The journey to Scarborough was hellish due to something happening on the A1 (M), but boy was it worth it! After dumping bags and a speedy change of clothes, it was to the Black Lion for drinks and jollity. It wasn’t too late a night because the next day was going to be busy, but it was very fun!

Saturday morning dawned noisily with the seagulls we all wanted to shoot, and we headed over to the library to help set up. Then we sneaked off for breakfast and came back in time for the doors to be opened to the public. From then on, there was hardly time to breathe as Victoria kicked off with an introduction, then myself, Tabitha Rayne and Rachel Kincaid did some reading. I started the audience off gently with a nice sweet passage from A French Affair. I thought it was a little early for full on raunch! The other two girls more than made up for it with some hot steampunk and a naughty tale of premature ejaculation 😉

There was a break, and the next reading panel consisted of Ashley Lister, Lexie Bay, K D Grace reading as Grace Marshall and Jennifer Denys. I have to say that I’m not a fan of poetry, but Ashley Lister’s funny poems are more than enough to change my mind. Lovely Lexie read a passage from her story in Coming Together: With Curves, Grace Marshall got us hot under the collar with a snippet of sexiness in a lift, and last but not least, Jennifer had us all giggling with a very humorous piece from one of her books.

Next up was another break, whereby Victoria and I told people to come and grab us if they had any questions. It was an opportunity to check up on the bookstall and the erotic tombola, very capably manned by mine and Victoria’s respective other halves.

Slave Nano then launched his very naughty BDSM novel, Adventures in Fetishland, which involved some fabulous costumes: The Mad Hatter, The Red Queen and the Dormouse, to name just a few. This was certainly not smut for the faint-hearted!

The next section was a panel consisting of myself, Victoria, Ashley Lister and K D Grace in which we answered questions on writing erotica and getting it published. As always, no one wanted to ask the first question, but once someone did we were fielding queries left, right and centre. I hope we provided people with lots of useful information!

Next was the afternoon’s final reading section with Janine Ashbless, Liv Honeywell, Domitri Xavier and Gemma Parkes. I must confess I wasn’t in the room for this one as I was rushing around sorting out other things, but I have it on very good authority that the readings were excellent.

The break between daytime and evening events was next, and myself and my other half dashed out into the Scarborough sun/rain/sun/rain pattern for a play on the 2p machines, some candy floss and a chip cob. Then it was back up the hill to the library.

The evening event was ticketed and people were supplied with swag bags, free drinks and nibbles, and much more. Unfortunately, the burlesque act for the evening had car trouble and so Victoria did some skilful juggling of the schedule and everyone was still suitably entertained.

There were readings from Smut by the Sea Volume 1, Smut by the Sea Volume 2, Smut in the City and Slave Nano read from Adventures in Fetishland, Gemma Parkes treated us to another snippet of a hot story and K D Grace read from The Pet Shop. There was also time for more questions and giggles, then it was time to call it a night. Well, sort of.

Many people stayed behind to help pack up and we did it in such record time that Victoria and Kev had to wait for the caretaker to arrive, while the rest of us carted stuff back to the hotel and got freshened up. Then we headed back to the Black Lion for buffet, drinks and karaoke. It was a pretty messy night, it has to be said. It included me singing karaoke (an X-Factor hopeful I am not) with Tabitha Rayne, sausage rolls being thrown, breadsticks, Strongbow, vodka and balloons. There are still photographs emerging here and there and let’s just say not a single one of them is sensible!

I had a fabulous time overall, was happy to meet up with buddies that live all over the country and meet some people I’d not met before, notably Tilly Hunter, who also stepped in to read. She says it was her first time, but she was so good I’m not convinced! Kerry-Ann McDade gets a very special mention as she travelled all the way from Northern Ireland to be with us. I also had a great time chatting with the Crowned Jewels folk, Anna Sky, a lovely lady called Bea, the owner of Cupido Magazine (a Norwegian magazine that’s featured one of my stories), and many other people I’m sure I’ve forgotten. There were also people I didn’t get much chance to talk to, but hopefully there will be many more chances in future as Victoria and Kevin take the UK by storm with their Smut by the Sea and Smut in the City events. Here’s to next time, guys!