Into the Woods with a Good Book

This post was originally written in 2018

I have a little ritual I repeat from year to year.

Every year when we arrive at the cottage, the first thing I do is peruse the bookshelves.

The cottage is not our cottage, and so the books are not ours. The owners of the cottage are avid readers (of literary fiction in particular), and their new books quickly carve a path to the cottage bookshelves.

But, among the newer books are a host of older ones, the jazz standards of the cottage bookshelves. They're always there and I never tire of seeing them. Plenty of Canadian fiction: Robertson Davies, Stephen Leacock, Margaret Laurence.

A few years ago I read A Bird in the House. This year it was A Jest of God.

There's a reason I don't bring my own books to the cottage: I'm generally a slow reader, and choosing a book from the owners' shelves challenges me to read the entire thing in the span of a week.

You can't take it with you--the book, that is. This isn't a lending library.

So I spend the week reading.

At home, I start every day with a book. Now that I've kicked coffee, I brew a cup of tea and I sit and read for a while. But at the cottage that while stretches out, fills much of the day. Reading, eating, board games, DVDs at night. That's a family vacation at the cottage, and it's really something special.

If you'd like the inside scoop on this year's cottage vacation, I invite you to read my second book of correspondences, Hi Babe. It's just a little book of letters, the ones I wrote to my girlfriend while I was away.

This year's vacation was more eventful than relaxing--not at all what I'm looking for at the cottage. As much as I complain about the city, our family getaway proved that life follows you wherever you go. It even follows you into the woods.

Thank you, technology.

If you're at all interested, grab a copy today!

Enjoy!

https://books2read.com/u/mYo6Rp

Too Close for Comfort #TrueStory #Adultery #Erotica

 

Lately, I've been devoting a lot of my time to creating audio versions of my books.

Until this fall, when I bought myself a tablet (which I refer to as my "tip calculator" because I have no idea how to use it), I would record audio by reading from hard copies of my works.

But there's one book, in particular, that kept getting pushed aside.

I'd pick it up. I'd look at the table of contents. I'd flip to a story of particular interest and I'd read a paragraph or two. My words--words I wrote more than a decade ago--hit me in the heart. Like a punch.

They're too real. They're too true. I can't say these words out loud.

The book I'm talking about is Audrey and Lawrence, my collection of short stories inspired by the relationship I had with a married man. The stories aren't true--not strictly speaking. Well, some come pretty close, but most are completely made up.

The emotions expressed in those stories? The emotions are true. They're probably truer than anything else I've written. That book is my heart on the page. I can't get away from that. How can I tell those stories out loud? How can I say the words all these years later?

Audrey is not the most flattering depiction of me, but it is an honest portrayal. I hope I'm not so much like her now. I hope I'm a little less needy and a lot less jealous. I'd like to think that's the case. But reading those stories reminds me of my faults--of my character flaws and my missteps.

A lot of people from the romance world hate me because I write about adultery. And not just readers--authors too! I understand that they're not fond of cheating, but I'm not a romantic. Nothing I write is really romance. You aren't safe with my work. It's not safe. I'm not safe.

My reputation precedes me, and not just online. One time I was hired for a job only to discover that my boss went to school with my ex. I guess he did a little digging, asked around a bit, and discovered my true colours. After that, he started warning all the married men in his employ to steer clear of me.

I was a bad girl. I couldn't be trusted.

It was really such a shame, you know. I loved that job.

Anyway, here I am, many years later, wondering if this post is starting to sound like a cautionary tale. It's not. At least, it wasn't intended that way.

I just started re-reading Tristan Taormino's Opening Up and, as much as I now strive to live my life with honesty and integrity, I understand why people lie. I understand why people cheat. I've lived that life. Honesty is easier and even less hurtful, in the long run, but we cheat out of fear. Fear of loss. Fear of hurting those we love. Fear of admitting what it means when we love more than one person. Fear of opening up.

What fear is holding me back? Why can't I bring myself to create the audio version of Audrey and Lawrence? After all this time, why can't I say the words out loud?

Am I too scared to tap in to my inner Audrey? Am I too scared that she's still me?

Queer Sexy Surprises: 6 Erotic Stories

Queer Sexy Surprises

6 Erotic Stories

by Giselle Renarde

Series: Sexy Surprises

Volume 56

Word Count: 31,000

ISBN: 9798230030379

Queer Sexy Surprises is an entertaining collection of six short stories and novelettes that celebrate desire, identity, and the courage to step into the limelight.

Spanning both contemporary and historical settings, these stories follow characters navigating the complexities of love and attraction both in and out of the closet. A starstruck admirer finds himself entangled in a love affair with an infamous celebrity, while a burlesque performer captivates her audience—and her secret admirer.

With a cast of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and trans protagonists, Queer Sexy Surprises delivers passion, intimacy, and heartfelt connections in every story. Whether it’s a heated moment of self-discovery or a long-awaited declaration, these tales remind us that love—and lust—often arrive when we least expect them.

Buy Now from Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CWDFXGNK?tag=dondes-20
Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/books/details?id=ywtPEQAAQBAJ

Apple: https://books.apple.com/us/book/queer-sexy-surprises/id6743415575
Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/ca/en/ebook/queer-sexy-surprises
Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1730435

Read with your Everand subscription: https://www.everand.com/book/840313633/Queer-Sexy-Surprises-Sexy-Surprises-56

Find more retailers with the Universal Book Link: https://books2read.com/u/3yxrPZ

To All the Wives I've Wronged Before

I sometimes wonder when my misdeeds will catch up with me.

You know how I love all these true ghost story shows on TV? (Sure you do.) Well, sometimes you'll come across an episode involving demonic infestation. You don't just have a ghost in your house. You've got a full-on demon. It's a dangerous situation.

Sometimes the paranormal investigators will be able to pinpoint the moment the homeowner might have opened the door to this demon, and often that event occurred YEARS prior. The homeowner will be baffled by this. How come so many years--decades, even--went by before this demon ever showed its face?

The paranormal experts usually say that a demon will lie in wait until you're happy. Married to the perfect person? Great job? Cute kids and/or pets climbing all over you? That's the time a demon will choose to attack. Because they seek to destroy happiness.

If you know that I like ghost shows, you also know that I've been involved in my share of adulterous relationships. Seeing that life is irony, it wouldn't at all surprise me if someone's wife came at me after all this time.

A few years ago, an ex told me he was pretty sure his wife had stumbled upon the emails we'd sent each other when we were involved in an adulterous relationship. He said, "If I know her, she didn't just read one--she read them all." But these people do not talk to each other, so if she did read that series of emails (a string that started twenty years ago and ended almost a decade later), she never confronted her husband about it.

And she never confronted me.

So it's possible there's a wife out there who knows every nitty gritty detail of my affair with her husband (at least, all the details captured by email) and she's just sitting on that information. What would need to happen--in her life or in mine--for her to come after me? Would she lash out? How?

The wives of the married people I've slept with have always been kind, good-natured individuals. I can't imagine any of them coming at me with a rifle--except that I can imagine that scenario, and I've imagined it many times--but you never know what might happen. The fantasy, and one I've written about more than once, is that she comes at me and I'm like, "Well, I can sleep with you, too. It's only fair!" and great sex ensues.

It's possible that only happens in erotica. But it's a preferable fantasy to being slaughtered by wives.

SECRET CONFESSIONS: 36 #Erotic Encounters #AudioErotica #Audiobook #ReadbytheAuthor

No naughty encounter is ever complete until you tell somebody about it. And who doesn’t feel a tingle while reading a naughty story and wondering, “Is this true? Did that really happen?”

There’s one quality that unifies all confession-style erotic stories, no matter how sweet or how kinky: they’re all written in the first person. (I did this, I did that.) For that reason, when reading these stories, we’re particularly inclined to wonder if these stories are true. The author is writing as though they were (I ate her pussy, I sucked his cock), so why wouldn’t we believe it?

One of the best things about confession erotica is its unique capability to allow readers to suspend disbelief. When we hear these stories, we trust that we’re being told the truth. Even if we try to be rationally and consciously skeptical, we still believe, and there’s a bit of magic in that.

So, now I’m sure you’re wondering about the confessions in this collection. Are they true? Are they fiction? The answer is yes. Some stories are entirely fictional, pure fantasy. Others draw on real events, but aren’t entirely accurate. Of course, names have been changed, to protect the “innocent” parties.

Some stories are true, some are false, some are somewhere in between. Does it spoil the fun that I’ve made this confession? I don’t think so. I still haven’t told you which are which.

Listen to SECRET CONFESSIONS, narrated by me--Giselle Renarde! Look for it at Audible or wherever you normally get your audiobooks!