With the current shape of the economy, it's a bit of a surprise to find certain businesses experiencing skyrocketing sales. One particular Internet company that's doing surprisingly well specializes in the kinky: They sell customized erotic books. This place has had a 200 percent sales increase in the last couple of weeks--and the owner's just as shocked by it as the rest of us.

"People are clearly looking for some escapist entertainment, it would seem," Sage Vivant emailed me. "Hard to say whether volume will continue this way--I never expected this to happen, given the events of last week. Guess I underestimated the American public's need for diversion!" The writers at this company gather information from the customer and then write each story accordingly. The longer ones (about 3,000 words, or 12 pages) take three weeks to complete, and cost $250. They'll also write 1,500-word stories for $125; or "Quickies," which are one-page fantasies, for $25. There are a few samples on the site, whose titles include "Bangers for Breakfast," "Nasty Nurse" and "Projections."

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