Missing: Claudia Dain

It was while writing a descriptive essay in seventh grade English (that was the assignment, to write a 'descriptive essay') that Claudia first fell in love. With descriptive essays. Boys being what they are in seventh grade, there was hardly much choice. By her ninth grade year, Claudia was spending hours each week in her bedroom writing descriptive essays that heavily featured older boys (eleventh grade). She also practiced her kissing technique on a pole lamp next to her bed. It was less than satisfactory, but the writing was fun.

She attended the University of Southern California as an English major. She'd mastered kissing by this time and writing, strangely enough, was still fun. 'Strangely' because while it had become obvious to her that almost everyone enjoyed kissing, it was equally obvious that very few people enjoyed writing. This was as peculiar to her as, well, not enjoying kissing.

Clearly, something had to be done. The idea of combining kissing and writing seemed the obvious course of action. While Claudia does not claim to have invented the romance novel, she certainly has a lot of fun describing kisses and inventing men to bestow them upon. And not a one of her heroes looks remotely like a pole lamp. (And don't act like one either.)

Claudia was first published in 2000, is a two-time Rita finalist, and a USA Today Bestselling author. Which just goes to prove that you can make a career out of kissing and writing about it. After a break in her career from 2004 to 2007, Claudia came back to success with the historical series The Courtesan.

To read more:

http://rosaromance.splinder.com/post/20808596/

Missing: Claudia Dain

It was while writing a descriptive essay in seventh grade English (that was the assignment, to write a 'descriptive essay') that Claudia first fell in love. With descriptive essays. Boys being what they are in seventh grade, there was hardly much choice. By her ninth grade year, Claudia was spending hours each week in her bedroom writing descriptive essays that heavily featured older boys (eleventh grade). She also practiced her kissing technique on a pole lamp next to her bed. It was less than satisfactory, but the writing was fun.

She attended the University of Southern California as an English major. She'd mastered kissing by this time and writing, strangely enough, was still fun. 'Strangely' because while it had become obvious to her that almost everyone enjoyed kissing, it was equally obvious that very few people enjoyed writing. This was as peculiar to her as, well, not enjoying kissing.

Clearly, something had to be done. The idea of combining kissing and writing seemed the obvious course of action. While Claudia does not claim to have invented the romance novel, she certainly has a lot of fun describing kisses and inventing men to bestow them upon. And not a one of her heroes looks remotely like a pole lamp. (And don't act like one either.)

Claudia was first published in 2000, is a two-time Rita finalist, and a USA Today Bestselling author. Which just goes to prove that you can make a career out of kissing and writing about it. After a break in her career from 2004 to 2007, Claudia came back to success with the historical series The Courtesan.

To read more:

http://rosaromance.splinder.com/post/20808596/

Gay Like You by Kim Dare

This is the classical story of Prince Charming. In modern time prince charming is Tristan, the loved gay son of a wealthy family; apparently Tristan has had very little trouble coming out with his family, if not having to escape his mother matchmaker scheme to find the perfect boyfriend for his son. But all in all Tristan loves his mother, and so he is again ready to have dinner with his parents and the candidate of the time. Only that for once his mother seems to have find a very possible right man for the role of boyfriend, Cody.

Cody was the son of family friends, but it is ages that Tristan didn't see him. And from the last time Cody is very changed. When his mother openly talks of their sexuality, "dear, come to know Cody, you have plenty in common, he is gay like you..:", Cody seems to react in an unexpected way. Only to offer sex and nothing less as soon as they are alone. Maybe the shift from Tristan being pissed off from his mother matchmaking plan, and him declaring love to Cody is a bit to sudden for my taste, I haven't had the chance to feel the change in Tristan, but he explains it as love at first sight, something that seems to recur quite often in his family.

What it's nice in this short story is the contrast between Cody and Tristan's upbringing, and how it influenced their adult life. Tristan, to be gentle, is a spoiled son; he is sure and at ease with himself due to the fact that he has received all the possible love from his parents. He is a dominant, or at least he declares so, but he is not a master in the strict BDSM way; he likes to play the role in the bedroom, but he doesn't push it into real life; he takes lightly all the aspect of that world, safe words, collars, dominance, and so he seems more someone who is playing that someone who is taking seriously all the matter.

On the other hand, Cody has had a very bad experience with his family, he was rejected when he was only 15 years old. For nature he is a submissive, but first he had to learn how to be independent very soon, and so, in a way, this ruined him for a real submissive role, and second, he doesn't trust no one, not even his supposedly master. I believe that Cody would never been able to be in a real D / s relationship, he can force himself only so far to accept someone like Tristan, someone who plays a mild version of the game.

The merit of the book is to have a wider breath than a short story, actually when I closed it, I had the feeling to have just read a nice novella, even maybe a nice beginning of a longer book. There is still plenty to say about these two, and I would like to read it.

http://www.total-e-bound.com/product.asp?strParents=&CAT_ID=&P_ID=491

Amazon Kindle: Gay Like You (G-A-Y)
Publisher: Total-E-Bound Publishing (June 22, 2009)

Reading List:

http://www.librarything.com/catalog_bottom.php?tag=reading list&view=elisa.rolle

Gay Like You by Kim Dare

This is the classical story of Prince Charming. In modern time prince charming is Tristan, the loved gay son of a wealthy family; apparently Tristan has had very little trouble coming out with his family, if not having to escape his mother matchmaker scheme to find the perfect boyfriend for his son. But all in all Tristan loves his mother, and so he is again ready to have dinner with his parents and the candidate of the time. Only that for once his mother seems to have find a very possible right man for the role of boyfriend, Cody.

Cody was the son of family friends, but it is ages that Tristan didn't see him. And from the last time Cody is very changed. When his mother openly talks of their sexuality, "dear, come to know Cody, you have plenty in common, he is gay like you..:", Cody seems to react in an unexpected way. Only to offer sex and nothing less as soon as they are alone. Maybe the shift from Tristan being pissed off from his mother matchmaking plan, and him declaring love to Cody is a bit to sudden for my taste, I haven't had the chance to feel the change in Tristan, but he explains it as love at first sight, something that seems to recur quite often in his family.

What it's nice in this short story is the contrast between Cody and Tristan's upbringing, and how it influenced their adult life. Tristan, to be gentle, is a spoiled son; he is sure and at ease with himself due to the fact that he has received all the possible love from his parents. He is a dominant, or at least he declares so, but he is not a master in the strict BDSM way; he likes to play the role in the bedroom, but he doesn't push it into real life; he takes lightly all the aspect of that world, safe words, collars, dominance, and so he seems more someone who is playing that someone who is taking seriously all the matter.

On the other hand, Cody has had a very bad experience with his family, he was rejected when he was only 15 years old. For nature he is a submissive, but first he had to learn how to be independent very soon, and so, in a way, this ruined him for a real submissive role, and second, he doesn't trust no one, not even his supposedly master. I believe that Cody would never been able to be in a real D / s relationship, he can force himself only so far to accept someone like Tristan, someone who plays a mild version of the game.

The merit of the book is to have a wider breath than a short story, actually when I closed it, I had the feeling to have just read a nice novella, even maybe a nice beginning of a longer book. There is still plenty to say about these two, and I would like to read it.

http://www.total-e-bound.com/product.asp?strParents=&CAT_ID=&P_ID=491

Amazon Kindle: Gay Like You (G-A-Y)
Publisher: Total-E-Bound Publishing (June 22, 2009)

Reading List:

http://www.librarything.com/catalog_bottom.php?tag=reading list&view=elisa.rolle

Man Candy Day: Caesar and Nemesis Twins

Since jaye_valentine was particularly happy to see my post on the Guedes Twins, I thought to bring out of the stable two pair of twins that were waiting the right occasion to be posted. The first pair, the Caesar Twins, are still in activity, they are performers and works mostly in Europe. The second pair, the Nemesis Twins, came out in 2005-2006 in an American television show; I didn't follow their career, and apparently now they are no more in activity.

The Caesar Twins are a theatrical-gymnastics team made up of Pierre Caesar and Pablo Caesar. Their abilities and show have been compared with the high level of Cirque Du Soleil performances. Pierre and Pablo are real twins born in 1980 in Poland. The brothers studied gymnastics in their youth, and at age 17 became Youth World Champions in acrobatic sports. At 18, they started performing in a modern German circus.



( Caesar Twins )

In 2002, while performing an act called "Wheel of Death", Pablo fell 16 meters to the floor. As reported by newspapers at the time, some people in the audience at first thought the fall was part of the act. In reality, Pablo was severely injured and required extensive surgery and months of rehabilitation. He persevered with his brother as training partner, and together they brought Pablo back into gymnastic fitness, rebuilding his muscles and coordination.

In 2004, the Twins starred in the cabaret La Clique, at which they officially premiered their renewed twin act. They went on to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe that year, where they returned in 2005, selling out their entire run, and again in 2006, featuring a dual twin show with the Lombard Twins.

The duo's self-titled show runs to about 90 minutes, offering an entertaining combination of aerial and ground gymnastics, tricking the audience, especially as to which twin is which, and telling their own life stories, including Pablo’s 2002 fall and rebirth through recovery. The show ends with a unique routine, in which the two brothers do a gymnastics routine in and around a large, clear acrylic glass bowl onstage, symbolically representing their ongoing journey together, which began in utero in the "salt bath" of their mother’s womb.

The brothers are 1.63 m (5 feet 4 inches) tall, with blond hair. They have twin tattoos, of a puma, encircling one biceps, with Pablo’s on his right arm and Pierre’s on his left to form mirror images in their act. The Twins openly play with sexuality and sex appeal in their show. Although both are straight, they happily acknowledge a large gay following, have performed at a variety of AIDS benefits, and profess a desire for tolerance of gays and other minorities.

The Caesar Twins have played throughout Europe and in Australia. Their appearances in Great Britain have included the Royal Variety Show, Edinburgh Festival Fringe, London’s Comedy Theatre, and Brighton Festival Fringe. Until spring 2009, they will perform during a Jamie Oliver theatre/meal show in Frankfurt, Germany.

---

Nemesis is an openly gay pop music duo consisting of the identical twin brothers Jacob and Joshua Miller. The pair can be differentiated by their hair colors; Jacob is blond, while Joshua's hair is brown. Joshua is also a few minutes older than Jacob. They were raised as Jehovah's Witnesses in Kalispell, Montana but have since left the religion. They were excommunicated after coming out. The journey of the duo can be seen on the Logo television network reality series entitled Jacob and Joshua: Nemesis Rising. The show premiered on October 16, 2006.



( Nemesis Twins )

Nemesis has been signed with Curb Records since 2001. The duo released the EP Let Me Help You Out in 2005. Number One in Heaven, the first single from the album Rise Up, was released in September 2006 and was quickly followed by Rise Up in October to coincide with the premiere of the reality show. The music video for Number One in Heaven could be seen on the Click List Music program of Logo. It also aired on MTV Hits, which, like Logo, is owned by MTV Networks.

@Caesar Twins
@Wikipedia - Caesar Twins
@Wikipedia - Nemesis Twins

Man Candy Day: Caesar and Nemesis Twins

Since jaye_valentine was particularly happy to see my post on the Guedes Twins, I thought to bring out of the stable two pair of twins that were waiting the right occasion to be posted. The first pair, the Caesar Twins, are still in activity, they are performers and works mostly in Europe. The second pair, the Nemesis Twins, came out in 2005-2006 in an American television show; I didn't follow their career, and apparently now they are no more in activity.

The Caesar Twins are a theatrical-gymnastics team made up of Pierre Caesar and Pablo Caesar. Their abilities and show have been compared with the high level of Cirque Du Soleil performances. Pierre and Pablo are real twins born in 1980 in Poland. The brothers studied gymnastics in their youth, and at age 17 became Youth World Champions in acrobatic sports. At 18, they started performing in a modern German circus.



( Caesar Twins )

In 2002, while performing an act called "Wheel of Death", Pablo fell 16 meters to the floor. As reported by newspapers at the time, some people in the audience at first thought the fall was part of the act. In reality, Pablo was severely injured and required extensive surgery and months of rehabilitation. He persevered with his brother as training partner, and together they brought Pablo back into gymnastic fitness, rebuilding his muscles and coordination.

In 2004, the Twins starred in the cabaret La Clique, at which they officially premiered their renewed twin act. They went on to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe that year, where they returned in 2005, selling out their entire run, and again in 2006, featuring a dual twin show with the Lombard Twins.

The duo's self-titled show runs to about 90 minutes, offering an entertaining combination of aerial and ground gymnastics, tricking the audience, especially as to which twin is which, and telling their own life stories, including Pablo’s 2002 fall and rebirth through recovery. The show ends with a unique routine, in which the two brothers do a gymnastics routine in and around a large, clear acrylic glass bowl onstage, symbolically representing their ongoing journey together, which began in utero in the "salt bath" of their mother’s womb.

The brothers are 1.63 m (5 feet 4 inches) tall, with blond hair. They have twin tattoos, of a puma, encircling one biceps, with Pablo’s on his right arm and Pierre’s on his left to form mirror images in their act. The Twins openly play with sexuality and sex appeal in their show. Although both are straight, they happily acknowledge a large gay following, have performed at a variety of AIDS benefits, and profess a desire for tolerance of gays and other minorities.

The Caesar Twins have played throughout Europe and in Australia. Their appearances in Great Britain have included the Royal Variety Show, Edinburgh Festival Fringe, London’s Comedy Theatre, and Brighton Festival Fringe. Until spring 2009, they will perform during a Jamie Oliver theatre/meal show in Frankfurt, Germany.

---

Nemesis is an openly gay pop music duo consisting of the identical twin brothers Jacob and Joshua Miller. The pair can be differentiated by their hair colors; Jacob is blond, while Joshua's hair is brown. Joshua is also a few minutes older than Jacob. They were raised as Jehovah's Witnesses in Kalispell, Montana but have since left the religion. They were excommunicated after coming out. The journey of the duo can be seen on the Logo television network reality series entitled Jacob and Joshua: Nemesis Rising. The show premiered on October 16, 2006.



( Nemesis Twins )

Nemesis has been signed with Curb Records since 2001. The duo released the EP Let Me Help You Out in 2005. Number One in Heaven, the first single from the album Rise Up, was released in September 2006 and was quickly followed by Rise Up in October to coincide with the premiere of the reality show. The music video for Number One in Heaven could be seen on the Click List Music program of Logo. It also aired on MTV Hits, which, like Logo, is owned by MTV Networks.

@Caesar Twins
@Wikipedia - Caesar Twins
@Wikipedia - Nemesis Twins

Next Travel: Usa East

It's planned, this week I will buy the ticket and book the hotels, and these are the various steps on my next travel in USA East, from 4 to 20 of September.

04-set Arrival
04-05-set, New York City
06-set, Mystic, Connecticut
07-set, Provincetown, Massachusetts
08-09-set, Boston, Massachusetts
10-set, York, Maine
11-set, Bar Harbor, Maine
12-set, Sturbridge, Massachusetts
13-set, West Point, New York
14-set, Baltimore, Maryland
15-set, Washington, DC
16-17-set, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
18-19-set, New York City
20-set Departure

Can't wait to be there and see all those places. I decided to stop again in NYC even if I already visited that city in June 2000, but I think it deserves another visit ;-)

Next Travel: Usa East

It's planned, this week I will buy the ticket and book the hotels, and these are the various steps on my next travel in USA East, from 4 to 20 of September.

04-set Arrival
04-05-set, New York City
06-set, Mystic, Connecticut
07-set, Provincetown, Massachusetts
08-09-set, Boston, Massachusetts
10-set, York, Maine
11-set, Bar Harbor, Maine
12-set, Sturbridge, Massachusetts
13-set, West Point, New York
14-set, Baltimore, Maryland
15-set, Washington, DC
16-17-set, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
18-19-set, New York City
20-set Departure

Can't wait to be there and see all those places. I decided to stop again in NYC even if I already visited that city in June 2000, but I think it deserves another visit ;-)

Grey’s Awakening by Cameron Dane

This is probably one of the few time in which I will not have to find the hidden reasons of the characters' behavior since the author herself gives plenty of them. She did a wonderful job in building a nice background and current setting for them and how they behave and react is in according with them.

Grey is a wealthy businessman; his parents were not exactly two role models and even at 9 years old Grey knew it, and for the good of his sister and his, he convinced their grandmother to take them in. Even if life with his grandmother was good after that, Grey developed a chronic inability to trust people when his feelings are involved. It's strange, Grey's business is to give a chance to strangers with good potential, so you would believe that he is a trusting man, and instead he risks only when nothing of important is on stake, money is not important, your heart is. As an adult Grey is an apparent successful man with a satisfying life, but instead he is a repressed man with a lot of personal issues. I believe that Grey is basically a man who would love the simple things of life, a partner, a family, a nice home, and since that moment he probably provided to this needs with his special relationship with his sister. But when his sister marries and gets pregnant, Grey realizes that it's not him that is building a family, but it's his sister with another man, and Grey is not part of that. He decides to go away for a bit, claiming with himself that he is tired to see "too much" happiness around him, but it's not tiredness, it's more regret that he is not him to have it all.

On the other side of the story there is Sirus, a big man with even a bigger heart. He lives in the cabin near the one owned by Grey, and he is more than willing to welcome Grey. At first Sirus tells to himself to not get involved, but it's too much of temptation for him... Sirus, even if he is not aware of it, tends to build a nest as soon as he finds a good man. And Grey is a good man. Sirus wants a family, he wants acceptance, total acceptance for who he is and what he does. He doesn't want to fake to gain love. Sirus comes from a very loving family, but his mother seems to not accept that her son is gay. She is not rejecting him, she is rejecting the idea, and doing so, she drove him apart. Grey rebels to his family choosing a job, truck driver, that is not up to his family standards... in this way, maybe, he can convince himself that is not him being gay the reason why his mother doesn't accept him, or at least that it's not the only reason.

And so here we have two men that basically are searching the same thing, a family, but that for different reason, refuse to see that they have already found it. Grey opposes his inability to trust enough a man to allow him to be the top, and obviously arrives to the conclusion that Sirus is not the right man for him, since Sirus is not a man that can always play the bottom; Sirus opposes his sine qua non condition that a man has to accept him like that, without trying to change him, and a wealthy man as Grey probably will never consider a truck driver as a possible life partner. Both men arrive to their conclusion without even asking the other man opinion, letting their prejudices speak for them. And so, in a way, these two men are very balanced, they are both very wrong!

The nice reserve power games (who is making the bigger mistakes...) is coupled with very hot and detailed sex scenes... even if they are doubting the reasons why they are together, the two men are together and they are very much enjoying it. In particular I like the nice contrast of Grey, apparently the more refined of the two, that behaves like a dog with his favorite bone (Sirus), while Sirus, the truck driver, comes out like the more sentimental and gentle of the two.

Side note: Grey's Awakening is setting in the same cabin where a previous book in the same series, took place, the story of Grey's sister, Kelsey, who fell in love for Grey's best friend and business partner, John. And I have the idea that also Sirus made a cameo in that book, so, if you are in the mood to read a nice het romance, knowing Cameron Dane, I think that one will be a good choice.

http://www.king-cart.com/cgi-bin/cart.cgi?store=linda018&product_name=Grey's+Awakening&return_page=&user-id=&password=&exchange=&exact_match=exact

Amazon Kindle: Grey's Awakening

Series: Cabin Fever
1) The Sweetest Tatoo
2) Grey's Awakening

Reading List:

http://www.librarything.com/catalog_bottom.php?tag=reading list&view=elisa.rolle


Cover Art by April Martinez

Grey’s Awakening by Cameron Dane

This is probably one of the few time in which I will not have to find the hidden reasons of the characters' behavior since the author herself gives plenty of them. She did a wonderful job in building a nice background and current setting for them and how they behave and react is in according with them.

Grey is a wealthy businessman; his parents were not exactly two role models and even at 9 years old Grey knew it, and for the good of his sister and his, he convinced their grandmother to take them in. Even if life with his grandmother was good after that, Grey developed a chronic inability to trust people when his feelings are involved. It's strange, Grey's business is to give a chance to strangers with good potential, so you would believe that he is a trusting man, and instead he risks only when nothing of important is on stake, money is not important, your heart is. As an adult Grey is an apparent successful man with a satisfying life, but instead he is a repressed man with a lot of personal issues. I believe that Grey is basically a man who would love the simple things of life, a partner, a family, a nice home, and since that moment he probably provided to this needs with his special relationship with his sister. But when his sister marries and gets pregnant, Grey realizes that it's not him that is building a family, but it's his sister with another man, and Grey is not part of that. He decides to go away for a bit, claiming with himself that he is tired to see "too much" happiness around him, but it's not tiredness, it's more regret that he is not him to have it all.

On the other side of the story there is Sirus, a big man with even a bigger heart. He lives in the cabin near the one owned by Grey, and he is more than willing to welcome Grey. At first Sirus tells to himself to not get involved, but it's too much of temptation for him... Sirus, even if he is not aware of it, tends to build a nest as soon as he finds a good man. And Grey is a good man. Sirus wants a family, he wants acceptance, total acceptance for who he is and what he does. He doesn't want to fake to gain love. Sirus comes from a very loving family, but his mother seems to not accept that her son is gay. She is not rejecting him, she is rejecting the idea, and doing so, she drove him apart. Grey rebels to his family choosing a job, truck driver, that is not up to his family standards... in this way, maybe, he can convince himself that is not him being gay the reason why his mother doesn't accept him, or at least that it's not the only reason.

And so here we have two men that basically are searching the same thing, a family, but that for different reason, refuse to see that they have already found it. Grey opposes his inability to trust enough a man to allow him to be the top, and obviously arrives to the conclusion that Sirus is not the right man for him, since Sirus is not a man that can always play the bottom; Sirus opposes his sine qua non condition that a man has to accept him like that, without trying to change him, and a wealthy man as Grey probably will never consider a truck driver as a possible life partner. Both men arrive to their conclusion without even asking the other man opinion, letting their prejudices speak for them. And so, in a way, these two men are very balanced, they are both very wrong!

The nice reserve power games (who is making the bigger mistakes...) is coupled with very hot and detailed sex scenes... even if they are doubting the reasons why they are together, the two men are together and they are very much enjoying it. In particular I like the nice contrast of Grey, apparently the more refined of the two, that behaves like a dog with his favorite bone (Sirus), while Sirus, the truck driver, comes out like the more sentimental and gentle of the two.

Side note: Grey's Awakening is setting in the same cabin where a previous book in the same series, took place, the story of Grey's sister, Kelsey, who fell in love for Grey's best friend and business partner, John. And I have the idea that also Sirus made a cameo in that book, so, if you are in the mood to read a nice het romance, knowing Cameron Dane, I think that one will be a good choice.

http://www.king-cart.com/cgi-bin/cart.cgi?store=linda018&product_name=Grey's+Awakening&return_page=&user-id=&password=&exchange=&exact_match=exact

Amazon Kindle: Grey's Awakening

Series: Cabin Fever
1) The Sweetest Tatoo
2) Grey's Awakening

Reading List:

http://www.librarything.com/catalog_bottom.php?tag=reading list&view=elisa.rolle


Cover Art by April Martinez