Tag: Lower East Side

Up Close and…In the Flesh

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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.

PW Daily Goodness…

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Uber cool author chick, Sarah MacLean has been quite the woman about town of late. Last night she was one of four great guest authors at Lady Jane’s Salon where she read from her Regency-set romance, Nine Rules to Break When Romancing a Rake. The week prior she launched the book at a sexy soiree in the Lower East Side’s best known “secret” bar, The Back Room. The photo of attending authors, including Yours Truly, made the April 5th Picture of the Day in PW Daily. Huzzah!

Publishers Daily Picture of the Day, April 5, 2010
Publishers Daily Picture of the Day, April 5, 2010

As per PW Daily: “Recently, at the Back Room in Manhattan, a group of authors got together to celebrate the launch of Sarah MacLean’s new romance, Nine Rules to Break When Romancing a Rake (Avon). Pictured (l. to r.) are: Lisa Ann Sandell, Ray Sawhill, Lauren Willig, Polly Frost, MacLean, Hope Tarr, and Leanna Renee Hieber.”

Chewing the…Hash

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One of the reasons I feel so lucky to be a writer is that I get to share my “world” with so many other folks, readers. These days the blogosphere affords the opportunity to chat up some of the really cool people and stuff I encounter in my “real” world, too.

If you’ve read this far, apparently you’re listening to me, which is a very good thing. 😉

Because I am bursting at the seams (no, not that kind of bursting though admittedly I’ve been hitting the Tasti Delite kinda hard) to talk about a great running club I just joined, the New York City Hashers.

Apparently hashing is tres international. It started in Malaysia in the late 1930’s, and there are groups throughout the US as well as the globe. In NY, the Harry’s Hashers chapter draws members mainly from Manhattan. Basically the group leader, called a Hare, chalk marks a trail for the rest of the runners, The Pack, to follow–or not follow. The run begins at a bar (excellent, yes) and the endpoint is yep, you guessed it, another bar. Most of the runners wait until the finish to imbibe. Participants toss about $15, Hash Cash, into the communal till, which covers beer and noshes for the night.

Last night was my first hash, and frankly I can’t wait to go back next week. About 50-60 runners met up outside of Suspenders Bar in Manhattan’s Financial District. Once the run got underway, folks got serious. While the web site gives the impression that the running part of the event provides an excuse to drink and socialize, don’t believe it. Harry’s hashers are seriously fit, with the majority of last night’s group running sub-nine minute miles. There’s also a nice mix of ages (anything from twenty-somethings to sixty-somethings), singles and married couples, backgrounds etc.

The approximately six-mile “trail” wound through the Battery, China Town, the Lower East Side, Alphabet City, and Gramercy. Sweaty but smiling, we ended at Plug Uglies, a gem of a dive bar in the East Village named for the New York street gang immortalized in Martin Scorsese’s GANGS OF NEW YORK. Ironically the present day pub is a popular watering hole for New York’s finest–note the police shields festooning the dark paneled walls–as well as running club friendly.

We hashers basically took over the place. Pitchers of icewater awaited and after downing the requisite rehydrating plastic cupful, most club members were ready for stronger stuff. Later (as in several Stellas later), there was toasting or rather roasting of the hash leaders, the trail, and specific members, including a dalmatian with a purported flatulence problem–or was that her owner? Last but not least for a turn in the spotlight were the hash “virgins” including…yep, you guessed it, Yours Truly, who had to down beer shots while the group cheered and chugged. Afterward, the leaders broke out the food, played shuffle board (a popular bar fixture), told runners’ “war stories” and just generally had a good time.

Whatever your outdoor passion–running, cycling, golfing, walking or even gardening–it’s spring for gosh’s sake, so make like the Nike ad and “Just Do It.”

Happy trails,

Hope