Another fabulous In The Flesh

Last night's In The Flesh was one of the best yet, and magically, today my contributor copies of Jolie du Pre's anthology Iridescence: Sensual Shades of Lesbian Erotica came in the mail so I can finish reading her story "Monisha." We'll have photos up soon; thanks to everyone who came out, took photos (at the end I had all the authors join me for a photo and I swear there were five cameras aimed our way). Here's what I've got coming up in July (you can see August's lineup here) and on September 19th, I'm bringing back some of my favorite readers, like the awesome Marie Lyn Bernard, who was in attendance last night along with a gaggle of super-cute girls. I can now safely say that I am publishing her kickass story she read at In The Flesh, "Fucking Around," in the anthology I've edited for Seal Press (actually, I edited it for Carroll & Graf but Seal is going to publish it, which I couldn't be more thrilled about). More on that TK when I have a title and pub date and all those things that go into actually making a real book.

I got some interesting feedback about the reading, and I always love to hear what worked/what didn't. I know I was running late and was a bit flustered, but I read my story "A Cute Idea" from my upcoming anthology Crossdressing: Erotic Stories and it went over well. But still, I can write about almost anything, but reading it aloud is another story. Sometime I pull it off, and I do get a high off being amongst friends and strangers, hearing words read aloud in the author's voice, seeing when people laugh and when they get uncomfortable and when they get turned on. All in all, though, I'm much more comfortable behing the comfort of the computer screen, or as hostess, or next week (at Borders! I still can't get over that one), interviewer. I'm getting better about it, and also know that the best I can ever do is be me. Like at that debate about porn at CUNY, my voice shook. I wasn't as sure of myself as I was when doing my research, but I pulled it off, and I want to work on that. I've gotten the hang of this reading series thing and have come to welcome that time, all the heightened energy and running around and sugar feeding frenzy and dirty words. I feel like it's a cozy, sexy space that I hope makes people who attend want to come back. I'm honored that people like Lillian Ann Slugocki, who I read way back before I ever though I could actually have a book with my name on it, when I was so busy dreaming I forget to actually write things down, or I psyched myself out as I still do today, I'm thrilled that someone of her stature wants to read at my series and that I get to publish her too (in that Seal book, which also has Carol Queen and Sofia Quintero and lots of other totally hot stories which I can't wait to share with all of you).

IN THE FLESH EROTIC READING SERIES
WEDNESDAY, JULY 18TH at 8 PM
AT HAPPY ENDING LOUNGE, 302 BROOME STREET, NYC
(B/D to Grand, J/M/Z to Bowery, F to Delancey, http://www.happyendinglounge.com)
Admission: Free
Happy Ending Lounge: 212-334-9676
http://inthefleshreadingseries.blogspot.com

July heats up with a mix of today’s hottest erotic writers delivering sexual demons, erotic fairy tales, and other naughtiness. With Louisa Burton (House of Dark Delights), Myriam Gurba (Dahlia Season), Aimee Herman (If These Thighs Could Talk), Lillian Ann Slugocki (The Erotica Project), Maddy Stuart (Sexiest Soles) and host and curator Rachel Kramer Bussel (He’s on Top, She’s on Top). Free candy and cupcakes will be served.

In the Flesh is a monthly reading series hosted at the appropriately named Happy Ending Lounge, and features the city's best erotic writers sharing stories to get you hot and bothered, hosted and curated by acclaimed erotic writer and editor Rachel Kramer Bussel. 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 Laura Antoniou, Mo Beasley, Lily Burana, Jessica Cutler, 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 PortnoySofia Quintero, M.J. Rose, Lauren Sanders, Danyel Smith, Grant Stoddard, Cecilia Tan, Carol Taylor, Dana Vachon, Veronica Vera, Susan Wright, and many others. The series has gotten press attention from Escape (Hong Kong), Flavorpill, The L Magazine, New York magazine, Philadelphia City Paper, Time Out New York, Gothamist, Nerve.com and Wonkette, and has been praised by Dr. Ruth. This is not Amanda Stern’s Happy Ending Reading Series.

Rachel Kramer Bussel is Senior Editor at Penthouse Variations, conducts interviews for Gothamist.com and Mediabistro.com, and wrote the popular Lusty Lady column for The Village Voice. Her erotic stories have been published in over 100 anthologies, including Best American Erotica 2004 and 2006, and she’s edited numerous erotica anthologies, most recently 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 and Naughty Spanking Stories from A to Z 2. Rachel has also written for AVN, Bust, Cosmo UK, Gothamist, Mediabistro, Metro, New York Post, Punk Planet, San Francisco Chronicle, Time Out New York and Velvetpark.
www.rachelkramerbussel.com

Louisa Burton is a novelist and the author of the Hidden Grotto series of epic erotic fantasy, in which the beings mythologists call “sexual demons”—incubi, succubi, satyrs, and the like—have lived among us for thousands of years.. The series grew out of Louisa’s fascination with Victorian erotica, history, and mythology. House of Dark Delights, which was released in February 2007, is also being published in Germany. The second book in the series, Bound in Moonlight, comes out in December, and Louisa is currently writing the third, Whispers of the Flesh.
www.louisaburton.com

Myriam Gurba is a high school teacher who lives in Long Beach, California, home of Snoop Dogg and the Queen Mary. Her first novel, Dahlia Season, was published recently by Manic D/Future Tense Books. She graduated from UC Berkeley, and her writing has appeared in anthologies like Best American Erotica (St. Martin's Press), Bottom's Up (Soft Skull Press), Secrets and Confidences (Seal Press), and Tough Girls (Black Books).
www.dahliaseason.com

Aimee Herman has been described as Woody Allen with a vagina. No subject is too risque for her to write. She currently has two chapbooks of poetry out (tastes like cheesecake, if these thighs could talk) and recorded a spoken word CD available through cdbaby.com/AimeeHerman. She does not believe in warnings or disclaimers. All words are meant to inspire/offend/induce perspiration nausea/ and indigestion. Comments, questions, and suggestions for new sexual positions may be sent to:
writerslashpoet@aol.com

Lillian Ann Slugocki, an award winning feminist writer, has created a body of work on women and their sexuality which includes fiction, non-fiction, plays and monologues which have been produced on Broadway, Off-Broadway, Off-Off Broadway and on National Public Radio. Her work has been published in books, journals, anthologies, and on-line; including Salon.com. She has been reviewed in The New York Times, The Village Voice, Art in America, The New Yorker, The Daily News, The New York Post, and recently in London; Time Out, The Guardian, The Daily Telegraph and The London Sunday Times.

Maddy Stuart paints and programs computers in a cold Canadian city. Her writing has appeared in Sexiest Soles: Erotic Stories about Feet and Shoes and Secret Slaves: Erotic Stories of Bondage, both in the Fetish Chest series.
www.maddystuart.com