I've Never Done This Before is a vivid, gritty collection of short stories that investigate the effects of addiction on a diverse cast of characters. From a woman grappling with the end of her marriage to her porn addicted husband, to a retired Hell's Angel, to a heroin addicted escort getting a second chance at the high life, these stories explore a vast range of experiences, voices, and themes. The result is a collection that is moving and raw, a must read for fiction lovers.
These essays on life are a thorough reading of a young man's travels abroad while enlisted in the military. Ranging from fiction and satire to poetry and prose, the stories, articles, and pieces of work contained here examine the full breadth of finding a place to belong in a world of growth, change, and confusion. Experience the author's movement around the globe in his poetic observations, fictional retellings, and musings on the state of art, politics, and the human being. This is an attempt at finding the heart of life.
Finally back in print, with a new Preface by the author, this lively, authoritative, and pathbreaking study considers the history of material advances and domestic service, the "women's separate sphere," and the respective influences of advertising, home economics, and women's entry into the workforce. Never Done begins by describing the household chores of nineteenth-century America: cooking at fireplaces and on cast-iron stoves, laundry done with boilers and flatirons, endless water-hauling and fire-tending, and so on. Strasser goes on to explain and explore how industrialization transformed the nature of women's work. Easing some tasks and eliminating others, new commercial processes inexorably altered women's daily lives and relationships—with each other and with those they served.
MILLENNIAL SEX is a volume of short stories that explore issues of consent, desire, and millennial sexuality. This volume explores key themes of Consent, Trust, Fetishization, Trauma, Intimacy, and Respect. MILLENNIAL SEX is a vivid, gripping exploration of sexuality today. At times heartbreaking, at times cynical, at times enchantingly hopeful, and always gloriously erotic, this series takes us into the minds and experiences of thirteen very different narrators as they each develop from a state of sexual dissatisfaction or naïveté to sexual maturity through several key sexual experiences. The varied and unique intimate moments they each create for themselves allow each character to discover a partner who in turn helps them understand their own desires and sense of self. We meet and experience MILLENNIAL SEX through these narrators, who are as varied in their identities and sexual interests as in their perceptions of the world they live in, and we discover more and more about each character as the series unfolds, both through their own perceptions, and through the eyes of their partner. In the first volume in the trilogy, I've Never Done This Before, we try something new with each of our first five narrators- whether it's losing their virginity, trying something taboo, or engaging in digital cruising- each of these new experiences changes each person's perceptions of their self and their sexuality. Too often the moments that shape who we are exist in the unspoken shadows, in the quiet space of our inner being, unnoticed and unresolved. These are the moments we explore through the perspectives of our narrators, through their hopes and fantasies, traumas and desires; through things they've never done before. Experience the erotic and intimate moments of a generation with MILLENNIAL SEX. In the first story, we meet Erin, a young woman who is ready to taste what college has to offer during her visit to campus, where she meets Quinn, a young man who eroticizes the sexual dynamics of domination and submission he sees in internet pornography. Erin and Quinn consummate a matter-of-fact attraction with surprising maturity and open communication about safe words and the nature of consent. Next, we follow J, a college sophomore and masculine black lesbian as she pursues Cata, a gorgeous freshman who is her lab partner (and the girl of her dreams). She happens to be what Cata is looking for as well, and a sensual and deeply intimate first sexual experience celebrating the awakening of female sexuality unfolds between them. The next story is about Brett, a professional gay man who turns to soliciting casual sex on a hookup app for the first time to regain his sense of power after the conclusion of a long relationship with a powerful closeted politician. He meets Tom, a mature Silicon Valley techno-futurist executive who challenges his understanding of power, sex, and even death as the two enact a problematized, self-aware sexual scene of racialized fetishization and domination. Our fourth story is told by Jaime, a perfectionist high school senior and virgin seeking to escape the constraints of her judgmental parents through an ongoing hook up buddy relationship with classmate Ian. Ian rapes Jaime, sexually traumatizing her and leaving her with even more questions about her own sexuality and desire. This piece is graphic and disturbing, and we choose to include it as an unflinching commentary on the pervasive sexual violence experienced by far too many. The final short in I've Never Done this Before is narrated by Michael, a Taiwanese American grad student at a small liberal arts college in the Midwest. Michael has secured his intellectual hero, renowned philosopher Dr. Miriam Lenard, as the faculty advisor to his research, and the charmingly intimate intellectual relationship between the two develops in ways that cause both of them to rethink their understandings of gender, desire, sex, and betrayal.
A unique behind-the-scenes guide to the painting process of one of the most popular artists working in the growing, underground art scene of Pop Surrealism. Get ready for a behind-the-scenes look at the painting tools, methods, and inspirations of one of the top artists working in the growing field of Pop Surrealism. For the first time, beloved best-selling author and artist Camilla d’Errico pulls back the curtain to give you exclusive insights on topics from the paints and brushes she uses and her ideal studio setup, to the dreams, notions, and pop culture icons that fuel the creation of her hauntingly beautiful Pop Surrealist paintings. With step-by-step examples covering major subject areas such as humans, animals, melting effects, and twisting reality (essential for Pop Surrealism!), Pop Painting gives you the sensation of sitting by Camilla’s side as she takes her paintings from idea to finished work. This front row seat reveals how a leading artist dreams, paints, and creates a successful body of work. For fans of Camilla and the underground art scene, aspiring artists looking to express their ideals in paint, and experienced artists wanting to incorporate the Pop Surrealist style into their work, Pop Painting is a one-of-a-kind, must-have guide.
I have one goal—protect my heart from my best friend—the handsome Texas rancher next door, who has no clue that I've loved him my whole life… even with a front row seat to his revolving bedroom door. Joey... I didn't exactly run away. I'd call it self-preservation. My escape plan almost worked. Except I left one thing behind. Logan Carter hijacked my heart, and now it's time to get it back. This time for good. Logan... I'm not lying exactly… not about everything. Not about how much I miss my best friend Joey, and definitely not about how pissed I am that she left with hardly a goodbye. She's the last person I ever expected to ghost me, and her absence left a gaping hole in my chest. When Joey Grayson steps off that bus, I know I'll do anything to keep her home, and that means being honest. But I'm not sure how to tell her my truths, when I'm living so many lies. * * * Breathless is a swoony standalone best friends-to-lovers romance novel in the USA Today bestselling Texas Nights series. It’s a perfectly sweet, but passionately sexy story of unrequited love with plenty of angst and humor. If you enjoy irresistible, slow burn, small-town Western romances, this book is for you! Will Logan finally quit holding back his true feelings, when Joey tells him that she’s going back to Florida, during an emotional walk together on the beach… or will he let her disappear from his life forever? “It has been a long time since I stayed up past midnight reading a book without even realizing it. This friends to lovers story hit me right in the feels, tugging on my heartstrings, pining right alongside with Joey for those long awaited feelings to be reciprocated from the man she loved in secret for years. Being seen as a little sister has never been what Joey wanted, but how do you get yourself out of the friend zone with a handsome cowboy like Logan?”- Reader Review
Elle Cooks is obsessed with the idea of falling in love with her Mr. Right. The problem is, everyone on campus knows it. Maybe it was the time she bought anniversary balloons for a guy she wasn’t even dating. Or maybe it’s her tendency to ask about marriage on the first date. Whatever the reason, most steer clear of this stage-five clinger. But Elle knows that her happily-ever-after is right around the corner. And luckily, she’s about to be granted a helping hand from the most popular guy on campus. Steve Towers is different from Elle in every way. He’s not only sworn off relationships for life, but the well-known ladies man has no trouble when it comes to the opposite sex. After witnessing Elle’s latest rejection, he offers to teach her the ins and outs of dating, and how to finally play “the game” and win. But as the two turn Elle into an irresistible, eligible bachelorette, she may not be the only one with hearts in her eyes...
