It’s here. After five years of wondering and waiting, the much anticipated sequel to Passion is in the bookstores. In the days leading up to my reading of Patience, I recalled with some fondness a few of the more memorable parts of Passion. I’m not certain what astounded me the most: the number of times the main protagonists would couple behind a screen in the Crystal Palace during the World’s Fair or the length of Mark’s member which was so tremendous that it actually rearranged organs inside the heroine’s reproductive area. I cannot think of Passion without humming the tune to “Break On Through to the Other Side.”

Truly, there is some alchemy in your writing in that readers remained so curious, so desirous of reading a sequel to a book originally published nearly 5 years previous. Fortunately for us readers, this alchemy has not subsided. If anything, Patience is bound to stir up as much or more discussion and dissent as Passion. There is a certain conviction to your writing that gives power to your story.

There are two plot arcs that occur simultaneously. The overarching narrative is Matthew’s path to redemption, both personally and professionally. The other narrative is the sexual relationship that brings Matthew and Patience together and binds them in mutual sexual predilection and emotional satisfaction. Patience has a character arc, too, but hers is more subdued.

The plot is thus: Because of an indiscreet letter from his mother to a purported friend, it has become known that Matthew is not a beloved son of Earl of Langley but rather the result of a union between his promiscuous mother and an estate gardener. When this information came to light, Matthew’s fiance broke with him and the abandonement and general character disaparagement by Matthew’s then putative father in law has placed Matthew on the brink of financial ruin. He is determined to exact his revenge: ruin his fiance and her father.

While Matthew initially decries love (because he proclaimed to love his fiancee deeply), he is attracted to his new sister-in-law, Patience. She is close in proximity, living in his brother’s home. Somehow Matthew knows that Patience is sexually submissive and he sets out to please her and himself by drawing out and exploiting, for her benefit of course, her hidden submissive desires. How Matthew knows Patience is submissive is unclear. Perhaps there is an eau de soumise that the body emits and causes nearby cocks to throb, pulse, swell, ache, and twitch. (Matthew’s cock is so vividly described in with these adjectives that one brings to mind the pulsing heart ripped from the body to pump helplessly in the hand of the villain).

Patience is a virgin but she responds positively to Matthew’s suggestions that he knows just what she wants, what she needs. In the oft read excerpt, Matthew, after only one sexual encounter with Patience, whisks her away from a ball to an upstairs bedroom where she is ordered to remain tied to the bed, in the exact position until he returns. Shades of Secretary here, but Patience lies still for a long time, falling asleep in fact, soothed by the domination of a real man, until Matthew returns to give her surcease in her favorite fashion. Which is, of course, allowing her to deep throat him until she feels him in her esophagus. The feel of his “organ of dominion” in her mouth followed by fierce ejaculate, “like the fiery waters of the river Styx” makes her find her “rapture.”

Her mouth was stretched and full of him. Her hips tilted and gyrated, and her clitoris flamed with the need to be possessed.

…. And with each fury of thrusts, his cock seemed to sink deeper, filling and stretching the entirety of her throat.

… His fingers tightened in her hair, and crouching like some fallen angel, he shuddered over her, thrusting his organ of dominion into her with a wild and unrelenting ferocity. …

And in her mouth, Patience felt his come pulse up his cock before it spewed down her throat. And like the fiery waters of the river Styx, his come was a fierce and flowing tide.
…

As he ejaculated his hot, glutinous seed, her blood roared and her heart thundered. And, though he gave no touch to her straining cl!toris, she found her rapture while drinking voraciously of the virile communion he fed her.

I appreciate how quickly the religious imagery is brought to bear here, to warn, err provide foreshadowing, of things to come. The use of this is typology, a theological doctrine in which what is found in the Old Testament is not literal but serves as an allegory or foreshadowing for the New Testament events. The most commonly known type/shadow is the Jonah and the Whale story wherein Jonah is swallowed by the whale as a consequence of his sin. Jonah resides in the belly of the whale for three days and nights. This is an allegory for Christ’s death on the cross and his subsequent resurrection three days later. Is it any coincidence that this book is published so soon after Easter? I think not.

(As an aside, I believe that the whole of my religious upbringing was undertaken to allow me to adequately review this book. In fact, my entire purpose for being might now be complete).

Of course, Patience does not truly understand the beauty that Matthew is trying to draw out and from time to time will disobey him. For instance, when he tells her not to move, sometimes she moves a step or attempts to scamper from the room knowing full well that Matthew can catch her in two steps. Thank god that Matthew has Job-like patience because how else will he ever be able to make Patience realize the full potential of her true submissive nature.

Behold, we count them happy which endure. Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy.

James 5:11

Matthew recognizes the truth in life. Eve was created for Adam and like Eve, Patience must be comfortable in her nakedness and receptive the pleasure that Matthew is trying, so hard, to provide her.

"You will learn to be completely comfortable in your nakedness, Patience." He pulled firmly on his cods and stroked himself steadily as he spoke to her. "Many women can only bear their own nudity during the throes of their passion. You, however, will relearn what it is to be Eve. Eve, who was created to pleasure and serve her husband in all things. Eve, who was created to be pleasured and protected by her husband in all ways."

Patience doesn’t really absorb these lessons and tells Matthew that she will be leaving for London shortly to take lessons from a cello master. She will be his first female student. (In an amazing coincidence Matthew is also a celloist and he trained under the London cello master). It’s like God created Patience just for Matthew. A submissive woman who plays the cello to match Matthew, the dom, who plays the cello. Given Patience’s ability to blow Matthew’s horn, it really seems more appropriate that she play a wind instrument but that is such a minor detail amongst all the rest of the insanity.

Patience’s refusal to understand what is good for her leads to one of the darker but more glorious moments of the book (and by glorious, I mean so horrific that I still have nightmares about it and no rock ballad from the 60s has been able to dispel this scene from my mind), Matthew is forced to run after Patience, spank her over 50 times, leash her, arouse her to the point of orgasm again and again, and then, graciously allows her to hump his leg for release. That Matthew. He’s a giver.

And then he pulled her to the right with the leash. "Use my leg."

Patience fairly leapt upon him. Sitting on her heels, she straddled his foot with her splayed knees …

Sucking in her breath, she hammered against him. …And then she squeezed her eyes shut, and with a long and throaty cry, her cl!toris ruptured, filling the entirety of her body with the hot and succulent nectar of submission.

I believe that the “hot and succulent nectar of submission” is the source of the eau de soumise.

And just when I thought I read everything, comes the literal truth hinted at throughout the book. To wit, God created woman to be dominated by man. It is a Biblical imperative for women to submit in all things. You do not give the scripture so I will quote it for you

Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything.

Ephesians 5:22-33

You see, Matthew knew from a young boy (12) that he was meant to be a dominant, from the time that he “ripped the belt that was meant for me from my governess's hand, pushed her over my school desk, and belted her bare bottom."

As he grew older, he gravitated toward bawdy houses that could fulfill his sexual predilections. In particular, he enjoyed going to one house founded by a man who “a philosophical and biblically based belief in feminine submission, and he knew I was dedicated to gaining a deeper understanding of it."

"I'll tell you something, Patience." Matthew's voice drew her attention back to him. "I think this life-one shared between a man and a woman in true and deep accordance with their natural predispositions-must be very close to the life God meant for us."
…
Matthew stroked his hand down her arm to her wrist. "Whether they were created individually or together"-lifting her hand, he held it against his own larger one-"did God not create Eve more delicately, more softly, because she was not meant to resist Adam, but rather to submit to him?" He brushed his nose against the skin over her pulse. His eyes closed briefly, then he turned his dark gaze back upon her. Patience felt her heart quickening. "In fact," he continued, "did He not create her so that in order to be filled with the seed of life, she must submit to Adam's penetration?"

Patience drew in her breath as he pulled her hand down and pressed it to his thick erection. "Men carry the staff of their dominance between their legs, Patience." He held his hand over hers and thrust against her palm. "What greater proof could there be that feminine submission is God's will?"

Unfortunately while Patience and Matthew might have found sexual bliss, Patience does not believe in Matthew’s love. Further, Matthew is consumed by his desire for revenge which Patience finds quite distasteful.

Patience’s fear is premised on the fact that when her mother died, her older sister spent much of her time taking care of the youngest child, Primrose, and Patience’s formerly close relationship with Passion dissolved.

There are so many other epic things in this book that I did not have the space to address here. There’s the reference to Matthew as a dark angel, the bloody taking of Patience’s virginity, Patience’s years of practice with the cucumber, Matthew’s preference for sucking over fucking, the cello humping love scene, and the list goes on and on.

I have to reluctantly admire your brazenness in writing such a story, your conviction in the tale. It will no doubt engender huge response. I guess you were abiding by this scripture:

I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm-neither hot nor cold-I am about to spit you out of my mouth.

Revelations 3:15-16. You are definitely not lukewarm. D

It’s one of those books that you must read, if only to be able to say you read it and you know from whence the term “Staff of Domination” originated. I predict it will become an iconic book within the genre when inspirational erotica really takes off.

I’ll leave you this others 60s refrain:

The only one who could ever reach me
Was the son of a preacher man
The only boy who could ever teach me
Was the son of a preacher man
Yes he was, he was, ooh, yes he was

Best regards,

Jane

| Kindle Kindle | Amazon | Nook | BN | Borders | Sony eBookstore

Related posts:

1. Monday Midday Links: Lisa Valdez’s Patience Gets a Firm Release Date
2. Thursday Afternoon Haiku Moment: Passion by Lisa Valdez
3. Lisa Valdez’ Passion Delayed

UK trade insider warned deferral was dangerous. “It is never a good response to say to a consumer: "We know you want this but we are not going to let you have it.’ It encourages filesharing and piracy.” The insider added the move encouraged Amazon “to price more aggressively or buy digital rights direct”.

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From the Sunday New York Times:

But this doesn’t mean that every reader is contributing to the bottom line. Only 40 percent of books that are read are paid for, and only 28 percent are purchased new, said Peter Hildick-Smith of the Codex Group, a consultant to the publishing industry. The rest are shared, borrowed, given away -’ or stolen.

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Marcus Dohle, CEO of Random House, says that 2009 was much better than 2008 but calls the 2010 year “uncertain.” The money quote for me was this:

"The Random House digital future is a core focus of our company’s overall strategy," Dohle observed

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Karen Scott has fallen in love with Julia Spencer Fleming’s writing (and who can blame her). Scott asks whether the average romance readers really do read outside the genre (I’ve got some thoughts about the “average” romance reader) and why we worry about what books fit within the romance genre label.

Karen, if you like these books, I highly recommend the PJ Tracy series. I know these are fairly popular in the UK and wish the US readers would catch on. Keishon, my go to gal for all things mystery/thriller, recommend this series to me. There is a new PJ Tracy book coming in 2010. I can’t wait.

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Speaking of books coming out in 2010, Lisa Valdez sent an email notice to her web subscribers that Mark Matthew and Patience’s story, Patience, is going to be released on April 6, 2010. I received confirmation from Berkley that is indeed the release date.   The only preorder Amazon link is currently the Kindle version.

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This is a fascinating, although detail lite, interview with Skip Prichard of Ingram. I think it does highlight how technology can create increased efficiencies for publishers in ecommerce settings by reducing warehouse inventories.

Related posts:

1. Monday Midday Links: Amazon Author Episode 915
2. Monday Midday Links: Bookstore Outlet Looks Grim
3. Monday Midday Links: It Is All Gloom and Doom (today at least)

Cover made me think
That Passion was Spanish gal.
Nope. English Redhead.

Story starts with bang
No really, hero bangs her
After public grope

Valdez likes words that
Make me cringe: quim & cunt. I
Titter like schoolgirl

Hero talks dirty
They have nasty public sex
I am on page…ten?

Her: Call me Passion
Him: I’m Mark, like the Bible
Me: Puke barf puke

Before we go on
Can we discuss Passion’s dual
chambered vagina?

Hero pushes in…
then… further in? Makes me
Check MY lady-parts.

I have had sex, too.
Last time I checked? One
Chamber vagina.

They repeatedly
Have public sex behind screen
It seems so, so wrong.

Book is like train wreck
PASSION, wish I could quit you
But I still read on.

Goes downhill from here
They have sex and sex and sex
Oh plot, where art thou?

Oh wait, here it is
Sandwiched in middle of book
Hero is blackmailed

Mark needs heirs for line
Passion is ‘barren’. Romance codespeak
for pregnancy plot.

He is to marry her cousin
Oh noes! Cue up one hundred
pages of emo

This is a romance
So all is well that ends well
(and sequel bait too)

My over-all thoughts?
Valdez is talented…but
There is too much skeeze.

Hero is a dirty talker
He tells Passion that she wants it
And how, where…and why.

He is less sexy
And more like a date rapist
And Passion? Doormat.

Creepy scenes in book?
Far too plentiful to count
I have not the words

Like when Mark tells her
That he can fill a shotglass
With c!um? TMI.

Or how about the time
She tells him she has played with
her sisters’ girl parts?

Or maybe the time
when she begins to lactate
& he watches with lust?

And then he is so
Turned on, they make love again
Baby pinned ‘tween them

All that is in book
Not making this shit up, folks
Couldn’t if I tried.

Book leaves me speechless
All thoughts burned out by page 50
I feel dirty now.

Was going with “C”
But is an insult to all
C grades. Sorry. D.

This book can be purchased in mass market from Amazon. No ebook format kids.

Related posts:

1. Thursday Afternoon Haiku Moment: Flat Out Sexy by Erin McCarthy
2. Thursday Afternoon Haiku Moment: A Sonnet for Susan Elizabeth Phillips’ What I Did For Love
3. Thursday Afternoon Haiku Moment: Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead

Any momentum that Valdez may have had is slowing swirling down the toilet. It’s a bit sad to see her previous hard work go to waste, but failure to meet deadlines is going to lead to a very large obstacle in her once promising future.

Related posts:

1. Peter Watts’ Saga of Selling Books: Will Trying Something New Work?
2. Jennifer Crusie to work on solo book in 2007
3. REVIEW: Without a Sound by Carla Cassidy