{"id":203,"date":"2014-12-30T21:10:46","date_gmt":"2014-12-31T02:10:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/circlet.com\/?page_id=203"},"modified":"2014-12-30T21:10:46","modified_gmt":"2014-12-31T02:10:46","slug":"no-safewords-an-anthology-of-marketplace-short-stories-edited-by-laura-antonioiu","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/circlet.com\/?page_id=203","title":{"rendered":"No Safewords: An Anthology of Marketplace Short Stories edited by Laura Antoniou"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>ebook $7.99
\nISBN 9781613900611
\nPaperback $12.95
\nISBN 9781613900727
\n62,300 words; 192 pages<\/p>\n

[wp_eStore_add_to_cart id=59]<\/p>\n

The ebook edition is also available at: Amazon<\/a>, Barnes & Noble<\/a>, Smashwords<\/a>, Kobo<\/a> & AllRomanceEbooks<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Buy the paperback edition<\/a>!<\/strong><\/p>\n

About the Book:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Ten stories of BDSM, submission, and service set in the secret world of Laura Antoniou\u2019s Marketplace. The Marketplace has fans all over the world, and Antoniou invited them to come play in her fictional sandbox\/dungeon. Numbered among those fans happen to be some of the top erotica and alternative sexuality writers in the world, including D.L. King, Sassafras Lowrey, and Elizabeth Schechter.<\/p>\n

The full slate of writers contributing to NO SAFEWORDS runs the gamut of award-winning authors to bright-eyed new voices, as creator Laura Antoniou explains in her introduction: \u201cAs the saying goes, \u2018blessed are those who embellish the tale.\u2019 So here is the Marketplace, as seen through other eyes. There are some stories that show the world exactly as I created it, and some that push my boundaries a tad. There is romance and strife, glee and despair. There is hot sex, of course, but there\u2019s also humor and melodrama. Just the way I like it.<\/p>\n

There were some surprises for me! I was delighted to find several female dominant\/male submissive stories, especially since my examples of those relationships tend to be supporting, rather than main characters. I was also pleased by the writers who weren\u2019t afraid to go a little dark; a collection of stories all about slaves misbehaving in mildly inconvenient ways and getting fantastically, erotically punished would have been tiresome.<\/p>\n

So whether you want a rollicking Victorian flavored tale of adventure and romance or a modern, sexy welcome to a new home for a familiar character, you will find flavors here to tempt or satisfy your tastes. Return for more time travel to a world where the language we so casually use to describe our tastes doesn\u2019t even exist, but where longing for a ritualized order and discipline and a sense of belonging transcends words, and gets expressed in the rich metaphor\u2014and reality\u2014of a garden.<\/p>\n

Then swerve away from romance to feel the terror of a slave newly sold to an owner who represents their worst nightmare, whether because of demographics or the enormous challenge of a language barrier.<\/p>\n

Here, you can get into the reflection of a trainer\u2019s long career or the grief and anguish of a new owner confronted with an inherited house full of property she didn\u2019t choose. Or, watch how even the jaded, experienced ways of the Marketplace aware people become awkward in that most awkward of adult challenges\u2014a marriage proposal.<\/p>\n

Get a glimpse into the rarefied and formal household of an owner\/spotter, and then take a detour to the desolate history of a young genderqueer punk fresh from the streets, confronted with the most iconic of Marketplace characters.<\/p>\n

All of this\u2014a synthesis of my imagination and theirs, fed by culture, fantasy, fairy tales and fears. All fiction is, in a way, fan fiction. I am sorry it took so long for me to see this and to open myself to the interesting sensations\u2014you might call it edge-play\u2014in giving people access to my favorite victims. But better late than never!\u201d<\/p>\n

Full table of contents:<\/p>\n

A Thousand Things Before Breakfast by Marie Casey Stevens
\nThe First by D. Alexandria
\nIf You Try Sometime by D. L. King
\nHer Owner\u2019s Voice by Leigh Ann Hildebrand
\nHiding in Plain Sex by Sassafras Lowrey
\nDelirious Moonlight, 1916: Mr. Sloan\u2019s Boy by Anna Watson
\nPearls in the Deep Blue Sea by Jamie Thorsen
\nCoals for the New Castle by Marie Casey Stevens
\nGetting Real by S.M. Li
\nO, Promise Me! by Elizabeth Schechter<\/p>\n

Look under the cut for a hot excerpt! <\/span>
\nfrom \u201cPearls in the Deep Blue Sea\u201d by Jamie Thorsen<\/p>\n

Marie fought back a yawn and leaned against the wall, watching the ebb and flow of movement in the crowded dungeon. She scanned the crowd and resisted the urge to check her watch. Jack would be here sooner or later to relieve her as dungeon monitor whenever Quentin, her owner, decided he needed her to be somewhere else.
\nIt had been her idea to throw a monthly play party for the local BDSM community at Quentin\u2019s fifteen-acre estate just outside of the city. He had been pleased with the success of her idea. She knew that he viewed most of these people as vulgar dilettantes, and she couldn\u2019t argue, but the events served their purpose of keeping the household connected to the local community.<\/p>\n

The door to the outside terrace opened; her friend and prot\u00e9g\u00e9, Kitten, stepped through it and scowled at the crowded dungeon. Her red hair cascaded down to frame a porcelain face that was spattered with freckles; her tiny stature made her appear fifteen instead of twenty-two. She tried to look fierce; knee-high spiked boots and torn fishnets stretched up underneath her black microskirt, a Tank Girl graphic was emblazoned across her stretchy top, and an army surplus medic bag hung from her shoulder as a purse. Like her namesake, though, her claws weren\u2019t enough to keep people from calling her adorable.<\/p>\n

Marie, curious as to why Kitten looked so upset, followed a few feet behind the girl as she navigated the dungeon, heading toward the back corner. Kitten\u2019s fianc\u00e9 Danny stood in front of a girl suspended in a web of saran wrap, holding a Hitachi vibrator to her clit. Another woman carefully sliced a square out of the saran wrap over one breast. The nipple clamps hanging from her belt telegraphed her plans.<\/p>\n

From ten feet away, Marie couldn\u2019t make out the conversation. They exchanged some words, Danny pointed at his backpack, and Kitten retrieved a set of keys from it. She stepped closer to Danny and tilted her head up; without flipping off the vibrator, he leaned down, brushed his lips against hers, and returned his focus to the suspended girl. Kitten shook her head, turned her back, and began pushing her way back through the crowd, headed for the door of the dungeon.<\/p>\n

Marie caught up to Kitten and reached out, grabbing her shoulder. \u201cYou okay, girl?\u201d<\/p>\n

Kitten embraced Marie tightly. It took her half a minute to let go. \u201cCan we talk?\u201d she asked, hope in her voice.<\/p>\n

\u201cSure, sweetie. I\u2019m DM right now, so you\u2019ll need to go find my owner and see if anyone can take over for me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI can do that. I picked up a bottle of wine from the gas station on the way here. I\u2019m going to grab it and smoke a cigarette first. Okay?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s fine,\u201d Marie said.<\/p>\n

A high-pitched shriek emanated from the back corner; Kitten glanced over her shoulder. \u201cThat\u2019s what nipple clamps feel like, bitch,\u201d she muttered and walked away.<\/p>\n

Marie frowned at the venom in Kitten\u2019s words. She knew why the girl was acting out. She knew that others viewed Kitten as an immature and often petulant bottom, but she saw the potential in her for so much more. Marie looked at Kitten and saw the elements that, with training, could be molded into a content and obedient slave.<\/p>\n

* * * *<\/p>\n

They ended up in the third story alcove, used as a closet for fetishwear. Marie and Kitten sat on the floor underneath a shelf lined with corsets and hoods, the bottle of cheap moscato between them.<\/p>\n

Kitten took a long drink straight from the bottle, ignoring the wineglass Marie had brought with her. \u201cI\u2019m just frustrated, that\u2019s all,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat sounded dangerously close to whiny. You\u2019re engaged to Danny. If he\u2019s staying within the boundaries you\u2019ve agreed upon, then you need to either renegotiate those boundaries or accept things the way that they are. Passive aggressive bitching won\u2019t solve anything.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s good to me,\u201d Kitten said after a pause. \u201cI just want something more. When we play, it\u2019s great, but when playtime is over, the d\/s just seems to fade away, and when we go to play parties, he always gets distracted by someone new and shiny.\u201d
\n\u201cFrom my understanding of your rules, you can play with others too,\u201d Marie said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith his permission, but it doesn\u2019t feel right. If he gave me to someone else, that\u2019d be one thing, because it\u2019s\u2026 I don\u2019t know\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAn extension of him?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes! Exactly. Just playing with someone else, it\u2019s nice but it\u2019s like masturbation, fun but empty. I want to give myself to the person that owns me or the people they choose,\u201d Kitten drank from the bottle. \u201cAre you sure you don\u2019t want some wine?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMy master wouldn\u2019t like it.\u201d They sat in companionable silence for a minute. \u201cAre you in love with him?\u201d<\/p>\n

Kitten\u2019s face betrayed the flickering thoughts behind her eyes. She was a dreamer, but in a serious conversation, she would turn thoughts around like a Rubik\u2019s cube in her brain. It reminded Marie of herself.<\/p>\n

\u201cDamn,\u201d Kitten gulped down more wine. \u201cThree months ago, when he proposed to me, there wasn\u2019t a doubt in my mind. Now\u2026 God, I don\u2019t know. He swept me off my feet, my first real dom. When he asked me to marry him, of course I said yes. I have everything I wanted. I have a man who takes care of me, loves me, and is as kinky as I am. So why do I freak out about spending the rest of my life with him?\u201d<\/p>\n

Kitten shifted into the center of the beam of sunlight from the alcove window; Marie smiled, thinking how much the girl resembled her nickname. \u201cI look at how devoted you and Jack and Gary are to Quentin, how content you are in your service, how proud, how\u2026 secure. It\u2019s like a whole different level from the rest of us. Danny talks a big game, but when we\u2019re not scening, he\u2019s just my fianc\u00e9. I don\u2019t feel owned anymore. I wonder if I ever truly did.\u201d
\nMarie framed her next statement carefully, unwilling to lie but unable to tell the whole truth. \u201cSweetie, we\u2019ve all been doing this for years, apart and together. We\u2019ve learned by trial and error how to make this work.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not just that. It\u2019s\u2026I try to anticipate his needs. I try to do the little things. Try to get him to notice my service\u2026no, that\u2019s not right. He doesn\u2019t have to notice, but\u2026I\u2019m fucking this all up,\u201d she said in anguish. \u201cI find myself acting out, breaking the rules just so he\u2019ll beat me and I can feel owned again. It\u2019s wrong but I just want to know I\u2019m his and sometimes he doesn\u2019t even notice and even when he does and beats me, it never lasts!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cKitten, at heart, you\u2019re a slave.\u201d Marie reached out and caressed the younger girl\u2019s face. \u201cYou have the drive to service. You want structure, someone to provide the framework you need to make the world make sense.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAll I\u2019ve wanted since I was a little girl was someone to belong to,\u201d Kitten said after a pause. \u201cWhen I first discovered Kinkynet, it was an epiphany. I wasn\u2019t some sort of anti-feminist freak. I met Sir and it was like a fairy tale. I cried when he collared me. I felt so proud to be his, like there was nothing I couldn\u2019t do.
\n\u201cBut it\u2019s not enough. I want to really be owned, like you are. I don\u2019t want this to end at the bedroom door. I don\u2019t want this to be a game. I mean, I\u2019m smart enough to know that at some level that all of this is a game, but I don\u2019t want it to be. I want to be subject to the bidding of my owner, like that stupid Anais Nin quote that\u2019s on half the profiles on Kinkynet.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut do you want someone to really own you or a lover who plays the role?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell,\u201d Kitten said. \u201cWow. That\u2019s\u2026 I hadn\u2019t thought of it like that before.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou have the fairy tale. You say it\u2019s not enough. If you want to be happy, you need to figure out what you want.\u201d Marie watched the younger woman, wondering how much of the truth she could reveal. This girl was so much like she had once been, trying to find out where she belonged in the world. Marie knew the answer to Kitten\u2019s question, but her fingers searched out her own collar; it reminded her that she was only allowed to say so much. \u201cWhat if you could become a slave, put up on the auction block, sold to the highest bidder and truly owned?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00a0To read the rest, download the ebook today!<\/em><\/div>\n
\n[wp_eStore_fancy2 id=59]<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

ebook $7.99 ISBN 9781613900611 Paperback $12.95 ISBN 9781613900727 62,300 words; 192 pages [wp_eStore_add_to_cart id=59] The ebook edition is also available at: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Smashwords, Kobo & AllRomanceEbooks. Buy the paperback edition! About the Book: Ten stories of BDSM, submission, and service set in the secret world of Laura Antoniou\u2019s Marketplace. The Marketplace has … Continue reading No Safewords: An Anthology of Marketplace Short Stories edited by Laura Antoniou<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"parent":1086,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-203","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/circlet.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/203","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/circlet.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/circlet.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/circlet.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/circlet.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=203"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/circlet.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/203\/revisions"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/circlet.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1086"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/circlet.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=203"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}