07

Some changes …

SEX

Since I attended Eroticon last weekend, I’ve been thinking. About lots of things. But, in particular, making more time to write. Not reviews, not articles, but erotica. More Five-minute stories. More serials.

Chintz went live approximately eight months ago and since then I’ve blogged nearly every week day. That’s a fair few posts! But while I’m tapping away furiously on my keyboard for a good few hours Monday to Friday, I’ve found that I’m devoting more and more time to reviews and less and less to writing stories. Continue reading →

06

My Eroticon: hug a pope, get happy, get published

Eroticon 2013

If you’re a regular Chintz visitor, you’ll know that I was lucky enough to win one of three Xcite-sponsored tickets to Eroticon 2013, which was held in London last weekend. The conference ran for two full days and featured what can only be described as a truly mighty line-up of speakers, all there to encourage us, whatever our medium – blog or book – to write sex right.

I was so excited to be able to attend, although I must admit I was a little nervous about walking into a crowd of people I’d never met in person before. The very lovely Emma over at Dirty Little Whispers, who I speak to a fair bit online (and who also won a sponsored ticket) thankfully agreed to meet up with me during the initial registration session so I’d be a little less ‘island in the ocean’. However, while I was waiting for her to arrive, I happened to go and stand next to a woman who was busy perusing the weekend’s schedule. We got to chatting and what do you know? Her name was Tamsin Flowers and she was the winner of the third Xcite sponsorship. So in a room full of people, we’d somehow managed to gravitate towards each other. Spooky! (Is there such a thing as Xcite vibes?)

After listening to Ruby Kiddell’s lovely welcome and Rebecca Findlay’s talk about the XES: We Can’t Go Backwards campaign (did you know that on 1 April 2013 contraception and STI services will no longer be provided by the NHS but your local council?!) I said farewell to Tamsin, and Emma and I headed off to the first of many fabulous seminars, Molly Moore’s Myth Busting: the Submissive Woman. Continue reading →

04

Alert Me: E.L. James a pseudonym for the Pope(?), ‘used’ ebooks, and sex toys in airports

In today’s Alert Me: Sixty-Two Shades of Papacy, Amazon’s ‘second-hand’ eBooks patent, and creepy sex toy security.

 

Who Said It: The Pope or Fifty Shades of Grey?
Source: Hollywood (Beta)

Who knew that Pope Benedict XVI and E.L. James had so much in common? As Aly Semigran points out in this article, the former’s new sixty-two page digital scrapbook features names and passages that are spookily similar to the great grey monolith.

We jokingly speculated during Remittance Girl’s Eroticon 2013 Creative Writing seminar that our conference was the final straw for the Pope, our debauchery the reason for him quitting his post (the chatter even spawned the awesome @HuggyPope Twitter account). But I’m beginning to think we were onto something. Except perhaps he’s, you know, really left to pursue his burgeoning erotic writing career under the pen name ‘E.L. James’ … Continue reading →

28

Rush (The Breathless Trilogy) – Maya Banks

Rush - Maya BanksTitle: Rush
Author: Maya Banks
Publisher: Berkley Trade (05 February 2013)
ISBN: 978-0425267042
Reviewer(s): Michael and Jane

Prepare yourselves. Michael and I decided to read and review Rush in tandem. And let’s just say that we had, er, pretty strong reactions to it. Warning: it’s a general winter of discontent below the fold and we only just refrained from using SHOUTY CAPITALS in our respective reviews. Buckle up.

 

MICHAEL’S TAKE …

First off, let me say this. Maya Banks has been doing this for a while now. I don’t really think this is her version of Fifty Shades of Grey despite the fact that it did sort of feel that way. (Oh, and if you don’t want spoilers, don’t read this because this is a fully-fledged rant.) Having said that, she has accomplished something I wouldn’t have thought possible: created a male lead in Gabe Hamilton that makes Christian Grey and Gideon Cross (Bared to You) look like normal, well-adjusted, thoughtful young men. Continue reading →

26

Toy with me Tuesday: After Eight

After Eight

Anyone?

Foil-encased condoms always remind me of After Eight chocolates (or fancy herbal teabags) and these Mates Skyns in particular, with their dark backgrounds and gold lettering, are remarkably similar to this iconic Seventies dinner-party staple. You could very easily slip some into a box and offer them round to your guests after pudding … You know, just to keep the conversation interesting … (Hey, Lizzie’s oral sex mints came out in this context and it certainly created some chatter!) Continue reading →

25

Jane’s Eroticon 2013 Meet and Greet

A few weeks ago, I was lucky enough to win a sponsored ticket to Eroticon 2013 (thank you so much Xcite Books!) and on Friday night will be travelling up to London for this outstanding event. Two days of discussions and workshops focussing on writing (and presenting) sex in the right way. Bloggers. Editors. Publishers. Photographers. It’s going to be amazing.

Anyway, before I jump on the train to this erotica nirvana, I thought I’d better take part in the pre-conference Meet and Greet. You know, give all the other poor unsuspecting attendees some idea of what’s about to be inflicted upon them …

Name: Jane

Twitter ID: @ChintzCurtain

Must attend Eroticon 2013 session: I can only pick one? Okay. The Anthologies session with Maxim Jakubowski, Lucy Felthouse, Victoria Blisse, and Rachel Kramer Bussel. I’m a huge fan of short-form erotica.

Bloggers you’d like to be trapped in the lift with: Dirty Little Whispers (she’d make me laugh), Being Blacksilk (she’d be able to tell some fabulous erotic stories to pass the time), Ruffled Sheets (I love Andy’s photographs) and Molly (who doesn’t want to be trapped in the lift with her?!).

Erotic writer you’d like to write dramatize your life story: Heck, I’d need to pick someone who wasn’t afraid to use heavy artistic license. My life just isn’t that dramatic. Do they have to be alive? No? Anaïs Nin, then.

Expected biggest fangirl/fanboy moment: Probably Rachel Kramer Bussel. Sex, editing, and red pen. That’s like my idea of pure bliss.

What keeps you awake at night? My husband’s snoring. It’s loud. Very, very loud.

Want to know who else is attending Eroticon 2013? Click here to find out.

 

Eroticon 2013 sex bloggers conference

13

Spanktastic – Sadey Quinn

Spanktastic - Sadey QuinnTitle: Spanktastic
Author: Sadey Quinn
Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform (20 June 2012)
ISBN: 978-1475054675
Reviewer: Jane

You know how you’re not supposed to judge a book by its cover? Well, I took one look at Spanktastic and totally (totally) did.

Oh, my, is it hot.

But do you know what’s even better? The inside. Because does Spanktastic ever live up to its super-seductive exterior. In fact, I’d go so far as to say it surpasses it – and a barebottomed red-head draped over a velvet chair is pretty hard to top, in my opinion!

This book is an absolute feast for spanking gluttons. Twenty-two luscious stories, in which different women have their bottoms turned a delightful shade of pink by the various inhabitants of fictional town, Rock Creek – a BDSM-friendly community whose residents are free to indulge their fetishes behind closed doors or in front of them. (I should point out here that whilst Spanktastic is a collection of shorts, they’re all linked together by this common setting and, thus, intertwine to create an anthology with a ‘novelesque’ feel. So even if you’re not generally keen on short-form erotica, Spanktastic may just appeal to you.) Continue reading →

12

Toy with me Tuesday: A rose is a rose is a rose

A rose is a rose is a rose

How could I not do a Valentine’s shot this week?

This pic is of the Evolved Silicone Bendable Rose Vibrator, which the very lovely Donna from Vibrator Kingdom sent me as a Valentine’s gift. (Donna, you rock. x) I’m so, so tempted to leave it in the vase for a day or two and see if anyone works out what it is …

A little game to end. Can anyone can tell me (without using Google or any other search engine!) the name of the author responsible for the quote ‘A rose is a rose is a rose’? The prize? Bragging rights and general kudos. And I promise to bow (virtually) to you. If you can name the book, too? I will actually prostrate myself.

Consider the gauntlet thrown down! Continue reading →