Sunday, May 15, 2016

Blogcritics and I

Check out this lovely interview I just did with Jim Lofton of the wonderful Wordwooze Publishing - who just released by Bionic Lover book - for Blogcritics!

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I had an opportunity to sit down for an interview with the prolific author M. Christian, whose work encompasses a wide range of genres. What follows is an abbreviated transcript of our conversation.

At what age did you first get an inkling that you wanted to become a writer, and why?

I’ve scratched my head about this quite a bit, and I think it boils down to two things. The first is escape: growing up, my family life wasn’t exactly pleasant so it’s kind of natural that I would have retreated into books, especially science fiction. Kind of makes sense then that one day I realized I actually might be able to write my own books and stories as well.

But the second reason is even more powerful: after hammering my head against blank pages for close to a decade I actually discovered I liked writing. Not for escape but because…well, I like to say it’s like playing an instrument must be like: the world just goes away and you find yourself transported into words, language, and story.

I still get headaches from smacking my brain against blank pages but after the swelling goes down I still get that transcendental thrill. It’s really what motivates me…that and the money that comes in every now and again, of course.

During your secondary school and college years did you take any writing courses out of the norm that furthered your interest in pursuing a writing career? If so, what courses and how did they influence you?

I took a lot of classes in high school and college but, to be brutally honest, they were a waste of time. None of them were really prepared to deal with someone who really, really, really wanted to write and not just score an easy grade. I think I must have been a bit insufferable towards the teachers―mostly out of frustration: I was hammering away night after night on story after story but all I ever seemed to get were shallow comments, no real meat-and-potatoes help.

That’s why I dearly love teaching my own writing classes: giving people the kind of writing info I wish I’d received back when. The first lesson I think I teach is that―and I know it might be the wrong thing to say in the middle of an interview about myself―is never compare yourself to anyone else. Writing can be extremely challenging, so it’s understandable that we want to learn anything that’ll make it easier.

But hearing that another writer sold their very first story, or their first novel earned half a million in royalties, doesn’t help anyone except the writer. Beginners will often read that and think that’s the way things should go, or should have gone, for them―which is absolute crud. A writer might say they write ten pages a day. Beginners will then think that if they don’t they won’t be successful…whatever that means.

It might sound overly simplistic, but writers write: and the only time they ever fail is when they stop writing. There’s no trick to number of pages, agents, editors, social media, etc.―you work and work and work and work. It gets easier, if you are lucky, but it never gets easy.

The second thing I teach is that if you write hoping to make it big (again: whatever the hell that means) then you won’t: the odds are completely against you. But if you write for the love of storytelling then you’ll be happier than getting any fat royalty check, movie deal, or publishing contract. Fame, money, all of that is nightmarishly fickle: here one day, gone the next. Truly enjoying the creation of books and stories, though, that’s the real reward.

What was the first story or book that you submitted to a publisher? Was it accepted?


Oh, my…I’ve written a lot of stuff and submitted tons more. I really tried to be a pro writer in high school and must have written a story a week for close to ten years (on and off, of course) and didn’t sell a single one (though I did come close now and again). Mostly science fiction but I also dabbled in other genres as well.

It wasn’t until I tried erotica that I sold my very first work, a story to the now-defunct Future Sexmagazine. The story then got picked for Best American Erotica (in 1994) and it just sort of took off from there.

I never really wanted to be an erotica writer. I just wanted to write and sell what I wrote and erotica, back then, was new and hungry. I pitched my first anthology to (also defunct) Masquerade books, Eros Ex Machina: Eroticising The Mechanical and they took it. Six years later I sent my collection, Dirty Words, to the wonderful (and, yes, defunct) Alyson Books and they accepted that.

That may sound impressive but for each success I, like pretty much every writer, must have had ten times as many rejections.

Your writing background is fairly diverse. Did that happen by design, serendipity, or both?

While science fiction has always been a favorite I’ve enjoyed reading, and even writing, all kinds of different things. Erotica was just the door that first opened but I’d be very happy writing pretty much anything.

I’ve always felt that, again, writers write. If someone called me tomorrow and said “Hey, I want to you write a young adult werewolf romance” my first reaction isn’t ‘what the hell’ but sure, why not? Maybe I’d have a blast―and end up being the best damned young adult werewolf romance writer out there. You never know…

When I first started writing erotica, for instance, publishers were very eager for anything interesting and well thought-out, so I tried writing all kinds of stuff: fetish, romance, sexy noir and science fiction, and even gay and lesbian fiction (I’m straight).

I’m extremely touched that the LGBT community has been so accepting of my work. It always brings tears to my eyes to think of the kindness and welcoming I’ve received. I’ve recently begun to move beyond LGBT but only because I think it’s important not to stay too comfortable writing just one kind of thing…stretching your creative wings and all that … but queer fiction still holds a special place in my heart.

Looking back on your body of work, which books that you have written or edited are you the proudest? What about them stands out in your mind?

Not to be evasive but they’re all special―no matter the genre: blood, sweat, tears (other body fluids) and all that. Sure, I think some turned out better than others but I learned a long time ago that what you think is your best work others might read and go meh.

That being said, I really enjoyed the explorations I did with the novels Me2 and Finger’s Breadth―both surreal/dark/gay/thrillers. I still really enjoy writing erotic science fiction, like the recently released Skin Effect (a sequel to my previous collection, Bachelor Machine) and Bionic Lover.

It’s hard to be proud of anthologies. I mean I think many of them are excellent books but when you’re the editor it’s your job to basically pick stories you think would work best for the project―the writers that make the cut are really what makes the anthology special. I do get a thrill when writers say they enjoyed working with me or that they enjoyed writing their contribution. That does mean the world to me.

I’m also very much enjoying writing non-fiction. I’ve been penning pieces for the wonderful Future Of Sex site for many months now. I’ve also written non-fiction on all kinds of other things, and (plug) they are all in a book: Welcome to Weirdsville.

Would you mind telling us how you began gravitating to audiobooks and what your experience has been with them so far?

I’ve always incredibly enjoyed hearing a reading/performance of an author’s work. I’ve done a few myself but, to be honest, my speaking and talking voice is way different than this voice you’re hearing―my writing voice―so it’s not as fun as I’d like.

So when the fantastic folks at Wordwooze Publishing agreed to do some of my books as audiobooks I was ecstatic! So far they have done the already-mentioned Skin Effect, with the also already-mentioned Bionic Lover and Finger’s Breadth in the works.

Jazmin Kensington’s reading of Skin Effect is perfect. It’s odd, but in a lovely way, to hear your words read by someone else―and I can’t wait to hear how the other books turn out.

Thank you for taking the time to share some of the details of your writing career. I’m sure that many of our readers will find your experiences and observations to be of great interest.

Sunday, May 08, 2016

Win A Copy Of SKIN EFFECT And BIONIC LOVER!

(from M.Christian's Technorotica)

This is ultra-cool: the great folks at Wordwooze have set up a lovely promotion for my two technorotic books - Skin Effect and Bionic Lover!

Just go to this page and enter to win!


With The Bachelor Machine, M.Christian set the bar for erotic science fiction stories. Now he has returned to the genre with a brand new collection that will amaze as well as arouse: Skin Effect – tales that push the envelopes of both science fiction as well as erotica in innovative and stimulating ways. Here are stories voyaging to the near as well as the far future, exploring the ultimate limits of sex and arousal.

Where to buy: AMAZON AUDIBLE


A powerful and erotic lesbian romance exploring love, lust…and loss.

Pell was lost, alone, and lonely―until Arc appeared. Fiery, enigmatic, and with a mesmerizing cybernetic eye, Arc was everything Pell needed, wanted, and most of all, desired.

The next time Pell saw Arc the eye wasn’t the only thing artificial about her new lover. And the time after that, and the time after that: each time the passionate and mysterious Arc drifted into her life, Pell saw more and more of her being replaced by refined and precise machinery…and with each departure of her natural body for the artificial, Pell grew more and more terrified.

One day, she knew, there’d be nothing left of her lover but the cold, the engineered…the bionic.

Pell knew what she had to do…but the end, when it came, was worse than she ever could have imagined.

****

With Bionic Lover, acclaimed erotic science fiction author M. Christian spins a mesmerizing tale of bittersweet desire, lesbian romance, and all-too human frailty set in a near future San Francisco where cybernetics aren’t just commonplace but the stuff of erotic dreams.

“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. Portraying a world where erotic life has spilled from the bedroom into the street, and been shattered into a million sharp shards, this tale undercuts and mutates the old verities concerning memory, desire and loyalty…truly a book for our post-everything 21st century.”
―Paul Di Filippo (author of over 100 stories and five novels)

“Rarely is raunch paired with such style and wit…this story offers the sizzle of strokebook sex combined with the dark lyricism of the perverse.”
―Lucy Taylor, Bram Stoker award-winning author of Safety of Unknown Cities

“M. Christian’s stories are the fairy tales whispered to one another by dark angels whose hearts and mouths are brimming with lust. He goes beyond the pale, ordinary definitions of sexuality and writes about need and desire in their purest forms. Readers daring enough to stray from the safety of the path will find in his images and words a garden of delights to tempt even the most demanding pleasure-seeker.”
―Michael Thomas Ford, Lambda Literary Award winner


Where to buy: AMAZON

Monday, April 11, 2016

TWO New FutureOfSex Pieces Are Up!

(from M.Christian's Technorotica)  

The incredible fun I'm having writing for FutureOSex continues - with two band new pieces live at their great site.  Here are some teases:



A Guide to Viewing Virtual Reality Sex Videos: The Hardware

Here’s how to quickly and affordably enjoy immersive sex.

Inarguably, virtual reality—that science-fiction mainstay of the 90s—has gone from being a far off dream to an actual product currently sold in stores in the space of only a few years.

Naturally—human beings being who we are—it wasn’t long before developers saw this three-dimensional technology in entertainment and thought sex!

But it’s really the announcement from PornHub, a giant of adult entertainment, that it will now feature a catalog of virtual reality movies, that’s getting many people really excited about this change in viewing adult entertainment.


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A Guide to Viewing Virtual Reality Sex Videos: The Software

Including adult games and virtual erotic worlds.

Following our previous installment guide to virtual reality hardware, you’ve got your rig all set—high-end or Cardboard, whatever suits your needs or budget—so where do you go from here?

More precisely, where do you go to have that immersive erotic experience you’ve heard so much about?

Monday, March 21, 2016

(from M.Christian's Classes And Appearances)

This is going to be fun!  If you're in the Bay Area, and are kinky and creative, stop by for the first meeting of the BDSM Creatives Support Group, this Thursday, March 24th!

Here's the info:


BDSM Creatives Support Group

Thursday, March 24, 2016 · 7:30 PM – 9:30 PM

SF Citadel181 Eddy Street
Cost: $10
Dress code: Casual

If you like to paint, make music, write, build things, craft toys, or just let your imagination run wild in all kinds of directions ... AND you're beautifully kinky, come join your fellow artistic community members at the BDSM Creatives Support Group!

Here will be a positive, non-judgmental space where you can mix your flair for art with your passion for BDSM. Come share experiences, network, receive encouragement, be inspired, vent your frustrations, share your skills, learn new techniques, or just hang out among other fun people who share your passion for sex AND creativity!

We'll be having regular monthly meetings at the SF Citadel – and working on munches, art crawls, show and tells, special classes, expeditions, and cooperative kinky projects. Make time to make things -- and make friends!

Saturday, March 19, 2016

Out Now: Bionic Lover: An Erotic Lesbian Romance

(M.Christian's Technorotica)

Very, very fun: the great folks at WordWooze Publishing just put out a new edition of one of my all-time favorite novellas: Bionic Lover (formerly Speaking Parts).  You can pick up the ebook now and soon it will also be available in an audiobook edition!


A powerful and erotic lesbian romance exploring love, lust…and loss

Pell was lost, alone, and lonely―until Arc appeared. Fiery, enigmatic, and with a mesmerizing cybernetic eye, Arc was everything Pell needed, wanted, and most of all, desired.

The next time Pell saw Arc the eye wasn’t the only thing artificial about her new lover. And the time after that, and the time after that: each time the passionate and mysterious Arc drifted into her life, Pell saw more and more of her being replaced by refined and precise machinery…and with each departure of her natural body for the artificial, Pell grew more and more terrified.

One day, she knew, there’d be nothing left of her lover but the cold, the engineered…the bionic.

Pell knew what she had to do…but the end, when it came, was worse than she ever could have imagined.

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With Bionic Lover, acclaimed erotic science fiction author M. Christian spins a mesmerizing tale of bittersweet desire, lesbian romance, and all-too human frailty set in a near future San Francisco where cybernetics aren’t just commonplace but the stuff of erotic dreams.

"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. Portraying a world where erotic life has spilled from the bedroom into the street, and been shattered into a million sharp shards, this tale undercuts and mutates the old verities concerning memory, desire and loyalty…truly a book for our post-everything 21st century."
―Paul Di Filippo (author of over 100 stories and five novels)

"Rarely is raunch paired with such style and wit…this story offers the sizzle of strokebook sex combined with the dark lyricism of the perverse."
―Lucy Taylor, Bram Stoker award-winning author of Safety of Unknown Cities

"M. Christian's stories are the fairy tales whispered to one another by dark angels whose hearts and mouths are brimming with lust. He goes beyond the pale, ordinary definitions of sexuality and writes about need and desire in their purest forms. Readers daring enough to stray from the safety of the path will find in his images and words a garden of delights to tempt even the most demanding pleasure-seeker."
―Michael Thomas Ford, Lambda Literary Award winner

Thursday, March 17, 2016

My Queer/SF/Erotic/Thriller Finger's Breadth - Out Now In New Edition!

(from M.Christian's Queer Imaginings/Technorotica)

M.Christian is thrilled to announce the republication of his queer erotic horror/sci-fi/thriller, Finger's Breadth


ebook available now!
Trade paper coming soon!
Audiobook coming soon!

Finger's Breadth may well rank as one of the most psychologically astute erotic novels since Leopold von Sacher-Masoch’s Venus in Furs, and it deserves to be just as widely read.
- JKB, from the Circlet Press site

Erotic. Terrifying. Fascinating. Disturbing. Intriguing. Haunting ... you have never read a book like Finger's Breadth. 

The cutter is haunting the streets of near-future San Francisco, drugging random queer men and amputating the tip of their little finger. 

But so much worse than this brutality is how fear transforms the city, revealing the inescapable nature of society ... and the darkest depths of human sexuality.

In a very special arrangement, M.Christian's arousing, yet terrifying novel, is currently available as an ebook, and soon as a trade paperback edition, through Renaissance E Book's Sizzler Editions imprint – and a special audio book edition will be available in a few months, through audible.com, courtesy of WoodWooze Publishing!

Here’s what some people are saying about Finger's Breadth:

"M.Christian has to be the most amazing writer I've ever read. He is a master manipulator with his words. You read his stories and begin to feel exactly what he wants you to feel - arousal, desire, anger, fear, hope. Readers find themselves surprised to feel this way, yet it is M.Christian's way of pulling dormant and primal emotions out of you. And the crazy part is that you don't mind embracing these perverse feelings as you are that pulled into the story. Not only does M.Christian push his characters in his stories to their limits, but he also pushes his readers minds to meet him in these faraway places." 
- Zee, Firepages 

"It is not that hard to come up with an idea that can be turned into a horror story and that is why horror has been part of the folklore of America and why these stories are so popular on campouts as we sit around a campfire. To successfully do this, we need a combination of characters and plot but more important than all else is a novel way to relate the story. For me that is the definition of M.Christian. This book is unlike anything I have read before and I suspect that it will stay with me for quite a while."
- Amos Lassen, reviewer 

"Finger's Breadth is a real wild ride, the sort of novel you turn to when the apocalyptic mayhem out your window gets dull, and you lust for something to remind you of what it's like to live life at full-throttle. M.Christian sends the reader hurtling like a hockey puck through a world of crime, out-of-control passions, mutilation, and madness. Terms like noir and hardboiled don't quite fit—this is more like ultraviolet, the invisible light that makes the scorpions glow in the dark."
- Ernest Hogan, author of High Aztech

M.Christian has seen the future -- and it is hardboiled! If you love crime stories -- gay or otherwise -- and you love science fiction, you will love Finger's Breadth. No other storyteller nails it quite like M.Christian does. This is a real pageturner.
- Marilyn Jaye Lewis, author of Freak Parade

Finger's Breadth is mesmeric storytelling, riveting in execution and appalling in implication.  M.Christian’s tale of erotic terror in a near-future San Francisco is imagined so skillfully that it grabs the reader with its easy familiarity, then refuses to let go as it careens to its shocking yet completely believable conclusion.  Evoking such Grand Masters as Armistead Maupin, Thomas Harris and Rod Serling while remaining strikingly original, Finger's Breadth is Christian at the height of his considerable powers.  Like Charon the ferryman, the author takes the reader down the dark rivers of human sexuality and shows us things that would normally never see the light of day.  Ultimately the most compelling aspect of this fiction is how fascinatingly and terrifyingly plausible it is. Finger's Breadth should come with a warning label: Read this before clubbing.
- Christopher Pierce, author of Rogue Slave

Currently available:
Sizzler Editions/Renaissance E Books
ebook$2.99
ISBN: 9781615086030

Trade paperback edition (coming soon)

Audibook edition (on audible.com) from WordWooze Publishing (coming soon)

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About M.Christian:

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 Web sites.

He is the editor of 25 anthologies including the Best S/M Erotica series, 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, and How To Write And Sell Erotica; and the novels Running Dry, The Very Bloody Marys, Me2, Brushes, and Painted Doll.


Interested in reviewing Finger's Breadth?  Write M.Christian at mchristianzobop@gmail.com for a copy

Saturday, March 12, 2016

SKIN EFFECT: M.Christian's SciFi Erotica Collection Now in eBook, Trade Paperback, and Audiobook!

(from M.Christian's Technorotica) 

M.Christian's Groundbreaking Scifi Erotica Collection Skin Effect Out Now In eBook, Trade Paperback, And Audiobook!





Future technology’s ability to alter the very nature of our humanity—and the ways those changes interact with sex—shapes this solid collection of futuristic stories from erotica author Christian. Each story has a strong speculative element ... that’s blended with a frank expression of sexuality ... there’s plenty for sex-positive futurists to enjoy here.
—Publisher's Weekly

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In a very special arrangement, M.Christian's collection of science fiction erotica, Skin Effect: More Science Fiction Erotica, is available as a special audio book edition, courtesy of Wordwooze Publishing, and an ebook and a trade paperback through Renaissance E Book's Sizzler Editions imprint!

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."

"There is much to ponder and enjoy here. Enthusiastically recommended!"
—Terrance Aldon Shaw

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

"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

"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

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."

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ebook Edition (Renaissance E Books/Sizzler Editions):
Amazon: $2.99 - http://amzn.com/B00SCQ6D8C

Audiobook Editions (Wordwooze Publishing):
Audible: $13.97 - http://amzn.com/B01C3EODGW
iTunes: $17.95 - https://itunes.apple.com/us/audiobook/skin-effect-more-science-fiction/id1087126852

Trade Paperback Edition (Renaissance E Books/Sizzler Editions):
Amazon: $9.99 - http://amzn.com/1508581711

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Reviewers interested in receiving a PDF, or a copy of the audiobook, please contact M.Christian at mchristianzobop@gmail.com

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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.

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, and BodyWork. He also has collections of non-fiction (Welcome to Weirdsville 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.

M.Christian: http://www.mchristian.com
Twitter: @mchristianzobop
Tumblr: http://rude-mechanicals.tumblr.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mdot.christian & https://www.facebook.com/zobopmchristian

Tuesday, March 08, 2016

New Support Groups For the SF Citadel!

(from M.Christian's Classes And Appearances)


This is very exciting! I'm happy to announce that - in addition to facilitating the on-going Polyamory Support Group - I'm starting two new groups, with first meetings this month.

Here's the info:

Male Submissives Support Group

First meeting Monday, March 14

Are you a male submissive looking for friendship, enjoyable activities, and – most of all – a safe place to hang out and receive non-judgmental support from fellow subs? Then the Male Submissives Support Group could be the place for you!

From worries about being taken advantage of by disreputable doms, difficulties in find a good dom, the conflict between stating submissive needs versus being a "good and obedient sub" – being a sub can be a tough road to travel.

But you don't have to do it alone! The Male Submissives Support Group is a positive, non-judgmental space, where subs are invited to share their experiences, receive support and encouragement, ask questions, answer concerns, or simply be in a loving and caring space with other male submissives.

In addition to our monthly meetings at the SF Citadel we're planning munches, movie nights, potlucks, and more. Come join the fun!

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BDSM Creatives Support Group

First meeting Thursday, March 24

If you like to paint, make music, write, build things, craft toys, or just let your imagination run wild in all kinds of directions ... AND you're beautifully kinky, come join your fellow artistic community members at the BDSM Creatives Support Group!

Here will be a positive, non-judgmental space where you can mix your flair for art with your passion for BDSM. Come share experiences, network, receive encouragement, be inspired, vent your frustrations, share your skills, learn new techniques, or just hang out among other fun people who share your passion for sex AND creativity!

We'll be having regular monthly meetings at the SF Citadel – and working on munches, art crawls, show and tells, special classes, expeditions, and cooperative kinky projects. Make time to make things -- and make friends!


Sunday, March 06, 2016

Meet Us At "Beat Me In St. Louis!"

(from R.Greco And M.Christian Presents)


This is thrilling!  The great folks at the BDSM event Beat Me In St. Louis (BMISL) are winging us out to their 19th annual event on April 8th to 10th to teach, mingle, and have fun!

If you can, try to make this very special festival of kink -- and watch us teach three of our all-time favorite classes.

Check out the BMISL site here.

Magic Words: Using Erotic Writing To Explore Your Hidden Sexuality And Spirituality
There are many ways to reach your inner sexual and spiritual self - but one of the most surprisingly powerful paths is through the written word. In this lecture/workshop, participants will hear how erotic writing (fiction as well non-fiction) can reach hidden places that often lay unexposed, help make personal discoveries and to assist in a personal journey of self and sensuality. Participants will learn how to free their erotic writing voices, how to develop their writing towards discovering their erotic spirits within, and when to silence - and when to listen - to the inner critic.

Tit-Torture For Boobs: A Breast Play Intensive
Breast play offers wonderful opportunities for intensely powerful play - but also comes with serious, even dangerous, risks. In this breasts-on seminar, participants will learn how to treat tits, both male and female, with exactly the right measure of sensuality and intensity to play well but also safely. Clothespins, nipple clamps, pinching, suction devices, gentle impact, bondage, and more will be demonstrated - as well as how to deliver effective aftercare. Additionally, participants will be given instruction in first aid, the dangers of breast play, and the limits of what boobs can take.

Cupping: Using The Ancient Medicinal Technique For Erotic Play


For thousands of years, Asian cultures have been using 'cupping' as a remedy for a variety of ills – from muscle strains to just a wonderful way to relax. In this unique class, participants will not just learn how to use cupping safely but also how to use it to enhance all kinds of erotic – and kinky – play. Demonstrations will include not just how to use cupping on various parts of the body in new and exciting ways but also the different types of cupping sets that are available and what type is right for everything from advanced BDSM play to just soothing an achy back.

Saturday, February 06, 2016

Terrance Aldon Shaw Likes Skin Effect!

(from M.Christian's Technorotica)

My head is spinning! Check out this great review the equally-great Terrance Aldon Shaw did for my science fiction erotica collection, Skin Effect!




The nine stories in this intriguing, highly-imaginative, occasionally maddening collection have a deeply personal feel to them. These are not easy, breezy reads: these stories require that readers take a journey—and the road is not always direct or level or smooth. A bit of effort is required, and sometimes, more than a single reading. But, in the end, the reader is richly rewarded with beauty and enlightenment. 
This isn’t ‘hard’ sci-fi or conventional genre erotica, but, indeed, something quite extraordinary: less Frankenstein’s monster genre hybrid than the precocious love child of an optimistic speculative fiction (Heinlein, Bradbury, Asimov) and a mature, deeply self-aware literary sensualism. If it must be classified, then I would suggest a brand new subgenre: call it ‘techno-sexual.’ 
And what do we find in this brave, sometimes bewildering new world? Trans-humanism that does not—cannot—forget its humanity. Awesome technical capability with the aura of magic, though, in the end, it cannot assuage our deepest longings, our atavistic thirst for mystery. Hyper-connectedness that cannot sate our hunger to touch, and feel, and remember... 
The writing can be dense, knotty, sometimes overlong to a point where potential dramatic impact is diluted, the final ironic twists coming too little and just a bit too late to dazzle. Yet, the collection does have its share of truly amazing moments, inspired imagining, sparks of the ingenious. 'Prêt-à-Porter' tells a marvelous tale of a futuristic garment that—virtually miraculously—adjusts to the desires and moods of its wearer. 'The Bell House Invitation' brilliantly takes the ideas of collective consciousness and cyber-community to their logical—and, perhaps, a tad disturbing—extremes. 'The Potter’s Wheel' and '[Title Forgotten]' imagine worlds in which connectedness makes us omniscient yet utterly incapable of knowing our deepest selves. 
There is much to ponder and enjoy here. Enthusiastically recommended!

Friday, February 05, 2016

Sex Sells: How To Write And Sell Erotica (The BDSM Edition)

(from M.Christian's Classes And Appearances)

This is going to be a LOT of fun: for the first time I'm going to be teaching my erotica writing class, Sex Sells, for the SF Citadel - but this time with a BDSM twist.

Here's the info - see you there!


Sex Sells: How To Write And Sell Erotica (The BDSM Edition)

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.

Including:
• Current pay rates
• Creating memorable characters
• The five deadly sins to avoid in writing erotica
• How to handle editors and publishers
• The pros and cons of self-publishing
• How to write for a wide variety of kinks
• Where and how to submit your erotic writing
• and more!

Thursday, February 11, 2016 · 8:00 PM –10:00 PM

SF Citadel
181 Eddy Street
San Francisco, CA

$20 at door
$15 pre-registered: (Purplepass) http://tinyurl.com/hovc9ny

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

Two New Pieces For Future Of Sex!

(from M.Christian's Technorotica)

I really do enjoy writing for Future Of Sex ... and, as proof of that, two new pieces of mine just went live there.

Here are some teasers (and links to the full articles):

4 Ways Tech Is Changing the Language of Love

How we talk about sex—now and in the future.

“The limits of my language means the limits of my world.” -Ludwig Wittgenstein

There’s always been an unspoken vocabulary of caresses, glances, and sounds, of course. But we’re in the 21st century now, and our technological options for expressing desire—over vast distances and across what used to be cultural barriers—has (to use a silly double-entendre) swelled incredibly.

We don’t just have new ways to correspond with each other but entirely new languages to play with. Lovers, or just playmates, can flirt, be titillating, or even directly stimulate each other speaking or typing a single word.

So, with a touch of irony, here’s a list of four ways that technology is changing the language of love and desire, but also how the nature of sexual communication is being totally reinvented.

[MORE]

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Creating Your Own Pleasuredome: Modular Building and Smart Home Technology

Custom designing an erotic home and playground.

Recently, we looked at some possible changes to how we all may be living and playing, at home or elsewhere.

Love hotels for when sex needs a bit more room than microhomes can offer, as well as virtual and augmented reality to give the illusion of space, are certainly intriguing ideas. But there are more innovations in interactive tech and flexible design that will alter our houses of the future

So what happens when we take the concepts of modular construction and smart home technology and do a bit of future-casting?

Let’s rev up our imaginations and try to picture our sensual, and sexual, residences of the next century.