reviewed by Mary Anne Mohanraj

When I first saw the call for submissions to Herotica 6, I was a bit startled to discover that this anthology had a theme. I'd been reading the series for years; these books, edited first by Susie Bright and then by Marcy Sheiner, have long been one of the most successful and consistently excellent erotica series. Every single volume has had at least one standout story; and I would probably spend far too long going back through them and listing my favorites for you, if I hadn't loaned out all my copies of my earlier issues. They're very popular with my friends.

I'd been vaguely meaning to submit something for a while, not really expecting to be accepted, and had just never quite gotten around to it. Last year, though, I finally decided -- I was at least going to submit a story. It was then I found out about the theme.

Sex within committed relationships. Hmm. Well, I don't write a whole lot of stories like that; along with many other erotica writers, I tend to write more about what happens before the relationship starts, or after it ends, or on a one-night stand, or with someone other than your partner. But I did have one story appropriate to the anthology, "Season of Marriage," an arranged marriage story, where the sex scene actually takes place on the wedding night (a few days after our protagonists meet). I'm very pleased and proud that Marcy Sheiner decided it was a good fit for the anthology. If you buy it, you'll find it starting on page 13.

I waited for months and months for the volume to come out, and I finally got my review copy last week (and my author copies a few days later). It's beautiful. Another lovely cover, and a book jam-packed with excellent stories. Really solid. Usually in an erotica anthology, I must admit that I'm only impressed with about half the stories. In this one, pretty much every single story had something to recommend it, and some of them were just stunning.

A few not-to-be-missed include "The Album" by Kate Dominic (a tale of two lovers who really manage to transcend their identities while still remaining in the monogamous model) and "Shadows on the Wall" by Susannah Indigo (a woman trying to decide what to do, now that her partner, and master, has died), and "Mourning the Peasant" by Maria Mendoza (which is so beautiful that I'm afraid to try to put it into words).

My personal favorites were probably two threesome stories, "Three Note Harmony" by Susanna J. Herbert and "Always" by Cecelia Tan. (Cecelia also published my first story, "Fleeing Gods," so I have a soft spot for her -- it's really nice that she's also such a good writer, as well as being an editor with discerning taste). These are well-crafted, heart-warming stories of people falling into situations they couldn't have anticipated; working through the difficult bits, and sticking. They are smart and funny and interesting. They are so sweet they made me teary.

And that's the overwhelming feeling I had at the end of this book -- not just arousal, but arousal tinged with mushiness. An 'aw, gee' kind of feeling. Because these stories are sweet. Not in a sickeningly sugary kind of way -- in a 'I've thought about this relationship and I think you're really tremendously hot especially after all this years, not to mention being my best friend and I love you just tons' kind of way. I ended this book in a happy daze. I think Marcy Sheiner has done a superlative job of putting together a collection of stories that both arouse the body and warm the heart, and I encourage you all to go find a copy pronto.

(And yes, I get some royalties. But it's still a really good book. :-)