Naked Reader Book Club Discussion: Daughters of Darkness, Edited by Pam Keesey and Girls Who Bite, Edited by Delilah Devlin (October 25, 8-10 PM EST)

Contributor: Kynky Kytty Kynky Kytty
Is it me or we barely even talked about the book Daughters of Darkness?
10/25/2011
Contributor: Diabolical Kitty Diabolical Kitty
Quote:
Originally posted by Kynky Kytty
Is it me or we barely even talked about the book Daughters of Darkness?
I don't think anyone wanted to honestly.
10/25/2011
Contributor: Sacchi Sacchi
Hmm, would an all-whips anthology be too repetitive? Probably.

Goodnight again!
10/25/2011
Contributor: Diabolical Kitty Diabolical Kitty
Has anyone made a decision for next month's book?
10/25/2011
Contributor: Kynky Kytty Kynky Kytty
Quote:
Originally posted by Diabolical Kitty
Has anyone made a decision for next month's book?
I'll have to read the description of the books.
10/25/2011
Contributor: Diabolical Kitty Diabolical Kitty
Quote:
Originally posted by Kynky Kytty
I'll have to read the description of the books.
Where can you read them?
10/25/2011
Contributor: Sacchi Sacchi
Quote:
Originally posted by Kynky Kytty
Is it me or we barely even talked about the book Daughters of Darkness?
Hey, I tried. I really found it very interesting, although not particularly erotic until the Pat Califia and Katherine V. Forrest stories. Some of the others amused me because they were deliberately parodying a certain mindset none of you would be old enough to remember. There really was a time when "amazonclitwomon" would only have been considered slightly over-the-top as a chosen name.
10/25/2011
Contributor: Kynky Kytty Kynky Kytty
Quote:
Originally posted by Sacchi
Hey, I tried. I really found it very interesting, although not particularly erotic until the Pat Califia and Katherine V. Forrest stories. Some of the others amused me because they were deliberately parodying a certain mindset none of you would be ... more
I do not think a lot of people had read that one to begin with.
10/25/2011
Contributor: Sacchi Sacchi
Quote:
Originally posted by Kynky Kytty
I do not think a lot of people had read that one to begin with.
Somehow I don't think many will now, either, and that's a shame. But tastes differ, and the book's main focus is not erotica in the ways that we've come to think of it. That historical perspective interests me, but it's not exactly something to curl up in bed with.
10/25/2011
Contributor: Kynky Kytty Kynky Kytty
Quote:
Originally posted by Diabolical Kitty
Where can you read them?
Usually on the Naked Reader book section, but the links aren't up yet.

Red Velvet is up for December. Cool stuff.
10/25/2011
Contributor: Kynky Kytty Kynky Kytty
Well my time is up, I'll go read Games of Thrones. That series of books is excellent. I recommend it.

Good night.
10/25/2011
Contributor: Sacchi Sacchi
Quote:
Originally posted by Kynky Kytty
Well my time is up, I'll go read Games of Thrones. That series of books is excellent. I recommend it.

Good night.
Mitzi is taking submissions for a Game of Thrones-inspired anthology, too. Intriguing.

Bye!
10/25/2011
Contributor: Kynky Kytty Kynky Kytty
Quote:
Originally posted by Sacchi
Mitzi is taking submissions for a Game of Thrones-inspired anthology, too. Intriguing.

Bye!
Ooooooooohhhhhhhhhhhhh !
10/25/2011
Contributor: Antipova Antipova
A few days later than I meant to, but I did finally finish my review of my Naked Reader solo excursion right over here! It was a fantastic one, thank you Cleis for being such wonderful publishers.
11/01/2011
Contributor: Pam Keesey Pam Keesey
Sorry to be so late to the party, but I just found out about it!

Many thanks to Kynky Kitty and Sacchi for the props. True, Daughters of Darkness may not be exactly what you're looking for when what you want is a "hot read." Parts of it are, indeed, very hot (Pat Califia, for example, or Katherine V. Forrest, as others have mentioned). Other parts, though, are funny, satiric, even literary, and all of it is loaded with social commentary.

And for that reason, I think it's important to put Daughters of Darkness into historical context, as there has always been something else at the core of the book.

Daughters of Darkness was published in 1993, before erotica -- and especially lesbian feminist erotica -- became the mainstream powerhouse that it is today. As a lesbian feminist who grew up on classic monsters and loved vampires best of all, what I was interested in was vampire history and folklore, and how images of lesbians as vampires both demonized and eroticized lesbian and bisexual women throughout history.

I was also interested in how lesbians had embraced and reshaped the monster in their own image, whether it was how lesbian women in the 50s and 60s rewrote "Carmilla" in their imaginations, how radical lesbian feminists satirized the image in 'zines of the 70s, or how the burgeoning sex positive movement was reclaiming the erotic imagery of the lesbian vampire in the 80s.

Things have changed a lot since Daughters of Darkness was first published. Back then, I often had to defend myself, as many women thought erotica and vampire imagery was degrading to women. Not anymore. And these days, when I talk about women vampires being images of empowerment, I'm more likely to get nods from women in the audience rather than expressions of hostility or disbelief.

And now, when I go looking for a good lesbian vampire tale, I have so many more to choose from. And that makes me very happy.

Thanks for including me (and Daughters of Darkness) in your Naked Reader Book Club!
11/02/2011