My birthday and my new erotica book giveaway

Over the weekend I saw Elton John in concert, explored Philadelphia's Rittenhouse Square and ate delicious meals at Zama (some of the best sushi I've ever had) and V Street, a vegan (aka plant-based) restaurant, acquired a shift dress and sweater dress at Madewell, bought mushrooms and English muffin/bagel hybrids (the Philly muffin) from Philly Bread at the farmers market, and turned 44. Here's me in my new sweater dress, which pretty much feels like wearing a stylish blanket and is going to be perfect for the coldest of winter days:



It was a busy, happy and sad weekend all rolled into one and I'm so happy I got to spend it with my boyfriend. My birthday was on Sunday, November 10, which also marked one month until the release of my new anthology, the outrageous-themed Best Women's Erotica of the Year, Volume 5, which recently got a wonderful review in one of the top trade publications, Publishers Weekly.



I've been working on this book for over a year, and am actually finalizing my draft of the Volume 6 manuscript now (if you're waiting to hear back, you will as soon as I can get you an answer), so it's thrilling that it will finally be in bookstores very soon. I'm also gearing up for the sexy 2020 book tour, which is taking me to Brooklyn January 19 for Stoya's Book Club Sex Lit (tickets will be on sale later this month), and weather permitting to Chicago February 13 for an amazing lineup at feminist bookstore Women and Children First, then to LA for a Valentine's Day reading at Skylight Books. I'll even have an entourage! Authors Jayne Renault and Lauren Emily are joining me in both Chicago and LA. We're all traveling together to LA and I can't wait to catch up with them in person.

My copies should arrive this week, and then I'll be sending them to the contributors and my new street team and some to the wonderful Rose Caraway, who's narrating the audiobook and will do a giveaway. Speaking of giveaways, I'm doing one more over at Goodreads to win one of 10 SIGNED COPIES of the final book. That giveaway runs through December 4 and is open to U.S. and Canadian addresses. If you want my monthly giveaways that are open to everyone, subscribe to my newsletter. The new one is going out this week, probably tomorrow (Wednesday). And follow bestwomenserotica on Instagram because there will be lots of giveaways there, plus sneak peeks of the book and other fun stuff. Speaking of sneak peeks, there's a cupcake bakery erotica story titled "Frosting" by Kathleen Delaney-Adams in Best Women's Erotica of the Year, Volume 5 that's VERY kinky. Here's a little teaser from it, and you can catch Kathleen live February 13 with me in Chicago.

My big November=1 online class, 2 live events, 1 book release and 1 birthday

My November is going to be a busy one, but the good kind of busy, because these are all events and projects I'm excited about--even turning 40! Since these are the last live events I'll probably be doing for a while (though there may be some January events, stay tuned!) I wanted to make sure you knew about them. And if you know anyone who might like to take my LitReactor class (registration ends tomorrow, aka, Monday, November 2) or attend my reading in Savannah Friday or my erotica writing workshop Sunday in Washington, DC, please pass this on to them! Thank you.

November 3-December 3 (Registration closes November 2nd)
My online only Between the Sheets class starts at LitReactor.com!


You'll get weekly lectures, assignments and critiques along with over a dozen exclusive Q&As with erotica publishers and editors on what they're looking for now as well as hear from authors such as Victoria Blisse, Feminista Jones, Sommer Marsden, Tiffany Reisz, Elizabeth SaFleur, Sinclair Sexsmith, Cecilia Tan, Rebekah Weatherspoon and more on how they broke into the genre and why they chose the publishing path they did (self-publishing, traditional publishing, or a mix of the two). You can be anonymous and participate on your schedule (you log in when you have time and comment as much or as little as you'd like). Plus you'll get invited to my secret Facebook group for erotica class alumni to continue the conversations. You retain access to all classroom materials, including lectures, assignments, message boards, etc. indefinitely. Questions? Email me at rachelkb at gmail.com with "LitReactor" in the subject line.

November 6, 7-9 pm
Free reading at Back in the Day Bakery, Savannah, Georgia
Rachel Kramer Bussel is coming to town and just in time for the November Art March she will be reading from one of her many erotica anthologies. Back In The Day Bakery will be selling cupcakes and frosting shots. Facebook event page - RSVP requested but not required. Back In The Day Bakery, 2403 Bull Street, Savannah, Georgia 31401

November 8, 7-9 pm
Erotica 101 writing workshop, Lotus Blooms, Washington, DC

I'm honored to be part of the new Lotus Blooms' grand opening weekend in the Adams Morgan neighborhood of DC! Register by November 7th for $25 at Eventbrite; same day registration is $30.

Rachel Kramer Bussel, professional erotica author and editor of over 50 erotica anthologies, such as Come Again: Sex Toy Erotica, The Big Book of Orgasms, Best Bondage Erotica 2015 and more, will take you through the ins and outs of modern erotic writing. With the popularity of Fifty Shades of Grey, now is a great time to put your own sexy stories onto paper. 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.
Lotus Blooms, 2408 18th St NW, Washington, DC, 20009, 202-836-4474, info at lotusblooms.com

November 10
Happy 40th birthday to me and happy book release to Dirty Dates
I turn 40 (yes, I can hardly believe it myself, but it's very real) and my anthology Dirty Dates: Erotic Fantasies for Couples gets its official release day! It's actually already for sale on Amazon. Read the book and want to wish me a happy birthday/help launch the book into the world? Put me one step closer to reaching my goal of 40 Amazon reviews by my 40th birthday by sharing your thoughts about the book here. Thank you! And even more thanks if you leave it a review on Goodreads.

5 books being publishing on my birthday, November 10th

Happy November! It's my birthday month (shoutout to my fellow Scorpios!), and while I'm excited to celebrate turning 40, I'm also excited that my Tuesday birthday means lots of great books are publishing that day (including one of mine) that I'm looking forward to reading. I actually have an advance copy of November 9 that I'm saving to read on my train ride from Washington, DC to New York on November 9th, because how could I resist?

Cool coincidence: I started this post on Thursday, and in the mail that day arrived Yes of Yes by Shonda Rhimes. Sign that I'm on lots of publishers' mailing list? Perhaps, but I like to think of it as a very cool Scorpio book lover's coincidence. See below for 5 that I'm excited about - and know that Dirty Dates is already in stock on Amazon 9 days early, so you can have it in your hands ASAP (unless you read it in ebook form, in which case it'll be out November 16th). Full disclosure: all links here go to Amazon, where I get a small commission from each sale, but I encourage you to buy books at your favorite bookstore or use your local library, because libraries are awesome.

What are you excited to read this month?

1. November 9 by Colleen Hoover

Beloved #1 New York Times bestselling author Colleen Hoover returns with an unforgettable love story between a writer and his unexpected muse.

Fallon meets Ben, an aspiring novelist, the day before her scheduled cross-country move. Their untimely attraction leads them to spend Fallon’s last day in L.A. together, and her eventful life becomes the creative inspiration Ben has always sought for his novel. Over time and amidst the various relationships and tribulations of their own separate lives, they continue to meet on the same date every year. Until one day Fallon becomes unsure if Ben has been telling her the truth or fabricating a perfect reality for the sake of the ultimate plot twist.

Can Ben’s relationship with Fallon—and simultaneously his novel—be considered a love story if it ends in heartbreak?

2. For the Record by Charlotte Huang

Chelsea thought she knew what being a rock star was like . . . until she became one. After losing a TV talent show, she slid back into small-town anonymity. But one phone call changed everything

Now she’s the lead singer of the band Melbourne, performing in sold-out clubs every night and living on a bus with three gorgeous and talented guys. The bummer is that the band barely tolerates her. And when teen hearthrob Lucas Rivers take an interest in her, Chelsea is suddenly famous, bringing Melbourne to the next level—not that they’re happy about that. Her feelings for Beckett, Melbourne’s bassist, are making life even more complicated.

Chelsea only has the summer tour to make the band—and their fans—love her. If she doesn’t, she’ll be back in Michigan for senior year, dying a slow death. The paparazzi, the haters, the grueling schedule . . . Chelsea believed she could handle it. But what if she can’t?

3. Year of Yes: How to Dance It Out, Stand In the Sun and Be Your Own Person by Shonda Rhimes

She’s the creator and producer of some of the most groundbreaking and audacious shows on television today: Grey’s Anatomy, Scandal, How to Get Away with Murder. Her iconic characters—Meredith Grey, Cristina Yang, Olivia Pope, Annalise Keating—live boldly and speak their minds. So who would suspect that Shonda Rhimes, the mega talent who owns Thursday night television (#TGIT), is an introvert? That she hired a publicist so she could avoid public appearances? That she hugged walls at splashy parties and suffered panic attacks before media interviews so severe she remembered nothing afterward?

Before her Year of Yes, Shonda Rhimes was an expert at declining invitations others would leap to accept. With three children at home and three hit television shows on TV, it was easy to say that she was simply too busy. But in truth, she was also afraid. Afraid of cocktail party faux pas like chucking a chicken bone across a room; petrified of live television appearances where Shonda Rhimes could trip and fall and bleed out right there in front of a live studio audience; terrified of the difficult conversations that came so easily to her characters on-screen. In the before, Shonda’s introvert life revolved around burying herself in work, snuggling her children, and comforting herself with food.

And then, on Thanksgiving 2013, Shonda’s sister muttered something that was both a wake up and a call to arms: You never say yes to anything.

The comment sat like a grenade, until it detonated. Then Shonda, the youngest of six children from a supremely competitive family, knew she had to embrace the challenge: for one year, she would say YES to everything that scared her.

This poignant, intimate, and hilarious memoir explores Shonda’s life before her Year of Yes—from her nerdy, book-loving childhood creating imaginary friends to her devotion to creating television characters who reflected the world she saw around her (like Cristina Yang, whose ultimate goal wasn’t marriage, and Cyrus Beene, who is a Republican and gay). And it chronicles her life after her Year of Yes had begun—when Shonda forced herself out of the house and onto the stage, appearing on Jimmy Kimmel Live, and giving the Dartmouth Commencement speech; when she learned to say yes to her health, yes to play and she stepped out of the shadows and into the sun; when she learned to explore, empower, applaud, and love her truest self. Yes.

This wildly candid and compulsively readable book reveals how the mega talented Shonda Rhimes, an unexpected introvert, achieved badassery worthy of a Shondaland character. And how you can, too.

4. Woman with a Blue Pencil by Gordon McAlpine

What becomes of a character cut from a writer’s working manuscript?

On the eve of Pearl Harbor, Sam Sumida, a Japanese-American academic, has been thrust into the role of amateur P.I., investigating his wife’s murder, which has been largely ignored by the LAPD. Grief stricken by her loss, disoriented by his ill-prepared change of occupation, the worst is yet to come, Sam discovers that, inexplicably, he has become not only unrecognizable to his former acquaintances but that all signs of his existence (including even the murder he’s investigating) have been erased. Unaware that he is a discarded, fictional creation, he resumes his investigation in a world now characterized not only by his own sense of isolation but by wartime fear.

Meantime, Sam’s story is interspersed with chapters from a pulp spy novel that features an L.A.-based Korean P.I. with jingoistic and anti-Japanese, post December 7th attitudes – the revised, politically and commercially viable character for whom Sumida has been excised.

Behind it all is the ambitious, 20-year-old Nisei author who has made the changes, despite the relocation of himself and his family to a Japanese internment camp. And, looming above, is his book editor in New York, who serves as both muse and manipulator to the young author—the woman with the blue pencil, a new kind of femme fatale.

5. Dirty Dates: Erotic Fantasies for Couples edited by Rachel Kramer Bussel (yes, that's me!)

What happens when date night involves a blindfold, a corset, handcuffs or a spanking? The couples in Dirty Dates combine kink and romance in this collection of erotic stories that will give you plenty of ideas for your next sexy outing. From “Magic Words” to a “Recipe for Punishment,” these doms and dommes know just how to make their partner bow to their commands. In return, these lucky subs say yes to all sorts of naughty adventures, from play parties to bondage to risqué roleplay and beyond. However they do it, they make getting dirty much more fun than dinner and a movie.

I'm turning 40 and getting a new anthology for my birthday; here's a sneak peek at my food porn erotica

To put it very mildly, I'm dreading turning 40. I know I shouldn't care, I know "age is just a number," I know all those arguments, but inside, I'm kicking and screaming and berating myself for all the things I didn't do in my thirties, all the ways I wasted money and time and emotional energy and possibly my fertility. Aging is real and it's scary and I don't know if you'd call this a mid-life crisis, but I feel like the next few months are ones I want to truly make the most of.

On the bright side, I have a new anthology of BDSM erotica, Dirty Dates, coming out from Cleis Press and the pub date is actually on my birthday. I'm not sure how many more I'll get to edit after this, though I have the biggest one of my life, Best Women's Erotica of the Year Volume 1 (yes, that's its new updated title, though what's inside is still being finalized) coming out in January, so to combat the 40 blues and to celebrate this book, I'm gonna be doing a lot of promotion. Starting, well, right now. Below is a sneak peek at my story, "Admitting It Is The First Step." If you like it, please do me and my book a huge favor and add it to your Goodreads want to read list. It's an interesting time to have this particular book release, because that exciting essay I mentioned previously will explore some of the changes in my personal sex life, and how the kink level has shifted there, but that actually made proofreading these stories even hotter, because they transported me in the most delightful way and I am so excited that this book is almost on bookstore shelves, virtual and brick and mortar.

Yes, Goodreads matters, and if you want to support my work and make it more likely that I'll be offered more books to edit, doing this one small click goes a long way. My goal is to make this book earn out my advance in its first quarter. It's gutsy and ambitious and possibly unlikely, but you know what? This almost 40-year-old is going for it. I love this book and how much passion and daring the authors brought to BDSM, and that I got to work with many authors I never have before, which is one of my missions as an editor. I'll be sharing more excerpts as the publication gets closer, and if you want a free copy to review, sign up of my newsletter on the left-hand side of either this blog or at rachelkramerbussel.com for your chance (if you signed up as one of the early reviewers, you too will get a hot off the press free signed copy!).


If I were more web savvy, I'd draw a red circle around my birthday here.

Here's your sneak peek:

From "Admitting It Is The First Step" by Rachel Kramer Bussel

I don’t even look at the menu, because Ryder has already whispered in my ear what I’m to say. “Two of the extra-large sausages—I like them nice and juicy.” I want to laugh, but I also know that Ryder could put his hand between my legs right now and find out just how seriously I’m taking this. “I can fit a lot in my mouth.” I try to muster a flirtatious tone, and am rewarded with a huge grin from the man, his fingers lingering extra long on mine when I hand over the five dollars. I can’t believe I’ve just said that, but Ryder’s light pinch of my hip lets me know I’ve done a good job.

I smile uncertainly and then go to wait at a table with Ryder. “Sausage is your favorite food, isn’t it, honey?” he asks in a louder tone than normal. “You certainly like mine.”

I hear a chuckle nearby. My cheeks are flaming—I can always tell—but I sit there and let Ryder joke around about my big mouth. When our giant sausages are placed on the table, he makes a show of pushing both to my side. “They’re for her—she’s extra hungry today.” Then he leans across and says, “Make sure they know how much you can take.”

I can be defiant when I want to be, and just to show Ryder, I proceed to make eye contact with an older man sitting at a nearby table and then lick the head of the sausage, before slowly placing the tip in my mouth. I’d eased the bun down so all I am now putting between my lips is the sausage itself, which is delightfully spicy. I close my eyes and make an orgasmic sound as I bite into it in a way that makes juice drip down my chin. “Oops,” I giggle, sticking out my tongue to lick it off. I proceed to thoroughly enjoy each of the sausages, even though they’re so big, one would’ve been fine.

I hear Ryder whisper, “You are making quite a scene, my dear. I hope you’re hungry for my sausage when we get home.” I could swear I hear someone say, “Damn” under his breath at that.

When I’m done, he walks over and grabs me roughly by the hair, then kisses me hard. I’m shaking a little when I stand up. I can’t mistake the whistles and claps I get as I head back into the car.

Intrigued? Add Dirty Dates to your Goodreads want to read list now!

Table of contents and introduction:

Introduction: Kinky Is as Kinky Does
The Corset Dorothy Freed
The Swap Jade A. Waters
Slow Burn Morgan Sierra
The World in My Pants Valerie Alexander
Lying Down Kathleen Delaney-Adams
The Rabbit Trap Nik Havert
Closing Time Elise Hepner
A Thousand Miles Apart Tilly Hunter
Switch Mina Murray
The Birds and the Bees Giselle Renarde
Potluck Alva Rose
Magic Words Emily Bingham
Polka-Dot Dress Erzabet Bishop
Baby Steps Justine Elyot
On Location D. L. King
Well Lit Sara Taylor Woods
A Soundproof Room with a View Leigh Edward Gray
Recipe for Punishment Jacqueline Brocker
Cry to Me Skylar Kade
Needles Kathleen Tudor
Admitting It Is the First Step Rachel Kramer Bussel

Introduction: Kinky Is as Kinky Does

What does it mean to be a “kinky couple”? Does it mean both partners hit the dungeon every night—or have one in their home? Does it mean wearing a collar? Does it mean a 24/7 BDSM lifestyle? Yes, yes, yes—and no. The truth is, like so many aspects of sex, “kinky” is in the eye of the beholder. One half of a couple may be kinkier than the other—in fact, those kinds of stories often yield extremely powerful transformations. If you were to pass some of these couples on the street, you might peg them immediately as a little bit naughty. Others, you’d stroll right by, without any sort of erotic antennae tuning in. Many of them take pains (pun intended) to hide their kink—or exult in the thrill of maybe, possibly—hopefully—getting “found out.”

The thrill here, what makes these dates “dirty” in the best sense, is the tension between tops and bottoms, doms (and plenty of dommes!) and subs, those craving control and those who desire nothing more than giving up control. Actually, there’s a third category of sub, one who teeters on the edge between giving up and exhorting his or her own control. That fine line is teetered upon perfectly in “Switch,” by Mina Murray, when narrator Cass notes: “He smiles, a sly look that does nothing to warm his eyes. That’s when I start to get nervous.” Keeping a sub on edge is all part of the kinky fun, but Murray makes it clear that this dom’s mastery comes from the heart when he tells Cass of her new chains: “‘I had them made especially for you. With padded cuffs, to protect that creamy-soft skin of yours. See how much I love you?’”

These couples act out their kink in many ways—some at play parties, some outdoors, some long distance. Some do it with bondage, spanking, service, a corset, a look, a location—for many, their instrument of choice is words. Emily Bingham takes one extremely charged word in “Magic Words” and lets readers know exactly what the prospect of saying it does to her character: “The shame is a scalding tickle that takes over every cell in my body. Looking down at his lap to hide from his gaze, I feel more embarrassed than in any naked-in-front-of-a-crowd nightmare. It’s the one word I promised myself I would never say, yet he has managed to make even this taboo titillating, something I want to explore with him. I’m annoyed at myself for being so aroused by this lone, little word.”

What is that magic word? You’ll have to keep reading to find out. There’s a sensual beauty to these stories that I believe will speak to those who practice kink in their lives and those who don’t, because in some ways the tenderness, the charge, the power shifting back and forth between partners, transcends kink. It speaks to ideals of worship, wonder, adoration—from both sides. Even the most sadistic men and women whose worlds you’re about to enter clearly value those they are asking to give them their bodies, their minds, their words, their beings. They are living out their most vivid fantasies with the person they most cherish. I hope you enjoy their dreams, fantasies and explorations, and that they inspire your own.

Rachel Kramer Bussel
Red Bank, New Jersey

Help me fulfill my birthday goal of 100 reviews for The Big Book of Orgasms

Update: I've received well over 100 requests, so am not offering any more free copies, but if this book does well, there will be more free books in the future (the best place to find me giving them away is @raquelita on Twitter), so please help make that happen and check out the table of contents and introduction and show it some love on Goodreads and Amazon. Free excerpts on Tumblr. Thank you for fulfilling my birthday dream!

I'm turning 38 on November 10th. I'll be in Albuquerque, ahead of my workshop on November 12th at Self Serve Toys, and I've decided what I want for my birthday is 100 reviews on Amazon.com for my new, gorgeous anthology The Big Book of Orgasms. Follow along on the Tumblr, @BigBookofOrgasm on Twitter and Facebook for excerpts from all 69 stories.

So, how can you help? You must have a U.S. mailing address (sorry, I can't afford to send books overseas), an Amazon.com account you've made a purchase from and be willing to post your review by November 10th; I'll be sending books by media mail as soon as I get them, by the end of September. Reviews can be short - Amazon recommends 75 to 300 words, and the stories are all 1,200 words or less so you can read several in an hour. You get a free, autographed book and my thanks, and the knowledge that you helped me celebrate my birthday and helped my book succeed. Email orgasmantho at gmail.com with "Amazon" in the subject line and your name and U.S. address in the body and I will send it to you very soon. Please only sign up if you can commit to posting your review by November 10th!

I'm putting everything I have into making this book a raving success, the bestseller of my 54 anthologies, and if it does as well as I'm hoping, I will hop on board to edit many more. I'm considering this a sort of test case/Ouija board to help direct me in my next career choices, and I love erotica so I want to keep doing it, but it only makes sense to do so if there's a wide audience for my books, so anything you can do to spread the word is wonderful. I have such a good feeling about this book and think it truly is a book of erotica that offers something for any reader.

How to give me a virtual spanking and help my books with a click

I turn 37 this Saturday, November 10th (yes, I'm a Scorpio!) and I have a simple birthday request - if you like me and want to support my work so I can keep on editing anthologies, please give me a virtual spanking by clicking like on my anthology Cheeky Spanking Stories on Amazon. Bonus points if you do the same for Best Bondage Erotica 2013 (for some reason, it's only allowing likes on Kindle pages) - those arrive in my hands next week, and if you're in the U.S. and want a free signed copy, all you need to do is promise to review it on Amazon within 6 weeks and be one of the first 20 people to email bestbondage2013 at gmail.com with "Amazon" in the subject line and your name and mailing address in the body. I'll autograph it and send it to you next week and yes, that is before it's available on Amazon or in stores. Follow me @raquelita on Twitter if you want future free books to review because I do this same promotion with every book. If you've already requested a copy, you're on my list. Thank you so much for your support! I know make a living entirely by my earnings as a writer, editor and blogger, so every book sale, every like, every review, goes far. This has been a big year, with my first foreign translation (a German edition of Please, Sir), lots of new markets and new ideas and events and I feel so lucky to be so free, to not have to sit in a freezing office (which I would have done had I not gotten laid off), and I want to push myself to do better, to be lucky enough to continue this crazy freelancing life. Yes, it still feels crazy a year in, but in a roller coaster, learn something new every day way. More information about each book is available at cheekyanthology.wordpress.com and bestbondage2013.wordpress.com.

2 photos that encapsulate my last day of being 35

Yesterday was hard. Violin Monster made me laugh after I'd literally been crying, and the bottom, a page from the opening of the yoga memoir Poser by Claire Dederer, I found true. I'm excited about being on TV, and grateful for every lesson I learned from being 35. And profoundly, profoundly grateful to finally being 36! Thanks for all the birthday wishes. Hope you get to catch me live on OWN today 10-11 EST on The Gayle King Show!

November = my birthday, 2 readings and Best Bondage Erotica 2012 release!

November 10th is my birthday; I'll be celebrating at Baked in Red Hook by eating treats by my friend Jessie Oleson of Cakespy fame, author of the new, must-drool-over cookbook Cakespy Presents Sweet Treats or a Sugar-Filled Life (S'moreos!!).

And Best Bondage Erotica 2012 will be out soon! Read the introduction and table of contents at bestbondageerotica.com. You can pre-order it from Amazon and BN.com (more links TK).



I'm doing 2 November readings, something I'm easing off of these days.

November 3, 6:30-10 pm
Titillating Tongues: NYC Erotica in Poetry & Prose + Open Mic


The Inspired Word presents a hot night of sexy fun, lip-licking words, and utter debauchery – Titillating Tongues: NYC Erotica in Poetry & Prose, featuring some of New York City's best erotic writers: Rachel Kramer Bussel, Janice Erlbaum, Uche Nduka, Jennifer Blowdryer, Aimee Herman, Kathleen Warnock, Puma Perl, Elizabeth Rivera De Garcia, Jane LeCroy, and Sam J. Miller.

There will also be a 12-slot open mic open to all types of artists, where you can bring your own heat to the party.

Hosted by HBO Def Poetry star Gemineye.

*****

When: Thursday, Nov. 3, 2011

Where: One and One Bar & Restaurant (downstairs Nexus Lounge)
76 East 1st Street (corner of 1st Avenue)
Manhattan, NYC
Phone: (917) 703-1512

Doors open for open mic sign-up @ 6:30pm

Show starts @ 7pm

Cover Charge: $10

Must be 21 years old or older.

"The Inspired Word isn't just a series, it's a movement."

*****

For more info on The Inspired Word series, please check out:

http://inspiredwordnyc.blogspot.com/

And please join us for our Tuesday Night Open Mic Joint - same time, same place.

and...

November 17, 7 pm
Drunken! Careening! Writers!
Free, hosted by Kathleen Warnock
It's held at KGB Bar, 85 E. 4th St., NYC, the third Thursday of every month (since 2004).

It's my birthday! Visit me and enter to win a copy of Passion at The Smutketeers

Today is my 35th birthday, and as part of the Passion: Erotic Romance for Women virtual book tour, I'm over at The Smutketeers sharing my favorite passions and finding out about yours. Click to read an excerpt from "Getting It Right," a kinky story by Teresa Noelle Roberts in Passion. And do join me, Monica Day, Emerald and Donna George Storey tomorrow, November 11th, at WORDs of Passion at Word, 126 Franklin Avenue, Greenpoint, Brooklyn, where we're sharing the stage with historical romance author Sarah MacLean and chowing down on free Kumquat Cupcakery cupcakes and giving out free Passion buttons!

Go Team Cupcake, and Team Cleis (Press)

Because I got this card in the mail today (I turn 35 on Wednesday - yes, I'm a Scorpio!) from the whipsmart, amazing women of Cleis Press, and because I deal with them on a weekly if not daily basis, and am so honored to have Best Bondage Erotica 2011 coming out for my birthday and so many 2011 and 2012 anthologies in the works, I just wanted to say how proud I am and have been to work with Cleis Press for the last decade. They published my very first story, “Monica and Me,” in Best Lesbian Erotica 2001, edited by Tristan Taormino, just about ten years ago. I will never forget standing in the Chelsea Barnes & Noble with tears in my eyes seeing that beautiful byline.

I edit for them, and I also try my hardest to submit to as many of their anthologies as I can. Those calls challenge and push me as a writer to not be complacent. I have published probably over 100 erotica stories, I don’t know exactly, but the ones that I love, the ones that make my senses come alive, that preoccupy me, are the ones that make me feel the need to go deeper, to tell more than just a sex story. I consider them my publishing family, and this is not at all to knock other publishers I work with, who I’m of course a fan of as well, but to say that they have been there for me and with me and encouraged me and watched me grow as a writer and editor. I have learned a ton and I look forward to many more collaborations as we put out more kinky erotica and erotic romance and short shorts and who knows what else.

I love the way their books look and feel, the covers they get and the ritual of their annual anthologies. I love that I’ve befriended so many wonderful writers and editors through our mutual work with Cleis. I love working for a feminist, independent publisher whose offices are now in the town where I went to college (Berkeley, California). Go Team Cupcake, and Team Cleis, of which I am truly honored to be a part.

Part of why I love working with them is that I believe in the work they do, and have learned so much from their books (and been entertained and aroused), but they are also amazing people. This isn't just me telling you to buy their books, but me thanking the women who put so much time and energy into those books and the vision they had for their press in 1980. I'm so proud to be part of your world and have you be on my team and believe in me and collaborate with me. Anthologies are pure collaboration, between editor and publisher, and editor and authors (and, later, between authors, editors and readers), and that suits me very well. I enjoy the process of creating something from nothing, where not all the pressure is on me. I enjoy creating books where the whole is so much greater than the sum of its parts. I enjoy seeing what happens when we go from a call for submissions to a fleshed-out, varied, sexy book.

To read more about their history, click here. A huge thank you to Frédérique Delacoste, Brenda Knight, Felice Newman, Kat Sanborn and Kara Wuest. You rock!

I'm turning 35! Mark your calendars for a cupcake-filled Passion reading/celebration November 11

Don't say I didn't warn you! I not only will have free cupcakes and my hot-off-the-press anthology Passion: Erotic Romance for Women, I'm reading with special out of town guests, two of my favorite erotica writers (and both In The Flesh alums), Donna George Storey, in from Berkeley, California, and Emerald, in from Washington, DC, on November 11th at independent bookstore Word, where I had a great reading last year, at 126 Franklin Avenue, Greenpoint, Brooklyn. Don't miss it!

You can pre-order Passion now - coming soon, buttons and postcards! And galleys if you're press looking to cover it.

Writers: you can submit now to my 2011 anthology Obsessed: Erotic Romance for Women. I'm especially looking for authors of erotic romance and romance novels, so I'm prowling bookstores and websites for authors to invite to submit.



Table of Contents

Introduction: Getting Passionate

Big Bed Sex by Donna George Storey
My Dark Knight Jacqueline Applebee
Dear in the Headlights Angela Caperton
The Cherry Orchard Wickham Boyle
Autumn Suite Suzanne V. Slate
Contentions Isabelle Gray
The Silver Belt Lana Fox
Five Senses Rachel Kramer Bussel
The Arc of Triumph Monica Day
Crave You Close A.M. Hartnett
Any Easy Guy to Fall On Annabeth Leong
Lingua Franca Justine Elyot
Third Time’s the Charm Charlene Teglia
Riding Wild Things Lizzy Chambers
No Risk, No Reward Saskia Walker
If Emerald
Getting It Right Teresa Noelle Roberts
The Morning Ride Delilah Devlin
The Efficiency Expert Portia Da Costa
Rekindle Kathleen Bradean

Introduction: Getting Passionate

Passion. It can mean greed, desire, affection, love or simply, emotion. You will find all of those and more in the stories contained herein. As you read these twenty stories, you too will be swept away by passion as you travel to Paris and Greece (and Beverly Hills). You’ll get stuck in an elevator, take a bubble bath and a bus ride (not to mention some subway foreplay and flirting) and explore nature in some very intimate ways. You’ll find couples, and couplings by men and women looking (whether they know it or not) to spice things up in the bedroom.

Here, couples at all stages of their relationships (including the very beginning) kindle their passion in various ways, from exes who reunite to young marrieds on a naughty nature walk to those who mix business with pleasure. When Krista in “Crave You Close” by A. M. Hartnett tells Nicky, “I’m so used to having to hold my breath,” she is saying so much about their usual erotic m.o. At night, outdoors, she is free to make as much noise as she wants to.

These couples explore getting kinky, precisely because they feel intimately connected to each other. They go places, literally and figuratively, they wouldn’t dare without the other. They revisit old flames and nurture new ones; indeed, sometimes the men these women crave, such as Maya does in “The Silver Belt,” are not their husbands at all, but someone else, someone special, someone who is seeing them in an entirely new light. Those stories mingle with other tales of longtime lovers ignited to fiery scenes within these pages.

Passion can mean so many things, from the sexual submission of a caning to exploring new bodily territory--sexual experimentation, trying something you’ve fantasized about. It can mean makeup sex or role-play, a change of scenery or simply a change of thinking. It can mean looking at a lover, a husband, a boyfriend or a new boy toy with fresh eyes, sizing him up, baring yourself, daring him to come and get you.

Just as in real life, there are lovers’ quarrels within these pages, slights real and imagined, as couples find tender, erotic ways to heal their hurts and become even closer. There is an element of real, raw emotion in the way love and desire can as easily tear us down as build us up, that makes us appreciate each expression of romance all the more, because we know how truly special it is. I’m grateful these authors skip from playful romps to relationship-saving sex to tender memories to scorching sex scenes, together creating a book that will likely make you blush and make your heart swell.

As the narrator in one of my favorite pieces, “My Dark Knight” by Jacqueline Applebee, says, “I’m a not-so-hopeless romantic. I believe that chivalry still exists, I hope to find quiet nobility in the most random of places, and I believe that people who love each other can live happily ever after.” She finds a dark, very sexy knight who she rescues, seduces, and then… But you’ll have to read the story to find out.

Rachel Kramer Bussel
New York City

Happy birthday to me and Keavy

Yes, I'm 34 today. I have a ton of work to do and as you may have noticed, for many reasons this has become more my "professional" blog and the Tumblr my personal one, with some exceptions.

So yes, it’s my birthday, and in the spirit of birthdays and love and friendship, please check out the sweetest birthday present I’ve ever seen anyone give…from Michael to my friend Keavy of Kumquat Cupcakery. Sorry I didn’t get mine in on time – I was there in spirit and am so happy to share a birthday with someone so so cool. One of the things I very much want to do is be a better friend and a better meeter of responsibilities in the coming year, so that next time, I don't miss out on such true sweetness as this.

In Rachel world, big piece hopefully going up tomorrow. Fingers crossed. Join my newsletter to get the scoop.

Belated birthday wishes to my favorite Funky Brown Chick

photo by Stacie Joy

I'm too tired to be more coherent, so I will just say that Twanna A. Hines, better known to many as Funky Brown Chick, is one of my favorite people in the world. She's like my sister in crime, and cupcakes, and art, and lateness, and misadventures, and sex, and SXSW, and on and on...seriously. Kindof hard to explain but just try to get in the middle of the two of us when we are having a conversation, or when we are, I don't know, being driven around Atlanta totally lost, and you'll see. It's funny because we have many differences (like babies - I want, she doesn't) but also so many similarities (see above).

Tuesday was her birthday and she went to celebrate her Senator's inauguration! (She lives here now but is a Chicago girl at heart, I think, though I think we now have a pact not to talk about moving out of New York and making the other person sad.)

Happy Birthday Twanna! I shall feed you a cupcake next time I see you.

And if you're going to SXSW Interactive, don't miss her panel, "How to Protect Your Brand Without Being a Jerk!" on Monday, March 16th.

How was my birthday dinner? Totally awesome!

I really thought I might pee from laughing so hard last night, especially during this:



Thank you so much to Gloria Karimian, Shari Goldhagen, Hitha Prabhakar, Sira Maliphol, Stacie Joy, Twanna Hines (who shot this video), Nichelle Stephens and Allison Bojarski. You all + Ethiopian food at Awash = awesome night. I have the best friends in the world...who understand things like forgetting your cell phone and camera on an important night. Oh, and cupcakes! Soooo many cupcakes, which I am still eating. I was so touched by all of it. And Gloria's butt cookies (not of Gloria's butt, but by Gloria). So far, being 33 is totally awesome. More good news TK. Photos below by Stacie Joy; see more in this Flickr set.

More Sarah Palin Erotica press

I didn't get back from New Jersey until too late for ramen last night, and took a personal day today to chill at home for my birthday (I just turned 33). Much I want to post but my friend Brownie of Blondie and Brownie made me cupcakes I'm off to pick up before eating Ethiopian food with some of my favorite people.

I will share this link, and much more later, like how Marcelle Manhattan made me believe in myself and my little reading series In The Flesh again by immortalizing it, and the sex she had at it, in her story "Second Date" in Susie Bright's new must-have anthology X: The Erotic Treasury.

For now, check out this interview with me about my site SarahPalinErotica.com at The Frisky, done by the wonderful Susannah Breslin, who also linked to the site on BoingBoing last week! And yes, I'm well, well aware that the Palin site is in dire need of updating - it's all coming, I promise, I'm just doing one thing at a time.

Wish my grandfather at Happy 85th Birthday!

Today is my grandfather's 85th birthday! Isn't that awesome? I'm going to see him tonight and hear him speak at West Point tomorrow.

Do YOU want to wish him a Happy Birthday? Well, if you do, you can email me (rachelkb at gmail.com) your birthday wishes and I'll pass them on.

But you know what would be really awesome? If you pre-ordered his memoir My Private War: Liberated Body, Captive Mind: A WWII POW's Story. (out next month) or sent it as a gift to someone. It's really extraordinary and I'm so proud of him. Much more on that in the coming months, and I will of course let you know when he's reading in NYC.



You can read an excerpt at Memoirville. Here's the start of the excerpt:

On April 29, 1944, my B-17 Bomber crew flew a fatal mission from Rattlesden, England to Berlin. Four members of our crew were killed that day. Six of us survived and became prisoners of war for a year.

I promised myself that if I were lucky enough to return home, I would write a detailed account of this calamitous event so that the families of those who were killed would know exactly what happened to their loved ones on that fateful day.

More than 60 years have now passed, but I have been unable to set forth a single word about that mission, although the minutiae are still as vivid in my mind as ever.

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Lindsay Lohan's Marilyn Monroe birthday cake

Los Angeles bakery Cake and Art crafted Lindsay Lohan's 22nd birthday cake in the theme of Marilyn Monroe. It's on the front page of their site, and on Flickr. And yes, there were also cupcakes. Here's more Cake and Art celeb and event photos.