Sharazade Talks To Me

The extremely nice (and, yes, sweet) Sharazade and I had a great chat about what it means to be an anthology editor and other fun stuff. I've been interviewed by a few folks but this is one of my favorites: Sharazade was a delight to talk to and it was great to be able to talk about the business and the process of anthologies. As always, click here or on MORE to read the full interview.

Keep on eye on her excellent blog for an upcoming review for Best S&M Erotica Vol. 3 coming up soon!

... I’ve worked as a commissioning editor, a development editor, a series editor, and a copy editor — but never as an anthology editor. So rather than just guess what one does and how he/she does it, I decided to ask a real one. I chose M. Christian, because 1) he’s edited 20 successful anthologies, and 2) I could easily find his contact information. And of course also because 3) he answered promptly and politely and agreed with enthusiasm. I’d heard from some authors he’d worked with that he was “sweet,” and I wasn’t quite sure what that meant — doesn’t his photo look devilish?? but he really is. He closes his emails with “Hugs,” and called me “Sweetie” once, which quite tickled me coming from a man who’s just finished editing Best S/M Erotica Vol 3: Still More Extreme Stories of Still More Extreme Sex (which I’m reviewing here in my next post within the next week).

Here, then, is that interview, with information of interest to both the reader and the writer of quality erotica.

1. How does an edited volume come to be? That is, does a publisher choose a topic and solicit an editor, or does an editor dream up a project and approach a publisher?

Actually, it’s done both ways. Most of the time an editor will put together a brief (one page or so) proposal about the anthology — what it’s about, who might be invited, how it could be marketed, etc. – and then send it around to various publishers, hoping to find a home for it. Sometimes, though, a publisher will reach out to an editor they might know as a writer or who may have done other anthologies with them to do a project. That’s happened to me a few times, and it’s a wonderful compliment.

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The Wonderful Kit O'Connell on The Bachelor Machine

Yes, indeedy, I do have some amazing friend and, believe me, I am very grateful for all of them. And one of them, Kit O'Connell, just posted this wonderful teaser for the brand new re-issue of my science fiction erotica collection, The Bachelor Machine, which was just put out my another amazing friend, Cecilia Tan, at Circlet Books.

Kit is extra-special because he hasn't just been a huge supporter of my work but he not only wrote a fantastically rave review for the first edition of The Bachelor Machine but has also penned a brand new forward to the new edition.

Keep your peepers peeled for more info on this new edition, which I plan to be raving out very, very soon ....

I’m a longtime fan of author and editor M. Christian, perhaps most especially his short story collection The Bachelor Machine. I first read and reviewed it back in 2004 when it was in print from Green Candy Press. Not only is the book back in print as an e-book from Circlet Press, it now features my brand new foreward:

M. Christian is a writer who doesn’t let the reader off easy. I don’t mean that his books aren’t easy to read (he has a fine way with words and a unique, recognizable voice). The thing about his stories is that even at their filthiest, they also make you think.

You can take a peek at the rest of my introduction, which will hopefully convince you to buy the book. Your money will be going to support not just a hungry author but an almost 20-year old small press dedicated solely to the publication of erotic genre fiction.

Proposition 8 Thrown Out in California

It's only a step - sure it's a BIG step - but until gay men and women have the right to marry this country will be less than what it should be.

"America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves." - Abraham Lincoln

Here's a few choice bit from Vaughn Walker's ruling:

"Proposition 8 places the force of law behind stigmas against gays and lesbians."
"The sexual orientation of an individual does not determine whether that individual can be a good parent."

"The exclusion (of same-sex couples from marriage) exists as an artifact of a time when the genders were seen as having different roles in society and in marriage. That time has passed."

"Domestic partnerships exist solely to differentiate same-sex unions from marriage."

"Proposition 8 harms the state's interest in equality."

"The evidence at trial regarding the campaign to pass Proposition 8 uncloaks the most likely explanation for its passage: a desire to advance the belief that opposite-sex couples are morally superior to same-sex couples."

"Moral disapproval alone is an improper basis on which to deny rights to gay men and lesbians."

Whispers Of The Muse Talks to Me

It might sound sappy but it really does mean a lot to me that people read, and enjoy, my work - and it means even more when someone actually wants to hear what I think about writing, life, or whatever. So it was a real treat when the great Deborah Riley-Magnus, of Whispers Of The Muse, not only did an interview with me but also featured a sample story from my collection of science fiction, fantasy and horror stories - Love Without Gun Control - on her great site. Here's a teaser. For the rest just go to Whispers Of The Muse.

Muse: First of all, Whispers of the Muse welcomes you to the site. Tell us a little about yourself. What part of the world do you live in? Tell us about your background?
M Christian: My dear, I live in my own little fantasy world: elves, fairies, vampires ... compassionate conservatives....

In all seriousness I’ve lived in the San Francisco Bay Area since 1988, having moved up here from LA, where I was born. Between here and there I’ve lived in Europe for a year and seen just about every state in the union, as well – as have most of us I believe – as having had a wide variety of jobs. Right now I drive a truck for an organic mushroom farm. Thrilling, I know, but I do it for the fresh air and exercise more than the staggeringly huge paycheck.

Writing-wise, ever since I was a wee little one I’ve always been very imaginative, but it wasn’t until high school that I heard I could use my imagination to make a living by maybe, perhaps, being a writer.

For the next ten years I tried my best to do just that ... and failed each and every time, though I did periodically come close. But then in 1993, on pretty much a larf, I took a class in erotica writing and handed the teacher my very first try at smut. Shock! Amazement! She not only bought the story for a magazine she was editing but it was then reprinted in Best American Erotica 1994. The rest, as they say, is history.

Muse: Who are your favorite authors?
M Christian: I like to say that I like what I like, in that while I certainly have some faves I think good writing is good writing, no matter where it might pop up: TV shows, comic books, romance, Westerns, shopping lists – whatever. Right now my tastes are all over the place: I’m a huge fan of Alexander Jablokov, Adam Warren, Grant Morrison, Hilary J. Bader, Eiji Otsuka, Alfie Bester, and ... a lot more I know I’m forgetting. I zealously resist really popular authors because, one, they usually are pretty damned awful but, two, as a fringe writer I feel the least I can do is support other writers who have avoided, or been denied, the spotlight.

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Masquerade: Page 12 (The End)

Here's the final page of Masquerade - illustrated by my great pal, and a fantastic artist, Wynn Ryder, from a story by ... well, me ... for an upcoming graphic novel anthology called Legendary.

I'll be creating a special linked page for the entire thing very soon -- or you can read it on Wynn's Deviantart pages.

Speaking of Ralph -

- but my great pal has just joined the illustrious (ahem) line-up at the wonderful WriteSex site. So check it out to hear what Ralph, and I, and these other fine smut-writers, have to say about writing, the biz, and much more.

Me On The ISFDB

Thanks to my cherished friend, Jean Marie Stine, I just found out that I'm in the science fiction database (ISFDB). Sure, it might be a tad out of date - like some of my novels (Painted Doll, Running Dry, and The Very Bloody Marys) aren't there - but it's still cool to be in such distinguished company.

Awwww ...

This is very sweet: my great pal, Ralph Greco, Jr., who I had a fantastic time hanging out with at the recent Cybernet Expo, just posted a reminiscence about it on the Another Radio Dentata site. Check it out here.

I gladly left the heat of NJ for the 57 degrees of a San Francisco ‘summer’. Touching down at S.F.O. and whisked right to the hotel on Van Ness I wasn’t in my room more than an hour before jumping down to meet my buds, peers and possible business acquaintances at this year’s Cybernet Expo, 2010.

My second year attending this conference for those of us who write, market, monetize or generally work in the adult industry, literally the first person I ran into was the always smiling, oh-great-scribe M. Christian and we exchanged two hugs (I haven’t seen the guy in a year). I grabbed my badge (though I didn’t really need “no stinking badges”, since I was working the convention this year) and I glad-handed Connor Young, President of Ynot.

This morning of our first day there was a training session on Effective Adult Website Design, another on Worpress then Jay Kopita (Ynot V.P.), put me to work making sure everyone had a badge for our first day’s lunch buffet, paid for by eMerchantPay. The ever wonderful Oceania from Radiodentata.com even made me a plate that I ate at my post!

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Out Now - Best S/M Erotica Vol. 3

Logical-Lust Publications Releases "Best S & M Erotica Vol. 3" edited by M. Christian

Logical-Lust Publications, UK publisher of erotica and erotic romance fiction, announces the release of its latest anthology "Best S & M Erotica Vol. 3: Still More Extreme Stories of Still More Extreme Sex" edited by M. Christian. In these pages you'll find light stories, dark stories, powerful stories, subtle stories, fierce stories, and even romantic stories—but all of them dealing with the basic idea of consensually giving up, or taking, sexual power and control. Featured contributors are PM White, Sharon Wachsler, Kane, Jean Roberta, Jason Rubis, Shanna Germain, Cecilia Tan, Xan West, Craig J. Sorensen, Ralph Greco, Jr., Theda Hudson, Jerry Rosen, Jan Vander Laenen, Mykola Dementiuk, Jude Mason, Billierosie, and Oatmeal Girl

Logical-Lust publisher Jim Brown said, “After the great success of volumes 1 & 2 of the Best S & M series, we were proud, and excited, to be the publisher of the latest volume. Best S & M Erotica Vol. 3 continues our tradition in publishing erotic anthologies that bring together some of the most talented authors and editors of erotic fiction. M. Christian has compiled a sharp collection blending many aspects of the lifestyle sure to impress both the curious and the connoisseur.”

"Best S & M Erotica Vol. 3: Still More Extreme Stories of Still More Extreme Sex" is available in both print and ebook formats at Logical-Lust.com, Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble and other fine online retailers.

What Lies Within -

- Kink.com's San Francisco armory headquarters? I recently had a special chance to find out during a party there as part of the wonderful Cybernet Expo. Here are some of the kinky wonders I discovered ....

Here's what the outside looks like (photo not by me)

I Had A Blast At Cybernet -

Just wanted to toss out a well-deserved bravo to Jay and Connor, the masterful masters of ceremony behind the Cybernet Expo I had the pleasure of attending over the weekend. Thanks guys!

And here's extra thanks out to the other fun folks I met there. Alas, there are far too many to name here but it really was a kick and a half ... can't wait for next year.

Best S/M Erotica 3 - The Tweet Feed and Launch Party

I tell ya, it means a LOT to me when people are excited about being in the pages of the anthologies I edit, and it's an extra-special treat when they go out of their way to help out the book and the other writers in it. My pal, and a great writer, Xan West, has gone above and beyond and has started a tweet feed for the contribs. Now I just have to get on twitter (sigh)

- and here's something equally special: this Thursday, July 15th, the the great folks at Cyber Launch Party will be featuring the release of Best S/M Erotica 3. So swing by and take a look - and be sure to check out the comments as I've asked all the fantastic authors in the anthology to come in and chat about the book, their experiences, and everything betwixt and between.