Erin O'Riordan writes smart, whimsical erotica. Her erotic romance novel trilogy, Pagan Spirits, is now available. With her husband, she also writes crime novels. Visit her home page at ko-fi.com.
Wednesday, October 31, 2012
Guest Post ~ "The 50 Shades Effect" by Erotic Romance Author Samantha Holt
Monday, October 29, 2012
Blue Monday ~ El Dia de los Muertos
Okay, El Dia de los Muertos and All Soul's Day are still almost a week away. Still, in place of Blue Monday, I present a collection of pins from my Skullduggery board, all appropriate for the Christian holiday honoring all the souls of the departed. Here in North America, it's been grafted onto native ways of honoring deceased loved ones - the Day of the Dead.
A good source of basic information about Dia de los Muertos comes from The Pagan Book of Halloween: A Complete Guide to the Magick, Incantations, Recipes, Spells and Lore by Gerina Dunwich. (It's only 175 pages, so I'm sure it's not completely complete, but it's a good start.) It says:
"In Mexico, the Festival of the Dead begins at midnight on November 1...With skulls and skeletons as its motifs, this holiday honors the dead and is celebrated as a joyous fiesta...
"Bread of the Dead (known in Mexico as panes de muertos) is a traditional food served on this holiday. Shaped like people or animals, these curious little loaves are decorated with brightly-colored icings and sprinkled with colored sugar, and beloved by both children and adults. According to tradition, each loaf represents a dead soul.
"It is a custom for Catholics in Mexico to prepare special suppers for the spirits of their deceased loved ones. The food is set out as ofrendas (offerings) and blessed by prayer. After the dead have appreciated the honor and partaken of the food in spirit, the family happily feasts on what remains...
"Each year on El Dia de Muerte (the Day of the Dead) celebrated on November 2, Mexican fairies known as the Jimaniños...are said to come out of hiding and take to the streets, where they dance merrily and delight in playing harmless pranks upon unsuspecting humans. They can also be found roaming through graveyards where they travel in troops...
"Many Witches of Mexican heritage invoke the Jimaniños on the 31st of October when they celebrate their annual Sabbat of Samhain and perform rituals designed to pay homage to their ancestors. Many Wiccans south of the border believe that these playful, seasonal fairies assist their Goddess and Horned God in the turning of the Wheel of the Year."
How will you celebrate the end of harvest season? Perhaps you'd like to rock this sugar skull-motif dress.
Need a handbag to go with that?
Maybe the neon colors are a little loud for you, though. Maybe you'd rather have an accessory that's a bit more understated.
And finally: let me call you street art
Saturday, October 27, 2012
Interview with Author Joshua Skye!
Wednesday, October 24, 2012
Welcome To My Coffin! Coffin Hop 2012 Giveaway
I rarely write straight horror, though. I did write my first zombie piece this year, but that - like most of what I write - was paranormal erotica. PN erotica is precisely what you can win in my Coffin Hop giveaway:
The Giveaway: I have a very witchy prize to give away: 5 copies of "The Spell You Cast" by Erin O'Riordan and Rushmore Judd.
In this e-book, Troy falls for Madeline’s magic only to discover he is part of a much larger plan plotted by Madeline, an admitted witch, and her "sisters." The sex is enchanting as Troy’s infatuation for Madeline becomes deeper even as she introduces him to the other women. The coven is up to something, but will the spell they cast be something he likes? Or will he perhaps end up in the cauldron?
To Enter: Due to the e-book content, you must be 18 years or older to enter. Simply leave a comment on this blog post. If you have a Blogger (Google) account with a public e-mail address and I can find your e-mail by clicking on your name, you need only comment. If not, please leave an e-mail address with your comment. To thwart spambots, I typically use this format: erinoriordan AT sbcglobal DOT net.
Winners will be chosen by Random.org on November 1st.
You do not need to be a follower of my blog to win, but follows are always warmly appreciated.
This is an affiliate link:
Ghosts in Houses & Other Spooky Places by Daniel Hardie. $2.99 from Smashwords.com
Enter a world of the unknown and the paranormal, where strange ghostly and haunting happenings take place all over the world. Ghosts in Houses & Other Spooky places is a book that explores ghostly realms in haunted houses, haunted hotels, historic castles and cursed graveyards. Read this book... if you dare.
Sunday, October 21, 2012
SOC Sunday: Outside the Comfort Zone
What have you done recently or would like to do that’s outside your comfort zone?
Saturday, October 20, 2012
TCI Caturday!
If you love Hello Kitty, perhaps you'll enjoy this adorable pink sake set.
Get Out Of There Cat is a hilarious Tumblr blog of nothing but cats where they do not belong.
This is an affiliate link:
Think like Cat by Benedict Stewart. $1.99 from Smashwords.com
Cats are probably the most adorable creatures on this planet. At least that is what cat lovers would say, but there are times when they can get very unpredictable and you would just want to get your way into their minds to think like cat. You want to know what a cat likes and does not like and before that, you would also want to know whether you should get yourself one or not.
Thursday, October 18, 2012
Coffee Talk #6, the one with tattoos
Scott Disick is one of the asshole guys who I absolutely should not think is hot, but I still think he's hot. Scott Disick is a style favorite of Writer's Retreat, a U.K. Tumblr blogger who enjoys books and men's fashion.
Now, on to Nat's weekly Coffee Talk questions, this time co-hosted by Lovely Life of Leah.
1. Let's talk about ink: Do you have tattoos? How many??
No bangs at the moment.
3. Let's talk about work: Without getting specific with a company name, what do you do? What did you want to be when you grew up when you were young?
https://amzn.to/467d0Kj - this is an affiliate link |
Wednesday, October 17, 2012
A Ritual For Celebrating Monty Clift's Birthday
Saturday, October 13, 2012
Evernight Birthday Blog Hop Winner + Caturday
I'm going to kill two birds with one post and announce the winner of my leg of the Evernight Publishing Birthday Blog Hop while hooking up with A Catlike Curiosity for Caturday (at the risk of being labeled a crazy cat lady).
The winner of a signed paperback copy of my Evernight Press anthology title, Indecent Encounters, as randomly selected by Random.org, is Laurie. Congratulations! I'll be e-mailing you for your mailing address. If you didn't win my prize, don't worry - you're still entered in the grand prize drawing. Good luck!
Now enjoy these frisky felines. This fancy lil guy cracks me so consistently up.
Kitten in a man's shoe.
Jack Kerouac and a cat.
Allen Ginsberg had a cat named Howl.
"Taco cat" is a palindrome.
Doing her impression of Mark Twain.
If you like bookish cats, perhaps you will enjoy The Literary Cat on Tumblr. It has featured my own lil guy, James.
This is an affiliate link:
Think like Cat by Benedict Stewart. $1.99 from Smashwords.com
Cats are probably the most adorable creatures on this planet. At least that is what cat lovers would say, but there are times when they can get very unpredictable and you would just want to get your way into their minds to think like cat. You want to know what a cat likes and does not like and before that, you would also want to know whether you should get yourself one or not.
Friday, October 12, 2012
Columbus Day and Lies My Teacher Told Me
October 12, as you know, is Columbus Day. I'm going to ask you all to do something, not for me but for yourselves - read Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong by James W. Loewen. (It'll be interesting, but less immediately relevant, to you if you live outside the U.S.) It was first published in 1995, but it's about history, and I doubt very much has changed in that academic field in the intervening 17 years. Read the book and you'll discover why.
I "read" this book (listened to it on CD) probably 8-9 years ago, and two things always stick with me. One is that the U.S. Republican party has historically been the proponent of human rights in a way that seems the polar opposite of the party's current incarnation. The other is that Christopher Columbus' "discovery" of America led to events so horrifying, they make Dick Cheney seem like a humanitarian. If Ann Rule had been alive in 1492, she would have been writing true crime books about Columbus.
I'm going to share excerpts from this book. I know Christopher Columbus was said to be a native of Genoa, Italy (it can't actually be proven), and is a folk hero of many Italian-Americans. I promise you, I am not trying to pick on Italy or people of Italian descent. I love you; you're pretty. (See Wednesday's post.)
BUT you don't want to associate yourselves with Columbus. He was not a good guy. This is graphic, so sensitive readers may not wish to continue.
Using materials written by Columbus himself and other first-hand sources from the fifteenth century, Loewen writes:
- "When Columbus and his men returned to Haiti in 1493, they demanded food, gold, spun cotton - whatever the Indians had that they wanted, including sex with their women. To ensure cooperation, Columbus used punishment by example. When an Indian committed even a minor offense, the Spanish cut off his ears or nose."
- Quoting a biography written by Columbus' son Ferdinand on the quashing of a rebellion against the Spanish by the Arawak people: "The soldiers mowed down dozens with point-blank volleys, loosed the dogs to rip open limbs and bellies, chased fleeing Indians into the bush to skewer them on sword and pike..."
- "Spaniards hunted Indians for sport and murdered them for dog food."
- "Haiti under the Spanish is one of the primary instances of genocide in all human history."
- "Columbus not only sent the first [American Indian] slaves across Atlantic, he probably send more slaves - about five thousand - than any other individual." When large numbers of American Indian slaves died of starvation, overwork, suicide and disease, the Spanish simply looked to African slaves to replace them.
- "A particularly repellent aspect of the slave trade was sexual. As soon as the 1493 expedition got to the Caribbean, before it even reached Haiti, Columbus was rewarding his lieutenants with native women to rape. On Haiti, sex slaves were one more perquisite that the Spaniards enjoyed. Columbus wrote a friend in 1500, 'A hundred castellanoes are as easily obtained for a woman as for a farm, and it is very general and there are plenty of dealers who go about looking for girls; those from nine to ten are now in demand.'"
Wednesday, October 10, 2012
A Columbus Week Trip to Little Italy
In the U.S., Monday was the national holiday observing Columbus Day, but I don't celebrate that. I'll tell you very specifically why, with the aid of a book by James Loewen, on the actual holiday, October 12th. This post is just for fun. This is where I'd normally hook up Oh, How Pinteresting!
That doesn't mean I don't want some. Yeah, I totally meant that dirty. So get your little passports, 'cause we're going to Little Italy.
This Adriatic beauty is Joe Calderone. Who is also Lady Gaga. Who is also Stephani Joanne Angelina Germanotta.
Ambiguously Italian-American: Jim Caviezel
I called him Italian in the Epic Easter Post, going on IMDB's suggestion that his unusual surname is of an Alps Italian dialect. Wikipedia says Swiss, BUT Swiss people come in a variety of French-speaking, German-speaking and, yes, Italian-speaking ethnic varieties. The last names suggests Swiss nationality, Italian ethnicity. Does he get his ass kicked on Columbus Day? Well, no, 'cause he's a total BAMF and he'd kneecap anyone who tried.
Totally, unambiguously Irish-American on his mom's side, though. (Those "dorky" sweaters? Hella expensive imported Irish wool, and a total Celtic pride thing. He also rocks the flat tweed cap like nobody's business.) So if I can't count him for Columbus Day, we'll still have St. Patrick's Day.
These are a few of my favorite people of Italian descent. On the 12th, remember that I said nice (or at least respectfully lustful) things about them. "Respectful lust" is totally a thing.
Tuesday, October 9, 2012
The Weekly Dish with B&N: Halloween Costumes
I haven't actually dressed up for Halloween since I worked in a school, years ago. But if I were going to dress up, here are some costume ideas:
Dia de los Muertos figure:
Goth pirate:
Vampire:
Marge Simpson:
Avenger:
Green Lantern:
Monday, October 8, 2012
Evernight Publishing Birthday Blog Hop!
Hi, guys. Evernight Publishing author Erin O'Riordan here. I wrote the short story "Post Op" in the Evernight threesome anthology Indecent Encounters. In "Post Op," a doctor bends the rules when she finds herself attracted to a patient - and his roommate-with-benefits.
I'll randomly choose one winner who leaves a comment on this post to the print version, signed by me!
When you comment, please make sure I can get in touch with you. If you have a Blogger (Google) account and I can get to your (public) e-mail address by clicking on your name, then you don't have to do anything except comment. If you don't have a Google/Blogger account with a public e-mail address, please leave an e-mail address in this format with your comment:
erinoriordan AT sbcglobal DOT net
Good luck, and don't forget to visit the other participating authors on their blogs!