A quiet, cosy place to read...

Cosy hideaway, exotic heat or the bustle of a family gathering? I'm sure we all have ideas of where we'd like to spend our dream Christmas. I asked fellow authors Nicole Gestalt,  Annabeth Leong, Victoria Blisse, Gemma Parkes and Angie Sargenti where they would spend their dream Christmas. It seems cosy cabins or chalets figure highly for erotica authors.

And although you may not get the cosy cabin with a real fire in a snowy wonderland this year, you could always try recreating that atmosphere with a couple of candles, a blanket and a copy of The House of Erotica Winter Warmers Collection. (There's a reason I gave up my brief attempt at a career in marketing...)

Nicole: I love travel and so if I could have more then two days off at Christmas I would love to head to the ICEHOTEL in Jukkasjärvi and spend Christmas there, or even travel to Iceland. To be able to walk out during Christmas to see the Northern Lights and even maybe take a dog sleigh out into a snow-covered land would be the perfect Christmas to me! Of course we'd then have to head back into a nice warm chalet with plenty of food and company to top it off. More realistically, my dream Christmas would be to spend the time with my family whom I don't get to see very often and definitely have more then two days off!

Annabeth: Although I can see the attraction of being warm when it's cold outside, honestly I would love to spend Christmas on a cruise. It would be amazing to know it was just me and my partner with no obligations to distract us from each other.

Victoria: I'd love to go somewhere really snowy, a Swiss chalet, a roaring log fire and enough food to keep me going through the season. 

Gemma: In a beautiful, fully heated log cabin away (but not isolated) from commercialism. There would be snow outside and enough food and drink to last for at least a week. I would want my loved one by my side and together we could enjoy taking our time over everything!

Angie: The Virgin Islands or Maui.  I'm not a big fan of cold weather.

Tilly: A little cottage in the middle of nowhere with a woodburner you can keep your mulled wine warm on top of.

My picture above is of a cottage in Shropshire, UK, which you can rent from The Landmark Trust for holidays. Check out their other properties if you're like me and you prefer back-to-basics holidays in places with a bit of character, proper silence and properly dark nights. You can grab a copy of Winter Warmers at Amazon, Amazon UK or All Romance.

What does your average erotica author want for Christmas?

Several tyre-shaped pencil sharpeners, a bottle of sherry and a book of bad taste jokes completed my Christmas shopping yesterday, so I'm feeling rather smug. Of course, if you're looking for a gift for that special someone and they happen to like a bit of smut, then The House of Erotica Winter Warmers Collection, available in paperback or ebook, could be right up their street.

Today, some of my fellow Winter Warmers authors - Victoria Blisse, Annabeth Leong,  Gemma Parkes, Angie Sargenti and Nicole Gestalt - are answering another of my questions: 

What do you want Santa to leave under your tree this year?

Victoria: Owls, I love owls and a cleaner!

Annabeth: As far as naughty gifts, I would love to get a nice butt plug that is comfortable to wear around. The ones I have are good for play, but not so much for walking. Since I started playing with these, I've gotten a bit obsessed, and I think my erotica shows it. I've written tens of thousands of words about butt plugs by now, and "Filled With Christmas Spirit" is part of that body of work.

Gemma: Something to read, something to eat, sexy lingerie and something girlie that smells gorgeous!

Angie: What do you want Santa to leave you under the tree this year?  Something kinky, or at least a Victoria's Secret gift certificate. Wearing the same cute little outfit gets boring after a while.

Nicole: I love surprises! I totally adore getting presents that I would never have asked for myself and of course I have been moderately good this year (I can't every quite get to being a good girl all the time – life would be too boring). So in a dream world Santa would be leaving lots of interesting presents that will keep me occupied well into the new year!

Tilly: Home-brewing equipment.

Next time, we'll be talking about where we'd like to spend our dream Christmas. You can grab a copy of Winter Warmers at Amazon, Amazon UK or All Romance.

My picture is of a lino print from The Bluebird Gallery on Folksy.com. I might treat myself to one of their prints...

What's sexy about Christmas? Erotica authors Q&A

It's a funny winter here in the UK, last week we had gales and floods, this week we've had sunny, 13C days and where I am right now it's cold, grey and wet, which is just the sort of weather for staying cosy inside with a good book (and some cake). Some of my fellow Winter Warmers authors have been kind enough to answer a few questions on their feelings about Christmas for me for your amusement. Today I have Gemma Parkes, Angie Sargenti, Nicole Gestalt, Annabeth Leong, Victoria Blisse and little ol' me answering my first question: 

What's sexy about Christmas?

Gemma: Oh so many things: Shorter days with chilly nights drawing in. Snuggling in the warmth of your partner’s arms in front of a roaring fire. Basking in the soft glow from a lit Christmas tree. Colours, sounds, smells and rich tastes that are not enjoyed with such relish at other times of the year and the opportunity to relax without feeling you should be doing something else!

Angie: Sitting by the fire with the Christmas tree lights on, snuggling with my favourite dude.

Nicole: I get very few days off so being able to spend two whole days (two!) with my partner all snuggled up by the fire away from the cold is very special. Add to that the place is lit up with magical lights adding spots of colour all over the place and sometimes even snow outside (it does happen occasionally), things can get very, very sexy.

Annabeth: I think the sexiest thing about most holidays is time. It's such a luxury to have an evening free to spend having a long, leisurely dinner, drinking wine, and lingering. I cherish the times when I don't have to be up early the next morning. I host a big Christmas Eve dinner every year, and I love the moment when the guests have left, we've loaded as much into the dishwasher as possible, and I turn to my partner, let out a long breath, and know that we're finally free to jump each other. At Christmas, it's particularly nice because it's cold where I live. There's something wonderfully sexy about being warm and naked when the world outside is cold and quiet. In my Winter Warmers story, Caroline is looking forward to just this sort of cozy, sexy time. Her boyfriend Marcus has other ideas, but I think he does make it worth her while.

Victoria: Warming up by snuggling naked with a lover and sexy, late-night, adult-only gift-unwrapping!

Tilly: The excuse to stock up on some gifts for opening privately with a partner. 

Next time, I ask what your average erotica author would like to find under their tree on Christmas morning. 

You can buy The House of Erotica Winter Warmers Collection at  Amazon, Amazon UK or All Romance.

Winter Warmers

Are you ready for Christmas? Surely that must be one of the most irritating questions you can hear around this time of year and it comes at you from all angles - from shop assistants to relatives. Perhaps you need a break, a little me-time, a good book to curl up with and restore that warm inner glow. Or perhaps you need a gift for someone who might like something a little spicier than mulled wine. 

Well, let me introduce The House of Erotica Winter Warmers Collection, which is now available as a paperback as well as the ebook version.

Hotter than a roaring Yule log and saucier than a pan of cranberries... this collection contains ten stories ranging from dressing up to light BDSM, with carol singing thrown in along the way, guaranteed to restore your festive cheer.

My story, Twenty-four Surprises, goes like this: When Sam suggests that she and Tom make Advent calendars for each other instead of buying them off the shelf, she has tasty chocolates in mind. But while she fills Tom’s with twenty-four treats from their local deli, he is planning something completely different. Something that is going to fulfil a tipsy confession Sam made about her desire to be spanked, and which will test the limits of her patience.

Authors include Nicole Gestalt, Victoria Blisse, Annabeth Leong, Angie Sargenti and Gemma Parkes.

Bag your copy at Amazon, Amazon UK or All Romance.