Showing posts with label Erotica Readers and Writers Association. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Erotica Readers and Writers Association. Show all posts

Sunday, October 29, 2017

Sizzling Sunday: Unearthly Delights (#paranormal #erotica #Halloween)

Sizzling Sunday banner

It’s the Sunday before Halloween, and I’m celebrating the release of Unearthly Delights: Tales of Paranormal Desire. This anthology showcases the talent of the authors who frequent the Erotica Readers & Writers Association Storytime list. The eight stories in the collection range from light hearted to extremely dark, but all are intense, arousing tales that deliver a fresh and compelling take on paranormal sexual experience.

My own story, “Underground”, lies on the darker edge of the spectrum. The heroine is a woman whose sexual needs can only be satisfied by a creature of the night.

Check out my  exclusive Sizzling Sunday excerpt below. Then go buy a copy of the book—it’s on sale for the next week for only 99 cents!

Universal Amazon Link: http://mybook.to/erwa01


Unearthly Delights cover

Thus far tonight, despite the dagger, there has been no blood—just his mouth on mine and his probing thoughts. You are sure? comes his question, as clear as if he’d spoken aloud. I’ve become accustomed to his presence in my mind, the quiet authority that soothes me on the rare occasions when fleeting terror breaks through my lassitude.

I cannot nod—my muscles no longer obey me—but I mentally broadcast my assent. Even now, after all our encounters, I am not certain who he is, what limits he may have, how dangerous he could be. That doesn’t matter. I’d never refuse him.

His kiss sucks the breath from my lungs and the energy from my limbs, leaving me gloriously weak. Liquid pleasure ripples through my languid flesh, flowing in to replace the restless hunger that normally animates my body. I sink into the clean, sunshine-smelling sheets. My pulse sluggish, my breath stuttering, I close my eyes and let myself drown in that intoxicating kiss.

The world grows fuzzy, yet every sensation is heightened. His skin is silken. His mouth is hot as the sun, wet as rain. Tonight he smells of summer flowers and January snow. His hands roam over my nakedness as he kisses me, stroking, coaxing, delicate but insistent. Each touch is an invitation to release a bit more of my self to him.

When he finally stretches out on top of me, I am barely breathing. My heart beats no more than a dozen times per minute. I should be unconscious, my life hanging by a thread. Instead I’m acutely aware of him—the pressure of his hairless chest against my breasts, his winter scent. That, and the ripples of phantom bliss I feel despite my paralysis.

Then Z slides his cock into the hungry void between my sprawled thighs. Fire streaks through me. Answering energy surges back to him in a delicious, dizzy rush. I’d thought I was close to depleted, but I’m wrong. I have more, much more to give.

Z’s fingers might be gentle, but he wields his cock with all the brutal force I crave. Even in my debilitated state, I find myself close to climax as he pounds my cunt. He hovers over me, supporting himself on his arms, skewering me again and again. I’m far too weak to clench my muscles and hold him inside, but my slick folds cling to his cock as he withdraws before each savage thrust. Each time he enters my flesh, he takes more of me.

I surrender gladly, rejoicing in my weakness. Never have I felt so utterly helpless. Possessed, overwhelmed, almost erased. It’s terrifying and thrilling, desperately erotic. My sight is dim, but still I see his eyes, glowing above me as though lit from within by blue-green flame. No smile softens his features, not even now as his cock pulses in my paralyzed depths and his rhythm grows ragged. My surrender excites him. The knowledge that I please him, that I fulfill his needs as he does mine, floods me with a tingling warmth.



Saturday, February 6, 2010

Writer, Get Thee Online!

By Shanna Germain (Guest Blogger)

As I write this post, I’m teaching my first-ever online erotica class. I’ve taught in-person writing classes for a number of years, but this venture into online teaching is a whole new deal. I miss sitting with my students, exploring writing, laughing at each other’s stories, and feeding off the interaction that happens in the classroom. On the other hand, this new medium is bringing writers from around the country together in one spot, and creating a safe, semi-anonymous space for them to work on their fiction. In lieu of sitting in a real classroom, we’re using the virtual classroom to share links, insights, new work and successes. It's different, for sure, and a little discombobulating, but it's the future, and as a writer, I need to be part of it.

As an industry (and as a culture), we are moving online, more and more every day and I think that the erotica/romance world is forging much of that web-wide path. Long before other genres were interested in e-books (except, of course, for Stephen King’s early online horror novel, which was so far ahead of its time that people were confused by it), erotica and romance writers and readers were embracing this new market. Now, books are being sold on Second Life, readings are taking place via You Tube, and authors are offering contests and giveaways via their websites and blogs.

Chances are, if you're a writer who's reading this, then you're already online and you have an inkling of how beneficial the Internet can be to your career. But are you using it to your best advantage? Are you ready to move forward into the web-based future of writing? Putting the web to use for you as an author is a fairly easy endeavor. It just requires a little know-how, a little time and a willingness to try new things.

Here are five ways to take advantage of all the web has to offer to you as an author:

1. Get a web presence. This could be a blog, a website, a Twitter account or a Facebook page. Whatever you choose, however, make sure it's at least somewhat professional (blogs are great for this, because they're usually free and they have templates that are clutter-free, simple to use, and flexible enough that you can showcase your personality). Readers should be able to find you by Googling your name (or your pen name). Thus, having a site that's gorgeous and fun, but doesn't have your name on it is mostly useless. As is having a site that has your name on it, but is cluttered, hard to read, or just slow to load. There are a number of things you should consider having on your website -- this article at Dear Author does a fantastic job of outlining the must-haves.

http://dearauthor.com/wordpress

I don't care if you have never published anything -- having a web presence is an absolute must in today's world, even for beginning writers.

2. Join a support or critique group. There are a ton of these out there -- some of them are helpful, some of them are time wasters. Ask around, and get suggestions from other writers you trust. These offer a place to bitch about your recent rejections, crow about your successes, promote your work, and get tips and ideas from your peers. The web has already created a proliferation of writing magazines, websites and classes. Don't be afraid to check into these -- there's a lot to be learned online, and you can do so at your own pace, in the privacy of your own home. The Erotica Readers & Writers Association has a great email-list-based critique group called Storytime as well as a writer's discussion list. For more information, visit:

http://www.erotica-readers.com/ERA/EmailList.htm

3. Learn about the online markets that are available. From websites to PDFs to e-book readers, there are a lot of ways to get your words out there without going the traditional book route. The sales of digital romance/erotica books are rising and rising, and there's a good chance that trend will continue. Many authors are choosing to reprint their stories in some sort of e-book format, as it creates additional revenue for them and introduces them to a whole new category of readers. Erotica Readers and Writers has a list of online erotica and romance publishers, as does ebookcrossroads.

http://www.erotica-readers.com/ERA/G/Call_For_Submissions.htm

http://www.ebookcrossroads.com/epublishers.html

4. Brand yourself. While doing all of the above, from your web page to your Twitter to your emails, present yourself as professional, interesting, talented and contactable. Watch your spelling and grammar, don't post irate blogs about the editor that rejected you (it's going to come back to bite you, says this voice of experience), don't slam other authors or their work out of spite. Give at least a basic email signature on every email, with your name, email and website.

And most of all, remember: everything you do online is going to be online forever and ever. Even if you remove it, there's a good chance that it will stay in caches and be available to those who know where and how to look.

5. Get off the Web and write. Twitter, Facebook, Foursquares, Google Wave, Yahoo groups: If you dig deep enough, you can fill every waking moment scouring the Internet for the newest, coolest technology and promotion tools. It's a great procrastination technique, and there comes a point where promoting yourself doesn't do any good if you're not doing the real work: writing. In order to use the web (and not let it use you), make sure you don't get so caught up in promotion, announcing and surfing that you start cutting into your writing time.

Right now, I have a website, three blogs, a Twitter account, a Facebook, an online class... and I'm sure a few more things floating around out there. If I let it, the Web would tangle me up and take over my life and I wouldn't have time to write another thing. But I refuse to let it, because when it comes right down to it, it's the writing that matters. The web is just the tool I use to get that writing out in the world.

Personally, I'd rather see everyone with a tattered book in their hands than an e-book in their pocket. And I'd rather have my students sitting in front of me, where I can see their faces as they discover their writing strengths. But as someone who makes a living with my writing, I know that the digital revolution has arrived, both for writers and readers, and that by using the Web to my advantage, I can boost my sales, increase my available markets, enjoy the support of a community of peers, and promote myself. And that, for any writer, is the kind of opportunity you can't afford to miss.

BIO: Shanna Germain writes for traditional print markets, as well as for a wide variety of digital formats. Her work can be found in places like Alison's Wonderland, Best American Erotica, Best Gay Romance, The Cougar Books, Hint Fiction and more.

Visit one of her many online homes at www.shannagermain.com, www.sexyonthepage.com or www.mindfuckfiction.com