Wild Nights

by Therese Szymanski

  Lynn Ames is the best-selling author of The Price of Fame (which was short-listed for the first annual Golden Crown Literary Society award in the category of lesbian romance), The Cost of Commitment, The Value of Valor and The Flip Side of Desire. She is also a contributing author to Infinite Pleasures: An Anthology of Lesbian Erotica, Telltale Kisses, Stolen Moments: Erotic Interludes 2, Romance for Life, and Call of the Dark: Erotic Lesbian Tales of the Supernatural.

  Ms. Ames is a former press secretary to the New York state Senate Minority Leader. For more than half a decade, she was also an award-winning broadcast journalist. These days she is a nationally recognized speaker and public relations professional with a particular expertise in image, crisis communications planning and crisis management.

  Ms. Ames resides in the southwestern U.S. with her favorite guys (relax, they’re dogs): a golden retriever named Alex, who bears a remarkable resemblance to a character in her books, and Parker, another golden and the newest addition to the family.

  For additional information, short stories, etc., please visit her Web site at www.lynnames.com, or e-mail her at authorlynnames@cox.net.

  Becky Arbogast was born and raised just south of the Mason-Dixon Line. When she was thirty years old, she wandered to Florida and found her true calling when she went to work for Naiad Press. Becky spends much of her time working and reading . . . and any spare moments are spent with her three dogs. Becky credits any praise she receives for her writing to the special authors she is lucky enough to be surrounded by.

  Aunt Fanny has published stories in Bold Strokes Books’ Lammy winner Stolen Moments, and their upcoming Extreme Passions. Her stories also appear in Ultimate Lesbian Erotica 2006 by Alyson Books, Cleis Press’ Best Lesbian Romance 2007 and Bella Books’ Wild Nights: True Lesbian Sex Stories. Aunt Fanny claims she was born during a flying carpet ride, a bumpy start at best. She currently lives quite happily in America’s Heartland with her rainbow family and friends, fighting the good fight against discrimination. Professional inquiries for Aunt Fanny can be addressed to: auntfannystories@yahoo.com.

  Born in Hawaii, Bliss was raised on the eastern seaboard and now hangs her hat in the mountains east of Albuquerque, New Mexico. She enjoys any outdoor activity, reading, renovating her house and of course, writing. An animal lover, she currently shares her home with three FeLions.

  Anne Bonney has never published anything before and may be too shy to ever publish anything again.

  Victoria A. Brownworth is a syndicated columnist and author and editor of more than twenty books including the award-winning Too Queer: Essays from a Radical Life and Coming Out of Cancer: Writings from the Lesbian Cancer Epidemic. Her fiction has appeared in numerous anthologies as well as her own collections, including the award-winning Night Bites. Her lesbian erotica has appeared in magazines, online and in anthologies. Her most recent collection, Bed: New Lesbian Erotica, was published by Haworth Press, Alice Street Editions. She teaches writing and film at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia where she lives with her many cats and shares her life with the painter, Maddy Gold.

  Rachel Kramer Bussel (www.rachelkramerbussel.com) is Senior Editor at Penthouse Variations and writes the Lusty Lady column for The Village Voice. Her books include the Lambda Literary Award finalist Up All Night: Adventures in Lesbian Sex, First-Timers: True Stories of Lesbian Awakening, Glamour Girls: Femme/Femme Erotica, Ultimate Undies, Sexiest Soles, Secret Slaves, Caught Looking: Erotic Tales of Voyeurs and Exhibitionists and Naughty Spanking Stories from A to Z 1 and 2. Her erotica has been published in more than 60 anthologies, including Best American Erotica 2004 and 2006, and Best Lesbian Erotica 2001, 2004, and 2005. She has written for AVN, BUST, Cleansheets.com, Curve, Diva, Girlfriends, Rockrgrl, The San Francisco Chronicle, Velvetpark, and Zink, and posed nude for On Our Backs. She blogs incessantly at lustylady.blogspot.com and cupcakestakethecake.blogspot.com.

  Jean Byrnell: I did go to theater school in New York and I worked in the theater before I married and had four children. Eighteen years ago I met my beautiful partner and knew I needed to spend the rest of my life with her. We now have six grown children between us. We live in a small B.C. town where I write and raise Australian Labradoodles while my partner takes care of everything that breaks.

  Heidi Edwards is a freelance writer from Virginia Beach who has just finished her first erotic romance novel, Firefly. She gave up snowboarding for a living in Colorado to become a Disease Intervention Specialist by day and an erotica writer by night.

  Amie M. Evans is a widely published creative nonfiction and literary erotica writer, experienced workshop provider and a retired burlesque and high-femme drag performer. Her short stories and essays have appeared most recently in the Ultimate Lesbian Erotica 2006 (Alyson) and Show and Tell (Alyson), Call of the Dark (Bella 2005); 2006 Lambda Literary Award nominated Rode Hard and Put Away Wet (Suspect Thoughts Press 2005); Best of The Best of Lesbian Erotica (Cleis Press); and Ultimate Lesbian Erotica 2005 (Alyson Publications). She also writes gay male erotica under a pen name. Evans is on the board of directors for the Saints and Sinners GLBT literary festival. She graduated magna cum laude from the University of Pittsburgh with a BA in Literature and is currently working on her MLA at Harvard. She is currently co-editing an anthology on Drag Kings for Suspect Thoughts Press with Rakelle Valencia and co-editing an anthology with Trebor Healey for Haworth Press on Being Queer and Catholic. Evans is the author of Two Girls Kissing, a column on writing lesbian erotica which can be found at www.erotic-readers.com and co-author of a writing tips column, unsolicited advice, with Toni Amato which can be found on www.sasfest.org. She can be reached at pussywhippedproductions@hotmail.com.

  Brigit Futrelle was named for the Celtic deity Brigid, the goddess of fire and the patroness of poets. Speaking of poets, her favorite is Dylan Thomas. Her favorite knight of the Round Table is Lancelot du Lac. Her favorite food is mashed potatoes (molded into a volcano, filled with a pool of butter, and salted and peppered). If you’d like to ask Brigit about some of her other favorite things, she can be contacted at brigit.futrelle@gmail.com.

  Saundra W. Haggerty has wandered around the world trying to find her true calling. Many have stated that she is like the wind . . . you never know what direction she’s coming from or where she is going, but you always know that she has been there. Saundra began writing at an early age, and published several articles, poems and short stories in college. Her passion is poetry, but the idea of writing about sex has always interested her because she believes good writing comes from passion and good sex is all about passion. A native of San Francisco, she currently lives in Victoria, Texas. You can visit her Web site at www.myspace.com/G5361.

  Karin Kallmaker is best known for more than a dozen lesbian romance novels, from In Every Port to All the Wrong Places. In addition, she has a half-dozen science fiction, fantasy and supernatural lesbian novels under the pen name Laura Adams. Karin and her partner will celebrate their twenty-ninth anniversary in 2006, and are Mom and Moogie to two children.

  Rae Kimball is a big nerd who enjoys reading, good movies and long, thoughtful pauses. When she is not writing dirty stories for her own amusement she can usually be found taking a nap on the nearest available couch or advising college students at the prestigious southern university where she is employed. This is her FIRST published work.

  Joy Parks doesn’t change her clothes in subway bathrooms anymore, but she still feels oddly dressed at most lesbian functions. She’s traded in her Revlon Wine with Everything for Aveda’s Color Concentrate in Cerise—far less chemical, far more kissable! But she still likes women in desert boots, still refuses to submit to the will of the group, and still loves women with the courage to be exactly who—and how—they want to be.

  Radclyffe is the author of over twenty lesbian romances including the 2005 Lambda Literary Award winners Erotic Interludes 2: Stolen Moments edited with Stacia Seaman and the romance, Distant Shores, Silent Thunder. She has selections in multip
le anthologies including Call of the Dark and The Perfect Valentine (Bella Books), Best Lesbian Erotica 2006 and After Midnight (Cleis), First-Timers and Ultimate Undies: Erotic Stories About Lingerie and Underwear (Alyson) and Naughty Spanking Stories 2 (Pretty Things Press). She is the recipient of the 2003 and 2004 Alice B. Readers’ award, a 2005 Golden Crown Literary Society Award winner in both the romance category (Fated Love) and the mystery/intrigue/action category (Justice in the Shadows) and a 2006 GCLS finalist in the romance and mystery categories. She is also the president of Bold Strokes Books, a lesbian publishing company.

  Nell Stark lives in Madison, WI with her partner and two cats. Her first novel, Running With the Wind, will be published by Bold Strokes Books in the spring of 2007. When not writing or working as a graduate student of medieval English literature, she enjoys reading, sailing, soccer, cooking and Dance Dance Revolution. She would like to thank her partner, Lisa, for her continued love, support, and superb editing skills, and her beta-readers JD and Ruta for their essential feedback and encouragement. Nell can be reached at nell.stark@gmail.com, or feel free to visit her Web site: www.nellstark.com.

  Born in Chicago, Kate Sweeney is the author of the Kate Ryan Mysteries. The first in the series, She Waits, was released through Intaglio Publications in May of 2006. Kate also has a collection of short stories, other novels and novellas. Her sense of humor is evident throughout her writing, which runs the gamut from funny to sad, erotic to romantic, and everything else in between. Please visit her website www.katesweeneyonline.com and drop a line at mks@kateryanmysteries.com. Kate currently resides in Villa Park, Illinois.

  Therese Szymanski is an award-winning playwright. She’s also been short-listed for a couple of Lammys (mystery and erotica), a Goldie and a Spectrum, as well as having made the Publishing Triangle’s list of Notable Lesbian Books with her first anthology.

  Wild Nights is the fourth anthology she’s edited for Bella Books (Back to Basics: A Butch/Femme Anthology, Call of the Dark: Erotic Lesbian Tales of the Supernatural and The Perfect Valentine (with Barbara Johnson) are the others).

  She’s written seven books in the Lammy-finalist Brett Higgins Motor City Thrillers series (in order: When the Dancing Stops, When the Dead Speak, When Some Body Disappears, When Evil Changes Face, When Good Girls Go Bad, When the Corpse Lies and When First We Practice (When It’s All Relative is due out in 2007)).

  She’s part of the foursome—with Karin Kallmaker, Julia Watts and Barbara Johnson—who created (and write) the bestselling/Lammy-finalist Bella After Dark (BAD) New Exploits series, which include Once Upon a Dyke: New Exploits of Fairy Tale Lesbians, Bell, Book and Dyke: New Exploits of Magical Lesbians and Stake Through the Heart: New Exploits of Twilight Lesbians.

  She also has a few dozen short works published in a wide variety of books, including one short story about, well, her shorts.

  Oh, and yes, she really did wear her brother’s uniform to security guard a bachelor party once, but, for the record, she’s never been a cat, nor owned one.

  You can e-mail Reese at tsszymanski@worldnet.att.net.

  Tanya Turner often finds herself getting into trouble unexpectedly. She frequently writes about her exploits, but changes names to protect the innocent. She can often be found playing pinball or video games at her local dive bar. Her erotica has been published in Ultimate Undies, Secret Slaves and Ultimate Lesbian Erotica 2005, among other anthologies.

  Kristina Wright is a full-time writer and part-time graduate student working toward an M.A. in Humanities. Her short fiction has been published in over thirty anthologies, including Best Women’s Erotica 2000; four editions of the Lambda-award winning series Best Lesbian Erotica; The Perfect Valentine; Call of the Dark: Erotic Lesbian Tales of the Supernatural; Amazons: Sexy Tales of Strong Women; the Mammoth Book of Best New Erotica, Volume 5; and Ultimate Undies: Erotic Stories About Lingerie and Underwear. Her writing has also been featured in the nonfiction guide The Many Joys of Sex Toys and in e-zines such as Clean Sheets, Scarlet Letters and Good Vibes Magazine. For more information about Kristina’s life, writing and academic pursuits, visit her Web site www.kristinawright.com.

  Teresa Wymore: After graduating summa cum laude from the University of South Florida, Teresa lapsed into chronic unemployment, so she mooched free drinks at a local tavern and joined in barroom debates. When these raucous discussions turned revolutionary, she was placed on a national “persons of interest” list, although her name was removed when it was discovered that she was not interesting at all. One day, having finally achieved the status of an economic unit, she moved to the Midwest, where she now cohabitates with various significant others and writes erotic fiction. You can find out more at her Web site: www.teresawymore.com.