Cleis Press, March 2011; ISBN-10: 1573446475

Review by Jean Roberta: These diverse stories, each under 1,200 words, get right to the point. Each includes one sex scene and a surprising amount of background and characterization. Although many are about first-time encounters, quite a few focus on still-hot sex in long-term relationships. In “Time” by Cecilia Tan, a woman on the eve of her twentieth wedding anniversary asks how to measure time when “you don’t feel it passing” except in “the ticktock of heartbeats, and “the pendulum swing of thrusts.” There are stories here from a dazzling lineup of other famous and lesser-known erotic writers, including members of ERWA.

Most sexual orientations are represented in these stories, and there is a range of intensity from sweet romance to BDSM. Most of the scenarios are realistic, but there are some notable exceptions: a fanciful relationship between a female first-person narrator and King Kong, a female librarian who dishes out spankings in a private room for too many late returns. This book would be ideal to slip into a carry-on bag for episodic reading in airports, bus stations and en route except for the cover image. A playful photo shows the bare legs and feet (still in shoes) of a man and a woman, apparently in the act, while a cat nonchalantly ignores the humans in heat. It would be hard to mistake the meaning of this picture, so if you read this book in front of strangers, you might want to cover it up. It’s worth the inconvenience, since this is a book you will want to keep.

Available at:  Amazon