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

Monday, February 14, 2011

Free cupcakes and short erotica tonight at Bluestockings in NYC

For those who miss In The Flesh, here's a special reading tonight, just for Valentine's Day!

I'm doing a lot fewer readings these days, and I have my sanity back, but tonight I'm hosting two In The Flesh alums, Christen Clifford and D.L. King, reading about long-term relationship sex and librarian/library patron BDSM, respectively, plus serving up free mini cupcakes, as we all read from my new book Gotta Have It: 69 Stories of Sudden Sex from 7-8 pm at Bluestockings, 72 Allen Street, NYC. I know there are a bazillion events this Valentine's Day in NYC (feels like more than ever), but mine is free, fast, sexy and you'll be out of there in time to go off and have a romantic dinner. And enjoy free cupcakes. What more could you ask for? See below for excerpts from their Gotta Have It stories and Christen, in the Gotta Have It book trailer. You'll also get to find out the two pseudonyms I use in the book!

And here's the Facebook invite if you want to tell your friends.



From "After Ten Years" by Christen Clifford:

“Touch me,” I say.

And he does, lightly, softly. I feel like he is really touching meæthe me he used to know and fuck. He traces the curve from my rib cage to waist to hip, slowly, up and down. He adds in my shoulder and thigh. I feel, not exactly beautiful, but well-shaped, for the moment. I breathe there with him; I leave my arms above my head as if I’m bound; I don’t start in on his cock. I lie there and let myself be touched.
He brushes my nipple. The next time he gives it a tight squeeze. I exhale, moan and voice an intake of breath. I turn to him for a kiss. His mouth is hot and wet and open and searching.

Now his hand is between my legs. I hate that my wetness doesn’t drip anymore; he has to go in and find it and coax it out. But it’s there. I shift so my back is to him. I have a very sensitive back. He reaches around so his hand is still on my cunt, the other on my nipple. I want him to hurt me a little. He’s never liked it when I’ve asked him to hurt me in a big way, to slap me or hit me; he can’t do that kind of violence to me. That’s okay. We have our limitations.

Another breath.

“Bite me a little,” I say.


Christen Clifford is a writer and performer in New York. Find her @cd_clifford or christenclifford.com.

From "Punishment Befitting the Crime" by D.L. King:

It seemed the rumors might actually be true. Ted had been working on finding out for himself for quite a while now. He’d been diligently bringing books back late ever since that friend of Frank’s had brought it up at the poker game. He’d said, “That bitch of a head librarian punishes guys who break the library rules.” He’d said that he heard she’d actually spanked some guy for bringing his books back late. He’d said it like it was a bad thing. Everybody laughed and made lewd remarks. That was all right; they weren’t library types. He’d have been surprised if they read much more than the back of the cereal box or the sports page.

But he couldn’t stop thinking about it. He began to fantasize about what kinds of punishments Ms. Carmichael might mete out to guys who didn’t follow the rules--and now he was going to find out.

He walked around the desk and fidgeted as he waited for her to open the door. He felt like a little boy who’d been sent to the principal’s office with the exception that a trip to the office in elementary school had never produced a hard-on. He crossed his hands in front of him just as the door opened and Ms. Carmichael, red lips pursed, gave him her most severe look yet. She led him to an office behind the desk.


Editor of Where the Girls Are, The Sweetest Kiss, Spank and Carnal Machines, D.L. King also publishes the review site, Erotica Revealed. Find her stories in Best Lesbian Erotica, Best Women’s Erotica, Mammoth Book of Best New Erotica, Sweet Love, Please, Ma’am, Fast Girls and Sex in the City: New York, among others. She’s published two novels. Find her at http://www.dlkingerotica.com.

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Friday, March 12, 2010

Dominatrix memoir Whip Smart by Melissa Febos book trailer by Sini Anderson

Check out the book trailer for dominatrix memoir Whip Smart by BDSM Night (March 18th) author Melissa Febos, directed by Sini Anderson. See post below for full lineup and get there early. We will also have the downstairs open for this not-to-be-missed night, including an erotic performance by feminist porn star Madison Young, and we're giving away a free flogger and bondage cuffs by EdenFantasys and membership to Kink Academy!



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Sunday, July 12, 2009

Book trailer for Lux's Practical Erotica Adventures by Lisa Beth Kovetz who reads August 20th



The Tuesday Erotica Club author Lisa Beth Kovetz is returning to In The Flesh to read from her second sizzling, sexy, New York novel Lux's Practical Erotica Adventures (trailer above).

This is the blurb I wrote about the new book:

I loved Lux and her lusty friends! Kovetz has written an ode to getting it on in New York that’s far hotter than Sex and the City and so much fun I couldn’t put it down. Lux’s Practical Erotica Adventures has everything you want in a juicy novel--humor, sex, suspense and girl talk galore. Steamy and sassy, this book made me want to start a Tuesday Erotica Club of my very own. And I’ll never look at grocery shopping the same way! -- Rachel Kramer Bussel



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Wednesday, April 01, 2009

Book trailer for Beyond Heaving Bosoms

I'm so thrilled that Sarah Wendell from the extremely popular site Smart Bitches Trashy Books is going to be joining us April 16th for Virgin Night to read from her new book Beyond Heaving Bosoms: The Smart Bitches' Guide to Romance Novels, coauthored with Cathy Tan. Below is the book trailer:


Beyond Heaving Bosoms cover

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Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Book trailer for Megan Hart's Stranger

Megan Hart is one of the authors you're going to hear from at Virgin Night April 16th. For more about her, click here to read a Q&A interview I did with her. You can also watch the book trailer for her erotic romance novel Stranger below and you can read excerpts from the book on her site.



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Wednesday, July 16, 2008

My Spanked book trailer

This isn't directly related to In The Flesh, but I'm too excited not to sharethis. And on August 21st I'll be reading alongside several contributors to Spanked: Red-Cheeked Erotica, and will have copies available for sale July 17th and August 21st.

Update - Vimeo took it down (as did Flickr) so here's the YouTube version:



I'm so proud of this book trailer, I can't even tell you. Thank you to everyone who helped, especially Heidi for lending me her apartment and What That Noise Productions for your stellar camera and editing work. Many of the paddles used are by Leather Thorn Paddles. If you have a blog, I'd love it if you'd repost it. Below is the Vimeo version; we've also got it up on YouTube, Blip, Flickr, and MySpace. Thanks to Tubemogul for ease of distribution.


Spanked: Red-Cheeked Erotic Book Trailer from Rachel Kramer Bussel on Vimeo.

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