​The first book I ever bought by myself was The Enchanted Forest, a story of fairies, elves, goblins and witches, written by Ida Rentoul Outhwaite and her husband Grenbry Outhwaite. I bought it at a jumble sale and it was already old. The pages fragile and the cover barely attached. Even at that age I recognised it as something very precious. It still resides on my bookshelf, and despite many readings remains in much the same state as when I first picked it up.
Not only was the story appealing to a young girl, but it was filled with the most beautiful pictures, one of which caught my imagination and held it for many years.
It was a coloured plate entitled ‘The Witch’s Sister on her Black Bat’.
When I began to write the novella Rose Moon, this was the image that set the opening scene. This was the witch who I imagined as my Midnight.
                                ***
Bakke carried his mistress through the summer night’s sky with fluid ease. Midnight threw back her head and laughed, face luminous with the pure joy of anticipation. They had waited so very long for this time to arrive and had just one more day to mark.
Her nipples puckered at the mere thought of it. She allowed her fingers to graze against them through the sheerest layer of white chiffon. It would be so easy to slide her fingers between her thighs and stroke herself into delight, but an orgasm now would weaken her magic, and her sisters would be furious with her.
With a soft sigh of frustration, she flung her arms wide and allowed the movement of the warm air to caress her form. The silver-shot fabric of her diaphanous slip fluttered across her body, dipping and swirling with the slow even beat of the bat’s wings. Raven curls tumbled in a flurry around her pale face.
Half a dozen smaller bats flitted overhead, accompanying their witch on her quest.
“Look, my darlings. See how my moon casts its silver trail on the water below us to guide our way? It won’t be long now, we’re almost there.”
Bakke swooped low over the clumps of bulrushes bordering the edge of the waterway and headed into the depths of the forest. His sinuous flight path through the maze of broad tree trunks tilted upwards to match the rise of the ground beneath them. They flew in darkness until the trees thinned to allow a glimmer of silvery moonlight, then they burst once more into open space. Midnight, Bakke and the bat familiars circled higher until they hovered above the tor that protruded with phallic insolence from the clearing in the surrounding forest.
                                                       ***
A sweet and gentle start, but trust me…the tale gets much darker and mayhem, death and destruction soon follow!
Once again, I’ve teamed up with three other authors, under the expert guidance of Devi Ansevi, to put together a steaming hot addition to the PNRLust Anthologies.
Lust in Summer: Paranormal Erotic Anthology Vol. 7 is available on Amazon for your reading pleasure. Please indulge!