J is for Jealousy
edited by Alison Tyler

Book Review by Ashley Lister

Jealousy is one of those emotions that I’ve never been able to understand. If someone possesses something I desire, the choices are that I can either steal it from them, or learn to live without it. Living in a state of torment, wanting something I can’t have and being wracked by the subsequent turmoil, is too much like hard work. And I’ve never been a big lover of hard work.

Friends sometimes tease me because of my lack of jealousy. They ask, “Wouldn’t you like to have lots of money, Ashley?” I tell them: if I’ve got enough money to cover this month’s bills, then I’ve got as much as I need.

Friends ask, “Don’t you envy those guys with twelve-inch cocks that you write about all the time, Ashley?” I tell them: if I wanted a twelve-inch cock, I’d just get a surgeon to reduce the length of my existing one.

Jealousy is not in my nature. Consequently, I approached J is for Jealousy with the curiosity of a seasoned voyeur, looking into a world of experience that I haven’t personally encountered.

As with all Alison Tyler’s alphabet series, J is for Jealousy is a compact tome, replete with tales that are hotter than hot from the best of the best. The book begins with Nikki Magennis’s cleverly titled short, "Exes and Whys." Nikki Magennis is the author of the highly acclaimed title Circus Excite and the forthcoming novel The New Rakes. Her short stories are in countless anthologies and always deliver strong characters and passionate eroticism."Exes and Whys" is a damned fine way to begin this book. And, for an innocent like myself, it’s a damned good introduction to the elusive mood of jealousy. Nikki’s protagonist is swaddled with jealousy for her partner’s ex. To say more would be to infringe on the narrative. It’s enough to say that Nikki Magennis portrays jealousy so that even a non-believer like myself can experience the emotion. Her use of descriptive language is phenomenal and she breathes life into every green-tinted letter on the page.

The wonderful Shanna Germain presents the short and bittersweet tale of "Intoxication." The intensity of emotion in this story is so sharp it borders on brittle, but Shanna’s prose is invariably sexy, even when it’s dealing with the most poignant sting of jealousy.

In "Fire and Ice" the inimitable Erastes tells a torrid tale of homosexual passion. Erastes writes erotica like Oscar Wilde with an erection: mingling wit and wisdom with the power to engage and excite. Regardless of a reader’s sex or sexuality, Fire and Ice should be received as an outstanding story, well told, and unarguably erotic. It will warm and cool in equal measures.

And then there’s "Ten Per Cent of The Time" from Jeremy Edwards. Jeremy Edwards is an incredible storyteller. He layers this tale of subdued jealousy with so many potential opportunities for satisfaction that it’s impossible not to feel the love and lust and pain and pleasure. And ultimately, it’s impossible not to wish that this sort of satisfaction came around more than a mere ten per cent of the time.

Ashley Lister
May/June 2008

J is for Jealousy
(Cleis Press; January 21, 2008; ISBN-10: 1573443069)
Available at: Amazon.com / Amazon UK

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© 2008 Ashley Lister. All rights reserved.


About the Author: Ashley Lister is a UK author responsible for more than two-dozen erotic novels written under a variety of pseudonyms.His most recent work, Swingers: True Confessions from Today's Modern Swinging Scene (Virgin Books; ISBN: 0753511355), a non-fiction book recounting the exploits of UK swingers, is his first title published under his own name.
Ashley’s non-fiction has appeared in a variety of magazines, including Forum, Chapter & Verse and The International Journal of Erotica. Nexus, Chimera and Silver Moon have published his full-length fiction, with shorter stories appearing in anthologies edited by Maxim Jakubowski, Rachel Kramer Bussel and Mitzi Szereto. He is very proud to be a regular contributor to ERWA.
Websites: www.ashleylister.co.uk / ashleylister.blogspot.com

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