TresSugar

Tip No. 5 For Getting the Romance Back After the Holiday Stress Is Behind You

DearSugar — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 07:30:00 -0800

I hope you've enjoyed Patty Brisben's series these past two weeks! She's back to offer her last tip, so be sure to check it out below:

Get a couples massage to wind down after the holidays, or take turns giving each other massages at home. The power of touch is incredibly underrated!

To learn more about Patty, click here and to visit PureRomance.com, click here. To see her tips on how to avoid a sex slump during the holidays, click here!

Source

Tip No. 4 For Getting the Romance Back After the Holiday Stress Is Behind You

DearSugar — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 07:30:00 -0800

Check out Patty's fourth tip on how to bring the romance back to life after the holiday stress is behind you below:

For those of us who live in the colder climates, we often deal with sky-high energy bills; so why not crank down the heat after the holidays and use it as an excuse to get even closer under the covers!

To learn more about Patty, click here and to visit PureRomance.com, click here. To see her tips on how to avoid a sex slump during the holidays, click here!

Source

Tip No. 3 For Getting the Romance Back After the Holiday Stress Is Behind You

DearSugar — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 06:00:00 -0800

Check out Patty's third tip on how to bring the romance back to life after the holiday stress is behind you below:

This leads to another New Year’s resolution, and that’s to have more sex! Making an effort to be intimate can be very rewarding because often times, getting physical with your partner brings about even more desire to re-connect. It’s when we stop trying that we often fall into slumps or ruts that keep us physically distant.

To learn more about Patty, click here and to visit PureRomance.com, click here. To see her tips on how to avoid a sex slump during the holidays, click here!

Source

Tip No. 2 For Getting the Romance Back After the Holiday Stress Is Behind You

DearSugar — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 09:00:00 -0800

Patty's back! Check out her second tip on how to bring the romance back after the holiday stress is behind you below:

Make an effort to do little things for your partner. A recent study showed that 83 percent of couples held hands while in the beginning of their marriage versus only 38 percent after a decade together. Compliments, surprise notes, thoughtful gifts, or gestures can go a long way toward keeping you feeling close and connected. So make a New Year’s resolution to change any complacent or negative patterns and become a better, more supportive partner in the years to come.

Source

Tip No. 1 For Getting the Romance Back After the Holidays

DearSugar — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 06:00:00 -0800

Last week Patty Brisben offered up some great advice on how to avoid a sex slump during the holiday season, and she's back to give us some tips on how to bring the romance back to life once the holiday stress is behind us. Check out her first suggestion below:

Get active! Exercise releases endorphins that make you feel giddy, healthier, and sexier - so go ice skating; take a ski trip, just the two of you; or hit the gym together. If you live in a warmer climate, go for a hike out in nature. Whatever you decide, the effects of being active will not only help both of you get fit, it will also make you say “I look great!” and there’s no better aphrodisiac than a little self-confidence!

To learn more about Patty, click here and to visit PureRomance.com, click here. To see her tips on how to avoid a sex slump during the holidays, click here!

Source

5 Ways to Get the Romance Back After the Holidays

DearSugar — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 06:00:00 -0800

Avoiding a sex slump during the holidays takes some work, but it can also be difficult to reconnect with your special someone after the holiday stress is behind you. In case you missed any of Patty Brisben's advice on how to do just that, I'm here to recap her five helpful tips on how to get the romance back after the holiday stress is behind you. Enjoy! Source

View Slideshow ›

Talking Trash: Smart B*tches Tell Us How to Buy Romances

TresSugar — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 06:00:00 -0700

Sarah Wendell and Candy Tan have helped romance readers discern the good smut from the bad for years with their blog Smart B*tches, Trashy Books. And now with their book Beyond Heaving Bosoms: The Smart B*tches' Guide to Romance Novels, they offer a guide through the heady world of the $6.99 novel and defend it with wit and intelligence.

What's up today? Candy and Sarah tell use how they assign grades (they're harsh) to novels on Smart B*tches, Trashy Books and how to navigate book shelves packed with romance novels.

You grade books on Smart B*tches, Trashy Books, A-F; what makes an A? What loses points?

Sarah: A grade-A book for me is one that has a strong plot that takes familiar concepts and reinvents them into something new and different, with memorable and realistic characters, dialogue that is authentic and human, and a story that stays with you long after you've finished. I also find that books that reach A level with me are impossible not to read, so if I pick up the book to look at a page I end up rereading the whole thing.

Candy: An A book generally means that a) I loved it, and b) it's at the very least competently written. There's a certain floor to the craft for an A book. That's not to say I don't love schlock, because I do, but a schlocky book probably won't get an A, no matter how much I love it.

Generally speaking, books lose points if they don't engage me - if I'm able to step back from my immersion in the fictional world and I'm taking a hard look at the gears and bits that drive the machine, so to speak. When my internal editor has slowed my reading pace to a crawl, that's usually the kiss of death. Good books shut my internal editor up, and that's hard to do, honestly - hell, it's hard to get me to shut up, period, much less the pedant who lives in my head and gripes about how people just don't use the subjunctive properly nowadays.

Beyond Throbbing Bosoms was originally titled The Top Ten Signs You’re Reading a Very Bad Romance Novel. Is there a way to know to recognize a bad romance before wasting $6.99?

To see their answers, read more.

Sarah: If a book, any book, doesn't grab you after the first 30 pages or so, it's probably not to your tastes. That rule has served me well in any genre.

But the original title of the book wasn't Signs You're Reading a Bad Romance Novel, though that was part of the book that didn't make it into the final edition. My favorite was the poor copyediting that made a horse change color three times in two pages. Magic chameleon horse in historical England? Not good.

Candy: I call it the 10-page test. It's kind of analogous to bad visitors. The really bad ones generally announce themselves early on and proceed to eat all the hors d'oeuvres you've set out, then belch in your face. Many others, however, survive the 10-page test and prove to be awful visitors when it's too late to get them out of your house. So flip through the first pages, see if there are egregious plot or grammar flaws, figure out if the characters and storyline are your cuppa. It won't catch the more sneakily awful romance novels, but you should be able to root out most of the worst ones.

Check out previous posts from Candy and Sarah, and stay tuned tomorrow for recommendations for romance-novel virgins.

Tech Dating 101: Changing Your Relationship Status

DearSugar — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 09:00:00 -0700

Spring has sprung, and it's not only the time for budding flowers and April showers, it's the time of budding romances too! But with so much new technology out there, the art of dating has become more complicated than ever - we can totally feel Drew Barrymore's pain in He's Just Not That Into You when she laments about having to keep up with several different technologies just to get rejected.

So in the face of this uncharted territory, geeksugar and DearSugar are teaming up to bring you a series about love and the technologies that connect us called Tech Dating 101. We'll answer some of the burning questions you might have about both subjects, like our first question this week:

How long should I wait to change my status from "Single" to "In a Relationship" after I begin dating someone?

To see DearSugar's answer, read more.

Oh how I wish there was a concrete answer for this one, because I get asked this all the time. But as you know, all relationships progress at different speeds, so you really have to look at it on a case-by-case basis. If you're in a committed, monogamous relationship, I don't think you should think twice about changing your status, but before making any announcements to the world wide web, be sure you and your love interest are on the same page. If you're both willing to make the change, do it together and consider it another step in the right direction. Just make sure you're confident in the future of your relationship, as it could be rather embarrassing to have to change your status back to "single" a few weeks later.

If your guy is not willing to let go of his single status, however, you might want to reevaluate the relationship. I'd take his hesitation as a telltale sign that he's either not ready to make a commitment to you, or he's not willing to expose your relationship to his family and friends.

While this seems like a simple task, I do understand what a big step this is. At the end of the day, you're going to have to communicate with your partner and do whatever feels right for you and your relationship. Or, you could always take the easy way out and leave your relationship status blank!

To find out what geek has to say about relationship status, and how to tell from your tech habits if you're officially taken, head on over to geeksugar.

Source

Tip No. 2 For Avoiding a Holiday Sex Slump

DearSugar — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 07:30:00 -0800

I'm so excited to tell you that intimacy expert and author and founder of PureRomance.com, Patty Brisben, is joining forces with DearSugar to help us keep the fires burning in our relationships during one of the most stressful times of year - the holidays! Patty will be offering one tip daily for the next two weeks so we can learn how to avoid a sex slump of our own and master how to bring the romance back after the holiday stress is behind you.

Check out Patty's second tip below:

Commit to one date a week throughout the holiday season - even if it means getting a babysitter or dropping the kids off at the grandparents’ house. No excuses!

To learn more about Patty, click here and to visit PureRomance.com, click here. To see her previous tips, click here!

Source

Tip No. 1: Surviving Valentine's Day When You're Single

DearSugar — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 07:30:00 -0800

Intimacy expert Patty Brisben brought us some great tips on how to avoid a sex slump during the holiday season, in addition to helping us figure out how to get the romance back afterward, and I'm thrilled to say that she's back! Since another holiday is approaching - this one dedicated to lovers - I thought it'd be helpful to have Patty teach us a few things about how to weather this international day of love no matter what your relationship status is. She'll be offering 14 tips from now until Valentine's Day, so enjoy!

To see Patty's first tip for the single gals, read more.

People often mistakenly believe that intimacy can only take place with a partner, but I'm here to tell you that this just isn’t true! There are all sorts of bedroom accessories that will give you a little pick-me-up on Valentine’s Day, or any time of the year for that matter. Sexuality starts with you, and that means discovering what makes you feel good and giving yourself pleasure regardless of whether you're single or attached.

Be sure to check back with us next week to see Patty's second tip!

Source