Making the Hook-Up: edgy sex with soul

Edited by Cole Riley

Book Review by Ashley Lister

This is from the Introduction:

My quest to create this anthology stems from a conversation I had some years ago with Calvin Herndon, author of the bestselling Sex and Racism in America, who told me, shortly before I attempted my first erotic story: “When Black people are allowed to indulge the usual sins, the customary fetishes, and all the regular vices humans are permitted, then they will have achieved total sexual citizenship.  Otherwise, they will remain trapped in the usual stale stereotypes and labels the world has assigned to us.”

It’s disheartening to accept that racism continues: even in the twenty-first century.  And it’s conceded that two of the most pernicious forms of this racism are the sexual stereotypes of the well-hung black guy and his bubble-butt bi-atch.  Cole Riley’s anthology, Making the Hook-Up , attempts to steer away from these negative stereotypes by presenting well-written erotica that does not pander to these tired and insulting clichés. 

Of course, the task seems to have been made easy for Riley by the quality of writers who have contributed to the anthology. 

Jolie du Pre’s ‘For Nita’ is a powerful and erotic story of one woman taking control of her destiny without forsaking the person who helped her make that change.  Jolie du Pre is a talented author of erotica whose characters are too three-dimensional to ever suffer the accusation of racial stereotypes.  The threeway relationship at the heart of ‘For Nita’ is captured in a style that is sentimental without being cloy and explicit without being vulgar. 

Then there’s Garnell Wallace’s ‘Sex and Chocolate’, a compelling story about a New York restaurateur returning to the Bahamas.  Wallace’s heroine, Mia, is a forthright individual – strong enough to be fictional and real enough to be interesting.  Her choice in lovers is flawed enough to be believable and her reactions are consistently human – and all the more exciting because of that.

In ‘Hung’, Zetta Brown’s central character is on jury service: struggling to find the balance between doing the right; and doing the juror number nine.  Brown has a delightful gift for blending humour with erotica and ‘Hung’ is a cheeky glimpse into the exaggerated social politics that comes from blending sex and sense of fun.

Making the Hook-Up

Ashley Lister
July 2010

Making the Hook-Up: edgy sex with soul
(Cleis Press, March 2010; ISBN 0758209819)
Available at: Amazon | Amazon UK

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© 2010 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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