3 new erotica anthology calls for submissions

Good news: I'm editing three new Cleis Press erotica anthologies! Here are my erotic short story calls for submissions, with May 1 and June 1, 2022 deadlines, and payments of $100 for Couples Erotica and Sexy Strangers and $225 for Best Women's Erotica of the Year, Volume 9, which has a theme of temptation.



The first two for Couples Erotica and Sexy Strangers are open to all writers, and Best Women's Erotica of the Year, Volume 9 is open to authors who themselves are women, gender nonconforming, genderqueer and/or nonbinary who have not been published or scheduled to be published in the first eight Best Women’s Erotica of the Year volumes edited by Rachel Kramer Bussel; all volumes have this stipulation around authors' identity and I don't repeat authors in the series to make room for as many writers as possible. The first 8 volumes have included work by 146 authors. Everything I'm looking for is listed in the guidelines, but if you have any questions I don't answer in the guidelines, please email me at the address listed with the call. That's the only way you should be contacting me with questions about these anthologies.

Please spread the word! I've worked with over 700 authors in my anthologies so far and my goal is to get to 1,000 authors, so I'm hoping to fill these books with as many authors I haven't worked with before as possible. That's one of my favorite aspects of being an anthology editor.

Cleis Press 40% off new year erotica sale

To kick off 2021, my publisher, Cleis Press, is having a big 40% off sale through January 8, 2021 on select print books (shipping to the U.S. only) if you use the code NEWYEARNEWBOOK. Below are the five books of mine that are on sale, though Erotic Teasers I think still needs an add to cart button. If you haven't read these or are looking to give them as a gift, check it out. See Cleis's Twitter feed for more sale books. Also, a reminder that the best way to keep up with what I'm doing on a day-to-day basis is to follow me on Twitter @raquelita, Instagram @rachelkramerbussel (and/or my new all jigsaw puzzle account @rachelpuzzles and Facebook @rachelkramerbusselauthor which I update in that order of frequency. If you want to follow the Best Women's Erotica of the Year series, where I post news, photos, giveaways and more, those handles are: Twitter @BWEoftheyear, Instagram @bestwomenserotica and Facebook @bweoftheyear.



Here are individual links to my Cleis Press 40% off erotica print books for U.S. shipping with the code NEWYEARNEWBOOK. They're all also available in ebook and audiobook. I've listed some of my favorite of my anthologies with all buy links on my website, and will be adding more soon and here's all my Cleis Press books, most available in print, ebook and audio, some are out of print. Also, whether a book says "Best Women's Erotica" or "for women" in the title, readers of any gender who like sexy stories are welcome to read them! I welcome all readers and feedback and reviews to help me guide future anthology selections.

Best Women's Erotica of the Year, Volume 2

Best Women's Erotica of the Year, Volume 2

Best Women's Erotica of the Year, Volume 4

Begging for It: Erotic Fantasies for Women

Erotic Teasers (add to cart button should be up soon if it's not currently)

If you haven't subscribed to my monthly newsletter yet, hop on it, because I do roundups and newsletter subscriber exclusive giveaways. Last year I was a bad newsletter sender and skipped a few months, including my big book release month of December, but as part of my 2021 goals I'll be sending them out monthly no matter what, starting today with January's.

New erotica anthology call for submissions on threesomes and group sex

Good news! I'm editing another 2022 anthology for Cleis Press, this one on threesomes and group sex. I've posted the call for submissions on my website. It's pretty detailed, designed to cover all potential author questions, but if you have a question after reading the writing guidelines in full, feel free to email me at the address listed on the call. I'm paying $100/story and one copy of the book for exclusive rights for one year from the July 2022 publication date. The exact contract terms are listed at the bottom of the call.

As stated in the call, the final deadline is May 1, 2021, but I would strongly advise submitting your best, proofread work as soon as possible. My manuscript draft for this anthology is already starting to fill up (I have a few stories I couldn't use in other anthologies that fit the topic that the authors let me hold for potential publication in this one, pending my publisher's approval), and I have a feeling certain pairings and scenarios will be quite prominent in my inbox. If you know anyone who might have a perfect erotica story for this anthology, please pass along the writing guidelines. Thank you!

New call for submissions: The Big Book of Orgasms, Volume 2

Thanks to YOU and all your support for the original The Big Book of Orgasms, I'm editing another volume for Cleis Press! The call for submissions is on my website, and the key details are: I want original, unpublished stories of 1,200 words or less on the them of orgasm by December 1, 2020 at the latest, but earlier submissions will get priority. The call will likely be updated based on the submissions I get. Pay is $25/story and one copy of the book. And I especially want to work with authors I haven't published before. Everything else you need to know is on my site. Hope you'll consider submitting a story and passing this on to any writers who might be interested.

I LOVE getting to work with so many authors and offer readers so many different takes on a single theme. So please submit to this book; I obviously can't guarantee that I can publish it, but I'm looking for lots of variety.

Such a tease...my new BDSM erotica anthology Erotic Teasers will be out on Tuesday!

I'm thrilled to share that on Tuesday, February 12, my new anthology Erotic Teasers will finally be available in print and ebook! See more buy links below, including a limited time 40% off Valentine's Day sale on all print books from Cleis Press this week! It's the perfect time to stock up on my dozens of sexy adult story anthologies.



This was one that my publisher Cleis Press came to me and asked me to edit, and had a specific vision for the book, which I think/hope I did justice to. For those who like longer stories, this book has 'em! That's why there are 18 stories, because each is a bit longer than my typical anthology, so you can truly savor all the kinky, dirty details.



About the book:

In Erotic Teasers, award-winning editor Rachel Kramer Bussel has collected sexy short stories that will keep you on edge. From orgasm denial to remote control panties, these characters are made to wait--and they love every minute. From dominant/submissive relationships to futuristic settings, they have perfected the thrill of teasing, taunting, and exerting control over their partners, who may protest but really relish being made to hold off until they're given permission. Whether teasing as part of a BDSM scene, onstage at a theater, or via modern technology, these men and women ache with yearning.

These stories explore the thrill of the opposite of instant gratification, with orgasms all the more explosive because of itThis collection includes stories by Tiffany Reisz, Leandra Vane, Ella Dawson, and Elizabeth Coldwell, you'll relish every lusty, agonizing moment as these men and women wait for the most arousing reward for their patience.

Here's the table of contents:

Introduction: Such a Tease

Pink Panties Eliza David (read an excerpt at Kinkly)
Guessing Game T.C. Mill
Fix Me! Josie Jordan
A Real One Leandra Vane
Desdemona on the Fringe Kendel Davi
Ava Receives a Text Ella Dawson
Once Upon a Time in the Near Future Georgina Cott
Paying Attention LN Bey
The Hanging Gardens of Babylon Valerie Alexander
The Price of Patronage Eve Pendle
Daily Denial TammyJo Eckhart
The Joy of Socks Elizabeth Coldwell
When You’re Told Rebecca Croteau
Blow Val Prozorova
Bösendorfer Blues Cecilia Duvalle
Aphrodite’s Garden Rebecca Chase
Rogering Nadine Richard Bacula
Coming and Going Tiffany Reisz


Buy Erotic Teasers for Valentine's Day or any time:

Kindle (all countries)

Nook

Google Play

iBooks

Kobo

Amazon print (all countries)

BN.com print

Powell's (amazing Portland, Oregon independent bookstore, one of the best in the world; free shipping over $50 in U.S.)

IndieBound (find your local independent bookstore)

Books a Million

Cleis Press (save 40% with the code VDAY2019 through February 14, 2019)

Don't miss your chance to get published in Best Bondage Erotica of the Year, Volume 1 from Cleis Press

The July 1, 2018 deadline for my Best Bondage Erotica of the Year, Volume 1 call for submissions is coming up and I haven't received too many submissions. I hope that's because all you budding writers of kinky bondage stories are brainstorming and writing and self-editing, but if not, I wanted to remind you that I WANT TO READ YOUR STORIES! And I'm especially looking to publish work by writers I've never worked with before, because I think it's good for readers, good for the genre and good for a new series to publish new (to me) writers.

So please spread the word. I'm paying $75 for original, unpublished stories. Everything else you could want to know is in the call, but if you have any questions after reading it, contact me at the email address listed there and I'll get back to you ASAP (might be a little slower in early June when I'll be traveling).

This anthology won't be published until late 2019, but it takes a long time to put together an amazing book that's proofread until it's as close to perfect as possible. If you want to know more about the timeline for my books (although I've since revised it a little to give myself and my copyeditor more time to do our work), read my Erotica Writing 101 post about why it takes so long to hear back from anthologies. Speaking of Erotica Writing 101, I am available to work with private clients on your erotic fiction or sex-related nonfiction projects, although I don't work on any pieces that authors plan to submit to my anthologies, as that would give those authors an unfair advantage. I'll be accepting new clients through June 1, 2018, and then again starting on June 18, 2018.

My birthday wish is for you to read my new book, Best Women's Erotica of the Year, Volume 3

I've been on a break from blogging and much of social media due to life and work and trying to figure a lot of things out but now that I have two books coming out in back to back months, I'm easing back into things. I turned 42 on Friday and while it was the opposite of a celebratory day, it was a day that made me realize life is short and I need to sure I'm living it as fully as I can. I had even taken a break from my newsletter but now that's back and I encourage you to subscribe because I do monthly giveaways just for subscribers - I'll be sending November's this week with a Tasting Her: Oral Sex Stories giveaway.

The book that I'm gearing up to release next week is Best Women's Erotica of the Year, Volume 3; the ebook edition pubs on Tuesday, with the print and audiobook to follow in December. There's still a part of me that can't believe I get to edit this series that I've been reading since the very first volume edited by Marcy Sheiner, because I'm still the woman who cried tears of joy when I finally broke into the series after several tries with my "Doing the Dishes" story.

I feel like in many ways this series reminded me why I got into erotica editing in the first place: because I'm a social creature, because I believe that more is more, because I love the short story form, because I want to give other writers the chance I was given when I published my first story. There have been many moments in the last few years when I've wondered if what I do is pointless; that feeling has certainly been amplified since the last election.

What I always come back to is the realization that an anthology isn't just about me; without authors writing vibrant, sexy, deeply creative and timely stories, I'd have no books. So I owe it to them, and of course to myself and my publisher, to make sure their words are read as wide and far as possible. Real talk: it's scary to care too much, whether we're talking about people or books. I am so proud of this book and my deepest fear is that it will be released into the world with a resounding flop. Because with a series, the pressure is amplified: it's not just about this one book doing well, it's about me wanting to have a future as the editor of the series for as many years as possible.

I'm probably not "supposed" to say that on my blog or anywhere else; I often get the impression that we are supposed to be only cheerful and positive about every aspect of publishing. But I see putting out books more as a gamble, except that there's far more passion and energy devoted to each title than there is to most gambling. Ultimately, though, the outcome is a gamble. I don't know if one person or one thousand or many thousands will read this book. For my career's sake and my authors' sake, I hope it's the latter. What I do know is that while I can't control that outcome, I can make sure that even if it's just one person, that I provide them with a knockout book that makes their eyes widen on every page, that features a diverse group of women who are bold and provocative and surprising, who are mix of straight and bisexual and lesbian, many of whom I'd call feminist, who are tender and loving and also wild and daring.

I hope you'll enter this giveaway (which is U.S. only due to the prohibitive costs of overseas shipping) and, if you want to support the book with just two clicks, add it to your Amazon wishlist and Goodreads want to read list. And, of course, if you want to read all 21 crazy hot stories, I'd love if you'd purchase it or request it at your local library (yes, many libraries carry erotica and many will order books if their patrons want them). I'll be sharing more about all the hotness in the book soon, but for now, good luck and please let people know about the giveaway!

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Best Women's Erotica of the Year, Volume 3

by Rachel Kramer Bussel

Giveaway ends November 18, 2017.

See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

Enter Giveaway

Hot erotica by women at Refinery29

I'm still catching up on life after last weekend's whirlwind 48 hours in New Orleans for a bachelorette party. This is my first day back at my home office, where I'm working on my first self-published anthology and my new set of online classes, so I wanted to share some sexy story links you may not have seen (or maybe you have; I've published many of these authors in my anthologies or will be publishing them soon). I've included the book or story title and author name; you can click through to see original artwork and read a hot excerpt. Last year, Refinery29 asked me to gather hot erotica by women and they've been rolling those sexy stories out over time. Here are the links to all of them, and if they intrigue you, I encourage you to check out the books they're from and more of each author's works (there are links to the specific titles and the author websites there). I'm seeing one broken link which I will update as soon as it's resolved. Happy reading!

Goodbye Paradise by Sarina Bowen

Hold Me Down by Sara Taylor Woods

A Gentleman in the Street by Alisha Rai

"Scissoring" by Annabeth Leong in Inked: Sexy Tales of Tattoo Erotica edited by Anna Sky

Untouchable by Elizabeth SaFleur

"Arielle" by Lana Fox from Cathedral of Furs: Ardent Erotica Inspired by Anaïs Nin

Bollywood and the Beast by Suleikha Snyder

"Tell Me a Secret" by Leandra Vane from A Bloom in Cursive

The Siren and the Sword (Magic University Book 1) by Cecilia Tan

The Boss by Abigail Barnette

S.E.C.R.E.T. Shared by L. Marie Adeline

The Virgin by Tiffany Reisz

To Italy with Love by Fiona Zedde

The Unicorn by Delphine Dryden

"Appetizer" by Sommer Marsden from The Sexy Librarian’s Big Book of Erotica edited by Rose Caraway

My two paying calls for submissions and why perfect grammar is so important

If you want to head directly to my two Cleis Press calls for submissions, visit Erotic Teasers (October 1, 2017 deadline, pays $100/story) and Best Women's Erotica of the Year, Volume 4 (November 1, 2017 deadline, pays $200/story).

I'm looking forward to October and November, when I'll be selecting the stories I want to include in those manuscripts (then my publisher has final approval, which can take several months; see my post about the timing of the publishing process here), doing so earlier than I have in the past so I can put every ounce of my creative energy into promoting my back-to-back releases, Best Women's Erotica of the Year, Volume 3 and The Big Book of Submission, Volume 2. Having two books come out in two months is not for the faint of heart, and to be honest, I'm not sure if I can handle it, and most of my time and money will have to go into BWE because that's the more popular type of book, but I will do my best to make both big sellers because I owe that to myself, my business, my publisher and my authors.

Right now I'm doing my second least favorite task that comes with the job of anthology editing: copyedits. Even though a large part of my 7.5 year full time magazine editing job involved copyediting, and I do a lot of it in my current copywriting job, being in charge of the words of other authors' is not a responsibility I take lightly. I live in fear that one of their edits won't make it into the final book, and I will look like the worst editor who ever lived. Okay, that's hyperbole, but I have an all or nothing brain and if that were to happen, no matter how proud I am of the rest of my book, I would feel awful, because once a book's in print, it's in stores and that's it.

So I've actually been dragging my feet on putting together the edits of the copyeditor I hired (something I wish I'd done for all my books and well worth every penny) and the ones my authors sent me. Then my publisher incorporates those edits into the manuscript before galleys and final books get printed.

The part about me being beyond nervous is my own issue to deal with, though trust me, if I ever quit anthology editing, I will not miss waking up in a panic with worry about this, or holding my breath when I send books out to authors, hoping their story has come out perfect.

That brings me to my calls listed above and why they're so detailed. Some of that is because I often receive an influx of stories that are similar either in setup or subject, which means I can't use them all in my books, because the two biggest things I provide to my readers is variety and sexiness. That's not something I can predict when writing a call, so I try to emphasize creativity and uniqueness.

But what I do emphasize in my calls, or at least, what I hope I impress upon those who might submit, is the importance of perfect grammar and proofreading. You might think, But Rachel, aren't you going to edit the story, and then two copyeditors as well? Yes, I am and they are, but here's the thing: If a story comes in that is riddled with grammatical errors, that vastly increases the likelihood that out of the four people proofing it (author, anthology editor and two copyeditors), someone will miss some of them. Who loses out? Well, everyone. The reader, first and foremost, because they will be distracted when reading your story. I know this as a reader who got distracted several times recently reading a novel I otherwise enjoyed. My publisher will lose out because their reputation will go down in the eyes of that reader. I will lose out for the same reason, and that directly impacts my income and potential opportunities to edit more books. And it impacts the author, because I don't think anyone out there wants their name next to words that are less than the very best they can be.

So while I accept complete and total responsibility for any errors that wind up in my final books, I do tend to gravitate toward submissions whose writing I enjoy that are grammatically correct and typo free, because I know that they will improve the quality of my anthology. Also, the above is the process with my anthologies, but if you are submitting your work other places, or self-publishing, there may be fewer people going over your words, so the onus is on you to make them readable. Ultimately, that's, to my mind, the whole point of grammar: to make words more readable, to make them flow better, to make the reader's job easier so they can enjoy the story more. Now I must return to doing that very thing, and then crossing my fingers and hoping with all my might that I've done my job well.

On Fire: Erotic Romance Stories is out today!

Happy release day to me and my authors! I'll keep this short and sweet: today, the ebook of On Fire: Erotic Romance Stories is out! You can 1-click and download it right now for Kindle, Nook, iBooks, Google Play and Kobo.



Want to read the introduction? Visit the On Fire Tumblr. I'm so thrilled that these super sexy stories about couples having erotic adventures, from BDSM and fetishes to swinging and orgies and anniversary celebrations and so much more, are available to the world. This book was three years in the making, due to my own delays, so I'm extra excited. It's also On Fire Week over at group blog Lady Smut so check us out for daily posts related to the themes of the book. Thank you again to Cleis Press for being amazing to work with! And if you want the audiobook or print edition, just wait a little while...audio is coming soon, narrated by Rose Caraway, and the print book publishes officially on August 8th but Amazon told me my copy will arrive by July 31st. And if you've read the book or plan to read it, a review on Amazon and/or Goodreads is MUCH appreciated and helps readers find out about the book and helps me fulfill my commitment to my authors to get their stories before as many people as possible. Good, bad, or indifferent, reviews help; right now there are three on Amazon, two praiseworthy, one who hated it, and to be honest, the one that didn't like it is the most compelling because it has details about what they liked and what they didn't. So all opinions are welcome and valuable and help guide me for future anthologies.

On Fire has a hot cover and even hotter stories and you can review it early!

I'm thrilled that on July 18, the ebook edition of my latest Cleis Press anthology, On Fire: Erotic Romance Stories, will be out (the print edition hits stores August 8). This book is super hot, as befitting an anthology titled On Fire. It's also one that I got delayed on, so I'm extra excited that it's almost out in the world and determined to have these wonderful authors read as widely as possible, because they are seriously hot. Many of them are different from what I've published before; I've got a vampire story here ("Masquerade") and a femdom story ("Dreams Made Flesh") and sexy swingers (my story "The Dance") and so much more..

While most of my books are in bookstores across the country (and occasionally outside the U.S.), the vast majority of you read them as ebooks or listen to them as audiobooks. I love this, both as a price conscious shopper, because people can buy more ebooks since they tend to be cheaper, hence they get to read more, and because I have always had a vision of my books being as accessible as possible. When I took a vacation in Honolulu, I was overjoyed that some of my books were on the shelves at Barnes & Noble. It was like I'd visited Hawaii before I even got there! So I want them out in as many formats as they can possibly be. The On Fire audiobook, narrated by my favorite narrator in the world, Rose Caraway, who I've worked with on 10 other audio titles, will be out at the end of July.

Getting back to accessibility...here's the scoop: Some of the books I've edited since I started this journey way back when are out of print, most likely never to return to bookstore shelves, and lots of those never got an ebook or audiobook edition because they were published before that was so common. Some publishers I've worked with have folded, some books quietly didn't sell and have pretty much vanished. It happens, but these days I work far harder to get my books "out there" and am determined that the ones I put out now stay in print/as ebooks and audiobooks for a long, long time, ideally throughout my lifetime. To that end, I want to spread the word to as many readers and potential readers as possible. This is both my livelihood and my passion, but that means that if my books don't sell, out of financial necessity, I'll have to stop editing them and move on to something else to sustain myself, because I believe equal pay also means, Work only for what you're worth. That's a discussion for another time, but my point is, I both want and need my books to reach lots of readers. My personal goal is always to have each new book outsell the last. Of course I can't control that, but I can set it as my goal to push myself to try harder with each release and explore new avenues of reaching readers in this vast world of endless books available to you at the click of a button 24/7. It's a world I love and indulge in myself as a consumer, but it also makes it more challenging to make any single title stand out.

All of this is to say that the #1 way I promote my books and drive sales is through readers like you leaving reviews on sites like Amazon and Goodreads. Yes, over the years I've tried ads on book-related websites, I've paid to fly myself here, there and everywhere, I've made postcards and bookmarks and buttons. I won't say I've tried everything, but of all the methods of book promotion I've tried, having honest reviews on the main sites where readers congregate has been what gets other people interested. This is partly because of how the algorithms on those sites work, so the books of mine with the most reviews, such as The Big Book of Orgasms, almost always sell better than the ones with fewer reviews.



So until June 18, one month before the ebook release, I'm offering all of you a free e-copy of On Fire, with the request that you leave an honest review of at least one sentence on Amazon (U.S.) and/or Goodreads. To comply with FTC rules, your review should state a version of, "I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review." And that's it! Read one story, or two, or all 20. Share the one you loved the most, the one you liked least, what turned you on, what intrigued you...that part is up to you. I can't tell you what to write, I can only tell you that I am so proud of this book and all the sexiness contained in it. It's filed under "erotic romance" but I think it's safe to say if you like erotica, you'll like much of it, and if you like romance, you'll like much of it. Here's the official blurb about it and endorsements by two authors whose writing I adore (thank you, Charlotte and Elizabeth!):

"Every story is a sinfully sexy yet always romantic delight." Charlotte Stein, author of Never Sweeter

“On Fire is a delicious collection of sensual, luxurious erotic shorts, like bites of the finest chocolate that linger on your tongue.” Elizabeth SaFleur, author of the Elite Doms of Washington series

In On Fire, today’s top erotic romance authors don’t skimp on love or lust--they are entwined in tales that will make pulses pound and hearts race. Bestselling editor Rachel Kramer Bussel takes us inside the passions of couples who go above and beyond in their pursuit of sexual and romantic satisfaction, exploring the racy to the outrageous during their many arousing adventures. You’ll treasure the sex toy exploration in “Every Second of It,” find paranormal pleasure in “Masquerade,” and be transported to “A Place As Beautiful As This.” You’ll go “Beyond the Blindfold,” find out what lurks in the “Art of Darkness,” and delight in discovering “The Sweetest Thing.” These steamy stories by Kristina Wright, Delilah Devlin, Giselle Renarde, Kay Jaybee, Victoria Blisse, Jade A. Waters and others are perfect intimate reads to enjoy with your lover or for your own pleasure.

You can see the full table of contents and my introduction on the book's Tumblr.

That's my spiel. If you want to review the book, leave your name and email address in this form by June 18, 2017 at 11:59 pm EST. I'll send you the PDF and then you can post your review any time at Goodreads and starting July 18, 2017 on Amazon. Of course if you want to review it elsewhere, such as on a blog, other book retailer, etc., that is wonderful, but all I am asking is for you review on either Goodreads and/or Amazon.com (U.S.), which are the sites most of my readers use. If you want to do an extra erotica good deed, you can add the book to your "want to read list" on Goodreads (you'll see the button when you click the Goodreads link above). Again, I'm not an expert, but I believe Goodreads factors in which books have the most people listing them as want to read and promotes/showcases those books more widely. My hope is a) you'll find something, or many things, that entertains you and b) you'll discover a new author whose work you'll want to keep on reading. Thank you in advance and here's to On Fire and a sexy summer!

And if you're sitting there thinking, But I really want a free print copy of On Fire, I'll be giving those away in my monthly newsletter in July, so subscribe on the left-hand side of my Lusty Lady blog or at rachelkramerbussel.com. June's newsletter giveaway will be to win a copy of my femdom anthology She's on Top!

15 erotica authors share their fiction inspiration

Over on the Best Women's Erotica of the Year Tumblr, I've had the pleasure of interviewing 15 (so far) of the contributors to BWE of the Year, Volume 2, about their erotica history, writing process, inspiration for their stories, favorite lines and future plans. I wanted to share those interviews and some fabulous quotes with you as I listen to the rain while waiting to take Amtrak to Baltimore for the next stop on the book tour. And more interviews are scheduled through March so keep reading our Tumblr and following us @BWEoftheyear on Twitter.

I'll conclude by giving you easy ways to read or listen to the book, and I encourage you to also ask for it at your local library (yes, it may be nerve-wracking to ask for a sexy book, but they're librarians, they've heard all sorts of requests and if they are at all good at their job, they won't judge you, but will be happy to help their users) or bookstore.

I'm starting with the authors you'll hear at our book events and including the cities where you can hear them (Abigail Ekue can't make our Baltimore reading due to weather, but you can catch her in New York and Jersey City).

Jordan Monroe, "Performance" (Baltimore)



Abigail Ekue, "Cigarro Tarde" (New York, Jersey City)



Stella Watts Kelley, "Teacher Appreciation" (New York, Jersey City)



Vierra Lai, "A Hint of Lime" (New York, Jersey City)



Annabeth Leong, "On Some Maps, But Not on Others" (New York, Jersey City)



Melina Greenport, "The House on Orchard"



Jocelyn Bringas, "Taste"



Kristy Harding, "Another Way to Start a Fire"



Kate Sebastian, "On the Calendar"



Corrine A. Silver, "Her Best"



Dorianne, "Like Lights in the Northern Sky"



Garnell Wallace, "Beautiful Broken Things"



Winter Blair, "At the End of the World"



Kay Jaybee, "Brick Dust"



Josie Jordan, "Volcano Nights"



And of course, please read or listen to Best Women's Erotica of the Year, Volume 2 for these authors' stories in all their full glory:

Amazon (print)

Kindle (ebook)

Bn.com (print)

Nook (ebook)

Powells

Books-a-Million

IndieBound (find your local independent bookstore)

Audible audiobook

Google Play

iBooks

Amazon UK (print)

Amazon UK (Kindle)

Amazon Canada (print)

Amazon Canada (Kindle)

Sale alert: 69 orgasm erotica stories for $1.99 in The Big Book of Orgasms this week only!

One of my favorite anthologies I've edited over the last 12 years is The Big Book of Orgasms: 69 Sexy Stories. It holds a very special place in my heart because the authors truly brought their A game and gave me everything I could have wanted and more. The orgasm erotica in this book is sexy, varied, surprising and extremely creative. I like to think it has a little something for everyone and this week it's only sale in ebook form for only $1.99 for Kindle, Nook, Google Play, iBooks and Kobo, so if you missed it the first time around, check it out now! And if you are an audiobook lover, check out the audio edition narrated by Rose Caraway. (Tip: if you buy the Kindle edition for $1.99, you can buy the audio edition for just $3.99.) Also, y books go on sale usually once or two a month (different titles), and you can get emailed every time they do by following me on BookBub.



Here's the book's official blurb and table of contents to give you more of an idea of what's in it:

What happens when you bring together 69 authors sharing their hottest orgasm stories? If you have top notch erotica editor Rachel Kramer Bussel, you get The Big Book of Orgasms! This climactic collection captures top erotica writers serving up steamy scenarios all focused on The Big O. Whether getting off from exhibitionism, voyeurism, or a very special pair of blue jeans, the characters in The Big Book of Orgasms explore all sorts of ways they can come. Go "Under the Table" with Elizabeth Coldwell and cheer for "The Pink Team" by Kelly Rand. Discover the thrill of hot wax and even hotter sex; these short stories bring the heat on every page! With a foreword by Ecstasy is Necessary author Barbara Carrellas, these are climaxes you'll want to relive again and again.

Dr. Ruth once said about Rachel Kramer Bussel, "she is only satisfied if you come and come again." With this rousing read, The Big Book of Orgasms counts all the wonderful ways women get off.

Introduction and Table of Contents to The Big Book of Orgasms

Foreword: Foreplay: Figments of Erotic Imagination by Barbara Carrellas
Introduction: Orgasm Is Just the Beginning

The Beginning B. D. Swain
How You Christen a Bed Thomas S. Roche
All You Do Is Play Annabeth Leong
Hard Knocks Malin James
The Gallery Exhibit Chris Komodo
White Preston Avery
Matinee Suleikha Snyder
All Talk Jenna Bright
Scarecrow Giselle Renarde
In Her Hands Tenille Brown
Remote Control Logan Zachary
Weathering the Storm Salome Wilde
Hellfire Valerie Alexander
Her Lover Is a Flame Cecilia Tan
Me Vengo! Mistress Kay
Count Out the Strokes Virgie Tovar
Steamy Tess Danesi
Payback Emerald
Come On Raziel Moore
The Pink Team Kelly Rand
Headache Sherry Reid
Pushing Boundaries on Public Transport Victoria Blisse
Runner’s High Sam Angioli
His Three Conditions Medea Mor
The Morning After David Salcido
Look at Yourself Maxine Marsh
Do It Again Sinclair Sexsmith
Under the Table Elizabeth Coldwell
Light Sleeper Mina Murray
The Big Cat Cecilia Duvalle
Opening Doors Thea Landen
Baxter’s Boy Xan West
Suds and a Two-Piece Bathing Suit Brantwijn Serrah
The Jeffrey Factor Stella Harris
Chains of Love Lily K. Cho
By the Beat T. Fox Dunham
Icing on the Cake Lula Lisbon
The Massage Lady Cheeky
Feast for the Senses Riley Shane
Squirt Evoë Thorne
Piano Man A. M. Hartnett
Out of Control Crystal Jordan
Tantric Home Dominic Santi
Queer for Mike Shane Allison
Meeting Cute Vanessa Madison
Cheryl Andreas Amsterdam
Beer and Orgasms Jeremy Edwards
Sullied Innocence Neve Black
The Rub Jon Fulton
The Park Elise Hepner
Coming Together: The Elusive Simultaneous Orgasm Jade Melisande
Meeting Myself Anya Levin
I Am Not Cruel J. Sinclaire
Cooling Agents Marina Saint
Seeing Is Believing Heidi Champa
The Velocity of Roaches Michael A. Gonzales
After the Funeral Jeanette Grey
There Sommer Marsden
Forced Orgasms Shoshanna Evers
Blue Jean Baby Eleanor Proctor
Learning Experience Kathleen Tudor
A Teachable Moment Walter Pratt
The Flogger Jade A. Waters
Book Lover Donna George Storey
Tied by Red Kay Jaybee
After Party Drew Griffiths
I’m on Fire Rachel Kramer Bussel
Should You Ever Be Allowed to Feel This Good? Lillian Ann Slugocki
The Final Challenge Heather Day

Orgasm Is Just the Beginning

As Barbara Carrellas writes, there are so many types of orgasms, more than any single book could cover, but within these pages, you will not only find numerous types of orgasms, as well as the varied characters who experience them, you will also discover different motivations for getting off. Some have a tried and true method, some are willing to take a chance on a new sexual practice—or partner. Some of these characters orgasm frequently; some are aching for the chance to share their body with another person. Some let their orgasms be controlled by a lover; some actively take control of their climaxes. “You amaze me,” the nameless protagonist of B.D. Swain’s opening story “The Beginning” proclaims. You—readers, authors, orgasmers—amaze me with your boundless sexual hunger and creativity. I’ve been writing and editing erotica for over a decade, but part of why it never gets old is because of the richness, diversity and nuance I find in the stories that come (no pun intended) my way. They fuel my own imagination and show me that I can always learn more about orgasm, about desire, about sex.

The format of 1,200 words or less means these are extremely short stories, but I hope you’ll find, like I did, that what they lack in length they make up for in hotness. As with my previous short-short anthology Gotta Have It: 69 Stories of Sudden Sex, all the pieces you hold in your hand, even the shortest ones (“The Park,” by Elise Hepner, clocks in at 249 words; “Her Lover Is a Flame,” by Cecilia Tan, at 308) offer a snapshot of eroticism that draws you completely into its folds. You might consider each one a teaser, an appetizer, the beginning of a fantasy world you can place yourself into and choose your own orgasmic adventure as you consider where the story might go after the last word printed on the page. Sometimes less is more, and if these stories leave you wanting to see them continued, that’s a good thing. They are, like the narrative in Swain’s opener states, “just the beginning.” Very likely you’ll find a type of orgasm, a sex toy, a scenario, a position, or a fantasy you’d like to see represented here that may not be. If so, please write yours and continue the conversation. If your orgasm doesn’t look or feel the way these characters’ climaxes do, that’s perfectly okay. I want to see us expand the possibilities for pleasure, orgasmic and otherwise, not add to the umpteen ways we’re told we “should” orgasm or have sex. Just as a physical orgasm, however you define or experience that sensation, doesn’t define the end of a sexual encounter, a literary orgasm should not mean you are done interacting with the story. I’ve re-read these pieces, and the numerous submissions I received for this book, multiple times, and each read offers me something new to consider. I envision The Big Book of Orgasm as one you’ll want to revisit, to pick up and read aloud from your favorites to a lover, to keep next to your bed, to tuck into your travel bag.

I’m especially pleased to be publishing so many authors in this collection for the first time in one of my anthologies. There is a power and depth to these voices that I hope resonates with you.

Rachel Kramer Bussel
New York City

I hope that at the very least made you curious about all those orgasms! Go ahead, check it out while it's on sale:

Kindle

Nook

Google Play

iBooks

Kobo

My erotic romance anthology Irresistible is $1.99 this week with stories by Tiffany Reisz,

I'm thrilled to share that my anthology Irresistible: Erotic Romance for Couples is only $1.99 on Kindle, Nook, Google Play, iBooks and Kobo this week. I hope you'll check it out if you missed it the first time. It's a very special collection that really pushes the boundaries of hotness and says something broader, in my opinion, about women's sexual desires. Happy reading!



Blurb:

This Irresistible read features stories of couples turning their deepest fantasies into reality for uninhibited and imaginative sex. You'll delight in discovering all the exciting erotic possibilities, and ways of getting and staying turned on. It all starts with a little sexting in A.M. Hartnett's sizzling "Safe for Work" office tryst and Cole Riley's moving "Same As It Ever Was" shows that makeup sex can be the start of something new and better. Dirty talk leads to lustful surprises and inspiration for the neighbors in "The Mitzvah" by Tiffany Reisz. Editor Rachel Kramer Bussel notes that the lovers in this daringly romantic anthology are "able to open up in the ways they do is precisely because they have another person to rely on, coax them, challenge them, tease them and seduce them into traveling down a new sexual path. Whether that means outdoor sex, kink, a trip to a strip club or a very sensual massage, we get to see how the layers of trust that have been built up get used to stoke the fire that burns between them."

Table of contents:

Introduction
Twice Shy Heidi Champa
Safe for Work A. M. Hartnett
Repaint the Night Janine Ashbless
Same As It Ever Was Cole Riley
Out of Control Karenna Colcroft
Warrior Kate Pearce
Hypocrites Alyssa Turner
The Pact Elizabeth Coldwell
Exposing Calvin Rachel Kramer Bussel
Six Eyes, Two Ears Kris Adams
Renewal Delilah Night
The Netherlands Justine Elyot
Predatory Tree Craig J. Sorensen
The Mitzvah Tiffany Reisz
After The Massage Kay Jaybee
Pink Satin Purse Donna George Storey

Introduction

A lot of the erotica that comes across my desk focuses on the spark of attraction when strangers meet, the cataclysmic sensation of falling, hard, for someone new and exciting. That makes sense, because there's built-in drama and erotic tension when two people discover there's intense chemistry between them. With this anthology, though, I wanted to explore what happens after that, once those people have been together a while (even a short while). I wanted to see what sparks fictional couples could produce on the page, and the results are, well, scorching.

The couples in this book explore all sorts of exciting sexual possibilities, and one of the main reasons they're able to open up in the ways they do is precisely because they have another person to rely on, coax them, challenge them, tease them and seduce them into traveling down a new sexual path. Whether that means outdoor sex, kink, a trip to a strip club or a very sensual massage, we get to see the ways the layers of trust that have been built up get used to stoke the fire that burns between them.

In addition to enjoying naughty, wild adventures, the couples here also work out differences between one another and handle issues like infidelity in ways that ultimately strengthen, rather than destroy, their relationships' longevity. In Cole Riley's "Same As It Ever Was," Joanne suspects her husband of cheating, but with a little help from her best friend, manages to recapture the sensual spirit and passion that's been missing as both husband and wife make amends and move on, knowing what it was they almost lost. Rekindling a romance that's threatened to go stale is also the theme of "Renewal" by Delilah Night, where she writes, "That touch sent a long-missing ripple through my body. I hesitated, hoping he'd remember what I love."

In "The Pact" by Elizabeth Coldwell, a woman rediscovers a man she'd once passed over, only to find that the years they've spent apart have made him someone she's sorry she overlooked. How a couple deals with a death in the family, as well as religious tradition, is the subject of "The Mitzvah" by Tiffany Reisz, as Grace and Zachary find that embracing desire can be healing. Kris Adams takes us into an African village and some complicated relationship dynamics, along with a lot of voyeurism, in "Six Eyes, Two Ears." Kay Jaybee takes a common fantasy, that of a man watching two women make love, and breathes new life into it by showing both halves of a couple as they live out this dream. Individual characters work through their own issues with the help of their partners, getting support, love and, of course, very hot sex. "Repaint the Night," by Janine Ashbless, is about public sex, but, even more, a woman who is conquering a fear of the dark after being mugged ten years before. The erotic power of that story is heightened by Leah's awe at being able to enjoy what she and Callum are sharing, as she recovers a part of herself she lost and deepens the level of trust between them. For those who likes things a bit spicier, there's "The Netherlands" by Justine Elyot, in which a nude Loveday serves guests tea and takes orders, while fulfilling a longtime fantasy of being "used," with her true love there to watch. Make no mistake: though these are stories about couples, they are not light or fluffy. They are full of joy, lust and kink, as well as realistic elements of mistrust, uncertainty and confusion, which the couples work through in ways that don't gloss over or ignore their differences. These couples, however long they've been a team, push the envelope by pushing themselves to try something new, even when they're not sure where it will lead them. They go to those exotic, erotic places, to those recurring fantasies, because they know they have someone who will travel there with them. I hope this book will inspire nighttime reading--out loud--and erotic adventures, as well as conversations that have been bubbling under the surface, waiting to be exposed, just like the fantasies in the tales you're about to read.

Rachel Kramer Bussel
New York City

I've got a brand new story in anthology For the Men edited by Rose Caraway

I have been focusing more on essay and article writing than my own erotic fiction lately due to time constraints so I'm thrilled to have a brand new story out in the world, the male point of view tale "Picturing You Naked" in For The Men And The Women Who Love Them edited by Rose Caraway. It's told in the second person and is about a very sexy speech given in a room full of people but with some erotic double entendres intended for one special person. I love experimenting like that and I was inspired by an article, which I no longer have handy, about how to give a speech. This is one way that might not fly in real life but was perfect, in my opinion, for fiction. Here's the first paragraph: "I'm picturing you naked, every lush curve, those lips that seem glossy and bee-stung even when you have nothing on them, the strip of red hair that matches the locks that drape against your shoulders. I'm picturing the way your ass juts out perfectly, especially when you stand in that way you often do so it reaches toward me, begging me to lay a hand on it. I'm picturing the gold ring emerging from your right nipple, the one that always tempts me to tug or flick or suck on it." It's out now as an ebook (and soon as an audiobook) and you can get it for Kindle, Smashwords and iBooks.



Follow @ForTheMenAntho on Twitter for updates. Hope you enjoy the book! Rose is wonderful to work with so writers, if you see a call for submissions from her out, I highly recommend submitting. She's @RoseCaraway on Twitter and her podcast is The Kiss Me Quick's.

Official blurb:

The Sexy Librarian, Rose Caraway presents an anthology intended for the fellas and the women who have an appetite for bold, adventurous erotic storytelling. Escape into the fantastic, the outlandish, and the literary. Get ready for; a space pirate, a cowgirl, an anxious odd man out, an undercover agent, lonely ghosts, a taxi driver with an unexpected topsy-turvy fare, a burly biker who just wants to be cuddled, a bride-to-be with one last oat to sow, The Devil offers a golden deal, a mysterious hitchhiker, strangers and a spontaneous three-way, and a reluctant hitman. You will find these and many more audacious characters playing out intense encounters.

Featured stories by: Allen Dusk, Jade A. Waters, Terrance Aldon Shaw, Tamsin Flowers, Landon Dixon, Sonnie de Soto, Adrea Kore, D. Lovejoy, Erin Pim, J.T. Seate, Spencer Dryden, Winter Blair, Simon Drax, Lynn Lake, Chase Morgan, Charlie Powell, Josie Jordan, Daily Hollow, Marc Angel, Rachel de Vine, D.L. King, Dorothy Freed, Rachel Kramer Bussel, T.J. Christian, and Emmanuelle de Maupassant.

My best writing advice for publishing in anthologies

It's been a whirlwind month, with my recent amazing vacation to Pittsburgh and then back to juggling my two part-time jobs, finalizing Best Women's Erotica of the Year, Volume 2 and booking tour dates (more to come, but we'll be at Skylight Books in Los Angeles January 31st at 7:30 pm!) and working on some new articles. So I'll just share my recent Lady Smut post on how to get published in anthologies, offering my top five pieces of writing advice if you're looking for a byline. And a reminder: I have two current Cleis Press calls for submissions and need many more stories to consider: Best Women's Erotica of the Year, Volume 3 and The Big Book of Submission, Volume 2.

How about some free erotica for your listening pleasure?

For the next few days, while my publisher switches distributors, my ebooks will be offline. They'll be back soon and I will be promoting them as I usually do, because even though I prefer print, I love that I can get the immediate gratification of an ebook purchase and save money so I can buy even more. So in the meantime, I wanted to share some free audio erotica read by my favorite narrator, Rose Caraway, from the book I'm most proud of, Best Women's Erotica of the Year, Volume 1. Right now I'm brainstorming about possible readings for Volume 2 as I finalize the table of contents and getting ready to make that launch a spectacular one (want to help in just two seconds? Add the book to your Goodreads want to read list!).

Not only do I love Rose Caraway's voice, but because she hosts The Kiss Me Quick's podcast, I get to share the stories from my book with the world for free. Of course, I hope listeners will then go on to buy the Best Women's Erotica of the Year 1 audiobook and listen to all 22 stories, but even if they don't, I'm so thrilled to work with Rose and by the high quality she brings to her recordings. (Fun news: more Rose and Rachel audiobooks are on the way! More on that soon.)



So I'm thrilled to share with you these three free stories: "The Carnalarium" by Rose Caraway, which you'll just have to listen to for yourself, because it's wild and creative and I don't know how to describe it "Two Doms for Dinner" by Dorothy Freed, based on her real-life BDSM kinky play as a submissive woman with two dominant men, and "Ophelia the Second" by Jade A. Waters, a Shakespeare themed erotica story. Click through to listen to them on Rose's site (yes, I know there's a way to embed them, but my time is short this morning so I'm posting these the fastest way possible).

Last day for $1.99 erotic romance sale plus watch the sexy kissing book trailer and read hot stories

Today is the final day of the Passion erotic romance $1.99 sale so if you want 20 sexy stories, get them now for Kindle, Nook, Google Play or Kobo (it's already back to regular price on iTunes though, sorry!).



Since the sale is ending shortly, make sure to check the price before buying and I will post when there's another sale up on my books! (In other sale news, sometimes my print book prices drop drastically and then change quickly. It's hard to tell when or why this happens so I do try to spread the word and right now, as of this posting, you can get Best Bondage Erotica 2011 in print for under $6, if either of those are your cup of tea or you want to get someone a kinky gift.)

Whether you take advantage of the sale or not, I wanted to share the book trailer and five sexy passages from the book. It is National Masturbation Month, after all!

The kissing-filled book trailer. So many memories!



Here's a few sexy passages I particularly enjoyed:

From "My Dark Knight" by Jacqueline Applebee

“You must think I’m weird, but I’m really into the whole reenactment scene.”

“I don’t think you’re weird, it’s just a bit unexpected,” I explained, but Omar looked at me warily. “I just never believed I’d meet a knight in shining armor.” It was true, I’d heard of reenactment fans, but I’d always pictured them as geeky white boys running around a field, hitting each other with wooden swords. “Hey, are you a black knight?” I asked jokingly.

Omar rolled his eyes, although he still smiled. “Sure I am. Why do you think they called it the Dark Ages?” I hit his arm playfully as he continued. “The armor is European, but there were plenty of knights in Africa; the ancient kingdom of Bornu and Sokoto had armored soldiers on horseback who were feared throughout the land.” He closed the distance between us as his voice dropped. “But I like the whole age of chivalry, the romance and the adventure that English knights embodied,” he murmured against me. “My fair princess,” he whispered, and then no more words were said as we kissed. Everything I had ever dreamt about Omar was eclipsed as his adventurous mouth pressed against mine. His tongue touched me, swept over my teeth and sucked on my lips. I found myself making contented noises as he held me tight. This was better than any fantasy I could have.

I felt the heat of the evening as Omar’s hands stroked my back. I felt sweaty, a little disheveled but completely wonderful. I pulled off my top and stepped out of my shoes. Omar looked lovingly at my breasts before he kissed first one and then the other through the lace of my bra. He then dragged his T-shirt off, messing up his short hair as he did. I wondered briefly what he must look like wearing the armor.

“Bed,” he whispered urgently. I nodded my head.

Omar held me about the waist, and then he shocked the life out of me as he lifted me up and put me over his shoulder. The whole room seemed to tip upside down as I was carried bodily to the bedroom.

Omar carefully let me down, and I lay giggling and panting on top of the bed. I shuffled out of my skirt and watched as Omar pulled down his trousers. I’ve seen a naked man before, but as Omar disrobed, I suddenly felt incredibly shy. He was so visibly turned on that I couldn’t tear my eyes away from his cock.

“I’ve got some protection,” he said shyly. “I didn’t want to assume, but I thought it best.” Omar opened his hand and produced a little foil packet. He may have enjoyed being a knight of old, but he was a thoroughly modern man.

Omar clutched at my backside. “I’ve been longing to feel this,” he said, giving my bum a squeeze. “I’ve wanted to stroke it, lick it and spank it,” he said with a hoarse voice. I was completely surprised at his admission; I’d never thought my backside was anything special. I’d certainly never had anyone want to spank it before.

“You can, if you like,” I whispered, nervously looking up at him. “You can spank me.”

From "The Silver Belt" by Lana Fox

Now here she was in the silver belt that both kept her and frustrated her. The cord around her wrists dug blissfully deep and as she rolled onto her back, the silver belt groaned, its weight like a metal collar, its links gripping her through the open dress. She raised a leg, which burst more buttons, and flexed her foot inside the stiletto. Candlelight danced across her body as Art returned to her side, half-undressed, his chest now dark and bare. Kneeling, he circled her ankle with the whole of his hand and drew it away, opening her thighs. He knelt between her knees, his eyes flicking across her body, and, in a soft growl, explained that he would fuck her until she could take no more: “…until you’ve had your fill.”

Then, in sudden frenzy and without touching the belt, he began to tear the dress from her, his swelling biceps tightening as he worked, his skin gleaming as the candlelight swept across him. Soon she was half-bare in black silk lingerie edged with lace, and stockings teamed with garter belt and stilettos. He raised her bound wrists high above her head and, rubbing her nipple beneath the black silk so it pressed against the pad of his thumb, he fell on her, biting her shoulder, her neck and the cleavage that swelled from the delicate lace. He unzipped himself and fell on her wildly, entering her so swiftly that she cried out, pleading for his frenzy. Suddenly he was rutting with the power of a lion, telling her through shuddery breath that he’d often seen her in the store and had dreamed of possessing her many times but he’d held back because of the ring on her finger, glinting there, like a trap. “What changed your mind?” she asked.

“I couldn’t bear how sad you looked.”

The silver belt leapt on her waist as his body lunged against it, again and again, and with her bound wrists raised above her head, he pulled out of her, groaning and fell on her breasts, peeling back the lacy cups of her bra. “You’re exquisite,” he whispered, licking her nipple with the flat of his tongue. She glanced down at his dark, muscular back, where the skin was glossed with perspiration, then at her saliva-streaked breast, and she felt a wonderful burn in her pussy.

“Take me,” she pleaded. She strained at her ropes, longing to touch her clit, but this only caused them to dig more deeply.

From "Lingua Franca" by Justine Elyot

Instantly I am caught up in his embrace once more, my legs held up by his in case they give way, which is not unlikely. He walks me backward, painstakingly, until I fall onto one of the red plush sofas, and then he is looming over me, one hand next to my head, preventing my escape, and the other takes hold of my white uniform blouse and rips it open. A pearl button pings onto a nearby table and I gasp, part thrilled and part outraged. “Karel!”

“I sew it,” he grins, then his head is down there, his hair brushing my throat while he explores my cleavage with the full force of his lips and tongue. His hand works busily at my other buttons, undoing them in a less destructive way, until my lace bra is exposed to him, and his stubble prickles downward, seeking out the overspill of my breasts.

He lures my nipples out of the cups using the tip of his tongue, licking and sucking, taking his time, savoring the flavor. I plant my fingers in his hair, which is reddish-brown and falls over his brow, plentiful and sometimes a little lank. I stroke and knead automatically, my wits absent, all of me concentrated at my nerve endings, especially those between my legs.

He seems to understand instinctively that attention is needed there. He lays me down along the length of the sofa, pulling off my skirt and burying his face in my belly while his fingers stray down beyond the elastic waistband of my knickers. They almost dance, they are so light and nimble. I arch my back and squirm, inviting him to increase the pressure and move on downward, but he loves to tease me and watch my expression as it grows more frantic with need, laughing softly, looking up at me through the valley of my breasts. “Touch me,” I gasp.

Read these stories in full plus 17 more sexy tales in Passion: Erotic Romance for Women (of course male readers are more than welcome!). Right now it's only $1.99 for Kindle, Nook, Google Play or Kobo but you can also get Passion in print and audiobook form.

Ebook sale alert: My BDSM erotica anthology Yes, Sir: Erotic Stories of Female Submission is $1.99 this week!

New week, new kinky book of mine on sale! Get Yes, Sir: Erotic Stories of Female Submission for just $1.99 on Amazon, Nook, Google Play, iBooks and Kobo. I love this book and how creative the BDSM is in it and if you are interested in BDSM or curious about it, I think you'll like it too. And if you do, I will shamelessly ask that you leave a review wherever you bought it; even a sentence helps new readers find my books, which in turn helps me get more book deals to keep editing them. This is an oldie but goodie that I treasure and I love that these stories read as novel to me as when I first edited them back in 2007 (the book came out in 2008). Thank you!



Table of Contents
Introduction: Ready to Say Yes, (Sir)
The Art of Darkness • Alison Tyler
Dear Professor Pervert • Donna George Storey
A Necessary Connection • Debra Hyde
The Editor • Amanda Earl
Ribbons • Kathryn O’Halloran
The Day I Came in Public • D. L. King
Lunch • Elizabeth Coldwell
When Penny Met Harry • Stan Kent
The Power of No • Teresa Noelle Roberts
In the Corner • Sommer Marsden
Stuck at Work and Late for a Date • Chelsea Summers
Running Wild • Shanna Germain
Pink Is the Enemy • Jocelyn Bringas
Sitting on Ice Cream • Lisette Ashton
Under His Hand, I Blossom • Nikki Magennis
Make Me • Rachel Kramer Bussel
Body Electric • Lisabet Sarai
Reclaiming the Sofa • Maddy Stuart
How Bad Do You Want It? • Gwen Masters

When I started working on Yes, Sir, I didn’t expect the title phrase to be taken as a literal motto, but more as a call to arms (or rather, to surrender one’s arms) for submissive women who seek out dominant men. I intended Yes, Sir and its companion volume Yes, Ma’am to be the bottoms’ answer to my previous collections He’s on Top and She’s on Top, to showcase our fantasies, desires, and deepest wishes. I wanted those of us who love to be tied up, spanked, blindfolded, bound, or “used” for another’s pleasure, to tell it like it is, to explore why and how we get off in these ways, and the authors presented here gave me what I was looking for—and more.

Here you’ll find all sorts of women for whom their own personal Sirs (or Masters or Daddies) hold the reins to their erotic pleasure. For them, saying yes (or a bratty, defiant no for which they’ll be duly punished) is as powerful as a good, hard smack on the ass. They give up control in all kinds of ways, from letting their doms decide who they’ll fuck to when they’ll come to which color panties are acceptable—and which aren’t. In one of these stories (you’ll have to keep reading to figure out which one), playing at Sir, having your lover become the Sir of your dreams when real life may dictate otherwise, lets the two players take their kink to a whole new level.

Some are old pros at BDSM, and have had many masters, while for others, the language of domination and submission is a novelty. They may not know exactly why they thrill to being told what to do, but they know for sure that they like it, as in the case of the newbie in “Sitting on Ice Cream.” D. L. King’s Libby overcomes her natural shyness in “The Day I Came in Public,” proving that the very acts she first scoffs at are ones that give her no end of delight. It’s almost as if the doms who enter their lives see the potential for submission in these women, and want to bring it forth for their own naughty motives, along with making the women come harder than they ever have before.

The inherent power dynamics of the classroom are brought to light in Donna George Storey’s “Dear Professor Pervert,” a story in which, once official class time ends, the real learning (about everything from masturbation to butt plugs) begins, as well as in Lisabet Sarai’s “Body Electric,” wherein a prominent professor shows a colleague his very intriguing “apparatus.” In Sommer Marsden’s “In the Corner,” the man who first introduced Amelia to kink lures her away from her current “nice guy” date.

These women aren’t pushovers by any means. They make rules and negotiate with their masters, though sometimes they also get off on being pushed just a little too far by men they know they can trust. In “The Art of Darkness,” Alison Tyler writes, “Once Killian understood my fear, his mission became not to save me from my phobia, but to exploit it, every chance he could.” She objects, but when she finally surrenders, she experiences a whole new world, where a blindfold is the path to ecstasy. And the woman who lets her man dictate her meals in Elizabeth Coldwell’s delicious “Lunch”? Well, she knows exactly what she’s doing. “I could go home and just tell Michael I’d done as he instructed. But he would know. He always knows when I try to disobey him, however careful or sneaky I try to be.” In other words, she’s not doing what he says simply because he says it, but because something inside her gets off on obeying. So too in Shanna Germain’s story, the protagonist makes an active choice to go where her inner ache to submit compels her: “‘Follow,’ he said. Something in me resisted, but the power of his voice, the way he walked away from me as though he knew I would trail after him, made it so I couldn’t say no.” And the woman getting fucked on the sofa in Maddy Stuart’s short, sexy tale flinches at the words slut and whore, even as her body responds to them. This duality, with the brain protesting but the blood rushing to the surface, is also part of the thrill of submission, especially for strong, powerful women.

These writers make clear just how much their characters get off when they say “Yes, Sir,” whether literally or figuratively. Sure, they may be doing their masters’ bidding, but the masters are often doing the subs, in their own way, as well, making them ache, moan, quiver, and, yes, come. They know just how to draw out their subs’ pleasure (and pain), how to make the most of a woman whether she’s on her knees, or bent over, or at her computer waiting for the next command. They know that denial, temptation, and frustration can be the most arousing acts of all. They know that, as Teresa Noelle Roberts puts it, “The Power of No” can often be just as hot as the power of yes. Gwen Masters asks in her title, “How Bad Do You Want It?”

I turn that question over to you, dear reader. How bad do you want to be bound, gagged, spanked, or slapped? How bad do you want to have your hair pulled, your nipples clamped, your body strung up? How bad do you want to pant, gasp, scream, and squirm? How bad do you want to turn over some part of yourself to a man just dying to strip you bare and take you somewhere you’ve never been? I don’t know about you, but I want all of those things, very much, and, I’m thankful to say, I (and you) have them all right here. Just turn the page, and be prepared not to get up for a good long while.

Rachel Kramer Bussel
New York City

Why "A New Canvas" by Tara Betts opens Best Women's Erotica of the Year, Volume 1 plus free excerpt

I'm devoting this year to promoting the book I'm most proud of, Best Women's Erotica of the Year, Volume 1, and the next few weeks to getting as many women erotica writers from around the world to submit their stories to Volume 2 (the call for submissions is here; deadline is April 1). As part of that, and to give a sense of why I've chosen the stories I have for this first volume, I'm going to be blogging about each of them this month. I also want to give these authors the praise they deserve.



I'm starting with the first story, "A New Canvas" by Tara Betts, and I want to encourage you to come hear her read from it live on March 31st at from 6 to 7:30 pm at The Pleasure Chest in Chicago. Can't make it? Please help spread the word! In my ideal world, one that would require being independently wealthy, I would travel all over and do readings with every author in the book. Since I live in the real world, I can only do a limited number of readings, so I want to make those as spectacular as I possibly can. So if you live in Chicago, will be there for CatalystCon, or know anyone there who'd appreciate a free, sexy erotica reading, please let them know.

There were a few things I liked about this story. One was that it was about friends forging forward with a sexual relationship they've danced around. That part felt very realistic to me; Angela and Troy aren't star-crossed lovers or over-the-top romantics, but friends who are attracted to each other. I also liked how art played a role in their seduction dance; it's both creative and intimate and gives the reader time to get drawn into what's happening. There's also an element of awe that this is actually happening which I appreciated, such as when Betts writes, "Angela's mouth fell open. She was still stunned that her tea kettle might not be the only vessel making a high-pitched sound."

One of the things I balance in my anthologies is who's telling the stories. This opening story is in the third person, and Betts does something that's not easy to do, which is seamlessly give us insight into two characters at once. While Troy is drawing on Angela, there's this sentence: "He loved how every word fell from her tongue, and he wondered what her babies might be like inside her." There is a tenderness and passion in this story that certainly goes beyond sex, which I especially appreciated because it closes on an open-ended note. Betts captures how powerful a sexual encounter can be even when two people are not in an official relationship, but are engaging in much more than a hookup.

I chose this story to open the book for two reasons: One was the title, "A New Canvas," which signified a beginning to me. This is the beginning of a new aspect of their relationship, although it's one that's been simmering. The other reason is that for those who either use the "look inside" feature on Amazon or otherwise read the first few pages or pick up the book in a bookstore and start reading, they will see from the very beginning that even though the cover model is white, this is not just a book of white women's erotica, nor will Volume 2 be.

I wanted readers who, whether they read the whole book or not, to pick it up and know that there are diverse characters and scenarios. And that those who found the book lacking in certain aspects of women's lives or sexualities will submit stories precisely about what they found missing in the first volume. I'm honored that I have the opportunity to edit another book in this series, and it's not something I take lightly. I received over 200 submissions to Volume 1, and I hope to receive as many, if not more, this time around, and will do my best to create a book that is a complement to this first volume, and one that will appeal to as wide a range of readers as I can manage in my limited word count.

Here's a short excerpt from "A New Canvas" by Tara Betts, which you can read in full in print, ebook and, very soon, listen to in audiobook form, in Best Women's Erotica of the Year, Volume 1 from Cleis Press.

Excerpt of "A New Canvas" by Tara Betts:

At first, the cool, firm tip of each pen chilled her skin. She felt the goosebumps rise as he wrote Uhuru, the Swahili word for freedom, on her left forearm. He colored in the purple letters with pink and blue chevron-like stripes. He moved on to the right forearm and wrote if, the Yoruba word for love, in black. He colored in that shorter word with red and green. On the left side, he started drawing a purple arrow along the length of her body toward the pubic bone. "Directions for later," Troy explained. When he was done drawing that arrow, he capped the pen and traced the tip around the lips of her opening, which had been wet when he began. He stroked her clitoris a few times with the pen and Angela shuddered. When he touched her with his fingers, he smiled, reached for the black pen and drew the second arrow between her breasts, right next to the purple one.

Just above the collarbone, he etched in a purple and navy skyline, but included an array of tiny gold stars across her hips. A few outlined the constellation Cassiopeia between her shoulder and breast. When he got to her thighs, he started to sketch out anatomical images of the brain and the heart on one side and the uterus and tongue not he other. He leaned over and kissed her, and told her that her eyes and lips always drew him in, but the brain and the heart made it better

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