Lady GaGa Biography: Is there something this media DIVA hasn’t revealed?

“Stop feeding me bullshit. Tell me the truth.” 
—Lady Gaga, 2009

“I hate the truth. I hate the truth so much I prefer a giant dose of bullshit any day over the truth.” 
—Lady Gaga, 2010

She is the embodiment of contradiction…

Talent and tabloid rolled into one…she revels in it…and IT in fact defines her…

And yet as I came across this biography at the book store the other day, I couldn’t help but wonder:

What is there to TELL? When the introduction has barely begun?!?

I cannot deny what a force this rising star performer is, however…at the age of 24…I have to think a biography is a tad premature!

Write…(pardon the pun) or wrong…here’s a little taste for you

New to the Lower East Side, Stefani was making quite the impression: One of her neighbors at 176 Stanton St. says that, not long after he moved in, his sister asked him if he knew “there was a prostitute that lives in the building.”

Her neighbor was totally flummoxed; Stanton Street, like the bulk of the Lower East Side, was now mainly inhabited by young scenesters and professionals. “I was like, ‘What are you talking about?’ She said, ‘I saw this girl stumbling up the stairs at 4 a.m., wearing, like, nothing, and she was drunk.’ And I just remember thinking, ‘Oh, great. What a scummy building I live in now.’

Personally, I will wait another 10 years to read Miss GaGa’s AUTObiography…and until then…I’ll stick to the fashion montages (Lady GaGa: Critical Mass, by Elizabeth Goodman) which are: PHENOMENAL! xxx c.

“Shadow Bound”: A Novel Embracing Transitional Space

This lyrical novel, first in the 2010 two-part Shadow series, by newcomer Erin Kellison is a wonderful example of how the fantasy/horror/romance genre is developing as a complex and unique dynamic literary-style. Pulling on the fantasy world of the Fae, Kellison adopts a poetic manner when writing about the novel’s rather contrary protagonist:

DEATH.

Death resides in shadow…the transitional darkness between life and death: Faery.

He is unearthly, chilling, and frighteningly compassionate…and he has a daughter. A daughter whom we join in her painful journey toward self-discovery during an impending war between humans and the undead…a war that only she can conquer. She is intelligent and analytical…if stubborn and idealistic…she is the perfect embodiment of life and death…of SHADOW…born of a human mother who’s suffering Death fell unwittingly in-love with…her conception was a twisting of pleasure and grief and indeed her life reflects that dialectic: A life that is truly Shadow Bound by death:

The dark didn’t hide anything from her. It never had. Shadows only deepened color, and textures took on added dimension. Total darkness revealed a realm of sensation as seductive and terrifying as any fertile imagination could conjure. (pg. 29)

This is an imaginative and beautifully constructed piece…that read as much like poetry as it does fiction…and I highly recommend Shadow Bound to anyone seeking something slightly more uncommon…something to really sink your teeth into!

xxx c

Before She Told Us About Vampires…Anne Rice ‘GAVE’ Some REAL Dirty!

Anne Rice; of course we know and love her as the author of those highly-readable VAMPIRE novels, before vampires were THE “IT” THING I must add, however prior to blood-and-fangs Anne Rice gave us some real naughty! By naughty I am not referring to romance, or even much of the (light-by-comparison) erotica I have reviewed in this blog, rather Ms. Rice gave us…REAL SADOMASOCHISTIC-style erotica. Stories meant to titillate, turn-on, and stimulate…your body and your mind.

Sound like a contradiction? Well it is…to those unfamiliar with the world of sadomasochism (or BDSM, in common nomenclature)…in reality it is a dialectic, or two seemingly incompatible concepts that in fact can and do coexist.

As a therapist I have worked with more than a few clients involved in the BDSM lifestyle and can say that by far the most compelling and fascinating aspect of this lifestyle is the complex understanding and manipulation of interpersonal power dynamics…dynamics that are existent in everyone’s, daily life. Yes, I will concede that BDSM is an exaggeration of these dynamics, but the emotions…the layers of experience are extremely relatable…I think, to even the most naive voyeur. Interestingly enough…it was A.N. Roquelaure (aka Anne Rice) who introduced me to these…intersections in sexuality…in emotionality…in LIFE…with her:

The BEAUTY SERIES

3 books (Published in the early 1980’s):

The Claiming of Sleeping Beauty

Beauty’s Punishment

Beauty’s Release

There is actually an interesting history on the banning of these books (Please click HERE) in several book stores and her choice of Nom De Plume’s true meaning is “under the cloak”, which is an allusion to erotica’s darker origins. Aside from the controversy, these books were quite influential, to me…they represented not only a real introduction to erotica but a true study of human power-dynamics through the lens of sadomasochism…Raw…Hard…yet, simultaneously capturing Softness…& Love…all running parallel to one another beautifully:

The Queen’s hand was under her sex as if weighing it, feeling the roundness and heaviness of the lips, pinching them.  “Arch your back,” said the Queen, ” and lift your buttocks, little cat in heat.”  Beauty obeyed, her eyes flooded with tears of shame.  She was trembling violently as she took a deep breath, and against her will felt the Queen’s fingers commanding her passion, squeezing the flame so it burned hotter. Surely Beauty’s pubic lips were swelling, their juices flowing, no matter how bitterly she struggles against it!  In a blur Beauty saw Prince Alexi move to the dressing table.  And then before her, propped against a silk pillow, was the mirror, tilted so she could see the Queen’s smooth white face distinctly.  The dark eyes terrified her.  The Queen commenced to spank her.  One great hard slap after another fell on her buttocks, and if a paddle had ever been worse she could not remember it.

(The Claiming of Sleeping Beauty)

These books are long gone now…borrowed and never returned…even though I bought double copies of each…BUT their impact…lingers…like DESIRE itself.

I do believe I will be purchasing and rereading these HOT little gems…perhaps you will too! Do tell me what you think…I welcome your thoughts and desire…

xxx c.

“Night Pleasures” #1 of Sherrilyn Kenyon’s Dark-Hunter Series: Serving Us Vampiric Romance Fit For The Gods

Let me begin by saying that I chose this book as a Nook download for two reasons, originally:

1) It was “suggested” to my by B&N’s smarty-pants purchase system (e.g. I buy a lot of fantasy/horror/mystery/romance), and

2) It was heavily discounted at $2.99…and I always have good luck with B&N’s cheapies!

I have to add that what put me over-the-top were the extensive and very positive reviews..reader reviews, of course.

And I am happy to report that I was dully rewarded for my risk as this novel was a great change of pace.

This is the first of an established series with multiple offshoots all based on Greek and Roman mythology. In fact, the author is widely celebrated as a cult-celebrity and attends Comic-Con regularly. The series has been reincarnated as manga, a medium that seems to capture the visual-style of the writer’s intensity and eroticism perfectly.

Upon closer inspection (including the voluminous fan-sites peppering the internet), I would say her fan-base reflects a kind of Anne Rice-ish flare: edgy, emo, with more than a hint of the erotic. A fun group I am sure, I must get to Comic-Con this YEAR!

The main characters in the books change but are all a part of a secret society of Immortal-God-Vampires sworn to protect humans from Daimons and Apollites (essentially real Vamps). I believe that Kenyon herself says it best in this poetic account of Dark-Hunter mystique:

We are Darkness. We are Shadow. 

We are the Rulers of the Night. 

We, alone, stand between mankind and those who would see mankind destroyed. We are the Guardians. 

The Soulless Keepers. 

Our souls were cast out so that we would not forewarn the Daimons we pursue. By the time they see us coming, it’s too late. 

The Daimons and Apollites know us. They fear us. We are death to all those who prey upon the humans. 

Neither Human, nor Apollite, we exist beyond the realm of the Living, beyond the realm of the Dead. 

We are the Dark-Hunters. 

And we are eternal.  (From the Author’s website: 

http://www.sherrilynkenyon.com
 )

This book moves the horror/vampire genre to new heights by adding some fairly intense and extremely visual lovemaking passages that honestly had me fantasizing that I would get my own Greek God Dark-Hunter to come and ravage me…as my hands lingered across my…well you see where I’m going here, THE SEX IN THIS BOOK IS HOT!

Right then, he wanted to possess her with a ferocity that overwhelmed him. It was primitive and all-consuming. And all he could think of was Amanda. Her blood pounded in his ears. Shaking from the force of it, he closed his eyes and took her into his mouth to taste the sweetness of her body that he craved most. Amanda moaned at the feel of his tongue inside her. Burying his hands in her hair, she lifted her hips to him. He was so wild as he tasted her. So ferocious and thorough that she hissed at the incredible feel of him making love to her with his mouth. (Night Pleasures, Kenyon p. 169)

Additionally character development is solid, you care, you want the protagonists to overcome the many obstacles the many antagonists throw their way. If there is a criticism about the book it is the writing itself. It feels overly simplistic and almost stunted at times. When Kenyon is describing a scene she flows nicely, however here and there a piece of dialog can sound canned or rote and unnatural. However, this is the first book in a series of MANY and so it’s quite possible she just hadn’t found her voice in this initial piece.

Overall, Night Pleasures represents an entertaining, imaginative, and solid novel in the horror/romance genre, I highly recommend indulging in its sensual depths and god-like ghouls…and promise that…you will be screaming for more!

xxx c.