Rachel Kramer Bussel's Blog, page 86

Fun Home musical article at BuzzFeed LGBT

I wrote about the new musical Fun Home at The Public Theater, based on the graphic memoir by Alison Bechdel, for BuzzFeed LGBT and interviewed playwright Lisa Kron. I saw it twice and was very impressed with it, especially child actor Sydney Lucas. I'm trying to expand the breadth of topics I write about to include other things I'm interested in besides sex, dating and books, my usual beats, so hopefully I'll get the chance to write about theater more often.

Come see me on my last trip to San Francisco*

I'll be doing the one and only live reading from the best book I've ever edited and probably the best book I will ever edit, The Big Book of Orgasms: 69 Sexy Stories , on November 6th at 6:30 at Good Vibrations, 1620 Polk Street in San Francisco. It's probably my last trip to San Francisco for many, many years*, and it features both authors I know and authors I'm meeting for the first time, several of whom have their first published erotic story in the book. I hope you can make it, and I also hope you'll pass this on to others in the Bay Area who might want to check it out. Hoping to make it a standing room only event!

November 6, 6:30, FREE
The Big Book of Orgasms reading at Good Vibrations
The Big Book of Orgasms: 69 Sexy Stories (Cleis Press) is editor Rachel Kramer Bussel's latest and greatest erotica anthology. This climactic collection of pansexual short shorts are perfect for bedtime reading to a lover or on your own. Whether getting off from exhibitionism, voyeurism, hot wax, dirty talk or a very special pair of blue jeans, the characters in The Big Book of Orgasms go all out for the Big O. From vanilla to kinky, and everything in between, there's something for all erotic readers here. At this special reading, Bussel will be joined by contributors Lily K. Cho, Malin James, Crystal Jordan, Sinclair Sexsmith, Donna George Storey, B.D. Swain, Virgie Tovar, Jade A. Waters and Xan West for an evening of steamy stories that's sure to leave you hot and bothered.

*I'll totally come back to San Francisco if my trip is paid for or I win the lottery. Otherwise, my travel philosophy is all about visiting new places and doing my best to build RKB Enterprises, Inc.

Don't believe the search box Baby Got Back: Anal Erotica is only $12.74

It makes me very sad that when I search for my book Baby Got Back: Anal Erotica this is what shows up on Amazon, so I wanted to give you the right link to the actual paperback. Don't pay whoever is trying to rip me off with a $27.09 version! You can also get the Kindle version for only $8.77 (as of this posting), and can read the introduction for free. I won't hold my breath for this to get fixed, but hint hint, Amazon, you just get more sales if you show a lower normal price first!

November: I'm touring 5 cities and The Big Book of Orgasms is touring lots of blogs!

I've got 7 events lined up in November in Northampton, Massachusetts, San Francisco, Albuquerque, Erotica 101 and Bedpost Confessions in Austin and New York, as well as a few days later, my December 3rd Erotica 101 workshop at Nomia in Portland, Maine. All those details are on my website and in the links above. Also happening from November into December is The Big Book of Orgasms (aka, my favorite book I've ever edited!) virtual book tour. Below are the confirmed blogger tour dates as of now, and I will be updating them as we fill in more. If you're a blogger and want to be part of the tour, email me at orgasmantho at gmail.com with your URL and mailing address and we'll get you added to the tour.



The Big Book of Orgasms virtual book tour

November 1 Lusty Lady
November 4 tgstonebutch
November 5 Lula Lisbon
November 6 Sugarbutch Chronicles
November 7 Donuts and Desires
November 8 TK
November 11 Kay Jaybee
November 12 Smut for Smarties
November 13 Kinky World
November 14 TK
November 15 TK
November 18 Lillian Ann Slugocki
November 19 Valerie Alexander
November 20 Thea Landen
November 21 Lady Laid Bare
November 22 Kink, etc...
November 25 Quixotic Orchid
November 26 Ali's Addiction
November 27 The Ladygarden Project
November 29 Sex in Words
December 2 Tamsin's Supererotica
December 3 The Green Light District
December 4 Tilly Hunter Erotia
December 5 Literary Vixens
December 6 The Feminist Librarian

Perv author Jesse Bering on bestiality, pedophiles, and Miley Cyrus

I interviewed Jesse Bering, author of the new book Perv: The Sexual Deviant in All of Us , for The Daily Beast, about bestiality, pedophiles, Miley Cyrus's infamous Vanity Fair photo and strange perversions.

Wordbirds book party tonight at powerHouse Arena

I've been writing up New York City events for the Eight-Day Week section of The New York Observer and one of today's events deserves a special mention. Check out the Wordbirds book party with Liesl Schillinger, and click through to find out Schillinger's favorites, as well as the book itself. I was totally charmed by it, perhaps because I'm guilty of a lot of the tech-related activities (I almost wrote "crimes" but that's in the eye of the beholder). And if you're hosting a NYC event or know of any cool ones, email the details to 8dayweek at observer.com for consideration.

Happy pub day, Kindle and Nook ebook erotica: The Big Book of Orgasms: 69 Sexy Stories

I feel like my books get 2 release dates these days - print and ebook, and yesterday was the official Kindle and Nook release date for The Big Book of Orgasms: 69 Sexy Stories ! So for only $9.99 (Kindle) or $10.99 (Nook), you get 69 hot stories, which I daresay is a total bargain. Happy e-reading!

Also a reminder that there'll be one free live reading from the book, so if you're in San Francisco, please join us at Good VIbrations November 6th at 6:30 p.m., and if you know anyone in the area, I'd really appreciate it if you spread the word. I consider this the best book I've ever edited, and likely ever will, so I am going all out to make it a success. Not to diss my other books, but this one's my pride and joy and I'm so thrilled with how beautiful it is and grateful for all the interest in it.



See the official Tumblr for free story excerpts. And here's what Publishers Weekly wrote about it:

Erotic editor Bussel (Baby Got Back) proves less is more in this collection of nibble-size erotic stories that are just long enough to fuel the imagination. There is something for every mood—funny, kinky, touching, spontaneous, and even vengeful. In Thomas S. Roche’s “How You Christen a Bed,” the surprising delight is in the woman’s postorgasmic statement. Cecilia Tan’s “Her Lover Is a Flame” and Bussel’s own “I’m on Fire” give a new meaning to hot sex. Riley Shane’s “Feast for the Senses” entertains with sensory pleasure. Evoë Thorne’s lovely “Squirt” illustrates how longtime partners avoid lesbian bed death. An unused toy comes to life with a proper lover in Jade A. Water’s “The Flogger.” Everyone will find something to appreciate here, and all the stories are easy to read as they titillate and entertain.

Status update

I've been all over the place lately--not literally, that's starting in November, but mentally. Freelancing is not a business for the faint of heart or the weak, and I so often feel like I'm both of those. The highs are high and the lows make me not want to get out of bed, ever. There are days I wonder if I shouldn't use the health insurance I finally have to get something to purge those, to make me just feel one thing, or nothing, but I don't, I just keep hoping I learn to be better, to make better work, get on more stable ground, not constantly second guess every decision, big or small. That's a tough way to live.

I feel like I'm forced to have faith--in myself, my books, the universe, my choices. Maybe it's misplaced faith, but it's all I've got. So for today, I can say I'm grateful that I got to see some art like this sculpture at MoMA with my guy on Monday, and took notes on a new assignment in the lobby. As guilt-prone as I am, I am taking November, my birthday month, for myself. I'll be in Northampton, New Jersey, New York, San Francisco, Albuquerque and Austin, but most important, I'll be in my own space and time as much as I can be. I'll be doing NaNoWriMo because I'm pretty certain that the lack of book writing is what's holding back every area of my life. Logically, I know it's not like, write a book, get all your dreams granted, but I do know that allowing myself to settling for writing small has allowed me to settle for being small, for thinking less of myself, for kowtowing to those voices, internal and external, who are sure I can't do it. I'm finally ready for that ultimate leap of faith, even though most of the time lately I feel more than a bit befuddled by where my life is supposed to be going, where I'm supposed to be. Maybe I need to walk into the fog and wade through it, spin myself around until I'm dizzy, before the path clears. That's what I'm hoping. In the meantime, one second at a time. That's my pace these days. Working up to a minute, and a day, and a step forward at a time.

My feminist sex toy store and bookstore tour: Northampton, San Francisco, Albuquerque, Austin and Portland, Maine

I wanted to put all my upcoming events in one post, and highlight the feminist sex toy stores who are community forces and who help keep people like me in business by providing spaces for events such as erotica writing workshops and lots of others. I had a fabulous time teaching at The Tool Shed in Milwaukee, where the only reason I resisted buying a toy was because I didn't want to subject it to the TSA in my carry-on luggage. I did buy this card though to send to my boyfriend, who told me it was the best card ever, so that worked out well:



So here's what's coming up (the workshop description is the same for all Erotica 101 workshops), with a few assorted other events like Bedpost Confessions and Literary Mischief in NYC thrown in, and I am looking into online classes, but first am focused on making these a success. If you know anyone in these cities who might like my events, please let them know.

November 3, 6-8 pm
Erotica 101 in Northampton, MA
Oh My Sensuality Shop, 122 Main Street, Northampton, MA, 413-584-9669
official Facebook page
Rachel Kramer Bussel, professional erotica author and editor of over 50 erotica anthologies, such as The Big Book of Orgasms, Women in Lust, Please, Sir and Please, Ma'am, will take you through the ins and outs of modern erotic writing. Learn how to get started, find your voice, and write against type. You'll discover how to incorporate everyday scenarios as well as outlandish fantasies into your writing, and make them fit for particular magazines and anthologies. She'll also talk about submitting your work and keeping up with the thriving erotica market (including anthologies, ebooks, magazines and websites). Whether you're writing to that special someone, penning longtime fantasies, or want to earn cash for your dirty words, this workshop is for you. Please bring paper or writing implements or a laptop to use for in class writing exercises. A bibliography with erotica resources will be provided.
$20/person, please call 413-584-9669 to reserve a seat.

November 6, 6:30 pm
Free reading from The Big Book of Orgasms in San Francisco
The Big Book of Orgasms: 69 Sexy Stories (Cleis Press) is editor Rachel Kramer Bussel's latest and greatest erotica anthology. This climactic collection of pansexual short shorts are perfect for bedtime reading to a lover or on your own. Whether getting off from exhibitionism, voyeurism, hot wax, dirty talk or a very special pair of blue jeans, the characters in The Big Book of Orgasms go all out for the Big O. From vanilla to kinky, and everything in between, there's something for all erotic readers here. At this special reading, Bussel will be joined by contributors Lily K. Cho, Malin James, Crystal Jordan, Sinclair Sexsmith, Donna George Storey, B.D. Swain, Virgie Tovar, Jade A. Waters and Xan West for an evening of steamy stories that's sure to leave you hot and bothered.
Good Vibrations, 1620 Polk Street (at Sacramento Street), San Francisco, CA 94109, 415-345-0400

November 12, 7:30 pm
Erotica 101 in Albuquerque
$20/person, $35/pair. Register at link below.
Self Serve Toys, 3904B Central Ave SE, Albuquerque, NM 87108, 505-265-5815, info at selfservetoys.com

November 19, 7-8:30 pm
Erotica 101 in Austin
official Facebook page
$15 per person. Call 512-472-2785 to register.
Bookwoman, 5501 N Lamar Blvd A-105 Austin, Texas 78751

November 21, 8 pm
Bedpost Confessions
I will be sharing a sex story at this three-years-running sex and storytelling night! $10 at the door.
The North Door, 501 N I-35, Austin, Texas

November 26, 6-8 pm
Literary Mischief with Slash Coleman. $10 admission.
Loft 227, 227 W. 29th Street, New York

December 3, 7:30-9 pm
Erotica 101 writing workshop
Nomia, 24 Exchange Street, Suite 215, Portland, Maine
Seating is limited and we expect this workshop to fill up FAST!
Please call the shop at 207.774.2163 to reserve your spot! $20 per person.

One month to resurrect crazy 37

It just hit me that in a month I'll turn 38, in Albuquerque. It's hard to take stock when you feel like you are constantly treading water, floating away from stability, crawling your way back, only to have it slip away. In my worst moments, I feel like my whole life revolves around four report cards, aka, royalty statements, a year and that when I get ones that can't be anything other than a D or an F, that they define me. It's not just my books that have failed, but that I have, by moving to a town that's more expensive than Williamsburg, Brooklyn was (yes, I managed to move out of New York and, even though my rent is lower and I don't have a monthly Metrocard, overall costs are a bit higher), by saying yes to the wrong things, by not being more confident, by letting opportunities pass me by. It feels like that impossible dream of motherhood also floats farther and father away as my eggs get ancient and my income starts to vanish like disappearing ink.

There are little bursts of light on the horizon, hints that maybe things will turn around, gifts from who knows where, rewards for being in the right place at the right time, chances that keep me busy and challenge me, but even so, I can feel my hopefulness waning. I know that the way I've been going about things--basically, waiting for something magical to happen--isn't working. It's funny to think sometimes about how almost half my life ago, I was so much more brazen. I barely knew a thing about life, but I had big dreams. Now I feel almost too old for those big dreams, the ones that are the opposite of pragmatic, the ones that keep me up into the wee hours, or wake me up, knocking on my consciousness and asking me what I'm doing with my life. I am hoping that that escape to New Mexico will be a chance not just to usher in a new number tacked onto my age, but a new way of looking at things, of taking stock, of figuring out what I'm doing here from afar. I don't want my stomach to keep dropping out when I get those report cards, As or Fs. I don't want to feel so at the mercy of something I can't control. So I am trying to stay open, to realize that this may be the end of an era, but while I'm in it, I'm all in. It's also the approach of the one-year anniversary of the business of being me, RKB Enterprises, Inc., in December. It's an odd fit, me running a business, and clearly I have a lot to figure out. But I have a month, and then I have...however long G-d grants me. Maybe it's time to, as the book of the moment puts it, say goodbye to all that. I don't know what the right question is, let alone its answer. But I'm ready to find it, to be pro-active rather than reactive, to go forth and figure out not just what I want to do with my life, but what I can do with my life. So, hit me, universe. I'm ready for whatever's next.