Amen, Lori. I love sex as well. But I love the deep trust and communication that comes with it as well. A good, trusting, supportive partner is worth her weight in gold. The thing I've learned from Lori's book and most of the Cleis books I've read is how wide the sexual experience is. less

That's brilliant, just like sex! I do not know how to break it to my husband but we need to spice it up so it does'nt get boring. It always seems like I fullfill his fantasy but when I ask for him to ties me up & put some porn on, tease me, or just get kinky he can't do that for me. I know he wants too but I don't know what happens. Maybe I am missing something.?! I have intorduced toys, vibrators, lotions, oils, whips, ticklers, plugs, all kinds of things. It's almost like it intimidates him to a certain extent. Maybe I am wrong. Maybe we have bad communication. I want to spice it up like I always do which is amazing, but honestly I think he needs to read a book! less

I get so frustrated by the industry's need to catagorize all A-A fiction into the genre du jour. And I am a consumer as much as I am a supplier and I want to read erotica that I can relate to. I love sex. Sex makes me happy and whole. It's not a scary thing. It's a loving thing. Sometimes it's boring. Sometimes it's frickin' awesome. Sometimes it's loving and sometimes it's angry. But all of the things written in the stories Cole turned down, are all of the things I don't want to read about because they aren't part of my experience. So, I'm not saying don't publish it. I'm saying publish a wider variety.

How would I describe Can't Help? Relateable, realistic, hot and happy sex!! I'm all about my readers relating to the characters and Can't Help features women that I get and want to know, and maybe learn a few tricks from. less

As you mature and grow, you leave a lot of things behind. I have written a bunch of dark books when I was the typical thug. Wise mentors and savvy women helped me to gain my emotional and sexual footing. Now, I've seen the other side of experience and my work has evolved. less

Amen, Lori. I love sex as well. But I love the deep trust and communication that comes with it as well. A good, trusting, supportive partner is worth her weight in gold. The thing I've learned from Lori's book and most of the Cleis books I've read is how wide the sexual experience is. less

Amen, Lori. I love sex as well. But I love the deep trust and communication that comes with it as well. A good, trusting, supportive partner is worth her weight in gold. The thing I've learned from Lori's book and most of the Cleis books I've read is how wide the sexual experience is. less

It's fun that we are talking about the conservative mindset. Here we are supposedly on the brink of a renaissance in this country, but nothing has changed. Especially in our society or in how we treat each other. I guess bec I've been a journalist, a case worker, a teacher in the prison system, and now a teacher. I see how this change is being resisted. We as writers and sexual adventurers have to change it from the bottom up. With our deeds, our words, our stories, our lives.

I don't know if Lori agrees with this. less

Hi and welcome to the Naked Reader Book Club discussion! I'm Kristina Wright, your book club moderator.

Tonight we will be discussing two books: Lori Bryant-Wooldridge's Can't Help the Way That I Feel: Sultry Stories of African American Love, Lust and Fantasy and Cole Riley's Making the Hook-Up: Edgy Sex with Soul. Here are some thoughts and questions to get the conversation started, as well as a little bit about each book:


In Can't Help the Way that I Feel, Lori Bryant-Woolridge offers up a variety of stories of sensual enticements and includes three "story starters" designed to spark your erotic imagination. Do these unfinished stories make you more inclined to share the book with your lover? How do you interpret Bryant-Wooldridge's theme of "Lead Me Into Temptation?"


Urban fiction has a large and dedicated fan base and the roots of "street lit" are often dark and dystopic, but Cole Riley explores the depth and variety of black sexuality in In Making the Hook-Up. What books or authors do you think of when you hear the phrase "urban fiction?" Does Riley's take on African American erotica break new ground for the genre?

If you've read one or both of the books, we welcome your feedback, recommendations and insight into what defines African American erotica. If you haven't read the books or are new to the genre, please stop by for a lively discussion that will whet your appetite for more! As always, gift cards will be awarded to a few lucky participants!


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Can't Help the Way That I Feel: Sultry Stories of African American Love, Lust and Fantasy

Some temptations are just too tantalizing to ignore. Can't Help the Way That I Feel, edited by Emmy award-winning and Essence bestselling author Lori Bryant-Woolridge, is a collection of titillating stories, each exploring a delicious enticement. In "The Sangria Seduction," lemon sangria becomes the elixir of lust for a player trying to seduce the naughty out of one very nice girl. Hard as she tries, a God-fearing Georgia peach in "Bubble Music" can't resist getting her hands dirty at an erotic art party. A birthday massage in "Tandem" takes a decidely lusty turn when a team of hot masseuses rub their client in all the right ways. Making this erotic anthology unique and utterly fun are the "Lead Me Into Temptation" story bites—three short but deliciously sweet story starters designed to get your juices flowing and inspire your own ultimate tale of love, lust, and fantasy!

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Making the Hook-Up: Edgy Sex with Soul

Edited by Cole Riley, a master of urban fiction, Making the Hook-Up is a sensationally authentic set of stories that revels in all the richness and variety of black sexuality. Well-written, passionate, and provocative, this erotic anthology is a feast for the senses and a treat for the soul.

Cole Riley holds no bounds in this book of bold, black erotica, with stories as creative as the soulful simmer of Nina Simone, as urgent as the barely concealed bite of John Lee Hooker, and as innovative as the muted moans of Miles Davis. less

It's fun that we are talking about the conservative mindset. Here we are supposedly on the brink of a renaissance in this country, but nothing has changed. Especially in our society or in how we treat each other. I guess bec I've been a journalist, a case worker, a teacher in the prison system, and now a teacher. I see how this change is being resisted. We as writers and sexual adventurers have to change it from the bottom up. With our deeds, our words, our stories, our lives.

I don't know if Lori agrees with this. less

It's fun that we are talking about the conservative mindset. Here we are supposedly on the brink of a renaissance in this country, but nothing has changed. Especially in our society or in how we treat each other. I guess bec I've been a journalist, a case worker, a teacher in the prison system, and now a teacher. I see how this change is being resisted. We as writers and sexual adventurers have to change it from the bottom up. With our deeds, our words, our stories, our lives.

I don't know if Lori agrees with this. less

I totally agree with you. And that's largely why I decided to step back into the erotica game. To teach, to mentor, to be a friend and give voice to those who are reluctant to speak their concerns. My work may not showcase the dark and twisted but light and crooked can be painful and paralyzing too!

That's why it thrills me so much to see intellect and compassion trying to bust through all the thug love! Love is the key. We need to preach that just as loud and strong as we preach all the other issues of the day. less

It's fun that we are talking about the conservative mindset. Here we are supposedly on the brink of a renaissance in this country, but nothing has changed. Especially in our society or in how we treat each other. I guess bec I've been a journalist, a case worker, a teacher in the prison system, and now a teacher. I see how this change is being resisted. We as writers and sexual adventurers have to change it from the bottom up. With our deeds, our words, our stories, our lives.

I don't know if Lori agrees with this. less

As you mature and grow, you leave a lot of things behind. I have written a bunch of dark books when I was the typical thug. Wise mentors and savvy women helped me to gain my emotional and sexual footing. Now, I've seen the other side of experience and my work has evolved. less