Cheyenne Blue Archives - Harper Bliss

GUEST BLOG: Party Wall by Cheyenne Blue

October 17, 2017 by Harper Bliss 1 Comment

My friend Cheyenne Blue has a new book out and has stopped by to tell you all about it. (Note from Harper: I have read the book and LOVED it!)

What is the Universe trying to tell me?
By Cheyenne Blue

I have a new book out. My fourth novel Party Wall is out now from Ylva Publishing and available everywhere. I’m really excited. And this release day, I was doubly excited. Like many writers, I have a day job. Nothing too exciting—I’m a litigation paralegal—but I enjoy it. The last two of my book releases though, my day job threw a massive spanner in the works both times. When Not-So-Straight Sue was released back in September 2016, I was flat out with trial preparation on a massive case. Twelve hour days. Overtime. Weekends. Then the trial happened. And guess which day Fenced-In Felix was released? Yup, the first day of trial.

Originally, Ylva Publishing scheduled Party Wall for release on 18 October. So far so good. But that same trial that scuppered my enjoyment of the release days for Sue and Felix? Well we lost at trial so we had to appeal. And the appeal date? Yup, you guessed it. 18 October.
Luckily, Ylva brought forward the release for Party Wall to 20 September. It was suddenly a lot easier to be cheerful. Finally, I’d have a release date that I could wholeheartedly enjoy. Talk about my book to friends, scream it on social media. Crack a bottle of bubbles with my partner. But then, on 19 September a whole bunch of people at my day job, including me, got served with redundancy notices and told we had to reapply for the few positions left. So instead of enjoying Party Wall’s release, I was dusting off my resume and getting caught up in the spiral of negativity and woe that was work.

At this point, I was seriously wondering what the universe was trying to tell me.

It ended well, for me at least. I got my job back and the next day I got a promotion and a pay rise. Party Wall is out in the world and even though I still have yet to enjoy a release day for one of my books, Party Wall is out there, and that means a lot. The very cheerful Lily and the rather introspective Freya and their love story is available everywhere. I would love it if you would read their story.

Blurb
From the moment Freya looks in the window of the brash, new sex shop in Grasstree Flat she knows it will be nothing but trouble. For a start, it will clash with her own New Age store right next door. And she’s right. Outgoing newcomer, Lily, begins to intrude on Freya’s well-ordered life. Freya’s friends, lifestyle, and even her cat are all affected by Lily’s magic touch. Even Freya’s yoga classes rub shoulders with Lily’s sexual-expression workshops. Lily stands for everything Freya has lost in life: playfulness, spontaneity, and delight in the physical. And sex. But does Lily have more in common with Freya than the wall that divides them?

A lesbian romance about crossing the lines that hold us back.

Available from these places:
– Ylva Publishing
– Amazon US
– Amazon UK
– Amazon CA
– Amazon DE
– Amazon AUS
– Smashwords
– Apple
– Barnes and Noble
– Kobo

Cheyenne Blue has been hanging around the lesbian erotica world since 1999 writing short lesbian erotica which has appeared in over 90 anthologies. Her stories got longer and longer and more and more romantic, so she went with the flow and switched to writing romance novels. You’ll find her books published by Ylva Publishing and Ladylit —the latest being Party Wall. She loves writing big hearted romance, often set in rural Australia because that’s where she lives. She has a small house on a hill with a big deck and bigger view—perfect for morning coffee, evening wine, and anytime writing. Check her out at cheyenneblue.com on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.

GUEST BLOG: Fenced-In Felix by Cheyenne Blue

January 16, 2017 by Harper Bliss Leave a Comment

Please welcome my friend Cheyenne Blue who is here to talk about her latest novel Fenced-In Felix!

Felix Gallops In

Here I am once again, muscling my way on to Harper’s blog. Thank you, Harper. She’s obviously not sick of me just yet.

I was here in November to talk about my Aussie outback romance Not-So-Straight Sue. And now, only a month later due to the vagaries of publishing schedules, the third and final story in this series, Fenced-In Felix is now available.

We met Felix briefly in the previous book, when Sue stopped on a whim at her trail riding place to go horse-riding. Sue and Felix hooked up for a steamy encounter, and Felix was the one who broke Sue’s long Sapphic drought. Three years down the track, Felix is expanding her outback tourism business. Horses, camping and cabins. She works hard, loves where she lives, has good friends—but no lover, and no chance of one, living as she does in outback Queensland. Enter Josie, a peripatetic casual worker, and her horse, Flame. For the first time in years, Felix has a chance at love. Or does she?

While this is a series, the books all stand alone. You don’t have to have read the first two to enjoy this. Characters interconnect but you don’t need prior knowledge. Indeed, Sue and Moni play a strong supporting role in this book as Felix’s good friends. And Nora and Ger from Never-Tied Nora make a cameo. That was one of the most enjoyable parts to write.

I hope you take a moment to check out Fenced-In Felix and spend some time with Felicity (“Felix”) and Josie and their lives in outback Australia. Felix is not just about horses though. It’s a romance through and through. As well as the lesbian love, there’s a mystery surrounding Flame that pulls Felix out of her comfort zone. Also too, there are horses, kangaroos, snakes, goannas, and dogs. It’s a story of friendship, rural living, horse riding, hard work, moving on versus staying put, racehorses, mauve pants, campfires, billy tea and damper and, at the heart, whether love and trust go hand in hand.

I hope you’ll give Felix a red hot go.

Blurb
Felix Jameson is working hard to get her outback hospitality business off the ground. Building cabins, leading trail rides and enticing tourists means she hasn’t much time for distractions—and that includes romance. But when she meets Josie, a drifter who picks up casual work as she goes, Felix is intrigued and attracted. Josie asks Felix to board her horse, Flame, and Felix is delighted. Not only can she use the extra money, but it means she will see a lot more of Josie. Felix finds Josie fits in well into her life, and for the solitary Felix there’s finally the possibility of romance. But there’s something suspicious about Flame, who bears an uncanny resemblance to a valuable stolen racehorse. Felix knows she is falling hard for Josie, but is Josie all she seems, or is she mixed up in shady dealings?

Excerpt

I had two horses to do to Josie’s one, so she finished first. She came over and rested her arms on the edge of Smoke’s stall.

“You’ve got plenty of space here. You could have half a dozen more horses.”

I bent to brush dust from Smoke’s foreleg. “Barn space, yes, but the land is poor. It barely supports the six I have now.”

“How many have you had in the past?”

“Nine was the maximum, back in the days when I took youngsters for breaking. But that was during the good years, when we had proper wet seasons.”

“Word is this year could see some good rains.”

“Let’s hope. Can never rely on it though. I’ve seen the land go for years without real rain, and I’ve seen it under a metre of flood water.”

I straightened. Josie leant on the door, fiddling with the thong on her hat.

“I want to ask you something,” she said. “Not sure what you’ll say.”

“Oh?” I tried to appear open. In truth, I had no idea what she wanted.

“I like it in Worrindi. The pub’s a good place to be. Nice people.” Her mouth crooked up at one corner. The motion was fascinating. “Believe me, that is not always the case.” Her fingers worried at the thong on the hat. “Anyway, I thought I’d stay around. A while. Maybe a lot longer, if it works out. I told you I have a horse?”

I nodded, my gaze on the restless movement of her fingers.

“I’d like to have her near. I was given her. Otherwise there’s no way I’d have bought a horse, not with my lifestyle. But she’s mine, and I’d like to have her somewhere close. Her name’s Flame.”

Flame. It conjured up a picture of a delicate, feisty horse, quick as lightning with movements of fire. But as tempting as the picture was, I knew I had to say no.

“She sounds like a beaut horse. But honestly, Josie, I don’t think I can have her here. I just don’t have the grazing. Most likely, I’m going to have to buy hay before long, and that’s very expensive.”

“I’ll pay for her agistment—I didn’t mean for you to keep her for nothing. I’ve thought about what I can afford.” She named a figure that was generous.

The money was tempting. With the extra, I could finish up the second cabin.

I shook my head. “That’s a good offer, but it’s more than you’d pay at other places. But I still don’t think I could do it if I have to buy hay.”

“If it comes to that, how about I purchase the hay for her?”

I ducked down to Smoke’s forelegs again to give myself time to think. The dollars marching through my head beat a compelling rhythm, but before I fell on Josie’s neck shrieking “yes!” I had to give this more thought.

“I’m a thirty-minute drive from Worrindi. It would cost you to drive out here, and you may not be able to come that often. I’m sure there is somewhere closer to town where you could keep her. If you want, I’ll ask—”

“No.” She leant forwards, and her face took on a strange intensity. “I want her to be here with you. If you’ll take her, that is. She’s special. I don’t want to trust her to just anyone. I can pay, if that’s what you’re worried about.”

“It’s not. I trust you.” And I did. I wasn’t just saying the words. For all her nomadic ways, Josie seemed like someone I could rely on. Maybe I’d wake up one morning with a horse that didn’t belong to me and no way of contacting the owner and no money coming in—I’d heard of that happening to others—but I didn’t think so.

“I can give you a month up front. I’ll transfer it to your bank if you agree.”

It was a lot of money for someone earning minimum wage less board in a pub. Maybe she had money put aside.

“If you take her, I’ll know she’ll be well looked after. Cared for. So many places just throw a horse in a paddock and forget about it until the next bill’s due.” Her head ducked, and she glanced at me from under her hat. “And it would give me an excuse to come out here. To see you.”

It wasn’t fair of her to play the flirtation card with someone who was obviously interested.

I stood up again, with Smoke between us, and rested my hands on her withers. “Look, I’ll think about it, okay? I can’t give you an answer now. I need to think about grazing, hay, and things like that.” And about you wanting to see me again. “Will Flame be okay in with the others? I don’t think it will work if she has to be by herself.”

“I’m sure she will be. Thanks, Felix, for at least thinking about it.”

“I’ll let you know.”

She nodded, and with a quick smile, she walked off.

I watched her go, watched the sway of her backside under those mauve pants, and tried not to think about the fact that she wanted to spend time with me.

Fenced-In Felix is available now from Ylva Publishing and other retailers including:
– Amazon US
– Amazon UK
– Amazon AUS
– Amazon CA
– Smashwords

BIO
Cheyenne Blue’s fiction has been included in over ninety erotic anthologies since 2000. She is the editor of Forbidden Fruit: stories of unwise lesbian desire, a 2015 finalist for both the Lambda Literary Award and Golden Crown Literary Award, and of First: Sensual Lesbian Stories of New Beginnings.

Her collected lesbian short fiction is published as Blue Woman Stories, volumes 1-3, with more to come. The romantic Girl Meets Girl series, Never-Tied Nora, Not-So-Straight Sue and Fenced-In Felix are out now from Ylva Publishing.

Cheyenne has lived in the U.K., Ireland, the United States, and Switzerland, but now writes, runs, makes bread and cheese, and drinks wine in rural Queensland, Australia. Check out her blog at www.cheyenneblue.com and follow her on Twitter at @IamCheyenneBlue and on Goodreads at goodreads.com/CheyenneBlue

GUEST BLOG: Not-So-Straight Sue by Cheyenne Blue

November 2, 2016 by Harper Bliss 3 Comments

While time passes too quickly (how is it November already?) and I’m writing Pink Bean Book Two, I’m very happy to welcome my good friend and editor Cheyenne Blue to my blog. She’s here to tell us about her brand new novel Not-So-Straight Sue, which I have read and thoroughly enjoyed!

Before Cheyenne and I became friends, I was a fan girl first. I adored her short stories and I’m so happy she’s writing novels now. I usually refuse to read lesbian fiction because it stresses me out too much (hey, I’m sensitive) and I like to unwind with different genres in my spare time, but I gladly made an exception for this book. Not only because we’re friends and I was super curious about the book, but also because once I started, I couldn’t put it down. Though Sue’s story isn’t all sunshine and roses, it’s such a heart-warming, feel-good book because of where it’s set: in outback Australia. (Warning: you will want to visit Australia after reading this book. My ticket is booked already!) Cheyenne’s language truly shines when she describes the landscapes and the people who inhabit them. On top of that, you get a lovely romance that gently unwinds. For once, you can take my word for it: this is a top-notch read!

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Hello once again, good people of Harper’s interwebs. I’m happy to be here today (thanks to Harper—I only had to twist her arm a little bit this time) to talk about my new release.

In December 2015, my novella Never-Tied Nora came out through Ylva Publishing. The main character, Nora, has a best mate, Sue. Sue is an Aussie lawyer living and working in London. She’s down-to-earth, blunt as a bag of wet mice, loyal to her friends, with a wry sense of humour. Even as I was writing Nora, I knew that Sue was a character that I’d like to get to know better. Better, as in I wanted to write her story, help her to find who she really was and of course help her to find love.

And here it is that story. Not-So-Straight Sue is available now from Ylva Publishing. Why yes, the title is a clue. Sue’s story takes her from London back to Queensland, Australia. Not to Brisbane or one of the major cities, but to a tiny community in the outback, the settlement of Mungabilly Creek, where she is taking over the reins in a one-person law practice for a year. Returning to Oz meanings returning to face up to her demons and the circumstances that drove her away ten years ago. It’s a story about coming out, friendship, lawyers, doctors, the Australian outback, dogs, family, small towns, ex-girlfriends, finding your place in life, horses, rural life, wine-drinking, stripteases, campervans, star gazing, horse riding, Waltzing Matilda, and of course love and sex. Lots of love and sex.

While this is the second book in the “Girl Meets Girl” series you certainly don’t need to have read Never-Tied Nora first. If you do read Not-So-Straight Sue, look out for Felix the outback horse trainer. Her story forms the third book in the “Girl Meets Girl” series. Fenced-In Felix, will be out in November 2016 also from Ylva.

Blurb

“Sorry, I’m straight.” Those words, accompanied by a smile, were the ones Sue Brent used to turn down women. But the truth was buried so deep that even her best friend, Nora, didn’t know that Sue was queer. Sometimes, Sue even managed to convince herself. The only person in London who’d seen through her façade was Moni, an American tourist.

When a date with a friend’s brother goes disastrously wrong, Sue has to confront the truth about herself. Leaving London, she returns to Australia to take up the reins in an outback law practice. Back in the country of her birth, she is finally able to accept who she is, including facing Denise, the woman who burned her so badly years ago and set her on the path of pretence. But it’s not until Moni arrives in Queensland to work for the Flying Doctors that Sue is finally able to see a path to happiness. However, as things start to go her way, Denise arrives in Mungabilly Creek, begging a favour that might destroy Sue’s new relationship.

Extract

I parked the campervan in the driveway and left it running a moment. There was a slight knock in the engine and a layer of red dust on the dash. It needed a service, which meant a trip to the Isa. I turned it off, went around to the passenger side, grabbed my wheelie case of files, and dragged it, clatter, clatter, up the uneven path to the veranda steps with Ripper at my heels.

It was getting dark, but it was still hot. My shirt was sticking to my back, despite the camper’s air con. That probably needed a re-gas.

“About time you got home.” The voice, low, feminine, and decidedly American, drifted down from the veranda above me. “It’s hot as hell here, I can’t find the switch for your air con, and all your beer is gone. I was about to go to the hotel for a six pack.”

I knew that voice. I hadn’t heard it in over three years except over a Skype connection, but it was unmistakable. Moni. How like her to turn up unannounced. I dropped the case, which hit the path with a thunk, and I took the veranda steps two at a time. My heart thudded in my chest, and I didn’t want to stop and analyse the euphoric feeling that flooded me, that made my fingers tingle and my mouth stretch into the biggest shit-eating grin. She was here. That was what mattered, and I couldn’t wait to see her.

She met me at the top of the steps, and I flung my arms around her and gave her a big hug. She hugged me back, and I was so wound up that I was about to kiss her, really kiss her, when she extricated herself and took a step back. Right. The Moni I’d been imagining, the one that might possibly be my girlfriend, was in my head. I hadn’t actually mentioned it to her yet.

“So you’re glad to see me, huh? Things must be quiet around here.”

I took a good look at her. Same small curvy woman, with big, big hair, although now it was somewhat squashed by the Akubra hat she wore. Khaki shorts that didn’t quite go with her purple singlet and thongs on her feet. If it weren’t for the accent and the pale skin, I would have taken her for a local. She was smiling, and there was a sparkle in her eyes that said she too was pleased to see me.

“It is. Very quiet. I see you found your way here.”

She flapped a hand, and only then I noticed the old Holden parked on the patch of dust out the back that was supposed to be a lawn. “I have GPS in that car, and you’re the only lawyer for miles. I saw the shingle, even though it needs repainting and doesn’t have your name on it anyway. Found the steps up here, and as you don’t lock the house, I found the beer fridge.”

There were two empty tinnies on the veranda rail. She was right, there was no more. I needed to go to the Royal for beer.

“Who’s going to break in around here? Apart from you, that is.”

I went down and retrieved my case from the path, dragged it thump, thump up the steps, and put it inside the door. I’d unpack it later.

Moni gestured to a daypack left haphazardly against the door. “I hope you don’t mind me turning up without telling you. I figured you’d be here, and I thought it would be fun to surprise you.”

“It’s Friday. I have no plans at all for the weekend, other some experimental cooking and wine drinking. The wine drinking isn’t experimental though. Just the cooking. Stay as long as you want.”

Ripper, who’d been investigating the veggie patch in case it had changed since morning, came scampering up the stairs and made a beeline for Moni. She bent to pat him, scratching him behind the ears, his favourite place.

“I have to be back in the Isa on Tuesday. Can I stay until then?” Her face had a wistfulness about it when she straightened. “I’ve been missing the company of existing friends. Don’t get me wrong—I’m making friends, meeting lovely people, but it will be good to be with someone who already knows me.”

I pondered her words. I’d known Moni for one day back in London, and we’d had a sporadic connection since. But in that time, we’d shared our lives, gotten to know each other. Part of me was warm and mushy at the idea that I was the person she wanted to relax with. “Of course. You don’t need to ask.”

Not-So-Straight Sue is available now from Ylva Publishing and from 2 November 2016 on Amazon:
– Amazon US
– Amazon UK

Bio

Cheyenne Blue’s fiction has been included in over ninety erotic anthologies since 2000. Her collected lesbian short fiction is published as Blue Woman Stories, volumes 1-3 from Ladylit. The first two books in her romantic Girl Meets Girl series, Never-Tied Nora and Not-So-Straight Sue are out now from Ylva Publishing, with the final book Fenced-In Felix due in November 2016.

She is the editor of Forbidden Fruit: stories of unwise lesbian desire, a 2015 finalist for both the Lambda Literary Award and Golden Crown Literary Award, and of First: Sensual Lesbian Stories of New Beginnings both from Ladylit.

Cheyenne has lived in the U.K., Ireland, the United States, and Switzerland, but now writes, runs, makes bread and cheese, and drinks wine in rural Queensland, Australia. Check out her blog at cheyenneblue.com and follow her on Twitter at @IamCheyenneBlue and on Goodreads at goodreads.com/CheyenneBlue

GUEST BLOG: Never-Tied Nora by Cheyenne Blue

December 18, 2015 by Harper Bliss Leave a Comment

I have a guest today and it’s none other than my friend and esteemed editor Cheyenne Blue whose book Never-Tied Nora was just released. Congrats, Cheyenne and take it away!

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There are many reasons why, until recently, I’d never written anything longer than 8,000 or so words. Lack of time, a love of short fiction, the sweet rush that comes from a short story acceptance. The challenge of being concise and compact, yet still telling a tale with meaning. The little slice of life. All of those are part of it. And yes, I’ll admit it, there was also a little introverted wibble about fear of failure holding me back.

I’d often toyed with the idea of writing something longer, but it was actually a throw-away comment from a friend that kicked me into it (Clue: you’re reading this on her blog). Harper probably doesn’t remember her comment, but I do.

In 2014, I had the commute from hell. A 30 minute drive to the train station. A 2 hour train ride to Brisbane. A 10 minute walk. And then back again in the evening. Luckily, Queensland’s trains aren’t that busy, and so with my little netbook, and a Kindle, the 4 hours of daily train travel wasn’t too bad. What it did to my neck is another matter, but 4 hours of reading and writing time was an amazing luxury of time. Most days, I managed to write around 4,000 words.

Harper said, “You could easily write a novel if you’re writing 4,000 words a day. Why don’t you?”

Well, good people of the interwebs, it seems Harper was right. Not quite a novel (this time), but my first novella, Never-Tied Nora, came out recently from Ylva Publishing.
Nora is also the first in a series, with the second, Not-So-Straight Sue, arriving in June 2016. That one is a full-length novel.

I hope you’ll check out Never-Tied Nora, which is available now direct from Ylva Publishing Amazon and all the other usual suspects.

Before I give you the blurb and an excerpt, because this is Harper’s blog and she is big into her fantasy casting, I’ve just spent a very entertaining 30 minutes fantasy casting Nora and Geraldine from Never-Tied Nora.

Geraldine was easy. In my head, she’s like a young Julianne Moore:

But with hair like this:I wish I had hair like that.

Nora was a little bit harder. But in the end, after much research, including way too long watching her videos on Youtube, I’ve decided that Nora has a Courtney Barnett vibe going. (I have a huge crush on Courtney Barnett. Check out her music. And her girlfriend. ☺)

I don’t think Nora has that adorable scruffy fringe though.

I’m signing off now. Time to watch a few more Courtney Barnett clips. I leave you with the blurb and an excerpt from Never-Tied Nora.

I very much hope you check it out, and that you enjoy it.

Blurb
Nora Kelly loves her carefree London life where there’s always a new woman to seduce. Her big Irish family tease her about her footloose ways, but she knows she’s in no danger of losing her heart.

Her family has only one rule when it comes to dating: Nora can date any woman she wants—as long as she’s not a Flannery. The Kellys and the Flannerys have been feuding ever since both families arrived in London from Ireland sixty years ago, and time has not lessened the hatred.

But never-tied Nora has just met the woman of her dreams, and suddenly commitment isn’t a dirty word. Trouble is, Geraldine is a Flannery.

Can Nora convince Ger that, despite their families, they are meant to be together?

Excerpt

The Korean place was modern—tiled, cold, and echoey, but I didn’t care. We were shown to a table at the back where huge potted plants muted the worst of the noise. It was far enough from the kitchen that the service was beyond woeful, but I didn’t care. I sat opposite Ger once again and watched her expressions and gestures—the quick smile that lit her face like lightning over the ocean, and her small, white fingers with their short, blunt nails as they pointed to a menu selection.

We ate sizzling beef brought by blank-faced waiters, and if I’d been with Sue I’d have been whining about the price of everything and how that should at least get us a smile. But with Ger, complaining didn’t cross my mind. Indeed, I welcomed the awful service as it meant more uninterrupted time to look, to flirt, to touch her hand, to dream, to imagine, and to fantasize about an outcome between us. We finished the bottle of wine but didn’t order another. Instead, we drank water, and played the getting to know you guessing game.

“You’re a professional women’s hockey player,” I said. “Or a coal miner. Final answer.”

Her sigh was theatrical. “You’ve caught me. Want an autograph? Actually, my sister plays hockey. She says I should learn—I might meet someone. She reckons she’s the only straight woman on the team.”

I picked up her hand again. “Tell her you’ve already met someone.”

Her gaze clung to mine. “I might do that. Or I might let her set me up with Big Betsie, the goalie. I love a woman with muscles.”

I pushed up the sleeve of my jacket to show my forearm. “I have muscles,” I said in pretend affront. “All the typing I do, how could I not?”

“You’re a writer,” she guessed. “You ghostwrite autobiographies of the rich and famous. Or you’re a PhD student, four years into the world’s longest thesis.”

“I wish. Think dull. Think of the jobs that send you to sleep.”

“Hypnotherapist? Is that how you’re so successful with women?”

“You don’t know that I’m successful. I could be Never-Laid Nora, the unloved.”

Her expression sobered, and she shuffled her chair around the tiny table so that she was next to me. She was so close I could smell the spices from the meal on her breath. She moved her chair enough that it was angled toward mine, her legs capturing one of mine between them.

“Nora, look at me.” The laughter fled her voice. “If you are the unloved, if you are the unlaid, then—”

“Then what?” I was trapped. Caught in the intensity of her eyes and the steel of her thighs.

“It’s my lucky day, as you must be desperate.” Warmth radiated from her fleeting smile.

She leaned forward, enough that I could see the dark flecks in her sea-green eyes. “I won’t lie to you, Nora. I’ve gone home with women I’ve just met. Met them in a club, or a pub, or at my sister’s hockey game. And I’ve spent a night with them, and at the time it was wonderful. Sex, out of this world. But afterwards? Not so much.” She dragged a deep breath, sat back, and took a gulp from her water glass. “I’m tempted. I’m tempted to lean in and kiss you. Learn your taste, the sigh of your breath. See if your hair is as soft as it looks. I want to know you. Learn what your skin feels like. And in the morning we’d have coffee, and kiss, and swap phone numbers, and then I’d leave, or you’d leave, depending on where we were, and I’d wait for your call. Or maybe I wouldn’t. Maybe I’d have written you off as just another one of those women, and I’d go into work, and maybe I’d cry on my boss’s shoulder over you. Maybe not.”

Her quiet words held me spellbound, and even the tardy waiter arriving to clear away the dirty dishes didn’t interrupt.

“What do you want from me, Nora?”

My voice was a croak worthy of any frog princess. “Everything. I want everything you’ll give me.”

Never-Tied Nora is available now from:
– Ylva Publishing
– Amazon
– Amazon.co.uk
– Amazon.com.au
– Amazon.de
– Smashwords

Cheyenne Blue’s erotic fiction has been included in over 90 erotic anthologies since 2000, including Best Lesbian Erotica, Best Women’s Erotica, All You Can Eat: a buffet of lesbian romance and erotica, Sweat, Bossy, and Wild Girls, Wild Nights. She is the editor of Forbidden Fruit: stories of unwise lesbian desire (Ladylit) which is a Lambda Literary Award finalist and a Golden Crown Literary Award finalist, and First: Sensual Lesbian Stories of New Beginnings. Her collected lesbian short fiction is published by Ladylit as Blue Woman Stories – volumes 1 to 3. Under her own name she has written travel books and articles, and edited anthologies of local writing in Ireland. She has lived in the U.K., Ireland, the United States, and Switzerland, but now writes, runs, makes bread and cheese, and drinks wine by the beach in Queensland, Australia. Check out her blog at www.cheyenneblue.com, on Twitter at @IamCheyenneBlue and on Goodreads at https://www.goodreads.com/CheyenneBlue

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Note from Harper: Of course I remember saying that and listening to me is always a good idea! 😉

NEW RELEASE: Christmas Kisses: Five Merry Tales of Lesbian Lust

December 16, 2015 by Harper Bliss Leave a Comment

When I wrote my story for Christmas Kisses I had just binge-watched Season 1 of Bosch (an Amazon police procedural based on Michael Connelly’s books), which had a pretty nice surprise for lesbian viewers in one of the last episodes, so (as things go) I decided to set my story in a police station on Christmas Day. The result is pretty hot as there are uniforms, women calling each other Ma’am and tight blouses open at the throat… 😉

As ever, I’m in excellent company in this mini-anthology, and my co-authors have delivered awesome saucy Christmas tales. So, according to the tagline my wife came up with: ‘Tis the season to be… frisky! Enjoy!

Here’s the blurb:
’Tis the season to be… frisky. The Ladylit Fab Five have come together once more for a sizzling seasonal mini-anthology. Decorating the tree or working the holiday shift, at a family party or avoiding the shopping crowds, the ladies in these stories find reason to get merry in any circumstance.

Caution: This title contains graphic language and christmassy lesbian sex and is suitable for adults only.

Table of Contents
The Girl in the Purple Shirt by Cheyenne Blue
Not Christmas Shopping by Lucy Felthouse
White Wings and Fairy Lights by Laila Blake
In December by Erzabet Bishop
Commanding Officer by Harper Bliss

And it’s available from
Direct from Ladylit
Amazon US
Amazon UK
Amazon DE
Amazon CA
Amazon AUS
Kobo
All Romance

Add it to your Goodreads shelf >>

NEW RELEASE: First: Sensual Lesbian Stories of New Beginnings

September 11, 2015 by Harper Bliss Leave a Comment

Yesterday, Ladylit saw the release of First: Sensual Lesbian Stories of New Beginnings edited by Cheyenne Blue.

The theme for First may seem obvious—you’re probably thinking this is an anthology of first lesbian sexual experiences. Well, yes… and very definitely no.

There are some very fine stories of first-time lesbian sex in this erotic collection, the majority of stories, however, have taken a different first time experience and woven the erotic around this. First times can be exhilarating, mind-blowing, breath-taking and make memories that last forever. Or they can be shot through with anxiety, fear, redemption, or anger. All of these emotions are found in the fifteen stories that make up First.

To celebrate the release of First: Sensual Lesbian Stories of New Beginnings, Cheyenne asked the contributors to tell her about a first time of their own. Here is my contribution.

The ‘first’ experience I’ll be referring to hasn’t got anything to do with my story in the anthology, because it’s about a vision-impaired woman who regains her sight and, although I have often exclaimed, in jest, Corky’s legendary words from the movie Bound, “I can see again”, I have never (thankfully!) lost my vision. 😉

The ‘first’ I’ll be talking about is the very first time I wrote an erotic story. I remember the day clearly. It was in May 2012 and, as soon as I sat down at my computer after making the decision to try my hand at writing something smutty, I felt it was meant to be.

I had just finished the long (and quite painful) process of writing and publishing my first novel and, compared to that, writing erotica felt like a walk in the park. My fingers could barely keep up on the keyboard as the words just flowed and flowed and a story came, seemingly, out of nowhere. Since then, writing a sex scene has always been my most favorite part of any story I’m writing. I’m a meticulous (some might say obsessive) words-per-minute tracker and my word count is never as high as when my characters are in the throes of passion.

From this I can only take away one obvious conclusion: I was meant to write lesbian erotica. It’s my ‘thing’. I knew it from the very first time I sat down and got in touch with my more daring side and, as far as ‘firsts’ go, it was one of the very best of my life. In fact, I believe that after finishing that very first story, I may have said to my wife, “I can see again.” 😉

Here’s an excerpt from my story, The Opposite of Darkness:

“Ready?” Doctor Matheson asked.

Erica had grown close to the man over the past year. And now he was about to give her the one thing she’d never believed she’d have again. Her sight.

Everyone was here. Lauren squeezed her right hand. Her mother did the same with her left. Erica heard her father expel some agitated breaths from a corner of the room and, although she couldn’t see her—yet—she sensed Jenny’s presence at the end of the bed.

“I’ve been ready for seven years, Doc,” Erica replied. Seven years of darkness is a long time. Seven years during which so much had changed and she hadn’t seen any of it. Erica remembered what her parents looked like, of course. Her dad’s gruff forehead with the deep worry lines. Her mother’s button nose and ever-shifting gaze. But she’d never seen Jenny’s or Lauren’s faces. She had an image in her head of what Lauren, her partner of the past four years, looked like, and she’d let her fingers flit over her face almost every day of their life together, but she’d never actually seen her. Not with her eyes.

“Do we really want our parents in the room when we first meet?” Erica had asked Lauren before the surgery.

“Don’t be silly, babe,” Lauren had whispered in her ear. “We met years ago.”

* * *

Tamsin Flowers is another writer with a story in First. Perhaps you’ve read Tamsin’s previous work in many anthologies, such as the Best Women’s Erotica collections as well as in Ladylit’s own Summer Love: Stories of Lesbian Holiday Romance.

Here Tamsin tells us about a first experience of her own:

I spent my most formative years in a girls’ boarding school—cloistered away from boys and anything of any interest at all, really, from the age of 11 to the age of 16. My most formative years, in fact… And I had a lot of first experiences while I was there but one resulted in a life-long love affair. I say life-long but it’s over now. However, I still yearn. I don’t think the craving will every really leave me. This is what happened.

It was my first term. I probably spent most of that term in a state of bewilderment, alternating with homesickness and exhaustion. It wasn’t anything like Hogwarts and, let’s face it, if you’re not ‘cool’ then a girls’ boarding school can be a hellish existence. Of course, I wasn’t cool. Not many eleven-year-olds are. But I wanted to be. So I worked out who the cool girls were and I tagged along as best I could, I don’t think they were at all impressed.

The school, like all good boarding schools should be, was in an isolated country house, surrounded on all sides by boundless woods and heathland. We were, surprisingly enough, allowed to wander the woods as much as we wanted and we roamed freely at weekends, delighted to be away from the glare of the poker-assed teachers whose only pleasure seemed to be in devising vile punishments for minor infringements. Running in the corridor? Not allowed out at the weekend. Caught talking after lights out? Stand alone in the dark in the haunted Great Hall until midnight. (That was because they always forgot they’d put you there.)

And every part of the damn place was haunted. Not by Ladies in White or Headless Horsemen, but by poor dead schoolgirls who’d suffered all manner of ghastly demises. The Great Hall had multiple ghosts, several of the dormitories and staircases were haunted and, most notoriously, the bottom lax pitch—that’s lacrosse pitch to the uninitiated. This abandoned rectangle of overgrown grass was apparently haunted by a girl who’d been hit in the temple by a lacrosse ball and dropped down dead. It wasn’t hard to imagine—lacrosse is similar to hockey, with an identical hard ball, but at head level—and only the goalkeepers got any form of head protection.

I wouldn’t go near the bottom lax pitch for love or money. Until the cool girls said they were going down to the woods beyond it, and did I want to come? Of course I did! I followed them down the steep path, past the top pitch and on towards the bottom pitch. I could have sworn I heard the sounds of a match in progress through the trees. Girls laughing and calling to each other for the ball. The thunder of boots on turf. The crack of the ball against a stick. The crack of the ball against a girl’s head. A scream…

I gasped as we emerged through the trees onto the scrappy, sloping pitch. It was empty. There was no one here, no match in progress. Just silence and mole hills. The cool girls laughed. They knew I’d been scared.

We went on into the dark woods beyond. And then they initiated me into the most glorious experience.

They gave me my first cigarette. I coughed and choked. I spluttered. And I fell in love. I was wholly seduced by the glamour of smoking. I am to this day. I was one of the cool girls then. The bottom lax pitch held no more fear for me. My only fear was getting caught sneaking back into school, stinking of cigarettes…

And what? You thought it was going to be something different? At a girls’ boarding school? Readers, you all have dirty minds.

* * *

Ha ha! Thank you, Tamsin, for fooling us! 😉 First: Sensual Lesbian Stories of New Beginnings is out now. Here are all the details:

Blurb
Dive into these fifteen sizzling tales of lesbian love and romance and experience the wonder, the joy, and the magic of new beginnings.

A woman sees her lover for the first time after years of blindness. For the first time in her life, a top trusts her girlfriend enough to let her take control. A connection forged in a bar in New Mexico encourages a breast cancer survivor to take a lover. Stories of new love and first lesbian encounters intermingle with other emotional and physical firsts, and the excitement of new experiences: an around the world flight, the thrill of a carnival, and even the first time to see the sea.

With fantastic stories by favorite writers such as Sacchi Green, Harper Bliss, Annabeth Leong, Allison Wonderland, and Jeremy Edwards, the variety in this anthology means there is something for everyone.

Table of contents
Roses and Thorns by Annabeth Leong
The Opposite of Darkness by Harper Bliss
The Talkies by Jeremy Edwards
Before the Bus Comes by Tamsin Flowers
Whole Again by Brenda Murphy
Pulling by Sacchi Green
The First Peonies by Ivy Newman
Repossession by Emily L. Byrne
That Summer by Vanessa de Sade
Amelia by Cheyenne Blue
The Ghost of She by Jillian Boyd
The Sum of Our Parts by Andi Marquette
Soar Spot by Allison Wonderland
Sea by Rosie Bower
Dissolving by Cela Winter

Available from
Amazon US
Amazon UK
Amazon DE
Amazon CA
Amazon AU

Add it to your Goodreads shelf >>

Enjoy!

GUEST BLOG: Party Wall by Cheyenne Blue

GUEST BLOG: Fenced-In Felix by Cheyenne Blue

GUEST BLOG: Not-So-Straight Sue by Cheyenne Blue

GUEST BLOG: Never-Tied Nora by Cheyenne Blue

NEW RELEASE: Christmas Kisses: Five Merry Tales of Lesbian Lust

NEW RELEASE: First: Sensual Lesbian Stories of New Beginnings

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