I Sure Am Glad I Don't Live In Sudan...

Just another reason to ban all organised religion.

The woman named a teddy bear Mohammed, and people think she should be put to death for that? I'm still reeling from the fact that they jailed her in the first place.

Hundreds of Sudanese Muslims, waving green Islamic flags, took to the streets of Khartoum on Friday demanding death for the British teacher convicted of insulting Islam after her class named a teddy bear Mohammad.


"No one lives who insults the Prophet," the protesters chanted, a day after school teacher Gillian Gibbons, 54, was sentenced to 15 days in jail and deportation from Sudan.

Never mind the problems with Darfur, drought, poverty, and sexual crimes against women that currently plague the country. Why worry about all that crap when it's far easier to kill a woman in the name of God, just because she named a stuffed toy Mohammed.

I'd love to know how they manage to distinguish between God and The Devil.

I have the biggest urge to go buy a vibrator and call it Mohammed.

Blog Drama? What Blog Drama?

I was going to post this over at Erecsite, when I saw Emily Veinglory's survey, but why waste a perfectly good potential post on somebody else's blog? *g*

I think here in Romanceland, we tend to label any blog posts that attract a lot of commenters as blog rows, or flames. I don't necessarily agree with those labels. I think It's fantastic to have blogs where people feel passionate enough to air their opinions, I really do.

Sometimes there's no telling what's gonna get people talking, for instance when I'm feeling that way inclined, (doesn't happen very often) I'll post what I think to be quite an indepth informational piece and get ten or twelve comments, and other days I can post one paragraph and get shitloads of people wanting to air their views. I think that's kinda cool.

Also, I'm always pleasantly surprised by the response I get, when I do a football (soccer to you Americans) related post, for example the one I wrote when I was feeling lower than a snake's belly due to England being dumped out of next year's European Cup.

What I tend to find more and more these days, is that comments within a mostly innocuous post will as likely start a heated debate, as an inflammatory blog post. There's always one person, who will say something that will piss a whole bunch of people off, and those people will then rush to air their own views, until you get to a point where everybody wants to have their tuppence worth.

I think that's fab, and I'm pretty sure that a lot of people out there feel the same, otherwise why bother having blogs with open comments on them? Or even, why bother having blogs at all?

What tends to annoy is when people try to attribute motivations as to why I post about certain subjects. The thing is, nobody but me will ever really know, so speculation is often fruitless, and the verdict, mostly wrong.

When I read how fed up people are with blog dramas, I am often amused, because I then see those same people taking part in the so-called flame fests, or posting about how fed up they are with the blogs that constantly attract drama.

Another reason that I'm amused is because these so-called blog dramas tend to happen on fewer than four blogs, on any kind of consistent basis. (Admittedly in Romanceland, mine tends to be one of them, but I should think that by now that people know what to expect) This is a minute percentage, considering the actual number of Romancentric blogs out there. It really is.

I have over 100 blogs listed on my Google Reader, and I purposely tend not to include the ones that are likely to give me high blood pressure, so I just assume that other people do the same thing. Apparently not.

I guess what I'm saying is that there are probably thousands of book blogs out there that are nice, and balanced, and fair, and sweet and funny, and rarely use the 'f' word. These blogs are also relatively easy to find. So for those people who are fed up of the drama, there are plenty of other choices out there. Ya feel me?

By the way a big thanks to all of the people who took the time to comment on the Incest, Twincest, Daddy/daughter Play posts. I love that you guys feel free enough to air your thoughts on here, regardless of whether or not your opinions gel with mine, and long may it continue.

Without great debate, and difference of opinion, the world and Romanceland would be a much more boring place methinks.

And Jane, rock the fuck on, mate.

Hell In A Handbasket...

Jesus. Effing. Christ.

I was at Erecsite earlier today, when I came across the following comment by an author called Cheryl Anne Gardner:

"Good Luck to you in this. We need more publishers open to all kinds of sexuality and romance. My new one coming out in January has consentual rape, BDSM, and cutting and blood play ... and the darn thing is a romance as well."

Cutting and blood play?

Pardon me while I pass out.

Currently Reading...

Blurb:

Who said “sexy” isn’t a science?

When wealthy scientist Vetta St. Claire begins a news experiment polling the male libido, she unexpectedly locks horns with long-time scientific rival Travis Carmichael. She never meant to test Travis’s libido…but sometimes a girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do.

Down on his luck and on the verge of giving up his dream to make a real contribution to cancer research, the last thing Travis wants—or needs—is a fling with the prickly Vetta. Travis doesn’t like her. In fact, he hates her. But when the sex is this good…

“Hard science” doesn’t begin to cover it.

I have to say, the blurb doesn't really do the book justice. So far so good.

You can read an excerpt here, and buy the book here.

By the way, there's no twincest, incest or Daddy/Daughter fantasies in this book, so whoever found the blog by googling "brother sister cum on face" will prolly be very disappointed.

You'll Never Persuade Me That Incest Is Romantic...

Just in case I haven't been clear enough on my stance on incestuous relationships within romance books...

Brothers fucking brothers/fathers shagging sons/daughters shagging brothers/ fathers shagging daughters/mothers fucking their sons, and other familial combinations is just plain wrong in my opinion. These storylines may be popular, but they aren't romance. They are fetish. Of the worst kind at that, as far as I'm concerned.

And another thing; a guy who has little girl fantasies doesn't belong on the pages of a romance book. He belongs in jail. Pure and simple. In real life, a guy who has such fantasies will inevitably find a child (or many children) to sexually abuse. I can't ever see beyond that fact, let alone view it as romantic.

The day that these kind of storylines go mainstream under the banner of romance, will be the day that I start reading inspirationals.

There's A New E-Publisher In Town...

Noble Publishing just opened its doors.

This is what it says on the submissions page:

"We are throwing down the gauntlet. We dare you to push the limits, stretch the boundaries, and send us your hottest, boldest stories.


A Noble erotic romance novel is...


*A passionate, gripping love story set within any sub-genre. Feel free to mix them up. If it's a good story, we'll want it.
*A graphic, honest portrayal of human sexuality.
*Daring, risky, push-the-envelope hot. Our authors are free to explore any sexual fantasy, even those considered too risque for some of our competitors.


Noble authors are the creme de la creme. They write the hottest, most explicit sex scenes, while still maintaining the integrity of a thoroughly engrossing romantic plot."

I wonder if this means they'll be offering up Twincest stories too?

Normally I wouldn't bother reporting the opening of a new e-pub, but I want some record of it, for when they eventually close, maybe two years from now.

Yeah, yeah, a little cynical I know, but we all know the score here don't we?

Anyway, I do wish them luck in their endeavours, and hopefully they don't implode like Trixy Lion Publishing et al. *g*

And remember potential authors out there, "Happy Writing! And remember...Think Kink!"

Nice.

Via Emily Veinglory's Erotic Romance Blog.

For The Love of The Craft, Or For The Love Of The Money?

Do you know what annoys me? What really annoys me?

Reading a book, and feeling that the author wrote it just to get paid. Sheesh.

I'm Currently....

Photo courtesy of David Beckham Zone

In deep mourning.

Blogging will resume as soon as I get over my abject misery.

What Do The Following Authors All Have In Common?

Lora Leigh, Chey McCray, and Sarah McCarty?

Let's see shall we?

They are all former EC authors
They have all been signed by NY houses
They are all best-selling, and/or hugely popular authors

Hmmm... there's a fourth connection, can you guess what it is? You're allowed one guess, now try not to waste it... *g*

Congrats....

To my beautiful lil' sister who we watched graduate from university with honours today!! Wooo hooo!!!

We travelled down to her university yesterday evening, and had a real girly night in the hotel. I've got some fab photos of the cathedral where the ceremony was held, which I'll post shortly.

It was very reminiscent of my own graduation, except I think the colours on my grad gown were waaay prettier. *g*

We're all so proud of her, it really doesn't seem like two minutes ago, since she was born. Where does the time go eh?

Sex And Assholic Alphas Really Do Sell...

OK, I guess we knew that already, but you know me, I love stating the obvious.

Anyway, huge effing congrats to Lora Leigh, for her book, Nauti Nights (On my Amazon Wishlist as we speak) getting into the NY Times best seller's list. She made number 13 on the list. How awesome is that?

I can think of at least one Elloras Cave writer (if not more), who would be sick as a jealous pig at this news, heheh.

I like Lora. I love the fact that I know absolutely fuck-all about her, plus she doesn't behave like a dickhead, online. That's so refreshing, especially in light of some of the batshit crazy folks that I've been exposed to recently.

Gang-Raped Saudi Woman Jailed Because She Went Public With Her Plight...

When I read this earlier, I was so disgusted I wanted to hurt somebody. This is totally barbarian.

An appeal court in Saudi Arabia has doubled the number of lashes and added a jail sentence as punishment for a woman who was gang-raped.


The victim was initially punished for violating laws on segregation of the sexes - she was in an unrelated man's car at the time of the attack.


When she appealed, the judges said she had been attempting to use the media to influence them.


The attackers' sentences - originally of up to five years - were doubled.

Extra penalties


According to the Arab News newspaper, the 19-year-old woman, who is from Saudi Arabia's Shia minority, was gang-raped 14 times in an attack in the eastern province a year-and-a-half ago.


Seven men from the majority Sunni community were found guilty of the rape and sentenced to prison terms ranging from just under a year to five years.


But the victim was also punished for violating Saudi Arabia's laws on segregation that forbid unrelated men and women from associating with each other. She was initially sentenced to 90 lashes for being in the car of a strange man.


On appeal, the Arab News reported that the punishment was not reduced but increased to 200 lashes and a six-month prison sentence.

What the fuck? The judge needs to be hung by his balls until they bleed. In fact, he should also be butt-fucked by 14 men, and see how he fucking likes it. Thank God I live in Britain, where even with all our problems, there's no way in the world our judges would be allowed to do such a thing.

Amidst all our bitching and moaning, sometimes we just don't appreciate enough how lucky we are here.

Many thanks to Rosemary for the link.

One Man And His Beeyotch...

I heard on the radio today that a man in India married his dog.

Just judging on appearances, I think the dog could have done much better.

Whoever said that blondes have more fun, obviously never met this bitch.

There are just too many jokes that one could make with regards to this, but I must admit, I was most amused when the radio presenter wondered what the First Dance song would be, and his co-host suggested Three Times A Bitch by Lionel Richie.

What's the weirdest story you ever heard of? Actually scrap that, have you anymore suggestions for possible first dance songs? 'Take My Dog Breath Away', by Berlin, and 'Breed Her Like A Lady' by The Temptations had me absolutely howling. *g*

A Total Miscarriage Of Justice...

This man is called Stefan Kiszko.

In 1976, he was found guilty of murdering eleven year old, Lesley Molseed. Lesley had been raped and brutally murdered.




Kiszko and his family had always maintained his innocence. His mother campaigned tirelessly for his release, believing that her son was innocent.

Finally in 1992, there was a break-through. Crucial evidence had been withheld, and it was discovered that the police had basically forced a 'confession' out of Kiszko. He fit their idea of a murderer because he was mentally challenged, and he was a foreigner.

"Lord Lane, the Lord Chief Justice, finally declared the conviction unsafe after hearing that Mr Kiszko could not have been the source of semen on Lesley’s underwear, and thus the murderer, because his condition made him incapable of producing sperm.

An investigation was launched into why this information was not disclosed to the defence in the 1976 trial."

Basically, this evidence was withheld at the original trial. Also Kiszko had a rock solid alibi that was never brought to the attention of the courts.

Kiszko was released in 1992, but eighteen short months later, he died.

Yesterday, Lesley Molseed's real killer was brought to justice, thirty two years after his horrific crime.



Ronald Castree not only took the life of that child, he also took the life of Stefan Kiszko. He let an innocent man spend sixteen years in prison for a crime he did not commit. I think that that's almost as big a travesty, as the original murder itself.

I hope the perverted fucking bastard gets butt-fucked everyday for the rest of his life in prison.

Incest? Romantic? Really?

Apparently, my fave author evah has a new book out, that features two brothers who are involved in a sexual relationship. With each other.

Is this being marketed as a romance? Seriously? Well, she must be doing something right because the book is Total E-bounds' number one seller.

This is the blurb from the Total E-bounds site:

"For twins, Ryker and Ranger Good, life has never been easy. Kicked out of the house when they were barely eighteen, the brothers started a new life, together. Now in their thirties they are ready to make a commitment, not only to each other but to the woman they’ve waited to claim for four years.


Lilly Bevin has been in love with the Good twin’s for years, only to be treated like a child by them. Now twenty-one, Lilly’s ready to spread her wings. Working in the town bar is just one of the ways she’s declaring her independence, dating is the other.


When the twin’s find out the woman they want is dating a smarmy hustler they try to talk some sense into her, only to be told to butt out. Now it’s up to them to tame their wildcat and bring her into the fold of their love. A wildcat, however, has claws and Lilly isn’t shy about using hers to her advantage."

Lovely. Anybody going to admit to having bought it?

Thanks to You-Know-Who for the tip-off.

Doesn't that picture of the baby make you chuckle every time you look at it? *g*

In Remembrance...

In memory of all the brave men and women, of yesterday and today, who gave their lives in battle against those who would take from us, our freedom.

Dee Tenorio's Happy Bunny Contest!

(All links have been fixed now)

Do you have a blog?

Enjoy erotic romance?

Like a little humor with your hot guy?

Well, this is the contest for you!

November 27th, Samhain Publishing is releasing my first Red Hot Romance, "Test Me!". To celebrate my heroes acting like happy bunnies, I've arranged for a special contest featuring another favorite character, Happy Bunny, hopping all over the blogsphere!

Here's The Game:

1. Copy and paste this post on your website, blog, MySpace, or wherever you wish, including a link to this "Test Me!" Excerpt. (For HTML Code, click HERE!)

2. Once you've completed #1, email laideebug @ Gmail.com (no spaces) with the subject line that reads: "Happy Bunny Blog Contest". Include a link to your site and you are entered.

That's it! But you could totally make Dee's day if you win by reviewing "Test Me!" at your earliest convenience, too!


Here's what you could win!

The Grand Prize:


• An e-Book ARC of "Test Me!"
• A Happy Bunny sling bag
• A Happy Bunny magnet game
• Happy Bunny Post-it notes
• Happy Bunny To-Do List
• Set of Happy Bunny mini-pens

And to fill your bag with things to be thankful for, a special gift from my good buddies Maya Banks and Amy Knupp!

• A copy of "For Her Pleasure" by Maya Banks
• A backlist choice from Superromance author Amy Knupp

Oh, but it doesn't stop there! There's more!

Three extra winners will win an e-copy of "Test Me!" as well as two surprise e-Book prize selections from the following list:

• A backlist book of the winner's choice from Ann Wesley Hardin.
• An e-copy of "La Bella Luna" from Bobbie Cole.
• A backlist book of the winner's choice from Heather Rae Scott.
• An e-copy of "Brazen" and an e-copy of her upcoming Christmas novella, Love Me, Still(goes out to winner 12/18/07) from Maya Banks
• An e-copy of "Calleye's Justice" from Donica Covey

So help Happy Bunny hop all over the world! Post on your blog. Enter! Win!

All winners will be announced December 1st, 2007 on Dee's blog, www.deetenorio.com/Blog!

What Would You Do?

I was listening to my fave radio station earlier, where the presenters were asking their audience what they would do, if they worked with someone who smelt bad. Would they tell them, or would they say nothing, and just live with the smell?

It was most amusing to listen to some of the answers, but it did strike a cord with me.

Years and years ago, I had a girl who worked for me, who not only smelt like unwashed knickers, she also used to look really scruffy, and she had a bird's nest thing going on with her hair. (I'd inherited her with the job.)

The thing was, she was absolutely wonderful at her job, she was super-organised, and the clients liked her. Now if she'd been a back office member of staff, then I probably would have just lived with it, but unfortunately, she was in the public eye quite often, so something had to be done.

I thought for ages about how to broach the subject, then I decided that I simply couldn't tell her that she looked a mess, and that she stunk to high heaven.

Instead, I booked the whole office a make-over, fully equipped with a beauty consultant, and got our local Toni and Guy to give us all free haircuts.

Yep, totally chicken shit thing to do, but dammit, it worked. She had a new do, started wearing make-up, and the ripe smell was downgraded to just mildly sweaty armpits. Score.

So, what would you do if you had a colleague, or a friend who had a serious case of bad body odour? Would you tell him/her, or would you just live with it?

Also, is it worse when the person who smells is a woman?

Can An Author Ever Truly Own Her Characters?

Lori Devoti has an interesting column up at RTB.

She's talking about authors, and whether they actually own the characters they create.

She cites J.K. Rowling as an example of somebody who's created popular characters that people all over the world know and love. Devoti states that she wasn't too happy about Rowling's revelation that Dumbledore was gay. (Not because of any moral or political judgements btw, so no need for twisted knickers) She felt it was unfair to reveal this piece of information when, A, it wasn't even hinted at in any of the HP books, and B, when there's no possibility of closure, seeing as she's done with the series.

Devoti writes:

"That all said, she is the author, and thus she has the “right” to say her characters are whatever she wants. Or does she? Do you as a reader buy all this? If an author suddenly begins to twist a character into something you don’t like, do you buy it? Or does your brain shut down? Do you refuse to believe?"

My answer is that although the author creates the characters, I don't think she solely owns them. Of course she can do with them what she wants, she has the pen after all, but I think she does owe some consideration to the fans.

Now I'm not saying she should write to please her readers because that would just be crazy talk, but I do think she has a duty of care to the people who buy her books, to ensure that she doesn't irreparably damage her characters, or totally change who they are. (In terms of how they are perceived by her readers at least.)

For instance, I love Nora's In Death books, and I love, love, love Roarke and Eve. With a passion. Now if Nora were to kill off either of them, I'd never read another one of her books again . Seriously. Also if she wrote a book where Roarke had an extra-marital affair, that would be another deal-breaker for me.

Of course Nora wouldn't do either of the above (one would hope) because I think she understands that the readers would probably go berserk feel betrayed.

As the people who are familiar with Karin Slaughter's Grant County series will know, in her last book, she killed off one of the main characters just because she could. I will not be spending another penny on her again.

I feel very strongly that Slaughter totally gave her readers the finger, by doing what she did. As a result, some of her fans (Read: me) will be voting with their money, the next time she releases a book.

So waddaya think? Does an author owe a duty of care to her fans or not? Also, does the author solely own the characters she creates, or do they mainly belong to her readers?

Karen Does Sarah McCarty's, Caine's Reckoning...

So, I read Sarah McCarty's Caine's Reckoning last week. As most of the people who request book reviews from me can attest, I'm a lazy bugger when it comes to writing reviews, especially when the book is dull as dishwater.

Anyway, without further ado, here's the back cover blurb:

Caine Allen is a hardened Texas Ranger, definitely not the marrying kind. But when he rescues a kidnapped woman and returns her to town, the preacher calls in a favor. One Caine's honor won't let him refuse.


From the moment he beds Desi, Caine knows turmoil will follow. Desi might have the face of a temptress, but she also has a will of iron and while she needs his protection, she's determined that no man will control her again. They establish an uneasy bond, but it still isn't enough for Caine. He wants all Desi has to offer. He wants her screams, her moans, her demands…everything. Yet there's still a bounty on Desi's head and keeping her satisfied is proving easier than keeping her alive.

VERDICT

I loved this book. I really did.

One of the reasons I love Ms McCarty’s stories is because of her ability to deliver the reader into the psyche of the characters in her books. I love when I can get to know the people in a book on an intimate level, rather than just observing them as an outsider.

As I do with the books that I really love, I like to look at the characters individually, so here goes:

The Heroine

Desi’s story is an extremely tragic one, the only survivor when a group of Comancheros attack her home, killing all of her family, with the exception of her, and her twin sister, Ari, who was taken away to God-knows-where.

Much of Desi’s sorrow stemmed from the knowledge that she had never appreciated how lucky she was, and how pampered and spoiled her life was, before everything was so cruelly ripped from her. The loss of her sister is one thing that haunts her, yet she holds on to the belief that Ari is still alive.

I liked Desi, because she was a victim, who refused to behave like one. She refused to be beaten down by life, and had the courage to keep fighting, even when the odds were heavily weighted against her. Having said that, I did find myself wanting to hug her, and tell her that she wasn't to blame for any of the things that had happened to her.

She was a mass of contradictions, in that she could be feisty as hell, when faced with a bunch of men trying to hurt her, yet she had a fragility about her that was quite touching. She also had a very tender side, which became more evident, as her trust in Caine grew.

For a book to work for me, the heroine has to be spot on, and I think that Desi was. She wasn’t annoyingly feisty (read: assholic), and she wasn’t as dumb as a box of rocks. That pretty much made her perfect in my eyes.


The Hero

Caine Allen is very typical, as McCarty heroes go. He’s sexy, he’s confident, he’s possessive, and once he falls in love, he loves with everything that he is. How can anybody not love a hero like that?

Also, as well as all of the above, he was likeable. I’ve read so many books where the hero is actually so unbearable, that it's been hard for me, the reader, to understand why the heroine would fall for such an arsehole. Thankfully, this wasn’t the case with Caine.

The story starts with Caine and his posse tracking a bunch of ruffians who’d kidnapped the sheriff’s wife, and a few other women, including Desi.

When Caine first meets Desi, she’s trying to defend herself from one of the kidnappers who’s determined to get hold of her. Caine is mightily impressed by Desi’s wicked right knee, as well as her courage. He becomes smitten with her then and there, and when the town preacher calls in a favour, he doesn’t hesitate much to make Desi his.

Caine was a surprisingly well-rounded character, and I loved that he was able to find humour in any situation, even when dealing with Desi’s understandable reticence, and her constant self-flagellation.

It was the little things that he did for our heroine, that made this reader totally fall for him. There was a scene where he brought Desi chocolate that totally melted my heart. There was also a scene where he washes Desi's hair for her. He was so gentle and sweet with her that it almost brough tears to my eyes.

"No one had washed her hair since she was a child. She'd always been too impatient to wait on a maid, and quite frankly had considered another's hands on her an intrusion, but Caines's touch was different. Firm and gentle, it seemed more like a caress than a functional act, and the places his fingers lingered seemed to find the last corded bits of tension within her, and unraveled them one slow circle at a time. He pressed gently at her temples and she groaned. How could such a big man be so gentle?"

That was such an "awwww shucks" moment.

The Secondary Characters

There were a whole host of secondary characters to get to grips with, but that wasn't so surprising, seeing as CR is the first book in the Hell's Eight series. I have to say though, at no point was I overwhelmed by the number of secondaries, as every person who appeared in the book had a good reason for being there.

I was most fascinated by Sam and Tracker, who were both Hell's Eight men. Sam had a bit of a thing for Desi, and didn't mind that Caine knew it, which I thought was quite sweet. He seemed to be the most easy going of the two men, but this may have just been a front.

Tracker was much harder to gauge. He was the quintessential darkly brooding hero, didn't say much, but when he spoke, he was quite compelling. I'm really looking forward to his story.

Tia, another secondary character, was the Hell's Eight house-keeper. She seemed to be the obligatory Mammie-type character, equipped with a quick temper, and a warm heart.

There were other characters, including the villain of the piece, but I just can't be arsed writing about them.

One of the things that I appreciate most about McCarty’s stories, is that they aren't just about swapping bodily fluids as often as possible, in as many positions as possible, with as many people as possible.
Although Desi and Caine spent a lot of time getting horizontal, the scenes were timely, beautifully written, and really demonstrated the difference between erotic romance and some of the smutty pretenders out there.

Caine's Reckoning is definitely a character-led story, so for the readers who crave fast-paced action, and guns flaring on every other page, this may not be the book for you.
However if you appreciate a slower sensual ride, where you have time to smell the roses, feel the warmth of the sun on your skin, and fall in love, then I would highly recommend Caine's Reckoning.

You can buy Caine's Reckoning here, and visit Sarah McCarty here.

The Best Voice Evah...

This is Leona Lewis, she won The X Factor (our version of American Idol, yet another Simon Cowell show) last year, and she is utterly fabulous. This is her new song, which went straight to number one this week.

I was in the car earlier today, and a song by Snow Patrol came on, but it wasn't being sung by Snow Patrol, it was Leona doing a cover version of it. The hairs on my arms literally stood up.

Fabulous set of pipes. She really has...