Lying In Bed (Paperback)

~ (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"If seduction is an art, then Rose is one of the masters." -- Boookreporter.com

"M.J. Rose writes fearlessly about sex. This is a true erotic thriller. The end will take your breath away." -- Lisa Tucker, author of Shout Down the Moon, on The Halo Effect

"Rose is screwing with literature. And I love it!" -- Susie Bright

"Rose writes erotic better than just about anyone..." -- BookBitch.com

"Rose's work will appeal to anyone looking for a hot and heavy story that arouses while it entertains." -- The Chicago Sun Times - David J. Montgomery

Lying in Bed draws upon the rich tradition of Anais Nin... who made this genre into an art form. -- Eroticaromancewriters.com - Tracy Zappala

Rose has a luscious sensual way with words. Truly a literary erotic treat for the senses and the mind. -- Erotic Readers Association - Kathy Kulig

Product Description

"Longing makes you weak. It's an emotion I've managed to avoid for the past eight years."

There was a time when Marlowe Wyatt had abandoned herself to the unrestrained pleasures of love; she'd been bold and unashamed, giving her heart and body to her lover without inhibition or hesitation. Until she was betrayed. It's ironic, then, that she now earns a living composing love letters for clients incapable of communicating desire -- erotic fantasies she skillfully creates with her head, but never her heart . . . deliberately disconnected from her passionate core.

Her newest client is about to challenge all that. From the moment of their first encounter, Gideon Brown ignites in her an overpowering hunger like none she's ever known, and a vulnerability she thought she'd vanquished. As the powerful attraction that sizzles between them inspires Marlowe's best work, sensations and desires she'd long held in check sweep her toward the brink of surrender. Yet her own fear, plus thoughts of the woman for whom Gideon hired Marlowe to write the letters, holds her back. But for how long?

Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Spice; Autographed by Author edition (June 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0373605080
• ISBN-13: 978-0373605088
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 4.8 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #604,781 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Rose Shows You How Erotica Should Be Written, August 12, 2006

By	Hotclue "aka Beth Anderson, author and book r... (IL USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

Marlowe Wyatt works in a New York boutique writing erotic love letters for people who can't manage the words themselves. Still grieving for a lover who was killed in an accident before she could explain dark secrets from her past, her life is empty and unhappy, and she doesn't want it any other way because those secrets are still, years later, just too painful. Then a man comes into the store and hires her to write five letters for someone--only he wants to be part of the process, not just a customer.

They begin to visit various places together to explore different sensory possibilities for these letters--for which she's going to earn two thousand dollars--but unexpected feelings for this man, Gideon Brown, begin to boil to the surface.

Cold words in a review can't begin to express the beautiful prose Rose uses all throughout this story, in every syllable, every nuance. Rose is a master at subtle prose anyhow, I've read all of her books and she always tells her stories with strength and brilliant, deft class. While this book doesn't have the swift complexity of her thrillers, it's impossible to put down once you start reading because of the way her soft words weave you into the fabric of her story.

This book outdoes any other erotica novel I've ever read. Rose puts to sleep once and for all the myth that in order to write erotica, you have to use every single physical movement and so-called erotic euphemism you can drag off of a long, long list of euphemisms. But it's not in the words, it's what the author does with the words she chooses. Read M.J. Rose's LYING IN BED and you'll see how it's done when it's done well. BA

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Erotic and haunting, September 9, 2007

By	CoffeeGurl (MA) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)

Lying In Bed tells the story of Marlowe Wyatt, a woman who writes erotic letters and stories for others. She brings the depths of her secret desires and longings through her creative and sensual writing, though she is unaware of the fact that she does that. It is the enigmatic Gideon who points it out to her. When Gideon enters her life, Marlowe is forced to face her inner demons, including old issues regarding her stepbrother, her cynicism and her past relationships with men.

M.J. Rose has once again created a story that is both erotic and haunting. I have noticed that most, if not all, of her novels are based on women who repress themselves one way or another, with personal issues and angsts that run deep. The erotica here is subtle, not the in-your-face stuff you often find in romantic erotica these days. Though I like the aforementioned in-your-face stuff, I also love this kind of writing, for it reminds me of authors like Anais Nin and D.H. Lawrence. Spice is a great imprint, it seems, with great eye for erotic writing. I hope this Harlequin imprint will deliver a variety of romantic erotica -- from somewhat literary (like this one) to stories that are just sexy and fun. I also like to read contemporary romantica with no gimmicks (meaning not paranormal, suspense, whatever). Just a well-told story with equal amounts of eroticism and romance. All sorts are great for reading, depends on the mood I'm in. If you like beautiful prose and sensual reading, you will love Lying In Bed. I also recommend the other books by this author.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Erotic fiction that will not disappoint!, July 13, 2006

By	Blaine Greenfield "eclectic reader" (Belle Meade, NJ) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

M.J. Rose has become one of my favorite authors . . . so whenever
I see that she has a new book out, I try to read it as quickly as
possible.

LYING IN BED, her latest, did not disappoint . . . it is billed as
an "erotic fiction novel," and though it is a different from her
earlier efforts (that fit more in the suspense category), I
still was drawn-in by the strong story line.

This one features a woman who ghostwrites erotic letters for
others . . . when a mysterious client enters her life, the letters
all of a sudden become real to her--especially after her first
lover reappears.

Though the book is seemingly directed more to women,
men will enjoy it too.

There were several passages that caught my attention; among
them:

* "It's not success that I'm talking about. It's interaction. When we
paint or sculpt or assemble a collage, we're using our senses and
our souls to make something out of thin air. We're saying something.
And the act of saying it, and the process we go through in presenting it,
doesn't teach us everything we need to know until we can discuss it and
argue about it and listen to other people talking about it."

* But a first kiss is none of those things. It is an invitation to a sensate
world that is yet unknown. It is dark in the light and light in the dark. It
is foreign in its tastes and smells. It may begin with your lips but it
moves along your body in a way that brings your blood to the surface. It
turns you inside out so that you become your feelings and your thoughts
retreat, bowing to the physicality of the kiss's moment. The rest of you
withdraws to allow the coming together of a mere two inches of flesh that
fly you to an unknown place--the way you can travel to a new city
or town and recognize that you are in its center without knowing the
particular buildings, foliage, storefronts.

* I knew better than to be fooled by a man's passion. Or my own. Lust
is so fickle, motivated by so many of the wrong impulses. Fooling us into
thinking it has some significance when it has none.