Tag: Book review

  • Book Review: The Bonobo Way by Dr. Susan Block

    Book Review: The Bonobo Way by Dr. Susan Block

    Looking to put some sizzle in your sex life? Well, we’ll say it’s probably time for you to head down to the local zoo and do some bonobo watching over the weekend with The Bonobo Way in hand. Renowned sexologist Dr. Susan Block unlocks the secret to an amazing sex life and perhaps, even world peace. Unbashfully candid and extremely witty, Block literally leaves no coconut shells unturned. From Bonobo Sutra to erotic politics and economics, The Bonobo Way provides a delightful insight to the vital role that sex plays in achieving and maintaining peaceful egalitarian relationships through the eyes of our long-lost kissing cousins.

  • Interview with Erotica Novelist: Troy Lambert

    Interview with Erotica Novelist: Troy Lambert

    A sexual tryst at the Seven Bells Motel

    One-Night-in-Boise-by-Troy-Lambert-500-200x300Detective Derek Marshek’s sex life with his wife Cheri is amazing and they take it up a notch by including role plays into their sexual trysts at the Seven Bells Motel.  One day, Derek’s world gets turned upside down.  A dead body is found outside their motel and his gun is missing.  But is there more to this crime scene than meets the eye? An erotica with a mixture of romance and suspense, One Night in Boise takes the reader through a roller coaster ride keeping them on the edge of their seats through its twists and turns.

    SimplySxy takes the opportunity to speak to the author, Troy Lambert on his insipiration behind One Night in Boise and the advice he can give to aspiring erotica writers who wish to try their hand in writing.


    [Interview with Troy Lambert]

     SimplySxy: What was the inspiration behind One Night in Boise?

     Troy: The inspiration for One Night in Boise was a challenge: I write thrillers, had written sex    scenes in them, but this took at least the sex to another level. As sex is certainly thrilling and can be suspenseful, it seemed right up my alley. The story idea came to me early one morning, with the simple first line of the book, “It’s a dangerous game we play.”

    SimplySxy: One Night in Boise is book one of the City Nights Series. How does the series link up?

    Troy: The City Nights series is an erotic romance series sponsored by Tirgearr Publishing. The guidelines are simple: the story must be novella length, take place in a 24 hour period in a city of the author’s choosing. The story must be a mix of erotica and romance—not just a “sex” story, but one with strong character development as well.

    I’m also the managing editor of the series, and the next book is One Night in Paris by Lucy Felthouse, followed by One Night in Rome by C. Margery Kempe and One Night in New Orleans by Kristi Ahlers. There will be one novella released a month, until we run out of authors and cities.

    SimplySxy: How do you differentiate between erotica and romance?

    Troy: Romance is more about characters and story. Much of the genre, like other fiction, is character or plot driven. Romance can have several heat levels, from the closed bedroom door, mild level of sex to erotic, hot love scenes.

    Erotica is more about hot sex. Sex not only must be an integral part of the story, but it often is the story.

    In this series the blend of the two is very important. The sex must be hot, but the story also has to be good, thus the erotic romance category. I added a sub-genre of thriller and it seems to work very well for readers.

    SimplySxy: Are there any advice to new authors?

    I get asked this one often, and my stock answer is this: if you can do something else, do it. Being a writer, making a living at it, is hard, and you really don’t get paid all that well for all the hours you put in.

    But if like me, you find you really aren’t good for much else, and “normal” jobs seem to never work out because you simply have to write and you can’t help yourself, then stop worrying about how to “make a living” as a writer.

    Do things with two criteria: Write things you enjoy writing that also pay at least something. Then learn to live on what you can make pursuing your passion. You might be poor for a while or even a long time, but you will be doing what you love and that is worth more than any mansion or fancy car.


    [Excerpt]

    It’s a dangerous game we play.

    We like to play year round, but the snow, the cold has us turning to other games to pass the time in the winter. Tonight, though it is not yet spring, it is warm for early April, and we are both ready.

    The yellow streetlights emit tight yellow pools of light that she avoids carefully. I circle the block, seeing if I can spot her in the shadows. When she spies the old Caprice, she steps to the curb.

    She wears red leather. My favorite. A tight mini skirt, thigh high boots, and a laced corset envelop her curves. Her scarlet lipstick matches a bow wrapped in her brunette hair, completing the look.

    She’s not as young as she used to be, but then neither am I. When I look at her though, I still see the girl I married over 20 years ago. Other guys try to pick her up whenever we play, and once she even had to explain the game to a passing undercover officer, one of my colleagues. It cost me a $150 bottle of scotch to sweep that one under the rug, but it was worth it.

    I pull alongside and roll down the passenger window. “Hey there.”

    “Looking for a date?” She blows little bubbles with the gum she chews, popping them with her teeth. Oh, God those teeth, those lips, that mouth.

    “Yeah baby, how much?”

    Her gaze crawls over me, evaluating, craving. “For you, $20 for a blow, half and half for $40, and all the way for $80.”

    “It’s a deal. Get in.”

    Opening the door, she drops into the passenger seat. The skirt rides up, and her lace panties peek out at me. She tugs the skirt down seductively, but not before I spot the wetness at her crotch. I can hardly sit still and wonder how my erection is not interfering with the steering wheel. Jesus, she turns me on.

    She puts her gloved hands on my arm, and the hairs there stand to attention. “You have someplace we can go?”

    “Sure do,” I say. She shuts the door, and I drive to the Seven Bells Motel at the end of the block.


    Troy Lambert
    Author/Editor
    www.troylambertwrites.com
    Follow him on Facebook or Twitter


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  • Book Review – Dark Warrior by Julie Shelton

    Book Review – Dark Warrior by Julie Shelton

    Amidst the warring times of 14th-century England, Julie Shelton spins a most exquisite tale of passion, vengeance and a forbidden love that best encapsulates the power struggles and lusty fervour that one can only yearn for in fourteenth-century England.

    Ms. Julie starts out on a morbid and harrowing note with Dark Warrior, with the ravaged and battered protagonist hiding the woods.  By the time her rescuers—Nicholas Herron and Rolf Torgesson—learn of her true identity and that her attacker is none other  than her betrothed the tyrant Robert Walford, the impending tragedy has already set itself in stone as the ravishing red-headed beauty has fallen deeply in love with them and they with her.

    Julie weaves a novel of pure raw emotion set in Berwick Castle and creates realistic characters of intensity that will resonate with avid readers of fantasy taboo tales.  This is definitely a page-turner as readers are drawn into the world of Kathryn, Nicholas and Togesson as they redefine the boundaries of seduction, sensuality, and shared ecstasy.

    Dark Warrior will be released on January 15th 2014.  You can purchase it at www.bookstrand.com/dark-warrior.  For more information on Julie and her books, you can visit her website at http://www.juliesheltonauthor.com

  • Book Review – Skin In The Game: Unleashing Your Inner Entrepreneur to Find Love by Neely Steinberg

    Book Review – Skin In The Game: Unleashing Your Inner Entrepreneur to Find Love by Neely Steinberg

    What comes to your head when you hear of the term “entrepreneur”?  Perhaps words such as self-starter, independence, risk-taker, business-owner springs to mind.  A common definition of an entrepreneur is someone who organises, manages, and assumes the risk of a business or enterprise.  Neely Steinberg, dating coach and founder of TheLoveTREP, has published Skin in the Game: Unleashing Your Inner Entrepreneur to Find Love for women who want to take control of their dating life the entrepreneurial way.   An entrepreneur does not necessarily have to be someone who starts a business.  We are all entrepreneurs by the decisions and choices we make in life.  Skin in The Game aims to help one find love, thus becoming a Love Entrepreneur or Love Trep as Steinberg puts it.

    An original dating approach, Skin in The Game is divided into three parts, comprehensively covering the preparation, execution and facilitation of one’s entrepreneurial love journey.  In each part, Steinberg introduces action steps and various exercises using the framework and concepts of entrepreneurship.  Business tools such as the Affinity and Fishbone diagrams might be considered farfetched  and irrelevant in the world of dating and relationships.  However, Steinberg seamlessly ties them together with guided exercises and workshops to form a logical dating process flow.

    An entrepreneurial journey isn’t without its challenges.  From the very beginning, Steinberg states that Skin in The Game is “written for women who are ready for love and willing to work for it”.  Everyone women has an entrepreneur spirit in her and this spirit is what Steinberg believes is able to help her enjoy and appreciate the journey towards finding love.  Do not expect the path to be smooth or to get instant results such as finding a man within a few weeks of this journey.  There will be failures and doubts along the way, but as Steinberg puts it:

    “As long as you’re committed and have the desire to keep trying and learning so that you can make better decisions, you will be able to see your failures as purposeful steps along your journey.  Often the most fulfilling things in life are ones that we have suffered for or failed at the first few times around.”

    Some of the things I enjoyed while reading Skin in The Game

    • The helpful side bars throughout the book which provide a guide to explain certain terms or as a form of motivation.
    • Unique exercises, checklists and action steps to aid the journey
    • Anecdotes and stories shared by Neely from her personal and professional experiences.
    • Picking up various entrepreneur tips which can be used in all any aspect of life!

    Skin in The Game is a wonderful and interesting read even at over 400 pages long, given how Neely uses the entrepreneur framework angle for a dating model.  Like starting a business, the dating journey requires a lot of determination and dedication.   Even after finding the person you love, the hard work doesn’t end there. Maintaining the relationship like you would do a business to keep it running is essential as well.  Skin in The Game is recommended for all women.  You might have already found love, or might not be ready to embark on your entrepreneur love journey just yet, but the framework presented inside will open and give you the impetus to try these new ideas and possibilities to shape your love life.

    Skin in The Game: Unleashing Your Inner Entrepreneur to Find Love by Neely Steinberg is available on Amazon at $15.29 here.