Vamps...New dead girl anthology from Torquere Press

I may be dead, but I can still dream.

I dreamt I was the maiden Persephone, my sun-streaked brown hair falling in curls down to my slim adolescent waist, my golden skin shining in the late afternoon sun of the meadow. Suddenly, a shadow fell across my body, chilling me. In an instant I was snatched away to the Underworld by grim, darkly beautiful Hecate. She declared herself my queen and my lover, but I refused her. Refused her, until she squeezed between my unwilling lips the juice of six blood-red pomegranate seeds. With the sticky, sweet and tart juice on my tongue, I became part of the Underworld.

I was just about to claim my rightful place as co-regent of the Realm of the Dead when I was awakened by loud voices. The television, I soon realized. My mortal lover, Hollie, had suddenly cranked up the volume as she sat in the living room.

As I vainly attempted to stuff Hollie’s pillow and mine into my ears to mute the noisy intrusion, I heard a familiar, televised voice. "Affirmative action perpetrates the worst kind of injustice, Larry," the woman said. Followed by more intellectual blah blah blah, interrupted at some point by Larry King’s follow-up question. I tossed my sheet aside angrily and crept up behind Hollie’s recliner.

Hollie’s hand still held the remote, as if poised to turn it up louder, should the need arise. It wouldn’t, of course. My hearing is far better than that of mortals.

"Mama looks good," I said. Hollie startled when I spoke, dropping the remote. Three months undead, and I’m already a master of sneaking up on folks. "Damn good. She must be getting some regular." I settled onto the arm of Hollie’s chair.

"You scared me," Hollie said.

This is an excerpt from "Oakley Falls," my contribution to Vamps from Torquere Press.

Oakley is a lesbian, a vampire, and a stripper. She and her mortal lover Hollie have their issues, but Oakley's unlife is going well...so why does she find herself waking up chained to a chair in the basement of The Third Eye Gentleman's Club? Could it have something to do with her favorite pro basketball player, flamboyant, New Orleans-bred Johnny Lee Bayliss?

A Hanukkah Treat For Gentiles and Jews Alike

It's that time of year again! Dig in to a delectable winter treat, as warm as a potato pancake on a frosty Hanukkah night!

Caught up in the magic of the Festival of Lights, Gabriella wants everything to be perfect for her holiday with Jared. Jared has very specific tastes-and a slight obsession with teasing the individual flavors out of the aromas of fine wines. Even the kosher wine he chooses for the first night of Hanukkah is subjected to his beloved wine aroma wheel.

But wine is not the only thing that can be tasted, analyzed, and savored. Gabriella and Jared discover new uses for Jared's favorite toy as the Hanukkah candles burn down...

Read "Spicy, Earthy, Sweet" by Erin O'Riordan at Ravenous Romance (update, 2015: Although originally available at RR, the title can now be found on Etsy).

Help out a starving artist for only $1.99! It's a beautiful story (but only for readers 18+)!

Erin O'Riordan, despite what her Irish name may lead you to believe, is of mixed Catholic, Protestant, Jewish and Pagan descent. Following the philosophy of Joan Borysenko, she proudly embraces all of her diverse spiritual heritage. Her spiritual-sexual writings include the Pagan-ritual-inspired erotic novel Beltane, from Eternal Press. Visit her home page at www.aeess.com.

"The Boy," New Fiction

"The Boy" is a short fiction piece I wrote, literally, in my sleep. I was dreaming this right before I woke up this morning, in almost these exact words, as nearly as I can remember. Parts of it recall George Gordon, Lord Byron, but it isn't strictly historical fiction. It's only a dream.

What am I? A poet, some would tell you. A monster, others would say. They call me “monster” because they have never known one like me. What they call badness I merely call enjoying the full range of pleasures bestowed on me by my Creatrix.

I traveled with a man-servant I was in the habit of calling The Boy, because he had been in my service since, when he was eleven, his aristocrat mother turned him out of the house, deciding he should make his own way in the world. That was nearly a decade ago, and he was certainly a man now, with a beard and a physique any Classical sculptor would have killed to reproduce in stone. Not that I thought of The Boy like that…until the occurrence at Lillian’s.

Lillian is my grandmother’s first-born grandchild, my cousin, and blessed with all of the privileges of a first-born. She possesses a superior intellect and beauty beyond what any painter has ever captured in oils. She was my friend and confessor, naturally my lover, and occasionally my drinking partner.

We had just finished one such drinking binge and were lounging carelessly in the large, luxurious tub of one of her bathing rooms. She was sitting on my lap, and though penetration was quite out of the question given our drunken state, I was nonetheless admiring the shapely form of her buttocks and enjoying the feel of her skin caressing mine. That was when The Boy walked in, despite my explicit instructions to the contrary.

I hurried from the tub, quickly wrapping Lillian in one of her fine towels, though I took no measures to cover my own nakedness. I upbraided The Boy, then turned to Lillian and apologized to Lillian for her embarrassment.

“No matter,” my lovely, nonchalant cousin replied. “I was about to go to bed anyway.”

“Sweet dreams,” I said, kissing her. “Dream about your future husband, who I am certain will be a great scientist with whom you will make many bold discoveries.”

“Only if you promise to dream about your future wife, who I’m certain will be a charming aristocrat without a thought in her head, whose immense wealth you will recklessly squander.” We laughed, and she went off to bed.

When she’d left the chamber, The Boy turned to me with fire in his eyes. “You know she is your cousin.”

“And what difference does that make to me? I’ve done the same with three of my four sisters.”

“I want you to do with me what you do with her,” came The Boy’s bold reply.

“No,” I answered flatly. “What you are talking about is called sodomy, and they put men in prison for it.”

“Then let them put us in prison, where we’ll be alone together to do it again and again.” With startling speed he closed the space between us and pulled me into him for a powerful kiss. The Boy’s inclinations came as some surprise to me, as he had never before shown interest in any of my romantic entanglements, either with women or with any of the other men. Still, the drunkenness seemed immediately to clear from my mind, and my erection sprang to life, vying for space against The Boy’s solid cock.

Perhaps this is why they call me mad and dangerous, and why I am unwelcome in most any society I visit, but I threw all caution to the wind. I sent The Boy to my chamber to fetch the special ointment I keep for such occasions, then bent him over the edge of the bathtub and applied the ointment liberally to his entrance. If The Boy felt any pain from the taking, he made no sign of it, though his cries of enjoyment were loud and frequent. Though I had never thought of The Boy like that before the occurrence at Lillian’s, he was to be the love of my life.

In Sleeping Beauty's Bed: Bawdy Fairy Tales by Mitzi Szereto

Pure, naughty fun: Mitzi Szereto's multicultural fractured fairy tales (Cleis Press, 2009) aren't for kids, but they are the kind you could read out loud in a pub to amuse your friends. In that, they resemble the oral versions of classic tales told around campfires in ages past. (Along with the tales, the author also includes a brief introduction giving some information about the story's origin.) Like the ale-soaked storytellers of old, Srezeto injects a good dose of humor into each bawdy yarn. She retells European fairy tales, including "Little Red Riding Hood" and "Rapunzel," but also ventures into Middle Eastern and Asian fairy tales, giving each a unique, humorous twist undreamt-of by the original tellers. This book will sit comfortably on my personal bookshelf in between Feminist Fairy Tales and The Virago Book of Erotic Myths and Legends.

One note: very sensitive readers may wish to bypass "Michel Michelkleiner's Good Luck," as it contains scenes of violence some may find offensive.

New, Original Writings on the Web

If you're not using Gather.com, you may have missed some of my latest, freshest writings. In case you did, let me catch you up:

My tribute to the late Betty Page: A Film Review
In honor of the passing of model Betty Page at the age of 85, I've decided to share my review of the 2001 DVD Betty Page in Bondage. If you are a Betty aficianado, you can rent the film from www.dvdavenue.com. Not one of my personal favorites, really, but here's the info you need to know before you rent the DVD:

"Actually, my favorite part of this DVD was when I first took it out of its sleeve. The picture on the disc itself is a pretty one. Betty Page had a really nice body. To truly enjoy this video, though, one would have to be a hard-core Page fan. It's composed entirely of antique "stag reels" of her . . . interesting 1950s costumes and music, but only mildly naughty by today's standards. Scenes of girl-on-girl bondage that were probably quite titillating in the mid-20th century are just rather quaint and even bizarre now."

Other Recent Posts:
Original Short Story, "God and The Devil Are Married" at http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977754375

Reprint of "Chocolate Jesus and the Oral Thing" at http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977754159

Review of Witch's Heart, a book by Tabitha Shay at http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977741950

And don't forget to take the latest Facebook quiz and find out "Which Beltane Character Are You?" You can find it at http://apps.facebook.com/whichbeltanesowgpc/?_fb_fromhash=3bb3bf9c249e2c69417dfeae82690e0c.

If you love Beltane, buy "Bomb Pop" from Erotique Press at www.erotiquepress.com. (Note: the website may be down for a redesign for a day or so, but keep checking back!)

Early June Update

Greetings, fellow readers!

I've had an awesome week. First, on Sunday, the literary goddess known as Blodeuedd (surely you remember her from Welsh Celtic mythology; she was the one made out of flowers) posted her review of Beltane. It's a great review; please visit books-forlife.blogspot.com to read it. There's also a link on my Review Links page on aeess.com.

https://amzn.to/4x3cOZX

Then I received an acceptance e-mail from Circlet Press. They're already publishing my short story "In the Lair of the Monster" in the Like a God's Kiss anthology. On Tuesday, I found out they also accepted "Invisible Touch" in the Like a Mask Removed(superhero erotica) anthology!

Today, there was more awesome anthology news: Maxim Jakubowski wants "Iced," a short story that premiered in Lucrezia magazine, for the Mammoth Book of Best New Erotica. What an honor to have a story selected without even submitting it!

BTW, if you are interested in building your own sci fi/fantasy anthology, please visit AnthologyBuilder.com. They've now accepted five of my stories, so look for them.

"Beyond Her Book" Blog Seeks Readers

Dear book-loving people,

Over the long weekend, I went to Milwaukee and had the pleasure of meeting book blogger/Publisher's Weekly editor Barbara Vey. I'm passing along her contact information because she is looking for readers willing to read some of the many books she acquires and write short (4 sentences) blurbs about them for her website. She especially needs erotica readers. If you read my book, Beltane, and enjoyed it (or books like it), please get in touch with her. She'll give you the books for free; all she asks is that you pay the shipping.

Barbara's information:
Barbara Vey
Contributing Editor, Publishers Weekly
Beyond Her Book blog
www.publishersweekly.com/BeyondHerBook
Twitter - http://twitter.com/barbaravey
Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1113386705
MySpace - www.myspace.com/

In Other News:

My review of Ultra Flesh is now online at www.lucreziamagazine.com

If you've always wanted to edit your own anthology of sci-fi/fantasy stories and articles, visit www.anthologybuilder.com. Three of my stories are available there:
"Peter Parker's Aunt May Is A Goddess"
"Black Bear Skin"
"Poet's Day"