Last night, I taught at Galleria Domain 2 to a packed crowd. There were something like 95 people there, with lots of newbies! It was a really impressive space: a smart layout, nice equipment including some unique pieces, a good social area, and an overall vibe that was comfortable, welcoming, sexy, and accessible. Bravo to the owners, managers, and members for maintaining such an awesome space and offering so much to the community! The class went really well, and I got to chat with a lot of people before and afterward. We sold out of our personal stash of copies of Opening Up, and took orders to ship some. I wanted to stay and take advantage of the space, but I was starving, so we took Femcar to dinner near where we are staying. Then we re-packed and fell into bed for an early breakfast. This morning, we ate with Jet, Amber, and Ray at a local diner (great French toast), then we loaded up the car and got on the road, headed to Milwaukee.

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!!!

Watch the second part of my interview with SerpentineLibertine for Red Light District Chicago, an internet and public access TV show about sex work. If the player doesn’t work above, go to http://redlightchicago.blip.tv/file/870939/

 I am trying to catch up on blog posts, and I need to back track a bit. Last month, I went to Chicago where I spoke to a Human Sexuality class at Oakton Community College and taught Anal Sex 201 at Early To Bed (see photo above of me and store owner Searah Deysach). The college class was wonderful, taught by a professor I met at last year’s Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality conference in Indianapolis. I just loved the group I got at the Early To Bed class, they were so much fun. SerpentineLibertine and her friend came up to the front of the class to help me demonstrate anal sex positions, and they were so brilliant that I want to take them on the road with me so they can be models for all my classes. The Q&A period was lots of fun, with very advanced questions from “What’s the best position to have anal sex in when my legs are tied together?” to “Why do I always have to go to the chiropractor for an adjustment after I get fisted?” Serious stuff. I am still researching that second question. Luckily, I have an awesome chiropractor who I have no qualms asking. Stayed tuned for some insight.