Fun Loving Criminals: Mad, Bad and Delicious to Know!

Bad Boys, Bad Boys, what you gonna do? What you gonna do when they come for you?

(Well, if you don’t know by now, I’m sure there’s a few good books on this site with suggestions..)

In coming up with the characters for Southern Spirits, specifically the two bad guys – the charismatic con man Jack Wheeler and the laconic, possessive gangster Mickey Whisper – I started looking for inspiration in the bad guys I’d read and watched, the ones that got me and others hot, and why it was so.

I mean, we all know that in just about every good story, the villain is more interesting than the hero, more interesting to watch, to read about, and certainly to write about (and any attempt to make the hero more interesting usually involved imbuing his background or character with dark elements). After all, to look clever and paraphrase Tolstoy, good guys are all alike; every bad guy is bad in his own way (which sounds much better than anything Chekov ever came up with, except in those episodes with the Klingons).

But of course for Lust Biters, being an interesting villain isn’t enough. I mean, Darth Vader may top every fanboy’s Villains List, but in terms of sex appeal, a wheezy guy who takes longer to undress than you, and ends up looking like a skinless chicken constantly distracted by disturbances in the Force, can stay a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away.

No, we want sexy villains, clit-throbbingly sexy bastards whom we’d bed as much as the heroes, if not more so! The guys you’d root for over the bland heroes - and whom you’d want to get a good rooting from. The guys with the black hats, the minions, the schemes and soliloquies about their ambitions, not like those good guys who were so squeaky clean they’d slip on sandpaper.

Let’s face it, the best men are often the worst ones!

But why is it so? In Olivia Knight’s excellent Crush Wednesday post a few weeks back, she put it best when she wrote, “It’s [explaining the appeal of wet men] like explaining the appeal of breasts to.. who doesn’t get breasts?” Well, I feel the same way about Sexy Bad Guys. But, just as Olivia valiantly strove to give us examples and possible reasons, I will endeavour to do the same.

As my list of Sexy Bad Guys, the Best in Show as well as in the sack, grew, I began putting them together in groups, until it became a sort of Villains Periodic Table, with common characteristics running through all of them.

One primary element they had was Charm, with a Capital Ch. Suave, debonair, classy, these are men whose idea of a night out with a lady doesn’t include lagers at the pub, a kebab and a fumble in the taxi. No, these men prefer Paris, a bottle of Dom Perignon ’53 (or the ’71, if one must slum it), and a Tiffany’s necklace to keep you warm as he slips you out of your gown and takes you from behind on the balcony of the penthouse suite.

These are the gentlemen Rogues: Raffles the thief (as played by the likes of Ronald Coleman and David Niven), James Mason’s highwayman in The Wicked Lady, Stewart Granger’s smuggler in Moonfleet, Steve McQueen’s (and Pierce Brosnan’s) millionaire crook in the Thomas Crown Affair, and Cary Grant’s retired cat burglar in To Catch a Thief.

These are men who keep one foot in polite society (who turn a blind eye to their activities) and the other on the ledge outside your bedroom window, men who would wine you, dine you and sixty-nine you – and leaving you not caring when you later find out they’d made off with your furs and jewellery.

Though most of these men seem consigned to the classic films, one modern example who made my mouth water was Rene Belloq, the amoral French archaeologist from Raiders of the Lost Ark, willing to work with the Nazis to achieve his goals (boo hiss!) but still a gentleman, saving Indy’s girlfriend Marion – for himself. Of course, that didn’t stop him from watching via a mirror as she undressed, or leaving her tied up as he plied her with food and wine. Just thinking about an imaginary deleted scene to that, where things went further between them, warms the cockles of my, er, heart.

Another property that popped up was Authority, men who commanded men, leaders so confident that they didn’t have to look twice to see if orders were being followed, who operated as if concepts of good and evil were for lesser men – and you believed them. From Yul Brynner’s roles as Ramses and The King of Siam (oh, those moody glowers and that rich, moistening baritone voice of his!), to Arnold Vosloo's powerful, charismatic priest in the first two Mummy movies, to Max Von Sydow’s strutting his cosmic stuff as Ming the Merciless, all intergalactic decadence and ermine finery. Hmm, all bald characters. Something in there?

Apparently not, because my all-time favourite in this category is Alan Rickman’s Sheriff of Nottingham in Robin Hood Prince of Thieves. More cunning than a serpent, more ruthless than a dog with a pork chop, he looked hot, sounded hot, and did more for me than the fabulously average Kevin Costner could in this or any other of his movies. I wasn’t the only one in the cinema cheering him on as he forcibly married Maid Marian and tried to consummate the union before the hero broke through the door. He burned out the villagers, cancelled Christmas and tortured the stunningly annoying Christian Slater. Gorgeous, amoral – what’s not to lust after?

Another quality that came to light was Ruthlessness. These were not small-time crooks selling bootleg DVDs down your local, but big men with bigger ambitions, larger than life bad boys. Notable examples included Rickman’s breakout role as Hans Gruber in Die Hard, effortlessly masterful and cool, with a sharp sense of humour and sharper clothes; James Mason as Captain Nemo, dapper and lethal, who’ll take you places (whether you want to go or not) in style under the sea; Doctor Who’s nemesis The Master, one of many Nehru jacket-clad villains in this article, with a barely-concealed love of tying up the Doctor’s female companions; Schizoid Batman villain Two-Face (especially played as he was by the deeply delicious Tommy Lee Jones), if you kept on the right side of him. Literally. And if you didn’t mind threesomes, even if there was just the two of you in bed.

Oh, and pretty much any of the earlier Bond villains, so long as they come with a secret lair. They’ll shower you with gifts (these bad guys are always generous, albeit on their own terms), have his outlandish henchmen crush that asshole who cut you off in traffic that morning, and make sure you have the best suite in his volcano lair. Just don’t get caught swapping bodily fluids with any British secret agents, or you’ll end up feeding his exotic pets in a way you’d rather not.

But the Mack Daddy of this class of villain is Lex Luthor (another baldie!), a man of humble origins, whose self-styled reputation as the greatest criminal mastermind since Moriarty appeared well-justified, and lacking superpowers of his own, he nevertheless manages to repeatedly put the bitch slap on the Boy Scout from Krypton and nearly taking over the world. And Lois keeps getting captured by him, again and again. Don’t tell me she didn’t do it on purpose; she may not have been able to tell that Clark Kent was Superman, but she was no dummy. Sure, inevitably she went home with the deeply caring, deeply vanilla Superman – but later, while he was out rescuing kittens from trees, she had some Personal Time in bed recalling what Luthor had done to her while she was tied up in his hideout, waiting to be “rescued”.

At the extreme end of the spectrum are the Beasts, more hands-on characters like Hannibal Lector, Christian Bale’s American Psycho, and TV’s sardonic serial killing hero Dexter. Absolute madmen who have married high intelligence and charisma with a lethal ferocity and a twisted code of honour and chivalry. They could kill without batting an eyelash, and literally have you for dinner if you crossed them. But you wouldn’t, because you’d be the Beauty to these Beasts, possessed and possessor. Preferring the quiet life, they tend to lack the immense wealth and ambition of the others on this list – but they're like your own human Roittweiler. And they do tend to clean up after themselves…

So why do we pant after them? The thrills? The fear? The free goodies?

Maybe it’s because all these men who walk on the dark side can have anyone they desired – so, if they desire you, you can’t help but get an ego boost. So long as you don’t do the stupid thing and blurt out that you want them just as much as they want you. Attainability is the kiss of death for these guys – in some cases, quite literally. So by all means, resist all the way, so they can chain you up to have their wicked way with you – and free you from any responsibility.

So 'fess up girls, which bad guy do you want to tie you down and ravish you? Who do you want to be hanging at the side of while he threatens the hero? Whose lair do you want to mark as your own?

Hurry, before the hero shows up and spoils your good time!

Coming Attractions

by Janine Ashbless This picture shows Simon Keenlyside as Don Giovanni in the current run at the Royal Opera in London. I hope it serves to remind us all that the path of sensual indulgence and concupiscence leads only to perdition. Yep, that's what I think every time I look at this picture.

Stiffening our moral fibre this week on Lust Bites :

On Monday Edie Bingham brings us a salutary look at Fun Loving Criminals.

On Wednesday Madelynne Ellis introduces an uplifting movie Scene We Love.

UPDATE: On Friday Dayle Dermatis and Teresa Noelle Roberts will be back to lead us through the philosophical and highly educational Modern Kama Sutra.

Lust Bites: a bastion of invigorating probity and virtue all year round!

xxx
Janine

Love is a Battlefield

IN TOO DEEP - Portia Da Costa



Blurb

It's all in the mind...

Librarian Gwendolynne Price starts finding indecent proposals and sexy stories in her suggestion box every morning. Shocked that they seem to be tailored specifically to her own deepest sexual fantasies, she begins a tantalising relationship with a man she's never met.

At the same time, she's fast getting involved with a man she has met. Superstar historian Professor Daniel Brewster is on sabbatical, researching in the library. The glamorous academic sets women's hearts thudding all over the country, but Gwendolynne is the one he quickly shows an interest in...

Pretty soon however, a relationship of erotic letters and toe-curlingly sensual emails collides with kinky games played in the all too real flesh.

Can Gwendolynne decipher the identity of her mysterious correspondent Nemesis, and will he still be as exciting when unmasked? Can she survive the pain of loving then losing Daniel when his research is over and leaves and moves on?

Or is she tangled in too deep with both men?

In this excerpt, Gwendolynne, becoming increasingly more besotted with Daniel, succumbs to jealousy and picks a fight... while they're in the middle of making love... er, shagging on an old settee in the library's basement!

* * *

‘Who was that woman?’

I can’t believe I just spoke. What the hell is wrong with me? I’m drowning in the most sumptuous sensations, yet still my stupid jealous brain is screwing things up.

Daniel’s eyes fly open, and for a moment, they’re unfocused and hazy. He blinks as if he’s not quite sure who he’s seeing - but I see red. Maybe he’s even fantasising about her? ‘You know, the one with the suit who you were snogging in the lobby.’

He frowns, still scrunching up his eyes, then seems to focus. Letting out an exaggerated sigh, he grips me hard around the waist, bucks up his hips, and jams me down yet more firmly on his erection.

I let out an ‘Oh God!’ and feel as if steam is coming out of my ears. My body is stretched around him, the tension tugging hard on my clit. I forget that any other woman on the earth even exists. There’s only me sitting on Daniel, full of his cock. He thrusts up again, and pulls me down, and it’s not just the decrepit settee that creaks and groans.

‘That woman…’ His voice is low and thrilling. His grip still hard. ‘That woman is my cousin Annie, and she’s the co-owner of the Waverley Hotel. Which is why I’m staying there.’ Consolidating his grip with one hand, he swivels his wrist and slips his other between our bodies, finding my clit and flicking it. My pussy ripples around him and I see stars, my own eyes closing. He flicks me again and I start to come, still confused, still angry.

‘Satisfied?’ he growls, and taking my clitoris neatly between finger and thumb, he squeezes. When he gives my bottom a little slap, I am satisfied… and I come.

A scream bubbles in my throat, but at the last second, I jam my fist in my mouth. Waves and waves of pleasure radiate from my clit where he grips it, holding on delicately even though I’m jerking and writhing all over the place.

He slaps me again, my orgasm surges… I half black out.

I slump forward and for a few minutes, I just crouch over him, draped against his body, my chest heaving, my entire sex fizzing with aftershocks. His arms fold around me, cradling me, exquisitely gentle and tender where before he was domineering. It’s like I’ve been shot into space and now I’m floating down gently on my parachute.

Sex was never like this before.

Maybe I’ve never even had sex before, just some pale and ineffectual simulation of it?

Eventually, I haul in a deep breath. I’ve touched down again. And the most pressing matter I have to deal with right at this moment is the fierce erection that’s still hot and hard inside me.

How on earth can this be? Does the man have superhuman powers? My ex or indeed any of my previous boyfriends would have been finished long since. No way they could have withstood such an exciting ride, because surely it must have been just as hectic for him as it was for me.

And yet here he is, like a rock inside me, but a warm, blood-filled rock that pulsates with the force of his life.

I straighten a little, and look down at him.

The devil!

His smile is a picture. There is the tenderness, I wasn’t mistaken - but shining through that is an infuriating male smugness. A ‘look at me… look at my powers of endurance… you’ll never beat me’ expression, which makes me want to do just that, beat him. I want to overwhelm him into shooting inside me, my helpless slave.

I shove back on his chest, bracing myself, adjusting my position. Then I lift, and crash down again, taking him deeper. My pussy flickers dangerously again, another orgasm only a whisker away, but I get the satisfaction of Daniel’s eye flying wide open. And when I do it again, he lets out a curse that’s more appropriate for a merchant seaman than a highly educated and sophisticated academic.

‘Shush!’ I command him, leaning a little forward again and covering his mouth with my hand.

Then I ride him, I really ride him, lifting up and pounding down on him again and again. Within seconds I’m coming, in a sudden, violent encore, but I work on through it, my body moving on auto while my mind sails among the stars.

And still he resists me, the bastard.

Enough already. I hunker down, squat down really hard on him and clench my glowing sex around his cock. It makes me see those stars again, but I grit my teeth and grip him and work him like I’ve never gripped and worked a man before.

His hands grip my hips, digging into the too, too abundant flesh there, and I feel the tips of his nails threatening my skin. The fuck, he’s still holding out on me! His beautiful face is an icon of strain and stubbornness, the line of his jaw hard as iron, his teeth clenched.

Bugger this!

Still tight on him, I rise up and crash down again.

And two things happen simultaneously. No, three things. No, actually, four…

Daniel snarls another seafaring oath.

He comes, his hips pistoning crazily.

I come again, the pleasure wrung from me almost as if it were pain.

The ancient settee finally succumbs to the punishment we’ve inflicted on it… and the whole thing collapses under us with an almighty crash!

IN TOO DEEP is available to preorder from Amazon.com and NOW from Amazon.co.uk

So, back on Friday 5th September when I did a promo thingie for this fine publication, I said that everyone who commented then *and* today would go in a draw for a copy of ENTERTAING MR STONE and one of SUITE SEVENTEEN... However, have decided to extend the draw to anyone who commented then *or* today ie. more chances to be the winner! If the person whose name comes out of the hat did actually comment on both days, there will be extras though... ;)

So let me know what you think of this slice of simultaneous argument and make-up sex! LOL

Finally, I'd like to thank Wendy the Superlibrarian for pointing me in the direction of the splendid 'Naughty Librarian' pix I've used in this post. Thanks, mate!

I'd also like to thank David Krumholtz aka Professor Charles Eppes from Numb3rs for being so deliciously cute and inspirational.

Simply Sinful...thoughts behind the book

by Kate Pearce



So last week I was wittering on about introducing m/m elements to erotic romance novels and how everyone is doing it. I also mentioned my book "Antonia's Bargain" as my jumping off point toward finding exactly the kind of hero I wanted to write about-not the classic Alpha male or the Beta, but a man struggling to come to terms with his unique sexuality in a time period when being different could mean severe punishment or death.







In Antonia's Bargain we first met Peter Howard, a man who enjoys sex and spent seven years in a Turkish brothel along with his best friend Lord Valentin Sokorvsky. Peter's not your usual hero. He's in love with Valentin, has been addicted to opium and is bored by both his sexual reputation and the variety of sexual pleasures available to him. In Simply Sexual, we see him having to come to terms with Valentin falling in love with a woman and now being considered an occasional diversion in their marriage bed.

Simply Sinful changes narrators and allows us to see Peter's side of the story and we soon realize (hopefully) that Val has got him all wrong. Peter's not weak and during the book he'll prove it as he has to face a personal crisis relating to his very identity, and delve into the deep currents of an established marriage he is invited into.

I loved writing this book. Peter was so different to the average romance hero and the couple he interacts with, James and Abigail Beecham develop in surprising ways as well. When I sent the proposal to my editor I asked him if it was okay if there was no woman in the first three chapters. Surprisingly, he was fine with that and I went on from there.

Here's a little piece from the beginning of the book:

Peter remained standing by the door and took out his pocket watch. “I believe you requested an hour of my time. Don’t waste it.”
Lord Beecham smiled and strolled toward him. He wore a black coat and brown waistcoat which enhanced his good looks. A diamond glinted in the crisp white folds of his intricately folded cravat.
“Can I get you a glass of brandy, or even better, persuade you to sit down?”
“No, I prefer to stand.” Inwardly, Peter grimaced at his choice of words. He sounded like a bad actor in a melodrama. “What do you want from me?”
Lord Beecham stopped in front of him. His brown eyes level with Peter’s.
“Don’t you know?”
“It seems you find the situation highly amusing, but I would ask you once again. You won your bet. What do you want?”
Beau Beecham smiled. “I want your cock in my mouth.”
Before he could stop himself, Peter pivoted and slammed the other man up against the door. He wrapped a hand around Lord Beecham’s throat.
“Do you think I am some kind of male harlot or Molly to be bought for your perverted pleasure?”
Lord Beecham coughed and tried to clear his throat. “No.”
Peter pressed harder. “I will not become a figure of fun for you and your obnoxious cronies. If this is how you choose to win a bet, tell me how much you stand to lose and I will willingly pay up for you.”
Lord Beecham held his gaze, his brown eyes steady. “There is no bet. Only the one you lost. If you are a gentleman, you will honor my request. I want my mouth around your cock. I want to suck you until you come.”
Peter stared right back at him, already aware from their close proximity that Lord Beecham’s cock was erect and rubbed against his own which was rapidly filling out too.
He tightened his grip on the other man’s throat. “I will honor your request. But if I hear one word about this in the clubs, if my reputation is damaged by your gossiping tongue, I will find you and make you sorry you ever lived.”
He stepped back against the wall and ripped at the buttons of his breeches. Lord Beecham exhaled and sank to his knees. Good lord, the man was eager. Peter looked down at the thick wet crown of his cock which already thrust through the confines of his under things. He tensed as Lord Beecham shoved the fine linen away to expose him in all his glory.
With agonizing slowness, Lord Beecham simply stared at him. Peter shuddered as Lord Beecham’s tongue emerged and licked a drop of pre-come from the crown.
“Get on with it, damn you.”



Look Ma! No girls!

I originally intended to write this book as a true menage a trois, but the further I got into the story, the more each individual characters sexual tastes changed, and by the end, things came out very differently. You'll have to read the book to find out what I mean :) I don't plot, I don't keep notes and I only write down a page of where I think I'm going to end up about two-thirds of the way through the book :) so trust me, the ending is sometimes as much a surprise to me as it is to anyone else.

Today was a good day because not only did I get a box full of books from Kensington to lick, which is always a thrill, but I found an early review from Romantic Times for Simply Sinful which gave it 4 stars and said:

Pearce provides an interesting twist to the standard "love lessons" plot in this story where both the husband and wife receive erotic training from a master. With historical detail, strong character development, a slight mystery, caring relationships and smoking hot sex, there is something for everyone. The action includes threesomes, M/M and sex toys, as well as light bondage and discipline.

Summary: Abby and James were forced to wed at a young age, but have lived apart for most of their 16-year marriage. Wanting a child, Abby wants James back into her bedroom, but both have troubling memories of their prior relations. Enter Peter Howard, who spent a number of years as a slave in a Turkish brothel. Peter is attracted to the couple and believes he can tutor them in the numerous ways to enjoy passion. These intense encounters result in a happy ending -- just not what everyone expected. (Aphrodisia, Nov., 304 pp., $13.95)


The best thing, is that Kensington offered me a contract to write two more in the 'Simply' series. #3 Simply Shameless is already written and due out May 09 and I'm currently writing the fourth, as yet unnamed, which will be out Nov 09.I suspect Valentin and Peter will be turning up in these books whether I want them to or not. Sometimes I love being a writer.

Here's a link to Amazon UK and US, just in case I've inspired you to go and pre-order.

I can't think of a question to ask you all-perhaps you'd like to ask me one?

Kate x

Scenes We Love ~ No. 1

by Janine Ashbless



You wanted a surprise? Well it's not a secret that I don't like kissing. But when I came to pick my favourite movie clip for Lust Bites I just had to pick the kiss above from The Whole Wide World.

The film is based upon the real-life relationship between Novalyne Price Ellis (played by Renee Zellweger), a school-teacher and aspiring writer, and Robert E. Howard (played by Vincent D'Onofrio) an established writer for pulp fiction magazines, in the '30s. Yes, that Robert E Howard: the one who wrote the Conan books. (Don't knock him just because he was a genre writer!) Why's it so hot? Because it's one of the very few Hollywood movies that convincingly sees yearning lust from the point of view of the woman. Novalyne is the desirer, not the desiree. She is politely but desperately gagging for the handsome, brilliant, but alarmingly difficult Bob. But he has serious issues, to put it mildly. And this kiss is the closest she gets to turning friendship into the love she wants.

I just love the sense of aching frustration and tragically thwarted passion in this film. It's a real tear-jerker. And this kiss makes my stomach do that funny crampy pain thing. Every time.

Coming Attractions

It's a mystery... Oh, it's a mystery... Please excuse the singing but that's exactly what this Monday's post here at Lust Bites appears to be. The crystal scrying ball has failed. I'm hoping it's a post about naked butts, or maybe something about tasting forbidden apples, hence this weeks inspiring piccie. But whatever it turns out to be, I'm sure it'll be worth stopping by for.

On Wednesday, the gorgeous Kate Pearce is back again to tell us about her latest release, Simply Sinful. Which I'm sure contains a fair quotient of naked man flesh.

And on Friday in the smut slot, dotty former librarian Portia da Costa will be giving us a sneak peak at her new release In Too Deep, set in a library. I swear my local isn't nearly so much fun. There certainly aren't any hot Professors lurking in the basement!

See you there...

Madelynne xx

There were three in the bed...

by Kate Pearce


At the end of 2005, I had written a couple of books, (four no-hopers), and one erotic historical, Eden's Pleasure, which was published by Ellora's Cave. It featured a set of identical twins, Gervase and Gideon Harcourt. Gervase was the hero of Eden's Pleasure but everyone was fascinated by his darker twin, Gideon, a man for whom sex had a whole different meaning and usually centered around men.






But how the hell was I supposed to write a book about a guy like that? Me? boring mother of four, suburban housewife, aspiring author etc etc, you know me, right? But I wanted to write about him-I love dark tortured heroes, especially ones with complex sexual hangups. And then there was the other thing-was it even okay to write about two men getting it on in a romance novel?







At that point, fate helped me out and I came across a copy of Emma Holly's 'Cheek' book Menage This book came out in 2004. As usual, Black Lace were 'way ahead' of the curve!



Not my favorite cover, but the book? It was as if a light bulb went off in my head and said this is the way to do it, this is how you make two men having sex romantic The book inspired me to try and write something myself so I wrote Antonia's Bargain And, for me, that book was a turning point in the evolution of my voice and my style.





Here's a little excerpt, which I think explains the sexual complexity of my characters quite nicely.:

“The interesting thing is, I think I have found what I want.”
Peter cupped Gideon’s balls. “A man or a woman?”
Gideon reached across to slide his fingers beneath the open neck of Peter’s shirt. He tugged gently on his nipple ring. “A woman who only chooses to acknowledge me when she is dressed as a man. Take off your shirt.”
“I can’t say I’m surprised. A woman masquerading as a man would suit you perfectly. “
Gideon raised an eyebrow as Peter continued. “I know you’ve chosen to bed mostly men in the last few years, but I’ve never believed your heart was in it.”
“You haven’t?”
“Just because you’ve tried to convince yourself that you prefer men, doesn’t mean that it is the truth.”
“And how would you know this?”
Peter locked gazes with him as he removed his shirt to display his lean muscular chest and scarred skin. “Because I spent ten years of my life in a Turkish brothel and I’ve been in every sexual situation imaginable. You use men because you believe they can’t hurt you like Caroline did. If you truly preferred men, you’d let them fuck you as well and you don’t.”
“Perhaps I’m one of those men who believe that if they don’t allow themselves to be fucked, it means they aren’t a sodomite.”
“You’re not like that. “
Gideon let out his breath. How was it that Peter thought he could see things so much more clearly than he could? “Does that offend you?”
“Me?” Peter grinned. “No, because I have no preference either way. I’m happy to fuck or be fucked by either sex.”
Peter was tanned darker than Gideon, a legacy of his years in captivity. He knelt between Gideon’s outstretched legs, the crown of his long cock already showing through his unfastened breeches. He tugged at the fastenings of Gideon’s breeches. Gideon stayed his hand.
“Wait. Why are you so certain that you are right?”
“Why are you even asking me that? It’s very simple. Despite all your lovers, how many men have you fallen in love with?”
Gideon stared at him, his thoughts in turmoil. “None.”
“How many women?”
He shrugged. “Only my wife and look what came of that.”
“And now you are obsessed by another woman. I rest my case.”
Peter removed his hand from Gideon’s breeches and knelt up. “Are you worried that this woman truly prefers to be a man?”
“In the sense that she prefers her own sex? No. I think this is more of a way for her to explore her own sexuality and avoid the things that frighten her.” Gideon frowned. If Peter was right, she sounded just like him. “But that is certainly something I should investigate.”
Peter groaned as Gideon leaned forward, sucked hard on his nipple and slid one hand down the back of his breeches. “God, I’ve missed being touched.” He shuddered as Gideon gently squeezed his balls. “If she trusts you, surely you can persuade her to want you as a woman wants a man?”
Gideon’s cock swelled at Peter’s obvious pleasure. “She wants me, but I have already promised her I will not take her virginity.” He took Peter’s hand, placed it over his covered cock and waited until he began to move his fingers. “Hoist by my own petard.”
Peter grinned. “Your petard feels remarkably fine to me. Let me attend to you.”
“Let’s see who gets attended to first.”
Gideon shoved Peter onto his back and straddled him. He pressed his satin covered cock against Peter’s half-uncovered erection and enjoyed the pressure and roughness of the rocking motion. Satin against skin, smoothness against hot hard flesh. For him, touching a man could be so much simpler than touching a woman. There was no fear of being too rough or too demanding. No fear of becoming emotionally involved. A man simply used his own strength to control his lover. With a hoarse shout, Peter grabbed Gideon’s arm and rolled him onto his front. Gideon’s shirt ripped as it was pulled over his head.
Face down on the carpet, Gideon shuddered as Peter dripped warm oil on his naked back. He tried to roll over. Peter held his arm clamped to his side and brought his knee up and planted it on Gideon’s back. Gideon grunted as his hips and swollen cock were ground into the carpet.

Back then, I thought I was ahead of the curve, not as far ahead as Emma Holly, but still keeping up- but now male/male subplots are becoming commonplace in erotic romance books. Note, I say sub-plots. I'm not talking about m/m love stories, I'll let Erastes cover those.

The main surge for the inclusion of m/m subplots came from the online publishers such as Ellora's Cave, Amber Quill, Loose-Id, Phaze and Samhain to name a few. And I think the initial interest flowed across from slash fan fiction, which often starts trends which gradually bleed into the general reading public's tastes. Online publishers are also more likely to take a risk and try something new, more established publishers have been slower on the uptake.

Here's what Raelene Gorlinsky, Publisher from Ellora's Cave Publishing Inc, had this to say when I asked her about the rising interest in m/m:

Stories with M/M and especially M/M/F are still hot sellers for us. The ménage that includes both explicit M/M and M/F sex is the more popular of the two. From what we can tell, most purchasers are heterosexual women. What little we’ve heard from gay men is that the stories are not particularly realistic in their portrayal of the emotional aspect of a M/M relationship. The stories more reflect a woman’s fantasies about two men together.

And she makes an interesting point. This is fiction written for women, not gay men. and why are women so fascinated by what two men get up these days? I've often heard the comment that one hunky hero is good, two is better-and I can see that, I really can.

It's also interesting that the more traditional New York publishers are also expanding into this area. I also write for Kensington's ultra hot and erotic Aphrodisia line, and not one author I talked to who writes for the line has ever had an editor tell her to take out any subplot or scene including m/m, m/f/m or m/m/f. But read the back cover of any Aphrodisia and note that those subplots are generally not mentioned upfront. Getting these books into big stores still requires a certain amount of finesse and careful packaging.

Emma Holly has continued writing for Berkley Sensation. Fairyville features fairies, vortexes and lots and lots of sex, particularly m/m sex wrapped up in a unique and fascinating story. Bantam have added erotica titles such as Eden Bradley's Dark Garden Even Harlequin have got into the act with their Spice line, where upcoming author Victoria Janssen told me her eunuch on eunuch action went through without a word. (Can't wait to read that one!)

So why do we like it so much, all these men, when in real life, would we really put up with two of them?
How did a trend which started only a few years ago end up taking over the erotic romance industry and becoming almost mainstream?
And what on earth will happen next?
Kate wants to know...

Tell me and because this is the 500th post, you might win a copy of a book of mine of your choice.

Crush Wednesday: Leonard Cohen

by Madeline Moore



Slowly you come to me/ Slowly we shed/
The clothes of our doubting/and slowly are wed




Famous Troubadour

It’s four in the morning
but everything's okay
I’m writing you now just
to say ‘Happy Birthday’

Toronto is steamy
I like where I’m living,
they’re busy on Clinton St.
all through the evening

I hear that you’re working
writing your poems, singing in Europe
You were robbed of your savings, G-d!
I hope you’re keeping some kind of record

Yes, and John came by just to drop off the girls
we’re finished as lovers, for sure
It’s been good for us, we have grown
Apart, and for good.

I loved you, as John did,
your songs were about us,
destructive, creative
and tortured with love/lust

You were part of our courtship,
and part of our wedding
still we weren’t prepared for
the pain of our ending



And you treated all women
to a sip of your life
I took more than my share, now
I’m nobody’s wife

Well I see you, hair grey and wrinkly face
Silent One so full of grace
Well I’m dry again but
now I know how to wait

He took all of your albums
I knew they would help him
He cried all the time, just like me


It cost us so much
to be free of each other
a home and a whole family

It’s hard when you’re young
it gets soft later on
so much to collect, then
so much to be gone

Yes and thanks
for the trouble you took for us all
for showing us it's okay
to fall, rise, and fall

I’m so happy you’re happy
an old monk who’s still sexy
and living among us again

I said, ‘Leonard I love you’
at the time of our meeting
I feel like we’ve always been friends

John and I aren’t pals
No secrets, no sighs
but we talk and last night
we laughed at his lies

And thanks
for the poems and songs that you write
for helping us give up the fight
We're beautiful losers, like you.

Sincerely,

M. Moore



Some of my favourite quotes from Leonard Cohen's work:





Boo hoo. Sob sob.

Confusion is a butterfly net for magic.

- novel - Beautiful Losers

I fought against the bottle, but I had to do it drunk.
Took my diamond to the pawnshop, but that don’t make it it junk.
I know that I’m forgiven, but I don’t know how I know
I don’t trust my inner feelings, inner feelings come and go.

That Don’t Make it Junk – Ten New Songs

And he gave the wind my wedding ring

– By the Rivers Dark – Ten New Songs




I followed the course/From chaos to art
Desire the horse/ Depression the cart

– poetry - Book of Longing








Even though she sleeps upon your satin
Even though she wakes you with a kiss
Do not say the moment was imagined
Do not stoop to strategies like this

You who were bewildered by her meaning
Whose code was broken, crucifix undone
Say goodbye to Alexandra leaving
Then say goodbye to Alexandra gone.
Say goodbye to Alexandra leaving
Then say goodbye to Alexandra lost.

- Alexandra Leaving - Ten New Songs



Forget your perfect offering
There is a crack in everything
That’s how the light gets in
That’s how the light gets in

-Anthem - More Best of Leonard Cohen


Visit this site for all kinds of information about LC.

Like love, I could go on and on, but that's enough out of me. I'm gone.
It's your turn to talk! Favourite quotes? Memories of Leonard? Anecdotes? Thoughts on his artwork or the movie soundtracks that use his work (there are 40 of them!)?

Oh! Just one more thing.



Leonard Cohen will be 74 years old on September 21. So, from all of us at Lust Bites to you, Leonard:

Welcome Jamaica Layne

Hooray - we've got a new author to welcome to the lineup of Lust Bites: Jamaica Layne.

And she nearly died getting here ...

In now-traditional style we thought an interview was the best way to get the low-down, so here goes:

Tell us a bit about yourself, Jamaica!

I’ve been writing professionally for about 12 years, and wrote very unprofessionally (angst-ridden teen poetry, kiddie plays, etc) for basically my entire childhood and adolescence. I majored in English Literature in college and graduate school, and for a long time saw myself as a "serious" literary author writing dark, meandering work that nobody wanted to read. It wasn’t until I realized my writing talents are far more in line with popular fiction and playwriting that I began to find success.

Before trying my hand at novels, I worked as a professional editor and financial journalist in Chicago’s fast-paced LaSalle Street financial district, and also worked for a variety of software companies as a technical writer. I also worked as a freelance journalist on the side, writing lifestyle features for the Chicago Tribune, Chicago Reader, New Art Examiner, Cat Fancy, and many other publications. I also am a successful playwright, having had my plays staged professionally all over the US and world (New York City, Chicago, Los Angeles, Seattle, Boston, Atlanta, Toronto, the rural UK, and elsewhere). I did all that writing under my own name, "Jill Elaine Hughes". When I took a stab at writing erotica, it was so different from all the writing I’d ever done in the past that I thought it best to create a pseudonym---another "brand", if you will. Hence, all my erotica writing is published under my alter ego, "Jamaica Layne."

So how did you pick your pseudonym?

I chose "Jamaica Layne" because I wanted to write erotica under a sexy "literary porn star" name. I chose Jamaica after the Caribbean island, with its sexy reggae music and tropical paradise, and Layne because I wanted to work the verb "lay" in somehow.

What have you had published in the erotica field? What’s coming out next?

Market for Love is the first erotic novel I had published, and it is due out from Virgin Cheek on October 14, 2008 in both the US and UK. I also recently signed contracts to produce six new erotic novels with Ravenous Romance, a very promising new US-based epublisher of erotica that was founded by several former publishing executives at large NYC publishing houses. I also have a new literary agent, Lori Perkins of the L. Perkins Agency (having fired my former one because he didn’t understand the erotica market). Ms. Perkins and her associates are working on getting several erotic and romantic manuscripts in my "backlist" published, and are also working with me to create proposals for future works. Right now, I have proposals out for an erotic memoir, as well as an erotic "police procedural" detective novel that involves a young Chicago female vice cop infiltrating a prostitution ring----and liking all the sex that undercover work exposes her to.

How and when did you start reading erotica?

I started reading erotica at a very young age----twelve or thirteen. My first foray into the genre was with D.H. Lawrence’s classic Lady Chatterly’s Lover, and it just went from there. My father and former stepmother were very into sex, sexuality, and free love, and they had bookshelves chock full of sex manuals, erotic coffeetable books, and erotic"trash" fiction (the "dirty books" of old-time porn shops) and I sneaked those books off their shelves and read them all voraciously. In college and after I became drawn to erotic "high literature"-----works by Anais Nin, Henry Miller, James Joyce, Catherine Millet, Margaret Atwood, and also to fantasy and science fiction with sexual elements----works by authors like Marion Zimmer Bradley and Anne McCaffrey, among others. I’ve also been a fan of the romance genre since high school, from the trashiest contemporary books all the way back to Jane Austen. When romance novels started getting sexier in the late 90s, I found them very tantalizing and read them by the busheful. But I never thought of taking a stab at writing erotica myself until fairly recently.

How did you get into writing erotica? You write in other genres too, don’t you – what do enjoy about each? Is the writing experience different?

I frankly started writing erotica because the novels I was writing in other genres that I enjoyed reading and writing the most (chick lit, contemporary straight romance, some fantasy and science fiction) just weren’t selling. I had an agent who liked my work a lot but didn’t know how to sell it, because the editors he sent it to kept rejecting it and saying it wasn’t "quite right" for regular romance or chick lit or genre work. Something was always missing, but we could never quite put a finger on what. I’d been reading erotica for awhile and on a whim, took a stab at writing it. I found that I really enjoyed creating complicated plots that were driven by sex scenes, and had a great time writing the sex scenes themselves. For the first time in a long while, I was really, really excited (mentally and physically) about what I was writing. But when I completed the manuscript for Market for Love my agent declined to represent it! (he said, "erotica isn’t for me.") I then proceeded to send it to Adam Nevill at Cheek on my own, and he bought it! Adam was very enthusiastic about my erotic writing and has become a mentor of sorts.

I asked my former agent to negotiate the contract for Market for Love, which he did, but I gradually came to the realization that if I was going to pursue erotic writing as a career, I needed new agent representation---preferably with an agent who understood the erotica genre well. That’s what led me to fire my old agent and seek out my new agent, Lori Perkins, who is arguably the top agent in the world for the erotica genre----she knows it in and out and has been selling it for years.

So I discovered I had a new talent! This erotic writing work of mine has really taken off, and seems to be the genre that I write best, because it’s certainly the work of mine that is selling the most----I’ve recently landed contracts for six books to be released over the next year, likely with more to come!

What are your favourite genres within erotica?

I like contemporaries the best, since that’s what I write the most of myself. I also like paranormal historicals, especially set in the Middle Ages and general timetravel plots. I write (and read) everything from general "vanilla" hetero sex scenes to ménage to moderate BDSM, always with the woman dominating. The novel I’m writing right now for Ravenous Romance, Knight Moves, is about a 21st-century New Jersey Turnpike worker who gets kidnapped by a time-travelling knight from the 12th century, where he makes her his personal sex slave in a huge harem he keeps trapped in his castle. But the heroine learns to make the best of a bad situation by becoming a much-in-demand dominatrix, and uses her newfound power to both have a lot of hot sex with a lot of hot sexy knights, as well as to free herself from servitude and return to her own time.

What are your writing rituals? Do you have a special time of day or place to write?

I try to write every day, which is tricky sometimes because I am the mother of a toddler. My husband and I recently bought a new home, which has a huge third-floor "studio" of sorts where I’ll be writing, and also has plenty of room for a playroom where my son can occupy himself safely while I work. If I can write 1000-1500 words a day, I’m doing very well. Sometimes on good days I can surpass 2000 words. Now that I am under contract to write so many books in such a short time, I’ll probably need to up those targets.

What's the person or thing that inspires you most?

I’m inspired the most by my inner storyteller. I have an almost pathological drive to write, and that drives me more than anything external from myself.

Who do you read purely for fun?

Graphic novels and comic books, especially Elfquest. I’ve loved that comic since childhood. And it was one of the first comics/graphic novel series to depict explicit sex in a positive way. I also love the No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency series by Alexander McCall Smith, as well as anything else that piques my fancy. I kind of go in phases. I’m in a Nora Roberts phase right now. I’m also a big fan of Sara Gruen, who I know personally through some writing orgs I belong to.

What are you working on at the moment?

In addition to the Knight Moves novel and the proposals I mentioned above, I’m also developing a series for Ravenous Romance called Vital Signs. This will be a series of five books all taking place in and around a small community hospital in rural North Carolina. The first book is complete and will be released by Ravenous in serial form beginning December 1. The series will release new chapters every week, much like a television series. I can best describe Vital Signs as a much sexier version of Gray’s Anatomy, except it’s located in rural America instead of Seattle.

What is your relationship with the wonderful world of blogging? Are you keen on techie web stuff?

I do a lot of blogging. I have a blog under my own name, where I write about my place in the publishing world as well as life in general. I also do a little blogging as Jamaica Layne on her myspace page. I’m not a super techie but I think I need to work on that, now that I have so many books coming out, I will need a more sophisticated Web presence. I plan to contribute to Lust Bites at least once a month.

Is there any erotic theme you haven't yet written about but feel you want to?

I haven’t written a straight lesbian erotica story (though I’ve written books with one-off "experimental" w-w love scenes). A playwright friend of mine is editing a lesbian erotica anthology for Cleis Press right now and asked me to contribute something, so if I can find the time around all my other deadlines, I will write one for her book.

What makes you angry?

Social injustice, lying, and bad government policy (which we’ve had a lot of in the US over the past eight years!)

What makes you happy?

Writing, being with my husband and son, exercise, and reading.

If you were somehow to meet your romantic/erotic hero ... What would happen?

I would probably drop dead of a heart attack from too many orgasms.

Cats or dogs? Werewolves or vampires? White wine or red? Tea or coffee?

I prefer cats to dogs, werewolves to vampires. Red wine, and green tea. I hate coffee.

Thanks Jamaica, and welcome aboard!

Myspace (as Jamaica) : Blog (as Jill) : buy at Amazon US : buy at Amazon UK

Coming Attractions

Interview: on Monday, A new Lustie with the fabulous pseudonym Jamaica Layne, bravely submits to a barrage of questions. Find out all about the writer behind the book-with-the-sexy-cover-of-which-Kristina-and-Mathilda-would-approve, Market for Love.

Crush: on Wednesday, Madeline Moore waxes poetic on writer/singer/ladies man/monk Leonard Cohen. Just in time for his 74th birthday, too!

Commentary: on Friday, Kate Pearce tackles the topical issue of male/male sex in an erotic romance.

Yes, it's another informative and entertaining week on Lust Bites, the blog on everybody's lips.

On Patrol with Erotica Cover Watch

I’m Kristina Lloyd and I’m a hornymanoholic. My friend, Mathilde Madden, suffers from the same problem.

You wouldn’t believe some of the places we have to hang out to get a fix. It makes us feel weird and freakishly oversexed.

Imagine our plight: another late night of smut writing and we decide to take, um, a break from the words. So we google, say, ‘stud muffin’ or ‘david boreanaz naked’ or ‘army boy gang bang in a warehouse after they have all got in from the mud and are really really angry’.

And where do we end up? Yup, gawping at gay porn.

Many of us have heard the phrase ‘I’m a gay man trapped in a woman’s body’. It’s understandable where the confusion arises but what this assertion actually means is ‘I’m an ordinary woman living in a world which refuses to accept I love sex and frequently have the horn for men.’ Mainstream depictions of sexiness often bypass female desire entirely because they bypass the jaw-dropping, mouth-drying, knee-weakening sexiness of guys. Typically, sexiness equals curves, breasts, hips, lips and knickers. If you’re a straight woman and you want unashamed muscle and some sexiness your way, then you must make like a minority and go to gayland. Why, when women are over half the population? This surely ain’t fair.

It’s much the same in bookshops (although obviously there is a lot less cock) with sexy gay fiction being where it's at. Mathilde and I read and write smut. This gets us hot. But the covers of erotica leave us cold and frustrated. They feature near naked women and are aimed primarily at straight men.

Sure, if you’re a bi woman, you might like the picture too but presumably you’d be equally happy with a gorgeous guy. And it’s odd, isn’t it – suspicious even – that on erotica covers, the only aspects of female bisexuality represented are the ones that heterosexual men get off on quite majorly? How jolly convenient! Because the fact is the preponderance of the female form in erotica isn't an act of generosity towards women who like women, anymore than the plethora of hot-honeys-go-pussy-crazy porn is about lesbian consumer choice. It's just a side effect of what straight men like.


So Mathilde and I have been wondering why there are practically no men on erotica covers. And we realise it’s simple: as everyone knows, if a straight man looks at another man in an arena that could be construed as sexual, his penis falls off dead! And since nobody wants bookstore owners to be continually having to sweep up the penises in the erotica section (it’s bad enough there as it is), they put the hot-hunk covers out of harm’s way, in places where no self-respecting straight man would go ie. in gay fiction and erotic romance.


Erotica and erotic romance are different beasts (though both are making two backs). Erotic romance, as you probably know, is a smutty offshoot of the traditional romance genre. Broadly speaking, the narrative is driven by the development of potentially loving and long term relationship between a him and a her (with occasional twists, extras, spankings and even lashings of lube). Sex, or the hunger for it, is a hot horny part of that burgeoning relationship, and of other hook-ups the protagonist may have before she snags her main man.

In erotica, lust has the upper hand. Love may or may not be present but the story is driven primarily by sexual desire, often kinky, and the quest for its fulfilment. Of course, that doesn’t mean erotica lacks emotion, passion or empathetic characters. Negotiating the journey to sexual completion can be incredibly fraught, joyous, intense, and intellectually and emotionally-involving. Love and lust are both deeply profound and complex subjects.

Remember that old chestnut, ‘Girls use sex to get love; guys use love to get sex’? Sometimes it seems we’re still stuck there: erotic romance prioritises love therefore it’s for women; erotica prioritises lust therefore it’s for men.

The book covers say as much with their images of hot hunks on erotic romance, images of hot babes on erotica. The message seems to be it’s only legit for women to look at a bit of brawn with the safety net of love, sunsets and a happy ever after. Sure, these things are fine. That’s what romance is about. But haven’t we had enough of the notion that women only like sex with hearts, bows and violins? That we can only fuck with one eye on our future prospects? That lust is strictly for the boys and that women can’t go gooey over a beautiful male body sans sunset?

Why are there rarely any men on the covers of erotica? Why does the genre insist on fetishising only the female form?

The question becomes increasingly pressing when you look at the phenomenal growth in the numbers of women writing and consuming erotica. Erotica’s readership has changed hugely in recent years but the covers are still languishing in the past. They appeal directly to men while fobbing women off with the notion that they can identify with the half-dressed object of many a man’s desire. And if you don’t identify, then what? You can fuck off back to romance where you belong? Keep on trespassing on gay porn?

Hey! We’re women, we’re here! We like to look and lust just as much as guys do. And we reckon the objects of our desire ought to be getting a lot more cover space. We want more sexy guys in erotica, more muscles, more couples - more equality, goddammit!

Sure, some women like looking at other women and we’re not knocking that. But how come that's all we’re allowed to look at? What about those of us who are (oh God, the shame) straight? What can we feast our eyes on?

So Mathilde and I are launching our campaign to Banish Inequality on Covers in Erotica, Porn and Smut (BICEPS)! Please check out our brand new blog, Erotica Cover Watch. On Erotica Cover Watch, we’ll be highlighting the problem of erotica’s persistent sexism by bringing you regular doses of cover-snark, rigorous debate, rage, laughter, hope and dirty filthy photos of hot handsome men in teeny tiny pants. We really hope you’ll add your voice.

Head on over there now to have your say. Vote in our big BICEPS poll!

And if you want to beef up your blog, add this gobbledegook to your sidebar:

<p align=center><a href="http://eroticacoverwatch.wordpress.com/"> <img class="aligncenter" src="http://i391.photobucket.com/albums/oo359/biceps_photos/biceps%20branding/Banish.jpg" border="0"></a></p>

and you'll get this lovely link:

It’s easy for us all – readers, writers, editors, publishers, booksellers – to feel as if our hands are tied (cue bondage joke), as if we can’t affect the status quo because its values are too ingrained in our cultural psyche.

But we can change this. Bit by bit we can all have an impact. We can get rid of those weary ideas that erotica services only men, that women are objects to be looked at while those we lust after enjoy the power and privilege of looking. In content, erotica is increasingly wonderful. It’s imaginative, varied, arousing, stylish and daring, and it’s no longer the preserve of The Boys’ Club. It really is time the covers caught up.

Let's Banish Inequality on Covers in Erotica, Porn and Smut!