Chintz has been an idea in my head for a very long time and I’m so excited to finally be welcoming you all ‘behind the curtain’.

I’ve always adored books and have been an avid reader throughout my life. And I’m fascinated by just about all forms of writing – books, blogs, newspapers, the labels on cleaning products … You name it. If it’s got text on it, I want to pick it up and read it.

While I can’t remember how old I was at the time, I can vividly remember my first-ever encounter with a book that hinted at sex and sexuality. It was called Brown Cows (unfortunately, no longer in print) and etched forever in my brain is a scene in which a boy is given the opportunity to touch a girl’s breast for the first time. Despite the fact that the moment portrayed was actually quite emotionally awkward, it was something of an awakening for me and from that moment on I began to seek out and take notice of sex and relationships in the books I was reading.

Fast-forward to my teens and the discovery of the 80s ‘bonk busters’ on my mother’s bedside table (think Judith Krantz, Jilly Cooper and Jackie Collins), which resulted in me lying in bed for hours on Saturday and Sunday mornings, practically inhaling the words from the pages and being at once fascinated and slightly horrified by the sexual antics of the characters (why would anyone put THAT in their mouth?!). With a few more years on the clock and a bit more maturity, however, the shock factor I’d initially experienced was considerably lessened and I began to enjoy some much deeper, more edgy erotica and romance titles, ineffectually hiding the ones with the raunchier covers from casual passers-by by bending the front covers backwards against the bodies of the books. (God bless eReaders.)

Not unexpectedly, reading erotica and erotic romance kick-started my curiosity about some of the things I was discovering – namely different sexual practices and adult ‘toys’. Did everyone have a set of handcuffs and a coil of Shibari rope beneath their bed? And if they did, where were they buying these from? And what could you do if you, uh, worked yourself into a bit of lather while reading one of these books and there wasn’t a significant other around to ‘help out’? How on earth did you go about choosing a decent toy to keep you company?

I spent a lot of time trawling the Internet – looking for interesting, enjoyable authors, women-friendly product sites, and reading more about the types of sexual practices I was encountering in the books I was buying. Fascinating stuff. Over time, I began to wonder: if I was looking for great romantic, erotic books and was curious about the things I was reading about in them, surely other women were, too? Closely followed by: wouldn’t it be great if there was a place to find good erotic and romantic book recommendations and links to related products with information and reviews? And that’s when the idea for Behind the Chintz Curtain was born.

If you’ve read the Chintz ‘About’ page, you’ll know that this site is not about making or selling curtains. Nor is it about pornography. And when it talks about ‘toys’, it’s not referring to the items that come with ‘Suitable for ages 3 and up’ labelling.

Behind the Chintz Curtain is all about what we’re reading and doing behind the drapes – chintz, striped or otherwise – and recommends both books (generally the saucier ones) and erotic items. Will you be shocked by some of the things you see or read about here? Maybe. But I hope you’ll also be intrigued and tempted to try a few (or a whole bunch of them) out. Everyone’s different, and my goal isn’t to shock the pants off you but to introduce you to some great reads and products in a hopefully intelligent and helpful way.

So get ready to pull the drapes and have a little fun.

Read. Play.

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