Liz Everly's Blog, page 72

Fatal Attraction: Why We Love Romance w Danger at The Movies

#1. She uses his sexist assumptions as a tool to manipulate him.

by Madeline Iva

Hi sweeties!

First off all: HAPPY THANKSGIVING WEEK. We’re taking a short holiday break at LadySmut.com until Thursday. In the meantime…

Second: Below is an amazing conversation I had with @Charlotte_Stein and @writerggandrew on Twitter.  We talked about “Fatal Attraction — why we love danger with our romance at the movies.” 

THIRD: I’ve posted great film stills from 10 movies about a ‘fatal attraction’ throughout this post.  They’re all numbered. Try and guess the films down below in the comments section and I’ll give one of you a prize. 

Our discussion was part of the British Film Institute Love Fest—#BFI LoveFest–an online movie & romance festival sponsored by Harper Collins, Avon, Mills & Boon, etc held this weekend.

NOTE: Trying to pin down the conversational threads of a fast and furious twitter exchange can feel like discovering a worm hole in time.  You loop round through tweets and replies, eyes crossing. So this attempt to cobble together the no-holds barred twitter commentary into a coherent dialogue is not completely authentic to our chat experience, but I did the best I could. :)

#2. “Oh, you’re good, you’re very good.”

I did not even attempt to include the comments from the peanut gallery who were DM-ing me during the hour we were on.

Sam Missingham, aka @samatlounge, is the organizer of #BFILoveFest for British Film Institute and Harper Collins, Avon, Mills & Boon, etc. She started us off.

@Samatlounge: Welcome @madelineiva & @Charlotte_Stein to #BFIlovefest. Tell us about yourselves.

@MadelineIva: I’m your host, a romance writer & blogger. @ladysmut1 is a daily rom. blog where we revel in this smexy stuff.

#3. Can’t you feel the heat between them?

@MadelineIva: Our guest author is @Charlotte_Stein. Author of 33+ erotic romance books & stories, she’s also a film fanatic.

@Charlotte_Stein: I am indeed!

@MadelineIva: Yaz! Me too, but I don’t think I’m on your level…

@samatlounge: Wonderful. Charlotte, tell us more about your books.

@Charlotte_Stein: I’m an erotic romance writer who loves sexy and/or romantic thrillers. And I’ve written one myself: Intrusion.

@MadelineIva: With me today, is my partner in crime, G.G. Andrew. Hi G.G.! Check out our blog here: http://www.ladysmut.com .

@WriterGGAndrew: Intrusion was GREAT. Enjoyed that read. Darker, but with so much emotion.

#4 Based on true events. Tortured, sad, and SO hot.

@MadelineIva: Let’s talk about our fascination with this noir subgenre. Chime in, peeps, but don’t forget to add #BFILoveFest so we can see your reply.

@MadelineIva: Why do we revel in dangerous love that betrays our ideas of romance?

@Charlotte_Stein: I don’t feel like it’s a betrayal of romance at all. I think darkness and danger HEIGHTENS the romance.

@MadelineIva:  Why do we love this genre, Charlotte?

@Charlotte_Stein: I’ve just always loved what I like to call early nineties style thrillers…though only recently did I realize why.

@MadelineIva: Why?

@Charlotte_Stein: BECAUSE they have a big romantic/sexy element. It just ups those stakes, you know? It makes everything much more tense and sexy.

@Charlotte_Stein: The element of danger, of not knowing motivation – just as in straight forward crime drama – adds so much.

@MadelineIva: Unpredictability is constant, consequences completely ignored.

@MadelineIva: I think it has to do with throwing off repression—even if one pays a price.

#5 Bunny.

@Charlotte_Stein: Exactly! Yes definitely. That element of living for right now and taking chances comes into play.

@Charlotte_Stein: I thought I just liked thrillers, but what I’m a sucker for is the mixture of erotic/romance and those dark plots.

@MadelineIva: I kinda love when you don’t know if the guy DOES love her or not…

@Charlotte_Stein: Yessssss! Like in modern US/UK, there are so few true impediments to romance. It’s hard to build those stakes.

@MadelineIva: And you’re left hanging there…til the very end.

@Charlotte_Stein: Keeps the viewer/reader guessing. That’s why I loooooovveee Jagged Edge too. No idea until the end!

@MadelineIva: Completely addictive!

At this point we started talking about a movie called IN THE CUT, AKA MARK RUFFALO ON A STICK

Mark Ruffalo, dirtier than you’ve ever seen him before or since in the movie IN THE CUT.

@Charlotte_Stein: One of my fave romantic thrillers is In The Cut, and literally for half the film she thinks the hero is a killer.

(I hastily look it up on google, because the title didn’t sound familiar to me.)

@Charlotte_Stein: I love it so much. Mark Ruffalo is amazing in it!

@WriterGGAndrew: Mark Ruffalo? Sold!

@MadelineIva: Oh I did see this! This is where Mark Ruffallo first slayed me…

@Charlotte_Stein: Honestly, he’s the sexiest he’s ever been. Hot moustache, really raunchy talk…yum.

@WriterGGAndrew: I’m fairly anti-mustache, but I will allow it on him.

@MadelineIva: I really loved him in SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS…too! Such a puppy.

@WriterGGAndrew: (referring to IN THE CUT) Ooh, this is not one I’ve seen, but that is a tasty premise. Adding to the Netflix queue ASAP.

@MadelineIva: Meg Ryan gets nekkid in it. Weird, but I went with it.

@MadelineIva: Why do we risk everything for an attractive stranger?

@Charlotte_Stein: I thought I just liked thrillers, but what I’m a sucker for is the mixture of erotic/romance and those dark plots.

@MadelineIva: Me too!

#7 Watching someone they think is watching them. But *is* he? The plot hinges on it.

@Charlotte_Stein: I think I just like the extra frisson you get from something dark and deadly!

@MadelineIva: Part of it is no limits, no boundaries. Dangerous lovers exhibit total desire, need & commitment to over coming all obstacles.

@Charlotte_Stein: They can get away with things your standard heroine or hero might not.

@MadelineIva: Ahhhhh! No room for goody-goodies in THIS sub-genre. ; >

@Charlotte_Stein: Plus you’ve no idea what they might do next! Ellen Barkin in Sea of Love naked under her coat in the supermarket!

@MadelineIva: Sounds like it’s all about risky boundaries — is that why Mr. Nice doesn’t have a chance?

@MadelineIva:

What propels us to overlook nice men in favor of Mr. Wrong?

@Charlotte_Stein: See I don’t know if this true! I don’t think it’s about overlooking Mr Nice. I think it’s often about finding…

#8 Never has so much depended on such bad poetry.

@Charlotte_Stein: …a Mr Nice underneath something dark and deadly. He unexpectedness of heat, love, desire with someone atypical.

@MadelineIva: YES! YES! That’s why I like it when we just don’t know about *him*.

@writerggandrew That’s the best kind, a nice guy under a dangerous veneer. Because bad underneath…is just bad.

@MadelineIva: WELL, but sometimes he has REASONS for being kinda sexy yet evil. (got I’m so perverse.)

@Charlotte_Stein: I loooooove that kind of hero! I love just plain evil too but that glimmer of goodness…

@MadelineIva: Sometimes all ya need is a glimmer. ; >

@Author_JuliaAsh Perhaps an enticing cocktail of the forbidden mixed with the excitement of taming him???

@MadelineIva: Oh! Oh! I was just going to say…

@MadelineIva: Diving into a passionate affair w a stranger creates a cocktail of passion & volatile excitement. YES!

@MadelineIva:  What are some films that turn the “Fatal Attraction” theme on it’s head?

(Earlier, I had posted these same movie stills here on Twitter before our chat. That’s what I’m talking about below.)

@MadelineIva:   Some of you out there have been guessing movie titles-any movies you’d recommend for Fatal Attraction fanatics? Chime in.

@writerggandrew: A little hokey, but what about Mr. And Mrs. Smith?

@MadelineIva: I think that’s valid — and turns convention on it’s head too, cause they’re BOTH deadly.

@Charlotte_Stein: Yessss great suggestion! It’s not my fave film, but I do love the way it plays with those tropes!

@carollclaudia: I’d suggest Twilight.

#9 Tortured lovers in technicolor splendor.

@MadelineIva: So perverse! I love it that what makes him so attracted to her is his yearning to kill her.

@carrollclaudia: Agreed! And yet (*spoiler alert*) it all ends quite happily.

@MadelineIva: If it doesn’t end happily, then I really gotta have a big bang with the super-evil stuff.

(This is when Sam Messingham came back at the end of the night.  after hosting the facebook version on the same ‘fatal attraction’ theme.)

@Samatlounge: Hey @madelineiva @Charlotte_Stein feel free to chat more, but I’ve had enough romance and erotica for one night, off for a cold shower xx

@Samatlounge Many thanks to both of you @madelineiva @Charlotte_Stein you’ve been marvelous.

@MadelineIva: The time flew by! Thanks for hanging out & blowing my mind! Last question: Top 5 movies!

@Charlotte_Stein:

My top five dangerous romances:

Jagged Edge, because a) Jeff Bridges and b) The way it keeps you guessing.


Sea of Love, for the electric chemistry and the willingness to explore the sexy alongside the thriller plot.


Sleeping With The Enemy, for having all those dark and deadly elements but a sweet romance too.


In The Cut, because it’s gorgeous, and it really goes there in terms of the sex and the gritty romance.


And finally Blue Steel, because it feels like a wonderful gender switch of those “psycho girlfriend” movies.

@MadelineIva: Thanks Charlotte for hanging. We *lurv* you so hard! People, check out her books — they’re awesome sauce!

@writerggandrew: Would love to get this watch list! Though now my brain keeps thinking of sexy evil dudes on Tv…

@MadelineIva: Another discussion for another day but one we MUST have!

@Charlotte_Stein: You can find me at http://www.charlottestein.net

#10 Brilliant job by jail-bait duo.

@MadelineIva: Fabulous! Don’t forget Beyond RepairBEYOND REPAIR folks — Movie fanatic meets semi-drowned movie star in her beach house.

@Charlotte_Stein: (kissy face emoti-con)

@MadelineIva: And lovely people — thank you to my partner in crime, @writerggandrew from @LadySmut1 for joining me today!

@writerggandrew: Thanks, this was fun!

@MadelineIva: Meanwhile, find me and @writerggandrew at http://www.ladysmut.com

and on twitter: @LadySmut1.

Sexy Saturday Round Up

Hello fellow foodies! Gearing up for Thanksgiving next week? I can smell the apple pie already. Today we’re feasting on fabulous stories from around the blog-o-sphere.  Behold links to the latest and greatest out there in the world of smexy.

From Madeline:

The holidays are coming! The holidays are coming! Here’s The Meanest Thing A Parent Has Said About Your Looks.

You seeing this Lexi?

Keep yourself safe in the city with the Bloody Meat Cleaver Purse.

Ever tried the whirlpool? 11 Mildly Kinky Things to Try With Yer Guy 

From G.G. Andrew:

Getting over it online: Facebook unrolls new features to make breakups less painful.

With the Star Wars premiere one month away, check out some of the weirdest theories of what’s going to happen, from the theory that Luke actually went to the Dark Side to the crazier one showing how Jar Jar may have been an evil mastermind.

And in other nerdy news: Spokane man attacks neighbor with a Klingon sword.

 

Why I believe in sexy stories for everyone

by Rachel Kramer Bussel

As you probably know from Dirty Dates week here on Lady Smut, my latest erotica anthology Dirty Dates: Erotic Fantasies for Couples was published last Tuesday, on my 40th birthday. While here we focused on the “dirty dates” part of the title, today I’m going to talk about the subtitle and why I believe that sexy stories, be they erotica or erotic romance or porn, are for everyone, not just women or couples.

Dirty Dates: Erotic Fantasies for Couples (but really for anyone who likes sexy smut!)

But first, a word about that subtitle. As one Dirty Dates reviewer wrote, “Dirty Dates is labeled as erotic fantasies for couples but it works just as well if you are not part of a couple!” They are absolutely correct. While the stories in Dirty Dates do all feature couples, anyone who’s interested can appreciate them. I’ve edited many previous anthologies that had the words “for women” in their subtitle. Does that mean I truly believe that only women can will enjoy or “get” them? Of course not. That’s marketing, and that’s part of publishing a book: doing everything in one’s power to make sure as many people as possible read it. And let’s be honest: if the subtitle were “Erotic Fantasies About Couples,” it just wouldn’t have the same ring.

One of my missions as an erotica and erotic romance editor is to craft books that both newcomers to the genres and seasoned readers will appreciate. This is sometimes a challenge, because no matter what you write, you will never please all of the readers all of the time. Yet broadening the reach of your words is something I stress to my writing students all the time. If you are talking about a highly specific fetish or practice, define it, so those who may never have heard of it will understand. Or even if you’re talking about something that seems obvious, like, say, the erotic appeal of Brad Pitt, still, you should define it for that character, because my take on Brad Pitt’s sexiness may be very different from your character’s.

That’s not to say any particular sexual kink should be dumbed down, but that I want the words in my books to be accessible. In the case of Dirty Dates, I want single people and couples to find something that speaks to them in the stories. I decided to focus on couples because I’d already edited lots of other types of kinky books, and I think the introduction of a couple creates its own set of drama. You don’t necessarily have the meet cute or the when-will-they-hook-up-and-fall-in-love element, but you do have the ability to explore how the passing of time influences how each half of a couple perceives themselves, each other, and the relationship.

Just as romance isn’t only a genre “for” women, and plenty of men are reading and writing romance, I want Dirty Dates to appeal beyond its official target market. Do I think couples will get a lot out of reading from it together? Of course. But my aim in putting out a book of erotica about couples wasn’t to exclude anyone else.

Similarly, I just wrapped up my first anthology of 2016. The title? Best Women’s Erotica of the Year, Volume 1. It’s my first time editing this long-running series, and as per its history, it was only open to women authors. But in no way do I think “women’s erotica” means “only women can read it.” In fact, I think men will both appreciate and gain insight into the minds of women by reading work geared toward women; and let’s please keep in mind that “women” is a gigantic category of people who cannot be boiled down to any single book or genre.

We have to be realistic about the fact that, according to Romance Writers of America (citing Nielsen Books & Consumer Tracker), 84% of romance novel buyers are women. I don’t know of any specific statistics regarding erotica. However, through my own mailing list and marketing efforts, I know I do have plenty of male readers, but I believe the majority are women. Both can coexist. But those kinds of numbers are why books get labeled “for women.” It’s a business decision, not one meant to dictate who’s reading.

Also, the idea that women can and should only target women with their writing, or that men’s points of views will only appeal to men, is limiting for everyone. I want to make it clear, in case it wasn’t, that I encourage new voices, whether they fall into what’s traditional or not. I’d love to see more men involved in erotica and erotic romance, in addition to the many talented ones already writing in the genres, giving their spin on male love and lust, not as a cash grab, but as a way of offering a different spin than what many of us may be used to.

I don’t think there’s anything wrong with knowing your main audience and catering to them. But I always want to leave the door open for the audience I might not expect, and I hope, in turn, readers leave themselves open to enjoy stories they might not expect either. I’m not saying “ignore my book title,” but I am saying that the subtitle in this case is a suggestion, not a mandate.

Fatal Attractions Chat W/ Charlotte Stein on Twitter #BFILoveFest

So crazy. So good.

By Madeline Iva

Hey Kittens! This afternoon, on Twitter at 3:30pm, you’re invited to come chat with me, our very own G.G. Andrew and Charlotte Stein about our love of fatal attraction in movies and literature.

We’re a part of the British Film Institute’s salute to romance — #BFILoveFest.  If you want to register to get the list of programs for the entire weekend on Twitter and Facebook, go HERE.

We’ll talk about the movie Fatal Attraction, of course, but ALSO other movies and films that have great dangerous romance aspects.  Join us by going on Twitter and using the hashtag: #BFILoveFest.

Our chat starts at 3:30pm (Eastern Standard Time) which is 8:30 pm in London (be warned–the schedule lists London times, or Greenwich Mean Time GMT.)

Throw Me To The Wolves: A Quick Chat with Caryn Moya Block

Have a favorite wolf character? Do tell.

by Madeline Iva

Hey puppies! Life is exciting this fall.  I’m drafting my latest WIP. waiting for edits  on Wicked Apprentice which comes out February 1st.  I’m also hosting a Twitter Chat in TWO DAYS (eep!) for #BFI — an online festival celebrating movies & romance. My chat is going to be all about fatal attractions/dangerous liaisons in film.  Whew!

So this week I just had time to grab a quick chat with Caryn Moya Block who was at the Washington Romance Writers luncheon for Bloggers & Readers back in October.  Caryn is such a sweet woman, as well as a very successful romance author.  She currently has three series, but by far her most popular is her wolf shifter series. 

The latest reboot of Teen Wolf. This ain’t Michael J. Fox.

MADELINE IVA: you write paranormal stuff — can you recommend anything that you really loved reading in the paranormal realm that’s super steamy or erotic romance?

CARYN MOYA BLOCK: I just read Kate Douglas’s DARK WOLF from her new Spirit Wild Series. It is both steamy and erotic. I loved it!

MADELINE IVA:Why do you love it so?

CARYN MOYA BLOCK: It celebrates love and I think that is hugely important. The love between mates and between friends, no mater what the gender. I hope that one day the world will be able to do the same.

MADELINE IVA:What’s your fav paranormal movie?

CARYN MOYA BLOCK: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s’ Stone

MADELINE IVA: Any fav wolfie stuff to share?

Hello Mr. Wolf.

CARYN MOYA BLOCK: I have been coveting one or two of these wolf statues.

MADELINE IVA:What’s the latest/greatest in the world of paranormal?

CARYN MOYA BLOCK:  *LOL*, I have seen bigfoot and yeti romance, which might be fun to write. Also Zombies seem to be huge, but decaying flesh is not romantic to me, so I don’t get it. The nice thing about Paranormal is that it includes everything out of the normal. That covers a lot of topics.

MADELINE IVA: Tell us about your latest book.

CARYN MOYA BLOCK: My Newest Release is HERE. Shadow Mate (The Siberian Volkov Pack Romance Book 11)SHADOW MATE: Book Eleven in the Siberian Volkov Pack Romance Series, as well as a Cross-Over Book to the Shadow Walker Tribe Romance.

Sergei Sokolov, Siberian Lycan, is surprised when the mating bond snaps into place and connects him to a woman being attacked in Moscow. Knowing he may lose his destined mate sends him running to rescue her.

Lindy Quiet Thunder, Shadow Walker, is investigating strange lapses of lost time in a team of Marines. While taking the unit to Moscow for a little R&R, Lindy is attacked. As she loses consciousness her mind connects to her mate. Who is behind the attack and will her mate find her in time?

Thanks so much for the chat, Caryn! :) That’s all for now, puppies! Follow us at Lady Smut where we’ll dress like little red riding hood and howl at the moon.

Descending Into Twerking Hell

By Elizabeth Shore

I have a confession.

I recently tried learning to twerk.

And failed miserably.

Here’s the thing. Before you start wondering whether your intrepid Lady Smut writer has lost her ever-lovin’ marbles, let me set the scene. First, it’s important to know that I’m not a fan of exercising. I do it, grudgingly, not because I like it or it’s fun or I get the “runner’s high” that so many rave about (frankly, I still doubt its existence). I do it because we all know it’s good for you and makes you feel good (after finishing, mind you). And, well, you’re just supposed to exercise. It’s a painful but necessary fact of life. Like a lip wax. But it’s such a draaaag! I kick and scream my way through every workout. So I had this idea, see? Where I thought I could make exercising fun? Which is how I landed on twerking.

Twerking is actually quite good exercise for your core. It makes your stomach strong. And probably flat, if you do it enough. And, well, Miley Cyrus can do it, so how hard can it be? Buoyed by this thought, I donned my exercise clothes, fired up YouTube, and found Keaira LaShae, who promised in her video to teach me how to twerk, booty pop and body roll.

(Interesting side note: although booty popping seems to be fairly similar to twerking, purists argue that twerking actually includes (or even requires) that the glutes move independently of one another. Which, frankly, looks a little freak of nature-ish to me. But I digress.)

So. OK. I watch the video, then hit play to re-watch, this time with me attempting to pop my booty right along with Keaira. It’s then that I’m smacked in the gut with a sad, harsh reality. Twerking is hard. First of all, my hips don’t seem physiologically able to move the way they’re supposed to. I could get them to go forward OK, but the backward thrusting motion went nowhere fast. My hips felt as brittle and stubborn as an old retired mule. And when I did manage to coax them into something at least suggesting a booty pop (in truth, more like a flail than a pop), my lower back let forth a wail of protest. Egad!

I decided I needed to take a step back and start with the fundamentals. In the video, Ms. LaShae demonstrates something called a hip tick. This, for unknown reasons, was something I could get a handle on. Progress! However, when she morphed the tick into one continuous motion (hip roll, people), this again became more complicated. I just cannot swivel my hips that quickly. It’s as if my ball and joint sockets are in serious need of some WD40. *sigh*

I have no aspirations to go clubbing anytime soon. As in never. But even if I did, as a female of the caucasion persuasion, I’d be under no peer pressure to start shaking my booty, neither tickin’ nor poppin’ nor twerkin’, oh my! But still. That’s not the point. It was exceedingly frustrating that I actually couldn’t do it. Suddenly I felt old. Used up. Washed out. Like a down-and-out former pro basketballer who drools more than dribbles. I felt as if I should be able to conquer this twerking business but my booty business was having none of it. It was humiliating, I tell ya. Humiliating.

Still, there’s a silver lining in all of this. I can’t twerk, so I don’t have to twerk. No more being painfully humbled by Ms. LaShae’s expert twerking ability, and no more getting the stink eye from my cats when I attempt that which I clearly should not.

Maybe I should consider pole dancing.

 

 

 

 

 

Searching for Satisfaction in the Season of Sweeps

Sorry, guys. Not even your super cute matching haircuts could save you.

By Alexa Day

This used to be my favorite time of year. Not because of the holidays. Not because of the change in the seasons.

This is the season of sweeps. I’m a TV junkie, and I used to love watching my favorite shows pull out all the stops to get my attention during this run for the ratings.

Who would become pregnant? Who has an evil twin? Would someone fall down an elevator shaft?

Anything could happen, and nothing appeals to me more as a writer than a world where anything at all can happen.

This year has been disappointing. I haven’t written TV off altogether, but my old standbys have let me down.

I was on the fence about Sleepy Hollow at the end of its second season. This season, it’s been scheduled opposite Scandal, which sends a pretty powerful message, right? I figured I had to choose between an actual (if dysfunctional) interracial relationship and the mere hope of one, so I chose Scandal. A couple of weeks in, I wondered if I’d been wrong (I’ll get to that in a second), so I took a peek at Ichabod and company during a Scandal commercial break.

During my peek, I gathered that Something Awful had happened to my second favorite lady bad-ass; Abbie had been hospitalized after a run in with the supernatural enemy of the week. Ichabod looked on, concerned, but he still manages to comfort Abbie’s sister and fellow bad-ass, Jenny.

“She’s strong,” he says. That’s right. He says Abbie’s so, so strong.

Well, so much for that, I thought. Abbie has officially crossed over from potential love interest (I know, I saw potential long after most people threw in the towel) and became Strong Black Woman. Now, I don’t necessarily have to have an interracial relationship in everything I watch, but you all know how much I hate seeing a perfectly available, perfectly compatible black woman passed over for no good reason. This was my issue with Magic Mike XXL, remember?

Why did we pass on Jake again?

I went back to Scandal, but all is not well in the land of Olitz, either.

I’m relieved to find that Jake has finally wised the hell up and stopped chasing after Liv. I figured he’d be pouty and kind of psycho for a really long time once he came to grips with the idea that Olivia would never choose him, no matter what he did for her (and to her — the man’s a machine). But Jake is done. Liv doesn’t seem to understand that, but he’s been doing a great job of moving on.

As for Olivia, she has everything she wants. The most powerful man in the world has chosen a side — and it’s hers. Everyone knows they’re together. She’s sleeping in the White House. He’s popped the question.

And true to form, Olivia is pushing him away. Again.

She keeps calling Jake, though. Big ups to him for reminding her that he is now nothing to her.

I think this is part of the Olivia Pope mystique. I don’t think she’ll be able to make a choice that makes her happy — at least not for long. I don’t know why she feels this need to deny herself happiness, but I’m worn out. I’m tired. I don’t think I have time for any more of this.

Hope, however, springs eternal.

I don’t want to delve too deeply into The Walking Dead because it deserves its own post, but I will say that I am willing to overlook Rick’s little smooch with Jessie. For the time being. I can give Rick a pass because there’s enough story elsewhere to keep me occupied (are we about to find that Glenn and Negan are in the same place?) and because, honestly, this whole Jessie thing just started. I let Ichabod ignore Abbie for two seasons before I gave up.

Anyway, still watching The Walking Dead.

I’m also returning to Satisfaction.

Put very simply, Satisfaction is the story of a man, Neil Truman, who discovers that his wife Grace has been seeing a male escort. He responds, ultimately, by becoming a male escort himself.

Satisfaction is absolutely loaded with sex, my friends. Oh my, yes. If you’re not sure your TV regimen is sexy enough, consider adding Satisfaction.

I don’t know why I let go of Satisfaction during its first season, but when I peeked at it again a couple of weeks ago, well into the current season, I found that Grace has responded to Neil’s career choices by launching a male escort business with her husband.

Grace, I salute you, madam. Nothing like a joint venture to bring two people closer together, right?

I want to admit now, publicly, that I was wrong to ditch Satisfaction. I was led astray by two other shows that I knew or had reason to know would ultimately betray and disappoint me. I’m just glad Neil and Grace and their complicated, sex-laden lives are still here for me. I hope we can all make it up to each other during a lovely Thanksgiving binge.

But what about you, fellow TV junkies? What are you getting into? What are you giving up on?

And are you following Lady Smut? We won’t jump the shark on you.

Back in Business. Ain’t it Grand?

by Kiersten Hallie Krum

Hello Lady Smuters! I have returned and am again all up in your bidness.

Didja miss me?

Getting back into “real life” after a month’s recovery from surgery is…well, it’s weird, I won’t lie. Mostly because nothing’s changed and everything you’ve step (briefly) away from has pretty much carried on without you. No harm. No foul. After a lot of sleeping (and, let’s face it, a lot of reading and re-reading Kristen Ashley novels because my glom is strong and cannot, WILL NOT, be denied) life basically went, “oh, you’re back” and flowed on accordingly.

Sux when that happens, amirite?

One of the books I read either before or after (dem drugs, dey make da days blend) was Cara McKenna’s Crosstown Crush, which our own Madeline Iva touched on a bit last week in her post Bring Horns: Watching, Cuckolding, & Other Things Couples Do on Dirty Dates. Here at Lady Smut, we’re big fans of Cara McKenna–like, HUGE–which you can see in my review of her book Hard Time along with Liz Everly’s look at After Hours (another great), and Madam Iva’s interview with Ms. McKenna.

Click on image to buy!

 

I won’t go over the plot of Crosstown Crush as Madam Iva has that well covered. (Yes, that’s a ploy to click on her link above. Go with it.) Outside of the author being pretty much an auto read, I picked up Crosstown Crush due of the advertised MFM threesome, which, believe it or not, is a hard trope to find (*rim shot*).

I choose my erotic romance reads carefully because not all kinks pleasure all readers and frankly, there’s a lot out there that doesn’t ring my reading happy place. That’s okay–to each their own and all that–but it means I read between the cover copy lines before hitting my (1-click) button.

So I went carefully in to Crosstown Crush, because I love Cara McKenna’s books…but I do not do cheaters. Cheating, to me, is the ultimate betrayal of intimacy with and respect for one’s partner. It’s an automatic DNF when a hero cheats (within the relationship) and it’s one of the few real-life scenarios I will not abide in my reading choices. (The exception is historical romance due to the prevalent trope of the heroes being more sexually experienced than the [usually virginal] heroines and often having a mistress up until they’ve realized their love for the heroine.) Several excellent writers have made a number of successful novels wherein the hero (or, though more rarely, the heroine) cheats, that carefully explore the parameters of relationships and the concept of forgiveness as the characters work to move cautiously forward into a new place together. Or so I’ve been told. I haven’t read them myself because, no. No cheating. Full stop. Hard line.

The consensual cuckolding in Crosstown Crush begins as mere role-play between Mike and Samira. They both get off on it and McKenna takes some pains to illustrate how this works for them both. Without question, they are deeply in love with one another and Samira has no problem giving Mike the kink he needs to address his uber-alpha issues, whether it’s creating ever more lurid and elaborate scenarios of her fictional dates or being the one to suggest the “let’s bring this cuckold thing into real life” option in the first place, an elevation of his kink Mike desires but was not going to ask of his wife.

“The savage bull may, but if ever the sensible Benedick bear it, pluck off the bull’s horns and set them in my forehead, and let me be vilely painted, and in such great letters as they write ‘Here is good horse to hire’ let them signify under my sign ‘Here you may see Benedick, the married man.’”

(Much Ado About Nothing, I.i.215–219)

Here’s the thing–the cuckolding deal is not for me. This seems obvious given my hard line on cheating, but it’s not really that which makes me uncomfortable about this book. It’s the humiliation. I don’t find it sexy or titillating for one partner to humiliate the other, regardless of the consensual aspect. And that’s what cranks Mike’s pump–he needs to be humiliated by another man “claiming” his woman and then “reclaim” her at the end of the scenario in order to assert his manhood. Now again, McKenna takes pains to detail how Mike and Samira both enjoy their roles in this kink and how Samira, in particular, willingly plays her role out of love and desire. But there’s so much explanation–first to the reader and then to Bern–that it begins to feel less informative and more like justification.

Bern enjoys being watched, a somewhat more common kink, and after meeting Samira and a lot of careful communication, he becomes the horns of the cuckold. Not for nothing, but I much prefer Bern to Mike. He’s hot, charming, affable, self-aware, a phenomenal lover, and terribly sexy. His first “date” with Samira is nearly perfect and made me wonder why she wouldn’t just keep on keeping on with Bern. Samira and Bern have great chemistry, in person and in bed, and it’s not a surprise that their physical intimacy within the bounds of the agreed upon scenarios deepens their emotional intimacy. They like each other on top of being attracted to each other and Samira is upfront about that with Mike (it helps to be sexually attracted to the man who’s going to play in your kink with you and your husband. I guess.)

While the sex is outstanding for everyone, the emotional conflicts build as intimacy between Samira and Bern grows. Samira has more involvement with him than Mike as her and Bern’s emails are the communication chain by which their engagements are arranged, which serves to preserve the parameters of Mike’s kink, keeping Bern an approved near stranger who Mike’s allowing to have sex with his wife. Samira and Bern are left alone together to set up the cuckold scenes in which Mike “discovers” them at which point Samira and Bern proceed to make him watch as they play on through and verbally humiliate Mike. Once Bern finishes and leaves, Mike almost violently “reclaims” Samira. But soon Samira and Bern are filming their assignations for Mike when he travels for business. Alone, their intimacy begins to break past the agreed upon kink play and become something very real.

It’s here that Samira finally claims her own. Up till now she’s been engaging and enjoying Mike’s kink–seeing to his needs out of her deep love for him and happily getting her own back in the process. In excess. But as her relationship with Bern grows beyond the boundaries of Mike’s kink, she realizes her own “kink”–her ability to love two men very differently at the same time. Her love for her husband is unchanged; it’s even become stronger by their open discussion of trust as they’ve invited Bern into their bed. Now she knows any forward movement of her relationship with Mike will need to address the desires she’s discovered thanks to their/her relationship with Bern. In the skilled hands of Cara McKenna’s emotional writing of vulnerable characters, Crosstown Crush goes beyond the humiliation of Mike’s kink and into an exploration of the many wrinkles and layers of love and trust and need, which exist in every relationship, regardless of kink.

Follow Lady Smut. We’ll give you the bull’s horns, but only if you ask nicely.

 

Sexy Saturday Round Up

The scent of fall is in the air — leaves, woodsmoke, and frost.  Welcome to your cozy weekend resting place full of fun articles on smexy stuff, weird science about our bodies and gender, and other appropriately naughty news and uplifting updates.  Enjoy!

from madeline:

How your ears can give you skin orgasms.

The Atlantic reports on the evolution of bitchiness.

Stay away from UPLUST.

Love the PRB? Here’s a PRB Female painter time forgot.

Missy Elliot’s first video in seven years–Check it out!

Love the man bun? So do I.  The new *fake man bun*–not so much.

From Elizabeth Shore:

Candid conversation: when the guy you’re dating (and really like) has a super small penis.

Gotta do stuff for the kids but have no time? Fear not, just rent a mom.

Need a bit of brain pick-me-up? Try these 8 super foods.

5 reasons to try rope bondage – even if you’re not into kink.

From G.G. Andrew:

Fluent in sarcasm? Science says you’re different. Maybe smarter. 

That hot dude on the cover of your romance novel? Studies say he’d make an awful boyfriend, ruining all of our fantasies.

How the mob brought oral sex to the U.S.

 

 

 

Full body coverage, slick and dirty: Wet & Messy Fetish 101

BY ISABELLE DRAKE

We’ve been talking dirty this week on Lady Smut. Dirty dates, dirty guys, and dirty ideas. Here’s a different kind of dirt.

WAM, wet and messy fetish, is exactly what it sounds like. A person becomes sexually aroused by seeing a slick mess-covered person or being messed with a streaming liquidy substance. Dirt, oil, paint, shaving foam, whipped cream, slime, ketchup…if its slick and has the potential to coat and make a mess, it’s good for WAM.

People with this interest refer to themselves as messey fun folk, sploshers, and wammers, and may prefer to have the mess applied to themself or prefer watching it be applied to others.  Those who prefer to get messy themselves enjoy the feeling of the substance on their skin, the overpowering scent of it as it coats them or the sensation it creates when interacting with others. Or, it may simply be the idea of being “a mess” that turns them on. For others, its not getting dirty themselves, its seeing the mess on others that does it.

In either case, the substance may be applied to bare skin or inside or over clothing. In the case of being applied under or over clothing, while white is a popular color, anything goes–bathing suits, formal wear, uniforms, wedding dresses, full PVC or leathers. The individual may have a specific clothing preference or maybe not.

What’s hot about girls getting hit in the face with pies or guys being covered with green slime? As this fetish is one of the less common, and seemingly less controversial than others such as bondage or pony play, there is not much research on why some individuals are turned on by WAM fun.

One possibility is that individuals with low tactile sensitivity benefit from the extreme and unusual sensations. The theory is that an early experience became a formative one. For example, playing in the mud as a child enabled the person to feel more fully and more completely than was typical and so the mud becomes a cue for a positive physical sensation. This theory, the early imprinting of relating sexual satisfaction with a childhood experience is often linked to the WAM-related “wet-look” fetish in a way that does not include low tactile sensitivity. So it makes sense that perhaps the WAM interest starts that simply. A guy wrestles with a girl in the mud, goofing around as a kid, and likes it in ways he doesn’t expect. Years later, he’s wanting that mud again.

Another possibility is that this fetish is linked to erotic humiliation. In WAM, however, the humiliation is much more light-hearted than in traditional humiliation fetish acts, such as name-calling or being treated like an animal. In this way, it is possible that there are links to from WAM to Dominance/submission interests.

Lastly, there is the obvious, that being bad, in this case by making a mess of oneself or others, is a source of rebellion and is therefore freeing and ultimately fun.

Fun appears to be one of the key components of this fetish. When compared to other fetishes this one may seem downright silly. Pies in the face, ice cream melting across thighs, hair coated with mud. The slapstick aspect of this interest is very serious.

Wondering if you’ve even seen WAM in action? Remember the scene in Tommy when Ann-Margret gets sploshed by bubbles and baked beans then rolls in some mud? Or how about that time in The Swinger when she was coated with paint then rolled around on the floor? (The scene from The Swinger, by the way, has some of those humiliation and D/s touches mentioned above.)

Prefer something less, artsy, more slapstick?  Try Taryn Maria Plays in the Mud or Messy Fun.

We can’t get dirty enough here at Lady Smut. Good news, you don’t have to leave your house to get dirty–if you haven’t already gotten your copy of our very own Rachel Kramer Bussel’s Dirty Dates. What happens when date night involves a blindfold, a corset, handcuffs, or a spanking? Hit this link to get your copy of Dirty Dates and find out. Then settle in for a hot, messy weekend.

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