An Expanded Love


This is the blog for my polyamorous romantic novel, An Expanded Love. Polyamory is consensual non-monogamy, or simply put: loving more than one person at the same time, with the knowledge and consent of everyone involved. You can buy An Expanded Love on Lulu or Amazon or Smashwords, in print and as an e-book. *

10th March 2011

Excerpt from An Expanded Love: We all went out later.  The sun had come out, and the temperature was raised somewhat.  Lex pulled on a long black coat.  He held my hand as we walked back to the road and down another series of paths to the beach.  At one stage we had to move single-file through little more than a gap in the hedges.  Brambles caught at my clothing, my whole body was tender, tingling from what I’d done earlier, but the added sensations made this experience all the more real.  The hedgerows became even denser as we struggled onward, but at last I stepped out onto sand.  My feet sank into the yellow surface, throwing my balance momentarily.  Lex took one of my hands, and Lee held on to the other.  The dark blue waters of the North Sea moved all around us; the fact that we were really on an island was brought home to me. “It’s lovely,” Lee whispered.  “Smaller than I remember though.” I laughed at that.  “How old were you the last time you came here?” Lee screwed his eyes shut. “Twelve or thirteen I suppose.” “Well it wasn’t the sea that got small, mate.  You just got big.”  I held his hand, and kissed it.  Lee smiled at me. Lex sat on a big rock, but as I came closer I could see that it was actually the base of a tree.  Broken roots were fossilised, star-like as they radiated this way and that.  The colour was muted, bleached by sea, the sand and time.  Lex pulled a thin silver rod from inside his coat pocket.  I balanced on another part of the tree, whilst Lee sat cross-legged on the sand.   Lex placed the flute to his lips.  I listened to the breathy notes as he played.  The sound the flute made was melancholic.  There were no words to speak, save for the throaty call that emanated from the instrument.  Hear me, it seemed to say.  Hear me; hear me now. I wanted to take the flute from his hands, and kiss him, but I couldn’t move.  A tear rolled down my face.  I turned away, embarrassed at my display.  Lex caught me by the shoulder.  He rubbed my back. “It’s been a tough year for all of us, hasn’t it?” I nodded.  “I’ll be fine.” Lex looked over at Lee.  “Will you be fine too?” “Ask me next year.”  He got up, joined us on the tree base, though it was a bit of a squeeze.  “You’re very good.  That flute doesn’t look like one I’ve ever seen before.” “Do you play?”  Lex passed the instrument to Lee, who took it after a second’s hesitation. “Not since school and I was hopeless back then.”  Lee blew across the mouthpiece, but nothing happened.  He blew again, and the flute made a shrill noise. “Don’t try so hard,” Lex said, moving to kneel in front of Lee.  “Talk to it.  Breathe life into it.” Lee looked at him strangely, but then he shrugged his shoulders, and made another attempt.  A single note emanated from the flute.  He looked at it as if it had transformed into an alien object in his hands. “Talk to it, and it will talk to you.  Give the music life—live through it.” Lee straightened his back.  He blew over the flute once more, moving his fingers slowly.  He played the scales up and down three times, and then he sagged, breathless beside me.  He handed the flute back to Lex. “Keep it,” he said, passing it back to Lee.  “It’s yours now.” Lee grinned, and twirled the flute in his fingers. An Expanded Love is also available on Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk.  It is also available as an e-book on Lulu.com Photo: Fossilised tree stump, Spittal Beach, Northumberland. Taken by myself.

Excerpt from An Expanded Love:

We all went out later.  The sun had come out, and the temperature was raised somewhat.  Lex pulled on a long black coat.  He held my hand as we walked back to the road and down another series of paths to the beach.  At one stage we had to move single-file through little more than a gap in the hedges.  Brambles caught at my clothing, my whole body was tender, tingling from what I’d done earlier, but the added sensations made this experience all the more real.  The hedgerows became even denser as we struggled onward, but at last I stepped out onto sand.  My feet sank into the yellow surface, throwing my balance momentarily.  Lex took one of my hands, and Lee held on to the other.  The dark blue waters of the North Sea moved all around us; the fact that we were really on an island was brought home to me.


“It’s lovely,” Lee whispered.  “Smaller than I remember though.”


I laughed at that.  “How old were you the last time you came here?”


Lee screwed his eyes shut. “Twelve or thirteen I suppose.”


“Well it wasn’t the sea that got small, mate.  You just got big.”  I held his hand, and kissed it.  Lee smiled at me.


Lex sat on a big rock, but as I came closer I could see that it was actually the base of a tree.  Broken roots were fossilised, star-like as they radiated this way and that.  The colour was muted, bleached by sea, the sand and time.  Lex pulled a thin silver rod from inside his coat pocket.  I balanced on another part of the tree, whilst Lee sat cross-legged on the sand.   Lex placed the flute to his lips.  I listened to the breathy notes as he played.  The sound the flute made was melancholic.  There were no words to speak, save for the throaty call that emanated from the instrument.  Hear me, it seemed to say.  Hear me; hear me now.


I wanted to take the flute from his hands, and kiss him, but I couldn’t move.  A tear rolled down my face.  I turned away, embarrassed at my display.  Lex caught me by the shoulder.  He rubbed my back.


“It’s been a tough year for all of us, hasn’t it?”


I nodded.  “I’ll be fine.”


Lex looked over at Lee.  “Will you be fine too?”


“Ask me next year.”  He got up, joined us on the tree base, though it was a bit of a squeeze.  “You’re very good.  That flute doesn’t look like one I’ve ever seen before.”


“Do you play?”  Lex passed the instrument to Lee, who took it after a second’s hesitation.


“Not since school and I was hopeless back then.”  Lee blew across the mouthpiece, but nothing happened.  He blew again, and the flute made a shrill noise.


“Don’t try so hard,” Lex said, moving to kneel in front of Lee.  “Talk to it.  Breathe life into it.”


Lee looked at him strangely, but then he shrugged his shoulders, and made another attempt.  A single note emanated from the flute.  He looked at it as if it had transformed into an alien object in his hands.


“Talk to it, and it will talk to you.  Give the music life—live through it.”


Lee straightened his back.  He blew over the flute once more, moving his fingers slowly.  He played the scales up and down three times, and then he sagged, breathless beside me.  He handed the flute back to Lex.


“Keep it,” he said, passing it back to Lee.  “It’s yours now.”


Lee grinned, and twirled the flute in his fingers.

An Expanded Love is also available on Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk.  It is also available as an e-book on Lulu.com

Photo: Fossilised tree stump, Spittal Beach, Northumberland. Taken by myself.

Tagged: fictionpolyamorypolyamorous

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