Snippets and Snacks

Last night's In the Flesh was a smut-writer's idea of a great time! (Well, one idea—I have many "great time" ideas, hence all the erotic writing.)

The Happy Ending Lounge is a groovy place indeed. And from the outset, I had the opportunity to shake booty—sorry! wrong word—shake hands with many people that it was an honor, a pleasure, and a thrill to meet.

Gracious, generous host Rachel Kramer Bussel arrived with shopping bags full of gifts and goodies. Now, if you think wrestling EllaRegina and Mrs. Jeremy for possession of free porn is an easy undertaking, then you obviously weren't there last night. If I hadn't already been in condition, having wrestled Craig Sorensen for possession of Kristina Lloyd's Split this spring, I might not have had a single Penthouse Variations to my name as of this writing.

The place was packed: by the time the entertainment began, we were all cheek to jowl—and our faces were touching as well. Rachel got things going, then turned the mic over to Samara O'Shea. After turning the mic right-side up again, Samara read us erotic, revealing journal entries from Sylvia Plath and Anais Nin (writing separately, of course—as far as I know, the two women were not BFFs). D. L. King shared a riveting sex-in-public story that you can all read soon in Frenzy (ed. Alison Tyler), after which Rachel read a sensuous story from her Spanked anthology (a piece written by Rick Roberts). Scott Pomfret closed the set with some hilarious excerpts detailing the emergence of his identity as a gay-porn-writing Catholic.

After we'd all settled down enough for Rachel to be able to proceed again, we heard a captivating narrative from Rachel Shukert, a tale of a coming-of-age experience replete with vivid details. Then came Anna David's delicious excerpt, which comprised a brace of spontaneous sexual experiences that her protagonist navigates with a delicate ambivalence.

I was next. I explained that I would be reading from the POV of a girl, since the first-person narrator of "Tire Stud," my story in Rachel's Rubber Sex antho, happens to be female. The story, in its complete form, would have been a little too long for this event, so I abridged it by means of a "jump" in the middle. (Fortunately, I'm a pretty good jumper for a man [reading as a woman] my age.) Imagine how shocked the audience was to find, after the jump, that the two characters I'd introduced had hooked up!!!

The reading concluded with erotic fantasy author Susan Wright's rich depiction of a determined eleventh(? I may have the century wrong)-century woman's bold bargain with a ship's captain.

Then we drank and chattered some more, and the club filled up with balloons. (I'm not implying a cause-and-effect relationship between these factors, mind you; I am merely reporting.)

What a splendid evening!

And now, with the cupcake report for Greater Eroticaland, here is the fabulous Mrs. Jeremy. Take it, MJ! (And help yourself to italics, my love—what's mine is yours.)

As promised, there were cupcakes. Lots of cupcakes. Our table of four writers and two hangers-on (I do pride myself on my tenaciousness) received an entire box of Whole Foods mini vanilla cupcakes, which were quite good. But cupcakes were just the beginning, as plates of various snacks were showered on us. Yes, the food came to us, so no unseemly elbowing at the trough was required. Crispy and salty, chewy and chocolaty, and both (lots of chocolate covered pretzels). I particularly approved of the tiny peanut butter cups. Rachel even handed out entire bags of snacks as prizes for triva. One question was the title of Jeremy's story, but I had to recuse myself, alas. (I'm tempted to call him Mr. Jeremy to match my own moniker, but that would just be silly, wouldn't it?) A lovely evening all around! Thank you, Rachel.