of writing a good book. Right? So say you’ve written the best book you can, you interact with social media til you’re blue in the face, yet still you just don’t have a lot of readers. Does it mean you haven’t done your job? Further, if you’re writing something that people aren’t reading, should you throw in the towel?
I recognize that comparing a romance writing career with Kurt Sutter’s high-stakes TV show is a little bit apples and orange-y. There are some seriously big, no giant, dollars behind TV productions. If a show doesn’t connect with an audience it means no ad money. Without that the show is doomed. So it’s not as if a TV writer can just decide he’s doing what he’s doing for the love of it and damn anyone to hell if they don’t watch. But Sutter put much less emphasis on that aspect than on the simple fact that he doesn’t want to put out something no one watches.
I find it an interesting question to ponder. How do we measure our own success? By having lots of readers? Fabulous reviews? Receiving requests for interviews? Or is it simply for the sense of supreme accomplishment that comes from having written a book as well as you can.
I’d be curious to hear from fellow writers what you think. Let us know in the comments section, and be sure to follow us at Lady Smut, where we put out new content every day just because we love doing it.
Getting Comfortable over the Knee: An Interview with Lee Savino
Conflicted about spanking? Not to worry. Lee Savino is here to help. Click to buy.
By Alexa Day
If you’ve been hanging out with Lady Smut for any length of time, you know that spanking is a very popular subject around here. Kiersten Hallie Krum walks us through the Outlander spanking. Rachel Kramer Bussel educates us on how to climax from a good spanking. Elizabeth Shore shares The Art of the Spank.
They all make it sound like such wonderful, subversive fun. I love wonderful, subversive fun.
And yet, I struggle with spanking. I’m not sure I even want James Spader to spank me, which is saying something.
That kind of conflict — the kind that has me asking, “Do I? Should I? Am I?” — led me to pick spanking as the new-to-me kink for this year’s #ReadHotter challenge. I turned to Lee Savino’s Rocky Mountain Dawn, which features a very specific brand of spanking — domestic discipline — set against the backdrop of the Wild West. Newlyweds Esther and Johnathan definitely bring the heat in an undeniably kinky way, and there’s a lot of historical detail packed into this story, too. If you’re looking for new dimensions to add to your exploration of spanking stories, check out the whole Rocky Mountain Bride series! And if you’re down for a little think with your kink, I’m delighted to share my conversation with Lee. She helped me work through my feelings about the whole over-the-knee-okay-with-me thing.
AD: Lee, what is hot about spanking? What about it is such a turn-on for women?
LS: This is something I wonder about a lot. I write stuff that turns me on, and I’m the sort of person who has to know the reason behind my kink.
There are basic physical reasons why a real-life spanking turns people on—pain triggers an endorphin load, and the impact gets the blood flowing to your sexy bits. And I can tell you that the raw, floaty feeling you get after having a partner whale on your ass is addictive.
Psychologically, spanking is hot for a few reasons:
Power exchange. Being helpless and dominated takes away performance anxiety. When you give up control, you don’t have to make decisions, you can just relax. It’s like someone forcing you to eat a giant slice of cake; you get to enjoy the experience without the guilt or having to justify all those calories.
If I have a lot of baggage about sex and my sexual identity, then giving up control is a way I can enjoy it.
In real life, I’m a responsible, successful woman. In the bedroom, sometimes it’s nice to let go and let someone else lead. There’s something sexy about having your partner take care of you—and aftercare with real and fictional spankings is the best part!
Biology. I think women (and I’m generalizing here) are wired by biology to desire a dominant alpha male. The reason is perfectly primal: we are looking for a mate that can protect us while we raise our young.
So here’s this big strong guy who puts you over his knee and gives you a little taste of his power. What does that say to our primal selves? “I’d be a good mate because I’m strong. I can hurt you a little to prove it. See? I can care and provide for you, even when you are at your most vulnerable, carrying and raising our young.”
It may not be in vogue to talk about this, but there are basic evolutionary reasons why traditional gender roles came about. Writing stories set in the 1860s Wild West drove this home for me. Most women in that time period where either pregnant or breastfeeding 90% of the time. Right now, I’m actually pregnant myself (due in May) and I understand the urge to find a mate who can provide stability and care. That’s why billionaire romances are so popular: they satisfy this deep need for security.
It’s taboo! I’m supposed to be a strong, feminist woman, and here I am fantasizing about being treated like a naughty little girl. It’s humiliating, degrading and taboo—and the psychological embarrassment gets my adrenaline pumping, which gets the blood flowing…you know where. Spanking incites the same reaction as having sex outdoors, or performing any sex act you think is outside the norm of what you “should” do. Being naughty is half the fun.
Domination, submission, and breaking the rules — sounds lovely, right? Click and buy some spanking subversion.
AD: So, power exchange is part of the turn-on. It seems like the whole spanking scenario is designed to place the spankee in a position of submission — the physical position and the frequent use of spanking as a form of punishment.
LS: Yes, absolutely. And submission is hot. So is domination. Some people want to give up control and let go. Others want to take over and not have to conform to society’s rules of “be nice and polite.” Some people want to switch it up and do both!
AD: In the initial stages of the romance in Rocky Mountain Dawn, it seemed to me that Esther was really being spanked for punishment and not for play. Bearing in mind that spanking and domestic discipline were just part of life during this time period, is it difficult to portray less-than-completely consensual spanking as something arousing to the modern reader?
LS: Rocky Mountain Dawn and Bride (Book 1 and 2), the characters practice domestic discipline, a sort of power exchange that taps into traditional gender roles. So instead of “this is sexy pain/pleasure” it’s “you broke the rules, you get the consequences.”
This helps readers who need the submissives to be spanked for a good reason. Most of the time, the reason is the wife put her life in danger, and the husband “takes her in hand” to teach her not to do it again. If you feel a twinge of repulsion at that, I understand, but for me the touch of humiliation “I’m your husband so I’m the boss” dynamic make the submission more delicious.
This is a fantasy, and it’s not going to appeal to everyone. By modern day standards, most of my main guy characters are assholes! If a man acted the way they do in real life, I’d probably kick him in the nuts and run in the opposite direction. I worry about my heroes coming across as cocky dickheads, but then I realize that it’s part of the fun: watching this aggressive male get tamed by a woman’s love. Their bossiness makes the tender moments more powerful. My latest book, Rocky Mountain Rogue (book 5), was a huge hit because of this. Jesse is a supreme jerk, but he knows it, and in the end he’d do anything for his lady love, Susannah. She’s a pretty little school teacher from Boston, Massachusetts, and he’s a gun-slinging outlaw who robs her stage coach.
FYI, the premise for Jesse and Susannah’s meeting in Rocky Mountain Rogue was based on a true story I read in a book called “Heart’s West, The True stories of Mail Order Brides on the Frontier.” After reading that book, I knew I wanted to write this series. The 1860s time period lends itself to power exchange. Ordinary men had to be tough and dominant, not just the billionaire alpha bosses or MMA fighters we see in contemporary BDSM novels. And women, while strong and tough as men, also needed care and community when they were married—because they were most likely bearing and raising children.
Crime does pay in the Wild West. Click to buy.
AD: Are there elements of age play in Rocky Mountain Dawn? Some of Esther’s punishments — I’m thinking of the apology notes Johnathan makes her write — are reminiscent of the sorts of things that make up children’s punishments.
LS: In Rocky Mountain Dawn and Rocky Mountain Bride, Book 1 and in Book 2, the couples practice domestic discipline, where the husband leads and the wife follows. I don’t know why that dynamic is so hot to me, but it is.
Esther is very, very submissive and enjoys following her husband’s lead. She’s also a painslut so spankings turn her on. In my mind, my characters are very real. They tell me what they will or won’t do in the bedroom.
So Dawn doesn’t quite contain age play—Book 6 with Calum and Phoebe is more of a true age play—but the punishments Esther and Johnathan practice are meant to be humiliating, along the lines of Christian Domestic Discipline. One reader complained that my hero treated his wife like a two-year old; that was actually the point. Having a husband belittle his wife in that way is pretty taboo in our post-feminist world, but maybe that’s why it turns me on.
AD: Let’s talk about the rest of the series — are there more Rocky Mountain Bride books coming?
LS: There are going to be 8! There are 5 out so far, and the next one, Rocky Mountain Wild, stars Calum MacDonnell, a Scottish-American mountain man who’s a total teddy bear Daddy Dom. I had to follow Rogue Jesse’s book with a gentler hero. Calum’s book has a lot of age play elements.
The thing about kink: it’s not vanilla, so there’s 30 plus flavors. And you can mix and match as you wish! I write about spanking, non-consent/reluctance, age play, menage, anal play and punishment.
AD: What else are you working on?
LS: I just wrote an erotic Western about a brothel worker who is kidnapped by five of her regulars to be their shared bride. It’s so hot! I realized as I was writing it that part of the menage fantasy is having five men see to your needs, sexual and otherwise. Back to that need for security. Of course, the sex is scorching (this would be a menage a six, with one woman and six men), but I also had fun going deep into the different characters and their personalities, and how they all want to connect to Pearl, their captured bride. That book is called Pearl’s Possession and it will be out with Blushing Books in a few months.
AD: Annnnd what are you reading?
LS: Everything! I read about a book a day, from romance to nonfiction (most popular topics are business, marketing, and now babies). As far as romance, my old favorites are Knight or the Rock Chick series by Kristen Ashley. I just picked up a new fantastic author, Melanie Merchande. Both those ladies’ books have some spanking, though for some good spanking action check out authors Renee Rose, Sue Lyndon, and Vanessa Vale. I recommend these authors’ entire oeuvre.
I’d never read a Western before starting the Rocky Mountain series, so I had a blast researching this time period. I already mentioned the nonfiction book “Hearts West: True Stories of Mail Order Brides on The Frontier.” I also love “Covered Wagon Women”, an amazing eleven book anthology made up of real 19th century women’s diaries, written during their time on the Oregon trail. The entries are mind blowing: “Left today. Didn’t tell my ma and pa that I’ll probably never see them again.” or “Husband died yesterday. I hope I can make it to Colorado Springs before I give birth to my seventh child.” Their voices are funny and sad and triumphant. Men claimed the West, but women civilized it. I read about those tough pioneer women and I wanted to tell their stories.
I just added sex and spankings to make it fun.
***
So spanking is wonderful, subversive fun! What wonderful news! And just what I hoped to find about a new-to-me kink — it’s like hearing that someone’s been waiting for me.
Follow Lady Smut. We’re down for discovery around here.
February 29, 2016
R.I.P. Samhain
I’ve been wanting this book for forever!
They’re going out of business — I know, I know. What is this new publishing world coming to*?
But the good news is that all their books are on SALE.
Go get you some.
Click HERE for their red hot reads and to get to the site.
*but apparently, even though they’re closing down, they’re still paying their authors, etc.
February 26, 2016
Off To Do Wild Things with Even Wilder Women
Sorry, my lovely Lady Smutters. I sadly have no interview with a best-selling author for you today. That’s because I’m off to my first ever Wild Wicked Weekend in hot, hot, (please, God, let it be scorching) hot San Antonio. Billed as the ultimate girl’s weekend, WWW hosts 130 authors, bloggers, reviewers, agents and readers in order to, well, just have fun. In addition to making new friends, the agenda includes body painting male models, playing Sex Position Gumby Games, and drinking too much tequila — perhaps even simultaneously. I’m in!!
There are costume opportunities (40s, 50s, 60s and 70s) and dances. I knew hanging on to that disco dress from 1977 would be worth it someday. A lap dance workshop, photo shoot with romance cover models, and a book fair are also offered. (Husband claims I’m only going to meet the models. Well, duh.)
The only thing I’m not looking forward to? The WWW is held at the Historic Menger Hotel in San Antonio, billed as one of the most haunted hotels in the U.S. (Eeeek. I’m a ‘fraidy cat.) I’ve been told only the friendly ones show up for WWW.
But there are romance cover models waiting, so I’m taking one for the team. You better believe if I run into any ghosts, I’ll end up in one of their laps. Can you blame me? I promised Husband to leave the guys in Texas. I did not promise “no touchy.”
Hold me.
Will report in when I return. Pictures, stories and (hopefully) no ghost meet-ups will be shared. Stay tuned — and wish me luck! I’m going in…
February 25, 2016
There’s No Love in ‘LOVE’ However There Is An Edgy Doctor
Bad title, people. There is no love in LOVE–perhaps because it’s set in L.A. where people are self-reflexively mean.
by Madeline Iva
LOVE is a show is supposed to be a ‘down to earth look at dating’. Ha! My eye! This television show replicates the toxicity of L.A. right down to its semi-bored, narcissistic disposition.
On the other hand, I found myself whiffling through all 10 episodes over the weekend. (Okay, so I had a lot of chores and needed something to watch while folding laundry.)
Not to be too negative in an offhand articulate way–because that would replicate the toxic cycle of energy that is L.A., I will instead report on what there is to like/love about Love:
If you like the TV show ‘Girls’, you’ll be so incredibly happy, cause this show has all that Judd Apatow flavorfulness and more.
LOVE is a TV show that’s supposed to be about a Not So Nice Geek & A Self-Destructive “Crazy” Girl. I like the idea of a super nice geek who’s not so nice underneath. My hope is that they will go on to make Gus come to terms with it. And then what? I dunno. He becomes an evil genius? The possibilities are endless. Gus Cruikshank is his full name–I love the word ‘Cruickshank’.
Gus is a tutor for the young actors on a television show called “Witchita”. I think I like Witchita more than I like LOVE. Think True Blood meets Mad Men. Witches in a small town, all blonde, young, pretty and retro. Meanwhile, their writers table is mostly women, run by a woman and is very ethnically diverse. Dream on, Witchita! Dream on!
I like Gus’s hipster-geek friends. I recognize them from other tv gigs and want to high five them whenever they’re on the screen, especially Charlyne Yi who is adorbs.
Bertie, the adorable, meets Gus, who’s secretly not the nice guy he seems.
I LOVE Mickey’s Aussie roommate, Bertie. The episode where Bertie uses her focus group mojo to create sexy magic at her first L.A. party was soooo sweetly-dirty n good. If the show decides to leave Gus and Mickey in the dysfuntional dirt and focus just on Bertie, I’d be very happy with that.
But the rest of this post is a long rant. Because I found the most compelling character and relationship in the show to be Mickey’s boss Dr. Greg Colter played by Bret Gelman. He just fascinated me like cat-nip.
Why? Well, as a call in radio show therapist he walks an interesting line. Self-absorbed? Sure. But saying smart things. Okay, so here’s the nitty gritty…
Suddenly realizing that her boss is attracted to her, Mickey panics in one episode, convinced that if she doesn’t return his advances, she’ll be fired in 8 weeks because that’s what he’s done to two other women before her.
Yeah, in this show, I’d do Dr. Greg.
So to avoid this form of sexual harassment she boinks him. Yeah, I know. Not exactly the choice I’d pick myself, but as she straddles him and takes a ride on the pony express, she triumphantly sits up and announces that she says “I know you want to fire me.” He says that no, he doesn’t want to fire her. Then she says that no, she knows he wants to fire her, and now he can’t because he’s fucking her. He says he’s not fucking her, she’s fucking him. And then she says, no you’re fucking me. It’s interesting to note that right at this moment she has an orgasm.
After they both get their orgasm on, he says he feels weird. She lays out her strategy, to boink him and avoid being fired, and then he points out that no, that he never thought about firing her, that he actually had good reasons for firing the other women which had nothing to do with sex–it wasn’t harassment at all, and why would she assume he’s such a dick?
He also points out the burden he’s under fielding random calls from disturbed people and feeling responsible as their only life line…Mickey, it’s clear, hadn’t seen his job in that light before.
(But is he evil? He doesn’t seem to be in this moment, but he could be a snake in the grass, and it’s interesting…)
I thought Mickey had a really valid fear going in. It can be scary if you’re the employee and you feel your job may be on the line when things get personal with your boss. As her employer, he knows the smart thing to do is not get involved sexually/romantically with an employee, yet he does anyway–what does that say about him? Certainly he does nothing to reassure her. But maybe he was totally startled – and who wouldn’t be in that particular moment?
In the end, he’s a twisty character and it’s a twisty situation. He says some good stuff and some goofy stuff. Certainly he knows how to turn the emotional tables on Mickey. Does she deserve it? Well, kinda, yeah. But you sense his power too. He knows how people work and how to manipulate the moment. Is he using that power? I’m not sure, and thus, fascinated.
His best moments are when he’s talking on the air. He’s sincere, yet smooth, speaking truth but with compassion.
I was wondering why Mickey wasn’t maybe more interested in him after
a) she comes really fast with him when they have sex, (that’s a good sign isn’t it?)
b) she learns he doesn’t fire people for not having sex with him, &
c) the work he does is stressful/important–he really takes it seriously.
Then Dr. Greg follows up in the days afterwards by wanting the crew to place fake calls into the radio show to make it more interesting for listeners. Not the ethical thing to do at all. But it’s interesting.
This is where the show takes a really fascinating psychological twist: Mickey, forced to call into the show where they discuss psychological issues, actually does confide in her boss. She’s lying at her AA meetings, she’s met a nice guy, and is hoping for redemption.
Dr. Greg is hostile but in flaying her open during her vulnerable moment, he reveals her core problem: she uses hooking up with somebody like an addict uses coke, or food, or alcohol. She doesn’t get into a slow played romantic courting, no. She wants to ride the high of the attention and fluttery feelings she has with Gus. (Dr. Greg, this is L.A. – I mean holding her to the expectations of slow courting–man, is that even realistic?) Finally, Dr. Greg says that what Mickey is doing is using men, their attention, and sex as a quick emotional fix to fill the emptiness inside. And it’s going to lead to some bad, dark places before she’s through.
And it’s true – we see her play the “crazy girl” with Gus in a desperate effort to get her emotional fix. She expects Gus to give her that fix because he’s supposed to be the sweet geeky guy. Only we know he’s not. So he doesn’t behave sweetly to her at all. And like an addict desperate to score, Mickey freaks out as she goes through withdrawl.
OKAY, now we know the work that Mickey needs to do and is failing at. Yet I’m like waaaaaaait a minute! Hey, why aren’t we going back to Dr. Greg? His insight about her was dead on. He cared about her at one point. He seems to have knowledge–which I find sexy–and dare I say it, wisdom? Maybe he also has the cure she needs. And if he was interested in her before…
Seriously? This guy? She’s ditching the doctor for THIS guy? Hmmmm.
But that option never comes into play. What are the writers thinking? At least Dr. Greg with his height, beard, and persona is a man. I mean, I’m all for sensitive, feelings and skinny, short, geeky guys, believe me, I am, but Gus? Sex with him would be the equivalent of sex with a pre-pubescent 12 year old girl. Ick! Ick!
But what can you do? Except give a nod to Bret Gelman who plays Dr. Greg. He took what he was given and made it into something quite compelling. Certainly more compelling than watching two millennials spin around in their tiny whiny circles of angst, dysfunction, and loneliness.
February 23, 2016
The Art Of The Spank
By Our fellow Lady Smutter Rachel Kramer Bussel recently posted a wonderful article on how to achieve orgasm through spanking. Full of insight as to why some lucky folks can get off from getting spanked and the emotional connection tied to it, there was one line in the article that got me thinking. Rachel wrote – referring to the heroine in the short spanking story “Restitution” by Ria Restrepo – “…the man delivering those blows knows precisely what he’s doing.”
Intriguing! But how exactly does the dude learn to deliver those orgasm-worthy blows? Surely perfection comes with practice and there’s much to be said for learning on the job. Yet what about if you’re the kind of person who likes to do her homework? What about if you prefer reading a recipe to throwing all the ingredients in a pot and seeing how it comes out? Is there a spanking primer for the studious among us? Well, of course there is, silly! It’s called the Internet.
It was interesting to note that upon a quick Google search for lessons in how to spank, kink spanking – thankfully – far and away rose to the top over spanking a child. (wikiHow does provide lessons in the latter, complete with drawn pictures. Creepily disturbing). But the first how-to for what I was after comes via our friends at Cosmopolitan. In their humorously titled “Guide to Cheeky Sex” the Cosmo slideshow provides tips via sexologist Dr. Sadie Allison.
I actually thought the suggestions here were pretty decent. The initial message was that you’ve got to introduce the idea of backdoor blows slowly to your man, lest it turn into a butt ugly experience for you both. You might begin with a massage before progressing to rubbing your naked body all over his bare bum. Give him a couple playful blows before notching up the intensity and moving from bare handed smacks to paddle play.
Over at SoFeminine, they’ve called on help from spanking master Allison England. She hosts a spanking salon over at Coco de Mer, London’s “spanking emporium,” so I figure she knows what she’s talking about. Much of her advice is similar to Dr. Sadie’s, but she also has an additional tip. For maximum enjoyment when using a paddle, go for the “sweet spot,” also known as the lower area of the bum. She also advises, for female spankees, to wear crotchless panties while getting smacked. Pressure on the labia from the straps on the central part of the panties can be arousing to the point of achieving orgasm. Sounds A-OK to me.
Of course, it you don’t feel like reading up on spanking tips, you can always head over to YouTube and watch them. There are spanking videos a’plenty. Or, you can watch one of my favorite spanking scenes of all, from Secretary. Maggie Gyllenhaal is superb as she moves from surprise to arousal in the span of two minutes. Of course, James Spader is the one doing the spanking, so …
Enjoy. And before you go, get your a** in gear and follow us at Lady Smut. We’ll keep busting our butts to bring you fresh content every day of the week.
Dead On! Rejoicing for Richonne
Stuff, thangs, and a touch of bow chicka wow wow.
By Alexa Day
I’m writing this on Monday, almost a full day after watching the most recent episode of The Walking Dead, “The New World.” I’ve spent most of the day staring off into space and smiling. Everything is right in my little television world.
Why?
I’ll tell you. Of course, here’s the usual spoiler warning, with the usual classic music video to give the spoiler-averse the chance to slip away.
Still here? Good. I bet some of you will want to play that video again so you can sing. I needed three or four times, so I absolutely endorse that. Go for it. This post will still be here in fifteen minutes.
Is it any surprise that “The New World” is a world of love? Apparently it is a surprise to some folks. But I’ll get to that in a few minutes. I want to hit some highlights first.
Daryl teasingly echoing Doctor Denise’s jazz hands.
Rick playing the annoying older brother to the hilt — subjecting Daryl to his music and later swerving so that Jesus tips over onto Daryl’s shoulder. I’m an older sibling myself, so I loved watching Rick enforce the ‘my ride, my music’ rule.
Rick playing the loving older brother to the hilt — reassuring Daryl as they watch a truck full of supplies descend into a lake.
Maggie reaching out to Emo Enid, to let her know she needn’t be alone now that she’s helped both Maggie and her husband.
Carl teaching his baby sister how to find her way home.
Michonne telling Spencer that he still has a home and people who see the best in him, even though his mother has died.
And then things got real.
Carl explaining to Michonne that he didn’t kill zombie Deanna because it wasn’t his place. The job belonged to her family, he said, to someone who loved her.
And then Carl says, “I’d do it for you.”
Michonne, hearing Carl say that he is her family and that he loves her in this deep, dark, zombie-apocalypse way, returns his promise and embraces him.
Damn, right?
I really didn’t think we would get any more than that. And I was good with it. You know I love anything that gives Michonne and Carl the chance to be family.
But there’s more.
Rick and Michonne wind up on the couch, asking each other about their day. Conversations like that are always kind of intimate. I mean, anyone can ask how your day went, but we only tell the truth to our loved ones.
They watch baby Judith on the monitor.
Rick offers Michonne the roll of mints he got for her in lieu of the toothpaste she requested.
In the quiet, they hold hands.
They lace their fingers.
They turn toward each other.
I realized after a moment that I was actually trying to get my eyes to open wider.
They kiss.
I was afraid that if I moved or breathed or blinked, this would all be taken away somehow.
They look at each other — okay, yeah! And they kiss some more.
An astonished little squeak popped out of my mouth.
Rick and Michonne are making out on their couch.
This can’t possibly be real. Is this real?
Is Richonne real?
And then we cut to an overhead view of the two of them in bed, naked and entwined with each other, their weapons leaning against their respective nightstands.
Aww, check out the weapons on their nightstands!
Seriously, superfan and longtime Richonne shipper Yvette Nicole Brown had the same reaction I did. She just didn’t spend as much time shouting delighted profanities at the screen.
#LifeGiven #Richonne! Thanks to whoever made this pic collage!
A photo posted by Yvette Nicole Brown (@yvettenicolebrown) on Feb 22, 2016 at 5:25pm PST
So let’s be clear.
Richonne is real. Holy shit.
I’m surprised that all of this happened so soon after last week’s episode, yes, but only because my expectations have been lowered by Television As Usual. Television As Usual would have made us wait forever for this. We’d have gotten innuendo first, then hand-holding a few weeks later, and then interrupted kisses, delays to protect the feelings of others, and then did-they-didn’t-they for the season finale.
I should know better by now. The Walking Dead is not Television As Usual. The Walking Dead goes There. Now. Whether you’re ready or not.
I was ready. Richonne shippers everywhere were ready.
A great many people, however, are evidently surprised by this.
Nathan Fillion, on Sunday’s episode of Talking Dead, said he didn’t see it coming. And before I could ask what television show that dude has been watching, I saw headlines from Entertainment Weekly about the “huge Rick-Michonne shocker.” The Hollywood Reporter calls this “Rick and Michonne’s Surprising New Dynamic,” but it should be noted that neither Andrew Lincoln nor Danai Gurira seems terribly surprised by the nature of their characters’ relationship. Danai in particular saw this coming some time ago, and so have the people who have been stopping her on the street to ask when this was happening.
Is this a huge shocker? On one level, yes. If I hadn’t been surprised, I wouldn’t have launched into joyful hysterics back there. I’m surprised to have gotten everything I wanted in the space of two episodes. But I’m not surprised to see these two together. Rick and Michonne have been a great idea for a pretty long time.
I mentioned it here. Jamie Broadnax of Black Girl Nerds raised the matter three years ago. Yvette Nicole Brown (who should have been on the Talking Dead couch on Sunday — yes, I said it) started shipping Richonne back in season three.
So who is surprised? I don’t think the comics purists can claim to be shocked by this, honestly. TWD established a long time ago that the television series is not bound by the comics.
I’ll make a suggestion.
The same people who are totally okay with the marginalization of Rome in Magic Mike XXL are probably astonished to see that Richonne is real.
The same people who were good with relegating the Storm-Wolverine smooch from X-Men: Days of Future Past to the deleted scenes are probably shocked to discover that Richonne is real.
People who are confused by my use of “marginalization” and “relegating” just now probably didn’t see Richonne coming.
Ordinarily, I’d be bothered by that.
But I’m not going to let the easily shocked people of the world steal my joy.
Richonne is real. And to hear the powers that be tell it, Richonne is not going anywhere right away.
We’ll go easy on the told-you-so.
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Alexa Day writes erotica and erotic romance with heroines who are anything but innocent and fictional worlds where strong, smart women discover excitement, adventure, and exceptional sex. A former bartender, one-time newspaper reporter, and recovering attorney, she likes her stories with just a touch of the inappropriate, and her literary mission is to stimulate the intellect and libido of her readers.
