Email: rachelkramerbussel at gmail.com



 

Lusty Lady

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Watch my first and favorite book trailer for Spanked: Red-Cheeked Erotica. Get Spanked in print and ebook

Monday, February 08, 2016

Everything old is new again, or a deep dive into some of my earliest BDSM erotica anthologies

In my world, new is what's in. The next article or essay I'm writing, the new book to hit the shelves, the next call for submissions. Yesterday's news may as well be last century's, it often seems. The new whatever it is is the one warranting attention, both mine and my editor's or publisher's and, presumably, readers'. This plays out in how I earn a living, in that the books that sell the most are usually the newly released ones, although sometimes an older title will surprise me by taking on an extended life of its own. I certainly don't spend much time contemplating my older work, save for what's been my annual moves when I unpack all my books (I'm hoping this year broke the annual move cycle and we get to stay in our current place for a long long time).

It can be easy to forget about the work that came before when you are always focused, by necessity, on the now, on the present and future. I've had somewhat of a crisis of confidence in the last week and have been soul searching and trying to figure out my next professional steps, asking myself the hard questions about whether I'm the kind of person who makes bold moves like the people I most admire or whether it's time to retreat to something safer, more stable, less scary and risky. Yes, I get signs from the universe, but I often question them, and question myself. I've been at this crossroads lately trying to make sense of what to do next, and I don't have any major answers just yet, although I'm hatching new projects that I'm equally excited and nervous about and working to creatively visualize them and believe in them, and therefore, in myself.

I also think it's natural to hope/want your work to improve over time, which is why when I do move and pull out artifacts from long ago, things like my old zine I'm Not Waiting, begun almost half my lifetime ago and lasting three blessedly short issues, or that time I was flunking out of law school but decided to write for the NYU paper instead, or my writing for websites that are now defunct, I cringe and quickly move on. I know all those experiences are part of me, but perhaps as a mental self-preservation measure, I look toward what I can do with the knowledge I have now, at 40, how I can move forward toward my goals.

hesontopshesontop

So I admit it's equally flattering and unnerving that writer LN Bey did an incredibly deep dive review into six of my BDSM erotica anthologies: He's on Top; She's on Top; Yes, Sir; Yes, Ma'am; Please, Sir; Please, Ma'am. I think it's safe to say my work has never been analyzed this closely. I never in a million years would have imagined someone reading and rereading these books, analyzing them so precisely (if I had imagined that, most likely I never would have completed them, because hello, terrifying). I say that not because I'm not proud of them, just because they seemed like books I put out, and then moved on from. I know that book buyers are fickle and bookstore space is often ephemeral (though thankfully these are all available in ebook form). So to see them treated as worthy of study, to see favorites dissected and all that care taken with my little books is both a surprise and a new way of me thinking about my books. They are not dead, but very, very alive.

If you've enjoyed those books or even if you've never heard of them, it's worth checking out and warms my heart to see someone so passionate not about my books per se, although that is obviously an ego boost, but about the erotica genre. That reverence for erotica is something I see occasionally, but not all that often, and at a time when I'm, say, forbidden from buying ads or boosting posts on Facebook, and often sex is treated as utterly unwelcome in online and tech spaces, it's refreshing to see my chosen genre treated with such high regard.

For me personally, it's very easy to look at those older books simply as numbers on a royalty spreadsheet, as books I'm proud of but that are part of history, not the present. I'm grateful for the reminder that books are forever, and that even when I'm not always sure of it, my work matters to someone. It's a feeling I will take with me as I work on editing my next anthology, especially as I seek out women writers who might not come across an erotica call for submissions but just might have insights worth sharing with the world. That's my highly personal take, at a particularly charged time in my life. If you are interested in the dynamics of BDSM as they play out in these books and/or BDSM fiction, definitely check it out.

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Monday, March 31, 2014

Today's the last day for these $1.99 ebooks: Spanked, He's on Top, Passion

Today's the last day of March and the last day to get my Cleis Press books Spanked: Red-Cheeked Erotica, He's on Top: Erotic Stories of Male Dominance and Female Submission and Passion: Erotic Romance for Women for only $1.99. He's on Top came out in 2007, what feels like a lifetime ago, and also means I don't have the original file handy to share the table of contents and my introduction, but you can look inside on Amazon and read for yourself. Pretty sure I never expected to be where I am today, both having edited so many books, working for myself, and living in New Jersey. This book contains many favorites, including "The Sun Is an Ordinary Star" by Shanna Germain, which I reference at most of my erotic writing workshops. It's hot and kinky and deals with cancer. How many erotica stories can say that? First of their kind books are always special and this was my first specifically kink-oriented anthology (aside from spanking). Spanked too has one of my personal favorites, "Daddy's Girl" by Teresa Noelle Roberts, which to me is a perfect example of age play, the first I published. I love Spanked for the variety of spankings it contains and the assorted motivations. As a spankophile, I think it does the topic justice, though of course if you just can't get enough, there's also Bottoms Up and Cheeky Spanking Stories (the Pretty Things Press books are now out of print--yes, I've been at this long enough that I have books that are out of print--but I hope to edit more spanking erotica someday). Happy reading!



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Spanked: Red-Cheeked Erotica


Introduction: “A Fantastic Kind of Pain”

Spanking You Rick Roberts
Perfect Bound Shanna Germain
Betty Crocker Gone Bad Alison Tyler
Laser Tag Madeline Glass
A Rare Find Donna George Storey
Game, Set, Match Sage Vivant
Tied Down Andy Ohio
Through a Glass, Sharply Elizabeth Coldwell
Reunion Madlyn March
Riding the Storm Thomas Christopher
The Breeding Barn L. Elise Bland
Pink Cheeks Fiona Locke
Page by Page Laura Bacchi
Fiscal Discipline Simon Sheppard
Pre-Party Thomas S. Roche
Still Life with Infidels #56 M. David Hornbuckle
Indulgences Tenille Brown
Logan Rosalind Christine Lloyd
Daddy’s Girl Teresa Noelle Roberts
The Depths of Despair Rachel Kramer Bussel

Introduction: “A Fantastic Kind of Pain”

Just as I have a seemingly endless capacity to bare my ass and get it smacked soundly or make a squirming bottom hover on the edge of erotic oblivion with loud, ringing, stinging whack after whack, I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of reading stories about spanking. There was a time when I wasn’t sure I could say that; after all, just how much is there to say about bending over and letting a firm hand connect with a pertly offered-up bottom? Or striking a pretty pair of buttcheeks so well the person beneath you moans in ecstatic agony? Well, as I’ve learned while editing this collection, there are an infinite number of ways to talk about the pleasures of getting spanked or spanking someone. While the actions may look alike, we all experience them differently and have different motives for indulging in this beloved kinky activity.

Me? I get off on just thinking about bending over for that special someone. Maybe I’m wearing panties, and only part of my bottom is visible. Maybe I’m not, and my spanker can see everything, including my wetness. I get wet at the mere idea of offering up my entire body to a lover to play with, tease, spank, and arouse. I’ve also had plenty of eager bottoms spread before me, offering asses that just begged to be spanked, whether they speak words to that effect or not. But for me, and for many others, spanking is about much more than just the physical. It’s about what that sensation creates inside of us. Spanking breaks down our barriers in ways even sex sometimes doesn’t; it stirs up emotions; it makes us whimper or cry, or be proud of just how much we can take. It’s primal and powerful, not to mention incredibly popular. I was thrilled to see spanking make an appearance on Showtime’s Californication, where the bratty, bossy bottom of a secretary demands that her boss spank her for any office infraction. “Hit Me Baby One More Time,” indeed.

And those who bestow spankings, whether with hands, paddles, hairbrushes, or other devices, relish that power to bring pleasure and pain mixed together, to completely undo the person they are spanking with just a few (or possibly many) whacks.

The authors included here get just how intense spanking can be. Reading these stories took my breath away, and, even more so than my previous collections (Naughty Spanking Stories from A to Z 1 and 2), made me instantly horny. They’ve tapped into the beauty of spanking in a way that newbies, seasoned spankophiles, and those who are simply curious will be able to understand in an instant.

Rick Roberts opens this anthology with “Spanking You,” a story I’ve read and reread numerous times, mesmerized by its rendering of a man so entranced by the vision he makes when he spanks his girlfriend, you imagine he could do it all night, every night, and never tire of it. He even offers up a little bit of a how-to for those would-be spankers looking for the courage to simply turn him or her over and begin this sensual process:

I used to tease you at the beginning of every spanking. As you’d kneel before me on the bed, not a stitch of clothing on your tan body, I’d fake the first blow—stopping just short of your ass, letting the air kiss your skin—and then place an affectionate caress onto your behind. By removing the certainty of whether the next sensation would be soft or a stinging slap, I’d keep you centered in the moment, keep you waiting and vulnerable, and your anticipation for the spanking grew. I would look down at you and smile, knowing that your desire for the first slap on your ass was growing unbearable by the moment.

Part of the thrill of spanking someone is being able to dangle what they most desire before them, to see them there waiting, panting, asking for it with body and soul, to know (or at least, fantasize) that they can’t get off any other way than by the “punishment” you are about to deliver. Elizabeth Coldwell paints a portrait of a true top in “Through a Glass, Sharply,” when she writes, “You have never really known power until the man you love is at your feet, naked or very nearly so, helpless and vulnerable, while you remain fully dressed and completely in control.”

Madlyn March describes a first-time spanking in a way that will be familiar to any who have gasped, trembling, as they realized they not only can take, but crave, a whole lot more spanking than they’d initially expected:
I remembered how it felt when Mimi did it to me. At first, you’re surprised someone’s hitting you, even if you’ve asked her to. Then you’re excited. Then you’re in pain, but it’s a fantastic kind of pain. Each slap makes you want more, as much as you can take, until you can’t take any more, and you’re shaking, more than ready to have an orgasm, the kind that can only be gotten from a woman diving headfirst into you with her wet tongue licking rapidly.
Any time an author can make me hot for something that in real life actually unnerves me, I’m sold. I’m not usually a fan of Daddy/girl stories, but in Teresa Noelle Roberts’ excellent story, simply entitled “Daddy’s Girl,” she renders that role-playing relationship and its spanking potential perfectly, dissecting her characters’ motivations while maintaining the magic they each hold so dear about their arrangement.

For some people, spanking is playful, almost sillyæsexy in a way that makes you laugh as you come. This spirit is alive and well in L. Elise Bland’s “The Breeding Barn,” where a cheese paddle does double duty on the ass of an unsuspecting but happy boy bottom. And for the woman who goes by the name “Pink Cheeks” in the story of the same title, her fantasy comes true, to the letter, though in a setting she’d never have expected.

What I love most about this book is that while there are plenty of naughty boys and girls, that potentially clichéd setup never gets boring, because the authors take you right there, into the heart of a punishment spanking, letting you know that, on some level, each of these naughty boys or girls doesn’t just deserve but needs to be spanked for his or her own reasons. The authors play around with these tropes, recreating the act of spanking until it morphs into something endlessly entertaining, just as a good top can keep a bottom on the edge, smacking harder and harder, then backing off, drawing out the play.

While I’ve subtitled this book, “Red-Cheeked Erotica,” what happens on the surface of the skin is just the beginning when it comes to spanking. There’s an elegance, a poetry, a beauty to spanking that is much more akin to making love than fucking. It’s a rhythm, a beat, a gracefulness, a way two people can connect without saying a word. These elements come together in M. David Hornbuckle’s simple yet powerful “Still Life with Infidels #56,” in which a planned kidnapping is set against the sparse backdrop of a steel mill as two recently reunited lovers attempt to recover what they’d lost.

The thrill of erotic spanking is nothing new, even if each time can make even the most experienced bottom feel like a blushing virgin all over again. James Joyce wrote a series of spanking-loving letters to his beloved wife Nora in December 1909 (and for a lesson in the art of sensual, utterly kinky yet romantic erotica, look up Joyce’s naughty letters online). I cannot legally quote him here, though believe me, Joyce was a fullon spankophile according to these missives, understanding precisely what it means to submit (and to willingly struggle).

As I already told you, when it comes to spanking, I simply can’t get enough. I hope these stories turn you on, inspire you, and spark your own imagination about just how hot a spanking from someone who knows exactly what he’s doing can make you.

Rachel Kramer Bussel
New York City

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He's on Top: Erotic Stories of Male Dominance and Female Submission


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Passion: Erotic Romance for Women

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Monday, March 03, 2014

3 ebooks of spanking and BDSM erotica and erotic romance for only $1.99 on Kindle

For a limited time (sorry, I don't know how long, so I'd hope on the sale now) my books Spanked: Red-Cheeked Erotica, He's on Top: Erotic Stories of Male Dominance and Female Submission, and Passion: Erotic Romance for Women are on sale for only $1.99 on Kindle! More info about each is below, including the very first book trailer I ever made, for Spanked.

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Spanked: Red-Cheeked Erotica


Watch the book trailer (yes, I get spanked in it, safely enough for YouTube):



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He's on Top: Erotic Stories of Male Dominance and Female Submission


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Passion: Erotic Romance for Women

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Thursday, February 13, 2014

Valentine's Day kink: BDSM erotica featuring female submission and femdom and kinky couples

I was inspired by this Valentine's Day gift guide from Toronto site She Does The City (with help from the wonderful sex toy store Come As You Are), which paired Best Bondage Erotica 2014 with bondage cuffs to round up my BDSM erotica books, which are by far the most popular of all my books, into one post, in case you're looking for a holiday (or anytime) kinky gift. Again, until I believe tomorrow, February 14th, you can get 3 books for the price of 1 from my publisher Cleis Press by using the code VAL14.

You can find more about my 3 spanking erotica anthologies and all 4 editions of the Best Bondage Erotica series by clicking on those links. This post is already long so I'm not including the full tables of contents but will tell you that Serving Him, Surrender, Please, Sir, Yes, Sir and He's on Top all feature female submissives and male dominants (there are occasionally more than two people in the stories but that is the theme) and Please, Ma'am, Yes, Ma'am and She's on Top have female dominant/male submissive (femdom) themes. Surrender features stories that have been in assorted other books of mine, so if you're a completist and have read all my anthologies, you have probably read these, but if you're new to BDSM erotica and want a taste of the kind of submission that happens in Fifty Shades of Grey and similar books, I recommend any of the submissive female books.

I'm also including Lust in Latex: Rubber Sex Stories here because while it isn't an exact match in terms of a BDSM book, it's very kinky and has a bit of variety in terms of sexualities and fetishes and I think BDSM inclined readers will enjoy it. Incidentally, She's on Top has one of my favorite covers ever. I just love the smile on his face! For you audiobook listeners, you can listen to free samples of all my books directly on Audible.com.

servinghim
Serving Him: Sexy Stories of Submission
Who knew that BDSM would become the biggest trend in book publishing? Rachel Kramer Bussel did and has emerged as one of the top writers, editors and experts on the subject. Serving Him pays homage to those irresistible men who control their partners with a glance, a pair of handcuffs, or a firm smack on the bottom. As true tops, the bossy hunks in these stories understand that erotic BDSM is about exulting in power that is freely yielded. Rachel and her coterie of contributors cover the full range of the male dom’s brand of sensual sadism, from spanking and bondage to public sex and power exchange.
Buy from:

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surrender
Surrender: Erotic Tales of Female Pleasure and Submission
Rachel Kramer Bussel's bestselling books of submissive women and dominant men showcase our fantasies, desires, and deepest wishes. For those (and there are MANY) who love to be tired up, spanked, blindfolded, bound, or "used," for another's pleasure, these are books of inspiration. And, of course, these smart subs are getting exactly what THEY really want in very many ways.

Good BDSM erotica makes us understand all the emotions that can come into play when, well, playing: there can be uncertainty, nervousness, fear, excitement. Each of the 22 stories in Surrender are blazingly hot and because they illuminate some aspect of submission. The authors of the stories understand the art of submission and the thrill of surrender, whether that’s personal space, sight (“Without Eyes” by Terri Pray) or culinary choices (“Lunch” by Elizabeth Coldwell).What the women here want is to give up part of themselves to gain something else. They may still be skittish, but overcoming their fears, surrendering to them, yields beauty, pleasure and, in its way, power.

Winner of 2012 NLA Samois Anthology Award
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anythingforyoucover
Anything for You: Erotica for Kinky Couples
Rachel Kramer Bussel is at the top of her game in BDSM erotica and now shares the pleasure in a one-of-a-kind book, custom-made for couples. Anything for You is stimulating reading, both for experienced players and those just discovering the joy of tying up your lover or bending over for the one you love These explicit stories of obsessive desire unlock the door to a world of obsessive desires, the passion that lies just beneath the skin. Bondage is the stuff of fantasy for a shockingly large segment of the population and true happiness is discovering what makes your partner tick. In this case, it might well be the tickle of rope on naked skin, or a firm paddling. Rachel Kramer Bussel's is a guidebook to great sex, told story by delicious story of uninhibited, adventurous sex sure to keep the home fires burning Each boldly wrought tale shared with your lover is another door opened into the erotic mindscape.
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lustinlatex
Lust in Latex: Rubber Sex Stories
Editrix extraordinaire Rachel Kramer Bussel tried on a latex dress and instantly discovered the very special and very sensual pleasures of fetish fashion, "It was way better than being naked. I felt divine, trapped inside this sleek, erotic cave. I never wanted to get out." Thus inspired, she set about collecting the sinfully seductive stories in Lust in Latex.

Rubber, latex and PVC all cling to the skin and have the power to make their wearers feel sensual, sexy, and aroused. In this collection, the world's hottest erotic authors make the most of the sensual potential inherent in getting suited up. Hang out with a "Tire Stud," learn "How to Liven Up a Boring Party," and go "From Solid to Liquid" in these tantalizing adventures. Get ready to enter a world where the most sensual material gets slipped on tightly, then polished, stroked, and caressed while the bodies inside heat up with desire. Find out why everything, from flirting to spanking to going all the way, is better in rubber.
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pleasesir
Please, Sir: Erotic Stories of Female Submission
The fortunate women of Please, Sir are not docile pushovers by any means. They make the rules and negotiate with their masters — though sometimes they also get off on being pushed just a little too far by men they know they can trust. It's as if the doms who enter their lives see the potential for submission in these women and want to arouse them more than ever before by providing an opportunity for them to let go. The editor of the bestsellers He's on Top and Yes, Sir, Rachel Kramer Bussel has chosen 22 stories that celebrate the thrill of submission by women who know exactly what they want. The characters in Please, Sir may be doing the bidding of their dominants, but the tops are just as much subject to the will of their subs, in their own way, by making them ache, moan, and quiver. With stories by Shanna Germain, Elizabeth Coldwell, Alison Tyler, and more.
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pleasemaam
Please, Ma'am: Erotic Stories of Male Submission
Women Who Rule

"I crave the pain she gives me, but it's more than that...I crave the person she becomes." —from "I'll Do It. For Her."

Go ahead, say the words out loud: "Please, Ma'am." If these words make you long for a woman to grab you by the scruff of your neck or control you with one fierce, all-knowing look, then this book is for you. Whether playing servant, student or nude model, the submissive men in Please, Ma'am revel in the attention of stern mistresses who know exactly what punishments they need. With stories by Michael Hemmingson, D.L. King, Graydancer, and many more, bestselling erotica editor Rachel Kramer Bussel has gathered today's best erotic tales of men who crave the cruel intentions of a powerful woman.

Includes contributions by Teresa Noelle Roberts, Charlotte Stein, Isabelle Gray, Elizabeth Coldwell, Remittance Girl, Craig J. Sorensen, Madeline Elayne, A.D.R. Forte, Sommer Marsden, Dominic Santi, Michael Hemmingson, Heidi Champa, Giselle Renarde, Ariel Graham, D.L. King, Rachel Kramer Bussel, Lee Ash, and Graydancer.
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yessir
Yes, Sir: Erotic Stories of Male Dominance
The lucky women in Yes, Sir give up control to irresistibly powerful men who understand that dominance is about exulting in power that is freely yielded. Bound, gagged or spanked—or controlled with just a glance—these erotic adventurers experience the breathtaking thrills of sexual submission. With stories by Donna George Storey, Alison Tyler, Stan Kent, and many more of the best writers in the field, Yes, Sir shows that pleasure is best when dispensed by a firm hand.
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yesmaam
Yes, Ma'am: Erotic Stories of Female Dominance
Experience the thrill of submission to the woman who dominates you day and night. In this collection, naughty boys get what's coming to them from wicked wives and stern mistresses. From a naked party plaything at the mercy of a room full of powerful women to being tied up and shown how to truly please the woman of your dreams, these men get fully teased and taunted, receiving the punishments they truly deserve and crave. Featuring stories from Alison Tyler, Debra Hyde and Ellen Tevault, Yes, Ma’am gives a whole new meaning to "mean girls," one that will be sure to delight and arouse you.
Buy from:

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BN.com

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Books-a-Million

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hesontop
He's on Top
He’s on Top pays homage to those irresistible men who control their partners with a glance, a tickling whip, or a measured smack on the bottom. As true tops, the bossy hunks in these stories understand that erotic BDSM is about exulting in power that is freely yielded. Contributors such as Amanda Earl, Mackenzie Cross, Alison Tyler, Mike Kimera, and others cover the full range of the male dom’s brand of sensual sadism, from spanking and bondage to public sex and power exchange.
Buy from:

Amazon

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shesontop
She's on Top
Turning the tables on rigid gender roles, the stories in She’s on Top honor the Amazon, the dominatrix, the handcuff-toting, whip-wielding she-devil of the male bottom’s deepest dreams. Employing every item in their bag of tricks, from strap-ons to metal cinches, these hot dommes like nothing better than teasing and tormenting their devoted subjects – often at the same time. With stories by some of the best writers in the field of BDSM erotica such as Stan Kent, Debra Hyde, and Saskia Walker, She’s on Top shows that pleasure’s best when dispensed by a firm female hand.
Buy from:

Amazon

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Friday, December 23, 2011

Erotica audiobooks: Listen to me now at Audible!

Cleis Press and Audible.com have paired up to bring you audio erotica! Several of my anthologies, as well as some anthologies featuring my stories, are now available for your listening pleasure. Below are links to Amazon, and you can also buy directly from Audible. I haven't heard them yet but think this is a very cool new way of getting erotica out there. If there are more, I'll link to them.

He's on Top: Erotic Stories of Male Dominance and Female Submission

She's on Top: Erotic Stories of Female Dominance and Male Submission

Orgasmic: Erotica for Women

Passion: Erotic Romance for Women

Hide and Seek: Erotic Tales of Voyeurs and Exhibitionists

Best Sex Writing 2010

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Tuesday, December 14, 2010

The oddness of being written about, for a writer

I just wrote a short essay I submitted to a site that's on my dream wishlist (fingers crossed) and had to describe someone, not in much detail, because, like way too many people swirling around my life, you'd need two words, if not one word, to know exactly who they are, and their precise identity is not actually the point. Still, when you are tasked with only so many words, every one counts. Should I start consorting with more generic types? Anyway, I describe two of his body parts, and that's it, because, ultimately, it's not really about him, but about me, because that's how I roll, I mean, write.

I keep going back to what kinds of descriptions matter, in fiction, but especially in nonfiction. If someone is bald, but to write that would give away their identity, so you make them have hair, are you totally betraying the concept of nonfiction? I don't think I'd ever be good at the composite character, though you never know; they seem to be a staple of almost every memoir I've read. I'd have to think hard to find a memoir without them.

I don't tend to spend overly long on them. Height, weight, hair color, skin color, clothes...I definitely do it more when writing women than men. I think I tend to gloss over it because the things that matter to me are voice, words, soul. Of course looks matter, I'd be lying if I said they didn't, but they aren't what, primarily, makes someone relevant or memorable to me.

So I wrote it and really it's sortof silly, I almost added, "And probably will get rejected," but I won't. It is a little silly, but I paused and wondered what he'd think. Chances are I'd never know so I don't have any qualms about it, but then right afterward, I read a description of me, me by name, no obfuscation necessary. I was going to say I'm not used to that, but that's a lie. I search for mentions of me all the time, in part out of habit, in part out of, sure, vanity. But still, a link or a mention or a quote is different from a physical description, different from a stranger trying to sum you up on first glance. I wonder if I'm easy to sum up, if I want to be. I don't know, but I'm thinking hard about my personal "brand," about how I hate that word but have to live with it and its consequences. I am, in a sense, trying to rebrand, because I'm a little over sex. Both sex, like, doing it, and sex, like, writing about it nonstop. I'm also a little over NYC and my life, but I can't really do anything about those.

My point was...seeing yourself written about is always weird. Disconcerting. Troubling, at times. I know that, and yet I don't think I can avoid writing about other people if I'm going to write about my life, unless I live out my dream to go off to the woods and live solely by internet connection.

So I found this description of me by Pamela Madsen interesting. Lately I keep wishing I could start over, keep wondering if I should, yet again, click delete on this blog and restart it like I did in, what, 2004? A clean slate. How tempting that would be if only it were doable. But it's not, not really, so I just have to make peace with everything that's "out there." The idea that someone could do "research" on me makes me want to vomit, but it is what it is. So anyway, onto Pamela's post (we will both be on the the Dr. Susan Block Show January 29th, and at Coco de Mer in LA February 1st).

was mesmerized by Rachel Kramer Bussel who looked like a young college kid with long unselfconscious hair, glasses and a simple frock – read to us from one of her then newest pieces of erotica. It was so surreal as she was not some overdone bimbo. Rachel was this real woman – writing and talking about real sex……or imaged real sex! And the funny thing was that I had just bought a book edited by her the day before called “He’s on Top”! I had never really heard of her before….such a newbie!

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Tuesday, April 14, 2009

25 of my 28 Amazon sales rankings are back



What's so bizarre, and I have an email in to Amazon (click here for my profile linking to all my books) about this, is that these three books, He's on Top: Erotic Stories of Male Dominance and Female Submission, She's on Top: Erotic Stories of Female Dominance and Male Submission, and Yes, Sir: Erotic Stories of Female Submission haven't had Amazon sales rankings since...June 2008, according to my email records (I stupidly never took a screenshot). I have an email in to my publisher, Cleis Press, dated June 13, 2008 about this issue. Amazon never really gave them a good answer, is the answer I got, and certainly never fixed it. I hadn't directly contacted Amazon about this until just now. Waiting to hear back.

So right now, I'm back to where I was before last Friday. I'm glad they fixed it so quickly. I don't totally understand the reasoning they're giving, but I also am ready to go back as a customer. I like Amazon. I use the site every single day to track my books, look up upcoming books and trends in erotica and other fields, update my wish lists, leave reviews, search lists, etc. I'm a good customer, and a prolific reviewer, hence I was invited to be part of their Amazon Vine program. I don't hate Amazon, I just wanted them to, if they are going to sell my books, give them a ranking so they can make it onto the erotica bestseller lists. What I couldn't comprehend about Amazonfail was why Amazon would deliberately do something like this, when they have multiple erotica bestseller lists, sex instruction bestseller lists, etc. They have such minute category bestseller lists, and it would seem in their best interests to boost sales of all their products, not just some.


Spanked: Red-Cheeked Erotica is #11 on Amazon's Erotica Anthologies bestseller list!

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Saturday, October 20, 2007

Good Vibrations loves He's on Top and She's on Top

We had a fabulous reading last weekend from these books, and I just saw these writeups on the Good Vibrations site. Yay! And in 2008 I'll be making up postcards for Yes, Sir and Yes, Ma'am (and my Seal Press book Dirty Girls) cause I love sending out snail mail, and cause all three covers are smoking hot.

Good Vibrations on She's on Top

There’s something about a strong, powerful woman who knows what she wants and how to get it…don’t you agree? If you get off on dominant women and submissive men, you’re going to get down on your knees for this hot collection! She’s on Top is all about the top and bottom dance—fantasies about taking and giving up power. With stories that include strap-ons, metal cinches, affairs with bosses and sexy married couples, you’ll enjoy the engaging writing and varying degrees of edginess in these pages. Heterosexual focus. 2007, 208 pp.

Good Vibrations on He's on Top

Editor Rachel Kramer Bussel, a GV favorite, took great care to create a collection about male dominance that is about exchanging power, not taking power. Storylines include tested limits, uncharted territories, personal struggles and strong-willed women. So, if it’s rough and tough men, pain, pleasure and control that get you off, you’ll find the kinky stories of your dreams inside these pages. Heterosexual focus. 2007, 192 pp.

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Wednesday, October 10, 2007

San Francisco: Litquake and He's/She's on Top readings!

I'm off to San Francisco tomorrow (Thursday) to shack up with a very sexy man and make him sandwiches and show off my new high heels and curl up and watch whatever I've conned him into renting on Netflix. More on him later, I just don't want to jinx things, plus am slammed getting ready to go. Also, uh, more professional reasons, like these readings below, one for the famed Litquake festival and one for my books He's on Top and She's on Top, with two of my favorite authors, Thomas S. Roche and Donna George Storey. I also plan to enjoy as many cupcakes as I can, perhaps swim in a pool with Heidi, and visit friends.

I will pop in tomorrow to post some very special press from one of my favorite people and you can probably expect some cupcake photos and other things. I am also lugging along my fair share of a to do list, but still, working while you're on vacation is somehow more chill than working from home. You should also totally check out the Good Vibrations blog (and, like, bookmark it/add it to your RSS reader) cause it's consistently informative.

I will also be attending this Litcrawl reading at 6 pm (check the listings cause Rachel Sarah and Max Valerio are also reading at the same time):

Good Vibrations (18 and over), 603 Valencia Street
Under the Sheets: Erotica Writers Heat Things Up
Charlie Anders, Jen Cross, Gina de Vries, Marlo Gayle, Carol Queen, Lori Selke, Simon Sheppard



Here's the details on my reading on October 13th from 7-7:45 pm:

Modern Times Bookstore, 888 Valencia Street, San Francisco

Seal Press Explores the F Stop
Female authors take on Fashion, Fucking, Feminism, Felines, Freestyling, and Felonies

Rachel Kramer Bussel, Jenesha “Jinky” De Rivera, Daphne Gottlieb, Samara Halperin, Julia Serano, Victoria Zackheim

Women Like Me Presents BodvilleSunday, October 14th: Free!

GV weekend event – Who’s on top? Book reading and signing of He's on Top and She's on Top with editor Rachel Kramer Bussel and contributors Thomas S. Roche and Donna George Storey.




As editor Rachel Kramer Bussel explains, these books "pay homage to the power, physical, mental, and emotional, that goes into being a true top. The dominants in these stories understand the gift they’re being given every time a lover offers herself up for their perusal or makes himself into an object for them to command and control.”


Rachel will be accompanied by contributors Thomas S. Roche and Donna George Storey.


Enjoy 15% off all erotica!




When: Sunday, October 14th

Time: 4:00 pm

Where:Good Vibrations Valencia Street Store

603 Valencia Street (at 17th Street)

San Francisco, CA 94110

(415) 522-5460

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Saturday, September 08, 2007

October 14th He's on Top/She's on Top reading in San Francisco!

I'm heading back to San Francisco next month to do the October 13th Seal Press reading at 7 pm at Modern Times Bookstore as part of Litquake. And to do the reading below. This comes on the heels of news that Good Vibrations is in dire financial straits so please visit their store and support them, and come out to our reading - 15% off all erotica!!! I'll post as it gets closer, but if there's anything cool art-wise or music-wise or cupcake-wise while I'm in town (October 12-16 or so), let me know. I already have a list of bakeries to hit up: Miette, Citizen Cupcake, Kara's Cupcakes. I actually have on my "to do list" taking it easy. Really. No crazy running all around town. Priorities are my readings, my date, publisher meetings and (omg!) relaxing. If anyone wants to do me a super huge favor and knows somewhere they could distribute some postcards (they have the She's on Top cover on one side, reading details on the back), email me at rachelkramerbussel at gmail.com - I'll make it worth your while. Not like that, but with free stuff. I want to make sure to spread the word far and wide.

Women Like Me Presents BodvilleSunday, October 14th: Free!

GV weekend event – Who’s on top? Book reading and signing of He's on Top and She's on Top with editor Rachel Kramer Bussel and contributors Thomas S. Roche and Donna George Storey.




As editor Rachel Kramer Bussel explains, these books "pay homage to the power, physical, mental, and emotional, that goes into being a true top. The dominants in these stories understand the gift they’re being given every time a lover offers herself up for their perusal or makes himself into an object for them to command and control.”


Rachel will be accompanied by contributors Thomas S. Roche and Donna George Storey.


Enjoy 15% off all erotica!




When: Sunday, October 14th

Time: 4:00 pm

Where:Good Vibrations Valencia Street Store

603 Valencia Street (at 17th Street)

San Francisco, CA 94110

(415) 522-5460

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Tuesday, August 28, 2007

Forum UK reviews He's on Top and She's on Top



I'm thrilled and totally surprised (cause they weren't on my press list, though clearly they were on someone's, but now will permanently be on my list!) with this review Volume 41 No. 8 of Forum UK. Not just because it's positive, but because it gets the whole point of the books. Now, you know, just to get crazy dragging their heels Ingram and Amazon to, I don't know, STOCK my books. That's a novel concept, I know, making money and all but geez. Sorry to vent, I know my publisher is working on it, but it really horrifies me that books are available, in warehouses, and according to Amazon they're not, which is costing me very real dollars in lost sales. I know there's nothing I can do, but it doesn't stop me from checking and checking and checking. So forget Amazon; buy books directly from Cleis Press, your local book or sex toy store (ask for the titles), or Bn.com, where He's on Top ships within 24 hours.

Explorations of dominants and their relationships with those who submit to them are also on display in He's On Top and She's On Top. However, these two anthologies are beasts of a more subtle breed altogether. Unlike Enthralled, where the dominant character punishes her subs because she despises them and sees them as something less than human, the tops here do it because they are with someone who understands, trusts and (more often than not) loves them.

He's On Top features such intriguing scenarios as a young top being put through his paces in a club by an older bottom who knows which of them is really controlling the scene (Thomas S. Roche's Schoolgirl And Angel) and a mster demonstrating his training technique over the phone to persuade another woman she should avail herself of his ervices (Mackenzie Cross' A Good Reference). It also, bravely, tackles the subject of a couple rekindling their BDSM relationship after her treatment for breasts cancer (Shanna Germain's The Sun Is An Ordinary Star).

She's On Top has the dommes taking centre stage, and offers up such treasts as Tara Alton's Pinch, where a woman has a surprisingly kinky encounter in her office lift, Noelle Keely's Ottoman Empress, in which the heroine discovers how satisfying it is to use her yoga-loving husband as a footstool and Kate Dominic's The Queening Chair, which can only be described as a cunnilingus apocalypse. Truly a pair of masterful anthologies.

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Tuesday, July 24, 2007

Chicago Erotica 101 workshop on Thursday, BlogHer, free bondage story, "Obedience"

A reminder that I'm in Chicago July 26-29, July 26th teaching Erotica 101 at 7 pm at The Pleasure Chest, the rest of the weekend at BlogHer with the likes of Susie Bright, Amy Sedaris, Susan Mernit, Always Aroused Girl, Viviane, Deborah Siegel, Felicia Sullivan, Amber Rhea, and many more awesome bloggers. If you're going, on Friday from 1-1:30 I'll be selling and signing copies of He's on Top and She's on Top at the BlogHer bookstore.





Also, you have one more week (through July 31st) to get a FREE copy of Naughty Spanking Stories from A to Z 2 sent directly from me. U.S. addresses only. All you have to do is buy either He's on Top or She's on Top from Amazon.com, then forward the receipt to rachelkramerbussel at gmail.com with "Amazon" in the subject line, and I will send out a book to you. I'll even sign it if you tell me who to make it out to. You can read stories from He's on Top and She's on Top here.

But since you may have already done that, here's a from my anthology Secret Slaves: Erotic Stories of Bondage. I wrote it under one of my pseudonyms, Tanya Turner, and there are 29 other super hot pansexual bondage stories in the book too:



Obedience
by Tanya Turner

The most delicious moment always comes when John runs his fingertips along the back of my neck. That's really all it takes for me to go rigid with fearful delight, or delighted fear, I'm not really sure. Sometimes he'll just come up behind me when I'm washing the dishes or brushing my teeth and simply breathe on my neck, quietly, almost creepily, except that it's our ritual. It's his signal to me that whatever I'm doing stops, immediately. I turn off the sink or put down the toothbrush and immediately put my wrists behind me. "I'm ready, sir," I say, my voice sometimes trembling because no matter how much I think I'm ready, I'm always taken back to the beginning with him. That's saying a lot after a decade together.

I follow him when he bids me to turn around, my hands still behind my back, already locked into place by silent agreement. It's always clear to both of us that I am choosing to obey him, even though in the moment it feels like I'd take death by fire over anything else. That choice seems so predetermined, yet it makes me feel even more subservient to know that were I given any other option, I'd always choose to do his bidding. Sometimes I find myself placing my hands in front of or behind me, arms together, my face gone soft with the need to be told what to do, directed, schooled, because he's the perfect teacher.

We don't speak and the silence is slightly eerie. I long to tell him how wet I am, how my entire body, not just my pussy, aches for him as I watch his strong back marching ahead of me, leading to the bedroom. I long to whimper, to run up and put my arms around him, or at least kiss him on the back of his sweaty neck, but I keep them in place. We arrive, and he points to the huge cross stationed none-too-subtly in the corner of our massive bedroom, one of the added bonuses of living in a gargantuan suburban home. I practically float over to it, settling against its familiar wooden contours, my arms up above my head, my legs spread, my body conforming to the X of its shape as if I spent every day like this. Just feeling the wood against my arms and legs, the thin layer of my pubic hair flattened against its front, my ass, as well as my true nature, exposed, is enough to make me shiver. I clamp my lips together, knowing no sound is expected of me. The ropes are softened from washing and use, and also seem to fill a groove in my skin, though John makes sure not to be too rough. There are never marks after a day or two, though sometimes I wish there could be, wish I could gently rub my wrist or lean down and massage my ankle, having my coworkers feel sorry for my carpal tunnel or poor heeled feet, when really I'd be reliving these moments that make the drudgery of the corporate workday more than worth it.

His fingers as he fastens the ropes are agile, steady, practiced. He can get me all trussed up in under two minutes, the knots sturdy and simple. "Lift," he says, his words economical as I wiggle one ankle and then the next, confirming that I cannot escape—I'd be heartbroken if I could. Before he gets to my arms, he trails his fingertips lightly up the backs of my thighs until he reaches my pussy, where he even more lightly skims a lone finger along my sex. I long to sink my hips down, jam his finger deep inside me, show him what I really want, but I know that would get me the exact opposite. Instead I hold still, my insides churning, my outsides for once not betraying me. If you saw me from the back, you might think I was asleep, but up close, I am trembling imperceptibly. I bite my lip, my teeth grinding against the plump pink skin, as he rises, pressing his pajama-clad body against me so I can feel his erection as he leans forward to tie my wrists to the wood. These he doesn't do as tightly, and he makes sure I know that he wants this just as much as I do. When he's done, he weaves his strong fingers through my hair, giving a tug that sends tears of arousal to my eyes and my head flying back. "You'll be silent, I'm sure, Lucy," he says, his eyes meeting mine upside down. I swallow heavily, sure he can see the movement in my neck, before he pushes my head back into place.

He digs his nails into the skin at my nape, then scrapes them down my back. When he reaches my ass, he grabs a handful of flesh, hard, squeezing, pinching. It hurts, and for a moment, that's all it does. My body absorbs the pain, my wrists, of their own accord, tugging against their bonds. Every shiver I make seems to reverberate through my body, my legs rippling against the ropes, the flashes of lightning traveling down and then back up until they center in my cunt. He lets go of my ass and even though it hurt, I miss it. His gaze burns into me, and I hope my ass is pretty enough, firm enough, pleasant enough for him. It always is, yet there's still that chance that this time it will fail to pass muster, will soundly disappoint.

He walks away, and instead of my body sagging with relief against the wood, I stand straighter, as much as that can be done when shackled to a large wooden X. My ears perk up while my eyes and lips stay shut, as I wait for his return. Even though I'm listening, I actually don't hear him until the loud whooshing of the flogger flying through the air startles me back into the present. Moments later, it's raining down against my back. I'm much more of an ass girl, to tell you the truth—a few solid smacks against my behind and I'm quivering, trembling, in a word—gone. But my back takes more getting used to. The flogger doesn't hurt so much as pound into me, its impact magnified by the soft suede strands as they all thud against me at once. His practiced arm whacks my shoulders, and I feel the heat against my back before it travels lower. My limbs strain against their bonds, and every time I don't escape, every time the delicious rope reminds me of my place in our world, my pussy gets a little tighter and wetter.

The back is just a warmup for what I consider The Real Thing. While the flogger can feel soothing against my back, like a kinky deep tissue massage, on my ass, John's anything but gentle. He rears his hand back and lets fly, the suede strips slamming against one cheek and then the next. My body gets pushed against the wood, and I revel in the impact, the force, the feeling of the flogger hitting my skin but then going deeper, its dual impact walloping me through and through. In this process, we meld into one, joining forces as he lands each blow as if offering me a bit of himself. It's beyond the ache for his cock inside me, beyond the rush of pain and heat, beyond the ropes chaining me to the wood. The details stop mattering the more I skid against my restraints, the more I succumb utterly and fully to these urges that take me higher and higher even as they literally keep me securely in place, for what they are really doing is letting me take flight. If you've never truly been tied up, never been fastened snugly like a baby, grounded so all you have left is your own desire, you may not understand the sheer bubbly joy his beating brings me. I am at his mercy, should he choose to pause or stop, choose to lance me along the backs of my legs, or turn me around and beat my breasts, making pinpricks of blood form along my chest. I am his and only his, the only one I'll let strap me down like this, the only one who can do it and give me such euphoria, because I know he knows precisely what it means when I do.

He waits until I am frantic, on fire, going mad, until I could both stay in this position forever and am clawing at the wood, giving up on my manicure to dig my nails into anything they can reach—the X, the rope, my skin, in order to reach down and touch my most sacred place. Only when I am that frantic, that far gone, does he relent. The blows get softer, maddeningly teasing as the suede lightly brushes me, like he's dusting me off, polishing my pink skin. Then he drops it on the floor, where it lands with a solid thud.

This is when, were we in another sort of position or location, he'd tell me to spread my legs—but they already are, wider than I normally make them. His fingers find what they are seeking, then tap against my open pussy lips. I am exposed, my cunt his for the taking as he taps away, his fingers thudding harder and harder against my sex until I almost want to cry. He switches hands, using his left for my pussy and his right to smack my ass, the noises and sensations tipping me over the edge. I've given up clawing, struggling, moving, and just wait for him to do whatever he's going to do to me, my body ready to please.

And because he's not a cruel master but a kind one, he gives me what I crave the most—himself. He unties me but repositions me bent over the bed, my arms fastened now with fuzzy pink cuffs, way too girlie for the kinds of things we've just been doing, but they work nonetheless. My legs are free to move where they will, but all I want to do is spread them like before, and I do, offering myself fully to his cock, which plunges into my dripping hole. My wrists are warm against the fur, but not as warm as my insides as his hot spear burns me until I'm entirely molten, melting, mush. I'm his, sinking and sagging against him, my pussy aflame with the buzz of anticipation, the buzz of waiting, the buzz of being tied up and waiting for him to take me, my very own obedience training, and I've somehow been awarded the greatest prize of all. Lucky me, I think as I come, exploding against him, the cuffs, the bed, already looking forward to doing it all over again.

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Friday, June 08, 2007

Spank me (or get spanked by me) in Chicago, radio, review

I'm trying to figure out what would be a good theme for a workshop/dramatic reading, probably on Thursday, July 26th at The Pleasure Chest in Chicago. Basically, I'm offering up my ass for cash. To be spanked and paddled and whatnot, but with a literary twist. I did a reading at Early to Bed in 2004, but this is a little different. So if you know of any BDSM groups in Chicago or erotica fans or people who'll be in town early (like me) for BlogHer and they have an idea of what they'd want to attend (I have to check on the cost, most of their events cost $30), let me know. And if you are in Chicago, go see the awesome Polly Frost on Monday and learn her smutty secrets! I'm thinking we may do some "demo"s from one of the Naughty Spanking Stories books and I can spank people or get spanked with toys and read from the book. Not finalized yet but we're batting it around. I still have to book a hotel room and a flight but I did register for the conference, and I'm so so excited to get out of NYC, see my new baby cousin and my peeps like Rebecca.

Also, I'll be on the Devore and Diana show on Sirius on Friday, June 15th at 7:30 pm.

Penthouse Forum gave He's on Top/She's on Top a great review in their July issue:

Celebrating sexual power is what it's all about in two separate books from Cleis Press: She's on Top and He's on Top. Edited by the acclaimed Lusty Lady herself, Rachel Kramer Bussel, each book explores what it truly means to be in charge when it comes to sex; those who know how to give and receive ultimate sexual pleasure through domination are the stars in these steamy tales of master and mistress, slave and submissive. We suggest buying them together to get the
ultimate view from the top.

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Friday, May 11, 2007

Weekend smut special: Buy 1, Get 1 Free!

Thank you so much to everyone who's bought and read and commented and blogged about my new books He's on Top and She's on Top. I'm thrilled to see them in stores, like the Barnes & Noble Astor Place, where She's on Top is face forward in the fiction anthologies section, right next to Alison Tyler's A is for Amour, B is for Bondage, C is for Co-Eds and D is for Dress-Up.

I'm thrilled that He's on Top, as of midnight, is #6 on Amazon's Erotic Best Sellers list!

To keep that momento going, I'm offering a weekend special, starting now through 6 a.m. EST Monday, May 14th, to U.S. addresses - if you buy He's on Top or She's on Top from Amazon.com and forward me the receipt to rachelkramerbussel at gmail.com I will send you a signed copy of Naughty Spanking Stories from A to Z 2. How does that sound? Put "Amazon" in the subject line.



Curious about these books but on the fence? You can search inside them via Amazon above or see what others are saying about them:

Jane's Guide on He's on Top:

Jane’s Guide on He’s on Top

The stories in He’s On Top run the gamut from sweet to ferocious. There’s “Confession,” in which an unhappily married couple reinvent their marriage in the harsh language of dominance and submission, and “On the Twelfth Day…” wherein a pair of lovers determines how deeply into the lifestyle they can bear to explore. Those stories read as gritty and hot, quickly giving me a girlie-wood with their excellently-written sex. “Yes” lets us watch a man directing his partner to service his friend, and “Boardroom Etiquette” examines the punishment meted out for a slip-up in a relationship that exists both in the business world and the bedroom.

Jane's Guide on She’s on Top

Rachel Kramer Bussel does an excellent job in selecting hot, unique stories with oomph. By “oomph,” I mean that these are the kinds of stories that you will remember after you finish reading them. You’ll remember them after you’ve removed your slippery fingers from your own personal panties (or shorts), put away your toys and gone back to your lives. These are sex-stories that you’ll keep thinking about long after the orgasm has passed.

Erotica Revealed on He’s on Top and She’s on Top

Lisabet Sarai’s “Incurable Romantic” carries away top honors for entering the male head successfully and winnowing out how the hero rethinks and comes to understand the meaning of loyalty and trust as he thrashes back and forth between his beloved’s bottom and his lover’s rear end. When you are beating two behinds, what are the rules of fidelity? What sort of vote do those getting thwacked have in this case? Ms. Sarai has thought this out carefully and renders her answer with very plausible tenderness. She is one of the best in the field of erotica without question...

“City Lights” by Kathleen Bradean is the story most like conventional femdom fiction. As such, it is guaranteed not to disappoint. A dominant woman spanks and canes her ultra handsome, successful man with voracious abandon after a hard day at the office. The story is far more than that though because it captures how much she also loves and depends on him in the peculiar ways of their relationship. She does not “wear the pants” in the family. She doesn’t need to because she decides when the pants get taken down.

The husband is presented as both an eager submissive and still a fully realized, if dumbly pretty, self-involved, male. That seems to be part of what she loves in him. He is her trophy boy toy, but that is only as a part of a larger, more complex and subtle relationship. Nonetheless her spankings are sincere, traditional, and enthusiastically executed. She genuinely takes charge and so her authority rings as genuine.


Erotica Readers & Writers Association on He’s on Top

Mike Kimera, "Christmas with Suzy and Mary," shows a perfect example of the way male domination can be consensual, intellectual and still remain powerfully erotic. Not all the characters in Mike’s story know what they want, but they’re enjoying the journey more than most. With "In Control," M Christian narrates a tale that blossoms from a chatroom fantasy and flourishes into a harsh physical reality. Chris’s story lets a dominant male discover who really has the upper hand in their relationship. And, in "Schoolgirl and Angel," Thomas S Roche reveals that even when a dominant man doubts his own abilities, he can always rely on the help of a submissive woman who knows her own mind.

Erotica Readers & Writers Association on She’s on Top

She’s on Top, Rachel Kramer Bussel's latest collection of 18 tantalising tales, introduces the reader to women who wield, damsels who dominate and babes who were born to bully.

Donna George Storey, "Suit and Tie," begins the anthology with her trademark brand of hard-hitting panache and style. A single-minded protagonist; an easily manipulated boss; and a story that’s hot enough to melt icecaps. Debra Hyde, "By a Firm Hand," gives a gloriously gratuitous glimpse into the marital bliss that can only come when a committed disciplinarian weds a not-too reluctant sub. Saskia Walker, as stimulating and wicked as always with "Inner Vixen," shows how one woman discovers her dominant nature and learns to use it to best effect.

The quality of writing, as in all Rachel’s anthologies, is second to none. Rachel has recruited some of erotica’s top talent and produced a compilation of stories that can’t fail to arouse.


Also:

Read the introductions to each book

Read all of "Thrill Ride" by Matt Conklin at Eros-zine.com

Check out the virtual book tour

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Monday, May 07, 2007

"Thrill Ride" from He's on Top now online

Thanks to the wonderful Thomas Roche, Matt Conklin's story "Thrill Ride" from He's on Top: Erotic Stories of Male Dominance and Female Submission is now posted in its entirety at Eros-zine. If you like it, buy the book for more where that came from!

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Monday, April 30, 2007

More He's on Top and She's on Top reviews



Over at Erotica Readers & Writers Association, Ashley Lister reviews both books.

He's on Top:

The thing that I most admired about this volume was the skill shown by the writers involved. Writing scenes of male domination and female submission is a difficult trick to pull off. The dangers of advocating misogyny in some form or another are inherent with every command the protagonist makes. In our current PC climate, any author who shows a man wielding power over a woman, and the woman enjoying that submission, runs the risk of being labelled clueless, sexist, bigoted or worse. Yet those issues are cleverly avoided in this volume as Rachel has included stories from intelligent authors who are sensitive to the motivations of the top and bottom in these exciting, erotic escapades.

She's on Top:

The quality of writing, as in all Rachel’s anthologies, is second to none. Rachel has recruited some of erotica’s top talent and produced a compilation of stories that can’t fail to arouse.

Teresa Noelle Roberts takes her readers to the cutting edge of female domination with "Mark of Ownership." Her story balances the credible relationship of a couple drifting apart but suggests that, hopefully, there are some things that might last forever. Kathleen Bradean, "City Lights," introduces a beautifully dominant businesswoman and reveals how easily a woman can manipulate her husband.

Lisabet Sarai, "Shades of Red," is a story of a lady wielding the whip in the Amsterdam red light district. Lisabet shines when she’s writing about the power play between strong women and the men who worship at their feet. "Shades of Red" shows she can combine an eloquent narrative with a streak of naughty fun.


Steven Hart gives what has to be the most thorough review any of my books has ever gotten at the new site Erotica Revealed:

Re: He's on Top:

Lisabet Sarai’s “Incurable Romantic” carries away top honors for entering the male head successfully and winnowing out how the hero rethinks and comes to understand the meaning of loyalty and trust as he thrashes back and forth between his beloved’s bottom and his lover’s rear end. When you are beating two behinds, what are the rules of fidelity? What sort of vote do those getting thwacked have in this case? Ms. Sarai has thought this out carefully and renders her answer with very plausible tenderness. She is one of the best in the field of erotica without question.

And re: She's on Top:

These are big, highly dimensional, playful girls. They take charge and get things done to their liking regardless of their physical size. They have a lot of down and dirty fun doing it, regardless of who is left squealing and begging for mercy (gratefully) in the process.

“City Lights” by Kathleen Bradean is the story most like conventional femdom fiction. As such, it is guaranteed not to disappoint. A dominant woman spanks and canes her ultra handsome, successful man with voracious abandon after a hard day at the office. The story is far more than that though because it captures how much she also loves and depends on him in the peculiar ways of their relationship. She does not “wear the pants” in the family. She doesn’t need to because she decides when the pants get taken down.

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Saturday, April 28, 2007

Kinky Virtual Book Tour update

A quick update before I bury myself in words. The KinkY Virtual Book Tour is going quite well, save for the two stragglers who have yet to post, but hopefully they will soon. Today's turn by Ms. Naughty was particularly thoughtful:

He’s On Top got my vote because - in the end - the submissive woman’s orgasm becomes a focus. And female pleasure has always been the top priority for me when it comes to defining porn for women.

He’s On Top features a wide variety of stories involving BDSM and games involving sexual power. The men always have control and they all take great pleasure in wielding that control. At the same time, though, their attention is on their female partners. They are acutely aware of how much pleasure and pain the woman is experiencing. Her orgasm is a focal point, and often, a necessity. Even if she is just a tool for the man’s pleasure, she is still consenting and thoroughly enjoying herself...

The beauty of erotic fiction is, of course, the ability to portray the relationships between people and thus enrich the sexual experience far beyond the mere mechanical act of cock-in-pussy. No doubt it’s difficult to capture the subtleties involved with such a blunt tool as a camera.

In any case,
He’s On Top offers a thrilling glimpse into the special kinds of relationships involved in dominance and submission… and it is pretty fucking hot to boot.

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Wednesday, April 25, 2007

Rave reviews for He's on Top and She's on Top from Jane's Guide

Thank you so much to Always Aroused Girl who was prepared to hate He's on Top...but didn't! Update: She also reviewed She's on Top and liked it. Yippee!

Check out her fabulous review of He's on Top:

What I appreciated throughout He’s On Top was the way each story demonstrated the dom’s desire to please his partner and his ability to listen closely to what she wanted, then give it to her creatively and sensually. Time after time I noted doms who put their own pleasure on hold in order to create the best possible experience for their lovers. Now that is truly sexy to me.

Here’s how I progressed through the book. I read the introduction and the first couple of stories. At that point I found myself turned-on enough that I had to take a break to masturbate. I came back to the book and read the next several stories. By then I was impressed enough to email a couple of my male friends who love the sound of leather on a bare female bottom; I recommended the book to them in the strongest possible terms. Once again returning to
He’s On Top, I worked my way through the rest of the stories, then immediately emailed Rachel Kramer Bussel, thanking her for sending me a copy and telling her how much I enjoyed the book.

Read the whole review

And She's on Top:

Rachel Kramer Bussel does an excellent job in selecting hot, unique stories with oomph. By “oomph,” I mean that these are the kinds of stories that you will remember after you finish reading them. You’ll remember them after you’ve removed your slippery fingers from your own personal panties (or shorts), put away your toys and gone back to your lives. These are sex-stories that you’ll keep thinking about long after the orgasm has passed...

My favorite story in the anthology is “Victoria’s Hand” by Lisette Ashton, wherein our narrator, a 19th-Century young lady, sets the ground rules for her betrothed while demanding his oral services. I’m wishing I’d done something like that before my own marriage. We could all learn something from young Victoria’s method.


Read the whole review

Also, I finally, after, like, years, managed to claim my blogs (this one and In The Flesh) on Technorati, which is how I found this review! I'm getting all technified, what with that and joining MyBlogLog and Eventful and Twitter. Actually, I have no idea what I'm doing but I'm learning very slowly.

And please keep checking out the Kinky Virtual Book Tour (though Katie Spades has apparently had health issues and I haven't heard back yet from them so her post is delayed), which has been a blast. More on that soon. And if you like the books, please let Amazon know. I want to be able to keep on editing kinky smut (and other kinds of smut too!) for many years to come so I'm doing a big push on these. It will make editing Yes, Sir and Yes, Ma'am all the more delicious too to know that I already have this audience (hopefully) who like this type of erotica. But things are looking good with these books and my mind is on the current projects on my plate while still overseeing these. I will be so excited next year when someone else gets to do most of the nitty gritty but then again, I'm a control freak so I kindof like it.

Actually, in another life, I would SO be a publicist, I love plotting and planning and researching publications and search engines and all of that, but...it's time consuming. You can easily get sucked into it and the fact of the matter is, publicity doesn't actually equal anything in terms of sales. It's not a direct correlation but I do believe their are dividends that come from publicity beyond simply sales. Getting the books mentioned in Willamette Week and The Oregonian and Portand Mercury is important because I don't live out there, I don't have a presence there, so it's a way to spread the word. All of this, however haphazardly or randomly or quirkily.

This virtual book tour/postcard promo/book party thing is my $1,500+ 100% amateur wtf experiment in book publicity, just to see. It was a real blow to have those three Fetish Chest books fail miserably on the market (they sold so poorly that Alyson cancelled our Second Skin anthology), but I'm pretty sure I know why (coughcoverartcough) but want to actually learn from my mistakes, not repeat them (and in that case I don't think it was my doing at all, but they are still my books). I think all of this will help going forward in figuring out who my audience for erotica is and who else is out there and what people are looking for from their kinky smut. At the same time, it's a different skill, a different muscle, than being creative. It's like a jigsaw puzzle or math problem, it's logic vs. intuition (there's still intuition in what I'm doing with this, but it's more administrative than the creative work). I've come to realize that I like a little of both. Sure, I like the creative end of editing anthologies, the awe at discovering a really killer story, and, when I'm on, the fiery rush of trying to type as fast as my brain is thinking, my fingers tripping over themselves in their haste, the words sprinting across the screen. I love that, but it's also ephemeral. More often the words are jogging, or speed walking, or maybe just crawling, limping along, slowly and not all that surely. I haven't yet figured out how to make them sprint on command.

But I also like the minutiae of pasting each author bio in, doing page counts, checking for typos and indents. It's a hell of a lot of work and sometimes I just can't deal but then I look at the pretty shiny books and how the whole is so much greater than the sum of their parts, and I know it's worth it. Same with the novel, it's bits and pieces that get interwoven into one grander story but I have to conceptualize the bits before I can even begin to contemplate the whole.

Also, found an old and super large photo of me on the Kinky Jews blog from last year's reading. A random tidbit, yes.

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