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Apr 30

Title: Ein
Author: Sorcha Black
Publisher: Belfry Publishing (22 March 2014)
ASIN: B00J6S8YSW
Reviewer: Jane

Quiet.

That’s the word that springs to mind when I reflect upon Sorcha Black’s first solo novel, Ein. It seems like an unusual adjective to apply to an ‘erotic’ fantasy – I can’t recall a time I’ve ever thought of describing a story from this genre in such a way – but against all odds given the content (torture, sadomasochism, non-con), it just seems to fit. And this lack of literal ‘noise’ in Ein is in no way negative. Far from it. As a writer, it takes some serious, serious skill to wield a club weighed down with a heavy storyline and stop yourself from beating readers over the proverbial head with it.

If I’m going to read fantasy, I generally prefer the urban kind. It’s not that I have a rubbish imagination, rather that I tend to enjoy those books that have some sort of link to my own reality. There’s a level of grittiness to a novel that’s only a few steps removed from real life that I just don’t seem to be able to find in one that’s infested with plagues of elves and goblins. Creatures that breathe fire and have hairy feet don’t really get my engine going. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is about my limit.

So is Ein an urban fantasy, then? Well, no. Somehow, it manages to sit smack bang in the middle of an erotic fantasy no-man’s (or should I say ‘no dragon’s’) land. And that’s a place that I’ve not visited before. It’s as if Sorcha Black’s gone a hundred metres towards Graceling, hung a left up the hill towards Comfort Food, crossed the bridge towards Robin Hood’s house, and finally pitched the Ein tent on a patch of land about a mile down the road from all three. Perhaps the reason the story feels so relatable is the mediaeval undercurrent that seems to flow gently through the world that the author has created. Continue reading →

Apr 25

*A massive ‘thank you’ to Molly and DomSigns who have been so patient with regard to my lack of Internet these past two weeks and kindly allowed this delayed posting of the April edition of e[lust].

Photo courtesy of Cammies on the Floor

Welcome to Elust #57 -

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 Elust. Want to be included in Elust #58? Start with the rules, come back May 1st to submit something and subscribe to the RSS feed for updates!

~ This Month’s Top Three Posts ~

I’ve Got 99 Problems

Vasectomy Blues

I’ve always wanted to call myself queer.

~ Featured Post (Molly’s Picks) ~

Aoyama Yuki and My Very First Times

I don’t know how to be happy

~ Readers Choice from Sexbytes ~

*You really should consider adding your popular posts here too*

Close Enough

Continue reading →

Apr 13

It’s been a bit quiet here this past week, I know. I’m moving house. Again. (If I never see another roll of packing tape, it will be too soon.) Normal posts will resume in roughly a week or so once I have stopped lugging boxes. And recovered from Easter Egg overdose. Continue reading →

Apr 06

I really hope I don’t offend anyone with this week’s Sinful Sunday competition entry; I have taken Molly’s brief of ‘triptych’ very literally and nodded, perhaps more than a little blasphemously, towards its religious roots. (Art History was one of my university majors and I just couldn’t help myself.) As such, my triptych sequence is inspired by both the traditional panel paintings found in churches and the great – and scandalous! – Baroque painter, Caravaggio; a true master of light, dark and the dramatic.

Picture one: The Flagellation
Picture two: The Crucifixion
Picture three: The Benediction

*My blog layout is a bit restrictive with regard to showing my triptych full-size (although you can click on it to make it bigger). As such, I have placed the individual images in a larger format below the panel arrangement so that you can get a better look at them individually.

Continue reading →

Apr 02

Image: “We have it rich.” Washing and panning gold, Rockerville, Dak., John C. H. Grabill [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

Is anything ever truly original? Have we already explored every unique avenue, theme and possibility when it comes to creative content? In art? In writing?

I believe that someone who is inherently creative will always manage to show us something new. Will demand that we look at things in a different way or engage us in a manner we never expected. Which is why I think the self-publishing movement is so important: not only does it give writers permission to take risks – those that a traditional publishing house would deem unacceptable – it also allows them to explore themes that may not be in vogue or are ‘off brand’.

Self-publishing gives writers who would otherwise have been marginalised the opportunity to be noticed. To have a voice. To be heard. Often, it is those on the fringes who have the most important and interesting things to tell us.

However, all that said, I am beginning to notice a somewhat frustrating and interesting irony: the very vehicle responsible for giving us exciting and innovative reading material is also responsible for giving us a load of same old, same old. A plethora of stories that stay well within the tracks of those that have gone before them, break no new ground whatsoever, and look like they’ve been edited in crayon by my eight-year-old. For the purposes of this post, I’m going to call this phenomenon ‘theme flood’. (Aquatic references ahoy-hoy!) Continue reading →

Mar 30

These arms of mine
They are burning
Burning from wanting you
These arms of mine
They are wanting
Wanting to hold you

And if you
Would let them hold you
Ohh how grateful I will be

- These Arms of Mine, Otis Redding Continue reading →

Mar 26

Image: Maanpuolustusvastainen (own work)

How timely this Kink of the Week topic is; I have literally (as in the last 24 hours) hit the ‘pay now’ button and invested a chunk of change in a new phallic monolith for the old Jane and M toy box. No batteries, no cords, no plastic – just a lovely hunk of made-to-order glass that I’m hoping will get me off like no-one’s business. I want an orgasm. And I want a good one.

At this point, I’m going to say something controversial. Well, not controversial exactly but, possibly, a little surprising because I really haven’t seen that many other women make the statement I’m about to:

Phallic-style vibrators don’t, as a general rule, get me off.

Not without a lot of fiddling about, anyway.

From a stimulation point-of-view, the internal vibrations do a whole lot of nothing to my lady parts (am I the only one whose vagina pretty much yawns in boredom at these?) and while the rabbit ears – if the vibrator in question happens to have them – do generally feel good against my clitoris, they never seem to hit quite the right place with any sort of consistency. M’s fingers are far easier to position, far more flexible, and far more likely to get me where I need to go. They don’t need recharging, either.

Which brings me to dildos. Continue reading →

Mar 22

The house we are currently renting has a peach tree in the garden that’s absolutely laden with fruit. Unfortunately, we had a hail storm a few weeks back that spat out icy stones the size of marbles and rendered most of the crop inedible. As I was picking up all of the fallen peaches off the ground this morning, it struck me that I could find an alternative use for them … Continue reading →

Mar 20

If you follow Chintz on Twitter, Google+, or Facebook, you might have seen yesterday’s link to the short film (above), First Kiss, which was released just over a week ago on YouTube. It shows a group of people who have never met before kissing for the first time. It’s awkward, emotional and, in my opinion, absolutely breathtaking, not least because it shows just how powerful, intimate and erotic the simple act of two sets of lips meeting can be. Continue reading →

Mar 17

Another edition of e[lust], more fabulous blog posts about sex and sexuality.

Photo courtesy of Understanding Flutterby

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] #57? Start with the rules, come back April 1st to submit something and subscribe to the RSS feed for updates!