2012: A Year in Statistics: Raw Numbers

I've been compiling some stats for 2012 now that it has ended, and wanted to post a few of the results. This was by far my most prolific year for erotica, largely due to some life changes that allowed me to spend more time writing it, and thanks to plenty of support and inspiration from my wonderfully kinky partner.

Without further ado, here are some writing stats for 2012:

I sold 29 pieces of erotica to publishers, ranging from flash fiction to novel-length.

22 of my erotic pieces were published, ranging from flash fiction to novella length.

In 2012, I wrote roughly 275,300 words of completed erotica (noting that this figure includes completed, edited works only, and only works that were entirely begun and finished within 2012).

I think I've done my part contributing to the smut in the world. Here's hoping for an even better 2013!

Review: Orgasmic: Erotica for Women

Orgasmic: Erotica for Women by Rachel Kramer Bussel

My rating: 5 of 5 stars



A specific goal of this anthology was to explore a wide territory, to represent many different ways that women can achieve orgasm. It achieves this ambition with flying colors, providing plenty of solid standards with a healthy dose of more unusual fare, including orgasms from piercing, horseback riding, smells, tantric sex, and more.

I particularly appreciated the emotional complexity of many pieces in the anthology, which lifted the book far above being a simple tool for getting off. Susie Hara's "Fixing the Pipes" glows with a warm, goofy sense of humor that becomes a lovely representation of loving marriage. "Hurdles" by Rowan Elizabeth portrays a couple's discomfort when the man can't make the woman come as easily as he might like. Andrea Dale's "All She Wanted" addresses a kinky pregnant woman's desire for the rough play that makes her come.

The story I personally found hottest was Lily Harlem's "Making Shapes," which used a dildo to capture the fantasy of having sex with two versions of the same man. A close runner up was Donna George Storey's "The Big O," which made me want to do Kegel exercises while also exploring the consequences of a lover away on an extended trip.

That said, Orgasmic passes the key test of well-written erotica: I was fascinated and engaged with the book even when I wasn't turned on. The material was solid from start to finish, and sufficiently diverse that the anthology never felt repetitive or predictable.



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Mischievous New Year's Resolutions

Mischief's authors have posted New Year's resolutions on the publisher's official blog, mine included. While most people seem to be saying they'll write more, I'm there going on about vintage underwear. Go figure.

And watch for my story, "Beginner's Luck," in Forever Bound, which will be out from Mischief in February!

Helping Vampires to Save the World

Guest Post by Lisabet Sarai!

Let's face it. Vampires are sexy. Something about the undead stirs up our juices. Perhaps it's their irresistible power. Even when we know the danger, we're so very tempted to surrender to their all-consuming lust. Maybe we want to comfort them, to save them a lonely, bloody eternity. Maybe we secretly crave immortality ourselves.

Vampires are frequently portrayed as evil or at least amoral, viewing humanity from the jaded perspective of centuries. Now, though, vampires are doing their part to save the world.

Coming Together: In Vein is a brand new collection of vampire-themed erotica and erotic romance edited by Lisabet Sarai. All sales of this novel-length volume support Doctors Without Borders (Médecins Sans Frontières). MSF works in nearly 70 countries providing medical aid to those most in need regardless of their race, religion, or political affiliation. Right now, despite being barred from the country, MSF doctors and nurses are in Syria, working with patients from both sides of the civil war. They're performing surgery in caves and sneaking into refugee camps to distribute desperately needed medications.

You can help MSF in its life-saving mission, simply by indulging your passion for vampires. Buy a copy of Coming Together: In Vein in ebook, Kindle format, or print. Enjoy! Then help spread the
word! Every copy we sell has the potential to save someone's life.

The list of contributors includes many names you'll recognize. Every one of these authors has provided his or her work free of charge, to support the charitable aims of the project. Furthermore, the editor is giving away a free copy of her short story collection Body Electric to everyone who buys a copy of Coming Together: In Vein. (For details of this offer, click here.)

You'll find an excerpt below – just to whet your appetite.

Sink your teeth into Coming Together: In Vein. Help our vampires save the world.

From “Willing” by Xan West

I pull out my blade and show it to him. His eyes widen and he whispers, "My safeword is chocolate." I am surprised. Most who frequent the fetish scene know nothing about real BDSM. That these are the first words out of his mouth shows that there may be more to this boy than I thought. I stand still, watching him. He is older than I had first surmised, at least twenty four. The little leather he wears is well kept, his belt clearly conditioned and his boots cared for by a loving hand. He is motionless, knees slightly bent, shoulders back, offering me his chest. His pulse is not rapid, but his eyes eat up the knife and his lips are slightly parted, as if all he wanted was to take my blade down his throat.

His brown eyes stay fixed on the knife as I move toward him. I tease his lip with the tip of it and then speak softly.

"How black do you flag?"

His eyes stay on the blade. He swallows.

"Very black, on the right, Sir."

"Is there anything I need to know?"

"I am healthy and strong. My limits are animals, children, suspension and humiliation, Sir."

"And blood, hmmm?" I am teasing. I know the answer. It is why I found him here, and not at the Lure.

"Oh please, Sir. I would gladly offer my blood."

"Why?"

He takes a deep breath, closes his eyes a moment, and then opens them. The pulse in his throat starts racing, but his voice is calm, and matter-of-fact. I tease my blade against his neck.

"I have been watching you a long time, Sir. I have seen how you play. I see the beast inside you. I know what is missing. Those boys at The Lure don't know how to give you what you really need. They don't see that they are barely feeding your craving, and not touching your hunger. The boys here don't see you. They just see their own fantasy. They are simply food. I am strong, Sir. Strong enough for you. I can be yours. My blood, my flesh, my sex, my service. Yours to take however you choose, for as long as you want. To slake your hunger. I would be honored, Sir."

I take a deep breath, stunned, studying him. This boy who would offer what I never really thought was possible. He has surprised me again. That alone shows this boy is more than a meal. He just might be able to be all that he has offered.

Review: Two in the Bush

Two in the Bush by Giselle Renarde

My rating: 5 of 5 stars



I love the concept of Giselle Renarde's Wedding Heat series -- horny guests taking advantage of a wedding to get together in a variety of inventive ways. She's written that she thinks of it the way she would a TV show, so the installments are written in "seasons." I think this is a nice way to take a technique that works on film and apply it to the written word.

Meta-comments aside, "Two in the Bush" was a very hot read -- one of the sexiest stories I've encountered in a while. At its core is an M/F/F menage with hints of a D/s power dynamic (though there's nothing explicitly BDSM). This story absolutely passed the arousal test for me, and surprisingly so. These days, I read so much erotica that not all of it actually gets me. In this case, I was drawn in by inventive actions and positions and that little hint of domination.

That said, I also believe in evaluating a work of erotica on the merits of its writing (somewhat objective), not just how much it turned me on (which obviously includes a heavily subjective element). I don't think "Two in the Bush" is intended as a high literary work, but it's well-written in a number of ways. Renarde's base plot is, in essence, a sweet love story. Her concept and execution, however, turn common assumptions about that archetype on its head. This alone provides a refreshing turn to the story.

The sex is fresh and varied, not routine or formulaic. Following what she does with the plot, Renarde expertly toys with common themes, utilizing them while adding her own twist. The language surprised me at times, with some unusual word choices providing vivid imagery and deeper characterization.

Renarde also writes dirty talk very well -- arousing and realistic, but avoiding some of the cheesiness it's all too easy to fall into. In "Two in the Bush," the dirty talk is important to the characters as well as to the heat of the scene, because it proves to be transformative for one, if not both, of the base couple. I'm referring to a bit of subtext here, but I think that the character responsible for most of the dirty talk uses that language to make the other characters look at themselves in a different way.

I think that, aside from arousal, the best reason to write out a sex scene rather than hint at it is to show characterization. Renarde's main character, Irene, is well drawn throughout the story, but the main characterization for the other two comes through the sex. The view of how they behave in the bedroom is the main vehicle for discovering who these people are. That works.

There's also a touch of politics here. Renarde's portrayal of Irene's body shape and image provides a strong affirmation of the beauty of plus-sized women.

I will absolutely read more in this series.



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Review: The Best American Erotica 1996

The Best American Erotica 1996 by Susie Bright

My rating: 5 of 5 stars



This book will always be special to me because it was the first work of erotica I owned, bought from a library sale as surreptitiously as I could manage. I don't know how it would feel to read it with fresh eyes today, but I'll always view its pages through the unbearably heady haze of lustful naughtiness I felt the first time out.

The book contains old favorites that I've revisited many times, particularly "The Perfect Fit," a shoe fetish piece by Katya Andreevna, Cecelia Tan's fantasy "Pearl Diver," "The Hit," a brutal and brutally hot m/m BDSM piece by Steven Saylor, writing as Aaron Travis, "Choke Hold," an even darker piece by Lucy Taylor, and "His Little Plan Backfired," a tart little story about a vibrating chastity belt by Amelia Copeland.

As you can see, there's a lot of variety here. There's likely something for everyone, but also plenty that's unlikely to appeal to the specifics of a given reader's kink. As a horny younger person looking to get off, I was frustrated by several literary pieces that didn't really turn me on, but I don't mind them as a reader now. And there are other pieces that don't do it for me but also fascinate me, such as Doug Tierney's oddly romantic "The Portable Girlfriend," and David Shields's sweet piece, "Girls Who Wear Glasses."

I also had no idea at the time I bought this book how much it pushes boundaries. Many of the commonly outlawed "squicks" are represented in this collection, or at least toyed with. "Choke Hold," which I called out above, is incredibly disturbing, aside from being very arousing to me. There are a lot of different gender combinations, flavors ranging from vanilla to kink, and so forth. I think this book set expectations that doomed me to disappointment for some time afterward.

I'm grateful to it for giving me a broad landscape of fantasies that I felt free to privately explore. Thanks to this book, I had hard evidence I wasn't the only one turned on by several of my darker or stranger inclinations. I plan to keep my copy in perpetuity -- it has already survived many extensive purges of my shelves.



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Neat Collection

I've just found out that Coming Together has collected the first five titles in the Coming Together: Neat series into an omnibus edition. This includes my novella, The Six Swans, as well as work by Jenna Byrnes, Wendy Stone, Giselle Renarde, and Rachel Green.

The omnibus is available in paperback or as an e-book. The five titles together come out to a hefty 324 pages, so it's a solid read for the money.

As with all Coming Together: Neat titles, all proceeds go to support entrepreneurs around the world on Kiva. If you'd like to see where mine have gone, check out my Kiva lending page here.