REVIEW - TAKE IT OFF! THE NAKED TRUTH ABOUT MALE STRIPPERS

"Ever wonder what goes on behind the scenes in a male strip club? Are those guys gay? How do they stay so ripped? Do they stuff their trunks? How did they get into such a business? How much money do they make? Do they have wild sex every night?"

Author: Taylor Cole and Justin Whitfield
Pages: 114 pages
Publisher: Ellora's Cave/EC for Men on Oct. 2012
Form: E-book (from NetGalley for an honest review)
Genre: Erotic Non-Fiction / Memoir (+18 Only)
Series: Part 1
Amazon: Buy / $5.39 (Kindle) ( EU price, click to see yours )
Barnes & Noble: Buy / $5.59 (Nook)
All Romance E-books: Buy / $5.20 (E-book)
Excerpt: Chapter 1

"Ever wonder what goes on behind the scenes in a male strip club? Are those guys gay? How do they stay so ripped? Do they stuff their trunks? How did they get into such a business? How much money do they make? Do they have wild sex every night?

This book takes you backstage and into the lives of two successful male strippers over a span of twenty years in the business. From their rookie days to their wild sexcapades and practical jokes, Take It Off! is a laugh-filled, action-packed joyride."  ~ From Goodreads

Let's start with my preconceived notions: I have never been to a strip club and am skeptical what goes on their and what the clientele is like. I did see Magic Mike though when it came out and that cleared it a bit - so in my mind the women going regularly to strip clubs were desperate, and the men working at them easy. And here come Cole and Whitfield to prove me wrong! Ahem, on some of the points. ;)

Take It Off!'s insight on male strippers is interesting, not to mention Entertaining, you got your pecking order established ( poor rookies ), your types of strippers, stage acts all cleared out and the boys have a nice voice to their writing! Take It Off! tells you pretty much all you need to know if you want to be a strippers the dos and don'ts, and gives an impressive list of what not to do if you wanna date one.

Some of the most entertaining parts came with their telling on how to be a stripper, what to expect, the rookie mistakes and revealing the types of strippers. Some people can tell a story, and reading this book is like sitting down at the local bar over few beers and sharing "war" stories with your buddies. Great fun!

"Many rookies get caught up trying to impress the crowd or outdo other guys and will do something he never attempted before, such as a back flip or sliding across the the stage on his knees after taking his pants off. Seeing someone land on his head or skin his bare knees on the on the hardwood stage will make a woman cringe. It's totally hilarious though."

"Props can be pain. ( about flying to another town ) We needed a wheelchair and a set of bongo drums, and our luggage was already full. We came up with the idea that I would pretend to be a blind bongo player and he had to push me in a wheelchair because I couldn't navigate myself through the airport. It worked perfectly. We got through security with no trouble at all. Six-foot-four jacket up stud pushing a wheelchair containing a muscle pound blind bongo player in a tight shirt attracted a lot of female attention. So we decided to have some fun with it..."

What I enjoyed was the fun, yet surprisingly sexy telling of male stripper life, the ups and lows ( and the lows were quite hilarious ) of the life style. Of course you got drugs ( bad boys, stop that right now *uses kindergarten teacher voice* ) and other problems, but the way Take It Off! puts it they seemed to have enjoyed themselves and the girls that came with the job were a definite bonus, if not a profession standard.

The chapters and scenes featuring sexploits, titled sexcapedes, read like good for-men erotica, wither it was hotel room hook-ups with clients or bathroom quickies or even a dark corner during a black out, they were definitely hot enough to get you on the mood, I don't see many other profession tell-alls doing that. ;)

"As the club got darker, I kissed her neck a little more and moved my other hand down to her inner thigh and as close as I could without touching her panties. I caressed her soft, smooth inner thighs. She was responding the way I  wanted, loving every moment. I pulled her panties to the side, exposing her naked snatch. There wasn't a hair on her. I could feel how wet her pussy was."

If you are curious just what goes on in the lives of people who strip for cash, and what they plan to retire with ( other than the white mink coat and the Ferrari )  then check out these boys's book - you are guaranteed laughs, hot reads and cringes... that is if you're not a prude. ;)

There is more to come from these two and I personally can't wait to read that as well - Take It Off! was entertaining, funny and sexy and who wouldn't want more of that in their reading? Off to see Magic Mike now if you don't mind. ;)

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One of the Co-authors of Take It Off! made it over for a quickie... interview! Mind off gutter girls. ;) Why yes I did that on purpose. Wanna get to know if Ellora's Cave Cover Model goes for sexy nerds or tough chicks? Prefer kisses or licks?
Well you are about to find out! Read the Quick Fire Interviews below!

Justin Whitfield

Justin Whitfield works as an author/romance cover model at Ellora's Cave Publishing and is the Owner-Operator at The End Zone Sports Bar and Grill, Whitfield used to be a male stripper in the famous LaBare Strip Club in Houston. Welcome to For The Love of Reading, now the following questions are quick pick one or the other... let's get started!

Football or Nascar? football (by a long shot!) lol

Sports car or Pick-up? pick up

Shots or Wine? shots

Movie: Popcorn or Hard candy? hard candy

Scarier: Ghosts or Demons? demons

Women: Tough Girls or Sexy Nerds? sexy nerd

Women: Heiress or Waitress? heiress

Dresses or pant suits on women? dresses

In the bedroom: Dominating or Gentle? gentle

Sexier: Woman who can sing or girl who can cook? cook

Romance: Maidens or Queens? queens

Romance: Fallen Angels or Sexy Demons? fallen angel

Romance: Nurses or Cops? nurses

Romance: Werewolves or Vampires? vampires

Sexier: Kisses or Licks? kisses

Sexier : Flimsy lingerie or Trench-coat only? flimsy lingerie

Check out Take It Off! here and see what's coming next...
Take It Off Again! 

TRADITIONAL PUBLISH TO E-PUBLISH - WHAT I'VE LEARNED

"The day of my father's funeral, my brother expelled me from the family as my other family members stood by and did nothing. He was right about one thing. I had made some bad choices for which I would pay dearly. Divorce, abuse, abortion, excommunication, chronic illness, homelessness, death, bankruptcy, sibling rivalry, adultery, single parenthood, drug addiction, low self-esteem, depression--some people suffer from one or several of these in their life; others deal with them daily. 

What makes the story in When Ties Break different, exceptional, and inspirational is that the author has lived through each one of these challenging, sometimes terrifying problems. Through God's help and her own courage and perseverance, Margaret not only thrived after loss but came out on top with a new energy, a renewed spirit, and a sense of worth."

Amazon: Buy / $3.44 (Kindle)

  ( EU price, click for US price )

by Margaret Norton

Traditional Publish to ePublish – What I’ve Learned

Five years ago, when I started thinking about writing my first book, most people recommended a traditional publisher rather than self-publishing. I took that advice but many times since then I wondered if I made the right choice.  One year after my book was released; I terminated my relationship with my publisher. There were several reasons for this: I felt that I was doing most of the work anyway – except for printing the book – so why not get the full financial reward. But my biggest reason was lack of control. I felt that I had very little say over anything that happened with my book and I had no way to track my marketing efforts. Like most new writers, I wasn’t making much money, so why not venture out on my own? That was five months ago and this is what I’ve learned so far:

The electronic author has most of the same problems as the traditional author. For the new writer the biggest problem is publicity. I am doing the same things I was doing 18 months ago – press releases, blog tours, working social media, trying to build a name for myself as a writer, etc. The only thing I am not doing is physical book signings, which I could do with my remaining stock, but have chosen not to. My goal is to have a total virtual experience.

Technology is the biggest epublishing challenge, especially if you are weak in this area. For months I took classes and read articles to prepare for this change but I am overwhelmed with the amount and content of the information.  Initially I was under the impression that there were two major formats – Mobi which is Amazon’s Kindle and epub which is everything else but what I’m learning is there are variations on these two and it hasn’t been easy. Most web sites that publish books have technical departments that are helpful and there are companies that assist you with epublication such as formatting and creating ecovers. But for the most part you’re on your own.

Numerous outlets exist for epublications. Traditional writers are encouraged to purchase their own books from their publisher.  Epublishers typically do not have as many restrictions and once your book is in the correct format you can often list it on line for free. One list I’ve seen had 40 web sites to sell books on line. This is time consuming. After I started working the list I decided instead to focus on Amazon, Barnes & Nobles and Smashwords. The sales outlets have regulations but they’re usually doable, some charge small fees, some have time limits, most let you set your own price with a minimum and maximum, some allow you to give your book away or free chapters, some have blogs and community support and some list your book with other sites and help with promotion. Payment is quicker with epublication and varies by site – pay pal, check, or electronic transfer. Returns are not as likely with ebooks which is a good thing. Initially it takes time to set everything up but once this is done all you have to do is maintain the web sites and collect your royalties. Just don’t spend it all in one place!

Changing from traditional publishing to epublishing is going from one extreme to another. I no longer feel that I have little control but rather I have total control over everything that pertains to the distribution, promotion and sale of my book. If it doesn’t do well I can’t blame my publisher but on the other hand if it does then I’ll get to claim all the glory. The royalties are less per book but the expectation is that I’ll sell more books. Publishers tend to send you out to pasture unless you continue to generate healthy sales.  Electronic sales are different – they don’t drop you if sales are down. You can spend the rest of your life promoting a book and over time perhaps generate some healthy sales. For me this was a chance that I was willing to take.

Thank you for reading my post. If you like personal memoirs, you’d probably enjoy my book. 

Margaret Norton has always pushed the envelope – never totally accepting the status quo. A people person, her greatest joy comes from helping others. Preventing abuse, empowering women and improving health are her passions. As a Personal Life Coach, Margaret founded Life Transitions to help individuals deal with change. In addition, she’s a Stephen Minister and Dale Carnegie Coach. This training, along with her personal life experiences, makes her a caring and compassionate coach. She’s also a graduate of the Creative Writing Program at Long Ridge Writing Academy. Her stories have appeared in A Light along the Way, the Upper Room, various local newspapers, on-line and more stories to appear in 2012.

Margaret currently resides in Greensboro, NC where she spends as much time as possible with her four grandchildren. She has a monthly radio show, volunteers with numerous agencies and is a passionate distributor for It Works educating others on healthy living, anti-aging and weight maintenance.  She believes that all life experiences are valuable and by sharing our stories we learn from each other. In her memoir, When Ties Break, she shares her incredible journey as she attempts to answer gut wrenching questions like why bad things happen to good people.

Website / Blog / Twitter / Facebook / Email 

Thanks for stopping by Margaret, a lot of bloggers like to write as well, and what writer doesn't want to be well informed about how to go about getting published and how to manage ePublishing! I really appresiate you visiting with that great Guest Blog today! Thanks!

ANY COLOR BUT BEIGE - REVIEW, GUEST BLOG & GIVEAWAY!

"Everyone wanted Cat’s life. She had a handsome husband, a stylish home and a fascinating career as an international color-marketing consultant. Work took Cat to some of the world’s most beautiful cities but something was missing: ironically, it was color. One day she found herself in Paris watching a sunset and, in a moment of clarity, she caught a glimpse of her sepia-toned future."

This blog entry entails a Review, an awesome Guest Blog and two great 

book Giveaways, one of them ending on Dec. 18th! Read on!

Author: Catherine Larose
Pages: 232 pages
Publisher: Friesen Press
Published: August, 2011
Form: E-book ( received from the author for an honest review )
Genre: Memoir Amazon: Buy / $6.59 (kindle)
The Book Depository: Buy / €14.46 (paperback)
Barnes and Noble: Buy / $15.77 (paperback)

I absolutely loved the first half of this book, I just had to blurt that out immediately! I truly enjoyed it!
I agreed to read this for the Women On Writing ( yes WOW ;) ) tour about a month ago, and was at a Chick Lit kick at the moment, now I started reading "Any Color But Beige: Living Life in Color" last Friday and when opening the book I wasn't feeling like reading it at the moment, but boy did I change my mind by page 5! This memoire is so well written! The feel of the words and the flow of the "story" is so effortless, her past is told in a novel like vibe and you get hooked on it. I feel honored to have read this book, it feels like I know the author now, but that's what a good memoir does.

Cat is born into a half-irish, half-italian family and becomes to only red head of the family with dad, the odd child out, the memoir follows her through high school and college, her travels and her work as international color consultant. She discovers her life has become a neutral shade and she rebels to bring out the color and her heritage into her life which sort of results in divorce and discovery of a new/old side of her. Sure, it's a life, but it tells so well as a novel too. ;)

I think this book would be a perfect fit for women and men who like chick-lit and like to have a little drama in their books, because just show me life without it. You'll love this memoir, it's so well written, you can tell writing was a calling from school, to eventually writing a book. Her writing style is warm, witty and funny, if she wrote a novel I'd love to read it!

Trailer :

Rating :

How Travel Can Cure Writer’s Block

Anyone who has ever stared down a blank page and blinked first knows how devastating writer’s block can be. I’ve read several articles on the causes of it, but the best reason I’ve heard to date is actually the simplest to cure – the cause of writer’s block is a lack of fresh ideas, and the best source of new ideas that I know of is travel.

You don’t have to travel to the ends of the earth either to be inspired. A jaunt across town to a new neighborhood is just as inspiring as jetting off to Japan, and a lot more economical for those of us on a budget.

Let’s take a look at all of the potential ways local and long distance travel can inspire us.

First and foremost, it’s all about the place. First impressions can be quite powerful when you’re visiting a place for the very first time. For frequent travelers like me, who have been so many places, the challenge is to see a familiar place with fresh eyes. Armed with a seek-and-you-shall-find attitude, I’m always amazed at how many new things I can discover.

The most fascinating thing to write about is people and the cast of characters that make up the place you’re visiting. You can write about their physical appearances, perhaps so very different from your own. You can capture their mannerisms and customs, or you can dig a little deeper and find the commonalities. One of my favorite things to do is recreate conversations with the colloquialisms of unconstrained everyday conversation. It makes us feel like we’re eavesdropping.

Another thing you can do is take us on a tour of some of your favorite places and tell us why they’re your favorites. For example I’m a WWII history buff, and on almost every visit I make to London, I always go to the British War Museum. I become a time traveler. I can feel the sense of urgency, the life and death struggle of nations as the fate of democracy hangs in the balance.

Why not make up stories about your favorite places. I’m often fascinated as I walk the winding back streets and alleyways of old cities. I try to imagine the everyday life of the inhabitants of these ancient dwellings. What happens behind closed shutters, on bougainvillea-covered balconies or in local shops? I look at the laundry hanging on the balconies and try to guess, from the articles of clothing, who lives in that household. What they do for a living?

If it’s a gondolier, does he sing because he is happy? Is it a bank president having an affair with his secretary behind his wife’s back? Or is he madly in love with his wife and rushes home each night to plant a kiss on the back of her neck? Are the children bored with their over stimulated digital lives? Do they still play outdoors? Is a woman sick and dying behind shuttered window. Does she still have a burden of regret weighing heavily on her soul, pinning her to this earth like an insect in one of those shadow boxes. What was the regret and what could she have done differently?

Local culture, cuisine and customs also yield a rich harvest of stories, observations and ideas. Engage all your senses: taste, touch, hear, see and smell what the place and its people have to offer. Participate. Go out of your comfort zone and learn something new, something indigenous to the place. Mush a dog sled in Alaska, dance Flamenco in Barcelona or dive the Great Barrier Reef. Or be a tourist in your own city.

And, finally, never leave the house or hotel without a notepad and pen because Inspiration can strike at any time, curing your writer’s block in an instant.

On Monday, December 19 at the end of her WOW Blog Tour, Cat Larose will be awarding a special Book Club Prize! The prize includes 10 copies of her memoir Any Color But Beige, a guide on how your book club can enjoy Any Color But Beige, a virtual visit from Cat Larose, and several other surprises. If you want to enter this contest just leave a comment after this post with the words “Book Club Contest” in the message. You can enter to win both the individual contest for one copy of Any Color But Beige and the Book Club Contest but you have to leave two different comments. Don't forget to tell everyone who belongs to your Book Club to enter the contest!


To take part in the Any Color But Beige book (us/canada) / e-book (international) Giveaway leave a comment with your email address. [CLOSED]

To take part in the Book Club Giveaway comment with the text "Book Club Contest" in your message, as well as your email address. [CLOSED]

Catherine is one part hot blooded Latin and one part wild eyed Celt. She’s the oldest of seven children raised in a large Irish/Italian family – Catholic, of course. But family and friends think of her as the gypsy. She’s spent her life studying, living, and working all over the place.  Cat is forever destined to wander incessantly as a person currently without country(CWC), or with no fixed address(NFA). Blessing or curse? Grandma V had her pegged long before she ever left Clevleand, Ohio when she gave her red-headed Italian granddaughter this advice , “All you need is a place to hang your hat.”

As she was traveling the world, Cat managed to acquire a husband. A rather beige husband. Not a good match considering the fact that Cat sells color for a living. What does that mean? When you go to a home improvement store  and to choose a paint color, those little color chips are made by Cat’s company. They produce color chips for the automotive industry, cosmetic industry and of course your local Home Depot.  While in Paris on business, Cat decided that life was too short to be beige. Her memoir is a record of her escape from the beige tinge of her marriage to the wild colors of singlehood.

Website / Blog

REVIEW - A ROSE FOR RAYMONDE - A TRUE LOVE STORY

Author: Wade H. Foy
Pages: 160 pages
Publisher: Brandylane Publishers, Inc.
Published: July 15th, 2011
Form: E-Book (review copy)
Genre: Memoir/ True Love Story
Amazon: Buy

"Here, then, I offer the account of a pair of life streams that merged: my own and that of Miss Raymonde van Laar, the beautiful and courageous lady I married, and who is my great true love." So begins A Rose for Raymonde, the true story of a young Swiss nurse who immigrated to the United States and found love with a U.S. Navy Reserve officer in 1950's New York. Complete with photographs and personal letters, this book chronicles their lives before their paths crossed, and after. When they met, Wade was an Annapolis and North Carolina State College graduate preparing for active duty in the Navy Reserve; Raymonde had grown up in Switzerland and France and endured the fear and privations of German occupation during World War II. The two fell in love, married and built a life together, riding out the 20th century in pursuit of their own version of the American dream. Written by Raymonde's husband of fifty-five years, A Rose for Raymonde is a tribute, a history and a love story of the sweetest, simplest kind. It's a heartening reminder that true love is out there and that, once found, it can last a lifetime and longer."

You can’t help but like Wade immediately, he writes in a way that makes a pleasant voice inside one’s head and you feel like you are listening to a really good story right away.

I fell in love with their story the moment they met which had me giggling, poor cat and all, but it was sweet, and I couldn’t help but to smile. Few days after they meet under the roof of their friend’s house and one date later Wade reports on duty on one of Navy’s ships, and when not on duty he courts Raymonde, who arrived to US after II World War over the Atlantic from Switzerland. And the courting leads to a kiss, which leads to marriage proposal and a – yes. The USS Pursuit leaves for its winter cruise and the two write to each other every other day, promising to marry as soon as Wade returns.

Finally May comes and Pursuit returns to the dock and the couple if finally married! And they can start building a life together. After short honeymoon they return to New York and finally get to start living together and become a married couple.

Lovely letters change hands as Wade takes more cruises with the Navy, and they are joy to read, you can feel the love shine on the pages.

I normally read romances but it was so wonderful to read a real romance story, it warms the heart to read about real true love, not just the passion and the emotions but the Love, where you are tied to a person for the rest of your life with more than romantic love. I enjoyed reading this as that’s what I have with my husband, the connection, more than just passionate feelings. And this story gives hope for everyone that when you find your match, that’s it, no one else.

Also this book is wonderful peak into the 30’s through 60’s, to the way people interacted, the way the world was, the difference in how people spoke and wrote – for me having lived my life through 80’s and up it’s like a gilded image, but this book blows some life into the image.

And you’ll have some good chuckles and giggles as you read! Wade writes wonderfully, it almost cannot be explained you just have to read it to know what I mean, it’s best described as old gentleman like glamour.

What I enjoyed the most were the letters and pictures shared!

Heartfelt and wonderfully sweet true love story, it warms the heart and gives power to true love. Just as a good story is supposed to!

Music : “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” by Marvin Gaye & “You Belong To Me” by Jo Stafford

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