Thursday, June 9, 2011

Heating up the Kitchen with Guest Blogger: Camryn Rhys

Win a copy of The Barn Dance and meet erotica author Camryn Rhys today at the Book Boost!

Here's what she had to say...



Can cooking be sexy? Well I sure hope so, because sexy cooks are the name of the game in my world. I read a book recently that very realistically portrayed life in a big commercial kitchen, and the chef main character said over and over again, “there’s nothing sexy about what I do,” while ranting about the long hours and the sweat and the grueling pace. Definitely all true. Being a chef is not easy. I should know, I used to be one.

But it sure as hell is sexy. Especially when men do it. Why?
I teach a food-writing class, and we spend most of the class talking about sense-experience with food. Food is one of the rare parts of human existence (sex, in my opinion, being the other) where every sense on high-alert actually makes the act of eating and preparing food better and more intimate. So when you eat a food you really love, the combination of sense experience heightens your enjoyment of the food. Your mouth literally waters for it.

So the correlation between food and sexual experience is easy to make. We talk about them the same way (being hungry, devouring, mouth/other parts watering, satisfied, etc.), not to mention the fact that we do experience them the same way. When sex concludes, the feeling is not dissimilar to having just eaten a great meal. The body responds in much the same way, and we emote similarly.

But more importantly, there is something innately sexual about watching a man cook. It’s sort of like watching a mating ritual. Especially if he’s good at it. In my book, The Barn Dance, which is a foodie erotic romance, my heroine and hero spend a fair amount of time in the kitchen. In fact, they spend most of the book in the kitchen. There are several kitchen-related sex scenes. And plenty of food-related sexual tension.

There’s one scene in particular where Mindy watches Leo cook, and the way he wields a knife turns her into a simmering pool of lust at his feet. I didn’t only write this scene because it was a precursor to their coitus, but because this actually happens to me. There’s something about watching a man cut, chop, peel that gets my heart pumping and makes me want to lick him all over. Especially if he happens to also be hot, which of course, Leo is.

So men, take note. You +Kitchen=Hot. End of story.

A Note from the Book Boost: Whew! I totally agree with you and it is a good thing my hubby cooks all the meals around here. Lucky me. :-) Thanks for joining us today and please tell us about your exciting debut release.


Blurb:

When Mindy needs a baker’s expertise, Leo offers a trade: one day in the kitchen for one night on the dance floor. Either way, the heat is rising.


Excerpt:

Just sex.


That was the only way she could think about it. They were like animals, in their lust, and they needed to slake it. Otherwise, if they got into feelings and hearts and futures, it was just too complicated. And Mindy didn’t do complicated anymore.


He glanced at the front of his pants and colored. She’d never seen Leo blush before, but it was really beautiful—a deep, dark mahogany color that spiraled through his face in patches.


“It’s okay, Leo. I want you, too. You just can’t see it.”


His eyes traveled down her body and rested on her chest. “I can see it.”


Self-consciously, she grabbed her breasts and felt the pebbles underneath her bra and shirt.

Leo hissed and closed his eyes.


“Do not do that, Min. Please, God, don’t do that.”


She looked down at her hands, cupping her small-ish breasts, pressing them up into her ribcage. It wasn’t a sexual movement, but obviously, Leo wasn’t being discriminating at this moment. So she released them.


His gaze didn’t move from her breasts, and they tightened under his watchful eyes. The charge in the air left her without breath. All she could do was picture Leo stretching across the counter, and her jockeying his hips like a bronc rider at the rodeo.


If he was having similar fantasies, he didn’t let on. “Can we just make these rolls so they can rise? Then I’ll get out of your hair, and we can both walk this off?”


“Do you have to be here while I do it?”


He laughed. “No, you’re right, I don’t. I’ll just…let me do one, and then you can do the rest by yourself.”


Leo walked around the edge of the kitchen, careful to keep his distance from her. He pulled one of the flat cookie sheets from under the counter and took a paper towel from the roller next to the sink.


“You want to make sure to grease these pans. Dad probably would prefer butter, but I think lard works the best.”


Mindy resisted the urge to ask if his mother taught him that. Last time, he’d shut down so quickly after she mentioned May . And she was secretly hoping that his lust wouldn’t abate, and he’d just throw her up against the counter and pound into her.


She could use a good pounding.



Want More Camryn?


Camryn Rhys grew up on the border of Canada and the US, and still hasn’t decided which country to call home. She splits her time between the Alberta and Montana Rocky Mountains, with friends and family in both beautiful locations. After running her own restaurant for several years and acquiring advanced degrees in writing, foodie romance seemed the only logical option. When she’s not watching the Food Network, she’s reading a romance novel, or if absolutely necessary, working as a consultant. Someone has to put really excellent food on the table.


Visit her blog here: http://camrynrhys.blogspot.com

Pick up your copy today! Click here.


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14 comments:

Cassandra Carr said...

I've read The Barn-Dance, and I can tell you with authority that Leo in the kitchen? HOT HOT HOT I'd squeeze that man's buns any day...

Camryn Rhys said...

Awww, thanks, girl! :) He'd squeeze your buns RIGHT BACK...

Eliza Knight said...

Whew!!!! Things are heating up over here!!!!! Men in the kitchen are super hot! and you're right about food being sensual. It engages so many of the senses!

Camryn Rhys said...

Thanks, Eliza! It's VERY fun. :)

A.W. McQueen said...

I just can't get enough of these post on your books Cam! I need to go pick up the Barn Dance. Man it's hot in here! Whew and ya'll know I love hot men! LOL Oh and food too.

Paisley Kirkpatrick said...

I love cooking, but never has it occured to me that it was sexy or things happened in the kitchen. I do like the concept, though. My hubby does cook breakfast every weekend and will do BBQing, but that is it. It's not romantic because he doesn't clean like I clean. I guess if I change my attitude, it might make the cleanup so important. :)

Thanks for the heads up. Good luck with lots and lots of sales.

Camryn Rhys said...

Thanks, Lizzie! I hope you enjoy the book. Hey, who knows? You might WIN it! :) I don't pick the winners, but if I did, it would be you. :)

Camryn Rhys said...

Thanks, Paisley. It could just be that I'm in my early 30s and *everything* makes me think about sex these days.

A guy chopping vegetables isn't innately sexy, I suppose. But it sure makes me want to... well... do bad things to him. :)

Thanks for stopping by!

Debby said...

I have never read one of your books but that will be changing. I love the picture. debby236 at gmail dot com

Nicole North said...

I love the sexual tension in that HOT excerpt, Camryn! Whew! And I think men who cook are incredibly sexy!

Nancy Lee Badger said...

Hot is NOT the only word I can think of after reading the excerpt. Tasty, yummy, ravenous... and here I sit with plain old tea. Love the cover, too! Our first house up in NH was an 1860's fixer-upper with a 3 story attached barn. We painted it RED!

Camryn Rhys said...

Debby, thanks so much! I hope you enjoy!! And thanks for stopping by!

Camryn Rhys said...

Thanks, Nicole. I tried to keep the excerpt sort of PG when I picked it out, but there's not a G-rated 200 words in the whole book. I'm trying to decide whether or not that's a bad thing. :) Thanks for stopping by!

Camryn Rhys said...

Nancy, I love that!! I love fixer-uppers. Oh, and I do love that cover, too. It's a Dara England special. When I saw it, I squealed. She's fantastic! :) Thanks for stopping by!