I’d like to be.  Not because of the all powerful thing, although, that would be cool. I’d like to be God simply because I think she should be a woman.  She isn’t though.  You want to know how I know this to be true?  Only a man could screw things up this good.

Okay, I’m going on a little bit of a fun rant here and who inspired this mini-tirade?  Honey, of course.  He prefers to think of himself as my muse. Hm. Muse versus object of a much needed smack-down?

“I’ll take smack-down for 200.00, please, Alex.”

There I was designing a centerpiece.  It was going very smoothly, so once I needed to let things set and dry I moved on to a lighted iron arbor type thing. (don’t ask. I’m ambitiously creative no matter how hard the darn thing is to design and put together) There I am winding small lights through the metal using floral tape to make the wires disappear.  Can you say, T. D. OUS?  When Honey parks his butt on the couch and proceeds to watch me.

Here’s the visual: I’m standing on a small step ladder teetering, winding and taping…and, oh, all right, swearing because you know the project is hard to do, when he starts in.

“Gee, that looks like a lot of work.  How many of those do you have to do?”

“Five.”

“Wow.  Hey, I think you missed a spot.  When I squint my eyes there’s a hole.”

I come out of my awkward stretch and turn to glare at him.  “Really?”

“Yeah, right by your elbow.  No, your other elbow.  Uh, wait, I was wrong.  The bulb was just turned a little.”

I close my eyes, take a deep breath and start again.

Him being annoying. “I thought you were going to do trees?”

Me, still stretching and threading, “I was, but then I found these pieces of iron and decided they’d work better.”

“I could have helped with the trees.”

Me thinking as my back is breaking.  ‘You could get up off your sorry ass now and help.’ He is 6′ 3 after all, so he wouldn’t need a step ladder. 

I grumble.  “Yeah, I know.  But seeing as how there’s no power tools involved I guess you’re not interested.”

Him laughing.  “Are you mad at me for something?  Careful, that bulb needs to go a little to the left.”

Me: “@#$#@!  *&%$#,   &^%$#@ !!!  If you’re not going to help go into the family room!  Don’t sit there and tell me what I’m doing wrong.  I managed quite fine all day without you directing me.”

With a sigh, he stood and came over to me.  It’s one of the rare times we’re actually at eye level.  He reaches out and plucks a bit of fluff off my shoulder to casually inquire: “So, tell me? When my mother gets to the gates of hell are you going to let her in?”

Me: Blink. Blink.

He grins and pops his brows.

Well, suck me dry and call me dusty. According to Honey I’m not God.  I am in fact, the gate keeper of hell.  Which, when I thought about how this day is going? Meh, it kinda of made sense.  So I shrugged and pushed through the rest of my work, happy in the knowledge that one day I will have some kind of power to wield over my mother-in-law and of course, Honey, because if I get my way he’s definitely joining us at the eternal BBQ pit of purgatory for not helping me with these damn lights!

Riley

The “they” I’m referring to are my gals. My Thelma and Louise, meets Driving Miss Daisy to Sweet Baby Jane’s house to talk to Hush Hush Sweet Charlotte, gang. I lub them! And there is nothing more energizing than being in a room with five different generations of smart and feisty women. Makes for one helluva night. But I digress. For those of you waiting to hear about the Magic Mike field trip I will be blogging about that soon. If I had to sum it up, though? The word CLASSIC comes to mind. Heheheheh.

Now, *rolls up sleeves* fast-forward to a few highlights with the gals. Let’s see. Truthfully it started off kind of weird. One moment we ordered drinks and the next there’s this huge discussion going on about Hillary Clinton. I sat and listened (since I’m smack dab in the middle age wise in the group and I’m kind of the magnet that brought these fascinating minds together, I usually serve as the voice of reason, the judge, jury and executioner of hotly debated topics and this night was no exception) so when they tossed out their opinions about Hillary and looked for my input I could do nothing, but scratch my head. Surely these women, my gals, had better things to discuss than Hillary Clinton letting herself go. I mean , COME ON.

Thelma asks, “Don’t you think Hillary has given up on herself? Her hair and even the way she’s dressing it’s…well, it’s not right. What do you think?”

Me, “I think if we’re going to have a discussion about homely Secretaries of States we need to start with Kissinger. What. The. Hell. What does Hillary and her fashion sense or lack thereof have to do with her job? Snap out of it ladies. We need to build each other up, not tear each other down.”

Now, Louise is a die-hard and says, “Personally, I think she’s paying Bill back for all his indiscretions.”

Me, “Hey, the ugly train is a two-way track. Have you had a gander at Billy recently? The guy looks like Dick Van Dyke’s dad. Why do women always focus in on other women to pick on?”

Well, that started a whole other topic that went to hell-in-a-hand cart in two seconds flat. Bottom line? Women are catty, jealous creatures who are basically desperate for any form of male attention even from a guy who looks like a vaudeville actor’s great grandfather. 0_o

With that topic tapped we moved on. I turned to my daughter, who draws up the youngest generation card in the group, and I hiked a brow at her. She’s usually good for some stimulating jabber and she came through. Seems she’s going to a surprise wedding this weekend.

Me, “Surprise? Surprise for whom? The groom?”

“No…well, maybe. I’m not sure it could be their parents.”

Once we did the whole full of hilarious possibilities thing I asked her, “So are they going to go with tradition and jump the broom?”

She nodded, “I think so.”

That’s when Louise pipes up. “Gee, in my day you did that a good three months beforehand to make sure there would be a wedding.”

My daughter frowned and I was left lmao. “That was jump the broom, not the groom.”

*shakes head*

This is when Driving Miss Daisy is heard from. She’s the quiet one in the group. Think Do Jo Sensi with sharp eyes and an all-knowing aura. “The women in our day were racier than they are today. They could afford to be. There wasn’t the internet to catch them doing the naughty and if the boy spilled the beans about the doing he’d never get anymore fiber that’s for sure.”

There’s me thinking. Wow. Just Wow.

My daughter, a.k.a Sweet Charlotte whistles, “Really? I can’t see that. Woman back then seemed so proper.”

I heard a Phiff, snort, ha and “that’ll be the day…

I said, “Interesting.” To no one in particular and that’s when Thelma pointed.

“I’ll tell you what’s interesting. I was sitting in the front seat of my daughter’s car. We were going to the museum and my granddaughter was in the back. I asked her what she did the night before and she said since her boyfriend went to the football game she decided to stay home and watch a porn film.”

Yep, I did a double take at this point in the conversation too.

She goes on, “And there I was thinking this grandchild did belong to me. A chip off the old block, because if you could see her boy,” she nods at each of us, “Enough said there. I was proud she was taking some initiative. But then I heard her say that she had trouble reading the subtitles and I sat up straight. What self-respecting woman watching porn would be interested in the subtitles that’s what I wanted to know. So I point blank asked her.”

Me, “And?”

She tapped her ear and winced. “I need to get my batteries changed. Seems it was a foreign film with subtitles she watched not a porn. I may be two days older than God, but as wise as I am that was a sticky situation to back out of.”

Now, you might think that this conversation had nowhere to go from here, but you’d be wrong. The talk of foreign film nudged them down memory lane and suddenly they were all fired up about The Last Tango In Paris, a stick of butter, Marlon Brando and a steamy love scene. Once the hoopla died down my daughter asked, “So, what did he do with the butter?”

I didn’t know what to say, so I didn’t say anything – which was so unlike me that she was forced to connect the dots. Her jaw dropped, her eyes widened and she stammered, “That’s so…so gross.”

I was a little surprised by her reaction because, well, you know, I’m her mom and I write about this kind of stuff. As patiently as I could I said, “It’s not gross. People do that kind of stuff all the time.”

“With animal fat?” She threw up her hands and made a gagging noise. “Even if you’re not a vegetarian that’s totally disgusting.”

And there’s me thinking…Wow, just wow.

Riley.

Seriously.

STOP SWEATING THE SMALL STUFF.

This is the sage advice I gave a girlfriend this morning.  Yes, I know, it’s pat and well, generic, which got me to thinking.  Maybe she needed to be reminded of the meaning behind those words.  So great friend that I am, I decided to do a post on it.

Let’s define what I consider small stuff first.  Here’s my list:

Your car won’t start.

 Your husband’s irritated you spent a hundred and twenty dollars on shoes.

 Your neighbor’s non-athletically inclined kid plays catch with his equally non-athletic dad beside your car.

 Your job is the pits.

 Your garbage disposal crapped out.

 Your dog chewed your hundred and twenty dollar pair of shoes.

 You have a ding in your car.  Hmm..?

 You have cinch bugs in your lawn.

 A person at work hates you.

 The pesticide you used to get rid of the cinches killed the grass instead.

 Your boss makes more money than you do.

 Heck, everyone makes more money than you do.

All small stuff.

NOW for my list of big stuff:

DEATH.

Gee, when you look at the above options like this they’re all pretty insignificant compared to death, wouldn’t you say? And, as painful as those other options seem now to get over, they ain’t going to kill you.

Life’s too short PEOPLE! 

Now, if you’re one of my writer friends who may be nursing the sting from a recent rejection? Or two. Suck it up. It happens to the best of us and remember, if you don’t put yourself out there occasionally you’ll never improve.  You know what I always say?  Get busy living folks, because you ain’t getting out of here alive!

Riley.

Picture this, I’ve run around all day doing my chores and once the groceries are purchased I head home to start dinner. Yay! And what the…? I’m barely through the front door when my mom comes racing (okay, racing might be a stretch because she’s old, so let’s just say shuffling faster than usual) down the hall and she’s waving something over her head. Truth-be-told I almost dropped the groceries because there I am I’m thinking, finally, we hit lotto! Score!

Here’s mom all excited, “Riley, Riley! I’ve got something for you.”

Me, cringing because the stupid bagger at the grocery store put the milk and juice in the same bag and the strain on my hand is creating a series of new fingerprints, I’m fairly sure. “What? What is it?”

“It’s going to help you with your writing.”

Me, *blink, blink* “Ah…?”

She flashes that knarled bit of paper in front of my face and I have the worst urge to sneeze. “It’s a book. This woman wrote this book. It’s right here,” she says as she stabs her finger so hard it nearly pierces the newsprint.

Now I must pause in the telling of this to say, that I lub my mum. I really do, but…

Juggling the groceries bag handles out of the crevices they’ve made in my skin, I huff, “Let me guess. 50 Shades Of Grey.”

It was her turn to blink. “Yes. How did you know?”

“Meh, just lucky I suppose.” Because you have to know I’m not getting in deeper than I have to with her on the subject, and by subject I ain’t talking about the kink. I go to step around her and her words stop me cold.

“Well, maybe you should read it sweetheart, you might learn a thing or two.”

Seriously? I steel myself and begin walking away again when she insists.

“Well, what do you think about this?”

I count to three because there is no way in HELL she’d want to know what I really thought, so instead I plastered a smile on my face and like a good daughter I turn to say, “I’m thinking you need to get out more. Do you want to go to the movies tomorrow?”

“Oh, that would be lovely dear. You know, they’re making a movie about this.”

Ack! *insert Homer Simpson type shudder here* Because some heavy-set ghostie guy just stomped over my grave. This was the moment time stood still and my whole world imploded. Screw mommy porn. Now we’re talking geriatric porn! It’s going to happen guys. I know it. They’ll be carting the old gals in buses (I live in Florida and this is what they do) Those old gals will be chatting about “50 the movie” in restaurants and store line-ups. Egads! I can hear them now in coffee shops making their nefarious plans… OMG!

Yep, this is when I dropped the bags and checked my watch. 5:22 I called it. The day my lifestyle changed forever. Eek! My mom thinking I’d learn something from that book? It is to blush. If only poor mom knew…

Wow, I feel so much better now that I got that out of my system. Thanks for listening. But it comes with a price. I totally want credit when doctor Drip starts expounding on The Today Show, about how awful it is that the bed springs in the assisted living facilities in my area are catching fire from –gasp- unregulated senior BDSM activity. That’s all I’m sayin’… 

Who’s with me on this? You think it can happen or…?

 Riley

5 out of 5 Hearts from Sizzling Hot Reads Reviewers!

Reluctant Surrender is a very tantalizing, sizzling hot book without a lot of actual graphic sex scenes, Riley Murphy manages to pull the reader into the emotions and feelings of the characters…..I would highly recommend Reluctant Surrender if you are curious or enjoy reading about various aspects of the BDSM lifestyle. The tension between Colin and Ethan is palatable at times, they made me laugh and brought tears to my eyes as they dealt with a variety of emotions together and individually.

4.5 STARS

Wow, just wow! Reluctant Surrender is everything I hoped for and more. I was thoroughly enchanted by Reclaimed Surrender and had very high expectations for this story. Ms. Murphy did not disappoint. There is a vibe throughout this story that just enthralls the reader. The BDSM theme is being vastly overused these days and often the whole emotional/mental component is sacrificed for graphic sex scenes. Not so with Colin and Ethan, their connection is far more than physical. However, the simmering and sensual sexual energy is nothing to scoff at. Creative, profound and soul searing scenes abound. Both Colin and Ethan confront themselves, their fears and the effect their pasts had on their beliefs. I loved the way the perspective flows back and forth between the two characters. We get a complete picture of the journey. Highly recommended! I do hope there are more stories to come. Jo and Ted could really use one.

Guilty Pleasure gives Reluctant their True Gem Award!!!

4.5 STARS. Here’s what they had to say about it: 

Each scene was played out like an appetizer before ever getting to the “main course”. I found that rather refreshing as well as hot and exciting as a reader.

BDSM BOOK REVIEWERS GIVES THIS 4.5 PADDLES FOR STING AND 4.5 PADDLES FOR PLOT!!!! HERE’S WHAT THEY SAY ABOUT IT:

Fabulous! Riley Murphy did a great job with the chemistry between Ethan and Colin. The story is filed with heat and sex without overtaking the plot. And the sex scenes were hot and steamy. …The author did a great job showing that being a submissive is not the same as being a doormat to someone.

4.5 KISSED FROM TWO LIPS REVIEWERS. HERE’S WHAT THEY SAY ABOUT IT,

If you love intellectual mind candy, pick up Ms. Murphy’s Reluctant Surrender today. I for one can’t wait to return to this setting to see not only how Colin and Ethan are doing but their friends who are in need of surrendering to their own desires.

5 OUT OF 5 STARS! Laura via Goodreads says, 

I don’t dole out 5 star reviews very lightly so y’all know I’m serious about it when I do. THIS BOOK, y’all, THIS BOOK IS FANTASTIC!

The BDSM genre is not always a slam dunk for me, too many “wannabes” and too many “trying to hards” and not enough “just rights” well, this book is just right in all the important ways.

Riley Murphy created two very realistic characters in Colin and Ethan. Colin is a funny, smart, sassy woman who meets her match in Ethan, who is equally funny and smart, he is also domineering without being a jerk. The way he approaches Colin and how he wants to help her explore and uncover some secret and not-so-secret desires was extremely attractive. He made it about HER and wanting to help her unlock things she had hidden away and refused to acknowledge because of how she feared people would judge her. Colin’s complete understanding of the BDSM scene and his confidence in himself and his proclivities allowed her to feel safe, free and encouraged her to be who she really is. Also, he never treated her as anything but a woman to be loved and cherished. Any “scenes” they did together were just scenes and once they were over, always brought back to that place of feeling safe and loved.

I feel like I’m rambling so I’ll wrap it up. Please give this book a shot, it is smart, hot, funny and just a great read.

FIVE OUT OF FIVE STARS – Cosmogirl via Goodreads says,

This book…

This book!

I freaking loved it!

I loved everything about it.

With as much erotica as I read, it’s often hard to find something that doesn’t seem derivative of something else. Especially within the BDSM genre. And fortunately for me, different is exactly what I found with Reluctant Surrender.

Our heroine is Colin. She is snarky and strong and smart, but the author balances her wit beautifully with believable insecurity and a need she’s not sure she’s ready for. I adored her. She felt real to me. Nothing about her seemed contrived. She is loyal, hard-working, and determined. All of which are traits I relate to.

Our hero is Ethan. And fuck me, Ethan is just about the swooniest man I have read in a long time. But one of my pet-peeves about Erotica heroes is the way they always seem to be far too much of a good thing and not enough of another. Riley Murphy gives us a hero that is equal parts swoony and strong. He’s sensitive enough to admit that he needs Colin, and man enough to be strong when she needs him to be. It was refreshing to read.

BDSM isn’t my favorite erotica genre. It’s generally hit or miss for me. Often times, I find that I am unaffected by the dominant man because he (more often than not) comes across as an asshole. This never happened for me. In fact, this is one of the best explanations of power exchange that I have ever read. Ethan wants and needs her to submit, but at the same time, he’s explaining to her why.
She is never once treated as property.
And fuck me, that’s so damn important.

From Ethan:

“My normal is as follows. I like to spank, suck, fuck, cherish, challenge, discipline, correct, entice and control my woman. You may think that seems demeaning. I know you like that word, but I’m smart enough to know there’s no honor in degrading a girl who thinks she’s worthless. I make sure my woman knows her value because I don’t do all these things to her, I do them for her. There’s a vast difference between the two.”

GTFO with that perfection!
I couldn’t put this book down. And after a period of reading highly overrated and disappointing erotica, this came as such a welcome surprise.
Definitely recommend!
I hope that you will enjoy this as much as I did.
5 Stars!

Christine via Amazon says: 5 out of 5 STARS

This was about the best dang BDSM book I’ve ever read!
Rarely does a book hit all my happy switches. It was funny, emotional and super
sexy and when it was over, I sighed out loud. A satisfying ending, but at the
same time, I felt a little wistful it was over. I can’t wait until a few months
go by so I can re-discover these characters, and even better, judging by the
ending, I’m thinking sequel! Things I liked: When Colin and Ethan meet, it’s
off the charts chemistry right from the word go. I’m a sucker for a book that
grabs me from the first page. Even better, as things progressed between them
and (panty-melting sexy) Ethan opens Colin’s eyes to the world of BDSM, we get
to sort of walk through it with her and believe me, there is no better person
to walk through it with, because Colin is laugh out loud hilarious. If you love
spunky female protaganists like Stephanie Plum you will love her as much as I
do. I would enjoy this character in any setting. Things I LOVED: Tapas. I don’t
want to spoil it, but I think it’s okay to say that, in order to help Ethan
decide what types of scenes Colin might enjoy, he takes her on a journey
through about half dozen mini-scenes that he calls tapas. I won’t say what they
are, but MAN, get out a fan! Totally original, fun and sooooo steamy. Then,
let’s talk about the bj scene O_0 Yeah, I said it. And it’s the best damn bj
scene I’ve ever read. If bj’s were cars and I read that scene, I’d be signing
on the dotted line and driving that puppy home RIGHT NOW! It was fog the
mirrors hot, y’all. And last but not least, this story was also really
emotional. There was a real connection between the characters but they also
each grew as people over the course of the book, making the HEA extremely
satisfying. All in all, if you’re in the market for visceral, authentic-feeling
BDSM, this is the one to get. It’s definitely on my keeper shelf.

Margarita via Ellora’s Cave says: 5 out of 5 STARS

I’m so there with Christine, she nailed absolutely. Really
The bestBDSM book I´ve read. Though I like reading BDSM books iI usually feel
let down by the heroines, who act mostly as absolutely unaware ,bratty
teenagers instead of inteligent adults ; not so in this book, Colin is a
charming due to her inteligence and honesty,and knows herself fairly well, and
I would like her in any kind of book. the hero is more you”usual”(in
books) caring Dom. The interaction between them is very intertaining and Hot!!,
and the glimpse we see of secondary characters leads us to what I hope are
books to come ,which I’ll be anxiously awaiting.

Kit via Amazon says, 5 out of 5 STARS

I couldn’t wait for this book to come out! This author’s first book was recommended to me but I did hesitate because I don’t have and ereader so I had to read that one adn this on my laptop but I’m not complaining.Colin Reneaux (the heroine) is one of my favorite heroines in any genre I’ve read. I felt like I was friends with her. She’s smart, strong and funny. And Ethan? (the hero) *swoon* times ten! Ms. Murphy writes a smokin’ hot hero second to none. Commanding and tender at the same time.
Them as a couple what can I say? Their banter and interaction is so entertaining I grinned, laughed out loud, got serious and listened to what they were saying and I even had to pull the tissues out in a few pages because things do get emotional between them and I LOVED it! Once again as she did in her first book Ms. Murphy gave me insight into BDSM things I didn’t understand before. She conveys this knowledge through her character interaction which was fun, fun and more fun.
The sex scenes are totally refreshing and unique. Hotter than hell, dirty but done right. The tapas had my blood pressure racing. I hate to keep repeating myself but I LOVED these little bits. So original and it was like different little stories on their own. Ethan as the abductor. OMG! I wouldn’t have wanted to go home if he stole me from my family. He says something to Colin at one point that took my breath away in that scene. Really. I wanted to dive on the page and eat him up. Speaking of diving there was a set the room on fire “BJ” scene in this book. The BEST. I know others have mentioned it and I have to as well. Holy HOT! I took notes anyone else? I’ll be reading that again and again.
I could finish this up by saying that I LOVED this book right through to the ending because I did and yes I did cry at one point but I want to finish by saying that there were two things about this book that surprised me. Ms. Murphey can really write people. There is a conversation between a couple of children and Colin and Ethan that had me genuinely smiling throughout. So visual. Her secondary characters are interesting and entertaining without stealing anything away from the main players. One stands out. Colin’s best friend Jo. Close to the end of the story Colin and Jo have this time together that had me laughing, crying and getting mad right along with them. I really felt that I was sitting in the room with them and this was a place I wanted to be.
It’s no wonder I was surprised when I got to the end of this full length story and wished there was more. Normally when a book is this long I skip passages and pages and yet I didn’t with this one because I din’t want to miss anything. Already I can’t wait to go back and read because I know I probably did. I really connected with these characters and I’m truly hoping Ms. Murphy plans to write her next book with some of these other players. Jo would be good. She has problems that I’d love to see a hunky dom fix for her. Ted maybe?
This author is an automatic buy for me so I’m going to invest in an ereader. I highly recommend this book if you’re looking for a fun, sexy, emotional and original BDSM love story. It was really that good.

Glenna via Ellora’s Cave gives 5 out of 5 STARS

“MUST READ FOR ANYONE INTO BDSM. I ABSOLUTELY HATED TO SEE THIS BOOK END. HOPE TO SEE MORE FROM THIS AUTHOR.”