Email: rachelkramerbussel at gmail.com



 

Lusty Lady

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

Friday, October 31, 2008

Looks like we'll still be talking about Sarah Palin in 2010

from Publishers Marketplace today:

NON-FICTION: HISTORY/POLITICS/CURRENT AFFAIRS
Salon columnist Rebecca Traister's BIG GIRLS DON'T CRY: Hillary Clinton, Sarah Palin, Michelle Obama, Tina Fey, and the Year that Changed the Face of Feminism, an enduring, incisive, and often humorous work of social commentary on the unexpected ways the 2008 presidential election brought issues concerning women and power, sexism and feminism to the fore, to Wylie O'Sullivan at Free Press, in a pre-empt, for publication in September 2010, by Linda Loewenthal at the David Black Literary Agency (world).

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Sarah Palin Erotica is now live!

I know it's so late I may as well not even bother, but I'm super proud of the site and there's gonna be more soon...

http://sarahpalinerotica.com/

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Review-o-rama

I'm in San Francisco, supposedly on vacation but running all over madly. I'm patting myself on the back for making my flight, which has not been my strong suit this year. It's nice to be away from New York, even though I have a lot to do, like make a PowerPoint presentation for a speaking gig at the Princeton Club (!!) in November about pitching to food bloggers, and a little writing.



But I wanted to share some reviews, plus Kristina Wright told me Bedding Down got a 4-star review in Romantic Times! Can't wait to see it, especially because this book has the potential to be truly big, in part because Harpercollins/Avon Red can get the books into places like RT, and also because from what I sense, the erotic romance market is slightly different, and I would assume larger, than the market for general erotica. It's also available as an e-book, and it comes out December 2nd, and we'll be shooting a book trailer next month. Anyone interested in covering it (review, interview, etc.) for a publication, write to me at rachelravenous at gmail.com with your mailing address and publication details. Perfect for any Valentine's Day coverage.

Apparently, Harriet Klausner got her hands on a copy and concluded:

“One Night in Winter” by Kristina Wright. Susannah returns home to Minerva where her former lover Derrick reignites their heat

“Six Weeks at Sunrise Mountain, Colorado” by Gwen Masters. Stressed to the max, burned-out millionaire Fletcher flees for Sunrise Mountain to escape; there he rescues a frozen bruised Janine who in turn rescues his libido and heart.

“It’s Not the Weather” by Alison Tyler. Shelly assumes it is her fault that her boyfriend Roger is cold regardless of what she tries; so she gives up on him only to find warmth and passion with Jeremiah.

“Baby, It’s Cold Outside” by Marilyn Jaye Lewis. Married couple Kaylie and Connor becomes snowbound, which gives them time to reenact some of their hottest moments.

“Northern Exposure” by Isabelle Gray. Their marriage is over yet neither Alana nor Gideon can move on as each wonders if they should give it one more try.

“Hidden Treasure” by Sophie Mouette. Brenda and Sean discover a treasure, but will they understand what the real treasure is.

“Sweet Season,” by Shanna Germain. After being away for awhile, Dulcie returns to her family’s maple syrup business only to find Travis is the real sweetener.

Although the plots are paper thin, the lead couples are developed enough to emit plenty of heat for fans to appreciate this wintry erotic septet.





Tasting Him: Oral Sex Stories got reviewed not once but twice over at the Erotica Readers & Writers Association!

Review 1

Review 2

Tasting Her review

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Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Win a copy of Confetti Cakes for Kids

Just head on over to Cupcakes Take the Cake and answer the question and leave your email address. Good luck, and catch author Elisa Strauss on The Today Show tomorrow!

Cover of Confetti Cakes for Kids

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Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Tomorrow's the deadline for the 1-800-FLOWERS contest!

You have until 11:59 pm EST on Wednesday, October 29th to enter the Cupcakes Take the Cake contest to win a $50 gift certificate to 1-800-FLOWERS!

Cupcakes from 1-800-FLOWERS

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Penthouse Variations 30th anniversary issue!

Our 30th anniversary issue goes on sale today! Buy it at your local newsstand and check out my interview with spanking expert Lolita Wolf. You can also check out the (obviously NSFW) site www.variations.com (it's a pay site but there are story samples).

Cover of Penthouse Variations, December 2008, 30th anniversary issue!

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Monday, October 27, 2008

I'm desperate for sex and music erotica ASAP!

I really, really, really need your sex and music erotica stories. This could be literally anything combining the two, from going to a concert (like in "Live Tonight" by Saskia Walker in Dirty Girls) to a music lesson (like the brilliant "Every Good By Deserves Favors" by L. Elise Bland in Naughty Spanking Stories from A to Z and beyond. I need longer stories (though shorter is okay) and as creative and hot as possible. I need them today (Monday) or tomorrow (Tuesday); Wednesday by 5 pm EST at the very latest (but earlier is much better). I'll get back to you by early next week for sure. I know the pay up front is minimal but you do get royalties, the book's out in December so there's a quick turnaround, you'll be joining some great authors and perhaps most importantly, you'll have my undying thanks.

Please MAKE SURE your submission:

has your byline and story title on it
is double spaced
is indented half an inch
is all in plain black text - no bolding, no asterisks, no underline - you can use italics
American grammar
has been proofread
is on topic

If you do those things, it's very, very likely that I'll publish it (though not guaranteed). Feel free to pass this on, I need the stories ASAP as my book was due last week! I'm done with submissions for my Lust Chronicles e-book and will post the table of contents as soon as it's approved by Ravenous.

’m editing a new e-book anthology for Ravenous Romance, to be published in December 2008.

For both: 1,500-5,000 words, Times or Times New Roman, double space, indent 1/2 an inch at start of each paragraph. Unpublished work only. All characters must be over 18; no incest or bestiality. All sexual orientations/genders welcome. Send as Word Document; if you cannot send as Word Document, send as RTF or in the body of an email

SEX AND MUSIC: Erotica about sex and music, could be band/groupie, music teacher, masturbating to a hot song, making a music video, musical performance, etc. Again, looking for a wide range of scenarios as long as there is some form of sex and some form of music (use your imagination).

Send BIO and MAILING ADDRESS (either in the Word Doc or in body of your email) and WORD DOCUMENT with your submission to: rachelravenous@gmail.com (if you previously sent a story to another address, I have it) with “Sex and Music” in subject line. MAKE SURE you double space, use American grammar, put your story title/byline on the document, indent half an inch. If using a pseudonym (which is totally fine), I need your real name and the pseudonym.

DEADLINE: ASAP

PAYMENT: Authors will receive $1/page PLUS portion of the E-book and MP3 royalties. We are purchasing electronic rights for 3 years and audio rights.

QUESTIONS? Email rachelravenous@gmail.com

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Friday, October 24, 2008

More editing pet peeves

More pet peeves, and as I said, could be moot cause my editing days may be over, but still, these things are SO ANNOYING they make me wish I could get my act together and start writing books myself, finally, as I'm meant to be doing, rather than editing and dealing with minutiae. So in addition to all the formatting stuff:

1. Don't ask me if you're story's been accepted until after the time I've given you. I'll let you know (again, the books that aren't turned in yet I have been behind on, but the e-books, I promise to let you know).

2. Don't ask me why I rejected your story. It's not my job nor do I have time to give critiques.

3. Don't resubmit an updated version your story. Every damn time, whether I put it in the guidelines or not, people do this. Think a minute: once I have gone in and made my own changes and edited your story, when you resend it, if I start using your version, then I have to go back and re-edit. If it's something extremely urgent, the only way this would be acceptable is with the edits highlighted in red using track changes.

4. I'm actually rejecting something because the formatting was so bad it would take me ages to reformat - margins are a mess, spacing too. I prefer Word documents, or RTFs. That shouldn't be that hard.

I'm sure I sound bitchy, and again, maybe I'm not meant to be in this business. I'm trying to figure that out. But these things beyond get on my nerves. They do make me ever so grateful for the very professional authors who are always courteous, professional, and well-formatted.

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Book deal for The Assimilated Negro: Negropedia

Cool people get book deals and I don't even notice when I'm not watching Publisher's Marketplace like a hawk! I looked up "blogger" and found this awesome news. Congratulations, Patrice!

October 20, 2008

Non-fiction:
Reference
The Assimilated Negro/"TAN" blogger Patrice Evans's NEGROPEDIA, an encyclopedic send-up of the modern black experience in our now "Post-Racial" world, to Brett Valley at Three Rivers Press, by Jud Laghi at LJK Literary Management (World).

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"One woman's self-made bukkake party is no Martha Stewart affair."

I have no need to explain or summarize my story "A First Time for Everything" because the awesome Susie Bright did it for me in her official playlist for her gorgeous, hardcover, so gorgeous-you-want-it-IN-your bed anthology X: The Erotic Treasury.



Here's what it looks like on a bookstore shelf (next to She's on Top!):

Susie Bright's X: The Erotic Treasury, next to my books at B&N

Seriously, it's beautiful, and has work by Lisa Palac, Robert Olen Butler, Donna George Storey, Marcelle Manhattan, and many others. I hope to have time soon to properly dig into it. Chronicle Books really went all out. I am anxiously awaiting news on readings and keeping my fingers crossed that we can do one here in NYC and I can go to SF to read too.

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The official bumpter sticker of Tasting Him

At least I have something to amuse me while I'm in editing hell mode, where I'm too tired to do...much of anything. I cannot wait to be done. Really, really can't.

So glad it's Friday, seriously. This is totes the official bumper sticker of my book
Tasting Him: Oral Sex Stories. From the brilliant, twisted mind of Alex Balk, who I watched the 2004 election with at Marion's (feels like SO long ago), at Radar.

I Suck Cock and I Vote

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Thursday, October 23, 2008

Erotica angst

First off, some erotica submission advice based on things that make me bonkers, which might be moot, cause at the moment I am not feeling like ever editing any kind of book again and have doubts about whether anyone would want me to. I am longing to write but lately have no time. Or I have time but it's not the right time, ever. But anyway, the more frustrating/annoying things I see, the more I want to share. These are not absolute rules for everyone everywhere, just some pet peeves that you should avoid if you want me to include your work.

They all really boil down to one thing: follow the instructions. I spend time crafting long, detailed calls for submissions, and I know many people don't read them. That's clear when, say, it says "double spaced" and they send single spaced. Yes, it matters. I don't reject something off the bat for that, but as it gets down to crunch time, I might.

Other irksome things:

No title or byline in the story

No bio included (this is so important so I don't have to chase people down at the last minute)

Sent to a different email address than specified (yes, I have many, but I use specific ones for specific books)

Not indented

Weird spacing issues - people seem to want to put extra lines before and after paragraphs. NO NO NO NO NO! This one irks me the most cause, why? Why? I truly don't get it.

Manual spacing - heavens no. Once I edited a manually spaced document into a Word-double spaced one, only to have the author resend a revised version...also manually spaced.

Another pet peeve which I mention specifically in my guidelines but still see: people sending an "updated story." Proofread it the first time! I really beg of you. If I've already started reading/editing your story, the last thing I want is you sending me a new version. I'll fix any typos or whatever, and if there's a question, I'll ask you, promise.

For the record, I prefer Times or Times New Roman 12 point black font. It may sound picky or pedantic to you, but for every person who says "I know you said don't send revises but I saw this one typo..." great, but realize you are wasting my time.

That being said, I've made plenty of mistakes and I'm sure still do. I'm not a perfect editor obviously and I realize people make mistakes. It's just that when lots of people make mistakes and I'm in a hurry, I may have to just skip over the error-laden submissions in favor of ones that are easy to work with. Most of the time I go in and fix the things that need fixing. Part of what I hate about the process is sending rejection letters, and I'm not at all looking forward to that. I don't do public calls as often anymore in part because I don't want to send so many rejection letters, and I realize that also means I may not reach someone who doesn't read my blogs or Twitter.

The point is, read the guidelines. If you have a question, ask before you submit your story, not after.

I know I've been a Bad Editor this year, and I am working on that. I want to be more timely, more together, I really do. But it's hard, and I'm not some kind of superwoman that I can just work all day during the week and then do my own work all night and weekends. Sometimes I try but then I collapse, hard. I want to punch anyone who says "you do so much." I am not a violent person but that makes me verge on violence, because it's bullshit. It's stupid. It's what someone says who has no fucking clue about anything. So no. I am a person who fails more than she succeeds, way more, but it just so happens that I do a lot, so I have some successes (or what passes for them) thrown into the mix.

I want to change, start over, remake myself and be a better person and writer and editor than I've been this year. I don't like who I've turned into at all, don't like the work I've been putting out (some of it I do, but I tend to look at the negative). I have all these ideas for more book trailers and fun publicity events and books and articles but...I need to take a big step back and assess whether this is even what I should be trying to do. Just because you can do something doesn't mean you should, which I have been learning over and over. So we'll see. I turn 33 soon and feel like I have less and less of a clue what I'm doing each day, but I keep hoping the path will become clearer, that I'll "see the light" or whatever and know what I should be doing, rather than just doing the same thing over and over, to no avail.

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Bi bi bi

For a new project I’m working on, I’m looking to interview people (any gender) who somehow fall into the category of “bisexual,” but I’m especially looking for people who don’t identify as bi, but who have had or do have attractions to men and women, whether or not they’ve acted on them. It’s pretty broadly defined, which is part of what I plan to explore. If you know anyone who might want to talk to me, please send them my way or pass along my info.

This could be “bi-curious” or something more like boobiesexual, where you are generally attracted to/date/sleep with one gender but there are aspects of the other that you are interested in. This also includes crossdressers/crossdressing, blurring of gender lines, transgender people (as interview subjects and from people who’ve dated/slept with/are attracted to trans people), etc. Maybe you’re kinky and identify as straight or gay/lesbian, but when it comes to kink, the kink overrides gender and that’s what’s most important. Maybe you’re straight, but are often taken for gay. Or you’re straight but you’d “go gay for” a certain friend, or celebrity. Widely defined, as I said.

Write to me at rachelravenous at gmail.com and you can be anonymous. Doing preliminary research for a book project right now. I really, really hope I’ll be able to share more about this soon.

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"Why don't you edit an anthology on pubic hair?"

I read my friend's email incredulously. "Why don't you edit an anthology about pubic hair?" This from someone who works in publishing?

What I think people don't seem to understand is that this is a business, first and foremost, like anything else. I just got a royalty check, and while it was bigger than any others I've received (and I have more books out than I did last time), there was something on there that made me very sad. I won't go into every detail, except to say that one of my books sold an extremely low number. I mean, practically nothing, and I am in no way exaggerating.

At first, I took that to mean that my book sucked, even though I don't think so (I almost said "obviously," but you know what? Some of them do. Not necessarily through any fault of my own, but slap an horridly ugly cover on smut that was ill-conceived in the first place then get no support from the people behind it, and there you go). But it really doesn't matter why the book sold so poorly, only that I not do that again.

I can only afford to work on books that I have a reasonable expectation of doing well. I didn't use to think this way. I thought it was "an honor" to be published. I thought publishing anything was better than nothing. I agreed to things that made my skin crawl, then later scrambled to get out of them, lest I look totally stupid. I believed the hype, when really it wasn't me they wanted, but "a Village Voice sex columnist."

I'm at a point where I am really trying to figure out what I want to do with my life. The truth is, I have no idea. I stumbled into this and found that I could write about sex, non-fiction and fiction, but that was never supposed to be "what I'm doing with my life." And now I'm not sure. There are obligations I have to fulfill, and I will, but they don't fit any more than "sex columnist" ever did as an identity.

The only one I truly feel okay with, and maybe this is my own sex-negative insecurities coming out, is cupcake blogger. I'm so proud of what we've achieved there, of the over 100 interviews I've conducted, of the fact that I'm speaking at the fucking Princeton Club next month to PR people, of the cupcake speaking engagements I'm arranging for 2009. I put my heart and soul into that blog and I feel like I get back what I give to it in umpteen ways, not just via Foodbuzz.

I'm searching for that with editing and writing, searching for that feeling I had standing in the Chelsea B&N, which no longer exists, with tears in my eyes at a pay phone calling Tristan (yes, it was so long ago I didn't have a cell phone!) when I held in my hands the very first book to every publish my work. Maybe you never get that back. Maybe I'm tired. Or burned out. Or jaded. Maybe I'm ready for something new. I have ideas zooming through my head (will post about a new book idea I'm working on in a minute), but I can't work on them all, at least not at the same time.

So that's where I'm at, some of what I'm dealing with. It's a constant struggle, and sometimes the rewards seem worth it, and other times they don't. I'm brainstorming new ways to attack publicity, for me, my reading series, my blogs/sites, and just trying to stay interested, cause once I lose that, I'm a goner.

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The frazzled mind of an erotica editor

I've been reading a ton of submissions for my Ravenous Romance e-books, and am finishing up some very overdue books for Cleis (anyone who is waiting on an answer, you should have one by October 30th, and my apologies for the delay).

So as I do, I want to stress the importance of formatting. Often that is what will keep someone out of one of my books, which is a shame if the writing is excellent.

But you have to read the call for submissions and follow it. There is a very good reason I ask for a bio, I want things double spaced and indented, etc. I cannot do that work for you (though I certainly have) and when authors waste my time, especially when I am working on a book last minute, it makes it very easy to skip that story in favor of one that's formatted correctly.

I may be nearing the end of my erotica editing days, perhaps my erotica writing days. We'll see what happens, see if anyone wants to keep working with me. I've certainly been in some other space this year, one where all my creativity has pretty much gone out the window. I haven't had time yet to properly research a therapist, or, like, a smartphone, both of which I desperately need.

I do have a virtual assistant, and as long as I can afford her, I will use her. I'm still figuring out the mechanics of that, and how to balance my time and make the most of whatever random creative spurts I do have.

I will say that I'm working on finally making a proper email list for calls for submissions. I usually just try to remember any writer I've published or liked their work, and I can't do that anymore. So write to rachelravenous at gmail.com and put "Writer List" in the subject line and I'll let you know if I wind up doing any more anthologies (there is one co-edited one in the works). I hope so, because there is something I love about the process, I just need to find it again because I believe really strongly in my ideas. More on that later.

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Sexualizing Sarah Palin

Since I'm poised to do just that (soon! I promise, just working out the technical kinks), I read these pieces very eagerly, both very smart critiques:

Violet Blue's latest San Francisco Chronicle column is called "No More Palin Porn, Please:"

But the unending tide of Palin porn seems to me to be much more than pointing at a candidate and saying, heh, I saw her play flute in a bikini. Sexist? Too simple an answer -- Palin's platforms are sex-negative, and they were made for walking all over your rape kits, gay marriage and science-based sex education in public schools. She hunts and makes a lot of babies; this bitch is a fertile dominatrix. She's a powerful woman because of her virility, so you can't take it away by making her more sexual. The porning of Palin is more than attempts to strip a female politician of power by sexualizing her; in fact, it's had the opposite effect and her party hasn't backed away from the oozing MILFiness, something we noticed when watching the debates at The
Hat Factory and everyone remarked that Palin was indeed showing some cleavage for the first time as a nominee. I think, perhaps, that we are a nation as depressed as our economy. Everyone knows that in chronic depression, one of the first things to go is the sex drive. We must not let it destroy us. As Americans, we deserve better porn. If a MILF shall lead us, it will be to the dry desert of celibacy. Trust me. I've seen Palin porn.


And she links to something I have no idea how I missed:

Susie Bright on "Why Palin's Sex Life Matters:"

We simply haven't had an overtly fecund, butch, straight-woman sex symbol in so long. She's like Annie Oakley with her six-shooters and her polar bears, her caribou dressing and her moose stew. She's got five kids hanging off of her, and you're like "Hells bells, that woman can fuck in the morning, go out for a long hike on the Arctic tundra, take down a polar bear or two, and be back in time to pass some new creationist legislation." She just kicks ass. I mean, she's just so — mmm. So like a powerful woman. It's exciting, isn't it? I think for every woman who's been appalled at her politics and the platform she's been running on — and this certainly includes me — well, there's this little part of me that's thinking "Oh, If only she was on my side. If only I could kidnap Sarah Palin and just lick her pussy for a few hours, I think we could just work this whole thing out." Do you know how many lesbians are discussing this? My friend Marga Gomez, who's a fantastic dyke comedian, has this line where she says "Sarah Palin? She's having my baby. And we've already named her Drill." If only we could move her political viewpoint around just a little.

image via Violet Blue on Flickr

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Wednesday, October 22, 2008

"FIRE! FIRE! FIRE" - brilliant Sarah Palin spoof

Simply brilliant!



"FIRE! FIRE! FIRE!" by Eliza Jane Schneider and Eric Schwartz (who did the brilliant "Clinton Got a Blowjob" song/video).

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Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Hack the Election

Well, kinda. But do go read Jackson's How to Maximize Your Influence in the Election.

Also, all his other posts at Lifehacker, where is now writer, even though he's a self-professed slacker.

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Monday, October 20, 2008

In The Flesh snapshot

Oral Sex Night at In The Flesh Erotic Reading Series

You can see more photos from last week's In The Flesh by Stacie Joy in this Flickr set.

It was fabulous - I estimate 80 people showed up to hear everyone read about oral sex. We'll have video soon. I was impressed with all our readers, and am so honored that people like Donna George Storey, Emerald and Fiona Zedde traveled from out of town. I was thrilled that the bookseller from Mobile Libris had such a good time he wants to come back. Extra huge thanks to Stacie and Desiree for handling all the goodie and snack passing out (Desiree made super cute plates with Krispy Kreme donuts as the centerpiece; I hope someone got a photo of that). I will definitely be getting Krispy Kreme again in addition to the usual cupcakes, candy, and chips!

Thank you to all! I'm working on drink specials and sponsors for November 20th's big 3 year anniversary party, so stay tuned, you don't want to miss it!

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Joan Price's hot senior solo sex contest



I interviewed Better Than I Ever Expected author Joan Price way back in 2005 for my Lusty Lady column, and now she's having a cool contest on hot solo sex tips for sex after 60. You can win a copy of her book and Jamye Waxman's masturbation manifesto Getting Off. (via Seal Press)

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Sunday, October 19, 2008

Come to our charity bake sale today in Brooklyn! I'm making coconut cupcakes!

And I almost never make cupcakes, certainly not on my own. Please join us today!

Please come out and join the three of us and our readers...



We are pleased to announce that Cupcakes Take The Cake will be having a cupcake bake sale on Sunday, October 19 at The Brooklyn Flea in Fort Greene. The bake sale is a fundraiser for Cancer Care's Cupcakes for a Cause week.
If you live in NYC, please come and support us. We will need cupcake bakers, people to man the bake sale table and cupcake eaters.

Cupcakes Take The Cake Bake Sale
Sunday, October 19 10AM-5PM
The Brooklyn Flea
Bishop Loughlin Memorial High School
Lafayette Avenue Between Clermont and Vanderbilt Avenue

Our stand will be near all the food vendor are. The Brooklyn Flea layout is here and we will be at E-10

The Brooklyn Flea is in Fort Greene on Lafayette Avenue between Clermont and Vanderbilt Avenue. From Manhattan, you can take the C to Lafayette Avenue. From Queens, Williamburg, Carroll Gardens, you can take the G to Clinton-Washington Avenue. Check HopStop if there are weekend service changes.

If you don't live in NYC, we encourage to do your own bake sale that weekend (October 18-19) and send us pictures. Duncan Hines, who is the corporate sponsor for Cupcakes For A Cause,can send you coupons for your bake sale.

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I'm officially a grammar nerd

I got interviewed on a grammar blog! How cool. Once I wrote in the Village Voice about how bad grammar is a turnoff and I remember people got so mad at me. Trust me, I have my grammar issues, but I don't hesitate to correct the spelling of people I'm dating.

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Saturday, October 18, 2008

Happy Chocolate Cupcake Day and CONTEST

Chocolate cupcake from Chocolate Soup in Edinburgh, Scotland
Chocolate cupcake from Chocolate Soup in Edinburgh, Scotland

In celebration of National Chocolate Cupcake Day (today!), Cupcakes Take the Cake is giving you the chance to win the awesome book Hey There, Cupcake! by Claire Crespo. Go enter!

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Thursday, October 16, 2008

Sex blogger calendar teaser

2009 NYC Sex Blogger Calendar photo shoot

This is a teaser for the real thing, the photo of me taken by Stacie Joy for the 2009 NYC Sex Blogger Calendar, which you can pre-order now. (I'm not really a sex blogger, as I'm sure you can tell, but they let me pose anyway.) I'll give you a hint about my real photo: it's after I've gotten spanked by Sinclair (pictured above).

Party with us November 14th from 6:30 - 9:30 pm at White Rabbit (145 E. Houston Street, between Forsyth and Eldridge, LES) and get your very own copy of the calendar, plus prizes and fun. See Facebook for details.

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Please repost/come out to Oral Sex Night tonight!

If you have a spare minute, please repost part of this announcement (scroll down) about tonight's reading on your Twitter/Facebook/blog/etc. Or just link to http://inthefleshreadingseries.blogspot.com

I think we have such a killer lineup, and next month (November 20th, mark your calendars!) we're having a big party (and Trey Ellis is reading!) to celebrate the 3rd anniversary of In The Flesh, then December 18th it's kindof an all-star awesome night of True Sex Confessions with Rachel Resnick, author of the must-rad Love Junkie, memoirist Marvelyn Brown (The Naked Truth), blogger Rex Sorgatz, playwright (and new mom of 2) Christen Clifford, someone from The Frisky and more.

I even hired a PR firm to help promote the reading. Which is all well and good but, let's be real, this is not a money-making venture for me and I realized today that maybe I'm crazy to have done so. Of course PR is always a crapshoot, but it's easier when it's just your time, not your money. I'll post another time about the pleasures and perils of DIY PR. The money I do make (the readings are free, I get a cut of the bar) gets fed back into In The Flesh to hire my photographer and videographer.

I don't know how much longer I will be running In The Flesh. I agreed to keep going into 2009, and as long as I'm in NYC, I would like to, I just think I'm probably not the person to keep on running it after the next few months. Maybe, but probably not. It's time I step up and try to find lucrative work and ease my stress level oh, a teensy bit. The constant stress of having no clue if people will show up (yes, some will, but I like it packed, and you never know what other events you're competing against, if it'll get listed, etc.), of dealing with readers, of booking, etc. It's a lot to do, for free. I adore Happy Ending as a venue and the staff and owner are amazing. It's not that, just that with everything else of late, I need some help. So please, please, please, spread the word. Bring a friend who's never been. I promise LOTS of free porn DVDs, magazines, books, and food, plus all these great readers, two of whom are in from out of town. And for you foodies, Daniel Maurer co-edits New York magazine's food blog Grub Street.

Thanks for indulging me. I don't mean to sound whiny. I love my little reading series, love that it has lasted so long and that this year really upped the ante. Mostly, as my friends know, I love when it's over. Day of and especially night of, I'm a falling apart mess, but it's still worth it, even with all the cab rides, schlepping, and stress. It's worth it to hear so many sexy words spilling out into the room. It's worth it to get my Jewish mom on and feed people, plus eat those Trader Joe's chocolate peanut butter covered pretzels. It's worth it for the people who've never been who are wooed by hearing something about s-e-x out loud. It's worth it for that and plenty of other reasons. I have to remember that, but sometimes I forget.

Point is, if you've been and liked it, or think it sounds cool, do me a big favor and let people know.

See you tonight!

IN THE FLESH EROTIC READING SERIES
ORAL SEX NIGHT
October 16th at 8 PM
AT HAPPY ENDING LOUNGE, 302 BROOME STREET, NYC (look for pink awning that says "health club")
(B/D to Grand, J/M/Z to Bowery, F to Delancey or F/V to 2nd Avenue, http://www.happyendinglounge.com)
Admission: Free
Happy Ending Lounge: 212-334-9676
http://inthefleshreadingseries.blogspot.com






Celebrate the joys of giving and receiving-—head, that is-—with the first Oral Sex Night at In The Flesh Reading Series, featuring readings from host Rachel Kramer Bussel’s latest anthologies, Tasting Him and Tasting Her. Readers including Tasting Him and Her contributors Tish Andersen, Heidi Champa, Emerald, Tsaurah Litzky, Michelle Robinson and Donna George Storey (author of erotic novel Amorous Woman) as well as Daniel Maurer (author of Brocabulary) and Fiona Zedde (author of Hungry for It and A Taste for Sin, among others), who will also read oral sex-themed work. Books will be available for sale and signing. Hosted and curated by Rachel Kramer Bussel. $3 Blow Job shot special drinks! Free candy and cupcakes will be served. For more information about Tasting Him and Tasting Her, visit http://tastinghim.wordpress.com and http://tastingher.wordpress.com.

Tish Andersen (a pseudonym for this shy erotica-lover) was born in the South but now lives north of the Mason-Dixon line: New York City’s East Village/Lower East Side, to be precise. She spends the bulk of her time reading, writing, editing, taking pictures and managing the subsequent—and dreaded—postproduction work. She’s most comfortable behind a lens, focusing on the fabulous freaky folks that surround her. A fan of all things naughty, Tish is a kinky voyeur and a shameless romantic.

Rachel Kramer Bussel’s most recent edited anthologies include Spanked: Red-Cheeked Erotica, Tasting Him, Tasting Her, Dirty Girls, Yes, Sir, Yes, Ma’am and Best Sex Writing 2008. She is Senior Editor at Penthouse Variations and wrote the popular Lusty Lady column for The Village Voice. Rachel has also written for AVN, Bust, Cosmopolitan, Gothamist, Mediabistro, Metro, New York Post, Punk Planet, San Francisco Chronicle, Time Out New York, Velvetpark and Zink. She also co-edits the cupcake blog Cupcakes Take the Cake.
www.rachelkramerbussel.com

Heidi Champa is a typical last-born child. Snarky, attention-seeking and rebellious, she chooses to write dirty stories to keep herself out of real trouble. Her work appears in the anthologies Tasting Him: Oral Sex Stories and Frenzy: 60 Stories of Sudden Sex. She has steamed up the pages of Bust Magazine and if you prefer your erotica in electronic form, she can be found online at Oysters and Chocolate and The Erotic Woman. In addition to her flare with the written word, she knows every last sentence of the movie Clue by heart. When she’s not writing, she can be found reading or filling her iPod with more music. She lives in Pennsylvania with her husband. Her greatest wish is that her sarcasm would translate better in the written form.
heidichampa.blogspot.com

Emerald has been a writer since age seven, though her repertoire did not begin to include erotica until her early twenties. Her erotic fiction has been published in Tasting Her, Best Women's Erotica 2006, Erotika: Bedtime Stories, G Is for Games, and online in GV Weekly magazine. Currently she resides in suburban Maryland with her cat and serves as an activist for reproductive justice and sex workers’ rights.

Tsaurah Litzky's erotica has appeared in over sixty publications among them Best American Erotica eight times, Best New International Erotica 6&7, Sex For America, Politically Inspired, Dirty Girls, Wicked Women 7, The Blacklisted Journalist, Sex and Candy, Women-Period. She is also a poet and her book of erotic haiku, Crazy Lust, is now its third printing. Her erotic novella, The Motion Of The Ocean, was published by Simon & Schuster as part of Three The Hard Way, a series of erotic novellas edited by Susie Bright. Now entering it's eleventh year at the New School, Tsaurah's writing class, Silk Sheets: Writing Erotica was named Best Writing Class in NYC in the Village Voice 2004. She recently completed a book of erotic short stories titled End Of The World Sex, but Tsaurah believes sex is not the end but the beginning of everything. To read more of her dirty stories go to http://tsaurahlitzky.com



Daniel Maurer is a nightlife editor at New York Magazine, where he also co-edits the food blog Grub Street, winner of a James Beard Award, a MIN Award, and nominated for a National Magazine Award. He is the author of Brocabulary: A new Man-i-festo of Dude Talk. He has appeared on television (WNBC’s “Today in New York”) and in a New York Times feature. He was nominated as a New York “hottie” by Gawker, a blog to which he has also contributed (he coined the term “Douché,” which won the Gawker T-Shirt Contest). His freelance journalism has appeared in the New York Times, Nerve.com, Un Chin magazine, Modern Drunkard magazine, McSweeney’s, Shecky’s Nightlife Guide, and the Metro newspaper. Daniel’s alter ego “Mosca” (”The Fly”) has appeared in newspapers and on national television as a world-ranked competitive eater. His personal best is 24.5 soft-shell tacos in 12 minutes.
www.brocab.com

Michelle Robinson’s erotic short story “Mi Destino” is included in the New York Times bestseller Caramel Flava. Michelle is also a contributing author to the anthology collections Succulent: Chocolate Flava II with the story “The Quiet Room,” Asian Spice with the story “The Flow of Qi” and Missionary No More: Purple Panties 2 with the story “Hailey's Orgasmic Splendor.” She has recently completed work on four novels, Color Me Grey, Pleasure Principle, Serial Typical and You Created a Monster, and is currently working on the screenplay adaptation of “Mi Destino.” Michelle can be reached at robinson_201@hotmail.com as well as on www.myspace.com/justef.



Donna George Storey’s erotic fiction has appeared in many anthologies including Tasting Him, Tasting Her, Yes, Sir, Dirty Girls, She’s On Top, He’s On Top, Best American Erotica 2006, Mammoth Book of Best New Erotica 4-7, and Best Women’s Erotica 2005-2008. Her novel, Amorous Woman, the story of an American woman’s steamy love affair with Japan, was published by Orion in 2007. She currently writes a column “Cooking up a Storey,” about delicious sex, well-crafted food, and mind-blowing writing, for the Erotica Readers and Writers Association. Read more of her work at www.DonnaGeorgeStorey.com.



Fiona Zedde is a transplanted Jamaican currently living and working in Atlanta, Georgia. Her work has been published in various anthologies including Best Lesbian Erotica 2004 and 2007, Wicked: Sexy Tales of Legendary Lovers, and Best Lesbian Romance. She is also the author of four novels, the Lambda Literary Award finalists Bliss and Every Dark Desire, as well as A Taste of Sin and Hungry for It. Her novellas, "Pure Pleasure," "Going Wild" and the soon-to-be-published "Sweat" appear in the collections, Satisfy Me, Satisfy Me Again, and Satisfy Me Tonight, respectively. Readers and voyeurs can find out more at www.fionazedde.com.

You can watch the book trailer for Donna George Storey's Amorous Woman:

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Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Watch the debate and see political art by Molly Crabapple!



CLik here for more details.

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Did you see us on the Today Show?

If not, you can watch the clip on the MSNBC website or right here:



And if you want to find out more about the dance troupe featured in the MSNBC clip, see our interview with Sue Hogan, founder of Unison Fetish.


photo by Hope Davis

And please, please, please join Cupcakes Take the Cake this Sunday at the Brooklyn Flea from 10 am - 5 pm for a charity bake sale. Get all the details here. I'm baking banana cupcakes!


Cupcakes by Sweet Avenue Bake Shop

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The night all Nichelle's money disappeared

Nichelle Stephens and Rachel Kramer Bussel at Batch

Nichelle Stephens is one of my best friends. I've known her since April or May 2004, when we did the WYSIWYG reading together, and we have since become fellow cupcake bloggers, traveled together, and gossiped a lot. You can see lots of photos of her in my Flickr stream.

Please read her post, The Night All My Money Disappeared. It's sad and scary, and even if you don't have any advice or a way to help, you can comment and think good thoughts for her. Here's an update.

She's also asking people to donate to RightRides, a New York organization. I'll let them explain themselves:

RightRides offers women, transgender and gender queer individuals a free, safe, late night ride home on Saturday nights from 11:59 PM - 3 AM, early Sunday morning in 35 NYC neighborhoods. To call for a ride, the dispatch number is (718) 964-7781.

Since 2004, RightRides has driven over 1,000 riders safely home, thanks to hundreds of dedicated volunteers and our vehicle sponsor, Zipcar.


Visit the RightRides homepage and donate via Nichelle to get her to her $1,000 fundraising goal.

One of the things I love most about Nichelle is that she has a huge heart. She is always ready to listen (okay, sometimes I know I annoy her with my madness, especially when it's of the romantic kind, but she puts up with that anyway) and has a big heart. She also is the organizer of our NYC Cupcakes Take the Cake Meetup (please join and help me reach my personal goal of 1,000 members, just cause that would sound so cool) and you can hang out with us and Allison on Sunday starting at noon at The Brooklyn Flea eating yummy homemade cupcakes while helping charity! You know it's special cause even I'm gonna bake some banana cupcakes!

Please show Nichelle some love, cause I want to see her smiling again, like this (from the set of The Martha Stewart Show):

Nichelle is all smiles with her cupcake necklace

Nichelle, I am sending happy thoughts and news your way. And, virtually, this money cupcake from Flickr user heath_bar:

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Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Please join me Thursday for Oral Sex Night at In The Flesh

IN THE FLESH EROTIC READING SERIES
ORAL SEX NIGHT
October 16th at 8 PM
AT HAPPY ENDING LOUNGE, 302 BROOME STREET, NYC (look for pink awning that says "health club")
(B/D to Grand, J/M/Z to Bowery, F to Delancey or F/V to 2nd Avenue, http://www.happyendinglounge.com)
Admission: Free
Happy Ending Lounge: 212-334-9676
http://inthefleshreadingseries.blogspot.com






Celebrate the joys of giving and receiving-—head, that is-—with the first Oral Sex Night at In The Flesh Reading Series, featuring readings from host Rachel Kramer Bussel’s latest anthologies, Tasting Him and Tasting Her. Readers including Tasting Him and Her contributors Tish Andersen, Heidi Champa, Emerald, Tsaurah Litzky, Michelle Robinson and Donna George Storey (author of erotic novel Amorous Woman) as well as Daniel Maurer (author of Brocabulary) and Fiona Zedde (author of Hungry for It and A Taste for Sin, among others), who will also read oral sex-themed work. Books will be available for sale and signing. Hosted and curated by Rachel Kramer Bussel. $3 Blow Job shot special drinks! Free candy and cupcakes will be served. For more information about Tasting Him and Tasting Her, visit http://tastinghim.wordpress.com and http://tastingher.wordpress.com.

Tish Andersen (a pseudonym for this shy erotica-lover) was born in the South but now lives north of the Mason-Dixon line: New York City’s East Village/Lower East Side, to be precise. She spends the bulk of her time reading, writing, editing, taking pictures and managing the subsequent—and dreaded—postproduction work. She’s most comfortable behind a lens, focusing on the fabulous freaky folks that surround her. A fan of all things naughty, Tish is a kinky voyeur and a shameless romantic.

Rachel Kramer Bussel’s most recent edited anthologies include Spanked: Red-Cheeked Erotica, Tasting Him, Tasting Her, Dirty Girls, Yes, Sir, Yes, Ma’am and Best Sex Writing 2008. She is Senior Editor at Penthouse Variations and wrote the popular Lusty Lady column for The Village Voice. Rachel has also written for AVN, Bust, Cosmopolitan, Gothamist, Mediabistro, Metro, New York Post, Punk Planet, San Francisco Chronicle, Time Out New York, Velvetpark and Zink. She also co-edits the cupcake blog Cupcakes Take the Cake.
www.rachelkramerbussel.com

Heidi Champa is a typical last-born child. Snarky, attention-seeking and rebellious, she chooses to write dirty stories to keep herself out of real trouble. Her work appears in the anthologies Tasting Him: Oral Sex Stories and Frenzy: 60 Stories of Sudden Sex. She has steamed up the pages of Bust Magazine and if you prefer your erotica in electronic form, she can be found online at Oysters and Chocolate and The Erotic Woman. In addition to her flare with the written word, she knows every last sentence of the movie Clue by heart. When she’s not writing, she can be found reading or filling her iPod with more music. She lives in Pennsylvania with her husband. Her greatest wish is that her sarcasm would translate better in the written form.
heidichampa.blogspot.com

Emerald has been a writer since age seven, though her repertoire did not begin to include erotica until her early twenties. Her erotic fiction has been published in Tasting Her, Best Women's Erotica 2006, Erotika: Bedtime Stories, G Is for Games, and online in GV Weekly magazine. Currently she resides in suburban Maryland with her cat and serves as an activist for reproductive justice and sex workers’ rights.

Tsaurah Litzky's erotica has appeared in over sixty publications among them Best American Erotica eight times, Best New International Erotica 6&7, Sex For America, Politically Inspired, Dirty Girls, Wicked Women 7, The Blacklisted Journalist, Sex and Candy, Women-Period. She is also a poet and her book of erotic haiku, Crazy Lust, is now its third printing. Her erotic novella, The Motion Of The Ocean, was published by Simon & Schuster as part of Three The Hard Way, a series of erotic novellas edited by Susie Bright. Now entering it's eleventh year at the New School, Tsaurah's writing class, Silk Sheets: Writing Erotica was named Best Writing Class in NYC in the Village Voice 2004. She recently completed a book of erotic short stories titled End Of The World Sex, but Tsaurah believes sex is not the end but the beginning of everything. To read more of her dirty stories go to http://tsaurahlitzky.com



Daniel Maurer is a nightlife editor at New York Magazine, where he also co-edits the food blog Grub Street, winner of a James Beard Award, a MIN Award, and nominated for a National Magazine Award. He is the author of Brocabulary: A new Man-i-festo of Dude Talk. He has appeared on television (WNBC’s “Today in New York”) and in a New York Times feature. He was nominated as a New York “hottie” by Gawker, a blog to which he has also contributed (he coined the term “Douché,” which won the Gawker T-Shirt Contest). His freelance journalism has appeared in the New York Times, Nerve.com, Un Chin magazine, Modern Drunkard magazine, McSweeney’s, Shecky’s Nightlife Guide, and the Metro newspaper. Daniel’s alter ego “Mosca” (”The Fly”) has appeared in newspapers and on national television as a world-ranked competitive eater. His personal best is 24.5 soft-shell tacos in 12 minutes.
www.brocab.com

Michelle Robinson’s erotic short story “Mi Destino” is included in the New York Times bestseller Caramel Flava. Michelle is also a contributing author to the anthology collections Succulent: Chocolate Flava II with the story “The Quiet Room,” Asian Spice with the story “The Flow of Qi” and Missionary No More: Purple Panties 2 with the story “Hailey's Orgasmic Splendor.” She has recently completed work on four novels, Color Me Grey, Pleasure Principle, Serial Typical and You Created a Monster, and is currently working on the screenplay adaptation of “Mi Destino.” Michelle can be reached at robinson_201@hotmail.com as well as on www.myspace.com/justef.



Donna George Storey’s erotic fiction has appeared in many anthologies including Tasting Him, Tasting Her, Yes, Sir, Dirty Girls, She’s On Top, He’s On Top, Best American Erotica 2006, Mammoth Book of Best New Erotica 4-7, and Best Women’s Erotica 2005-2008. Her novel, Amorous Woman, the story of an American woman’s steamy love affair with Japan, was published by Orion in 2007. She currently writes a column “Cooking up a Storey,” about delicious sex, well-crafted food, and mind-blowing writing, for the Erotica Readers and Writers Association. Read more of her work at www.DonnaGeorgeStorey.com.



Fiona Zedde is a transplanted Jamaican currently living and working in Atlanta, Georgia. Her work has been published in various anthologies including Best Lesbian Erotica 2004 and 2007, Wicked: Sexy Tales of Legendary Lovers, and Best Lesbian Romance. She is also the author of four novels, the Lambda Literary Award finalists Bliss and Every Dark Desire, as well as A Taste of Sin and Hungry for It. Her novellas, "Pure Pleasure," "Going Wild" and the soon-to-be-published "Sweat" appear in the collections, Satisfy Me, Satisfy Me Again, and Satisfy Me Tonight, respectively. Readers and voyeurs can find out more at www.fionazedde.com.

You can watch the book trailer for Donna George Storey's Amorous Woman:

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Monday, October 06, 2008

Meet (and buy cupcakes from) Khloe Kardashian tomorrow

Details at Cupcakes Take the Cake!

Khloe Kardashian celebrity bake sale 10/7 in NYC

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Sunday, October 05, 2008

Hear Trisan Taormino today at Bluestockings for Poly Pride Weekend

I will have more to say about Tristan being laid off from The Village Voice. Horrible news, but not that surprising to me. But for now, go hear her at Bluestockings during Poly Pride weekend, though most of you probably already know about this:

October 5, 12:30 pm
POLY AUTHORS: READ + SIGN
Join us for a reading of some of the best and newest poly authors read form their work! This event is part of the Eighth Annual Poly Pride weekend celebration. Confirmed readers include Serena Anderlini (Eros), Pete Benson (The Polyamory Handbook), Leanna Wolfe, and anchored by Tristan Taormino who will be reading from her new book, Opening Up: A Guide to Creating and Sustaining Open Relationships. (free)
Location: Bluestockings, 172 Allen Street bet. Stanton and Rivington, NYC
Info: 212-777-6028

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my Rachel Getting Married review

Rachel Getting Married was very good, very intense. I may see it again. You can read my review at The Frisky.

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Friday, October 03, 2008

Wish my grandfather at Happy 85th Birthday!

Today is my grandfather's 85th birthday! Isn't that awesome? I'm going to see him tonight and hear him speak at West Point tomorrow.

Do YOU want to wish him a Happy Birthday? Well, if you do, you can email me (rachelkb at gmail.com) your birthday wishes and I'll pass them on.

But you know what would be really awesome? If you pre-ordered his memoir My Private War: Liberated Body, Captive Mind: A WWII POW's Story. (out next month) or sent it as a gift to someone. It's really extraordinary and I'm so proud of him. Much more on that in the coming months, and I will of course let you know when he's reading in NYC.



You can read an excerpt at Memoirville. Here's the start of the excerpt:

On April 29, 1944, my B-17 Bomber crew flew a fatal mission from Rattlesden, England to Berlin. Four members of our crew were killed that day. Six of us survived and became prisoners of war for a year.

I promised myself that if I were lucky enough to return home, I would write a detailed account of this calamitous event so that the families of those who were killed would know exactly what happened to their loved ones on that fateful day.

More than 60 years have now passed, but I have been unable to set forth a single word about that mission, although the minutiae are still as vivid in my mind as ever.


Keep reading

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Hell Week

My apologies for not posting here, but only half-hearted ones. To sum up, I had a really bad week. This is not the place to get into it, but thank you to everyone who reached out to me. I DO appreciate it. Nothing awful happened, nothing specific, just a lot of little things, stress, etc., that all added up and it was really rough there for a few days, the kind where I was almost not able to even function. I did, but barely.

Juliana Hatfield wrote a brilliant song about her own depression called "So Alone," a subject she addresses along with some other of her troubles in her memoir When I Grow Up, and what I love is that she managed to make a catchy, beautiful pop song about such a dark subject. So I'll leave it to Juliana. A fan video, but the point is, the song is excellent.

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Apologies and thanks to the AWESOME Jay Thomas Show

I was on the Jay Thomas show this morning (at 7:35 am EST!) on Howard 100 on Sirius and it was SO FUN! We talked all about Tasting Him and Tasting Her, and they played the Spanked book trailer, and mostly I laughed a lot. What fun. I usually go into the Sirius studios (in a building I used to work in, 1221 Avenue of the Americas - also right near the about-to-open Magnolia Bakery) but Jay is in LA and so it was call in.

But, bad news, my phone died in the middle of the interview (though I was on air for a while, about 40 minutes I think), and for that I apologize to all Jay Thomas listeners and to Jay and the crew. That was totally my bad, and I didn't have my charger on me. Dumb Rachel! From now on, I will make sure my charger is with me at all times.

Listen to the Jay Thomas Show! He's freaking funny. Promise.

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