Kink is a very subjective issue. I was discussing kink with a friend recently and he claimed to be kinky because he masturbated religiously.

I said, “Masturbating religiously isn’t kinky.”

He said, “It is when you do it at the back of a church every Sunday.”

K is for Kinky is one of the four most recent releases in Alison Tyler’s ABC Anthologies. The other titles are I is for Indecent, J is for Jealousy and L is for Leather. I’ve got copies of all four books. I’m hoping to review J is for Jealousy next month. But my penchant for kink made this delicious title leap into my hands and find its way into my must-read reading material.

The content is certainly kinky and this book is a must-read.

The first story I dipped into was Emerald’s “Wings and All.” I was drawn to this one because the kinkiness of the protagonist’s bee costume seemed so peculiar that I had to find out how the story had been executed.

Also, the last time I went out drinking with college buddies, I had been startled to observe that there were dozens of attractive young women dressed as bees. Admittedly, this was a fancy dress party—I don’t live in some surreal part of the universe where women dress like bees all the time, although I now have a new idea for the sexual-fantasy paradise where I would like to retire—but it struck me as odd at the time that so many people had chosen the same costume.

Now I can understand its appeal.

Thanks to Emerald’s wickedly woven tale of apiform amour I can now see why bees (and bee wanna-bees) are so exciting. The next time there’s a fancy dress party I shall either go dressed as a flower, in the hope that some will want to rub against my stamen, or you can simply cover me in honey and throw me to the queens—but only in the kinky way.

Of course, there’s a lot more to K is for Kinky than dressing up as a bee. Jeremy Edwards (always skilful and extremely talented) shifts the internal alphabet of this anthology from bee to pee. The kinky heroine of Jeremy’s story is bursting for release and “Seduction with a Splash” will certainly work for those readers who like their stories to go with a wet and wonderful flow.

Saskia Walker’s “Sign Your Name” starts the anthology with a comparatively mild deviance. Not that there is anything mild about the sizzling hot sex scenes in this raunchy tale of pens and penetration. “Sign Your Name” contains Saskia Walker’s signature style of writing intelligent, fun fiction. With her usual panache she produces the most powerful and passionate eroticism.

Similarly Donna George Storey shows that you don’t need to be an outright deviant to be kinky. “Marked” is a clever story of subtle kink—as is to be expected from Donna—brilliantly executed and outrageously exciting.

The same can be said for Rachel Kramer Bussel’s “Learning Her Lesson” and Mathilde Madden’s darkly exciting “Not Tonight.” Emily Dubberley is on spanking form with” Serious Cheek” and Alison Tyler’s wickedly sharp “Blade” is delightfully deviant.

There are so many good stories and authors in this anthology it needs to be checked out. Michelle Houston’s brilliant penmanship in “Wandering Where Led” and Shanna Germain’s outrageously witty and wonderful “Good Kitty” are both outstanding stories that provide something divinely different.

With “Parts of Heaven” Thomas S Roche (as always) provides an ingenious and arousing read. Tsaurah Litzky, N.T. Morley and Jerry Jones are masterful storytellers adding enjoyable and exciting contributions to the wonderfully diverse range of voices in this book.

The kinks explored here are eclectic and fun and tackled with such differing styles that even the peccadilloes that don’t float a reader’s particular boat should keep them entertained for the duration.

In short, I think missing this title would be beyond kinky. Missing K is for Kinky would be downright deviant.

K is for Kinky, Edited by Alison Tyler
(Cleis Press, February 28, 2008; ISBN-10: 1573443077)
Available at: Amazon.com / Amazon UK

© 2008 Ashley Lister. All rights reserved.