Love, Marriage and other Dark Perversions

Love, Marriage and other Dark Perversions is the title of the next Wanton Words and Burlesque Bombshells show on Saturday June 1st at the Tom Thumb Theatre in sunny Cliftonville. 

Join me, Miss Glory Pearl, Miss Maybe and special guests for a night of monogamous mischief and mayhem.

June is wedding month, where couples across the land bankrupt themselves for one day of stress and excess, only to quickly slide into the over-familiarity of marriage, where sex is given grudgingly on high days and holidays.

But husbands, wives, take note; it doesn't have to be this way! Join us as we celebrate putting the spice into monogamy - any we don't mean cooking up a Vindaloo with the left-over Christmas turkey!

Guest appearances from our resident dildo, Desmond, and other guests to be announced!

Doors 7.30pm. Show begins 8pm.

Tickets are £10 and available from www.wegottickets.com or the Tom Thumb website: www.tomthumtheatre.co.uk

https://www.facebook.com/events/566381690061343/

Unexpected Outcomes: Blog Post Rewind

This post first appeared on http://adrianakraft.com/blog on 5.2.13

Writers are essentially problem solvers. They pose a question to themselves and then they have to find a way to answer it in a way that will satisfy their readers. Exploring ideas and seeing where they can take you - that’s the fun bit. 

Two Hearts was a story I really enjoyed writing.  The initial impetus was a brief to write a story with a Halloween theme.  That got me thinking about graveyards and superstition.  Recently I’d come across a local press article about what can happen if a grave isn’t dug properly.

Who hasn’t taken a short cut home through a graveyard?  Who hasn’t enjoyed an impromptu sex session outdoors in a place where they might get caught? On a dark but moonlit night?  (Oops, maybe just me, then!).   Anyway, I took this premise and then thought, “what if?”  The main character, Lucy, came quickly, so to speak, and I had plenty of experience working in marketing teams to give me the backdrop for her workplace. All the ingredients were there, but there was something missing.  Something significant.   

A chance meeting with a friend, who was distraught after losing a precious earring with sentimental value during a casual sexual encounter, provided the missing piece of the jigsaw.

I pulled these disparate elements together and Two Hearts was born.  Lucy, the main character, initially has no conscience (or pretends to herself about this).  Deep down, she would love to find the right man, and by the end of the story she has changed – in several ways – as a result of her spontaneous erotic experiences.

It became darkly humorous, explicit and, I am told by readers, the tone is quirky.  I certainly didn’t intend it to be romantic but that’s what happened.   So it wasn’t just Lucy that had an unexpected outcome.  I hope you enjoy it!

Extract from Two Hearts, story in Second Helpings

We curled up side by side, and he wrapped one arm around me, stroking my face, the other cupping my right breast. It felt safe and reassuring. I nestled my head in the dark hair of his chest, one hand resting on his sleeping cock. We probably dozed for a while but the next thing I knew, I could feel him stirring in my hand, twitching invitingly back to life.

‘Room for dessert?’ I murmured suggestively, before flicking his rampant knob with the tip of my tongue, savouring the salty taste my juices had left on him, devouring him. Minutes later, I had impaled myself on his cock, and was straddling him, plunging up and down, while he stroked my clitoris, playing with me, coaxing me to orgasm until we rapidly exploded together. For a while, we both lay gasping in each other’s arms, exhausted and spent. It felt so natural and different. I felt different. Had it been more than just a casual sexual encounter?

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Surely everyone deserves a second chance? Second Helpings: Three sexy stories. Quirky, romantic erotica with a twist. 

Words and Actions
Alys’s drunken one night stand with an ex-boyfriend puts her relationship with her beloved partner Lee in jeopardy, leaving her desperate to put things right. On the way to a party, their car breaks down in the middle of nowhere on a dark and stormy night and Lee’s unexpected behaviour is both surprising and arousing….

Two Hearts
Lucy knows deep down that her passionate affair with married businessman Callum is going nowhere, but when he suggests an erotic encounter in a graveyard, what happens next leads Lucy to a sexy stranger who may be the one to find her heart. 

Second Helpings
Shannon and Jay’s sex life has taken a nose dive so Shannon decides it’s time to spice things up. But an invitation to dinner with Jay’s sophisticated parents leads to an evening full of raunchy surprises – and a life changing decision.

More information/buy link: Available as an e-book from Amazon UK and US

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Second-Helpings-ebook/dp/B00957XYD4/

http://www.amazon.com/Second-Helpings-ebook/dp/B00957XYD4/

Also available from: Amazon.de, Amazon.es, Amazon.fr, Amazon.co.jp, Amazon.it,  Amazon.com.br, and Amazon.ca

Bel Anderson: A Secret, a Confession and a Guilty Pleasure

I'm delighted to welcome back erotic writer Bel Anderson who has kindly agreed to contribute to my series A Secret, a Confession and a Guilty Pleasure.  

A Secret
I’ve been writing erotica for just over a year and have been lucky enough to have several stories published but I guess my biggest secret is that I haven’t told very many people about what I’ve been doing! My dirty little secret doesn’t sit all that well with my day-job (I’m not going to tell you what that is as I’m doing my best to protect my identity) so I have only told two highly trusted colleagues what it is I’ve been writing at the moment. It’s been difficult because there’s a certain amount of interest from other colleagues as I’ve also had stories published in women’s magazines, so I do get asked regularly what I’ve had published lately! I can’t let my dad read what I write (not that he’d want to!) and I’m not keen on the thought of my sister reading it because she can be pretty indiscreet. My (young adult) kids would rather die than read it (even if I’d let them) and I feel weird about any of my close friends reading it either!  So there it is – my secret!

A confession
I have Ocado come to deliver my shopping every Wednesday and I’m often writing when the driver arrives. I get a little kick from being all “Oh, hello, thank you so much, just over here please, that’s great, have a nice evening, drive carefully,” when I’ve got a load of filth up on the laptop screen. Sometimes, if I’ve been getting a little steamed up over what I’ve been writing, I wonder whether he’ll be able to sense it. Or maybe that sort of thing just happens in erotic stories…  

A guilty pleasure
Hmmm… I rarely feel guilt, but I do like indulging in pleasurable things! My view is that if you did something (or ate something) and enjoyed it, why feel guilty? I’m talking here about little things like over-indulging – or just indulging - not cheating on your partner or anything major that could hurt someone else. I ate two fairy cakes filled with buttercream in one go the other day because the first one was so nice and I was tired and lacking willpower. I didn’t feel guilty – although I probably should have – but I did have healthy tomatoes on toast for dinner that night to compensate! I really enjoyed them both and they gave me pleasure – the buttercream was PINK and so fluffily whipped, it was heaven on my tongue! Why ruin that pleasure by feeling guilty? Mind you, I’m not going to go shouting from the rooftops that I’m such a pig I can eat two cakes in one go.

Oh…

Oops!  Bel x

Bel has previously been published in anthologies by Xcite books, has recently had stories published in Smut Alfresco and Smut by the Sea Volume 2. She is working on a non-erotic novel and also an anthology of erotic stories.

You can find her blog here: http://belandersonwrites.blogspot.com  and her work here:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Smut-Sea-Absolute-Erotica-ebook/dp/B00CFP1W5U/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1368034428&sr=1-2&keywords=Smut+by+the+Sea

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Smut-Alfresco-Absolute-Erotica-ebook/dp/B00BL6RF0K/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1368034521&sr=1-1&keywords=Smut+Alfresco

http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=ntt_athr_dp_sr_3?_encoding=UTF8&field-author=Bel%20Anderson&search-alias=books-uk&sort=relevancerank

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Dead-Sexy-Paranormal-Erotic-Anthology/dp/1908086505/ref=sr_1_5?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1363018292&sr=1-5

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Dead-Sexy-paranormal-stories-ebook/dp/B009YLRHEI/ref=sr_1_6?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1363018292&sr=1-6

http://www.xcitebooks.com/results.html?keyword=Bel+Anderson

Related posts:
http://elizabeth-cage.blogspot.co.uk/2012/11/bel-anderson-guest-post-sexy-stories.html
http://elizabeth-cage.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/new-series-secret-confession-and-guilty.html
http://elizabeth-cage.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/ij-millera-secret-confession-and-guilty.html
http://elizabeth-cage.blogspot.co.uk/2013/05/lucy-felthouse-secret-confession-and.html

Fantasies Flash Fiction Podcast

You can hear my flash fiction story Fantasies read out by Morgen Bailey on her wonderful Podcast. Thanks, Morgen. Click the link for how to listen.
 
http://morgenbailey.wordpress.com/2013/05/06/baileys-writing-tips-podcast-short-stories-episode-no-24/

Related posts: http://elizabeth-cage.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/Morgen%20Bailey

Other Elizabeth Cage flash fiction links:
http://elizabeth-cage.blogspot.co.uk/2013/01/dear-lauren-at-female-first.html
http://elizabeth-cage.blogspot.co.uk/2013/01/todays-quickie-call-me-at-female-first.html
http://elizabeth-cage.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/last-kiss-for-valentines-day.html

Lucy Felthouse: A Secret, a Confession and a Guilty Pleasure

Today I'm delighted to welcome back the ever popular and incredibly prolific erotica writer Lucy Felthouse, who has kindly agreed to contribute to my series A Secret, a Confession and a Guilty Pleasure.  

A secret about one of my books/stories/characters

The story Passing Out Passion, in my mini-anthology, The Military Wife was one I had help with. Not in terms of the writing, but the idea itself. I have a friend who fairly recently left the army, but finds the fact I write erotic fiction fascinating and is always happy to help out with ideas. He also answers my many questions when I’m not sure of how things would actually happen. The idea for this one was mine, but my friend helped out a lot by explaining what happens at a passing out parade.

A confession about the life of an erotica writer

It’s not nearly as exciting as some people think! I generally get up in the mornings, have a wash, get dressed, start answering emails. Then around 10am I take the dog for a walk. Get home, crack on with more emails and tasks, then have lunch. I do most of my writing in the afternoon as I’m not at all a morning person, but other than that – nothing exciting happens, at all!

A guilty pleasure

That would be Supernatural, my favourite TV show. I’m a total sucker for paranormal stuff, and although the show has been running so long that some episodes are a bit ‘meh’ I’ll watch it until the bitter end. Why? Because I’m obsessed with the stars. Jared Padalecki is my #1 hot guy and Jensen Ackles is in the top ten, too. They play Sam and Dean Winchester, two smokin’ hot brothers who are battling monsters and generally saving lives. Part of me hopes for a zombie apocalypse so they can come and save me. Then, you know, come and keep my bed warm... ;)

Thanks so much for having me!

*****

Three hot and romantic military tales from the pen of uniform aficionado, Lucy Felthouse.

The Military Wife

Tess’ salacious fantasies about her husband, Aidan, see her through the long periods of time when she doesn’t see him—when he’s away on tour with the Army. The rest of the time, she has to deal with day to day life alone. One day, a dull chore is interrupted by the unexpected arrival of her husband, and things quickly hot up in their kitchen, and beyond.

Passing Out Passion

When Christina attends her brother’s passing out parade with her parents, she’s full of pride at his achievement. What she’s not expecting, though, is to bump into old flame Phil Ashdown. They didn’t part on good terms and the atmosphere between them is awkward. But when they’re forced into conversation, it turns out that all those years ago, there was a misunderstanding. One that can very easily be put right.

Double Vision

Becky’s a military wife with a uniform fetish. She loves nothing more than having fun in the bedroom with her squaddie husband, where they share and act out many of their fantasies. However, there’s one fantasy that she’s never divulged, as it breaks their rule about bringing other people into their sex life. One day, though, Becky decides to bite the bullet and tell Paul everything. She never expects him to make her fantasy come true. But then, Paul’s a very resourceful man.

More info, excerpt and buy links: http://lucyfelthouse.co.uk/published-works/the-military-wife/

*****

Lucy Felthouse is a very busy woman! She writes erotica and erotic romance in a variety of subgenres and pairings, and has over seventy publications to her name, with many more in the pipeline. These include Best Bondage Erotica 2012 and 2013, and Best Women's Erotica 2013. Another string to her bow is editing, and she has edited and co-edited a number of anthologies. She owns Erotica For All, and is book editor for Cliterati. Find out more at http://www.lucyfelthouse.co.uk. Join her on Facebook and Twitter, and subscribe to her newsletter at: http://eepurl.com/gMQb9

Related posts:
http://elizabeth-cage.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/new-series-secret-confession-and-guilty.html
http://elizabeth-cage.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/ij-millera-secret-confession-and-guilty.html

What's in a name?

Names matter.  If you do a creative professional job it’s common to have a stage name or pen name.

When I was teaching pole dance, for a bit of fun the class came up with exotic stage names. One method used is to combine the name of a pet with a street name where you live(d) and hopefully the result would be something like Sheba Silver or Candy Queen. You get the idea.  

This meant that my names were Hammy Foxden or Biffa Langhorne.  Which made me sound more like a spitfire pilot than a pole dancer!

When it came to my erotica pen name, I decided to use Elizabeth, one of my birth names.  Although I wasn't fond of the name as a child, as an adult I grew to appreciate it and I now feel that it is rather  magnificent.  It’s also amazingly flexible and can be shortened in so many ways, all of which conjure up different characters.  For example, Eliza, Liza, Eli, Liz, Bet, Beth, Betty and Lisabeth. 

What a wonderful array of personalities Elizabeth can be!

If you write or perform, how did you decide on your professional name?

Touch Me There: blog post rewind

This post first appeared on http://megleigh.net/blog on 4.2.2013

Bestselling thriller writer Lee Child is credited as saying that instead of writing what you know, try writing what you feel.  When it comes to erotica, this is excellent advice. We may not have done all the things we describe in our stories, but we have all experienced a range of emotions, have all felt that frisson of attraction, that surge of desire.  And we have all fantasised.    

Often, this can start for me by focussing on erogenous zones, those special places that are unique to each of us, but universally recognised.  I love to be touched on my neck.  This can be the lingering of hungry lips, the gentle brushing of fingertips, or the feel of my lover’s breath. For some people, just a glimpse of the body part that stimulates them can be a turn on, so describing this can be a way to connect with a reader, creating a shared experience – a virtual erotic union. Sometimes the physical sensation of touch itself is enough and can be disembodied from the giver.  On other occasions, we need an image, so we can visualise the giver to make the fantasy more real and sensual. Whether it is someone we know or a sexy fictional stranger, we have to paint a picture.  

When you first meet someone, what do you notice before anything else?  Is it their mouth? Their smile?  Their body?  Personally, it’s usually their voice that I notice most, preferably deep and rich, and then their hands, which can be incredibly erotic, since these are one of the instruments of pleasure-giving that you hope might be used on you. It is their potential for sexual arousal and satisfaction that generates the turn-on for me. 

In this extract from my story SecondHelpings, Alys becomes distracted when she notices that her host has the most beautiful eyes……

At the circular glass dining table, I was sandwiched between my annoying boyfriend and his much more sophisticated Dad, whose body brushed against mine several times during the meal. I half-expected to feel his hand find its way between my thighs and when, disappointingly, that did not happen, I was tempted to accidentally stroke my ankle against his leg. But instead, I decided to be a model dinner guest and listened politely as Mrs Elliot talked about her hectic week and her most recent client, who she described as short tempered and moody, at which point Jay chipped in with, ‘Sounds like Shannon when it’s her time of the month.’ He was clearly determined to win the Prick of the Year Award tonight. I glared, my face reddening. But he continued being annoying, oblivious to the effect on me – or his parents. By the time we had finished the strawberry cheesecake dessert, I was ready to leave so I could kill him.

When Mr Elliot retreated to the kitchen to make coffee, I hastily offered to help. ‘Looks like Jay is pissing you off,’ he said, clearly amused and I noticed he had rather beautiful eyes, the colour of a summer Mediterranean sea.

‘Just a bit,’ I replied, hunting for the cups and saucers.

‘Up there,’ he said, pointing to a high cupboard above the sink. I’m not the tallest person in the world and even in my high heels I had to reach up to get them. As I did, I was aware that my dress was riding dangerously up my thighs, almost revealing my lace thong.  When I turned, juggling cups in one hand and saucers in the other, Mr Elliot was staring at me, his eyes barely disguising the fact that he had been getting a good look.

‘Why don’t you put that down,’ he suggested, gesturing to the gold-rimmed china crockery. The next thing I knew, he was standing in front of me, his hands around my waist, pulling me towards him. The hard bulge pushing against my groin already had my clit tingling in anticipation. I was still hungry.

‘We shouldn’t be doing this,’ I protested, making a half-hearted effort to push him away.

‘Why not?’ he replied, his hands sliding down, caressing my bum, while his mouth found my neck, giving me an exquisite little nip behind my ear. ‘I’ve wanted to do this all evening.’

‘Me too,’ I groaned, grabbing his neck and kissing him roughly, our tongues exploring. Wrapping my arms around him, I pushed my breasts against his broad chest, my nipples already hard. As he rolled my tight dress up to my waist, slowly unsheathing me, I thought, ‘What if someone comes in?  What if Jay sees us?’ but it didn’t stop me. In fact, it made me feel even more turned on. I just wanted to eat him alive…..

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Surely everyone deserves a second chance? Second Helpings: Three sexy stories. Quirky, romantic erotica with a twist. 

Words and Actions
Alys’s drunken one night stand with an ex-boyfriend puts her relationship with her beloved partner Lee in jeopardy, leaving her desperate to put things right. On the way to a party, their car breaks down in the middle of nowhere on a dark and stormy night and Lee’s unexpected behaviour is both surprising and arousing….

Two Hearts
Lucy knows deep down that her passionate affair with married businessman Callum is going nowhere, but when he suggests an erotic encounter in a graveyard, what happens next leads Lucy to a sexy stranger who may be the one to find her heart. 

Second Helpings
Shannon and Jay’s sex life has taken a nose dive so Shannon decides it’s time to spice things up. But an invitation to dinner with Jay’s sophisticated parents leads to an evening full of raunchy surprises – and a life changing decision.

More information/buy link: Available as an e-book from Amazon UK and US

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Second-Helpings-ebook/dp/B00957XYD4/

http://www.amazon.com/Second-Helpings-ebook/dp/B00957XYD4/

Also available from: Amazon.de, Amazon.es, Amazon.fr, Amazon.co.jp, Amazon.it,  Amazon.com.br, and Amazon.ca

An erotic history

Check out this fascinating article in the Huffington Post by recent guest blogger and writer IJ Miller.  It's about the evolution of the erotic genre.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ij-miller/an-erotic-history_b_3140977.html

IJ Miller:A Secret, a Confession and a Guilty Pleasure

I'm delighted that the first guest post in my new series is from  I.J. Miller, the author of five, distinct, literary, erotic works of fiction: SEESAW was translated into two languages, with over 130,000 copies in print; WHIPPED appeared in both English and German; SEX AND LOVE, a collection of short stories, made its debut in the summer of 2011; CLIMBING THE STAIRS, a novella, was released just a year later.  His latest novel, WUTHERING NIGHTS, is an erotic retelling of Emily Bronte’s classic, Wuthering Heights, and is published by the Grand Central Publishing imprint of Hatchette Books.  It is available now as an e-book and will be in bookstores as a trade paperback and audio book on April 23 (TODAY!) 

OVER TO YOU, IJ.......

A secret:

I published a novel called WHIPPED.  It is about an affluent suburban housewife trying to reconnect with her daughter, find true love, and escape the terrors of an unknown stalker.  Oh, and she works part time as a dominatrix.  And one more thing: the character is based on my stepmother.  And...to this day, she doesn’t know it.  (You can be sure I won’t be sending her the Kissing Velvet link.)  Now when I say “based on,” that is very loose terminology.  My stepmother never worked as a dominatrix.  She found true love (my dad).  But I would have to say she still hasn’t fully connected to her daughter (my stepsister).  The essence of her character is there, which is the germ of what inspired the story in the first place: what an interesting thing it is that some affluent housewives who you think have it all, can have certain self-esteem issues that make them miserable.  Enough said.  You want to know anymore, you’ll have to read the book.  Just don’t tell my stepmother.

A confession:

My real name is Ira Miller.  Years ago I published my first book using my real name.  Then I had to make a living so I became a full time university tennis coach.  Then along came the internet and Google.  All of my books since are written by I.J. Miller.  In these conservative times, better to have a separation between university employee and erotic writer.

A guilty pleasure:

I pride myself in being an intelligent, well-read person.  I hate reality TV shows.  Cruise right by them while scanning with the remote.  Except...I’ve seen all twenty-six seasons of Survivor.  Yeah, sometimes contrived, sometimes I’m sure it’s scripted, but I think Jeff Probst is a natural, I love how the hunger and pressure sooner or later seems to expose who each person really is, most challenges are still pretty creative, and there is always someone you love to hate.  I even like the last Reunion Show.  And my family and extended family have a Survivor pool every season.  Everyone puts in five dollars and is randomly assigned two contestants.  Your person wins, winner takes all.  I do feel as if I should be watching a documentary on Public Broadcasting, or listening to Obama’s State of the Union address.  But I’ll take Survivor every time.

IJ Miller has a Master of Fine Arts from the American Film Institute and has taught creative writing and screenwriting at the university level.

Website: http://www.ijmiller.com.

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Heathcliffian

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ij.miller.5

Related posts: 
http://elizabeth-cage.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/how-to-write-good-erotic-mashup.html
http://elizabeth-cage.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/new-series-secret-confession-and-guilty.html
http://elizabeth-cage.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/an-erotic-history.html

Venus in Furs: The Velvet Undergound

I had forgotten how much I love this song by The Velvet Underground.  Inspired by the book Venus in Furs by Leopold Sacher von Masoch, it has wonderful evocative words, haunting melody and vocals, and the dissonance in the harmony gives it that edgy darkness.  Lots of versions on You Tube and there seems to be a debate about one of the lines - is it "Plead for me?" or "Bleed for me?"  Both work.

Here's a version. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-vHDnAlPDKk

Soooo sensual...................