"The Red Brassiere" by EllaRegina is not only clever but entertainingly vivid and sensual too. It is flirty and light and then serious and passionate [...] [,] a wonderful flight of fancy that carries you along with French abandonment from beginning to end.
By far for me, however, the best story in this anthology is EllaRegina's "The Red Brassiere," an homage to the film, "The Red Balloon," by Lamorrisse made in 1956. This story is a truly outrageous surreal fantasy about a flying red brassiere that magically becomes the seductress of all the men in the multi-national capitol of France. I will not spoil this story with further plot elucidation, but I will say that it is a work of delightfully playful story telling that authentically lifts the heart. And that's what makes it so perfect, because despite the endless struggles of urban life, Paris is a city that truly is available to the open heart when it is supported with élan, a little charm and a sense of humor.
I'm also quite thrilled that Xcite Books selected The Red Brassiere as the free extract to represent the anthology. You can do the extracting here. [Click on the Free Extract format bullet, then Add to Basket and Checkout. (Free) registration is required.]
Sex in the City: Paris is the second in a series of gemlike anthologies inspired by and devoted to the erotic lives of various cities, brought to you by none other than genius editor Maxim Jakubowski and published by Xcite Books.
From Monsieur Jakubowski's introduction:
Cities are not just about monuments and museums and iconic places, they are also about people at love and play in unique surroundings. With this in mind, these anthologies of erotica will imaginatively explore the secret stories of famous cities and bring them to life, by unveiling passion and love, lust and sadness, glittering flesh and sexual temptation, the art of love and a unique sense of place.
My contribution, The Red Brassiere, the book's finale—merci beaucoup, cher Maxim!—pays homage to an early cinematic memory. Spoiler: my celluloid madeleine can be viewed in its entirety here.
My suburban tale of debauchery, "Blind Tasting," appears in the newly-released eBook and paperback, Coming Together: Against the Odds, a short story anthology edited by the altruistic Alessia Brio as part of her Coming Together series published by Phaze Books. All proceeds will benefit the charity Autism Speaks. (The profits are highest when books are ordered directly from the publisher). The Kindle version is available from Amazon. The print edition can also be purchased from Amazon and Barnes and Noble.
The singular, inimitable noir/erotica writer and editor, Maxim Jakubowski, has penned the introduction. Behold! Here is the stellar lineup of contributors:
When I first read the submission call, soliciting "mystery-themed erotic fiction," I wasn't sure I had anything that fit the bill, though the accompanying description gave food for thought:
All behavior is communication. The trick is to figure out just what it's saying. No behavior communicates as clearly or on as many levels as sex. All the physical and emotional senses are engaged. Add the element of intrigue, and the intellect is engaged as well.
Then I heard Alessia Brio interviewed on Gracie Passette's Cult of Gracie internet radio program. Towards the end of the hour-long discussion, Ms. Brio talked about the anthology, providing the exact words I needed to hear. She said the story could be "any sort of mystery -- it doesn't have to be a crime-drama type of mystery -- it could be a 'which one of these party guests is licking your backside while you're blindfolded?' type of mystery." Ms. Passette laughed and said she'd much prefer that to "the dead dinner guest" while I practically screamed into my computer's loudspeaker holes, "Alessia, have I got a story for you!"
In fact, "Blind Tasting" does involve -- among other things -- dinner guests (though none are killed off), and it's closer to what Ms. Brio proposed: not exactly a whodunnit, but rather a "who done it to whom?"
I find it particularly ironic and poignant, given my story's scenario, that the profits from Coming Together: Against the Odds go to Autism Speaks. The majority of autistic people do speak -- contrary to popular misconception. "Blind Tasting" offers an interpersonal counterpoint: four couples who, at a strategic point in the narrative, are not permitted to communicate with speech or sound or even by using physical/body language, if doing so causes the "message transmitter" to be identified by the recipient.
To whet your proverbial whistle,* here is an excerpt -- a wee taste of "Blind Tasting." I shall begin as most mystery stories do: at the beginning...
Blind Tasting by EllaRegina
They called themselves The Montridge Eight, after the metropolitan area suburb in which they lived, a thirty-nine-minute commute to the City, and though the name sounded like an underground terrorist group from the 1960s, their most incendiary efforts had involved turning on a Viking stove or lighting a Weber grill. A four-couple gourmet cooking club, The Montridge Eight met once a month, their homes revolving as venue, to travel the world gastronomically, one country and cuisine at a time. Creative professionals all, they were detail-oriented: an evening's theme would extend well beyond the food, to the decor, the wine, the music, sometimes even to the furniture.
The Greens, the Blacks, the Grays, the Whites: a box of crayons -- an odd one since the Blacks were not, the Whites were light brown and the Greens and Grays beige variations. They were the epitome of sophistication and urbane modern living. The men had long been vasectomized, completely relieving their marriages of pregnancy scares and latex fluid barriers. The couples were close and getting closer. The Montridge Eight gatherings elicited flirtatious behavior that grew stronger over the years. It began with one foot finding another under the table, or venturing further, toes slowly massaging a crotch. Hands would sneak inside waistbands from behind. Soon, parlor games were incorporated: first dirty Mad Libs -- "Name of Person in Room" particularly revealing -- then adult Charades, followed sequentially by Twister, strip tease, Strip Poker and Spin-the-Bottle. The Blacks, who lived in a former firehouse, offered their pole for dancing when they hosted, a mirrored ball on the high ceiling throwing sparkles over the dimmed space as each woman spun around the shiny brass upright, inspired by the thumping disco groans of Donna Summer and company. With each installment of the cooking club The Montridge Eight became increasingly daring and experimental. Perhaps it was the Cabernet, or the Pinot Grigio, or the Riesling, or the Rioja.
Although beyond familiar, the Greens, Blacks, Grays, and Whites -- a living version of the board game Clue -- decided from the onset that during these occasions they would refer to each other, including their own spouses, as Monsieur or Madame, evoking old black and white movies where the husband called the wife "Mother," lending the evenings a certain frisson of staged formality -- an interesting counterpoint to the sub-table footsie and miscellaneous lusty doings -- often inspiring unscripted postprandial role-playing once the couples were back in their own bedrooms:
"Would you do it to me in the Library with The Lead Pipe, Monsieur Gray?"
"Most assuredly, Madame Gray. My very large one. Where shall I put it?"
Across Montridge's verdant tree-lined streets, a parallel scene was unfolding at the Green house:
"In the Billiard Room, on the table, with The Rope, Madame Green?"
"Of course, Monsieur Green. A hog-tie is definitely in order," she replied, spreading her excited legs as Monsieur Green undid his perfectly slip-knotted neckwear, anxious to truss Madame's limbs, rigid cock pointed towards her from an unbuttoned fly.
To be continued, dot dot dot. Buy the book, dot dot dot!
Copyright 2009 EllaRegina. All rights reserved. Content may not be copied or used in whole or part without prior written permission from the author.
A clue relating to a key scene in "Blind Tasting."
One of my inspirations for the story.
"Blind Tasting" was initially featured on the Erotica Readers & Writers Association website in their February 2009 Erotica Fiction Gallery. Kisses to Rose and Adrienne! And a special hug to Donna George Storey for plugging "Blind Tasting" so nicely at the time on her blog.
I am chuffed to bits at the news that my O. Henry parody, The Gift of the Magic Lump of Coal, has been selected by the discerning and ever-esteemed Maxim Jakubowski, editor nonpareil, for inclusion in his prestigious anthology, The Mammoth Book of Best New Erotica 9, a showcase of literary finery. (Of course, my story will first be translated into proper English.) The annual volume, containing works by over 40 writers -- both established and "new" voices -- will be published across the pond by Constable & Robinson (January 2010), followed likewise in the US of A by Running Press. I am most humbled and honored to be in this respected collection once again. 'Tis my supreme pleasure, Maxim! Thank you!
I am truly chuffed, as my British friends would say, to announce that Black Lace, an erotic fiction imprint of Virgin Books (Random House; UK), has bought two (!) of my short stories for their upcoming (6 August 2009) anthology, Sexy Little Numbers (UK version here), the debut of an annual collection presenting the best erotica stories written by women.
From the Amazon.com product description:
"Sexy Little Numbers" will combine humour and attitude with wildly imaginative writing from all over the world.
I am also chuffed because the Black Lace editor, the dashing and discerning Adam Nevill, said some awfully nice things about my work. They brought tears to my eyes, they did.
While we are waiting for more information from Headquarters, why not peruse my "Inspiration" department? These are puzzle pieces, in the form of objects (from books to wearables, some of which are bound to shake you up, literally and figuratively), that, when put together, form me, more or less. I especially recommend "The Tingler," at the very bottom of the page. Headgasms guaranteed!
Literary erotica, often with a surreal element. Quirky, filthy yet refined.
"Glorious madness!"
"Wonderfully strange."
"Original and fresh."
"A lovely fusion of the surreal and the sublime."
"Intelligent, sensual and deliciously filthy."
"A master with language and magical ideas."
"Witty, inventive and sexy."
"A quirky talent for words and stories."
"Superb, surprising, surreal."
"EllaRegina is a pervert of the highest order."
"EllaRegina is a very talented writer who knows how to weave a tale and how to make the eroticism sparkle." — (Review) ; Ashley Lister, Erotica Readers & Writers Association
"...delightfully playful story telling." — (Review) ; Steven Hart, Erotica Revealed
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