tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-39644372024-03-14T01:22:06.997-04:00But how's the coffee?What does a pornographer do when she's not writing? Reading. Rambling. Reacting. Recreating. And drinking massive amounts of coffee. This started as a travelogue of a place; now it's one of a state of mind.Laura Antoniouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09807983161952543155noreply@blogger.comBlogger210125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3964437.post-40969248278328500212012-10-09T12:12:00.003-04:002012-10-09T12:12:16.611-04:00Migrating to Lantoniou.comHey folks -<div>
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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.</div>
Laura Antoniouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09807983161952543155noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3964437.post-73690185279085241032012-07-31T23:27:00.001-04:002012-07-31T23:27:05.448-04:00<br />
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<img alt="" class="size-full wp-image-1877 alignright" data-mce-src="http://blog.lantoniou.com/bookcovers/2012/07/laura-MAG.jpg" height="238" src="http://blog.lantoniou.com/bookcovers/2012/07/laura-MAG.jpg" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; float: right;" title="laura MAG" width="152" /><br />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!</div>
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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 a<span data-mce-style="text-decoration: underline;" style="text-decoration: underline;"><span data-mce-style="color: #993300; text-decoration: underline;" style="color: #993300; text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a data-mce-href="http://blog.lantoniou.com/?page_id=1861" href="http://blog.lantoniou.com/?page_id=1861"><span data-mce-style="color: #993300; text-decoration: underline;" style="color: #993300; text-decoration: underline;">link</span></a></strong></span></span> to read the rest:</div>
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<em>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? </em></blockquote>
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<em>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.</em></blockquote>
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<em>... Your first step is to realize that a story – whether true or exaggerated, blatantly fictional or merely doubtful, can get a <em>vote</em> 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. <span data-mce-style="color: #800000;" style="color: maroon;"><strong><a data-mce-href="http://blog.lantoniou.com/?page_id=1861" href="http://blog.lantoniou.com/?page_id=1861"><span data-mce-style="color: #800000;" style="color: maroon;">more</span></a></strong></span></em></blockquote>
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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<span data-mce-style="color: #800000;" style="color: maroon;"> <strong><span data-mce-style="text-decoration: underline;" style="text-decoration: underline;"><span data-mce-style="text-decoration: underline;" style="text-decoration: underline;"><a data-mce-href="http://thefloatingworld.org/web/" href="http://thefloatingworld.org/web/"><span data-mce-style="color: #800000; text-decoration: underline;" style="color: maroon; text-decoration: underline;">Floating World</span></a></span></span></strong></span>, and Labor Day Weekend at the <span data-mce-style="color: #800000;" style="color: maroon;"><strong><span data-mce-style="text-decoration: underline;" style="text-decoration: underline;"><span data-mce-style="text-decoration: underline;" style="text-decoration: underline;"><a data-mce-href="http://www.masterslaveconference.org/" href="http://www.masterslaveconference.org/"><span data-mce-style="color: #800000; text-decoration: underline;" style="color: maroon; text-decoration: underline;">Northeast Master/slave Conference</span></a></span></span></strong>. </span></div>
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Oh, and if you're interested in helping me celebrate my 49th birthday, check out the wishlist on my website, www.lantoniou.com.</div>
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<br /></div>Laura Antoniouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09807983161952543155noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3964437.post-47074583861728747182012-07-18T23:28:00.002-04:002012-07-18T23:28:34.698-04:00Summer Tour is Winding Down<br />
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<img alt="" class="alignleft size-full wp-image-1849" data-mce-src="http://blog.lantoniou.com/bookcovers/2012/07/600353_10151051350006019_1303949725_n.jpg" height="138" src="http://blog.lantoniou.com/bookcovers/2012/07/600353_10151051350006019_1303949725_n.jpg" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; float: left;" title="600353_10151051350006019_1303949725_n" width="208" />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.</div>
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If you have older editions, bring them - I love signing well-loved books.</div>
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Where will I be?</div>
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<strong>July 20-22, Austin</strong></div>
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I'm headed to Texas to join<span data-mce-style="color: #800000;" style="color: maroon;"><strong><a data-mce-href="http://www.gwnn.net/EveryOne/Bash2012" href="http://www.gwnn.net/EveryOne/Bash2012"><span data-mce-style="color: #800000;" style="color: maroon;"> GWNN's 19th Birthday Bash</span></a></strong></span> 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.</div>
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<strong>August 3-5, Edison, NJ</strong></div>
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I'm returning to "<span data-mce-style="color: #800000;" style="color: maroon;"><strong><a data-mce-href="http://thefloatingworld.org/web/" href="http://thefloatingworld.org/web/"><span data-mce-style="color: #800000;" style="color: maroon;">The Floating World</span></a></strong></span>," one of the largest kink events on the East Coast. I'll be reading and signing books as well as presenting workshops.</div>
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<strong>August 31-September 3, Washington, DC</strong></div>
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I gave the keynote at the Northeast <span data-mce-style="color: #993300;" style="color: #993300;"><strong><a data-mce-href="http://www.masterslaveconference.org/" href="http://www.masterslaveconference.org/"><span data-mce-style="color: #993300;" style="color: #993300;">Master/Slave Conference</span></a></strong></span> 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.</div>
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<br /></div>Laura Antoniouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09807983161952543155noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3964437.post-65494895196908405002012-07-07T19:15:00.000-04:002012-07-07T19:15:42.748-04:00Off to Denver or to YOU ... Via Skype!<br />
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<img class="alignright size-full wp-image-1839" data-mce-src="http://blog.lantoniou.com/bookcovers/2012/07/421321_3478499567814_1431027205_3297098_355920120_n.jpg" height="224" src="http://blog.lantoniou.com/bookcovers/2012/07/421321_3478499567814_1431027205_3297098_355920120_n.jpg" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; float: right;" title="421321_3478499567814_1431027205_3297098_355920120_n" width="149" />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. </div>
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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. </div>
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Meanwhile, I am headed in person to Denver to attend <strong><a data-mce-href="http://www.thunderinthemountains.com/" href="http://www.thunderinthemountains.com/">Thunder in the Mountains</a>,</strong> where I’m presenting two new workshops: </div>
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<li><strong>SUBvert the DOMinant paradigm:</strong> 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.</li>
<li><strong>Serious Players: Taking Responsibility for Your Choices:</strong> “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!</li>
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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 <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><span style="color: #993300; text-decoration: underline;"><a data-mce-href="http://blog.lantoniou.com/?page_id=5" href="http://blog.lantoniou.com/?page_id=5"><span style="color: #993300; text-decoration: underline;">Hire Laura</span></a></span></strong></span> to learn about my requirements.</div>Laura Antoniouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09807983161952543155noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3964437.post-47736930765347501852012-06-25T10:22:00.002-04:002012-06-25T10:22:53.685-04:00The Academy is Back in Print<br />
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<img alt="" class="alignleft" data-mce-src="http://blog.lantoniou.com/bookcovers/2012/06/Academycover1.jpg" height="272" src="http://blog.lantoniou.com/bookcovers/2012/06/Academycover1.jpg" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; float: left;" title="Academycover" width="181" />The Academy is now back in print, and available as an e-book, thanks to the marvelous<span data-mce-style="text-decoration: underline; color: #993300;" style="color: #993300; text-decoration: underline;"> <strong><span data-mce-style="text-decoration: underline;" style="text-decoration: underline;"><a data-mce-href="http://www.circlet.com" href="http://www.circlet.com/"><span data-mce-style="color: #993300; text-decoration: underline;" style="color: #993300; text-decoration: underline;">Circlet Press</span></a></span></strong></span>. Book Four continues the Marketplace saga, and gives readers a sense of The Marketplace's truly international reach.</div>
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<em>“ 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</em></div>
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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, <strong><a data-mce-href="http://www.ceciliatan.com/" href="http://www.ceciliatan.com/">Cecilia Tan</a></strong>, Michael Hernandez,<strong><a data-mce-href="http://www.amazon.com/David-Stein/e/B001KE2ATY/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_0" href="http://www.amazon.com/David-Stein/e/B001KE2ATY/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_0"> david stein</a></strong>, and <strong><a data-mce-href="http://zobop.blogspot.com/" href="http://zobop.blogspot.com/">M. Christian</a></strong>. </div>
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<em></em>The lovely book cover, created by my friend and cover artist <span data-mce-style="text-decoration: underline; color: #993300;" style="color: #993300; text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a data-mce-href="http://kirinawa.com/" href="http://kirinawa.com/"><span data-mce-style="color: #993300; text-decoration: underline;" style="color: #993300; text-decoration: underline;">Lochai Stine</span></a></strong></span>, 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 <span data-mce-style="color: #993300;" style="color: #993300;"><em><strong><a data-mce-href="http://blog.lantoniou.com/?page_id=1596" href="http://blog.lantoniou.com/?page_id=1596"><span data-mce-style="color: #993300;" style="color: #993300;">here</span></a></strong>.</em></span></div>
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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 <span data-mce-style="color: #993300;" style="color: #993300;">"<span data-mce-style="text-decoration: underline;" style="text-decoration: underline;"><span data-mce-style="text-decoration: underline;" style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong><a data-mce-href="http://blog.lantoniou.com/?page_id=1591" href="http://blog.lantoniou.com/?page_id=1591"><span data-mce-style="color: #993300; text-decoration: underline;" style="color: #993300; text-decoration: underline;">Inside Straight"</span></a></strong></em></span></span></span> 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 <span data-mce-style="text-decoration: underline; color: #993300;" style="color: #993300; text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a data-mce-href="http://www.circlet.com/?s=antoniou&submit=Go" href="http://www.circlet.com/?s=antoniou&submit=Go"><span data-mce-style="color: #993300; text-decoration: underline;" style="color: #993300; text-decoration: underline;">Circlet website</span></a></strong></span>, as well as through your favorite e-book sellers.)</div>
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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 <span data-mce-style="color: #993300;" style="color: #993300;"><strong>Ravenous Reading: Gay Pride Edition, on Friday, July 6th</strong></span>. 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. <span data-mce-style="color: #993300;" style="color: #993300;"><a data-mce-href="http://www.ravenousromance.com/lesbian/cinema-erotica.php" href="http://www.ravenousromance.com/lesbian/cinema-erotica.php"><span data-mce-style="color: #993300;" style="color: #993300;"><strong>Ravenous Romance</strong> </span></a></span>is one of my publishers – check them out, and come to the reading!</div>
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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 <span data-mce-style="color: #993300;" style="color: #993300;">"<span data-mce-style="text-decoration: underline;" style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong><span data-mce-style="text-decoration: underline;" style="text-decoration: underline;"><a data-mce-href="http://blog.lantoniou.com/?page_id=5" href="http://blog.lantoniou.com/?page_id=5"><span data-mce-style="color: #993300; text-decoration: underline;" style="color: #993300; text-decoration: underline;">Hire Laura"</span></a></span></strong></em></span></span> page for details.</div>Laura Antoniouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09807983161952543155noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3964437.post-59087760076728723892012-06-08T20:12:00.004-04:002012-06-08T20:12:58.779-04:00Awards, Readings, and More<br />
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I'm proud that my story about Chris Parker, <em>The Man With the Phoenix Tattoo</em>, 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 <span data-mce-style="color: #993300;" style="color: #993300;"><strong><a data-mce-href="http://www.amazon.com/Take-Me-There-Genderqueer-Erotica/dp/157344720X/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top" href="http://www.amazon.com/Take-Me-There-Genderqueer-Erotica/dp/157344720X/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top"><span data-mce-style="color: #993300;" style="color: #993300;">"Take Me There: Trans and Gender Queer Erotica."</span></a> </strong></span></div>
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<span><span>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, <em>The Inheritor</em>, and hope to have it wrapped up by the end of the year.</span></span></div>
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<br /><img alt="" class="alignleft" data-mce-src="http://blog.lantoniou.com/bookcovers/2012/06/546216_112526908884429_427092690_n.jpg" height="208" src="http://blog.lantoniou.com/bookcovers/2012/06/546216_112526908884429_427092690_n.jpg" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; float: left;" title="546216_112526908884429_427092690_n" width="138" />In the meantime, I've got another short story in a new anthology: <span data-mce-style="color: #993300;" style="color: #993300;"><strong>"<a data-mce-href="http://www.demonlovers.info/" href="http://www.demonlovers.info/"><span data-mce-style="color: #993300;" style="color: #993300;">Demon Lovers: Succubi</span></a></strong></span>" 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.</div>
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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.</div>
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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 <em>The Killer Wore Leather</em>, 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:</div>
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<strong><span data-mce-style="color: #993300;" style="color: #993300;">Friday, July 7th, New York City</span></strong></div>
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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. <span data-mce-style="color: #993300;" style="color: #993300;"><a data-mce-href="http://www.ravenousromance.com/lesbian/cinema-erotica.php" href="http://www.ravenousromance.com/lesbian/cinema-erotica.php"><span data-mce-style="color: #993300;" style="color: #993300;"><strong>Ravenous Romance</strong> </span></a></span>is one of my publishers - check them out, and come to the reading.</div>
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<span data-mce-style="color: #993300;" style="color: #993300;"><strong>Friday, July 13-Sunday, July 15th, Denver</strong></span></div>
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<span data-mce-style="color: #333333;" style="color: #333333;">I'm returning to one of my favorite leather events, <span data-mce-style="color: #993300;" style="color: #993300;"><strong><a data-mce-href="http://www.thunderinthemountains.com" href="http://www.thunderinthemountains.com/"><span data-mce-style="color: #993300;" style="color: #993300;">Thunder in the Mountains</span></a>,</strong></span> 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.</span></div>
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<strong><span data-mce-style="color: #993300;" style="color: #993300;">July 20-22, Austin</span></strong></div>
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I'm headed to Texas to join<span data-mce-style="color: #993300;" style="color: #993300;"><strong><a data-mce-href="http://www.gwnn.net/EveryOne/Bash2012" href="http://www.gwnn.net/EveryOne/Bash2012"><span data-mce-style="color: #993300;" style="color: #993300;"> GWNN's 19th Birthday Bash</span></a></strong></span> 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.</div>
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<span data-mce-style="color: #993300;" style="color: #993300;"><strong>August 3-5, Edison, NJ</strong></span></div>
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I'm returning to "<span data-mce-style="color: #993300;" style="color: #993300;"><strong><a data-mce-href="http://thefloatingworld.org/web/" href="http://thefloatingworld.org/web/"><span data-mce-style="color: #993300;" style="color: #993300;">The Floating World</span></a></strong></span>," one of the largest kink events on the East Coast. I'll be reading and signing books as well as presenting workshops.</div>
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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.</div>
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<br /></div>Laura Antoniouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09807983161952543155noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3964437.post-16074992996841527332012-05-12T13:49:00.002-04:002012-05-12T13:50:56.313-04:00Bland heroines and Rodgers and Hammerstein and what I write<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;"><br /></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;">This is a response to a piece by Remittance Girl on "Sleeping Beauties of the 21st Century" found <a data-cke-saved-href="http://remittancegirl.com/discussions/sleeping-beauties-of-the-21st-century-anastasia-bella-and-the-rise-of-the-vapid-heroine" href="http://remittancegirl.com/discussions/sleeping-beauties-of-the-21st-century-anastasia-bella-and-the-rise-of-the-vapid-heroine" lj-cmd="LJLink">here</a></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;">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.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;">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.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;">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."</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;">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.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;">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.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;">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.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;">You wait little girl</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;">On an empty stage</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;">For fate to turn the light on</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;">Your life little girl</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;">is an empty page</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;">that men will want to write on</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;">Blech.</span></div>
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<br /></div>Laura Antoniouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09807983161952543155noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3964437.post-6781449802841751032012-05-06T22:18:00.000-04:002012-05-06T22:39:40.360-04:00Chris Parker Story Wins John Preston Award<br />
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<img alt="" class="alignright" data-mce-src="http://blog.lantoniou.com/bookcovers/2012/05/41YjJ2MCjSL._SS500_.jpg" height="178" src="http://blog.lantoniou.com/bookcovers/2012/05/41YjJ2MCjSL._SS500_.jpg" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; float: right;" title="41YjJ2MCjSL._SS500_" width="122" />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 <span data-mce-style="text-decoration: underline;" style="text-decoration: underline;"><span data-mce-style="color: #993300;" style="color: #993300;"><strong><a data-mce-href="http://blog.lantoniou.com/?p=1173" href="http://blog.lantoniou.com/?p=1173"><span data-mce-style="color: #993300; text-decoration: underline;" style="color: #993300; text-decoration: underline;">second John Preston Award</span></a></strong></span></span>, and the second time ever that my writing has ever won an award, so thank you, NLA-International!</div>
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"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 <span data-mce-style="color: #993300;"><span data-mce-style="text-decoration: underline;"><span data-mce-style="color: #993300; text-decoration: underline;" style="color: #993300; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;"><a data-mce-href="http://www.amazon.com/Take-Me-There-Genderqueer-Erotica/dp/157344720X/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top" href="http://www.amazon.com/Take-Me-There-Genderqueer-Erotica/dp/157344720X/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top" style="text-decoration: underline;">Take Me There: Trans and Genderqueer Erotica</a> </span><span data-mce-style="color: #993300; text-decoration: underline;">on the book carousel to the left. You can here me read it <b><a href="http://blog.lantoniou.com/?page_id=975">here</a>.</b></span></span></span></div>
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<em>Take Me There </em>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.</div>
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Other contributors include authors Kate Bornstein (<em>Gender Outlaws: The Next Generation</em>), Patrick Califia (<em>Speaking Sex to Power</em>), S. Bear Bergman (<em>Butch is a Noun</em>), Ivan Coyote (<em>Missed Her</em>), Julia Serrano (<em>Whipping Girl</em>), Helen Boyd (<em>My Husband Betty</em>), Toni Amato (<em>Pinned Down by Pronouns</em>), Alicia E. Goranson (<em>Supervillianz</em>), filmmaker Tobi Hill-Meyer, musician Rahne Alexander, songwriter Shawna Virago, blogger Andrea Zanin, and others.</div>
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I hope <em>Take Me There</em> 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.</div>Laura Antoniouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09807983161952543155noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3964437.post-59137529600390998872012-04-28T16:41:00.001-04:002012-04-28T16:42:33.386-04:00Writing Exercise from my CircletPress Retreat<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc; line-height: 14px;">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*</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc;">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.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc;">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.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc;">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.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc;">“Jesus Chris Roland, you died yesterday!” he shouted at the ceiling. “Give a brother a fucking break, eh?”</span></div>Laura Antoniouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09807983161952543155noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3964437.post-12017079165785001072012-04-13T13:52:00.000-04:002012-04-13T13:52:21.134-04:0050 Shades of Sellout<h3>50 Shades of Sellout</h3><div class="quiet small">by <a class="quiet" href="https://fetlife.com/users/16163">LAntoniou</a> </div>"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."<br />
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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."<br />
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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.<br />
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.<br />
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"you're Tiffany," he murmured as he leaned in toward her, gracefully looking at her plunging cleavage, and her heaving alabaster breasts.<br />
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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.<br />
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"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.<br />
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"I'm disgustingly rich and dominant," he sneered dominantly. "you will be Mine!"<br />
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"Oh, wow," Tiffany seized. "Um. Wow. OK. Sure. What does that mean, exactly?"<br />
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"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."<br />
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"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."<br />
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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.<br />
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"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."<br />
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"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?"<br />
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.<br />
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"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."<br />
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"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.<br />
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To be continued...OK, not really.<br />
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Feel free to share!<br />
And for SM fiction of a different color, see lantoniou.comLaura Antoniouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09807983161952543155noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3964437.post-13648226016855739372012-04-12T21:21:00.001-04:002012-04-16T22:10:25.508-04:00Heading to Boston at the End of April<div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><br />
While I wait for the rest of the <strong><a data-mce-href="http://blog.lantoniou.com/?p=1679" href="http://blog.lantoniou.com/?p=1679">submissions for the Marketplace fan-fiction anthology</a></strong> to arrive, I am headed to the Boston area, where I will present two workshops.<br />
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<strong><img class="alignleft" data-mce-src="http://blog.lantoniou.com/bookcovers/2012/04/5706567315_4cb9d0884d_b.jpg" height="212" src="http://blog.lantoniou.com/bookcovers/2012/04/5706567315_4cb9d0884d_b.jpg" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; float: left;" title="5706567315_4cb9d0884d_b" width="126" />Sunday, A</strong><strong>pril 29th:</strong> <em>Romancing With Words</em>, an erotic writing workshop on Sunday, April 29th.<br />
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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.<br />
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<em>Romancing With Words</em> 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 <strong><a data-mce-href="https://nelaonline.org/cmsms/index.php?page=calendar" href="https://nelaonline.org/cmsms/index.php?page=calendar">NELA</a></strong> website for more information and to register.<br />
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<strong>Monday, April 30th:</strong> <em>Once We Were Slaves: </em>Ritual at the Intersection of Sexual Identity, Community & Tradition.<br />
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.<br />
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</div></div>Laura Antoniouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09807983161952543155noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3964437.post-1783531306103910322012-03-23T23:19:00.002-04:002012-03-23T23:19:53.526-04:00Extended Deadline for Marketplace Fan Fiction<div data-mce-style="text-align: center;" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: center;"><strong><img alt="" class="alignright" data-mce-src="http://blog.lantoniou.com/bookcovers/2012/03/marketplace-trilogy-photo-375x5001.jpg" height="162" src="http://blog.lantoniou.com/bookcovers/2012/03/marketplace-trilogy-photo-375x5001.jpg" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; float: right;" title="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA" width="216" /></strong><strong>April 30 is the new deadline for my Call for Submissions to </strong><strong><em>No Safewords – A Marketplace Collection</em></strong></div><div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><strong><strong></strong></strong>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!</div><div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">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 online<span data-mce-style="text-decoration: underline;" style="text-decoration: underline;"><span data-mce-style="color: #993300;" style="color: #993300;"><strong><a data-mce-href="http://marketplace.wikispot.org/" href="http://marketplace.wikispot.org/"><span data-mce-style="color: #993300; text-decoration: underline;" style="color: #993300; text-decoration: underline;">Marketplace wiki</span></a></strong></span></span> 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 <em>my</em> 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 <em>should</em>have 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!</div><div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">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 <em>character</em> 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?</div><div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><strong>Questions I suspect will be frequently asked:</strong></div><div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><em>Q: I wrote this <span data-mce-style="text-decoration: underline;" style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><span data-mce-style="color: #993300;" style="color: #993300;"><a data-mce-href="http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/MarySue" href="http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/MarySue"><span data-mce-style="color: #993300; text-decoration: underline;" style="color: #993300; text-decoration: underline;">Mary Sue</span></a> </span></strong></span>story ages ago! Do you want it?</em></div><div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">A: Is it good? Then sure!</div><div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><em>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?</em></div><div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">A: If you own the rights to those characters and don't mind that I might use them again later, then sure.</div><div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><em>Q: What if these Star Trek/Twilight/Farscape/Disney characters found the MP, and...</em></div><div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">A: Sorry, no characters belonging to other people, especially people who resemble large corporations with lawyers.</div><div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><em>Q: So, Chris Parker is a vampire, see and Geoff Negel is a werewolf...</em></div><div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">A: That story better be REAL good, that's all I'm saying. Or, intentionally hysterical.</div><div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><em>Q: We can write funny stories??</em></div><div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">A: Have you read the books? Of course you can.</div><div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><em>Q: Does it have to contain a sex scene?</em></div><div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">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!</div><div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><em>Q: Do I have to read the books?</em></div><div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">A: I am editing other anthologies. Try one of <span data-mce-style="text-decoration: underline;" style="text-decoration: underline;"><span data-mce-style="color: #993300;" style="color: #993300;"><strong><a data-mce-href="http://blog.lantoniou.com/?page_id=1455" href="http://blog.lantoniou.com/?page_id=1455"><span data-mce-style="color: #993300; text-decoration: underline;" style="color: #993300; text-decoration: underline;">those</span></a></strong></span></span>.</div><div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><em>Q: Can I really write about any character? Doing anything I want?</em></div><div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">A: I'm human. I am more protective about some characters and story arcs. But the key question remains – Is the story good?</div><div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">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 <em>both</em> the e-mail and on the attached document. Format neatly according to professional guidelines, and include a brief personal bio.<br />
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.<br />
These are <em>erotica</em> 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.<br />
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</div></div>Laura Antoniouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09807983161952543155noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3964437.post-25256604926388401172012-02-26T21:05:00.001-05:002012-02-26T21:05:00.239-05:00Gay Pride Comes Early This Year<div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">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.</div><div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><img alt="" class="alignleft size-full wp-image-1661" data-mce-src="http://blog.lantoniou.com/bookcovers/2012/02/newhat1.jpg" height="150" src="http://blog.lantoniou.com/bookcovers/2012/02/newhat1.jpg" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; float: left;" title="newhat" width="119" />On Saturday, March 3rd, I am reading at a monthly "<span data-mce-style="text-decoration: underline;" style="text-decoration: underline;"><span data-mce-style="color: #993300; text-decoration: underline;" style="color: #993300; text-decoration: underline;"><a data-mce-href="http://queermemoir.com/" href="http://queermemoir.com/"><span data-mce-style="color: #993300; text-decoration: underline;" style="color: #993300; text-decoration: underline;">Queer Memoir</span></a></span></span>" event. The March event's theme is "Leather" and is being curated by my friend and fellow transgressive, <span data-mce-style="text-decoration: underline;" style="text-decoration: underline;"><span data-mce-style="text-decoration: underline;" style="text-decoration: underline;"><span data-mce-style="color: #993300; text-decoration: underline;" style="color: #993300; text-decoration: underline;"><a data-mce-href="http://pomofreakshow.com/" href="http://pomofreakshow.com/"><span data-mce-style="color: #993300; text-decoration: underline;" style="color: #993300; text-decoration: underline;">Sassafras Lowrey</span></a></span>.</span></span> 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 <strong><span data-mce-style="color: #993300;" style="color: #993300;"><a data-mce-href="http://writeherewritenow.org/?page_id=4" href="http://writeherewritenow.org/?page_id=4"><span data-mce-style="color: #993300;" style="color: #993300;">Write Here, Write Now</span></a></span></strong>. 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 <span data-mce-style="text-decoration: underline;" style="text-decoration: underline;"><span data-mce-style="color: #993300; text-decoration: underline;" style="color: #993300; text-decoration: underline;"><a data-mce-href="http://www.amazon.com/Take-Me-There-Genderqueer-ebook/dp/B00608G0L4" href="http://www.amazon.com/Take-Me-There-Genderqueer-ebook/dp/B00608G0L4"><span data-mce-style="color: #993300; text-decoration: underline;" style="color: #993300; text-decoration: underline;">Take Me There: Trans and Genderqueer Erotica</span></a>.</span></span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><img alt="" class="alignright size-full wp-image-1654" data-mce-src="http://blog.lantoniou.com/bookcovers/2012/02/rbf_2012_masthead1.jpg" height="140" src="http://blog.lantoniou.com/bookcovers/2012/02/rbf_2012_masthead1.jpg" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; float: right;" title="rbf_2012_masthead1" width="302" /><span data-mce-style="color: #333333;" style="color: #333333;">At the end of March, I'm attending the 4th annual <span data-mce-style="color: #993300;" style="color: #993300;"><strong><span data-mce-style="text-decoration: underline;" style="text-decoration: underline;"><span data-mce-style="text-decoration: underline;" style="text-decoration: underline;"><a data-mce-href="http://rainbowbookfair.org/" href="http://rainbowbookfair.org/"><span data-mce-style="text-decoration: underline; color: #993300;" style="color: #993300; text-decoration: underline;">Rainbow Book Fair</span></a></span></span></strong></span></span><span data-mce-style="color: #993300;" style="color: #993300;"><span data-mce-style="color: #993300;" style="color: #993300;"><span data-mce-style="color: #000000;" style="color: black;"><span data-mce-style="color: #333333;" style="color: #333333;">, 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.</span></span></span></span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">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<span data-mce-style="color: #993300;" style="color: #993300;"> <strong><span data-mce-style="text-decoration: underline;" style="text-decoration: underline;"><span data-mce-style="text-decoration: underline;" style="text-decoration: underline;"><a data-mce-href="http://blog.lantoniou.com/?page_id=975" href="http://blog.lantoniou.com/?page_id=975"><span data-mce-style="color: #993300; text-decoration: underline;" style="color: #993300; text-decoration: underline;">here.</span></a></span></span></strong></span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><br />
</div>Laura Antoniouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09807983161952543155noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3964437.post-47638725033381513512012-02-12T21:48:00.001-05:002012-02-12T21:48:40.011-05:00Voyeur Eyes Only<div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><img alt="" class="alignleft size-full wp-image-1634" data-mce-src="http://blog.lantoniou.com/bookcovers/2012/02/Voyeur-Eyes-Only1.jpg" height="288" src="http://blog.lantoniou.com/bookcovers/2012/02/Voyeur-Eyes-Only1.jpg" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; float: left;" title="Voyeur Eyes Only" width="185" /> A few months ago, I attended the <strong><a data-mce-href="http://blog.lantoniou.com/?p=1458" href="http://blog.lantoniou.com/?p=1458">first ever erotic writers conference</a></strong> 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 <strong><a data-mce-href="http://blog.lantoniou.com/?page_id=1455" href="http://blog.lantoniou.com/?page_id=1455">five anthologies</a></strong> - and of course, I continue to work on Book Six of the Marketplace series.</div><div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">The conference was inspiring for many of us. So my fellow smut writers, <strong><a data-mce-href="http://networkedblogs.com/tzJlV" href="http://networkedblogs.com/tzJlV">D.L. King</a></strong>, Essemoh Teepee and <a data-mce-href="http://www.genevieveash.com/" href="http://www.genevieveash.com/">Genevieve Ash</a> put together a great anthology of short stories written by the authors who attended the conference. With a Vegas theme, <strong><a data-mce-href="http://www.amazon.com/Voyeur-Eyes-Only-ebook/dp/B0072LGYFA/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1328421347&sr=1-1" href="http://www.amazon.com/Voyeur-Eyes-Only-ebook/dp/B0072LGYFA/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1328421347&sr=1-1">Voyeur Eyes Only</a></strong> 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.</div><div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">If you are an avid smut reader and want your writers to stay inspired and motivated to write, I encourage you to purchase <strong><a data-mce-href="http://www.amazon.com/Voyeur-Eyes-Only-ebook/dp/B0072LGYFA/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1328421347&sr=1-1" href="http://www.amazon.com/Voyeur-Eyes-Only-ebook/dp/B0072LGYFA/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1328421347&sr=1-1">Voyeur Eyes Only</a>. </strong></div>Laura Antoniouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09807983161952543155noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3964437.post-30974349185816660242012-01-31T00:27:00.002-05:002012-01-31T00:27:57.287-05:00Find me in NYC, Providence<div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><img alt="" class="alignright size-full wp-image-1617" data-mce-src="http://blog.lantoniou.com/bookcovers/2012/01/Academycover.jpg" height="310" src="http://blog.lantoniou.com/bookcovers/2012/01/Academycover.jpg" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; float: right;" title="Academycover" width="206" />I am making two NYC appearances this week - the first at <a data-mce-href="http://www.ironbellacademy.com/" href="http://www.ironbellacademy.com/">Iron Bell Academy</a> in Queens, where I'm presenting a new workshop on Thursday, February 2nd entitled<strong>That Ain't Necessarily So: Lies, Exaggerations and Silly Shit You Keep Hearing in</strong> <strong>the Scene.</strong></div><div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><strong><br />
</strong></div><div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">On Friday the 3rd, I'm joining the first Friday <strong><a data-mce-href="http://ravenous.journurl.com/" href="http://ravenous.journurl.com/">Ravenous Nights</a></strong> 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.</div><div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">And with luck, you may be able to pick up this new edition of The Academy, with a hot new cover by <em><strong><a data-mce-href="http://kirinawa.com/" href="http://kirinawa.com/">Lochai</a> </strong></em>if you see me at Providence Rhode Island<em><strong> <a data-mce-href="http://neleatheralliance.org/cmsms/index.php?page=fff" href="http://neleatheralliance.org/cmsms/index.php?page=fff">Fetish Fair Flea Market</a> </strong></em>February 10-12. If you can't make it, keep your eyes out for the new edition to hit your e-book lists soon!</div>Laura Antoniouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09807983161952543155noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3964437.post-60281252207345287642012-01-02T21:06:00.002-05:002012-01-02T21:06:32.859-05:00What's New in 2012<div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><a data-mce-href="http://blog.lantoniou.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/newhat.jpg" href="http://blog.lantoniou.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/newhat.jpg"><img alt="" class="alignright size-full wp-image-1604" data-mce-src="http://blog.lantoniou.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/newhat.jpg" height="239" src="http://blog.lantoniou.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/newhat.jpg" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; float: right;" title="newhat" width="188" /></a>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!</div><div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">For fans waiting on the new e-book edition of The Academy, complete with hot new cover by my friend and photographer <em><strong><a data-mce-href="http://kirinawa.com/" href="http://kirinawa.com/">Lochai</a></strong></em>, 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. <a data-mce-href="http://blog.lantoniou.com/?page_id=1591" href="http://blog.lantoniou.com/?page_id=1591"><em><strong>Here's an excerpt,</strong></em> featuring Trainer Marcy Teodor and her trainer-in-training, Stuart. </a></div><div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">I'll be sticking close to home over the next few weeks while I review the stories that have been submitted to the<em><strong><a data-mce-href="http://blog.lantoniou.com/?page_id=1455" href="http://blog.lantoniou.com/?page_id=1455"> various anthologies</a></strong></em> I plan to put together this year. The largest event I'll be attending during the winter is the Providence Rhode Island<em><strong> <a data-mce-href="http://neleatheralliance.org/cmsms/index.php?page=fff" href="http://neleatheralliance.org/cmsms/index.php?page=fff">Fetish Fair Flea Market</a>, </strong></em>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.</div><div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">Happy 2012!</div>Laura Antoniouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09807983161952543155noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3964437.post-19855554329166983832011-12-17T15:59:00.002-05:002011-12-17T15:59:42.166-05:00A Christmas-Themed, Historical, Gay-Themed Story<div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><a data-mce-href="http://blog.lantoniou.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/laurainuniform2.jpg" href="http://blog.lantoniou.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/laurainuniform2.jpg"><img alt="" class="alignright size-full wp-image-1580" data-mce-src="http://blog.lantoniou.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/laurainuniform2.jpg" height="219" src="http://blog.lantoniou.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/laurainuniform2.jpg" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; float: right;" title="laurainuniform" width="135" /></a>Recently, I was challenged to write outside my usual area of "contemporary smut."</div><div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">I love taking on challenges like this - they help me stretch my writing muscles, and give me renewed creativity when returning to my main projects. Plus, I am a big fan of historical fiction, as anyone who has seen my bookshelves (heavily stacked with Clavell, Galebon, Jakes, McCullough,and others) can attest.</div><div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">Given the season, I chose to set this story during the famous "Christmas Truce" of 1914:</div><div data-mce-style="padding-left: 30px;" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; padding-left: 30px;"><em>On an icy Christmas morning on the Western Front, 1914, British and German soldiers huddled in trenches less than fifty yards apart, away from their homes and families, cold, weary and afraid. But Lt. Glbert Tillsdale and Captain Wilheim von Faulkner will spark more than a Christmas truce as they walk across no man's land to shake hands. They find passion, comfort and pleasure in each other and share a moment of peace that can only be called miraculous.</em><strong><a data-mce-href="http://www.amazon.com/Christmas-Truce-ebook/dp/B006N9F4IK/ref=sr_1_12?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1324152462&sr=1-12" href="http://www.amazon.com/Christmas-Truce-ebook/dp/B006N9F4IK/ref=sr_1_12?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1324152462&sr=1-12">Purchase the story here</a>.</strong></div><div data-mce-style="padding-left: 30px;" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; padding-left: 30px;"><strong><br />
</strong></div><div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><em></em>My serious Marketplace fans will recognize the family name of one of the characters above -- one that will return in a future Marketplace novel, as well.</div><div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">Oh, and if you're looking for some last-minute holiday gifts, please check out my extensive selection of e-books, easily and quickly available for a spicy stocking stuffer!</div><div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><br />
</div>Laura Antoniouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09807983161952543155noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3964437.post-13670015668984106962011-12-14T21:59:00.000-05:002011-12-14T21:59:16.129-05:00Deadline Approaching for Hot Butches/Hot Femmes Anthologies!<div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><a data-mce-href="http://blog.lantoniou.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/5706567315_4cb9d0884d_b.jpg" href="http://blog.lantoniou.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/5706567315_4cb9d0884d_b.jpg"><img class="alignleft size-full wp-image-1567" data-mce-src="http://blog.lantoniou.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/5706567315_4cb9d0884d_b.jpg" height="278" src="http://blog.lantoniou.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/5706567315_4cb9d0884d_b.jpg" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; float: left;" title="5706567315_4cb9d0884d_b" width="166" /></a><br />
<strong><a data-mce-href="http://blog.lantoniou.com/?p=1513" href="http://blog.lantoniou.com/?p=1513">A few posts back</a></strong>, I announced my intention to start editing anthologies again. The deadline for my companion volumes of stories about Hot Butches/Hot Femmes is due at the end of 2011! Here's my reminder:</div><div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><strong>Hot Butches/Hot Femmes</strong><strong>: </strong><strong>Deadline – December 31, 2011 </strong></div><div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">Two companion volumes, one goal – to celebrate the classic identities of butches and femmes, those who love to play with gender! Your story must feature at least one butch or femme (depending on the volume) matching the title description. They can be the point of view character, the protagonist or the lust object of the story. Don't dial back the sex – keep it hot and spicy! But these are celebratory books, so I am looking for happy endings. Kink/leather/BDSM themes welcome, but not required – the flavor here is gender and gender expression.</div><div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><strong><a data-mce-href="http://blog.lantoniou.com/?page_id=1455" href="http://blog.lantoniou.com/?page_id=1455">Submission Guidelines and additional info can be found on my Calls for Submissions Page</a>.</strong></div><div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><strong><br />
</strong></div><div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">Wondering what else I'm looking for?</div><div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><strong>Leatherwomen 2012 – Still Kicking</strong><strong>: <strong>Deadline - January 31, 2012</strong></strong></div><div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><strong><strong><br />
</strong></strong></div><div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">Is leather dead? Hell no! But it has changed and so have leatherwomen. Celebrate the thrill of skins and kink and the hot women who embody the name leatherwoman in this new universe of kinky potential. Like the previous Leatherwomen anthologies, stories may contain characters of any physical, emotional and sexual identity you believe falls under the name leatherwoman. BDSM, latex, punk, heterosexual, queer, single, couples, poly, orgies – if you believe your story and your characters belong in this crew, then convince me. Extra points for non white/American/party-going/lifestyle characters and situations, and much love for pushing the boundaries of identity and politics. Make it romantic or ironic; sweet or scary. But fill it with power and presence and desire.</div><div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><strong>No Safewords – A Marketplace Collection</strong><strong>: <strong>Deadline - February 28, 2012</strong></strong></div><div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><strong><strong><br />
</strong></strong></div><div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">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 online <strong><a data-mce-href="http://marketplace.wikispot.org/" href="http://marketplace.wikispot.org/">Marketplace wiki</a></strong> 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 <em>my</em>alternative universe. 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!</div><div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><strong><a data-mce-href="http://blog.lantoniou.com/?page_id=1455" href="http://blog.lantoniou.com/?page_id=1455">Submission Guidelines and additional details on all of the Calls for Submissions can be found on my Calls for Submissions Page</a>.</strong></div>Laura Antoniouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09807983161952543155noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3964437.post-81663521675951606382011-12-02T22:08:00.000-05:002011-12-02T22:08:04.982-05:00Free Holiday Erotica Tale!<div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><a data-mce-href="http://blog.lantoniou.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/24323_404735911018_693826018_4924914_7570608_s1.jpg" href="http://blog.lantoniou.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/24323_404735911018_693826018_4924914_7570608_s1.jpg"><img alt="" class="alignleft size-full wp-image-1553" data-mce-src="http://blog.lantoniou.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/24323_404735911018_693826018_4924914_7570608_s1.jpg" height="117" src="http://blog.lantoniou.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/24323_404735911018_693826018_4924914_7570608_s1.jpg" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; float: left;" title="24323_404735911018_693826018_4924914_7570608_s" width="157" /></a>On the first Fridays of the month, there's an <strong><a data-mce-href="http://ravenous.journurl.com/" href="http://ravenous.journurl.com/">erotic reading series</a></strong> at the Happy Endings Lounge in New York City that I sometimes attend. The December theme was - no surprise - holiday erotica!</div><div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">What may be a surprise to some of you, however, is that I have actually written a short holiday erotica piece. In the spirit of giving, here's an excerpt from "Ho Fuckin' Ho:"</div><div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><br />
</div><div data-mce-style="padding-left: 60px;" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; padding-left: 60px;"><em>A long and tall drink of water poured into a latex elf costume. Spikey green boots that clung to shapely legs all the way to the thigh, same color boy-cut shorts, and a plunging vest, both trimmed in white fur. Jaunty Santa style hat in the same green, with pointy ear tips rising to each side of her head. I groped for her name… Stacey!</em></div><div data-mce-style="padding-left: 60px;" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; padding-left: 60px;"><em><br />
</em></div><div data-mce-style="padding-left: 60px;" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; padding-left: 60px;"><em></em><em>“Hi, Santa,” she purred, leaning over to adjust my sack. “I’ll be one of your elves tonight. I hope you have a special present for me!”</em></div><div data-mce-style="padding-left: 60px;" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; padding-left: 60px;"><em><br />
</em></div><div data-mce-style="padding-left: 60px;" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; padding-left: 60px;"><em>Now, I am an equal opportunity Daddy, I like boys and girls, naughty and nice. This fiasco was looking up already.</em></div><div data-mce-style="padding-left: 60px;" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; padding-left: 60px;"><em><br />
</em></div><div data-mce-style="padding-left: 60px;" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; padding-left: 60px;"><em>I struggled and won the fight to not say, “I got your present right here,” and grab my package. Instead, I went for the equally cheesy, “What’s a nice femme like you doing in a boy’s club?”</em></div><div data-mce-style="padding-left: 60px;" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; padding-left: 60px;"><em><br />
</em></div><div data-mce-style="padding-left: 60px;" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; padding-left: 60px;"><em>She leaned in closer and whispered, “Hoping to get gang banged in the back room, later. You’re invited, if you’re not busy, and your boy, too, if he’s been real good.” </em><strong><a data-mce-href="http://www.circlet.com/?p=150" href="http://www.circlet.com/?p=150">Click here for more...</a> </strong></div><div data-mce-style="padding-left: 60px;" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; padding-left: 60px;"><strong><br />
</strong></div><div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">If you're still looking for some gift ideas, don't forget <strong><a data-mce-href="http://www.circlet.com/?p=3616" href="http://www.circlet.com/?p=3616">Circlet Press</a></strong> is offering a special deal on the first three books in the Marketplace series. In addition, several of the romance sites where you can find my other fiction are offering holiday specials, so check out the links here, too!</div><div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><br />
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</div>Laura Antoniouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09807983161952543155noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3964437.post-12016003802822412882011-11-25T13:54:00.002-05:002011-11-25T13:54:59.677-05:00Just in Time for the holidays!<div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><a data-mce-href="http://blog.lantoniou.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/marketplace-trilogy-photo-375x500.jpg" href="http://blog.lantoniou.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/marketplace-trilogy-photo-375x500.jpg"><img alt="" class="alignleft" data-mce-src="http://blog.lantoniou.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/marketplace-trilogy-photo-375x500.jpg" height="135" src="http://blog.lantoniou.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/marketplace-trilogy-photo-375x500.jpg" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; float: left;" title="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA" width="180" /></a>If you're like me, and prefer to do your holiday shopping on line, I have a great deal for you! My original trilogy is available through December 31st at a discount price from<a data-mce-href="http://www.circlet.com/?p=3616" href="http://www.circlet.com/?p=3616">Circlet Press</a>.</div><div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">Get <em>The Marketplace, The Slave</em>, and <em>The Trainer,</em> normally $19.95 each plus shipping, for only $55 <em>including</em> shipping within the US/Canada. This is a great way to introduce a friend to the series or to replace your lost/borrowed/stolen copies for yourself!</div><div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">This limited time price is only offered until December 31, 2011. Please place orders by December 13 if you want the set in time for Hanukkah, by December 15 if you want them for Christmas.</div><div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">And if you are buying electronic readers for yourself and special friends, why not fill them with some spicy erotic stories? In addition to the Marketplace trilogy, check out rotating carousel on the left side of my webpage, where you'll find an array of my smut. And nothing says "I know what you really like for the holidays" than that!</div><div><br />
</div>Laura Antoniouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09807983161952543155noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3964437.post-12639794363093586482011-11-06T12:42:00.002-05:002011-11-06T12:42:43.633-05:00Winter Plans<div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><a data-mce-href="http://blog.lantoniou.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/laurabooks.jpg" href="http://blog.lantoniou.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/laurabooks.jpg"><img alt="" class="alignleft size-full wp-image-594" data-mce-src="http://blog.lantoniou.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/laurabooks.jpg" height="129" src="http://blog.lantoniou.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/laurabooks.jpg" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; float: left;" title="laurabooks" width="169" /></a>While I am taking most of winter off to write and edit anthologies, I have been doing some local readings and will have an upcoming appearance.</div><div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">Last month, I read a story about Chris Parker that has not yet appeared in any Marketplace novel. It is in Tristan Taormino's <strong><em><a data-mce-href="http://www.amazon.com/Take-Me-There-Genderqueer-Erotica/dp/157344720X" href="http://www.amazon.com/Take-Me-There-Genderqueer-Erotica/dp/157344720X">Take Me There</a></em></strong>, a groundbreaking anthology of transgender and genderqueer erotica. For those who missed it, here's a<strong><em> <a data-mce-href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8eDjyeKeUK8&feature=player_embedded" href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8eDjyeKeUK8&feature=player_embedded">video</a></em></strong> of the reading.</div><div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">I am also a regular reader at the <em><strong><a data-mce-href="http://ravenous.journurl.com/" href="http://ravenous.journurl.com/">Ravenous Readings series</a></strong></em> which take place the first Friday of every month in New York City's Happy Endings Lounge on the Lower East Side. The theme in November was erotic non-fiction, so I contributed my piece on how to train a pleasure slave, which appears in another Tristan Taormino anthology, <strong><em><a data-mce-href="http://www.amazon.com/Ultimate-Guide-Kink-BDSM-Erotic/dp/157344779X" href="http://www.amazon.com/Ultimate-Guide-Kink-BDSM-Erotic/dp/157344779X">The Ultimate Guide to Kink, BDSM, Role Play and the Erotic Edge</a>. </em></strong></div><div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">I will be headed to New Jersey at the end of this month, teaching I'll be teaching "Beyond Bossy" and "Service Development" at <strong><em><a data-mce-href="http://www.brimstonenj.com/" href="http://www.brimstonenj.com/">Brimstone</a> </em></strong>on the Jersey Shore.</div><div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">And that's where you'll find me between now and the end of the year! I am booking dates in 2012, however, so please check out my <em><strong><a data-mce-href="http://blog.lantoniou.com/?page_id=5" href="http://blog.lantoniou.com/?page_id=5">speaking requirements</a></strong></em> or my tour calendar, posted on the right of the page.</div><div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><br />
</div>Laura Antoniouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09807983161952543155noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3964437.post-76347115464574506032011-10-19T15:36:00.002-04:002011-10-19T15:36:55.011-04:00Submit to Me!<div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><strong><a data-mce-href="http://blog.lantoniou.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/LAin-Tie021.jpg" href="http://blog.lantoniou.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/LAin-Tie021.jpg"><img alt="" class="alignleft size-full wp-image-1389" data-mce-src="http://blog.lantoniou.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/LAin-Tie021.jpg" height="230" src="http://blog.lantoniou.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/LAin-Tie021.jpg" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; float: left;" title="LAin Tie02" width="173" /></a></strong><br />
It's twenty years since I started to collect stories for the original <span data-mce-style="text-decoration: underline;" style="text-decoration: underline;"><a data-mce-href="http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=ntt_at_ep_srch?_encoding=UTF8&sort=relevancerank&search-alias=books&field-author=Laura%20Antoniou" href="http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=ntt_at_ep_srch?_encoding=UTF8&sort=relevancerank&search-alias=books&field-author=Laura%20Antoniou">Leatherwomen</a></span>, and anthologies have refused to die. With the explosion of e-book publishers of erotica, there has never been a better time to get your stories out into the world – and after twenty years, I'm eager to collect all sorts of delicious smut. From sweet and romantic to edgy and kinky, show me what you've got!</div><div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><span data-mce-style="text-decoration: underline;" style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a data-mce-href="http://blog.lantoniou.com/?page_id=1455" href="http://blog.lantoniou.com/?page_id=1455">Submission Guidelines and additional info can be found on my Calls for Submissions Page</a>.</strong></span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">Here's a brief overview at what I'm looking for:</div><div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><strong>The Best of Leatherwomen</strong><strong>: </strong><strong>Deadline - Dec 31, 2011</strong></div><div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><strong></strong>Did you write for me back in the day? Find me, please! We'll make a combined collection from all three of the groundbreaking Leatherwomen anthologies and you can get paid again for work you so long ago we all rode dinosaurs to the play parties.</div><div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><strong><br />
</strong></div><div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><strong>Leatherwomen 2012 – Still Kicking</strong><strong>: <strong>Deadline - January 31, 2012</strong></strong></div><div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">Is leather dead? Hell no! But it has changed and so have leatherwomen. Celebrate the thrill of skins and kink and the hot women who embody the name leatherwoman in this new universe of kinky potential. Like the previous Leatherwomen anthologies, stories may contain characters of any physical, emotional and sexual identity you believe falls under the name leatherwoman. BDSM, latex, punk, heterosexual, queer, single, couples, poly, orgies – if you believe your story and your characters belong in this crew, then convince me. Extra points for non white/American/party-going/lifestyle characters and situations, and much love for pushing the boundaries of identity and politics. Make it romantic or ironic; sweet or scary. But fill it with power and presence and desire.</div><div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><strong><br />
</strong></div><div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><strong>Hot Butches/Hot Femmes</strong><strong>: </strong><strong>Deadline – December 31, 2011 </strong></div><div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">Two companion volumes, one goal – to celebrate the classic identities of butches and femmes, those who love to play with gender! Your story must feature at least one butch or femme (depending on the volume) matching the title description. They can be the point of view character, the protagonist or the lust object of the story. Don't dial back the sex – keep it hot and spicy! But these are celebratory books, so I am looking for happy endings. Kink/leather/BDSM themes welcome, but not required – the flavor here is gender and gender expression.</div><div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><strong><br />
</strong></div><div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><strong>No Safewords – A Marketplace Collection</strong><strong>: <strong>Deadline - February 28, 2012</strong></strong></div><div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">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 online <strong><a data-mce-href="http://marketplace.wikispot.org/" href="http://marketplace.wikispot.org/">Marketplace wiki</a></strong> 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 <em>my</em>alternative universe. 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!</div><div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><span data-mce-style="text-decoration: underline;" style="text-decoration: underline;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><span data-mce-style="text-decoration: underline;" style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a data-mce-href="http://blog.lantoniou.com/?page_id=1455" href="http://blog.lantoniou.com/?page_id=1455">Submission Guidelines and additional details on all of the Calls for Submissions can be found on my Calls for Submissions Page</a>.</strong></span></div>Laura Antoniouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09807983161952543155noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3964437.post-9354416949578749222011-10-13T21:36:00.002-04:002011-10-13T21:36:12.149-04:00Calling All Leatherwomen!!<div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><a data-mce-href="http://blog.lantoniou.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/9781563330957.jpg" href="http://blog.lantoniou.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/9781563330957.jpg"><img alt="" class="alignleft size-full wp-image-826" data-mce-src="http://blog.lantoniou.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/9781563330957.jpg" height="140" src="http://blog.lantoniou.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/9781563330957.jpg" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; float: left;" title="9781563330957" width="83" /></a>I'm happy to announce that I'll be editing several anthologies over the winter and into 2012. In addition to some new projects (keep your eyes out for "Calls for Submission"), I am bringing back my "Leatherwomen" brand.</div><div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><strong>If you are a writer who was published in one of my original Leatherwomen anthologies, I am asking you to get in contact with me at <strong>Antoniouedits (at) gmail (dot) com</strong> as I build a "Best of Leatherwomen" collection!</strong></div><div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><em>(cue harp arpeggios, musically implying that we are traveling back in time)</em></div><div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">Back in the pre-internet 1990's, there was a dearth of fiction available to kinky women written by kinky women. Pretty much all we had was the groundbreaking<a data-mce-href="http://www.amazon.com/Coming-Power-Writing-Graphics-Lesbian/dp/0932870287" href="http://www.amazon.com/Coming-Power-Writing-Graphics-Lesbian/dp/0932870287"> Coming To Power</a> by Samois, the periodic s/m themed short stories in <a data-mce-href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/On_Our_Backs" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/On_Our_Backs">On Our Backs</a>, and a few writers like <a data-mce-href="http://www.susiebright.com/" href="http://www.susiebright.com/">Susie Bright</a>, <a data-mce-href="http://www.amazon.com/Artemis-OakGrove/e/B001K81FSM" href="http://www.amazon.com/Artemis-OakGrove/e/B001K81FSM">Artemis Oakgrove</a> and a writer I consider my mentor, <a data-mce-href="http://www.dorothyallison.net/" href="http://www.dorothyallison.net/">Dorothy Allison</a>.</div><div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">I decided to fill that void by editing a series written by and for Leatherwomen of all orientations. So, in the mid-1990's, I put out a call for submissions.</div><div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">There was only one problem. Pat (now Patrick) Califia and Robin Sweeney were collaborating on"<a data-mce-href="http://www.amazon.com/Second-Coming-Leatherdyke-Reader/dp/1555832814" href="http://www.amazon.com/Second-Coming-Leatherdyke-Reader/dp/1555832814">The Second Coming: A Leatherdyke Reader</a>," billed to be the follow-up to the Samois anthology. Every kinky lesbian writer I knew had already promised their work to Pat and Robin.</div><div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><a data-mce-href="http://blog.lantoniou.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/9781563335983.jpg" href="http://blog.lantoniou.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/9781563335983.jpg"><br />
</a>I persisted, and not only published "Leatherwomen," but even got out "Leatherwomen II (Revenge of the Leatherwomen)" before The Second Coming was published. I then published "Leatherwomen III (Clash of the Cultures)" in the late 1990's.</div><div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><a data-mce-href="http://blog.lantoniou.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/9781563335983.jpg" href="http://blog.lantoniou.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/9781563335983.jpg"><img alt="" data-mce-src="http://blog.lantoniou.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/9781563335983.jpg" height="140" src="http://blog.lantoniou.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/9781563335983.jpg" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px;" title="9781563335983" width="85" /></a> <a data-mce-href="http://blog.lantoniou.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/P1000170.jpg" href="http://blog.lantoniou.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/P1000170.jpg"><img alt="" data-mce-src="http://blog.lantoniou.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/P1000170.jpg" height="150" src="http://blog.lantoniou.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/P1000170.jpg" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px;" title="P1000170" width="112" /></a> <a data-mce-href="http://blog.lantoniou.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/41WBE3G6XBL._SL160_1.jpg" href="http://blog.lantoniou.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/41WBE3G6XBL._SL160_1.jpg"><img alt="" data-mce-src="http://blog.lantoniou.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/41WBE3G6XBL._SL160_1.jpg" height="160" src="http://blog.lantoniou.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/41WBE3G6XBL._SL160_1.jpg" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px;" title="41WBE3G6XBL._SL160_" width="98" /></a></div><div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">Now, a decade later, I think it's time to bring back the Leatherwomen brand. So much has changed in the kink community since Leatherwomen III was published, ranging from the rise of sex through social media to the increasing fluidity of gender and sexual identity. I think it's time to hear from leatherwomen again.</div><div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">To launch the return of the "Leatherwomen" series, I am calling all contributors to the earlier anthologies to get in touch with me. Let's bring back those sexy, smutty, kinky, toe-curling stories and introduce them to a new generation of readers. Contact me at<strong>Antoniouedits (at) gmail (dot) com</strong>.</div><div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">And for the rest of you: keep your eyes open for additional "Calls for Submission" from me!</div><div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><br />
</div>Laura Antoniouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09807983161952543155noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3964437.post-15638489879261298802011-10-05T21:14:00.000-04:002011-10-05T21:14:56.674-04:00New Chris Parker story!<div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><a data-mce-href="http://blog.lantoniou.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/41YjJ2MCjSL._SS500_.jpg" href="http://blog.lantoniou.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/41YjJ2MCjSL._SS500_.jpg"><img alt="" class="alignleft size-full wp-image-1473" data-mce-src="http://blog.lantoniou.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/41YjJ2MCjSL._SS500_.jpg" data-mce-style="border-width: 1px; border-color: black; border-style: solid;" height="250" src="http://blog.lantoniou.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/41YjJ2MCjSL._SS500_.jpg" style="border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-color: initial; border-left-color: black; border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 1px; border-right-color: black; border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 1px; border-style: initial; border-top-color: black; border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 1px; float: left;" title="41YjJ2MCjSL._SS500_" width="171" /></a>On Wednesday, October 12th, I'll be reading <em>The Man With the Phoenix Tattoo</em>, the first-ever story about Chris Parker that is not in a Marketplace novel. The reading will be at 7:00 p.m. at <a data-mce-href="http://bluestockings.com/events/" href="http://bluestockings.com/events/">Bluestockings</a>, 172 Allen Street on New York City's Lower East Side.</div><div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">The story is part of a new anthology entitled T<em>ake Me There: Trans and Genderqueer Erotica. </em>I've known editor Tristan Taormino for many years, and when she contacted me about this project, I knew Chris Parker needed to be included in this anthology. Trans and genderqueer folk are fiercely sexy to me, and I am proud to have created the first-ever FTM romantic lead in a long-running erotic series.</div><div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><em>Take Me There </em>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.</div><div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">Other contributors include authors Kate Bornstein (<em>Gender Outlaws: The Next Generation</em>), Patrick Califia (<em>Speaking Sex to Power</em>), S. Bear Bergman (<em>Butch is a Noun</em>), Ivan Coyote (<em>Missed Her</em>), Julia Serrano (<em>Whipping Girl</em>), Helen Boyd (<em>My Husband Betty</em>), Toni Amato (<em>Pinned Down by Pronouns</em>), Alicia E. Goranson (<em>Supervillianz</em>), filmmaker Tobi Hill-Meyer, musician Rahne Alexander, songwriter Shawna Virago, blogger Andrea Zanin, and others.</div><div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">If you join us on Wednesday, October 12th at Bluestockings, you'll not only hear my story, but the contributions of author Rachel Kramer Bussel, blogger Sinclair Sexsmith of The Sugarbutch Chronicles, and poet/performer/activist Rachel K. Zall.</div><div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">I hope <em>Take Me There</em> not only gives me an opportunity to introduce new readers to the Marketplace series, but that it will offer my long-time fans a look at Chris Parker's fictional peers. See you at Bluestockings!</div><div style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><br />
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</div>Laura Antoniouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09807983161952543155noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3964437.post-80857009074725197602011-09-18T16:53:00.000-04:002011-09-18T16:53:29.619-04:00I Love to Write.I spend a lot of time at leather conferences. They make me feel good about what I write. But going to a writers’ conference makes me feel good about being a writer. <br />
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<div style="text-align: right;"><a href="http://blog.lantoniou.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/me_w_coffee.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img height="200" src="http://blog.lantoniou.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/me_w_coffee.jpg" width="165" /></a><div style="text-align: left;">I learned that earlier this month when I attended the Erotic Authors Association conference. I returned to New York feeling energized, and ready to tackle some long-awaited (and some new!) writing projects. I am dedicating my fall and winter to writing.</div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div>One of the workshops I taught at the conference was on how to write a series. I am bringing more creative energy to my own series, and hope to have The Inheritor, Book Six of the Marketplace series, completed by early 2012. For those of you who wish you could find out more about it –<a href="http://marketplace.wikispot.org/"> visit my Marketplace wiki</a>! I use this wiki as a codex to keep track of all the characters in the Marketplace universe… and as I write the sixth book, those characters are included on the wiki. Which, by the way, is an excellent tool for anyone writing a series (as I told my workshop participants.)<br />
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I also updated my <a href="http://blog.lantoniou.com/?page_id=30">workshop offerings</a> to include some writing workshops. Look for “Romancing with Words: Erotica for Beginners,” “Unsafe Words – Exercises to Jazz Up Your Sex Writing,” and “It’s a Long Story: Writing an Erotic Series” among others.<br />
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I will also be joining some readings taking place in the NYC area in October. I’m delighted to have a short story in <a href="http://tristantaormino.tumblr.com/post/6556984945/take-me-there-trans-and-genderqueer-erotica-is-my">“Take Me There</a>,” a genderqueer collection edited by my friend, <a href="http://www.puckerup.com/">Tristan Taormino</a>. My contribution, “The Man With the Phoenix Tattoo,” is the only story about Chris Parker that I have not published in the Marketplace series. Join us at Bluestockings on Wednesday, October 12th at 7:00 p.m. and hear it live. For more details, check out my events calendar on the right.<br />
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And I’m working on a series of other projects as well. I’ll be sharing those with you over the next several weeks, as they come to fruition. So stay tuned! I’m going to have a very productive autumn and winter.<br />
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Stay tuned – I think it will be a productive autumn!Laura Antoniouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09807983161952543155noreply@blogger.com1