At first glance, horror and romance are so different that the idea of combining them in one story might seem weird. While the genres have obvious differences, they also have similarities. Both horror and romance depend on intense emotions. One unlocks people’s fears and the other their desires. Romantic horror or horror romance blurs the line between genres, creating a dark fantasy in which love blossoms in a dangerous setting.
As someone who is currently in her forties, I can honestly say I feel freer and less inhibited when it comes to what I read and enjoy. Is it because I’m “older and wiser”? Not sure about the “wiser” part, to be honest.
When you’re in your twenties and thirties, you’re bogged down with making your way in the world, possibly raising a family, moving up the ladder. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed those decades and hard as they may have been, I wouldn’t change them. But I noticed something in my forties.
Vampires are a kink and have been for centuries. And that’s not an immortality joke. I’m serious. Ever since Bram Stoker scared the bejeezus out of pretty much the entirety of Europe, we’ve been fixated on bloodsuckers. I’m definitely not immune, although for me, it didn’t start with Dracula but with Lestat and Louis.
Arguably, sixth grade was a little early to be reading something as sensual as Interview with the Vampire, but I probably didn’t even notice the sexual undertones at the time. Or maybe I did, considering reading that book solidified in me what would become a lifetime love for these creatures of the night.
[Read more…] about Vampires are My Kink – A Guest Post by Sara Dobie Bauer (@SaraDobie)
What is steampunk? Well, I ought to have an answer for that, as it’s something I’ve frequently been asked as I stroll around in my top hat, goggles and bustle skirt, my trusty octopus familiar (the original Archie) by my side.
Like most things, it’s not all that simple. I can get it down to one word—retrofuturism—but only if I want to be met with baffled frowns and blank looks. The easiest way of explaining it to the uninitiated seems to be to invite them to think of Victorian science fiction, with HG Wells’ War of the Worlds, The Time Machine and The First Men in the Moon, or Jules Vernes’ 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.
[Read more…] about Steampunk 101, A Guest Post by JL Merrow (@jlmerrow) #giveaway
I was a teenager in Detroit, Michigan during the 60’s. I moved to Laurel Canyon, a bohemian section of Los Angeles, California in the 70’s. That may seem like ancient history to some of you but it was one hell of a ride, a wild and crazy time. Erotica was still taboo and if you were a woman and wanted to have sex with more than one partner, either one at a time or all at once, you were probably referred to as a slut or a hippie. I don’t really know what it was like being a slut at the time, but I do know what it was like being a hippie.
Excerpt:
He had no idea what was about to happen, but he was in. He was her faithful student.
He was hers.
For tonight, he belonged to her.
“You still with me?” she whispered, sidling closer.
“I want to kiss you so badly I can hardly breathe.” The words blurted out of him, like he had no control over his own mouth.
“Oh, good answer.”