Remember When You Procrastinate, You Choose Last

I just did something I haven't done in a long time. I stayed up super late to finish a story that should have been done a long time ago. But, the deadline was looming and it was do-or-die time. So, I pushed on late into the night, slept for a few hours and then woke early to finish up. Not an ideal situation, to be sure. I thought I had kicked this habit, as I've written about before, putting things off has always been an art form to me. I'd been so good lately, finishing things early and getting to bed on time. So, I guess I should give myself a break for this one slip up and move on. But, it looks to be a long morning, until I can sneak in a nap this afternoon.

There is some good news to report, however. Black Fire: Gay African American Erotica is now available, and from my brief looks at my contributor copies, it looks smoking hot. Also, it appears that Nice Girls, Naughty Sex, the fabulous collection from the ladies at Oysters and Chocolate, is also available early from Amazon. Check it out, the table of contents is amazing. If that isn't enough, there are two new e-books from Xcite Books that feature stories of mine. Perversion Process is all about spanking and Under the Desk features stories from the upcoming print anthology, Sex at Work. Check all this stuff out and let me know what you think.

Man Candy, take me away. I'm so sleepy! (Speaking of men, I'd like to thank the lovely Violet Blue, for giving me a heads up about a new-to-me site for delicious man candy. So, The World of Straight Men, welcome to the roster. Let's hit the showers!)

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Standing at The Limit of An Endless Ocean

Happy Australia Day!!

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At Least I'm Gonna Say That I Tried

Sorry for the delay in the Man Candy again this week. Got sidetracked after a weekend at the mothership. I must say it was a good one. Lunch with a great friend, cake for a pre-birthday celebration for my mom and some down time. But, now that I'm back to the grind, my time got away from me. But, I always make up for it.

Also, I found out today that Gotta Have It: 69 Stories of Sudden Sex is available! I always love it when a book comes out a little early. So, check it out, the line up is nothing short of amazing!!

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A Little Death Makes Life More Meaningful

I love this video. They call it "Faint", but I like to think of it as the little orange guy loving the phone so much, that he has an orgasm. Maybe he's thinking about all the porn he can download onto it.
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Caught Up In Circles, Confusion is Nothing New

Sometimes, I wonder what I'm doing here. No, not on Earth, but on Blogger. When I first started this blog in April of 2008, it was such a new concept to me. It was mostly just for fun and to dip my toe into the waters and get involved in the world of erotica writing. But, over time, my blog has turned into more of a obligation than something I do for fun any more. I'm not entirely sure why that is, but that is how it feels.

I mean, I really don't give my blog that much attention. I view it as something of a necessity, something that I need to have as a writer. I use this blog as a place to announce what is going on with my writing, to keep people informed and every now and then, write something serious. But, I've never taken the whole thing very seriously, mostly because I don't get a lot of traffic. Very little in fact, at least by my standards.

Now, is my lack of traffic down to the fact that I don't post enough? Don't leave enough comments on other people's blogs? Or am I just not that interesting? Maybe it is all of those things, or none of them, but I keep plugging along with this blog, trying to find the value in it.

Is there something more I should be writing, should I lay my soul bare? Would it make a difference? I'm not sure. Maybe, maybe not. But, either way, I'm not ready to let go of it yet, but if I'm being honest, I'm just not sure what I want it to be. Maybe those things will come to me, but right now I just have no idea.

So, I'll stick with what I know. My story, House Call, is in the new book Homo Thugs, now available from STARbooks Press. Oh, and of course, the one thing I am sure of is the Man Candy. It's not going anywhere.

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Sometime, Anytime, Sugar Me Sweet

Everyone likes sweets. Or I should say, everyone should like sweets. I know there are a few people out there who don't like things like chocolate, cakes, cookies and pies. These people frighten me. Seriously! (I kid, because I care)

To that end, I have a story called Best Birthay Ever in the absolutely delicious collection, Pour Some Sugar On It, available now at Torquere Press. It features some great authors like Lee Benoit, Misa Izanaki, Kiernan Kelly, Sean Michael, Emily Moreton, G.R. Richards, Rob Rosen, Julia Talbot, Gabriel West and Cari Z.

So check it out and satisfy that naughty sweet tooth of yours. And, best of all, no calories! You won't be sorry.

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I Was a Sad and Sorry Case, But I Turned About Face

Finally, I'm back to near 100%. This cold has totally outstayed its welcome. Things seem to be getting back to normal, which is nice. Because I've got work to do. But, before I do that, I need some Man Candy to help me get through the week. After all, everyone needs a little help on a Monday.

Yesterday was the 10th annual No Pants Subway Ride. Missed it? No worries. You can read the excerpt of my story, Three Stops Away, from the book Smooth edited by Rachel Kramer Bussel, which is about the famous NYC event. Scroll down for yesterday's post and read all about it.

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Don't You Know That It's Time To Get On Board

In honor of the 10th annual No Pants Subway Ride in NYC and all over the world, here is an excerpt of my story, Three Stops Away, about that very subject. It appears in the collection, Smooth: Erotic Stories for Women edited by the fabulous Rachel Kramer Bussel. You can check out the book blog here. Please to enjoy.

As I walked down the steps to the subway, my fingers were tingling. And, it wasn’t just because of the temperature. It was cold, but my shaking body had less to do with my forgotten scarf and more to do with what lay ahead of me that morning. When I reached the platform, I looked around at my fellow commuters, wondering who was going to be brave enough to join me. Everyone looked unassuming enough, reading papers or books, bobbing their heads to the music pumping directly into their heads. The crowd wasn’t as big as I expected, but there were more than enough people to make me sweat in my winter coat. I had spent hours picking out my clothes, making sure I looked good for what was about to happen.

The train was coming, the telltale whoosh of air hit me square in the face as the screeching and scraping grew louder and louder. The crowd around me jostled forward, and I was swept up in the momentum as the doors opened and we all piled inside. Following the flow, I grabbed the first seat I could find, and found myself breathing heavy as the doors dinged and shuddered to a close. As if on cue, everyone around me started shucking off their pants and skirts, pulling them off and shoving them into their bags. I hesitated, watching all the commuters joining in the fun, but I stayed frozen in my seat. I wanted to join in, that was the whole reason I got on the train. But, something was holding me back. The train started moving, but my pants were still right where they should be.

My cheeks flushed, in some sort of bizarre reverse embarrassment. Wearing pants actually made me stick out like a sore thumb, everyone else proudly displaying their panties, boxers and briefs. I thought of the time I spent searching for the panties I was wearing, trying to find the most flattering fit and style. My bedroom floor was littered with inappropriate candidates, each one discarded for various offenses. All that work had been for nothing as I sat on the molded plastic seat, everyone else showing off their wild, crazy or vintage looks. One pair in particular caught my attention. The purple and yellow patterned boxers made me notice the nicely shaped legs they sat on, the dark hair accenting the pale skin perfectly. My eyes continued upwards, taking in the tall frame of the rider, who was also looking at me. His eyes immediately dropped to my denim- covered legs and smiled broadly. My mouth fell open as I watched him walk towards me, his bag slipping off his shoulder. His naked legs had me mesmerized, but I managed to meet his eyes when he stopped in front of me.

“Don’t you think you are a little overdressed for this ride?”

His eyes again hit my legs, my clothing even more obvious amongst all the other naked legs.

“I guess I chickened out.”

My face burned as he sat down next to me, a presumptuous hand resting on my knee. I knew I should knock it away, or at the very least question him about it. But, I did neither, choosing instead to revel in the heat of his palm and the smell of his cologne.

“Chickened out? Come on, there’s still time. It’s not like you alone. It’s kind of the whole point of being on the train today. Just yank ‘em off. I promise, it’s painless. Well, it’s cold, but other than that, you should be fine. After all, you are breaking the rules. That’s why they call it the No Pants Subway Ride.”

I knew he was right, but something was still holding me back from joining the crowd. As I was about to voice my objections, he grabbed my hand and pulled me up, our bodies almost touching. I grasped the metal pole in the center of the car, steadying myself against the sway of the train. I focused on staying upright and tried to buy time to keep my pants on. When his hand dropped to my belt buckle, I reached to stop him, but instead I found my fingers twined with his. He leaned his face right in front of mine and killed me with his whisper.

“Come on, you know you want to.”

His eyes were such a deep brown, it felt like he was staring right inside me. My objections started to melt in my mind, becoming less and less important as he pressed harder against me. Letting go of my hand, I didn’t prevent him from opening my belt and buttons, my pants soon pooled around my ankles. I stood stunned, the rest of the passengers oblivious, as he bent down and pulled my pants from my feet. I waited for him to stand up right away, but when I looked at him, I noticed his lips heading towards my thigh. My eyes darted around the car, expecting to see everyone staring at us. But, instead, no one seemed to notice as his mouth licked and kissed his way towards my now exposed panties. His hand pressed into my flesh, the pad of his thumb stroking circles near the back of my knee.

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I Planned Each Charted Course, Each Careful Step Along the Byway

Once again, I am late with the Man Candy, and my year end review. A major, major cold socked me right in the sinuses last Thursday and rendered me basically useless. I'm finally starting to feel somewhat human again. Typing was beyond me a few days ago, I could barely keep my eyes open. But, now I'm actually able to string a few words together, so I figured I would go with it.

Ah, 2010. I had dubbed 2010 the "Year of Heidi" in this blog post. At the time, I really had no idea what that meant. I just thought it was funny and sounded like a good way to kick off a new year with gusto. Throughout the year, the meaning of that silly line came into focus a bit more. I knew I wanted to be published more, but I didn't really have a number in mind at first. I figured I would just try to write as much good stuff as I could, and let the chips fall where they may. After a bit, I decided I needed something more tangible, so I settled on the number 25. I was shooting for 25 pieces published in one year. It seemed like an astronomical, crazy number. That was part of the reason I chose it.

As I began writing in earnest and sending things out for consideration, I never really thought about the number I had decided on. It was more like a knick-knack, sitting on a shelf in the background. It was only when I started inching closer to the number that my proclamation came back into my mind. As the acceptances started stacking up, I started to think that my number was too low. 25 started to seem attainable. Just to keep myself motivated, and to keep the finish line far away, I upped the ante. I joked one day that I wanted to double my acceptance total from 2009. As a complete joke, the new number became 36. Completely ridiculous, but in the "Year of Heidi", anything was possible.

As I sat down a few weeks ago, to tally up the year's worth of work, I was stunned to find out that I had done it. I had gotten 37 pieces published in 2010. One more than my extremely lofty goal. They include stories in Best of Best Women's Erotica 2, Please Sir, Alison's Wonderland, Skater Boys, and Best Lesbian Erotica 2011. In addition, I did three readings in 2010 and had my first novella, White Out, published.

So, the "Year of Heidi" certainly turned out to be spot on. As I turn the calendar to 2011, my hopes for the New Year are just as high. I already have many things in the pipeline for the upcoming year and my aspirations are to keep the momentum going. No numbers, no set in stone goals. Just writing and trying to get that writing to as many people is possible. Seems pretty simple, but I figure if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

So, I guess 2011 is pretty much "Year of Heidi, Part 2". It doesn't have as nice a ring to it, but it will have to do for now. Until I think of something better.

I thought the Man Candy was appropriate. Thanks again to Arrow of Adonis for their lovely photographic inspiration throughout the year.

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