I have this book as part of an anthology of Herotica 1, 2 & 3. If you're new to reading erotica or just want a little something to keep beside the bed, this is an excellent collection. The stories are well-written with interesting characters and fully-developed storylines. The intensity of the collection ranges from a breath on the neck to a full-fledged you-know-what. Whatever your tastes, you will find something to enjoy here. This is an excellent book to start your personal collection of erotic fiction. Follow up with Herotica 2 & Herotica 3.

I bought this book as a reference for a graduate thesis I'm writing on herotica. I didn't plan on actually reading it, because I already know everything there is to know about herotics: how they oppose certain fundamental doctrines of the Church, how they're asked to recant, and how--sad but true--the Church often does painful, unpleasant things to them to make them "see the light." Galileo was a herotic, you know. Well, something told me (let's call it "woman's intuition" because it really was a womanly type of intuition) that Herotica might have a different take on the issue. And boy, does it ever! I knew the Church didn't like herotics, but had no idea that it could be so--so inhuman in punishing them! Be warned: there's a lot of gore in this book! Sensitive parts get pressed against other sensitive parts, bosoms are heaved all over the place with no thought to where they might land, and all sorts of herotics are forced to put their mouth on things that must taste quite unpleasant. I'm glad Galileo never had to do _that_! But it's very informative, and my only complaint is that it doesn't tell you what the herotics did wrong--and if I don't know, how am I supposed to avoid that sort of torture being inflicted on me? What a big stupid ninny the Church is...oops! I'm in for it now!

this book has been nothing but amazing. over the month that i have had it, it has become more and more of an inspiration. no queer artist or musician should be without it.

A provactive look at real lesbian sexual life at the edge. Some of the photographs are artistically brilliant, some are fascinating, and some may be repellent, but all have an honesty and intensity which is refreshing and unusual. As a photographer, I highly recommend it. Some of the images are quite graphic and powerful.

This thought provoking and sometimes shocking book came highly recommended and I pass on the same sentiments. Though always interested in expanding my consciousness, I was little prepared for the giant leap I would take with each page. Susie Bright speaks intelligently from personal experience about such topics as pornography, gender, and sexuality. She provides the reader with radical yet believable interpretations that make you want to go out and explore for yourself. She brings together the human experience to which we are born, with the secret desires and fantasies we all possess, slowly unveiling the masks we hide behind. A must read if you are ready to explore your own sexual identity and biases.

Terrific, funny, and irreverant

You can vicariously have sex while pregnant (no matter what your gender), go through a day-long, cruel/kind, lesbian, S&M encounter, and do an irreverent, salacious interview with Camille Paglia all while getting a good, public-health-department-approved lesson on sex in the 90s. Can any other book do the same?

Finally, a hands-free erotica experience... I think this is a really well-done product and recommend it highly - very sexy. The first story, "Rubenesque", is one of my favorite erotic stories of all time.

Very sexy! I loved listening to this on the commute in to work - kept me in a good mood throughout the day! Although the benefits were even better on the days I listened to it on the commute HOME...

I loved the book, and got the audio for a friend who's really into audiobooks, and after he raved about it, I borrowed it back from him... Erotica on audio is really great! I think it especially works well with an anthology such as this one. My lover and I listened to 1-2 stories at bedtime for a week. Quite an inspirational experience! Susie Bright's choices rule, of course, and I think the audio adaptation is really well done and super sexy! I say, "Check it out!"

True to the Susie Bright tradition of self-revelation in the service of high erotic ideals, this book DELIVERS. I'm so glad she wrote this tell-all, how-to, sex-positive, personal-is-political guide to reading, writing, and living. Her expertise as the founder of "Herotica" and "Best American Erotica" collections is certainly brought to bear in these pages. I've been a student in one of her writer's workshops, and I found the my creative fires rekindled by her fresh approach once again. Her hilarious skewering of the publishing industry made me want to tilt against the windmills for own satisfaction.

As a writer who has been published (and edited well) by Susie Bright, it is dismaying to read reviews like the one below. Susie Bright is a pioneer in print, online, audio, and film erotica. (Check out her delightful narration of the DVD of BOUND, where S. Bright not only had a bit part, but served as the lesbian sex coach for the Wachowski brothers--with splendid results.) The book itself is a thoughtful examination of erotica, the difference between writing and publishing, and when and why erotica matters so much to our culture. Bright is funny, smart, and an inspiration.

Susie's long overdue book about her insights and experience in the world of writing and editing erotica is a welcome addition to the genre. For this editor of erotica it all rang true--the pitfalls, the joys, the rewards. And her section on the publishing industry is right on target. Susie generously shares her considerable experience writing and editing erotica, as well as other kinds of writing, with no holds barred. I read and see Susie Bright speak for inspiration and validation, and this book did it for me again.

Is it possible for Susie to write a bland page? No! Regardless the topic, this woman is an excellent read...go for it.

Great autobiographical work in the tradition of Stephen King's "On Writing" ... don't avoid it if you're not looking to write a dirty story because it's far more on writing as a whole than on writing erotica specifically. That being the negative as well since there's less specific advice on erotica than a review of the industry and process as a whole. Not the best book on writing I've read, but it's definitely on the short list and worth looking into. If you're looking specifically for a "how-to write a dirty story" however, keep looking.

This is a fabulous book for people coming to erotic writing from any skill level or experience level. It is most of all honest, something I've come to expect from Bright's writing, and that is what makes this book so useful. Instead of giving some formulaic "how to write" answer, Bright dives into the many kinds of erotica one an write, and the many reasons one may have for doing so. She also doesn't gloss over her own journey but dishes the dirt on how the publishing industry works and other "dirty little secrets" that are useful to know.

She also has some great exercises to keep you on your toes, such as trying to write in many different erotic genres. It's also strikingly clear just how well-versed in the erotic world Bright is, not just works deemed "erotica" today but their historical predecessors and the whole culture of adult literature.

I really liked that Bright showed how different authors can break convention and still succeed, and she delineates exactly what it is that makes an erotic story pass muster. She also touches on other aspects of the writing life, such as how writing will affect your sex life, reactions to those who are upfront about their writing, and the possible perils of publishing.

Overall, this book deftly combines writing exercises, a literary erotic history, as well as practical insights into specific writing problems or issues that may arise and how to deal with them, all drawing from Bright's experience as a writer and editor. Most of all, it's witty, funny and easy to read, so much so that I didn't feel like I was reading a typical writing book so much as something much lighter. And I finished it with many of my own ideas for future stories and ways of generating new ideas.

This collection has something for everyone. Some of its stories are pure "brain candy." Yet most of the stories go beyond erotica: this is really imaginative literature! I especially like one story about a cancer victim...weird with a great narrator look at his strange girlfriend. I can't remember the name or title and I can't look it up since a friend of mine, to whom I loaned the book, has been enjoying it for some time. (I last noticed it by her bathtub.) :)

As Susie Bright points out elsewhere, the question "What's the difference between erotica and porn?" is far less important than asking "Why do we keep so silent about sexuality and sexual experience?" The schizophrenic approach of American culture to sexuality--both saturating mass media with tantalizing suggestions of sex and at the same time forbidding, limiting, and condemning it--gives birth to this question in the first place. The line which gets drawn between pornography and erotica seems to be a line between "high" and "low" culture, between bourgeois expressions of sexuality and proletarian.

I draw a line between writing, no matter how sexual or explicit, that tells a good story, that challenges my mind and emotions, that reveals character and gives me a new window on human nature (and thus myself); and writing that falls short of this standard. For me, most stories in this collection fall into the first category. Some had me turning pages, wondering what might happen next, others, like trying to catch on to a folk-tune, offered little challenge to the imagination.

The story settings ranged from "normal" twentieth century western culture to cyber-punk, swords-and-sorcery, and mythic. I found most characters interesting and compelling, even when involved in sexual activities that seemed to hold no appeal to me at all. But that, perhaps, is a misstatement--the erotic intensity of the stories, was always appealing, even when it lay significantly outside the bounds of what I think I would like to experience. One story actually turned my stomach a bit, but it was so compelling, I had to finish it. Once I did, I was glad to _HAVE_ read it.

This is the second book in the series I have read. Compared with THE BEST AMERICAN EROTICA OF 2001, this book is harder core, farther out, more cutting edge. The 2001 book is softer, gentler, more "normal." I loved both of them, but wonder if the nature of erotica has (d)evolved so much over four years, or if Susie Bright has shifted that much.

Highly recommended, especially for those who would like to expand their erotic horizons from the safety of their own homes. Daring. Stimulating. Powerful. Earns every one of five stars.

...

I feel sorry for the degenerates who would pay good money to listen to smut.

I enjoyed listening to the stories while commuting. Though not all the stories were to my taste and one story was narrated a little woodenly, the narrations of the sex acts were still stimulating. The stories were too hot to listen on the way to work so I saved them for the ride home. I'm working my way through all six Herotica audio collections.

This is a really great audio experience - I had no idea erotica on audio would be so much fun! It really made my commute fly by for a few days! Great writing, and the readers do a wonderful job with the material. I loved it.

I like Susie Bright. She's cute, she's fun, she's fairly sharp, and her heart's in the right place.

It's hard to recall that once upon a time Bright was a sexual radical: Look, she's the lesbian co-founder of the in-your-face, pro-pornography sex magazine, "On Our Backs"! No, wait, she's bisexual! Say, isn't that her editing annual collections of erotica? Omigod, she's relating a sex fantasy about Dan Quayle! Today, with a steady male partner (in an open relationship) and a daughter about to enter her teens, Bright comes across almost matronly.

It takes an essay like the one in this book about a bomb threat called in before one of her lectures to remind her of what's at stake and inspire some thoughtful writing, and to remind us all that large portions of the country still find someone like Susie Bright a threat.

Unfortunately, with most of this book she's largely treading water. As other reviewers have noted, she seems to have said most of what she has to say. And at 163 pages, this volume comes in a little slim at the price. Newcomers to her may enjoy _Full Exposure_, but for harder, faster Susie, I'd go for _Susie Sexpert's Lesbian Sex World_ or _The Sexual State of the Union_.

And after that, head for the even spicier pastures of Pat Califia's _Public Sex_.

Susie Bright gets better with every book: smarter, sharper, funnier, deeper. To paraphrase writer Raymond Carver, Bright explores what we talk about when we talk about sex...and what we're talking about when we pretend sex isn't important. Bright's "Erotic Manifesto" is an inspiring call to arms. Terrific writing, provocative questions...and great stories about her groovy daughter Aretha.

Susie Bright is the most interesting writer we have when it comes to sex. She's funny, irreverant and wildly untamed and original. Lots of great information in this book!