Great Bottoms Up: Spanking Good Stories review!

My fourth book of spanking erotica, Bottoms Up: Spanking Good Stories, released last fall, just got a rave review from Rainbow Reviews:

As sweet as it is kinky, "Bottoms Up" will propel you to pick up a paddle and share in both pleasure and pain, or perhaps simply turn the other cheek. In "The Hardest Part," Alison Tyler perfectly captures a sub in thrall to a man who knows the power of anticipation. A "Sorority Sister" bends over to please her big sister during the rush season in Dominique Dunbar's naughty tale. Zille Defeu's "Reenactment" shows how some girls like it rough (and repeatedly). For those who have an endless capacity to bare their ass in preparation for a sound smacking ~ or deliver the deliciously ecstatic pain to a lover ~ this torrid tour de force is essential reading.

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Several stories in this anthology stood out for me. Alison Tyler’s “The Hardest Part” is an exceptional telling from a sub’s point of view of the anticipation of waiting for a spanking that is deserved and the strength it takes to give control to another completely. Tyler taps into the emotions beautifully and the result is a captivating story. Sommer Marsden’s “Bossy” is fun and naughty while a women who is normally the one on the receiving end takes a turn as the spanker. It’s quite a ride as she taps into her dominant side and makes for an enticing story. “Reenactment” by Zille Defeu is one of my favorite tales with two women who like it rough and take things to a new level when acting out a medieval fantasy. It’s rough and a wild ride and yet it’s clear there is a strong bond between the women. Andrea Dale’s “Stuffing the Ballot Box” explores the dichotomy of a woman in complete control in her career who willingly gives that control over to her husband in the bedroom. This lends a balance to the woman’s life and their scene together is highly erotic. Finally, “Helping Those in Need” by Gwen Masters features a “nice” woman who has some naughty desires, and a youth leader who is willing to help her satisfy those needs. This was an intensely erotic story, with two characters who throw caution to the wind and is a story that is not easily forgotten.

The review is extremely detailed and thorough, and touches on the GLBT aspect of the book. Read it all at Rainbow Reviews.

Below is a video of Rosalind Christine Lloyd, aka Dominique Dunbar, reading her lesbian spanking story Bottoms Up story "Sorority Sister" at In The Flesh Reading Series.



You can purchase Bottoms Up from your local bookstore, publisher Cleis Press or:

Amazon

Bn.com (Barnes & Noble)

Powells.com

IndieBound

I'm pasting the table of contents and introduction below, in case you missed them.

Introduction: Getting Spanked Again (and Again)

A Thousand Words by Donna George Storey
The Hardest Part by Alison Tyler
A Firm Understanding by Elizabeth Coldwell
Prime Time by Teresa Noelle Roberts
Ass Worship by Jerry Arthur
The Purple Balloon by Tess Danesi
Sorority Sister by Dominique Dunbar
Days by Simon Sheppard
Bossy by Sommer Marsden
Oscar and Holly by Bill Kte’pi
Lonnie’s Licks by Tenille Brown
The Swinging Spankers Club by Stan Kent
Reenactment by Zille Defeu
Confessor by Craig J. Sorensen
The Spanking Machine by Rachel Kramer Bussel
Stuffing the Ballot Box by Andrea Dale
Tease for Two by Maddy Stuart
I’m Going to Grab Your Hair by N. T. Morley
Flaming by Jean Roberta
Helping Those in Need by Gwen Masters

Introduction: Getting Spanked Again (and Again)

This being my fourth book on the subject, by now it should be clear that I love spanking: giving, receiving, fantasizing about, and watching it.

So what’s different about this collection? For one thing, there are more male authors represented, a trend I fully support. For another, the tales are more imaginative; yes, there are first-timers and dedicated spankophiles, but there are also swingers and Renaissance Fair attendees living out long-held fantasies in highly unusual ways (see Tess Danesi’s “The Purple Balloon” for details). There are spankings here that aren’t all good or all bad, just as ones in real life don’t always conform so easily. Is the narrator of Dominique Dunbar’s “Sorority Sister” grateful for the spanking she got from Claire Spencer back in the day? Was that a pleasurable experience or one that teetered on confusion? Dunbar mixes things up so we’re not totally sure.

Alison Tyler also alludes to the push/pull of spanking, even for the most die-hard fan. “But now that I’m here, I’d rather be anywhere else. Name the place, and I’d rather be there: in line at the DMV; waiting in the doctor’s office; sitting at the back of coach on a packed flight. I’m scared, more scared than usual, because he’s taking his time…” She perfectly captures the way many submissives want what they know will hurt, want it and don’t want it at the very same time—something that good tops play into.

The same thing happens in Teresa Noelle Roberts’ kinky math nerd tale, “Prime Time,” in which the narrator finds herself tongue-tied as she’s given a challenging assignment. “My stomach flip-flopped. The bedroom spun. My heart raced in panic that I couldn’t convince myself was pointless. I fought back the urge to cry, fought it so hard that I started trembling.” You might think, upon reading that sentence, that she doesn’t really want to be spanked, that she doesn’t fantasize and obsess over her need, but you’d be wrong.

I’m also very glad this book has a fairly even mix of spankers and spankees, though of course some people can manage to be both at different times. The rush of delivering a spanking to one who wants and needs it is explored here in many scenarios, from Simon Sheppard’s wistful “Days” to the age-variant relationship in Bill Kte’pi’s intriguing “Oscar and Holly.” And in Maddy Stuart’s “Tease for Two,” two women get off on sharing the power of delivery, and learning from each other, as well as mutual delight in a job well done: “George’s technique was that of someone who had spanked a thousand exposed asses, but the overflowing smile and the sparkle in her eyes belonged to someone who was discovering it for the first time.”

Whatever kind of spankings you’re into–even if, like the characters in Donna George Storey’s “A Thousand Words” and Jerry Arthur’s “Ass Worship,” you’re not sure what you’re intoæI hope you’ll find it within these pages.

And spank you very much for reading.

Rachel Kramer Bussel
New York City