Category Archives: New Releases

City Nights: One Night in Edinburgh by Charlotte Howard (@Shy_Tiger)

December 1, 2014New Releasescharlotte howard, city nights, city nights one night in edinburgh, contemporary, erotic romance, erotica, new release, one night in edinburgh, romance, tirgearr publishingK D Grace

Blurb:

Chloe Shard has travelled to Edinburgh to meet up with a potential client, and has just twenty-four hours to convince them to sign her contract. But when she meets the delicious Ethan, he proves to be so much more than an enticing distraction. It’s not long before Chloe has some life changing decisions to make, and less than a day to make them in.

Buy Links:

Tirgearr Publishing
Amazon UK
Amazon US
Smashwords

Excerpt:

Chloe squeezed her eyes shut as the plane’s wheels bumped along the tarmac, and her stomach lurched into her chest as the brakes were applied. Her ears flooded with the sound of her own heart beating louder than the squealing and screeching of the landing gear. Pressure built in her cheeks as she clenched her teeth together. The worst hour in her life was almost over.

“Welcome to Edinburgh,” said the captain over the speaker system. “We hope you had a pleasant journey and enjoyed the flight. Please remain seated with your seat belts fastened until the light is turned off.”

A chuckle emanated from nearby. Chloe opened one eye and peered at the man in the seat across the aisle from her.

“You can breathe again,” he said in an American accent, flashing her a grin.

“I think I’ll wait until my feet are actually on the ground if it’s all the same to you,” she replied, leaning back into the headrest.

A loud ping was followed by a Mexican wave of clicking as the passengers released their seat belts and fought to get their bags and rush off the plane. Chloe undid her own belt then hurriedly squished herself into the seat as an oversized belly, violently stretching at a pale green shirt, began its invasion of her breathing space. Her shoulder was nudged as the impatient woman beside her stood up, hunching under the overhead compartment.

She waited for the plane to empty. The impatient woman started huffing and tutting. Chloe looked up apologetically, but was met with a hardened glare.

“Here,” said the man from opposite. She turned her gaze towards him and was grateful to see him holding back a herd of cattle desperate to depart. She drank him in for a second. He was broad enough to act as a barrier between her and the crowd. A very attractive barrier. From the way his T-shirt stretched over his biceps, she could tell that his width was certainly not due to being overweight. Ink spiralled around his skin from beneath the short sleeve, tracing down to his elbow.

“Thank you.” She stepped into the aisle. Immediately, the woman from beside her shoved herself through the gap, knocking Chloe into the man’s chest with an oof!

“I’m so sorry!” she said, stepping back and turning to the overhead compartments, feeling her cheeks heat. Her fingers tingled with the memory of his muscular chest beneath them.
Charlotte Howard Author Bio:

British author Charlotte Howard, was born in Oman and spent much of the first part of her life flitting between Oman, Scotland, and England. Now settled in Somerset, Charlotte lives with her husband, two children, and growing menagerie of pets.

Her career as a writer began at an early age, with a poem being featured in an anthology for the East Midlands. Since then Charlotte has written many short stories and poems, and finally wrote her first full-length piece of fiction in 2010.

During what little spare time she has, Charlotte enjoys reading and writing (of course), spending time with her family, and watching action movies whilst eating curry and drinking tea.

Charlotte is an active member of Yeovil Creative Writers.

Social Media / Website links:

http://www.charlottehowardauthor.co.uk

http://choward2614.wordpress.com

http://facebook.com/charlottehowardauthor

http://twitter.com/Shy_Tiger

Instagram: Choward_author

Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/choward2614

Holiday Gems: Six Sexy Stories by KINKLECTIC

November 29, 2014Blog, Guest Blogger, New ReleasesBDSM, erotic anthology, erotica, guest blogger, holiday erotica, holiday gems, Kinklectic, Ruby MaddenK D Grace

It’s always a pleasure to guest-blog for KD Grace and I’m grateful each time I get to contribute. I’m here again, this time to share some of my recent endeavors, both solo and with a group of eclectic writers.

I don’t know about you, but I love the Holiday season. I’m blessed with a wonderful family and we often prioritize the Holidays as a time of year to take time off from life and work, and typically converge upon a location somewhere along the West Coast. Coming from a large family (I’m one of five siblings, the oldest), it gets very festive. Along with our Irish and British heritage, ample amounts of liquor and spirits are imbibed and we are not shy about eating ourselves silly. We play games, see movies, stay up to the wee hours of the morning talking and genuinely enjoy one another’s company.

For this reason, amongst others, the Holiday season is pretty much a magical experience for me, surrounded by those who I love most on this lovely planet.

Last year, we enjoyed a sunny Christmas in San Diego and the year prior, a yummy Thanksgiving in Portland. A decade ago, we disappeared to Lake Tahoe for some snow-boarding and skiing, another year, we were on the Oregon Coast in a large house-share, enjoying the Pacific Ocean and the Pacific NW’s scenic beauty. Next year, we’re contemplating a Thanksgiving in San Francisco.

Then, it might not surprise you that I love to write short-stories that center around a holiday theme. This year, I’ve been unusually ambitious. Along with a talented and eclectic group of erotic and romance fiction authors, we pulled together a collection of holiday short stories. Six, to be exact and two of which, are mine. With plenty of fantasy, naughty bits and even some romance, I’m sure that they will hit a sweet-spot or two! *evil-grin*

Have a look!

*****

Mistress Klaus by Ruby Madden

Contrary to what most believe, it is Mistress Klaus who runs the show at the North Pole. Not Santa Claus, but Mistress Klaus… Nonetheless, she still needs a partner. A man to call her own. A partner who can serve her in more ways than one…

Office Party by Troy King

Rebecca and John have had their fair share of erotic adventures, but their very first time exploring their wilder sides came at the company Christmas party. While executives yammered on and everyone got bored, Rebecca and John expanded their horizons.

The Professor’s Pleasures: Merry Xmas by Fallen Kittie

A sexy interlude between a student and Professor, then and now…

A Hysteric New Year by Audrey Lusk

Wherein an inventor has found a way to use his latest marvel the same way most do – for sex. A hot ménage romance in a not-quite-steampunk fantasy Victorian setting.

The Winter Dream by Lydia Young

After her brush with death, Jolie Paget’s world tumbles into madness and dreams. On the longest night of winter, she must confront the chaos…and the man who haunts her sleep. But will she be able to emerge from it with her mind and heart in one piece?

Santa’s Gift by Ruby Madden

Sally has nearly finished her PhD and is on vacation for the Holidays in sunny San Diego when she spies a tall, sexy man lounging across the pool. She’s recently dumped her boyfriend of three years and hasn’t had a ‘decent lay’ in as many. She makes a bold move, and picks up Rain, hoping for a one-night stand. Much to her surprise, Rain expects to be paid for his unique skills. Will Sally deny herself some much needed carnal pleasure or indulge in Rain’s expert, hand’s-on TLC and sensual care?

*****

The collection will only be $0.99 through the Holidays (1/7/15) and is also eligible for the KU (KindleUnlimited) borrow program. It is available exclusively at Amazon.

My two short stories, Mistress Klaus and Santa’s Gift will be also be sold separately as stand-alones and are also exclusive to Amazon and the KU borrow program.

Buy Holiday Gems Here:

U.S. http://amzn.to/1y8eQaD

U.K. http://amzn.to/1CpUwEl

*****

For fun, here are some snippets from my two stories:

SANTA’S GIFT

This was really happening. And fast. This man was all eyes for me and the vodka tonics were hitting me hard.

“What’cha reading on your eReader?” Rain asked.

I was stunned that he’d noticed. This confirmed that he’d been watching me before I had come over to meet him. “Oh, just something silly. Girl stuff.”

“Girl stuff? You mean erotica? Or romance?” He teased.

I shook my head and wondered if there was any chance that I could feel any more awkward than I already was. I just knew that my expressive face revealed my nervousness.

“Erotic romance, if the genre must be clarified.”

“Awh,” he said, his amusement at my expense was somewhat endearing. His eyes danced with delight at my embarrassment. “Nothing to be ashamed of. Sex is the greatest pleasure in life.”

“For some,” I quipped quickly, regretting it as soon as I said it.

He tilted his face at me, and looked at me as if he knew exactly what I was referring to. “Sorry to hear it.”

Whatever awkwardness in what I’d just revealed must have been plain as day on my face because what he said next, blew my mind.

“Maybe I can change that?”

He was so bold. So direct.

Old me would have been offended. New me was hundreds of miles away from home on vacation. New me had just dumped her long-term boyfriend. New me was horny as all hell.

Buy Santa’s Gift Here:

U.S. http://amzn.to/1psBLdI

U.K. http://amzn.to/1CmlBbv

*****

MISTRESS KLAUS

It had already been a twelve hour day, but that wouldn’t stop her or her workaholic elf team from continuing to work. It was peak season and with
less than four days until the big day, it was all-hands-on-deck, twenty-four hours a day. Each elf working twelve hour shifts and then some more, if they chose to.

“Speaking of breaks, I think I need one too…” she sighed and made her way to the break-room to get some coffee.

While she doctored the warm mug of liquid energy, adding a dash of nutmeg, she quickly got lost in her lusty thoughts. Rather than working, she wanted to read.

Read erotica, that is.

This year, they’d sent out more erotic romance books than ever before. In fact, each year, they’d seen a steady increase of this particular gift request for the horny adults of Earth celebrating the holidays. It just so happened that Mistress Klaus had long since developed an eBook habit to all the many erotic and romantic fiction titles. It didn’t help matters that they were available in abundance online.

They gave her all sorts of naughty ideas…

Ones that she could play out with her very own submissive and naughty consort, Jasper.

Buy Mistress Klaus Here:

U.S. http://amzn.to/1HJryiX

U.K. http://amzn.to/1yhYWb9

*****

Lastly but most importantly, Mistress Klaus has a gift for you!

http://bit.ly/1vMvuwa

The link expires Sunday so grab your copy soon.

Happy Holidays!

*****

Happy Reading & Merry Holidays!

Warm Wishes,

Ruby Madden

Sapphic Smut: Tales of Lesbian Lust Out Now! #sapphicsmut #erotica #anthology

November 14, 2014Guest Blogger, New ReleasesElizabeth Coldwell, erotic fiction, erotica, House of Erotica, Kay Jaybee, lesbian anthology, lesbian erotica, louisa bacio, Lucy Felthouse, new release, Sallyanne Rogers, sapphic smut, Tabitha Rayne, Vanessa de SadeK D Grace

Blurb:

Light hearted, sexy Sapphic smut is the theme of this erotic anthology, edited by Lucy Felthouse with assistance from Kev ‘Mitnik’ Blisse.

From coffee shops to exotic Indian adventures to cosy cabins in France, Sapphic Smut has it all. Fun with sugar, naughty spankings, seductions by strangers, seductions by friends, cougars and even a twist on a fairy tale abound in this exciting collection of lesbian stories from erotica’s finest authors.

This delicious girl-on-girl anthology contains stories from Lucy Felthouse, Kay Jaybee, Louisa Bacio, Sallyanne Rogers, Vanessa de Sade, Tabitha Rayne and Elizabeth Coldwell.

Amazon: http://mybook.to/sapphicsmut

Other links: http://lucyfelthouse.co.uk/published-works/sapphic-smut/

Editor’s Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/lucyfelthousewriter

Excerpt:

Alana really couldn’t believe how flat Holland was. She’d been told by many people, but somehow, she still wasn’t expecting a place that made Cambridgeshire look like the Peak District. Her view from the train as she travelled from Schiphol airport to Amsterdam’s Centraal Station was unimpeded. Not so much as a hillock was visible.

And now, here she was, standing outside the station with crowds milling around her. A mixture of tourists, businesspeople and natives. She herself was a combination of two of those groups—she was here on business, but she’d deliberately extended her trip so she could spend a couple of days exploring the city. She had a day either side of her meeting, the boring part a filling to a sightseeing sandwich. Though, despite the boring tag, the meeting definitely wasn’t a bad thing, it was an appointment to cross the ts and dot the is on a very lucrative deal—certainly the trip was worthwhile.

After watching the insanity for another minute or so, she began to head away from the station, wheeling her small case along with her. Already armed with a guidebook and a decent map, she knew where she was going. Her map-reading skills were excellent, and she made the short walk to her hotel in less than twenty minutes. Anywhere else, she’d have gotten a cab, but it appeared they were a rare commodity in this city.

She’d checked in, dumped her bags and freshened up within another ten minutes, and was back on the street.

An online acquaintance had sent her a bunch of information for her trip—about the best museums, interesting things to see that might not be in guidebooks, and details on transport. It appeared that Amsterdam was unlike London, Paris and Rome, in as much as it had trams as its preferred mode of transport, rather than underground trains. Only one Metro line ran through the city, north-to-south. Everywhere else was utterly dependent on trams, bikes and being on foot.

And fuck, there were a lot of bikes. They zipped here, there and everywhere, not always staying where they were supposed to be, it seemed. The slim Dutch people atop the bikes were oblivious, just concentrating on getting where they were going.

Alana searched for the nearest tram stop, and quickly discovered she needed to be on the other side of the road to head in the right direction.

Crossing the road was a chore in itself. A dice with death. She’d thought Rome’s motorists were insane, but at least they were fairly predictable. Here, she was faced with crossing a road that held a cycle path, a tram line and a lane for cars. Shifting down the pavement, she stood at the conveniently placed crossing. It still didn’t make things much easier, but at least she could mingle in with the crowd. Traffic was much more likely to stop if it was going to hit a crowd of people than a single pedestrian. Right?

By some miracle, she reached the opposite pavement unscathed—except for her nerves, which were shot—and approached the tram stop. As if by magic, a tram arrived, and it was the correct number. Things were looking up.

After a few minutes, she realised that public transport in Amsterdam was nowhere near as easy to navigate as in the other major cities she was familiar with. There, their Tube or Metro stations always had plenty of large, unmissable signs telling you where you were. Piccadilly Circus, Anvers, Piramide. Here, it seemed you were left to your own devices. There were announcements on board the tram, but they were in Dutch—a language which she knew very little of—incredibly muffled, and pretty much drowned out by the sound of the tram’s motion and its passengers.

More Roman Heat!

November 8, 2014Blog, New Releases, NewsARC copies, BDSM, erotic romance, erotica, new release, novel, The Mount Series, Thunderclap Campaign, To Rome with LustK D Grace

It’s nearly party time for To Rome with Lust, the latest novel in The Mount Series! Preorders have been fantastic, and I’m elated to see so many people as anxious to read Rome as I am to launch it into the world! As always, my readers are the best!!! Though the official release date is 4th December, There’s all kinds of fun and excitement beforehand. I love planning a good party, don’t you? SO Here are the details of how you can get an early taste of Rome and help launch my latest into the world.

Thunderclap!

That’s right, To Rome with Lust will be causing a storm on launch day, and I’m hoping all of you lovely readers will help make it a mega-storm. I’ve launched a Thunderclap campaign for To Rome with Lust. I would love it very much if you would support my campaign, by following the link and clicking the prompts for Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr or all three. All this means is a wee message promoting Rome will appear on your social media page of choice on the 4th of December, launch day. And I will prostrate myself before the Goddess of all Naughtiness in supplication for much sexy, filthy frolic and fun in you lives, as well as lots of good reads. Follow the link and kindle the storm!

If you want to know more about Thunderclap, check out What is a Thunderclap by Lucy Felthouse for more detail.

Advance Reader Review Copies of To Rome with Lust!

If you don’t want to wait until the 4th of December to read To Rome with Lust, I have ten ARC downloads of Rome available in exchange for an honest review on Amazon, Good Reads and wherever else you’d like to review it. If you’re interested in an early frolic with Liza and Paulo at the Mount in Rome, then contact me through the contact form on my website with your request and an email address you’d like me to use to send out your copy. Remember, there are a limited number of copies.

To Tease and Titillate

Aaaand! Just to keep you salivating and fanning yourselves, here is a very hot excerpt from To Rome with Lust. Enjoy! xxx

WARNING ADULT CONTENT!

To Rome with Lust Blurb:

Book three of The Mount trilogy (Click here for Book One | Book Two)

The adventure that Rita Holly began in The Mount in London and Nick Chase took up in Vegas continues when a sizzling encounter on a flight to Rome has journalist, Liza Calendar, and perfumer, Paulo ‘The Nose’ Delacour, in sexy olfactory heaven. The heir apparent of Martelli Fragrance, Paulo wants Liza’s magnificently sensitive nose to help develop Martelli’s controversial new line. Paulo has a secret weapon; Martelli Fragrance is the front for the original Mount, an ancient sex cult of which he is a part, and Paulo plans to use the scent of sex to enhance Martelli’s Innuendo line. As Liza and Paulo sniff out the scent of seduction, they become their own best lab rats. But when someone steals the perfume formulas and lays the blame at Liza’s feet, she and Paulo must sniff out the culprit and prove Liza’s innocence before more is exposed than just secret formulas.

Excerpt To Rome with Lust:

It was only when Liza found the strength to get to her feet and tiptoe into the room that she got the whole picture. The flint and steal male heat, the driving force of the olfactory story unfolding before her nose was not the man kneeling between the woman’s legs, but another man, a man sitting in a ladder back chair, turned front to back so that his long jean-clad legs were splayed on either side. His feet were bare and he was naked from the waist up. His face was silhouetted and lost in shadow. His tattooed muscular arms were draped over the back of the chair as he surveyed the couple on the bed. ‘Hold your wad, Vittorio,’ he called out. ‘You’ll come when I say you can come, when I say Chiara can come. Maybe I’ll let her come and make you hold it. I wonder just how full your sac will get, just how hard your cock will get if I make you watch me fuck her. Hmmm?’

Crack! The end of the bullwhip that Liza hadn’t noticed in the man’s hand snapped out so quickly and so perfectly controlled across Vittorio’s bare arse that Liza didn’t have time to force back her cry.

‘Stop!’ The man said as she turned to run. And in spite of the hair raising along the back of her bare neck, in spite of the fear tightening her belly in a cold metal clench, she obeyed.

‘Ask Vittorio how the whip across his bare arse feels before you consider running.’ He said all of that without looking at her, but Vittorio’s eyes and the wide mascara-darkened eyes of Chiara were on her.

She stood unmoving. It was not the scent of fear rising from her pores that made her knees weak. It was the forest fire inferno of lust rolling off the man in the chair in waves that were nearly physical.

‘Come here,’ he said, still not looking at her.

Did lust always overcome fear? She didn’t know, but it certainly seemed to be doing just that for her as she moved in steps she was hardly aware of toward the man with the whip, sniffing as she went.

‘In this dungeon, I’m the audience, woman. I don’t need any help with that task.’ He still hadn’t looked at her. His grip on the handle of the whip tightened, but the cinnamon scent of his curiosity curled itself around the inferno of lust, and she knew he wouldn’t hit her, at least not just yet.

‘Liza Calendar, I presume.’ He said, still toying with the handle of the bullwhip.

‘Yes.’ Her voice came out rough and throaty as though she had forgotten how to use it.

He threw back his head and laughed, having no trouble finding the resonant fullness of his own voice. In the flickering light of the wall sconces his hair looked like burnt copper, curled around his ears and low on his neck in the dampness of his own dark wood-scented perspiration. ‘At last I meet the one everyone is speaking of in hushed tones, the Nose.’ Before she could respond, his arm darted out and snaked around her, pulling her down on his knee into the heat of his body. ‘So tell me, Nose, what do you smell?’ Before she could say anything, his hand fisted in her hair, and he pulled her to his mouth, nipping at her lips until they opened, until his tongue could battle its way in and steal her breath. When he pulled away, breathing hard enough for both of them, he said again. ‘What do you smell?’

‘I smell burnt sugar and the spark just before a flame, and smoke on dark wood. I smell dry summer earth and cloves and sunbaked grass. I smell –’

He kissed her again, and lifted her in one arm while he shifted the chair around with the other, making a loud scrape of wooden legs against stone before he shoved up her skirt and settled her a straddle the heavy press of his hard-on through his jeans. ‘My nose may not be as sophisticated as
yours, but I smell your pussy,’ he said, rocking and raking himself up against the crotch of panties she knew were wet. He dropped his face into her cleavage and bit. ‘And I smell your lust.’ Then as if she weighed nothing he shifted her around so that she still sat on his lap but she could see the
couple on the bed in front of them.

‘Chiara, Vittorio, this is Liza Calendar, Martelli Fragrance’s new nose, and I think it would be really welcoming of us if we let her smell you two fucking, don’t you?’

They both nodded wide-eyed.

As the two began to fuck, the man beneath Liza shifted and rocked against the damp crotch of her panties until she could feel the shape of his hard-on rubbing a wet trough between her labia. She had hardly been aware of her own shifting and rocking until his heavy hand moved up under her the slit of her gown and began stroke and tweak her clit.

‘Don’t. Please don’t,’ she whispered. ‘I’m here with someone.’

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.

—
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.

—
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.

—
SAFE BUY LINKS:
Amazon US
Amazon UK
Barnes & Noble

iBooks
Kobo
Scribd

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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.