Names and Nudity

Hey, it's Sunday, my first back at home in a while, and what should greet me upon my return but a witty new post at F-Stop by Lucy Felthouse on the exposure erotica writers face when they use their own names, along with musings on the questions we're all asked about the work we do.

The most popular--"Do you write from experience?" Lucy has her illuminating answer, and I know it's different for each writer, but it being Sunday and all, I thought I'd share mine over coffee and my neighbor's delicious homemade banana bread. (Here, have another slice, it's good isn't it?)

And my answer is... yes, yes, YES!

I'm not ashamed to admit it.

Now I haven't done absolutely everything I've written about in terms of the actual partners, settings, and details, but I guarantee you the spirit and sensibility of my stories all come from something very real that I've experienced, felt, fantasized, lived and above all care about. I believe I owe that to my readers. Perhaps it does limit me to write about things that did happen and that could happen to an ordinary jill or joe, especially in a genre that is very much about breaking boundaries, but "realistic sex" is, perhaps not surprisingly, a fairly unpopulated corner of the erotica genre. But I've always preferred open spaces to crowds....

That said, I also agree with Lucy that our imaginations are the key to writing a good story, whether it's transforming material from real life into a narrative or shaping fantasy into a compelling realistic scene. What is sex without imagination after all?

Thanks to Lucy for another thought-provoking F-Stop post (and be sure to check out the link to her full list of annoying questions!)

Summer Fireworks at F-Stop

F-Stop is back with one of the most provocative pieces yet, by that timelessly prolific author with thousands of titles to his name, Anonymous. I found this essay especially touching because it deals with the intimate relationship between a writer and his/her material with great honesty. "Erotica is not just about sex, it's about feelings," Anon writes, "Wonderful feelings, terrible feelings, important feelings." How often have I been asked to describe the difference between erotica and porn and wished I had such a succinct reply. Because the feelings surrounding the physical act are what make sex worth writing about. The courage to take on the terrible as well as the wonderful makes erotica worth reading. And most of all, these feelings are profoundly important, although society seems determined to undermine the power of human sexuality by demeaning it in every way it can. Today's essay is sure to elicit complex feelings. The attendant photographs are guaranteed to do the same.

Be there or be square, baby.

18 and Naked

Today at F-Stop, Kirsty Logan takes on the writer's--no, really our human--urge for attention, the desire to be seen and appreciated. At 18, Kirsty posed nude for a series of amateur photographers. At 26, she looks back on those days, her motivations and her decision to reveal the fact that because of these images floating around in the ether, an educated, articulate writer is literally "naked on the Internet." It's thought-provoking, poignantly familiar, and ultimately inspiring--the perfect read for a Sunday morning. I highly recommend her very moving essay at The Rumpus as well, the perfect companion piece (and a big splash of cold water if you've ever romanticized the job of artist's model). Oh, and great tattoos--wings to fly!

The Chemistry of Collaboration

Bare naked fiction and nonfiction writing, editing a hot anthology, making a sexy book trailer, posing for a luscious boudoir session--today at F-stop we'll get a peek at the secrets of all of these creative endeavors as noted writer, editor and blogger Rachel Kramer Bussel stops by for a revealing interview. I know I keep saying this, but those gorgeous boudoir photos make me want to hop the next Jet Blue flight to New York for a session with Laura Boyd. Or maybe I just need a new black satin corset for my collection? Too bad my birthday is six months away.... But don't take my word for it, head on over to F-Stop on this soft summer Sunday and give your eyes a treat!

Are Dentists Erotic?

After you read Marcy Sheiner's essay at F-Stop today, I guarantee that your answer to that question is going to change forever! Provocative, sexy, funny, yet very serious indeed, Marcy's essay is the perfect mind-awakening complement to your morning coffee. Cosmic visions and sexual response await, so even if you've just had your teeth cleaned, the dentist is waiting! It's a special honor to host Marcy today because she's inspired my writing since the beginning when I devoured her anthologies for examples of smart, sexy stories that showed me what erotica could be.

Btw, this "Van Gogh" is a favorite image from Marcy's blog, taken by photographer extraordinaire Phyllis Christopher, so I used this announcement as an excuse to post it here for your viewing pleasure!

Emerald Exposes the Omniscent Eye

This gorgeous photograph has a title. "Pause." And if you have a moment to pause and reflect, I highly recommend you head over to F-Stop to read Emerald's moving and thought-provoking essay, "Choice and Tyranny." Be prepared for a shocker. Emerald not only exposes herself, she sheds light on the ways the omniscient Eye of religion and other authorities hijacks our choices and in fact deprives us of a chance to make our own moral decisions in the name of pre-packaged Morality. I continue to be amazed at the courage and eloquence of F-Stop's contributors. Each week opens my eyes to something new!

BAK and Gina: Erotica's John and Yoko

I've been away from blogland for various top-secret reasons (don't ask, 'cause I'll never tell) but now I'm back, and I've got some catching up to do with F-Stop's latest literary gems. Over the past two weeks, we've had some awesome posts from erotica's most inspiring and free-spirited couple: Brad Garber and Gina Marie. I first met Gina over a year ago at her luscious blog, Aphrodite's Table. I knew I'd found a kindred soul, someone who got as much sensual pleasure from creating in the kitchen as in the bedroom and on the page--just like me! F-Stop continues to be an amazing project and you'll never look at erotica writers--or your own sexuality--in the same way again.

D.L. King Unveiled

A beautiful May Sunday--what better time to take a tour of the world of one of the wittiest and most skillfully willful erotica writers today, D.L. King? You know just where to find her, "Naked on the Page" over at F-Stop. If the sly mention of a certain Brooklyn salon piques your interest, you can read a detailed report right here. A truly unforgettable education for this innocent and indeed a source of inspiration for a forthcoming story (stay tuned for details....)

Erotic Doppelgangers

To think I used to go to church on Sundays way back when, but now I head on over to F-Stop for my spiritual fix. This week M. Christian discusses the intriguing split between our erotica-writing persona and our "true" self. I'm not going to post the actual image from the essay here though, and if you want to see why, well, you'll have check out "He and I." And maybe you'll be inspired to think back on a picture from your own past...?

Talking Back to Shame

Our bodies are wondrous. Why should we be ashamed? Because just about everything we’ve ever heard our entire lives has told us that we should be. Afraid. Ashamed. Of who we are, what we are.

So says poet and erotica writer Erobintica in this week's brave and gorgeous essay at F-Stop. I found so much to relate to in her discussion of the fear and shame we all feel and the liberating power of saying f&*k it, I'm going to tell the world the truth about myself, my desires, and what it means to be a woman. Read it (and all the other essays in the F-Stop archive) and be inspired to your own act of courage.

The Tangible Mirage

Today's offering at F-Stop is a beautifully-written and thought-provoking exploration of erotica writer Thom Gautier's relationship with Penthouse over the years. It's sure to bring back memories of your own erotic education, so lock that bedroom door (we don't want any parents barging in unannounced) and head on over to spy on a very special couple's pictorial: the fascinating interplay between sex and "the tangible mirage."

Creativity and Darkness

Janine Ashbless takes the spotlight at F-Stop this Easter Sunday with an extraordinarily moving and courageous essay on depression and its role in her life as a writer. I find myself at a loss for words to describe its power--best perhaps for you to experience her journey through the darkness and return to the light for yourself. Thank you, Janine, for taking F-Stop to a new level of honesty and eloquence.

A Swinging Good Time at F-Stop

Has another week flown by so fast? Yes, it's time for a new author to take the stage at F-Stop. This week is an especially entertaining post by the prolific and always witty Ashley Lister, who shares with us some poetry, some literary analysis, and a lot of laughs.

As always, revelations abound, so head off to the swinger's party with "Betty & I." See you there!

Jeremy Edwards Naked in Reykjavik

This Sunday at F-Stop we have a new and fascinating take on self-exposure by master wordsmith, Jeremy Edwards. If you're curious about what it's like to lead two lives, why showing your face is braver than taking your clothes off, and what the hell Reykjavik has to do with this, then grab your coffee and scone and head on over to the F-Stop studio where a courageous and eloquent erotica writer is always taking it all off for your viewing pleasure!

An Inspiring Threesome

It's Sunday again and time for another fascinating confession over at F-Stop: Expose the Naked I. This week co-hostess Neve Black reveals a complicated love life involving a broadminded spouse and an irresistible lover. It's a threesome that rang true to me, and might even change your way of looking at your writing, too.

So head on over to F-Stop--it's worth it just for the picture of Neve in her fishnet stockings alone!

Naked Men at Naked I

It's time for a new F-Stop post and this week we have a meditation on the pleasures of the male body by one of my favorite erotica writers, Susan DiPlacido. Susan provides our first sampling of original art, the eye of the artist. I'm so thrilled with the amazing variety and depth each writer is bringing to the topic of self-exposure. So head on over to F-Stop and start thinking of your own way to expose yourself for us! (Thanks, Susan, for a great post!)

Craig Sorensen Shines This Sunday

Today at F-Stop we have our first male artist revealing himself and his art in a rich and moving essay "Warm Comforts on Naked Flesh." This photograph of the author in his writer's "zone" was taken by Craig's talented wife, DeDe Sorensen--I just love that spiritual glow. When you read Craig's essay, I'm sure you'll be inspired to expose yourself at F-Stop, too, so hop on over for a true Sunday treat and then put on your thinking cap. We want you naked!

Beauty in the Eye

Well, this week it's my turn over at F-Stop to reveal my "naked I," or at least a few choice body parts. I'd say my first entry falls on the shy, virginal end of the spectrum, but then again I am describing my first experience in public erotic self-expression. We're open to all forms of self-exposure at F-Stop.

Let me know what you think, and get working on your own post for us--pretty please!

F-Stop Debuts with a Very Naked Truth

It's Valentine's Day, the we celebrate erotic love and chocolate, and what better occasion to kick off our new blog F-Stop: Expose the Naked I? Today Shanna Germain pulls down the sheets to reveal herself in a way that--to take my turn at revelation--grabbed my insides, shook me up and really turned me on. Click on over and see what you think. There will be a new erotic artist revealing her/himself every Sunday, so if you'd like to take it all off with us, drop me an email and start unbuttoning!

A Call to Expose Yourself

I'm very excited to announce a new blog project that Shanna Germain, Neve Black and I are starting up called “F-Stop: Expose the Naked I." Our goal is to create a space for erotic artists working in a variety of media to reveal themselves and promote their work in a sensually and intellectually stimulating way. And we started with our awesomely lush and sexy banner designed by Cyn Sorensen (website TBA).

It is the nature of erotic art to expose hidden truths about sexuality through photographs, paint, or words, but in the process we are also exposing ourselves. At F-Stop we’d like to explore the ways we reveal ourselves both literally “in the flesh” and through our art. Beyond that, we have no restrictions; each guest blogger can explore this as creatively, playfully or seriously as s/he chooses.

Because F-Stop was originally inspired by our own author photographs, we’re planning to inaugurate the blog with a “naked I” series which focuses on the concept of nudity and revelation. We want you to be part of it! Here are a few possibilities for your post: you may feature a photograph with a short blurb describing/explaining/questioning something about the image and/or a piece of your writing that goes along with the image in some way; you can just send an excerpt from your written work with or without an author photograph that is especially revealing; or send artwork or something else that pushes the boundaries of our imaginations. We’ll also include a short bio with links to your website and blog, so this will be a good way to get your name (and other parts of you) out there to new eyeballs.

Btw, a “naked” image doesn’t necessarily mean a full-body boudoir portrait if you’re not comfortable with that--an eye, a hand, lips, a glimpse of shoulder all qualify!

If you’re interested in participating, contact me we’ll put you on the schedule and let you know when your post will go live. We'll be starting the fun on Valentine's Day, of course!

We hope you’ll consider exposing your “Naked I”!