Jean Roberta Loves Skin Effect!

(from M.Christian's Technorotica)

I'm so very touched: just check out this amazing review the fab Jean Roberta gave my science fiction erotica collection, Skin Effect:

A World in Each Character

By Jean Roberta

M. Christian’s latest collection of nine erotic sci-fi stories is a worthy sequel to his earlier book, The Bachelor Machine. While both collections show how technology can enhance sexual experience, Skin Effect actually seems more focused on the fluid nature of identity than on sex as a physical experience. This is not to say that the sex has shrunk in importance in the imaginary future; if anything, sex is shown to be the one thing that breaks down human isolation and self-delusion.

In the playful “Pret-a-Porter” (French for ready to wear), an introverted young woman buys a substance called “smartfabric” from a persuasive salesman, and no longer needs any other clothes. The substance forms itself into various garments in response to the wearer’s desire – and it knows her better than she consciously knows herself. Her visit to a nightclub named Hell could have led to a gruesome ending, but in this story, her new appearance in a new milieu is liberating.

“The Bell House Invitation” is a dizzying story, originally published in an anthology of gender-bending erotic fantasy.* Several house-mates of all genders and sexual orientations form a “pocket collective” based on a shared consciousness, and they collectively interview Sarah, a woman they hope will enhance their group relationship. This story fleshes out the theory that everyone is at least potentially pansexual, and that if we all had access to each other’s consciousness (as every reader can see the world through the eyes of different characters), we could be intimate on levels that once seemed impossible. It’s a noble premise, but this reviewer found the multiple perspectives distracting in a short story. A novel might have given the collective a more spacious “house.”
“Happy Birthday” shows multiple identities over time rather than coexisting in the present. An individual consciousness has explored different eras and environments, and has acquired enormous knowledge as a result.

Two stories in Skin Effect were reprinted from The Mammoth Book of Erotic Romance and Domination, one of editor Maxim Jakubowski’s “mammoth” erotic anthologies. “[Title Forgotten]” is about the general human desire to erase painful memories, and the parallel desire to recover them in order to understand their influence on the present. The other story, “The Subsequent State,” is the most moving story in the collection (in this reviewer’s opinion), and it brilliantly captures both the visceral effects of growing up in a culture of religious intolerance and the relief of escape into a “green” culture which is not damned but salvational.

The nine stories in this collection are bracketed by an introduction by Ernest Hogan, “Dirty Minds Across Space, Time and Beyond,” and the author’s afterword: “It’s NOT the End of the World as We Know It – And I Feel Fine.” M. Christian’s rejection of dystopian endings explains the upbeat tone of most of these stories as well as his belief that the real world is not necessarily doomed. This afterword serves as a better introduction to the stories than the opening piece by another writer. M. Christian explains his optimism:

“Pretty soon the world is not going to split into have-nots and haves but rather the smart and the dumb. Sure, the superrich will buy their way out like they always have but just look at the world right now: you have folks who are repairing, making do, making things last, buying affordable and durable, and actually having the gall to enjoy their simpler lives.” He goes on to say: “Nuclear war and/or biological attack? Pish . . As I told my hysterical friends on September 11th, the terrorists showed anything but brains in their attacks.”

In these stories, human ingenuity combined with the human desire to connect with other humans is shown to have the power to outlast whatever seems to threaten human survival. It’s an exhilarating message.

*Up for Grabs 2: Exploring More Worlds of Gender, edited by Lauren Burka (Circlet Press, 2011).

New At Future Of Sex: Getting to First Base in Second Life - A Virtually Fun Guide to Virtual Sex

(from M.Christian's Technorotica)

The fun at FutureOfSex keeps coming!  My brand new article on (ahem) scoring in Second Life just went live.

Check out this tease:

Getting to First Base in Second Life: A Virtually Fun Guide to Virtual Sex

Tools, tricks, and techniques to having a sexy time in the virtual world. 

Despite being created back in the sticks and stones era of (gasp) 2003, Second Life has remained a virtual second home to over one million users.

For many of its fans, Second Life’s allure is all about freedom. With pretty tolerant owners, Linden Research, Inc., and a robust and wildly various modding community, Second Life has become anything for anyone.

Especially in regards to sexuality.

While there are other MMO (Massively Multiplayer Online) experiences available that are specifically designed for virtual sex play—such as 3DXChat [NSFW], Red Light Center [NSFW], and Chathouse 3D Roulette [NSFW] (all reviewed here on Future of Sex)—Second Life still remains one of the most preferred domains for digital erotic entertainment.

In addition to the already mentioned, almost unlimited freedom of creation, Second Life’s sex appeal also stems from its affordability—for basic membership, though add-ons and such will cost you—plus having the ability to bounce from adult play to non-adult play with a mouse click.

For first-timers, though, Second Life may appear a bit daunting. It’s vast artificial reality universe is easy to get lost in, and trying to decipher the social mores of avatars, alts, groups, and more can be daunting. So here is a brief intro on a few techniques and digital tools to help the virtually virginal (or at least not that experienced) have a sexy time in Second Life.

Use your imagination

Second Life is all about creativity. It’s a blank slate for anyone to create practically anything. Though blank slate also describes the default Second Life avatar, as when you first arrive you’ll be sans genitalia.

You can always do text or voice sex with someone in Second Life, but as the virtual playground is so wonderfully visual most elect to try to play using their avatars.

Unless you’re seriously into coding, you’ll need to equip yourself with the necessary equipment to have Second Life sex. Xcite! [NSFW] has an entire marketplace for all kinds of erotic Second Life additions, including nose rings for your avatar, bondage gear for your space, and all kinds of toys for virtual sex fun. Oh, and, of course, it offers the much-needed body parts for sex. It’s not the only provider of sexual equipment, though, so if you don’t like what it offers try looking around elsewhere.

Many of its avatar additions are wildly exaggerated—in ways that’ll make your digital head spin. As with life everywhere, a few will be turned off by these crazy genitals and such while others will find you the hottest thing in cyberspace. The good news is that you can change any aspect of your appearance at any time—so have fun experimenting.

Then there’s verification. The great openness of Second Life means that anyone can join, but many will not engage in virtual sex play with someone who may be underage. By verifying your account with a credit card you basically tell Second Life, and all its virtually sex residents, that you are old enough to play.

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More Cool b.senory News: Nice Little Interview With Vocativ!

(from M.Christian's Technorotica)

The fun b.sensory stuff just keeps on coming! A few days ago I did a quick interview with Jennings Brown at Vocativ about this great new technology - combining sex tech and erotica - and the piece just went live!

Here's the link - and I'm pasting in the piece itself below:

The Future Of Erotica: E-readers That Sync Up With Your Vibrator
An erotica author explains how he will write literature made for a sex toy 

A particularly highbrow sex toy is on display this week at CES—and, of course, it’s French. 

French startup E.Sensory won a CES Innovation Award for their vibrator designed for bibliophiles. The device, called the Little Bird, will connect to the company’s reading app B.Sensory (forthcoming on iOS and Android) via Bluetooth. With the app, users can access scores of erotica stories, and each one will interface with the vibrator in exciting ways. Readers can activate vibrations on their own by caressing or breathing hard on the tablet or smartphone, or they can touch highlighted words that are especially arousing and trigger a vibration meant specifically for that part of the story. The app will come preloaded with a variety of erotic stories, and the company is working with several authors to write erotica that is specifically written for use with the “vibrating love egg.” 

“Now we have 25 authors in France and two in the United States,” E.Sensory founder and CEO Chistel Le Coq told Vocativ, “In erotica, they want to give sensation to their reader. So this is a new way to do that and make the experience better.” 

For some of the writers, this new technology is already changing how they plan to write future erotica. “One thing I will probably do is add a little more detail,” M. Christian, an award-winning erotica writer whose work will be available in B.Sensory, told Vocativ. “Instead of writing, ‘He kissed her,’ I would say ‘His lips tingled on her nipple’ or something like that, and that would be a perfect key in to a certain type of vibration.” 

Christian, who writes paranormal and sci-fi erotica, along with many other genres, said erotica written for this device would also be structured differently. “The story could have more of a thematic build [focused on] the titillation more than the actual sex act,” Christian said. In erotica, simply reading page after page describing sex acts is usually boring, he said, but this interactive format could allow for longer, more drawn-out erotic interactions to remain exciting. “You could have a tingle when someone winks. A sex scene would be much more protractive—almost musical.” 

For those interested in protractive, musical erotica, the Little Bird is already available for pre-order at the bargain price of $99. The free app, which should be available this month will launch with excerpts from Christian’s sci-fi erotica collection “The Bachelor Machine.”

Did You See Me At CES?

(from M.Christian's Technorotica)

Well, not me, per se, but rather a bit of my presence.  You see, there's this very cool tech called b.sensory: teaming a vibrator with a special app.  The way it works it that you read erotica and, as you enjoy, the app triggers certain ... actions in the sex toy.

The folks at b.sensory contacted me awhile ago to use a few samples of my work for their new product.  Very cool, eh?

I've even written about the b.sensory for the great folks at FutureOfSex, and my name has come up in a few of the companies promo materials.  

You can read about the b.sensory tech at places like The Next Web, engadget, Digital Trends, and other places.

And here's an except of my FutureOfSex piece on b.sensory:

Words, Eroticism, and Technology: B.Sensory May Very Well Combine Them All

“In my sex fantasy, nobody ever loves me for my mind.”
–Nora Ephron

Technologically speaking, writing sits in a very odd place. Sure, the typewriter, then the word processor, and now ebooks have totally changed the entire business of telling stories. But the end result is always the same.

Novel or story, saga or memoir, fiction or non; you pick it up—and read it. However, has anyone really contemplated adding anything more to the actual reading experience?

This is where French company B.Sensory comes in. With its Little Bird sex toy it’s developing an app (Android and iOS) that links ebook erotic stories and sex tech. This pairing aims to enhance the reader’s experience with all kinds of arousing vibrations, buzzes, and more.

The reader, meanwhile, can control when, where, and how much of a vibratory enhancement they receive by interacting with their chosen e-reader. A By shaking stroking… even blowing on the screen, the story they’re reading takes on a whole new—and sexy—dimension that delivered through the Little Bird.

Adding to the fun, the Little bird can be synched with audio books as well, meaning that it will be possible for some truly “hands-off” experiences with the technology.

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Polyamory: How To Love Many And Well - January 13th @ The SF CItadel!

(from M.Christian's Classes And Appearances)

This is going to be a hoot! I'm going to be teaching my fun class, Polyamory: How To Love Many And Well, at the SF Citadel on January 13th. Here's the info:

Polyamory: How To Love Many And Well

Wednesday, January 13, 2016 · 8:00 PM –10:00 PM
SF Citadel: 181 Eddy St., San Francisco, CA

Cost: $15.00 pre-register, $20.00 at the door.

Pre-register at: http://purplepass.com/11316

Dress code: Whatever makes you comfortable!

Description:

Sure, you've heard of it - and maybe have been intrigued by it - but what is polyamory and how do you love more than one person and make it work? How can you deal with jealousy, time-management, emotional rough patches, and more to enter into multiple sexual relationships? In this class, participants will learn to separate the myths from the realities of polyamory, how to make tentative steps towards having more than one partner, and how to approach and deal with the problems of sharing yourself with others, and being involved with someone who, in turn, is involved with someone else. Included in this class will be simple emotional exercises, true life experiences, unique techniques and innovative approaches to understanding the joys - and the risks - of beginning, or entering into, a polyamorous relationship.

About the presenter:

M.Christian has been an active participant in the San Francisco BDSM scene since 1988, and has been a featured presenter at the Northwest Leather Celebration, smOdyssey, the Center For Sex and Culture, The National Sexuality Symposium, San Francisco Sex Information, The Citadel, The Looking Glass, The Society of Janus, The Floating World, Winter Solstice, and lots of other venues. He has taught classes on everything from impact play, tit torture, bondage, how to write and sell erotica, polyamory, cupping, caning, and basic SM safety.

M.Christian is also a recognized master of BDSM erotica with more than 400 stories in such anthologies as Best American Erotica, Best Gay Erotica, Best Lesbian Erotica, Best Bisexual Erotica, Best Fetish Erotica, and many other anthologies, magazines, and other sites; editor of 2t anthologies such as the Best S/M Erotica series, Pirate Booty, My Love For All That Is Bizarre: Sherlock Holmes Erotica, and more; the collections Dirty Words, The Bachelor Machine, Love Without Gun Control, Rude Mechanicals, and more; and the novels Running Dry, The Very Bloody Marys, Me2, Finger's Breadth, Brushes, and Painted Doll. His site is www.mchristian.com​

Classes For 2016!

(from M.Christian's Classes And Appearances)

As there's going to be a changes coming this year - all of them good - I decided to change my teaching schedule to allow for more flexibility (for me) and options (for you)!

Instead of booking all of my classes a year or so out I'm going, instead, to be doing a twitter poll for what people want me to teach on a month-per-month basis.  

They'll be surprises and other things as well, but this way I can tweak what people want to see - and what I can do - much easier!

This month (January) I'm going to be teaching my Polyamory: How To Love Many And Well class for the SFCitadel on Wednesday, the 13th.  More info on that in just a few days.

I'm also hope to continue my Polyamory Support Group on the last Monday of the month as well - stayed tuned for an update on that very soon.

To see the poll for February just go to my twitter feed here: @mchristianzobop

Karla Tangh's Fun Review Of Bachelor Machine!

(from M.Christian's Technorotica)

Karla Tangh is such a very, very very fun trip: just check out her new review of my science fiction erotica collection, Bachelor Machine!  Thanks so much, Karla!

Here's a tease, for the rest just click over to Karla's site.

Book Review: The Bachelor Machine by M. Christian

Her Tangh-i-ness Does read other things besides Erotica. But since we're on the subject—there's always time for more recreational Smut. Creatives are some of the most highly-sexed beings on the planet; I mean near everything they produce is the result of an orgasm of the Creative Mind.

Take this M. Christian guy, for example. Yeah. Yeah. I started with his short story collection Skin Effect. This guy, he just keeps writing more…more...reasons to moisturize the underthings or try and hide the evidence of stimulation upon the erogenous zone of choice. There's lots of male on female action, female on female, a genuinely happy foursome (two males make out with the females and also each other). For pure male on male, do refer to M.Christian's other short story collection, one being, Dirty Words.

However, for the People of Color in the Reading Audience, be aware this collection does contain Triggers. These are Sistah-shaped ones both golden, black, and brown. I hear ya'll saying just what does she mean? Read and find out. Just remember Her Tangh-i-ness saw that the work went there and got to the end of the book. Just saying. By the way, she kept reading other M. Christian works. Consider what the author has to say about himself: "For me, being a pioneer in this area, I feel like I have to create my own respect, in a way. I'm like a missionary – at first no matter what tribe I visit, I get the hairy eyeball." So it's obviously time to start eyeballing this dude until he creams in his pants or something.

To make it easy for potential readers of this collection, Her Tangh-i-ness will return to the following rating system that came in mighty handy when describing M. Christian's Skin Effect and other works.

TAMTT *Take A Minute to Think* This means the sexiness might have to grow on you.

WT *Wet* Self-explanatory. No?

H/OA *Hand/Object Assisted* Requires immediate action after the story climax.

FAPP *Find a Partner Pronto* Try this one at home, Folks.

*Spoiler Alert*

Her Tangh-i-ness greatly appreciates pithy plot summaries. However, for those who must have a virgin reading experience, read no further, and eyeball elsewhere.

*Spoiler Alert End*

STATE

WT *Wet* Fiction. M/F Action. She-Machine meets with man. The idea of exciting the man makes the She-machine cum. And when it's over and done with all the She-machine wants to do is sleep? Ok. Can we point to this story as an example of reverse gender post-coital physiology? Maybe the real reason to read this story can be found in the music of this sentence: "Too quick, maybe, too sudden, probably, but he was hanging way down, his breathing was quick and deep, his legs were columns of meat and tension." What does ya'll think?

HACK WORK

TAMTT *Take A Minute to Think* Fiction. M/F Action. This is the story where Her Tangh-i-ness counted to a thousand before she turned the page to the next story. Yup. This is the one of the Oh-No-He-Didn't-Go-There! stories. As the dear, departed writing instructor, Blake Snyder of Save the Cat fame once told me, Her Tangh-i-ness Ain't in the Target Audience.Those that are—ya'll know who you is when you read it. A female shares her consciousness with her paying fares and finds herself taking a young Black woman for a session with a riding crop.

WINGED MEMORY

TAMTT *Take A Minute to Think* Fiction. M/F Action. Dusk, a desperate young man named without prospects sells off painful sexual memories in order to afford the cyber-whore of his wet dreams. Each time he does this. He keeps losing more and more of his essential self until the only thing left is to turn the tables on the memory merchant to whom he dealt all his unrecoverables.

EULOGY

WT *Wet* Fiction. M/F Action. Jeff and Julie, two survivors of a broken triangle comfort one another rather orally. Find more of those musical sentences here. "Our breaths synchronized, and we steamed together like a pair of heavy engines." This is the second of the mouth-whore stories.

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Karla Tangh's Fun Review Of Dirty Words!

(from M.Christian's Queer Imaginings)

This is very, very, very fun: Jarla Tangh just posted this wonderfully whimsical review of my queer collection, Dirty Words! 

Here's a tease.  For the rest just clock over to Jarla's site.

'Lo People,

Time to give M. Christian some more Hairy Eyeball for his Dirty Words.

Does the idea that there is a hardened penis available to be inserted into a variety of holes give you a reason to pay attention? Her Tangh-i-ness sure likes it when males aren't afraid to kneel, bend over, or stand so that this reader can get primo viewing of the "act." I read Skin Effect and The Bachelor Machine first, but I think that those books were all literary hors d'ouevres before Dirty Words spread its pages and showed off its tight sentences, wet imaginary plunges, and provoked climaxes. And if you like your stories veering towards the dark and twisted, there's more than one nugget of guilty pleasure here. This is an unashamedly M/M Action collection with twinges of loving feelings here and there but Dirty Wordsain't real Romantic. Nope. These stories are mostly about scoring.

To make it easy for potential readers of this collection, Her Tangh-i-ness will return to the following rating system.

TAMTT *Take A Minute to Think* This means the sexiness might have to grow on you.

WT *Wet* Self-explanatory. No?

H/OA *Hand/Object Assisted* Requires immediate action after the story climax.

FAPP *Find a Partner Pronto* Try this one at home, Folks.

*Spoiler Alert*

Her Tangh-i-ness greatly appreciates pithy plot summaries. However, for those who must have a virgin reading experience, read no further, and eyeball elsewhere.

*Spoiler Alert End*

DIRTY DEEDS FOR DIRTY BOYS (AND MEN) PATRICK CALIFIA
If you like LGBTQI Erotica, you've read Mister Califa's work. So when he has something to say about what M. Christian does on a page, there are those Readers who will listen a little harder.

INTRODUCTION M. CHRISTIAN
Mind you, this is now Her Tangh-i-ness's third romp with a M. Christian book. I don't know about you but I am in awe of someone who can say the following about the act of writing: Hell, it even kinda follows the Sexual Response Cycle: Excitement (an idea comes to mind), Plateau (putting it together), Orgasm (riding the high), and Resolution (typing "The End"). Excuse me, I have to go and type something to get my own jollies.

SPIKE
H/OA *Hand/Object Assisted* Fiction. Two, identical twin, blond brothers cum to decide one must follow and the other must lead. But not before some mutual oral service and a fistfight. Her Tangh-i-ness keeps one of those studded belts featured in the story so she can vouch for its effectiveness.

HOW COYOTE STOLE THE SUN
WT *Wet* Fiction. A man called Dog meets with a man called Roc. Two naked kids playing outside tell Dog, this habitual thief, of a man with "Stuff" who lives in the areas. Dog decides this "Stuff" is worth the challenge. There follows a titanic suck, a colossal f*ck, succeeded by a theft. Dog learns that all his efforts have been for naught. The two naked kids end up with a new toy.

THE HARLEY
WT *Wet* Fiction. Mammoth and Monster, two bikers, settle on a contest to win the wheels of a deceased rival. The true joy in this story can be found in the precision of the descriptions. He was Pup, and the one thing that was an absolute proven fact about the kid was that he could pull gas out of a bike without a hose. Mammoth makes off with the bike while Monster opts for Mammoth's former bedwarmer.

ECHOES
TAMTT *Take A Minute to Think* Fiction. Care to examine intimacy issues? A murderer cycles through other men hoping to escape the corpse of his lover. He even has sex with a Black guy and freaks out halfway through. For Chev, sex transforms into dread. Guilt seems to drive his need for punishment. Like an addict, Chev keeps seeking intimacy and the horror of it all lies in Chev's being his very own monster.

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