Saturday Snippets - In Betweens

Yay! It's Saturday. That means "play day" for this weekday nine-to-fiver.
It also means it's "Saturday Snippet" time.

Today's theme is "In Betweens". I'm not exactly sure what that means - half man/half woman? half human/half animal? the undead? being sandwiched in between two men?

After thinking about it for awhile, I chose another excerpt from "Bon Appetit!" my just released m/f/m menage erotic romance at Total-E-Bound. Demi's caught between her love for her husband Alex and yearning for hotter sex which he hasn't been able to supply. Later she gets in between Alex and another hot man who has no such problems fulfilling her wildest sexual desires.

Blurb: Bon Appetit! By Ashley Ladd

Available at Total-E-Bound


Demi is a lexical gustatory synethesist. In other words, she tastes words. Penises taste like mint chocolate chip ice cream, one of her favourites. Sex toys taste more like dry toast.

Too bad as her husband, Alex, is impotent and she longs for a hot, hard, juicy penis, not that she’d ever crush him with that information.

But Alex isn’t stupid and he’ll do anything to make Demi happy. So he invites his cousin Matt into their bed and wishes them all a bon appétit.




Excerpt:

The next morning, Demi awoke curled up beside Alex, snuggled into his warmth. Her hand lay proprietarily on his bare chest and her head lay in the nook of his arm. She cuddled closer, wishing they didn’t have to get ready for work that they could cuddle all day.

She groaned. But today was her monthly luncheon with her friends from her prior job. Although most of them had left their prior employer for greener pastures, they had remained close. Still, most had gone onto much bigger, better jobs and they all had husbands who were hot studs in the bedroom. They loved to talk about their sex life and expounded on their lovers’ virtues. She had the lengths and girths of their cocks memorized she’d heard them so often.

Demi couldn’t be disloyal to Alex by telling the truth about their love life. As much as she needed a sympathetic ear the last thing she wanted to do was embarrass him. Yet she hated to lie. So she stayed mum and listened, completely jealous of her friends’ active, complete sex lives.

Veronica, whose name tasted like strawberries on her tongue, who flipped her long mane of white-blonde hair over her shoulder, gave a broad wink to the young waiter who looked to be no older than a college kid, when he slid her roasted vegetarian plate onto the table in front of her. “Simon can’t get enough of me. I had to beg him to untie me from the bed so I could meet with you.” She gazed pointedly at her watch. “I had to promise to rush back and fuck him the rest of the day.”

Indigestion rose in Demi’s chest and it was all she could do not to gag or twist her lips. Simon not only was a jerk of the first magnitude, but his name tasted like sour lemons on her tongue. Funny as he was handsome enough to be a romance novel cover model and was senior partner of a thriving accounting firm.

Cassandra spit the wine she was sipping into Lisa’s face. “I can’t believe you practically screamed that in a public place.”

Demi could. Veronica loved to shock people and it usually amused her. However, this time she felt sorry for the young waiter whose cheeks flamed cherry red. She mouthed to the young man, “I’m sorry.”

Veronica saw her and scowled. “Don’t apologize for me. I’ve got a hot stud and I’m not afraid to use him.”

Demi almost blurted out, “Get all you can while you can. It won’t last forever,” but she bit hard on her lip and dug her toes into her sandals.

Lisa dabbed at her face with the linen napkin and glared at Veronica.

Demi lifted her wine glass to her friends in toast, hoping to deflate some of the hostility. “Bon Appetit! May our lunch taste as good as it looks. And to us, friends forever.”

As if Demi had stayed silent, Lisa stabbed her fork into her Chef Salad and speared a forkful of lettuce, turkey and cheese as if she really wanted to stick it into Veronica’s heart. “You’re not the only one who has a hot hubby. Reid and I just booked a two-week vacation to a tropical island just off Jamaica and we’re not going to pack any clothes. You don’t have to be so crass in public.”

Cassandra bobbed her head as she cut the broiled fish on her plate into small pieces then pushed it around aimlessly. “Henry and I have been going to a BDSM club. Who would have thought I’d be a dom and a pro with a whip?”

Demi’s jaw dropped. Sweet Cassandra? Cassandra whose name tasted like blueberry pie? Cassandra who’d been a virgin when she’d married Henry? Cassandra who was a Kindergarten teacher?

Not that it surprised her that Henry would be a submissive. Not only did he look like a pretty boy with his slight build and effeminate gestures, but his name tasted like limp lettuce spoiling in the fridge. She could never kiss a Henry much less let one fuck her any more than she’d let a Simon get close to her. She didn’t even like being around them, no matter how handsome, how intriguing. Their taste made her sick to her stomach.

Even Veronica gasped and her eyes bulged. “You’re putting us on. You with a whip?”

Deviltry flashed in Cassandra’s eyes. “Oh, I’m very good with a whip. And chains. And I’m so hot in leather.”

Lisa leaned forward and wiggled her brows. “Reid and I are taking our lover with us to our love nest. His name is Logan.”

Lisa’s name tasted like cotton candy on Demi’s tongue but she surely didn’t remind her of the childlike sweet anymore. Although Demi knew Lisa had drooled over every man at their last job including their very married, very average boss and was a walking hormone, she was still shocked. She couldn’t bite her tongue fast enough to stop her words, “So Reid is gay! I knew it.”

Lisa’s lashes fluttered and she shook her head. “He’s “bi”, not gay. And I get to be fucked by two men so I get the best end of the deal. Plus it’s so hot watching Henry and Logan get it on. I get so horny I just have to take both of them into me at once. You should try it. Once you’ve been fucked by two big, hot, juicy cocks at once, you’ll never want to go back to ordinary vanilla sex again. Trust me.”

At the sound of “cocks” the flavour of milk chocolate and caramel burst into her mouth and her pussy grew hot. It clenched and she so badly wanted to squirm on her chair and rub her pussy to ease the ache. Jealousy flooded her. Not only were her friends getting wild, hot sex, now Lisa was getting fucked by two men with huge, hot dicks. She couldn’t even get one.

Her thoughts caught fire imagining two virile men fucking her and Demi took a long swig of cool, dousing water. She had to get these visions out of her mind before she said or did something she regretted. But it was becoming a huge burden keeping her feelings from Alex, hiding something this important from her best friends, and she didn’t know how much longer she could live like this. Dry toast toys weren’t doing it for her. Not even Alex’s wonderful tongue and magical fingers.


Bon Appetit! is available at Total-E-Bound.

Don't miss the other great "in between" excerpts today by my fellow authors. Enjoy!

Mari Carr
McKenna Jeffries
Taige Crenshaw
Vivian Arend
HelenKay Dimon
Lauren Dane
Lissa Matthews
Shelley Munro
Ashley Ladd

Romance Without Romance?

Have you ever read a romance without romance?


Unfortunately, I have. It was a lot like the time I ordered a Southwest Salad at Wendy’s and only got the lettuce, no chili. Bland, bland, bland.

The day I got the salad (a friend went through the drive through and didn’t check my order to notice there was no chili) I ate the plain lettuce as I was starved and didn’t have time or money to get more food. But I didn’t enjoy it and I was mad at Wendy’s for awhile for cheating me. I also boycotted them for a time.

When I read a book labeled as a “romance”, sweet, erotic, or in-between, I want my romance.

I don’t mind sex. I don’t mind no sex. But I want to fall in love. I want to savor the emotional journey. I want to lose myself in the magic.

A romance writer myself, I try very hard to put a lot of romance in my romances. I also know how tough it is, especially in short erotic stories where the editor demands a lot of sex up front as well as often in the book. It’s a real juggle to fit in all the required elements.

It’s sort of a joke: “More sex, more sex, more sex.” But it’s not. My editors are deadly serious. That’s what sells their lines. I hear their mantra in my sleep. They do not mean, however, “less romance”.

Still, when you’re writing a story under 15,000 words, it’s a real test of talent and every scene has to zing. An even greater challenge is trying to write 1,000 words or less like I’ve been doing lately for the Log & Short Reviews. As of today, L&S has only published one of my ultra short stories and I’m waiting for work whether not my three other submissions made the cut.

Don’t get me wrong. I like sex and reading about it. As a kid I used to dog earl all the juicy scenes in my Harlequins to reread and I occasionally snuck into my Dad’s stash of his, uh, romance.

However, if I had to make a choice between lots of romance with no sex or lots of sex with little or no romance, I’d choose romance every time.

So what is romantic?

Here’s what I think is romantic: love, longing, affection, caring, pining, awareness of the other, hope, poignant memories, heartache. I may have missed some characteristics, but notice, I did not say anything about sex.

Again, please don’t misunderstand. I’m not dissing sexy books. I love them – as long as they include romance. To me, romance is the sexiest thing there is.


Recent posts you might like to read:


Sayonara Baby

Don't Bomb Your Audience With Turkeys

Are You Writing Me Into Your Book?

Dont Give Up Too Early

Welcome to the Spookiest Month of the Year (+ don't burn your Ouija Board!)

Friday Fill-ins Oct. 2 (& e-Readers)

You'll also want to see what Amarinda Jones, Anika Hamilton, Anny Cook,
Barbara Huffert, Brynn Paulin, Bronwyn Green, Dakota Rebel, Kelly Kirch,
Molly Daniels, Sandra Cox, Regina Carlysle, and Cindy Spencer Pape
are up to, so make sure to visit them also. :)

What is taboo in romance?

2008 society is a lot more accepting of things than we were in 1978 or 1950. When I was a kid, it was taboo for an unmarried couple to have sex and in particular to live together. Erotica and erotic romances were something I only found hidden in my dad's closet after my parents divorced. Homosexual relationships were even more taboo than they are now. Orgies were the thing of ribald jokes, but I'd never seen a book about them. MM and MMF romances are quite popular today. Still, a lot of people don't like them. I've been turned away from guest blogger spots because the host doesn't approve of or like MM romance. There was a time I thought MM and MMF was taboo. I thought I was being extremely naughty to read erotic MF sex scenes. When I began to write them, I felt even naughtier. For a long time, I felt traumatized by gay men and relationships. When I was 17, I was head over heels in love. We got engaged. And then my fiance confessed he was gay. Well, not gay, but "bi". And he had no intention of giving up his boyfriend just because he was marrying me. I was in utter shock. He messed with my mind and heart big time. What changed my mind? A couple years ago I became friends with a gay man who's been in a devoted, loving MM relationship for twenty years. He's one of the nicest, sweetest, and kindest men I've ever met. When he talks about his lover, it's always with a lot of love and respect. Their relationship is stronger, more loving than the vast majority of MF relationships I know. Now I know that my ex-fiance was a jerk. It wasn't because he was gay or bi. It had nothing to do with his sexual orientation. Once I finally let go my bias, I felt like a jerk. Who does it hurt if two consenting adults fall in love? If they commit to one another? I also realized that if one or more of my children turned out to be gay, I'd love them just as much. They'd be the same person they'd always been. Getting back to my original topic, I still have taboos: Incest. Rape. Torture. Sex with animals. But many SF romances involve shape-shifters: werewolves, dragons, and humanoids. I don't consider this bestiality and many writers and readers don't either. But some are questioning now if that's coming under attack and where the line is. What are your taboos?

You'll also want to see what Amarinda Jones, Anika Hamilton, Anny Cook, Barbara Huffert, Brynn Paulin, Bronwyn Green, Dakota Rebel, Kelly Kirch, Molly Daniels, Sandra Cox, Regina Carlysle, and Cindy Spencer Pape are up to, so make sure to visit them also. :)

Researching Naughty Books

Yesterday, I went to work at the bookstore, something I haven't done in awhile since my local Border's closed. I've been blocked on the book I'm working on even though I thought the original idea was fab. As I walked around, I saw the really naughty books - naughtier than what I write. I'm talking about the non-fiction, how to have better sex books - with pictures. Whew! What pictures. They show way more than our covers. They were exactly what I needed to jumpstart my books. They gave me tons of great ideas. So I bought two. I felt funny taking them to the cashier but did it anyway. She was professional so it wasn't bad. But then, when I left, the alarm blared, the one that means I was either stealing or one of my books wasn't put through the scanner right. Yet another associate checked my books, this time a man. I was dying. When I got home, one of my kids grabbed the bag out of my hands and looked inside. I warned them not to, that they wouldn't like it, but since when do kids listen? Of course she yelled, "Ew!" even though she's 18 and technically an adult. Personally, I think she's still a kid despite the fact she graduated from high school and college bound this fall. I read the entire book, and studied the how-to pictures like a good researcher, last night in one sitting. I'm amazed how much I learned and how many new things I found to try with my hubby. I'm like ancient - almost fifty. And I have five children and two grandchildren. For instance I learned that men can have orgasms without ejaculation. I almost went through my whole life not knowing that. My knewly learned knowledge will definitely be incorporated into my books. Read and learn. :)