I certainly do love my geek! Issue 122 of online science fiction magazine Hub (10,000+ readers weekly!) has the most fantastic review of Magic and Desire, the three-novella collection from Olivia Knight, Portia da Costa and myself.
This is what Hub had to say about my novella The House of Dust:
"A collection of three novellas, Magic and Desire showcases not only three of the best female authors working in erotica but also the best the genre has to offer.‘The House of Dust’, the opening novella by Janine Ashbless, demonstrates this perfectly, following the events surrounding the death of King Tamuz of Uruk in Sumer and the lengths that his chief Priestess, Shari, goes to not only avenge his death but reverse it. Ashbless has a deft, precise hand for world building and the city, and Shari’s role within it, are deftly drawn within the first five pages. This description takes on an increasingly intense, at times nightmarish tone, as Shari descends through the multiple gates of the underworld to retrieve Tamuz’s soul. These sequences, and the ordeals Shari endures, not only counterpoint but accentuate the loving, passionate relationship she enjoys with Tamuz. Sex becomes a means of communication, of negotiation, of protection and finally of the love between a King wrongfully murdered and a Priestess who will do anything to get him back." Read the whole hubtastic review here - Click on "PDF" for a download. Back issues are also available for reading - fiction, reviews, interviews and articles: because it's British there's a fair amount of Dr Who :-)
I'm especially delighted by such a generous and open-minded review coming from outside the erotica genre. I'm so used to erotica being sneered at on principle, even by those who should be fellow-travellers, that this has totally bowled me over. THANK YOU HUB!!
"Magic and Desire is an immensely strong trio of stories, all of which not only refuse to shy away from sex but use it as a means of illuminating character, furthering plot and changing the reader’s approach. These are explicit stories, make no mistake, but anything less would do the writer and reader a real disservice. By turns smart, grim, funny, romantic and sexy these are deep, rich stories that demand your attention and know exactly how to get it. Both magic and desire abound here and if you’re even a little interested in either, you need to make room on your shelves for this."
Buy Magic and Desire at Amazon US : Amazon UK : Kindle
Your star is being polished to a nice shine these days, isn't it? Lovely!
ReplyDeleteWow- that's amazing, Janine! Fab review from an unusual source, with tons of readers! Go you!
ReplyDeleteOh, that's splendid! Good for you, chica!
ReplyDeleteGood for all of us, I hope - I'd love erotica to become more read by imaginative geeks.
ReplyDeleteWow, what a beautiful review! It seems indeed like the reviewer appreciated the essence of sex in the work, and that does seem utterly lovely! And since your writing apparently facilitated that, thank you—and congratulations! :)
ReplyDeleteFab review. Well done.
ReplyDeleteGo, geeks!
ReplyDeleteCongrats, Janine!
Cool! Big congrats, obviously, but it is really fab to see non-erotica readers taking an open-minded approach and being rewarded.
ReplyDeleteIn a piece I co-wrote for The Guardian yonks ago about the end of Black Lace, I observed how sneery people tended to be about erotica and said something like, in terms of genre fic, 'we're in the gutter, looking up at the sci-fi writers'. This feels like a nice bit of solidarity!
Totally, Kristina. We are at the bottom of the genre hierarchy, sadly :-(
ReplyDeleteHooray for Hub fighting the good fight!
And hooray for us all, writing the best stuff we can, regardless of genre!