Lily Loses Her Shirt

Book #1 of my Strip Poker Club series is finally out!

Lily Loses Her Shirt 
Here is the description:
It's Lily's first night at the strip poker club. She and her date, Pierre, are a bit intimidated at first. The four regulars are young, sexy and, more importantly, good at poker. Lily? Not so much. As she loses more hands, she loses more clothes. And when there's nothing left to strip, her losses lead to owing sexual favors. She and her date are fresh flesh to the regulars. But the price to pay is so thrilling that it's impossible to resist.

To celebrate its release, I have lowered the prices on two other books: "Queen Over Two Jacks" which is Book #2 of the series, but was out months before Book #1; and "Fortune's Keys" my full-length novel. Please check them out, too!

How much steam required?

A contact recently suggested that I had too many words and too little sex in my stories, and they challenged whether what I wrote was truly erotic fiction.
I leave that for you to decide, although I reviewed my published and imminent stories and here is what I found:

• Fortune's Keys, my full-length novel, has 45,000 words. In that text there are 6 sex scenes, including an extended rape.

This is the one I feel the criticism most fits. There is lots of sex, but it might better be classified as a Romance as the thrust of the story is more romantic than erotic.
I may yet reclassify this one.

• Take 2 Takes 2 has 5,200 words, and the whole frame of the story is the filming of a sex scene in a film, a scene in which the lines between acting, consent and assault are blurred.

To me, that fits within the broader definition of erotic fiction. Obviously not to everyone's taste.

• My Sweet Comforter is a brief 2,000 words, the second half of which is a sex scene.

I also examined my Strip Poker series, and found:

• #1 - Lily Loses Her Shirt (due out very soon) has 9,300 words and four sex scenes, including one with bondage and one of group sex, plus lots of sensual stripping;
• #2 - Queen Over Two Jacks is 5,400 words with two sex scenes, both threesomes;
• #3 - Bound to Cheat (due out very soon) has 5 bondage-themed sex scenes spread over 9,400 words, pending final edits.

Perhaps not as many or as dense with sex as some other authors. But my fantasies, out of which my stories come, always have more than just sex.

I hope that the extra characters and details add to the enjoyment of my stories for more people than are turned off. They certainly sustain my own interest!

Strip Poker series out this month

As this awful winter finally turns to spring, as April arrives to banish the last vestiges of polar incursions, I am offering to my readers a new series of short stories.
All are set in a group of friends and sometimes lovers who enjoy each other's company - and bodies - in regular strip poker nights.
They live, they love, they laugh. The winners peel clothing from the losers. And when the card games end, the real games begin.
Expect three stories to be released between now and the end of May:

• Lily Loses her Shirt
• Queen Over Two Jacks
• Bound to Cheat

Check smashwords to download them: http://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/YBCharles
If they are well-received, you should expect at least two more to follow in the coming months.
They will be in the realm of fiction / romance / eroticism, with explicit sex scenes. For mature readers only.

The exact release sequence is not finalized and may not match the chronological order of their world. But the stories are stand-alone, so you may read them in any order.
Enjoy! I have enjoyed living with these characters for much of my adult life.

Does order matter?

The famous Chronicles of Narnia are out of order. Or, rather, they have multiple possible orders.
Do you read them from book 1 to book 7? Makes sense.
Except that is not the sequence in which the author wrote them.
Nor is it the order in which he wanted them read.
No, the sequence is numbered based on the passage of time in the Narnia world. Mostly, at least.

The topic is on my mind this month because my strip poker series - granted in a whole different category and level of writing skill! - is coming together in a different order than I meant.
One is ready to go, publish as soon as I say to throw the proverbial switch.
Alas, I meant it to be #2.
And one is almost ready, just waiting on some final revisions.
You guessed it, I meant it to be #3.
But I like some of the developments the characters have shown me in these later stories. So I am returning to do some overhaul on #1, delaying it a few more weeks.
They are, like Narnia, numbered chronologically in my head. But they are largely stand-alone, not depending much, in my opinion, on what came before. So no reason why I could not release the one that  is ready, #2, any time. But all the years that these fantasies have been in my head, it has been second.
To release or not. In sequence or not.
Does order matter?

Strip poker delay

My dreams of having my latest project, a multi-part series based on a group of friends and lovers who play strip poker, is behind schedule.
I had hoped to have at least a couple out in March. But that is looking unlikely. Two are in revisions, and may see the light of published day soon if all goes well. More details to come.
Thanks for your patience!

My Sweet Comforter now available

I'm very excited today!
Not only did my birth nation win Olympic gold in both men's and women's hockey this year, but my latest short story is now done and published!
A bit early, too. I was expecting the proofing, cover, etc to be ready in March. But as of today it is now available at Smashwords.com
I will provide a direct link from this blog in a little while, need to remind myself how first. But any time you can go to Smashwords.com and look for me, or search by title, "My Sweet Comforter."
Ok, maybe not quite as exciting as the men's hockey game, but darn close for me!

iBookstore mark-up

I have just discovered that my novel costs an extra dollar throught the iBooks boostore. It is listed there at $3.99.
Grab it there, if you like. I have used the store a few times and find it reasonably simple.
But I was surprised, since it is listed at $2.99 elsewhere, including Smashwords, where the links to the side will take you.
I have no illusions needing disabusing; I know I am an unknown, self-published hack of a writer. To me, 3.99 is too high a price point. A buck cheaper may be, too. But if you'd check out my book fot $2.99 but not $3.99, check around. You might just avoid the iBooks markup!
Love saving you $$!

Separating Fantasies

The grapevine has brought to my ears news that an acquaintance of mine is separating from her husband. Another family falls victim to the relentlessness of our modern pressures and expectations, and our diminished sense of commitment and dedication.
A tragedy, for them and for their child. And a shock; they seemed like the last couple who would split.
And yet..
Part of me weaves their story into my constantly operating fantasy mill, material that blends in all the easier since I may already have brought the spouse into the mill. A light initial introduction, yet his newly available status will feed the fantasy machinery more regularly now.
Maybe I need to write another story.

2014 Discovery #2

... is Red Velvet acake ice cream.
My very favorite cake would surely make a fantastic frozen dessert. Why had I not heard of it till now?
I have not yet sampled it, but this one sounds particularly delish: Ben & Jerry's version.

Starting 2014 with Torture

A few days ago I discovered the fascinating show and podcast 'Stuff You Should Know.'
I enjoy listening to the odd couple hosts, as they banter with varying degrees of wit about the topic du jour. One fellow reminds me, by voice at least, of a good friend from my youth.
Tonight, While browsing past episodes, what should I find but a podcast on medieval torture devices!
While inflicting pain and suffering to the point of death does not interest me much as a topic, the notion of mild pain via interesting and artistic bondage does, and there is certainly overlap between the two classes.
If, like me, the topic is of  passing interest, here is the link:
(I am still learning this blog-stuff; I hope the link can through this time.)

Think I will work more bondage into my next stories.

Torture stories. What a great way to start the year!