Friday, June 01, 2012

A Lovely Panoramic View Of The Catacombs of Paris


Catacombs of Paris in Paris

YNOT: Senate Credit Union Commits Breast Gaffe




As some of you might know - in addition to being the debonair, man-about-town, that I am - I'm also an Associate Editor for the adult entertainment site YNOT (who are wonderful folks, btw) - and here's a brand new one: a brief about a big boo-boo by the Senate Credit Union:


There are times when even the adult industry has to shake its collective head and wonder “What the hell were they thinking?” 
This week was one of those times: a credit union decided to test the boundaries of the old adage “sex sells” by employing suggestive imagery in an advertisement. 
And not just any credit union — the U.S. Senate Federal Credit Union.
History abounds with examples of how bad an idea using human body parts to shill certain products can be. Witness a 15-year-old Brooke Shields cooing “Want to know what gets between me and my Calvins? Nothing.” Or pick from a lengthy list of brouhahas that erupted over Abercrombie & Fitch’s ... well, everything. 
None of that stopped the Senate FCU from employing a female model’s notable assets as a come-on for loans. 
Kimberley Johnson at Addicting Info described the gaffe well: “The credit union recently sent out a mailer with a photo [PDF] of a woman’s torso with a special sparkle graphic directing your eyes to her buxom chest in case you were focusing on her white tank top or long, flowing blonde hair. On one side of the photo, it reads GOT BIG PLANS? Let us worry about the money … you’ve got a lot of living to do.” 
The flipside of the flyer urges members to “please borrow responsibly.”
Now don’t get us wrong: The flyer is attractive in a disembodied-boobs, impersonal sort of way. If it had been marketing Mel's Used Cars, a few eyebrows might have risen, but most folks would have given the mailer the attention it deserved (or didn’t). If the flyer had been distributed by a major national brand, millions of robotically created letters and phone calls of outrage no doubt would have followed. 
[MORE]

Thursday, May 31, 2012

YNOT: Shaking Up Video Consumers



As some of you might know - in addition to being the debonair, man-about-town, that I am - I'm also an Associate Editor for the adult entertainment site YNOT (who are wonderful folks, btw) - and here's a brand new one: a great interview with Bernhard G of Clipshaker and Shakecash:



People in the adult entertainment business have a tendency to dismiss so-called new technology as something they’ve seen before. Because the industry traditionally has been a proving ground for new ideas, much of what is touted as “new” has been seen before in one form or another. Sometimes products are just a little too far ahead of their time to gain traction, and at other times there’s no good reason to abandon an older product that continues to do its job admirably.

Bernhard G. hopes to avoid those pitfalls with Clipshaker. He calls the video player “a whole new way for adult entertainment consumers not just to access their favorite content, but also to organize it to their liking.” The product comes complete withan affiliate program: Shakecash.

We’ll let him tell you about it himself.

YNOT: Give us a quick history of your introduction to the crazy adult entertainment business.

Bernhard G.: Coming from the software business, I realized that watching adult movies could be improved. After research, I started this project, and that brought me to the industry.

YNOT: Give us a quick explanation of Clipshaker.

Clipshaker is a software application for Windows or Mac that helps users to organize their favorite scenes in their porn collection. The product was made to let users separate the best from the rest and let them manage the clips they own.

A user can take his video files, trim — or “clip” — them with three mouse clicks, and then associate tags or keywords with the clips he has created. He then can search for his clips and create playlists that contain clips. Think iTunes: All the clips in one playlist can be played one after another. Also, a user can play his clips or playlists in up to 16 players in parallel, like on a surveillance monitor.

It is our ultimate goal that our users only watch the stuff they like, in a very new way, in order to get the maximum level of satisfaction.

[MORE]

Wednesday, May 30, 2012

My Office (in a few years)


BDSM Book Reviews Interviews Me

Very nice!  The great folks at BDSM Book Reviews - who wrote very nicely about my gay erotic thriller Finger's Breadth recently - just posted an interview with little ol' me.  Here's a taste - for the rest just click here.





1. When you first started writing, did you have any idea you’d be writing BDSM/kinky books? Do you write in any other genre?Well, let’s see … my first published story was in the late-lamented magazine FutureSex, back in 1994. The story – “InterCore,” by the way, was then picked up for Best American Erotica (same year) and it all just kind of snowballed from there. While I’ve pretty much always wanted to be a writer it wasn’t until I stepped into the slippery, steamy, world of smut that I had any real success so – surprise – I’ve done most of my work there. But I also write non-fiction (including a book of my weird history pieces, Welcome to Weirdsville, which is coming out soon, and How To Write And Sell Erotica — my book on smut writing, and Pornotopia – which is non-fiction sex pieces); science fiction, fantasy, and horror (such as my collection, Love Without Gun Control); romance (see my novel Brushes), and lots of other stuff. 
Here’s a quickie bio: 
M. Christian is – among many things – an acknowledged master of 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, many other anthologies, magazines, and sites. 
He is the editor of 25 anthologies including the Best S/M Erotica series, Pirate Booty, My Love For All That Is Bizarre: Sherlock Holmes Erotica, The Burning Pen, Guilty Pleasures, The Mammoth Book of Future Cops and The Mammoth Book of Tales of the Road (with Maxim Jakubowksi) and Confessions, Garden of Perverse, and Amazons (with Sage Vivant) as well as many others. 
He is the author of the collections Dirty Words, Speaking Parts, The Bachelor Machine, Licks & Promises, Filthy, Love Without Gun Control, Rude Mechanicals, Coming Together Presents M. Christian, Pornotopia, How To Write And Sell Erotica; and the novels Running Dry, The Very Bloody Marys, Me2, Brushes, Fingers Breadth, and Painted Doll. His site is www.mchristian.com. 
In addition he is an Associate Editor for the adult industry web site YNOT, and is an Associate Publisher for Renaissance Books (which publishers groundbreaking BDSM as part of its Sizzler Imprint). 
2. Are you actively involved in BDSM? If so how do you identify yourself? Dom(me)/sub? Top/bottom? Switch? 
I’ve been in the scene since ’88 (1988, smartass) or so and while I seriously love the folks I’ve met there I’m actually more a sensualist than a hardcore player. One reason I love the scene is that the people I’ve met have all pretty much been in touch with their sexuality – a very refreshing thing compared to the ‘real’ world. If you want to look me up, by the way, I’m “MChristian” on Fetlife … and pretty much everywhere else. 
[MORE]

Sunday, May 27, 2012

Thanks, bro!

I really do have a very, very wonderful brother. Just check out this fantastic prezzie he gave me for my recent birthday: an amazing new Gakken model of a Theo Jansen strandbeest ... thanks, bro!

Here's a video of it stately strolling across a table

Saturday, May 26, 2012

YNOT: Rising to Condoms’ Defense

As some of you might know - in addition to being the debonair, man-about-town, that I am - I'm also an Associate Editor for the adult entertainment site YNOT (who are wonderful folks, btw).  So I'm going to start sharing some of the stuff I'm doing for them...

Starting with this very fun interview with Phil Harvey and Chris Purdy who run a wonderful organization called DKT International that's "a social marketing nonprofit working in Latin America, Africa and Asia to improve access to reproductive health products and services."

Quick: What do you think of when you hear the word condom? For some in the adult industry, the first response may be a grimace as a few California municipalities recently passed laws mandating condom use in all sexually explicit productions. 
But far too few people think of condoms — and all the other kinds of safer-sex products available today — as affirmations and indications of respect for life. For each safer-sex product made, sold and used, two people may have been spared disease or death. 
While the content-production portion of the adult entertainment industry, at least in California, chafes under new condoms-required legislation, people in developing countries are learning how condoms, sex education, family planning, oral contraceptives and a host of other sexual wellbeing considerations can improve the quality of their lives. In parts of Africa, for example, traditionally poor communication about safer-sex practices has led to the spread of sexually transmitted diseases that can be life-threatening. 
At the forefront of the mission to get condoms into developing countries and educate everyday people about their correct use is DKT International
Founded in 1989, DKT International’s core mission is “to provide safe and affordable options for family planning and HIV prevention through social marketing.” The organization spearheads 19 programs in 18 countries, and in 2011 provided 650 million condoms, more than 72 million cycles of oral contraceptives, more than 14 million injectable contraceptives, one million IUDs and 12 million misoprostol pills. DKT’s statistics indicate that last year its efforts prevented seven million pregnancies, 11,000 maternal deaths and 1.4 million abortions.
[MORE

Thursday, May 24, 2012

GLBT Live Chats with the Pros At The Erotica Readers & Writers Association!



GLBT erotica is a genre to be reckoned with, and The Erotica Readers and Writers Association will help interested authors with two GLBT Live Chats with the Pros: Delilah Devlin and M. Christian will be on hand to answer questions, offer advice, and exchange ideas with authors of GLBT erotica. Whether you're penning your first gay fiction, or are a spicy-seasoned pro, don't miss this opportunity.


M. Christian, associate publisher for Renaissance E Books (which includes Sizzler Editions), is an acknowledged master of erotica with more than 400 stories in such anthologies as Best American Erotica, Best Gay Erotica, Best Lesbian Erotica, and Best Bisexual Erotica, Best Fetish Erotica. If you want to know what GLBT editors want (and don't want) and how to make your submissions stand out, M. Christian will be happy to answer your questions.
Read more about M. Christian at www.mchristian.com

ERWA chats are held on the ShadowWorld chat server, channel#erachat.

(Follow the link above. On screen you'll see 'Connect to ShadowWorld IRC'. In the Nickname box, key in your name. Leave the channels box at #ERAChat, and click 'Connect'. A chat text box will appear at the bottom of your screen)



Tuesday, May 22, 2012

Amen!

 

Out Now: Painted Doll - The New Edition!

The good news just keeps on coming!  I'm extremely pleased to be able to announce the release of a brand new edition of my erotic cyberpunk novel, Painted Doll, by the great folks at Renaissance/Sizzler Editions ... and check out the wonderful new cover by the one-and-only Wynn Ryder.



M. Christian's claimed BDSM science fiction cyberpunk novel is back in print - a tale of futuristic sexual submission and domination! 
One of the pleasures of a dystopic future is the erotists, professionals who paint their clients' bared skin with neurochemicals that induce all forms of sensation - even pain.  Erotists offer landscapes of ecstasy, sexual extremes, joy, and delight. Few citizens can afford the skills of the talented Domino. Fewer still know her identity is but a mask.  Beneath the facade, Claire hides from a vicious crime lord who would not only kill her but her childhood lover. But the mask of Domino is beginning to crack ... strange sexual pairings and strange sexual practices highlight this futuristic noir tale, set in a wildly imaginative erotic future, exploring who we are and the sexual awakenings that occur when we become someone else. 
MORE ABOUT THIS BOOK: 
"M. Christian is one hell of a writer. He paints his universes and characters in full, living color, thrills the reader with non-stop action. A no-holds-barred storyteller, he embraces his reader at the start and doesn't let go until long after the end." - Mari Adkins, Apex Publications contributing editor 
"M. Christian is the chameleon of modern erotica. One day punk, another romantic; one day straight, another totally perverse and polyamorous. But always sexy and and gripping." - Maxim Jakubowksi is the editor of the Mammoth Book of Erotica series 
"A non-stop ride of precise prose and unexpected imagery. Painted Doll is another M. Christian gem; a seamless blend of the erotic with the darkly fantastic. Unpredictable, engaging, and an often startling read." - Marilyn Jaye Lewis, author of Freak Parade 
"No matter how long I've been at the erotica game, M. Christian continues to surprise me. With Painted Doll, he again proves that his imagination knows no bounds. The first pages sucked me into the story, and I couldn't stop reading. Who was this woman? Who was she...really? Provocative and unique, Painted Doll is M. Christian at his finest." - Gwen Masters, author of One Breath at a Time

Monday, May 21, 2012

Chadzilla Likes Finger's Breadth

Even more cool news - I just got this fantastic review of Finger's Breadth in from my pal Chad of Chadzilla!


A mysterious figure, known only as The Cutter, is hunting the gay men of near-future San Francisco.  This strange, shadowy figure drugs his victims, then amputates the tip of their little finger.  As The Cutter attacks continue and spread throughout the San Francisco Bay Area, they have strange and disturbing effects on a variety of men. 
Before you read any further into this review, I would most appreciate it if you would look to the right hand side of the screen and study the first two books listed in the Read My Published Writing section of this blog.  You will note that the editor of both books just so happens to be the author of Finger's Breadth.  Small world, isn't it? 
It also explains why I am reading a book in a genre, Gay Erotica, that is somewhat far removed (to put it mildly) from my usual reading comfort zone.  But it is always good to challenge oneself on occasion, and Finger's Breadth, I am happy to write, happens to be both a good and challenging read. 
Finger's Breadth, while ostensibly a work of Gay Erotica, one with a very strong and distinct undercurrent of BDSM to it, is also a disturbing psychological thriller that is cloaked in the dark noir style shadows of futurist cyberpunk.  It was the strength of the latter that kept my interest through all of the pages of graphically described gay sex.  I'm certain that certain readers will find that kind of thing hot, but I am not one of those readers.  So it goes. 
While the narrative pacing is crisp and brisk, the book is a short and to the point 265 pages, the cast of characters is rather sizable.  There is Fanning, a Freelance Cop (a near-future version of the Bounty Hunter mixed with the Private Investigator) trying to hunt down and catch the Cutter, for profit.  There is the terrified Taylor, who believes that he has narrowly escaped the Cutter.  There is Dibney, who is also hunting for the Cutter, but for personal reasons.  And there is Varney, the first victim.  The man who made everyone else aware of the Cutter and who is now burdened with the guilt of creating a media monster with a life of its very own. 
Those are just the primary characters, though.  Swirling around the above listed men are snapshots of other men cruising a San Francisco nightlife that is undergoing a strange shift in fetishistic desire.  These men wander the bars, have sexual liaisons, all the while alternating between looking for the Cutter's victims and longing to be the Cutter's next victim.  These snapshots chart the growth and mutation of the sexual meme.  These snapshots also cast light and add shadows to the stories of the various primary characters listed above.  As the number of the Cutter's victims grows, and each of the primary characters makes a disturbing discovery, the nature of the Cutter's attacks and what it truly means to be a victim of the Cutter is called into question.  The answers to those questions manage to be both unsettling and empowering.
Finger's Breadth is a chilling and thought provoking read.