Up Close and…In the Flesh

Hope reads from EVERY BREATH YOU TAKE at In the Flesh.
Hope reading at In the Flesh.

I may write the naughty bits, I do write them, but never ever do I read Those Parts aloud. Until last night, that is.

Last night I slipped on my stilettos and stepped out of my comfort zone to read at “In the Flesh,” New York City’s premiere monthly erotica reading series hosted by Rachel Kramer Bussel (Orgasmic, Fast Girls, Please, Sir).

Fittingly, the group meets at Happy Ending Lounge (302 Broome Street) in Manhattan’s Lower East Side. The bar, housed in a former massage parlor complete with tile sauna rooms, now party coves, is certain to fascinate both architectural history buffs and the purely prurient of heart. Or both.

In_the_Flesh_Guest_Authors_Aug_19_2010My fellow readers were Abigail Ekue (The Darker Side of Lust), Hilary Thayer Hamann (Anthropology of an American Girl), Yona Zeldis McDonough (Breaking the Bank), Tony O’Neill (Sick City), Michelle Janine Robinson (Color Me Grey), and filmmaker Therese Schecter (How To Lose Your Virginity).

Since the theme was “Sex on the Beach,” I read a steamy (for me) lagoon lovemaking scene from Every Breath You Take, set in contemporary Belize.

But first I had a glass of wine. Okay, two.

In_the_Flesh_Crowd#2Along with the sexy snippets, there were miniature Baked by Melissa cupcakes, candy and chips, all free.

After five years, In the Flesh is closing its boudoir doors after December 16th, so if you like erotica and you’re in New York City, definitely check out it out. Meet-ups are on the third Thursday of the month. Admission is free. Cash bar.