Sex in America

Amazon threatened to ban it, but Dorothee Kocks persisted, and now they've allowed it into their bookstore: drawing on the riches she uncovered in research for the The Glass Harmonica, Dorothee has created an interactive book titled Such Were My Temptations 'uncovering the surprising, secret world of America's first sexual revolution'. I had great fun checking out the teasers this morning.

Here's a four-minute video of Dorothee telling an audience how Such Were My Temptations came about. She's always a delight to listen to — the lyrical voice that sounds through her novel has its physical counterpart here.

And here's the delectable preview of the interactive book itself.

For those in the US, go straight to Amazon for your copy for US $2.99.  To read it on your computer, purchase the Kindle Edition and select Kindle Cloud Reader. For those with an iPad, it's available at the iBookstore.

"Kocks leaves no stone unturned in upsetting today's definition of 'Puritanical.' From political sex scandals to polyamorous poetry, New England's first citizens evidently had plenty in common with today's Americans. Those who think of the 1760's as an era of widspread chastity should brace themselves for surprise before reading Temptations..."

I'm still trying to access a copy, here in NZ. I'll let you know when I do. Meanwhile, we have Dorothee's gorgeous, vital and moving novel, The Glass Harmonica: a sensualist's tale, in which she makes rich use of the material she's shared in Such Were My Temptations.
 

Valentine's Day, filming and afrolicking

We're busy today, those of us who have to do with Rosa Mira Books, and The Glass Harmonica. There have been exciting goings-on in the last few weeks. Two of Dorothee's friends, Melissa Bond (her stunning website) and Joe Totten, both of Utah, collaborated with my brother Hugh Todd of Sydney (some of you might recall him as a very youthful ODT cartoonist in the '80s) to produce an electrifying animated Valentine's Day card. Do check it out — and may you experience a rich variety of love today.

And here it is on Youtube if you want to share it around.

On the same page as the card, you'll see another thrilling newcomer: the video trailer for Dorothee Kocks's novel. This has likewise been a labour of love, in this case by Dorothee's cousin, film-maker Jakob Wehrmann in Berlin. You can check it out on Youtube, too — The Glass Harmonica: A Sensualist's Tale — and do cast your eye over the credits to see what a delectable collaboration it has been.

Meanwhile, Dorothee's been writing up a storm concerning sex in early America. All was not as it seems.