Best best best!

Wowsa! The inestimable Violet Blue just released her “Best Sex Books 2009” list, and I have stories in three of the anthologies!

(Note: The above link is to SF Gate, the online version of The San Francisco Chronicle, so it’s safe for work in terms of no nudity, etc.. But this is still a list of fiction and nonfiction about sex.)

1. Playing With Fire: Taboo Erotica

2. Sweetest Kiss: Ravishing Vampire Erotica

4. Do Not Disturb: Hotel Sex Stories

And a big "rock on!" shout out to the fabulous editors who saw fit to buy my stories: Alison Tyler, DL King, and Rachel Kramer Bussel!

Sheer cussedness

Today, despite my emotional/psychological state, I managed to (a) finish and mail the requested short story I started yesterday and (b) wrote and mailed a very short (500 words) story for a contest. Granted, these things took me nearly all day to write, but the bottom line is that I was stubborn and finished the bastards.

Tomorrow I’m going to focus on submissions (one or two stories that need to go back out, as well as some novel subs), minor tweaking of an older story, and the gazillion other things on my plate. (Yes, I know I owe you an e-mail. And you, too. And you…)

Meanwhile, from an earlier entry I never got around to posting:

Sale! Fantasy story “The Devil Went Down to the Sunset Strip” to the anthology Retro Spec: Tales of Fantasy and Nostalgia. I haven't sold a lot of spec fic stories recently so this is especially exciting! The story’s about a hair metal groupie who saves her favorite band.

[They] were four talented guys. (They really were. I wasn’t just some starry-eyed groupie; I knew decent music and I knew stage presence.) Talented, yes, and awfully pretty, all of them.

And every last one of them was dumber than a post.

Hee.

Meanwhile, check out Circlet Press’s annual erotic advent! Every day, they’re posting a new short erotic SFF story—but the catch is each story is up for one day only (posted at about 1 a.m. Eastern).

My own story will be up on Christmas Eve, but I encourage you all to check them out every day! A great way to start or end your day this month. :-)

Baby steps

Ken's IBR talk

4:00 p.m.
Saturday, December 12th, 2009

BMW Motorcycles of Ventura County
830 Tourmaline Drive
Newbury Park CA 91320

The Iron Butt Association is a loose-knit group of riders dedicated to safe long-distance motorcycling. Entry into the club is obtained by documenting long-distance riding challenges, such as 1,000 miles in under 24 hours. Every two years the IBA hosts their premier event, the Iron Butt Rally. Billed as "11,000 miles in 11 days," this Rally tests the mettle of selected riders by sending them all across the US and Canada on a giant two-wheeled scavenger hunt. In fact, more people have gone into space than have completed an Iron Butt Rally.

Ken Meese has been riding ever since he snuck his parents' 125cc bike out of the garage as a teenager. He has logged several hundred thousand miles on BMWs and has ridden in Asia, Europe, and North America. Ken has ridden numerous Long Distance Rallies and Iron Butt certificate rides that have covered nearly every US state and most Canadian Provinces. 2009 was his first Iron Butt Rally, but definitely not his last.

This evening will be full of road tales, travails, and triumphs as Ken shares his experiences of competing in the ultimate motorcycle endurance Rally. In addition, Ken's Rally-prepped bike will be on hand so you can see just what it takes to survive on a BMW for 11 days and 11,000 miles.