Read 21 globe-trotting erotica tales in Best Women's Erotica of the Year Volume 2!
Out in print, ebook and audiobook.
Volume 1 of Best Women's Erotica of the year is in print, ebook and audio!
Read more about Best Women's Erotica of the Year, Volume 1!
22 very sexy stories by and about women, from authors including L. Marie Adeline and Tiffany Reisz!
I'm beyond excited for the release of Come Again: Sex Toy Erotica, out now!
Nipple clamps, remote controlled vibrators, butt plugs, vegetables, ice and so much more
Hungry for More: Romantic Fantasies for Women - just published! With stories by Tiffany Reisz, Greta Christina, D.L. King and more. 21 fantasies, from "Kitchen Slut" to a cougar to Craigslist sex to BDSM to bukkake to watching two men get it on, and more!
I've interviewed a lot of people over the years, but have to say that my interview with Rachel Lark about her period sex song "Warm, Bloody, and Tender" is one of my favorites of all time. She actually made me want to start a podcast because she has so much expression in her voice and even the usually arduous task of transcribing was fun. Be warned: her song will stick in your head! Yes, it's a catchy, funny song about doing it while bleeding. As soon as I heard it, I knew I had to interview her. And lucky for you West Coasters, she's planning a fall tour. Watch the video, co-starring Dan Savage, and find out all about it over at Salon. And if you like it, I'd love if you'd share it with your friends/readers too.
The Daily Beast had me review the new Elliott Smith documentary Heaven Adores You. I'm working on expanding the topics I write about so I don't get pigeonholed as only a sex writer, because that's important to me personally and vital if I'm going to continue to have a career as a freelance writer, plus I have plenty of other interests so am always thankful for editors who let me write about those too. Was grateful I was able to see this at its world premiere in San Francisco and hope it screens in more cities soon.
If you're in New York, go see Lady Rizo's Violet CD release party tonight at Joe's Pub! She gave me the scoop for The New York Observer. Trust me, it'll be an amazing show.
Find out why at The Weeklings, where I"ve taken part in their Power Trio series, which even has its own playlist on Spotify. I love being asked to write about topics that aren't about sex (not that I don't love and live by writing about sex, but it makes me feel especially valued to be asked to do other things). I'm at CatalystCon and prepping host the last ever In The Flesh Reading Series with an amazing lineup. You can follow the conference with the hashtag #ccon (and every panel and event has its own hashtag too!).
Freeewriting for no reason other than because I never do it anymore...
Last Saturday night, I took myself out on an amazing date to see Shawn Colvin at World Café in Philadelphia, and it was everything I could ask for in a concert, and a concert venue. I can't believe I'd never been there before; for an acoustic show especially, it was so intimate and gorgeous, and I think everyone else was as extremely present as I was. It was a show that felt less like a performer on a stage and more like Shawn was right there in the midst of us. I sat, utterly enraptured, as The Royal You opened and harmonized beautifully, and then it was just Shawn and her guitar and that voice and those songs, including "Polaroids," which I first heard sung by Mary Lou Lord when I was a very different person, living not so far physically from where I live now, but with a 100% different point of view about pretty much everything. I sometimes think hearing that song on a benefit album was the first step in leading me to a different way of life, one certainly with its share of ups and downs, but one that will always fit me better than the even the best legal job could have.
Anyway, tonight was much more prosaic, but much as I like to escape, I am a pretty routine girl. I like familiarity, sameness, solitude. I like being able to wander and discover the infinite universe of magic, mundane or magnificent, that streets of New York City offer me, and now that I've realized my days here are probably pretty numbered, I feel like I value them all the more. I returned from a few days of fireworks and domesticity with my boyfriend and dragged myself to the gym. I like going on off hours when it's emptier, and I read Rurally Screwed by Jessie Knadler, which seemed particularly appropriate, because we talked about possibly moving to North Carolina, and while that's not necessarily imminent, something went off inside me, the way it does when I know I have to visit somewhere, when he was telling me about the cost of living. I have little desire to live in a barren suburb where there aren't coffeeshops, let alone culture. I love the fact that I was able to run across the street just now, as the rain and lightning started up, to get toilet paper and seltzer from the deli owner who knows that I almost never need a bag. I love that even though I've been a bad bad theatergoer, awaiting me in my inbox are so many options at the tip of my fingertips. I love that I got asked to cover two stories yesterday and one of them has absolutely nothing to do with sex; to me that is the true mark of having "made it" as a writer, though of course I'm aware that back when I was the stupid little law student, naïve about New York, about the world, about myself, basically clueless about anything that mattered, including how the hell to pass her classes, I didn't really think much about branding or bylines or what the fuck I was doing with my career. I'm not sure that I do all that much anymore in that I'm not so strategic in the big picture sense; I'm more about sitting down and banging out the words and studying the market sand trying to figure out where my ideas and experiences can fit.
So back to tonight, after the gym, I was walking through Union Square, on my way to Barnes & Noble ostensibly to buy a magazine I plan to pitch, but really because it's my shopping spiritual escape, my place to run my fingers and gaze over shelves where I could have had my book nestled, and where I someday still might, though for sure a different book. I love being surrounded by so many ideas, and I whip out my iPhone and type notes about cozy mysteries to request at the library, and hope that the spark of inspiration, a snippet of conversation, a cover, an idea, will slip by me. I was also reading Fifty Shades Darker on my phone as I walked, because for whatever reason Kindle for Mac decided that my download no longer exists and rather than wanting to punch myself in the face or taking a hammer to my laptop in the process of removing the book from my device and redownloading it (ah, to have any clue how to do that), I am just going to read it umpteen screens at a time on my phone. I was doing that and walking and all of a sudden a skateboard was very close by and then crashing into me and I fell and my glasses and phone fell with me. My first thought was that I cannot afford new glasses, which is a sign of what happens when you lack both a paycheck and health insurance. The skateboarder and a kind stranger asked if I was okay and I was so happy when I picked up my glasses to see that they were fine that the very minor scrapes on my knees and left palm were nothing. I was a little shaky but kept walking to the bookstore and realized that sometimes, like the last few days, I just want to block out the world, but it wants me here. Yesterday I took an accidental nap, and woke up groggy and angry at myself for wasting time, and then, despite my time wasting, these assignments landed in my inbox, and I realized that life goes on, even when I hate myself and think I won't be able to tackle everything on my to do list and have no idea what the future holds.
So now with the fan blasting on me, back home, which feels increasingly special and cozy the less time I'm here, I'm kindof savoring that slight twinge in my palm as I try to get back to what I was supposed to be doing the last few days. Instead I watched some pretty kickass fireworks and baked kale chips and marshmallow brownies and oatmeal chocolate chip cookies and learned how to use a hand mixer and bought a jigsaw puzzle shaped like the state of California, my former home, with all its beaches and jagged edges. I didn't even know they made jigsaw puzzles that weren't rectangular.
I must get back to the ongoing list and get ready for this assignment, I just wanted to write something, anything, which these days I more often put aside, or write and not finish the story, essay, pitch, application, because I'm sure it sucks so why bother. I also bought a new journal tonight, because my old one has a bit of a rocky history and now is in high demand as a holder of important documents, money and assorted papers, so many that to displace them would wreak havoc with what little organizational systems I have. I liked the idea of starting over, starting something new, for no reason other than that I appreciate the idea that every day is not only a gift, but a chance to crack that clean slate and blank page and create something. I forget sometimes that for every awful thing I've ever done and all the messes I've made of my life, I wake up every single day to as many blank pages as I want. I just have to get up and greet them and be ready, slips, falls, mishaps, blocks and all.
Video of "Love Well" by The Royal You. When I heard them sing this live, I definitely gave myself a little reality check about the times I haven't loved well, when I haven't treated the people I care about the way I'd want to be treated. Lately, I have been extremely focused on just trying to survive and prove to myself I can do this ridiculously insane wacky thing called supporting myself as a writer/editor/blogger/miscellaneous creative person. It still seems supremely laughable some days, and exactly what I should be doing on others, but mostly it feels like it requires 24/7 vigilance and attention to potential stories, to reading everything and trying to be everywhere at once, which certainly doesn't make me a great girlfriend, so I'm trying to be a little better about balancing those things. And also that loving well means taking care of and loving myself, too, to the best of my abilities. I'm trying, even when I fall, hard.
I'm really excited about this Alanis Morissette tribute tonight at Joe's Pub celebrating the 17th anniversary of You Oughta Know. It's got an amazing lineup and is sure to be a lot of fun! I wasn't sure if I could make it until yesterday, and am excited about it after a week of insomnia nonstop work around the clock.
Featuring the best and brightest comedians, musicians and storytellers on the New York scene,You Oughta Know will pay wild tribute to the Canadian who changed your life when she burst onto the scene with the infamous lyric, "Every time I scratch my nails down someone else's back I hope you feel it," the one and only Alanis Morissette. Hosted and curated by Carolyn Castiglia (Comedy Central, VH1, Our Hit Parade) and Mindy Raf, aka Leibya Rogers (College Humor, VH1). Like rain on your wedding day, you'll never forget this night.
With:
Katina Corrao (Comedy Central) Jessica Delfino (Edinburgh Fringe, Montreal Comedy Festival) Ophira Eisenberg (host of NPR's Ask Me Another, The Moth, recently featured in the NYT) Erin and her Cello (resident at Rockwood Music Hall, Ars Nova) Eliot Glazer (author, My Parents Were Awesome, creator of Sh*t New Yorkers Say, editor at New York magazine's Vulture blog) Jen Kwok (Comedy Central) Ben Lerman (Keith and the Girl favorite) Arthur Lewis & the Geniuses (Ars Nova, Freestyle Love Supreme) Carla Rhodes (Glasgow Comedy Festival, residency at Arlene's Grocery) Rachel Sklar (Huffington Post, Mediaite, Change The Ratio) Stuckey and Murray (FUSE, MTV, Last Comic Standing) Chris "Shockwave" Sullivan (The Electric Company, Freestyle Love Supreme)
I've been writing lots of personal essays lately, more on the way, including one next week I sold to a website I've been a fan of since it launched. Promise more cheerful ones soon, maybe even one about judging cupcake contests. I also booked my trip to Portland, Maine for next month, my birthday present to myself. And I'm doing National Novel Writing Month. I'm not gonna "make a lot of money and quit this crazy scene." I'm here, now, as tough as these last few weeks have been in their way and as challenging as the next few months/years will be. I'm figuring it all out as I go. One day at a time. Indeed.
I can't seem to go a day without hearing "Someone Like You" by Adele. At a deli, a café, in a store or on my very own iTunes. I've been listening to it for months now as an anthem of a relationship that needed to end but that I didn't want to end. It was at once hazy and undefined, punctuated by periods of intense attention and interaction followed by fallow periods of silence, extreme highs and lows interspersed in ways that fed off each other in what I'll delicately call not the healthiest way.
The Adele song is not an exact transliteration of that relationship, but the spirit behind it is one I've tried to feel all the way through me. She says in the link above that she was miserable and lonely when she wrote it, that it came at a moment when she was "on her knees" and that this song summarizes her entire relationship, and that it's made her who she is at the moment, and that is the part I deeply, deeply relate to. Wherever I am, when it comes on, I have to pause and listen to the whole thing, truly listening in a way I rarely do to even my favorite songs. You think you know what they say, you sing or hum along even if you don't know all the words, or maybe you just listen to the throatiness of Adele's voice, the power and beauty and sadness and love wrapped around every note.
Read the whole thing (and if you like it, please like it on Facebook and/or pass it on - I want to make an impression over at Open Salon, which I also encourage you to check out, SO many amazing essays). And yeah, I'm striving for new topics, not old ones, but sometimes words just want to come out.
So one major thing I've learned is that when making a book trailer (or any video), make sure you have the rights to the music! The trailer for Spanked: Red-Cheeked Erotica had a great run, and we will get it back up online soon, but it was pulled because we'd used music that wasn't authorized. Oh and the Spanked blog on Wordpress is not more but the one for Bottoms Up: Spanking Good Stories is still around. Will be working on getting as much detail about my books posted in 2010 as I can.
The Spanked trailer will be back up for your viewing pleasure soon, I promise.
I still have two very hot trailers up and plan to make more in 2010!
I mean, how can you not love a woman who sings "Katie Holmes you need a little Leibya?" She's trying to raise $3,000 by December 23rd through Kickstarter, all of which is explained above. You pledge and nobody gets charged until she meets her goal. You can donate as little as $1. Watch the video below for "Leibya Spells Freedom" (directed by Sara Schaefer!) - isn't that worth it? (FYI, I have seen Jewel in concert and used to go to Lilith Fair and have Ani DiFranco CDs, but I love Leibya's/Mindy's take on all of this. And tofu. "All vegans will go to heaven." Love it!)
If you are/were a fan of Sarge and/or The Reputation and/or Braid or just want to hear a gorgeous song, check out "You Blink" by Elizabeth Elmore and Bob Nanna. It's a hauntingly gorgeous song that I can't stop listening to, with the kind of lyrics that Elmore does exquisite justice to. I guess it's a sad/bittersweet song, but it's so beautiful as well. Bittersweet.
I edited one more e-book for Ravenous Romance, called Love Notes: A Sex & Music Anthology. Again, many of the contributors were culled from Twitter and the Internet. These were a fabulous opportunity to publish many writers who were new to me and pay homage to, say, the hotness of Madonna (or in my story, Warrant's "Cherry Pie" and some sploshing/messy sex fun), and since this only costs $4.99 it's recession-priced smut. You can purchase
The jury's still out on how these will do (or rather, I have not a clue), but my fingers are crossed!
You can read my introduction and part of Eve Carpenter's "The Main Events" by clicking here. (I think it opens as a PDF.)
From the Ravenous Romance site:
Synopsis
Our favorite music inspires us to move, dance and, yes, get busy in more intimate ways. Love Notes celebrates dancing queens, rock stars, groupies, anthems and more as the characters stroke each other to the sounds that make them soar. One woman masturbates to her favorite song while a stripper slinks her way into a man's life. From Madonna to Shania Twain to Led Zeppelin and beyond, they channel their favorite music to make love to.
Love Notes celebrates the erotic power of music to move us, whether it's listening to a lover rock out, fantasizing about your rock star crush, or making the sweetest and sexiest of music together. Singers, sirens and dancing queens get busy to a sex soundtrack ranging from heavy metal to classical and beyond. Get ready to get serenaded, seduced, and smitten with Love Notes.
Contributing Authors:
• Eve Carpenter • Shanna Katz • Jeremy Edwards • Jincey Lumpkin, Esq. • Graydancer • Jocelyn Bringas • Craig J. Sorensen • J. M. Snyder • Elizabeth St. John • Mark Farley • Delilah T. Jones • Zach Lindley • Mia • Rachel Kramer Bussel • Brandi Woodlawn • Heidi Champa • Emerald • Jack Stratton • Madlyn March • NookieNotes • Mariana Tolentino • Janne Lewis
I really, really, really need your sex and music erotica stories. This could be literally anything combining the two, from going to a concert (like in "Live Tonight" by Saskia Walker in Dirty Girls) to a music lesson (like the brilliant "Every Good By Deserves Favors" by L. Elise Bland in Naughty Spanking Stories from A to Z and beyond. I need longer stories (though shorter is okay) and as creative and hot as possible. I need them today (Monday) or tomorrow (Tuesday); Wednesday by 5 pm EST at the very latest (but earlier is much better). I'll get back to you by early next week for sure. I know the pay up front is minimal but you do get royalties, the book's out in December so there's a quick turnaround, you'll be joining some great authors and perhaps most importantly, you'll have my undying thanks.
Please MAKE SURE your submission:
has your byline and story title on it is double spaced is indented half an inch is all in plain black text - no bolding, no asterisks, no underline - you can use italics American grammar has been proofread is on topic
If you do those things, it's very, very likely that I'll publish it (though not guaranteed). Feel free to pass this on, I need the stories ASAP as my book was due last week! I'm done with submissions for my Lust Chronicles e-book and will post the table of contents as soon as it's approved by Ravenous.
’m editing a new e-book anthology for Ravenous Romance, to be published in December 2008.
For both: 1,500-5,000 words, Times or Times New Roman, double space, indent 1/2 an inch at start of each paragraph. Unpublished work only. All characters must be over 18; no incest or bestiality. All sexual orientations/genders welcome. Send as Word Document; if you cannot send as Word Document, send as RTF or in the body of an email
SEX AND MUSIC: Erotica about sex and music, could be band/groupie, music teacher, masturbating to a hot song, making a music video, musical performance, etc. Again, looking for a wide range of scenarios as long as there is some form of sex and some form of music (use your imagination).
Send BIO and MAILING ADDRESS (either in the Word Doc or in body of your email) and WORD DOCUMENT with your submission to: rachelravenous@gmail.com (if you previously sent a story to another address, I have it) with “Sex and Music” in subject line. MAKE SURE you double space, use American grammar, put your story title/byline on the document, indent half an inch. If using a pseudonym (which is totally fine), I need your real name and the pseudonym.
DEADLINE: ASAP
PAYMENT: Authors will receive $1/page PLUS portion of the E-book and MP3 royalties. We are purchasing electronic rights for 3 years and audio rights.
Was just listening to some Richard Thompson, which of course reminded me of Mary Lou Lord, who often covers his songs, some of which are captured on her album Live City Sounds.
The music made me feel a little bit better about my misadventures in traveling. Here's two versions of his "I Feel So Good," which for some reason reminds me of Loudon Wainwright III's "So Damn Happy," which a friend put on pretty much my most cherished mix CD ever. The first is a video, the second a lovely live acoustic version.
I so don't watch television and am pretty clueless when it comes to all things TV-related, so I actually have no idea what Supernatural is (and I'm totally fine with that), but I'm just including that part cause I found it on YouTube looking for one of the most beautiful songs I've ever heard, Deb Talan's "Forgiven." I think I must have heard it in Lovely and Amazing--it was definitely in a movie that I first heard her--and promptly bought up her CDs. She's also part of The Weepies, but this remains my favorite. Both Deb and The Weepies are also on MySpace.
The Big Book of Submission: 69 Kinky Tales
Flying High: Sexy Stories from the Mile High Club
