Have you been yet?

Have you been over to Ruthie’s Club to read Six-Thirty Sleeper to Paris yet? No, why not? It’s just one of nine great new erotic stories published there this week on the reasonably priced, subscription-based, adults only website.

As id that wasn’t enough, below are the official teaser for my new story, and a brief extract (which I’m afraid doesn’t include any of the dirty bits – you have to pay for those you know)

Oh, and why not visit my website too to find out more about little ole me.

New city, new job, new life. Harry’s leaving Rome on the overnight train to Paris. But he isn’t too pleased about starting his new life by sharing a cabin with a complete stranger—even if she is an elegant and beautiful Parisian

Six-Thirty Sleeper to Paris – an extract with no dirty bits.

“Which one would you like?” Céline asked.

“I’m sorry.”

“Ze beds? Do you want to go on top or below?”

“It makes no difference to me. You decide which you want, and I’ll take the other.”

“Bon. I prefer to be below.” She went over to the luggage rack and tried to remove one of her cases. It was stuck. As she struggled with it, Harry rushed over to help.

“Oh, merci. C’est gentil, monsieur.” She put the case on the seat and opened it. Harry could see her underwear in the case. Most of it was black and looked skimpy at best. He quickly looked out of the window. It was dark outside. All he could see was Céline’s reflection as she rooted through her case. Eventually she found what she was looking for. “Would you mind?” she asked, nodding to the case.

“Sure,” said Harry. He put the case back in the luggage rack and she entered the tiny cubicle that passed for a bathroom to change for bed. While she was locked away, Harry retrieved his own pyjamas from his overnight bag.

Céline returned, fully clothed and looking annoyed. “C’est impossible. This bathroom is far too small to be undressing.”

“I could wait outside, if you like?”

“C’est gentil, monsieur, but that would ’ardly be fair on you. And I cannot be offering to do the same as you are changing. Non, perhaps if you would mind to be facing the other way…?”

“Sure. I promise not to peek.”

“Merci.”

Harry couldn’t keep his promise. He closed his eyes at first, but temptation got the better of him and he spied on Céline through one eye. Her blouse came off first. Under it, she wore a white bra. Her reflection in the window was too indistinct for Harry to make out any detail. Next, she wiggled out of her skirt to reveal white French knickers. Harry held his breath as she removed her bra and her magnificent breasts came into view. She turned and picked up the slinky red nightgown she’d taken from her bag and pulled it over her head. It slipped down her body, clinging to her curves as it fell into place. Harry’s final treat came when, still facing away from him, she bent over to remove her knickers. Her nightdress rode up to reveal her bottom—and what a bottom it was. Harry thought it one of the best he’d ever seen.

“D’accord,” she said. “I am finished. You are opening your eyes now.”

Harry turned to look at Céline. She twirled around, causing her nightdress to lift up and giving Harry a brief flash of the hair between her legs. Then she stood with her arms held out slightly from her body. “Do you like it? It is new. I am treating myself for my return ’ome.”

“It’s very nice.”

“Very nice? Is that all? You English and your reserve. Is it not sexy?”

“Oh, yes. Very sexy. I just didn’t think it was particularly appropriate to say so.”

“Ah, bon. Alors. I shall be going back in the bathroom to, what is it your English women say? Powdering my nose? But of course, I mean Je fait pee-pee.”

National Badly Driven Van Day

At least, I assume it is. There's been no official notice but I can't think of any other reason why I would have encountered so many really badly driven vans on the way to work this morning. I'm talking about vans stradling two lanes at roundabouts, vans parking in very awkward spots like on the kerb next to a blind bend and vans stopping in the middle of the street so the driver can answer his moblie phone.
I just hope that one day soon we have a "National Really Well Driven Van Day". I doubt that we will though.

New Story at Ruthie's

It's Monday, and that means a host of new stories ar Ruthie's Club. And wouldn't you know, one of them is mine. Six-Thirty Sleeper to Paris is, funnly enough, set on an overnight train from Rome to Paris and I'm sure you'll enjoy it.
Also this week you can enjoy the latest Nightgirl adventure by the remarkable H.L. Berry.
There are also stories by Rowan Elizabeth, Gwen Masters, Laura Bacchi and others.
Ruthie's Club is a subscripion based web-zine and is for over 18s and those of broad mind only.

erotica v porn

This is a response to Daisy Dexter Dobbs Blog entry on the difference between erotica and porn, which is a fascinating read.

I have to say that I agree with Daisy’s assessment of porn – almost. She said :

These stories offer sex without the necessity of a plot, a romance or a committed relationship. Pornography is basically blatant, in-your-face sex that's unapologetically meant to titillate, without bothering to provide a quality reading experience.

It’s the first part of the first sentence that I’d disagree with. Porn does have a plot. Even if that plot is as basic as “I caught my wife cheating and I liked it so much I joined in” or “My wife was feeling old so I organised a gangbang to make her feel young again”.

For me, the difference between porn and erotica doesn’t lie in plot (although, most erotica will have stronger plots than porn for reasons I’ll show you in a sec). It lies in character.

It’s characters that make fiction worth reading or not. You could have the world’s best ever plot, twisting and turning and full of surprises, but if the characters are two-dimensional stereotypes, you’ll not have fiction worth a damn. Would Harry Potter still sell millions if JK Rowling hadn’t created a core group of thoroughly fascinating characters who have developed and changed throughout the series? Would Terry Pratchett’s Discworld novels have quite the same impact if the likes of Granny Weatherwax and Commander Vimes were boring, meaningless characters that we as readers didn’t care about? The answer to both questions is no, they wouldn’t. Readers want to engage with character that they feel they know and care about.

In porn, characters don’t matter. You could happily interchange “Sally” from “My cheating Wife” with “Sophie” from “My wife’s fiftieth birthday gangbang” and you’d have essentially the same stories. It’s just like ‘visual’ porn. Take a look at any of the myriad of porn websites and you’ll see the same ‘plot’ (eg girl gets tricked into performing for the camera) played out with a different girl each time.

But with erotica (and erotic romance) the characters don’t just matter – they are essential to the direction and tone of the story. This is what I mean about erotica having stronger plots. The plot is so often determined by the actions of the characters, that if the characters are different, they will make different choices which result in a different outcome and direction of plot.

Take, for example, the characters from two of my recent stories, “Charlotte’s Secret” and “Lost & Found”.

There are three principal characters in Charlotte’s secret and even though we only see the story through the eyes of two of them, at the end we discover that all three have been keeping secrets and that all three have been doing what they think is best for themselves and the ones they love (ie, their children). But it’s Charlotte herself I want to discuss. Almost two years prior to when the story ‘starts’ Charlotte made a decision that meant put all the characters in the position where the story could take place. She chose to keep a secret and allow the man she loved to marry her sister in ignorance of the secret. It’s argued that had Charlotte not kept the secret, but told David what was happening – he would never have married Susie.

Now, in “Lost & Found”, the principal female character, Beth, would have made that other choice. She would have poured her heart out to David—fought for her man. This is because she is a totally different person—fiery, passionate and determined. Whereas Charlotte is more sedate, more thoughtful of other people’s feelings and more willing to sacrifice herself to ‘keep the peace’. Had “Charlotte’s Secret” been “Beth’s Secret” there would have been no story because Beth would never have kept the secret in the first place.

Characters in porn are merely “faceless” cocks and pussies. Porn appeals to our base urges. It has it’s place, and that place is a tool for sexual gratification. Characters in erotica are “real people”, with real emotions, facing real problems and solving them in realistic ways (most of the time). And it’s because these characters have depth and history that they react in different ways to different situations and the resultant plots are stronger and feature more conflict and resolution. And that, at the end of the day, is what good fiction, erotic or otherwise, is all about.

Marcnobbs.com

Monday Update

Just a quickie today – we have the auditors in the office this week and so I need to snatch a few moments when I can.

Over the weekend I made a few minor modifications to my website. I’ve updated my WIP page to reflect recent submissions and acceptances and I’ve changed the ‘titles’ on my story page – they are now in a more attractive font. I’m still having problems with one area of text on this page. It’s very annoying and I suspect I may have to delete the text/cell and redo it to get it to behave itself.

To my shame, I’ve still not added any links on my author’s page. I have a list of people to add, but as yet have not been able to get a run at it. I’ll have to make this a priority.

I didn’t do any writing this weekend – I spent most of it with my son, which was very nice. Although, he does insist that he want’s to go “asside” even though it’s pouring with rain. Needless to say, I have to find ways to distract him. Mr. Potato Head usually works well.

I've also started a blog group for authors of erotica at myspace. Anyone who dabbles in erotica is welcome to join