Tag Archives: Foreplay magazine

Gale Stanley Gives Us the Story Behind Her Hot New Release, ‘One Night In Bangkok’

 

For the second installment of ‘The Story Behind the Story,’ I’m very excited to welcome the amazing Gale Stanley to Hopeful Romantic to tell us what inspired her fab new novel, One Night In Bangkok. While she’s here, Gale is giving  away a free copy to one lucky commenter.  Welcome, Gale! It’s a pleasure to have you. Can’t wait to hear more about One Night in Bangkok.

 

When KD told me she was planning a series of post from authors talking about the idea behind the book, I thought wow, what a great idea! Then I sat down and tried to remember where some of my ideas came from and it wasn’t all that easy. Sometimes a light bulb goes off when I read something in the newspaper or a magazine and I run with it. Sometimes it’s just an idea for a scene and the story grows as I write.

But I can actually trace the idea for my new release, One Night in Bangkok, back to the eighties. It all started with the theater production of Chess, a musical about a romantic triangle. Two top players, an American and a Russian are in an international chess championship. The woman, who manages one, falls in love with the other.
Part of the setting is in Bangkok, Thailand. First, let me say, I never actually saw the show, it ran in England for a few years, but it only lasted a few months on Broadway. But I do own the soundtrack and I’ve played it hundreds of times.

Now jump to 2010. A good friend traveled to Thailand and loved it. Green with envy, I looked at her photos, and started getting an idea for a MM romance in the exotic setting. I went home, and started writing–and doing lots of research. Of course, I played the soundtrack, which helped put me in the mood. The more I read, the more I fell in love. Bangkok is a city of contrasts. You can visit temples where monks are meditating, or take a water taxi and admire the coconut plantations. You can get lost in the largest outdoor market in the world or shop in air-conditioned comfort in the city. Bangkok is hot, and chaotic, but it’s also a magical place. I just saw the movie, Hangover II, which filmed in Bangkok, and I’m more determined than ever to get my butt out of the armchair and stop being a virtual traveler. And when I come back, maybe I’ll write a sequel.

 

One Night in Bangkok
Bangkok is a hedonist’s paradise and sex is big business, but Philadelphia lawyer, David Elliot isn’t interested in the sinful pleasures Bangkok has to offer. His only concerns are real estate and conglomerates. His personal life might be shit but his professional life is on track and that’s all he cares about. On his first night in town he spots a young Thai man in the hotel bar and there’s an immediate connection between them. Kai brings a joie de vivre into David’s life that’s long been missing, but after a few blissful weeks Kai disappears. David is hurt, but he knows it was never meant to be anything more than a pleasant diversion. He returns to the states but he can’t help feeling he’s left something very important behind.

Kai was rescued from a life on the streets only to become a virtual sex slave to a wealthy expatriate who deals in sex and drugs. When Rick finds out Kai has been seeing David he locks him in the house. Kai is in love with David but resigned to a life with Rick. There was never a future for him and the American, and knowing what Rick is capable of, he fears for David’s life.

 

 

Excerpt:

The office door opened and David Elliot looked up with a frown, ready to chew out the intruder who’d managed to get past his secretary. His scowl disappeared when Bernard Markham walked in. Mr Perfect from his artfully cut hair to his designer shoes, the head of the Markham & Dunn LLP international law firm, exuded class. Worldly, wealthy, and all mine. How did I get lucky enough to snag the boss? David flashed his biggest, sexiest smile.
Bernie didn’t return it. He looked down his perfect aquiline nose, a well-executed rhinoplasty, in that way of his that imparted you were a lesser mortal.
Uh oh. What did I forget? David ran through every detail in his head and couldn’t come up with a damned thing. Ever since he found out he’d be going back to Bangkok to negotiate the acquisition of commercial real estate for Bernie, he’d worked long hours trying to tie up any loose ends. Reviewing documents and preparing contracts was tedious, time-consuming grunt work, usually relegated to junior attorneys, but David insisted on personally reviewing his own documents. He’d already gone through most of his files, and this was the last of it. Every problem had been anticipated, and his clients would be left in good hands while he was away.
The lower lid of Bernie’s left eye twitched, a sure sign he was stressed, and right then David knew this wasn’t about business. A cold knot settled in his stomach.
“We need to talk,” Bernie announced.
“Have a seat.”
“I’d rather stand.”
This was bad. David knew all Bernie’s shtick and looking down at someone was his way of taking charge, lecturing more than conversing.
“We need some time apart.”
The words came straight out of left field, totally unexpected. They hadn’t slept together in the past week, David’s fault really, but his lover hadn’t complained. They both believed in business before pleasure. “I know I’ve been distant lately, but we can fix this.”
“It’s not that.” Bernie shook his head impatiently. “It’s me.”
Fuck! He’d heard that before. It’s not you, it’s me. The worst kiss-off ever, and a low blow to bring their personal affairs into the office. David got to his feet. If this was personal, he wasn’t about to let Bernie talk down to him. “Is there someone else?”
“No, nothing like that. I just think we need a little breather. Too much time together will kill a relationship. We don’t live together, but I feel like we do. This past week, when you slept at your own place, I started to realize how much I needed some breathing room.”
“You’re bored.” David couldn’t keep the injured tone out of his voice.
“No. Yes.” He admitted. “A break will be good for both of us.”
“Don’t tell me what I need or want.” David raised his voice for the first time. “Your timing sucks. I leave for Bangkok tomorrow. We don’t even have time to sit down and talk this out.”
“Why keep rehashing it?” Bernie threw his hands in the air. “Go to Bangkok, take care of my business like you always do, and take some time for yourself. You’ll be in Sin City! Enjoy it on me; you have an unlimited expense account.” He turned away.
So the timing of this trip was intentional. Bernie hated messy scenes and this was his way of avoiding an awkward situation. He didn’t want him anymore, but didn’t have the guts to finalize it. “And what will you be enjoying while I’m gone?” David asked acidly.
Bernie walked out and didn’t answer him.

One Night in Bangkok is now available from Silver Publishing
http://silverpublishing.info/index/book_authors_id/48/typefilter/book_authors

 

Has a trip ever turned out to be a new beginning for you? Have you ever travelled somewhere and came home with a totally different outlook, perhaps even your world view changes by someone or something? Tell us about it or comment, and you may win a free copy of Gale’s fabulously hot novel, One Night In Bangkok

You can find Gale Stanley at:

http://galestanley.net/

And on Facebook:

http://www.facebook.com/gale.stanley.author

Foreplay with Holly!

It’s never any big surprise these days when good stuff gets banned from Facebook. The fabulous Sarah Berry was the victim of yesterday’s banning — twice. Facebook banned her post about the next meeting of the great women’s self-help, discussion, and just all around ‘proud to be a female’ group, Fannying Around, which Sarah facilitates once a month at Sh! Women’s Store. If that wasn’t enough, Sarah’s Facebook avatar was also banned. Her Avatar is usually the cover of the latest edition of Foreplay Magazine, of which she is the feisty, intrepid, and outrageously sexy, editor. As it happens the banned cover is the cover of this month’s issue which contains an XXXtract from my novel, The Initiation of Ms Holly. I feel very proud to have Holly behind that delicious, yellow, Facebook-banned. Foreplay cover.

Here’s just a little teaser if what’s inside:

 What if Edward was just the gang leader, like some kind of mafia boss, and what if she never saw the light of day again? She’d heard all kinds of rumors about the mysterious Mount. Where the hell was her sense of self preservation? Was her wounded pride worth her going along with this insanity – insanity that might be very dangerous?

 She was seriously contemplating yanking off the blindfold and making a run for it when the door burst open and Edward called her name. Suddenly she was engulfed in his arms and her mouth was consumed with his kisses. He pulled away just enough to speak, his breath coming in fast, tense gulps against her parted lips. ‘Are you all right, Rita?’

 Amazon.co.uk

Amazon.com

 Xcite Books

Fannying Around Equals Woman Power

I had the pleasure of attending the first meeting of the share and self-help group, Fannying Around at Sh! Portobello Thursday night. Fannying Around is the brain child of the indomitable Sarah Berry, editor of Foreplay Magazine, and all around fabulous chick. There were a dozen of us in attendance, all from varying walks of life, all bringing our various issues and personal relationships with our own fannies to the group.

It didn’t take much wine, or much prodding from Sarah before one thing became obvious; we women want to talk about our fannies and our sexuality. As we all laughed and shared, it also became obvious that we all remembered times in our lives when we felt alone, when we felt it wasn’t safe to share, when we kept our feelings,our questions and our thoughts about our sexuality to ourselves.

I found myself thinking about the ancient tale that rears its head in multiple forms, but the two most memorable are The Wife of Bath’s Tale in The Canterbury Tales, and The Wedding of Sir Gawain and Dame Ragnell. In both stories a knight is forced to marry a hideous hag. On their wedding night, the hag offers her bridegroom the choice to have her lovely in the marriage bed for his eyes only and hideous during the day, or to have her lovely during the daytime for the eyes of the world while reverting to a hag at night. In both tales the knight leaves the choice to his bride. Because he gives her the choice, she rewards him by always being beautiful. When I first read these stories, I remember thinking how interesting it was that the true beauty of a woman comes through when she has a voice, when she gets to choose. There’s nothing beautiful about victim-hood nor about being powerless. And when our voices are not heard, we are powerless.

Thursday night, the basement of Sh! was electric when female power, with female voices sharing and being heard and affirmed by each other. And the beauty was as evident as the power. Afterward, a good group of us took all that beauty and all that power right on over to the local pub and continued on.

The Fannying Around group will meet once a month starting in January. I plan to be a regular. I love being around powerful, vocal, beautiful women.

Book Signing at Erotica 2010!

This Saturday, at Erotica 2010 I’ll be checking out the goodies and fondling leather and corsets all in the name of research for more hot stories. But at 3:00 pm, I’ll be having even more fun signing copies of The Initiation of Ms Holly at the Xcite Books booth. If you’re in the London area, be sure to stop by, do a little fondling of your own and get your copy of The Initiation of Ms Holly signed by moi. Erotica and the Xcite booth are very hot places to be on a crisp autumn day.
Book signing
Saturday 20 November 2010
3:00 pm

Best Launch Party EVER!

Friday night we celebrated the launch of The Initiation of Ms Holly in style at Sh! Women’s Erotic Emporium, Hoxton. The traditional Sh! pink fizz and cupcakes were the grazing fare of the evening, along with a lovely, and appropriately pink and scrummy banana cake that my dear friend, Helen Calaghan, made just for the occasion.

We started the evening early with a pre-launch drink at the Bluu Bar right next door to Sh! It was the perfect place to meet up with old friends and new ones too before the bash began. I headed over a little early to get into the Killer Shoes, touch up the lippy and generally get in raunchy reading mood.
It was an all-star cast. The lovely Triona Adams, of Nun the Wiser fame was there for Holly’s maiden voyage. And I felt expecially honoured to be able to celebrate with some of my very favourite erotica writers, Kay Jaybee, Jacqueline Applebee, Scarlett French, Kate Marley, and
Lucy Felthouse. Lucy is the founder of the exciting new website, Erotica For All, one of the best things to happen to erotic readers and writers in ages! If you haven’t checked it out, do so.
The totally amazing Hazel Cushion, managing director and founder of Accent Press , of which Xcite books is apart, was also there. I can’t thank her enough for all she’s done to make The Initiation of Ms Holly a reality. Hazel, you rock!
Speaking of people who rock, the fabulous Sarah Berry, editor and all-around fearless leader of Foreplay Magazine was there. Her enthusiasm and passion for erotica and writing are inspirational.
For two and a half wonderful hours Holly had a fizz-flushed captive audience. I read some of my favourite raunchy passages, answered questions, signed books and in general had a fantastic time. When people weren’t listening to me read the sexy bits they were wandering about, browsing the pink, toy-filled, fun-filled shelves of Sh! women’s store, while the lovely Sh! Ladiez kept the fizz and cupcakes and pink banana cake circulating.

Afterwards, the party overflowed to a nearby Pizza Express where we ravenous partiers discuss writing and sex and networking and fun-stuff in general. The party ended up being only slightly less than a slumber party as Kay, Sarah and Raymond and I migrated back to the hotel room still talking writing, raunch and censorship.

Back home now, having had twelve much-needed hours of sleep, I’m still smiling all over myself. I can hardly wait for the next launch party. That means, back to work on the next novel, and lots more fun!

Special thanks to Lucy Felthouse for some of
the fantastic photos. Lucy, you’re the best!

A TASTE OF HOLLY

Excerpts of The Initiation of Ms Holly are now available for your reading pleasure at Erotica for All and at Xcite Books.

WIN HOLLY

For a chance to win your free copy of The Initiation of Ms Holly, check out Eriotica For All and the Goodreads Xcite group.