Black Lace
Lady-Porn. Ah, sweet, sweet lady-porn. Saviour of the single lady. In picture format, it’s been going since at least the eighties, and the recent success of Filament magazine looks set to introduce a whole new generation of women to their right hands.
However, us speed readers need something a little more… shall we say meatier? This is where erotic fiction comes in.
My first experience of lady-porn was in a fictional, prose format. Black Lace, the erotic publisher which has been banging out the goods since 1993, sells over an annual 4million books worldwide.
You’ve probably taken the piss out of them for being all “thrusting members” and “flaming love channels” at some point. However, millions of women genuinely get off on them, and this should be celebrated.
Black Lace’s success lies in its variety. As well as general anthologies of modern day fantasy in various settings such as Sex…in the Kitchen and Sex…In Public, they also publish a range of titles under various slightly Mills & Boon-esque subgenres, including the historical and the paranormal.
Catering for all tastes, and boasting to “never underestimate female sexuality”, their contemporary fantasies are always aware of the latest trends. Dark Designs by Madelynne Ellis, for example, explores the Yaoi tradition of homosexual manga porn written for a female audience.
Each book contains a large mix of sex scenes so that the reader is guaranteed to find something to satisfy. (Top tip: buy the second-hand ones and go for where the spine creases are. You never know what you might find…)
My first experience with Black Lace, like many other young women’s, came from nicking my mother’s books. My mum had a couple that I pilfered, as did my friends.
Although we would read out sections at sleepovers and scream with laughter, to many people these books were the beginnings of discovering their sexuality, and a realisation that its alright to get horny.
Although the stories themselves don’t always make massive amounts of sense, and they don’t come with the handy symbols key of my other favourite publisher Nexus, they are great fun and always handy on a girl’s night in (if you know what I’m saying).
My personal favourite has to be Zoe le Verdier‘s collection, In The Dark (yes, the titles are all ridiculous), especially the short story Table Manners.
I also do love the historical ones; my favourite from my youth was Elena’s Conquest by Lisette Allen, about a young Saxon beauty who discovers her passionate side when the Evil Normans invade her castle. I was beyond pleased to discover a sequel, Elena’s Destiny, when exploring the Black Lace website. I’ll let you know if it’s any good.
Black Lace as a publishing house genuinely care about their readership, the website currently has a questionnaire about what gets you off. Owned (somewhat ironically) by Virgin Books, Black Lace are growing bigger as more and more women explore their desires through prose fiction.
As a Valentine’s Day treat to yourself, head over to Amazon and pick out a couple of oldies yet goodies. And then have yourself a little ‘me’ time…
Jess Haigh
Oh yes, Black Lace! I read a few of them when I was younger. Wonder if I’d still like them (didn’t keep them).
I like it how you write “Check where the spine is cracked”.
I recently tried reading a “romance” novel but I really couldn’t handle the 10+ pages sex scene. Too much for me. Some literary viagra may be needed.
Excellent and fabulous! Thank you Jess for this life (and lust) affirming piece…. my first forays into erotic fiction were the racier of the Harlequin Romance series in America when I was around 14 or 15 and they were scandalous! But you know, they taught me a thing or two about life, and they gave me something to think about when I was in the shower
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What can I say? Guys, I’m glad I inspired you…
Love the ‘top tip’! I started stealing these off my cousin when I was younger, and then when I worked in Ann Summers for a year of retail boredom, the bookshelf at the back of the shop made the slow days pass much quicker!
Loose id are a very highly regarded publisher of erotic fiction and focus mainly on ebooks. This isn’t random spam btw – I have some chums who write for them.
Carry on.
Thanks Dora, will have to investigate!
Absolutely love this feature, bravo Jess!
Erotic fiction seems so important in shaping young women’s sexuality, and all the more positive because it’s so frequently written by women, and can be a safe space to experiment with different aspects of sex and sexuality without risk or feeling like you’re condoning any sort of exploitation.