All About Pleasure: Beyond the “Wet Test”

We read erotica to get off, right?  That's why people always preface comments about my writing with, "I don't usually read this kind of stuff, but...."  Admitting you do read a lot of erotica is tantamount to a public proclamation you indulge in--gasp--self-pleasuring activities.  And I don't mean eating fine chocolate.

This month at the ERWA blog in "Beyond the 'Wet Test,'" I talk about the ways that assumption is often reflected in casual reviews of erotica anthologies.  And it's not that there's anything wrong with listing the stories you "like" best in an anthology.  It's just that sometimes it seems that's the chief means by which erotica is judged, so that it serves as a kind of code for what personally turns someone on.

You may disagree.  Read the post and let me know!

Write Like a Rock Star!

April is here, and with it arrives the second installment of my column at the Erotica Readers and Writers Association, "Cooking Up a Storey." This month, in "Write Like a Rock Star: Making Magic on Stage, on the Page, and in the Kitchen," I share one of my most popular cookie recipes and the insights I've gained about how to reach an audience with your writing from watching kids perform on stage.  If you Google the term "rock star," you'll see that it's currently used for a wide variety of things not necessarily related to music: not only energy drinks, clothing, and other consumer goods, but also generally performing an activity in such a way that you rise above the ordinary with your energy and charisma.  I'd dismiss it as another symptom of our society's celebrity worship, except that my son plays in a rock-and-roll band, and I've come to appreciate all the hard work and skill that is involved in performing on stage.  But there's another--almost magical--ingredient that can be used by artists of every kind.  Check out my column, and see if you agree!