Quick Six Interview with Savannah Reardon

Quick Six Interview with Savannah Reardon

1. Would you be so kind as to tell us what type of stories you write?

SR: I write erotica in all shades and varieties from normal, vanilla romance to hot and heavy BDSM to furry, alien lion-men.

2. What are you reading right now?

SR: Endangered Species by Nevada Barr

3. I hear music in the background…what's playing?

SR: Real Good Man by Tim McGraw (Yahoo Launchcast)

4. Do you have a favourite naughty word?

SR: I don't really think I have a favorite. I like most all of them. ;)

5. Is there a word or phrase that absolutely makes you cringe?

SR: cunt... Though I am trying to reclaim that word and have used it in some of my works.

6. Be honest: What are you snacking on?

SR: Funyuns!

Promo time! Flog your wares. Any exciting new releases? How can readers find out more about you and your work?

SR: At the moment, I have Graceful Love, published by eXcessica. It's a romance filled with some angst brought about by a mother with psychological issues. It's also available on Fictionwise and ARe. Also available on eXcessica is the free read, Unplugged, a hot little story about a woman's experience with a butt plug and anal sex. I'm working on editing a novel length manuscript that I plan to submit to eXcessica in the near future, and I also have another story ready to submit to a different publisher (Dragons anyone?). Readers can get the latest news by going to http://savannahreardon.tripod.com, http://sreardon.blogspot.com, or www.myspace.com/savannahreardon.

I used to feel that way about "cunt"--that it was a bad, bad word--but the more I used it the more empowering a term it became for me, in my work and in my life. You're absolutely right about reclaiming it. "Cunt" is a lot like "Queer." Thirty years ago, "Queer" was a horrible word, but the community did an incredible job of converting it into a title of empowerment. Though, I do know a few older individuals who still shake their heads and ask, "How can you call yourself queer? That's a derogatory term!" But I could go on and on about etymological progression...instead, I'll just say thanks so much to Savanna Reardon for today's Quick Six interview!

A Love Note to Aspiring Authors

It seems like everyone needs something from building superintendent (okay, assistant super) Sexi Lexi. Luckily Lexi has a lot to give...

Featured this week at Ruthie's Club is a story near and dear to my heart called All in a Day's Work.

All in a Day’s Work is a self-reflexive take on those stale 1980’s “I’m here to fix your plumbing” porn videos. Lexi the Sexi superintendent (okay, assistant super) thinks she’s taking the building by storm until she meets the insistent Mrs Suraj. Convinced the boyish Lexi must be a lesbian, the beautiful tenant won’t release her until those rusty pipes are fixed. After an exhausting mutual masturbation session with a cute guy in the building, the sexy super comes home to a pussycat pair of college friends desperate for someone to hold the video camera as they live out an exhibitionist’s dream. No rest for the wicked! Red-hot from beginning to end, this piece includes some unexpected BDSM, good old 1980’s porn-watching, anal play, F/F content, and boasts a multi-cultural cast of characters.

Sounds like a fun little romp, right? Maybe a little bit self-discovery in there, but no deep emotional connections. What's so special about this story? It's pure porn!

Well, my friends, All in a Day's Work is the very first story I ever wrote with the intent of publishing. That's right: it was only just picked up this week, but I wrote Day's Work almost a year and a half ago.

The aspiring writers reading this post ought to feel encouraged by this fact. Do you ever feel like all you do is write and send off submissions, and all you get in return are rejections? I think we've all been there.

The first acceptance is golden, but you worry it was a one-off, or that the editor or publisher wasn't paying close enough attention, or even that they're trying to scam you somehow. Then a second work is accepted. You're over the moon, and a bit more at ease. You get more and more experience with the editing process under your belt, add some publications to your history, and suddenly you realize you have a hell of a lot of work out in the world.

If you really work at it and you have a knack for writing, there is hope. The key is to never stop learning. Always be open to advice from editors and seasoned writers. Don't get your back up at constructive criticism, even if it's harshly-phrased, because it's always more useful than you realize right away. The more I really listened to what my editors were telling me, the better my writing got. Gets. My work continues to improve as I receive more and more feedback.

I didn't realize, in the beginning, the importance of familiarizing oneself with the works a given editor appreciates, or with the type of stories a given publisher or magazine tends to select. I can't tell you how much time I wasted sending the wrong works to the wrong people! A fashion magazine doesn't want to see your article about black holes, right? It's the wrong venue to showcase your work. Send it to an astronomical publication. Know who your stories are geared toward and market to that demographic.

So, it's been advice day here at Donuts and Desires. I hope it's at least a little useful to at least one of you. *smile* I also hope you'll all run on over to Ruthie's Club to read my prime opus, All in a Day's Work.

Bright Blessings,
Giselle Renarde

Quick Six Interview with Jennifer Campbell

Quick Six

Interview with Jennifer Campbell

1. Would you be so kind as to tell us what type of stories you write?

Well, I write the hard line BDSM stuff, basically because I'm into the lifestyle myself. My stories have a strong, internal voice for the main female character, and I get that from my own experiences in an eight year M/s relationship with my Master, Jack. My stuff is never going to be the best selling stuff out there, because it's pretty hardcore, and I like it that way. As you might expect, I don't do HEA endings, but all my characters grow within themselves, accept their submission, and in the end are content in their enslavement. If you read one of my books, or the stories on my blog, you will get a taste of the feelings and motivations of a submissive female.

2. What are you reading right now?

I'm totally enthralled by Patricia Cornwell's Portrait of a Killer: Jack the Ripper Case Closed. The science and the reasoning is amazing. As far as books in the genre I write in, I recommend, Adriana Arden particularly the Alice series and Girlflesh Institute.

3. I hear music in the background…what’s playing?

That would be the Doors, I'm a rock and roll girl, but I'm disconnected from my generation in that I love the classics. It's all my Dad's fault that I love the Mamas and the Papas California Dreaming. Stones, Kansas, Styx before they turned disco, and Led Zeppelin is what your hearing. Bob Dylan forever.

4. Do you have a favourite naughty word?

It's actually two, and they're only naughty for me. "No, Master." Think about it.

5. Is there a word or phrase that absolutely makes you cringe?

Those terms the right-wingers use, like indecent, morally repugnant, pornographic. To whom I ask, and who set you up as judge?

6. Be honest: What are you snacking on?

I am so addicted to this salted and flavored Diamond almonds. In the market, I try to avoid the nut aisle, but sometimes there's nothing I can do.

Promo time! Flog your wares. Any exciting new releases? How can readers find out more about you and your work?

My blog http://www.myspace.com/mansionslave

"No, Master"? Ooooooh, Jennifer, it's not just you; that gives me tingles!!!
Thank you kindly for granting me an interview!
gigi

Saying I Love You

I realized recently that, after going on and on about my inability to tell Sweet I love her (click here to read This Question of Love), I never shared with you the details of the big moment…which turned out to be just a little moment, actually. Just a peaceful little moment in bed with my Sweet.

It happened the first time Sweet and I spent a night sleeping all spooned up together in the same bed. We lay in the pitch blackness of her bedroom, basking in the afterglow of mind-blowing sex. She was the inside spoon, I was on the outside with my arms wrapped around her, kissing her shoulder. I’d been moderately distraught, as I mentioned, over my neurotic inability to flat out say, “I Love you.” I kept thinking it, kept feeling it, just couldn’t say it.

“You know so much about me now,” she said, having finally come out to me as transsexual. And not with the subtle references and allusions that had formerly led me to see Sweet as a cross-dresser, but with real words:

I used to think of myself as CD, but as my understanding, access to information and vocabulary increased I realized who I was, where my place in life was, and why I’ve felt as I have all my life. Now I place myself more in the non-op TS category.

It made little difference in our relationship, beyond my initial frustration that it took her so long to trust me enough to tell me, and the evident switch from the male to female pronoun. But I was ready for it. I had a sense her genderqueerness was more extensive than she had yet shown me, so it was kind of a relief when she finally said it in words. It showed me that she realized exactly how embracing I am, and that I am truly an ally of and advocate for the transgender community.

“There must be some secret you have,” Sweet went on that night. “Is there nothing you’ve been keeping from me?”

“There is,” I told her. “But, see, if I say it now it’ll seem like a big deal. It isn’t. I mean, it’s something I tell my friends all the time, but I’m just so afraid it’ll scare you somehow. I’m afraid you’ll think I’m some obsessive fatal-attraction psycho.”

Sweet laughed, facing away from me in the dark. “What are you trying to tell me?”

“It’s just that…” I held my breath. “…I love you.”

“Oh,” Sweet replied. “Well, of course you do. I already knew that. Don’t you have any other secrets?”

“No…”

Quick Six Interview with E.D. Beale

Quick Six
Interview with E.D. Beale

1. Would you be so kind as to tell us what type of stories you write?

I write fantasy, dark fantasy, and sci-fi erotica.

2. What are you reading right now?

Recently I've started re-reading (for the billionth time) The Black Jewels Trilogy by Anne Bishop. It's my favorite series of all time and it's good for inspiration. Well, reading that and Cosmo...

3. I hear music in the background...what's playing?

Well, my friends call it elevator music, but I'm really into Celtic, World, and New Age music.

4. Do you have a favourite naughty word?

Fuck...Fuckidy-fuck-fuck-fuck. It just rolls off the tongue.

5. Is there a word or phrase that absolutely makes you cringe?

Pussy. I don't know why, but I can't bring myself to ever use that word despite writing the naughty stories.

6. Be honest: What are you snacking on?

Though, I totally shouldn't since I'm a diabetic, I've been snacking on Safeway brand Peanut Butter Clusters. Hey, sometimes the cheap stuff is fantastic!

Promo time! Flog your wares. Any exciting new releases? How can readers find out more about you and your work?

Well, my very first published story is being released on eXcessica on Sept. 8th. It's a sci-fi erotic romance short called Decontamination. There's a lot of other stuff that I'm working on right now and I keep an update on everything I'm doing at my blog (http://edbeale.info). I even have a few quickie stories there for fun, so check those out, too.

Ah, yes. Fuck. I came to the word later in life, but it's been dear to my heart ever since. Fuck you, fuck off, or--my favourite--fuck me.
Thanks for your granting Donuts & Desires an interview!
gigi

I’m Losing Friends Over This

My friend Monty is old and set in his ways, but that’s no excuse.

For many years now, my friend Monty has been my comrade and confidante, but ever since I started seeing Sweet, his usefulness in those roles has been on the decline. The more I’ve spoken to him about my life with Sweet, the more blatantly homophobic and transphobic Monty has become.

Now, that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Hell, I invite people to share their dissenting opinions on LGTBQ topics because once those opinions are out in the open, we can discuss them. We can clear the air. We can talk about how hatred of what’s different, of what’s unknown, is always rooted in fear. We can shine light on ignorance. We can make the subject matter not about "those people," but about this person. It’s about me—I’m queer; it’s about my lovely partner—she’s trans; it’s about our relationship.

I hung up the phone on Monty two days ago.

It made me feel like a moody teenager, but I couldn’t take his ignorance anymore.

Let me tell you about the kind of conversations we’ve been having lately…

Monty (scoffing):
How’s Sweet?

Me:
Oh, she’s great. I had lunch with her today.

Monty:
You had lunch with HIM…

Me:
No…I had lunch with HER. When she’s out in the world, dressed as a woman and identifying as female, it’s her.

Monty:
No, it’s HIM. This guy’s got a dick, doesn’t he?

Me (trying to keep my irritation in check):
How can you base gender on something as arbitrary as genitalia? And you’ve never even met Sweet; what makes you think you’re in a position to select a gender identity for her? That’s a very personal thing.

So it’s been stuff like that in every conversation: Monty challenging my views on gender and transgender issues, and me sharing a lot about my life and relationship in hopes he’ll start to understand. But, you know what? It isn’t working. My tension level has been on the rise. During each new conversation I’m finding myself thinking, “I can’t listen to much more of this.”

Two days ago, Monty made another inflammatory remark about Sweet. He said she doesn't exist; no, "she's" just the product of a warped mind.

Monty was putting down a person I care for, a person I love, my partner, and I just wasn’t having it anymore. I'd given him so many opportunities to shed the ignorance and gain an understanding of trans life. Enough is enough.

I finally had to say to him, “You know, when you say cruel things about Sweet, you’re hurting ME. You’re supposed to be my friend, and here you’re deliberately and consistently upsetting me by insulting my partner and my lifestyle! If you’re going to keep on offending me like this, I’m going to have to hang up.”

You know what he said? “Well, I guess you’d better hang up, then.”

So I did.

I realize how High School all this sounds, dumping the best friend because he isn’t keen on my girl. It parallels that whole mom-doesn’t-like-my-boyfriend-so-I’ll-slam-my-bedroom-door-and-crank-up-the-radio stereotype of the teenage girl. But I made it very clear: saying mean things about someone I care for is hurtful to ME. And my mom would agree that anyone who hurts you on purpose is not a real friend.

So fuck him.

Quick Six Interview with Dakota Trace

Surprise! There's a new feature here at Donuts & Desires.

Every Monday, I'll be bringing you mini-interviews with some of your favourite authors. Quick Six interviews are designed to give readers an in-the-moment snapshot of the author, and what he or she is up to. Like a picture, but with words…

My first victim *smirk* is Dakota Trace. Check back every Monday to see who's next on the chopping block!

Quick Six interview with Dakota Trace

1. Hi Dakota! Would you be so kind as to tell us what type of stories you write?

I love to write erotic romances or erotic sci-fi. I love the idea of visiting another world and having an alien ravish me or the thought of my best friend seducing me, is enough to get me hot and bothered.

2. What are you reading right now?

I haven't started a new one just yet. I just finished the book, Acheron by Sherilyn Kenyon. Although it's a bit long, it was wonderful!

3. I hear music in the background…what's playing?

Ah, you caught me! I absolutely love the old country music from the seventies and early eighties. Especially Kenny Rogers. Shhh don't tell anyone!

4. Do you have a favourite naughty word?

Believe it or not...it's Daddy? Go figure. When a man says "come for Daddy" I just get all kinds of goosebumps.

5. Is there a word or phrase that absolutely makes you cringe?

Yes, it starts with "c" and describes a woman's sex.

6. Be honest: What are you snacking on?

Reeses Peanut Butter Cups. I love 'em. Especially the white chocolate ones.

Promo time! Flog your wares. Any exciting new releases? How can readers find out more about you and your work?

I have a new release scheduled for Sept. 8th. Just Between Friends will be for sale on Excessica.com. It is a erotic romance. It will eventually be available on Fictionwise and ARe. To find out more about my current books, you can visit my blog at dakotatrace.wordpress.com.

Ooooh...from the sounds of it, I wouldn't mind being between your friends! Your new release sounds great! Readers can check it out here.

Thanks so much for your time, Dakota!

These are Real: Practical Applications of Recent Discoveries in Neural Plasticity

I have formulated a scientific hypothesis. Put on your thinking caps and don’t doze off, because after the academic stuff I’ll be talking about boobs.

One day I was watching Allan Gregg in Conversation on TVO. Psychiatrist and Medical Researcher Norman Doidge spoke on neural plasticity in relation to memory, stroke, Alzheimer's, etc. and some of the evidence he cited to support his theory that neural receptors don't age as we thought they did was this:

Neurologist Dr V. Ramachandran was working with patients who'd lost limbs and were experiencing phantom limb symptoms. For instance, one patient lost an arm, but he still experienced an ongoing unscratchable itch. How do you deal with that, as a doctor? The arm is gone; there's nothing to scratch.

The brain is not a rigid structure; it has the ability to change. With the loss of limb, cortical reorganization takes place. What does that mean? Stuff moves. Neural pathways take detours.

photo credit: *bene*

So, with neural plasticity in mind, Dr Ramachandra recommended that this patient we’ve mentioned scratch his cheek every time he had an itch on his phantom limb, tricking the brain into rewiring itself. Eventually, this method started to work. Every time the patient had that itch, he'd scratch his cheek and that would satisfy it.

The doctor cited this as evidence that we CAN change neural pathways; they're never fully broken, no matter how much they get screwed up or damaged.

Okay, are you ready for boobs?

photo credit: .imelda

I may have mentioned once or twice that my partner, Sweet, is a transgendered woman: a wonderful girl with a guy’s body. She wants boobs. (Hell, I’m not exactly opposed to the idea either. I’m a breast man…breast woman...breast admirer) Now, Sweet is not quite ready to commit to life as a girl 24/7, but “Ahhhh, wouldn’t it be nice,” we muse, if she could feel her fake boobs? If she could experience them as real?

So, here's MY hypothesis: This phantom limb evidence could be used to help restructure cortical connections until Sweet could actually FEEL something that wasn't truly there. The neural pathways just need to be changed so that, for instance, if I were to touch under her arm or touch her chest, that sensation could be experienced in breast tissue that wasn't really there. Her brain just needs to think it's there.

I shared my response with Sweet, and here’s what she said:

“I know what you mean and I know it would work. There are times I get to that state even now, but ultimately I have to get ready for bed and poof! reality check hits and all the refocusing is reset.”

But Sweet and I aren’t research scientists, so, really, what does it matter what we think is feasible? Let’s just hope some brilliant neurologists picks up on this conception of mine and runs some trials, achieving great successes… and crediting me, of course, when she wins the Nobel prize.

Just imagine… Giselle Renarde, Nobel Prize Laureate in the Field of Boobology…

Bright Blessings,

gigi

Have you seen my website? I know I left it around here somewhere...
Ah, found it: www.freewebs.com/gisellerenarde

Dirty Pictures

Are you a visual learner? Or...just visual...

Ever heard of Ruthie's Club? It's a great site that's always being updated with some of the hottest erotic fiction on the web. Best part is, every story is illustrated by the Club's team of very talented artists.

I'm telling you about Ruthie's Club because my flash fiction now appears on the site. "Overdrive" is up today: a fast-paced flash inspired by car sex and a very particular feeling--a sensation of switching from idle excitement into sexual high gear--which I think of as "overdrive."

Take a tour of the club. You won't be disappointed.