So, to kick off this new feature on The Naughty Pages, I'd like to welcome, for the first time, fellow aussie author Alysha Ellis!
Sex and the Fountain of Youth
I have a black and white photo of my great-grandmother. Her hair is pulled back in a tight bun; she has round, wire-framed glasses and a grim expression on her face. Her cotton dress ends at an unflattering point just below her knees. Her black, lace-up low-heeled shoes are the very definition of sensible. She was just thirty and she looks old.
Times have changed. Not only do we live longer…but we enjoy ourselves while we do it. Mature women refuse to go silently into that good night. We grasp life with both hands and enjoy the hell out of it.
We dress however we want. No thick, beige stockings and conservative lace-ups for us. Check out the boots I just bought. Age inappropriate? You bet. And I’m wearing those suckers anyway. Why? Because I can!And you know what else women feel free to do now? Admit that, hell yeah, we’re interested in sex. Reading about it, talking about it, looking at pics of hot guys, or gals or any combination thereof.
The Fifty Shades of Grey phenomenon, no matter what you actually thought of the book, brought women’s interest in matters sexual out into the open. I have had people who always knew I wrote erotic romance but thought it best not to mention it, who now are happy to ask me if I write stories like that?
The simplest reply is “Yes.”
Whatever you think of E.L. James’ book, she’s done all of us erotic readers and writers a favour. She is making erotica acceptable. I’ve seen women in their seventies buying the book, young women buying it for their mothers, older women buying it for their friends.
I don’t know if my great-grandmother would have wanted to read it. Maybe like so many women of her time her natural inclinations were suppressed and disguised to the point they didn’t know they existed, but I’m glad I live in a time where sexuality and sensuality are celebrated. I love the idea of women
exploring their wants and needs and doing it openly and proudly.
My most recent release, Downunder Heat explores this idea.
The main character, Kitty, is a divorced woman whose daughter has grown up and left home. For the first time Kitty is free to do what she wants with her life, and she sets off from the UK for a working holiday in Australia. She meets Zakk, and what follows is a sizzling affair with a younger man whose energy and enthusiasm takes Kitty on the kind of sexual adventure she’d only dreamed of.
“What brought you to Australia?” Zakk asked, his voice pitched low, velvety and smooth.
Ignoring the tingles skittering up and down her spine, Kitty replied, “My daughter moved out to go to university, so I took the opportunity to escape.” She winced. Great move. Mention that she had a child at university just in case he hadn’t already noticed how much older than him she was.
“Interesting word—escape,” he said. “You ran a long way from home.”
“I always wanted to see Australia. I watched Neighbours and I—”
His shout of laughter cut her off. “I hope you weren’t expecting all of Australia to be like that,” he said. “People are as ordinary here as they are in the UK.”
Yeah, right. And Zakk was just your ordinary, everyday, run-of-the-mill, movie star- handsome, lifesaving hero who spent his weekends volunteering at the beach. The kind you bumped into on every dull, grey street corner in rainy, wintery Britain.
Kitty’s mouth opened on a soft, “Oh…”
“Oh, yes,” he echoed, and he slipped his arms around her and pulled her closer. His mouth settled over hers, shaping and holding, his tongue sliding along the seam, seeking entrance.
He tasted warm, like coffee and salt and something new and exciting. Something sensual and musky and Zakk. Her heartbeat sped up, zinging her blood around her body, lighting little flames that fizzed and sparked into life. She lifted her arms and cupped the back of Zakk’s head, the silken caress of his dark hair against her palms erotic and enticing.
He slid his hands down her back, gripped her hips and pulled her forward to the edge of the chair. Kitty tensed as reality crashed back in. Hers were the hips of a mature, slightly plump woman, not the long, lean shanks of an Australian beach babe. Almost as if he thought the same thing, Zakk broke off the kiss and pulled back. Her face began to flame, not with passion but with embarrassment, as Kitty waited for the brush-off.
Zakk opened his mouth and Kitty braced herself.
“I want you, Kitty. Come to bed with me.”
What he’d said was so different from what she’d expected it took a moment for it to sink in. “Me. You want me? But I’m—”
“Gorgeous. Your skin is so soft, so English, and you… Kitty, you’re so…” He ran his hands through his hair. “Am I allowed to say feminine? Sweet? Definitely gorgeous? I don’t want to be politically incorrect and say the wrong thing.”
He’d called her sweet and gorgeous and he was afraid she might object? He was mistaken, or he’d had far more to drink than he realised and she reallyought to set him straight, but before she could say anything he leaned in
for another kiss and any attempt at rational argument disappeared. She let
herself fall into him. Reason, prudence, caution fell with her.
Downunder Heat at Amazon or All Romance eBooks
Check out my blog A Slice of Tart for free reads
Facebook Alysha Ellis
Well, I definitely look forward to seeing more of Alysha! Promos will only be on Mondays now (making an exception with these first posts so you can get to know the authors a little more), and these Author Chat Fridays will be about whatever topic grabs the attention of these other lovely ladies or myself, or even what a reader might write in and ask about. So feel free to leave some love and maybe some suggestions for future topics. I look forward to seeing you next week. As yet, who is on next week is undecided as this is a new idea, but we're working on sorting out the rest of the roster. Whoever it is, I can assure you, it will be quite a Chat! Until then, don't forget to leave a comment!
