We will be taking a short hiatus to revamp the look of the site as well as restructure our staff. We want to make the magazine better both for you and us. Expect a sleek new look and more engaging content when we’re back. If you have any suggestions, feel free to contact me at ily.goyanes@arketipo187.com. We’ll miss you, so we expect a big smooch when we reunite.

Love, 

Ily Goyanes

Editor

With Cinco de Mayo and the Super Moon behind us, we can all look forward to watching ‘The Avengers‘ a least one more time. Not gonna lie, it was a pretty good movie.

Now watch in horror as Loki plays with baby Captain America!! That foul trickster!!

Charity Sapphire is a journalist, stunt fighter, philosopher, and lifelong student. Miss Sapphire has lent her skills to various organizations including Vagina Monologues, Alternative Breaks, Shakespeare in the Park Miami, and Urban Ronin. She is currently writing a news column for Arketipo187.com and working toward her MBA in Marketing with Strayer University.

When she is not writing or fighting, she is at home with her boyfriend and mutt.

The Ultimate Guide to Kink: BDSM, Role Play and the Erotic Edge

The Blurb: The Ultimate Guide to Kink is the first major guide to BDSM in a generation—a bold and sexy collection of essays that run the gamut from expert how-to tutorials to provocative essays that delve into complex questions about desire, power, and pleasure. The book brings together diverse voices from the kink community in an unprecedented way: each chapter is written by a different sexuality/BDSM educator. Divided into two sections, the first section features thorough, thoughtful pieces—on everything from flogging to bondage—packed with techniques and beautifully illustrated with original images from artist Katie Diamond. The second section is dedicated to role-playing fantasies and personal manifestos. From age play to masochism, these chapters cover some of the edgiest, most taboo and controversial elements of kink in depth. The Ultimate Guide to Kink features the expertise of renowned educators writing passionately on their favorite subjects, including Patrick Califia, Midori, Laura Antoniou, Barbara Carrellas, Lee Harrington, Jack Rinella, Lolita Wolf, Madison Young, Hardy Haberman, Felice Shays, Ignacio Rivera, Sarah Sloane, Mollena Williams, FifthAngel, and Edge. It will educate, inspire, and challenge both newcomers to the world of kink and experienced BDSM players.

The Cover: A collage of the typical images that come to mind when you think of the word “kink” — black leather boots, chains, and lace-up pants. Three of the four images depict human hands — because our hands are the best and most easily available sex toys. The perfect way to elicit the right mood in the reader, get us into the right “headspace” to enjoy the book.

The Book: Whenever I read a book edited by Tristan Taormino, I look forward to her introductions just as much – and sometimes more – than to the stories. This is no exception. She starts out by giving us readers some heartening news about how kink has become more and more “mainstream” in recent years, thanks to the internet. It’s about time, right? Then she proceeds to explain how and why this guide is relevant at this point in time. Let’s just say that, if I’d been highlighting interesting and well-crafted sentences in her writing, the whole introduction would have been highlighted. For instance, the following sentence defining what kinksters do when they get together in public events:

“We learn skills that we can translate into every part of our life: how to claim our desires, negotiate for what we want and need, set boundaries, communicate limits, acknowledge power dynamics, celebrate sexuality, and accept each other’s differences.”

This is not fiction, people. This is a comprehensive collection of clear, concise, and expert advice on kink. The concept of kink itself is open and all-inclusive. The definition of the term, according to Ms. Taormino is: “an intimate experience, an exchange of power between people who can be physical, erotic, sexual, psychological, spiritual, or, most often, some combination. It’s the people, practices, and communities that move beyond traditional ideas about sex to explore the edges of eroticism.”

To me, that sounds like enlightenment, my friends.

The book is divided into two main parts:

• “Skills and Techniques” which includes a glossary of terms, and sections on spanking, bondage, fisting, rough sex, and other kinks. This section is a simple to understand and easy to read “how-to” manual for those topics. It is beautifully illustrated to show some of the concepts, rather than going into cryptic and impossible to visualize Kama Sutra-like descriptions.

• “Fantasies and Philosophies” goes deeper into the darker aspects of kink, like Domination, submission, masochism, sadism, and the taboo practices in role play. These types of play have always been a part of the kink scene, but have been kept quiet and “in the closet” precisely because they show the dark side of the human psyche.

Overall, there are several themes repeated over and over by all the contributors:

• Safe, sane, and consensual; risk-aware consensual kink – Effective communication and consent are threads consistently present in every single chapter of this book. It seems to me that kinksters are way ahead of the rest of us in that department.

• Safer-sex – there is no safe sex, but you can take the necessary steps to protect yourself and your partner(s). It doesn’t have to stop the fun, though.

• There is nothing wrong with being sexually kinky. Discard all those messages that society imposes as the rules and regulations you must follow. In the intimacy of your sexual life, between consenting, risk-aware adults, anything goes.

Even if you have never thought of rope as anything but a good tool for hanging clothes to dry, there’s lots of good stuff in this book. For example, the chapter on erotic role play gave me an “aha” moment. I’ve always had a problem mentally bridging the awkward distance I feel between me and the fictional characters I create for my writing. The solution is to go back to my all-time favorite pastime of childhood, playing “let’s pretend…” When I get “into” my character’s skin, the distance is gone and I can relate what I see, hear, and feel much better. My reader will then be able to experience the story much more vividly, too.

One thing is for sure: if I ever decide to take a walk on the dark side, my wish would be for Patrick Califia to be the one riding that edge with me. Mercy!

For all of you who might be curious about BDSM and edgy erotic play. For those who jumped in feet first but without much research, wanting to experience the thrill of giving or receiving pleasurable pain or control. For those into the scene already, who want to continue to learn and grow. For anyone who wants to read a good, no-nonsense guide to kink. This is the book for you.

I am happily married to my soul mate and have four daughters of the heart and body. God has also seen fit to reward me, through my gorgeous daughters and their loving husbands, with five beautiful grandkids. I am terminally addicted to reading, will read anywhere, everywhere. My Kindle goes with me wherever I go, though I might leave everything else behind. I am also an avid supporter of gay rights, which translates to human rights. God made me heterosexual, just like He made me with dark hair and eye color. I firmly believe that God does not make mistakes, that He made each of us as we are, and gave us life to live in this world of ours with the express purpose of allowing us the privilege to love. He also gave us diversity, to make life interesting, to learn from all those who cross our path and grow accordingly. My passions are many, my vices few, and I find every single minute of this ride we call life an exhilarating challenge that I cannot wait to meet. Got questions, concerns, issues or emotional outbursts you want to share with me? By all means, email me at: viv.santos@arketipo187.com. Or just drop me a line to say hello!

Strangely enough as time passed, I grew to like working in the garden, though I never told my parents. I loved the fact that we planted seeds, and from those tiny little seeds we grew strange little sprouty things that looked like they might have been related to H. R. Giger’s aliens. Then they grew all green and lush and flowered, and the flowers fell off to be replaced by the most yummy fruit and vegetables imaginable. Even a surly teenager had to be impressed with plump juicy strawberries hanging ripe and scrummy on the plants. I remember one summer, we had fantastic melons, and every morning I walked out into the garden, chose a ripe one, took it back into the house and had it with a piece of toast. It was the best breakfast ever!

Maybe it was childhood revisited, but when my husband and I finally settled into a house in South England, the garden bug bit me again, only this time I wasn’t the slave labour, this time the effort became a labour of love. The first year we only had a few tomato plants that came up by accident, but because of my childhood gardening experience, I knew what they were. We nurtured them along and got delicious tomatoes just before autumn set in. We were so enthralled by the process that the next year we planted more tomatoes, and they were amazing. The year after that we threw caution to the wind, dug up part of the back lawn and planted a real veg patch – sweet corn, beans, peas, courgettes, tomatoes, spinach, rocket. It was amazing! Every year since then the veg patch has gotten bigger and the lawn has gotten smaller. Three years ago we put our names on the waiting list for an allotment. At last, we finally got an email saying an allotment was available and we were at the top of the list!

And none of that sounds very sexy, does it? Oh, but it is! It’s very sexy! Anyone who is familiar with my writing knows that I write dirty sex on a lot of different levels. I have a reputation for writing what my friends affectionately call garden porn, and my novella, Surrogates is one of those stories in which I couldn’t resist. I just had to get my characters’ hands dirty. I had to get my characters out into the veg garden. But not just any veg garden. My heroine is a master veg gardener who has been hired by a very wealthy man and his wife to restore the medieval kitchen garden on their large estate. Francie Carter knows her way around a vegetable garden. She’s very comfortable getting dirty, and she knows all sorts of amazing things to do with vegetables.

The strange hands-off love affair that develops between Francie and her boss, Daniel Alexander, who is neurotically faithful to his wife, though doesn’t see the harm in a little wanking and watching, revolves around the summer heat of growing, fruiting things and phallic vegetables running amuck. Daniel hires Simon Paris, an upscale landscaper, to build him a Renaissance garden patterned after the Villa d’Este in Italy. But inadvertently Simon ends up being Daniel’s surrogate, pleasuring Francie until Dan gets the guts to ask his wife for a divorce. Veg patches and greenhouses, grottos and arboretums all become sexual hot spots with this quirky ménage. And the whole idea came to me while I was on my knees weeding the courgettes. Who knew that a veg patch could be so inspiring?

Blurb:

DANIEL ALEXANDER III takes his marriage vows seriously. Until he gets the balls to ask his wife, BEL, for a divorce, watching each other masturbate is all he can offer his beautiful gardener, FRANCIE CARTER. But when Dan’s friend, SIMON PARIS, agrees to be his surrogate, affairs of the heart get complicated.

More info and buy links: http://kdgrace.co.uk/books/surrogates/

Excerpt:

Dan groaned. ‘It’s all such a mess. I wasn’t lying when I said Francie’s not my mistress. Well she’s not my mistress in a physical sense. I’m faithful to my wife. We, Francie and I, only ever masturbate together.’

Simon couldn’t hold back a snort of laughter, but the look Dan shot back stopped him mid-guffaw.

‘I know what you think, and I know how utterly ridiculous that sounds, but I swear to you it’s true. I’m crazy about the woman, but I pledged my trough to Bel.

‘You what?’

‘I made a promise, and I’ll not break it. I’ll stay faithful to Bel until I get the balls to ask her for a divorce. I’ll not be like my father was.’

Simon studied Dan for a minute as they walked. ‘And Francie’s OK with this.’

‘Of course she’s not OK with it. That’s the problem.’

‘Then, just ask Bel for a divorce,’ Simon said.

‘Oh I will, I will. It’s just now’s a difficult time. I’ve got so much on my mind. And Bel’s going through some difficult times too, and I just can’t do it right now. It wouldn’t be right.’ He chuckled softly and shot Simon a sideways glance. ‘Remember at Tivoli, when you caught me with Gabriella, and we asked you to join us.’

Simon smiled. ‘It’s like de javu all over again, only you two weren’t exactly having a wank, as I recall. One of the regrets of my youth, not joining your little party. Had a few good wanks thinking about it though.’

It took Simon a second to realize Dan had stopped walking. He stood in knee high grass, his brow drawn tight in deep concentration.

‘Maybe this time we need to turn the tables.’ Dan stroked his chin thoughtfully. ‘You know, altar the equation just slightly.’

Dan began to walk again, slowly. ‘What if Francie and I invited you to join us?’

‘What?’

‘Only this time I’d be the one having a wank. Oh I’d be telling you what to do to her and all, or she’d be asking you, but think about it, Simon, how she must feel. She knows I still have sex with Bel. Granted, not very often, but I do my husbandly duty when she asks me.’

‘Your husbandly duty. Right.’

‘My point is that I get at least some sex because Bel is my wife, and I’m faithful to her. But poor Francie’s faithful to me. She doesn’t get anything but a wank, and she has to provide that for herself. I can’t even touch her, Simon, because I’m afraid once I do I won’t be able to stop myself. But if you, as my old and trusted friend, were to make love to her for me, you know be my surrogate, then Francie could get some satisfaction too, and maybe…’

‘You want me to fuck your mistress for you?’ Simon spoke around the hammering of his heart.

‘Don’t you think she’s attractive?’ Dan asked.

***

K D Grace was born with a writing obsession. It got worse once she actually learned HOW to write. There’s no treatment for it. It’s progressive and chronic and quite often interferes with normal, everyday functioning. She might actually be concerned if it wasn’t so damned much fun most of the time.

K D’s critically acclaimed erotic romance novels, The Initiation of Ms Holly, The Pet Shop and Lakeland Heatwave Book 1: Body Temperature and Rising are published by Xcite Books and are available from all good paperback and eBook retailers.

Her erotica has been published with Xcite Books, Mammoth, Cleis Press, Harper Collins Mischief Books, Black Lace, Erotic Review, Ravenous Romance, Sweetmeats Press, and Scarlet Magazine.

Find out more about K D Grace on her website, http://kdgrace.co.uk. She’s also on Facebook and Twitter.

GIVEAWAY!

Win a $25 All Romance eBooks Gift Card!
As part of her Surrogates blog tour, K D Grace would like to give away a $25 All Romance eBooks Gift Card to one lucky winner. All you have to do is enter using the below Rafflecopter to be in with a chance of winning. Increase your chances of winning by visiting the other stops on the tour and leaving comments there, too!
See where else K D Grace is visiting here: http://www.writermarketing.co.uk/prpromotion/blog-tours/currently-on-tour/k-d-grace/

a Rafflecopter giveaway

It is commonly believed that masturbation, a.k.a. autoeroticism, is an instinctive behavior. Animals do it, some even using tools to stimulate themselves to satisfaction. Who knew monkeys used dildos?

An informal survey among my friends shows that the majority of people learn to masturbate on their own, mostly through self-exploration in the pre-teen or early teen years. They tell me that having their first orgasm was both exhilarating and scary as hell. It felt great, but many thought they had “broken” something and did not feel comfortable asking an adult for help or reassurance. Somehow, we all “knew” what we were doing was “wrong” or shameful and if we asked Mom or Dad they’d probably be angry.

Yes, my friends get to answer all kinds of invasive, intimate questions. They know there’s one thing my friendship will never be, and that is boring.

The reason for the feeling of shame accompanying autoeroticism is probably rooted in an early childhood memory of having your Mom find you touching your genitals and swatting your hand away, with a forceful “don’t touch yourself there!” message attached. Social repression, be it related to religious belief or not, reinforces that message and ends up being the destroyer of quite a few sex lives. But I think the effect of that repression is also proportional to the person’s strength of character and willingness to explore and enjoy their body to the fullest.

For example, me? Nuh-uh, there wasn’t enough repression in the world to dissuade me from finding out exactly how to replicate that delicious, all-over-tingly feeling. I didn’t know it was called an orgasm, didn’t know how it had happened, all I knew was I’d been touching myself, it started getting progressively better and better, then all hell broke loose and I wanted to do it again. Well, practice makes perfect and, believe you me, I became a subject matter expert.

The same thing happened with sexual intercourse. The first time was nothing to write home about, particularly because it hurt like hell. But I knew that there HAD to be more to it than that. Why would people be so obsessed about sex otherwise? I figured the lackluster result to my first incursion in ”going all the way” might be related more to my choice of partner than to any lack in me or the activity itself. Why did I suspect that? Because the selfish brute never even asked me if it had been “good for me.” Stupid question anyway, because the only answer anyone wants to hear is “yes,” but he didn’t even ask!

So, with the same zeal that I’d applied to self-love, I determined to read, learn and practice until I was enjoying myself with my partner. What I didn’t know was that I’d be none-too-gently introduced to other sexual practices, like anal sex, without much of an opportunity to decline the experience. Suffice it to say it took me over a decade to try it again, with a different partner.

But try it again I did. Why? Because I am willing to explore, to learn and understand my body. I want to enjoy my body and share that experience with the man I love. If at first you don’t succeed, try, and try again. There’s a whole world of pleasure to be found. I can happily say that, with my husband of over two decades, within mutually established boundaries, there is nothing I won’t do. We love and trust each other enough to know it will always be good for us both. Every single time, no matter what we do.

So my dears, learn the lessons:

• When you see a child exploring his or her body, don’t react in any way. It is perfectly natural behavior. Don’t bring unnecessary feelings of shame into another child’s psyche. That will come soon enough from society.

• Be open and available for the children in your family to approach you with questions. Remember, you would have greatly appreciated having someone to talk to and reassure you that “nothing was broken” after that first orgasm.

• Leave behind the outdated messages of shame you were given. Reject what others have made you believe about sex and your body being bad or dirty. There is nothing wrong with wanting to understand and enjoy your body. There is nothing wrong with wanting to enjoy sex, alone or with a partner. That you can take to the bank.

• In the intimacy of your home, alone, explore and learn yourself. What feels good, what doesn’t, how to touch yourself, which are your sensitive zones? You can’t expect your partner to know how to pleasure you if you don’t know how to do it yourself. Nobody can read your mind.

• Do the same for your partner, explore, ask, and learn. If you find some things more pleasurable than others, speak up and let them know.

Don’t ever give up. Between consenting adults who love and trust the other, be willing to experiment. The possibilities are endless!

I’ll be waiting to hear from you all, smugly smiling to myself, knowing how much fun you guys are having. The least I expect is a thank-you email!

I am happily married to my soul mate and have four daughters of the heart and body. God has also seen fit to reward me, through my gorgeous daughters and their loving husbands, with five beautiful grandkids. I am terminally addicted to reading, will read anywhere, everywhere. My Kindle goes with me wherever I go, though I might leave everything else behind. I am also an avid supporter of gay rights, which translates to human rights. God made me heterosexual, just like He made me with dark hair and eye color. I firmly believe that God does not make mistakes, that He made each of us as we are, and gave us life to live in this world of ours with the express purpose of allowing us the privilege to love. He also gave us diversity, to make life interesting, to learn from all those who cross our path and grow accordingly. My passions are many, my vices few, and I find every single minute of this ride we call life an exhilarating challenge that I cannot wait to meet. Got questions, concerns, issues or emotional outbursts you want to share with me? By all means, email me at: viv.santos@arketipo187.com. Or just drop me a line to say hello!

And I think that is sooo true. It’s kind of like how I started this column! “Hmmm… what are my Facebook friends up to today? What’s in my email this morning…”

Speaking of jobs and easy ways to do things… The term “etiquette” is severely under valued these days. Even with the worldwide acceptance of mediocrity, these 5 etiquette tips will get you ahead in the real world.

And just in case any of you needed reminding about social media etiquette… don’t try this at home:

Charity Sapphire is a writer, journalist, stunt fighter, philosopher, and all around performer. Miss Sapphire has lent her skills to various organizations including Vagina Monologues, Alternative Breaks, Fernando Arcay Special Events, Meet to Marry, and Shakespeare in the Park Miami. She is currently writing a news column for Arketipo187.com and learning to wield a rapier with Urban Ronin. Miss Sapphire recently signed on as Creative Communications for InFokus Marketing, Inc., an Outside Marketing & PR firm based in Miami, FL. Miss Sapphire received her B.S. in Mass Communications from Florida International University and is working toward her MBA in Marketing with Strayer University, Doral Campus.

I was saddened to read that the “Buffett Rule” did not pass thru the Senate. I was not surprised however based on how many millionaires are part of that club. More on the pigs feeding at the trough later.

The Buffett Rule is named after  billionaire Warren Buffett who gladly told anyone within earshot that his secretary pays a higher percentage of taxes than he does. So President Obama and some Democrats and independents has an honorable idea of trying to pass legislation to have anyone making over a million dollars have to pay a higher percentage of taxes than they do know.

Say Mitt Romney for example whose wealth is estimated to be $190 million to $250 million and is currently paying about 14% tax rate would now be paying at 30%. Now if I was in Mitt’s shoes I would also be fighting against paying 16% MORE in taxes but the problem is I am not Mitt and neither is 99% of America.

Now back to the pigs at the trough. The latest figures are from 2009 but here is an interesting set of percentages that are about politicians that are in Washington D.C. toallegedly represent YOU.

In 2009 out of 535 members of Congress, 261 have an estimated wealth of at least ONE MILLION DOLLARS, that is almost half. Out of those 261, 55 of them have an estimated wealth of at least TEN MILLION DOLLARS.

The average median wealth in the House is $765,000 dollars. In the Senate its $2.38 MILLION DOLLARS.That is average income and that is in 2009 dollars. Wonder what it is in 2012?

Out of the 244 confirmed millionaires in 2009, 138 were Republicans and 106 were Democrats so it is fairly even.

So asking either the House or Senate to vote for a tax increase on basically themselves is like asking Hannibal Lechter if wants to vote for a Vegan or Meat diet in his jail mess hall. Not going to happen.

So it was a nice gesture by the Hipster and a billionaire to try to pass this placebo pablum for the masses but the millionaires in both houses will never pass it and the millionaires in Wall Street and in board rooms everywhere will fight it no matter what. So unless the 99% and the Occupy( fill in your ax to grind here) whatever have a complete occupation of power in the country, the rich will get richer and the poor will get the short end of a very thin stick.

Jorge Goyanes is a Florida business owner since 1993. He has served as president of the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce in West Palm Beach, Vice President of the A.I.H.T. (a professional association of Hispanic businessmen), and ran for city commissioner in 2006 (receiving the majority of the vote in the general election, but resulting in a run-off). He is currently serving as the Chairman for HISPAC (a political action coalition) and is also on the local advisory council in Palm Beach for ASPIRA of Florida. Due to his noble nature, he was inducted into the honorable order of Kentucky Colonels in 1993 and somehow manages to find time to play golf (pretty well), write (very well), play poker (extremely well), and be a wonderful husband, father, brother, and grandfather.

ACT I

Boy meets Girl.  Boy says all the right things to Girl. Boy falls in love with Girl.  Boy tells Girl he loves her every day.  Girl thinks Boy is as irresistible as cookie dough and can’t get anything done because she keeps thinking about him.  When Boy sees Girl, he kisses her like he’s about to jump on a jet plane to go and save the world from ultimate destruction.

ACT II

Boy gets busy with all kinds of things that life throws at him.  When they meet, Boy kisses Girl like she’s his mother.  Boy gets into arguments with Girl.  Boy makes Girl cry.  Boy stops telling Girl that he loves her. (ACT III) Girl meets New Guy.  New Guy says all the right things to Girl.  Girl feels appreciated. Girl cheats on Boy.

People cheat. That doesn’t mean that it is inevitable, but it can happen in any relationship.  It doesn’t necessarily mean that she found a better man (or he found a better woman), and it’s far more complicated than “you weren’t doing your job right.”

Think about it – what if New Guy isn’t as attractive as Boy, isn’t as funny as Boy, lives with his mother, and has only two dollars and a bus pass in his back pocket?  There’s a good chance Girl would still sleep with him, because he came at the right time.  His title alone, New Guy, sounds way more appealing than Boy, so of course Girl is going to go after what’s New.  Right?

Here’s where it gets interesting – what if New Guy is better-looking than Boy, and what if he’s taller, smoother, and has more money, but had approached Girl around the time where Boy called Girl were still in the first Act of their romantic comedy?  Girl would’ve told New Guy to get lost.  Timing is everything.

The truth is that she’s being approached by different guys that are way better than you in just about every way and every single day, but she’s so infatuated with you that she refuses to notice them.  Timing changes the whole game.  Timing can make a New Guy seem like all the other losers, or it can turn one of those losers into the New Guy.

Timing can make you feel guilty for hurting the one you love, or it can make you resent them.  People cheat for all kinds of reasons, but the ultimate variable is time.  That being said, just because you’re in your infatuation phase with your lover doesn’t mean you’re in the clear.  She still could very well be a trifling hoe, and he could just be a no good dog. #justsaying.

Smith Amisial is a two-time combat war veteran who now resides in Boca Raton, Florida.  He graduated from Florida Atlantic University with a BA in English and a minor in sociology.  He is a fan of all arts, from music and literature to martial.  He writes plays, short-fiction and music.  He currently interns for Arketipo187 magazine.

Chillaxing...

It’s a nice rainy afternoon here in Miami, FL today! Since I’m in a good mood, thought I’d let my Miami peeps know about a book event tonight at the Coral Gables Books & Books. Learn how to get ridiculously healthy from an ex-fattie! Yay!

Speaking of Miami… Chaz Bono will be at FIU tonight at the north campus. He is in town for the awesome Gay Pride festival held at Miami Beach yesterday.

Okay, enough about how awesome Miami is. This week, with tax time upon us, I think we should all reflect on the ethics of the people around us (all over the US!). With the state of the country and our politicians acting a fool, I would like to point out that we still have great people living among us who have great hearts. Read about what these children would do if they had a trillion dollars.

And, for now, I leave you with…. CATSSSS!!!!

HOOT

Charity Sapphire is a writer, journalist, stunt fighter, philosopher, and all around performer. Miss Sapphire has lent her skills to various organizations including Vagina Monologues, Alternative Breaks, Fernando Arcay Special Events, Meet to Marry, and Shakespeare in the Park Miami. She is currently writing a news column for Arketipo187.com and learning to wield a rapier with Urban Ronin. Miss Sapphire recently signed on as Creative Communications for InFokus Marketing, Inc., an Outside Marketing & PR firm based in Miami, FL. Miss Sapphire received her B.S. in Mass Communications from Florida International University and is working toward her MBA in Marketing with Strayer University, Doral Campus.

When she is not writing or fighting, she is at home with her boyfriend and mutt.