Join Me for My Final Erotica Anthology Book Launch on Saturday

Plus giveaways of Best Women's Erotica of the Year, Volume 10 and The Big Book of Quickies and my GoFundMe campaign for a 78-year-old woman facing eviction

Opening a box of erotica anthologies I edited for the last time was bittersweet.

Because I’m a new mom and often overestimate what I’m capable of, I didn’t get to my intended Giving Tuesday post, though I will be sharing my favorite organizations to donate to soon along with the gifts I’ve bought for others and myself this holiday season.

For now, I’ll share that 78-year-old children’s book author Dianne Moritz’s housing crisis essay at my magazine

Open Secrets

prompted me to start a GoFundMe campaign, with all donations going directly to Dianne. She’s looking to raise $15,000 to cover housing and transportation and related costs as she faces eviction on December 31, 2024.

Can’t wait to chat with Katrina Jackson, Rebecca Chase, and S.P. Jaffery on Saturday for The Ripped Bodice! Watch us here.

My virtual Best Women’s Erotica of the Year, Volume 10 book launch is Saturday, December 7

But first, this is release week for my final erotica anthology, Best Women’s Erotica of the Year, Volume 10. Tomorrow, Saturday, December 7, at 3 pm PT/6 pm ET, I’ll be doing a FREE virtual book launch with wonderful romance bookstore The Ripped Bodice on their Facebook page! I’ll be joined by contributors Katrina Jackson, Rebecca Chase, and S.P. Jaffery.

Hope you can make it and please order the book from The Ripped Bodice to show support for it and that there’s a market for erotica. They’re one of the few independent bookstores I’ve visited that have a whole erotica section, and that’s in both stores, Culver City (LA), and Brooklyn (Park Slope).

About the book:

There is a lot to be desired in Bussel's latest addition to the BWE series!

"Anything goes" in this wild and thrilling collection of erotic fiction.

From lesbian vampires to the ghost of Nathaniel Hawthorne, exhibitionism for a daring woman's neighbors and sexy onstage burlesque moves, the women in these stories are hot, horny, and determined to get exactly what they want. Whether they're bedding a longtime partner or hooking up with someone they've just met, they always find a way to get exactly what they want. From outlandish erotic fantasies in public and private to tender intimacies, sexual healing and hotness take many forms in these arousing tales by authors including Sally Bend, Katrina Jackson, T.C. Mill, Garnell Wallace, and more.

Edited by the award-winning Rachel Kramer Bussel, Best Women's Erotica of the Year, Volume 10 serves up twenty-one steamy adult stories that are sure to fan the flames of readers' desires!

Other places to buy the book:

Print

Bookshop (Bookshop benefits independent bookstores - affiliate link)

Amazon (universal link)

Bn.com

Ebook

Kindle (universal link))

Nook

Google Play

Kobo

I think there will be an audiobook at some point and if there is, I’ll share the link in my newsletter.

Why is this my final erotica anthology before I switch over to nonfiction? Find out here.

I’m honored to have edited 74 erotica anthologies since I started in 2004. I forget sometimes that that’s something to be proud of, especially when I get a royalty statement that makes me feel like I’ve failed. The market for erotica anthologies like these has changed, though the overall market for erotica is thriving, from what I can tell, just in different ways than it was when I started writing erotica in 2000 or editing anthologies in 2014.

There’s tons of amazing indie erotica being published (see the Golden Pigtail Awards for suggestions on who to read), there’s audio apps and sites like the upcoming Theo Reads, where I’m an advisor. There’s a lot happening in erotica and I’m glad I got to play a part in bringing sexy words into the world and working with over 800 authors. I hope others who love the genre of erotic short stories publish their own and make room for, welcome, and publish new authors along the way. That’s what I’ve always tried to do, and in the process I’ve published writers from around the world and been exposed to so many sexual scenarios, plots, and possibilities.

And because I have some extras of Best Women’s Erotica of the Year, Volume 10, and my summer 2024 anthology, The Big Book of Quickies: 69 Erotic Stories, I’ll be giving some away right here. To enter to win (U.S. only), leave a comment about your favorite book you read in 2024 (can have been published any time) on this post by Tuesday, December 31, 2024 at 11:59 p.m. ET. Winners must be current subscribers (free or paid) to my newsletter and will be chosen at random and contacted via Substack DM. GOOD LUCK!

What I’m working on post-erotica anthologies

I’ll be focusing here mostly on nonfiction writing, sharing my thoughts on pop culture, motherhood, travel, plus writing tips, which for the moment, I plan to post for free to subscribers when they first go up, and then put behind a paywall a week or two later for paid subscribers.

Plus I’m editing weekly essays over at my personal essay magazine Open Secrets, launching my own mental health column there in 2025, starting a podcast about our attachments to our belongings, and organizing Open Secrets Live, taking place May 3, 2025 in NYC, so mark your calendars!

Remember to leave a comment on this post with your favorite book you read in 2024 to be entered to win a copy of one of my erotica anthologies (U.S. addresses only for the giveaway but anyone is welcome to comment).

Want to learn how to write and sell a moving, memorable personal essay? Take my small group Zoom personal essay class in February 2025! Class is limited to 12 students.

Get a personalized critique, line edits, and/or nonfiction or erotica advice from me. See my consulting rates here.