Craving the Crop
The Manor is having a Valentine’s Masquerade! It’s Callie’s first time at the exclusive kink club, and when she collides with a masked, sexy stranger, she jumps at the opportunity to feel his crop against her skin and explore one of her secret fantasies.
This story contains elements of D/s, impact play, and graphic sexual content.
Linzertorte Family Recipe
What’s this? A recipe? Why?
I’m not changing gears, don’t worry. But as I’m publishing my next book Pie & Punishment in January (SO SOON!), I thought I’d honor the occasion with my favorite pie recipe. Alright, it’s not exactly a pie. It’s a traditional cake named after the Austrian city Linz, and has been a family staple for exactly that reason. My grandmother bakes them around Christmas and gives them out to everyone. The longer you let Linzertorte rest, the better it is, so don’t plan on eating it the same day when you bake. Wait at least over night.
This recipe contains cherry schnaps – you can leave it out if you prefer. I’m giving you metric measurements, because that’s how I roll.
Linzertorte
makes 2 (you can thank me later)
- 500g flour
- 400g ground hazelnuts
- 400g sugar
- 1 Tbsp ground cocoa
- 2 tsp cinnammon
- 1/2 tsp ground cloves
- 1 Tbsp baking powder
- 400g butter
- 1 cl (or 1 Tbsp) cherry schnaps
- 2 eggs
- 2 jars of Raspberry jam (between 200 and 300 g/jar; alternatively, mix raspberry and currant jam)
- egg yolk with a dash of milk for glazing
Preparation
- Mix dry ingredients in a bowl, then add butter, eggs and schnaps and mix/knead into uniform dough.
- Split into two, then separate some dough from each portion for the top.
- Roll out the bigger portion with flour and place in ∅28cm baking tray. Push the edge up to form a brim/lip and spread a jar of raspberry jam on each pie. Roll out the sectioned dough (approx. 3-5mm) and either cut into stripes to weave, or use a cookie cutter and cut out forms and place on top of jam. Brush with yolk/milk mixture.
- Bake 70 minutes at 170°C
- Let cool in mold, and rest at least a day. As it rests, the crumbly, yummy pie absorbs the jam. It’s a dream.
Enjoy!
Steamy Nights Book Giveaway
It’s December, or as we call it in my family, the Christmas Month. It’s freezing cold, gets dark at 4 PM (or thereabout), and we’re strapped for cash, because – it’s the Christmas Month and I love giving gifts to the people I love. But what I love even more is huddling up with a blanket, hot tea and a book to crank up those warm thinky thoughts. I never spend as much money on books as in December. It’s probably something every reader can relate to. Why do all the good books have to come out in winter?
This December, I’ve teamed up with a bunch of cool authors on BookFunnel to bring you free reads for steamy nights to load up your kindle. Head over and find your next cozy, steamy read to warm you up (but don’t forget to wrap your feet with a blanket). I know I will grab some free books while it lasts, because social distancing is best when you have something fun to read ;). And you might find your next favorite author.
Steamy Nights Giveaway: https://books.bookfunnel.com/sexywinter/v0567n05iz
Sexy Romances with scary kinks for Halloween
It’s almost Halloween, and the season of spooky comes to an end. I’m going to miss it, but thankfully, there are sexy books to indulge in the shivery feeling of fear all year round.
Fear can be a great aphrodisiac, as long as you feel actually safe while experiencing the kick of adrenaline. Playing with fear can be as incongruous as watching a horror movie with your date (ah, the memories… 20 years ago, I watched Scream on my very first date with my husband), riding a rollercoaster, or something as elaborate as creating a kinky scene.
If that’s already too real for you, worry not: I’ve got you. Below are a few romance book recs containing scary kinks and fear play, including my latest release, Skulls & Scares. This novella is part of my new Masters of The Manor series, which centers on the Masters of a private BDSM Club, The Manor (duh), in a rainy little town in the Pacific Northwest: Rainfall. Continue Reading
10 Great Age-Gap Romance Novels
Age-gap romances are a whole category of their own inside the romance genre. I can either eat them up like candy or sneak a peek and run the other way. It depends on the specific constellation in the book in question, but maybe some of it depends on my own biases, too. It’s a complicated relationship.
Next month, my 20th anniversary with my husband is coming up. As my kids like to remind us (frequently, with the judgement only teenagers muster over their parent’s life choices), we have a little age gap. All things considered, a seven-year difference isn’t the world and hardly even counts as a contender in the age-gap romance category. But given my barely legal age of 18 when we married, I get why my kids find it gross. I would blow a gasket if one of them started seeing an older person at their current age. Continue Reading
Review: Captive in the Underworld by Lianyu Tan
Once in a while, I crave dark romance. Not often, mind. It’s a sudden thirst, and one or two books later it’s already sated. I don’t know what speaks to me, or which deep, weird corner of my mind needs this fix. But there it is.
When I discovered this gem, I wasn’t even looking for dark romance but for retellings of the Hades and Persephone myth. (Seems counter-intuitive, but I’ll go into that another time.)
A genderbent F/F dark romance retelling of Hades and Persephone? YES, PLEASE. I preordered Lianyu Tan’s debut novel, and friends, I was not disappointed!
Fairy Tale Retellings: King Thrushbeard
King Who?
Whenever someone asked me what my favorite fairy tale was, I would answer “King Thrushbeard.” It’s a lesser known little tale that has nothing to do with STDs and no, it isn’t another name for Bluebeard either, although there might be similarities in its theme.
Today, my answer to the question above would be different, but during my formative years, this little tale left a considerable impression. The baby kinkster in me was probably drawn to the powerful theme of punishment underlying it. Continue Reading
Review: A Prince on Paper by Alyssa Cole
Alyssa Cole’s A Prince on Paper is the third full length novel in her Reluctant Royals series. I loved A Princess in Theory. I loved, loved, loved A Duke by Default. And I couldn’t wait for A Prince on Paper to come out. I preordered it the minute I finished A Duke by Default. Continue Reading
Review: Can’t Escape Love by Alyssa Cole
Can’t Escape Love is a novella in Alyssa Cole’s Reluctant Royals series. It follows Reggie, twin sister of A Duke by Default heroine Portia. Reggie is a geek with mobility devices, and falls for Gus, puzzle aficionado and escape room designer on the autism spectrum.
Without knowing, they had a vital influence on each other’s life, pushing them to pursue their passions, without ever even seeing each other. That’s the beauty of the internet right there! Without fandom and the friends I made through it, I wouldn’t be here writing either. Continue Reading
The Handmaiden: Pornography, Gaslighting, and Uncle Bluebeard
The first time I read Sarah Waters’ novel Fingersmith, I was struck by its beautiful prose. The novel’s adaptation The Handmaiden (2016) achieves something similar with its lush aesthetic. Its beautiful, calm shots hide a thick plot of layered manipulation.
The Handmaiden transports the plot of Fingersmith from Victorian England to Korea in the 1930s under Japanese occupation. Despite this change in location and time, the movie follows the book’s plot closely — until it doesn’t. When reading, I wasn’t prepared for the big plot twist at the end of the first part of the book. The movie kept the three-act-structure of the book, and I knew what was coming. And yet, director Park took the twist and twisted it again so cleverly that I was as surprised as with the book.
