LEATHER, LACE AND LUST -- re-released by Berkley!

M. Christian and I are soooooo thrilled to announced that LEATHER, LACE AND LUST has been purchased by Berkley Books and is now out!

LEATHER, LACE AND LUST explores the connection between clothing and sex and really runs the gamut from fun to provocative to disturbing. This book first came out in 2003, published by the Venus Book Club, which meant that only Venus Book Club members could buy it. Not the best way for a book to get exposure, you know? Plus, we knew it was an excellent book and wished it could have gotten the attention it deserved (not all anthologies come together as an editor would like, but this one did). Just look at THE MAMMOTH BOOK OF BEST NEW EROTICA 4 and you'll find several stories from LEATHER, LACE AND LUST! Anyway, we were delighted when we learned that Berkley bought it several months ago, gave it a new cover, and will be putting it in bookstores across the country! We're excited for a number of reasons, but primarily because this was just a little, throwaway book for Venus yet it was full of really excellent stories. Here's the table of contents if you want proof:

Killing the Marabou Slippers by Molly Laster
When Calls Ed Wood by Tom Piccirilli
Underneath Your Clothes by Elizabeth Coldwell
Cruising with Vickie and Marge by M. J. Rennie
A Novel of Manners, Set Vaguely in the Heian Era by Jason Rubis
I Am . . . by Christine Morgan
Contented Clients by Kate Dominic
A Little Bit Like a Slut by Thomas S. Roche
Nacht Ruck by Karen Taylor
Dress Pinks by M. Christian
Debt of Honor by Tulsa Brown
Cashmeres Must Die by O. Z. Evangeline
Sheer Excitement by Debra Hyde
Pret-a-Porter by Stacy Reed
Red Nails in the Sunset by James Williams
A Reflection in the Mirror by D. D. Smith
Bethany's Game by Bryn Colvin
Urban Noir by Tara Alton
Twentieth Century by Lisabet Sarai
Skirting Pleasure by Sage Vivant

Spread the word and buy some copies as holiday gifts!

Cancer in the artist community

Just last week, I learned and announced that Craig Morey, a gifted photographer, was trying to raise funds to pay for his cancer treatments. Today, I found out that DD Smith (Debbie McGuffey), one of the writers whose work appears in LEATHER, LACE AND LUST wrote to say that she was diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer in January of 2005.

Her friend---Carolyn Jones (a.k.a. Methec), has put a huge abstract oil painting up for auction on eBay. Until the auction ends, it's hanging on the wall at Twisted Sisters down at Jacksonville Beach. (*Info for Twisted Sisters (Owner- Sonny): 1266 Beach Blvd. Jacksonville Beach, FL 904-241-6453).

The painting can be seen and bid on here. It's enormous and obviously, may not be suitable for any of your walls. You can still help Debbie, however, by making a contribution of either cash or money orders directly to her or by sending money to Carolyn Jones through her PayPal account bod-a-bing@mindspring.com

The painting is titled "Life is for Living," and Debbie says the photo doesn't do it justice. It's really awesome, colorful, bold and extremely large.! It would look great in an office, behind someone's sofa in a contemporary setting, possibly in a public building on display, a bank, a doctor's office.

Debbie and Carolyn are trying to figure out additional ways to publicize this auction and Debbie's plight. Carolyn is a former Playboy model, so they're hoping to use that to some advantage (read more here). If you can think of other creative ideas, please write directly to Debbie at ddmcguffeycomcast.net

To send her money, here's her address:
Debbie McGuffey
8045 Weather Vane Drive
Jacksonville, FL 32244

Please help photographer Craig Morey

I recently learned that photographer Craig Morey (whose work is available
through Custom Erotica Source) has been diagnosed with cancer and is
facing some serious medical bills for his treatment. (As many of you
probably already know, our lovely health care system basically ignores
people who don't have full-time jobs and live by making art. ) Some
friends of his have organized an art show where he will be selling his
work at reduced prices to help pay for these medical bills. Here is the
announcement I received today -- I hope that you will come to the show and
do what you can to help. Craig is not only a talented photographer but a
wonderfully sweet person.

If you cannot attend but would still like to make a print purchase, please
see this url for information: http://www.moreystudio.com/december18.html

***
Please join us on Sunday, December 18th from 12:00 to 6:00pm for a special
one day print sale to raise funds for Craig Morey's medical bills from his
recent cancer treatments*.

This is a unique opportunity to purchase Craig's elegant black and white
photos, in his studio, at unusually low prices. New digital prints and
vintage fiber prints will be on sale, as well as posters and books. Light
refreshments will be provided.

Thanks, and we'll look forward to seeing you there.

Jill Manton
Liz Ross
Ervin Grinberg
Hal Fischer

PS: If you cannot attend on the 18th, but would still like to make a print
purchase, please see this url for information:
http://www.moreystudio.com/december18.html



For more information, contact:
Jill Manton
Tel: 415-252-2585
email: jillmanton@yahoo.com

Studio Address: 4080 Halleck St, Emeryville 94608 (near Park and 40th)

Call for information on sale date: 510 654 2952

Directions to studio: (Studio is directly behind the Ikea store in
Emeryville). Take hwy 80 to Powell St, go East 1/4mi to Hollis, turn right
and go South 1/2mi to Park, turn right and go West to Hallleck, turn left
and park on street. The studio is about 30 yards behind the gate marked
4080 (left side of street)

* Earlier this year, Craig Morey was diagnosed with throat cancer and
began receiving both radiation and chemotherapy to combat this
life-threatening disease. Because of the severity of his treatments, Craig
was incapacitated for several months and is only now returning to his
photography work. As a self-employed artist, Craig has had little income,
and no disability or sick pay during this very difficult period.

Fortunately, the most recent evaluations by his doctors have been
favorable and Craig has a very good chance of recovery, and of keeping the
cancer in remission. Unfortunately, even with basic health insurance the
cost of treatment and Craig's medical bills are
astronomical.

The goal of this sale is to raise funds to help pay Craig's medical costs.
He will be offering both vintage fiber prints and new digital prints, with
prices ranging from 75.00 to 500.00. There will also be signed books and
posters available.

We hope you will join us on Sunday, December 18th to support Craig.

The Future of Erotica

Writer and interviewer William Dean hosted a roundtable discussion with me, M. Christian, Carol Queen, and Dr. Gloria Brame for the Erotica Readers and Writers Association (click on the link in the subject line). He asked some thought-provoking questions and the diversity of our answers is worth checking out.

And if that weren't enough, erotica novelist Lisabet Sarai, whose new book FIRE is quite a delicious morsel, reviewed THE BEST OF BOTH WORLDS: BISEXUAL EROTICA and gave it an enthusiastic thumbs up, which is nice. ERWA is a great site -- spend some time there after you read the interview!

So what's the deal with Publisher's Weekly?

Critics.

Show me a writer, artist, musician, or film maker who can stand them and I'll show you a poseur! It's so hard to have even a modicum of respect for critics or reviewers who never have to *make* art but can feel free to criticize and berate the hell out of it. How is that even remotely fair -- either to the creator of the work or to the public?

I've always hated the fact that people can make a living trashing or otherwise "reviewing" the work of creative people (and feel self-righteous in the process). I wish there were some way to educate people about how uninformed, biased, and downright mean (not to mention frequently bribed) most reviewers are and how important it is not to take their word as gospel on any book, movie, or CD you see that interests you.

I confess to checking out what certain critics have to say -- mostly so I can do the opposite of what they say. Take Roger Ebert, for example. If he likes something, I absolutely know I'll think it stinks. So, yeah, sometimes I guess they can serve a useful purpose!

So, yeah, I'm riled because some moron representing Publisher's Weekly chose to single out a few stories in CONFESSIONS: ADMISSIONS OF SEXUAL GUILT that he or she didn't care for and then proceeded to characterize the whole book based on those few stories. (And what recourse do I, M. Christian, or any of the mute writers in that anthology have against this twit? Why, none at all.) The nature of anthologies is that they have a little something for everybody. Some folks call that "uneven" and I suppose I can accept that, but the bottom line is that a reviewer like that is not only content to affect the sales of a book but also to remain ignorant about how the anthology process works.

Unless an editor has an incredible ego and only chooses stories that turn him or her on, selecting stories is a challenging undertaking because you *want* a variety of voices, themes, perspectives, tones, etc. That's why one person can read an anthology and say they only liked some stories and another person can say the same thing -- but they didn't like the *same* stories!

Just because the Publisher's Weekly reviewer person didn't like the handful of stories he or she took the time to read, the whole book gets condemned. It's a pretty rare event when somebody will enjoy *every* story in an anthology, and maybe that's a curse of anthologies but I think it's also their strength. Something for everybody. Usually. Except if you work for Publisher's Weekly, apparently.

Have you ever noticed that no kids tell their parents "I wanna be a book reviewer/movie critic/music reviewer when I grow up"? Think about it. :)

M.J. Rose ROCKS!

You know, sometimes you get to know somebody in this nutty business who just exemplifies everything you admire. M.J. Rose is one of those people for me. We "met" back in 1998 when she trying to market her first novel, LIP SERVICE, on on the Internet after a publishing deal fell through. Custom Erotica Source was one of the many sites she contacted -- I was happy to feature her book because even then, I loved how ballsy she was about getting the word out. She was even a Celebrity Writer for CES for a while! Her tenacity and creativity paid off -- a few months later, Ballantine Books gave her a book deal and she's been publishing books (now with Mira Books) ever since. She's an incredibly generous person, believes in the power of books, and knows how to build community among writers. Oh, and did I mention she's a terrific writer, as well?

M. Christian and I asked her to write the foreword to our latest anthology, CONFESSIONS: ADMISSIONS OF SEXUAL GUILT because her latest novel, THE HALO EFFECT, seemed like a great tie-in to the theme of our book. She was very gracious about it and wrote us a great piece -- and even gave us an excerpt from her book to use in ours.

Today, she invited me and M. Christian to talk about the challenges of marketing erotic fiction. How cool is that? Her blog is widely read by readers and writers alike and reflects her own eclectic, curious mind. Whatever she learns, she passes along to others who could benefit from the information. I think that's just smashing and appreciate the heck out of her for doing it.

She's also asked me to write about what inspired CONFESSIONS. You'll find that at her site called "Backstory" starting tomorrow.

Thank you, M.J., for your great writing and your generous nature. You are a role model for the rest of us.

My Gripe with iTunes is Now PUBLIC!

Imagine my delight when I read InfoWorld's "Notes from the Field" column by Robert X. Cringely! As some of you may know, I've been having a hell of a time getting iTunes to publish my podcast (even though everybody else on the planet seems to have no problem at all getting listed, and often with far raunchier content than mine), so I wrote to InfoWorld's columnist, hoping he might see how ridiculous this thing with iTunes has become for me and want to share the story with readers. And he did! I'm delighted. iTUNES -- I HOPE YOU READ IT!!!!!

Have you seen the CES Pinup Calendar?

Available NOW! This calendar is so cool, I can barely stand it. Four illustrators from Custom Erotica Source -- Craig Morey, Paul John Ballard, Jae Clevella, and Mia Jennings -- have contributed their gorgeous work to this calendar and the results are so awesome, you should buy it even if you don't keep track of dates.

Follow this link to buy it and see every single page of it. See if you don't agree that it's simply stunning!

CONFESSIONS is now out!

Yay! CONFESSIONS: ADMISSIONS OF SEXUAL GUILT is now available. You can order it online or get it in your favorite bookstore. It's got a fabulous introduction from author M.J. Rose, who also provided us with an excerpt from her novel, THE HALO EFFECT. M. Christian and I hope you enjoy reading this book as much as we enjoyed putting it together.

Daring to be Fabulous

I'm a pretty private person, so most interviewers or fans don't get the opportunity to learn much about me. But I recently wrote something for editors Johanna McCloy and Patricia Howard, who are collecting stories for an upcoming colection called DARE TO BE FABULOUS., and it probably reveals more about who I am and why I do what I do than anything else I've ever published. They're looking for stories from women that recount positive, life-changing experiences that can inspire other women to make changes, too. They published my tale about my decision to open Custom Erotica Source and are featuring me as their guest columnist this month, which is quite an honor!

Check out their site to learn more about their wonderful project, then read my column to learn more about me!

New Book Out!

So, have you bought The Best of Both Worlds: Bisexual Erotica yet? Really, you should. And I'm not just saying that because I'm the co-editor.

M. Christian and I are really proud of this book. Each story presents a different perspective on bisexuality (and I don't mean "for" or "against") and the writing is nothing less than top-notch. Take a look at the table of contents and judge for yourself:

Contents:
Preface
Framing Desire (Stacy Reed)
My Attempts at Polyamory (Clint Catalyst)
MMF (Kit)
Dancing with Rebecca (Brian Frank)
What If? (Rachel Kramer Bussel)
Three Balls (Callum James)
Sex with His Ex (Jennifer Whitlock)
Lost in the Translation (Heather Lee Alexander)
Boy in the Middle (Patrick Califia)
Breaking Point (Bryn Colvin)
Strategy (Sage Vivant)
On the Care and Feeding of White Boys (R. Gay)
A Garden Called You (Jamie Joy Gatto)
Losers (Mark Wildyr)
I Kiss’d Thee Ere I Kill’d Kiss’d Thee (Caralee Levy)
In the Dark, All Cats Are Grey (Jason Rubis)
Married, but Not Dead (Colt Spencer)
Joy: Portrait of a Bisexual Sex Writer (Joy VanNuys)
Afterlife (Susan St. Aubin)
Queer I and the Straight Guy (Bree Coven)
Bare Arms Waving (Tara Alton)
The Stranger (Thomas S. Roche)
Standing, Bare (Sharon Wachsler)
Love (M. Christian)

We think you'll love it.

In fact, as a result of this book, yours truly was quoted in a recent MSN article about bisexuality. (Thanks, Bree!)

Sage, the Podcaster

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Welcome!

Hi, and thanks for visiting. I'll be posting here whenever I have any news I think you'll care about. For now, the big news is that my upcoming anthology that I edited with M. Christian -- Confessions: Admissions of Sexual Guilt -- is available for pre-orders! Yay! Not only is it a great book but Thunder's Mouth Press gave it a fabulous cover as well.

That's all for now. Got news you want me to post or topics you want me to blab about? Write me at sagevivant@yahoo.com.