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

Friday, January 31, 2014

Phone consultations and private writing workshops now available

New services being launched today with early bird pricing for consulting...prices go up March 1st.

Consulting on erotic fiction and nonfiction sex writing

Early bird consulting prices through February 28; prices go up March 1.

Erotic fiction and nonfiction sex writing critique service

As an editor of over 50 anthologies, I have read thousands of erotica stories and can help you hone your story or sex scene into one that will dazzle on the page and impress editors. As a former sex columnist for The Frisky, Penthouse and The Village Voice as well as contributor about sexuality to publications such as Cosmopolitan, The Daily Beast, Glamour, Harper's BAZAAR, Salon and others, I can help shape your first-person sexuality essay or sex journalism and offer feedback to help expand your reach in the marketplace. For erotic fiction or nonfiction sex writing, you will provide a story, essay or article (or draft) for me to critique and offer feedback and discussion.

Written critique of up to 5,000 words plus 1 hour phone consultation : $60

Written critique of up to 7,5000 words plus 1 hour phone consultation: $80

Written critique of up to 10,000 words plus 1 hour phone consultation: $100

All payments should be made via Paypal to rkbenterprises2012@gmail.com

Once payment is received, I will contact you within 48 hours and have you submit your written work for critique and schedule the phone consultation ASAP.

Hourly pricing for longer projects available upon request.

Questions? Email rachelkramerbussel@gmail.com with "Consulting" in subject line.

Private erotic writing workshops available

2-hour daytime, evening and weekend private erotic writing workshop (up to 20 people): $500 plus travel expenses - please query rachelkramerbussel@gmail.com for rates for larger groups

Designed to provide newcomers to erotic writing as well as those with writing experience a welcoming space to unleash their ideas on paper. Workshop will provide numerous story prompts, information on how to craft compelling erotica, an overview of the market for erotic fiction, and the 411 on how to get your stories noticed by editors, from the editor of over 50 anthologies and prolific erotica writer of 14 years. Can be tailored for specific group interests/topics. A version of this workshop has been presented at Northwestern University, SUNY Purchase, The University of Pennsylvania, Babeland, Book Passage, BookWoman, CatalystCon, Nomia, Self Serve Toys, The Smitten Kitten, The Tool Shed, and numerous other venues. Email rachelkramerbussel@gmail.com with "Workshop" in subject line to query and include group name, location and desired date/time.

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Thursday, January 30, 2014

69 happy dances that The Big Book of Submission is done

I've been pondering whether 69 is the magic number when it comes (ha!) to my books, whether my books with 69 stories, first Gotta Have It: 69 Stories of Sudden Sex, followed by my favorite, The Big Book of Orgasms, and now The Big Book of Submission: 69 Kinky Tales will emerge as 3 times more successful than the others because they have 3 times the number of stories. Who knows? I do know that while there's 3 times the amount of paperwork, there's 3 times the excitement as authors start posting and tweeting about their publication. For many, it's the first time I'm publishing them, and for some, it's their first publication, or first in print, or first erotica. That is something that never gets old for me, and in fact, keeps me going when times are tough. You can read the titles and bylines for all 69 stories on the book's official Tumblr, and also follow the authors and book @submissionbook on Twitter and on Facebook. There will probably be postcards and an audiobook and promotions down the road. This is a sexy summer book, officially out in July. Stay tuned!

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Friday, January 24, 2014

Orgasming in German

A bit of happy news in a largely bleak January: this summer will see the release of Orgasmic: Erotica for Women in German! (Click on title to read the introduction.) This book contains one of my all-time favorite stories, one I'm honored to have published and that I read from in pretty much every erotica writing workshop I teach: "Chemistry" by Velvet Moore. Read it and see why. I'll post the cover (sure to be much much racier than the U.S. version) when I have it, but for now, a recap of Orgasmic, which inspired my favorite of my books, The Big Book of Orgasms: 69 Sexy Stories. By the way, I'm hoping to be able to afford to go to Berlin this year, and would love to do any sort of event for my German books, so if anyone knows a good location, let me know at rachelkramerbussel at gmail.com - thanks!

I imagine my story "Belted" could also go in my sex toy erotica anthology (submit, submit! deadline is April 1), since what I chose to do was fetishize a belt and the character who wields it. Here's how it opens:
You’d never know the belt is there by looking at him. It’s lost between his shirt and his pants, tucked away, hidden, pulled close, serving a dual purpose. You’d never know it’s there, unless he made it a point of showing you. And he does, often, a hand resting there as a reminder in public, an intimation of what will happen in private. You have no idea how many other girls he makes a point of showing it to, but the reason you keep returning is that when you’re with him, you don’t care about the other girls. There could be hundreds, thousands even;, as long as he looks at you the way he does when he unbuckles and unfurls the soft, worn, brown leather, then coils the belt purposefully around his hand, you can let yourself believe he wears it just for you.

This isn’t the first belt that’s been used to strike you. There was the boyfriend in college who had you bend over, skirt around your ankles, camera flashing and belt lashing against your skin before plunging his oversized cock into your unprepared ass. He was all flash and no finesse.

Your lover is the opposite, or rather, flash and finesse mixed together in a dizzying way, with plenty of substance to back them up. He holds the belt like it belongs in his hand, like it’s an extension of him. He tells you that he thinks about you every day when he loops it through his pants, when he touches the cool metal buckle. Alone in some room or another⎯never either of your bedrooms⎯your body reacts before you have time to consider its wisdom when you see him reaching for the buckle. After all, you know from experience that could mean anything⎯he’s giving you his cock to suck, he’s going to shackle your arms behind your back, he’s going to pull your hair hard and slap your face until you cry, he’s going to beat you until your skin is heated from the outside in. All of these are possibilities, and all of these bring you pleasure, but you hope it’s the latter.



Winner, 2011 Gold IPPY (Independent Publisher) Award for Erotica!

Watch the book trailer:



Purchase Orgasmic from:

Amazon.com.

Kindle ebook edition

Barnes & Noble (Bn.com)

Nook ebook edition

IndieBound (search for your local independent bookstore!)

Google Play

iBooks

Audible.com audio book

Cleis Press

Table of contents

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
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.

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Wednesday, January 22, 2014

Watch new Comedy Central show Broad City with the cast and crew tonight

Head over to Videology in Williamsburg, Brooklyn for a free public screening of the debut episode of new Comedy Central Broad City, starring Abbi Jacobson and Ilana Glazer, tonight. Details in The New York Observer - and please keep sending me NYC events for consideration to 8dayweek at observer.com (I need all the info you see in the listings, date/time/location/description/phone number/price).

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Tuesday, January 21, 2014

2 book recommendations: Raw by Mark Haskell Smith and Splitting the Difference by Tré Miller Rodríguez

2 book recommendations, one a very ridiculous, fun reality TV-themed novel, one a moving memoir about death and its aftermath. No relation, save that I just read them both. Found Raw: A Love Story in Portland, Maine at Longfellow Books, found Splitting the Difference: A Heart-Shaped Memoir, a She Writes Press book, via the author's column at Modern Loss. I'm linking to Amazon, because I make a few cents from each purchase through those links, and these days, every penny counts bigtime, but purchase at your favorite bookstore, online or off. Trust me, if Red Bank had a bookstore, I'd be there multiple times a week. If I move, that is something I will look for in my new town!

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Raw by Mark Haskell Smith
Buy in print or Kindle
My review:
I stumbled across Raw when I was looking for a light, fun read. I got that and more, including plenty of ridiculousness in this novel about reality TV, publishing, books snobs and adventure. Sepp Gregory a reality star with women lining up for a piece of him--ideally, his impeccable abs that he shows off at almost every opportunity. Sepp is on a book tour for a book his ghostwriter, a struggling Brooklyn author named Curtis, wrote, but that Sepp hasn't read. What happens from there is utterly over the top, including a momentous and game-changing visit to the Playboy Mansion, where Harriet, who up til now has been the epitome of a book snob and easy to hate, takes on a life of her own. It's to Smith's credit that while this book is utterly absurd and about as far from reality as you could get, it's in the most inane and unlikely of the story's adventures that it becomes the most fun. If you're part of the publishing or book blogging world, there's plenty of insider humor, right alongside the most cynical and careerist publicists. But you don't have to be a fan of reality shows, or even books, to enjoy this romp of a novel. In fact, I'd venture that Sepp Gregory, who treats books as pure marketing tools and practically foreign objects, just might enjoy Raw. It's a perfect beach read, whether you're on an actual beach or not, with a bit of snark, and plenty of sex, death and fame.


splittingcover
Splitting the Difference by Tré Miller Rodríguez
Buy in print or Kindle
My review:
I discovered Rodriguez via her column for Modernloss.com, and was intrigued enough to want to check out her memoir. Her husband's death comes at the start of the book; then, tracing backwards, she shares the story of how they got together, her decision to give up her daughter for adoption when she became pregnant at 18, and her brother's death. The core of the book, though, is about the practical matters surrounding the death of her husband of four years, Alberto. The shock of discovering him dead in their bed only hours after she'd seen him alive is vivid and present throughout the story. There's an immediacy to the writing style here that takes readers right into the heart of both grief and coping with the seemingly endless minutiae of death, the ongoing reminders everpresent in their home and beyond. Rodriguez tackles dating, dealing with family (her own and her husband's), the scattering of his ashes in various locations and her eventual reunion with her daughter in a way that made me want to keep reading. The writing and emotion are raw, yet never without care and thoughtfulness. The portrait painted of their relationship, through flashbacks and mementos and memories, is one of a couple who were different in many ways, but had seared their lives together in pretty much every way, which makes the decisions Rodriguez has to make all the more challenging. Is there sex and drugs? Yes, a little, and it's to her credit that she is unapologetic about what she gets out of them. There's no moralizing here about anything, and certainly no sugarcoating, which is what makes this a brave and haunting memoir.

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Have dinner with Real Housewives of New York star Ramona Singer on Thursday in New York

Tonight's event listing in The New York Observer is one I was proud of finding, a dinner with Ramona Singer, star of The Real Housewives of New York City, along with trying her new wine line, Ramona Singer Pinot Grigio, at Chef David Burke at Bloomingdale's. According to her Twitter account, it's been postponed until Thursday, January 23rd, due to the snow, so if you like wine and reality TV, here's an event for you. Keep sending me your event info - I'm on the hunt for Super Bowl related public events from January 29-February 5, and then anything else from February 5 and beyond, to 8dayweek at observer.com - you can check out the other events the section has covered.

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Thursday, January 16, 2014

3 kinds of ice cream cake tonight at Yum's The Word

Today for The New York Observer, I wrote up the storytelling and ice cream cake show Yum's The Word, which I hope to attend soon. Who wouldn't want to be part of this? Just found out via their Tumblr that there are the homemade ice cream cakes being served: Nutella/Chunky Monkey with Crushed Ferror-Rocher Pieces, Caramel/Butter Pecan with Crushed Graham Crackers, Boozy Egg Nog Ice Cream Cake with Crushed Gingerbread Men. Yum indeed! Keep sending your listings with full details in the body of an email to 8dayweek at observer.com - thank you!

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Wednesday, January 15, 2014

Anal sex memoir The Surrender by Toni Bentley takes center stage

For The New York Observer, I wrote about The Surrender by Toni Bentley, the anal sex memoir as well as the new one woman show opening this week at Clurman Theater in midtown Manhattan starring Laura Campbell - if you go tomorrow, January 16th, there'll be a post-show talkback featuring The Marketplace author (and Best Bondage Erotica 2014 foreword author) Laura Antoniou.

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Naked Girls Reading spy fiction tonight in New York

Every day at The New York Observer, and twice on Wednesdays, I share something cool going on in NYC. Tonight both events are in the East Village: tech-geared discussion group Lucid NYC, featuring Reverend Billy and the Church of Stop Shopping, startup Kinsa and a data contractor, as well as Naked Girls Reading, which features just that - naked girls reading, in tonight's case, spy fiction to go with the theme Spies Like Us. I hope to attend both of these soon.

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Tuesday, January 14, 2014

How do erotica writers get their inspiration?

I'm asking the contributors to Best Bondage Erotica 2014 exactly that in mini interviews on the book's Tumblr. So far, these writers have answered that question along with their favorite sentence or paragraph from their story (I'll be answering soon about my dom with two subs story "Dual Mastery"):

Lucy Felthouse, author of "Clipped"

Annabeth Leong, author of "Eel"

Elizabeth Coldwell, author of "Wearing Purple"

Kay Jaybee, author of "Behind the Door"

James McArthur, author of "No Strings Attached"

Annabel Joseph, author of "The Neckcloth"

Emily Bingham, author of "Pegged"

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Monday, January 13, 2014

Why proofreading and being sure of your title and byline isn't optional

For the last few anthologies I've completed, I've been getting a larger than usual group of people who are making changes to their byline after their story has been accepted. So this is my two cents on why it's important to make sure your submission, both in terms of grammar and content and title, is your final version, as well as your byline. By the time I send out contracts for an anthology, it's on its way to being copyedited. This means that any major changes of these types, while doable, disrupt that process and do leave room for error. With something as vital as your name, which is your brand and byline, you want to make extra sure that you are starting off strong. I will be delving into this more in my in-depth pre-CatalystCon workshops on March 14th, but for now, I will say that if you are submitting to my 3 current anthology calls on bondage, female fantasies and sex toy erotica, please DO NOT send your work until you have thoroughly proofread it and are 100% sure you want to use that title and byline and story. Does that mean that if it's accepted it can't be changed? No. It does mean that you look far more professional when you have all your literary ducks in a row, and save editors like me time and effort, which means we have more of it to focus on creating, editing and promoting our books, which means more opportunities to submit and get published! Some change will always occur, and that's understandable, but most of it can be avoided by being as thorough as possible, giving some thought on what your byline is and will be in the future, and making sure you treat your submissions with care. This is not meant as a personal chastisement to anyone, but rather, a heads up as I am seeing a recurring pattern that I think should be noted, at least for submission to my anthologies.

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Sunday, January 12, 2014

French fries, fire eating, lap dances, boxing, Monica Lewinsky and bukkake - a few of my favorite things to write about

I've written and sold erotica about a wide variety of topics in the last 14 years, starting with Monica Lewinsky all the way through lap dances, French fries, Joe's Pub, sexy emails in the air, a paid hotel job organizing an orgy, boxing, chess, jigsaw puzzles, fishnet stockings, a spanking machine, Monica Lewinsky, hot wax, fire eating, a belt beating, erotic choking...the list goes on. Ducky Doolittle was inspired in my last class to write about a mitten fetish. Want to learn how to find inspiration anywhere and everywhere for erotica that sells? Take my erotica writing workshop. this Friday, January 17th, from 7:30-9 p.m. at The Pleasure Chest, 1150 Second Avenue on the Upper East Side of Manhattan (note new address). We'll go through numerous writing exercises and I'll share tips and advice, answer questions, and point you in the direction of where to send your work. Sign up for the class here ($25/person).

Official description:
Whether you’re writing to that special someone, penning longtime fantasies, or want to earn cash for your dirty words, this workshop is for you. You are sure to find growth with the very prolific, award winning erotica author and editor Rachel Kramer Bussel. She will take you through the ins and outs of modern erotic writing. Learn how to get started, find your voice, and write against type. She will talk about incorporating everyday scenarios as well as outlandish fantasies into your writing. Rachel will teach you how to groom your writing to fit particular magazines and anthologies. And how to submit your work and keeping up with the thriving erotica market (including anthologies, ebooks, magazines and websites). Materials Needed: Please bring a laptop or paper and pen.

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Rodney King by Roger Guenveur Smith and other arts performances at Under the Radar Festival

I'll post more about my thoughts on the excellent one man show Rodney King by Roger Guenveur Smith, pictured below, which is part of Under the Radar Festival - if you're in New York, do check it out, as there's lots of free events and others that are wonderful for bargain prices by artists you likely won't see in New York again soon. Speaking of New York, please do keep sending me any interesting NYC events to consider for Eight-Day Week in The New York Observer to 8dayweek at observer.com with date/time/location/description/phone number/price. For full schedule listing, see undertheradarfestival.com.

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Friday, January 03, 2014

My best erotica anthology is more popular than John Grisham thanks to you!

A huge thank you to all 108 of you who posted reviews of my best (imo) anthology, The Big Book of Orgasms: 69 Sexy Stories! Thanks to you, my little book that could is currently the #1 top rated book of short stories on Amazon! Ahead of even A Time to Kill by John Grisham. This is pretty amazing for an indie book of sexy stories and I am over the moon. You can buy the book from Amazon in print or the Kindle ebook edition (click title in top row for all buying options, with the Audible audiobook narrated by superstar podcaster Rose Caraway coming soon), and can read more, including reviews and excerpts from every one of the 69 stories, on the book's official Tumblr and share your thoughts by Tweeting @BigBookofOrgasm.

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Thursday, January 02, 2014

Happy kinky New Year: Best Bondage Erotica 2014 is out now, and more sexy reading

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I'm so vain I started the new year with a new book selfie (actually more excited about this gorgeous kinky book)

What a way to start the new year: Best Bondage Erotica 2014, the 4th in my annual series for Cleis Press, just came out and I'm so thrilled with how beautiful the cover is and how hot the stories are. I'm also reading submissions for Best Bondage Erotica 2015 (deadline is March 1st, so get writing!). This one is especially exciting because I'm publishing many of these esteemed authors for the first time, including ones like Annabel Joseph, who already have readers clamoring for their next sexy book. Here's what reviewers are saying:

The Frisky Fairy has excerpts from "Roping the Cowboy" by Teresa Noelle Roberts, "Tart Cherry" by Kathleen Delaney-Adams and "The Neckcloth" by Annabel Joseph, and wrote:
There are not enough words in the English language to tell you how much I loved this book. I was able to find new and exciting stories that turned me on, and that is a rarity. The language and content were able to thrill me on multiple levels, and I really feel that this book has enough content for everyone that it would be hard to be disappointed. I was incredibly impressed with the diversity across the pages, as I feel there is not enough diversity in erotica and many erotic anthologies. There was diversity in body types, relationship types, gender roles, sex, gender, and gender presentation. The bondage itself ranged from beginner to advanced, but the stories still displayed the same feeling of intimacy in all the various types of relationships.
We Love Kink gave it 5 love taps and wrote in part:
I did not realize just how many ways there were to tie some up up. There were your basic ropes in Rope Dance a circus themed story, a funky use for a necktie in Neckcloth, some interesting usage of paper clips in Clipped, a leather chastity belt in Belted In, some very very different ways to use a simple shoelace in Pegged, ribbons in Wearing Purple and also the invisible usage of bondage in Mind Fuck.

There were plenty of toys, dildos in all shapes and sizes, spanking brushes, whips, floggers, birches, handcuffs, ropes and an innovative device that Anna is strapped down on from her arms to her legs. I loved the way that so many toys were talked about. It was new, fresh and completely different story after story. Sure there were similar themes, bondage being it, of course but the way it was achieved was always very different. In Mind Fuck, Cari has a muscle disease so she could only pretend to be tied down. And let me tell you Quinton did a great job of talking her through it. He was hot stuff.
Here's the Table of Contents (click on the highlighted text below to read my introduction at the book's Tumblr):

Foreword: No Bondage Please, I’m Kinky Laura Antoniou

Introduction: Cruel to Be Kind, and Vice Versa Rachel Kramer Bussel

Rope Dancer Kathleen Tudor

Behind the Door Kay Jaybee

My Own Device Raziel Moore

The Neckcloth Annabel Joseph

Anyway Sommer Marsden

Eel Annabeth Leong

No Strings Attached James McArthur

Roping the Cowboy Teresa Noelle Roberts

Meeting L. C. Spoering

The Snake Jacqueline Brocker

Clipped Lucy Felthouse

Tart Cherry Kathleen Delaney-Adams

Ring of Fire Michelle Augello-Page

Belted In Roxanna Cross

Pegged Emily Bingham

Tight-Rope Walker Tilly Hunter

An Appreciation for Beautiful Things Giselle Renarde

Mind Fuck Kissa Starling

Wearing Purple Elizabeth Coldwell

Dual Mastery Rachel Kramer Bussel

Buy Best Bondage Erotica 2014 from:

Amazon

Kindle ebook edition

Amazon UK

Bn.com

Nook ebook edition

Books-a-Million

Powell's

IndieBound (find your local independent bookstore)

Cleis Press



When you're done reading Best Bondage Erotica 2014, check out my other books as well as these hot books by contributors (I'm linking to the Kindle versions, but many are available in print as well as other ebook formats):

kayjaybee
The Best of Kay Kaybee
by Kay Jaybee

wakingkiss
Waking Kiss
by Annabel Joseph, part of her BDSM Ballet series

sommerboysnextdoor
Boys Next Door
by Sommer Marsden

18740020
Design and Scandal
by Annabeth Leong

knowingtheropes
Knowing the Ropes
by Teresa Noelle Roberts

felthouse
The Best of Lucy Felthouse
by Lucy Felthouse

tillyhuntercover
Miranda's Tempest
by Tilly Hunter

mistressthighs
My Mistress' Thighs
by Giselle Renarde, "A cross-dressing cowboy, a post-war pin-up, and a wolf in grandmother's clothing all find a special home in My Mistress' Thighs."

everythingtohim
Everything to Him
by Elizabeth Coldwell

marketplacecover
The Marketplace
by Laura Antoniou, the first of her classic kinky series, free for Kindle as of this posting

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