I Am Featured in the New York Times.

My short, IMPACT, was selected to be a part of the opening night gala for the 10th Annual CineKink Festival! It was AWESOME to see it on the big screen again, and so fabulous to have Karen Taylor and Laura Antoniou and Lolita Wolf and Kelly Shibari all packed into the booth laughing and loving seeing and hearing the reactions from the crowd. Again, people seemed to love it. That felt great. And I was looking forward to a week of CineKink Events.

But then I got home to an e-mail from an Editor from Room for Debate, a feature of the New York Times and the panic was on.
Would I be interested in writing an opinion piece about free-speech, freedom of thought and the line between harmless and dangerous fantasy?

WOULD I?!

FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES?!?

Well, sure. And, hey, no pressure. You see,I started reading when I was three years old or so and by the time I was four, I was picking my way through the NYT and shocking adults. Me precociousness landed me at Hunter, where I learned The Tines Fold and how to read the paper on a crowded subway by the time I was seven. And it isn’t like I just had a little moment in the sun with last week’s article featuring a picture of yours truly!

Being asked to speak on behalf of an oft misunderstood, marginalized community is no mean feat. And considering the question in question has to do with a case that has shocked the country, it was no mean feat for me to overcome my butterflies. I spent the next 4 days bound up running thought after impulse through my head, running ideas by Karen, and freaking out. Sudden burst of inspiration in the shower. Sleeplessness plagued me. It HAD to be good and it had to be REALLY REALLY good. As my internal freakout foamed to an insane climax, missed the CineKink Awards…and I learned, via Twitter, that IMPACT had been honored with an award!

 

And then I stayed up all night re-drafting, harassing my friends (thanks Karen & Laura & Airial & John-Patrick!) and fine tuning the piece.

How ecstatic was I when the Editor came back with edits that totaled the addition of two words and said the essay was “Excellent.” And here it is, in the March 5th New York Times! 

I am so honored and delighted at having had this opportunity. And I look forward to even more gleaming opportunities to share our stories and our wonderful wild, wondrous and complex lifestyle with the curious!