Trollop Salon

"Power dynamics are hot."

2009-07-18T06:37:00.000-07:00

Gratitude

I'm one of those people that always does a run-through. Draw the tat you want and live with it for a while, see how you like it. I inked this one with a Sharpie just last week, way shorter than I've left the others, but I'm getting more sure of them as they get done. It gets easier to accept that all that skin is mine and just waiting to be filled.

This one, my monogram going down the left ankle, seemed so right -- I thought the Achilles' Heel would be a good place for it. Right calf, right and left shoulder blades, now the heel, and I'll have the design for his sleeve done soon. When Del's finished, he taps Bobby's calf and says he's going to clean up and he'll be a few minutes, which is B.S., but Del's good like that. He may not know exactly what this is, but he knows we could use a little peace.

I ruffle Bobby's hair, ask if he's okay. He's still breathing a little heavy. He just pulls my hand down and turns it over to kiss the palm then smiles, bless him. "This one hurt worse than the other ones," he says, and he's holding my hand between his, staring at it. "Thank you." He thanks me every time, and not because I'm paying. "Beth, I--"

"I know you do, honey," I tell him, and push my hand over his mouth for him to kiss again.

*****

Sometimes, stories linger for me. Gratitude was one of those. I loved this entry to my tattoo contest because I could see the characters. Truly, I felt as if I were sitting up on the counter at the tattoo parlor, watching this little tiny sliver of their life. I'd love to read a whole book about them. Follow them home. Peer into their medicine cabinets and refrigerator. Check their closet to see if they have Docs or Fluevogs.

The writer, K. Dex Gabriel—and is that not a hot fucking name, or what?—graciously agreed to stop by for tea. I mean tequila. (It starts with a "t.")

Alison Tyler: Do you need a certain mindset or tools or other to enable you to get into your writing, and if so, what?

Dex: You mean other than a swift kick in the pants? That's the biggest thing. I procrastinate like a pro, so the thing I always need most is something that keeps me writing. I tend to write better longhand than at a computer as a result – less distraction (I love the internet, but sometimes it is nothing but trouble). Write Or Die has actually proved pretty useful for this.

Alison Tyler: Do you have a writing ritual or routine? Do you need quiet or noise? Can you work at a café, or do you have an office? Are there ways you like to warm up?

Dex: You know, I've tried to do the routine thing. It's helped a little, but not as much as it seems like it should. Music without words is good, music with words is bad (I sing along and stop writing), noise is fine as long as it's indistinct. A cafe where I hear things but don't really pay attention to them is fine, but someone sitting next to me having a conversation or something is no good. I don't really do warm ups at all, as I would think of them. I tend, I guess, to babble a bit in the beginning just to get words coming out – they're unformed, but they're ideas, and they frequently can be reshaped into something productive.

Alison Tyler: What's your favorite season?

Dex: They all have their merits, and their differences are what really makes them (would Spring be so nice if you hadn't just had to slush through the end of Winter?) but Autumn is the clear winner here. I love the weather and the leaves and the *smell*. I love the holidays, the food, the coziness that comes with it.

Alison Tyler: Do you hang out with other writers for inspiration and critical feedback or do you self appraise?

Dex: I don't hang out with other writers particularly. It's not something I've known how to start doing, I suppose. I'm not the most sociable of people at the best of times (I have a few friends who give me introvert hugs, standing back a few feet and patting the air), and introducing myself to strangers (whether they're flesh and blood or pixels and bytes) is not the best of times. Letting alone trying to elicit help from them. I would love to be able to, it's just not something that's happened.

Alison Tyler: Describe your ideal lover.

Dex: My aesthetic, gender and power preferences are wide and varied and I'm a notoriously indecisive person, so this is a really difficult question if I think about it too hard.

Generosity, patience and creativity I would say are the biggest keys. As long as they have those three things, they can be taught just about everything else. Oh, and they have to be kinky. They don't have to know they are, but the spark has got to be there in some form or fashion.

Alison Tyler: Describe your ideal meal.

Dex: Mmm, food. The first love of my life. Indecision strikes again! I don't like playing favorites. I'm the person the server has to come back to three times because I still don't know what I want. Good mussels steamed in white wine and herbs, with a loaf of French bread is definitely up there. A granny smith apple sliced thin, then you take two slices, dip one in honey, and spread it over both of them (the right honey to apple ratio is key, and it's the only way I've found to manage it). Prime rib with horseradish, medium rare. I'll stop now.

My ideal meal at the moment is because I'm about to go make it: crepes with amaretto cream cheese and strawberries. Ask me again tomorrow and you'll get a different answer.

Alison Tyler: What was your inspiration for “Gratitude”?

Dex: Power dynamics are hot. I like them subtle, and I like them subverting the way people normally see or imagine them. I'd poked around at a couple different ideas and didn't like them, but I got stuck on this concept of a big, badass looking guy covered in tattoos, who mostly only has them because his girl tells him to. There is an enormous depth of control there that is fascinating and incredibly hot to me, because it went beyond controlling his body to changing the perceptions other people would have about him, to his professional life, his family, the entirety of his life. There was a lot of thought behind it that didn't make it the 250 words.

Alison Tyler: What color are your sheets? And are you going to send me a picture of your bed?

Dex: Given the choice, they're either white-on-white houndstooth with blue trim, or blue (I also own brown. Exciting color palette, I know). the important thing is that they're high quality cotton. And I will indeed send you a picture or two. As soon as I have my crepes.

Alison Tyler: Thanks so much for stopping by!

Dex: Thank you for the opportunity. And if I may ask a question of my own, you said you ask questions of writers when the story particularly interested you even if they weren't a contest winner -- what was it about Gratitude that caught you?

Alison Tyler: Ha! You're probing me back! I'll steal your own words right from your mouth— power dynamics are hot. But also, you drew me in. I felt as if I knew your characters intimately. In 250 words that's not a small feat.

*****

Pictures of Dex's bed will show up on the Boudoir Blog shortly.... If you want a chance to be interviewed by me, be sure to enter my contests.

XXX,
Alison

God bless the iPod and XM Lithium

2009-06-24T15:23:00.000-07:00

When I put together Frenzy, I had hundreds of stories to choose from. The way I piece together collections is something of a puzzle (both for me and everyone else who has to listen to me while I work). Basically, once I've selected the stories, I do this gangster's shuffle until the pieces fall into the order I want. But Heidi Champa's piece chose its own position immediately. "Lights Out" demanded to anchor my collection (it's the second to the last story in Frenzy).

Here, let me give you a bite:

I flick on the lights and drop my keys. Your head snaps to the left, looking right at me. I’ve caught you. The moans from the television tell me everything I need to know. Your hand, wrapped so nicely around your hard cock, your pants open. You’re frozen, your face flushed red. I smile at you, arms crossed. Clearly, you are trying to think of the right thing to say.

“You weren’t supposed to be home until 10.”

“I was done early.”

You reach for the remote to turn off the video, but I interrupt you.

“Leave it on. Don’t let me stop you.”

I flick off the lights, and settle into the arm chair opposite the couch. I can’t see the television, but I can see you. You look from me, to the screen and back. Unsure, you start moving your hand down your cock, slowly. The blue glow shows me your eyes, looking at me, seeing me stare. I’ve never watched you before. I like it.

Since my first nibble of Heidi, I've learned the feel of her words. She contributes to my contests, and her pieces always resonate with me. HC was sweet enough not only to answer my questions, but also to send me a picture of her bed!

*****

Alison Tyler: Do you need a certain mindset or tools or other to enable you to get into your writing, and if so, what?

Heidi Champa: I used to think I could only write under certain circumstances, i.e. when everything was just right. But, I've learned that often, there is no such thing. If I only wrote when everything was perfect, I wouldn't get anything done. I just try to write, even if I think it's terrible later. Although, I will admit, there are times when my brain just feels too full to write. If my mind is too preoccupied, I am usually not very creative. Sometimes, I just need a break. I also procrastinate, which can become a problem. The last minute was invented for people like me.

As far as tools, I just need my laptop, my iced tea and some tunes. That's it.

Alison Tyler: Do you have a writing ritual or routine? Do you need quiet or noise? Can you work at a café, or do you have an office? Are there ways you like to warm up?

Heidi Champa: I don't have a ritual or routine. I'm trying to write everyday, or at the very least edit something that already exists. I love music when I write. God bless the iPod and XM Lithium. I need something to fill the silence. Music seems to soothe me and helps blast out the distractions. When things are going really well, I don't even really hear the music. I just know it's there.

I don't often write other places, but I have managed to get work done in coffee shops, hotels and at my mother's house. I'm pretty flexible about when I write, but I am something of a night owl. I'm typing this answer at 2 am. For me, the nighttime is the right time, 9 times out of 10.

Alison Tyler: What's your favorite season?

Heidi Champa: Autumn. I'm a sucker for falling leaves, crisp air and flannel.

Alison Tyler: Do you hang out with other writers for inspiration and critical feedback or do you self appraise?

Heidi Champa: I don't often get to hang out with other writers. I just finished up some classes and it was nice to have other people read my writing and give me some feedback. It was all non-erotica, though, lest I corrupt the impressionable college students. Some of them found my blog, however, and gave me some notes on what I've already done.

I self-appraise for the most part. I have had the pleasure of meeting some of my fellow smut writers, and they were all fabulous. I would love to have someone to bounce ideas off of. Maybe I should take out an ad. Any takers?

Alison Tyler: Describe your ideal lover.

Heidi Champa: He’s about 6 feet tall, dark hair and eyes, and sleeping upstairs as I type this. 13 years and I can’t imagine my life without him. I’m a very lucky woman.

Alison Tyler: Describe your ideal meal.

Heidi Champa: God, I don't even know where to start. I love food. So much of it depends on the place, the mood, the event. But, I'm a pretty simple girl. Give me a great steak, some killer Mexican food or a fresh piece of fish. I don't need it to be fancy, although I do love a gourmet meal from time to time. Food for me is about simple pleasures, and sharing moments with people I love. To me, there is nothing better than being with friends, eating and drinking and laughing. No matter what the food, those are the ideal meals.

Right now, I'd kill for a Margarita pie from Darling Pizza and a Schwepps Lemonade on a bench by Sydney Harbour. One of my favorite meals of all time.

Alison Tyler: What was your inspiration for “Bullshit”?

Heidi Champa: I couldn't think of anything totally matador related, but the word "bullshit" kept coming into my mind. I figured it still fit the theme, technically, so I went for it. I didn't really think about it too much, it just seemed to flow. I'm not sure if it will go anywhere in the future, but I really like it.

Alison Tyler: What color are your sheets? And are you going to send me a picture of your bed?

Heidi Champa: Right now my sheets are burgundy red. I should warn you, my bed is always a mess. I have a confession to make . . . my husband and I sleep with separate blankets. A lot of people seem to think it’s strange, but it works for us. We both thrash around a lot, so it makes things easier. But, if you insist, I’ll send you a picture.

****

Thanks so much to HC for letting us into her world. If you want the chance to be felt up by me, be sure to enter my weekly contests!

XXX,
Alison

No topic is off limits...

2009-06-16T06:01:00.000-07:00

How much do I like the concept? A whole fucking lot, let me tell you. Shall we say the phrase together? "No topic is off limits." Has a killer rhythm, yes? According to her ETSY profile: "Metal Taboo displays and celebrates certain aspects of human nature--our ongoing arrogance, sexuality, vulgarity, frustrations, and angst. Express yourself!"

I personally have expressed myself by ordering my very own Trollop pendant. Which I worship. I also have Pervert and Porn Star (thanks to Sommer Marsden). I plan to continue my collection until all the words that circle endlessly in my head are available to be worn around my neck. So, um, for awhile.

I am so excited to have Tiffanie here today to explain a little bit about what goes on behind MetalTaboo!

*****.

Alison Tyler: How long have you been creating jewelry?

Tiffanie: I have been making jewelry for 5 years now. I took a metalsmithing class when I lived down in NC for fun. Right away, it was apparent that I was pretty good at it because everyone else in the class thought I had been doing it for a while. Soon after, I purchased my own tools so I could work whenever I wanted. I’ve been making jewelry ever since.

Alison Tyler: Where do you get your inspirations?

Tiffanie: Since most of my stuff is based on the taboos of the world, I guess I am inspired by anything unaccepted, crazy, and edgy. No topic is off limits, as long as I can do it in a clever way and I’m not making it just for the sake of being vulgar. I’m not doing this only for shock value even though many of my pieces achieve it. I also use a lot of musical elements in my pieces--lots of rock star inspired stuff.

Alison Tyler: Do you have a favorite piece or pieces? Have you ever had difficulty letting an item go?

Tiffanie: There are definitely pieces that I like more than others. Some of my favorites at the moment are my “Self Defense is Not Murder,” “Fuck Cancer,” and “Saint Sinner” necklaces. I guess I like statement pieces most, even though I love everything with the word Fuck and get my thrills from my sex based items.

And no, I never have a problem letting a piece go. Each piece is meant to be worn by someone who loves it and if they are dishing out the money I ask for it, they love it more than I do and deserve it!

Alison Tyler: If you could choose one celebrity (and I use that term loosely) to wear one of your pieces, who would you select and why?

Tiffanie: I’ve always thought my pieces would fit Rihanna well since she is on this rocker kick now. Maybe she can wear the Self Defense necklace I talked about earlier. Lately, I have thought Lady Gaga could rock my stuff. She definitely has the swagger to pull it off. Otherwise, any celebrity is welcome to rock my line. But mostly, my line is definitely geared toward celebrities trapped in a normal person’s body.

Alison Tyler: I know you personalize your jewelry--you’ve made a special one for me--do you have a favorite word or phrase you’ve done upon request?

Tiffanie: It’s amazing just how expressive people can be.. I don’t have a favorite, but my most vulgar to date was a lady who got a Fuck My Pussy anklet. She was wearing it for her husband on a special occasion. I mean, I’m pretty open and can take it, but I will admit I was a little shocked by that one, especially before she felt the need to explain to me why she wanted it. I’m sure she has a happy marriage though lol. It’s really funny, but most people feel the need to explain their purchase because they feel a little conscious about buying something that is so expressive.

Alison Tyler: Who are your three favorite artists?

Tiffanie: I have a lot of favorite artists in different mediums so I’ll answer it two ways--visual vs. music.

As for designers/visual artists, I would have to say one of my favorite jewelry designers is Versani. I always find myself in awe and intrigued by their pieces. I also think their store looks great. Then I’d say Betsey Johnson for clothing--just because she’s a little out there. And this probably wasn’t what the question implied, but I’m a big fan of tattoo artists in general. I don’t have a favorite per se, but I’m borderline in love with Ami James from Miami Ink!

As for music, I really like a lot of female artists. Maybe it’s just because there is a natural empathy and understanding for what they are singing about. I would say right now, my favorite album is Lady Gaga’s “The Fame,” but only time will tell if she remains a favorite. As for my two constants, I love Beyonce’s music even though I wish she had as much swagger off stage as she does on stage. And Alicia Keys because even though she doesn’t have an overabundant amount of swagger either way, at least she is consistent and makes great music. Ok, I have to add a fourth that I may not live down, but I’m a big Danity Kane fan. You know, the Making the Band girl group? Yes, they have broken up and yes, the way they were formed is a little crazy, but they had really good albums and did have talent.

Alison Tyler: Do you listen to music while you work? If so, who do you favor?

Tiffanie: I listen to music EVERYTIME I work. My iTunes is pretty varied, but I’m mostly into Hip Hop and R&B. I do like a lot of current hits though and as I said before, I’m really loving Lady Gaga’s album. It is my surprise music love right now. I pretty much have to be listening to music while I work. And all day actually. My iPod helps me drown out the sounds of NYC.

Alison Tyler: Where did your name, Metal Taboo, come from?

Tiffanie: Metal Taboo is a blend of what I am doing. I am making metal pieces with socially taboo subject matter so it just makes sense. I didn’t come up with it right away, though. First, I was going to call it Potty Mouth Industries, but that was too cute and now that I say it, I’m very happy I passed on it. Then I thought Taboo Metal, but I didn’t like the way it sounded. Then Metal Taboo. And it was perfect because it sounds good and has a very musical, rock n’ roll ring to it. It’s just perfect for the brand.

Alison Tyler: What’s next for Metal Taboo?

Tiffanie: Being that the brand is relatively new (I just started it this year), I am mostly trying to test it in different markets to see who loves it most. I am participating in Pridefest this year, which I am excited about because I have had a great reception from the LGBT community. Then next month, I am going to Miami and doing TattooLaPalooza, a tattoo and motorcycle convention. I’ve been trying to get back to Miami for years so that should be great. And pretty soon, I plan on getting into wholesaling the line to shops. Overall, I want to do a lot of shows throughout the year, get some press, and keep pushing the envelope with the designs. I’m excited about progressing the line and really happy about the reception it has received so far.

*****

Thank you so much, Tiffanie, for stopping by! Please comment on today's interview for a chance to receive your own Metal Taboo pendant. In your comment, name the word (or short phrase) you'd like to wear! I'll choose a winner at the end of the month. F.Y.I. Tiffanie says: "I can also make whatever you want. Custom is always encouraged as what goes on in your crazy little mind does not necessarily go on in mine!"

How true is that?

XXX,
Alison

Elephants, Microsurgery and Guilt

2009-05-27T05:06:00.001-07:00

Writers strive to have a recognizable voice. When you crack a book's spine, the words need to broadcast the author's identity. A handful of erotic writers do that for me. I know nearly from sentence one that I'm reading a Nikki Magennis or Jeremy Edwards or Sommer Marsden or Kristina Lloyd or Shanna Germain. I hear the cadence of the words in my head—as if the writers were whispering just to me. (Sure there are others—these are the ones in my mind this morning.)

But EllaRegina's voice is louder than most. I can recognize her almost instantly. Her wit and her style are hers alone. So I have to say, I cheated a little this time around. I *did* know I was choosing ER when I read The Dark Room. But that was the story I would have selected to feature even if I'd had no idea who the author was.

My intro to ER's work was in the form of a personal ad called "Faceless Filly Seeks Rider"—the piece appears in Frenzy and is under 400 words from start to finish. When writers can craft whole stories in less than two pages, I am mesmerized. ER binds me in her spell every time. Now let her wrap her strands around you...

****

Alison Tyler: Do you need a certain mindset or tools or other to enable you to get into your writing, and if so, what?

EllaRegina: Essential need: peace of mind. I cannot feel emotionally encumbered. If real life fires require extinguishing, I find it impossible to write. The singular exceptions being, funnily enough, your 250-word flasher contests; I somehow break through the flames and attend to the task at hand. I think it's *precisely because* the parameters of these competitions are so narrow that I can do this: I have a theme and a limited number of words with which I must express myself; that challenge takes my mind off the blazes.

Tools: something capable of mark-making and paper (if I'm in the field), or my computer.

Alison Tyler: Do you have a writing ritual or routine? Do you need quiet or noise? Can you work at a café, or do you have an office? Are there ways you like to warm up?

EllaRegina: No ritual. If in avoidance mode I procrastinate and feel guilty until guilt wins and I force myself to sit and work. This mostly occurs when I edit or am proofing galleys (tedious microsurgery—however ER, in this case, does *not* stand for Emergency Room). If I'm writing a story I just plug and play. No need to light a candle or incant.

Routine: erratic. If working on something and not distracting myself I'm in my chair 24/7—often not eating; forget "sleep hygiene." At crucial stages I turn ringers off my phones. When an idea sparks I go with it and the story creates its own momentum. Sometimes I get into trouble when restlessly between projects, although I'm always thinking about stories or jotting notes. However, downtime can also be fruitful—never underestimate the unconscious.

I need QUIET! (Sorry, I didn't mean to shout.) I can handle ambient sounds unless my neighbors torment me with explosives or crazy-making industrial drones loom beyond my windows. During critical junctures or if local sonic color becomes too vivid, I pop in earplugs. Then I'm insulated within my little word box and all's well.

That said, when inspiration strikes "on the outside," no matter where or whether elephants run amok in the streets, I open my small Etsy notebook—with me at all times—and effectively block out the noise.

My "office" runs along a wall in the living room: a desk with computer/screen; electronic paraphernalia; selected inspirational objects—including funny buttons and gifts from a certain generous writer/editor/publisher/contest-runner I know; a cup holding pens, a rainbow of Mini-Sharpies and highlighters for corrections (different colors per draft); index cards listing ideas and titles for future stories; and a bottle of hand sanitizer (words can get incredibly dirty!).

I warm up, literally and figuratively, with a cup of tea.

Alison Tyler: What's your favorite season?

EllaRegina: There are no seasons in here.

Alison Tyler: Do you hang out with other writers for inspiration and critical feedback or do you self appraise?

EllaRegina: I have real life writer friends but our hanging is purely social. I am inspired by several wonderful erotica writers—now friends—all met online. We share our work—usually when pieces have already been written and submitted so it's a horse/stable situation in terms of critical feedback. While still writing, if I hit any snags, I will bother—I mean question—a couple of the aforementioned friends. I predominantly self appraise—editing ad infinitum until a story is where I think it should be. I have "beta-testers"—none of them writers but all of them readers—to whom I read completed (or nearly-so) works. Vicky, my Mac's robotic voice, also helps me but provides no feedback.

Alison Tyler: Describe your ideal lover.

EllaRegina: He seems to exist only in my imagination so I'd rather not detail his winning attributes. It will only make me wax maudlin.

Alison Tyler: Describe your ideal meal.

EllaRegina: In theory: salmon, Champagne and something green. In practice: lately I've been consuming a 14-year-old's junk food dream. It's amazing I'm even alive. I'm subsisting on diet soda, potato chips, pretzels, cookies and popcorn. It's a miracle I don't wake up with severe acne, a math test after homeroom and an orthodontist appointment at 4 o'clock.

Alison Tyler: What was your inspiration for “The Dark Room”?

EllaRegina: Recently, you asked if we'd ever used these contest flashers as the start of something new.

"The Dark Room" presents the converse situation. I'd been blocking out a long piece for a while—taking notes, mentally composing the thing. The story is pitch black; its physical setting—the dark room—parallels the narrator's psychological state. It's one of those projects I've been afraid to fully confront—inhabiting an area I haven't tackled in my writing though I'm very much there in my head. The longer story has more sex, of course—with 250 words sex was, by necessity, fleeting—and probes the protagonist's mind. No happy ending—quite the contrary, even worse in the full-length tale. My goal: putting down the truth of what it's like to be human, warts and all. Life is complicated.

With "The Dark Room" I wanted to create not a synopsis, but a self-contained 250-word version. The premise is established, the same beginning—more or less—and final revelation.

Truthfully, I was surprised it received any votes—the sex was minimal and the set-up such a downer; I didn't think it would fly. Also, I got sidetracked by the Braille "Fuck" button and concentrated on sight or lack thereof—though sound/hearing were involved—so felt I'd flunked thematically.

My gallows humor found it ironic that "The Dark Room" won—a blind man led.

On a tangential note, a recent New York Times article begins with reportage of a real life Craigslist "casual encounter" that mirrors my idea somewhat.

Alison Tyler: What are you working on now?

An anthology of my short stories; various long form projects, two inspired by your 250-word exercises; and ideas for two erotica anthologies—I'd be the editor.

Alison Tyler: What is the favorite story you’ve written to date (and why)?

EllaRegina: A story called "The Hand & I."—(I. for Ida)—as yet unpublished. I'm quite fond of this piece because it represents a turning point for me, marking the direction I see myself heading in. The story is insane and surreal yet based to some extent on reality—or at least my retrospectively-envisioned take—1930s black and white Manhattan, like photographs from that era (with intermittent color flashes); another place and time. I enjoyed the research—gazing at pictures of buildings no longer standing. This city has been *many* cities throughout its history yet a continuum as well.

"The Hand & I." was inspired by a car from that period—for sale near my parents' house—kept in the lot outside a small showroom selling new and used vehicles. We'd drive by and I'd drift into the Time Machine. One day, when the place appeared closed, I approached the mint-condition sedan for a look-see. I tried the door handle and—voilà!—the automobile, she was unlocked! I didn't do more than stick my head inside and feel the upholstery but I inhaled air unbreathed for over 70 years. Soon after this encounter the car was gone. I should have bought it—I imagine that with every spin we'd go back in time, that Chrysler and I.

*****

For more EllaRegina exotic information, slip over to her blog. And be sure to enter my next contest for your own chance at being dissected by me!

XXX,
Alison

Spanking, Quickies, and a Four-Poster Bed

2009-05-18T06:21:00.000-07:00

In my mind, I interviewed Dan in a shadowy corner of a train station. We spoke in hushed voices about the microfiche, and at the end of the conversation, he slipped an envelope into my pocket. On the train home, I opened the envelope to find the answers to my questions.

See, we don't know much about Dan. But we *do* know that he penned Found a ♥ for my last contest.

Found a ♥

We weren’t complete until we met,
You’d said you ♥ me; I ♥ you for saying it.
I always ♥ kisses, ♥ words, ♥ fucking, but
If you ♥ to be spanked hard, I ♥ that too.
Would ♥ whipping you, would ♥ to tie you up;
Learn to ♥ it, and then we’d ♥ to practice.
I know you ♥ giving me a ♥-on, and when
I touch you, I ♥ giving, ♥ taking in return;
Everything’s about ♥; why else would
My cock and your cunt fit so well together?

You can see why the work caught my eye. I don't know that I'd have the patience to be so arty and sexy. Here's what he has to say about spanking, quickies, and a four-poster bed:

Alison Tyler: Do you need a certain mindset or tools or other to enable you to get into your writing, and if so, what?

Dan: Writing is a struggle for me; if I had to make a living at it, I'd starve! I usually agonize over every word and phrase, spending way too much time trying to come up with the "perfect" thing to say. I think I would produce better results if I would allow myself to write without filtering, and I'm hoping that "flashing" on your blog will help develop that. I'll have to be careful about becoming *too* unfiltered in my other writing though -- a business proposal that states "...depreciable assets are begging to be spanked..." might raise some eyebrows.

Alison Tyler: Do you have a writing ritual or routine? Do you need quiet or noise? Can you work at a café, or do you have an office? Are there ways you like to warm up?

Dan: I'm easily distracted and increasingly attention deficit, so quiet works better for me. I don't have a writing routine; I just try to grab a quickie moment whenever I can.

Alison Tyler: What's your favorite season?

Dan: They're all good! Summer's nice because people wear fewer clothes. I like Autumn because temperatures cool down to a reasonable level. Winter -- call me crazy, but I like snow, especially deep, wet snows early in the season. Spring is nice because I'm tired of the fucking snow by then.

Alison Tyler: Do you hang out with other writers for inspiration and critical feedback or do you self appraise?

Dan: Unfortunately, I don't know any writers personally. I would like to say though -- and the words may fail me here -- that I feel incredibly fortunate and grateful for the opportunity to associate online with you and the other contributors, professional and non-professional alike. I feel like I'm crashing a party I wasn't invited to.

Alison Tyler: Describe your ideal lover.

Dan: Genuine. Honest. Uninhibited. Good sense of humor. In other words, everything I'm not. Bonus points if she wears patchouli. I don't know what it is about that scent, but if I'm in a store and I get a whiff of it, I start whipping my head around like a bloodhound trying to find the one wearing it.

Alison Tyler: Describe your ideal meal.

Dan: Baked salmon with lime and cilantro, boiled new potatoes, fresh-cut salad greens with raspberry vinaigrette, washed down with a schooner of Yuengling. For dessert, cherry cheesecake with coffee. I swear to God, my wife fixes this about once a week -- I'm very spoiled.

Alison Tyler: What was your inspiration for “Found a ♥”?

Dan: When you posted the announcement for the contest, I saw all of these heart symbols scattered on the page and my mind wanted to organize them into some pattern. Given the theme of the contest, a heart-shaped pattern seemed reasonable. I didn't want to just use random words to create the pattern; I wanted to give some meaning to the words, even if it is bad poetry! The sentiment is real, though.

Alison Tyler: What color are your sheets? And are you going to send me a picture of your bed?

Dan: If I sent in a picture of our bed my wife would be wicked pissed! I can describe it for you -- white pine four poster, full size, with dark blue sheets and down comforter. We've never owned a bed larger than full size, even though it requires a little more cooperation in the middle of the night. And yes, we do make use of the four posts.

*****

Dan's first exposure to Eros in fiction was reading Jaws in the seventh grade, and he's been searching for the dirty parts in books ever since. A bleeding heart liberal, Dan often wonders why we can't just all get along. To read more from him, well, you'll have to stop by my blog and hope he enters more contests! And to be probed on the salon yourself? You'll have to enter some, too!

XXX,
Alison

P.S. Comment here for a chance to win a killer Jaws button—and why not share *your* first exposure to Eros?

Champagne & Chocolate with Erobintica

2009-05-16T05:59:00.000-07:00

Erobintica has a killer job description. She’s a “writer and other stuff.” I love that. In her profile, Erobintica states: Been writing for awhile but just started taking my writing of erotica seriously - in other words, sharing it for the first time.

We’re really glad she started sharing (and by “we,” I don’t just mean the royal “we.” I mean Erobintica is a popular girl! She visited Donna George Storey & Company earlier this month, and entertained at Sommer Marsden's Abode, where she showcased her love of Chuck.

Erobintica’s short-shorts have caught my eye—not just because her ass looks so great in them, but because of the poetry in the words. Her most recent entry, "Rewind," blew me away:

Rewind

She types the name of an old lover, hits search on a networking site. None of the results are him. She does a general search, adds the last profession she was aware of. There, near the bottom of the results. She's sure it's him. Calls up the page. Finds his email address.

Rewind. She talks to a old friend, one who also knew him, but wasn't aware of the illicit relationship. Her friend laughs as she recounts stolen moments, reveals details never before admitted out loud. She wonders, what if they were to meet again? Now?

Rewind. She writes in a journal. Describes in lascivious detail all their encounters. Rubs against the chair as she remembers. Their bare skin together. Their mutual fantasy. His whispered suggestions in her ear.

Rewind. She buys a card and remembers one she got him. A large shiny red ❤ and lame You're the best lover ever inside. She'd slipped it under his door in a moment of wantoness. He'd smiled. Rewarded her later.

Rewind. She finds an old college notebook while cleaning the basement. From the class she took with him. She turns the pages, looking for evidence of his then overwhelming presence in her thoughts. Feels his lustful stare again. Hears his voice again.

Rewind. She finds a picture of her old car. The one they stood next to for half an hour talking, then kissing. The one they then steamed up the windows of.

Rewind. She meets him.

Erobintica oh so graciously allowed me to slide into bed with her and ask some of my favorite questions. We're scooting over so you all can join us:

Alison Tyler: Do you need a certain mindset or tools or other to enable you to get into your writing, and if so, what?

Erobintica: It depends on what I'm writing. I'm usually in a different mindset when I write erotica vs. say, poetry or essays. But there's a lot of overlap. For example, with my erotic poems or some of my blog posts. Hmmmmm, does the mindset or the writing come first? I can't write smut when I'm feeling depressed - well, I guess I could, but it would be depressing! I'm still fairly new at the erotica thing, so I tend to write from a happy place with it. I'm sure my writing will get more interesting as I get more comfortable with writing from the darker places. They're certainly there.

Alison Tyler: Do you have a writing ritual or routine? Do you need quiet or noise? Can you work at a café, or do you have an office? Are there ways you like to warm up?

Erobintica: As for ritual or routine - not really. I wish I did. Wish I could just sit down and start the words flowing. I'm impressed with the folks that can get up in the wee hours and write - my brain doesn't function much before 8am even if I get up at 6am. I'm not disciplined at all. I write on my laptop, I write in multiple notebooks. I have a small one with me all the time. Sometimes it's quiet when I write, but I do like to put music on. Though since our kitten ate through my creature speaker wires I listen less when I'm on my computer. I can work at other places, and have, but most of my writing is done at home. I don't have an office, just a corner of my bedroom or in the living room. As for warming up, I like to take long walks and I carry a little moleskine notebook in my back pocket with a golf pencil stuffed inside - that way I can jot down ideas or words or phrases. I get lots of ideas then. Sometimes I use my blog to warm up to do other writing.

Alison Tyler: What's your favorite season?

Erobintica: Well, living in New England I'd have to say Autumn. It's so refreshing after the humidity of the summer and the colors are so different every year. I also like it once the leaves are off the trees and you can see the lay of the land. There's stuff I like about each season, and I do like having distinctive seasons - I grew up in California - we had the rainy season and the fire season. But I miss the mountains and the Pacific Ocean. And the desert. And the redwoods.

Alison Tyler: Do you hang out with other writers for inspiration and critical feedback or do you self appraise?

Erobintica: I do hang out with other writers - mostly poets though. Some folks do dabble in other types of writing. I would love to have an erotica group like the poetry crit groups I belong to. I haven't brought any erotica to those (just erotic poetry). But I pretty much self-appraise my erotica at this point in time. I might have my husband read something for punctuation and grammar (he's an editor by trade) and sometimes I share stuff with a friend or two for content. I'm still nervous about folks reading some of my stuff - nice, mild-mannered, middle-aged, mom-type me.

Alison Tyler: Describe your ideal lover.

Erobintica: The guy in bed right now snoring. (He's got to get up at 3am tomorrow and drive a couple states away.) We've been together a long time and through a lot, so there's a great deal of trust built up. That's important to me. Trust. A willingness to venture out of the comfort zone. It's funny, thinking about this question I realized that I like a little bit of nervousness with experimentation. It gives an edge. I like openness. A deep appreciation of the importance of sex. A sense of playfulness. Passion.

Alison Tyler: Describe your ideal meal.

Erobintica: Whether it's in an elegant restaurant like Blue Hill at Stone Barns (had my 50th birthday dinner there last year - wish we were rich and could eat there more often) or by a campfire - my ideal dinner would be as local as possible. Grass-fed beef or venison (self-procured), fresh picked salad and veggies, everything handmade, including the bread and butter. I would give allowances for chocolate though. Because my ideal meal must include chocolate. And champagne. We love to take champagne camping. Oh, and whipped heavy jersey cream for on the chocolate whatever. Now I'm hungry!

Alison Tyler: What was your inspiration for “Rewind”?

Erobintica: I had no idea what I was going to do with the heart thing. I was afraid it would be another contest I'd pass on. It's funny, the word "rewind" just popped into my head while I was in the kitchen (fixing dinner or doing dishes - can't remember which) and as I stood there I just thought of starting at a point in time and working backwards. I do have a long story I've started about someone searching for and finding an old lover. Everyone's done this, right? Googled old lovers? So, I started there. For the most part this is autobiographical. I knew I could use it when I remembered the stupid card - though I honestly don't remember if it really had a red heart on it or not - but I made it have one. I love writing!

*****

Wow, maybe I'd like camping more if I took champagne with me! Remember to comment for a chance to win a mixed tape—and slip over to Erobintica's place to read more about her!

XXX,
Alison

An interview with Confidant

2009-05-09T07:38:00.000-07:00

I get asked for advice all the time. An email pops into my in basket with the query, “If I really want to simultaneously submit a manuscript, can I do so without telling the two publishing houses?” Or, “How long should I wait before harassing an editor about the acceptance/rejection of a story?” The Bearded Confidant gets asked a lot of questions, too. But his topics run more along these lines:

• How do you make cum taste more appealing?

• I want to stick my tongue up my lover's asshole. Is it safe if he has just showered?

• I have licked my penis when I was masturbating a couple of times. I only licked the head & the tip. My question is, is it safe to do this or can you get a std or some other illness?

As far as I can tell, The Bearded Confidant knows all. Truly, I’ve spent hours reading the questions and answers on the Masculinfinity site. So I was beside myself when TBC, or Confidant for short, began to submit stories for my little contests. The one for this week (Newton’s Balls) was just so visually stellar, well, here… See for yourself:

Newton's Balls

Like Spartan soldiers united for a purpose, the men perform a massively long chain fuck, each cock shoved up the ass in front. Synchronized bestial grunts and deep moans compose a choir beyond compare. The kinetic energy of the Newton’s Balls phenomenon comes into play: when the man at the end of the line makes a powerful thrust of his hips, the man at the head will gush forth a geyser of cum like Old Faithful, his prostate impacted by the sexual energy traveling through every man along the chain. It’s the experience of being fucked by every man simultaneously, of being pounded by a ramrod as long as the chain of the men, and it’s beyond any head man to keep from releasing that energy through his own cock. The youngest of the group kneels at the head of the line, tongue ready to catch the hot outpouring. A succulent cocktail of jizz and saliva is deepkissed down the line. It’s true that the cocktail becomes watered down as it’s shared from mouth to mouth to mouth, but according to the homeopathic principle of serial dilution, the therapeutic properties of the semen take on spirit-like medicinal powers.

Sweetly, kindly, with a little husky growl in his voice, Confidant has agreed to let me probe him.

Alison Tyler: Do you need a certain mindset or tools or other to enable you to get into your writing, and if so, what?

Confidant: A decade ago, before I perfected a technique for "lucid wet dreaming," I did need a mindset to jump-start my writing, and my springboard was any one of a dozen favorite anthologies of erotic literature from my personal library. I'd dip into a story at random to fire my erotic imagination like a spark plug. Sometimes a single word or sentence was enough to inspire my own ink to flow. Today, I find that my mind is ever-enabled to get into writing, perhaps even to a fault. Ideas come to me when I'm driving, or eating lunch, or watching movies, and I've acquired the habit of pocketing a pen and index cards for jotting down notes anytime. But it's during my sleeping hours that I most fully pursue what I might call "active erotic imagination." As I lucidly approach orgasm in my dreams, wild scenarios unfold, and I can't help but liken the experience to Alice's adventures in Wonderland—she was conscious and autonomous even as she was swept away by phantasmagoria. Needless to say, some of my best ideas are swimming in my head as I wake up each morning, which means I typically jump stickily out of bed and race to the computer before the dream-filmy thoughts fade.

Alison Tyler: Do you have a writing ritual or routine? Do you need quiet or noise? Can you work at a café, or do you have an office? Are there ways you like to warm up?

Confidant: Definitely noise, in the form of a custom erotic soundtrack—sexual grunts, moans, and cries overlaid upon my favorite dance music. I work best from my home office, and I listen to my filthy remixes constantly while I write. Post-orgasm, either after a lucid wet dream or any number of daytime frolics, is a good state of mind—the physical yearnings are temporarily sated, yet the imagination is energized and ready to be channeled to the page.

Alison Tyler: What's your favorite season?

Confidant: My favorite season is spring, in spite of the allergies it triggers. When else but in spring could one witness what I did yesterday: a plant in drag—a prickly holly bush sporting some soft pink petals that had fallen from a rhododendron.

Alison Tyler: Do you hang out with other writers for inspiration and critical feedback or do you self appraise?

Confidant: Critical feedback is crucial, and I seek it from a small cadre of writers I admire. My fantasy inspirational writer's group would be a circle-jerk in which stories blossomed a word or two at a time, around the circle. Everyone would hover on the edge of orgasm until the word "cum" was finally yet appropriately spoken. Group energy can be quite profound, and I first tangibly understood that during a community education class on Sufi dancing and singing. During one chanting circle, everyone vocalized the same syllable, but at their own pace and on whatever note they chose. A freeform chorus, in other words. We intoned for several minutes, and then, without any physical signal, we all stopped in unison. Naturally, I imagined all of us cumming simultaneously on that last pitch.

Alison Tyler: Describe your ideal lover.

Confidant: There's a saying in the game of Chess that the beautiful move is likely the better move. My ideal lover chooses the beautiful moves. A roundabout approach, seemingly careless and perhaps even haphazard, is the best strategy for capturing me unawares. There's nothing like being totally surprised by the triggering of an orgasm. In terms of looks, masculine men in makeup drive me wild. Makeup can skirt a fine line between the feminine and the warrior, the glamorous and the savage, and it's best seen in pop artists of the 1980s such as Adam Ant, David Sylvian of Japan, Steve Strange of Visage, Pete Burns of Dead or Alive, and the like.

Alison Tyler: Describe your ideal meal.

Confidant: Vegetarian dumplings are an orgy in my mouth. But may I quote an hilarious restaurant critic in the British comedy series Absolutely Fabulous? "Competent in the grand manner, stuffed with plutocratic goodies and a decent duck. A boudoiresque dining room, fin-de-siecle eclectic and still fashionably uncomfortable. A melange, possibly a post-Orwellian version of an Edwardian eaterie. The food, ecumenical in flavor, a cosmopolitan adventure of exuberant eclecticism full of amuse gueule and gastro-credibility. No flash in the bain-marie this. It has a comforting ambiance, although generally the tomatoes were rather pulpeuses."

Alison Tyler: What was your inspiration for “Newton’s Balls”?

Confidant: That story was inspired by my scholarship of the ways men throughout history have explored the power inherent in synchronizing their orgasmic energy (usually in order to increase their combined strength as warriors or to enhance their creative abilities). The sexual science of Tantra is well-known today, but similar research has been carried out around the world. It's said that Spartan soldiers and Native American tribesmen were advanced in the technique of synchronized orgasms, as were certain groups in ancient Persian, Greece, Babylon, Macedonia, and Egypt. In the early 1900s, Charles W. Leadbeater of the Theosophical Society conducted some scandalous experiments in gathering and transmuting the sexual energies of groups of men. Leadbeater was an early sex liberationist, and he encouraged his fellow young male researchers to shed their prudery as well as their undergarments. These men gathered in circle-jerks to practice synchronized masturbation exercises. They sought to time their ejaculations to the exact same moment, thereby to experience the combined ecstasy and electrical energy released through orgasm. I find it incredibly arousing and inspiring to think of groups of men, united for a purpose, sharing their sexuality in order to intensify the success of a shared goal.

Alison Tyler: Do you really have a beard?

Confidant: My inner beard is rather bushier than the modest goatee my facial follicles can conjure up (my cheeks are naturally smooth as a baby).

Alison Tyler: Have you ever received a question that you could not answer?

Confidant: Sometimes when I receive a question, I initially feel stumped. But then the answer pops into my head, and I laugh. My lifelong background in research facilitates my finding an answer when it's not on the tip of my tongue.

Alison Tyler: What color are your sheets? And are you going to send me a picture of your bed?

Confidant: My three favorite sets of sheets are purple, navy blue, and slate gray. I have a set of jet black sheets, but (whether coincidentally or due to some sort of chromatic field effect) they tend to ensure a restless sleep. I'll share a picture of my bed when I return home.

Read More from Confidant at Masculinfinity , and be sure to stop back here soon for another interview with one of my contest winners. Who knows? It may just be you!

XXX,
Alison

Bio: The Bearded Confidant, formerly a prolific reviewer of adult films for a major distributor, now dedicates his time to quirky, scandalous projects blending research and imagination. His lifelong opus, an obsessive reference book on a particular fetish, is currently in the hands of a prospective publisher, and he's approaching the point of no return on his how-to guide for "lucid wet dreamers."

Match Made in Heaven

2009-05-02T18:42:00.000-07:00

Joss Lockwood’s very brief, yet infinitely entertaining profile reads as follows: “I/you write stuff. You/I read stuff. Match made in heaven.” I love this. It reminds me of the best personal ad I ever read: Man seeks Woman.

Ms. Lockwood’s stellar short-shorts have caught my eye during several of the contests on my blog. Her Good Humor Man was filled with—wait for it—Good Humor:

And you and I knelt together in front of our Mr. Softee (who was, in fact, not at all soft), and we licked and sucked him until he melted with pleasure, his come sweeter than any ice cream I've ever tasted. And then we brought him home, all three of us sticky and dripping and grinning.

The Reunion was resplendent with that 80s aching style of longing and lust:

And it's him. That unreachable one. God I lusted after him, but he was so out of my league it wasn't even funny. Then, a miracle: senior year he played Orsino to my Viola and he had to kiss me onstage, in front of everyone...but he didn't have to, um, suck face. The kiss was mandatory, but the mesmerizing swirling undertow of his tongue, perfectly slippery, shockingly intimate - that was his choice.

And Test Drive, well, sounds like something Sam and I might actually do:

But tonight something's gotten into you. Tonight when we lay down on the most plush and pristine floor model in the place, you pulled me close and kissed me lingeringly. You acted like we were home alone, in our own creaky hand-me-down bed. Tonight you teased my nipples, slipped your hand between my legs, made me squirm and shudder. The store was deserted, you said. No one would see.

JL warred between anonymity and the shine of the spotlight, but ultimately, she took that brave step on stage. Now, the light’s on her:

Alison Tyler: Do you need a certain mindset or tools or other to enable you to get into your writing, and if so, what?

Joss Lockwood: In a neat little paradox, the two things I need in order to write productively are time and a lack of time. Time can be hard to come by when you're a single parent - hell, when you're *any* kind of parent - and there are a lot of days when writing has to take a back seat. But even when I do carve out a couple of hours for myself, I am a world champion procrastinator, which means that I'd never get anywhere without a good old-fashioned deadline.

Alison Tyler: Do you have a writing ritual or routine? Do you need quiet or noise? Can you work at a café, or do you have an office? Are there ways you like to warm up?

Joss Lockwood: Honestly? I'm hopelessly undisciplined as a writer. Yeah, once upon a time I sat down and wrote religiously, every single day. Threw that bathwater out with the baby, I'm afraid.

I need quiet. No office, unless you count my lap, my laptop, and the living room couch. (Desks and I do not get along. I mean, I wouldn't mind being bent over one, but I can't work at them.) I've always wished I could write in cafés or libraries or under a tree in the park but I'm too easily distracted. - Besides, where's the fun in getting all hot and bothered in public without a willing accomplice along for the ride (so to speak)? And if that willing accomplice was sitting right there next to me, my hands should really be somewhere more interesting than on the keyboard... Er, what was that I was saying about being easily distracted?

Alison Tyler: What's your favorite season?

Joss Lockwood: Spring. (You know, real spring. Not this 90 degrees in April nonsense.) I was a Bay Area baby and I blame the climate of my youth for my constant crankiness during the more extreme East Coast seasons. I'm like a temperamental old car - melt in the heat, seize up in the cold. This makes me very irritating to live with.

Alison Tyler: Do you hang out with other writers for inspiration and critical feedback or do you self appraise?

Joss Lockwood: Only online, and even then I mostly lurk. (Um, yeah. So, hi!) In terms of the face-to-face, somehow I just haven't managed to identify any other smut writers out here in the godforsaken suburbs. I'm sure they exist, but no idea how I'd connect with them. And although I do have an entertaining recurrent fantasy about bringing some rather...incendiary pieces to the local garden-variety writer's group, I'm pretty darn sure that in the unending war between my exhibitionist side and my shy side, propriety's gonna win that particular battle.

Alison Tyler: Describe your ideal lover.

Joss Lockwood: Open-minded. Willing to take risks. If not necessarily loud enough to rival me, then at least not quiet. (As the author of the infamous "Just fucking fuck me, already" craigslist post puts it, "It's OK for you to make noise. Otherwise, we feel like we are fucking a ninja.") Sense of humor mandatory. Someone who's not afraid to push me, both literally and figuratively, but who can read me well enough to figure out when not to.

I don't care overmuch about physical types or conventional good looks. What I really want in a lover is the same thing I want in a friend: someone who can contend with me. Yes, I freely acknowledge that I can be a handful. I like people who don't let me get away with anything. And I'm more drawn to dark and bittersweet and occasionally prickly than to wholesome and energetic and sunny. I mean, don't get me wrong, I like sunny at times. It's just I don't want to feel like I'm having sex with a golden retriever, you know?

Alison Tyler: Describe your ideal meal.

Joss Lockwood: Coffee with half-and-half. (Don't give me this milk bullshit. Sacrilege.) And pie.

Oh, wait, I guess there really should be some nutrients involved. Um, quiche is pie...

Alison Tyler: What was your inspiration for “Talk Hard”?

Joss Lockwood: The dialogue is taken almost word-for-word from a conversation I had recently in real life, although the fantasy I was coaxed into revealing was a different one.

Alison Tyler: What color are your sheets? And are you going to send me a picture of your bed?

Joss Lockwood: I think all my sheets are blue or purple solids...quite boring, really. Right now, as a newly divorced (i.e. abjectly pitiful) person, I feel like I've regressed at least ten years. By which I mean a single futon on the floor, no frame. Not real worthy of being memorialized except maybe in a boot camp kind of way, something I can look back on later and remember gritting my teeth and getting through.

Hmm, maybe I can send you pics of some of the various other beds I've encountered lately. (What can I say - there are *some* good things about the neo-post-divorce phase!)

Alison Tyler: Oh, I cannot wait. Send me beds!

Read more from Joss Lockwood at One Hip Quiver. And remember to enter my weekly writing contests. The next author under the spotlight could be you!

XXX,
Alison

With Her Heart on Her Sleeve

2009-04-17T17:36:00.000-07:00

“I’ve always written erotica,” says J.M. Stone. Gotta like that in a girl. Of her very first story, she writes, “It was vivid and as explicit as I knew how to be at that age. I was brave and wore my heart on my sleeve.”

Isn’t this exactly what we all try to do? And yet she was a teenager at the time.

I sat down with J.M. Stone—well, I sat down at my computer, and she sat down at hers—to ask her the following questions:

Alison Tyler: Do you need a certain mindset or tools or other to enable you to get into your writing, and if so, what?

J.M. Stone: I'm always in the mood to write, so I'm not sure there's a mindset there. My main enabler is my laptop, or rather, simply a keyboard. I'm a lefty with horrendous handwriting atop it, so actually writing longhand is a painstaking process if I want it to be legible. Here lately it seems I have a trigger - sit down with my computer in my lap and something pops into my head to write!

Alison Tyler: Do you have a writing ritual or routine? Do you need quiet or noise? Can you work at a café, or do you have an office? Are there ways you like to warm up?

J.M. Stone: LOL. Well, honestly, most of my recent writing has been done while at my day job (don't tell my boss!). I have my own office, so I take a break now and again and plug out a few words. I like to have some sort of noise, however. I love imeem's playlist feature, and have a couple of different ones that I've put together for background noise while at work. At home it's quiet it the morning, but if I'm writing in the evening my husband usually has the tv on and I'm trying to write and carry on a conversation at the same time. That gets tricky.

My recently developed routine has been to write in the morning as soon as I wake up (though I have to be extra diligent with spell check). I get up at 5, make coffee, boot up the computer and settle in for a bit. I leave for work at 7, so it gives me a nice chunk of time to get any ideas out that came to me as I fell asleep (or in my dreams).

I've never actually written at a cafe, though I imagine I could. Over the last month I've written at my mom's dining room table, though that was early in the morning before anyone was awake. My usual warm up is actually rereading something I've already finished. It's as if proofing something primes the pump, so to speak, and wakes my muse up.

Alison Tyler: What's your favorite season?

J.M. Stone: That's a tricky one. I appreciate all of the seasons, but I think the only one that I don't get sick of is autumn. Winter always comes too quickly. I live in western NY, so the trees are simply breathtaking as the colors change. I love the snap in the air and sunshine that's just warm enough that you can't get enough of it. It's also the season of plenty, when the garden's flooding you with its last harvest, the trees are heavy with apples, pears, cherries, walnuts and so forth.

Alison Tyler: Do you hang out with other writers for inspiration and critical feedback or do you self appraise?

J.M. Stone: I love feedback. I don't have many friends to share my projects with, and I'm thrilled to have found your site and everyone else's! I'm really new to sharing my erotica pieces, and hanging out on the BHT really opened my eyes to the community that's there, and the fact that what I'm doing is real. Ya'll are definitely inspiring, too!

Alison Tyler: Describe your ideal lover.

J.M. Stone: Oh my. There's a question. Well, let's see. A good kisser, that's a must. Willing to try new things and not afraid to push the limits. Stronger than me and not afraid to prove it. Willing to yield the reins on occasion. Tasty, sensual, hedonistic and indulgent. Self-confident but not arrogant(at least not all the time). Knows the value of talking dirtyand when to shut up.

Alison Tyler: Describe your ideal meal.

J.M. Stone: Anything I haven't cooked? LOL. Actually, oddly enough, it would be nice, thick cut, steaks (grassfed beef, of course), dusted with pepper and garlic powder, cooked over a wood fire, medium rare. Fresh sweetcorn, roasted in its own husk on the coals, slathered with butter that drips down your hands as you're separating each delectable row of kernels from the cob. Top it off with s'mores. (grin). Can you tell I'm ready for summer and cookouts?

Alison Tyler: What was your inspiration for Eavesdropping?

J.M. Stone: I knew I wanted to write a piece for the challenge, but was worried that I wouldn't be able to think through my bout with the flu. I went to Erobintica's list, and stuck on the "skin flute". I played flute (the actual instrument) in high school, and remember vividly the first time I learned that "playing the flute" could be construed sexually. Next thing I knew the opening dialogue popped into my head and I was off! I actual reread the piece Sunday and was thoroughly impressed that it sounded as good as it did - I was under the influence of quite a few cold meds when I posted it.

Alison Tyler: What color are your sheets? And are you going to send me a picture of your bed?

J.M. Stone: Umm...right now I think they're a blue plaid flannel, or maybe red. But I think I'm changing to green flannel tonight. I adore flannel and sleep on it year round. And sure, I'll send you a picture...though I'll be lucky to get one without my cats occupying it!

Read more by J.M. Stone here. And remember—if you enter my writing contests, the next interview on this site might be with you! (God, I hope that doesn't keep people from subbing to me.)

XXX,
Alison

Sommer's Dirty 08

2008-12-19T06:32:00.000-08:00

What a difference a year makes.
I mean. Wow.
Just look.
I'm in awe.

XXX,
Alison

Color Me Shocked!

2008-12-15T06:00:00.000-08:00

In her introduction to BWE 09, Violet Blue says: "Women who like sex with strangers love the endless line of first times stretching into their future: the eloquent unerringly dirty 'Decorations' by Sommer Marsden capitalizes on that notion with a couple whose public adventures in female submission describe a realm of fantasy I hadn't seen before."

Wait a minute. Did I read that correctly? I think Miss Blue said that Sommer was able to write something that she hadn't seen before. I would have thought that Violet had seen *everything* by now! Way to go, Sommer!

Here's a small sample from "Decorations":

The Blacklight is his favorite club. And for a reason. Inside the black lights make all kinds of things glow. They make me glow, not for the first time. I turn my wrists up like a prisoner and see the glowing white stain of come. He spins me to the mirrored wall and holds my compact up. I see the heart with the arrow glowing at the nape of my neck, bits of my hair, shiny and surreal, glowing white like a beacon. He lifts my dress because in this club no one really gives a shit. Above my black thong is the palm tree, like a cosmic tattoo, glowing in the lights like a million tiny stars glued to my skin.

Jake walks me into the corner. The black light penetrates but very few nosy gazes can. He hikes up my dress and slides my thong to the side. His big fingers find me wet and ready. He takes his wet finger and works my clit until I am bucking against the mirrored wall, my reflection shining back at me, crazy and cut up. Over the thumping music I hear his zipper, feel the big blunt head of his perfect cock work at my hole. I arch my hips, hook my ankle behind his back, and pull, eager for him, a slut for him.

“Easy, Lisa,” he laughs. He’s laughing because he knows I can’t be.

He goes slow, lets his eyes sweep over the decoration at my wrists, lets his fingers sweep over the one on my back like he’s reading Braille...

Comment for a chance to win your very own copy of BWE 09!

XXX,
Alison

Strong on the Minx

2008-12-10T06:07:00.000-08:00

Sommer's big on both sides of the pond! See? This is why internet parties are better than real ones. Adam Nevill was able to pop in to say: "I like her stories because she’s strong on the minx and erotic misbehaviour, on extraordinary moments arising from ordinary situations.”

Here's a tease from her piece called "There's a Sucker Born Every Minute," from Lust at First Bite:

The teeth, stilled during my touch, now chattered and shook in their confines. My heart was banging under my breastbone but the pulse had traveled further south. Contractions and flickers of pleasure worked through my pussy and I sighed. This dream had taken a severe left turn. The teeth did a creepy disembodied jitterbug and I reached out and pressed my fingertips to the box.

They stilled and a hot ribbon of excitement curled low in my belly and wet the soft skin between my thighs. 'Oh, my,' I breathed like some prudish schoolmarm. I glanced around the room and found myself still alone. Sheila still snored and no one had joined me. The pulse between my legs started a more erratic tempo. The force of the pleasure nearly stole my breath. I pressed my free hand to my mound and pressed one finger to the seam of my sex. I heard my own moan before I even realised I had made the sound. I pushed my finger harder and the tip found the swollen button of my clit even through my skirt and panties. The teeth made a soft shhh sound. It was impossible, really, but they did.

I licked my lips and tried not to think about it, but it just got worse. The constant thump, thump, thump in my sex that made me just want to come. Right then. Right there. I pushed my hand down into my skirt and past the cotton triangle of my panties. My finger found wetness and then slid back up to rub eager circles over my clit. I sucked in a great breath of air when spots appeared before my eyes.

Adam was generous enough to offer four copies of the book to commenters on this blog. So chatter away!

XXX,
Alison

Jeremy ♥ Sommer

2008-12-09T06:15:00.000-08:00

We've had the opening toasts. Danced a bit. Collapsed on the floor to watch the disco ball spinning overhead. Now, Jeremy Edwards takes the microphone to tell why he wants to move into Sommer's house. At least, I think that's what he said.

As others have noted, one of the many impressive things about Sommer Marsden is her range. I'm not talking about her singing voice--though I fully intend to get her drunk one day and hear that, too. No, I'm talking about her ability to tackle, so convincingly, scenarios from across the spectrum of moods and themes.

And, of course, sexualities. And one of my favorite creations from Maison Marsden is "House on the Hill," an absolutely delicious tale of a woman's bisexual awakening. Step by pleasure-ripe step, we share Desiree's discovery: "I looked at the clock," she explains. "Oddly, I sought to remember the exact moment I wanted a woman sexually." And that's what the intensity of fine erotic writing is so often about, isn't it? Capturing those *exact moments* in a way that transforms the
ephemeral into something that stays with us. Something, for example, like this: "She left a warm sticky trail of peaches and cinnamon along my skin."

The story bathes our attention in the sunshine of voyeurism and the spiked fruit punch of orgasms. The acutely aroused but self-conscious protagonist keeps me laughing, without ever letting up the exquisite pressure on my not-so-funny bone (you know the one I mean).

"I was staring at her heart-shaped ass swaying in the sunlight."

I heart this story, Sommer.

***

These are heart pasties, btw, in case anyone was wondering!

XXX,
Alison

Christmas Break

2008-12-08T06:24:00.001-08:00

By now, you're clearly chomping at the bit to buy a bit of Sommer. Truly, I can hear that gnashing sound! So why not slip over to Excessica.com and snap up her latest novel, Christmas Break, just in time for the holidays. This is what Sommer has to say about the book:

"Christmas break is supposed to mean relaxation. A respite. Time off from stress and insanity. Instead of the break she should get, Phoebe Briggs ends up with a storm that took a left when it should have taken a right. A definite snafu in her plans to be home for the holidays. Her plans of food, family, and friends turns into a nightmare of deserted snow clogged streets and a very unfortunate form of shelter. That, it turns out, she must share with a headless stranger. Okay, so Boone Edwards isn’t headless. It only seems that way at first.

A night of snow and sleet and *life saving sex* brings a morning of rescue. And a Christmas day full of surprises—some naughty, some nice. It’s a holiday that neither Phoebe nor Boone will ever forget. Whether their meeting ends up being the best Christmas present ever or a huge lump of coal."

Excerpt:

He was on her then. Warm and leathery and once again concerned for the spastic woman who had tried to banish him from her box. Her box. Jesus. Even her thoughts were sort of dirty. “Are you okay?”

He pulled her leggings. He was taking her pants off. Phoebe tried to roll away, so mortified she didn’t know what to say. What to do. So she rolled and instead of rolling away from him, she hit the too close side of the bin and bounced back against him as if she had been shoved. “Oh, Jesus. I’m sorry. Apparently the cold has frozen my brain. I didn’t mean to…” But she trailed off then because she was pressed along the length of him and she realized his cock was hard. Very hard and riding the ridge of her pussy with the perfect pressure. The kind of pressure that made her want to move her hips and feel more of him. Maybe have him in her. Would it really be so bad, she reasoned. After all, heat would help them both.

“It could save our lives,” she whispered. His mouth was a mere fraction of an inch from hers. His eyes looked brown in the crazy light. Deep brown and very honest. His lashes were ridiculously long and dark and at any other time, Phoebe would have been extremely jealous. But now she was just very turned on. She felt his warm, warm breath on her face. She did tilt her hips without thinking. Pushing her clit against his cock. Making herself feel good using his body for just a moment. Just one second to forget that they could possibly be discovered blue and dead and frozen solid come morning.

Boone didn’t say a word at first. The concerned flickered on and off, swapping places with a sleek and glorious look of interest. Phoebe held her breath. What had she said? What had she done? But then Boone smiled and said, “Yes. Definitely. Life saving actions. Simply for survival.” Then he leaned in and kissed her.

Are you still here? What are you waiting for? Click already!

XXX,
Alison

The Most Beautiful Filth

2008-12-07T06:27:00.000-08:00

Dakota Rebel is here, and she's telling knock knock jokes! See if you can guess the answer!

Knock Knock.
Who's there?
Sommer Marsden.
Really? Get the fuck in here you gorgeous wench!

I love this woman. She is the reason I wanted to write erotica in the first place. I read one of her stories and I so wanted to be like her. Sommer writes the most beautiful filth I have ever read. Sommer is like that guy in the Ah-Ha video "Take on Me." She reaches out of her stories, grabs your hand and pulls you along for the ride. And when it's over you find yourself laying on the floor behind the counter feeling like you've been ridden hard and put away wet.

I have been fortunate enough to have turned my uber girl-crush into an actual internet/snail-mail friendship with Sommer. To know her is to love her, and to be known by her is a treat that I wouldn't trade for anything. I am so lucky to call this beautiful, fun, snarky woman "friend."

Happy Birthday Dollface!
XoXoXo
Dakota Rebel

Stay tuned for new snippets and sexy scenes from the mind of Sommer Marsden herself!

XXX,
Alison

P.S. Awesome Cradle of Filth hoodie is available here. Get it? Most Beautiful Filth—Cradle of Filth. I know. My segues can be confusing.

Tall Tales

2008-12-06T05:41:00.000-08:00

See why virtual parties are better than ones with real-live people? First, no clean up afterwards. And second, we can invite international guests, like Isabel Kerr, who says:

"Some things play in your mind for weeks, some come back to haunt you years later. For several weeks I have been thinking about, giggling about really, because I LOVED it, Sommer's Halloween story 'Old Wives' Tale,' an erotically engaging story of a lovely young woman who becomes enthralled one Halloween night.

It has been 20 odd years, since that photo was taken of me one Halloween in the Castro, that time still haunts me, and I did not connect the two, but when I went in to refresh my memory about Sommer's tale, this delightfully delirious excerpt jumped out at me and I howled laughing. The comparison ends there, because I can't even begin to approach her creativity, that would be much too tall an order, but she is such an inspiration."

An excerpt:

He pulled over just a foot or so and blocked me. He blocked me! Damn him and his fake Vampire Lestat costume. I slammed my car into park and flung open the door. I was hot. I couldn’t breathe and I was flossing with my own thong. My patience limit had been exceeded. Before I could get to the driver’s side door, it swung open and about seven feet of hard-muscled man unfolded from the tiny car.

“How tall are you?” I breathed. I didn’t care that I sounded dumb. I didn’t care that I had just flipped him the bird and cursed him out. My heart did a drunken little two-step in my chest and something between my legs was keeping time.

“Excuse me?”

“Tall. How tall? Nine feet? Ten?” I babbled. Part of my brain had awakened and I could feel that part of me, the intelligent part, rolling its eyes with frustration.

“Six foot seven inches tall,” he replied. His speech was slightly stilted, halting somehow, as if English were his second language. “And you are angry.”

I blinked. What? I had been angry. Now I was mystified and ... what?

“And aroused,” he said and I felt the hair on my neck stand up.

Before heading back to the crush on the dance floor, Isabel adds, "Read the rest at ruthiesclub.com to see how this wonderful piece comes to a climax and you'll howl too. It's hauntingly lovely and no old wives' tale."

XXX,
Alison

She Looked Good In Ribbons

2008-12-05T05:16:00.000-08:00

The party continues. This time, P.S. Haven takes the mic:

One of the first stories I ever read from Sommer was “She Looked Good in Ribbons”. And it felt like getting kicked in the gut. Or in the nuts. Or both. But in a good way. A very good way. And it’s still my favorite.

“Ribbons”, as all of Sommer’s stories do, left me with a distinct lump in my throat, not to mention a lump somewhere else. But that’s the thing about Sommer’s stories. They aren’t about sex. Well, let me rephrase that. They are most certainly about sex. Hot, predatory, desperate sex. But more importantly, her stories are about people. And the aching, stabbing, soaring, exhilarating emotions these people feel. Emotions that are tangled an intertwined with the aforementioned hot sex. As I read “Ribbons”, the tension and longing between the characters was almost tangible. I felt every pang of lust, every conflicted urge, every doubt, every surrender. And by the time the story was over, I felt like I had been in that room with those people, my heart having gone through the exact same wringer theirs had.

If the mission of an erotica writer is to stir emotions while getting the blood pumping, then Sommer Marsden can easily say mission accomplished, every time.

I'm going to beg Sommer to put this piece up on her blog. Hell, why don't we all just hop over to her place and serenade her!

XXX,
Alison

Eating Cookie

2008-12-04T05:08:00.001-08:00

If I had unlimited resources, I'd rent a ballroom at the Four Seasons and throw a party in Sommer's honor. I'd babble a bit on the bandstand, flushed with champagne, and then hand the microphone to Craig Sorensen, who would say:

Sommer Marsden has one of those identifiable styles that you know who wrote the story as soon as you start to read it. That said, she can work with a range of emotions and subjects with authority. She covers a lot of creative ground, but still retains that unique, very personal, very lively style. One of my favorite stories is "Eating Cookie", which was one of the first stories of hers that I read. What I fell in love with in "Eating Cookie" was Sommer's sense of humor. Cookie came to life for me, and the fact that the subject behind the story was such a commonplace, day to day thing as a bake sale, just illustrated her skill at story telling. And the thing that perhaps I loved the most was that I could see Sommer in the character she created. Sommer does a beautiful job of breathing life into her characters, but in "Eating Cookie," I got to know Sommer better as a person. And I liked what I saw.

I still do.

Then we'd all giggle like teenagers and go to see a midnight showing of Rocky Horror.

If you want to read "Eating Cookie," check out Sommer's blog!

XXX,
Alison

Sommer Lovin'

2008-12-03T06:04:00.000-08:00

Guess what? Sommer's got a fan base that's as long as her legs. I asked Kristina Lloyd to share her thoughts on Sommer's writing, and this is what she had to say:

Underpass was the first short I'd read of Sommer's and I was so blown away by it I wrote her fanmail - even though I hardly knew her. The story puts the reader right there in the car with that couple, makes us feel their anger twist into rage, lust and fear, and it just doesn't let up. When you reach the end of it, you feel like you've been fucked good and hard. The dialogue is everything dialogue ought to be, nothing is overstated or over-described in the prose, and the sex is raw, filthy and debasing. It's a fiercely intimate snapshot of a marriage and captures perfectly how jealousy can be simultaneously so petty and yet so dark. It's brilliant. If Raymond Carver had been a pornographer, he'd have written stories like this.

Here's a little tease from Underpass:

I was thrown forward. The seatbelt bit at the exposed skin of my chest and shoulders. My head barely missed hitting the dash.

“What are you doing?”

“What the fuck are you saying to me?” His voice made my skin prickle.

What was I saying? I wasn’t quite sure. I shrugged feeling impotent. I didn’t have words to describe my feeling. Even if I had, Jared was too angry to hear them.

“Let’s just go,” I said.

“No. I want you to explain that.”

“All I know is I went to a party for you. I was dressed by you. Paraded by you. And now I’m being attacked by you. You are acting like a dick,” I blurted.

“Yeah, I’m acting like a dick,” he hissed. “And it looks like I stopped at the right place. They have your name up on the wall.” He smiled at me and my skin went clammy. I didn’t like his smile one bit. I looked in the directing of his pointing finger. On the concrete wall. Bright blue spray paint. One work illuminated by our headlights like an art display:

KUNT

“They didn’t even spell it right,” I snorted. Not even stopping to think, I undid my seatbelt and flung the car door open. I’d fucking walk. I’d walk home in my whorish dress and three-inch strappy heels. I’d walk and risk the druggies and the robbers. I would not drive home with a mad man who set me up to see me fall.

“Where the fuck are you going?”

“I’m walking.” And I did. I started to walk, my heels clacking unnervingly along the broken pavement.

I heard his car door open and I tried to go faster. My ankles bowing painfully as I tried to quickly pick my way through the rubble and glass.

“Get back here!” Jared shouted, and fear shot through me swift and sinister. He was scaring me.

Then his hands were on my wrists, binding them together, and I faltered, wobbling on my heels as I struggled to get free. “Come with me,” he roared in my ear and pulled me along with his strong hands.

I stumbled with him, clutching my purse in one hand. A fist bound behind my back by my loving husband. He dragged me to up the concrete slope and when I lost my footing and nearly fell, he righted me. He marched me to the six-foot letters, and forced my head straight to them like a dog that has been bad.

“That’s what you are, Brenda. A cunt. My beautiful wife. The cunt.”

Want to read more of Sommer's work? Stop by tomorrow!

XXX,
Alison

P.S. Shameless plug alert: Of course, you could also buy J is for Jealousy, if you want to read the whole sexy story!

How He Likes Me

2008-12-02T06:15:00.000-08:00

Sommer's story in L is for Leather is one of my favorites. Why? Because this story emphasizes how a tiny change—like a pair of gloves—can transform a whole situation. Of course, her story takes the situation past slipping on a pair of gloves and into slipping on a different man. But you get my point.

Here's a taste.

How He Likes Me
Sommer Marsden

Lately, this is how he likes me. Spread out, face down on white linen sheets. They must be white. No other color is acceptable. A pillow must be below my hipbones, so my ass is positioned high.

He says the white shows off the black more.

“Simplicity is the key,” he tells me.

White sheets. Black leather gloves. Ass high. My black hair fanned out and artfully arranged to hide half of my face. It must all be perfect before anything happens.

“You look like a painting,” he says.

Charles put me through the ringer until he settled on this. There were lengthy, messy sessions with dildos. Hours of play time with vibrators. Sometimes the phantom vibrations would stay with me all evening. There were riding crops and paddles. Whips and chains. I spent a day and a half bound to the cinderblock wall in the basement and an entire night chained to the radiator in the bedroom. I sported nicks, cut, bruises and welts.

I was up for it all. Loved every bit of it, to be truthful. I could have gone with any or all of them, but nothing satisfied Charles.

Not exhibitionism, voyeurism, bondage or water sports. Not one damn thing made him get that look. The look I love to see on his face. Where he looks like he’s just touched heaven.

Then I gave him the black leather gloves for Christmas...

Look at me. Not only am I giving you a snippet of Sommer Marsden's fantastic writing, I'm also giving you an idea of what to get your partner for Christmas!

XXX,
Alison

P.S. I know these are l is for latex, rather than l is for leather, and I know latex might just k is for kill Sommer. But I l is for liked the picture, so s is for sue me.

You Say It's Your Birthday?

2008-12-01T07:12:00.001-08:00

Well, it's not my birthday, too. But it is Sommer Marsden's birthday! And I was hoping to have a great big surprise party for her. You know, with a hunky guy jumping out of a cake. Or maybe, you know, just jumping. But because we are separated by the entire United States, I thought we'd celebrate virtually instead. And you're all invited.

I met Sommer a few years ago when she fell into my lap. That frisky Amazon! All long limbs and blonde hair. I couldn't keep my hands off her. I mean, I met Sommer when one of her stories fell into my lap. The piece was "She Looked Good in Ribbons," and I was blown away by the wistfulness, the longing, the rock-hard sex scene.

Every so often, you'll meet someone who shares your sense of humor. Who clicks with your world view. Who gives good snark. Sommer's emails to me read as if we'd grown up together. We like a lot of the same music, have movie overlap, are addicted to Bravo reality shows. I don't actually have a lot of friends. (You all know what happens to me when I tell someone what I do.) I tend to be a bit reserved. To keep people at arm's length. But my arms are short. I couldn't hold her back. She's much stronger than I am, you see.

This is the first day of a month-long fiesta I'm holding in honor of Sommer. So hang up your hat, pour yourself a hot mug of coffee, and settle in. Here's an excerpt from the story that caught my eye...

So he had worked it out. Fought with his wife. Spent the money. All to meet this woman who seemed so much like him. He was addictive? That always stumped him. He was a normal man who did normal things. He just happened to be an artist whenever time would allow and sex had always been his favorite subject. So much to explore. So much inspiration. She did the same. And she was addictive. And he was on the second floor.

He stood outside the elevator, refolded the email, shoved it deep into his pocket. He checked the other pocket and heard the cellophane protest at his brutal squeeze. He pulled out the packet and checked them again. This whole damn thing was making him borderline Obsessive Compulsive. Checking and rechecking everything because if he didn’t, this wouldn’t turn out as it was supposed to. The fantasy would become a hideous fiasco he would carry with him forever. He let out the breath he had been holding. They were all there. Five ribbons; hot pink, turquoise, lime green, sunshine yellow, and red. Pilfered from his wife’s craft closet. You sick bastard…He ignored the thought, closed his eyes, called up the use for these ribbons he had been imagining for weeks. Sifted them through his fingers.

“Soft bondage," he whispered. Then he put them away. He turned left for 213 and prayed he wasn’t fucking up his whole life.

Stop back tomorrow for another tidbit of Sommer. Like I said, she's tall. Could take us all month to summit her body. I mean, of course, her body of work.

XXX,
Alison

Vote for Your Favorite!

2008-06-30T07:03:00.001-07:00

Coco chose four words from the comments. I thought the fairest thing to do was post a poll. But this is my first one, so be patient!

For some reason, the poll seems to work in Firefox, but not in Safari.
Poll will run until July 4!

XXX,
Alison

treated like adornment

2008-06-14T08:08:00.000-07:00

Anyone who has stopped by my blog knows that I adore ETSY. Almost every morning, I type in a word or phrase to see what pops up. Me being me, the words I type tend to be of the kinky variety. But I found LovingAnvil when I was looking for an illustration for my Very Superstitious post. Not only did I feature the "Knock on Wood" ring, I bought one. I’m a repeat offender, I mean purchaser. I’ve gone for a huge Carnelian ring, and had words of my own choice emblazoned on rings, so far: "Knock Wood, Throw Salt" and “What Fresh Hell Is This?”

Coco Corral, principal designer, has graciously stopped by Trollop Salon to answer a few questions about her jewelry, art, and life.

Alison Tyler: How long have you been creating jewelry?

Coco Corral: well. half way through my freshman year at a big fancy pants art school, we had to pick our major. somehow, i didn't see this coming. a lot of kids knew exactly what they wanted to do. i kept looking at the choices and metalsmithing kept surfacing. it really thrilled me. to be honest, it just made sense. fashion and adornment was always my obsession and i was constructing things in a renegade fashion for a good long while. but i never thought to do it professionally until that point.

Alison Tyler: Where do you get your inspirations?

Coco Corral: Rocknroll. pop culture and the rambunctious all inspire me. I love color and am usually balancing large, beautiful stones on my fingers, squinting and considering how they'll look as a ring. I love adornment and i love combining geometry and graphic design with something lovingly hand-hewn, in all of it's beautiful imperfections.

Alison Tyler: Do you have a favorite piece or pieces? Have you ever had difficulty letting an item go?

Coco Corral: some of my favorite pieces are the ones i've yet to resolve so they sit in my studio. i did make these really huge, unedited silver bangles a few years back - by unedited, i mean i didn't place any practical restrictions on myself. it was so fun to hammer and dome and manipulate that much silver. they were in this amazing store on consignment, and were STOLEN! i was paid for them, but it kind of broke my heart that that's how they left me. i would have liked to known where they went. the other item stolen from the store was a very intricate altar to frida kahlo. totally a bold heist.

Alison Tyler: If you could choose one celebrity (and I use that term loosely) to wear one of your pieces, who would you select and why?

Coco Corral: oh man, i still have to say elvis, even if my piece did get lost in the shuffle. i did send a knock on wood ring to robert de niro after seeing he, angelina jolie, and matt damon scramble for a piece of wood to knock on during a larry king interview. and even previous to catching that interview, he was the inspiration for the name two of the styles of the knock on wood rings -- large and xl mafioso.

Alison Tyler: Did you design your own tattoos?

Coco Corral: the tattoos on my arms i've treated like adornment. the bands of words i designed completely in terms of font and layout and placement on my body. it was really hard deciding where to get the work done where we live now. not that my husband and i have a ton of ink, but we had gone to the same artist for around ten years in our previous community! i didn't realize how hard it would be to start another tattoo artist relationship when we decided to move coast to coast. so the stars on my arm and the sugar skull on my tricep was completely designed by paul zenk at infinity tattoo in portland, oregon. i want to get a big beautiful color-insane marigold(s) to complete the ring from the skull, now that i feel that i'm ready to experience that tattoo more. i have about ten ideas for tattoos that i really really want to get done but i really enjoy working with the tattoo artist to help with design and placement. i'd probably be covered if i could find someone in the area i dig working with. man, this question got the longest answer, and i worked on it the hardest. you hit a spot with me! i need to either get back to infinity or work out something on this coast. thanks for showing me what's clogging my head! xoxo

Alison Tyler: Are your pieces one-of-a-kind?

Coco Corral: i completely construct every piece. there are things i make over and over but none are exactly alike. the warmth of my hand comes through and there are always piece specific details. if i can say so myself.

Alison Tyler: I know you personalize your rings—you’ve made some special ones for me—do you have a favorite word or phrase you’ve done on request?

Coco Corral: i totally lovelovelove what fresh hell is this. and i'm not just saying that. it absolutely plays through my head periodically. i also like a ring i made about ten (gasp) years ago - this too shall pass. it just seemed powerful to have it on a ring. he wanted to keep the phrase close, to keep in mind both during the painful lows and the joyous highs. that stuck to my ribs, too.

Alison Tyler: Who are your three favorite artists?

Coco Corral: man o man. well. let's say diego rivera, goya and frida kahlo.

Alison Tyler: Do you listen to music while you work? If so, who do you favor?

Coco Corral: always always. unless i'm trying to keep an ear out for our daughter. but i like it to envelop me. elliott smith i love even though he makes my heart ache after a while. i've been loving raconteurs and white stripes and sleeter-kenney lately. the more ruckus the more better. but i love so much music-wise. it's impossible to talk about what i listen to with any consistency. we host an "under the radar" music series in our barn/studio - trying to limit it to four times a year. i love listening to the bands that have played and thinking about their evening at the hogfarm.

Alison Tyler: Where does your name, LovingAnvil, come from?

Coco Corral: i'm not sure exactly how it happened. but it just kind of made sense. kind of like picking my major all of a sudden. i loved the massive anvils in the metalsmithing studio as soon as i walked in. and you can do so much with an anvil. i love anvils. maybe anvils love me? sure, why not. i like the thought that they might.

Alison Tyler: I’m an ETSY-fanatic, and I love looking at your photos. Especially the ones that show your chipped nail polish, or a bit of your face (or both). The pictures to me are as artistic as your work. Do you spend a long time arranging the pictures? Or do you just snap away?

Coco Corral: man, i kind of dread taking photos. mostly because i am really fussy about how they turn out and i never know when i start if the mood will take over and it will work. but once i find a groove, i take about 200 or more photos. praise the lord for digital images. or maybe it's the work of the devil since i can take 200+ photos and then sit in purgatory for the next four hours belaboring tiny differences between files with names so memorable as dscn0189 and dscn0177.* but i prowl our house and yard for good colors and location and light and once i find it i try and document as much as i can. because who knows when the planets will align again.

Alison Tyler: What’s next for LovingAnvil?

Coco Corral: i really want to hone my photo etching...more to etch my own sketches in metal than an actual photo. i've also enjoyed making these crazy skeleton dolls, and hope to transfer that to adornment as well. my husband just had his first chelsea/nyc solo art show opening so we're really excited about that. we're both really involved in each other's work and this has been very consuming. we're both looking forward to just focusing on our studio work for a while. xoxoxolovelove coco

*ok, so this is an inaccurate statement (probably) since we just looked in the dictionary and i think it's actually god that puts ones butt in purgatory. but i'm taking poetic license.

One lucky commenter will win the word ring of your choice—assuming you stick to Coco's rules: "There are some words and phrases i won't do, but if you find those out, i'd suggest some kind of anger management therapy."

For more about LovingAnvil, check out her pictures on flickr!

XXX,
Alison

La Ring

2008-06-08T07:59:00.001-07:00

Here is a photo from Nikki of her Surrender ring from Loving Anvil (with added knickers)!

XXX,
Alison

Bad Mo Fo

2008-05-31T14:58:00.000-07:00

How much do I want this hugging my money? A lot.

Loving Anvil says: Here's a money clip for the big bad sugar daddy in your life—whether it be someone else or your big old bad self. This is sterling silver and a little rose gold heart fixed to a nickel silver moneyclip back. These are made to order, so please allow for one week turn around before shipping, altho it could go out sooner.

Perfect for Father's Day, no?

XXX,
Alison

Hell, Hell, Hell

2008-05-15T09:48:00.000-07:00

Clearly, there's something in the air.

Loving Anvil says: This is something i've been wanting to get out of my system for a while. I really have an affinity for the word "hell." When I'm really pissed the tirade of words that's going through my head is more what you'd expect, (maybe?) with lots of words that start with f. and s. and m.f. and c.s. and all that.

But a well placed hellish expression can carry so much more weight, I think.

The cigar band is roughly half an inch tall, a rounded square shape. with one word on one side and the other word on the opposite. This listing is for hell/high water. size 7 is here and ready to go, but this ring is easily customized to your size.

Hell, I want them all.

XXX,
Alison

Now you make the scene all day
But tomorrow there'll be hell to pay

overstating the obvious

2008-05-04T16:40:00.000-07:00

That's my new ring. What Fresh Hell Is This? Suits my week perfectly. And below, you can see Nikki's Surrender. I'm very excited in that way only new jewelry can make a girl. But I'm also excited because LovingAnvil has agreed to be one of my interviewees on Trollop Salon! And, as I'm wont to do, I will start with a little snippet:

lovinganvil was founded in 1998 in Portland, Oregon. Trained both in the east coast (Rhode Island School of Design) design sense, and the west coast (University of New Mexico) design sense. Moved to Portland, Oregon in the early 90’s and further shaped our design sense as well as a social and eco consciousness.

 We worked hard and had a ton of fun in the young, burgeoning Portland fashion scene. Were involved in the first two Portland Fashion Incubator shows, various boutiques and early renegade shows with Seaplane, Cargo, and Motel. lovinganvil developed a following for heartfelt, unconventional and completely custom wedding rings.

Relocated to southern Maine in 2005. Now, we are a small design house, working out of an 1880 barn in southern, coastal maine. Our pieces play between appreciation of clean, orderly geometry and a love of and commitment to the hand hewn.
 We love the unexpected, the tongue-in-cheek, and overstating the obvious.

Back soon with more about LovingAnvil!

XXX,
Alison

Surrender, surrender...

2008-05-01T06:54:00.000-07:00

When two women go at it, people yell, "Cat fight!" What do you call two grown men fighting over a copy of a hot erotic book? You tell me because I don't have the answer. This is a picture of Jeremy Edwards and Craig Sorensen attacking Kristina's Split. A brilliant way to end Kristina Lloyd Month, don't you think?

Kristina has kindly offered to send out a few signed copies of her books, and LovingAnvil has graciously donated a Word Ring to the winner. So I've decided to select two winners from the commenters during this month. The word chosen by Kristina is:

SURRENDER

The winner of the ring, as chosen by the random number generator, is: Nikki, and the winner of the books is Paul. Email me at msalisontyler at yahoo dot com for more information. And remember to stop by soon. I've got Stephen Elliott and Rachel Kramer Bussel in the wings. I'd better go check on them to make sure they're not up to anything naughty!

XXX,
Alison

I've always wanted to feed you

2008-04-30T07:04:00.000-07:00

"Fruits of the Forest" was my introduction to Kristina Lloyd. The piece is in Love at First Sting, and each time I reread the story, I find myself deeper in that forest. This arthouse slut knows how to create a picture, doesn't she? She might appreciate the graffiti art of Bansky, but her own paint style is extremely refined:

. A flurry of noise behind me made my heart shoot, and I spun around, phone falling to the floor as a body thumped up hard against mine. I didn’t even get chance to scream. A hand was clamped over my mouth before I’d barely drawn breath. The hand wore a black leather glove and the smell of it was strong beneath my nostrils: an animal scent with a hint of manufacture. It added a squalid urbanity to the forest aromas of earthiness, wood rot, foxes and wild garlic. That hand didn’t belong here. It was cruel and cold, and it belonged to alleyways and authority.

At the time, however, I wasn’t thinking this. I was fighting and clawing, squealing in protest and thinking, What the fuck?
Together, we stumbled down a rugged incline to a small clearing. My heart was going nineteen to the dozen, my breath rushing against the leather in a humid pump and suck.

“Don’t scream,” he warned gently, and his voice wasn’t the one I’d been hoping for.

He backed me up against a tree, uncovering my mouth as he moved behind the trunk to catch at my wrists. I didn’t scream. I just breathed hard and fast, glimpsing a skinny figure in jeans, trainers and a hooded top. A length of thin rope flicked in the corner of my eye—hemp twine from the garden—and then he was using it to tether my wrists behind the tree trunk. The bark was rough on my bare arms, and my skin was clammy. No, it wasn’t who I was expecting, that’s for sure.

He crouched at my feet where the ground was lumpy with roots and looped the cord above my chunky boot. A small backpack lay in front of us but that didn’t give me much of a clue.

“Danny?” I asked, but got no reply. He was intent on securing me, bunny-hopping around the tree base with the rope. In the distance a bird cawed noisily, a jay or magpie. When it stopped, the silence was eerie. Something rustled in the undergrowth nearby. The man passed the rope behind the trunk then caught my other leg in another loop. His gloved hand brushed against my shins, and the touch of it lingered. Watching him work, being careful to shield his face, those dark anonymous hands took on a life of their own. I could imagine them in all sorts of places: on the wheel of a car, in the pockets of a cashmere coat, on a coffin-bearer’s hands, forcing the lock of a lamp lit door. They were like puppets, dancing and disembodied.

His hands must have been hot. My feet certainly were. I wished I’d worn pretty sandals so my toes could breathe. But the garden terrain is tricky, and I like to be able to move about freely. Ironic, considering I was now tied to a tree.

From behind, the man reached around and let his leather fingers drift briefly over my face. I could hear him breathing from his exertions, and my own breath was choppy too.

“Mike?” I tried, and I heard him laugh. If this wasn’t a man I knew, I was in big trouble.

He stepped out into the clearing, shucking off his zip-up top and stooping for his bag. Tall, angular, sinewy arms, faded black T-shirt, scruffy peroxide spikes and some serious cheekbones. “My God, Brett?! Is that right? Is that your name?”

He turned, grinning with sly confidence and scattering half-glances in my direction. Stubble speckled his jaw, and his dark brows matched the dark deliberate roots peeping through the bleach. He looked as if he’d been up all night, half-angel, half-devil, a wasted, fucked-up pretty boy.

I glanced away. On the edge of the clearing, a haze of midges shimmered in sunlight. The tree trunk felt thick against my open thighs. The woodland was still and tranquil. Brett took a large margarine tub from his backpack and peeled off the top. Inside were raspberries. My mouth watered: pimply scarlet berries, fuzzed with hair, flecked with leaf, and lying several cushiony inches deep.

“I want to feed you,” he said, stepping closer. “I’ve always wanted to feed you.”

Tomorrow, I'll announce the winner of the word ring—generously donated by Loving Anvil—and with a word chosen by Kristina, herself. (I'll announce the word, too.) So don't forget to comment on any of the posts from this month!

XXX,
Alison

He’s very fuckable

2008-04-25T07:12:00.000-07:00

Here's Kristina Lloyd polishing up her words just right for a fetish story on boots:

The set up’s almost too much. Five guys baring their boots, and it’s all for me. Sure, they’ve got their problems too, but this week it’s my turn. We’re engaged in some kind of cooperative rehab therapy. We learn about our own problems through learning about each other’s. It’s meant to be helpful. And it is, totally. I’ve learned for example, that Lee’s problem is he can’t stop thinking about pussy. He wants to eat it, touch it, taste it, lick it, smell it.

In our first group session, he sat there, hands held in his lap, staring at the floor as we waited for him to speak. He’s huge, well over six foot, shoulders wide as a door. Eventually, he closed his eyes, knuckles turning white, clenching like a prayer as he confessed to the room. I watched as the words came out, saw the blush creep over his face, the slight quiver of his nostrils. His voice was sad and shameful, barely above a whisper, and he said, “I live and I breathe pussy.”

I tell you, that is so helpful it’s keeping me awake at nights.

But now it’s my turn. Having to say it is so humiliating. My throat nearly seizes up and I don’t know if I can. But I stare at Lee’s feet, blades of grass fringing his thick soles, and every inch of my skin prickles with need. There is something much bigger than me and it forces me to speak. “Sir,” I say quietly. “I want to polish these boots till I can see my reflection.”

“Louder!” barks Steve, shuffling in his seat.

Steve wears French combats, size nine. They’re classic and simple: six pairs of eyelets and a broad ankle cuff fastened by two black side-buckles. Bright sunlight rests like a small, still star on the topmost buckle. I can’t look up from them, I really can’t. But I can picture his face. He’s got these dark gypsy eyes that try to draw you into his world, and thick sultry lips. He’s small and intense, looks a little sad at times but you can tell underneath he’s crazy. Too much shit in his head. It’s written all over him. He’s very fuckable, and he knows it, but that’s never been a problem for me.

However, he isn’t wearing British Army assault boots, Soldier 95, and Lee is.

“Sir,” I repeat in a strong voice. “I want to polish these boots till I can see my reflection.”

They’ve heard me loud and clear. No one speaks. We all stay in silence, my voice echoing in our seven baffled brains. Everyone is looking at me and I’m looking at them; or more specifically, at their feet. I don’t know what to do. I don’t know if I’m supposed to, you know, expand on my desire. Maybe some bull about how ashamed I am? Condi’s always doing this, saying nothing till it gets so awkward someone cracks and breaks the silence.

But I don’t say anything and nor does anyone else, and I wait and wait until eventually Condi says, very kindly, “Spitshine, you don’t need my permission to do that.”

XXX,
Alison

P.S. Remember to comment on the interview!

awash with vagueness

2008-04-21T06:40:00.000-07:00

As promised, I'm back with excerpts! This one is from Kristina Lloyd's short story in BL Quickies 3. She says, "It’s sort of sexy, trippy, dark. Set in N.Africa."

The heat in this place stupefies me and I haven’t been sleeping well either. At night, after an evening of jugglers, magicians, fire-eaters and snake-charmers, the bedsheets tangle themselves around my legs, cobras for the pipe-player, and my mind whirls with madness and enchantments. To soothe me, I think of the stillness beyond the town: snow-capped mountains, endless deserts and a black velvet night sprayed with silver stars. But I sleep fitfully, slipping in and out of dreamscapes, grotesque and lewd, and I wake each morning sloppy with desire. When I sink onto Tom’s cock, drowsy and heavy, I feel fucked already, post-coitally limp, as if I’ve been possessed by an incubus, a gleeful demon who screwed me senseless as I slept. My limbs seem to liquefy as I ride Tom, awash with vagueness, remembering feral creatures, how they pawed at my flesh, and priapic monsters with gas-mask faces, rutting in steamy swamps.

I don’t imagine we’ll buy a carpet today. I’m not really in the mood. Feeling a tad psychotic, to tell the truth. But I hide it well. I’m probably just pre-menstrual.

Remember to comment on the fabulous interview! Kristina will be around today to answer more questions (and tease you about the color of her sheets), and at the end of the month, I'll be giving away a word ring donated by Loving Anvil and featuring a word chosen by Kristina, herself! (What wicked word might Kristina choose?)

XXX,
Alison

How do you solve a problem like Kristina?

2008-04-16T07:28:00.000-07:00

What I mean is this—Kristina Lloyd is one of my favorite writers. You’ve cottoned onto that by now. I think her words are poetry. The end of her story, “Such a Special Couple,” lingered with me for days. (You’ll have to buy J is for Jealousy to see what I’m talking about.) She can be light-hearted (read her story in Love at First Sting) or as dark as they—and you—come (see Split).

But that’s not my problem. This is:

Kristina is one of those super-secretive people who makes interviewing a challenge. She doesn’t want to reveal what color her sheets are, or tell me which tea she drinks, or give me the combination to her safety deposit box so I can paw through her personal papers. So what the fuck am I supposed to do?

Get her drunk. (Doesn’t that work for all of my guests? )

So if she slurs, well, that would be my fault—and the fault of the virtual shots of tequila I insisted she imbibe while answering. Ready, KL? Bottoms up:

Alison Tyler: What's your favorite season?

Kristina Lloyd: Argh, you just made me think of Terry Jacks. Um, Autumn for the melancholy. For the light and the leaves and the smell of leaf mould and bonfires.

Alison Tyler: What do you sacrifice (if anything) to write?

Kristina Lloyd: I guess it’s mainly the sacrifice of a certain lifestyle. Well, what I mean is I always seem to be skint. But some years ago I learned to reconcile the fact that if I want to do what I love – write – and live by the sea in a ridiculously expensive town which I also love – Brighton – then I probably couldn’t have the security of a regular income and a nice house with adequate amount of bookshelves and a spare room for all the porn like Alison Tyler has. Or is it a spare apartment? Writing’s financially risky. You can spend years working on something and not get paid for it. But I couldn’t not write.

Having said that, I don’t have that compulsion to commit something to paper every day or to stay up late writing reams and reams. I know some crazies have this. I find writing difficult and, yeah, there are days when I think I could merrily quit. But if I didn’t have writing as a means of self-expression, I know I’d end up feeling pretty awful pretty quickly. I love making stuff up. I love inventing characters and leading them into delicious, dirty sex. I love building scenes, structuring a story and trying to seduce the reader into believing in my world. I think I’m quite a visual writer and I’m a fan of good description. I’m always trying convey pictures in a way that’s both neat and rich. I think that’s the aim, to write something which catches the imagination and allows the reader to visualise a scene, yet doesn’t bombard them with detail. For me, that’s the bedrock. Once that’s in place, all else follows. Well, hopefully it does.

Truly, I don’t know what non-writers and non-sex-obsessed people think about. I don’t know what goes on in brains that aren’t populated by imaginary friends and rampant kinky fantasy. What a weird way to be. That can’t be healthy, can it?

Alison Tyler: Do you hang out with other writers for inspiration and critical feedback or do you self appraise?

Kristina Lloyd: I mainly self-appraise these days. It’s probably a bad habit but I’m not so keen on revealing my work until it’s as polished as can be. And by then it’s starting to feel quite fixed. I think the more you write, the more you listen to those voices – ha! Shall I just end that sentence there in the hope someone stern and cruel will bundle me into a strait jacket? I mean that inner voice that nags and whimpers because something’s not quite working. Much as I hate that voice, I’ve learned to trust it because it doesn’t shut up and it’s usually right.

But having another eye to cast over your work is definitely useful. Mathilde Madden of werewolf porn fame was a huge help when I was struggling with my vampire novella. She has an amazing mind that jumps around making connections and jigsawing stories together to make plot. I’m in awe. She lives nearby and we’re always bouncing ideas off each other. She’s a great writer to know because she’s incredibly enthusiastic, very funny, smart and totally filthy.

I’m generally inspired by people who are honest about their sexuality and haven’t allowed themselves to be compromised. Alison Tyler – she’s one of them. You know her? In our screwed up culture, if your sexuality’s non-mainstream, it’s not always easy to declare yourself or simply find a space that’s true and comfortable to you. It took me a long time to find my space but eventually I discovered it was much easier to be open and breezy about my sub sexuality, than it was to keep that aspect of me tucked away, feeling ashamed and afraid of disapproval or contempt. I also think it’s fine to feel conflicted about your kinks. I used to worry I’d never be entirely okay about subbing. But now I don’t worry. I know I’ll never be entirely okay and that’s dandy! In fact, I think that conflict, that element of love/hate, is probably right at the heart of submissive sex for me. It’s the deepest suffering and it’s sort of wonderful and magical to eroticise that.

Alison Tyler: Describe your ideal man.

Kristina Lloyd: Pervert with a PhD. Likes to dom. GSOH. A few tattoos, some sweat, big muscles, shorn head. Occasionally spattered in mud. Dark eyes. Good at knots. Has lots of friends who are very similar.

Do you want pictures? I have many.

Alison Tyler: Describe your ideal meal.

Kristina Lloyd: A rice and fish dish that someone else has cooked for me, served with a big fat glass of white. I’m savoury rather than sweet so I’ll go for starter over pudding. Yanks don’t say pudding, do they? Dessert. Sweet. Candy. Whatever it is, I’ll skip it and have a carajillo instead then we’ll go to bed. Carajillo is half espresso, half brandy. Just gorgeous. I once lived in Barcelona and drank a fair few of them. I think traditionally you have them for breakfast but, heck, with that and Dali’s spoons, I’d never get anything published.

Alison Tyler: What color are your sheets?

Kristina Lloyd: Easy, tiger. A girl needs some secrets.

So there you have it. Kristina Lloyd on a bed of rice.
Keep coming back. I have a few more of her secrets, I mean snippets, to reveal.

XXX,
Alison

P.S. Kristina's giving away a few signed copies of her books, and I'm special-ordering a word ring (with a word chosen by Kristina) from Loving Anvil for one lucky commenter on the interview. We'll announce the winner at the end of the month, as there will be a few more snippets from Kristina's work here and there.

Asking for Trouble

2008-04-10T16:58:00.000-07:00

You've been patient. I appreciate that. And good things come to those who wait. Or rather, dirty things await those who come. No, that's not right either. What I'm trying to say is here is a snippet from Asking for Trouble:

He had a beautiful, bony, Slavic face. Just seeing that face made my inner thighs quiver. I didn't stand aside, and as he reached the doorway, he placed a hand on my hip and moved close. Above the V-neck of his grey T-shirt, in the dip between his collar bones, there was a hint of black curling chest-hair. I allowed myself to be shuffled blindly into my excuse for a hallway. He was at least a head taller than me.

With a gentle backward kick, Ilya shut the flat door. Then he was edging me further into the hall until I was pressed against the opposite wall. His engorged crotch bulged against my belly and he bent his knees a touch to briefly grind himself into my pubis.

His hand rubbed gently on my side, and I could feel its broad strength as he stirred my skirt around the jut of my hip bone. For a long, delicious moment we exchanged a steady gaze, silently agreeing on the need to just look.

His eyes were to die for. They were a deep blue-green, rimmed with black – intense like spilt petrol on tarmac. They were quite definitely not of this country, and they were set deep under dark craggy brows. The skin beneath them had a mauvish tinge. His nose was big and strong, curving like a scimitar. His lips were full and maroon, bruised almost.

I was smitten.

Ilya bowed into my neck and I felt the soft press of those lips there. I tipped my head back. He kissed, ever so lightly. His mouth moved along the stretch of my neck, pulsing damp heat as he licked and sucked. He nuzzled behind one ear. His shorn hair was silky against my skin.

I didn't move.

Now, go out and buy the book! You know you want to.

XXX,
Alison

P.S. Art is by NayArts. Is his work not perfect for Kristina's words? His profile on ETSY states: I paint and create with paint, words, Dolls, etc. Beneath my skin I've always had a artistic soul, Although it didn't fully break out until 2006. I've also always been slightly irreverent, a fact that seems to help a great deal with the process. I live in Las Vegas I enjoy the desert, don't gamble much, I've sold hundreds of my works of art both online and in galleries in both NV and CA.

I am inspired not only by my twisted mind but also my suroundings including friends and passers by. As a child I enjoyed deconstructing dolls and speaking my mind. Two things I am proud became the main staples of my art. Other than art , live music , Is a big part of my life as is my dog Judy a jack russel terrier.

The Question Begs to Be Asked

2008-04-08T06:43:00.000-07:00

Who, really, is Kristina Lloyd? And why do I keep banging on about how fucking brilliant she is? Well, as I've christened this month Kristina Lloyd Month month, I've decided to keep serving up bits of her. I mean, of her work, and of her interview, so you can understand my fixation. I mean my fascination. I mean my adoration.

Ah, fuck it all.
Yes, I'm obsessed.

Here's a snippet from SPLIT:

I swallowed, feeling my throat muscles thicken. No man had ever touched me like that. My desire for him was so sudden and all-consuming I was frightened for myself. I stayed as he held me with my head to the table, meek and still, waiting for him to do what he wished. His saliva dried on my skin and I felt vulnerable, neck exposed as if here was my execution. He did nothing and, because I could sense how intently he was looking at me, I began to tremble.

For the first time in my life, I thought, I am known. This man sees in me something he can reach, and I will never escape him.

I am Kate Carter, five foot nothing, freckled and fair, pear-shaped but sprightly, a librarian on the run. And from now on, I thought, I will always be on the run, always fleeing the Jakes of this world because they have the power to devour me. I’m enthralled as much as I’m scared by that. I will always run from them and yet I will always seek them out.

I was beginning to understand what had brought me to this place.

‘Stand up,’ murmured Jake.

My skin prickled with goosebumps and he moved the chair to stand behind me, his body touching mine but barely. I gazed at the stuffed birds in the dome on the piano, knowing better than to turn and, without preamble, he lifted my long skirt and slid his hand down the front of my knickers. I caught my breath, a quiet sound that was loud to my ears because it was so full of truth.

Don't worry. There's more...

XXX,
Alison

P.S. The amazing Obsession painting is by Bombalurina, who says in the profile question: WHAT'S WITH THE NAME, ARE YOU SOME MUSICAL THEATER GEEK? No, not really. But it is very femme for TS Eliot, no? And when I asked for permission to use this lovely art, she replied, "My jewelry may be innocent, happily *I* am not." — I love answers like that!

Eating Kristina Lloyd

2008-04-04T18:51:00.000-07:00

I am so enjoying this slow food-style discourse.
Or interview.
Hmmm. Intercourse?

Alison Tyler: Do you need a certain mindset or tools or other to enable you to get into your writing, and if so, what?

Kristina Lloyd: Silence, tea and an obese cat. The latter’s not actually a pre-requisite. It just turned out that way.

Check back soon for excerpts from Kristina's internationally best-selling smut!

XXX,
Alison

It gave me sore thumbs

2008-04-03T10:33:00.001-07:00

Lean forward to watch as we undress Kristina a little bit more...

Alison Tyler: Name three jobs you've had.

Kristina Lloyd: Like most writers I’ve done all manner of crap. Um, you want three? Okay, bookseller, staff writer on a porn mag (worst job of my life) and person in a factory who pushes little squares out of cut sheets of Perspex which are then folded up to make boxes for perfume. I can’t remember what the official title for that job was. I didn’t last very long. It gave me sore thumbs.

XXX,
Alison

P.S. Earrings are from Idridden. When I wrote for permission to use a set on my blog, she replied in a really sweet way. And then she added, "I don't know if I really even make them to be bought. Though if people did buy them, that would be great. They're mostly commentary from my own twisted little psyche."

So, of course, I had to slide some over on Kristina's interview, as well.

edgy, controversial sex

2008-04-02T07:40:00.000-07:00

Oh, Kristina? Are you there?
Will you share a little more...

Alison Tyler: What happens for you when you write?

Kristina Lloyd: It all goes dark! My sexuality’s fairly dark – I mean, proper dark, not smouldering-romance-hero-and-a-jolly-bit-of-kink dark. I write about what turns me on and that’s submission, seediness, degradation, rape fantasy, brutishness and fear. I’m also drawn to a dark aesthetic of suspense, danger, creepiness and the Gothic.

Asking for Trouble is a noirish thriller and deals with some edgy, controversial sex. Split is set in a puppet museum and is eerie and haunting. But yes, I write lighter, funnier stuff too and I think there’s some overlap. I think my dark stuff is spiked with humour and my lighter stuff is shot through with that dark yearning. I hope so anyway. But writing all this involves a lot of staring into space. I’m an embarrassingly slow writer and I delete a lot. In fact, I’d say most of my writing is staring and deleting.

Keep coming back. I'm unpeeling her slowly.

XXX,
Alison

"a sort of dreamy, bombed-out concentration"

2008-04-01T02:20:00.000-07:00

It's after midnight at The Trollop Salon, but I'm not alone. Kristina Lloyd is here, whispering about what gets her in the mood. For writing, that is. She's the subject of my next interview (expect the full deal in a few days), and she's been giving me little tidbits of information about how she works.

What a fucking tease.

Alison Tyler: What's the 'best' time (if there is one) for writing?

Kristina Lloyd: The best time is when I haven’t spoken to anyone for hours and I’m getting lost in the story and the sentences. It’s a lovely, reclusive place to be, a sort of dreamy, bombed-out concentration. I have a part-time job so my days and weeks are pretty irregular. I find it difficult to get in the zone after a 9 – 5 stint. My brain has got all organised and efficient by that point and that’s not conducive to good fiction writing. I need to feel a little woolly, to let go of logic because that’s when images and oddly perfect words surface. Does that sound like I need to get drunk to write? Honestly, that’s not what I mean. Apparently, Dali used to fall asleep holding a spoon over a pan. When he nodded off the spoon would clatter and wake him up. It was a way of tapping into that state of mind on the edge of sleep. I can really relate to that. Not that I’ve tried it. I like sleeping too much. Plus, I think it would make for some really weird porn.

Stop back soon for much more of Kristina.

XXX,
Alison

...and Crackerjacks

2008-04-01T02:16:00.000-07:00

Winner of this awesome bracelet—which I have not been wearing, I swear!—is Kiki. How could she not have won? She was all over the John Albert interview! Email your info to msalisontyler at yahoo dot com. And enjoy the baseball season!

XXX,
Alison

Put Me In, Coach

2008-03-01T05:39:00.000-08:00

I’m a fan. A die-hard, take-me-out-to-the-ballgame baseball fan. But I’m a strange breed. You see, I don’t really care who’s playing. I just like to go. My first ballgame was The Orioles vs. the Texas Rangers. The game went into extra innings. My family, desperate to leave after 14 innings, wound up trapped in the parking lot. But I was hooked. I loved the scents, the sounds, the very surroundings of the ballpark.

I’ve had some of my best dates at ballgames. In New York city. In Los Angeles. I apologize for not caring as much about the scoreboard as I do about scoring in the bleachers. But something about baseball just turns me on.

This is why I was so intrigued by John Albert’s Wrecking Crew. Because it features both my favorite game and my favorite place. A hard-core baseball team in Los Angeles? What’s not to love? Then I started to read, and I fell even deeper. Harder. Faster. John Albert’s writing will do that to you. Here. Let me give you a taste:

You never know what’s going to save you. Most of the time, salvation comes from the usual suspects—god, pharmaceuticals, romance—but occasionally, as in this case, it arrives entirely from left field.

I was living in a guesthouse, renting a single room even smaller than the bedroom I had slept in as a kid. The furnishings consisted of an undersized bed, which came with the room, a color television, and my father’s large antique desk. Off to the side was a closet-like bathroom too foul for description and an even smaller kitchen whose sink was stacked high with moldy dishes. Several months before, when I had returned from a short surf trip up the coast, I ventured a look into the sink and was stunned to see some sort of small primordial life-forms with tiny little faces staring back at me from just beneath the water’s surface. They seemed as surprised by my appearance as I was by theirs, and they quickly scattered back into the murky depths of a large casserole pot. At that point, I had decided to let the sink exist unmolested as its own self-contained ecosystem.

I dated a boy once with a kitchen like that. I swear.

What I love about Wrecking Crew is that it’s about baseball the same way I’m about baseball. Meaning, yeah, there’s baseball in it, but John understands the magic of the game. He doesn’t bore you with the numbers or the play-by-play. He knows how to pull you in. Because even if you hated sports, you’d find the book mesmerizing.

The first time I read Wrecking Crew, I stayed up all night. I wanted to know the end. The second time, I read more slowly. I wanted to savor the story. I’m not alone. Here are a few snippets of reviews:

• This is LA at its finest, writing at its finest, and baseball as it should be.... Real, Hard and full of passion.

• I read the first page, then the second and for some reason, I found myself on the fourth chapter. After that, I couldn't put the book down.

• More than anything else, I got a real sense of Southern California life from this book. It captured the true nature and setting of the place better than anything else I have ever read.

John’s sweetly agreed to answer a few of my questions about the book.

Alison Tyler: Do you have a writing ritual or routine? Do you need quiet or noise? Can you work at a café, or do you have an office? Are there ways you like to warm up? (I have a screenwriter friend who needs a good three hours of down time before he can plunge back into a scene. I’m always interested in what other writers need.)

John Albert: Since I write non fiction, there are really two parts to the process. A lot more time and effort goes into the research part, finding a subject, spending time with them, interviewing. By far the worst part is transcribing the interviews. The pain and tedium of it has made me far less shy. I no longer do interviews in noisy places because someone wants to smoke. I’ve missed some really profound quotes because a garbage truck was rumbling by as someone talked. I also have a digital recorder where I can press a button and mark it when someone says something really interesting. It helps because I find one of the best ways to get someone to relax and trust you, is to just chat. I did a great interview with Greg Dulli (Afghan Whigs, Twilight Singers) a while back where we just ate Sloppy Joes and watched sports for a few hours.

After I have all the info down, the actual writing is the fun part. I have an office at home and a couple of dogs and cats that are usually sprawled around snoring. I drink strong tea or coffee and blast loud music – something that matches the mood to the topic - and write free form, just whatever comes out. I do it in bursts, and then go back and edit and revise later. I know some writers hate editors, but I really love the editing process. I think it almost always makes the work better. But then I have some really great editors. Janet Duckworth at the LA Times is amazing and Joe Donnelly at the LA Weekly is one of my best friends in the world. I trust them completely.

Alison Tyler: This story seems like a natural for a book, but the subject matter is so intense. Did you fight writing it? Or did the words pour out?

John Albert: I was handed the book deal based on the original magazine piece. I almost said no, until I realized what a gift it was. I just wasn’t sure there was enough there for a book which proved to not be a problem in the slightest. Like many writers, I procrastinate. The writer Jerry Stahl (Permanent Midnight, I, Fatty) is a good friend and the two of us go to way too many matinees in order to avoid work. When I was supposed to be writing the book, I instead did a bunch of big magazine pieces. My editor would call to check in and I would tell him it was all going well. When the fear and guilt finally overwhelmed me, I made the best decision possible – I joined a writer’s group. I would come in every week and read a chapter about sex and hard drugs to the greatest group of little old ladies ever.

Alison Tyler: Did you interview your teammates for information? (I’m wondering which took longer, the research or the writing?) How did you find out about scenes like the one where Chris dresses in women’s clothing? After sliding a videocassette into the VCR, he pressed pause, then reached up and removed a full-length mirror from the wall, which he positioned against the television and carefully angled it so he could stand and watch the TV screen and his reflection simultaneously. The description was so intense, I felt as if I were in the room with him, my heart pounding when his roommate came home early.

John Albert: I had interviewed everyone for the original article, but I went back and interviewed them much more extensively. But by then I knew the subject matter so well, it was the writing that actually took longer. Because they were all friends, they would forget why we were talking and just tell me everything. So much so that when I was editing I went back and reminded them of things to make sure they were okay with it being included. I’m not sure why, but they were fine with everything. I think maybe with really serious drug addicts, they’ve had to make piece with who they are and all their extreme and sordid behaviors. There was no shame. And they knew I had my own past, so I would be respectful. That and they could always beat the shit out of me. I’ve been in some scraps over the years, but Chris (the cross dresser) is not someone I would want to piss off.

Alison Tyler: How did the men feel about reading about themselves? Were your responses positive? Was anyone upset by their portrayal?

John Albert: They were all thrilled. Many of them would come to the readings and I would let the audience ask them questions. I think everyone likes recognition, even if it’s for self destruction. They’re pretty proud. The only one who was mad was Johnny’s second girlfriend Stevie. Because I was writing about Johnny, she kind of became a device, not as human as I should have made her. I used all her bad behavior to make a point about Johnny, but I forgot to go deeper with her guilt and motivations. It was written as she told it, but I do feel bad about how she came across. A lesson learned.

Alison Tyler: The craziest part to me about reading WC was that I found myself laughing out loud at some of the most depressing, demented scenes ever. I don’t know how you did that. (Damn, that’s not really a question.)Do you look at life in general with a bitter, twisted cynical sense of humor? Or did that side pop up in your writing.

John Albert: That’s really just who I am as a person. And I’ve always been surrounded by likeminded people – family and friends. I’ve lined up being strip searched and started snickering. So it comes as a bit of shock when I realize that some people can’t find humor in those types of situation. I don’t know what I believe in, but I definitely believe life is both horrifying and funny. My dad’s Jewish. Old Jews laugh at pretty much everything – an example being Mel Brooks who I love.

Alison Tyler: You’re best known for Wrecking Crew, but you’ve also conducted some amazing interviews. Who was your favorite subject? Ideally, who would you love to interview?

John Albert: My favorite subject was this white rapper named Mickey Avalon. I’m not in love with his music, but then again – it’s not exactly made for jaded music snobs like me. I was the first writer to profile him and I think because we came from similar worlds, he just trusted me and revealed everything. His father and younger sister died of drugs, he had hustled on the streets to support his heroin habit, sold pot for his mom, been a Hasidic Jew and his grandparents had been at Auschwitz . I didn’t particularly love the scene he was a part of, but I really liked him – it was a little like interviewing me when I was younger.

The person I want to interview the most is Axle Rose. I find his story to be as close to Shakespeare as anything, that or Citizen Kane. A small town kid comes to the city, becomes king. He eventually believes his own legend and his inner demons destroy him. It’s a perfect Los Angeles story and I’m obsessed with this town - definitely a love/hate relationship.

Alison Tyler: Who are some of your favorite writers? Who would you write a fan letter to (living or dead)?

John Albert: One of my favorite writers is A.J Liebling. He wrote for the New Yorker in the thirties and forties. He also wrote several books. His great loves were food and boxing and so, on the surface, that’s what he wrote about, but it’s about much more. His book A Road Back to Paris is really just him sharing dining with friends in Paris as the Nazis advance on the city. It’s both sad and beautiful, and a great lesson on how to enjoy one’s appetites.

Alison Tyler: Is the book in development for a movie? (I thought I heard rumors.)

John Albert: The quintessential Hollywood development story. The story has been at Paramount twice now. They have spent over a million dollars on two not so great scripts. Early on Ted Demme was going to direct it and then he snorted some coke, played basketball and died. The project recently stalled at Paramount like so many do, but I believe I am about to get the rights back. I could make the same mistake again if I need the money, or then again maybe Jerry Stahl and I will write it and see what happens. I can’t really complain though. Free money.

Alison Tyler: What’s up next for you?

John Albert: The reality is I have been dealing with my health all this year, so not so productive. It’s all a result of being a teenage junkie – all these years later. At the beginning of the year, we thought the end was near. I went into the hospital and they removed a chunk of my liver. Turns out it wasn’t a cancerous tumor after all. Still, they had my guts in a bowl and then the incision got infected. That’s all better, but I’ve been on these toxic meds to get rid of the hepatitis for over a year off. There have been some pretty interesting side effects. That and my dog Wally who I love more than anything developed a brain tumor and now has seizures all the time. My life has basically become a David Cronenberg film. But it’s all working out. Anyways, the end result is that during all this I’ve just been writing magazine and newspaper pieces. Not up to the crazed effort of writing a book yet. But soon, life is too strange and funny not to.

Thanks so much to John for stopping by my Trollop Salon! I'm so pleased you're feeling better—and I can't wait to read your next book!

XXX,
Alison

P.S. Comment for a chance to win the Cracker Jack bracelet here!

Radical Chic

2008-02-27T07:00:00.000-08:00

Here's a quick whiff of what Chandler Burr has been up to. His latest article in The New York Times features three more radical scents. He was also profiled in The San Francisco Chronicle's Style Section over the weekend.

Congratulations, CB!
Alison

Get Ready for Wrecking Crew

2008-02-20T05:52:00.000-08:00

You've heard me go all dreamy when I talk about John Albert's writing. I can't help myself. I swear. Wrecking Crew is the type of book that you want to read aloud to strangers standing next to you in line at the post office. It's the sort of book that will make you laugh at the most horrific situations, and then bite your lip and feel guilty that you found humor in something so twisted.

Visit the Wrecking Crew website. I'll post a full interview with John on March 1st.

This Month's Centerfold...

2008-02-18T05:36:00.000-08:00

I mean "Winner," is Emerald. Email your mailing info to msasliontyler at yahoo dot com, and I will send you a necklace and a copy of Penthouse Variations: Sexy Stories from the Edge!

Tomorrow, I'll put up a bit about my next guest, the amazing John Albert.

XXX,
Alison

V is for Variations

2008-02-14T05:34:00.000-08:00

I have a confession. I don’t actually subscribe to Variations. But I read every single issue. Why don’t I subscribe? Because one of my biggest turn-ons is buying Variations. I have been a regular reader for (muffled comment) years, and I adore stalking into the very back of Max’s Smoke Shop, and nuzzling my way to the rack. I make sure every customer in the place knows what I’m buying. “Oooh, the latest Variations is out,” I coo.

Hmmm. Maybe I ought to write a letter about that. If I did, I’d send it to Barbara Pizio, who is the Executive Editor. She’s here with us today to talk about tickling, toys, and finding your dream domme. Ms. Pizio has worked at Variations for 16 years, and has been the Executive Editor for the past seven.

Alison Tyler: How many times do you publish a year?

Barbara Pizio: Penthouse Variations is published 12 times a year, and the Best of Variations, an all-letters compilation, is published three times a year. Each magazine is available in print and digital editions.

Alison Tyler: What are the most popular themes?

Barbara Pizio: In addition to female domination and threesomes, wife-watching has grown tremendously in popularity during the past ten years. Men who like to watch their wives have sex with other men have a number of driving factors. For some, if the wife is a dominant, there is the cuckolding aspect. But for most, it seems to be a sense of pride that comes from others praising the wife’s beauty and sexual prowess—and it’s a unique chance to enjoy all of the real-life details of a private sex show. Even the most fortuitous voyeuristic opportunities don’t often offer such an unimpeded, close-up view of the action.

Variations also has a unique audience of heterosexual cross-dressers. Some merely express a fetishistic interest in women’s clothing, but for others, their desire is tied into female domination scenarios with forced feminization or sissy-maid training.

Alison Tyler: Do you ever get requests for fringier themes, like tickling or shrimping or sploshing?

Barbara Pizio: Shrimping isn’t really a fringe interest for Variations readers—feet are popular! Feet and legs are at the top of the list of body fetishes. Possibly because they tend to be the most socially acceptable. When a man compliments a woman on her legs or her pedicure, it doesn’t raise too many eyebrows. It’s a little different for someone who is into sploshing. It’s easier to convince a woman to paint her toenails, as opposed to asking her to roll around in mud. As for sploshing, those letters are rare, although we often get letters about food play. It seems to be a favorite, especially where oral sex is concerned.

Tickling requests do come in from time to time. For a true fetishist, though, tickling is more involved than the unfamiliar might think. Not any type of tickling will do. For example, many fetishists want bondage involved in a scene, while other are enamored of foot tickling only. Director Kelly Holland shot a great tickling scene for the Variations DVD Bad 2 the Bone. It features some light bondage and stars Penny Flame, who is just adorable. She really is ticklish and her laughter is genuine—it’s a classic tickling scenario.

Alison Tyler: What other fetishes are represented in the Variations DVDs?

Barbara Pizio: The DVDs are based on letters from the magazine, something for which we’ve always gotten requests. So the movies have a little bit of everything: spanking, female domination, foot fetishism, role-playing, latex, leather, etc. The movies have been well received. In fact, PMGI’s first Variations DVD, Stiletto, won Best Foot Fetish Release at the 2008 AVN awards.

Alison Tyler: To me, one of the best parts of Variations is the lack of value judgment. At first I read the spanking letters with more than lust, but with relief as well: Oh, other people like this, too! Do you get fan letters for your letters?

Barbara Pizio: Absolutely! I’ve opened up countless letters over the years in which people have written about how picking up Variations was a revelation to them. They’d had certain desires for years and discovering that they weren’t alone validated their interests—and encouraged them to seek out their own kinky fun.

Alison Tyler: Variations now boasts a luscious line of sex toys. Are you personally involved in the design and choices of the line?

Barbara Pizio: When Penthouse was initially discussing a Variations toy line with Topco, our licensee, I had a number of conversations with Penthouse’s licensing staff and Topco’s brand development team. I’ve recommended certain types of toys for the line, based on the interests of Variations’ readers. We’re looking to create products that go hand-in-hand with the erotic scenarios that appear in the magazine.

As far as the actual creation of the toys, Topco has a great research and development team that has done an amazing job of actualizing the toys that our readers have been longing for. There are now more than two dozen Variations products, which can be found—along with lots of other fun stuff—over at PenthouseStore.com.

Alison Tyler: What are the best-selling Variations items?

Barbara Pizio: Right now, the best-selling items at the Penthouse Store are the wireless vibrating nipple clamps and the furry handcuffs. They’re excellent starter items for people who are beginning to explore their kinky side.

Alison Tyler: If you could create any new toy, what would it be?

Barbara Pizio: So many wonderful toys are already on the market, I can’t really think of something truly new. There have been many improvements in the adult novelty industry during the past few years, including advances in technology and product components, and the creation of more aesthetically pleasing designs.

Rather than creating something new, I’d like people—especially women—who were turned off or scared away by bad toy experiences to take a look at what’s out there. I think they’d be pleasantly surprised. Toy companies and retailers have realized that women are their primary consumers, and there are now many more products and retail locations that are female friendly.

Alison Tyler: What is the oddest letter you received? (Ooops—I just said my favorite part of Variations was lack of judgment. But still, I’m nosy!)

Barbara Pizio: Hmm, odd really is in the eye of the beholder. What’s odd to one person is another person’s joy, so I don’t feel I can really tag any specific letter that way. We do occasionally get unusual requests. Sometimes men write in looking for advice on how to find their dream domme or a partner for their fantasy threesome. However, we don’t dole out hook-up advice. For that, readers are on their own.

In general, though, the letters are interesting and entertaining—the readers are so passionate about their interests. And in addition to sex confessions, the letters also reveal a lot about popular culture and people’s attitudes about sexuality. They’re actually very telling in more ways than the prurient.

Alison Tyler: What’s up for the future of Variations?

Barbara Pizio: This year, Variations is celebrating its 30th anniversary. The older fetish and leather world is already familiar with the magazine, so we’re reaching out to introduce the brand to a younger crowd. In October 2007, Variations was one of the sponsors of the Fetish Factory’s Halloween Ball down in Fort Lauderdale, which was a huge event with thousands of fetish fans in attendance. Penthouse Pet Justine Joli—looking gorgeous in a black and green latex dress—was there to promote her appearance on Variations’ November 2007 cover.

And more recently, Variations has begun sponsoring the monthly Cat O’ Nine fetish gala at Lit Lounge in the NYC’s East Village (http://www.myspace.com/catoninenyc). The first event was held on January 16, and Penthouse’s sex columnist Dr. Victoria Zdrok was on hand to dispense sex toy advice and there were some outrageous performances down in the dungeon. If you’re ever in New York, you should stop by and join the party!

***
Happy Birthday, Variations!

Thank you, Barbara, for stopping by The Trollop Salon. A commenter today will win one of Penthouse’s lovely necklaces and a copy of the Penthouse Variations collection: Sexy Stories from the Edge.

XXX,
Alison

Photo credit: Justine Joli by Cheryl Gomez

Of Penthouse and Pony Girls

2008-02-13T07:03:00.000-08:00

Did you hear the clip-clopping of my gorgeous high-heeled leather boots? I'm getting all dressed-up for tomorrow's interview with Barbara Pizio! But first, here's another little taste.

Alison Tyler: Each issue of Variations contains a cornucopia of porn, and it seems that you rotate through a slew of set themes. How many are there? Do some get heavier rotation than others?

Barbara Pizio: There are more than two dozen categories covered in Variations. The magazine’s primary focus is BDSM and fetishism, and reader favorites, such as female domination, are definitely on heavy rotation. While we also publish vanilla material, the most popular being threesomes, it is still presented with a fetishistic eye for detail.

Our editorial content has always been influenced by the mail we receive from the readers. Their letters are our mirror for people’s fantasies and experiences. But even though our readers’ interests are varied, story and letter submissions sometimes trend in certain directions. Often it’s related to something going on pop culture-wise or in the media. A few years back, after HBO’s show Real Sex covered pony play—a niche subset of BDSM role-playing—we received a whole bunch of stories about pony girls.

For the full interview with Barbara, stop back tomorrow!

XXX,
Alison

Express Your Eroticism

2008-02-11T06:47:00.000-08:00

On Valentine's Day, I'll be revealing the entire interview I conducted with the Executive Editor of Penthouse Variations, Barbara Pizio. Until then, I'm posting snippets from our talk together:

Alison Tyler: Is there a typical reader that you publish for? Male or female? Single or married?

Barbara Pizio: Variations’ audience is a combination of curious newbies and longtime BDSM and fetish fans. The majority of the magazine’s current subscribers are older than 30 and male. Many are also married, and we often get letters signed by both members of a couple. This lets us know that quite a few of those men are sharing their copies of Variations with their wives.

While women make up a smaller percentage of Variations’ subscribers, they tend to be younger and single. These ladies are overwhelmingly dominant in their sexual preferences and aren’t shy about taking control and expressing their eroticism.

This picture features Penthouse Pet Justine Joli at the Fetish Factory's Halloween Ball. I am in awe of the statue she's smooching! (Photo Credit: Justine Joli by Cheryl Gomez)

Where Do YOU Read Variations?

2008-02-09T07:07:00.000-08:00

On Valentine's Day, I'll be running the full interview with Barbara Pizio, executive editor at Penthouse Variations. For now, here is a sneak peek:

Alison Tyler: How does the online format for Variations differ from the magazine?

Barbara Pizio: Variations.com subscribers have access to an incredible amount of content. There is editorial from nearly 200 issues of the magazine currently available online, and we’re adding to it daily. Additionally, we run exclusive interviews on the site. Web subscribers also have access to Penthouse.com, which has thousands of photos, hardcore full-length videos, and special behind-the-scenes videos of the Penthouse Pets. Between the two sites, it’s a fantastic combination of sex stories and photos.

The print magazine is obviously all-inclusive as far as text and photos. And depending on your reading habits, the discreet size and portability can be a real plus.

Yes, this is a case in which size not only matters, but a discreet size is better. I have read Variations on trains, planes, and, um, hovercrafts. I adore the fact that you can slide this palmable porn into your pocket. Hmmm. I wonder if my ABC books were influenced by Variations... Or perhaps I'm simply using this segue to let you know that Barbara has a story of her own in F Is for Fetish!

XXX,
Alison

P.S. The March beauty on the cover below is wearing such a striking collar. I'll be giving away a collar like this, and perhaps some other Penthouse Swag, after the full interview with Barbara.

And now for something completely... SEXY

2008-02-08T07:07:00.000-08:00

You know me. I am the world’s most vocal voyeur. No, maybe I’m the quietest. You can’t be a loud voyeur, or people will know you’re watching. What I mean to say is that I like to observe, to know what’s going on, to find out about other people’s kinks.

This is why I adore Penthouse Variations. Variations is a slim little packet of porn letters written from readers’ erotic experiences. In my opinion this marvelous magazine is the original FOUND. You get to see into people’s lives. Into their very bedrooms, or boardrooms, or laundry rooms. Wherever they go to get it on.

Executive Editor of Variations, Barbara Pizio, recently answered a slew of my questions about the magazine. Ms. Pizio has worked at Variations for 16 years, and has been the Executive Editor for the past seven. I will post her full interview on Valentine's Day, with little snippets ahead of time to wet your... I mean, whet your interest. For now, let's all quietly gaze in awe at the gorgeous March cover.

XXX,
Alison

We Have a Winner

2008-02-07T06:08:00.000-08:00

Well, actually, we have three. The winner of the Snake and Dagger Poison Necklace (which I haven't been wearing every day, I swear, I kept it all wrapped up neatly in the little plastic envelope), is Alana. But I'm also going to send a Wild Card, I mean Lucky In Love necklace to Madeline Moore, because she really does need one. And she commented seven times.

Oh, and I promised Stephen I'd send him this one if he posted a comment, which he did here.

See? It pays to be a trollop, I mean to visit the Trollop Salon! Stop by tomorrow, for an intro to our next guest! (I mean, my next guest. I've gone all British all of a sudden and started talking in the royal "we.")

XXX,
Alison

Faster Than You

2008-02-01T05:45:00.000-08:00

I’ve teased you. I’ve taunted you. I’ve tested your very limits of endurance. Now, I am going to share with you the secrets of Emily, the owner Faster Than You. And I’m going to do more than that. On February 7th, I’m going to give away a piece of her jewelry to one of the commenters. Emily has promised to stop by several times to answer questions. In fact, she said she’d be here with bells on, but I think she’ll really be wearing these.

Alison: How long have you been creating jewelry?
Emily: Only about two years.

Alison: Do you draw all of the art by hand?
Emily: Yep, all hand drawn, hand painted and hand assembled. DIY or DIE!

Alison: Where do you get your inspirations?
Emily: Pop culture, old school tattoo flash, and visions in my brain.

Alison: What is your favorite piece?
Emily: Wow tough one, probably the "Stay True" sparrows and dagger necklace, or the deluxe blue sugar skull necklace.

Alison: If you could choose one celebrity to wear one of your pieces, who would you choose?
Emily: The Muffs, Kim Shattuck. I just think she is so cool.

Alison: Do you have tattoos? If so, did you design the artwork?
Emily: Yes, I have two and no I didn't design them, they were done by Jason Lambert at Eye Candy Tattoo. Though I am working on a design for my arm and back currently.

Alison: Are your pieces one-of-a-kind?
Emily: Each design is unique, but all of them can be reproduced. However I can customize pieces for that personal touch. Anything from names to sayings and custom colors, all you have to do is ask!

Alison: Who are your three favorite artists?
Emily: Hmm, tough one so many good ones. I would have to say Sailor Jerry, Angelique Houtkamp, and Chris Conn.

Alison: Do you listen to music while you work? If so, who do you favor?
Emily: Oh definitely! Next to art music is a HUGE part of my life. I've recently been listening to The Bones, The Donnas, Wildhearts, Yo-Yo's and some Descendents.

Alison: Shake that crystal ball. What's in the future for Faster Than You?
Emily: Hopefully more necklace designs and finally my leap into T-shirts for a broader market. Oh and slowly taking over the world one necklace at a time...ha!

Thank you so much for visiting the Trollop Salon, Emily!

For more information about Emily, check out her Etsy Store, visit her ultra-hip website FasterThanYou.Net, or be her friend!

XXX,
Alison

Lucky In Love

2008-01-31T06:04:00.000-08:00

"You've got to ask yourself one question: 'Do I feel lucky?' Well, do ya?"

XXX,
Alison

P.S. I couldn't resist.

I'm Knuckling Down

2008-01-30T09:46:00.000-08:00

I didn't oversleep! I'm just knuckling down on a tough deadline. This necklace would be perfect for me today!

XXX,
Alison

Pussy Power

2008-01-29T06:21:00.000-08:00

I can't believe I just typed that. Oh, well. For the prettiest kitty you know—or for yourself, this necklace is simply purrfect. (I get giddy when I'm on deadline. Clearly. But wouldn't Mrs. Slocombe approve?)

XXX,
Alison

Cupcakes Take the Cake!

2008-01-28T07:52:00.000-08:00

Emily's yummy cupcake is the perfect illustration to use while reminding you to vote for Cupcakes Take the Cake for Best Food Weblog in the 2008 Bloggies! The deadline to vote is The deadline is Thursday, January 31st at 10 pm EST.

XXX,
Alison

true love

2008-01-27T06:54:00.000-08:00

We are inching closer to Valentine's Day, and if you're not a cynical bastard, you might want to give someone a heart. Or wear one yourself. This whole necklace spans approx. 5" when worn, so you won't be wearing your heart on your sleeve, but across your chest!

XXX,
Alison

Buzzworthy

2008-01-25T06:53:00.001-08:00

MTV Buzzworthy featured Emily's super cool skull earrings! She has a host of other Day-of-the-Dead-inspired jewelry, too. Like this killer necklace. Wouldn't this look perfect with my favorite pair of Ed Hardy sneakers?

XXX,
Alison

Are You a Little Devil?

2008-01-25T06:46:00.000-08:00

Forget cupids and flowers this Valentine's Day. Check out Emily's Hell Bomb Devil Girl. She looks as if she might break a few hearts.

XXX,
Alison

Art in Motion

2008-01-24T05:55:00.000-08:00

You can see Emily's art on her customers in her gallery! I adore this concept. Hmmm... maybe I should ask readers to send me pictures of themselves reading my books!

XXX,
Alison

P.S. I own this necklace! God, for some reason, Emily's jewelry makes me want to use exclamation points!

Faster Than You

2008-01-23T06:23:00.000-08:00

I’ve shown you the inside of my jewelry box and told you about the ink on my skin. So you know me. You know that I like cherries. And tattoos. And skulls. You know that I’m more interested in being noticed than in playing by any rules. (You’ve heard those rules, too, haven’t you? Look in the mirror before you go out, and take off one piece of jewelry. Fuck that. I look in the mirror and then add one more bangle.) Oh, and have I told you about my penchant for glitter? There is never a time when I don’t sparkle or shimmer—even if I’m only on my way out to the grocery store.

This is why I’ve fallen in love with the jewelry from Faster Than You—and why I think you will, too. I will put up an interview with Emily on Feburary 1st. Until then, I wanted to showcase her jewelry and give you a little bite of information about her each day.

Today's tidbit: Faster Than You was featured in Tattoos For Women Magazine. What a killer spread!

P.S. Are you looking for something vicious for a Valentine's Day vixen? Look no further than Emily's ETSY store.

Really dirty. Really, dirty, really sexy.

2008-01-22T05:27:00.001-08:00

Chandler Burr's delicious book, The Perfect Scent, is out today. Pop the champagne! Spritz on the perfume! Here is another little excerpt from the book, a conversation he has with Sarah Jessica Parker about the perfume she used to mix up for herself.

“Well, first, I’d buy a drugstore must, $6.99 a bottle at Thriftys.”
What was it called?
“Uhhh…” She touches my arm, looks pretty torn up. “Do I say?” Winces. “I think I better not say.”
I pretend to look hurt, she’s apologetic, I cave, and she laughs.
The second?
“Second was an Egyptian oil from an African American gentleman who used to sell them on lower Broadway. And, third, a fairly costly male scent.” She tells me what it is, off the record. I’m surprised. It’s from an edgy scent collection with a dark, very downtown, not infrequently forbidding aesthetic. It’s not, I say, a scent I’d have imagined you creating.
“Oh, it’s me,” she says. “Love it. Really dirty. Really dirty, really sexy. I said to Catherine, ‘There’s nothing on the market for women like this.’”
So you did know something about creating a perfume, I say.
“Well,” she says, “I thought I did.”

Take the trip with Chandler and SJP on the journey to create Lovely. Watch and learn from the master who makes Un Jarden sur le Nil. And get swept away by Chandler’s style. He may write about the artists who create scents, but he is an artist himself in the way he paints with words.

The winner of Cumming is Rita and the winner of FCUK for Her is Raven. Please send your mailing addresses to msalisontyler at yahoo dot com.

XXX,
Alison

Talking Scents with Chandler Burr

2008-01-15T05:33:00.000-08:00

Chandler Burr wafted into my consciousness when I read his column in the Spring 07 edition of the New York Style Magazine. His write-up, "Dirty Tricks," is dog-eared so that I can remember to try the three new perfumes he mentioned. But even sexier than the idea of spritzing brand-new fragrances onto my naked skin is the way Mr. Burr described the scents:

“The brilliance of Agent Provocateur is that it doesn’t actually smell like unwashed panties. It’s better than that; it just reminds you of them. It smells like crushed raspberries and black plums on hot skin.

L’Autre is piles of spices simmering in the hot African sun. It is desert dust, the dirt on the street and a hint of body odor from the salesman’s robes. If the spice is somewhat obvious, it’s a picture worth 10,000 words.

Elegant and yet something you smell between the sheet, a whiff of Rose 31 and you’re not sure if you should offer its wearer a seat or watch your wallet.”

His "crushed raspberries and black plums on hot skin" line made me shiver.

So I was thrilled to read his brand-new book, The Perfect Scent, which follows the creation of two new fragrances: Sarah Jessica Parker’s Lovely and Un Jardin sur le Nil from Hermes. Un Jardin was one of those perfumes I had to possess. I ripped out a page in a magazine and pressed the paper strip to my wrists, willing the scent to smell as good on me as it did on Vogue. His description of this perfume is pitch perfect:

“It is a perfume that smells like early evening on an island where it is always summer. It is the smell sunlight makes coming out of a blue sky, the air scented with the tang made as the light warms the smooth unblemished peel of the freshest, greenest mangoes hanging from the branches of the young trees, just out of reach.”

Mr. Burr answered a few of my queries about perfume here:

Alison Tyler: Do you think it’s sexier if a woman has a signature scent, or changes her perfume with her moods?

Chandler Burr: I can't conceive of limiting myself to one scent, there are so many terrific scents out there. But that's my own personal thing that has nothing to do with sexiness. A perfume is ultimately sexy to the degree to which a man or woman feels sexy in it, and if it's just one scent, then that's the right scent. If I had to have just one, I can imagine its being Comme des Garcons 2 or Sienne l'Hiver by l'Eau d'Italie or L'Eau d'Hiver by Jean-Claude Ellena for Frederic Malle.

Alison Tyler: Years ago, I knew a married couple (two choreographers) who both wore Egoiste. (This was before the creation of unisex fragrances.) What are your feelings about a woman who wears a man’s cologne? Are there any specific ones that work better on women?

Chandler Burr: Actually my position is about as extreme as it's possible to get: Even the most commercial marketers will admit to you, in private, off the record, that "gendering" perfumes-- dividing them into masculine and feminine—is a cynical marketing tool with one purpose: to give nervous or brutish heterosexual men cultural permission to wear scent. "See? It says 'Man' onna label. So I ain't queer!" As Jean-Claude Ellena says in my book, saying that a perfume is for a man or a woman is as logical as saying Manet or Handel is for a man or a woman. And I loathe this social constructionist bullshit that desperately wants to believe gender is completely a product of environment; "maleness" and "femaleness" have biological realities as well as social constructions. And I think Elgar is certainly masculine music and "Cannabis Santal" is a masculine scent. And that said, women should absolutely feel free to wear it. "Unisex fragrances" should simply be called "fragrances." They are the future-- look at Frederic Malle's or Le Labo's or 06310's collection ("Yuzu Rouge" in particular), where everything is absolutely open to everyone. Obviously if you're a woman and you want to play that "woman" role consciously, then by all means go get YSL's "Baby Doll." It's a marvel, a well-constructed high-quality conscious parady-slash-celebration of cliche femininity, it's a terrific perfume, and I love it.

Alison Tyler: What’s the secret to wearing the proper amount of perfume? Is layering really a good idea?

Chandler Burr: Exactly as with drugs, there's no proper dosage, each scent has its own power and performance, and you have to gauge each one. As for layering, that completely defeats the fundamental artistic integrity of the perfume. You wouldn't put a Caillebotte and a Rothko on top of each other. Why would you do so with two different works of perfume by, say, Calice Becker and Jacques Cavallier? The exception is a concept like Jo Malone where many of the juices are intentionally minimalist and transparent and made to be combined with others in the same collection. That's fine, but those are not really perfumes in that case, they are primary scent accords. This is not to denigrate them. It's simply a different approach.

Alison Tyler: Scents tie us so deeply to memories. You mentioned the scents that make up your memories of your grandmother (“fresh citrus and the green leaves of the poisonous Texas oleander she warned my sister and me never to touch, the hot wet breezes of the Gulf of Mexico off fishing boats, the clean, rich Victorian smells of the England she grew up in”). When I wore Obsession on a date once, a man called me Danielle. (The name of his girlfriend who had worn the same perfume.) Is it a good idea to clear a fragrance with a new partner? To make sure the perfume doesn’t remind him or her of a previous lover? Or would that be like changing your signature?

Chandler Burr: The answer to this is, it seems to me, crystal clear. If the guy or girl dated a guy or girl who wore Caleche, and you wear Caleche, it's like having the ex's photo next to your face the entire night. This may or MAY NOT be a bad thing, but let's not kid ourselves: if you want to be taken on your own terms, and Caleche happens to be your scent, I'd go out and get Dioressence or Sake or Missoni.

Alison Tyler: Do the same perfumes really smell different on different people?

Chandler Burr: Yes, to a degree. The marketers, whose only purpose in life is getting you to the cash register with the bottle, will tell you absolutely anything, and they greatly exaggerate this so as, as Luca Turin intelligently analyzed it, to sell you a mass market product (which perfume is) as a luxury product (which it is not but pretends to be). To a degree you need to make sure that the Bagdley Mischka that's great on her isn’t mediocre on you. But most of the time, a scent is going to smell like a scent.

Alison Tyler: What is your favorite affordable perfume? What do you think is the most sublime expensive one?

Chandler Burr: Uh, I really am not able to answer this because I haven't been paying as much attention to price as I should have. Starting now in 2008 that's a new priority-- to be conscious of what stuff costs. I can
tell you that you do not-- repeat not-- need to spend a huge amount of money for a great perfume, higher cost is only generally (certainly not always) tied to higher quality, and some inexpensive things are perfectly fine.

Alison Tyler: Have you ever met someone and thought the perfume didn’t match the wearer? Would you tell a friend if you thought their perfume was off?

Chandler Burr: "Not match the wearer." Um...only if it's a piece of crap scent. A friend of mine was wearing the Lanvin masculine, and I told him it was the olfactory equivalent of Stalinism: the rigidity, the paranoia, the
insane excess power, the death camps. And if someone's perfume is off literally-- it's gone bad-- sure, I'd tell them. But you mean aesthetically; that's more difficult, but I'd probably tell them that as well and maybe damage the friendship.

Alison Tyler: What cologne do you wear?

Chandler Burr: Well, first, Americans have been taught by the industry something I think we should undo, that "cologne" is for men and "perfume" is for women. In French, "parfum" is for men and women and an "eau de
cologne" is actually a specific scent: a light citrus water with lemon, bitter orange, and bergamote. You're never going to get American guys to use "perfume" for what they wear themselves but "scent" is much more accurate and leave cologne as cologne. What do I wear? Like, for me? Usually nothing. Because I usually am wearing 4-8 scents for work on different points on my body, and wearing the stuff is work. But Fresh just came out with "Cannabis Rose," and it's so amazing I've been wearing it off hours. Same for Etat Libre's "Rossy de Palma" perfume—it's just jaw-dropping, and I put it on.

Mr. Burr will stop by today to answer a few questions, so please post any you might have. And remember—his outstanding book, The Perfect Scent, is available on the 22nd. Pre-order your copy today!

XXX,
Alison

P.S. I’ll be giving away two different fragrances: FCUK for Men or Women and Cumming to two commenters. I’ll post the winners on the 22nd.

You, Or Someone Like You

2008-01-10T07:42:00.001-08:00

Oh, damn. My reporting skills must have gotten clouded by the cotton-candy scent of Chandler Burr's perfume writing. I didn't realize that he was also a novelist! Here is an excerpt from his novel-in-progress:

I AM IN THE BLACK SAAB, having pulled onto the dusty shoulder of Mulholland at Franklin Canyon Drive. The top is down, it is a spectacular day, almost no smog, and I have decided to, why not, repair a bit of makeup. I apply some lipstick, mat it down with my lips. Burst out laughing at myself. A fifty-four-year-old woman acting like an ex-actress driving into Bel Air. (Howard would have a field day, were he in the car. But he’ll be at home, and I’d like to look a bit less windblown when I arrive.) My head tilts up with the laugh, and just beyond the mirror I catch sight of a rusty Toyota pulling up from the Sooky Goldman Nature Center, an occluded exit. My fingers run distractedly through my hair, cut mid-neck length and recently highlighted. The Toyota’s driver, a white man in his late thirties, clean-cut (even at this distance, I notice he carefully gels his hair), leans forward over his steering wheel with a frown, trying to see one way, then the other. I could put the Saab in drive again, continue toward the 101, but as if I know the scene will be shot here, I don’t. I begin to watch more closely as the Toyota pulls out into the far lane, then cuts across the shoulder of the road, where a gardener appears from behind a six-foot-tall mass of dahlia, huge purple...

To read more, you'll need to log in to Narrative Magazine.

XXX,
Alison

P.S. He said "huge purple," but he didn't say "bulbous, purple," which was yesterday's No, No #7.

Another Whiff

2008-01-09T06:32:00.000-08:00

A writer as exceptional, and as comic, as Chandler Burr deserves to be worn every day. I mean read. Read everyday. Here is a snippet from the article that won my nose. I mean my heart:

Few people anymore use the term “whore’s bath” (a brief splash of basin water under the arms), in part because the P.C. version (“sex worker’s bath”) sounds moronic, in part because one doesn’t get the chance: soap in every form is now so ubiquitous that most men have forgotten what a good hit of armpit from a hot young woman can do for a guy. One brilliant perfume will remind you. For Le Labo, the Nolita scent emporium belonging to Eddie Roschi and Fabrice Penot, the perfumer Daphné Bugey has injected rose with Cetalox Laevo, a synthetic ambergris, like an animal’s breath, and the result is a completely contemporary perfume: elegant and yet something you smell between the sheets. A whiff of Rose 31 and you’re not sure if you should offer its wearer a seat or watch your wallet.

Read the full piece here. And pre-order Chandler's new book here.

XXX,
Alison

The Perfect Scent

2008-01-05T08:07:00.001-08:00

The Perfect Scent comes out on January 22nd. My interview with Chandler Burr will go up on January 15th. Here is a little snippet from our conversation:

Alison Tyler: I love the little key at the bottom of your columns—from "do not inhale" to "transcendent." I'm wondering which perfumes/colognes you'd consider transcendent. (And, whore for gossip that I am, would you share any you wouldn’t breathe in?)

Chandler Burr: Re "wouldn't inhale," here's a bit taken from my book where I evaluate 6 or 7 Hugo Boss scents. Here are 3 of them:

"Soul": This smells like the very good, very interesting John Varvatos except that everything good and interesting and creative has been leeched with chlorine from its desiccated corpse. Given that it has none, calling this smell Soul is like calling Sean John's hackneyed, derivative masculine cliché Innovative. It is an Orwellian use of the English language. This is the chemical reek of deep-space travelers frozen in goo in suspended animation.

"Hugo Boss": Huh?

"Edition": Insecticide.

Transcendent: I'll go back to a perfume made by Bertrand Duchaufour for l'Eau d'Italie, a tiny niche Italian house, and its perfume "Paestum Rose", a crepuscular, just, just beginning to decay glorious late-summer rose with—I'm going to lay this on, but honestly, go smell this astonishing stuff and you may not think I'm completely crazy—the rough softness of a prostitute and the silent dark of a vampire bat.

If you’re at all interested in perfume, you’ll love this book. But even if you’re not, the writing will draw you in. The man’s a poet, a cynical, quick-witted, sarcastic poet. Stop back for another tease shortly, and the full interview on the 15th.

XXX,
Alison

New Year, New Blog

2007-12-31T05:49:00.000-08:00

Welcome to the Trollop Salon, where there’s always plenty to drink and interesting people to talk to. I mean leer at. I mean fuck.

This is the place to come to meet new authors.
This is the place to come to hear new music.
This is the place to come.

Coming soon:
Chandler Burr, author of The Perfect Scent.

Calendar to be posted shortly.

XXX,
Alison

P.S. "Roller Girl" courtesy of Faster Than You.