Category Archives: Guest Blogger

Napping…It’s Not Just for Nanas by Bibi Paterson (@BibiPaterson)

November 12, 2014Guest BloggerBDSM, bibi paterson, erotic romance, erotica, guest blogger, tied to youK D Grace

Where do you get your best ideas? In the bath? By going on a walk? Well for me they tend to come just when I am about the fall asleep so whenever I get stuck with my writing I tend to take a nap. I might not necessarily sleep, but for the hour that I lay there I let my brain roam free. Sometimes it is just a swirly mess of thoughts and images but other times it will settle on a dialogue, or a plot point.

As there is no typing involved you can imagine things in real-time and see where the plot goes. Sometimes it will flow in one direction and will get to a situation I don’t think is right and then I will back up a bit to see if I can explore a different direction. Other times the idea will just flow and I will be itching to get up and write down everything that has just gone through my head. The best part of my method for me is that because I have never typed my random thoughts down I don’t have that guilt over deleting chapters when they don’t work.

And I even get my own personal bedtime story which is fun when you are working through kinky scenes like the ones I wrote for my new novel Tied to You.

Excerpt:

“We’re leaving,” Alex states in a tone that brooks no argument. I merely nod in reply and let him lead me to the cloakroom to fetch my wrap, and then we are sitting in the car, being driven home. The tension between us is thick, yet neither of us has said a word. I glance up at Alex under my eyelashes and see his jaw clenched and an expression that I can’t fathom in his eyes. Every fibre of my being is hyper-aware of Alex’s masculinity, and a dull throb sits between my legs. I squirm in my seat, trying to find a little relief, when suddenly I am aware of Alex’s scrutiny. His eyes bore through me, yet the expression on his face remains a neutral mask. A smirk appears as he runs his eyes over my body and I find my nipples hardening under my dress.

We have no sooner pulled up in front of the house than Alex is pulling me from the car and into the house. The door slams shut behind us and for a moment we both just look at each other, lost in the inevitable. And then Alex speaks. “Turn around, Olivia.” The command is issued in a low, gravelly voice, completely at odds with Alex’s regular teasing tone. The use of my full name startles me, and before I can think further, my body is already obeying. I stand still, my eyes staring up the stairs, as we stand in the frigid hallway, and I wait with bated breath. A few moments pass and all I can hear is our breathing.

Suddenly I am aware of Alex’s arms coming over my shoulders and unhooking the cape at my throat. It slithers to the floor, and for a heartbeat, the world stops spinning on its axis. I shiver as I feel Alex’s warm breath on my neck as, ever so slowly, he pulls down the zip of my gown. “Put your arms out and hold on to the end of the bannister,” he instructs gruffly. I comply without rational thought, quietly awaiting his next command. The single movement has my dress pooling at my feet as I lean forward to grip the smooth wooden post. Large, agile hands skim down my sides until they rest on my hips and I am very much aware that my arse is now in the air, the angle of my body on my heels offering direct access to my damp, aching pussy. The hands follow a leisurely pace down the backs of my thighs and calves, until they reach my ankles. “Lift your foot and then the other,” Alex orders. I comply and he pulls the dress out from around my feet, discarding it in a heap by the front door.

Teaser-2 I glance back down at Alex, but immediately he notices. “Eyes forward,” he barks, and I whip my head back around, my heart thumping in my ears. The cold of the hallway has raised goose bumps over my skin and I am shivering ever so slightly. I feel Alex stand behind me, heat radiating from his frame making the cold more tolerable, and then I hear him shedding his own clothes. My body is feeling ultra-sensitive, and the moment his hand snakes around my waist and deft fingers find my clit, I let out a low groan, as the warmth starts to spread across my pelvis. His pelvis pushes into my arse and I can feel the huge length of him grinding between my butt cheeks. Suddenly, Alex’s other hand is grabbing my breast, pulling it from the confines of my strapless bra and, almost painfully, squeezing my nipple. Teeth nip at my ear and neck as he forces my head back, my back arching as I try to maintain my balance.

“I don’t make love,” Alex hisses into my ear. “I fuck, I root, I shag…but I don’t do soft and I don’t do sweet. Do you understand, Olivia?” I nod my head, a thousand conflicting thoughts swirling around my head. “If you want this to stop, you need to say so now…” he trails off and waits for my answer. My brain is telling me that this is all a bit weird, that this is not what I want, but my treacherous body has other ideas and so I keep silent.

Pinterest board http://www.pinterest.com/authorbibipater/tied-to-you-by-bibi-paterson/

Tied to You (Book blurb)

Olivia Walker has just hit rock bottom. About to lose her job and become homeless, she can’t see a way out of the mess her life has become until Alex Davenport enters her life with a proposal she is in no position to refuse.

Wealthy and arrogant, Alex is used to getting whatever he wants and he has set his eyes on Olivia. For months he has watched her, waiting for the perfect opportunity to present itself to make her his, and finally it has appeared. But Alex is hiding a secret, one that he is determined to protect until, one day, Olivia makes a discovery that sets her on a course of self-discovery. Together they explore Olivia’s submissive side, pushing boundaries and taking her on the wildest ride of her life.

But when Olivia’s past threatens to expose Alex’s secret lifestyle, the time for truths and full disclosure is at hand. Can Alex let go of the fears that have bound his true nature? And can a couple that fell in lust find their own happily ever after?

Warning: This book is intended for mature audiences as it contains explicit sex scenes and BDSM themes.

Buy links:

Amazon (US) http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00NN50KZE

Amazon (UK) http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00NN50KZE

iBooks https://itunes.apple.com/gb/book/id925073550

Kobo http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/tied-to-you

Nook http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/tied-to-you-bibi-paterson/1120440715

Author Bio:

Bibi is a former marketing executive and mum to a gorgeous little girl currently residing just north of London. She recently spent a year living it up on the beaches of Western Australia and her hobbies include consuming copious amounts of coffee and chocolate, building cardboard castles and creating stories in her head.

Inspired from a young age, her love for literature started with Enid Blyton and her Secret Seven. Since then a voracious appetite for books has brought her a world full of heroes, love, murder, betrayal and the odd vampire thrown in for good cause.

Having long admired those brave enough to put pen to paper, or in this modern age of computing, keyboard to screen, she has finally started telling the sexy stories that she has been keeping locked up in her head all this time.

http://www.bibipaterson.com

https://www.facebook.com/bibipaterson

https://twitter.com/BibiPaterson

http://www.pinterest.com/authorbibipater/

http://instagram.com/bibipaterson

GIVEAWAY!

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Memories & Kisses by Muffy Wilson (@SexyMuffyWilson)

November 10, 2014Guest Bloggererotic romance, erotica, memories and kisses, muffy wilson, new release, yellow silk dreamsK D Grace

Memories & Kisses by Muffy Wilson Thank you so much for having me for a visit. I think I have fallen in love with the girl on the cover of my latest book Memories & Kisses. She is beautiful, of course, but what really attracts me is her mystery. I’m sure it is no accident that she uses bright red lipstick. Take a casual glance at her picture, and you are caught by that luscious, loveable mouth. Who does she kiss? Just one lover? Or several? Does she kiss men or perhaps women? Would she kiss me on the right evening?

What do you think? Is she thinking about memories of love lost? Perhaps the memories made trying to forget a lost love? Even old memories revisited by old friends, united in a kiss that rekindles flames, passions and desire, too. Old memories are like old red wine – all the richer for time passed. And the kisses taste sweeter too. Three romantic and very sexy stories take us back to things as they once were, and forward to the wonderful times to come.

Memories & Kisses has three stories of old loves remembered; a grieving woman rescued from the sea, two childhood friends growing old friendship into passionate loving, and two long separated teenagers finding that time has mellowed them both and maturity has brought a passionate intensity they had never imagined. All three stories are of rekindled love that survived decades of longing and is now ready to burst into flame.

Blurb:

The Storm ~ a newly widowed woman unable to face the world alone and lonely, buries her husband. Overcome by grief, she walks into the rough, grinding pitiless surf in an effort to blend the gray in her heart with the gray on the horizon. She is saved from the crashing waves by a man, a bearded white haired man who brings her back to life and gives her a reason to live again.

The Park ~ two childhood friends, now adults, reunite on the eve of the dedication of their once favorite playground now slated to become a high-tech water park. The destruction of their favorite playground makes them melancholy; reliving their dreams as children in this park inspires them to greater, more passionate long buried desires they never responded to as teens, but knew existed but in their memories.

The Story of Us ~ high school friends, once nearly sweethearts, reconnect in their sixties. The Internet removes the veil of uncomfortable shyness. They are open and revealing in emails about their youthful teenaged desires for one another. They discover what we all hope is true: that love is eternal. Surviving decades, not only in the shadowed recesses of our memories, but in a kiss, a touch, a magnetic embrace love thrives.

Do you have memories of a love that once was?…of a love that was lost?…of, perhaps, a rekindled love that survived decades of longing?

Buy Links:

Excerpt from The Storm:

I walk to the surf, heaving for breath, weak from running against the rain, fighting the storm, the sadness, my loss – your death. I walk into the surf and keep walking. It is surprisingly warm and enveloping. I suddenly feel comforted, my heartbreak no longer a penetrating pain. I know you are with me and I seek out your embrace. I cry again, scream at the thunderous surf, and then I am gone. I can’t breathe and I am falling, rolling, tumbling in a hazy grey darkness that is wet, ferocious, demanding. Suddenly my dizzy comfort turns to fear and I struggle against the pounding, relentless waves. What have I done? I am a good swimmer and an athlete, but can I beat this? Instinct overcomes me. My heart pounds. I start to kick wildly. Moving my arms toward the surface, the current catches me again, tumbling me over and over. My lungs burn. I lose my bearing—which way is up, down? I start to get a sickening feeling of death, my own impending death, and, just as I start to give in, I feel the hand of God grab my hair and hood in a fierce grip and yank me to the surface. I feel the sky darken and the surf diminish. Everything tastes salty, gritty, and then my body heaves, relaxed, and my world goes black.

I awake to pounding on my chest; I am being rattled and something is covering my mouth and nose. I cough, retch, and then vomit the last vestiges of the ocean from my body. My mouth is filled with grit, sand, and the salty taste of taffy. I open my eyes and see God reaching down toward me. He leans over me and the salty ocean water drips from his face to mine. He is big, strong, and gasping; he is surrounded in a glowing aura which intensifies his white hair and white beard. I am frightened. I must be dead. But that cannot be! How foolish I am. He sits me up, tenderly and gently helps me to my feet, all the while holding me securely with large strong hands and then he speaks to me.

“Are you alright, miss? You scared me near to death when I saw you walk into the surf. Why in the world….Where do you live?”

I am alive to my senses.

“Wha. . . ?” My knees weaken and I fall further into his arms. Quickly, he catches my descent and carries me to a bench where he sits me down, moving the errant curls of hair from my cheeks, and speaks to me again.

“Where are you staying? Shall I call the police?”

I can feel my heart pounding against his chest.

“No, please, I’m . . . I’ll be fine. My key, my pocket; it’s in my pocket. Please…”

I can’t remember my hotel or where I am or why. As he unzips my pocket and removes my hotel key, he pulls my hood up over my head to shelter my face from the pelting rain. Collecting me under his arm, my body firmly in his grip, we walk slowly back to the hotel. The traffic is still sparse, no taxis to be seen. It seems to take forever. The storm is so much worse, the surf so high, sucking the wind into the watery folds as it retreats to the ocean. At once, I am so scared that I begin to tremble and yet, I feel protected.

As we walk into the hotel lobby, the bell captain approaches us and asks if I need the hotel doctor, whereupon my guardian says, “No, that won’t be necessary, thank you.” We take the elevator to my floor and I am finally in the sanctity of my room, as lonely as it is. My savior, my hero sits me in the desk chair while he goes to the bathroom and starts the shower. He returns. He is saying something to me that I can’t understand, but he starts to take my shoes off. Then he leans me forward, removes my windbreaker and sports bra, and helps me stand while he pulls relentlessly at my wet spandex knee-highs. He kicks off his own running shoes and removes his blazer. He carries me to the shower but I feel as if I’m watching the scene unfold from outside my own body. I am unafraid of this stranger.

The water is hot and piercing, but he is gentle, loving, and tender. He bathes me and washes my hair, lifting the removable nozzle to rinse the sand, grit, and seaweed from my hair and lithe body. My skin is a deep pink from the intense extreme of the cold grasp of the ocean and the heated comfort of the hot shower. His hands are everywhere, on every curve, gently caressing my skin with his soapy fingertips. He deftly, tenderly, washes my breasts, my taunt stomach and pussy. He controls himself, but I can’t let him stop. I look up at him, and notice he is watching himself bathe me. He seems to caress my buttocks as he cleans the sand from between my rounded cheeks. Unembarrassed, he rinses my body thoroughly, running his fingers though my shoulder-length brown hair. I feel safe, warmed, yet surprisingly aroused, weakened by my ordeal.

For the first time, it seems, he looks down at me. He takes me in as I look up at him, transfixed by his control. I am naked in my sorrow and my pain; he, fully clothed except for his windbreaker and shoes, smiles, touching my heart. I did not notice his erection in the shower, he is a complete gentleman. My breasts, the curve of my belly to my thigh, my face against his chest glisten in the shower, as I trust him to help me.

Memories & Kisses- read more…

Author Bio and Links:

Muffy, author of erotic, romantic stories about love, sex, hope and passion, was born in San Antonio, Texas, to traditional parents. With two older brothers, she was the youngest, the family “princess,” indulged and pampered. She adored her older brothers, following them everywhere and was surrounded by love, stimulation, and pets. Her father was a career Colonel and pilot in the U.S. Air Force which required the family to travel extensively. The family lived in most points between Alaska and France. Muffy spent her formative years in Europe and came of age in France.

Returning from France with her family, Muffy finished high school in Northern California and attended the University of California, Davis, and majored in Business Management. Muffy entered the work force, independent with a fierce work ethic, and retired at 39 from IBM as a Mid-West Regional Director in the Real Estate and Construction Division. She and her husband moved to a small Island in northern Wisconsin where they owned a historic tavern, restaurant and resort business which they since have sold. They now live a charmed life by the water in SW Florida. Muffy pretends to be a serious real estate business person but, in real life, indulges her private interest in writing sexy short stories and sensual literotica ~ Live, Laugh, Love with Passion.

Previously Published at:

Oysters & Chocolate, Decadent Publishing, Ravenous Romance, Yellow Silk Dreams

Random Acts by Mia Kerick

November 7, 2014Guest Bloggerdreamspinner press, erotic romance, erotica, gay romance, mia kerick, random acts, romanceK D Grace

Blurb:

Bradley Zelder can’t find his way in life. After struggling for nearly a decade, he has yet to complete his college degree. Working as a school custodian, living in blue-collar Landsbury, MA, his love life is as empty as the rest of his existence. But on his way home after another disastrous date, his truck breaks down in upscale Oceanside. When he thinks life can’t get any worse, a man who is the epitome of Boston elite and everything Bradley finds attractive and intimidating helps him move his truck to the side of the road. Ashamed of his lot in life, Bradley almost lets the opportunity slip away, but he comes to his senses in time and tracks Caleb down.

From a random act of kindness, romance begins to grow, filling all the dark corners of Bradley’s empty life—until a random act of violence threatens to take it all away. Bradley must step up and be the man Caleb believes him to be. Caleb rescued him from a life without hope. Can Bradley rescue him in return?

Links:

Dreamspinner | Amazon US | Amazon UK | B&N | Goodreads

Author Bio:

Mia Kerick is the mother of four exceptional children—all named after saints—and five nonpedigreed cats—all named after the next best thing to saints, Boston Red Sox players. Her husband of twenty years has been told by many that he has the patience of Job, but don’t ask Mia about that, as it is a sensitive subject.

Mia focuses her stories on the emotional growth of troubled young men and their relationships, and she believes that sex has a place in a love story, but not until it is firmly established as a love story. As a teen, Mia filled spiral-bound notebooks with romantic tales of tortured heroes (most of whom happened to strongly resemble lead vocalists of 1980s big-hair bands) and stuffed them under her mattress for safekeeping. She is thankful to Dreamspinner Press for providing her with an alternate place to stash her stories.

Mia is proud of her involvement with the Human Rights Campaign and cheers for each and every victory made in the name of marital equality. Her only major regret: never having taken typing or computer class in school, destining her to a life consumed with two-fingered pecking and constant prayer to the Gods of Technology.

Mia has published four works of adult contemporary gay romantic fiction with Dreamspinner Press and four novels of contemporary LGBT fiction with Harmony Ink Press. Mia Kerick’s books are recommended reads in the LGBT blogging/reading community, have spent many weeks on Amazon Hot New Releases and LGBT Best Sellers lists, as well as other notable bestseller lists, and have won awards for excellence in YA literature. Author Links:

Website: www.MiaKerick.com
Blog: www.miakerick.com/blog
Goodreads: http://bit.ly/1pl5bVl
Twitter: @MiaKerick (https://twitter.com/MiaKerick)
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mia.kerick
Amazon author page: http://amzn.to/1vowCBK
Dreamspinner author page: http://bit.ly/1xsRQT7
Newsletter: http://eepurl.com/TLcDb

Giveaway:

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Stay With Me by Layna Pimentel (@LaynaPimentel)

November 5, 2014Guest BloggerBDSM, erotic romance, erotica, layna pimentel, stay with meK D Grace

BLURB

Master Alex is furious when a friend’s submissive invites a naive stranger to his party. With his reputation on the line, he must keep her out of trouble and away from curious Doms. Observing signs of interest from her, he leads her down the path of wicked temptations. However, when his ex-sub pushes her way back into his life, he tries to find a balance between his discreet life and his public one.

Mercedes is fearful of the world she’s stepped into, but the curiosity of what pleasures lie beyond keep her interested in far more than the play. All is going well until a jealous woman convinces her she’s out of her league. Desperate to regain control over her life and heart, she pushes Alex away.

Will these two manage to find their way to each other, or is their relationship doomed from the moment they meet?

EXCERPT

Mercedes popped an eye open to see the candle nearly burnt out. I don’t remember lighting this last night. Oh! The weight of a large arm wrapped around her, and the sheet hung off the edge of the bed. Alex! He spent the night.

He groaned into her ear as she adjusted her position. As she did so, there was a knock at her door. Mercedes gently lifted his arm and rolled out bed, grabbing her silk robe from behind the bedroom door and glancing at the time on the digital box, which read eight-o’clock.

Who the hell could be visiting so early? She’d paid the landlord three months in advance, and she hadn’t really met anyone to expect house calls.

From behind the door she called out “Who is it?”

“It’s me, dummy. Poppy and Brian.”

Shit. What now? “Poppy, it’s not really a good time. I was sleeping.”

“Just open the damned door. We won’t take up too much of your time. We just want to make sure you’re okay.”

Mercedes sighed. Reluctantly, she did as she was asked, and they made their way inside. “I’m sorry I don’t have any coffee, guys. I haven’t even been here long enough to go grocery shopping.”

“That’s all right, sugar. We only stopped in to see how you were holding up after last night,” Brian spoke up.

“I’m fine. Really. Though it was a shocker that Poppy would even think to invite me. But, as you can see, I made it home safe and sound, eventually.”

Never mind the fact that she had walked into a sick joke by Alex’s ex-sub—or whatever the heck she was called—Mercedes wouldn’t forget last night any time soon. The moment she had a chance to take up the issue with Poppy, she would. But not until they were alone.

As she sat across from her company in the armchair, Mercedes clenched her butt cheeks and relaxed them. She couldn’t get comfortable with the damned plug in her ass, and squirming or pouting wasn’t going to make it go away any time soon. Shoot! I forgot that was still there. “Is there any reason why this conversation couldn’t have waited ’til a more decent hour? Christ! It’s Saturday, and I had a long night, if you hadn’t noticed.”

Brian smirked and peered around her to look on the dining room table where Alex had left his jacket. “You never told us you had company.”

“Well, that’s because you never asked. Last I checked, I didn’t realize I had to inform you.”

He snorted, patting Poppy on the knee. “You’re a cheeky one. I can see why you and Poppy get along so well. We’ll be on our way.”

“So soon? I thought we might all go out for breakfast,” Alex announced from the bedroom door, wrapped in nothing but the bed sheet.

Mercedes flushed like a child caught with her hand in the proverbial cookie jar. Great. Now, everyone knows the kind of things we’ve been doing together.

“Christ, Mercedes. There’s no need to be shy. We’re all adults here. Now, come in here and get dressed so we can go out for some food. After that, I’ll take you to the grocery store.” Alex nodded to his friend. “Brian, how about you and Poppy meet us at Alessandro’s family diner?”

Mercedes was so embarrassed by the chance meeting between her friends and lover that she couldn’t meet his eye. I can’t believe he just did that. He might as well have stood there naked. Mmm…now there’s a thought.

Alex prancing around her apartment in the nude made for perfect entertainment. Who needed art to hang on the walls, when one swift look at his impeccably well-kept form was pleasurable enough? Just how did I get so lucky? If someone would have told her a week ago, that she’d move back to her hometown and find herself in the arms of a handsome, built, and uber sexy gentleman, she would have called them a liar.

She wasn’t exactly the perfect zero, or whatever the preferred size of women was these days. She was a healthy size twelve, with large boobs and a generously curvy butt.

For years, she had struggled with weight loss and trying to keep up with the social norm. But no matter what fitness center she joined, or fad diet she tried, her svelte body always came back. She’d practically given up thinking that anyone would accept her body for what it was. That is, until now.

Ugh. Must think positive thoughts. Alex…naked…

She imagined reaching forward and yanking the sheet from his body. Damn. Today is shaping up to be a good one.

WHERE TO BUY

Secret Cravings Publishing: http://goo.gl/1hRYvz

Amazon (U.S): http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00HLRD822/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B00HLRD822&linkCode=as2&tag=lucyfelt-20&linkId=IF2CHIGT3GBLWHXY

Amazon (Canada): http://www.amazon.ca/Stay-Me-Layna-Pimentel-ebook/dp/B00HLRD822

Amazon (U.K): http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00HLRD822/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1634&creative=19450&creativeASIN=B00HLRD822&linkCode=as2&tag=lucyfelthouse-21&linkId=AKRADDCPOHUVIBKQ

All Romance eBooks: https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-staywithme-1387008-147.html?referrer=6bdb1f9160564c0525b41f36e51861a0

Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/395595?ref=cw1985

BIOGRAPHY

Born and raised in Toronto, Ontario, Layna discovered her love of reading at an early age. When she isn’t devouring salacious romance novels or writing, she enjoys losing herself in researching ancient history and mythology, weaponry, and hiking. She lives in Northern Ontario, with her husband and two daughters.

Layna is a member of the Romance Writers of America, creator of the Romance Author at Large blog, and is a monthly contributor at 69 Shades of Smut. For updates on her upcoming releases, or to leave her a comment, you can find at:

Blog/Website: www.laynapimentel.com

Twitter: www.twitter.com/LaynaPimentel

Facebook: www.facebook.com/AuthorLaynaPimentel

Emerald Talks about SAFE, Her New Collection of Erotic Stories

November 4, 2014Blog, Guest Blogger, New Releases1001 Nights Press, book launch, Emerald, erotic story collection, erotica, guest blogger, SafeK D Grace

Thanks so much for having me today, KD—I’m so delighted to be back at A Hopeful Romantic talking a bit about my brand new short story collection, Safe!

When I first submitted a short story collection for consideration to 1001 Nights Press earlier this year, it was as a manuscript that contained seventeen stories, six of which were new and exclusive to the collection. I knew the book as a whole would be considered erotica and would not be marketable as erotic romance. This was mainly because of how a few of the stories ended.

As I’ve shared now a number of places, I interpreted Sharazade, the proprietor of 1001 Nights, as coming back with the suggestion that the manuscript be divided into two books. Essentially, upon our agreeing to do so, what I had submitted became two collections divided generally along the line between the erotic romance pieces and the erotica pieces. If… Then: a collection of erotic romance stories was released in September and has ten stories, including two of the new ones the original manuscript contained. (I got to go back and add three previously published stories I had pulled from the full manuscript due to length concerns. Yay!) Safe: a collection of erotic stories came out October 15 and also comprises ten stories, four of which are the remaining new tales from the original manuscript.

I feel much appreciation for Sharazade’s recognizing that the manuscript I submitted may work better as two books. Since I knew the intention with which I had written each story was along a similar line that made them all fit together for me, it is true that the outward tone and direction of some of the stories seemed different from a number of the others. Basically, I feel Sharazade was correct that the volume could be pretty distinctly divided between the erotica and the erotic romance stories.

I was and am aware that the audiences for erotic romance and erotica are different, and while I have seen the term “erotica” seem to be used as synonymous with “erotic romance,” I personally see the two as distinct and consider such a conflation a misnomer.

Probably the most tangible difference distinguishing erotic romance from erotica, as I see it, is the requirement of a happy ending. In my understanding, anything labeled “romance” (of whatever sub-genre of romance it is) must have the requisite happy ending. I completely understand this requirement of the romance genre as one that both draws readers and that readers expect. I also respect it and feel no desire to mislead anyone into reading something that may not interest her/him/them. I am delighted that I have a collection specifically for a romance-reading audience that embraces the personal connection and conscious commitment of romantic relationship in the context of erotic writing.

More subtly, I actually perceive the happy ending requirement of romance to be a happy ending of a rather specific type: that in which the main characters, who have been or are romantically involved, are implied to continue or remain that way (contentedly!) for the foreseeable future. Characters in my erotica, for example, may well end up happy as well, but it’s often had little to nothing to do with any kind of ongoing or developing relationship between them. Their sexual interaction may have left them quite content, but they may feel no desire to continue that interaction or develop a romantic connection. Many stories I’ve written have had these kinds of endings, and there are some with this type in Safe as well.

Perhaps most atypical of much of the contemporary erotica I have read, however, Safe also has stories that do not have particularly “happy endings” as they have often seemed defined in literature. And here there may be some readers of erotica as well who digress in preference from this occurrence. To some readers, as I have interpreted it, erotica is for purposes of arousal, and some don’t consider a serious or poignant ending to lend itself to such.

I can understand that perspective—though I will admit I don’t share it. For me, erotica (both reading and writing it) is for more than arousal. In writing erotic fiction, I aim to explore the human condition, connection, experience, and evolution via the force and energy of sexuality (one that is, it seems to me, to be reckoned with!). I experience Safe as an embodiment of my aim to do this.

As such, there are a few stories in <>Safe that do not end neatly and/or with contentment and satisfaction. At no point did I write anything for Safe (or do I feel compelled to write anything in general) that ends tragically or wrenchingly simply for shock value. That is not at all the point. Rather, the stories “end” as the closing of what we have glimpsed of the characters lives, and sometimes what appears to be going on in those may encompass challenge, pain, and/or loss.

I don’t want to give the impression that all the stories in Safe end poignantly—they don’t (from my perspective, anyway!). A few of them, as I see it, do. Personally, I understand the desire to read something I know is going to turn out a way that won’t likely elicit a challenging emotion in me. I have sought out that kind of work in the past and felt that way often. As an author, however, I also appreciate exploring what appears to me to authentically reflect the facets of human experience that come through me as I’m working. As I see it, that is one of the fundamental purposes of art.

Ultimately, the aspiration in me in writing every story in Safe was to explore and display the power of sexuality to heal, connect, awaken, and elicit growth. This is how I see the purpose and power of sexuality in life, and as an author of erotica, that is what I am aiming to write. Sometimes the result may seem uplifting, and sometimes it may seem painful. Sometimes, as in life, if we pay a particular level of attention, we may see both at once.

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Blurb for Safe: a collection of erotic stories:
In this collection of ten erotic stories, attraction, heat, and connection serve as catalysts to take characters to places of climax, revelation, transformation, and abiding – sometimes all at once. From hypnotizing dreams to life-changing tragedies to moving on after the end of a relationship, Safe explores the power of sexuality in its myriad forms and manifestations.

“To Make It That Way” shows older woman Cole taking young Zack on a seductive and wild ride, exposing him not only to a considerable sexual education but to more subtle life lessons as well. “Power Over Power” channels the intense energy of a martial arts session, while “Hers to Keep” offers Leslie a surprising lesson in so-called “casual” sex.

Polyamory, masturbation, and BDSM all make appearances in <>Safe, as do scorching vanilla sex and budding romance. These stories reveal how eros has the power to bring us back to ourselves, propelling us ever deeper into the journeys of both sex and life.

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Excerpt from “To Make It That Way” in Safe:

Cole’s eyes glinted. “Sex,” she said, “has the potential to encompass and represent all human experience. All the nuances, all the understood and not understood, may be experienced through sex. And that means there’s a whole realm of it we’re not going to understand. It’s beyond our common forms of understanding.” Her eyes bore into me like steel. “But it’s not beyond our experiencing.”

After a moment she broke her gaze, and I noticed I started breathing again. I also noticed my cock was rock-hard.

“The key,” she said, lifting her water glass from the end table near where we stood, “is in awareness, respect, openness, authenticity. We don’t have to understand it all, as long as we’re aware of ourselves. As long as we respect our partners. As long as we approach with openness what is happening between us. And as long as we are authentic in our dealings, our experiences, our examinations. If something is uncomfortable, examine that and see what it teaches you. If it feels inauthentic, stop doing it. ”

“That wouldn’t account for a lot of abusive situations where sex is concerned,” I countered. “Lots of people may think they’re aware of and like what they’re doing, but it hurts someone else or is even criminal.”

“Yes,” she agreed, setting her water glass back down. “But that means at least one of those pieces is missing.”

I pondered that, as she didn’t appear inclined to expound. She moved toward me and caught my mouth with hers, and I caught my breath at the suddenness, at the heat that zipped through me like lightning at her touch. She backed me up against the couch until I fell onto it, my hands groping her breasts. Pulling my cock out of my jeans, Cole dropped her head and sucked with fervor, going after my cock like she was possessed, as though she was taking something from it she needed.

With a final pump, she paused, running her tongue up the length of my shaft. Her cat-like eyes gazed up at me, hard lust and a hint of something else glowing in them. Abruptly she stood up on the couch, towering over me as she pulled off her shirt and stepped out of her jeans. Underneath them she wore an impeccable red lingerie set, glimmering bra, thong, and garter belt with rhinestones embedded around the rims and matching stockings. I caught my breath.

Cole didn’t need lingerie, but she sure knew how to use it.

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SAFE BUY LINKS:
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iBooks
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About Emerald:
Emerald is an erotic fiction author whose short stories have been featured or are forthcoming in anthologies published by Cleis Press, Mischief, Logical-Lust, and Sweetmeats Press. She is an advocate for sexual freedom, reproductive rights, and the rights of sex workers, and she serves as a Facebook group moderator and assistant newsletter editor for Marketing for Romance Writers (MFRW). Her first single-author books, If…Then: a collection of erotic romance stories and Safe: a collection of erotic stories, are out now from 1001 Nights Press.