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

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

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



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

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

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

My 6 new erotica stories and 8 writing workshops to learn how to write and sell your own

Even though my mind is such that I tend to focus on the stories I didn't write and wish I had, it turns out that despite that tendency, I have written some stories that I'm excited about in some new and upcoming anthologies. Details of those are below. I've said before that one thing I love about the erotica genre is how welcoming it is to new writers; check out the new site Pillow Talk by erotica authors Tamsin Flowers, Malin James and Jade A. Waters for a taste of how they write. So I'm posting to let you know about these new stories and fabulous new books, but also because if you are interested in erotica, I want to encourage you to go for it. I'm teaching erotica writing workshops all over the country and hope you can join me; I tailor each one to be timely and encourage you to get your work to editors who are hungry to publish new authors ASAP. Yes, you could send something out now and have it published in an anthology in as little as a year. It's a heady feeling, and while that one sale won't bring you riches, it would cover the cost of my class and could lead to many other opportunities, especially if you keep writing. I know not all of you are in these cities, but if you know someone who is who might want to break into erotica, please let them know. It's my first time teaching at Sugar (Baltimore), Secret Pleasures (Washington, DC), Foundation for Sex Positive Culture (Seattle), Q Center (Portland, OR), and Early to Bed (Chicago), so I am especially looking forward to meeting many new writers.

July 23, 6;30 pm, Baltimore erotica writing workshop

July 26, 7 pm, Washington, DC erotica writing workshop - this class is limited to 20 people and filling up fast

September 9, 7-9 pm, Seattle erotica writing workshop

September 12, Los Angeles, erotica writing workshop (for CatalystCon attendees)

September 18, Portland, Oregon erotica writing workshop at the Q Center

September 28, 6:30-8 pm, Chicago erotica writing workshop

September 30, 8:30 pm, Milwaukee erotica writing workshop at The Tool Shed

October 24, 7:30-9 pm, New York erotica writing workshop

And here are the new books - enjoy!


Slave Girls: Erotic Stories of Submission with my very kinky blindfolded in a hotel room (yes, I love blindfolds!) story "Out of Sight"


Can't Get Enough: Erotica for Women
I've been reading and publishing stories by Tenille Brown for years so it's very exciting to see her publish her first anthology; looking forward to reading it! My threesome story "Under His Watch" is in this book.


Bound for Trouble: BDSM Erotica for Women with my nipple clamps and blindfold story "The Kissing Party"


She Who Must Be Obeyed: Femme Dominant Erotica - my story "Demo Model" is about a kinky demonstration


Summer Loving: 20 Sultry Stories
This summer-themed anthology is a benefit for erotica writer Sommer Marsden, whose husband has cancer. Read more about it at Alison Tyler's blog - it is forthcoming from Excessica.


The Sexy Librarian's Big Book of Erotica
I love this cover so much and am extremely honored that my inspired-by-real-life story "Book Swap" opens this anthology by podcaster Rose Caraway, who is my favorite audiobook narrator and has made my audiobooks Gotta Have It: 69 Stories of Sudden Sex and The Big Book of Orgasms: 69 Sexy Stories such a gigantic success (I'll crunch the numbers on my July royalty check, but the Gotta Have It audiobook outsells the print and ebook combined many, many times over, which is pretty amazing, while my favorite of my books, The Big Book of Orgasms, has been holding steady on the Audible erotica bestseller list since two weeks after it debuted, all thanks to Rose's genius. I'll be reading with her from the book September 15th at awesome independent bookstore The Booksmith in San Francisco - stay tuned for details.

Happy kinky New Year: Best Bondage Erotica 2014 is out now, and more sexy reading

I'm so vain I started the new year with a new book selfie (actually more excited about this gorgeous kinky book)

What a way to start the new year: Best Bondage Erotica 2014, the 4th in my annual series for Cleis Press, just came out and I'm so thrilled with how beautiful the cover is and how hot the stories are. I'm also reading submissions for Best Bondage Erotica 2015 (deadline is March 1st, so get writing!). This one is especially exciting because I'm publishing many of these esteemed authors for the first time, including ones like Annabel Joseph, who already have readers clamoring for their next sexy book. Here's what reviewers are saying:

The Frisky Fairy has excerpts from "Roping the Cowboy" by Teresa Noelle Roberts, "Tart Cherry" by Kathleen Delaney-Adams and "The Neckcloth" by Annabel Joseph, and wrote:

There are not enough words in the English language to tell you how much I loved this book. I was able to find new and exciting stories that turned me on, and that is a rarity. The language and content were able to thrill me on multiple levels, and I really feel that this book has enough content for everyone that it would be hard to be disappointed. I was incredibly impressed with the diversity across the pages, as I feel there is not enough diversity in erotica and many erotic anthologies. There was diversity in body types, relationship types, gender roles, sex, gender, and gender presentation. The bondage itself ranged from beginner to advanced, but the stories still displayed the same feeling of intimacy in all the various types of relationships.

We Love Kink gave it 5 love taps and wrote in part:

I did not realize just how many ways there were to tie some up up. There were your basic ropes in Rope Dance a circus themed story, a funky use for a necktie in Neckcloth, some interesting usage of paper clips in Clipped, a leather chastity belt in Belted In, some very very different ways to use a simple shoelace in Pegged, ribbons in Wearing Purple and also the invisible usage of bondage in Mind Fuck.

There were plenty of toys, dildos in all shapes and sizes, spanking brushes, whips, floggers, birches, handcuffs, ropes and an innovative device that Anna is strapped down on from her arms to her legs. I loved the way that so many toys were talked about. It was new, fresh and completely different story after story. Sure there were similar themes, bondage being it, of course but the way it was achieved was always very different. In Mind Fuck, Cari has a muscle disease so she could only pretend to be tied down. And let me tell you Quinton did a great job of talking her through it. He was hot stuff.

Here's the Table of Contents (click on the highlighted text below to read my introduction at the book's Tumblr):

Foreword: No Bondage Please, I’m Kinky Laura Antoniou

Introduction: Cruel to Be Kind, and Vice Versa Rachel Kramer Bussel

Rope Dancer Kathleen Tudor

Behind the Door Kay Jaybee

My Own Device Raziel Moore

The Neckcloth Annabel Joseph

Anyway Sommer Marsden

Eel Annabeth Leong

No Strings Attached James McArthur

Roping the Cowboy Teresa Noelle Roberts

Meeting L. C. Spoering

The Snake Jacqueline Brocker

Clipped Lucy Felthouse

Tart Cherry Kathleen Delaney-Adams

Ring of Fire Michelle Augello-Page

Belted In Roxanna Cross

Pegged Emily Bingham

Tight-Rope Walker Tilly Hunter

An Appreciation for Beautiful Things Giselle Renarde

Mind Fuck Kissa Starling

Wearing Purple Elizabeth Coldwell

Dual Mastery Rachel Kramer Bussel

Buy Best Bondage Erotica 2014 from:

Amazon

Kindle ebook edition

Amazon UK

Bn.com

Nook ebook edition

Books-a-Million

Powell's

IndieBound (find your local independent bookstore)

Cleis Press

When you're done reading Best Bondage Erotica 2014, check out my other books as well as these hot books by contributors (I'm linking to the Kindle versions, but many are available in print as well as other ebook formats):


The Best of Kay Kaybee by Kay Jaybee


Waking Kiss by Annabel Joseph, part of her BDSM Ballet series


Boys Next Door by Sommer Marsden


Design and Scandal by Annabeth Leong


Knowing the Ropes by Teresa Noelle Roberts


The Best of Lucy Felthouse by Lucy Felthouse


Miranda's Tempest by Tilly Hunter


My Mistress' Thighs by Giselle Renarde, "A cross-dressing cowboy, a post-war pin-up, and a wolf in grandmother's clothing all find a special home in My Mistress' Thighs."


Everything to Him by Elizabeth Coldwell


The Marketplace by Laura Antoniou, the first of her classic kinky series, free for Kindle as of this posting

The erotica and queer communities say Fuck Cancer

Writing, by its very nature, is a lonely, usually solitary experience. I'm living in a town where aside from my boyfriend, I don't know anyone who lives here, and only have a handful of friends nearby. Yet I like the solitude, had been craving it amidst the overly busy seemingly must-attend functions in New York. I'm not the type who's easily able to say "sorry, I can't hang out, I have to write." It always sounds rude and narcissistic and untrue. And maybe it is rude and narcissistic but it actually is true. My point is, I like that I have all day to myself, even though I am working to find ways to force myself to actually write. And no, I didn't get paid for that piece, from Medium or Salon, which reprinted it. Not that it's anyone's business, but after reading Noah Davis's great piece at The Awl, I felt the need to (over)share. Some would consider that a mortal writing sin, and if you do, stop reading now because, news flash, I am not getting paid to write this blog. For me, it was selfish, as all writing is. A way to say something and also to make myself feel better about the last few weeks and most of this year's malaise, by getting something out there. I don't plan to make a habit of writing for free, though I may do it on occasion. I make no bones about being selfish, though I also do my best to give back by supporting books and authors I like in every way I can. Hopefully it balances out, but without indulging that selfishness and pushing myself and trying to say what feels unsayable on the page, I wouldn't have anything to give. Or maybe I would for a while, but then I'd feel hollowed out. Writing fills me back up in a way nothing else does.

So writing is lonely, but my job as an erotica editor, my former role as a reading series host, and just my inherent nature are social. Pretty much everything I do is based on relationships I've formed over a long time, since I started writing erotica in 1999. I never found those mentor-like or peer relationships in law school. Maybe I felt outclassed and alienated so didn't look for them. But I have found them in the erotica community, in New York, and in cities where I've done readings, and online, on Twitter and Facebook. I've found it through publishing authors from around the world and reading submissions from even more of them. I'm proud to be part of that community, and all the more so because recently the erotica and queer/LGBT community have come together to combat cancer. Not in an abstract save-the-world science-based way, but in a this-person-is-dealing-with-cancer-and-needs-our-help-immediately kind of way.

Alison Tyler is editing a summer erotica themed anthology, with the proceeds going to writer Sommer Marsden, whose husband was recently diagnosed with cancer, to help offset the costs of cancer. The deadline is August 1st. I submitted a story I wrote this morning, which was also a great exercise in brevity and again, got me writing, which is sometimes the hardest thing for me--getting started. When I speak of the "erotica community," please know that I don't think there's any criteria for joining that community, except wanting to, being interested. You don't need to "be a writer" (whatever the hell that means!) to write erotica or anything else, and you don't need to write anything to help show your support (see the "diagnosed with cancer" link above to donate directly).

Writer Kate Bornstein, author of the clasic and newly revised My Gender Workbook, the amazing Scientology memoir A Queer and Pleasant Danger, the life-affirming Hello, Cruel World and many other books, has been battling cancer and it looks like she's winning. The latest news: "1) There are no new cancer cells in my body and 2) The places where there was cancer have shrunk a LOT already." This was made possible by the medical community and, that supposedly dirty but also necessary to live word, money. Namely, $111,518 raised by 2,913 people, as of this post. You could add to that number, and any donation is not only greatly appreciated but put to good use. Right here, right now. You can read more at the link.

And I know not everyone has money to donate; certainly, the last few weeks and months, I haven't. But you can write something, which can be both a selfish and giving act, you can spread the word, you can say a prayer or let other people know or simply follow the work of these writers (@sommer_marsden and @katebornstein on Twitter).

So yes, writing is lonely, but it is also filled with amazing people, who I wouldn't know without writing.

If you're going to buy my audiobooks, I get paid more in June

If you have thought about buying my audiobooks, or if you are just now thinking about it, I wanted to let you know that any purchases made on Audible.com (or Amazon.com purchases of Audible audiobooks), I get $1 per book if you buy by June 30th. After June 30th, the program that gives authors an extra $1/book is ending. You can find all my audiobooks along with free samples at Audible.com and while I haven't seen the latest sales figures, based on reviews and general excitement, I'm pretty sure the Rose Caraway-narrated Gotta Have It: 69 Stories of Sudden Sex (watch the book trailer and see the table of contents at http://gottahaveitbook.com/about/) is by far the most popular. So to further entice you, here are samples from 5 of the stories, all thanks to the amazing Rose, who is editing her first erotica anthology for Cleis Press!

Laugh by Sommer Marsden

Click here to listen to the free mp3





Police Dogging by Elizabeth Coldwell

Click here to listen to the free mp3





Remembering the Wrinkles by Penelope Friday

Click here to listen to the free mp3





Not Just a Myth by Heidi Champa

Click here to listen to the free mp3





The Dirty Things She Says by Sinclair Sexsmith

Click here to listen to the free mp3

5 free audio stories from Gotta Have It: 69 Stories of Sudden Sex narrated by Rose Caraway

The amazing Rose Caraway has done it again! She's the narrator of Gotta Have It: 69 Stories of Sudden Sex Audible audiobook and has generously made five stories available free! Listen below (the embedded players should work but if they don't for some reason, the links above them should). A huge thank you to her and everyone who's listened and purchased Audible audiobooks - I know how many of you there are because I am part of their Author Services program and I get $1 for each Audible purchase of my books, which is pretty much the best free money program I've ever seen. I'm analyzing that data and my sales figures to help me figure out what kinds of books to edit next!

Laugh by Sommer Marsden

Click here to listen to the free mp3





Police Dogging by Elizabeth Coldwell

Click here to listen to the free mp3





Remembering the Wrinkles by Penelope Friday

Click here to listen to the free mp3





Not Just a Myth by Heidi Champa

Click here to listen to the free mp3





The Dirty Things She Says by Sinclair Sexsmith

Click here to listen to the free mp3

Free audio erotica and major gratitude to the most excellent Rose Caraway

I'm feeling very lucky these days. Why? Because Rose Caraway is not only a narrator extraordinaire, but I have much to learn from her about how to self promote in a way that gets results! She has been posting away free audio excerpts from the Audible audiobook version of Gotta Have It: 69 Stories of Sudden Sex - follow her @RoseCaraway on Twitter to keep up. And check out these great images she made! I love that. I also love that you can listen to "Laugh" by Sommer Marsden free. There may not be a free lunch but there is free audio erotica! Thank you, thank you, thank you, Rose, and thank you, Audible, for widening the audience for my books. It still feels pretty amazing to get checks in the mail from them through their Author Services program (it's free money and if your books are on Audible, you should sign up) for doing absolutely nothing, but then I remember that my job is to write and edit erotica, and that is what I'm focused on (speaking of which, there's been extremely few submissions for my 2 open anthologies, which means these books are wide open as of now!). Anyway, I feel blessed and lucky and grateful, and am working on deserving that by getting back to writing, fiction and nonfiction, in a way I haven't in longer than I can remember. If I succeed, I'll post about anything available to be read. If I fail, I will keep on trying. That's the way this wacky business goes, right?






my books are in great company!

Peep Show favorites

Peep Show got a great shoutout at Examiner.com, which highlighted some stories:

Peep Show is a top-notch assembly of eighteen sexy stories that center around the delicious theme of watching or being watched. As Bussel says in the introduction of Peep Show, “There’s a sense of the forbidden in many of the stories you’ll read here, whether money changes hands or not.”

What surprised Modern Love when reading this anthology wasn’t just how arousing illicit peeking can be; it’s the originality of many of the stories and settings, and the sense of respect these peeping Toms and Thomasinas have for their fetish.

Many notables stand out. Glass, by Nobilis Reed, is perhaps the most complex, with consensual voyeurism layered upon the unexpected. Without giving anything away, the story involves at least two women and two men, and if you include the reader, there’s a lot of peeping going on.

Sleeping Beauty by Malcolm Ross is as much about watching your naked wife sleep, as it is homage and expression of love and desire. "Some people might think that the only ones with sexual secrets are those having affairs, or single folks with wild lives that involve a different bed parter every night. But me? I'm a happily married man with a dirty little secret: I like to watch my wife, Inez, sleep...watching her at rest turns me on, makes my d**k come alive," confesses the protagonist about his passion and appreciation for his wife's vulnerable form.

In Missing Michael, M. March captures the angst and guilt of losing a love one and the guilt of moving on; be prepared for a surprise when you find out who’s stealing glances from afar.

And Sommer Marsden does a fine job of describing a husband’s longing for sexual satisfaction and the return of his pregnant wife’s appetites in Satisfaction Guaranteed. "The pregnancy was almost over, but by god, it felt to him as if she'd been pregnant for years...he still missed her. His wife. Them. Together. He missed the morning sex when they avoided kissing because it was just better to use those morning-breath mouths..." elsewhere, Marsden writes in the beginning of the story.

Happy Amazon Spike Day to me and Bottoms Up - now let's SPIKE SPIKE SPIKE it way lower than 26,890

Right now, as of 12:50 am EST, this is how my brand-new book Bottoms Up: Spanking Good Stories is doing on Amazon:



If you buy it anytime in the next 23 hours and 10 minutes in paperback (not Kindle) from Amazon.com, you will be helping lower this number, boost my sales, and be entered to WIN a paddle of your choice, from the multitude of offerings on Amazon. There are heart paddles, paddle brushes, leopard-print paddles, xoxo paddles, slut paddles, and so many more, and the winner, plus one extra winner, will also get copies of my 3 previous spanking erotica anthologies, Spanked: Red-Cheeked Erotica, Naughty Spanking Stories from A to Z 1 and 2. Basically, if you're at all inclined to buy Bottoms Up from Amazon.com, you should do it today. (I also encourage you to buy it from your local indie bookstore/sex toy store, but only Amazon.com is part of my one-day promotion.)

There are 20 kinky spanking stories in Bottoms Up that I think you'll like very much. Visit the Bottoms Up site for a free sample and stay tuned for author interviews.

Publishers Weekly said that it was "whipped up by the popular sex blogger." Yes, that's me, whipping up books in my kitchen. Ha ha.

Here's what erotica writer Neve Black had to say about Bottoms Up:

I really enjoyed how each story is varied and complex, much like the characters - like in Donna George Storey's A Thousand Words, I could feel his shame mixed with all the kinky lust running through his pulsing veins...superb. Or in Alison Tyler's, The Hardest Part, the excrutiating build up and power struggle between the two characters was intense, which made the story sizzle-hot...fabulous. Sommer Marsden's, Bossy had me chuckling, aroused and I could feel each and every hard smack...Wow! Actually, all the stories are amazing in this collection, because I didn't know what was coming next. Every story is a new surprise. It's fun, exciting, kinky and hot. Once you read this book, you'll be searching for a paddle, a wooden spatula, or a lover's hard hand - spanking is good, especially when you've been bad. Enjoy!

ps. I kindof like this paddle, described as:

Leave your heart throb a throbbing heart with a solid swing of this unique paddle. With each stroke, a cut-out heart shape on the end will leave a red heart behind on the skin for a kinky visual effect! Covered in soft velvet, this paddle is excellent for dual sensation play - just glide the sensual surface over reddened flesh for an erotic effect. A wrist loop ensures the paddle always stays firmly in your grip.Color: RedType: PaddleMaterial: Velvet, VinylLength: 15 inchWidth: 3 inchSpecial Features: Velvet Surface, Wrist LoopWeight: 5 oz