next little thing

Madeline Moore kindly asked me to participate in writing about My Next Big Thing, but I don't have a big thing to write about, as the Novel continues to elude me. She said it would be ok to write about a short story, and I will, but looking at the questions involved, it feels silly - so I will just share the cold details of the antho with you all and leave it at that.

The wonderful, joyous title of Alison Tyler's forthcoming antho is The Big Book of Bondage. Isn't that perfect? I'm thinking the next one should be The Girls' Own Book of Bondage, actually, I might have to suggest that. There's another one in the wings, I hope I can write something for it.

My story in this one is called Life Drawing, and it's a sweet little one about a woman who meets an old flame at a life drawing class and accepts his invitation to come up and see his etchings... and be drawn by him.

It was born out of my own small experience of sitting for friends, and feeling what it feels like to be looked at in such a studied way, and the places my thoughts went ... which were to how pretty a subject shibari would be - and online I found photos from Shibari life drawing sessions, which were just perfect!

Oh, this was one - dolls' chairs in bondage - this was just fun.

And I loved this one, where she stitches in thread for the rope.

But this is the sort of thing I was thinking of.

And this is where the story ends up...

Morning Noon and Night

Well, I am an idiot, who due to inner confusion cannot read calendars or understand dates, and I've posted this by accident not once, but twice! But I've checked the list twice, and many times over the last couple days, and I'm pretty certain that today is the fifteenth and therefore time to hit publish. Finally. Apologies to the three people who've seen it already. SO:

Blog tour! Check out Ms Alison Tyler's blog for more dates and info. 

Ok, I confess, I already posted this paragraph about this antho in an earlier post: 

Remember the days when it seemed taboo to admit to really liking the person you were sleeping with? Ireland doesn't really do dating... at least it didn't back when I was ... not dating. People tend to get drunk and hook up, and if they REALLY like each other then they MIGHT consider sex sober, and if that goes well they MIGHT go out together in a non-sex situation. And then at some point they MIGHT admit to having feelings of affection. Maybe. 

And that's a really quick summary of what I was thinking of when I wrote this story. I'm now thinking about the girls' nights out we went on that we were hoping would end with a more intimate  hook up, and we'd blow off our grlz for the promise of a little bit of body contact and affection and arousal. No sisters before misters for us! Or was that just me? Oops... 

The truth is my prowling ended in monogamy fairly quickly (far too quickly, really, my granny was right!) but before that, I do remember a time when I used to stay in a friend's house on Friday nights, but bring my bag out with me, 'just in Jason' - Jay had leathers and my favourite long blond hair 'n' beard combo. He didn't inspire this story (for in truth he was a bit of an ass) but the feeling of not being allowed to admit to liking him did. It's a depressing story, that feeling of knowing no one's going to fall in love with you, or even be friends with you, they just want sex, and they know you'll be grateful for that and not cause any fuss. I know a girl barely in her twenties who still lets this happen to her, or at least she did - and it makes me so sad. I wish there was a way to teach us it's not worth it. Not Worth It! I hope there is.

So in this story, the heroine thinks that's what's going on, and tries to protect herself from it. But it's hard to stay away. And all might not be what it seems... 

Find my story '1 am, Girls' Night Out' in Morning, Noon and Night by Alison Tyler. 

Sudden Sex

I have a tiny wee story called Night Heat in this new anthology of 69 stories by Alison Tyler. I confess, it could have been more, but I was lazy. This one's a little flight of fancy set in the moonlight and in the dark.  No listing for it yet, but coming soon, no doubt. 

:/

I hate you, blogger. Why can't I update my pictures n things? Don't say 'specify image' when I've specified it as much as I can. Don't you know how long it's taken me to get round to actually doing this? Demoralised*

Deep Desires by Charlotte Stein

Deep Desires by Charlotte Stein
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Man. I had no expectations of this book, knew nothing about it - only a very intense and lengthy review that didn't quite make sense to me, not having read it. It does now!

Like the previous reviewer, I read all this book at once - I can't imagine being able to stop and start it - though that would match the initial teasing uncertain flow of the interaction.

This book is dedicated to delicious tension, yet there's no tease - once the relationship gets going it lives up to its tender promise utterly. A wonderful, sympathetic, beautifully drawn couple. I love the tiny world with its huge boundaries - it's bound by past and present fears and Charlotte carries it through so well.

It's brilliant.


View all my reviews

Morning, Noon and Night

Thank you thank you to Cora Zane for her lovely review of 'One am Girls' Night Out' from Alison Tyler's Morning, Noon and Night. It's so wonderful when someone sees the same thing in your story that you did! I'm also happy because I was just thinking demoralising things about my lack of talent, so this has been a nice little pick me up. You can see the review on Alison's blog here. And you can also one of my reviews of another story from the book there too - we writers are having a happy little ... well, Alison called it a clusterfuck, but I think it's more of a circlejerk, really... over there about our favourite stories from the book, extra fun. 

why is M/M so appealing?

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risqué

So, I'm not sure where to put this post, but I suppose it should be here. I amused myself tonight. Let me set the scene.

I found myself a new imaginary boyfriend recently,  to go with my imaginary sex life.

New porn Star Crush, Manuel Ferrarra. It might not be real, sure, but how do I love him? Let me count the ways:
general bigness, modesty (blushing at compliments!) favouring kissing, enthusiastic real-sex, not porn-sex porn, if that makes sense to anyone, affection, contact, FRENCHNESS, strongness, and enough intensity to melt an iceberg. He's slightly embarrassing to watch sometimes because of it, but ohhhh.

I found something great this evening. Live porn. It's interactive! Well, it was at one point. But the best bit is, you get to see them talking. Being. Chatting. It's all chilled and real and convincing. And... sweet. It so works for me, even if it's a cynical marketing ploy, I don't care. I don't think it is, exactly, but I think there's something good there too.

Anyway. So, I'm watching this, and loving the conversation, and rolling fondant to make a pregnant mother cake topper. My hands are full of black food dye and I'm mixing a big ball of fondant to make it more vividly coloured (if black can be vivid) and I look down and see that I've created... this:

Oops!

I also love how I got the giant naked man into the photo as well.

Sudden Sex!

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The Rudest Number

Look at this beautiful tome and its stellar line up from Alison Tyler! Is it not fabulous? It's great to see this book coming to fruition, and I love the Garden of Delights on the cover. Dive in, readers, dive in. 

Countdown by Violet Blue
The Kitchen Kink by Alison Tyler
Hare Coursing by Janine Ashbless
Pulse by Vida Bailey
Speed Mating by Sophia Valenti
Permission by Justine Elyot
Star Fucker by John Albert 
The Redi-Wash by Jax Baynard 
Selections from a Bedroom Closet by Thomas S. Roche
Dress Rehearsal by Sommer Marsden
Good Cop, Bad Cop (a story) by Kristina Lloyd
Come at Six by Portia Da Costa
Plus One by Nikki Magennis
I Dare You by Emma Hillman 
Two Ways by Dante Davidson
Manners by Georgia E. Jones 
Another Country Heard From by Eric Williams
Frosted Kisses by Vida Bailey 
Summoned by Raziel Moore
His by Charlotte Stein
Talk to the Hand by Allison Wonderland
Three Days by Cate Robertson
Reclamation by Willsin Rowe
Open by Donna George Storey
Frozen by Aisling Weaver
The Welcome Wagon by Sophia Valenti
Hot Cross Buns by Shanna Germain 
Granny Panties by Sommer Marsden
Touchless by Alison Tyler
Cast Party by Jeremy Edwards
Fall Back by N.T. Morley
Love, Honor and Obey by Janine Ashbless
Permissive by Justine Elyot
Hot in the City by Saskia Walker
Add It Up by Nikki Magennis
Crossed by Dante Davidson 
The Funeral by Georgia E. Jones 
Floating in Blue by Teresa Noelle Roberts 
Suite Surprise by Cate Robertson
Shoulders by Donna George Storey
Saturday by Willsin Rowe
Based on a True Story by Kristina Lloyd
The Barest Offering by Aisling Weaver
Hers by Charlotte Stein
Translation by Sommer Marsden
Dessert by Sophia Valenti
Skill by Aisling Weaver
Attic Moment by Janine Ashbless
Satisfied Customers by Ashley Lister
Closing Distance by Raziel Moore
Friends in Need by Saskia Walker
Homecoming by Willsin Rowe
The Long Afternoon by N.T. Morley
Naked Lunch by Angell Brooks
Just a Kiss Away by Thomas S. Roche
Goes by Sommer Marsden
Waking the Neighbors by Heidi Champa
Ours by Charlotte Stein
Mathematics by Nikki Magennis
Laplanders by Jeremy Edwards
Slave Market in Monochrome by Kristina Lloyd
In the Cold with You by Victoria Janssen 
Listen by Emma Hillman
Come at Nine by Portia Da Costa
The Eskimo Game by Donna George Storey
Reflection by Saskia Walker
Permitted by Justine Elyot
Never Alone by Alison Tyler
Every Dollar by N.T. Morley
A is for Anal, Z is for Zenith by Shanna Germain
How Early? By Thomas Roche

consent and assertiveness

I was just remembering a story my best friend told me, about a game of Spin the Bottle when we were 15 or 16, and several unhappy moments in a bathroom with a guy called Andy that left her feeling shaken and upset. She didn't want to. He didn't notice? It was her older brother who sort of tried to rape me twice in the same era. I don't know if that's relevant at all. Except that surely we weren't the only ones having these experiences.

Consent, is what we need to teach our sons and daughters about. Not just what No sounds like, but what it looks like, as well. What it feels like. How to recognise it, and what to do when you notice. It's awkward for boys, too. I don't believe it's all testosterone and uncontrollable horniness. There is shyness and awkwardness and prowess and peer pressure mixed in. Expectation. So we all need to learn to be more in touch. To understand which pressure is more important to listen to, the one that's saying, I don't want this - or the one that's pushing you to do something that will hurt you or someone else?

This is what should be taught in school. Understanding, self knowledge, asseriveness and consent.