Best Lesbian Erotica 2014
Title: Best Lesbian Erotica 2014
Author: Various – Edited by Kathleen Warnock
Publishing Company: Cleis Press
Trade Paper
ISBN 978-1-62778-002-5
5 1/2 x 8, 264 pages
Taken from Cleis Press:
Hailed as “mesmerizing,” Best Lesbian Erotica 2014 is as smart as it is sensual. Goldie-nominated editor Kathleen Warnock has collected stories from around the globe, giving this year’s edition many refreshing points of view. Sabina dives into bed with just the wrong person for an encounter that feels so right in Diana Cage’s story, “Hey, Stranger.” The red-hot romance in “Stitch and Bitch,” by A. L. Simonds, starts with a meet-cute at a crochet basics class. A femme offers sweet treats and a private after-party to the “Birthday Butch” in Teresa Noelle Roberts’s tease. The women in this volume are so realistic you can almost feel the warmth of their bodies in your hands. Evocative and erotic, this commanding collection will hold you right to the very last page.
With stories by: Anamika, Amal Arabi, Cheyenne Blue, Diana Cage, Cheryl Dunye, Nairne Holtz, Cheryl Jimmerson, D. L. King, Catherine Lundoff, Teresa Noelle Roberts, Sarah Schulman, Sinclair Sexsmith, A. L. Simonds, Sam Tweed, Dolar Vasani, Sharon Wachsler, Lucien C. West, Xan West
Nairne Holtz, excerpt from “Call for Submission” in Best Lesbian Erotica 2014
At home, I emailed Cyn, but she didn’t reply. A month later, she invited me to be her Facebook friend, and I checked out her profile. I discovered she was “in a relationship” and had about four hundred friends. I wasn’t going to be some cheap Facebook conquest—I ignored her invitation. Then the email came, asking me to submit a sexual fantasy to her anthology, and I reconsidered the Facebook invite. Did I want to miss future calls for submission? As I clicked on accept, I told myself I was joining her network for what were strictly professional reasons. But when I saw her relationship status had changed to “in an open relationship,” I felt an unbidden thrill.
I began writing a sexual fantasy for her. Writing and rewriting it put me into a sexual fever, my thoughts a non-stop erotic cabaret, blinking lights, on, on, on. Cyn was my muse, even though a chubby black stud hardly fit the traditional image of a Grecian goddess. Sometimes, after writing for an hour I would lie down and finger myself to a climax, a wisp of an orgasm because I was so excited.
I sent my story to Cyn, who sent me a reply the next day: I want this story!
But did she want me? And if so, how available was she? I emailed her to say the story was hers if she sent me a contract, and got a response with an attachment. I expected it to be a contract, but instead she had sent me a story. Since I was a freelance editor, she wondered, would I be kind enough to give her some constructive criticism?
I printed her story and settled onto my couch to read it. Bombs detonate, superpowers fall, the human genome is nothing but a toy for scientists now, but Vegas is still the place to gamble and get laid. The government hasn’t really cleaned up Nevada since the last nuclear attack. To go to the desert you have to be genetically modified to withstand cancer (who would have thought nuclear war would be what taught us to cure cancer?), but for a cyborg like me whose body is part machine, it’s not a problem.
I read on. The cyborg had been hired to track down a stripper in Las Vegas. To get close to her, the cyborg paid for a lap dance, and then handcuffed her quarry. Ostensibly, the cyborg was in charge, but the dancer’s resistance made their roles jump like summer lightning—moving, glowing electrons. It was obvious to me that Cyn, like me, enjoyed a good power struggle.
It felt like Cyn was talking to me through her story, using it as a way to flirt, but I wasn’t sure if we were compatible. In both the story she sent and her story in Dyke Dimensions, her butch protagonists were tops who didn’t come. Did Cyn always have to be in control? Was she a stone butch? When I sent her my editing suggestions, I couldn’t resist adding a postscript: “Do your butch characters ever get done?”
Cyn thanked me for my comments on her story and ignored the postscript. I had to have an answer, if only to improve my fantasy life, so I went to a gay bookstore and pawed through Cyn’s work, looking for a scene where a femme makes love to a butch…but couldn’t find one.
Instead, I spotted Cyn on the cover of a lesbian magazine holding hands with a woman I recognized, Vixen Swift, the illustrious lesbian romance author. Vixen’s red hair had been tucked into a classic chignon, and she was wearing one of her signature corsets with her large breasts on full display. The article described Cyn and Vixen as a “celesbian” couple. Appar- ently, they had been hand-fasted for a number of years. With a shudder, I dropped the magazine onto the rack. Vixen and I had been introduced on at least three occasions, and each time she had to be reminded of who I was.
I went over to another section and picked up Vixen’s latest release, and brought it to the counter along with Chrome Stud, the first book in Cyn’s cyberpunk series.
At home, I began to read Vixen’s novel, Soul Mate, which featured a “playa” who meets “a titian-haired queen with piercing blue eyes.” (Nouns in Vixen’s novel were always accompanied by a convoy of adjectives.) When I finished the book, I felt like throwing it across the room. The story was so formulaic: a bad boi, who is afraid of intimacy because she was once fucked over by a heartless bitch, is saved by the love of a good femme.
Since when were lesbians afraid of intimacy anyway? I wished there were women my age—midthirties—who didn’t carry any more baggage than one bad relationship, whose only reason for not having a partner was fear of being hurt and not fear of responsibility.
I also wondered why Vixen, if she was in an open relation- ship, wrote such sappy, moralistic books. I had to give her some credit: the sex scenes, with which her novel brimmed, were spicy and accomplished. Especially the ones where the queen made love to her boi by going down on her while fucking her with three fingers, a scenario that sounded vaguely familiar.
I plucked Dyke Dimensions from my bookshelf and reread Vixen’s sex scene between a vampire and a werewolf. The vampire licked the werewolf and penetrated her with three fingers.
Was this how Cyn liked to be done? Reality often squirms beneath the stories writers choose to tell, and we give it away when we repeat ourselves.
Nairne Holtz is the author of This One’s Going to Last Forever (Insomniac, 2009), a Lambda Literary Award Finalist, and The Skin Beneath (Insomniac, 2007), which was shortlisted for Quebec’s McAuslan Prize. Currently, she lives in Toronto with her lover, works as a librarian and is writing another novel.
The Collar attaches using two silver snaps that are located on the back. The front has four loops that hold the laces in place. The material goes behind them as well, so your neck isn’t exposed through this area. The design allows it to be slightly adjustable, allowing you to tighten the laces to provide a better fit. It’s 2 3/4″ tall and ranges from 14 1/2″ to 19 1/2″ wide. The shape is curved which allows it to naturally fit around your neck.
The pasties are a cone shape and feature a little metal ring on the tip of each. They come with two strips of double-sided adhesive tape that you use to hold them in place. There are no directions on how to apply them, and you’ll need to cut the tape yourself. The shape of the pasties will work best for those who have perky breasts. The size of your breasts doesn’t matter, but if you have flatter breasts like I do, these will only look awkward on you. They also only measure 2″ across, which doesn’t even come close to covering my areolea which are approximately 4″ wide. It would have been nice to see pasties that were more naturally shaped.
The waist cincher features a laced front and a zippered back. The zipper makes it much easier to put on by yourself, especially compared to a long row of hooks. Since it laces in the front, it’s also much easier to tighten it as needed, which allows you to accentuate your curves. Like the collar, there’s fabric behind the laces, so your belly can’t be seen through them. There are eight rows of plastic boning which is extremely flexible. Great for comfort, but doesn’t help the cincher hold its shape. The laces allow the cincher to range from 40″ to 45″ in length, helping it work for a variety of body types and sizes. The height of the sides and back are 9″, but the center is a little taller and comes in at 11 1/2″. Along the top are two ribbons which make it easy to hang it up, and the bottom features four small loops that the garter straps slip into.
The thong is a little different than what normally comes in lingerie sets. It doesn’t have the thin string in the back and won’t wedge itself between your cheeks. The laces seen in the other pieces are used for the thong as well. The band at the top is stretchy and surrounds the entire piece, only separating for two metal rings. Other than the band at the top, the only thing holding the sides together is the silver lace. When you make the laces loose, the thong becomes crotchless for easy access. There’s no liner inside, so you can feel the lace directly against your body when you’re wearing them. They measure 18″ across the band when laid flat, the front is 5 1/2″ wide, and the back is 9 1/4″ at the widest points. Directly at the crotch it’s 2 1/5″ wide.
Included with the set are four garter straps that can be hooked into the waist cincher to help hold up the stockings. They are very common in the way they function, featuring a small hook on one end, and a special closure on the opposite side that prevents your stockings from slipping down without damaging them. They are fully adjustable using a small metal loop. They range from 6 3/4″ long to 10″ long, making them work for a variety of different heights. They have some elasticity to them as well, so it’s easy to move around while wearing them since they’ll work with your movements rather than against them.
The stockings included with this set are your basic black and don’t have a fancy pattern to them. The toes are closed, but aren’t reinforced, so don’t expect these to last very long (mine had runs in them the first time I put them on). They each have a band on the top that’s approximately 2 1/4″ wide that help keep them in place and make it less likely for the garter straps to damage them. They’re very cheap feeling (and easily run), but aren’t scratchy or uncomfortable to wear. These are designed to reach about the middle of your thigh, but your specific height will make that vary. They’re very stretchy when it comes to the length, but are less forgiving at the top. My thighs are 24″ around where they rest and it felt fitted, but not too tight.
The Rock Out Corset Set comes in a tall cardboard box that features a large image of a model on the front wearing the set. The top boldly says what lines it’s from and the bottom provides the product name. Each side was designed to look like tattered fishnets and is made from black velvet (like the posters you can color). It’s cute looking, but black fuzz ends up everywhere. The back of the package has two more images of the model, showing both the front and back of the piece on her body. On both the cover and one of the images on the back, she’s having to hold her breasts up, this should prove how the pasties don’t really work the way they should. The bottom tells you what the package contains and provides the size chart. It’s not at all discreet, but can be broken down and recycled.
The Rock Out Corset Set was provided to me free of charge from Pipedream in exchange for an unbiased review. This is in compliance with FTC guidelines.
The surface of Ola is very smooth and glides easily across the skin. It does attract some lint, but is very reasonable and easy to wipe off. The silicone is a skin over the firm internal parts, so there’s no give or flexibility for the insertable portion of the toy. The squeeze pad on the handle of the toy is the only area that has give. This spot is soft and easy to press and hold down.
The Ola comes with a USB charger that connects to the vibrator magnetically. The white oval on the back of the vibe is where the charger connects. It isn’t a very strong connection, so you’ll need to make sure it’s set up well so it doesn’t accidentally become disconnect while charging. The charger itself is made up of two pieces, the magnetic part, and the cord that plugs into it. The squeeze pad on the vibe can sometimes become deflated and the end of the cord was designed to help. Simply press the end into the small circle on the top of the handle and the squeeze pad will puff up again which helps it preform better. This is the sole purpose of the pieces being able to separate.
Though your vibrator arrives with a partial charge, you’ll want to plug it in prior to your first use. When it starts charging, you’ll see a light behind the bottom button start to slowly flash, showing it’s connected properly and charging. When the charge is complete, both the top and bottom buttons will slowly flash and you can disconnect and use. One of the awesome features of this toy is that it’s easy to tell when it’s time to charge again. When you first turn the toy on, the lights will blink to indicate how much battery life is left; three for full, two for medium, and one or none for low.
As stated above, there are a total of two buttons that control how the toy functions, as well as the squeeze pad. To turn on, you need to hold down the bottom button for a few seconds until the lights flash indicating how much battery power you have left. The glow behind the bottom button will remain on the entire time the toy is in use.
The Ola arrives in a cardboard cylinder that has an image of the toy boldly on the front and features some of the key points on the opposite side. It’s not discreet because it’s obvious what it contains, but it’s done in a cute and tasteful manner. When you open the package, you’ll find your Ola standing up inside it, the bottom is nestled inside a plastic and foam base. Underneath that base you’ll find the charger, storage pouch, sticker, and booklet. The booklet features all the important information about the toy and is covered in several languages. The information is easy to understand and provides an overview of how it works and how to care for it. It also touches on their 1 year manufacturer’s warranty.
Photo courtesy of BeckAndHerKinks
use.
ridges apart from the base of the head. Starting on either side, they provide a wide, ribbed-like sensation during use. The bottom is totally smooth, but sticks out a little from the toy; keeping your focus on the top and sides. The Echo Vibrator is great for texture lovers, but as you can see it’s not the best choice for someone who prefers smooth toys. Tantus has you covered there too, so check out their other vibrators and you’re bound to find one that suits your taste.
The Echo Vibrator is available in two color choices, Pearl White and Midnight Purple, or you can take your chances and select their Grab Bag. The Grab Bag Echo is the same great toy at a much lower price, but you can’t select the color. So if the idea of possibly getting a flesh tone Echo doesn’t bother you, it’s a much more budget friendly option (and you could end up with one in an awesome color!).
The base of the toy is flat on the bottom, which allows it to stand on a flat surface. In the center is the bullet hole which goes far enough into the dildo to hold the entire bullet. The inside of the hole was designed to help you remove the bullet with ease. Though it can take a minute to remove if you’ve pushed it all the way in, it doesn’t get stuck like some and doesn’t need to be lubricated. When it’s in all the way, you want to press on either side of the base and use your other hand to grab the cap. Once it starts to come out of the base, it’s much easier to pull out it the rest of the way.
The included bullet takes three LR 44 watch batteries that are inside the bullet when it arrives. There’s a small paper within that prevents the batteries from properly connecting and will need to be removed in order to turn it on. When it’s time to replace the batteries, there’s a little paper inside the compartment that shows you how to insert them. The bullet is a standard 5/8″ in diameter and has a rounded tip. The opposite side has the battery cap and features the power button on the end. The button turns the toy on and off, there are no setting to cycle through; there’s only one level of steady vibrations.
pleasure experience that much more enjoyable. Each end of the dildo can be used for insertion which gives you two different ways to experience this piece. Since they differ so much from each other, it’s almost like having two dildos in one. Your personal experience of this product will vary depending on anatomy and the specific shape of your Hooded Nun.
The surface of the glass is really smooth and glides easily across the skin. All lube is compatible with this material and a little goes a long way. Be careful handling if you’ve gotten lube on your hands because it becomes very slick and could slip from your grasp.
The opposite end has a different texture thanks to the way the piece was formed. This end offers an extra nub that might help connect better with the G-spot during use. Your piece might not have the same folded tip mine does, in fact, the product images on the website show it sticking out rather than being pressed down. I found the texture of this side to be far more obvious when inserted. I think it would work really well for those that like more targeted G-spot stimulation, but I preferred the simplicity of the opposite end.
When my Fucking Sculpture arrived I was in total awe. Green is my favorite color and this piece totally exceeded my expectations. The green is deep and dark and has this amazing glitter-like shimmer within it. The light picks up every little sparkle, making it look magical and eye catching. But when you hold it up to the light, it takes on a whole new appearance. The glitter fades away and it looks like the glass has been delicately painted using short brush strokes. This is art, plain and simple.
The Hooded Nun, and all Fucking Sculptures, arrive inside a handmade pouch that fits your toy perfectly. It’s not padded in any way, so you’ll still need to use caution when storing the toy, but the surface is protected against scratches and other surface damage. Along with it is a care and use card that gives you the basic rundown of the product and provides their website at the bottom. Though it’s not stated on the card itself, the website has an amazing Lifetime Warranty for your Fucking Sculpture. Should you break your piece or consider it unsafe to use, they’ll replace it with a similar piece for free (apart from shipping). This is a one time offer, but is huge! How many companies offer that kind of warranty?
Photo courtesy of Penny for Your (Dirty) Thoughts
Though the back of the vibrator is smooth, the top of the shaft is covered with rows of texture. These ripples create a ribbed like sensation when thrust and are very stimulating. Because the silicone has some give, the texture isn’t as extreme and should be suitable for those that enjoy texture or are looking to experiment with some. If you prefer smooth toys in general or haven’t tried anything with such obvious texture, this might be too much for you.
The Semilino is charged using Fun Factory‘s Click ‘N’ Charge system. Rather than dealing with a charging port that could allow water to leak inside, the end of the toy has two metal pieces that magnetically connect to the charger. The connection is quite strong compared to some of the other magnetic charging systems out there, making it less likely for your toy to accidentally become disconnected while charging.
After your first charge you might notice that you can’t simply turn the toy on. This is because the buttons arrive locked. In order to unlock the buttons, you have to press and hold down the ‘FUN’ and plus button for a few seconds. They’ll rapidly flash and you’ll feel a little ‘vroom’ from the toy. Your toy is now unlocked and ready to use. If you want to lock the buttons again for travel or storage purposes, you hold down the ‘FUN’ button and the minus at the same time. If you take it out of storage and have forgotten how to unlock it, it’s really easy to remember. When you press the ‘FUN’ button when it’s locked, the two buttons you need to press will flash, reminding you what to do.
The functions are set up in a way that’s a little tricky to understand at first. There are a total of 6 steady vibrations intensities and 6 pattern settings. When the toy is first turned on, you’re actually feeling the third intensity level. From there, you can decrease the power twice, or increase the power another three times before reaching the patterns. Once you’ve gone through the patterns and have reached the end of them, the next press will bring you to the first pattern again; the intensity levels aren’t included in the cycle. If you want to get back to the steady vibrations, you simply press the minus button, no matter which pattern you’re on. It’s odd at first, but once you’ve used it a few times it becomes easier to understand. When you’re ready to turn the toy off, you simply press the ‘FUN’ button (you don’t have to hold it down) and the toy will turn off. The next time you turn it on, it will start on the third intensity level, it doesn’t hold your place.
When I received my package I was immediately surprised by how small it was. I knew it was a mini vibe, but I didn’t realize just how small it would be. I took out some of my other Fun Factory toys (Stronic Zwei Pulsator, and Big Boss G4 Vibrator) and compared. The difference was pretty shocking. It looks like it could almost fit inside the Big Boss!
The head of the massager is very smooth, doesn’t attract dust or lint, and glides really easily across the skin. It has a small amount of give, but you have to press pretty hard on it to even notice. The only area that has movement to it is the neck of the massager. Between the plastic handle and the firm head is a blue neck that looks like it’s folded like an accordion. It doesn’t move like one, but allows the head to slightly bend from side to side. You don’t want it to bend too far, but you can apply a fair amount of pressure without having to worry about it.
There’s only one button on the massager that controls the two power levels and turning the toy off. The button was designed to work in a sliding motion, sliding the button up a little will bring you to the low intensity level, and sliding it up the rest of the way will bring you to the high setting. Sliding the button back down to the bottom will turn off the massager. Very basic and easy to understand.
