I'm very excited to report that my story "A Slap in the Face" will be published in Say Please: Lesbian BDSM Erotica, edited by Sinclair Sexsmith, to be published by Cleis Press in the spring. More info soon. I was trying to figure out what to say about it, but the title pretty much tells you what it's about. So I'll say it's a story. Isn't everything?
Here's a little teaser, the first paragraph.
Jade strolled into the bar, walked straight up to Amber, who was leaning against it wearing a slinky leopard-print slip, ripped fishnet stockings, a see-through black top along with a sheer black bra, and dangerously tall black heels, her red hair gleaming even in the low lights, and slapped her across the face. The sound was louder than Jade had expected, the sting in her palm stronger, both of which she liked. Amber didn’t smile, not with her mouth, anyway, but Jade knew exactly how much she’d liked Jade’s slap. She could read it in the way Amber shivered, the way her eyes skittered from the ground and, for a second, up to Jade’s, from the way her body radiated a heady combination of fear, awe and desire.
Showing posts with label erotica. Show all posts
Showing posts with label erotica. Show all posts
"Fishnet Queen," "Lap Dance Lust" and "Doing the Dishes" coming soon to an e-reader near you
self-portrait in white fishnets
I’m making the leap into offering my short stories for sale on Amazon for download, probably for 99 cents each, once I figure out exactly how to do it. One of them will be “Fishnet Queen.” Also “Lap Dance Lust” and “Doing the Dishes.” If you have any story requests, let me know!
From "Fishnet Queen" by me:
First thing I see are her legs, clad in the kind of stockings that make me hard just by thinking about them: fishnets. Her legs are long, and in her mini skirt, which rides up her thigh, I can see her pale skin augmented by the tightly woven black pattern that seems made just for her. She doesn’t just wear the fishnets, she owns them. I've seen women try to rock fishnets who simply can't pull them off, who wear them as if they were any other kind of stockings, tugged on hastily during a rushed morning, ripped in spots, slammed into sneakers, used and abused in the most careless manner possible.
My erotica on Kindle - updated for March 2011
For those who are into that sort of thing, here's a handy list/links to my erotica anthologies on Kindle. Visit my website for links to all my books as well as the anthologies my work has been published in.
I'm updating my website's books page so all the links to Amazon, Kindle, B&N, Nook, Powells, IndieBound, Cleis Press, etc. will be just a click away. I myself don't have a Kindle or e-reader, but I use Kindle for iPhone. When you click through below you'll see that almost all of these have a free sample chapter (usually the first story) you can download to see if you like it, and most of my Wordpress blogs for the books (not linked below but search for the book on this blog for links, those links will be coming soon) have the full introduction and sometimes a story sample.
And when you use the links below, I do get a small fee from Amazon. I have no preference how you read my books.
These are only $9.99 (some cheaper)! A bargain, and instantly delivered.
Passion: Erotic Romance for Women
Smooth: Erotic Stories for Women
Orgasmic: Erotica for Women
Fast Girls: Erotica for Women
Please, Ma'am: Erotic Stories of Male Submission
Please, Sir: Erotic Stories of Female Submission
Best Sex Writing 2010
Best Sex Writing 2009
Peep Show: Erotic Tales of Voyeurs and Exhibitionists
Bottoms Up: Spanking Good Stories
The Mile High Club: Plane Sex Stories
Do Not Disturb: Hotel Sex Stories
Bedding Down: A Collection of Winter Erotica
Tasting Her: Oral Sex Stories
Tasting Him: Oral Sex Stories
Spanked: Red-Cheeked Erotica
Rubber Sex
Dirty Girls: Erotica for Women
Yes, Ma'am: Erotic Stories of Male Submission
Yes, Sir: Erotic Stories of Female Submission
Best Sex Writing 2008
Hide and Seek: Erotic Stories
Crossdressing: Erotic Stories
He's on Top: Erotic Stories of Male Dominance and Female Submission
She's on Top: Erotic Stories of Female Dominance and Male Submission
Caught Looking: Erotic Tales of Voyeurs and Exhibitionists
I'm updating my website's books page so all the links to Amazon, Kindle, B&N, Nook, Powells, IndieBound, Cleis Press, etc. will be just a click away. I myself don't have a Kindle or e-reader, but I use Kindle for iPhone. When you click through below you'll see that almost all of these have a free sample chapter (usually the first story) you can download to see if you like it, and most of my Wordpress blogs for the books (not linked below but search for the book on this blog for links, those links will be coming soon) have the full introduction and sometimes a story sample.
And when you use the links below, I do get a small fee from Amazon. I have no preference how you read my books.
These are only $9.99 (some cheaper)! A bargain, and instantly delivered.
Passion: Erotic Romance for Women
Smooth: Erotic Stories for Women
Orgasmic: Erotica for Women
Fast Girls: Erotica for Women
Please, Ma'am: Erotic Stories of Male Submission
Please, Sir: Erotic Stories of Female Submission
Best Sex Writing 2010
Best Sex Writing 2009
Peep Show: Erotic Tales of Voyeurs and Exhibitionists
Bottoms Up: Spanking Good Stories
The Mile High Club: Plane Sex Stories
Do Not Disturb: Hotel Sex Stories
Bedding Down: A Collection of Winter Erotica
Tasting Her: Oral Sex Stories
Tasting Him: Oral Sex Stories
Spanked: Red-Cheeked Erotica
Rubber Sex
Dirty Girls: Erotica for Women
Yes, Ma'am: Erotic Stories of Male Submission
Yes, Sir: Erotic Stories of Female Submission
Best Sex Writing 2008
Hide and Seek: Erotic Stories
Crossdressing: Erotic Stories
He's on Top: Erotic Stories of Male Dominance and Female Submission
She's on Top: Erotic Stories of Female Dominance and Male Submission
Caught Looking: Erotic Tales of Voyeurs and Exhibitionists
Chat about erotica with me and anthology contributors Saturday, March 19th from 2-3 pm EST
We are scheduling more call-in chats like the one we did last week for the RKB Online Book Club (but you don't have to have read the books to listen or participate), and I'll announce them as soon as I know. They are live, anyone can call in, and then they get archived. Looking forward to it! Full details here. Call-in number is 626-414-3413. Saturday, March 19th, 2-3 pm EST.
Blisstree gives Valentine's Day shoutout to Do Not Disturb: Hotel Sex Stories
Blisstree gave my book Do Not Disturb: Hotel Sex Stories a Valentine's Day plug! They're part of B5 Media, which also publishes Crushable and The Gloss (and Blisstree is on my list of Sites I'd Love to Write For).
5. Take a cue from the youngsters and sext.
The written word can be an easy and powerful way to transition into more sexual adventure — sort of like storytime for adults. Herbenick says to read erotic stories in bed or text your significant other with a few lines from your favorite story. (Herbenick recommends checking out Do Not Disturb: Hotel Sex Stories by Rachel Kramer Bussell for inspiration.) “It may give you ideas to try the next time you have a weekend alone, and at the very least, it can help you explore fantasies and use texting as foreplay.”
Here's the book trailer too:
5. Take a cue from the youngsters and sext.
The written word can be an easy and powerful way to transition into more sexual adventure — sort of like storytime for adults. Herbenick says to read erotic stories in bed or text your significant other with a few lines from your favorite story. (Herbenick recommends checking out Do Not Disturb: Hotel Sex Stories by Rachel Kramer Bussell for inspiration.) “It may give you ideas to try the next time you have a weekend alone, and at the very least, it can help you explore fantasies and use texting as foreplay.”
Here's the book trailer too:
Last night at Booksmith, in photos
I have to run a few errands, like buying a case for my pretty new laptop (though I must admit, Tantek showed up and pulled out his 11-inch MacBook Air last night and it was so light, I wondered if that would't have been the better option), then catch a plane to Los Angeles - I'm on the Dr. Susan Block Show tonight, and I want to get me and all my huge amount of belongings settled into my hotel and just write. No dates, no ice skating, no phone calls, at least, for one day. I've been running around nonstop and have been feeling physically off. I Tweeted that the reading would be a success if I didn't cry. I didn't, at least, not on the outside, not there. At Booksmith I was proud of myself for reading that totally fraught story and so happy to hear my fellow authors. The after where I was a little sad, where I could recall exact phone calls made from exact streets, plans and dreams and fantasies, that was, well, after. That's another story for another time, but I was happy to remember some of the good parts, the ones that make anything not-so-good worth it.
photo of me before the reading by Violet Blue via Flickr - to be totally vain for a moment, I love this photo!
I will write more about how Booksmith is the best place ever to do readings; if you want to watch last night's, Click here. Thanks to everyone who showed up, to the guy who had me sign his birthday card with my lips, to the Sarge and Reputation and Wild Flag fan, to all my friends and to the Booksmith staff, who not only hosted a wonderful evening but really know their books. Thank you to Violet Blue, Susie Hara, Dusty Horn and Donna George Storey, who all breathed life into their stories that, much as I love the written word, it just doesn't have in the same way on the page. Dusty sold sexy calendars to benefit Lyon Martin Health Services (see photo below and, incidentally, I'll spank you anytime!). One of the highlights for me was chatting afterward with them about all manner of books.
Donna George Storey, Susie Hara, me, Dusty Horn, Violet Blue
Thanks, Josh, I hope you had a fabulous birthday! You were very cute - I kindof wanted to pinch your cheeks and make out with you, but in a friendly way. I was happy to sign your card with my eyeliner (before I was given a lovely purple pen) and lipstick.
Pin Up calendar as sold by the sexy Dusty Horn
I bought these at Booksmith (and they gave me the tote bag for free, which I will wear proudly). Looking forward to reading The People Who Watched Her Pass By by Scott Bradfield, Alice I Have Been by Melanie Benjamin and Stuff: Compuslive Hoarding and the Meaning of Things by Randy O. Frost and Gail Streketee.
And welcome to my hotel life world (which, I will say, has been greatly improved by the use of Skype):
Since editing Do Not Disturb: Hotel Sex Stories, I always take these. I've liked the Sir Francis Drake Hotel, but think they don't need to make the staff where crazy uniforms. I booked this via Quikbook for $93/night!
I kicked these off my bed getting comfortable. Oops!
Thank you especially Booksmith, everyone at Cleis Press, especially Kat for driving me to Emeryville, and Violet Blue, for whom I promise to return for a proper vacation and longer stay and mayhem and fun!
photo of me before the reading by Violet Blue via Flickr - to be totally vain for a moment, I love this photo!
I will write more about how Booksmith is the best place ever to do readings; if you want to watch last night's, Click here. Thanks to everyone who showed up, to the guy who had me sign his birthday card with my lips, to the Sarge and Reputation and Wild Flag fan, to all my friends and to the Booksmith staff, who not only hosted a wonderful evening but really know their books. Thank you to Violet Blue, Susie Hara, Dusty Horn and Donna George Storey, who all breathed life into their stories that, much as I love the written word, it just doesn't have in the same way on the page. Dusty sold sexy calendars to benefit Lyon Martin Health Services (see photo below and, incidentally, I'll spank you anytime!). One of the highlights for me was chatting afterward with them about all manner of books.
Donna George Storey, Susie Hara, me, Dusty Horn, Violet Blue
Thanks, Josh, I hope you had a fabulous birthday! You were very cute - I kindof wanted to pinch your cheeks and make out with you, but in a friendly way. I was happy to sign your card with my eyeliner (before I was given a lovely purple pen) and lipstick.
Pin Up calendar as sold by the sexy Dusty Horn
I bought these at Booksmith (and they gave me the tote bag for free, which I will wear proudly). Looking forward to reading The People Who Watched Her Pass By by Scott Bradfield, Alice I Have Been by Melanie Benjamin and Stuff: Compuslive Hoarding and the Meaning of Things by Randy O. Frost and Gail Streketee.
And welcome to my hotel life world (which, I will say, has been greatly improved by the use of Skype):
Since editing Do Not Disturb: Hotel Sex Stories, I always take these. I've liked the Sir Francis Drake Hotel, but think they don't need to make the staff where crazy uniforms. I booked this via Quikbook for $93/night!
I kicked these off my bed getting comfortable. Oops!
Thank you especially Booksmith, everyone at Cleis Press, especially Kat for driving me to Emeryville, and Violet Blue, for whom I promise to return for a proper vacation and longer stay and mayhem and fun!
West Coast book tour is this week: Berkeley, San Francisco, Los Angeles! All free, all with free cupcakes, and hot, hot stories.
I'll be doing a separate post about my 3 New York City events in February, but as a reminder, unless I'm already traveling or have a special occasion like a panel, this is my last year of doing a bazillion outside readings. I just can't pretend like I can afford them or that I'm rich, and it doesn't make financial sense to be running all over the country when I could be working smarter, better and trying to sell more books. So my point is: come see me in Berkeley, San Francisco and Los Angeles now! I'm hoping to get to a few other cities like Denver, Minneapolis and Milwaukee in 2011 as well, fingers crossed.
A reminder with Facebook links - I'd really love it if you'd spread the word. All these events are free, it's a chance to get the just-released Gotta Have It signed by me and contributors (Denise Hoffner, who wrote census taker erotica story "Concensus" in Gotta Have It, has been added to Thursday's Berkeley Good Vibrations reading) and I'm getting fabulous, unique cupcakes, different ones from different local bakers, for each event.
Saturday night I will also make my third appearance on The Dr. Susan Block Show - listen online! Saturday night, January 29th, 10:30 pm to midnight, PST, I'll be on with Shameless author Pamela Madsen - my interview with her will be up soon at SexIs Magazine.
January 27, 6:30-8 pm
READING AND EROTICA ADVICE WITH DONNA GEORGE STOREY
Join me and prolific local erotica writer Donna George Storey (author, Amorous Woman, contributor, Orgasmic, Gotta Have It) and Gotta Have It contributor Denise Hoffner as we read some of our favorite erotica and share erotic writing advice. Free!
Good Vibrations, 2504 San Pablo Avenue (at Dwight Way), Berkeley, CA
510-841-8987
Facebook invite (no need to RSVP though, but if you want to pass it on to friends)
January 28, 7:30 pm
READING WITH VIOLET BLUE AT BOOKSMITH
Me and superstar author and editor Violet Blue read along with Orgasmic contributors Susie Hara, Dusty Horn and Donna George Storey!
Free cupcakes!
Booksmith, 1644 Haight Street, San Francisco, CA
415-863-8688
Facebook invite (no need to RSVP though, but if you want to pass it on to friends)
February 1, 7 pm
COCO DE MER READING
Join me along with Eden Bradley (The Lovers), Pamela Madsen (Shameless) and Oriana Small, aka Ashley Blue (Girlvert) for a night of hot readings and free champagne and cupcakes in this beautiful setting!
At Coco de Mer, 8618 Melrose Avenue, Los Angeles, CA
310-652-0311
Facebook invite (no need to RSVP though, but if you want to pass it on to friends)
A reminder with Facebook links - I'd really love it if you'd spread the word. All these events are free, it's a chance to get the just-released Gotta Have It signed by me and contributors (Denise Hoffner, who wrote census taker erotica story "Concensus" in Gotta Have It, has been added to Thursday's Berkeley Good Vibrations reading) and I'm getting fabulous, unique cupcakes, different ones from different local bakers, for each event.
Saturday night I will also make my third appearance on The Dr. Susan Block Show - listen online! Saturday night, January 29th, 10:30 pm to midnight, PST, I'll be on with Shameless author Pamela Madsen - my interview with her will be up soon at SexIs Magazine.
January 27, 6:30-8 pm
READING AND EROTICA ADVICE WITH DONNA GEORGE STOREY
Join me and prolific local erotica writer Donna George Storey (author, Amorous Woman, contributor, Orgasmic, Gotta Have It) and Gotta Have It contributor Denise Hoffner as we read some of our favorite erotica and share erotic writing advice. Free!
Good Vibrations, 2504 San Pablo Avenue (at Dwight Way), Berkeley, CA
510-841-8987
Facebook invite (no need to RSVP though, but if you want to pass it on to friends)
January 28, 7:30 pm
READING WITH VIOLET BLUE AT BOOKSMITH
Me and superstar author and editor Violet Blue read along with Orgasmic contributors Susie Hara, Dusty Horn and Donna George Storey!
Free cupcakes!
Booksmith, 1644 Haight Street, San Francisco, CA
415-863-8688
Facebook invite (no need to RSVP though, but if you want to pass it on to friends)
February 1, 7 pm
COCO DE MER READING
Join me along with Eden Bradley (The Lovers), Pamela Madsen (Shameless) and Oriana Small, aka Ashley Blue (Girlvert) for a night of hot readings and free champagne and cupcakes in this beautiful setting!
At Coco de Mer, 8618 Melrose Avenue, Los Angeles, CA
310-652-0311
Facebook invite (no need to RSVP though, but if you want to pass it on to friends)
The reality of royalty statements
I don't think most people get how royalty statements work; I certainly didn't. I will say now that, in regards to Cleis Press, 4 times a year I get a check, and a wake up call. A very stark reminder of what works, what doesn't. It's like a roadmap: keep editing this, never edit that again. It's exciting, but can also be demoralizing to see books I poured as much energy, time, attention, heart and soul into as others sell just a few copies in three months. Was the book a mistake? Should it never have been created? Did I do a bad job of marketing it? Was it the cover?
And with the ones that did well, the best sellers of the bunch, what went right about those? It's so hard to know. As I move into 2011 and try to become a better businesswoman, one of my goals is to make all of my publicity and marketing efforts sync up. Like, there's zero reason to run around, take off days from my day job, and do events if nobody's gonna show up (cue Brookline, MA and that Book Passage writing workshop where one person attended). Literally no reason, and I cannot afford those kinds of events financially or psychologically. I just can't. Eventually I will probably phase out doing events, because they are not cost-efficient, but they are fun, bring in publicity, and allow me to meet actual real people who sell my books to other actual real people. Otherwise, it's all intermediaries.
But anyway, back to things I didn't know - I had this fantasy when I started that each royalty statement would get progressively bigger, that because I have more and more books out there, that the rate of purchase would just keep rising. I forgot that some of the people who are buying the new books already have the old ones, so even the ones that do sell well from the backlist, don't sell as well as they did out of the gate.
I also didn't realize that your losses are balanced out by your gains; the books that haven't earned out their advances make my checks smaller. The good thing in, the latest round of books seem to be doing very well; I so hope that the women's erotica books, like Fast Girls, Smooth, Passion and Orgasmic are ones that do well because I think they're all fabulous but also because out of all the books I've edited, the bestselling one is my book with Seal Press, Dirty Girls. So I want to try to recreate that success - if I could I'd be, well, not rich, but a little richer. I wish there were some magic way to know these things ahead of time, to figure out which are great ideas and which just sound like great ideas, but you really just never know.
My challenge now really is trying to edit erotica books that lots of people want to read. Obviously, something like bondage erotica or spanking erotica is a niche audience. I've tried lots of tactics - readings, book trailers, ads (I SO don't advise taking out ads for books - at least in my case, people just don't click). Part of me feels a little hopeless, or like maybe that's just how my books sell - very, very average. But part of me wants to try to find something new, some better way of working to make these books reach what in my heart I believe is a wider audience. How to do that? I'm not sure, but I'm talking to my third and most professional publicist who I hope can help me breathe new life into the business of selling books, especially with Gotta Have It, which I think is the most mainstream and welcoming of my books. I'm hoping the almost-bare butt on the cover will not be a problem for stores, and that my virtual street team of reviewers helps convince the unconvinced that these super short stories deserve a chance. This book went through a name change, and at first I was not happy at all about that, but now I'm extremely happy. We are also set to debut a book trailer, hopefully next week, that incorporates the images and voices of about 15-20 of the contributors. I love that technology has allowed me/them to do this (all were sent via email) and I am hoping this one makes it onto Amazon (ahem, where the Passion trailer is supposed to be right now!).
So those are some of my off-the-cuff, just-woke-up thoughts. You can find very successful writers' royalty statements, including a New York Times bestseller, online. I can't share my details except to say that apparently, the mile high club is not as popular to read about as I'd thought, but Please, Sir has done extremely well. That brings up another piece of advice (obviously take any book advice I give with a huge mouthful of salt, because who am I? if you want real advice, find someone who makes a living off of their books - I truly don't mean that to be facetious or self-deprecating, just true) is that you should be constantly monitoring your books on Amazon. Please, Sir was out of stock for a while because it was being reprinted. That was frustrating for me because I know it's a book readers like, and of course they have the option to buy it used or from someone else. Happily, it's now back in stock for real. And if you want to watch the banned-from-YouTube kinky book trailer or find other places to buy it, click here.
So it balances out; if you ever wonder, "Why does Rachel edit 6-8 anthologies per year?" Well, the answer is partly cause I'm a crazy workaholic, partly cause I feel guilty for wasting three years of my life in law school, and partly because it's such a crapshoot that I need to do everything I can to make sure I come out ahead. At least, that's how I see it. If 1-2 of those books don't do well, but it's balanced out buy 5-7 that do, then I'm a happy girl on royalty statement day. If it were the other way around, I would be very disappointed. As it is, I am constantly assessing how to work smarter, better, how to make the anthologies appealing to a wide range of people, how to capture as much diversity given the limited submissions I sometimes have to work with. My "market research" is in large part doing my giveaways, finding out how people have found out about my books, who they are, what they like.
Honestly, I'm just happy to now have the cash to pay for things like my student loan, my upcoming hotels, all those copies of Gotta Have It I ordered, and a bunch of other things. It's a relief, but it's also a sign that I need to kick things up a notch if I want to make those checks get bigger instead of staying the same. I think this is my year to take myself out of so many of the boxes, literal and figurative, I've placed myself in, to not accept the same old, same old, in my personal and professional life, and to really push myself. So far in 2011 I haven't pushed myself in the ways I aspire to, but there's a lot more year left!
And with the ones that did well, the best sellers of the bunch, what went right about those? It's so hard to know. As I move into 2011 and try to become a better businesswoman, one of my goals is to make all of my publicity and marketing efforts sync up. Like, there's zero reason to run around, take off days from my day job, and do events if nobody's gonna show up (cue Brookline, MA and that Book Passage writing workshop where one person attended). Literally no reason, and I cannot afford those kinds of events financially or psychologically. I just can't. Eventually I will probably phase out doing events, because they are not cost-efficient, but they are fun, bring in publicity, and allow me to meet actual real people who sell my books to other actual real people. Otherwise, it's all intermediaries.
But anyway, back to things I didn't know - I had this fantasy when I started that each royalty statement would get progressively bigger, that because I have more and more books out there, that the rate of purchase would just keep rising. I forgot that some of the people who are buying the new books already have the old ones, so even the ones that do sell well from the backlist, don't sell as well as they did out of the gate.
I also didn't realize that your losses are balanced out by your gains; the books that haven't earned out their advances make my checks smaller. The good thing in, the latest round of books seem to be doing very well; I so hope that the women's erotica books, like Fast Girls, Smooth, Passion and Orgasmic are ones that do well because I think they're all fabulous but also because out of all the books I've edited, the bestselling one is my book with Seal Press, Dirty Girls. So I want to try to recreate that success - if I could I'd be, well, not rich, but a little richer. I wish there were some magic way to know these things ahead of time, to figure out which are great ideas and which just sound like great ideas, but you really just never know.
My challenge now really is trying to edit erotica books that lots of people want to read. Obviously, something like bondage erotica or spanking erotica is a niche audience. I've tried lots of tactics - readings, book trailers, ads (I SO don't advise taking out ads for books - at least in my case, people just don't click). Part of me feels a little hopeless, or like maybe that's just how my books sell - very, very average. But part of me wants to try to find something new, some better way of working to make these books reach what in my heart I believe is a wider audience. How to do that? I'm not sure, but I'm talking to my third and most professional publicist who I hope can help me breathe new life into the business of selling books, especially with Gotta Have It, which I think is the most mainstream and welcoming of my books. I'm hoping the almost-bare butt on the cover will not be a problem for stores, and that my virtual street team of reviewers helps convince the unconvinced that these super short stories deserve a chance. This book went through a name change, and at first I was not happy at all about that, but now I'm extremely happy. We are also set to debut a book trailer, hopefully next week, that incorporates the images and voices of about 15-20 of the contributors. I love that technology has allowed me/them to do this (all were sent via email) and I am hoping this one makes it onto Amazon (ahem, where the Passion trailer is supposed to be right now!).
So those are some of my off-the-cuff, just-woke-up thoughts. You can find very successful writers' royalty statements, including a New York Times bestseller, online. I can't share my details except to say that apparently, the mile high club is not as popular to read about as I'd thought, but Please, Sir has done extremely well. That brings up another piece of advice (obviously take any book advice I give with a huge mouthful of salt, because who am I? if you want real advice, find someone who makes a living off of their books - I truly don't mean that to be facetious or self-deprecating, just true) is that you should be constantly monitoring your books on Amazon. Please, Sir was out of stock for a while because it was being reprinted. That was frustrating for me because I know it's a book readers like, and of course they have the option to buy it used or from someone else. Happily, it's now back in stock for real. And if you want to watch the banned-from-YouTube kinky book trailer or find other places to buy it, click here.
So it balances out; if you ever wonder, "Why does Rachel edit 6-8 anthologies per year?" Well, the answer is partly cause I'm a crazy workaholic, partly cause I feel guilty for wasting three years of my life in law school, and partly because it's such a crapshoot that I need to do everything I can to make sure I come out ahead. At least, that's how I see it. If 1-2 of those books don't do well, but it's balanced out buy 5-7 that do, then I'm a happy girl on royalty statement day. If it were the other way around, I would be very disappointed. As it is, I am constantly assessing how to work smarter, better, how to make the anthologies appealing to a wide range of people, how to capture as much diversity given the limited submissions I sometimes have to work with. My "market research" is in large part doing my giveaways, finding out how people have found out about my books, who they are, what they like.
Honestly, I'm just happy to now have the cash to pay for things like my student loan, my upcoming hotels, all those copies of Gotta Have It I ordered, and a bunch of other things. It's a relief, but it's also a sign that I need to kick things up a notch if I want to make those checks get bigger instead of staying the same. I think this is my year to take myself out of so many of the boxes, literal and figurative, I've placed myself in, to not accept the same old, same old, in my personal and professional life, and to really push myself. So far in 2011 I haven't pushed myself in the ways I aspire to, but there's a lot more year left!
Better late than never link love and some thoughts on the submissions process and editorial wishlists
I just don't get to update here as often as I'd like, but I do post links to my articles, news and reviews promptly on my Facebook fan page.
A few recent things I wrote:
College Sex Scribes Are Campus Stars" at Alternet - my review of Daniel Reimold's Sex and the University (Rutgers University Press). Lede: "Is That a Gold Medal Between Your Tits?"
"Would You Send a Pink Toy to a Baby Boy?" at Huffington Post - I did. Includes mention of Peggy Orenstein's fascinating new book Cinderella Ate My Daughter. And aww...my friend Diana Joseph posted a photo of her son with the toy on FB. He's a fan, apparently. Opening:
Dear Diana,
I know Teddy is a boy, but I'm sending this pink block because it's my favorite baby toy, and the only one I had left of a stash I'd bought. I really hope he likes it, and that I can visit soon and shake it at him. I can't seem to find them from the place I used to get them, and they've been a big hit with the babies I know, and hope it's okay that I'm sending it. Yes, I feel a little silly sending this, but didn't want you to think I didn't know his gender.
Keep reading
And some reviews from Dirty Sexy Books:
Review of Smooth: Erotic Stories for Women. Part that fascinated me most:
“The Sushi Girl” by Anika Gupta was another story that I loved. This one was all about the sensuality for me. A girl laying on a table naked and covered in Sushi is an incredibly erotic image. The story is told from her point of view and it was so interesting to read it and imagine being the one laying there. The men in the room are not allowed to touch her with bare hands, instead they must use their chopsticks to get their food. Sometimes dialog can take away from the mood with just a wrong word and this story ramps up the intensity for me because she never says a word, and they do not speak to her either.
There was one story that made me feel so uncomfortable I could not even finish reading it. The story was “Eden” by Molly Slate. This story is about Adam and Eve; yes THAT Adam and Eve. When I think about Adam and Eve, I think about God and the Bible and Church. You know who goes to church? My parents. I can not feel even a little bit sexy when any of those things enter my brain.
Visit official Smooth site for more information.
Review of Best Bondage Erotica 2011, which I'm so glad tapped into the diversity. More on that after the quote.
All of the stories here feel very genuine– the writing is fantastic (there’s a welcome lack of the embarrassing euphemisms that sometimes plague erotic writing) and the narration is nearly always pitch-perfect. “Truss Issues” by Lux Zakari is narrated by a woman who is simultaneously terrified and aroused by her partner’s bondage kink, and the story deals not only with the sex but also with the overcoming of her trust issues.
I was a little nervous that the collection would be very homogeneous, but almost every kind of coupling is presented here (there’s male/male in “Relative Anonymity” by Emerald, and some wonderful lesbian scenes, especially in “Foreign Exchange” by Evan Mora), and the more traditional handcuffs are often replaced by crazier things (Ethernet cables! Plastic wrap! Seat belts!).
That variety is exactly what I'm looking for as I edit the 2012 edition. Of course a book of bondage erotica is going to appeal to a more niche audience than some of the others ones (my money, literally and figuratively, is on Gotta Have It to be my "breakout" book) and what I'm always looking for, otherwise, even excellent stories just don't stand out from each other. It's why I often have to reject great stories, and I think that process, as hellish as it is (there have been times having to reject stories made me want to quit editing anthologies altogether, it sucks so much), has taught me to be a better writer and to think way outside the box. I'm not saying be different just for the sake of being different, but on my end, there are themes that emerge and unless that's the actual theme of the book, there are only so many similar-type stories I can put in any one book before I risk alienating/boring readers.
Some things I can't help, like that the majority of stories that came in are from the submissive's point of view. That always happens and I've concluded that there is perhaps more "action" from the bottom's POV, and also that it's harder to tell a story of a dominant person without them sounding like an asshole. Of course it can be done well, but I think for many that's a more challenging viewpoint, to try to get at the heart of sadism. It's why when I edit nonfiction books I get a million and one "I'm a submissive feminist" essays and have truly yet to see the corollary from a man. I know from personal experience they are out there and that essay? Would love to read it/see it, but I also see the risks a man, especially, but a dominant woman, too, would have to take to attach their real name to a piece on why they love slapping/biting/binding/hurting women in a consensual BDSM context (I have zero interest in knowing why anyone would want to do that in a nonconsensual context, that's not what I'm talking about).
So that is my long-winded way of saying that diversity is what keeps me editing, keeps me looking. There are so many more diverse things I want, too, like less white-lady-with-exotic-man-of-color without the corollary, and older characters, and varied settings, but my new motto is "the perfect is the enemy of the good." I can't file books late waiting for "the perfect story" to come down the pike. Being an editor of an anthology is largely a passive waiting/wishing act, for me, anyway, but the reward really is that I get to discover so many new writers, which is another thing I have to balance. Yeah, maybe by writing this and thinking about it too much I make the process too hard. We'll see. Also for some anthologies I get over 100 submissions, like for Women in Lust but apparently oral sex is not that popular of a topic because that one (Going Down) I got a lot fewer submissions. I was hoping to file that book before I went to California, but I will have to see if I have enough or have to extend the deadline. That's how that works on my end; when I extend a deadline, it's because I'm still waiting for that mythical (or not) "perfect story." And that's the beautiful/maddening part of the public call for submissions: the unknown.
There are other reviews but some are very short so these were the meatier ones, but do check out Dirty Sexy Books for, well, reviews of Dirty Sexy Books and postings by book lovers.
A few recent things I wrote:
College Sex Scribes Are Campus Stars" at Alternet - my review of Daniel Reimold's Sex and the University (Rutgers University Press). Lede: "Is That a Gold Medal Between Your Tits?"
"Would You Send a Pink Toy to a Baby Boy?" at Huffington Post - I did. Includes mention of Peggy Orenstein's fascinating new book Cinderella Ate My Daughter. And aww...my friend Diana Joseph posted a photo of her son with the toy on FB. He's a fan, apparently. Opening:
Dear Diana,
I know Teddy is a boy, but I'm sending this pink block because it's my favorite baby toy, and the only one I had left of a stash I'd bought. I really hope he likes it, and that I can visit soon and shake it at him. I can't seem to find them from the place I used to get them, and they've been a big hit with the babies I know, and hope it's okay that I'm sending it. Yes, I feel a little silly sending this, but didn't want you to think I didn't know his gender.
Keep reading
And some reviews from Dirty Sexy Books:
Review of Smooth: Erotic Stories for Women. Part that fascinated me most:
“The Sushi Girl” by Anika Gupta was another story that I loved. This one was all about the sensuality for me. A girl laying on a table naked and covered in Sushi is an incredibly erotic image. The story is told from her point of view and it was so interesting to read it and imagine being the one laying there. The men in the room are not allowed to touch her with bare hands, instead they must use their chopsticks to get their food. Sometimes dialog can take away from the mood with just a wrong word and this story ramps up the intensity for me because she never says a word, and they do not speak to her either.
There was one story that made me feel so uncomfortable I could not even finish reading it. The story was “Eden” by Molly Slate. This story is about Adam and Eve; yes THAT Adam and Eve. When I think about Adam and Eve, I think about God and the Bible and Church. You know who goes to church? My parents. I can not feel even a little bit sexy when any of those things enter my brain.
Visit official Smooth site for more information.
Review of Best Bondage Erotica 2011, which I'm so glad tapped into the diversity. More on that after the quote.
All of the stories here feel very genuine– the writing is fantastic (there’s a welcome lack of the embarrassing euphemisms that sometimes plague erotic writing) and the narration is nearly always pitch-perfect. “Truss Issues” by Lux Zakari is narrated by a woman who is simultaneously terrified and aroused by her partner’s bondage kink, and the story deals not only with the sex but also with the overcoming of her trust issues.
I was a little nervous that the collection would be very homogeneous, but almost every kind of coupling is presented here (there’s male/male in “Relative Anonymity” by Emerald, and some wonderful lesbian scenes, especially in “Foreign Exchange” by Evan Mora), and the more traditional handcuffs are often replaced by crazier things (Ethernet cables! Plastic wrap! Seat belts!).
That variety is exactly what I'm looking for as I edit the 2012 edition. Of course a book of bondage erotica is going to appeal to a more niche audience than some of the others ones (my money, literally and figuratively, is on Gotta Have It to be my "breakout" book) and what I'm always looking for, otherwise, even excellent stories just don't stand out from each other. It's why I often have to reject great stories, and I think that process, as hellish as it is (there have been times having to reject stories made me want to quit editing anthologies altogether, it sucks so much), has taught me to be a better writer and to think way outside the box. I'm not saying be different just for the sake of being different, but on my end, there are themes that emerge and unless that's the actual theme of the book, there are only so many similar-type stories I can put in any one book before I risk alienating/boring readers.
Some things I can't help, like that the majority of stories that came in are from the submissive's point of view. That always happens and I've concluded that there is perhaps more "action" from the bottom's POV, and also that it's harder to tell a story of a dominant person without them sounding like an asshole. Of course it can be done well, but I think for many that's a more challenging viewpoint, to try to get at the heart of sadism. It's why when I edit nonfiction books I get a million and one "I'm a submissive feminist" essays and have truly yet to see the corollary from a man. I know from personal experience they are out there and that essay? Would love to read it/see it, but I also see the risks a man, especially, but a dominant woman, too, would have to take to attach their real name to a piece on why they love slapping/biting/binding/hurting women in a consensual BDSM context (I have zero interest in knowing why anyone would want to do that in a nonconsensual context, that's not what I'm talking about).
So that is my long-winded way of saying that diversity is what keeps me editing, keeps me looking. There are so many more diverse things I want, too, like less white-lady-with-exotic-man-of-color without the corollary, and older characters, and varied settings, but my new motto is "the perfect is the enemy of the good." I can't file books late waiting for "the perfect story" to come down the pike. Being an editor of an anthology is largely a passive waiting/wishing act, for me, anyway, but the reward really is that I get to discover so many new writers, which is another thing I have to balance. Yeah, maybe by writing this and thinking about it too much I make the process too hard. We'll see. Also for some anthologies I get over 100 submissions, like for Women in Lust but apparently oral sex is not that popular of a topic because that one (Going Down) I got a lot fewer submissions. I was hoping to file that book before I went to California, but I will have to see if I have enough or have to extend the deadline. That's how that works on my end; when I extend a deadline, it's because I'm still waiting for that mythical (or not) "perfect story." And that's the beautiful/maddening part of the public call for submissions: the unknown.
There are other reviews but some are very short so these were the meatier ones, but do check out Dirty Sexy Books for, well, reviews of Dirty Sexy Books and postings by book lovers.
An anthology I didn't flake on: With This Ring, I Thee Bed edited by Alison Tyler
Because I don't flake on all anthologies, just the highest-paying! Ha ha ha...or not. I hope I will get more chances at nonfiction, because that's where my heart is, but I will continue to write erotica for as long as the ideas show up. I'm hoping 2011 is the year of making amends and getting second chances to redeem myself for my follies. If not, oh well. But I am determined to cut out all the messiness and focus on what matters. This year and last I lost my way bigtime, and whether it's toxic people or bad behaviors, I'm cutting out everything that's a problem and cutting way back on time wasting so I can work on myself. I fucking need it, clearly.
Proofread my story "Wedding Crasher" that will be in Alison Tyler's 2011 Harlequin Spice anthology With This Ring, I Thee Bed. It's about a bisexual girl who picks up people at weddings, in this case, a hot male/female couple. Look for it in April and see the lineup below.
Now or Forever by Nikki Magennis
Racing to the Altar by Sommer Marsden
Forever Hold Your Peace by I.K Velasco
A Lucky Wedding by Thomas S. Roche
Something Old, Something New by Sophia Valenti
Kiss the Bride by Lana Fox
One Last Time by Saskia Walker
Forsaking All Others by Janine Ashbless
Mother of the Bride by Cheyenne Blue
I Married a Gigolo by Jax Baynard
Strippers and Cigars by N.T. Morley
Something Blue by Shanna Germain
Speak Now by Heidi Champa
Wedding Crasher by Rachel Kramer Bussel
Blushing Bride by Bella Dean
Anniversary Waltz by Portia Da Costa
I Will by Erastes
A Vow for a Vow by P.S. Haven
Seven Year Itch by Kristina Lloyd
Rites of Passage by ADR Forte
Naked Nuptials by Alison Tyler
Love, Honor, and Obey by Rita Winchester
May the Best Man Win by Kate Pearce
Taking Vows by Kristina Wright
The Wedding Stoppers by Michael Hemmingson
Proofread my story "Wedding Crasher" that will be in Alison Tyler's 2011 Harlequin Spice anthology With This Ring, I Thee Bed. It's about a bisexual girl who picks up people at weddings, in this case, a hot male/female couple. Look for it in April and see the lineup below.
Now or Forever by Nikki Magennis
Racing to the Altar by Sommer Marsden
Forever Hold Your Peace by I.K Velasco
A Lucky Wedding by Thomas S. Roche
Something Old, Something New by Sophia Valenti
Kiss the Bride by Lana Fox
One Last Time by Saskia Walker
Forsaking All Others by Janine Ashbless
Mother of the Bride by Cheyenne Blue
I Married a Gigolo by Jax Baynard
Strippers and Cigars by N.T. Morley
Something Blue by Shanna Germain
Speak Now by Heidi Champa
Wedding Crasher by Rachel Kramer Bussel
Blushing Bride by Bella Dean
Anniversary Waltz by Portia Da Costa
I Will by Erastes
A Vow for a Vow by P.S. Haven
Seven Year Itch by Kristina Lloyd
Rites of Passage by ADR Forte
Naked Nuptials by Alison Tyler
Love, Honor, and Obey by Rita Winchester
May the Best Man Win by Kate Pearce
Taking Vows by Kristina Wright
The Wedding Stoppers by Michael Hemmingson
Erotica by the numbers
I get about 10:1 ratio of stories involving blowjobs over cunnilingus (I did not actually count, but that's what it seems like); even higher percentage about female subs than male subs. Just observations as I cull from hundreds of erotica stories to get through latest round of anthologies. These are from female authors, and it helps me figure out what’s popular, but also always makes me wonder why topics skew that way, if certain acts or mindsets are easier to write about, or just more popular in general.
I so rarely see female dominant erotica, or male submissive erotica, unless the call specifically asks for that. It's forced me to expand my writing horizons at times to balance things, and push myself. I'm writing a story named after a Beatles song, and it's fiction, but does focus on a body part I'm a big fan of, which I'm trying to present in a kindof sweet way, as befitting a book of erotic romance, and to prove to myself that I can write cute too. I was excited to come up with the idea after months of flailing about for this particular book. Now I'll have to see if it pans out.
Will be interesting as I work on my oral sex erotica book to balance everything. I’ve got some new calls I’ll be announcing in the new year too, so stay tuned. As maddening as the process can be, I love editing and bringing stories and authors together. I’m hoping to go to the UK for some Gotta Have It events in the spring, which would be very cool if it works out. I forget sometimes that I haven’t actually met some of the authors I love to publish.
I so rarely see female dominant erotica, or male submissive erotica, unless the call specifically asks for that. It's forced me to expand my writing horizons at times to balance things, and push myself. I'm writing a story named after a Beatles song, and it's fiction, but does focus on a body part I'm a big fan of, which I'm trying to present in a kindof sweet way, as befitting a book of erotic romance, and to prove to myself that I can write cute too. I was excited to come up with the idea after months of flailing about for this particular book. Now I'll have to see if it pans out.
Will be interesting as I work on my oral sex erotica book to balance everything. I’ve got some new calls I’ll be announcing in the new year too, so stay tuned. As maddening as the process can be, I love editing and bringing stories and authors together. I’m hoping to go to the UK for some Gotta Have It events in the spring, which would be very cool if it works out. I forget sometimes that I haven’t actually met some of the authors I love to publish.
I didn't title it "Fisting: A Love Story" but I could have
From my story "Espionage" in Best Women's Erotica 2011 by Violet Blue. I used all sorts of devices I don't normally - second person, a tense I'm not even sure what it's called ("In a few minutes, you will emerge..."). It's dark yet it's a love story, for sure. When I'm feeling down about how my writing isn't going as planned, sometimes I pick up this story and reread it. I'm making my way through the whole book, too. It's a keeper, and a great holiday gift for that special someone. Kindof funny because the one I wrote for Obsessed (my 2011 erotic romance anthology) is not this intense at all. It's more lighthearted, fun, but the love is there too. It takes all kinds, I guess, to quote an Aimee Mann song.
You are ready, so, so ready, and you take them in greedily, followed by four. His other hand finds places to pinch you—inner thigh, belly—as you open for him, spreading your legs as far as you can, willing yourself to relax. You—the part of you that makes these decisions—want this, want this final time, this heat, this heaviness, but your body is more cautious, closing around his fingers as the thumb attempts entry. Your body, your cunt, knows he is almost too large to fit inside but you have overruled your body before, turning pain into the most dazzling of erotic highs. This is not like the times he’s held you down and shoved his cock inside you, shocked you with the bluntness of it, making you play catchup. He can’t hurry this along. Instead he rotates his fingers and adds more lube and you grunt and bite your lip and feel him get a little further inside.
He goes in, and in, and in, thumb curled up and then there it is, the ball of his hand, this giant inside you. You’ve heard that the human heart is actually the size of a hand, and wonder if, right now, he is giving you a part of his heart, a part that is only for you, a part you can treasure as you feel its outline pressing the tender, thin walls of your pussy wider and wider. The tears come—of fear, relief, pleasure, love—all at once, and you are grateful for the dark. He can hear them, that’s fine, but seeing them is another story. Seeing them is a little too close for comfort. You lie there on the floor of the closet, stealing more than your seven minutes in a kinky kind of heaven, as his massive heart of a hand reels you in and lets you go. His other hand finds your clit, so hard and aching it could be a cock, and you think you’ll hurt him when you come like that, squeezing so tight, the energy rushing all around, making your fingers tingle and your head so light it could float away. You see stars behind your eyes and have to drop your legs to the ground. His hand makes love to you, makes love appear inside of you even as you know this has to be the end. You want all of him, all the potential he has to love someone, and this is just a teaser.
“I’m going to pull out,” he says after what could be three minutes, or thirty. You want to protest, because once he’s gone, the emptiness will be so huge you know that sex will never be enough to fill it. You reach for his wrist and he lets you take it, lets you half sit up and keep him there. There’s a stillness to this all, a calm, Zenlike focus combined with the way it makes your pussy take over everything. You can feel him shaking, are sure he is sweating, and you take your fill of him, then lie back and let him leave. The silence is not deafening, but awe-inspiring. You break it by leaning against his chest, listening to his heart beat. You manage to block out all the noise outside the closet.
You are ready, so, so ready, and you take them in greedily, followed by four. His other hand finds places to pinch you—inner thigh, belly—as you open for him, spreading your legs as far as you can, willing yourself to relax. You—the part of you that makes these decisions—want this, want this final time, this heat, this heaviness, but your body is more cautious, closing around his fingers as the thumb attempts entry. Your body, your cunt, knows he is almost too large to fit inside but you have overruled your body before, turning pain into the most dazzling of erotic highs. This is not like the times he’s held you down and shoved his cock inside you, shocked you with the bluntness of it, making you play catchup. He can’t hurry this along. Instead he rotates his fingers and adds more lube and you grunt and bite your lip and feel him get a little further inside.
He goes in, and in, and in, thumb curled up and then there it is, the ball of his hand, this giant inside you. You’ve heard that the human heart is actually the size of a hand, and wonder if, right now, he is giving you a part of his heart, a part that is only for you, a part you can treasure as you feel its outline pressing the tender, thin walls of your pussy wider and wider. The tears come—of fear, relief, pleasure, love—all at once, and you are grateful for the dark. He can hear them, that’s fine, but seeing them is another story. Seeing them is a little too close for comfort. You lie there on the floor of the closet, stealing more than your seven minutes in a kinky kind of heaven, as his massive heart of a hand reels you in and lets you go. His other hand finds your clit, so hard and aching it could be a cock, and you think you’ll hurt him when you come like that, squeezing so tight, the energy rushing all around, making your fingers tingle and your head so light it could float away. You see stars behind your eyes and have to drop your legs to the ground. His hand makes love to you, makes love appear inside of you even as you know this has to be the end. You want all of him, all the potential he has to love someone, and this is just a teaser.
“I’m going to pull out,” he says after what could be three minutes, or thirty. You want to protest, because once he’s gone, the emptiness will be so huge you know that sex will never be enough to fill it. You reach for his wrist and he lets you take it, lets you half sit up and keep him there. There’s a stillness to this all, a calm, Zenlike focus combined with the way it makes your pussy take over everything. You can feel him shaking, are sure he is sweating, and you take your fill of him, then lie back and let him leave. The silence is not deafening, but awe-inspiring. You break it by leaning against his chest, listening to his heart beat. You manage to block out all the noise outside the closet.
Autographed books at Barnes & Noble Greenwich Village
I moved to Mercer and West Third Street in Greenwich Village way back in August of 1996 when I first moved to NYC to go to NYU Law School (long story short, I didn't finish law school). I used to shop and stroll all over the area and one of those places I prowled was the Barnes & Noble at the corner of 6th Avenue and 8th Street.
I walked in on Saturday and saw this in their Fiction Anthologies section:
I then browsed and bought Passions of a Wicked Earl by Lorraine Heath, a historical romance, and said I was an author and asked to sign some books. They then gave me a pen and I signed all their stock, which was quite extensive. So if you're in NYC, check them out for signed books (and I'll post here if I sign other places), including the ones you see above and Please, Ma'am and I think a few others.
Not in NYC and want a signed book? If you're in the US, you can Paypal me at rachelkb at gmail.com $14 and I'll send you any of my Cleis Press books signed to whoever you'd like. If there's another book you ant, email me at that address and ask me if I have any spare copies, and if I do, I'd be happy to autograph them.
Speaking of books, check out Violet Blue's Top Hot Sex Books for Gifting, Coveting - I've read most of them, and those I haven't, I want to, and Passion and Best Bondage Erotica 2011 are on there!
I walked in on Saturday and saw this in their Fiction Anthologies section:
I then browsed and bought Passions of a Wicked Earl by Lorraine Heath, a historical romance, and said I was an author and asked to sign some books. They then gave me a pen and I signed all their stock, which was quite extensive. So if you're in NYC, check them out for signed books (and I'll post here if I sign other places), including the ones you see above and Please, Ma'am and I think a few others.
Not in NYC and want a signed book? If you're in the US, you can Paypal me at rachelkb at gmail.com $14 and I'll send you any of my Cleis Press books signed to whoever you'd like. If there's another book you ant, email me at that address and ask me if I have any spare copies, and if I do, I'd be happy to autograph them.
Speaking of books, check out Violet Blue's Top Hot Sex Books for Gifting, Coveting - I've read most of them, and those I haven't, I want to, and Passion and Best Bondage Erotica 2011 are on there!
Violet Blue calls my "Espionage" "one of the most powerful stories I've ever read
Two very cool bits of news. First, editor Violet Blue has this to say about my second person story "Espionage" that she included in Best Women's Erotica 2011 (Cleis Press):
Not only famous in erotic writing, Rachel Kramer Bussel is an online media sensation. In one of the most powerful stories I’ve ever read, “Espionage” seems to pull from a very deep place to create a story I’ve returned to more than once. Here, we are the girl at the party who’s been having a torrid affair with the man of the house, seeing his wife for the first time as guests float in and out and finally mustering up the force to do something that dares him to be ours, even if just for that one intense moment that rips our fishnets.
Second is that I don't have my author copies yet, but I read that for free with my free sample I downloaded from the Kindle edition. Many Cleis Press anthologies, including my Peep Show, Bottoms Up, Fast Girls, Orgasmic, Smooth, Passion, Please, Sir, Please, Ma'am and Spanked (probably others too) now allow you to preview the book, reading the introdution and one story, sometimes part of a second. So check it out and read her sexy, ice cream-meltingly sweet and dripping and luscious introduction.
You can also order the paperback from Amazon or directly from Cleis Press.
Here's the start of my story "Espionage:"
You tuck your new pink and black coat, the one purchased earlier in the day just for this special evening, around your body, pull it tight like it’s cold out, except you’re indoors and the fire is roaring. You are cold, but it’s the kind of cold that can’t be heated by rubbing two sticks together or turning up the thermostat, the kind of cold that can only be vanquished once your heart catches up. Your heart is cautiously icy, watching and waiting; it isn’t safe to let it melt just yet.
Instead, you look—you could say spy, except you have an invitation, an elaborate listing of reasons this will be the party to end all parties, delivered right to your inbox. You’ve been promised bubble baths, servants, champagne, s’mores, drugs, debauchery. Those things intrigue you, sure, since you’re used to zoning out in front of the tv, quiet dinner parties, wholesome events like comedy shows and trivia nights, but you’d have shown up for gin rummy if it were held right here, in these rooms that hold a life that will never be yours, a life you’ve been given glimpses of but never truly peeked inside. Even better than any promise of party pampering, you’ve been granted access to this sacred space, this love shack you’ve up til now only imagined vividly. This is your chance to enter the inner sanctum, and you cling to it in the same way you hold your coat, and your heart—close. Still, despite the tacit permission, you feel like a spy, an Anaïs Nin emissary, as you walk through the rooms that make up their home, their urban house of love and lust and lasciviousness, a house you will never inhabit no matter how many times you fuck the master of it.
And while I don't necessarily "set out" to write bisexual protagonists, bisexuality weaves its way into many of my stories. In part, it's because I'm bi, and in part, it's because in erotica it adds all sorts of nuances and intrigues—you can definitely have those without it, but I like mixing things up.
You feel his eyes follow you around the room, feel his palms sweat as you tilt your head back and let the journalist whose byline you’ve read countless times tilt your head against her breast and slide her red lipstick over your lips, painting them as if she were making love to you. In a way, maybe she is, her fingers crushing your jaw, the not-quite-liquid, not-quite-solid of the waxy ruby pressing hard against your hips, hard the way he used to crush them, hard the way you like it.
She laughs an almost evil laugh that makes you wonder what else she could do with the lipstick, and feel a frisson of static pass from her small, bony hands into your cheeks when she pinches them, inspecting her work. You wonder, of course, if he’s fucked her, even though it shouldn’t really matter. Lots of things that shouldn’t matter take up space in your mind, fragments of jealousy on permanent repeat. You pucker up just to give your lips something to do, someone to make contact with who is not him. Her tongue traces the red, teases, darts but doesn’t claim you as her wicked laugh did. You let her know, with your lips, that she could have you, but she simply pulls back and smiles, her nails digging into your upper arm. Suddenly you want to pull her bleached blonde hair, tug hard until she can’t even make a sound, the feral domme inside of you wicking at your insides, aching to be let out for a moment. Instead you just smile wide and she slinks away to find another victim.
After, you think the lipstick will be smeared—that’s only right, isn’t it, after someone’s just fucked you with a tube from Mac?—but instead, it’s perfect. Redder than red, redder than you’d ever dare in your daily life. Fancy that. They should put that in an ad campaign. You go back to your spying-cum-ogling, your lips now signaling that you are the hussy you know yourself to be, the other woman come seeking vengeance, seeking something you will never have because it belongs to someone else.
Read the whole story in Best Women's Erotica 2011.
Not only famous in erotic writing, Rachel Kramer Bussel is an online media sensation. In one of the most powerful stories I’ve ever read, “Espionage” seems to pull from a very deep place to create a story I’ve returned to more than once. Here, we are the girl at the party who’s been having a torrid affair with the man of the house, seeing his wife for the first time as guests float in and out and finally mustering up the force to do something that dares him to be ours, even if just for that one intense moment that rips our fishnets.
Second is that I don't have my author copies yet, but I read that for free with my free sample I downloaded from the Kindle edition. Many Cleis Press anthologies, including my Peep Show, Bottoms Up, Fast Girls, Orgasmic, Smooth, Passion, Please, Sir, Please, Ma'am and Spanked (probably others too) now allow you to preview the book, reading the introdution and one story, sometimes part of a second. So check it out and read her sexy, ice cream-meltingly sweet and dripping and luscious introduction.
You can also order the paperback from Amazon or directly from Cleis Press.
Here's the start of my story "Espionage:"
You tuck your new pink and black coat, the one purchased earlier in the day just for this special evening, around your body, pull it tight like it’s cold out, except you’re indoors and the fire is roaring. You are cold, but it’s the kind of cold that can’t be heated by rubbing two sticks together or turning up the thermostat, the kind of cold that can only be vanquished once your heart catches up. Your heart is cautiously icy, watching and waiting; it isn’t safe to let it melt just yet.
Instead, you look—you could say spy, except you have an invitation, an elaborate listing of reasons this will be the party to end all parties, delivered right to your inbox. You’ve been promised bubble baths, servants, champagne, s’mores, drugs, debauchery. Those things intrigue you, sure, since you’re used to zoning out in front of the tv, quiet dinner parties, wholesome events like comedy shows and trivia nights, but you’d have shown up for gin rummy if it were held right here, in these rooms that hold a life that will never be yours, a life you’ve been given glimpses of but never truly peeked inside. Even better than any promise of party pampering, you’ve been granted access to this sacred space, this love shack you’ve up til now only imagined vividly. This is your chance to enter the inner sanctum, and you cling to it in the same way you hold your coat, and your heart—close. Still, despite the tacit permission, you feel like a spy, an Anaïs Nin emissary, as you walk through the rooms that make up their home, their urban house of love and lust and lasciviousness, a house you will never inhabit no matter how many times you fuck the master of it.
And while I don't necessarily "set out" to write bisexual protagonists, bisexuality weaves its way into many of my stories. In part, it's because I'm bi, and in part, it's because in erotica it adds all sorts of nuances and intrigues—you can definitely have those without it, but I like mixing things up.
You feel his eyes follow you around the room, feel his palms sweat as you tilt your head back and let the journalist whose byline you’ve read countless times tilt your head against her breast and slide her red lipstick over your lips, painting them as if she were making love to you. In a way, maybe she is, her fingers crushing your jaw, the not-quite-liquid, not-quite-solid of the waxy ruby pressing hard against your hips, hard the way he used to crush them, hard the way you like it.
She laughs an almost evil laugh that makes you wonder what else she could do with the lipstick, and feel a frisson of static pass from her small, bony hands into your cheeks when she pinches them, inspecting her work. You wonder, of course, if he’s fucked her, even though it shouldn’t really matter. Lots of things that shouldn’t matter take up space in your mind, fragments of jealousy on permanent repeat. You pucker up just to give your lips something to do, someone to make contact with who is not him. Her tongue traces the red, teases, darts but doesn’t claim you as her wicked laugh did. You let her know, with your lips, that she could have you, but she simply pulls back and smiles, her nails digging into your upper arm. Suddenly you want to pull her bleached blonde hair, tug hard until she can’t even make a sound, the feral domme inside of you wicking at your insides, aching to be let out for a moment. Instead you just smile wide and she slinks away to find another victim.
After, you think the lipstick will be smeared—that’s only right, isn’t it, after someone’s just fucked you with a tube from Mac?—but instead, it’s perfect. Redder than red, redder than you’d ever dare in your daily life. Fancy that. They should put that in an ad campaign. You go back to your spying-cum-ogling, your lips now signaling that you are the hussy you know yourself to be, the other woman come seeking vengeance, seeking something you will never have because it belongs to someone else.
Read the whole story in Best Women's Erotica 2011.
My story "Espionage" in Best Women's Erotica 2011
I told you about this when I first made the sale, but I'm thrilled that this book is out, and incredibly honored to be in it, especially because I pushed myself with this story, in a lot of ways. It's erotic but also more than that, I hope. Thank you to editor Violet Blue for including me in what I'm sure is a sexually sizzling collection (I don't have my copies yet but can't wait to read it). You can buy it now from Amazon or your local bookstore (click to find one). The Kindle edition will be on sale November 1st.
From the Cleis Press site:
"Suddenly this year, every single story is layered top to toe with explicit sex—hard and wet and mean and sweet, flowing with love and fused with characters who finally feel like us, with no apologies..." —from the Introduction
In Best Women's Erotica 2011, women are ready to stake their sexual claims like never before—with characters created by some of the most famous names in the erotica genre. Alison Tyler's naughty roommate threesome get more than they bargained for in the dangerous and delicious "Want"; an athlete in Sommer Marsden's "Laps" finds herself doing anything to please her trainer; and a mistress in Rachel Kramer Bussel's "Espionage" commands her lover for herself, if only for a searing moment, during a dinner party where she meets his wife.
With stories contributed by Alison Tyler, Rachel Kramer Bussel, Sommer Marsden, Jacqueline Applebee, Donna George Storey, Cecilia Tan, Louisa Harte, Louise Lagris, Chrissie Bentley, Alyssa Turner, Lana Fox, Amelia Thornton, Giselle Renarde, Valerie Alexander, Velvet Moore, Lola Olson, Kirsty Logan, Cynthia Hamilton, and Janine Ashbless.
For a little more of a teaser, here's the opening to "Espionage:"
“You tuck your new pink and black coat, the one purchased earlier in the day just for this special evening, around your body, pull it tight like it’s cold out, except you’re indoors and the fire is roaring. You are cold, but it’s the kind of cold that can’t be heated by rubbing two sticks together or turning up the thermostat, the kind of cold that can only be vanquished once your heart catches up. Your heart is cautiously icy, watching and waiting; it isn’t safe to let it melt just yet.”
and a bit from the middle:
"His fat fingers find your wetness, a wetness that surprises even you. You didn’t come here for this; you’re supposed to be an observer, a spy, a detached spectator, not a participant. In the dark you can barely see a thing, can only feel. He wants his fingers to hurt, to hurt the way they used to, to hurt the way you used to like it, so your pussy is sore long after they’re gone. He twists them and slams them deep inside you, and even though you’re wet there, it does hurt in its way. He drops your wrists to press his hand against your cheek, to pin you in place, digits digging into the tender skin of your face, landing wherever they may.
You squirm, and aren’t sure if it’s to get away or to get him in deeper. Actually, that’s a lie; he’s always known better than you what you want, a trait that’s either the hottest thing ever or the apotheosis of infuriating. You push against him and instantly the mood changes; you are no longer simply star-crossed lovers reuniting, but something darker, deeper. You press hard with your hands, your hips, to fight him off—but not really. He pushes back with ease, his hand twisting your head into the wall, covering half your face. The harder he holds you there, the deeper the ache in your pussy. You try to twist to the side, give him an elbow blow, something to make him feel the impact, but he is more powerful than you by far. Even if he weren’t, though, he would be winning, because this, finally, is what you’ve come here for: to struggle, to writhe, to argue with your body, to try to tell him, and yourself, that this is over, knowing all the while it will never be over, not really."
From the Cleis Press site:
"Suddenly this year, every single story is layered top to toe with explicit sex—hard and wet and mean and sweet, flowing with love and fused with characters who finally feel like us, with no apologies..." —from the Introduction
In Best Women's Erotica 2011, women are ready to stake their sexual claims like never before—with characters created by some of the most famous names in the erotica genre. Alison Tyler's naughty roommate threesome get more than they bargained for in the dangerous and delicious "Want"; an athlete in Sommer Marsden's "Laps" finds herself doing anything to please her trainer; and a mistress in Rachel Kramer Bussel's "Espionage" commands her lover for herself, if only for a searing moment, during a dinner party where she meets his wife.
With stories contributed by Alison Tyler, Rachel Kramer Bussel, Sommer Marsden, Jacqueline Applebee, Donna George Storey, Cecilia Tan, Louisa Harte, Louise Lagris, Chrissie Bentley, Alyssa Turner, Lana Fox, Amelia Thornton, Giselle Renarde, Valerie Alexander, Velvet Moore, Lola Olson, Kirsty Logan, Cynthia Hamilton, and Janine Ashbless.
For a little more of a teaser, here's the opening to "Espionage:"
“You tuck your new pink and black coat, the one purchased earlier in the day just for this special evening, around your body, pull it tight like it’s cold out, except you’re indoors and the fire is roaring. You are cold, but it’s the kind of cold that can’t be heated by rubbing two sticks together or turning up the thermostat, the kind of cold that can only be vanquished once your heart catches up. Your heart is cautiously icy, watching and waiting; it isn’t safe to let it melt just yet.”
and a bit from the middle:
"His fat fingers find your wetness, a wetness that surprises even you. You didn’t come here for this; you’re supposed to be an observer, a spy, a detached spectator, not a participant. In the dark you can barely see a thing, can only feel. He wants his fingers to hurt, to hurt the way they used to, to hurt the way you used to like it, so your pussy is sore long after they’re gone. He twists them and slams them deep inside you, and even though you’re wet there, it does hurt in its way. He drops your wrists to press his hand against your cheek, to pin you in place, digits digging into the tender skin of your face, landing wherever they may.
You squirm, and aren’t sure if it’s to get away or to get him in deeper. Actually, that’s a lie; he’s always known better than you what you want, a trait that’s either the hottest thing ever or the apotheosis of infuriating. You push against him and instantly the mood changes; you are no longer simply star-crossed lovers reuniting, but something darker, deeper. You press hard with your hands, your hips, to fight him off—but not really. He pushes back with ease, his hand twisting your head into the wall, covering half your face. The harder he holds you there, the deeper the ache in your pussy. You try to twist to the side, give him an elbow blow, something to make him feel the impact, but he is more powerful than you by far. Even if he weren’t, though, he would be winning, because this, finally, is what you’ve come here for: to struggle, to writhe, to argue with your body, to try to tell him, and yourself, that this is over, knowing all the while it will never be over, not really."
Kindle edition of Orgasmic out now!
Click through below to buy Orgasmic: Erotic Stories for Women on Kindle, or click here to watch the book trailer and read the table of contents and introduction.
Orgasmic: Erotic Stories for Women book trailer posted
Dress by Yumi Kim, lots of the extra goodies like the Pussy Lover teacup by Coco de Mer (no product placement, I bought all those things, because I love both those shops).
Click here to read the introduction and learn more about Orgasmic.
Purchase Orgasmic from:
Amazon.com.
Kindle edition
Barnes & Noble (Bn.com)
Borders
IndieBound (search for your local independent bookstore!)
Cleis Press
Click here to read the introduction and learn more about Orgasmic.
Purchase Orgasmic from:
Amazon.com.
Kindle edition
Barnes & Noble (Bn.com)
Borders
IndieBound (search for your local independent bookstore!)
Cleis Press
Breasts on book covers: I'm a fan
I bought Coercion by Lux Zakari largely based on this crazy-hot cover, and also because I have a story of hers, "Truss Issues" coming out in Best Bondage Erotica 2011 in December and like her writing.
I don't have a Kindle or any other e-reader, but I do have Kindle for iPhone; I've only made five purchases so far, and all are e-book only.
In other erotica news, check out Erotica for All for some cool erotica author interviews.
I don't have a Kindle or any other e-reader, but I do have Kindle for iPhone; I've only made five purchases so far, and all are e-book only.
In other erotica news, check out Erotica for All for some cool erotica author interviews.
September 16th Virgin Night lineup: African-American erotica, Bad Marie, romance, mystery and more!
In The Flesh logo by Molly Crabapple
There is no RSVP requirement, but if you'd like to RSVP and/or spread the word on Facebook, click here for the September 16th In The Flesh event listing. See also the In The Flesh Reading Series fan page on Facebook. Note early start time. I'm calling this Virgin Night since everyone but Marcy is a first-time reader, and many are first-time authors.
IN THE FLESH EROTIC READING SERIES
VIRGIN NIGHT
September 16, 2010, 7:30 pm - 10 pm
AT HAPPY ENDING LOUNGE, 302 BROOME STREET, NYC
(B/D to Grand, J/M/Z to Bowery, F to Delancey or F/V to 2nd Avenue, http://www.happyendinglounge.com)
Between Forsyth & Eldridge. Look for the hot pink awning that says "XIE HE Health Club."
Admission: Free
Happy Ending Lounge: 212-334-9676
http://www.inthefleshreadingseries.com
Featuring African-American erotica, a mystery writer, a burlesque romance writer, a novelist and more! Featuring Logan Belle, author of a forthcoming burlesque romance series, erotica writer Megan Butcher (contributor, Best Bondage Erotica 2011), novelist Marcy Dermansky (Bad Marie), novelist Lee Houck (Yield), Greg Olear (Totally Killer), and Can't Help the Way That I Feel: Sultry Stories of African American Love, Lust and Fantasy editor Lori Bryant-Woolridge and contributors Sasha James and Erika J. Kendrick (Appetites, Confessions of a Rookie Cheerleader). Hosted by Rachel Kramer Bussel (Fast Girls, Please, Sir, Please, Ma’am). 100 free copies of Sexis Magazine will be distributed. Free Baked by Melissa cupcakes, candy and chips will be served. This is the countdown to the final In The Flesh December 16th so don't miss a very special night!
In the Flesh is a monthly reading series hosted at the appropriately named
Happy Ending Lounge, and features the country's best erotic writers sharing stories to get you hot and bothered, hosted and curated by acclaimed erotic writer and editor Rachel Kramer Bussel. The series was named Best Reading Series by New York Press in 2009. From erotic poetry to down and dirty smut, these authors get naked on the page and will make you lust after them and their words. Since its debut in October 2005, In the Flesh has featured such authors as Mike Albo, Laura Antoniou, Mo Beasley, Susie Bright, Lily Burana, Jessica Cutler, Mike Daisey, Stephen Elliott, Valerie Frankel, Polly Frost, Gael Greene, Andy Horwitz, Debra Hyde, Maxim Jakubowski, Emily Scarlet Kramer of CAKE, Josh Kilmer-Purcell, Edith Layton, Logan Levkoff, Suzanne Portnoy, Julie Powell, Sofia Quintero, M.J. Rose, Lauren Sanders, Danyel Smith, Grant Stoddard, Cecilia Tan, Carol Taylor, Dana Vachon, Veronica Vera, Susan Wright, Zane and many others. The series has gotten press attention from the New York Times’s UrbanEye, Daily Candy, Escape (Hong Kong), Flavorpill, The L Magazine, New York Magazine, NBC New York, New York Post, New York Observer, Philadelphia City Paper, Time Out New York, Flavorwire, Fork in the Road, Gawker, Gothamist, Jezebel.com, Nerve.com, Serious Eats, Tasting Table and Wonkette, and has been praised by Dr. Ruth.
Logan Belle is the pen name of a publishing insider who went to her first burlesque show on her birthday two years ago and has been following and writing about the scene ever since. Her debut erotic novel, The Blue Angel, will be published by Kensington in May 2011. Logan Belle lives in New York City.
www.loganbelle.com
Lori Bryant-Woolridge, editor of Can't Help the Way That I Feel, is an Emmy award-winning writer and the author of three Essence best-selling novels, including Weapons of Mass Seduction, Hitts & Mrs., and Read Between the Lies. She has contributed to several award-winning anthologies including, A Celebration of African-American Fiction, Brown Sugar #3: Opposites Attract, and Best Black Women’s Erotica. Lori is also a sensuality coach and founder of Stiletto U, a virtual university that advocates healthy, sensuous lifestyles.
http://www.canthelpthewaythatifeel.blogspot.com/
Rachel Kramer Bussel is an author, editor, blogger and reading series host. She is Senior Editor at Penthouse Variations and a former sex columnist for The Village Voice. She’s edited over 30 anthologies, including the kink-themed Spanked, Bottoms Up, Yes, Sir, Yes, Ma'am, He's on Top, She's on Top, Rubber Sex as well as Fast Girls, Orgasmic, Peep Show, The Mile High Club: Plane Sex Stories, Do Not Disturb: Hotel Sex Stories, Tasting Him, Tasting Her, and the non-fiction Best Sex Writing series. Her books won 3 2009 Independent Publisher Awards. Her writing been published in publications such as Clean Sheets, Cosmopolitan, The Daily Beast, Fresh Yarn, Huffington Post, Mediabistro, Newsday, New York Post, San Francisco Chronicle, Tango, The Village Voice, and Time Out New York, and in over 100 anthologies, including Best American Erotica 2004 and 2006. Rachel conducts nationwide readings and erotic writing workshops. She has hosted In The Flesh since October 2005.
www.rachelkramerbussel.com
photo by Anya Garrett
Megan Butcher is a librarian, sex educator and writer who lives in Ottawa, Ontario with her slightly demented tabby. Co-author of the zine A Guide to the Mannerly Wooing and Winning of the Object of Your Affection, her work has also appeared in several Canadian publications. Look for her forthcoming story in Best Bondage Erotica 2011 due out later this year or check out her smut blog at meganbutcher.com/weeklydose.
Marcy Dermansky is the author of the novels Bad Marie and Twins. Hailed by The Nervous Breakdown’s Gina Frangello as “genuinely sexy, dark and subversive but also freaking weirdly hilarious,” Bad Marie has been selected as a Barnes and Noble Fall 2010 Discover Great New Writers pick. Time magazine pronounced Bad Marie “irresistible.” She serves as a board member of the online literary community Fictionaut and is a film critic for About.com.
www.marcydermansky.com
Lee Houck was born in Chattanooga, TN and now lives in Brooklyn, NY. His first novel, Yield, was the winner of Project Queerlit 2008 and is forthcoming from Kensington Books in September 2010. His other writing appears in numerous anthologies including two volumes of Best Gay Erotica, two volumes of the literary journal Ganymede, the Australian art book Hair, and two limited-edition chapbooks. He has also worked with Jennifer Miller's Circus Amok for many, many seasons.
www.leehouck.com
Sasha James is a prolific writer, who paints pictures with her words. She’s the author of One+One=Two and Two+One=Ecstasy. Previously, she has penned four steamy novels, and is hard at work on the fifth. Sasha divides her time between New York and Chicago.
Erika J. Kendrick, a Chicago native who holds a Stanford degree and an MBA in marketing and international business, is an acclaimed author/writer/producer...on love! Previously an NBA cheerleader for the Chicago Bulls, her first novel, Confessions of a Rookie Cheerleader (Random House) was released in 2007 and the second title in the series, Appetite (Random House) in 2009. Her erotica short story, "The Accidental Escort, is part of the anthology Can’t Help The Way That I Feel (Cleis Press, 2010)." A quintessential mover and maker, Erika has been a guest of The Wendy Williams Experience, BETJ's My Two Cents, V-103, AOL BV and a host of other media outlets. She’s been featured in several publications, including Page Six of The New York Post, The Chicago Tribune, SET (Sports and Entertainment Today), Ebony, Upscale, Black Beat, Uptown, NV, Honey Magazine and several others.
www.erikakendrick.com
Greg Olear is the senior editor of the online literary magazine The Nervous
Breakdown and the author of the novels Totally Killer (Harper, 2009) and
the forthcoming Fathermucker (Harper, 2012). A longtime resident of New
York, he now lives with his wife and two children in his hometown in the
Jersey suburbs.
www.totallykiller.com
You will hear from the following books:
Can't Help The Way That I Feel edited by Lori Bryant-Woolridge
Please, Ma'am: Erotic Stories of Male Submission edited by Rachel Kramer Bussel
Bad Marie by Marcy Dermansky
Yield by Lee Houck
Totally Killer by Greg Olear
