Acknowledgments

When my editor, Shaye Areheart, called and proposed I write the sequel to Sex for One, without hesitation I declined. No more frustrations working with a big corporation for me, thank you. She reminded me that a big publisher could also be a formidable partner. As we talked, I admitted that in spite of my reputation for being a career masturbator and a dyke, I’d been living with a young man for the past couple of years. And while I’d found our partner sex to be quite enjoyable, I still wasn’t what I’d call a big fan of coupledom. Her enthusiasm and persistence finally seduced me into agreeing to write this book. My heartfelt thanks to her for making our collaboration so thoroughly enjoyable.

I want to thank my three brothers, Rowan, Bill, and Dick. Growing up with them allowed me to interact with the opposite sex as an equal. Otherwise I might have remained a closeted heterosexual.

My writing mentor, Grant Taylor, dropped out so I could do this book on my own and I thank him for that. Oh how I’d hated but then missed his incessant, literary nit-picking.

My two girlfriends who are both authors made some good suggestions. Marianna Beck of Libido.com thought I could let go of an entire chapter and I did. Maryann Macy covered the manuscript with a lot of helpful comments. My professional friends who are clinical psychologists and psychoanalysts working with clients asked me some hard questions about relationships that I couldn’t really answer except to say my specialty is sexual skills. Still, their input was invaluable. My thanks go to Joanna Whitcup, Cathie Ragovin, Derek Polonsky, and Suzanne Iazensa.

I also want to thank my monthly women’s group of Ph.D. therapists and sex educators who gave me feedback on the chapters I presented during our meetings. Although I nearly abandoned them during this project, my dear friends Mary Guarino and Joan McElroy cheered me on. The many phone conversations with Richard Lamparski kept my sense of humor intact.

Oh, I almost forgot. Without my new hip joints, I could never have experienced such fabulous partner sex again. Thanks to Dr. Robert Buly, my orthopedic surgeon, I’m still rocking and rolling.

Finally, I want to thank my roommate, Eric, who was my muse for this book. Besides putting in many hours reading and improving the manuscript, he was always there to calm me down or cheer me up with happy orgasms, lots of hugs, and sweet puppy kisses. When Eric’s mother, Bonnie, read the book, I held my breath, expecting her to be shocked or upset by all the explicit sexual details about her son. Instead she said, “Everything you’ve written is true.” Then she grinned and suggested I dedicate the book to her! It sounded just like a comment my own mother would have made. So I dedicate this book to my mother, Eric’s mother, and to all mothers who are raising sweet, gentle sons.