By
Cheyenne Blue (Guest Blogger)
First,
in this post about firsts, a big thank you to Lisabet for having me
on her blog—not for the first time.
2015
has been a year of firsts for me. First time to stand up on a
surfboard—okay, it only lasted for about 3 seconds and ended in
ignominy, but it’s something I never thought I’d manage. In my
day job, for the first time I now have a boss who is younger than me
(when did I get so old?) First time to have surgery (about as minor
as it gets and still be surgery, but it involved blood and scalpels
all the same).
It’s
been
a
year
of
firsts
on
the
writing
front
too.
Most
notably,
2015
marks
the
year
of
my
first
longer
piece
of
fiction
in
print.
I’ve
been
writing
short
erotic
stories
since
2000,
had
them
published
on
various
websites,
and
then
eventually
my
first
print
publication
in
Best
Woman’s
Erotica.
Yes,
the
very
same
series
that
is
still
running
today,
but
this
edition
was
2002.
Since
then,
I’ve
notched
up
around
100
short
stories
in
print
and
pixel
in
various
places.
I
love writing short stories. I love the brevity, the slice-of-life way
of telling something. Around me, erotica colleagues were meeting the
changing market and writing novellas, novels, and then series, but I
continued with shorts. Part of it was insecurity—what you know and
all that. Part of it was lack of time—I held a demanding day job
and I squashed in writing time in between everything else. A lot of
it was the more instant gratification of writing short: of finishing
a story, of submitting, of acceptance, of contributor copies in my
hand, of reviews. But a friend convinced me to try something longer,
and you’ve guessed it: I loved the process. I fell in love with
writing, specifically erotic romance, all over again.
My
first
novella,
Never-Tied
Nora,
came
out
this
week
from
Ylva
Publishing
(another
first—a
new
publisher
for
me).
Not
only
my
first
novella,
but
also
my
first
erotic
romance.
And
too,
the
first
of
a
series.
The
follow
up,
Not-So-Straight
Sue
will
arrive
in
June
2016,
and
that
one’s
a
full
length
novel.
I
hope
you’ll
check
out
Never-Tied
Nora,
which
is
available
now
direct
from
Ylva
Publishing
or
pre-order
from
Amazon.
While
we’re
talking
about
writing
firsts,
of
course
I
also
edited
an
anthology
of
firsts
in
2015.
First:
Sensual
Lesbian
Stories
of
New
Beginnings
is
available
now
from
Ladylit
or
from
Amazon.
There’s
15
firsts
between
those
covers!
Blurb
Nora
Kelly loves her carefree London life where there’s always a new
woman to seduce. Her big Irish family tease her about her
footloose ways, but she knows she’s in no danger of losing her
heart.
Her
family has only one rule when it comes to dating: Nora can date
any woman she wants—as long as she’s not a Flannery. The
Kellys and the Flannerys have been feuding ever since both families
arrived in London from Ireland sixty years ago, and time has not
lessened the hatred.
But
never-tied Nora has just met the woman of her dreams, and suddenly
commitment isn’t a dirty word. Trouble is, Geraldine is a Flannery.
Can
Nora convince Ger that, despite their families, they are meant to be
together?
Excerpt
The
Korean place was modern—tiled, cold, and echoey, but I didn’t
care. We were shown to a table at the back where huge potted plants
muted the worst of the noise. It was far enough from the kitchen that
the service was beyond woeful, but I didn’t care. I sat opposite
Ger once again and watched her expressions and gestures—the quick
smile that lit her face like lightning over the ocean, and her small,
white fingers with their short, blunt nails as they pointed to a menu
selection.
We
ate sizzling beef brought by blank-faced waiters, and if I’d been
with Sue I’d have been whining about the price of everything and
how that should at least get us a smile. But with Ger, complaining
didn’t cross my mind. Indeed, I welcomed the awful service as it
meant more uninterrupted time to look, to flirt, to touch her hand,
to dream, to imagine, and to fantasize about an outcome between us.
We finished the bottle of wine but didn’t order another. Instead,
we drank water, and played the getting to know you guessing game.
“You’re
a
professional
women’s
hockey
player,”
I
said.
“Or
a
coal
miner.
Final
answer.”
Her
sigh was theatrical. “You’ve caught me. Want an autograph?
Actually, my sister plays hockey. She says I should learn—I might
meet someone. She reckons she’s the only straight woman on the
team.”
I
picked up her hand again. “Tell her you’ve already met someone.”
Her
gaze clung to mine. “I might do that. Or I might let her set me up
with Big Betsie, the goalie. I love a woman with muscles.”
I
pushed up the sleeve of my jacket to show my forearm. “I have
muscles,” I said in pretend affront. “All the typing I do, how
could I not?”
“You’re
a
writer,”
she
guessed.
“You
ghostwrite
autobiographies
of
the
rich
and
famous.
Or
you’re
a
PhD
student,
four
years
into
the
world’s
longest
thesis.”
“I
wish.
Think
dull.
Think
of
the
jobs
that
send
you
to
sleep.”
“Hypnotherapist?
Is
that
how
you’re
so
successful
with
women?”
“You
don’t
know
that
I’m
successful.
I
could
be
Never-Laid
Nora,
the
unloved.”
Her
expression sobered, and she shuffled her chair around the tiny table
so that she was next to me. She was so close I could smell the spices
from the meal on her breath. She moved her chair enough that it was
angled toward mine, her legs capturing one of mine between them.
“Nora,
look
at
me.”
The
laughter
fled
her
voice.
“If
you
are
the
unloved,
if
you
are
the
unlaid,
then—”
“Then
what?”
I
was
trapped.
Caught
in
the
intensity
of
her
eyes
and
the
steel
of
her
thighs.
“It’s
my
lucky
day,
as
you
must
be
desperate.”
Warmth
radiated
from
her
fleeting
smile.
She
leaned forward, enough that I could see the dark flecks in her
sea-green eyes. “I won’t lie to you, Nora. I’ve gone home with
women I’ve just met. Met them in a club, or a pub, or at my
sister’s hockey game. And I’ve spent a night with them, and at
the time it was wonderful. Sex, out of this world. But afterwards?
Not so much.” She dragged a deep breath, sat back, and took a gulp
from her water glass. “I’m tempted. I’m tempted to lean in and
kiss you. Learn your taste, the sigh of your breath. See if your hair
is as soft as it looks. I want to know you. Learn what your skin
feels like. And in the morning we’d have coffee, and kiss, and swap
phone numbers, and then I’d leave, or you’d leave, depending on
where we were, and I’d wait for your call. Or maybe I wouldn’t.
Maybe I’d have written you off as just another one of those women,
and I’d go into work, and maybe I’d cry on my boss’s shoulder
over you. Maybe not.”
Her
quiet words held me spellbound, and even the tardy waiter arriving to
clear away the dirty dishes didn’t interrupt.
“What
do
you
want
from
me,
Nora?”
My
voice was a croak worthy of any frog princess. “Everything. I want
everything you’ll give me.”
Cheyenne
Blue’s
erotic
fiction
has
been
included
in
over
90
erotic
anthologies
since
2000,
including
Best
Lesbian
Erotica,
Best
Women’s
Erotica,
All
You
Can
Eat:
a
buffet
of
lesbian
romance
and
erotica,
Sweat,
Bossy,
and
Wild
Girls,
Wild
Nights.
She
is
the
editor
of
Forbidden
Fruit:
stories
of
unwise
lesbian
desire
(Ladylit)
which
is
a
Lambda
Literary
Award
finalist
and
a
Golden
Crown
Literary
Award
finalist,
and
First:
Sensual
Lesbian
Stories
of
New
Beginnings.
Her
collected
lesbian
short
fiction
is
published
by
Ladylit
as
Blue
Woman
Stories
– volumes
1
to
3.
Under
her
own
name
she
has
written
travel
books
and
articles,
and
edited
anthologies
of
local
writing
in
Ireland.
She
has
lived
in
the
U.K.,
Ireland,
the
United
States,
and
Switzerland,
but
now
writes,
runs,
makes
bread
and
cheese,
and
drinks
wine
by
the
beach
in
Queensland,
Australia.
Check
out
her
blog
at
www.cheyenneblue.com,
on
Twitter
at
IamCheyenneBlue
and
on
Goodreads
at
https://www.goodreads.com/CheyenneBlue
