Ravenous Nights

May 4th: An Invigorating Evening of the Erotic Word

debrahyde — Tue, 01 May 2012 16:39:47 +0000

We’re back! Join us Friday, May 4th with a full line-up of authors, prize packages, and our wildly fun Dirty Word Draw! Scheduled to read: I.J. Miller, M.M. DeVoe, Ben Francisco, and Isabo Kelly.

EVENT DETAILS:
Friday, May 4, 2012 · 8:00 – 10:00 PM
Happy Ending Lounge
302 Broome Street, New York, NY 10002
(212) 334-9676
Free. Street casual.

IJ Miller has published two novels and a collection of short stories. SEESAW was published by St. Martin’s Press in hardcover and Bantam in paperback. WHIPPED was published by Fanny Press. Both books are also available in a German translation, entitled Die gelehrige Schulerin and Die Herrin, respectively. SEESAW was also translated into Spanish as Sube Y Baja. His newest book, SEX AND LOVE, a collection of short stories, was released this past summer by Fanny Press. IJ was also a screenwriting fellow at the American Film Institute where he earned his MFA.

Making her second appearance at Ravenous Nights, Isabo Kelly is the award winning author of numerous science fiction, fantasy and paranormal romance novels, short stories and novellas. After finishing her Ph.D. in Zoology in Ireland, she buckled down to concentrate on writing. Isabo currently lives in New York City with her brilliant Irish husband, her son and her mad dog. To learn more about Isabo’s books, visit her at www.isabokelly.com.

A trained actress, prolific short-story writer M. M. De Voe has won, made finalist or been shortlisted for 23 literary awards and has placed short fiction in more than a dozen journals and three anthologies. “Overheard” is her first erotica story. De Voe holds an MFA from Columbia in Fiction, is an Associate Editor and Director of Online Workshops for OUr Stories Literary Journal, and is the founder and executive director of Pen Parentis, an organization that provides resources to authors with kids. De Voe lives in NYC with her husband, children, and a small collection of unpublished novels. Website: mmdevoe.com Like: Facebook.com/mmdevoe and Follow @mmdevoe

Join us this Friday night for an invigorating evening of the erotic word!

Ravenous Nights – See you May 4th

debrahyde — Sun, 25 Mar 2012 17:05:11 +0000

Due to a private booking at the Happy Ending Lounge, Ravenous Nights will not be held during the month of April. But we’ll return May 4^th with a full line-up of authors, prize packages, and our wildly fun Dirty Word Draw!

Scheduled to read in May: I.J. Miller, M.M. DeVoe, Ben Francisco, and Isabo Kelly.

We’re already shaping future Ravenous Nights. For starters, June will celebrate Queer Pride, August will boast an Author Smorgasbord, and October will celebrate Cleis Press books.

See you in May – and watch for announcements here!

Ravenous Nights March 2nd: New Faces, New Voices

debrahyde — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 18:01:49 +0000

With the promise of a new season right around the corner, join us as we welcome new faces, new voices (and a couple of alums!) to Ravenous Nights. Yes, authors visiting Ravenous Nights for the first time! From the tapestry of India to the weird paranormal to sex storytelling and performing, it’s looking to be a diverse evening of eclectic erotic works.

EVENT DETAILS:
Friday, March 2, 2012 · 8:00 – 10:00 PM
Happy Ending Lounge
302 Broome Street, New York, NY 10002
(212) 334-9676
Free. Street casual.

Joining us:

Nicholas Kaufmann is the critically acclaimed author of the Bram Stoker Award-nominated General Slocum’s Gold (Burning Effigy Press), Hunt at World’s End (as Gabriel Hunt, Leisure Books), Chasing the Dragon (ChiZine Publications) and the collection Walk in Shadows (Prime Books, out of print). His fiction has appeared in Cemetery Dance, The Mammoth Book of Best New Erotica 3, City Slab, The Best American Erotica 2007, Playboyand others. In addition to writing the monthly “Dead Air” column for The Internet Review of Science Fiction, his non-fiction has appeared in On Writing Horror (Writers Digest Books), Dark Scribe Magazine, Annabelle Magazine, Fantastic Metropolis, Hellnotes and others. He has also served on the Board of Trustees for the Horror Writers Association and is a member of the International Thriller Writers.

Born and raised in the United States by traditional Indian parents, Suleikha Snyder has always marched to the beat of her own dhol. As a child, she began writing fan fiction, mixing canonical TV characters with invented Indian-American characters, the genesis of the multicultural and interracial themes she explores in her current work. Today, her short stories and novellas are spicy, often LGBT-themed and frequently peppered with bits of Hindi or Spanish. (Expect both masala and masti!) Her short fiction appears in Cleis Press and Ravenous Romance anthologies. Her eagerly anticipated LGBT novella, Spice and Smoke, will be released on April 10 from Samhain Publishing. (Warning: This book contains gay and straight sexy times, smoking, drinking, references to drug use, and a gratuitous musical number involving The Beatles.)

Our good friend, Jefferson, curates and hosts of Bare. A sex educator and writer, Jefferson keeps a pseudonymous blog, One Life, Take Two, that details his life as a parent and pervert. He is a storyteller frequently seen on stages around the city and elsewhere, including The Moth, where he is a StorySlam winner.

Mo Beasley is an award-winning performance poet and storyteller. He is also a sexuality educator, author, and public speaker. He has successfully integrated his love of performing with his love of education and community building. In the fields of sexuality, race, manhood, and arts advocacy, he has over 20 years experience as a stage performer, teaching artist, workshop facilitator, consultant, activist, and mentor to youth. Mo Beasley’s presentations range from cutting-edge perspectives on sex, sexuality, to art as action, fatherhood and family building, hip hop as a tool for education, to re-defining masculinity for the 21st century.

A Full Roster… of BDSM! Leather! February 3rd!

debrahyde — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 00:14:00 +0000

Valentine’s Day may well be two weeks away, but we feel that we’ve already received our roses and chocolates. I mean, however else should we view this wonderfully full roster of authors? Come join us for kinky tales from the world of BDSM — and if you think our roster’s full, wait until you see our goodies bags this month!

EVENT DETAILS:
Friday, February 3, 2012 · 8:00 PM –10:00 PM
Happy Ending Lounge
302 Broome Street, New York, NY 10002
(212) 334-9676
Free. Street casual.

Lolita Wolf discovered the BDSM scene back when “online” meant the phone sex lines. An activist who defends sexual freedom for all consenting adults, Lolita spreads the word about BDSM, sex and poly, and helps the community grow and flourish. Yet, her goal remains to have fun. Known for a fun and entertaining style that packs a lot of information into a short class, she has authored two books with videos: Spanking and CBT in a Nutshell, and is featured in the Details of Flogging DVD. Her writing has appeared in On Our Backs, Prometheus, and Rachel Kramer Bussel’s Lust Chronicles. She also a chapter in the soon to be published Ultimate Guide To Kink edited by Tristan Taormino. Lolita was featured in the New York Times One in 8 Million series: http://is.gd/RIbuhN Her website can be found at http://leatheryenta.com/

Angel Propps is a sex-positive femme leatherdyke and Ms. SouthEastLeatherFest 2011. She is an often-published writer of lesbian BDSM erotica and horror, a poet who has appeared in art journals, and the author of many nonfiction essays and articles on sexuality and feminism. She grew into her kinks during her years as a Riot Grrl and, later, the manager of a gentlemen’s club. Angel was a member of the International Ms. Leather Seduction Team 2011 and is a puppy who has written much about the subject, most notably in a series run by Leatherati.com. She is the founding member of both a Riot Grrl band (The Southern Helles) and an outreach program for the homeless in Columbus, GA. Angel has presented nationwide on Bratting, AgePlay, Puppy Play, and Lap Dancing. When not traveling with her butch dyke Daddy (OB of Owhips) she lives in rural North Carolina.

Sara Eileen is a writer, editor, marketer, artist and event coordinator. Her journalism, non-fiction, and award-winning short fiction has been published internationally. Sara holds a BA in English and Art from Columbia University, and a Masters of Creative Writing from the University of Sydney. She has been writing about kinky things on the Internet, in various forms, for the past 5 years.

Laura Antoniou is the author of the best selling Marketplace series of BDSM novels, about a realistic, modern day slave training world. In addition to writing a ton of other erotic material, she has edited over a dozen anthologies and is collecting stories for even more right now. For over twenty years she’s been teaching and ranting at the kinky and alt-sex communities, and her contribution to Tristan Taormino’s The Ultimate Guide to Kink: BDSM, Role Play and the Erotic Edge is a rare example of her non-fiction work. Naturally, it’s all about how to train a slave. She can be found at lantoniou.com and on Fetlife and Facebook.

Elizabeth Thorne began writing erotic stories when she started working in a place known as The Sex Lab. It was an act of desperation since, ironically enough, studying sex kept her too busy to meet anyone larger than a mouse… and unlike Cinderella she doesn’t actually swing that way. These days, Elizabeth spends her time sitting around in her PJs writing popular science during the day and erotic romance at night. You can sometimes find her haunting NY delis at 2 a.m., looking for chocolate chip cookies and wondering why people are staring at her fuzzy pants. She has contributed to more than ten anthologies of erotica and erotic romance and is proud to be the author of “The Gingerbread Dungeon,” a collection of BDSM fairy tales. You can find her online at withbatedbeth.com.

January 6th: New Year, New Erotic Works

debrahyde — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 03:15:37 +0000

Wow. That miserable head/chest cold that’s making the rounds here in the North East may have me and Lori Perkins down, but we’re far from out by the count, and at this month’s Ravenous Nights, we’ll start the New Year off with new works.

Come listen to authors read from their newest works and be ready to enter a chance to win a collection of ebooks and other goodies. All you have to do is write your, ahem, *most revealing* resolution on a piece of paper and drop it in the bucket. From there, it’s the luck of the draw!

EVENT DETAILS:
Friday, January 06, 2012 · 8:00 PM –10:00 PM
Happy Ending Lounge
302 Broome Street, New York, NY 10002
(212) 334-9676
Free. Street casual.

Joining us this month:

Jeremy Edwards, author of the erotocomedic novel Rock My Socks Off (Xcite Books, 2010), the erotic story collection Spark My Moment (Xcite Books, 2010), and most recently The Pleasure Dial: An Erotocomedic Novel of Old-Time Radio (OC Press, November 2011). His quirky, libidinous tales have appeared in over fifty anthologies, including three volumes in the Mammoth Book of Best New Erotica series, and he has read his work live at New York’s In the Flesh and Philadelphia’s Erotic Literary Salon. Jeremy’s greatest goal in life is to be sexy and witty at the same moment—ideally in lighting that flatters his profile. Readers can drop in on him unannounced (and thereby catch him in his underwear) at www.jeremyedwardserotica.com

As a self-proclaimed promo ‘ho, Cat Johnson is known for her creative marketing and research practices. Consequently, Cat has sponsored bull riding rodeo cowboys, owns an entire collection of cowboy boots and camouflage shoes for book signings and a fair number of her consultants wear combat or cowboy boots for a living. In her real life, she’s been a marketing manager, professional harpist, bartender, tour guide, radio show host, Junior League president, wife, avid animal lover and is the author of over a dozen published full-length novels and numerous shorter works. Find out more at www.CatJohnson.net

KT Grant, a self-proclaimed eccentric redhead who not only loves to read a wide variety of romances, but also loves writing it. Under her alter-ego, she is a well known book reviewer and blogger who doesn’t shy away from voicing her opinion. A proud native of New Jersey, KT is multi-published and known for writing “out of the box” romances. KT has been quoted in such publications as the Romance Writers of America’s Romance Writers Report and Night Owl Reviews. She has also been mentioned in the Guardian.UK, Publisher’s Weekly’s Beyond the Book and at Bookseller.com. KT is a top ten best-selling PAN (Romance Writers of America Published Authors Network) author at Amazon, as well as being a multiple All Romance Ebooks best seller and a Night Owl Reviews Top Author Pick.

D. L. King spends an inordinate amount of time reading and writing smut in her New York City apartment and postage stamp sized garden. She is the editor of Spankalicious, a new spanking anthology for Ravenous Romance, due out in February. Her fourth anthology with Cleis Press, The Harder She Comes: Butch/Femme Erotica, is due out in March. She is also the editor of Carnal Machines, The Sweetest Kiss and the Lambda Literary Award Finalist, Where the Girls Are, all with Cleis Press and Spank! a Logical Lust anthology. The author of dozens of short stories, her work can be found in various editions of Best Lesbian Erotica, Best Women’s Erotica, The Mammoth Book of Best New Erotica, as well as such titles as One Night Only, Power Play, Lucious, Hurts So Good, Fast Girls, Gotta Have It, Please Ma’am, Sweet Love, and Frenzy, among others. She is the author of two novels of female domination and male submission, The Melinoe Project and The Art of Melinoe. She edits and publishes the erotica review site, Erotica Revealed, which has been referred to as the New York Times Book Review of Erotica. Find out more at dlkingerotica.blogspot.com and dlkingerotica.com.

Wrapping Up the Holidays: A December Reading Recap

debrahyde — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 22:35:02 +0000

Here at Ravenous Nights, we saw the season in with much mirth and merriment. Our reading authors brought their best stories, our audience brought their best sense of celebration, and we were off and running like Santa’s reindeer taking to the sky for the start of his holiday run.

Tobly McSmith, Indigo, Andrew Grey, Laura Antoniou

Sex expert, author, performer, and sketch comedian Tobly McSmith read a wonderful story about service in fetishwear and the sexual rewards it can earn the conscientious protagonist. It was a breathtaking tale of immersed-in-the-moment BDSM and we hope she returns to Ravenous Nights with another tale soon. Tobly came to us by way of renowned fetish clothing designer, The Baroness, whose amazing clothing designs have graced many a fetish gala event. Thanks to both The Baroness and Tobly!

The energetic and always lively Indigo read next, bringing us luscious poetry capped off with an incredible tale of stretching one’s personal sexual boundaries. Her story was ripe with trantric imagery and she had the audience alight with wonder by the end of its telling. Wow, how could we follow that?

Well, we needn’t worry. Author Andrew Gray was ready and able, gifting us with two wonderful stories about gay love and adventure. One involved the gift of a cruise line ticket, while the other involved a teacher newly transplanted to the Alaskan cold, a hunky cop, and of all things, a moose. Andrew’s stories were filled with love and humor, enhanced by Andrew’s engaging rapport with the audience.

Our holiday give-away: stocking filled with books, ebooks, and other goodies!

Andrew was an equally hard act to follow, but we feared not at this point: we had Laura Antoniou to close out our raucous and ribald evening. Dressed in a lovely satin smoking jacket — and we would be remiss if we did not mention her stylish mode of dress — she took us to that pinnacle, treating us to the riotously funny holiday story, Ho, Fuckin’ Ho. She had us all in stitches, so much so that elaborating on it after the fact would not do Laura’s performance or the story justice. Fortunately, you can read it at Circlet Press’ website.

Throughout the crazy–fun evening, we handed out holiday stockings filled with books, e-books, naughty little niceties, and candy cane shot glasses (down a shot, then eat the glass!). Audience members vied to win these fun goodie bags, but we’re not sure how much of their enthusiasm was due to the giveaway items themselves or the fact that, to win, your dirty word had to be drawn from the hat. Yes, you heard us right: we said dirty word.

But that’s a story for another blog post. Stay tuned.

Montage Time! Authors who read at Ravenous Nights, July-November

debrahyde — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 19:46:26 +0000

Thanks to wearing far too many hats in life, it’s been exceptionally difficult for your humble event organizer to recap our various Ravenous Nights through the months. But now, thanks to a part time intern, we’ll get back on track. Expect an recap of our rowdy December event shortly and, for now, enjoy this montage of our many readers in recent months.

Looking back on all these participating authors, we can’t help but smile and remember good times. And it makes us look forward to what’s coming down the pike!

Authors July - Nov.

(Click on photo for full size.)

From left to right:
Row 1: Stella Price, Laura Antoniou, Michelle Churchill Karen Abbott, Cecilia Tan
Row 2: Miss Topaz, Nell Stark, Jefferson and his cut guy/kitty shirt, Kathy Kulig, and Louisa Bacio
Row 3: Lisa Michelle Jones, Cat Johnson, Indigo, KT Grant, Daisy Harris

December 2nd’s Holiday Heat!

debrahyde — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 17:41:48 +0000

Forget the mistletoe. Never mind the eggnog. Let’s celebrate the season with stories of spice and erotic mirth! Join hostess Lori Perkins as she welcomes Andrew Grey, Indigo, Tobly McSmith and others to our December 2nd Ravenous Nights. Let’s stir those embers under the yule log and heat up the night!

Event Details:
December 2nd, 8 to 10 p.m.
Free. Casual dress.

Happy Ending Lounge
302 Broome Street
New York, NY 10002
(212) 334-9676
www.happyendinglounge.com

Indigo is a black poly kinky feminist queer dyke; writer, teacher, artist and aspiring sex education/blogger. She’s about liberating the woman, questioning the man and fantasizing about all folks in between. She reads, questions, wonders, writes and hopes the art leads the way. Her blog, Indigo’s Theory, explores being in a loving poly relationship, having sex in great spaces, learning to love her skin, belly, hair, etc. and coming into her kinky queer self. Visit Indigo at http://indigostheory.wordpress.com/

Andrew Grey grew up in western Michigan with a father who loved to tell stories and a mother who loved to read them. Since then he has lived throughout the country and traveled throughout the world. He has a master’s degree from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and works in information systems for a large corporation. Andrew’s hobbies include collecting antiques, gardening, and leaving his dirty dishes anywhere but in the sink (particularly when writing) He considers himself blessed with an accepting family, fantastic friends, and the world’s most supportive and loving partner. Andrew currently lives in beautiful, historic Carlisle, Pennsylvania.

Tobly McSmith loves sex. She has reviewed over 50 sex toys for SexHerald.com, is a sex expert on CherryTV.com, and has written award-winning BDSM erotica. When Tobly isn’t performing in her sketch group Beaches2, or playing in the band Pretty Pony Party, or writing her self-help book, she is collecting commemorative plates of dead people on ebay. Tobly is currently writing erotica and having sex with her red-hot, red-headed, burlesquing girlfriend.

Narrative Nonfiction — with Friction!

debrahyde — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 16:02:41 +0000

And now for something completely different: the erotic story through narrative nonfiction! And we have a spectacular group of authors to lead the way on November 4th. We’ll examine everything from octogenarian sex to training a BDSM slave to the sex drive in overdrive – despite impending menopause! It’s a Ravenous Nights that promises to excite and elucidate. Join us!

Karen Abbott is the author of two narrative nonfiction books, the New York Times bestseller Sin in the Second City, which tells the true story of two sisters who ran the world’s most famous brothel and the nationwide battle to shut them down, and American Rose: A Nation Laid Bare, a portrait of Gypsy Rose Lee and her times. She contributed to Erica Jong’s recent collection, Sugar in My Bowl, which she’ll share with us at Ravenous Nights.

Laura Antoniou is the author of the best selling Marketplace series of BDSM novels, about a realistic, modern day slave training world. In addition to writing a ton of other erotic material, she has edited over a dozen anthologies and is collecting stories for even more right now. For over 20 years she’s been teaching and ranting at the kinky and alt-sex communities, and her contribution to Tristan Taormino’s The Ultimate Guide to Kink: BDSM, Role Play and the Erotic Edge is a rare example of her non-fiction work. Naturally, it’s all about how to train a slave. She can be found at lantoniou.com and on Fetlife and Facebook.

When Michelle Churchill approached her fiftieth birthday, she found herself careening into menopause. Suddenly, she could think of nothing but men—about their legs, the hair on their bodies, how their hands would feel holding hers—with an ever-present desire to have male contact in any way she could. She signed up for every on-line dating serviced she could find and attempted to date the entire Eastern Seaboard and out of that experience came I Thought I Grew Up, a story of coming of age – again.

Event Details:
November 4th, 8 to 10 p.m.
Free. Casual dress.

Happy Ending Lounge
302 Broome Street
New York, NY 10002
(212) 334-9676
www.happyendinglounge.com

Zombies and Were-Beasts and Vampires, Oh My!

debrahyde — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 01:28:14 +0000

See in the spooky season of Halloween with an evening of paranormal fiction this coming Friday, October 7th! Meet us at the Happy Ending Lounge, 8 to 10 pm, for tricks and treats and stories supernatural. We might even read by flashlight!

The Usual Details:
October 7, 8 to 10 pm
Happy Ending Lounge
302 Broome Street New York, NY 10002
212 334-9676
www.happyendinglounge.com

Host and Ravenous Romance editorial director Lori Perkins will share her story Vampire Dreamers from the upcoming Obsessions horror anthology. Joining Lori:

Cat Johnson is an award-winning, best-selling author of steamy contemporary romance in genres including military, cowboy, and a little bit of paranormal. A Junior Leaguer and professional harpist, Cat has too many animals, a few very close friends and uses her laptop so much she wore the letters off the keyboard within a year. Cat is known for her creative marketing and research practices; consequently she owns an entire collection of camouflage shoes and cowboy boots for book signings. A fair number of her friends wear combat or cowboy boots for a living and she sponsors real-live bull riders. Visit her at www.catjohnson.net

Stella Price has been a model, tour manager, barrista and a retail slave, but found her calling in the dual job of both writer and graphic designer. Co author of over 18 novels and 15 short stories, Stella writes with her sister and best friend, Audra, who lives in Scotland.They are the authors of the only series ever created about Weresnakes, proving that Snakes can be SSSexy. As a graphic designer, she is a award winning cover artist that has worked with several publishers including Mundania Press, Snuff Books, Loose id, Sourcebooks and Phaze books. You can visit her and her sister at www.stellaandaudra.com

Debra Hyde is an acquisitions editor at Ravenous Romance and author of dozens of short stories and four novels, the latest of which, Story of L, recasts the classic Story of O as a contemporary leather lesbian novel. Reviewers have so far unanimously praised the novel, calling it “erotic, sensual, dynamic” and “an intense story of a unique love.” She’ll read an unpublished story from her upcoming story collection, Strange Sex: Erotic Tales of the Fantastic, Eerie, and Downright Gruesome.