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Lusty Lady

BLOG OF RACHEL KRAMER BUSSEL
Watch my first and favorite book trailer for Spanked: Red-Cheeked Erotica. Get Spanked in print and ebook

Monday, November 20, 2006

I wish I had a river...

I wish I had more time but I am once again falling into the land of hopelessly far behind. Between running all over the city (which this weekend meant walking to the Village from Brooklyn, then to the upper west side, then to Sunset Park, then to the Lower East Side, and back to Brooklyn over the course of two days, was a lot of running around), being in a relationship, visiting friends and babies, and just general life, I'm pretty swamped and exhausted. SO looking forward to the long weekend and sleeping in, watching movies, reading, writing, cleaning and just being by myself for a little bit. I love the whirlwind socializing and all and have been trying to make play dates and visits and dinner plans, but I also am craving some solitude. I may go away again with my cousins and be the designated babysitter, but I don't know.

Anyway, I'm hopelessly behind so cannot comment too much but will leave you with a few links. Someday perhaps I will be able to summon more ire about this totally sex-negative post. I'm not so sure why sex writing seems to be the scapegoat for so many of the ills of the world, but I for one resent it. I'm tired of statements like this, from Chloe Hurley of The Daily Pennsylvanian's blog The Spin: "Reading (or writing) about sex is about as titillating and fresh as microwaved lasagna." It's these blanket assessments and categorizations that drive me batty. I don't presume anything I write or anyone else writes will be everyone's cup of tea (or Italian feast), but if all you've read are a few college sex mags that may not have been to your liking, guess what? There's a whole wide world of sex writing out there (and let's start with the source and inspiration for so much of it and this Feminists for Free Expression reading list), as well as a huge history of it. Believe me, I'm a student of that history, and I don't take it lightly that, say, Caught Looking, the name of my latest erotica collection, is also the name of a really seminal collection of feminist writings about pornography and censorship. I'm fascinated by the ways the debate has and hasn't changed since the time of Pleasure and Danger. I don't think these debates are over or worthless, but I do think we've largely lost that political edge. News flash: not all sex writing is meant to turn people on, and for me personally, I feel so blessed to get to do both; to write about reproductive rights and sexuality and about blowjobs and spanking. It's all part of the same package and I feel like we're almost at a place where we want to depoliticize sex, which would be fabulous, if we didn't live in a world where every freaking nuance of our sexuality is coded with legal, social and cultural cues about what's okay and not okay. That being said, I do think there's a place for the new crop of real-life Carrie Bradshaws, and that the more people talking, writing, and thinking publicly about sex, the better. We're seeing a sea change in both the erotica world (Walter Mosley just wrote an erotic novel, for but one example) as well as more openness and dialogue around very basic but eternally complex issues like just what the hell is sex anyway? There's so much going on out there, and so much confusion, fear, shame, and misinformation along with all the positive things happening, that to attack one another as basically the written equivalent of "too slutty" just seems sad to me. This continual need to put people into camps and boxes, to label us with scarlet letters that don't wash off, even in 2006, just seems ludicrous.

I'm putting together my 2nd True Sex Confessions night (April 18th, 2007) and I'm so looking forward to hearing people who bravely step beyond those cultural barriers that tell us what's okay and not okay. I'm also booking February and March so if you are a published erotica author, especially erotic romance or erotic thriller or something like that, please get in touch at rachelkb at gmail.com with "In The Flesh" in the subject line.

I am really overloaded with work, and pitching more stuff, which is great. Cupcake media has gone bonkers in the last few days, and I shall anxiously await the Google news alerts that show me that cupcakes are more popular than sex, at least, sometimes. I am trying to write a ton of smut, work on various articles, get into the head of my novel's protagonist, write an essay about sluttiness and desire, work on a sexy gift guide for the Voice, (which I'm jointly doing with Tristan), and trying to get my life in order. Well, trying to just get any one thing done at a time. I came a list from a year ago of goals and resolutions and I really have only accomplished a few of them, but they're biggies. And more and more I'm realizing it's not about checking things off some list, but the ongoing, much tougher, day to day existence stuff that's possibly boring and tedious and frustrating, but the only way these things will ever actually happen.

I interviewed my fabulous new friend Courtney (whose blog Brash Lion you must check out) about cupcakes. She is like my long lost soul sister or something. Every time I talk or email with her or read her blog, I just get this eerie sensation that she's crawled inside my head and torn out my thoughts. Not that we are exactly alike (I have no idea what the video game she stood in line all night is, even though I know I should know), but it's so fabulous to have lived in New York for 10 and a half years and still be able to meet new people, like her and Brett and Emily, who I just can tell are going to be really amazing people in my life.

Jason Toney likes the spanking bracelets we sent

"A Man Who Can Build a House Turns Me On" by Rachel Sarah

I just found this lovely post about October's In The Flesh (and ran into, but failed to recognize, Marcy Dermansky today)

I am not above flattery

Some awesome upcoming events:

From SMITH

Shooting War’s Anthony Lappé hosts “The War Room” his no-holds-barred political variety show about the war in Iraq, the media and more, with Lappé in the Bill Maher seat, only better dressed. This week’s guest is Salon’s Iraq correspondent Philip Robertson, and Lappé will be showing clips from one of the inspirations for Shooting War, the award-winning Showtime documentary BattleGround: 21 Days on the Empire’s Edge. Bonuses: 1) Test your knowledge of American foreign policy, and win a prize; 2) First person to mention SMITH magazine to Lappé wins a free round of Mo’s delicious potato latkes (pictured here—yum!) from your host (AL—I’m good for it-LS]. It all goes down on November 22, 7pm at Mo Pitkins in NYC’s Lower East Side.

This Sunday November 26th at KGB:

Fiction: Graphic Novelists

Start: Nov 26 2006 - 7:41pm
End: Nov 26 2006 - 9:00pm
Dan Goldman will be reading from "Kelly", which is currently being serialized on ACT-I-VATE. "Kelly" is a romance comic dressed up as a psychedelic Craigslist roommate thriller.

Elizabeth Genco will be reading from her story about stories, "Scheherazade."

Nick Bertozzi will be reading from the upcoming work about Picasso, Braque, the art world of France in the 20s, "The Salon".

Margo Dabaie will be reading from her work about growing up Palestinian Christian in America.

December 6th - Comics/Drawing world explosion

First it's Grace Comics Showcase (who else didn't know Ariel Schrag writes for The L Word?), then onto the fantabulous Dr. Sketchy Coloring Book release party:

oin us Wednesday, December 6, 7 p.m.
for
THE GRACE COMICS SHOWCASE!
Girly Stories, Teenage Diaries, and Other Marvels of Women's Graphic Fiction

PRESENTING:
FLY, author of many comics and zine titles including: CHRON!IC!RIOTS!PA!SM! and PEOPs.
and
Ariel Schrag, author of the autobiographical comics books Awkward, Definition, Potential and Likewise.

Guest Curated by: Ariel Bordeaux
At Mo Pitkin's
(Mo Pitkin's is located at 34 Ave. A between East 2nd and 3rd streets.

December 6, 8 - 10 pm
Dr. Sketchy's Book Release Party and One Year Extravaganza
The Slipper Room
167 Orchard St
FREE
World Famous BOB hosts a night of booze, burlesque and debauchery. John Leavitt and Molly Crabapple sign books while girls burlesque and gogo on the stage. Free cake for all.

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