Sexting with Jake

FIRST by Jacob Louder – available 4/4/14! Click image for excerpt.

Jacob Louder’s literary porn novella, FIRST, launches tomorrow. Jake’s book is a radical porn utopia, and you shouldn’t read it unless you’re comfortable with young folks who are under the “legal age of consent” having powerful and connected sex with one another–sex that helps them to be and discover who they are. (Hats off here to Nabakov, who we pretty much idolize at GDP.) Anyhoo, I asked Jake to send me five texts–or “sexts,” if you will–explaining why he decided to write about kids having sex, in First. Here’s what he sent:

1. I’m continually impressed with kids who can identify who they are as sexual beings at such an early age. Even if they can’t identify who they are just yet, it seems like they’re more open to exploration and less consumed with labels. In First, I romanticized this idea. Everyone does what they want with people who want it, with no thought on the past or present. They all live in the moment. There is no shame. These kids are ideal human beings. If they were real, and if there were more of them–lots, lots more–the world could have the most loving, compassionate future.

2. I think I wrote First for me and for everyone else who came out young-ish in the early 90s. It was a completely different climate, with the HIV/AIDS crisis completely snubbed by the U.S. government, very full “closets” in almost every industry, city, and suburb, and not nearly as much representation in the media as there is today. There was no marriage equality. (I have to note, though, that in almost every way, my generation had it much better than the generations before me. I have to thank the love and fight in every single person, in every single activist, who ensured that my coming out and my young existence as queer wasn’t nearly as fucked up as theirs may have been.) At Nico’s age, I never thought I’d be happy with who I was. I thought that I’d have to figure out how to be heterosexual one way or another. I thought I was the only kid who felt the way I did. I had no role models (until I turned about 17 or so). So, Nico is the boy I wish I had been, living a very different life in a very different climate, and fully recognizing that love can be with anyone, as long as there’s honesty and respect. I’m living a bit vicariously.

3. Kids watch porn. Kids have sex. I’m sorry, Moms and Dads, but they do.

4. I think it was easy to write this young utopia because I see kids as being “romantically unblemished.” This isn’t to say that those of us over the age of 18 can’t live or don’t live like the characters in First. But when I think of wide-eyed openness and trust, I think of young humans, of anyone who hasn’t had their hearts ripped out of their chests, like most of us have, one way or another. It was important for me to have every heart on a sleeve. (Except for the case of Rory and John, but their “relationship” is another slice of life that I find kind of interesting to explore.)

5. I wanted to show young people as smart, grounded, and capable of significant amounts of kindness and intimacy. I wanted to show them as nonjudgmental and open and accepting of everyone and everything, as long as that everyone-and-everything are from places of love. I wanted to show them as better than us.

Thanks a million, Jake. I was so moved by your sexts. And folks, FIRST will be available on Friday 4/4/14. Can’t wait!

All Things Erotica with Alicia on the Raw Sex Radio Show

Alicia of Raw Sex Radio

Tonight, at around 10.30pm EST, I’ll be joining Alicia, the Sexual Intellectual, on the Raw Sex Radio Show. I’ve been enjoying getting to know the show — Alicia is fantastic, so this will be a real treat for me. Check in to 990wbob or listen to the show any time at the 990WBOB Raw Sex page to hear us chat about all things erotic—including erotic writing.

See you there!

Kevin Killian on the Hot-and-Sweaty Huddle

So, did we ever tell you what the amazing Kevin Killian told Angela Tavares about her hot collection, Huddle: Sex with Sporty Queers? He said (*clears throat*) “I enjoyed it thoroughly!”

Thoroughly, I tell you!

Kevin Killian, reading your praise made our jock straps kinda sweaty.

Speaking of perspiration, Huddle, if you haven’t heard, is a collection of erotic stories by Dario Dalla Lasta, Benji Bright, Tamsin Flowers, Theophilia St. Claire, and Christopher Stoddard. In this don’t-show-your-grandma-unless-she’s-into-it tome, the sports field gets sweaty, the cloakrooms get even sweatier, and the boy-on-boy bodies, well, they’re the sweatiest yet. I’m proud of Angela’s collection, and the stories by these bold and bitchin’ authors, because they’re not afraid to enjoy sex to the full — and feel it honestly and hotly on the page.

Wanna see some of Dario Dalla Lasta’s story, “Game Set Match”? Click here.

Now, I told you that to tell you this: GDP author Jacob Louder is currently completing his final draft of a novella called First. First isn’t your usual erotica. And if you get upset about Nabakov’s Lolita, stop reading now. Because First follows the hot exploits of Nico Ericsson, a 14-year old queer with a passion for teens of all genders, including Robbie and his acceptance of his genderqueer identity, Hannah with her incredible — oh God — incredible mouth, and a whole lot of others.

Because teenagers have sex. And we all know it. What’s more, powerful authors, like Dennis Cooper for instance, show us this, time and again. And teen sex is not only some of the hottest sex possible — it is also the sex where we’re often finding ourselves, accepting ourselves, challenging ourselves, expressing ourselves. Whether solo or partnered, teen sex is the place where our sexual bodies are born, where we are told we are shameful but explore it all anyway, where our inner heroes are born and raised, where many of us give the finger to what we’re told to be.

Yes, teenagers have sex. With themselves, with teens, and sometimes with adults. And as an anti-censorship publisher who is fed up of being told we can’t write about certain kinds of humanity, we couldn’t be more excited about Jacob’s First.

Now, Jacob won’t tell you this, but I can: It’s beautiful. And hot. And it’s told from the heart and loins.

Watch this space for your free sample, coming soon. YES!

Buy Huddle on Amazon

Buy Huddle on B&N

Buy Huddle from GDP

Gorgeous Photos of Burlesque Stars – But They Ain’t 22…

By Stephanie Diani

Thanks for checking in, folks, in spite of our recent silence. If you’re interested in what we’ve been up to, we’ve been publicizing our next sexual-spiritual, self-love Mermaid Voyage, which will be FREE to all women and women-identified folks, starting on Valentine’s Day. Pop on over to our website to check it out.

But here’s what we want to share today. Beautiful Aging Burlesque Stars Sit for Striking Portrait Series – a collection of gorgeous photographs by Stephanie Diani, via Bust Magazine. Anyone who is fed up with the tripe we hear about age and beauty will definitely enjoy these!

Be well, folks.

Sex-Bomb Writer, Angela Tavares, Interviewed at The Round Up Zine

Angela herself.

Our Angela has been interviewed at roundupzine, where her gorgeous piece “Sunday Night” is published. It’s a great interview that includes Angela’s discovery of erotica when she was a bright young thing, the reasons she writes about sex, and much much more. You can read the whole interview here. And here’s a snippet:

RU: I’m  kind of a fan of Dennis Cooper, who edited the anthology “Userlands: New Fiction Writers from the Blogging Underground” in which your piece “Fast Ones” appears. How did you get involved in that?

AT: Dennis Cooper is one of my favorite writers and one of my biggest inspirations. He taught me what it means to use daring and brave language, to tell stories that can be uncomfortable. And, of course, for these reasons, I visit his website every day. Very long ago, he invited all his blog readers to submit a short story for an anthology he was putting together—specifically to spotlight some of the writers who participated, if I’m not mistaken—and that’s when I sent “Fast Ones.”

RU: You seem to have a propensity towards erotic fiction given your work with Go Deeper Press, amongst other things. What is it about erotic fiction that interests you, and do you remember the first piece of erotic lit you ever read?

AT: It’s sex that interests me, I think. Erotic fiction, yes—that, too, but I love writing the complexities and vulnerabilities of sex, its emotions and manipulations. Strip your characters bare, and see what they got and what they do with it—for me, this is the most fun. Even before I started Go Deeper Press with Lana Fox and began writing erotica, I always seemed to find a way to have my characters get it on.

First piece of erotic lit was something my mother had hidden in her bookcase near her bed. It focused on an escort service. I only snuck tiny reads from it, but it was hot enough that I managed to sneak back in and find it every time she was out of the house. I allowed myself two paragraphs at a time, and then got out of there.

First piece of erotic lit in a non-shame way: 120 Days of Sodom by the Marquis de Sade. [Read the whole interview at RoundUpZine.)

5 Ways to Harness the Erotic You in 2014!

Happy New Year! We’ve been on a prolonged silence because we’ve been over in the UK with less internet than you’d imagine. But we’re back to bring you five ways of harnessing the erotic you, this year. Enjoy!

1. Remember that your erotic self lies inside of you. You can be richly erotic whether you are in a relationship, enjoying different partners, or being the solo sexual you. An affirmation to help? I am pure erotic inspiration. 

2. Enjoy erotica and porn without being restricted. What turns you on? What do you enjoy reading or watching? Give yourself permission to enjoy being aroused, and check out some new sources of erotic enjoyment. We recommend Blue Artichoke Films, Tristan Taormino‘s porn flicks, Kink.com, and the gorgeously queer Crashpad. (Plus you can check out our free Pornocore stories, or buy our books, if they’re for you!)

3. Invest in a new sex toy. Our current loves include the WeVibe, the Magic Wand, and, if you fancy donning a realistic cock this year, check out the Vixskin range.

4. Tell yourself that when you have sex with yourself or other partners, and you really enjoy the experience, you create a more loving you. Check out this great research on oxytocin if you need convincing (thanks to Plos One). And you can also enjoy the Mermaid Voyage this year, if you want to take part in a solo journey of pure, unabashed, erotic self-love.

5.  Look at your genitals in a small hand-mirror and tell them that they are beautiful. It is understandable if you don’t believe this statement as yet — society has shamed our beautiful sexualities for far too long. But tell your genitals anyway. Tell them they’re gorgeous. Tell them you’re grateful that they are a part of you. Because, if you do nothing else this year, loving yourself will take you a very long way.

If you’re a woman or woman-identified person who is interested in a solo journey into erotic self love, check out the Mermaid Voyage, which will be sailing this spring.

BookBoner: Why I, A Humble Dog, Am Becoming an Erotica Blogger

Lilly Boxer from BookBoner.com

There aren’t enough dogs on the internet, and I don’t mean pictures of dogs–I, dear bitches, am talking about dogs expressing their dogness.

For me, my pugsome dears, my dogness is about reading, which I like, and sex, which I find odd, and sleep–lots of sleep–and complaining, which I love. Plus I live with two lesbian humans, and that’s interesting. After all, they even have contraptions that I only ever thought appeared on man-dogs.

Plus they pee in a pot. Which is also interesting. And they have lots of erotica that has nothing to do with dogs–frankly, I find that doggist.

Where is the corgi in Fifty Shades of Grey? Where is the cockapoo in Delta of Venus?

So, at our new blog, BookBoner.com, we’ve decided to blog about erotic books that could be more dog-inclusive, and I, Lilly Boxer, will blog about sex and how it could be more bitch-centred. What’s more, dear pooches, we’ll throw in product reviews for items that should be more dog-aware.

Why, for example, do you never see waterproof vibrators on the shape of […] Read the full post here!

Guest Post by Cara Sutra: Libido on the wane? 10 reasons you NEED literary erotica

Cara Sutra (carasutra.co.uk)

We’re thrilled to be sharing this guest post by the wonderful Cara Sutra. (If you haven’t checked Cara out, do so at @TheCaraSutra, on Facebook, and at her website. She writes beautifully about sex and sexuality, and not only is her site a powerful resource, but it’s one helluva lot of fun too.) 

Also, I’ll add that Cara includes pointers here for those who are shy about sexuality, erotica and/or porn, or want to write erotica. Enjoy your read!

When you get into a life rut, it can be difficult to feel positive about anything, never mind feeling sexually alluring and confident to boot. Whether you’re single or in a relationship, at times we all need a helping hand to feel sexier and raring to get back in the orgasmic saddle.

How can erotic books help?

Erotic books can give you the sensual boost you need, in more ways than you’d ever imagine. Here are just ten reasons how erotic books and literary erotica hugely impact on your personal confidence, increasing the intimacy within your relationship as well as improving your sex life all round.

1. Erotic books can be surprisingly cheap. Literary erotica is suitable for all budgets whether you only have a few pennies to spend or want to invest in a treasured tome for your raunchy library.
2. Erotic books are discreet. Once comfortably tucked up with an erotic book, your journey through new worlds of sexual excitement is private and quiet. There’s no need to adjust the volume, simply let your eyes take in the scenes as your imagination hungrily devours the lot.
3. Erotic books are just as skilfully written as mainstream fiction. Don’t make the mistake of thinking that erotic literature is in any way inferior to other styles of literature. With skilful use of language, imagery, imaginative scenes and complex characters, erotic books regularly move readers emotionally as well as merely titillating sexual desires.
4. Erotic books are non-intimidating, for singles as well as couples. You don’t have to speak to or see another person, you don’t even need to include the use of sex toys if they’re not your thing. All erotic reading involves is your imagination and the book; whether you read it alone or share with your partner!
5. Erotic books have universal appeal, regardless of gender, relationship status or sexual experience. Scenes and stories may revive nostalgic sexual memories or touch upon fantasies you never realised would turn you on.
6. Erotic books are accessible no matter where you are in the world or how discreet you need the delivery to be. With the dawn of electronic downloads and devices such as e-readers, you can opt for discreet delivery to your doorstep from an online purchase, or select immediate download as you prefer.
7. If you’re an aspiring writer of erotic literature or sexy short stories yourself, reading the words of others can help break down any writer’s block you may encounter. Published erotic literature can kick start your own imagination as well as put your mind on the right track for writing.
8. Reading erotic books builds the confidence you might be lacking when it comes to communicating your sexual fantasies and desires to a partner. You might also realise the confidence to admit a few sexual truths to yourself after reading some daring, arousing tales.
9. Erotic books are also the perfect alternative for people who shy away from traditional erotic media in the form of adult films and porn on screen. Words are sexy, there’s no denying it; erotic books are the way forwards!
10. The many different scenes and sexual encounters in erotic books ignites the passions that may have been forgotten during the natural course of life, family, work and other events. With the artful combination of erotic stories sculpted by some of the world’s most talented erotic authors at your fingertips, you won’t be short of sexual ideas to replicate in your own sex life.

Where do you start looking for good quality, life changing erotic literature? Go Deeper Press is the ideal leap pad into this bright new world. With hot and steamy erotica ready to be downloaded in exchange for surprisingly low prices, you could be reading some of the world’s best sex-themed stories in a manner of minutes.

Go Deeper Press also acts as a regularly updated hub of news and information about the erotic literature scene, from author interviews and updates, to themed features and news of upcoming events.

Keep it current by following Go Deeper Press on Twitter, and like the Go Deeper Press page on Facebook here.

– Cara Sutra

Contest: How Long Will It Take ‘Em to Ban Con?

Con, Book 1: You Can Play It Safe When You’re Dead, is now available directly from the big A, for your Kindle. (I’m not using the booksellers name, in case I tip them off — read on.) I’m keen to see whether they ban it or not. There isn’t one ounce of “obscene” material in there as far as I’m concerned, but as you know, the famed big bookseller acts rather like Hitler, saying that they’ll decide what “obscene” means, and then they’ll throw it out. They sell Lolita and A Clockwork Orange — both books that I love. They also sell Mein Kampf, so presumably they don’t think that’s obscene either. (35 reviewers give Hitler’s disgustingly racist work almost 4 stars overall.)

In Con, Book 1: You Can Play It Safe When You’re Dead, there are grifter twins, a dastardly mark, and sex at gunpoint.  Join the dots, baby.

So!  The contest:  Will they ban Con, or will they not? And if they do ban it, how many days will it take? Two days from today? Or a month? Or two months? In order to make this fun rather than frustrating, the first person who manages to correctly guess how long Con will stay live on the big bookseller’s website will receive any three of our e-books entirely without charge. You can comment below.

I’m going to guess it will take them 7 days. What do you think?

Please support indie erotica and freedom of expression by buying Con, either on our website or at Amazon. We heart your support!

“To Write What Turns Me On” – An Interview with Laila Blake (Part 1)

Author, Laila Blake

1. Laila, we’re thrilled to have published you in Shameless Behavior: Brazen Stories of Overcoming Shame. Why do you enjoy writing erotic stories?

Most of my day-to-day writing isn’t erotic, in fact, I’ve spent the last few months working on a very tame, contemporary YA manuscript. My other novels usually contain erotic content to some degree, but the pacing of most of them simply doesn’t allow for more than one or two graphic scenes in the entire book. And it wouldn’t be completely true to say that this makes me sad – I like them the way they are, but I do sometimes feel like I’m leaving something out that is important to me and to the characters, but that really isn’t important in the story arc.

Erotic stories are the opposite – for a few thousand words, I don’t have to care about a broader plot. I get to compress two whole lives into usually a single scene centered on a sexual experience, and that is a lot of fun and a great way to unwind from the occassional drudgery of working through novels.

I also find it empowering. As a woman, I grew up in a culture that led to me to believe for most of my adolescence and early adult years that my sexuality was very narrowly defined by the sexual identities of the men I was with. I couldn’t express what I liked, what I fantasized about, I couldn’t even really fathom that I was really allowed to dislike something a guy liked, or like it in a different way.

By writing erotic stories, I get to do just that – I get to write what turns me on, or speculate about stuff that does it for others. I get to play around with concepts and practices, and reclaim my connection to not just my personal sexuality, but to connect with so many wonderful women who read and write erotic stories, too.

2. Who are some of your writing and erotic inspirations?

A few months after my first novel was published, I got a phone call from my ex-boxfriend. This had become a rarity, and I wasn’t exactly sure what was going on, until in his rambling way he asked whether our experiences together ended up in the book.

I wanted to say: “Well, buy it and effing read the book it you really want to know!” But instead I blushed, then I laughed and told him to check his ego. That was a lie, though–of course it was. Most of my ideas come from the people around me and the experiences I share with them, however filtered and removed the eventual story will be. My wonderful writing partner Lorrie is one of them, too. I know we both have played around with specifically writing stories to push the other’s buttons.

Just working with some of these wonderful editors inspires me to no end, as well as all these women who have been paving the way for us newer writers with such grace, dignity, and intelligence, women who show that writing erotica does not have to go along with a loss in quality.

3. Can you tell us a little about your story in Shameless Behavior: Brazen Stories of Overcoming Shame?

Of course, I’m happy to! “Doll-faced Demons” is the story of a lesbian couple visiting one of the women’s homophobic parents. Upset by their bigotry, the women trash her old room; they cut open plush toys, jump on the bed and fuck there in utter defiance of the juvenile, innocent image her family is trying to maintain of their daughter.

I tell it from the perspective of the visitor, shocked as she is when confronted in real life by what she has only ever heard about. That was my main inspiration for the piece, actually– that I, as a bisexual woman in the demographic in which I grew up, have never once faced any kind of discrimination for it. But I am still part of a community whose essential struggle I can only sympathize with, aid in, but never truly understand.

The second half of this interview will be published tomorrow!

ABOUT LAILA

You can find Laila Blake at www.lailablake.com, where she lists her publications and blogs about writing and society. She also co-hosts the podcast Lilt.

Her social media haunts are pinterest and goodreads, but she also hangs out on twitter and she has a facebook page. For updates on new publications, there is also her newsletter, which she promises will be very sparing and unspammy.

Support sex-positive fiction by buying GDP’s books from Amazon, B&N, and GoDeeperPress.com.