Rachel Kramer Bussel's Blog, page 136
December 4, 2011
Married people erotica, or hot champagne sex in my Best Erotic Romance story
The other day I discovered a review of my book /Best Bondage Erotica 2011 by Steve in Pennsylvania on Amazon that said:
Wished there were some stories from real couples in long-term monogamous relationships. Almost every story is kinky, disconnected sex. Empty and sad to someone like me in a good, loving marriage. Apparently, erotica doesn't exist for married couples. Unfortunate, because the stories here don't touch the excitement found in a committed, trusting relationship.
This incensed me, and I ranted on Tumblr about it. Then I started reading the new Kristina Wright anthology Best Erotic Romance , which I highly recommend, and found some pretty hot married sex in my story "Our Own Private Champagne Room," about a wife who's jealous of her husband's strip club past that she just found out about, and sets about creating the title setting, with, I think, some pretty hot results. And let me just say that I think even the kinkiest, filthiest sex can be about "lovemaking" in the sense of intimacy and connection; for me, it certainly has been, sometimes even more so than moments of what would more traditionally called "lovemaking." I'm so, so over both the division of "loving sex" and "casual sex" as well as "making love" and "fucking," not to mention the denigration of the latter, along with the bazillion other ways our culture is so damn prudish it makes me ashamed to live in it sometimes. Now, this person is totally entitled to their opinion and I wish them luck in their quest for married people erotica, but I'm over trying to engage someone like that, but I will engage you, if you're reading this.
From "Our Own Private Champagne Room" by me:
I put down the bottle and again climb up next to my husband, straddling him, and offer him a champagne-soaked nipple. He greedily takes it in his mouth. I reach for his hands and place them on my ass. He grabs me like he hasn't grabbed me in years. His lips, his hands, his cock presing up against me, are all reminders of what I want us to be like again. The fire didn't exactly go out, but it has fizzled, and only when I hear the roar release from his lips, then feel Derek tearing my nightie right down the middle, do I realize exactly how much I've missed it.
He doesn't say anything, doesn't try to reassure me with words. Instead he lifts me up, my legs wrapped around him, the wet filmy fabric clinging to me. He doesn't bring me to the bed, but instead slams me up against the wall. He keeps me pinned there while undoing his pants. "Is this what you want, Sarah? You want me right here, like this?"
"Yes, yes, yes," I cry when he shifts me just so and places the tip of his cock inside me. He is lighting the spark that is making our relationship explode, making it crackle and sizzle and burn the way it should have been all along. I know has he plunges inside me, holding me tight, his face buried in my neck, that no matter what happened in those champagne rooms, it was never like this. Derek pounds into me, overtaking me, and I cling to him, my thighs straining, my nails digging into his back.
He is fucking me, that's the only way to describe this, yet in his its way, his fucking is lovemaking too. It's the kind of fucking a couple can engage in who knows that there is no one else they'd rather be with, so they can slam and rock and thrust and claw, scream and pound and yell and bite, and be assured that the other person wants every ounce of ferocious, almost violent energy they have to share. He doesn't say anything, not even my name, just growls into my ear, a sound that's so beautiful I start to cry a little when I come. He used to tell me not to cry, but now he knows that when it happens, it means I'm so overwhelmed with not just love and lust but destiny, rightness, perfection, that I can do nothing else. I squeeze him hard, and then I come again when he starts to fill me with his passion. He stops thrusting and simply lets himself be inside me, making me his and telling me he's mine.
And if you like erotic romance, do also check out my books Passion: Erotic Romance for Women and Obsessed: Erotic Romance for Women (and guess what? both my stories, "Five Senses" and "I Want to Hold Your Hand," respectively, have, yes, married couples having sex!).
Wished there were some stories from real couples in long-term monogamous relationships. Almost every story is kinky, disconnected sex. Empty and sad to someone like me in a good, loving marriage. Apparently, erotica doesn't exist for married couples. Unfortunate, because the stories here don't touch the excitement found in a committed, trusting relationship.
This incensed me, and I ranted on Tumblr about it. Then I started reading the new Kristina Wright anthology Best Erotic Romance , which I highly recommend, and found some pretty hot married sex in my story "Our Own Private Champagne Room," about a wife who's jealous of her husband's strip club past that she just found out about, and sets about creating the title setting, with, I think, some pretty hot results. And let me just say that I think even the kinkiest, filthiest sex can be about "lovemaking" in the sense of intimacy and connection; for me, it certainly has been, sometimes even more so than moments of what would more traditionally called "lovemaking." I'm so, so over both the division of "loving sex" and "casual sex" as well as "making love" and "fucking," not to mention the denigration of the latter, along with the bazillion other ways our culture is so damn prudish it makes me ashamed to live in it sometimes. Now, this person is totally entitled to their opinion and I wish them luck in their quest for married people erotica, but I'm over trying to engage someone like that, but I will engage you, if you're reading this.
From "Our Own Private Champagne Room" by me:
I put down the bottle and again climb up next to my husband, straddling him, and offer him a champagne-soaked nipple. He greedily takes it in his mouth. I reach for his hands and place them on my ass. He grabs me like he hasn't grabbed me in years. His lips, his hands, his cock presing up against me, are all reminders of what I want us to be like again. The fire didn't exactly go out, but it has fizzled, and only when I hear the roar release from his lips, then feel Derek tearing my nightie right down the middle, do I realize exactly how much I've missed it.
He doesn't say anything, doesn't try to reassure me with words. Instead he lifts me up, my legs wrapped around him, the wet filmy fabric clinging to me. He doesn't bring me to the bed, but instead slams me up against the wall. He keeps me pinned there while undoing his pants. "Is this what you want, Sarah? You want me right here, like this?"
"Yes, yes, yes," I cry when he shifts me just so and places the tip of his cock inside me. He is lighting the spark that is making our relationship explode, making it crackle and sizzle and burn the way it should have been all along. I know has he plunges inside me, holding me tight, his face buried in my neck, that no matter what happened in those champagne rooms, it was never like this. Derek pounds into me, overtaking me, and I cling to him, my thighs straining, my nails digging into his back.
He is fucking me, that's the only way to describe this, yet in his its way, his fucking is lovemaking too. It's the kind of fucking a couple can engage in who knows that there is no one else they'd rather be with, so they can slam and rock and thrust and claw, scream and pound and yell and bite, and be assured that the other person wants every ounce of ferocious, almost violent energy they have to share. He doesn't say anything, not even my name, just growls into my ear, a sound that's so beautiful I start to cry a little when I come. He used to tell me not to cry, but now he knows that when it happens, it means I'm so overwhelmed with not just love and lust but destiny, rightness, perfection, that I can do nothing else. I squeeze him hard, and then I come again when he starts to fill me with his passion. He stops thrusting and simply lets himself be inside me, making me his and telling me he's mine.
And if you like erotic romance, do also check out my books Passion: Erotic Romance for Women and Obsessed: Erotic Romance for Women (and guess what? both my stories, "Five Senses" and "I Want to Hold Your Hand," respectively, have, yes, married couples having sex!).
December 3, 2011
Theater mania
Some shows I'm planning to see:
Tuesday's Benjamin Kunkel play reading Buzz, directed by Adam Rapp - free at Cherry Lane Theatre! Sign up for the Rattlestick Playwrights Theater mailing list to get details to RSVP. Free readings Tuesdays at 2 p.m. at Cherry Lane.
A Molly Jolly Christmas - I saw Molly's (aka Andrea Alton's) solo show earlier this year and loved it. And hello, Christmas sweater!
A MOLLY JOLLY CHRISTMAS is poet/security guard Molly "Equality" Dykeman's first Christmas variety show. Will she be able to muck her way through musical numbers, choreography, and a glittering array of guest stars in the Percocet-fogged haze that is her mind? Will she finally land the lady...or ladies... of her dreams? Will the chef at the Laurie Beechman Theatre agree to serve her beloved nachos?
Some Girls by Neil LaBute - benefit for To Write Love on Her Arms - tickets here
The Holy Land Experience by Martin Dockery
From a religious theme park in Orlando to Christmas Day in Bethlehem comes one man's ineptly comic and exhilarating pursuit of forgiveness.
In his latest all-true theatrical monologue, Dockery wrestles with his own lies and infidelities as he comically explores the profane and profound in the biblical story of Jesus. Traveling from a theme park where hundreds of tourists watch as Jesus is crucified daily to the town where a billion people celebrate his birth annually, Dockery attempts to get inside the mind of a man who lived 2000 years ago, if he ever lived at all.
Not sure if I'll have time, but after catching the infamous Bread and Puppet Theater last night at Occupy Broadway (happening til 6 pm today at 50th/Broadway, a cozy space with readings of the First Amendment on the hour every hour - bring a hat, cause it's chilly out), I'd like to check them out at Theater for the New City:
For the 40th year, Peter Schumann's Bread and Puppet Theater (www.breadandpuppet.org) will return to Theater for the New City with two new works, one for adults and one for family audiences.
For adults it's "Attica" and "Man of Flesh and Cardboard." For the 40th anniversary of the Attica prison uprising, Bread & Puppet presents "Attica," which was created 40 years ago in direct response to the massacre and first performed in Bread and Puppet's Coney Island theater. The second part of the program, "Man of Flesh & Cardboard," is about PFC Bradley Manning, the soldier who was incarcerated for supplying restricted material to WikiLeaks. He is accused of war crimes because he brought war crimes to the light of day.
For family audiences it's "Man = Carrot Circus," based on the revelation that an upright man rooted in dirt was created in the image of the upright carrot rooted in dirt. The production is recommended for audiences ages 1 to 101. See excerpts on Vimeo: http://vimeo.com/27030804
http://vimeo.com/28232860
Both shows will be performed by the Bread & Puppet Company and a large number of local volunteers. The theater will be decorated with the unique Bread and Puppet collection of powerful black-line posters, banners, masks, curtains, programs and set-props. Once again, all pieces will be created by Schumann with input from the company. Both plays will be accompanied by singing and miscellaneous gongs and horns. Schumann will sculpt and paint all of the major masks and puppets.
Bread and Puppet Theater is an internationally recognized company that champions a visually rich, street-theater brand of performance art that filled with music, dance and slapstick. Its shows are political and spectacular, with huge puppets made of paper maché and cardboard; a brass band for accompaniment, and anti-elitist dance. Most are morality plays--about how people act toward each other--whose prototype is "Everyman." There are puppets of all kinds and sizes, masks, sculptural costumes, paintings, buildings and landscapes that seemingly breathe with Schumann's distinctive visual style of dance, expressionism, dark humor and low-culture simplicity.
"Attica," the prologue of "Man of Flesh and Cardboard," will be be a revival of a show that Peter Schumann made about the prison riots at the Attica Correctional Facility in 1971. This year is the 40th anniversary of the riots and Bread and Puppet performed the first version of the show a few days after the them. A more detailed version was done in 1972.
Tuesday's Benjamin Kunkel play reading Buzz, directed by Adam Rapp - free at Cherry Lane Theatre! Sign up for the Rattlestick Playwrights Theater mailing list to get details to RSVP. Free readings Tuesdays at 2 p.m. at Cherry Lane.
A Molly Jolly Christmas - I saw Molly's (aka Andrea Alton's) solo show earlier this year and loved it. And hello, Christmas sweater!
A MOLLY JOLLY CHRISTMAS is poet/security guard Molly "Equality" Dykeman's first Christmas variety show. Will she be able to muck her way through musical numbers, choreography, and a glittering array of guest stars in the Percocet-fogged haze that is her mind? Will she finally land the lady...or ladies... of her dreams? Will the chef at the Laurie Beechman Theatre agree to serve her beloved nachos?
Some Girls by Neil LaBute - benefit for To Write Love on Her Arms - tickets here
Nunya Productions LLC Presents
Some Girl(s) By Neil Labute, A Benefit Play For Twloha
Thursday, December 08, 2011 through Saturday, December 17, 2011
Great Theatre for a Great Cause.
Length: 2 hrs 00 mins
Intermission: Yes
Seating: General Admission
You choose your seats when you get to the theater.
The first time this version of Some Girl(s) is being produced in NYC!
A young writer is about to get married but first decides to visit ex girlfriends around the country before taking the big plunge!
Q: What is To Write Love on Her Arms?A: To Write Love on Her Arms is a non-profit movement dedicated to presenting hope and finding help for people struggling with depression, addiction, self-injury and suicide. TWLOHA exists to encourage, inform, inspire, and also to invest directly into treatment and recovery.
The Holy Land Experience by Martin Dockery
From a religious theme park in Orlando to Christmas Day in Bethlehem comes one man's ineptly comic and exhilarating pursuit of forgiveness.
In his latest all-true theatrical monologue, Dockery wrestles with his own lies and infidelities as he comically explores the profane and profound in the biblical story of Jesus. Traveling from a theme park where hundreds of tourists watch as Jesus is crucified daily to the town where a billion people celebrate his birth annually, Dockery attempts to get inside the mind of a man who lived 2000 years ago, if he ever lived at all.
Not sure if I'll have time, but after catching the infamous Bread and Puppet Theater last night at Occupy Broadway (happening til 6 pm today at 50th/Broadway, a cozy space with readings of the First Amendment on the hour every hour - bring a hat, cause it's chilly out), I'd like to check them out at Theater for the New City:
For the 40th year, Peter Schumann's Bread and Puppet Theater (www.breadandpuppet.org) will return to Theater for the New City with two new works, one for adults and one for family audiences.
For adults it's "Attica" and "Man of Flesh and Cardboard." For the 40th anniversary of the Attica prison uprising, Bread & Puppet presents "Attica," which was created 40 years ago in direct response to the massacre and first performed in Bread and Puppet's Coney Island theater. The second part of the program, "Man of Flesh & Cardboard," is about PFC Bradley Manning, the soldier who was incarcerated for supplying restricted material to WikiLeaks. He is accused of war crimes because he brought war crimes to the light of day.
For family audiences it's "Man = Carrot Circus," based on the revelation that an upright man rooted in dirt was created in the image of the upright carrot rooted in dirt. The production is recommended for audiences ages 1 to 101. See excerpts on Vimeo: http://vimeo.com/27030804
http://vimeo.com/28232860
Both shows will be performed by the Bread & Puppet Company and a large number of local volunteers. The theater will be decorated with the unique Bread and Puppet collection of powerful black-line posters, banners, masks, curtains, programs and set-props. Once again, all pieces will be created by Schumann with input from the company. Both plays will be accompanied by singing and miscellaneous gongs and horns. Schumann will sculpt and paint all of the major masks and puppets.
Bread and Puppet Theater is an internationally recognized company that champions a visually rich, street-theater brand of performance art that filled with music, dance and slapstick. Its shows are political and spectacular, with huge puppets made of paper maché and cardboard; a brass band for accompaniment, and anti-elitist dance. Most are morality plays--about how people act toward each other--whose prototype is "Everyman." There are puppets of all kinds and sizes, masks, sculptural costumes, paintings, buildings and landscapes that seemingly breathe with Schumann's distinctive visual style of dance, expressionism, dark humor and low-culture simplicity.
"Attica," the prologue of "Man of Flesh and Cardboard," will be be a revival of a show that Peter Schumann made about the prison riots at the Attica Correctional Facility in 1971. This year is the 40th anniversary of the riots and Bread and Puppet performed the first version of the show a few days after the them. A more detailed version was done in 1972.
December 2, 2011
Laying it down
So...things are pretty crazy right now. Sending out my resume, finishing books, brainstorming short stories and essays, trying to enjoy the sunshine, finding good cafes to work at. Insomnia, dating, just trying to get a handle on everything. I want to write about last month's panic attack and my trip to Portland and my tattoo. I have so many ideas and sometimes that is my downfall. I am so afraid, more so now than I ever was as a silly teenager who thought her opinions were oh so important. I see now that I was obnoxious and precocious back then but I was young and not so self-conscious. Now I'm so fearful that even picking up the phone to call someone who is expecting my call is dead fucking scary. I wish I had a degree to back me up, some piece of paper that said, I did it. Instead I have debt and interest and my waiting week of unemployment. I have time that I should be using but every second I don't use feels like I'm wasting my limited time on earth. There are moments of bliss, moments when it all connects, or moments when it doesn't but I can see into the future, even five minutes out, to when the universe might alone in my favor. It's getting through those five minutes that's hard.
I was just glancing at my blog and thinking, "how ugly and outdated." It's true, I know that. But I am stretched pretty thin right now. I pay a publicist to make sure Best Sex Writing 2012 actually sells some damn copies. I pay my assistant to get my books proofread and keep my life in order. I'm going to Wisconsin in February and some conferences in March. I feel like my money is already all spoken for; there isn't any left to ponder something that feels silly and flighty and frivolous. I feel way too frivolous these days, and I trying to be stronger and prouder and tougher, while also, literally, wearing my heart on my sleeve. The stoic part of me that wants to stare down the hard things and never blink, never cry, never flinch, wars with the side of me that collapses at the first hint of trouble.
All this to say, this year has been all over the map. My heart, my head, my career. I have no idea where any of those are going next. I am just trying to get through each day and be grateful and humble, to learn about myself, to not get so stuck in the darkness I can't see the light. I stayed up til 4 the other night, partly because of coffee, partly because I wasn't at home. It was quiet and beautiful yet I kept asking myself, "Is this where I'm supposed to be?" Putting myself, literally and figuratively, into anyone else's hands is not something I'm all that comfortable with. I hate giving up any of myself because I know what can happen, and I mean that in the positive and negative senses. I feel on this great precipice and yes, having the power to decide which way to go, all the way fucking down to rock bottom or all the way up, is both a power trip and one that makes me cringe. I eavesdrop on two writers at Gimme Coffee and think, "I wish I had your vision, your ambition, your life. I wish I knew your secrets." But I only know my own. I know that I will stay stuck, in this limbo lifeless place, unless I write it all down, the good, the bad, the ugly. Not in a vicious way, not in a purging demons way, but in a way that leads me forward, somewhere that is new and different from the past, somewhere that takes me into a place I haven't been before.
This year has been so full of irony and madness and love and hard choices and loss. Beauty and laughter and dresses and cupcakes too. I want to take this year of double chai and truly celebrate it by being doubly alive, rather than sleeping the day away in my sunny bed because I'm so afraid to try, so sure that nobody will ever want my words, or me. I think what I figured out on that couch at 4 am was the lesson I keep needing to learn; that I have to accept myself, be okay with being the girl with her heart on her sleeve rather than trying to bury her heart and her hopes, rather than playing it safe. So I must get back to this crazy list of self-created chaos, back to the place where I actually love the process, rather than simply want to get to The End. I think it shows in the work, and I see that being afraid, tiptoeing around the Big Topics, will always keep me at the low end of the totem pole. Stripping down to the scary places is the only way to get anywhere. So, here goes...
I was just glancing at my blog and thinking, "how ugly and outdated." It's true, I know that. But I am stretched pretty thin right now. I pay a publicist to make sure Best Sex Writing 2012 actually sells some damn copies. I pay my assistant to get my books proofread and keep my life in order. I'm going to Wisconsin in February and some conferences in March. I feel like my money is already all spoken for; there isn't any left to ponder something that feels silly and flighty and frivolous. I feel way too frivolous these days, and I trying to be stronger and prouder and tougher, while also, literally, wearing my heart on my sleeve. The stoic part of me that wants to stare down the hard things and never blink, never cry, never flinch, wars with the side of me that collapses at the first hint of trouble.
All this to say, this year has been all over the map. My heart, my head, my career. I have no idea where any of those are going next. I am just trying to get through each day and be grateful and humble, to learn about myself, to not get so stuck in the darkness I can't see the light. I stayed up til 4 the other night, partly because of coffee, partly because I wasn't at home. It was quiet and beautiful yet I kept asking myself, "Is this where I'm supposed to be?" Putting myself, literally and figuratively, into anyone else's hands is not something I'm all that comfortable with. I hate giving up any of myself because I know what can happen, and I mean that in the positive and negative senses. I feel on this great precipice and yes, having the power to decide which way to go, all the way fucking down to rock bottom or all the way up, is both a power trip and one that makes me cringe. I eavesdrop on two writers at Gimme Coffee and think, "I wish I had your vision, your ambition, your life. I wish I knew your secrets." But I only know my own. I know that I will stay stuck, in this limbo lifeless place, unless I write it all down, the good, the bad, the ugly. Not in a vicious way, not in a purging demons way, but in a way that leads me forward, somewhere that is new and different from the past, somewhere that takes me into a place I haven't been before.
This year has been so full of irony and madness and love and hard choices and loss. Beauty and laughter and dresses and cupcakes too. I want to take this year of double chai and truly celebrate it by being doubly alive, rather than sleeping the day away in my sunny bed because I'm so afraid to try, so sure that nobody will ever want my words, or me. I think what I figured out on that couch at 4 am was the lesson I keep needing to learn; that I have to accept myself, be okay with being the girl with her heart on her sleeve rather than trying to bury her heart and her hopes, rather than playing it safe. So I must get back to this crazy list of self-created chaos, back to the place where I actually love the process, rather than simply want to get to The End. I think it shows in the work, and I see that being afraid, tiptoeing around the Big Topics, will always keep me at the low end of the totem pole. Stripping down to the scary places is the only way to get anywhere. So, here goes...
December 1, 2011
5 easy ways readers can help out their favorite authors
I'm going to do a separate post about what authors can do to promote their books, but since I'm a very avid reader, I wanted to share a few ways you can help your favorite authors very easily. Aside from buying their books, which obviously helps them.
1. Tell the author you liked their work.
Writing is lonely. You don't always get feedback, and sometimes when you do, it's the people who hated your work the most who will be more than happy to share that. Yes, writers want to sell books, but that's the business side. The person/creative side is happy when someone genuinely engages with their work. That doesn't have to mean you fawn over it and tell them they are the best author ever. You might even disagree or grapple with a concept. That's fine; as long as you're reading their work and have something to share, I'd take a wild guesstimate that 99% of authors would love to hear that. If it feels weird to send a fan email, do it via Twitter. I've interacted with lots of my favorite authors, like mystery author Sue Ann Jaffarian (@sueannjaffarian) and paranormal YA author Tera Lynn Childs (@teralynnchilds) and not only do I get excited when they Tweet back to me, but 140 characters is less intimidating than an email, and unless they're Stephen King level of famous, they are probably going to read what you Tweet.
2. Like their book on Amazon.
This literally takes a second and looks good for the author. (Note: I don't 100% understand what it does for their book's rankings on Amazon, if anything, but still, if 100 people have liked a book, that surely counts for something with potential buyers.)
3. Review the book on Amazon, Bn.com, Goodreads, etc.
Reviews don't have to be long or eloquent to get the point across. You think ___ is like ___ on acid? Or __ is a beach read page-turner? It's all good.
4. Request your local library and bookstore carry the book.
This one requires a bit more effort, but goes a long way. You might even find that you turn the librarian or bookseller on to a book, and they in turn may tell others, and also may recommend books to you.
5. Share your love of the book on Twitter, Facebook, etc.
Often this may simply mean you retweet or repost something the author has posted; it's that simple. You may also find them holding contests, posting about events, or offering up recommendations for what to read next, or giving sneak previews of their upcoming work.
1. Tell the author you liked their work.
Writing is lonely. You don't always get feedback, and sometimes when you do, it's the people who hated your work the most who will be more than happy to share that. Yes, writers want to sell books, but that's the business side. The person/creative side is happy when someone genuinely engages with their work. That doesn't have to mean you fawn over it and tell them they are the best author ever. You might even disagree or grapple with a concept. That's fine; as long as you're reading their work and have something to share, I'd take a wild guesstimate that 99% of authors would love to hear that. If it feels weird to send a fan email, do it via Twitter. I've interacted with lots of my favorite authors, like mystery author Sue Ann Jaffarian (@sueannjaffarian) and paranormal YA author Tera Lynn Childs (@teralynnchilds) and not only do I get excited when they Tweet back to me, but 140 characters is less intimidating than an email, and unless they're Stephen King level of famous, they are probably going to read what you Tweet.
2. Like their book on Amazon.
This literally takes a second and looks good for the author. (Note: I don't 100% understand what it does for their book's rankings on Amazon, if anything, but still, if 100 people have liked a book, that surely counts for something with potential buyers.)
3. Review the book on Amazon, Bn.com, Goodreads, etc.
Reviews don't have to be long or eloquent to get the point across. You think ___ is like ___ on acid? Or __ is a beach read page-turner? It's all good.
4. Request your local library and bookstore carry the book.
This one requires a bit more effort, but goes a long way. You might even find that you turn the librarian or bookseller on to a book, and they in turn may tell others, and also may recommend books to you.
5. Share your love of the book on Twitter, Facebook, etc.
Often this may simply mean you retweet or repost something the author has posted; it's that simple. You may also find them holding contests, posting about events, or offering up recommendations for what to read next, or giving sneak previews of their upcoming work.
November 30, 2011
Big party on Monday! Hundreds of cupcakes - see you there!
Hope to see you at our fantabulous party on Monday! Get your tickets at Eventbrite - the sponsor list is growing by the day!
November 29, 2011
Now reading: Learning to Breathe by Priscilla Warner
Just started the memoir Learning to Breathe: My Yearlong Quest to Bring Calm to My Life by Priscilla Warner. Will let you know how it is. I love an author who Tweets!
Sex in books Twitter chat December 7th!
Join us December 7th from 7-8 pm on Twitter with the hashtag #sexinbooks - I'll be moderating, so if you have questions for these authors, email me at rachelkb at gmail.com with "#sexinbooks" in the subject line. See you there!
Rachel Kramer Bussel (@raquelita)
Women in Lust
Anna David (@annadavid)
Falling for Me
Beth Griffenhagen (@thathaikugirl)
Haiku for the Single Girl
Kiri Blakeley (@kiriblakeley)
Can't Think Straight
Sascha Rothchild (@sascharothchild)
How to Get Divorced by 30
Judy McGuire (@hitormissjudy)
How Not to Date
Rachel Kramer Bussel (@raquelita)
Women in Lust
Anna David (@annadavid)
Falling for Me
Beth Griffenhagen (@thathaikugirl)
Haiku for the Single Girl
Kiri Blakeley (@kiriblakeley)
Can't Think Straight
Sascha Rothchild (@sascharothchild)
How to Get Divorced by 30
Judy McGuire (@hitormissjudy)
How Not to Date
Totally decadent: getting my makeup done
I'd like to think I'm not high-maintenance, at least when it comes to fashion and money. Emotions, perhaps. Anyway, I usually wear lipstick, if anything, and I like dresses in part because they're easy. I never learned how to properly put on makeup and it's something that trips me up repeatedly. So last night I went to Sephora and had a man whose name I've already forgotten at Make Up For Ever do me up. I got the 20 minute option, which required me to buy $40 worth of products. So now I have a good mascara, a black eyeliner, a deeper-than-my-usual red lipstick and Smashbox's Tease lip gloss. Not sure I'll be able to replicate his work, but I love the result:
pre-lip gloss self-portrait
pre-lip gloss self-portrait
