Monday, August 23, 2010

Review: THE MANNY DIARIES

Evan is a young man at a crossroads: he is no longer in denial about his sexual orientation, but, as a burned out and unemployed artist, his life seemingly lacks direction. By a strange twist of fate, he finds himself working as the nanny for a desperate divorcĂ©e—and falling for her handsome and adventurous ex.

I found the first forty or fifty pages to move slowly, although I found the back-story to be relevant and useful. With that said, I must say that I finished the remainder of the novel in one sitting. I also must say—and I do not use this word lightly, as I can be quite the snob about what I read—that the last 3/4 of The Manny Diaries is brilliant. The scene progressions are lovely, the characters are fun, and the twists are sometimes surprisingly numerous, but always rewarding. I did find Evan’s tantrum at the end of the story to be a little excessive, but overall I loved the character and I loved what Kilpatrick did with the story—it is a fun twist on the coming of age, the coming into one’s own, and the coming out of the closet, with great teasers and satisfying bedroom antics. I highly recommend this work, and I look forward to more of Kilpatrick’s books.


The Manny Diaries is available through Ravenous Romance, Amazon Kindle, and other fine online retailers.

Saturday, August 21, 2010

The Journey's End

My thanks to all of the authors who contributed their time, their thoughts, and/or blogs to the Out of This World Blog Tour. It was a lot of fun, and I know I definitely have a handful of books added to my TBR list.

My thanks again to SFR Brigade members Sandra Stixrude, Linnea Sinclair, Pauline Jones, D. L. Jackson, J. C Hay, Kaye Manro, and Marva Dasef for offering insightful posts and entertaining discussion. It was a great end to the summer!

Friday, August 20, 2010

Please Welcome Guest Author Kaye Manro!

Today, it is my pleasure to have author Kaye Manro here as one of the final stops to the Out of This World Blog Tour, talking about erotic science fiction romance. She has written several sci-fi works, and most recently released her erotic sci-fi romance, Forbidden Love. Take it away, Kaye!

Lovemaking Deep Space Style

One of the questions I asked while doing research for my E-SFR (erotic science fiction romance) the Forbidden Love series, part of which takes place on an enhanced spacecraft was, well, what is sex like in a deep space environment? Since my books feature an advanced cultural society in which the hero’s race has already mastered FTL and hyperspace travel, it wasn’t too much of an imaginative stretch to realize I wanted these stories to have such intricacies as spaceships with artificial gravitation and inertial dampeners.

As far as T’Kon and Maya, the h/h are concerned, the setting for the love scenes in Forbidden Love is about as comfortable as spending time in your own contemporary bedroom. As I mentioned in my SF Lexicon on my website, Inertial Dampeners are mechanisms that prevent the effects of gravitational forces caused by space travel and the acceleration or deceleration created by FTL. Therefore, T’Kon and Maya hardly noticed the changes as they engaged in tantalizing love scenes.

Leaving our creative imagination behind for just a minute, let’s talk about reality. How close are we actually to accomplishing sexual encounters aboard spacecraft? How possible is having sex in zero or micro gravity?

The History Channel featured actress and SFR author Vanna Bonta in an episode called The Universe "Sex in Space."

Ms. Bonta and her husband experimented with her invention, the 2-Suit, in micro-gravity aboard G-FORCE ONE. She created the special suit to see how a couple could perform the sex act while in relative weightlessness. The conclusion, having sex while in zero or micro-gravity would be difficult at best. As fascinating as this was, without the aid of a specially fabricated suit, or a MagLock to a stationary object, it would be nearly impossible.

Even so, in the near future making love with a view of the Earth below may be the ultimate aphrodisiac for space travelers. But, let's think about the implications of space-based sex.

Taking a few ideas from science journalist, Laura Woodmansee, many have wondered what it might be like to make love in space. The passionate couples who book flights to the first space hotel will be more than excited to try zero-g sex, and out-of-this-world sex will be a reality within a decade.

Some people believe space sex will be a frustrating experience and that lovers will give up. Weightless couples will find a way to get together. Sex in space will probably take some practice and hard work at first.

It will happen, and therefore it's a legitimate topic to explore. Sex is a basic part of our nature. It drives love, the expansion of our families, and even our exploration of the unknown. We can't be ashamed of sex. That will prevent us from looking into the risks and possibilities. If we are to create a civilization in space, we need to address the possibilities of sex and reproduction in Earth orbit and beyond. Think about it, the first space babies will be space aliens in some ways. This is more than rules and mission plans. The key to successful sex in space is about managing the micro-gravity environment.

In her nonfiction book, "Sex in Space," Laura Woodmansee, describes several positions that might work, ranging from the modified missionary position to seated, with interlocking Y legs. Props also could come into play, including a shared elastic waistband or tethers to hold one partner to a stable structure, she writes.

We as SFR authors know sex and love scenes in space have been around for several decades. As in other science fiction, we have already created a blueprint and scenario for it to happen.

A FORBIDDEN LOVE EXCERPT:

…Inside the spacecraft living quarters, lying naked in a sleeping berth, Maya gazed around in awe at the interior of the small but spacious ship. It contained smooth, curved, circular fixtures throughout. Soothing, diffused, bluish lighting illuminated the sleeping compartment creating a Zen-like mood and restful hibernating atmosphere. It reminded her of the interior of a giant habitat aquarium. T’Kon told her the ambiance generated a state of mind conducive to deep space flight.

A sliding door sounded with a muffled whoosh as he entered the sleeping compartment. The sight of him caused heat to spread through her. “T’Kon,” she hummed, beckoning him to come to her. “I want to ravish you in every way possible.”

He slipped out of his compression suit and crawled into the berth next to her. “Your presence already does that quite well.” His arms enwrapped her and he brought her to rest atop his body.

She wound her fingers in his hair and ground into him.
His throat rumbled and his body sizzled with the need of
her. She sensed it.

“How about I do this.” She squirmed around and scooted from him. “Turn over,” she demanded in a husky playful voice.

Not moving, he captured her with his dark, ice blue gaze, deliberately rubbing his long leg inside her thighs. “Males initiate the mating pleasures.”

“Oh yeah? For females on my world, that’s not always true.” She slid both hands beneath his body touching the sensitive ridges along his back.

He drew in a quick breath and hissed. “You know about that?” He arched upward giving her hands more space.

“You mean those sweet, receptive, spiny scales along your vertebrae?” He let out another scintillating exhale. “Touching you here...” she gave a gentle pinch to a spiny point, “...intensifies your lovemaking experience, doesn’t it?” She pinched another spine…


Visit Kaye at her blog.
And her website.

Look for book two in the Forbidden series, Forbidden Destiny, coming soon from Red Rose Publishing.

Click here for more information on Forbidden Love.

If you leave a comment today, you will be in the running to win a download of Kaye Manro’s erotic SFR, Forbidden Love. We’ll draw a winner on Tuesday.

Thursday, August 5, 2010

PANDORA'S HOPE Release Party Winner

Congratulations Stacey! You have won your choice of a $20.00 Amazon or Ravenous Romance gift certificate. If you do not hear from me within the next 24 hours, please e-mail me at contests@cerebralwriter.com. Thanks for participating!

Until next time, happy reading to all.

Monday, August 2, 2010

Coming Soon....

Mark your calendars--The New Sensuality has a great lineup of SFR and erotic SFR authors coming up this month:

August 14: Sandra Stixrude at Dasef Central
http://mgddasef.blogspot.com/

August 15: Linnea Sinclair at The Cerebral Writer
http://www.cerebralwriter.com/blog.html

August 16: Pauline Jones at Behind the Pallid Mask
http://jchay.com/

August 17: D. L. Jackson at Forbidden Love
http://www.sfr.kayemanro.com/index.htm

August 18: Lisa Lane at Writer's Habitat
http://sandrastixrude.webs.com/apps/blog/

August 19: J. C Hay at Perils of Pauline
http://www.perilouspauline.com/

August 20: Kaye Manro at The New Sensuality
http://newsensuality.blogspot.com/

August 21: Marva Dasef at Backward Momentum
http://backwardmomentum.blogspot.com/