Help me publish a trailblazing book: Sex Meets Life

Hi, my name is Anna and I'm fundraising to help publish a book that mainstream publishers are afraid to touch! 'Sex Meets Life' is a daring anthology that seeks to answer the question "What happens to your sex life when 'life' inevitably happens?" The 'life' events discussed include ageing, menopause, illness, becoming a caregiver, sexual awakenings, exploring gender, and more. From redefining intimacy to reclaiming desire, each story offers a raw, honest look at how real-life people navigate these times of change.

You might be thinking "That sounds like an interesting topic, surely these things affect all of us at some time or another, why would a publisher be afraid of it?" I asked the same question and it turns out that the reason is this: the contributors to Sex Meets Life include cis and trans women and men and non-binary folk, those who identify as straight, queer, demisexual, pansexual and more, those living with chronic illness and disability and others who don’t, people in their 20s through to their 70s, and those in different relationship circumstances (solo, monogamous, poly and exploring). I call this a "celebration of diversity"; mainstream media calls it "too inclusive".

If you've read this far, I reckon you are someone who sees diversity as a strength and understands that we can learn from others who have similar experiences to us as well as those whose lived experiences are different to our own. I'm guessing you are also someone who is sex-positive and who is curious about your own life as well as the world around you.

I've spent the last year asking people to share their stories with me, editing these into one remarkable anthology, submitting pitches to publishers and competitions, and picking myself up after the "thanks but no thanks" rejections. Now I'm asking for your help to show the publishers that people do care about this work and want to get this book into the world. I've self-funded the project up until now, giving all my time for free. Your donation will be used to help pay the other people involved: the contributors and the book designer.

THANK YOU REWARDS*:

• Donations of £5 to £25, will receive a personal thank you message and early access to a discount for the book.
• All donations of £25 and over, will also be sent a paperback copy of Sex Meets Life.

(*Your name and contact details are required to receive a thank you reward - please read your thank you email for how to share these with me.)

I'm truly passionate about this project. As a queer 50-something going through menopause, former sexual surrogate partner, previous Sex/Life editor for DIVA Magazine, and multi-published erotic author, I want to offer something that sits between mainstream representations of sexuality - which are either unrealistic and aspirational or see our sex lives as a problem to be "fixed". Sex Meets Life invites you to embrace the messy, beautiful reality of sex and life, offering the courage to live and love authentically.

Finally, I'm proud to share that the Foreword has been written by Meg-John (MJ) Barker, author of many highly-respected books on the topic of sex, relationships, and gender. MJ says: "Trailblazing books like Sex Meets Life create vital alternative subcultures and possibility models that we can turn to during the long, slow process of wider cultural transformation."

If you want to be part of this cultural shift, please donate and help me to share Sex Meets Life with the world.

Thank you!

Anna x