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Oct. 29 is National Cat Day

by | October 28, 2019 | | 6 Comments

Tomorrow, October 29, is National Cat Day. I am owned by three cats, two of whom are blind. The 12 year old Maine Coon is a spirit cat – one that needs lots of love and care. He’s blind with FIV. His name is Mister, like Harry Dresden’s cat. His buddy, 8 year old Breena, has been blind since birth. Then there is Meriwether, the kitten. He bounces off walls and drives the other two cats crazy. We call him Meri or Merricat for short. Literature fans will recognize the name Merricat from Shirley Jackson’s “We Have Always Lived In The Castle”.

That brings me to the topic of this month’s post – Famous Cats in Literature.

  1. Crookshanks – Hermione Granger’s magical cat in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkeban by J, K. Rowling. Cats have long been associated with witches as their familiars. Crookshanks in the movies looks like a Maine Coon.
  2. Cheshire cat – Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Louis Carroll. The Cheshire cat said the famous line, “We’re all mad here.”
  3. The Cat in the Hat by Dr. Seuss. I grew up reading Dr. Seuss. I’ve always liked this cat’s top hat.
  4. Puss in Boots from Jerry Pinkney. My favorite fairy tale. My erotic fantasy “Trouble In Thigh High Boots” is my smutty retelling of this story. You may find it under Kindle on Amazon.
  5. Tom Kitten from Beatrix Potter’s The Tale of Tom Kitten. Tom Kitten was a very naughty boy! When my son was a child he loved Tom Kitten. I even bought Tom Kitten baby bath products from Crabtree & Evelyn. Sadly, that product line isn’t available anymore.
  6. Church from Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. Cats can be scary, too.
  7. Mog from Mog The Forgetful Cat by Judith Kerr. I discovered Mog in a British commercial for Sainsbury grocery store. These children’s books are very popular in U. K. households.
  8. Koko and Yum Yum from “The Cat Who…” book series by Lilian Jackson Braun. These cats owned reporter Jim Qwilleran. Koko and Yum Yum are two Siamese cats who help Qwilleran solve his cases. The whole concept is adorable.
  9. Mister is Harry Dresden’s cat in “The Dresden Files”.

Cats are wonderful writing muses. They walk across your keyboard and change the names of your files. They want to sit in your lap when you’re trying to write. They want to eat. All. The Time. They want to play as soon as you begin writing that action scene that had been pestering you for hours. They spill your coffee, hopefully not on the computer.

Halloween (aka Samhain) is in three days. Cats, especially black ones, are at the center of this day. Halloween happens to be my favorite holiday. It means decorations, candy, endless horror movies, fall baking, and honoring the dead. The religious aspect of Samhain is similar to our Memorial Day. I always have chocolate on hand for the kids who may stop by the house trick or treating. Although black cats have a reputation for being bad luck (an unfair reputation in my opinion), I have always considered them very lucky. I have been owned by three black cats – Fido, Speedy, and Mulder. Yes, I had another cat named Scully. Mulder and Scully were always together. So fitting. Black cats make wonderful companions.

So, on this National Cat Day, pick up a book that features a cat in some way. Or watch a cat-centered movie like “Bell, Book, and Candle”, which is the perfect romance for this time of year.

———

Elizabeth Black writes in a wide variety of genres including erotica, erotic romance, horror, and dark fiction. She lives on the Massachusetts coast with her husband, son, and her three cats. Her story “The Beautiful Move in Curves” appears in “Dangerous Curves Ahead”, an anthology of sexy stories about plus-sized women. Look for it at Amazon. Her new paranormal erotic shifter romance novel “Full Moon Fever” will be for sale in 2020.

Web site: http://elizabethablack.blogspot.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/elizabethablack

Twitter: http://twitter.com/ElizabethABlack

Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/author/elizabethblack

Newsletter: http://eepurl.com/b76GWD

Erotica Readers & Writers Association: Changing of the Guard

by | November 13, 2015 | | 14 Comments

The Erotica Readers and Writers Association has been around since 1996. It pre-dates my foray into the erotica genre by ten years, and is coming up on its twentieth anniversary. Adrienne Benedicks has run it from the beginning, and I remember finding my very first publisher (Stardust, now defunct) on their Author Resources page. Adrienne is now retiring – and moving to greener pastures and a warmer climate! She felt it was time to pass the baton, and I was honored that she thought of me.

In recent years, as Amazon (and other retailers) have pushed back against erotica authors, I have seriously considered giving up on the genre altogether. But in the end, I simply can’t walk away from something I’ve invested nearly ten years of my own time and energy into. Besides, I love erotica as a genre. And I love erotica authors. I have never met a more fun-loving, open-minded, good-hearted crowd of people. Erotica authors are the first line in the defenders of the freedom of expression. They go places others are often afraid to venture, and tackle topics that far too many shy away from.

I have some great ideas about how to develop the Erotica Readers and Writers Association into an even stronger community and resource for both readers and authors that I’m sure I will be implementing in the future, but truthfully, what’s in place right now is a gold mine that, I’m afraid, too many people don’t know about!

For instance, did you know that the Erotic Readers and Writers Association has a lively discussion list? In fact, they have several! The Parlor is a place where everyone can discuss whatever’s on their mind, Storytime is where authors can offer their work for critique, and the Writers’ List is a place where authors can network and talk about all things writing related. I’ve been a part of those discussion lists for the past year, and it’s been a great experience to connect with new erotica authors and erotica lovers.

For readers, there’s a huge library of erotic fiction available for free in the Treasure Chest! There’s straight erotic fiction, queer fiction, kinky erotica, the softer side, quickies, flashers, and even poetry. It’s not just erotic books, either. There are a wide array of articles in the archives, plus adult movies, sex toys, even suggestions for erotic music to set the mood. It’s an erotica lovers dream!

You can also follow ERWA on Twitter, we have a brand new ERWA Facebook page, and you can sign up for the ERWA newsletter to keep up on what we’re doing next.

For those who are already a part of the ERWA, I want to assure you that I have no intention of dismantling the site or bringing a bunch of new changes in too quickly. The site has grown and changed organically over the past twenty years, and I imagine it will continue to do so over the next twenty years.

Self-publishing and the rise of ebooks have given erotica a newfound freedom of expression that was unheard of twenty years ago. If I look into my crystal ball to see what the next twenty-years holds for erotica, I have to admit, it’s a bit cloudy. But I do know one thing – as a genre, erotica isn’t going anywhere. As long as there are humans, the expression human sexuality in all its forms will be explored by the most daring and adventurous of writers, and read by the most curious and open-minded readers. That much I do know.

My hope is that erotica’s future is so bright, we’ll all have to wear shades.

Portrait of sensual brunette woman in red hot lingerie.

But wherever the future of erotica as a genre may lead, I intend to be a part of that for a long time to come.

selenasigsmalltrans

Selena Kitt
www.selenakitt.com

Being Part of The Brit Babes

by | February 23, 2014 | | 4 Comments

By Lucy Felthouse

For just under a year now, I’ve been part of a group called The Brit Babes. We are eight British erotica and erotic romance authors that have clubbed together for several purposes. One, to promote all of us as a group, rather than just ourselves as individual authors. Two, to have a street team that reads, reviews and promotes all of our books. Three, to stand out from the crowd and establish a benchmark for quality. Four, because we’re good friends and it’s nice to have seven other women to rant with, exchange ideas with, ask favours of, and so on.

So far, it’s been fantastic. The workload for administering the street team has been divided, and the reach of us, our books and our members has increased many fold. The street team itself is fantastic, as they read and review our books, spread the word and are also a lot of fun. There are some extremely fun conversations that go on in our private group, let me tell you!

Aside from that side of things, though, it’s been fantastic having a group of like-minded women just at the other end of an email. Of course, they were always at the other end of an email, but now we have this official group, it’s made us more, well, official. We don’t just talk about books and the street team, but we exchange ideas – writing related and not – life news, rants, good news, bad news… the list goes on. It’s a support team that totally gets it. Yes, our personal lives are different, but we all have the same struggles writing-wise that only fellow writers truly understand.

So, as we draw closer to the anniversary of The Brit Babes Street Team, I want to say what a brilliant experience it’s been for me, one I’ve appreciated in so many different ways. Here’s to many more years, ladies.

For any writers out there who have been toying with the idea of a Street Team but are worried about going it alone, I’d definitely recommend getting together a group of other writers in your genre that you trust and having a group street team. It’s benefited us in so many ways.

The Brit Babes are: Lucy Felthouse, K D Grace, Kay Jaybee, Victoria Blisse, Lexie Bay, Lily Harlem, Emmy Ellis and Tabitha Rayne.

See you next month!
Lucy x

*****

Lucy Felthouse is a very busy woman! She writes erotica and
erotic romance in a variety of subgenres and pairings, and has over 100
publications to her name, with many more in the pipeline. These include several
editions of Best Bondage Erotica, Best Women’s Erotica 2013 and Best Erotic
Romance 2014. Another string to her bow is editing, and she has edited and
co-edited a number of anthologies, and also edits for a small publishing house.
She owns Erotica For All, and is book
editor for Cliterati. Find out more at http://www.lucyfelthouse.co.uk. Join
her on Facebook and Twitter, and subscribe to her
newsletter at: http://eepurl.com/gMQb9

The Post That Wasn’t

by | May 21, 2013 | | 0 Comments

By Lisabet Sarai

Okay, so I was supposed to post today, not a week ago as I did, stomping on poor Garce’s post. These things happen. I was trying to get the post pre-scheduled, you know, getting on top of my To-Do List … Anyway, if you haven’t read that post, entitled Stories We Tell Ourselves, I invite you to do so.

Meanwhile, today’s my official posting day and of course I can’t keep quiet…!

I just want to remind all readers that if you enjoy the discussions on this blog, you might want to join the ERWA email discussion lists. On the Writers list, we share our thoughts and information about all sorts of writing-related topics. Recent threads have included: self-editing – when to stop; reality versus fantasy in the portrayal of BDSM; how to write convincing dialogue; first versus third person POV; how to motivate yourself to finish what you start.

The Storytime list is our on-line critique group. Members post works in progress as well as comments and suggestions on other authors’ submissions. It’s very civil and strongly moderated – even the tenderest ego will not be shattered, yet at the same time you can get some fabulous insights into how to improve your writing. As an added benefit, our esteemed editors select the best stories, flashers and poems each month and invite the authors to publish them in the ERWA Gallery.

The Parlor list is just for fun – chit-chat with other ERWA members about anything under the sun. (However, posts do tend to stray toward sexual topics pretty frequently!)

To join any or all of these lists, follow the instructions here.

Let me finish up by posting one of my own favorite flashers – from the old days when flashers were strictly 100 words. I especially like it because it’s about writing.


Groupie
By Lisabet Sarai
Copyright 2001

“I like your poems,” she said, leaning closer across the cafe table, so that he could see the shadowed hollow between her breasts where the candlelight did not reach. “I like your images. I can taste them, roll them around on my tongue. They catch in my throat like unshed tears.”

He sipped his chianti, adjusted his glasses, pretended to ignore her stealthy hand on his thigh. Her fingers crept over his chinos, aiming for the swelling at his root. He thought of rejection slips, the dirty laundry scattered round his flat, the bills waiting to be paid. Useless. None of these mundane devices could prevail against her blonde adoration.

He stood like iron. Her triumphant hand claimed him. “I like the way  you can write ‘fuck’,” she said, “and make it into a poem.”

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