Darren Michaels Interview - Part 2

Hello All,  
Darren Michaels is in the Backseat!

I would like to welcome an unusual occurance to the Backseat. A BOY! Well I am not lucky enough to get too many of them. Mr Darren Michaels welcome and please share with us about your fascinatingly reversable book Flipside Erotica.

TERRY KATE: Was the flipable book your idea?
 
DARREN MICHAELS: Yes, well I can't take all the credit, I have a muse or 2 that help me out with ideas and I run my stories by them, but the flipable book was my idea. I wanted the name and the book to be interactive and unique. Hence the name, "Flipside Erotica" because you flip the book from one side to another to read, and you can read either side of the story.

TK: So how have the ladies been treating you?

DM: Haha. How did I know that question was coming? I do okay. I do pretty well, I dont look like Igor that tends to help, and I recently learned to manscape; is that the right word?

TK: It is a well... ocean of estrogen in this field.

flipside.erotica: LOL Very VERY true. That's one of the reason I wanted to write this book.  I wanted to show what guys think, and what guys think WOMEN think. I have a blog about that, the misconceptions between what we think and what we actually think from both sexes. It's AMAZING!
TK: So you are not claiming to know what women think?

DM: HA NO!

TK: We just get to read what you think women think?

DM: If anything this process has taught me how little I know about how women think. You get to read what I have LEARNED women think. I am very fortunate to have some great female friends who are very honest with me and they read what I write and are some of the best critique partners anyone could have. So when and if I go off the rails they give me a swift kick.

TK: I hope the kick is well aimed

DM: I don't claim to know what women think any more than any female writers claim to know what men think.

TK: So what got you the swiftest kick in the rear? What did the ladies think was your biggest mistake?

DM: Hmmm. Great question. The most memorable kick was on the second volume of the book which I'm working on now. I was having difficulty with a scene, and a great friend told me that something Men think is important women couldn't care less about.

TK: Yes...

DM: She said, "You men think that's all that counts, when really, it's nothing compared to everything else, thats why we have to train each and everyone of you. We have to re-train you every time. The first time we're with you is really just a tutorial." My mouth about hit the floor. Here she was telling me that everything Men think about sex is really just wrong and that Women "tutor" us. And have to re-train us to their satisfaction. After awhile I understood where she was coming from and the story she helped with was one of the best in the book in my opinion.

Stay Tuned for Part 3 - This Guy is Kinda Fascinating - of My Interview with Erotic Author Darren Michaels this Wednesday

Find out more about Darren at his site - http://www.flipside-erotica.com/

Darren Micheals Interview - Part 3

Part three with Sexy Author Darren Micheals...


TERRY KATE: What makes your books Erotica and not Erotic Romance?
 
  DARREN MICHAELS: Mainly the fact that they are one encounter stories. There's not a build up of the relationship in the beginning or a continuation of the relationship.

TK: What do you feel the difference is?

DM: I think that is the difference, Erotica is about the act, where as erotic romance is about the relationship and the act and what the act means in the relationship, there is a build up to it and a continuation after it.

TK: Why not Romance? What attracts you to the moment - the encounter, why not go further?

DM: Why don't I write romance?

TK: Yes why?

DM: I am in the process of trying to write an erotic romance but when I have tried in the past, the result has not been as intended. I really wanted to write a book like this of just encounters from both perspectives. I'm working on a series of stories with the same theme from both perspectives that are longer than these stories but still erotic romance and not just romance. I like the edge that erotic romance brings to the story.

TK: So stories without the naughty parts... not really working for you?

DM: LOL, I like stories without the naughty parts, I just think that if you leave out the sex, you're leaving out an integral part of any relationship. I like writing the naughty parts, it's fun.

TK: So what is the feed back been like?

DM: Amazing! Many women are buying the book to read with their partners. Reading it together or reading it apart and then talking about it. I was told that it was a great Valentines day or anniversary gift. It is something both partners can share.

TK: Have you done any signings?

DM: I have done one, but I have a very conservative day job right now, so its a little difficult to do an erotica signing on the weekend and then go back to work Monday morning at my very conservative company. And people can always get in contact with me and send me the books to sign and send back to them.

TK: So what is this conservative job?

 DM: Ha ha, I'm going to chose not to answer that, sorry. Have to keep the job that pays the bills until I hit that NYTimes Bestseller list.

TK: Hmmm... now what could it be... I guess we will just have to sit and wonder. Any deep dark secrets you got that you are willing to confess to? Stuffed bunny colection? Watch Glee on Wednesday nights?

DM: hmmmm... Actually yes to the later. GREAT show! Can't wait to see what happens with the rest of the season, and Community is hilarious as well.
And I do not have a stuffed bunny collection. Thank you. Now that I've confessed to watching Glee I think I feel a little lighter inside.

TK: Well I'm glad I could help.
DM: LOL I think I have just had a breakthrough.

TK: Well I do my best. Thank you so much for the ride in the Backseat. Maybe some day I can interview you on video. You can wear a mask. Everyone loves a secret super hero!

DM: LOL Thank you for having me I certainly hope I get to do this interview in the backseat one day and for you, I'll take off the mask.
Thank you again

Rituals by Kiki Howell Reviewed

Rituals by Kiki Howell 

 Description from Amazon.com

After a Wiccan ritual opens her eyes to her old friend, Maddie's first week together with Ryan, goes by in a blur of knots and ropes. Creative in their endeavors, they tie each other to everything from the coffee table to the kitchen cabinets while also implementing various positions.

 

Neither the sash of her silk robe nor the curly ribbon on a present is left unused as a device of sensual torture. Together, they find the freedom they seek in bondage. But, when Maddie's controlling ex-husband returns hell-bent on taking her back, will Ryan and Maddie be bound by the past or become tied to each other?

 

Rituals Review By Doni

 4.3/5 Whips

This is a very sexually explicit book. If you are sensitive to adult material (including bondage and submission), this might not be for you.  However, If you like it hot, buy this book.

Many of us have been in bad or unhealthy relationships.  Sometimes, even long after the relationship is over, there is still "stuff" that seems to bind us to the person we are no longer involved with.  This story begins with a perhaps Wiccan or Pagan ritual of "cutting" the ties that keep us bound and often unable to move on.

 

Ryan has other ideas as well.  He has been infatuated with Maddie for some time.  They have been long time friends.  He is the one who suggests the ritual and helps Maddie cut those ties. 

 

The story in itself is wonderful.  I loved the sensuality, passion and heat.  I loved the interplay between Maddie and Ryan. Their history seemed to make the heat even steamier.  With that said, I did have a few problems.  One, the language is very formal.  I found that at times, it caused me to stumble in my reading.  Two, it was too short.  There were at least a couple of spots in the book where I would have like more detail.   The backstory for the ritual is not revealed until late in the book. An earlier explanation of characters' motivation could help the story's development.  Three, "HFN", it felt like a "happily for now" story.

I guess I am a bit of a traditionalist when I am reading a romance.  I want the hero and heroine to live happily ever after.  I was kind of left wondering, "what now?".   Do they end up together, or is there one more bondage scene and then they call it a day?

In conclusion, would I read this author again?  Hell, yes.  I enjoyed the sex play and passion.  Would I buy her books?  Hell, yes.
So with that said, here is a three part point scale:Hotness--5 out of 5; Story--4.5 out of 5; Romance--3.5 out of 5, for an average of 4.3 out of 5. 

 

Find out about Kiki Howell and her other books on her website - HERE 

The Highwayman by Ali Katz Review

The Highwayman
by Ali Katz
Amber Quill Press - ISBN-13: 978-1-60272-517-1
Synopsis- http://www.a-katz.com

Hungary, 1750
Janos Vesh is a man on the edge. He's spent all of his adult life fighting his past. Now he roams the highways of the southern Carpathian Mountains chasing what little vengeance fate has to offer for the wrongs done to him and to his family. But satisfaction eludes him, and his only comfort comes in the arms of his lover, Stefan.
    The soldier's constant love is no longer enough to rein in the highwayman's growing recklessness. Stefan doesn't know what drives Janos along the path to self-destruction. He knows only that trying to save the man he loves from himself is fast becoming a losing battle. He's not ready to give up, but ideas are running short.
A robbery gone bad, a descent into darkness, and Janos's fragile hold on sanity begins to crumble. Stefan has one last hope. 

The Highwayman Reviewed by Jasmine
4.5/5 Whips


   A sexy masked man with a dark and tortured past - Yum.  A tough soldier in uniform willing to make sacrifices for his love - Yum.  The two of them together - Yum Yum!  We have complicated men, in a complicated time.  Did I believe their love? Yes.  Janos's salvation?  Love concurring all?  Well 1750 was a precarious time for anyone, two gentlemen in love does give me some concerns as to Happily Ever After, but I am sure as hell rooting for them.


   The novella was impossible to put down.  Sometimes I wish that I had it as a physical book to chuck at our main character Janos.  Has anyone else had one of those moments?  

"Janos did not trust. If he did once, he’d forgotten how.
Still, he wanted and waited for Stefan to look back. A single
glance was all he needed to chase him down and reveal all.
Just a glance, but Stefan never looked back." Pg 60 The Highwayman


My issue was Janos never changed - the situation reveals him - he does not grow to trust.  Plus at that moment when I really wanted him to crack a little and reach out to his lover, he just remained quiet and I would have aimed the book at his head and let loose.


The Highwayman is a great read and Ali Katz writes a well layered tale.   If you enjoy M/M and historicals this will be right up your alley.  Pun intended.
- Jasmine

“Four Play” by Shelli Stevens

ISBN: 978-1-60504-878-9
Length: Novella


Duty required she choose one life mate. Her heart wants all three.
Mikayla knew this day was coming. News has come down from the planetary elders—now that she’s twenty-five, the law requires she pick her lifemate. She may be the planetary secretary, but when it comes to trying out potential mates, she’s inexperienced and nervous.
She only needs one man with whom she can trust her life. Luckily she knows three... (Synopsis from http://samhainpublishing.com)

Four Play Review by Floy

3.75 / 5.0 Whips

WOW talk about a girl's fantasy come true! She doesn't just have one guy she has a thing for, but THREE, and the amazing part is they all feel the same way about her (and each other).

The backdrop is they live on a planet where women are highly cherished since there are so few of them and have to find a lifemate by the age of 25 because of a law that is in effect. We come into the story a couple days before the female turns 25 and has to choose between three very different, yummy guys that she has known all her life. There is also some suspense from a very jealous power hungry evil person who wants her for himself and will do whatever to ensure it.

The romance in the story is between ALL of the 4 characters, there is some M/M, M/F, M/F/M, etc. The scenes are all very steamy hot and you will need a fan to cool down while reading.

The biggest thing I didn't like was it was too short, I thought it could have been dragged out a little longer, throw in some more suspense, cajoling the Elders, and a little longer with the lifemate ceremony, but overall a steamy short story to get you hot quick, crest, and roll over wishing for more.

Ya wanna know which one she finally decides on? Get the book and read it to find out.  Find out more about Shelli Stevens at her site - www.shellistevens.com

Interview with Author Shelli Stevens

Terry Kate: Okay, so I opened the door to the Backseat and welcomed in the very exciting author Shelli Stevens. Shelli 2010, you ready?
 Shelli Stevens: I'm ready!

TK: Shelli what have you got coming our way as readers?

Shelli: Well, let's see. January 19th I have Four Play, an ebook novella, which is a Red Hot! romance from Samhain Publishing. Then in the summer I have two print books, Need Me from Kensington Aphrodisia, and Chances Are from Samhain. Then I also have a novella coming out from Samhain, title not set in stone yet :P

TK: Wow, you have been busy! Four Play is a provocative title, who are these four?

Shelli: Well, it's four best friends. Three men, one woman. The book is a futuristic, where men out number women. So women have duty to pick a lifemate by a certain age. My heroine is trying to narrow it down between her three best friends (the guys) and is realizing she wants them all!

TK: Oh my! What is a girl to do?

Shelli: Exactly...have a little fun deciding I suppose. ;)

TK: What was your favorite part about creating the future of the human race? I like a landscape where I get my choice of desirable men by the way, so thanks. If we visualize it enough it might just happen.

Shelli: I know, right? A world full of single men...lovely! I enjoy creating the future of the human race, because there's all kinds of possibilities, no rules necessarily. There' s a lot of freedom in it. Plus, certain romantic situations may not be as frowned upon...people might be more open-minded. Well, one would hope.

TK: What rules have your characters broken before?

Shelli: Hmm I'm not sure rules are broken necessarily. But I mean, you're not strapped into today's society standards and laws and such. You can write your own government, planet, lifestyle and such.

TK: When you write your contemporary novels what are the challenges there?

Shelli: Hmm, getting facts right. Sometimes I get a little nervous with my characters' career choice :P You know, I don't really want to completely screw up in the book. It's a lot more research. Same with historicals though (which I don't write, but love to read). I love writing contemporary though, because it's easier to let the humor slide in.

TK: In Four Play was there one hero who came to you before the others?

Shelli: No, I really knew what I wanted with my heroes. I, of course, had my favorite hero out of three. The one I knew I would've picked if I could only have one. Hee hee.

TK: Can we tempt you to share?  Who would you have chosen?

Shelli: Share which one? Hmmm. Dare I admit? Perhaps I should just say that in this book, the bad boy was really the one who caught my attention. But I go back in forth in what I love in a hero. That's why this book was so much fun. I got to have three archetypes.

TK: Do you fall for the bad boy? Is there any Hollywood hunk who lights your fire?

Shelli: You know interestingly I don't really fall for the bad boy...or no, wait, that's not entirely true. There's been a bad boy or two who've caught my interest, but because they're so bad... it doesn't last :P Hollywood Hunk, hmm? I used to lust after Joaquin Pheonix before he got all hobo-on-mushrooms like on me. Still, I can close my eyes and remember him in the movies of yesteryear....

TK: I can not wait to get my hands on your new book in the new year. What are you looking forward to in 2010?
Shelli: I'm looking forward to being healthy, writing and read lots of great books, and just having another great year.

TK: I think that is what we all are hoping for. Thank you so much for this peek into your books.

Shelli: No prob! Thanks for letting me share!

TK: Any time!  Find out more about Shelli Stevens and her books on her website www.shellistevens.com  
 You can read a review of her book Four Play here tomorrow.

Sexy Sunday - Who Rocked the Red Carpet?

2010 Golden Globe Awards

I’m taking off my writers’ cap, so that I might write today as a fan.  The Golden Globe Awards airs tonight, the lineup looks promising, and it is my pleasure to be talking to you today about the men who will be showcased.  2009 offered some great films and some phenomenal new series, and with those came a number of talented and yummy new actors into the spotlight.  While we saw many familiar names (much to my dismay, the gorgeous Hugh Jackman made only one movie last year and did not receive any nominations), 2009 introduced some great new hunks.  It will be interesting to see who takes this year’s awards.  I’m personally rooting for a couple of newbies, pleasantly surprised by the level of hot emerging talent I’ve seen over this past year.

As for the hottest Golden Globe nominee, I can’t help but choose Sam Worthington in James Cameron’s Avatar.  There’s something about watching a long-haired, muscular body in a loincloth, blue-skinned or otherwise, that catches my attention.  Moreover, when it comes to aliens, my inner geek always seems to win out.  CG enhancements and loincloth aside, this man is hot—he has a phenomenal physique and an adorable smile, and his presence on-screen is spectacular.  An Australian actor, his American credits are slim, but he has played in a short list of Hollywood roles and is slated to play Perseus in the upcoming remake of Clash of the Titans.  I think he’ll look smashing in ancient Greek attire.

Lisa Lane

http://www.cerebralwriter.com

Now it is my turn to ask you: who do you think is the hottest Golden Globe nominee of the year?  Leave a link to a picture, as well as an e-mail address where I can contact you, and I’ll add your name to a drawing for a free copy of one of my books.  Have fun—and good luck!

<-----  Hugh Laurie is my choice.  I think he cut me off in front of the Burbank airport once.  

Hi Doni - He is a sexy man!  I love the no tie no bow tie look, it was one of the best looks of the night,  He is a cutie and good for him on the win.   - Did he win for Tropic Thunder too?

How can you be mad when you get to stare at this man?  Dani nice choice though he was looking a bit scruffy last night compared to this shot.  Jon Hamm from Mad Men