Smart Bitches Trashy Books | All of the romance, none of the bullshit.

One to avoid, Toni Bentley’s The Surrender. Tedious beyond belief. I like short stories in erotica and smut. So all the Mammoth collections of erotica (Maxim Jakubowski edits a lot of them) and the Best of collections including Cream: The Best of the Erotica Readers and Writers Association (shameless self promotion here). In fact ERWA has a good collection of suggestions. And check out remittance girl’s site. http://www.remittancegirl.com/
Great stories.

I’ve heard great things about Pam Rosenthal.  She writes historical erotica.  I’ve also read some Celia May Hart, who is a winner in my books. 
I’d second the Emma Holly books, the early ones at least.  Lots of hot graphic sex there!

A good site to check out is the The Spiced Tea Party, a blog of erotica writers. 

Also, Literotica is a free erotica site with stuff written by men and women.

Joey Hill does heavy BDSM, but brilliantly written and all about the emotions, not just the bodies sliding together.

Matthew Haldeman-Time has fabulous m/m gay short stories and one novel that pretty much counts as erotica but is also one of the best love stories I’ve ever read.

Susan Johnson’s earlier stuff.

You know, I have a folder full of ebooks.  Really really packed.  But I wouldn’t recommend any of the authors without reservation....no, I lie.  Chris Owen is fabulous, although I haven’t read everything of theirs.  Found mostly at Torquere, which has about the worst navigation system ever.

Can’t wait to hear from others!

Emma Holly.  Definitely.  She not only writes good smut, you like her characters.

I’ll second the recommendation of Joey Hill.  Her books have moved to my “autobuy” list.  She’s one of the best of the authors dealing with D/S relationships.

If you like MDom stuff, Elliot Mabeuse over at Ellora’s Cave is doing some interesting work, but he needs to polish his craft.

As a Gay man I find Chris Owen’s stuff.

EWWWWWWWWWWW! It just drags on & on 7 on.

Kira Stone’s latest Heart of A Lion from Samhain was dang good though. For Gay Fantasy Erotica. Short sweet and to the point.

The Sleeping Beauty series written by Anne Rice (under the name A.N. Roquelare)-- very BDSM.

Heading to Ellora’s Cave is a great idea, but always read the excerpts first, just to see that you’re getting something readable.  I like Lora Leigh’s work there a lot-- the Men of August series and the Bound Hearts series are wicked hot.  She builds really interesting characters, too. 

For short stories, try Alison Tyler-- she writes and she edits collections.

I *lurve* most of the early Black Lace stuff.  One author that sucked me in despite some plot things that would normally squick me out is Savannah Smythe, but as I’m on my work computer, I can’t look up the exact title.  It’s the first one of hers that I really liked, but the later stuff is good, too.  Portia da Costa is great!  I also have a thing for Victorian/Edwardian era-attributed pron, but a lot of it is repetitive and some scenes stand out better than others.  *Potential leaking of my secret identity* I also did a bibliography of erotica for librarians that will be presented at a national conference later this year, and here are the authors/titles I listed in that:

Emma Holly
Anais Nin
Alison Tyler
Zane
Carrie’s Story by Molly Weatherfield
Dirty by Megan Hart
Double Dare by Saskia Walker
Entertaining Mr. Stone by Portia da Costa
Kushiel’s Dart by Jacqueline Carey
Sins and Secrets by P.F. Kozak

“...images of salmon-like penises battering at the gates of the womb...”

Ummm… Ewww.

Well, that just grossed me right out there.  Please tell me it’s an exaggeration of poor writing and not an example of it.

Excuse me while I go wash my brain.

;o)

I have to recommend Enchanted, a book of erotic fairy tales by Nancy Madore.  There’s great variety, everything is readable and intelligent (unfortunately, not always the case), and the different spins she puts on classic fairy tales is fascinating.  “Goldilocks and the Three Bears” will never be the same for me.

<<”...images of salmon-like penises battering at the gates of the womb...”

Ummm… Ewww.

Well, that just grossed me right out there.  Please tell me it’s an exaggeration of poor writing and not an example of it.

Excuse me while I go wash my brain.>>

I’m still trying to figure out what is meant by “salmon-like.” Are we talking color?  Weird, oblong, slightly flattened shape?  Unexpected appendages?  Or is it something more “figurative” like “swimming upstream”?  I don’t think I’ve ever seen a salmon-like penis.  Not that I want to, but I’m transfixed now on the mystery of this imagery.  (Although I did read an erotica title once that featured use of a snake.  Yeah...just like the Romans.  Talk about squicky.)

Susannah Moore’s In the Cut is well done erotica, but there are no HEAs in there. Dark, sweaty, sex aplenty though. Pretty damn good as I recall.

There was a time when Alison bought the Black Lace titles in bulk from a Used Book Store owner somewhere in the UK.  We’d get them 20 at a time because the shipping for individual books didn’t make sense. 

We ended up flipping them on Ebay, and the Emma Holly books all went for a premium.  I don’t check the availability of Black Lace titles, but I’m sure many of Holly’s titles have been reprinted here in the states by now. 

Speaking of Black Lace, here’s a pic of Adam Nevill, editor of Black Lace.  This should help anyone who needs a pornalicious fantasy fix.

Emma Holly is mostly good and Enchanted by Nancy Madore is fantastic. I have a Portia da Costa on backorder from Amazon but have not yet read any. It’s good to hear I’m on the right track. Ellora’s Cave can be hit or miss but I like Nathalie Grey’s stuff.

I forgot to ask B.E. Sanderson: What kind of soap do you recommend to wash the salmon image out of a brain?

Heehee: river78!

My favs--
Lisa Marie Rice (absolutely great!), Angela Knight and Emma Holly. 

The worst--
Diane Whiteside “The Irish Devil” Just bad in every way.  Prose, characters, story----So bad I saved it in a box with the other “Worst books ever”.

Although I did read an erotica title once that featured use of a snake.  Yeah...just like the Romans.  Talk about squicky.

One of my most distinct squicky memories is from way back… when I was 11 and at sleepaway camp, one of my cabinmates snuck her mom’s copy of Lace that we read out loud with a flashlight after lights-out. I still remember distinctly the scene where the man used a live goldfish to, er… stimulate the woman. He then sucked it out and swallowed it.

Talk about squick.

Although this is shameless self promotion, I’d like to recommend my March release, MOON SHADOW. It won all sorts of critics choice awards, and RT gave it 4 stars.

SWAK,
Lucinda

Um. Does Supernatural slash fanfiction count? Cuz that’s pretty much the erotica I’m reading these days. (It’s not practically porn. It is porn.)

I’m going to be late...but can’t resist this heading…

-Susan Lyons
-Lora Leigh
-Emma Holly
-Morgan Hawke - Intersteller Service trio @ Loose ID are her best
-Jet Mykles @ Loose ID (skip the elf stuff)
-Allyson James & Jory Strong are currently my favorite Elloras Cave authors
-If your hanging out at Torquere for Chris Owen, you might look up Jourdan Lane and Sean Michael

...some of these are paranormal/space opera titles.

PS.  Some of these are very explicit, so if you’re reading at a PTA meeting or the pediatrician’s waiting room, you may want a book cover and make sure nobody’s reading over your shoulder…

eponymous is reading Wincest! Hah!

Hmm. My verification is really46. I’ll have you know I’m only 34, silly internet.

Making lots of notes!  I haven’t read an Emma Holly, despite her being on my TBB list for-freaking-ever.  When I get my tax refund, I promised myself I’d use $200 just on books because damn it all, I deserve a treat.  So far I’m up to $115 on my Amazon cart… must add Holly and that erotic fairy tales one…

Keep listing, everyone!  As Candy said, YAY SMUT!

I have to admit that I enjoy the Herotica anthologies.  Mostly I read the short stories - you avoid the repetition that way.

Oh I love this!

Emma Holly’s Menage
Portia da Costa’s The Tutor (collecting more, she’s wicked good)
Everything/anything Joey Hill. 
Pam Rosenthal/Molly Weatherfield’s Carrie’s Story (really a BDSM modern classic in the flavor of O)
Ann Rice’s Beauty series
Hmm, I’m beginning to see a pattern here-
Wait!
The House of Dark Delights by Louisa Burton

Funny how everone is different, I wouldn’t consider Megan Hart’s Dirty a hot read, so it’s all subjective, eh?

Ann Vremont’s Sacred Heart Diaries
Selah March’s Sin Street
Robin Schone’s The Lady’s Tutor
A Gentleman’s Wager (Black Lace) by Madelynne Ellis (just about the best darned historical erotica I’ve read-but it’s out of print and running 12 dollars at amazon)

For those of you who are suffering from repeated mental images of salmon-like penises, there is Bleeprin (tm): a fictional medicine concocted by fanfiction writers, composed of brain-bleach and aspirin. Take two and lie down with a cold compress.

And yes, a lot of good erotica being done nowadays is actually fanfiction. There are a lot of duds out there, but if you take the time to go through the schlock, there are a few absolute gems in there. There’s always adultfanfiction.net, if you’re willing to try.

My personal vice? Doctor/Rose from “Doctor Who.” *fans self*

Since Black Lace has been brought up several times, may I recommend the site http://www.lustbites.blogspot.com? It’s a group blog by many Black Lace and Cheek authors, and we talk about writing, smut, and promo our work--we have lots of giveaways, too! Portia da Costa’s there, as well as Alison Tyler, Mathilde Madden, Madelynne Ellis, etc.

(Oh, and me, 1/2 of Sophie Mouette and Sarah Dale. Am I allowed to say that?  ;-) )

Another vote here for the Wincest.

It seems to me, after reading a number of e-book pr0n lately, that I’m finding better written fanfic than e-books.

That said, I recommend Jordan C. Price’s “PsyCop” series found on Torquere. It’s gay erotica and it’s hot and well plotted out with good characters. It doesn’t rely on the smut to carry the story, unlike too much of what I’ve paid to read recently.

One of my new favorites is author Michelle M. Pillow.  She has a great furturistic/paranormal erotica series

*waves to Nifty*

While I HAVE read “pure” erotica, I miss the character development found in erotic romances. So these are some of the best erotic romances that are closer to erotica.

Just about ANY Black Lace (UK) title, some are pretty hardcore. Just read the blurbs at Amazon, decide what appeals to you and KNOW that it will be erotica.

Lora Leigh, Lora Leigh, Lora Leigh-
the Breeds Series; the Bound Hearts series; the Men of August series

Sean Michael- IMO, the BEST writer of M/M erotic stories around. His Jarheads series is my favorite, but I’ve yet to read anything of his that wasn’t beautifully written.

More favorites:
Across the Sea- Irene Maillol (a Bertrice Small type of sweeping saga)
A Gentleman’s Wager- Madelynne Ellis (historical)
The Switch- Dianne Whiteside (mild BDSM)
Jules Jones- the Syndicate series (I’m not a sci-fi fan but I adored this series)

Oops, The Syndicate is actually a joint effort with Jules Jones and Alex Woolgrave.

BevL(QB)

Very interesting to see what various readers consider erotica! Vive la difference, eh? :)

I’d suggest any of Alison Tyler’s Women’s Best Erotica compilations, they are all good.  Violet Blue has edited some nice story compilations as well; she also has a daily blog called Tiny Nibbles, which frequently cites or links erotica(warning though-it can get very explicit and fetish oriented) If you aren’t squicked by the backdoor lovin’, “Lucious”, edited by Tristan Taormino, is devoted to that topic.

From Black Lace I really like Juliet Hastings and Portia de Costa, especially their older books.  Torquere Press ebooks are great for m/m.  For BDSM, Laura Antoniou’s Marketplace series; NT Morley’s collection Master/Slave.  Gail Faulkner wrote an intense BDSM, “Full Ride”, and someone else already mentioned Carrie Weatherfield.  I’d also add Maria Isabel Pita’s Story of M. I haven’t read anything else by her, but I did love that one.

Yellow Silk magazine is no longer being published, but you can buy back issues online at Yellowsilk.org.  They published some really wonderful erotica.  Good Vibrations has free erotica at their website, and it’s a good way to find new authors.

Have fun!

laurad, I just was stopping by again to add Maria Isabel Pita. A Brush with Love and Guilty Pleasures.

I love Up to No Good by Karen S. Smith. Not only is the sex hot, but it is varied and touches on most “mainstream” fantasy variations (exhibitionism, voyeurism, light BDSM, anonymous/stranger sex, group sex, anal, et cetera) while providing character introspection and developing a relationship.  Avoid the sequel, though.  It just got weird.

I’ve also enjoyed most of Juliet Hastings books and Coming up Roses by Crystalle Valentino.  I think these are all Black Lace.

Have to second the Nancy Madore and Emma Holly recommendations. Literotica is nice ‘n’ free, but don’t expect much quality writing (I don’t think many of the writers even use spell check, and there is nothing like a misused word-and I’m not talking straight homonyms, those I can forgive--to take me out of the mood.)

My suggestions are all pretty much all erotic romance.

I second the recommendation of Jacqueline Carey’s Kushiel series.

E-books:
I really liked “Dangerous Cravings” by Evangeline Anderson (Loose Id).  The plot is a reasonably standard romance/suspense, but the meat of the story is about two long time friends who are discovering their feelings for each other while also coming to terms with their interest in a BDSM relationship.  They both struggle with trying to understand why in the world they want this in a very realistic fashion- it works for me more than most of the BDSM stories I’ve seen. 

I’ve also liked work by Katherine Anne Dubois (New Concepts Publishing, Black Lace, Ellora’s Cave), Cris Anson (Ellora’s Cave), and Kimberly Dean (Ellora’s Cave & others).

Only 2 erotica books stood out for me in the past year or so:

The Marketplace by Sara Adamson (Laura Antoniou)-- It was on the order of Anne Rice’s Sleeping Beauty books, but focused more on the characters of the slaves than on the sex (as compared to the Rice books--there’s still plenty of sex & kink).

The Hunter’s Prey by Diane Whiteside—Billed as “Texas vampires,” which is true, as far as it goes, but someone who sees this and thinks “sexy vampire romance” is going to be disappointed. It’s erotica. No HEA.

As for recent-ish erotic romance reads, I highly recommend Bound by Sasha White, Captive Dreams by Whiteside/Knight, and Bond of Blood by Whiteside, and of course Emma Holly’s non-series books (not that I don’t love her vampire & demon series--I’m definitely a Holly fangirl--but they’re paranormal romance, not erotic romance).

Whoops.  Forgot to mention I’ll second both the recommendation for and the warning about Literotica.  Some really excellent stories on there, and you can pick your kink, but you really have to watch the ratings.  Anything with less than a 4, or even a 4.5 is likely pretty bad.

Wow! how nice to see my name amongst the recommendations!

Thanks, guys… I had a crappy day yesterday, and today didn’t start well… but now I’m smiling, thanks to you all! :-)

Love

WendyPortia

ps. I recommend anything by Saskia Walker and Madelynne Ellis. Both fabulous writers!

Second Anaïs Nin and fanfiction.

One of my beta readers like my sex scenes so much she suggested I’d turn to erotica… Writing them is such a pain I think I’ll stick to romance though… ;) And I like the building of character and sexual tension, there doesn’t have to be so much explicit sex for a story to be sexy (although I do feel cheated if it just fades to black, as it did in my latest romance read...)

Gosh, how lovely to be mentioned. Thank you ladies, that’s made my day.

Hugs,

Madelynne xx
PS. A Gentleman’s Wager should be reprinted next year in time for the release of the sequel.

Likewise, thanks from me (both as Pam Rosenthal and Molly Weatherfield), and from the Crumpet Strumpets over at The Spiced Tea Party

“PS. A Gentleman’s Wager should be reprinted next year in time for the release of the sequel.”

Oh happy day!

The only good book Robin Schone’s ever written, Awaken, My Love would be my recommendation.

I don’t trust erotic short story compilations, as f/f turns me off big time, and there’s usually at least one (especially in “women writing for women” collections).

That’s interesting, Kassiana, because I’m constantly being told by my publishers that f/f doesn’t sell, so I shouldn’t even bother writing it.  Which is a shame because I’d like to give it a try.

The problem with anthologies is of course that you get no financial feedback on which stories the reader likes, so unless they’re also publishing individual books, the publishers have no way of knowing that f/f squicks out a lot of readers, and will keep putting it in.

I’ve often wondered about this.  Why is f/f such a turn-off for female readers when m/m sells in huge numbers?  Is it the fear that reading about women having sex with each other might make you a lesbian?  Any theories?

<

Ha!  Well you know...I was perfectly straight until I started going to a new hairstylist, who happens to be gay.  Now I’m queer, too!

I don’t own any erotica that is purely f/f, but the vast majority of my books—and I have about 75 of them stashed in my porno box—FEATURE f/f.  I don’t seek it out, but I’m happy enough to read it.  Same goes for m/m. 

Btw, thanks, ladies, for all the great suggestions.  I’m making a list.

There’s more f/f in my Molly Weatherfield Carrie books than there is m/m—I think because I was influenced by a certain French tradition of youthful f/f, that you see in Colette, Story of O, and Marguerite Duras.

And over the long haul, Carrie had done ok saleswise (for better or worse, it’s quite clear to those books’ readers that the stories are basically het with frills).

But I do have a theory about the current craze for m/m—which is that does 2 things at once, both coming straight, as it were, out of 20th century romance traditions:

1. It actualizes the conceit that a guy is really 2 guys, his tough and tender sides. It does all the work a heroine used to have to do, to bring these 2 sides together, leaving her just the fun part.

2. And so, rather than homosexualizing the fiction, it strengthens the sway of compulsory heterosexuality, by presenting Big Real Sex and the sex between a woman and a male dyad/Complete Man.

Which doesn’t mean it can’t be entertaining, problematized, or, even better, both (check out Jane Lockwood’s forthcoming Forbidden Shores. But it does make me nervous to see it become so profoundly compulsory (and of course, it gets up my contrarian writerly instincts—stay tuned).

I think F/F still gets a bad rap because of porn movies--usually it’s two women getting it on for the man’s pleasure.

There are a lot of markets for lesbian and bi short fiction, so I’m not sure why novel publishers still shy away from it.

We had a great discussion of FMF books (or lack thereof) at Lust Bites (http://lustbites.blogspot.com/2007/02/best-of-both-worlds-fmf-themes-in.html).

Christine Warren
Lora Leigh
Emma Holly
Angela McKnight
Morgan Hawke
Jet Mykles (I know dl said to skip the Elf stuff, but I actually liked those in a cheesy, fantasy kind of way, much like how I can’t help liking Jaid Black.)
I just read a story by Sylvia Day and loved it.
I liked the early MaryJanice Davidson erotica.

Cat,my theory...it’s about how the reader identifies with book characters, and we identify one of two ways.  I enjoy m/m because I find men attractive and can identify with characters who also are into men, touching them, enjoying them, etc.
Another SB recently posted that she enjoyed f/f because she could identify with what the characters were doing and feeling, but she didn’t enjoy m/m because she didn’t have the body parts to identify physically with male characters and what they were feeling esp during sex. 
IMO readers imagine themselves in the place of one of the characters, and our preferences are based on how that character feels, and if the author can draw the reader into sharing those feelings.  Since I don’t find women sexually attractive, there is nothing for the author to work with.  Therefore, there is no point in reading a book about finding a woman attractive, courting and/or having sex with her...about as interesting as watching grass grow. 
Maybe that is why we find characters TSTL so annoying, we can’t identify with them.

dl, the problem I have with your theory (the theory I’ve seen running through a number of comments, here), is that it breaks down when applied to a reader like me. I’m pretty high up on the Kinsey scale and going by that, f/f should be the uber hottest thing to me. According to the theory I’ve seen in this thread, I should completely identify with the women in those type of stories. But in reality, written f/f leaves me cold. I might like the story, but the sex makes me yawn and flip ahead to where the story picks up again.

m/m, on the other hand—whoa, baby! Scorching! I read it and write it and can’t get enough of it, and so far as I know, I’m not “putting myself in the place” of any of the male characters in the stories. I just like reading/writing about hot men doing hot things to each other, regardless of the fact that I have little actual interest in men. And I know, from talking with many other gay women, that I’m not alone in this.

Early Emma Holly, Angela Knight, Morgan Hawke (love Victorious Star!), Jet Mykles, Silvia Violet, Kate Douglas’ Wolf Tales

m/m
AM Riley and she’s got a new one at ummmmmm
errrr
Tanquere?
no here we are.
http://www.torquerepress.com/orders/riley/author.html
I have a copy of Clan O’Brien, the one Mrs. G was raving about. [smirking]

Penis as salmon? I have never, ever read that one. All those nature shows! ("go salmon! Thrust yourself up that waterfall") This is so perfect. Wow, I am psyched. Look for this imagery in the next Summer Devon novel.

Herring on the other hand--they’re straight out of Spamalot

more writers
Pam Rosenthal
Amelia Elias
Emma Holly (duh)
Cricket Starr

oh and often Sahara Kelly and Kimberly Dean

“Why is f/f such a turn-off for female readers when m/m sells in huge numbers?”
--’Cause most of us are heterosexual? If one cock turns us on, two will do it even better. Women don’t turn me on, so two of them are even less likely to do so.

“Is it the fear that reading about women having sex with each other might make you a lesbian?”
--No, it’s the major turn-off I get when I attempt f/f, particularly coerced or forced f/f. It makes me sick. The reaction many readers have on here to depictions of anal sex is how I feel about f/f. I don’t mind if that’s your thing, I don’t mind you reading it if you like it, but I want story codes so I can choose not to read it. That’s one good thing about on-line collections of erotica. There’s usually a warning about f/f so I can avoid it.

And thanks, Pam. I’m glad you let us know there’s f/f in the Molly Weatherfield stuff.

Kassiana, could you share some titles of where you’ve read forced or coerced f/f scenes?  I’m very curious as to where you’ve encountered this. 

Just a note regarding erotica collections; I don’t think anyone will enjoy every story.  But unless you are purchasing ones specifically titled “Lesbian”, they aren’t as full of f/f as you might think.  It’s fairly easy to identify a f/f story within the first few paragraphs and move on-I just hate to see you miss out on some great writers!

And thanks, Pam. I’m glad you let us know there’s f/f in the Molly Weatherfield stuff.

Hmmm. So you can stay away from it. My unfailing instinct for sales and self-promotion kicks in again. void(0);
confused

Somewhere in the back of my mind, I think I was gearing up to making a point about a kind of imagined equal-opportunity eroticism—the dynamics of power and play presented from multiple angles. Obviously, I need to go back to the drawing board on that one.

But I do know that I very much enjoyed both the f/f and m/m fantasies I indulged in in the Carrie books, at least in part because I was able to play with the nuances of eroticism I sometimes observe or feel between women—or between men.

Mileage, of course, will vary.

No, it’s the major turn-off I get when I attempt f/f, particularly coerced or forced f/f. It makes me sick.

Well, forced sex in any gender combination makes most readers sick.  There’s a pretty universal rule in modern erotica that coerced sex isn’t acceptable any more.  Ellora’s Cave even say in their guidelines there should be ‘NO rape as titillation. Rape may be used as part of the plot action, especially supporting character development, but MAY NOT be presented in a positive light or with the intent to stimulate erotic excitement or pleasure.’

I’m wondering what books you read forced f/f interaction in, and how old they were.

Incidentally, I might warn you not to read my EC book Almost Human--it’s a m/f story but the heroine is an escort and...shall we say pansexual, whostarts the story off with a female client.

How about Sarah McCarty? I’ve only read her Promises series (don’t care to read any kind of paranormals). You get no-holes-barred nearly porno flick play-by-play action all wrapped up in love and marriage for saps like me. Wunnerful, just wunnerful.

bjl...I lurk here hoping the smarts will rub off onto me.  Another theory...we are all unique individuals, it’s totally personal preference, and we’ll enjoy what we enjoy?...I’m off to buy some erotica…

At the risk of oversharing...I think the reason I like m/m stuff is that it’s exotic to me: It’s a dynamic in which I can never truly participate (short of changing my own gender). I can experience (and have experienced) the dynamic of a man and a woman together; ditto two women together. (I’m bisexual.) And those are all fun to read about, but because I can go out and do it myself if I want to, they don’t hold the same fascination as a situation in which I can never truly participate. So in a sense my reasons are the exact opposite of what many people are saying: I like m/m because I *can’t* precisely identify myself with the participants.

(I hope I’m making sense here.)

“Kassiana, could you share some titles of where you’ve read forced or coerced f/f scenes?”
--I read in free on-line erotica areas like Literotica. Unfortunately, they don’t always code for f/f.

I am not at all bothered by coercion or forced seduction when it’s male of female. In fact, I think it’s very hot.

“Hmmm. So you can stay away from it.”
--Would you rather have me buy it, get incredibly offended by it, and tell all my friends not to buy your stuff? :) At least this way I respect your respect of my limits. Oh, and I do love Almost a Gentleman. But then, most of the Internet does, from what I see.

“...forced sex in any gender combination makes most readers sick.  There’s a pretty universal rule in modern erotica that coerced sex isn’t acceptable any more.”
--Too bad.

Oops. I mean, of course it’s completely bad. God knows no one here ever has politically incorrect erotic fantasies. ;)

Would you rather have me buy it, get incredibly offended by it, and tell all my friends not to buy your stuff?

You’re right, Kassiana, and thanks for the kind words about Almost a Gentleman. Just out of curiosity, and to help me get get a sense of readers and their limits, I wonder if you read The Bookseller’s Daughter and whether you were offended by the lesbian couple in that book (no explicit sex, just a little neck massage). I’d appreciate the feedback.

“I wonder if you read The Bookseller’s Daughter”
--Nope. The only work of yours I’ve read so far is AAG.

Pam,assuming you are asking for one than one opinion about female couple in BSD, I don’t choose to read gay romance/erotica partly because I may say I won’t like it, I’m also afraid of liking it too much. Call it fear of erotica/porn addiction (or even more so than I have now;-) combined with a misers fear of more frikkin stuff to buy. Anyway, re: BSD I was AMAZED to see a gay couple shown in a positive light—especially in comparison to R. Schone’s Lady’s Tutor’s homosexual incestuous pedophile villain and countless generic puppy killing/baby eating/oh-yeah-let’s-make-him-homo-too villains in Romancelandia. Whatever slight shock I may have had at the time (don’t remember) was more than made up by the fact that though gay they still managed to be decent human beings.

not for the faint-of-heart but HAWT:
poweronestories.com

My shelves are full of my favs...anything by Emma Holly, Angela Knight, Diane Whiteside (I love her Devil series and The Switch is absolute poetry) Robin Schone, especially The Lady’s Tutor--and I just purchased Scandalous Lovers when I was lucky enough to meet Robin at the RT convention...for me, the language is so important, the flow of the words and the poetry of the images has to seduce the mind along with the body.

I’m glad that I wasn’t the only one who liked Scandalous Lovers by Robin Schone. Yeah, the ending came a little too soon, but the subject matter was really compelling for me.

Shannon McKenna--especially Standing in the Shadows.

If you haven’t tried Lisa Valdez’s Passion I think you’re missing out. Especially the last two thirds of the novel.

I second Emma Holly’s Menage...and Strange Attractions, just skim the physics storyline.

From the world of e-books, definitely Joey Hill. Natural Law is fantastic, fantastic, fantastic. Especially since most of the BDSM stuff out there is male dom/female sub, and Natural Law is the opposite. I do tend to the M/M for e-books, Sean Michael, Evangeline Anderson, Ally Blue.

I’ve always loved the way Robin Schone writes, so meeting her was an absolute thrill. Definitely a “fan girl” moment for me!

I LOVE contemporary erotica, especially ones featuring m/m/f menages. I LOVED Lora Leigh’s Bound series & Men of August. Does anyone have more good suggestions? Thanks for any help.

Oh, here’s my faves:

Anything by Robin Schone...her backlist, not an actual book called “Anything”...although that title has distinctive possibilities.

Emma Holly...I recently read her short in an anthology called The Countess’s Pleasure.  Hawt.  Way hawt.

Lisa Valdez.  She’s only got one out.  Check out her site and read the excerpt, though.  Holy shit.  If that’s the BEGINNING of a relationship...I want in.

Here’s my humph:
You know what I’m talking about...Stephanie Laurens.  I love her books, and the hero-as-pursuer rocks, but oh.my.god...how can you be so lengthly, and yet so metaphorical at the same time.  Also, there’s no talking: Silent Sex, only.