Support Charlie Hebdo

2015 - What A Year For Classes!

(From M.Christian's Classes And Appearances)

2015 is going to rock - at least class and teaching wise! Just check out the following schedule I've put together for this year - though keep in mind am still working on booking some other events and venues in the meantime.

I'll be posting more info about each and every one of these classes in a few ... but this should wet your whistle!

January
Thursday, January 15: Impact Play - Beyond Floggers And Canes with M.Christian at SF Citadel
Wednesday, January 21: Polyamory Class with M.Christian at Center For Sex And Culture
Thursday, January 22: Basic BDSM Safety (with Jean Marie Stine) at SF Citadel
Monday, January 26: Polyamory Discussion/Support Group at SF Citadel

February
February 11: How To Write a Good Online Profile at The South Bay Spot
Saturday, February 14: Tit-Torture For Boobs: A Breast Play Intensive at SF Citadel
Monday, February 23: Polyamory Discussion/Support Group at SF Citadel
Friday, February 27 – 28: Sin In The City Convention, Las Vegas

March
Tuesday, March 3: Meet R.Greco and M.Christian at Wicked Grounds
Wednesday, March 4: Basic Bondage: Tie Me Up On A Budget with M.Christian & R. Greco at SF Citadel
Thursday, March 5: How to Write & Sell Erotica with M.Christian and R. Greco at Center For Sex And Culture
Saturday, March 7: Leather Lace and Lust Reading at Center For Sex And Culture
Thursday, March 26: Hitting Below The Belt: The Art Of Cock And Ball Torture at SF Citadel
Monday, March 23: Polyamory Discussion/Support Group at SF Citadel

April
Thursday, April 9: Adult Marketing with Jean Marie Stine and M.Christian at Center For Sex And Culture
Tuesday, April 14: Sensual Caning: How To Use The Rod In New And Exciting Ways with M.Christian at SF Citadel
Thursday, April 23: How To Write a Good Online Profile at Center For Sex And Culture
Monday, April 27: Polyamory Discussion/Support Group at SF Citadel

May
Thursday, May 14: Cupping: Using The Ancient Medicinal Technique For Erotic Play with M.Christian at SF Citadel
Wednesday, May 19: How To Write And Sell Erotica with M.Christian at Center For Sex And Culture
Monday May 25: Polyamory Discussion/Support Group at SF Citadel

June
Thursday, June 11: How to Write A Sexual Self-Help Book with Jean Marie Stine and M.Christian at Center For Sex And Culture
Saturday, June 13: Alternative Bondage: Beyond Rope And Restraints With M.Christian at SF Citadel
Monday, June 22: Polyamory Discussion/Support Group at SF Citadel
Thursday, June 25: Basic BDSM Safety (with Jean Marie Stine) at SF Citadel

July
Thursday, July 16: Making A Scene: How To Create Fun – and Most Of All – Hot S/M Play Encounters at SF Citadel
Saturday, July 18: Leather Lace and Lust Reading at Center For Sex And Culture
Monday, July 27: Polyamory Discussion/Support Group at SF Citadel

August
Tuesday, August 4: Hitting Below The Belt: The Art Of Cock And Ball Torture With M.Christian at SF Citadel
Monday, August 24: Polyamory Discussion/Support Group at SF Citadel
Thursday, August 27: How To Write And Sell Erotica with M.Christian at Center For Sex And Culture

September
Thursday, September 17: Impact Play: Beyond Floggers And Canes with M.Christian at SF Citadel
Monday, September 28: Polyamory Discussion/Support Group at SF Citadel

October
Thursday, October 8th: Adult Marketing with Jean Marie Stine and M.Christian at Center For Sex And Culture
Thursday, October 15: Polyamory: How To Love Many And Well at SF Citadel
Thursday, October 22: How To Write a Good Online Profile at Center For Sex And Culture
Monday, October 26: Polyamory Discussion/Support Group at SF Citadel

November
Tuesday. November 10: Tit-Torture For Boobs: A Breast Play Intensive at SF Citadel
Thursday, November 12: How To Write And Sell Erotica with M.Christian at Center For Sex And Culture
Thursday, November 19: Basic BDSM Safety (with Jean Marie Stine) at SF Citadel
Monday, November 26: Polyamory Discussion/Support Group at SF Citadel

December
Thursday, December 17: Basic Bondage: Tie Me Up On A Budget with M.Christian at SF Citadel
Saturday, December 19: Leather Lace and Lust Reading at Center For Sex And Culture
Monday, December 28: Polyamory Discussion/Support Group at SF Citadel

The Long Game - Up On Write-Sex

Very, very cool! Check out my little essay on erotica writing, The Long Game, up on the fantastic Write-Sex site:

I’m not too sure whose been spreading the rumors but, believe me, I’d like to get my hands on them.

Not that it’s anything new, I admit. I’ll betcha that for as long as human beings have been putting one word in front of another word for money there’s been a whispering, a murmuring, a seductive allure that all it takes is just the right story, the perfect book, the ideal concept to launch the author from zero to bazillionare.

But that’s all it is: rumor, hearsay, gossip… hollow promises. Okay, sure, it does happen but I’ll betcha with what little money I’ve made with my own writing that the number of people who it has happened to would comfortably fit in an elevator… and a small one at that. In short, while fame and fortune can and has happened with just one book, the odds are nightmarishly against you.

But the myth—sadly—persists. The reason I’m writing this is perfect evidence: no fewer than four people recently asked me to be their book doctors, yet they all vanished once they understood the reality of what it actually takes to make even a moderate amount of money as an author. All of them had actually written a novel, each of them had put aside money to have it professionally edited, and they’d even started up the long social media ladder… but each one vanished in the space of a few months.

I’m a dreamer … hell, half my waking life seems to be spent drifting from one fantasy to another: from super heroics to an immaculately imagined life as a pulp author in the ’40s, I’m usually lost in the clouds. But while being able to support my very simple lifestyle with my writing income is only one of them, I also really try to make at least that fantasy as real as possible.

Part of that is that I really want to make that happen. I know that it won’t take one novel … hell, it’ll more than likely take dozens and dozens… and that it can sometimes take decades before my work gets noticed and, most importantly, purchased by enough people. Just look at how long it takes to build up a social media presence—and then to turn those numbers into people who actually care about what you say.

[MORE]

Amazingly Enough: Lost And Found – Absence Makes The Heart…

(from M.Christian's Meine Kliene Fabrik)

Check it out: a new kick-ass (if I say so myself) installment of my Amazing Stories column, Amazingly Enough, just went live!

Amazingly Enough: Lost And Found – 

Absence Makes The Heart…

LOST: Many novels, lots of paintings, quite a few films … and even a few cities…

#

Heartbreaking cat or dog stories get to some, others get teary when they think about passed loved ones … oh, sure, a sad lost kitten tale will get to me and there are far too many people who are no longer in my life (and are sorely missed) but what gets the waterworks really flowing is thinking about the movies, books, places, paintings, and music that are just … gone.

It’s becoming harder and harder to fathom the idea of anything really being totally missing: this is, after all, the age of the Internet and we are all far-too familiar with the maxim “the web never forgets.” But even a cursory glance at history will bring tears to the eyes of even the most cold-hearted.

For instance, you’ll never watch Lucien Hubbard’s The Mysterious Island; visit Itjtawy, an ancient Egyptian capital; or experience the legendary Amber Room…

Oh, sure, there’s still a chance that some of these treasures – and the thousands of others – might someday reappear, but for now they’ve just disappeared, vanished … gone.

Even cutting down the sob-story list of the missing to just films and a few special books – because, let’s face it, the catalog of paintings and music that can’t be found is simply staggering – leaves a pretty depressing catalog of absent features and tomes.

A few are not just absent but also damned alluring. Sure, more than few of the missing films were very small budget affairs (like some of Andy Warhol and Kenneth Anger’s) but more than a few of them were pretty lavish affairs.

And one is just plain weird. Most of you know kaiju (Japanese big monster movies, for the nerd-impaired). True aficionados of the genre gloat in knowing not just the first kaiji is the legendary Gojira but that it was made in 1954.

[MORE]

Me2: Chapter 11

(from M.Christian's Queer Imaginings)

As part of a huge - and much needed - marketing push, I'm going to be serializing a few of my all-time favorite books ... starting with the (ahem) rather infamous novel that I may or may not have actually written: Me2

"Absolutely brilliant!" says Lisabet Sarai, author of Incognito and Fire, about Lambda finalist M.Christian's controversial manlove horror/thriller. 

He looks just like you. He acts exactly like you. He takes away your job. He steals your friends. He seduces your male lover. None of them can tell the difference. Every day he becomes more and more like you, pushing you out of your own life, taking away what was yours … until there’s nothing left. Where did he come from? Robot? Alien? Clone? Doppelganger? Evil twin? Long lost brother? Then you discover there are still more "yous." Can you be sure you are the real you? And how do you fight to take your own life back? 

An absorbing new approach to the question of identity, Me2 is a groundbreaking gay chiller you’ll remember for a long time – no matter who you are, or who you think you may be. 

(Despite rumors that this book was written by an impostor - but, rest assured, this is the real 'M.Christian.' Accept no substitutes!)

Chapter XI

Me11

"You've heard it a lot.  Hell, I know you've heard it a lot.  But I mean it, you to me – honestly, truthfully – I know what you're feeling, the shit you've been going through.

"There's a lot of things going on.  Real things.  It's not just in your mind, not just in the space between your ears.  It's not just you.

"That's the problem, too.  But at least you aren't alone.  So you can relax, if you can.

"I'm so glad you came in.  I've tried to track down a few others like us, but when I got close, they got pretty freaked out.  A few even got punchy.  Can't really blame them, I guess.  Some of them are pretty ... busted up.  So that's why I stopped looking, let them come to me.  Like you have.  So glad you're handling it ... as well as you are.  You seem to be one of the better ones.

"Have you figured it out yet?  No?  I'm not surprised.  A few of us have had bits of it – a part here and there – but none of us have had all of it.  Don't know why I did.  Luck, maybe.  Could be I've had more time to think.  I don't know.

"We're all the same.  That's what it's all about.  That's what's going on: none of us are unique.  No one is.  We've all become types, we wear nothing but costumes, we act only like we're supposed to act –and we like it that way.  We've made ourselves into what we want to be, how we want to be seen.  It doesn't matter what that is: rich, poor, stupid, smart, beautiful.  It doesn't even matter how we start either – no parents, one parent, both parents, whatever – because no matter how we grow up, we all want to be the same as everyone else when we do.

"It's always been kind of like this, but it's different now.  Worse, I think.  Things used to travel slowly.  But now it just rushes at you, doesn't it?  TV, the Internet, magazines, books.  Life – all of it.  Sometimes you feels like it's too much, right?  It's too loud, too crazy, too angry.  So you try to find ways not to feel tense, outside, alone: you listen to the top ten, watch the top ten, think the top ten are sexy, want to look like the top ten, want to become the top ten, because everyone else does.  It's safe.  It feels good to know what you're doing is what everyone else is doing.

"There's something else, too: the TV, the Internet, the magazines, the books are all made to get to the most people, right?  That's the way it works, isn't it?  They're successful when they get the most number of people to read the same thing, watch the same thing, think the same thing, become the same thing – and they keep getting better and better at it.  Something's a hit because it was made to be a hit – and we make it a hit because if we don't watch it, listen to it, be like it then we won't be like everyone else.

"Think about it.  We want to be wanted, so we buy what they're selling, so we become what everyone wants: a predictable model, a type, a unit.  Everyone's the same – and that way we not only know what we are, but everyone else knows what we are, too.  Then to stay that way, we buy what we're supposed to buy and live the way our types are supposed to live.  It goes round and around and around and around!

"Have you listened to your thoughts?  Really listened?  Close your eyes and pay attention: they aren't yours, are they?  They're stuff from movies, from TV, from all over the place.  They aren't yours because you're just what you've read or watched or seen.  You're just bits and pieces of stuff.  Stuff that other people are thinking about too, people who want to be the same kind of person you are.

"Even people who don't think they're not the same are the same, I mean.  They think they're special but they're not.  They're types too – just different types.  They think they're beyond all this shit but they're not – they've all read the same books, seen the same flicks, listened to the same music.  They all want to be accepted, but accepted by people like them, so they wear their costumes and put on their act.  Just like us.  Just like all of us.

"Maybe we're ... better at all this, being 'types' I mean.  Maybe we're so outside of it, being queer and all, that we just want it more.  You know: to be part of something we get and that gets us.  So we make ourselves into special shapes and shit and lives to do that.  Some of us talk a certain way, walk a certain way, create lives that are just like our type so we don't have to be different.  More different, I mean.

"No shit that some of us – some of 'me' you could say – 'broke'.  You could see why it happened, when you figure it all out.  Others, like you, have handled it okay.  That we have become a standard model of a person, I mean.  I'm just glad you saw me and came in, so we could talk.

"Others ... like me, too, I guess.  How many like me are there?  Sitting down and talking to others like you.  Explaining about it all?  Telling the story?  I don't know how many others – but there's more than one.  That's the point, I guess: that there's always more than one."

Sitting in Starbucks, listening to him.  Listening to me.  The other me.  A path in his talking, a winding road through my head, going from refusal to belief, from belief to fury, fury to wanting to work things out, wanting to work things out to deep darkness, and then finally from deep darkness to understanding.

We sipped our caramel macchiatos together, one side of the mirror facing the other.  Maybe one set of eyes a bit more frantic, the other set of eyes more exhausted.  Otherwise the same man here, the same man there: Tommy Hilfiger facing Tommy Hilfiger in a Starbucks that could be any Starbucks.  The hair was the same, styled and modeled and clipped in imitation of the same look seen in the same magazine, on the same model who was chosen to appeal to the greatest number of men.

What was he thinking?  I could almost hear the words in my head – but only almost.  The tone of voice was there, but the details were slippery, sliding from getting caught and nailed down.  He'd figured it out, after all.  I hadn't.  He was me, but a me that was farther along the road, waving back to my slower pace.  I might be able to think like he did, given enough time.

I thought about him.  I thought about me.  I thought about other ... hims and mes and Is and theys and uses.  One end of the road marked by a sideways, out-of-the-other-corner-of-the-eye, "Weren't you just here?" the first sign that something-may-not-be-right, that there might be someone out there who looks like me, acts like me, and who wants to steal what's mine.

The other end was this me, who had seen it all, pondered and thought, deduced, and then tried to tell others what he'd pondered, what he'd thought, what he'd deduced.

My coffee was warm in my hand, so I sipped at it.  Across the table, my coffee was warm in my hand, so I sipped it.  A delay, perhaps, of a moment, a pause, a consideration between the two of us.  One at this side of the road, the other at that side of the road.

But what was right?  No, not a road.  That was only one direction: this way or that way.  There were others, maybe many others.  Only some of them were just beginning, only some of them were finally ending.  He said that a few of us hadn't ... taken it well.  How not well?

Not well of tears?  Not well of sleepless nights?  Not well of sadness?  Not well of fear?  Not well of fright?

I could imagine that too well, and then did, as the coffee filled my mouth with warm excitement: a mirror-image walking through my life, stepping on my toes, taking my place in line, getting everywhere before me, moving in, taking everything.  I could see where that would push and push and push until I fell over into tears, from sleepless nights of paranoia, sadness of loss, fear of vanishing, and fright from being replaced.

But there were other kinds of not well.  Different direction I could have gone.

Not well of tears?  Not well of seduction?  Not well of temptation?  Not well of escape?  Not well of capture?

I could imagine that too well, and then did as the coffee filled my mouth with cooling excitement: a mirror-image fantasy lurking around every nasty corner of my life, crooking a finger at my conscienceless dick, licking duplicate lips, offering a perfect self-dream of narcissism, an enrapturing embrace of the one person I knew would be there and love me no matter what – but then there was the bad stuff of it, the swirling-down-the-drain shivers at the thought of gazing from now until whenever at my own navel.  I could see where that would shove me into tears from the allure of seduction, the tug of temptation, the fever to escape, and then the dark wish for capture.

But there were other kinds of not well.  Different direction I could have gone.

Not well of tears?  Not well of stalking?  Not well of pursuit?  Not well of corners?  Not well of desperation?  Not well of blood?  Not well of red and blue lights?  Not well of prison?  Not well of hail of gunfire?

I could imagine that too well, and then did as the coffee filled my mouth with cold dread: around every corner, behind every closed door, a leering face from a warped mirror; every step from behind belonging to him, every sound coming from him, every face at first his – until proven otherwise, every threat his, everything everywhere a scheme belonging to him.  I could see where that would shove me into frightened tears, drive me quivering insane from his real or imagined stalking, his real or imagined pursuit, his real or imagined face around every corner, then a moment when it didn't matter if he was real or imagined – it had to stop, then a moment of blood, then an afterworld of alleys and darkness escaping from the police, then an afterworld of bars and rape – or an afterworld of bullets burning hot holes through his body.

So many other kinds of not well.  So many different directions I could have gone.  Not a road.  No, that wasn't right.  So many stories with so many different versions of me.  I could see them as separate, unconnected, single stories – or even like a novel, with each chapter only looking like the same me on a trip from suspicion to seduction to smashing a supposed copy's brain to gray pudding – but in reality each me is a different one, lots of little stories instead of a big one in little pieces.

And I, sitting in front of another me sipping coffee, is just one more.  One more false chapter.  One more me.  In some books I'd be the end, in others only the beginning.

We got up to refresh our caramel macchiatos, he and I, perfectly together – as were the grins we shared at getting up together to refresh our caramel macchiatos.  Then we were broken, he doing something I wasn't doing – but only for a moment as I followed the turn of his head to look out the window, and saw what he turned his head to see.  Outside, looking in, worn and tired, scared and sleepless, Tommy Hilfiger over an older look as disguise, eyes too wide from too many shocks, was another me.

With what I hoped was a friendly beckoning, I crooked my finger at him; welcoming him into the company of himself.

The NEXT Leather, Lace & Lust: An Evening Of Erotic Storytelling and Sexual Merriment!

(from M.Christian's Classes And Appearances)

Check it out: coming up is the next installment in the regular Leather, Lace & Lust: An Evening Of Erotic Storytelling and Sexual Merriment event ... sponsored by the great folks at WriteSex! 

See you there!

Leather, Lace & Lust: 

An Evening Of Erotic Storytelling and Sexual Merriment

Come one, come all* to an evening of lusty literature by many of the best erotica writers in the Bay Area!

From the tempting tease of delicate lace to the steamy heat of hardcore leather, these authors and performers will amuse, delight, and most of all excite you in all kinds of new and provocative ways; This is an evening of witty, carnal, and provocative literary endeavors that will tickle just about every kind of fancy, a festival of playful sensual fiction that will make you laugh, cry, and get that oh-so-special tingly feeling in your nether-regions.

In other words, a night of kick-ass erotica performed by ass-kicking writers!

Sponsored by WriteSex: Everything a writer needs to know about the business of publishing erotica!

Our featured performers include:

Suz deMello, a.k.a Sue Swift, is a best-selling, award-winning author of seventeen romance novels in several subgenres, including erotica, comedy, historical, paranormal, mystery and suspense, plus a number of short stories and non-fiction articles on writing.

Molly Weatherfield: "Twenty years ago, a mild-mannered computer programmer decided to spend some quality time with her erotic fantasy life, and Carrie's Story - BDSM for smart girls - was born."

Mistress Lorelei Powers is a well-known bi poly sadist and Domme. She is the author of several BDSM classics, including On Display, The Mistress Manual, and Charm School for Sissy Maids.

Blake C. Aarens is an author, poet, screenwriter, playwright, and a Black Girl Nerd.

Jean Marie Stine is the author of a number of pioneering works of erotica published in the late 1960 and early 1970s, beginning with Season of the Witch in 1968, which was filmed as the motion picture Synapse. Her erotic short stories and novelettes have been collected as "Trans-sexual: Fiction for Gender Queers."

Xan West refuses pronouns, twists barbed wire together with yearning, and tilts pain in many directions to catch the light. Xan adores vulnerable tops, strong supportive bottoms, queer activist communities, red meat, and cool, dark, quiet rooms with comfortable beds.

M.Christian is a recognized 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 others.

Saturday, December 6th
The Center For Sex And Culture
1349 Mission St, San Francisco, CA 94103
Doors at 6:30PM, Event starts at 7:30PM
Admission: $10

*no guarantees

Jean Marine Stine & I: Using Social Media To Grow Your Adult Business And Build Your Client Base - The Working Smarter And Not Harder Way!

(from M.Christian's Classes And Appearances)

Okay, I know I say this a lot but this is very, very, very cool: I'm going to be joining my great pal, Jean Marie Stine, in doing a class on PR and adult business for the Center For Sex And Culture on Nov. 29th. Here's the info:

Using Social Media To Grow Your Adult Business And Build Your Client Base - The Working Smarter And Not Harder Way...

... for Retailers, Therapists, Photographers, Video Makers, Sex Workers, Writers & Others

Nov 29, 2014 2:00 PM - 4:00PM
Center for Sex and Culture
1349 Mission St,
San Francisco, CA 94103
$20

Let's face facts: the adult business world has totally, completely changed marketing and advertising tricks that used to work simply don't anymore ... which is why, more than ever, thinking outside the box is key to raising above the rest and, best of all, bring in exposure and, hopefully, sales.

Twitter? Tumblr? Facebook? While there are a lot of options, many of the techniques that a lot of gurus and experts recommend only work for those same experts and gurus ... and not for anyone else.

But in this fun and provocative lecture you'll learn to learn the differences between what other people say you should do and what actually works including when to play by the rules and when not to, how to rise above the rest, and how to manage your marketing time and dollars.

Among some of the subjects covered will be:

• How to blog, tweet and post effectively and efficiently
• How to handle fast media like Twitter versus slower ones like Facebook
• When national social media is what you want and when it's something you don't need
• The power of FREE
• Knowing your audience ... and developing great techniques to reach them
• Understanding the difference between likes, friends and actual sales
• How to make your social media presence rich and interesting without taking valuable time away from your company
• How to think innovatively about advertising, public relations, and marketing that don't involve social media or even the internet

Jean Marie Stine is the author of a number of pioneering works of erotica published in the late 1960 and early 1970s, beginning with Season of the Witch in 1968, which was filmed as the motion picture Synapse. Her erotic short stories and novelettes have been collected as "Trans-sexual: Fiction for Gender Queers." She is the Publisher of Renaissance E Books, which includes the Sizzler Editions imprint of premier and groundbreaking erotica

M.Christian is a recognized 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 others. He is a sexuality and BDSM educator for venues all across the country -- and an Associate Publisher for Renaissance E Books.

This Tuesday: Creative Sex Play At Good Vibrations!

(from M.Christian's Classes And Appearances)

This is going to be a real blast - come if you can to hear little ol' me chat about sex and creativity!

Creative Sex Play

Even the most experienced sexual adventurer may run short of ... shall we say 'inspiration'? In this wild and provocative seminar with noted erotic writer and teacher M.Christian, participants will not just learn all kind of new techniques and sexual worlds to explore and do that exploration safely (both physically as well as emotionally) -- but they will also have lots of fun with various techniques to expand their basic imagination muscles: picking up new and enjoyable games to help them add a lot more to their lives and not just their bedroom play.

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, QSM, 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

Good Vibrations Polk Street Store
1620 Polk Street (at Sacramento Street)
San Francisco, CA 94109

$20.00 or $25 at the door, as space allows

Please Help Elvis!

(from Arthur Byron Cover's site)

Arthur Byron Cover's partner Lydia Marano has posted a call on Facebook to help their beloved dog Elvis:

Elvis needs your help. As you may know, Art and I literally picked him up off the side of the road, in March, where he'd been hit by a car. Our vet gave him a 25% chance of walking again. We worked hard, everyday, to rehabilitate him and Elvis beat the odds. He can run now but as winter approaches it becomes more and more obvious that he still needs ACL surgery. The cost: at least $1500. That's half of what we already spent and, frankly, we're tapped out. Saving up on a fixed income is hard, but we’re trying.By sheer chance, we noticed that Elvis has a tumor in his mouth which is growing over his side teeth. The vet said it had to go ... duh. In one week it’s extended to his lower, right canine. The vet estimated it will cost about $700. We put down what we had — $100 — but he needs more. To date, we've raised an additional $364 -- more than half of what we need for his oral surgery! If you can donate any amount it would be greatly appreciated. 

I’ve added new designs to my Red Bubble page.  

http://www.redbubble.com/people/Telzey. Elvis will get $4-6 per item sold. You can send funds to lcmarano@gmail.com at PayPal. Or, better yet, send money directly to my vet: Rim Forest Animal Hospital at 909-337-8589. 

To those of you who have already donated, you have our eternal thanks. Everyone else -- thank you for listening. Asking for help is the hardest thing I've ever done, but Elvis is worth it.

Please help any way you can!  As Lydia has said, Elvis is more than worth it!

Confessions Of A Literary Streetwalker: Knowing Me Knowing You

Check it out: a brand new essay I did on smut-writing just went up on the great Erotica Readers and Writers site:

Confessions Of A Literary Streetwalker:
Knowing Me Knowing You

On the surface it sounds like a ... well, no duh. But it's really quite remarkable how many writers – especially erotica writers – put huge amounts of work into their craft, yet neglect an essential part of the process of actually getting people to read their work.

They slave over characters, plot, setting, language; they set up sites, join Facebook and Twitter and Good Reads; they network and network and network; and, in the end, they may be very well known ... but only by other erotica writers.

Believe me, my own glass house has plenty of smashed windows: I'm far from immune to intimidation that can come from reaching outside your authorly comfort zone.

A certain level of anxiety is expected, after all: as I've said more than a few times, writing is a very tough life ... and far too often the only people we can get to understand and appreciate what we do are other writers. Yes, they understand and, if they are good people, they will be supportive but the cold hard fact is that writers just don't buy other writers' books ... or at least not often.

Sitting on the other side of the fence – as an editor and Publisher for Renaissance E Books/Sizzler Editions – I see the side effects of authors not willing or able to understand their audience: poor sales. As said, they pour massive amounts of time and effort into their books but when they put their work out there it's like they haven't spend a single minute trying to think about who the book was written for ... who the audience is.

Sure, it's uncomfortable – as I've also said, writing is a very solitary thing so it goes very much against the grain for us all to have to deal with publicity – but it really is vital to spend some quality time thinking about who your readers actually are.

And it's not exactly rocket science – though there are a few tricks, as you might expect. The main one, of course, is when you reach out to sell your work keep in mind that's what you are doing: selling ... and no one likes to be sold to. There is a fine line between letting people know about your kick-ass erotica book and becoming a spammer. That is why simply throwing ads about your stuff out into your audience pool is never a good idea.

Instead, try to meet your readers halfway. Example: you've written the greatest gay Western romance ever. Congratulations! So where should you focus your social media and such? Not to be rude but ... come on! The answer is right there: Gay. Western. Romance.

Join or reach out to queer sites -- especially gay western or romance ones. Reach out to romance sites – especially western or gay ones. Reach out to western sites – especially gay and romance ones. Not just book sites (and I can't emphasize that enough) but sites for folks who like what you have written. Send them announcements but also share other things as well.

[MORE]

Tuesday, Nov, 11th: Sensual Caning: How To Use The Rod In New And Exciting Ways

(from M.Christian's Classes And Appearances)

This is going to be a blast!

Sensual Caning: How To Use The Rod In New And Exciting Ways

SF Citadel
181 Eddy St, San Francisco, CA
Cost: $20 at the door, $15 in advance

The cane is one of those 'legendary' BDSM toys that is far too often used with dramatic flare – rather than erotic effectiveness. In this very special class, cane wielders will learn the difference between using a rod as a prop and, instead, how to use various types of cane (wood versus plastic, thin versus thick, etc) to send the receiver to new erotic heights. With this unique – and sensual - technique even those scared of the rod will be enticed to being on the receiving end of the not-so-scary cane.

Class from 8-10pm, doors open at 7:30pm
Cost: $20 at the door, $15 in advance via PurplePass: http://www.purplepass.com/sfc11112014

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, QSM, 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

Yet More Philosophy