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By Esmae
Browder
Ah Shakespeare….many of us see his name and shudder as memories of
iambic pentameter and trying to work our way through words like thee, thou, and
thine come back to us. Most people first encounter the Bard in high school and
it’s not always a pleasant experience.
But me?
I’m pretty sure Shakespeare was my boyfriend in another life. I’m
confident I was his muse and that everything he wrote was about me. Well...I’m
pretty confident. Like...about...20% confident.Oh well. It doesn’t matter. He’s
been dead for 400 years. I can think what I like! The point is that Shakespeare
is my inspiration. Once I got a grasp on his words and his style, I really fell
in love with his stories!
That being said...there is one thing that has always bothered me
about his characters.
He didn’t really get women. Know what I mean? Yeah, he has some
iconic characters, but a lot of them aren’t very well developed. We don’t
really know their back story. They don’t get as much playing time as the men
folk. Why is that? Was Shakespeare no good with the ladies? (Doubt it!) Was it
that young boys always played the chick parts and they didn’t know how to
really be a woman?
Who knows!
But it is a topic that has been debated a great deal and it was
the inspiration for my Naughty Shakespeare series. I started thinking about a
few of the ladies in his works. For example, take Ophelia from the play Hamlet.
She’s kind of a doormat. Her father and brother boss her around. They force her
to break up with Hamlet even though she really loves him. She allows Hamlet to
treat her terribly and call her names. Then he kills her dad in a case of
mistaken identity which drives her to madness and eventual suicide. She never
sticks up for herself. But what made her that way? And why does she love Hamlet
so much?
And viola! That’s how my erotic tale, Ophelia’s Lessons was born.
The book is a modern day, erotic prequel to Hamlet and begins with her learning
about sex and desire. Horatio (Hamlet’s best friend) takes her under his wing
and teaches her everything she needs to know about how to please her man in the
bedroom. And boy is she a quick learner!
I’m not sure if Shakespeare would be pleased with the back story
I’ve created for Ophelia, but I do think it would make him blush and drop his
quill pen. I think Ravishing Rosaline (a prequel to Romeo and Juliet) and
Taming of the Prude ( a retelling of the Taming of the Shrew) would make him
want to leave me his second best bed in his will. (That’s a little Shakespeare
joke for all you erotic historians out there.)
If the idea of erotic Shakespeare tickles your fancy, drop by
Amazon on July 23-26. Each of these books in the Naughty Shakespeare series
will be free as part of my appearance at the Romance Writers of America
conference.
May all your nights be erotic ones!
Esmae
Browder
Ophelia’s
Lessons
By
Esmae Browder
The Naughty Shakespeare Series, Book 1
Publisher: Esmae Browder
Release Date: March 26, 2014
Genre: Literotica
Length: 109 Pages
ASIN: B00JA269VS
BUY LINK: AMAZON
Add to Goodreads
About the book:
Sweet, innocent Ophelia--she wants nothing more than to marry
Hamlet Elsinore. But what does a simple virgin know about pleasing a man like
the sophisticated and charming Hamlet? Not a whole lot, but when her seductive
roommate, Portia, learns of Ophelia’s interest, she gets Horatio to “teach” the
innocent girl everything she’ll need to know to seduce his best friend, Hamlet.
Set in modern day, this prequel to Hamlet is steamy enough to have
even the Bard blushing! Enjoy this first book of Literotica in the Naughty
Shakespeare series.
EXCERPT“There’s a difference between flirting and sex.”“Are you sure?” Horatio moved to her, his gaze intense, as he tucked a stray ringlet of her dark hair behind her ear. “Why don’t we find out?”“But--““Portia, you can go now.” He cut off her protests, but never took his eyes off Ophelia. “Come back in a few hours.”“Have fun!” Portia winked at Ophelia. “You look fabulous.”The click of the door behind her best friend caused Ophelia jump.Could she do this? Should she do this? It was one thing to want to learn the art of sex to please the man you loved--even if he didn’t really see her like that yet--but another altogether to be seduced by his best friend.And could she even claim seduction? After all, she was a willing party. She’d gone along with Portia’s plan without much thought.Anything that would make her better for Hamlet.“I didn’t know it would be you.” Ophelia swallowed hard. “I assumed it would one of Portia’s ex-lovers.”“And who’s to say I’m not one of those?” Horatio laughed lightly. “Would you like a drink?”He gestured to the champagne Portia had prepared for them, and without waiting for her answer, went to it. He popped the cork with expertise, filled their glasses and handed one to her.“To you, Ophelia,” he said, raising his glass. “To the woman you are about to unleash.”She drank deeply, letting the bubbles tickle her throat, letting the warmth of it relax her.“Come here.” Horatio took her hand and led her to the mirror. “I want to show you something.”He twirled her so she could see herself in the wide mirror on the wall above the couch.“You are gorgeous.” Horatio stood behind her, barely pressing against her back. He sipped from his champagne glass. “Have you ever really looked at yourself?”“No,” she whispered and to avoid doing so any longer, Ophelia drained the rest of her glass of champagne. “It’s not right to think about yourself like that. Very vain.”“Who told you that?”“My father, maybe my brother.”“They were fools, afraid of the power you represent as a woman.”“What do you mean?”“You have everything a man wants.” His voice rumbled as he wrapped an arm around her and placed his hand over her heart. “We want this.”She could feel him pressed harder against her, could feel his breath tickle her neck.“And we want this.” He moved his hand to rest on her crotch. “Your heart and your desire. That’s what we want. Fathers and brothers don’t like seeing it in their sisters and daughters. It reminds them of the sexual animal inside all men.”He dropped his hand, but didn’t move away from her. For a long moment, their eyes met in the mirror. Then Horatio stepped back just far enough to put down his glass of champagne.He placed both hands on her shoulders.“Let’s begin.”
AUTHOR
Bio and Links:
Esmae Browder is an ex-Catholic school girl from New Orleans who
loves vodka tonics and romance. Combining her love of literature with a flair
for erotic fiction, she has created a unique series which includes prequels and
retellings of some of the Bard’s most famous works. Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet,
The Taming of the Shrew--nothing is sacred in Esmae’s Literotica world. You may
know your Shakespeare, but you haven’t heard the whole erotic story! An avid
blogger at All Things Writing, you can learn more about Esmae there or stop by
her website: www.esmaebrowder.com.
Author Website: www.esmaebrowder.com
Twitter @esmaebrowder
these look awesome :) Thanks for sharing and congrats to Esmae on the new release!
ReplyDeleteShakespeare is 'da bomb'! :O)
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ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing! I love Shakespeare!
ReplyDeleteI like the cover.
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