Self-Abuse is Good for You!

I was reading a new book promotion book--my next column of Shameless Self-Promotion is due soon and I'm getting back in the mood--and they suggested Googling yourself now and then. As if I need prompting to do that, but it had been a while, and my fingers were tingly so I went ahead and "did it."

It's a nasty little habit, but the trouble is, I feel like a lab rat who gets her reward now and then, often enough to keep at it even when the lever yields nothing. Fortunately, today I got another goodie, an unsolicited (and nice) review of Amorous Woman on Black Heart Magazine. Love that viral marketing! And love it when a reader who comes at me with a jaundiced eye gets won over by my stor(ey).

Recently I also got a nice note from a guy stationed in Iraq who enjoyed my novel. That got me thinking I'd like to do my part for our service people, especially those interested in things Japanese, by giving away a few copies of Amorous Woman. If anyone has any ideas on how to get in touch with interested parties in uniform, do let me know. I'm researching options now.

Contemporary Self-Abuse Can Be Fun

I was bored and I googled myself (a contemporary form of self-abuse in more ways than one), but this time I found something I'd never seen before, even though it dates from October 2008. It's a review of Amorous Woman by Gwen at Pop Shot, a sexy blog with lots of great links. Gwen lived in Japan, so she brings the gaijin insider's perspective to my story--always particularly scary readers for me, cause they can tell if I got it right.

I'll tell you, this review put me over the top! Reading Gwen's responses to my book was a reminder that my writing does sometimes reach and touch people who just get it. We're connected in this intimate way without knowing each other at all. It's a pretty friggin' powerful idea. And it kind of helps with my fears about starting a new novel (more on that later).

So keep writing everyone--you never know what will flower from those seeds you sow!

Amorous Woman Continues to Charm!

Karl Wolff, a book reviewer at Blogcritics and at his own blog, and self-confessed atheist and bleeding heart liberal (and he doesn’t even live in Berkeley!) has just posted a lovely review of my novel, Amorous Woman. Nothing makes a writer happier than a reviewer who “gets” her work and enjoys it. Join me in a glass of champagne to celebrate?

I also got my royalty statement from Orion today and the news is pretty darn good considering I basically sold every single copy on that sheet with my own blood, sweat and tears. I still have several hundred copies to get into the hands of readers before the print run of 2000 is sold out, but I’m closer than I ever dreamed I would be. I did a little internet surfing and found data that seems to suggest the average published book sells 500 copies (from a Publisher’s Weekly article). “Successful” fiction from a big house sells at least 5000 copies. Successful nonfiction must sell at least 7500. Just FYI, for print on demand, a bestseller is 500 copies. The average POD is less than 200. The number of copies of Amorous Woman that got into readers' hands (and I’m not totally sure how reliable these numbers are given comp copies, potential returns, my author copies, etc.) seems to be roughly three times the average. Again, way better than I ever thought given the circumstances. I think this definitely calls for more champagne. A modest champagne, but that can be pretty tasty, too.

A special thank you to all my friends here for saying nice things about my book, writing reviews and being so supportive!

Madame Butterfly Praises Amorous Woman!

Let me start by saying one of the very best parts of writing Amorous Woman has been the amazing people I’ve met who’ve honored me with their time in reading my naughty tale and then have gone on to write wonderful, articulate reviews. I appreciate how much that takes out of a busy day because even a short review can take a while to craft to satisfaction, not to mention some absolutely stunning analyses of the novel that have even enlightened me as to what I offer!

I'll confess there is one set of readers who make me a little bit nervous—people who’ve actually lived in Japan. One of my goals in writing my novel was to present the “truth” of my experience, ironic given the focus on lies and illusion, but it has been a number of years since I was immersed in the culture and I wasn’t sure I’d get it right. Imagine my delight when I saw the lovely and generous review by Madame Butterfly, a woman who knows and loves Japan in a way that feels very familiar indeed. I first met MB over at Lust Bites, the beginning of many good things, and discovered we had a lot in common. I always stop by her blog when I’m cyber-surfing for her laugh-out-loud humor and evocative reviews of erotica—so imagine my surprise and delight when I clicked on over and saw her, that half-naked woman who is so ubiquitous around my house as seen in the box of bookmarks, the multiple refrigerator magnets, and the shipping-torn copy I use to read from at events which is always lying around somewhere. MB had reviewed Amorous Woman!

Before the little knot of nervousness in my stomach could balloon too large, I dove in and read. Lo and behold, Madame Butterfly had brought a smile to my face again. To check out her review, head on over to her very fun blog here. If she won’t convince you I’m telling the truth about Japan with her seductive words, you are one tough customer to please!

Two Sparkling Reviews of Amorous Woman

I wanted to announce—with a big huge happy smile--two new reviews of Amorous Woman. The first appeared on Cocktail Reviews, a long and luscious (and perceptive) reading by Singapore Sling who awarded me a whole bottle of Moet et Chandon. Which I promptly drank right up! Singapore Slings are actually my favorite mixed drink, probably because I remember my older sister talking about drinking a few at El Tio Pepe in Washington D.C. her freshman year of college. When the waiter realized she was underage, he gave her free coffee. I like to pretend I’m at the Raffles Hotel, where the potion was invented, when I drink my lovely pink drink. Now I’ll always think of this wonderful review!

The other review, brief but eloquent, is a total thrill for me. Erotica Revealed reviewer Kathleen Bradean mentioned my book on her blog yesterday.

All I can say is--Wow.

Lydia is still on the loose, and given her loose behavior, I’m afraid she’s going to throw herself at some married man. But fortunately, two very insightful reviewers were able to read her story before she escaped--so I'll console myself with some more champagne. Your loss, Lydia, I would have shared!

Special "Amorous" Issue of Clean Sheets!

The next stop on my shinkansen express blog tour for Amorous Woman is the big, beautiful erotica mecca Clean Sheets! I'm a huge fan of this magazine, known since its founding for first-rate erotic literature. They were also the first erotica venue to publish me back in 2003. The story I wrote for their first contest "The New Libertine" took first prize and went on to make Best American Erotica 2006 in a longer form under the title "Ukiyo." As you see, Clean Sheets represents a lot of "first's" for me!

But enough about the past. This week Clean Sheets is running three features about Amorous Woman. Leading the way, a review by Gwen Masters, one of my very favorite erotica writers. Praise from Gwen is high praise indeed! There's also an illustrated travelogue of photos of settings from Amorous Woman that I took during my trip to Japan in April. Wanna see where Lydia fell in love with the elegant dentist? The hot spring bath where she got into mischief? The streets of Gion where she escaped to indulge in seedier adventures? Or perhaps you'd like to climb the red stairway to the "Banana Room" and see what mysteries lie within to tickle your banana?

Finally, the Pillow Fiction section has my brand-new, never-before-seen story "The Day the Sun Goddess Got Laid" which is a riff on an ancient Japanese myth, with a decidedly erotic twist. Come frolic with the Japanese gods on the High Plain of Heaven. Things get pretty wild up there....

So stop by Clean Sheets and do leave a comment saying how wonderful and talented you think I am (but only if you mean it, of course!)

UK Forum Gives Kudos to Amorous Woman!

Book promoting is a seriously hard work, but sometimes you get a sweet reward for all of that running around mailing out review copies. I just learned that Amorous Woman got a very positive review in UK Forum, by the editor Elizabeth Coldwell herself. This is especially thrilling because Ms. Coldwell's opinion is very well-respected and she's read lots and lots of erotic fiction, so she knows provocative fiction like no one else. I broke open a bottle of bubbly for this one, let me tell you. Here's the review:

"Having been turned on to the pleasures of sex by her female cousin, Lydia takes a job in Japan and falls in love with the country as well as the men who live there. However, her marriage to salaryman Yuji quickly begins to lose its luster when she discovers they can’t have children, and eventually she finds herself embarking on a string of affairs before taking a job in a hostess bar. And all the time, she is haunted by the erotic spectre of the fantasy man she created in her mind as a teenager to guide her sensual pleasure, and whose flesh-and-blood form she seems to be seeking among the older men to whom she is inevitably attracted…

Like her heroine, Donna George Storey has lived and worked in Japan and this, her first novel, is a perfect example of writing about what you know. Not only are Lydia’s adventures lusciously and erotically described, so is the Land of the Rising Sun itself. As for Lydia, she follows the well-trodden path of expanding her sexual experience via same-sex trysts, threesomes and bondage, but there’s a freshness to the descriptions and a coming to terms with her needs and desires which lifts her beyond the two-dimensional. A highly enjoyable read. E.C."

Here, I'll get a glass for you and we can all toast UK Forum and amorous women and highly enjoyable reads! Kampai!

A "Bless"-ed Review of Amorous Woman

Just when all the work of book promotion was getting me down, I had a wonderful surprise in the form of a new and wonderfully intelligent review of Amorous Woman by Janine Ashbless, whom I first met over at Lust Bites. We also rubbed shoulders in Alison Tyler's I is for Indecent, and I must admit, indecent as it is, that her flagship story "Wet" really lingered with me. Whew, yes, some of the details of the story are just so vivid....excuse me a moment.

Okay, I'm not in the stairwell of a car park anymore, skirt raised, my taupe silk and lace panties abandoned, I'm back at my desk being very serious and focused ;-). So, anyway, because I admire Janine's work so much, it's especially cool that she liked--and "got"--my novel. I know that some erotica writers can get pretty jaded as readers, too, so I don't take this for granted. In fact, I know my colleagues are a tougher audience. So when words like this come my way, I'm a happy little smut writer indeed. Here's a teaser, click on over to Janine's blog for the whole tamale!

"My tolerance for contemporary erotic memoirs is normally pretty low but this author managed to keep my interest to the end, with her skilful interweaving of modern Japan, with all its contradictions, with the personal journey of a restless soul. A really fascinating read."

Thanks, Janine, I'm glad I could return the favor!

Do YOU Like Sexually Insatiable Sluts?

My latest review of Amorous Woman is out in the January issue of Romantic Times Book Review Magazine (which unfortunately only lists availability through Amazon US and not my Web site where you can actually buy it now). I’m generally happy with this review—four stars out of five, which means they liked it—plus I think the reviewer “gets” a lot of what the book is about. Here's the review text:

“Storey chronicles 30 years in a woman's life, from the hopes of matrimony to the shame of prostitution, from America to Japan and back again. The scope of this story is tremendous, and the settings are palpable in their completeness. It's clear the author has a strong understanding of Japanese culture. Vivid sexual scenes abound, encompassing a vast range of pleasures. But some readers may not like the lead character, who is ruled so completely by her lust that she's a bad friend and an unfaithful lover. Even so, this book is hard to put down.”

So, yes, I can’t complain at all about such observations as “the scope of the story is tremendous,” “the settings are palpable in their completeness,” vivid sex scenes, authorial expertise in Japanese culture. And of course, the reaction I love best: “this book is hard to put down.”

Maybe it’s a romance genre thing, but a few readers—just two, actually—have told me Lydia’s high-wattage sexual desire was a turn-off. Of course, the Japanese model for her, the original Amorous Woman, was a real slut, so maybe by comparison Lydia seems thoughtful and reserved to me! Fortunately, the majority of people say they do like her, especially her humor, her self-insight and her honesty about sex. Not to mention, she does learn a few things in the end and makes an admirable sacrifice as a friend and a lover.

I’m wondering, though, if I should have my next heroine save a child from a burning building and help lost animals find good homes? Nah, I think I like naughty girls a little too much to go there….

Amorous Woman is Erotically Revealed!

Well, I have to say 2008 has started off exceptionally well for my novel, Amorous Woman with a fabulous review posted by Ashley Lister at Erotica Revealed in the January issue.

I’ve been in many Cleis anthologies with Ashley (who often writes under a pseudonym although his best-selling expose on Swingers was published under his own name) and have followed his columns on ERWA for years. I don’t think I’ve ever read any of his prose, fiction or non, without laughing out loud at his cleverness and wit, not to mention that I always know immediately I am in the hands of a master of the craft. He KNOWS his stuff.

So, it is especially thrilling that Ashley liked my novel. It’s hard to stop smiling about this, which is not a bad way to start the new year. And it’s hard to pick my favorite excerpts, although I’ll have to settle on something for my promo materials, but I can think of worse problems. In keeping with the more “intellectual” quality of Erotica Revealed (which you could argue is The New Yorker of erotica reviews), Ashley highlights the literary precedents of my novel—my direct model, Ihara Saikaku’s The Life of an Amorous Woman as well as the more amorphous inspirations of Japanese literary style.


“The first thing that struck me about this book is the fact that the author is maddeningly clever. The eloquence of Donna’s writing matches the elegant style of Japanese culture (as it is probably perceived by those who aren’t boorish bukake/karaoke/Godzilla louts). As I mentioned before, I’ve previously encountered Donna’s work in her wonderful short stories. Amorous Woman is similarly presented in a series of short and manageable chapters which, despite their brevity, are each exciting, arousing and carry the narrative along with startling swiftness.”

Clever, elegant, page-turner—this is good, right? Or perhaps it’s best to go with haiku-like brevity as in the following?

“…it’s a bloody good read.”

The review is a good read, too, so head on over to Erotica Revealed and help me toast the new year!