Monday, May 26, 2014

Breasts & Poetry

Few poems make me laugh, cry, and drive hope into my soul. Here's one that makes me all emotional just reading it! Have a great weekend!


While The Bathtub Is Filling

by Lana Hechtman Ayers

The mirror reports that I am starting to
resemble my mother, the way she looked

that time I went into her bedroom without knocking,
saw her breasts: two weighted-down plastic bags,

bloated, slow-swinging pendulums.
I decided right then to die at eighteen,

in the prime of perkiness and elasticity.

Last year, my mother showed me a fat scar

where her left breast used to be.
It looked as if a red snake slithered

out of her heart and hid his head
in the brush of her armpit.

The longer I stared, the more I recognized
the creature above her belly for what is was: life.

Nothing about nakedness was ever that lovely.
My mother’s survived this halving,

that scar, a red brooch of honor
making me proud to be a woman like her.

In a moment, when the bathtub is finally full,
I’ll forget the mirror, all these musings,

lie back in the pale green bath,
and feel the warm water work its magic,

making buoyant, bobbing apples
of my two old gals.


This poem appears in Dance From Inside My Bones, published by Snake Nation Press, © 2007, Lana Hechtman Ayers.



Lana Hechtman Ayers lives in the Seattle area with her husband and many monochromatic pets. She is a poetry manuscript consultant, a writing workshop facilitator, a small press publisher and an editorial consultant for Crab Creek Review. Her poems appear in numerous journals.  She is a National Book Award nominee, a Pushcart nominee, and received honors from the “Discovery”/The Nation competition, the Rita Dove Poetry Prize, and the Science Fiction Poetry Associations' Rhysling prize. Lana taught writing workshops for the Centrum Port Townsend Writers Conference, Write on the Sound Conference, Field's End Writers Conference, and the King County Library System. She has authored five poetry collections, the most recent of which, A New Red and What Big Teeth, feature a contemporary Red Riding Hood all grown up. Lana’s sixth and seventh collections are due out in 2015.



Monday, May 19, 2014

50 Shades of Grey Art

I happened to be strolling Calle Ocho. It's a street in the heart of Miami's Little Havana. And what did I stumble on. . .ART!!

*swooning




And art inspired by 50 Shades of Grey. 


Maggie Genova Cordovi


I must say that there is a certain darkness to the work that makes me love it so much! Additionally, and I'm no art academic, I just love what I love, but there's this sense of body detachment and sort of this struggle to find the light and sexuality within the darkness.

So whether you're a fan of 50 Shades of Grey or not, I just had to show this to you all. Check out Maggie's website for more artwork by pressing on her link in the caption under her name.






Monday, May 12, 2014

The Drinkable Book



Nonprofit Water is Life has a new book available that presents safe water drinking tips, AND also purifies water and kills deadly waterborne diseases.


The Drinkable Book!” 

Check out this video, and let me know if you think this is a solution or just some gimmick.

For me, I'm fascinated by the book, but not sure if this is the solution.













Top Ten Interracial Romance List

When I take a few days off from writing to read, I go to several trustee people for book advice. One of them provided an awesome Interracial Romance list for me, so I had to share. 

Check out my girl, Marcia, one of the organizers of Interracial Romance Readers on FB.



Marcia's Top 10 Romances 
(not necessarily in this order)



by Marcia Walkerdine

These are my top ten.  This is not an exhaustive list and I deliberately choose stories that were not a part of a series.  I love these stories because they demonstrate that even broken, desperate men and woman can be touched and healed by love.

My forum home is Interracial Romance Readers  where we love to share recommendations of good IR/MC stories.  Please join me there where you will find literally hundreds more recommendations for great Interracial /Multicultural love!







Book 1  - Lyon on a Leash by Erosa Knowles



Every woman should experience the love of an Alpha submissive man at least once in her life. Although there is a Dom/Sub theme to the story it really is not about that, this story is about how Marcus Lyon loves Vera Knight and demonstrates this in all his actions towards her.  I love this story!

Book 2 –Monster by Francette Phal


Dominic is truly a tyrant for sure, he is oppressive, a dictator, bully, ultimate Alpha male and truly damaged from his background, a very hard and complex man.  He needs the love and understanding of a good woman that woman is Eve.  I love this story because it shows of how true love redeemes Dominic!


Book 3 – Whatever He Wants by Eve Vaughn



James Rothschild another damaged Alpha male who needs to be loved unconditionally.  Noelle Greene is the woman who gives him all her love to which he is blind to and does not see it until it is nearly too late.  Then he has to work hard to redeem himself in her eyes.


Book 4 - Kiss of Ice by Lavender Parker


Annata St James is as hard as they come, she is the Alpha female and Christophe Van der Kind is the man who loves her with his heart, body and soul and then some. I just could not believe how much this man loved this woman.  Again a demonstration of how unstoppable true love is and how it conquers all barriers in the end.

Book 5 – Tempting Mr Parker by Delilah Hunt



Shakara is a stripper and Cade makes a judgement about her based on this fact alone whilst trying to come to terms with his feelings for her. Cade is an Alpha male with lots of attitude  Their love has to overcome great barriers in order for them to be together.  Short story but powerful and intense in my opinion.  


Book 6 - Her Russian Billionaire by Theodora Taylor


Alexei Rustanov and Eva St. James story.  They were in love with each other and had nothing to their names but they had each other.  Then one day Eva vanishes with no explanation and breaks Alexi’s heart, taking her secret with her.  He  wants to break her the way she broke him using all his Alpha badness to do it.  The story is intense and an emotional roller coaster







Book 7 - Second Chances by Delaney Diamond



Renaldo and Sabrina da Silva’s story.  This story will take you on an emotional roller coaster with an Alpha male who believes his love has been betrayed by the woman he loves with his whole heart and soul.  Sabrina does not know how she could have betrayed the man she loves and still loves even when he is cold and bitter towards her and wants nothing to do with her ever again.  Sabrina has to lay it all down to win back her man.


Book 8 - Black Butterfly by Sienna Mynx



Nolen Adams and Sydney Allen’s story.  Nolen is an Alpha male who does not know the meaning of the word no.  He wants Sydney who rejects his advances. This in turn cause Nolen to pursue her relentlessly which pursuit not only impacts on Sydney’s life but the lives of her friends and test their friendships to the max.  Intense and emotionally roller coaster story.


Book 9 – Gents 4 Ladies by Dez Burke



Tiana and Jordan’s story.  This story is funny, very romantic and an intense but sweet read.  This again is an unusual twist to a romantic story that had me gripped.  Tiana thinks she is going on a date with a male escort to attend a wedding.  What happens after is truly amazing love story, in my opinion.  




Book 10 - Beast by Pepper Pace




This a beautiful portrayal of the Beauty and the Beast story, Ashleigh and Christopher’s story.  Ashleigh is your typical big curvy woman who cannot seem to hold onto a man and Christopher is the man with the disfigured face who would not even approach a woman because of how he looks.  A beautiful story of love conquering even physical impairments!



Thursday, May 1, 2014

Street Art, Bitches!

I'm Miami all day, baby! But when I party, it's not at South Beach. It's WYNWOOD Art District.




Sounds familiar?

The area has been discussed in my books. Some novels that come to mind are. . .The Muse (gallery opening), Sexual Deception (whole book is set there), etc



Wood Bar, one of my favorite spots


Regardless, more books will be set in Wynwood and explore the crazy scene.



Building owners don't mind the art as long as their info is on there too.

The best way to know you're in Wynwood is to see all of the amazing street art covering every damn building in that area!! 




Even the sidewalks, streets, doorways and phone poles are covered.


















I love art, but Street art has a special lure for me. It entangles my senses at times. . .


















The Raw and unapologetic part of this genre just grabs me!


The terms "urban art", "guerrilla art", "post-graffiti" and "neo-graffiti" are also sometimes used when referring to artwork created in these contexts.



Traditional spray-painted graffiti artwork itself is often included in this category, excluding territorial graffiti or pure vandalism.



















Why am I saying all of this?

A book is coming people! It's in me to explore characters in the Street Art world!





Every time I come to the district, adrenaline fills my veins! I'm a kid in a real Alice in Wonderland!


And let me tell you. . . Wynwood never disappoints at night!! There will be more blogs on this amazing place as well as stories!!


Kenya signing out, bitches!

(sorry, I call my friends bitches.Take comfort in that.)

Wednesday, April 2, 2014

RAW: Book Review



I hate to be obvious here. . .but this book was RAW!


Too obvious?


shrug gif photo:  tumblr_lklibzyn2a1qh66o6o1_500.gif



I don't think you all quite understand what I'm trying to say here.


This isn't a fairytale or your typical romance. It's something twisted and hard to swallow at times.

Am I making sense here?

Fuck it. 
Here's a scene from the book.
..........................................................

"There's only one way I fuck." (the dark hero says)
The words are so crude that my lips part and I huff in an unsteady breath.

He takes a step forward, his eyes never leaving mine. "Dirty."

Watching my reaction, he adds, "And this type of dirty. . ."  He breathes deep and says on an exhale, ". . .it doesn't wash off."

.....................................................

Well, I don't know about everyone else, but each time I took a break from reading the novel. . .I took a shower.

Am I clean?

Hell No!

I want more! Is there a next book? I haven't seen anything yet, but I swear this is karma on me for taking so long with sequels.

Aint that a bitch! :-(


But let's go deeper. . .


MEET THE HERO



Believe me?

Fine. I'm overexagerrating a bit. He's sexy, but on the inside. . .it's that guy up above in the gif.

OOOOOOOO I love wicked, but at times he might have pushed EVEN MY LIMITS!

And let me tell you something. When the SMEXY CAME. . .

We all might have CAMEEEEEEEEEEE!!


TMI???


Fine. 

I'll end here by giving it 4 STARS!


Monday, March 31, 2014

The Polyamorists Next Door

I write books that deal with alternative relationships. Many are polyamourous ones, so it behooves me to research and learn as much as I can about the topic.

A few weekends ago I went to a book presentation by author Elisabeth Sheff on her new nonfiction novel The Polyamorist Next Door.



Purchase the book here


After the discussion, I had to buy the book! It was that amazing!



The book is for people who are interested in how other families are raising kids and the alternative ways men and women love.




There's a science to parts of the book where she actually did studies of children, families, etc who were involved in poly communities.


Note the image behind her.


That's the symbol of Polyamory


So what were some interesting tidbits I got from the discussion?



  • Kids of poly relationships thrive like other kids. One of the biggest disadvantages was that there were so many adults around that it was difficult to get over on their parents.

  • Kids also tend to grow up and decide for themselves what they will be--heterosexual, bi, poly, etc

  • There's a large poly community in Seattle.

  • There was some interesting discussion on Race and the poly community. Many blacks found it to be crazy. The few that gave it a try sometimes felt like they were an Exotic Novelty verses Human Being (Black man with big cock, black woman just hot for everyone, etc)

If this is a topic that is interesting to you, then you must grab the novel. I give it FIVE STARS!

Thursday, March 27, 2014

Nymphomaniac. . .The Movie

WARNING: 
There is nudity in this post. Deal with it.





I just saw Nymphomaniac in the theater last night.

             Holy Smokes! It rocked!

Most movies that handle the topic of sex, due it in a gentle way. . . 
















Not this movie....










That being said. . . This was no 50 Shades of Grey nor did it deal with a love story.

The sex wasn't for shock. . .it was for something way deeper than I can even comprehend.

This was ART, cinema art in its purest film. The movie just happened to be about a girl who believes herself to be a nymphomaniac, and not just that. . .

She despises herself.

So the director leaves it up to us, the viewers, to be her judge and jury.

SO let me discuss this more. . .

The cinematography was brilliant!!

Actually from the film



The cast was actually made up of actors that I've loved and respected for a long time.



there were some scenes that just twisted my heart, 


made me cry, or even. . .yes. . .full on arousal because let me tell you something. . .

THEY SHOWED SEX
I've never seen so many penis shots in my life. . .that was awesome, btw. We need more penises in our movies!! Begin the revolution!!

I never wanted to see Shia LeBouf's penis, but now that I have (as well as watched in go in and out of the actress's woo haw), I must say. . .I rather love the actor.







Although Uma Thurman didn't have a big role. . .when she came on the scene. . .she almost stole the whole damn movie away! Heart wrenching moment. I hope she gets an award.







Christian Slater also did his thing. I do love him though!!

So this is the first volume of this character's story. Volume 2 comes out next month and I will be eagerly waiting to find out what happens next!!

5 Stars for Nymphomaniac. Check out the trailer below: 













Monday, March 24, 2014

Sex Games

Sex Games

A good game lightens the mood in almost any situation. For long-term couples, it spices the relationship up. For the single person, it adds a bit of excitement to the weekend.

What about sex games in a romance novel?
HELL YES!


While writing Theirs to Play, I checked out several erotic romances that involved game play in some way. Some shocked the hell out of me. Some were so titillating that my husband was woken up in the middle of the night. . .a few times. 

Either way, here's my top three romantic novels with sex games.



His inhibitions fell away, along with his preconceived ideas of what sensible people did. Here, where each new round of play began, his desires spoke to him in the clearest possible tones.


My thoughts: This is not for the prude. Beware.






"Hold me," he growled against her neck. 
But she was holding him, her arms tight around his shoulders. 
And it wasn't enough. 
He needed more. 
Needed more of her to still the pain building in his soul


My Thoughts: Umm. . .this is a clear example of an Alpha Hero, so much that he may even need a new definition that is greater than Alpha.






Art grabs you like lust—inexplicable and irresistible. You could deny it, but then the unfulfilled desire just ate you up. 


My Thoughts: This is the tamest of them all, but one of my favorites.





Wednesday, March 19, 2014

Top Five Menage Romances


I love Menage Romances. I'm a big believer that when it comes to my erotic romances. . .more men is better. 

But what is a Menage Romance?

Mary at the blog Menage Whispers presented a great definition:

Ménage à trois is a French term which originally described a domestic arrangement in which three people having sexual relations occupy the same household – the phrase literally translates as “household of three." In contemporary usage, the meaning of the term has been extended to mean any living relationship between three people, whether or not sex is involved, but because it has also been extended to refer to the actual sexual act between three people, otherwise known as a threesome, the term retains its suggestive quality.
Further discussion on the topic HERE

So with that definition, here's my top five Menage Novels that offered steamy scenes and awesome undertones of literary genius!!

1.


Darkness reveals as much as it hides, sometimes. 
We were touching, hand to shoulder, hand to arm, hand to elbow. We dripped. 
We breathed. 
My teeth had stopped chattering, because of the heat.





2. 
Broken love is the most dangerous love. It will slice you open with every touch.





3.




She twisted and trembled in the water as the two men played with her, their light and dark heads bowed over her breasts, their lips and teeth and tongues playing twin medleys.




4. 




His inhibitions fell away, 
along with his preconceived ideas of what sensible people did. 
Here, 
where each new round of play began, 
his desires spoke to him in the clearest possible tones.




5. 



He leaned forward 
and kissed her deeply. “Don’t be afraid, Myr. 
I love you more than I could ever put into words, but I won’t fail you. I promise. 
This love, 
our love,
 is forever.” 





I hope you check these menage novels out! Come by my blog and let me know what you thought of them!