Everyone Needs A Bedtime Story

Tag: Vikings

Opening Lines: Viking Wolf by Emmanuelle de Maupassant

It’s that time again! Settle yourself down for the latest in my ‘Opening Lines’ blog series.

This week the wonderful Emmanuelle de Maupassant is with me- and the Vikings are coming (pun intentional….)

Viking Wolf

I love writing erotic fiction and, when it comes to ‘hot throw-down action’, you can’t beat a warrior Viking! Enter Eirik, my rough-souled hero: a man who is used to taking what he wants!

The first volume in my medieval series, ‘Viking Thunder’ is free from Amazon – viewBook.at/VikingThunder

(also available as a super sexy audio book and paperback)

Volume two, ‘Viking Wolf’, releases this summer.

Captured. Seduced. Craved.
Arriving in Svolvaen, Elswyth submits to nights of passion in the bed of her hard-muscled warrior, Eirik, learning what it means to be loved by a Viking.

His to Take

Jarl Gunnolf rules Svolvaen by the sword and believes he has the right to claim any possession for his own, including any woman.

Forbidden Hunger

Elswyth desires Eirik for her husband, and the status of a true wife but cannot deny her attraction to his wolfish brother, the Jarl.

Jealousy and Betrayal

Can Elswyth escape the malicious plotting of seductive rival Faline, and the brutal lust of Gunnolf? Will she survive long enough to find what her heart yearns for?

The first 500 words of ‘Viking Wolf’

With the sun dipping to the last portion of the sky, twenty men took the oars and pulled against the current.

We’d been three days on the open sea, travelling to Svolvaen. Some places on the rowing benches were now empty, for several of Eirik’s men had fallen in the skirmish with the troops garrisoned near our village. As the longship had battled fierce winds and my stomach had heaved with the churning movement of the waves, I’d wondered if I’d made a grave error in leaving all that I knew to join these Norsemen. My thoughts turned repeatedly to my ailing grandmother, whom I’d left in the care of our neighbours. My decision had been selfish, borne of yearning for adventure, the chance to start anew, of my knowledge of kinship with these warrior men. Borne of my desire, too, for Eirik, who’d pulled me into the protection of his hard-muscled body as the ship plunged across the vast sea. At last, we’d sighted the mountains of the north.

Reaching the calmer waters of their coast, we sailed between scattered islands, the men’s eyes upon the maze of inlets, looking for their own.

Gulls and gannets whirled above, cormorants and kittiwakes, as we followed the narrow channel of the fjord, as Eirik called it, past cliffs on either side, rising steep, pocketed with caves.

Eirik’s elation was plain for me to see, and his sister, Helka’s, too; I shared in it, for I was now part of this world, although all in it would be new to me.

The other ships of the raiding party had returned some days before, survivors of the storm which had brought Eirik and his men to our coastline of Northumbria, and the rocky beach on which my former village had nestled. His people had kept look-out, horns blowing as we approached the landing piers.

What a press of bodies there was; comradery between men, as friends slapped and hugged one another, and received kisses from their wives, embraces from mothers, daughters and sisters. I no longer thought of those men as murderers, but as my kin. They’d shed blood, but I now knew my blood was also theirs. I recognized some part of their brutality as my own, for I was not as other women in the village in which I’d lived all my life. I was half-Viking, born of a wilder spirit.

Amidst the jumble of voices and the scramble of the crowd, Faline and I received little notice. We were no more than possessions, of Eirik’s concern; a curiosity, eyed briefly, then ignored. Whatever welcome I’d hoped for, in my heart, whatever foolishness, I pressed it down, and bit my tongue against my disappointment. It would take time, to earn my place here. Such things could not be rushed.

Helka guided us away from the crowd, scanning for one who wasn’t there; one who hadn’t deigned to push among the common throng, who’d waited, instead, for Eirik to come to him.

***

More about Emmanuelle

Find Emmanuelle at www.emmanuelledemaupassant.com

Sign up for her newsletter here to receive first eyes on her new releases, freebies and giveaways.

You’ll find Emmanuelle’s sexy short stories in several anthologies, including Cleis Press’ ‘Best Women’s Erotica, Volume 3’, and Stupid Fish Production’s ‘Dirty 30, Volume 2’ and ‘For the Men’.

Among her longer works is ‘The Gentlemen’s Club’ (the first in her ‘Noire’ series, and named by Stylist Magazine as a ‘mind-blowing’ read).

***

Another fabulous start from a brilliant erotica writer!

Don’t forget to come back in two weeks to rad the first 500 words from Jay Willowby’s latest tale.

Happy reading,

Kay xx

Guest post by Sarah Dahl: What is “sensual” – as opposed to just “hot”?

I’m delighted to welcome Sarah Dahl to my place today. Why not settle down for a touch of Viking action, and a great blog.

Sarah Dahl writes sensual Viking romance short stories as the “Tales of Freya”. So far, she has published three: “The Current – A Battle of Seduction”, “The Awakening – Embrace beyond Passion”, and “Monk – Captured by Temptation”, of which you can read an excerpt here:

***

“Alistair tears his gaze away from his mistress’s parted lips. Oh God, have mercy; what kind of test is this …. He frantically tries to remember the words that kept his mind occupied during the previous nights, the words that saved him from touching himself at the sound of the couple’s love-making. But now, with her slender fingers on the fabric of his cowl — How can such a sensation, a mere bodily feeling, so easily steer his mind away from his vows, his beliefs, his promises? Was he ever even honest with himself, ever really convinced of his chosen way of life?

He jerks backwards to escape Runa’s touch. The racing of the pulse in his throat scares him.

Runa exchanges a smile with her husband, then her hands find their way underneath Alistair’s cowl.

Alistair freezes, his eyes drowning in hers as skin meets skin for the first time. He winces, but can’t move. The gently crackling fire in the hall sends just enough light through the rough wicker wall to read their faces, see motions and emotions, without laying it all bare like the cruel sun.

Maybe He is looking the other way just now …. Alistair swallows hard against the dryness of his mouth. He couldn’t find a verse strong enough to weaken the power of his mistress’s hands on him. Under his cowl, her hands move up, across his stomach, and to his chest, soft and gentle, inoffensive, exploring him.

His skin tingles where her fingers trail. Little, shy waves of pleasure spread across his torso and settle in his lap. He wants to weep at the intimacy her caress offers. With a mere touch, she sets his small, solitary world on fire.

His sight blackens, his mind empties, and he breaks into a very pagan sweat.”

What is “sensual” – as opposed to just “hot”?

By definition, sensual means enjoyable, pleasing, fulfilling to the senses (mostly with a sexual onnotation). And hey, we’re talking about steamy romance some might describe as erotica, BUT I strongly disagree: My writing colleague and a master of the genre, J.D. Lexx, described my craft as “intricate plots that just happen to be sensual”. The erotic undertones or actions aren’t just a means to an end. They are embedded in plots with depth and character development, authentic setting- and period-descriptions. The sexual tension unfolds slowly. There is real longing, a deep yearning for the other person, I show the multi-layered emotions and conflicts the protagonists have to go through. I don’t follow the usual rules of neither romance nor erotica.

Maybe that’s because I’m German. My definition of sensual includes: vulnerability. A letting down of defences. My protagonists let their love- (and sex-) interest “in”, they open up and reveal their weaknesses. Which is particularly attractive when a Viking does it; the typical image of a strong, invincible warrior, who suddenly faces the vulnerability that comes with deep longing for “the one”. I make use of that contradiction, this tension, in my stories. All the Tales of Freya  feature a strong warrior (or shield maiden!) who through their deep desire and love for someone become vulnerable and vincible. But in the course of my tales, they also become even stronger through their emotions and the will to risk something for their fulfilment. Because their life receives an – unforeseen –  direction, a meaning, and a clear destination. Their lives change from a simple fighting life (like in “The Current”, the first Tale), or no fighting life and meaninglessness (like in “The Awakening”) to something more. Warriors who are fearless in the shieldwall suddenly learn what real fear is – for their world view, or for someone they love (I explore this in the upcoming “Bonds”, which ties into the first story “Current”). Their desire reveals their true depths, the new meaning they want in their lives, and what they have to overcome (especially prominent in this latest story “Monk”. Here the sexual act transforms our protagonist in several ways and makes him question his entire choice of life).

This is very emotional and requires that I do my protagonists justice. I don’t want just to use the pretty warrior bodies for the readers’ pleasure. I reveal the people behind the armour. I want to drag readers into their world and minds. They aren’t cardboard warriors, they are characters with flaws and dreams – and fear. I want readers to feel for them, root for them, enjoy with them when their dream comes true and changes their life. So my writing has to be exceptionally intimate, not just hot. It has to be “sensual” in the German sense. The sensuality and sexual tension has to have a deep meaning and stakes to be high, to unfold in an emotionally impactful way. Which then hopefully impacts the reader more, too. “My sex” isn’t just a carnal act. It’s about fulfilment, about real emotions, and questioning your chosen path. My people risk something to gain something they really truly desire for the longer term. They become stronger through it. They change. “Hotness” alone, or what we’d call “just sex” doesn’t change the protagonists. Real emotions do. When something inside them shifts and something grows that takes over, that alters their goals and dreams. This is what happens in my historical fiction which just happens to be sexy: real stakes, real change.

So in my Tales of Freya, the sexual tension and desire I introduce are a means to dive deep into the character’s cores, and fast. I have to make their emotions unfold in record time – unlike in a novel, my story and character arcs are much, much shorter. But I want to achieve a lot in that short space: character development, rising stakes, risk, and a life-changing outcome: In “Monk – Captured by Temptation” the sensual act shatters the world views of both my monk and his Viking captors, and after their daring encounter they come out as changed people with new outlooks on life. I hope you enjoy watching the drama – and sexiness 😉 – unfold!

***

“Monk – Captured by Temptation” is available now on all major retailers:

Author homepage and buy links: https://sarah-dahl.com/books

Blogging at: https://sarah-dahl.com/blog-posts

Publisher Pronoun with buy links: https://books.pronoun.com/sarahdahl

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/16341241.Sarah_Dahl

Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/sarahdahl13

Twitter: @sarahdahl13

Bio:

Sarah Dahl lives on the edge of the rural German Eifel and writes historical fiction (novels and short stories) primarily set in the Viking age. She also works as an editor, translates, and coaches new writers in German and English. She is interested in everyday life in bygone centuries and the human stories that may have occurred behind the hard, historical facts. Her author page is: sarah-dahl.com

 

***

Many thanks for sharing such a great blog Sarah,

Happy reading,

Kay xx

Powered by WordPress & Theme by Anders Norén