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Crossing Boundaries with Circlet Press
by Debra Hyde
03/06/03
It's been a good decade since Circlet Press slapped together
its first chapbooks, set out for a science fiction convention, and
shook up the genre with its clearly erotic infusion of fiction. A
lot's happened since then. In addition to publishing upwards of
thirty erotic science fiction/fantasy works and creating a name for
itself as small press publisher, it has diversified a bit beyond its
original genre boundaries. Its two most recent books, Sex
Noir and Mind & Body, reflect well what Circlet Press
is today.
Mind & Body represents what's a staple
at Circlet Press: thematic short erotic fiction with science
fiction/fantasy at its foundation. Here, several stories explore a
single theme, that of erotic communication via the telepathic,
psychic, and extrasensory. The result comes close to being a homage
to editor Cecilia Tan's first short story, Telepaths Don't Need
Safewords, which launched Circle Press. Yet futuristic settings
aren't mandatory in this anthology; after all, the telepath can
conceivably exist anywhere at any time. For example, Thomas Roche's
"Burnt Offerings" explores a bisexual, tranny tangle of group sex in
a present-day goth club, but because its protagonist is an empathic,
it qualifies as science fiction. Or magic realism. (Or cyberpunk,
twisted?) Likewise, Evan Hollander's "ESX" serves as a present-day
example of a concept yet to happen. Its milquetoast accountant finds
himself repeatedly engaged in the wild abandon of lurid sex -- in
his mind. And at his desk, during work hours. Someone keeps
intruding on his thoughts, turning them to all things sex, and I
can't help but wonder how it affected his bottom line. Talk about a
virtual office.
Still, Mind & Body has examples of
tried-and-true science fiction. In J. M. Zennitz's "Snow, Fire,and a
Sleighbed," a space-weary traveler finally makes planetary landfall
and begins a corporate-mandated exploration. But in the course of
mapping the planet, he uncovers an ethereal power that taps into his
loneliness and, in exchange for deeming said planet of no
consequence to his employer, immerses him in his fondest sexual
memories, easing his isolation and weariness. For less hard science,
try Recondita Armonia's "Flesh of My Flesh." With a telepathic link
to their DNA-original "mother," a cluster of cloned sexual savants
disperses into the world and then provide direct feeds to the
mothership (as it were) of their diverse sexual experiences. It's a
perfect read if you're feeling rather transgressive and frustrated
about the whole cloning issue these days.
I guess that would
qualify as voyeuristic reality programming as well, wouldn't
it?
By contrast, Jamie Joy Gatto's Sex Noir shows
where Circlet Press is going with some of its titles. First, towards
single-author collections. Second, to small, hardcover editions.
Third, to a broader array of erotic material. Like its predecessor,
Francesca Lia Block's Nymph, Sex Noir is a compact, petite
hardcover, filled with exotic tales of the erotic and exotic. But
where Block's collection explored bisexual erotic desire with an
applied touch of magic realism, Gatto's collection delves into the
connection between desire and death. Some of the renderings --
especially those couched in vignette -- read like a goth girl's
comic book. (Think Gloom Cookie but with sex.) Others are
longer tales of loss and longing.
"My Mistress is Dead"
straddles both categories. Brief but more than a vignette, it
details a submissive's discovery that the professional domina that
he patronized has died of cancer -- and proceeds to mourn her in
ways only she would understand. Or the pull of dysfunctional love in
all its passive-agressive glory comes forth in "I Still Dream," a
love which, no matter how bad or hurtful its history may be, thrives
still on poignant pain. Then again, there's that flip-switch,
gruesome ending of "Extenuating Circumstances," which makes me
wonder if Gatto has a bad habit of reading horror titles from the
old EC Comics.
Gatto excels when she taunts us with those
little details, revealing them only in the last moments of a story.
Her longer fiction works better than her flash fiction, probably
because she's such a good tease of a storyteller. Even better, when
she infuses a story with all things New Orleans, she's at her
absolute best, drawing us all to the lush, steamy erotic sense of
place that only The Big Easy seems to invoke.
Where will
Circlet Press go next? While science fiction and fantasy collections
will always sit on its publishing plate, lovers of erotic
collections can expect Dyke the Halls to join the nearly
sold-out Stocking Stuffers, a retrospective collection of
Circlet Press's first decade entitled Erotic Fantastic: The Best
of Circlet Press 1992-2002, a collection of erotic tales from a
future Tokyo by Fetish Diva Midori, and the long awaited Erotic
Writer's Market Guide. Such diversity. But I hope for the
continued publication of more lovely little
hardcovers.
Pretty please?
This article previously appeared at the now-defunct Yes Portal website as part of its news and entertainment coverage.
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