This morning I found a question about GAY PRIDE AND PREJUDICE in an e-mail from one of my readers named Shirlene. It was a good question, and one that I've been worried about myself. And though a certain online romance book reviewer doesn't think it's important for authors to post their intentions in blog posts (she'd rather the author made their intentions clear in the book itself so she can decide for herself), readers do seem to think it's important to know exactly what a book is about before they make the purchase. So I'd like to clarify a few things for Shirlene, and for other readers who might be wondering about GAY PRIDE AND PREJUDICE.
First, I'd never even try to go up against the original Pride and Prejudice. It's the penultimate romance as far as I'm concerned, and to try to top anything so perfect would be both insane and impossible. But I did want to write a book about gay pride, same sex marriage, social classes, and how prejudice affects the lgbt community as a whole, and also how it is handled within the lgbt community.
Shirlene wanted to know if she needed to read the original Pride and Prejudice to understand the storyline in GAY PRIDE AND PREJUDICE. And the answer is no, because this isn't a sequel to the original book and it's not fanfic. My book is set in the present, in South Beach, FL, and there's nothing historical about it. I don't write historicals, and rarely read them, mainly because they aren't my thing. And I hate to think of readers wondering about a book before they purchase it...no matter what our favorite dedicated online romance reviewer thinks about authors posting about their books on their blogs (smile).
Below is an unpublished excerpt from GAY PRIDE AND PREJUDICE. I hope it shows this is not a historical and that the only thing that resembles the original Pride and Prejudice are certain aspects of the theme regarding marriage and social class. In this case, same sex marriage.
“Why is the marriage thing so important to you?” A hint of frustration floated through his voice.
“Because it is,” Tristan said. “It’s what I’ve always wanted, even before same-sex marriage became a hot political topic. When I was a child, I’d listen to my uncle’s friends talk about their relationships. If they were in permanent monogamous relationships, they always said they were married. They even referred to their partners as their husbands, or wives if they were women. I didn’t even know they were using these words loosely until I was about ten years old. I thought they really were married. They lived like all the straight married couples I’d ever known. And then, when I found out that gay men and women couldn’t get legally married, when my uncle explained the cold hard facts of life to his little gay nephew, I was so devastated I tore up all the wedding magazines I’d been saving for years.
“As I got older and legalized same-sex marriage became an issue within the lgbt community, I started to realize that I deserved to fall in love and get married just as much as heterosexual couples deserved it. And I made a decision a long time ago that I wouldn’t settle for less. Call it pride; call it being stubborn. But I won’t settle for less.”
Ravenous Romance Author Blog
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| Ryan Field |
| A Reader's Question about GAY PRIDE AND PREJUDICE |
| 2010.08.14 04:33:25 | |
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Tags: gay pride and prejudice | Ryan Field | same sex marriage | readers questions Hits: 45 | Read more... |
Ravenous Romance Author Blog
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| Cecilia Tan |
| MIND GAMES gets Five Stars from Manic Readers Review! |
| 2009.06.15 10:55:26 | |
 I'm pleased to say my paranormal erotic romance, MIND GAMES, has garnered another rave review. FIVE STARS! From Manic Readers Review, a romance review site.Excerpts: "Ms. Tan is going to blow readers away with Mind Games! Superb from beginning to end, I discovered new faith in the paranormal erotica genre." "Fans of Ms. Tan’s erotica will rejoice at her venture into the paranormal world. This was such a treat for me... I certainly hope this won’t be Ms. Tan’s only foray into the paranormal world because Mind Games is definitely an all out hit!" Here's a link to the whole thing: http://manicreaders.com/index.cfm?disp=reviews&bookid=4131 Tags: mind games | reviews | rave reviews | Cecilia Tan
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Ravenous Romance Author Blog
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| Jen Bluekissed |
| jenbluekissed.com |
| 2009.06.05 07:36:43 | |
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www.jenbluekissed.com is live. Check it out! It only took me 7 months! Tags: jenbluekissed.com | Jen Bluekissed | website Hits: 69 | Read more... |
Ravenous Romance Author Blog
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| Lisa Lane |
| Vampires Hit Suburbia! |
| 2009.06.05 03:56:51 | |
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Book III of the trilogy is finally here!
What happens when vampire Karen suddenly finds herself also the suburban housewife? What happens when her "human" children slowly mature to become all that she strove to protect them from? Horror, romance, and erotica unite in this third installment of the wildest vampire story you'll ever read! http://www.ravenousromance.com/breathless/the-darkness-and-the-night-3-twins-of-darkness.php Tags: vampires | erotic | erotica | The Darkness and the Night | Twins of Darkness | Lisa Lane | vampire twins | Doppelganger Hits: 59 | Read more... |
Ravenous Romance Author Blog
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| Cecilia Tan |
| Another rave for THE HOT STREAK! |
| 2009.06.03 12:08:47 | |
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Wow. Two things surprised me about the review that just came in for THE HOT STREAK A few choice snippets: “One of the great things about this book is Ms. Tan’s enthusiasm for baseball – it’s infectious. Knowing nothing about the game, you don’t have to be a fan to read this book, however by the end I found myself wanted to go out and learn more about baseball.” “Casey and Tyler’s relationship is enough to warm even the coldest of hearts. I constantly smiled throughout the novel at the development of their whirlwind romance and the joy they found in each other. By the end, I was rooting for their relationship with a sports fan’s gusto!” “The romantic elements were not corny, or contrived, something I found extremely refreshing.” Review: http://is.gd/MJOo Next week an interview with me will run on the Talk About My Favorite Authors blog, too. I’ll link when it comes up. Tags: The Hot Streak | Cecilia Tan | reviews Hits: 38 | Read more... |
at Ravenous Romance Author Blog
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| Inara Lavey |
| Come Visit Lexi Ryan on UNBOUND! |
| 2009.06.03 08:26:59 | |
Twice a month Ravenous will be taking over UNBOUND to talk about writing, romance, erotica, life, pets, zombies...whatever the author of the day feels like sharing! Our first post is up, with Lexi Ryan talking about paranormal characters!  Tags: Hits: 42 | Read more... |
Ravenous Romance Author Blog
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| Cecilia Tan |
| I've been a busy busy bee! |
| 2009.06.01 04:40:17 | |
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I've been really really busy lately with both guest blogging and reviews coming in! And today I recorded a podcast with Cat of All Romance eBooks! Not sure when it will air, but I'll post when it goes live.
Meanwhile, here's some of what I've been up to:
"Keeping Sex Scenes Fresh" at Night Owl Romance just went up yesterday! http://nightowlromanceblog.blogspot.com/2009/05/keeping-sex-scenes-fresh.html
Some really lovely reviews have come in for both THE HOT STREAK and MIND GAMES, too! You Gotta Read Reviews, Coffee Time Romance, and Patricia's Vampire Notes have al weighed in so far: http://www.coffeetimeromance.com/BookReviews/thehotstreak.html
I have some more guest blogs scheduled, too. I'll link to them when they go up. Tags: Cecilia Tan | Coffee Time Romance | reviews | guest blogs | The Hot Streak | mind games Hits: 47 | Read more... |
Ravenous Romance Author Blog
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| Inara Lavey |
| When Bad Plots Attack |
| 2009.06.01 03:16:55 | |
 I am watching ZOMBIE NATION (yes, yes, I know I have a fixation with zombie movies and books - but I find zombie movies an oddly conducive background for working on my romances...should I be worried?), it's a half hour into the film, and there have been so many idiotic plot points and incongruous settings, a few shambling zombies can only add some realism to the goings on here. In a nutshell, a cop is arresting women on idiotic pretenses, such as jaywalking, applying lipstick while driving (which is stupid, but not necessarily arrest-worthy), and for no apparent reason at all; kidnaps them; takes them to a warehouse; looks into their mouths with a doctor's light, injects them with something, then stuffs them in a duffel bag and buries them. We won't even go into the lame reasons behind his behavior, shown in an abuse of the time honored gimmick of flashbacks. It's just too stupid. ... Okay, his mom used to work at an insane asylum, where she'd chain the inmates and make them spank one another while he watched. Happy?! I'm not either. His partner, an honest yet stupid rookie, suspects there is something amiss after he sees his partner lugging said duffel bag into the trunk of their squad car...oh...about a dozen times? Only then does he finally talk to his police captain. The result is a round of fisticuffs between the good yet wussy cop and his psycho partner, suddenly surrounded by a passel of men and women who bear no resemblance to the cops we saw in the previous scene. They're not even wearing uniforms, fer crissake! After the fight (bad cop wins by knocking good wuss into a pile of conveniently placed cardboard boxes - this police station has something for everyone ), the police chief promptly tells one of his officers to find a fall guy before 'the public' hears about this cop in a uniform kidnapping women. The police station, btw, is in a warehouse with a roll up door, a huge pipe running past the police chief's desk into cavernous darkness behind him, and, for some incomprehensible reason, there is a huge gong hanging up behind him as well. I mean, really, people. I understand low budget films and the need to make due with what you have. But making due is different than ignoring things that make the scenes so obviously wrong and fake that you've lost credibility after ten minutes. It's not that difficult to angle the camera to hide the pipe. You don't SHOW the rolltop door in your supposed police station. If that's the only set your budget will afford, you disguise the fact instead of lovingly filming a scene set with the rolltop door as a backdrop. And...a gong? I shakes my head. Ah well. 45 minutes into the film and still no zombies. I feel cheated. No...wait, the zombies have appeared. Why? Well, one of the cop's victims is a young gal from Slovakia who conveniently went to see some voodoo priestesses before being kidnapped (we know this because a: we saw it and b: her brother tells reporters this fact when asked if he's worried about her disappearance) and after her death, they wiggle their fingers over a white snake and bring the dead girls back to undead life as zombies. You know they're zombies 'cause they stagger a bit, have black make-up around their eyes and...well, that's about it. Oh, and they do eat the flesh of the living. But for women stuffed into the ground for several weeks/months, they're in remarkably good shape other than that nasty case of raccoon eye. I've seen shabbier clothes at my local Goodwill. And I'd love to know what brand of lipstick these zombie babes are using 'cause it has some awesome lasting power. We will assume they're gonna eat the cop at some point. I wish they'd eat the writer and director. What does this have to with writing, you might ask? Yes, I'm talking about a movie in this specific instance. But I firmly believe the mistakes, stupidity and just plain sloppy plotting that are making me want to drive spikes into my eyes...no, into the screenwriter's eyes... and bang someone's head against a wall can translate just as easily into writing, whether it be romance, mystery, horror or, in this, case, unintentional comedy. What about you? Have you ever read a book or seen a movie where you felt slapped in the face by stupidity and lost all good will towards the author or filmmakers? Share your horror stories! I need company about now... Tags: bad movies | bad writing Hits: 47 | Read more... |
Ravenous Romance Author Blog
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| Jen Bluekissed |
| Newsletter/Freebies |
| 2009.05.27 16:45:50 | |
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I'm in the process of writing three short stories for Nashville Pride. Each story has approximately 5,000 words and if read together will form a novella of sorts. Because Nashville Pride on June 20th is an event celebrating pride, my free stories will be centered around the LGBT community. One story will be male/male, one story will be female/female, and one story will be straight. I've completed the male/male story. The title of it is "Skywalk." I'm almost finished with the female/female story. The working title of that one is "Hot Stuff." I'll be working on the male/female story later this week. If you don't live within traveling distance of Nashville, TN but you want a free story trio (I'm not going to post to this blog as an incentive for people to come and see me on June 20th), consider signing up for my newsletter. There's a form on www.jenbluekissederotica.blogspot.com for you to sign up. I don't believe in spamming, so the newsletter will only be sent out when one of three things happens. 1) I have free stories to give away If you don't feel like giving me your email address, feel free to create a new one through a free site like gmail, hotmail, or yahoo. I'll be pasting the stories directly into the body of an email. Attachments are evil. I don't open them and I hope you don't open them from people you don't know either. P.S. www.jenbluekissed.com is almost ready. Just fixing a few last minute bugs. I intend to have it up and running before June 20th, hopefully much sooner. Tags: Jen Bluekissed | LGBT | Nashville Pride | freebies | free stories | novella | Short Stories | newsletter Hits: 67 | Read more... |
Ravenous Romance Author Blog
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| Angela Cameron |
| Web Hunt & Chats! |
| 2009.05.24 05:50:15 | |
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We've got a great contest! Some of the Ravenous authors have teamed up with Night Owl Romance for a web hunt that will last through the entire month of June and offers great prizes. For details, visit here: http://www.nightowlromance.com/nightowlromance/hunt/ravenous1.asp Join us at Night Owl Romance on the following dates to meet Ravenous Romance authors and win free stuff.
Date: Monday, June 22 (All of their chats are on Mondays) Time: 8 EST, 7 CST, 5 PST Location: http://www.nightowlromance.com/nightowlromance/chat/chat.aspx Authors Included: EM Lynley, Inara Lavey, Elle Amery, Jamaica Layne, Savannah Chase, Angela Cameron
2nd Chat Date: Monday, August 10 Time: 8 EST, 7 CST, 5 PST Location: http://www.nightowlromance.com/nightowlromance/chat/chat.aspx Authors Included: Rachel Kenley, Sèphera Girón, Lisa Lane, Isabel Roman Tags: EM Lynley | inara lavey | Savannah Chase | Sephera Giron | Lisa Lane | Elle Amery | Jamaica Layne | Blood & Sex | Rachel Kenley | Angela Cameron | ravenous romance Hits: 79 | Read more... |
Ravenous Romance Author Blog
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| Angela Cameron |
| We Have Winners! |
| 2009.05.24 05:27:22 | |
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Winners! So, we finally figured out who stole all the treasure from the treasure trove. The winners for the Ravenous Romance Readers Group contest are:
Amhartnett Bellenatemag Chrismil19991 Cute_n_sane Goldtiger Karenxavier Redstar28 Sapphireseraph_xiii Tourmalines Wolfsguide
Just email me at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it with your first and second pick for prizes. We will distribute them on a first come basis. So hurry and get your choices in!
§ Intriguing one question, mini Tarot reading via email with Sextrology Series author Sèphera Girón § Bottle of wine from Vampire Vineyards (or vampire chocolate if you choose) and a copy of one of the Blood and Sex series vampire books from Angela Cameron § Straight from Tally’s Gift by Elle Amery, a bath and body basket from fictional character Tally Bennett's Naughty Body product line, which includes signature scents like Bed Me In Roses. § Exotic Godiva chocolate from Dark Desires of the Druids series author Isabel Roman § Copy of one of the smokin’ hot '80s bodice rippers from Ripping the Bodice author Inara Lavey § Luxurious Bath set with a promo pack from Men In Shorts contributing author Savannah Chase § A fascinating Free Tarot mini-reading via email from Tarotica author Amber Austin § Download of Rachel Kenley’s delicious short story JUST'S DESSERTS along with a box of scrumptious chocolates to match § $5 gift certificates (we’re giving away two) for steamy reads courtesy of Ravenous Romance Tags: winners | ravenous romance | readers | group | loop | contest | Angela Cameron Hits: 66 | Read more... |
Ravenous Romance Author Blog
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| Lisa Lane |
| Now Available in Paperback! |
| 2009.05.22 07:04:38 | |
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The Darkness and the Night: Blood and Coffee and The Darkness and the Night II: Cosmic Orgasm, are now both available in paperback, and can be purchased through Amazon.com: The Darkness and the Night: Blood and Coffee The Darkness and the Night II: Cosmic Orgasm Don't forget that The Darkness and the Night: Blood and Coffee is also available on audio book, here at Ravenous Romance, and both books can still be purchased in e-book format, for those looking to cut their costs--and their carbon footprints. Thanks so much for reading! Tags: Lisa Lane | The Darkness and the Night | paperback | print books | vampires Hits: 100 | Read more... |
Ravenous Romance Author Blog
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| Regina Perry |
| Interview with Lori Perkins, Elle Amery and Regina Perry |
| 2009.05.20 00:18:57 | |
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Listen to Lori, Elle and Regina on BlogTalkRadio podcast with Cat Johnson from "What's New in Romance?" Hope you enjoy! Hugs, Regina Tags: Lori Perkins | Elle Amery | regina perry | Cat Johnson Hits: 78 | Read more... |
Ravenous Romance Author Blog
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| Jen Bluekissed |
| Ten Reasons to Check Out Rekindled Fire |
| 2009.05.19 08:04:02 | |
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(This is a cross post from jenbluekissederotica.blogspot.com) -Elle Amery is an awesome editor. Tags: Rekindled Fire | Brassy | top ten | Trombone Tease | Elle Amery | Jen Bluekissed | anthology Hits: 63 | Read more... |
Ravenous Romance Author Blog
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| Brandi Woodlawn |
| Sweaty Sex Anthology Reviewed by Coffee Time Romance |
| 2009.05.17 03:02:08 | |
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Many thanks to Danielle at Coffee Time Romance for her review of the Sweaty Sex Anthology and my story, "Her Blade, My Lover." Knowing someone enjoyed the story really made my day.
Brandi Tags: Coffee Time Romance | Sweaty Sex | Brandi Woodlawn Hits: 72 | Read more... |
Ravenous Romance Author Blog
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| Lisa Lane |
| LUST IN SPACE Contest! |
| 2009.05.17 00:31:45 | |
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For those who have read Lust in Space, I have a contest just for you: You can contact me through the form on my website, through MySpace, or via a response here. Tags: Lust in Space | Lust in Space 2 | contests | characters | name Lisa Lane Hits: 66 | Read more... |
Ravenous Romance Author Blog
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| Jen Bluekissed |
| Sneak Peak |
| 2009.05.16 07:26:11 | |
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Rekindled Fire releases on Monday, May 18th. Check out "Trombone Tease," my male/female short story inclusion. One a side note, I'm thrilled that I finally figured out how to insert pictures onto this blog! I think my problem was the browser I was using. Tags: Picture | Sneak Peak | Cover | Trombone Tease | anthology | Rekindled Fire | Elle Amery | Jen Bluekissed Hits: 73 | Read more... |
Ravenous Romance Author Blog
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| Ryan Field |
| Food and Romance... |
| 2009.05.15 21:05:05 | |
 Friday, May 15, 2009
Food and Romance... In both books, AN OFFICER AND HIS GENTLEMAN and PRETTY MAN, I wrote a few scenes that combined food with romance. There are no kinky sex food scenes in either book, because the stories didn't call for that. The food scenes were emotional and romantic, not sexy. But I've been amazed at how many readers have either commented on the food and romance angle, or bought the book just because there are scenes that combine romance and food. In PRETTY MAN I wrote about cupcakes and chocolate, but in AN OFFICER AND HIS GENTLEMAN I went into great depth about food because the main character's profession is in the food industry. Below is an excerpt from a food scene in "An Officer and his..." that some readers have commented on with various blog posts. So I thought I'd share it here. Chance was usually awake by five each morning and down in the kitchen by five-thirty. This was his creative cooking time. Sometimes he baked large blueberry muffins with buttery golden tops; other times he prepared rich loaves of pound cake, or puffy glazed cinnamon rolls, or delicate foccacia bread. Each morning he cooked something special for the day, a recipe he’d designed and created himself that he displayed magnificently in a massive wooden bowl lined with a black and white striped cloth at the end of the deli counter.
At first, Dan had been completely against the idea of having a “special” for each day of the week; his idea of running a market was to put out the basics (cans of baked beans and ketchup) and collect the money. But when he saw how the customers flocked to the black and white striped cloth and were willing to pay twenty dollars for one of Chance’s pound cakes, or four dollars for one of his blueberry muffins, he shut his mouth. Half the time he couldn’t even pronounce the specials, like when Chance baked loaves of bread and topped them with olive tappenaude; but the people knew and they bought whatever he cooked. And by the end of the day the wooden bowl was always empty. It was rumored there were people who only went to Dan’s market to see what the special for the day was. And it was always something they couldn’t get anywhere else but there. That day he whistled on his way down the back stairs. He’d been so inspired by his dream that he decided to create an original Buffalo chicken spread, something hot and spicy you could either spread on a cracker as an appetizer, spread on a sour dough roll for lunch, or even place on a bed of baby greens for a light supper…the possibilities were endless. He’d done Buffalo chicken wings before; he’d even created a special Buffalo chicken calzone; but never a hot, spicy spread. He decided to use two extra, special ingredients: Marscapone cheese and just a hint of capers. He liked to layer different flavors, to combine an overall effect, which would add a delicate, pleasant under taste to an original recipe. With blueberry muffins he always added a hint of lime; no one knew, but the combination created a taste sensation that people couldn’t resist. The special ingredient didn’t have to be exotic and expensive either. With his remarkable Mac and Cheese special, the two ingredients that made it taste exotic were nothing more than mustard powder and nutmeg.
Tags: An Officer and His Gentleman | Food and Romance | Ryan Field | Amazon.com Hits: 67 | Read more... |
Ravenous Romance Author Blog
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| EM Lynley |
| Poll: How do you like your heroes in romance? |
| 2009.05.12 21:11:39 | |
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I recently read a great blog post about heroes, done by fellow writer Sage Whistler. She found nine types of heroes. I'm excerpting it here for an informal poll. Which ones are your favorites or least favorites? Which do you most/least like to read about? [I have a more formal poll over at my LiveJournal blog.]
[See Sage's post for the full analysis] --EM Lynley website: http://www.emlynley.com
Tags: EM Lynley | heroes | poll | romance | reader poll | romance heroes
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Ravenous Romance Author Blog
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| Jen Bluekissed |
| Common Nouns |
| 2009.05.12 07:56:55 | |
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POP QUIZ What do electric motors, Shakespeare, college dorms, shoe strings, peanut butter, voice recognition software, pagan priests, Go Go boots, and bondage equipment all have in common? A) Jen is nuts; this is proof. B) Jen didn't get enough sleep last night and had a funky dream. C) They have nothing in common. D) Jen is weaving them into various stories. E) The free bin at the thrift shop just got more interesting.
Tags: Jen Bluekissed | Short Stories | college dorms | bondage equipment | pop quiz Hits: 73 | Read more... |
