Friday, June 3, 2011

Song for the Age!

This song has long been one of my favourites, and it's lyrics are as relevant today as they were when the song was written, and even long before that!  They are relevant for all of recorded Human History!

I am the one Orgasmatron - the outstretched, grasping hand.
My image is of agony! My servants rape the land.
Obsequious and arrogant! Clandestine and vain!
Five thousand years of misery, of torture in my name!
Hypocrisy made paramount! Paranoia the law!
My name is called Religion - sadistic, sacred whore!

I twist the truth, I rule the World, my crown is called Deceit!
I am the Emperor of Lies! You grovel at my feet!
I rob you and I slaughter you! Your downfall is my gain,
And still you play the psychophant, and revel in your pain!
And all my promises are lies, all  my love is hate!
I am the Politician, and I decide your fate!

I march before a martyred world, an army for the fight!
I speak of great, heroic days, of victory and might!
I hold a banner drenched in blood! I urge you to be brave!
I lead you to your destiny! I lead you to your grave!
Your bones will build my palaces, your eyes will stud my crown!
For I am Mars, the God of War, and I will cut you down!

Fantastic image that - your eyes will stud my crown! Neil Young may be the Godfather of Grunge, but Motorhead were the Kings, and Lemmy's gravel voice only serves to add to that overall roughness and edginess the group were famous for.

I only made one subtle change to the lyric - see if you can spot it. And enjoy the song!





Ashen

Monday, April 25, 2011

Carnal Machines edited by D.L. King : Book Review...

Those wonderful people at Cleis Press sent me a copy of Carnal Machines, edited by D.L. King, to review, and, I have to say, I am highly impressed by this collection of hot Steampunk Erotica.

I have to be honest and say that Steampunk was not a genre I had ventured into much in the past, even less so erotica in that genre, so I was keen to be exposed to what I considered to be, for me, virgin territory!  Sure, I have read the entire collection of Sherlock Holmes stories, as well as a large number of other Victorian classics - and there are a LOT of those - so I have an impression of what to expect from fiction based in that period. I was, therefore, doubly interested to see how eroticists handled that era, bearing in mind the ubiqitous belief that the Victorian era was one of sexual repression and inhibition.  The other aspect of the collection that intrigued me was the "Machines" part of the equation! There is something wanton and naughtily delicious about the thought of a machine that can satisfy our sexual cravings, removing the dependence on the time, mood, and capability of other humans, which I was looking forward to discovering in these stories!

Oh, dear! How naughty of me!!!

Carnal Machines is a collection of 14 short erotica stories, covering all aspects of the era popularized through the works of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Jules Verne and H.G Wells.  Anyone who has seen the recent series of Doctor Who will appreciate the modern attempts to bring the Steampunk era back to life in the most inventive ways - and these stories are very inventive!

Like all good reviewers (so modest of me!), I started at the back of the book with The Succubus by Elizabeth Schechter. This delightful story had little to do with the occult, as the title seemed to indicate. It was, however, the start of a tantalizing and sensual ride through a varied range of stimulating, entertaining tales.

I read the tales in random fashion, enjoying each for its own unique take on the many and varied types of machinery invented for the purpose of satisfying our carnal needs. Some, like the ingenuous Dr. Mullaley, aren't content with just the one machine, inventing a whole series of devices designed to cure the ailments of those poor Victorian ladies whose husband's either have negelected or are not skilled enough to satisfy them! A common complaint, it seems, judging by the Doctor's over-filled appointment book! Other machines are designed to reduce men to that state of compliance and obedience wherein they are most amenable - another popular theme - while there are entertaining attempts at creating the perfect woman, a steamy oriental adventure in Hong Kong, a wonderfully ruthless Russian dominatrix, and yet more "fucking" machines! There's even a home visit by the venerable Doctor Watson!

I love this collection for its inventiveness alone, not to mention the wonderfully wanton feelings stirred up by the activities described. While some of the tales have the technological feel of Doctor Durand Durand's love machine in "Barbarella", the fun and ingenuity shine through to make this more than just a collection of erotica. It is Steampunk fiction at its best. My personal favourites are Dr. Mullaley's Cure by Delilah Devlin, and Deviant Devices by Kannan Feng, but there's enough here to satisfy every taste.

Carnal Machines, edited by D.L. King, with stories by Teresa Noelle Roberts, Janine Ashbless, Renee Michaels, Poe Von Page, Kannan Feng, Jay Lawrence, Delilah Devlin, Lisabet Sarai, Kathleen Bradean, Elias A. St. James, Essemoh Teepee, D.L. King, Tracey Shellito and Elizabeth Schechter.

Happy reading!

Ashen

Saturday, April 2, 2011

Necronomicon - Tarot and World!



I have enjoyed a lot of activity and feedback since I first posted a review of the Necronomicon Tarot at the end of January.  Some of this is based on the "Tarot" side of the equation, and some centres around the "Necronomicon" part of the subject matter. 

Ye Elder Sign
The Necronomicon is a constant source of discussion and research.  Even today, scholars and researchers cannot answer whether this is purely a work of fiction developed by H. P. Lovecraft as a foundation on which to base his tales of the Cthulhu Mythos, or if it actually has some basis in long lost arcane or occult works by the "mad arab" Abdul Alhazrad or others. The argument itself matters little, as what really matters to most is - even if Lovecraft invented the term and parts of the content himself, what did he base his research on in the first place?  One only has to delve a little to discover many corollaries to the "Book of Dead Names" and various other so-called Dark Grimoires.  One of the most famous of these is the Egyptian "Book of the Dead", which is actually a manual that teaches the soul of the deceased what they need to do to survive in the afterlife.

One aspect that has fed into the confusion surrounding The Necronomicon is that there are published versions of book that purport to be historical works that predate anything Lovecraft wrote.  The entire work has taken on a mythos of its own, so that no one can for certain say that this is really and totally a work of fiction!  And wouldn't that be the way Lovecraft would have wanted it to be?

One of the most popular of these "real" versions is known as the Simon Necronomicon. This version draws on historical occult and religious works from Sumerian-Babylonian mythology, and attempts to correlate the gods of those pantheons to that of Lovecraft's Necronomicon. It also describes a number of "religious" practices and observations that should be followed in order to summon the power of The Old Ones and have them obey your bidding.  This is typical of many so-called Grimoires, promising powers, or success, or many other wants and needs of those disposed to tempt their sacred and dangerous rites and rituals! Oh - the Joy! The Pain!

And such a fountain of imagination for horror writers and would-be occultists to enthral their audiences with!

Which brings us to Tyson's trilogy of Necronomicon-inspired works, culminating in The Necronomicon Tarot.  Tyson is a well-read researcher into all things occult and magical, and his website - http://www.donaldtyson.com/ - is a rich resource for any would-be magicians, occultists and workers in the darker realms! He even has an excellent introduction to the origins of Tarot - The Truth About The Tarot - which I thoroughly recommend as a worthwhile read.

Tyson's three works on The Necronomicon are:
Tyson's intention in producing these works is to provide a more realistic provenance for The Necronomicon, satisfying the cravings of occult researchers and investigators stirred up by H.P. Lovecraft in the 1920's. Tyson's Necronomicon is a much more complete and detailed version than any other I have read, and should really be considered the de facto standard for what is, after all, a fictional work.  I am less convinced in the value of his early biography of Alhazred, but it is an interesting read nonetheless. In his tarot, Tyson has tried to visualize - in some cases very successfully - the imagery of The Necronomicon in order to allow diviners to derive readings from the visions portrayed. Also, by tying a storyline to each of the four suites of the Minor Arcana, he has made the deck easier to use for novice diviners, as they have less to do to create a story themselves.

One of the "warmer" places in The Necronomicon is Leng, which Tyson has portrayed in the scenery and content of XVIII The Moon: The Hounds of Leng.  This is described in another version of The Necronomicon:


 "Know ye time-shunned Leng by the ever-burning evil-fires and ye foul screeching of the scaly Shantak birds which ride the upper air; by the howling of ye Na-hag who brood in nighted caverns and haunt men's dreams with strange madness, and by the grey stone temple beneath the Night Gaunts lair, wherein is he who wears the Yellow Mask and dwelleth all alone."


Almost sounds like a version of Jabberwocky!

Another ominous and doom-ridden place is the mountian of Kadath. This warm and inviting spot is described in The Necronomicon much as Chekov describes Ceti Alpha 5 in The Wrath of Khan - the "garden spot" of evil!



"What man knoweth Kadath?
For who shall know of that
which ever abides in strange-time,

twix yesterday, today and the morrow."

"Unknown amidst ye Cold Waste lieth the mountain of Kadath where upon the hidden summit an Onyx Castle stands. Dark clouds shroud the mighty peak that gleams 'neath ancient stars where silent brood the titan towers and rear forbidden walls."

Sounds like just the place to spend some quality time with a few witches, demons, and ravenous, nymphomaniac banshees, eh? 

Tyson actually has two additional works based on The Necronomicon - The Grimoire of the Necronomicon, and The 13 Gates of the Necronomicon - but I cannot find any details about these works other than the blurb on Amazon.com, and they do not appear on his website.  Shame, Donald - update your internet presence!
Have fun out there, y'all!!

The Eye of Ashen White
Ashen




Saturday, March 26, 2011

Summer driving season is here!!!

"What's that?" I hear you say! "Summer driving season?  Where?"

Welcome to Canada. folks!

Seasoned Canadians know there's only two seasons north of the border - Winter and Construction!  As soon as the snow starts to melt, and the Sun starts to shine with warmth rather than apathy, then the work on fixing and improving the highways begins.  And to cope with those horrible conditions, we need real vehicles!


Getting the Defender ready for Summer!
 A Land Rover Defender is the only vehicle that can cope with the state of the roads in Ontario.  Other SUV's are mostly just car chassis' dressed up with unstable shells.  Not the Defender!  It's built for real off-road use, and these Ontario roads can be really off!  But in this baby, you can go anywhere the fancy takes you.  And my fancy takes me to many weird and wonderful places, believe me!  So well worth the effort to import!

I'll keep you posted on my travels.
Safe driving, everyone!

Ashen

Saturday, March 12, 2011

Guest Blog - Indigo Skye...

Today I am honoured and delighted to hand over my blog to showcase the wonderful and talented Indigo Skye for an appearance on her Her Captive Muse blog tour.

 Indigo Skye is a writer, photographer, and artist living in the American Southwest. Her first novel, Her Captive Muse, was released by Noble Romance in January of 2011.

Indigo's short story, "True Confession," was included in the erotica anthology, Uniform Behavior.

Her poetry, articles, and fiction have been widely published online. A full list of published works is available on her blog,
http://indigoskyeinkandart.blogspot.com.

To connect with Ms. Skye, please send an email to... indigoskyeinkandart@gmail.com
For a chance to win  a copy of Her Captive Muse, see Indigo's Tasty Competition below!!

Now, read on for a special excerpt from Her Captive Muse.





When Brendan Delaney answered an ad for an artist's model, he was looking for an easy way to earn some extra cash. But Morgan Roan wanted more than just a model. Soon, Brendan finds himself caught in a web of deception and desire, lust and betrayal—her captive muse. What price pleasure?

Chapter Five
Nervous

"I've wanted to fuck you since we first met," Morgan said. "That's one of the main reasons I hired you." She stripped off her silky gown.

"Why didn't you mention that in the interview?" He tweaked one nipple. "I would have jumped you then and there."

"Oh?" She raised a brow and gave him a skeptical look, as though she suspected he was just being kind.

"In a heartbeat." Brendan grinned and kissed her again. "But you were such a bitch! I thought you hated me or something."

"I can be a bitch. Especially when I get nervous. That's when the claws come out." She raked her nails down his chest, and he shivered. "My shrink says it's a defense mechanism."

"I make you nervous?"

"That's one way to put it."

"Do I?" He nibbled at her throat, sampling the delicate flesh there. She tasted of jasmine and smoke.

"Yes."

"Good." Brendan smiled and gave her a lingering kiss. "You make me nervous, too."

"In a good way?" She wrapped one of his curls around her finger and gave it a little tug.

"In the best way." God, she made him horny.

"You should be nervous. You have no idea what I'm capable of."

"I can't wait to find out." Brendan tried to keep his words light, but a tremor of uneasiness broke through. He'd been around the block a few times, but he sure as hell wasn't Dong Juan. He had a few moves—strictly amateur—a little experience, and a whole lot of enthusiasm. But Morgan was older—more sophisticated than the girls he'd been with in the past. Plus, she had tons of money, was famous, and wicked kinky. The Jim Morrison of the art world.

He knew her dark desires before they ever met—you could tell just by looking at her paintings. He'd studied them in Modern Art 101. Her typical subjects were fragile young men chained to beds or bound on their hands and knees. He remembered their bodies—thin and bruised and beautiful anyway—as if they'd been beaten with whips and chains. Beautiful . . . in spite of the pain or because of it. She took their scars and made them sing—made them shine. It was her gift.

She eats guys like me for breakfast. Morgan reminded him of the praying mantises he'd seen on the nature channel. What if she broke out the whips and chains and hot candle wax and shit? Could he ever hope to please a woman like that? He didn't know, but he was determined to try.

"Tell me something." She broke away from his embrace in the middle of a very hot kiss.

"What? Ask me anything." He was rock-hard and more than a little distracted.

"Have you ever done this before?"

Fuck. Busted. "What, kissing?" he asked. He laughed, tried to sound casual. "Sure."

"No—have you ever had sex?"

"Yeah." He worked to keep a defensive tone from creeping into his voice. When she stayed silent, he pressed her. "Why? Am I doing something wrong?"

"No. Just—you seem shy. Nervous. I don't know." She shrugged.

"I'm just trying to take it slow." Brendan stroked the curve of her hip. "I don't want to scare you." He bent to kiss her breasts again.

She laughed, hard and loud. "You're not going to scare me." She shoved him back down on the bed and straddled his hips. "I might scare you, but you couldn't scare me if you tried. Anyway, I don't want you to scare me."

"What do you want?" He bucked his hips beneath her, horny and impatient. "I'm not psychic."

"Just be sweet to me—and fuck me all night long." She ran her long fingers down his chest toward his cock. "Can you?" she asked. "Be sweet?"

"I'll fuck you until you scream. I'll stay in bed with you all weekend—never mind all night. But sweetness?" Now it was his turn to laugh. "I can try. But I gotta warn you, I'm not very good at sweet. If you're after sugar and spice and everything nice, you might have the wrong guy." Brendan smiled and pinched her ass.

"You'll learn," she said. "The willingness to try is everything—in life and in art."

"If you say so." His cock jumped at her feather-light touch.

"I do." She grinned and stroked him harder. With one cool hand, Morgan grasped the base of his shaft. She slipped a condom over the tip and rolled it down the hard curve of his cock. Morgan kissed him, pressing her breasts against his chest. She rubbed up against his body and spread her legs wide. Her cunt opened for him like a flower and he eased his cock into her tight little slit.

She took just the tip at first, refusing to lower herself farther onto his aching shaft, the little tease. "Beg me for it."

"Please. Please fuck me."

In the next breathless moment, she embraced it all. So hot and wet—goddamn! Brendan gasped in pleasure. Morgan's pussy gripped his shaft with surprising strength when he tried to pull out.

"Wait, not yet." Morgan ground her hips against him in a hypnotic figure eight—the symbol of infinity made flesh. Brendan closed his eyes and bit down hard on his bottom lip. He took a deep breath, trying to control his wild urge to flip her over, take control, and fuck her brains out.

In his mind, Brendan went to the beach. Silky white sand sifted beneath his bare feet. The wind blew his hair back from his face—he could almost smell the salty tang of the sea. He sighed. California—always wanted to go there. Maybe someday. He felt the sun beat down on his face. Her pussy was so good—tight and hot—slick with her juices. The slow rhythm of her hips rocked him like gentle waves breaking against the shore.

Morgan closed her eyes and danced to some unknown drummer, increasing her pace until the gentle waves built into a tsunami. She rocked her hips back and forth, faster and faster. Brendan gripped her ass and thrust hard inside her cunt. He watched her face as she moaned and arched her back in the ecstatic release of her climax. The sudden, joyful spasm of her pussy muscles around his cock triggered his own orgasm. He emptied his balls—every last drop—and cried out her name.

"Oh, Morgan, oh God, oh God, oh Jesus!"

After, they lay in bed together, sharing a smoke.

"Is it safe to say you had a religious experience?" She teased him about his earlier pleasure-filled shouts.

"Hallelujah. Amen." He smiled and blew a lazy smoke ring. It hung in the air above them, twisted itself into a figure eight as it faded, and then dissipated. "That was fucking amazing."

"That was amazing fucking," she said with a crooked little grin. "Let's go again."

*   *   *   *   *

Now, as an extra special treat, here is a spicy recipe from Indigo, and a chance to win a copy of Her Captive Muse.

Passion Pie:
A Steamy Recipe by Indigo Skye!

Yield: Will serve two people for years if properly prepared and stored somewhere warm.

 
Crust:
Mix two cups of patience with an equal amount of love. Add respect- a liberal amount. Blend well, and roll out into a circle. Press into a pie pan. Must be thick and strong.

 
Filling:
Simmer one cup of scanty lingerie over a low flame. Add thirteen pornographic films, a vibrator, three feathers, a pair of sexy high-heel shoes, and two burning red candles. Add a dash of champagne and a pinch of surprise. Bring to a boil repeatedly for the rest of your life. Serve often, garnished with honey and cayenne pepper to taste.

For your chance to win a copy of Her Captive Muse, simply answer this question as a comment below!

What's your favorite way of spicing up a sexy encounter?

If you would like to get in touch with Indigo, or follow her blog, or buy a copy of Her Captive Muse, just follow the links below,

Follow her musings and art at Indigo's Blog
Connect with her on Twitter at @indigoinkandart
Buy Her Captive Muse here: Noble Romance
A short story by Indigo also appears in Uniform Behaviour by Lucy Felthouse

Now - let's see your answers to Indigo's question, and have a great weekend!

Indigo and Ashen


Saturday, February 19, 2011

Tarot Spread for Today...

The deck used is the Necronomicon Tarot.


The three cards in this Past, Present, Future spread are: The World, The Knave of Swords, and, reversed, the Ten of Swords.

XXI The World

Technically, The World is the last of the Major Arcana, and symbolizes everything we seek to attain for our journey through life.  The World is, in fact, seen to symbolize the end of the journey, but, in this spread, it is in The Past, indicating that the querent has already enjoyed the fruits of their success.

Knave of Swords

This card usually depicts a young person who is full of life, and who is enjoying their situation.  However, in this spread, the Knave here is a thieving street urchin, which would more likely indicate none of the success shown in the previous card.  Does this indicate that this person has lost everything already? If, so, why so happy? A paradox that lends to the riddle of this spread.

Ten of Swords, Reversed

An interesting card - given my avatar! The Ten of Swords is probably the most fatal card in the deck - symbolic of disastrous results or situations. In most representations, the victim is pierced by the swords - usually not good for one's future (or complexion)! In this representation, the victim is about to be beheaded - again, not usually good for one's future activities - unless you are destined to continue the struggle from beyond the grave! However, this card is reversed, which, in this case, somewhat mutes its negative aspect. Maybe there is some hope, however slim, after all.

This querent has enjoyed success and fidelity in their past, and, even now, whilst either having apparently lost everything, or had those prior gains nullified by what is to come, still has that positive outlook that brought them their sucesses. However, they now have a long, tortuous struggle ahead of them - a major loss, a virulent or malignant illness - that will take them all of their will and strength to overcome.

I wish them luck!

Ashen

Every Night Erotica - My Top Ten

For those who don't know, I've had a few stories published on the Every Night Erotica web magazine. ENE publishes a short (2000 words or less) erotic story every night, and is a wonderful place for budding authors to test their skills, and for established luminaries to share some of their shorter pieces.

All in all, for me, ENE has been a wonderful experience, and I want to take this opportunity to showcase some of the stories over the last 9 months that I have found very interesting, stimulating, and very well written.

Nothing but a necklace by Rawiya

Rawiya's work is always subtle and beautiful, giving the mind more to work with than imagery alone.

The Dream by PassionFlwr74

This story echoes one of my own very closely, but the imagery is so fulfilling I enjoy revisiting both tales.

Indoor Sports by Rachael LeFavre

Wonderful, gentle, sensuous, building to earth-moving pleasure. Rachael's descriptive skills build the anticipation and indulgence to a wonderful crescendo.

Shaving Lily by Rebecca Bond

This is one of the latest offerings by Rebecca Bond, and is a delightfully playful romp with a sensual twist.

One last train home by Giselle Renarde

Haven't you ever sat alone on the last train home, wishing that something more than glances would happen between you and some guy or girl who has caught your eye? Giselle takes that next step, and gives us a delicious insight to what could happen if you only...

Under the full moon by Peter Baltensperger

Peter's moonlit vision is very stimulating and sexy, bringing a lot of sensuality into an exquisitely detailed narrative.

Cavanaugh's Ridge by Jeremy Edwards

An object of desire becomes an obsession that leads to a resourceful and fulfilling resolution.  Well told, with wonderful, aching anticipation that makes the end result so much more satisfying.

I Awoke by Lucy Felthouse

So sweet! So sexy! So naughty! But, oh, so Nice!
I had difficulty selecting this from Lucy's other story on ENE, as that deserves an honourable mention, too!

Geek Goddess by Donnie Magazino

A playful revisitation of those prepubescent dreams where handsome or pretty teachers or, as in this case, librarians became objects of desire. The authoritarian has always been an object of sexual liberation, and Donnie's story echoes those fantasies.

Off the clock by Nickie Asher

If there's a way to ensure your next promotion, then a satisfying bout of horse-play with the boss's daughter is a very hot contender.

I hope you enjoy these as much as I did/do, and, remember, there's a new one every night, and a backlist of hundreds more. So, have fun...

Ashen

Saturday, February 5, 2011

Snippet Saturday - Winter Wonderland

Here's an extract from a tale within a tale.  A Mill Hill Valentine is part of one of the threads that flow through my *novel* Parallel Lives.

A Mill Hill Valentine
Copyright © 2010 by Ashen White

Jay luxuriated in the steaming water, settling down for a long soak.  Usually he’d lay there until the water got cold, often falling asleep or just day-dreaming.  The best thing about this apartment was the deep, long bathtub, and Jay liked to bathe as often as possible.  “Showers are ok, but you can’t beat a good hot bath!”
He was just starting to doze off when the doorbell rang.
“Shit!” he thought.  He wasn’t expecting anyone, in fact, he had had hardly any visitors, and certainly no unplanned visits, since he’d taken over the apartment almost four months earlier.  “Maybe they’ll go away if I just ignore them.”
That worked for about two minutes, when the doorbell rang again, a few times.
“Damn,” he thought.  He stood up and tried looking through the frosted glass and along the side of the ground floor apartment to the front door, but all he could see was a dark shadow standing in the doorway.  “Shit!” he thought again.  The last thing he wanted was to waste the hot bath water, not that he was paying the electricity bills!
The doorbell rang again, insistently, followed by a knock on the glass front door.  Here was the dilemma: Jay had walked naked from his bedroom into the bathroom, and his house coat was still in the bedroom.  He would have to walk, or sneak, past the hallway leading to the front door to get his coat from the bedroom, and the front door was all glass – albeit frosted!
“Darn it,” he sighed one last time, giving up his vision of a nice long bath, and, stepping out of the water, he grabbed a towel and gave himself a perfunctory dry.  Then he wrapped the towel around his waist and headed for the bedroom, just as another ring and knock came at the door.
“Just a minute,” he called, as he slipped past the hallway and into the bedroom.  There he quickly pulled on his dressing gown, ran his hands through his wet hair to flatten it down, and headed for the front door.
“I must look like a fucking lobster,” he mused to himself.  The dark shadow through the frosted glass of the front door stood and watched him approach, resting on an extended arm that leant on the door frame, right next to the bell push.  Dressed only in his house coat, Jay opened the front door, letting in a cold blast of wintry February air.  In front of him stood a tall, dark haired woman, wrapped in a long, heavy, dark fur coat.  Jay looked at her thin, pointed face, estimating her age to be somewhere in the mid-to-late 40’s.  Her cool blue eyes looked him up and down, then bored into his steel-grey eyes.
“Are you Jay, the new manager at Mill Hill?” she asked, her voice deep and melodious, with a hint of a Devonian accent.
“I am,” Jay responded.  Before he could continue, the woman stepped over the threshold of the door, forcing him to take a step backwards, and threw an angry question at him.
“Then I want to know who the hell you think you are?”  Jay stood there, dumbfounded.
“Sorry, but, what?” he asked, stupidly.
“Who the hell do you think you are?” she asked again, angrily.  “Letting my husband sit at your bar, night after night, getting so drunk he can barely walk home!  What kind of barman are you, that does that?”
“I’m sorry,” Jay stammered again.  “Who are you, and…”
“I am Frances, Harry Sloan’s wife,” she replied haughtily.  Jay knew very well who Harry was – an older, wizened little guy, barely 5 feet of skin and bone, who sat in the corner of the bar every night, and at every daytime session over the weekend, getting absolutely rotten drunk.  He was an habitual drinker, rather than an alcoholic, who drank himself blotto at every session for reasons known only to himself.
“Do you think, letting him get rat-arsed every night like that does anything for his family?  What kind of life is that?”
“I’m sorry,” Jay said, yet again.  “I am really not responsible for the state Harry gets himself into every night.  It’s a club, and unless the committee bans him or takes away his membership, there’s nothing I can do to stop him.”
“What do you mean, can’t stop him.”  She stepped further into the hallway, forcing Jay to take another step backwards.  “You’re the one who pours his drinks and takes his money – you and your barmaids.  Tell him to slow down, drink less, go home!”
Jay reflected over her suggestions, discounting them one by one.  “I can’t do that,” he said.  “I’d get into trouble if I did that.  He’d complain that I was interfering with his drinking!”
“Interfering with his drinking,” she mimicked.  “So,” she said, stepping further into the hallway, turning and closing the door, then turning to face Jay again, “what am I supposed to do about this?”  Emphasizing the last word, she took a step back away from the bemused man, and opened wide the fur coat she was wearing, exposing a completely naked body beneath!
Jay stood there in utter amazement, ogling at the spectacle before him.  Frances had good sized breasts, just starting to sag with age, and with dark maroon aureoles and nipples.  From his chats with Harry, Jay knew she had had at least two children, but her stomach was flat, showing only the slightest of paunches, that lead down to a thick, curly thatch of dark pubic hair, slightly flecked with grey, nicely shaped to her bikini line.  Beneath this, Jay could just make out the folds of her vulva, her thin, purple labia peeking out.  Despite the fur coat, during her walk to Jay’s apartment, the bitter winter wind had broken through the protection the fur provided, teasing her nakedness and stiffening her nipples, and she had goose bumps all over her body.  The audacity of the walk had thrilled her intensely, and, coupled with the risk of being discovered and the intentions behind her visit, had given her an inner warmth the cold could not extinguish.
“And what, in particular,” she continued, pointing at her crotch, “am I supposed to do about this?”  She glared at him, demanding an answer.  Standing almost naked, fully exposed in front of this total stranger sent a wave of sexual excitement pulsing throughout her body and deep into her womb, stimulating her sexual juices.  She studied his face carefully, judging his reaction to the sight of her nudity, and was pleased by what she read there.  Far from any signs of alarm or disgust, the brat, or so she thought of him, being more than twice his age, was actually interested in what he was seeing.
Now Jay may not have been the quickest guy on the up take when it came to women – he’d certainly made some significant errors in judgment during his first 23 years – but when a woman appears out of nowhere almost naked in front of you, demanding answers to questions regarding her sex equipment, then he kind of figured that anything was fair game.
“Well?” Frances demanded, tapping her crotch with her long, extended index finger.
“Uh-huh,” Jay started, already feeling stirrings in his groin.  “I think this needs to be examined a little further, if that’s ok with you, Frances?  Shall we go into here,” he pointed to the bedroom, “rather than investigate in the hallway?”
“Lead on, McDuff,” Frances replied sarcastically.
Fortunately, Jay always kept the flat, and especially the bedrooms, clean and tidy, just in case he had the good fortune to enjoy some intimate moments with members of the opposite sex.  That hadn’t happened since he had come down to London from the north-east of England, but he had a feeling that that was about to change.  Words of wisdom his father had imparted to him ran through his head as he lead Frances into the purple bedroom.  “Never miss a slice off a cut loaf, son.”
The only signs of disarray in the room were the rumpled clothes on the bed that Jay had recently vacated.  Jay kept the heavy curtains closed permanently, to prevent prying eyes from looking into his ground floor windows.  Frances looked around the room, surveying the basic furnishings, then kicked off her shoes and dropped her coat to the floor, standing fully naked in front of Jay.
“I think you’re wearing too much,” she said, matter of factly.  Jay loosened the belt on his house-coat, and dropped it to the floor.  Anticipation and imagination had already given him a substantial erection, which Frances inspected carefully.  “My, my, we are a big boy, aren’t we,” she said, anticipation adding to the heat in her womb.  She looked him up and down, taking in the muscular shoulders and taught stomach, the cut of muscles in his arms and thighs, the tidiness of his pubic hair.  Then she looked him in the eyes, wetness starting to seep from her pussy lips, and said, “you said you wanted to examine something?”

Hope you liked it!
Ashen

Sunday, January 30, 2011

Review: Necronomicon Tarot by Tyson & Stokes...

"THOSE WHO KNOW ITS POWER KNOW TO FEAR IT..."

So, I have spent the last few days getting to know the latest acquisition to my Tarot Collection: The Necronomicon Tarot, from Donald Tyson, illustrated by Anne Stokes.

Having long been a student of the Occult and the Arcane, The Necronomicon of Abdul Alhazred, as described by the venerable H.P. Lovecraft in his Cthulhu Mythos, is a familiar text to me, so I was intrigued to see how Donald Tyson would treat the subject material in transferring it's myths and meanings to the Tarot format. And, my first impressions are - very impressive!




Given the subject matter, it is natural to expect that these would be a dark set of cards, and, indeed, they are.  Tyson's interpretation of the Major Aracana utilizes a lot of the dark aspects of the Cthulhu Mythos, with powerful, evil monsters, necromancy, dark magic and ritual bloodshed.  Into each of the four suits of the Minor Arcana Tyson has grafted a tale that is graphically told through the visions that make up the pips.  Bloodshed, conflict and dark deeds flow through each of these tales, and serve to make this one of the most interesting Tarot decks I have encountered.




The imagery in these cards is fantastic.  Anne Stokes has done a wonderful job of translating Tyson's descriptions into graphic form.  Given that some of the creatures encountered in the Necronomicon need a lot of imagination to visualize makes Stokes' achievement even more impressive.  And, let's be honest, it's the visual image on a Tarot card that drives the reading rather than some, usually disconnected, esoteric attribute seemingly assigned arbitrarily and handed down in little booklets stuck in with the cards!  The book that comes with this deck, however, is also impressive, detailing in depth each card, filling in the pieces missing from the images, and linking the narrative behind the tales to the cards in each suit.

Favourite Cards?

The Ace of Swords is incredibly powerful and emotionally disturbing, while the detail of the Ace of Disks gives beauty to an otherwise tame card.  The Hanged Man, The Wheel, the Knaves of Wands and Disks, and The High Priestess I also find visually and emotionally stimulating.




All in all, a dark but wonderful Tarot deck.  My only advice, like that of Tyson himself, is to take care when using this deck for divination or meditation, to see beyond the darkness of the imagery into the true meaning of the spread. Perhaps the only negative aspect of this deck is that much of the imagery is based on Tyson's own expanded version of the Necronomicon legend rather than that of Lovecraft himself.
 
Love,
Ashen
 

Sunday, January 23, 2011

Book Review: "gotta have it" by Rachel Kramer Bussel

A brief dip into this collection of delightful, delicious shorts provokes an instant, one word response: "WOW!"

Rachel has collect 69 (ah - yeah!) of the best short erotica stories (1200 words or less), and these pages steam with wonderful tales from such top-notch eroticists as Jeremy Edwards, Angela Caperton, Cecilia Tan, Elizabeth Daniels, Giselle Renarde, Sommer Marsden, not to forget Rachel herself, to name just a few of the 69 authors herein, and the resulting collection is absolutely fantastic.

These stories cover a wide range of steamy, risque situations, where, usually, but not always, the sex comes quick and hard and satisfying.  However, there's still room, even in the space 1200 words allows, for some romantic, thoughtful, and, yes, even caring scenarios that make this more than just a collection of quickies.  Rachel's skill at picking the most sensual yet meaningful stories for her collections, and her vast experience within the erotic arena, gives her access to the most diversified pool of writers and the skillset to know when a story makes the grade - and each of the 69 in this collection make the grade!

Whether a night time read on the bedside table, warming up for a hot, hot night, or a primer for some alone time - we all do it, baby! - this book is a must-have!

Or, like Rachel says - "gotta have it!"

Ashen

Saturday, January 1, 2011

What's coming in 2011...

Now - onto the business of 2011:

Wonderful Rites, (and writes!)
More hot, garden frolics!
Another look or two through the glass floor!
Some tarot readings with a "difference"!
Demons in castles, and a Vampire Queen in a forest storm!

And a new series of steamy White's Nights for you (and me) to drool over!

Continued exposure at Every Night Erotica - thanks to Jennifer and all her people - and new channels that I am only just now discovering.

It's going to be sexy, steamy, fun, FUN, FUN!!!

And the gradual expansion of the genre's I write in to include the horror and real-life nightmares I've been planning over the last few years!

And I am so-o-o-o looking forward to sharing it all with you!

Have a happy, wonderful, sexy 2011!

Ashen

Thursday, December 30, 2010

If music be the food of love...

As the Bard himself says, music is one of those tools that can really make or break that sensual moment.  I find inspiration and stimulation for a lot of my erotic writings by using certain tunes to "get me in the mood", as it were. 

Thanks to the wonders of modern technology, I can share some of my favourite inspirational and stimulative tunes with you all.  Some of these I may have shared earlier, but it never hurts to "Play It Again", eh!

The Ballrooms of Mars - T.Rex

Significantly under-rated on the American side of the Atlantic, Marc Bolan was the originator of "Glam Rock", the musical genre that spawned the likes of David Bowie, Gary Glitter and The Sweet.  T.Rex was hugely successful everywhere else in the World except the North American continent, and "T.Rextasy" was the natural successor to "Beatlemania".  Bolan wrote a plethora of romantic and raunchy songs - maybe I'll list some of them someday - and Ballrooms of Mars is one of his best.

Bird of Paradise - Snowy White

A tale of love and loss, performed exquisitely by the very handsome Snowy White, a superb blues guitarist who was part of Thin Lizzy, way back before my time.

Hello Again - Neil Diamond

One of the most romantic songs Neil ever penned, and always the precursor to a wonderful evening - either at the keyboard - or elsewhere...  (Nudge-nudge wink-wink!)

Budapest - Jethro Tull

An excllent song from the flute master of Folk Rock, with the kind of superb imagery that's always useful for setting the erotic scene.  Nice and gentle - romantic, even - but those images leave you with a certain warmth - "Yes, and her legs went on forever, like staring up at infinity, through a wisp of cotton panty and a skin of satin sea."  Hot night in Budapest!

Jersey Girl - Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band

Never one of the great singers, this is Bruce at his warmest, sexiest, most brilliant best.  I warp this into "Geordie Girl" - those who know, know why - and it's a wonderful, romantic and soul-filling ballad.

Half the World - Belinda Carlisle

Sighs! Wants! Needs! Sighs!
A beautiful song with those underlying currents of desire and passion, portrayed beautifully by the beautiful Belinda. If only...

I use this song to add to my mood when in the erotic zone!  Easy to see why!

Je teme - Gainsbourgh and Birkin

Hot! HOT! HOT!!
Just watch the speakers melt.

It's All Coming Back To Me Now - Pandora's Box

This is the original version of the song by Jim Steinman that was subsequently ripped off by Celine Dion and Meat Loaf.  This version is so much better than either of those, so much raunchier, so much more tender, so much more real.  Elaine Caswell has a wonderful voice, and this song thrills me on so many levels!  So, if you touch me like this, and I hold you like that...

Incidentally - I couldn't find a YouTube version of my favourite piece of sensual music, so I'll work on that and post it up there myself!

Enjoy!

Ashen

On Reading Frankenstein!

I have just finished reading the actual "Frankenstein" by Mary Shelley, and I have to say - I am amazed!

The story Shelley wrote bears little resemblance to the movies that have terrorised and thrilled watchers over the years. And, as far as the monster itself is concerned, the movies are far, far from the mark!  Sure, Shelley's description of the Monster is of a giant, grotesque, ugly creature "of such loathesome yet appalling hideousness", but that is where the comparison stops.  The dumb, clumsy, dare I say goofy, monster of the films in no way represents the eloquent, self-educated, indestructible, super-human of the book.  The sub-title of the book  - The Modern Prometheus - gives a clearer indication of what the Monster is really about.

Certainly, the Monster does become an evil fiend, perpetrating horrendously malicious acts upon Frankenstein's family and friends.  But that is not, seemingly, how he originally thought, and his acts were driven by the anger and pain caused by the actions of Victor Frankenstein himself - even if we grant that the original murder of Frankenstein's young brother was an accident.  All of the subsequent murders and acts of terror were aimed to cause pain to Frankenstein as recompense for his refusal to create a bride for the Monster, in the same form as himself, which would have allowed him to have some form of companionship throughout the rest of his otherwise doomed-to-be-alone existence.  In much of what the Monster says, we can pity him, but the depravity of his acts counteracts our feelings, and leaves us in a quandary: What should we feel for this hideous creature - fear and horror, or pity and sorrow?

Why the majority of film makers have never focussed on the true nature of the Monster is easy to see - it is a very complex character to translate into the small amount of time a film allows. Also, the timeline of the novel stretches over a number of years, and the timeline of a typical Frankenstein movie is usually a number of days.

Before I totally castigate all Fankenstein horror movies, I'll reserve my final judgement until I see De Niro's performance as the Monster.  I'd hope the portrayal by such an accomplished actor would be more in line with Shelley's own vision, and I look forward to seeing it.

I'll let you all know how it goes!

Ashen

Tuesday, December 28, 2010

The Only Place To Waltz...

This atmospheric song takes me to places I really need to be, and it's the only place to rock!

The Ballrooms of Mars

Happy dancing!

Ashen

Tuesday, December 21, 2010

The Longest Night...

Winter Solstice - December 21, 2010, at 23:38 UTC.

This is the longest night of the year, and, for many followers of the arcane (and therefore Pagan) mythologies, it is the true time of Death and Rebirth, the true New Year, the symbolic end (death) of the old year, and the start (birth) of the new.

As the Wiccans like to chant...

The Holly King cometh!
His end draweth near.
Tonight He will die
At the wane of the year!
Tonight He will fall
At the dark of the Sun.
His season hath ended,
His giving is done!

The Winter Solstice is the origin of numerous traditions, superstitions and rituals that have, over the millenia and landscape, been carried down to become part of modern practices and songs. Many so-called Christmas traditions stem from the ancient traditions of the "older" religions, and were actually consciously included into the new religion so as to coerce as many of the followers of those older religions to join the new one, which, with so many familiar practices, the people found easy to do.  Practices such as burning the Yule Log and spreading its ashes, decorating with "boughs of Holly", and kissing under the Mistletoe come directly from the Celtic religion, where they are part of that religion's worship of trees.  Holly is one of the holy trees of the Celts, and Mistletoe is actually a parasitic plant that lives on Oak trees - another Celtic holy tree.

And, of course, the very fact that we decorate a "Christmas Tree" directly connects us to the pagan tribes of ancient Europe.

So, Hail to the Oak King!  The Oak King Cometh! And, to all my Christian friends, and to everyone else in the World, I wish you all a Happy Yule, and a peaceful and fruitful New Year!

After all - the majority of these ancient traditions are actually fertility rites - and what else would an erotica writer wish for? ;-)

Ashen