Tag Archives: erotica writers

Erotica, AND a Launch and Reading at Sh! Great Start to the Weekend!

The 'kitchen' is behind the door next to the closet.

I’m writing this blog from our tiny closet of a hotel room, which is posing as an apartment, and since I’m planning to keep you all abreast of the fabulous fun in London Erotica this weekend, the best way I could think of is photo updates. Easy for me and hopefully fun for you.  Upon my arrival in London, I dropped of my bag at our palatial apartment/hotel room, and I know how much we all like to take a peek at where everyone is staying, so here’s the grand tour…. …That’s about it.

Erotica in the Afternoon

After I familiarized myself with my digs it was off to Erotica and to the Xcite Stand, where the books were leaping off the shelf, and I had

Hazel Cushion and Peter Newsom, the Super Woman and Wonder Man of the Xcite team

my trusty signing pens handy, along with my camera. Met some fabulous new folks and some old friends as well.

The Pets and me
Even thought Santa(Known to some as Peter Birch, and other pseudonyms) knows I'm a naughty girl, he still read me a story.
The Xcite team The two Peters on the outside, the indominable Hazel and Matt the Techno Wizard. All smiling as the books keep on selling!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sh! In the Evening

After signing and Santa and fun at Erotica with the Xcite folks, I hopped the District Line at Rush Hour and made my way across to Sh! in Hoxton for the fantastic Victoria Blisse launch Of her book, Tempting Rendezvous, along with Lucy Felthouse reading titillating smut from the ever-growing Felthouse collection.

Lucy Felthouse reading about a hot mermaid

Lucy Felthouse, Seducing the Myth:

The path forked, the left turning being the one which would lead me down by the water. I took it. The closer I drew to the mere, the more another part of me wished I wasn’t alone. The quiet was uncanny, as was the absence of any wildlife. You’d normally expect to find midges, dragonflies, and the birds that ate them around most bodies of water. There was nothing, which was strange enough. Stranger still was that despite its exposed location and the slight breeze in the air, the pool’s surface remained undisturbed. I wish I could have said the same for my state of mind.

Victoria Blisse reading from steamy Rendezvous

 

Victoria Blisse, Tempting Rendevous:

“So Lucy’s with your mum, huh?” He asks.

“Yeah, she is. She’s staying overnight and will be home tomorrow.”

“I bet you miss her.”

“Yes and no,” I reply as I slip my arm into the crook of his as his hand is buried deep in his pocket. I shiver as I think about our bodies joining and get a very vivid flash of our naked bodies thrusting against each other, our lips locked, our arms entangled. I shake my head and continue, “I miss her but it is nice to have some time to myself for a change you know?”

“Well, I can leave if you like,” He huffs with fake affront and I slap his arm playfully.

“Oh, hush, you know what I mean. It will be good to be by myself with you. That’s not very good English is it?”

“No but then I ain’t one to pick up on grammar and such. I get picked up on my Americanisms so often, I give others a break.”

“You can’t help that you speak funny,” I reply with a twinkle in my eye, “they all do over there.”

“Y’all speak a completely different language to me that’s for sure,” he chuckles, the rumble running through his body and into mine, making me vibrate pleasurably.

I love walking like this, so close to him. I love the way he rubs against me, the way I can feel his body heat. I love the feel of his arm as I grasp it and again I think of grasping hold of Joe and bracing myself as he plunges inside me with that throbbing cock.

Damn, I’m horny, so fucking horny I want to just push him up against the door and fuck him here on my doorstep.

 

 

 

 

The fabulous Sh! Muses! We love you, Ladiez!

Sh! is becoming a mecca of erotic literary readings and happenings in London. I asked Sh! manager, Renee Denyer how did this come about, and how does sh think the readings, as well as the lovely selection of erotic books Sh! has available benefits Sh! customers and benefits healthy sexuality in general.

Renee: Well, we like to think we have the finest selection of erotica for women in the whole of UK; and bearing in mind that the UK also has some of the finest authors of erotica, it’s easy to see how it all came about. It started with Rachel Kramer Bussel, the US Doyenne of Hot Erotica. She stopped by our Hoxton shop one rainy afternoon about 3 years ago, and asked if she could do a reading next time she was in London. Being a huge fan of hers, I said *yes*! Then I just had to look into how an erotic book reading happens, as I had never been to one… *blush*. It took off from there, and we now host regular readings and erotica book launches, and our customers love it. They get to meet the authors, have their books signed, and hear the stories read out in the authors own voice, which is damn hot! It’s very empowering, I think; it allows women to feel that it’s ok to have fantasies, and to enjoy them.
The lovely Victoria Blisse and Lucy Felthouse with their fabulous books!
It was fun at Sh!, as always, and at the end of the night, after dinner with the Blisses, and Lucy and Ian, it was back to the palatial apartments for a good rest before we all descent on Erotica for Saturday’s readings, panel and my Xcite’s launch for Pets.
More as it happens today, and throughout the weekend.  And I’ll add more links when I’m not rushing out the door.

 

All the News

I’ve not given an actual news update in ages, and it occurred to me that the next few weeks are chock-a-block with fun and excitement, and lots of things you might like to know about, so here’s the latest.

For the month of November I’m over at The Romance Reviews answering questions and just chatting. There’s a fabulous interview up as well dealing with all things Pets. If you stop by you can find out what inspired me to write The Pet Shop and how I deal with unruly Pets, and lots of other secret goodies about Tino and Vincent and Stella. Also, if you stop by and leave a comment, you’ll automatically have the chance to win a free eBook of The Pet Shop in the format of your choice.

While you’re over at The Romance Reviews, be sure to check out my guest post, ‘Beauty IN the Beast.’

Erotica, 2011 is going on all next weekend, 18-20 November, and I’ll be there, blogging, reading, panelling and celebrating the launch of The Pet Shop with Xcite Books. Xcite will have a stand at Erotica and will be featuring all kinds of fabulous events. I’ll be reading sizzling scenes from The Pet Shop, on Saturday in Xcite’s Reading Slam.  And Saturday at 6:30, Xcite are having a little launch party to celebrate The Pet Shop.  I hope I can keep Tino’s clothes on long enough for the party.

Sunday afternoon I’ll be participating in an Xcite Authors Panel, along with Toni Sands, Liz Coldwell, and Maxim Jakubowski. The panel will be chaired by Jane Wenham-Jones. Check out all of the fabulous Xcite events here, then come and join the fun. If you can’t make it, however, be sure to check my blog for the latest updates.

I’ve finished my read-through of the proofs of Lakeland Heatwave: Body Temperature and Rising and though I don’t have a date yet, I think I can safely say expect this first novel in my paranormal erotic romance to be out in eBook formats very soon, with the print launch in early February. Needless to say, I’m getting very excited about the goings on of the Elemental Coven in the Borrowdale Valley of the Lake District.

New Releases

Seducing the Myth, edited by the amazing Lucy Felthouse, contains my story, ‘Stones.’ This anthology of sexy myths is getting rave reviews, and is a must for anyone who loves mythology and has nasty thoughts about what really happened.

Women In Lust, edited by the ever-fabulous Rachel Kramer Bussel, contains my story, ‘Strapped.’ The anthology has also debuted to rave reviews. As always, when Rachel puts together an anthology, it rocks!

Immoral Views, edited by KoJo Black and illustrated by Florian Meacci is hot off the press from Sweetmeats Press, and contains five sizzling stories of voyeurism, including my story, Allotted Views, more serious garden porn. Definitely one not to miss.

Not only is Immoral Views available in one fabulously juicy anthology, but you can also get each of the individual stories as a stand-alone on Smashword if you’d like just a nibble before you bite. But I’m betting you’ll want to have the whole yummy voyeuristic feast.

Oh, and writing. There’s LOTS of writing going on around here. Some of it you already know about, some of it I’m keeping under my hat for now, but you’ll find out in good time, in good time! Now if you’ll excuse me, I just left one of my characters in a very compromising position on a massage table.

 

The Book Launch Extravaganza!

I’ve been anticipating the big launch of The Pet Shop forever now, and when Maxim Jakubowski and I decided to share the launch party — with him launching his exciting new novel, Ekaterina and the Night, it was a great opportunity for me to work with the King of the Erotic Thriller. We couldn’t be more different in our writing styles, and that made for intriguing possibilities.

I was actually feeling a little smug when launch day dawned bright and sunny. When I launched The Initiation of Ms Holly this time last year, I was a frightened, uncertain newbie. The Pet Shop was book number two. I was an old hand at this launch business now. I was ready for it!

There’s a price to pay for smugness. There was a broken printer, there were trains running late, there was Lucy Felthouse and the fabulous Ian stuck in traffic on the M1, there were windows shattering in the train Kay Jaybee was on, and there were problems with getting enough books for the launch.

Okay, most people think I’m the Queen of Calm (rolling on the floor laughing uncontrollably) but by the time we got to Sh! the calm had cracked, and poor Raymond, the Birthday Boy, was having to deal with The Wicked Witch of the West.

But Sh! is an oasis of love and calm if ever there was one. There were hugs all around, a nice cup of coffee, and Renee’s peaceful influence assuring me that all would be well. And I totally trust Renee!

Over at the Bluu Bar next door, where the pre-party was due to kick off, Mel Jones was already anticipating the thirsty convergence with a bottle of wine, several glasses and more reassuring hugs. While Maxim and I briefly rehearsed the reading from the prologue of The Pet Shop that we were doing together, Kay Jaybee showed up with Rebecca Bond, and more reassurance that all would be well.

Back over at Sh!, Sh! Sweeties extraordinaire, Jo Wierzbicka and Sarah Berry greeted us with hugs and congratulations, and I felt like I’d come home. The pink fizz was already flowing and the guests milled about amid riding crops and collars and vibes and corsetry. Lexie Bay and her lovely husband, Doug, arrived. In the Fab Footwear Parade, Lexie was the clear winner with ‘Sh! pink’ heels sporting a whole garden of tiny leather flowers. The competition was stiff with Jo’s ‘there’s no place like home’ ruby slippers. Not to be completely left out, I wore the leopard print Pet shoes, which bit my feet rather sharply when I moved just right. I suppose that was appropriate under the circumstances.

I was elated to finally meet Marilyn Jaye Lewis, who was here visiting from the States and will be doing a reading at the Last Tuesday Society on Friday. And it was great to have Rubyyy Jones in attendance, looking rather Pet-like herself in black and leopard print.

The party started with Maxim and me doing a joint reading of the prologue of The Pet Shop, as ‘The Boss’ and his secretary, Anne O’Kelly argue about the appropriate gift to give employee, Stella James, for a job well done. It was the perfect lead-in to my introduction of Tino, the Pet, who is possibly my favourite of all the characters I’ve ever created.

Before Maxim read, we had one of three giveaways that were spread throughout the evening. Maxim gave away two copies of the many fabulous anthologies he has edited, and I gave away two Holly/Pets coffee mugs. But the biggie, and much coveted grand prize, courtesy of Xcite Books, was a great gift package complete with gift vouchers from Sh!

Then it was time for the Queen of Raunchy Poetry, Mel Jones, to titillate us all with extraordinary filthy verse. And she did NOT disappoint. Later Mel’s partner in poetry crime, Alan Wolfson also read some steamy kissing poetry. (Alan was also in the running for the Fab Footwear Award with his truly exquisite amethyst shoes) These two lovelies co-host the Kiss The Sky poetry event every other Wednesday at the Kiss The Sky Bar in Hampstead. I have a special place in my heart for KTS because I lost my ‘appreciation for performance poetry’ virginity there. I could listen and watch for hours! Here all this time I thought I was a Philistine.

After poetry, Maxim took the stage (or in this case the pink setae) and read the gripping ending of his novel, Ekaterina and the Night. I have to admit, I would have thought giving away the ending would be a bad idea, but in this case, Maxim knew exactly what he was doing (no surprise there). This eerie, sexy, moving ending definitely made me want to read the rest of the book and find out how Maxim GOT us to such an exquisite finale.

Having finally made it through the traffic, Lucy and Ian arrived at Sh! with scrummy cupcakes in tow — none of which survived the resulting feeding frenzy. Once they had arrived, it felt like the party could begin. As the evening continued, there were questions and answers, book signings, snatches of fantastic conversation with lots of people I wish I’d had a lot more time with. There was more poetry, there were more readings and there was lots of milling around upstairs with the fabulous vibes, corsetry and books. I noticed more than a few people leaving with large pink bags of Sh! yumminess.

I thought by my second launch I’d be able to manage my time a little better, but not so. I’d had visions of photo ops with all my favourite people and quiet conversations happening in front of the collar and cuff display. What was I thinking? My lovely husband, Raymond celebrated his birthday by taking pictures and never missing an opportunity to promote me. Bless him! But what I really needed was to be TWO of me.  That way, one of me could just take in the whole experience as an observer, taking note of the things I missed because I was signing books or being so excited to see someone I hadn’t seen for a while or answering questions. I would love to have taken in the nuances, experienced the whole wild amazing evening a little less fleetingly and held it all a little more clearly in my overwhelmed memory. Because it was wonderful! My book, my baby is out there for all the world to see! Maybe I’m not as much of an old hand at this as I thought, because Wow! Okay. Just wow!

Afterward there was a very late dinner, with nine of us squeezed together in the basement of Pizza Express reliving the events of the evening and catching up with old friends. Then it was back onto the streets amid the clubbers and smokers milling outside and the street venders selling sausages and grilled onions to those with the late-night munchies. We said our good-byes near Old Street Station to friends who had to catch the tube or bus or a taxi. Kay Jaybee, Rebecca Bond, Raymond and I had hotel rooms for the night, so it was back to the all-night hotel bar for a night cap amid a raucous hen party, all bedecked  in sparkly headbands and surly looking blokes who had clearly taken advantage of the bar’s five for £10 beer special. Then, at last, it was off to bed.

I had the pleasure of having breakfast at the Breakfast Club near Hoxton Square with Kay Jaybee and Rebecca Bond the next morning. We talked writing and more writing over eggs and bacon, pancakes and hash browns and fresh squeezed orange juice. And lots of coffee! Amid the clatter of breakfast dishes and the buzz of lazy Saturday morning conversation all around us, we talked of our plans and schemed our future take-over of the world. It was the perfect way to top off a great launch.

I can’t think of the launch without feeling very grateful for all the support and good will that I felt. Thanks to Maxim Jakubowski for being a great ‘partner in crime.’ Thanks to all the people who wished me well via Facebook, Twitter, email and snail mail. Thanks to everyone who came to the launch party, and especially to those who braved traffic, exploding train windows and other hazards of long journeys to get there. Thanks to Mel Jones and Alan Wolfson for sharing their deliciously raunchy poetry. Thanks to Xcite Books for furnishing the food, drinks and give away. And a very special thanks, once again to the incomparable Sh! Ladiez! There aren’t enough hugs and kisses to express my gratitude to you sweeties!

Dozing on the train, in the unseasonably warm sunlight on the way home, I relived the highlights of the fantastic Book Launch Extravaganza once again and tried to remember more of the bright, bubbly details that rushed by so quickly. I imagine I’ll be sifting through all that lovely excitement in my head for days to come. A book launch at Sh! is most definitely the gift that keeps on giving.

Maxim Jakubowski Shares How NOT to Write a Sex Scene

I’m very excited to welcome The King of the Erotic Thriller,  Maxim Jakubowski, who has stopped by on his blog tour for his fantastic new novel, Ekaterina and the Night. Maxim is going to share very intriguing details about how NOT to write a sex scene.

I have the honour of partying with Maxim this Friday night in London in the big launch extravaganza at Sh! Hoxton. Ekaterina and Pets will be launching together, and there’ll be double the fun! You won’t want to miss it.

Welcome, Maxim! It’s fantastic to have you on A Hopeful Romantic!

 

I don’t plan my novels, let alone my short stories. They all begin with the germ of an idea, a title and an opening line, and then it’s in the hands of fate and my imagination as I improvise my way down the sometimes rocky and winding road, serenaded by the flashing cursor on my screen. A bit like a journey into the dark, although I sometimes have a glimpse of the finishing line, a sentence, a feeling, something I’m moving towards.

Sometimes, I take up a challenge when a friendly editor asks me to contribute to a themed anthology: hotel rooms, nudity, particular cities, vampires, voyeurism, a historical setting (the latter almost defeated me and I came up with a tale featuring Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald, unable to go back any further through time…); it gives the writing journey a focus of sorts. But if the theme doesn’t connect with me, I’m unable to conjure anything up: fairy tales, female domination, spanking, bondage are just not ‘me’ somehow and I have regularly drawn blanks when it comes to those themes (and books).

In essence, everything I write is erotic. Even when I used to, so many years ago, write science fiction and fantasy and later crime thrillers, I was often criticised for introducing sexual scenes critics and readers often objected to. I just couldn’t see what the fuss was all about. After all, even in a genre setting, you have to come up with credible characters, men and women made of flesh and words, not just cardboard cut-outs. And what do men and women do in real life, they have relationships, contact, sex. So why should that important component in their lives be automatically excluded from the story, even more so when the sex became not just an act of titillation for the reader but an integral part of the plot insofar as it determined the characters’ psychology and action?

Eventually, I just gave up and pared my writing down of genre tropes and stuck to what I knew, enjoyed and wrote best: the erotic. Even today my crime thrillers are openly labelled as erotic and no doubt the strapline on my tombstone or my urn will read “by the King of the Erotic Thriller’ (the Times or Time Out, take your choice, I can’t remember who used the expression first)…

But even today, every morning while I stare at the white screen and see my story progress in leaps and stutters I always feel surprisingly wary when the moment comes for my characters to intersect, for sexuality to rear its head; the dreaded sex scene (although some of my critics would question that, insofar as they see my books and stories as an unending, continuous sex scene…). How am I going to describe the waltz of bodies, shedding clothes, embraces, sounds, colours, feelings yet again and do it well, play the right note. After all, I’ve written and published 11 novels and almost a 100 short stories and here I am having to uncover yet another variation, not repeat myself, another way of ordering the words in the right order to evoke something so wonderful and private and universal without repeating myself? Will I manage it again? My initial instinct is negative, fearful I am that I will this time come up with cliches and, worse, vulgarity. It’s my daily Rubicon.

So, I close my eyes, I evoke personal memories, the way my heart and my genitalia and the pit of my stomach once felt and, like a miracle, the words always come. OK, so some times the same words become over-employed (but that can always be put right in the later editorial revisions/process) but once the feeling overtakes me, the sex scene just flows, I’m floating on air again, sometimes I even shamefully must confess I get hard (an odd form of narcissim, I know). In most cases, I initially feel it’s going to be tough to extend the scene over more than a couple of paragraphs but invariably I end up up with a whole page or more and have to cut things short for fear of the sex scene taking on too much importance in the general balance of the story or the chapter.

In every sex scene I seem to pen, I imagine myself, like a deep sea diver, in the mind and skin of the protagonists. Whether they be male or female. I feel what they feel, I hurt when they hurt, I come when they come (metaphorically-speaking), I sigh when they sigh, my breath accelerates or slows down as theirs does. I am making love with myself (spare me the joke…), I’m fucking and being fucked, I am in love.

It works for me, that’s all I can say.

It feels real, and that is of paramount importance; makes it believable instead of yet another set of hydraulics and cliches, or wishful thinking. And the truth I have tried to inject into the sex scene illuminates the characters and becomes an integral part of the plot.

In my new novel, EKATERINA AND THE NIGHT, I have an ageing English film critic (did I mention I run an annual film festival, in civilian life?), a young Italian trainee journalist, an immortal female killer, the cult, French writer Boris Vian, a black jazz musician high on drugs, and sundry other men and women waltzing through the whirlpools of lust and love. And every time their clothes come off (or even if they don’t, let’s not be so literal…) I was them, fucking and being fucked, touched by the divine presence of sex, but I hope that when you read the book, you will not see me, unshaven and unkempt typing at my keyboard in a room overlooking a large green London garden with squirrels and pigeons on the lawn, but you will see Ekaterina, Emma and Alex Ballard, and they will have real faces and bodies in your mind. If they do, then I will have succeeded in bringing them to life in their sex scenes and between the lines of the novel.

Blurb:

Lolita meets Story of O, another memorable tale of love, sex and feelings from ‘the King of the erotic thriller’

When Ekaterina meets Alexander a shockingly sexy but tender romance develops.

She is a young Italian trainee journalist, who dreams of wild sexual adventures. He is the older Englishman who she believes can fulfill her fantasies. When Ekaterina is sent to interview the ageing writer Alexander in London, she is blinded by his charm and experience. Their relationship explodes in a sensual orgy, which defies society’s acceptance.

When a mysterious angel of death who calls herself Emma enters their lives, Ekaterina and Alexander know their days together are numbered.

A shocking climax set in Venice in winter brings the three protagonists together.

A tale of sex and tenderness that ranks alongside Jakubowski classic The State of Montana.

 

MAXIM JAKUBOWSKI worked for many years in book publishing as an editor (including titles by William Golding, Peter Ackroyd, Oliver Stone, Michael Moorcock, Peter Ustinov, Jim Thompson, David Goodis, Paul Ableman, Sophie Grigson, Marc Behm, Cornell Woolrich, etc…) and launched the Murder One Bookshop, which he owned and ran for over 20 years. He now writes, edits and translates full-time in London.
*****
COMMENT TO WIN!
Courtesy of Xcite Books, three lucky winners can get their hands on a copy of Ekaterina and the Night in their choice of paperback or digital format. (International entries welcome)

Simply leave a comment on this post to win. Be sure to check out the rest of the posts in the tour, because the more comments you make, the more chance you have of winning! Go here to see the blog tour schedule.

PLEASE leave your email address in the body of the comment. No email address = no entry. Winners will be drawn and contacted on the week ending 11th November 2011.

Ekaterina and the Night buy links:

Paperback (available in the US slightly later than the UK)

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Ekaterina-Night-Maxim-Jakubowski/dp/190800696X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1315316359&sr=8-1

http://www.amazon.com/Ekaterina-Night-Maxim-Jakubowski/dp/190800696X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1315316363&sr=8-1

http://www.bookdepository.co.uk/Ekaterina-Night-Maxim-Jakubowski/9781908006967

http://www.waterstones.com/waterstonesweb/products/maxim+jakubowski/ekaterina+and+the+night/8396851/

http://www.whsmith.co.uk/CatalogAndSearch/ProductDetails.aspx?productID=9781908006967

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/ekaterina-and-the-night-maxim-jakubowski/1102213975?ean=9781908006967&itm=1&usri=ekaterina%2band%2bthe%2bnight

eBook

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Ekaterina-and-the-Night-ebook/dp/B005PQIJ1Q/ref=sr_1_4?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1317114839&sr=1-4

http://www.amazon.com/Ekaterina-and-the-Night-ebook/dp/B005PQIJ1Q/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1317114887&sr=8-1

http://www.erotica-romance-ebooks.com/ekaterina-and-the-night.html

http://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-ekaterinaandthenight-598651-144.html

http://www.bookstrand.com/ekaterina-and-the-night

The Story Behind Jacqueline Applebee’s Anthology, ‘Bisexual Men’

I’m very happy to have one of my favourite people, and an amazing erotic author, the fantastic Jacqueline Applebee, as my guest this week. Jacqi will be telling us the story behind her hot new anthology, ‘Bisexual Men.’ Welcome Jacqui!

I wrote Bisexual Men because simply put, I’d hardly ever read about bisexual men as a subject or a group before.  I could find books full of erotic stories about bisexual women, where the men were strictly heterosexual; even in threesome stories men would never touch each other.  I knew that bisexual men existed, but in the realm of erotic fiction they were rarely seen.  This seemed to reflect the prevalent media image where men are either “gay, straight or lying.”

I’ve been active with various bisexual communities in the U.K for the past eighteen years.  I’ve heard many negative stereotypes and myths about bisexual people, but for some reason, bisexual men really bear the brunt of a lot of hate.  I decided that I could either be depressed by that or I could turn it on its head.

Bisexual Men contains a mixture of stories.  In some tales, bisexual characters are out and proud, but in others coming out is a slow and careful process.  As I wrote this collection, I knew that this was something different, important but still incredibly sexy too.  I’m not ashamed to say that the thought of two or more men together really turns me on!

Gender was something that has interested me for many years. I used to identify as mostly-female, but not totally.  It still took me some time to realise that there are more than two genders out there. One of my stories in this collection, ‘Recognition’ tells of a female to male transman who finds acceptance and satisfying sex at a party, but only when his boyfriend stops treating him like a delicate woman who needs protecting.

Another rarity in erotic fiction is when outwardly-seeming gay men decide to be with women.  ‘Invisible Me’ was inspired by listening to a bisexual man talk about his experiences coming out as gay, and how things changed for him when he started identifying as bisexual several years later.

‘David does BiCon’ is something I’d wanted to write for ages.  BiCon (U.K bisexual convention) is an event that I’ve attended every year since 2007. It is incredible to be in a space where bisexuality is the norm, and where you can attend workshops on subjects as diverse as BDSM for beginners, Bi people in Sci-Fi, and Bisexuals of Colour.  I’ve met a few of my partners at BiCon, and I’ve made a lot of good friends there too.  I think I’ve done a good job of summing up the crazy weekend of fun in this story!

One of the biggest challenges for me was to write so many stories from a male point of view.  I also wanted to have stories where the protagonist was someone other than a young white man. Writing Bisexual Men has been a real learning experience for me.  I think I’ve grown as a result of writing stories very different to my usual style.  I trialled a lot of the stories at BiCon, and I also gave them to a few men of different sexualities to read.  The feedback I’ve received so far has been overwhelmingly positive, which is something I’m really pleased about.  It is my hope that everyone who reads this collection will enjoy it.  I hope they will be more aware of bisexual men as a unique group, and of course, I hope they get turned on too!

 Short blurb for Bisexual Men

Bisexual men are everywhere—haven’t you read about it yet?  These fifteen tales celebrate the sexy adventures by men who really do go both ways.  They love soft feminine curves and hard masculine muscles—as long as the action is hot, nothing will spoil the fun to be had!

Excerpt from Invisible Me:

There are some things I will eternally be grateful to gay men for: rubbering up was never high on my agenda until I attended a sexual health workshop run by the Terrence Higgins Trust years ago.  Of course everyone there thought I was a homosexual until I took off my jacket to reveal a tee-shirt with the slogan, ‘bats for both sides’ on it.  The friendly smiles dried up pretty quickly when I did that, but I was younger then.  I truly didn’t give a shit in those days.

I squeeze out a ribbon of lube from the pump dispenser on the dresser.  I rub myself up and down, spreading the slick fluid over my cock.  Sylvia’s eyes grow wide, dark.  A ribbed condom goes on next with a single flick of my wrist.  I cup my balls, look down, and then gaze up through my eyelashes; a patented move designed to make my lover’s mouth water.  I may be older than most studs, but hey I’ve still got it, and what’s more, I know how to use it too.

I take my time moving to the bed.  Sylvia wraps her long legs around my waist once I get close to her.  I hold her hands, pinning them to the mattress.  I move my hips, teasing her with my cock.  She tries to get it inside her, but I move just so, barely touching her pussy.  Sylvia wrenches one arm from my grip, and then she pulls me to her, kissing me with fierceness so strong that I am surprised.  When she leans back, her lips are swollen, and her face is flushed.  I let go of her other hand.

“Turn.”

My lover turns over, positions herself on her hands and knees.  I take in the long planes of her back, the fine hairs that start at her spine, only to disappear into the dark shadows of her arse.  I smell sweat and arousal.  I see her puckered hole twitch and relax.  I step back to the dresser, find a latex glove beneath the pile of condoms in their little silver packets.  I work the glove over my fingers, and then snap it on completely, making Sylvia jump slightly on the bed.  She is beautiful, but she is also the best kind of slut; she spreads her legs wider for me.  The squelch of the lube on my hands makes me shiver.  One finger delves to my lover’s arse, gently pressing until the muscled ring of flesh gives in to me.  I feel, rather than hear Sylvia moan; the tremor moves up my arm.  A second finger joins the first.  My lover pants and shudders beneath me.  My cock is so hard; just one touch could set me off.  I push inside her slippery pussy, feel consumed by this woman.  My fingers are rapidly being squeezed and pressed whilst my cock is sucked and massaged.  I steady myself, thrust in deeper.  I want to make Sylvia scream.

If gay men gave me an appreciation of rubbering up, then lesbian literature gave me all the knowledge I’d need about g-spots.  I know I’m on target when Sylvia’s voice drops an octave.  She thrusts back against me, harder and harder.  She comes shaking, clenching around me.  I carefully remove my fingers from her arse, and then I speed up my thrusts in her pussy.  I squeeze my eyes shut as I come; whisper her name.  We both collapse onto the bed in a sweaty heap.  I hold her as tightly as I dare.

I want to pull out, and then take her up the arse, even if I won’t be hard again for a while.  I want to be rougher with her than she’d let me.  I want to bend down, kiss a shaven head, and run fingers over a flat chest.  I love Sylvia, but I feel the little flame bend and twist inside me.  I don’t want my fire to go out.  I hold the base of the condom, slip out of her, and then I tie a knot in the rubber.  She doesn’t see me as I move.

I don’t stay the night.  I’ve got a presentation at work the next day, and I want to practice my big sell some more.  I can’t concentrate though; nothing makes sense.  I fluff my lines each time I try.  I give up, and go to bed thoroughly pissed off.

I wake up in the middle of the night; my cock is hard, and my mind is racing.  I dig out my old faithful: a gay trucker DVD.  Large muscular men grab arses, pound into sweaty flesh.  The screen is full of sucking, fucking, bad-ass truck drivers.  I haven’t hitchhiked in over fifteen years.  I never met any truckers like those onscreen during my travels, mores’ the pity.  I wank to the sound of digitised groans, and come into a handful of tissues I keep by the sofa.  I finally fall asleep feeling spent and satisfied.

Where to buy Bisexual Men

eXcessica http://www.excessica.com/books/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=456

Amazon.co.uk http://www.amazon.co.uk/Bisexual-Men-ebook/dp/B005OSIWOY/

Amazon.com in print. https://www.createspace.com/3535782

Amazon.com as an ebook http://www.amazon.com/Bisexual-Men-ebook/dp/B005OSIWOY

About Jacqueline Applebee

Jacqueline Applebee is a writer who breaks down barriers with smut. Her work has appeared in Best Women’s Erotica, Ultimate Lesbian Erotica, and many other anthologies.  She has written several novels, details of which can be found on her website (http://www.writing-in-shadows.co.uk)

Jacqueline can also be found online on her bisexual blog (http://j-applebee.tumblr.com), her polyamorous blog (http://howbigisyourheart) and on Twitter (http://twitter.com/applewriter)

‘Bats for both sides’ is one of a range of bisexual themed tee shirts available at the Bisexual Index (http://www.bisexualindex.org.uk/index.php/TheShop)

 

Thanks for stopping by, Jacqui! You nearly melted my monitor with this hot excerpt. Hope my Kindle can handle the heat!