When it comes to ‘mainstream’ fiction, I read a lot of novels and hardly any short stories. When it comes to erotica, my shelves are full of anthologies, but I could count on one hand the number of novels I’ve read and enjoyed (and Kristina Lloyd is responsible for most of those). Why? Because I read erotica to get off.
I don’t need to invest emotionally in the characters. I don’t need the plot to unfold slowly before me, or to draw me into its complexities and nuances. Good literary fiction makes me want to hug myself with glee, or go straight to Amazon and have it delivered to half-a-dozen of my friends; good erotica makes me want to wrap my hand tight around my cock and keep it there till I’m a sweaty, sticky mess. One is a less complex reaction than the other – and generally requires far fewer pages.
Anthologies are also a safer bet, because my reaction to erotica is pretty binary: either it makes me horny or it doesn’t. If I’m at the airport, I’ll happily buy a couple of novels to read on the plane: even if I’m not familiar with the author, the back cover and the first couple of pages will normally tell me whether I’m going to hate it. If I don’t hate it, I’ll invariably get something out of the reading experience, regardless of whether it’s a masterpiece or something I’ll have forgotten by the time I pick up my suitcase at the other end. That’s not the case with erotica: I want it to get me hard, and if it doesn’t, I don’t feel like I’ve got value for money.
In an anthology of 30-40 short stories, I usually think the editor’s done a good job if roughly half of them turn me on in some way. It’s rare that more than a handful will get me so hot under the collar that I have to make myself come right then and there, but if 50% at least give me a bit of a buzz, I’ll be happy.
In the end, 21 of you submitted 26 stories, one Youtube video, and one poem for this competition. Of the 28 entries, I liked 18, and of those 18, I really liked 10. Over the last week, half a dozen of them have been directly responsible for orgasms I’ve had. As a group – and not forgetting all the people who generously allowed their Sinful Sunday photos to be used – I’d say you pretty much nailed it. Thank you.
