150 Shades of Play
Polls
What Is the Etiquette of Saucy Holiday Gifting?

At what point in a relationship is it acceptable to give a gift that is sex-related — a high-end toy, perhaps, or a saucy costume or, say, a beginner’s guide to kink* (to offer a completely random example…)? After you’ve met each other’s parents? After you’ve met each other’s a-holes? After you’ve shared last names? […]

Pop Culture
Last Week for FREE Shipping of 150 SHADES OF PLAY!

Kimono Robe by LELO Your holiday shopping days are dwindling, so don’t miss out on the chance to give your lover a naughty stocking stuffer, your best friend a companion piece to her dog-eared copy of Fifty Shades, or your coworkers something to blush over during the Secret Santa exchange at your holiday office party! […]

Pop Culture
The Best Holiday Gift EVER Is Now Under 10 Bucks!

Okay, we may be overstating things just a tad. But just check out the Amazon reviews and you’ll see that 150 Shades of Play: A Beginner’s Guide to Kink — winner of a 2013 IPPY Award! — is the most perfect, affordable, and easily purchased gift for: Your friend who can’t wait for the Fifty Shades of Grey movies […]

Books
Top 10 Things the “Fifty Shades” Movie Could Do Better Than the Book

Since the casting was finally announced this past Monday for the adaptation of the first Fifty Shades of Grey book — with Charlie Hunnam (Sons of Anarchy) as Christian Grey and Dakota Johnson (The Social Network) as Anastasia Steele — the general consensus has been “They got it wrong!” We’re not sure any casting would have […]

How To
How to Introduce Kink Into Your Relationship (Esp If You’re a Dude)

Lelo’s Etherea Silk Cuffs Our friend, previous Nerve coworker, and fellow writer Grant Stoddard recently hit us up for some insight for his Men’s Health article “Does She Deserve a Spanking?” This is how these things go: article writer asks you (the author of a book on the subject in question) a bunch of questions, you […]

How To
How to Enjoy Sensation Play

photo via Flickr The following is the kind of fun advice you’ll find in our new book, 150 SHADES OF PLAY: A Beginner’s Guide to Kink: Sensation play might as well be called sensational play. After all, sex shouldn’t always be rub, climax, rinse, repeat. Add a little subtlety to your sexuality and you get sensuality, […]

Pop Culture
Kinky Poem of the Week: The World’s Guide to Beginning

You may recall that a month or so back, we were in New York City to receive an IPPY Award for our latest book, 150 Shades of Play: A Beginner’s Guide to Kink. While there, we met  Marty McConnell, silver medalist in the poetry category for her collection Wine for a Shotgun. When the poetry winners were each […]

Confessions
Tell Us Your July 4th Love Story & You Could Win Our Latest Book!

In honor of this hot summer week that celebrates our freedom, we wanted you to tell us a hot summer story that celebrates your sexual freedom. Submit your story in 500 words or less about some summer sexcapade via our contact form (choose “Contest entry” from the drop down window) by the end of Sunday, […]

Pop Culture
“150 Shades of Play” at the IPPY Awards!

Last night, we attended the IPPY Awards ceremony in NYC to receive our silver medals for all-around awesomeness in an independently-published sex & relationship book.150 SHADES OF PLAY: A Beginner’s Guide to Kink is now an award-winner! While sipping our complimentary cocktails (yay, open bar!), nibbling the mediocre passed apps (free food, eh), listening to all the award announcements (there […]

How To
The 5 Most Important Things to Know About Spanking (Before You Try It)

A little spanking session in the bedroom is a quick, easy, and affordable way to spice things up (look ma, nothing but hands!). But as with anything involving painful pleasure, there are always important safety issues — both physical and emotional — that you should familiarize yourself with first, before you go swatting away like […]

Books
C Is for Cuffs

Lelo’s Etherea Silk Cuffs (a black version is part of their Dare Me Pleasure Set) The following is from our very own naughty, award-winning dictionary, 150 SHADES OF PLAY: A Beginner’s Guide to Kink. Bolded words signify individual entries that appear elsewhere in the A-to-Z section of the book. Anything with a tie icon indicates an activity or […]

How To
B Is for Blindfold

LELO’s Intima Silk Blindfold The following is from our very own naughty dictionary, 150 SHADES OF PLAY: A Beginner’s Guide to Kink. Bolded words signify individual entries that appear elsewhere in the A-to-Z section of the book. Anything with a tie icon indicates an activity or prop mentioned in the Fifty Shades series (symbolic of the famous woven tie Christian Grey uses […]

Pop Culture
Our “150 Shades of Play” Won an IPPY!!!

Woohoo!!!! Our most recent book, “150 SHADES OF PLAY: A Beginner’s Guide to Kink” has won a 2013 IPPY Award! The Independent Publishers Book Awards is the world’s largest book awards contest and the longest-running unaffiliated independent publishing awards contest (since 1996). It’s designed to bring increased recognition to the deserving but often unsung titles […]

How To
4 Easy Ways to Enjoy Sensation Play

Lelo’s Tantra Feather Teaser Sensation play might as well be called sensational play. After all, sex shouldn’t always be rub, climax, rinse, repeat. Add a little subtlety to your sexuality and you get sensuality, the driving force behind “sensation play.” It’s notoriously been the domain of sensitive ponytailed men and earnest granola chicks who own […]

Toys
C Is for Costumes

The following is from our very own naughty dictionary, 150 SHADES OF PLAY: A Beginner’s Guide to Kink. Bolded words signify individual entries that appear elsewhere in the A-to-Z section of the book. Anything with a tie icon  indicates an activity or prop mentioned in the Fifty Shades series (symbolic of the famous woven tie Christian Grey uses to restrain Anastasia Steele…and oh […]

How To
L Is for Love Ring

The Oden 2 by LELO The following is from our very own naughty dictionary, 150 SHADES OF PLAY: A Beginner’s Guide to Kink. Bolded words signify individual entries that appear elsewhere in the A-to-Z section of the book. Anything with a tie icon  indicates an activity or prop mentioned in the Fifty Shades series (symbolic of the famous woven tie Christian […]