Friday, April 29, 2016

Phallic Friday - censoring

I went to the clean side...and it's a problem! I know this sounds nutty, but it seems to be where I am at the moment.

I started writing clean books, censoring myself as I wrote. Each swear word got changed to something else. Sex wasn't on the cards, or if it was it was behind closed doors, hinted at rather than described.

It was confining. I noticed how much I swear, or how much my characters do. I noticed how easy it was for me to get carried away with the sex.

I filtered. I edited. I cleaned up my act.

And now, goddamn it, I can't write dirty. I've lost my filth. I'm stymied. I don't know how to get it back!

I'm reading raunchy stuff, hoping that will help. But forgive me if I've become too clean. I'll try to find my filth soon!

Cate xo

Wednesday, April 27, 2016

Wildlife Wednesday - Garfish

Garfish have always intrigued me - I think it's that big long nose! I also like marlin and long toms for the same reason. There's something so odd and unexpected with that shape.

My favourite website, The Australian Museum, doesn't let me down. Here's some info on the Garfish.

I'll summarise here:

  • They can grow up to 52 cm in length (these were maybe 10 cm)
  • There are 18 different species and they're hard to distinguish (good, cause I reckon garfish is good enough!)
  • They school (swim in groups). I just chased this one out by itself.

It's thought that the extended jaw allows them to hunt better, schooling up small fishes to help the garfish with feeding.

When we were kids, we'd often see them on holidays (on the NSW Central Coast) where the school would be close to the surface and they'd hunt smaller fish, breaking the surface with their 'beak' or tail often. Dad would always see them first and say "Garties", and then we had to keep our eyes peeled to try to see that flash of a beak breaking the surface.

For a while I'd only ever seen pictures of these things, never up close and alive, so I think that might be why I always find it exciting to come across one - even now. And yes, I have sent Dad this photo!

Sunday, April 24, 2016

Sunday Story - Dirty and Never Sweeter

Two of my favourite authors had new books out this week and of course I devoured them! And because I read them back-to-back I have thoughts. So many thoughts.

What a week of reading!


So, Kylie Scott's Dirty dropped on my e-reader first and what can you do but open it. The first word is "Fuck." Not the most usual first line, but I was hooked! There's something raw about Kylie's writing. It sort of plonks you into the heroine's head and you get it all - swearing, doubts, hopes, fears, dreams. The trying to talk yourself into something, and talk yourself out of other things.

There's something about being inside someone's head that makes me feel relieved about my own headspace :)

Anyway, Dirty is book 1 of a new series (Dive Bar) which is a spin-off from the Stage Dive (rock stars) series. Vaughan is the hero, and we met him in one of the Stage Dive books when his band toured with Stage Dive. Vaughan's sister owns the Dive Bar. So our connection is made and we're into the new series with lots of links back to the band - who had their first gig at the Dive Bar.

Lydia arrives in Vaughan's house via traumatic circumstances which had me remembering Lick (the first Stage Dive book), although the circumstances are very different. Lydia, on the morning of her wedding, is sent a video of her husband-to-be and his best man enjoying the bucks night by screwing themselves stupid with each other. Cue the fleeing bride.

Although Lydia is heart-broken, there's enough humour to have you laughing at her epic disasters as she flees her own wedding. And this continues throughout - Lydia is funny. Vaughan is funny (and sweet). And so the story keeps rocking along, making you chuckle and smile - until the black moment - and then you're through that and back to sunshine.

I love that about romance. You feel good reading it. It makes your laugh, smile, ache, grin like a satisfied loon. Kylie Scott books always deliver that.

And then I picked up Never Sweeter. OMFG! I said Kylie Scott gets you into the heroine's head, well, Charlotte Stein digs you so far in you're trapped in all the messy glory of the heroine's brain. And Charlotte Stein does this in third person in this book (most people only manage it in first person).

I was trying to work out how these books are different, but for me both 5 stars, and I think I might have something - You know when you take a wedding photo, you can take one with the view, the crowd, the family, the gorgeous decorations as well as the bride and groom and bridal party. It's a stunning picture and shows everything that makes the day special - it's a priceless shot. That's Kylie Scott.

But you can also take a photo at the same wedding where you focus solely on the couple. The background is just a blur. There might be the edge of a bridesmaid and a best man, or maybe not. It's still a priceless memory. A beautiful shot. But the focus has changed. And this is Charlotte Stein. Couple on focus, everyone else blurred or not in the picture.

In Never Sweeter, Letty and Tate are the focus of the story. They're in college and they have friends, even family back home, they even have a horrible back story of high school together, but the major focus of the story is on the couple and their relationship. There's no setting up of a series. No extraneous detail. I couldn't tell you what country they're in, let alone what their college looked like. I know the bed is small in each of their dorm rooms only because they both have to fit on it.

There's an intensity to Charlotte Stein's writing that no one seems to match - and I think it's because of this zoomed in focus. No details unless they relate to the couple and the relationship.

The latest run of Charlotte Stein stories are darker than usual. This one deals with bullying - horrible high-school bullying that makes you gasp, ache, almost weep. One of Letty's high school bullies is Tate, who is now the hero of the story. And I wasn't sure you could redeem someone who'd gone so far...but Charlotte Stein did. Tate is gorgeous. He's making up for his mistakes. He's admitting his errors. And Letty is noticing that he wasn't entirely to blame.

This story rips at your heart. It's dark, intense, achingly beautiful - and yet there are funny moments, cute film references, sweet sweet exchanges. It's some magical balancing act that I'm not sure anyone else could actually pull off.

So, if you're looking for a fabulous panorama, can I recommend Dirty? But if you're after the close up, Never Sweeter might suit. But whichever you read, I hope you won't be disappointed. I wasn't.

(PS this is my 600th post - thanks for being here and letting me blah on! I'm so glad it was a post about fab books and fab writers.)

Friday, April 22, 2016

Phallic Friday - lions learning

The Shoalhaven Zoo has some new white lions - 2 females, 2 males - and so I went to visit them the other day. How lucky for me they were putting on this display! :) Not so lucky for the people with kids who asked questions.

Anyway, I snapped this pic as we walked up, rubbing my hands with glee because it covered Phallic Friday and Wildlife Wednesday, and then I looked a little more closely.

They were young lions. He hadn't grown into his mane yet.

Actually, he wasn't really trying and she wasn't really responding.

Then I realised they were brother and sister - the four lions are from the one litter. So this shot isn't quite as exciting as I initially thought.

We had a dog who used to hump almost anything while he was young (thankfully he grew out of it). Horses often do this too. But I'm thinking that it might be a testosterone-laden thing where you need to learn this mating right by practicing humping when you're young. Especially with these competitive species like lions.

Anyway, those are my thoughts for today. Do you know anything about lions learning about sex?


Wednesday, April 20, 2016

Wildlife Wednesday - caterpillars

We've got an influx of caterpillars at home. I've never seen them here before (we've been here almost 8 years now).

They remind me of the caterpillars we used to get on the white cedar trees when I lived out in western NSW. Except we have fewer of them - thank heavens! This was them.

These caterpillars are on the house, in the garden, falling in water buckets, on pot plants, on the car, the back door. We do have a heap of gum trees shading our house (but the neighbour owns them) and I suspect that's where they're coming from...but I'm not game to go into the neighbours to check their trees out closely - they might think I'm a nut :)

I'm trying to find out what they are and I found the best website with lots of caterpillar photos. :) It's here.

But I just can't see what it might be - I keep coming back to the one that's in groups like in western NSW, except these are solitary.

My skills have not improved!!!

I'm off to find one and check it out more.

Friday, April 15, 2016

Phallic Friday - Tonight She's Yours

I've been reading the cuckold fantasies in Tonight She's Yours and it's been a bit interesting because there's quite a similarity between them all - which I guess isn't all that surprising because there's only so many ways you can do some acts!

But there's one with two women, and the husband watching, but it took me a while to realise the Bull was female. So that was fun!

I've noticed that most are in first person and there's a varying degree of depth into the character's mind in these first person narratives. So that's been fascinating to discover.

Oh, yes, the fantasies, not the writing... I keep being distracted!

There's a few multiple partners while the husband watches.

The humiliation in most isn't too awful, so I can handle that. That's the thing that's always baffled me - humiliation for kicks - but I'm coping with these. And mostly they're mild - or else my level of tolerance has been expanded!

I think that might be it. I think the more I read in the erotic genre, the more I'm open to explore. That's exciting for me...but it also makes me dangerous...what do I touch on next? Where do my characters take me? Today I one-clicked because an author said the book was free and made some reference that I took to be spanking. Is the book about spanking? I've no idea...but when I finish these cuckold stories, I'll be checking it out.

I've enjoyed the mix of stories in here...but they have shown that I need to twist my stories more. Deliver more of the unexpected, and less of what the majority deliver.

Do you get inspired to change when you read anthologies?

Wednesday, April 13, 2016

Wildlife Wednesday - pelicans

Pelicans always catch my attention - I don't want to think how many photos of them I have - but it's not often I can snap photos as they pass overhead.

Usually I get them standing or walking, in the water, or on a pole/light.

Today, I have some in flight!

Solo and in formation :)

Thursday, April 7, 2016

This week...

Sorry I'm not going to manage a post this week.

Back on track next week - fingers crossed!

Friday, April 1, 2016

Phallic Friday - ramblings

Sometimes what you need
is a hard and fast pounding.
Other times it's the slower,
considered touch of love.

Sometimes you want the anonymity
of a hard plastic vibe.
Turned up on high,
For the craziest of rides.

Other times a touch,
like a butterfly caress,
can bring you achingly
to the point of distress.

Bodies are the strangest things
always wanting something else,
but you need to listen to them,
if you're to get pleasure for yourself.