Tag Archives: eroticon 2013

Aural Pleasures Revisited: Fond Memories of Filthy Words

Aural Sex at Eroticon 2013When Kristina Lloyd suggested I do a post about the Night of Aural Pleasure readings at the Lock Stock bar for Eroticon 2013, I agreed happily, but only if I could get some of the fabulous writers I’d had the priveledge to read with that night to share a bit of their experience and even titilate us just a tad with a few lines from what you missed if you weren’t there, and what you enjoyed totally if you were. Once again I’d like to thank the lovely and talented Harper Eliot for arranging the whole event, not an easy task, and I sincerely hope that there’ll be lots more such readings and opportunities to rub shoulders with some of my favourite writers in the future.

Ashley Lister

I thought the whole evening was fun, exciting and really, really entertaining. I was listening to some of my favourite writers sharing the words they’d published and written. Speaking as someone who loves the written and spoken word, I don’t think the pleasure comes much better. The atmosphere was welcoming and supportive and I can’t wait until next year if there’s a chance to repeat the experience.

Below are the opening verses from one of the poems I read (Betty & I) the story of a man who takes a blow-up doll to a swingers’ party.

Betty and I

We went to one of those swingers’ parties,

Me and my blow-up doll: Betty.

She wanted to add a new kink to our lives.

I just went there to get sweaty.

 

Our relationship was at a low point.

And it had been that way for a bit.

But I still tried to treat her with flowers or clothes.

Or a bicycle puncture repair kit.

 

Yet for months my Betty had been silent.

And our love life had skidded off track.

I didn’t know if Betty had stopped loving me.

Or was just missing the string from her back.

 

Molly Moore

“I rarely get nervous when I reading now. I have done it often enough to know I am OK at it but on this occasion the nerves really grabbed me. Maybe it was the thought of reading to a room full of very talented writers that left me suddenly feeling very exposed and vulnerable. The moment I took my place in the spot light I would been much happier taking my kit off rather than speaking but luckily for everyone I controlled that urge and they got words instead of naked!”

A snippet of the story I read…. which was titled Hungry Beast.

“The heat of the flogger on my skin and the sound it makes as it connects with my flesh still rings in my ears. If I close my eyes I can feel the grip of the cuffs on my wrists as they hold me in place before him and when I look down I remember seeing my shoes laying there, empty and forgotten for the time being. The room is busy, people are talking and laughing, but even though my eyes see them my ears seems to switch off to the background noise. For me the only sound I can hear is the paddle or crop or whip as it cuts through the air and finds me. I am its intended target, the recipient of its affections and with each touch I learn to fear it less and want it more.”

Excerpt from the poem, Brutal Passion

“Regal dresses and beautiful jewels

Seem dull to me compared to tools

Of a dark and deviant cell

And helpless maids that face a hell”

 

Kristina Lloyd

When I saw Harper Eliot’s stunningly sexy poster for Aural Sex, I sensed this was going to be a great night. Getting a black cab to the venue kristina_lloyd_aural_sex Eroticonwith Remittance Girl and Janine Ashbless, two writers whose words invariably dazzle me, ramped up my excitement. Over the weekend at Eroticon, I was involved in several conversations about setting up an erotica salon in London, a regular event potentially similar to Rachel Kramer Bussel’s erstwhile In the Flesh reading series. The success of Aural Sex suggests this would be an excellent idea. I’d like it put on record that cocktails and posh frocks ought to be involved!

On the bill at Aural Sex was a mix of readers, some unknown to me, others established authors; and we had a large, appreciative audience. Sitting in a cosy pub with a gin, being regaled by smart, sexy words,  ranging from Molly Moore’s dark and sultry public-play vignette to Ashley Lister’s hilarious and poignant poem, Betty, not to mention the pints of troll come from Ms Ashbless, is my idea of a damn good time! I was proud to take to the floor and declare ‘I’m doing anal’ (I was on my second gin by this point). I read the opener of my story in the anthology, Smart Ass, part of an anal erotica ebook series edited by Alison Tyler. The piece begins, ‘So, there he is with his cock in my ass, and I’m biting the pillow, making all sorts of groans. At least, that’s how it looks on the outside.’ You can read the first few pages on Amazon. In short, Aural Sex was a superb evening. We ought to do it more often!

Janine Ashbless

I read from Named and Shamed and polluted the ears of the Aural Pleasure audience with no-holds-barred Troll Bukkake. Could it get any better?

“Still it came … Pints of the stuff. Goddamn – it tasted like cold miso soup.”

 

KD Grace

I was astounded when I discovered how much more powerful poetry is when it’s performed rather than read silently by me.  And I find that to be equally true with erotica. There’s something very intimate and down-to-earth about reading or having erotica read to you out-loud. Add to that the alcoholic beverage of choice and excellent company, and what’s not to like?

Thanks, everyone, for sharing your experiences of the Night of Aural Pleasure. It’s a real treat to have you, and I can hardly wait to be aurally titilated by all of you again!

 

 

 

Finessing Sex Notes: Post Your Exercise on Irregular Voice

I’ve been asked for the notes from my Eroticon writing workshop, Finessing Sex and the In Media Res exercise I used at the end, so here they are. Sadly, the forty-five minute time allotted to us meant that most of the people in the workshop didn’t get the chance to share their work. The lovely Mia Moor has kindly taken it upon herself to solve that problem by allowing anyone who participated or anyone who wasn’t able to attend the workshop but wants to do the exercise to post their creative efforts on her wonderful website, Irregular Voice Thank you SO much, Mia, for sharing your site! You’re the best.

Below are the notes from the hand-out I used, which I’ll also pass on to Ruby for the Eroticon site. I’ve added just enough to clarify where needed. Enjoy!

*****

FINESSING SEX

Notes

Part 1: Creating Characters                           

Create at least two characters, and give yourself five minutes to create a very rough character sketch of each. Feel free to use characters from a story you’re working on and use the scene for your story or simply use the exercise for raw material. Do whatever you want with your characters as long as by the end of your scene at least one character has sex

Number one rule: Write! Keep on writing! Don’t stop!

Setting yourself a limited amount of time in which to brainstorm a topic or a character is a fantastic way to get beyond the internal editor to the good stuff! Allow yourself to play with the words and have fun.

Part 2: Cause some chaos. Ask yourself:

1. How can the sex scene you’re about to create have the most impact in your plot?writing-image-2-225x300

2. What are the consequences of this sex scene?

3. Who is affected by this sex act?

4. What revelation does this sex scene bring about?

5. How can this sex scene be used most affectively to drive your story?

Remember! Sex should NEVER be gratuitous. Sex always serves a purpose.

6. When the sex is over, how will the landscape of the story be changed?

Part 3: Choosing a POV. Ask yourself:

1. From whose POV is the sex in this scene most interesting. Why?

(If you choose to write your scene from the third person objective POV, why is that the best POV?)

2. Whose POV will best move your story forward? Why?

3. Whose POV will result in the most chaos?

4. Whose POV will give the most emotional charge?

5. Who has the most baggage?

Hint: Baggage is one of the best tools for helping choose POV. Baggage is what every person carries from childhood, from traumas, from past sexual experiences or lack thereof, from anything within the emotional place where your character is when you write her/him having sex.

Note: Not all of these questions may be satisfied by one character’s POV. You’ll have to choose which POV will best serve the story. Sometimes the most important thing about the POV character is the insights he/she offers the reader into another character!

Part 4: The ‘Photo Shoot’

Think of the scene you’re writing in terms of a series of snap shots. You, the writer, are now the photographer, and you get to choose the snapshots you believe will give your reader the most vivid experience of the story you’re telling. Remember, the ultimate voyeur in the story will be your reader, so make the scene worth looking at. Think in terms of:

1. The physical attribute of your characters.

2. Using all of the senses.

3. What does the person who’s POV you’re writing from actually think about her/his experience of sex. The running internal commentary can sometimes be the sexiest part of a sex scene, or the most revealing. Remember, this is why you’ve chosen this person’s POV.

4. The language used in the sex scene is also a powerful tool for eliciting emotion, arousal, a sense of who these people shagging are, what matters to them, and how they experience sex.

5. Location can raise the risk factor, raise the discomfort level, raise the heat level and affect the pacing of the scene.

Step 5: Write it!

1. In Media Res. Minimise the setup and start in the middle of the action. Tell the story from the inside out.

2. Remember! Editors are busy folks. They may give you as few as three paragraphs. If you hold their interest for three, then you get a fourth. If you enthral them for four, then you get a fifth …

Your job is to start at the point that grips and make the reader unable to leave until they find out what has happened to put your characters in such a position.

The Exercise: Using the above tools, write for ten minutes. Write without stopping; write without slowing down. Start in the middle of the action and create some chaos as quickly as possible.

Now write like the wind!

And when you’re finished, don’t forget to head on over to Mia’s site, Irregular Voice, and add your results and check out what everyone else came up with.

Helpful Sites:

Erotica Readers and Writers Association: http://www.erotica-readers.com/

Erotica for All: http://eroticaforall.co.uk/

How to Write Erotic Fiction: http://howtowriteeroticfiction.blogspot.co.uk/

The Erotic Literary Salon: http://theeroticsalon.com/

My Websites: https://kdgrace.co.uk/ , http://gracemarshallromance.co.uk/

Helpful Books:                  

Writing Erotica:

How To Write Erotic Fiction and Sex Scenes — Ashley Lister

How to Write a Dirty Story –Susie Bright

Writing Erotic Fiction – Pamela Rochford

Love Writing: How to Make Money Writing Romantic or Erotic Fiction – Sue Moorcroft

Writing Craft and Inspiration:

Writing Down the Bones – Natalie Goldberg

Best book ever on giving yourself permission to write badly in order to get to the good stuff.

Self-Editing for Fiction Writers – Renni Brown and Dave King

Best book on self-editing and honing craft I’ve found.

 

Eroticon 2013: Community, Creativity and Fun

75526_10151629778475561_1361237413_nWriters write in solitude. That’s one of the pleasures as well as one of the hazards of the job. We need other people. We need interaction, but because writers tend to be introverts, extroverted events can be both tremendously exhilarating and totally exhausting. I’m writing this post somewhere in between the two. I’ve been basking in the afterglow of Eroticon 2013 all day, looking at all the lovely tweets and posts, reading the blogs and remembering, and reflecting, and analysing. I’ve nabbed photos from Lucy Felthouse and Victoria Blisse, and I’ve now downloaded my own, which gave me another chance to relive the amazing event. It gave me another opportunity to marvel at the organisational skills of Ruby Kiddell, which absolutely border on genius. It gave me another opportunity to be astounded by Harper Eliot’s ability to hold up under stress with finesse and grace and still pull off a stunning evening of aural sex when things didn’t quite go to plan for the readings! Hats off to both of you! You rock!

481675_10151629778870561_42965464_nAs always, I didn’t get nearly to all of the courses I’d wanted to. That wasn’t just because there were too many delicious offerings happening at once. It was also because there were times when I was torn between attending the courses and continuing with a conversation in the meeting room with someone I knew full well I wouldn’t see again for another year, if not longer. The courses were fabulous. For every one I attended, there were two more I’d like to have attended. Though I have to admit for me, who quake at the very thought of writing a poem, Ashley Lister’s poetry workshop was the highlight. Remittance Girl’s fascinating talk on eroticism and romanticism was also amazing and has given me food for thought for a long time to come.

Teaching a writing workshop for the first time ever, and on the afternoon of the last day, meant that I spent a good part of my weekend trying not to angst too much about how I’d manage to convey what I live with and love passionately to a roomful of people I knew  all had their own passionate love for writing. I needn’t have worried. I was in good company, company that completely understood where I was coming from and were eager to participate. I came away feeling like I’d gained far more than I’d given.

I had the chance to spend a quiet hour talking to, Hazel Cushion, the MD of Xcite Press. I had the chance to finally meet the amazing Suzanne Noble in person. I had a chance to spend time with Janine Ashbless, Kristina Lloyd, and Rachel Kramer Bussel. I chatted with Maxim Jakubowski. I had a chance to finally meet Anonymous Lily. I had my picture taken by the fabulous Mario Cacciottolo for his ‘Someone Once Told Me’ project, while I shared my adventures in Lapovo with him. I know for every person I’ve mentioned I’ve left out six. And every one of them made me feel richer and deeper.

I won’t lie. I came to Eroticon 2013 for the community. That’s what I came for last year and that’s what I’ll come back for next year. And I SO wasn’t disappointed! On Friday night for the ‘pre-game show,’ I had the pleasure of a fabulous ladies night out filled with burlesque at Volupte. I was in the company of Kay Jaybee, Lucy Felthouse, Victoria Blisse, Lily Harlem, Lexie Bay and Tabitha Rayne. At Volupte, we caught up with Delores Deluxe, the fabulous Kittens of the Kitten Club, along with the totally yummy Dave, the Bear. There 481188_10151629777860561_1576819210_nwas dinner and laughing and cocktails and planning and scheming and catching up.

Last year at Eroticon, Lucy Felthouse, Lily Harlem, Victoria Blisse and I spent a late night after Eroticon at the hotel bar dreaming and scheming what became The Seven Deadly Sins anthology, published in December. This year as we all sat in the hotel bar with the welcome addition of Lexie Bay and Tabitha Rayne, Lily surprised us all by producing a scrap of paper from her notebook. It was the same scrap of paper on which we had schemed The Seven Deadly Sins a year ago! I don’t mind saying my heart did a little flutter dance at the thought of the rich well-textured, beautifully vulnerable, outrageously funny moments that had led to those scribbles on that piece of paper.

The depth of the creativity and the sense of community I feel with my old friends in erotica, whom I can never get enough of, and with those that I’ve just met that I feel like I’ve known all of my life still astounds me. There’s a sense of celebration of what the last year has brought about linked to anticipation of what the future holds. It’s all about community for me, about who we all are together and separately, about what we all can offer up to each other and what we all receive in abundance by being a part of something so vibrant and so hope-filled. There’s also a wonderful sense of permission granted, a sense of encouragement offered, a sense of ‘well, go on then. Just go do it. You know you want to, and we all know you can.’

I came away feeling more than myself on the one hand and more deeply myself on the other. I came away anticipating what I’ll create between now and Eroticon 2014 and what we all will create, because looking back at this weekend, how could what comes from it be anything less than stunning?

Eroticon 2013 — Writing, Bolgging, Creating and Aural Sex!

Aural Sex at Eroticon 2013If you’ve not got your tickets yet for Eroticon 2013, don’t fret, there’s still time! And with a full two days of workshops, panels and fabulous opportunities to network with some of the most creative minds of the erotica world, you won’t want to miss it! I’m ironing out the final details for my workshop on finessing sex in writing, in which much creative naughtiness shall ensue.  And, wow! What fabulous company I’m in!

After a stimulating day of work-shopping and networking and absorbing so much information and atmosphere, what better way to unwind than relaxing with a nice glass of wine and a bit of Aural Sex! I’m very excited to announce that I’ll be reading along with some of my very favourite erotica writers. Take a look at the line-up! If that doesn’t make you drool, add to it the fabulous burlesque and Cabaret performers Miss Glory Pearl and Miss Maybe and how could it not be an evening to remember! Head on over to The Lock Stock Bar at 8 pm on Saturday the 2nd for lots of aural pleasure!

And now that you’ve checked out the line-up of panels, workshops and events and you’ve got the scoop about all the filthy aural fun planned for Saturday night, all that remains is to make sure you’ve got your ticket!  Come join the fun at Coin Street Conference Center in London March 2-3!

Just a reminder. If you are attending my workshop on Finessing Sex, please bring your writing tools. There’ll be lots of filthy writing involved.

Finessing Sex at Eroticon 2013

banner-4

 

This time next month I’ll be enjoying Eroticon 2013. I’ll be partaking of the feast of workshops on blogging, writing, publishing, photography, art,  sex education, and more. I’ll be taking advantage of opportunities for networking and meeting new people. I’ll be enjoying and participating in readings by erotica authors. I’ll be getting to know in person people I’ve chatted with online. And just like last year, no doubt, there’ll be lots of dreaming and scheming and just flat-out fun. I’m looking forward to seeing more than a few of you there.

I have to admit my knees get a little shaky and I get butterflies in my stomach when I think about Eroticon 2013 because this year, there’s a delicious list of creative writing workshops offered over the two-day period. There’ll be workshops taught by some of my heroes in the erotica writing world – Kristina Lloyd, Remittance Girl, Vena Ramphal, and Ashley Lister. I’m very much looking forward to the opportunity to learn from the best.

So why the butterflies and nerves? Well, because this year I’ve been asked to teach one of the five creative writing workshops at Eroticon! It’s a first for me. I’ve never actually taught a writing workshop before, and I’m very excited to have been asked. And to be asked to do so in such excellent and exalted company is definitely an honour.

Everyone who knows me and reads my books or my blog (hopefully both) knows that the only time I’m not talking or thinking about writing is writing image 2when I’m sleeping, and then I’m often dreaming about it. Yup, I’m a bit obsessive, and to say I’m enthusiastic about it would be an understatement. I hope to bring some of that enthusiasm for sexy stories into my workshop.

My workshop is called Finessing Sex and, while it’s aimed at giving newbies a foot-up in writing and selling erotica, I like to think that everyone can benefit from another peek at the basics — I know I always do. So there’ll be a little something for everyone.

Finessing sex will take writers beyond the slang of the old ‘in and out’ and beyond the biology of coitus to the other levels within the story and the characters where sex takes place. I hope it will show how well-written sex shapes the story and the characters. The session will involve some writing, some brainstorming and hopefully a whole lot of fun.

I also hope to talk a little about how to best make sure one’s story gets and holds the attention of an editor and how to deal with the inevitable rejections that litter the route to those first sales.

For me, writing has always been about fun. I can’t remember a time when it hasn’t been one of the best parts of my life. But finessing that writing, finessing the sex and the story that goes with it is where the real fun begins, and I hope to share the fun on Sunday March 3rd at 2:15 pm.

Eroticon speaker badge pinkPlease join me for  Eroticon 2013!

Get your tickets here:

Eroticon 2013:

Date and Venue:

Saturday 2nd & Sunday 3rd March 2013 which will be held at the Coin Street Conference Centre, 108 Stamford Street, SE1 9NH