Wednesday Writing - Eroticon 2013

Eroticon is over two days this year - and there are so many sessions to choose from I am having a problem deciding!!

Let me see - I rather like the idea of going to a workshop which will address some of the common misconceptions about being submissive.

Similarly the session on Polyamory and learning more about this fascinating sexual relationship is a must.

Then there is a workshop on editing entitled 'Let's eat, pussy'!!! The blurb states "What distinguishes good erotica from badly written porn".

There are several creative writing classes examining how to approach sex scenes from unusual angles, how well-written sex shapes a story, and avoiding the predictable.

And I am keen to go to one of the publishers' panels and learn what companies are looking for this year - particularly post Fifty Shades.....

Ahh! Too much choice!

Jen

Inspirational Mondays - Eroticon 2013

I am off to Eroticon 2013 this weekend. Last year was the first ever conference for writers of sex in the UK and I had a great time and met some great authors so am looking forward to this year’s conference.

I will tell you more on Wednesday about the sessions I am hoping to attend.

Jen

Friday First Chapters 'Chasing Emily'

Here is another first chapter, the second in the 'Duoterra' series.

If you like what you read and want to buy the full book it is available on the publisher's website in a variety of e-book formats including PDF or on Amazon.

Alternatively the first two books in the series including this one are available in paperback on Amazon.

Enjoy!!

CHASING EMILY

Duoterra 2

JENNIFER DENYS

Copyright © 2012

Chapter One

“She slammed the door in my face!”

Finn Taylor had not long arrived in the town of Frontier—the most far-flung town on the colony planet of Duoterra—and he was stabling his horse when he overheard a man talking just outside the building.

“And my nose got broken! Well, it felt like it did.”

Stopping what he was doing, Finn turned his head to listen further, and his fringe flopped over his eyes. He cursed. His fair, curly hair was the bane of his life.

Impatiently brushing the hair away he concentrated on the voice which sounded like that of a young man, and he held back a chuckle, wondering who they were referring to and what the man had done to have the door shoved at him that violently.

“God, that must have hurt. But why would she do that?” Someone else spoke this time, sounding astonished at the turn of events.

“Emily declared that she’d had enough of being the town ‘whore,’” the former person continued, dropping his voice on the last word.

That surprised Finn so much that he stumbled into his horse, who turned her head and snorted at him. Whoever this “Emily” was, she had better be careful, Finn thought. Prostitution was only allowed in the state-licensed brothel in the capital, Eden. Even those women were usually only there because they had been convicted of a crime or widowed without a home and job. Although Finn also knew one or two women who had chosen that profession to avoid being forced into a marriage. He winced. There must be a better way of life, surely!

“I’ve never known her to say no before,” responded the second guy. “She’s always been happy to have sex with any man, thank God. With the laws the way they are these days that insist that unmarried women have to marry by the age of twenty-three, we’d never get any fun.”

Finn silently sniggered at the young man’s frustrated comment and leaned back against the wall. The situation regarding the lack of women was something Finn had become aware of in his travels around the continent. He worked as a travelling musician and knew of the planet’s problem with a dearth of women, so many of them dying in childbirth or illness that it had resulted in them becoming something of a commodity. In some ways he admired his ancestors who had left Earth for a new—and hopefully cleaner—life on a new planet. But he was sure they hadn’t reckoned on how hard life could be, particularly when one had to start from scratch, making, growing, reaping all the things that people took for granted like clothes, food, pottery, and so on, and at the same time cope with a lack of medical resources, ones that they had been used to on Earth.

“We should really think about finding ourselves a wife, particularly if Emily is turning cold on us.”

“Well, there is Sandra.”

“Too young. She’s only fifteen. We’d have to wait three years minimum, and then there is no guarantee that she would choose either of us, not with so many other guys also looking for girls.”

There was a pause. Finn mentally requested that they didn’t stop. Their conversation was much too intriguing, although what he really wanted them to talk about was this fascinating woman called Emily.

“Occasionally there’s a new female, like that girl who came to town a couple of years ago, Brianna. You know, the one who married the Hollis brothers.” This was the second man again, who had been the one to suggest “Sandra” a few moments ago. He sounded more upbeat than his friend who’d had the door slammed in his face.

“Oh yeah. Like that’s going to happen again in a remote place like Frontier. So we are back to square one. There aren’t any young, single women, so we are going to have to consider the widowed women.”

“What? The mayor’s elderly sister?”

There followed a moment of hilarity between the two men, and Finn smiled. He had been in Frontier in the north only once before since he generally traveled around the towns and homesteads in the south of the continent, and Frontier was too remote to make it worth his while. Although this continent was inhabited with various homesteads, there were only six towns as the planet had been settled just over sixty years ago. The other two continents remained free of human habitation.

His home, if it could be called that, was a marine cottage on the south shore, but he had left there a long time ago when his father wanted him to become a fisherman like himself, being the only one of the three sons to survive to adulthood. His mother had known it was a job in which Finn wasn’t interested in the slightest, but she died when he was twenty. Shortly after, he had walked out. His mother had been the only person who had supported his creative aspirations, and as she was no longer alive, it wasn’t hard to leave. The only times he went back was to visit the nearest town, unimaginatively called The Coast, to play at dances, and his father had never turned up, although Finn had heard from those who knew him that his father was alive, but aging.

Finn had become aware of the mayor of Frontier and his family when his travels had brought him to the distant town to play at the wedding of the mayor’s daughter about three years ago. The “elderly sister” in question was in her seventies and was as forthright as her brother, much to the mayor’s annoyance.

He smiled, remembering how feisty the old lady was. It was good to have some strong women. That way the male dominance over women on the planet might be broken. Besides which, Finn rather liked feisty women himself.

Suddenly he recalled exactly who Emily was—the owner of the town’s bar. That was amazing in itself as few women had their own businesses, but he’d heard that Emily was a very determined and independent woman whose late husband had died several years earlier. Finn made a face, feeling rather sorry that Emily was out of the equation now as he’d missed her when he had been in town for the wedding as she’d been away, but he did rather fancy a romp with her if all the rumors about her were correct!

“Okay, that leaves the schoolmistress.” This was the second man again, who was clearly trying his best to suggest suitable women to his friend and not getting very far, considering the other’s responses.

“You have to be kidding! Old virgin pants! Even her husband wouldn’t visit her bed if the rumors are correct.”

“So who else is there?”

“Hey now. Emily’s a widow. She might be getting on a bit, but I’d marry her.”

“No go. You know she’s firmly declared on several occasions that she will never marry again. Hell, she even decked Curt Hollis a few years ago when he suggested it.”

Finn had had enough and moved away from the wall, starting out of the stable in the direction of the bar. All the conversation about Emily was not only causing him to be thirsty but also making him eager to see if she was there this time and, if she was, whether he could get further than these immature guys. Of course, he would have been heading there anyway, but the thought of finally seeing this woman made him quicken his steps.

He couldn’t resist a passing comment to the young men who were astonished when he suddenly appeared. “Afternoon, boys. It’s going to be a great dance tonight. Know any girls?”

Chuckling at their startled mutterings, he tried to recall everything he’d heard about Emily as he made his way across the street into the bar. Frontier, as the name suggested, was on the edges of the wild region and was still a pretty small town with just one long street with a few buildings and houses on either side, so it didn’t take long.

Actually he found he couldn’t remember much about her, other than the fact that she had a reputation for being something of a good-natured tart.

Standing in the doorway, his gaze instantly went to the woman behind the counter. He guessed she was in her midforties. As he was thirty-four himself she didn’t seem overly old to him. Anyhow, he liked older women. She was a brunette, but with red tones in her hair, which was tied back at her neck.

However, it was her face that he really noticed as it lit up the place. She had a wonderful smile and beamed cheerfully at the people she was serving. Although she seemed to have two male assistants, most people gathered around her end of the bar, all clamoring for her attention.

“Hey, Emily. How about a kiss?” requested one young man leaning forward, his lips puckered in anticipation.

Finn grinned at the look of sarcasm she gave the crowd. She then laughed as she picked up a mug of ale and tipped it over the impudent pup. “When you stop wearing nappies, George!”

The whole crowd around her burst out laughing as the hapless George staggered back from the counter, dripping wet, wailing, “Emily!” He then moved past Finn to exit the building, presumably to go and put some dry clothes on—it had been a full mug.

As Finn enjoyed watching the spectacle, he reflected on Emily’s voice, which had been deep and husky. Being a singer, Finn always listened to people’s voices initially as it told him a lot about them. He could tell that Emily was someone who talked a lot and that her voice carried well across the room, probably necessary for running a busy bar. He wondered if she did any singing. Her tone resonated with a rich timbre.

He was thinking about the possibilities of performing with her and was startled when she suddenly called over to him, not conscious that she had noticed him standing there.

“Are you coming in, stranger?” She then spoke to those surrounding her, although he heard every word—as she clearly intended. “Maybe he’s applying for the job of doorman? With you lot coming in and out all day, I need one.” Her gray eyes sparkled with merriment as she turned her head to stare boldly at him, a brazen smile on her face.

Grinning back, he told her, “I’m looking for Emily.”

The crowd suddenly moved away as they turned to look at him, and Finn could see her better, his gaze dropping down to her body. Her blouse was plain-white, but had lace around the edges and was unbuttoned to midchest, showing a generous amount of her cleavage. This woman was not only voluptuous, she wasn’t afraid to show it off.

Oh, I’m going to like this woman!

Wednesday Writing

I was talking to a writing friend the other day and we were both moaning about the problems of motivation. We have tons of story ideas, that isn’t the problem. It is getting started – and continuing the start - that is the difficulty.

I recently went to a most interesting session by a sports psychologist who talked about the fact that the right side of our brain controls the left side of our bodies and vice versa. So if you are right handed like I am that means the left side of your brain dominates.

This is a problem in that the left side of the brain is the side which also controls facts and figures (so is great when I need to do some analysis as to which of my books sells better than others). Meanwhile it is the right side of the brain which is the creative side – and that clearly is not my dominant side.

The question is – how to trick it into working? How to make the right side – the creative side – start working?

Ideas are gratefully received!

Jen

Inspirational Mondays

Thanks to all you wonderful readers I have officially passed the 10,000 book sale mark!

In fact, I have sold 11,600 to date. :)

So keep up the good work. I am now aiming for the milestone of 20,000 book sales.

Jen

Friday First Chapters 'Wife for Three'

Here is another first chapter - the first in the 'Duoterra' series.

If you like what you read and want to buy the full book it can be purchased via the publisher's website in a variety of e-book formats including PDF or on Amazon.

Alternatively the first two books in the series including this one are available in paperback on Amazon.

Here is a review from a reader: "Unlike a lot of this type of book, the story was intriguing and engaging. The love scenes were well written, but the story could have stood alone without them which is a big plus. I'd certainly read more from this author."

Enjoy!!

WIFE FOR THREE

Duoterra

JENNIFER DENYS

Copyright © 2012

Chapter One

Wife wanted. Three brothers aged twenty-six to thirty-five are looking for a young woman to be shared jointly between them in all aspects of their life including looking after their home. Healthiness is a must as we have a farm in the wild region, a long way from the nearest town. Good looks and a decent figure would be nice, but not essential. However, you must be able to cook. Contact Curt Hollis via the general store, Frontier.

Brianna suddenly sat up in her seat as she read the small advertisement, her heart thudding. Wife wanted!

She looked around surreptitiously to see if anyone had noticed her abrupt movement. Her uncle, who had the countertops in the kitchen of their home covered with the various tools of his trade, glanced over at her, frowning. Marcus was the town blacksmith. His small, wiry frame was not typical of a man of his profession, but Goldtown had need of the various implements he made in order to mine the abundant minerals and metals that existed in the area to aid the colonists. Ignoring his look, and with a pounding heart, she folded the newspaper, her hand shaking slightly, trying to pretend nonchalance.

Tucking the newspaper under her arm, she casually strolled over to the counter to pour herself another drink of hot moss bark, which was a favorite of hers, and sauntered toward her bedroom sniffing the woody aroma, pretending to ignore the paper and its intriguing advert.

“Hey, missy, don’t take the newspaper away. It might only be a single sheet, but you know how expensive paper is despite having an abundance of trees on the planet. I’ll want to read it later.” His stern voice rasped. Marcus was the head of her household and her guardian, her parents having died when she was young.

There was only one state-owned paper industry on the planet they had named Duoterra, which was colonized sixty years ago. It was set up to make paper from trees when they became aware that they were running out of the few precious supplies they had brought with them. Goldtown was the fourth town to be settled, about fifteen years into the establishment of the colony at a time when the population was growing exponentially. Her grandfather, Joshua, had moved his family to each of the towns in search of a place he could happily raise his family. Goldtown was his last move, although not the last town to be founded.

“Sure thing, Uncle Marcus. I just wanted to give you some more room in the kitchen. I’ll bring it back shortly when I’ve finished reading.”

“Don’t forget you’ve got the bread to bake yet,” he shouted after her.

Escaping to the safety of her bedroom, Brianna jumped onto the bed, pushing her old teddy bear to one side, to read the captivating and slightly scandalous advertisement again. As she wrapped a lock of her long, dark-blonde hair around a finger, she was aware of an anticipation throbbing through her body, reaching down to her nether parts. Her nipples started to harden as she thought about what it would be like to make love to three brothers, and she felt a flush rise up her face. Would they take turns or would they do it at the same time? She had to fan herself with the newspaper as she suddenly felt very hot!

The item she had read was hidden amongst various other adverts selling produce and crafts of all sorts. She hadn’t been particularly interested in the adverts but devoured any reading material she could get her hands on. There was a community library that swapped the few precious print books that the colony had back and forth between towns. But Brianna was sure she had read all of them now.

Brianna was a fourth-generation colonist. Her grandfather had been a teenager when he had come to the world and she clearly recalled him telling her stories of the landing.

“I came with my parents in search of a cleaner place, the previous generations having ruined Earth with their industries and over-mining of the planet’s resources, which destroyed the ecology, and many animals became extinct.” Her grandfather and his parents were now dead, along with his wife. “Your grandmother travelled out with us on those first colony ships, but, as you know, she died giving birth to Susannah, our fourth child.” Only she and the eldest child, Marcus, had survived childhood. Lack of medical facilities and living a colonist’s life took the lives of many, young and old—some through illness, others injury. Death in childbirth had also been a major factor.

By the time her mother had grown, many of the original colonists had died due to the hard life they had undertaken willingly. About the time Brianna had been born twenty-two years ago, the subsequent generations were beginning to realize how few women they had left. Her school teacher had explained to the children, “It had been hoped that more people would join us from Earth, but the cost of fuel to launch such huge ships is so exorbitant that there have only been two more colony ships, and those were in the early days after colonization.”

Brianna had listened in a state of fascination back then. The idea of spaceships and people flying many, many light years from home had sounded exciting and adventurous.

“It doesn’t mean we are totally without contact from our home planet, as drone ships come by every few years, but those are small, and the price for sending those supplies costs us high in natural resources from our planet that we could use ourselves.”

By the time she got to her mid-teens Brianna’s enthrallment had diminished as she became aware that girl children were in high demand—as wives and mothers mostly. Her dreams of being elected to the government and making worthy laws, or discovering some new plant life that would cure all ills, were going down the drain. Not that she really wanted to be a politician or doctor. She knew that those had been childhood dreams of being famous.

Life was still hard, and boys were naturally stronger so thrived better. Unfortunately, her mother never got the chance to have any more children as she and her husband were killed in a rockslide leaving Brianna, aged just six, to be raised by her uncle. An uncle she didn’t particularly like, but he was the only family she had left.

Two years ago, the situation had come to a head, and a planet-wide law was introduced whereby polygamous marriages were allowed.

Brianna shivered and her thoughts returned to the newspaper and the fascinating advert. She picked it up to read again, biting her lip as she did. She knew that the law had also stated that every marriageable woman must take out a marriage contract with one or more men by the time they were twenty-three. If they didn’t take out a contract out of choice, then one of the options was that they would be forced into a contract by the local town mayor or the head of their household. In her case, this meant her uncle Marcus. With so many men compared to women on the world, their society had become rather patriarchal, with women expected to do what the men told them.

She scoffed and clenched a hand in the bedclothes. She knew from history lessons that it hadn’t started out that way. Women had had parity with men in the early days of their community and were doctors and scientists, but somehow this had been eroded away by the life they had chosen. A few women could be found in managerial roles, but generally women had become housewives, or occasionally, schoolmistresses. The life of being a homemaker, in truth, was one Brianna quite enjoyed. She just wanted the choice of whom she did it for.

On the other hand, her grandfather, who had died when she was five, had spoken about how wonderful their new world was. “Ah, Brianna, my child, you don’t appreciate what a stunning planet this is with its clean air, fresh water, and abundance of flora and fauna.” Although she adored the old man and followed him around like a pet, somehow she couldn’t quite bring herself to join in his enthusiasm—at least not when Marcus had become her guardian and she began to resent everything her grandfather had taught her because of her uncle’s domineering ways.

Actually, the law only referred to women who had not yet married. If they were a widow, they didn’t have to find another man, but were strongly recommended to do so.

Brianna had heard a story that the only other option for women was, if no one wished to take a contract out, they could go to the main town and original landing site, Eden, where there were licensed brothels.

“Not that someone as innocent as me is supposed to know that,” she stated out loud to herself, aware how wry her comment was.

She often had conversations with herself, not really having anyone she could discuss these issues with, even if the men had allowed it. Instead she chose to talk to Mortimer, her tattered teddy bear that her grandmother had brought from Earth. She reached out to fondly stroke him. He provided the comfort she never got elsewhere.

If the rumor was accurate, most of those were older women whose husbands had died and their homesteads had been taken over by younger family members. Well, younger male family members. Or women who were convicted criminals who chose that life instead of hard labor.

Shivering, she clenched her legs together compulsively. There was no way she was going to do that, particularly as she was still a virgin. She also suspected that many of those women in the brothels weren’t happy with the man or men they had married, but since divorce was against the law, they had few resources. Brianna also knew of several women who were unhappy with the way things were going, but there was little they could do.

It had been suggested at one stage of introducing marriage contracts for fixed terms. At the end of the chosen time, the parties could renew or go their separate ways, but this proposal had been voted down by the planet’s small elected parliament. They had been worried about those now-free women making sluts of themselves to draw the attention of the available men and all hell breaking loose.

Brianna giggled and turned her head to Mortimer. “It’s more likely that men would have lost their dominance over women in those circumstances.”

There was no one left in her small town that she was interested in, and her twenty-third birthday was in a few months. She knew her uncle wanted her to take out a contract with a man called Quinn Ford. In fact, he insisted on it, practically taking it for granted that she would sign the contract and marry Quinn. But he was a hard, domineering man, similar to her uncle, that she steered well clear of whenever she could. But there were no other alternatives—the only other single men in her town were four older men who were widowers of varying ages from forty-five to eighty-six, one really seedy man in his late thirties with a pockmarked face and a leering expression, and two gay men who lived together. And her uncle, who needed her to marry someone of his choosing so he could continue to control her. That and the money Quinn had agreed to pay for her. They called it her dowry, but to her, it felt like she was being sold.

She looked back again at the advert before turning on her stomach to face the bear. “You realize, of course, if I leave town to see this Curt and his brothers, I’ve no way of knowing if they are already married. Okay, so the newspaper is only six weeks old, but another girl could have jumped at the chance.” She sighed and rested her forehead against the bear. “It would be really good if you could answer me here.”

Brianna raised her head and bit her lip as something occurred to her. She could be jumping out of the frying pan into the fire. The three of them could be even worse than Quinn or any of the other meager alternatives she had. For all she knew, they could be murderers and rapists. Not that either were common on this world, as anyone committing murder was sentenced to death—unless a woman and then she was put into the brothel—the same place that Brianna wasn’t supposed to know existed.

As for rapists, if caught, they were simply castrated. No, this Curt wouldn’t be a rapist. If he was, he wouldn’t be putting an advert in the newspaper! She sat up and thought about what these three brothers might be like. The age was good. The younger one not much older than her, and the eldest she could cope with. Anyway, she wouldn’t be better off with Quinn as he was thirty-six.

Lifting the newspaper, she read it once more. These brothers lived in the wild region. Twirling her hair in her fingers, she wondered what they did there—trappers maybe, or loggers? Either way, she imagined they were used to being outdoors and could imagine they were well tanned.

“Okay, so I know they are youngish and bronzed. And most likely very fit if they work outdoors. Hmm, that would be good, eh, Mortimer. Well, for me, not for you. You’d just be jealous!”

She grinned at the bear and let her imagination run riot. Each of the guys would be incredibly good looking, very hunky, all oozing sex appeal just like in one of her late mother’s precious paperback books she had gotten from the community library, like the science-fiction novel where the heroine landed on a planet full of gorgeous, Vikings. She remembered seeing it lying on the table and had picked it up. She couldn’t read it at that stage but had enjoyed looking at the picture of the half-naked couple on the front.

Of course, when they found her with it, all hell had broken loose, but she had remembered it, and when she was older, she had snuck the copy out of the library so she could read it. Wow!

Sighing, she threw herself onto her back, resisting the need to stroke her body in response to its urging. Naturally, just like in the book, these brothers would be stunned by her beauty and make mad, passionate love to her one at a time, making it the most wonderful experience in the universe.

She snorted at her thoughts. She knew she wasn’t particularly lovely. There had been a few young men in town her own age or slightly older, but they had all chosen other girls—girls who were prettier than her. Either that or they were put off by her uncle’s scowling expression whenever they had tried speaking to her.

Groaning at her predicament, she folded the newspaper carefully and put it away in her bedside drawer. As much as she wanted to answer it, Frontier was a long, long way from Goldtown, and anyway, she wasn’t brave enough to go through with it. Of course, that meant she was back at square one. There was still no one else she wanted, and she knew she did not want Quinn.

Wednesday writing - character interview

Check out Lea Barrymire’s blog sometime today where I am guest blogging with a character interview! That is to say in the voice of my main characters from ‘Collared by Wolves’ which was released last week.

It is the first time I’ve done a character interview and at first it wasn’t easy as it meant getting back into the heads of my characters (and there are FIVE of them!). It was also challenging to show their relationship and how they interact with each other, and give the reader some idea of the story, in just a few paragraphs – but it was fun in the end.

Jen

Inspirational Mondays - writing werewolf menage scenes

I am over on Lori King’s blog today guest blogging about writing werewolf ménage scenes in ‘Collared by Wolves’ which was released last week.

Find out why I chose to have a werewolf ménage scenario and how I got around the ‘bestiality’ issue with a human heroine and four werewolf heroes….

Check it out!

Jen

Friday First Chapters 'The Sub Who Switched'

Here is the next first chapter - this is the last in the 'Doms & Acquaintances' series which has cross over characters and timeline with the 'Friends' series.

If you like what you see and want to buy the full book you can do so from the publisher's website in a variety of e-book formats including PDF or from  Amazon.

Alternatively the entire 'Doms' series can be purchased from Amazon in paperback.

Here's a review from a reader: "I enjoyed this last in the Doms and acquaintances trilogy as much as the first two. It was well written and edited and I loved how the relationship between Nick and Ellie progressed or sometimes regressed!

Keep on doing what you are doing, Ms Denys and thank you."

Enjoy!!

THE SUB WHO SWITCHED

Doms and Acquaintances 3

JENNIFER DENYS

Copyright © 2012

Prologue

SEXY GLAMOUR AND EROTIC PORTRAIT PHOTOGRAPHY

Artistic Nude and Boudoir Photo Shoots

By BEAUTIFUL APHRODITE

Sensual photos—a life-changing experience

We all want to feel sexy and confident, but sometimes the unrealistic images we see in the media make it hard for us to have a positive self-image. When you feel good about yourself, it can have a big impact on every aspect of your life.

Beautiful Aphrodite is here to help you to see yourself in a completely new way. Our lingerie and nude photo shoots will instill in you a new self-assurance and a confidence that will make you sparkle.

The transformations that take place in our studio have nothing to do with the makeup—it is all in changing the way you see yourself—FOREVER.

Chapter One

Ellie Grant finished reading the glossy leaflet again as the cab made its way through town to the photographer’s studio on the late September day. “It is all in changing the way you see yourself,” it said.

Hm, I see myself as someone about to have the big three-oh birthday, without a man in my life, with a tall, skinny body and small breasts—strike that, make that minimal breasts—who tends to put men off, thinking my exuberant personality is one of a Domme when in fact it hides the heart of a submissive who likes elements of BDSM.

“A life-changing experience,” was another line.

It had better be. She was the last of her group of six girlfriends to find a man. The Champagne Friday gang they were called, because they met up on Fridays to drink champagne, or any other drink. Personally she was a red-wine girl. Apart from drinking, they spent a great deal of time discussing men and sex or, in her case, the lack of men and sex.

The comments and kind-hearted attempts by the girls to find her a man were wearing very thin. All of them had partners now except her. In fact, everyone, to her annoyance, was either married or engaged, and one had a baby, while another was pregnant. She sighed. She had tried clubs and bars, dating agencies, blind dates, adverts in the paper, and online forums and all she had got for her troubles was a bunch of losers whose looks did nothing for her and their personalities even less! She groaned, remembering the last person the dating agency had sent. Dear God he had been dreadful. She had nearly run away the moment she had seen him, but good manners dictated she at least have a cup of coffee with him. It wasn’t that he was a horrible person, just too old, too boring, too “not for her.”

As the cab slowed, Ellie breathed a sigh of relief. The journey had been very stressful with all sorts of delays and she was very nearly late. Not the best way to start something where she needed her features to reflect calmness and serenity.

Snorting to herself, she quickly fished out a mirror to check her face. It was red from worry, not to mention from the run through the station to find the rank of cabs which seemed to be hidden away for some reason. Her top was sticking to her back having perspired so much in her dashing around, and her face was boringly bland as she was about to be made-up as part of the shoot, so she hadn’t seen the need to “put a face on.” Of course, if George Clooney had been on the train, she would have kicked herself. On the other hand, all the travails had made her forget about the worries of wearing the basque she had bought, a basque rather than bra and panties to hide her thin body. And as for going nude, that was unlikely to happen.

Actually she didn’t have a problem going naked, but not when photos were going to be taken.

* * * *

She needn’t have worried. Husband-and-wife team, Lee and Zara, who made up Beautiful Aphrodite were kindness personified. They made her feel so welcome and easy, and Zara did a lovely job with the makeup.

However, the collywobbles hit her stomach when she stood up from the makeup stool, and Lee said, “Okay, Ellie. Are you ready?”

Ellie took one look at the satin sheet-covered bed on which she would be photographed. Ready? That was an overstatement. “Yeah sure,” she replied breezily, pretending a nonchalance she didn’t have. Actually, a portion of her was getting really excited. At least this was the part of the session in her sexy undies. She knew she would be expected to take some items off as the shoot went on, but doubted it would be more than her shoes and stockings. Ellie had visited the lingerie store from where her sister-in-law, Rebecca, had bought something when celebrating her one month anniversary with her now husband, Jon. While Rebecca had chosen a startling black-and-red basque for her vivid looks, Ellie opted for something more suited to her own coloring, which was shoulder-length, pale-blonde hair with hazel eyes, and had therefore plumped for a pale-green outfit.

“Can you lay facedown across the bed, facing me this end?” Lee asked, breaking into her ruminations. He waited while she complied. Clambering onto a bed wasn’t the easiest thing to do while wearing high heels. She laughed at the situation.

Arriving in the position requested, she felt okay as it hid her skinny front.

“That’s it, now lift your feet and cross them at the ankles. Excellent. That looks so good, but widen your knees so that your feet are crossing more. Oh yes, that’s terrific. Very sexy.” Lee snapped his shots constantly as she moved.

His compliments were heartening, and Ellie started to feel good.

“Now place your wrists one over the other. Just relax them. Great. Now turn your face toward me. Super, but tilt your head down slightly so that you are looking down to the floor.”

Ellie felt her face going slightly red at this point at all the focus on her face. She was slightly worried as she would have made herself up heavier than Zara had done, but then Zara was the expert so she didn’t say anything. Anyway, there was always the option to have some retouching done afterward.

Lee darted around her, adjusting lights and checking the image through his camera. “Okay, now lick your lips.”

She nearly giggled at that point. It was beginning to feel rather erotic. But that was the purpose, wasn’t it? He hadn’t suggested whether she smile or not. She had spent some time beforehand practicing expressions in the bathroom mirror, and they had all looked stupid. Now it was really happening, she opted for a gentle smile.

“Nice smile, but can you open your lips?”

Uh-uh. Not going to happen. One thing Ellie didn’t like was photos of herself with broad grins, showing teeth. Lee didn’t push her to do this but continued snapping for a few minutes, darting from side to side to get a variety of pictures.

“Okay, would you like to take a rest and see the first shots before we continue?” he asked, laying aside his camera.

Shit. What on earth would they look like? She reluctantly, and with a lack of decorum, got off the bed and slowly approached the computer where Zara was loading the first shots.

“Oh. My. God,” Ellie intoned when they came up. “That is not me! You have got the wrong woman.”

They laughed at her comment, assuring Ellie that it really was her.

“Holy Mary. Wow.” For a few minutes, she didn’t say anything as they looked at the photos, but her chin was on the floor in amazement. They were all of the same type of pose with her lying on her front, but Lee had taken them from different angles. Ellie was astonished at how relaxed she looked, but most of all, how sexy she appeared!

The next part of the shoot went the same way with Lee directing her positions, encouraging her to pose in ways she wouldn’t have normally considered and then checking them out on the computer. Sometimes it was hard going. She’d never before considered how exhausting it was to lay on your back with your legs in the air.

She giggled. If she had any advice to give anyone wanting their photos done, it would be to take up aerobics for a month beforehand!

As it continued, little by little, Lee asked her to take off an item of clothing, firstly her stockings, but replacing the shoes, then her shoes, finally her panties. It was done so nicely and gradually that, when she was asked if she wanted to take off her remaining item, the basque, she had no problems whatsoever and whipped it off as it was a coat and she had just come in from outdoors.

Ellie was actually an exhibitionist at heart which is why she could do this in the first place and had even gone nude at a BDSM conference some months back when a volunteer was called for. But the fear now was more one of worrying what the photos would show of her less-than-voluptuous body. When Zara had showed her the photos that Lee had taken so far, even without any touching up, and she was certainly going to have some done, like remove the redness around her face and neck, they looked stunning. It was like looking at a different person. Was that really her? Did she look that beautiful?

Having removed the basque, Ellie automatically arched her back to try to make her breasts look bigger in time-honored female fashion and turned to Lee.

“That’s great, but put your shoes back on, and then lay on the bed.”

She did as he asked and found wearing her green, suede high-heeled shoes while being naked was rather sexy and sauntered over to the bed feeling like a tart! However, she balked at lying on her back on the bed with her arms over her head as she felt that showed every rib in her ribcage.

Lee laughed. “I assure you it doesn’t.” She didn’t believe him, but did as he requested, frowning as they went to look at the shots afterward. Actually he was right. The lighting was behind her so her torso was in shadow, and the ribs didn’t show.

After that she did everything Lee asked with total confidence in his ability and later shoots were taken with her totally nude on the floor. It felt a bit odd lying on the slightly cold floor, but the advertising shots she had seen of these poses were very artistic. And art was something she knew about as she ran an art gallery with Rebecca. In fact these were the sort of pictures they often exhibited. But, she snorted to herself, these were one set of artistic prints that were never going to end up on the walls of the gallery. Or indeed any walls. They were for her photo album. Her private photo album.

Interrupting her musings, Lee asked, “Are you ready for the baby oil?”

“I beg your pardon?”

“This was one of the items we described in the literature. We would like you to rub this baby oil into your body so that I can spray some water over you.” He held out the stated bottle.

“And you want to do this because…”

He laughed. “Because I will then spray water over you and the oil will cause water droplets to stay on your skin. It looks very sexy, believe me.”

Actually she had seen shots like that but hadn’t been aware of how they were created. Doing as requested, she shivered when the water hit her body, causing her nipples to pucker at the cold. Ellie grimaced in embarrassment, hoping Lee hadn’t noticed but guessing he must be used to it. Erotic photography was his chosen medium, after all.

By the time Lee had finished, it was several hours later. She didn’t know how it could have gone so quickly, but she had certainly had a good time and wondered afterward why she had been so nervous. It had actually been a very liberating experience.

* * * *

Ellie didn’t really know what she was going to do with the photo album when she finishing choosing her final selection from those that had been emailed to her, but the point of the exercise had been to prove to herself that she could be sexy and desirable despite now being in her thirties, and looking at the photos they had taken, she had certainly achieved that.

Smiling in delight, Ellie linked her fingers behind her head in a pose of supreme satisfaction as she continued to look through the slideshow remembering the fun she had had.

Then her smile faltered. If only she had a man to show them off to. Her hands dropped back to cup her face in resignation as she contemplated the men in her life. There was no way she was showing them to her brother, Rebecca’s husband. Kat’s partner, Ben, would be just as bad as he was like a brother, too, and she wasn’t sure Kat would necessarily want him to look at nude photos of her friend, similarly with her other friends’ partners.

Of course, there was Nick Sinclair, a photographer himself, who exhibited at their gallery from time to time. He had also been the official photographer at Rebecca’s wedding some months back. Ellie recalled Nick was the same age as her, remembering he had had his own thirtieth a few months ago, but as nice as he was, he wasn’t really the sort of person she was after. She wanted a dominant man like Rebecca or Kat had, both of whom were with Doms.

She shivered at the thought of a strong man, preferably one taller than her, unlike Nick, who was a few inches shorter, demanding she take off her clothes and kneel before him, administering suitable punishment for her tardiness. Then Ellie sighed. Even though she had attended the submissive training conference, it hadn’t meant she was brave enough to try going to a club of that sort to find someone. It was a bit of a misnomer. If she really was a submissive sort of person, she wasn’t going to go into those sorts of places by herself, not without someone else going with her. But all her girlfriends were far prettier, with much better bodies than she had, and therefore no one would take any notice of her.

On the other hand, if anyone saw these super photos…