Email: rachelkramerbussel at gmail.com



 

Lusty Lady

BLOG OF RACHEL KRAMER BUSSEL
Watch my first and favorite book trailer for Spanked: Red-Cheeked Erotica. Get Spanked in print and ebook

Saturday, January 30, 2010

Food blogger Cathy Erway on The Art of Eating In

My friend Cathy Erway, of the blog Not Eating Out in New York, read at Sex & Food Night at In The Flesh Reading Series, from her new book The Art of Eating In: How I Stopped Spending and Learned to Love the Stove. That's below, along with a little interview with her about the book. She's an inspiration to me especially as a non-cook.









See 193 more photos of Cathy and the other readers in this Sex & Food Night Flickr set; all photos by Anya Garrett.

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Friday, January 29, 2010

Before and after boob casting and my kickass FancySexyMe ring

If you missed it, you missed a WONDERFUL time! Thanks so much to Samantha and Ashley at Shag for doing this; I'll be there 2-4 pm February 6, 13, 27 and March 6 teaching erotica. More on what it was like another time but I can say my favorite part was being smeared all over with Vaseline; we even had a very nice audience volunteer Vaseline my hands (which were on my hips and are part of the casting).

Call the store or go there to register. Oh and the awesome couple that runs FancySexyMe, who made my ring (below) and also a necklace I wore in some of the Anya Garrett topless photos, which I can't post here (family/Amazon), won the casting and are going to have it painted and have me sign it, where it will hang along with my plaster-covered skirt on the wall at Shag! See Shag for all their upcoming events, including Cast-a-Partner February 7th. And thanks to NURTUREart for being an awesome organization and showing up to support us last night; happy to raise some money for them.






photo by Emily Cavalier

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Thursday, January 28, 2010

Bare nails, bare boobs

My boobs, public casting, tonight! Plus champagne, cupcakes + Peep Show party

Yay for breasts and Williamsburg and performance art! It's all happening tonight at Shag, who've told me online registration will be happening soon for my 4 erotic writing workshops. If this is news to you, sign up for my monthly newsletter at www.rachelkramerbussel.com.



Public BUST Casting of Rachel Kramer Bussel!

Doors Open at 7PM
BUST Casting 7:30PM sharp - 8:30PM
Book Signing 9-10PM (books will be available for sale)

Join us for a very special event!
We will be casting the bust of Rachel Kramer Bussel, a leading expert on all things sexy...senior editor of Penthouse Variations, host of In The Flesh Reading Series, author, and editor of numerous anthologies of erotic writings. Watch as Bussel's bust is transformed into a unique piece of artwork! The finished cast will be up for auction, with the proceeds going to NURTUREart. Following the casting, we will have a book signing party of Bussel's latest anthology, Peep Show: Erotic Tales
of Voyeurs And Exhibitionists
.
Free cupcakes by Baked by Melissa! Photo by Anya Garrett.
$5 at the door; first 60 people get FREE personal bottle of KARMA champagne (www.karmachampagne.com)

More info:
weloveshag@gmail.com
347-721-3302

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20,000+ views for Peep Show book trailer!

I know this means nothing in terms of sales or anything, really, but it made me happy to see that the Peep Show: Erotic Tales of Voyeurs and Exhibitionists book trailer, in which I, like I will be tonight, get topless (in the shower, though it's YouTube so we don't show anything but my back) and spy on people and generally show off and make out.



Some more info in case you missed it.



"Rachel Kramer Bussel has, once again, assembled a top-flight collection. This naughty gem will appeal to both the connoisseur and the curious reader who just wants a peek."
--Lily Burana, author of Strip City: A Stripper's Farewell Journey Across America

"Peep Show takes you through the looking glass and into an erotic world of wonder where looking and being looked at creates hot encounters of the highest order."
--Audacia Ray, author of Naked on the Internet

Introduction: Hungry Eyes and Sensual Show-Offs (see below)

Showtime by Susan St. Aubin
Clean and Pretty by Donna George Storey
Superior by Monica Shores
People in Glass Hotels by Jennifer Peters
Indecent by Lolita Lopez
Ownership by Craig J. Sorensen
Audience Participation by Elizabeth Coldwell
Now You See Her by Andrea Dale
Watcher in the Shadows by Cheyenne Blue
Glass by Nobilis Reed
Sleeping Beauty by Malcolm Ross
The Theory of Orchids by L. A. Mistral
Missing Michael by M. March
Busted by Kissa Starling
Satisfaction Guaranteed by Sommer Marsden
Rosse Buurt
by Geneva King
I’ve Only Got Eyes for You by Rachel Kramer Bussel
Calendar Girl by Angela Caperton

Introduction: Hungry Eyes and Sensual Show-Offs

When the stories started rolling in for Peep Show, I was surprised to see that so many were about sex work: strippers, burlesque babes, and other professional show-offs and their customers. I had intended the title to be a sexy suggestion of the complementary fetishes of exhibitionism and voyeurism, not necessarily the main setting for the bulk of the stories. As I kept reading, though, I realized that peep shows and other forms of commercialized sexual displays are a major way we as a culture sanction the act of watching.

There’s a sense of the forbidden in many of the stories you’ll read here, whether money changes hands or not. There is the thrill of baring your body in exactly the place you’re not supposed to, which Lolita Lopez zeroes in on with her nude campus performance art protagonist in “Indecent.” As Lopez writes, “Trini couldn’t stop herself. The risk heightened the allure.” In Malcolm Ross’s “Sleeping Beauty,” the main character catches his gorgeous wife in repose in the middle of the night, and is compelled to keep on watching. M. March gives us a poignant, moving story of being watched over from above.

As for those peep shows, there’s plenty of very sexy jiggling to be seen here. Donna George Storey beautifully and, as always, utterly erotically captures a different kind of peep show in “Clean and Pretty,” in which an American woman in Japan soaps up in the shower, getting paid handsomely, while exulting in the one viewer who can look for free. Geneva King takes us deep inside Amsterdam’s famous red-light district, or “Rosse Buurt,” A woman is drawn to a woman she sees there, a woman who “stands in her window on the second story, not banging on the glass like the other girls, just standing, surveying the crowd, like she picks the customer and not the other way around, like she’s deciding who is lucky enough to experience any bit of her.” This is the kind of woman who sells her body in this book; one who’s knowing, aware, yet can allow herself to get swept away by passion, even when she’s on the clock.

Modern technology also plays a role here in the webcam-themed “Audience Participation” and “I’ve Only Got Eyes for You,” where private citizens become amateur porn stars. When you think of voyeurs, you probably picture the iconic image of the Peeping Tom, and he’s to be found in these pages as well, once, even wearing a trench coat. But rather than being the town creep, here the various peeping Toms (and Thomasinas) are more than just stereotypes. They see and hear things they aren’t supposed to, and sometimes, as with Sommer Marsden’s Jared in “Satisfaction Guaranteed,” they even get caught.

Neighbors, coworkers, spouses, and hotel guests all experience the power of looking, and being looked at. Even the most intimate relationships can get closer when one person opens himself up to being studied, caressed not with the hands but with the eyes. These stories honor the art of the striptease, the daring of the nudist, the boldness of the person who’ll go out of her way to get more than an eyeful. I hope the sensual visions these stories create stay in your mind’s eye for a long time to come.

Rachel Kramer Bussel
New York

It's available at:



Amazon



B&N



Powells



Borders



IndieBound



Cleis Press



or your local bookstore.

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Wednesday, January 27, 2010

4 erotic writing workshops at SHAG in Williamsburg

So if you've seen my RSS calendar feed on the left, you'll know that it's my, shall we say, busy season. I'm wrapping up some anthologies, start to read for others, finishing my novel, working on a New York City sexy guidebook, writing The Art of the Erotic Love Letter and doing 11 events between tomorrow and March 6th, and going to my full-time job/gym/therapist. And I started a book blog, which I'll reveal once I've actually posted on it. You know, no big deal. Just kidding; if you see me anytime soon and I'm drooping with exhaustion, that's why. It's exciting but very much overwhelming, and after March I need to assess which projects I can keep doing and which I can't. In the meantime, I'm just doing what I can and hoping people show up and, more importantly, that I show up, that I put forth my best effort, because I often don't.

But what I'm most looking forward to on my upcoming trips are seeing my uncle and cousins in Eugene, reading with my writer pals Janet Hardy, Kerry Cohen and Diana Joseph, and meeting bakery owners and cupcake fans. And getting my face on cupcakes in Seattle (working on picking out the best photo for that!). And writing. I've missed it; I've been very stuck in my creativity and I'm looking to get that back. And if that makes someone not want to take my erotica class, so be it. I've had I believe over 100 erotic short stories published (I will have to do a thorough count someday) and have published many hundreds of them in my books so I think that should be enough. The thing is, I don't always have that creative spark every day. Or I do, but it gets buried under to do lists and event promotion and daily life and I ignore it. I set aside those flickers of ideas, I lug around books on writing only to ignore them, I don't follow through. And that's my real sticking point when it comes to finishing the writing that needs to get done, not the starting.

I'm excited about these workshops because I like hearing what others cook up, like incorporating our surroundings, like learning new things about people. Yes, I'm teaching, but I am, even more, there to encourage people to put forth the erotic ideas they already have inside them (and help brainstorm new ideas). I'm looking to find new writers and nurture new stories. Hence, my 4 weeks of erotica classes at SHAG...you know, the store where tomorrow night I'm baring my boobs and getting them cast. Twice.

Erotic writing workshop details. As stated below, you can take one or more classes; it's cheaper if you take all 4 and we'll be covering different topics each time. Yes, it skips a week because I'll be away. Maybe if there are folks taking all 4 classes I'll give homework!

February 6, 13 & 27, March 6
Erotic Writing Workshops at Shag


Acclaimed erotica writer Rachel Kramer Bussel, editor of over 30 anthologies, including IPPY Award-winning Tasting Him: Oral Sex Stories and Tasting Her: Oral Sex Stories, as well as The Mile High Club, Peep Show, Bottoms Up, Spanked, He's on Top, She's on Top, Dirty Girls and more, will teach 4 erotic writing workshops at Shag in Williamsburg. Each class will be different, focusing on the erotica market, in-class writing exercises, storytelling using varying viewpoints, props, locations, and how to publish erotica. Call Shag at 347-721-3302 or email weloveshag at gmail.com to register. Pre-registration is required. Maximum attendance is 20 people per class. Prices listed below. Free handouts with erotic writing resources will be given out.

* $20 single workshop
* $18 each for 2 workshops ($36 total)
* $16 each for 3 workshops ($48 total)
* $13 each for all 4 workshops ($52 total)

Shag, 108 Roebling Street, Brooklyn, NY (Williamsburg, L to Lorimer)

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Monday, January 25, 2010

Heart



I need more love and happiness in my life for sure.

More photos in my Sugar Flickr set. Like magic, yesterday I got asked to give a quote about the G-spot. I have all week to do my Pure Wand homework. Loved that they sold hula hoops too! Find out more at Sugar.

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Sunday, January 24, 2010

My breasts this Thursday

The details once again...postcards available at SHAG or write me with your mailing address for one for the next 3 days (rachelkb at gmail.com) - US only. Shag's site is www.weloveshag.com

Via Facebook

Public BUST Casting of Rachel Kramer Bussel!
Doors Open at 7PM
BUST Casting 7:30PM sharp - 8:30PM
Book Signing 9-10PM (books will be available for sale)

Join us for a very special event!
We will be casting the bust of Rachel Kramer Bussel, a leading expert on all things sexy...senior editor of Penthouse Variations, host of In The Flesh Reading Series, author, and editor of numerous anthologies of erotic writings. Watch as Bussel's bust is transformed into a unique piece of artwork! The finished cast will be up for auction, with the proceeds going to NURTUREart. Following the casting, we will have a book signing party of Bussel's latest anthology, Peep Show: Erotic Tales of Voyeurs And Exhibitionists.
Free cupcakes by Baked by Melissa! Photo by Anya Garrett.
$5 at the door; first 60 people get FREE personal bottle of karma champagne (www.karmachampagne.com).

More info:
weloveshag@gmail.com
347-721-3302

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Spank at UCB Theatre

Actually, what I'm going to tomorrow night is comedian Jon Friedman's solo show Bear With Me at UCB Theatre (Jon is the man behind The Rejection Show).

But when you go to the UCB Theatre site, you see:

SPANK

See two brand new sketch or solo shows birthed right before your eyes. These shows have never been performed on the UCBT stage before.

And just like children, some may be good and some may be bad, but somebody out there loves them just the same.

It's comedy just out of the womb. Come on, you know you need a spanking.


When I registered, I got a reply that said that I'd registered for Spank. I actually had to write to Jon to make sure that was correct, since I wanted to see Bear With Me.

Spanking! Woo-hoo. I can't tell you too much more about Bear With Me except there's a 99% chance it'll be funny. It's at 9:30 on Monday, January 25th. Right before that I'm calling in to an erotica event in Toronto called Oral, where I'll be reaidng about spanking, so it all fits together.

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Sexual inspiration and The Woodhull Freedom Foundation

Last night I attended a fundraiser outside Washington, DC for the Woodhull Freedom Foundation. From their website:

The Woodhull Freedom Foundation is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization that works to affirm sexual freedom as a fundamental human right by protecting and advancing freedom of speech and sexual expression.

WFF promotes sexuality as a positive personal, social and moral value through research, advocacy, activism, education and outreach.


I was really moved by the performances of Carol Queen and Nina Hartley. Carol performed from her show PEEP SHOW and talked about a man who came in and had a very specific, personal request. I kept thinking about her being in the peep show, being able to do that, being that comfortable with her body.

I think it was Nina who said that one way to get comfortable with your body is to take your clothes off, alone, and dance around to your favorite music. It's funny because there were a few things that were said, like sex tips (Nina was quite hilarious, showing off porn positions and how porn differs from real life), and sometimes they'd say, "But everyone here knows that."

What inspired me was that, actually, no, I don't really know how to be that comfortable with my body. It's not that I always hate it, and maybe I parcel out the love/hate, like I like my boobs and am happy to show them off (though not so much when strangers know mine are in the sex blogger calendar), but the rest of me? It's unnerving, and I've been working on eating better and exercising more, save for yesterday, when the stress of barely any sleep, leaving one of my bags in a cab, and generally running around had me stuffing Cheez-Its in my face in the car. The balance of working on liking my body, learning about it, like which exercises I like and when I have the most energy and taking care of my health (yay for being able to get my allergy/asthma prescriptions tomorrow), and being comfortable with exposing it, in private or public, is something I'm constantly working on.


me and Nina Hartley


How gorgeous is the new cover of Carol Queen's groundbreaking book Exhibitionism for the Shy? I kept picking it up and fondling it, even though that's actually a book I own and know where it is. I'm not seeing it come up on Amazon, and Carol told me the books arrived two days ago. Published by Down There Press. This is a classic book I plan to reread.

Book recommendations: In the bag I left in the cab (am calling 311 tonight to try to get it back), I had two books I was quite engrossed in and recommend: Butterfly Tattoo by Deidre Knight, a romance novel with a bisexual male protagonist (short version: widowed single dad, who'd had a kid with his male partner, falls for former actress who has scar on her face from being attached by a stalker) and Viral Loop: From Facebook to Twitter, How Today's Smartest Businesses Grow Themselves by Adam L. Penenberg, about how companies can tap into users making their product (or website) go viral. I'll have more on Butterfly Tattoo along with an interview with Deidre soon; I'm so into the book I ordered a new copy, though I'm hoping I recover my left-behind stuff.

When I realized I'd lost the stuff, the first thing that came up when I googled was a New York Times article about how many people don't get their stuff back and how the process doesn't work. I forget what search terms I used but now in the light of day with some sleep, I'm finding answers, which I will share.

NYC Taxi and Limousine Commission

Taxi drivers and owners must return property they find in a taxicab. If they cannot return the property directly to you, they need to bring it to a designated police precinct.

If you lose or find something in a black car, luxury limousine, livery (community car service), paratransit vehicle (ambulette) or commuter van, you need to contact the car service company you contacted for service...

The TLC will make every effort to assist you with your report. The TLC does not employ drivers or dispatch taxicabs. The more information you give us, the better we are able to help you track down your property. Please give us the following information if you have it:

• Date and Time of Cab Ride
• Pick up Location
• Drop off Location/Destination
• Taxi Driver’s Name
• Taxi Driver’s License Number
• Taxicab Medallion/License Plate Number
• Full Description of Item(s)
• Estimated value of the property
• How you paid for your cab ride; by cash or credit card

*Tips to Help You Find Your Lost Property:

* Try calling your cell phone as soon as you discover it is missing.
* Drivers frequently attempt to return property directly to its owner. So, if you were picked-up or dropped-off at a major transportation hub, including airports and rail stations, try calling the lost and found department at that location.
* If you were picked-up or dropped-off at a hotel, contact the concierge or security office to see if your property has turned up there.
* Keep in mind that another passenger may find your property and contact you directly.
* Every time you take a cab ride, take your receipt.

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Saturday, January 23, 2010

Call for Submissions: Passionate: Romantic Erotica

I have a lot less wiggle room on this one so early submissions truly are welcome and will be read ASAP. My big goal as an editor this year, in addition to publishing more new (to me) authors, is to not grant deadline extensions, either to myself or to authors, because I'll have done a better job of having a wealth of submissions to choose from. I'm not really sure how to go about that yet, but I'm working on it. I have this, Best Bondage Erotica 2011 and Best Sex Writing 2011 and then I'm not sure what, but I'll deal with that when I have some breathing room. (Anyone waiting to hear from me about Orgasmic or Naked will hear by the end of this month. I am very excited about both books and am certainly looking forward to seeing what Cleis has cooked up for cover art!)

For now...a new call:

Call for Submissions
Deadline: March 15, 2010 (earlier submissions especially welcome)

Passionate: Romantic Erotica
To be published by Cleis Press

Editor Rachel Kramer Bussel is looking for romantic, primarily heterosexual erotic stories for for women's erotica anthology Passionate: Romantic Erotica. Stories can feature couples exploring new erotic territory, strangers who share a spark, lost lovers, etc. "Passionate" can be interpreted widely. Kink, sex toys, exotic locations/scenarios welcome as long as there is an element of erotic romance as opposed to strictly erotica. Stories should be strongly plotted, have engaging, unique characters and be hot and original. I highly prefer contemporary settings but will consider a limited amount of historical fiction. All characters must be over 18; no incest or bestiality. No poetry. For an example of the kinds of stories I’m looking for, see my anthologies Bedding Down: A Collection of Winter Erotica and Dirty Girls: Erotica for Women or the work of Megan Hart, Lauren Dane, Kayla Perrin, Marilyn Jaye Lewis, etc. Female authors only (those who self-identify as female are welcome to submit to this anthology.)

How to submit: Send double spaced Times or Times New Roman 12 point black font Word document with pages numbered (.doc, not .docx) OR RTF of 1,500-5,000 word story. Indent the first line of each paragraph half an inch and double space (regular double spacing, do not add extra lines between paragraphs or do any other irregular spacing). US grammar (double quotation marks around dialogue, etc.) required. Include your legal name (and pseudonym if applicable), mailing address, and 50 word or less bio in the third person to passionateantho@gmail.com. If you are using a pseudonym, please provide your real name and pseudonym and make it clear which one you'd like to be credited as. I will get back to you by September 2010 with a final answer (preliminary answers by June 2010). Authors may submit up to 3 stories. Original stories only; no reprints.

Payment: $50 and 2 copies of the book on publication

I've been seeing numerous recent submissions that do not conform to my guidelines. They are there for a reason. Please read and follow them or risk your submission being rejected or returned for reformatting. If you have any questions, please contact me at passionateantho@gmail.com

About the editor: Rachel Kramer Bussel is the editor of over 25 anthologies, including Peep Show, Bottoms Up, Spanked, The Mile High Club, Do Not Disturb, He’s on Top, She’s on Top, Tasting Him, Tasting Her, Crossdressing, Dirty Girls, and is Best Sex Writing Series Editor. She is Senior Editor at Penthouse Variations, wrote the Lusty Lady column for The Village Voice, and has hosted and curated In The Flesh Reading Series, named Best Reading Series by New York Press, in since October 2005. Her writing has been published in over 100 anthologies, including Susie Bright’s X: The Erotic Treasury, Best American Erotica 2004 and 2006, and Zane’s Purple Panties and the New York Times bestseller Succulent: Chocolate Flava II. She has written for Cosmopolitan, The Daily Beast, Fresh Yarn, Mediabistro, Newsday, New York Post, Penthouse, Time Out New York, Zink and other publications.

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Wednesday, January 20, 2010

50 free Crif Dog hot dogs, 100 free cupcakes + free Babeland BabeLicious lube!

Now you have no excuses not to come to Sex and Food Night on January 21st!

Yes, it's true, I will be bringing 50 FREE hot dogs to the first 50 people starting at 7:30 - get 'em while they're hot!


Drawing by Jessie Oleson of Cakespy via Flickr


50 free Crif Dogs hot dogs


100 free cupcakes by Baked by Melissa




Free Babeland BabeLicious lube!

IN THE FLESH EROTIC READING SERIES
SEX AND FOOD NIGHT
January 21 at 8:00 PM (doors at 7, we recommend arriving by 7:30 to get a seat)
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


Food is sexy, and sex is delicious, so In The Flesh Reading Series is kicking of 2010 with some saucy, sexy, steamy readings for the first Sex and Food Night. Featuring Cathy Erway (Author, The Art of Eating In, blogger, Not Eating Out in New York), Emily Farris (Author, Casserole Crazy: Hot Stuff for Your Oven), hot dog lover Jenine Sanford Holmes (New York Press), comedian Rachael Parenta (contributor, What Was I Thinking?! 58 Bad Boyfriend Stories), Yolanda Shoshana (The Luscious Life with Shoshi) and Heather Whaley (Author, Eat Your Feelings: Recipes for Self-Loathing). Hosted by Rachel Kramer Bussel (Peep Show, Bottoms Up, Sex and Candy), who will be reading her oral sex restaurant erotica story "Secret Service" from Best Women's Erotica 2010, edited by Violet Blue. Free Babeland BabeLicious lube in dulce de leche, mojito peppermint, pomegranate vanilla, and chocolate orange. 50 free Crif Dog hot dogs will be given to the first 50 people (hot dog giveaway starts at 7:30). Free cupcakes by Baked by Melissa as well as finger food snacks will be served.

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 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, 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, Escape (Hong Kong), Flavorpill, The L Magazine, New York Magazine (Critics' Pick), New York Observer, Philadelphia City Paper, Time Out New York, Flavorwire, Gothamist, NBC New York, Jezebel.com, Nerve.com and Wonkette, and has been praised by Dr. Ruth.

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 numerous anthologies, two of which (Up All Night and Glamour Girls) have been Lambda Literary Award finalists, most recently The Mile High Club: Plane Sex Stories, Do Not Disturb: Hotel Sex Stories, Best Sex Writing 2009, Tasting Him, Tasting Her, and Spanked. 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. She has hosted In The Flesh since October 2005.
www.rachelkramerbussel.com


photo by Hilary McHone

Cathy Erway is a freelance food writer, blogger, and host of the cooking and dating podcast radio show, Cheap Date. Her blog, Not Eating Out in New York, is based on her two-year mission to forgo restaurant food, one that forged, among other things, alternatives to the nice restaurant date. She writes about sustainable food and farming for Saveur.com and The Huffington Post, and her first book, The Art of Eating In: How I Learned to Stop Spending and Love the Stove will be published next month by Gotham/Penguin.
www.noteatingoutinny.com



When Emily Farris was an impressionable youth her mom told her that people who talk the most about sex are the ones having the least of it. In Emily's case this has, unfortunately, turned out to be true. Fortunately, it helped her land a job at Nerve.com, where she edited the site's pop culture blog, Scanner, for two years. Emily is now the lifestyle editor at the KC Free Press in Kansas City and when she's not glued to the computer she takes her sexual frustration out in the kitchen. Her first cookbook, Casserole Crazy: Hot Stuff for Your Oven was published in 2008. (eefers.com/casserolecrazy.com).



Jenine Sanford Holmes is a New York-based writer who divides her time between advertising and creative non-fiction. She worked for six years as a senior writer at SpikeDDB, a creative boutique agency headed by Spike Lee. Her essays have appeared in The Detroit News, The Westsider, and New York Press, among other papers. Now that she has completed her memoir she can focus on whipping her Italian language skills back in shape.



Rachael Parenta lives in Brooklyn. She performs stand-up comedy all over NYC and throughout the US. She has written several plays (both full and short) that have been produced on both coasts. She has contributed writings to Gawker.com and the 2009 book What Was I Thinking?! Currently she’s working on comedy variety show “Please, Someone Kill Me!”—Emotionally inappropriate comedy.



Yolanda Shoshana ("Shoshi") is a personality, sensualist, courtesan coach, speaker, and blogger known as the Luscious Lifestyle Diva." She followed her entrepreneur spirit by starting a lifestyle company for women which swirls sensuality, sexuality, and spirituality. Her company includes the School of the Courtisane Moderne, a modern day courtesan school which teaches women the art of seduction from the boardroom to the bedroom. She also creates seductive body products with notes from aphrodisiacs to help women bring out their inner courtesan. Shoshi has also produced and hosted her own live talk show for women in Manhattan on Channel 56 for the past 4 1/2 years titled The Luscious Life with Shoshi. Recently, she started The Luscious Life, a bi-weekly radio show with delicious guests, experts, and gurus. www.lusciouslifestylediva.com



Heather Whaley is an actress and writer. The author of Eat Your Feelings: Recipes for Self-Loathing (Hudson Street Press, 2009), she has appeared in the films The Jimmy Show and New York City Serenade. Her plays Who's The Boss, Now? and I Will Not Marry Anthony Porter! have been performed off-Broadway and in regional theaters across the country and both contain punctuation in the titles. She has written extensively for television. Her play, Social Note, was the first play to appear in the storied Oak Room of the Algonuin Hotel. She lives in New York City with her husband and two children.



You will hear from the following books:


Best Women's Erotica 2010
(Rachel Kramer Bussel's oral sex restaurant story "Secret Service")


The Art of Eating In



What Was I Thinking?!: 58 Bad Boyfriend Stories
(Rachael Parenta's essay)


Eat Your Feelings: Recipes for Self-Loathing

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If that's not an endorsement, I don't know what is

Follow me @raquelita for mood swings, cupcakes and general debauchery (well, only a tiny amount of debauchery, don't want to disappoint).



Also good to follow: @cupcakeblog and @InTheFleshNYC

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Vanity shot at Shag

And a reminder to me to get more of the Anya Garrett photos posted! She'll be on hand tomorrow night at In The Flesh Reading Series to snap all the sexy food magic.

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Great Bottoms Up: Spanking Good Stories review!



My fourth book of spanking erotica, Bottoms Up: Spanking Good Stories, released last fall, just got a rave review from Rainbow Reviews:

As sweet as it is kinky, "Bottoms Up" will propel you to pick up a paddle and share in both pleasure and pain, or perhaps simply turn the other cheek. In "The Hardest Part," Alison Tyler perfectly captures a sub in thrall to a man who knows the power of anticipation. A "Sorority Sister" bends over to please her big sister during the rush season in Dominique Dunbar's naughty tale. Zille Defeu's "Reenactment" shows how some girls like it rough (and repeatedly). For those who have an endless capacity to bare their ass in preparation for a sound smacking ~ or deliver the deliciously ecstatic pain to a lover ~ this torrid tour de force is essential reading.

and

Several stories in this anthology stood out for me. Alison Tyler’s “The Hardest Part” is an exceptional telling from a sub’s point of view of the anticipation of waiting for a spanking that is deserved and the strength it takes to give control to another completely. Tyler taps into the emotions beautifully and the result is a captivating story. Sommer Marsden’s “Bossy” is fun and naughty while a women who is normally the one on the receiving end takes a turn as the spanker. It’s quite a ride as she taps into her dominant side and makes for an enticing story. “Reenactment” by Zille Defeu is one of my favorite tales with two women who like it rough and take things to a new level when acting out a medieval fantasy. It’s rough and a wild ride and yet it’s clear there is a strong bond between the women. Andrea Dale’s “Stuffing the Ballot Box” explores the dichotomy of a woman in complete control in her career who willingly gives that control over to her husband in the bedroom. This lends a balance to the woman’s life and their scene together is highly erotic. Finally, “Helping Those in Need” by Gwen Masters features a “nice” woman who has some naughty desires, and a youth leader who is willing to help her satisfy those needs. This was an intensely erotic story, with two characters who throw caution to the wind and is a story that is not easily forgotten.

The review is extremely detailed and thorough, and touches on the GLBT aspect of the book. Read it all at Rainbow Reviews.

Below is a video of Rosalind Christine Lloyd, aka Dominique Dunbar, reading her lesbian spanking story Bottoms Up story "Sorority Sister" at In The Flesh Reading Series.



You can purchase Bottoms Up from your local bookstore, publisher Cleis Press or:

Amazon

Bn.com (Barnes & Noble)

Powells.com

IndieBound

I'm pasting the table of contents and introduction below, in case you missed them.

Introduction: Getting Spanked Again (and Again)

A Thousand Words by Donna George Storey
The Hardest Part by Alison Tyler
A Firm Understanding by Elizabeth Coldwell
Prime Time by Teresa Noelle Roberts
Ass Worship by Jerry Arthur
The Purple Balloon by Tess Danesi
Sorority Sister by Dominique Dunbar
Days by Simon Sheppard
Bossy by Sommer Marsden
Oscar and Holly by Bill Kte’pi
Lonnie’s Licks by Tenille Brown
The Swinging Spankers Club by Stan Kent
Reenactment by Zille Defeu
Confessor by Craig J. Sorensen
The Spanking Machine by Rachel Kramer Bussel
Stuffing the Ballot Box by Andrea Dale
Tease for Two by Maddy Stuart
I’m Going to Grab Your Hair by N. T. Morley
Flaming by Jean Roberta
Helping Those in Need by Gwen Masters

Introduction: Getting Spanked Again (and Again)

This being my fourth book on the subject, by now it should be clear that I love spanking: giving, receiving, fantasizing about, and watching it.

So what’s different about this collection? For one thing, there are more male authors represented, a trend I fully support. For another, the tales are more imaginative; yes, there are first-timers and dedicated spankophiles, but there are also swingers and Renaissance Fair attendees living out long-held fantasies in highly unusual ways (see Tess Danesi’s “The Purple Balloon” for details). There are spankings here that aren’t all good or all bad, just as ones in real life don’t always conform so easily. Is the narrator of Dominique Dunbar’s “Sorority Sister” grateful for the spanking she got from Claire Spencer back in the day? Was that a pleasurable experience or one that teetered on confusion? Dunbar mixes things up so we’re not totally sure.

Alison Tyler also alludes to the push/pull of spanking, even for the most die-hard fan. “But now that I’m here, I’d rather be anywhere else. Name the place, and I’d rather be there: in line at the DMV; waiting in the doctor’s office; sitting at the back of coach on a packed flight. I’m scared, more scared than usual, because he’s taking his time…” She perfectly captures the way many submissives want what they know will hurt, want it and don’t want it at the very same time—something that good tops play into.

The same thing happens in Teresa Noelle Roberts’ kinky math nerd tale, “Prime Time,” in which the narrator finds herself tongue-tied as she’s given a challenging assignment. “My stomach flip-flopped. The bedroom spun. My heart raced in panic that I couldn’t convince myself was pointless. I fought back the urge to cry, fought it so hard that I started trembling.” You might think, upon reading that sentence, that she doesn’t really want to be spanked, that she doesn’t fantasize and obsess over her need, but you’d be wrong.

I’m also very glad this book has a fairly even mix of spankers and spankees, though of course some people can manage to be both at different times. The rush of delivering a spanking to one who wants and needs it is explored here in many scenarios, from Simon Sheppard’s wistful “Days” to the age-variant relationship in Bill Kte’pi’s intriguing “Oscar and Holly.” And in Maddy Stuart’s “Tease for Two,” two women get off on sharing the power of delivery, and learning from each other, as well as mutual delight in a job well done: “George’s technique was that of someone who had spanked a thousand exposed asses, but the overflowing smile and the sparkle in her eyes belonged to someone who was discovering it for the first time.”

Whatever kind of spankings you’re into–even if, like the characters in Donna George Storey’s “A Thousand Words” and Jerry Arthur’s “Ass Worship,” you’re not sure what you’re intoæI hope you’ll find it within these pages.

And spank you very much for reading.

Rachel Kramer Bussel
New York City

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Friday, January 15, 2010

Haiti charity relief cupcakes

At, you guessed it, Cupcakes Take the Cake.

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Get ready for Girl Crush

So this anthology won't be out until May, but I wanted to share the good news...not only is my story "Great Lengths" going to be included (I've had a few loser stories lately), but it opens the upcoming Cleis Press anthology Girl Crush: Women's Erotic Fantasies. My story features long red hair, chocolate martinis, making out and more and...is inspired by someone I really had a hardcore girl crush on for quite a while. The Pourhouse in Williamsburg (also a prominent player in my true-ish story "Two Guys, A Girl and a Porno Movie") was where we often hung out. Now back to the pesky, troubling, hate it self-editing.

I can't wait! We will likely have someone, if not several someones, reading from the book on June 17 at GLBT Erotica Night at In The Flesh.



Introduction Diana Cage
Great Lengths Rachel Kramer Bussel
Mirador Teresa Lamai
Craving Madeline Shanna Germain
Call Me Cleopatra Gabrielle Foster
Skinny Dipping Angela Caperton
The Things I Can Do For Her David Erlewine
I Told A Stranger All About You Yesterday Vanessa Vaughn
Cut & Dry Heidi Champa
Cecily Kris Adams
The Leopard Print Menace Melissa Gira
The Bachelorette Julia Peters
Girl in a Gorilla Suit Lori Selke
The Out-of-Towner Delilah Devlin
Rebel Girl Kirsty Logan
The Best Kind of Revenge Geneva King
One Eighty Carrie Cannon
Running Away and Running Home Again Annabeth Leong
An Introduction G.G. Royale
Seduction by Proxy Evan Mora
Discovering Donnie Cheyenne Blue
Good Neighbors Jennifer Geneva
Girl Crazy Gina de Vries
Psychology 101 R. Gay

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Minneapolis Best Sex Writing 2010 book party, March 2nd

The first, and so far, only, book party for Best Sex Writing 2010. IF I can swing it I will do something similar in SF and NYC, but if not, at this point I so beyond don't care. I have other books to get ready for, but for now, we have a nice little 4-city tour (Eugene, Portland, Seattle and Minneapolis) cooked up. This one will be the most fun and I get to hang with my cupcake friends...if I make my flight. Obviously my big goal this year is to make ALL my flights.



March 2, 5:30-7:30 pm
Best Sex Writing 2010 book party

Join Best Sex Writing 2010 editor Rachel Kramer Bussel and local contributor Diana Joseph, author of I’m Sorry You Feel That Way, for a reading and book party. The book collects the best sex journalism and essays of the year on topics ranging from teen sexting to penis size to the world's thinnest condoms to voyeurism, swinging, Tijuana bibles, sex work, crazy sex laws and Twilight as "abstinence porn," all centered on the them of sexual outlaws. Co-sponsored by Smitten Kitten; books will be available for sale and sex toys will be raffled off. Music by erotic bluegrass band Courtney McClean and The Dirty Curls; free cupcakes by Cake Eater Bakery.
Bedlam Theatre, 1501 S. 6th St., Minneapolis
http://www.bedlamtheatre.org/

In case you missed it...

Jezebel reviewed Best Sex Writing 2010 and said, in part:

BDSM and Playing With Race," by Mollena Williams is as titillating in its violation of taboos as it is informative in its portrayal of the BDSM community...Another standout is Betty Dodson's "Sexual Outlaw," about her post-menopausal discovery of a lesbian S/M support group: it's both a powerful refutation of the notion that women over 50 aren't sexy, and a sexy exploration of the idea that fucking is all about power.

Introduction: My Favorite Sexual Outlaws by Rachel Kramer Bussel (read it here)

The Girl Who Only Sometimes Said No Diana Joseph
Secrets of the Phallus: Why is the Penis Shaped Like That? Jesse Bering
The Vagina Dialogues Johanna Gohmann
Sex Laws That Can Really Screw You Ellen Friedrichs
What Really Turns Men On John DeVore
It’s a Shame About Ray by Kirk Read
Race Play Mollena Williams
Remembering Pubic Hair Paul Krassner
Sexual Outlaw Betty Dodson
Go Thin or Bust: How Berkeley’s Mayer Laboratories won the battle of the thin condoms Rachel Swan
‘Sex Surrogates’ put personal touch on therapy Brian Alexander
What’s The Matter With Teen Sexting? Judith Levine
The Anatomy of An Affair Michelle Perrot
The Portal Janet Hardy
Bite Me! (Or Don’t) Christine Seifert
Hot. Digital. Sexual. Underground. David Black
Loving Lesbians by William Georgiades
Lust and Lechery in Eight Pages: The Story of the Tijuana Bibles Chris Hall
The Trouble With Safe Sex Seth Michael Donsky
Piece of Ass Monica Shores
The Future of Sex Ed Violet Blue
A Cunning Linguist John Thursday
SWL(actating) F Seeks Sex With No Strings Attached Rachel Sarah
Toward a Performance Model of Sex Thomas Macaulay Millar
The Client Voyeur debauchette

You can order Best Sex Writing 2010 from:

Indiebound

Amazon.com

Bn.com

Powells

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Thursday, January 14, 2010

Win a copy of Cake Wrecks

Over at Cupcakes Take the Cake we're taking contest entries to win one of two copies of Cake Wrecks through January 31st...it's a fun, hilarious book.

If you missed it, I interviewed Cake Wrecks author Jen Yates for The Daily Beast last year:

Cake Wrecks. These two little words turned into an Internet phenomenon for 31-year-old Orlando, Florida, resident Jen Yates, who’s built a following posting pregnancy cakes, poo cakes, and all-around ugly, crazy or simply bizarre cakes on CakeWrecks.com. With categories such as Creepy Cakes, Mithspellings and Oh Poop, the blog serves up cakes for holidays and major life moments you didn’t even know anyone would want to celebrate with cake—like divorce.

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Monday, January 11, 2010

Why Splurge! should be your must-see comedy show

On Friday, I went to Carolyn Castiglia's new comedy show Splurge! at Happy Ending Lounge. And I heard a song by Shayna Ferm that I'd never heard before and am now totally in love with. For all the moms and dads and others who are into babies...

The entire show was hilarious; I laughed so hard I peed, and can't wait til the next one. I was also impressed at how many comedians were in the audience, like Roger Hailes and Seth Herzog. I used to be a very avid fan of the NYC comedy scene and want to get back into it because it feels so freaking good to laugh so hard your face hurts.

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Fan me on Facebook!

Just a reminder that you can become a fan of me and a fan of In The Flesh (free hot dogs, free cupcakes, free lube at Sex & Food Night January 21st!) on Facebook:

Rachel Kramer Bussel fan page

In The Flesh Reading Series fan page

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Sunday, January 10, 2010

Get Shorty with us...

Please please please please - this takes a minute! If you like our work over at Cupcakes Take the Cake please nominate us!

Another plea to vote for us for The Shorty Awards for food...we've got 41 votes and Tyler Florence is currently in the lead with 335 votes, so please please take a minute to Tweet: "I nominate @cupcakeblog for a Shorty Award in #food because..." and fill in the blank!



Thanks from all of us! And, of course, if you don't already, follow @cupcakeblog for our posts, updates, bakery Retweets, Twitpics and more!

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Kandinsky at the Guggenheim

I went with my cousins to the Kandinsky exhibit at the Guggenheim. Fascinating, though I breezed through the end after a long day. My favorite was "Light Picture." Last time I was there was for the Catherine Opie exhibit. There was one quote I really liked, will look it up - my day of twin baby visiting was thwarted by the MTA (who knew the 2/3 don't run on Sundays on Wall Street?) so I'm off to the gym to work off my frustration and try to retain some of the creative energy inspired by the museum. Living in my newly decluttered home is great...save for the fact that I have no idea where my clothes are!

Here's an image of the outside of the museum from the blog NYC ♥ NYC.

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Friday, January 08, 2010

My breasts in postcard form

Well, me holding my breasts - close enough.



So much to say about my newly decluttered apartment, all the self-improvement I've been attempting, and more, but deadlines and life (and, tonight, Splurge) await. But I will be back in blogging/writing form soon.

For now, I've got these postcards featuring one of my photos by Anya Garrett promoting me baring my breasts January 28th at SHAG, 7:30 pm, 108 Roebling Street at N. 6th, Williamsburg, Brooklyn ($5; free Karma Champagne to first 60 people). We'll be auctioning off the bust for charity, then having a book party and signing for Peep Show: Erotic Tales of Voyeurs and Exhibitionists. It's going to be an event you don't want to miss!

If you want a postcard, they'll be at SHAG by Sunday, or email me at rachelkb at gmail.com with "Shag postcard" in the subject line (US only). See more of Anya's photos photos of me (all shot at SHAG!) in this Flickr set - hopefully this weekend I can get some of the racier ones up.

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Wednesday, January 06, 2010

Snail mail list

I’m creating a proper Excel spreadsheet for my snail mail list since I have so many postcards, for Best Sex Writing 2010, my boob casting at SHAG, and down the road Please, Sir and other hot covers. If you’d like to be on my list, send your address to rachelkb at gmail.com with “snail mail list” in the subject line. US only, and please note that the postcards are sent as is, so if you don’t want your mail carrier or whoever to see it, don’t sign up. Thanks!

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50 free hot dogs, 100 free cupcakes + free Babeland BabeLicious lube!

Now you have no excuses not to come to Sex and Food Night at In The Flesh Reading Series on January 21st! Want a postcard? Send your U.S. mailing address to rachelkb at gmail.com with "In The Flesh postcard" in the subject line.

Yes, it's true, I will be bringing 50 FREE hot dogs to the first 50 people to arrive - doors are at 7 so get 'em while they're hot!


Drawing by Jessie Oleson of Cakespy via Flickr


100 free cupcakes by Baked by Melissa




Free Babeland BabeLicious lube!

IN THE FLESH EROTIC READING SERIES
SEX AND FOOD NIGHT
January 21 at 8:00 PM (doors at 7, we recommend arriving by 7:30 to get a seat)
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


Food is sexy, and sex is delicious, so In The Flesh Reading Series is kicking of 2010 with some saucy, sexy, steamy readings for the first Sex and Food Night. Featuring Cathy Erway (Author, The Art of Eating In, blogger, Not Eating Out in New York), Emily Farris (Author, Casserole Crazy: Hot Stuff for Your Oven), hot dog lover Jenine Sanford Holmes (New York Press), comedian Rachael Parenta (contributor, What Was I Thinking?! 58 Bad Boyfriend Stories), Yolanda Shoshana (The Luscious Life with Shoshi) and Heather Whaley (Author, Eat Your Feelings: Recipes for Self-Loathing). Hosted by Rachel Kramer Bussel (Peep Show, Bottoms Up, Sex and Candy). Free Babeland BabeLicious lube in dulce de leche, mojito peppermint, pomegranate vanilla, and chocolate orange. 50 free hot dogs will be given to the first 50 people. Free cupcakes by Baked by Melissa as well as finger food snacks will be served.

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 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, 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, Escape (Hong Kong), Flavorpill, The L Magazine, New York Magazine (Critics' Pick), New York Observer, Philadelphia City Paper, Time Out New York, Flavorwire, Gothamist, NBC New York, Jezebel.com, Nerve.com and Wonkette, and has been praised by Dr. Ruth.

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 numerous anthologies, two of which (Up All Night and Glamour Girls) have been Lambda Literary Award finalists, most recently The Mile High Club: Plane Sex Stories, Do Not Disturb: Hotel Sex Stories, Best Sex Writing 2009, Tasting Him, Tasting Her, and Spanked. 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. She has hosted In The Flesh since October 2005.
www.rachelkramerbussel.com


photo by Hilary McHone

Cathy Erway is a freelance food writer, blogger, and host of the cooking and dating podcast radio show, Cheap Date. Her blog, Not Eating Out in New York, is based on her two-year mission to forgo restaurant food, one that forged, among other things, alternatives to the nice restaurant date. She writes about sustainable food and farming for Saveur.com and The Huffington Post, and her first book, The Art of Eating In: How I Learned to Stop Spending and Love the Stove will be published next month by Gotham/Penguin.
www.noteatingoutinny.com



When Emily Farris was an impressionable youth her mom told her that people who talk the most about sex are the ones having the least of it. In Emily's case this has, unfortunately, turned out to be true. Fortunately, it helped her land a job at Nerve.com, where she edited the site's pop culture blog, Scanner, for two years. Emily is now the lifestyle editor at the KC Free Press in Kansas City and when she's not glued to the computer she takes her sexual frustration out in the kitchen. Her first cookbook, Casserole Crazy: Hot Stuff for Your Oven was published in 2008. (eefers.com/casserolecrazy.com).



Jenine Sanford Holmes is a New York-based writer who divides her time between advertising and creative non-fiction. She worked for six years as a senior writer at SpikeDDB, a creative boutique agency headed by Spike Lee. Her essays have appeared in The Detroit News, The Westsider, and New York Press, among other papers. Now that she has completed her memoir she can focus on whipping her Italian language skills back in shape.



Rachael Parenta lives in Brooklyn. She performs stand-up comedy all over NYC and throughout the US. She has written several plays (both full and short) that have been produced on both coasts. She has contributed writings to Gawker.com and the 2009 book What Was I Thinking?! Currently she’s working on comedy variety show “Please, Someone Kill Me!”—Emotionally inappropriate comedy.



Yolanda Shoshana ("Shoshi") is a personality, sensualist, courtesan coach, speaker, and blogger known as the Luscious Lifestyle Diva." She followed her entrepreneur spirit by starting a lifestyle company for women which swirls sensuality, sexuality, and spirituality. Her company includes the School of the Courtisane Moderne, a modern day courtesan school which teaches women the art of seduction from the boardroom to the bedroom. She also creates seductive body products with notes from aphrodisiacs to help women bring out their inner courtesan. Shoshi has also produced and hosted her own live talk show for women in Manhattan on Channel 56 for the past 4 1/2 years titled The Luscious Life with Shoshi. Recently, she started The Luscious Life, a bi-weekly radio show with delicious guests, experts, and gurus. www.lusciouslifestylediva.com



Heather Whaley is an actress and writer. The author of Eat Your Feelings: Recipes for Self-Loathing (Hudson Street Press, 2009), she has appeared in the films The Jimmy Show and New York City Serenade. Her plays Who's The Boss, Now? and I Will Not Marry Anthony Porter! have been performed off-Broadway and in regional theaters across the country and both contain punctuation in the titles. She has written extensively for television. Her play, Social Note, was the first play to appear in the storied Oak Room of the Algonuin Hotel. She lives in New York City with her husband and two children.



You will hear from the following books:


Best Women's Erotica 2010
(Rachel Kramer Bussel's oral sex restaurant story "Secret Service")


The Art of Eating In



What Was I Thinking?!: 58 Bad Boyfriend Stories
(Rachael Parenta's essay)


Eat Your Feelings: Recipes for Self-Loathing

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