The Countess

Come To My New Blog And Web Site!

I have a new blog and web site, and I'm inviting everyone to it. This blog/web site focuses on my erotic writing. I will continue to post sex toys reviews on this blog. So, if you want to keep up with me, visit me at my new digs.

Elizabeth Black - Blog and Web site

See you there!

Lizzie

The Stylish Blogger Awards

I wanted to give a big shout out to Tess Mackall and the Three Wicked Writers blog for nominating me for the Stylish Blogger Awards. I am indeed honored and will pass along the kudos for sure.

For those who have been nominated, there are few criteria to meet:

1. Thank and link back to the person who nominated you, only do not re-nominate them.

2. Share 7 things about yourself

3. Pass along this nomination to 10 recently discovered stylish and cool bloggers

4. Contact them and tell them about their nomination.

Without further ado and in no particular order, here are my Stylish Blog nominees. Sorry, I could only come up with eight since others I would have nominated have already been nominated.

1. Saritza Hernandez

2. Kissa Starling

3. AJ Llewellyn

4. Savannah Chase

5. Circlet Press blog

6. Susie Bright's Journal

7. Nice N' Naughty Authors

8. Regina Carlysle

And here are some blogs that are just great to read on their own (note: I write for some of them):

1. Pharyngula

2. Good Vibrations Blog

3. Bondara Blog

4. Good Vibrations Sexy Mama Blog

5. Ms. Magazine Blog

6. Greta Christina

Here are seven facts about me:

1. The only way you can get me to eat a pizza is to slather it with anchovies.

2. I have auburn hair down past my ass. It's nearly four feet long.

3. When I was 12 I ran a planetarium in Baltimore, Maryland.

4. When I was 14 I was a major in the Civil Air Patrol.

5. I can play the accordion.

6. I used to be a fundamentalist Christian until I actually read the Bible.

7. I almost asked out actor Daniel Baldwin when I worked on "Homicide: Life On The Street" but I chickened out.

Well, that's more than enough about me. Enjoy the blogs, and hang out in comments.

35 And Feeling Miserable? You're Having A Mid-Life Crisis!

Are you 35 and feeling miserable? Then you must be having a mid-life crisis! The gist of this Brit study says that if a man isn't halfway up the career ladder by the time he's 35 he's unlikely to get there at all. That makes perfect sense. The study also found that 35 is a bellwether year for long working hours interfering with family obligations, children, and tending to aging parents. The decade between 35 and 44 were some of the most miserable years out there. Sex life sucks. Marriages and relationships are rocky. Work life is a joke. In other words, it's sucks to be 35.

I had a mid-life crisis every ten years when I made major changes in my life. Speaking of 35, when I was 34 I started divorce proceedings against my ex and that was the smartest move I made in a very long time. He kept me in court for another six years but I prevailed in the end. I also started a career in stage craft at the time but eventually had to stop due to lack of work in my area. So I'm one of those people with a miserable life between 35 and 44. But I didn't wallow in it. I changed it.

Ten years later, at 45, I gave up family law work because it was unrewarding, thankless, and didn't pay worth squat. I now am a sex writer and I am much happier. I never really noticed the age I was when I made the major life changes but they do seem to be within ten years of each other - 35 then 45. I suppose 55 is the next big change but I don't see any reason to change my life at this time.

I've never had a bad sex life although I wish for more sex now. I've always had a very high sex drive that was sated most of the time but there were a few dry spells. When I'm in the mood and he's not I rely on my favorite sex toys to keep me satisfied. Thank God for Lelo! We do like to try out my toys and especially my massage oils and such so our sex life is coming along quite nicely.

So what about you? Are you 35 and feeling that life is passing you by? What changes do you want to make in your life?

Work For This Week

Going to do my usual dildos writing, a sex toy review (maybe two), set up some chats for late October through December, and work on my untitled work in progress. It's fall so I'm also getting ready to do some baking, most notably more madeleine cookies and chocolate biscotti. I'm also going to bake pumpkin bread, banana bread, and zucchini bread. I love to bake in the fall. It's the perfect season for baking. I'm also going to watch lots of movies.

Tonight: "Mad Men" party with fondue and iced tea. Yum!

Today's Word Count

This morning I wrote 1,764 words in my untitled Alpha Male/female novella. Two chapters. Not bad at all! Did it all while listening to the soundtrack to the movie "Half Light", then Aimee Mann, and finally Cascada.

Now I'm going to watch "Zombieland". I heard that's a funny movie. I'm in the mood for a horror comedy and zombies are such fun.

A Quiet Weekend

I'm watching movies today and I'm going to read. Working out the plot to my latest story in my head before I write more of it. So far, so good. It's going to be a nice, peaceful weekend. Still need parts to completely fix my computer but they will come in due time. The computer is working fine right now as it is so there's no rush.

My Weekend Is Upon Me

I'm going to spend my weekend working on my old wives tale Alpha Male paranormal erotic romance. I also have a Skype meeting with an editor this afternoon for more writing assignments. So I'll be very busy over the next couple of weeks.

Next weekend we'll go to another vintage baseball game. I really like those games and I'm not a sports fan. We eat steamer clams, sausage sandwiches, and drink good microbrewed beer. Yum!

So I'll update as I get more information on my upcoming assignments. I have a few suggestions that might go over well. Keep your fingers crossed.

Enjoyed My Week Off

As chance would have it I had little to do last week. Finished my articles and edits for stories so I had a lot of free time. I took the week off, and boy did I need it! All I did all week was write a little about vibrators, but that was it. I realize now I was a bit burned out and I needed some rest. I vegged, baked, read, watched schlocky B-flick movies, and went to a fall festival. I had a blast all week long, doing nothing.

Now it's time to get back in the swing of things. I'm about to start a Halloween story for a new publisher so keep your fingers crossed it gets accepted. It's based on an old wives tale that if you sleep on Halloween with a sprig of rosemary and a silver sixpence under your pillow that you will dream about your future lover. Sounds like a fine jumping point for an erotic story!

I also baked madeleines yesterday. Madeleines are French butter cookies. Recipe coming tomorrow.

Anyway, I'm back and raring to go. Let's get to it!

I Now Write For Good Vibrations Magazine

I now write for Good Vibrations Magazine. Want to read fun articles about sex? Check out Good Vibes Mag!

Here's the link to my Good Vibrations page, including links and excerpts from all my articles:

http://magazine.goodvibes.com/author/elizabeth-black/

My First Post – Talking 'Bout Sex, Money, And Raising A Son

My son, who will go by the name The Royal Spawn since my blog is called The Countess, is in college now. He’s had a long-suffering attitude about my sex writing, as in he knows about it but I don’t go into detail because he says it’s TMI. (If you don’t know what TMI stands for, Google it.) When he last came up to Massachusetts from college in Maryland to visit for winter break, I showed him my first book in print form and I was very excited about it. So was he and he was very happy for me, but he backed off and said “but it has naughty words in it”. He wouldn’t touch my book with a ten foot pole.

Lack Of Integrity In Integrity Balls

Purity balls are all the rage. Girls pledged to their fathers that their hymens would remain intact until they married some guy who wasn’t under nearly the same pressure to remain “pure” as they were. As I have previously noted, teens who made abstinence pledges are almost as likely to be infected with a sexually transmitted disease as those who never made the pledge. So much for the effectiveness of purity balls and abstinence pledges.

Mother Nature Gets Naughty: Eco-Friendly Sex Toys For Earth Day

So you use bio-degradable cleaning materials, recycle your trash, drive a hybrid, eat organic food and cook everything from scratch. I'm fairly green. We don't recycle but I make my own soaps, body lotions, shampoos, and even cleaning solutions from generic bases meant for people suffering from chemical sensitivity. I like them because they're cheap and I get to make any scent I like. Plus the shea butter base is much better for my skin than lye-based soap. My husband cooks our food from scratch and I grow my own herbs and vegetables. My indoor space for planting now includes basil, thyme, sage, a leek and some scallions. I cut the ends off of the leek and scallions and planted them. I used to do that when I lived in a house with a garden and it's wonderful. The greens just take off and even bloom! I don't even own a car. We use the local public transportation system. Now that's green! There are many ways to go green.

Since you live a green life, why not buy eco-friendly sex toys, especially on Earth Day? Consumers have led the drive towards urging manufacturers to make sex toys from healthier materials. Many sex toys are made from a "jelly" material from a family of compounds called phthalates. It's a type of plastic and everyone knows plastic does not decompose. Once it's in a landfill it's there for thousands of years. Scientists are uncertain regarding the effects of exposure to phthalates by humans but consumers aren't taking any chances. Recycling has led them to be more aware of materials in many things they take for granted every day, including their sex toys.

So some sex toys manufacturers have taken to using materials that are safer for human consumption, such as silicone, glass, elastomer rubber, and even wood. While some sex toys companies are going completely phthalate-free, others offer sex toys made of those other materials in addition to the jelly ones because those jelly sex toys remain popular. A benefit of the other materials is that they are better for the environment and they are skin-safe. A disadvantage is that they tend to make the sex toys more expensive, but over the past few years with women and couples monopolizing sex toys sales, consumers are more willing to pay more money for a higher-quality, better made sex toy. Sales of sex toys from manufacturers such as Lelo and Jimmy Jane show how true that really is.

So now your curiosity is piqued and you want to try an eco-friendly sex toy? Well, guess what? You're in luck! Adult Sex Toys is hosting an Earth Day contest and you stand a chance to win some wonderful prizes. All you have to do is any of the five following things:

* Fan Adult Sex Toys on Facebook
* Share Adult Sex Toys on Facebook
* Follow Adult Sex Toys on Facebook
* Blog about Adult Sex Toys
* Post one of their banners on your web site

Easy as pie! And look at what you get a chance to win:

* Lelo Lily Pink
* Silicone Rabbit Pearl
* Treeze Wooden Vibrator
* Don Wands Helix Dildo (glass)
* The We-Vibe
* Micro Kitty Hands Free Clit Vibe
* Intimate Package (package of different sex toys)

These are high quality sex toys that you will love. Go to Adult Sex Toys and look over their entire selection of eco-friendly sex toys. Run searches for glass and silicone to find some of them. And don't forget to enter the contest! And don't forget to enjoy Earth Day.