Best Sex Writing 2012 praise, sex diary, iPhone essay and photos

A few things to share (though for faster linkage, try my Facebook fan page, and yes I know that sounds pretentious, sorry, or add me Google+).

My new book, the one with the buy one get one free from me offer through this Friday, Best Sex Writing 2012, was named by Creative Loafing Atlanta "one of the top 10 most provocative books out this month."



This week's sex diary (I'm the editor): "The 'Terrible Girlfriend' Making the Most of Holiday Sex" and last week's in case I didn't link to it: "The Marketing Consultant Getting a Blowjob at His Parents' House for Christmas."

I wrote an essay for Open Salon called "My iPhone Photos (all 5,000 of Them), Myself" along with some of those photos, like this one:



And over at Romance Divas I'm the Author of the Month, with an accompanying interview about Irresistible: Erotic Romance for Couples, which will be published this month and I'm very excited about! Read 16 hot excerpts here.



And last but not least: 11 Cupcakes I Liked in 2011! and Top 10 Cupcakes Take the Cake posts of 2011.


s'mores cupcake


Samoa cupcakes


Andes mint cupcake

10 Cupcakes Take the Cake posts you should read

Cupcakes Take the Cake is my blogging pride and joy, my baby, the longest project I've worked on continuously, not counting this blog (and will outlast my previously held longest job), and it's funny because as I'm brainstorming pitches, cupcakes leap out at me at every turn. We will celebrate our 7th anniversary with a party in December (stay tuned!), are heading to New Paltz on October 22nd, I'm going to Scottsdale to judge Cupcake Love-In at the end of the month, and next August we'll be hosting a Cupcake Cruise. All very exciting. Cupcakes Take the Cake is also a large portion of my income, so if you like the blog, I'd love it if you'd pass it on to someone, Tweet it, like it on Facebook, etc. We are also on Tumblr. And if you have a local bakery that would like some postcards of ours, email me at cupcakestakethecake at gmail.com with "Postcards" in the subject, how many you want, and where to send them (US only), and I'll get them right out.

I love that my favorite new local cafe, where I've been working a lot, asked me to help them find a cupcake supplier. Cupcakes have taught me so much and while there is much to learn about how to blog better and more often and more successfully, I want to remember how much the blog, the umpteen people I've met because of it, and the neverending source material, mean to me. Yesterday I spent seemingly forever writing one little erotica story, which turned out to be not so little. I have no idea if it works; that'll be for my publisher to decide, but by the time I got to the end, my brain was tired. My brain gets excited about cupcake blogging, and while I don't have time to post all the ideas I have, it's not exhausting in that same way.

So, I present you with 10 recent cupcake posts I think are worth your time:

RIP Steve Jobs: Apple, iPod touch and iPhone cupcakes


Owl, dinosaur, bird, turtle, Hello Kitty and other cute cupcake toppers from Etsy


The cutest Cookie Monster cupcake I've ever seen


Cupcakes in A Very Babymouse Christmas (I cannot possibly recommend the Babymouse series more, and it's my go-to gift to every parent of young children I know. Also, there's Hannukah in here too!)


Cupcake violence captured in photographs


My friend Rebecca's adorable 3-year-old daughter celebrates her birthday with cupcakes


Halloween cupcake cuteness alert: mummy, zombie and vampire cupcake toppers on Etsy!


Rubik's Cube and Angry Birds cake pops


Halloween monster cupcakes


Henna-inspired wedding cupcake tower

Red high-heeled edible cupcake shoes with pretty bows!

My fellow cupcake blogger Nichelle took this photo of high-heeled cupcake shoes at a party last night to celebrate the upcoming release of the cookbook Cupcakes, Cookies and Pies, Oh My by Alan Richardson and Karen Tack.. They are some of the presenters on our August 2012 Cupcake Cruise to Bermuda! Tickets go on sale next week and you can sign up at cupcakecruise.com for more information when they go on sale. And while I have a hot date with my personal organizer and can't make it, you should totally join Cupcakes Take the Cake for Sunday's Greenwich Village Cupcake Crawl, where you can win a cupcake t-shirt by Rogue Cupcakes!

Sweet E's Cupcakes on Martha's Vineyard = amazing!

If you go to Martha's Vineyard and aren't full from must-try Mad Martha's ice cream, do check out Sweet E's Cupcakes in Vineyard Haven or Edgartown. Every time I've had some they were amazing! For more cupcake porn, visit Cupcakes Take the Cake! Click below or here to see our Sweet E's coverage.




salted caramel!

Seattle cupcaking and tonight's the big night of Gotta Have It hotness

Conveyor belt cupcakes at Blue C Sushi! I couldn't believe it.


The divine s'mores cupcake from Trophy Cupcakes, who put my face on cupcakes last year!

And here's the Cupcake Royale lineup at tonight's Gotta Have It fun, free reading (do tell anyone you know in Seattle, I promise hotness):

Rachel Kramer Bussel, Shanna Germain and Naked Girls Reading at Babeland! (no need to RSVP but that links through to Facebook where you can easily pass this info on)

June 27, 6-8 pm
Babeland
707 E. Pike Street
Seattle, WA (Capitol Hill)

Join Gotta Have It editor Rachel Kramer Bussel, contributor Shanna Germain ("Genesis") and burlesque performers Jesse Belle-Jones, Polly Wood and Heidi Von Haught from Naked Girls Reading for a fun, fabulous event at Babeland Seattle for short, sexy readings from Gotta Have It: 69 Stories of Sudden Sex, plus free cupcakes! Free EdenFantasys tote bags will be given away.

Cupcakes will be 5 dozen mini cupcakes by Cupcake Royale, also in Capitol Hill. Flavors:

Baby raspberry rhubarb (rhubarb cake w/raspberry cream cheese frosting)
Baby gay (vanilla funfetti cake w/vanilla buttercream and rainbow sprinkles)
Baby peppermint on chocolate
Baby salted caramel
Baby triple threat

Cupcake headphones!

Cupcake headphones for sale on Etsy - at Cupcakes Take the Cake!

And some cupcakes and a cake pop I found at my favorite park, Stuyvesant Square, this weekend:

"The Gay" cupcake at Seattle's Cupcake Royale, free for you at my reading June 27th!

Visit Cupcakes Take the Cake for the scoop on "The Gay" cupcake at Seattle's Cupcake Royale in June, benefiting the It Gets Better Project!



You know where can get these in mini size FOR FREE along with 4 other flavors?? At my reading at Babeland June 27th! Once again, please please please tell your friends, pass on the Facebook link, etc.
Monday, June 27 · 6:00pm - 8:00pm

Babeland
707 E. Pike Street
Seattle, WA

Join Gotta Have It editor Rachel Kramer Bussel, contributor Shanna Germain ("Genesis") and burlesque performers Jesse Belle-Jones, Polly Wood and Heidi Von Haught from Naked Girls Reading for a fun, fabulous event at Babeland Seattle for short, sexy readings from Gotta Have It: 69 Stories of Sudden Sex, plus free cupcakes! Free copies of SexIs Magazine will be given away.

Cupcakes will be 5 dozen mini cupcakes by Cupcake Royale, also in Capitol Hill. Flavors:

Baby raspberry rhubarb (rhubarb cake w/raspberry cream cheese frosting)
Baby gay (vanilla funfetti cake w/vanilla buttercream and rainbow sprinkles)
Baby peppermint on chocolate
Baby salted caramel
Baby triple threat

5 graduation cupcake toppers on Etsy, plus Seattle excitement building

5 graduation cupcake toppers on Etsy - I'm proud of this Cupcakes Take the Cake post! Love researching the minutiae of cupcake culture, and making it timely, at that.

Looking forward to trying more cupcakes in Boston this weekend (and some heavy duty walking - less than 5 weeks til the Rock N Roll (Half) Marathon)! At this point, if I don't walk all 13 miles, I won't be kicking myself. I haven't trained as hard as I could have, but I do hope I will be able to do at least 11 in the 4 hours alloted. Then I will retire to my hotel and luxuriate and relax and maybe get some Sweet Iron Waffles.

And then prepare for one of the hottest readings I've ever done - Monday, June 27th, 6-8 pm at Babeland in Capitol Hill - I will be bombarding you with information/begging you to make it a packed one. For now, while I get that everyone wants to RSVP on Facebook to tell us why they can't make it, I will ask that if you can't make it, please do me a gigantic favor and tell your Seattle friends (you can use that handy Facebook link). It's a free event, with free cupcakes, and Naked Girls Reading reading from Gotta Have It, and Shanna Germain in from Portland. And free copies of SexIs Magazine (print edition). Trust me, it's gonna be super hot.

I probably won't read in Seattle for...a very long time (no offense to Seattle, I'm just retiring from most readings so I can focus on better book marketing, and I just can't afford to travel that much, physically or financially or timewise). I'm trying not to go insane stressing over Seattle and London, but at the same time, if I don't put every ounce of energy into these readings I can, what's the point?

I almost canceled the Seattle trip but then decided to go through with it, and I'm proud of that decision. I learned a lot from making that plan insanely early, which I'd never do again, but I'm looking forward to trying something I wouldn't have done. I'm also going to carve out some time in 2012 (my 2011 time is pretty much spoken for) to look into writing retreats, even if it's just 4 or 5 days. I need it, and owe it to myself. That is an infinitely better use of my time than the crazy reading schedules I've been keeping the last few years. I don't regret it, I just felt this total shift in my priorities, aided by my royalty statements. Doing something that doesn't work ad nauseam is, well, not wise. I'm not saying I'm so wise at 35, but I'm learning. Plus I just realized after ending In The Flesh that I like being at my computer more than on a stage. I like creating words. I have so many friends who live for being on stages, performing, acting, etc., and I admire them greatly, but I am not them, and I shouldn't have to be to be a writer. I enjoy gathering people together, hosting, organizing, but I also see the many costs that takes on me and I am grateful for a chance to have a quieter life.

Samoa Girl Scout cookies!!

SOOOOOO good. Huge thanks to Rudy from Man Bakes Cake. Read my review at Cupcakes Take the Cake!

Food porn: grilled cheese and cupcakes

Yesterday I had the pleasure of celebrating my one-month anniversary with a lunch date at Melt Shop. We got rained on soon after we started eating but it was fun. I had the 3-cheese grilled cheese which was delicious and very rich and filling. I'm not a big fan of sundried tomatoes but otherwise it was awesome, though LA's Grilled Cheese Truck is still my favorite. The tater tots were great too. I'll be back next week to try more!


Buttermilk fried chicken grilled cheese (I didn't have this one but it looked good)


3-cheese grilled cheese with sundried tomatoes


tater tots!

And I hope you're visiting Cupcakes Take the Cake every day for royal wedding cupcakes, oozing filled cupcakes, and so much more! Here's my ode to the quiet sweetness of Sugar Sweet Sunshine on the Lower East Side in the morning. I am hoping to rouse myself from slumber for more walks there. It's invigorating and I don't even want sugar after a brisk walk, but I do like giving out cupcakes.

Royal wedding cupcakes!

We've got lots and lots of royal wedding cupcakes for you over at Cupcakes Take the Cake, with more coming. This is the new "cupcake holiday" between Easter and Mother's Day!

Earth Day cupcake roundup

This is how I put my college education to use, people! Please click through if you want more Earth Day cupcake cuteness, plus I linked to all the nonprofit groups that are benefiting from the sales of these cupcakes.


Magnolia Bakery Earth Day cupcakes

Random Acts of Cupcakes at Cupake Royale

Click here to read more about my evening at Cupcake Royale - a proper first day in Seattle post coming soon!

Don't miss these Cupcakes Take the Cake posts

Royal wedding cupcake roundup

Recipe for Cadbury creme egg cupcakes

Let Lisa Loeb select your next pair of glasses, play a concert for you and eat cupcakes in Dallas

How to make Easter Bunny cupcakes

Bjork cupcakes

My April events

Quick run-through of my April events, click through for details (where I have a link).

April 11 - Cupcake Business Class, NYC, 6:30-9:30 pm

Cupcake Business Class will cover branding, business development and using social media to grow your business. The class will last 3 hours and will include Q&A. This class is also useful for anyone starting a specialty food business.

April 14 - This is Exodus, Bitches: A Jewcy Pre-Passover Comedy Blowout

On April 14th, Jewcy presents a night of pre-Passover horror stories and other religiously noncommittal Jewish-ish humor from several of the funniest writers and comedians in New York. Featuring Rachel Shukert, Good for the Jews (with Rob Tannenbaum of Playboy Magazine), Sara Barron, Rachel Kramer Bussel, Adam Lustick, Rose Surnow, Erica Reitman (Fucked in Park Slope) Maris Kreizman (Slaughterhouse 90210) and more! Come prepared to drink, because every bottle of beer or glass of wine you buy goes to benefit our favorite nonprofit bookstore, cafe, and event space that raises money to fight AIDS and homelessness, Housing Works.

Housing Works is at 126 Crosby Street, the event is free, and it starts at 7:00 PM

April 17 - attending CupcakeCamp Seattle

April 20 - one-page reading organized by Jason Boog

April 21 - Panelist, Game Show Speakeasy, Le Poisson Rouge, 158 Bleecker Street, NYC

NEXT SHOW: THURSDAY, APRIL 21, 8:00 PM.
On the third Thursday of every month at 8:00, at our home on the gallery bar stage at Le Poisson Rouge, Neil and Clams bring you their classic guessing game that has been a live downtown hit for over four years! A panel of NYC's nightlife favorites, from burlesquers to bloggers, join forces and attempt to guess the occupation of regular New Yorkers� and the identity of fabulous celebrity mystery guests! Past mystery guests have included Martha Plimpton, Zach Galifianakis, Mo Rocca and Randy Jones to name just a few. Who knows who you'll see next month! And every month contestants are drawn from our audience, so you just might get to come up and play the game for fabulous prizes from our sponsors!

April 22 - live interview, Sex with Jaiya (will be recorded), 4 pm PST, 7 pm EST

April 28, 6:30-8 pm - Cupcakes Take the Cake cohosts book party for Semi-Sweet: A Novel of Love and Cupcakes by Roisin Meaney.

Cupcakes Take The Cake has partnered with Hachette Book Group to celebrate the release of Roisin Meaney's new book, Semi-Sweet: A Novel of Love and Cupcakes. We will be having a book party at Solas in the East Village and eating cupcakes from Baked By Melissa. 232 E 9th St, New York, NY

Cupcakes Take the Cake's April meetup: Book party for novel Semi-Sweet

Reposted from Cupcakes Take the Cake.



For our April Meetup, Cupcakes Take The Cake has partnered with Hachette Book Group to celebrate the release of Roisin Meaney's new book, Semi-Sweet: A Novel of Love and Cupcakes. We will be having a book party on Thursday April 28 at Solas in the East Village and eating cupcakes from Baked By Melissa. RSVP on our Meetup page.







Author Roisin Meaney will be at the book party.

You know you want a decapitated zombie gingerbread cupcake recipe

Right? If so, just visit Cupcakes Take the Cake for the recipe from Zombie Cupcakes: From the Grave to the Table with 16 Cupcake Corpses by Zilly Rosen!

Free mini cupcake, cake pop, whoopie pie or square at Starbucks with drink purchase March 10, 11, 12

Get details and a cupcake review at Cupcakes Take the Cake

Mini cheesecake cupcakes at Baked by Melissa

Mini cheesecake cupcakes at Baked by Melissa in NYC (they also do mail order), special flavor for March only. $1 each (cheaper for larger orders). Read my review at Cupcakes Take the Cake.

Cupcake tissue holder and 5 other things I've blogged at Cupcakes Take the Cake

In case you need a cupcake-pick-me-up, a few items from Cupcakes Take the Cake:


cupcake tissue holder at Neatoshop!

Inception-inspired cupcakes with absinthe

Dr. Seuss cupcakes

Camouflage and Easter cupcake wrappers

pretty flower cupcakes

St. Patrick's Day cupcakes

And Nichelle posted this Cupcake Coif at Atlanta Hair Show!