In the Flesh is a monthly reading series held the third Thursday of every month 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 erotic writer/editor Rachel Kramer Bussel (Best Sex Writing series, Do Not Disturb, Spanked, Dirty Girls, etc.). 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. Themed nights have included True Sex Confessions, Revenge of the Sex Columnists, GLBT Night, and Comedy Sex. Readers have included Laura Antoniou, Mo Beasley, Susie Bright, Lily Burana, Jessica Cutler, Stephen Elliott, Martha Garvey, Gael Greene, Andy Horwitz, Debra Hyde, Maxim Jakubowski, Josh Kilmer-Purcell, Tsaurah Litzky, Suzanne Portnoy, Sofia Quintero, M.J. Rose, Danyel Smith, Grant Stoddard, Cecilia Tan, Carol Taylor, Veronica Vera, Zane and others. In The Flesh debuted in October 2005. Contact rachelkramerbussel at gmail.com for bookings, press, or questions. Click here In The Flesh: Los Angeles. “…writer and host Rachel Kramer Bussel welcomes eroticism of all stripes, spots and textures to the Happy Ending lounge on the Lower East Side.,” New York Times UrbanEye newsletter, August 15, 2007 email rachelkramerbussel at gmail.com for booking or other information or interview requests

Thursday, March 15, 2007

P.F. Kozak on reading at In The Flesh

P.F. Kozak writes about reading at my reading series In The Flesh (separate post TK but next reading is next week, Wednesday, March 21st and then April 18th is True Sex Confessions with Veronica Vera and a whole lineup of awesome writers!):

Then it hit me. I had been asked to read my work OUT LOUD, in front of a room full of people! I picked up a copy of Sins and Secrets and silently read the first chapter. No problem. Then, I tried reading it aloud. Let me tell you, reading those words, and saying them aloud, are two very different experiences.

The first time through, I know I blushed. My face got hot as Hades. Then, I tried it again, reminding myself that I had written the darn book, for heaven’s sake! I did all right until I hit the explicit sex scenes. As I had before, I stalled. Forcing myself to continue, I read the entire first chapter aloud.

It never occurred to me that I would be inhibited about this. In fact, I accepted the invitation without even thinking about how I would react to the words. To overcome potentially stumbling when I hit a particularly explicit passage, I read the first chapter aloud enough times to desensitize myself to the language.

See "Saying Those Words Out Loud!" at Romantic Links

posted by Rachel at Thursday, March 15, 2007