Kissing Velvet: March 2013

Friday, 29 March 2013

Saturday April 6th - Wanton Words in Kent!

Come and see our next fabulous Wanton Words Show on Saturday April 6th - tickets going fast!

Related post
http://elizabeth-cage.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/wanton-words-and-burlesque-bombshells.html

Tuesday, 26 March 2013

Erotica Readers and Writers

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

Friday, 22 March 2013

Vampire Therapy Part 1 - Staying Young and New

Having been ill all week, I've continued watching my boxed DVD sets of the wonderful Vampire Diaries and am now on Season 3. I call it my vampire therapy. Entertaining, romantic and sexy. (Okay, quite gory in places, too). But it is providing a great distraction from feeling crap. And, as a writer, I can't help watching it with my writer head on and thinking about the key themes that "compel" us (VD fans will get this pun) to watch. And want to.

The key theme of the series, like all the most successful stories, is love. Yes, it's all about love and the importance of love and the fact that actually it's all that matters in a way and what gives us purpose to live and carry on living when ultimately life is marking time. (I think one of the characters makes the "marking time" reference in Series 1).

Okay, so I'm getting a bit deep now, and, perhaps, gloomy. My previous post about Vampire Diaries (nearly wrote Vampire Dairies - now that would be a series!) talked about teen angst and recalling our youth - and first crushes and serious relationships.

Most of the characters in this series are between 17 - 18, although they seem, look and behave a lot older, and they are all experiencing new relationships (in some cases, in quick succession!) and this brought to mind those wonderful early stages of a relationship, the discovery, the newness, the thrills, and how in erotica, we often write about and focus on this discovery phase. I know the majority of my short stories are about first encounters, which I hadn't actually realised until now, and this probably reflects the power and excitement that they generate. And being short tales rather novels, I don't have to move onto the next phase of the relationship, but simply take a snapshot of that magical, pulse-racing first. Maybe it is the promise of what may come next that thrills us; the thought that if this initial encounter has been so mind-blowing, how much better will it get?

I haven't finished with VD yet (oops, I mean Vampire Diaries - or Dairies, of course!) A future post will explore the significance of the trinity in such series (girl/vampire/werewolf or girl/vampire good/ vampire bad or even girl/vampire/human). Think Twilight, Blood Ties and even the Buffy/Angel/Spike episodes. Why are threesomes so darn sexy? That's what I will be banging on about....watch this space.

Related post:
http://elizabeth-cage.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/the-vampire-diaries-taylor-swift-and.html

Monday, 18 March 2013

Welcome to e[lust]!

Photo courtesy of Plumptious Pea

Welcome to e[lust] - The only place where the smartest and hottest sex bloggers are featured under one roof every month. Whether you're looking for sex journalism, erotic writing, relationship advice or kinky discussions it'll be here at e[lust]. Want to be included in e[lust] #45? Start with the newly updated rules, come back April 1st to submit something and subscribe to the RSS feed for updates!

~ This Week’s Top Three Posts ~

Everyday D/s
Honesty sometimes feels like manipulation
Blood, life, sex

~ Featured Posts (Molly’s Picks) ~
Grief and Sex
Bringing Others into a Dom/Sub Relationship

All blogs that have a submission in this edition must re-post this digest from tip-to-toe on their blogs within 7 days. Re-posting the photo is optional and the use of the “read more…” tag is allowable after this point. Thank you, and enjoy!

Sunday, 17 March 2013

Over at e[lust]

Today you will find me over at e[lust] Writing Sex Scenes (scroll down on their page to Erotic Non-Fiction). I only recently discovered this amazing site, which is packed full of sex bloggers, journalism, erotic writing, relationship advice and so much more!

The link is here and tomorrow I will be reposting Issue 44 of their fabulous monthly digest - I'm delighted to have been included!

Thursday, 14 March 2013

Wanton Words and Burlesque Bombshells present Priapic Printemps

Spring is in the air! (well, kind of, when the snow finally disappears!) And what better way to celebrate the season of new life, fecundity and frolics than to worship the wonder of man in all his firmness?

Yes, the next Wanton Words show is coming, so to speak, and it's the 'real man' special with readings, sketches and burlesque all worshipping the fleshy maypole of joy.

Cock-a-doodle-doo!

For more info go to http://www.facebook.com/events/289563824505808/

Doors open 7.30pm, show starts at 8pm.

For tickets go to the theatre website (see below) or www.wegottickets.com

Tuesday, 12 March 2013

Purple tights and seeing red

I was a painfully shy child and I just wanted to blend into the background. I loved colour but had a fear of standing out and drawing attention to myself. Wearing muted, neutral colours helps us blend in. Black, brown, beige, grey. Colours that do not shout at you. When I fell in love and discovered sex and my confidence began to soar, it was as if a door had opened and all my suppressed desires were unleashed. I delighted in wearing bright, vibrant colours, seeking out quirky boutiques to buy emerald green tights or garish yellow socks, which I adored. (I am definitely a sock person, preferring them to tights, which are so restricting). My partner encouraged me to blossom, to wear what I wanted regardless of what the current fashion trends were. Throughout my twenties and thirties, when I went for job interviews I always wore my “lucky” red jacket, or a bright colour to help the interview panel remember me.

Glancing through the window the other day when having a coffee in town, I looked at the crowds of people shopping and noticed that most wore grey, brown or black. Maybe it is a British cultural thing, the way we shun bright colours. When I worked at a college, and walked through the busy canteen wearing my vivid purple tights I had the piss taken out of me by some of the students, who actually made fun of the fact that my tights were purple and not black. People can be weird.

When I was ten years old, my favourite colour was turquoise. My two best friends each had an identical pair of shiny turquoise shoes with big rosettes on them. I loved those shoes. I coveted them. But my Mum insisted on a pair of navy blue Clark’s sensible shoes, informing me that I would thank her in later life when I didn’t have bunions and my friends did! (It took me twenty years to realise she was right!). But I never forgot those pretty, shiny turquoise shoes.

For most of my teens and early twenties, I favoured black (and, after my sexual awakening, red). Red can symbolise so many things: passion, danger, power, no entry, blood. Life itself. Successful sports teams like to have red as their colour as it is supposed to motivate the players and stimulate testosterone. We also use the phrases “Seeing Red” and “Scarlet Woman.”

Black has obvious associations with death and darker themes but is also a favoured colour when it comes to underwear. My first ever suspender belt was black and lacy, with matching briefs and bra. Hot stuff – and I felt unbelievably naughty when I wore it!

On the other hand, white, symbolic of virginity and purity, is also popular with a lot of guys I've known, who find females in white underwear especially sensual.

I sometimes wonder why we use the term “blue” when it comes to movies? (Can anyone enlighten me on this?) Why does blue equal rude? Or blue language mean swearing? Yet we also talk about feeling blue and singing the blues, so the colour is used to describe depression. Now, if I feel low, I wear pink or orange or yellow. The brighter the colour, the better, because it can lift my mood. I especially adore neon colours like hot pink and lime green.

We also talk of purple prose and in the pink and green with envy. When we write, the way we use colours can reveal things about our characters and their personalities and moods. The psychology of colour can add another dimension to descriptive passages and locations. I find our relationship with colours fascinating. Rainbows rule.

Monday, 11 March 2013

The Perfect Dom by Lucy Felthouse

As promised, here is more info on Lucy's recent title - with a naughty excerpt!

The Perfect Dom by Lucy Felthouse

Four kinky and erotic BDSM tales from the smutty pen of Lucy Felthouse.

Balancing the Books
Philip’s a well off man, and doesn’t need a job. But when he sees the gorgeous owner of his local bookshop, he applies for the role that’s being advertised there immediately. He’s totally stricken by the stunning Giovanna, and when it turns out she wants to boss him around in a sexual sense as well as an employment sense, he has no intention of refusing.

Feeling the Heat
Taylor and Maisie’s car has broken down. Luckily, Taylor’s handy with engines and is working hard to get them back on the road. Unfortunately, Maisie is getting annoyed at the amount of time he’s spending in the garage and confronts him. Instead of arguing back, though, Taylor comes up with an ingenious plan to keep Maisie quiet.

The Perfect Dom
Part of Mia’s nightwear is a pair of hotpants with SPANK ME emblazoned across the arse. Normally, that wouldn’t be a problem, but when she forgets that she has a houseguest and heads to the kitchen for a drink, she’s shocked to find Alex in her living room. Immediately spotting what he sees as an invitation written across Mia’s bottom, Alex makes an offer and Mia soon discovers that he is, in fact, the perfect dom.

Meet Me at the Spanish Steps
Darby is working at a holiday camp on the outskirts of Rome and is getting along just fine, with the exception of her sex life. For various reasons, she’s not getting what she wants in the bedroom, and her tastes are very particular. She turns to the Internet to get what she needs, and when she discovers William, it seems that he’s more than willing—and capable—of scratching that particular itch.

Available from:
https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-theperfectdom-1057956-144.html?referrer=6bdb1f9160564c0525b41f36e51861a0

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00BFFZNJM/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1634&creative=19450&creativeASIN=B00BFFZNJM&linkCode=as2&tag=lucyfelthouse-21

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00BFFZNJM/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B00BFFZNJM&linkCode=as2&tag=lucyfelt-20

Coming soon to all other good eBook retailers.

*****

EXCERPT:

“Spank me. Is that an invitation?”

Shit. Mia had completely forgotten about him. Her flatmate, Katy, had asked if it was okay if her brother could stay on their sofa for a couple of nights. His own place was being fitted with a new bathroom and conditions over there weren’t exactly tantamount to hygiene. Mia had been rushing around in order to get to work and hadn’t really been paying attention, so she’d just agreed and then promptly forgotten.

Now, however, she was being treated to a huge and incredibly embarrassing reminder. Katy was on a nightshift at the hospital so when Mia had woken up at 9p.m.—her own body clock being on that of working in the club, though tonight was her night off—she’d deemed it safe to wander to the kitchen to get a drink in what she was wearing.

Big mistake. Alex was sitting on the sofa, an eyebrow quirked and a leering grin on his face. He held his iPad, and earphones hung around his neck. He’d obviously been watching a film or playing some ridiculous game before Mia had flipped the light on and sauntered through the living room in nothing but a skimpy vest and hotpants. The hotpants were, of course, what he was referring to. The fuchsia garment had SPANK ME emblazoned across the ass in large black lettering.

Mia gave Alex a look that would have turned a lesser man to stone. He, however, simply grinned even more widely, then said, “Well? Do you need a firm hand to that luscious butt of yours? Like a spanking, do you?”

Mia sighed. “Shut up, Alex. It’s none of your business. I’m just getting a drink. Get back to your damn gadget and leave me alone.”

“Oooh, someone’s defensive. I’m just saying, you must have them for a reason. A statement like that printed on your backside would definitely be construed as an invitation in my book.”

“Well, maybe it is an invitation, Alex. But it’s certainly not directed at you. Now if you’d kindly stop passing judgement on my non-existent sex life I’ll get my drink and get out of your way.”

*****

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 post:
http://elizabeth-cage.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/lucy-felthouse-guest-post-truth-about.html

Sunday, 10 March 2013

Lucy Felthouse Guest Post: The Truth About Erotica

I'm thrilled that my guest post today is from the highly prolific and hugely energetic writer Lucy Felthouse (I wish my output was as productive as Lucy - I feel positively lazy by comparison!). Lucy is talking The Truth About Erotica and dispelling a few myths. Check in tomorrow for an excerpt from one of her latest titles, The Perfect Dom. Over to you, Lucy!

Firstly, I want to say thank you to Elizabeth for inviting me here today to discuss the truth about erotica.

So... what is the truth? I can only speak from personal experience, of course, so here goes:

Most erotic writers only write from experience to a certain degree. For example, I know a writer that was penning erotic stories while still a virgin—all it took was a little imagination on their part. Now, I’m not a virgin, and haven’t been for quite some time, so yes, I write from experience in as much as I’ve had sex with a man. However, my fertile imagination means that I have written about vampires, werewolves, policemen, policewomen, shifters, dominatrix’s, doggers, ghosts, succubi, incubi, jackals, male dancers... the list goes on. And surely no one can accuse me of being all those things, can they? I’m a straight woman who’s never had sex with another woman, and yet I’ve written about lesbians and gay men.

How? Because with the lesbian stuff, I know what naked women look like (I’ve seen one in the mirror!), how things feel, how things work, etc. And with the gay stuff, it’s because, equally, I know what naked men look like (shocker, I know!), how things feel, how things work.

So, although I’m sure some erotica writers are probably gay, lesbian, dominant, submissive, exhibitionists, voyeurs and doggers, it doesn’t mean we all are. Many of us are people in traditional relationships that do nothing out of the ordinary, except on the page. And there’s nothing wrong with that.

Another myth I’d like to dispel is about how we write. I don’t mean with pens and paper, or laptops, or dictionaries and thesauruses. I mean what we physically do. There are rumours that float around that we all sit around in sexy underwear and outfits, wielding whips. It’s bullshit. Okay, so maybe some writers do that, but I know for a fact that a great deal of us don’t. We wear whatever clothes we feel comfortable in—for me that’s usually jeans and a t-shirt—probably no makeup—sometimes I don’t even brush my hair!—and we work. You know why? Because it’s a job. On the whole (E.L. James excepting), it’s a very badly paid job, but we love it, and we do it because we want to, because we enjoy it. Yes, many of us do other things to supplement our bank balances and squeeze writing in around that, but it doesn’t make it any less of a job for us. We don’t sit around in our pyjamas, either, watching daytime TV. If we did that, we’d make even less money. Also, we’re very busy people. We don’t write 24/7. We have jobs, children, pets, partners, houses and lives to contend with, as well as our ever-present Muse.

I always said to myself when I started working from home, that if I ever found myself watching daytime television, it was time to get another job. So far I haven’t even been tempted. If I’m ill, I’ll read or watch a DVD, or sleep. The day I watch Jeremy Kyle or Loose Women is the day I get back on Monster.com. For now, I’m going to stick with being my own boss and doing what makes me happy.

*****

The Perfect Dom
Four kinky and erotic BDSM tales from the smutty pen of Lucy Felthouse.

Balancing the Books

Philip’s a well off man, and doesn’t need a job. But when he sees the gorgeous owner of his local bookshop, he applies for the role that’s being advertised there immediately. He’s totally stricken by the stunning Giovanna, and when it turns out she wants to boss him around in a sexual sense as well as an employment sense, he has no intention of refusing.

Feeling the Heat

Taylor and Maisie’s car has broken down. Luckily, Taylor’s handy with engines and is working hard to get them back on the road. Unfortunately, Maisie is getting annoyed at the amount of time he’s spending in the garage and confronts him. Instead of arguing back, though, Taylor comes up with an ingenious plan to keep Maisie quiet.

The Perfect Dom

Part of Mia’s nightwear is a pair of hotpants with SPANK ME emblazoned across the arse. Normally, that wouldn’t be a problem, but when she forgets that she has a houseguest and heads to the kitchen for a drink, she’s shocked to find Alex in her living room. Immediately spotting what he sees as an invitation written across Mia’s bottom, Alex makes an offer and Mia soon discovers that he is, in fact, the perfect dom.

Meet Me at the Spanish Steps

Darby is working at a holiday camp on the outskirts of Rome and is getting along just fine, with the exception of her sex life. For various reasons, she’s not getting what she wants in the bedroom, and her tastes are very particular. She turns to the Internet to get what she needs, and when she discovers William, it seems that he’s more than willing—and capable—of scratching that particular itch.

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

*****

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/2013/02/the-truth-about-being-erotica-writer.html

Saturday, 9 March 2013

Tangled & Bound By Emily Ryan-Davis

Today I'm happy to be part of a book tour to let you know about a hot new erotic romance by Emily Ryan-Davis . Read on to find out more....

Tangled & Bound By Emily Ryan-Davis

A Taken in Bondage Erotic Romance

Friendly, adventurous, sexually submissive...and a complete stranger. She's exactly the anonymous, no-consequences diversion fetish-club owner Sam needs to kick off a few days in Las Vegas. He doesn't hesitate to take her up against the door of the in-flight bathroom.

Powerful, dominant Sam could have walked straight out of one of Melanie's dog-eared BDSM novels. When he strikes up a conversation on a late-evening flight, fictional fantasies become knee-weakening, panty-soaking, feminine-core-clenching reality. And oh-em-gee, does she want another taste of that!

When Sam informs her that his plans don't include a long-term D/s relationship with an impulsive young blonde for whom submission is more than likely a passing whim, Melanie throws herself into convincing him she's exactly the submissive lover he wants, needs and can't live without.

Available from:

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Tangled-Bound-Taken-Bondage-ebook/dp/B009ETFXJQ

Amazon UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Tangled-Bound-Taken-Bondage-ebook/dp/B009ETFXJQ

BN: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/tangled-bound-emily-ryan-davis/1112988459?ean=9781419936852

All Romance Ebooks: https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-tangledbound-946681-340.html

Kobo: http://www.kobobooks.com/ebook/Tangled-Bound/book-BXOLF6WZW0Sq1ybP5spz3A/page1.html?s=RrX6lNkNeUutcj4OjvqylA&r=1

Ellora’s Cave: http://www.ellorascave.com/tangled-bound.html

Excerpt:Chapter One

August

Halfway into her non-stop flight from New York to Las Vegas, Melanie Burke started to squirm. Her restlessness had nothing to do with her tiny middle-of-the-row seat and everything to do with the muscular, denim-clad thigh touching her bare leg.

The thigh belonged to a man she’d noticed hours earlier while waiting to board. In a sea of people wearing jeans and t-shirts, he’d stood out, and not because of his scuffed cowboy boots and oversized belt buckle. Well, not only because of those. While the whole Texas horse wrangler look was out of place in LaGuardia, he certainly wasn’t the only man doing the Western thing. He was the only one doing it well, though.

The nice ass and hand-tooled boots weren’t what had her snapping a surreptitious pic and forwarding it to her BFF, Brooke, who was a self-proclaimed expert in all things BDSM. Something else was.

Something about him declared, “I’m in charge”. Ever since she’d gotten wet while reading a BDSM-themed novel earlier in the year, Melanie had become a sneaky people-watcher, looking for the whole “in charge” vibe Dominant men apparently put off. When she’d despaired ever finding her Dom, Brooke had advised her to chill and wait. According to Brooke, Melanie would just know. She was on the verge of giving up and going back to her normal sex routine of grad students and bar crawlers, but then she saw him.

During boarding call, she’d covertly watched the way he stood apart from the crowd even while standing in the middle of it. Her attraction to him was inexplicable. The cowboy look really wasn’t to her taste. She went for guys with more of a GQ look. He didn’t exude sophisticated power like the heroes of her dog-eared novels, either, but he did take her breath away. Some part of her she was just discovering wanted to kneel at his feet and gaze up into his eyes from below.

When she reached her assigned seat on the plane, she was both startled and thrilled by the coincidence that booked him in the seat next to hers. Now, as she turned the page of her book, a “mommy porn” title on every national bestseller list, she snuck a peek at her in-flight neighbor’s face.

Pale, grass-green eyes met hers. Caught in the act of looking, startled by the fact she’d caught him in the act, too, she quickly shifted her focus back to the book spread across her fold-down tray.

“Good book?” Her neighbor’s voice wrapped around her, warm in the too-cold cabin. She pressed her thighs together as her simmering arousal cranked up a notch.

“Most of the world seems to like it.” She glanced up to find him still watching her. This time she was prepared for the intensity of his examination and managed to maintain eye contact. She even did a little looking of her own, mostly in the form of a closer inspection of his dark-blond evening stubble and full lips. Those lips quirked while she studied them. They would be fantastic between her legs.

As if he had access to her little fantasy, his smile widened.

“I’m not interested in most of the world. Do you like it?” He reached over, closed the book, and turned it so the front cover showed. “Who would’ve thought a simple neck tie would become so iconic?”

“It’s a very striking cover,” Melanie agreed. But totally disinteresting to her now. As far as visuals went, he had all her attention. His shoulders dominated the narrow seat. She seriously wanted to climb astride his lap and put her hands on him. Maybe rub up against that big belt buckle. And she wanted to beg him to keep talking. The Midwest meets New York accent was weirdly fascinating.

“The question still remains whether you’re enjoying the read.”

“It’s crazy popular--“

“Yes or no?” He interrupted.

Heat flashed through her. Blinking rapidly at her body’s response to his demanding inquiry, she managed to say, “I’m not sure.”

“There’s a simple way to tell.” He leaned close and spoke directly into her ear. “If you’re wet right now, you’re enjoying the book. “

The powerful confidence of his voice stirred something low in her abdomen. She was wet before his lips brushed her ear. Now she felt soaked.

“Answer me, honey.” He touched her chin and tilted her head at a slight angle. Callused fingertips settled on a spot just below her jaw. “Your heart’s racing, but I don’t think you’re scared. I think that book has you so hot, you’re dying to slip your hand into your panties.”

More Information:

Other Taken in Bondage Series Titles Available Now

Tied & Twisted

Naked & Unleashed

Want more like this? Join Emily Ryan-Davis’s newsletter today for access to subscriber exclusives, contests, new release news and more. To subscribe, go to http://www.emilyryandavis.com and click the “Contact” tab.

Tuesday, 5 March 2013

Writing Sex Scenes

I first started writing erotica in 1999 and, over the years, I hope I have improved and developed my descriptive abilities. In a way, writing erotica (well, the kind that I write) is all about writing sex scenes. I suppose I do use a conscious technique or process which is fairly simple. As I describe the action, I close my eyes and imagine it happening, moment by moment, to try to ensure both a smooth flow of events and also authenticity. What does/would this feel like? It is all about feeling and sensation. The other reason I visualise is to make sure there is realistic continuity. For example, if one minute the female protagonist is naked and then in the next paragraph we read she still has her knickers on! I think about what clothing is being worn and how it is being removed. The same goes for positioning of body parts. So if the hero has his tongue inside his lover’s luscious pussy, he won’t be talking dirty to her. I try to think about what is not physically possible. It has to be real and realistic and feasible, even within the limits of fantasy, if that makes sense.

I do enjoy using humour via dialogue in some of my sex scenes, although I was told long ago that humour just isn't sexy in erotica and I do understand this, but for me, the sex has to be fun and in real life you often find yourself in bizarre and surreal situations, so I like to use this.

I've just realised I haven’t used the word romance anywhere so far. I suppose I rarely intentionally make the sex romantic, although this is more likely to be present during a kiss or a gentle touch, or in my BDSM stories. However, quite a few of the stories are actually quite romantic and I only realise this when I read them back afterwards.

Interestingly, after I wrote this I found a piece by writer and editor Maxim Jakubowski in which he talks about his method for writing sex scenes.
http://kdgrace.co.uk/blog/maxim-jakubowski-shares-how-not-to-write-a-sex-scene/
He also adopts the deep visualisation technique and draws on personal experiences to infuse the scene with authenticity and heart. Maybe this is how all writers do it? I can’t imagine any other method.

Sunday, 3 March 2013

Guest Post I.J.Miller: How to Write a Good Erotic Mashup

I am absolutely thrilled that the guest post today is from writer I J Miller about a fascinating topic - writing an erotic mashup. I only recently discovered this genre when browsing on Amazon and was keen to find out more. I have always considered Wuthering Heights to be a BDSM classic (without being sexually explicit) and IJ explores an approach to re-imagining the story. Wonderful!

HOW TO WRITE A GOOD EROTIC MASHUP

by I.J. Miller

Taking a classic novel and combining the story with a completely different genre to form a single narrative has become popular these days. Mashups have been common in music for quite some time, with artists sampling older classics in their new rap song or pop hit. In literature, Seth Graeme Smith’s Pride and Prejudice and Zombies made the first big splash in 2009. With the popularity of Fifty Shades of Grey, publishers soon got the idea that erotic mashups might have an appeal. This past August I was commissioned by Grand Central Publishing to tackle Emily Bronte’s classic Wuthering Heights. Once a book is in public domain, you can use original sentences, but if you are just going to use a lot of verbatim text and periodically throw in a few sex scenes here and there, what is the point?

Having a strong background in screenwriting probably most tailored my approach. I looked at the project less as an addition of sex to an old story, but more as an adaptation of the original work with an erotic interpretation. Interpreting the story, rather than rehashing it makes it much easier for the erotic parts to become organic and not stick out like a sore thumb, or for erotic readers used to heightened sensuality, a small penis.

These classic works are usually longer than the final book a current publisher would want in the erotic romance genre. In addition, you’re adding material. To make it work, you have to break the story down to its core and have a plan.

Identify the true theme and through line of the book. What it is about? What is it saying?

The better you can emulate the voice and language of the original the more your new scenes will flow.

In order to reduce the book to a manageable length, look to consolidate scenes as much as possible, as one would do for a screen adaptation. Write the single best scene, or scenes that carries the broader drama in the liveliest way.

Very often these classic books have a lot of subplots and many minor characters. Only use what is important to the through line of your erotic story. The entire book will usually need to be streamlined and restructured to get the most out of the romance, love, and lust that is there.

Be creative in your approach to erotic scenes. The more they carry the story line, the more they reveal character, the more interesting they will be.

For Wuthering Nights, my erotic mashup, I got rid of the narrator, Lockwood, who hears most of the story in flashback from Nelly the housekeeper. I went with an omniscient narrator to get into the heads of both Heathcliff and his love, Catherine. After all, Nelly couldn’t be present in every sex scene! I went with a straight, linear narrative, starting at the beginning, finishing at the end.

This was a wonderful book to retell, because the characters are so complex. No one is above reproach. There is intense love and romance, but also bitter revenge and dark hate. It allowed for complex and varied erotic scenes, from deeply loving, to vengeful, to manipulative, to rough dungeon sex with Heathcliff as the ultimate dominator. The passion always fit what was happening in the story.

I adapted the book to three parts (the original had two long, sprawling sections), emulating a film’s three act structure. I developed the set up of the story and took it to its breaking point. Then, as in the original, I brought Heathcliff back with a longer middle section that continued to escalate his conflict of trying to win Catherine back while getting knocked off course with his intense thirst for revenge. The last section, as in the original, uses the second generation of the two families to resolve the story. I limited the focus Bronte had on Catherine’s daughter’s relationship with Heathcliff’s son (Linton), which was ultimately unfulfilling and not passionate in the original, and added a greater focus on the love story between Catherine’s daughter and Catherine’s brother’s son (Hareton) to bring about a more interesting and fulfilling end for a romantic love story, which is different from the more tragic, dark last parts of the original.

One of the things that usually make great books classic is the wonderful language and writing. There is no reason to lose the great description or dialogue if you don’t have to. Find passages that will add meaning to the new eroticism you are adding. The combination might be very close to what might have been if the original had been written this way, with a beautiful and interesting result. For example, Heathcliff ends up marrying Catherine’s sister-in-law, Isabella, in order to make Catherine jealous and as an act of revenge. It is clear in the original that it is an abusive relationship and that Heathcliff has changed Isabella from a noble lady to a “thorough little slattern,” as Nelly observes in the original. I eroticized this dynamic by making Heathcliff a dominant, with BDSM inclinations, who breaks Isabella down completely in his dungeon. As in the original, she is both addicted to and repelled by him. I used Heathcliff’s exact dialogue from the original that did not necessarily refer to his sexual relationship with Isabella, but fit perfectly right before a dungeon scene:

“She would rather I seemed all tenderness before you; it wounds her vanity to have the truth of her taming exposed. No brutality disgusts her. I suppose she has an innate admiration of it. I’ve sometimes relented, from pure lack of invention, in my experiments on what she could endure, and she still creeps shamefully back.”

There is no magic formula, but a thoughtful approach will allow one to use eroticism, to use what was not a viable alternative back in the day, to heighten all of the powerful emotions in a classic, while producing a story that pays homage to the great writing of yesteryear and is still powerful and interesting enough to stand on its own.

c copyright, Ira Miller, 2013. This piece first appeared on Ashley Lister's site. Here is the link:http://howtowriteeroticfiction.blogspot.com/2013/02/how-to-write-good-erotic-mash-up.html?spref=tw.

EXCERPT FROM WUTHERING NIGHTS

The more she rubbed, the more she rotated her finger at the bump of her pleasure, the more clearly she saw, and felt the presence of Heathcliff. She liked that he was so available to her, that she was not locked in her room, that they were not stealing time in the fields, that this was not a clandestine visit to the garret. No one else was around and they were free to be who they wanted to be, and do what they wanted to do. She rubbed more vigorously and Heathcliff looked up from his whittling and smiled with happiness: happy to be alone with her, happy to see her begin her pleasure so freely. There was so much contentment right now within them both. They were with each other in a way that had never been possible before. Heathcliff undid the buttons of his trousers and removed his erect cock. This stirred her mightily, for she enjoyed everything about his cock: the salty taste, the musky scent, the beautiful curved vision of it. She rose to her hands and knees and crawled on all fours to Heathcliff…up close, her face soon between his legs. She took a moment to sniff his member, then she took turns alternating the brushing of each cheek along the sides of his shaft, like a cat purring for affection. She kissed his ball sack, then up along the bulging veins, around the swollen head, tenderly, before she took this glorious specimen into her mouth. Completely without thought, she sucked, fingers still gyrating against her clitoris, applying deep pressure, as Heathcliff’s cock penetrated her mouth, and a passion grew within her body that she had only come close to feeling on that beautiful Christmas night. There was a temptation to quicken her pace with both her hand and mouth and give them both the pleasure they sorely needed. But this was not enough. Christmas night had not been enough. She rose to her feet, pulled her dress over her head, swivelled slightly so Heathcliff could enjoy the sight of her body as the golden flames from the fireplace reflected off it. He leaned forward and kissed her stomach. He said, “Catherine, you are the most beautiful woman to walk this earth.”

BIO FOR I.J. MILLER

I.J. Miller is 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 in trade paperback on April 23rd. Miller has a Master of Fine Arts from the American Film Institute and has taught creative writing and screenwriting at the university level.

Links:

Amazon (includes cover blurb):
http://www.amazon.com/Wuthering-Nights-Retelling-Heights-ebook/dp/B00AG0VMWO/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1361370808&sr=1-1&keywords=i.j.+miller+wuthering+nights.

Website: http://www.ijmiller.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Heathcliffian

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

Saturday, 2 March 2013

Erotic short story Q and A over at Female First

If you want some inside information on the inspiration behind my erotic short story collections Love Bites and Second Helpings then hop on over to Female First where I am being interviewed by Lucy Walton.....

http://www.femalefirst.co.uk/books/love-bites-282044.html

http://www.femalefirst.co.uk/books/second-helpings-282047.html

Friday, 29 March 2013

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Erotic Fiction

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Sunday, 17 March 2013

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