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

Wednesday, July 28, 2010

I'm on Goodreads

I am indeed on Goodreads (not totally accurate but I like adding the books that find their way into my bags/home) but had no clue you could embed your blog or that there's an iPhone app. Oh, and they're hiring.

Rachel Kramer's book montage



The Frisky 30-Day Breakup Guide: One Month of Manicures, Massages, and Mojitos to Help You Forget About Him

Orgasmic: Erotica for Women

Insatiable

29: A Novel

If You Knew Suzy: A Mother, a Daughter, a Reporter's Notebook

God is in the Pancakes

How to Get Divorced by 30

Sex Is Fun!: Creative Ideas for Exciting Sex

Please, Sir: Erotic Stories of Female Submission

Oh. My. Gods.

Click: Young Women on the Moments That Made Them Feminists

Some Girls: My Life in a Harem

Backdraft: Fireman Erotica

Neon Angel

Insatiable: A Young Mother's Struggle with Anorexia

Best of Best Women's Erotica 2

Hide and Seek: Erotic Stories

Second Skin: Erotic Stories about Leather and Latex

Caught Looking: Erotic Tales of Voyeurs and Exhibitionists

Sex and Candy: Sugar Erotica



Rachel Kramer Bussel's favorite books »


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I'm turning 35! Mark your calendars for a cupcake-filled Passion reading/celebration November 11

Don't say I didn't warn you! I not only will have free cupcakes and my hot-off-the-press anthology Passion: Erotic Romance for Women, I'm reading with special out of town guests, two of my favorite erotica writers (and both In The Flesh alums), Donna George Storey, in from Berkeley, California, and Emerald, in from Washington, DC, on November 11th at independent bookstore Word, where I had a great reading last year, at 126 Franklin Avenue, Greenpoint, Brooklyn. Don't miss it!

You can pre-order Passion now - coming soon, buttons and postcards! And galleys if you're press looking to cover it.

Writers: you can submit now to my 2011 anthology Obsessed: Erotic Romance for Women. I'm especially looking for authors of erotic romance and romance novels, so I'm prowling bookstores and websites for authors to invite to submit.



Table of Contents

Introduction: Getting Passionate

Big Bed Sex by Donna George Storey
My Dark Knight Jacqueline Applebee
Dear in the Headlights Angela Caperton
The Cherry Orchard Wickham Boyle
Autumn Suite Suzanne V. Slate
Contentions Isabelle Gray
The Silver Belt Lana Fox
Five Senses Rachel Kramer Bussel
The Arc of Triumph Monica Day
Crave You Close A.M. Hartnett
Any Easy Guy to Fall On Annabeth Leong
Lingua Franca Justine Elyot
Third Time’s the Charm Charlene Teglia
Riding Wild Things Lizzy Chambers
No Risk, No Reward Saskia Walker
If Emerald
Getting It Right Teresa Noelle Roberts
The Morning Ride Delilah Devlin
The Efficiency Expert Portia Da Costa
Rekindle Kathleen Bradean

Introduction: Getting Passionate

Passion. It can mean greed, desire, affection, love or simply, emotion. You will find all of those and more in the stories contained herein. As you read these twenty stories, you too will be swept away by passion as you travel to Paris and Greece (and Beverly Hills). You’ll get stuck in an elevator, take a bubble bath and a bus ride (not to mention some subway foreplay and flirting) and explore nature in some very intimate ways. You’ll find couples, and couplings by men and women looking (whether they know it or not) to spice things up in the bedroom.

Here, couples at all stages of their relationships (including the very beginning) kindle their passion in various ways, from exes who reunite to young marrieds on a naughty nature walk to those who mix business with pleasure. When Krista in “Crave You Close” by A. M. Hartnett tells Nicky, “I’m so used to having to hold my breath,” she is saying so much about their usual erotic m.o. At night, outdoors, she is free to make as much noise as she wants to.

These couples explore getting kinky, precisely because they feel intimately connected to each other. They go places, literally and figuratively, they wouldn’t dare without the other. They revisit old flames and nurture new ones; indeed, sometimes the men these women crave, such as Maya does in “The Silver Belt,” are not their husbands at all, but someone else, someone special, someone who is seeing them in an entirely new light. Those stories mingle with other tales of longtime lovers ignited to fiery scenes within these pages.

Passion can mean so many things, from the sexual submission of a caning to exploring new bodily territory--sexual experimentation, trying something you’ve fantasized about. It can mean makeup sex or role-play, a change of scenery or simply a change of thinking. It can mean looking at a lover, a husband, a boyfriend or a new boy toy with fresh eyes, sizing him up, baring yourself, daring him to come and get you.

Just as in real life, there are lovers’ quarrels within these pages, slights real and imagined, as couples find tender, erotic ways to heal their hurts and become even closer. There is an element of real, raw emotion in the way love and desire can as easily tear us down as build us up, that makes us appreciate each expression of romance all the more, because we know how truly special it is. I’m grateful these authors skip from playful romps to relationship-saving sex to tender memories to scorching sex scenes, together creating a book that will likely make you blush and make your heart swell.

As the narrator in one of my favorite pieces, “My Dark Knight” by Jacqueline Applebee, says, “I’m a not-so-hopeless romantic. I believe that chivalry still exists, I hope to find quiet nobility in the most random of places, and I believe that people who love each other can live happily ever after.” She finds a dark, very sexy knight who she rescues, seduces, and then… But you’ll have to read the story to find out.

Rachel Kramer Bussel
New York City

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Thursday, July 22, 2010

Orgasmic is out! Plus Orgasm Night October 2 at In The Flesh!

My latest book Orgasmic: Erotica for Women is officially out! Excerpts are coming soon.

What gets you off? How do you like to come? Let Orgasmic count the ways…with 25 stories centered around female orgasm, there’s something here for every reader. The women in Orgasmic climax from Tantric sex, role-playing, piercing, G-spot play, sex toys, horseback riding, BDSM, a belt and even chemistry–the scientific kind. They delight in food, God and handymen. They create their own objects of pleasure; they spy, tease, obey, command, argue, submit. Some are shy about their orgasms and some are bold as can be. They come, and come and come again, and they do it in some of the hottest, most creative ways you can think of. Featuring red-hot erotica by some of today’s hottest writers, these stories will make you want to stop everything and have an orgasm immediately…once you’ve turned the last succulent page.



There will be readings from Orgasmic October 21st at In The Flesh Reading Series in New York City.

Purchase Orgasmic from:

Amazon.com.

Kindle edition

Barnes & Noble (Bn.com)

Borders

IndieBound (search for your local independent bookstore!)

Cleis Press

Introduction: Let Me Count the Ways…

The Waiting Game Elizabeth Coldwell
What’s in a Name? Jacqueline Applebee
Chemistry Velvet Moore
The Chair Lolita Lopez
Fixing the Pipes Susie Hara
Share Dusty Horn
Hurdles Rowan Elizabeth
Seeing Stars Louisa Harte
Old Faithful Sylvia Lowry
Paying It Forward Kendra Wayne
The Big O Donna George Storey
Moon Tantra Teresa Noelle Roberts
Feet on the Dashboard Rachel Green
Frosting First Lana Fox
All She Wanted Andrea Dale
Making Shapes Lily Harlem
Rapture Angela Caperton
Belted Rachel Kramer Bussel
Rise and Shine Heidi Champa
Taking the Reins Vanessa Vaughn
First Date with the Dom Noelle Keely
Animal Inside Neve Black
The London O Justine Elyot
Fight Charlotte Stein
Switch Jade Melisande

Introduction

Let Me Count The Ways…

Orgasm: like sex, it’s one word that means many different things to many different people. For many women, it’s the center of their sexual life, a daily occurrence; something to look forward to, experiment with. For
some it means a gushing rush of pleasure, for others it’s a little wave they delight in cresting.

Every woman who orgasms may describe it differently.

Yet there are many women, myself included, who find orgasm not so easy to achieve much of the time (yes, it’s trueæI love sex, and get turned on, but coming is a bit more complex for me). In “Hurdles,” Rowan Elizabeth writes of such a character: “I can’t win this. And it’s my hang-up, too. I feel like there’s something I’m just not doing right. Maybe if I tighten my legs a little more or squeeze my eyes shut harder, then we’d get there together.”

Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary defines orgasm as “intense or paroxysmal excitement; especially: an explosive discharge of neuromuscular tensions at the height of sexual arousal that is usually accompanied by the ejaculation of semen in the male and by vaginal contractions in the female.” It comes from the Latin and Greek (orgasmus/orgasmos), from organ “to grow ripe, be lustful.” I like that description, though what it leaves out is that for women, orgasm can stretch beyond the boundaries of ejaculation, can continue on and on, can be drawn out for as long as the woman (or her partner) wants to indulge in the experience.

In Lolita Lopez’s perfectly kinky story, “The Chair,” sex toys and submission go hand in hand with orgasm for the protagonist. “Lily’s orgasms changed from separate events to one long and unending oscillation of bliss.” Her “punishment” at the hands of Cal is one she’s very, very happy to absorb.

There are countless articles and books telling you how to have a bigger, better orgasm. I don’t want to add to the clamor of the voices saying, You must orgasm now. Instead, I want Orgasmic to be a fictional showcase of some of the reasons, methods and delights women bring to their orgasms. I want these red-hot stories to help get you warmed up, primed, aroused. I want them to make you squirm with desire, identification, curiosity. I want you to read these stories aloud to a lover…or someone you wish were your lover.

I did my best to capture an array of big (and little) Os, moments where the world feels like it’s exploding in your body, orgasms that rock more than just your world. These stories capture the ferocity, intensity and power of women’s orgasms, however they’re achieved. I couldn’t include every way women come in this book, or it would be much longer than it is now, but I wanted to include a varied look at what gets women off, which means it’s not always a man or another woman, or even a machine that does the trick. Vanessa Vaughn taps into a classic route with “Taking the Reins:”

As I straddle the seat and slowly lower myself down, I feel a familiar tingle of excitement deep inside. I can sense the monstrous size of the body between my thighs, the large chest expanding and contracting broadly with each breath. The smell of fresh, conditioned leather smothers my sensesæwell, that, and also the slight musky tinge of sweat. It is a raw smell mixed with rich, dark dirt.

Speaking of orgasm how-tos, in “The Big O” by Donna George Storey, she both skewers the omnipresent women’s magazine sex advice and adds a saucy twist as her protagonist puts into practice “The Sexercise Prescription: A Stronger Secret You in Six Weeks.”

The women in Orgasmic climax from tantric sex, role-playing, piercing, G-spot play, sex toys and even chemistry--the scientific kind. They delight in food, God and handymen. They create their own objects of pleasure; they spy, tease, obey, command, argue, submit. Some are shy about their orgasms and some are bold as can be.

They come, and come and come again, and they do it in some of the hottest, most creative ways you can think of. Visit me at orgasmicbook.wordpress.com if you just can’t get enough…orgasms, that is.

Rachel Kramer Bussel
New York City

Here lots of readers from Orgasmic and others on the topic of orgasm! Mark your calendars. This is also the third to last In The Flesh.


In The Flesh logo by Molly Crabapple

There is no RSVP requirement, but if you'd like to RSVP and/or spread the word on Facebook, click here for the Orgasm Night event listing. See also the In The Flesh Reading Series fan page on Facebook.

IN THE FLESH EROTIC READING SERIES
ORGASM NIGHT
October 21, 2010, 7:30 pm - 10 pm
AT HAPPY ENDING LOUNGE, 302 BROOME STREET, NYC
(B/D to Grand, J/M/Z to Bowery, F to Delancey or F/V to 2nd Avenue, http://www.happyendinglounge.com)
Between Forsyth & Eldridge. Look for the hot pink awning that says "XIE HE Health Club."
Admission: Free
Happy Ending Lounge: 212-334-9676
http://www.inthefleshreadingseries.com


Orgasms all around! In The Flesh turns 5 and celebrates orgasms with readings from host Rachel Kramer Bussel's Orgasmic: Erotica for Women, an insider look at boudoir photography and more. Featuring boudoir photographer Laura Boyd (ownyoursexy.com), Graydancer (Ropecast), novelist Daniel Allen Cox (Krakow Melt) and Orgasmic contributors Neve Black, Heidi Champa, Lana Fox and Velvet Moore. Hosted by Rachel Kramer Bussel (Fast Girls, Orgasmic). 100 free copies of Sexis Magazine will be distributed. Free Baked by Melissa cupcakes, candy and chips will be served. This is the countdown to the final In The Flesh December 16th so don't miss a very special night!



Find out more about Rachel's anthology Orgasmic: Erotica for Women at http://orgasmicbook.wordpress.com/about.

In the Flesh is a monthly reading series hosted at the appropriately named
Happy Ending Lounge, and features the country's best erotic writers sharing stories to get you hot and bothered, hosted and curated by acclaimed erotic writer and editor Rachel Kramer Bussel. The series was named Best Reading Series by New York Press in 2009. From erotic poetry to down and dirty smut, these authors get naked on the page and will make you lust after them and their words. Since its debut in October 2005, In the Flesh has featured such authors as Mike Albo, Laura Antoniou, Mo Beasley, Susie Bright, Lily Burana, Jessica Cutler, Mike Daisey, Stephen Elliott, Valerie Frankel, Polly Frost, Gael Greene, Andy Horwitz, Debra Hyde, Maxim Jakubowski, Emily Scarlet Kramer of CAKE, Josh Kilmer-Purcell, Edith Layton, Logan Levkoff, Suzanne Portnoy, Julie Powell, Sofia Quintero, M.J. Rose, Lauren Sanders, Danyel Smith, Grant Stoddard, Cecilia Tan, Carol Taylor, Dana Vachon, Veronica Vera, Susan Wright, Zane and many others. The series has gotten press attention from the New York Times’s UrbanEye, Daily Candy, Escape (Hong Kong), Flavorpill, The L Magazine, New York Magazine, NBC New York, New York Post, New York Observer, Philadelphia City Paper, Time Out New York, Flavorwire, Fork in the Road, Gawker, Gothamist, Jezebel.com, Nerve.com, Serious Eats, Tasting Table and Wonkette, and has been praised by Dr. Ruth.

Between studying the classics and surfing the Southern California coastline, Neve Black discovered she also had affection for writing erotic literature, which she believes comes from her interest in scratching at the under-belly of society. Neve's novel Sex through the Zodiac was published in January 2009. You can also read her erotic work in the on-line magazine Oysters and Chocolate, and various anthologies: Sex and San Francisco, Orgasmic: Erotica for Women, Swing: Erotic Stories of Every Flavor, Ambrosia, Men in Shorts, and Sex and Shoes.
www.neveblack.com



Laura Boyd is a photographer living and working in downtown Manhattan. Her work focuses on weddings, boudoir, and portraiture. She also does fine art photography, having recently spent five weeks in Paris working on her Paris in HDR project. She is a recovering attorney with a J.D. from the University of North Carolina. After fleeing the practice of law, she studied photography and design at the International Center for Photography, Parsons, and professional workshops around the world. Visit her websites at www.lauraboydblog.com, www.lauraboydstudio.com, and www.ownyoursexy.com.



Rachel Kramer Bussel is an author, editor, blogger and reading series host. She is Senior Editor at Penthouse Variations and a former sex columnist for The Village Voice. She’s edited over 30 anthologies, including the kink-themed Spanked, Bottoms Up, Yes, Sir, Yes, Ma'am, He's on Top, She's on Top, Rubber Sex as well as Fast Girls, Orgasmic, Peep Show, The Mile High Club: Plane Sex Stories, Do Not Disturb: Hotel Sex Stories, Tasting Him, Tasting Her, and the non-fiction Best Sex Writing series. Her books won 3 2009 Independent Publisher Awards. Her writing been published in publications such as Clean Sheets, Cosmopolitan, The Daily Beast, Fresh Yarn, Huffington Post, Mediabistro, Newsday, New York Post, San Francisco Chronicle, Tango, The Village Voice, and Time Out New York, and in over 100 anthologies, including Best American Erotica 2004 and 2006. Rachel conducts nationwide readings and erotic writing workshops. She has hosted In The Flesh since October 2005.
www.rachelkramerbussel.com


photo by Anya Garrett

Heidi Champa is proud to be back reading at In The Flesh for the second time. On her first visit, in October of 2008, Heidi read her very first anthology-published erotic story. Since then, her work has appeared extensively online and in print, including anthologies like Best Women’s Erotica 2010, Alison's Wonderland, Playing With Fire, Frenzy and Ultimate Curves and websites like The Erotic Woman and Clean Sheets. Her first novella, White Out, was published by Amber Allure Press in August. You can find out more online at heidichampa.blogspot.com.



Daniel Allen Cox is the author of the novel Shuck, published by Arsenal Pulp Press and shortlisted in 2009 for a Lambda Literary Award and a ReLit Award. His second novel, Krakow Melt, is forthcoming from Arsenal Pulp in October 2010. Michael Musto commented on the book: “Dying Popes and gays with matches—two of my favorite subjects.” Daniel’s house burned down in 2007.
www.danielallencox.com



Lana Fox is a Brit living near Boston. Her stories appear or are forthcoming in a variety of books and magazines, including Clean Sheets, Best Women's Erotica 2011 ed. Violet Blue, Passion: Erotic Romance for Women ed. Rachel Kramer Bussel, and two Harlequin Spice anthologies, including the recently released Alison's Wonderland, ed. Alison Tyler. Lana loves writing about sex so much that she teaches erotica writing classes in the Boston area. She blogs at lanafox.com.

Graydancer, Ninja Sex Poodle & Ronin of Love, comes from the bondage capitol of the world, Madison, WI, where he honed his craft to become the world premiere podcaster of rope bondage with “the Ropecast“. He is the author of three novels as well as numerous short stories and essays and has been published in several anthologies, including several edited by Rachel Kramer Bussel. In 2007 he created "Graydancer’s Ropetastic Unconference Extravaganza" (www.GRUE.me) a kink-positive unconference occurring all over North America. A veteran of the stage, Graydancer has performed in many venues such as Foxy Veronica’s Peach Pies caburlesque, Dr. Sketchy’s Anti-Art show, Kink.com, the Seattle Erotic Art Festival, among others. Currently he plies his trade as an itinerant rope artist, kink educator and sex-positive social media whore, wrangling GRUEs and smiting the evil of sloppy ends wherever they may lie.
www.graydancer.com



Velvet Moore is a twenty-something who began writing erotica-style works during adolescence and officially entered the world of erotic fiction several years ago. She has been published on the web at sites including CleanSheets.com and TheEroticWoman.com, and ForTheGirls.com. She currently resides in Ohio and makes her living as a science writer.
www.velvetmoore.com

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Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Revealed burlesque, Wednesday, July 21st

I'm very excited about this show! Join me, why don't you? I will be toting my new purse.




WEDNESDAY, JULY 21 @ 10pm
Horse Trade Theater
Group presents
a GiGi La
Femme & Doc Wasabassco Production:


WEDNESDAY, JULY 21 @ 10pm
Horse Trade Theater Group presentsa GiGi La Femme & Doc Wasabassco Production: REVEALED BURLESQUE’s 3rd ANNIVERSARY SPECTACULAR Pictured: Sapphire Jones, GiGi La Femme, Bastard Keith, Kobyashi Maru, and Madame Rosebud Photo credit: Luke Ratray On Wednesday, July 21st Revealed turns 3! Join us for a special extra-length edition of the nekkidest show in burlesque at The Kraine Theater.

REVEALED is a burlesque show unlike any other. It’s a seduction, a tease, an epiphany, a dare, a conspiracy of pleasure. Hosted by devilishly charming master of ceremonies Bastard Keith, our Third Anniversary Show stars a selectively picked ensemble of the most beloved burlesque performers in New York, with innovative performances represent the state of the art in risqué entertainment.

Witness tantalizing performances by Reigning Miss Coney Island GiGi La Femme; Arms O’Neil; The Borg Queen of Burlesque, Kobayashi Maru; The Girl Who Fell From Earth, Madame Rosebud ; The Shining Jewel of Burlesque Sapphire Jones; The Five Alarm Fire of Burlesque, Gal Friday; The Sultry Siren of Burlesque, Harvest Moon; and in her Revealed debut, Russia’s Lovely Long-Legged Contortionist, Ekaterina!

Come help us celebrate three years of salacious striptease and skin, where the climax of each number leaves everything…Revealed.

Revealed Burlesque’s Third Anniversary Show is Wednesday July 21 at 10pm at The Kraine Theater
(85 East 4th Street, between 2nd & 3rd Aves (the Bowery)).Tickets ($25) are available by calling Smarttix at 212-868-4444 or online at www.horseTRADE.info.

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Thursday, July 15, 2010

Media Sex Night tonight! Memoir, burlesque, erotica, cupcakes, chocolate-covered pretzels and more!


In The Flesh logo by Molly Crabapple

There is no RSVP requirement, but if you'd like to RSVP and/or spread the word on Facebook, click here for the Media Sex Night event listing. See also the In The Flesh Reading Series fan page on Facebook. Note early start time.

IN THE FLESH EROTIC READING SERIES
MEDIA SEX NIGHT
July 15, 2010, 7:30 pm - 10 pm
AT HAPPY ENDING LOUNGE, 302 BROOME STREET, NYC
(B/D to Grand, J/M/Z to Bowery, F to Delancey or F/V to 2nd Avenue, http://www.happyendinglounge.com)
Between Forsyth & Eldridge. Look for the hot pink awning that says "XIE HE Health Club."
Admission: Free
Happy Ending Lounge: 212-334-9676
http://www.inthefleshreadingseries.com


Media superstars invade In The Flesh. Featuring Kevin Allison (The State, RISK show), Penny Arcade (Bitch! Dyke! Faghag! Whore!), Twanna A. Hines (FunkyBrownChick.com), Jillian Lauren (New York Times bestselling author of Some Girls: My Life in a Harem), Paulie & Pauline (Off The Set), Jerry Portwood (New York Press), Rachel Shukert (Everything Is Going to Be Great) and reading plus performance from Jo Weldon (The Burlesque Handbook). Hosted by Rachel Kramer Bussel (Fast Girls, Please, Sir, Please, Ma’am). Sponsored by New York Press. Books will be available for sale by Mobile Libris. 100 free copies of Sexis Magazine will be distributed. Free Baked by Melissa cupcakes, candy and chips will be served. This is the countdown to the final In The Flesh December 16th so don't miss a very special night!

In the Flesh is a monthly reading series hosted at the appropriately named
Happy Ending Lounge, and features the country's best erotic writers sharing stories to get you hot and bothered, hosted and curated by acclaimed erotic writer and editor Rachel Kramer Bussel. The series was named Best Reading Series by New York Press in 2009. From erotic poetry to down and dirty smut, these authors get naked on the page and will make you lust after them and their words. Since its debut in October 2005, In the Flesh has featured such authors as Mike Albo, Laura Antoniou, Mo Beasley, Susie Bright, Lily Burana, Jessica Cutler, Mike Daisey, Stephen Elliott, Valerie Frankel, Polly Frost, Gael Greene, Andy Horwitz, Debra Hyde, Maxim Jakubowski, Emily Scarlet Kramer of CAKE, Josh Kilmer-Purcell, Edith Layton, Logan Levkoff, Suzanne Portnoy, Julie Powell, Sofia Quintero, M.J. Rose, Lauren Sanders, Danyel Smith, Grant Stoddard, Cecilia Tan, Carol Taylor, Dana Vachon, Veronica Vera, Susan Wright, Zane and many others. The series has gotten press attention from the New York Times’s UrbanEye, Daily Candy, Escape (Hong Kong), Flavorpill, The L Magazine, New York Magazine, NBC New York, New York Post, New York Observer, Philadelphia City Paper, Time Out New York, Flavorwire, Fork in the Road, Gawker, Gothamist, Jezebel.com, Nerve.com, Serious Eats, Tasting Table and Wonkette, and has been praised by Dr. Ruth.

Kevin Allison is a member of the legendary sketch comedy troupe The State, whose series on MTV in the mid-90s was influential for many of today's comics. He is the creator and host of RISK!, a popular live show and audio podcast where people tell true tales they never thought they'd dare to share. The live show won the ECNY Award for Best Variety Show in New York of 2009 and the podcast version of RISK! has been downloaded nearly 700,000 times now. Kevin's recent film and TV appearances include Reno 911!: Miami, The Ten, Wedding Daze, VH1’s Best Week Ever, Comedy Central’s Viva Variety and Stella, and HBO’s Flight of the Conchords. Behind the scenes, Kevin has written for Blue Man Group Productions and JibJab. In the print world, Kevin’s writing has appeared in The Village Voice, Giant, Premiere and Film Journal. He has served as the Artistic Director of The Peoples Improv Theater in New York and teaches comedy writing there, at New York University, at The Philly Improv Theater and online at www.filmlab.ca. He can be reached at Kevin at risk-show.com .



Penny Arcade aka Susana Ventura is an internationally acclaimed and respected performance, theater, video artist, as well as a writer, poet, essayist, and cultural icon. She is one of the few performance artists to gain international renown in the mainstream entertainment world. Bad Reputation [Semiotext(e)] is the first book about Penny Arcade and her work.


photo by Jasmine Hirst

Rachel Kramer Bussel is an author, editor, blogger and reading series host. She is Senior Editor at Penthouse Variations and a former sex columnist for The Village Voice. She’s edited over 30 anthologies, including the kink-themed Spanked, Bottoms Up, Yes, Sir, Yes, Ma'am, He's on Top, She's on Top, Rubber Sex as well as Fast Girls, Orgasmic, Peep Show, The Mile High Club: Plane Sex Stories, Do Not Disturb: Hotel Sex Stories, Tasting Him, Tasting Her, and the non-fiction Best Sex Writing series. Her books won 3 2009 Independent Publisher Awards. Her writing been published in publications such as Clean Sheets, Cosmopolitan, The Daily Beast, Fresh Yarn, Huffington Post, Mediabistro, Newsday, New York Post, San Francisco Chronicle, Tango, The Village Voice, and Time Out New York, and in over 100 anthologies, including Best American Erotica 2004 and 2006. Rachel conducts nationwide readings and erotic writing workshops. She has hosted In The Flesh since October 2005.
www.rachelkramerbussel.com


photo by Anya Garrett

Twanna A. Hines is a sex, dating and relationships writer. She has written for Huffington Post, Lifetime, Nerve, New York Press, Fast Company and others. She has appeared on CNN, NPR, Sirius Satellite Radio as well as CBC, and she has been quoted in the Village Voice, New York magazine, Gawker Media, The San Francisco Chronicle,
EbonyJet, The Baltimore Sun, Vibe and elsewhere. AOL recognized her award-winning site, FUNKY BROWN CHICK®. She attended New York University and other schools. Her B.S. and M.A. degrees are in sociology. Having lived in London, Chicago, Amsterdam, Los Angeles and The Hague, she speaks English and Dutch fluently as well as conversational French. She enjoys passionate love affairs with faraway lands and intelligent men. Get down with the funky brown! ™
www.funkybrownchick.com



Jillian Lauren’s is the author of the memoir Some Girls: My Life in a Harem, Plume 2010. She has an MFA from Antioch University and her writing has appeared in The New York Times, Vanity Fair, Flaunt Magazine and Opium Magazine, among others. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband and son. Her novel, Pretty, is scheduled to be released from Plume in Spring 2011.
www.jillianlauren.com



Paulie & Pauline seek out candid moments in the human experience with a curiosity that is heavily influenced by their backgrounds in journalism and sociology. Mostly, though, their photos reflect their voyeuristic fascination with people and their stories. Photos from Off the Set: Porn Stars and Their Partners have been published in print and online, appeared in several group exhibitions of fine-art photography, and are included in the permanent collections at the Museum of Sex in New York City and the art gallery at the Kinsey Institute for Research in Sex, Gender, and Reproduction.
www.paulieandpauline.com

Jerry Portwood is the editor-in-chief of New York Press. He is also the founding editor of CityArts, an arts-only newsweekly focused on arts and culture in NYC. His short fiction and essays have appeared in regional and international publications. He keeps saying he's working on a book.



Rachel Shukert is the author of Everything Is Going to Be Great and Have You No Shame? and Other Regrettable Stories. Her work has been featured on National Public Radio, as well as in Salon, McSweeny's, Slate, The Daily Beast, and Gawker, among others. She has contributed to several notable print anthologies, including Click: When We Knew We Were Feminists, Best Sex Writing (Rachel Kramer Bussel, ed.) and Best American Poetry. She is a contributing editor at Tablet Magazine. Her first feature screenplay is currently in development with Yarn Films.
rachelshukert.com



Jo Weldon is the Headmistress and Founder of the New York School of Burlesque. Internationally renowned as burlesque personality Jo Boobs, she's rounded her heels on stages from Coney Island to Las Vegas. She's the winner of such exotic titles as Best Bump N Grinder, Best Teacher and Mentor, and Biggest Cougar in Burlesque! She has worked with performers from Leonard Cohen to Spinal Tap, and has been featured on television shows from CBS Sunday Morning to Gossip Girl. Her book, The Burlesque Handbook: A Backstage Guide, featuring a foreword by Margaret Cho, was released by HarperCollins/ItBooks in June 2010.
www.schoolofburlesque.com



You will hear from the following books:


The Burlesque Handbook
by Jo Weldon


Some Girls: My life in a Harem
by Jillian Lauren


Everything Is Going to Be Great: An Underfunded and Overexposed European Grand Tour
by Rachel Shukert


Off The Set: Porn Stars and Their Partners
by Paulie & Pauline

(see Madison Young reading from Off the Set at In The Flesh here)

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Monday, July 12, 2010

Burlesque performer beauty: Gigi LaFemme

I had a wonderful time seeing Wassabassco Burlesque at City Winery on Friday. I had lots of favorite performers but one of them was Gigi LaFemme, seen with me in this photo. I'm planning to go see her show Revealed on July 21st.

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Hear me live and/or on audio

My story in the fairy tale erotica anthology Alison's Wonderland is now available for download from Audible.com. I haven't heard it and am not really a book listener myself but for those of you so inclined, it's cheaper than the paperback at $7.49 if you sign up for Audible (I'm a member to listen to Susie Bright).

And of course, for the next 6 months you can hear me live every 3rd Thursday. I'm totally nervous about Thursday's reading, there are too many readers, though they are all outstanding, so I will be there with a timer and a fast-beating heart and probably stuffing my face full of barbecue potato chips. I plan to go all out with the food and you SO don't want to miss this. Twitter handles and details below. More on my weekend and the wonderful reading I attended co-hosted by Jo Weldon at green event space The Wild Project soon. Deadlines and sunshine await.


In The Flesh logo by Molly Crabapple

There is no RSVP requirement, but if you'd like to RSVP and/or spread the word on Facebook, click here for the Media Sex Night event listing. See also the In The Flesh Reading Series fan page on Facebook. Note early start time.

You can also check out our wonderful bookseller Mobile Libris at @MobileLibris. And, of course, do follow @InTheFleshNYC for all things In The Flesh.

Kevin Allison @RISKshow

Rachel Kramer Bussel @raquelita

Twanna A. Hines @funkybrownchick

Jillian Lauren @jillylauren

Paulie & Pauline (@Off_the_Set)

Jerry Portwood @N_YPress

Rachel Shukert @RachelShukert

Jo Weldon @joweldon

IN THE FLESH EROTIC READING SERIES
MEDIA SEX NIGHT
July 15, 2010, 7:30 pm - 10 pm
AT HAPPY ENDING LOUNGE, 302 BROOME STREET, NYC
(B/D to Grand, J/M/Z to Bowery, F to Delancey or F/V to 2nd Avenue, http://www.happyendinglounge.com)
Between Forsyth & Eldridge. Look for the hot pink awning that says "XIE HE Health Club."
Admission: Free
Happy Ending Lounge: 212-334-9676
http://www.inthefleshreadingseries.com


Media superstars invade In The Flesh. Featuring Kevin Allison (The State, RISK show), Penny Arcade (Bitch! Dyke! Faghag! Whore!), Twanna A. Hines (FunkyBrownChick.com), Jillian Lauren (New York Times bestselling author of Some Girls: My Life in a Harem), Paulie & Pauline (Off The Set), Jerry Portwood (New York Press), Rachel Shukert (Everything Is Going to Be Great) and reading plus performance from Jo Weldon (The Burlesque Handbook). Hosted by Rachel Kramer Bussel (Fast Girls, Please, Sir, Please, Ma’am). Sponsored by New York Press. Books will be available for sale by Mobile Libris. Cleis Press erotica books as well as a vibrator and Kegelcisor from EdenFantasys will be given away. 100 free copies of Sexis Magazine will be distributed. Free Baked by Melissa cupcakes, candy and chips will be served. This is the countdown to the final In The Flesh December 16th so don't miss a very special night!

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Friday, July 09, 2010

Read my interview with You'll Never Blue Ball in This Town Again author Heather McDonald

Yesterday my first piece for Crushable went up - I interviewed comedian Heather McDonald about her New York Times-bestselling memoir You'll Never Blue Ball in This Town Again: One Woman's Painfully Funny Quest to Give It Up. She was a virgin until age 27, mostly by choice, but not for moral or religious reasons, which is an unusual and interesting angle. Please check it out.





Heather wound up waiting until she was 27, finally putting her birth control pills to work and going all with Ray, one of only three men she’s slept with. That scene and her description of him as “really consistent” and “really great” is anticlimactic in both sense of the word; Heather was simply ready, and he was a good guy, and he was there. “I was just trying to do my best to appear as though I had done this monumental act before,” she writes. She follows this up, though, with a lively ending when the man she goes on to marry winds up becoming a dad from a one-night stand, making her an instant stepmom.

“My advice would be past a certain age, unless you feel like he can handle it, I don’t think you need to tell them. If you want to tell them later, you can: by the way, you were my first. But I think the way I did it was wise,” she explains. “I didn’t want him to stick around longer because of guilt.”

Now happily married, she does sometimes miss the good old days. “I love when the guy’s in his underwear and you’re making out, doing the dryhumping grind. Or when you spend the night and you haven’t had sex and then every two hours there’s a boner in your butt. Once you do it you can’t go back.” Heather knows from experience; she sometimes tries to get her husband to pretend that they’re back in that stage, but he’s quite not as fond of blueballing as she is.


Read the full interview here.

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Thursday, July 08, 2010

Lesbian pregnancy erotica story "Swollen" in Lesbian Lust

I've been busy and not really sure what to say here, but you can see photos on Flickr, my daily Tweets and my Tumblr for updates. I'm focused on packing Happy Ending Lounge more than I ever have for the countdown to the end of In The Flesh and the (shhh) best one you'll see all year next Thursday for Media Sex Night. You should of course come to all six that are left, but do kick yourself if you miss next week's. Two and a half hours of nonstop free snacks and writing superstars, including New York Times-bestselling author Jillian Lauren.

I'm thrilled that my lesbian pregnancy vacation erotica story "Swollen" was published in the just-released Lesbian Lust: Erotic Stories, edited by Sacchi Green.



Official book description:

For readers who crave stories of uninhibited, unrepentant sex between women, Lesbian Lust delivers. This is real lesbian sex: sensual, inventive, and nothing less than breathtaking. Butches abound, baby dykes learn important life lessons, femmes and fatales bring each other to the brink. In "The Office Grind," by R. G. Emanuelle, a stressed-out businesswoman loses herself and her heart in the startling green eyes of a sleek butch in a bar. Gill McKnight's "Beach Moth" tells the tale of a tall, dark, and handsome stranger who offers her hand to a femme abandoned on vacation. The ultimate in eroticism, the relentless, raw stories of Lesbian Lust leave no fantasy is unfulfilled.

And excerpt from my story "Swollen:"

She could tell just what she was doing to me, and we both knew it. “Relax, Bea, relax,” she urged me. I hadn’t realized I’d been at all tense, at all uncertain, until she said it. Of course I’d thought I was relaxed as I lay naked on the bed, my pregnant belly rising upward, somehow no longer heavy and uncomfortable, as a beautiful woman coaxed me halfway toward orgasm. But when I let out a breath and sank deeper into the luxurious sheets, becoming one with the bed, I realized I had been holding out, some small part of me perhaps thinking it unseemly or improper for me to be here with Katherine, so blatantly reveling in sex when I had more important things on my mind. But could there be anything more important than a woman’s touch forcing me to get in touch with my body, my desires?
I let out a moan, a cry, an exclamation not in English or any other language as her mouth made its way lower, taking me farther from the realities of life and deeper into the world of pleasure. Her tongue traced its way over the hardness of my stomach, kissing and licking alternately before she reached my pubic hair. I hoped she wouldn’t mind how unruly it had become, but she seemed to delight in it, running her fingers through my fuzz, tugging at a few of the hairs before she breathed against my sex, her lips so close, promising me their kiss. And Katherine was a woman who kept her promises. I felt like I was floating as she ran her tongue along my lower lips. She wasn’t aggressive like some of the women I’d been with, and her gentleness seemed to imply that there was more passion lurking just beneath the surface. “You are heavenly,” she said, her words music to my ears. I’d been growing steadily, feeling out of control, filled with something new and exciting yet also terrifying. Katherine’s mouth told me everything would be okay. Her tongue taught me that my pussy was still my own, that I could still bring a woman that special ecstasy that comes from partaking of another woman’s juices. Her lips told me that she couldn’t imagine a more sensuous delight than exploring my every nook and cranny.

I soon got over feeling selfish and simply enjoyed the gift she was giving me. I could still feel the baby, but she was, momentarily, secondary. It was me and Katherine, and soon her fingers began exploring me as her tongue rested against my clit, hinting at its heat but simply staying there, as if she’d pressed the pause button. “You’re so wet for me,” she observed, and I smiled. All my pent-up pleasure, my juices that had had seemingly nowhere to go, my longing that I’d poured into decorating and preparing, all came out in this exotic place, with a woman I still wasn’t sure was real. It was as if she’d been sent to answer my prayers, one stroke at a time.


Read an excerpt from "Reunion at St. Mary's" by Catherine Lundoff at PGW. Buy Lesbian Lust from Amazon or Cleis Press.

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Friday, July 02, 2010

My sex and body image column up now at SexIs Magazine and Jezebel!

For my latest Secrets of a Sex Writer column, you have two places you can read it - SexIs Magazine, of course, and, very excitingly, Jezebel, where there's a lively comments section. I sent it to them thinking they might want to link to it and they asked to reprint it. I couldn't be more honored to see my byline there!



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