10, 5 & now

I snaffled this from someone's Myspace bulletin.

10 YEARS AGO Feb 1997
1.) How old were you? - 22
2.) Where did you go to school? – I was doing my PGCE at Swansea Uni
3.) Where did you work? – My training placement was at Ammanford School
4.) Where did you live? – Three bed Victorian terrace in Swansea – very nice place but I was about a month away from getting kicked out.
5.) Where did you hang out? – Down The Mumbles or in town (Icon/Ritzy)
6.) Did you wear glasses? – yep, and contacts.
7.) Who was your best friend(s)? – Claire & Claire
8.) How many tattoos did you have? None
9.) How many piercings did you have? – No, it had closed up ‘cause I wasn’t allowed to wear it at school. Teachers don’t do that sort of thing, apparently
10.) What car did you drive? – Ashamed to say I still didn’t have one – even at 22
11.) Had you been to a real party yet? – Dur! I’d been a student for nearly four years.
12.) Had your heart broken? – Yep – Bitch I was going to marry ran off with the bloke who was going to be my best man. Bitch & Bastard.
13.) Single/Taken/Married/Divorced/Bitter: Very Bitter (even though I’d met someone new)

5 years ago FEB 2002
1.) How old were you? – 27
2.) Where did you go to school? - I was 27 for god’s sake – and I’d quit teaching by then
3.) Where did you work? – Same place as now. Can’t believe I’ve been here so damn long
4.)Where did you live? – Ditto.
5.) Where did you hang out? In my back garden. Sad huh?
6.) Did you wear glasses? – yep. And Contacts
7.) Who was your best friend(s)? - Tracey
8.) Who was your crush? – I was engaged by then
9.) How many tattoos did you have? - none
10.) How many piercings did you have? - none
11.) What car did you drive? – I still had the Rover by then – it was about 3 months from exploding in a cloud of blue smoke
12.) Had you had your heart broken? – Yeah – long time ago now though
13.) Single/Taken/Married/Divorced/Bitter: Taken

****************February 2007*****************

1.) How old are you? - 32
2.) Where do you work? – Same place as five years ago
3.) Where do you live? - Ditto
4.) Where do you hang out? – Don’t really hang out anymore – I’m sort of too old for all that.
5.) Do you wear glasses? – yep and contacts
5.) Who is your best friend[s]? – my wife
6.) Do you talk to your old friends? – one or two
7.) How many piercings do you have? - none
8.) How many tattoos? - none
9.) What kind of car do you have? – PUG 306 diesel estate. I’m trying to talk the wife into letting me by a mid-life crisis sports car but she won’t listen
10.) Has your heart been broken? – Yeh – but I’m well over it now.
11.) Single/Taken/Married/Divorced/: married with children. Well child. (don’t want to jump the gun – don’t think I could cope with another one)

Another short story extract

I've been a bit quite on the blog front this week because I've been working on my Movie Star story for the most part. It's now up over 25000 words and it won't be long before it over takes "reunion" as the second longest story I've ever written.
That's an interesting point in itself. The story which is longer - "College by the sea", a non-erotic story about a group of students sharing university accommodation - is only half finished itself and has been sort of abandoned for a couple of years now. It the same old story, I know what the story is, and I know how it ends, I just haven't written it down yet. So, given it's not finished and may never be, does it count as the longest story I've written? (it's currently at 80000+ words and I'd estimate it'd be 120000 when finished.) The thing is, if I ever got to the end, I'd then have to go back and edit it - and since the bulk of it was written before my fishtank education, I reckon I'd lose a whole heap of words in the edit.
Anyway, I thought I'd post a new extract of my current story - so here's a naughty little striptease scene.

By the time room service was delivered, the bath was ready. It was a Victorian roll-top bath, standing on brass feet in the centre of the large bathroom. Chloe had Adam drag two tables close to the bath. She set up the fountain on one and the champange, flutes and bowl of strawberries on the other. She tipped the porter while Adam stripped and climbed into the bath. When she returned to the bathroom, he was lying back with his eyes closed, his head resting on the edge.

"Better open those baby-blues or you'll miss the show," she said.
Adam opened one eye and looked at her. "What show?"
"This one." She pulled her blouse out of her skirt and turned away from him. She unzipped her skirt at the back and shimmed out of it. Adam held his breath as her arse came into view. It was half-covered in a pair of silky, black french knickers. The skirt fell to the floor and revealed that she was wearing black hold-up stockings. She looked over her shoulder at him. "Nice?"
"Very."
"Enjoying the performace?"
"It's worthy of an Oscar. Or it will be if it ends the way I think."
"I hope it does, or I've been wasting my time." Although he couldn't see because she still had her back to him, it was obvious that she was undoing her blouse button by button. When the last button was open, she slipped the blouse off one shoulder then the other. She kept her arms bent to prevent the blouse from falling too far.
"Your bra looks tight," he said. "The straps are cutting into your shoulders. Perhaps you should take it off."
"Patience." She let her blouse fall to the floor and then reached behind to unhook her bra. She took it off and then covered her breasts with her hands as she turned around.
"Hey, no fair."
"I'm shy." Adam didn't think she looked very shy, standing in front of him in only tiny knickers and hold-up stockings.
"Come on, set the girls free." Chloe moved her hands and quickly turned around again. Adam only got a breif flash, but he didn't mind because his view suddenly improved when she bent over to remove her panties. Now she wore only her stockings. She turned to face him in all her near-naked glory. "The reason I hate stockings," she said, "is that they really are a bitch to get off. You always have to find somewhere to rest your leg."
She lifted her leg and put her foot on the side of the bath. Her pussy was right in Adam's eyeline. The lips were red and puffy, they glistened with moisture and were slightly parted. The scent of her arousal washed over him like a wave crashing up Westmouth beach. He glanced up at find her looking at him and grinning. "Enjoying the view?"
"Not half."
She rolled her stocking down her leg and threw it on the floor. Adam reached out and stroked her cunt with his wet hand. She shivered, sighed and then batted his hand away. "Not yet. Look but don't touch. For now."
She repeated the show with the other leg, but Adam's view wasn't as good. Finally, she climbed into the bath with him.
"What are you waiting for? Pass the champers?"
Adam took the bottle from the ice bucket, filled two flutes and handed one to Chloe.

It's Monday

I now have dates for when "Lost and Found" is scheduled to appear at Ruthie's. The first two parts should (baring complications) appear on April 16 and the final two parts should appear the following week. The story is scheduled to be illustrated by Brett Empty. Hopefully that's the last time I'll mention this story in this blog until it is published.
I had some trouble this weekend while writing "little miss movie star". Nothing to do with Google Docs, which seems to be working okay. No, I came to a sex scene in a hotel and realised that it would wind up being remarkably similar to a scene later in the story which is, arguably, more important. I need to sit and have a think about it, which I couldn't do this weekend as i spent most of it chasing my son around - now he's found his feet there's no stopping him, he's wandering around, running off and laughing the whole time. Little monster (only I'm allowed to call him that, btw). I think I'll end up taking what I have and moving it to the later scene. It should just slot right in. Then I'll get back to the plot instead of worrying about 'do I need a sex scene here to keep things hot?'.
Anyway, to keep your appetite whet, here's a short extract from the story:

Kim took a tabloid newspaper out of her bag and handed it to him. He unfolded it and caught his breath in his throat when he saw the front page. Covering the whole of the page, along with the headline “Trick or Treat?”, was a photo of him and Chloe. She was on her knees in front of and despite the blocking out of the detail, it was obvious she was sucking his cock.

“Fuck! Fuck, fuck fuck!”

“What?” Kim grinned. “Is it someone else? I mean, it’s hard to tell with the costumes and all.”

“Yes, it’s me. Fuck! Someone must have followed us. Fuck! How could this happen? Who would do something like this?”

“You’re kidding, right? The papers will pay a fortune for this sort of thing.”

“How would you know?” Adam scowled accusingly. “It wasn’t you, was it? I know you don’t like Chloe.”

“Get over it, Adam. I have. That’s in the past. I quite like Chloe these days. I don’t completely trust her, but that’s a different matter. Where is she anyway? Holed up somewhere safe—leaving you to face the music alone.”

“She got a call from her agent last... This is what the call was about. She knew this was coming and didn’t tell me.”

“See what I mean. You can’t trust her.”

“She must have had a reason. I need to go and see her. Will you take notes for me in the next lecture?”

“Sure. You know I will.”

“Thanks.”

Adam raced back to his flat. Shanna and Eddy were waiting for him in the kitchen. “Hey, Ads, have you seen? You’re front page news, man.”

“Yeah, I know Eddy. Have you seen my phone?” Adam never took his mobile to lectures since the university required they be switched off.

“It’s in your room knob-head. Where you always leave it.”

He retrieved his phone, switched it on and checked his messages. “Nothing. Why hasn’t she texted me? She said she’d text me.”

“Who?” said Eddy.

“Chloe, stupid,” said Shanna.

“I’m going over to her house.”

“No, Adam. She said last night to wait until you heard from her. Her agent must have told her it was going to be in the papers today and they’re probably trying to sue them or something.”

“But why hasn’t she called me. Something must be wrong. I’m going over.” Adam left the kitchen and picked up his coat on the way out of the flat. People called out to him and wolf-whistled as he walked through the campus. He turned his collar up and pretended not to hear them.

When he got to the end of Baker Street, he saw a crowd of people about half-way along—just about where Chloe’s house was. “Shit! Reporters. How do I get past them.”

He carried on along the main road, past Baker Street and into the next side road. He took out his phone and dialled Chole.

“Adam?”

“Chloe, there’s a bunch of reporters outside your house. How do I get in?”

“I take it you’ve seen the paper then?”

“Seen it? I had it shoved under my nose at the end of the lecture this morning. I need to see you Chloe. I need to know what’s going on. Do you have a back gate? Or are there reporters there too?”

“I’m not at the house, Adam.”

“Not at the house? So where...?”

“Do you remember my saying I had a back-up plan if they ever camped outside my door?”

“Yeah.”

“The plan’s in action. Look, can you go to the bar we like in town? The one we always go to before the club.”

“You mean The—“

“Don’t say it. We’re talking mobile to mobile and it might be intercepted. The last thing you want is reporters following you. Go to the bar—our usual table. Someone will meet you there.”

“Someone? Not you?”

“Ten minutes. Be there.”

And just for completeness, here's the actual newspaper article, which Adam finally gets around to reading a little later.

Trick or Treat? : Movie starlet Chloe Goodman, 18, has taken to life as a student like a duck to water. As our exclusive photographs show, the little minx has shed her virginal image for something a touch more raunchy. In our cover photo she is seen performing a sex act on an unknown man. In others (see page 5) she can be seen swilling beer, wine and spirits. (continued on page 5)

Adam opened the paper and continued to read.

Movie star Chloe Goodman claims to have taken time off from the industry to enhance her education, but rumours have been rife that she has been more interested in the student party lifestyle than in lectures, seminars and essays. Her agent and publicist have constantly denied the reports on her behalf but we’ve had no word from Goodman herself. Now we have the proof of the starlets exploits. In one of our exclusive photos, taken by an anonymous fellow student on her camera phone, Goodman can can be seen, dressed as a bride of Dracula, on her knees in front of an unknown, but very lucky, vampire. The photo was taken at, or rather outside, the university’s Halloween Ball. In another of our exclusive shots, Goodman is swigging from a pint glass and in yet another she is passionately kissing the anonymous vampire. At this point it is not known if the recipient of Goodman’s attentions has gotten lucky on this one occasion or if it’s something more serious, but our showbiz reporter Glenn Field says he has been hearing rumours that he may be more than just a flash in Goodman’s pan.

DO YOU know who the unknown vampire is? Or are you the lucky guy? We’ll pay good money for information—see our website for details of how to get in touch.

Testing Google Docs

I'm currently trying out the Google Docs service. I want to see if it's more convenient that carrying a USB key about with me. It will ultimately come down to if the editor proves to be as easy to use as OpenOffice, which is my current package of choice. This entry is being written in Google Docs and it should allow me to publish straight to my blogger account and provide the HTML for myspace and the others.
Already, after just a few lines, it's clear that you don't get the nice touched like auto-correct, predictive text and red squiggles for mis-spellings, but they are not essential, are they? It does have a spell check, but I've yet to try it. I will when I've finished writing.
The other thing about Google Docs which appeals is the ability to do online collaborations. You can give people permission to view or even edit your documents. Each time a doc is saved, it's saved as a revision, and you're supposed to be able to roll back to any version you like. It could prove to be better than e-mailing copies of a doc to people - or it might not. It's like most software, loads of promise but you never know until you use it. You can also save the doc to your hard drive as as HTML, Word, OO or PDF.
I've already given Cassie access to "Little Miss Movie Star", but would anyone else care to join me in my little test session? If you have a google account (I'm not sure if you need to have one or not but better to be sure) and you fancy casting your eye over what I've done with a view to offering an opinion, then please e-mail me at marc.nobbs@googlemail.com and I'll add you.
Well, I've just used the spell check for the first time. It's quite nifty, but there's no option to 'ignore' only 'add to dic', which you don't always want.
I should insert a pic and a link really shouldn't I, just to test it. I've linked to the e-mail address above. so here's a link to my website. And here's a random pic to test that too.

Random Stuff

Circumstances beyond my control have left me unable to blog this week – in other words those people who employ me have been demanding I do what they pay me for instead of goofing off, which is ridiculous when you think about it.

Anyway, before I go off on today’s random rant, I want to say something. I want to make it clear that this blog is simply a record of my thoughts and opinions. I use phrases such as “I think” and “I suspect” and “I believe”. This doesn’t make what follows those phrases statements of fact. If I’m speculating about something, it’s just that, speculation. I trust that the people who read this blog have a reasonable level of intelligence (I mean, they’re choosing to read my blog after all) and so they can tell the difference between verifiable facts and the other random things I say.

Okay then, back to business. The new hard drive in my laptop seems to be working fine. It’s over double the size of the old one which means I’ll end up filling it with double the amount of crap, but hey, what ya gonna do. I’ve also managed to retrieve my old e-mails. It turned out to just be a case of copying the Thunderbird folder in the ‘Application data’ folder over from the old disk.

Also this week, my little boy has finally found his feet and is delighting in marching around the house as if he owns it – which of course he does, just like he owns everything in it. He’s also delighting in pulling my books of the bookshelf and sitting with it open on the floor having an in depth discussion with himself about moral and artistic value of the work. At least I assume that’s what he’s doing, he uses his own little language that no one else (ie me and his mother) and understand. I think I need to get a bookcase with a door and a lock.

My website, marcnobbs.com, is in need of an update – but as yet I haven’t installed Netfusion on my new hard drive so I won’t get around to that until the weekend at the earliest – unless I look at using a different program. As good as Netfusion is – I do find it annoying sometimes.

I’ve been hard at work on the poorly titled “Little Miss Movie Star”. It’s now over 25000 words and I haven’t even got to the Royal Premiere yet. (Okay, that means nothing to you since you don’t know the plot, but it’s about the halfway point, I think. Or should I say, I hope?) One of the reasons that I’ve been so motivated to write large portions of this story is that Cassie (bless) keeps demanding to read more and she won’t be fobbed off with excuses.

“Lost and Found” has now been accepted by Ruthie’s. They’ll publish it over two weeks, two chapters per week. I don’t have a date for this yet though.

Does anyone want a wine gum? I have a whole packet here and I’m getting through them very quickly.

Finally – is anyone going to put a bid in for Britney Spears’ hair? If so, why? Are you mad?

e-mail Problems

Very short entry this Monday morning (more later perhaps – who knows). I’ve had to change the hard drive in my laptop over the weekend because the old one was starting to malfunction. This means I haven’t been able to respond to any e-mails, and I know I have a few to answer. I do apologise for this. I’m working to extract the e-mails from the old hard drive so that I can answer them. In the mean time, if you’ve written to me and i haven’t answered it’s not because I’m ignoring you.

Now, does anyone know of any software that will extract e-mails from Thunderbird?

"Lost and Found" and confusion at Ruthie's

It appears that there has been some confusion over “Lost & Found” at Ruthie’s. I was led to believe it had been accepted but it transpires that it hasn’t. Neither has it been rejected. It is still very much under consideration.

As I first thought it might, it seems that my use of the Iraq war as a point of conflict for the characters within the story has proven to be a hot one, and the management at Ruthie’s are still deciding if it’s too hot. In Des’ own words, “Ruthie’s isn’t a political platform.” I fully accept that – however, “Lost & Found” isn’t a politically motivated story. I don’t want to preach my views – the views in the story aren’t necessarily even mine (although given that both sides of the argument are expressed you could argue that they are).

In the story, I used the death of a solider and his subsequent burial as a hero as a plot device. It, and the Iraq war, are both points of conflict for the father and daughter in the story, and are what brings the daughters online lover across the Atlantic to see her. I suppose that I could change the point of conflict – maybe invent a new war – but I think that would be fairly transparent and quite cowardly. I stand by what I’ve written and the way I’ve written it and I’m not willing to compromise.

However, I also accept, as I always have, that I don’t have an automatic right to be published at Ruthie’s and if the management feel they can’t publish this story for political reasons, then I fully accept that. I’ll be disappointed, but I’ll accept it.

While Des has said it’s the issue of the war that’s causing the delay (every member of the management will have to read the story and agree to publish it instead of just Neil), she hasn’t said if it’s any particular bit that making them uncomfortable. I suspect its the scene chapter 3 where Beth’s father confronts Chris and they have a rather heated discussion about the reasons for going to war. It is (in my opinion) one of the most powerful scenes I’ve ever written and I wouldn’t want to lose it.

If any of my writer friends would like to read the story privately in advance of Ruthie’s decision, to see what all the fuss is about, then please feel free to mail me here and I’ll send you a copy. I can supply in openDoc format, Word or pdf – please state your preference.

marcnobbs.com

Heaven in Leather

Continuing with my not so regular series of blog entries on some of the older stories I have on SOL, I'll be looking at "Heaven in Leather".

Heaven in Leather was the second story I submitted to Storiesonline, way back in November 2004. It's currently my 21^st most downloaded story on the site and sits in joint 7^th position on Qsocre with a healthy 7.21. This is the same score as BusStop. It's one of my CitySwingers series – a loose collection of stories about young people having fun in the city.

Heaven in Leather is narrated by a young, horny chap with little regard for women other than as sex objects. The story begins with his waking up with a hard-on and proudly stateing that an early morning wank is a great way to start the day.

On his drive to work, the narrator is passed by a vision in red leather sat atop a powerful motorbike. At the risk of giving away the plot, he meets the biker later in the day and she offers to take him for a ride – in more ways than one.

This is one of those stories that I wrote when I was very young, back in '98, but was improved no end by its trip through the Fishtank.

If you haven't read it, give it a try – you might even enjoy it. And if you do enjoy it, you might want to purchase a hardcopy from my Lulu bookstore.

marcnobbs.com

Stuff and More Stuff

Last week was pretty much a write off for me. I was off work with a bad migraine on Monday; Tuesday and Wednesday were fine, then of course it snowed on Thursday and I was one of only 6 out of thirty foolish enough to turn up at the office. Then I was off again on Friday with a stinking cold which wrecked my weekend. Still, at least I answered Des’ last min call for stories for the Valentine’s issue and got a story accepted. And I got paid by Ruthie’s, which is always a bonus. Oh, and out work syndicate won £1800 on the lottery on Wednesday, which is about £60 each. Now, do I buy the wife something nice or get the new hard drive I’ve been promising myself for six months? Who said we have freedom of choice? We all know what I’m going to spend the money on, don’t we?

“Little Miss Movie Star” is still taking up most of my creative energy. I still hate the title, and will change it eventually, but I’m really enjoying writing it. It is, however, nearly 20000 words at the moment and we’re not yet at the real ‘meat’ of the story. I have no idea how long it will end up.

One interesting thing that has happened in writing this piece is that this weekend I’ve had to stop work on the plot and look at the ‘backstory’ instead. In particular, I’ve had to make notes on Chloe’s history. Chloe is a film star and has been all her life, well, most of it. And as such, many of the other characters have mentioned some of the films she’s been in. I’ve been fairly off hand with the references, and this weekend I had to make a list of them in order to keep track. I think it might be worthwhile as the story progresses, if I go into a little more depth and semi-formalise this list, so that I don’t make any stupid errors—such as having her play a divorcee at 16 or something. I’ve also had to make a list of her ‘famous’ friends, and how she knows them-again just to keep track since most of them are mentioned in off-hand moments and I don’t want to contradict myself.

I think ‘backstories’ are important when writing longer pieces. You need to have the history clear in your mind as a writer, even if you don’t give that history to the reader. It helps you ‘know’ your characters better which in turn makes them more realistic. I had to look into the backstory quite a lot with “Charlotte’s Secret”. Just about the time I getting ready to write the climax, I had to sit down and work out exactly who did what to who and when so that all the dates married up at the end. Then I had to go back into what I’d written and make changes to match up with the newly created history.

This weekend, I’ve also started the arduous process of splitting “Movie Star” in chapters. I don’t like doing it, but it does have to be done. I like to keep my chapters to about 3500-5500 words and the story is lending itself to that length, which is fortunate. I’m currently on Chapter 5, although, the chapter breaks are rarely fixed and I won’t be surprised if they move before I’m through.

Since I’ve teased you, here’s a list of the films that Chloe has been in, or is going to be in.

• “Don’t say Goodbye” had an awful script, but Chloe “showed what she can do” (according to one of the characters) in “To Eternity and Back”. She was also very good in “Until Midnight” - which may have been an action movie, but I haven’t made my mind up.
• Chloe played “Jakki” the sexy shop assistant in “Charlotte’s Secret” and was voted “Sexist female” by readers of “Fame” magazine as a result. The DVD sold over two million copies on it’s release in the summer before the story starts.
• The film that brought her to prominence was “High School Hell” a teen-drama which she made when she was just fifteen.
• Her latest movie is “Reunion”. She plays Kelly when she was at school, some twenty years before the ‘reunion’ of the title. It includes her first screen kiss and (tasteful) topless scene.
• She’ll be making a low-budget drama called “Tutoring Sophie” during the summer vacation. Or at least, she thinks she will.

I’m looking for one more film title. It will be a big-budget Hollywood blockbuster. A part she simply can’t turn down. I have an idea, but I need to speak to Mr. Berry about it first. (That’s a giveaway if ever there was one.)

Would Twins do this?

In case you hadn’t noticed, it’s Valentine’s Day this week. As always, Ruthie’s Club is running a special issue to honor the day, and yours truly has a story appearing in it. “Would Twins Do This?” is not your typical ‘hearts and flowers lovey-dovey’ valentine’s day story. In fact, it’s a not-quite incest girl-on-girl-fest. Well, not ‘fest’ exactly, I mean, it’s only just over 1000 words.

If you have a ruthie’s sub, then read the story here.

If you don’t, then get one here.

Would Twins...

Desdmona put out a call last night for stories for Ruthie’s Valentine’s issue next week. I’ve been holding a story in reserve for a couple of week based at a birthday party, so I re-jigged it to be a Valentine’s party and sent it in.

Des came back to me pretty quick sharp to accept the story, saying it was unlike anything else they have lined up, and so “Would Twins Do This?” should appear at Ruthie’s next week—baring any mishaps. It’s only a short, just over a thousand words, but it’s different from anything else you’ll have read by me up to now. How’s that for a teaser?

Another movie Star Extract

I'm not normally one for posting the 'good bits' as extracts in a blog, but I'm fairly happy with this and thought you might like to read it. This picks up a few hours after the extract I posted last week. There's stuff happens inbetween to get them here, but hey, if I post the whole damn thing I may as well send it straight to SOL rather than trying my luck at Ruthie's first.

The story as a whole is coming along nicely. It's nearly 16000 words now, and there's still tons of story to tell, but I'll trim the fat in the second and third drafts. Right now, the thing that concerns me most is where to put those pesky chapter breaks. I don't really want to think about it, but I'll have to at some point.

Oh, and the title. "Little Miss Movie Star". As Bart Simpon once said "I didn't think it was physicaly possible but it both sucks and blows." I need a new title.

=====

Alan reached for Chloe's hand and spun her around to face him. She stood close and rested her hands and head on his chest. Alan put his arms around her and held her tight.

She looked up into his eyes. “I already know the answer, but I need to hear you say it.”

“Say what?”

“This isn’t just a kiss and tell one night stand, is it? You aren’t going to fuck me and then run off to the papers for a holdall full of used notes?”

Alan shook his head. “How can you even think that?”

Chloe sighed. “I’m paranoid. It’s good to be paranoid in my line of work. Just say it. Say it and then kiss me and then make love to me.”

Alan pushed her away from him and held their hands between them. He looked her in the eye and held her stare. “Chloe. Sweet Chloe. I’m not going to run to the papers and tell them what we did. Or what we’re about to do. I will never let you down. I will never betray you. It’s between me and you. And it will stay that way.”

He lent forwards to kiss her. She guided his hands to her breasts and then put her arms around his neck. He massaged her breasts for a few moments and then undid her blouse and put his hands inside. She was wearing a white lace bra which felt good in his hands. He could feel her hard nipples through it and he rubbed them. She gasped. “Ohhhh. Nice.”

She pulled her blouse out of her jeans and shrugged it off her shoulders. Then she reached behind her back, unclasped her bra and threw it to the floor. Her nipples topped her breast stiffly like solders standing guard on top of a hillock. Alan brushed ran a hand across her goose-bumped skin and brushed her nipple. “You cold?” he asked.

She shook her head. “Why do you ask?”

“You’re shivering.”

She smiled and giggled. “I’m nervous. Crazy, I know, but I’m more nervous than when I did my first topless scene over the summer. And there were a damn sight more people watching then. Still...”

“What?”

“None of them were as important as you.” She kissed him again and he caressed her fleshy globes while she fumbled to undo his shirt buttons. She slipped his shirt of his shoulders and ran her hands down his smooth bare chest. He walked her backwards until her legs hit the bed and they fell back. He landed on top of her, forcing the air from her body and she fought to catch her breath around his tongue.

He held himself up on arm, so as not to crush her slender frame, and slid the other hand down her torso. He fumbled to unbutton her jeans and slipped his hand under her panties into the soft downy hair above her pleasure cove. She sighed as the tip of his middle finger slipped inside. He stopped kissing her and sucked one of her steely nipples between his lips instead. He rolled the bright red bud between his teeth and she winced. She held his head in her hands. “Not so hard. Not so hard.”

He stopped biting and resumed sucking. He flicked the nubbin with his tongue and finger her pussy as best her could. He wanted to bring her as close heaven as he could, so that when he finally climbed aboard her pleasure cruise, they’d reach their destination together. He was so worked up, he knew he wouldn’t take long once he’d started. He could feel her hips move against his hand. He could sense she was getting close.

He withdrew his hand, despite her pleas to the contrary, and sat up to unbutton his jeans. She clearly got the message and lifted her hips of the so that she could pushed her own jeans and panties down her legs. He stood up to step out of his clothes and pulled her legs free of their shackles as well. She lay naked before as he stood naked before her. She looked scared and excited at the same time. Her eyes were a blend of lust, fear and apprehension. The lust one out.

She pointed to the cabinet at the side of the bed. “At the back of the top drawer,” she said. “Better safe than sorry.”

Tucked away behind some bedtime literature was a packet of condoms. Alan took one from the box, ripped it open and rolled it down his cock. He looked back at Chloe, who lay waiting, legs slightly parted. “Ready?”

She nodded.

Quality?

Since I've been taking my own blog a bit more seriously, I've tried to keep pace with a few other blogs too, primary those of my friends on Myspace (sorry I don't always comment guys, but I do read) and on SOL. Obviously, the myspace blogs are the more entertaining. Mat's pictorials are a joy to behold and Sommer comes across as being just scatty enough to be funny but not so much that you pity her (a tough balance, for sure. But she pulls it off. Sommer, you rock).

The blogs on SOL tend to be a bit more 'serious' (I can't think of a better way to put it). They can be dry statements of which story has been submitted or response to feedback received. There are some which are more entertaining. I look forwards to reading RealLifeDragon's thoughts each week. But here's something I've noticed—there are a lot of SOL blogs in which the author apologizes for slow output or for not posting this chapter or that story. I have to say, this baffles me. And it begs the question, are the readers at SOL really more interested in quantity over quality?

Let's deal with the first issue—should writers apologize for slow output? To be honest, I think this is just a stupid question. Unless the writer in question is unemployed/retired and writing for SOL is all they do then why should they apologize for neglecting their hobby when something else in their life takes precedence. And I'm talking about actual apologies here, which include words like "I'm sorry". I'm sorry for not posting a new story/chapter every day this week or I have to apologize but my wife/kid/dog was taken ill and I haven't written as much... or (and these are my favourite) I'm very sorry but my new story needs some editing and I haven't posted it yet. In that last one the writer is actually saying sorry for wanting to make his story better before posting it. Crazy—but I've seen blog entires like this.

It's one thing to explain why a story has been delayed (I didn't finished this story because my wife ran off with my neighbour and left me to look after the kids by myself. What can i say—Shit happens), but it's another altogether to start saying sorry for it. Remember, none of the authors on SOL have been paid for the stories they've posted there. I'd say sorry to my boss for not having done a report because he pays me, but that's something totally different, isn't it? Author's daily activities that bring in a wage to pay the bills must take precedence over the hobby that is SOL. And that's all it is. A hobby. Looking after your family, must take precedence over your hobby too.

Now let's look at the second issue. Are SOL readers really more concerned about quality than quantity? I guess you could say the same thing for the consumers of many things, from Hollywood movies to fruit and veg. I tend to think of SOL as the 'Tesco' of the online erotica marketplace. Vast amount of choice, including the "value" range, which wouldn't feed to your dog let alone your kids, to the "Finest" range which is the best they have to offer. Of course, "Tesco Finest" doesn't come close to the quality you'd get from a small independent producer (for which you pay through the nose) but it's still pretty good.

I'd like to think that the cream will always rise to the crop at SOL, but this isn't unfortunately the case. As I've said before, I've read cracking good stories on SOL that have had low scores and downloads, and then been to the top download/score tables and read some stories that more selective publishers would turn their noses up at. It's true that, in some cases, authors build up a fan base and get consistently high downloads/scores by posting a vast amount of work over a short period of time. They can then slow down and people will look out for their new stories because they are a 'name' - even though their work lacks the finesse, variety or style of some other work. It's also true that some authors have tried the same thing and don't get the high scores or the high downloads because their work reflects that they themselves value quantity over quality.

So what about me? Do I prefer quantity or quality. I'm guessing that you already know the answer. I mean, it's a no-brainer, isn't it?. I'm a quality guy. I haven't always been, but I am now. I take time and care over what I write, which is why it might take me several weeks, or even several months to knock out a long story. It's also why I would not start posting a story until it's finished. I couldn't handle the pressure to post the next chapter when it hasn't been written yet. I tried that with 'College by the Sea' and failed because I wanted to keep the quality high. In the end the readership got tired of waiting and dropped off. I'm not saying I'm the greatest writer out there, far from it, but I do have pride in what I do and couldn't bring myself to let something loose on the world if it isn't as good as I think it could possibly be. (Blog entires excepted, I don't take half the time over them that I should)

I enjoy writing. It's a useful distraction from the real world. So why would I add to my already pressured life by placing unrealistic targets on my postings? It would be madness, wouldn't it?

Sorry

Oh, who’d have thunk that real life could get in the way of a good blog and a bit of bragging? Why did no one warn me that having kids was such a hassle and caused so much worry and strife?

Anyway, back at work today (more’s the pity) and so back to trying to avoid actually doing what I get paid for and trying to tap away aimlessly on the keyboard instead in a vaguely creative manner. This week i have another Flash story running at Ruthie’s Club called “Sorry”. If anyone remembers the video for the U2 song “The Sweetest Thing”, it was inspired by that. I was doing some writing one day with one of those saddo music channels on the TV in the background and this song came on. Bang – story written in about 20 mins and edited in about an hour. Not bad going really.

The above link will only work if you have a Ruthie’s subscription. If you don’t, click here and go buy one now.

If you do have a sub, the rest of my Ruthie’s stories, including Charlotte’s Secret and 14 other flashes, are archived here.