Words

Looking for something to read? The Words section contains book reviews, articles on sex and kink, and Jane’s erotic stories. After something specific? Please visit the Words Index.)

Free reads disclaimer: if you’re at all offended by naughty language, sex in positions other than missionary, non-vanilla sexual practices (including but not limited to those that involve the use of dairy products or gluten) and general sauciness, steer well clear. Do not pass go, do not collect £200. You’ve been warned!

Oct 16

*A massive ‘thank you’ to everyone who voted my Pain Positive and Sex toy manuals: puppies, kittens and a whole lot of nonsensical fluff as top picks for this month’s edition of e[lust], and an even bigger one to the wonderful people who made the former article possible – Molly (Molly’s Daily Kiss, @Mollysdailykiss), DomSigns (@DomSigns), Trent Evans (Trent Evans Letters, @TrentEvansTales) and M. They, without doubt, deserve the lion’s share of the credit.

Photo courtesy of Property of Potter

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] #52? Start with the newly updated rules, come back November 1st to submit something and subscribe to the RSS feed for updates!

~ This Month’s Top Three Posts ~

7 (Random!) Suggestions for Dominant Types!

Pain Positive

i know what you are.

~ Featured Post (Molly’s Picks) ~

Golden Girl

Have You Met Larry

~ Readers Choice from Sexbytes ~

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

Sex toy manuals: puppies, kittens and a whole lot of nonsensical fluff

Continue reading →

Oct 08

Image: Pendleton Sinking Ship Richard C. Kelsey, via Wikimedia Commons

I find writing to be something of a hillocky process. One minute I’m on a peak, ideas flowing out of me in a torrent (a sometimes nonsensical torrent). The next, I’m stuck in a valley of frustration with potential story concepts and threads lurking about in the shadows, not quite willing to reveal themselves.

Over time, I’ve discovered that my better pieces of writing – or at least the pieces I, personally, deem to be my better ones – have something in common: they all started with a very specific inspirational emotion, object or element that I then went on to build the text around. Perhaps wrongly, I almost never start by etching out/detailing characters. Rather, the concept that’s kicked off the creative process and determines the mood and the emotion of the story I’m going to write subsequently influences the personas and behaviours of those who appear in it.

Frostbite? Inspired by a rural footpath I often walk along. All Girls Love Ponies? Riding whips. Table Manners? A beautifully set table. Dark (a story that I am holding onto and have not published here on Chintz)? Objectification. Continue reading →

Sep 24

Title: Bad Girl Good
Author: Sadey Quinn
Publisher: Sea and Sky (26 July 2013)
ASIN: B00E6HJ16W
Reviewer(s): Michael & Jane

A huge apology to Sadey Quinn, Bad Girl Good’s author, who has been waiting super-patiently for me to post our review of this book. As many of you may be aware from my Tumbleweed post, things are slightly chaotic behind the florals at the moment and I’m rather behind on, well, pretty much everything. Hmm. Maybe I need Todd, Bad Girl Good’s male protagonist, to keep me in line…?

MICHAEL’S TAKE

Bad Girl Good is a Domestic Discipline novel. When Chloe breaks one of her boyfriend’s rules, Todd gets to spank her.

Bad Girl Good is a Total Power Exchange novel. Chloe has given control of her life to her Dom, Todd, and he disciplines her when she violates any of his dictates.

Which one of those is accurate? I am still not entirely sure. Continue reading →

Sep 19

*This month’s e[lust] is out and there are some truly fantastic articles in this edition, as well as a stunning photograph by Down the Rabbit Hole. (Please note that I’ve placed the latter below the fold for this particular post as it features a pair of – extremely beautiful! – naked breasts. Just something to be aware of if you’re clicking the ‘Read More’ tab in full view of others!)

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] #51? Start with the newly updated rules, come back October 1st to submit something and subscribe to the RSS feed for updates!

~ This Month’s Top Three Posts ~

When the sex isn’t great

The Least You Can Do

I don’t know how to dominate

~ Featured Post (Molly’s Picks) ~

TO THE MAN WHO OWNS MY SUBMISSION

Why I Need Him There.

~ Readers Choice from Sexbytes ~

First lesbian love

Continue reading →

Sep 17

As requested, a new instalment in the My Life in Books series. I know I’ve been promising one of these for a while now but I had to think on the best way to write them going forwards as the initial idea was to do the two age-slash-milestone-book posts and leave it at that. At last, I think I’ve come up with something you might enjoy, so (cue drumroll) … may I present My Life in Books (Part Three): Wild Men.

As you may have deduced from the title, this entry focuses on a type of fictional hero I have a particular soft spot for: one who can build a tent out of a handkerchief, catch a fish with a shoelace, and ride a horse upside down. Oh, and burn the sheets up (of course). These choices aren’t erotic so much as romantic, but I’m an absolute sucker for a good love story and make no apology for it.

Only His – Elizabeth Lowell

Warning! This is total romantic schmaltz and has all the stereotypical cheese one would expect from this type of book:

Angry Alpha hero? Check.

Naïve virginal heroine? Present.

Improbable plot? Oh, ho ho, yes.

In fact, this scathing Publisher’s Weekly review from 1991 sums it up pretty well:

‘In this tedious historical romance, Lowell (Tell Me No Lies) gives barely enough plot to keep a short story moving. Willow Moran, a West Virginian who lost her parents and most of her possessions during the Civil War, is traveling west with her remaining valuables—five Arabian horses—to find her brother Matt, who is prospecting for gold. Her guide from Denver to the San Juan mountains is former Army scout Caleb Black who, unbeknownst to Willow, also is hunting Matt; on her deathbed, after bearing an illegitimate baby, Caleb’s sister named Matt as her seducer. The largely uneventful journey, complicated only by ruffians who are pursuing them (to steal Willow’s horses and finish a fight begun in Denver with Caleb), occupies a substantial portion of the book: Willow and Caleb spend much of their time riding, eating and lusting after each other. By the time the hero, ”with a silent curse at his unruly desires,” indulges in yet another assessment of the heroine, wondering ”how her hair would feel spilling over his naked skin, ” the reader is likely to be silently cursing right along with him—and brother Matt isn’t even close to being on the horizon.’

– Copyright 1991 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

So why on earth did I like it so much? Because it is epically enjoyable in all its sugary, schmaltzy ridiculousness, of course! Not only is Caleb’s hardness wonderfully hot – his character, not his penis, you dirty-minded individuals (although that particular bit of wood does make a, er, firm appearance) – but the landscape in which all this carry-on takes place is beautifully rendered by the author. The sex is very, very tame (and it does take Caleb and Willow absolutely ages to get it on with one another) but despite its relative chasteness and unrealistically perfect execution, it’s surprisingly enjoyable when it does eventually make an appearance.

In summary: 1990s-style Alpha hero who can ride a horse, deflower virgins with aplomb, and shoot a six-gun like no one’s business. Continue reading →

Sep 16

Image: John Hughes (via Wikimedia Commons)

Oh, dear. Things have been a little silent behind the curtains, haven’t they? Reason? Well, I’m currently gearing up to move countries (somewhat unexpectedly) and at the moment my time is devoted to entertaining shipping companies, conveyancing, and having a heart attack at the cost of moving a small Scottish Terrier from one side of the globe to the other (11387 miles, to be exact).

There’s been some interesting stuff floating about on the interweb this past week, though. This post over on Lina Sacher’s blog, in part prompted by some virtual discussions I’ve had with the lovely Cari Silverwood about male and female interpretations of darker erotica, and then the below parody of Robin Thicke’s Blurred Lines, put together by three trainee lawyers for Auckland University’s annual law review. I’m not sure how I feel about it, to be honest. I love the sarcasm but does it skate too far over the line into misandry and therefore lose its impact? Your thoughts? Continue reading →

Sep 02

Title: Bind and Keep Me (Pierced Hearts, Book 2)
Author: Cari Silverwood
Publisher: Cari Silverwood (29 August 2013)
ISBN: 9781301773190
Reviewer(s): Michael & Jane

Two words: still recovering. Bind and Keep Me is non-con BDSM erotica at its absolute best. If you like your tales dark, you’re not going to want to miss this one.

*You can click on any of the stick figure drawings below to make them bigger. Which many of you will likely need to do if your eyesight is as bad as mine and you can’t read the writing!

JANE’S TAKE

This book should come with a health warning:

Caution! Jaw may drop to floor and disconnect from face. The author assumes no responsibility for readers who spontaneously combust with arousal and/or spend days wondering whether their moral compass needs resetting as a result of reading (and enjoying) this book.

Leave your sanity at the door because there is absolutely no way that Bind and Keep Me can be put into either the Safe, Sane and Consensual (SSC) or Risk Aware Consensual Kink (RACK) buckets. There is unsafe play in spades. There is insane play by the truckload. There is non-consent to the power of a hundred overlaid with the veneer of incredibly dubious consent. There is risk with a capital ‘R’. And there is kink. Oh, man is there kink. Continue reading →

Aug 29

Title: Bond Confessions (London Brown) Volume 2, Novella 1
Author: Leila DeSint
Publisher: New Dawning Bookfair (4 July 2013)
ISBN: 9781301725502
Reviewer: Michael

If you recall, Michael reviewed Leila’s Confessions Collection Vol.1 back in February and was left wondering just what was going to happen in the next instalment …

‘Two men. One a politician on the verge of greatness and the other a philanthropist on the cusp of corruption, each own a piece of me.’

This is a short review but this latest instalment in the Confessions series really isn’t that long.

I’ll admit that this is one of those books that took me some time to get started with but, after that, I was genuinely pulled back into the story.

The positive thing for me is that Desniah seems to be gaining more control over her life. London only plays the smallest part and Desniah makes a massive decision at the end – or at least I hope she did.

Caden makes a huge step forward as he finally realises the truth that has been staring him in the face for long. Continue reading →

Aug 28

Image: courtesy of Tech Affair

‘Do you talk during sex? Do you like to be talked to during sex? What do you say or what do you like to hear? Does it excite you or does it turn you off?’

Words. They have the ability to steal the breath more effectively than a cane, settle beneath the skin more deeply than the thud of a flogger, bind and hold us more firmly than any rope.

When I saw that this was the topic prompt for this week’s Wicked Wednesday, I was thrilled (superb suggestion, Lord Raven). Why? Well, words are a huge (huge) part of my personal kink.

Sex, for me, is rarely silent. It’s always better when there’s verbal communication going on, because, in my opinion, while our bodies generally give our partners a pretty good idea as to whether we’re enjoying ourselves (or not), the right words have the ability to elevate and texture an exchange in a way that nothing else can. They give the speaker and the listener the opportunity to further engage the senses, to fall more fully into an experience and connect more deeply with one another. Over time, I’ve come to understand that I actually need the verbal element in order to reach the places that I find most satisfying. I don’t mean that I require a constant stream of words and chatter to orgasm. Far from it. Rather, that a few choice words and phrases have the ability to elevate sex or a D/s exchange to a whole other level. Put simply, my brain needs to be engaged for me to be aroused and language plays a massive part in its stimulation. Continue reading →

Aug 15

This month’s e[lust] is out! (And can I just say that I’m beyond thrilled to be one of Molly’s featured picks for this edition. :-))

Photo courtesy of Love Hate Sex Cake

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] #50? Start with the newly updated rules, come back September 1st to submit something and subscribe to the RSS feed for updates!