Join me for amazing theater in Princeton, NJ July 19-21

It's that time of year again, when my boyfriend's production company Chimera Productions puts on an amazing play in Princeton, New Jersey. The first show is in six weeks! This year it's July 19-21 and the play is The Other Place by Sharr White. More info below. You can get donate ($10 gets you a program thank you!) or get preferred seating tickets at IndieGogo through July 14, or get tickets at the door for $15. I'll be there every night!

July 19, 20, 21, 8 pm (doors at 7:30 pm)
Arts Council of Princeton, 102 Witherspoon Street, Princeton, NJ, 08542, 609-924-8777

The Other Place by Sharr White is a sharp-tongued, fast-paced, witty, powerhouse of a drama — one perfectly suited for Chimera Productions’ 13th season. Juliana is an accomplished scientist on the precipice of a revolutionary discovery that could help thousands of people and make her very wealthy. She is also contemplating divorce, trying to connect with her estranged daughter Laurel (who ran off with Juliana’s doctoral assistant), and desperate to make it through this last big pitch to her restless investors. It might all work out if she can just manage to focus on the next slide.

Join me in Princeton, NJ July 20-22 for the play Dead Man's Cell Phone (watch trailer)

Every summer since 2012, I've gotten a special summer treat: to see a play in an intimate 60-person theater in Princeton, New Jersey. My boyfriend is the co-director of Chimera Productions, so he's worked on all those plays, and more before that (this is their 12th year), and he even wrote his own amazing play, Bottle Factory, two years ago. This July 20, 21 and 22 they are putting on the comedy Dead Man's Cell Phone by Sarah Ruhl, which I'm really excited to see, partly because with the dreadful news blaring nonstop from my TV, I could use a laugh, partly because I loved her play about vibrators and hysteria but was utterly puzzled by her play about polyamory, so I look forward to a third chance to see her work. TL:DR - you can come see this play for just $15 cash at the door (doors open at 7:30 each night, the play starts at 8). That's a huge bargain and you're not going to find too much theater at such a low cost. It all takes place at The Arts Council of Princeton, 102 Witherspoon Street, and it's right near tons of great restaurants (and amazing ice cream at Halo Pub).



I won't pretend I'm not biased (or a user of double negatives), but I've truly been awed by each and every performance, and most years I go to all three nights of the show, as I will this year. The actors do amazing work and the space is truly transformed into a theater using the most minimal of sets. When someone gets shot, you hear the gasps of your fellow audience members. You get to see the reactions of the actors up close and very personal. And the stories they put up stay with me. When they put on the Adrienne Rich poetry quoting play After Ashley by Gina Gionfriddo, it promoted a lot of soul searching from me.

On a personal level, I love getting to spend three nights immersed on characters and ideas and art. I also love being part of an artistic household where we can have a play's opening night and a book release in the same month. I love that yesterday I got to help pack up props to go to the theater and wonder what those props would be used for. And as someone who believes the arts are for everyone, I especially love knowing that many people coming to these plays only see this one piece of theater each year. I try to get out of my suburban town and see theater when the timing and opportunity arise (I once even flew to Charlotte and saw The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity by Kristoffer Diaz) for the second time because I'd loved it so much at Washington, DC's Woolly Mammoth, and was stunned to see an utterly different rendering of the wrestling play), but I know that's likely rare amongst Americans. I'm in awe of how much heart and soul and passion everyone involved puts in for free, simply because they believe in theater and its power to touch people and entertain them. We are living in a time when our federal government cares not an iota for art, and our president would rather hang fake magazine covers on his walls than anything real. To me, this makes theater even more urgent and necessary. For those who feel like theater is overpriced or out of reach, their shows are an antidote to that, because they are, as I mentioned above, only $15 to get in (and if you want perks like snacks and the best seats, donate $25 via their Indiegogo campaign, which goes to cover the price of putting on the production, including theater space rental, props and other costs - it's an all volunteer production so the directors and cast are unpaid, doing it for the love of theater).

I do my best not to read any reviews and not to attend rehearsals or find out too much about Chimera's plays before I see them, but this year I'm helping with publicity, which coincides nicely with some of my copywriting duties and my general attempts to become better at marketing because that's where my career is taking me. So because of that, I've gleaned slightly more information about the play than I might have other years. I know that it probably will speak to dependence on technology that I, as someone who almost always has her iPhone in her hand and her eyes glued on it, can relate to. I know from the trailer that it's probably going to make me laugh; I even asked if I should sit near the exit so I can dash out to pee if I laugh that hard. Watch the trailer yourself:



And I'm going to throw in a special bonus as a thanks for reading this far and supporting the play: If you donate $10 or more, which means you can also select the perk of getting thanked in the show's program, and email me a screenshot of your donation by July 19, 2017, I'll send you a free autographed book of mine (U.S. only because overseas postage costs over $20 - sorry!). Just send your screenshot to rachelkb at gmail dot com with "Chimera" in the subject line along with your full name and mailing address and I'll send your book on July 20, 2017. I can't guarantee which book it will be (I'll send from my surplus stash) but if you have a request of a specific title or subgenre let me know and I'll try to send it.

Free wine tonight at our Galentine's Day Best Women's Erotica panel at Jersey City bookstore WORD

Yes, I meant to post this earlier, but if you're in or near Jersey City (or want to pass this on to anyone who is), join us tonight for free wine (how many readings can boast that?) plus real talk about erotica writing, what I look for from anthologies, our inspiration for fiction and much more, and a raffle prize from Brooklyn sex toy store Shag featuring a mini massage candle, clothespins for sensation play, coffee mug, store coupon and more! Plus they have a cafe so you can buy a hot (or cold) beverage. And books, of course!

WORD is at 123 Newark Avenue across the street from the Grove Street PATH Station, so easy to access from Manhattan too. Can't make it? Get to WORD for a signed copy of Best Women's Erotica of the Year, Volume 2, which makes a great Valentine's Day or any time gift! I'll be reveling in my Jersey girl pride in my NJ Maya Brenner gold necklace. In all my years of doing readings, I've never done one in my home state so I'm especially excited! Thank you to The Hudson Reporter for covering tonight's event.

February 13, 7:30 pm
Galentine’s Day women, erotica and writing panel
Join editor Best Women's Erotica of the Year series editor Rachel Kramer Bussel and BWE Volume 2 contributors Abigail Ekue, Stella Watts Kelley, Vierra Lai, and Annabeth Leong for a fun Galentine's Day panel on erotica, writing and culture. We'll chat about what makes a story sexy, the writing process, how to get published, and the cultural impact of writing stories that reflect a wide range of women's experiences. Free. Wheelchair accessible.
WORD, 123 Newark Avenue, Jersey City, NJ, 201-763-6611
Facebook event page

Princeton and nearby folks, come to my boyfriend's play Bottle Factory this Thursday, Friday and Saturday

This Thursday, Friday and Saturday, July 16, 17 and 18, I'll be in Princeton, New Jersey seeing my boyfriend's debut work as a playwright, Bottle Factory, put on by his company Chimera Productions. You can watch a video about it and get tickets and more info on their IndieGogo page. They are raising money to cover the costs for theater and prop rental so even if you can't make it, if you have any extra cash and want to support a wonderful company bringing great productions to the stage, I encourage you to. Yes, you can also get tickets at the door (8 pm every night at The Arts Council of Princeton, 102 Witherspoon Street), but I encourage you to get your tickets on IndieGogo if you can.



I'm proud of him and also deeply curious because I've only allowed him to tell me the bare bones of the plot. The best way to get tickets is though their IndieGogo campaign, which you can also donate to if you want to support local, live independent theater. I've been to their last three shows (they do one a year) and all have been excellent and deeply moving and thought provoking. I always walk away intrigued, confused, and wanting to discuss and process what I've seen, and lucky me, I get to with someone who's been living and breathing it for months.

So if you're near Princeton or know anyone who is, please let them know! It's an intimate space and from what I've heard, this one will have extra resonance for theater goers, but can be appreciated by anyone.

Moving on south (South Jersey, that is)

I'm sure I will be posting more about the moving process, but the big news in my life is that, for the third time in three years, I am again changing homes, though I will still be a Jersey girl, this time a little further south, closer to Atlantic City. It's an area I don't know much about, but am looking forward to learning. So I'm once again packing up my seemingly endless collection of books, this time paring down from around 35 boxes to 10, as I promised to do last year when we moved.

My nonfiction sex books I'm donating to the lending library of Minneapolis sex toy store Smitten Kitten. My young adult and children's novels I'm donating to the wonderful New Jersey-based nonprofit I just started volunteering with, Bridge of Books. But needless to say, between teaching my current LitReactor erotica writing class and soon will be promoting my next one, which starts in August (stay tuned!), editing Best Women's Erotica 2016, moving and my usual deadlines, things are going to be more than a bit hectic for the next month or two. Please bear with me, and stay tuned to @raquelita on Twitter and Facebook and my newsletter (sign up on the left-hand side of this blog or at rachelkramerbussel.com) for updates and giveaways, as I will definitely be doing more book giveaways.

I'm a word girl, but sometimes a photo says wonders, like this book, Overwhelmed by Brigid Schulte, I checked out from my local library.



These are books I'm eager to read but realistically won't get to before my move. I have to make sure this time around to properly label my boxes so these are easy to find. Shoutout to excellent book site The Debutante Ball, where I won Come Away With Me by Karma Brown as well as Tiny Pretty Things by Sona Charaipotra and Dhonielle Clayton and The Coincidence of Coconut Cake by Amy E. Reichert. Follow them for lots of great author posts and contests.



In more cheerful news, I'm hosting a bingo party soon and I can't wait!

Getting excited for TEDx Navesink tomorrow

Tomorrow I'm staying local and going to TEDx Navesink, where I will hear people like Audible founder and CEO Don Katz (and we know how huge an impact Audible has played in my career), who recently said in a Q&A:

To have well-composed words professionally intoned and interpreted by a skilled actor adds an intellectual and emotional dimension that actually enhances the experience of a text. Scientific research we commissioned two years ago to gauge the neurocognitive and behavioral characteristics of listening to words indicated that subjects obtain an equivalent, if not superior, level of comprehension through listening to a book versus reading it. This has huge implications for learning at all levels of the spectrum, and beyond our Immersion Reading product, which synchronizes text and audio on Kindle tablets and has been roundly embraced by parents and educators, we have only begun to crack the surface of the potential here.

The other person I'm excited to hear speak is Abby Daly, Founder and Executive Director of nonprofit Bridge of Books Foundation. Here's info on their mission from their site:

Bridge of Books’ mission is to provide an ongoing source of books to underprivileged and at-risk children throughout New Jersey in order to support literacy skills and to encourage a love of reading.

Our goal is to get as many books as possible into the hands of New Jersey’s at-risk and underserved children. We generally acquire books through book drives and individual donations.

You can donate to them from their site.

What's especially of interest to me is that the theme for tomorrow is "Accelerators," and I've actually slowed my life down a lot since moving from Brooklyn to New Jersey, while trying to accelerate what was a stagnating career. I can safely say that the professional opportunities that have come my way in the last two years of living in Monmouth County have proven it is a much better fit for my work life, not to mention my personal life, both of which have thrived here where they floundered in New York. So I look forward to listening and learning. I'm not necessarily going to live here forever, but I am proud to be a Jersey girl, and even though I'm largely a homebody, I want to get more involved in my local community, so I'm starting tomorrow.

New Jersey is the secret of my success

It's a rare still moment where I am enjoying the quiet of a snowy Sunday morning, before breakfast, before coffee even, before shoveling. I've been working a lot, almost around the clock. Not all the time, but enough that the rhythm of my workdays blends into my nights, which I know is not sustainable in the long term, but is how things are going the next few weeks between lots of writing deadlines, getting the book I am extremely excited about, Come Again: Sex Toy Erotica proofread and now working on promotions and events for it, and teaching my current LitReactor class. It's such a huge and welcome change from last year, when I was scrambling for work, but I think the other big difference is that this year, I am embracing being at home.

Last year I was still adjusting to life in suburbia and half thought I still lived in New York. I took the fact that I could take a close to hour and a half almost $30 train into the Big Apple to mean that I should. This year, I'm trying to be very sparing in my visits. Last Monday, I did brave the cold to head to Brooklyn for a reading at BookCourt, which was lovely and had a thoughtful discussion, but it made me realize that I probably will not say yes to readings in January or February in the future. It was a little too cold for most people to come out, which is totally understandable. I'm going into New York tomorrow to see the play Cootie Catcher to write about it for my Philadelphia City Paper column, and then am speaking on March 14th in my old neighborhood of Williamsburg as part of a screening of the porn film Dirty Diaries. In March I'll also be traveling, once for pleasure, and then a string of events for work in Richmond, Charlottesville, Baltimore and Arlington.

I used to do things like that without considering what it would cost in terms of money or time. Now, I have to consider every trip, even ones to "the city," and the result has meant I mainly choose to stay home, which not only saves money, but frees up my time to think and plot and plan and pitch and write and edit. Maybe some people can do those in a spare hour or two here and there, but for me, I like to have a few hours before and after what I'm supposed to be doing to give myself that freedom to focus. Maybe I won't always have that time (if I get the only thing I truly want in this universe, I hope to have far far less free time), but for now, I do and it's been such a blessing. This year has brought so many unexpectedly wonderful opportunities, and I credit them to not incessantly racing away from home, racing off to do this, that and the other thing. It's taught me to both value my time and money and to value myself, and that by saying no more than I used to, I'm saying yes to my long-term goals.

This is very different from how I used to think and act. I used to say yes to everything because I was so afraid there wouldn't be other opportunities. I didn't consider the strain on my mind or body to be constantly on the go. I would do things that in hindsight seem insane and so anti-business it's no wonder I was so broke last year, like fly out to readings (obviously on my own dime) and then spend $50 or $60 bringing cupcakes to them. I thought I had to spend all this money I didn't really have to get people to come out to my events. I thought that this was normal. I didn't consider that that money might be better invested in my business in other ways. I'm not saying those events weren't fun, merely that now I am very aware that, yes, it's an honor and exciting to be part of LoveFest in Charlottesville next month, but it's an honor that I will pay for. If I am not bringing in enough income from writing/editing/teaching, then doing things like that are wasteful, no matter how exciting it may feel to me in the moment. So right now, while doing my taxes and thinking about next steps, I'm making sure every penny I spend on my work, even if it's a subway ride to an event, is worth it, that it makes sense for me. Because if it doesn't, then I have to look out for myself.



Being in New Jersey, being separated from most of my friends and embracing being a homebody who works from home, has given me a creative freedom I couldn't have imagined. I used to go to the wonderful Gimme Coffee every single day when I lived in Brooklyn. I loved it there and if I still lived in Williamsburg I probably still would go, even though I now have a coffeepot and favorite mug and they are my morning rituals that I truly can't live without. But for those freelancing years after I got laid off in 2011, I would easily spend at least $5 a day on coffee plus tip, plus the occasional pastry. Granted, I'd spend many hours in Gimme Coffee, so I totally got my money's worth and wrote pieces I'm proud of. But having an actual home that feels like a home rather than a pit of slovenliness, is this gift that I sometimes feel unworthy of, yet have fully embraced. I sometimes lately have these "pinch me" moments of Do I really get to do this for a living?, but then remind myself that I'm here because I've earned it, I've been working hard, I've been figuring out what works for me and what doesn't. My desk is crazy and needs a good cleaning, but it's also in the office which is the warmest part of the house. It's cozy and has a printer (yes, I didn't have a printer when I lived in Brooklyn) and makes me feel professional in the same way gathering my 1099s and using my whiteboard does. After way too long of floating through my working life, I am finally, despite what this desk looks like, getting organized, getting clear, making myself my first priority. It feels a little scary, but a lot like I'm on exactly the right path. I'm not even going to berate myself for taking until age 39 to get here.

In which I learn that living in a house doesn't mean you're rich

That's what I always thought growing up in an apartment. Now I live in a house, and here's my snow-covered swing and an essay all about it, including the vicious start to 2014 which led to the silver lining of moving into this cozy place that has skylights and a basement (!! after living in a Brooklyn apartment with no closets for 13 years, a basement deserves endless exclamation points), and the office where I'm now typing. My working title was "House Proud" but the title Thought Catalog went with was "How My First House Changed My Perspective Of Wealth And Contentment," which is also accurate.

Getting hyperlocal in New Jersey and Maine

I love the direction that blogging is going with hyperlocal blogs. I live in Red Bank, New Jersey, and we have the wonderful redbankgreen.com to stay informed about all sorts of events and news about our town. I was thrilled that Asbury Pulp wrote this headline about me and The Big Book of Orgasms: "Rachel’s ‘Orgasms’ shake the Jersey Shore – and much of the nation." How could I not be?



More local love from The Portland Buzz about my December 3 Erotica 101 writing workshop at Nomia in Portland, Maine. At least half the 18 seats are spoken for so if you're interested, I strongly encourage you to call Nomia at 207-773-4774 and register soon ($20/person). I can't wait to return to Maine!

Cory Booker's Tweets with a stripper (yes, I'm voting for him)

My latest Medium piece is titled "I Don’t Care That Cory Booker Tweeted With a Stripper, I’m Still Voting for Him" - that pretty much says it all, though there is a bit in there about a job offer for stripper Lynsie Lee I found interesting. If you like it, I once again ask that you click "recommend" at the bottom - I'm a huge fan of the site and want to keep writing for them! You can also leave notes on the piece, whether you agree or disagree with me. Thanks.

My Dubai stalker and why I moved to New Jersey at TueNight

I'm a Tuesday late in letting you know that I've written some essays at the new site TueNight, which updates, yes, every Tuesday. The first was for their bravery issue: "What I Learned From My Stalker" about last year's trip to Dubai, and the second is for this week's Escape issue: "Why FOMO Made Me Move to New Jersey." They're a new site and have some amazing content, so check them out. They're aimed at women 38+, which I will be in less than two months.

10 reasons I love my new apartment

In ten days, I move from the Brooklyn apartment I've lived in since March 2000 to the fabulous apartment my boyfriend found for us in Red Bank, New Jersey. I've been counting down the days, and am actually writing this post from our new apartment, which I absolutely love. So in honor of new beginnings, here are ten reasons I'm excited to move. In some ways it reminds me of where I grew up in Teaneck, and in other was it's different. It's small enough that I get the feeling of community but big enough that hopefully there's plenty to explore. After how challenging moving has been, I doubt I'll want to move any time soon, if ever.

1. My boyfriend - without him, I wouldn't have even considered moving. We've had essentially a long distance relationship since last January, and I can't wait to be able to build a life with him and see him every day.

2. The apartment - it feels so grown up after living in a home with no closets, no wifi, no bathtub. My bedroom is painted blue, for the little boy who used to live there. I kept it, because I like the color. 3. Change - I am usually so averse to change that the only way to really make a change is to make a drastic, big one. I like that I'm moving far enough away from my former home that I really do get the chance to start over, in every way. I was 24 when I moved in there, 20 when I moved to 240 Mercer Street. I'm a lot different, and hopefully a wiser person now.

4. NJ Transit - I can come and go as I please, no cars needed! I can get to Manhattan in 70-90 minutes for just $14.75. Most of the places I'll need to go on a regular basis I can walk to. I love that. I am a big fan of public transportation, but now that the prospect of not taking the subway every day is before me, I'm excited for the break from it.

5. Two River Theater Company - we can walk to this theater, so bonus points right there. Last night we saw 2.5 Minute Ride by Lisa Kron, her one woman show about her father, the Holocaust, roller coasters and family, my first time seeing her perform (her theatrical adaptation of Alison Bechdel's bestselling memoir Fun Home comes to The Public Theater this fall). It was a great show and the building is impressive and I'm looking forward to next season.

6. Count Basie Theatre - another theater we can walk to. Shawn Colvin just played this past week, and it hosts everything from music to dance to comedy.

7. The library - Scrabble every Saturday! I will take a break from playing Words with Friends for this.

8. Good Karma Cafe - vegan yumminess like the Love Bowl:



9. Jay and Silent Bob's Secret Stash - I don't actually read comic books, though I do like graphic novels, but I like that this shop, setting of reality show Comic Book Men, is right here. Maybe I'll start reading comic books!

10. Workout World - gonna get Jersey Strong at my new gym!