Just a quick one to say my first stand-alone erotic short story is out on Amazon Kindle. Secrets of the East Wing by Nina Bridges is available here
Here’s the blurb. I hope you like it!
To the outside world, Countess Molly Bucklington has the perfect life. She lives in a beautiful English manor house, and is the wife to a handsome young earl. What nobody knows is that Molly agreed to a life of chastity – a marriage of convenience. In return for providing a cover-up to allow her husband to pursue his ‘deviances’, she is able to live at Croft Hall, among the countryside and horses she adores.
Earl James Bucklington loves his wife, albeit in a platonic way. He only asks she never enters the East Wing. She obeys, until one day temptation gets the better of her, and she witnesses what really goes on in her husband’s private quarters.
Her initial shock soon gives way to curiosity, followed by the realisation that she faces either losing the man she loves, or becoming his wildest fantasy.
This is a short story (14,500 words) containing graphic erotic scenes including lesbian, gay, heterosexual and menage.
While I’m awaiting a publication date for my romantic novel, The Virgin’s Gamble, I’ve decided to embark on a new project. For the first time, I’m going to dip my foot into the world of self-publishing, and it’s all rather thrilling – and scary!
I’m going to self-publish a series of erotic short stories. Two are written, one is to write, and I’m nervous and excited about putting them out for the world to see.
So, look out for:
Secrets of the East Wing
Despite swearing to her husband, the Earl of Croft Hall, she will stay away from his private quarters, Lady Molly Bucklington finds herself in the off-limits East Wing, and discovers his penchant for ménage.
Her discovery leads her to an impossible dilemma: face losing the man she loves, or be part of his unconventional lifestyle.
Ice Hot
Sophie Reece never imagined that when she slept with a stranger she would ever see him again. Yet, three months later, when her company sends her on an assignment to Iceland, her client turns out to be one and the same man – the formidable Daniel Balderas.
Luckily, he doesn’t recognise her – or so she thinks – and they find themselves unable to deny the sexual attraction between them.
But even after their union on his private plane, and in the hot tub of his luxury chalet, she can’t bring herself to disclose her dark secret.
Guinevere
Coming soon…
Very exciting that Tattoo – a collection of short, spicy stories – is out now, and it features my story Serendipity.
Published by the Romance Writers of Australia, the collection features erotic short stories from 12 different authors.
Here’s what they say:
Join us for Romance Writers of Australia’s newest anthology offering, Spicy Bites. Only the steamiest of stories have made it through to the 2017 edition where passion and pleasure walk hand-in-hand during the daylight hours but fetish and fantasy linger long into the night.
It’s a different kind of buzz for the Tattoo edition. You’ll meet women respectable in the boardroom and just plain naughty outside of it, her ink for his eyes only. Fantasies you can’t even mention to your closest friends are unleashed online but you’ve saved the starring role just for him. Freedom is bartered and bought and even the pleasure bots are branded in this collection of erotic tales guaranteed to satisfy.
I’ve finally finished the read-throughs of my new manuscript and have sent it off for consideration to a publisher. Normally I’d ask at least two other people to proof read it, as you’ll never pick up all the mistakes and plot flaws on your own. This time, however, I wimped out because I was too embarrassed! It’s an erotic short story, you see, and I didn’t want to offend anyone / make them think I was a total perv by asking them to cast their eyes over it.
Goodness knows how I’ll cope if it ever does see the light of day then. But I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it – that would be a good problem to have!
I’ve only sent it to one publisher at the moment but intend to send it to more. I could be wrong, but I always think it’s wise to hedge your bets in this business! So, I’ve been researching worldwide publishers who accept unagented manuscripts, and I thought I’d share my findings in case anyone else out there is writing erotic short stories and is looking to find a publisher.
Just a word before I start – I don’t have firsthand experience of working with the majority of these publishers, so although I’m very happy to share, I can’t in any way endorse or recommend anyone.
It goes without saying you need to carefully check the submission details as each publisher requires different formats and information. Ignoring or being careless about these is a sure fire way to not get published.
Also, some accept content that others wouldn’t. For example, some publishers aren’t even interested in a male/female scenario, however racy – it would need to include menage or same sex couplings. I’d suggest always reading through their guidelines carefully to avoid wasting your or their time.
Carina Press
Part of the international giant, Harlequin, Carina is actively calling for erotic short stories of 10 – 17k words.
http://carinapress.com/blog/submission-guidelines/
Entangled
Their ‘Scorched’ line is for both short and full length erotic manuscripts.
https://entangledpublishing.com/scorched-submission-guidelines
Totally Entwined
Accepting erotic (and sweet) romances of all types, from 10,000 – 100,000 words
Submission Calls – Totally Bound Publishing
The Wild Rose Press
TWRP accepts erotic stories in their ‘Scarlet’ line and will look at manuscripts from 5,000 words long.
https://catalog.thewildrosepress.com/content/8-submissions#Scarlet
Beachwalk Press
Accepts manuscripts with a heat rating of ‘sensual or higher’. Word count between 15,000 and 75,000 words.
http://beachwalkpress.com/submissions/
Good luck with your submissions!
I’m eagerly awaiting the release of the ‘Spicy Bites’ anthology, due out in August, which will contain my first foray into erotic writing – Serendipity. This is a short story romance with graphic erotic scenes.
As the release date approaches, I started researching what publishers of erotica are calling out for. Straightforward Male/Female stories seem not to be cutting the mustard, and now the order of the day is Male/Male, bondage, sex with vampires or werewolves or full on menage. Things are apparently getting racier, raunchier and a lot more risquee.
Hmm, challenging. But I’m up for it! as the actress said to the bishop. Which way to go, though?
My husband is rather hairy, so I could imagine the werewolf scenario – not that I think he’d be too impressed on learning that he was my inspiration because of his abundance of body hair. And what happens when hairy man turns into a wolf? That’s a different kind of book all together!
BDSM? The only black shiny outfit I’ve worn is when I was a kid in the 80s, before supermarkets sold Halloween outfits, and our mothers would ‘make a costume’ by shoving us in a black bin liner. So, that’s not gonna work.
I decided that my new story – an erotic novella entitled ‘Secrets of the East Wing’ – would feature M/M, F/F,F and mixed menage situations as well as a rather tender M/F moment at the end of the book – it is a romance after all!
I’m 11,000 words in to what I’m aiming to be a 17,000 book. I have to say, it’s fun writing it.
Molly, the heroine, is in a chaste marriage of convenience. Her husband keeps his sexual preferences secret, forbidding her from entering his private quarters. Only, one day she breaks the rules, and is shocked at what she discovers.
Here’s a sneaky peak:
She’d always liked the handsome, and somewhat maverick son of the Earl of Croft Hall, and when he’d asked her to marry him, she saw no reason to refuse. Unconventional their marriage might be, but it brought benefits for both of them. When James had requested she never enter the East Wing bedrooms, she had accepted the condition without asking any questions. He’d told her he was different. Sexually different. He hadn’t expected her to get involved in whatever his deviance was, and they’d both agreed their marriage would remain sex-less, to allow him the freedom to explore his ‘obscurity’, as he’d laughingly put it.
Despite their lack of physical intimacy, she knew James loved her, and she loved him. They’d known each other since they were kids, after all. He was good to her, looked after her, and let her live the life she wanted. In return, all she had to do was give him privacy.
Accepting his proposal had been a no-brainer. She didn’t care what his deviance was. Being the wife of the young new Earl meant she got to stay, live and work with the animals she loved; the animals she’d nurtured since they were foals. Being chaste was a small price to pay as far as she was concerned.
‘Oh come on, Molly, for goodness sake’, she said out loud. ‘All you’re going to do is run up to the master bedroom, close the window, and leave straight away. James isn’t here and he wouldn’t want his window left open all night. What if there’s a storm later?’
She took a deep breath and made her way up the stairs towards the forbidden East Wing.
Can’t wait to get to the conclusion. Then all I’ve got to do is find a publisher. Challenging. But I’m up for it! As the bishop said to the actress.
