Bedded Bliss: A Couple's Guide to Lust Ever After

by Krisinta Wright (Editor)

Overview

Bedded Bliss: A Guide to a Lifetime of Lust takes a peek behind the closed doors of married and committed couples to find out what makes long-term lust last. Award-winning author and editor Kristina Wright curates a collection of sexy and powerful erotic fiction and memoir from some of the top authors in the genre, all of whom are in committed relationships ranging from five to over thirty years. Wright contributes her own thoughtful insights and advice gleaned from her twenty-two year marriage and successful career tapping into the erotic fantasies of readers. Bedded Bliss entertains, educates and encourages couples to remember the reasons they fell in love and lust—and reminds them of all the reasons to stay there, lustfully ever after!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781573449793
Publisher:	Start Publishing Llc
Publication date:	10/07/2013
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	256
File size:	323 KB

About the Author

Kristina Wright (kristinawright.com) is an award-winning author whose erotica and erotic romance fiction has appeared in over seventy-five anthologies, including three editions of Cleis Press’s Best Women’s Erotica, including the forthcoming Best of Best Women’s Erotica 2, and four editions of Best Lesbian Erotica. Her work has also appeared in Bedding Down: A Collection of Winter Erotica (Avon Red); Dirty Girls: Erotica for Women (Seal Press); the Black Lace collections Seduction, Liaisons and Sexy Little Numbers; and five editions of the Mammoth Book of Best New Erotica. Kristina is a member of the Erotica Readers and Writers Association, Romance Writers of America, and Passionate Ink. She also received the Golden Heart Award for Romantic Suspense from RWA for her first novel Dangerous Curves. With a BA in English and MA in Humanities with an emphasis on women’s studies and popular culture, Kristina teaches both English and Humanities at the college level. She lives in Chesapeake, VA. Bedded Bliss "Whether you're looking for ideas to spice up your marriage or you're simply a fan of well-written and imaginative erotica, this book turns up the heat." —Publishers Weekly "This book presents valuable advice for couples yearning to maintain magic in their marriages." —ForeWord Reviews "All I can say to that is; thank goodness for Bedded Bliss! This book gives all of us monogamous people total rights to be publicly braggadocios once again! It acknowledges (with refreshing intelligence) that monogamy in not only admirable, it is HOT!" —Rose Caraway, host of the Kiss Me Quicks podcast "This book is important. It fills a gap not only on the bookshelves, but in our discussions about relationships and how intimacy changes across our life spans. This is a key guide to long-term couples who’ve weathered storms together, who’ve built their lives together, who’ve loved and lusted together and intend to for the rest of their lives." —Geeky Nymph "This celebration of long-term, committed relationships gathers real-life experiences, practical advice, a dash of humour, and a lot of sexy erotica to show couples how to build attraction and love throughout a relationship." —Good for Her
Kristina Wright (kristinawright.com) is the editor of over a dozen published and forthcoming Cleis Press anthologies, including the best-selling Fairy Tale Lust: Erotic Fantasies for Women. Other titles include: Dream Lover: Paranormal Tales of Erotic Romance; Steamlust: Steampunk Erotic Romance; Lustfully Ever After: Fairy Tale Erotic Romance; Duty and Desire: Military Erotic Romance; xoxo: Sweet and Sexy Romance, and the Best Erotic Romance series. She is also the author/editor of the cross-genre Bedded Bliss: A Couple's Guide to Lust Ever After for Cleis Press. Her fiction has been published in over one hundred anthologies and her nonfiction has appeared in numerous publications, both print and online. She holds degrees in English and humanities and has taught composition and world mythology at the college level. Originally from South Florida, Kristina is living happily ever after in Virginia with her husband, Jay, and their two little boys.

Read an Excerpt

This is a book filled with real life experiences, sensual fantasies, practical advice, realistic suggestions, a dash of humor, a lot of sexy erotica, a few poignant memoirs and a combined total of over 243 years of relationship experience. This is a book to remind you that—no matter where you are in your life or your relationship—your passion, your imagination, your need is still there and very much alive. It’s a book to inspire and encourage—to give you some ideas if you feel as if your well of passion and imagination is running dry. We, these talented, inspiring writers and I, are here to remind you of what you already know (even if you sometimes forget): married sex is a grand, amazing adventure from the first heartfelt “I do” to the distant golden years, and everything in between.

I hand picked the authors for this project—all of them are professional writers, many of them are well-known in the erotica and erotic romance genres. These are authors who write about sex for a living, yes, but they are also real people with real lives who know what it’s like to share a home, a life and a family with another person. From the editior's discussion of newlywed days to Robin Elizabeth Sampson’s more than thirty years of marriage, they have experienced it all. Every joy, every frustration, every milestone, everything a couple can experience. One or more of the baker’s dozen authors in this book has been where you are right now in your marriage.

The short stories and memoirs shared here vary in sensuality from sweetly seductive to wildly erotic. These stories—personal, arousing, inspiring—are an opportunity to share a variety of experiences from authors with as varied backgrounds as the readers who hold the book in their hands. Each story opens with an introduction by the author, a personal vignette from the pages of their own lusty lives to remind you that you are not alone, we are in this pursuit of lifetime passion together. Regardless of where you are currently in your relationship, each story has something to offer you—commiseration and inspiration told from personal experience or clever imagination by writers who understand and appreciate the work that goes into sustaining a lifelong commitment. I got to choose the stories you read here and I wanted very real, attainable scenarios for couples who have as complicated a life as my husband and I do. I wanted to be able to read this book myself and say, “Oh wow, I’m going to try that.” (And I’ll tell you a secret: that’s exactly what happened.) I wanted a book for people like me—with a full life and a busy schedule and a to do list longer than my arm—who already know that married sex is the best sex.
I invite you to share the book with your partner, read the stories together (or out loud to each other) and create some new memories of your own. No matter where you are in your own relationship—if you’re years from having kids (or chose to skip that stage entirely) or the newlywed days seem long ago—the stories will offer you a glimpse into the possibilities of your passionate future and remind you of your lusty past—not to mention give you some very sexy scenarios to consider. We’ve been there, we are there, we are living and loving and lusting and fucking with the person who set us on fire and still stokes our flames. Live that life of bedded bliss you daydreamed about on lazy Sundays on that hand-me-down couch and in late night whispers before you fell asleep. Never, ever let it go.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements

Foreword by

Introduction: Making Lust Last

Chapter 1: The Beginning of Lust

Introduction: How it Starts, Why it Lasts

Take It Off Sommer Marsden

The Proposal Christopher Cole

Chapter 2: Beyond Newlywed Lust

Introduction: After the Honeymoon

Circuit Charlotte Stein

The Weight of Things Kristina Wright

Chapter 3: Growing Your Lust Together

Introduction: Nice to Meet You…Again

Communication Exercises Jeremy Edwards

Bound for the Bedroom Christine d’Abo

Chapter 4: Lust After Parenthood

Introduction: Pregnancy, Babies and Toddlers, Oh My!

Just the Two of Us Christopher Cole

This Moment Kristina Wright

Chapter 5: Middle Aged Lust…and Beyond

Introduction: Grow Old Along With Me

Vintage Love Donna George Storey

Doing It All Wrong Robin Elizabeth Sampson

Chapter 6: Lust For Better or Worse

Introduction: When the Going Gets Tough

Made to Last Anya Richards

Now Playing Christine d’Abo

Chapter 7: Different Flavors of Lust

Introduction: Exploring Your Boundaries

A Little Something Different Heidi Champa

Third Party Michael M. Jones

Chapter 8: Celebrate Your Lust

Introduction: Setting the Scene for Special Occasions

Upcycling Kate Dominic

The Next Best Thing Heidi Champa

Chapter 9: Always Time for Lust

Introduction: Inspiration for Your Own Adventures

For the Sake of Literature Donna George Storey

The Hotel Michael M. Jones

The Key to my Heart Kristina Wright

The Sneak Evan Mora

Someone Old, Something New Anya Richards

Holding Forth Jeremy Edwards

As Far As I Can See Inside You Charlotte Stein

Walls Kate Dominic

Conclusion: Lust for a Lifetime

Resource Guide

Contributor and Editor Bios

Editorial Reviews

01/27/2014
Award-winning erotica author Wright collects short fiction about couples keeping the romance alive in their marriages and intersperses them with tips and techniques based on her own experience. Jeremy Edwards's "Communication Exercises" details the benefits of a husband's telling his wife he finds another woman attractive, while Christine D'Abo's "Bound for the Bedroom" describes a foray into BDSM. In "Vintage Love," Donna George Storey writes of passion long into a marriage and being a sexual older woman: "They tell me I'm invisible, which means my own sexual desire must no longer exist. If only they knew." In "Upcycling," Kate Dominic imagines a marriage hit hard by an economic recession and pulling together for the sake of love and a Christmas party. Back in the real world, Wright advises readers not to compare their sex lives to those of others and maintain intimacy with simple acts like holding hands or massages. She addresses the least embarrassing ways to bring up new fantasies with a partner as well as how find time for sex in an increasingly busy world. Whether you're looking for ideas to spice up your marriage or you're simply a fan of well-written and imaginative erotica, this book turns up the heat. (Dec.)

Publishers Weekly

"Top 10 most provocative books."
—The Daily Loaf

"With its mix of memoir, advice and erotica, Bedded Bliss serves up ways to keep love, romance and sex alive in the long-term. Kristina Wright knows of what she writes. All couples will learn something from this honest, inspiring book."
–Rachel Kramer Bussel, editor, Only You: Erotic Romance for Women

"There are plenty of books about how to create great relationships, but what happens when you've built one? There aren't many guides to help long-term couples create hot, passionate connection. In Bedded Bliss, Kristina Wright offers brief but powerful tips, followed by super sexy erotic stories that show you just how hot being in an LTR can be. Unlike a lot of erotic fiction, these tales don't hide from the questions and concerns that real people have. Instead, they show how couples can respond to whatever life brings them and still have a great time in bed. And the suggestions for overcoming your hurdles and connecting with your partner are just right!"
–Charlie Glickman, PhD, author of The Ultimate Guide to Prostate Pleasure

"Bedded Bliss is an important and delightful book with many great insights into the nature of long-term love accompanied by stories that combine sexual heat and emotional intimacy in ways that are often interesting and surprising. The stories and anecdotes are sure to fuel your erotic imagination, even if you are in a newer relationship."
–Mark A. MIchaels and Patricia Johnson, authors of Great Sex Made Simple

From the Publisher