Upcoming Projects

Unfortunately, the Circlet Press website is a little under the weather right now, so a few of the books I've been working on are currently floating in the aether. However, we anticipate them going live soon, so here's a list of what's to come.

Single Author Books

The Innocent's Progress and Other Stories by Peter Tupper

"The Innocent's Progress" appeared in the first volume of Circlet's steampunk erotica trilogy, Like a Wisp of Steam, which I edited with Cecilia Tan. Tupper's collection features four stories set in his alternative-Victorian universe, plus a steampunk retelling of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Tupper's stories are finely crafted, engaging, and deeply sexy, sometimes disturbingly so.

1901: A Steam Odyssey by Lionel Bramble

This erotic "penny dreadful" is a spin-off of another short story, this one featured in Circlet's Like Clockwork. The adventuress extraordinaire Lady Cheyenne returns and, with her stalwart companions, must rescue the earth from a vast conspiracy authored by the inhabitants of Mars, Venus, our own moon, and planets beyond. By turns funny and thrilling, and always arousing, this is a steampunk adventure novel that should not be missed.

Short Story Collections

The Wonderland Duet

I put out a call for erotica inspired by Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Alice Through the Looking Glass, and I got so many interesting stories that I decided to put out two volumes.

Like the Knave of Hearts

Featuring stories that are lighthearted, silly, or just full of rollicking sexuality.

Lily White by Morwenna Drake
A World of Her Own by Alex Picchetti
Tarts and Tea by Holly Abair
A Wasp, a Wig, and a Wanton Woman by Gary Westfahl
Wonders Wild and New by Verity Penvenen

Like a Vorpal Blade

These are the stories I got that were darker, deeper, and they've lingered with me since I first read them.

If This Be Not Love, it is Madness by Theresa Sand
The Perfect Creature by Bernie Mojzes
Midway Rides by Alex Picchetti
Waking by ADR Forte
The Boiling Sea by Angela Caperton

Of course, Elementary Erotica is coming up soon too, but I'm still in the reading period for that. Which reminds me: I'm still looking for erotica featuring Holmes, Watson, and all their cronies! Send me stuff!

Sex Gadgets

The incomparable Midori recently posted an article entitled Sex Toys of the Future. Go over there to read it and then meet me back here.

I'm interested in sex toys for two reasons: I sell them at my day job, and they are inextricably linked to steampunk for me. The DIY aesthetic of steampunk means that there's a machine for everything that can be thought of, from meal making to time travel. Usually, the workings of these machines are rather arcane, and tend to only make sense to their creator. Given that we, as humans, have a tendency to turn just about anything into a sex aide of some sort, it follows that steampunks would do the same.



However, it's difficult to find modern sex toys that fit have that steampunk look. Some of the Lelo line, and the Eroscillator come close, but where are the gears? Where are the clockwork vibrators? Somehow, this just doesn't cover it.

I'm with Midori on this one. Our brave and creative DIYers and modders need to get on this. I want daring, modern, and above all beautiful sex toys!

Guest Blog at Oh Get a Grip!

The Coming Revolution
Or, What's So Punk About Steampunk Erotica

It's probably the most common criticism you hear about steampunk: it's all goggles and steam engines and pretty clothes, and there's almost nothing about the Victorian age's major crimes. You don't often read steampunk adventures that deal with crushing poverty, cultural jingoism, and sexual repression and hypocrisy.

While it might be fair to say this of most steampunk fiction, it's not true of all, and it is certainly not true of steampunk erotica. What could be more compromising than seeing the Victorians with their pants around their ankles and their petticoats flipped over their heads? The rebels and rogues, adventurers and heroes that populate these tales live their lives in direct opposition to the status quo; theirs and ours. Not only are they infused with the spirit of independence and exploration, but they are also in tune with their desires.

Read the rest at Oh Get a Grip!

Call for Submissions: Elementary Erotica

There's always been a certain… something about Sherlock Holmes. Though a confirmed bachelor, and a cool logician, there's a certain sexiness about him, and about many of the people who passed through the doors of 221b Baker Street. Now it's time to tell their stories. Was more going on between Watson and Holmes than friendship? What are the missing details of Watson's courtship of Miss Mary Morstan? Could "The Woman," Miss Irene Adler, have had other misadventures before or after her run in with Holmes? We're looking for these stories, set in an alternate steampunk universe. Anything goes, as long as Doyle's characters are involved, and there's at least a flavor of steampunk.

SUBMISSION DETAILS:

The submission deadline is June 30, 2010. Email submissions only. Stories are best submitted as a word processor document (.doc, .rtf, .txt, etc.) attached to the email, but do not forget to include your complete contact information on the attached document! (If it’s only in the body of the email, it’s quite easy to have a brilliant story come out of the printer and then have no way to trace back where the heck it came from.) Manuscripts should be correctly/professionally formatted for submission. (If you’re not sure what we mean by that, Google it.)

Preferred word length is between 3000 and 7000 words. All stories must include explicit sexuality and erotic focus. (For more details on our editorial preferences, see the general submission guidelines. We highly recommend reading the guidelines, especially the “do not send” list, to increase your chances of sending us something we’ll love.) Try to avoid clichés. Fresh and direct language is preferred to overly euphemistic. Sex-positive, please, no rape/nonconsensuality/necrophilia or other purposefully gross topics. We do not publish horror.

Original stories only, NO REPRINTS unless the distribution was truly obscure. Ebooks pay $25 per story, with an additional $25 if the book gets a print edition. Authors get one copy of each edition, as well. Author retains the reprint rights to individual story; we buy non-exclusive rights to inclusion in this anthology only.

Send submissions to: msjblackmore (at) gmail (dot) com

Vintage Vibes

This image is from a neat little article and gallery featured on Gizmodo. I love stuff like this. The article draws on a book by Dr. Rachel P. Maines called The Technology of Orgasm, a book that I'm probably going to have to pick up and devour. I've just bought an ebook called Penis Pending, which is a collection of diagrams and descriptions of some of the strangest sex toys ever invented.

As gadgets that bring pleasure are relevant to the interests of any steamypunk worth her goggles, I'll probably review them here.

Like a Corset Undone

All the trappings of steampunk society--corsets, airships, and 'leaping technologie'--meet the simmering undertone of sexuality so well-hidden by Victorian morality in LIKE A CORSET UNDONE, Circlet Press's third volume of erotic steampunk stories. By turns kinky and romantic, the stories in Like a Corset Undone explores all the reasons to unlace, whether to rebel, or for more intimate purposes.



From the Introduction, by J. Blackmore: "Revolution is a knife. The same knife is used to cut the corset's strings as is used to slit the despot's throat. When people decide that what is should not be, and that their vision is what’s to come, they plan to change things. When lovers are told that they cannot moan with the lights on, that they cannot seduce whom they wish, that they cannot fuck with joy and abandon, it’s only a matter of time until they have their way. Desire, and surrender to it, is the most revolutionary act of all."

Available at:
Circlet.com
Amazon Kindle Store
Fictionwise
All Romance eBooks
Smashwords
Scribd

Like Clockwork

Seven stories of erotic steampunk, exploring worlds of clockwork people and their relationship to their creators. If a mad, or not-so-mad, scientist of the steam age, were to create his or her own being, what desires would be reflected there?



"For those who have not experienced the wonders of steampunk erotica, it is not necessary to have read the first volume, but it is highly recommended. As its title implies, Like a Wisp of Steam, is light and airy compared to the harder, more polished tone of this volume.

"This volume contains seven stories that show a polish and mirror reflection, much like the gleaming metal creations that are the topics of consideration for the reader to ponder and wonder of the alternate Victorian era filled with steam powered dirigibles and clockwork mechanicals, some which apparently have minds of their own… This is a very solid and well done addition to the offerings of Circlet Press."
--The Baryon Review

Available at
Circlet Press
Amazon Kindle Store
Smashwords
Scribd

Like a Wisp of Steam

Five erotic steampunk stories. Lust & leaping 'technologie' meet in a Victorian era that never was. Jason Rubis, Thomas S. Roche, Vanessa Vaughn, Peter Tupper, and Kaysee Renee Robichaud create fascinating tales of airships, corsetry, mad scientists, and drama.



Available at:
Circlet Press
Fictionwise
Amazon Kindle Store

Praise for Like a Wisp of Steam:

"Bravo to Circlet Press for helping to usher in steampunk erotica for us readers eager for the new and unknown... Readers, you're in for a treat with a lot of variety to satisfy many different tastes." –Obsidian Bookshelf

"This is an enjoyable group of tales that solidly fits the bill as steampunk and erotica... for those who are unfamiliar with steampunk it is a splendid jumping in point. Of course the erotica only adds to the enjoyment." –The Baryon Review

"Readers (such as this reviewer) who were raised on nineteenth-century fantasy literature will love the facsimile versions for grown-ups in this collection. All the writers seem familiar enough with the period to fake it convincingly while including more explicit sex than the authors of the time dared to describe. This e-book would be a good introduction to steampunk for readers who are unfamiliar with it." –Jean Roberta, for TCM Reviews