Sex toy anthology seeks stories

Here's a call for submissions that should especially be of interest to new authors (it's not mine, those are on my webpage)

See EroticStoriesandToys.com to enter and/or Ravenous Romance for details:

For our September 2010 contest,
EroticStoriesAndToys.com
is joining forces with
RavenousRomance.com
to offer a
FANTASTIC PRIZE
to the contest winner...
PUBLICATION
in a brand-new

anthology of stories
featuring adult toys!

Ravenous Romance

If you're a current Ravenous Romance author, sorry, you can't enter through EroticStoriesAndToys.com (you'll have to submit your story directly to Ravenous Romance), but anyone else--published or not--is eligible to win!

Never fear--you'll still get your three Story Inspirations (and the exclusive keychain, of course!)--but you'll also be published in the Toy Anthology (as yet unnamed) to be available for sale on the Ravenous Romance site in October of 2010. The anthology will also be available on the EroticStoriesAndToys.com site as a free download with store purchase.

You'll need to stay within their guidelines if you want them
to consider your story, and the 5,000 word limit
on EroticStoriesAndToys.com still applies.

We want to help you get published! Good luck
A big THANK YOU to California Exotic Novelties for sponsoring this very special contest!

Virgin Night rocked!

L to R (since there aren't really "rows"): Jenny Block, Gideon Levy, Nicolette Dixon, Sinclair Sexsmith, Megan Hart, Rachel Kramer Bussel, Sarah Wendell, Emily Farris
photo by Stacie Joy

Virgin Night at In The Flesh Reading Series was packed - standing room only! THANK YOU to everyone who came out, to our sponsors, Baked by Melissa (cupcakes!), Ravenous Romance (cookies), JimmyJane (massage candle!) and SexySlang (word games!). And to Megan Hart for the fun giveaways. (For those wondering, Kyria Abrahams couldn't make it.)

And as always, thank you to all the readers, everyone who came out, Stacie Joy for the photos, and the staff of Happy Ending Lounge, especially manager Gina and bartender Juan Carlos!

Please come back May 21st - full lineup and bios coming very soon.

See the full photo set from Virgin Night here.


Nicolette Dixon went into glowing detail about cleavage.


Sarah Wendell of Smart Bitches Trashy Books had us roaring with tales of tentacles in orifices and other romance novel delights from her book Beyond Heaving Bosoms: The Smart Bitches' Guide to Romance Novels.


Megan Hart read from her erotic novel Stranger, out from Harlequin Spice.


Sinclair Sexsmith reads hot poetry from the chapbook Sinclair Sexsmith.


Emily Farris read a true, amazing story of orgasms and real estate lust. She told me she was nervous beforehand but I told her the truth: that people actually relate way more to the true stories, because they've been there...or want to be.


Gideon Levy had many permutations on "ghetto-fab-i-diculous" (sp?)


Jenny Block read from her memoir Open: Love, Sex, and Life in an Open Marriage.

Megan Hart brought this "Bring Me My Hookah" t-shirt (the name of her awesome vlog with Lauren Dane):



We had cupcakes from Baked by Melissa - 100 of them and they were gone really fast:



And cookies courtesy of Ravenous Romance:



In addition to the giveaways, there was lots of free stuff (and fishnets):

Free short story of mine, "Cherry Pie"

"Cherry Pie" is a kindof ridiculous messy kitchen erotica story inspired by Warrant's song "Cherry Pie" and featuring actual cherry pie, the food. I wrote it for my e-book anthology Love Notes: A Sex & Music Anthology but you can read "Cherry Pie" now absolutely FREE at Ravenous Romance! (actually, you can download it for free)

Join The Mile High Club for free!

Well, joining the mile high club is technically free, save for airfare, which I'm aware of. But you can read erotica writer Ryan Field's hot mile high club story for free, available as a download from Ravenous Romance.

Know what else? A version of that story, called "Bert and Betty," is in my brand-new book The Mile High Club: Plane Sex Stories. Copies just came in to my publisher Cleis Press so if you need one right this minute order it from them (be sure to sign up for their newsletter too, cause they send coupons sometimes for discounts off your orders). Read the introduction here.

I will be posting more about The Mile High Club, including story samples and a free book offer from me if you buy it on a certain day from Amazon.com, I'm working that out right now. So stay tuned, and in the meantime, download Ryan Field's hot oral sex/exhibitionism airplane erotica story from Ravenous Romance. (I have no idea how long the story will be offered for free, so I recommend downloading it now, even if you don't have time to read it just yet.)

Oh, and I'm getting a copy just in time for my flight to Austin on Saturday. I plan to read it on the plane and see if anyone says anything to me. To be honest, it's been forever since I've even flirted on a plane, let alone did anything else. But I have plenty of trips planned, including one to Italy in May, so there's time for me to become a member of (or rather, reenter) The Mile High Club.



And p.s.: I have 10 free copies left to give away for review on Amazon.com (they'll go out next week via media mail), same deal as last time:

All you have to do is agree to (and then, you know, actually do it) review the book on Amazon.com within a month of receiving it. I'll take the first 25 eligible addresses. As soon as I get my copies in (should be by the end of this month), I'll send them out via media mail, then you'll have a month to leave your review. It can be long, it can be short, it can be whatever you want. You must have an Amazon.com account and have made a purchase with it, however; that's their rule, not mine, but they will not let you review a book unless you've made a purchase. U.S. addresses only (sorry).

All I need from you (sent to rachelravenous at gmail.com) is:

1. Name and mailing address

2. Amazon.com profile page (the URL, here's mine) showing you've made a purchase or review in the past

3. Your Amazon.com review within a month of receipt of the book

A whole sex and music e-book anthology for only $4.99

Yes, it's true, my Ravenous Romance e-book anthology Love Notes is only $4.99! And you know what else? The first six of you to purchase it and email the receipt to rachelravenous at gmail.com will get a free copy of my wintertime erotic romance anthology Bedding Down for free, courtesy of me! Just email your receipt to rachelravenous at gmail.com and the first 6 will get a free book.

I'll post the full table of contents soon, but I can tell you that many of the authors are active online, especially on Twitter, posting away. Here are their names:

• Eve Carpenter
• Shanna Katz
• Jeremy Edwards
• Jincey Lumpkin, Esq.
• Graydancer
• Jocelyn Bringas
• Craig J. Sorensen
• J. M. Snyder
• Elizabeth St. John
• Mark Farley
• Delilah T. Jones
• Zach Lindley
• Mia
• Rachel Kramer Bussel
• Brandi Woodlawn
• Heidi Champa
• Emerald
• Jack Stratton
• Madlyn March
• NookieNotes
• Mariana Tolentino
• Janne Lewis

And a little description - stories have titles like "Fuck Music" and "Dancing Queen" and mine is called "Cherry Pie," after, yes, Warrant's "Cherry Pie," which is featured in the story along with the food, cherry pie.

Our favorite music inspires us to move, dance and, yes, get busy in more intimate ways. Love Notes celebrates dancing queens, rock stars, groupies, anthems and more as the characters stroke each other to the sounds that make them soar. One woman masturbates to her favorite song while a stripper slinks her way into a man's life. From Madonna to Shania Twain to Led Zeppelin and beyond, they channel their favorite music to make love to.

Love Notes celebrates the erotic power of music to move us, whether it's listening to a lover rock out, fantasizing about your rock star crush, or making the sweetest and sexiest of music together. Singers, sirens and dancing queens get busy to a sex soundtrack ranging from heavy metal to classical and beyond. Get ready to get serenaded, seduced, and smitten with Love Notes.

Here's a little tidbit from one of my favorite stories in the book, one so smooth and sensual and perfect I want to reread it over and over, "She Loves to Hear the Music" by Delilah T. Jones:

Katie has this quirk. Every song she hears, in an elevator or the grocery store or in the car, is a stripper anthem. Whether she is listening to Def Leppard or Ingrid Michaelson or Mozart, she wonders how the rhythm will work around the pole. Every lyric is a vignette, every bass line an opportunity to hug the pole with her knees, leaning back until her long, red hair brushes the dance floor. She thinks about music while she’s brushing her teeth, jogging, watching TV and especially when she’s fucking. Her boyfriends have always appreciated the way in which she bobs her head to the beat with their cocks in her mouth and the way her mouth vibrates as she hums along. When she starts humming, in fact, the boys, they go crazy. They hope it’s a long song for a slow dance and when they come, they always slump down next to her and say, “I love whatever song you were singing. It’s my new favorite song.”

You can also get it for the Kindle (but the Kindle price is $5.69, not sure why):

I edited another e-book: Love Notes: A Sex & Music Anthology

I edited one more e-book for Ravenous Romance, called Love Notes: A Sex & Music Anthology. Again, many of the contributors were culled from Twitter and the Internet. These were a fabulous opportunity to publish many writers who were new to me and pay homage to, say, the hotness of Madonna (or in my story, Warrant's "Cherry Pie" and some sploshing/messy sex fun), and since this only costs $4.99 it's recession-priced smut. You can purchase

The jury's still out on how these will do (or rather, I have not a clue), but my fingers are crossed!

You can read my introduction and part of Eve Carpenter's "The Main Events" by clicking here. (I think it opens as a PDF.)

From the Ravenous Romance site:

Synopsis

Our favorite music inspires us to move, dance and, yes, get busy in more intimate ways. Love Notes celebrates dancing queens, rock stars, groupies, anthems and more as the characters stroke each other to the sounds that make them soar. One woman masturbates to her favorite song while a stripper slinks her way into a man's life. From Madonna to Shania Twain to Led Zeppelin and beyond, they channel their favorite music to make love to.

Love Notes celebrates the erotic power of music to move us, whether it's listening to a lover rock out, fantasizing about your rock star crush, or making the sweetest and sexiest of music together. Singers, sirens and dancing queens get busy to a sex soundtrack ranging from heavy metal to classical and beyond. Get ready to get serenaded, seduced, and smitten with Love Notes.

Contributing Authors:

• Eve Carpenter
• Shanna Katz
• Jeremy Edwards
• Jincey Lumpkin, Esq.
• Graydancer
• Jocelyn Bringas
• Craig J. Sorensen
• J. M. Snyder
• Elizabeth St. John
• Mark Farley
• Delilah T. Jones
• Zach Lindley
• Mia
• Rachel Kramer Bussel
• Brandi Woodlawn
• Heidi Champa
• Emerald
• Jack Stratton
• Madlyn March
• NookieNotes
• Mariana Tolentino
• Janne Lewis

My books on Kindle

Since today doesn't seem like it's turning into the most productive day, I will post these links to my books on Kindle (Amazon.com's e-reader) that I've been meaning to post. They're also in this Flickr set and also Yes, Ma'am is available on Kindle but there was no graphic for some reason. In reverse chronological order (mostly), click through to go to Amazon. Almost all are $9.99; the e-book The Lust Chronicles is $5.59.

E-books and other musings

As it turns out, there is internet access at my grandmother's in Danbury, which obviously means I am catching up on so much blog and newspaper reading, including the New York Times piece about e-books, which reads in part:

So far, publishers like HarperCollins, Random House and Simon & Schuster say that sales of e-books for any device — including simple laptop downloads — constitute less than 1 percent of total book sales. But there are signs of momentum. The publishers say sales of e-books have tripled or quadrupled in the last year.

Amazon’s Kindle version of “The Story of Edgar Sawtelle” by David Wroblewski, a best seller recommended by Ms. Winfrey’s book club, now represents 20 percent of total Amazon sales of the book, according to Brian Murray, chief executive of HarperCollins Publishers Worldwide.

The Kindle version of the book, which can be downloaded by the device itself through its wireless modem, costs $9.99 in the Amazon Kindle store. The Reader version costs $11.99 from Sony’s e-book library, accessible from an Internet-connected computer.

Even authors who were once wary of selling their work in bits and bytes are coming around. After some initial hesitation, authors like Danielle Steel and John Grisham are soon expected to add their titles to the e-book catalog, their agents say.

“E-books will become the go-to-first format for an ever-expanding group of readers who are newly discovering how much they enjoy reading books on a screen,” said Markus Dohle, chief executive of Random House, the world’s largest publisher of consumer books.

Nobody knows how much consumer habits will shift. Some of the most committed bibliophiles maintain an almost fetishistic devotion to the physical book. But the technology may have more appeal for particular kinds of people, like those who are the heaviest readers.



Recently, I bought some of my first e-books, one of Violet Blue's, as well as 2 by Megan Hart (if you buy Layover by December 29th, you can win a copy of her latest novel Stranger) and one by Jenesi Ash (these were from Harlequin's Spice Briefs program, yet another goal along with Black Lace on my writerly dream list). There was one point where I had some extra cash (ha!) and was going to buy a Kindle and was told to wait, so I did. I am also inundated with physical books, most of which I get for free, to review or consider or from friends, or I get from the library and some I do in fact buy cause I just cannot wait to read them. Finding time to read all the books I want to read is my main issue when it comes to reading.



But I'm glad that more and more of my Cleis titles are being released on Kindle, such as Best Sex Writing 2009. For erotica especially, I think e-books are a great format, though it's hard for me to truly talk about the format without having used it myself.

I have absolutely no clue how the 2 e-books I edited for Ravenous Romance will do, so like with all the others, am just waiting and seeing (The Lust Chronicles is available now, Sex and Music should be out next month, both with authors who aren't the usual erotica suspects, many are Twitter users and bloggers). I will always probably favor print, because I love bookstores. I love wandering their aisles, seeing what catches my eye, sitting down with a few books and seeing which one I must own that minute. In Austin, I spent over an hour wandering around BookPeople, admiring the vast and quirky selection, the fact that you could get a massage, the card selection, and simply the human input there. I hear about most of the books I read from online sources, but there's nothing quite like browsing to discover that book by the woman who came to your reading, or that memoir you've been wanting to read, or whatever. I don't think I will ever become a dedicated e-book over paper book reader, but that doesn't mean I don't think my books should be available in both formats.

Mostly I'm just trying to figure out where to go next, if there is a place for me to go next, in publishing. I'm honored that I haven't worn out my welcome at Cleis this year, that they still want to work with me, and I hope to continue to find ways to promote my books that don't cost tons of money, like blogging about hotel sex and the mile high club. I obviously don't make a living from books, and doubt I ever will, and am not even sure I'd ever want to. But I do want to maximize what I can do within erotica even as I explore other things I want to write about. I hope to have news about 2 non-fiction books in 2009, one of which it feels like I've been pitching forever and a day, the other I know could work, I just need to dedicate myself to. But mostly I'm just taking things as they come and trying to learn from authors I admire, like Megan Hart, who writes these killer novels for Harlequin Spice (I am not just saying that cause she advertises here) and memoirists like Rachel Resnick and Gail Konop Baker and Mary Pols, all of whom wowed me with their books this year. That is the real kind of writing I want to do, that I hope I have it in me to do, in both my weekly column and elsewhere.

Now we're off to see The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, thankfully dragging me away from the Internets for a little while (I'll be back though!).

My new e-book and a story from Ravenous Romance

I will have more to say about my (mixed) thoughts on e-publisher Ravenous Romance later (it's on my endless, hateful to do list, which means in all likelihood I may not get to it til 2010, but we'll see).

For now, I wanted to share that they just released my e-book anthology The Lust Chronicles, one where most of the authors were culled from Twitter and elsewhere on the Internets. It's great to be able to publish new authors and friends and since I got my start in erotica land with true stories in my books Up All Night and later First-Timers, plus all those early true stories I wrote, I feel like it's fitting. Though I still have my fingers and toes crossed that the publishing fairies smile down on me in 2009 and someone green lights my proposal for my True Sex Confessions anthology! (A girl can dream...)

So here's the cover and Table of Contents for that:



The Lust Chronicles
Edited by Rachel Kramer Bussel

Introduction – Truth is Sexier Than Fiction
Solo Sex – A Personal History by Zille Defeu
Luke Lushious by Lolita Wolf
Five’s Company by Mal Ross
Straight Seduced by Siren
First-Time Mistress by Rachel Kramer Bussel
Fedora by Jincey Lumpkin
Fairy Tale by Mia
Day at St. John’s by Heidi Champa
I Remember a Night at a Renaissance Faire by Sara Eileen
The Anticipation of Joy by Max Lagos
Flogger by Alysa Adams
Room 3025 by Maria M. Diaz
Three's Company For Two, Please by Val Strange
Letting Off Steam by Graydancer
Digital Manipulation by Alessia Brio
Sex in Dirty Places by Twanna A. Hines
The Consequences of Complaint by Alex M. Quinlan
Slow Dance by NookieNotes
Rocked Deep by Zaedryn Meade
Mile High Club by Devan Sagliani
Submit by Shanna Katz
Daredevil by Desiree
Kiss My Boots by Mollena “Mo” Williams
Notes on a Night in Bed by Jenna B.
Older Woman Appreciation by Mark Farley

Oh, and this is the cover they were going to give me that I was pretty horrified by. Thankfully, with e-publishers unlike print ones (coughHaworthAlysoncough), you can make your case, and I did, and they listened!



Also, my editor Lori Perkins has included my lesbian stripper shoe story, inspired by a particularly awesome pair I saw in St. Paul this summer, in her anthology Sex & Shoes, which is also only $4.99. Recession smut pricing, people!


Speaking of shoes, Stacie Joy took this photo of my new ones last night:

I am not a sex educator. Pass it on.

I get the people will persist in calling you things that may or may not apply, but I am a writer. And, yes, an editor and a blogger. But one thing I am not and have never purported to be is a sex educator. Just because it's on Wikipedia doesn't mean it's true.

That being said, since my books never get reviewed there (but I hope some future projects will!), I'm thrilled to see my name mentioned in Publishers Weekly. But they are wrong on that count, sorry.

I will have more info on my Ravenous Romance e-book The Lust Chronicles (only $4.99!!) soon, probably next week, or hop on over to my Flickr account (and yes, I know it may be blocked, that's all Flickr, not me, just click through) and see the cover I hated and the one I lobbied for that is now the final cover, plus the Table of Contents.

I'm busy getting ready for my in-and-out trip to San Francisco. That just reminded me that I must make sure to get a burger at In-N-Out. Because I like hamburgers so much I even write erotica about them (and I used to be vegan!).

I'm desperate for sex and music erotica ASAP!

I really, really, really need your sex and music erotica stories. This could be literally anything combining the two, from going to a concert (like in "Live Tonight" by Saskia Walker in Dirty Girls) to a music lesson (like the brilliant "Every Good By Deserves Favors" by L. Elise Bland in Naughty Spanking Stories from A to Z and beyond. I need longer stories (though shorter is okay) and as creative and hot as possible. I need them today (Monday) or tomorrow (Tuesday); Wednesday by 5 pm EST at the very latest (but earlier is much better). I'll get back to you by early next week for sure. I know the pay up front is minimal but you do get royalties, the book's out in December so there's a quick turnaround, you'll be joining some great authors and perhaps most importantly, you'll have my undying thanks.

Please MAKE SURE your submission:

has your byline and story title on it
is double spaced
is indented half an inch
is all in plain black text - no bolding, no asterisks, no underline - you can use italics
American grammar
has been proofread
is on topic

If you do those things, it's very, very likely that I'll publish it (though not guaranteed). Feel free to pass this on, I need the stories ASAP as my book was due last week! I'm done with submissions for my Lust Chronicles e-book and will post the table of contents as soon as it's approved by Ravenous.

’m editing a new e-book anthology for Ravenous Romance, to be published in December 2008.

For both: 1,500-5,000 words, Times or Times New Roman, double space, indent 1/2 an inch at start of each paragraph. Unpublished work only. All characters must be over 18; no incest or bestiality. All sexual orientations/genders welcome. Send as Word Document; if you cannot send as Word Document, send as RTF or in the body of an email

SEX AND MUSIC: Erotica about sex and music, could be band/groupie, music teacher, masturbating to a hot song, making a music video, musical performance, etc. Again, looking for a wide range of scenarios as long as there is some form of sex and some form of music (use your imagination).

Send BIO and MAILING ADDRESS (either in the Word Doc or in body of your email) and WORD DOCUMENT with your submission to: rachelravenous@gmail.com (if you previously sent a story to another address, I have it) with “Sex and Music” in subject line. MAKE SURE you double space, use American grammar, put your story title/byline on the document, indent half an inch. If using a pseudonym (which is totally fine), I need your real name and the pseudonym.

DEADLINE: ASAP

PAYMENT: Authors will receive $1/page PLUS portion of the E-book and MP3 royalties. We are purchasing electronic rights for 3 years and audio rights.

QUESTIONS? Email rachelravenous@gmail.com

Don't make me write the entire e-books myself!

So...the official deadline for my 2 e-books is fast approaching. I didn't do a giant public call preferring to stick to blogs so that I could court some newer writers.

And, well, I know the pay is pitiful. Next to nothing. And trust me, I feel awful about that. I feel bad about the fact that in my regular collections I can only pay $50 per story. On some level, I feel like no self-respecting writer should be asked to write for so little. On the other hand, well, erotica is not the field to go into to become rich. That would be non-fiction. Or well, something other than writing. That's just the reality, and I am eager to see how these e-books do, and glad that authors will share in the profits, which only happens once in a blue moon with a regular erotica book. So I hope to encourage new and experienced writers, and can even give you until Friday, October 3rd, as an extension, because I want these books to be as good as they can be. Also, I'm not getting as big an advance as I normally would. So it's an adventure and experiment for me, too, as I know next to nothing about e-books. I'm hoping to learn. So if you've been on the fence, please know that I'm gearing up my poor little pseudonyms to do some extra writing if I don't fill those story holes by next weekend, but I'd really rather publish your work.

I'm editing 2 new e-book anthologies for Ravenous Romance, to be published in December 2008.

For both: 1,500-3,000 words, Times or Times New Roman, double space, indent 1/2 an inch at start of each paragraph. Unpublished work only. All characters must be over 18; no incest or bestiality. All sexual orientations/genders welcome. Send as Word Document; if you cannot send as Word Document, send as RTF or in the body of an email.

LUST CHRONICLES: Erotic memoir, aka true sex stories. It has to be true and about you and involve sex. Can be funny, adventurous, sexy, dark, etc. Does not have to be "erotic" per se. Looking for a wide range of scenarios, everything from group sex to BDSM to best times, craziest times, first times, etc.

SEX AND MUSIC: Erotica about sex and music, could be band/groupie, music teacher, masturbating to a hot song, making a music video, musical performance, etc. Again, looking for a wide range of scenarios.

Send BIO and MAILING ADDRESS (either in the Word Doc or in body of your email) and WORD DOCUMENT with your submission to: rachelravenous@gmail.com (if you previously sent a story to another address, I have it) with "Lust Chronicles" or "Sex and Music" in subject line

DEADLINE: September 30, 2008 (but I will be accepting stories on a rolling basis, so the sooner you get them in, the better)

PAYMENT (Updated): Authors will receive $1/page PLUS portion of the E-book and MP3 royalties. We are purchasing electronic rights for 3 years and audio rights.

QUESTIONS? Email rachelravenous@gmail.com

Lots of erotica!

Last night's Erotica 101 workshop was intimate but fascinating and totally got me inspired. I'm teaching another one at TES on Tuesday, with a kinky twist, and will hopefully have info on more soon. Today I'm taping e-classes for DigiRomp on erotica. This is also a reminder that I really, really want your stories for my e-books - I only have a few so far. Deadline is 9/30! After that I think I may pitch some more ideas inspired by the workshop.

September 23, 8 pm
Erotica 101 Workshop for TES

Erotica 101 with a kinky twist; this workshop will focus on kinky
erotica, including in-class writing exercises and an overview of the erotica market.

Doors at 7:30.

Location: Joria Dance Studio. 260 West 36 St., 3rd floor (between 7th and 8th Avenues), NYC.
Admission: $4 for members, $8 for non-members.
See TES for more info on their programming.

E-Book Calls for Submissions: Sex and Music and Lust Chronicles

I'm editing 2 new e-book anthologies for Ravenous Romance, to be published in December 2008.

For both: 1,500-3,000 words, Times or Times New Roman, double space, indent 1/2 an inch at start of each paragraph. Unpublished work only. All characters must be over 18; no incest or bestiality. All sexual orientations/genders welcome. Send as Word Document; if you cannot send as Word Document, send as RTF or in the body of an email.

LUST CHRONICLES: Erotic memoir, aka true sex stories. It has to be true and about you and involve sex. Can be funny, adventurous, sexy, dark, etc. Does not have to be "erotic" per se. Looking for a wide range of scenarios, everything from group sex to BDSM to best times, craziest times, first times, etc.

SEX AND MUSIC: Erotica about sex and music, could be band/groupie, music teacher, masturbating to a hot song, making a music video, musical performance, etc. Again, looking for a wide range of scenarios.

Send BIO and MAILING ADDRESS (either in the Word Doc or in body of your email) and WORD DOCUMENT with your submission to: rachelravenous@gmail.com (if you previously sent a story to another address, I have it) with "Lust Chronicles" or "Sex and Music" in subject line

DEADLINE: September 30, 2008 (but I will be accepting stories on a rolling basis, so the sooner you get them in, the better)

PAYMENT (Updated): Authors will receive $1/page PLUS portion of the E-book and MP3 royalties. We are purchasing electronic rights for 3 years and audio rights.

QUESTIONS? Email rachelravenous@gmail.com

2 new e-book calls for submissions

E-books are new to me, as a reader and an editor. Ravenous Romance is launching in December and these will be part of the launch, and I'm definitely in need of stories and favoring new writers, so please send your stories in!

I'm editing 2 new e-book anthologies for Ravenous Romance, to be published in December 2008.

For both: 1,500-3,000 words, Times or Times New Roman, double space, indent 1/2 an inch at start of each paragraph. Unpublished work only. All characters must be over 18; no incest or bestiality. All sexual orientations/genders welcome. Send as Word Document; if you cannot send as Word Document, send as RTF or in the body of an email.

LUST CHRONICLES: Erotic memoir, aka true sex stories. It has to be true and about you and involve sex. Can be funny, adventurous, sexy, dark, etc. Does not have to be "erotic" per se. Looking for a wide range of scenarios, everything from group sex to BDSM to best times, craziest times, first times, etc.

SEX AND MUSIC: Erotica about sex and music, could be band/groupie, music teacher, masturbating to a hot song, making a music video, musical performance, etc. Again, looking for a wide range of scenarios.

Send BIO and MAILING ADDRESS (either in the Word Doc or in body of your email) and WORD DOCUMENT with your submission to: rachelravenous@gmail.com (if you previously sent a story to another address, I have it) with "Lust Chronicles" or "Sex and Music" in subject line

DEADLINE: September 30, 2008 (but I will be accepting stories on a rolling basis, so the sooner you get them in, the better)

PAYMENT (Updated): Authors will receive $1/page PLUS portion of the E-book and MP3 royalties. We are purchasing electronic rights for 3 years and audio rights.

QUESTIONS? Email rachelravenous@gmail.com

To see the kinds of stories I prefer, watch samples from my reading series In The Flesh and/or check out any of my books.

Ravenous Romance to launch December 1st

Reposting this press release - Lori is my agent and is also editing a Men in Shorts anthology for them (see her blog, linked above, for details) and I will be doing something with them too, my first foray into electronic publishing. If you write romance, erotica, erotic romance, etc., you should definitely check them out since they are publishing A BOOK A DAY!

Press Release:

Literary Partners Group, Inc. Forms to
Launch Ravenous Romance™

Erotic romance publisher to provide high-quality, affordable content online

[Boston, MA, September 3, 2008] – Hollan Publishing, Inc. principals Holly Schmidt and Allan Penn have joined forces with literary agent Lori Perkins to form Literary Partners Group, Inc., which has announced the launch of Ravenous Romance™, an online publishing company. Ravenous Romance™ will publish daily novel-length erotic romances, as well as lunchtime “Hot Fling™” short stories in e-book and downloadable MP3 format. The company will offer content online at www.RavenousRomance.com beginning December 1, 2008.

Recognizing the shrinking margins and increasing obsolescence of print publishing in today’s market, LPG has leveraged their combined expertise and experience in the growing erotica and romance categories, and is taking them to the rapidly-expanding digital market. E-books and audiobooks are two of the strongest growth areas in publishing, as readers have begun to embrace the convenience of downloading material to smart phones, iPods, PDAs, personal computers, and various new-to-market electronic readers such as the Amazon Kindle and the Sony Reader.

Ravenous Romance™ will offer erotic romance – stories with strong plots and character development, but with steamy sex scenes and explicit descriptions of sexual encounters. The stories will feature strong, passionate heroines and plots that express a broad range of fantasies. Ravenous Romance™ will be a destination site for women, with erotica that celebrates female sexuality, and strong Web 2.0 community-building features.

“We’re not the first in this arena, but we have a competitive advantage due to our unique experience and our ability to price and market our product aggressively, without the channel conflict that characterizes the large trade publishers’ forays into e-books,” says publisher and co-founder Holly Schmidt, who also points out that none of their competitors offer both audiobooks and e-books, nor do they offer new material with the frequency that Ravenous Romance™ will. “We will succeed by producing exceptionally high-quality erotic fiction by award-winning writers and their protégées, and offering it to our readers at an extremely competitive price point. In today’s market, consumers want quality content at an affordable price, with a visually-appealing and user-friendly retail interface. That is what Ravenous Romance™ will deliver.”

Romance is the most popular genre in modern literature, generating $1.37 billion in net sales annually and accounting for 26.4% of all books sold. Demographically, 56% of romance readers are under age 44, and 74% have college degrees. Overall, these women are computer-literate and comfortable with new technologies. They are also voracious consumers, having read an average of nine romance novels each in 2006. Digital content offers a way for women to keep their interest in erotic romance discreet, portable, and affordable. Schmidt points out that e-publishing is also an eco-friendly alternative to the environmentally damaging nature of traditional mass market publishing. With thousands of new romance titles printed, warehoused, and shipped each year in the U.S. alone, the environmental impact is significant.

Visit Ravenous Romance™ online at www.RavenousRomance.com, where you can download a free Hot Fling™ and register to win an iPod Touch.