Migrating to Lantoniou.com

Hey folks -

I have migrated this blog over to http://lantoniou.com where I'll continue to keep you updated with the latest on my comings and goings, book releases, and shopping opportunities.

This month, I'm turning 49. One year from 50, and one year from the 20th anniversary of the publication of the first "Marketplace" novel.  Of course, the world has changed in those 20 years - websites, for example! Smart phones! Electronic books!

There are other ways in which the world hasn't changed as much as we think it has. I was pondering this when I wrote the speech I gave earlier this month in Austin - for their 19th anniversary, since we're talking about important dates.  It's called "Leave the Myth. Take the Cannolli."  Here's an excerpt - there's alink to read the rest:

GWNN just turned 19, you say. In our scene, something that's 19 years old …is old! Old enough to join a TNG group, anyway. When you think of how many groups have come and gone in the past, oh, 30 years or so – that would be as long as I've been around – to make it almost to drinking age is a notable achievement. And yet, when you eavesdrop on our world, trying to find out what people value, what they're curious about, what they want, they tend to fall neatly into two parts. There's that group of us who always want the new shiny – whether it's the latest electrical toy, fanciest kilt or the most popular of new play techniques. What's hot now, or even better, what will everyone else want, tomorrow? 

And then there are the Back in the Olden Days folks, those who romanticize a past they have not experienced. Or, sadder, those who were around, but not only embellish their tales of decadence and derring-do, but begin, seemingly, to believe their own hype.

... Your first step is to realize that a story – whether true or exaggerated, blatantly fictional or merely doubtful, can get a vote in how you live your life. Just avoid giving it either a mandate or a veto. Just because that's the way some guy used to do it at the Manscape Bar in Des Moines in 1957 doesn't mean you need to do it today. Know what also happened in 1957? A black lady couldn't sit at a fucking Woolworth lunch counter and get a fucking sandwich, or sit in the first 4 rows of a bus. There's an old guard custom right there. Want to embrace that too? Then realize age is not equivalent to wisdom, or righteousness. more

I'll be finishing up my summer tour with a few more workshops and speeches. You can catch me the first weekend in August at Floating World, and Labor Day Weekend at the Northeast Master/slave Conference.   

Oh, and if you're interested in helping me celebrate my 49th birthday, check out the wishlist on my website, www.lantoniou.com.

Summer Tour is Winding Down

Yep, that's me with the sexy new edition of "The Academy," which I'll be taking with me on upcoming book tours and presentations. If you are looking to buy new editions, make sure you see me in Texas, New Jersey, or  Washington, DC before the summer is over.

If you have older editions, bring them - I love signing well-loved books.

Where will I be?

July 20-22, Austin

I'm headed to Texas to join GWNN's 19th Birthday Bash as a keynote speaker, and presenting "Serious Players: Taking Responsibility for Your Choices." I'll also be doing a reading and booksigning while visiting the Lone Star State.

August 3-5, Edison, NJ

I'm returning to "The Floating World," one of the largest kink events on the East Coast. I'll be reading and signing books as well as presenting workshops.

August 31-September 3, Washington, DC

I gave the keynote at the Northeast Master/Slave Conference a few years ago, and am returning to this annual educational event solely dedicated to Master/slave relationships. I'll be giving a morning Q&A on Monday morning.

Off to Denver or to YOU ... Via Skype!

I was recently invited to be a special guest at a kinky book club in Arizona. I attended via Skype. It was a really nice experience - it gave me the opportunity to engage with readers, and the group was able to "afford" me by having me visit over the internet. 

If you are a smaller group that would be interested in a "Skype Chat" about my books, or a reading and Q&A, please contact me at Laura (at) Lantoniou (dot) com. 

Meanwhile, I am headed in person to Denver to attend Thunder in the Mountains, where I’m presenting two new workshops: 

• SUBvert the DOMinant paradigm: Mistresses, masters and slaves, daddies and offspring, subs and doms; in a world that celebrates the erotic imagination, it’s funny how limited our relationship models tend to be. Wondering if there’s a style that suits your desires and needs? Then explore relationship types from other sub-cultures, history, and even pure fantasy. Free yourself from the constraints and labels we already know so you can better describe who you are, what you want and where you want to take your kink. Participants will be encouraged to describe how they see themselves and their relationships and add to what will be an ongoing exploration of identity and self awareness.
• Serious Players: Taking Responsibility for Your Choices: “Real.” “Lifestyle.” “TPE.” “Old Guard.” “Edgeplayer.” Sometimes it seems everyone wants to be the badass of the kink community, the scary, absolute last word on perv cred. But if you truly want to live authentically, to be the rare hard case who really dies stand out from the crowd, you have to do the one simple thing so many people seem to ignore or evade…take responsibility for your choices. Unhappy and disappointed? Feeling betrayed and bitter? Wondering why you seem to pick the wrong people or get caught up in the same drama? Get off the internet and on your damn feet and stop blaming others for your situation.  Learn to examine your own patterns and mistakes and then stop the cycles that keep you stuck in relationship ruts. Figure out what you want from your partner(s) and learn how to say it without apology. The grow the fuck up and stand by your choices with open eyes. This is not a workshop for beginners whiners, but for those who want to move on and stop the whining!

If you're interested in having me visit your group, either in person or via Skype, contact me at Laura (at) Lantoniou (dot) com or click on Hire Laura to learn about my requirements.

The Academy is Back in Print

The Academy is now back in print, and available as an e-book, thanks to the marvelous Circlet Press. Book Four continues the Marketplace saga, and gives readers a sense of The Marketplace's truly international reach.

“ In this volume, Antoniou, with a little help from her friends, creates a sort of Arabian Nights of the Marketplace, with individual stories woven into a larger tale full of political intrigue, difficult choices, and of course, searingly hot sex. There’s nothing else like this is in the world of erotic writing." -- Lori Selke

A little help from my friends, indeed! The Academy is different from my other Marketplace novels, because I've embedded short stories within the novel, to give distinctly different voices to the trainers who tell each other their stories. The trainers are voiced by guest authors Karen Taylor, Cecilia Tan, Michael Hernandez, david stein, and M. Christian. 

The lovely book  cover, created by my friend and cover artist Lochai Stine,  lets you know that this novel takes place in Japan, where a conclave of slave trainers are meeting, including Chris Parker, the lead character of the series. While the trainers swap cautionary tales and debate, moves are being made that may change the Marketplace, and even Chris' role within it. For an excerpt from the "The Academy," click here.

My long-time fans know that one of the "added benefits" of buying a new e-book edition of my books is that I add a new short story to the new e-book editions.   I've continued that tradition here, with a fun story called "Inside Straight" that features a young trainee off in search of an appropriate playdate for his Trainer.  (By the way, I also release the short stories from the previous e-book releases, so they're available for separate download - you can find them at the Circlet website, as well as through your favorite e-book sellers.)

I will have copies of the new edition, along with the first three books, at my upcoming readings, beginning in New York City at the Ravenous Reading: Gay Pride Edition, on Friday, July 6th. The monthly Ravenous Readings take  place the first Friday of each month at the Happy Endings Lounge on the Lower East Side. The reading begins at 8:00 and is free. Ravenous Romance is one of my publishers – check them out, and come to the reading!

I'll be headed West after that, to Denver, Austin, and the wilds of New Jersey.  Check out my calendar at the top of the page to see where I'll be.  And if I'm not getting to your part of the world soon enough, why not bring me there? Check out my "Hire Laura" page for details.

Awards, Readings, and More

My spring has been busy with writing, editing, and prepping for a summer of book signings and presentations.

I'm proud that my story about Chris Parker, The Man With the Phoenix Tattoo, is in a Lambda Literary Award-Winning Anthology. The story also won 2012 the John Preston short story award, given by the National Leather Association - International. You can buy it in "Take Me There: Trans and Gender Queer Erotica." 

The recognition that these two awards have provided have definitely inspired me and kept me writing.  I'm still at work on Book Six of the Marketplace, The Inheritor, and hope to have it wrapped up by the end of the year.

In the meantime, I've got another short story in a new anthology: "Demon Lovers: Succubi" edited by Deborah Teramis Christian. "One Drop" is the story of Joyce, who wishes her gentle, kind, and understanding lover had just a touch of kinkiness.  But when Joyce fantasizes of a more sadistic element to their play style, she is unprepared for the hideous, bloody glory of a demon who truly delights in violence and degradation.

I've also put the finishing touches on the first of what I hope will be several Marketplace "fan fiction" collections. The contributors include well-known erotica authors and first-time writers, but they all share a love of the Marketplace universe. Expect to see the anthology out by the end of the year.

Another project I've put to bed is a new novel that I hope will be out in spring 2013. Keep your eyes peeled for The Killer Wore Leather, a comedic murder mystery that takes place at the Mr. and Ms. Global Leather (and Bootblack) Competition. I've been reading excerpts from this book at events all year - and if you want to hear something from it, look for me at some of these upcoming events:

Friday, July 7th, New York City

I'm reading at Ravenous Nights, the monthly erotic reading that takes place the first Friday of each month at the Happy Endings Lounge on the Lower East Side. The reading begins at 8:00 and is free. Ravenous Romance is one of my publishers - check them out, and come to the reading.

Friday, July 13-Sunday, July 15th, Denver

I'm returning to one of my favorite leather events, Thunder in the Mountains, where I'm presenting two new workshops: SUBvert the DOMinant Paradigm: Alternative Models to D/s Relationships, and Serious Players: Taking Responsibility For Your Choices." I'm also joining a panel with some of the best-known kinksters in the scene, entitled "Reality Bites." And of course, I'll have books to sell.

July 20-22, Austin

I'm headed to Texas to join GWNN's 19th Birthday Bash as a keynote speaker, and presenting "Serious Players: Taking Responsibility for Your Choices." I'll also be doing a reading and booksigning while visiting the Lone Star State.

August 3-5, Edison, NJ

I'm returning to "The Floating World," one of the largest kink events on the East Coast. I'll be reading and signing books as well as presenting workshops.

Somewhere in there, keep your eyes out for some upcoming announcements about the re-release of The Academy: Book Four in the Marketplace, as well as a few other writing projects.

Bland heroines and Rodgers and Hammerstein and what I write

This is a response to a piece by Remittance Girl on "Sleeping Beauties of the 21st Century" found here

Over my years of speaking to perverts (grin) I often shock the room by admitting that I did not like O as a character in the miss-titled Story of O. I find her to be so devoid of character and faceless that by the time they slip an actual mask over her face, it seems rather pointless. Passive doesn’t even begin to describe her; she is like a Real Doll with a limited vocabulary sound file embedded inside. I never got a clue as to whether she enjoyed what was happening, was curious about it, wanted more, wanted less, wanted out…she just endured, sometimes with mild distress, but never with anything like joy or despair, passion, anger, jealousy, frustration, humor, bitterness…just…nothing.

Frankly, I thought the book was a romance between Rene and Sir Stephen. The woman they share – or rather, the woman Rene gives to his half brother – is a courting gift of submission, not even the binding element of a threesome.

Perhaps the bland, featureless woman makes it easier for some readers to place themselves into that role. She has simple flaws, like Bella’s clumsiness, which can be appealing, and minor self doubts, which can be sympathized with. But she will be easy to step into as an identity character because so little of her is really fleshed out. The reader doesn’t need to put a whole life story aside to fantasize about living this life – all she needs to do is think, "Well, I can be clumsy. I am just like Bella. In fact, I also play the piano and speak Russian and make fanciful cocktails and have a doctorate in Bioethics. I am much more well rounded than Bella. Edward would love me even more."

A blank main character makes it easier for the reader to create her own Mary Sue story, which is what James did – she wrote a Mary Sue fan fic for Twilight, substituting kink for vampirism.

In the 60′s and 70′s a lot of (straight) porn was made where the “leading man” was, shall we say, not very conventionally attractive. (CoughcoughRonJeremyCough) The word was, the average straight man watching these movies – because only men watched them – did not want a *rival* on the screen fucking the ladies. If the leading man was ugly, any man could say, “I am much better looking. I could totally get all those chicks.” Fantasy acquired. Orgasm imminent.

I am not that kind of a reader or watcher; I don’t need to have a character subsumed for me to be able to identify with them; and I write for readers like me. This became clear to me when my agent asked me if I could write something “like” 50 Shades, and I realized my mind was blank. Every scenario I came up with wouldn’t work. Now, I see why. I was mentally rebelling against the woman-as-blank-slate part of the equation. I never liked the song “Sixteen Going on Seventeen.” The lyrics gave me the creeps. But they would apparently make a great romance book.

You wait little girl

On an empty stage

For fate to turn the light on

Your life little girl

is an empty page

that men will want to write on

Blech.

Chris Parker Story Wins John Preston Award

I am honored to announce that I have won the 2012 John Preston Short Story Award from the National Leather Association-International.  This is my second John Preston Award, and the second time ever that my writing has ever won an award, so thank you, NLA-International!

"The Man With The Phoenix Tattoo" is my first-ever story about Chris Parker that does not take place within a Marketplace novel. For you Chris Parker fans out there, you can find the story within the anthology Take Me There: Trans and Genderqueer Erotica on the book carousel to the left. You can here me read it here.

Take Me There is a great collection of  erotica by, for, and about transfolk, FTMs, MTFs, genderqueers, gender outlaws, as well as two-spirit, intersex, and gender-variant people. The power of seeing and being seen is a central theme in the anthology; it’s not simply about passing or not passing (an idea often explored with transgender characters), but about being acknowledged and desired in a sexual context.

Other contributors include authors Kate Bornstein (Gender Outlaws: The Next Generation), Patrick Califia (Speaking Sex to Power), S. Bear Bergman (Butch is a Noun), Ivan Coyote (Missed Her), Julia Serrano (Whipping Girl), Helen Boyd (My Husband Betty),  Toni Amato (Pinned Down by Pronouns), Alicia E. Goranson (Supervillianz), filmmaker Tobi Hill-Meyer, musician Rahne Alexander, songwriter Shawna Virago, blogger Andrea Zanin, and others.

I hope Take Me There not only introduces new readers to the Marketplace series, but that it will offer my long-time fans a look at Chris Parker’s fictional peers. And I am pleased and honored that NLA-International has chosen this story, in its genderqueer context, to honor with the John Preston Award this year.

Writing Exercise from my CircletPress Retreat

Below is a scene based on a world I created for a paranormal action book. Sadly, no editor or publisher has yet expressed an interest in a bunch of kinky/queer sexual transgressives fighting monsters like gay werebears. *sigh*

The one rule of the Cordon Sanitaire observed more in theory than in practice was to not foul the nest with extraneous passions not related to the prime mission. And yet, there was always someone waking in the armory with a runaway circus performer, a partner in a clandestine affair of enormous complications, twin trans hookers with a service dog - all manner of decadence and oddity, needing a quiet exit after hushed tiptoeing through the corridors or a loud and exuberant morning orgy send-off.

The morning after the vampire debacle in Westchester, there were no extra partners to consider except for Roland’s ghost, who ruled the morning communing held in the west tower. Not that he would have wanted this; being a devout Christian, no doubt he wanted to move on to his suitable divine reward, but he needed to be debriefed, and calling him back was the only way to confirm the details of the raid and why they had been so unprepared.

What wasn’t in the plan, however, was his annoyed spirit waking every other sensitive and even the psiblind, who had been trying, desperately, to forget the tragedy of his death in the one guaranteed way to send a mind into timeless thoughtlessness – orgasms. And so it was when Dare, his cock hard as a bayonet in slave Vera’s mouth, heard Roland saying the rosary and lost, simultaneously, his erection, his grip in her silky hair and his temper.

“Jesus Chris Roland, you died yesterday!” he shouted at the ceiling. “Give a brother a fucking break, eh?”

50 Shades of Sellout

50 Shades of Sellout

by LAntoniou

"Double Crap!" Tiffany extrapolated, as she realized her perfectly perky 37D breasts had gained another D overnight. "Now what will I wear to the company party! I must make a good impression on Mr. Momzer Macher, the new President and CEO and CFO and CBO and...oh, whatever he is!" Sighing with frustration, the gorgeous blonde gazed at her mirror image and fingered the honey gold waves of her naturally wavy hair. "I know! I will wear that daring leather bustier that my gay BFF talked me into buying at that strange street fair he took me to in San Francisco! Gee, I wonder if he worked things out with that hunk he met that day. He said he was into leather, but when I asked him where to find a good purse, he just laughed."

She blinked her cerulean eyes in her memory and then went to get her fetching outfit. It was tight in all the right places and really emphasized her 37-24-36 shape, and the leather felt so stiff and hot and sexy against her alabaster skin! And how it molded her perfect 110 pounds! "How will I ever get through the night without fainting?" she wondered as she strapped her tiny, delicate alabaster feet into her four inch heels, deciding not to take the really high ones. "Good thing I already threw up."

At the party, everyone was in their fanciest clothes and the music was awesome and loud and there was dancing and great food like chicken fingers and the little hot dogs in pastry and sushi and tapas and stuff. Tiffany said hi to all her girlfriends, except for Boring Brenda and kissed all the gay guys and was licking a cherry popsicle that had a fancy imported liquor in it when suddenly she saw...HIM.
Like. O. M. G. There he was, so freaking hot. In his leather pants from Dolce and Gabanna and his black silk shirt and really expensive black tie and black jacket and black diamond stick pin through the really expensive black tie and his ink black hair and jet black eyes and his big feet in big, black boots, oh, he was so into black.

"you're Tiffany," he murmured as he leaned in toward her, gracefully looking at her plunging cleavage, and her heaving alabaster breasts.

He was so tall! Even with her lithe 5'7" frame enhanced by those 4" heels, he was at least a foot taller! And his piercing black eyes pierced her to her very soul.

"I...I..." Tiffany stammered, letting her booze popsicle drip, drip, drip down her hand to splat, splat, splat on the floor. She bit her full, ruby red lips in luscious lasciviousness.

"I'm disgustingly rich and dominant," he sneered dominantly. "you will be Mine!"

"Oh, wow," Tiffany seized. "Um. Wow. OK. Sure. What does that mean, exactly?"

"I have a checklist!" he said triumphantly, while texting an URL to her. "Go to My Web Page and fill it out, and tell Me whether you like, dislike, or are neutral about the 300 activities and fetishes listed there, and whether you've done them before and with whom, and what you thought about it, and then rate them on a scale of 1-10 on whether you'd like to do it now, tomorrow, next week, or after the Mayan Apocalypse."

"Um," Tiffany coughed out, a delicate flush gathering on her porcelain features, her beautiful, full lips, her high, sculpted cheekbones, her delicately feathered eyebrows and her oh-so-cute upturned nose. "But I'm sure I haven't done anything on your list at all! Despite being an adult in 2012, working at your huge corporation and having been through some form of schooling, I am still completely virginal and know nothing at all about kinky sex! I am beautiful, though."

His anthracite eyes brightened under His heavy, midnight brows and He gazed at her with an acquisitional hunger, like a Guy who hasn't had anything to eat in days. And yet she could see some painful memory, some dark - dare she think black? - secret lurking behind those onyx eyes.

"Then you're really going to be Mine!" he thundered. "Because I Alone can teach you the gift of submission, give rise to your slave heart, grant to you the loving dominance of My Masterful Aggression, all tempered, of course, with rationality and with all due care and attention given to risk-aware negotiation! I will teach you to serve Me with your submissive soul, your passive power, your girly gushiness, train you to come at the snap of My Fingers and find true freedom in your complete subjugation to My Will. Yes...you will even learn...Bad Grammar."

"Triple crap!" Tiffany declaimed. "All that? But...how is that possible? It all sounds crazy! And yet...when I look into your charcoal eyes under that irrepressible lock of ebony hair, as I run my searching, trembling fingers across the steel buttons on your sable silk shirt, all I can think of is...Jesus Christ, I am so horny I can die. I think. But i don't really know, because of the virgin thing?"
Mr. Momzer Macher took her pale, shaking hand and led her gentle, undulating form away from the party into his private boardroom where the table could be set up like a bed and tumbled her back onto it.

"I will teach you, little one," he said with intrepid confidence in himself. "And you will be my prized little party girl possession for all time. Just like the last seventeen."

"Oh, quadruple crap!" she extremed, as he tore away her leather bustier with one hand and fell on her like a ravening wolf. A ravening black wolf.

To be continued...OK, not really.

Feel free to share!
And for SM fiction of a different color, see lantoniou.com

Heading to Boston at the End of April

While I wait for the rest of the submissions for the Marketplace fan-fiction anthology to arrive, I am headed to the Boston area, where I will present two workshops.

Sunday, April 29th:  Romancing With Words, an erotic writing workshop on Sunday, April 29th.

If you've ever wanted to go beyond "love and kisses" at the end of your notes, or pondered how to seduce that hottie via e-mails, you'll want to attend this class. From 140-character teases to a novel-length paeon to your perfect partner, you too can translate your sexy thoughts to text.  Find your voice and use your words and thoughts to rev up your romance. No writing experience necessary! Your experience, desires and imagination are all you need. Bring something to write on and write with.

Romancing With Words is being sponsored by the New England Leather Alliance. The class runs from 6:30-8:30 on Sunday April 29th, at the Unity Church of Somerville. There is a fee for the class, so please check the NELA website for more information and to register.

Monday, April 30th: Once We Were Slaves: Ritual at the Intersection of Sexual Identity, Community & Tradition.
How do we build ritual that authentically honors tradition while making room for the experiences of our faith communities? What can we learn from reading and participating in liturgies that draw deeply from the well of personal and group identity? Join me as I meet with Queer Rites at Harvard Divinity School to discuss "Avadim Chayinu: Once We Were Slaves," the kinky Passover seder I co-wrote with my wife.  The workshop will take place from 1-2:30 p.m. on Monday, April 30th at the Rainbowitz Room of the Harvard-Andover Theological Library, Harvard Divinity School, 45 Francis Avenue, Cambridge. The workshops is being sponsored by Queer Rites, is a group of students who have come together to foster dialogue and to explore ritual around what it means to be queer, what it means to be spiritual, and where those two intersect and interact. RSVP not required but requested to trinsf (at) gmail (dot) com.

Extended Deadline for Marketplace Fan Fiction

April 30 is the new  deadline for my Call for Submissions to No Safewords – A Marketplace Collection

Do you have what it takes to enter The Marketplace? For the first time since The Academy, I am opening the doors to my exclusive playroom, for this first collection of fan fiction!

Yes, you can write a Marketplace story – and this is your chance to really push the limits! Use any character, any setting. Delve into the onlineMarketplace wiki to brush up on existing characters or create your own. Fit the story to what already exists or imagine a sort of alternative universe to my alternative universe. You can even add elements that do not exist in the books – want to make it paranormal? Set in the past/future? Care to slash together characters you thought shouldhave hooked up? Do you think there should have been more gay/lesbian/straight/rubber/steampunk/food fetish/Canadian/sexy accountant stories in the books? Now is your chance to write one!

I am the sole owner of the Marketplace series and all derivative works set in that universe. Therefore, I reserve the right as the owner/creator of the universe to refer to or use any character that an anthology contributor introduces, but by the same token, you the writer also keep the right to use that character yourself in your future work, although the MP setting will not be yours to continue to play with. Neither of us would have the right to stop the other from using a version of the character or name in future work. Fair 'nuff?

Questions I suspect will be frequently asked:

Q: I wrote this Mary Sue story ages ago! Do you want it?

A: Is it good? Then sure!

Q: I've written novels all about these other characters but I have this idea about what would happen if they encountered the MP. Is that OK?

A: If you own the rights to those characters and don't mind that I might use them again later, then sure.

Q: What if these Star Trek/Twilight/Farscape/Disney characters found the MP, and...

A: Sorry, no characters belonging to other people, especially people who resemble large corporations with lawyers.

Q: So, Chris Parker is a vampire, see and Geoff Negel is a werewolf...

A: That story better be REAL good, that's all I'm saying. Or, intentionally hysterical.

Q: We can write funny stories??

A: Have you read the books? Of course you can.

Q: Does it have to contain a sex scene?

A: Read the books. Sex scenes are not what drive these novels – power and the human relationships and conflicts do. Of course, kinky sex is more than welcome, especially if it is necessary to tell that story!

Q: Do I have to read the books?

A: I am editing other anthologies. Try one of those.

Q: Can I really write about any character? Doing anything I want?

A: I'm human. I am more protective about some characters and story arcs. But the key question remains – Is the story good?

For all submissions – send a MS Word .doc (NOT .docx) or a .rtf file to AntoniouEdits (@) gmail (dot) com. Do not paste the story into the body of an e-mail. Include your full contact information, e-mail address and mailing address in both the e-mail and on the attached document. Format neatly according to professional guidelines, and include a brief personal bio.
I prefer a story length between 3000-7000 words. Shorter? Then that story better pack a punch. Longer? Maybe you should consider publishing a novella.
These are erotica collections, so make sure your stories contain sex. Sex is defined as any activity that increases the potential for orgasm; so by all means do not limit yourself there. While your story might be dark or edgy for a particular book, please do not include murder, suicide or unhappy endings. Do not expect an answer until after the deadline has passed, although I reserve the right to answer earlier if I want to.

Gay Pride Comes Early This Year

Usually, I wait until June to put on my rainbow duds and chant "I'm here! I'm queer! Buy my books, my dear!" But this year, Gay Pride comes early for me.

On Saturday, March 3rd, I am reading at a monthly "Queer Memoir" event. The March event's theme is "Leather" and is being curated by my friend and fellow transgressive, Sassafras Lowrey.  It's an evening for truth-telling, and I'll be pulling up tales from my leather past and present to share.  It's also a benefit evening to support another fellow transgressive story teller, Toni Amato's Write Here, Write Now. Toni and I go way back, and we still bump up against each other on a regular basis, most recently when we were both published in Tristan Taormino's Take Me There: Trans and Genderqueer Erotica.

At the end of March, I'm attending the 4th annual Rainbow Book Fair, held at New York City's LGBT Center in Manhattan. The Fair runs pretty much all day, and I'll be wandering around, signing and selling books, and reading in the afternoon.  It's the largest LGBT book event in the country, and it's free. How could you say no? Join me Saturday, March 24th. I'll autograph your books, whether you buy them that day or bring them with you.

If you are bummed that you'll miss these opportunities to hear me read, fear not! Folks have been posting videos of me reading at various events over the past few months. You can find those videos, podcasts, and interviews of me here.

Voyeur Eyes Only

 A few months ago, I attended the first ever erotic writers conference in Las Vegas. It was a great motivator for me: since the conference, I've written and published several short stories, I'm completing a novel, and I am editing five anthologies - and of course, I continue to work on Book Six of the Marketplace series.

The conference was inspiring for many of us. So my fellow smut writers,  D.L. King, Essemoh Teepee and Genevieve Ash put together a great anthology of short stories written by the authors who attended the conference. With a Vegas theme, Voyeur Eyes Only is not only a hot collection of erotica, its proceeds help support the conference. My contribution includes some Marketplace characters, for you avid fans who like searching out the stories that don't end up in my novels.

If you are an avid smut reader and want your writers to stay inspired and motivated to write, I encourage you to purchase Voyeur Eyes Only. 

Find me in NYC, Providence

I am making two NYC appearances this week - the first at Iron Bell Academy in Queens, where I'm presenting a new workshop on Thursday, February 2nd entitledThat Ain't Necessarily So: Lies, Exaggerations and Silly Shit You Keep Hearing in the Scene.

On Friday the 3rd, I'm joining the first Friday Ravenous Nights readings at the Happy Endings Lounge on Manhattan's Lower East Side. The other readers will be Lolita Wolf, Angel Propps, Elizabeth Thorne, Sara Eileen, and my lovely wife, Karen Taylor. The theme is "leather," so expect some hot kinky stories.

And with luck, you may be able to pick up this new edition of The Academy, with a hot new cover by Lochai if you see me at Providence Rhode Island Fetish Fair Flea Market February 10-12. If you can't make it, keep your eyes out for the new edition to hit your e-book lists soon!

What's New in 2012

The new year is bringing a new edition of The Academy, new anthologies, and new trips around the country.  In other words, I'll be busy, Busy, BUSY!

For fans waiting on the new e-book edition of The Academy, complete with hot new cover by my friend and photographer Lochai, keep your eyes peeled over the next few weeks. The book has gone into final edits, and, as with all of my new Luster Imprint editions, I've added a new short story available in the e-book edition only.  Continuing in my theme, "Life's a Party," the bonus story in The Academy will take place at a wild sex party.  Here's an excerpt, featuring Trainer Marcy Teodor and her trainer-in-training, Stuart. 

I'll be sticking close to home over the next few weeks while I review the stories that have been submitted to the various anthologies I plan to put together this year.  The largest event I'll be attending during the winter is the Providence Rhode Island Fetish Fair Flea Market, a great shopping extravaganza for the kink-inclined. Otherwise, I'll be in the New York City area, so check my events calendar on the right for upcoming trips. And as always, if your group is interested in having me come and present, please check my details at "Hire Laura," and I'll be happy to get in touch with you.

Happy 2012!