I Like to Be Tied Up

It’s not that I thought the transition from fantasy kink to real life kink would be easy, it’s that I didn’t think about it at all. After years of hoovering novels about kink and thinking about it all the time, it was a big deal for me to show up in person to real events. That seemed like the big hurdle.

At the time, I identified as a submissive. I didn’t really know the difference between submissive and bottom. I didn’t know a lot of other words. I knew I was into bondage and pain. I didn’t know that it was possible to be into only one of those, or both, or neither, or other things altogether.

I think part of the problem was the novels I’d read. In those books, the narrative focus was often on making a woman admit she was submissive. That seemed to mean gets-wet-when-ordered-around. I don’t recall coming across novels that told a story about a submissive woman painstakingly defining the nuances of her identity, though perhaps they exist. In most of what I read, tops defined the identities of submissives for them.

I could write a long, long essay, and probably also a novel, about my relationship to the word submissive alone.

The Many Note Challenge got me thinking about something that seems much simpler than that on the surface: trying to tell people you’re into rope.

For the challenge, I showed a variety of moods, a lot of different ways rope might feel to two people who are playing with it. That points to a problem I experienced when trying to move from fantasy kink to real life kink. At first, I thought all I needed to tell people was, “I want to be tied up.”

It felt that way at first, especially when I was bursting with enthusiasm and it seemed like any way of being tied up would be great with me. I just had a bottomless (haha) urge to have someone put rope on me.

Over time, though, I started to notice dissonances when I talked to other people who liked to be tied up.

***

Here are some examples of questions that point to possible distinctions:

Do you like to be tied up to look pretty?

Do you like to be tied up to feel athletic?

Do you like to be tied up in a way that’s uncomfortable?

Do you like for sexual things to happen after you’re tied up?

Do you like for painful things to happen after you’re tied up?

Are painful things sexual to you?

Does being tied up put you into a particular mood? (Do you feel helpless, silly, excited, sleepy, etc?)

Do you like to be tied up in a way that challenges you?

Do you like to be tied up in a way that comforts you?

Are there shapes/ties that feel particularly good to your body? That feel particularly bad to your body?

***

I could go on and on.

Of course, the questions I just wrote are from a bottom’s perspective. I have much less experience topping, but I do have a little. Here are some top-perspective questions I can think of, even with that limited background, that reveal similar shades in what’s interesting to different people:

Do you like to tie people up as an end in itself?

Do you like to tie people up as a means to some other end?

Do you like to tie up someone who is very obedient about it?

Do you enjoy a battle of wills with the person you’re tying up?

Do you focus on creating particular designs with your rope?

Do you enjoy when the person you’re tying up reacts in particular ways?

Do you like to institute protocol around tying someone up?

Does tying someone up put you in a particular mood? (Do you feel powerful, nervous, serious, giggly, etc?)

***

I’m sure people could add to either set of questions.

The point I’m making is that even if people’s interests sound similar on the surface (i.e. “We both like to be tied up!”), there can be a lot of difference in what that means to them, or what they like about those activities.

In the kink community, it took me years before I could articulate that, and before I learned to ask questions like what I listed above and have discussions around them. (Otherwise, it’s possible to end up in situations when you’re wondering when the hell the sexy part is going to start as a top painstakingly ties decorative rope all over your body, while for them the experience is about giving you a gift and crafting a lovely piece for you to wear… Or thousands of other mismatched situations.)

As a writer, I think this incredible multiplicity is really good news. One of the main things I took away from the Many Note Challenge was that I could probably have kept going for weeks, writing dozens of vastly different vignettes around the same simple box tie. Even of the six I wrote, two grabbed me enough that they made me want to expand them into larger stories.

If I introduced just a shade more variation—say, putting three characters there instead of two—I could write dozens more. There’s so much to explore.

And every time we, as writers, get into subtleties about who the people we’re writing about are and why they’re engaging in these particular acts, we’re creating more ways that people can possibly identify with our work. One of my favorite things as an erotica reader is finding a description of a mood I’ve felt but never quite articulated, or of a mood I’d like to try to feel.

So, here’s to many notes!

The Many Note Challenge, Part Three

On Friday, I made up an exercise for myself: writing the same basic scene with a variety of moods. These are the last two entries in that short series, and I’ve gotten a lot out of the experience—I hope you enjoyed reading them.

Remember, If you think it would be interesting to do this, too, I invite you to participate. I kept the dialogue and specific actions very similar in mine—you could imitate that, or go your own way. Feel free to tag me on Twitter @AnnabethLeong with what you come up with. I would be so excited to see how others might present the same simple action.

And you can find out about the back story and read the other vignettes here and here.

(Image by Beverly Yuen Thompson, licensed under Creative Commons)

Five:

She pulls my arms behind my back, and instantly my mind goes blank. From the moment I saw the rope out of the corner of my eye, my worries began to drain away. I don’t need to be anything special now. I don’t even really need a name. I’m just hers. Meditation’s got nothing on this.

“You ready?” She knows how fast I drop into that wordless place. I smile, because I know the question is a bit of a tease.

To tease her back, I don’t use words to answer. I just nod.

My body knows this position. Arms behind, chest pushed forward, wrists lined up with elbows. At first, I couldn’t get into the classic, traditional shape of this, but this is my peace, my personal version of yoga. I’ve practiced a lot, so now I slide into place easily as she guides me with her hands. She pulls my head back, emphasizing the arch of my neck and spine. I feel so beautiful this way.

She begins to loop rope around my wrists. I can feel the coarseness of the fibers, but I remind myself that I don’t have to react to it. I don’t have to squirm or move at all. My breathing is slow, and I focus on making it even slower.

“Hold still,” she teases, kissing the back of my head. “I won’t get this on right if you can’t hold still.” I can hear in her voice that her eyebrow is arched and one side of her mouth quirked up.

I don’t vary my breathing or position in the slightest. I’m already a statue. It’s amazing how powerfully I can tease back without doing anything at all.

Six:

I pull her arms behind her back with a jerk, fast and sharp to force her breath from her chest. Today I feel like playing rough.

“You ready?” I growl into her ear.

She nods.

The next few seconds are about me showing her she isn’t ready. Chest forward—farther than she wants it. Arms back—higher than she instinctively goes, and then an inch higher still. I know she can take this, and today I need to make it hurt. I pull until I hear her breath catch, then freeze there, watching her realize I’m going to tie her just like this, all the way at the limit of the position her body can hold. Her eyes widen. I pinch the inside of her wrist to see if I can make her gasp, and she flings her head back. She whimpers and looks helpless, and that’s what I need. Today I want to be the predator. I want to feel big and frightening and strong.

I begin looping the rope around her wrists. I want the coarse fibers to burn, and I zip them over her skin fast enough to leave marks. She squirms in discomfort, and that makes me smile. My head rushes with the force of the power she’s giving me.

“Hold still,” I tell her, my voice heavy with ironic sweetness. The rope and I are holding her tightly enough that there’s already not much room for her to move. I kiss the back of her head. I always like that sort of gesture while I’m being vicious—it emphasizes everything about the situation. “I won’t get this on right if you can’t hold still.”

Really, I hope she moves. If she gives me an excuse to punish her right now, god knows I’ll take it. I’m not sure how hard she wants to play. I’m hoping she wants to go all the way today, like me.

***

Obviously, one could keep going basically forever. It would be interesting to do this with different gendered partners, different numbers of partners, and on and on. I hope you've enjoyed this series!

The Many Note Challenge, Part Two

I got inspired yesterday to show the same BDSM situation in a variety of moods. These are my next two vignettes, both from the perspective of the top.

Remember, If you think it would be interesting to do this, too, I invite you to participate. I’m keeping the dialogue and specific actions very similar for fun—you could imitate that, or go your own way. Feel free to tag me on Twitter @AnnabethLeong with what you come up with. I would be so excited to see how others might present the same simple action.

And you can find out about the back story and read the first two vignettes here.

(Image by Beverly Yuen Thompson, licensed under Creative Commons)

Three:

When I pull her arms behind her back, I have a moment of panic. I definitely don’t know what I’m doing. I mean, technically I do—I’ve gone through books carefully, taken classes, even practiced on her—but nothing could have prepared me for actually trying to top her. I started feeling shy the moment I picked up my rope, and when her eyes widened when she noticed it, I wanted to just drop it and run away.

“You ready?” I say into her ear, trying to imitate the toppy growl I’ve heard instructors use.

She nods.

She lets me guide her into position. It’s incredible how pliable her body is under my hands. She’s smooth as a dancer, and I get distracted worrying that I won’t lead as well as people who’ve tied her in the past. Still, she ends up mostly in the right attitude—arms behind her, chest pushed forward. She flings her head back and presses a random kiss to the side of my forehead—the spot she happens to be able to reach.

I try not to let that distract me, and begin looping rope around her wrists. She squirms, and I realize the coarse fibers are tickling her as they drag across her skin. I’m not putting rope on the back of a chair—I’m putting it on a person, my lover, someone I’m supposed to be connected to.

I pull her closer and take a deep breath. “Hold still.” I kiss the back of her head, slow this down for a moment so I can gather my thoughts. I remember that she knows me, and she knows about my experience—or lack thereof. I don’t have to pretend to be Miss Toppy Top. “I won’t get this on right if you can’t hold still,” I confess, and she doesn’t have to say anything back to make me feel her gentle, unwavering support as I go on with the tie.

Four:

I pull her arms behind her back, careful of her range of motion. I know what an act of trust it was for her to ask for this. Every takate-kote is individual, and I push down a flash of anger at the top who hurt her, the one who tried to force her unique body into position as if the rope was a cookie-cutter and she was a raw piece of rolled dough.

“You ready?” I murmur. I’m watching her carefully for signs of discomfort, my fingers light on her left shoulder joint, the one where she said she had the problem last time.

She gives me a nervous smile and nods.

I feel so protective of her. I guide her toward position, but not into position—I told her when we negotiated this that she would be the one to decide how far she wanted to stretch, but I show that, too, with the gentleness of my hands, the looseness of my grip. She pushes her chest forward, and puts her right arm all the way behind her, though I’m glad to see she doesn’t strain the elbow, letting her forearm fall into an obtuse angle. Her left arm nudges back, but not far.

She flings her head back, fixing me with a rueful stare. “It won’t be a real takate-kote,” she moans, looking ashamed.

I begin looping rope around her wrists. I let her feel the coarseness of the fibers, knowing that sometimes sensations like that can help people get out of their heads and into their bodies. “Who says it won’t be real?” I ask her. “It’s real to me. It can be to you, too, if you let it.”

She squirms.

“You feeling okay?” I ask. “You still want to do this?”

She nods again.

“Then hold still.” I kiss the back of her head to make the command as gentle as possible. “I want to be precise here, and that’ll work best if you hold still.”

***

Check back tomorrow for my last two vignettes!

The Many Note Challenge

Today, I got into a conversation on Twitter with @TGStoneButch (who writes incredible erotica under the name Xan West) about the way that representations of kink can sometimes feel one-note, as if there’s only one way to react to certain sensations and experiences.

I commented that this phenomenon feels isolating to me. As someone who always worried that my sexual reactions were “wrong,” sometimes the experience of reading kink erotica or hearing presentations at cons can make me feel alone in an environment where I had hoped to be included.

I think it’s really important to think about how the same actions might be given and received from very different perspectives.

Indeed, what kicked off that conversation was something from the Forbidden Fiction release party last night. There, I was talking about how I initially got a thrill from seeing trangressive words or actions in erotica, but that over time that faded. Now, what gets me—interested and/or aroused—is characterization and psychological intent. All of which depends on the opposite of that one-note approach.

It’s serious, important stuff, and I want to think a lot more about it. That led me to an idea for a fun exercise.

I want to show this variety of characterization and intent in action. So I’ve written a series of short snippets about the same simple activity, each one demonstrating a different mood. I’m calling it the Many Note Challenge.

The activity I’ve focused on is the tying of a takate kote—a box tie that fastens a rope bottom’s arms behind their back.

I wrote six of them. I’ll post the first two now (so I’m never showing one mood in isolation!), and then the rest over the course of the weekend. The first ones I wrote were from the bottom’s perspective, but I wound up writing an even number from the top’s as well.

If you think it would be interesting to do this, too, I invite you to participate. I’m keeping the dialogue and specific actions very similar for fun—you could imitate that, or go your own way. Feel free to tag me on Twitter @AnnabethLeong with what you come up with. I would be so excited to see how others might present the same simple action.

(Image by Beverly Yuen Thompson, licensed under Creative Commons)

One:

When she pulls my arms behind my back, I giggle. From the moment I caught sight of her rope out of the corner of my eye, I knew playtime was about to start. Just that word, playtime, makes me happy. I feel like a kid again, being just naughty enough to have a good time.

“You ready?” She purrs into my ear.

I nod.

I feel silly in the position she guides me into—arms behind me, chest pushed forward. I ham it up, flinging my head back as if I’m on the cover of an old-style romance novel and she’s ravishing me. We both giggle this time.

She begins to loop rope around my wrists. Its coarse fibers tickle me, and I squirm in her arms.

“Hold still,” she admonishes playfully, kissing the back of my head. “I won’t get this on right if you can’t hold still.”

Two:

When she pulls my arms behind my back, I drop straight into the feelings I normally pretend I don’t have. Rage. Helplessness. Rage. From the moment I caught sight of the rope out of the corner of my eye, I knew where she wanted to take me. I think I can do this today—I think I want to—but I can never quite be sure until it’s happening.

“You ready?” She whispers into my ear.

If this goes the way we both want it to, it’ll clean me out, leave me exhausted but purified, give her the feeling that she does have a way to reach the deep parts of me that I normally keep from her. If it doesn’t—well, we’ll have a long conversation ahead. Nothing we haven’t dealt with before.

“If either of us says no at any time, everything stops, right?”

We both know that, but I always have to say it.

“Of course,” she says. Her fingers tighten on my arms, and I can feel how badly she wants this.

I nod. “Go ahead.”

She guides me into position—arms back, chest forward. I already hate it. There’s a slight strain on my shoulders and an unpleasant stretch across my sternum. I fling my head back to get a big, clean breath of air as I endure it. I remind myself that I usually like what I find on the other side of a session like this.

She begins to loop rope around my wrists. The sensation of its coarse fibers gives me slight relief from the stormclouds already gathering in my head. I squirm in her arms, trying to feel more of them.

“Hold still,” she admonishes, giving the back of my head a kiss that I know is meant to show she’s not upset with me. “I won’t get this on right if you can’t hold still.”

***

That's it for today. Check back tomorrow for the next two vignettes!

Chat With Me Tonight!

Tonight is the release party for Timeless Lust in the Ancient World!

I'll be online from 5-8 pm ET, posting excerpts, answering questions, and chatting with the other authors. I'll be talking about The Snake and the Lyre (based on the myth of Orpheus), Andromache's Prize (about the aftermath of the Trojan War), and Hunting Artemis (in which the famously virginal goddess makes love to a worshiper through a surrogate).

Join us at this link, from 5-10 pm ET!

Guest Post: Show Me, Sir

I know Sonni de Soto's work from the excellent Between the Shores: Erotica with Consent. That book focuses on negotiation scenes (with a special focus on scenes in which characters say no to something), and I would basically hit the buy button immediately for any author who appeared in it. I had the great honor of copy editing Between the Shores, and that meant I got to read every story with particularly careful attention, getting to know each on a really deep level.

So I was excited to see that Sonni de Soto's been doing work since then. I'm especially tickled that in the excerpt she provided from her new book, which I'll share below, a character tells another character no—in a hot, erotic context, where there's clearly a lot of desire building up as well.

I had some reservations about the language used to describe the book—to me, it sounded a bit like the book might be about knocking down a feminist viewpoint, which does bother me. However, after reading excerpts and checking out the author's blog, I think the idea is more to highlight that empowerment is about choice, and that part of feminism is supporting women's right to make choices about themselves, their behavior, and their lives. That's something I can get behind, for sure. Sonni de Soto provided a few highlighted quotes to go along with her post, and I chose one that makes that message even clearer.

I also paused at "shamelessly deviant." It was helpful to me to read this post about de Soto's goals for Show Me, Sir. Based on that post, the book sounds like an interesting experiment in negotiation between people with two radically different starting viewpoints.

As much as this story is one about discovering kinks and fetishes, this is a story about uncovering truth. The truth that there is nothing wrong with being a kinkster, just as there is nothing wrong with being vanilla.

I'd highly recommend checking out her Tumblr in general. She posts interesting stuff about kink and relationships, and also short stories.

***

Show Me, Sir by Sonni de Soto


This novel contains explicit sexual scenes including bondage and voyeurism.

Max Wells is a ball-busting, ass-kicking testament to female empowerment, who’s yet to meet the person who can push her down.

Until she meets a man she only knows as Sir.

Shamelessly deviant, Hayato knows exactly what Max thinks of Dominants like him. So ready to dismiss his lifestyle, she’s the type to assume she knows everything about it and him after one cursory glance from the outside in. But, looking at Max—at her intelligence and passion—he can see more in her than the misconceptions she’s deliberately blinding herself with.

And, determined, he plans to show her more.

Max and Hayato engage in a dance of wit, will, and seduction as they negotiate roles, rewrite rules, and learn the true meaning of empowerment.

But, just as their game heats up, it gets used against them. Seeking to punish them with their play, someone threatens to drag their private lives out into the public spotlight.

With high stakes and bitter scandal looming over their heads, Max and her Sir will have to work together to show that what the world thinks they are does not define who they are.


Excerpt:

“I’m looking at you, Max.” She watched his firm mouth – his tongue and teeth – form the words. “I like looking at you.” His smooth voice flowed over her senses. “I want to touch you.”

Her breath caught and her eyes opened wide.

Okay, too much. That was way too much.

Having him there, having him watch her, felt wicked and dangerous and was toeing an erotic line that Max had never known.

She couldn’t imagine what having him touch her would be like.

She wasn’t sure she wanted to know.

“You said you wouldn’t,” she reminded him, wavering between want and worry.

“I said I wouldn’t pay to do so,” he clarified, his hand reaching out to stroke a fallen strand of her vibrant hair. “When I touch you, it won’t be for any other reason than I want to and you want me to as well.” Curling the strand around his fingers, he tested its texture and feel. “Tell me you want me to.”

She shivered. It didn’t feel safe – him behind her, fully dressed while she was half-naked. It didn’t feel safe to be in a room full of mirrors with Hallie somewhere in the store. It was frightening and intense. Frightening because it was so intense.

“Imagine it.” He let his hand slide through the thick mass of her hair. “Think about how good it’ll be when I place my hands all over your soft body. Think about how wet I can make you, not just slick but soaked.” He paused, his gaze stroking south. “You’re already more than halfway there, aren’t you?” He leaned in close, his hot breath caressing the delicate, sensitive curve of her ear. “Just say the words. Tell me what we both know you want.”

God, she did. God help her, she wanted this man to touch her, to stroke her, to fuck her. He made her body feel weak with need and consumed by mindless desire. She wanted him to touch. She wanted to touch. She wanted to strip and be stripped and to drown in the promise his hot gaze held.

“Say it.”

She wanted to. So badly.

She opened her mouth. “No.”

She wanted him, everything he was offering her, so much her body hummed with it.

And it scared her.

What kind of woman – what kind of modern, independent, strong, and smart woman – was she that she would let him have this much power over her? Was a word away from becoming a puddle of sexual putty in his hands? He was turning her into something she’d spent her entire life rejecting.

What was wrong with her?

Her attention snapped back, her worry turning into panic, then an unexpectedly feral snarl, low and perilous, rumbled deep in his throat. She flinched, afraid to look at him. Afraid to move or speak or breathe while the beast inside the man clenched.

She’d never felt so naked, so vulnerable and helpless, in her life.

Finally, she braved a look up, readying herself for his ire, sure he would storm ahead or storm away.

But he just nodded stiffly, his face and body held rigidly in control. She watched his nostrils flare and a muscle in his jaw tick. The fire in his eyes burned even as cold ice hardened them. They narrowed on her predatorily.

Slowly, each movement precise and exact, he reached inside his jacket, pulling another sheet from his pocket. Holding it up like a dare, he said in a low, calm, articulated voice, “Touch yourself.”

Author bio:

Sonni de Soto is an Asian kinkster of color, who loves and lives the lifestyle when she can. Her work involves The Taming School and Show Me, Sir, as well as stories in Between the Shores: Erotica With Consent and The First Annual Geeky Kink Anthology. Like any good nerd, she loves learning new and interesting things about science, art, culture, and, of course, sex and love. She’s always thrilled to hear from readers.

Links:
Blog
Tumblr
Facebook
Fetlife

Where to buy Show Me, Sir:

Amazon UK
Amazon US

The Best Places for Timeless Lust

If you're into fascinating places, I've got a treat for you today. I've got the chance to share all kinds of details about the settings for the stories in Timeless Lust in the Ancient World, a new anthology from Forbidden Fiction (which includes three stories from me!).

Forbidden Fiction asked the book's authors the following question:

Describe the setting you used for your story. Why did you pick this particular place?

Read on for their answers (and for a glimpse at the covers for their stories)!

Jess Lea:

Keeper of the Bed Chamber:
This story is set in Alexandria at the end of the period of Hellenic rule. Like many people, I've long been fascinated by ancient Alexandria: a city famous for its architectural splendor, its financial wealth, its vibrant mix of cultures, and its intellectual and artistic achievements. The fascination is partly because, while we have so many stories of this ancient city, we have relatively little hard evidence: foreign invasions and natural disasters destroyed much of the ancient capital, and it's only now that significant relics are being recovered from the nearby sea bed. For a story about characters who are both infamous and strangely undocumented, Alexandria seemed a perfect setting.

Slave Nano:

The Nemesis Bird:
The Nemesis Bird is set in Ishfahan. Given that the story was inspired by The Tales of the Arabian Nights, this was a natural choice for the setting. It establishes the association with the original tales and places the story firmly within its Arabian context. Also, I just love the sound of the word. The name Ishfahan conjures up so many evocative images of exotic markets, embroidered slippers, scimitars and minarets. Now that relations between the west and Iran have improved, I've got it on my bucket list of places to go!

Maurin Piper:

Touched by Fire:
Touched by Fire is set in Ancient Rome, in the Temple of Vesta, which I picked for the obvious reason of if you want to write about Vestal Virgins, you’ve got to go to them because they can’t come to you. On a bigger scale I chose Ancient Rome because of unique way they lived, the opposing ways they lived. At one end of the scale they were enlightened enough to create most of the societal structure that we still live in today and yet, there were so many confines within these structures. And that creates the perfect place for a forbidden love, in one of those niches where everyone else seems to have a freedom that you are denied.

Konrad Hartmann:

Lot’s Sin:
I didn't explore the geography of the setting, but it appears that the story of Lot and his daughters has them going to the mountains near Zoar. My short story focuses on the events within their cave shelter, and so doesn't really take place within Sodom. I wanted to focus on the sudden isolation of the family, and the unfolding of events outside of social norms. Lot begins to have visions, while his daughters conceive of a taboo plot. Perhaps these things wouldn't have happened but for the catastrophe visited upon Sodom, and the lack of community restraints or influences on the characters.

Arena’s Breed:
I set the story in Carnuntum, around 300 AD. In recent years, a sizeable gladiator school was discovered at this location. Stories involving ancient Rome almost always take place within the city of Rome, but it was quite a large empire, and must have differed greatly in its various locations, and in the variety of its residents. I find frontiers interesting, and Carnuntum was at the edge of the Empire.

Annabeth Leong:

Hunting Artemis:
“Hunting Artemis” is set on Delos, a Greek island known for its archaeological treasures and role in mythology. I chose Delos because it’s traditionally considered the birthplace of Artemis, and as such it made sense as the location for a community of devoted priestesses.

The Snake and the Lyre: The primary setting for this story is my take on the underworld of Greek mythology. I’ve always been fascinated by the story of Orpheus—ranging from the versions found in books of myth to that of Claudio Monteverdi’s opera, Orfeo. The way I describe the underworld, there are a lot of vipers there. I wrote it that way to connect it to one traditional explanation of how Orpheus’s wife Eurydice died—that she was bitten by a viper. I think having vipers appear in the underworld makes her death appear more purposeful and fated.

Andromache’s Prize:
“Andromache’s Prize” is set in a wasted, apocalyptic setting of the past—the battlefields of Troy after everyone who’s able to leave has gone home. When writing stories that converse with well-known works, I find it helpful to search for gaps where new ideas can be inserted. Many Greek and Roman works refer to what happened in the aftermath of the Trojan War, but for the most part it’s not seen “onscreen.” Because of that, it felt like a fertile site for my own creative exploration and elaboration.

Mina Kelly:

Never Before Touched by Cupid:
The story is set at Maecenas's villa in Rome. I wanted a space where it made sense for Horace and Virgil to be meeting Propertius for the first time, somewhere luxurious and decadent and a little wild. Maecenas's gardens were infamous. He was frowned upon for the expense he lavished on them, with all the latest innovations and trends. He even went so far as to install heated baths, the world's first hot tubs!

Natasha Neil:

Hera’s Punishment:
Hera's Punishment is set mostly in Mount Olympus, home of the Greek gods. I've often wondered what the place where the gods lived would be like. I think in many myths we imagine Mount Olympus, like Hades, as "over there," a place that is an unseen idea. The gods live in the clouds. They are "up there." But what's happening up there? It's where the gods fight and make love, hold council, argue and feast. It is the place from which they watch mortals and decide who they want to bless, curse or bed. Even though Hera and Zeus could go anywhere in Ancient Greece, it seemed likely that the action between them would occur in Olympus. The earth can be their playground, but the skies are their home.

Elly Green:

Scylla’s Pool:
Scylla is recorded, by ancient authors, as living somewhere along the craggy coastline of Sicily or Italy. Having never been to this part of the world, I had to use the ever so helpful Google to figure out where she might have made her home. It wasn't easy as, currently, most of that land is occupied by sprawling cities and suburbs. Thus, a lot of my descriptions are completely made up. However, regarding Circe's home, I did use the ancient authors' descriptions of her island - Homer specifically talks of a large house surrounded by a forest with a myriad of beasts wandering amok - and a handful of paintings - Waterhouse's Circe, Strudwick's Circe and Scylla, and Burne-Jones' The Wine of Circe - to lead my imagination. I will admit to downplaying Circe's wealth a bit and putting her in a more humble, weathered home than a marble-encrusted palace. That decision was fueled by a desire for my readers to feel pity for the sorceress, instead of indignation.

***

We've put together a lot of cool "bonus content" to accompany Timeless Lust in the Ancient World—there's much more where this came from! You can see all the links here (including links to a giveaway where you'll get a chance to win a copy of the book!)

We'll also be having a release party tomorrow evening. I'll be online with other authors chatting about the stories and the inspirations behind them. I'll be there from 5-8 pm ET Thursday, May 26, but I know other authors will be on later than me. (The party goes until 10 pm ET). Follow this link to check it out.

And if your interest is piqued and you'd like to pick up the book, you can find it here.