Guest Post: Love Balls, Saucy Dares & Writing Sex Toy Erotica

Today we are super-excited to have blogger, author and editor Jillian Boyd with us! Those of you who are familiar with Jillian's work will know that she likes to serve up her sexy stories extra-hot - with a side of awkward. And we are sure that you, just like us, are always keen on having seconds!
Having taken a little peek at the various social media platforms she uses, we've found out she's a big Dr Who fan, she likes baking and knows all the steps to '5,6,7,8' by Steps - a woman after our own hearts!

We recently read her story Dare You To from the erotic anthology Come Again, and immediately knew we had to invite Jillian over to tell us about the story behind the story... Over to you, Jillian!

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Somewhere in between the general clutter still left over from our house move is a box of sex toys. And in that box, along with enough condoms and lube to have a really, really fun Saturday night, is a pair of love balls. I won them a few years back in a Twitter competition - not too long after I started writing erotica but well before I wrote what still stands as probably my favourite story I’ve ever written.
And those particular love balls were firmly on my mind when I wrote it.
come-again-book

I don’t often write sex toys into my stories. Vibrators make it in on occasion, but for the most part I hadn’t actually considered cranking it up a notch. Giving toys a time to shine, so to say. Until two years ago, when Rachel Kramer Bussel - editing legend and all-round lovely sort - posted a call for submissions. She was looking for sex toy erotica - toys incorporated into your plot in whatever way you dreamt up.
The eventual spark of inspiration? Came in the form of an opening sentence. A scene-setter. My main character, at an important ad campaign pitch, trying to keep a level head while, unbeknownst to her colleagues, she’s wearing a pair of vibrating love balls. From that opener, the rest quickly came together. A couple of soon-to-be-weds, under such a stress from wedding planning that time or energy for anything sexy has flown out the window. The solution? A game of ever-escalating sexual dares - the vibrating love balls being the grand finale.
Mainly because I love love balls. I adore everything about them. The sheer aesthetic variation, the versatility in what they can do for you… and they seemed like a natural fit for the grand finale of the game my two main characters were playing. Love balls move as you do, twirling inside in response to your movements and providing not just teasing and massaging sensations but also a constant reminder that they’re there.
With my main character juggling planning a wedding with planning a major pitch, having her be dared by her future husband to wear them while she’s giving the pitch felt like the right thing to do. Only she knows they’re inside her - knows it very well, in fact - and spends the majority of her pitch trying to hide not just her escalating arousal but her escalating frustration at how the stress of the past few months has eaten into her sex life.
It is, as I said, my favourite story I’ve written to date. A perfect storm of sexual frustration, cosy love… and love balls, of course.

Now, I wouldn’t tease you like that without actually giving you a teeny-tiny snippet from my story! It’s called Dare You To, and can be found in Come Again: Sex Toy Erotica, edited by Rachel Kramer Bussel and published by Cleis Press (available in store at Sh!).

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His revenge, he promised, would be “sweeter than sweet”. He wasn’t kidding. A week after he jingled his bells at our florist appointment, I found the little red package containing the vibrating love balls. His instruction: to wear them at my presentation with the board.
I was, quite honestly, trembling with nerves. And arousal, but mostly nerves. David knew full well that this was an important meeting which could determine the future of the advertising agency I worked for; I’d been managing this project for as long as we’d been planning the wedding. It’s not a good sign when the hopes and future plans of the company rest on a woman who is desperately trying not to squirm and brush her hand against the crotch of her already soaking panties.
“Good luck today, Katarzyna.” said my boss, as she entered the boardroom. “You don’t need to be nervous.”
“Ooh, I’m not nervous, Mrs Sedgwick, not in the slightest, not at all.” I sputtered, as a particularly strong vibration coursed through my body. “I’m just trying to keep… keep my circulation up! Yes, that’s why I’m all hoppy today. Got to keep fit! It’s in keeping with the campaign!”
“Right…” she said, straightening her glasses before turning towards our clients. “Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. And welcome to Mr Defoe and Ms Brown from Cambridge Athletics…”
As Mrs Sedgwick spoke, I tried my best to not turn around and flash the heads of Cambridge Athletics with the wet spot on my skirt. Fuck, I really should have worn something darker and less conspicuous… I braced myself and started talking, trying to keep my voice level and not squeaky from the mounting arousal.
“Cambridge Athletics is a young brand, and as you’ll see, my team and I have worked very hard to… KEEP in touch with the TARGET MARKET.”
I took another deep breath before I started my slide presentation. This was going to be the longest hour of my life…
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And if you’re looking for advice on how to choose and use love balls, or maybe some shopping inspiration, Sh! - aka a treasure trove for an erotica writer like me - has you more than covered.