Fixed in Amber
Malaga, June 21, 1990 The marine bows with stiff formality and releases his armful of red carnations onto the cafe’s stainless steel table. They blanket it, cascading over onto the pavement beneath. “Flores bonitas para una mujer bonita,” he says in broken Spanish. “It’s okay, I speak English.” “Pretty flowers for a pretty girl.” He’s […]
Who Do You Write For? Are we simply producers of product? Can I get a refund?
This question should haunt every writer. Certainly, there is no writing course in the world that doesn’t confront students with it. It seems like an easy one to answer, but it has levels of complexity that, for the most part, only get discussed within their own, embattled spheres. There is, philosophically, the overarching issue of […]
The Quitter
I sat on the cabin’s rickety porch, looked out at the rain coming down in sheets, and jonesed for a cigarette. Two days into my self-imposed detox exile, I was pretty confident that my third attempt to quit smoking was going to end in failure. Both previous attempts to quit had been played out in […]
Mine.
I don’t usually write this kind of straight-up erotica. But we’ve been discussing the shortcomings of D/s representations in 50 Shades of Grey, lamenting the fact that the author felt the need to make the protagonist so absurdly innocent, observing the fact that, for all the BDSM trappings, the sex was strangely vanillaish. Dangerous Sweets […]
The Lepidopterists – Part 9
As the girl reached up to pull all that wet, unruly red hair off her face, Yvette saw them. A fleeting moment of eye contact told her that Daniel had seen them too. The scars. It was impossible not to wonder what else this perfectly beautiful young woman had done to herself to accommodate the […]
The Lepidopterists – Part 8
“I couldn’t help it!” Jessica wailed as Yvette and Daniel entered the room. It was obvious what she was referring to: her thighs were streaming wet and a puddle of liquid had gathered on the wood floor beneath where she sat. “Oh, my! What a filthy little slut!” Yvette allowed a stage-like resonance to ring […]
The Lepidopterists – Part 7
The lights from the pool cast an electric blue glow over the garden. They swam a few laps together, then Yvette rolled onto her back and floated in the water, listening to the strange, tortured cries coming from the upper floor. The sound moved Yvette in ways that almost defied description. It fascinated and exhilarated […]
The Lepidopterists – Part 6
They stood and watched Jessica writhe and jerk. Her eyes were shut tight, her thighs trembled and she made sounds that ranged from murmurs to full-throated groans. Between her legs, her juices had stained the crotch of her panties a darker cerise. “Isn’t that the vibrator I bought you? The German one?” Yvette folded her […]
The Lepidopterists – Part 5
Half-naked, Jessica tugged furiously against the cuffs. The steel grated and rattled against the wrought-iron of the chaise, but it was old and built to last. She wasn’t going anywhere. As she kicked and screamed and began to cry, Daniel came into the room, his formal suit exchanged for a t-shirt and a loose pair […]
The Lepidopterists – Part 4
Daniel pressed a kiss to Yvette’s temple. She was certain he could feel the familiar pulse of blood rushing through her vein there. “Can you manage?” He looked at Jessica as she struggled to get up. “Or shall I do the honours?” Her eyes met his and the excitement hummed between them. “Oh, no. This […]