Tuesday, February 25, 2014

Fat Bashing

I don't typically post things here that aren't related to my books, but considering that I write books that feature plus sized heroines and that I try to portray women of size in a positive light, I guess fat bashing does apply!

Recenlty, two celebrities whom I actually admire, whose work I've enjoyed over the years tremendously, engaged in a ridiculous word feud on twitter because they have different idealogical viewpoints on certain hot button issues. I'm not even going to touch on those issues because for me, that's not why it was upsetting. It was upsetting that two men who rely on the love, affection and loyalty of their fans in order to stay employed would turn into school yard bullies and attack another person verbally, not for their beliefs, but for their weight. Comments like fatass and go have another bag of doritos were thrown about with fervor and a ferocious glee that should be reserved for middle schoolers without adult supervision.  They did this with no thought to the fact that many of their fans are probably not thin. One of these people in particular has a huge sci fi following and nerds the world over love him. Guess what? I know a lot of nerds and they typically don't spend their time in the gym. No, that is not a stereotype. That is what I know of the people in my life who are self proclaimed nerds. We prefer our action to be cinematic or in game form. So thank you for alienating a good portion of your fan base by essentially shouting from the roof top that in your mind they are less than human. Good on ya!

Since, I'm on a tear, I'm going to continue with all the crap that bugs me about being fat. You'll note very little of it has to do with being fat itself and has more to do with what other people believe about me because I am fat.

People make a lot of assumptions about women and men who are overweight. I'm guilty of them myself at times. It makes me angry AT ME when I realize that I slipped for a second and bought into the stereotypes.

Fact, people are fat for a lot of reasons. It isn't always diet and laziness. Sometimes it's a combination of those things and genetics. In order to be thin, I'd have to be miserable. I'd rather be fat and happy then thin and hungry. I'd also be a raving bitch.

So, yes, I'm fat. I'm not demeaning myself when I say that word. Is it demeaning to say that someone is thin, or tall, or short? No. People interpret that description of myself as demeaning because they associate the word fat with being negative. I've been called fat by other people when it was simply a descriptor and I am A-ok with it. I have also been called fat by people who were attempting to belittle me. Well, you can't belittle me, because for that to happen, I would first have to value your opinion.

It's apparently ok to be every color of the rainbow, every sexual orientation under the sun, political viewpoint, religion… but it's not okay to be a different size. Well, I'm sorry, but I don't buy that. For everyone who wants to shout diversity, how about tossing a little bit of that love and acceptance over here and holding the derision, the assumption that I am too lazy to get off my couch, the general belief that I could lose weight if I wanted to, and that I must be eating my feelings.

Food is a pleasurable thing. Just like a glass of wine. Like a good movie or a great book. Like snuggling in the bed on a cold and rainy day. Like slow, lazy morning sex without a rush to the finish line, or the fast and furious variety where you don't even bother to get totally naked for it! Guess what? I don't deny myself any of those things. Fat people have sex too. And orgasms. They get up, they go to work, they come home, clean house, do chores, and some of them ( like me) go to work on their second job. You can call me fat, you can call me a bitch (and most of the time you'd be right), you can call me anything you want, but if you call me lazy, you'll also be calling the police because you'll find out just what a nut ball, redneck bitch I can be.

I work hard. I work when I'm sick, I work when I am in pain. I hobbled through the grocery store on crutches when I had a torn meniscus and nearly tore the head of the little girl who offered me a "scooter" because I have more pride than sense. My being fat has less to do with what I am doing than with the fact that I was genetically predisposed to glucose intolerance and treated for a health problem as a child with a year of low dose steroids which only exacerbated that and started my slow slide into obesity. Tack polycystic ovary syndrome on to that and add a thyroid issue and what you have is a person who will never be thin. I'd have to be dead and decomposing to reach the ideal weight on those damn BMI charts.

I weighed 250 pounds as a senior in high school. I played soft ball, and basketball. I was too poor for a car so I walked everywhere I went. I was still fat.

So the next time you look at a fat person in the grocery store and do the visual sweep of their cart while thinking to yourself, "No wonder" or the next time you say to a woman, "You have such a pretty face", or the next time you're in the ladies room looking in the mirror at your size six or even size twelve body and say, "Oh, my god, I am so faaat!" while a woman my size or even larger is standing next to you, do everyone a favor and take a big ol' STFU on that.

Love your body. It's the only one you're gonna get. You can't trade it in and you're not getting a refund for giving it back gently used. Live your life and be happy. If that means having an oreo every now and then, have the damn oreo. Realize and believe that what makes you sexy is who you are as a whole. You can have a body like a Victoria's Secret model after photoshop and chicken cutlets, but if you've got a cardboard personality, it won't get you very far. No one wants to be around someone who is so miserable from dieting that they have to feel guilty about everything they put in their mouth, and no one wants to be sitting at dinner with a person who is going to judge every bite they eat.

People come in all colors, and they come in all sizes. So, in short, if you don't like the size of my behind, you don't have to look at it.  Rant done!

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Tuesday, February 4, 2014

Anthology: Stranded With A Billionaire

Hot Tales By 6 Best-Selling Erotic Romance Authors! 

What happens when a billionaire is stuck in a situation money won't fix? Six authors offer extraordinary tales of love, lust and desperation in Stranded With a Billionaire.
First of all, let me see how fantastic it was to work with Nikki Prince, Brandi Gillian, Siobhan MacKenzie, Kate Baum and of course, I've been working with Wicked Leanore Elliott forever! Okay, not forever, but for a long a$$ time!  

 This is the little book that could, let me tell you. Between line up changes, contract issues, and all the backend stuff that no one sees when putting a book together, especially one that involves a group of people with divergent schedules, a little part of me believed we'd never get this thing off the ground. My organizational skills are somewhat lacking. Just ask anyone who has ever seen my bedroom!  But in the end, with the hard work, dedication and some pinch hitting by a few amazing friends, we managed to put it all together.  



I hope you enjoy this book, and I hope it introduces each of you to some new and fantastic authors.  

 We're also having a wonderful post launch party on Facebook on February 17th.  Come check it out! http://on.fb.me/1jdK6gU

 Right now, Stranded With a Billionaire is only $0.99 at Amazon. Get your copy today! Happy Reading.  

 Here's a little sneak peek from my contribution, Wrong For Ms. Wright. 

Excerpt: 


 Sam watched her for a moment, noting how nervously she tugged at the sheet she wore. Her dark hair was down, hanging over her shoulders in damp waves. It dawned on him that she never wore her hair down to work. It was probably a good thing for him. He wanted nothing more at that moment than to sink his fingers into those dark strands. 

 Stoking the fire, he tried to put those thoughts from his mind.  They were stuck for the night. They would make the best of it and absolutely nothing would happen that would alter their professional relationship. 

Rising from his crouched position, with his libido in check for the moment, at least, he noted that she’d created a small spread for them from the gift basket. It wasn’t the steak he would have preferred, but it still looked inviting. 

“There isn’t a corkscrew for the wine,” she said, a slight pout making her lips look even more inviting. 

It was the bed, he decided. It was impossible to be in a room with a woman and a bed and not have it spark fantasies. That the woman in question was one he’d been fighting an attraction to for months only made it worse. Reaching into his pocket, he retrieved the small knife he always carried. One of its many attachments was a makeshift corkscrew.
 Holding his other hand out, he accepted the bottle of wine and went to work on getting it opened. At the very least, the task gave him something to focus on besides the woman in front of him. It wasn’t working. He could smell her, the faint scent of her perfume, or maybe her shampoo, and something else that was just her. 

With the bottle open, he placed it on the table. “No glasses.”

“I guess we’ll have to share,”she said, and took a healthy swig from the bottle.

As if having to stand there and look at her in nothing but a sheet wasn’t enough torment for his senses, he’d be touching his lips to the same bottle that graced hers. He could feel the blood rushing in his veins, pooling heavily, anticipating an event that simply could not happen. Was he being punished? 

To add insult to injury, she picked up one of the chocolate dipped strawberries the basket had yielded, biting into the succulent treat. Watching her lips close over the sweet, her eyes closing with sheer delight at the burst of flavor, he clenched his fists at his side. Every muscle tensed, every instinct he possessed urged him to pounce, to take what she obliviously offered.  

“Oh, that is so good,” she said. Her voice sounded breathless, husky. She sounded like sex. Hot, sweaty, rough, mind blowing sex. 

“Stop.” The word escaped him, his own voice sounding barely recognizable to him. She was driving him mad, or maybe he was driving himself mad. Had he really thought he could hire a woman he was attracted to, spend hours with her day in and day out, and never give in to that attraction?

Her eyes widened and she looked at him, puzzled. “What?”

For a long moment Sam was silent, watching the expressions play across her face in rapid fire succession. Her confusion was genuine. She truly had no idea that he wanted her. He should leave it alone, and her, but he knew that wasn’t going to happen. Whether it was the isolation, the unforgettable vision of her in that wet shirt with her pebbled nipples beckoning to him, or now, the soft, sensual sounds she made as she enjoyed a decadent strawberry, he’d been pushed beyond the limits of what he could endure. Stepping closer, he grabbed her upper arms, hauling her against him until the softness of her breasts pressed against his chest, until she could feel the unmistakable proof of what she was doing to him. 

“Mr. Kirkland?”

“My name is Sam.” With the tips of his fingers he touched her face, turning it up to his so that their lips were only inches apart. Tracing the lush curve of her lower lip with his thumb, he needed it to be clear before things went any further. “Say it.”“Sam?”

Her confused and questioning tone made him smile. “Say it’s alright... that you want this too. Tell me, Georgie.”

“I’m not exactly sure what ‘this’ is.”

“I want you, Georgie. I’ve wanted you for months. Ignoring it hasn’t made it go away, and being in such close quarters with you has only made it more intense...but if you don’t want me, it stops right here.”

Buy Link:  http://www.amazon.com/Stranded-With-Billionaire-Boxed-Set-ebook/dp/B00I678P9M/ref=sr_1_12?ie=UTF8&qid=1391565108&sr=8-12&keywords=seraphina+donavan
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Sunday, February 2, 2014

Lady's Destiny by A.R. Von

Check out this new release from the fantastic and beautiful A.R. Von!

A Unique Magical, Erotic Novel... 
When dreams haunt you in the most delicious ways and fate pulls you into destiny’s path, what can be done other than to accept and submit to it. 
Can Iria truly get what she’s always dreamed of or will it always just remain a memory? Being a rare creature such as her with exceptional beauty and rarity of existence should be enough. Though, all she wants is her desire, her destiny… To be with a man—one man. 
Are these dreams she’s having real? Could she really take on human form and become a Lady to be with the man she craves?
Dezso discovers a magical creature—a being of incredible light and peace. He is drawn to it again and again, and his feelings grow with every encounter. He carries a dark secret that he wishes never existed. The only thing that truly brings light upon his existence is the beauty that warms his heart but seems to only exist in his head—with dreams and visions of a magical woman, full of heartwarming light. 
Will he ever know true love and happiness? Will he ever be able to lighten the weight and share his dark secret with another...? 
Darkness is growing stronger, weakening the light and killing off what makes the world a beautiful place to live in. Enter a world of fantasy and dreams, passions and temptations. A world where dragons, unicorns, magic and mermaids really do exist.A world where love WILL conquer all! 




EXCERPT: 
IRIA

Whenever the moon is full and shining at its brightest, I always dream of myself, basking in the colors and brilliance of a rainbow. In these dreams, a man always appears, right when the rainbow disappears. He always walks over to the crystal clear pool of water and strips down to his skin. Baring a perfectly sculpted masterpiece for my eyes to feast upon, appreciate and remember.
Oh, how I yearn to go to him while he is under the falls, bathing in nature’s finest, purest of waters. Look into his dark blue eyes, which always end up beneath a curtain of darkness that reaches his shoulders, wet and calling me to touch it. To bring his magnificent body flush against mine. I envision caressing his tanned flesh and licking every sparkle of water from all of the warmest places on his body. I would start from the top: his ears, chin, cheeks and lips—and work my way down. Never getting past his center, because that is where I know he will get the most pleasure from my attentions.
The sounds he makes are just as arousing as he is. His sighs of pleasure at times, would seem as if he is in pain. I would take away that glorious pain by giving him even more exhilarating pleasure. Then, he will whisper my name, so sweet from his lips, so sensual, so erotic and thrilling as he reaches his completion, feeding me the finest nectar I have ever tasted.
This dream is always so very intoxicating. It makes me feel so powerful, so satisfied. But alas—it is all only a dream. All of it, something I can never have and never experience—it hurts me to my core. I feel empty and alone. Especially, the times when he whispers, “Lady.” I do not know who he calls from those full lips. But I want it to be me. I always want it to be me…
During the times when I have these dreams, I embody the form of a goddess. I have white blonde hair that flows to my knees, the bluest of eyes and succulent lips-the type of lips only meant for kissing and sucking. I possess two perfectly pert breasts with the pinkest of nipples that would tempt any man into visions of suckling them.
This perfect body of mine is covered in the palest of skin, enfolding some luscious curves that would put an hourglass to utter shame. I walk on two legs instead of four. No more tail or hooves. No more horn on my head or whinnies coming from my muzzle. It is all so very odd. Yet, it feels so very good, so right. As if I was born this way with a lifetime of practice, walking on two legs and swaying my hips to tempt and tease. 
The very best part of this human form is two of my limbs have hands. Hands can do so many glorious things! I remember I once used them to explore my own goddess form and I felt everything. The new skin under my fingers felt so hairless and would prickle with bumps when I reached my breasts. My entire frame would also shiver when I touched my nether region.
I want him to touch me like this. I crave it. He has never touched me in my dreams. He always holds his hands, shaped into fists tightly at his sides. As if he is afraid that if he touches me, I will disappear. So, he restrains himself.
I do not want restraint. I wish for him to unleash his full passion on my dream self while it is here. No man would ever desire a unicorn’s body to be theirs. To own and worship. No. They desire their own kind. Human flesh and human blood.

Oh, how I wish I was a woman—his woman.






Bio:
A.R. was born and raised in Bronx, NY and is the oldest daughter of two girls. She holds an Associate’s Degree in Computer Science and Information Technology, which was only briefly used. She’s a mother of two entertaining teen boys (as well as a lovely fawn Chihuahua, whom she considers her furry daughter.) She’s also a wife to a delightfully handsome and amazingly funny man-beast. She loves anything dragon and fantasy related. In her free time she enjoys exercising, writing, listening to music, hiking, cooking, dancing and reading. She also loves a great adventure in and out of a book!
She writes to free her mind of its constant wondering and clutter. She thrives on the fact she can share some of it with readers that have the same passion for a great story.

She also loves to hear from her reader’s and chat away, so feel free to reach out to her any time.
A.R.’s web site: http://ar-von.com/ 




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