If writing erotica on and offline is your interest, you'll have a chance to learn from one of the adult Internet's most familiar eroticists. The irrepressible Darklady will host a course on "Writing About Sex For Fun and Profit" August 9, from 12 noon-3 p.m., at the Center, Suite 325, on East Sahara.
"Do you keep an erotic journal? Write sexy stories or poems? Provide sexual or relationship advice and instruction to others? Want to review porn, sex toys, or other products? Seek new ways to enhance intimacy with yourself or a partner? Wonder what it’s like to do any or all of the above? Then this is the workshop for you," says the Portland, Oregon-based Darklady, the self-described bi-poly-switch politician whose writings – erotic fiction, erotic journalism, and more – have appeared in places from AVN and AVN Online to Yes Portal, Klixxx, Venus Book Club, Playtime, Taboo, Leg World, Fetish, Exotic, and other publications.
She said she had actually thought about doing such a workshop for a good while, but didn't actually move on it until a friend doing a Hollywood event invited her to think about it, prompting her to make a list of workshops she could, conceivably, do well enough.
"It occurred to me that since, to the best of my knowledge, I'm the only full-time freelance sex writer I know of, that perhaps that might be an area of expertise I could share with others," Darklady said. "And since I'm flying to Las Vegas for the Lifestyles convention (that week), teaching another workshop there, I thought I would offer something else and make some money while I was in town."
At Lifestyles, Darklady will teach a workshop called "Slut 101: Releasing Inhibitions and Maintaining Self-Esteem." Teaching a writing workshop, however, is something entirely different for her, she said.
"I've been really kind of humble about my writing," she said. "I squeak by, really. It hadn't been until I met a lot of other writers that I understood that the life I lead is different than the lives they lead. They have jobs perhaps writing for larger publications, but it's not their primary means of supporting themselves, they have some sort of day job. So I had to get over my own inhibitions and my own awe of others' writings."
This isn't exactly the first time Darklady has slipped into, ahem, virgin territory. Her first adult video script, Unforgettable, will be released this year by Sin City Entertainment, directed by Bud Lee and featuring Shay Sweet, Randy Spears, Stephen St. Croix, Juli Meadows, Ben English, and others.
"I'm looking forward to watching it," Darklady said. "And I was glad about Randy (being in it), he's really one of my favorite performers. But it was meant to be a Shay Sweet vehicle, for her kind of style and comedy. And I really enjoyed the process, I'd never written a full script before, it was my virgin voyage, and (Lee) said he really enjoyed shooting it."
Also, Darklady's short story, "The Long Walk Home," will be included in the forthcoming Five Minute Erotica, an anthology from Running Press.
"Darklady's Writing About Sex for Fun and Profit" carries a $15 charge for the course itself, and for an option, additional $10, a student can obtain a personal critique and advice on manuscripts up to ten pages long.
For advance registration and more information, contact [email protected] or call (702) 858-9997. And, you can visit Darklady on the Web.