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Free Love and the Sexual Revolution – Trailer
FREE LOVE and the SEXUAL REVOLUTION is a joyous romp through the sexual revolution of the sixties. My life partner, John, and I created the first (and perhaps the only) commune for grown-ups where open sexuality was encouraged and fully embraced. We called it Sandstone Retreat. Nestled in the wooded splendor of Topanga Canyon, California, with sweeping vistas of the Malibu Mountains and Pacific Ocean, it was fifteen acres of beauty and pleasure, a retreat from artificiality. It was a community where a person’s mind, body,and sexuality came together in total abandonment. The dress code was total nudity, and the mind-set was acceptance of all things pleasurable, sensual, and sexual. Sandstone was a huge success from the moment we opened our doors, and dozens of celebrities came to stay and play. I can honestly say I saw more naked stars than any other woman of that era! We offered such a unique and tantalizing lifestyle that soon reporters and television producers were clamoring for us to go public about our amazing concept of shared sexual pleasure without jealousy or possessiveness. Gay Talese’s wildly successful best seller Thy Neighbor’s Wife was about life at Sandstone. Articles written about Sandstone are too numerous to list, but just a few highlights include Esquire (three times), Rolling Stone, the Los Angeles Times, Atlantic Monthly, Time Magazine, Penthouse, and the Los Angeles Star. We were also prominently featured in television specials that aired on the History Channel, VH1, Lifetime, and the Sundance Channel. Presiding over all that free love and open sexuality was an experience of a lifetime. I came to recognize and embrace my own bisexual nature and to share it with others. When I look back on those years spent at Sandstone, I appreciate how truly wondrous it was, how amazing and unique, and John and I were the creators.
Vampires: Don’t You Just Hate Them?
If you’re looking for excitement laced with lots of violence and sex then you need to look no further than Danny Estes’ Vampires: Don’t You Just Hate Them? We begin our story with our protagonist, Jonathan, who finds himself speaking with some form of a psychologist. At first, the reader is unawares in regards to what the story is going to be about. Jonathan speaks about how he always thought vampires were myth. It’s not until a bit later on that Jonathan reveals through the effort of flashbacks that he is a half-werewolf and he has been living with his mate, and full werewolf, Jasmine. What begins as a story of coming to grips with the laws and rules of Pack behavior that Jonathan is not used to, devolves in an exciting way into a gun fight between werewolf and vampire. However, not everything is as it seems.
Estes does a fantastic job with this story. He’s very descriptive and by telling the story from Jonathan’s point of view we can feel as though we are Jonathan as he struggles to accept the fact that his mate has brought him to live with a Pack, something he is not accustomed to, where females are dominant and his opinion is not required. Jonathan is faced with the difficult task of merging into a culture he has never heard good things about. His father is a full werewolf who ran away from pack life with his half-werewolf mother in tow. Jonathan is aggressive, stubborn and has deep rooted feelings about justice: traits that are not welcome in his new world.
It appears that werewolves are very physical, sexual beings, which is an interesting take on the race. Estes doesn’t go too over the top with his descriptions about the sexual events that take place in his novel. He describes things with enough emphasis that crude words are not necessary and it is clear what he is getting at. By having the story from Jonathan’s point of view we’re also awarded his assistance with explaining things that might not be understood at first glance. Whenever there is a chance the reader is confused, Jonathan is confused as well and asks for explanation or provides it. It’s almost like breaking the fourth wall without really speaking with the reader. A very clever tactic.
Estes does what he does best: tell an engaging story with all the trappings of entertainment. Vampires: Don’t You Just Hate Them? performs better than a movie with rigorous action scenes, lust and explosions in all the right places. There is a story to be told here, as well, which doesn’t get overshadowed by all the action. Jonathan is not all he seems to be, and he doesn’t even know it. While it may be clichéd to say that there is more to him than meets the eye, that is the reality. Estes milks that for all it’s worth and ends his tale with flair and excitement. Those who are looking for an exciting read with good character development and a plot that doesn’t get ignored, will definitely find everything they’re looking for in this book.
Pages: 276 | ASIN: B009PO52PK
LITERARY TITAN 