Xciting times

Following the change-around in the Xcite Books websites, the ‘Our published work’ page (see the menu on the blog header) has been updated and things added to it (including one or two bits we’d written and forgotten about!). So those links all work. We haven’t yet messed with the ones in individual posts – you’ll have to take your chances.

As usual, there’s a load of stuff ongoing and some new things we hope to announce shortly.

In addition, Fulani’s been experimenting with writing short stories for the Achtung Fetish website, which is a membership-based hardcore site – but there’s not a lot of point in teasing you with details because the stuff’s all in the members’ area. Writing a connected narrative around actual pics (as opposed to his own imagination) has been an interesting exercise, and the spinoff has been the need to research various sexual practices that hadn’t previously figured in his stories. It turns out you could write a story just about the process of getting ready to wear a latex outfit, and feeling the smooth tightness of the outfit under your fingers as you slide into it… Research has been necessary on other matters too, such as religious rituals that turn out to be relevant to the theme of a picture set. At least it keeps Fulani quietly entertained…

Tricks for Kicks – now out

Tricks for Kicks cover (Xcite Books)

Tricks for Kicks cover (Xcite Books)

You might remember Fulani had a short story, ‘Filthy White Dress’, that appeared as part of the Making Her Pay ebook from Xcite – this was a short five-story collection. ‘Filthy White Dress’ was slightly unusual in terms of erotica because it was inspired by ‘Nu Fetish’, something we’ve previously blogged about here – and maybe a little, too, by some themes from French experimental writers such as Robbe-Grillet, who deliberately set out (in Project for a Revolution in New York, for example) to associate colours with particular cultural meanings. If you’re into experimental literature, Project for a Revolution in New York is kind of interesting because it includes a huge number of hardcore torture scenes of a nature that  most erotica publishers these days wouldn’t touch with a barge pole, or any other implement.

But we digress.

The same story is also now out as part of the longer Tricks For Kicks: Sex with Rewards 20-story Xcite collection, edited by Elizabeth Coldwell.

Stories by: Veronica Wilde, Mary Borsellino, Fulani, Victoria Blisse, Maxim Jakubowski, Catelyn Cash, Landon Dixon, Tabitha Rayne, Heidi Champa, Dominic Santi, Kay Jaybee, Kathleen Tudor, Marleen Yong, Giselle Renarde, Cecilia Duvalle, Alanna Appleton, Cynthia Lucas, Sommer Marsden, Scarlett Blue and Elizabeth Coldwell – 224 pages all told. Available as hard copy at £7.99 or as an epub format at £6.49.

In short, what you’ve got in this collection is 20 pieces by a bunch of the most talented and innovative erotica writers you can hope to find.

If you want a sneak peek at Fulani’s story, one was included in a previous post on this blog.

Erotica-romance-ebooks

Just a quick note: if you’ve tried to find any of our publications via the links we make to http://www.erotica-romance-ebooks.com, you’ll have seen a ‘site currently not active’ announcement. It’s Xcite’s ‘third party’ site that sells their own books plus those from other publishers, and Xcite’s geek people have been working to deal with it. In the meantime, the Xcite ‘own brand’ website www.xcitebooks.com is still working just fine.

Congratulations to Xcite Books!

The pic on the left is Hazel Cushion, founder of Xcite Books, accepting the ETO Best Erotic Book Brand award 2011. Xcite Books is an erotic imprint of Accent Press, a UK publishing company founded by Hazel Cushion. Accent Press as a whole publish quite a range, from crime thrillers to business and management books to erotica, with the erotica running under the Xcite label. Hazel herself has also previously won a Women in Publishing Award and was ‘Entrepreneur of the Year’ in 2004, only a year after she started the company.

Hazel started Accent Press – Xcite is an Accent Press imprint – in 2003 after completing an MA in Creative Writing when her triplets were five years old. Commenting on this latest award Hazel said, “I’m so proud of Xcite – it’s a wonderful range but its success comes from the quality of our authors and editors.”

The ETO (stands for ‘Erotic Trade Only’) is the UK’s annual adult industry trade show. It took place last week (26-27 June) and no, we don’t have a complete list of who won which of the 22 awards given out across all the categories!

Oh yeah – and we both write for Xcite. But then you already knew that, didn’t you.