Some Nice Things

So I think I mentioned that Michelle Buonfiglio said that my book was one of the sexiest erotic romance reads of 2009, or similar. Which was enough to put me on for the entire rest of my career, TBH. If she had never spoken a word to me ever again for the entirety of our days, I would have thought nothing of it. If she had by some freak accident been at my Christmas dinner table and failed to so much as ask me to pass the brussel sprouts (gladly), I wouldn't have blinked an eye.

She is Michelle Buonfiglio. I am tiny speck. I'm not even a tiny speck of something, I am beyond something, I am nothing. A speck of nothing on the shoe of no-one.

So to say I'm staggered that she put me on a list of books is an understatement. And it's not even a list of books she's heard of. Or books that have the word "things" in the title. Or books written by Charlottes- though it could have been. There's another Charlotte on there. I had to keep checking, just to make sure it wasn't "Charlottes Who Released Books In 2009".

But it's not. It's a list of her faves of 2009.

So I went away to check that "fave" didn't mean "some books that are orsum, and one that definitely isn't".

But get this: it doesn't mean that! Not anywhere! And it's not even a best and worst list, with one book that's rubbish and one that's brilliant! Underneath the heading "Erotic Romance" there is Megan Hart's book (which would have been the brilliant one) and my book (which would have been the awful one).

But it's not even the awful one! See:

http://bookclubs.barnesandnoble.com/t5/Heart-to-Heart/BN-Best-of-2009-Romance/bc-p/420022

I'm not making this up. If I was going to make this up, I'd aim much lower. Something that's almost believable, like: "my best friend actually bothered to put a review of my book somewhere for me, and didn't lend said book to some nobody she hardly knows".

I know, right? Laughable. But still, within the boundaries of believability, I feel. Unlike Michelle Buonfiglio noticing my book and liking it so most that she puts it on a list of faves, which is something I thought would never happen in a million years. It's only slightly behind "snogging Zachary Quinto", and he's gay!

Probably.

P.S. Today is the actual real release day of Justine Elyot's book, On Demand. As my book has been noticed by Michelle Buonfiglio, hers is probably about to be noticed by Jesus because she's waaayyy better than me. So you must must buy it, before she's more famous than God and you're not allowed to buy her books anymore, because they're just too orsum and have had Jesus' fingers all over them. So get it here, quick!

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Demand-Black-Lace-Justine-Elyot/dp/0352345438/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1259883203&sr=8-1

Mancandy Monday: The Hot Dude On The Cover Of On Demand

I was going to do "Mancandy Monday: Justine Elyot", but that would have been weird.

I mean, I've never seen her face. So technically, she could look like Zachary Quinto. But somehow, I don't think God is kind enough to put the brilliant mind of an orsum erotica writer into the body of someone who looks like ZQ.

So I chose the burly beefcake caged inside a gorgeous suit on the cover of her book, On Demand, as today's belated Mancandy Monday. Et voila:




Just look at him there. Look how massive he is! So burly. And he's kind of half-smiling, too, as though he's singing Sugar Lumps in his head: I see you girl, checking out the front of my trunks. That sort of thing.

But more than how hot this hunk is, more than my confused feelings for Justine "ZQ" Elyot, is what is within the sexy covers of this fabulous book. I haven't finished reading it yet, but ohhh, what I have read. And what I read from Justine Elyot before I got my mitts on her fab collection of short stories.

The first story I ever read of hers was Advanced Corsetry, in Liaisons. Directly after reading it, I went online to find out who she was. That's the effect Justine's work has on you- you want to know more, immediatly, about this electric new voice on the erotica scene. She made me so happy, that BL was still taking on new brilliant writers like her.

She is a master of words, a wit, and in every sex scene she pushes boundaries and expectations. If you're not interested in any of those things, then obviously, don't buy her book. But I know you are interested in those things. I know what you're thinking right now: why haven't I bought On Demand, already?

Because you're mad, clearly. Now get out there and buy it!

On Demand Out Soon

Yes, that's right folks. Justine Elyot's fabulous collection of super sexy hot stories is out v. soon (December 3rd, fact fans), and to commemorate this occasion she's doing a month long thingie to Black Lace (as it will be Black Lace's final book!). Here is what she's doing in her own words:

http://smutoliloquy.blogspot.com/2009/11/invitation.html

And she's inviting peeps to come along and make their contributions, if they ever loved or wrote for BL. Excitement! And sadness! But mostly excitement! Yeah!

Mancandy Monday: Mick Hennessey

In honour of my almost-novella, Waiting In Vain, now having a page on Total-E-Bound's site (HOORAY!!!! And phew!!!):

http://www.total-e-bound.com/product.asp?strParents=&CAT_ID=&P_ID=658

I thought I would have its hero as today's Mancandy Monday. Because Mick is cheaky and laidback and horny, and I love him to death. And also, he looks a lot like this:

Except cheekier. Here's the blurb for WIV:

"His desires aren't going to wait for her any longer...When Nancy is invited to her sister-in-law's Christmas get-together so that she won't be alone over the holidays, she doesn't have the heart to refuse. They've been nothing but fun in the past, after all.

But Nancy isn't counting on just how much fun it's going to be this year. Sexy, sultry Mick Hennessey is on the prowl, and he isn't about to stop at a sly hand on her thigh under the dining room table. He wants to see how far he can push her, even if it means risking her heart on top of her most secret desires."

.

Even though it doesn't come out 'til 28th December. I'm as excitable as what lives inside Mick's underpants, it seems.

Mancandy Monday: Mr Sweater Vest

I'm deep in enemy territory, at the moment. And by "enemy", I mean "sweater vest", and by "territory" I mean "my book", which features a dude modelling a sweater vest constantly, for nothing more than my sexual pleasure. So I'm cheating, and revisiting my old favourite: Guy Wearing Sweater Vest.

I think I'm going to have to rename this segment of my blog "Random Weirdo Monday". Because folks, there's precious little candy here. To anyone but me. And other people who want uptight repressed dudes in sweater vests.

This one's for you, secret sweater vest lover:

It's all his fault.

You can see where I've gone wrong here, can't you. It's all right. You don't have to tell me.

The King of the Sweater Vests, Chandler Bing. He leads the dance all the way down to Marks and Spencer's.

Technically not a sweater vest, I know. But fook, I've got to have some pretty somewhere on here.

And this is definitely, definitely not a sweater vest. You see, there are levels of sweater vest- all the way from the magnificent no-buttons-kind-of-tight-around-the-shoulders-olive-green nightmare, down to what is, essentially, a waistcoat.

I will allow a waistcoat, if Lee Pace is the one wearing said garment. Otherwise, waistcoats are right out. They're banned, from my Guys Who Wear Sweater Vests and Nothing Else club.

Sorry, waistcoats. You're just not weird enough, for my liking.

Yet More Lovely Things In A Way That's Starting To Freak Me Out

This run of luck is really getting out of hand, now. I'm starting to be embarrassed about it, like a person who keeps winning the lottery every week. You'd hate that person, right? It's okay. I hate me too. Fookin' little apple polisher that I am.

Anyhoo, enough about my self-hatred and constant lottery winning. On to the lottery wins themselves!

First up, Michelle Buonfiglio, awesome romance community blogger and reviewer and one of the Big Five (Dear Author, Smart Bitches, Mrs Giggles, Karen Knows Best and Michelle's blog: Romance Buy The Book) commented on my cover on the B&N Unabashedly bookish blog, here:

http://bookclubs.barnesandnoble.com/t5/Unabashedly-Bookish/Authors-Plan-Cover-Gods-Laugh/ba-p/410638

She had this to say about the cover:

"Anything but classic romance-novel cover, Charlotte Stein's "The Things that Make Me Give In" is stunning and alluring in its stark communication of intent to meet readers' expectations."

And then this, to say about the book itself:

"...one of the sexiest erotic-romance reads of 2009."

To which I say this:

...
...
...

I had to email the lovely Michelle to ask her if she actually really meant it. I kept checking the blog, to make sure she wasn't talking about someone else. I thought perhaps it was just one of those comments you make, you know, to be nice.

I have not recovered from her reply, in which she informed me that no, actually, she meant it. And that she'd read the book. And that she'd liked it. There are several levels of enjoyment here, I feel:

a) Michelle Buonfiglio actually noticed my book, amidst all the thousands of books she must get sent daily.

b) Not only did she notice it, she also read it. Yet another real live person actually read my book!

c) Not only did she read it, she also liked it.

d) She also then wrote about it, on the internet.

e) And provided me with a truly orsum cover quote for my next book. It's so orsum I might have to have it on my blog somewhere. It's so orsum that it contravenes my wariness of self-promotion and bragging and the like.

And as if that wasn't enough, I also heard that I'm going to be in the Xcite Valentine anthology, which you can see now listed on my sidebar of Ultimate Bragging. Or at least, I think that's the right cover and book (Janine Ashbless sez so, and I trust her). Getting into it was all a bit mysterious and last minute and things, and I followed the old rule rather than stopping to see what antho it was: if an editor asks you if you'd like to try for something, you drop everything and do it, immediatly.

My luck is soooo going to run out any minute. Right, single magpies?

More Lovely Things!

So first off, I'm only in a bloody press release:

http://www.booktrade.info/index.php/showarticle/24187

I almost fainted. And Chloe Thurlow, KD Grace and Justine Elyot are going to be doing Xcite books, too! How amazing is that? They definitely are the creme de la creme of erotica, and am so happy for them. Especially my pal Justine, who deserves that end to the road to nowheresville more than anyone.

And then also, I've heard that the line up for Fairytale Lust has been approved by Cleis- and I'm in it! Having a story in this book is a great honour for me, not only because I've always wanted to write erotic fairytales, but also because Kristina Wright is a wonderful writer, an inspiration, and a lovely, lovely person. I was thrilled when she got this editing gig, and even more thrilled to have a story accepted by her.

Not only that, but I'm going to be rubbing shoulders with all sorts of fab peeps, like Justine Elyot, Saskia Walker, Jeremy Edwards, Janine Ashbless...I tell you what, when I first started out on this trail I never thought I'd get to be in books with the people I've looked up to for so long.

But anyhoo, my story is called The Return, and it's kind of based on something a little different. The Return of Martin Guerre- which isn't exactly a fairytale, but I've always felt it kind of is. Thankfully, Kristina agreed with me!