Giselle's Erotic Grab Bag Volume 2

By Giselle Renarde

Want to be taken by surprise?

Giselle's got just the thing!

In this collection of steamy stories, you'll be tickled by six sexy shorts hand-picked by the author. Erotica by Giselle Renarde has appeared in more than 200 anthologies, including prestigious collections and Lambda Award-winners. These are just a few favourites to whet your appetite.

You don't have to choose what to read next. Giselle's made the decision for you! Cozy up and get ready for a ride. Who needs to know what's around every turn? With Giselle as your guide, you're in for an adventure.

This anthology includes a special introduction by the author.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Giselle Renarde
• Release date: Jan 9, 2023
• ISBN: 9798215426821

Giselle Renarde

Giselle Renarde is a queer Canadian, avid volunteer, and contributor to more than 100 short story anthologies, including Best Women's Erotica, Best Lesbian Erotica, Best Bondage Erotica, and Best Lesbian Romance. Ms Renarde has written dozens of juicy books, including Anonymous, Ondine, and Nanny State. Her book The Red Satin Collection won Best Transgender Romance in the 2012 Rainbow Awards. Giselle lives across from a park with two bilingual cats who sleep on her head.

Book preview

Giselle's Erotic Grab Bag

Volume 2

By Giselle Renarde

Introduction

For Volume One of this grab bag collection, I wrote an introduction that explained why I latched on to the whole grab bag concept.  I'll include that same introduction below, and then I'll go through each individual story in this book and tell you a little about why I wrote it, what it's based on, all that good stuff.

Ready?

Let's go!

When I was a kid, one of the perks of visiting my grandparents' cottage was walking to the candy store with my cousin.  It's possible (even probable) that the store sold more than candy, but we were only in it for the treats. 

For the most part, we bought penny candy—that's back when pennies still existed in this country (if you're not from Canada, we don't have pennies anymore) and you could use one to buy a gummy bear.

The reason I mention cottage candy is that there's another piece of nostalgia connected to the collection you're currently reading: the surprise bag.  It was a white paper bag with a picture of a clown on the front.  I don't remember how much it cost (I'm guessing a quarter?), but it was a grab bag full of... well... surprises.  Candy for sure, but I think it might have contained little toys, like a rubber ball and a set of jacks.

When you bought your grab bag, you didn't know exactly what would be inside.  That's what I loved about it: the element of surprise.

My partner tells me he and his siblings used to buy them, too, when he was a kid.  He says they were called boodle bags, and they came in brown paper, not white.  So your experience with surprise bags, boodle bags, or grab bags may vary, but I'm guessing you have some memory of nostalgia along these lines.

That's why I decided to put together a series of grab bag books.  I wanted to create a little surprise for you, only in book form.  That's why I chose to eschew themes for this series.  The theme is that there is no theme.  You get to be surprised and, dare I hope, delighted by the stories you discover.

If you'd like a little insight into the stories in this collection, I'd be happy to oblige.

The first story I've selected for you is called Marilyn in the Middle. I originally wrote this one for an Evernight Publishing anthology of sapphic friends-to-lovers tales.  It's based on wishful thinking, I'd say.  What might have been.  If only.  See, I had a friend like the friend in this story.  She loved Marilyn Monroe, like the friend in this story.  Nothing ever really happened between us.  Not really.  But it's one of those lingering regrets.  I don't know what she's up to now, but I do know she's queer.  And I'm not the least bit surprised.

After that, we've got a story called Out of Body.  That one was written for an Xcite anthology, back in the day.  I wrote it because I love psychics.  Gay BDSM sex and a psychic seer who becomes their voyeur.  All-round kinky combination.

Blood Addict is next.  It's a vampire menage story that appears in my paranormal anthology of the same name.  It's also been published as Vampire Cutter because the main character is a vampire who works as a haircutter in a salon.  Haha.  Funny, right?  Anyway, I have no memory of writing this story.  I don't remember what it was for, don't remember what inspired it... nothing.  Total blank.  On to the next.

Love in the Time of Instant Messenger is very much based on my relationship with my former girlfriend, Sweet.  You may remember her from eleven years of my life.  We didn't actually meet at a bar (I don't go to bars—I barely drink) but we did communicate every night by instant messenger.  She loved chatting about gender and being trans.  She also loved chatting about sex.  So did I.  This is a little taste of what it was like inside our life together.

I wrote Shower Fittings when I was staying at Sweet's house one summer.  I remember sitting at the table in her backyard, looking around, and thinking to myself, I need a name for this character.  Character names take me forever to pin down, I swear.  I waste so much time scouring baby names sites.  But no need to do that for this story.  Sweet's barbecue had the name Sterling on it, and that's the name I used for the husband in this book.  The wife is loosely based on someone I went out with who was afraid to have shower sex.  I didn't make it up!  It's a real fear!

Lastly, Blow Up is flash fiction I wrote for a collection called Erotica Every Day (and also the title of an unrelated Antonioni film).  I'd always wanted to write a balloon fetish piece, and this was my first foray.  I enjoyed it so much I included a balloon fetish scene in my book Cosima's Diary, which is part of the Lesbian Diaries series.  If you like Blow Up, definitely check out Cosima's Diary.  I think you'll enjoy that, too.

Second verse, same as the first: a diverse and diverting collection of steamy stories.

I wish you joy as you sample my second grab bag of delights.

Giselle Renarde

Toronto, 2023

Marilyn in the Middle

A Steamy Lesbian Romance Short

I COULDN’T HELP BUT stare.  There was just so much to look at.

Innes caught me, of course, and said, She’s gorgeous, don’t you think?  Following my gaze to the huge cluster of Marilyn Monroe prints hanging over her TV, she went on to say, If you ask me, she’s the most desirable woman there ever was.

Can’t argue with that, I replied, even though I surely could have.

I could have said, I know one woman who’s ten times more beautiful than Marilyn Monroe.

Innes would have looked at me funny and hesitated before asking, Who?

Then I’d move in so close she would flinch.  I’d wrap my arms around her curvy middle and say, You, Innes.  You're the most beautiful woman I've ever laid eyes on.

I would kiss her, then—our first kiss, at long last!  Whether she'd kiss me back or pull away I really wasn't sure.  That's what had held me back all these years.  To me, a kiss was a point of no return.  From there, either a relationship began or a friendship ended.  If I were to kiss Innes, everything would change.  For better or for worse.