See you soon for erotica and sex writing workshops in LA and a free Best Women's Erotica of the Year reading in San Francisco

I'm excited that I've got three live events this month; two on January 17th in Los Angeles and one January 19th in San Francisco. Details below. I know many of you don't live in those areas, so if that's the case, I'd love it if you'd pass on this post or the event info to a friend who is. I don't know how much traveling I'll be doing the rest of the year as I intend to focus on teaching online erotica writing classes (like my next LitReactor one). I'm especially thrilled that one week after the book's official publication date, I get to read with four of my contributors to Best Women's Erotica of the Year, Volume 1. I love getting to read authors' work, but love even more getting to hear them do justice to their words out loud.

Thank you very much to SHE, Pleasure Chest and Good Vibrations for hosting me! These are all excellent events/stores I'm proud to work with.

Sunday, January 17, noon to 12:50 pm
Nonfiction Sex Writing 101 workshop (aka, make money writing about your sex life)

I'm teaching this workshop as part of the wonderful SHE (Sexual Health Expo), which runs the weekend of January 16-17 and features workshops by Tristan Taormino, Dirty Lola, Mollena Williams and many others on everything from online dating to anal sex, role-playing and much more. See the full schedule here. Your admission gets you in to the whole weekend; get 2-for-1 admission using code RACHBR at Eventbrite.

Longtime freelance writer Rachel Kramer Bussel will cover all you need to know about writing about sex, including blogging, first-person essays and journalism. You’ll learn how to ethically write about your love life, what editors are looking for, where to find experts on sexuality topics, and how to stay abreast of current sex news. Whether you’re looking to write a sex blog, column, articles or books, you’ll find out what makes an intriguing essay or article, how to pitch, how much money you can expect to make, and how to maximize your editorial opportunities. The class will also cover branding yourself as a writer, using and selecting a good pseudonym, using social media to promote your work and do outreach, and how to pitch stories. Please bring paper and writing implements or a laptop to use for in class writing exercises. Rachel is a sex columnist for DAME and a former sex columnist for The Village Voice, Penthouse, Philadelphia City Paper and The Frisky, and has written about dating and sexuality for Buzzfeed, Cosmopolitan, The Daily Beast, Glamour, Inked, Marie Claire, O, The Oprah Magazine, Refinery29, Salon, Slate, Time.com, xoJane, The Washington Post and many other publications. A resource list covering markets for sex-related pieces will be provided.



Sunday, January 17, 7 - 9 pm
Free Erotica Writing 101 workshop


Yes, free! This is a wonderful opportunity for anyone of any level to spend two hours writing and learning. My class is always welcoming and judgment-free, and everyone will get a handout at the end listing publishers and resources.

Professional erotica author and editor Rachel Kramer Bussel, editor of over 60 anthologies such as Best Women's Erotica of the Year, Volume 1, Come Again: Sex Toy Erotica, and The Big Book of Orgasms, will take you through the ins and outs of modern erotic writing, from getting started, finding your voice, and incorporating your surroundings, pop culture, and personal experiences into your stories to crafting a range of characters and settings and submitting your work. In this supportive, welcoming workshop environment, you’ll learn how to write vividly about everyday scenarios as well as outlandish fantasies, and make them fit for particular publications in the thriving erotica market. This workshop will address the recent boom in erotica inspired by Fifty Shades of Grey, provide examples of well written erotica, and will include multiple writing exercises. You’ll be given a handout listing major markets and further reading suggestions. No previous writing experience required. Please bring laptop or pen and paper.

Pleasure Chest, 7733 Santa Monica Blvd., West Hollywood, CA 90046, 323-650-1022



Tuesday, January 19, 6:30-8:30 pm
Free Best Women's Erotica of the Year, Volume 1 reading

Celebrate one of the hottest books of 2016, Best Women's Erotica of the Year, Volume 1! Join editor Rachel Kramer Bussel and contributors Amy Butcher, Rose Caraway, Dorothy Freed, and Jade A. Waters for a sexy reading from these hot, varied pansexual stories by and about a range of daring, feisty, take-charge women, followed by a book signing. Free. Oh, and the store has an Antique Vibrator Museum!
Good Vibrations, 1620 Polk Street (at Sacramento), San Francisco, 415-345-0400

How my 11 hour trip to San Francisco is part of my 2016 budget

One of the things I'm most excited about this year is starting a budget. I'm mortified that I'm 40 years old and have never really had a proper budget before. Especially since I was around 25, my "budgeting" has been a pretty haphazard process, if it's even been a thought at all. Trust me, I feel immense guilt and shame about that, but part of my embracing of the new year is allowing myself to move past the guilt/shame spiral and figure out what I can do differently.

In addition to setting a plan to earn a certain amount of income per week, which will probably mean increasing my writing output and, hopefully, focusing on including higher paying publications in my regular writing routine, what I'm doing is tracking where every penny I spend, and just as importantly, every penny my business, RKB Enterprises, Inc., spends. That means getting serious about some of the things I wish I could do, like travel frequently, and what I can actually afford. It means I will keep facing guilt and tough decisions occasion, because while, technically, I can "work from anywhere," it's undeniable that I lose out on the ability to earn money when I'm traveling. I can tell myself all I want that I will "write on the bus," meaning the two hour and 35 minute bus ride from Atlantic City to New York and back, usually, plus whatever other travel I do, but the reality is when I'm on a bus, or a plane, usually I'm tired and looking forward to digging into a juicy book.

So I am being a lot more careful about where and when I travel. Family is important to me, so I will be visiting my far-flung family members. I'm hoping to visit a friend I met when I was six for her birthday, but will largely be helping with her baby and working from her home. When I booked my trip to Los Angeles and San Francisco, I realized I had a choice: I could get an extra night's hotel room in San Francisco just for the sake of "hanging out" after my reading, or I could make the smarter business decision and fly home on a redeye after my reading. For one of the few times in my life, I made the more fiscally wise choice. I will leave my Good Vibrations reading and head right to SFO to catch my Virgin America flight home. Usually, I fly JetBlue, but their latest outgoing flight was too early for my schedule. So I will be in San Francisco from 12:45 pm until 11:20 pm, which is under 11 hours. Does it make sense? Not if I'd never been to San Francisco, but considering I lived in Berkeley for three years and have been to San Francisco countless times and this is a business trip, it certainly does.

I will briefly interrupt this post to plug my event, the whole reason I bought a flight to San Francisco in the first place. I'll be hosting the first reading from Best Women's Erotica of the Year, Volume 1 on Tuesday, January 19th, from 6:30-8:30 pm at Good Vibrations, 1620 Polk Street, San Francisco. It's free and I hope you can make it! Joining me will be contributors Amy Butcher, Rose Caraway (who will narrate the audiobook, coming in spring 2016), Dorothy Freed and Jade A. Waters. My roots are in readings; I've always loved hearing authors read from their work, getting inside jokes and inflections, reliving a particular phrase. I'm especially eager to hear Amy Butcher read her hilarious, very hot and surprising story "Waiting to Pee," which pushes some boundaries but does so in a way that fascinates me. It's the kind of story I could read every month and get something new from.



Part of what's helped me make this decision has been my focus on what I want my money to accomplish this year. I've started a budget bucket list and realized that since my income fluctuates each week, I can never assume that I will have a certain amount to work with. This recent holiday I faced scrutiny around the dinner table about my plans for budgeting, and my biggest takeaway, aside from how frustrating it was and how shameful (that again!) it felt to say "I don't know yet how much I made this year" was that I want next December to feel different. I want to sit at that table and be able to report that I earned X and paid off Y and cut out spending on Z. I want to feel more confident about my worth and value and ability to handle money, and the only way that will happen is to say no to the impulse trips and hotels and purchases, at least, until I have accomplished some of my goals. I'm not going to overnight turn from hoarder to minimalist.

I've been listening to the You Need a Budget podcast and reading the YNAB blog and it's forced me to ask myself what I value, what I prioritize, what I'm doing with my life. Am I treating my income as something frivolous, or as the earnings of a real businesswoman? Am I using it to further my career, expand my books' reach, grow, or am I just using it for what feels good in the moment?

Now, as my boyfriend would be the first to tell you, I'm obsessive and impulsive. I get super into something, be it a food or a hobby or a podcast, and I can't shut up about it. Poor him, because most days he's the only person I talk to and he doesn't always want to hear about my obsessions. So, alas, you are bearing the brunt of my latest obsession. I say that jokingly, because while I am the last person you should look to as a financial role model, I can only hope that my late awakening to the value of what I earn can translate into someone else rethinking a purchase they "must" have. I plan to write more about how I invest my money back into my business, which I do primarily through buying books to send to Amazon reviewers and contest winners, traveling for events, book postcards, the occasional advertisement and domain names. I may try new marketing tools and tactics in 2016, especially since Best Women's Erotica of the Year, Volume 1 has the potential to be my bestselling book, and the better it does, the better, I suspect, my chances of securing more anthology editing contracts. But first, I want to focus on the day to day decisions and what values and priorities they reflect. This is not a "resolution," because I traditionally fail hard at those, but a way of trying to embrace my forties and make up for lost time when it comes to cash, credit, savings and investing.

Hear sexy erotica and learn how to write it with me in 2016 in Los Angeles, San Francisco and Chicago

I'm thrilled to have my new anthology Best Women's Erotica of the Year, Volume 1 hitting bookstore shelves (and ebook retailers) on January 12th, and despite moving on that same day, I'm taking myself on the road to promote it. I love doing readings, even though they aren't the most practical or economical of events, because I get to meet the authors whose words I fell for in the editing process and hear them read their stories in front of a live audience. I've been organizing readings since my very first erotica story was published in 2000; forming community and letting people hear erotica read aloud has always been part of what's drawn me to the genre and an integral part of how I operate. After I hear the author read, I always think of the story a little bit differently, and I know audiences remember the story differently as well.



Plus, bottom line (not "button line," as I somehow inadvertently typed at first): they're fun. Words on a page will always remain the same, but words read aloud will never be 100% identical. There may be a change in tone, a certain inflection, a raised eyebrow, a hand gesture, a cheer or hoot or moan or laugh from an audience member. Who knows what will happen? I've had authors bring props to readings and use them to perfect effect. I've had passages I thought for sure were intended with a certain tone read completely differently. That's the beauty, the magic, the joy and the thrill of live readings, and why I'm going out of my way (literally and figuratively) to do them. I believe so much in this book and this series. I want it to sell well, yes, but I also want it to live beyond the pages of print books and electronic screens. I want it to feel alive, captivating. I want to host had-to-be-there events for those who can attend. Yes, you'll be able to buy the audiobook narrated by the woman I think is the best erotica narrator around, Rose Caraway, in a few months. That will surely be hot too. But nothing beats the aliveness, the camaraderie, the excitement of a live reading. I still believe that, 15 or so years after organizing that first one.

So even though these days I'm mainly a suburban homebody and like it that way, I am thrilled to be organizing readings for Best Women's Erotica of the Year, Volume 1. Right now, two are booked, both free and open to the public, Tuesday, January 19th from 6:30-8:30 at Good Vibrations at 1620 Polk Street in San Francisco and Thursday, March 31st from 6-7:30 pm at The Pleasure Chest at 3436 North Lincoln Avenue, Chicago, with wine and other beverages. I'll be sharing more about them and will have official links very soon, but wanted to tell you so you can mark your calendars and let friends in the area know. Can't make the readings? (Or even if you can!) Please show your support by backing the Best Women's Erotica of the Year, Volume 1 Thunderclap. It'll take you less than a minute; all you do is authorize Thunderclap to post a one-time post on your Facebook, Twitter or Tumblr accounts. That's it! Then on January 12th, the publication date, they will let your followers know the book is out. Also: I'll have postcards at my events, but if you're in the U.S. and want one in the mail, just fill out this form and I'll mail you one!

My other 2016 events are listed below, including my online only 4-week LitReactor erotica writing class, and one more special new workshop is being finalized for Thursday, March 10th at Brooklyn sex toy store Please. I'll update this post and my website's calendar page as details become available.

January 17, time TBA (daytime)
Sex Writing 101 workshop (nonfiction), SHE LA
Learn how to write about your sex life and get paid. See sexualhealthexpo.com for details and schedule. Register here. $25 gets you into both days of SHE, January 16 and 17, and if you use the code RACHBR you'll get 2 for 1 admission, so you can bring a friend free (or split the cost with them). The full lineup will be announced soon, as will the timing of my workshop. Get a sneak peeking this Xbiz preview, but note that this is a nonfiction sex writing workshop, not erotica (see the next entry for my erotica workshop).
Sexual Health Expo, Hilton Universal City Hotel, 555 Universal Hollywood Dr., Universal City, CA 91608




January 17, 8 pm - 10 pm, FREE
Erotica Writing 101 workshop, West Hollywood, CA
Rachel Kramer Bussel, professional erotica author and editor of over 50 erotica anthologies, such as Best Women's Erotica of the Year, Volume 1, Come Again: Sex Toy Erotica, and The Big Book of Orgasms and more, will take you through the ins and outs of modern erotic writing. Learn how to get started, find your voice, and write against type. You'll discover how to incorporate everyday scenarios as well as outlandish fantasies into your writing, and make them fit for particular magazines and anthologies. She'll also talk about submitting your work and keeping up with the thriving erotica market (including anthologies, ebooks, magazines and websites). Whether you're writing to that special someone, penning longtime fantasies, or want to earn cash for your dirty words, this workshop is for you. Please bring paper or writing implements or a laptop to use for in class writing exercises. A bibliography with erotica resources will be provided. Please note: We do not offer advance registration or reserved seating for free workshops or events. Attendance is on a first come, first served basis. Early arrival is recommended to secure your spot!
The Pleasure Chest, 7733 Santa Monica Boulevard, West Hollywood, CA, 323-650-1022

January 19, 6:30-8:30 pm
Best Women's Erotica of the Year, Volume 1 reading
Visit Good Vibrations and its Antique Vibrator Museum, as you join editor Rachel Kramer Bussel and contributors Amy Butcher, Rose Caraway, Dorothy Freed and Jade A. Waters for a hot reading of this brand new Cleis Press anthology, Best Women's Erotica of the Year, Volume 1. Books will be available for sale and signing.
Good Vibrations, 1620 Polk Street (at Sacramento Street), San Francisco, CA, 415-345-0400



February 11-March 10
LitReactor Between the Sheets online erotica writing class
4-week online class taught by Rachel Kramer Bussel, editor of over 50 erotica anthologies and contributor to over 100 anthologies, including the Best American Erotica, Best Women's Erotica, Best Gay Erotica and Best Lesbian Erotica series. See URL above for weekly lecture and assignment topics. Also includes weekly writing critiques from Bussel and fellow students, discussion board, resources on author branding, pen names and submitting your work, extensive market information plus over a dozen exclusive Q&As with publishers, editors and agents, along with authors (traditionally published and self-published) such as Tiffany Reisz, Charlotte Stein, Cecilia Tan, Rebekah Weatherspoon and more about how they've broken into erotica. Students will have continued access to all classroom postings on LitReactor.com once class is over plus access to private alumni Facebook group for further discussion. Class is limited to 16 people and is likely to sell out. Students can be anonymous and take part from anywhere in the world on their schedule. $350 if you register by December 31; $375 January 1 or later. Questions? Email Rachel at rachelkramerbussel at gmail.com with “LitReactor” in the subject line.



March 10, time TBA
New workshop by Rachel Kramer Bussel
Please, 557 Fifth Avenue, Brooklyn, NY (Park Slope), main at pleasenewyork.com, 718-788-6969

March 31, 6-7:30 pm
Best Women's Erotica of the Year, Volume 1 reading
Join editor Rachel Kramer Bussel and contributors including Tara Betts for a reading followed by a book signing. Wine and other beverages will be served.
The Pleasure Chest, 3436 North Lincoln Avenue, Chicago, 773-525-7151



April 1, 9:15 a.m. - 12:15 p.m.
Erotica Writing 101 workshop, Chicago
In this three hour workshop Rachel Kramer Bussel, professional erotica author and editor of over 50 erotica anthologies, such as The Big Book of Orgasms, Cheeky Spanking Stories and Serving Him: Sexy Stories of Submission, will take you through the ins and outs of modern erotic writing. Learn how to get started, find your voice, and write against type. You’ll discover how to incorporate everyday scenarios as well as outlandish fantasies into your writing, and make them fit for particular magazines and anthologies. The class will also cover branding yourself as a writer, using and selecting a good pseudonym, and using social media to promote your work and do outreach. She’ll also talk about submitting your work and keeping up with the thriving erotica market, including anthologies, ebooks, magazines and websites. Please bring paper and writing implements or a laptop to use for in class writing exercises. A bibliography with erotica resources will be provided.
This class will take place on Friday, April 1, 2016 at the CatalystCon host hotel. You must purchase a ticket to this workshop separately from CatalystCon on the registration page and do not have to attend CatalystCon to take the workshop. $45/person. Register here.
Hyatt Regency O'Hare, 9300 Bryn Mawr Avenue, Rosemont, IL 60018

April 1, 1:30 p.m. - 4:30 p.m.
Sex Writing 101 (nonfiction) workshop, Chicago
In this three hour workshop, writer and editor Rachel Kramer Bussel will cover all you need to know about writing about sex, including blogging, first-person essays and journalism. You’ll learn how to ethically write about your love life, what editors are looking for, where to find experts on sexuality topics, and how to stay abreast of current sex news. Whether you’re looking to write a sex blog, column, articles or books, you’ll find out how to pitch, how much money you can expect to make, and how to maximize your editorial opportunities. The class will also cover branding yourself as a writer, using and selecting a good pseudonym, using social media to promote your work and do outreach, and how to pitch stories. Rachel is the author of Sex & Cupcakes: A Juicy Collection of Essays, a sex columnist for DAME, and was a sex columnist for The Village Voice, Penthouse, Philadelphia City Paper and The Frisky, and has written about sexuality for Cosmopolitan, The Daily Beast, Elle.com, Glamour, Inked, Marie Claire, O, The Oprah Magazine, Salon, Slate, Time.com, xoJane and many other publications. A resource list covering markets for sex-related pieces, including editors who are actively looking for pitches, will be provided.
This class will take place on Friday, April 1, 2016 at the CatalystCon host hotel. You must purchase a ticket to this workshop separately from CatalystCon on the registration page and do not have to attend CatalystCon to take the workshop. $45/person. Register here.
Hyatt Regency O'Hare, 9300 Bryn Mawr Avenue, Rosemont, IL 60018

April 2 or 3
Moderating panel, Sharing Your Sex Life on the Page and the Stage
I'll be moderating this CatalystCon panel featuring Eric Barry, Lola and Suzy Spencer. Open to CatalystCon attendees. Use code RACHEL for $10 off.
CatalystCon, Hyatt Regency O'Hare, 9300 Bryn Mawr Avenue, Rosemont, IL 60018

Rose Caraway interviewed me on her Sexy Librarian podcast!

Last night I had a long chat with Rose Caraway about everything from erotica writing, editing and consulting to my tips on doing erotica readings, like we're doing on Monday, September 15th at 7:30 at The Booksmith, 1644 Haight Street, San Francisco (join us, it's free and I love The Booksmith), my love of coffee, my favorite and least favorite erotic words and much more. Listen here:



Last time Rose interviewed me it was in her studio and we discussed sexy remote controls, nipple clamps and more.

Catch more of her wonderful author interviews on her blog.

And of course, read "Book Swap" and 20 other sexy stories, complete with fun card catalog entries, in her new anthology The Sexy Librarian's Big Book of Erotica! It's out now in print and ebook, and of course the best narrator in the business is going to be narrating her own book, out very soon from Audible!

I love traveling but hate leaving the comforts of home

I have a love/hate relationship with traveling. Well, that may be too harsh. I love traveling, and do it frequently, so much so that I've become an ardent devotee of JetBlue's Badges program, which has allowed me to rack up lots of frequently flyer miles and visit more places (I highly recommend it; you get points for simply using social media, flying, using partner sites, etc.). While I don't love waiting on TSA lines, that process has gotten easier because I get to bypass most of the line using JetBlue's Even More Speed option, which is well worth the $10. This trip there were a few legs I couldn't use JetBlue, like Portland to Seattle, but those are cheap and quick flights.

This month I'm doing something new for me; from September 5-October 1, I'm taking 11 flights, as part of my multi-city book tour, which will take me to, in order, Seattle, Portland (OR), Los Angeles for two writing workshops I'm teaching and two panels at CatalystCon, San Francisco, back to Portland, Oregon, then after a few days at home, Portland, Maine, then back home, then Chicago, Milwaukee, then home again. It's a lot of travel, even for me, and I admit it's a little daunting, both in terms of the demands on the body of hopping on so many flights, making sure I get to my flights (thankfully, most are at reasonable hours, with only one or two at a very early hour).

But more than that, especially since moving to my house in April, I've realized just how much I'm a creature of habit. My boyfriend just asked me what kind of eggs I want, and I said what I say almost every time he asks: "Fried." He makes amazing fried eggs, and even though he also makes good scrambled eggs and omelets and other breakfasts, that's what I like and I choose it consistently. I use the same coffee mug, even though I have prettier and bigger ones.



So when I travel, my routine is disrupted. The irony is that I travel in part specifically to break up my routine, to see new things, meet new people, eat at places like Sweet Iron Waffles in Seattle, walk and navigate public transportation, and simply do things I can't do in Red Bank, New Jersey. When I'm home for a month or two, I get that itch to go somewhere. But about a week into a trip, I get very homesick. I miss my boyfriend, even though we email and talk while I'm away; it's just not the same as all our little rituals.

It's a conundrum, trying to balance both those desires, for travel adventures and the very basic daily sameness I crave. I usually travel about once a month, and that satisfies my wanderlust. Last weekend I visited cousins in Vermont, which is a true respite because they live in what to me is a very rural area. We get to eat tons of fresh food they grow, and I got to learn about games like Animal Jam and Subway Surf and go to the fair, where I ate frickles (fried pickles, which now seem to be on every menu I encounter), rode bumper cars and played bingo. But this month will be a challenge, because it's travel for both business and pleasure. I'll be teaching 7 writing workshops, doing 3 readings, and doing my first talk at a library. I'm responsible for making sure each of those events has as big a crowd as I can conjure, and making sure people leave happy they attended. I'm confident but also nervous about my ability to see those through.

Now, that's nothing compared to Chris Guillebeau, who's doing a massive book tour for his latest, The Happiness of Pursuit, which I want to read, but for a self-employed writer on a shoestring self-funded budget, it's a lot. That's why I'm trying to spread the word as wide and far as I can, because I don't want to let down the stores and conferences and community centers hosting me, and I also believe this is a very ripe time for newcomers to break into the erotica market and want to help make that happen, while also making it something I can continue to do well into the future. I'm itching to put out a new call for submissions and hope to as soon as the last obligations I have are fulfilled, but I also am spreading my wings as I wrap up my very first all-written-by-me book, an ebook for Thought Catalog Books (more about that once there's an official cover and release date, but it will be this fall!), and get ready for things I've never done before.

After this latest round of events, I'll be slowing down on travel, and probably cutting way back in 2015. I hope to have enough money to take a fun vacation, the kind where I do little more than lie around a sunny beach. I tried to take one earlier this year and it didn't quite happen, and if it doesn't this year, that's okay too. I've traveled a lot, and I really do love my house. It feels like a home, partly because it's so cozy, and partly because we've added our own touches to it and made it somewhere I adore coming back to. I didn't realize how much I craved that, but when you work from home, it matters even more. In Brooklyn, when I "worked from home," I really worked from a coffeeshop. I still love a good coffeeshop, and can get quality work done in them. But when I'm home now, I really do work here, with occasional forays to the library or a cafe for a change of scenery. So this week I'll be finishing up some writing deadlines, preparing for and promoting my events, packing and getting mentally prepared to head off on more trips in a short time period than I've ever taken before. So that's what I'm thinking about before Friday's flight to Seattle. Hope to see many of you on the road (if you know anyone near any of the cities I'll be visiting--again, Seattle, Portland (Oregon), Los Angeles, San Francisco, Portland (Maine), Chicago and Milwaukee--I'd love it if you'd spread the word), and if you can't make it, I'm also gearing up for October's online erotica writing class with LitReactor and my October 24th erotica writing workshop in New York City

Snapshots from Vermont at the Champlain Valley Fair:


I went on this Ferrish wheeland was nervous at first, but wound up loving it




winning 3 rounds of bingo made me very happy! I miss playing bingo and want to find one near me.

On sexy librarians and book nerds

I'm honored that my story "Book Swap," about strangers who swap books on an airplane and what happens afterward, opens Rose Caraway's debut anthology The Sexy Librarian's Big Book of Erotica, out now in print and coming soon as an audiobook recorded by Rose and, I believe, Kindle and Nook versions. The book has card catalog images before each story, and the one for mine has it tagged Cougar, Airplane, Spanking. That pretty much sums it up. I'll be reading the story alongside Rose, whose story in the book is called "The Mating Chamber" (tags: Shackles, Breeding, Matriarchal) and sharing other erotica tidbits live at our free event on Monday, September 15th at 7 p.m. at The Booksmith, 1644 Haight Street, San Francisco. They haven't put it on their site yet, but it's confirmed, and I will also be signing copies of my two new summer books The Big Book of Submission and Hungry for More. See you there! You can also check out Rose's sexy librarian blog and Sexy Librarian podcast as well as her The Kiss Me Quick's podcast

Greetings from San Francisco, where tonight's the big night for The Big Book of Orgasms at Good VIbrations

Greetings from San Francisco! I'm here for tonight's big reading from The Big Book of Orgasms, which is free at 6:30 at Good Vibrations, 1620 Polk Street. If you know anyone in the area, please let them know! Details (Crystal Jordan unfortunately cannot be with us):

November 6, 6:30 p.m., FREE
The Big Book of Orgasms: 69 Sexy Stories (Cleis Press) is editor Rachel Kramer Bussel's latest and greatest erotica anthology. This climactic collection of pansexual short shorts are perfect for bedtime reading to a lover or on your own. Whether getting off from exhibitionism, voyeurism, hot wax, dirty talk or a very special pair of blue jeans, the characters in The Big Book of Orgasms go all out for the Big O. From vanilla to kinky, and everything in between, there's something for all erotic readers here. At this special reading, Bussel will be joined by contributors Lily K. Cho, Malin James, Sinclair Sexsmith, Donna George Storey, B.D. Swain, Virgie Tovar, Jade A. Waters and Xan West for an evening of steamy stories that's sure to leave you hot and bothered. Time: 6:30 - 7:30 pm
Where: Good Vibrations, 1620 Polk Street (at Sacramento Street), San Francisco, CA 94109
(415) 345-0400
http://events.goodvibes.com/

Yesterday, I had the pleasure of meeting Rose Caraway, The Kiss Me Quicks podcaster and narrator extraodinaire of the Gotta Have It audiobook (so thrilled she will also be narrating The Big Book of Orgasms). I can't even express how awed I am by Rose's energy, and it shows in the responses. The Gotta Have It audiobook has blazed far, far ahead of all my other audiobooks. Maybe it's because the stories are short and sweet, but I think it's because Rose has a sexy voice and takes care and attention with everything she works on. And she brought me these pretty flowers!

Why I love The Big Book of Orgasms better than all my other books, or "the big little book that could"

Maybe you're not supposed to say you love one book more than all the others, but I'm not exactly the type to stand on propriety. So there, I will say it: I am so excited about and proud of The Big Book of Orgasms I'm not even sure it's worth keeping editing erotica books (though I would love to do a sequel should I be so lucky). I will for a while, but this is my career high, the one book I am going to bat for and doing crazy things like flying out to San Francisco for less than 48 hours, because I believe in it that much, because I want it to succeed so badly.

I've been trying to unlock why this book feels so make or break for me, and I think it's in part that I truly think this is a book anyone can enjoy. Don't have a lot of time? Each story can be read in about five minutes. Curious about kink but aren't sure how far you want to dip your toes? There's plenty of it, but also plenty of lighter stories. Sometimes I hear feedback that my books don't have enough, for example, gay male stories, or some other type of content. While this book doesn't have everything, it comes as close as I am likely to with any of my books. I won't lie, though: it's far easier to edit 20-25 stories, from a logistical perspective, than 69. The editorial freedom is the flipside to 3 times as much paperwork, email and wrangling. That's only worth it if the book is beautiful and hot, inside and out, and this one is, for me.

This one was just a perfect storm of me getting everything I want as an editor, and, I hope, offering everything an erotica reader could want--except meaty stories; these are brief and will likely have you wanting to read more by these authors. If they were longer, the book would be too unwieldy to fit in a pocket and would lose some of its charm, in my opinion. I like that the minute you pick this book up, if you're the type who reads print, it looks and feels different than most erotica books. It can fit in a purse or pocket. It's handy and hopefully something you'll want to handle, hold, savor. I also think that because it has such a mix of writing styles, perspectives and scenarios, from multi-published authors and newcomers to the erotica genre, it gives readers a depth of sexual diversity.



I worked very hard to make sure "orgasm" didn't lose its luster as a theme from "The Beginning" by B.D. Swain to "The Final Challenge" by Heather Day. I think that is the potential danger of a themed anthology, but this theme was so wide open that there was room for plenty of ways of approaching it, including things I never in a billion years would have thought of myself, like the gender-bending technology of "Remote Control" by Logan Zachary. That's the kind of story I love to publish, because it's just so far out of how I write that it's like a gift to my brain. At Delilah Devlin's blog, I talk a bit about why there are 69 stories--yes, it's to get readers enticed, but as an editor, that format gives me so much more freedom, and I hope, in turn, that I'm giving readers more of what they want, including things they might not have thought they wanted.

This post is kicking off the virtual book tour (my post is late, but I will be linking to all the posts this month and next on a timely basis). I do hope you will join me and 9 contributors for a free reading this Wednesday at Good Vibrations, 1620 Polk Street in San Francisco, and if you can't, that you'll tell people in the area. It's my last San Francisco reading for a very long time, possibly ever. I think as I prepare to turn 38, with all the weight and pressure of that birthday, I'm starting to realize that I need to celebrate the parts of my work life I'm proud of, and this book is one I am unabashedly proud of. I gave a postcard for the book as I was mailing 70 copies to the clerk at my local post office, so now I'm known as "the one with the dirty book." I will give that postcard to anyone who asks (literally: want one? If you're in the U.S., email orgassmantho at gmail.com with "Postcard" in the subject line and your name and mailing address in the body and I'll mail one to you!)

This book has made me proud again to be an erotica writer and editor. Rather than my usual mumble with strangers, for fear of getting into an awkward conversation or having them spill some unwanted sexual secret, I'm boldly claiming it. This is what I do. This is my life's work (so far). This is the highlight of the trip I started as I left law school and wrote a little story called "Monica and Me," all in one beautiful little package. It's the big little book that could, and I hope it does, in every way. If you want to help make this best book of mine a success, I'd love it if you'd spread the word about the reading, join me January 3rd in New York City at Between the Covers at the Museum of Sex, 233 Fifth Avenue in Manhattan, and share your thought son the book at Goodreads and Amazon (My dream goal is to get to 100 Amazon reviews by my birthday, November 10th.). Thank you, and thank you to all the authors in the book for making this book one I'm honored to have my name on. You can read excerpts from all 69 stories on the book's Tumblr and keep up with the news at @BigBookofOrgasm on Tumblr. win a copy from Johnny FunCheap through November 11th.

Free book offer and my erotica events in Northampton, San Francisco, Albuquerque, Austin, New York and Portland, Maine

Details on all my upcoming events in Northampton, Massachusetts, San Francisco, Albuquerque, Austin, New York and Portland, Maine are in my latest newsletter, where you'll also find a free book offer for fans of The Big Book of Orgasms: 69 Sexy Stories. I'm being told that the December 3rd Portland, Maine workshop is selling briskly, so if you're interested, sign up as space is limited to 18 people, so please call 207.773.4774 to register. Also, just announced after my newsletter went out is a big January 3rd reading at a place I've wanted to read for years: The Museum of Sex for Between the Covers! Sign up to receive my next newsletter on the left-hand side of rachelkramerbussel.com.

Come see me on my last trip to San Francisco*

I'll be doing the one and only live reading from the best book I've ever edited and probably the best book I will ever edit, The Big Book of Orgasms: 69 Sexy Stories, on November 6th at 6:30 at Good Vibrations, 1620 Polk Street in San Francisco. It's probably my last trip to San Francisco for many, many years*, and it features both authors I know and authors I'm meeting for the first time, several of whom have their first published erotic story in the book. I hope you can make it, and I also hope you'll pass this on to others in the Bay Area who might want to check it out. Hoping to make it a standing room only event!

November 6, 6:30, FREE
The Big Book of Orgasms reading at Good Vibrations
The Big Book of Orgasms: 69 Sexy Stories (Cleis Press) is editor Rachel Kramer Bussel's latest and greatest erotica anthology. This climactic collection of pansexual short shorts are perfect for bedtime reading to a lover or on your own. Whether getting off from exhibitionism, voyeurism, hot wax, dirty talk or a very special pair of blue jeans, the characters in The Big Book of Orgasms go all out for the Big O. From vanilla to kinky, and everything in between, there's something for all erotic readers here. At this special reading, Bussel will be joined by contributors Lily K. Cho, Malin James, Crystal Jordan, Sinclair Sexsmith, Donna George Storey, B.D. Swain, Virgie Tovar, Jade A. Waters and Xan West for an evening of steamy stories that's sure to leave you hot and bothered.

*I'll totally come back to San Francisco if my trip is paid for or I win the lottery. Otherwise, my travel philosophy is all about visiting new places and doing my best to build RKB Enterprises, Inc.

Exciting news: San Francisco reading and Publishers Weekly review of The Big Book of Orgasms

I'm very excited to share the news that I'll be heading to San Francisco for a reading from The Big Book of Orgasms: 69 Sexy Stories, featuring me and 8 other contributors (and possibly a few more), many of whom are reading for the first time. If you're not in San Francisco but know someone who is who'd like a night of free orgasmic erotica read to them, please pass this on. The official details are on Facebook as well as below.

November 6, 6:30 pm, free
The Big Book of Orgasms reading in San Francisco
The Big Book of Orgasms: 69 Sexy Stories (Cleis Press) is editor Rachel Kramer Bussel's latest and greatest erotica anthology. This climactic collection of pansexual short shorts are perfect for bedtime reading to a lover or on your own. Whether getting off from exhibitionism, voyeurism, hot wax, dirty talk or a very special pair of blue jeans, the characters in The Big Book of Orgasms go all out for the Big O. From vanilla to kinky, and everything in between, there's something for all erotic readers here. At this special reading, Bussel will be joined by contributors Lily K. Cho, Malin James, Crystal Jordan, Sinclair Sexsmith, Donna George Storey, B.D. Swain, Virgie Tovar, Jade A. Waters and Xan West for an evening of steamy stories that's sure to leave you hot and bothered.
Good Vibrations, 1620 Polk Street (at Sacramento Street), San Francisco, 415-345-0400


I didn't want to look too dorky, but my smile should stretch all the way across my face to encapsulate how excited I am about this book!

I also had a "pinch me" moment when I saw that Publishers Weekly gave The Big Book of Orgasms such a glowing review (I'm cutting and pasting but the authors' names should be Cecilia Tan and Jade A. Waters):

Erotic editor Bussel (Baby Got Back) proves less is more in this collection of nibble-size erotic stories that are just long enough to fuel the imagination. There is something for every mood—funny, kinky, touching, spontaneous, and even vengeful. In Thomas S. Roche’s “How You Christen a Bed,” the surprising delight is in the woman’s postorgasmic statement. Celicia Tan’s “Her Lover Is a Flame” and Bussel’s own “I’m on Fire” give a new meaning to hot sex. Riley Shane’s “Feast for the Senses” entertains with sensory pleasure. Evoë Thorne’s lovely “Squirt” illustrates how longtime partners avoid lesbian bed death. An unused toy comes to life with a proper lover in Jade A. Wata’s “The Flogger.” Everyone will find something to appreciate here, and all the stories are easy to read as they titillate and entertain. (Nov.)

We are off to a brilliant start and any day now the book should be in stock online! Thank you so much - I believe so strongly in this book and am looking into more events, online and off, and am handing out postcards and talking it up everywhere I go. This is not just "the big book" of orgasms but my big book, one I feel good about staking my career on. I think it's also one of the biggest bargains around: at $12.12 from Amazon, that works out to just under 18 cents a story! Follow us @BigBookofOrgasm on Twitter and read excerpts (all of them are coming soon!) on Tumblr.


Bonus photo from last night. L to R: Nicole Audrey Spector, Kim Triedman, Vica Miller, Rachel Kramer Bussel, Liesl Schillinger. I highly recommend signing up for Vica Miller Literary Salons - they rock and are free!).

Free Best Sex Writing 2012 reading tonight: polyamory, why atheist sex is better, female orgasm and more

Tonight at 7:30 pm come enjoy free cupcakes and some of the smartest thinkers and writers about sex at the Best Sex Writing 2012 reading at Booksmith, 1644 Haight Street, San Francisco. Facebook invite here and below find excerpts from all of your readers: Susie Bright, Rachel Kramer Bussel, Greta Christina Tracy Clark-Flory and Thomas S. Roche. And yes, of course I want you to buy the book, and come to the reading, and get your book signed, but I am also linking to the pieces so you can read them in full (and then buy the book for all the pieces you can't read online and to support the series). If you like any/all of these, please let someone know about the reading, tweet about it (@bestsexwriting or I'm @raquelita), give it as a gift, let your San Francisco and Santa Cruz and NYC friends know about tonight, April 12th, April 25th; anything you can do to support this series is wonderful. And a reminder: I am in search of submissions for Best Sex Writing 2013. Original pieces, reprints, suggestions are all welcome as long as they arrive by May 1 and I will be announcing which San Francisco writer is our guest judge very soon! Thanks for reading and see you at Booksmith and Bookshop Santa Cruz and Housing Works. For my full event schedule, visit my website.



"Why Lying About Monogamy Matters" by Susie Bright

It must make Ross pout that unrelenting evidence proves abstinence programs are not only "ineffective," they actually cause higher pregnancy rates than in places where young people have info and access to birth control. Eww!

It can turn a smiley-face upside-down, if you're a Christian religious fanatic, but sometimes the truth is... proof-y.

As for women having an infantile essential nature, which desires innocence and vacuity above all other sexual traits, leading to an unparalleled state of happy brainlessness -- gosh, how do you even begin to document that, outside of scripture and tattered Catholic catechism pamphlets?

Douthat's faith is based on the tenets of unapologetic misogyny, sexism, gender determinism, and an all-around "Daddy Knows Best" approach. I'm sure you've heard how well the Catholic clergy has led in this regard.

In Christianity, men are the natural leaders, and must stand guard against their carnality. Grrr!

Women must follow man, doting on him, caring for the hearth. Women have a lot to atone for, because they're the reason human beans got tossed out of the Garden of Eden. That's where God created everything in Seven Days and there was a Magic Apple and it really tasted good... which was premature and ill-advised. To say the least

"Penis Gagging, BDSM, and Rape Fantasy: The Truth about Kinky Sexting" by Rachel Kramer Bussel

“You don’t want to gag a woman with your penis unless you have some serious issues with the way you see women.” So says Kirsten Powers, ex-girlfriend of sex-scandal star Congressman Anthony Weiner, in a piece for The Daily Beast. She is referencing his sexting relationship with a Las Vegas blackjack dealer. The transcript of their texts was posted by Radar Online, including one bit that prompted Powers’ musing: “You will gag on me before you c** with me in you” and “[I’m] thinking about gagging your hot mouth with my c***.”

This column is not about Weiner. I’m pretty over political sex scandals and am inclined to think that someone like Weiner wanted to get caught, consciously or unconsciously. The only positive thing I can say about such scandals is that they do help shed light on just how unenlightened we are about topics like monogamy and BDSM. Here we have an example of a woman making a blanket statement about something she clearly doesn’t know the first thing about, simply because it offends her.

You know the phrase, “Taken out of context, I must seem so strange?” That goes double for pulling random bits of erotic conversation, texted or otherwise, and analyzing them as if they told a whole story. Without the motivation of the person sending and receiving them, you really don’t know anything, and yet it seems that a default anti-BDSM reaction is acceptable. Our public squeamishness over the fact that some people can eroticize pain, degradation, and being ordered around, safely, consensually and pleasurably, is nothing more than a prejudice that needs to be eradicated.

"Atheists Do It Better: Why Leaving Religion Leads to Better" by Greta Christina

And sexual guilt doesn't just go up with more conservative religions. It goes up with more religiosity, period. The more religious your upbringing is, the worse your sexual guilt is likely to be. Of people raised in very religious homes, 22.5% said they were shamed or ridiculed for masturbating (to give just one example)... compared to only 5.5% of people brought up in the least religious homes. And of people raised in very religious homes, 79.9% felt guilty about a specific sexual activity or desire... while among people raised in the least religious and most secular homes, that number drops to 26.3%. That's a huge, huge difference.

But one of the most surprising conclusions of this research? Sexual guilt from religion doesn't wreck people's sex lives forever.

Guilt According to conventional wisdom -- and I will freely admit that I held this conventional wisdom myself -- religious guilt about sex continues to torment people long after the religion itself has lost its hold. But according to the "Sex and Secularism" report, that's rarely the case. Once people let go of religion, people's positive experiences of sex, and their relative lack of guilt, happen at about the same rate as people who were never religious in the first place.

Ray was surprised by this result as well. (Surprising results -- a sign of good science!) "We did think that religion would have residual effects in people after they left," he told me, "but our data did not show this. That was a very pleasant surprise. That is not to say that some people don't continue to experience problems, but the vast majority seem to shake it off and get on with their sexual lives pretty well." So letting go of religion means a rebound to a sex life that's as satisfying, and as guilt-free, as a sex life that was never touched by religion in the first place.

"The Worship of Female Pleasure" by Tracy Clark-Flory

Nicole Daedone pulls her long dirty-blond locks into a bun, rolls up the sleeves of her crisp white dress shirt and readies her lube. On the table in front of her there is a woman, naked only from the waist down, with her knees spread wide. The 40-something founder of OneTaste, a center dedicated to “mindful sexuality,” is about to give a live and impromptu demonstration of orgasmic meditation (“OMing” for short) in a conference room at the sophisticated Le Meridien hotel in San Francisco. She takes a long look between the volunteer’s legs and enthuses to the audience of roughly 40 women: “Oh my god, it’s beautiful. It’s an electric rose color. The swelling is already beginning.”

Before long, Daedone is hunched over and vigorously stroking the woman’s most sensitive “spot” — the “upper left quadrant” of the clitoris — with just her forefinger. The recipient moans wildly as though she is being taken over by a spirit and Daedone urges her on: “Good girl. Good, good. Reach, reach, reach, reach.” As the woman’s groans peak, Daedone lets out a throaty exhalation that sounds like it belongs in a Lamaze class. Two audience members overcome by the intensity of the performance are silently crying. The demonstration, which is part of a weekend-long women’s retreat, continues for 15 minutes.

It is both arousing and deeply bizarre.

It isn’t every weekend that I find myself watching a woman being repeatedly brought to orgasm in front of a live audience — but I hardly expected normality when I asked to sit in on the workshop.

"Men Who “Buy Sex” Commit More Crimes: Newsweek, Trafficking, and the Lie of Fabricated Sex Studies" by Thomas S. Roche

Are they joking? Buying sex is already illegal most places — and it also exists almost everywhere. But this group is actually claiming that it must be “criminalized”? How far out of the world we live in do you have to be before you can believe that prostitution hasn’t been criminalized?

The answer? You just have to be a radical anti-sex feminist, apparently…in which case male-dominated society looks like just one big blur…at least, that’s what I, as a man, take away. Equating a law enforcement structure that can’t manage to stamp out street prostitution with men who frequent call girls and politicians who don’t pass stronger laws is only possible if men aren’t people.

What’s more, places where sex work is most illegal (Saudi Arabia and other Sharia-governed states) are without exception where it’s most dysfunctional (e.g., trafficked women). The nations that have the harshest anti-prostitution laws are the places where there are the greatest social strictures against consensual sexual encounters between men and women. Those countries are also — and this isn’t an accident — the nations where there’s the greatest difference between rich and poor, and the places where women have the lowest status. Oppressive laws disproportionately affect the poor, women, and racial, ethnic and religious minorities, no matter what they’re passed to do.

But it gets way worse. The “hooker-free Utopia” Farley wants to see take root in the U.S. is even more extreme than she’d let you know. In the case of Arab countries like Saudi Arabia and Egypt, those nations have a documented constancy of homosexual rape in both social and penal circumstances, as well as anti-gay murders for anyone who isn’t “discreet” about same-sex contacts.

Last night at Booksmith, in photos

I have to run a few errands, like buying a case for my pretty new laptop (though I must admit, Tantek showed up and pulled out his 11-inch MacBook Air last night and it was so light, I wondered if that would't have been the better option), then catch a plane to Los Angeles - I'm on the Dr. Susan Block Show tonight, and I want to get me and all my huge amount of belongings settled into my hotel and just write. No dates, no ice skating, no phone calls, at least, for one day. I've been running around nonstop and have been feeling physically off. I Tweeted that the reading would be a success if I didn't cry. I didn't, at least, not on the outside, not there. At Booksmith I was proud of myself for reading that totally fraught story and so happy to hear my fellow authors. The after where I was a little sad, where I could recall exact phone calls made from exact streets, plans and dreams and fantasies, that was, well, after. That's another story for another time, but I was happy to remember some of the good parts, the ones that make anything not-so-good worth it.




photo of me before the reading by Violet Blue via Flickr - to be totally vain for a moment, I love this photo!

I will write more about how Booksmith is the best place ever to do readings; if you want to watch last night's, Click here. Thanks to everyone who showed up, to the guy who had me sign his birthday card with my lips, to the Sarge and Reputation and Wild Flag fan, to all my friends and to the Booksmith staff, who not only hosted a wonderful evening but really know their books. Thank you to Violet Blue, Susie Hara, Dusty Horn and Donna George Storey, who all breathed life into their stories that, much as I love the written word, it just doesn't have in the same way on the page. Dusty sold sexy calendars to benefit Lyon Martin Health Services (see photo below and, incidentally, I'll spank you anytime!). One of the highlights for me was chatting afterward with them about all manner of books.






Donna George Storey, Susie Hara, me, Dusty Horn, Violet Blue


Thanks, Josh, I hope you had a fabulous birthday! You were very cute - I kindof wanted to pinch your cheeks and make out with you, but in a friendly way. I was happy to sign your card with my eyeliner (before I was given a lovely purple pen) and lipstick.




Pin Up calendar as sold by the sexy Dusty Horn


I bought these at Booksmith (and they gave me the tote bag for free, which I will wear proudly). Looking forward to reading The People Who Watched Her Pass By by Scott Bradfield, Alice I Have Been by Melanie Benjamin and Stuff: Compuslive Hoarding and the Meaning of Things by Randy O. Frost and Gail Streketee.

And welcome to my hotel life world (which, I will say, has been greatly improved by the use of Skype):


Since editing Do Not Disturb: Hotel Sex Stories, I always take these. I've liked the Sir Francis Drake Hotel, but think they don't need to make the staff where crazy uniforms. I booked this via Quikbook for $93/night!


I kicked these off my bed getting comfortable. Oops!

Thank you especially Booksmith, everyone at Cleis Press, especially Kat for driving me to Emeryville, and Violet Blue, for whom I promise to return for a proper vacation and longer stay and mayhem and fun!

West Coast book tour is this week: Berkeley, San Francisco, Los Angeles! All free, all with free cupcakes, and hot, hot stories.

I'll be doing a separate post about my 3 New York City events in February, but as a reminder, unless I'm already traveling or have a special occasion like a panel, this is my last year of doing a bazillion outside readings. I just can't pretend like I can afford them or that I'm rich, and it doesn't make financial sense to be running all over the country when I could be working smarter, better and trying to sell more books. So my point is: come see me in Berkeley, San Francisco and Los Angeles now! I'm hoping to get to a few other cities like Denver, Minneapolis and Milwaukee in 2011 as well, fingers crossed.

A reminder with Facebook links - I'd really love it if you'd spread the word. All these events are free, it's a chance to get the just-released Gotta Have It signed by me and contributors (Denise Hoffner, who wrote census taker erotica story "Concensus" in Gotta Have It, has been added to Thursday's Berkeley Good Vibrations reading) and I'm getting fabulous, unique cupcakes, different ones from different local bakers, for each event.

Saturday night I will also make my third appearance on The Dr. Susan Block Show - listen online! Saturday night, January 29th, 10:30 pm to midnight, PST, I'll be on with Shameless author Pamela Madsen - my interview with her will be up soon at SexIs Magazine.



January 27, 6:30-8 pm
READING AND EROTICA ADVICE WITH DONNA GEORGE STOREY
Join me and prolific local erotica writer Donna George Storey (author, Amorous Woman, contributor, Orgasmic, Gotta Have It) and Gotta Have It contributor Denise Hoffner as we read some of our favorite erotica and share erotic writing advice. Free!
Good Vibrations, 2504 San Pablo Avenue (at Dwight Way), Berkeley, CA
510-841-8987

Facebook invite (no need to RSVP though, but if you want to pass it on to friends)

January 28, 7:30 pm
READING WITH VIOLET BLUE AT BOOKSMITH



Me and superstar author and editor Violet Blue read along with Orgasmic contributors Susie Hara, Dusty Horn and Donna George Storey!

Free cupcakes!

Booksmith, 1644 Haight Street, San Francisco, CA
415-863-8688

Facebook invite (no need to RSVP though, but if you want to pass it on to friends)

February 1, 7 pm
COCO DE MER READING



Join me along with Eden Bradley (The Lovers), Pamela Madsen (Shameless) and Oriana Small, aka Ashley Blue (Girlvert) for a night of hot readings and free champagne and cupcakes in this beautiful setting!
At Coco de Mer, 8618 Melrose Avenue, Los Angeles, CA
310-652-0311

Facebook invite (no need to RSVP though, but if you want to pass it on to friends)

Erotic author Donna George Storey in a corset and LIVE January 27th and 28th

I met Donna George Storey via Susie Bright. We both had stories in Best American Erotica 2006 and began emailing and then she started sending me stories and over the years, I've published a LOT of them! We've also read together in New York and Berkeley and...I'm very excited to be reading with her again twice next week. Please please please tell your Berkeley/San Francisco/Bay Area friends. The aspiring writers will especially want to come hear Donna and I read at Good Vibes in Berkeley and share erotic writing tips. Then next Friday there will be free vegan cupcakes and super fabulousness as we read about orgasms and hotness. But the real reason I wanted to talk about Donna is that she did a boudoir photo shoot with my friend Laura Boyd and wrote about her experience.

She writes:

Although middle-aged women are supposed to be invisible, I knew I felt much sexier, more confident and more me than I was at 25. I certainly felt bold and beautiful as I lounged about on the sets to the sultry sounds of my favorite jazz tunes, responding to Laura’s gentle instructions and encouragement.

You may have seen Laura speak about her experience behind and in front of the camera at In The Flesh; you can read more about her posing experience for Boudoir Divas here.


Donna George Storey in a corset I hope she wears to Booksmith (hint hint); photo by Laura Boyd

Berkeley is where I lived for three years, where I was a very different person, but definitely where I read my first erotica, so it's a special place, and now my publisher, Cleis Press, is based there. So I'm looking forward to heading back to Good Vibrations, where I last read along with Mary Roach and Violet Blue and Tracy Clark-Flory from Best Sex Writing 2009, which, though it has 2009 in the title, is still pretty damn red-hot imo.

January 27, 6:30-8 pm
READING AND EROTICA ADVICE WITH DONNA GEORGE STOREY
Join me and Orgasmic contributor Donna George Storey as we read some of our favorite erotica and share erotic writing advice. Free!

Good Vibrations, 2504 San Pablo Avenue (at Dwight Way), Berkeley, CA
510-841-8987

January 28, 7:30 pm
READING WITH VIOLET BLUE AT BOOKSMITH



Me and superstar author and editor Violet Blue read along with Orgasmic contributors Susie Hara, Dusty Horn and Donna George Storey!

Free cupcakes!

Booksmith, 1644 Haight Street, San Francisco, CA
415-863-8688

Wish I were in town for this

I really hope Ericka brings this show to NYC! In happy news, I booked my tickets (thanks Orbitz and Virgin America) for NYC to SF and then SF to LA, will book the rest tomorrow...when my check clears. My new six-word memoir is indeed "Waiting For The Check To Clear" since that feels like all I do these days. Am in full promo mode as I keep my fingers crossed my college paper The Daily Californian will cover my Bay Area readings and scout out Bay Area vegan cupcakes to bring to Booksmith and plot other event fabulousness to make the price of those plane tickets worth it!

From Brown Paper Tickets:

Solo Sundays - 1/23/11
San Francisco, CA

This month we feature two Solo Sundays favorites:

A W I D O W ' S T O D O L I S T
>>> written and performed by Ericka Lutz
When she got married, Ericka Lutz didn't want to say the "'til death do us part" part. Twenty years later - BOOM! - sudden widowhood! Then grief, absurdity, skin-hunger, tattoos. And who knew that Love and Death came with a side order of so-much-to-do? A Widow's To-Do List is a solo performance about death, but more so, it's about life after a tragedy, and a complicated, contemporary marriage.

***** FREE TICKETS *****
In honor of the Ericka Lutz's show A WIDOWS TO DO LIST, we are offering a free ticket to any widow/widower who would like to see the show. Just send a note with your first and last name and A WIDOWS TO DO LIST to brupach@gmail.com and we'll confirm your request.

L A D Y P A R T S
>>> written and performed by Martha Rynberg
Martha's talking about the unmentionables, the secret spots. No, not on her body* but within her mind. All the trappings of being a woman don't leave her a lot of space - and "Lady Parts" is about trying to see how it all fits together. How can she make it from daughterhood to motherhood, without hating herself or the women and girls around her?

* ok, there may be a few body references....

S O L O S U N D A Y S
Hilarious, Heartbreaking & Provocative Solo Performances
Solo Sundays, S.F.'s premier monthly showcase, presents select samplings of veteran virtuosos and top emerging talent in the intimate StageWerx theater near Union Square. Beyond stand-up and storytelling, solo theater creates casts of thousands - plus special effects - all bursting from a single performer. The results are hilarious and heartbreaking, passionate and provocative, ablaze with personal visions.

Dusty Horn reading her lesbian erotica story "Share" from Orgasmic

Please join us, and tell your San Francisco/Bay Area friends, to join us on January 28th; here's the official Facebook invite if you want to let people know about it, but you don't need to RSVP. You'll be among the first to get your hands on Violet Blue's new book Total Flirt and copies of Gotta Have It: 69 Stories of Sudden Sex, with stories by me and Donna George Storey, will also be for sale! And free cupcakes, including vegan ones! Below is Dusty reading from her story "Share" from Orgasmic at Orgasm Night at In The Flesh. She also has a very hot story called "Subdue" in Best Bondage Erotica 2011 that I'm sure she'll sign at Booksmith too!

Free cupcakes at San Francisco reading with Violet Blue January 28th at Booksmith

To those who were at our last fabulous reading, it was packed, and we signed lots of books and gave out lots of cupcakes. I hope to do so again so pretty please, tell your SF friends about this one. I'll be reading "Espionage" from Best Women's Erotica 2011 (and it'll soon be available for your listening pleasure). Plus I get to host Dusty Horn (who Violet introduced me to at Litquake in 2009!), Susie Hara and Donna George Storey, both of whom I met via working with Susie Bright. See you at Booksmith! (And Donna George Storey and I also read the night before, January 27th, at Good Vibrations in Berkeley.)

Me reading from Peep Show at Litquake

I read part of my story "I've Only Got Eyes for You" from Peep Show: Erotic Tales of Voyeurs and Exhibitionists on Thursday at Litquake. It was a fun night with spankings, beds, smut and a Q&A. I was a little nervous about not being at In The Flesh but loved the setting and the crowd.

My book recommendations video from Booksmith

How much do I love San Francisco indie bookstore Booksmith? They took me around their store and I blabbed about which books I love...and hate. And they wound up giving me the copy of Kemble Scott’s novel SoMa for free! Check it out, just in time for Valentine’s Day (a holiday I’m trying to remain as oblivious to as possible).