If you've been following me a while, you may have heard me say here or there that I'd like to try my hand at writing a story about a transgender character's experience. I hesitated on this for a long time because I wanted it to be the right story: one written because the character was there, and had something to say. She finally came to me in the form of Rachel, a gal experiencing intimacy for the first time, with a new partner, after transitioning from male to female.
I can't promise that I've got everything "right" here. My intention was to stretch myself into a new perspective, a new individual's experience. I researched quite a few aspects of the story, including the process of transitioning, real-life coming out experiences of transgender individuals, transgender lesbians, and so on. I hope that what I've written is written well, and honors the character and her real-life counterparts. If I've gotten anything wrong, I apologize ahead of time. For now, I hope you enjoy.
Hands, like the slow, sensual touch of a candle's
glow, sliding down my sides. Her fingers touched me, shaping me, smoothing me
like sculptor's clay. My sigh sounded loud and hot in the dim light and the
thick, billowing steam, as the lilting dance of Spanish guitar guided her over
my body. She danced with me, her slight, slender frame pressing to me, arching
with me, inviting me to move with her like mermaids gliding through the water.
I hardly realized it as I murmured her name. Tassy, Tassy, baby, as her gentle palms explored. They roamed upward, sliding
over the damp white nylon of my swim halter, and a light, shivering sensation
of pleasure blushed along the breasts beneath. The nipples peaked underneath, oh, I'd warned her they were
sensitive...I'd warned her.
On January 17th, my debut novel Lotus Petals turns 1!
And we have just placed in the top ten for Book Cover Art in the 17th Preditors and Editor's Reader's Poll!
In honor of the book's anniversary and our win, this Friday's free read takes you into the halls of the Blood Lotus temple to meet Rhiannon and Aijyn, the leading ladies themselves!
***
Rhiannon closed her eyes, sinking a little deeper into the water, and then ducked her head under for just a second before coming back up. Aijyn tipped a nod toward a small wooden tray left by the rim of the pool, a tray containing soaps and oils for rinsing the hair. Rhiannon gratefully reached out for them.
"I am surprised the first thing you should want after such a long sea voyage would be a bath," Aijyn said.
"After weeks of hiding in a stinking cargo hold, picking off the deckhands, wallowing in the smell of men’s sweat and mildewing food?" Rhiannon growled bitterly, "What else could I want?"
