Pagan Spirits Welcomes Author Dan O'Brien on Saturday, October 2

Join us Saturday, October 2, 2010 as we welcome and interview author Dan O'Brien. Dan's book The Journey is now available at iUniverse and will be on your bookstore shelves soon. Please leave your comments and questions for Dan.

Dan O'Brien describes himself as "an eclectic writer who dabbles in many genres, though most have sweeping elements of spirituality and reason. Most of the novels fall into the categories of science fiction and fantasy, though there is something for everyone. Romance, horror, young adult and even drama have found their way from his mind to paper." Hey, that's everything we love here at Pagan Spirits!

Dan O'Brien lives on the west coast and has been writing novels for over a decade. Find out more about the author and his works at http://www.thedanobrienproject.com. You can read Chapter 1 of The Journey from the links page.

'Walking on Electric Air' by Stephen Cubine: pure reading joy

I found Stephen Cubine looking for reviewers for his book on Writer Gazette. The description made it sound absolutely fascinating. I was a little skeptical, since the book was published by a very small press, 19 West Publishing, Inc. My skepticism was misplaced. It may not have been picked up by a big publisher (yet), but Walking on Electric Air is pure reading joy.

This is the kind of book that makes you say "Yeah!" when you read the last page.

The principle characters are Dottie, Shelby and Lynda. Each of them has issues. Dottie is a housewife so desperate, she's tried to kill herself again and again. The "perfect" life somehow doesn't make her happy. Shelby, a mechanic, has been an alcoholic mess since a terrible crash at the Indy 500. Lynda works at a dead-end job in a tiny Arkansas town...and, despite her Nashville aspirations, may have the worst singing voice known to humanity.

They may be a ragtag band, a sort of Thelma and Louise Plus One, but Dottie, Shelby and Lynda are all totally lovable. Dottie initiates their wild road trip through the South when she suggests Shelby find his long-lost daughter. They never lose sight of that goal, even when confronted with an angry boyfriend, a mother with deeply-buried secrets, unhappy cowboys, slaughtered hogs, and a duffel bag full of adult toys.

Walking on Electric Air is riotously funny, and it also has heart and soul--my favorite combination. I give it five stars because this is the kind of book you hate to put down.

The Best Book I Never Wrote

You Learn

As Alanis Morissette sang in “You Learn,” every experience, no matter how painful or how gigantic a waste of time, teaches us something. I learned something this week, something that was supposed to be pleasantly painful but in the end turned out to be one of those swallowing down the jagged little pill moments.

I was excited when I had the opportunity to place a bid on ghostwriting an e-book on how to be a female sexual submissive. Surely I can write about sex! I’ve written three erotic romance novels (two already published), scores of short erotic stories and articles about everything from vampire dildos to the eroticism of Terminator movies. I was even more excited when I was awarded the contract. My bid was low; the buyer didn’t have much of a budget. Still, I figured this would be a labor of love—of literary, twisted BDSM love.

How to Be a Submissive

Here’s the thing: I’m not a sexual submissive. I’ve known women who are, and who really get off on the psychological thrill of being told what to do in and out of bed. Over the course of my research, I read there’s no such thing as a “born submissive,” but I’m not so sure that’s true. It has to be in the psychological makeup, or it’s just not going to be pleasurable...

Read the full article, free, at Eden Fantasys.

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Poetic Monthly #56 is out today!

If you've been reading the blog for a while, you may realize I have a slight celebrity crush on Christian Bale. By "slight" I mean "intense," and by "crush" I mean "there is not one single part of him I would not like to lick. Not one."

In Poetic Monthly #56, I got a hall pass from my hubby to be in the same room with my crush, and I interviewed him.

Well, not really. It's completely fictitious. Which is a good thing, because I completely forget to ask the most important question of all:

Which dystopian apocalyptic future is going to happen first: the Terminator one, the Equilibrium one or the Reign of Fire one?

I begged and pleaded with Poetic Monthly's editor, Martin White, to let me make this a scratch-and-sniff article that smelled like Christian Bale. He said no. I wheedled and cajoled to at least get to make it smell like Vegemite pies (which, oddly enough, come up in the context of this interview). He nixed that idea, too. Soooo...my interview doesn't smell like anything. Except fiction. Which it is.

I really hope you'll read it. Poetic Monthly is free online, or you can get a print copy for $7.

Another Contest, Another Chance to Win a Kindle 3!

At the start of September, I shared with you the contest going on at eXcessica Publishing. In that one (ongoing until September 30, 2010) you can will one of 2 Kindles stuffed with 75+ e-books, including Midsummer Night by me, Erin O'Riordan.

Giveaway contests are becoming an increasingly popular way to drive web traffic and promote book blogs and other book sites. Now the book review website Bitten By Books (BBB) is getting in on the act. You can read all the details (there are a number of ways to enter) HERE.

Kindle not your thing? Do you prefer your books to have pages? There are tons of other great prizes to win with BBB's Blogfest 2010. You can read all about that HERE.

Coming in October: Night Owl Reviews is doing a multi-author, multi-prize giveaway. I personally will be giving away three gift boxes, each containing one signed paperback copy of I Made Out With a Teenage Communist! and a box of chocolates from the South Bend Chocolate Company (since Teenage Communist is set in South Bend). Look for more details to follow. In the meantime, enter the eXcessica and BBB contests! Somebody has to win...why not you?

Going Down?

The other day I got hold of a copy of The Ultimate Guide to Fellatio:How to Go Down on a Man and Give Him Mind-Blowing Pleasure by Violet Blue (Cleis Press, originally 2002, second edition 2010). My first thought was, do we really need almost 250 pages to explain this? Men are like automatic cum dispensers, right? Insert beer, yank the handle a few times (with your mouth) and get your prize...right?

Then I read Violet Blue's introduction. Men, it seems, have been given short shrift by sex writers up until now. When guys write for other guys about bjs, they do it with a homophobic-like distaste, as if typing with one hand while covering their eyes with the other. Men's anatomy is much more complicated than we realize on an average day. There's a wealth of knowledge women have gained by listening to gay men.

So, scanning over this hefty guidebook with fresh eyes, I found much to be admired. It's sex-positive. It doesn't discriminate against either sex or cater exclusively to hetero couples. It's comprehensive, even covering how genital piercings can affect oral sex. The drawings are cute. (I like the drawings with the piercings especially.) Best of all, it's spiced up with little fictional interludes by erotica author Alison Tyler. My favorite is "High Tea" (see previous post).

There's a reason why over 100,000 copies of this book have already been sold: this book is really helpful and informative. PLUS, the brunette couple on the front cover is cute.

To Tea or Not to Tea

This is going to be a different kind of blog post for me: instead of books, I'm going to write about tea. Don't worry, though: there's a book tie-in at the end.

Back in July, my husband and I spent some time with our 25-year-old nephew. When we picked him up at his other uncle's house, he was drinking a bottle of Lipton citrus-flavored green tea. His summer drink inspired me to go on a tea-tasting run. I came to the following conclusions:

1. The green tea latte at Seattle's Best is superb. My local Seattle's Best coffee stand is inside Borders. I found there was nothing nicer than to curl up on a big chair with a new book and a green tea latte. The tea has a delicate, peach-like flavor and is not overly sweet. In fact, I added a little Splenda, and it was just right. The flavor, texture and temperature were all excellent.

2. On the other hand, a green tea latte from Starbuck's is disappointing. The texture is lumpy, like a pond full of algae. The taste is vegetable-like. I know green tea normally has a slight vegetable-like taste (though I didn't really notice it in the Seattle's Best, but I do in my everyday, grocery store brand green tea), but this was like sipping the water from a pot of steamed brocolli. The next time I want tea from Starbuck's, I'll stick with the iced chai latte.

3. A surprisingly good green tea is the iced tea version from Burger King. It's very sweet, and I wouldn't be at all surprised to learn it has as many calories as a regular soda. Despite an excessive amount of sugar, though, the flavor is still very pleasing.

Now the book tie-in: for a surprising use for your favorite teas, look for Susan Norgren's new book Sacred Baths and Body Treatments, coming soon from AG Press.



P.S. The September 2010 issue of Traditional Home magazine has a neat tea feature in its Marketplace section. It includes a mini-profile of Tracy Stern's Salon Tea and this cocktail recipe by Gail Baral and Robert Wain of Algabar:

6 ounces jasmine green tea
4 ounces unsweetened pomegranate juice
4 ounces premium vodka
Dash of simple syrup

Combine ingredients with ice cubes in a cocktail shaker; shake and strain into a martini glass. Garnish as desired; suggestions include a lime twist or red currants. Makes 2 7-ounce marTEAnis.

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'Oliver's Good Night Kiss' Released Today!

About Oliver's Good Night Kiss, A BBA Menage Story
by Erin O'Riordan
43 pages / 9700 words
ISBN: 978-1-61040-042-8
Ebook zipped file contains - html, lit, Adobe and Sony optimized pdf, prc, epub

When werewolf mates Natalie and Matthew first laid eyes on Oliver, they both knew the sexy vampire chef was a temptation they couldn’t resist. Oliver’s orgasmically delicious food and hypnotic green eyes cast a spell on them. With Matthew and Natalie’s wedding date approaching, Oliver agrees to bow out gracefully from their sizzling triad…but only after one more night of passion. Will Oliver’s good night kiss really mean goodbye, or will Natalie and Matthew discover they can’t live without him?

Featuring the characters from Oliver's Famous Clam Chowder in the Love Bites anthology.

Get It For Only $1.99!


An Excerpt:

"Where are you going?" she asked him. It was warm enough in the bedroom, even if she was dressed only in a satin top and a pair of Matthew's black boxers, but Natalie crossed her arms. She felt somehow vulnerable.

He stopped halfway between her and the door. "You do want to be alone with him, don't you? Last chance to be alone with another male before the wedding."

She glanced at the square-cut ruby solitaire around her ring finger. Werewolves weren't much for diamonds. She looked back up at Matthew. "Yours, too."

He smiled. "I can live with that. I knew all along you were all I really needed, Natalie."

"You never told me where you were going."

"Kitchen. You should see the size of the sandwich he made me. Filet mignon tartare with porcini mushrooms." He came to her and kissed her again, on the lips this time. Matthew's sharp canines grazed Natalie's lip, and she felt his love in his bite. She forced her tongue into his mouth, a gesture he accepted, then reciprocated.

Somehow, she didn't hear Oliver approaching. When she tore herself away from Matthew's mouth and opened her eyes, he was simply there, holding two martini glasses.

"What, none for me?" Matthew said over his shoulder.

"Yours is on the kitchen table." He handed Natalie her drink: vodka martini with a generous twist of lemon, chilled. She drank it greedily. His drink was tinged pink. She sniffed and deduced it had a twist of the duck blood Matthew kept in the fridge.

Matthew looked at Natalie, then at Oliver, but didn't make a move to touch Oliver. His fingertips touched Natalie's hand lightly before he left the room.

eXcessica's September Scavenger Hunt is On!

eXcessica is giving away TWO Kindle 3 eBook Readers with wi-fi AND they will be already pre-loaded with dozens (75+!) of eXcessica eBooks, including Midsummer Night by me, Erin O'Riordan.

Our scavenger hunt runs from Sept 1 – Sept 30, 2010 and there are LOTS of way to win!

Besides the TWO KINDLE 3 READERS - the following prizes will also be given out:

* $20 Amazon Gift Card (5 giveaways)

* The ENTIRE Excessica Anthology Collection to Date (2 giveaways)

* Excessica Anthologies, given individually (7 total giveaways)

* A "habu" collection, including Rough Rides, Across the Threshold, Deal Closer, Hard Knocks U and Creampuffs (3 giveaways)

* A Selena Kitt collection, including The Surrender of Persephone (a great, great book, which I previously reviewed, Heidi and the Kaiser, Bluebeard's Wife, Taken, Falling Down and Quickies (3 giveaways)

* And don't forget to come to the CHAT on September 30 and October 1 for even MORE chances to win prizes!

CLICK HERE TO FIND OUT THE DETAILS or go to Erin O'Riordan's website (18+ only), find the eXcessica icon and click on it!

AND GOOD LUCK!