Surrey-based 28-year-old Sarah
Bramley's novel Chelsea Wives and their Mistresses is released
today on Kindle, and Sarah has very kindly sent us an extract to
whet your appetite. Here, in her own words, is a description of the
book, and how she was inspired to write it.
Chelsea Wives and their
Mistresses
They appear to have it all behind the
closed doors of London's wealthiest addresses, but when is
everything not quite enough? After all, one really does need
variety in life.
The idea of married women with
mistresses emerged from my personal experiences whilst enjoying the
London party scene with the 'international jet set'.
I also discovered in the media that more high-powered
women are entering into same sex relationships after
marriage to a man, such as fashionista Jenna Lyons, President of
J.Crew, Sex and the City actress Cynthia Nixon and Mary Portas who
made her name as the Creative Director at Harvey Nichols.
Other female celebrities are also
increasingly declaring their attraction to women, such as Jessie J,
Amber Heard, Lindsay Lohan, Kelly McGillis, Saffron Burrows and
Megan Fox. Thus there is a potentially big market for a modern
story where the main female characters are bisexual or lesbian. For
example, the four stars of 'Sex and the City' play straight
characters with little or no sexual interest in other women, but in
reality that is not the case. Cynthia Nixon has just celebrated the
birth of her first child with her lesbian partner, and Kristin
Davies has openly admitted that she wouldn't say no to a lesbian
relationship. Chelsea Wives and their Mistresses could be the real
Sex and the City, where two of the main characters, Cara and Elle's
sexual fluidity often reflects reality. Both characters are both
very different however, with Cara struggling to enter into a proper
relationship with a woman and Elle, whom is happy to jingle her
notes and coins together, likening her love for men and women with
her adoration for money. It seems women are not only fighting for
equal pay but some are now seeking equal rewards(!). Whilst having
to manage family, social and work life, having another woman to
relieve the stress with could be rather appealing to some…
Extract
In this extract from chapter eight of
Chelsea Wives and their Mistresses, Cara has succeeded in taking
the gorgeous Sirena back to her Chelsea home after treating her at
The Dorchester. With her family due to be returning the next day
from St Moritz, her need to fulfill her craving for Sirena has
boiled over, resulting in a surge of confidence she could very
easily regret...
Sirena followed Cara upstairs to the
third floor. Cara opened the door to her spacious marital bedroom,
revealing cream patterned walls with some floor-to-ceiling mirrored
panels, two large sash windows and elegant furniture placed around
the proud king-sized bed. Sirena caught sight of Cara in a mirror,
looking at her admirably by the door.
'Wow this room is great.' Sirena
accidently dropped her bag on the floor, making Amber jump
slightly. She bent down to pick it up. Cara lightly stroked her arm
when she stood tall again.
'It's one of my favourite rooms but I
guess one's bedroom usually is?' Cara quipped. She was finding it
hard to contain her frustration.
'Well if this was my bedroom it would
certainly be my favourite.' Sirena giggled to mask her confusion at
Cara touching her affectionately.
'I'm very sorry to say that your room
for tonight is on the lower ground floor. My ex sleeps in the spare
room on this floor. Come on darling.' She reluctantly walked Sirena
back along the corridor, wishing she had made the most of Sirena's
reaction to her bedroom. She led Sirena down the stairs while
talking about the way she designed her house, but also wondering
how on earth she was going to make her move. She revealed another
beautifully presented bedroom to Sirena on the lower ground floor.
She knew she had to act quickly or else she would be sleeping
alone, and what did she have to lose? If Sirena didn't like her
they wouldn't see each other again - they didn't move in the same
circles so no one would find out. 'Sirena, would you rather sleep
in my room?'
'Erm, I'm not too fussed really . . .
would you sleep in here then?'
'No I only sleep in my room!'
Sirena hesitated. 'So we would both
sleep in your room?'
'Well, my room is a lot more
comfortable . . . ' Cara trailed off, feeling her heart beating
faster with each second of awkwardness.
'I'm not sure what you . . . ' Sirena
paused. 'You mean sleep in the same bed?'
'You don't have to, obviously!' Cara
quickly intercepted. 'It's just that I thought . . . well, it would
be nice wouldn't it?' She felt the knot tighten in her stomach with
anticipation and panic. It wasn't her usually doing the asking and
she certainly wouldn't be doing it again. She bent down to play
with Amber as she could feel herself turning red.
Sirena took a moment to make sense of
her jumbled thoughts. 'Cara, I've never . . . I mean, I'm not . . .
'
Cara frowned with embarrassment before
standing back up to face the result of her foolish actions. 'Listen
it's OK, this room is very nice. There are some clothes in the
drawers and toiletries in the en suite - just let me know if you
need anything else OK?'
'OK . . . thanks.'
'Right, well good night then - see you
in the morning Sirena and thank you again for a lovely evening.'
Cara gave her a quick kiss on the cheek and walked away with Amber
in tow. The unfamiliar feel of rejection made her legs weak with
every step towards her bedroom. She walked quickly in fear of
collapsing.
Sirena shut the door when Cara was out
of sight and sat down on the edge of the bed, taking in what had
just happened.
Cara threw her bedroom door shut and
sat down on her bed. Sirena wasn't into women and she didn't want
to sleep with her. The night hadn't gone to plan at all.She now
just wanted to sleep off her frustration and proceeded to get
changed into her comforting cotton pyjamas. She got immense
satisfaction from making love to Alessandra, and seeing
advertisements of beautiful women everywhere was making her yearn
even more for her own female lover again. She wearily climbed into
bed and turned off the lights. Her head hit the pillow and Amber
lay at the foot of the bed in her usual position. She could hear
her heart still beating fast and rubbed her chest to calm herself.
She certainly hoped Sirena was feeling all right alone in the
bedroom but she couldn't face her again that night to check. She
curled up in the bed to sleep.
If you'd like to read more Chelsea
Wives follow these links:
amazon.co.uk
quartetbooks.co.uk/bookpages/chelseawives
Visit Sarah's website: www.sarahbramley.com
