Back in the saddle.

Buy HERE

The last month has been rough on me. As a result of my push to finish Curse of the Spider Woman, I ignored my body's warning signals and ended up with nerve damage in my hip. Leg numbness and tingling has resulted. As a result of the chronic pain and discomfort, I'd fallen into a depression.


After several months of hoping it would go away, I finally went to a physical therapist. I'm slowly getting better, and that means I'm slowly feeling my mojo coming back. To kick start the whole process, I've taken a short retreat to the Oregon Coast.

Haystack Rock

 To the right is my view from my hotel room. The big monolith is Haystack Rock, the little guys are called (get this), The Needles. Oregonians are pretty funny, no?

Cool sand and oil patterns

Couldn't seem to prevent getting in the water.

World's comfiest pants from Kim Sakkara, natch.

Something about the waves and the wind help me find where my boundaries are broken.

Slowly finding my smile again.

The Pleasure Center: The Little Sexy Workbook.

I recently released a handy book called The Little Sexy Workbook. I wrote it because talking about your desires can be crazy difficult. It breaks my heart when people tell me their secret fantasies that they believe they can't tell their partners.

They confess these stories as if they were unpinned hand-grenades tamed only by a white-knuckle grasp on the handle.

And I want to help.

In this series in The Pleasure Center, I'm going to give advice on how to have the open, free, fun, playful sex life you want.


Next week, we'll get going on how to put the pin back in the grenade and make your sex life awesome!

To buy the Little Sexy Workbook:
At Amazon
Barnes and Noble

Blast from the Past: Playing with the Tarot

Back on December 12 of 2013, I did a cool blog post about creating my mission statement. And I liked this post so much, I thought I'd re-run it!

*****

 There is something about the winter season that makes me want to hermit up. I decided I might as well roll with it, so this morning, I did a  Tarot spread.

 My deck is the Visconti-Sforza deck, a 15th century deck, and one that I find the most beautiful.

I'm not a big Tarot chick - I find it a fun way to play with brainstorming, dream up psychological insights, and of course, work on archetypes. 

I found a spread called Create a Vision Statement in Barbara Moore's book, Tarot Spreads.
Super fun!

The spread looks like this: 

2     3

   1

4     5

Position One is who you are, Two is what you do, Three is how you do it, Four is who you do it for, and Five is the benefits to your clients/audience. 

And this is my very cool mission statement!

I discover and bring to life bold stories of adventure and passion for lovers and dreamers so we can create options for a better world. 

 *happy dances*

What is *your* mission statement?

(I drew the Eight of Wands, the Knight of Wands, the King of Wands, Two of Cups, and the Nine of Cups, if you are curious)l

A visit to the Oregon Coast.

High tide, heavy winds, Haystack Rock.

The Charming Man and I celebrated a day off together by visiting Cannon Beach, Oregon.

Links:
Pizza a Fetta

Insomnia Coffee

Our favorite pizzeria, Pizza a Fetta.

The amazing Italian Sausage Pizza.

 Haystack Rock

The Pacific Ocean.

Aztec Mocha at Insomnia Coffee

Herd of elk on the way home!

Tag, I'm it.

C. Morgan Kennedy insisted I talk about writing. The nerve!

Here are the questions she wanted answered:

 What are you working on? 
 How does your work differ from others of its genre? 
 Why do you write what you write? 
 How does your writing process work? 

1. I am working on an erotic coming of age novella, tentatively titled "Auntie Vamp." I'm finished with the first draft, half way through the second draft, and I should have the third draft done by March 17th. Auntie Vamp herself is based on Mae West and she shepherds her great-niece Holly into discovering her true strength. 

 2. My work differs because I write woman-centric pleasure, with no coercion and no "bargains" of sex in exchange for something.  My heroine doesn't cook or clean and she wants a life in paranormal politics.

3. I write explicit, complicated stories because I despise books that fear women's sexual and personal power. A woman should be able to name her desires, both sexual and intellectual.

4. I flail a lot.  I hand write my brainstorming, plotting, and tricky scenes. I do have a loose outline at the beginning of the process, but it always goes off the rails by the middle of the first draft.

Thanks, C. Morgan!

Playing with the Tarot

*blows dust off of blog* *cough choke*

Sorry it's been so long, everyone. There is something about the winter season that makes me want to hermit up. I decided I might as well roll with it, so this morning, I did a cool Tarot spread.

 My deck is the Visconti-Sforza deck, a 15th century deck, and one that I find the most beautiful.

I'm not a big Tarot chick - I find it a fun way to play with brainstorming, dream up psychological insights, and of course, work on archetypes. 

I found a spread called Create a Vision Statement in Barbara Moore's book, Tarot Spreads.
Super fun!

The spread looks like this: 

2     3

   1

4     5

Position One is who you are, Two is what you do, Three is how you do it, Four is who you do it for, and Five is the benefits to your clients/audience. 

And this is my very cool mission statement!

I discover and bring to life bold stories of adventure and passion for lovers and dreamers so we can create options for a better world. 

 *happy dances*

What is *your* mission statement?

(I drew the Eight of Wands, the Knight of Wands, the King of Wands, Two of Cups, and the Nine of Cups, if you are curious)l

Discovering Portland: A day on Alberta St.

I truly love living in the Pacific Northwest. The people are kind, the drivers are courteous, and the food will knock your socks off.  Last week, The Flaming Chef and I explored Alberta Street in North Portland. Behold, a mini-review of a few places on this vibrant, interesting neighborhood.

First, we had a late lunch at the Bollywood Theater.  They serve Indian street food, small plates, and a wonderful selection of vegetarian dishes.


They also have really nice, funny, and knowledgeable staff. I didn't get her name, but her smile and kindness in explaining all the food make my day. :)

Here is The Flaming Chef showing the Bollywood Theater's fabulous graphic design.

My droolworthy lunch of Kati Rolls:
Meat or paneer, egg, pickled onion, & green chutney rolled in parantha.

YUMMMMMMMMY.

Their cool wall of movie posters.

We then headed next door to Salt & Straw for gourmet ice cream.  Flavors include Olive Oil, Pear with Blue Cheese, and Coffee with Bourbon.
 I was fearless and got chocolate with gooey fudge bits. The Flaming Chef got the Coffee with Bourbon and the Happy Birthday, Elvis.

Uplifted by good food, we then strolled in the rare sunshine looking into windows and marveling at human creativity.

We passed a store window filled to the brim with elegant, classy lingerie. As a rule, I ignore lingerie stores since nothing fits extra curvy women.

Then like a bolt from the blue, I saw, in neat block letters, "Bras for Buxom Gals."

That is me! I leaped for the door.

This, ladies and gentlemen, is The Pencil Test.

They sell beautiful bras, panties, slips, exercise bras, and swimsuits for the ladies with the "Ladies".

I'm wearing this bra right now!

 The owner told me I was wearing the wrong size, then found a pile of gorgeous and practical undergarments for me.

She said to replace your bras once a year, too. I feel fantastic.

So people, get your butts to Alberta St. for delicious food and fine lingerie.





Dracula's Secret, Blood Wings #1
Dracula's Desires, Blood Wings #2
Dracula Unleashed, Blood Wings #3, to be released March 21, 2013