An Easy Way to Make Mince Pies in the US

Originally posted December 12, 2009

In my case it's a lack of skill and attention that led me to learn how to make Mince Pies.  They are very simple to make and don't take long either.  So here you go, something for workmates, neighbors, relatives, or yourself - a little something to put you in the holiday frame of mind.

Here we go, Mince Pies:

You need flour, sugar, milk, rolling pin, two different sized glasses, teaspoon, anti-stick method [I use Pam, but anything will do], muffin tray for mini muffins [bite size :-)], pastry for pies [I use Pillsbury, yup, told you it was easy], and Mincemeat. 

This comes in basic mincemeat and the other is with Brandy and Rum.  I've used both, but the latter is my favorite - can't taste it, but it does add a little unique flavor to the mix. 

Now, like there are recipes for the pastry, there is help around the next for making your own mincemeat.  Good on you for going there, but I get the Crosse and Blackwell.  You'll find it in your local supermarket in the "baking aisle" or in the "holiday aisle".  There are other brands, but after ten years of making these, C&B is my preferred brand.

Throw a bit of flour on your counter, roll out the pastry, not too much, but some.  Now take the larger glass and cut out your bases.  After making sure your tin is sticky proofed, gently push the pastry disk down into the muffin holes.  Gently.  Don't press the pastry to the sides and don't leave anything poking up, should be flush.

Next, use your teaspoon, put a dollop of mincemeat into the pastry cup, making sure you don't overfill.  When all the holes are filled, use your smaller glass, cut out the tops, and lay them on top.  You may have to put scraps together in a ball and roll it out again, but that's fine.

The last thing you do before cooking them is have a small bit of milk in a dish, dip two fingers into it, and gently [again with the gently] paint the top.  Now you're ready to cook them.

Cook at 425, middle of the oven, for about 15 minutes.

When you pull them out, they will be seriously hot - especially the mix - give them a couple minutes [no more] to cool down.  Using a knife tip, release the mince pie from the cup and place them on a cooling rack.  When you have them all there, add a pinch of sugar to each top, and there you go:  Mince Pies.

They taste great whilst still warm and with brandy butter on them, but they are good any way you can get them.  You'll often find Hard Sauce by CandB being sold beside the Mincemeat, as well as Plum Pudding, which the hard sauce can also be used on - well, after you've lit it up that is - but that's another thing.

Enjoy!

Did you blink and miss my exciting news?

Night Owl Reviews gave Highland Heat a 4.5 Top Pick!  I'm so excited about this because Hamish Buchanan, the gorgeous hunk of Scottish manhood who wears a kilt in the correct way - commando! - is and always will be one of my favorite heroes!

The other exciting news was that Tied Up For Love was nominated for a 2011 BDSM short story Authors After Dark (by the way, 2012 convention is in New Orleans and registration is open!) Bookie Award.  If you know only one thing about me other than I write erotic romances is that Greek Mythology is a love of mine.  To keep the joy alive, I write the Mythological Messes Redux series of which this is book #5, and the hero is Marsyas - he also happens to be one of my absolute favorite sculptural pieces.

Now, next month, December, Whiskey Creek Press Torrid is releasing both Call Me Lucifer and My Angel in one ebook and it's called Good, Bad and Kinky.  Whether in Heaven, Hell or on Earth, the people are good, bad and occasionally kinky :-)  By the way, Lucifer is another favorite hero of mine - the man has forever acquired quite a bit of bad press and yet he's one of the most loveable characters I've ever written.

My second to the last bit of squeeling good news is that Konnichiwa Cowboy, book 2 in the Branded series of which Ride 'em is book 1, is now available.  It's a short and slightly unconventional in a couple of ways, but I enjoyed my research into geishas and wanted to share the scorcher with everyone.  A side note to Konnichiwa Cowboy is that I'm almost finished with its follow up called Giddy-up (Branded #2.5).

The last bit of news I'll keep brief - there will be more about this next week - is that there's a big book event coming real soon [starting November 25] and I'm giving a one of a kind prize away at the end!

There you go - my squeelworthy news!

Fashion Adopts Bondage Elements with Elegance

Recently I've noticed high fashion has been inspired by the BDSM world.  I get Elle Magazine and over a couple of months there's been two full pages and a box under the table of contents that highlighted these elements and use the headlines to vamp up the connection even further.

One trend box was noted as "Naughty by Nature: Severe high heels and glinting handcuff bracelets succumb to the seasons's decadent fetish fixation" and accompanied by pictures of a Nicholas Kirkwood patent leather bootie and Jack Vartanian gold handcuff bracelet with diamonds [to the right].

A full page about trends stated "Lock and Key: Obey your fancy with exposed bonding and risque accessories secured with arresting wrist and ankle cuffs".  This page included pictures of a John Galliano* patent and suede pump with chain details, Louis Vuitton brass handcuffs and a crocodile and brass clutch with handcuff clutch, and Betony Vernon's gold collar [to the left].  I've noted Vernon's collection before on a Naughty Thought posting.

The last page I noticed was a shopping guide called "Collars and Scarves".  There were eight collars on this page and they were labeled collar, cuff, necklace and chockers, but they all encircled the neck much like a "collared" BDSM participant would wear.

Intersting stuff.  I wonder if this means we'll see serious lifestylers stepping out onto Main Street in their real collars and cuffs on date night - hmmm.

*this site has music, but can be turned off.

Rugby's Wolfman - oh my!

Australian rugby league player David Williams and 25 years old and he possesses a full Grizzly Adams beard. His nickname used to be Wolfman, probably from the messy hair and beard.

He's cute, but hot?

One day his best friend, Michael Roberts, shaved him live on a TV show and guess what there was behind all that hair?

Serious hotness!

Read Your Books to Save Them from Bookworms

Actually, they aren't worms that eat the pages of your favorite books, it's more likely to be beetles, moths, lice, roaches and other insects that are looking for the nutritious fare found on bookshelves.

Through the years a variety of poisons have been used to rid a library of these evil beasts, including cedar oil, citrus leaves, cyanide, carbolic acid and mercury chloride, but they have limited success.  It looks like the best advice came from Lucian of Samosata, a Greek satirist from 160 AD.

He criticized "the ignorant book collector" at length, charging that anyone who amassed books to show off their wealth rather than to read them deserved a plague of bugs:  "What else is he doing but buying haunts for mice and lodings for worms?" [Wicked Bugs by Amy Stewart]

In other words, read your books and pests will have no time to settle into the feast attractively set out before them!

What is a Folly?

"A costly structure demonstrating the foolhardiness of its builder." is how the Encyclopedia of the Exquisite describes a folly and is largely true, but I think of it as more romantic than that - which is why I had Hamish Buchanan from "Highland Heat" have one on his property in The Highlands.  They were often built as little palaces to bring a smile to a lovers face, even though they weren't all that habitable.

My cutie and I frequently visit Fountains Abbey and Studley Royal Water Garden in Ripon, Yorkshire, England and it has a few follies dotted around the extensive site.  The one in the picture below is the best preserved and easiest to peak through the windows.  In case you're wondering, it would make a lovely reading nook.

One of the ultimate folly dabblers is King Ludwig of Bavaria with his Neuschwanstein Castle, which literally translates to "new-swan-stone".  It was built to resemble a 13th century palace like those found in a German folktale about a German prince who morphed into a swan, but Ludwig went a bit wild on the details:

By the way, Neushchwanstein, in case you don't already know, is the model for Sleeping Beauty's castle at Disneyland.

"It took fourteen carpenters more than four years to complete the carving in his bedroom alone.  A trapdoor in teh dining room allowed the table to be lowered into the kitchen and set while the servants remained out of sight.  The throne room was decorated in fantasy Bysantine style.  A stalactite grotto off of Ludwig's study came complete with a waterfall and an electric "moon" moving through its phases."

What is the Dark Tower?

Not the Stephen King series, but the real Dark Tower?

"A swank literary salon-cum-nightclub in 1920s Harlem." is what the Encyclopedia of the Exquisite is talking about.

Let's be honest, this establishment offered everything that was fabulous in that time, book discussion from the Harlem Renaissance period and music, and it was handled in an open-door policy by A'Lelia Walker, heiress to the Madam C.J. Walker [her mother] Manufacturing Company hair care and beauty empire.  Everyone from luminaries such as Langston Hughes and WEB Du Bois to royalty from Europe and the fat cats of Park Avenue.  Black and white, rich or poor, I'm sure it was an exciting mix.

"...unless you were there early there was no possible way of getting in," Hughes [1902-1967] wrote in his autobiography.  "Her parties were as crowded as the New York subway at the rush hour."

Okay, now that's a packed house and she sounds like wonderful lady who, by the way, liked to wear turbans, jewels and carry a riding crop, so let's add sassy to the wonderful.

What is a Good Swing?

I've written a scene or two that involved a swing - "Highland Heat" and "An Invitation to the World: China" come to mind - and the Encyclopedia of the Exquisite tells where the inspiration for such a device came from, at least it has to my writing.

"A suspended seat that oscillates backward and forward." is the brief description and pretty much states the basics, but the good stuff is in the details.

"In this diversion there are very many pretty shrieks, not so much for fear of falling off as taht their petticoats should untie," The Specatator noted in 1712.  "The lover who swings his lady is to tie her clothes very close together with his hat band before she admits him to throw up her heels."

Even better were the from Honore Fragonard who made swinging appear to be a bit of naughty foreplay.  Her skirts aren't tied and her lover is looking at her, um, dainty ankles and lovely legs.  Back in the day, The Swing [to the right] by Fragonard was denied entrance into England, but it now hangs in that country's Wallace Collection.

What is a Pillow Book?

I know what they are, but only because I used one as the reason a model was talking naughty pictures in my ebook, "The Painted Lady".  Actually, I first read about them in a Johanna Lindsey romance, although I can't remember which one.  I really need to reread her Malory backlist - I'm sure it's one of those randy guys - to find that book!

However, in the Encyclopedia of the Exquisite, a pillowbook is descibed as "A diary, or book of musings, kept under the pillow."  The Pillowbook of Sei Shonagon, a lady-in-waiting to Japan's Empress Sadako, was a few lines written about the day before she fell asleep kind of book.  Apparently it offers great insight into the era [965-1020] in which she lived.

There were lists included in her pillowbook such as "Squalid Things", "Vexing Things", "Hateful Things", but I laughed at the "Embarassing Things" where she added an oafish lover:

"Lying awake at night, one says something to one's companion, who simply goes on sleeping."

At least she doesn't complain about their snoring.

What are Painted Ladies?

I'm betting they probably aren't what you think they are.  In the Encyclopedia of the Exquisite by Jessica Kerwin Jenkins they are described as "Made-up muses who sat for prominent artists in the 1920's."

The two women she puts in this category are Alice Prin [Kiki de Montparnasse] and Baroness Elsa von Freytag-Loringhoven.  They were wild model-muses who played their roles with "guts, gusto, and striking originality, never forgetting the powerful effect of the unusual makeup."

Montparnasse modeled for artists, mainly nude, but got into her stride when she moved in with Man Ray as lover and muse for his work.  The artist took over her making her up and it's been described thusly:

"Before they went out for the night, Man Ray shaved Kiki's eyebrows, then replaced them with glued-on designs - sometimes cut like the accent over the Spanish n.  Her eyelids might be cobalt blue one day and copper the next, while her searing red lips "blazed agaisnt the plaster-white of her cheeks on which a single beauty spot was placed, with consummate art, just under one eye."

The baroness took things a bit further in Greenwich Village.  Artist George Biddle remembered meeting Elsa in 1917 and described the meeting in great detail.

"Over the nipples of her breasts were two tin tomato cans fastened with a green string around her back.  Between the tomato cans hung a very small bird cage and within it a crestfallen canary.  One arm was covered from wrist to shoulder with celluloid curtain rings, pilfered from a furniture display in Wanamaker's.  She removed her hat, trimmed with gilded carrots, beets, and other vegetables.  Her hair was close cropped and dyed vermillion."

Seriously, Lady Gaga has a long way to go before she's even in the same ballpark as these two Jazz age ladies!

Remember, Remember the Fifth of November...

Originally posted November 5, 2007

November 5th is Bonfire night, a British celebration remembering the Gunpowder Plot of 1605. A group of English Roman Catholics organized and came up with a plan to destroy tyrannical rule by King James I of England and the Protestant Aristocracy. Guy Fawkes was the man chosen to blow up the Palace of Westminster [or the Houses of Parliament] but he was caught before this happened. After being tortured, he and other conspirators were found guilty of treason, they were hung, drawn and quartered. Apparently Fawkes escaped the hanging by getting free and jumping from the scaffolding and broke his neck. After that, he was still drawn and quartered.

It's not all doom and gloom for Guy Fawkes. He is credited with being “the only man to ever enter parliament with honourable intentions.” In 2002 he was 30th in the “100 Greatest Britons” and on the list of the 50 greatest people from Yorkshire.

Recently the festivities have made their way into popular culture beyond the British Isles. Two examples are a movie and book. The beginning of the movie V for Vendetta has an old rhyme that is often used to recall this incident. The full poem isn’t normally used, just the first bit, and sometime the second. When you read it you'll know why, it’s very inflammatory and no longer has a purpose. The cutie, who grew up knowing the first two verses, never knew the last until we saw it noted at a Tower of London exhibition. So here it is in it’s entirety:

Remember, remember the fifth of November,
Gunpowder Treason and Plot,
I see no reason why gunpowder treason
should ever be forgot.

Guy Fawkes, Guy Fawkes,'twas his intent
to blow up the King and the Parliament.
Three score barrels of powder below,
Poor old England to overthrow:
By God's providence he was catch'd
With a dark lantern and burning match.
Holloa boys, holloa boys, make the bells ring.
Holloa boys, holloa boys, God save the King!
Hip hip hoorah!

A penny loaf to feed the Pope.
A farthing o' cheese to choke him.
A pint of beer to rinse it down.
A faggot of sticks to burn him.
Burn him in a tub of tar.
Burn him like a blazing star.
Burn his body from his head.
Then we'll say ol' Pope is dead.
Hip hip hoorah!
Hip hip hoorah!

There's another appearance of the Guy Fawkes Day celebrations found in the first chapter of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. A muggle weatherman is reporting shooting stars are being seen all over Britain, and speculates some people are celebrating Bonfire Night a week early. Instead, it’s the wizarding world celebrating the disappearance of Lord Voldemort. And don’t forget Albus Dumbledor’s pet phoenix is called Fawkes.

So how does one celebrate Bonfire Night? Well, on the Fifth of November, once the sun has sunk, the bonfires, big and small, are lit in fields up and down the country. The guy is on the pyre before it’s set on fire and everyone stands around watching it burn. In northern England, Yorkshire, they have baked potatoes, parkin [a ginger cake with black treacle, or molasses], toffee apples, roasted chestnuts, beer and much more are all consumed in the cold damp air, long in to the night.

The “guy” plays a big part in the celebrations. Up until recent times, kids used to take the days leading up to Bonfire Night and make an effigy of Guy Fawkes, carry or wheel him around the neighborhood, knock on doors or ask people walking around for “a penny for the guy.” They’d spout off what they knew about the Gunpowder Plot, maybe sing a rhyme, and be rewarded with money. They used to spend it on fireworks but later it went toward sweets during the night.

Yes, we’ll be having a fire in the backyard with friends, a few pints, and some Oatmeal Parkin.

This month we give thanks and celebrate with our family, why not expand it further and immerse yourself in history, plots of murder, treason and more. Make some parkin, a cup of tea, and watch V for Vendetta.

Enjoy your Bonfire Night!

Clearing up a Geisha Urban Myth

"Geishas are traditional, female Japanese entertainers whose skills include performing various Japanese arts such as classical music and dance." [Wikipedia]

While the elaborate make-up and hair, coupled with the traditional attire, make it easier to label a woman a geisha, there is much more to who they are and what they do than their appearance.  They are entertainers through dance, games, masterful discourse and a skill at maintaining traditions, what they are not is prostitutes.  Prostitution in Japan exists and is very complicated, but geishas do not exchange their bodies for money.

Back in the late 600's the female entertainer position started to take shape as a serving girl who may or may not sell sexual services.  Over the years, a gap between those who were educated in the arts and those who served and were paid for sex grew, separating prostitutes from entertainers.

The Oiran who were courtesans and actresses - entertainers who also offered sex - took over in the 1600's and blended the line for what would later become geishas.

In 1872, after some controversy, surprise surprise, a law was passed that separated prostitutes from geishas, who the government considered more refined and shouldn't be sullied by association with the sex service industry.

When WWII broke out in 1945, the American GI considered geishas prostitutes and they haven't been able to discard that cloak ever since.  They are a private group who are focused on their own field and therefore don't address the issue, but I'm here to say:

Geishas are not Prostitutes - but they do make for a wonderful fantasy!

The geisha and prostitute roles are combined by the heroine who is neither, she's a woman who actually works in the import/export of beef business, in Konnichiwa Cowboy [Contemporary/Light Western Erotica + D/s].  Here's a small taste of her as all three:

Even though her hands clasped together in her lap, she couldn't stop her fingers from fidgeting with a desire to stroke the tempting package.

"Come over here, my little geisha girl, and show me how you entertain men with that sexy painted mouth."

There was no elegant way to stand up on her own, even crawling would be difficult unless she shifted the kimono out of the way. Letting her purse and fan fall from her wrists, she lifted one knee up a bit, pulled the silk robe from underneath, then repeated the process with the other before making her way to Matt.

eBook now available from Amazon│BN│Smashwords

A Fashionable Kimono

Learning how to put on a kimono is one of those traditions a mother passes on to a daughter, although it's said to still be a difficult task.  I took the directions of how a kimono is supposed to be donned from JapanZone and made a few alterations for Konnichiwa Cowboy, and let's just say it was interesting writing both dressing and undressing scenes!

Here's an excerpt for the new release that touches on the kimono:


eBook now available from Amazon│BN│Smashwords

Without waiting for him to say anything else, she took a few steps back so he could see all of her, then worked on stripping in a seductive manner.



As a slow, sexy rhythm played in her head, she reached behind her and worked on undoing the obi. Once it was loosened, she held the ends behind her, causing her kimono to open far enough to give him just a hint of what lay beneath. Letting the long strips of silk and stiff cotton she held fall down to the ground, she was happy she’d decided to forgo the plain shift normally worn beneath the kimono.


Pulling the two sides together, she turned around and slowly shifted the heavy silk garment to slip down one arm, then the other. Looking over her shoulder, she watched as he reached for his cock and stroked the towering pole. Not able to hold out any longer, she let the decorated silk drop to her waist and let it slowly slip to the floor.


Completely naked except for the long white socks and sandals was a tricky look to pull off as sexy, but believed she’d managed. Sakura actually felt empowered by what she saw reflected on Matt’s face. She knew when a need so powerful took control of his body. He had started to stand, only to fall back into his seat. That one move ensured she wouldn’t doubt he wanted her, although she enjoyed it even more when she saw how much desire there was inside him for her. He may have seen a geisha, but wanted her.


“Turn around.”


Twirling around on her clunky sandals, she stood with one hip cocked out and finally looked him in the eyes to make sure he knew what she wanted. Him.

Hump Day Reflections of a Hot Cowboy - NSFW

Tony Ward by Dimitris Theocharis as posted at Homotography makes a fabulously wicked cowboy!

Cowboys Who Brand the Ones they Love

Yes, they are cowboys, but no, I'm not talking the type of branding done with a red hot poker!  That's for livestock, but I will say it's where I got the idea from.

So what am I talking about?

Cowboys are a special breed of man.  They're tough and strong, and their approach to love and sex is often just as unique as they are.  Branded is a series that follows a set of friends who share a dream of living the white picket fence lifestyle at the same time as maintaining their individual sexual preferences.

What gets them off sexwise is Domination/submission play mixed with bondage and a ménage thrown in here and there.

No fire is necessary because these cowboys create their own heat!

The second ebook in the Branded series was just released and is:

Konnichiwa Cowboy by Tilly Greene
Contemporary/Light Western Erotica + D/s

Matt Wilson, a cattle rancher from Montana, goes to Japan to discuss how to successfully export the Big W’s beef into one of the most restrictive yet lucrative markets. In preparation for the trip he’s spent months on the phone with Sakura Nakamura, discussing rules and regulations, along with some good natured flirting. That was fine over the phone lines, but in person, she makes him want more.

Sakura’s smart, funny and gorgeous, everything he wants in a woman, but can’t have, not if he wants to do business with her father. On his last night in Osaka, he decides to indulge in a fantasy — a naughty night with a geisha — and wishes the delectable made-up treasure in little more than a kimono was Sakura.

Is it a geisha or infatuated workmate who fulfills the visiting cowboy's fantasy?

eBook now available from Amazon│BN│Smashwords

The first ebook in the Branded series is also out and is:

Ride 'em by Tilly Greene
Contemporary/Light Western Erotic Romance + D/s, Bondage and Ménage
TRS 2008 CAPA for Best BDSM

At a young age, Sunflower Forever Free is put in a position where she must take control of her life. A gentle soul who never chose how or where she lived, decides to stay in a small town she stumbles upon and start over. Here she has hopes of finding her white picket dream.

Rehabilitated bad boy Courtland Dickerson returns to the town of his childhood, the last place he’d been happy. He starts his horse breeding business and settles on the normal path he’d always wanted, one far away from the destructive influences of his past.Besides hard work, kinky games are being played behind barn doors. After one particularly wild ride, Sunflower and Courtland discover how well matched they are and together, embark on a new path.

Is the dream of a white picket fence life possible for people who play kinky sex games?

eBook available from Ellora's Cave│All Romance│Amazon│BN│Sony Reader Store


Oh, and as for the Brand itself, that's an item they give their lovers to seal their connection!

Happy Halloween with a Sexy Treat

Boo! Now where's the candy...

Thank you model Rio Monsters for fun pose, photographers Donovan and Matthias Vriens McGrath for clicking at a great moment, and Homotography for posting - Happy Halloween!

Idea for the Carving Challenged this Halloween - pseudo-WS

The carving, the depulping, the MESS!  No, this tidy little flasher is more up my alley, except we have kids ringing our doorbell, so the Ghord Flasher won't be on our front porch - maybe he'll be on yours :-)

Spooky Sexy Shoes

Can you imagine donning a lovely long black dress or a wickedly short one and Giuseppe Zanotti's Spidey Sandals I found on ShoeBlog.

Love them and seriously wish I wore heels!

Hump Day Beauty in Motion

Above is the British model David Gandy, often an inspiration for my heroes, as taken by Mariano Vivanco.  If found it on Homotography and it's in Attitude magazine.

By the way, a picture book called David Gandy by Dolce and Gabbana with photography by Mariano Vivanco is now available and very pricey - you might want to check out Homotography for a hint of what you see inside.

I'm Talking About the Importance of Fashion

BDSM Book Reviews is sharing a blog I wrote about the important role fashion plays in the BDSM world and I open with a quote from Project Runway.

Buried in the article is a pic [no, it's not the one to the right, although I do like it as well] I love from Andrey Razoomovsky - the only other place I've shared it is on Pinterest!

It short and sweet, and I hope you take a moment to go over and check the blog out!

And so it begins...

All year I see books and ebooks that I want to ready and buy them, or put them on the birthday list in hopes someone takes the chance I haven't succombed to the pull of a particular book and purchased it already.  It's difficult not to do because most in my family have been burnt before so bypass the books on my list.  Well, I've been working on that particular impulse and am stepping back for the Christmas list to hold the weight of what I want and it just received a mighty tome.

Catherine the Great by Robert K Massie will be released this November 8th [in hardcover and kindle] and I am putting it on my list.

Massie is the author of both Peter the Great and Nicholas and Alexandra, both richly detailed books for those who enjoy Russian [pre-1917].

The difficulty will be in not purchasing the kindle version - wish me luck!

Naughty Thought for Monday

Cross Legged Chair by Vladimir Tsesler

 November is right around the corner which also means Thanksgiving is almost upon us as well and I wonder, would these chairs be too sexy for the table?

We know what Grandpa would do, but what about Grandma - would she giggle or gasp?

Friday Funny

A pirate walked into a bar and the bartender said,

"Hey, I haven't seen you in a while. What happened? You look terrible."

"What do you mean?" said the pirate, "I feel fine."

"What about the wooden leg? You didn't have that before."

"Well," said the pirate, "We were in a battle, and I got hit with a cannon ball, but I'm fine now."

The bartender replied, "Well, OK, but what about that hook?
What happened to your hand?"

The pirate explained, "We were in another battle. I boarded a ship and got into a sword fight. My hand was cut off. I got fitted with a hook but I'm fine, really."

"What about that eye patch?"

"Oh," said the pirate, "One day we were at sea, and a flock of birds flew over. I looked up, and one of them shit in my eye."

"You're kidding," said the bartender.

"You couldn't lose an eye just from bird shit."

"It was my first day with the hook."

***
HA!  Yes, S, you supplied yet another good one - hugs!

Freaky Good or Freaky Icky Bad Fashion

I love Christian Louboutin shoes.  The man designs spectacular heels that complete an ensemble to a top degree and the bright red sole is wickedly divine.

By the way, yes, I think he owns that trend and it should belong to him, everyone else is an imitator - an unflattering copy-cat!  Sorry, little personal rant there :-)

Okay, back on the freaky good or icky bad shoe path.

However, I recently came upon one of his more unique creations called the Paw Heel and they were starting to grow on me.  They were different and kind romantic in an odd way - they made me think of Beauty and the Beast, not sure why, but they did.

Anyway, there I was finding the fun and then I saw a picture of someone wearing them out in public.  Now, I'm not sure if they are just not for me or not for anyone.  Did the peson wearing them have bad feet or was that my perception of how they looked at that time?

I'm confused.

What do you think?

Actually, the more I look at them being worn, the more they remind me of those supposedly comfoy shoes where the toes are all separate.

I don't know, but there may be a shapeshifter book hidden in those stilettoes!  Ooo, plot bunny, are there any bunny shoes running around?

Fashionable Hump Day Hottie

So you know, recently I've been working on my Passion for Fashion and Bondage series and loving it all over again - hence all the fashionable blogs lately.

Besides reworking and rereleasing the original three [Leather Bride, Tamed and Gilded Cage], I'm also writing the fourth [Kept] which is based in Milan.

Further down the to-do list and currently in the research phase is another which will have a moment or two on Savile Row and, drum roll please, possibly a historical!

Meanwhile, to get your fashion love juices flowing, please meet and enjoy Ozwald Boateng, modern day Savile Row designer and hottie!

A Couple of Fashion Exhibits and a Book

Hats: An Anthology by Stephen Jones is open at the Bard Graduate Center through April 15th and is accompanied by a book - very thoughtful for those of us who enjoy picking up a reminder of such a wonderful show.

The Museum at FIT has 100 pieces of Daphne Guinness's [yes, she one of those Guinnesses] clothes and explores the depths of her addiction to fashion through January 7.  Addiction is a strong word, but I'll be honest, it fits because what Guinness owns are like works of art.

I went in search of Diana Vreeland: The Eye Has to Travel on Amazon and found a note of praise that resonated with me and most likely does with fashion affictionados around the world.  It said:  Praise for Diana Vreeland: The Eye Has to Travel:  “Before there was Daphne Guinness, before there was Lady Gaga, there was the original style setter. A new book takes a look at the career and influence of the woman who made fashion modern.” from Town & Country

Naughty Fashion Thought for Monday

Glasses.

I wear them, lots of people weat them, but are you looking at them in this ad for Harvey Haydon by Sabine Villiard as found on Homotography?

It's called the You'd Be Naked Without Those Spectacles and while I like the glasses, I'm still trying to figure out what's tattooed on his stomach, between his Apollo's  belt or Adonis's - take your pick.

By the way, I believe the word is either Varitas or Vanitas.  I can't find anything on the former and the latter is a symbolic art from the 16-17th Centuries.  However, my best guess would be that it's actually Veritas who was the Roman goddess of truth.

As before, my eyes aren't going to where they were supposed to go, but in this case, I'm reminded it's time for an eye exam!

Color Time!

From our front porch, I look out and find one tree's leaves already red and will finish dropping over the next few days while the other will remain full and green for at least another month.  It's beautiful, but think of me blowing leaves through December!  Thank goodness our town sucks them up from the side of the road - yeah, no bagging!

Would Hamish Buchanan Be Upset?

I was flicking through Elle the other day and came across a page called Highlands Heroine. There were tartan skirts, boots, sweaters and more, but at the bottom was a section called Wear It With, and I wondered if my hero from Highland Heat, Hamish Buchanan, would be upset by bags made of fuzzy soft lamb's wool?

Have you read Highland Heat?  What do you think the sexy highlander would do if he an attractive woman walked by him carrying one of these expensive bags?

Hump Day Fun in the Foam

Summer is finished and the rare chance to spot a nude surfer is coming to an end until next Summer, so enjoy this gentleman as he paddles out for a wave.

Guest Spot + Contest - Double the Pleasure!!

I never thought this would happen to me, but I have two erotic romances releasing this month – within four days of each other – and from two different publishers!

Eeek, I’m floored, excited, and definitely celebrating by offering a contest. More on that later.

For now, let me talk a bit about my novels. They are as different as they come – except for the steamy sex and Alpha heroes to die for. One is an erotic contemporary ménage, the other is an erotic paranormal. Here’s the cover art, blurb and buy link (with excerpt) for each. :-)

SiNN – contemporary erotic romance (ménage) from Ellora’s Cave – releasing October 14

She’s every man’s carnal fantasy…and the target of one’s revenge

At a Phoenix gentleman’s club, Lea dances as SiNN, her body bared and vulnerable to her male partner, her features hidden behind a feathered mask. To the men watching, she’s a sensual enigma, submissive and seductive with no face, name or history. Not even Lea knows her real origins.

A man from the past does and wants her dead.

Not on the watch of U.S. Marshals Jake Gabriel and Toby Quinn. Commanding and decisive, Jake not only wants Lea’s safety but to have her naked and yielding beneath him. To Toby, she’s all he should resist but cannot.

Protected by them at a secluded estate, Lea’s drawn to their potent masculinity and the raw male lust in their eyes. Inviting desire and an emotional connection, she submits to both at once, surrendering to their most shameless hunger along with her own wanton needs.

All while a killer edges closer…

Buy link (with excerpt): http://www.jasminejade.com/p-9642-sinn.aspx

UNENDING DESIRE – erotic paranormal romance from Samhain – coming October 18

His hunger for one woman will make him a traitor to his world…

Outlawed Realm, Book 1

From a portal in his lab on E2, one of the five dimensions of Earth, quantum physicist Nikoli Zorr gazes on everything forbidden to him. Passion. Desire. The exquisite pleasure of running his hands over the lush curves of a young woman he should have stopped watching weeks ago.

His duty is to close the portals that keep the monsters out of E2—and never interfere with the inevitable fate of those on the other side. Yet he can’t bring himself to abandon the woman who has captured his soul.

Psychologist Regina Page is trying to keep her mind on her client, and off the mysterious, unbearable sexual cravings that consume her when she’s alone in her bedroom. The next moment she’s attacked by vampires, then swept into another realm by a stranger whose touch awakens that same raw desire. Whose eyes are already filled with farewell.

Yet beneath their undeniable carnal lust, something else stirs. The beginnings of illicit love. The unexpected need to protect him. Even if it means risking body, blood and soul to defeat the merciless horde…for a future that was never meant to be.

Product Warnings
Contains a repressed scientist who likes to look, and the woman who delights in unleashing his inner caveman. And sex hot enough to burn a hole in all three dimensions…and maybe create a whole new one.

Buy Link (with excerpt): http://store.samhainpublishing.com/unending-desire-p-6491.html

Tina Donahue is an award-winning, bestselling novelist in erotic, paranormal, contemporary and historical romance for Ellora’s Cave, Samhain Publishing and Kensington. Booklist, Publisher’s Weekly, Romantic Times and numerous online sites have praised her work; she has reached finals and/or placed in numerous RWA–sponsored contests. Three of her erotic novels were named finalists in the 2011 EPIC competition. Sensual Stranger, her erotic romance, was chosen Book of the Year 2010 (erotic category) at the French review site, Blue Moon reviews. The Golden Nib Award at Miz Love Loves Books was created specifically for her erotic romance Lush Velvet Nights; and Deep, Dark, Delicious (erotic romance) recently received an Award of Merit in the RWA Holt Medallion competition (2011). She was the editor of an award–winning Midwestern newspaper and worked in Story Direction for a Hollywood production company.

Email: tina@tinadonahue.com
Website/blog: http://www.tinadonahue.com/
Twitter: http://twitter.com/tinadonahue
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000458023097

*** CONTEST ***

To celebrate the upcoming release of SiNN and Unending Desire, I’m offering a contest. One lucky commenter on this blog will have her choice of one of my following ebooks**:


1. Adored – RWA award-winning; EPIC 2011 Finalist; 4 Stars RT
2. Deep, Dark, Delicious – EPIC 2011 Finalist; Holt Medallion Award of Merit
3. Lush Velvet Nights – EPIC 2011 Finalist; Golden Nib Award
4. In His Arms – SIX 5 Star Reviews; 4 Stars RT
5. Sensual Stranger – 2010 Book of the Year (erotic); 4 Stars RT
6. The Yearning – Top Ten Bestseller
7. Take Me Away - #1 Pick, Miz Love Loves Books

** Winner chosen at random. Winner chosen October 13.

Get Ready for a Special Guest

On Monday the Hot Thoughts Blog will be taken over by a special guest - an author from two of my publishing houses - and I'm sure you're going to enjoy their visit :-)

Oh, and here's a hint for you:  comment and you're entered to WIN!
See you on Monday, October 10th!

A NFL Hump Day Treat

This pic of Clay Matthews of the Green Bay Packers depicts why I'm thrilled the lockout from earlier this year was resolved.  Did you know Matthews was born a So Cal boy and later became a Trojan?  Nice!

Thank you Muscle and Fitness Magazine for picking such a wonderful photo for your cover, although I prefer it without all the words covering the subject.  It's also nice to see, I mean know, how fit these players are sans pads.

By the way, you can enjoy the cover models gallery from the shoot here - again, ta very much, Muscle and Fitness!

Saved the Most Ridiculous for Last

Are you ready for this?

The most ridiculous challenge for a book to be found on a shelf is Banned Books by Robert P Doyle.  It was banned from a display at Spotswood High School in Harrisonburg [VA - 1999] when a parent decided that "some materials listed in the publication were inappropriate for students."

Neither the book nor any of the books listed were required reading, but it was still deemed inappropriate.

Wow!

There you have it - the ugly side of society - but the light has begun to shine more brightly with the onset of eBooks.  Many of the challeneged/banned books are starting to show up in a different format that can't, as yet, be banned.  So, go forth and read with pleasure what others are trying to bury.

Visit the ALA to find out more about Banned Books Week and maybe pick up the latest copy of the Banned Books Week Resource Guide.  In the guide you will find what been challened and/or banned over the years and why.