(Listen to: special guest author Tamsin Flowers’ When She Dreamed, narrated by Rose Caraway)
Anyway, I grew up, got married, took care of three lovely babies at home while my husband worked full time, and I continued to write short adventure stories that were utterly erotic. I eventually showed one story, Cold Supper to my husband. It was a sex-filled western, and from there, well, my short stories became a shared experience between the two of us which helped spice things up after we put the kids to bed. My characters did things to one another that I’d never done to my husband. I wrote words down on paper that I hadn’t ever said aloud. Rather quickly, my stories tapped into something hidden deep down inside us both. For the first time, we felt safe to really communicate about sex. Once we started talking, our innermost desires no longer remained dormant, unveiling themselves left and right. Porn had never had this effect on us. It turned us on and got us off, but it never left us wanting to explore. For me, porn lacked any personal relatability. Those women weren’t me.
Pretty hip to the latest in techy trends, my husband and I discovered podcasting. We enjoyed the convenience of listening to anything we wanted to on our phones and found mutual interest in Mia Martina’s I Want Your Sex, and Dan Savage’s Savage Lovecast. These shows were smart and often hilarious. There were other podcasts my husband introduced me to, those centered around erotic storytelling. We both listened, but they just seemed ‘childish,’ terribly repetitive and too focused on selling sex toys—the opposite of enriching. Then, one day, my husband uttered the magical words, “You and I can do this so much better.”
Erotica had become a sort of liaison for our sexual negotiations, giving us permission to talk about sex and what we wanted out of it. What might be fun to try… I knew that it could do the same for others. But I didn’t know anything about publishing, and besides that, the world was changing the way it communicated—at break-neck speeds. Information was being exchanged faster and faster and suddenly, everybody’s cell phones were for far more than just texting and talking. Podcasting was easily accessible and free to listeners. Perhaps most important, podcasting was a private experience. I had some pretty good stories piling up, and my husband was interested in audio production…so, we just…dove in.
It’s funny to think that the Kiss Me Quick’s Erotica Podcast was born late one night in the back seat of our family minivan. Once the kids were in bed it would take my husband an hour to get the van ready for recording sessions. Inside our Toyota Sienna, seated in the way back, I was reminded of those days when I’d climbed up into that big mulberry tree in my parent’s front yard and felt that comfort zone once again. With the music stand between my knees, the mic stand immediately to my left, I began to narrate erotic stories for the KMQ.