Sharazade

OK, I will admit that I just a little nervous about offering my book for review to someone who writes gay male romance — because there’s none of that in my book. But if we always say that “good writing is good writing,” then it shouldn’t matter, right? Obviously, the smart thing to do would have been to ask him first if he even wanted to read a book like this. I certainly meant to, but … apparently I did not!

Shar had neglected to warn this middle aged gay man who writes m/m erotic romances that hers was a book of (gasp) heterosexual sexual adventures, but the first of the nine stories, “Schiphol” (A Dutch name) had me hooked.

Oh, whew! He did like it.

Sharazade is a story writer of exceptional power, and her erotic adventures are, well, exciting.  …there is one story that I think should be required reading for all women in America. Make that just everyone. It’s the second one, “Flaws.”

His review ran a few weeks ago, so it’s no longer the top post on his blog. If you check out the rest of the review here (and hey, even if you don’t!), I recommend going on to his homepage and scrolling around a bit to check out his other stuff, which includes excerpts from a work in progress. And who doesn’t like a little free fiction? Ike also posts at the wonderfully named blog It’s Raining Men.

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This site was a great discovery for me — tons of reviews, and nice detailed ones, too. I also love the display of all the book covers. It’s like being in a virtual bookstore! And let’s face it, we do judge books by their covers, don’t we? We at least want to see them!

Of course, I was also pleased that they liked my book.

An excerpt:

This book is full of the wonderful world of seduction. Erotica takes on many forms, but with Transported, it isn’t all about the sex. There’s a delicious feel to every tale that woos the reader, cajoling them into the web of the story until you’re stuck like a fly in the centre, just waiting for the spider (main event) to appear. I loved that waiting, that sexual tension build-up that has you squirming in your seat and your cheeks heating.

Read the rest of the review here, and then head for the home page, and then the archives, and wallow in books for a while.

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I would describe them as more travel-themed than travel stories… These are character stories, each uniquely told through a unique voice. They are characters going on journeys who happen to be going on trips.

A nice review of Transported: Erotic Travel Tales from erotica writer Gregory Allen. What I like even more than praise (and I do like praise, don’t get me wrong!) is the feeling that someone reading really “got” me, and he did. He also has the distinction of being the first reviewer to specifically call out “Sales Pitch,” my personal favorite in the collection.

Read the full review here (and then check out the other blog entries on writing. Good stuff!).

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Let me first say that I often have a hard time getting into both anthologies and stories told from the first person POV. So you would think that I wouldn’t care for this book, right? Well, I have to say that Sharazade proved me wrong in that factor! This anthology was fantastic and I’m happy to say that I really, really enjoyed it!

What a nice thing to read! I actually hadn’t noticed that all of the stories were in the first person until I assembled them for submission; I mean, it hadn’t been a deliberate strategy. I just wrote the stories as I felt like writing them. However, I did worry just a little about it after the fact, and even went back and rewrote one in the 3rd person, and sent both versions to my editor. She said the 1st person version was better, though. This review helps me feel good about my choice.

The full review at The Forbidden Bookshelf (great blog title!) can be found here. Tanya reviewed each of the stories in the collection, and gave each a separate “heat rating,” and then a quality rating of 4.5 out of 5 for the anthology as a whole. Have a browse around the rest of the site and reviews; Tanya and Dana cover different types of erotica, including literary, BDSM & dark erotica, and erotic romance.

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A nice way to close out 2010! A lovely review of Transported: Erotic Travel Tales (paperback and Kindle) by erotica writer Jean Roberta.

The strength of these stories is in their realism, their ability to convey the feelings of man-loving women (who can be submissive exhibitionists in the right circumstances) and woman-loving men who know how to make the most of an opportunity. The reader who travels with these characters will discover (or rediscover) that sexual excitement is more of a journey than a destination.

The rest of the review can be found here.

2011 is the Year of the Rabbit, which means (if you check the right websites) a year of creativity and productivity. I’m ready for it!

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