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Flash: Half-Hungry

Erin Penn

Image Courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Rating: Mature

Gwyn came out of the apartment bathroom to find Jeremy asleep on the couch. She smiled. The guy was just so sweet and nice; she couldn’t believe he had faced Anthony down when they went to get her things. Nearly broke her ex-boyfriend’s arm when he took a swing at Jeremy. When did he get so strong?

The last two days have been a whirlwind since she cried on his shoulder.  Getting her stuff, replacing all the things Anthony had destroyed, and the thousand and one things involved in changing her address. And Jeremy had been beside her through it all, while checking in with his business and covering any hours he couldn’t get employees to come in to help.

He was and always had been the one stroke of luck in her life.

She should let him sleep.

She tiptoed past the couch to get to the second bedroom in the apartment.  The living jungle. Jeremy had moved many of the plants into his room, kitchen, and balcony, plus a Prius car-load out to the nursery in his florist shop to make room for his guest cot and her new clothes, but the amount of green was still overwhelming.

A hand grabbed her leg below her short nightdress, while a sleepy tenor asked, “Where are you going?”

Trying, unsuccessfully, to ignore the shivers caused by Jeremy’s thumb caressing her knee, Gwyn whispered, “Off to bed. It’s nearly midnight.”

One black eye opened blearily. “Dinner … you need to eat something.”

“I’m good.” Gwyn’s stomach made a noisy denial of her statement. She had skipped dinner the night before, and every meal but lunch today – which Jeremy had made her eat between getting new bras and changing her driver’s license.

His other eye opened and his black eyes stared her down, while his lips twitched. Suddenly they both burst out laughing. Jeremy sat up on the couch and pulled her down into his lap.

“I can hear that.” He said between laughs.

Gwyn threw her arms around her childhood friend and gave herself over to the healing laughter. She so needed this.

Equally suddenly, the laughter stopped. She felt a bump under her ass that hadn’t been there before. And Jeremy’s black eyes were focused on her lips. Gwyn licked them instinctively.

They had dated a little through Junior High and High School, so she knew Jeremy found her attractive. Teenage boys didn’t have much control over the arousal reflex, but good teenage girls aren’t supposed to notice. He never did anything inappropriate though. Jeremy was her safe harbor.

Her nipples tightened as he moved his head towards her slowly and her pussy clenched. This was Jeremy, why was she reacting? Safe Jeremy. Nice Jeremy. His lips brushed hers lightly on the side and she moved to meet them. Jeremy whose shoulder she cried on. Jeremy whom took her in.

Light nibbles along her lip invited her to open her mouth. Gwyn sank into the next level of kisses with a sigh. Jeremy’s gardening-roughened hands cupped a breast through her thin white silk nightdress. His thumb rubbed a nipple, the chapped skin increasing the sensation caused by the abrasion.

Her head spun as the kiss deepened and she discovered his weight pressing her into the couch. Jeremy had stretched her out and pressed her into the white cushions; his shaft straining at his jeans against her exposed mound. The nightdress had hiked up and she wasn’t wearing underwear.

Jeremy released her mouth. He didn’t say anything, but their eyes met a moment. Gwyn understood he checking for any protest, any reluctance. But this was Jeremy, her harmless, innocent Jeremy. She trusted him to take care of her. Later, later she would do something to wreck what they were starting. But that would be her fault, not his. She gave him a quick peck on the forehead and waited to see what her friend would do next.

He stopped to nuzzle her breasts. His four-o’clock shadow made them extra sensitive as he sucked first one and then the other through the silk. He bit and sucked until she was moaning, writhing beneath him. His weight held the bottom half of her in place, forcing her to grab his strong shoulders with her hands and arch her body closer to his. He slipped a hand between them and found her slickness.

With his callused thumb, Jeremy rubbed her nub while the rest of his hand cupped her mound. She separated her legs to make more room for his palm and he took advantage to change hand position and dip a finger into her. Gwyn bucked against the hand. Jeremy sucked one tit deeply into his mouth then blew air onto the silk and nipple, all the while increasing the pressure on her clit.

Lights danced behind Gwyn’s closed eyes. She knew her fingernails were digging deeply into Jeremy’s shoulders but couldn’t control them. “Close, oh, god, Jeremy, so close.”

The mouth left her breasts and the thumb abandoned her clit. The tightening coil didn’t let her go and she squirmed for fulfillment when Jeremy’s weight released her.

Then she felt Jeremy grab her legs and pull her toward the end of the armless coach. Her nightdress rode up her back and bunched around her breasts, leaving her pussy and belly completely exposed. His strong hands pushed her knees apart, the bottom half of her legs now hanging over the coach, and he blew air against her most intimate parts. She arched up again, but his hands held her knees and hips firmly in place. She felt his stubble graze her inner thighs and then his mouth found her clit.

(947 words – originally appearing at Breathless Press 10/16/13 for the 8/19/12 Sunday Fun, published on the first blog on 10/20/2013; republished new blog format 3/12/2017)

Book Review: Shattering the Ley

Erin Penn

Amazon Cover - Shattering the Ley

Book Cover from Amazon

BOOK BLURB ON AMAZON

Shattering the Ley by Joshua Palmatier

First book in Joshua Palmatier’s new epic fantasy trilogy, set in a sprawling city of light and magic fueled by a ley line network.

Erenthrall—sprawling city of light and magic, whose streets are packed with traders from a dozen lands and whose buildings and towers are grown and shaped in the space of a day.

At the heart of the city is the Nexus, the hub of a magical ley line system that powers Erenthrall. This ley line also links the city and the Baronial plains to rest of the continent and the world beyond. The Prime Wielders control the Nexus with secrecy and lies, but it is the Baron who controls the Wielders. The Baron also controls the rest of the Baronies through a web of brutal intimidation enforced by his bloodthirsty guardsmen and unnatural assassins.

When the rebel Kormanley seek to destroy the ley system and the Baron’s chokehold, two people find themselves caught in the chaos that sweeps through Erenthrall and threatens the entire world: Kara Tremain, a young Wielder coming into her power, who discovers the forbidden truth behind the magic that powers the ley lines; and Alan Garrett, a recruit in the Baron’s guard, who learns that the city holds more mysteries and more danger than he could possibly have imagined . . . and who holds a secret within himself that could mean Erenthrall’s destruction — or its salvation.

 

MY REVIEW

A solid fantasy story, sort of in the “epic” variety in that it has multiple points-of-views (POVs),  following a political situation. But also has strong romantic elements, several coming-of-age storylines, start-for-a-series worldbuilding, and some kicking sword and fist fights.

Not of the standard “epic” in that there are no orcs and elves, and the magic – while wieldable by individuals – is treated by this society more like electricity and the “mages” come to your house to fix the stove while the stronger mages fix the power lines – or in this case the ley lines. In some ways this ends up feeling more science-fiction in a historic setting than a fantasy (similar to a steampunk vibe). I guess that is why I enjoyed it so much.

We first meet the POV major characters in their childhood – Justin is 8, Kara is 12, and Allen is 16. The book has many chapters divided among five parts – these five parts read like mini-books and have two major skips through time – one of four years and one of twelve years – so at the end of the book Justin is 24, Kara is 28, and Allen is 32. One or two timing issues made me go “er”, but did not impact the story at all. For example not exactly certain what Cory’s age is at the beginning of the book. Not that it matters since he isn’t a primary POV character, although he does have a couple short POV moments.

Overall a good way to spend a few days.

Addition: With the second book out (Threading the Needle), I think it is okay to mention this is the first book of an apocalyptic story within a fantasy setting. Ecological magic-based disaster. And by apocalypse, I don’t mean the more common post-apocalypse where you see the survivors ten or twenty years or even hundreds of years after the disaster. No, this book is about the apocalypse – the destruction of civilization. Characters die – POV characters, both minor and major, die. Ones you like. Ones you don’t like. Ones you have bonded with over the course of the book. You feel the loss. Great writing.

Future books of the series hopefully will not be as emotionally draining as the last two parts of this book.

Flash: The Interview

Erin Penn

Image courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Rating: Mature

Maddy followed the luscious male’s ass through to one of the messiest houses she had ever been in. Not hoarder level piles, but dust, dishes, and dirt everywhere. High-end furniture with water marks from glasses. Used clothes dropped where stripped.

 

Yep, these boys needed a housekeeper bad. Not certain about the rest of the job, but live-in arrangements didn’t come often and Jack was really tired of having her crash on his couch. Well, more accurately Jack’s boyfriend. To be fair, her friend put up with a heck of a lot from her, and his boyfriend didn’t understand their history.

 

The kitchen was no better than the rest of the house, but the table had been cleared and her other potential boss was already seated. Oscar met her at the door, so this had to be … “Dave, so good to meet you.” she said, presenting her hand.

 

Dave, a brunette to Oscar’s dark blond, stood to take her hand. Holy Hannah, she watched her hand get swallowed in his mitt. If the urban myth of hand size was true … her eyes drifted down and made a measuring guess. Dave dropped her hand and sat abruptly while Oscar joined him on the other side, putting the papers she brought on the table.

 

“A little larger than expected, your résumé.” Oscar commented.

 

“You requested the last three years of employment.” Maggie pointed out

 

“And in that time you had …” Oscar moved the pages around, silently counting. “twenty-four jobs.”

 

“What?” asked Dave, grabbing some of the sheets. “Did you quit all these or were fired?”

 

Smiling a 100-watt smile, Maggie started putting a positive spin on the situation. She knew she could ace this. She gave great interview. Plenty of practice. “Well, several of those are acting gigs, and a few were seasonal positions. Is the amount of jobs a problem? I do try to keep busy.”

 

“We understand seasonal positions, being in construction. But why did you leave something like the daycare position?” Oscar inquired flipping paper around.

 

“The daycare position entailed cooking the children meals and keeping the facility clean. Likewise my work in restaurants and as a maid gives me the skills to be an excellent housekeeper. The Little Ones Daycare and DJ’s Janitorial Services required extensive background checks and bonding. I should be able to get those types of credentials if you need them.”

 

Dave grabbed the rest of her résumé when Oscar started tapping the papers together. “I agree you have the skills required for that portion of the position, but why did you leave your last place of employment?”

 

 “Annalisa’s was a seasonal position.” Maggie said, leaving out the fact she got released because she moved things without the management’s direction. Never mind her little fix of the floor plan increased revenue by 12% over the three days it was in place before the boss noticed. She constantly ran into problems when she improved things.

 

Dave held up another page. “And how about the sex phone line?”

 

Maggie had included that job because of the second requirement of the position she was applying for. “I must admit I got fired from that one.” She sighed dramatically. “I just couldn’t keep to the script.”

 

Dave looked interested and motioned her to continue.

 

So in a monotone she said, “Oh, oh, do me.  Yes, touch me there. I like that.” Maggie’s laugh pealed. “I changed things up so I felt the part, and when my line got more repeat calls than others the owners looked into things and were appalled by my inventions.”

 

Oscar shifted in his seat, he of the greater height but smaller hands. “Do any of your inventions include S&M?”

 

Ahh, now to the real interview. A friend from the sex line had given her the information for this job. The boys not only wanted a housekeeper, but also a live-in dominatrix. “I tried to steer clear of abusive sex, but some titillation through taking control or letting go always spices things up.”

 

Dave smiled in comfortable agreement. Oscar started opening his mouth for the next question.

 

Speaking of taking control, time to hijack the interview. “So why did your last Mistress leave?”

 

The two men looked at each other. Oscar’s head nodded and Dave took over. “We were too vanilla. And she said we worked too much.”

 

Maggie leaned back, taking two of the chair legs off the floor and considered. They gave her time to think. “Are you two a couple without a dom present? Whose on top?”

 

Dave answered again. “Outside the bedroom, we jointly own a construction firm and we pour all our energy into that. We prefer not to think once home and depend on someone else to take over.”

 

“So you have been without your dom for about, what, three weeks?” Maggie inquired with, bringing the legs back to the floor. “Have you had sex at all since then?”

 

Dave shook his head no. Oscar couldn’t even meet her eye. Oh, she was so going to ace this interview.

 

“Okay then boys, stand up.” She ordered.

 

Like good little submissives, they stood. Maggie never thought of herself as a dominatrix before, but for the two hunks in front of her she was going to give it a shot. Heck, for room and board and the starting salary she had been told, she would have attempted it with two overweight TV addicts.

 

“Lead the way to the cleanest bedroom.”

(Words 911 – first published 2/6/2013; published in new blog format on 3/5/2017)

Other Cool Blogs: Magical Words July 9, 2010

Erin Penn

Image courtesy of fantasista at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Beta Readers

Your opus is complete, over sixty-five thousand words which you know … well, hope … connect together for a story. A few of your friends and family members have offered to help you by reading your stuff. Beta Readers! You’ve been told you need them so you sign up the ten of your nearest and dearest who have volunteered.

George, Carrie, and Anne tell you it’s the best stuff they ever read and sure to be a best-seller. Miller and Evans never get back to you. Ingrid sends back several pages of things which need fixing to make your science fiction story have a proper romance; you aren’t writing a romance. But Marc, Simone, Duck, and Margaret responded with vague things about “I think something is wrong somewhere after the beginning.” and “The big fight didn’t make sense.” and “Some characters need work.”

For the future, mark the first five off your list. You don’t need fans reading your stuff; you need critics who get back to you. Ingrid should write her own book if she thinks the world needs more romances. The other four, well, they need some guidance.

Fortunately guidance is at hand thanks to a Magical Words post written by AJ Hartley on the ABCs of Beta Readers. When the blog group created, “How to Write Magical Words: A Writer’s Companion” this post picked as a best-of-the-best and Mr. Hartley made a minor modification with the letter “D” making it even better (see page 220 of the book).

Give your beta readers the ABCDs and ask them to only write the letter as they read through:

A = Awesome. This part is really, really good.

B = Bored now. I’m about to put down the book if things don’t pick up soon.

C = Confused. I backed up, re-read, and … huh?

D = Don’t Believe It. Girl, this is worse than the D&D game where we all had +5 weapons at first level. Dude, I don’t know how you cook, but bread takes more than 10 minutes to rise.

Previous posts on Beta Reading can be found: here.