A Spanking Good Time on Sunday

I had a great weekend starting with three stunning soccer victories by the teams of my two athletic sons (how did that happen from a gym-loathing mom?) and ending with a highly pleasurable reading at Good Vibrations in Berkeley on Sunday evening in honor of the publication of Bottoms Up: Spanking Good Stories.

This is the first time I "officially" read at my local feminist adult-toy-and-bookstore, so it was a sort of a benchmark in my erotica writing life. I did participate in an open-mike sharing circle when I first started writing erotica maybe eleven years ago during which I read from my first erotic story, "The Blindfold," but it was cool to think about how far I'd come since. Good Vibrations is such a cheerfully buzzing place, and the hospitality was first-rate, including complimentary red wine and dark chocolate truffles, both very good for the circulation and bringing a blush to the cheeks. There was a decent crowd of listeners as well, and they even had to bring out more chairs!


The anthology's editor, spanking maven Rachel Kramer Bussel, opened the event with an introduction to the book and the spanking genre, while seated on an ottoman that would have been the perfect furniture for bending over and baring the buttocks. But the evening was about the power of words not paddles, of course.


I took the podium next with an excerpt from my story "A Thousand Words." You can get a sampling of the story here and a Youtube video will be available soon! I really enjoyed bringing my story to life. There was a lot of dialogue, so my high school reader's theater training came in handy. When the guy in the story talks look left. When the woman talks, look right. Straight ahead for the narrator and deliver the punchlines without looking at the text. I was also fresh from my younger son's school storytelling festival where I got to watch professionals perform, so I tried to channel their positive energy as I spoke, even if the content was rather different.


The next reader was the elegant Zille Defeu who did a very entertaining reenactment of her story called..."Reenactment." In another life, I'd devote all my weekends to historical reenactment, and the witty adventures of the fair lady and her "knight" in shining armor piqued my imagination in all sorts of ways.

Rachel concluded the event with a buffet of tidbits from the book including titillating background information on her story "The Spanking Machine" and a peek into the benefits of art gallery opening nights in Jerry Arthur's intellectually (among other things) stimulating "Ass Worship," which could certainly be seen as the theme of the book: Art meets palm meets buttocks.

Afterwards the three authors chatted a bit about the writing life and historical costumes, then Herr Doktor and I browsed the books, toys and videos. I've always loved Good Vibrations' sense of humor. Too bad the sign above can't be posted for some story collections as well, because we'd all benefit from the preview whether we're inclined to more or less of that damned literary content. It gives a new twist to the title of the Nanowrimo founder's book, No Plot, No Problem!

Anyway, it was a great evening, and thanks to all of you who were there in spirit, warming your buns with us....

Getting Spanked at Good Vibrations

Autumn has definitely come to the Bay Area. The gray skies of morning linger on into the afternoon, hinting at much-needed rain. Pumpkins appear on porches, the rich orange hues invoking the plenty of the harvest. The very air seems thicker, as if the year were a soup slowly simmering down to its essence.

Autumn is the time for nostalgia and in fact October brings the one-year anniversary of my New York book tour, the highlight of which was my reading at "In the Flesh" with so many very cool and fun erotica writers (read all about it here). I'll admit I'm relieved I can just take it easy this fall, but I do think back fondly on the experience of standing before a mildly inebriated audience and talking dirty into a microphone surrounded by friends and colleagues. Hey, try it yourself, it's fun!

Fortunately, this coming Sunday, October 18 at 5:30 pm, I'll have a chance for a mini re-creation of "In the Flesh" at a West Coast Rachel Kramer Bussel erotica soiree to celebrate the release of Bottoms Up: Spanking Good Stories (read an excerpt) and Peep Show: Tales of Voyeurs and Exhibitionists at Berkeley's own Good Vibrations.

I'll be reading from my story "A Thousand Words" along with equally scintillating spanking tales by Rachel and Zille Defeu--whose eye-popping website makes me wonder if I should actually wear my naughty schoolgirl costume to fit in? Come on, dare me!

Yeah, I know, most of you can't be there in the flesh, but if you happen to be in Berkeley on Sunday, do stop by. I guarantee it will get your bottom warm and your blood racing.

Spanking for Soccer Moms?

A bit late in posting this, but I wrote a short memoir piece about my spanking experiences that was posted on Rachel Kramer Bussel's blog earlier this week to mark the publication of Bottoms Up: Spanking Good Stories.

I've been on an "honest confessions about me" roll this past week, so it's appropriate I have another chance to reveal all in blogland.

Besides, it gives me another chance to show off my schoolgirl uniform! Bottoms up!

Tiramisu Time!

Today is Bottom’s Up Spike Day, so don’t forget to head over to Amazon to buy your copy! Come on, wouldn’t it feel extra good to start your week by messing with the computer mind of a hegemonic Internet merchant?

But the fun doesn’t stop there. I have another spanking good treat for you, because today is Tiramisu Day here at Sex, Food, and Writing. I just love tiramisu and order it whenever I have the chance in restaurants, but often what appears on the plate before me is, well, predictable. I keep ordering it though, because when it’s good, there’s no dessert more sublime than a thoughtful, complex, rich, creamy tiramisu.

Thoughtful, complex, but with a sexy hit of booze and sensual indulgence. It kind of reminds me of a great sexy short story collection I read a while back called American Cool. That’s why I just had to beg Susan DiPlacido for her recipe for tiramisu. I have to confess I have a number of very sensual fantasies about Susan. One involves dressing up in my cheong sam and lounging languidly at the blackjack table beside her in some grand Vegas hotel. I’ll just be watching, but Susan will be playing, a pomegranate cocktail by her side, and she’ll win big.

Don’t even get me started on my dream of attending one of her Big Night style multi-course Italian feasts for her family that earn her standing ovations from some very discriminating diners. Actually, I have a pretty indulgent food and travel fantasy about things I’d like to do with everyone of my wonderful regular visitors here at my blog, but I probably should keep that between us (although Isabel Kerr has already scooped me on the one I have about her in her "Woman for All Seasons" interlude right here).

Generous as always, Susan kindly agreed to send me her take on tiramisu. It’s the kind of recipe I love now, but would have been terrified to tackle in the past. Until distressingly recently, I used to follow a recipe for everything I made, but in the past few years I’ve gotten much more adventurous and I love my new freedom to experiment and create and trust myself. Susan’s recipe invites you to do just that, although I’m not sure which version to try first. I already have a fresh tin of Hershey’s cocoa to make fudge for my son’s birthday party, so I might just have to go for the chocolate. I’m also thinking about using pannetone at Christmastime. And the photo above is a strawberry version of the classic. Which one appeals to you? Or do you have your own special recipe?

Tiramisu a la DiPlacido

Zabaglione:

4 egg yolks, room temp
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 c Marsala wine (that's the basic, which I rarely use anymore. I often sub/add something citursy instead, most often orange juice/rum for a nice kick if I make it chocolate flavored)

Cook that while whisking over a double boiler until it's big and fluffy.

Whip up pint of heavy cream and then fold that into it.

THEN, here comes a big variation. Sometimes, I make the mascarpone mixture and keep it separate for extra layers, or sometimes I mix it in with the zabaglione part, flavors depending. I like to make a chocolate mascarpone a lot, and keep it separate from the zabag if it's orangey. But if I do a marsala thing, I just make a plain mascarpone mix and put 'em together. I just make the difference this way:

Mascarpone filling:

1 c mascarpone
2 egg yolks
1/4 c sugar
beat it all up.

If I want it chocolate, I melt, I don't know, about a good handful of dark chocolate in just about a half pint of heavy cream, with a dollop of butter and a wee pinch of salt. And then I mix that into the mascarpone. (If I'm doing traditional, with marsala, zabag and espresso soaked stuff, I put a little kahlua flavor in here, too)

Then I use whatever's on hand for the layering. People can stfu about ladyfingers being the only proper thing, cuz they're not. I like to use Chocolate cake. (the BEST chocolate cake recipe is the one on the Hershey Cocoa box. You can jazz it up by using a premium cocoa, but still follow the Hershey recipe, because it's sooo moist and dark chocolate good.) Just cut it in half so the liquid you soak it in soaks in. The "standard" liquid is a cup of espresso, 1/2 c sugar, and 1/4 c dark rum. Again, I screw with this a lot and often change the rum to a different flavor to brighten it up, like Grand Marnier and oj, but that's only if I use chocolate cake instead of lady fingers. That's about it, really.

(I'm off to the store to stock up on supplies! Bueno appetito!)

Bottoms Up is Spanking Good!

I just saw a chart in a foodie magazine showing how July is the high season for almost every stone fruit and berry: peaches, nectarines, apricots, cherries, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, not to mention melons like cantaloupe, orange flesh honeydew, galia, sharlyn.... This time the press is not lying, I'm literally moaning with delight at the bounty of tempting, fragrant fruits on my kitchen counter today (I hate refrigerating fruit if I can help it 'cause it seriously destroys the ripe flavor). I don't think of myself as religious in any way, but I will agree with a man I overheard at the Farmer's Market: "When I bite into an Arctic Jay nectarine, I know there is a God."

What does this have to do with spanking? Well, the latest treat in my ripe, juicy, bursting-sweet literary July just arrived in my mailbox, Bottoms Up: Spanking Good Stories, edited by the empress of the spanking genre, Rachel Kramer Bussel. The anthology is full of delicious stories by Craig Sorensen, Gwen Masters, Stan Kent, Sommer Marsden, and Alison Tyler, and of course, yours truly. In fact, I start off the anthology, I'd guess because my story is about a couple's very first spanking. Although the woman doesn't know it yet. You'll have to read the story to find out what I mean!

I also wanted to announce a very special promotion involving Bottoms Up. If you purchase the book from Amazon this coming Monday, July 27, and send your receipt to Rachel (spankingantho at gmail dot com), you'll be eligible for a chance to win your own paddle (up to a $60 value and you get to choose from what's available on Amazon) and a complete library of Rachel's spanking books. I'm going to be doing my Christmas shopping early, so see you over at Amazon on Monday! Check out the guidelines for Bottoms Up Spike Day right here.

If you're wondering about the visual aid above--although you probably have a reasonable idea of why I might choose it to illustrate a post on spanking--I had my house photographer take this to show the lovely Emerald my school girl outfit. Make that my naughty school girl outfit. Guess the name of my school in the comments below and I'll send you the full text of my story "A Thousand Words" (actually 2600 words, but who's counting?). Actually, I'm not really doing a contest, I'm just curious to see what names you creative people will come up with....

Speaking of which, it's time for an excerpt from the aforementioned story. It's told from the male POV, always a forbidden pleasure and challenge for me. Enjoy!

From "A Thousand Words" by Donna George Storey:

Tamara once told him anger was a message, a sign you should change something in your life. She was always reading those get-in-touch-with-your-inner-self books, but what she said made sense this time. Maybe this week’s separation was a good thing, a chance to breathe. In the last three months they’d gotten so close, they were practically welded together.

His dick seemed to agree, for now it drooped lazily against his groin. With a shrug he got up, undressed, brushed his teeth. He’d make a point of putting Tamara out of his mind for the next few days, get a little space in his life. If she wanted to talk, she could call him.

Braced by his new indifference, he pulled down the covers, got into bed and reached over to switch off the light.

He paused, his hand floating above the nightstand. There it was again—that picture of Tamara’s ass.

And it was one hell of an ass, too.

He picked up the photograph, his eyes fixed on the rich curves of her hips. The silky fabric of the panties shimmered, the paper itself seemed to soften in his hands. The real Tamara might be off at a club, flirting with some guy named Ryan, but he had her best asset right here in bed with him.

What the fuck, jerking off always made him sleep better anyway.

Still staring at the picture, he slipped imaginary fingers under the elastic and slowly peeled the panties down, inch by inch. The black silk receded to reveal Tamara’s creamy flesh, the shadow of another female furrow. He’d licked her there, for the first time, last night. His tongue prickled with the memory of the flavor, spicy, exotic, forbidden.

He closed his fist around his cock and began to tug.

Meanwhile his other set of hands pulled the panties all the way down to her knees and over her ankles off the edge of the picture, where they fell in a heap on the floor. He squinted at the picture. Tamara was completely naked now, just the way he liked her. Then, to his surprise, her hips began to undulate, beckoning. He could even smell her fragrance, yeast and warmth, like walking past a bakery in the morning.

He was good at this.

A picture might be worth a thousand words, but what about a movie? It was time for action. In another blink, he grabbed Tamara’s hips and coaxed her up on her knees. He had to pause for a moment to admire that view: her magnificent posterior tapering into a slim waist, curving out again to her smooth shoulders. Her back was flushed now. She panted softly. And although she said not a word, he could hear the question swirling in her head.

What are you going to do to me now?

What indeed?....

So, that's your excerpt, and I stop just at the place where it starts getting harder and hotter! Now reading through this bit again, I was reminded that back in my days of wasting time at the Zoetrope writer's workshop rather than here in Blogland, a very confident gentleman critic told me, among other things meant to correct my numerous literary flaws, that the expression "rich curves" (which I used in "Blinded") was really stupid. Because how could "curves" be "rich"? I guess we could ask models and porn stars and race car drivers, but strictly speaking he is right that the particular adjective is not commonly used with that noun. But clearly I did not internalize his advice, even all these years later. I'm glad.

Still, I'd say Bottoms Up is a very rich anthology. If you're into "rough caresses" or just curious, I recommend you give it a read, preferably bent over your bed in a school girl's skirt, ass high in the air!