July 29, 2015

Wednesday Writing Challenge: Sensory Deprivation

Welcome to the Wednesday Writing Challenge!


The Wednesday Challenges are open to all readers. In order to participate, simply comment on the challenge post with your response to the exercise. Not only is it good practice, but you could win something nifty and fun!

 

 

??  Want to Participate  ??




July Prize: Ebook copies of all Foreplay and Fangs erotic short stories

 

 PLEASE REMEMBER YOU MUST BE SIGNED UP FOR THE NEWSLETTER. OTHERWISE I MAY NOT BE ABLE TO NOTIFY YOU IF YOU WIN!


 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ And now...

***Here's Today's Challenge!***


Write about an everyday interaction.

Walking the dog.

Gardening.

Eating a meal.

Chatting at the office.

Spending time with a loved one.

Make up your own.


Describe the experience as though you are completely blind.

July 27, 2015

Talking Shop: Writing Serious Erotica



Last week we discussed some of the obstacles erotic authors face in terms of how our genre is viewed by others. Thanks to preconceptions over sex writing, expectations of publishers over sex and story structure, and the fact that readers are often seeking erotica more for graphic sexual arousal than anything else, there’s little appreciation for erotica and romance as a legitimate and more complex style of storytelling.




But another reason good erotic authors struggle to be more fully recognized for their actual talent is because there are a lot of “erotic” works on the market that are written badly. It’s not a rule of the genre…but thanks in part to those previously mentioned obstacles and in part to the ease with which writers can now self-published, there are lots and lots of amateur, untrained, aspiring writers putting out material that falls short of skillful writing. As our friend Tamsin points out in her article, there’s a mistaken assumption that just because a writer may have great sex, they can write great sex. I’ll go beyond that even more to say that many aspiring writers out there believe that because they may have story ideas, perhaps a supportive group of friends serving as beta readers, and access to self-publishing services, they are ready to start selling books.

July 24, 2015

Friday Free Read: All For One (Part 4)

Today's free read concludes our naughty version of The Three Musketeers.  If you've missed any of the previous installments, you can find them here:



The young creature who appeared on the steps of the Lady Di Winter’s home the next morning was a shocking sight to the servants; they had never seen the girl before, and her clothes seemed to indicate she’d be better off entering the back way, with other ladies who tended the kitchens.

She brought three men of the Musketeers—men that didn’t help the young woman’s case to be seen by the Baroness.  In the end, however, it was not a decision left to the poor servants; Milady herself descended to the foyer, to see the young girl firsthand, along with the three soldiers who accompanied her.

July 21, 2015

Wednesday Writing Challenge: What's in the Drawer?

Welcome to the Wednesday Writing Challenge!


The Wednesday Challenges are open to all readers. In order to participate, simply comment on the challenge post with your response to the exercise. Not only is it good practice, but you could win something nifty and fun!

 

 

??  Want to Participate  ??




July Prize: Ebook copies of all Foreplay and Fangs erotic short stories

 

 PLEASE REMEMBER YOU MUST BE SIGNED UP FOR THE NEWSLETTER. OTHERWISE I MAY NOT BE ABLE TO NOTIFY YOU IF YOU WIN!


 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 And now...

***Here's Today's Challenge!***





Start writing a story.

100 words.

It must include a drawer, BUT...

...The story CANNOT be about someone opening the drawer.  


 

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Hints and Tips:

What other important things can happen without opening a drawer?

What might you do if your character already knows what's in the drawer?

What if your character doesn't know what's in the drawer?

Why might your character not be able to open the drawer?  (Yes, you must come up with the reason the drawer cannot be opened).

 

Give me your best, darlings!!

 

July 19, 2015

Talking Shop: Why Can't Erotica Be a Real Genre?

Recently I read this article by one of my favorite erotic authors, Tamsin Flowers. In it, she raises some very good questions about the state of erotica, and the struggles erotic authors face. Mainly, (to summarize), that our fiction, no matter how well-written, carries with it the stigma of being little more than trashy, literary porn.



July 16, 2015

Friday Free Read: All For One (Part 3)

For today's Free Read, we continue our erotic re-imagining of The Three Musketeers.  If you missed it, here are the first two parts:
And now, enjoy Part 3:

Aramis



When Monsieur Athos and his companion, Aramis, returned to the room at the Parisian motel, they were not at all surprised to discover their good friend Porthos had made quick friends with the little French nun: upon entering they beheld him cradling the girl affectionately in his lap, trading murmurs and chuckles with her while one hand fearlessly caressed the shape of her small breast through the fabric of her little bodice.

“Well, well,” Athos said, grinning as he crossed his arms over his chest.  “Nice to see the two of you get along.”

July 14, 2015

Wednesday Writing Challenge: Broken Glass

Welcome to the Wednesday Writing Challenge!


The Wednesday Challenges are open to all readers. In order to participate, simply comment on the challenge post with your response to the exercise. Not only is it good practice, but you could win something nifty and fun!

 

 

??  Want to Participate  ??




July Prize: Ebook copies of all Foreplay and Fangs erotic short stories

 

 PLEASE REMEMBER YOU MUST BE SIGNED UP FOR THE NEWSLETTER. OTHERWISE I MAY NOT BE ABLE TO NOTIFY YOU IF YOU WIN!


 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 And now...

***Here's Today's Challenge!***




Start writing a story.

Lead in with just 5 sentences:

Begin with

"The sound of broken glass..."

 

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Give me your best, darlings!!

July 13, 2015

Talking Shop: The Girls That Started It All



This whole thing started with a vampire who refused to be a hero.



Have I been wrong?
Have I been wise
To shut
My eyes and play along?
~Natalie Merchant
Carnival


Readers of Lotus Petals might be surprised to know Rhiannon Donovan was the beginning of everything for me.

July 10, 2015

Friday Free Read: Her Dark Rewards




Austria, 1719
Rhiannon Donovan was a tall girl, almost of a height with her mentor, which was saying something. In life, the Viking Sölva had been a towering monster of a woman. Where Sölva was broad and muscular, though, pale as bleached bones, Rhiannon was skinny and slender. The younger vampire had humble breasts, like tender peaches, nearly imperceptible beneath the smooth, snug leather bodice she wore accentuating the lean lines of her frame. Her legs were long and strong, and Sölva was fond of telling her she looked almost boyish, until one noticed her lovely face, her full lips, and the long, thick lashes framing her yellow, leonine eyes. At the moment the left of these was bisected by the ugly thick line of a scar, remnants of a recent fight. The scar would heal in time, as all scars did for any child of the Five Demon nations, but for Rhiannon, the process was slower. It was a reminder of her inherent flaw. She was a bastard demon.

July 7, 2015

Wednesday Writing Challenge: 100 Words

Welcome to the Wednesday Writing Challenge!


The Wednesday Challenges are open to all readers. In order to participate, simply comment on the challenge post with your response to the exercise. Not only is it good practice, but you could win something nifty and fun!

 

 

??  Want to Participate  ??




July Prize: Ebook copies of all Foreplay and Fangs erotic short stories

 

 PLEASE REMEMBER YOU MUST BE SIGNED UP FOR THE NEWSLETTER. OTHERWISE I MAY NOT BE ABLE TO NOTIFY YOU IF YOU WIN!


 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 And now...

***Here's Today's Challenge!***



Expand your imagination.

Write a 100-word scene 

Describing the first time you walk into your new lover's bedroom.

 

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Hints and Tips:

.

What are some of the first and most important things you'll notice about the bedroom?

Are these turn-ons? Turn-offs? Quirks? Are they cute? Scary? Strange? Will they start a conversation or send you running?


Give me your best, darlings!!

July 6, 2015

Talking Shop: Looking at Lesbian Fiction


Today is the re-release of my first and favorite novel, Lotus Petals. This vampire romance tells the story of two women--the would-be bride of an undead daimyo, and his favorite human courtesan--discovering a connection with one another over any bond they've felt before.


http://champagnebooks.com/store/index.php?id_product=591&controller=product
Lotus Petals at Champagne Books


I adore writing about women who love women. But what do you think when you hear the words lesbian erotica? For too many, it seems the answer is, "Not for me."