Tag Archives: Sh! Women’s Store

A Night Visit with D. L. King

It’s my pleasure to welcome the amazing D. L. King to A Hopeful Romantic. I’m especially honoured that she took the time out of her whirlwind tour of England in the wee hours after a fabulous reading in Blackpool to let me ask her a few questions.

KD: Welcome to the UK, D.L.! It’s such a pleasure to have you here. Can you give us a quick update of your plans for this visit? I know there are some fab events happening, and we’re all very excited.

DL:  Hi KD, thanks so much for having me. It’s half two a.m. so I can’t be held responsible for the understandability of this post, but I’ll do my best.  The reading in Blackpool at the No. 5 Café was brilliant!  Ashley Lister put it together.  He, Remittance Girl and I each read three pieces.  Actually, Ashley had to teach a class, so he had Vicky Ellis fill in for him.  She read two of his pieces, and she was amazing.  He made it back for the final piece from his upcoming novel, Dragon Desire.  There was an open mic, as well, and the place was packed.  What a great night.

I’m returning to London in the morning—it is the morning…yeah, well, later this morning.  Here’s the rest of my UK schedule:

Erotic Writers Meet

Le Pain Quotidien

70 Wardour Street, Soho

Saturday, November 24, 2012

2:30 to 5:30 p.m.

We’ll have a discussion about editing and publishing erotic fiction. This is a  round table discussion, so please come and participate!

50 Shades of Seduction or How To Get What You Want

Sh! Women’s Emporium

57 Hoxton Square (Corner of Hoxton Square and Coronet Street)

Tube: Old Street

Saturday, November 24, 2012

6:30 to 8:30ish

Yes, I’ll be rushing right over there from Soho!  We’re going to be talking about new attractions to kinky sex and dipping your toes into BDSM. How do you seduce your partner into playing the games you want to play in bed, or elsewhere? This is a “Women Only” class and requires reservations.

D. L. King and Friends

Sh! Women’s Emporium  (Same directions as above)

Wednesday, November 28th, 2012

6:30 p.m. to ?

This is the big blow out. Help me celebrate my last night in London. I’ve published 17 UK writers in my various anthologies; nine of them will be joining me at Sh! for the biggest reading they’ve ever hosted! Many of these people I haven’t had the opportunity to meet, so I very excited. Who’ll be there?

Janine Ashbless, Jacqueline Applebee, Jacqueline Brocker, Essemoh Teepee, Ciara Fin, K. D. Grace, Remittance Girl and NJ Streitberger and me. Possibly more, although we’ll have to wait to see.

We’ll be reading from Where the Girls Are, The Sweetest Kiss, Carnal Machines, Voyeur Eyes Only, Seductress and even from my super-secret, won’t be released until April, Under Her Thumb!

KD: Wow! What a way to spend your time in the UK! And in such fab company too! I can hardly wait! I see from your blog that your visit to the UK is a mini book tour for your exciting new anthology, Seductress: Tales of Immortal Desire. Can you tell us a little bit about this anthology and what inspired you to edit an anthology of tales about succubi.

DL:  That’s exactly it; it’s an anthology of succubus erotica.  I’d gotten addicted to Richelle Mead’s succubus series and then addicted to Lost Girl (originally a Canadian television show, now being produced by the Sci Fi channel in the US and thought we needed to have a book of succubus erotica.  Here’s an added bonus about succubus erotica: succubi, by their very nature, are dominant, so succubus erotica tends to be femme dom erotica.  Cool, huh?

KD: This is totally cool! I’m especially fond of succubi too, since one figures prominently in my latest novel. I’m very excited about this anthology! Tell us, D. L. why do you think the dark, the paranormal and things that go bump in the night mesh so well with the erotic?

DL:  Jeez, you really expect me to THINK at 3 in the morning? Well, OK.  I think all those things, including sex are mysterious and exhilarating.  They make our pulse race and excite our senses, so when you put two of them together, they tend to enhance each other.  I know that seems simplistic, but if I weren’t so fried, I could discuss the relationship for quite a while.  Maybe I will at one of the venues—or maybe not, but it would be a good discussion, don’t you think?

KD: Definitely a great discussion! And it was rather mean of me the throw it at you in the wee hours when it deserves to be savoured. Sounds like you’re here in the UK to work, DL. Will you be making any time for a little fun too? If so, may I ask what?

DL:  Oh, yeah.  I plan to check out Portobello Market in Notting Hill. I’ve never been in London during a market day before.  I’ve also got tickets on the Eurostar to Paris.  I’ve never been to Paris and plan to spend a day wandering, taking pictures, eating and drinking.  I really hope it isn’t raining…  I also want to catch up with friends, have some good food and drink and just enjoy London.  I don’t know what else I might get up to, but I’m sure I’ll find plenty to do.

KD: Sounds like the perfect way to spend your down time! Looking down the list of delicious goodies you’ve penned or edited, I’m struck by the variety – everything from steam punk to erotica for couples. Dare I ask what type of erotica is your favourite?

DL:  That’s easy: femdom erotica.  But I really can’t say I’ve written anything I haven’t liked.  I suppose I’m most comfortable with femdom because that’s who I am, though.  I’ve got my first anthology of femdom coming out this spring; April 9, to be exact, which happens to be the day before my birthday, so what a great birthday present.  I’m really excited about the book, Under Her Thumb: Erotic Stories of Female Domination.  It’s hot!  But I’m also excited about my latest call for submissions for the exact opposite: Slave Girls: Erotic Stories of Submission.  Check out the call at the Erotica Readers and Writers Association (http://www.erotica-readers.com).

KD: What’s coming up next from D.L King?

DL: Oops, well, I guess I just answered that question… I’m also working on the third book in the Melinoe series.  This one’s called A Slave of Melinoe and it’s Adam’s story.  If you’ve read the books, you might remember his a Mistress Susan’s boy.  Can’t tell you when it will be out, but I am finally working on it.  I’ve got a lot of new stories coming out soon in books edited by Rachel Kramer Bussel, Alison Tyler and Maxim Jakubowski.  I guess I’ve been busy lately.

Anyway, thanks for posting my ramblings and I hope people will come out to the various venues in the next few days.  I think we’ll have a lot of fun.

KD: Thanks for stopping by, D.L. Can’t wait to see you in London soon!

About D. L. King:

D. L. King spends an inordinate amount of time reading and writing smut in her New York City apartment and postage stamp sized garden.  She is the editor of Seductress:Erotic Tales of  Immortal Desire, The Harder She Comes: Butch/Femme Erotica, the Independent Publisher Awards Gold medalist, Carnal Machines: Steampunk Erotica, The Sweetest Kiss: Ravishing Vampire Erotica and the Lambda Literary Award Finalist, Where the Girls Are: Urban Lesbian Erotica. D. L. King is the publisher and editor of the erotica review site, Erotica Revealed.  The author of dozens of short stories, her work can be found in various editions of Best Lesbian Erotica, Best Women’s Erotica, The Mammoth Book of Best New Erotica, as well as such titles as One Night Only, Power Play, Lucious, Hurts So Good, Fast Girls, Gotta Have It, Please Ma’am, Sweet Love, and Frenzy, among others.  She is the author of two novels of female domination and male submission, The Melinoe Project and The Art of Melinoe.  Find out more at dlkingerotica.blogspot.com and dlkingerotica.com.

When D.L. King in not globe-trotting all over England, find her here:

http://dlkingerotica.blogspot.com
http://www.dlkingerotica.com
http://twitter.com/d_l_king

 

Erotic End to October with Smut and Magic and Velvet Tongue

Smut and Magic Rocks!

Partying with the Sh! Ladiez is always fun, and never more so than when it’s a launch party. A launch party at Sh! is always the best, and never better than when it’s a shared launch party! That means Smut and Magic pushed all my buttons for a fabulous evening in London.

I had the honour of sharing this launch party with very talented Smutters, Victoria Blisse and Lucy Felthouse, who were launching their naughty new anthology, Smut in the City, co-edited by these two lovelies, and filled with stories about, well, smut in the city, any city, lots of cities, lots of sexy nastiness written by lots of the very best and hottest erotica authors. Wow, what an anthology! And one I was very excited to share the celebration with.

The party was perfectly timed for me as well. I was the ‘magic’ part of Smut and Magic – well not me per se, but my new novel, Riding the Ether, book two of the Lakeland Heatwave Trilogy and the continuation of the sexy battle of the Elemental Coven against a very nasty, very bad-ass demon, Deacon. And all this just four days before Halloween!

There was the usual combination of fun, filth and fizz. And might I add food, in the form of delectable sweet treats furnished by Lucy’s OH, Ian Hanes, and the Queen of Multi-tasking, Victoria Blisse! There was yumminess on every level!

Of course it wouldn’t be a party without some seriously cool giveaways, some by The House of Erotica, some by each of the authors. The Sh! Ladiez, led by the fabulous Jo, passed out balloons containing a raffle for  one of Sh!’s much-coveted goodie baskets.

When Sh! closed, the party spilled out on the street and over to the basement of the local Byron, accompanied by three of my favourite stunning stars of erotica, Remittance Girl, Kay Jaybee, and Lexie Bay. You can probably guess the topic of discussion. It’s what you’d expect writers to talk about; what makes a good story, what captures the reader’s heart. Of course with the 50SoG phenomenon, these are questions everyone is asking. Times for erotica writers, and for all writers, are changing rapidly. Exciting stuff.

The conversation continued into the wee hours, and once again, I was reminded how lucky I am to be in the company of such a supportive, such an amazing writing community. A special thanks to Lucy and Victoria who made the evening thrice as fun. And that’s a whole lot of fun!

Velvet Tongue pre-Halloween Soiree

As most of you know, I’ve been very much looking forward to reading for Ernesto Serazele’s fabulous Velvet Tongue Erotic Literary Soiree. With it’s pre-Halloween theme it was the perfect setting for me to read about witches and ghosts and demons and sex magic. Shoreditch is such an exciting area of London, and only a few blocks away from Sh! Women’s Store, is the fabulous Bar Kick, where you can get a mean hamburger, play foosball, and once a quarter down in the basement, you can hear naughty poetry, prose, see sexy performances and if you’re lucky see someone get their kit off while they offer you the best in performance poetry.

Rubyyy Jones

 

It was London in the end of October, so naturally the night of the performance it was pouring down rain. We arrived early, wondering if the horrendous weather would put off any of the people planning to attend.

Ernesto Sarezale

We needn’t have worried. By the time Ernesto got the evening under way, the place was packed out, some people dressed as devils and as naughty school girls, some people dressed for fast clothing removal. Me, I was disguised as a mild-mannered American tourist out with her hubby  for a taste of London night life … You don’t believe me??? Well, neither did anyone else …

S. P. Howarth

In addition to some amazing open mic participation, I was lucky enough to share the stage with Anthony Howell, Ernesto Sarezale , S. P. Howarth, and Rubyyy Jones, with a bawdy appearance by Ant Smith.

Ernesto and S.P Howarth both got their kit off while reading fabulous poetry. Of course I hardly noticed the removal of said kit because their poetry was so stunning … You don’t believe me??? Neither did anyone else … Seriously though! Wow! Stunning … poetry!

Demon possession? Or did I just forget where I put my drink?

The best part of the whole evening was just being in a place with so many people who were celebrating sex and all things erotic. That’s definitely my kind of company. Thanks, Ernesto, for inviting me to read. It was truly a fantastic experience. (Thanks Ant Smith and Ernesto for the photos! )

Just Who is Behind the Smut and Magic ?

Smut and Magic

The time is fast approaching! The event I’ve been waiting for since February! Smut and Magic is a launch party times three! I’m honoured to be partying with Lucy Felthouse and Victoria Bliss on Saturday October 27th at Sh! Women’s Store. Lucy and Victoria will be launching Smut in the City, the fabulous new anthology they schemed, dreamed and co-edited. I’ve seen the list of writers included, and all I can say is WOW! A must read!

Smut In The City will be accompanied by Sex Magic in the Lake District, as I launch book two of my Lakeland Heatwave Trilogy, Riding the Ether. I know from experienc Lucy and Victoria know how to party, and the Ladiez at Sh! — well that goes without saying. There’ll be fun, fizz, filth and magic.

As time grows closer and the three of us plan and scheme naughty reads, yummy giveaways and lots of party fun in general, I thought it would be a great opportunity to intruduce you to my two lovely Partners in Smut and let them give you just a tiny taste of their magic. So please welcome Victoria Blisse and Lucy Felthouse to A Hopeful Romantic!

Victoria Blisse

I never really contemplated becoming an author as an actual proper career plan but I always had it at the top of my list of ‘favourite fantasy jobs I’d love’ just above Physio for Manchester United and paid chocolate taster. How did I get into erotica? I tend to blame my husband.

You see, I had a dream, an erotic dream and that damn dream would not leave me alone so the wise and wonderful husband told me to write it down, so I did. Kev then told me I should post it up on the internet for the world to see, so I did and I continued to post stories for free on literotica.com for many years and still do it now and then just for the nostalgia of it.

So it’s all his fault.

I have a lot of short stories and novellas to my name now. I write for Total-E-Bound, Xcite, HarperCollins Mischief and House of Erotica who are all British based as well as a few American publishers and I will be published with both Sweetmeats and Cleis press in the near future! I also apparently edit anthologies now. I’ve edited several Bigger Briefs Anthologies and Smut by the Sea and Smut in the City with Lucy Felthouse, fellow Northern Bird and partner in crime. I have an average of one book a month released and spend a lot of time on facebook http://facebook.com/victoriablisse , twitter http://twitter.com/victoriablisse and the like promoting my work. As well as keeping my blog updated http://victoriablisse.co.uk  I’ve also had the pleasure of reading live to audiences and meeting up with other erotica writers in the flesh as it were. I count many of them as good friends, there’s a real sense of community in the erotica and erotic romance (what I write more often than not) worlds. I am always amazed by how supportive my fellow authors can be and I can’t wait to meet up with my pals at Sh! Again for Smut and Magic!

Excerpt from Mad Fer it in Manchester featured in Smut in the City.

We munch on in silence and watch the kids hurtling through the water.

“I don’t know how they do it,” I laugh, “that water must be freezing.”

“Oh, it looks fun to me,” Stuart grins. “And I’m so hot in this damn suit.”

“Yes you are,” I reply without thinking and his smile expands to cover his whole face. I try to find some way of covering up my little slip. “So go on then, I dare you to stand on there with the kiddies.”

“I bet you I can do it and not get wet.”

“How much?”

“Winner gets a kiss.”

Now that sounds like a win-win situation to me.

“You’re on!” I settle back in the grass. He jumps up, pulls off his jacket and drops it to the floor beside me. It smells of him, spicy and fresh. I resist the urge to run the heavy material against my cheek. I carry on watching him and yes, he’s doing it. He’s standing in the middle of the fountain. It’s completely dry now but it’s obviously going to spurt soon. The little kids are laughing nervously, anticipating the cooling jets that will explode beneath them at any minute. I hold my breath. Will he get wet?

“Ha, see!” He taunts as the water shoots up a metre or so away from him, “told you.”

I’m just about to respond when a spout of water comes to my rescue and squirts up directly beside him, showering him in ice cold water.

“You were saying?” I clap my hands in delight.

He just laughs and wipes his wet hair from his eyes. His white shirt is clinging to his chest now and I can see the outline of his nipples and the dip of his bellybutton.

“Come on in, Lauren, the water is fine.”

“No, we need to go get you dry.” I look at my watch. “We’ve only got twenty minutes.”

“Okay, bring me my jacket.”

I stand and walk towards the fountain. He’s perched on the edge and holds out his hand. I pass him the jacket but he grabs hold of me and pulls me towards him. I follow him with a yell, leaping up the step and onto the wet marble top.

“What are you doing?” I squeal, “I’ll get soaked.”

“That’s what I am hoping for.” He spins me round right into the path of one of the jets. I scream as the water soaks through my skirt and my blouse and hits my heated cheeks. It’s icy cold and all my senses jump alive from the shock.

“You little…” Just in time I remember we’re surrounded by kids so I refrain from calling him a nasty name. He laughs, grabs me around the waist and pulls me to him.

“I like you wet,” he whispers, wiping a strand of clinging hair from my face. My gaze stays locked with his and I nervously lick my top lip. He follows the action with the movement of his eyes and then the space between our mouths is only millimetres and suddenly he’s kissing me.

Lucy Felthouse

Lucy is a graduate of the University of Derby, where she studied Creative Writing. During her first year, she was dared to write an erotic story – so she did. It went down a storm and she’s never looked back. Lucy has had stories published by Cleis Press, Constable and Robinson, Decadent Publishing, Ellora’s Cave, Evernight Publishing, House of Erotica, Ravenous Romance, Resplendence Publishing, Sweetmeats Press and Xcite Books. She is also the editor of Uniform Behaviour, Seducing the Myth, Smut by the Sea and Smut in the City. Find out more at http://www.lucyfelthouse.co.uk. Join her on Facebook and Twitter, and subscribe to her newsletter at: http://eepurl.com/gMQb9

Blurb:

Sultry, smouldering sex in the city is the theme of this erotic anthology, edited by Victoria Blisse and Lucy Felthouse.

From the stifling heat of the London Underground to the crumbling walls of Rome’s Colosseum, Smut in the City has it all. Whatever your interpretation of sultry urban sex, there’s something nestling between the covers for you. Lusty couples, horny office workers, hunky bakers and gardeners, tourists and the Mafia are portrayed for your titillation in this exciting collection of stories from erotica’s finest authors.

Excerpt:

Exiting the Colosseo Metro station, Libby shot a grin at her boyfriend, Ciaran. “I don’t think we’ll have any trouble finding it, do you?”

“Hmm?” Ciaran frowned, then turned his gaze in the direction that Libby was pointing. He gave a sheepish smile. “No, I don’t think we will. Shall we put the map away?”

Libby nodded, and Ciaran spun round so she should take the map and load it into his backpack. Zipping it back up, she patted it twice to signal she was done. Ciaran turned and held out his hand. She took it, and together they took their lives in their hands crossing the busy Roman road and walked to the Colosseum.

Despite the early hour, the queue was already considerable, and the couple exchanged a wry look. But then Libby remembered something. “Hey, don’t look so glum babe. We can skip the queue, remember?”

Ciaran frowned. “We can?”

Pulling a small credit card shaped and sized item from her pocket, she replied, “Yes! Our Roma cards mean we can get in quicker. That was one of the selling points the rep kept going on about when she was trying to flog them to us.”

K D Grace

Me, you already know, so here’s just a touch of magic from book two of the Lakeland Heatwave Trilogy, Riding the Ether.

Excerpt:

The therapist straightened in her chair and folded her hands together on top of her desk blotter like she was about to say a prayer. ‘Just get comfortable, Alice, like you normally do when you meditate. That’s it, just relax. Feet flat on the floor. Shoulders soft. Deep, even breaths. And when you’re ready, I want you to go to that place where you meet this man of your imagination, go there just as you are, relaxed, comfortable, unafraid. Go there and just be in that space and just …’

And she was. She was there, surround by, well, surrounded by nothing. Just empty space. How could there be just empty space? But it was alright. Empty space she could handle. Empty space was alright, as long as she was there alone. There was barely time for a mental sigh of relief before her blood chilled in her veins and it was as though a shadow had crossed over her consciousness. She couldn’t hear him, she couldn’t see him, but she knew. Dear Goddess, she knew! He was there.

‘I’ve missed you, my darling. Why have you stayed away so long?’ His voice was in her ear, like he was right behind her, no, more like he was inside her, right there with her. Her skin crawled, like it wanted to escape her flesh. Her throat ached with a scream it couldn’t quite form, a scream for help from Kate. Her nipples were suddenly painful, and she was wet. Oh dear Goddess, she was so wet and swollen. She whimpered desperately and tore at the fly of her trousers.

‘Oh my poor little witch, my poor little darling, do you see how you suffer when you stay away from me?’

She clawed at her pentacle for comfort, but found none. He only chuckled softly. She could feel his voice deep in her chest making her nipples even harder. ‘But all of your suffering is over now, my beauty. I shall make you feel better, and that is what you want, isn’t it? You want me to make you feel better.’

Come join the fun!

That’s 27th October

Sh! Women’s Store 6:30- 900pm

 

 

Autumn Heat

Happy Autumn, everyone! And wow if it isn’t shaping up to be an exciting one on the erotica and Romance front.

Freebies

To celebrate the upcoming launch of Riding the Ether, book two of my paranormal erotic Lakeland Heatwave trilogy, book one, Body Temperature and Rising is now FREE for a limited time on Amazon UK Kindle (hopefully it’ll be on US Kindle soon) and on iTunes! BTR has been very well received and was on Violet Blue’s honourable mentions list of Top Twelve Sex Books 2011, and the only novel on the list! Now’s your chance to see what the sex magic is all about. (follow the buy-links on the above link for both)

The Gift, the first volume of the trilogy edition of my novel, The Pet Shop is available free on Kindle through tomorrow, so grab your free naughty Pet while you can.

Events:

October is chock-a-block with steamy events to chase away that autumn chill, so get out your diary and make a note.

The Guildford Book Festival:

For the first time ever, erotica is a part of the Guildford Book Festival, and I’m very honoured to be included in this historic first! It all kicks off on Wednesday October 24th.

The fabulous Della Galton will teach a workshop on how to write erotica from 2-4 pm. Then on Wednesday evening I’ll be on the panel called 50 Erotica! More than the Bare Facts (wonder where they got that title???) I’ll be in the very best company with Xcite Book’s MD, Hazel Cushion, author and editor, Liz Coldwell, and Della Galton. If that’s not exciting enough, the lovely Jane Wenham-Jones will chair the panel.

Smut and Magic

The event I’ve been waiting for since February! Smut and Magic is a launch party times three! I’m honoured to be partying with Lucy Felthouse and Victoria Bliss on Saturday October 27th at Sh! Women’s Store. Lucy and Victoria will be launching Smut in the City, the fabulous new anthology they schemed, dreamed and co-edited. I’ve seen the list of writers included, and all I can say is WOW! A must read!

Smut In The City will be accompanied by Sex Magic in the Lake District, as I launch book two of my Lakeland Heatwave Trilogy, Riding the Ether. I know from experience that Lucy and Victoria know how to party, and the Ladiez at Sh! — well that goes without saying. There’ll be fun, fizz, filth and magic. Be sure to put it in your diary and come party with us.

That’s 27th October

Sh! Women’s Store 6:30- 900pm

The Velvet Tongue, London’s Erotic Literary Soirée

Well, you know me. I don’t want to go home when the party is just getting started, so I’ll be taking Riding the Ether and Lakeland sex magic across the street to visit Ernesto Sarezale at Bar Kick for Velvet Tongue’s, pre-Halloween Autumn Edition on Monday the 29th of October.

I’m so excited to be Ernesto’s guest, and even more excited about the fabulous line-up. I’ll be sharing the stage with poet, S.P. Haworth, and there’ll be special appearances by Rubyy Jones and Itzi Urrutia. There’ll also be an open mic, and other surprises, so I’m expecting to be well-titillated. Come join the fun, and you will be too!

That’s 29th October

7-10:30 at Bar Kick

New Releases

I’ve had my head down writing hard all summer, and it’s paying off. I’m so excited to have two new novels launching this autumn.

Riding the Ether

Book Two of The Lakeland Heatwave Trilogy will launch 27th October. I’m very excited to continue the sexy, magical and dangerous adventures of the Elemental Coven.

Blurb:

Cassandra Larkin keeps her ravenous and dangerous sexual appetite secret until she seduces Anderson in the mysterious void of the Ether. Anderson is the sexy, insatiable ghost who can give her exactly what she needs and come to no harm. But no matter how steamy it is, sex in a dangerous place like the Ether is asking for trouble. When the treacherous demon, Deacon, discovers the truth about the origin of Cassandra’s powerful lust, he plots to use her sex magic for his long awaited vengeance on Tara Stone and the Elemental Coven, who practice their own powerful brand of sex magic.

Cassandra must embrace the lust and sexuality she fears and learn to use its power. She must stand with Anderson, Tara, and the Elemental Coven against Deacon’s wrath or suffer the loss of friendship, magic and love, all of which she only now dares to believe herself worthy.

An Executive Decision

My lips have been sealed about the exciting things going on with my Grace Marshall romance, An Executive Decision, but all shall be made clear when An Executive Decision, the first novel of The Executive Decision Trilogy, is launched in November. More on that very soon.

Autumn 2012 is shaping up to be VERY hot. In addition to launches, readings and more exciting adventures to be revealed, there’s a line-up of fabulous new guests and intriguing new series on A Hopeful Romantic, so keep your eyes open. The fun is just getting started. I promise enough romantic warmth and erotic heat to keep you hot under the collar clear through winter.

Delores Deluxe Talks Body Confidence the Burlesque Way

One of the huge advantages of living so close to London is that I get the chance to rub shoulders with some of London’s most fascinating, most amazing people, and one of those people is the totally delicious Delores Deluxe.

Delores is an established performer, producer and promoter on the London burlesque and cabaret scene. She is a founder and leader of London’s longest running troupe,  The Kitten Club Burlesque Cabaret which have been performing around London for 7 years.

Delores also manages all the entertainments for Volupte, one of London’s premiere venues.

Having a 10 year background in classical acting and musical theatre, she was delighted to stumble into the emerging burlesque scene in London and to put her skills to an exciting new use. Delores has an all-star troupe of Kittens, all very successful in their own rights within the industry. She has led the troupe to many successes and glamorous accolades including two West End Shows, residencies at Volupte and Madame JoJo’s, Performances at Cafe de Paris, Claridges and Bush Hall and also regular musings on the airwaves of BBC London.

She takes her role of making the world a more glamorous and stylish place very seriously, campaigning for several global, worthy causes such as The Anti-Training Shoe Society, Unsightly Fleece and Hoody Awareness, Grey Underwear Anonymous and the recently formed Lipstick Association, ‘Keeping it Red’.

Delores is here today to tell us a little bit about something that effects us all, Body Confidence

KD: Welcome back to A Hopeful Romantic, Delores. It’s always a pleasure to have you here. Could you tell us what inspired you to begin a course on Body Confidence.

Delores: I have been working in burlesque for the last 8 years and started teaching burlesque around 3 years ago. After our shows, I was always amazed at the reaction from the women in the audience who would regularly come up and tell us, not just how much they’d enjoyed the show but also how inspiring they’d found it to see a variety of real women of different shapes and sizes onstage. They would often ask us for advice on anything from lingerie, corsetry, confidence, fashion and even their sex lives!?

When I started teaching burlesque more regularly with The House of Burlesque Academy, I found that a few ladies in the class would have real issues with their bodies and their confidence and would often ask to talk to me after the class to discuss these issues. I decided then there was probably a market for a class more tailored towards focussing on positive body image, perhaps with a burlesque twist!

KD: Men don’t seem to have the same issues with their bodies that women do, why do you think that is? Or do you think they’re just better at hiding it?

Delores: I think men, particularly younger men, have issues too, maybe they are just less open about discussing them?

KD: What do you see as the main cause for women’s over-all lack of body confidence?

Delores: I think there are many causes – I’m sure that many people have long term deep seated issues with their bodies that a couple of hours in a burlesque class won’t be able to address – I am not a psychologist! On a more general level, I do think the media, with airbrushed and enhanced images on every magazine, has set a very unrealistic ‘body ideal’ for most women

While I can understand that fashion magazines do, and have done this for years, my real hatred is for the newer celebrity magazines where we see women berated on the front cover for having lost or gained weight, wearing unflattering clothes or nipping out without make-up. This sets a really dangerous example and puts enormous pressure on all women, particularly younger girls who feel they have to look a certain way to be accepted.

KD: Do you think women’s attitudes toward their bodies are getting better or worse with all of the interconnectedness of the internet and social media?

Delores: There are definite negatives and positives to the internet – the digital age of Photoshop (or similar) means that so many images we see online are not real and while this does make the pressure and negativity widespread, it can also offer support and positivity.

I’ve had horrible things said about images of me online in the past but these days I choose not to read them!

Delores: Self-acceptance! I try to focus on the fact that we are all individual and unique and to bring in the burlesque theory that there is no ideal, it’s about being the perfect version of yourself.

KD: What do you think is most detrimental to our body confidence?

Delores: Our own judgement – we shouldn’t compare or try to be something or someone we’re not. I also think it’s absolutely vital to be aware of body shape and type and dress accordingly – looking like a million dollars in something that really suits your figure will do great things for your confidence.

KD: It seems to me that pop culture and air brush mag covers and cosmetic surgery readily available for a price take their toll on any woman’s body confidence. How can we combat that influence when we’re surrounded by it every day?

Delores: We have to be realistic and recognise it for what it is. Look around you? You can see that most women don’t look like the models on the covers of magazines and that attractiveness really is a lot more than a flawless face and perfect body.

KD: In the burlesque performances I’ve seen, I notice that there are women of all body sizes and shapes, and the confidence and sensuality all of these women exude on stage is amazing. Why, and how, does burlesque helps build body confidence?

Delores: Burlesque is a very feminine art form –  the costuming alone encourages positive body image by focussing on accentuating curves and celebrating being womanly. It also makes us look slightly differently at what is sexy,  perhaps seeing things as they were in the 1930’s, 40’s and 50’s when women’s bodies weren’t under the pressure they are now and a feminine figure was something to be aspired to.

It’s also important to remember that most professional burlesque performers will have had a background in acting, singing or dance so they are trained performers with talent, skill and personality which does breed a confidence that is very attractive and seductive.

Personally having spent my previous career in acting and musical theatre, burlesque was a breath of fresh air for me, finally being celebrated for being unique and individual rather than feeling like the odd one out a lot of the time!

KD: How much does our attitude toward our bodies influence the other areas of our lives?

Delores: Very much so! I think feeling bad about any part of ourselves will be likely to have a negative impact elsewhere.

KD: What regimen would you put women on, if you could, to improve our body confidence.

Delores: I think to focus on making the most of what we have – a Gok Wan approach if you like! Celebrate, dress up, draw attention to your best attributes and get to feeling happy in your own skin.

KD: Tell us a bit about the Body Confidence classes. When are they available? Where? Who can participate? How can we sign up?

Delores: Studies show that women are up to ten times more likely to have a negative body image than men. This is unsurprising when you consider how much emphasis is placed on the ‘thin is beautiful’ message in today’s media. Celebrity magazines constantly bombard us with unflattering images of women, badly photographed, emblazoned with vicious tag lines of how they have gained or lost weight and therefore failing to live up to this ridiculous and un-natural body ideal that society deems acceptable.

We ladies of burlesque are here to help! We do not endorse any of this awfulness. Our industry is made up of women of all body types, shapes and sizes, all of them equally fabulous, sexy and successful with no sense of competition or ideal.

This workshop will look at the way we see ourselves and challenge how we feel about our bodies. We will be encouraging positive body image by creating a burlesque character that is the perfect version of ourselves – focusing on the things we do like, learning to accept the things we don’t and how we can make the most of what we have, regardless of size or shape to begin to accept ourselves as truly unique, beautiful and sexy….. with a little burlesque twist!

The classes are starting at Sh! Women’s Erotic Emporium – the first one is on the 27th September at 6.30pm

£25 (includes bubbly and cupcakes!)

Sh! Store
57 Hoxton Square London. N1 6HD

020 7613 5458 or book online:

www.sh-womenstore.com

Delores can be contacted via her PA, Miss Jillian George–Lewis

You can find Delores Here:

www.shwomenstore.com
www.volupte-lounge.com
www.thekittenclub.com
www.houseofburlesque.co.uk