I'm very pleased to have Ashe Barker back today to share a piece from her latest release, Faith. I got a little teary reading this excerpt but I think it's just the way Ashe writes. I've always loved her style - she tells a beautiful story that the erotica and BDSM are so naturally a part of. No more from me though, here's Ashe...
Thanks for inviting me back to your blog
Natasha, this time to chat a little about Faith, my latest release, and the
first book I have published with Stormy Night Publications. What an adventure, but so
exciting too. I hope Stormy Night readers will like Faith as much as I loved writing it.
If ever a pair deserved their happy ever
after it was Faith and Ewan. They find themselves linked by a bizarre tragedy
which affects them both though in very different ways. As she struggles to come
to terms with the massive changes in her life Faith realises she has to rely on
Ewan. He in turn is fascinated by the tempting but lonely woman living next
door. She is so close, but just out of reach. Or is she?
As Faith gets to know Ewan, and herself,
better, her attraction to him grows. She knows he is a Dom, and that scares
her. She doesn’t understand his desire to inflict pain, and her own secret wish
to experience what he has to offer is an even greater mystery for her. But once
the floodgates are opened, no one is more surprised than Faith to discover the
inner submissive desperate to see the light of day. And once out, there can be
no going back.
Here’s
the blurb…
After her husband’s sudden, tragic death, Faith
is left widowed after only six months of marriage. She wallows in grief until a
neighbour, Ewan, reaches out to her. Although his work takes him away a great
deal, Ewan slowly becomes Faith’s rock, helping her heal and encouraging her as
she struggles to rebuild her life. As time passes, Faith grows more and more
attracted to Ewan, but one thing holds her back: Ewan is a dom, and she is not
ready to be a sub.
Though the idea of kneeling naked at Ewan’s feet
excites her in a way she can’t fully understand, Faith fears that his sexual
appetites would prove too much for her. But when he discovers that she has been
exploring the lifestyle without his knowledge and hiding her activities from
him, Ewan issues an ultimatum: either she becomes his submissive, or they go
their separate ways. This is just the push Faith needs, and in the end her decision
is not a difficult one.
Ewan quickly proves to be a firm, commanding
lover who is more than capable of mastering her completely. He challenges
Faith’s boundaries and introduces her to a level of sensuality she never
dreamed she could experience, and Faith soon finds herself at peace in a way
she has not felt in years. But when fate takes another turn and she learns the
truth about her husband’s death, can Faith count on Ewan to be by her side as
she adjusts to a new reality yet again?
Publisher’s
Note: Faith is an erotic novel that
includes spankings, sexual scenes, anal play, extensive BDSM content, and more.
If such material offends you, please don’t buy this book.
And
here’s a hot excerpt from Faith.
In Ewan’s room I leave the door
ajar and drop the crop and the cuffs onto the duvet cover before going over to
the window to close the curtains. This is going to be hard enough; no need to
be sharing the fun with the neighbours.
I look around me at the familiar
furniture, the bits and pieces I’ve come to know well. I sleep in this room more
often than in my own these days. My belongings are scattered on the dressing
table, a bottle of perfume, earrings. A pair of my shoes is under the bed. I
recall Caroline’s possessions, left behind in her room, and I find reassurance
in that. I’m here, this is my space. No ghosts.
I make that two pairs of shoes
discarded on the floor as I start to undress. I take my time, comfortable in
the knowledge that he will know when I am ready. I won’t always be able to set
the pace but on this first occasion… probably. I remove my blouse and jeans and
fold those with care. I place them on a chair, and drop my underwear on top of
the pile. Naked, I pick up the cuffs, wondering if I should put them on. Ewan
gave me no such instructions so I place them back alongside the crop. I turn to
face the door and drop to my knees.
Perhaps five minutes pass before
Ewan comes into the room. He pushes the door open, steps inside, and closes it
behind him with a gentle click. He leans back on it, watches me for several
seconds.
“You are one seriously lovely
woman, Faith. Have I mentioned that to you?”
I start to shake my head,
uncertain if a response is required or not. Ewan steps forward to stand right
in front of me. I tilt my head back to look up at him as he towers over me.
“I think I have, but I’ll let
your lapse of memory go on this occasion. Tell me, Faith, how do you feel?”
“I feel fine, sir.”
“Faith—how do you feel? Tell me.
What’s happening in your head right now?”
I pause to introspect. He
clearly wants details and ‘fine’ won’t cut it. I draw in several deep breaths
before I attempt another reply.
“I feel vulnerable, over-awed.
You’re fully dressed, in a sharp and sexy business suit at that. I’m naked,
kneeling at your feet. I feel small, and maybe a little scared.”
“Better answer. Are you scared
of me?”
“Of course. You intend to punish
me.”
“I do. You’ll scream and you’ll
beg me to stop. And I will stop, but not until I’m satisfied you’ve learnt the
lesson I need to teach you. Then I’ll hold you, and I’ll take care of you. And
I’ll fuck you until you scream again. Is all that perfectly clear to you,
Faith?”
A bit
more about me…
Until 2010 I was a director of a
regeneration company in Leeds, in the UK, before becoming convinced there must
be more to life. So I left, and at last I’ve been able to realise my dream of
writing erotic romance. I’ve been writing seriously for about two years but
I’ve been an avid reader for as long as I can remember, erotic and other genres. I love reading historical and contemporary
romances in all pairings – the hotter the better. But now I have a good excuse
for my guilty pleasure – research.
In my own writing I draw on settings and
anecdotes from my own experience to lend colour, detail and realism to my plots
and characters. My stories are often set in the north of England where I live
but I draw inspiration from all over. An incident here, a chance remark there,
a bizarre event or quirky character, any of these can spark a story idea. But
ultimately my tales of love, challenge, resilience and compassion are the
conjurings of my own lurid and smutty imagination.
On the rare occasions I’m not writing my
time is divided between my role as resident taxi driver for my teenage
daughter, and caring for a menagerie of dogs, rabbits, tortoises. And most recently a very grumpy
cockatiel. I’m a rural parish
councillor, and I’m passionate about evolving rural traditions and values to
suit twenty first century lifestyles.
My other titles include the ‘Black Combe’
trilogies, The Dark Side, Sure Mastery,
The Hardest Word and A Richness of
Swallows, all set in the atmospheric moorland of West Yorkshire or Cumbria
and with a strong BDSM theme. The Three
Rs is a stand-alone novel set in Berwick in the Scottish border. I’ve also
written a couple of short stories, Re-Awakening,
and a raunchy pirate tale, Right of
Salvage, as well as a novella, Carrot
and Coriander. All are available from Amazon.co.uk Amazon.com Barnes and Noble All Romance
I have a pile of story ideas still to work
through, and keep thinking of new ones at the most unlikely moments, so you can
expect to see a lot more from me.
