Lyrotica

Lyrotica is a compilation of several short pieces of fiction put into a short book. It comes from a publishing company called Vagabondage Press. Now, the reason I bring this up is because I have also downloaded many short fiction volumes that have gone through them called The Battered Suitcase. In both that magazine and Lyrotica, I have run into the same issue: there is no formatting. There's no way to tab between stories. There is no table of contents to go to and click a link to take you to a story. The only way to go through it is a single page at a time. This is not fun. Normally, it would be enough to get me to throw it out altogether. Another thing I'll point out is that I rarely like erotic literature. Too often it's a boring affair which fails to trigger any kind of response. A few notable exceptions to this would be The Memoirs of Cora Pearl and the erotic works of Anaïs Nin (thinking in particular of Les Petit Oiseux, whose equal I still have yet to find). That book and the author I just mentioned take erotica to a special place which few authors dare. While, thus far (I have read just a few tales), I haven't really found the tales all that erotic. They haven't turned me on. But, they are intriguing while being sexual. This is something that has managed to drag me past the irritation of poor formatting and made me want to read on regardless. But it also means that tabbing through one story to another and back again as I consider the words I use to analyze to consider my feelings, interpretations, and/or gripes about the stories. Because, going back to one story or another might require seventy clicks to get to.

I didn't read them all. But for those of you looking for something more interesting than the regular bland garbage that is the bread and butter of so many Penthouse and other story bearing porn rags, this isn't a bad read. The stories are written by amateurs, but they're not shallow or repetitive.

- Update: some or all of the writers are not amateurs. One of them apparently was nominated for an award which I assume wasn't won. But in any case, thanks for the correction Jeremy Edwards.

Blowing Off Steam, Shanya Wright

Once upon a time, and in certain modern cultures, a woman's sexuality is something to be ashamed of. After all, it was Eve and Pandora who had brought misery to all men. At least, that's an interpretation that's been followed for thousands of years. In any case, the character in this story makes me think of a Victorian who is taught not to touch herself and hasn't been touched by a man (or woman for that matter), married or not. In other words, she's got a libido that no one is interested in satisfying.

So, when she sits down on the bench on the train, the vibrations give her pleasure. Her name is Victoria, but she has an ereader in her bag. Thus, I believe that the link between Victorian principles of anti-female sexuality are supposed to be read into the story. However, at the end, the conductor who'd seen her pleasuring herself like a horny kitten and been invited to give her itch a scratch, knows she'll be heading back the other way on the train and that he had made plans to nail her then.

Now, there's not really much substance to this story, but I still find it to be a well told tale with a sliver of erotica. It beats the type of crap that mostly rains down the channels. 

"Fertility Goddess", William J. Jackson

 This story makes me think of drugs or alcohol. This story's vixen is plus sized. That's cool. Sexuality is about more than wafer girls and supersexed models, right? Enjoy the moment.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and appeal varies in time and space, not to mention individuals.


"Gilded Cage Smacks of Sanctuary", Dennis Mahagin

This book has more than just short stories. There are also poems.

This poem is a bit of bondage in verse. The author is in a bind. The girl has tied him up and gagged him with, I assume, her panties. She tells him he can't leave her, and he replies that he'd never want to.

 "Possibility", Jeremy Edwards

This story thus far is the most boring. Boring boy meets boring girl and they have boring sex.

  "Letting Go", Imari Shi

OK, this one is a bit more interesting. Young man meets almost middle aged real estate agent. Slowly, he romances her until she's horny as hell. He dances with her. Massages her. Then seduces her into letting him choke her until she's nearly unconscious. Isn't that romantic?