If you like books about men who love other men, you’ll like these books by Lauren P. Burka.  If not, read them anyway.  You might be surprised.

Mate:
and more stories from the erotic edge of SF/Fantasy

Three short stories of erotic science fiction with a BDSM edge. Terry Montiero and d’Schane Grey are techies whose relationship is fueled by their chess game–a power game. Originally published in 1992 as a chapbook, the stories have been unavailable for years until this eBook revival. Fans of m/m will enjoy these characters thoroughly.

Reviews

“Here’s proof that science fiction and sex go together when the storytelling’s hot.”

–Ellen Kushner, author of Swordspoint and The Fall of the Kings

“Competently written, and more to the point, hot.”

–Feminist Bookstore News

“Something new is happening folks: … as het-bi-homo-pansexual in its orientation as leathersex can be. And it’s happening at the unexpected by perfectly obvious junction of sadomasochism and science fiction. [These] stories are cheap to buy, easy to read, and set down by writers who know their SM as well as their SF.”

–The Spectator, San Francisco

World building–how the hell did she draw such a vivid picture of a future world, one we’d recognize but was clearly beyond us, in such a few deft strokes? Complete with a history, a future, and impending disasters, personal and public? A sentence here, a fragment there, and this somehow future popped off the page. Finding the bones in the story is how I read since I started to write, yet I didn’t want to look at the skeleton, I wanted to look at the beautiful corpus, the whole. The protagonist-how did she show us his heart, his despair, his hope, using sex that normally leaves me cold? Not just sex, but computers, something lifeless that still has personality, sometimes malevolence?

–PD Singer

The Memorial Garden

Sofian grew up to a privileged but empty life on a backward world until the Empress called him to serve her at the Celestial Court. When he arrived, he discovered that he would be serving her in bed, and that he would not long outlive the day she discarded him. Then he meets Numair, a former consort of the Empress. They become increasingly entangled under the shadow of their shared fate, and their relationship blossoms. Will they learn the difference between need and love before time runs out for them?

Reviews

In MEMORIAL GARDEN, Lauren Burka has created a world of decadence ruled by an empress who values her own pleasure far above the lives of her consorts.  Full of erotic and ironic twists and turns, this story creates a tapestry of sensual surprises and forbidden pleasures.”

–NYT best selling author Rebecca York

In THE MEMORIAL GARDEN, Ms. Burka twists the old fable and makes it her own. She vividly evokes the semi-tribal world of Mazinara, where a man’s braids are his pride; the regimented society aboard the spaceship; the elegance, wealth and beauty of the Firdoos court; the incendiary glory of the Empress; and the twisted attraction Sofian feels for Numair.

This is a tale of adventure and self-discovery as much as lust. There are relatively few sex scenes. However, they will leave you breathless and aching. They have an emotional complexity that is fairly rare, especially in erotic romance, which I suppose is the appropriate genre. I’ve never encountered a more brutal or more moving BDSM scene in erotic romance than the final session when Sofian begs for Numair’s pardon.

–Lisabet Sarai, The Erotica Readers and Writers Association

Wired Hard 4

The fourth volume of gay male sexuality and erotica, viewed through the lens of erotic science fiction and fantasy. Masculine tales of kings and castles, futuristic rentboys, phallic magic, and sexual technology. Eight stories in all of unbridled, raw sexuality and flights of imagination that can only exist in the realms of science fiction and fantasy.

Includes: Introduction by Xan West -*- When the Angels Fall by Helen E. H. Madden -*- Slavery By Degree by Gavin Atlas -*- Parts by Kal Cobalt -*- Balance of Power by Jamie Maguire -*- Nectar by Diane Kepler -*- Royal Catamite by Tom Cardamone -*- Beneath Sea and Sky by Shanna Germain -*- The Succession of Knoorikios Khnum by Zachary Jernigan

Reviews

Hard Wired 4 is a collection of edgy, erotic stories that varies in subject matter and theme but all manage to be weird, totally unique, and pretty interesting. The collection of eight stories included several I’d read before and a handful of new offerings. Those I had read before are still great editions and fit well with the writing and concepts presented. As the fourth edition, I can see why this series is popular and if the future collections remain as thought provoking and unique as this edition, then fans have a lot to look forward to. Those readers looking for something that pushes boundaries and makes you think about infinite possibilities check this out.

–Kassa, Three Dollar Bill Reviews

The eight stories in this collection are remarkably diverse. They are unified, first, by their raw sexual energy, and second, by the intimate mingling of human with other: machine, robot, animal, vampire, or god. Xan West’s lyrical introduction points out that most of these tales deal with transformations. Sex here is more than an avenue of pleasure. It is the gateway to new and different selves.

–Lisabet Sarai, The Erotica Readers and Writers Association

Wishbone

Wishbone has a risky life as a prostitute. He’s desperately short of money the night a well-dressed shih-aan offers to take him home. While Wishbone has heard that shih-aan are dangerous, he doesn’t expect to find one of them so dangerously seductive. Rumored to be demonic, shih-aan fought humans to a bloody standstill in a war a decade past. Though peace between the two races is profitable, humans avoid and fear the shih-aan merchants living in Bronlyn Harbor. Wishbone allows himself to be drawn closer to the sophisticated alien whose only name is given as Sir. Wishbone learns the shih-aan’s secrets as he uncovers the mysteries of the alien’s body, hidden beneath layers of exquisitely tailored clothing. Sir seethes with sexual desires that his human hosts consider blasphemous. And he is a spy.

Reviews

Wishbone is at the same time classic and innovative. It’s classic where it retells the story of Pygmalion, or My Fair Lady, or Pretty Woman (see how many time it was told?): a wealthy and cultured man picks a filthy whore from the streets and teaches him how to behave. It’s innovative since, what the wealthy man teaches to the whore it’s a totally different thing from the usual lessons on good manners or polished language, but is instead the power you have in surrendering.

–Elissa Rolle

Wishbone is a male whore who is used to working the stinking, filthy docks — and the men who frequent them. So he’s quite shocked when a finely-dressed shih-aan comes to pay for his services. After a night of pleasure the likes of which he’s never known, Wishbone returns to his usual haunts — with a stolen comb. When he’s driven to return it and confess, it sets off a series of events — humiliating and painful — that ultimately culminate in the most wonderful change of his life.

Lauren P. Burka has certainly outdone herself with Wishbone. The imagery of this fantasy world — with its different races, unusual practices, and politics — is rich and draws you in from the first word. Sir (as he is known through the first several chapters) is the epitome of sex appeal wrapped in a lush, animalistic cloak. If I had to compare a shih-aan to anything else, it might be a werewolf, but of a very different breed. Think… cross between werewolf and vampire? Maybe. Either way, Wishbone is a lucky, lucky, lucky man.

–Mychael Black Torquere Press

I am not a big fan of M/M erotica but I found Wishbone drew me into the world of this male dockside whore. It was intriguing to follow Wishbone’s transition from the Alien as a meal ticket Sugar Daddy to finding both love and respect in the Shi-ahn Master to whom Wishbone gave his trust. The sex was very rough and raw but still had the trembling undertones of love coming through the pain and power exchange.

–Essemoh Teepee, GoodReads