Flash fiction: Fluffy Toys

I really should space my blog posts out better, but when I have an idea I get impatient. I've just penned this somewhat silly bit of 500-word flash fiction. I'm never likely to write a 'serious' story set in a BDSM club, but this just popped out. It's very tongue-in-cheek:

Cassie was repeating her safeword silently to herself in her mind as the taxi pulled up at the club. "Goldfish, goldfish, goldfish." But she kept her jaw locked shut to stop it escaping. She would not let this beat her. She knew she could do it. She could just imagine the look on everyone’s faces though – the shock, the sniggers. Her cheeks reddened at the very thought. These people were friends and more than friends, fellow kinksters who gathered once a month for a private play party where they could try new things, new equipment, learn from each other.

But worse than the image of their gaping was the thought that Lee was having a joke at her expense. He’d been smirking to himself since he first dangled them in front of her face at home as they’d got ready. In all the things they’d done together, laughing at her had never featured.

He helped her out of the cab and she put on her best five-inch-heels swagger. Lee liked her in heels and had perfected the art of incorporating them into her bondage. She thought he might have something of that kind in mind tonight, something that would draw a little crowd around them as he showed them where the ropework started, which knots to use, talking over her as if she were a plastic dummy.

He took her coat from around her shoulders at the front desk and handed it to the attendant. She took in a deep breath and allowed him to urge her forward with a hand on the top of her back. A bouncer swung open the door and she walked in. She wondered if she could sidle down the side of the room before anyone noticed them, but Lee had other ideas.

He steered her to a clear space in the middle of the room, a space that would become occupied later, but which, for now, had been left empty while people sat at the round tables surrounding it.

“Stay there. I’m going to the bar.”

She stood, back straight, cheeks flushed. It wasn’t the shoes that were padlocked to her ankles, it wasn’t the fishnet stockings or the tiny leather shorts. It wasn’t the tightly laced corset that pushed her tits into round globes – until someone unzipped the cups to expose them later. Not even the leather collar locked around her throat. She waited for someone to notice.

Then it happened. A hush as general chatter stopped and little whispers ran from table to table around her like a Mexican wave. She refused to hang her head. She kept her chin up and tried to maintain a serene demeanour.

She heard a woman at a table behind her. “Are they... what I think they are? Seriously? She’s wearing fluffy handcuffs? Here?” A pause. “They are. They’re pink, fluffy handcuffs. I can’t believe it.”

Cassie could believe it. Lee had surpassed himself this time. She’d never had the – was it luck or misfortune? – to be the sub of such a ruthless sadist before.

****

A little Google irony

I made up the title of a book for a story I've just finished. The imaginary book's going to be called Female Dominance and the Men Who Crave It. A bit long-winded, I know, but it does what it says on the tin, so to speak. I thought I'd better Google it. Incidentally, the real book that was my inspiration was The Art of Sensual Female Dominance by Claudia Varrin. 

So what did I find? Top results:

The power of a woman's submissiveness
How women really feel about male dominance
Women prefer dominant men. You don't say!
Women who crave domination and rough sex
Do you prefer submissive or dominant women (in bed)?
Do most women want to be sexually dominated?
How to dominate a woman in bed
5 ways to dominate your guy in bed
My 'how to' guide for men on how to dominate a woman in bed
Do women really want 50 shades of grey?

Now I realise Google doesn't understand the order in which I placed the words female and dominance and men. I just needed to know there was no real book with that precise title. And this isn't any kind of moral statement or debate of feminist politics; I write femsub stories too. I was simply struck by the irony. By the one-sidedness of the results. Which seems to mirror the one-sidedness of a market flooded with erotica and erotic romance with the same formula - boy meets girl, boy shows girl who's boss, girl initially resists, before finally realising it's what she wants. Deep down. You know, in some part of herself she never knew existed. Because she needed him to show her her true self. Hmm. 

It reminded me of a tweet I saw from Rachel Kramer Bussel recently - who's accepted a few of my stories for anthologies she's editing for Cleis :-). She wrote: "My female fantasy anthology got hardly any femdom submissions. Feels like niche market compared to popularity of female submission." and "I aim for variety in my books, but I also want to cater to what book buyers want to read."

So, there's a huge debate to be had about what readers want and what publishers give them. But the simpler point from all this for me as a writer sending off stories to anthology calls is that a femsub story is going to have to really stand out from the crowd and that there's a need for more decent femdom stories.

I'm off to read 5 ways to dominate your guy in bed...

The Great Outdoors

I'm going to be taking part in August Alfresco soon (in August, in fact. Doh). I do love the great outdoors. And so far, this year's British summer is coming up trumps. Although my allotment would appreciate a little rain right about now. 

So what is August Alfresco? It's a collection of 31 authors bringing you 31 excerpts of sexy outdoor shenanigans. Readers who join in by commenting on the blog posts will be in with the chance to win a Kindle, £50 of Total-E-Bound books or £50 of Xcite books. If you comment on every post for the month, you'll get extra chances to win.

There are still some spots left for authors to take part. It costs £5 to book a slot, which is going towards the prizes. If you're interested, all the details are at smutalfresco.co.uk and it's being organised by Victoria Blisse. 

I just have to decide which story to use. I haven't set out with any particular objective to write lots of alfresco liaisons, but when I think over the stories that have come out this year, there's a fair few that are full of wholesome fresh air fun. And when I say wholesome, I mostly mean kinky. So will it be a cold encounter in the sea at an island off North Wales, a map-related romp in a stone circle in the Orkneys, Caliban dominating Miranda on the mythical island of the Tempest - in the book that also includes Gretel discovering her dominant side in the woods and Penelope bathing with her 12 handmaidens in a Greek river - rope bondage in a Japanese-style garden in the middle of London or a tense clash between soldiers on a boggy battlefield in 1st century Britain? Decisions, decisions...

The long and the short of it: Part 2

Okay, I give up. 

Last September, I wrote about a novel I'd started work on but was struggling to progress because of all the short stories I was writing. I now have another novel and novella started, but, guess what, I'm struggling to make any progress because of all the short stories I'm writing. 

So, I've decided to stop worrying about it, admit that I actually love doing the shorts and let the longer stories sit. I'm going go all taoist on this one and just go with the flow. I'm sure there'll come a point at some time in the future when I look at my list of stories and realise there are no current calls for submissions that have tickled my fancy. And in that natural lull, I will sit down and concentrate on something longer. Honest. 

The thing is, short stories are great for trying out new things, playing around and having fun. (Which sounds like a recipe for a good night in, too...) These are the calls I have been unable to ignore at the moment, although meeting some of the looming deadlines is going to be a close one while that thing some people call real life (not to mention the odd good night in) keeps getting in the way:

Men of the Manor (Cleis Press, ed Rob Rosen) August 1st.
Romance between wealthy aristocrats and their hard-working estate staff with a pre-WWI backdrop. I have a kitchen garden in mind.

The Big Book of Domination (Cleis Press, ed DL King) August 1st.
I need to explain? I reckon the title says it all. And it says: 'Get writing - now!'

Locked Up (Storm Moon Press) August 31st
Men. And chastity devices. What's not to like? Scroll down through the calls to find this one.

Sapphic Smut in the City (House of Erotica, ed Lucy Felthouse and Kev Mitnik) January 1st
I'm not really a city kinda girl. But I have a great idea from a visit to Paris years ago, that gives a very different view of life in the city of love.

Smut by the Sea vol 3 (House of Erotica, ed Lucy Felthouse and Victoria Blisse) March 31st
I am, however, a seaside kind of woman. And my writer's brain is brimming with ideas for coastal fun. 

And if you're very quick, there's still time to get a short in to Alison Tyler's call for bondage stories. She wants 500 to 1,000-word pieces and has extended the deadline to July 25th.

Out visiting

I'm over at Ashley Lister's blog, How To Write Erotic Fiction, today with some ideas for writing dirty. If you haven't seen his blog before, then you might need to set aside some time to read through it because it's chock-full of tips and advice from a huge range of authors and editors from relative newbies like myself through to names you'll recognise. 

Because there's already so many good ideas on there, I've tried to come at things from a slightly different angle, so to speak. My five tips start off with turning off your inner censor and writing out of your comfort zone. 

So about that book I'm editing...

I hope you all spotted my Call for Submissions for More Smut for Chocoholics. I've been asked by Smutter Kev Mitnik Blisse to come on board as a guest editor. And it's my first time. Yes, I edit stories for folks who find me at www.tillyhunter.co.uk. But I've never helped edit an anthology before, which is a whole different ball game.

I'm reading the first Smut for Chocoholics at the moment and thinking about what I'll be looking for. It's not just about what I, personally, enjoy reading, but about getting a balance of stories to appeal to a general erotica readership. So I'll be looking out for the sweetly romantic stories as well as those with a little light-hearted kink. Stories that can add a touch of humour without killing the heat level are always good as are those that come at the theme from a surprise angle. I guess what it comes down to is that most readers can enjoy most types of erotica as long as it's well written, imaginative and original. 

The whole project has emerged after I met Kev and Victoria Blisse, and fellow smutketeer Lucy Felthouse, at Smut by the Sea in Scarborough. And it's made me think about how meeting people face to face for a day or two is worth probably about a thousand hours of Facebook, Twitter and blog exchanges. I hate the word 'networking' but I guess that's what I did in Scarborough, if, for 'networking' you read having a laugh, nattering, drinking tea and beer, sharing the odd innuendo and occasionally remembering to say 'oh, here, have a business card'.

Call for submissions: Smut for Chocoholics

More Smut for Chocoholics is being edited by Kev 'Mitnik' Blisse and me! Hurrah. Kev asked me to join him as a guest editor after we met at Smut by the Sea in Scarborough. His lovely wife Victoria and the fabulous Lucy Felthouse are busy on other projects, so Kev asked if I'd like to help him choose some stories about sex and chocolate. It's a no brainer. 

More Smut for Chocoholics follows on from the success of the first Smut for Chocoholics antho, which is out now. We're talking indulgence and taking wicked delight in the erotic consumption and use of chocolate. Think taste, feel, smell. 

The anthology will be in the spirit of the Smut series, so it's all about light-hearted fun. No pain, darkness, cheating or angst. A little light bondage or a playful spank might find their way in, but nothing heavy or edgy. We're happy to receive f/f, m/m, f/m and menage stories.

Word count: 3,000-6,000

Deadline: 25th November 2013

Payment: Royalties split 40% between the contributing authors, paid once individual authors reach a £20 threshold.

Publisher: House of Erotica

Expected release: Feb/March 2014

We want your stories in Times New Roman, 12pt, double spaced, each paragraph indented half an inch. Double quotation marks for dialogue. 

Send to choc@smutters.co.uk as an attachment with the filename: your story - your pen name - chocoholic.doc

Include your pen name, a short bio, word count and story genre in the body of your email. 

For more Smutters anthologies and calls for submissions check out smutters.co.uk. The first Smut for Chocoholics is available at All Romance, Amazon and Amazon UK.