nothing much

1. Plague-house report: Mike the husband was the next victim. Every time anyone ventures near the bedroom or bathroom where he's hiding, he says go away! save yourself! wash your hands! in bleach! stop breathing until you get downstairs! Get away while you can!

2. Shhh, I'm hunting editors and/or agents. I need them for this contest.
It used to be easy to line up the suckers editors. They rarely said no. Now no one's returning my notes or phone calls. Not even Hilary, who has hidden herself away. . . My own agent said no, thanks. Too many contests? Too many manuscripts? Worrisome, eh? I'm worried and not just because I'm neurotic about my own career.

3. Golly, I've gotten sick of erotic stuff. I'm particularly tired of envelope-pushing for the sake of getting envelopes pushed: the butt plugs and spankings and menages and spikey hemii-penii. And no doubt you thought cream-filled slits (sounds like a dessert) were bad enough.

I was reading a story this morning in which spanking actually made sense. The hero and heroine had a kind of edgy relationship and desire for new, dangerous stuff, so a bright pink butt fit that scenerio. I thought, well? What about her turn? Why doesn't she get to whack his tuchus?

It would have fit their relationship outside the bed. They actually had one! And it was interesting! But that doesn't happen and I'm guessing because it's probably not hottt or something. In a lot of other stories (not that one) spanking is presented as a mastery thing--a male overcoming a female without the non-PC stigma of rape. Ever notice that? If you read them? The guys even say things about how the girls had it coming and, "see how much you wanted it." And it's always queens, high priestesses, powerful executives or some other high falutin female giving up control to a male.**

Girls with reddened butts, wiggling and protesting, but cumming like crazy = hottt.
Boys in the same condition = whimps or something, unless it's M/M.

Honestly, not only is that a thin disguise for the same old, same old, these edgy things go stagnant way fast--or maybe I mean rote rather than stagnant? The rules seem ingrained even before the latest toy is dragged into the scenerio. And it's just a form of slot A and tab B but with bells and whistles.

That's my quicky whine about reading it. The Revealing Skills review (by Michelle, whom I think is a good, to-the-point reviewer) from Just Erotic Romance Reviews might reflect that my own writing has gone off the boil. Bad news, because I want to have at least a simmer. I do like that simmering. . .I think I'll take a break and read something about the monastic life.

here's a chunk of the JERR review. Funny that I only remembered the bit she wrote about lack of sex, when it's a mostly positive review. AND in this selection, I left in all the negative comments and took out a lot of the good stuff. Tchah, Little Mary Sunshine Promo, I don't think.

Rating: 4 Stars

Heat level: S

. . . Ms. Devon has created a wonderful world filled with magic in Revealing Skills. . . With the pheromones sizzling through the air, Gilrohan makes certain that Tabica does not regret her decision to take him as a lover. However, the sex scenes between the main characters are relatively few, considering the length of the book. As Tabica learns about her true nature, Gilrohan pulls back, believing the rhetoric and myth surrounding her position. Gilrohan was a true product of his society and struggles to come to terms with the gulf between him and Tabica’s true status. Secondary characters alternatively add humor or tension to the relationship between the two main characters. Magic plays a huge part in this world, and Tabica wonders if she will ever find her place in it. At times, I found the plot dragging a little (maybe I just wanted more sex!), but overall, I enjoyed it. Ambitious mages, cynical slaves and a rigid hierarchical society all contribute to making Revealing Skills a jolly good read.

4. Celestial Seasonings Vanilla Maple tea isn't as gross as it sounds. It's okay with milk, yet it's still not as good as English Toffee, which I can't find any more.

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** This sort of thing doesn't horrify me because I know it's fantasy and because I've never been the victim of a sexual crime. I bet if I had been, I'd want to weep at the trend. Then again, I probably wouldn't read this stuff.