Rachel Kramer Bussel

Books, sex, writing, travel, art, feminist, food, randomness. For more information, visit rachelkramerbussel.com, where you can subscribe to my monthly newsletter (see left-hand side), which features book giveaways and news, and see my calendar of upcoming events. I teach writing workshops in person and online and offer private writing consultations via EroticaWriting101.com. My 60+ erotica anthologies include Best Women's Erotica of the Year, Volumes 1-4,Come Again: Sex Toy Erotica, and The Big Book of Orgasms: 69 Sexy Stories. I can be reached at rachelkramerbussel at gmail.com and @raquelita on Twitter.

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My New York Times article on personal bankruptcy

For the business section of The New York Times, I wrote a reported feature on personal bankruptcy, inspired by and including my own experience with it. I've included a gift link so anyone can read it. The article explores why people wind up needing to file for personal bankruptcy, breaks down Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 bankruptcy, features advice from two bankruptcy attorneys and a psychotherapist, and includes stories from three people who filed.

I'm very proud to have my first article in this section and branch out from my usual beats of books and culture and relationships, and especially that someone has already told me it inspired them to speak to a bankruptcy attorney and look into filing.

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Solo polyamory essay at Open Secrets Magazine

AAhead of National Polyamory Day on November 23, today my Substack personal essay magazine Open Secrets published Jasmin Benward's essay "Solo Polyamory as a Queer Person on the Autism Spectrum." Please check it out and share!

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How I Keep My Love of Music Alive as a Deaf Person

These are the ways I enjoy music even though I can no longer hear it

"There are other ways I enjoy music as a Deaf person. After I bought my youngest child a guitar, he suggested I place my hand on it as he played. I did and was surprised at how strong the vibrations were. It wasn’t a normal “shaking” kind of vibration I felt as he played, but more of a musical kind of sensation. As though the music was playing and I felt the music through my fingertips. I’ve also done the same while he played piano." Dawn Colclasure at Open Secrets Magazine.

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Call for personal essay submissions for Open Secrets

My Substack magazine Open Secrets just posted a call for personal essay submissions! ALL the details are in the post linked above but the highlights:

Open only to Open Secrets subscribers (free or paid) because I was getting lots of AI and other non-appropriate submissions that are a waste of everyone's time

Looking for 1,000-2,000 word unpublished personal essays in these categories: Work, Stuff-ed (about our complicated relationship with our belongings), Relationships, Parenting and Family, LGBTQIA+, Physical Health, Mental Health, and Grief

Pays $50/essay (wish this was more but this is what I, a regular, non-rich person, can afford - if we get a huge influx of paid subscribers I will increase this payment in the future)

Authors retain rights

PLEASE SHARE WIDELY! Your support and readership help keep Open Secrets going.

Also: Don't like these guidelines? Don't submit. Anyone can start a magazine on Substack or your preferred publication. All the tools are at your disposal. Be the change you want to see in the writing world. That's what I've always done and there's no barriers to entry now except time and internet access.

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My HuffPost Personal Essay on My Incontinence and Why I Write About Embarrassing Subjects

Writing is the most freeing and cathartic act I can think of to combat shame and fear, because I believe "you're only as sick as your secret

I responded to the TikTok commenter who wrote "I miss when we had secrets" in response to my HuffPost Personal essay on incontinence. I've made my professional life all about delving into "secrets" and the personal and often shameful to try to unpack that shame and make myself and others feel more at ease with their lives, flaws and all.

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There’s No Wrong Way to Grieve and No Wrong Time to Come Out

Connecting with my mom through creating, queer performing, and doing grief on my own timeline

I'm honored to have this wonderful essay by Mindy Raf close out Pride Month at my Substack personal essay magazine Open Secrets. Hope you'll check it out and share it if it resonates with you. From the essay: "I wasn’t conscious I was gay until I was 32, and I was a little pissed off when it all sank in. I couldn’t believe I’d been gay my whole life and nobody, including myself, had bothered to tell me."

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I've been with my boyfriend for 12 years. We own a home, are planning to adopt a child, but don't want to marry.

We own a home together, are on each other's wills, and are planning to adopt a child. However, we don't want to get married.

I wrote this essay for Business Insider on being in a 12-year, happily nonmarried relationship...and then I got misogynist, antisemitic hate email. Two of them within seven minutes, from the same guy.

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The First Time I Peed On My Boyfriend's Floor, I Was Mortified. But Then It Kept Happening.

"Why would he stay with someone who could do such a disgusting thing, especially when we’d only been together three months?"

In 2022, I took a class with Brett Paesl via Writing Pad to work on this essay. I naively thought it could work for the Modern Love section of The New York Times, so after workshopping it and tweaking it, I sent it there. Nine months later, it got rejected. I kept submitting it and submitting it and would forget about it for a while and keep tinkering and hoping and researching and then I pitched HuffPost Personal and they said yes! I'm thrilled to finally have my most embarrassing essay out in the world

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The Big Book of Quickies: 69 Sexy Stories cover reveal

On July 9, 2024, Cleis Press will release my anthology The Big Book of Quickies: 69 Sexy Stories, a collection of erotic flash fiction. Please add it to your Goodreads want-to-read list. Check out more info on the book, the super hot cover, buy links, and the table of contents below.

This abundant book offers a plethora of sizzling stories for the erotic lover on the go. . .Who says quick sex can't be thrilling? There's something exhilarating about the rush of raw emotions, wild, naked escapades, and the excitement of giving in to temptation without a moment's notice. The same can be said for an erotic tale that can leave you breathless in just a few minutes of unabashed ardor.

The Big Book of Quickies was designed for erotica lovers who don't have hours to spare getting swept away, much like the characters you will meet. But don't let the title fool you: although hasty when it comes to getting down and dirty, this collection offers plenty of variety in these 69 tales of rapture and hot sex of all kinds. From raunchy to romantic, these stories include a wide range of sexualities, turn-ons, fetishes, and kinks, taking place in the real world and paranormal realms.

Whether bedding a stranger just for the moment, taking a few minutes to indulge their desires with a long-time partner, or pursuing their biggest sexual fantasy, putting pleasure front and center is what these horny characters have in common. If erotic tension, burning desire, and instant gratification are what you seek, look no further than The Big Book of Quickies.

Buy links:

Print

Goodreads (supports independent bookstores)

Amazon (all countries with Amazon stores)

Barnes & Noble

Ebook

Kindle (all countries with Amazon stores): 

Nook

Table of contents:

Introduction

Force of Nature Rebecca Chase

Mile High Hotness Rachel Kramer Bussel

The Pain and Pleasure of a Wall Sit Lou Kane

The First Rapture Lorraine Tramain

Her Due Allison Armstrong

Saving the Arts Em Farris

The Shape of Your Name Morrigan Blackburn

Blazing in the Endless Sky Erica McGillivray

Demo Bottom Dena Hankins

Do Androids Dream of Love? Belit Hague

Locked in Eternity D. J.

Urban Fox Charlie Powell

Closed Door Meeting Elena Ramirez

Fantasy XL J. Crichton

Home Is Where the Dom Is Jodie Griffin

First Mondays Henri Tisserand

Signs JK Mill

The Ice Man Cometh Melanie Anton

A Bit Too Hard Mx. Nillin Lore

Kitchen Encounter M.P. Clifton

Darius Dares Posy Churchgate

Fucking Straight Girls Laurel Isaac

Before and After Angela Kempf

For You Evie Bennet

I Summon Him Inside Me Millicent Moore

Naked Truth Avi Ben-Zeev

Foot-Face Dorothy Freed

A Private Matter Jordan Monroe

Consult J.C. Parker

Back Together Andreas Parks

Grains of Paradise Yancy Ball

Magpie T.C. Mill

You Bet Jordyn Kross

Morning Wakeup Rachel Harley

Spiced for Her Pleasure Zélia Parks

Practicing on His Muse Ever Westwood

Dirty Laundry Fidel M. Love

The Box Christian Pan

Remembrance Kristina Wright

Double Fantasy Ramone Quides

In the Text C.W. Steohen

Ask Me Again Tomorrow Julie Fennell

Paint Me an Orgasm Del Bartlette

Fingering Her Nipple Nick Walker

Role Play Peter Marriott

“For A Good Time . . . ” D. Fostalove

Vacation J.L. Jenson

Ensnared Deborah Castellano

Post Party Present H. Keyes

It All Led Up To This Kendel Davi

Imagine, Reader Mary Walker

Shower Thoughts G.C. Elizabeth

Night Shift Dean Franklin

WYD Inga Gardner

Lumen of Light Candice Leigh

The Measure of a Man A. Zimmerman

Fairy Fluffer Camille Adler

Best Actress in a Leading Role Sidney Kidd

Naughty in the Car Park Cariadwen

I Have a Secret Lilith Young

Quenched Rien Gray

Past It Lucy Felthouse

The Best Thing To Do with a Brat Aime’ SansSavant

An Unusual Proposal Daniel Z. Knight

Searching Susan St. Aubin

Here We Come Nikki Wren

The Lake Minx Noir

Going Up by Going Down A. Boss

The End Anna Sansom

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Am I California Sober?

Real talk about plant medicine, harm reduction, and stigma

This week at my Substack publication Open Secrets, Dry Humping author and Recovery Rocks podcast cohost Tawny Lara shares her essay, "Am I California Sober?" From the essay:

"I had long talks with my therapist to see if cannabis was the next right action in my recovery. For over a year, I had anxiety about my anxiety medication. Per my therapist’s suggestion, I wrote MEDICINE on the tincture bottles and gummy packages to remind myself that each dose is just that… medicine. Working with Dr. Chin was refreshing after hearing countless recovery advocates stigmatize plant medicine. She understood me! She understood plant medicine! She understood addiction and harm reduction and mental health and how cannabis fits into all of those categories! Most importantly, Dr. Chin assured me that I could use plant medicine and still be a person in recovery."

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My interview on Madness Cafe podcast on erotica and Lap Dance Lust

I've been interviewed on many podcasts, but far and away one of my absolute favorites was this Madness Cafe podcast interview by Raquel Howard and Jennifer Bolanos, on my short story collection Lap Dance Lust and the power erotica, especially for women in midlife. It was an honor, and I've been going back into the archives and enjoying their other interviews. You can click through above or on the image below or watch it on their YouTube channel.

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Best Women's Erotica of the Year, Volume 10 cover reveal

We're excited to round out a DECADE with Best Women's Erotica of the Year, Volume 10, edited by Rachel Kramer Bussel, out December 3, 2024 from Cleis Press! Add it to your Goodreads want-to-read list and pre-order it in print from your local independent bookstore, Bookshop, Amazon, or Barnes & Noble. We'll update here when ebook links are available.

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!

Table of Contents

Introduction: Anything Goes

Try Something New by Amanda Nicholson

Sunlight and Santino by Garnell Wallace

“The Afterlife with Red and White” by Eireann Shells

Belly of the Beast by Katrina Jackson

The Alligator Jaw by April Would

Begetting by Jean Roberta

Mangoes by S.P. Jaffery

With Wand’ring Steps and Slow by T.C. Mill

Butterfly Heart by Anna Sansom

The Con by Gracie C. McKeever

A Work of Art by Kit Nowell

Steamy ’Squatch Watch by Brynne Blackmoore

Cloverleaf by Faith Arrowsmith

Behind the Times by Vix Hille

The Giving by Jayne Colridge

Call of the Asphodel by Sri Savita

Hawthorne’s Ghost by Melanie Anton

The Chameleon by Valerie Alexander

Sometimes Lies Become Her by Roberta Kelley

Salad Dressing by Sally Bend

Stand Strong, Look Sexy by Rebecca Chase

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I'm going out with a bang! Yes, this volume will be my last as editor of the Best Women's Erotica of the Year series so I can focus on nonfiction writing and editing. I'm so honored to have edited it for 10 years and to have worked with such amazing authors. I hope you'll check it out and if you want sexy books you can read right now, we have 9 previous volumes or I've edited dozens of other erotica anthologies that are in print, ebook and audio!

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Is Self-Publishing Better for Authors Than Traditional Publishing?

Which path to publication you choose depends on your genre, available time, desire for control, and creative and business needs

In my newsletter, I explore a question I’m asked by many writers: Is self-publishing better for authors than traditional publishing? I almost hit Substack’s word count limit to share why the answer is complicated and depends on many factors.

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“I think it’s very important as artists to not give our power away to other people, to let them tell us that we can do what we want to do. I just think that’s something that sometimes is hard to believe because you think, oh these people need to tell me that I have to go with my hat in hand and ask them for this thing. Yes, you do, you have to do that as an artist, but you can also go and pick a thing up and make a thing.” Elspeth star Carrie Preston on empowering herself by pursuing her own projects and directing the 2012 movie That's What She Said that was shown as Sundance, on podcast Busy Philipps is Doing Her Best

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My Mental Health Drastically Improved When I Stopped Posting on Social Media

How I'm moving past being online every waking moment and finding peace in my offline life

My essay for Mental Health Awareness Month for Open Secrets, on why I've cut way, way back on social media for the sake of my mental health.

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Ahead of Father’s Day, the latest Open Secrets essay is “Daddyo” by Robert Hudson, about being a father to Schuyler. Here’s a snippet:

If I allowed myself to sink without a fight, I suppose Father’s Day could be a reminder of my perceived helplessness, of all the times I got it wrong, of the moments in which I felt that I let Schuyler down. But the thing is, that’s never been the case. I may feel those things, and frequently do. But on Father’s Day, I give the day to Schuyler, and I embrace the version of me that she is so keen to celebrate. She doesn’t focus on my uncertainty or my mistakes, although I know she is probably all too aware of them both.

Open Secrets is a reader-supported publication for memorable, revealing personal essays. To receive new posts, support our work, and help us continue to publish, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

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Out and About in Zambia

On how being outed as gay as part of a Women's March is the scariest thing author Katherine King has experienced

What's it like to be gay in Zambia? Read Katherine King's powerful essay from last week at Open Secrets, and stay tuned for more queer content this Pride Month and all year. This is a personal essay publication I started in April as a labor of love; it's funded by me and readers, and free and paid subscribers help keep us going!