Watch me interview Joanna Angel on Tuesday, February 9

At the start of 2021, I made some professional goals for myself, and one was to be asked to do an "in conversation with" interview with an author for a bookstore. I had been asked once over the last few years, but it was in New York and would have required five hours of bus travel, and that didn't really make sense for my schedule. But with the rise of virtual book events, I'm thrilled to say that on Tuesday, February 9, 2021, from 8-9 p.m. ET (5-6 p.m. PT), I'll be interviewing the amazing Joanna Angel of Burning Angel fame about her new choose-your-own erotic fantasy novel Club 42 for Culvery City, California romance bookstore The Ripped Bodice. Click their name to RSVP; the event is free. And I guess I manifested really well because I'm actually going two interviews in February. My next interview will take place on 22 at 5 pm EST, not for a bookstore but for the amazing women over 40 community The Woolfer. I'll be interviewing Tracy Clark-Flory, whose journalism you probably know from Jezebel or other outlets, about her debut memoir, Want Me: A Sex Writer's Journey Into the Heart of Desire for The Woolfer TV. You can watch it live or it'll be recorded for their site and YouTube channel.



Club 42 will be published that day from Cleis Press, as will my kinky anthology, Best Bondage Erotica of the Year, Volume 2. Joanna contributed her super sexy story "One Last Gangbang" to my anthology Best Women's Erotica of the Year, Volume 5, and all those books will be for sale from The Ripped Bodice that night (or are available for pre-order or order now), including copies of Club 42 signed by Joanna as well as my Best Bondage Erotica of the Year, Volume 2 and Best Women's Erotica of the Year, Volume 5. You can also pick up her first choose-your-own eortic fantasy novel Night Shift from The Ripped Bodice. Here's more detail about what to expect from Club 42.

Naomi, a proud Brooklyn hipster, finds her life is forever changed when she gets fired from her barista job and wanders into a strip club called Club 42. On a whim, Naomi auditions to become a dancer and what happens next . . . is up to you!

Join Naomi as she works the day shift at a Manhattan club where patrons sip on carrot juice instead of beer. From learning the art of the lap dance to giving her ex the “extras” in the VIP room, there’s more to learn here than she ever learned in college. Should she tell her partner—the dreamy, broke musician who is unofficially squatting in her apartment—about her job, or should she learn to lead a double life between two boroughs? Should she experiment with moonlighting as a Dominatrix, or stay in the strip club and submit to her newest crush, exploring her sexuality and her newfound love for exhibitionism as she twerks her way into a new tax bracket? It’s all up to YOU, so grab your stilettos, turn up the early-2000s dance hits, and guide Naomi through this nonstop naked adventure in the city that never sleeps!

How authors can book readings directly with bookstores

Over at Medium, I have an article up on how to book readings with bookstores. I interviewed several independent bookstore staffers, and can say anecdotally from booking my own readings for many years that if you follow the instructions of each bookstore, it's usually a smooth process. Sometimes, I haven't heard back, but usually I've been able to book events in cities I wanted to. If you like the article and use Medium, please give it some claps (hold down the hands button on the bottom left, up to 50 times), which helps it be seen by more readers. This article was originally published in the Novelists, Inc. (NINC) newsletter.



Speaking of bookstores, I hope you'll mark your calendars for Valentine's Day, February 14, if you're in LA and let all your LA friends know. I consider bookstore readings for my Best Women's Erotica of the Year series so important that I put my money where my values are (yes, I cover all my own event costs) and am flying out to LA for this sexy erotica reading at Skylight Books along with Joanna Angel, CD Reiss, Jayne Renault and Sabrina Sol. They were so wonderful to us for our Volume 2 reading and are a delightful bookstore with a tree in the middle!