Tag Archives: book signing

The Initiation of Ms Holly launch 15 October!

15 October, 18:00-20:00 at Sh! Women’s Erotic Emporium, my novel, The Initiation of Ms Holly, published by the award-winning Xcite Books, will be officially launched! Finally I’ll get to introduce Rita Holly and Edward Ellison and their mysterious world of The Mount to the public. I’m convinced it will be love at first sight. Or in this case, love at first listen. I’ll be reading just a few of the yummy bits, just enough to convince you that you absolutely must take Rita and Edward and all of their friends home with you.

The lovely Sh! Ladiez will make sure there are plenty of copies to take home, along with pink fizz and cupcakes to refresh you while you listen and browse through all the cool stuff Sh! has to offer. Make sure to RSVP with Sh! as space is limited. Or on the launch Face Book page for The Initiation of Ms Holly

RSVP now, then come and see what really goes on at The Mount.

The Double Standard is alive and well

I was lucky enough to meet Zoe Margolis a few months ago. Zoe, aka Abby Lee, was famously outed for her popular anonymous blog, Girl with a One Track Mind. When I met her, she was doing a book reading at Sh! Women’s Shop in Hoxton promoting her new book, Girl with a One Track Mind Exposed. At the time she talked briefly about her shock and anger at being called a hooker in the headline of an article that ran in the Independent on Sunday, so I was very happy to read in Saturday’s Guardian that she had won libel damages. No one doubted that she would. The headline of the article was not only defamitory, but it was also wrong. The Inedpendent has since apologized and settled out of court.

As I read the article, I couldn’t help thinking about the big news a couple of months ago when Peter Biskind’s book, Star, How Warren Beatty seduced America, revealed that Beatty had supposedly slept with 12,775 women — give or take.

No one — even mistakenly — called Beatty a hooker. In fact the very idea is ludicrous. Men, especially handsome powerful ones, build reputations on their sexual prowess. Other men admire them, and women long to be the next notch on the bed post. Even though Beatty was referred to as a serial philanderer in one of the many newspaper articles, somehow that just doesn’t have the same impact as being called a hooker.

Seldom does a woman get admired for her sexual prowess, nor does she have to sleep with anywhere near 12,775 men before she gets labeled a whore. I’m in no way denegrating sex workers. I’m simply saying that the old double standard is alive and well, no matter how sophisticated we think we may be.

I doubt if there’s a woman writer of erotic fiction anywhere who doesn’t empathize with Zoe. Every time I publish a new story, every time I write a blog entry, there’s a frisson of fear, a small knot in my stomach, when I consider the risk. The truth is, the prudism and puritanism that’s a part of the culture we all grow up in still causes me to doubt myself, and even though I know better, causes me to fear what other people might think or say. And certainly not without cause. When women are open about sex, we run the risk of being labeled slut, whore, hooker. We run the risk that those who still think sex should be the property of the patriarchy, the church and state, will see us as fair game for verbal and emotional abuse (or worse) because we’ve chosen to celebrate our sexuality rather than repress it.

Zoe Margolis is one of my heros. She’s courageous, outspoken, and she’s making a difference for all of us who believe in the celebration of sexuality. And the world could certainly use a little more cause to celebrate.

Sexy Friday Night

Wow! Check this out from Scarlett French. Am I going to be in amazing company or what?!

“Are you already sick of ‘Jingle Bells’? Fancy a bit of subversion to make you feel normal?

Then come to Sh! Women’s Erotic Emporium (Hoxton Square, London N1) for a bit of pre-Christmas aural porn – this Friday, 18th December, 7pm.

Scarlett French and K D Grace will be reading from the recently launched Best Women’s Erotica 2010

Jacqueline Applebee will give us a little taster of Best of Best Women’s Erotica, due out early next year.

In addition to these consummate pleasures, I have great delight in announcing that we will have with us the sublime Violet Blue, author of many bestsellers including The Ultimate Guide to Cunnilingus, The Ultimate Guide to Fellatio, The Ultimate Guide to Adult Videos, and How to Kiss. She is also the editor of the Best Women’s Erotica series and many other erotic anthologies. She is a high profile blogger and tech personality and can found at www.tinynibbles.com (and at Sh! this Friday!)”

The venue is limited to thirty people, so if you want to come, please call Joanna at
0207 613 54 58.

Neighbourhood: Haggerston
57 Hoxton Square
London N1 6PB

www.sh-womenstore.com