Romps, Mischief, Pranks, and Legal Maneuvering
Angie & Ella are beautiful, bright, energetic, and fearless associates at a Manhattan law firm. They are fond of reliving their escapades, as well as concocting new ones, via email. Entirely epistolary, Liaisons for Laughs chronicles their frolics in the summer of 2003. Told in a gleefully sassy tone, and always rich with humor, their adventures include "Trailer Trollop Romp & Martin's Comeuppance," "Harlot Impersonation, a Cab Ride, & Pink Grapefruit Tarts," "Circumstances of Spying," and "Romance Novel Hell."
Equally concerned with furthering their careers and indulging their penchant for pleasure and pranking, Angie & Ella tell of both in a unique vocabulary, each seeking to keep pace with the other with the verbal pyrotechnics of their emails. With the frequent participation of their shared boyfriend Steven, as well as Manhattan itself, they hungrily fling themselves into a flurry of vamping, masquerading, and fantasy roles--never neglecting to get their work done on time and keep the partners happy.
Testimonials:
"Fun, steamy, and intelligent."--LA Weekly
"Licentious. Salacious. Those rich, naughty, mannered words from another era are given a cunning and contemporary twist in Leyse's reinvigoration of a classic literary form--the epistolary. At a time when so many 'real life' intimacies are overlooked because we're too tired to be seduced or to instigate some imaginative new direction in our mortgage anxious relationships, it's refreshing to be reminded of the pleasures, prurient and also just plain human and often very funny, of overhearing other people's intimacies. Fun and eroticism don't gotogether nearly often enough. They do in Leyse tit for tat. This is clever, humane, word-sensual writing."--Kris Saknussemm, author of Zanesville and Private Midnight
"You can feel the humidity in your own backyard as Angie and Ella soak up the summer in New York with various paramours with their super sexy, sex-positive attitudes. This is one of those books that, finally, puts sluts in their rightful places. They aren't shameful or shamed. They're proud of it, and having the time of their lives, and the reader will, too."--Susan DiPlacido, author of 24/7 and House Money
"Liaisons for Laughs re-enlivens a venerable literary tradition, the epistolary novel, but now in an arousingly contemporary form. The erotic emails of these two libidinous heroines recount their escapades with wicked charm and droll humor. Their tales memorialize the lusty landscape of the New York corporate world, and the bratty sophistication of their narrative voices makes their sensual adventures all the more appealing. Angie and Ella are trollops for our time, and Robert Scott Leyse is a Trollope for our time."--William T. Hathaway, author of A World of Hurt and Summer Snow
Anonymous
Posted May 29, 2009
Told completely in epistolary form, Angie & Ella captures a summer of lusty adventures experienced by the two leads. Though it's erotica, not romance, it is still a love story, albeit a different kind. As the women frolic and romp, so the reader gets to experience New York City and its various areas through their eyes and ears and skin. It's a novel that remembers to capture the sensuality of its settings and successfully translates the inherent eroticism of not just sexual acts, but also vibrant sensations like thunderstorms.
Fitting for its urbane leads, the language of the novel is both playful and polished. Alliteration and rhyming are common, as is lilty, stylized sentence structure. These women don't just take care and delight in their activities, but through the author's bold language, they revel in the fun of describing them to each other. Fans of erotica won't be disappointed, as there's a little something for nearly all tastes in here, just as fans of poetic prose will appreciate the fun and flirty language.
But there's also another love going on here. Angie and Ella are playmates who adore each other. While Leyse successfully touches upon -- and satirizes -- the superficial office dynamics and politics that go on, he leaves behind all that cattiness between these two genuine friends. They refreshingly operate and flourish in their adventures and relationship with each other by enjoying each other and each other's pleasure instead of engaging in prickly jealousies and one-upmanship -- unless that one-upmanship also comes from a place of jovial play.
And they do like to play, which is what makes this a great summer read. You can feel the humidity in your own backyard as Angie and Ella soak up the summer in New York with various paramours with their super sexy, sex-positive attitudes. Summer is the season for sluts. And this is one of those books that, finally, puts sluts in their rightful places. They aren't shameful or shamed. They're proud of it, and having the time of their lives, and the reader will, too.
Overview
Romps, Mischief, Pranks, and Legal Maneuvering
Angie & Ella are beautiful, bright, energetic, and fearless associates at a Manhattan law firm. They are fond of reliving their escapades, as well as concocting new ones, via email. Entirely epistolary, Liaisons for Laughs chronicles their frolics in the summer of 2003. Told in a gleefully sassy tone, and always rich with humor, their adventures include "Trailer Trollop Romp & Martin's Comeuppance," "Harlot Impersonation, a ...