So, we got up early and hit the road. On the way to Madison, we made a brief stop at Carr Valley Cheese Factory in Mauston, which was nearly overwhelming to a cheese lover like me! They had already finished making cheese for the day, so there was nothing to see through the big glass window. We ate samples, chatted with the women who worked there and walked out with 6 different cheeses plus a cooler to keep them in!

We got a four year old cheddar, applewood smoked cheddar, spicy cranberry-chipotle cheese, aged sheep’s milk cheese, gouda, and garlic cheddar spread.

My cheese stash from Carr Valley. Mmmmmmm…

We arrived in Madison, checked into the hotel, munched on some new cheese, then I got dressed. Graydancer (bondage dude, rope artist, blogger, podcaster, and perv) arrived to interview me for his podcast, Ropecast. He had already listened to Cunning Minx’s interview with me on her podcast, and he was prepared with a unique set of questions so there wouldn’t be any overlap. He’s very bright, personable, and thoughtful, and we had a great conversation. Then, it was off to A Woman’s Touch. The store is really cool, and owner Ellen stayed to meet me even though she had a class to go to. I met her adorable dogs, too! I signed some copies of Opening Up for people and hung out until my class began. I presented my workshop Making Open Relationships Work to a diverse group and got great questions. Afterwards, Colten, Graydancer, his partner, and I went to dinner at a local place called Weary Traveler. How appropriate! Tomorrow, we head to St. Louis!

Me and Graydancer

Traveling is going well, but I must say, one of the toughest things about being on the road is that we are carting around clothes, supplies for workshops, books, Astroglide baskets and samples, and all our other necessities. This is what that looks likes:

Yesterday, we arrived in Minneapolis later than we wanted to because there was a major delay/detour on the way from Milwaukee on the 94. Even with the GPS, it was miserable! We got to our hotel, Chambers, and I was blown away. It’s a super hip, modern, awesome hotel in downtown, one of the nicest places we’ve been put up in a very long time. We headed over to The Smitten Kitten, and I was just amazed. The place was packed, and it just kept getting more crowded.

By the time the reading started, it was standing room only and I think there were 75 people there. The reading went well, followed by lots of smart questions and stimulating discussion. I hung around to talk to people and met some amazing Minnesotans, including one of my interviewees who I had only talked to on the phone. Just like at my other tour events, we had a raffle and the winner won a basket of goodies courtesy of Astroglide.

Astroglide raffle winner

By total coincidence, Deborah Sundahl was in town visiting family (she lives in New Mexico) and she came to my reading. Deborah Sundahl. She is just a legend in my eyes. She came to Wesleyan when I was a baby dyke and showed her movie, How to Female Ejaculate. It was amazing and had a very big impact on me. She was a founder of On Our Backs, which I went on to be editor of in the 90s, and she’s gone on to become a leading expert on the G-spot and female ejaculation. She’s truly a pioneer, a heroine, amazing.

Jessica, me, Deborah, and mommy-to-be Jennifer

Deborah, Colten, Davis, and Jessica, and I went out to the local lesbian bar and restaurant, Pi, for a late dinner. We had some intense conversations and my the time we got to bed I was totally exhausted.

Today, I caught up on email, worked on my new book, and returned phone calls. Then, I was interviewed on the podcast Sex is Fun! We talked about Opening Up, porn, anal sex, and, well, everything. From there, we drove to dinner with Jennifer, Jessica, and Davis at Cue at the Guthrie. I had a wonderful scallop dish, then we ordered all five desserts on the menu and passed them around. My Anal Pleasure 101 workshop was sold out, and we arrived just in time for it to start. Another wonderful crowd (including a few repeats from the night before), and lots of good conversation afterwards. Then, we took some photos, said our goodbyes, and headed back to our hotel.

Wow, Minneapolis really showed me lots of love. And the women of Smitten Kitten really, really know how to treat a girl and show her a good time. I have felt so pampered and valued by them. Seriously, their generosity, humor, and integrity is just so inspiring. Wow, I can’t wait to come back soon. And I don’t have to: I will be back in August for their 5th anniversary celebration (and I’m bringing some special guests with me)! Now, it’s off to bed for an early wake up call. Tomorrow: A Woman’s Touch in Madison: free booksigning at 6, followed by an open relationships workshop at 6:30. Hope to see some of you there!

Smitten Kitten’s cash register

Check out my interview with the wonderful Cunning Minx on her podcast Polyamory Weekly. It’s show #159. As you listen, picture the two of us crammed into the studio with a cameraman and his big camera. Sweaty!

Check out my interview on the Feast of Fools podcast, and let me know what you think!

The book tour landed in a hot and muggy Chicago this week! I hit the ground running and first up was a podcast interview with Cunning Minx, who does the incredibly popular Polyamory Weekly show. It was great to finally get to meet this smart, sassy, and fearless poly podcaster! We squeezed into her home recording studio with a camera guy who is doing a documentary about her show. The room heated up quickly, but I wasn’t going to complain about being a little sweaty in close quarters with Minx!

After grabbing lunch with her and Phantom, I headed over to the see Marc and Fausto, the brilliant hosts of the Feast of Fools podcast. True to their iTunes ratings, they were indeed hilarious. They were also warm, generous with the swag, and we had lots of fun talking about open relationships. They played a wonderful song as the intro to our interview, and when I commented that I liked it, they gave me the CD! How awesome is that? It’s Shine by Sarah Bettens, and I love it. I will post links to both podcast interviews when they go live.

Then I headed to my reading at Women and Children First. W&CF is one of the largest feminist bookstores in the country and it was an honor to be able to do a reading there. I arrived about 10 minutes early and got to visit with a few friends before things kicked off. People continued to trickle in and I was amazed to be in front of a standing room only crowd! Thanks to everyone who came out for the reading, participated in the dialogue, and hung around afterwards to keep the discussion going. The store actually SOLD OUT of my book, so not everyone who wanted to buy it could. I actually sold my copy of the book which I read from and marked with all sorts of tags. That’s never happened to me, ever! Wow. Afterwards, I went to sushi with Jessica, Jet, Amber, and Ray, then we headed out for ice cream and cupcakes at Sweet Occasions. Yum!

I am doing a workshop this afternoon in Chicago, then we head to Milwaukee in the morning for a reading at A Woman’s Touch. I cannot wait to go get some fresh cheese!!!

Check out my interview on Em and Lo’s Daily Bedpost blog!

Here’s number three of four of my posts about the book, “Making A Straight/Queer Marriage Work” on the new Village Voice sex blog Naked City edited by Audacia Ray.

Here’s the second of my four posts about Opening Up on the new Village Voice sex blog Naked City edited by Audacia Ray. It’s called “Solo Polyamorists.”

I’m doing a series of blog posts all month about the research for Opening Up at The Village Voice’s new sexuality blog, Naked City, which is edited by the fabulous Audacia Ray. Here is the first one: “Open Up: Women With Two Husbands.” Enjoy!

This was posted to a list I belong to. The relationships of sex workers and their partners are underrepresented and underresearched. Please help spread the word about this important survey:

This Survey on Sex Professionals’ Relationships is intended to explore the effects of being mated to someone who is a sex worker, a sexual energy professional, or a sacred sexuality practitioner. Please indicate whether you are a sexual professional in some capacity, or if you are the mate to someone who is. “Mate” simply means that you are in a personal intimate relationship with that person, regardless of how you define your relationship.

Note that “sexual professional” will be used to refer to anyone who engages in sex work, sexual energy, or sacred sexuality (where that work involves people besides a significant other), no matter what label is preferentially used.

The questions are designed to be neutral concerning who is taking the test, so both professionals and their mates are encouraged to answer all the questions.

Thank you in advance for your time. For more information, contact Inara at Temple Red Lotus.