Want a free copy of Best Bondage Erotica 2015? Join the Thunderclap and help celebrate this hot new book!

Sometimes, life seems to laugh at me. Today was one of those days; not because I skipped errands yesterday and had to do them today in the snow, which actually was quite lovely, and made me grateful to return to the warmth of my office where the heat is blasting away. No, life laughed at me because for weeks I've been meaning to send out an author update on my shipping-from-the-printer-very-soon anthology Best Bondage Erotica 2015 and to start a Thunderclap campaign for it (more on that in a moment).

Today I finally did...and it turned out I was using the wrong cover! Sometimes, despite what we as authors/editors would like, changes happen and we don't find out. So of course I not only sent all the authors an email about the book but I also added the old cover all over social media and only then did I click through to Amazon, which is currently showing the correct cover for the paperback and the old wrong cover for the Kindle. I felt stupid, because one thing I'm trying to do this year is cut back on self-promotional Tweets and other postings in favor of my substantive and hopefully helpful posts. I love Twitter, and have connected with amazing authors and readers there, but I know that there's a fine line between saying something interesting and shilling, and I don't want to cross it from my personal account (I made @bestbondage just for that purpose though).

Long story short, I felt pretty foolish but then remembered that I have this awesome book full of something I don't see as often as I'd like in submissions to my books: femdom! What's also fascinating to me is that there are two home repair bondage stories and two kinky camping stories, plus other fun twists, including using a material for bondage I never would have considered, though I have used it for non-bondage purposes. So without further ado, here's the new final cover of the book. I am a book and editor nerd so I have my copies sent directly from the printer.

I'm hoping they arrive before I escape the winter cold for a few days on the beach but whenever they get here, I will be posting photos, because my favorite days as an anthology editor are when that box arrives and I open it and see the fruit of my labor. One of the great things about editing an annual series is feeling a smidge less guilty about sending out rejection letters because I know I will have another call up (and I will post that the second it's finalized!). Well, I probably still feel just as awful as ever--it's by far the worst part of my job--but it does mean that I at least know I'll be able to start fresh with a new year and new batch of authors.

I save room in every anthology for authors I've never published before, and this year those include Tim Rudolph, longtime Erotica Readers & Writers Association member Daddy X, Robert Black, erotic novelists Nichelle Gregory and Jodie Griffin, LN Bey and Jenne Davis of Clitical. That is the best part of what I do, because I will never forget seeing my name in a book for the first time, and being able to publish these authors, and getting to introduce at least two newcomers to the genre with their first published stories, means the world to me. So feast on this final gorgeous cover, take heed of my error and always make sure your cover is the right one before you post it, and stay tuned for the release! You can check out the Table of Contents and my introduction on Tumblr.



So back to Thunderclap: how it works is kind of like Kickstarter, but where Kickstarter gathers funds, Thunderclap gathers people. The idea is that 100 people posting about a book release at the same day and time has a lot more impact than those same 100 people each posting on different days. My campaign looks like this:



It's something I'm trying for the first time, it being a new year, a new book and me realizing last year I have to innovate or give up. So here's my special offer. If you join the Thunderclap, which means you allow Thunderclap to post from your Facebook, Twitter or Tumblr account on February 3rd at 11 a.m. EST about the book, I'll send you a free copy later that day. Just join the Thunderclap now, send me your name and mailing address and Facebook or Tumblr URL or Twitter handle (whichever method you chose) to bestbondage2015 at gmail.com with "Thunderclap" in the subject line and then you'll get a signed copy the next week, just in time for Valentine's Day. I'm limiting this to the next 99 people to sign up for the Thunderclap, which I probably don't need to say, but I will. THANK YOU for helping the series succeed. I am so proud of it and how the authors have taught me so much about bondage, and hope you love it as much as I do.