A strange series of events happened to me a while ago.

First, a bit of history. Passionate about horses as a teenager, I rode and showed for many years, as I had the horse pictured above with me (at the tender age of 16) stabled north of the city. Aptly, her name was Meltemi (you'll see why in a bit) and our bond was close. She and I grew to be inseparable. But she was a fractious mare.... and a giant in height at 17hh. With a strong will and mind of her own, she was a handful. [Not unlike me! Clearly, we were meant for each other. ] Honestly, if I had a dime for every time she galloped wildly around the ring during my lessons, with me feeling like an insignificant fly on her back, trying desperately to maintain control, while hearing my Hungarian dressage instructor bellowing at the top of his lungs ….’VAT ARE YOU DOOINK????’ I would have been a rich woman.

Despite this, my formative years around horses were very happy ones and I absolutely lived to ride. Like a lot of teenage girls, my bedroom walls were covered with horse pictures, my shelves were lined with British pony books, my riding gear was everywhere, bits of tack were lying about in various places, and the delicious, ubiquitous smell of horse was omnipresent.

Two summers ago when I was listening to one of my favourite jazz stations online, a song called Meltemi came on. I looked at my computer in amazement as the title scrolled by and was instantly transported back to happy memories of those times at the stables.

Days later, while I was at the waterfront, I took a double-take with astonishment as a sailboat with that very same name emblazoned on her stern glided by me in the harbour. (Great name for a boat actually, as Meltemi is the name for the strong, tempestuous winds on the Aegean Sea.) I stood there, trying to process and piece together the link of those random sightings.

All of that was eerie enough, given the time frame in which they occurred, but when I mentioned the happenstance of those two things to a friend and sent her the above image of Meltemi and I, she said to me....'Look at what's on your shirt!' (Hopefully, you can see what's depicted there.)

I still get goosebumps telling this story. And I haven't made it up, honest.

I've been asked on occasion when I'm going to include images in my gallery of myself en flagrante delicto with a partner. You'll notice those type of images are few and far between in my gallery and that has been a conscious effort on my part.

I'm torn on this topic though, as I think there's a divided camp here. Would posting these images desecrate or enhance the EC brand? Would the fantasy bubble I've built around myself burst? Or would these images open new doors for current and other viewers who might stumble upon my gallery for that reason?

I guess the real question here is....am I pictorially desired more as a single entity in my images, or a single woman with a sexual partner?

Please feel free to weigh in.

I’m a minimalist at heart…and so I tend to strip away visual clutter when I take in things around me. What appeals to me visually....and causes a visceral reaction...is the simplicity of clean lines. So when I look at images by famous photographers whose work I love and wish I’d taken myself, it’s that singular quality which continues to be a source of inspiration. And therefore, I've always been more about quality than quantity. [This may seem ridiculous, given the sheer volume of my gallery, but as long as I continue to post, nothing will pass muster which doesn’t satisfy that prerequisite in me. The predilection of a perfectionist in recovery. ]

I’m enormously appreciative of my repeat viewers who – with their own artistic sensibility - share that same train of thought. To their credit, they are unfortunately a minority here, but a welcome one. Getting down to brass tacks, this is a porn site, after all. Yet along the way on my journey here, I’ve discovered my viewers’ desire for something different. Formulaic doesn’t always speak to them. Ultimately, my conscious decision to venture down this road to the beat of my own drum may have slowed my views initially, but on the other hand, it was personal and therefore true to who I am. Happily since, I’ve discovered a thirst here. For the unique. For a visual orgasm to accompany a physical one. For the enjoyment of the parts of a woman which have equal merit in their own right.

And on a personal level...a sum of my parts as opposed to the whole equation.

Perhaps I’m living in the wrong century. Perhaps I was living a burlesque life where the art of the provocative tease was de rigeur. I do know that as a viewer myself, the tease of skin or the subtle peek of a body part gets my juices going. In a situation like that, I want my mind to be challenged, my imagination fired up, my neurones stimulated and all of that in combination working overtime.

It’s for this reason that I share what I choose to share. Simply put, this is my gallery, my view, my voice. There’s still plenty of me to go around! For those of you who appreciate these things, may I continue to stimulate your....neurones.

I look at all the great galleries on here and wonder how many of us have kept our presence on NN under wraps. It's odd to be living a double life here and elsewhere.....something I'm not unfamiliar with. But as time has gone on and the response to my gallery has been so overwhelmingly great, and my pride in it has grown accordingly, I've found myself itching to let people I know in on my secret. Those folks are aware of my background in photography, so I know that part won't shock them, but I've never been able to share the content of my gallery, much less give them the name of the site, without wondering if I'll suffer backlash of some kind.

Have you ever been busting at the seams to share your gallery with totally unsuspecting people in your life?

My gay male friends - a couple - were the first I told and as one of them had lived a straight life years ago, he was curious. My fears were unfounded as both of them have proven to be not only appreciative, but hugely supportive as well. It seems the artistic element appeals to them.

After some time had passed, a lesbian acquaintance was the next on my list....and for a worldly woman - who is well aware of my past two years of fun singlehood adventures - she was quite visibly shocked. She'd probably thought she'd heard it all until I laid that bomb on her. I guess what shocked me the most was her reaction to my physicality which in her eyes eclipsed everything else.

As far as work goes, there is one individual with whom I've felt comfortable sharing ....and that was only after imbibing copious scotch at the Christmas party. I've had no regrets since, as I've known this guy forever and he's proven to be a dear friend. I guess curiosity has gotten the better of him over the past couple of months and he asked me last week if he could see my gallery.

That happened yesterday. I could tell by his reaction that he was pleasantly surprised (his background is in print advertising) so feeling bold, I sent him the link. In that moment, my pride over-rode the potential lunacy of that decision, but as time marched on last night, I wondered if I had done the right thing. It's not the lack of discretion that I fear, because I wouldn't have shared any of it with him if I felt he couldn't be trusted...but.....I've outed myself to a good friend who now has way more information about me and what goes on behind my closed doors.

I guess this is a bit of an epiphany here. NN has gotten a fiercely...and formerly private woman to the comfort zone of where I am today. And I can scarcely believe it. If you had all known me eight months ago, you wouldn't believe it either!