Wednesday, December 27, 2017

2017 – Ain’t Seen Nothing Like It

So it’s been a year.

For everyone.

Not all of it good.

In fact, quite a bit of it has been troubling.

Which is why it’s so strange that, personally, this year’s been really exciting for me. I went from a handful of published stories to now near twenty novels and stories published with ten different publishers and two sex-positive brands. I’ve appeared in articles with both Rolling Stones, for my political erotica, and Mashable, for my stance on net neutrality. I’ve had the privilege of working with so many great editors, of having my work included next to so many amazing authors, and of hearing from so many absolutely lovely readers.

Honestly, I don’t know how I could have made it through this year without all that. It’s been so harrowing and exhausting at times watching what's happening all around. And being given this miraculous outlet to channel all that through has been a life- and a soul-saver. I am so proud and humbly grateful for how far I’ve come and what I’ve been able to accomplish. It hasn’t always been easy, but the work has always felt more than worth it.

I’m incredibly excited for next year. And a little terrified. Because the world, as a whole, is poised for change and, lord knows, change is always hard and is not always good. But I’m also a big believer that we learn more and grow more when we fall than when we fly. And, as much as all this turmoil has depressed and paralyzed me, it’s also spurred and inspired me. So, bring it on, 2018; I am ready.

This year, I started a new series, in addition to my Donovan’s Door series, called Faere Trade, where I get to play in a more sci-fi/ fantasy playground with witches and gargoyles and beasts and aliens of all kinds. Where I get to examine my world, it’s joys and flaws, through a stranger speculative lens. What can dating a beast tell us about what it’s like to love and be loved with more diverse body types? What can living as a cosmic alien tell us about the experience of living as an immigrant or a person of color or a woman? I’m hoping to officially publish my first Faere Trade title next year and hopefully even more after that.
                                                                                       
I also hope to continue my Donovan’s Door series, whose characters I love and hope never run out of stories to tell. I have a few Donovan’s Door titles lined up for release next year as well and have plans for even more.

As some of you know, I plan to create a video newsletter next year as well, where I talk about what I’ve done, what I’m up to, and what’s coming up for me next. If that's something that sounds interesting to you, send an email with NEWSLETTER in the subject line saying you'd like to sign up to sonnidesoto@gmail.com and, when I have enough names to make a good go of it, I'll start sending one out every month.

It’s been an extraordinary year, in more ways than imaginable; I can’t even begin to imagine what next year will bring.

But I can’t wait to find out.

Tuesday, December 19, 2017

Big Book of Submission Vol.2 Release!



Read my story "The Framework of Fantasy" in this amazing anthology from Cleis Press!

Whether you're simply curious about submission or regularly revel in the delights of BDSM, these sixty-nine erotic short stories about submissives will turn you on! From participating in a musical recital that takes a very kinky turn to making a grocery run while using sex toys to indulging in a risqué office encounter during working hours, these subs delight in obeying (or deliberately disobeying) their masters and mistresses in public and in private. They're rewarded and punished the most wicked of ways that will leave you breathless. Edited by Rachel Kramer Bussel, with stories by Selena Kitt, Jade A. Waters, Dorothy Freed, and Sommer Marsden, among other talented writers, The Big Book of Submission, Volume 2 offers arousing tales that delve deep into the thrills of spanking, bondage, power dynamics, service, exhibitionism, erotic adventure, and much more.


Now Available On:



LET'S GET INTENSE FOR THE MEN!
Please check out my story in The Sexy Librarian's anthology that gives us a bold peek into lust and love from the male perspective!
Available Now On

Your Choice of TheseDigital Stores

REBEL WITH US!
Erotica is an expression of rebellion. Please check out my stories in Coming Together's defiant, charity anthology that celebrates diversity and equality in the face of our uncertain future! Available Now On
And Listen to an Excerpt

BREAKING THE RULES!
Please check out my story in this hand-held library of erotica & explore to your libido's content!




SEXT ME SWEETLY
Check out my story to dive deep into all the awkward excitement of sexual exploration.

Find even more great reads and Put Your Money Where Your Orgasm Is!




Also, find out how you can support me and collaborate with me on my Patreon Page!

Saturday, December 9, 2017

December Proto-Newsletter


So, I want to find better ways to connect with my readers. To let you know what I've done, what I'm up to, and what's coming up next. And one of these ideas is a newsletter with exclusive content, like write-ups on my inspiration behind some of my stories, video readings of excerpts, and the latest news about upcoming books and anthologies my work will be appearing in.

But I don't know how many people would be interested in something like that yet. If that's something that sounds interesting to you, send me an email with NEWSLETTER in the subject line saying you'd like to sign up to sonnidesoto@gmail.com and, when I have enough names to make a good go of it, I'll start sending one out every month.


Until then, I'll try a few of these proto-newsletter blog posts, so people can get a feel for what they'd be signing up for.


As for this month, I thought I'd do a bit of a throw back theme. As some of you know, last July, I created a bunch of promo videos for a Beach Party with Deep Desires about my story "Give to You." Since the anniversary of this story is just around the corner, I thought I'd post those videos again, for those who couldn't make it to the party. 

I had a ton of fun making these videos and they got a good response from party attendees; it seems a shame if they never saw the light of day again. So, here comes the light!

In this first video, get to know more about me and my views on sex and kink and my deep love of everything nerdy!



In the next one, join me in exploring my Donovan's Door series. It was always my intention to write self-contained stories that could stand on their own, but were also connected within the same world. Donovan's Door, and now my latest series Faere Trade, allows me to do that, diving deep into complex worlds filled with a diverse cast of characters with infinite stories to tell.



This video introduces you to the couple who started my whole crazy career. While I can't say definitively that they are my favorite pair (that's like asking a fur parent to choose her favorite pet!), they are a couple who I keep coming back to again and again. They are adorable and accessible in a way that many of my other pairings may not be, telling relatable stories with, hopefully, an interesting twist.



So, within my Donovan's Door series, I have a character who hosts her own advice blog and podcast called The Deviant Nerd. And, for a while, I was taking questions from friends and online to create this fictional advice. This one was definitely taken from the dozens of emails I would get from people who'd stumbled across my work, who were sick and tired of the whole BDSM craze and wanted me to write vanilla stories. While I haven't done a Deviant Nerd segment in a long time, if you have any questions for Pip, email her at PipJones.DeviantNerd@gmail.com and we'll give you answers.



And, of course, here is my video reading excerpt of "Give to You," featuring a steamy, sexy scene by the outdoor hot tub. I have a friend who used to throw these huge play parties at his house that had an outdoor hot tub. And, during the summer, everyone would be in them--you had to get there pretty early, if you wanted a soak. But, during winter, it took a pretty brave soul to be out there. But, if memory serves, it was always well worth the effort.



Finally, this was the last see-what's-coming-up-next-for-me video that I made for that party, so the information is definitely old. All the stories mentioned here are now available for sale, so please check those out, as well as all my other works for sale. Also, for anyone interested, here is the story I live-wrote on Facebook for that party, featuring my characters Max Wells and Vera Hernandez: Smoke & Fire



So here's basically what a newsletter from me would look like (probably not with THIS many videos), but with some behind-the-scenes information, a featured excerpt, and an update on what's going on. And, remember, if you'd like to be a part of a monthly newsletter like this, email me at sonnidesoto@gmail.com with NEWSLETTER in the subject header. 

At the time, these videos felt very Christmas in July to me, given the story and the timing; hope you enjoyed having a little bit of summer heat in the middle of this chilly winter!



And remember to check out my story "Give to You," now available:
At Amazon
At iBooks
At Barnes & Noble
At Smashwords 






Thursday, December 7, 2017

So You've Been Accused of Sexual Misconduct...

I've been thinking a lot about this lately, just like everyone else in this country and around the world. And, while I am 100% behind the MeToo Movement--we need to listen to women and take their stories seriously--I don't like the way the movement is moving.

I don't like zero-tolerance positions. I never have. Because, by erasing nuance and context, they too often end up causing more problems than they solve and end up dismantling and unraveling any good they hoped to achieve. 

Look at zero-tolerance policies on guns or bullying in schools. With guns, sure, you banned toy guns at school, which is great because we often can't tell the difference between a toy and a weapon and shouldn't have to make that distinction at a school, putting kids' lives at risk with that decision. But then we started banning finger guns under zero-tolerance policies and began becoming our own parody. It's hard to maintain the moral high ground when your shaky argument sounds irrational because it doesn't stand on sound logic. 

And, with bullying, we banned it from our schools, which is great, only to push it online, where it happens out of our view and out of our control. We solved one symptom of a problem (bad behavior at schools) only to exacerbate the condition (bad behavior in general). We didn't solve anything, didn't fix anything, we just moved it around, like a kid who doesn't want to eat their vegetables.

What we need to do is address the issue. Head-on. Don't manage the symptoms, treat the disease.

Like I said on Twitter, I don't know if Al Franken should resign. He's going to, but I don't know if that actually solves anything or if it just moves a player off the board.

Instead of Franken being the first strike at zero-tolerance, I'd rather see him used as a path to reform. While I don't condone what he did--non-consensual touching of any kind is unacceptable--I don't know if I want him to disappear from the landscape. I don't know if his fading into obscurity, while convenient and psychically satisfying, really serves a greater purpose.

Personally, I think I'd rather see him publicly confront what he's done. I want to see him truly apologize. I want the focus to be on the women he violated while he does. I want him to see him listen to his accusers without making excuses or discussing what this means for him. I want to hear him say that he's sorry. Period. That he behaved badly and wants to do better. That he wants to hear how he can do that from us--particularly the women of Minnesota who he served and let down and especially from the women who he disrespected and violated.

And then I want to hear us provide him with a path to doing better.

Because, if the only solution we can provide to people who have behaved badly is for them to disappear, we are going to create a larger problem than the one we are trying to solve.

Look at race in this country. We thought we were moving forward on racism, that we were past that. We thought we'd scared and shamed the racism out of people. Yet here we are. Turns out, scaring and shaming people isn't a great way to change people's minds. Turns out, it's a fantastic way to silence and isolate people, all while allowing those feelings to fester and grow outside of our knowledge and control. Until the day someone says out loud "what we all were thinking" and we all end up here.

We need a better path than that. Because, I don't know about you, but I am not happy about the one that we're on.

And, sure, I'll be honest, I don't know what path would work. I don't think that problems this complex or pervasive can be solved easily, cleanly, or quickly. That's why both the complacency in either throwing your hands up in the air and saying nothing can be done about this unsolvable problem in human nature or in the contextless crackdown of zero-tolerance is so attractive. It requires little from us, minimal effort and likely even less thought.

I think real culture shifts require more. 

Personally, I would like to see men like Franken, who claim to want to do and be better, be brought into the conversation about consent rather than pushed out. I'd like them listen to what we have to say and figure out where they fit in that. I'd like to know where our past teachings on sex and consent have failed and what could be done better in the future. I want to know, from them, what would have made them think before they acted. I want to know what they would like to tell other people like them to make them think before they act. 

Then I would like to see them work with women-led, sex-educated groups to change how our culture views sex and consent. I'd like to see them advocate for better training for cops, politicians, teachers, faith leaders, doctors, etc. on how to handle and talk about sex and consent. I'd like to see them advocate for better, more practical, more sex-positive, more evidence-based education on sex and consent in schools as well as in communities and work environments. I'd like to see them advocate for better portrayals of sex and consent in media and culture. I'd like to see them advocate for better accessibility to sexual health information and services for everyone. I want to see these people put their actions where their apologies are.

I'd like to see these people, if they are truly committed to change, actually aim for positive societal reform, rather than rot in isolated resentment. I'd like to find ways for them to be part of the solution, rather than write them off as perpetual problems. I think that would help them actually see how they victimized people, rather than view themselves as victims. I would rather have them, if they prove to truly be interested in making the world better, helping us, becoming part of us, rather than ousting and ostracizing them.

Because Franken was the first.

He will not be the last.

And we will HAVE to figure out how we deal with all of them, how they fit within the better world we want to create, or risk them grouping together in their resentful isolation and becoming another outright, alt-right problem.