I'm Going To Be At Con-Volution!

(from M.Christian's Classes And Appearances)

This is gonna be a blast! If you're going to the great Con-Volution convention in Daly City look me up - I'll be doing more than a few panels, a reading and teaching a class on mixing sex in science fiction!

Here's my schedule:

Actual Science in Science Fiction
Saturday 10:00 - 11:15, Sumac (Hyatt Regency SFO)
Should we expect 100% accurate science from authors who are telling a story?
M Christian (M), Jay Hartlove, C. Sanford Lowe, Edward Pizzini Ph.D., Heidi Stauffer

Secret Panel
Saturday 11:30 - 12:45, Harbor B (Hyatt Regency SFO)
If we told you, it wouldn't be a secret, now would it?
Steve Libbey, Matt Marovich, Steven Mix, M Christian, Jennifer Nestojko, Emerian Rich, Sumiko Saulson, Linda Kay Silva, Frank Wu, Carrie Sessarego

New Wave SF
Saturday 13:00 - 14:15, SandPebble D (Hyatt Regency SFO)
Bradford Lyau (M), Dario Ciriello, M Christian, Chuck Serface

Video Games: Past, Present, Future
Saturday 16:00 - 17:15, Harbor A (Hyatt Regency SFO)
Rev. Dr. Christopher Garcia (M), Rob Miles, M Christian, Beau Safken

Reading
Sunday 11:30 - 12:45, Wine Room (Hyatt Regency SFO)
Dario Ciriello, M Christian, Jason Malcolm Stewart, Tyler Hayes

Writers Workshop: Let's Talk About Sex
Sunday 13:00 - 14:15, SandPebble D (Hyatt Regency SFO)
This class will focus on how to write credible and non-awkward sex and love scenes. How to write about the heaving bosoms without blushing and convulsing in giggles.

Up Now At FutureOfSex: Part Two of The Ten Greatest Sexual Innovations to Come!

(from M.Christian's Technorotica)

This is great news: part two of my three part series on The Ten Greatest Sexual Innovations to Come is live!

Check it out at the Future Of Sex site ... in the meantime here's a teasing taste:

In our first installment on future sex technologies, we took a look at upcoming developments in sensory tech: virtual reality, augmented reality, and direct neurostimulation.

But this time around we’re going to explore what may very well happen to the flesh and blood of humanity—and in fact how sex will no longer be just flesh and blood—by examining three promising innovations in sexual biotechnology: cybernetics, body switching, and genetic engineering.
Innovation Four: Cybernetics

Sure, Nathan S. Kline and Manfred Clynes may have coined the term cyborg in 1960, but the concept of enhancing humanity through artificial limbs and organs is actually an ancient one.

Through recent developments in direct nerve connections, exotic materials, and microscopic sensors, we are looking at a time in the not-too-distant future where we won’t just be able to replace missing or diseased organs with artificial ones—but may very well prefer them over the “real thing.”

This is especially true around our sex organs. Just look at how breast implants—in a way a form of artificial augmentation—have changed human eroticism. Right now, breast implants are mostly cosmetic, but what happens when we can alter our physical forms in any way we wish?

That’s the kicker: we’re limited only by our imaginations. More than likely we’ll first see people who look pretty much like people. Soon, though, we’ll begin to realize that we can become anything we want. With soon-arriving technology, we’ll be able to feel an artificial sex organ just as good, if not better, than the flesh and blood version.

What’s even wilder is that if you get tired of whatever new body part you’ve had installed, then you can just swap it out or upgrade it.

With artificial forms we’ll be able to turn any part of our bodies into sex organs, or use our entire bodies as one. We could make love to clouds, ocean currents, solar winds, or entire planets if we desired.

But we’d still be ourselves. This is where another huge development comes in: the technology that will allow us to become someone else.

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A DARK DOINGS AT MISKATONIC U Special: Jason Rubis

(from M.Christian's Meine Kleine Fabrik)

As part of a celebration of the release of Dark Doings at Miskatonic U (that I had the extreme honor of editing) here's a quickie interview with the author of one of the new Miskatonic tales in the book - the fabulous Jason Rubis:

Q: What's your favorite part of the Lovecraft mythos

The monsters! No writer ever created such memorably "indescribable" abominations! The nightgaunts, the shoggoths, Great Cthulhu himself ... they all feel as real as sharks or tigers, and twice as menacing!

Q: What do you think is the lasting "allure" of Lovecraft's work?

The man was simply a great storyteller. You can talk about existentialism and the insignificance of man against the unfeeling cosmos and such, but Lovecraft's fiction has that strange note of conviction you see in all great fantasists (and not a few other genres as well). When you start reading a really great HPL story like "Whisperer in Darkness" (one of my personal favorites), there's that oddly comforting feeling, of sitting down to hear a story, told by someone who knows what they're talking about. You imagine this someone--a very tall, gaunt someone from Rhode Island, let's say--sitting down with you, looking you in the eye and saying: "Listen ... there were these terrible floods in Vermont, way in the back country, and they found some bodies in the river afterward ... very *strange* bodies..." That may not be what initially brings people to Lovecraft, but it's the reason they keep reading him and remember him as one of the greats.

Q: What's the scariest thing, for you, in Lovecraft's work?

The way his stories--the later stories, in particular--are told as a series of hints and allusions, through invented bits of lore, newspaper clippings, journal entries, etc. You only see what's happening very obliquely, but there's a sense of some awful truth slowly coming into focus. And then suddenly--WHAM! It all comes together. Even today, after having read and re-read the stories many times, it works for me.

Q: Tell us a bit about how you came to write your story for DARK DOINGS AT MISKATONIC U?

Like the hero of "Signed First Edition," I spent way too many hours of my freshman year digging through the stacks at my university library. I found one very odd book full of very graphic pictures of people being tortured by people in skull masks and like that. Today my guess is that it was about Grand Guignol or European exploitation films, but the text was in French, so I had no idea at the time what the hell this thing was about, which made it even more disturbing. I carried that book around in my head for a long time, and when the opportunity came to submit to DARK DOINGS I knew exactly what I wanted to do with it.

Q: What's your area of study at Miskatonic University?

I'm currently "virtually auditing" several classes in cryptoarchaeology at the Misk. I do hold a master's in Unspeakable Blasphemies from the Eldritch Studies department, but it's not on my resume. ;)

Up Now At FutureOfSex: Part One of The Ten Greatest Sexual Innovations to Come!

(from M.Christian's Technorotica)

Alas, badoink is gone - fun while it lasted - but the great news is that I'm now writing for the fabulous FutureOf Sex ... and my very first piece, part one of a series called The Ten Greatest Sexual Innovations to Come is live!

Just click here and read The Future of Sexual Sensing: Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality and Neurostimulation!

As the old saying goes: the only constant is change—and the last few years have certainly seen a lot of it. So many changes, in fact, that it’s hard to think of any aspect of human society that hasn’t been touched by technological innovation over the last decade or so.

Books became ebooks, the Internet went from novelty to essential, electric and hybrid vehicles have become ubiquitous, gay marriage changed from “don’t talk about it” to “no big deal” (at least in some countries), and 3D printers left the prototype stage to become at-home appliances—just to hit some highlights.

But the greatest changes are right around the corner. Many of these innovations will occur in one of our favorite areas: sex.

Part one of our three-part tour into future sex developments is this speculation on sensory tech: how our seeing—and feeling—will be more than believing. These incredible sensory advances will be introduced to us via three innovative technologies.
Innovation One: Virtual Reality

Despite some initial clumsy attempts, virtual reality promises to become a societal game changer. Like many huge innovations, the basic idea of virtual reality is essentially simple: an artificial world accessed by miniature monitors over the eyes. These, coupled with motion sensors, means when you turn your head, the view through those monitors changes as well.

Where the game changing comes in is two pronged. The first is that VR promises a level of total immersion that we have never experienced before. With a VR headset—like the popular Oculus Rift—you’ll feel like you’re actually in whatever artificial world you’re visiting. Right now all we’re missing to complete this total immersion is haptics—touch technology, but that’s right around the corner.

The other prong is part of what drove the ebook revolution in publishing: privacy. With a VR set, no one will know where you are but you.

With VR you can visit—or create—any erotic world of your choosing in privacy. There is, literally, nothing you could not see nor do in a synthetic reality. As the tech gets better and better, soon the line between “real” reality and a virtual experience will get thinner and thinner.

Gazing into my—albeit cracked—crystal ball, it’s not too difficult to envision a few years from now. With VR we’ll not just be able to see films, but be parts of them. Interactivity will mean that entertainment, erotic or otherwise, will be multi-dimensional and totally immersive.

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Confessions Of A Literary Streetwalker: Confessions

Check it out: one of my fave Confessions Of A Literary Streetwalker essay just went live on the fab Erotica Readers and Writers site:

My name is Chris – though my pseudonym is usually M.Christian – and I have a confession to make.

I’ve written – and write – a…what’s the technical term? Oh, yeah: shitload of erotica. Some 400 published stories, 12 or so collections, 7 novels. I’ve also edited around 25 anthologies. I even have the honor of being an Associate Publisher for Renaissance eBooks, whose Sizzler Editions erotica imprint has some 1,300 titles out there.

I’ve written sexually explicit gay stories, lesbian stories, trans stories, bisexual stories, BDSM stories, tales exploring just about every kind of fetish, you name it and I can all but guarantee that I’ve written about it. I like to joke that a friend of mine challenged me to write a story to a ridiculously particular specification: a queer vampire sport tale. My answer? “Casey, The Bat.” Which I actually did write…though I dropped the vampire part of it.

Don’t worry; I’m getting to the point. I can write just about anything for anyone – but here comes the confession:

I’ve never, ever written about what actually turns me – what turns Chris – on.

This kind of makes me a rather rare beast in the world of professional smut writing. In fact it’s pretty common for other erotica writers to – to be polite about it – look down their noses at the fact that I write about anything other than my own actual or desired sexual peccadilloes. Some have even been outright rude about it: claiming that I’m somehow insulting to their interests and/or orientations and shouldn’t write anything except what I am and what I like.

To be honest, in moments of self-doubt I have thought the very same thing. Am I profiting off the sexuality of other people? Am I a parasite, too cowardly to put my own kinks and passions out into the world? Am I short-changing myself as a writer by refusing to put myself out there?

For the record, I’m a hetero guy who – mostly – likes sexually dominant women. I also find my head turned pretty quickly when a large, curvy woman walks by. That said, I’ve had wonderful times with women of every size, shape, ethnicity, and interest.

So why do I find it so hard to say all that in my writing? The question has been bugging me for a while, so I put on my thinking cap. Part of the answer, I’ve come to understand, relates directly to chronic depression: it’s much less of an emotional gamble to hide behind a curtain of story than to risk getting my own intimate desires and passions stomped flat by a critical review or other negative reaction from readers. I can handle critical reviews of a story – that’s par for the course in professional writing – but it’s a good question as to whether I could handle critical reviews of my life.
But then I had an eye-opening revelation. As I said, I’ve written – and write – stories about all kinds of interests, inclinations, passions, orientations, genders, ethnicities, ages, cultures…okay, I won’t belabor it. But the point is that I’ve also been extremely blessed to have sold everything I’ve ever written. Not only that, but I’ve had beautiful compliments from people saying my work has touched them and that they never, ever, would have realized that the desires of the story’s narrator and those of the writer weren’t one and the same.

Which, in a nice little turn-around, leads me to say that my name is Chris – though my pseudonym is usually M.Christian – and I have yet another confession to make.

Yes, I don’t get sexually excited when I write. Yes, I have never written about what turns me on. Yes, I always write under a name that’s not my legal one.

But that doesn’t mean I don’t feel when I write. Far from it: absolutely, I have no idea what actual gay sex is like for the participants; positively, I have not an inkling of what many fetishes feel like inside the minds of those who have them; definitely, I have no clue what it’s like to have sex as a woman…

I do, however, know what sex is like. The mechanics, yeah, but more importantly I work very hard to understand the emotions of sex and sexuality through the raw examination of my own life: the heart-racing nerves, the whispering self-doubts, the pulse-pounding tremors of hope, the bittersweetness of it, the bliss, the sorrows and the warmth of it, the dreams and memories…

I’m working on a story right now, part of a new collection. It’s erotic – duh – but it’s also about hope, redemption, change, and acceptance. I have no experience with the kind of physical sex that takes place in this story but every time I close its file after a few hours of work, tears are burning my cheeks. In part, this emotional investment is about trying to recapture the transcendent joy I’ve felt reading the work of writers I admire.

When I read manuscripts as an anthology editor, or as an Associate Publisher, a common mistake I see in them is a dedication to technical accuracy favored over emotion. These stories are correct down to the smallest detail – either because they were written from life or from an exactingly fact-checked sexual imagination – but at the end, I as the reader feel…nothing.

I’m not perfect – far from it – but while I may lack direct experience in a lot of what I write, I do work very, very hard to put real human depth into whatever I do. I may not take the superficial risk of putting the mechanics of my sexuality into stories and books but I take a greater chance by using the full range of my emotional life in everything I create.

I freely admit that I don’t write about my own sexual interests and experiences. That may – in some people’s minds – disqualify me from being what they consider an “honest” erotica writer, but after much work and introspection I contest that while I may keep my sex life to myself, I work very hard to bring as much of my own, deeply personal, self to bear upon each story as I can.

They say that confession is good for the soul. But I humbly wish to add to that while confession is fine and dandy, trying to touch people – beyond their sex organs – is ever better…for your own soul as well as the souls of anyone reading your work.

Out Now: Reel Monsters: Eight World Famous Stories That Inspired Legendary Horror Films

This is a blast!  Check out this brand new book: Reel Monsters: Eight World Famous Stories That Inspired Legendary Horror Films.

Featuring fantastic stories that became some truly amazing films ... a fun read for film buffs as well as fans of classic horror tales!

Eight world famous stories that inspired legendary horror films. With filmographies and new Introduction!

Includes: the original stories for Freaks (Spurs), It's A Good Life, The Beast With Five Fingers, Invasion Of The Saucer Men (The Cosmic Frame), The Body Snatchers, The Monkey's Paw, and more.

M.Christian's Erotic Science Fiction Collection, Bachelor Machine, Back in A New Edition – PLUS Groundbreaking Sequel: Skin Effect!

(from M.Christian's Technorotica)

M.Christian and Renaissance E Books, through its Sizzler Editions imprint, is pleased and proud to announce the republication of M.Christian's groundbreaking science fiction collection, Bachelor Machine, plus a brand new, never-before seen, follow-up collection: Skin Effect!

M.Christian rocked the world of both science fiction and erotica with Bachelor Machine – Cynthia Ward at Locus Online calling it "smart, taboo-breaking SF" and – and now his groundbreaking book is back in a brand new edition!

Not only that, but M.Christian will further amaze as well as arouse with a follow up collection of imaginative and stimulating stories: Skin Effect!

In Skin Effect and Bachelor Machine are tales that push the envelopes of both science fiction as well as erotica in innovative and stimulating ways: stories voyaging to the near as well as the far future, exploring the ultimate limits of sex and arousal.

In her introduction to Bachelor Machine, Cecilia Tan says of M.Christian "There are only two people in the world I envy. One is the late Roger Zelazny, whose talent for an almost jazz improvisational way of writing I could never match. The other is M.Christian, for writing exactly what I’d write if only I could get off my ass. Which is to say, raunchy hallucinatory sexfuture dreams that never fail to arouse me and kick me in the gut at the same time."

In his forward to Skin Effect, the Chicano science fiction legend Ernest Hogan (author of High Aztech and Cortez On Jupiter), says "The stories in Skin Effect are erotic, and original, state-of-the-art science fiction. They take the technological developments of recent years and plug them into the engines of human desire, taking us beyond our present day sexual issues into worlds that deliver in ways I hadn't imagined possible."

In Skin Effect and Bachelor Machine are tales that are riveting as well as arousing, stories of technology and desire, and arousal and innovation ... told in an engaging and evocative style guaranteed to amaze as well as excite.

From down and out hustlers, enhanced sex workers, enigmatic aliens, bleeding edge erotic technologies, and more – Bachelor Machine and Skin Effect are an unique visions of the future, while celebrating humanity's oldest pleasure ... sex!

"M.Christian’s stories squat at the intersection of Primal Urges Avenue and Hi-Tech Parkway like a feral-eyed, half-naked Karen Black leering and stabbing her fractal machete into the tarmac. Truly an author for our post-everything 21st century."
–Paul Di Filippo, The Steampunk Trilogy

"M.Christian speaks with a totally unique and truly fascinating voice. There are a lot of writers out there who'd better protect their markets – M. Christian has arrived!"
–Mike Resnick, Hugo and Nebula Award winning science fiction author

"When I tell you that these stories are hot, I might be giving you an understatement. M.Christian’s erotica comes from the heart ... he has created an entire new genre."
–Amos Lassen

"There is an uncommon variety of material in here [Bachelor Machine], from cyberpunk to space opera, alternative history to dystopia. The science-fictional settings are manifold, as are the sexual positions and inclinations—and, more importantly, the role of the inevitable explicit sex within each story. From the frivolous to the poignant to the socio-politically scathing, there’s something in this book for everyone."
–Johann Carlisle, Future Fire

"M.Christian is a hybrid artist and knockout stylist on the order of Jonathan Lethem. Hard-boiled, sharp-edged, funny and fierce, his tales brim with unbridled imagination and pitch-perfect satire,"
–Jim Gladstone

"M.Christian is a writer who takes you for a long walk down a dark wet street at midnight. You can't get much more edgy and still be legal. His fiction never disappoints."
–Nancy Kilpatrick, The Power of the Blood series and In the Shadow of the Gargoyle

Calling M.Christian versatile is a tremendous understatement. Extensively published in science fiction, fantasy, horror, thrillers, and even non-fiction, it is in erotica that M.Christian has become an acknowledged master, 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 in fact too many anthologies, magazines, and sites to name. In erotica, M.Christian is known and respected not just for his passion on the page but also his staggering imagination and chameleonic ability to successfully and convincingly write for any and all orientations.

But M.Christian has other tricks up his literary sleeve: in addition to writing, he is a prolific and respected anthologist, having edited 25 anthologies to date including the Best S/M Erotica series; Pirate Booty; My Love For All That Is Bizarre: Sherlock Holmes Erotica; The Burning Pen; The Mammoth Book of Future Cops, and The Mammoth Book of Tales of the Road (with Maxim Jakubowksi); Confessions, Garden of Perverse, and Amazons (with Sage Vivant), and many more.

M.Christian's short fiction has been collected into many bestselling books in a wide variety of genres, including the Lambda Award finalist Dirty Words and other queer collections like Filthy Boys, BodyWork, and his best-of-his-best gay erotica book, Stroke the Fire. He also has collections of non-fiction (Welcome to Weirdsville, Pornotopia, and How To Write And Sell Erotica); science fiction, fantasy and horror (Love Without Gun Control); and erotic science fiction including Rude Mechanicals, Technorotica, Better Than The Real Thing, and the acclaimed Bachelor Machine.

As a novelist, M.Christian has shown his monumental versatility with books such as the queer vamp novels Running Dry and The Very Bloody Marys; the erotic romance Brushes; the science fiction erotic novel Painted Doll; and the rather controversial gay horror/thrillers Finger's Breadth and Me2.

M.Christian is also the Publisher of Digital Parchment Services and an Associate Publisher for Renaissance E Books, where he strives to be the publisher he'd want to have as a writer, and to help bring quality books (erotica, noir, science fiction, and more) and authors out into the world.

Bachelor Machine: $2.99

Skin Effect: $2.99

Very Special Class: Sex Sells - How To Write and Sell Erotica With M.Christian

(from M.Christian's Classes And Appearances)

I love teaching all kinds of classes but this one is very near and dear to my heart ... so I'm jazzed to be able to say that next Thursday, August 6th, I'm going to be teaching my Sex Sells - How To Write and Sell Erotica class at the Center For Sex And Culture in San Francisco!

Sex Sells: How To Write and Sell Erotica 

With M.Christian

For the beginning writer, erotica can be the ideal place to begin writing, getting published, and - best of all - earning money. And for the experienced writer, erotica can be an excellent way to beef up your resume and hone your writing skills. M.Christian will review the varieties of personal and literary expression possible in this exciting and expanding field. He'll also teach you techniques for creating love and sex scenes that sizzle. Plus: current pay rates, how to write for a wide variety of erotic genres, where and how to submit your erotic writing, and more.

Thursday, August 6
6:00PM to 8:00PM
Center For Sex And Culture
1349 Mission Street
San Francisco, CA 94103

$20 (pre-order tickets here)

#

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 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

Check Out The New Installment Of Badoink Future Sex Tech!

(from M.Christian's Technorotica)

I am seriously having a blast doing my series for Future SexTech: The Five New Technologies That Will Change Sex Forever for Badoink!

Just check out the brand new installment that just went up and live on the kick-ass site:

Future SexTech: 

The Five New Technologies That Will Change Sex Forever

#3 Haptic Tech

Here it comes, faster than you think: the world of tomorrow. And, even better, it’s going to be a very erotic future!

We’ve delved into the visual sexuality of virtual and augmented reality, and then 3D printing equipment that’ll bring dreams into fabricated existence. But what we’ve been missing so far, that’ll really turn any erotic dream into pretty-near reality, is what people call haptic technology.

That’s a sense of touch, to you and I.

True, touch tech has been around for quite a while – at least as long as the earliest attempts at virtual reality. Given, in erotic circles, the less-than-sensual label of teledildonics, the idea is simple enough: wire a motorized ‘accessory’ to the web, or specialized games, and have at it… or have it at you. Whatever rocks your world, as they say.

Alas, those early attempts were rather crude, to be polite. But that’s changing and fast. New Bluetooth vibrators – for every orientation and inclination – are small, efficient, and even stylish. Models such as the We-Vibe can even connect to special smartphone apps, as can the tech by a company called OhMiBod. Pretty soon we’ll be able to mate them to specialized virtual or augmented reality games so you’ll be able to not just see your wildest sexual fantasy but have a pretty realistic illusion of being touched.

Ah, but what about the other direction? Being touched is one thing – we are getting pretty close to that, but being able to reach out and virtually touch is really the next big thing. One possible direction this development will take is using direct neural interface: wiring technology directly into the brain. We already have made huge advances in this direction, like the development of prostheses with an actual sense of touch.

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Future Sex Tech And Porn Can Be Good For You: Great New Badoink Fun!

(from M.Christian's Technorotica)

I am having a real blast writing for the great site, badoink. In fact not one but two of my new pieces just went up: part two of my new series Future SexTech: The Five New Technologies That Will Change Sex Forever and a great article on how watching porn can really, actually be good for your sex life!

Check out these teasers ... and be sure to go to the site itself for my pieces a lot more cool stuff!

Future SexTech: The Five New Technologies 

That Will Change Sex Forever. 

#2 3D Printing

Like a lot of technology that has completely changed the world, 3D printing is – on the surface – really quite simple. How simple? Well, it’s printing… but in three dimensions.

Okay, okay, I bet you want a bit more information. Really, 3D printing is, in essence, the same as regular old printing but instead of ink on a flat surface the technology uses plastics – and other materials – to build up layer after later until, voila, you have a solid object. Plastic, metal, sugar… you name it and we can, or will very soon, be able to make it.

The revolution in 3D printing came very recently, but the really big change is just on the horizon. That first step was in making 3D printing much more accessible: going from a novelty to an almost common piece of technology. Staples, in fact, recently announced that some of their stores will feature 3D printers; all you need to do is drop off a design, or email it, and your physical object will be made for you.

Then you have the very cool company, Shapeways; people upload their designs to the site and then anyone can order that gizmo or whatever you’ve created in all kinds of materials. For the first time anyone can create pretty much anything and then have people own a physical version of it.

Which gets us to sex. The problem with the old world of sex toys is the same problem with manufacturing, period: bulk. To make anything you had to make a lot of it. Just making one of anything was hideously expensive.

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Porn Can Be Good For Your Sex Life… Really!

Pretty much everyone – and we mean everyone – likes to look at adult videos and pictures, or read erotic books, now and again. But what most don’t know is that porn can actually be a huge benefit to a healthy sex life.

Putting aside political issues, or concerns about porn addiction – which is a concern but not as common as some fear it can be – indulging in adult entertainment has proved to be a great way not just to lift the sexual spirit but can actually be educational, or even good for self-esteem!

In a study in Sexual Medicine, for instance, researchers discovered that porn viewing can actually help men achieve erections with their partners. Putting aside the medical jargon, the basic idea is that fantasy is a key part of getting turned on – and watching adult videos helps that. After all, most people fantasize during sex and not just during masturbation. So anything that feeds a good sexual fantasy life is a good thing.

While it’s true there’s a lot of, well, let’s just say unrealistic porn out there, enjoying adult videos or reading an erotic book now and again can also be a great source of sex ed. More than ever – thank you, Internet – we have access to all kinds of information and sexual interests. Meaning that if anything should tickle your fancy a video of either how to do it, or people enjoying it, is just a mouse click away. Wonder how to use bondage gear? Click! Wonder about new sex positions? Click! Wonder about vibrators? Click!

Even better, it’s usually presented without prejudice or judgment. No matter that turns you on there’s almost guaranteed to be a site offering exactly what you want. What this means – aside from having lots of fun – is that people don’t have to think, “I’m the only one,” anymore. With a quick press of that mouse – or a flick of a touch screen – you’ve got a whole bunch of places to visit for your particular kind of sexual fun.

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This Tuesday At Good Vibrations - Polyamory: How To Love Many And Well

(from M.Christian's Classes And Appearances)

This should be a LOT of fun - see you there!

Polyamory: How To Love Many And Well
Tuesday, July 21, 6:30 – 8:30pm
$20 in advance, $25 at door

Tickets: http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/1820993

1620 Polk St, San Francisco 94109

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 with M.Christian, 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 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, 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

Out Now: The Naughty Victorians #2 MegaBundle: 6 Classics of Victorian Erotica

Victorian Erotica is so much fun that Renaissance E Books/Sizzler Editions - and edited by myself - but couldn't release one bundle of classic Victorian erotica but a second one: The Naughty Victorians #2 MegaBundle: 6 Classics of Victorian Erotica ... and again for the low, low price of just .99!

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(from my intro):

The Victorians, after all, were all about image: by day many of them were prim and proper and starched and stiff ... but once the sun had set, or the door was closed then the layers were discarded and the fun was had. 

As perfect proof of this "keep it under covers" but "love it with a passion" attitude of the Victorians, you just have to read the six classic erotic novels in this giant collection.
Here are some wonderful examples of Victorian erotic writing: Rosa Fielding, Randiana, The Erotic Adventures Of A Bachelor, The Amorous Adventures Of Angelica, The Love Tutor, and Pleasure Bound. Each and every one not just an excellent introduction to the genre and the time when they were penned but ever-lasting works of sensuality and outrageous sexuality, with a tremendous power to excite even today. 

The Victorians may not have been able to read books on their computers, watches, phones, or technologically whateverisnext but the authors of these arousing tomes knew very well about pure, wild, and marvelously unhinged passion ... something we may actually rediscover once we put our tech down for the night.