13th
Here’s the cover for my summer anthology, Baby Got Back: Anal Erotica. As part of my efforts to be more organized as I move on to a new stage of my life, I’m signing up Amazon reviewers early! I will have 30 paperback copies of this book to send to U.S. Amazon.com reviewers; you must have an Amazon.com account you’ve made a purchase from in order to qualify, and by requesting the book, you are agreeing to post your review on Amazon.com within 6 weeks of receipt. To sign up, email me at analantho at gmail.com with “Amazon” in the subject line and your name and address in the body. The first 30 people to do so will get hot off the press autographed copies (before the book’s in stores!). The official release date is August 13th, but I expect to be hitting the post office by the end of July with your copies. The days I receive my finished copies of my books are some of my favorite days, made all the better when I get to mail them off to you. I will post closer to July about review opportunities for Kindle readers. The book is available for pre-order now from Amazon and Bn.com.
If you want to show the book some early love, you can rate it on Goodreads. THANK YOU for helping my books do well, which is what allows me to keep on editing them (my current anthology guidelines are here - deadlines are June 1 and July 1). I fully hope I have the honor of continuing to edit erotica far into the future, so I truly appreciate every bit of support from submitting stories to requesting books at libraries and bookstores to reviewing and recommending them. I’ve posted the table of contents and introdution below; one of the best parts of editing anthologies is publishing authors I’ve never worked with before, and I’m especially pleased to do so here, along with many whose work I’m already a fan of.
Introduction: Prepared for Pleasure
Brenda’s Booty Tenille Brown
Rectified Tiffany Reisz
Delivery Emerald
My Turn Anya Levin
A Winter’s Tail Veronica Wilde
No Rest for the Sick Medea Mor
Vin Rouge Pour Trois Erobintica
The Support Group Fiona Curtis
Lights Out Angela R. Sargenti
Bar None Mina Murray
Seat Belts Kate Dominic
Better Than a Massage Annabeth Leong
Body Heat Shoshanna Evers
What You Feel Like Talon Rihai and Salome Wilde
Her Kingdom for Her Ass Maggie Morton
A Taste of Jamaica D. Fostalove
Hard Astern Thomas S. Roche
In Training D. L. King
Everybody Knows Giselle Renarde
With Lucy in the Middle Kathleen Tudor
Keeping the British End Up M. Howard
Two-Timing Laura Antoniou
Plugged In Rachel Kramer Bussel
Introduction: Prepared for Pleasure
Anal sex is an activity that doesn’t “just happen.” There needs to be at least some planning involved by one of the parties, preferably both (or all), an acknowledgment that something special is about to occur. The stories collected here feature various types of anal play, but in every case, preparation is a key part, both mentally and physically. For many of the characters you’re about to encounter, the thrill of anticipation kick-starts their anal foreplay, sending them on a journey that often changes the course of their sex life.
Many of these twenty-three stories play with the taboo nature of anal sex, its forbidden quality that even its biggest fans still fixate on. We are often drawn to anal sex precisely because even now, in 2013, there’s still a hint of exoticness to it. In these tales, men and women open themselves up, literally, to their lovers, sometimes for the first time. All parties learn about the specific thrills that make playing with that area so pleasurable. Sometimes a character has had a previous negative experience with anal exploration, like Brenda in “Rectified,” by Tiffany Reisz. When Lewis tells her, “I know what I’m doing,” she’s not sure if she can trust him, but she takes a chance. You’ll have to read on to find out exactly how she’s rewarded for her risk-taking.
Whether using fingers, tongues, toys like butt plugs (vibrating and not), anal beads or anal dilators, these men and women appreciate the pleasures that can be found when they relax, let go and open themselves up. Furthermore, anal sex doesn’t have to be the only action going on; it can be combined with other kinds of touch. Here’s what happens to Vanessa in “A Winter’s Tail,” by Veronica Wilde: “She sighed with pleasure, then surprise, as the tip of the anal beads eased into her ass. Oh god, yes; he was double-penetrating her with two toys. This was what she lived for. He gently pushed the beads inside her tightness, making her squirm, then slowly withdrew them until she cried from sheer delight.” In “No Rest for the Sick” by Medea Mor, Becky experiences a kinky dual delight when Patrick delivers a firm, powerful spanking to her plugged bottom: “He followed quickly with two more hard slaps on her now-burning flesh. They reverberated through her body, hitting the plug in her ass before echoing off it again, making her squirm in his lap.”
I feel responsible for telling you that if you’re trying anal sex at home, lube is a must; these stories are here to entertain and arouse you, but if you’d like to learn more about how to approach real-life anal sex, read Tristan Taormino’s The Ultimate Guide to Anal Sex for Women, Bill Brent’s The Ultimate Guide to Anal Sex for Men and Karlyn Lotney’s The Ultimate Guide to Strap-On Sex. Anal isn’t about going as fast as you can, but about slowing down, unwinding, indulging in the process as much as the outcome. These characters take their time so they can enjoy every part of the process, from the first meandering touches, exploring a lover’s “back door,” to the more intense acts. I hope you enjoy the journeys these characters take and find plenty in here to turn you on.
Rachel Kramer Bussel
New York City
I woke up in my new apartment and it felt so wonderful, to have blue walls and light and clear floors and a bed (a bed!! I’ve been sleeping on a mattress on the floor for years) and my guy in the next room. My boyfriend has already made it a home and while I’m only here for two days, I’m already in awe of how infinitely better for life and work it is than my old place. Being able to walk everywhere I need to go on a daily basis is awesome. Sure, I live within steps of a theater in Brooklyn, but here I can walk to a show (tonight’s 2.5 Minute Ride by Lisa Kron) too. It’s perfect in every way. And so is my guy, who, last night when we realized the plugs in the bathtub for some odd reason totally don’t fit, configured a washcloth so I could have my soak. Best decision ever.
Now, once I get through moving umpteen books and other items, I can get on with the rest of my life. Yesterday I got into that cursing out loud stage of waiting for the subway, and realized that I have had my fill of living in New York. Probably forever. It taught me a lot and I pretty much grew up in my time there since 1996 (anyone who knew me before then I’m sure will attest to how different I am than I was back then) but I’m so ready to start over, to walk outside and see the water, to meet new people, to try to banish my worst habits and build a life and, if the universe is kind to me, a family.
In an attempt to reduce the root of all clutter, paper, I just purged every receipt in my purse, save for one I need for a rebate. Felt amazing. Now to put the new me into practice and rip them up before they even enter my bag. I am actually excited about starting this and also not bringing junk mail into my home, or anything useless. I’m being given a gigantic gift of a new, clean home and the only way it will stay that way is if I start implementing new ways of existing. The current one is literally making me sick, not to mention making me despise myself. New life/home starts in 13 days. I’m using my credit card receipts for tax purposes. Otherwise there’s no way on earth I would ever save every one of the hundreds, possibly thousands, of receipts I generate per year. This feels like a major hoarder breakthrough!
Not sure what popchips (which I do enjoy) has to do with beauty, but this amused me at She Said Beauty.
I’m already basically like “I have to have kids so I have something to do on Mother’s Day.” This was just beyond. Maybe I should become a nursery school teacher? And then aside from kiddie cuteneess you get a mountain of wisdom from Rebecca Woolf in the form of one short sentence: “Fear is the first paving stone to fearlessness.”
Naked at Our Age author Joan Price highlights authors over 50, specifically the essay “Ghosts: All My Men Are Dead” by Carol Queen and the New York magazine article “Very Legal: Sex and Love in Retirement” by Alex Morris, in Best Sex Writing 2013 as part of the virtual book tour!