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Because twice was not enough, Let’s Write about Sexy, Baby: The Art of Writing Erotica workshop is happening at for a third time!

Join me on Saturday, October 13th from 10am to 3pm for one hot writing intensive!

Erotic literature has been around for centuries. Authors such as D.H. Lawrence. Anne Rice, and yes, even E.L. James, have mastered the art of titillating the senses. However, this skill hasn’t come without criticism. Erotica tends to be looked down upon and viewed as trash or smut, but this isn’t or doesn’t have to be true. Erotica can be very literary. Whether you’re writing an erotic short story, a sex scene in your novel, or about romance and sensuality, this workshop will guide you in crafting the perfect prose to arouse. Let’s Write about Sex, Baby, will challenge perceptions about erotic writing, examine the language of erotica, and explore the difference between building sex into a story rather than building a story around sex. Gay, Lesbian, and Straight erotica will all be considered.

The workshop is open to all interested writers. Additional information about this workshop, including how to sign up, can be found on the . If you missed the first two workshops, (or even if you didn’t!), come join me this fall for the greatest ménage à trois of them all.

Due to the success of the first Let’s Write about Sexy, Baby: The Art of Writing Erotica workshop in November, is running a second workshop this spring!

Join me on Saturday, May 12th from 10am to 3pm for one hot writing intensive!

Erotic literature has been around for centuries. Authors such as D.H. Lawrence. Anne Rice, and yes, even E.L. James, have mastered the art of titillating the senses. However, this skill hasn’t come without criticism. Erotica tends to be looked down upon and viewed as trash or smut, but this isn’t or doesn’t have to be true. Erotica can be very literary. Whether you’re writing an erotic short story, a sex scene in your novel, or about romance and sensuality, this workshop will guide you in crafting the perfect prose to arouse. Let’s Write about Sex, Baby, will challenge perceptions about erotic writing, examine the language of erotica, and explore the difference between building sex into a story rather than building a story around sex. Gay, Lesbian, and Straight erotica will all be considered.

The workshop is open to all interested writers. Additional information about this workshop, including how to sign up, can be found on the . If you missed the first workshop, (or even if you didn’t!), come join me this spring. It’s going to be HOT.

Join me on Saturday, November 4th from 10am to 3pm for one hot writing intensive!

This fall I’ll be making my debut as a teacher for ! I will be leading a specialty workshop entitled: Let’s Write about Sex, Baby: The Art of Writing Erotica.

Erotic literature has been around for centuries. Authors such as D.H. Lawrence. Anne Rice, and yes, even E.L. James, have mastered the art of titillating the senses. However, this skill hasn’t come without criticism. Erotica tends to be looked down upon and viewed as trash or smut, but this isn’t or doesn’t have to be true. Erotica can be very literary. Whether you’re writing an erotic short story, a sex scene in your novel, or about romance and sensuality, this workshop will guide you in crafting the perfect prose to arouse. Let’s Write about Sex, Baby, will challenge perceptions about erotic writing, examine the language of erotica, and explore the difference between building sex into a story rather than building a story around sex. Gay, Lesbian, and Straight erotica will all be considered.

The workshop is open to all interested writers. Additional information about this workshop, including how to sign up, can be found on the .

In support of the workshop, I will be reading at the on August 24th, 2017. The event will be held in the��Wrexham Living Room (Location 3 / b4 on the ) at Sarah Lawrence College from 6.30pm to 8.30pm. Come listen to me heat things up with the opening of my short story “Lost.�� This pirate-themed, reader favorite was originally published in (Alyson Books), and is included in my short story anthology, (New Lit Salon Press).

The reading and the workshop are sure to be fun-filled! We’ll be going in deep…I hope you’ll join me!

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One month ago, Lambda Literary published “�� an in-depth interview I did with author . We talked about what it was like to win the Lambda Award for Gay Debut Fiction for his short story collection, Quarantine,��how that book came to be, and the eight year journey to his second novel, No Other World. Much of the interview focuses on the new novel and covers questions pertaining to the creation of the book, character insights, and the themes the book expresses. We also talked about teaching writing, Rahul’s influences (including Madonna!), and Twitter. But as with any great interview, there’s always something that ends up being cut. In this case, it happened to be a question I asked Rahul about his recent interest in the tarot. Having more than a passing interest in the cards myself, I asked Rahul about drawing a card for his main character. Because Rahul and I loved the question and the answer, we’ve decided to give you all one last read.

When we chatted at AWP, you mentioned that you were new to reading tarot cards. Shortly after that, you tweeted an idea you had about doing readings for your characters. I want you to tell me which card from the Tarot you think would be drawn for your protagonist, Kiran Shah. ��

The idea for the tarot card reading for characters came from the friend I do the writing dates with. We had a writing date scheduled, but instead of writing we ended up doing Tarot card readings for each other. At first, her tarot reading didn’t seem to make sense for her, but when she applied it to the protagonist in her novel it was absolutely perfect and shed so much light on the issues and obstacles the character was facing.

If I were choosing a card for Kiran it would be the Ancestor card. It’s one that I have been drawing for myself a lot lately. So much of the pain in Kiran’s life—his loneliness and isolation—comes from not knowing his ancestors, both his Indian ancestors but also his queer ancestors. The more Kiran can learn from and take comfort from those who have gone before him the more sure-footed he’ll be in walking his own path. I’m constantly learning that lesson too. This is a little off-topic, but I’ve been thinking about it in relation to activism. Like a lot of people since the November election, I’ve been ramping up my activist efforts and trying to figure out how we are all going to survive this. It’s been very useful and inspiring for me to remember my “ancestors,�� those who have fought before me and survived the unsurvivable, whether it be Larry Kramer, James Baldwin, Audre Lorde or Mahatma Gandhi.

If you haven’t read the full interview, head over to and do so now. Rahul Mehta’s new novel, , is available in hardback from Harper.

Last summer I attended the . It was a remarkable week of workshops, craft talks, and author readings. I met a lot of great writers, both emerging and established. I also got a lot of great writing done! My primary focus for the seminar was to workshop the first chapter of my second novel. I received very positive and helpful feedback from an incredible group of writers I now consider my friends. As a bonus to working on my book, I got the chance to develop new writing. One of which was “Ode to the Pop Culture Novel, Or Literary Cliques.��

This poem was one of those poems that comes to you in a fury! I woke up early on a lovely June day toward the end of the week and drafted an opus of a poem. The lines poured out of me, and all before breakfast! What can I say, I was inspired. “Ode to the Pop Culture Novel, Or Literary Cliques�� speaks to the issues surrounding the division between “fiction�� and “literature.�� It concerns itself with both snobbery and hypocrisy through witty metaphors and similes and cutting imagery and rhythm. The poem, in fact, was a reaction to an exchange I had with a visiting writer at the seminar. I won’t go into detail about the exchange here. I’ll let the poem speak for itself.

What I will say is that I am beyond pleased that the poem found the perfect home in Volume 17 of The Offbeat. This sleek, creative, and, well, offbeat journal from Michigan State University is a delight to explore and discover. It’s one of my all time favorite publications, and I couldn’t be prouder to not only have “Ode to the Pop Culture Novel, Or Literary Cliques�� included in the book but open the volume as well! If you haven’t discovered The Offbeat or “Ode to the Pop Culture Novel, Or Literary Cliques�� already, head over to their .

What joy it brings me to announce the publication of my one-act play, , in , Vol. 20! This is very significant for me because it is my first published play. Many readers may remember that for a handful of years I wrote plays to be performed as part of events in Massillon, OH. All four plays are included in the section of my website, with links to watch the performances. We, the Jury was the last play I wrote for the Big Read. Inspired by Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird (that year’s book selection), the play focuses on the recent spate of gay teen suicides, particularly that of Tyler Clementi. The play follows 12 Jurors as they discuss how bullying effects a person, homophobia, and the monetary worth of a dead boy’s life. The play proposes questions about America’s legal system, society’s view of homosexuality, and the true nature of humanity.

Having the play performed by Washington High School’s drama department in Massillon, OH was a huge deal. The play had to be approved by all sorts of officials, but in the end everyone agreed the play must go on. I knew the play would be a challenging one for many in the audience. Its frank language, raw portrayal, and emotional message and conclusion forces the viewer to confront their own beliefs on the issue of homosexuality, and the worth of a (gay) life.

When the performance was over, the atmosphere had become heavy. I could tell the audience was in a state of something: shock, thought, panic…of which I was not sure. Everyone remained very still and quiet after their polite applause. As I was making my exit, a woman stopped me outside the theater. “I wanted to thank you,�� she said to me, “for writing that play.�� I could tell she had been touched, as her emotions were visible on her face. She continued by say, “I struggle with my faith and the gay thing, but I don’t want those kids to kill themselves. You gave me a lot to think about.�� I, of course, was overcome with my own emotion. Maybe that heaviness was actually from introspection. I’ll never know for sure, but what I do know is that my words had reached at least one person. They did what they were meant to do. There is no greater reward.

Now that We, the Jury is in published form, I hope the play can reach a wider audience and continue its mission to open hearts and change minds. I would love to continue to hear from anyone who was moved by the play, and encourage them to spread the word about the play so that together we can make a difference �� maybe even save some lives.