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Lusty Lady

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Watch my first and favorite book trailer for Spanked: Red-Cheeked Erotica. Get Spanked in print and ebook

Thursday, May 25, 2006

The best . . .


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Originally uploaded by semyon.
Best American Erotica 2007, that is. Don't worry, I have plenty more to say about Steinbuch v. Cutler and the ridiculous reasonable person standard (I think the standard doesn't really make sense, AND I think Steinbuch's argument fails in today's reality show/tell-all/blog-all/publicity-crazed world), but that's for another time. What's interesting to me personally is that I first wrote about Jessica before I knew her at all, and when I write about the case it's about much more than the specifics of it; it's about what it means to have a blog or a forum, to want to share parts of our lives with other people, friends or strangers.

But anyway, my point was that Jessica is one of my favorite people in the world. That has nothing to do with her book or her blog or any of that, just her. I think that New York can be such a tough city, with everyone sizing everyone else up and judging them, and I'm not immune to that in any way, but I also know that what you read and hear and surmise about people is not always true and Jessica's one of those people I'm really happy to know. I am the kind of person who belabors everything anyone ever says about me, and she's past all that, and I want to learn to be more like her, to not put so much stock in what other people think, good or bad, because it's way too easy to fall into the trap of trying to please your critics or believing the hype people try to foist on you. I can't deal with that and the voices already in my own head. I also think that when I hear people talk about her like she's the scum of the earth that they are clearly projecting something onto her situation. So, to summarize, I am all about defending the naked ladies and sexmongers, but separate from that, I also think Jessica is someone who's sweet and smart, more so than a lot of people (herself included at times) give her credit for.

Lately I am all about gratitude, not the kind you have to force yourself to have, but the kind you just naturally feel when you realize that you are living your dream, even if it's not always pretty or easy or simple. Because in your dreams, everything works out perfectly (well, unless you have crazy nightmares like me), and the reality is it's tough. There are so many hurdles, internal and external, to jump, that I sometimes forget to stop and appreciate being part of such a fabulous community. Last night's book parties for Tom Zoellner's The Heartless Stone (which has now caught me in its grip, cannibalism and all, more on it when I'm done, I'm reading it along with Stephanie Klein's Sraight Up & Dirty: A Memoir, which so far is a total page-turner) and Bridget Harrison's Tabloid Love brought that home to me again. More on those later too. Here's Susie Bright on The Washingtonienne:

How do you decide if a story has enough erotic content?

i’I've struggled sometimes with that, especially if i love the story "as a story," but it’s light on sexual content. Still, a little can go a long way in the right context!

For example, in the next BAE, I use an excerpt from Jessica Cutler's
The Washingtonienne, about being an “intern” in Washington DC and fucking her way through the corridors of power. The language and description are not daringly explicit ... but the whole situation is outrageous, and she was so deft with the comedy of it all, that it stuck in my head. She created an erotic, if comical, picture that stays with you.

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