Tag - You're It!

What are your tags?

What is special about you and your brand – what makes you pop out from the masses who also write in your genre? I’ve been cruising the web learning about platform building (about time!) and found a very helpful post by Kristin Lamb, author of We Are Not Alone: The Writer’s Gide to Social Media. One way of pinpointing your brand, she says, is to write out the tags that describe you. So I did, and here they are:

Erotic Needs no introduction, defines everything we write. Explicit sex scenes created to evoke arousal and enjoyment.

Romance Happy endings, always. Satisfying, never tragic, always upbeat at the end. The erotic scenes are not gratuitous but always part of a story that leads somewhere. It may be happy-for-now, but the reader will be pleased the characters got it together.

Boomers Many of our characters are Baby Boomers. We don’t limit ourselves to this age range, but since we claim it as our own, we write stories that celebrate sex and vibrant living across the age spectrum.

Couples We are a married couple, and we write for couples (married or otherwise, straight or LGBT). We craft scenes that appeal to both genders, scenes that invite fantasizing, scenes that can be part of foreplay, scenes that lead to one of our favorite lines from a reviewer of our very first published book: “the reader will no doubt want either a partner or a bucket of toys close at hand.”

Bisexual Heroines for lots of reasons. Because both of us enjoy reading and writing scenes involving two (or more) women together. Because there’s evidence that as we age, we become more sexually fluid. Because for some couples, if she wants him to read erotic romance together in bed, reading about two women may help entice him into the story. Because I'm bisexual. Because it’s fun.

Swingers Because the fantasy of ménage is so tantalizing. Because swinging offers so many opportunities for decadent lovemaking, for taking turns being the sole focus of two, three or more other people, for sharing pleasure, enjoying voyeurism, giving one’s partner a special gift.

Polyamory Sometimes, as in swinging, ménage is about recreational sex, but sometimes it’s about three or more persons falling in love, sorting out the intricacies of the relationship combinations, and making long term commitments. We write a world where such dreams can come true.

Sexual Freedom We’re not fond of the term “promiscuous” and prefer to champion consensual freedom of sexual expression as a healthy approach to sexuality. We know this requires deep trust and open, honest communication, especially when sexual freedom takes place within the context of committed relationships.

You’ll notice some of these tags (Erotic, Romance, Couples) describe everything we write. Others (Boomers, Swinging, Polyamory) are more fluid and are something you can find in our work, but not something that limits us. Taken as a whole, we think this set of tags defines us, and it’s what we hope we deliver to our readers.

If you’re a writer, what are some of your unique tags? If you’re a reader, what tags describe what you’re seeking when you read?

Core Stories

I am an author of erotic romances and I tend to incorporate elements of the Dominant/submissive lifestyle into my stories. The choice isn't one based on popular trends, marketing, or monetary goals. It's organic to my characters and how they live.


I also spiral around a story. You know those cool shots in movies -- the kind that almost make you dizzy -- where the image is far away and the camera slowly zooms in as it circles around the person or spot. From all those angles and distances you can get a pretty good idea of where the person is standing, what direction they're headed for, and, if the shot is meant to foreshadow coming events, what obstacles the character is bound to face. That's how I work through problems. How I get to a story or an idea. I spiral in -- sometimes I spiral out -- but this often results in lots and lots of talking AROUND the problem instead of addressing it head on.


With that in mind I was discussing some issues I've run into with my writing with a friend of mine the other night. The subject of core stories came up. And when I say core I'm not talking the plot or genre, I'm talking about the type of story that is at the center of an author's work. Some examples -- and please keep in mind, I'm not touting myself as any expert of specific writing genres, this is merely my observation and opinion: If you look at the works of Shakespeare -- his tragedies are often about secrets and revenge; his comedies about mistaken or hidden identities and secret plans. Which means, at the core, his plays were focused around secrets. JR Ward's Black Dagger Brotherhood primary focus (in my mind) is family and keeping it alive. Many of Edgar Allan Poe's short stories and poems were focused on death but deeper down you could say (again, my opinion) that he related in his stories the impact of death and grieving upon those around the victim and his/her killer (a lot of the stories I've read by him dealt with murders).


Keeping this in mind, I examined my own writing. At the core  I write about relationships. It doesn't matter if the characters indulge in the D/s lifestyle or not, their behaviors towards one another will tend to take on that mannerism based on who and what they are at their essence. I also discovered and accepted (and that was the hardest part -- the accepting) that I will always write erotic (unless I'm writing Young Adult) since the sex is a key communication device between my characters. By doing this, I've empowered myself to write what I want the way I want without feeling like I have to chase some elusive "style" or "subgenre" to gain an audience. If I stick with my core story and put on the page the story my characters tell me, I'm being true to the writer I am. And that's the most important thing, at least in my eyes.

The Cover That Begs to be Written

If I may borrow a phrase from President Obama, let me say this. Make no mistake, I love to write, to create a fictitious world of my own and build a story within. But if I have a guilty pleasure, it's creating book covers. Throughout my life I've always been an artsy kind of guy.

From the first time I was old enough to pick up a pencil, I drew boats and planes. From twelve to fourteen, once a week, I took the bus downtown and attended the Art Institute on the Raymond Fund Scholarship. (things were safer then) During my teens, I drew hundreds of cars, including some with flames and scallops—remember them. One summer while attending college, I taught an Arts and Crafts class at the Air Force Base.

One of my first jobs was a draftsman at the local phone company where I sometimes worked on commercial art projects. Eventually, I evolved into designing homes—something I did for many years

When the great recession descended on the world and I found myself out of work and money, my writing hobby became my full time job. So is it any wonder I get a kick out of making book covers.

Mostly I make my own. Nothing fancy schmansy. I don't want to spend fifteen hundred bucks on photoshop and if I did, I don't have the time to take a course or two on how to use it. So I make them with the photo editing products I've found available online.

About a year and a half ago, if I grew tired of writing or had a block, I recharged my muse by making the book covers and inserting it at the head of my ms before it was even finished. Then I thought it would be much easier to match the characters with the cover if the cover came first and I started making covers for books I planned to write. Sometimes, I've even come across an image that I found so intriguing I actually created a story around the cover.

For writers who aren't able to make covers, you don't need to. All you need is the image. And the images are available for your perusal on line. There are a dozen or more of such sites. Careful though, images at some online image warehouses are quite pricey.

I use mostly I Stock, Can Stock, 123RF, Fotolia and Dreamstime. Now that I'm involved with and making covers for a brand new publisher, I imagine I'll be using them more and more, since I'll be making more and more covers.

I've splashed some of my recent cover throughout my blog, including two I made for other authors. Some are finished stories, some are wips and some like Cowgirls, I haven't or have barely started.

Click on the covers to see a larger version

Now to a little promotion. My new book, Duped has been climbing the charts since the end of February. Dumped! Revenge is best served cold! Check it out.

buy link DUPED!

Description

Newlywed, Jamilla Randle’s, idyllic life is blown to smithereens when she receives a call from her new husband’s other wife. ASAP, she hires women's attorney, Letta Storm.

Then Jamilla meets Tony at a barbeque and feels an instant, compelling bond with him. Yet, after her marriage fiasco, she’s afraid to trust her judgment regarding men.

Nevertheless, the attraction is too strong to be denied and with Tony’s patient persistence, her heart begins to warm and the three of them begin to pick up the pieces of Jamilla’s life.

In the process they unravel some amazing secrets even she didn’t know existed.

My first foray into self-publishing

We all know the stigma associated with people who self-publish and self-published books. We've heard the complaints. "They aren't real authors or real books. Nobody would accept their story so they had to pay to get it published, etc..."
Well a lot of that is changing. With ebook popularity on the rise and print book sales dropping dramatically, self-publishing is becoming a viable option.
I'm exploring my first foray into self-publishing right now thanks to some amazing help from others who have been involved in the business for a while.
Most of my stories are short so ebooks are my only option for publishing but I do a lot of cons and events during the year and people like to have signed print copies to purchase at those shows. That's when the idea hit me.
I'm compiling a personal anthology of all my lesbian short stories that I still retain the print rights to and putting it into print through createspace. The stories have been edited before being published in ebook so that base is covered, though I still plan to have a proofreader go through it for me for mistakes. I have my cover art and a title for the book and the fabulous Patty Henderson is guiding me through the steps to make the book a reality. I'm very excited about the project and I hope that others would be willing to explore a similar venture. We know e-books are the wave of the future. Sales figure show us that more and more people are purchasing e-readers and every time you turn around another brick and mortar book store seems to be closing it's doors for good. Maybe a nice compliment to the e-book revolution will be the self-publishing route.
Stay tuned for release info of my new self-published anthology titled, Women Gone Wylde. You can check out the cover art now at:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/bethwylde/
Have a great weekend everyone.
Beth
www.bethwylde.com

severely late BUT it's still the 17th!

And I have a new release:

Madison's Cure - The Best of Short Stories by Sascha Illyvich

Here are erotic stories of bdsm, menage, lesbian love, cougar love, bisexual love, man on man sex, and the paranormal just for good measure! The author picked out his favorites from all his tales, stories that have received high reviews/praise and work he loved the best.  As Illyvich writes: "An author puts their best passion into work that arouses them and it seems that most of my stories are about friends I've either fucked or wanted to fuck, so the passion was not hard to find!" Included are Adventurous, Mistress Anna, Aqua Dream, Chick 'n Stu, Claimed, Community Service, Confession, Emerald Green, For Amber, Heat Wave,  Lashway's Lease, Release, Reversal, Secret Connection, and others.

Hint:  Emerald Green has a special story about it and "may" be about a famous m/m author...*snicker*

Buy Now

Daylight Saving Time Blues

This morning was my first workday after the time "sprang forward" for Daylight Saving Time, and as usual, it was tough. It didn't help that last night the hubby and I had theater tickets, so we got home late, and this morning I woke up to a freak snowstorm. Ugh!

Daylight Saving Time (DST) was originally intended to reduce the use of electric lighting, and therefore reduce overall energy consumption. According to Wikipedia, sources are mixed on whether or not it still meets this goal. Apparently it's a good thing for outdoor sporting events and shopping, but bad for evening activities and farmers. Seems like it's kind of a toss-up as to whether DST is still useful or not.

Personally, I'm not a fan--especially during the first week. As an insomnia sufferer, I need all the sleep I can get. I need to find a way to adjust to the time change fast, so I can get back on my normal sleep schedule (well, as normal as it gets for me, anyway). To do that, I researched some tips on adjusting more quickly.

Here are a few of the tips I found:

1) Try to get morning sun while avoiding afternoon sun for a few days. This will help reset the body's circadian rhythms.

2) Have a regular schedule. Going to bed and getting up at the same times encourages the body to be ready for sleep.

3) Take melatonin.

4) Avoid caffeine in the late afternoon / early evening hours.

A lot of the sites I checked suggested going to bed a little earlier each night for the few days before DST begins, and getting up earlier, to prepare yourself for the change slowly. I'll try this tip next year, I think.

As for this year, I'll have to do my best to get myself back on a regular schedule. Morning sun will probably have to wait until this weekend, when I don't have to drive to work in the dark. Most of all, I'm just going to have to tough it out. I may be stumbling around like a zombie, but I'm not alone. This is something most people in the USA and many other Northern hemisphere countries are dealing with right now. At least we're all groggy and crabby together.

Anybody else have any tips for dealing with Daylight Saving Time?

Cassandra
www.cassandragold.com

Branching Into New Genres

I'm thrilled to death because tomorrow is my birthday! I celebrate all month, and this month I celebrated by working my ass off on two short stories, an article, and a crap load of day job work. The exhaustion and subsequent illness was worth it. Both stories were accepted and so was the article. Now, I'm taking a much-needed break by watching lots of movies, reading books, and creating a brand new web site.

But first I must talk about branching out. I've been writing erotica and erotic romance for about three years now. I've always wanted to write horror but so far I've seen only one story published: my award-winning short story Sweet Spot. This story appears in the Monster Mash Halloween anthology published by Whiskey Creek Press Torrid. It also won first place in the Preditors and Editors Poll for Best Short Horror Story in 2008. It's not much of a stretch for me since it's erotic horror, but it's horror nonetheless. Here's a quote to whet your taste:

The problem was how could he convey his disinterest in his old friends and family while dropping in on Ipswich unannounced? He was only here to check up on Amelia. After his wife left him because of his affairs, Amelia monopolized his obsessions. Could he have one fling with her before returning to Manchester? Could he fuck the hell out of her the way she liked it, and then dump her without so much as a goodbye the way she had dumped him? The bitch wasn't above a quickie. After all, that's what he was to her the year they dated, if you could call quick fucks in her car dating. She liked to be tied up, bound, and gagged. Derek was surprised she was submissive. He thought for sure she'd prefer to be dominant and in control, but he realized soon enough that being submissive put her in control. She refused to use a safe word, but he insisted on it. He ended up using their safe word much more than she did. He was always surprised by how far she wanted to go - gagged with a ball in her mouth; spanked until her ass was cherry pink, nipple clamps yanked on while she came hard on his dick. She liked it rough—the rougher the better. Their affair barely lasted twelve months, until she found better fresh meat to tear into. She had the typical bitch's excuse—he was too clingy. Figures. A woman's excuse got latched onto him. He was as clingy as anyone would be after being dumped with no explanation and being replaced by a silicone god wannabe with synthetic man boobs.

If you'd like to read a free erotic horror story I've written, you may like Maneater. Here's my blurb:

Ben Sykes woke up in the morning with one hell of a hangover and a dead roommate. Protesters had halted his work at a construction site in a Guyanese jungle, so Ben was left with a lot of free time on his hands. Four construction workers had died gruesome deaths during the night, and Ben wondered how he got off so easily. The men who died seems to have succumbed to allergic reactions, judging from their bloated faces and the angry rashes around their genitals. To add to his surreal situation, he was captivated by four luscious island beauties who were not what they seemed. Would Ben get to the bottom of his friend's death and the deaths of his co-workers, and in the process would he put his own life in danger?

My work in progress is a very twisted little tale that will never fit comfortably into any erotic romance anthology, but it is well suited for bizarro, dark fiction, and horror. The working title is "Phone Sex" only because I haven't come up with a better title. The driving philosophy behind my story is that psychopaths need love, too. The gist of the story so far is a familiar event that happens to most of us - an obscene phone call. The difference here is that the woman who receives the call wants to keep the guy on the line. She's more demented than he is! These two sickos are made for each other. The story is still working itself out but so far it's quite bent, and it will never fit in well with an erotic romance or even an erotica anthology.

One of my dreams for over a decade was to write and publish a science fiction story, and I finally accomplished my goal! Circlet Press has accepted my short story Unfolding Her Wings for the upcoming lesbian anthology Women On The Edge Of Space. The story is about pregnant Sun and her spouse Gatria, who is away from the space station they call home to work in zero gravity with moss samples. Sun misses Gatria and wishes she'd come home so she engages in some hot fantasies and sex with another female lover to pass the time. The story describes how Sun and Gatria deal with the pregnancy and their changing lives.

Two other genres I've wanted to write in are steampunk and crime/mystery. I have a mystery/family saga novel I've been working on for ages but I sat aside a few years ago to write erotica and erotic romance. I need to finish that book! It's exciting to branch out in other genres, meet new writers, and find new fans. How about you? Have you done some genre-hopping and how successful has it been for you? What genres have you wished to write in but haven't yet?

Here's my new web site, which focuses strictly on my fiction writing. I haven't decided yet whether or not to include my article writing. Head on over, read blog posts, read blurbs and excerpts, and buy my books!

Elizabeth Black - Blog And Web Site

Precious Moments and Ordinary Heroes

Last night just before bed, I was catching up on the news of the day on TV, never expecting something like the earthquake and tsunami in Japan. When the pictures and videos started rolling in, the horror of what they were going through sunk in. After all, 8.9 is just a number. It is the human element which makes it all the more devastating.

My thoughts and prayers go out to all of those affected, and all those rushing to help. It is times like these that true courage and the fortitude of ordinary people blossom. While I may write about fictional heroes and heroines in my books, I hope I never forget the real people who put their lives on the line to save someone else, even when they don't have to.

Tragedies like this also make you think of those precious moments you may have missed with someone special. Maybe you were busy working on a project, or watching a TV show you didn't want to miss while someone dear to you went to sleep without you, or they drove down the road to work expecting a normal day. All too often, those lost moments can never be regained. Rewind doesn't work in real life.

While I love reading and spending a little rare time to myself, today I would like to urge everyone to turn off the computer for a little while, let that last page slide, or let the games on Facebook sit for another day. Pick up the phone, make an impromptu date, or go for a walk in the park with someone you care for. There are precious memories waiting to be made, and the chance may not come again.

The best television shows: are they often entirely too underrated?

It seems to me that what I feel to be the best shows on television are frequently underrated in terms of both publicity and viewers.

I'm a huge fan of Fringe and Supernatural, and also watch UK shows such as Being Human and Misfits. But where's the love? Leonard Nimoy has been a guest star playing a major role on Fringe, and you'd think that Trekkies would be lined up in droves to promote this puppy from here to kingdom come. I can't think it's the time slot, because we're just that crazy dedicated! And Supernatural, I get people poo-poohing it who never gave it the time of day because of what station it's on. That show is gold, and it's not just due to hot actors starring in it! TV Guide finally put them on the cover, and it's about time!

Do you think that it's often that the best shows are frequently underrated in favor of popular tripe, or am I just "picky"? :D Perhaps it's a matter of taste; admittedly my interests lie in paranormal, science fiction, and fantasy shows and there aren't enough good ones out these days. I sincerely wish there were more out there! Maybe we're feeling the lack due to Joss Whedon's shows no longer on the air, who knows?

What do you think? Am I protesting too much, or is there a dearth of good tv shows these days in these genres? Or, worse yet...am I missing scifi/fantasy shows which are good? If so, correct me people, enlighten me...bring such wonderful shows to my attention.

:D



Love & Magic,
Adrianne
www.adriannebrennan.com

Fetishes, Perverts and Ebooks Oh My

I write about a lot of different fetishes. The Lifestyle Series at Red Rose Publishing centers around couples who are:
*married
*into some kind of fetish
*having a relationship problem

Just last night I finished edits for Aidan's Story, book 5 in the Lifestyle Series. A food fetish makes up the majority of the plot in this story. I can't wait to see what kind of cover they come up with for this one. I'd be remiss if I didn't mention that this week is Read an Ebook Week. Whatever your favorite genre is, I challenge you to read one ebook before this week is over. (A lot of ebooks delve into fetishes and alternative lifestyles)

There are so many fetishes out there these days- foot worship, branding, anal play, etc. I'm sure there are thousands I don't even know about. (Please feel free to email about those because I love hearing about new fetishes!) If you are among the many who are into fetishes, visit this site: That's Weird but I Like It I love that they refer to people who have fetishes as perverts.



This past weekend I rented The Kids Are All Right. In case you haven't seen this movie it's about two lesbians who got sperm from a donor bank and then each of them had one baby. The children are almost all grown up and decide they want to meet their sperm donor. The concept was interesting but for this discussion I want to focus on one scene.

At one point the lesbians are in their bedroom and decide to watch m/m porn. I was a little surprised I must say. Nothing wrong with it, I'm a live and let live kind of gal unless you're hurting someone and they surely weren't. They commented on the men in the movie and a short sex scene ensued that turned out to be quite comical. Now I'd have to consider this a fetish. Lesbians getting off on male porn? I guess it's no different than straight women reading m/m, I know there are a lot of those. Still it intrigues me. I lean toward watching things that I'd like to do myself. Maybe I need to think MORE outside the box....

Wait for Night

By A.J. Llewellyn



Words on a page. How much do they mean? I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately not just because I’m a writer and reader but because I’ve come to realize they can mean everything and nothing.
Have you ever picked up a grocery cart in the store and found somebody else’s shopping list? It’s happened to me enough times that I find myself wondering about the person behind the whimsical stationery or the spidery handwriting.
On the other end of the spectrum we have the Voyrich Manuscript, or The Book Nobody Can Read. A seemingly unintelligible work written in the 15th century that nobody can decipher.
Recently I had an experience that falls somewhere between these two.
My godmother sent me a card hand-written by mother in 1972.
Big deal, right?
Well, for me it was. I was a year old at the time and she died a few short years later after a horrific battle with colon cancer. My father destroyed all trace of her. So it was an incredible gift when my godmother unearthed an old Christmas card in which my mother describes her joy at getting me to eat (I find it hard to believe that was ever a problem) and her discovery that she was pregnant again.
I’d never seen her handwriting and the card reduced me to tears. She had a lovely penmanship and wrote in smooth strokes. I touch each word, knowing she created it.
What astonished me was how people have reacted when I show them the card. People I feel close to act like it’s odd that I carry it around with me. A few of my elderly friends, and those who have lost their mothers, recognize it for the treasure it is. I have scanned the card and sent it to my brothers who also value it.
Until my dying day it will remain my most treasured possession.
Words on a page.
Or, a card.
This has impacted me in a wonderful way, because the card became the jumping off point for my new story, Wait For Night, for Amber Quill Press. It comes out in April as part of the Crime and Punishment anthology and as I put the finishing touches to the story I am aware that this is probably my most personal story yet.
Without giving too much away, a young man’s assault at the hands of an attacker who is liberated by the Los Angeles court system, sends him spiralling into depression…and a journey of self-discovery. He travels to a small Greek village – which I did, in search of my mother – only to find the man who hurt him has followed him there.
The Greek poet George Seferis once said, “Wherever I travel, Greece hurts me.”
As I began the search for my mother’s memory, she and the country from which we came have hurt me. I will never stop searching for her…or loving her. Until we meet again.
Aloha oe,

A.J.

Censorship

What is the meaning of the word censorship? It is the suppression of speech that others may find objectionable, harmful or sensitive to people in general.

Last month I read a blog posted by a writer (won’t name names) that stated Amazon was banning a few of her books citing incest in the contents as the reason. Below, I’ve posted a few of her theories over why some of her books were suddenly removed from Amazon.

She believes Amazon received complaints from conservative or religious extremists sighting the erotic material in her books. (Incest fantasies)

She also had another thought on the subject. The reason might be the governmental pressure over the recent removal of WikiLeaks from Amazon’s site.

The last of her theories relate to Amazon moving from just a distributor bookseller to a publisher.

I’m definitely not in favor of incest in books of any kind and wouldn’t read them. There is nothing entertaining to me about incest relationships that are made a part of the plot in a story, whether it’s fantasy, or not. But, as I kept thinking about it, I’m wondering if this is the first time Amazon did take the time to check any of the contents of the books put up on their site to sell.

Something odd struck me about this situation and I wondered at Amazon’s decision. Why did Amazon allow her incest books to be loaded onto their site in the first place and remain for sale for sometime before banning them? Suddenly, they want them removed.

I had another thought on the subject. Does Amazon have a policing staff on their payroll that checks the contents of books allowed on their site? If not, they should hire someone to do just that before loading them up to sell to consumers. This is a way to avert what took place with this writer.

In no way am I condoning incest, but you have to wonder what caused this sudden change of heart by Amazon.

Do you believe Amazon is becoming more stringent about what they offer to the public, or was it pressure from the WikiLeaks scandal? What are your thoughts on the subject?


http://www.mary-suzanne.blogspot.com

http://www.webspawner.com/users/Romancewriter/index.html



Watch for my new release The Flying Duo (MM) due March 15th from www.Extasybooks.com and Mistaken Identity (an erotic contemporary romance) from www.romancedivine.com. Thanks for reading my blog and see you next month.

Mary Suzanne

Yabba Dabba Doo Lovin'

 

There was an old Flintstones cartoon on the tube a couple of days ago, and I just had to sit down and watch it. Lately, I’ve given a lot of thought to Family Guy and King of the Hill, comparing those two and how Family Guy just has nothing to offer the viewing audience while King of the Hill seems to always come with a message. No, we don’t always need to learn something profound when we watch TV—or read a book—however, Family Guy isn’t even funny as far as I’m concerned. Actually, I think it’s kind of sick and definitely not something a young kid should watch.

When you think cartoons, animation in general, you think kids. Well, in Family Guy’s defense, it’s a cartoon created FOR adults. Although I have to wonder at the “adultness” of the mind it’s supposed to target. The so-called “blue” humor touches on everything from bestiality to incest and any other outrageous theme it can find in between. Originally, The Flintstones was aired in a prime time slot and aimed at an adult audience as well. But except for the occasional smooch between Fred and Wilma and an episode or two which may have touched on possible adultery on Fred or Wilma’s part, the show was basically a family oriented sit com—cartoon style. So is King of the Hill.

As a writer and editor, whenever I watch TV and movies these days, I tend to watch through the eyes of a writer and editor. Meaning I tend to tear the storyline apart, find the plot holes, determine ways to improve the plot, and in my mind just generally work out a new and improved scenario. I do hope I’m not the only one who does this. LOL Basically, I don’t watch TV the way I used to. I don’t watch a lot of TV in the first place, but what I do watch gets a thorough thrashing from me for sure.

While I was watching The Flintstones, I caught myself smiling. There was no need to rip it apart and put it back together again. It was perfect just as it was. Characterization was as my friend EM would say, “spot on”. Mood/Setting—perfection. Dialogue was believable, and, hey, I was taken back to the Stone Age for a bit there. And all of that got me thinking about Alphas. My fave subject when it comes to writing romance. Are Fred and Barney Alphas? Fred? Well…I can’t exactly say he’s an Alpha. Part time maybe. LOL Barney? Beta—definitely a Beta. Dino? Alpha. LOL

But there’s more…

I googled The Flintstones and up popped an adult porn site for the cartoon. Is nothing sacred? Ohhhh Emmmm Geeeee. That site had pics of a ménage between Betty, Wilma, and Fred. A quad with Fred, Barney, Wilma, and Betty. Now while we consider ménage and quads to be a perfectly acceptable pairing in erotic romance and erotica, there was just something about doing this with cartoon characters—specifically Fred, Wilma, Barney, and Betty, that was just plain damn raunchy. YUCK!

And if that wasn’t enough??? They even had Dino in the act with Wilma. AND…Fred and Pebbles together. Lord have mercy. I really have to wonder about the mind of a person that does this type of thing with a perfectly innocent cartoon character.

When I discovered this cartoon porn site, I became even more curious. There is an entire world of cartoon porn out there. I am sooooo naïve. Why? Just why? You should see little Bart Simpson in action. Freddie and Velma from Scooby Doo. Kim Possible, The Little Mermaid, Spiderman, Wonder Woman, Sponge Bob and Sandy!!!! Hell, they’ve even got big ol’ pink Patrick in there with his five arms. Imagine that.

Say it ain’t so, Joe!

But it is. And I’ve been scarred for life. So don’t go searching for these sites. Keep your innocence. Wish I’d kept mine. Yabba dabba doo lovin’ ain’t necessarily for prime time. LOL

Hope everyone is happily reading and writing. I’m afraid I am on hiatus right now. Just sneaking online to fulfill my blogging obligation and to warn the world about cartoon porn. LOL So I do hope all is well with everyone here at the Midnight Seductions Authors blog. If you have the time, stop by my website and check out my two newest releases. Black Cougar Curse and Twelve Days of Love. Both books released recently from Ellora’s Cave and you can easily find them there. http://jasminejade.com