How I Selected the Stories in Coming Soon: Women’s Orgasm Erotica

How I Selected the Stories in Coming Soon: Women’s Orgasm Erotica

by Rachel Kramer Bussel

The idea for Coming Soon: Women’s Orgasm Erotica stemmed from a previous anthology I edited called Orgasmic, both of them focused on the many different ways women orgasm, which I knew is always a popular topic among readers.

When I was choosing the stories for Coming Soon, I wanted readers to get a taste of a wide range of characters, ones at various stages of their lives, libidos and with varied turn-ons, fetishes and needs.

My goal as an anthology editor is to always give readers a broad selection of stories, so that no matter what they’re into, they can find something to arouse them. While I hope every reader likes every story, I know that erotica is deeply personal, so often readers have a few stories they absolutely love and relate to ardently, and others they may appreciate but not connect with as deeply.

Sexuality is so wide and varied that no single book could cover every way there is to come, so I didn’t try to be exhaustive, but I did want to reflect how women and non-binary characters approach sex and orgasm at different points in their lives. In Coming Soon, you’ll find characters with specific fetishes, such as in the opening story, “Read to Me,” about a woman who encounters a man with a voice that’s like “sex on a stick” who does indeed read to her in the most sensual, seductive way. I loved that story because it captured how words can be a turn-on, and how listening can be incredibly sexy based on the power of those words.

I also was thrilled to see that an author whose work I adore, Katrina Jackson, wrote about sex and desire from the perspective of a mom in “After,” a story I think a lot of moms will relate to. What I especially liked is that the narrator openly acknowledges that erotic touch feels different for her now, despite her not wanting it to.

As Damon touches her, “the orgasm I felt just over the horizon never materialized.” Jackson does an excellent job of showing the narrator’s challenges and the toll they take on her sense of self and how having a supportive partner who doesn’t pressure her but helps her rediscover what will work for her makes the difference. Jackson writes:

“I got you,” he says to me. I believe him. I love him.

He leans forward to place a quick kiss to my clit, and I groan. His thumb covers my clit. I moan loudly again as he strums it like a guitar string, plucking to create a sensual ballad. He lowers his head and begins to lick my lips, tasting my pussy, with new artificial vanilla flavoring.

Soon enough, my hips are circling and I’m groaning loudly again, my desire cresting toward the unknown. But I still when I feel the cool tip of the vibrator at my opening.

Her orgasm is one she’s has to fight for and I like to think it’s all the more powerful because of that.

Because I was editing the anthology in 2020 during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, not surprisingly, I received many stories with aspects of social distancing and pandemic life.

I want my books to be an arousing and entertaining escape for readers but I also want stories that reflect some of the real-life issues people face, so I included the story “Remote Vibrations” by Z. Esmé Mendoza, about lovers who are separated by social distancing and who find a creative way to incorporate sex toys. In the story, Babs had initially started masturbating to her neighbor Richie’s podcast, which in a way echoes the listening aspect of “Read to Me.” But in this story, he sends her a vibrator whose vibrations he controls, and watches her use it on herself.

I loved the way even though they can’t be physically together, they are so profoundly in tune with each other’s desires. He’s aroused by watching her and she’s aroused by showing off for him. Many couples are separated by distance for various reasons and this story taps into the fact that you don’t have to be physically in someone’s presence to have a profound sexual encounter with them. Maybe the separation even allows them to be more bold and daring than they might in person.

There are also threesome stories, including “Exceptional Service,” in which a waitress gets hit on by a couple who are her customers, and winds up accepting their intriguing invitation, a sexy and slightly taboo business trip, a nude modeling encounter and much more.

What all the stories have in common is how meaningful these orgasms are to their characters. I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to say that in many cases, their orgasms are life-changing and affirming; they offer them both physical pleasure and release and the knowledge that they can be fully themselves, whether that’s affirming their bisexuality or loving their body or enjoying anal sex or embracing a fantasy they haven’t been sure they can truly embrace.

There’s still so many unspoken (and sometimes spoken) rules for women about what’s proper and many of us, including myself, have internalized them at some point in our lives. So what I hope these stories do is help cast off that sexual shame and let readers of all genders know that they deserve sexual pleasure, whether they desire sex with strangers or have a fetish or want to attend a sex party or anything else. There are plenty of orgasms to be found in Coming Soon and a lot more.

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Rachel Kramer Bussel is a writer, editor, event organizer, and erotica writing instructor. She’s edited over 60 anthologies, including Coming Soon which releases July 13th, The Big Book of Orgasms, Come Again: Sex Toy Erotica, Dirty Dates, On Fire, Spanked, Please, Sir, Please, Ma’am, and is Best Women’s Erotica of the Year series editor. Her nonfiction has been published in The New York Times, The Washington Post, Marie Claire, O, The Oprah Magazine, Elle.com, Salon, Slate, Time.com, The Village Voice, and numerous other publications.

COMING SOON: WOMEN’S ORGASM EROTICA

Multiple orgasms? Oh, yes!

What does it feel like to climax? Coming Soon: Women’s Orgasm Erotica offers wild and thrilling tales of female sexual pleasure that explore that question in a variety of wondrous ways. From a fetish that will appeal to any book lover and a waitress who’s seduced by her very attractive customers, to the thrill of artificial intelligence that knows exactly how to please a woman sexually, you’ll discover how delightful it is to come and come again. Read about women who like to watch, and others who love to get naked and show it all off.

With 20 erotic stories by popular authors such as Ella Dawson, Katrina Jackson, D. L. King, and Donna George Storey, you’ll be turned on with every page. Whether they’re enjoying multiple orgasms, playing with sex toys, attending a sex party or taking a thrilling business trip, the characters in Coming Soon savor every moment of their arousal. Edited by the award-winning Rachel Kramer Bussel, these sexy scenarios range from sex with strangers to the deepest of intimacy among couples, all while reaching the peak of erotic fulfillment.

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