Silver Desire Is Out!

Silver Desire, the collection of stories about 50-plus women that proves passionate sex doesn’t end when the menopause starts, is now available. Edited by the inimitable Zak Jane Keir, the book features stories by a number of top authors from the UK and US, including Jillian Boyd, F. Leonora Solomon, Spencer Dryden, Pepper Valentine, Madeline Moore and more. My own story in the anthology, Age Appropriate, tells of a woman making her first trip abroad alone, and discovering the perfect tour guide to show her around the beautiful city of Milan. Here’s a short extract:

He was looking at her. The first time, she hadn’t been sure she was the focus of his attention, but he’d glanced over a few times now—too many for it to be a coincidence, Molly decided. When their eyes met, she blushed and quickly looked down at the rim of her coffee cup.
It shouldn’t have surprised her, the fact she was so clearly an object of desire for a man barely half her age. She’d never been the focus of so much male attention as she had since she’d arrived in Milan, yesterday. Men, young and old, alone or with their wives, watched her pass with open admiration. One or two had even whistled, or uttered some compliment she didn’t understand. Back home in Lincoln, she could walk down the high street, ignored, invisible. British men seemed fitted with some kind of radar designed to home in only on the young and skinny. Once you hit the wrong side of fifty, they didn’t want to know.
And this rush of interest had nothing to do, she sensed, with the new choppy, chinlength haircut she’d had, or the clothes she’d bought for her holiday. Clothes the fashion feature on breakfast television had described as “age appropriate”—longline cardigans, loose, floral tops, a well-cut, flattering pair of black jeans. No, she could have been sitting here in a sloppy old tracksuit and the men would still have stared.
The guy at the table near the counter rose to his feet. Was he coming over to her? What would she do if he did? What would she say, given that her command of Italian didn’t extend much beyond “please”, “thank you” and “how much is it?” Molly’s heart thumped hard in her chest. He was beautiful, with those dark, liquid eyes, full lips and messy black curls. Too beautiful for her.

Silver Desire is on sale at Amazon UK and Amazon US. The official launch party is at Sh! in Hoxton Square this Friday night (September 16th) from 6 o’clock. We’ll be reading extracts from the stories and there should be snacks and a glass of something nice to accompany the fun. You can find out more on the Sh! blog. Hope to see you there.

Fancy A Frisky Friday?

Well, there are still a couple of places available at the Best Women’s Erotica 2012 reading at Sh! in Hoxton this coming Friday, July 6th. The event starts at 6.30 for 7, the admission price of £3 includes bubbly and cupcakes, and you’ll hear readings from a stellar line-up including Kay Jaybee, KD Grace, Tiffani Angus,  Jaqueline Applebee and yours truly. I’ll be reading from The Nylon Curtain, my contribution to the anthology, which is the story of a relationship between a man with a fetish for vintage fully-fashioned stockings, and the girl who hopes to use his fetish as material for the book that will make her literary name.

As with all Sh! events, men are welcome as guests when accompanied by women, so come on down into their luscious pink boudoir and brighten up your Friday with some very naughty stories indeed. You can find out more details about the event and contributors here, and you can reserve a place by emailing Sh! at  events @ sh-womenstore.com. Hope to see you there!

Shenanigans at Sh!

Well, the reading at Sh! Portobello last Friday night in honour of K.D. Grace’s new novel, Lakeland Heatwave: Body Temperature and Rising and the Sexual Advice Association was a riot! As you’d expect, the readings were spicy enough, the highlights being Meg Philip deliberately going over her five-minute slot in the hopes of earning a good paddling from the evening’s Mistress of Timing, Kay Jaybee, Annie Player and The Dragon King’s Daughter proving poetry is anything but sedate and the unique Ernesto Sarezale getting his kit off for the girls in a delightfully urbane way. But what really brought the house down was Sarah Berry’s hysterical performance of her take on the Chicago standard, All That Jazz –  anyone who thought ‘burlesque’ was a synonym for ‘classy stripping’ needs to watch Sarah in action. Meanwhile, K.D. had provided cookies for the evening which she’d baked herself – and, in keeping with the book’s paranormal theme, imbued with love, contentment and prosperity spells. No wonder we all felt so good by the end of the evening!

Audience and participants alike had a fantastic time as well as raising money for a very worthwhile cause, and you can find pictures from the event and details of all those who took part at K.D.’s blog. What a spellbinding night!

Don’t Forget…

…it’s the Best Of Best Women’s Erotica 2 reading at Sh! in Hoxton next Friday night.

Here’s what the lovely crowd at Sh! have to say about it:

What’s Hot at Sh! in April

Best of Best Women’s Erotica 2 – Book Reading April 23 7pm £3

Join the Sh! Girlz and 4 authors from the fabulous new Best of Best Women’s Erotica 2 for an evening of aural fun n’ frolics. Scarlett French, Kay Jaybee, Jacqueline Applebee and Elizabeth Coldwell will be reading for your pleasure—and of course there will be bubbly and cupcakes served by the Sh! Girlz. Book early to avoid disappointment as spaces are limited. Pop in store or email shop@sh-womenstore.com to book your ticket before they all go…

How can you resist an invitation like that? Looking forward to seeing you there!

Come Down To Sh!…

…on April 23rd, and enjoy an evening devoted to showcasing Best Of Best Women’s Erotica 2. I’ll be reading Heat, my story from the collection, and there will also be contributions from Scarlett French, Kay Jaybee and Jacqueline Applebee, so you know it’s going to be a lively and very saucy evening.

Sh!, which celebrates 18 years in business this week (very big congratulations to Ky and the team), is based in hot pink premises just off Hoxton Square, but space is very limited, so book early to avoid disappointment, as Fred Pontin used to say. (Ask your parents; they’ll remember Pontins.)

More details are available from the main Sh! site or their Facebook page. Hope to see you there!