Things People Say About Sex on Buses

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First of all, a quick shout-out to a wonderful review of Alison Tyler’s Those Girls!  Many thanks to A Book Hunter’s Journal for taking the time to say so many lovely things about Alison’s book.  A fun excerpt:

“My first mistake was downloading the book at work. It’d been so long since my last Alison Tyler naughty read that I forgot how steamy her prose is. So I hunkered down at the puppet stage with Judy (a puppet), a chicken (also a puppet), and my coworker (not a puppet). Ms. Tyler’s imagery blows out of the page (e-page?), filling her readers’ heads with all sorts of decadent scenes.”

Secondly, can you imagine anyone saying that banning a racist advert from a London bus would be a “threat to democracy”?  Well, some people make this crazy argument about homophobic adverts.  Seriously.  Gay Star News tells all.  Do take a look.  

Also, did you know that if you are kind enough to sign up for our newsletter, we’ll give you a taboo, erotic Go Deeper Short by yours truly?  The mini e-book is called Sol and it breaks rules…as we tend to do at GDP.  😉

Thank you, dear sex-positive readers.  Have a lovely day!

Thanks for visiting the Go Deeper Press blog!  If you’d like to browse our books, we’re on Amazon and Barnes & Noble, and our own Go Deeper online store.  We heart your interest, dear readers.

Free Copies of GDP’s Erotic E-Books!

Available now from GDP!

Would you like a free copy of Femme Fatale: Erotic Tales of Dangerous Women?  Well, if you’re happy to write a review of the e-book, we’re happy to send you a free copy.  But do be quick about it, because we only have 25 copies up for grabs!  All we ask:  Your online review can be positive, negative, or anything in between. You can post it on a blog/website, on Amazon, on Facebook, etc.  What we really want to know is what you think of the e-book.  Naturally, you’ll also be helping us to spread the word about Go Deeper Press, and we’ll be forever grateful for that.  Just drop us an email at “editors (at) godeeperpress.com” or comment on this post, leaving your email address.  We’ll send a free download link to the first 25 emailers, and we look forward to your review!

In case you need persuading, here is an excerpt from “La Femme Chocolat” — the first story in Femme Fatale.  Author V. C. writes this dark fantasy beautifully, bringing the Parisian chocolate-seller who seduces women with her wares, to wonderful erotic life.  In this excerpt, “La Femme Chocolate” (aka Annette) begins to seduce the narrator:

“When she walked in, blood rushed immediately to my clitoris, causing it to swell, while the rest of my body buzzed with indescribable pleasure that I had never felt before until that moment. Annette was completely nude. I was hypnotized by the bounce of her gorgeous breasts and the sway of her hips as she moved toward me, holding a tray of four gorgeous, delectable, bite-sized cordials on a silver platter. My mouth gaped as she lay on her back on the long coffee table that was in front of me. Immediately, I realized that she was the table, and I was to dine on her new chocolates on her naked flesh….”

No need for me to tell you what follows.  I’ll just say that it’s sexy, voluptuous, and well-worth enjoying.  V.C. writes beautifully.  A tour de force!

“I Want to Hand a Copy to the Next Woman Who Thinks She Knows What Erotica is But Hasn’t a Clue…”

Available now from GDP!

We’re always thrilled to receive reader reviews, especially when they’re as intelligent and glowing as Claudia McCoy’s.  (You can find her delightful and insightful Amazon reader review here.  Thank you so much, Claudia!).  And of course, as activists, we’re especially thrilled that Claudia wants to “hand a copy to the next woman who thinks she knows what erotica is but hasn’t a clue.”

Of course, we’re excited to hear what any of you think of the collection — or any of our books, for that matter.  So we’re offering you an incentive!  If you post a review on Amazon before the end of January 2013 (and of course, the review can be good, bad, or in between!) let us know who you are and we will email you a free Go Deeper e-book, with our thanks.  Claudia, of course, we’d like to email you your own free e-book.  So you, and other reviewers, can email us at “editors (at) godeeperpress.com.”

With feedback, we can work out what our readers really want.  And that, for us, is golden.  So thank you, Claudia, and thank you, all.

Buy Femme Fatale on Amazon here.

Buy Femme Fatale from Go Deeper Press here.

Don’t forget to join us on Twitter and Facebook for news, offers, and updates!  We look forward to it.

Reasons We’re All About Sex, No. 1: Susie Bright

Yes, today, during our launch, we’re all about the gratitude!  Thanks so much to all those who’ve been buying from us and cheering for us on this special day.

Throughout the day, we’re going to be posting gratitude notes, thanking the people in this world who made us sex-positive.  After all, without them, we would not exist!

So let’s hear it for Susie Bright who liberated me a long time ago, with her sex-positivity, pride, intelligence and laughter.  She brings us the best-ever podcast about sexual politics on a week-by-week basis, and if you haven’t listened to it, I recommend you do.  Also, take a peek at this, from “Full Exposure: Opening Up to Your Sexual Creativity and Erotic Expression,” which, in my humble opinion, is one of the most beautifully written, sex-positive books in the world:

“There is no such thing as a person without an erotic story. I don’t mean a tall tale or a punch line or a story about the one who got away. I’m talking about a personal erotic identity, what you might call a sexual philosophy. It’s the big “What If?” of our sexual lives. 

Take a look at your own erotic story, and you’ll see that it’s a motion picture of everything about you that is creative: the risks you’d be willing to take, the weightless depth of your imagination, your attraction to the truth, and the things that would make you go blind.”  

See?  Stunning.  Thank you so much, Susie.

Soft Porn and Psychic Phenomena (No, Really)

Anyone who says that porn-viewing has nothing to do with synchronicity, think again.  Angela and I were freshly connected to Emmanuelle, the 1970’s soft porn phenomenon, because of an amazing psychic hit.  Take a look at my recent post at the Good Vibrations Blog, The Buzz, to find out more.

Sylvia Kristel, may you rest in peace and always be remembered.

Pic by Steve [CC-BY-SA-2.0]

BDSM Gets Spanked and Ogled

There was a time when few could see the beauty in BDSM, but that seems like an age away now.  Personally, when the body is bound, I think it is at its most beautiful.  Tying wrists together can accentuate their size, not to mention the slope of the arms, and if you’ve never seen Japanese rope bondage raising a pair of breasts towards the eye (and mouth!), you’ve been missing a treat.  What’s more, post-spanking, a pair of buttocks can sport a delightful blush, and I have a particular yen for running the tip of a riding crop across my lover’s skin.  Yes, BDSM can be aesthetically gorgeous, and now that the BDSM-trilogy-that-shall-not-be-named has hit the big time, we’re seeing kink-inspired glamour all over the place.   Just look at the “choking” on the cover of Paris Vogue that caused such controversy a couple of months ago.  BDSM gets spanked, indeed — which seems strange, especially since (I assume) Stephanie Seymour gave her consent and looks far from unexcited!

But my oh my, if you want to experience the grace of BDSM, not to mention the finesse of female bodies, take a look at (fairly NSFW) Gunter Blum’s website.  For one thing, that man can make ass cheeks look swankier than pearls, and what he does for vulvas is sublime.  Black and white BDSM has never looked more colorful.  And don’t you just ache to touch Blum’s models?

I know I do.  *swoon*

Naughty Bits: The Ladies of Rogue Burlesque Strip Off in Style

Rogue Burlesque

Angela and I went to see Rogue Burlesque on Friday — specifically their new show “Naughty Bits.”  The show was MC’d by Brit, Liz Fang, who verbally abused the audience in delightful ways, whilst bringing to mind a Medieval brothel keeper — the kind who offers you foamy beer while her wenches cavort around persuading you to spend.  The acts themselves ranged from stripping at the police station to a sexy unicorn plucking her furry horn.  A delight from start to finish.  Highly recommended!

I first met the ladies of Rogue — well, two of them, to be precise — at their burlesque class “Sassy, Classy and Brassy” at Boston Center for Adult Ed.  Miss Sassypants and Polly Surely were fantastic teachers, and unlike other burlesque troupes that I could mention, they insisted that the best route to “sexy” is in feeling sexy within yourself, rather than worrying about convention.  Amen, sisters.   That said, they also taught us some classic moves that we could perform or send up — or indeed, fuck up, if we chose.  We loosened silk gloves finger by finger, using our teeth, and learned to twirl boas and tassels.  A fantastic day.

“Burlesque” literally translates as “parody” or “making fun of,” and Rogue royally sent up many a convention in “Naughty Bits.”  From parodying butch male buddies who think they are God’s gift, to giving a 1950’s style cookery scene a cannibalistic edge, fun really was made, and how.

And you know what?  I have been to burlesque performances where the auditorium was awash with men, but at Rogue, women were also strongly present.  In fact, in front of us, when a gutsy lady rose and screamed lovingly at Femme Brûlée, she received a glare from a gent who was sitting in front of her.  Did she care?  No way, baby.

And why should she?  This is burlesque.

Calamus Brings History of LGBTQ Literature to Its Shelves

photo courtesy of calamusbooks.com

In the early nineties, when this editor was a mere college freshman, there was a bookshop on Boylston Street in Boston called Glad Day. It was, as far as I knew then, the only queer bookstore close to me and my dorm. I can still remember, 20 years ago now, the heat I’d feel from the anxiety and excitement, starting in my chest and rising to my head in successive flashes, as I made my way up the staircase, around the banister, and through the beads hanging in the doorframe. I thought of it as a great and somewhat terrifying reveal: identifying myself as a queer kid to everyone who saw me walk in and out of that door, and to every patron and employee inside. This was striking to me only because I had just come out as gay, but had been keeping it secret for…oh…years and years.

I don’t know exactly when Glad Day moved from Boylston, but I do know that it still survives in some form. Ex-Glad Day manager John Mitzel owns Calamus Bookstore, which is located between the business district and Chinatown on South Street. A co-worker tipped me off to its location, although I had seen the rainbow flag rippling in the wind from my office window for years, but never thought to walk its way.

With the official launch of Go Deeper Press coming soon, I wanted to visit Calamus to see what was stocking the shelves. I made plans to meet Lana there after work to check it out, view the selection, and spend some money in a good place. (In case you’re wondering, upon arrival to Calamus: no anxious heat, unless you count the feeling you get when putting your lips on a loved one for maybe a second too long in a public space, but that’s a very different kind from the type I experienced years ago.) Here’s what I found: The store is not only beautiful and staffed by kind folks, but it is a literal archive of queer literature, featuring books that were required reading in a gay and lesbian issues class I took at Emerson College in 1993. I held books I never thought I would again. I was mind-blown. Right here, in downtown Boston, there is a shop that mindfully and purposefully stocks a veritable history of queer writing in the name of providing a resource to the LGBTQ community. It’s a place to go to browse and breath amongst a history of our printed words, as well as a hearty selection of books from new authors making their marks today, even in this day and age of Amazon and e-readers.

And that’s not a knock on Amazon or e-books. Go Deeper Press, after all, will offer hot erotica for all in a digital format, to start. There’s something to be said for the privacy and security of purchasing books online. Really, considering how much of an introvert I am, and a shy kid back then to boot (confession: still shy kid), I would likely have bought all my queer history, queer lit, and hot Patrick Califia novels from the safety of my computer, too. There’s no shame in taking the steam out of learning more about yourself, your desires, or your identity by staying home and clicking “buy now.” I’d imagine that, for folks young and old that can’t yet muster up the strength it takes to walk into a queer anything when you’re just not ready to do so, for whatever reason, it’s a lifesaver.

Go Deeper Press will soon offer short stories and novels that will contribute to the LGBTQ community’s growing and thriving written history. In fact, we’ll contribute sexy, transformational writing that will serve a number of communities. That’s our mission. But for those who still enjoy the weight of a trade paperback or hardcover in your hands, and to support a Boston-based business that has its heart in all the right places, make your way to 92B South Street and tell them Go Deeper sent you.

The Femme Show’s Honesty and Fierceness, and What a Shame If You Missed It

GeeGee Louise photo courtesy of Allie T.

Last Saturday night started off with a bang, and how could it not, with me getting ready to enjoy my first Femme Show with, yes, the sexiest femme ever. (I can’t stress this enough, really.) In her thigh-highs and my poorly knotted black tie, off we went to one of the hottest queer events Boston has to offer, where each and every one of the performers were truly stunning in their bravery, their cleverness and their honest-to-goodness ferocity.

The show kicked off with The Bitches of Destiny doing their best “Mein Herr” from Cabaret. All three performers worked their respective black chairs with amazing precision when compared to the original (you can check the clip, if you’re curious), and so that’s what the performance was: a tantalizing, sexy tease done by the troupe, lounging and stretching, with some gentle thrusting done with a sly smile, courtesy of front person Dean James, and just overall fucking sexiness in stockings and tight everything to her right and left. Could it get any better?

Oh, it did—and times a million. Burlesque played a big role at this year’s Femme Show, and so I got to drool and squirm over the amazing performances of GeeGee Louise, the “burlesque impersonator,” who can move his hips and shake his ass in ungodly ways, it’s so beautiful. (Visit GeeGee at his site, and allow yourself to be drawn in by the urge to get his 2013 calendar.) Bikini Thrill, however, did the most evil of teases, dancing, as you may have guessed, to a Bikini Kill track, and the best one at that (“Suck My Left One”). I didn’t know you could do burlesque to good ol’ fashioned riot grrrl punk, but, yes—yes, you can, and so, so well. Bikini Thrill’s number ended with her pulling severed rubber arms and legs out from her overnight bag, and using her stiletto to bring a little more pain to the situation, hacking away at the sad limbs, and then—why not—using the detached hands to fondle her breasts. It was an electric moment, watching this woman disrobe to the voice of Kathleen Hanna, with the same energy and same fuck-you spirit. (You can keep up with all of Bikini Thrill’s wheeling and dealings via Facebook.)

Bikini Thrill photo courtesy of Allie T.

But don’t think for a second that the spoken word performances were not equally as captivating. On that stage, there were some bold, honest, and heartfelt words on the strength and power in identifying as femme, and there’s nothing more powerful or brave, I’d say, than bearing your soul and speaking your truth on who and what you are. Gigi Frost, in the truly sexy “More than Yes,” stood in a strap-on and mini skirt, discussing the power and femininity she felt in fucking her ex, who identified as butch, with her cock. Amy Raina, in “Letter to a Life Is Good Lesbian,” was equally sexy with her smile and humor. If you get the chance to see her perform this piece, do—because you will laugh and laugh hard (and, if you’re like me, you will also do your best to not cry at the end, in your shirt and tie, sitting next to the sexiest femme ever).

And still, this morning, I’m wondering why Idalia is not famous. Is her name not familiar to you? Yes, this is a shame. The self-proclaimed “fierce, Femme, Puerto-minican poet” is a show-stopper, with words and rhymes so fluid, striking and beautiful, and her delivery just as entrancing. She brought a slightly different perspective on femme, mixing in her heritage and experiences as a Latina. Her delivery and her presence—dropping white pages of rhymes to the floor in her long skirt and bare feet—is something I’ll never forget. (Catch Idalia at www.facebook.com/iamidalia.)

The Sexiest Femme Fatales: Sharon Stone as Catherine Trammel

Blonde bombshell wearing a short white dress, her face, her eyes, cold as ice. She lights up a cigarette when she shouldn’t, keeps her posture tight in her chair. Her voice is deep and sultry, the sort you’d use late at night on the phone to a lover. She speaks with honesty, with a certain bluntness, and a room full of detectives finds this both shocking and titillating.

In the scene that everyone thinks about when they think Basic Instinct, Sharon Stone as Catherine Tramell runs it with authority, despite the number of suits surrounding her, despite Michael Douglas’ Nick Curran already being hot on her trail. Be honest: How many police stations do you know have interview rooms that cast sexy shadows on the person of interest?

When I think Femme Fatale, I think legs open and legs closed, with an entire audience left only to gawk or gasp, but kept completely under the firm control of Stone’s Catherine Tramell regardless.

You likely know this already, so consider this a kind reminder: We’re currently reading submissions for our very first anthology, Femme Fatale.  (If you missed our original Femme Fatale post, do take a look here). The deadline is 31 October 2012, so get your guns (or ice picks) out and put them on the page!