Spotlight on David Russell

In this Stories of Romance section we feature romance authors that are sizzling hot in their game. If you have a suggestion of who we should feature here, feel free to email us at info@storiesofromance.com.

Author David Russell

David Russell

Born June 12, 1940 and living in West London, UK, David is a writer in all genres, including poetry, fiction, and criticism, and he is a guitarist and singer-songwriter. Some of David’s erotic poems have been featured in anthologies produced by Forward Press. He has a collection of poetry and prose entitled Prickling Counterpoints that has been published in many magazines. He has written two novellas: High Wired On (speculative fiction) and Self’s Blossom (romance). The latter, together with the short story Explorations, have been published by Silk’s Vault. His albums include Bricolage (Hangman Records, 1992) and Bacteria Shrapnel (Posterity Recordings, 1997).

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Self's Blossom

This is about a young woman's self-discovery. Selene is a 'success story', having become a top journalist, while retaining her dazzling looks. However, in the past she has had unhappy relationships, and feels she has missed out on hedonistic fun.  This she obtains, firstly with a young stranger on a beach, and finally with enigmatic Hudson: tryst is preceded by cultural tourism, and careful sizing up of minds. Afterwards Selene returns to her 'I stand on my own' attitude.

While she is on holiday, her mind is free to ramble, often into Selene's chequered past. Flashback blurs into the present, past-rooted interior monologue into direct observation. The dialogue is sparse. Selene is a cautious, premeditative type, in whom thought, reflection and analysis outweigh direct action.

Selene’s subtle, monitoring mind coolly observes and controls all the events. Maybe she is super-confident, or perhaps has a deep, underlying insecurity. She is many things to many readers.

Explorations

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Newly divorced and looking for interesting new experiences, Janice takes an art class with live models and the star makes her want more than a coincidental meeting. Art model, Cedric, thinks he knows the lady from somewhere when he sees her again at the pool. Body language says a lot and chance meetings lead to a desire for more. Will Janice ask Cedric over for a private modeling job and will he accept?

Review:
This short is all about rediscovering oneself – mentally, physically, emotionally and sexually. Janice and Cedric, who have both been in stale relationships, cross paths a few times before deciding that they both want more from themselves, for their lives. Determined to take a risk Janice makes her move, leading to sexual explorations with Cedric.

I liked Janice. I think she represents a lot of women who find themselves in a position of not being where they want to be in life or even who they want to be. Her feelings rang true, making this story seem more real and her risks even more worthwhile. I also like how Russell writes from Cedric’s point of view as well. I like being able to see where each character has come from, and how each character reacts to the same situation. I found Explorations to be a great read and very satisfying

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Therapy Rapture

Ever had secret thoughts about a counselor? Fitness trainer? Ever put two and two together? Therapy Rapture does just that, skillfully blurring the boundaries between fantasy and reality.
The accompanying poems deal with aspects of romantic sensuality, with some emphasis on the aesthetics of disrobing and the relation between swimming and sex. They have been featured in several anthologies produced by Forward Press in the UK, and three of them, “Bathing Girl”, “Beach Girl”, and “Lovers Undress”, are on the internet. The story, the poems, the illustrations set out to explore the erotic with delicacy, refinement, and sensitivity. 

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My Dream of Madonna / An Ecstatic Rendezvous

David Russell delivers two shorts which focus on dreams and fantasies. His first short is My Dream of Madonna. This title is super brief – only a few pages – and is as it describes – a dream of Madonna. Starting with a phone call from Madonna herself, our male is taken by Madonna’s bodyguards to an extravagant church and then led to a swimming pool where not only does he meet Madonna, but he ravishes her.

Russell did an excellent job recreating a dream state of mind. Dreams are often a series of images, experiences, and desires that collide and form random scenes that allude to our deepest wants. This was certainly the case with this short. Russell excelled in building the anticipation between our male and Madonna. And what I liked even more was when the pair finally made love, there were very few details about the sex. The context clues were prefect and very fitting of this story. It was very different, written in a unique fashion, and I personally liked it.
In An Ecstatic Rendezvous, our nameless male is described as a narcissist from the start with a perfect gym body to match. He is so into himself that he dresses up in 50′s style swimwear and poses in front of a mirror. He even strips his clothing off as he watches himself in the mirror. But eventually he tires of the solo performance and searches for a woman on his level, and meets Sandra.
 

Our protagonist is serious about role playing. Before meeting up with Sandra, he lets her in on his 50′s era fantasy and even coordinates outfits over the phone, right down to the ironed linen underwear. When they do meet, they role play like it is a real beach party scene from a 50′s movie, complete with a couple’s beauty contest.
Russell was not kidding when he said the protagonist was a narcissist. I found humor in the lengths he makes to play out his fantasy, both alone and with Sandra. Excellently written – this was very much an ecstatic rendezvous, and a short story worth reading!