Woefully Overdue Report on Romanticon and Ass-Smacking (UPDATED)

Yes, I know. The 1-800-DOM-help authors have been back from Romanticon for over a week now and we have yet to report back to our faithful readers on the success of our conference presentation, Del Dryden's ass-smacking experience, or any other kinky, naughty antics from the event. I will hang my head in shame for the collective group. In attendance at the event were: me (Michelle Polaris), Christine d'Abo, Delphine Dryden, Francesca Hawley, Desiree Holt, Kathy Kulig, Delilah Devlin, and Allie Standifer. Samantha Cayto was also at the conference, but arrived too late for the presentation.

And I might as well admit right now that I have no photos from our group presentation which we lovingly entitled BDSM from Top to Bottom. There are many amazing and tantalizing photos from Romanticon floating around the web so I'm sure you can find something to sate your appetite. If any other group members captured a photo during our seminar please feel free to chime in and post it.

ATTENTION: REVISION ALERT!!! I do indeed have a seminar picture thanks to the lovely Cris Anson (www.crisanson.com) who heard my plea and sent an image she captured at our event.

Here is the lovely Delphine Dryden bent over the chair allowing me (far left in the red shirt, skirt and boots) to smack her ass. The green and black stranded flogger (soft leather) is mid-swing if you can spot it. In the background to the left is Desiree Holt also snapping a picture so I know at least one other exists.

And here's the same unrelated random conference pic for good measure before moving on with things.

The photo is of a couple of the EC Cave Men having fun with the pole dancers who entertained at the Sexporium/Book Signing on the Sunday of the conference. The dancers were amazing sliding up and down that pole and the guys felt obligated to jump in afterward and try their manliness out on the metal rod. Turns out its harder than it looks. And if you'd kindly disregard those sexual puns I can move on with the subject matter.

The 1-800 seminar.

Short version. It went well.

Longer version. Del Dryden was a very good sport as I tried my hand in a flogging demo in front of the seminar crowd. Her ass and shoulders got a good dose of my leather flogger while both of us chatted with the crowd, answering questions about the experience and other BDSM lifestyle issues. Del did indeed report the experience left her feeling relaxed. The flogging was the grand finale after my earlier presentation on various roles in the lifestyle and how the BDSM portrayed in our fiction stacks up to real life. After that serious note, Allie Standifer gave a rather amusing and fascinating description of her trip to a BDSM club last spring during the RT convention in Los Angeles. You might have read about her trip on our blog a few months ago. Francesca Hawley passed out an awesome list of research resources for audience members who wanted to know more about BDSM for writing or personal interests. And finally, we finished with the flogging.

The one disappointment is that we ran out of time to play the amazing BDSM Jeopardy game that Kathy Kulig created for the occasion. Despite no winning contestant we did pick a random name from seminar attendees to win the kinky gift basket we had prepared.
We are holding the game in reserve for next year's Romanticon, so register and show up to  compete using all of your BDSM expertise.

People attended our presentation for a variety of reasons. Some came because they want to write BDSM romance fiction. Some were simply curious to learn more about the lifestyle, and enjoy reading kinky erotic romance although it is not their personal thing. And others because they had genuine questions about the experience from their own interest in exploring this alternative lifestyle choice. I love that about Romanticon. It's a place where it's fine to discuss all sorts of sexuality, to be interested in reading about it, writing it, and to acknowledge, if one is comfortable, ones own personal sexual leanings. Or not. It's all good.

On a positive note, the new 1-800-DOM-help anthology, Dial B for Bondage, including stories from Kathy Kulig, Delilah Devlin, Francesca Hawley and Samantha Cayto, sold remarkably well at the Book Signing. Look for more anthologies from our series in the future.

In short, Romanticon was a blast. Join us next year.

Safe, sane and consensual,
Michelle