Please allow me to introduce myself...

[imsoexited]

I'll confess I got real tears in my eyes reading your lines of introduction. What first caught my eye was the first lines of one favorites from the old days.
Then I read on, and found a oh so familiar telling from so many of the people I helped over the years, in my daily work.
But we'we all been there, belive me.
For some the line up is easy to see, as in lifes where the rules are told, but for most people those rules are what makes Freud say we don't have an easy life in any culture.

I love to see you actually made it, even if you waited for soo long, setting yourself free from outside interference in your emotions, and the expression of those.

Writing erotica is a cure for many people as writing 'bout any feelings is. First you see what is inside of you, next you share it and it is outside now. Not burning trying to escape it's prison.

I will read all your stories, and I am sure they will be as rewarding as you oh so personal introduction of youself.
But promise me to write what you fell like writing, not following the roads sometimes suggesting from comments, leading away from the real you. 'Cource I can se in just this introduction that you have something to tell and you will tell it good. And I'll be at your feet by the virtual fireplace listening to your life and fantasies, mabye sometimes driften of in a sweat sleep of comfort, other times be awake, eagerly waiting for the next letter to land in a word, a sentence forming, a coming out of a master.

You are a rare flower in this forest of eroticawriting, and for that I send you a virtual serenade.

How about Leonard Cohen? LIke it? Me too.

Am Em
Dance me to your beauty with a burning violin
Am Em
Dance me through the panic 'til I'm gathered safely in
Am Em
Lift me like an olive branch and be my homeward dove
H7/F# Em
Dance me to the end of love
H7/F# Em
Dance me to the end of love

 

[tickledkitty]

Welcome.

You asked how we ended up here, I think. I started reading and kept thinking all the while that I could do this too. I've always wanted to write but never actually did it, somehow. I wrote a couple of short vignettes that some uh...friends enjoyed a great deal. Then I did a little bit of research on Lit to see what people like to read. Then I wrote.

I've found that interacting with the good folks here has been very helpful and also fun. I'm glad I "hung out" for a bit before submitting my first story.

Anyway, yeah, keep writing smut. It's wonderfully liberating and empowering.

 

[Emerald_Dragon]

Hi!!!! Welcome to AH and Lit!!!!

I can completely relate to the parents thing. I think I would die of embarrassment if they found out about this kind of writing that I do!

And yet I love it and it is really fun exploring your imagination and even your darker side through writing.

I will have to pop over and read your stuff.

Welcome again!!!

 

[glynndah]

A welcome from the good little witch.

 

[michchick98]

I'd like to toss my hat into the ring also and welcome you to the AH.

While I've been on Lit since around early '06, I didn't really start hanging out here until late '06 or early '07. I still feel like an outsider sometimes.

I clicked on the link for your stories and noticed they're quite long. While I do love to read long stories, sometimes I have to read them in intervals. So I can't comment on them just yet, but I will, either on the stories themselves or to you personally through the feedback links.

Anyway, you'll find a great bunch of people here. As it was said, authors here are from all walks of life, political affiliations and religious beliefs. Some like to argue their side of the story, others like to just sit back and read.

On the political threads, I prefer not to participate. I have my beliefs and opinions and I don't argue them well. My mom will attest to that fact, whenever we discuss religion or politics, I always just smile and nod because I hate arguing those topics with anyone, especially her.

Embrace your imagination and your experiences, that's the best way to get a good solid story. I started the same way tickledkitty did. I read stories on here in different categories. I read comments others left for those stories.

I ventured into the discussion forums on occasion, but mostly I just read the stories. Having dabbled in writing since I was in high school (a really, really, really long time ago) I thought I'd try my hand at a different kind of writing.

Through encouragement and constructive criticism, my writing has improved and I've even managed to make a friend or two here.

Most of my family knows I've been writing again, but they don't know what. Surprisingly, most of my friends were supportive of my new 'hobby' and encouraged me to keep on writing.

You seem to be off to a good start with your introduction. Again, welcome to Lit and the AH! Have fun!

 

[Emerald_Dragon]

Your story is great, voted 5 on all three! Are there going to be more chapters? I hope?

 

[starscape]

gauchecritic, reading your reply made me LOL. It was like getting a shorthand insider's peek into the belly of the beast. And just like shorthand, I understood a little more than half of it. BTW "Fairy Story" cracked my shit up. Bet you're a blast to go drinking with.

rgraham666, it sure is nice to be here. I saw today that you left a very generous comment on my story. That means a lot to me; I can take all the encouragement I can get. I have to say I am very impressed with the diversity of your work. It is my hope that someday I will be able to offer stories in a variety of categories as well. I'm going to read "Prey" tonight. Been branching out lately and reading a bit of Erotic Horror.

Chantilyvamp, thank you for the warm welcome! You're a real sweetheart.

SweetWitch, thanks for the clarification on the Naked thread. Yet another lesson about not judging a book by its cover. I'll definitely wander in sometime soon. I could definitely get into a discussion of character development too; if you end up starting a thread on it, I'll be there. Fifteen mean cousins? Oh lord! I had one cousin who lived to torment me and he was more than enough for me. Please forgive me though for laughing a little at "Lousy bastards..." Ah, the memories of being tortured at Grandma's house...

dr_mabeuse, I appreciate your kindness very much. In the short time I have been visiting the boards, I've found your posts quite insightful, not to mention beautifully written. As a (sometimes too) deeply emotional person, your writing has an emotional quality that really resonates with me personally.

imsoexited, your response almost made me cry! What a sweetheart you are. <hug> Thank you for reminding me about the importance of staying true to what personally inspires. Doing this first story took so much out of me that I don't think I could take the pressure of writing to meet people's expectations. At the same time, when I started getting these wonderful emails from readers asking me to continue the story, the people-pleaser part of me has found it hard to not want to comply.

tickledkitty, that's great that you had RL friends who supported your exploration into erotic writing. I have been learning a lot from reading the discussions here as well. When I initially had my first story written, I was in this big hurry to post it on the site, I think because I was proud of myself for actually having the guts to go through with it and also because I was afraid that if I didn't submit it right away that I would chicken out. But after reading the FAQ's on submissions, posting on the Editor's forum and reading tons of articles and people's posts, I changed my mind and got help from an editor. Best decision I made. Even though I know my story is far from perfect and I still have a lot to learn, I've developed a new-found appreciation for taking your craft seriously by being here. I admit I was under the misconception that it doesn't matter that much since I'm "only writing dirty stories." I know better now.

Emerald_Dragon, glad to hear someone can relate! I recently read this story in the humor section; I forget what it was called, but it was about this Lit author who accidentally emails a draft of one of her stories to everyone in her address book instead of to her editor, whose handle starts with "all". OMG, it was both hilarious and stuff out of my darkest nightmares. Also, thank you so much for your compliment about my story. For now, the story stands on its own, although I must confess I spent so much time inside that universe and in my characters' heads that I do find leaving them behind quite sad. I think they have some stories to tell yet, and I've got a seed or two rolling around the old noggin for one of the secondary characters as well. So someday, I think you'll see them again.

glynndah, when I was a little girl and watched "The Wizard of Oz" for the first time I thought Glynda the good witch had the most beautiful dress I'd ever seen. I used to dream about being able to transport myself in a bubble like she did in the movie.

michchick98, I so know what you mean about not being able to debate well. As for myself, I was one of those kids who couldn't resist asking uncomfortable questions. More often than not, the response was to shame me for daring to have such thoughts rather than answering my questions or admitting that they didn't know the answer. I grew so accustomed to reacting to things emotionally it can be very difficult to articulate my point of view in a logical manner when it's a "hot button" topic for me.

 

[Guest]

Evening!

Glad to see you settling right in.

You need to post as much as possible and get up to 100 posts so you can have an AV!

(And the rum isn't affecting me at all this evening!)

 

[SweetWitch]

SweetWitch, thanks for the clarification on the Naked thread. Yet another lesson about not judging a book by its cover. I'll definitely wander in sometime soon. I could definitely get into a discussion of character development too; if you end up starting a thread on it, I'll be there. Fifteen mean cousins? Oh lord! I had one cousin who lived to torment me and he was more than enough for me. Please forgive me though for laughing a little at "Lousy bastards..." Ah, the memories of being tortured at Grandma's house...

Go ahead and laugh. I do every time one of those lousy bastards sits at my table with that look on his face, wondering what I used to poison the food. Slow, thorough revenge can be so sweet.

I just did my first story review. I was going to do one of yours, but decided that so many were reading your stuff at the moment, I'd give someone else a try. The review thread can be found here. Feel free to add.