Hey all you crazy kids gathering in Vegas for AVN right now! Have fun! I’m very sad to say that I won’t be attending the AVN Expo and Awards adult industry extravaganza going on in Las Vegas this year. The expo started yesterday and will continue through Sunday at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, punctuated by the AVN Awards show on Saturday night…and I’ll have to miss all the fun. This year my financial situation and the level of busyness that’s accompanying the goings on at the publishing company I cofounded have combined to prohibit me from making the jaunt to Vegas.
It’s a damn shame. I really don’t like Vegas that much, but when I went last year I had a really wonderful time interviewing tons of fascinating people, hanging out with old friends, and making new ones…all while I was so sick I could barely choke down any food (much less keep it down). AVN is a strange mix of stress and elation and confusion and fun, and somehow despite my stomach flu I still had a blast.
And I’m especially sad to be missing this year, what with all the interesting things going on in and around pornography at the outset of 2017. For instance, the growing conservative movement to declare porn a “public health crisis” that’s been codified into the RNC platform and is being picked up by multiple states as the incoming Trump administration vows to reinstate federal obscenity search-and-destroy programs. And the fact that Kink.com recently announced it’s leaving the Armory in San Francisco, sending hundreds of performers and producers and crew members into a tailspin. And the fact that Bad Dragon, a fantasy-themed sex toy company I encountered and adored at last year’s expo (so much that I made them the centerpiece of an article about the toys I saw there) are now one of the biggest sponsors of this year’s expo!!! I’m so proud of you, awesomely weird dragon-dong makers! *tear*
But alas, things at home in Montana keep me on the ground. VERY EXCITING THINGS, like the fact that my book is now available for pre-order on Amazon!!!! …. !!!!!!!!!! (The cover is probably going to change, just FYI. I’m not a big fan of the one up there right now.) And the fact that when I asked for people to blurb my book, literally some of the people I respect most in this industry—and this world, period—said it would be “an honor”!!! I mean! …… !!!!!!
And the fact that before that book comes out, the first book from my publishing company will definitely be out! We’re ordering proofs today and hope to have the book—a gorgeous fantasy art book written and illustrated by my partner, Jayel Draco—out by the end of next month!
And also my birthday is coming up! I mean…I may not be in Vegas, but life is good.
So, to all you crazy kids in Vegas this weekend! Have a blast! Do lots of things that I wouldn’t do! And all the things I would!