T is for titillating.

No, not me.  Well, not right at the moment.  I'm wearing trackies and sitting in the freezing cold at my computer.  I'm more arctic than titillating just now.

I refer to Lillian Grant's Male Review which is out TODAY.  Buckle yourselves in, we're in for a sexy ride.  If you're not eighteen, close the browser and come back next week when we get all over U.  Thank y'all.

Here's a teaser from Male Review:


A nymphomaniac octogenarian great aunt, a frigid mother, and a BDSM male strip club, what could possibly go wrong?

The cover:

Isn't it evocative?  And yes, that hand belongs to THE MAN WITH THE BIG...HAT.

Click through and you will understand my excitement.  And possible titillation.  (I can't leave the cover for Male Order here on my blog.  Last time I drooled, and shorted out my keyboard.  It's getting expensive.  So perhaps, cover your keyboard with something waterproof and THEN click through.)

But first, before we dive into the awesomeness that is the sequel to Male Order, next in the REIGNING MEN series, we should really talk about what 'titillate' actually means.

I would be the first to admit that the 'tit' in 'titillating' has made me snigger like a ten-year-old since, well, I was ten years old.  While there is actually more to it than that, there may well still be snorting.

This, from Merriam Webster dotcom:

tit·il·late

 verb \ˈti-tə-ˌlāt\

tit·il·lat·edtit·il·lat·ing

Definition of TITILLATE

transitive verb

1

: to excite pleasurably : arouse by stimulation

2

: tickle 2

intransitive verb

: to act as a stimulant to pleasurable excitement

— tit·il·la·tion noun

— tit·il·la·tive adjective

Examples of TITILLATE

1. a film made to titillate the audience
2. writing that titillates and provokes

Origin of TITILLATE

Latin titillatus, past participle of titillare

First Known Use: 1620

Related to TITILLATE

Synonyms: charge, electrify, excite, exhilarate, galvanize,intoxicate, pump up, thrill, turn on

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Talk about appropriate!

Lillian Grant is a fellow SARA (South Australian Romance Author), and also one of the few members who could seriously take me on for the title of class clown.  ;) She is fabulous fun, and so are her books. 

And her newest book is out today.  Now, just quietly, it's not for the faint of heart.  Perhaps if you've just eaten, or haven't eaten and your blood sugar is a little low, or maybe recently had major surgery, you might like to wait until you're feeling more robust.  Wouldn't want anything to pop/expire/fall out from over-exertion.  Or even over-titillation.

But, if you're up for a smoking hot, sexy read, get thee over to your favourite ebook store and download MALE REVIEW now!  It's available from today US time.  

Check out Lillian's blog for a giveaway, as well. That's sure to get your heart thumping!

Here's the blurb from Lillian's blog:

Sam Stephens and Meg Riley are in love, and finally on the cusp of sex anytime, anywhere, anyhow. That is until Meg’s Great Aunt Maud, the octogenarian nymphomaniac, gets tossed out of the old folk’s home and moves in with them, closely followed by her polar opposite, Meg’s scarily frigid mother.
When Meg’s best friend Laura convinces Aunt Maud to invest in Male Review, a BDSM themed male strip joint, it seems to be just one more step along the path to madness. Laura’s last venture ended with Meg being arrested as a pimp. When former prostitute Michael is hired as the bar manager the whole thing is surely destined for disaster. He’s to blame for the crazies invading Meg’s home and even worse, he still has the hots for her.

If she wants to get her life back all Meg needs to do is find a new home for Maud, resolve the dispute between her warring parents, keep Michael at arm’s length and rescue her relationship with Sam before it disintegrates completely. Male Review appears to be just one more problem to deal with, but perhaps it could provide an unexpected solution.

Sounds great.  Congrats, Lillian!  

S is for Smashing News!

I wanted to give a huge HOOOOORAAAY! for Anna Hackett, one of my gorgeous critique partners, who has recently sold her very first sci-fi novella to Carina Press!  It will be a part of their December sci-fi anthology.

I am SO very excited for her!  And you should be excited, too, because the novella is SMASHING!  This one includes a drool-worthy hero who isn't afraid to say he was wrong, and a strong, kick-ass heroine who goes after what she wants.  Yum!

You might remember Anna, author of excellent novellas for Nocturne Bites, such as SAVAGE DRAGON, ONE NIGHT WITH THE WOLF, and my favourite (well, until I read this sci-fi one) HUNTER'S SURRENDER.

Speaking of smashing, go check out the DarkSide DownUnder blog, where Nicole Murphy's been talking about the difference between sci-fi and fantasy.  If you're lucky, you could score yourself a copy of THE RIGHT CONNECTION, Nicole's  new books.  Yes, Star Wars is mentioned!

Ooh, oooh!  While you're snagging freebies, head over to Amazon and check if Mel Teshco's STONE COLD LOVER is still available for diddly squat.  It's another great read!

Finally, a funny to get you through the weekend.  Either that, or make you very depressed.

PS - Totally not letting the offspring see this.  They'd love to call me Mop.

R is for two charming words to call not-so-charming people...

Not much time to post today, I've been having too much fun playing with the Merriam-Webster online top ten lists.  

Some of my favourites include:

Words For Things You Didn't Know Have Names (What's a PHILTRUM?)

Top 10 Words with Bizarre Meanings (SPANGHEW?)

Strange Words for Body Functions (MICTURATE?)

The user-submittted lists are also mostly hilarious (SLACKTIVISM - "(noun) : activism (such as signing an online petition) that requires very little commitment or action"). 

Of course none of these begin with R, but I was pleased to find two entries in the 'Top 10 Charming Words for Nasty People' list that do.  

#1: Ruffian

Definition: a brutal person; bully Examples: "'You try me too much. A ruffian – a common brawling ruffian – that's what you have become.'" – Arthur Conan Doyle, The Lost World, 1912 "Tintin always moves (unless he's been knocked out by some ruffian). Motion is his appeal and the reason Steven Spielberg's representation rings true." – Matt Easton, The Michigan Daily, January 4, 2012 About the Word: Ruffians specialize in roughness, and between the 16th and 18th centuries, they were also synonymous with pimps – men who solicit clients for prostitutes.

#4: Rapscallion

Definition: rascal; an idle worthless person Examples: "The devil fetch ye, ye ragamuffin rapscallions; ye are all asleep. Stop snoring, ye sleepers, and pull." – Herman Melville,Moby Dick, 1851 "In his personal life [Christopher Hitchens] was no less the 'rapscallion iconoclast,' as historian Douglas Brinkley once described him. He left his pregnant first wife for another woman." – Elaine Woo, Los Angeles Times, December 15, 2011 About the Word: There are no scallions in rapscallion. Rapscallion is an alteration of rascallion, which is itself an irregular formation of rascal, a term born in Old French. Finally, one to get you through the weekend that I have long known to be true: Top 10 Latin Words to Live By #2: In Vino Veritas What It Means: "there is truth in wine" Where It Comes From: It has long been obvious that alcohol can cause people to say things they otherwise wouldn't. In the first century AD, Pliny the Elder referred to the "common proverb that in wine, there is truth [in vino veritas]."

Onya, Pliny.  

Q is for Quiet please. The dogs are reading.

Think about a library.

Go on.

Is the image in your head like this?  If it is, you might like to spend a little more time outside.  

You've probably got an image in your head that looks something like this:

I'll bet my bottom that no-one pictured this:

Caber the Great Dane and her reading buddy, Marissa.  Source: www.whatsonthorold.com

Someone let the dogs out...they're in the library! 

Check out this gorgeous article about kids reading to dogs in the Tell Tails Reading Program.   

Because, dogs are "non-judgmental listeners."

One of the kids says this about the popularity of the program: “It’s fun because it’s easier to read to dogs than humans. They don’t interrupt, unless they bark because they have to go to the bathroom.”

I'll leave you with that.  I'm off to find the dog and read him some of my work in progress.  Hope he's liberal-minded.  And that he's been to the bathroom.  

So please be quiet.  The canines are reading.