See you tomorrow February 13 at our Galentine's Day Washington, DC Best Women's Erotica reading

I've been remiss in posting here due to a rush of deadlines and getting ready for my Washington, DC reading. It's tomorrow night, Galentine's Day, Tuesday, February 13 at 7 pm at bookstore Politics and Prose at The Wharf. There's also a Mardi Gras parade at 6 at the Wharf you can check out beforehand. If you know anyone in DC, please please please let them know! Here's an easy to use Facebook event page where you can share the details.



You may not be aware but readings take up a lot of time and energy and money (though thankfully in this case I had points for Amtrak and my hotel room). That's why as of now it's my only one for this book so I am hoping with every fiber of my being that we have a big turnout. That's also something I feel I owe my authors, several of whom are reading for the first time ever. Just typing that takes me back to my first reading way back in 2011!

I wish I were independently wealthy and could do readings everywhere in the world my authors are located. But in the real world, I do what I can, and doing at least one reading for each of these Best Women's Erotica books, aka, the highlight of my erotic editing career, is what I can offer. I truly believe that erotica isn't just meant to live on the page, but to be alive in the way it can only be by being heard out loud. So that's what we'll be doing tomorrow, along with dishing about writing and publishing. I'll even be sharing the theme for Volume 5, so if you attend you'll know it a few weeks in advance! See you soon! p.s. I no longer drink so will probably be a bundle of nerves, but I'll be wearing red to mask them (and because it's the night before Valentine's Day). If you can't make it, follow bestwomenseroticaofyearseries on Instagram for photos and stories throughout the day and evening (yes, I'm a superstar in choosing social media handles - NOT).

See you February 13 in Washington, DC for my Best Women's Erotica reading!

I hope to see many of you at my February 13 reading in Washington, DC at Politics and Prose at The Wharf, 70 District Square SW. It's for the love of my literary life, the Best Women's Erotica of the Year series. I'll be reading with Volume 3 contributors Thien-Kim Lam, Sommer Marsden and Lynn Townsend. I've never met any of them in person and only heard Thien-Kim when we recorded a podcast together, so I'm especially excited. Plus I got to visit Politics and Prose in November and it was lovely and in a charming area (visit The Wharf's website to learn more).

Now for favor time: even if you're not in DC, could you let anyone you know in the area who'd like a sexy evening before Valentine's Day know? Here's a handy Facebook event page link. Even if you can't make it, please indicate you're interested on Facebook so more people see the listing.



We'll be sharing story excerpts, writing inspiration and I'll be dishing tips on how to get published in the series and revealing the theme for Volume 5. I decided not to run myself ragged and do a book tour, which was too much for me last year and that showed in turnout. Especially since I now work part-time, I have to balance having a job with book promotion.

I also swore last year I wouldn't do events at this time of year because the cold often keeps people away but I couldn't resist the chance to do a Valentine's Day timed event. I truly appreciate any help you can give in spreading the word! I am excited for my book to be displayed front and center in the store in the time leading up to the reading and to hopefully entice those curious about the genre to try it. My other goal, though, is to get more bookstores to see that erotica isn't something people only read on their e-readers in private. That people want diverse, creative, hot and sexy stories and aren't ashamed of it. So getting a good turnout at this reading will show both this particular bookstore and others that the genre is thriving and should be far more visible than it usually is.

And I want to say thank you to everyone who's read or listened to any part of the series. I'm working on making it even bigger and better and drawing more readers so that down the road I can afford to do even more readings and giveaways and outreach and all of those things that take time and money. But for the next 13 days, I'm focused on making this reading as successful as I possibly can. I'll be posting photos and video on the Best Women's Erotica Instagram account if you can't make it.