Friday, July 31, 2015

Anything But Everything by J. Phillip Elwes


Synopsis:
Anything But Everything & Five More Gay Erotic Stories is six short stories about men lusting for and loving other men. Here you will read about college fraternity bothers, a mechanic, police detectives, a former boxing champ, a famous photographer and others in such varied locales as San Francisco, a Colorado ranch, a ski resort and a small town in Oklahoma. Two of these stories were previously published on a gay website and in anthologies. Approximately, 33,530 words.

My Review:
Sexy and alluring, Phillip has clearly crafted his art of writing erotica. The song Touched Like a Virgin comes to mind when I read Phillip's stories, for he manages to capture the excitement of not only new budding relationships, but also the excitement of gay men learning to embrace their sexuality. I think this is one that could arouse anyone, gay or straight.

Excerpt:

This is the first ~500 words of the title story of Phillip's collection of six gay erotic stories available on Amazon

Ted Vanhagen was naked and sporting a full erection the first time I saw him. He was holding a complicated-looking tripod in one hand, as he strutted around the furnitureless room set ablaze by a network of long-legged lights strategically arranged around him.

He was leanly muscular and a head taller than me. He had a broad back, pale ass and hairy chest and abdomen. His brown hair was cut almost as short as his well-groomed beard. He wore wireless glasses. His brown triangle of pubic hair looked luxuriant and untrimmed, his pale scrotum nearly lost in the thicket. His cock was straight and longer than mine. It waved tight circles in front of his pale hips, as he paced the room.

I was rock hard by the time I slipped out of bed. I always sleep naked, so there we were: two naked, horny men separated by two windows and a narrow alley of overgrown weeds.

He put the tripod on the floor, kicked wide its legs and raised its neck a few feet so it was even with his chest.

He looked around him some more, then dragged the tripod this way and that until he liked where it stood.

I walked up to my window, my fist firing up and down my throbbing cock, and was still a bit stunned a handsome man was naked and aroused in a room that had until now been vacant the ten or so years I’d rented my studio off Valencia Street.

I’d expected some hipster younger than me to eventually buy the neighboring Victorian.

This man was probably twenty years older and hotter than hell. He pinched one of his nipples and used his other hand to pull on his scrotum, as he stepped around the tripod and stood sideways to me.

My heart was pounding wildly in my chest. My load was rising fast.

When he released his nipple and took hold of his rigid cock, I let out a loud moan.

I knew what I had to do.

“Oh, my god!” I moaned, furiously jerking off, as I whirled away from the window, nearly trampled a floor lamp, switched it on, and jumped back to the window.

He was frozen, one hand still cupping his balls while the other gripped his member.

He slowly turned to face me.

I pressed my forehead to the window.

“Oh! Oh!” I cried at him, my stomach muscles contracting hard, as I shot my load all over the glass.

It was an amazing orgasm.

At first, I didn’t realize he’d dropped his hands to his sides.

He still had a full erection, but something had changed in his face.

He was a statue until I’d fully unloaded. Then, he walked out of the room.

His lights went out a second later.

I was more than surprised: I was offended. How dare he not think our encounter was as hot as I did!

“Wait. I just came in front of a straight dude,” I said aloud, still holding my softening dick, and looked at my semen oozing down the window.

I felt weird.

I turned off the lamp and got in bed.

The studio was always freezing in December.

The bed was still warm. I lay back and pulled the covers up to my chin. I pulled on my member to get out all my sperm.

“Huh,” I said to myself, massaging the cum like lotion over my belly. “That was weird. And hot.”

If I’d known how much hotter it got after that, I probably wouldn’t have fallen asleep so fast.

About the Author:
J. Phillip Elwes has been a writer and a voracious reader for a very long time.

Under different names, he has written nonfiction for LGBT newspapers and websites, as well as for a fashion website and a celebrity magazine.

He lives in California, loves to travel and is passionate about flowers, film, photography and people.

He thinks Twitter is a marvel of the modern world. There are so many interesting people out there! He can be reached at twitter.com/jpelwes

His blog is jpelwes.tumblr.com and he can be emailed at jpelwes@gmail.com

Find Anything But Everything and J. Phillip Elwes Online:
Amazon ♥ Tumblr ♥ Twitter ♥ Goodreads

Thursday, July 30, 2015

Where has Christina been?

I wanted to write an open letter to all my fans and followers. I think I owe many of you an apology for I have been slow in responding to your messages and slow with posting my reviews.

To be quite honest, I've been feeling extremely overwhelmed with everything: This Blog, Social Media, Writing, Personal Life, Professional Life, Home Remodeling, Traveling, Graduate School, Legal Issues, Medical Issues. And Life.

It's to the point where I retired from writing as a guest blogger for Romance at Random and even considered retiring Christina Harding all together.

I was not encouraged when I posted this tweet, pinned it to my page for a few days, and (as you can see) received no tangible responses:


Despite thousands of followers and thousands of page views on my blog every day, it seemed like my question was answered.

But, BECAUSE I've put so much time and energy into this, I wasn't quite ready to throw in the towel. I decided to just plug along and respond to messages and post reviews as I get to them. As already established, I didn't think anyone would notice my slowed activity. 

As it turns out, some of my friends here in the erotica world did notice. And, I've unintentionally upset some people. For this, I am terribly sorry... and I hope you all can accept my apology.

At this point in my life... either I'm going to work on this blog at my own pace, or I'll have to quit all together. Since I don't think any of us are ready for me to quit, I just want to ask this from you... please have patience with me, and please trust I will get to you when I can. 

If you have questions, please view my policies page to see what I'm up to and where you fall on my to-do list.

Wednesday, July 29, 2015

Spotlight: Art & Seduction by Elaine Radley

Synopsis:
The moment playboy Daniel Shaw walked into the gallery, Eliza Kendrick knew she had a problem. All that wavy, dark hair, his crystal-blue eyes, and a sexy sideways smile threatens her control. But she didn't want a player. She wanted a future. So what if she'd had one lapse. The ""elevator incident"" shouldn't count. Even if it did, it was only one time...

Daniel’s reputation preceded him, but it wasn't that bad. Was it? Even so, it was time to settle down, and he knew who he wanted by his side. He simply needed to convince Eliza. Of course, words can get in the way. They can even get you in trouble. Sometimes it's best just to let passion speak for you.


Find Art & Seduction and Elaine Radley Online:
Twitter ♥ Wild Rose Publishing ♥ Amazon ♥ Facebook ♥ Blog ♥ Goodreads

Wednesday, July 22, 2015

Spotlight: The Advisor by Amanda Rogers

Synopsis:
The Advisor is the story of college advisor Cheryl Bracken. Cheryl is trapped in a very loveless marriage of twenty-plus years. It is not affectionate, it is sexless, it is without passion of any kind. She meets a student Brandon Cole who throws her into a whirlwind of emotions and passions she hasn't felt in years. She eventually falls in love hard with the young man but as the book reveals there is something deeper and dangerous about Brandon. There is a truth she will discover that will threaten to destroy the love she feels for him, and the escape she feels for herself.

Author Interview:
Can you describe your book in one sentence?
The Advisor describes the life of a woman wanting a change and willing to do anything to pursue her passions.

Tell us about your writing process. 
I will go to a place where there are a lot of people, a mall, anywhere. I will take notes of the conversations, the physical messages people send. I try to create stories behind everyone's appearance. There might be short, stubby stories, or long, beautiful and dangerous stories.

Do you ever experience writer's block?
I consider the time I'm not writing to be writer's block. When my fingers aren't caressing the keyboard or using a pen on a notebook, my mind is continuously writing and creating stories. Therefore,the block comes from not being able to write when I want to which is ...all the time.

Do you work with an outline, or just write?
I write an outline that is in the fashion of having a conversation with a good friend about a good movie. Not ALL of the details are there but you get the gist of what occurred in the movie, and you keep the story going until (if you like to spoil) you reach the end. I do write with the ending first. Whether it's: "Andrew divorces Clara because she left him for Michael who is better with oral sex" or some other final moment that defines everything happening until that moment.

Is there any particular author or book that influenced you in any way either growing up or as an adult?
Definitely Anne Rice and Stephen King. These writers taught me that the story is far more important than the mechanics. Not to say they are bad writers- they are wonderfully gifted writers but they also know how to keep the reader nose deep in the pages, missing their bus home, forgetting the bathtub is on, etc. Anyone can write flowery language, but only certain writers like Anne Rice, Stephen King, Chuck Palahunik, Cormac McCarthy, Kurt Vonnegut (just to name a few) can evoke the story and keep it moving, keep it sharp and bring the reader to a great ending. Reading a great book is like having a great orgasm.

Do you have a day job as well? 
Yes I am a manager of a large chemical control plant. I also have 6 wonderful children.

What is the hardest and easiest part about being an erotica writer?
The hardest part is dialogue. Finding that perfect tone. That perfect pitch. Isolating how people really talk to each other. I take for example the film Juno which is terrible because no 16 year-old girl talks like that. Her speech is so unique that it almost becomes a joke like Napoleon Dynamite which IS how teenagers speak but it's a comedy. People can destroy a story with bad story telling. Erotica is a very fragile art: I can write that "Andre stuck his tongue deep in her pussy and she responded with a quiver", or..I can write.. "Andre kissed and cherished her glistening bud with a measure of affection that could not be measured or challenged". I've said the same thing but I used the Sammy Hagar/ David Lee Roth approach. Fans of Van Halen will know what I'm talking about. David Lee Roth wrote songs about fucking...hardcore...doggy style...no love..no passion (ref. "Ain't Talkin' About Love"). Sammy Hagar wrote songs about making love, kissing, touching, caressing, feeling, passion. I don't pretend, as a man, to know how to read a woman but there are different styles by which you approach a situation. Yes...there are some women that want to read about another woman being bent over a barstool and taken from behind by three strangers. But there are also women who want to read about a passion filled BDSM session where the man whips the breasts with a leather belt and then caresses the clitoris with a feather. Therefore, the second challenge is deciding between writing porn or writing erotica.

What is your favorite part of being an author?
It's refreshing to think I am doing something in my life beyond the mendacity of everyday life. I enjoy spending time with my family, but the best part of being an author is knowing I have the ability to literally crawl inside my stories or inside my mind and change what is around me. I can paint my own picture and if I don't like it...delete. It really is the control freak in me coming out. I can turn a sensual, erotic moment of fierce love making into a violent shoot out within seconds. I can make the moon and the sun collide and watch the apocalypse happen on Earth. That's the fun part of being a writer. I don't worry about sales because chances are I never will be a best selling writer. Would it be nice? Yes of course. But I wouldn't be doing it for me, I would be doing it for children. You cross a certain line in your life where you stop doing things for yourself and start doing things for your children. Not too many dads write erotica to supplement the lives of their children, but either way the knowledge I am providing for their future in some way is rewarding intrinsically.

Did you always know you wanted to be a writer? 
When I was three years old, I wrote what appeared to be words on the walls of my bedroom and I told my Mom they were my "pretties". She didn't quite appreciate it as much as I did. I've always been a very imaginative person, sometimes to a fault. It created quite a few distractions. I started writing violent horror stories in the 5th grade along with poetry. A lot of it was just angst ridden poems toward ex-girlfriends. I thought for a short time I was Jim Morrison and then J.D. Salinger, and then Jack Kerouac. All within the same summer. The summer I first went down on a girl, actually. I thought I had discovered the golden ticket to Heaven. I was still technically a virgin, but I went down on a girl and she said I should write about it afterwards. I wrote a long story about how it all went down and she was a lifeguard and it happened at a park around 5 in the morning before swim lessons and she peed in my mouth (she actually squirted little to my knowledge) and how much I loved it. Anyways, a few of her friends found it , and they wanted to try me out..so by the end of the summer I had made around 20 girls orgasm multiple times and started writing about my experiences.

What is one book you wish you had written?
The Catcher In The Rye...it is the most beautiful, awe inspiring book ever written in the English language and I love every word within."

About the Author:
Amanda Rogers is the pen name for Caleb Dean, a 38 year-old father of six children. When not writing his passions through the eyes of Amanda, Caleb is busy working on his Master's of Business Administration as well as his Master's of Fine Arts. He also works full time as a manager of an industrial chemical plant. When does he find the time to write? Behind taking care of his wife and family, writing is his passion and he devotes as much time as he possibly can.

Wednesday, July 15, 2015

Spotlight: His Loving Admirer by Nina Sestina

Synopsis:
After the departure of the woman of the house, Kylie moves into an apartment with the man of the house(Noah). Their relationship blossoms, and Kylie decides that she wants to change the dynamic between herself and Noah, but his role in her life is so set in stone that she doesn't think he will ever be able to see her in that way. Kylie knows that her feelings are taboo but she is powerless to fight them.

Kylie develops a very naughty plan, and wastes no time putting it into action. She is willing to do anything to show Noah that she can replace the void left by the woman of the house, and things get too steamy for Amazon.

Excerpt:
I knew that he needed the warmth of a woman, and I knew that no woman could love him the way that I did. He was lonely, and worked too hard to be out on the scene and dating. It was perfect, I only needed to show him. I knew that he would be initially hesitant, as I had been with the taboo thoughts. I wanted to ease him into it, to slowly test the waters.

This brings me back to the cellphone. I had been constantly thinking of a way to come onto him, but there was just no way. You have to understand that despite our lack of blood relation, our relationship was that of a father and daughter. Our family had changed, it had evolved over time. It was smaller, and I felt that our relationship should evolve along with that. We were both adults, and we both had needs. We were essentially a custom fit for each others natural wants and desires.

Every young woman is attracted to older men, and every older man is attracted to younger women. Add in the facts that we were both attractive, had a strong base relationship to build on, and lived together, and it just seemed like the obvious solution. I wasn't going to be comfortable just coming onto him out of the blue though. I couldn't just jump straight to it, and try to seduce him with pure aggression. This seduction would require finesse.

The first thing that I did was take a ton of sexual, erotic photos of myself. I made sure that there was no way that he could identify me through the photos. Obviously, I avoided showing my face. I also made sure that the background on the pictures wasn't noticeable as our apartment. My flip phone simply didn't have the camera to pull this part of the operation off, so I would be using email for the visual side. I was going to be his secret admirer via text.

Find His Loving Admirer and Nina Sestina Online:

Wednesday, July 8, 2015

Spotlight: A Perfect Dream by Raven J. Spencer

Synopsis:
Sex and politics can be an explosive combination. Beatrice, wife to a conservative lobbyist, can’t imagine being out in the open about her preferences and orientation, but lucky for her, there’s A Perfect Dream. Secret parties that only the privileged have access to fulfill every fantasy and need she can think of. Beatrice didn’t count in meeting Sage, a woman who not only satisfies her in every way, but challenges everything Beatrice has believed about herself so far.

(contains f/f, multiple partners)

About the Author:
Raven J. Spencer, lesbian, married, loves everything sensual and indulgent which led her to write erotic romance and fantasies. When she's not writing, you can often find her on Pinterest in the pursuit of inspiration.

Find A Perfect Dream and Raven J. Spencer Online:
Amazon  Facebook ♥ Blog ♥ Twitter ♥ Goodreads

Wednesday, July 1, 2015

Spotlight: Obsession's Unkindness by Shaun Meehan

Synopsis:
Waking in his hotel room on the final morning of an important business trip, Jackson could remember nothing pertaining to the activities of the night before. An unfamiliar odour permeated the air, conjuring images of an unknown white flower in his mind. With his memory shrouded by the veil of excessive drinking, Jackson was impotent to explain the feeling of dread developing deep within his soul. Eye witness accounts would soon imply that the moral man who was Jackson Scott, had faltered in his fidelity, having been seen leaving a bar with an anonymous woman—dark haired and beautiful. The only clue pertaining to her identity was the sighting of a black feather, tattooed on the back of her neck. 

Jackson would soon become plagued by dreams depicting his darkest sexual desires, acts shared with the faceless beauty. With each passing night the visions grow in lucidity, her identity still cloaked in mystery, yet her intentions slowly becoming more clear. In association with an ancient evil and with her sexuality implemented as a vicious weapon, the woman seeks the desecration of those untouched by darkness. Pain and suffering, torment and anguish, her intent is to take from Jackson everything he holds dear—particularly that which he loves most and claiming it for her master. 

An unlikely ally would surface, harkening from a distant past, though her firmly grounded beliefs would deter her from the acceptance of Jackson’s outlandish claims. Becoming obsessed with uncovering the identity of the mystery woman, his search would end with him finding her presence everywhere, leading him to commit acts unimaginable—each designed with his unraveling in mind. 

As the demonic attacks evolve from implanted thoughts to physical encounters, it would be through an obscure individual that he would discover the truth behind his assailant. Through her, he would combat the demonic entity hounding him—the entity desiring possession of his family. 

Jackson’s enthralment would begin with her body, exploiting his darkest desires, but would end with the soul belonging to the one he cherishes above all else. Through the artistic hand of his young daughter, her innocence threatened, the future would be unveiled. Obsession’s unkindness would prove itself the cruelest tormenter of all. 

Warning: This work contains graphic depictions, sexual in nature. What you WILL find are scenes such as one containing a depiction of erotic asphyxiation between two consenting adults. What you WILL NOT find are scenes pertaining to rape or those including minors. 

Each interaction is written using proper terminology or tame descriptions, carefully avoiding the use of slang words to circumvent a sleazy approach. Though intended to be entertaining in themselves, each scene has relevance to the story, be it hidden or obvious, making them integral to the plot.

About the Author:
Shaun Meehan currently resides in his home town of St. Thomas, Ontario with his wife and their two sons. An avid outdoorsman, he spends much of his time afield paddling a canoe, as well as hunting with his three beagles, and fly fishing. Prior to his writing of fiction, Shaun managed his own archery website, dedicated to the art of hunting with a traditional bow. Though the site is no longer in operation, bows both of traditional recurves and modern compound are still a fixture in his household.

Find Obsession's Unkindness and Shaun Meehan Online:
Amazon ♥ Website ♥ Facebook ♥ Twitter ♥ Goodreads