The Erotica Readers & Writers Association Blog

How It All Started

2012-01-28T00:01:00.005-05:00

by Kristina Wright

Let me tell you a story about why you'll be seeing me here on the 28th of each month:

When I was invited to start blogging at the Erotica Readers and Writers Association blog, I said yes even though I didn't have a clue what I would write about each month. I also wasn't sure how I'd find the time. I'm kind of insanely busy these days, having had 2 babies in the past couple of years in addition to adding the title of anthology editor to my resume in that same time frame. But despite not knowing what I'll be writing about on the 28th of each month (because I'm really a fiction writer and nonfiction is hard for me) or when I'll even find the time to write (probably at 11:30 PM on the 27th...), I still said yes. And while it's an honor to be included in the same lineup with some of my favorite writers (some of whom, I admit, intimidate me more than a little) there's really only one reason I said yes: Adrienne Benedicks.

Adrienne is the woman behind the Erotica Readers and Writers Association. She's the reason ERWA exists (and I remember back in the day when it was just ERA) and I can say with all certainty that she was the catalyst that started my erotica writing (and editing) career. And I bet I'm not the only author who can say that. I have met many wonderful editors and authors in the more than a decade I've been writing erotica (and now erotic romance), but it was Adrienne who gave me my start. She is amazing and tireless and kind and there isn't much I wouldn't do for her or for ERWA. Seriously.

My erotica writing career started completely by accident in 1999. I had just published my first romance novel with Silhouette Books and my second novel had been rejected by them. It wasn't that there was anything wrong with the book (I was told), it simply wasn't what they wanted to see from me at that time. So I started down the tedious path of writing proposal after proposal (three-chapters-and-a-synopsis, ad infinitum) and having each one rejected. Part of it was I couldn't seem to deliver another romantic suspense novel like my first book and part of it was I would be assigned to an editor who loved whatever I was currently working on, only to be reassigned to a new editor by the time the proposal was delivered. And so it goes...

I was burned out on novel proposals when I wrote a quirky little story called “Service Entrance.” It was about a married woman who pays a man for the privilege of giving him a blowjob. The story was little more than a writing exercise--something entirely different than anything I'd been writing for the previous year or so, something really "out there" and beyond the rules and regs of romance fiction. After writing novel proposals, I had actually finished something, even if it was only a subversive little short story. That in itself felt good. Refreshing! I had no idea what to do with the story--it wasn't just sexy or erotic, it was downright dirty. I hadn't read anything like it before and as an author who'd been told to cut several love scenes from her steamy romance novel, I was convinced I wouldn't ever find a place that would publish it.

I might have filed "Service Entrance" away forever if not for my subscription to an electronic newsletter called Jane’s ‘Net Sex Guide and a timely call for submissions. The e-newsletter was put out by Jane Duvall, who was one of the first sex bloggers I ever read. The newsletter no longer exists, but Jane still runs the well-known adult website review blog Jane’s Guide. The editor of Jane's 'Net Sex Guide was none other than--ta da!-- the wonderful Adrienne Benedicks. Each month, she featured a short story in the newsletter. I sent “Service Entrance” to Adrienne and she bought it within days. Not only was my head spinning from the quick turnaround time (at this point, I was used to waiting months for a response to a proposal that had only taken me weeks to write), Adrienne also sent me a lovely, flattering note of encouragement. That sale, and her kindness, changed my writing career and probably my life.

After that introduction, I discovered Adrienne’s Erotica Writers Association and sent “Service Entrance” off to editor Marcy Sheiner about a month later for consideration in an anthology she was editing. I didn't think lightning could strike twice, but Marcy bought the story a few weeks later and "Service Entrance" went on to appear in the inaugural edition of Best Women’s Erotica (published in 2000). I was stunned. "Service Entrance" was my first erotica story and I had sold it twice in just a couple of months. I had not only found my niche, I'd found a home.

I have such appreciation and gratitude for Jane Duvall, Marcy Sheiner and--most of all-- Adrienne Benedicks and her Erotica Readers and Writers Association for starting my career as an erotica writer. I just signed my seventh anthology contract with Cleis Press and I feel as if I have come full circle, being able to buy those first stories and send those encouraging notes. Giving back to the community that has given so much to me.

Hey, what do you know? Maybe my monthly blog posts here will have a theme after all.

Call for Submissions

2012-01-27T13:55:00.000-05:00

Circlet Press has three calls for submissions open right now.

Note: Originals only, no reprints. We purchase first rights for inclusion in the ebook anthology for $25, with the additional rights to a print edition later which would also be paid $25 if a print edition happens. Authors retain the rights to the individual stories; Circlet exercises rights to the anthology as a whole.

Charming: Modern Gay Fairy Tales -- we read for this over the summer/fall, but just didn't get quite enough of the stories we wanted. Looking for contemporary gay settings and relationships with a fairy tale twist or parallel. Edited by Rian Darcy and Cecilia Tan.
Deadline March 1st. Details: www.circlet.com/?p=3045

Erotic Shakespeare -- Looking for erotic short stories set in the worlds of Shakespeare, either within the plays or involving the same characters, evoking the spirit of the Bard. This anthology is being co-edited by Nikola Klaus and Cecilia Tan.
Deadline: March 15th. Details: www.circlet.com/?p=3696

Like a Chill Down Your Spine: Erotic Ghost Stories -- edited by Artemis Savory, the same editor who did Like a Moonrise.
Deadline March 31st. Details: www.circlet.com/?p=3701

Call for Submissions

2012-01-27T13:27:00.000-05:00

Weird Science
Editor: S Clements
Publisher: Torquere Press Inc.
Deadline: June 1 2012

Payment & Rights info: $50.00 flat fee for first time electronic and print rights for three years, and a print copy of the book. No reprints.

Who doesn't love the idea of the mad scientist, working away in his lab, his sexy creature or lab assistant just waiting for him to notice them? Or what about the grad student who discovers just the potion that will make him the stud his oblivious roommate has always wanted...

Guidelines and submission details at:
erotica-readers.com/ERA/AR/Weird_Science.htm

Call for Submissions

2012-01-27T13:13:00.000-05:00

Sex In London: Tales of Pleasure and Perversity in the English Capital
Editor: Elizabeth Coldwell
Publisher: Sizzler Editions
Deadline: July 1, 2012
Payment: $25, paid on publication; First North American Anthology Rights

We are looking for stories from new and established authors celebrating one of the most decadent cities on earth. You can hardly think about London and not think about sex. Writers who live in or have been to the English capital, and have experienced the passion that sizzles beneath its stiff upper lip, are invited to explore in their stories what makes the city so closely associated with sex and sensuality.

Sex in London is open to submissions featuring all sexual and gender orientations. We seek stories with whatever kind of sex sums up "the English vice" -- from tender romance to the hardest kink and everything in between.

Guidelines and submission details at:
erotica-readers.com/ERA/AR/Sex_In_London.htm

Fingers in Many Pies by Lucy Felthouse

2012-01-26T04:00:00.000-05:00

For my first post on the ERWA blog, I wanted to do a bit ofan introductory piece. Firstly, I'd like to say that I was delighted to beasked to contribute to the blog, particularly amongst such esteemed company, sothank you!

As the title of this blog post indicates, I have my fingersin many pies. If people ask what my job is, I often say "a bit ofeverything." Naturally, that's not exactly true, but I do lots ofdifferent things which make up my full time (and the rest!) job.

I'm an erotica and erotic romance writer, with work publishedby Cleis Press, Constable and Robinson, House of Erotica, Noble Romance,Ravenous Romance, Summerhouse Publishing, Sweetmeats Press and Xcite Books.

I've also edited two anthologies, Uniform Behaviour (uniform erotica) and Seducing the Myth (erotic myths and legends), and there's a good chance I'll be editing another anthology atsome point, too, so watch this space!

I spend rather a lot of my time hopping between doingpromotional work for other writers, developing websites and also editing,copy-editing and proof-reading. This is for my business, Writer MarketingServices (http://www.writermarketing.co.uk).

Finally, I run an erotica website which features authorprofiles, interviews, competitions, guest posts, news and reviews. It's forreaders, writers, and those of us who are both. Basically, anything that helpspromote the genre is welcome on the site. It's helped me gain a reputation asan advocate for erotica and means I get sent lots of sexy books to review! Takea peek at http://eroticaforall.co.uk,where authors will find a page telling them how to submit content for inclusionon the site, and readers will hopefully have a damn good time looking aroundand discovering new authors and books!

So, in a nutshell, that's what I do. What I love is how it allties so closely together. I can go from writing an erotic story, to readingone, to reviewing one, to promoting one, all in one day (or even less)! I get alot of variety in my days which is fantastic, and I love everything that I do.I get to talk to the most fascinating people and do some very interesting work.

And who can ask for any more than that?

This concludes my blog post for this quarter. Now I'veintroduced myself, I'll be much more interesting next time, I promise. And justto redeem myself a little... here's where you'll find the smut: http://lucyfelthouse.co.uk.

Call for Submissions

2012-01-24T16:02:00.000-05:00

Best Erotic Romance 2013
Editor: Kristina Wright
Publisher: Cleis Press
Publication Date: December 2012
Submission Deadline: April 15 (earlier submissions preferred!)
Payment: $100 per story and 2 copies of the book, on publication

I have the honor of being the editor of Cleis Press’s Best Erotic Romance series, which features the finest erotic romance fiction by some of the best authors in the industry. The inaugural edition in the series received a starred review in Publishers Weekly and a 4-star review from RT Book Reviews and I will once again be looking for the very best stories in the genre for this second collection.

According to Romance Writers of America, a romance must include two key elements: a central love story and an emotionally-satisfying, optimistic ending. In erotic romance, the sexual component is critical to the development of the romantic relationship. To get an idea of what I’m looking for, I strongly recommend reading the first edition of Best Erotic Romance.

The collection will be primarily heterosexual with a female audience in mind. However, stories may include bisexual or lesbian encounters as well as polyandrous relationships or group encounters. I have a preference for realistic stories with contemporary settings for this series, but any time period will be considered. No incest, nonconsensual sex, bestiality or underage characters, please.

Submission guidelines at:
erotica-readers.com/ERA/AR/Best_Erotic_Romance_2013.htm

Intimacy with Strangers

2012-01-21T04:02:00.001-05:00

By Lisabet Sarai

This post is not about one night stands. I might explore that topic some other time: the thrill of the unknown, the intoxication with the unfamiliar, the tantalizing possibility that a random encounter might lead to a world-altering epiphany. Today, however, I’m actually talking about writing.

I publish both long and short erotica and erotic romance, in ebook and in print. I have a respectable back list for someone who doesn’t write full time. However, some of my best work doesn’t show up in the publishing history on my website, namely, the erotic tales I write to spec for Custom Erotica Source.

CES offers an unusual service. For a fee, and in complete privacy, CES provides a professionally written realization of a customer’s erotic fantasy scenario. Via an online questionnaire, the customer supplies all the details: the names, genders, ages, orientations, appearance and personalities of the characters; their relationships; the plot; particular erotic stimuli to emphasize; the type of language desired (from suggestive to filthy); and so on. Then the author (in this case, yours truly) takes this specification and spins it into a story from 1500 to 5000 words long (depending on what the customer orders).

At this point, some of my author colleagues may be shaking their heads. How can I prostitute myself in this way? How can I betray my art? Why would I surrender my creative vision and allow someone else to dictate the content and style of my work?

Well, of course the money is nice. But I do it partly because writing someone else’s erotic dreams is both a fascinating and an educational experience.

When I write something in response to a call for submissions, I have a generic audience in mind. I probably understand the type of tales a particular editor prefers. I know that Total-E-Bound’s readers are looking for something different than people who buy books from Cleis, or Xcite, or Republica Press. Furthermore, the anthology theme or the focus of the CFS provides some guidance as to content and tone. Within those broad boundaries, though, I’m free to follow my imagination in any direction it leads. I know I can intrigue and arouse at least some subset of the community of readers; I really can't hope for more.

When I write for CES, on the other hand, I have an audience of one. I know exactly what turns that audience on – because the customer has shared his or her secret desires. It’s my job to put flesh on the bones of the story specification, to make my customer’s lusts concrete and then satisfy them.

To succeed in this task, I have to somehow sync my own erotic imagination with his. I can’t write an arousing story unless I see the characters and the situation through my customer’s eyes. Somehow, I have to intuit the customer’s reactions to the stimuli described in the spec and then coax myself into the same psychological state.

That’s where the intimacy arises. I don’t have any direct communication with the customer (although I am allowed to ask questions, via the management, if I see issues in the spec). Nevertheless, he (almost all my assignments have been writing for men) and I are connected, by his act of sharing his lewd dreams and my willingness to assume them as my own.

Some fantasies I’ve received as assignments don’t appeal to me personally at all. (I’m free to refuse assignments that I might find repugnant, of course. So far that hasn’t happened.) Still, I’ve managed to turn them into tales that pleased my unknown reader. This requires a kind of suspension of my own sexual identity in order to connect with his. By the time I’m finished, I’m usually turned on by the tale, regardless of my initial reaction. If I’m not, I know I haven’t fulfilled my part of the bargain.

Executing a CES assignment requires a possibly surprising degree of craft. I must pace the story in order to include all details from the spec while still keeping it within the word limit. I have to guard against adding erotic elements that push my own buttons, but might not have the same effect on my audience. At the same time, I need to add sensual details, plausible transitions and especially, emotional authenticity. That’s my added value, as a professional author. If just anyone could write a compelling, intense sexual fantasy, I’d be out of a job.

What really makes it work for me, though, is getting inside my customer’s head. Watching one of these stories unfold is a weird feeling, but exciting, too. It's almost as though someone were whispering naughty ideas in my ear. I may have never considered these notions before, but when I wrap my mind around them, I begin to see the appeal.

It has occurred to me that my submissive tendencies account for some of my success in writing custom fantasies. My master once called me “suggestible”, and I suspect that’s an appropriate evaluation of my personality. The fact that I'm bisexual and exceptionally broad-minded about sex probably helps, too.

My one regret about these CES stories is that nobody else will ever read them. They belong to the customers who paid for them, not to me. I can't post them on my website. I can't even talk about the specific fantasy scenarios involved; that would be a breach of confidentiality. They're eternal secrets, between my customer and me.

The last assignment I handled, though, involved an outrageous, kinky, gender-bending scenario that turned me on from the moment I opened the specification file. My personal sex life became significantly more interesting while I was working on the tale, because of the fantasies it inspired. I had no problem identifying with my audience in this case. And yet writing that story was possibly more difficult than my previous assignments, because I had to stop my own imagination from hijacking the customer's vision.

I view my tales for CES as a sort of writing exercise. They require a level of control far beyond what's needed for a free form story written to satisfy a vague theme. I believe that they've helped me hone my skills as an author of erotica.

The real payoff, though, is emotional – the heady sense of power that comes from bringing my customer's dirtiest dreams to life. At the same time, it's a sort of ecstatic surrender, a willingness to sink into my customer's desires.

I will never know who my readers are, and they'll never really know me. For a short while, though, we're as close as lovers.

Call for Submissions

2012-01-20T20:50:00.002-05:00

Best Sex Writing 2013
Editor: Rachel Kramer Bussel; guest judge TBA
Publisher: Cleis Press
Deadline: May 1, 2012, for publication in December 2012
Payment: $100 and 2 copies of the book on publication

Editor Rachel Kramer Bussel is looking for personal essays and reportage for inclusion in the 2013 edition of the Cleis Press series Best Sex Writing, which will hit stores in December 2012. Seeking articles from across the sexual spectrum, covering (in no particular order) alternative sexuality, asexuality, reproductive rights and sexuality, sex education, sex and technology, sex work, sex and aging, sex and parenting, sex and politics, sex and religion, sex and race, sex and class, sex and disability, scientific research about sex, marriage, GLBT rights, BDSM, polyamory, transgender issues, gender roles, etc. Media criticism is also especially welcome; for excellent examples, see "The Careless Language of Sexual Violence" by Roxane Gay and "Men Who 'Buy Sex' Commit More Crimes: Newsweek, Trafficking, and the Lie of Fabricated Sex Studies" by Thomas Roche in Best Sex Writing 2012. These topics are just starting points; any writings covering the topic of sex will be considered. Personal essays will also be considered. I like work that looks at sex in new and unusual ways (see Stacey D'Erasmo's "Silver-Balling" in Best Sex Writing 2009 for a prime example), that challenges us to think about sex and our own sexuality, is thought-provoking and possibly disturbing. I want sex journalism that's found in the most unexpected places and is as topical as possible. No fiction or poetry will be considered.

Submission details at:
erotica-readers.com/ERA/AR/Best_Sex_Writing_2013.htm

Call for Submissions

2012-01-19T13:15:00.000-05:00

Masks Off!
Editor: Michelle Rode
Publisher: Torquere Press Inc.
Deadline: April 1, 2012
Payment & Rights info: $50.00 flat fee for first time electronic and print rights for three years, and a print copy of the book. No reprint

Everyone loves a masquerade, right? The masks, the mystery, the seduction of the reveal! Now imagine a masquerade with an extra layer: some of the men wear a mask beneath their mask. They're shapeshifters. Be they cats or canines, dragons or foxes, all shifters are welcome, as long they don't forget to wear a mask.

We’re looking for sexy, romantic male/male tales for Masks Off! In which at least one partner is a shifter. Light BDSM is welcome, but is not mandatory. Stories should be between 5000 and 12000 words long, and should be submitted in full and include a synopsis and author biography in the cover letter. Please put your name or pseudonym in the manuscript as well as in your submission email.

Send submissions to submissions@torquerepress.com with Masks Off! in the subject line. Deadline for submissions is April 1, 2012 for an August 2012 publication.

Call for Submissions

2012-01-19T12:33:00.000-05:00

Best Bondage Erotica 2013
Editor: Rachel Kramer Bussel
Publisher: Cleis Press in late 2012
Deadline: May 1, 2012 (earlier submissions encouraged and preferred)
Payment: $50 and 2 copies of the book on publication

Best Bondage Erotica 2013 will collect the best bondage erotica stories around, focusing on a range of techniques, implements, characters and scenarios, from newbies to seasoned bondage players and everything in between. Bondage should be a central focus of the erotic element of the story but the plot does not have to hinge on bondage. The final book will include stories focused on both the physical and mental aspects of bondage, from varying points of view. Bondage plus other sexual activity is welcome (spanking, tickling, exhibitionism, voyeurism, intercourse, oral sex, teasing, etc.). Original, unique, creative characters, settings, scenarios and forms of bondage are encouraged. As befitting the title, I'm looking for the best, hottest, most creative bondage erotica for this collection. All genders/sexual orientations welcome.

Original stories strongly preferred, but reprints of work published (or slated to be published) between September 2011 and November 2012 will be considered but will be given lower priority than original work. All characters must be over 18; no incest or bestiality. Please see Best Bondage Erotica 2011 and Best Bondage Erotica 2012 or my other kinky Cleis Press anthologies (Bottoms Up, Spanked, Yes, Sir, Yes, Ma'am, He's on Top, She's on Top) for an idea of the kinds of stories I prefer.

Submission details at:
erotica-readers.com/ERA/AR/Best_Bondage_Erotica_2013.htm

All About Pleasure: Stimulate Your Senses

2012-01-18T00:01:00.046-05:00

by Donna George Storey

A new year always brings a sense of adventure and possibility, and I’m fortunate to part of a very exciting new adventure here at the ERWA blog. It’s a real honor to be in the line-up of regular monthly columnists, all of whom I admire greatly as erotica writers and mentors.

As you may know, I write a column every other month for the ERWA website called “Cooking Up a Storey,” which combines a meditation on the writing process with a tasty recipe. For the blog format, it struck me that a sort of miniature version of “Cooking” would be fun to write. Coincidentally, I noticed that the #100 entry on this year’s Saveur magazine’s 100 list is mignardises (meeng-yar-deez), the tiny, artful sweets that are served as the last course of a grand meal in French and other fine restaurants. In “All About Pleasure,” I’ll offer you a monthly tidbit, a literary mignardises if you will, to remind you that writing erotica is sweet and hopefully leave you inspired to create your own.

January is a month when we all need a little extra inspiration, so I decided to start with one of the most powerful foundations of good erotica—the vivid, fresh expression of sensual pleasure.

Writing requires us to pay attention to everything around us, even the most humble and ordinary things. Without this focus, this desire to transform sensual experience into evocative words, we could not capture the truth of human experience in our own fresh voice. Better still, paying attention to the amazing world around me invariably brings pleasure and often awe. I liken this to the scene in The Wizard of Oz where Dorothy wakes up in Technicolor Oz after a dreary life in black-and-white Kansas. This intensity of awareness is what readers expect from writing, and it’s what will keep them coming back for more.

With fifteen years of fiction writing behind me, I sometimes take the process for granted. I can dash off a decent, publishable story for a deadline while drawing from my archives of moments of heightened sensual awareness. But I think even veteran writers can use a reminder of what really matters in a story. A good writer captures experience from the inside, thus allowing the reader to enter the world of the story fully. In the best case, our fantasy might begin to seem more real and true than anything he has experienced in his own life. As in sex, the fresher and more wondrous it is for you, the better it will be for your partner, the reader. This is particularly true for erotica.

So, with the rekindling of sensitivity and wonder in mind, I’d like to offer a classic exercise in sensual awareness, known in Japanese as monoawase (moan-oh-ah-wah-say). A thousand years ago, during the age of The Tale of Genji, it was a court pastime to compare thoughtfully different types of incense or pottery or poetry or rice wine. The purported goal was to discern the blend of ingredients and their place of origin by sensual properties alone, but in the process, the critic had to hone her senses and pay close attention to the components. It is that part of the experience that is of real value to a writer.

In spite of the exotic name, the exercise is quite simple. Choose two pleasurable things to compare (“pleasurable” is, well, more pleasurable, but you can go with whatever adjective suits your current writing project). An obvious choice is two squares of different brands of dark chocolate—since Valentine’s Day is on the horizon—but two brands of Greek yogurt or two types of apple or tangerine or two lovers in one bed will serve just as well. The two things don’t really need to be similar either, just comparable, which I suppose means anything. Whatever you choose, your next step is to procure a piece of paper, a writing implement, and a place free of distractions.

Take a deep breath, and let’s begin (I’ll assume we’re dealing with two small pieces of good-quality chocolate—any complaints?)

First undress the chocolate slowly. Note the sensation of the paper, the crackle as it tears. Take a good look at the chocolate itself, jot down notes if you like. Describe the color, the relative glossiness of each. Do they look different than you thought?

Treat the chocolate like fine wine—perhaps the only consumable we are allowed to imbibe with such ritualistic reverence in Western culture. Take in the fragrance slowly. The challenge here is to describe the experience. You can use the language of wine critics to describe the scents—earthy, hints of vanilla, more obvious with mint or strike out into new territory. Our sense of smell is most directly connected to memory. Perhaps the pieces of chocolate evoke particular memories for you?

Some practitioners of monoawase say the item they are appreciating speaks or whispers to them. What is the chocolate saying to you? How can you transform the “voice” of the chocolate into your own words?

Next taste a small bite of the chocolate, no more than a third of the square. The first taste is going to be the most intense. Let it sit in your mouth and pay attention to the process and tactile experience as well as the taste. What does it feel like on your tongue? Do the flavors change? Jot down a few notes, then take another bite.

Once you feel you’ve gotten as much as you can out of the exercise, feel free to stuff the rest in your mouth and get lost in pure indulgence!

Monoawase is perfect for threesomes in bed, especially if you're in the middle, but can this exercise be translated into an erotic experience with a long-term partner? Indeed, as in haiku poetry, the limitations of form can inspire a profoundly creative result. A favorite contrast game for me involves oral sex and a cup of hot tea. Take a mouthful of tea, let it warm your mouth, and swallow. Then immediately put your mouth to your lover’s tender parts—for both male and female, the intense warmth is bound to elicit a gasp of surprise and pleasure. Or focus on the tactile—stroking your lover’s body with a piece of fur or silk or one of those sex toy store mitts that are fur on one side and leather on the other.

Compare and contrast. Once it was a meaningless exercise on essay exams in high school. Now it’s a way to hone your writer’s skills, an excuse to eat lots of chocolate, and a reason to have oral sex while you’re drinking your tea. This focused celebration of the senses is the foundation of good sensual writing.

So go write something vividly, enchantingly and deliciously sexy—and change the world!

Donna George Storey is the author of the erotic novel, Amorous Woman. Her short stories have recently appeared in Best Women's Erotica 2012, Best Erotic Romance, and The Best of Best Mammoth Erotica. Learn more at http://www.facebook.com/DGSauthor.

Pivot Points

2012-01-15T04:08:00.000-05:00

Please press play and read on

When I was invited to join this group of esteemed erotic authors posting to the ERWA blog, I picked the 15th of the month for a reason: Pivot points. For me, the best stories, and poems for that matter, are about pivot points. Changes.

Falling leaves. Emerging buds. Sunrise,

Sunset,

Moonrise, high tide. Hello, goodbye, taste the shrimp creole, it’s to die for.

And it is kind of poetic and fitting that this, my first post, goes up January 15, 2012. Tomorrow, I start a new day job for a company that is clear across the USA from the company I have been affiliated with the past twenty-five years. It is worthy of note that I had picked the 15th as my date to post before I entered into the venture that is responsible for this change. I knew I’d be writing about transitions, but was not aware I’d be living a big one.

Anyway, twenty-five years. Half of my life. This is a big pivot point, methinks. And what about that jet airliner reference?

Today, my wife and I are flying across the country to spend a week at my new job to begin the transition. Today we look at possible new new homes. It is my experience that jet airliners and pivot points frequently go hand in hand. Jet airliners can lead to life in a motel, just me and the lady who graciously agreed to marry me over thirty years ago. Holding on to something familiar while changes race all about.

So while this, my little corner of the ERWA blog, in the future, will sometimes address sexy pivot points, like a first kiss between a couple who have discovered the first taste of chemistry on a blind date, or the gentle popping of a jeans-button and crackling of a zipper in the back seat of a Chrysler, today this blog celebrates the kind of pivot that opens onto the next step in a person’s life.

From my perch, 33,000 feet above the earth, I wish you all the best with your pivot points, be they small or large.

Call for Submissions

2012-01-13T11:33:00.000-05:00

Xcite Books is currently seeking stories for 2012 print anthologies

Your short story should not already be published anywhere in the world. Thematically, it should be written with the Xcite guidelines in mind. Obviously you will not be tied to having to provide detailed plot, numerous characters and enough varied types of sex to fill a novel, but the story should be about more than 'some people having sex'. The emphasis is on intensity, imagination, erotic tension, pleasure and explicit action and what's-at-stake for the main character. We want to position these as suitable for the general reader as well as erotica fans.

We pay a flat fee of £50 providing your story is 2 - 4000 words (though 4K is preferred). Payment is made on publication; letter of acceptance is issued one month prior to publication. Your story will also be published in an ebook edition and e-anthology for which no further payment will be made.

Xcite Book Ltd will retain worldwide publication, e-book and audio copyright for five years. Please ensure full rights are available before submitting stories (we do not make exceptions to our standard contract).

Submission guidelines at:
erotica-readers.com/ERA/AR/Xcite_Books_Print_Anthologies.htm

Writing Erotic: lived vs mediated experience

2012-01-13T08:06:00.002-05:00

Ashley Lister is not an easy act to follow, but I thought perhaps I'd offer a post on theory to compliment his wonderful post on practice.

It may have caught your notice, for those who venture over into literary fiction, that writers these days produce some very unerotic, hollow and depressing sex scenes. It would be easy to assume that they can't write sex, but I suspect their representations are purposely unarousing. So, are they all sex-negative prudes? I don't think so - I just think they're scared. But scared of what?

When we read, we are re-writers. We take the words of the text and bring them to life in our minds using our own experiences to flesh out the inner story. When we read about something we've never experienced, we hybridize the portions of the events we have experienced and enhance it with whatever information we have that might be close. For instance, we've never been in a spaceship, but most of us have been in an elevator, have sat in front of a computer, have looked out a viewing window of some kind. We many never have had an adult erotic spanking experience, but we've probably been spanked as children and seen a couple of those vintage postcards. We use whatever frame of reference we have - and then we improvise the rest. Our brain performs a brilliant remix of experience triggered and guided by the words we're reading on the page. At its simplest level, this is why people are often so angry about film versions of books. They've already made the film of the book in their mind as they read it. If the one on the screen doesn't come close, it's disappointing.

There are two types of experiences stored in our brains. Lived-experience and mediated. They are all memories - everything is a memory once it's occurred - but there are memories of the things we have lived through and experienced in our bodies and minds ourselves and memories of information given to us through different forms of media - writing, art, music, photographs, TV, Film, etc. We may know about, say, the Holocaust, from books we're read, films we've seen, documentaries featuring survivors. But these are all mediated experiences of the Holocaust. You can only have a lived-experience of it if you're a Holocaust survivor. And, as you can imagine, those narratives are fundamentally different. The lived, day-to-day experience is much more intense, but also contains experience of grinding hunger, chronic fear, long stretches of boredom between moments or hours of terror that might not make for an engrossing piece of narrative.

Are you still with me?

Looking back on the canon of erotic literature in the 20th century, many of the writers we think of as the fathers and mothers of our genre are also considered significant literary figures. But Lawrence, Miller, Nin, Nabokov, Duras, Bataille, etc. were all writing in times when the world was not filled with images of sex. You had to make significant efforts to find dirty postcards, bits of illicit film.

In the past, when people read "Lady Chatterley's Lover", or "The Delta of Venus", the images those erotic passages brought up in their minds were memories of the sex they had experienced or witnessed others having. That's not a large imaginary encyclopedia to work from, but most of the reference materials were of actual, real sex.

Today, of course, we still have our own experiences from which to draw, but we are also inundated with mediated images of sex. Victoria Secret Catalogues, previous erotic writing we've read, sex scenes in movies, amateur porn clips on YouPorn.com, stories our friends or lovers told us.

And of course, we have our own sexual fantasies, which we've written, directed and produced using lived experience and all the mediated images of sex we've consumed.

So, a great deal of our inner encyclopedia of sex is filled with versions that are mediated. Yes, in porn, the actors are actually penetrating, ejaculating, etc. But they are actors. They are having sex in order to produce a piece of entertainment for others. They fuck in positions that allow camera access. They withdraw and ejaculate where the camera can capture it. This is not how people actually have sex. This is how porn actors producing porn have sex.

Wait, you say, what about amateur porn? That's real. Well, yes and no. Because the very act of deciding to film yourself having sex changes the intention of the sex. Even amateur porn is obsessed with creampies, gaping pulsing orifices. It is having sex for the purposes of capturing a record of it and showing it. Most amateur porn attempts to reproduce some of the common memes of commercial porn.

The truth is, most people don't see a lot of real human sexual experience, other than our own. And in that way, we are still a very puritan society indeed.

Why does all this matter to you as a writer of erotic literature? Well, if your goal is to produce erotica primarily as an aid to sexual arousal for masturbation, it really doesn't.

But why I think a lot of literary writers have shied away from erotic sex scenes is because they believe their job is to write about real and profound human experience, whether dramatic or quotidian, and to trigger reverberations of that profundity in their readers. They resort to writing sex scenes that are hollow, joyless, and dissociative, I suspect, because, as yet, no one has bothered to make a lot of mediated versions of awful sex since it doesn't have a lot of commercial potential. But we've all had the occasional bout of rotten sex. So writing it guarantees that what will be triggered in the reader's mind is memories of the real.

You may feel, as a writer of erotica, that it's not important whether the images you trigger are real or mediated, but it is to me. I don't want to connect with my readers over a landscape of commercialized sex. When they read a piece of my erotic work, I attempt, as far as possible, to ensure that what they're imagining calls to their real memories and lived abstractions, not a porn flick. Because I feel that the story will resonate at a deeper level if my words are associated with their real, felt, lived erotic experiences.

So, how might one go about trying to write work that triggers lived-experience memories? I think it's damn hard. I think it's the biggest single challenge erotica writers have. But I do have some ideas.

First, watch a lot of porn. Then watch it until you're thoroughly bored. Once it stops arousing you, you can start to see, analytically, where porn sex really differs from lived sexual experiences. Have you ever made those sounds during sex? Given a choice, would you actually choose to have sex in that position? Notice how little full body contact occurs in porn. That's because it's no good for the camera. Same with settings. I've had sex up against the wall in a dark, cramped cupboard. But there's no way to show that in porn: there's not enough lighting and there's no room for the crew. In a thousand ways, porn sex bears little resemblance to the sex we actually have. But because of its ubiquity, it's definitely starting to shape the sex we're told we want.

Since the majority of mediated sexual information we get is visual, make this the least important part of your writing. Visual imagery in text tends to trigger visual memory in readers. I have a suspicion that the absence of visual description in the text may force the reader to rely on other senses for which they only have lived-experience. When you do use visual imagery in your writing, spend time on the visuals that are there in the real world but that are seldom focused on in mediated sex scenes. Our inner minds don't need filmic lighting, or space for the camera crew.

To a certain extent, sound is featured in mediated versions of sex, but it's often done with little finesse. You don't hear much heartbeat or breath in porn, the sheets don't rustle, the headboard doesn't bang, joints don't creak. Avoid the sort of dialogue that you hear in porn between porn actors. I understand that sometimes people really do say 'Oooh, yeah, baby. Fuck me harder." But writing it in your fiction dialogue is much more likely to trigger mental auditory memories of people saying it on screen than real utterances during sex.

Taste, smell and touch are all senses that, as yet, we have not been able to remediate. These are wonderful things to focus on in your erotic writing because all your reader has to call on to reproduce these in their interior version of your story is their own real experiences.

It's helpful to avoid sexual terminology that has been used for 'classification' purposes in adult entertainment. If we've had lovers from other cultures or with different coloured skin to our own, we don't think 'bi-racial'. That person is a person to us. We don't classify our experience with them into a marketable slot. Similarly, most people who have sexual experiences with members of the same sex don't think 'Hey, I'm bi now!' They just enjoy the person their with. They indulge in the new experiences that this may offer, but they don't classify it.

The chances are, you know what your readers look like and most of them don't look like ramp models or porn stars. Spend time really looking at people, their faces, the way they move. Chances are, the people we've loved and fucked weren't celebrity look-alikes, but we found what was beautiful in them in our proximity. A really good photographer once told me: "everyone is beautiful in extreme close-up". Wrinkles become the landscape of experience; pores become the texture of the living, breathing tactile skin. The fine hairs at the base of the spine become the sensory cilia of anemones. Ripples of flesh become the sea of indulgences.

I honestly think it's fucking rude to make your female readers wish they were thinner, or your male readers wish they were two inches longer. If you really want your readers to immerse fully in your fiction, don't present them with characters that they could never imagine themselves being. It sets up subliminal feelings of inadequacy. Which is fine, if that's what you meant to do. But don't do it by mistake.

Finally, and if you really feel you've got a handle on this, you can play with language - interrupting your readers assumptions when you know they're likely to mentally reference mediated sexual imagery. BDSM is a really good example. It's fair to say that most people are not living a BDSM lifestyle. So their understanding of it comes from mass media: Rhianna's video, Cat Woman, that darkly referenced CSI episode with the Domme, BDSM porn, etc. These are mostly visual. So concentrating on describing what it actually feels like to have a crop hit skin or how the muscles ache when limbs are in bondage, goes much further to bringing your reader into the scene than a visual description or a he did this/she did that. To paraphrase Mitzi Szereto, don't tell us what happened. Tell us how it felt.

I don't want to pretend for a moment that writing like this is easy or that I'm all that good at it. I'm not. Because, and this is the real head fuck, I am just as much influenced and affected by the mediated experiences I've absorbed in my lifetime as my readers are. Not everything I write about in erotic fiction are things I've lived either. But please don't despair; once you've started to interrogate your own creative imagination, you can often identify the sources of your internal data quite easily. Just being aware of this empowers your choices as a writer. Also - and this is vital - don't try to use this critical approach on a first draft. Write your story draft first and then play 'spot the mediated porn memes' in the editing stages. Otherwise, you can easily begin to suffer from total creative paralysis.

I think the prospect of arousing your reader not simply at a genital level, but at an existential level, makes the challenge worth the effort. And we, as erotic writers are a brave and intrepid bunch. Literary writers who won't write erotic sex scenes are, in my view, cowards for not, at least, attempting to integrate the erotic into their work and giving its proper and important place in writing the human experience.

Call for Submissions

2012-01-11T17:47:00.000-05:00

NEW Line launching January 11, 2012! Ellora's Cave for Men
Stories written specifically for our male readers.

We are now accepting submissions (see submission instructions in the Author Information brochure).
~ 7,000 to 30,000 words

~ May contain relationships, but should focus more on the sex than the romance; Romantica is fine, Exotika is also encouraged

~ Realistic wording and dialogue for male characters (not the language women WISH men spoke); this extends to the male narrative

~ Written from male POV preferred

~ Should be aimed at male sexual fantasies (what men think of when they get off)

~ More of what men want or need from women: sex, love, acceptance, admiration, dirty talk; less of what they don't need (judgment, drama, expectation of anticipating woman's needs)

* Examples include, but are in no way limited to:
- Women taking the initiative during sex
- Female pursuit of the man
- Voyeurism of female/female sex (as well as F/M/F and F/F/M themes)
- Risky sexual situations or locations; a sense of the forbidden (e.g. the boss's mistress, the maid, the college professor, sex in public, etc.)

Remember that sex is largely visual and verbal for men (for women, it is mainly mental and emotional). Men polled preferred "real women" (natural as opposed to surgically enhanced) and wanted women to "do some of the work". Interpret that as you will!

Submission details at:
http://www.jasminejade.com/t-writerscircle.aspx

Writing Exercises

2012-01-06T01:18:00.004-05:00

By Ashley Lister

As Lisabet mentioned at the start of the year, the ERWA blog is going to see a lot more activity in 2012. My name is Ashley Lister and, aside from being a regular columnist and reviewer at ERWA, I’m also a freelance writer and a creative writing lecturer.

Because of that last qualification, I figured I could use this space to share some of my favourite exercises for all those erotica writers reading this who want to polish their craft.

I usually work with three types of writing exercise.

The first type is the sort that’s traditionally used in the lecture hall. It’s a timed exercise designed to get students writing. These are usually ‘on-demand’ type exercises where students write haikus, limericks, cinquains etc. The purpose of these exercises is to get students familiar with the form being discussed.

From a writer’s perspective, timed lecture hall exercises work best when they can be recreated at home. That way the writer has the scope to properly use the exercise but without the pressure of meeting unreasonable standards set by peers.

The second type of writing exercise is the sort that’s solely intended to be done at home. For these, in my classes, I’ll give a theme or the opening paragraph to a story and ask learners to create a short piece of fiction to share with the rest of the class the following week.

Last term I used the opening pages from a piece of werewolf fiction I’d written (‘Scratched’, Red Velvet and Absinthe). The class’s responses to this exercise produced a lot of differing results. Few had gone for the traditional approach to telling a werewolf story. One had simply gone to see the latest Twilight film and told me the plot of that movie. Some of the stories were dark – dark even for werewolf stories. Some of them were whimsical. All of them had been written when the writers had the time and enthusiasm to engage with the subject. This level of personal involvement showed in the quality of the writing.

From a writer’s perspective, these are the exercises which I prefer. I can complete them at my own pace, in my own writing place, and without the pressure demanded by the need for immediate quality results.

The third type, to my mind, is the sort of exercise used for creating fresh ideas. Creating ideas can be daunting for any new writer and these are the sorts of collaborative exercises where we share our suggestions and bounce them off other writers. It’s a chance to voice ideas to others, see how they’re received, and to also get an insight into the way peers are thinking. In short: it’s a chance to hear some unusual ideas which can often prove tangentially inspirational.

One of my favourite exercises of this type is adapted from Margaret Geraghty’s The Five Minute Writer. Learners are expected to spend five minutes compiling a short list in response to the question: What does it feel like to…?
My personal responses to this included items such as:

What does it feel like to run a marathon?
What does it feel like to lick a hedgehog?
What does it feel like to taste an emotion?

Your exercise, should you wish to participate, is to produce five original responses to that question: What does it feel like to…? Feel free to share your suggestions via the comments box below and let’s see if we can inspire each other with some wonderful and original ideas.

Ash

Call for Submissions

2012-01-04T14:32:00.000-05:00

Total-E-Bound Publishing

Switch - Bondage/BDSM Anthology
We’d like to see some playful takes on the word “switch”, whether it’s in the sense of spanking/caning or D/s role reversal—or both! Either way it’s all about flexibility! 10K to 15K word count per short story/novell.

We want Bondage/BDSM - MF or MFM please.
Heat Rating: Burning/Melting (see our book rating info)
The Submission deadline is 1st March 2012 for release in September 2012
Submit the full story plus synopsis.
When submitting, please enter "Switch Submission" in the email subject line.
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Haunted by You (Halloween 2012)
Can you write a haunting love story about restless spirits or lost loves? We’d like to see stories about sensual spectres and the return of lovers from the past. We’re looking for 4 stories between 15,000 and 20,000 words.

Any combination of M/F, M/F/M, M/M/F, M/M
Submission deadline is 1st April 2012
Non-TEB authors should submit the full story plus synopsis.
Existing TEB authors should submit a synopsis to your Editor in the first instance.
When submitting, please enter "Submission: Haunted by You" in the email subject line.
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Royalties are 40% of RRP for eBooks, 30% for audio, and 10% for print, to be divided equally and fairly between the authors of the anthology. Every story in an anthology also gets released as a single story in eBook and Audio book further into the contractual term. For more information on our guidelines please visit www.total-e-bound.com/submissionguidelines.asp

Call for Submissions

2012-01-04T14:16:00.000-05:00

Zharmae Publishing Press
www.zharmae.com

Luthando Coeur is an imprint of The Zharmae Publishing Press dedicated solely to the Erotica genre.
We are seeking high quality works of supreme literary value from the rougher, naughtier side of Romance to the gritty fantasies of the most intriguing fetishes.

We will consider all content except for that which deals with bestiality or child pornography. If you're not sure, please ask us.

We are seeking books that may provide some sense of wittiness in detail and which bring all readers into the fold.

We publish in Trade Paperback and E-books, but our primary publishing focus is aimed at the print trade. When we accept a manuscript for publication, we negotiate for Universal Rights, including Dramatic Rights (though not having these will not impact an author's negotiations), the term of the Grant is in pertetuation or during the life of the copyright. We have a standard Advance plus escalating Royalty structure similar to 5-10-15%.

Please review our submission guidelines at www.zharmae.com for how to submit your work for consideration. We only accept electronic submissions.

New Year's News

2012-01-01T01:35:00.006-05:00

By Lisabet Sarai

Dear Randy Revelers,

No, this isn't a new installment of the Erotic Lure newsletter. Following our ERWA tradition, we give you a double dose of the salacious and sensual in December and then taking a well-deserved break in January. So the next Lure won't be coming your way until February – although I'll bet you haven't exhausted the delights of the last edition yet!

I'm here because I want to let everyone know some exciting news about the ERWA blog. While we've been partying up a storm over at the ERWA website, this poor blog has been languishing, unloved and largely unvisited. In 2012 we plan to change all that.

To remedy this sad state of affairs, we've lined up a slate of regular contributors to heat things up in the blogosphere. Many will be familiar names to ERWA afficionados. Each of us will post on the same date each month, on your favorite topics: love, lust, relationships, writing, publishing, toys, fantasies, fiction, and the intersection of sex and society. We'll be letting it all hang out. The great thing about a blog is that you can hang out with us!

Use the comment facility to talk back, share your opinions and experiences, argue or approve. Tell us what topics you think we should address. Let us (and the other visitors) know if you find web gems relevant to the subjects at hand. The ERWA web site has a few areas where you can participate, submitting your thoughts, but we hope the blog will be much more interactive.

Here's the line up:

6th - Ashley Lister
10th - M. Christian
13th - Remittance Girl
15th - Craig Sorensen
18th - Donna George Storey
21st - Lisabet Sarai
24th - Kathleen Bradean
26th - Lucy Felthouse - every three months
28th - Kristina Wright

We may have other occasional guests as well. In addition, our beloved (web)mistress Adrienne will continue to step out of her dungeon every now and again to post calls for submission, publisher profiles, and other useful information.

So I hope you'll visit frequently and join in the fun.

This new year is going to rock!

Call for Submissions

2011-12-31T18:17:00.000-05:00

Various GLBT Themed Anthologies for Storm Moon Press

Title: If We Shadows
Editor: S.L. Armstrong
Publisher: Storm Moon Press
Deadline: February 24, 2012
Payment: $50 + pro rata royalties
Submissions sent to: submissions@stormmoonpress.com

Midsummer's Night—the Summer Solstice—is the night when the veil between our world and the world of the faerie becomes thinnest, and the Fair Folk can pass freely into our realm. They know they're supposed to avoid mortals, but of course some of them just can't resist. And that's why we love them.

"If We Shadows" is a M/M urban fantasy anthology surrounding faeries. We're looking for stories dealing with the fae visiting a world that has long forgotten them, and the frolic and mayhem they bring with them. Stories should have an upbeat, playful feel with a satisfying ending, but a romantic happily-ever-after is not required. Liasons between mortals and fae are rarely long-lasting. Word count requirement is 10,000-20,000.
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Title: Flux
Editor: S.L. Armstrong
Publisher: Storm Moon Press
Deadline: February 29, 2012
Payment: $50 + pro rata royalties
Submissions sent to: submissions@stormmoonpress.com

"Flux" is a science-fiction and fantasy anthology of stories containing intersex characters. The term 'intersex' is a broad term that covers a variety of anomalies that result in an atypical presentation of usually sex-linked physical features. This includes everything from a genetic XY-male with female secondary sex characteristics to full hermaphroditism, where both sets of sex organs are present.

And as this is a SF/F anthology, the possibilities are even broader: a male brain implanted into a female-shaped android body, aliens with more than two distinct genders, fantastical creatures whose outward appearance shifts with their moods, or anything else imaginable. However, please avoid stories of magic curses/scientific experiments that treat a gender shift as a punishment or an accident, or "polyjuice"/virtual reality scenarios where changing gender expression is voluntary and/or temporary.

Stories need not center around the specifics of the character's intersexed nature, but it must be at least discussed and handled respectfully. The point is to give the spotlight to the type of characters that in modern society are often used as punchlines, when they're not being erased entirely. Happy endings are definitely expected, along with all the usual erotic romance elements. All sexualities are permitted, as well as all variations on the intersex theme. Word count requirement is 10,000-20,000.
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Title: In Plain Sight
Editor: S.L. Armstrong
Publisher: Storm Moon Press
Deadline: February 29, 2012
Payment: $50 + pro rata royalties
Submissions sent to: submissions@stormmoonpress.com

For the men and women of "In Plain Sight", mistaken identity is the story of their lives. They are the assassins, thieves, spies, and double agents of the world, and nothing is as it seems around them. They might lead one completely mundane life, but the other side of their life that they keep hidden would shock anyone who catches a glimpse from the outside.

In this anthology, we're looking for short stories featuring bisexual characters (male or female) who lead two lives, one in plain sight, and the other in the shadows. High action isn't required, but we're want to see something exciting with a bit of shock value if it is suddenly revealed to another character. After all, discovering your lover is an assassin or double agent has a different effect than discovering they're secretly a part-time florist.

The level of their deception to their loved ones is up to you, but you can play with them having different families, a lover they try to keep safely tucked away, or a couple they date who is just as bad-ass as they are if trouble comes calling. They can have old flames they never quite allow to extinguish or business contacts they have flings with on the side. One way or another, their bisexuality must be shown, rather than just hinted at, so make sure they have erotic involvements on both sides of the coin. Word count requirement is 10,000-20,000.
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Title: Tentacles
Editor: Elizabeth Hyder
Publisher: Storm Moon Press
Deadline: March 25, 2012
Payment: $50 + pro rata royalties
Submissions sent to: submissions@stormmoonpress.com

Tentacles are a taboo subject for most, something most people look at from between their fingers as they hide. But for a growing number of people, it's a subject that is fascinating and sexy! Tentacle erotica has been around for ages, from "The Dream of the Fisherman's Wife" to "Demon Beast Invasion", it's a genre that is here to stay.

We want to see M/M romantic and/or erotic stories about tentacles of all kinds. Cephalopods, an experimental form in a lab, energy temporarily made into matter, a cursed seaman, an alien species where they occur naturally... any and all of these are okay.

Or even things we haven't listed, if your imagination comes up with something new and different! We're open-minded, as long as the tentacles have at least temporary physical form and are a sexual focus in at least one erotic scene. This means that without the tentacles, the sex scene would not be happening.

Due to the need to build a world where sex with tentacles happens—whether consensual or not—in a believable manner, the stories for this anthology will need to be longer than our standard anthology calls: 20,000-25,000 words.
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Title: Strapped
Editor: S.L. Armstrong
Publisher: Storm Moon Press
Deadline: March 31, 2012
Payment: $50 + pro rata royalties
Submissions sent to: submissions@stormmoonpress.com

When it comes to sex toys, there are endless possibilities. For the ladies featured in the "Strapped" anthology, nothing is sexier than a woman wearing a strap-on. We're looking for F/F short stories that place the erotic focus on the use of strap-ons.

Genres are open for this anthology, which means you have plenty of room to move. We'll accept the contemporary couple enjoying their strap-on for a special occasion, the steampunk woman giving her lover a carefully crafted strap-on as a gift, or even the experimentation of a few women to find the size that makes their toes curl. Feel free to explore power dynamics, possible emotional blocks regarding this particular kind of penetration, or the inclusion of anal penetration along with vaginal. Most importantly, simply have fun and see that your characters end up happily-ever-after or happily-for-now. Word count requirement is 10,000-20,000.
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Title: Picking Up the Pieces
Editor: S.L. Armstrong
Publisher: Storm Moon Press
Deadline: March 31, 2012
Payment: $50 + pro rata royalties
Submissions sent to: submissions@stormmoonpress.com

The world has ended. No, it wasn't the zombies. It wasn't even by supernatural forces (aliens, vampires, religious/The Rapture, etc). What happened is up to you, but for this bisexual anthology, we're looking for natural causes such as meteors, viruses, technology going haywire, or even nuclear winter. Whether you send the survivors into the wild or up into space, "Picking Up the Pieces" is the perfect opportunity to explore the major shifts of society and sexuality while putting a focus on bisexuality in particular.

We're looking for short stories that show characters dealing with the fall-out after the apocalypse. This can include a restructuring of gender roles, bisexuality becoming a necessity due to one sex being nearly wiped out, etc. Be creative and show us your best bisexual characters struggling to survive and find a bit of romance at the same time. Word count requirement is 10,000-20,000.

Call for Submissions

2011-12-06T14:10:00.000-05:00

Erotic Novels
Editor: Elizabeth Coldwell
Publisher: Xcite Books
Deadline: 31st January 2012
Payment & rights: Author will retain copyright and will be paid annual royalties on the print and ebook editions as per Xcite Books' standard publishing contract. Xcite Books will hold world publishing rights for five years from date of publication.

Xcite Books is now the UK's largest publisher of erotic fiction and winner of the ETO Best Erotic Book Brand 2010 & 2011. Founded in 2007 by Hazel Cushion, the company offers quality erotic fiction aimed at women and couples. Its books have been featured on mainstream TV (Alan Titchmarsh and Vanessa Feltz Shows) and are sold in Waterstones, WH Smith and Ann Summers. Sex not only sells, it travels Xcite books are now available in USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. This is your unique opportunity to receive a publishing contract for a print book which will be published in October 2012.

Xcite Books is offering a print publishing contract for an erotic novel that will pay annual royalties on the print and ebook editions. To enter you need to submit a one page (A4) synopsis and the first three chapters of an erotic novel.

Closing date for submissions is 31st January 2012. The accepted author will be announced on St Valentine's Day 2012. The novel does not need to be complete at the time of submission, but will need to be delivered by July 31st 2012.

Submission details at:
erotica-readers.com/ERA/AR/Xcite_Books.htm

Erotic Lure Newsletter: Dec 2011 - Jan 2012

2011-12-04T12:49:00.000-05:00

From the Erotica Readers & Writers Association
By Lisabet Sarai
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Dear Carnal Connoisseurs,

The season of giving is upon us, and here at the Erotica Readers & Writers Association, you can open your presents early. As is our time-honored tradition for December, this month's ERWA edition provides a super-sized selection of sensational smut, to keep you sizzling through the long, cold month of January. Meanwhile, if you're playing Santa and looking for help, you'll find some fabulous gift ideas right here at our site. Why brave the crowds at the mall when you can shop naked here at ERWA?

As usual, our Erotica Gallery authors generously offer their work for your reading pleasure. Award-winning author and editor Kristina Wright is our featured contributor this month, sharing three tales guaranteed to raise your temperature. Then move on to more arousing stories from members of the Storytime list, most with holiday themes, and poems in many moods, from evocative to bawdy. What does Santa have to do with Viagra? Find out in the Gallery!

Get yourself into the festive spirit in the Gallery:
erotica-readers.com/GD/S/Erotic_Fiction.htm

In the Books for Sensual Readers section, 'tis the season for "Best of" erotic anthologies. Whatever your tastes (or those of the folks on your gift list), you'll find something to satisfy: BEST EROTIC ROMANCE (edited by Kristina Wright), BEST WOMEN'S EROTICA 2012 (Violet Blue), BEST BONDAGE EROTICA 2012 and BEST SEX WRITING 2012 (Rachel Kramer Bussel - the latter non-fiction), BEST GAY EROTICA 2012 and BEST GAY ROMANCE 2012 (Richard Labonte), BEST LESBIAN ROMANCE 2012 (Radclyffe) and BEST LESBIAN EROTICA 2012 (Kathleen Warnock). Now don't try to tell me there's not something there that appeals! Anthologies are a great way to introduce a newcomer to the fabulous diversity in today's erotic literary scene.

If you're in the mood for longer fiction, consider Meljean Brook's steampunk erotic romance HEART OF STEEL, K.D. Grace's paranormal blockbuster BODY TEMPERATURE AND RISING, or THE GLASS HARMONICA by Dorothee E. Kocks, a historical erotic adventure that takes the heroine from Corsica to post-revolutionary America by way of Paris. Or take a peek at our graphic novels section, where I added both the dystopian taboo fantasy OUR LOVE IS REAL (by Sam Humphries and Seven Sanders) and the shocking BORGIA: FLAMES FROM HELL (by legends Jodorowsky and Manara) to my personal wish list. We've got art, photography and self-help books, too - for instance, Hanne Blank's revised and expanded BIG BIG LOVE, a sex and relationship manual for "people of size" and those who love them.

As I'm sure you know by now, our affiliate links are the fastest, easiest AND most virtuous way to order any books you fancy, for yourself or your loved ones. Buying sex books is virtuous? Certainly! Every time you click through from ERWA to Amazon, Barnes and Noble, or any of our other reputable partners, you're also helping us keep ERWA alive and kicking, so you can continue to enjoy all the fabulous content we offer for free, month after month, year after year - for fifteen years and counting!

Keep up with the best erotic books on the market:
erotica-readers.com/ERA/EB/Erotic_Books.htm

Speaking of "up", be sure to drop by the Adult Movies section this month, where we feature everything from comedy to classics - all triple X of course. There's "Happy Endings", a sex-laced tale of two soul mates who prove that opposites really do attract - and their meddling best friends. Or for something a bit rougher, consider "Fighters", which brings you into the world of women who box - for frustration, punishment, or thrills. Among the apparently unlimited parodies, "Beverly Hillbillies XXX" holds special promise; after all, lots of guys fantasized about Ellie Mae even on the G-rated TV show. Meanwhile, I'm curious to see "Last Tango", a totally adult remake of the classic Brando film featuring Europe's hottest performers. It's hard to imagine anything more scorching than the original - but who knows? If you're fed up with plot and looking mostly for ripe flesh, don't miss "Mommies Gone Bad", which sounds like a live version of Rebecca's "Housewives at Play" comics (which you probably know are among my favorites).

All these movies and dozens more are available via our partner links. They're not "Miracle on 34th Street" but I guarantee they'll heat up your holidays.

Nothing like a good, old-fashioned skin flick:
erotica-readers.com/ERA/AM/Adult_Movies.htm

Want to have double the fun? Add a toy or two to your movie-watching experience. In our Sex Toy Playground, you'll find all the information you need. This month Mr. and Mrs. Toy review another Liberator product, the Flip Ramp, and Keira Saunders raves about the doll-shaped Matryoska vibrator. I'll take one of each, please! The monthly Sex Toy Scuttlebutt column offers sexy holiday gift guides from Adam & Eve, Babeland and Good Vibrations - along with special discounts, of course, for faithful ERWA readers.

Take a stroll through the Playground:
erotica-readers.com/ERA/ST/Sex_Toy_Playground.htm

Speaking of porn, that's the topic of a lively discussion this month Inside the Erotic Mind. Does viewing porn enhance or damage a relationship? You'll find three pages of thoughtful commentary on this topic, from all sides of the issue. Feel free to share your own opinions. Just click on the Participate link.

It's always steamy inside the erotic mind:
erotica-readers.com/ERA/ITEM/Inside_The_Erotic_Mind.htm

Last, but certainly not least, we have goodies for all you authors out there. Donna George Storey discusses the rocky road to publication, then rewards you with two scrumptious dessert recipes. In his article "Marketing Self-Published Books", William Gaius serves up the hard truth: marketing is ugly, but it can't be escaped. Ashley Lister recommends that, like old love letters, you hang on to your original drafts, so you can trace the evolution of your skill.

While you're on the Authors Resources page, take at least a quick look through our huge compendium of publishers' guidelines and calls for submissions. New items this month include Maxim Jakubowski's Mammoth Book of Erotic Quickies, "Switch", a BDSM erotic romance anthology from Total-E-Bound, and a "My First Spanking" collection from Ravenous Romance. There are lots of opportunities in the GLBT section, including Sacchi Green's "Wild Girls, Wild Nights" and Shane Allison's "Steam Bath". And don't forget the possibilities for on-line publishing. We list a number of websites that pay for erotic stories as well as non-fiction.

Celebrate the new year with a new publishing contract:
erotica-readers.com/ERA/AR/Erotica_Authors_Resources.htm

By the way, our holiday edition of ERWA is sponsored by Adult FriendFinder, the wildly popular adult dating community where you can make new friends and hook up with the sexy singles or swinging couples. Whether you're looking for steamy chatrooms, live Webcams, swinger action, or that special someone; whether you're straight, bent, or kinky; for friendship or romance - you'll find what you want at Adult Friend Finder. Make a resolution! Promise yourself you'll make some new friends in the coming year at AdultFriendFinder.com

Speaking of New Year's resolutions, I've made a couple:

1. I will try to remember to wear panties when I get dressed for work.

2. I will stop arguing with my Dom (because, as he's quick to point out, he's always right).

3. I will avoid excessive alliteration in next year's naughty newsletters.

Probably these will suffer the same fate as most resolutions... I guess I'll just resolve to be myself, enjoy life, and spread the love around.

May your holidays be naughty AND nice!

Festively,
Lisabet
______

Visit Lisabet Sarai's Fantasy Factory
Check out Lisabet's blog
Join Lisabet's List

Write, learn, and play on ERWA email list. Details at:
erotica-readers.com/PRIVATE/index.html

Call for Submissions

2011-12-02T14:10:00.000-05:00

Mammoth Book of Erotic Quickies
Editor: Maxim Jakubowski
Publisher: Running Press in USA, Constable & Robinson in UK
Deadline: April 15th, 2012
Payment: £30 per story on publication, which at current exchange rate is approx $48. Rights are for non exclusive world English language print and E-book anthology rights.

Following in the footsteps of the 17 volumes of the Mammoth Book of Erotica (and three Photographic volumes), I am planning a one time spin-off, to feature quickies/flash erotic fiction.

The collection will feature twice 69 stories, ie 138 short pieces of fiction, to cover ALL genres/themes of modern erotic fiction.

Stories should all be around approx. 1500 words, and never shorter than 1200 words nor longer than 1800 words.

I realise that writing at such short length can be a problem when it comes to actual plot and characterisation, but would nonetheless wish to avoid too many vignettes that consist of purely a sex scene, or a wish fulfilment piece of dreamy stream of consciousness. A challenge? Yes.

Submission details at:
erotica-readers.com/ERA/AR/Mammoth_Book_of_Erotic_Quickies.htm

Call for Submissions

2011-12-01T14:06:00.000-05:00

Switch - Bondage/BDSM Anthology
Publisher: Total-E-Bound
Deadline: March 1, 2012
Payment: Royalties are 40% of RRP for eBooks and 10% for print to be divided equally and fairly between the authors of the anthology. Every story in an anthology also gets releases as a single story in eBook and Audio book further into the contractual term.

Total-E-Bound, a leading erotic romance publisher, is seeking submissions for its BDSM line. Bondage and discipline, spanking and kink and D/s play or lifestyle stories. We are seeking manuscripts between 10,000 words and 100,000 words or more.

Our upcoming Switch anthology continues this theme, with an emphasis on spanking and switching.

Submission details at:
erotica-readers.com/ERA/AR/Switch-Bondage_BDSM_Anthology.htm

Call for Submissions

2011-11-28T14:05:00.001-05:00

My First Spanking
Editor: Cassandra Park
Publisher: Ravenous Romance
Deadline: December 31, 2011
Payment & Rights: $25 and a copy of the eBook in the format of your choice; first world rights

Cassandra (Sandy) Park is seeking hot, unique, romantic short stories about "My First Spanking."

"A time of innocence …" What was it like when spanking was new? Does the main character fantasize about it, look it up online, and crave it for years before he finally takes the plunge? Or, does she not even realize what she wants until someone takes charge, takes her pants down and takes her breath away as she's yanked over a lap? And what happens next?

The stories must feature at least one of the main character's first spankings. Any type of pairing up is acceptable--M/f, F/m, M/m, F/f--and the story can be from either the top or bottom point of view.

Stories should be between 2,000 and 5,000 words. Send your story as a .doc (not .docx) attachment and include the title, pseudonym (if applicable) and your legal name and mailing address to mscassandrapark@gmail.com (If you are absolutely unable to send a Word attachment, I will accept an RTF.) Subject line should read: "My First Spanking." Please include, as a second attachment, a 50- to 75-word bio. Original stories only. No reprints.

Ravenous Romance takes first world rights, meaning they will be the first to publish the story, anywhere in the world. However, the story may be sold again, at any time, by the writer, as long as Ravenous Romance is credited as the first publisher. After five years rights revert back to the writer.

Call for Submissions

2011-11-23T13:54:00.000-05:00

Science Fiction Holiday 2012
Editor: Angela James
Publisher: Carina Press
Deadline: March 15, 2012
Payment: royalty based, plus a set number of limited-edition print copies

Carina Press is pleased to announce a call for submissions for our 2012 holiday collections. This will be the only open collection call for 2012 and is an excellent opportunity for authors interested in participating in the normally by-invitation-only Carina Press collections.

Carina is looking for science fiction novellas with a winter holiday theme, to be published digitally both individually and as a collection in December 2012. The novellas should be from 18,000 to 35,000 words and feature science fiction elements as integral to the novella. The stories do not need to be romance, or even have romance elements, but can be straight science fiction, or science fiction with romantic elements, and can also feature elements of mystery, thriller, horror or other sub-genres. Additionally, there is no set heat level for these stories, so they can have no sex, or be ultra-sexy, or anything in between.

Submission details at:
erotica-readers.com/ERA/AR/Science_Fiction_Holiday.htm

Call for Submissions

2011-11-15T12:09:00.000-05:00

Bodices and Boudoirs
Publisher: Total-E-Bound
Deadline: January 1, 2012
Payment: Royalties are 40% of RRP for eBooks and 10% for print to be divided equally and fairly between the authors of the anthology. Every story in an anthology also gets releases as a single story in eBook and Audio book further into the contractual term.

Total-E-Bound Publishing, a leading Erotic Romance Publisher, is looking for submissions for the following anthologies and collections.

We'd like to see some hot historicals, exploring any period of the past as long as it has a sultry summer setting. Regency rakes, knights in shining armour, Victorian gents, raunchy Romans...as long as it's hot in both senses of the word.

- The submission deadline is 1st January 2012 for release in the summer of 2012
- We're looking for 4 stories between 15,000 and 20,000 words.
- Any combination of M/F, M/F/M, M/M/F, M/M
- Non-TEB authors should submit the full story plus synopsis.
- Existing TEB authors should submit a synopsis to your Editor in the first instance.
- When submitting, please enter "Bodice and Boudoirs Submission" in the email subject line.

For further information on our guidelines, please go to
www.total-e-bound.com/submissionguidelines.asp

Call for Submissions

2011-11-07T16:28:00.000-05:00

Best Lesbian Romance 2013
Editor: Radclyffe
Publisher: Cleis Press
Deadline for Submissions: March 15, 2012
Payment: $50 and 2 contributor copies

Guidelines for Submissions
• Published or unpublished short stories or novel excerpts

• Previously published material acceptable if published between September 1, 2011 & September 30, 2012

• Word count: 1500 - 5000 words

• Electronic submissions only to: radclyffe.bsb@gmail.com

       ° e-mail header: BLR 13_ AuthorName or Pseudonym _Title (eg. BLR13_Radclyffe_Story Title)

       ° .rtf attachment (story)

       ° e-mail body: story title, author legal name, pseudonym if any, address, phone/fax, e-mail address, word count, if story previously published: anthology title/publisher/Pub date, 50 word bio (include website URL)

• Story Format:

       ° Arial; 12 pt; .rtf

       ° double-spaced; number pages upper right; standard paragraphing; no HTML

       ° file name: AuthorName or Pseudonym_Title (eg. Radclyffe_Story Title.rtf)

• General Info:

       ° The anthology is scheduled for publication from Cleis Press Fall 2012/Winter 2013

       ° You will receive email confirming submission receipt within 5 days

       ° Submission decisions will be provided by e-mail summer 2012

       ° Erotic content is welcome as long as the emotional/romantic elements are focal

       ° Multiple submissions (no more than 2) accepted

       ° Payment: $50 and 2 contributor copies

       ° Please send questions to: radclyffe.bsb@gmail.com

Call for Submissions

2011-11-04T12:58:00.000-04:00

Hot Butches/Hot Femmes
Editor: Laura Antoniou
Publisher: Ravenous Romance
Deadline: December 31, 2011
Payment & Rights: $ $25 for First World Rights in all formats; all secondary rights revert to the author for potential re-sales elsewhere

Two companion volumes, one goal — to celebbrate the classic identities of butches and femmes, those who love to play with gender!

Your story must feature at least one butch or femme (depending on the volume) matching the title description. They can be the point of view character, the protagonist or the lust object of the story.

From there, the field is open. Mix and match from the classic pairing of one butch + one femme, or spread the love. Two butches wrestling for top? Three femmes on a steamy trip to a spa? Training up a new baby butch? Romancing the flirtatious femme? Seducing a stone butch? Play with the tropes and stereotypes and poke at the boundaries. Characters do not need to be cisgendered, monogamous, or anything else "assumed."

And make it romantic. Don't dial back the sex — keep it hot and spicy! But these are celeebratory books, so I am looking for happy endings. Kink/leather/BDSM themes welcome, but not required — the flavor here is gender and gender expression.

Complimentary submissions for each book are also welcomed; turn the narrative voice around and show me different chapters in the story of your characters lives. (But please don't tell the same story two ways unless it's very different; the bar is higher if you try that.)

One time fee of $25 for First World Rights in all formats; all secondary rights revert to the author for potential re-sales elsewhere. Reprints accepted for review only if out of print for more than five years in any format, including online. Publisher — Ravenous Romance.

Other guidelines: Send a MS Word .doc (NOT .docx) or a .rtf file to AntoniouEdits@gmail.com Include which anthology you are submitting a story for in your e-mail; feel free to mention it again in the attachment - do NOT say, "Just put this story where you think best." Do not paste the story into the body of an e-mail. Include your full contact information, e-mail address and mailing address in both the e-mail and on the attached document. Format neatly according to professional guidelines, and include a brief personal bio. I prefer a story length between 3000-7000 words. Shorter? Then that story better pack a punch. Happily ever after endings, or at least happy-for-right-now.

Deadline — December 31, 2011

Call for Submissions

2011-11-04T00:29:00.000-04:00

Wild Girls, Wild Nights: True Lesbian Sex Stories
Editor: Sacchi Green
Publisher: Cleis Press
Preferred Length: 2000-4000 words
Deadline: March 1, 2012

Payment: $50 per story and two copies of the anthology
You put something of yourself into everything you write. You know you do. Now it's time to take a deep breath, go that extra step, and write an erotic story firmly grounded in truth. Real encounters, real emotions, real sensations, real people, drawn from memory and transformed by your art into real stories as gripping as any fiction.

Some degree of poetic license—or erotic license—is all right. Memories are inevitably filtered through time and experience, and telling a story can sometimes reveal the inner truth of feelings and actions better without a precise list of actions or a verbatim account of conversations. In the heat of the moment—and I do want the very hottest moments—certain parts stand out so vividly in your mind that everything before and after blurs and must be imagined. Combining events into a shorter time span can make the overall effect more intense. Pseudonyms are fine, and even if you use your own name, you must use fictional names for any other characters in order to maintain some degree of privacy.

As always, I'll be looking for variety in style, tone, setting, characterization, and all the things that make a story distinctive. This time, though, realism is the primary factor. First-time encounters are great, high points in long-term relationships are lovely, one-time outrageous adventures are fine, and BDSM elements are welcome as long as you really know what you're talking about. True love, mad crush, daring experimentation, any of these can work, and even sex that doesn't work out as planned is fair territory. Perfection in looks, skills, endurance, or any other erotic attribute is not necessary, and even if you're lucky enough to have encountered perfection, you'll have to make me believe in it. In fact, no matter what you write, you'll have to make me believe in it. These stories must be not only intensely arousing, but intensely convincing as well. Readers need to feel a link to their own lives and a validation of their deepest desires.

All stories must be written in the first person. All writers must be women, which in this case means having identified as women during any stage of their lives. My preferred length is 2000-5000 words. If you have a good story to tell but aren't sure your skills are up to it yet, give it a try; I'm willing to work with you on technical details. This balance of truth and art can get complicated, so feel free to e-mail me with any questions.

E-mail submissions (.doc or .rtf files only) and queries to: sacchigreen@gmail.com.

Call for Submissions

2011-11-03T16:58:00.001-04:00

Steam Bath: Steamy Gay Erotic Stories
Editor: Shane Allison
Publisher: Cleis Press (early 2012)
Deadline: February 1, 2012
Payment: $50/story, upon publication

UPDATE NOTICE: The correct email address is steambathantho@gmail.com

Shane Allison is back at it again. This new book will be focused primarily on hot bathhouse encounters. This will not be an anthology on simple hook-up scenarios, so the job I propose to you is turning such a stereotype on its ear. Think:

- Hot orgies
- Exhibitionism and voyeurism
- muscle lust bears to horned up silver daddies
- kink

I want it all. Stories can be told from second or third person, as long as it's an erotic story focused on the topic. Stories can be long- or short-term relationships or single encounters, or anything in between, as long as the characters and plot are believable and the story is hot. I don't want simple snapshots of scenes that don't tell us anything about the characters' motivation. No nonconsensual stories; all characters must be over 18. No scat or incest. No reprints.

I encourage you to think beyond clichéd scenarios. I am especially looking for stories where not all of the erotic action is centered around physical sensation. There can also be more than two people in a given story or scene (or even just one if they are following someone's orders), and bisexual scenarios are welcome as long as the bottom/top relationship is a homosexual one, as fitting the title. My biggest pet peeve with the submissions I've rejected in the past is lack of characterization/jumping into the sex scene too quickly. The more variety you can bring to the topic, the better your chances of your story being accepted.

Guidelines: Stories should be unpublished and not submitted elsewhere for publication. Stories should be 1,500 - 4,000 words, double spaced, Times New Roman 12 point font, in a Word document only. Please send as RTF format in the body of the email. You MUST include your bio (50 words MAX) and full contact info (mailing address, phone number, real name/pseudonym) on the FIRST page of your manuscript.

Payment will be $50/story and 1 copy of the book upon publication (late 2012). Contributors will retain the rights to their stories. You may submit up to two stories. Please note that the publisher has final approval over the manuscript.

Send your submission as a Word document to steambathantho@gmail.com

Please make sure to follow ALL directions. I'm getting a lot of single-spaced, non-Word document submissions without bios or mailing addresses. Please also make sure you send your FINAL version of your story, not a first (and then second or third) draft. All of the pertinent information, including a polished version of the story and your bio/contact info should be included in a single email, not multiple ones. Thank you.

If you have any questions, please email steambathantho@gmail.com

Deadline: February 1, 2012
Payment: $50/story, upon publication (early 2013)

Erotic Lure Newsletter: November 2011 Edition

2011-11-02T16:57:00.000-04:00

From the Erotica Readers & Writers Association
By Lisabet Sarai
_______

Dear Prurient Pilgrims,

It's November, the traditional season for giving thanks, pumpkin pie, and Pilgrim bondage jokes. I apologize but I just can't help myself. My first BDSM experience took place during a memorable Thanksgiving vacation, many years ago. Now I can't see a turkey without imagining myself trussed up!

Hopefully you can escape from the stocks of holiday responsibility long enough for me to give you a quick overview of the bountiful offerings in the Erotica Readers & Writers Association November edition.

Starting (as is traditional) in the Erotica Galleries, you can meet our Featured Guest, acclaimed author and editor Christopher Pierce. Christopher specializes in steamy M/M stories with a theme of power exchange, and has offered three of his best for your delectation, including a spooky tale that would have been equally appropriate for Halloween.

Don't stop there, though. Thanksgiving is all about over-indulgence! Sample this month's arousing, emotionally complex stories, flashers and poems by ERWA Storytime participants. If you're still not sated, dip into the Treasure Chest, where you'll find the best of the best from historical editions of ERWA.

Enjoy our lascivious, literary cornucopia:
erotica-readers.com/GD/S/Erotic_Fiction.htm

There's much to be thankful for in the Books for Sensual Readers pages. For a light-hearted demonstration that humor can be sexy, check out Jeremy Edwards' latest title, PLEASURE DIAL: AN EROTOCOMEDIC NOVEL OF OLD TIME RADIO. This is also a debut release for the new OC Press, an offshoot of the highly respected Oysters and Chocolate on-line zine. For stories with a darker flavor, I recommend EROTICA APOCRYPHA, edited by Catherine Leary, which imagines the seamier underside of biblical and mythological texts. Rachel Kramer Bussel edits WOMEN IN LUST - the title says it all, but the talented authors inside the covers (many of whom are ERWA veterans) know how to keep the thrills fresh.

For gay titles, I recommend Richard Labonte's collection EROTIC EXOTICA: TALES OF SEX, MAGIC AND THE SUPERNATURAL. I've never read a Richard Labonte anthology I didn't like. Paul Russell has penned a non-fiction opus that reads like a novel, in THE UNREAL LIFE OF SERGEY NABOKOV. Sergey, the gay brother of Lolita's creator, lived in the shadow of his famous sibling, mingling with literary and artistic luminaries such as Jean Cocteau, Gertrude Stein and Picasso. Mr. Russell vividly evokes the man's twisted, tragic and courageous history.

If you're in search of lesbian fiction, M.J. Williams' FORBIDDEN PASSIONS might meet your needs. This tale set in antebellum Louisiana features Southern belles who aren't waiting to be saved by some likely gentleman. And don't miss Tristan Taormino's award winning anthology SOMETIMES SHE LETS ME, a stunning compilation of butch/femme erotica.

All these titles and dozens more are waiting for you on our virtual shelves, and every one can be yours at the click of a mouse. Please use our affiliate Amazon and Barnes & Noble links to purchase your selections. You'll be helping to insure that the ERWA can continue to offer the erotic feasts that are its trademark.

For those who prefer their reading spicy:
erotica-readers.com/ERA/EB/Erotic_Books.htm

Bored with watching football? Slip off to the Sex Toy Playground for more active sports. This month, the gals at Good Vibrations provide a comprehensive dissertation on how to clean and care for your sex toys, depending on the material they're made of. (Sigh...I was sorry to read that leather is almost impossible to clean completely.) Kyra Saunders reviews the Paulina Vibe, a "rabbit" type dual vibrator that hits all the right spots. I liked the photo that shows her holding the vibe, since it provides an accurate impression as to the size (not that I get much chance to complain if a toy's too big, of course...) Finally, the Sex Toy Scuttlebutt gives you a round up of all the latest and greatest erotic devices. Check out the Club Vibe 2.OH, a "wireless music-driven vibe". Honestly, it sounds like something from one of my stories!

As usual, we've arranged special deals with many of our affiliates, so you can enjoy the intellectual satisfaction of saving money and moral satisfaction of knowing you're supporting ERWA - on top of the physical satisfaction!

Indulge your inner pervert:
erotica-readers.com/ERA/ST/Sex_Toy_Playground.htm

In the Adult Movies section, porn productions get more elaborate and sophisticated all the time. Featured this month is science fiction extravaganza "Horizon", with state-of-the-art special effects along with scorching performances by Alektra Blue, Jessica Drake and Keylani Lei. Then there's "Saturday Night Fever XXX", not so much a parody as a meticulously filmed homage to the classic original that includes all the sex only hinted at on the big screen. Couples may enjoy erotic thriller "Love is a ... Dangerous Game", about an author switching to writing horror and seeking advice from a charismatic master of the genre. Will he turn out to be the love of her life? Or the one who'll end it? And who could resist "Bra, Panties, Scissors", a quirky celebration of lingerie and sex, or Brad Armstrong's combination cabaret and fuck-fest, "Sexy"?

Make sure you have something to do after Thanksgiving dinner:
erotica-readers.com/ERA/AM/Adult_Movies.htm

In the Authors Resources pages, Ashley Lister shares his recent experiences at a writers' workshop, and recommends that you attend one too. Our other regular columnists appear to be - um - tied up this month, but if you want more advice and support for your own writing, delve into the Authors Resources archives. We have articles going back as far as 2006, on topics from inspiration to punctuation.

The Calls for Submissions list this month offers a healthy harvest of publication opportunities. Circlet Press has opened a call for stories set in the world of Laura Antoniou's Marketplace. Top editor D.L. King is looking for red hot spanking stories. Readerotica, a site associated with an adult toy vendor, is seeking high-spirited, high-temperature erotic stories to get their customers into the appropriate mood. There are at least half a dozen calls for gay anthologies, including tales about scars and tattoos and dubious consent tales (in a collection to be titled "Like It Or Not").

Find your perfect (publishing) match:
erotica-readers.com/ERA/AR/Erotica_Authors_Resources.htm

Inside the Erotic Mind, participants share three fantasies: something they'd definitely do, if they had the chance; something they might do, if circumstances were just right; and something they like to imagine, but would never actually do in reality. Fascinating reading! Want to share your take on the topic? Just click on the Participate link.

Expand your erotic horizons:
http://erotica-readers.com/ERA/ITEM/Inside_The_Erotic_Mind.htm

I gave in to temptation this month and spent a while exploring ERWA's portfolio of adult links. The Links page provides a well-organized directory of sites of many types: online writers' resources, erotic art, sexy animation, GLBT entertainment, BDSM and spanking... pretty much anything you might be looking for. We continually comb the web for the best sites in each category. (If you have a suggestion, just let our webmistress Adrienne know!)

Of course, I couldn't resist following some of the BDSM links. Several hours later, I pulled myself back to the task of working on the Lure... Hey, I was doing research!

Visit the best of the adult web:
erotica-readers.com/ERA/L/Adult_Entertainment_Links.htm

Our featured Web Gem this month is our long-time partner Good Vibrations, where adults shop for adult pleasures. Whether you're shopping for your first sex toy or your twentieth, something vanilla or kinky, for her, for him, or for the two of you, you'll find want you're looking for at GV. And if you have questions, just ask. The gals at Good Vibrations are experts on safe, fun sexual experimentation. Use the following link, along with discount code ERWA10 (at check out) for a 10% discount.
www.goodvibes.com/?kbid=22518

Well, that's it for the November Erotic Lure. I've got to get back to the sewing machine. My Pilgrim outfit from last year is in shreds (I'll leave you to imagine how it got that way) and I'll need a new costume for Turkey Day. I'm considering something native American. I'm sure you've seen pictures of the muscular, half-naked brave bringing offerings to the first Thanksgiving feast - a heavy sack of corn in his hands, a deer tied fore and aft with leather thongs swung across his shoulders. All I have to do is look at that doe, and I get ideas...

Gratefully yours,
Lisabet

Visit Lisabet Sarai's Fantasy Factory
Check out Lisabet's blog
Join Lisabet's List

Write, learn, and play on ERWA email list. Details at:
erotica-readers.com/PRIVATE/index.html

Call for Submissions

2011-11-01T18:12:00.001-04:00

Hot Pledges: Gay Erotic Stories
Editor: Shane Allison
Publisher: Cleis Press (early 2012)
Deadline: March 1, 2012
Payment: $50/story, upon publication

I know what you're thinking. "Not another frat anthology?" Not exactly. This new book will be focused primarily on pledges that are willing to do whatever it takes for acceptance, but don't get it twisted. This will not be an anthology on just pledges getting the paddled, so the job I propose to you is turning such a stereotype on its ear. Think Animal House or Spike Lee's School Daze. Stories can be told from second or third person, as long as it's an erotic story focused on the topic. Whether it's big frat brother with a stiff one or a pledge looking to seduce the horny college president, I want it all. Stories can be long- or short-term relationships or single encounters, or anything in between, as long as the characters and plot are believable and the story is hot. I don't want simple snapshots of scenes that don't tell us anything about the characters' motivation. Please see my anthologies College Boys and Frat Boys for an idea of the stories I prefer. No nonconsensual stories; all characters must be over 18. No scat or incest. No reprints.

I encourage you to think beyond clichéd scenarios. I am especially looking for stories where not all of the erotic action is centered around physical sensation. There can also be more than two people in a given story or scene (or even just one if they are following someone's orders), and bisexual scenarios are welcome as long as the bottom/top relationship is a homosexual one, as fitting the title. My biggest pet peeve with the submissions I've rejected in the past is lack of characterization/jumping into the sex scene too quickly. The more variety you can bring to the topic, the better your chances of your story being accepted.

Guidelines: Stories should be unpublished and not submitted elsewhere for publication. Stories should be 1,500 - 4,000 words, double spaced, Times New Roman 12 point font, in a Word document only. Please send as RTF format in the body of the email. You MUST include your bio (50 words MAX) and full contact info (mailing address, phone number, real name/pseudonym) on the FIRST page of your manuscript.

Payment will be $50/story and 1 copy of the book upon publication (late 2012 or early 2013). Contributors will retain the rights to their stories. You may submit up to two stories. Please note that the publisher has final approval over the manuscript.

Send your submission as a Word document to hotpledgesantho@gmail.com

Please make sure to follow ALL directions. I'm getting a lot of single-spaced, non-Word document submissions without bios or mailing addresses. Please also make sure you send your FINAL version of your story, not a first (and then second or third) draft. All of the pertinent information, including a polished version of the story and your bio/contact info should be included in a single email, not multiple ones. Thank you.

If you have any questions, please email hotpledgesantho@gmail.com

Deadline: March 1, 2012
Payment: $50/story, upon publication (early 2013)

Call for Submissions

2011-10-28T17:25:00.000-04:00

Readerotica - Free Erotica for Your eReader - Volumes 2 and beyond
Editor: PriveCo Inc
Deadline: Ongoing
Payment & Rights: $50 USD per story paid via Paypal (or $100 worth of product from Vibrators.com) for non-exclusive digital rights on the PriveCo websites as well as the eReader version of Readerotica. This arrangement is non-exclusive so you may use the stories on your own sites, in your own books, etc.

About Readerotica:
Readerotica is a free erotica series for people who prefer to read erotic stories on their Kindle, Nook or other eReader. The work is distributed free of charge or for the minimum possible price through Amazon as well. The work is targeted to mainstream eBook readers and is sponsored by Vibrators.com, whose clientele is likely to own an eBook. The idea of Readerotica is to drive our readers into such a sexual frenzy that they purchase a vibrator from Vibrators.com.

Specifications:
Stories should be approximately 2,500 words. Writers should show respect for the English language; it is the vehicle in which your thoughts travel to your readers. It should be washed, cleaned, and ready to run. Our digital publishing format rewards simplicity so your submission should be free of tabs, text-formatting, and excessive carriage returns. You are welcome to submit a Word document, a .txt document or an .rtf.

Topics:
Topics should be attractive to a professional woman: The majority of topics chosen will be heterosexual, single-partner stories (though tasteful, playful experimentation will be considered). Our readers are overwhelmingly female, so stories written from the female perspective are best. Explicit language is perfectly acceptable and expected. You are not required to incorporate Vibrators.com products into your story. That would be a bit too commercial for us. Readerotica contains short sponsorship messages between each short story instead. Finally: We would never consider topics that our readers wouldn't enjoy. We expect writers to exhibit a certain level of self control, so please no submissions that include: scat, incest, underage, etc. topics. Try to keep it sexy and fun.

Thank you:
Send submissions to: writer@isderacorp.com

Call for Submissions

2011-10-26T20:46:00.000-04:00

No Safewords: A Marketplace Collection
Editor: Laura Antoniou
Publisher: Circlet Press
Deadline: Feb. 28, 2012
Payment & Rights: $25 plus additional payments based on sales (see rights information below)

Do you have what it takes to enter The Marketplace? For the first time since The Academy, I am opening the doors to my exclusive playroom, for this first collection of fan fiction!

Yes, you can write a Marketplace story — and this is your chance to really push the limits! Use any character, any setting. Delve into the online Marketplace wiki to brush up on existing characters or create your own. Fit the story to what already exists or imagine a sort of alternative universe to my alternative universe. You can even add elements that do not exist in the books — want to make it paranormal? Set in the past/future? Carre to slash together characters you thought should have hooked up? Do you think there should have been more gay/lesbian/straight/rubber/steampunk/food fetish/Canadian/sexy accountant stories in the books? Now is your chance to write one!

I am the sole owner of the Marketplace series and all derivative works set in that universe. Therefore, I reserve the right as the owner/creator of the universe to refer to or use any character that an anthology contributor introduces, but by the same token, you the writer also keep the right to use that character yourself in your future work, although the MP setting will not be yours to continue to play with. Neither of us would have the right to stop the other from using a version of the character or name in future work. Fair 'nuff?

Questions I suspect will be frequently asked:

Q: I wrote this Mary Sue* story ages ago! Do you want it?
A: Is it good? Then sure!

Q: I've written novels all about these other characters but I have this idea about what would happen if they encountered the MP. Is that OK?
A: If you own the rights to those characters and don't mind that I might use them again later, then sure.

Q: What if these Star Trek/Twilight/Farscape/Disney characters found the MP, and...
A: Sorry, no characters belonging to other people, especially people who resemble large corporations with lawyers.

Q: So, Chris Parker is a vampire, see and Geoff Negel is a werewolf...
A: That story better be REAL good, that's all I'm saying. Or, intentionally hysterical.

Q: We can write funny stories??
A: Have you read the books? Of course you can.

Q: Does it have to contain a sex scene?
A: Read the books. Sex scenes are not what drive these novels — power and the human relationships and conflicts do. Of course, kinky sex is more than welcome, especially if it is necessary to tell that story!

Q: Do I have to read the books?
A: I am editing other anthologies. Try one of those.

Q: Can I really write about any character? Doing anything I want?
A: I'm human. I am more protective about some characters and story arcs. But the key question remains — Is the story good?

* Mary Sue story - tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/MarySue

Call for Submissions: On-going

2011-10-20T15:11:00.000-04:00

Monthly eBooks
Editor: Barbara Cardy
Publisher: Constable & Robinson (UK) Running Press (USA)
Deadline: None - On-going series released each month
Payment: Advance of between £25 and £50 plus Royalties

I have 14 more mini-anthology eBooks to put together for publisher Constable & Robinson. The straight category is now complete, but I do still need more lesbian and gay stories.

Each mini-anthology of 10,000 words will include 2, 3 or 4 stories: That could be 4 stories of 2,500 words, 3 stories of 3,300 words or 2 stories of 5,000 words. Please keep as close to those word counts as you possibly can.

The story should preferably be written in the 3rd person and should grab the reader’s attention in the first few sentences to hit the ground running with a jolly good plot! Erotic content must be within the first two or three paragraphs although not necessarily full blown sex. There must be at least two sex scenes in the 5,000 word stories. Twosomes, threesomes, groups, spanking, BDSM etc are all welcome subjects.
Unpublished stories only please.

Please send me a maximum of two stories per category – i.e. 2 Lesbian and 2 Gay would be fine, and each story must be attached to a separate email so I can divide them between email folders. Always send as a Word attachment and not pasted into the email.

Formatting:
Use a plain text such as Arial, Calibri or Times and no text boxes/headers/footers or special formatting etc. as it’s a bugger to get rid of! To save on printing paper, please start at the top of the page and put your name, address and email address, plus word count. A couple of lines down put the title of your story along with your name/pseudonym underneath. Then the teaser/blurb (see below for examples). Another couple of lines down, the story should begin. I will put © 2011 against the story unless you specify otherwise. You don’t need to worry about double-spacing between lines as I will only have to put it back into single spacing before I print it out. Somewhere at the very top of this first page, put LESBIAN or GAY in capital letters. All speech needs to be in double quotation marks. I don’t need your bio for these eBooks.

Teaser/Blurb: I need a short paragraph of two or three sentences on your story. This will be used to encourage a reader to download an eBook. Here are a couple to give you an idea of the sort of thing I’m after:

INSTRUCTION by Courtney James
Natalie wants to get away from male temptations and a job teaching exercise in a health hydro seems the perfect way to do it. Until she meets fellow instructor Jade, who introduces her to some delicious extra-curricular activity...

THE AROMA OF WORKED WOOD by Geoff Chaucer
Alec Conyers sat by his lathe every day gently stroking his wood... Some days stroking your wood ends with a bang, but when he looked up through his dirty window to see beneath the skirt of Betty Parsons, the bang turned to a whimper of desire.

Payment:
The Advance: £25 for each 2,500 word story, £33 for a 3,300 words story and £50 for a 5,000 word story. Again, please keep as close to these word counts as possible.

The Royalties: A pro-rata share of the following royalties.
On sales of the Mini-Anthology in eBook, audio or combined eBook/audio format: 30% of net receipts.
On sales of the Individual Story in eBook, audio or combined eBook/audio format: 40% of net receipts.

I will be happy to email you the full contract which includes an expanded royalty payment schedule, plus conventional printing and other opportunities.

I look forward to receiving and reading your stories. Please email them to me at barbara.cardy@yahoo.co.uk.

Call for documentary participants

2011-10-10T14:21:00.000-04:00

An award winning documentary production company based in Australia and California that produces top rated serious programs for major cable networks is seeking people that have been or are involved in an ANR/ABF relationship [Adult Nursing Relationship / Adult Breast Feeding] to share their stories with us for a documentary on love and relationships for a prime time cable program. Please contact me and I will answer all of your questions. You will be treated with respect! PLEASE RE-POST THIS OR PASS IT ALONG!

Contact: Alisa, Researcher, San Francisco
beyondproductions@australiamail.com
415-310-4321

Call for Submissions

2011-10-10T14:11:00.000-04:00

ForbiddenFiction is a publisher devoted to writing that breaks the boundaries of original erotic fiction. We aim to provide stories which combine intense sexuality with quality writing and dark themes. Many of the novels and stories we publish would be refused by other publishers because it breaks with convention for aspects such as BDSM, violence, non-consent or age variation. We do not have any content type that is forbidden. If it's a well written erotic story, we'll consider it. In fact, if it violates taboos in some fashion, we are more likely to publish it.

Payment of royalties (30%) and other income streams (authors share in the membership profits) are paid annually. ForiddenFiction is contracting for exclusive publication rights - digital, print and subsidary - for a period of seven years.

Stories chosen to be one of our Special Collections will be gathered by theme into ebook/print anthologies and posted to our royalty-paying online library. All lengths of stories are considered for Special Collections. Short stories and novellas will be grouped with similar stories for promotions and anthologies. Novels will be eligible for both the novel promotions and possible excerpts in the anthologies. Stories are also eligible for more than one special collection if they fit the themes.

ForbiddenFiction.com is a full-service, royalty-paying publisher that offers multiple forms of publications and income streams, including ebook, print and audio. We work with both established and new authors. We prefer original works, but will consider previously published stories as well.

For current list of Special Collections calls see:
http://forbiddenfiction.com/specialcollectioncalls
For Submissions Information and Guidelines at:
http://www.forbiddenfiction.com/submissions

Call for Submissions

2011-10-05T19:23:00.000-04:00

Riptide Publishing is a boutique purveyor of some of the finest gay fiction, romance, and erotica available today. Created by experienced M/M authors who were hungry for more favorable contracts, editing, marketing support, and royalty rates, Riptide Publishing seeks to fill a critical niche in the M/M market: quality books, pristinely packaged, that will satisfy readers' desires for rich, plotty, well-edited stories for which the author is fairly paid.

What is a "Collection"?

From time to time, Riptide will put out special calls for submissions to themed collections. Short stories, novelettes, and novellas in a themed collection that will be branded and marketed together, and sold in three ways:

1. As individual ebooks. Each story in a themed collection will receive its own unique cover and can be purchased on its own.

2. As a collection of ebooks. Readers may purchase every story in a themed collection at a significant discount off the total cover price. For instance, if a collection contains five novelettes priced at $2.99 apiece, we might offer all five novelettes together for $9.99.

3. As a traditional print anthology. Three to six months after the ebook release of a themed collection, all stories in the collection will be compiled into a single trade paperback anthology.

Novels in a themed collection will be branded and marketed together, and sold individually in ebook and print. Novels in a themed collection may be sold bundled at a discount, but this depends on a number of factors.

You do not need an invitation to submit to an open collection. In fact, if your story is accepted into one of our collections, you never need an invitation to submit to us again—you'll be part of the Riptide family and can pitch your editor at any time.

Details for current collection calls at the Erotica Readers & Writers Association:
erotica-readers.com/ERA/AR/Riptide_Publishing.htm

Erotic Lure Newsletter: October 2011 Edition

2011-10-02T15:11:00.001-04:00

From the Erotica Readers & Writers Association
By Lisabet Sarai
_______

Dear Acolytes of the Amorous,

October is upon us, the traditional time for chills, thrills, and pleasures from beyond the mortal realm. Here at the Erotica Readers & Writers Association we've concocted a potent brew of sensual delights spiked with just the tiniest taste of terror, to set your heart racing and your imagination roaming. Walk with me through the shadowy, cobweb-draped corridors of our October edition as I reveal the profane spectacles we've assembled for your entertainment.

In the Erotica Gallery we celebrate the occult season with our usual October theme, La Petite Mort. Lisette Ashton, our featured author, shares three of her sexy, scary tales, including an excerpt from her hilarious vampire sextravaganza ONCE BITTEN. Our talented Storytime members have contributed their own visions of tentacled monsters, vampire sluts, werewolves and ghosts, wrapped up with enough flesh and fluids to make your blood run hot rather than cold. We have flashers and poems, too, juicy morsels of lascivious enchantment offered for your delectation.

Lose yourself in our lust-haunted forest of dreams:
erotica-readers.com/GD/S/Erotic_Fiction.htm

Our Books For Sensual Readers section this month features M. Christian's creepy and compelling new novel, FINGER'S BREADTH, as well as Vinnie Tesla's outrageous opus, THE EROTOFLUIDIC AGE - a sort of cross between Mary Shelley and R. Crumb. Kristina Wright offers more tales of science and engineering run wild in her new steampunk anthology STEAMLUST. Tristan Taormino's collection of trans and genderqueer erotica TAKE ME THERE is twisted by intention, while Lynne Connolly's paranormal erotic romance SHIFTING HEAT gives readers yet another seductive monster. In Josh Lanyon's gay mystery ALL SHE WROTE, a murderer stalks six authors trapped in a snowbound New England country house. Ronica Black's lesbian D/s tale CONQUEST deals with a power that only feels supernatural. In our art and photography pages, I happened on LA PETITE MORT, Will Santillo's stunning collection of images showing women masturbating to orgasm. And I recommend Susie Bright's memoir BIG SEX LITTLE DEATH for a seasonally appropriate dose of non-fiction.

All these tomes and scores more await you on our virtual bookshelves. Be sure that you use our convenient links to Amazon or Barnes & Noble should you desire to add any of these volumes to your personal library. Otherwise our resident witches will whip up an appropriately unpleasant curse.

Search the erotic arcana:
erotica-readers.com/ERA/EB/Erotic_Books.htm

If you want to work some magic in the bedroom, consult the experts in the ERWA Sex Toy Playground This month, Good Vibrations provides advice on how to choose a sexual lubricant while Mr. and Mrs. Toy review the Liberator BonBon Toy Mount. Our regular the Sex Toy Scuttlebutt column highlights the latest developments in the field of amorous instruments. As an ERWA reader, you can take advantage of discounts from affiliates such as Adam & Eve, Babeland and Good Vibrations. Just use our instant coupon codes when you order.

Bring your skeletons out of the closet and make 'em dance:
erotica-readers.com/ERA/ST/Sex_Toy_Playground.htm

The Best Adult Movies pages are crawling with stuff to make you shiver and shake. Headlining the October offerings is "Halloween XXX", a porn parody of the popular horror series that fortunately offers more flesh than blood. My personal choice this month is "Runaway", featuring Capri Anderson, a red head to die for. "Asa Akira is Insatiable Volume 2" stands out in the total smut category, featuring a long list of sexual acts that included acronyms even I had to look up.

For treats and the occasional trick, check out our movies:
erotica-readers.com/ERA/AM/Adult_Movies.htm

Inside the Erotic Mind this month, you'll find pages of surprising, entertaining and arousing commentary on the question of what men and women think about during the act of sex. You're welcome to add your own thoughts. Just click the link labeled "Participate".

Share your forbidden fantasies:
erotica-readers.com/ERA/ITEM/Inside_The_Erotic_Mind.htm

All play and no work and there wouldn't be any erotica for you to read. In the Author Resources section, our columnists continue to toil away, expounding on the mysteries of publishing success. This month Donna George Storey talks about why working with a critique partner is like sex, offers tips for both giving and receiving crits, and manages to work in a scrumptious sounding recipe for oven-roasted Brussel sprouts. William Gaius continues his detailed, step-by-step tutorial on how to create a Print-on-Demand book. Ashley Lister is back, asserting "Nil Bastardum Carborundum" - that is, don't let the bastards get you down. He's talking about the multitudinous forces that influence us writers to just give up. I particularly resonated with his comments about "status envy". Don't miss it.

Of course, you can't publish if you don't submit. As usual, ERWA keeps you informed of publishing venues and opportunities with our regularly updated list of calls for submissions. New this month is the announcement that the folks responsible for the highly regarded Oysters and Chocolate web site are starting a new imprint, OC Press. Other calls include Tinder James' anthology "Stretched" (sex that's a little over the top but not entirely implausible"), Mitzi Szereto's "Kingdoms of Desire" (sword and sorcery), and Richard Labonte's "Showing Off, Getting Off" (gay exhibitionism). Rachel Kramer Bussel has several open anthology calls, while Joan Price is seeking erotic stories about seniors. Ravenous Romance and Naughty Nights also have calls for new collections. That's just the beginning. Whether you're trying to sell your short stories, novellas, novels, non-fiction or erotic art, make ERWA your first stop for information and inspiration.

Transform your publishing visions into realities:
erotica-readers.com/ERA/AR/Erotica_Authors_Resources.htm

Our featured Web Gem for October, just in time for trick or treat, is Candy.com. I remember how my siblings and I used to look forward to the bounty distributed by our neighbors every Halloween. Candy.com, the "virtual corner candy store", features thousands of different candy lines, including a wide variety of all-natural and organic products. I'll bet they even have those licorice whips I used to love so much. (Yeah, I was precocious.) Browse their mouth-watering pages today at:
Candy.com

I will leave you here, at the threshold to even greater thrills. Feel free to explore on your own. I've got to work on what I'm going to wear for the annual ERWA Halloween Ball. I'd been thinking about masquerading this year as a succubus -- but then it occurred to me that nobody would realize I was in costume. Wishing you a Halloween steeped in magick.

Wickedly,
Lisabet
-

Visit Lisabet Sarai's Fantasy Factory
Check out Lisabet's blog
Join Lisabet's List

Write, learn, and play on ERWA email list. Details at:
erotica-readers.com/PRIVATE/index.html

Call for Submissions

2011-09-29T15:35:00.001-04:00

OC Press accepts unsolicited submissions of erotic novels and novellas. Please read the submission guidelines carefully. Failure to follow the guidelines may result in a rejection.

LITERARY ELEMENTS

Yes we are an erotica publisher, so sex is the focal part of the story, however, there are other elements of the genre to consider. Accepted novels will display the following literary elements:

- Hot sex and plenty of it. Erotica readers are reading erotica because they want to be excited (much as a reader of horror wants to be frightened). This is erotica, so there must be sex in every chapter.

- Well developed characters. We want to care about your characters. Who are they? What are their motivations to hook up? What are the nuances of their relationship(s)

- Well developed plot. Give us a fully developed story with a beginning, middle, and an end. Include a climax, a love (or a lust) interest, and a compelling sequence of events. Make the reader want to stay up all night to finish your book.

- A rich setting. Where is the story taking place? What makes the setting an integral part of the story? Is it a historical setting? A futuristic setting? A realistic setting? Give us a clear sense of place and context.

- Avoid clichés. Unfortunately, erotica is prone to terrible clichés. Avoid phrases like heaving bosom, wave after wave of pleasure, and as hard as a rock.

- Edit, edit, edit! We expect manuscripts to be as error free as possible. Before submitting, have someone else read and edit your manuscript for spelling and grammar. Bad grammar is distracting and may result in a rejection.

- Cut the fat. Nothing can drag a story down faster than unnecessary details and descriptions. Comb through your novel and trim out anything that doesn’t move your story forward.

- Fact check. Do your research and make sure you’ve got your facts straight, this is especially important for erotica that takes place in real contemporary or historical settings.

- Sex positions. Must make sense! We’ve had a lot of fun trying to decide whether someone can be positioned doggy style over the top of a baby grand piano. Turns out, not really there are different heights to baby grand pianos, so it depends on which one the characters are using. Visualize, or better yet try, your sex positions to make sure they are physically possible.

- Avoid porno style dialogue. This is literary erotica, and as such, dialogue like, “Oh yeah, fuck my pussy, baby,” and “Oh yeah, do you like it like that?” doesn’t usually work.

- Echoes. Avoid overusing and repeating words. For example: “She had a great butt. He admired her butt greatly.”

- Double check your timeline and characters. For example, make sure your character starts and ends with blue eyes and that the timeline of your story makes sense. (Did the events take place over the course of a day, a week, a year, or more?)

*Note these are general guidelines. Sometimes rules are made to be broken. Good writers who know what they are doing can sometimes break a rule or two quite successfully.

PAYMENT

Authors earn 40% commission of net sales. Net sales are sales after distributor commissions (i.e. Amazon.com charges 30% commissions, so net sales would be 40% of 70% revenue). Payments are made quarterly on January 15th, April 15th, July 15th, and October 15th, or the nearest following business day, for the previous quarter. There is a payment threshold of $25. Payments can be made via check or PayPal. Overseas payments (other than the UK) must be made via PayPal.

RIGHTS

OC Press retains exclusive rights of your publication for two years from publication date, after which time you may republish your work elsewhere. We accept previously published works, so long as you retain rights.

Submission details at:
www.oystersandchocolate.com/Articles/2246/OCPressNovelNovellaSubmissionGuidelines.aspx

Call for Submissions

2011-09-22T17:46:00.000-04:00

Senior Erotica Anthology
Editor: Joan Price
Publisher: Seal Press
Deadline: February 1, 2012 (earlier submissions preferred)
Payment: $100 on acceptance and 2 copies of the book on publication

Joan Price is seeking erotic stories and memoir essays of high literary quality from writers over age 50, featuring steamy characters also over age 50, for a senior erotica anthology to be published Spring 2013 by Seal Press.

Will this be your typical erotica anthology with a few wrinkles? No, the truth is that we seniors don't respond to the sopping-wet panties and rock-hard erections that are the hallmark of traditional, youth-oriented erotica. Instead, we want erotica that we can relate to, that encompasses the changes and adaptations of age, that acknowledges how we like to be stimulated. Age is accepted, celebrated, and sensually enjoyed. Characters may be having spicy sex with partners they love and have loved for decades; or with new loves or casual encounters; or solo with hands, vibrators, memories, and fantasies. Although I admit my bias towards erotica that is tender and loving, I'm also looking for edgy and kinky stories for a balanced collection.

Seal Press and I will choose submissions of high literary quality, not just good, explicit sex scenes. Arouse us with a sexy, well-crafted plot we haven't read before, characters who entice us and feel real to us, language that describes sex in a new way. I welcome diversity of all kinds, including race, ethnic background, gender identification, sexual orientation, disability, and every other kind of diversity.

Word length: 1,500-3,000 words, previously unpublished preferred.

Payment: $100 on acceptance and 2 copies of the book on publication.

Submission deadline: February 1, 2012 (earlier submissions preferred). Please submit Word document, double-spaced, Times or Times New Roman font. Authors may submit up to 2 contributions.

Before you submit (right now would be good!), please email me at SeniorErotica@gmail.com with the header "senior erotica submission" and include your 75-100-word bio written in the third person and complete contact information: legal name, pseudonym if applicable, mailing address, email address, and phone. Please include your age, also (which won't be public unless you want it to be). I"ll put you in my database of potential contributors and update you as the project progresses.

Joan Price, Editor
seniorerotica@gmail.com

Author of Naked at Our Age: Talking Out Loud about Senior Sex and Better Than I Ever Expected: Straight Talk about Sex After Sixty
www.joanprice.com
Award-winning blog about sex & aging:
www.NakedAtOurAge.com

Call for Submissions

2011-09-17T13:49:00.000-04:00

Hustler Fantasies: a letters digest composed of approximately 30 letters, published 13 times a year.

Writer's Guidelines and Specifications

Acceptable Manuscript Formats
• E-mail
• Hard copy (computer printout or typewritten)

Letters
Length: 700 to 1,200 words
Payment: $25 (upon printing)

Hot, fast-paced pornographic letters written in a first-person conversational, confessional style.

Thirteen categories: group, trio, oral, anal, kink, b&d, lesbian, voyeur, exhibition, older/younger, straight, phone sex and masturbation/sex toys.

To Submit a Manuscript
Please include your name, address and phone number.

Hard Copy:
Include an SASE and mail to:
Hustler Fantasies
LFP, Inc.
8484 Wilshire Blvd., Ste. 900
Beverly Hills, CA 90211

E-Mail:
Include the manuscript text in the body copy of your e-mail and send to:
hustlerfantasies@lfp.com

For a concrete example of publishable manuscripts, pick up a copy of Hustler Fantasies at your local newsstand/adult-book store. You can also purchase a copy by logging on to HustlerMagazine.com/ShopMagazines or calling 1-800-763-8271, Ext. 7651.

Note: All rights to manuscripts sent to Hustler Fantasies will be treated as unconditionally assigned for publication and copyright purposes and as subject to our edits and editorial comments.

Upon acceptance, you will be sent a purchase agreement detailing payment for the piece as well as the rights we are purchasing. Payment is made upon shipping the magazine to the printers.

If a submission is rejected, it is either returned to you snail mail (if you include an SASE) or, in the case of electronic submissions, you will receive an email.

If you are emailing a manuscript, please copy the text into the body copy of your email, rather than as an attachment. Also, include your address and phone number.

No bestiality, rape, incest, male homosexuality, sex with minors, simultaneous submissions or excessive wordiness, please!

Call for Submissions

2011-09-15T16:28:00.000-04:00

Coming Together
at: www.eroticanthology.com
Editor: Alessia Brio
Deadline: Submissions are continuously open.

Payment: Contributors will receive a final "as published" PDF copy of the professionally-edited ebook as well as, if released as such, a print copy. Additional payment is in karma.
Contract: Coming Together uses a very basic publication agreement that seeks non-exclusive rights to publish. A template can be viewed at:
eroticanthology.com/pdf/Coming Together sample publishing agreement.pdf

Since its debut in 2005, Coming Together has donated thousands of dollars to dozens of charities. It has published numerous single- and multi-author anthologies in both ebook and print as well as novella-length single titles. All the work is donated, as is all the revenue. Coming Together has garnered much critical acclaim, won many awards, and set the publishing industry standard for "doing good while being bad."

Coming Together is a registered "voluntary nonprofit association" seeking submissions of erotic fiction, poetry, and art from established professionals as well as amateur/up-and-coming creatives. Our current publishing focus is on stories of 5,000 to 20,000 words to release as individual ebooks under one of our many charity lines. Erotic fiction is our trademark, but we will consider submissions in any genre. Volunteer editors and marketers are also needed.
In 2010, Coming Together became an independent publisher, eliminating a middleman and vastly increasing the amount of each sale that is ultimately donated to charity. Its publications are available online at all major bookstores, and its print offerings can be special ordered via any offline bookstore.
Want to get involved? Please query using the form located at the following URL, and thanks for your interest in erotic altruism!
docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?formkey=dFpXcG43WVFEcUR6THZsR2ttcm9yRUE6MQ

About the Editor: Take one part Appalachian redneck, one part aging wet dream, and one part filthy-minded wordsmith. Mix well and serve with chocolate-covered cherries. There you have the one and only Alessia Brio. In addition to serving as Coming Together's editor, Alessia writes all colors and flavors of erotica, from heterosexual to ménage to same sex, and from twisted to humorous to deeply touching. (Sometimes, usually by accident, it even qualifies as romance.) Her work has earned her critical acclaim in the form of three EPPIEs for Erotica (fine flickering hungers, Coming Together: Against the Odds, and Coming Together: Into the Light), Romantic Times Top Pick (Coming Together: For the Cure), and two Next Generation Indie Book Awards for Erotica (Squeeze Play and Coming Together: With Pride) in addition to a plethora of glowing online reviews.

Ms. Brio lives in the mountains near Pittsburgh, where she masquerades as a soccer mom. Her fetishes include SuDoku, rare steak, and stainless steel. The Internet is both her office and her playground, and she can be found online at via publishing label, Purple Prosaic, in addition to Twitter and Facebook.

Erotic Lure Newsletter: September 2011 Edition

2011-09-01T17:27:00.004-04:00

From the Erotica Readers & Writers Association
By Lisabet Sarai
_______

Dear Pupils of Prurient Pedagogy,

September always stimulates my memories of back-to-school: crisp empty notebooks and well-sharpened pencils, a brand new wardrobe, strict teachers quick with the ruler or the cane... Okay, okay, so those memories are from a number of years later. Nevertheless, I adored school, and so there's something about this month that continues to excite me.

If you're looking for excitement, you've come to the right place, the Erotica Readers & Writers Association web site. I'm headmistress Lisabet Sarai, here to make sure you know what's good for you. Pay attention, now, while I instruct you in the many delights that await the diligent student among our pages.

Our first lesson begins in the Story Gallery, where our special guest author is the erudite and prolific Jean Roberta. Appropriately, she teaches at a renowned Canadian university - when she's not penning her literate smut, that is. You'll find three enticing tales by Jean in the Gallery this month, showcasing the diversity of her talent.

When you've finished reading Jean's contributions, don't neglect the rest of the tantalizing original fiction we feature this month. We've got complex, multi-faceted stories and sizzling quickies, all guaranteed to entertain as well as enlighten you. You get extra credit if you read the poetry - some hilarious limerick cycles as well as more serious verse.

English composition class was never this much fun:
erotica-readers.com/GD/S/Erotic_Fiction.htm

Since reading is one of the three essential skills (along with writing and flogging), I'll lead you next to the Books for Sensual Readers section, where we keep you informed about all the best new erotic titles. This month we showcase a number of stellar anthologies, including Delilah Devlin's lesbian vampire collection GIRLS WHO BITE, Catherine Leary's shocking and arousing collection about sex and apocalypse, THIS IS THE WAY THE WORLD ENDS, and Mitzi Szereto's delicious Gothic romance anthology RED VELVET AND ABSINTHE. If you'd prefer a novel to a selection of short fiction, pick up Saskia Walker's medieval tale about an accused witch and a priest of dubious sanctity, THE HARLOT. Everyone's talking about HOUSE OF HOLES, Nicholas Baker's surreal, boisterous, and bizarre sexual opus. It sounds like great fun, and it's "Literature", too - reviewed by the New York Times and everything!

In the gay fiction category, you'll certainly want to check out KISSING SHERLOCK HOLMES, a re-imagining of the classic detective and his dedicated assistant by T.D. McKinney and Terry Wylis. Lesbian lit fans will enjoy KISS THE RAIN by Larkin Rose, a sexy romance about secrets and lies, fashion and phone sex. Meanwhile, your assignment for history class is ONE NATION - UNDER SEX. Free speech advocate and founder of Hustler magazine, the notorious Larry Flynt, teams up with a history professor from Columbia University to explore the colorful sex lives of American presidents, first ladies and their lovers - and how that has influenced history.

I'll expect your book report before the end of the month:
erotica-readers.com/ERA/EB/Erotic_Books.htm

Speaking of expectations: if you decide to purchase the above titles or any others, I presume you will remember to use ERWA's affiliate links to Amazon or Barnes and Noble. Should you forget and carelessly throw away potential revenue for ERWA by buying elsewhere, let me assure you that I have my ruler handy.

Every educator knows that book learning is no substitute for practical, action-oriented experience. So follow me over to the Sex Toy Playground for some hands-on activity with amatory artifacts. The folks at Adam and Eve, in the spirit of back-to-school, offer an informative history of sex toys. Even the Sears and Roebuck Catalog shows up in their essay. Kyra Saunders' review of the Bnaughty bullet vibrator had me laughing with her description of how her last vibe bit the dust. As usual, the Sex Toy Scuttlebutt serves as the Cliff Notes for sex toys, hitting the highlights of what's new from our partners. The observant pupil will note that a number of our affiliates are offering significant discounts to ERWA subscribers. Don't miss the Smartballs Kegel training kit; remember that a fit pussy is a happy pussy.

Get some physical education:
erotica-readers.com/ERA/ST/Sex_Toy_Playground.htm

Remember those film strips they used to run in "Health" class? Our Adult Movies are more fun, and more accurate, too. I usually don't appreciate parodies, but "Elvis XXX" sounds too good to miss. Featuring your favorite porn stars masquerading as Ann Margret, Marilyn Monroe, Natalie Wood and the King himself, the film is a rollicking, raunchy musical tribute to the man who invented the mobile pelvis.

Other titles that caught my eye include "Portrait of a Call Girl", a character study of a young woman's sexual path to freedom from her past. "Backdoor to Chyna" features World Wrestling Foundation champion Chyna in a filthy, outrageous set of over-the-top sexual scenarios. Classic porn is always educational. The 1980 hit "Downstairs, Upstairs" is a typical example. It stars the delectable Seka as a maid who takes employment in an aristocratic, sex-crazed British family and is of course drawn into their kinky games.

All these movies and dozens more are waiting for you. Just click on the link to your favorite provider. ERWA gives you a broad choice, and guess what? Many are offering discounts. Be good and order your top five.

There'll be a film quiz later:
erotica-readers.com/ERA/AM/Adult_Movies.htm

Inside the Erotic Mind, our members are discussing BDSM, a surprisingly controversial subject. To share your opinions, just click the Participate link. I did.

Everything is permitted inside the erotic mind:
erotica-readers.com/ERA/ITEM/Inside_The_Erotic_Mind.htm

We've covered reading and flogging, so it's time to turn to writing. In the Author Resources section, William Gaius provides a detailed guide to techniques and terminology in preparing your book for Print-On-Demand. Ashley Lister offers pointers on doing it in public - reading your work, that is. Explore our comprehensive archives, which cover more than five years of advice and inspiration from the experts.

The Calls for Submissions listings are overflowing with publishing opportunities. New items this month include a cowboy anthology edited by Delilah Devlin, a female submission anthology with Rachel Kramer Bussel, Mitzi Szereto's call for swords and sorcery erotic fiction ("Kingdoms of Desire"), and Storm Moon Press' call for gender-bending "trans*" fiction. Forbidden Fiction is a new ebook and print publisher focusing on taboo fantasy erotica. This is just the tip of the iceberg. ERWA provides the most comprehensive and up-to-date compendium of places for you to submit your work, including magazines, websites, even audio publishers.

I don't want to hear you whining that there's no market for erotica:
erotica-readers.com/ERA/AR/Erotica_Authors_Resources.htm

And while I'm addressing myself to the writers, editors and publishers among you, let me remind you that there's still time to register for the Erotic Authors Association's inaugural erotic writers' conference, Sex in Sin City. The conference will be held at the Flamingo Hotel and Casino on the Las Vegas Strip, September 9 and 10, 2011. Come meet your fellow smutmongers! With panels, classes, readings, publisher consultations, and of course parties, Sex in Sin City promises to be both educational and fun. AND it's probably tax deductible.

For registration and hotel links, as well as a complete list of panels and panelists, classes and presenters as well as bios and photos, visit the EAA website at:
eroticauthorsassociation.com/EAA

Don't dawdle now.

Our September web gem is adult emporium Lovehoney. Sexual happiness starts with Lovehoney. Whether you're looking for a sex toy, some extra special lingerie, erotic literature or a gift with a sexy twist, has everything you need for a fun and fulfilling sex life. Lovehoney believes that exploration, play and please is a combination worth indulging in. With free advice, delivery and 1 year returns, you can shop in total confidence with Lovehoney - The Sexual Happiness People: www.lovehoney.co.uk

It's time for me to let you out of class, but I do hope you'll do your homework. If school had only been as motivating as the ERWA site, we all would have gotten better grades.

As for me, I've just been called to the principal's office. My backside's already tingling in anticipation.

Lisabet
-

Visit Lisabet Sarai's Fantasy Factory
Check out Lisabet's blog
Join Lisabet's List

Write, learn, and play on ERWA email list at:
erotica-readers.com/PRIVATE/index.html

Event Alert

2011-08-31T15:04:00.001-04:00

Writers, editors and publishers: there's still time to register for the Erotic Authors Association's inaugural erotic writers' conference, Sex in Sin City, being held at the Flamingo Hotel and Casino on the Las Vegas Strip, September 9 and 10, 2011!

This is the first conference, specifically for writers of erotic content. The scheduled presenters comprise a veritable who's who of erotic fiction.

Attend panels on everything from publishing to using your personal sex life as erotic fodder for your stories, as well as classes on a broad range of topics from grammar to using a form of hypnosis in audio casting. Our presenters include a veritable "Who's Who" of the genre, such as Rachel Kramer Bussel, M. Christian, Laura Antoniou, Remittance Girl, Radclyffe, Cecilia Tan and many more.

Talk with publishers from Cleis Press, Bold Strokes Books, Accent/Excite, Ellora's Cave and others, many of which will be taking pitches in one-to-one registered sessions.

Attend an erotic reading at the Las Vegas Erotic Heritage Museum and sign up to read five minutes of your work. And don't forget to sign up to read in one of the open reading sessions at the conference.

Two full days of events comprising three tracks: panels, classes and readings, will make for some difficult decisions on the part of conference attendees. For a complete list of panels and panelists, classes and presenters as well as bios and photos, please go to the EAA website and peruse the various conference links. Registration and hotel links are available for your convenience.

Call for Submissions

2011-08-25T21:20:00.002-04:00

Storm Moon Press has always been open to trans* fiction, but sadly, little has come our way. We've thought to encourage some trans*-positive fiction by dedicating an initial three erotic romance anthologies in 2012 to various themes starring trans* characters.

FLUX
Submission Deadline: February 29, 2012
Expected Release Date: June 29, 2012

"Flux" is a science-fiction and fantasy anthology of stories containing intersex characters. The term 'intersex' is a broad term that covers a variety of anomalies that result in an atypical presentation of usually sex-linked physical features. This includes everything from a genetic XY-male with female secondary sex characteristics to full hermaphroditism, where both sets of sex organs are present. (See http://www.isna.org/faq/conditions for a partial list of conditions that can result in intersex anatomy.)

And as this is a SF/F anthology, the possibilities are even broader: a male brain implanted into a female-shaped android body, aliens with more than two distinct genders, fantastical creatures whose outward appearance shifts with their moods, or anything else imaginable. However, please avoid stories of magic curses/scientific experiments that treat a gender shift as a punishment or an accident, or 'polyjuice'/virtual reality scenarios where changing gender expression is voluntary and/or temporary.

Stories need not center around the specifics of the character's intersexed nature, but it must be at least discussed and handled respectfully. The point is to give the spotlight to the type of characters that in modern society are often used as punchlines, when they're not being erased entirely. Happy endings are definitely expected, along with all the usual erotic romance elements. All sexualities are permitted, as well as all variations on the intersex theme.

Happy-For-Now or Happily-Ever-After endings are required for this anthology.
##

TRANSITIONS VOLUME I & TRANSITIONS VOLUME II
Submission Deadline: July 30, 2012
Expected Release Date: November 23, 2012

With "Transitions", Storm Moon Press would like to showcase stories of contemporary erotic romance centered on individuals considering, starting, undergoing, or completing sexual reassignment surgery. "Volume I" will contain stories focused on trans women (M2F), while "Volume II" will contain stories focused on trans men (F2M). While we are aware that not every transgender individual feels a desire for transitional surgery, this anthology is concerned only with those who do.

Characters may be at any point along their journey to transition, and all sexualities are permitted. Stories should be in a contemporary setting, with no urban fantasy or paranormal elements. While the transitioning itself need not be the primary plot element, it should at least play a significant part. Happily-ever-after or happy-for-now endings are required, as we want to accentuate the positives despite social acceptance being slow to catch up.

Happy-For-Now or Happily-Ever-After endings are required for these anthologies.

Please look at our submission guidelines (http://stormmoonpress.com/anthologies.aspx) for details on payment and how to submit.

Erotic Lure Newsletter: August 2011 Edition

2011-08-04T16:04:00.003-04:00

From the Erotica Readers & Writers Association
By Lisabet Sarai
_______

Dear Wanton Wenches and Lusty Lads,

It's that time once again - time for me to lead you through the latest salacious edition of the Erotica Readers & Writers Association web site. As usual, I've dressed for the occasion. All right, perhaps "undressed" would be more appropriate, but don't let my costume distract you. The ERWA site is even more fun than I am.

As is my wont, I'll start in the Erotica Gallery, where our August featured author is the enticing and erudite Dr. Donna George Storey. She's penned a fabulous article about how she got started writing erotica and then provided three steamy stories, including her first published erotica, "Picture Perfect". I've read (and loved) a lot of Donna's work, but this one was new to me - and it's great.

The Gallery also offers several spicy tales on the theme "They're Playing Our Song", a bit of romance from our editor Robert Buckley, and some delightful flashers and poems.

Our original erotica will get you in the mood:
erotica-readers.com/GD/S/Erotic_Fiction.htm

Are you hungry for more sexy reading? We have what it takes to satisfy you. Every month in our Books for Sensual Readers section, we feature dozens of new titles in every sub-genre. If you fancy an erotic anthology, I recommend NICE GIRLS, NAUGHTY SEX, a selection of saucy tales from the acclaimed Oysters and Chocolate web site, edited by Jordan La Rousse and Samantha Sade. For surprising, arousing stories that twist traditional notions of gender, pick up the Circlet Press collection UP FOR GRABS 2, edited by Lauren P. Burka. Lynne Connolly's sizzling erotic romance SUNSHINE ON CHROME brings to life the beloved fantasy of a mature woman pursued by a hot younger man. Or choose my own erotic thriller EXPOSURE for something edgier and more ambiguous.

Our gay lit section features several anthologies edited by the always astute Richard LaBonte, as well as SHAMEFUL DESIRES 1: ENSLAVED, by P.J. Proud, for fans of gay BDSM. My lesbian lit pick this month is WOMEN OF THE MEAN STREETS: LESBIAN NOIR, edited by J.M. Redmann and Greg Herren. Sounds like it's right up my alley (a shadow-draped alley in the middle of the big, bad city, of course). In non-fiction, Rob Hardy reviews BIG SEX, LITTLE DEATH: A MEMOIR, the autobiography of erotic literary legend Susie Bright. I slipped deeper into the stacks to check out the graphic novels. There are a couple of Housewives at Play titles from my favorite Rebecca that had me sweating. Looking for something new, I zeroed in on GREAT MOVES, by Robert Edison Sandiford and Geof Isherwood, three lushly illustrated erotic tales featuring curvy Caribbean women.

Doctors have shown again and again that frustration isn't good for your health. So what are you waiting for? Just use our links to Amazon or Barnes and Noble to order the books you want and you'll have them in your hands in no time. Meanwhile, you can congratulate yourself on the fact that you're helping keep ERWA alive and kicking.

Spice up your summer with some sexy books:
erotica-readers.com/ERA/EB/Erotic_Books.htm

When you're tired of reading and want some action, drop by the Sex Toy Playground. Mr. and Mrs. Toy provide an informative and arousing review of a product called "Menage a Trois for Two", a harness kit that facilitates double penetration by a single male. What will they think of next? If you've got the time, check out the bio for the reviewers; they sound like a fun couple. The Playground also offers a frank article on how to talk to your partner about bondage, plus our regular Sex Toy Scuttlebutt feature, with discount offers from Babeland, Good Vibrations, and Adam and Eve.

An orgasm (or two) a day keeps the doctor away:
erotica-readers.com/ERA/ST/Sex_Toy_Playground.htm

More erotic entertainment awaits you in the Adult Movies section. Featured this month is the couples-oriented film "Dear Abby", about a cynical advice columnist who's having trouble keeping his own relationship together. Also recommended is "Cheaters Retreat 2", featuring a very different sort of couples counseling. Don't be fooled by the marketing! Erotic films aimed at the two of you are every bit as hot as the nastiest porn - they just tend to feature some plot along with their sex.

If you're not interested in plot, of course, you can always watch "Big Wet Asses #19" (the title says it all) or "Bush", featuring the allure of pubic hair (which has now become an exotic fetish in today's world of waxing). I'm always attracted to classic porn, before the genre became so stereotyped. This month ERWA is featuring the 1984 flick "A Little Bit of Hanky Panky", about two couples on a paradisical tropical island. Sounds like my kind of movie.

All these titles and dozens more can be yours with a click of the mouse on links to our trusted affiliates. Check the right sidebar for our list of partners - some of who offer member discounts to ERWA visitors.

It's showtime:
erotica-readers.com/ERA/AM/Adult_Movies.htm

Inside the Erotic Mind this month, we offer two threads addressing the time-honored questions: What do women want? What do men want? You'll find a huge variety of answers, some of them quite surprising. This is the best Erotic Mind feature I've seen in a long time, so don't miss it. You can add your own thoughts. Just click "Participate".

Nothing is taboo inside the erotic mind:
erotica-readers.com/ERA/ITEM/Inside_The_Erotic_Mind.htm

My tour wouldn't be complete without a visit to the Author Resources pages, where our writing professionals share knowledge and inspiration. This month, Donna George Storey talks about what it means to be a "real writer". William Gaius offers a great summary of the myths and truths about copyright, while Ashley Lister shares his secrets for managing multiple projects.

Along with these gems of authorly wisdom, you'll find the largest compendium of calls for erotica submissions on the web. Current listings include "Coming Together: In Flux", a charitable anthology on the theme of transformation; Campus Sexploits (no explanation needed!); the latest edition of Mammoth Book of Best New Erotica; an anthology on the theme of bisexual women; and new guidelines for JMS Books and Pink Flamingo Publishing. Our list of venues continues to grow, and we update the open calls several times a month, so check back frequently.

Take your writing career to new heights:
erotica-readers.com/ERA/AR/Erotica_Authors_Resources.htm

Speaking of authorly activity, our monthly Web Gem is Book Cover Designs by John Nail. “Self-published” need not be synonymous with unprofessional. Your book can look like it came from an established publishing house with the help of an experienced graphic designer. John Nail has more than a decade of experience creating book covers that seduce readers with provocative, professional designs. As a writer himself, he understands how a well-designed cover can be a book’s best marketing tool. Be the book’s market straight, gay or bi, the subject romantic or raunchy, John can visually capture the essence of your book with a cover that will attract readers without repelling bookstores and all at a reasonable price. John can also help format your manuscript for printing, ensuring your book looks as good inside as out.

Check out some of John’s book cover designs at
http://johnnail.carbonmade.com
You can reach John at
tojonail@gmail.com

I hope you've enjoyed our little jaunt. As usual, I've only hit the highlights. There's enough hot content at ERWA to keep you smiling until next month, when I'll be back once again to show you a good time. And yes, I do take requests... I do adore the word "wench".

Wantonly yours,
Lisabet
-

Visit Lisabet Sarai's Fantasy Factory
Check out Lisabet's blog
Join Lisabet's List

Write, learn, and play on ERWA email list at:
http://erotica-readers.com/PRIVATE/index.html

Call for Submissions

2011-07-31T21:13:00.001-04:00

JMS Books LLC
http://www.jms-books.com

JMS Books LLC is a small queer press specializing in GLBT erotica, romance, and young adult fiction. We release 3 e-books a week and 4 print titles a month. All books are available electronically, and any title over 30,000 words goes into print. While we don't pay advances, we do pay authors 50% net on royalties from all sales. We sell through our own website as well as a wide distribution network to ensure we reach the largest audience possible.

We are seeking queer, genre, and literary stories at least 5k and no longer than 100k in length. Reprints are accepted. We are particularly interested in GAY, LESBIAN, and TRANSGENDER stories in a variety of genres.

We do not accept submissions of extreme BDSM, incest, or heterosexual, bisexual, or intergender menage erotica.

Contract terms:

* Authors earn 50% net royalties on all sales (e-book and paperback) from all distributors.
* Contracts are for a period of 2 years and auto-renew annually.
* We require exclusive electronic and print rights, but can negotiate if the story has been published in an anthology or collection.

Full submission guidelines are available at
www.jms-books.com/index.php?main_page=page_2

Call for Submissions

2011-07-29T19:37:00.000-04:00

Pink Flamingo Publications
BDSM/Spanking/General

Pink Flamingo Publications is a small in-house alternative press started in 1994, which has now published the erotica of over 50 authors. we are looking for provocative and innovative works that speak from your own voice, which show a positive outlook on sexuality no matter what graphic sexuality or taboo you might focus on. The sexual fantasies may range from supremely seductive to very outrageous as they enter into areas of fantasy and sexual exploration. We expect works to include all the elements of good fiction: good stories, characterization and quality writing—particularly a sensuous use of language for your graphic sexual scenes. Graphic content should be varied, not repetitious scene to scene.

Guideline and submission details at the Erotica Readers & Writers Association.

Call for Submissions

2011-07-06T18:21:00.001-04:00

Avon Impulse

Avon is introducing a digital imprint, Avon Impulse. This format will allow Avon to publish more quickly, with an eye to what's new in fiction and romance, delivering fresh, exciting content directly each month to the digital devices of today's savviest readers.

Avon is looking for stories of emotional complexity, written by authors with unique voices. Books with humor, drama, suspense; with sizzling sensuality and irresistible characters - all types and tones can be right for Avon. If your manuscript is exciting, electrifying, and exceptional then we want to see it. Take us to the darkest depths or make us laugh out loud - everything is welcome!

We're actively seeking all genres of romance of all lengths, including (but not limited to): historical, paranormal, contemporary, and erotica.

How To Submit A Manuscript
To submit, go to AvonImpulse.com and follow the instructions to fill out the form and upload your manuscript. Due to time constraints, we will not be able to respond to every query. If you do not receive a response after three months, that means your story is not right for us at that time. However, times change, so keep trying!

Genres:
Gothic
Steampunk
Shifter
Vampire
Ghost
Magical
Futuristic
Time Travel
Western
Small Town
Suspense
Fantasy

Submissions FAQ
How long does my book need to be?
We are looking for stories of all lengths, from short stories to full length books, and anything in-between.

What font/margin/size should I use?
Your formatting choices are up to you. As long as your manuscript is readable, it's acceptable.

Which editor should I address my submission to?
There is no need to specify an editor. However, if you have a past relationship with someone on the Avon team, or one of our editors specifically requested you submit your manuscript, please note that on the submission form.

Do I need to specify which Avon imprint I am submitting to?
No, all submissions are vetted by the same team of Avon editors, who will decide which imprint is the best fit.

How long will you take to respond?
Due to the volume of submissions, we will only be able to contact you if your project is the right fit. If you have not received a response in three months time, unfortunately your project wasn't right for our current list.

Call for Submissions

2011-07-04T21:04:00.002-04:00

Various Collections for Total-E-Bound
Deadline: Various

Total-E-Bound Publishing, a leading Erotic Romance Publisher, is looking for novellas in any erotic romance sub-genre for our exciting new line, Sexy Snax.

We are also looking for submissions for various anthologies and collections.

Guidelines and submission details at: Erotica Readers & Writers Association

Erotic Lure Newsletter: July 2011 Edition

2011-07-03T12:24:00.002-04:00

From the Erotica Readers & Writers Association
By Lisabet Sarai
_______

Dear Polymorphously Perverse Partakers in the Prurient,

Okay, maybe I'm getting a bit carried away. (It wouldn't be the first time.) But it's been two months since the last edition of the Erotica Readers & Writers Association website and I'm suffering from the literary equivalent of blue balls. Fortunately, the July edition is guaranteed to satisfy both my needs and yours. Follow the bouncing butt as I lead you on a quick tour through some of the stimulating material awaiting you this month.

Our first stop is the Story Gallery, where you can meet our July Featured Guest, the renowned author, editor and poet Shane Allison. If you're a fan of powerful, edgy gay erotic fiction, check out Shane's two offerings, "Ron's Rim Chair" and "Neck of the Woods".

Our July theme is Techrotica, erotica at the interface between human and machine. You'll be amazed by our authors' fertile and lascivious imaginations. Don't miss the non-theme stories and our half-dozen flashers, full stories in two hundred words or less. Why not sample the poetry too? We promise that it's far more arousing than obscure.

Naughty, romantic, kinky, extreme: in the ERWA gallery there's something for every taste.
erotica-readers.com/GD/S/Erotic_Fiction.htm

Need some beach reading? Check out our Books for Sensual Readers section. We have literally dozens of recommendations. Our titles are hot enough to distract you from the most revealing bikini or bodacious bod!

This month we feature a record number of outstanding anthologies, including Kristina Wright's paranormal erotic romance collection DREAM LOVER, D.L. King's steam punk extravaganza CARNAL MACHINES and Alison Tyler's exceptional D/s volume SLAVE TO LOVE. We've got tons of gay and lesbian anthos, too. HOT RODS, edited by Sean Lawrence, offers tales of mind-blowing biceps and boners, while Richard Labonte's BEST GAY ROMANCE 2011 demonstrates that love doesn't always equate with softness. Award-winning editor Sacchi Green presents stunning tales of "erotic investigations" in LESBIAN COPS. Kathleen Warnock showcases the cream of F/F fiction in the latest volume in her renowned series, BEST LESBIAN EROTICA 2011.

If you're in the mood for longer tales, I suggest you take a look at Kay Jaybee's THE PERFECT SUBMISSIVE, a classic BDSM novel set in a swanky country hotel. Or snag yourself one of our many erotic romance titles, such as Robin Shone's explicit Victorian novel THE LADY'S TUTOR or Larissa Ione's demon-steeped paranormal DESIRE UNCHAINED.

I've put CLEAN CARTOONISTS' DIRTY DRAWINGS, edited by Craig Yoe on my personal wish list. Cheesecake, pinups, and fetish drawings by the creators of such classics as Beatle Bailey, Dennis the Menace and B.C. - sounds like great fun! And don't forget our sexy sex-guide section. You can't go wrong with MOREGASM: BABELAND'S GUIDE TO MIND-BLOWING SEX by Rachel Venning and Claire Cavanah, the lovely and knowledgeable founders of the ground-breaking Babeland adult store.

Of course, you should use ERWA's affiliate Amazon [Amazon UK] links for anything you decide to buy. It doesn't cost you anything extra, and every purchase you make helps support the best free adult site on the web. Let me warn you - if I find out that you've been buying your books, movies and toys through someone else's links... well, let's just say that I know a bit about how to use a flogger or a riding crop - beyond the point that it's fun!

Indulge your literary lust:
erotica-readers.com/ERA/EB/Erotic_Books.htm

What better way to spend a long, lazy summer afternoon than with your favorite sex toy? In the Sex Toy Playground, Kyra Saunders gives two thumbs up to the innovative Jimmyjane Form 4 vibrator. Alicia Guinn from Babeland provides a frank and informative how-to article on female ejaculation. The monthly Sex Toy Scuttlebutt column showcases top toys from all our trusted affiliates. I have to admit that to my old-fashioned eyes, modern vibrators look more like alien artifacts than the pseudo-phallic items I'm used to. Don't let that hold you back. We've got discount coupons for our readers, 10% from Babeland and Good Vibrations and a whopping 20% from Adam and Eve. So what are you waiting for?

All work and no play is no fun at all:
erotica-readers.com/ERA/ST/Sex_Toy_Playground.htm

Summertime, and the coming is easy... especially when you sample some of the films in our Adult Movies section. Topping the list this month is Randy Spears' hilarious erotic comedy "The Orgasm", about a porn performer past his prime. You might not think this would be sexy, but believe me, you won't know whether you're laughing or climaxing. I can't get excited about the continued flood of porn parodies (though you might enjoy them), but Lizzie Borden's imaginative "Hollywood Icons Come to Life" is a different story. Today's hottest stars play the part of Hollywood legends such as Marilyn Monroe, Raquel Welch and (yes) Charlie Chaplin in movie-inspired fantasies. Two all-female sex-fests also caught my eye. "The Interns" follows a scheming, competitive collection of interns at a high end fashion magazine, as each tries to undercut the other's career - sounds like "The Devil Wears Prada" with a great deal more sex. "Cherry" is a scorching, BDSM-flavored woman-on-woman film set in a nude, all-girl strip club. Just the description got my pulse pounding.

We've got tons more films for you to contemplate, from classics to utter raunch. There are lots of options once you decide what you want, too, including our new affiliate SugarDVD, and Hot Movies for Her, the porn VOD shop especially for women.

Experience the sensual magic of the silver screen:
erotica-readers.com/ERA/AM/Adult_Movies.htm

Things are lively this month in the Author Resources section. Ashley Lister gets tough in "The Unforgivable Taboo". He's not talking about incest, underage sex, or bestiality; you'll have to read his column to discover what he considers the worst sin. William Gaius provide an authoritative summary of options for getting your book into print in his article "Printing Technology for Self-Publishers", including a painstaking (and somewhat painful) economic analysis. But all is not gloomy - he sees huge financial opportunities in the rise of ebooks and ereaders.

Summer is slow in some businesses, but we've got enough opportunities in our Calls for Submissions list to keep you really busy. Recently announced calls include an erotic spanking anthology edited by Rachel Kramer Bussel, a succubus-themed anthology edited by D.L. King and two gay anthologies ("Middle Men" and "Nice Butt") from our July featured author Shane Allison. Naughty Nights Press is looking for wicked, wanton Halloween tales. All Romance Ebooks is running an erotic romance writing contest with a prize of $1000. There are dozens more calls and guidelines, from pretty much every publisher in the biz, for every category of erotic writing including non-fiction.

You have no excuse not to submit:
erotica-readers.com/ERA/AR/Erotica_Authors_Resources.htm

By the way, authors of erotic romance located in the U.K. should check out the upcoming event "A Romantic Date With Total-E-Bound Publishers", to be held on September 9, 2011 in historic Lincoln. Both established authors and newcomers are invited. For only £15.00, you get lunch, dinner and a guaranteed opportunity to discuss your work with a Total-E-Bound editor. To find out more visit www.total-e-bound.com/date.asp

Inside the Erotic Mind, our members discuss whether they prefer oral sex or intercourse. You'll find many lively opinions on both sides of the issue. You can add your own thoughts; just click on the Participate link.

Nothing is forbidden inside the erotic mind:
erotica-readers.com/ERA/ITEM/Inside_The_Erotic_Mind.htm

Our featured Web Gem this month is For the Girls, the XXX-rated site designed especially for women. For the Girls offers a heady mix of passion, romance, and hardcore sex, with a huge selection of sexy photos, explicit movies, exclusive erotic fiction (see For The Girls call for submissions link below), provocative articles, sex advice, humor and lots more. At For The Girls you'll experience a real sense of intimacy and shared pleasure.

For the Girls: ForTheGirls.com
FTG Call for Submissions:
erotica-readers.com/ERA/AR/For_The_Girls.htm

Well, my friends, I've done what I can to set you on the right path. The rest is up to you. I'll be back next month with more pornographic puns and arousing alliteration. Meanwhile, tomorrow's the Fourth of July, and you know what _that_ means. My annual Naked Barbecue and Spankfest! Everyone's invited - bring your own fireworks. I'll supply the hotdogs (extra long), hamburgers, potato salad and paddles.

Patriotically yours,
Lisabet
--

Bodies of Light - M/F/M Science Fiction by Lisabet Sarai now available from Total-E-Bound!

Visit Lisabet Sarai's Fantasy Factory
Check out Lisabet's blog
Join Lisabet's List

Join ERWA email list community at:
www.erotica-readers.com/PRIVATE/index.html

Smutters Lounge:

2011-06-16T12:53:00.003-04:00

the local hangout for smutty news

Sssh.com Helps Time Magazine Columnist with Penis Question
AVN, Jun 13th, 2011

LOS ANGELESThe owner and founder of Sssh.com, the world’s sexiest and most informative female friendly website, recently provided some much-needed sexual etiquette advice to Time magazine columnist Joel Stein, who had reached out to her with a delicate question: specifically, should he start sexting pictures of his penis?

In the June 8 column entitled, “America's Next Top Weiner,” Stein also mused, “Is this something I'll need to teach my son how to do? What's the right age to take photos of your penis? Because, at 2, he can already use an iPhone and admire his penis.”

Seeking the help of experts, Stein’s first stop was with Sssh.com founder Angie Rowntree, who was only too happy to assist, though the query from a nationally known journalist did come as a surprise.

“I just assumed a Time magazine columnist would be more hip to sexting etiquette,” said Rowntree. “But I was glad to help, and by the end of our conversation I think he was much better informed regarding the essential do’s and don’t of penis self-portraiture and promotion.”

Essentially, Rowntree’s advice was that, as far as most women are concerned, spreading the penis photo love around is a really, really bad idea. By the end of his journey of sexual self-discovery, Stein appeared to agree, even if he didn’t seem too happy about it!

The Joel Stein column, America's Next Top Weiner, can be read at: www.time.com

Smutters Lounge:

2011-06-12T20:57:00.004-04:00

the local hangout for smutty news

UK Study: Sex Toys Will Match Smartphone Sales
By Bob Johnson, XBIZ Premier, June 2011
cited with permission from XBIZ Newswire

NORFOLK, England — A British investigate has found that in a subsequent 10 years, sex fondle sales will keep gait with smartphones to a balance of 400 million globally.

According to a Women, Sex and Shopping news from a Hewson Group, interjection to some-more mainstream acceptance of sex — due mostly to celebrities who publicly plead their sex lives — a “pleasure goods” attention is staid to explode.

The commentary also found that some-more than 40 percent of British women perspective online porn and pronounced that women have a clever enterprise to buy products designed to raise their sex lives.

The investigate as reported in a Daily Mail, was formed on a consult of 700 women, and a second organisation of business during 5 female-owned sex shops.

Sex toys could be sole alongside lingerie, while engineer brands and even valuables bondage competence burst on a sex novelties bandwagon and make their possess products, a news suggested.

“We consider that by 2020-2025 sex fondle purchasing will run during over 400 million units per annum. In context, that’s about a same as smartphone units shipped per year,” a researchers said.

Right now, scarcely 4 million sex toys are pronounced to be sole in a U.K. each year.

Hewson expects a tellurian marketplace to grow from $9 billion a year to $65 billion by 2020.

“What we can be certain of is that around 35-40 percent of women aged 18-65 in a U.K. use a sex fondle and that 40 percent or some-more of a underneath 30s frequently use online pornography.”

The news remarkable that a new information reflects a trend that began in a ‘70’s and that a attention has been hold behind in a past due to an organisation with a sleazy, male-dominated porn industry.

But a “revolution” has occurred, driven by women who are some-more absolute during home and in a workplace with aloft incomes who could spend some-more than $300 a year on these items.

“Neither of these possibilities effectively existed 30 years ago and a border of sex fondle use should unequivocally rouse a theme from ‘dirty small secret’ standing to a approval that toys are critical in a lives of millions of women,” a investigate said.

The news settled that some-more than 60 percent of women find a thought of shopping a sex fondle to be ”exciting.” “Women are encouraged by distant some-more simple instincts than are ordinarily ascribed to them. The erotic, a naughty, a banned and even maybe a somewhat contemptible all have their appeal.”

Women are determining their possess sexuality in a approach not seen in history, according to a report, and it confirmed that, “Sex toys and a pleasure products marketplace will turn an countenance of this emancipation.”

It also pronounced that comparison views of women’s use of porn that usually compared sex with adore and relations has been dismissed, and what women wish from porn isn’t so opposite from men.

Celebrity endorsements of sex toys by stars such as Teri Hatcher, Eva Longoria and Halle Berry have acted as “validators for brands and women alike,” according to a report.

And a researchers trust there is a outrageous blurb event for British section and trebuchet and online retailers if they pierce a sale of pleasure products into a mainstream, generally if they embody appealing branding and are not offensive.

The investigate forked to a success of upscale slip bondage like Agent Provocateur and smaller outlets such as Coco-de-Mer and Sh! Women’s Erotic Emporium as examples.

“It would seem judicious that by 2015 what is excusable and, perhaps, approaching in mainstream sell is a linkage between lingerie, perfume, conform and erotica. Any dialect store with a slip building should substantially be looking during how they embody a benefaction area that is both watchful and alluring,” a investigate noted.

Call for Submissions: Storm Moon Press

2011-06-11T21:34:00.001-04:00

GENERAL GUIDELINES

Storm Moon Press is a small press specializing in erotic fiction with an emphasis on romance involving GLBT and alternative lifestyle characters and themes. We publish all genres, including fantasy, paranormal, horror, urban fantasy, and science fiction, but submissions must have either a core romantic plot or a reasonable amount of erotic content. Romances must be fully realized, though happy endings are not required. Solid stories with mixed-feelings endings are welcome, as well as the happily-ever-after or happily-for-now. Alternative lifestyles include (but are not limited to) BDSM, ménage à trois, polyamory, and all flavors and variations thereof. If you submit a bisexual romance, the bisexuality must be clearly shown within the course of the story. We will also accept submissions for mainstream heterosexual romances, though we will only release a limited number of these each year.

We are currently accepting submissions for 2012 and 2013.

General submission guidelines, royalties and contracts, how to submit, and Open Lines at:
stormmoonpress.com/submissions.aspx
##

ANTHOLOGY SUBMISSIONS

Unless otherwise specified in the particular call, anthology submissions are subject to the following guidelines:

Submissions must be between 10,000 and 20,000 words. All submissions will be edited, but this is no excuse to send in a first draft. Stories should be as polished as possible before being submitted. Submissions must have either a core romantic plot or a reasonable amount of erotic content. Genre, pairing, and/or other restrictions may apply—read the anthology call closely before submitting!

All works submitted to Storm Moon Press must be unreleased works. We are only interested in acquiring exclusive first English language rights. This means if a work has been self-published, published by a subsidy press, on a website, journal, or other public forum, those rights have already been used and we cannot accept your submission.

Material that includes the following will be summarily rejected:

- Pedophilia (sex involving one or more persons under the age of 18)
- Necrophilia (sex with dead bodies—vampires, zombies, and the like don't count)
- Bestiality (sex with non-sentient animals or shifters in full animal form)
- Scat or golden showers (sex involving urine or feces play)
- Gratuitous violence (including splatterpunk, slasher, and torture-porn)
- Rape intended to arouse (though we will consider forced seduction or dubious consent if it is respectfully handled)
- Snuff (sex during which one or more persons are killed)

Royalties and Contracts

Initial contract length will be for exclusive print and electronic rights for three years. Six months after the release of the anthology, each author's submission will additionally be made available for purchase separately in electronic formats.

Authors will receive royalties as well as an initial payment of $50 for their story. This payment is not an advance and does not have to be earned out before royalties are paid. Royalties on individual e-book releases will be 50% of cover price on direct sales through Storm Moon Press' e-store, and 40% of cover price minus distribution costs for sales through third party vendors. In addition, authors will recieve the same percentage royalty on sales of the anthology e-book divided equally among the authors, as well as 25% of cover price on direct sales of the print anthology through Storm Moon Press' e-store, and 20% of cover price minus distribution costs for sales through third party vendors, also divided equally among all authors. All royalties will be paid quarterly.

Contributors will also be given 2 print copies of the anthology, one PDF copy of the anthology, and one PDF copy of their single release short story.

How to submit, 2011calls, 2012 calls, and 2013 calls at:
stormmoonpress.com/anthologies.aspx

Smutters Lounge:

2011-05-27T21:54:00.003-04:00

the local hangout for smutty news

The Fleshlight is hailed as the ultimate male masturbation toy by those who know best—the men who use it. Made of a soft, pliable material that feels remarkably like real skin, the Fleshlight is designed to replicate the sensations of penetrative sex and oral sex—and it does with remarkable success. This month, Fleshlight reported that it officially sold more than 4 million Fleshlights globally.

Fleshlight gave men’s advice website AskMen.com a behind-the-scenes look at the product in an exclusive interview with the owner and inventor Steve Shubin and his wife, former professional tennis player Kathleen.

AskMen reporter Grant Winter visited the company’s Austin, Texas manufacturing plant and 300-acre Shubin ranch which sports an indoor basketball court, a nightclub and a spa house.

Watch the intriguing (often amusing) behind-the-scene look at a brilliant success story, and how the Fleshlight is made (yes, they are indeed impressions of actual body parts):
http://www.askmen.com/video/dating/1208-fleshlight-video.html

Erotic Lure Newsletter: May/June 2011 Edition

2011-05-02T12:05:00.003-04:00

From the Erotica Readers & Writers Association
By Lisabet Sarai
_______

Dear Salacious Subscribers,

Once again, it's the lusty month of May! Our stern webmistress Adrienne is taking a well-earned vacation from flogging her devoted staff (we _will_ miss her...), so this edition of the ERWA web site is super-sized, to keep you satisfied until July.

In the May/June Erotica Gallery, you'll find - me! I'm featured author this month, serving up an article about how I got into this addictive business of writing sexy stuff, as well as three of my favorite stories. Don't believe Bob Buckley's intro - I've never been anywhere near his sheets (though I won't say I haven't been tempted!)

My trio of tales is just the beginning though. The gallery also offers a wonderful collection of erotic fiction from your favorite ERWA authors. Swinging, exhibitionism, punishment both feared and desired - gritty reality and kinky futuristic fantasy - humor and angst - whatever you're in the mood for, our authors deliver. And don't forget to sample the fabulous flashers - short but not necessarily sweet! - and the efforts of our erotic poets.

Enjoy the best erotic writing on the 'Net:
erotica-readers.com/GD/S/Erotic_Fiction.htm

Summer must be anthology season! Our Books for Sensual Readers is overflowing with great new titles. D.L. King's CARNAL MACHINES offers outrageous steam punk erotica from some of today's hottest writers (including your humble editor). Kristina Wright's DREAM LOVER showcases the best stories in the hugely popular genre of paranormal erotic romance. M. Christian presents new tales of the city in his collection SEX IN SAN FRANCISCO, with the help of a host of talented authors, many of them ERWA regulars.

Erotic chick lit is also steaming. Jasmine Haynes' PAST MIDNIGHT is a great example, featuring a couple who explore the delights and dangers of menage. Sword and sorcery fans will enjoy Lark LaTroy's HERE THERE BE DRAGONS, a tale of Druids and magic, dragons, and of course sex. In the gay erotica section, I was attracted to Eden Winters' novel ANGEL ON 13TH STREET, about an ex-hustler trying to help other young men while wrestling with his own past. Bold Strokes Books is going strong with a number of new lesbian novels. Check out KISS THE RAIN by Larkin Rose, a classic story of the clash between fantasy and reality.

In non-fiction, I'm lusting for my own copy of AMERICAN ROSE: THE LIFE AND TIMES OF GYPSY ROSE LEE, by Karen Abbott. I've been singing songs from the musical since I was kid - I'm fascinated by the real woman behind the Broadway glitter. And in the graphic novels section, sign me up for EROTIC COMICS 2, a compendium of the best graphic art (in both senses) from the swinging seventies up to the present.

All these great titles and scores more can be yours! Just use our convenient Amazon and Amazon UK affiliate links and click your way to satisfaction - feeling a bit smug because you're also contributing to the survival of ERWA.

Stock up on books for the beach and the bedroom:
erotica-readers.com/ERA/EB/Erotic_Books.htm

In the Sex Toy Playground, Kyra Saunders and Mr. and Mrs. Toy offer their unexpurgated assessments of the latest erotic devices, the Desire Vibrator and the Duet Cock Ring respectively. Good Vibrations contributes an informative and arousing article entitled "How to Spank". (Okay, _I_ found it arousing. What did you expect?) The Sex Toy Scuttlebutt column collects hot-off-the-press recommendations from a range of adult toy vendors. Read carefully and you'll find discount coupons from Good Vibrations (10%), Adam and Eve (20%) and Babeland (10%)!

Orgasms keep you healthy:
erotica-readers.com/ERA/ST/Sex_Toy_Playground.htm

Sliding on over to the Adult Movies section (using Liquid Silk lube purchased in the Playground), I note that X-rated parodies still seem to be the rage. Personally, I prefer my porn to be more original. I was drawn to "Sex Appeal" from Elegant Angel, featuring dirty close-ups, long body shots, and a brunette to die for on the cover. In the classic porn category, I zeroed in on Annette Haven's 1980 flick, "High School Memories". Since everyone's all gaga about the fairytale romance of Kate and Wills, you might want to celebrate the occasion by taking in "Sinderella and Me" or perhaps the nuptial romp "The Wedding Day".

Whatever films catch your fancy, you can get 'em straight from ERWA. We link directly to SugarDVD, SmutNetwork, Adult DVD Empire, Hot Movies for Her, Xmobile - and yes, we've got discounts on videos for you, too!

Explore the latest in sexy cinema:
erotica-readers.com/ERA/AM/Adult_Movies.htm

Inside the Erotic Mind, members of the ERWA "Parlor" list are talking about a real problem: what to do when you're horny at work. Apparently there are solutions, if you dare... Got an opinion or story to share? Just click on the Participate link to add your comments.

Nothing is forbidden inside the erotic mind:
erotica-readers.com/ERA/ITEM/Inside_The_Erotic_Mind.htm

Speaking of comments - you may not realize that ERWA also has a blog. If you really want to express your opinion, sign up to follow us:
erotica-readers.blogspot.com.

For those of you who plan to work this summer (I've got a few deadlines myself), the Authors Resources pages offer advice and support. This month, in her column "Seduce Your Reader", Donna George Storey tries to define difference between pornography and erotica. I think her commentary strikes right to the heart of the question. In erotica, unlike porn, characters "experience consequences when they have sex" and the interest of the story lies as much in how they react as in the sex itself. Meanwhile, Ashley Lister contributes a hilarious and insightful discussion of the erotic science fiction genre in "To Boldly Go": "It's sex, Jim - but not as we know it." Don't miss it!

Of course the Author Pages also list dozens of publishing opportunities for you authors. This month Nobilis Reed is calling for stories about transformation for the charitable anthology Coming Together: In Flux. Rachel Kramer Bussel is working on two anthologies, one on curvy women and a second hotel erotica volume, following up on her hugely successful DO NOT DISTURB. Authors of GLBT fiction may be interested in Delilah Devlin's Beastly Babes (lesbian shape-shifters), Ily Goyanes' Locker Room (lesbian jocks), or Shane Allison's three open calls (including one entitled "Nice Butt"!) There are calls for Father's Day stories and other seasonal tales, including (already!) "22 Days of Yule" from Storm Moon Press. Of course we also list guidelines for literally dozens of print and ebook publishers.

You can't complain that there's no place to publish your work!
erotica-readers.com/ERA/AR/Erotica_Authors_Resources.htm

This edition of ERWA is sponsored by Adult Friend Finder - the wildly popular adult personals site where you can find new friends, hook up with the sexy singles and swinging couples. Whether you're looking for steamy chatrooms, live Webcams, swinger action, or that special someone; whether you're straight, bent, or kinky -- if you are seriously looking for a friend, or more, your chances are very good at Adult FriendFinder.

That about wraps it up for this month's Lure. I'll be back in July, as usual, all decked out in my red, white and blue corset, ready to take good care of you all! Meanwhile, if you really miss me... well, I'm pretty easy. To find, I mean.

Lustily yours,
Lisabet

--
Is there a future in playing stand-in to a slave? THE UNDERSTUDY - M/F BDSM Romance by Lisabet Sarai, Now available from Total-E-Bound!

Visit Lisabet Sarai's Fantasy Factory
Check out Lisabet's blog
Join Lisabet's List

Join ERWA email list community at:
www.erotica-readers.com/PRIVATE/index.html

Aspiring Authors Get Help Online

2011-04-29T16:06:00.004-04:00

According to a New York Times article, on Tuesday, Penguin Group (publisher of such notables as Tom Clancy and Nora Robers) will unveil Book Country, a website for writers of genre fiction.

"In its initial phase Book Country will allow writers to post their own work -- whether it's an opening chapter or a full manuscript -- and receive critiques from other users, who can comment on points like character development, pacing and dialogue."

Sounds pretty cool so far, however, here's the kicker: Later this summer the site will generate revenue by allowing users to self-publish their books for a fee. The books will bear the stamp of Book Country, not Penguin.

The project is spearheaded by Molly Barton, the director of business development for Penguin and the president of Book Country.

So, what we have here is a very clever way for Penguin to raise income by enabling authors to self-publish stuff Penguin is not interested in publishing. Got to admire that bit of business ingenuity.

Welcome to Smutters Lounge:

2011-04-27T18:56:00.007-04:00

the local hangout for smutty news

Adam & Eve celebrated its 40th anniversary last month. The company began as the first condoms-by mail outlet in the U.S. and later helped make vibrators and adult novelties accessible to adult from coast to coast.

Besides its catalog and website, the Hillsborough, N.C.-based Adam & Eve currently includes a production division (Adam & Eve Pictures - you know them - the good folks who brought us the most popular adult movie ever, Pirates), a franchise department that now has Adam & Eve stories open from California to Florida.

The owner of Adam & Eve is a philanthropist, giving more than $85,000 in donations to more than 80 non-profit organizations in 2010. Adam & Eve employees are active fundraisers also, donating time and money.

For an intriguing look into a remarkable company, go to:
Who We Are: The Face of Adam & Eve

Brazzers' Get Rubber! campaign has unveiled its third public service video, this time featuring Charlie Sheen Goddess Bree Olson.

Olson, who reportedly is currently retired from adult, along with Kirsten Price and friends star in the video which follows 4 college-age men who are greeted by a Brazzers bus filled with women ready to put on a good party. Things get lively, but the men fail to score without condoms, and the performers bolt. Check it out at: getrubber.com

What is Brazzers? "Since 2004, Brazzers has been setting a standard in the adult entertainment industry. Quickly making a name for itself as a company committed to creating quality adult content, for the discerning viewer." Think eye-popping hardcore porn hot enough to singe your short & curlies. With scenes from MILF to Doctor adventures, and a few fantasies you may not have thought of...yet.

A $99 USB Porn Detection Stick that's touted to detect and eliminate porn content on computers is getting mainstream buzz. The company claims the Windows-only porn snooping device can search a 500 GB hard drive with over 70,000 images in about ah hour. What's more, the company claims the stick can recover and scan deleted images and Internet activity from Internet Explorer and Firfox cache files.

Simply plug the stick into any Windows XP, Vista, or 7 computer, click the icon, and no one is safe from porn snoopers ever again. Uh oh.

Erotic Lure Newsletter: April 2011 Edition

2011-03-31T22:48:00.002-04:00

From the Erotica Readers & Writers Association
By Ashley Lister
_______

Greetings from the UK. Lisabet's away from her desk. My name is Ashley Lister and I've been charged with the onerous duty of warming Lisabet's seat for the month of April. No. "Warming her seat" sounds like a rude expression, doesn't it? It's probably better if I say I'm filling in Lisabet's usual slot. No. That sounds even ruder! Let's just say I'm here to present the ERWA newsletter.

Before I put my foot further into my mouth, I'd best escort you round the developments behind this month's ERWA update.

Shall we start off at the Story Gallery? The quality here is so high we're likely to get a nosebleed just from reading the table of contents. The Marvellous M Christian is our guest author this month. For those unfamiliar with M. Christian's work you're in for a genuine treat. And, with your appetite whet, make sure you enjoy the scintillating stories from Rob Buckley, Mike Kimera, Nikko Lee, B K Billicki and the inimitable Remittance Girl.

To find out more visit:
erotica-readers.com/GD/S/Erotic_Fiction.htm

Books for sensual readers? This April sees the release of Alison Tyler's Slave to Love. Last month saw the release of Rachel Kramer Bussel's Surrender. Check out the reviews for Lisabet's Body Electric (that's the title of her book, that's not me being flattering about her divine figure) and consider what I've got to say about the wonderful Kay Jaybee's The Perfect Submissive.

It's all here at:
erotica-readers.com/ERA/EB/Erotic_Books.htm

(NB - If you're tempted to buy one of the brilliant books on offer, make sure you go through an ERWA Amazon link).

Authors Resources. This month Bill Gaius extols the pros and cons of self-publishing in a frank and fearless look at this much-maligned route into publication. I've also got an article in this month's Author's Resources - an exercise I've tried on a class or two where we look at describing your ideal writing location. And, if that's not enough, you should take some time in the Writer's Room.

If you're thinking of finding your own way to these publishing gems, the address is:
erotica-readers.com/ERA/AR/Erotica_Authors_Resources.htm

Inside the Erotic Mind this month is discussing the pernennial problem about chest hair on guys. Hot or not? Personally I'm just happy to be close to a chest so I don't care if it's hairy or not. I suppose I'd prefer it to be female, but I'm getting too old to be fussy nowadays. But, if it's got to be hairy I'll make do with whatever is on offer.

Join in the discussion, and see what the intelligent people have had to say at:
erotica-readers.com/ERA/ITEM/Inside_The_Erotic_Mind.htm

The Sex Toy Playground is essential reading this month. April is here and, whilst grumpy T.S. Eliot may have described it as the cruellest month, the rest of us know that April is the time for removing layers of clothes, making the most of shorter nights, and generally putting a spring in our springtime steps. This month the Sex Toy Playground has taken time to look at various devices that go bump and buzz in the night - every one of which sounds like a winner.

And to find out the skinny on whether or not penis pumps work, scoot over to the Sex Toy Playground:
erotica-readers.com/ERA/ST/Sex_Toy_Playground.htm

The top choice in this month's Adult Movies is The Rocki Whore Picture Show. I don't need to say anything else, do I? I imagine everyone has just clicked through the link below to find out more and I've been left here talking to myself,
erotica-readers.com/ERA/AM/Adult_Movies.htm

For those of you who are still with me, take the time to check out our portfolio of links. ERWA respects its members and wants to promote resources that combine an aesthete of erotica with an assurance of quality and security.
erotica-readers.com/ERA/L/Adult_Entertainment_Links.htm

I should also say, this month's Web Gem is Eden Fantasys. Eden Fantasys, where adults shop for adult pleasures. Whether you're looking for your first sex toy or your twentieth. Whether you're looking for something vanilla, kinky: a product large or small, Eden Fantasys has a wide range of choices and products to suit a broad range of tastes. Enjoy a secure shopping experience and a wealth of inspiring resources that include forums, advice, reviews, and product videos for the web-savvy shopper.

Stop by to shop, and enjoy the welcoming community at Eden Fantasys:
www.edenfantasys.com

And that's about it for me this month. Thanks for letting me take you on the tour. I hope you find it exciting and I trust you'll spend a fun-filled April indulging yourself in the splendours of the ERWA lifestyle.

Best,

Ashley Lister

Join ERWA community at:
erotica-readers.com/PRIVATE/index.html

About the Author: Ashley Lister is a UK author responsible for more than two-dozen erotic novels written under a variety of pseudonyms. His most recent work, Swingers: True Confessions from Today's Modern Swinging Scene (Virgin Books), a non-fiction book recounting the exploits of UK swingers, is his first title published under his own name.

Ashley’s non-fiction has appeared in a variety of magazines, including Forum, Chapter & Verse and The International Journal of Erotica. Nexus, Chimera and Silver Moon have published his full-length fiction, with shorter stories appearing in anthologies edited by Maxim Jakubowski, Rachel Kramer Bussel and Mitzi Szereto. He is very proud to be a regular contributor to ERWA.
Website: www.ashleylister.co.uk

Call for Submissions: On going

2011-03-16T19:25:00.001-04:00

Changeling Press
Out of This World Novellas

Are your characters wild and wicked, your plots hot enough to require a fire-hazard warning? If the answer is yes, Changeling wants YOU.

Cyborgs, vampires, werewolves, dragon shifters, cat shifters, aliens, genetically altered alien cyborg dragon shifters... Chances are, they belong at Changeling.

We publish Paranormal, Dark Fantasy, Urban Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Futuristic, BDSM, and Action/Adventure romantic love stories. All submissions must be targeted for at least one of these genres.

What's a Love Story? While there should be both highly erotic and romantic elements to the book, relationships and endings should be plot driven. We don't demand your characters trot off to get married at the end of the book, though we do ask for a HEA (Happy Ever After) or, in the case of serials, a HFN (Happy For Now).

Please keep in mind, we've only got one heat level. Over-the-top hot! We can handle anything you send us as long as it meets our guidelines! We do not accept simultaneous submissions. We do accept multiple submissions.

Guidelines and submission details at the Erotica Readers & Writers Association.

2011-03-03T14:40:00.003-05:00

From the Erotica Readers & Writers Association
By Lisabet Sarai
March 2011
_______

Dear Partisans of Pleasure,

I can hardly believe that February's gone already. The month just raced by in a haze of amorous encounters and uninterrupted orgasms. It's time once again for me to escort you through the slippery corridors of the Erotica Readers & Writers Association web site.

In the March Gallery we're introducing a new feature, our monthly Guest Author. Kicking things off with an awesome bio and three intense BDSM-themed stories is the legendary Rachel Kramer Bussel. With each issue, we'll be shining the spotlight on a new erotic luminary. We've booked a fabulous schedule to provide you with extra helping so the sizzling, smart erotica for which ERWA is so rightly acclaimed.

Don't worry, though - we've got the usual fantastic assortment of original erotic fiction from our ERWA members as well. This month we feature stories by both familiar and new authors, specially selected from the Storytime list for your reading pleasure.

Discover new dimensions of desire in the ERWA Gallery:
erotica-readers.com/GD/S/Erotic_Fiction.htm

Still hungering for hot reading? Our Books for Sensual Readers section is your one-stop source for every sexual subgenre, complete with reviews by our staff. Headlining the section this month is COMING TOGETHER PRESENTS ROBERT BUCKLEY, a stellar volume of erotic noir stories from our very own senior editor, proceeds from which support the Multiple Sclerosis Association of America. You can read "Fortune's Fool", the lead tale from the collection, in the Gallery as well as Ashley Lister's interview with Bob in the Authors Resources section. (Don't believe all his flattering comments about my looks!)

Also featured is Violet Blue's new anthology of taboo-focused erotica for couples, SWEET DANGER and Rachel Kramer Bussel's GOTTA HAVE IT: 69 STORIES OF SUDDEN SEX. (The title says it all!) As a huge fan of Victorian-era erotica, I was drawn to Susan Johnson's SWEET AS THE DEVIL. Fans of gender-bending menage may enjoy Chloe Cole and L.C. Chase's novel THREE TO TANGO. Edward Kendrick's gay erotic novel EVERYONE'S MAN focuses on a male prostitute's struggle to regain his ability to love after being raped, while DATE NIGHT by Kathleen Dale offers a series of steamy lesbian vignettes that reveal the intense connection between the main characters.

For non-fiction, I have to recommend M.Christian's HOW TO WRITE AND SELL EROTICA. With hundreds of erotic publications to his credit, the "Literary Streetwalker" really knows what he's talking about. If "you want something visual/that's not too abysmal" (to quote Frankenfurter from "The Rocky Horror Picture Show"), don't miss Maxim Jakubowski's MAMMOTH BOOK OF NEW EROTIC PHOTOGRAPHY.

All these titles and dozens more can be yours in an instant. Just click on our links to Amazon or Amazon UK. You can indulge yourself while knowing that you're doing your part to support the smartest and most original adult site on the web.

Indulge yourself in a literary orgy:
erotica-readers.com/ERA/EB/Erotic_Books.htm

Speaking of a literary orgy, Donna George Storey is up to her usual delicious tricks in the Authors Resources section. Her topic this month is "First Drafts" and the fear they inspire. She says: "A story doesn't exist in the outline or plot, it comes into being sentence by sentence as I write it on the page." I know exactly what she's talking about.

Also in Author Resources, William Gaius begins his consideration of "The Decision to Self-Publish", with some hard-nosed facts. Ashley Lister's The Write Stuff had me gasping with laughter even as he discussed the serious topic of choosing character names. (But I'm sorry - Colin is a perfectly good name for a cat!)

The Resources section also includes literally dozens of calls for submissions. New this month is a call for essays on sexual topics for Rachel Kramer Bussel's BEST SEX WRITING 2012. Other noteworthy opportunities include Books We Love Publishers "Shoot the Moon Contest" (really a call for submissions), a gay sex-and-magick collection edited by Richard Labonte, and calls for bondage/BDSM erotic romance from Total-E-Bound and for stories about "men of mystery" from Loose Id. ERWA posts guidelines from virtually every reputable publisher of erotica, erotic romance and adult non-fiction in the business.

Nurture your muse and polish your publication list:
erotica-readers.com/ERA/AR/Erotica_Authors_Resources.htm

If you're visiting ERWA just for fun, I'm sure you'll want to check out the Sex Toy Playground and Adult Movies pages. In the Playground, Kyra Saunders reviews the Mystic Mini Wand rechargeable vibrator (with some informative photos) while the folks at Good Vibrations provide a tutorial on strengthening your PC muscles (you know, the ones that lead to cataclysmic coming...). The Sex Toy Scuttlebutt column features toys that double as exercise tools, as well as a number of elegant but oddly shaped vibrators. Both Babeland and Good Vibrations have discount offers for ERWA folks. We also welcome Eden Fantasys, a new affiliate. (Check out their great banner on the Inside the Erotic Mind "Loud & Proud" page!)

All work and no play is simply unacceptable:
erotica-readers.com/ERA/ST/Sex_Toy_Playground.htm

Speaking of adult movies, of course we've got the latest for you (with generous discounts from many of our affiliates). XXX-rated parodies continue to be the rage; this month we feature no less than four, ranging from Superman to the Silence of the Lambs! I rather liked the description of "The Masseuse", featuring buff guys, demanding clients, and a gorgeous, predatory ex-girlfriend. On a similar theme, but with a good deal less plot, there's "Malibu Massage Parlor", which offers big butts and lots of oil. Couples will enjoy the "For Lovers Only" collection, four full-length DVD features full of true passion. Meanwhile, I always like to see what's new in the "Classics" section. With today's technology, forgotten gems are constantly being resurrected and restored. This month I hit paydirt with "Class of '86", BDSM porn from the early days when this genre was truly taboo. I also took a peek at our extensive anime listings. I vote for "La Blue Girl Episode 6". How can I resist a heroine who is a "supernatural sex ninja"?

Come watch:
erotica-readers.com/ERA/AM/Adult_Movies.htm

Inside the Erotic Mind, our members are telling some great stories about being noisy during sex. Are you "loud and proud"? Just click on the "Participate" link to share your thoughts and experiences.

You never know what you'll encounter Inside the Erotic Mind:
erotica-readers.com/ERA/ITEM/Inside_The_Erotic_Mind.htm

Our Web Gem this month is Hips and Curves, the premiere on-line lingerie shop for big, beautiful women. Hips and Curves believe your gorgeous curves are made to be flaunted, caressed, adored - and adorned - in the latest and greatest plus size styles. So let your gorgeous cleavage spill out of a curve-enhancing plus size corset. Decorate your derriere in a pair of black lacy boy shorts. Throw on a pair of killer high heels and sashay around the bedroom like the sexy kitten you truly are. Hips and Curves has plus size intimate apparel for your every mood and whim. So what are you waiting for?

Click on Hips and Curves and start shopping!

Well, that's all for March. Next month I'll be otherwise occupied (my annual visit to slave training camp to brush up on my skills), but my dear friend Ashley Lister has promised to entertain you as least as thoroughly as I do. (I wonder if he completely understands what he's signed up for!) Until we meet again in the lusty month of May, I am:

Lasciviously yours,
Lisabet

Visit Lisabet Sarai's Fantasy Factory
Check out Lisabet's blog
Join Lisabet's List

Join ERWA email list at:
erotica-readers.com/PRIVATE/index.html
____________

Call for Submissions (open call)

2011-02-19T14:43:00.002-05:00

Total-E-Bound Publishing, a leading Erotic Romance Publisher, is open for submissions between 10,000 and 100,000+ words in the following genres:

Action/Adventure, Angels and Demons, Bollywood, Bondage/BDSM, Comedy/Humour, Contemporary, Crime/Mystery, Cowboys/Western, Fantasy/Fairytales,Futuristic/Sci-fi, Gay/Lesbian, Historical, Horror, Rubenesque, Ménage/Multiple partners, Men in Uniform, Multicultural, Older woman/Younger man, Paranormal, Timetravel, Thrillers/Suspense, Shape Changers/Morphers, Vampires, Were shifters.

Sexy Snax
These are our branded novellas between 15,000 - 30,000 words. They may have a theme or they may be stand-alone stories depending on what we have running, but all will come under the banner of Sexy Snax, although each story will have its own cover. No series books will be considered for the Sexy Snax line. These novellas must meet our regular guidelines:
http://www.total-e-bound.com/submissionguidelines.asp

15,000-30,000 word count per story
Any genre
Very erotic — the hotter the better (burning/melting)

Submissions should be sent to submissions@totalebound.com quoting code TEB03.
For further information on our guidelines, please go to:
http://www.total-e-bound.com/submissionguidelines.asp

Lust Bites - short stories

These are our short stories between 10-15,000 words. They may have a theme or they may be stand alone short stories depending on what we have running, but all will come under the banner of ‘Lust Bites’. These short stories must meet our regular guidelines:

10-15,000 word count per story
Any genre
Very erotic – the hotter the better (burning/melting)

Anthologies

Released throughout the year - each with a distinctive theme. We will produce a series of anthologies each year, with between five and eight short stories in each. Check the Submission Guidelines Page for a listing of current anthology calls.

Royalties are 40% of RRP for eBooks and 10% for print to be divided equally and fairly between the authors of the anthology. Every story in an anthology also gets releases as a single story in eBook and Audio book further into the contractual term.

Call for Submissions (open call)

2011-02-15T17:53:00.001-05:00

Beachwalk Press is a royalty paying, full-service e-publisher. We are accepting submissions of all subgenres of romance with a rating of "sensual" or higher. We are not accepting "sweet" romances. We are accepting manuscripts of no less than 15,000 words and no more than 75,000 words.

Please send a short query letter in the body of the email and attach a full synopsis and the completed manuscript. These should be two separate attachments named as: Title_AuthorName_synopsis and Title_AuthorName_submission.

Submissions should be sent via email to: submissions@beachwalkpress.com.

Please format your work as follows:

1 inch margins
1.5 line spacing
Times New Roman, 12pt.

For more information, visit:
www.beachwalkpress.com/submissions

Renaissance E Books

2011-02-07T16:56:00.001-05:00

Renaissance E Books, founded by David O. Dyer Senior in 1997, is one of the earliest publishers of ebooks on the web. Shortly before his death in early 2003, Dyer sold the company to Jean Marie Stine. In 2009, the company had more than 1500 titles available for download in various formats. In 2003-5, Renaissance E Books had five of the top ten bestselling ebook titles at Amazon.com for fourteen months in a row, including Michelle Houston's Bedtime Tales. In 2005 it published J. W. McKenna's Office Slave, cited in Publishers Weekly as the bestselling erotic novel of the year.

Sizzler Editions, the erotica imprint of Renaissance E Books, includes many bestselling and award winning authors, such as Laura Antoniou, Marilyn Jaye Lewis, R. Greco, N. T. Morley, Reese Gabriel, Powerone, Terri Pray, Claire Thompson, Heather McVey, Rod Harden, Tilly Andrews, Mykola Dementiuk, M.Christian, and many others.

Sizzler Editions publishes a wide variety of erotic fiction for discriminating adults under several imprints: Sizzler/Intoxication for the best in Romantic Erotica, Sizzler/Attraction for the best in GLBT Erotica, Sizzler/Submission for the best in BDSM Erotic, Sizzler/Encounter for the best in Sci-Fi and Fantasy Erotica, Sizzler/Thrill for the best in Adventure and Mystery Erotica, and Sizzler/Scorcher for the best in Hot and Heavy Hetero Action

To contact us by mail:
Renaissance E Books Inc.,
2930 Shattuck Ave. Suite 200-13
Berkeley, CA 94705

To contact us by email:
Publisher, Jean Marie Stine:
jmstine at renebooks dot com

Associate Publisher, M.Christian:
zobop at aol dot com

Erotic Lure Newsletter: February Edition

2011-02-03T15:23:00.003-05:00

From the Erotica Readers & Writers Association
By Lisabet Sarai
February 2011
_______

Dear Acolytes of Eros,

It's February and romance is in the air. Time for kisses and kink, chocolates and chains, roses and restraints... Okay, perhaps your idea of the perfect Valentine's Day is more traditional (or vanilla) than mine, but no one can deny that underneath the hearts and flowers, Valentine's is about shared tender moments, intense emotional connections, and getting some tail. Here at the Erotica Readers & Writers Association, our Valentine's celebrations tend more to the explicit.

Breaking with convention, I begin this month's tour in the Sex Toy Playground, where our friends from Good Vibrations offer a wonderful article on flirting and foreplay called "How to Set the Mood". Sensuality and romance tend to get pushed into the background by all the worrisome details of our daily lives. The column provides a wealth of suggestions for bringing them back into the spotlight.

Also in the Playground, we feature a review of Chippendale's Diva, a device that Mr. and Mrs. Toy praise as being perfect for couples, and our regular round-up of the latest and greatest erotic instruments, Sex Toy Scuttlebutt. For February, Good Vibrations, Babeland and Adam & Eve are all offering discounts for ERWA customers. Check out the Scuttlebutt for details.

Toys keep you young (and horny):
erotica-readers.com/ERA/ST/Sex_Toy_Playground.htm

From the Playground, I'll just slide on over (using recently purchased lube) to the ERWA screening room, otherwise known as our Adult Movies section. Headlining here you'll find the erotic extravaganza "Body Heat", praised by our reviewer as the best pornographic film he's ever seen, in terms of acting, plot and cinematography as well as sex. Also of note is the thought- (and arousal-) provoking "Sanatorium", a tale of a prostitute's quest to free herself from the crazy-making hypocrisy of society. Looking for something a little lighter? Check out "Cheaters' Retreat", where troubled couples come to consult a sexy, unconventional relationship guru. And if you're really not interested in any plot at all, just steamy, delicious sex, you can't go wrong with "Buttwoman vs. Slutwoman". It's difficult to know who to root for!

We've got deals for you here, too, from Adam & Eve, Adult DVD Empire, SmutNetwork, and our new affiliate Hot Movies. Why not pick a flick or two for Cupid's day? It's a lot cheaper than a candlelight dinner in a fancy restaurant.

For those who like to watch:
erotica-readers.com/ERA/AM/Adult_Movies.htm

I enjoy sexy films, but (as you might expect from an author), the written word is even more likely to turn me on. The February theme in the ERWA Galleries is, appropriately, "Sensual Romance". Among our theme offerings you'll find a reluctant partner, a damaged biker, a historical tryst and an unusual shape-shifting hero. Don't stop with the theme stories, though. We have several titillating tales that will definitely get you in the mood for amorous adventure. And if you're still not satisfied, you can rummage through the conveniently categorized ERWA Treasure Chest to find exactly the sort of story you crave: queer, kinky or sensual, long or short.

Imagination is the ultimate aphrodisiac:
erotica-readers.com/GD/S/Erotic_Fiction.htm

Exhibitionism and voyeurism rule in this month's Books for Sensual Readers section. Alison Tyler and Rachel Kramer Bussel team up to offer the sensational collection HIDE AND SEEK, while Christopher Pierce serves up gay stories on the same theme in the I LIKE TO WATCH anthology. BEST LESBIAN ROMANCE 2011, edited by Radclyffe, is an obvious Valentine's choice, but Kannan Feng's M/M BDSM fantasy THE LORD OF MISRULE is equally romantic in its own way. Fans of erotic romance may enjoy Kate Pearce's SIMPLY FORBIDDEN, a Regency featuring a heroine who's anything but innocent, or Lynne Connolly's evocative tale of art and love, UNBROKEN. Looking for some fun non-fiction? Check out Rachel Greenwald's HAVE HIM AT HELLO, a book based on confessions from one thousand guys about what makes them fall in love. My pick in the arts and photography category is AMERICA SWINGS, Naomi Harris' compendium of photos taken (with permission) at thirty eight swinger's gatherings across the U.S.

All these titles and many more can be yours with a click of a mouse. Whenever you use our affiliate links, you support ERWA and its mission: to provide the highest quality adult content on the web (i.e. to turn you on!)

Browse our virtual shelves:
erotica-readers.com/ERA/EB/Erotic_Books.htm

Authors! We haven't forgotten you! This month in the Authors Resources section we begin a new series by the articulate and entertaining William Gaius, entitled "Kill Electrons, Not Trees". William will focus on topics related to the digital revolution in publishing. Don't miss it!

Ashley Lister's The Write Stuff column this month is entitled "Not Writing Erotica" and includes some cringe-worthy examples of what NOT to do in your writing. (If you have an allergy to bared, bouncing breasts, you might want to skip this article...)

Have you visited the Writers Room lately? This compendium of advice and discussion covers topics from Agents to Villains. If you like what you see, consider joining the ERWA Writers email list (from which the Writers Room discussions derive), a great source of information as well as support.

Starting this month, we've integrated the Calls for Submissions lists into the Author Resources page. The number of publishing opportunities available is mind-boggling. You'll find at least a half-dozen calls for "Best of" anthologies, as well as collections focused on dark mythology and Father's Day. M. Christian and A. Rosselini are putting together a collection on sex and food, entitled A LOVERS' FEAST, while C.B. Potts needs stories for MELT IN YOUR MOUTH: CHOCOLATE, BOYS AND BED. What could be more appropriate for Valentine's Day? ERWA offers the most comprehensive guide to erotic publishing opportunities on the web, updated several times a month.

Kick start your writing career:
erotica-readers.com/ERA/AR/Erotica_Authors_Resources.htm

Inside the Erotic Mind this February, our members discuss "taking care of business" - masturbating in the (possibly sleeping) presence of your partner. How do you feel about this? How does your partner feel? You'll find a wide range of opinions. Add your own by clicking on the Participate link.

Shed your inhibitions and share your secrets:
erotica-readers.com/ERA/ITEM/Inside_The_Erotic_Mind.htm

Our featured February Web Gem is HotTalking.com. For fans of audio erotica, Hot Talking is a fun website that offers hours of quality stories and albums for your listening pleasure. If you're really adventurous, you can compose your own fantasy and your favorite voice on Hot Talking will professionally record and mix it for you. Very cool!

Hot Talking is always on the lookout for new voice talent and the process of selling on Hot Talking could not be easier. Just register your voice profile and start selling. The payout model is similar to iTunes and Amazon without all the content restrictions. It's really a great place to buy and sell audio erotica. Their story listings are always growing so you are certain to find something that interests you at Hot Talking:
http://hottalking.com

Well, if I haven't managed to get you in the mood for Cupid's day, I don't know what will! My personal Valentine's plans involve champagne, caviar and hot wax. I'll leave the details to your imagination.

Whatever the amorous adventures in which you choose to indulge this month, may your love be requited and your pleasure immeasurable!

Romantically yours,
Lisabet

ALMOST HOME - M/M/F Holiday Romance by Lisabet Sarai
Available now from Total-E-Bound!
-

Visit Lisabet Sarai's Fantasy Factory
Check out Lisabet's blog
Join Lisabet's List

Join ERWA email list at:
erotica-readers.com/PRIVATE/index.html
____________

Torquere Press Inc.

2010-12-31T13:10:00.004-05:00

Where Romance for the Rest of Us™ Comes to Life

Back in 2003, two writers and critique partners were getting tired of being told there was absolutely no market for male/male romance. Publishers all over the country were turning these stories down, but Shawn Clements and Lorna Hinson had been writing for years, and loved the spicy-hot aspect of m/m fiction. They knew other people felt the same way, and on the impetus of an online chat, Torquere Press was born.

Torquere Press has always been about the readers of GLBT romance and providing those readers with great stories about men and women who truly care about each other. Whether novel-length or short story, whether steamy or sweet, Torquere gives readers the fiction they crave. The catalog has grown from those first five books released in September 2003 to approximately eighteen hundred titles and nearly two hundred authors, including Sean Michael, Chris Owen, and Stormy Glenn.

In 2007, Shawn and Lorna launched the Prizm Young Adult line, a labor of love created in the name of giving back to the GLBT community, which has been so supportive of Torquere through the years. Prizm books focus on the experiences of gay teens and young adults. Torquere has also given to charity with a new short story collection in each of the last three years. with the Charity Sip Blitz authors donate their royalties to a cause they have voted on, and Torquere matches those donations 100%.

Torquere's tagline has always been "Romance for the Rest of Us,"™ and a lot of people have asked what that means. It means that Torquere pushes the boundaries, providing romance for readers who like to color outside the lines and who believe that everyone deserves a happy ending. It means that you can love traditional romance and also embrace differences in life and love. Anyone can enjoy a Torquere Press book as long as they bring an open mind to the bookshelf and can enjoy a traditional romance with non-traditional characters.

Together, Shawn and Lorna have over 30 years of experience in the book industry, from graphic design, editing, and copy writing to library and bookstore management. Both ladies are also authors, with Shawn writing as BA Tortuga and Lorna writing as Julia Talbot. They reside just outside of Austin, Texas, where they write, travel, and spoil two amazing basset hounds.

You can find Torquere Press online at www.torquerepress.com and the Torquere Bookstore at www.torquerebooks.com

The Prizm Young Adult line is at www.prizmbooks.com

Oh, and for everyone out there who wonders, it's pronounced "tore-care-ay"!

Erotic Lure Newsletter: Dec - Jan Edition

2010-12-02T15:15:00.003-05:00

From the Erotica Readers & Writers Association
By Lisabet Sarai
December 2010 - January 2011
_______

Dear Sex-crazed Celebrants,

Welcome to the holiday edition of the Erotica Readers & Writers Association! Whatever holidays you're celebrating this season - Chanukah, Kwanzaa, Christmas, New Years, Drink Your Boss Under the Table Day, National Dom Day - we're here to help. Following ERWA tradition, we've served up a double helping of the sensual and salacious, more than enough to keep you satisfied until February.

The Story Galleries sparkle this month, featuring ten outrageous and original tales on holiday themes from the inventive pens of ERWA authors. Prepare yourself for horny elves, kinky holiday window displays, a cane-wielding, leather-clad Santa, and a demon stuck in the role of a Father Christmas due to an error in his contract signed in blood. Fun indeed! Want more? We've updated the ERWA Treasure Chest with the very best stories from 2010's Galleries. Just what you need to keep warm on those cold winter nights!

Start your celebration in the Holiday Gallery:
erotica-readers.com/GD/S/Erotic_Fiction.htm

Feel free to rummage through the Treasure Chest:
erotica-readers.com/GD/Treasure_Chest.htm

What do you want for the holidays? Aside from world peace and a few world-shaking orgasms, I mean? Books are probably high on your list (at least, they are on mine). Our Books for Sensual Readers pages will give you the scoop on all the latest titles, in every erotic genre. We've adopted a new format, integrating reviews by ERWA columnists into the book listings. Now you can get the down-and-dirty on the books you crave, not just the publisher's propaganda.

How about Rachel Kramer Bussel's new anthology, BEST BONDAGE EROTICA 2011? (Hey, it includes one of my stories...!) Or M. Christian's classic scifi erotica collection THE BACHELOR MACHINE, now available in ebook form for the first time? (I recommend it highly!) Looking for sizzling erotic romance? Check out Lynne Connolly's TEXAS HEAT or Beth Kery's thriller EXPLOSIVE. For a taste of something darker, sample India Walker's erotic political suspense novel THE KNOT ARTIST.

My gay fiction pick this month is D.H. Starr's MEANT FOR EACH OTHER, reviewed by Ashley Lister. If you're looking for lesbian heat, don't miss Kathleen Warnock's BEST LESBIAN EROTICA 2011. And if you're of a more visual bent (and I do mean "bent"), you've got to check out HOUSEWIVES AT PLAY: MOTHER KNOWS BEST by talented graphic (and I do mean "graphic") artist Rebecca. A friend recently introduced me to Rebecca's fabulously nasty F/F cartoons, set in a twisted Stepford-like suburban world where women amuse and abuse each other. Incredibly hot!

I'm sure I don't have to remind you that any of our featured goodies can be yours with a few clicks of a mouse. Use our links to Amazon or Amazon UK to order your choice of lascivious literature, and help keep ERWA alive and steaming!

Reading is sexy:
erotica-readers.com/ERA/EB/Erotic_Books.htm

Okay, writing is sexy too. Our columnists show you how to keep it that way in the Author Resources section. In this edition, Donna George Storey reflects on the twisted path between inspiration and publication while providing guidance on creating a sumptuous hors d'oeuvres buffet. Shanna Germain's article, "Building Your Own Boudoir", begins a series on establishing an on-line presence as an author. Vincent Diamond's "Staying in the Saddle" offers suggestions from successful authors on how to maintain a writing career over the long haul. Last, but certainly not least, Ashley Lister rounds out the year with his three top tips for writing success.

Get writing advice from the experts:
erotica-readers.com/ERA/AR/Erotica_Authors_Resources.htm

If all you want for Christmas is a publication contract, ERWA is the place to start. Our Calls for Submissions pages are overflowing with places for you to submit your writing. Calls this month include two anthologies edited by Kristina Wright (steampunk and best romance) as well as Best Lesbian Romance 2012 edited by Radclyffe. M.Christian is looking for erotic adventures involving Sherlock Holmes and his crew. D.L. King needs submissions for a butch/femme erotica collection. Loose Id wants novel length erotic tales on the theme "Men of Mystery". And this is just the tip of the iceberg.

Already have a story to sell? Looking for your next project? Start at ERWA:
erotica-readers.com/ERA/G/Call_For_Submissions.htm

Have you seen "Miracle on 34th Street" and "It's a Wonderful Life" one too many times? Drop in to our Adult Movies pages for some more stimulating holiday movie alternatives. Parodies and spin-offs seem to be the rage these days. This month you'll find X-rated versions of Red Riding Hood, Wonder Woman, and believe it or not, the slasher flick Friday the Thirteenth. (The reviewer swears that it's great.) Also of note is "Deep Indulgence", a passionate set of explicit vignettes about giving in to desire, and "Femme Core", a delicious and extremely kinky all-girl flick from Adam and Eve. If you feel that the holidays are really time for the classics, indulge yourself with a copy of the 1995 blockbuster "Zazel: The Scent of Love", an intoxicating tale of a beautiful woman trying to create the perfect perfume.

ERWA has set things up so you can get your favorite films from a wide range of reputable outlets - from SugarDVD to Hot Movies for Her. This month's "better-than-popcorn" deals include 20% off purchases at Adam & Eve and a 10% discount from Adult DVD Empire. Maybe this is the answer to those tough-to-buy-for folks on your gift list! (And why not order a little something for yourself as well?)

Trust ERWA to bring you the very best in visual entertainment:
erotica-readers.com/ERA/AM/Adult_Movies.htm

Things are lively as usual in the Sex Toy Playground. The lovely folks from Babeland provide a primer on cunnilingus while our intrepid reviewers Kyra Saunders and Mr. and Mrs. Toy boldly experiment with a bewildering array of new toy categories. Confused? Our regular Sex Toy Scuttlebutt will help you understand the ins and outs (so to speak) of all the new adult gadgets available. This month Babeland and Good Vibrations are both offering discounts to ERWA readers. (Oh goody! More gift ideas!)

Explore the wide world of carnal devices:
erotica-readers.com/ERA/ST/Sex_Toy_Playground.htm

Inside the Erotic Mind this month, our members talk about falling asleep after sex. Surprisingly, most don't. Add you own comments by clicking on the Participate link.

You never know what you'll find inside the erotic mind:
erotica-readers.com/ERA/ITEM/Inside_The_Erotic_Mind.htm

I spent a bit of time this month checking out the Portfolio of Links page. The ERWA staff have assembled a rich and well-organized set of links, covering everything from online resources for writers to X-rated entertainment. You'll find categories for men and women, gay and lesbian, BDSM, erotic art... pretty much anything you might want.

Let ERWA be your guide to the adult web:
erotica-readers.com/ERA/L/Adult_Entertainment_Links.htm

Our Web Gem this month is Torquere Press. Torquere Press Inc. has provided the best in GLBT romance since 2003, and prides itself on good stories with strong characters. A royalty-paying traditional press, Torquere features the hottest authors in the genre, including Sean Michael and Stormy Glenn. Torquere Press has a following of fans who like their love passionate and romantic and focused on same-sex relationships. Visit our bookstore at torquerebooks.com for the talent Torquere has to offer.

We're looking for fresh voices in gay and lesbian romance, because everyone deserves a happy ending. If you'd like to write for Torquere Press, visit torquerepress.com/submissions to see our guidelines.

Visit us on the web and see what Romance for the Rest of Us � is about!

Well, that just about wraps up (groan!) my tour of our holiday edition. I'd love to end with some seasonally appropriate double entendre, but I think they've all been used already by our Gallery authors. So I'll step out of character (thigh high boots and bustier included) to get serious and wish all of you a holiday season full to the brim with love, light and laughter. Enjoy every moment!

Joyfully,
Lisabet

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Tab Ships With "Porn" Button In Romania

2010-11-03T11:01:00.003-04:00

(reprinted with permission from XBIZ World, October 2010)

At first glance it would seem that electronics giant Samsung is trying to fill the void left by the Apple iPad no-porn policy when it showcased its new Galaxy Tab in Romania read-to-ship with a prominent "Porn" button.

But the XXX buzz was killed with the realization that the button is really an icon for the word "Porniere," that translates to "start" in the native Romanian language.

It appears Samsung decided to shorten the word to "Porn" either for space or aesthetic reasons. But tech observers think someone at the global company must speak English and should have caught the gaffe. And hitting the "Porn" button doesn't really "Start" anything. But takes the user to a home page as the graphic icon of a house suggests (which could direct users to porn after all).

Adam & Eve Survey Shows Most Adults Use Adult Products

2010-09-03T15:13:00.005-04:00

By Ariana Rodriguez
This article first appeared on XBIZ.com

HILLSBOUROUGH, N.C. — Adam & Eve’s Great American Sex Survey of more than 1,000 American adults age 18 and up, shows that 82 percent of adults use sex toys and other adult products.

An additional 3 percent of the survey’s respondents said they intend to use adult products in the future.

Nearly all of the respondents (94 percent) said they think adult products can be part of a healthy relationship.

Among respondents’ favorite adult products were toys (87 percent) and personal lubricants (79 percent). After these, the next most selected products were adult videos (72 percent), sexy lingerie (66 percent) and massage oils (64 percent).

"Adding toys to a couple's bedroom repertoire can improve communication and overall satisfaction with sex,” said Dr. Kat Scarbo, a sex and relationship expert. “I suggest toys and adult videos to clients to give them permission to explore what works for them in the bedroom. Overwhelmingly, nearly all my clients have reported that incorporating these items has lead to healthier, happier relationships."

Chad Davis, marketing director for Adam & Eve, say he agrees.

“These results reveal an increasingly positive attitude toward sex and sexuality,” Davis said. “We are very encouraged by these findings since they bode well for our business. Adam & Eve has nearly 40 years of experience and over 10 million customers who can attest to the joy adult toys bring them.”

The web-based survey, conducted by an independent third party survey company was sponsored by Adam & Eve to study sexual preferences and practices.

LoveHoney, Sexy & Secure Adult Shopping

2010-08-19T15:19:00.003-04:00

If you've not heard of British sex toy company LoveHoney, where have you been? Since 2002, LoveHoney have taken the UK by storm - we're the UK's leading online retailer of sex toys and related products, including erotic fiction.

A creative force to be reckoned with, LoveHoney have been super-charging sex lives by innovating new products, such as the untouchable, orgasm-inducing Sqweel Oral Sex Simulator. LoveHoney's own-brand ranges include the exclusive range of Supersex Toys produced in association with sex expert Tracey Cox, a range of BASIC Sex Toys, which are perfect for beginners (and travelling!) and Bondage Boutique, a range of top quality sexy bondage gear.

With the lowest prices and the highest level of customer service, LoveHoney knows a satisfied customer will keep coming… back. Fully-informed by the demonstration videos on Sex Toys TV, and over 20,000 real customer reviews, customers are empowered to make confident decisions about how to improve their sex lives. LoveHoney have free delivery with no minimum spend and free returns, with a quibble-free 365 day returns policy. Phew.

Recognised for their outstanding credentials in the industry, we've been honoured with the ETO (Erotic Trade Only) Online Sex Toy Retailer of the Year Award for three years running - 2008, 2009 and 2010. But most importantly LoveHoney is rated 'outstanding' in more than 25,000 independent customer reviews.

Leaving customers with a satisfied smile is our greatest achievement, and an ongoing challenge we're happy to meet!

Confessions of a Literary Streetwalker: Risks

2010-07-06T15:17:00.001-04:00

"The shock of September 11 is subsiding. Each day adds distance. Distance diminishes fear. Cautiously our lives are returning to normal. But 'normal' will never be the same again. We have seen the enemy and the enemy is among us .... the publishers, producers, peddlers and purveyors of pornography."

It didn't take me long to find that quote. It came from an LDS Web site, Meridian Magazine, but I could have picked fifty others. In light of that kind of hatred, I think it's time to have a chat about what it can mean to ... well, do what we do.

We write pornography. Say it with me: por-nog-ra-phy. Not erotica – a word too many writers use to distance themselves, or even elevate themselves, from the down and dirty stuff on most adult bookstore shelves – but smut, filth ... and so forth.

I've mentioned before how it's dangerous to draw a line in the sand, putting fellow writers on the side of smut and others in erotica. The Supreme Court couldn't decide where to scrawl that mark – what chance do we have?

What good are our petty semantics when too many people would love to see us out of business or thrown in jail? They don't see any difference between what I write and what you write. We can sit and argue all we like over who's innocent and who's guilty until our last meals arrive, but we'll still hang together.

I think it's time to face some serious facts. Hyperbole aside, we face some serious risks for putting pen to paper or file to disk. I know far too many people who have been fired, stalked, threatened, had their writing used against them in divorces and child custody cases, and much worse.

People hate us. Not everyone, certainly, but even in oases like San Francisco, people who write about sex can suffer tremendous difficulties. Even the most – supposedly – tolerant companies have a hard time with an employee who writes smut. A liberal court will still look down on a defendant who's published stories in Naughty Nurses. The religious fanatic will most certainly throw the first, second, third stone – or as many as it takes – at a filth peddler.

This is what we have to accept. Sure, things are better than they have been before and, if we're lucky, they will slowly progress, but we all have to open our eyes to the ugly truths that can accompany a decision to write pornography.

What can we do? Well, aside from calling the ACLU, there isn't a lot to we can directly do to protect ourselves if the law, or Bible-wielding fanatics, break down our doors – but there are a few relatively simple techniques you can employ to be safe. Take these as you will, and keep in mind that I'm not an expert in the law, but never forget that what you're doing can be dangerous.

* Assess your risks. If you have kids, have a sensitive job, own a house, have touchy parents, or live in a conservative city or state, you should be extra careful about your identity. Even if you think you have nothing to lose, you do – your freedom. Many cities and states have very loose pornography laws, and all it would take is a cop, a sheriff, or a district attorney to decide you needed to be behind bars to put you there.

* Hide. Yes, I think we should all be proud of what we do, what we create, but use some common sense about how easily you can be identified or found: use a pseudonym and a post office box, never post your picture, and so forth. Women, especially, should be extra careful. I know far too many female writers who have been stalked or Internet-attacked because of what they do.

* Keep your yap shut. Don't tell your bank, your boss, your accountant, your plumber, or anyone at all, what you do. When someone asks, I say I'm a writer. If I know them better, I say I write all kinds of things – including smut. If I know them very, very, very well, then maybe I'll show them my newest book. People (it shouldn't have to be said) are very weird. Just because you like someone doesn't mean you should divulge that you just sold a story to Truckstop Transsexuals.

* Remember that line we drew between pornography and erotica? Well, here's another: you might be straight, you might be bi, but in the eyes of those who despise pornography you are just as damned and perverted as a filthy sodomite. It makes me furious to meet a homophobic pornographer. Every strike against gay rights is another blow to your civil liberties and is a step closer to you being censored, out of a job, out of your house, or in jail. You can argue this all you want, but I've yet to see a hysterical homophobe who isn't anti-smut. For you to be anti-gay isn't just an idiotic prejudice, it's giving the forces of puritanical righteousness even more ammunition for their war.

I could go on, but I think I've given you enough to chew on. I believe that writing about sex is something that no one should be ashamed of, but I also think that we all need to recognize and accept that there are many out there who do not share those feelings. Write what you want, say what you believe, but do it with your eyes open. Understand the risks, accept the risks and be smart about what you do – so you can keep working and growing as a writer for many years to come.

Confessions Of A Literary Streetwalker - The Four Deadly Sins, Part 4: Violence

2010-05-27T14:13:00.002-04:00

Once in awhile someone will ask me "What, if anything, is verboten in today's permissive, literate erotica?" The answer is that pretty much anything is fair game, but there are what are called the four deadly sins: four subjects that a lot of publishers and editors won't (or can't) touch. These by no means are set in stone, but they definitely limit where you can send a story that uses any of them. So here, in a special series, are theses sins, and what – if anything – a writer can do with them.

In regards to the last of erotica's sins, a well-known publisher of "sexually explicit materials" put it elegantly and succinctly: "Just don't fuck anyone to death." As with the rest of the potentially problematic themes I've discussed here, the bottom line is context and execution: you can almost anything if you do it well – and if not well, then don't bother doing it at all.

Violence can be a very seductive element to add to any genre, let alone smut, mainly because it's just about everywhere around us. Face it, we live in a severely screwed up culture: cut someone's head off and you get an R rating, but give someone head and it's an X. It's kind of natural that many people want to use some degree of violence in their erotica, more than likely because they've seen more people killed than loved on-screen. But violence, especially over-the-top kind of stuff (i.e. run of the mill for Hollywood), usually doesn't fly in erotic writing. Part of that is because erotica editors and publishers know that even putting a little violence in an erotic story or anthology concept can open them up to criticism from all kinds of camps: the left, the right, and even folks who'd normally be fence-sitters – and give a distributor a reason not to carry the book.

One of the biggest risks that can happen with including violence in an erotic story is when the violence affects the sex. That sounds weird; especially since I've often said that including other factors are essential to a well-written erotic story. The problem is that when violence enters a story and has a direct impact on the sex acts or sexuality of the character, or characters, the story can easily come off as either manipulative or pro-violence. Balancing the repercussions of a violent act on a character is tricky, especially as the primary focus of the story. However, when violence is not central to the sexuality of the characters but can affect them in other ways it becomes less easy to finger point – such as in noir, horror, etc – where the violence is background, mood, plot, or similar without a direct and obvious impact on how the character views sex. That's not to say it isn't something to shoot for, but it remains one of the harder tricks to pull off.

Then there's the issue of severity and gratuitousness. As in depicting the actual sex in sex writing, a little goes a long way: relishing in every little detail of any act can easily push sex, violence, or anything else into the realm of comedy, or at least bad taste. A story that reads like nothing but an excuse to wallow in blood – or other body fluids – can many times be a big turn-off to an editor or publisher. In other words, you don't want to beat a reader senseless.

But the biggest problem with violence is when it has a direct sexual contact. In other words, rape. Personally, this is a big button-pusher, mainly because I've only read one or two stories that handled it ... I can't really say well because there's nothing good about that reprehensible act, but there have been a few stories I've read that treat it with respect, depth, and complexity. The keyword in that is few: for every well-executed story dealing with sexual assault there are dozens and dozens that make me furious, at the very least. I still remember the pro-rape story I had the misfortune to read several years ago. To this day, I keep it in the back of my mind as an example of how awful a story can be.

Sometimes violence can slip into a story as a component of S/M play. You know: a person assaulted by a masked intruder who is really (ta-da!) the person's partner indulging in a bit of harsh role-play. Aside from being old hack and thoroughly predicable, stories like this can also fall into the "all pain is good pain for a masochist" cliché, unless, as with all things, it's handled with care and/or flair.

Summing up, there is nothing you cannot write about: even this erotic "sin" or the others I've mentioned. However, some subjects are simply problematic in regards to sales potential: themes and activities that are loaded with emotional booby traps have to be carefully handled if the story is going to be seen as anything other than a provocative device. The affective use of these subjects has always been dependent on the writer's ability to treat them with respect. If you have any doubts about what that might be, just imagine being on the receiving end: extrapolate your feelings as if one of your own personal traumas or sexual issues was used as a cheap story device or plot point in a story. Empathy is always a very important facility for a writer to develop – especially when dealing with sensitive or provocative issues.

In short, if you don't like being beaten up, then don't do it to someone else, or if you do, then try and understand how much it hurts and why. Taking a few body blows for your characters might make you a bit black and blue emotionally, but the added dimension and sensitivity it gives can change an erotic sin, something normally just exploitive, to ... well, if not a virtue, then at least a story with a respectful sinner as its author.

Confessions Of A Literary Streetwalker - The Four Deadly Sins, Part 3: Incest

2010-04-15T11:53:00.002-04:00

Like bestiality – and unlike underage sexuality – incest is a tough nut: it's not something you might accidentally insert into an erotic story. Also like bestiality, it's something that can definitely push – if not slam – the buttons of an editor or publisher. Yet, as with all of these "sins," the rules are not as set in stone as you'd think. Hell, I even managed to not only write and sell an incest story ("Spike" which is the lead story in Dirty Words) but it also ended up in Best Gay Erotica. The trick, and with any of these erotic button-pushers, is context. In the case of "Spike" I took a humorous, surreal take on brother/brother sexuality, depicting a pair of twin punks who share and share alike sexually, until their world is shattered (and expanded) by some rough S/M play.

As with any of the "sins", a story that deals with incest in a thought-provoking or side-ways humorous manner might not scream at an editor or publisher I'M AN INCEST STORY but rather as humorous or though-provoking, first, and as a tale dealing with incest, second. Still, once it comes to light there's always a chance the story might still scream a bit, but if you're a skilled writer telling an interesting story there's still a chance quality could win over the theme.

Unlike bestiality, has very, very few stretches (like aliens and myths with bestiality). It's very hard to stumble into incest. In short, you're related or you're not. As far as degree of relationship, that depends on the story and the intent: direct relations are damned tough to deal with, first cousins fooling around behind the barn are quite another.

Even though incest is pretty damned apparent in a story, that doesn't mean the theme or the subtext can't be touched on. Sometimes the forbidden or the unexpected laying under the surface can add depth to a story: a brother being protective of his attractive sister, a mother shopping for a date for a daughter, a father trying to steer his son's sexuality, a daughter's sexual explorations alarming (and enticing) a mother or father's fantasies, and so forth. Technically, some of these dip into incest, if not the act then at least the territory, but if handled well they can add an interesting facet to an otherwise pedantic story. It's a theme that's also been played with, successfully, for centuries. Even the myth of Pygmalion – a sculptor falling in love with his creation – can almost be considered a story of incest, as the artist was a parent, then a over.

Conversely, incest can dull a situation when the emotions of the lovers involved become turned: as an example, where a person begins to feel more of a caregiver or mentor than a partner: the thought or even fantasies around sexuality with the person being cared-for or taught start to feel inappropriate. Conversely, someone might enjoy the forbidden spice of feeling sexual towards someone they've only thought of as a son or daughter, mother or father figure. This is also an old plaything for storytellers, the most common being a person looking for a partner to replace the strength and nurturing left behind when they grew up and moved out – or, from the new partner's point of view, the shock in realizing they have been selected to fulfill that role.

As with any of these "sins", fantasy can be a factor in being able to play with these themes. Having a character imagine making love to their mom (shudder) is in many editors or publishers eyes the same thing as actually doing it – but accepting and using the theme in, say, play-acting, where the reality is separated because the participants aren't related in any way, is more acceptable. As with under-age play, S/M and dominance and submission games can also use incest as a spice or forbidden theme – especially in infantilism games, where one person pretends to be an abusive or nurturing parental figure. Once again, play versus reality (even imagined reality) can work where normally no one would dare tread.

The bottom-line, of course, is whether or not the story uses this theme is an interesting or though-provoking way or just as a cheap shot. If you have any questions, either try and look at the story with a neutral eye, ask a friend you respect for their opinion. But I wouldn't ask your parents –

Call for Submissions: Ellora's Cave

2010-03-26T15:56:00.001-04:00

Ellora's Cave is launching two new Lines (genres) of Romantica® erotic romance. These lines are open for submission now, to both existing EC authors and new authors. General descriptions of the two new lines are:

GEN-EDGE
Audience: 18- to 25-year-old modern women who would enjoy reading sexually explicit erotic romance stories about heroines with whom they can identify.

Length: Any of our length categories (10K to about 125K)

Tone and Style: The books will have a strong narrative voice. Dialogue and narrative will be very reflective of the target audience’s world.

Heroines: Must be in the 18-25 range, with behavior and attitude to match. The heroine should reflect the lifestyles and values of today's modern young woman. These will not be like our existing stories that happen to have a heroine in that age range, the style will be very different.

Hero: The hero doesn't have to fit into the same age range. He may indeed be of age similar to the heroine, part of her peer group. But we would also accept stories of young women involved with older men.

In addition to being open to submissions from existing EC authors, we are looking to recruit new, authors to write for this line, who have an authentic voice for this age range.
##

BRANDED
Audience: This line is for women of any age who would, or perhaps already do, enjoy EC Romantica®, but who have a personal belief that sex should not occur before or outside of marriage.

Length: Any of our length categories (10K to about 125K)

Setting: Any setting, but the culture must involve a legal and binding commitment ceremony between the two people that includes the intent of permanence (“’til death do us part”) and monogamy.

Sexual Content: These are as erotic as all of our other books, but the actual sex does not occur until after marriage. The stories should be the same graphic level of sexual description as EC’s existing lines.

These are not religious or “inspirational” stories. The decision to wait for sex is a personal choice of the characters, based on a variety of reasons, and should in no way imply a judgment that other people are wrong or "bad" for making different choices.

For details and submission guidelines, go to the Erotica Readers & Writers Association

Confessions Of A Literary Streetwalker - The Four Deadly Sins, Part 2: Beastiality

2010-03-20T19:59:00.001-04:00

Only in erotica can the line "Come, Fido!" be problematic. Unlike some of the other Four Deadly Sins of smut writing, bestiality is very hard to justify: with few exceptions it's not something that can be mistaken for something else, or lie in wait for anyone innocently trying to write about sex. Unlike, for instance, discussing a first time sexual experience and have it accused of being pro-pedophilia. Bestiality is sex with anything living that's not human: if it's not living then it's a machine, if it was once-living then its necrophilia.

A story that features – positively or negatively – anything to do with sex with animals is tough if not impossible to sell, though some people have accomplished it. However, there are some odd angles to the bestiality that a lot of people haven't considered – both positive and negative.

On the negative side, I know a friend who had an erotic science fiction story soundly slammed by one editor because it featured sex with something non-human, technically bestiality – despite the fact that there is a long tradition of erotic science fiction, most recently culminating in the wonderful writing and publishing of Cecilia Tan and her Circlet Press (both very highly recommended). Erotic fantasy stories, too, sometimes get the "we don't want bestiality" rejection, though myth and legend are packed with sexy demons, mermaids, ghosts, etc. This doesn't even get into the more classical sexy beasts such as Leda and her famous swan or Zeus and other randy gods and demi-gods in their various animal forms.

Alas, "someone else did it" doesn't carry any weight with an editor and publisher, especially one that might be justifiably nervous about government prosecution or distributor rejection. Erotica, once again, gets – bad joke number three – the shaft: because erotica is up-front about the nature of its writing, alarm bells go off, unlike if you were writing something scholarly or even pop-culture. Market something as erotic and the double standards start popping up all over the place.

On a positive note – as the already mentioned, Cecilia Tan has proved – sex with aliens and mythological creatures has always been popular. Anthropomorphizing an animal, adding intellect or obvious will to a creature is a very safe way of touching on, or even embracing, the allure of sex with the unusual. The furry subculture is a close example of this, though they are very clear that this is not bestiality. It's just a way of eroticizing the exotic, mixing human sexuality with animal features. As long as the critters being embraced are not "real" animals and can give consent, then protests and issues usually fall away. Fantasy, after all, is one thing, and there's nothing more fantastic that dating a being from Tau Ceti V or something that looks like a raccoon crossed with Miss November, 1979.

There's another feature of bestiality that can be explored but only until recently has been: the idea of role-playing. In this take, a person will behave like an animal, usually a dog and usually submissive. In these S/M games, the "dog" (notice that they are never cats) is led around on a leash, communicates in barks or whines, drinks and eats from a bowl, and is generally treated – much to his pleasure, or as punishment – like a pooch: one-way it's a unique power game, read it another and it's bestiality.

One thing worth mentioning, because some people have brought this up in regards to all of the sins, is the dream out. What I mean by that is simple: say you really, really want to, say, write about doing some member of another phylum. That's cool, but your chances of seeing it in print, or even on a Web site, are about slim to none. SF doesn't turn your crank so you say: "Got it! It's a dream!" Well, I got news for you: a story that's slipped under the door with that framing device, as a way of getting about the idea of a real bestiality story apparent, especially when it opens with "I went to bed" and ends with "Then I woke up" is a pretty damned obvious excuse to write an un-sellable bestiality.

In short, like with a lot of these erotic "sins" whether or not a story comes across as being thoughtful or just exploitive and shallow depends a lot on how much you, as the writer, has put into the concept: something done cheap and easy will read just that way, versus the outcome if you invest time, thought, and – best of all – originality. Good work really does win out, and even can wash away some of the more outré' erotic "sins."

Good Vibrations Partners with American Red Cross

2010-02-27T11:41:00.003-05:00

Good Vibrations has announced a new corporate giving initiative, GiVe, and its partnership with American Red Cross to help bring relief to Haiti disaster victims.

"For over three decades Good Vibrations has been giving back to the community and actively participating in various causes," Good Vibrations COO Jackie Strano said. "Our GiVe campaign(s) are a way for us to formally mobilize our creativity, enthusiasm and energies towards causes we believe in. We are proud to partner with the Red Cross during this time of crisis and help those in desperate need of relief."

Good Vibrations has partnered with hundreds of local and national non-profit organizations by donating products, advertising and sponsorships, along with donating a percentage of retail sales in support of several causes, including women's shelters, HIV/AIDS research, art programs, LGBT benefits, and Breast Cancer awareness.

Through its partnership with American Red Cross, Good Vibrations and their customers can help support disaster victims across the country and around the world.

Through the GiVe program, each quarter Good Vibrations will partner with a different nonprofit organization. To see beneficiaries of the GiVe program, visit GoodVibes.com

Confessions Of A Literary Streetwalker - The Four Deadly Sins, Part 1: Underage

2010-02-16T18:10:00.001-05:00

Of all the four deadly sins, the one that most-often cramps the style of many erotica writers (i.e. "pornographers") has to be the use of characters that are below the legal age of consent. The difficulties are multi-fold: every state and/or country has different definitions of both what consent is and the age that anyone can give it; very few people have actually lost their virginity when legally able to give consent (and having everyone in a story or book being 21 when they first have sex is just silly); and even the scary potential that if you use a lot of characters below 21 you can look like a damned pedophile – and even get prosecuted as one.

Innocent scenes or even background like "he lost his virginity at seventeen" can be problematic, if not terrifying. While the likelihood is extremely remote, there still remains a chance that some Bible-thumping idiot from a backwater berg where consent is 21 could buy a copy of your work and then extradite you to said backwater to prosecute you for child pornography. It really has happened and could happen again. What really sucks is that they don't have to win their case to ruin your life: not only is suspicion as good as guilt to many people, but the legal costs alone are guaranteed to bankrupt everyone but Bill Gates.

So how do you avoid the wrath of "Bubba" of backwater creek? First of all, it really depends on how the story is written. While there's a chance they might go after you for that simple "he lost his virginity at seventeen" line, it isn't a big one. But if you do decide to write – and manage against all odds to sell, or at least publish – something that reads like a glorification of juvenile sexuality, your odds go up considerably. As with a lot of things, context and focus have a lot to do with it: anything sin can be written about if it's done well and with an eye towards a finely crafted story with real emotion and dimension. James Joyce was banned, but it didn't stick because it was art, and not Catholic Schoolgirls in Trouble.

Still, it's always better to be safe than sorry, especially if there are very simple techniques a writer can use to keep the law off your ass, or just a nervous editor or publisher from getting even more nervous. One of the simplest ways to avoid being accused of profiting off underage characters is to blur the specifics of the character's age. If I write, "he lost his virginity in high school" it could, technically, be argued that the kid had been held back for four years and so had his cherry popped at 21. No age, no underage. I've often been in the position where I've had to ask the author of a story to remove an exact age from a story to avoid just this issue. Most authors, once they understand the concern, are more than willing to make little changes like that.

Another place where age can slip in is through description. For example, if I say boy that usually implies someone younger than a man, therefore below the age of consent. But if I use the word lad the line gets fuzzy. Hell, I could say, "he was a strapping young lad of fifty summers" and get away with it. You can't do the same with boy – though of course you could say "young man." It's all subjective.

Of course, you can use boy in dialogue – as it could be a sign of domination or affection: "Come here, boy, and lick my boots." The boy in question could be sixty and graying. In one of those weird sexist twists of language, by the way, girl is not quite as loaded, as girl is frequently used to describe a woman of almost any age. Go figger.

Back to the high school thing, I don't want people to think you have to be incredibly paranoid to write erotica – but it is something to keep in mind. The man (or even backwater versions of same) are hardly going to haul your ass off for just one line or just one story, but if someone goes go on a crusade, they sure aren't going to arrest the cast and crew of American Pie (or anything like it). You, maybe – them definitely not.

Like all of these smut-writing sins, the person who worries the most about these things isn't the man or the writers but the editors and publishers. Distributors are notoriously nervous around certain kinds of content, jitters that are passed right down line to the publishers and then to the editors.

Just as there are editors and publishers who are too cautious, there are others that don't care one whit, or even take pride in pushing as many envelopes as possible. You name the sin and they'll do it. While this is great, and deserves a hearty round of applause, it can also mean that if you write something really out there – even if it's something you think a market would like – and it gets rejected, you're stuck with a story that no one will ever look at. Just something to keep in mind.

The answer to this confusion between the careful and the outrageous is when most questions regarding markets for erotica: read the publication, check out the guidelines, and/or ask questions. The one thing you shouldn't do is argue. I always remember this one person who sent me a story for a book I was editing, with an arrogant little note saying it was okay that the characters in his story were nine, because his story was set in Ancient Greece and the age of consent back then was eight. One, that was rude; two, I wasn't going to take anything with characters THAT young; and three, I didn't make the rules, the publisher did: I couldn't have taken the story even if I thought he was the next James Joyce. I didn't even read the story; I just rejected it.

In short, while its not realistic – if not stupid – to insist that characters be legally old enough to have sex, it is a factor a writer should keep in mind. Write what you want to write, but the instant you make that decision to try and share what you write with the rest of the world be aware that you're probably going to have to compromise or work within certain limitations.
It might not be pretty, but it's part of life – just like the loosing your virginity.

Confessions of a Literary Streetwalker: Peddling Your Ass

2009-12-19T17:03:00.001-05:00

The inclination is obvious; especially considering how much pressure writers can be put under to ‘get themselves out there.’ But even though the title of this column is “Literary Streetwalker,” I want to take a few hundred words to talk about when, in my opinion, it’s not a good idea of sell your creative backside.

One of the coldest, fastest rules of being an erotica author is that it’s a sexist genre: women have a slightly easier time of it than do guys -- unless you’re penning gay stuff, of course. Straight men still remain the primary buyers of smut, and they usually don’t like to ‘enjoy’ (i.e. become aroused) by something a man wrote. Homophobic? Certainly. But them’s the breaks until our society grows up. Women also don’t seem to trust anything written by a man, being suspicious that a man can’t write about sex. Wrong? Absolutely. But again that’s simply the way the world works -- for the moment, at least.

In this world of female empowerment, some women authors have made the mistake -- and again, this is my opinion -- of selling themselves rather than their work. The temptation, like I said, is clear: turning yourself into a desirable product makes it easy to sell just about anything you do, whether it’s a book or your own underwear. Becoming a sex personality means that you carry your catalog with you; you don’t have to trouble yourself with showing people what makes you a writer worthy of reading.

There are other benefits as well, celebrity having a special allure. There’s nothing like the adrenaline rush of people saying you’re sexy or clapping when you walk on stage. Writing, as I’ve said many times before, is a spectacularly harsh mistress. What with the low pay, generally poor treatment, and little artistic recognition, it’s no wonder that so many women are seduced by the quick and easy fame – or at least recognition – of becoming a product or personality, rather than a writer.

Now I should qualify what I mean by “selling.” I’m all for writers marketing themselves and their work. Half the game, at least, of being a writer is managing to tell enough people that you’re good without appearing arrogant (not an easy task). But it’s what you say about yourself and what you toss out there that is the line between publicity and literary prostitution – aside from having panties that bring in a nice price on eBay. Telling the world that you’re a great writer is one thing, telling people that you’re writing about the time you did the football team is quite another.

There are two good reasons for not crossing that line between publicity and soliciting. The first is more professional: if you create yourself as a sexual superstar you’re severely limiting what you can do as a writer. Receiving attention for your sex life might get you attention, but very often when you walk away from that spotlight you find yourself in the dark: your audience is used to you as a sex object, not as a writer -- and won’t respond when you’re not writing about being a pro-dom, sex activist, or porn star. Flexibility, after all, is key to being a writer because it gives you a plethora of genres and venues in which to expand and play. Your smut didn’t sell? Try horror. Horror didn’t work? Try romance -- and so forth. Unless, that is, you turn yourself into nothing but a sex object -- then that’s all you can be.

The other reason to avoid selling yourself is one, simple, biological factor: wrinkles. A twenty-something sexpot is alluring and provocative. A fifty year old one is just creepy – or, as Joe Gillis says in Sunset Blvd: “There's nothing tragic about being fifty. Not unless you're trying to be twenty-five.” One thing I love about being a writer is that writers have a long, long time to perfect our craft. Dancers get a few years, pro athletes get even less -- but writers can work until they drool on their keyboards … unless they transform themselves into an object with a very short sexual lifespan.

Again, my opinion -- if you want to turn yourself into a sexual superstar don’t let me stop you. It’s your right as a free person. But in all honesty I’d recommend that you try and resist the temptation to market yourself and not your work. Besides being a potential dead end career-wise (what happens when sagging and liver spots begin?), there’s one other difficulty in writing about your own sex life and putting it out there for hundreds, maybe thousands and -- who knows? -- millions of people to read: fans.

Not to put down the handsome and well groomed reading world, way too many of my female writer friends tell me that having die-hard fans of their sexual personas, rather than their stories, is more a curse than a blessing -- and really, really creepy. I’d say unwelcome advances are another reason to write stories about all kinds of things, and not about how wonderful it was jerk off the entire swim team.

Call for Submissions: Kensington Books

2009-12-09T12:55:00.003-05:00

Kensington has a variety of imprints, including Aphrodesia (erotica) and Brava (sexy romance).

The following is quoted from Cindi Myers' excellent market newsletter at:
http://cindimyersmarketnews.wordpress.com

In Aphrodesia, Audrey LaFehr (Editorial Director) needs “really original ideas.” One example is Wolf Tales, by Kate Douglas, about shape-shifting wolves. The concept needs to be carried over many books. “I need to see something in Aphrodesia you can’t get in romance. It can’t be just a very sexy romance – readers get that in Brava.” In Brava, the focus is on racheting the level of sexuality up. Brava covers are being redesigned. The books come out in trade paper and mass market paperback. Kensington accepts both agented and unagented authors. Send a cover letter, the first three chapters and a synopsis no longer than five pages. You may query only by email. The editor’s email addresses are listed on the guidelines page. Find Kensington’s submission guidelines here: www.kensingtonbooks.com/finditem.cfm?itemid=14298

"Shameless" Tips on Radio Interview Queries

2009-11-27T20:46:00.005-05:00

This month, in my last installment of Shameless Self-Promotion, I discuss the pleasures and challenges of appearing on radio shows to promote your novel. I’m including two of my sample queries here for your reference. The first is geared to a more high-brow host.

Dear Ms. X,

Ms. Y suggested I get in touch with you about a possible interview on “Book Talk” about my new novel, Amorous Woman, and other US-Japan intercultural issues related to the book.

Amorous Woman was published by Orion in the UK as part of their Neon line of literary erotica and was released in the US in May 2008. The novel was inspired by Ihara Saikaku’s 17th century Japanese erotic classic, The Life of an Amorous Woman. Intrigued by Saikaku’s picaresque, but emotionally complex tale, I decided to translate it into the modern story of an American woman’s experiences in Japan during its economic “bubble.” I’m a Princeton graduate with a Ph.D. in Japanese literature, and I’ve lived in Japan for several years. Amorous Woman is my first novel, although I’ve also published nearly a hundred literary and erotic stories and essays and my work received special mention in Pushcart Prize Stories 2004.

I’ve appeared on five radio shows including Ellen Shehadeh’s “View Point” on KWMR in Point Reyes Station, Denny Smithson’s “Cover to Cover” on KPFA in Berkeley and also read another literary essay for KQED’s “Writer’s Block” in San Francisco. In interviews I’ve discussed US-Japan cultural stereotypes such as the myths of the submissive geisha and the samurai salaryman, the historical and literary background of the novel, my definitions of erotica versus porn, the paradoxical prejudice against erotica in a consumer environment saturated with sexual messages, and how an academic and self-acknowledged feminist came to “talk back to porn” with a woman-centered exploration of eroticism as a complex element of human experience.

I’ve attached a brief synopsis and sample reviews of the novel below. I’d be happy to provide you with a copy of the book, print interviews including one in the East Bay Monthly, and links to other radio interviews at your request.

Thank you very much for your consideration of my proposal. I look forward to hearing from you.

Of course, ideally each query should reflect the intended market and not all interviewers are so serious. For a show that focuses on entertainment, I emphasized the more humorous possibilities as you see in the excerpts below:

Amorous Woman (Orion Publishing in the UK/US release through Trafalgar Books on May 28, 2008) is my first novel. It’s about a woman’s love affair with Japan and her adventures with as many men and women as she could pack into her futon along the way. Based on a Japanese erotic classic known for its wit, the story is rather like “Sex and the City” meets Memoirs of a Geisha with some David Sedaris thrown in for good measure.

I have a Ph.D. in Japanese literature from Stanford and have taught Japanese at U.C. Berkeley and Stanford. I have over eighty publication credits, including stories and essays in Gettysburg Review, Wine Spectator, Best American Erotica 2006, Mammoth Book of Best New Erotica and Best Women’s Erotica. I’ve been featured in magazines in the UK, translated into Italian and received special mention in Pushcart Prize Stories 2004. As part of my promotional efforts, I’ve appeared on Ellen Shehadeh’s View Point on KWMR in Point Reyes Station and have held several in-person readings and discussions. Because of my academic background, I am comfortable with public speaking and Q&A sessions. I enjoy bringing a humorous slant to my topic as well as talking about Japan, a country that still fascinates me twenty-five years after I first visited.

During the interview, I would be able to:

Discuss US-Japan cultural stereotypes such as the myths of the submissive geisha and the samurai salaryman—do the Japanese have better sex than we do in those love hotel dungeon rooms? And what about those vending machines that sell women’s “used” panties?

Talk about how a Stanford Ph.D. came to write a dirty novel and thus endanger the reputations of academics everywhere

Relate which aspects of my heroine’s adventures really happened to me—yes, I did have a boyfriend with one sensitive nipple and a group encounter on a spring night in Kyoto, although not exactly the way it happened in the book

Explain my take on the difference between erotica and porn—erotica’s what I like and porn’s what you like, but I’ve got some other provocative answers, too

Describe how erotica can change our lives by encouraging the exploration of how sex feels, a radical act in a society that focuses on how sex looks

Discuss the obstacles I’ve faced promoting the books and the pleasures in connecting with readers

If you’ve ever sat in a college class wondering if your professor had a secret life, I’m here to say the answer is definitely yes!

I’ve attached a brief synopsis and sample reviews of the novel below. I’d be happy to provide you with a copy of the book and print interviews at your request.

Thank you very much for your consideration of my proposal. I look forward to hearing from you.

For both queries, I also attached the information from my sell sheet including a one-paragraph pitch and a few brief excerpts from my favorite reviews. Good luck with your queries and have fun on the show!

Find out more about Donna George Storey and her adventures in shameless self-promotion at her blog.

Confessions of a Literary Streetwalker: Risks

2009-11-10T19:58:00.002-05:00

"The shock of September 11 is subsiding. Each day adds distance. Distance diminishes fear. Cautiously our lives are returning to normal. But "normal" will never be the same again. We have seen the enemy and the enemy is among us .... the publishers, producers, peddlers and purveyors of pornography."

It didn't take me long to find that quote, just a few minutes of searching. It came from an LDS Web site, Meridian Magazine, but I could have picked fifty others. Maybe it's because of the election, or because of a few horror stories that have recently come my way, but I think it's time to have a chat about what it can mean to ... well, do what we do.

We write pornography. Say it with me: por-nog-ra-phy. Not 'erotica' -- a word too many writers use to distance themselves, or even elevate themselves, from the down and dirty stuff on most adult bookstore shelves -- but smut, filth ... and so forth.

I've mentioned before how it's dangerous to draw a line in the sand, putting fellow writers on the side of 'smut' and others in 'erotica.' The Supreme Court couldn't decide where to scrawl that mark -- what chance do we have?

What good are our petty semantics when too many people would love to see us out of business, thrown in jail, or much, much worse? They don't see a bit of difference between what I write and what you write. We can sit and argue all we like over who's innocent and who's guilty until our last meals arrive, but we'll still hang together.

I think it's time to face some serious facts about what we do. 'Swinging from a rope' hyperbole aside, we face some serious risks for putting pen to paper or file to disk. I know far too many people who have been fired, stalked, threatened, had their writing used against them in divorces and child custody cases, and much worse.

People hate us. Not everyone, certainly, but even in oases like San Francisco people who write about sex can suffer tremendous difficulties. Even the most -- supposedly -- tolerant companies have a hard time with an employee who writes smut. A liberal court will still look down on a defendant who's published stories in Naughty Nurses. The religious fanatic will most certainly throw the first, second, third stone -- or as many as it takes -- at a filth peddler.

This is what we have to accept. Sure, things are better than they have been before and, if we're lucky, they will slowly progress despite the fundamentalism of the current government, but we all have to open our eyes to the ugly truths that can accompany a decision to write pornography.

What can we do? Well, aside from joining the ACLU (www.aclu.org) there isn't a lot to we can directly do to protect ourselves if the law, or Bible-wielding fanatics, break down our doors, but there are a few relatively simple techniques we can employ to be safe. Take these as you will, and keep in mind that I'm not an expert in the law, but most importantly, try to accept that what you are doing is dangerous.

Assess your risks. If you have kids, if you have a sensitive job, if you own a house, if you have touchy parents, if you live in a conservative city or state, you should be extra careful about your identity and what you are writing. Even if you think you have nothing to lose, you do -- your freedom. Many cities and states have very loose pornography laws, and all it would take is a cop, a sheriff, or a district attorney to decide you needed to be behind bars to put you there.

Hide. Yes, I think we should all be proud of what we do, what we create, but use some common sense about how easily you can be identified or found. If you have anything to lose, use a pseudonym, a post office box, never post your picture, and so forth. Women, especially, should be extra careful. I know far too many female writers who have been stalked or Internet-attacked because of what they do.

Keep your yap shut. Don't tell your bank, your boss, your accountant, your plumber, or anyone at all, what you do -- unless you know them very well. When someone asks, I say I'm a writer. If I know them better, I say I write all kinds of things -- including smut. If I know them very, very, very well then maybe I'll show them my newest book. People, it shouldn't have to be said, are very weird. Just because you like someone doesn't mean you should divulge that you just sold a story to Truckstop Transsexuals.

Remember that line we drew between 'pornography' and 'erotica'? Well, here's another. You might be straight, you might be bi, but in the eyes of those who despise pornography you are just as damned and perverted as a filthy sodomite. It makes me furious to meet a homophobic pornographer. Every strike against gay rights is another blow to your civil liberties and is a step closer to you being censored, out of a job, out of your house, or in jail. You can argue this all you want, but I've yet to see a hysterical homophobe who isn't anti-smut. For you to be anti-gay isn't just an idiotic prejudice, it's giving the forces of puritanical righteousness even more ammunition for their war -- on all of us.

I could go on, but I think I've given you enough to chew on. I believe that writing about sex is something that no one should be ashamed of, but I also think that we all need to recognize and accept that there are many out there who do not share those feelings. Write what you want, say what you believe, but do it with your eyes open. Understand the risks, accept the risks and be smart about what you do -- so you can keep working and growing as a writer for many years to come.

Make Your Own Book Trailer!

2009-09-30T17:31:00.002-04:00

This month in my Shameless Self-Promotion column I discuss a cutting edge and visually-stimulating way to get your book before new viewers (and potential buyers)--the book trailer. There are plenty of professionals willing to help you make a trailer, but if you're a do-it-yourself type, it can be lots of fun to make your own. So check out then trailer for my novel, Amorous Woman, then read all about how my husband and I did it. I mean made the trailer, of course!

I hope you enjoy your erotic trip to Japan...,

“Shameless” Tips on Book Trailers with Kim McDougall

2009-09-28T12:09:00.004-04:00

This month’s Shameless Self-Promotion discusses the cross-media thrill of creating a book trailer. I have the pleasure to interview professional book trailer producer Kim McDougall, who has graciously agreed to share her experiences promoting her work in general and creating book trailers in particular. Kim is a professional photographer, award-winning and prolific author and the founder of the new book trailer promotion site, Blazing Trailers. She writes fiction that “ignores boundaries, mixes genres and confounds classification”—which is definitely my kind of fiction! Her many credits include the fantasy titles The Golden Hour, “Luminari,” and the Twisted Tales series. She writes for children and young adults as Kim Chatel with titles including The Stone Beach, Rainbow Sheep, and A Talent for Quiet.

Shameless Self-Promotion: What have you found to be the most effective ways to promote your books? The most enjoyable?

Kim McDougall: The most enjoyable for me is definitely visiting schools and libraries to read my book to kids. Sometimes we do a craft too. This brings me full circle, back to the beginning of the creative process. It’s a reminder (after all the hard work, waiting and promoting) of why I write for kids in the first place. I have also made decent sales this way. I usually get about a 10% return from these visits. So if I see 300 kids, I might sell 30 books.

SSP: The least effective ways or biggest challenges?

I’m not convinced that chat groups and forums are a great way to promote. I know some authors have been successful with these, but I just feel like I preaching to the choir. And while it’s pleasant to chat with other writers, I haven’t seen any indication that this translates in many sales, especially considering the time involved.

SSP: What has been the most surprising thing about the experience of book promotion?

I was surprised that local chain bookstores were so difficult to deal with. Barnes and Noble won’t have me in to do a book signing because my book is POD. Yet another author in with my publisher is having great success with her POD books at her local B&N in California. The biased against POD is a local thing and I don’t understand it. There is nothing for the bookstore to lose.

SSP: Any tips about designing a website?

I’ve received one comment from a viewer on my site www.kimmcdougall. It was positive. She was impressed with my site because it was clean, simple and easy to navigate. She complained that so many writers try to jam everything and the kitchen sink into their sites. I have to agree. When I go to a site that has so much clutter I can’t find anything, I’m immediately turned off.

SSP: Do you have any thoughts on blogging?
Because I’m such an inconsistent blogger, I’ve found that keeping a blog myself is a waste of time. These things need to build steady steam to be effective. For myself, I have found two effective ways of making blogs work for me.

First, I guest blog at other people’s blogs. This gives me exposure to varying audiences, without having to keep a blog myself.

Second, I use Google alerts to find blogs talking about subjects similar to my book. For instance, I get Google alerts about needle-felting, and when I find someone blogging about it, I go in and invite them to my site to see the movie about me making a felt sheep. This is a soft sell. I may mention my book, Rainbow Sheep, if it’s appropriate, but if I get them to visit my site, they’ll find the book themselves. This is a tricky way of promoting though. You don’t want to spam a blog with a simple ad for your book. Rather, this is a way to strike up a conversation with others who may have the same interests as you and hope that something will come of it.

SSP: Can you share your experiences with book fairs or in-person events?

Because of the craft element in Rainbow Sheep, I have been able to sell my book quite successfully at local craft fairs. In fact, I do better at these than at bookstores. Some craft fairs will allow author signings. It’s a good thing to look into locally. I also make many great contacts in the community this way.

SSP: How about swag--such as postcards, bookmarks, pens, flyers, T-shirts, magnets, etc. Which has been the most useful?

I don’t believe giving away books is a good way to sell books. If you have a series, this might work, by holding a contest to win the first book. However, in general, when I hold contests, I give away other things. For December, I had a giveaway for my short story, “Luminari,” from Eternal Press. I made necklaces of little glass vials filled with gold glitter to represent the “Luminari” in the story. I gave these away free to the first 25 buyers of the story in December. I also used them for contests on chat forums.

The cost of the supplies and the mailing was more than my royalties on the story, but I consider it a loss-leader. It brought people to my site and enabled me to start a mailing list.

SSP: You specialize in creating book trailers for other authors (and yourself), do you have any specific tips for beginning book trailer artists--maximum or minimum length, use of effects, things to avoid, best places to buy images or music?

When all is said and done, a trailer is a commercial and I think many authors making their own forget that. The three things you want your viewer to take away from the trailer are: your book title, your name and a vague memory of your cover. You want to engage the viewer with the imagery and music, but those three factors need to pop, too.

Here’s is a description of many author trailers I view that I feel don’t work as a promo: 4-5 minutes of static photos, with long lines of description, ending with the book cover. If I had already read the book, the passing images might hold relevance to me, but as a possible buyer, they make little impact. And while these slide shows may be beautiful to watch, they aren’t a good selling tool because they don’t leave the viewer thinking, “Wow, I’d like to read that book!”

I try to combine video with photos and bring movement to the still images. Also, I prefer to use fewer images, but choose those with more impact. Music is also really important. Dramatic music can make a huge difference to the feeling of a trailer. Finally, I try to limit my trailers to two minutes. It’s so easy for a viewer to click away from a video that is too long or doesn’t interest them.

SSP: Which trailer(s) would you consider good examples of your work?

Here’s an example of a trailer that uses still imagery but is not static. “River Bones” by Mary Deal. It uses only a few images, but they are all dramatic as is the music. This would be a fairly inexpensive trailer to make.

“The Locket,” by Suzanne Lieurance is another example of static images, coming alive. This one uses sound effects to good measure.

One of my favorite trailers using video clips, is one of my earliest for my YA novel “The Stone Beach.” This would be a more expensive trailer to make, but it is quite dramatic. You’ll notice, there is very little text on this one.

Another alternative is to take one video clip and split it into pieces so to spread it over an entire trailer. This in an inexpensive way to bring movement to a trailer. An example of this is my trailer for “Barbegazi.”

SSP: How do you get book trailers noticed?

The reason I established Blazing Trailers, was because there were few places to showcase trailers properly. It is important to post your trailer all over the net. There are many sites other than YouTube and a simple Google search will call up a dozens of them. Let these sites bring traffic to your site.

But when it comes to inviting people to see your trailer, you’re best to offer a link to your site or a place like Blazing Trailers where the viewer has an immediate opportunity to buy your book. If you’re on a chat and you say “look at my trailer on YouTube.” The viewer may go look at it, but then what? It’s a dead end. But if you post your trailer on your site with a buy link, they have to opportunity to find out more information about the book and possibly buy it.

That’s why at Blazing Trailers, each book page has the trailer and then a blurb, excerpt, review and buying information.

Here are a couple of sites that get good viewer clicks that some authors might not know about.

Gather.com

Break.com

Previewthebook.com (for shorter book trailers)

SSP: Thank you so much, Kim, for sharing your experiences and especially for the insights into making book trailers! For more very helpful information on creating your own book trailer and using it to market your book, check out this interview with Kim at Book Talk Corner.

Find out more about Donna George Storey and her adventures in shameless self-promotion at her blog.