Fiona McGier, EroticRomance Author

Look at the man on this cover!  Wow!  I wish getting a totally hot, rich, yet vulnerable man was as easy as learning how to bake good pie!  Maybe it is?  Part of what he fell in love with was Veronica's pies.  Give it a try!

Now is the time of the year when fresh berries are getting really affordable to buy in quantities for pies!  So I put up two of my family's favorites: Strawberry Glacé and Blueberry Glacé. 

If you've never made a pie crust from scratch before, don't be afraid. Remember that baking is scientific, but not rocket science.  And if the pie crust is shaped weird, I guarantee that once the flavors entrance the eater's taste buds, no one will care that the crust was unevenly-shaped.  All they will care about is that you thought enough of them to bake a pie!
Pies used to be the staple on farms because they used the fruits grown in the orchards, and required very little flour, sugar and butter.  And I've taught kids as young as 9 years old to make pie crusts that taste great.  Glacé pies only need a minimum of baking time, along with time to "set" in the fridge.  No need to keep the oven going for hours.  So pick a cooler day or time of day, preheat that oven, and bake someone you love a pie!

(And if you think of other, more sensual things to do with some of the glacé, like smearing it on body parts and licking it off, so much the better!)

Let's see, what have the news stories been focused on lately?  How about the man who held 3 young women captive for many years, forcing them to remain naked, keeping them tied up and starving, and torturing at least one of them who got pregnant until she lost the baby...yet he's just announced in court that he's going to plead not-guilty.  Of what?  Being a human being? He certainly didn't act like any man I've ever met...nor do I want him to continue breathing. Take him out back and discard him with the other trash.

And today's paper in the Chicago area is all abuzz with the woman in her early fifties who's suing her ex-husband who courted her with lavish gifts and claimed he was single.  He was married.  Then when he divorced his wife, he convinced her to marry him...before he jilted her on the eve of their wedding.  Then he married her and proceeded to ask during the honeymoon if he could "tie her up, gag and blindfold her while he 'teased' her with a feather."  She agreed and "he proceeded to beat her unconscious, sexually assault her, and take humiliating photos before tying her up overnight."  In the morning, she says he told her, "If you are a good slave this will never happen again," warning, "If you tell a single soul about this I will beat your face so badly that you will not recognize your own face in the mirror." He made her sign a "master-slave contract" that involved her being naked continuously in their Chicago and Wisconsin homes.

Phew!  When is the happily-ever-after supposed to start?  Isn't he supposed to realize the error of his ways, admit to her that he was abused, and beg her forgiveness?  Oh wait...this is real life, not a fiction novel.  This isn't about a fictional mogul and his virginal girlfriend.  This is a woman who claims she knew nothing about the world of BDSM prior to her experience, and a man who claims she was "a former prostitute who willingly went along with his rough sex play."  Which one is telling the truth?  That's up to the jury to decide, since the case's opening arguments are to begin next week.

Hmm.  Once again I'm reminded of the question asked recently on another blog: how much reality do you want in your romantic fiction?  See, I'm alright with vampires/weres/shifters/demons/angels, etc.  I don't believe in any of those so I don't feel threatened by them.  But human monsters?  I'm not afraid for myself as much anymore, as I am for my college-aged daughter, who by the way, read all 3 of those novels-which-must-not-be-named-lest-the-author-make-any-$-from-me.  She said they were boring.  Hallelujah!  So hopefully she won't be looking for some man to complete her by introducing her to his weird and twisted fantasies that involve him dominating her.

I'm totally baffled by the interest in this sub-sect of sexual peccadilloes that involves one person willingly giving up power and control to another.  Yes, I've read some romance novels that portray this as the perfect relationship for two (or more) people when one craves to be dominated and the other craves to have the power. Some of the books were even well-written. And some were M/M romances.  But I don't understand the fascination.  I've been called "boring" and "vanilla" by my own brother.  Fine.  But to me, a loving relationship has to involve respect above everything else.  I can't respect someone who wants to hurt me.  Nor could I respect myself if I allowed it.  I'm sorry, but this doesn't say "I love you" to me.  This says "I'm going to hurt someone very much someday, maybe even kill them.  Because no one tells me 'no'."  That is the definition of a human monster to me.

     Yet many authors of romance novels are jumping on the bandwagon, trying to grab for themselves a little of that reader money that demands this kind of kink with their naughty bits.  I'm sorry.  I've been upfront before about why I won't ever read, let alone write a romance involving a highlander man (me late faither was from Glesga!  I grew up listening to the real accent, and to me it says "Dad", not "sexy man".)  Now I'm saying loud and proud that you won't ever read about BDSM in any of my books unless it's something the bad guy is doing to the heroine, and she stops him by killing him, (Undercover Lovers). 

Don't get me wrong...I don't mind a little tying up for fun...and use of actual feathers.  Or gentle teasing with soft items like fabrics, to entice the bound person's skin to enjoy the sensations. There might even be a slap on the ass during hot sex.  But I'm as apt to have the woman tying up the man (Prescription For Love), and in no way ever does anyone either demand to be in charge, or demand to be dominated.  If you seek that, there are plenty of other authors catering to your interests.  But I'm not one of them.  Here there are romance stories with independent, feisty heroines who aren't even looking to fall in love since they're happy with their lives.  They meet interesting men and have hot, lusty affairs.  When the man involved decides that he has found "the one" he wants to enjoy for the rest of his life, it's up to him to convince the female that she can stop looking now, since the man of her dreams is right in front of her and doesn't intend to let her go.  And my heroes are lusty in their persuasive efforts, not violent.

For an example of my idea of a romance story, read my free novel, Prescription For Love, in which the hero helps the heroine to overcome the antipathy she feels for men as part of the aftermath of having been raped.   The link is on the right column of my blog.  Or you can check out my latest book, For The Love Of His Life, which is getting great reviews for being a love story.  I write the kinds of stories that make you want to be the heroine, and fall in love with the hero, since I fall in love with each of them as I write the story. 

And my exciting news is that I just got the word my publisher has accepted the uber-hot sequel to For The Love Of His Life!  This one has a biker queen as the heroine, and lots of hot monkey sex!  As long as publishers like my work, I'll keep writing...and hoping maybe some readers will wander here and give me a try.  Welcome to the "no abuse" zone...happy reading!

Leave me a comment below if you agree with me...
And to anyone who feels differently: Leave me your opinion and let's discuss!