If you’re looking for a sexy last-minute holiday gift for yourself or someone special, Best Women’s Erotica of the Year, Volume 7 edited by Rachel Kramer Bussel (Cleis Press) is a collection of 20 short stories that are sure to please. Bussel has gathered renowned romance authors including Lucy Eden, Adriana Herrera, Angelina M. Lopez, Erin McLellan, Holley Trent and Sarah Taylor Woods along with newer authors in the genre to truly surprise readers. In fact, surprise is the theme of the book, which opens with an art-filled story about a woman with synesthesia and includes such plotlines as the science fiction tale “Gravity,” a sex worker in a gravity play brothel, as well as a lion shifter triad in Eden’s “‘Ohana.”
Publishers Weekly has praised the book, writing, “While geared specifically to women, there’s a little something for everyone here, with a variety of genres and fetishes and a diverse array of characters. This sizzling volume is sure to wow erotica lovers.” They highlighted some favorites, including:
Standouts include Inga Gardner’s “Bitch,” about an overworked wife and homemaker who finds release in dominating her secretly submissive husband; Ann Castle’s science fictional “Sealing the Treaty,” about a female starship pilot from Earth who marries a Sagonite man to bring peace to their cultures—and the pair must publicly consummate the marriage; Adriana Herrera’s hot f/f offering, “Dripping,” about a plus-size Afro-Dominican model, her security guard, and thousands of dollars of diamonds; and Kristine Lynn’s “Before and After,” about a breast cancer survivor who works to feel sexy again after a double mastectomy.
We interviewed Bussel back when Volume 5 in the series was released, where she said of her work on dozens of titles with Cleis Press, “At a time when tech companies are very skittish about sexual content online, despite the clear need for it, I feel very proud to work with a publisher that’s stayed on the cutting edge of sex positive content that’s both entertaining when it comes to fiction and erotica and educational when it comes to nonfiction.”
You can listen to Bussel along with contributors and romance novelists Adriana Herrera, Angelina M. Lopez and Erin McLellan discuss the book and their approach to writing erotica and intimacy on The Feminist Erotica Podcast.
The book is available in print, ebook and audiobook narrated by Rose Caraway, whose The Kiss Me Quick’s Podcast offers dozens of sensual short stories for every taste.