September 20th = "Revenge of the Sex Columnists"

(I may be adding one or two people to the lineup, but these are all confirmed. I'm trying to get Grant Stoddard to read too so if anyone knows him, please tell him to return my email! Otherwise maybe I'll snag him for my memoirists night and he can talk about his upcoming memoir Working Stiff.)

IN THE FLESH EROTIC READING SERIES
REVENGE OF THE SEX COLUMNISTS!
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 20 at 8 PM
AT HAPPY ENDING LOUNGE, 302 BROOME STREET, NYC
(B/D to Grand, J/M/Z to Bowery, F to Delancey, http://www.happyendinglounge.com)
Admission: Free
Happy Ending Lounge: 212-334-9676
http://inthefleshreadingseries.blogspot.com

Hear your favorite sex columnists tell all—from horror stories to hate mail to come-ons and sexcapades! With Julia Allison (“The Dating Life,” AM NY), Erin Bradley (“Miss Information,” Nerve.com), Ellen Friedrichs (Teenwire.com, Rutgers University), Laura Leu (“Sex Diary” in Penthouse), and Jamye Waxman (Playgirl), and your host, Rachel Kramer Bussel (“Lusty Lady” in The Village Voice). Books and magazines, as well as mini cupcakes, will be given away.

Rachel Kramer Bussel is a New York City-based author and editor. She is Senior Editor at Penthouse Variations and a Contributing Editor and columnist for Penthouse, writes the Lusty Lady column for The Village Voice, and conducts interviews for Gothamist.com and Mediabistro.com. Her erotic stories have appeared in over 60 anthologies, including Best American Erotica 2004 and 2006, and she’s edited her own collections, including Naughty Spanking Stories from A to Z 1 and 2, Up All Night, First-Timers, Glamour Girls, and the forthcoming Ultimate Undies, Sexiest Soles, Secret Slaves, and Caught Looking: Erotic Tales of Voyeurs and Exhibitionists. Rachel has also written for AVN, Bust, Metro, New York Post, Punk Planet, Time Out New York and Velvetpark. www.rachelkramerbussel.com

Julia Allison is a writer and columnist, best known for her weekly column, “The Dating Life,” in AM New York, a daily Manhattan newspaper that reaches more than 320,000 readers. She got her start as a now clichéd college sex columnist at Georgetown University, but since then she has written for Cosmopolitan, New York, COED, Teen Vogue, Seventeen, Capitol File and Men’s Health, among others. In addition to a regrettable stint on Elimidate, America’s #1 cheesiest dating show, Julia has been featured in The Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, Fox, CNBC, CBS and NPR. She appears regularly on Fox News as an entertainment pundit. www.juliaallison.com

Erin Bradley is writer living in New York City. Erin is the author of Miss Information, a weekly sex
and dating advice column, and Girlgonemad, an online dating
blog, both appearing on Nerve.com. Originally from the Midwest, Erin is a graduate of Michigan State University where she earned a degree in Human Resources (don’t worry, she doesn’t know what that means either). When she’s not writing freelance for various entertainment and tech publications, Erin can be found working on her screenplay and watching television documentaries with Creature, her morbidly obese cat.

Ellen Friedrichs is a Brooklyn based sexuality educator. She holds an MA in health and human sexuality education and started her career in sexuality at Manhattan's Museum of Sex. From there she became the behind the scenes expert for Planned Parenthood's teenwire.com website answering hundreds of thousands of sex questions from information starved teens. Currently, she teaches sex education to teens in the South Bronx and human sexuality to biology students at Rutgers University. She also runs sexuality workshops and writes about the subject when she has a chance. These days she also hangs out with her baby. More information about Ellen can be found at her website: www.sexEdvice.com.

Laura Leu writes a monthly column for Penthouse called "Sex Diary." She has also written for Maxim, Stuff, Shock, Sync, Riot,Match.com and contributed to the book Naked Ambition: Women Pornographers and How They Are Changing The Sex Industry. As a sex and relationships expert, she has made several TV appearances and does a weekly sex segment on Maxim Sirius Radio. She recently launched a line of underwear, which can be found at www.UnderDares.com.

Jamye Waxman has been called the nexxxt generation of sex educator (Wired.com). With a Masters in sexuality education from Widener University in Pennsylvania. She currently writes three sex columns: "Sex Ed" for Playgirl Magazine and two dating and relationship columns for Steppin' Out Magazine and The Philly Edge. She is also the co-writer and producer of the latest Candida Royalle feature, "Under the Covers," (Femme Productions) and is currently working on her first book, entitled Women loving Women (Quiver Press, Spring 2007). Jamye also teaches classes on all things sex both privately and for the popular website/social calendar Moxieinthecity.net. Waxman was a producer of the popular Metro TV show Naked New York. She is president of the national organization, Feminists for Free Expression. www.jamyewaxman.com

Diana Cage in action

_DSC9658
Originally uploaded by brianvan.

Diana Cage read from her forthcoming novel at In The Flesh and had everyone awed by her tale of road trip sex. My favorite line was:

"I sprayed like the fountains at the Bellagio all over the windshield of the rental car."

Look for her novel hopefully sometime in 2007 or 2008. You can read her story "Sugar" in my book Glamour Girls: Femme/Femme Erotica. She's now a New Yorker, after many years in San Francisco, editing On Our Backs and various other smutty things like that.

Photo by Brian Van

August, September, October, November, December and January lineups

I'm so excited about all of these nights - really, you are in for a treat - Lily Burana! Shari Goldhagen! Laura Leu! Julia Allison! Jamye Waxman! Mo Beasley and Urban Erotika! Christen Clifford! Jami Attenberg! Adira Amram! Jessica Delfino! Todd Levin! Baron Vaughn! Sara Jo Allocco! And so many more - truly stellar talent you don't want to miss. Lily Burana will be doing her first reading of a sex scene EVER on August 16th! I would imagine it's hard to rattle this brilliant writer so come to chear her on! Plus one of my dearest friends, Shari Goldhagen, will be reading some of the naughty parts of her fabulous novel Family and Other Accidents. See my interview with Shari here and see YOU on August 16th! Yes, there will be cupcakes. And candy. And free books. And smut.

August 16, 2006, 8pm

In The Flesh Reading Series, Happy Ending Bar

With Lily Burana (Try, Strip City), Shari Goldhagen (Family and Other Accidents), Caridad Piñeiro (Sex and the South Beach Chicas, The Calling Vampire series), Shane Luitjens (Revolutionary Voices, Suspect Thoughts), Marie Lyn Bernard (Cleansheets, Best American Erotica 2007), Riain Grey (Mammoth Book of Best New Erotica, Scarlet Letters), and Lisa Montanarelli (Whipped!, Strange But True).
Free refreshments will be served.
302 Broome Street, NYC

Directions: B/D to Grand, F to Delancey, J/M/Z to Bowery

Free.

September 20, 2006, 8 pm

REVENGE OF THE SEX COLUMNISTS!
In The Flesh Reading Series, Happy Ending Bar

With Julia Allison (AM NY dating columnist), Laura Leu (Underdares, Penthouse "Sex Diary" columnist), Jamye Waxman (Playgirl sex advice columnist), Ellen Friedrichs. Rachel will also be celebrating the release of her new anthology Naughty Spanking Stories from A to Z 2.
Free refreshments will be served.
302 Broome Street, NYC

Directions: B/D to Grand, F to Delancey, J/M/Z to Bowery

Free.

October 18, 2006, 8 pm

In The Flesh Reading Series, Happy Ending Bar

With Jami Attenberg (Instant Love), Mo Beasley and Urban Erotika, Christen Clifford (17 Guys I Fucked, Baby Love), Stephen Elliott (My Girlfriend Comes to the City and Beats Me Up, Happy Baby), Marcy Dermansky (Twins), and P.F. Kozak (Sins and Secrets). Rachel will also be celebrating the release of her new anthology Caught Looking: Erotic Tales of Voyeurs and Exhibitionists.
Free refreshments will be served.
302 Broome Street, NYC

Directions: B/D to Grand, F to Delancey, J/M/Z to Bowery

Free.

November 15, 2006, 8 pm

Comic Sex Night at In The Flesh Reading Series, Happy Ending Bar

Funny sex stories from some of NYC's funniest comedians. With Sara Jo Allocco, Claudia Cogan, Jessica Delfino, Julie Klausner (Free to Be Friends), Todd Levin, Mindy Raf, Lianne Stokes, Baron Vaughn, and musical guest Adira Amram.
Free refreshments will be served.
302 Broome Street, NYC

Directions: B/D to Grand, F to Delancey, J/M/Z to Bowery

Free.

December 20, 2006, 8 pm

In The Flesh Reading Series, Happy Ending Bar

With Abiola Abrams (BET, Dare), L. Elise Bland (Contributor, Best American Erotica 2006, Naughty Spanking Stories from A to Z 1 and 2), Kevin Keck (Oedipus Wrecked), Stan Kent (Shoe Leather series), Lisa Beth Kovetz (The Tuesday Erotica Club) Scott Bowen (The Midnight Fish), and Karen Moulding (Unbox, The Untrainable Heart).
Free refreshments will be served.
302 Broome Street, NYC

Directions: B/D to Grand, F to Delancey, J/M/Z to Bowery

Free.

January 17, 2007, 8 pm

Erotic Memoir Night
In The Flesh Reading Series, Happy Ending Bar

With Gael Greene (Insatiable), Marty Beckerman (Generation S.L.U.T.), Helen Boyd (My Husband Betty, She's Not the Man I Married), Ron Geraci (The Bachelor Chronicles), Rachel Sarah (Single Mom Seeking: Playdates, Blind Dates and Other Dispatches from the Dating World), Grant Stoddard (Working Stiff: The Misadventures of an Accidental Sexpert), Virginia Vitzthum (I Love You, Let's Meet: Adventures in Online Dating), and Lauren Wissot (Under My Master's Wings).
Free refreshments will be served.
302 Broome Street, NYC

Directions: B/D to Grand, F to Delancey, J/M/Z to Bowery

Free.

The MILF Anthology at SMUT on Monday

The MILF Anthology

Monday, July 7th, 8 pm - 10 pm
SMUT Series

An evening devoted to the future and past of sex with the contributors to Sex in the System, a new collection of erotic science fiction from Thunder's Mouth Press, and The MILF Anthology (Blue Moon Books)

Featuring:

Shariann Lewitt, author of Interface Masque, Rebel Sutra, and Memento Mori

Sarah Micklem, author of Firethorn and Wildfire

John Bowker, graduate of the Clarion Science Fiction Writers program

Cecilia Tan, author of Black Feathers, The Velderet, and Telepaths Don't Need Safewords

Stacy Brown, contributor to The MILF Anthology

Door prizes will include copies of the book Sex in the System, The MILF Anthology and the newly released Erotic Writer's Market Guide

Galapagos Art Space
70 N 6th St
Brooklyn, NY 11211
L train to Bedford Avenue

Reading from "Dancing Queen" in Secret Slaves: Erotic Stories of Bondage

_DSC9643
Originally uploaded by brianvan.

I read from "Dancing Queen" and Zaedryn read from "Unlocking" in Secret Slaves: Erotic Stories of Bondage.

See more of Brian Van's photos from In The Flesh here

Zaedryn Meade's sexy poetry

_DSC9648
Originally uploaded by brianvan.

Zaedryn Meade's sexy poetry brought down the house.

Desiree Burch "did it for Elliott Smith"

_DSC9674
Originally uploaded by brianvan.

Had anal sex, that is. (Not with Elliott Smith, mind you. For him, cause the guy was all music geeky.) Desiree Burch read excerpts from "52 Man Pickup" at In The Flesh, July 19, 2006.

Photo by Brian Van

In The Flesh in Hong Kong magazine Escape part 2

In The Flesh in Hong Kong magazine Escape page 2
Originally uploaded by rkb1.

See previous post for details - from an article from Hong Kong magazine Escape about my writing and In The Flesh.

In The Flesh in Hong Kong magazine Escape page 1

In The Flesh in Hong Kong magazine Escape page 1
Originally uploaded by rkb1.

In The Flesh and my writing were profiled in Hong Kong magazine Escape by Nan Hie In. This is part 1, part 2 to follow - working on making these into visible images, but if you're dying to read it, email me at rachelkb at gmail.com and I'll forward it.

Also - if you want a seat (and/or a cupcake), please get to Happy Ending early tomorrow! Between The New Yorker listing, past turnout, and an ad I've taken out on Publishers Marketplace, I expect it to be packed!

Thanks also to the very funny Eliza Skinner at the appropriately named Hello Hilarious for her post "Dirty Words, Tasty Cakes." That's what it's all about at In The Flesh!

Come for the cupcakes, stay for the smut (or vice versa)

Cupcakes at Comedy Pro Shop
Originally uploaded by rkb1.

"Cupcakes will be served." The New Yorker, July 24, 2006 edition, page 18! Be there - tomorrow!

IN THE FLESH EROTIC READING SERIES
WEDNESDAY JULY 19 at 8 PM
AT HAPPY ENDING LOUNGE, 302 BROOME STREET
(B/D to Grand, J/M/Z to Bowery, F to Delancey, http://www.happyendinglounge.com)
Admission: Free
Happy Ending Lounge: 212-334-9676
http://inthefleshreadingseries.blogspot.com

Take a break from the heat with sexy words and yummy cupcakes. With Desiree Burch (SMUT Series), Diana Cage (Box Lunch, Bottoms Up, On Our Backs Guide to Lesbian Sex), Zaedryn Meade (Covet, Valence, For the Record), Doreen Orsini (Hunting Diana, Tanner’s Angel), the co-editor of The MILF Anthology, Cecilia Tan (Circlet Press), along with contributors Elspeth Potter (Tough Girls, Best Women’s Erotica) and Stacy Brown, along with host Rachel Kramer Bussel. Free candy and mini cupcakes will be served. Various erotic books, including The MILF Anthology, will be raffled off as door prizes.

In the Flesh is a monthly reading series hosted at the appropriately named Happy Ending Lounge, and features the city's best erotic writers sharing stories to get you hot and bothered, hosted and curated by Village Voice sex columnist and acclaimed erotic writer and editor Rachel Kramer Bussel. From erotic poetry to down and dirty smut, these authors get naked on the page and will make you lust after them and their words. Future themed nights include Revenge of the Sex Columnists (September 2006), Comic Sex (November 2006), and erotic memoirs.

From "Unlocking" by Zaedryn Meade in Secret Slaves: Erotic Stories of Bondage

his is just a teaser from Zaedryn Meade's exquisite story "Unlocking" which opens Secret Slaves: Erotic Stories of Bondage. The best part is after this, so come to In The Flesh on Wednesday and hear her read more, AND get a chance to win a FREE copy of your pick of the 3 Fetish Chest books!

From "Unlocking" by Zaedryn Meade

Her wide brown eyes flash gold and reveal her obvious interest. “I’ve never been handcuffed before.”

I don’t miss that invitation. “Would you like to be?”

Her hips switch and tilt. Oh yeah, she wants to be. Possibly even by me. “I don’t know,” she says slowly, placing herself closer to me with every imperceptible movement. Her fingers are still in my belt loop and she’s pulling at the circle around my hips. I’m leaning back into it and making her lean into me. She tilts her face up toward mine, a good four inches shorter than my not-so-tall five foot six, and does that doe-eyed under-the-eyelashes look of girls who want to be kissed. I reach behind her to set my glass on the tall table, changing places with her. She turns too and now her back is to the wall. She leans against it and hooks both thumbs into her pockets, holding her bottle of Corona by the neck in her left hand. Only the lime at the bottom is left.

I take the bottle out of her hand and use that as an opportunity to touch her skin. I pass the bottle to my other hand and set it on the table next to my empty glass, barely looking to see where it lands, eyes locked on Maya’s dark thick eyelashes and smoky makeup. She’s biting her lip. I have the back of her hand in mine and press her palm with my thumb. Her fingers are a little colder than her wrist. It’s a little cool out on the back patio tonight, but we’re both beginning to sweat.
My thumb and forefinger circles her wrist and I squeeze, just a little, enough pressure to let her feel restricted. I take her other hand, notice that she’s already reaching for me, and do the same. She breathes in, a little surprised at the sudden movement. I press her wrists back until they touch the wall and see the tension in her shoulders. Her breasts are offered up to me like fruit to suck on in order to bring out the flavor of the whiskey, and she knows it, sees me considering her and arches further. I want to press my palm into the ripeness of her chest and feel the flesh pushed between my palm and the wall. I want to take a bite of the taut muscles of her neck. I want to run my tongue from her chin down past the collar of her thin cotton blouse and into the V of her neckline where she has one too many buttons undone.

I don’t do any of these. I keep my eyes on her face as she tells me what she wants, what she’s afraid to give away, what she wishes I’d keep doing to her, without saying anything. Maya’s mouth makes a sweet, high whimper that is quickly cut off by my own mouth pressing into hers. She pushes her hips into mine and made a move in to kiss me that was more sudden than I expected, and I almost lose my balance and my grip around her wrists. I pull her hands behind her back and they touch easily; her wrists are thin enough to get both locked in one of my hands, so I bring my left hand to the back of her neck, along her spine and under her long dark hair. Her body arches and she kisses me harder, her tongue beginning to feather my lips. I open my mouth, catch her swollen bottom lip between my teeth gently, then pull away and touch her lips as lightly as possible. She’s pressing toward me for more but I’m holding her back by her wrists. She struggles against my grip and almost gets one wrist free before I catch it in my left hand. She smiles against my mouth, I feel the corners of her mouth turned up and laughing. She flexes her fingers and stops struggling.

I pull back and she’s still smiling. I let go and she brings her hands between us, touches one wrist with the other, then pulls on my keys again.

”Take me home with you,” she says. I grin. Circling her right wrist with my left hand, I lead her back through the pulsing bodies on the dance floor, and out the front door of the bar.

In The Flesh is on Wednesday!

There will be free cupcakes from sugar Sweet sunshine (a few dozen so get there early for one!) and book giveaways, and you'll get a free raffle ticket when you come in - at the end of the night, I'll be giving away your choice of Ultimate Undies: Erotic Stories of Underwear and Lingerie, Sexiest Soles: Erotic Stories About Feet and Shoes, or Secret Slaves: Erotic Stories of Bondage. Those books will also all be for sale and I'm available to sign them, as are any contributors, such as reader Zaedryn Meade.

IN THE FLESH EROTIC READING SERIES
WEDNESDAY JULY 19 at 8 PM
AT HAPPY ENDING LOUNGE, 302 BROOME STREET
(B/D to Grand, J/M/Z to Bowery, F to Delancey, http://www.happyendinglounge.com)
Admission: Free
Happy Ending Lounge: 212-334-9676
http://inthefleshreadingseries.blogspot.com

Take a break from the heat with sexy words and yummy cupcakes. With Desiree Burch (SMUT Series), Diana Cage (Box Lunch, Bottoms Up, On Our Backs Guide to Lesbian Sex), Zaedryn Meade (Covet, Valence, For the Record), Doreen Orsini (Hunting Diana, Tanner’s Angel), the co-editor of The MILF Anthology, Cecilia Tan (Circlet Press), along with contributors Elspeth Potter (Tough Girls, Best Women’s Erotica) and Stacy Brown, along with host Rachel Kramer Bussel. Free candy and mini cupcakes will be served. Various erotic books, including The MILF Anthology, will be raffled off as door prizes.

In the Flesh is a monthly reading series hosted at the appropriately named Happy Ending Lounge, and features the city's best erotic writers sharing stories to get you hot and bothered, hosted and curated by Village Voice sex columnist and acclaimed erotic writer and editor Rachel Kramer Bussel. From erotic poetry to down and dirty smut, these authors get naked on the page and will make you lust after them and their words. Future themed nights include GLBT stories, porn star night, and erotic memoirs.

Rachel Kramer Bussel is a New York City-based author and editor. She is Senior Editor at Penthouse Variations and a Contributing Editor and columnist for Penthouse, writes the Lusty Lady column for The Village Voice, and conducts interviews for Gothamist.com and Mediabistro.com. Her erotic stories have appeared in over 60 anthologies, including Best American Erotica 2004 and 2006, and she’s edited her own collections, including Naughty Spanking Stories from A to Z 1 and 2, Up All Night, First-Timers, Glamour Girls, and the forthcoming Ultimate Undies, Sexiest Soles, Secret Slaves, and Caught Looking: Erotic Tales of Voyeurs and Exhibitionists. Rachel has also written for AVN, Bust, Metro, New York Post, Punk Planet, Time Out New York and Velvetpark. www.rachelkramerbussel.com

Stacy Brown is an adjunct professor at a major New York college and a contributor to The MILF Anthology.

Desiree Burch is a writer, comedian, actress and New York NeoFuturist, and host of the SMUT Reading and Performance series, Monday nights at Galapagos Artspace. Her solo work has culminated in full-length solo pieces Sit-Down, Careless and Greatest Hits. Her solo work and stand-up comedy have been featured at CenterStage NY, Dixon Place, The Marquee, Manhattan Theatre Source, Mazer Theater, P.S. 122, Carolines on Broadway, the NY Improv, New York Comedy Club, Boston Comedy Club, the Producer's Club, the Comedy Social, Chicks & Giggles, the Mae West Fest in Seattle and the New York International Fringe Festival. http://mebigyoulittle.blogspot.com

Diana Cage is the author of several how to books on sex, most recently Box Lunch and Threeways: Fulfill your Ultimate Fantasy. She's currently at work on a book called Girl Meets Girl: a Dating Survival Guide, due out next year and a novel called Connections on I5. www.dianacage.com

Zaedryn Meade is a queer poet working for subversion and joy. She believes in social change through encouraging the sharing of marginalized peoples unique voices and stories. Her work has previously been published in various literary magazines and a few anthologies, and she has two chapbooks, Covet and Valence, and one spoken word CD titled For the Record. Originally born in Juneau, Alaska, she is now living in New York City. www.zaedryn.com

Doreen Orsini loves breaking rules, especially when writing books filled with romance, suspense, and erotic interludes. Highly acclaimed by reviewers and readers, her book No One But Madison takes the reader on an erotic journey, as a strong-willed undercover reporter risks her freedom, heart, and life while investigating abuse in a New York City BDSM club. With Hunting Diana, an erotic paranormal, due out in July, Tanner’s Angel, an erotic contemporary, set for an August release, a monthly column in SUITE e-zine, and four kids, Doreen still finds time to write articles for www.AsTheGroveTurns.com, in various RWA publications, and on author sites.
www.doreenorsini.com

Elspeth Potter lives in Philadelphia. Her erotica has appeared in Best Lesbian Erotica 2001-2004, Best Women's Erotica 2002 and 2005, Tough Girls, The Mammoth Book of Best New Erotica, Vol. 5. She is also a member of the Science Fiction Writers of America.

Cecilia Tan is a happy smutmonger based in the Boston area. Susie Bright recently called her "simply one of the most important writers, editors, and innovators in contemporary American erotic literature." She has edited dozens of anthologies for Circlet Press, Masquerade Books, Thunder's Mouth Press, and Blue Moon Books. Her own writings regularly appear in Best American Erotica, Best Lesbian Erotica, and other places. www.ceciliatan.com

Free sugar Sweet sunshine cupcakes at In The Flesh

Cupcakes from sugar Sweet sunshine
Originally uploaded by rkb1.

Get to In The Flesh early next Wednesday July 19th for some free cupcakes while they last, delivered to us by Max Delivery straight from sugar Sweet sunshine

And the killer "Comic Sex" lineup for November 15th is taking shape: Music by the super sexy iron-licking makeout goddess Adira Amram (I am referring, of course, to her song "wana makeout"), with funny sexy stories from Claudia Cogan, Mindy Raf, Todd Levin, Baron Vaughn and Sara Jo Allocco!