August 25, 2015

Wednesday Writing Challenge: Scars

Welcome to the Wednesday Writing Challenge!


??  Want to Participate  ??

 

  (July's prize has been delayed and so winners for both July and August will be announced in the next newsletter)


 

August Prize: Ebook copies of all Foreplay and Fangs erotic short stories


 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  

And now...

***Here's Today's Challenge!***

 

Scars by Candra


Choose a scar somewhere on your body.
Write a flash fiction of 100 words explaining where the scar came from.

The story doesn't have to be true.
The story doesn't have to be about you. It can be about a fictional character who has the same scar as you.
Describe what it means to the person who bears it.


Add your entry to the comments below!

 PLEASE REMEMBER YOU MUST BE SIGNED UP FOR THE NEWSLETTER. OTHERWISE I MAY NOT BE ABLE TO NOTIFY YOU IF YOU WIN!

In the Headlines: Why do we Love Zombies?

http://www.newsweek.com/why-are-we-obsessed-zombies-365140


Zombies are in the news again this week, with the recent news of the new AMC spin-off, Fear the Walking Dead. I have to say I'm surprised as heck that the series is generating this much excitement. Having been a zombie movie aficionado for almost 20 years, I've honestly never seen what makes The Walking Dead special; this new series looks like the same series to me, simply set in a new place with new characters. As far as I can tell, the story will be the same: the dead are rising, the survivors are fighting horrible and heart-wrenching situations which probably includes shooting their own friends and loved ones, and the characters we come to know and love will start dying with depressing regularity.

So why do audiences demand more and more of these shambling corpses?

I've seen most big-name zombie films from the George A. Romero series to the modern takes like 28 Days Later to the parodies like Shaun of the Dead and Zombieland. I've seen many, many of the B- and even Z- films like Abraham Lincoln, Zombie Hunter. But it takes an awful lot for a zombie film, TV show, or book to get my attention anymore. So many of them follow such an incredibly predictable formula.

Lately, though, a few more interesting spins are coming about. Pride and Prejudice and Zombies is slated for theatrical release very soon. Just a few years ago we had a marketable zombie romance as well: Warm Bodies

What is the appeal of zombies? How is it possible they continue to appeal to us in the same formulaic stories, and manage to surprise us in some of the most unexpected ways?

Share your thoughts about zombies and their place in fiction, especially as it pertains to romance. Do you like them? Hate them? Have any really good zombie film or book recommendations? Do you think they're getting old, or does it look like we'll be dealing with them for a long, long time to come?

August 24, 2015

Talking Shop: Tips for Pacing






"Well.  That escalated quickly."



 Have you ever been reading a book or watching a movie and suddenly think the plot jumped waaaaay ahead of the timing?  Here's a common one I run into in my genre: two characters meet, discover they dislike and sometimes even hate each other, and on the next page they've never felt such incredible magnetism, never been so drawn to another. On the next page, they're inexplicably in love.

August 21, 2015

Friday Free Read: Isla Querida




They darted ahead of me: twin flashes of white against broad, dark palm fronds. They moved like deer and their laughter bubbled in their wake, tender, girlish, sweet. Had I truly wanted, I’d have overtaken them, silly creatures, without a scrap of trouble. If they were deer, I was the stag. But I let them lead, keeping just ahead of me.



I caught sight of Nina’s periwinkle hair, then the prim shape of Neri’s ankle and her delicate white sandals. Rosy fireflies and dusky night-time butterflies drifted through the warm air around them; the sultry notes of coconut, island blossoms, and the girls’ own bright, fresh scents guided me through lush swaths of jungle. I was a little tipsy and more than a little riled, and my pretty pale does knew it. When it came to my passions, my girls knew all.

August 18, 2015

Wednesday Writing Challenge: Good Luck Charm

Welcome to the Wednesday Writing Challenge!


??  Want to Participate  ??

 

  (July's prize has been delayed and so winners for both July and August will be announced in the next newsletter)


 

August Prize: Ebook copies of all Foreplay and Fangs erotic short stories


 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  

And now...

***Here's Today's Challenge!***

 


Write a flash fiction of 100 words.
Include these three elements:

1. an ex-lover
2. a pair of binoculars
3. a good-luck charm

Add your entry to the comments below!

 PLEASE REMEMBER YOU MUST BE SIGNED UP FOR THE NEWSLETTER. OTHERWISE I MAY NOT BE ABLE TO NOTIFY YOU IF YOU WIN!

In Recent News: Teacher's Union Calls to Censor a Hot-for-Teacher Erotica

Ah, censorship.  One of my favorite subjects.

This week The Daily Beast reported on a conflict between the Chicago Teacher's Union and Gabby Matthews, author of a new hot-for-teacher erotic story set during the Chicago teacher strike of 2012.


http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B012U0PBN8?tag=thedailybeast-autotag-20&linkCode=as2&*Version*=1&*entries*=0


The news story, published on 8/14/15, states that at the time of writing, the book hadn't yet received any Amazon reviews. Today, three days later, two 4-star reviews have already gone up, and I'm curious how many more readers will be checking the book out in the wake of the controversy.

The Chicago Teacher's Union is requesting print copies of the book be recalled. I call that wishful thinking. Does censorship of erotic material ever work?

I'd love to be angry at the very thought of censorship demands. It's hard to be angry, though, when the moment any book is called out for censorship it's popularity immediately jumps. Working to censor literature of any genre only seems to broaden its reach. 

What do you think? Are these calls for censorship likely to achieve what the teacher's union and their lawyers want? Or will Gabby Matthews be laughing all the way to the bank?

August 16, 2015

Talking Shop: Don't Overdo It

Last week Foreplay and Fangs went dark, as I dealt with some severe heat-related fatigue. We're back this week and preparing for a Lotus Petals blog tour, soon to be posted. For today's Talking Shop, let's look at character development, and the dangers of "overdoing it".


What is a caricature? The dictionary defines it as "a picture, description, etc., ludicrously exaggerating the peculiarities or defects of persons or things".  When most of us here the word "caricature", we think of something like this:






As a literary device, caricature is described as "a device used in descriptive writing and visual arts where particular aspects of a subject are exaggerated to create a silly or comic effect".

Here's a very recognizable example of caricature: in the Fox animated sitcom Family Guy, a character is introduced as a part of a domestic violence plot in Screams of Silence: The Story of Brenda Q (Season 10, Episode 3). The character—Jeff—is the loud, obnoxious, abusive boyfriend of Brenda Quagmire.

August 7, 2015

Friday Free Read ~ A Little Bit of Pain (a Poem)

I like 
a little bit of pain. 
Your hard grip on my soft skin.

I like a little bit of soreness,
The ghosts of your passion forming bruises on my flesh.

I want you to bite--
Go slow.
Go carefully
I want your teeth:
Bite me,
Excite me.

We'll work up to the harsher grip
Leave the crescent of your mouth
on my limbs.
Make me ache, make me sore--
A soreness that will last through morning.

Pinch. 
Tweak them--you know what I mean. 
Twist a little, tug a little--
Tease them, hard and mean,
Punish me.
Every sweet little throb makes me wild for more.
Oh, yes--
You know what I mean.

I yearn for the sting of your palm against my--
Well, I'll just let you guess.
I long for that echoing bright pink pang, 
Then your hand,
Gripping,
Pressing,
Prolonging the beautiful chastisement.

If I'm good (or if I'm bad)
Will you let that hand stray?
Will you let it paw at my--
Yes, touch, tease, 
Take it--
It is all yours.

Rough love,
Take me.
I want to remember
By the soreness in the morning
The one who owned me last night.
I want to feel you in every movement--
When I sit, when I stand, when I bite the soft part of my hand 
To bring back the aching, beautiful burn of your teeth from before.

I want to wear your bruises and marks
I want you to put your claim on my skin
And let me feel you
Demanding me 

Forever

August 5, 2015

Wednesday Writing Challenge cancelled this week

Due to a medical issue yesterday, I was unable to post a Wednesday challenge for the week. So, as an alternative, I'm leaving all July posts open for another week. Feel free to go back and put in a response to any July Writing Challenge and we'll count you in for July's prize!

August 3, 2015

Talking Shop: Revisiting Better Porn with Better Proportions



This week I'm revisiting an old Talking Shop post, because it's a favorite subject of mine. Hope you enjoy!



A general rule of thumb for me: never mention cock size.

  

 

Honestly, we all know there are more relevant (and more important)things to describe than how many inches he is. That's not to say I wouldn't call a character well-endowed...but I find anyone taking the time to estimate size down to the literal inch is wrecking my lady boner.