Book Review: Body Electric [L. Sarai]

WARNING: This post may contain spoilers.

Title: Body Electric

Author: Lisabet Sarai

Genre: Erotica

Publisher: Books We Love Publishing Partners

Author's Note: These are my opinions. No, I don't do this for every novel I read. I just felt like doing it for this one.

Blurb:

A vampire ménage. A Victorian scandal. Crossdressing, spanking and electric play. Body Electric presents eight supremely erotic short stories that explore the many facets of desire from a wide range of orientations. The book includes acclaimed favorites as well as several previously unpublished tales.

My Stunning Opinion:

Since this novel is comprised of seven short stories I'm going to talk about each one individually.

The Good:

"Opening Night": This is the second shortie in the book and one of my favorites by far. The author did a fantastic job of portraying the very straight laced playwright and his flamboyant lover during a time when people didn't even whisper the words sex. I also loved the ending. The author flipped forward a couple hundred years, to present day where homosexually is celebrated.

"Rush Hour": Once again the author really did a marvelous job bringing the two protagonists to life. I could see, smell, taste the Goth girl, but I also experienced the straight-laced business executive. I really enjoyed how honestly the author portrayed people in stressed 'rush hour' traffic. Not to mention, the emotional and sexual content were blended masterfully.

"Beefeater": This story was the hottest in the collection. It features an incestual couple and the heroine's longing to wear her Uncle's uniform. I loved the characterization, and her partner was equally as complex. All in all, this one soaked my panties the most. Oh, and the ending is so damn cute.

"Never Too Late": This was my favorite story in the collection. It is about a middle aged woman who meets her soul mate a conference. She's married, but that hardly matters when compared to her and Mark's connection. The story really delves into the emotional connection of a natural submissive and her dom. Towards the end, the hero asks her to come with him, to abandon her husband after twenty seven years of marriage, and to be his. It was truly touching; as a matter of fact here is the quote that touched my heart.

Do I really believe this? When I'm with Mark, anything seems possible. I feel like one of the Apostles. Drop your nets and tools and follow me, Jesus told them. I will be your mother, your father, your children. How old were they when they abandoned their lives for the Light? This feels like the same sort of revelation, demanding the same kind of sacrifice. Or am I deluding myself?

"Mark, you have to understand…"

"Nobody understands you better than I do." His dominant streak reasserts itself briefly. The power in his voice makes me damp and helpless. Then he allows it to slip away. I see the raw emotion in his face. "Do you want me to beg?"

"Something Borrowed": The heroine jumped off the pages. The author did a marvelous job of telling this character's story in a light, humorous, Bridget Jones' Diary kind of way. Both male protagonists are so damn sexy I was a little ticked and disappointed that the story ended. I mean there was nothing profound about the story but it was a delicious empty calorie.

The Bad:

"The Fourth World": The author did a fantastic job of description. I really "saw" Thailand through the main character's eyes. However, the erotic portion of the story was ridiculous and wooden. By wooden I mean, I didn't "feel" anything other than annoyance. I'm not sure whether it was her use of language or perhaps the pacing, but it seemed extremely childlike and elementary. That being said, this was the first story in the novel and if I hadn't indulged my curiosity and skipped ahead to another story, I probably would've put the book down.

"Body Electric": The characters were very well developed and portrayed. The BDSM was not. I can't understand the 'mad scientist' behavior of a lot of literary doms. I couldn't wait for it to end. It sounded dreadfully painful, and don't get me wrong I like painful. I'm a pain slut. However, there was nothing remotely titillating about this story. I think it was the lack of connection between the two characters. He was torturing her; it seemed, just to torture her—not necessarily because he got any enjoyment from it.

"A Quiet Night at Home": This was the worse one. Frankly, this one wasn't worth the time I spent reading it. Nothing about the situation was even remotely enticing or interesting. It concerns two women who discover they're sleeping with the same man. As interesting as that premise is, the story feel short. Both characters didn't really go through any actual deep impacting emotions about being lied to. If anything they took the opportunity to exact revenge and fuck each other. Um…okay. If I was to find out my partner, especially my dom, was cheating on me I would be…PISSED THE FUCK OFF…to say the least. These characters took it in stride and just kept…rolling their tongues all over each other's twats. It was a waste of space.

All in all, the good outweighed the bad, and I would recommend this novel to anyone looking to learn more about the genre. The author wrote quality erotica, and that is SOOOO hard to find.

I'd give this book: 4 out of 5.

An Editor's Plea

I realize it's been a really long time since I posted anything, but I've been busy. Well, I've been relatively busy. Anyways, I'm writing this out here because my darling friend is probably trying to wrestle her adorable son back into his knickers.

Rant begins...now:
I'm an editor, and I'm annoyed.

Okay, first I shall explain what kind of editor I am. I am the kind of editor that can't be mass produced, because tactful cynicism can't be legally sold in those kinds of quantities. I read. I do not skim, even if the submission is complete and utter shit. I don't know why I torture myself like that. I really should just get with the over-worked editor program and skim that bitch like a yahoo news article. But alas, I just can't. Jen can't let spelling and grammar mistakes slip through her obsessive fingertips, and I simply can't skim. That being said, I'm a very thorough editor/critique partner. I'm the kind of thorough that takes about two hours for every 10 pages. That being said, I have to take my time. No, it is not a choice. If I could read and critique at the speed of cum I WOULD. Hell, I'd have loads of free time to write, procrastinate, plot world domination—hell, I might even take up knitting!

Lastly, I am not a critique partner that shreds for the sake of shredding. I do not believe in these "new age" writing rules where "felt" is leprosy, "had" is the ugly redheaded step child, and "was" is the equivalency of literary chlamydia. I don't know who is telling authors to sacrifice clarity and flow for a fucking writing rule, but it is nonsense and it is driving me bananas. I don't know what it is about the publishing world, but for some reason we, as authors and editors, have a hard time passing on information without warping it seven ways to Sunday. The publishing world is such a tight kit community that I think we're the equivalent of some kind of backward inbred society. Please, for future reference, understand moderation is the key. Sometimes "felt" is the best word for the sentence. Other times, you're being a lazy ass writer. Evaluate every sentence as its own individual case. And for the sake of Pete, NEVER sacrifice clarity for a damn rule.

Now, all that being said, let me lay down a couple of other rules, and perhaps hand out some free advice.

I am your editor, not your friend. I couldn't give less of a shit that your mother thinks you're the best thing since Twilight.

Do not send me your work unless you come complete with a set of big girl panties—sarcasm sold separately.

If I take the time to edit your manuscript from start to finish, and I send it to you so that you may apply said critique….APPLY IT GODDAMN IT.

During the second round of edits, I should NOT be critiquing the same mistakes. I used track changes for a reason, to make both our lives easier. If there's a change you're not sure about float me an email. It only takes half the time you spend bitching about it. Hell, you don't even have to use proper grammar and punctuation. I'm not Jen. I won't grit my teeth because you've misspelled your own damn name. If you're too shy to send an email, skip it and leave me a little note at the bottom of the document. I am always happy to supply an explanation. DO NOT, and I repeat DO NOT, send me a manuscript with the same glaring errors. My fangs will drop. My cigarette intake will increase. And Jennifer will be left guarding the 'tact' ball. I'm your editor, damn it. I don't have time to go back through and re-edit. You're throwing my very tight schedule off, which forces me to throw your little blog tour, promotional events, and release date off. I'm not your beta reader. I get paid to do this. Now, I'm not saying that I always know best, sometimes I'm wrong, and if I am I have no problem letting your sentence lie in peace. Like I said, I don't shred to shred. I WANT your manuscript to be fantastic. Hell, that's less work for the same amount of money, and I think I might really want to learn how to knit one day. The less I have to hold your sweet little hand, the nicer I'll be.

End Rant

Okay…that's better. I feel better. I needed to get that off of my chest. I've been editing for 11 pages straight and there came a point where I was sure my scales would surface and my wings would pop out of my spine.

Thanks for listening.

Group Participation - Participation : Promotion

It is very nearly a universally accepted truth that authors who only participate in their group when they have self-promotion to do are annoying and offensive. If you're only there to help yourself, you aren't welcome. So, now that we understand there is a rule, lets try to find where that little black line lies.

I know many authors and not one of them has gads of spare time on their hands to chime in on every topic mentioned on every loop. Writing is very time consuming, as we all know. Personally, I chime in if a topic grabs me and I feel I have something of value to contribute. I will start a message if I have a question, if I need help, or if I think a topic I've been mulling over will be of interest to others on the list. And yes, I do chime in when I have promotion (although since I am not published yet, that has been mostly for my Facebook group Paranormal Passions).

I've started messages about telling your boss you write romance, how vampires can get erections, irritating promotion attempts, and other topics that aren't popping into my head at the moment. I have definitely posted fewer promos than I have messages. I think at the very least it should be like the ratio for critting (for every crit you get, you give a crit). Perhaps it should be more like 1:2?

Based on the wisdom I've gained in my 29 years of life (i.e. my opinion is not the only one that matters) I would like to ask for comments now. How often do you participate in your loops? Do you post the same message to all the loops you belong to? How often do you promote on your loops? What is your ratio for promos : non-promo participation?

Jenny