Tag Archives: Rebecca Bond

KoJo Black and Sweetmeats Press Offer a Feast for the Eyes Part 2

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KD: It’s my pleasure to welcome back Sweetmeats Press’s KoJo Black, who is preparing, along with us authors, for next Saturday’s deliciously nasty feast for the ears reading from Sweetmeats Press’s hot new feast for the eyes, Immoral Views. All happening at Sh! Portobello. More about that a little later. In the meantime, welcome back KoJo!

KD: As an editor and a writer of erotica, what makes for truly good erotica? What’s really sexy?

KoJo: Immersion.  I love that word.  And I think it’s so suitable for erotica.  In erotica of any kind, I think the ultimate aim is for the characters to become immersed in each other – both physically and metaphysically.  Furthermore, good erotica (and any good story, for that matter) should also immerse the reader within it.

KD: Is there a difference between porn and erotica? If so what? If not, why not?

KoJo: I think that the difference between ‘pornography’ and ‘erotica’ is purely semantic (rather than fundamental). You can have pornographic erotica, just as you can have erotic pornography.  It has become acceptable to say that women like erotica and men like porn. Whereas, if there is any difference between porn and erotica, I think it is more a question of how we access the triggers in our brains.

I believe it is true that, over the millions of years of our evolution, male and female brains are hardwired differently.  But I think the sensations and fulfillment that a woman takes from erotica are not entirely dissimilar from what a man takes from porn.  And, as such, I think that erotica with the right triggers could just as easily appeal to a man; just as porn with the right triggers could easily appeal to a woman.  Our mental programming is more fluid than we think.  So it’s very limiting to allow the definition of two words to dictate how we receive and enjoy sensual and sexual stimuli….regardless of our gender.

KD: Any predictions for the future of erotica?

KoJo: I don’t know what the future of erotica holds.  But if it’s as fun and free and as full of expression as it’s been so far, I only want more!

KD: What are your future plans for Sweetmeats Press?

KoJo: Well, first and foremost, I aim to continue whisking up hot, delectable erotic treats for some time to come.  Within that, Sweetmeats Press will diversify into sexy graphic novels, as well as providing a platform for our very talented erotic artists to showcase their work as independent pieces.  Aside from that, my time in erotic film has allowed me to meet some wonderful erotic performers – who have some equally wonderful tales to tell.  I aim to make their biographies part of the Sweetmeats title list.

KD: What’s the best advice you would give writers of hawt stuff?

KoJo: Over the years, as I’ve taken on writing, editing, and ultimately publishing, I’ve actually been able to give quite a lot of thought to what makes a story…..aheem…..‘hawt’.

Firstly, it’s important to remember that our biggest and best sexual organ is our brain.  You want to excite and entice your readers.  So absolutely make your story sexy.  But take time to create the story, build the lust, and put your reader into the space.  Once you’ve set the scene and enticed them in, your readers will be so much more receptive to all the sensual and sexual treats you lay on for them.  But if you go straight in to grating, grunting, grinding frottage, you run the risk of leaving your readers cold…..before they’ve even warmed up!

This of course does not mean that every story needs to kick off with a long-winded soliloquy.  Just take a moment to welcome your readers in before basting them in pure filth.  Perhaps think of your story as way of describing a film that’s playing in your head.  For example, if you show someone a repetitive video of some genitals slapping together, your viewer will become bored very quickly.  Whose genitals are they?  Why are they fucking?  Are they even enjoying themselves?

But if you take the time to develop your story, even just a little bit, you are suddenly bringing that film in your head to life.  From seductions to abductions; sensual solo pleasures to gloriously debauched gangbangs; boy-girl vanilla sex to the most piquant and depraved amalgamations you can imagine; from the most mundane of quickies to the forbidden lust of fairies and giants in mythical landscapes.  Take a moment to build your story.  Tell us, why do these people want each other?  Need each other?  How did they get there?  Engage the mind, and the flesh will follow!

Secondly, I find it helps to write with the voice that you know.  That is to say, tell the story from a perspective that is comfortable for you.  If you are, for example, a young straight woman, you may find it easier to write your story in the voice of a young, straight woman.  There is certainly nothing precluding you from telling your story from the perspective of a middle-aged, lesbian dominatrix.  But, before you do, make sure you can find that voice, make sure it’s accurate, and make sure you can believe it.  Because if you don’t believe it, we won’t either.

Third, don’t be afraid to get horny!  The first person your erotic story should turn on is you!  There’s nothing wrong with getting that delicious feeling of satisfaction down below as you tell your tale.  And if it’s working on you, there’s every chance it will have the same effect on someone else!

And finally – Read!  Not just erotica, but everything.  Look at how different people craft a story.  Figure out which writers you like, which writers you don’t, and why.  Borrow techniques.  Remember the stories that keep you gripped to the very end, page after page.  And see if you can’t put some of that tension, excitement and engagement into your own work.

Feast for the Eyes and Ears:

If you’d like to hear some of the hot erotica from the Immoral Views anthology read by the authors themselves, including yours truly  here’s your chance! Authors Kay Jaybee, Rebecca Bond, Lexie Bay, and K D Grace will be reading hot, voyeuristic smut from this fabulous anthology, their own, and that of Lucy Felthouse as well. Not to be missed!

Where: Sh! Women’s Erotic Emporium, Portobello Store.

When: Saturday 21 January  6:30 for 7:00 pm start.

For more information: Sh! Portobello

Space is limited, RSVP soon!

 

KoJo Black and Sweetmeats Press Offer a Feast for the Eyes Part 1

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KD: I recently had the pleasure of writing a story for the yummy new Sweetmeats anthology, Immoral Views. Immoral Views is not only a fabulous feast of voyeuristic erotica, but it’s even more of a treat for the eyes because it’s illustrated, very naughtily, by the talented Florian Meacci. Filthy stories with equally filthy illustrations are the brainchild of Sweetmeat Press’s captain of naughtiness, KoJo Black, who titillated me with so much delicious info in this interview that I’m only going to share the first half with you today. Come back Sunday for further titillation. Welcome, KoJo!

KD: What would you most like people to know about KoJo Black?

KoJo: Like anyone, I suppose, I have many guises.  But as an author and a publisher, I am most proud of being an immodest, unrepentant and dissolute eroticist.  Thinking about it more, I must be what the French would call a ‘gourmand’.  This word doesn’t quite carry into English, where it simply means ‘greedy’.  I prefer the French definition – that of a person who loves to taste, savour, indulge and immerse.  I find myself describing so many things as delicious – words, people, places, sensations, food, experiences.  And it is this idea of finding and promoting the excitement, the deliciousness, in all things (with a stout and proud thrust toward the carnal) that I try to bring the books I write and publish.

And it was that ideology that brought the ‘Sweetmeats’ name into being.  This idea of whisking up deliciously debauched erotic treats for people to savour and share – that was with me from the very start.

KD: What I’m dying to know, KoJo, is what inspired Sweetmeats Press, and how did it come to be?

KoJo: Sweetmeats actually began as a film production company.  And the ethos with which I produced the films has carried through into the books.  When I began making films, I wanted to offer something that was a cut above the average porn emporium.  I think the lack of sensuality and connection in the world of porn serves to highlight how many pornographers are completely disconnected from erotica.  I was firmly convinced that porn not only could be erotic, it MUST be erotic.  Even then, the moving picture started with the written word.  Sweetmeats Press has simply allowed me to re-indulge in the written word.  And, with a nod to the films, the Sweetmeats books are, as you know, beautifully illustrated.

Frankly, I think I’ve always been somewhat sex-obsessed.  And some of my earliest and most delightful sexual memories involve the spoken or written word.  As a youngster, I remember being forbidden from watching cable access television in my family home.  Of course, I would always try to access the restricted channels in the hope of capitalising on a lapse in regulation, and catching just the curve of a buttock, or the pucker of a nipple.  One evening, the picture was completely scrambled, but the sound was crystal clear.  The film featured a woman re-enacting lascivious acts during a phone call to her lover.  I couldn’t see a thing.  But the female voice, heavily baited with lust, along with my total inability to see what was happening, created a voyeuristic effect that was more exciting and erotic than the actual film.

At around the same time, erotic literature provided some of my earliest sexual arousal.  I remember, as a schoolboy, scuttling home with a contraband Penthouse magazine in my book bag, and letting the stories in the Forum give me hours of pleasure.  Then, slightly older, I remember being amazed and enthralled at the raw, sensual power of Anaïs Nin’s The Delta Of Venus, Henry Miller’s Sexus or The Story Of O.  Not only did I find the stories themselves extremely sexual and erotic, but I also reveled in the naughtiness of reading something so brazenly explicit — especially something written at a time when so much was forbidden and restricted.  So perhaps it was a childhood ambition to follow in the perverted footsteps of my heroes!

KD: Immoral Views is a collection of stories written around the theme of voyeurism. Do you consider yourself a voyeur? If so, do I dare ask for one of your ‘eye-sex’ encounters???

KoJo: I am a complete voyeur!  I’ve said in the intro to ‘Immoral Views’: “I like to watch people doing sexy things – sometimes to themselves, sometimes to each other.  And I know I’m not alone….”  I wasn’t just making that up.  It’s entirely true.  And it’s also true that I know I’m not the only one who likes to watch.  One struggles so hard to maintain an air of appropriate decorum throughout the day.  It is wonderful to slip into the pages of a book (either as a reader or a writer) and proudly raise one’s pennant of perversion!

In answer to your ‘eye-sex’ question, one incident does indeed stand out.  A few years ago, I was relaxing in a cliff-top bar on a small island in Thailand.  On the beach below, a beautiful woman was bathing in the sea.  And she was completely naked, save for the flimsiest little scrap of fabric on her bottom half.  When it comes to the human body, Thailand is a rather conservative place.  Thais aren’t even big on public displays of affection, so public near-nudity is a definite no-no.  But this woman was western, so perhaps she was unaware of the protocol.

In any event, the woman emerged from the sea like a siren, water cascading from her lithe, soft body as the sunlight glittered on her skin.  Her hair clung sleek and heavy even as she smoothed it back into place, and her bare breasts, round and proud in the warm saline air, moved gently as she walked.

For me, there was so much more to this moment than simply seeing a beautiful naked woman.  The fact that I could see her, but she could not see me.  I felt rude and intrusive, but I did not want to stop looking.  She was such a natural being, at one with her element.  And yet her quite innocent actions had the effect of filling me with the (equally natural) feelings of euphoria, longing and desire.  And then there was the unexpected, illicit thrill of seeing someone so naked and free in a place where nudity was generally considered to be unseemly.

Of course, shortly thereafter, I was joined by an obstinacy of my compatriots who immediately began jostling and competing for a better view.  Even at a distance, there is only so long a woman can ignore a veranda groaning under the weight of half a dozen geezers all trying to look inconspicuous.  She became self-conscious, covered her breasts, and withdrew to the shelter of the rocks.

But the moment in which it was just the two of us has stayed with me for a long time.  And the feeling of that moment ultimately inspired the story “Buoyancy,” published in the book “Sun Strokes”.

KD: Of the five senses, do you think the eyes really have it, as far as sex goes, or do you think one of the other five senses is the dark horse of sensual pleasure?

KoJo: The eyes, most often, are where the attraction begins.  They are where another person enters you for the first time.  But sex is so much more.  And all our glorious, firing, pulsing senses of touch, hearing, smell and taste all serve to turn that visual desire into unrepentant lust!

KD: KoJo will be back Sunday with Part 2 of this interview. I don’t know about you, but I can hardly wait!

Feast for the Eyes and Ears:

If you’d like to hear some of the hot erotica from the Immoral Views anthology read by the authors themselves, including yours truly  here’s your chance! Authors Kay Jaybee, Rebecca Bond, Lexie Bay, and K D Grace will be reading hot, voyeuristic smut from this fabulous anthology, their own, and that of Lucy Felthouse as well. Not to be missed!

Where: Sh! Women’s Erotic Emporium, Portobello Store.

When: Saturday 21 January  6:30 for 7:00 pm start.

For more information: Sh! Portobello

Space is limited, RSVP soon!

 

Rebecca Bond Gets Personal About Inspiration

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It’s my pleasure to welcome a woman I consider very much a rising star in the world of erotica, one I am quite honoured to know well enough to call my friend. I’m talking about the fabulous Miss Rebecca Bond. Today Rebecca is going to talk about inspiration on a much more personal, much more intimate level before she gives us a steamy excerpt from her latest, Purest Possession. Welcome, Rebecca!

As I sat on my sofa, cosy and safe from the early autumnal winds that thrashed outside my window, I plugged in my headphones and pressed shuffle on my iTunes library. I am a dreamer. Always have been and always will be. Car, train, office, shop, coffee house, bed. . .it doesn’t matter where I am, I am always daydreaming. For me, music plays a prominent role in the formulation of such imaginings. My rock tunes (Steve Tyler, be still my beating heart) allow me to transport myself into a world of beating drums, scruffy Dave Grohl-alikes, and that raw passion for life. The love song allows me to embrace my inner sappiness for a few moments, living out my romantic Cinderella moments, the happily ever after in my mind. The ‘80s pop song has me reliving many a night of drunken debauchery a-la-university style with my fellow students as we danced ourselves silly at Flares or Reflex.

For me, music evokes memories and inspires dreams. So, whilst listening to the ipodular on a gloomy Saturday afternoon, randomly shuffling my way through the 2734 songs, I was completely thrown by a particularly intense reaction to one track that popped up.

Santus – Libera

The previous evening I had been catching up with a buddy (@ParvRoopray) and our conversation had turned to meditation, as it so often does. Due to upbringing, yoga and meditation have a strong place in Parv’s life, but I don’t care for it. I’m sure it’s all fab, but never have I felt the need to limber up, don a unitard, and pretend to be a tree with a group of strangers. Just not me. But, as she often points out, yoga is a complex art and one which is misunderstood (mainly by me) on so many levels. I do however, often feel as if I’m racing through life at a million miles an hour and asked her for advice regarding meditation. She told me not to force it, that it will happen when it needs to.

And happen it did. As I listened to the song I felt a calmness take over and only once the track had finished did I realise that for the entire 3 minutes 41 seconds I had thought about nothing but the orange leaves being blown from a large heavy oak atop a mount in the countryside. I had not set out to think anything of the like, but I enjoyed the daydream about nothing but a tree and its leaves nonetheless. I had mediated. Win!

So, turns out my buddy was right, I can mediate and perhaps need to practice it more often to enable me to maintain my sense of self. What’s fascinating to me is that, although Parv is Sikh and I’m Protestant, the power of meditation enables us both to reconnect with our respective faiths. For those three plus minutes I felt close to God, whom I have been turning my back on of late. It made me remember Rebecca, the eleven year old singing and dancing at church every week as my Dad played guitar in the church choir, Rebecca, the fifteen year old, at the evening service praying for guidance through some particularly turbulent years, and Rebecca, the 23 year old university student, sending silent prayers into the air to a Lord who I begged to help me battle the illness that had already been rife in my mind and body for eleven years. Bulimia.

Most importantly, it made me remember how through those years and the distress they held; my Lord never once turned his back on me. He kept me right there, nudging me forth through my fears when life became scary. So why is it that now, a grown woman, life stable, I have forgotten Him and all He does for me on a daily basis? Three minutes, 41 seconds of listening to a song and thinking about a tree shedding its leaves in the autumn wind has made me realise that although I lead a happy, healthy life, I cannot discount the power that my faith had in getting me to this point in time.

Today I am thankful. I am thankful for the four aspects within this blog post that intertwine with each other on a daily basis and enable me to indulge in everything great in life. I am thankful for the music that provides inspiration for my writing, I am thankful for my writing that acts as the therapy I need to keep the darkness from my mind, I am thankful for the friendships that allow me to be true to myself, encourage my passion to write and live life to the fullest. And finally, I am thankful for my Lord who has blessed my life with the aforementioned.

What are you thankful for?

If all that was a bit intense for you, go and get your filth on by reading some smut ;D

Blurb:

Celestine is an inexperienced peasant girl who, at twenty-two years of age, still knows nothing of life outside the small French town of Chamboise. For years, she has lived in fear of the inhabitants of Château de Délicieux, all too aware of the punishments that are administered at such an establishment.

When Celestine is summoned to the castle by the High Marquise, little does she know that she is about to embark on a journey of delicious discovery and commit the sweetest of sins. This Sapphic tale tells of the emotion one woman feels as she succumbs to a life of sexual possession at the hands of her mistress.

Purest Possession Extract:

As the guard pushed me through the gate and into the courtyard of the castle, the world began to spin, turned upside down in an instant. I rubbed at my eyes, blinking again and again to make sure what I saw really existed. Male servants tended women, scores and scores of women. I felt the rosy blush creep up my neck and settle in my cheeks as I looked on, never before seeing so much naked flesh. Everyone was naked save for a smattering of jewellery, a pearl earring here, and ruby necklace there.

The men wore tattoos, all identical in design and location—a black dagger pointing towards their hearts.

“It’s a symbol,” a voice behind me said, “a symbol that they are members of the Order Délicieux, servicemen to the Ladies of Chamboise.”

I was in a trance. The sight of women being worshipped in ways my mind couldn’t comprehend hypnotised my young eyes. Flesh was caressed, skin was kissed, nipples plucked, pussies fucked.

“Beautiful isn’t it?” the voice said again. A woman.

I felt a hand brush my long hair over my shoulder and begin to slip my rags from my body. I couldn’t protest, my body fixed to the floor, my mind muddled with confusion. I jumped as her fingers grazed against my mound and turned to look at the stranger.

“Yes, I do believe you think it beautiful.” She brought a finger to her lips, slick and glossy. “Your body certainly does.”

I looked at her, gazing at her lips as she sucked my juice from her slender finger. My skin prickled as I watched her tongue snake out to lap away the remaining residue. There I stood, twenty-two years of age, not a girl, not quite a woman.  I was completely devoid of experience. I didn’t know what it was like to be touched in the ways that happened to those all around me.

“Who are you?” I asked, my voice barely a whisper. “Why am I here?”

https://www.nobleromance.com/Books?author=194

Get involved with Rebecca here:

Twitter: @MissRebeccaBond

Facebook: www.facebook/MissRebeccaBond

Website: www.missrebeccabond.co.uk

Immoral Views — The Eyes Have It!

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When it comes to sex, let’s face it, the eyes have it. Oh sure we have four other senses, and everyone uses certain senses more than others. No doubt sex is best when all senses are engaged. But the eyes have it. And certainly the eyes have it in the fabulous new Sweetmeats Press anthology, Immoral Views edited by KoJo Black.  And as if hot sexy stories for the eyes aren’t enough, Immoral Views takes the voyeuristic experience one giant leap further with the steamy illustrations of Florian Meacci.

I’ve always been a bit of a voyeur, so when KoJo asked me to write a story for this anthology, the voyeurism theme alone would have been enough to make me say yes. I’ve seen, fondled and drooled over the fabulous illustrations in KoJo’s sizzling collection, The Candy Box, so I was really keen on having my story illustrated. But when I found out I was going to be in between the covers (front and back, that is) with Kay Jaybee, Lucy Felthouse,  Rebecca Bond and Lexie Bay, I wasn’t entirely sure KoJo would be able to keep the pages of this super-heated anthology from bursting into flames before it hit the shelves.

In celebration of this hot new anthology, I’ve asked each of my fabulous co-authors from Immoral Views to tell us a little bit about their own versions of what I’ve affectionately come to call eye-sex, and I’ve included a blurb of each of their hot stories from Immoral Views. So tell me, my lovelies, just why do the eyes have it?

Kay Jaybee

He was sat in a cafe looking at the pictures that covered the brick walls. I was sat at the opposite end of the room, my notebook open, and my pen in my hand. I was not writing however. Nor was I looking at the paintings. I just looked at him from behind the safety of the menu I held before me- a menu I was not reading.

He was fairly ordinary. Not over worked, no horrid ‘gym regular’ type muscles peeking out from the arms of his plain t-shirt. I judged from how he was sat that he wasn’t even very tall. But his eyes!! They were wide, blue, and somehow never ending. If those eyes could have talked they would have only said one word, ‘Sex.’

Those eyes gave me the most beautiful daydream. Undressing him slowly, never taking my gaze from his gaze, telling him what to do- making him keeping his eyes open at all times…ummmm- you get the idea….

The Circus by Kay Jaybee
The line is blurred between spectator and performer in a theatre of pleasure and pain!

Lexie Bay

So what turns me on visually? Ooh where do I start with this one. I have to admit that I adore checking out gorgeous sexy men. There’s nothing nicer to look at than a strong toned forearm gripping a steering wheel or a firm bum in a pair of jeans… or what about that sexy little line that disappears into a guy’s jeans. Mmmm, yep I’m more than happy to ogle a fit bloke any day.

But I also love that secret thrill when you see something you really shouldn’t have….. and you keep watching because you just can’t tear yourself away. I don’t think women are that different to men when it comes to the visual, deep down we all love a little bit of voyeurism every now and then. I bet if you stumbled across a kinky scene you’d stay and check it out….. I know I would! Izzy, from my story Inside Looking Out definitely would, and it leads her on a deliciously decadent trail from one side of the world to the other. So keep your eyes open and give yourself a treat every now and then – you never know where it will lead you!

Inside Looking Out by Lexie Bay
Adventurous Izzy spans two continents in a search for her perverted Prince Charming.

K D Grace

I was out walking on the Downs. It had just rained. Sane people were inside where it was dry.  I had just climbed a steep stairs up to the side of the hill and stopped to take pictures of the mist clearing off the hillsides when I heard heavy breathing behind me. I turned and nearly ran in to a very wet, very fit bloke carrying his mountain bike up the steps, biceps bulging, chest heaving, dark hair mussed. His face was hard with concentration and exertion. Then when he saw me, he smiled and everything about him became warmer, softer. He said something about how the weather had cleared and how nice it was to be outside. I’m sure I must have blushed as I mumbled my agreement. Then he mounted his bicycle and rode on, leaving me feeling sexy and feminine in spite of my drowned rat hair and sweaty t-shirt.

Alloted Views by K D Grace
A nosey gardener is treated to a raunchy ritual through her bedroom window.

Rebecca Bond

There’s nothing quite like catching the attention of a stranger as you mooch about your business to give you a little flutter or giggle inside. As a city chick, the daily commute holds the most eye-fuck potential. Naturally you wanna be looking hawt, or the attention you attract could simply be down to the dark shadows beneath the eye, or the rogue globs of mascara that smatter the face. Never a good look. But whilst most people jump on and off the trains looking nowhere but their iphones, ebooks, or the daily rag, I sit back, relax and people watch like a pro. This, my friends, produces much eye-fuck fodder. Especially if a yummy tall, dark and handsome should so happen park his tushy on the seat opposite.

There is, however, danger in this sort of voyeurism. Yes, there have been moments when unintentional eye contact has been made with pure beasts and even though you know you need to look away, their ghastliness has you hooked. Just like beauty, ugliness is too fascinating too shy away from. But you must – look, look away or you might find yourself in an unexpected and utterly unavoidable mental strip-down-eye-fuck-all-out-bonkfest with Quasimodo’s twin! It’s okay though, because then the train stops, the doors open, and you never have to encounter Mr (or Mrs) No-Go again. Win!

Painted Pussycat by Rebecca Bond
An innocent student is welcomed into the Circle of Ink where tattoos, bondage and exhibitionism are all part of her initiation.

Lucy Felthouse

K D asked me to describe what turns me on visually, or something I saw that was really hot. Sadly, my answers wouldn’t have made for a very interesting blog post, so I decided to twist the question a little and let my imagination do the talking. That is, I’ve seen untold naughty things in my dreams and daydreams, and as an erotic writer, there are frequently things going on in my head that are pretty hot. And that’s definitely what was going on when I was writing my story, Caught in the Act. It took me a while to come up with the story idea, but once I did it pretty much ran away with itself. The more I wrote, the filthier it got… and it was filthy to begin with! The thought of a policeman becoming fascinated with dogging to the extent that he gets into the scene himself, well, needless to say I found the idea really interesting. There was some research involved, of course. On the Internet, I might add. There was no visiting of deserted car parks for me! So… coming back to answering K D’s question – I see things that are hot all the damn time, but they’re usually in my head!

Caught in the Act by Lucy Felthouse
A young policeman risks his reputation and his job for the adrenaline rush of sex alfresco!

Thanks, my voyeuristic Lovelies, for sharing the pleasures of the eyes and heating up my blog!

IMMORAL VIEWS

Kojo Black has compiled five titillating tales from erotica’s sultriest mistresses! Sweetmeats Press proudly presents a deliciously dissolute anthology of voyeurism – Immoral Views. Illustrated by Florian Meacci.

The e-Book versions are not illustrated (except with the pictures you provide with your nasty mind, of course)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Book Launch Extravaganza!

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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.