Beyond Romance: Polyamorous Dreams and a Saucy Snippet

Traditionally, romance focuses on finding your soul mate. But what if that turns out to be plural?

My observations suggest that some people are fundamentally monogamous and others not. Personally, I fall into the latter group, as does, fortunately, my husband. Although we’ve been happily married for more than forty years, neither of us necessarily believes in exclusivity. In the first decade of our life together, especially, we actively sought out women or couples to bring into the circle of our relationship.

Although we attended some swingers events and even went to sex clubs, we weren’t primarily looking for recreational sex. Our dream was to expand our dyad into a stable triad or quartet. We hoped to find compatible people whose company we enjoyed out of as well as in bed. I didn’t know the term then, but what we wanted was polyamory

Polyamory is a committed, caring relationship that involves more than two people. Often the polyamorous partners live together. It’s not always the case that every member has an erotic connection with every other member, but all the participants must be open about and comfortable with the sexual interactions of the others.

We discovered that it was really difficult to create an intentional polyamorous relationship. We’d meet a likely couple, then find that the currents of attraction were not balanced among the four of us. I’d be really drawn to the woman, for instance, but not her male partner. The woman might desire my husband, but she might leave him cold. We sometimes found sexually exciting couples with whom we had nothing else in common.

Eventually, we gave up our quest, recognizing that most such relationships depend on serendipity not intention, and that we were lucky to have one another. However, I continue to explore the possibilities of polyamory in my writing.

The Toymakers Guild is a polyamorous community – one that is quite complex. The Guild engineers are for the most part open to any sort of sexual shenanigans, with pretty much any one of their colleagues. However, there are several sub-groups, who form more tightly connected units. The Master Toymaker himself has special bonds with Amelia and Roderick, two of the original Guild members. And over the course of Book 3, my heroine Gillian Smith finds herself at the apex of a polyamorous triangle.

The relationships at Randerley Hall appear to violate all the rules of romance. If you look more closely, though, you’ll realize there’s at a great deal of love among the Toymakers. In writing this series, I had the chance to experience, vicariously, the fulfillment of my polyamorous dreams.

The Toymakers Guild Series Blurb

Defying the repressive morality of the Victorian era, the Toymakers Guild uses advanced technology to fabricate bespoke sexual artifacts for the discrete pleasure of select clients. Its members are not only brilliant engineers but also sexual renegades seeking freedom from the prudish society that surrounds them. These are their stories.

Saucy Snippet from The Master's Mark (Book 3)

The Toymakers drifted back to their stations, aside from Jeremiah and Rafe. The two young men clearly had more to say.

Gillian pre-empted their enquiries. “Rafe, would you like to come to my room tonight? You’d be very welcome.”

Joy lit her lover’s angular features. “Do you seriously need to ask? Just tell me when.”

“Around nine should be good. That will allow us plenty of time.”

She turned to Jeremiah. His expression told her he was struggling to rein in his protests. She flashed him an angelic smile. “Will you come as well, Jeremiah?”

Rafe’s grin fled, but he remained silent.

Jeremiah beamed. “When, lady?”

“The same time, I think.”

“You want – want us both at the same time?” Rafe sputtered. “Together?”

Gillian shrugged. “You’ve already proved you can work together on technical tasks. I’m curious to see how well you cooperate in other domains.”