Short Story Collections

WHITE FLAMES — the “sequel” to “BLACK FEATHERS,” that is, my next collection of erotic short stories–was published in May 2008 from Running Press. It included some not-previously-published stories including “Gyndroid,” and a triptych of interconnected stories I don’t *think* ended up appearing anywhere else: “The Lady in Black,” “Storm Rider,” and “Sleeping Beauty.” As of 2017 it was out of print but you can still find used paperback copies on Amazon. I’ll probably re-release an ebook edition once the rights are cleared.

BLACK FEATHERS: Erotic Dreams
Twenty three of the erotic stories mentioned below all collected into one nice trade paperback from HarperCollins Publishers. Went out of print in 2007 after nine years in print. The only way to get paperback copies now is through Ebay and used resellers, but an ebook edition is available.
Buy The Ebook: Amazon | Apple | Kobo

EDGE PLAYS — A collection of BDSM-themed science fiction stories in the “Telepaths Don’t Need Safewords” universe. “Master Mind” continues the story of Arshan prior to the events in “Telepaths Don’t Need Safewords,” as well as several other stories and excerpts of books that take place in the same universe, including The Velderet. This was originally released as a limited run ebook as a fundraiser for the Erotic Authors Association, but was later re-released by Circlet Press in ebook form.
Buy from: Circlet | Smashwords

TELEPATHS DON’T NEED SAFEWORDS
This tiny little chapbook of three stories is still a defining moment in my career and my development as an adult human being, not to mention the catalyst which launched Circlet Press and the sea change in the sf/f genre toward higher erotic (and romantic) content. As of February 2004 it went out of print after ten years in print. There is now as ebook edition of it, though!
Buy from: Circlet Press | Barnes & Noble | Smashwords | Amazon

Erotic Short Stories by Cecilia Tan

This is a list of most of my erotica and science fiction/fantasy short stories. Roughly reverse chronological.
The links go either to where the story can be read free online when possible, and to somewhere to buy the book when not. (Disclaimer: Bookshop.org and Amazon.com links give me an affiliate kickback.)

If you find there is a work of my fiction not listed that should be, let me know and I’ll give you a free ebook! I know there are things I forget. Think of it as motivational for the two of us.

Story or Novella Title	Date	Publication	Description
The Dark Room	October 2021	Circlet Halloween Microfictions	A microfiction for Circlet Press’s annual Halloween-themed online erotica postings. Dedicated to Corey Alexander/Xan West, a leather community activist, trans writer, and romance novel lover who challenged me (and many other writers) to write more open-ended erotica when it came to assigning biological gender to characters.
Aura of the Phoenix	October 2021	Schoolbooks & Sorcery	A Magic University story! This YA “magic school” anthology sprang from a Kickstarter wherein if it reached a certain stretch goal, I would write a Magic U story. They did and I did. Now available from Riverdale Avenue Books.
Art in Oils	October 2021	Flesh Fiction	A cheeky tale of an artist, her muse, and a gig to paint a romance novel cover, in an anthology of erotic flash fiction from romance writers, edited by Mara White and Suanne Laqueuer.
Sacred Heart	October 2021	Unfettered Hexes	A rare second-person story from me, with open-gendered characters. In a Kickstarted anthology from Neon Hemlock Press, subtitled “Queer Tales of Insatiable Darkness” and published in a huge, copiously illustrated volume
All in a Rush	October 2020	Erato	Reprint of a story that appeared previously under the title “Seduction” and now is titled “All In a Rush”. In this anthology of erotic flash fiction from The New Smut Project and editors Alex Freeman, Guinevere Chase, and TC Mill.
A Flicker of Torchlight	March 2017	Ultimate Wired Hard, and Nobilis Erotica	This story was originally written as a lark for author Rian Darcy one night when she texted me the words “elf gigolo.” It was included as a bonus story in a gay sf/f erotica bundle from Circlet Press, with proceeds to Rainbow Railroad (a Chechen charity effort in the face of anti-gay laws), and was recorded for the Nobilis Erotica podcast (available in the usual podcast places).
Crowdthink Consensus Thresholds: A Study	August 2016	CONGRESS Magazine	An erotic near-future story, somewhat cyberpunk, in the second issue of CONGRESS Magazine edited by Molly Tanzer. Published August 2016. Read the story online! Or buy and download the issue from Amazon or Weightless Books (you can also subscribe to the mag via Weightless).
The Wanting	January 2015	Dark Discoveries	Dark fantasy, post-apocalypse story. Appeared in Issue #30 of Dark Discoveries magazine.
Pitchers & Catchers	October 2014	Field of Fantasies: Baseball Stories of the Strange & Supernatural	Updated version of a story that appeared in Further Fenway Fiction. This version makes the supernatural element a little more overt. Edited by Rick Wilber, published by Night Shade Books.
Sacrifice	August 2014	Summer Rain	In the romance anthology SUMMER RAIN, edited by Sarah Lyons and Audra North, published August 2014 as a fundraiser for RAINN. Sea trade with China brings a young woman, sold into slavery, into the life of a demigod in Macedonia in the era when Christianity is ascendant. Kobo \| Apple \| Amazon \| Goodreads
Her Lover Is a Flame	November 2013	THE BIG BOOK OF ORGASMS: 69 SEXY STORIES	A collection of short-short stories, edited by Rachel Kramer Bussell, Cleis Press.
Action	August 1999	Best Gay Stories	a gay, near-future, magical realist literary story. First appeared first in the annual anthology for the Saints & Sinners literary festival and then was chosen by Peter Dubé for BEST GAY STORIES published by Lethe Press in 2012. (It’s also an homage to actor Brandon Lee.)
Window of Opportunity	February 2012	VOYEUR EYES ONLY: VEGAS WINDOWS	Published in Audiobook by SMOTP and paperback/ebook by XCite Books. This anthology was cooked up during the 2011 Erotic Authors Association convention in Vegas and includes stories from attendees at that conference, which was fantastic fun, all Vegas and voyeur themed.
Time	March 2011	GOTTA HAVE IT: 69 Stories of Sudden Sex	Short-short story "Time," to Rachel Kramer Bussell for the GOTTA HAVE IT: 69 Stories of Sudden Sex, published by Cleis Press in March 2011.
What a Man Wants	June 2011	The Ladies of Trade Town	Cyberpunk story. Anthology edited by Lee Martindale, published by HarpHaven Publishing.
Bad Place	February 2011	RIDING THE ROCKET	Short story in an anthology of gay-themed erotic sf/f edited by Sascha Illyvich for Sizzler Editions.
Will Power	September 2010	Fang Bangers	to Fang Bangers: An Erotic Anthology of Fangs, Claws, Sex and Love, edited by Lori Perkins for Ravenous Romance.
Two Cocks, One Girl	December 2010	Best Women’s Erotica 2011	Best Women’s Erotica 2011, edited by Violet Blue for Cleis Press.
The Inner Game of Chess	November 2010	Beautiful Boys: Gay Erotic Stories	anthology from Cleis Press edited by Richard Labonte
“Lip Service”	August 2010	Best S/M Erotica Vol 3: Still More Extreme Stories of Still More Extreme Sex!	Anthology edited by M. Christian, published by Logical Lust in 2010. Story originally appeared in Edgewords, a 2003 fundraising anthology for MOB New England, a women’s BDSM community group based in Boston.
Thinly Veiled	April 2010	Louisiana Vampires	in Lawrence Schimel’s LOUISIANA VAMPIRES anthology. Submitted it literally over 10 years ago and book got put on hold, now it’s happening and voila! Very glad I still had word processor files of the story!
Improvisation	March 2010	I KISSED A BOY	edited by Lori Perkins for Ravenous Romance in an anthology of gay first-time encounters. I originally wrote it as a gift fanfic about some of our favorite celebrities for someone I know, but it has grown into a story of its own with the “serial numbers filed off.” You’ll easily be able to figure out who the actors are I paired in the story if you know anything about my fandoms.
Man Enough	August 2009	Lesbian Cowboys	edited by Sacchi Green and Rakelle Valencia for Cleis Press. Got to indulge my gender-blending kink here. I also read it live on the Nobilis Erotica Podcast.
Soft Hands	January 2009	Ravenous Romance	published as a standalone short story at RavenousRomance.com
Baseball Blues	January 2009	Ravenous Romance	published as a standalone short story at RavenousRomance.com
Seven Swans a Swimming	December 2008	The Twelve Days of Christmas	A vampire romance short story, in an anthology with a different story for each of the 12 days of Christmas.
The Spark	March 2008	Periphery: Erotic Lesbian Futures	This anthology edited by Lynne Jamneck went through a few twists of fate. This edition was published by Lethe Press.
Pitchers & Catchers Report	July 2007	Further Fenway Fiction	A literary short story about a Red Sox catcher in the minor league system in the 1990s. Story appeared in “Further Fenway Fiction,” edited by Adam Pachter and published by Rounder Books.
Just Tell Me The Rules	December 2005	Aqua Erotica 2	I know what you are thinking, there already was a sequel to Aqua Erotica, called Wet: More Aqua Erotica, but it didn’t sell anywhere near as well as the first volume did. So now Melcher, the packager who sold the first book, is doing another waterproof book, this time under their own name, and calling it Aqua Erotica 2 (distributed by Andrews McMeel). The weird part is that this time they didn’t insist on every story having a water theme, though, and instead went for a kind of nebulous theme about “crossing boundaries.” I ended up writing an erotic homage to Clive Owen. Go figure.
The Magician’s Assistant	March 2005	Best American Erotica 2005	Anthology edited by Susie Bright. This piece of flash fiction originally appeared in Five Minute Erotica, edited by Carol Queen (Running Press) in 2003.
Seduction	March 2005	Best American Erotica 2005	Anthology edited by Susie Bright. This piece of flash fiction originally appeared in Five Minute Erotica, edited by Carol Queen (Running Press) in 2003.
Halloween	July 2005	MASTER/slave	Originally published as two separate books edited for the Venus Book Club by Thomas Roche, then combined into two-books-in-one combo and published by Berkley.
Master Mind	July 2005	MASTER/slave	Originally published as two separate books edited for the Venus Book Club by Thomas Roche, then combined into two-books-in-one combo and published by Berkley.
The Little Mermaid	June 2005?	Mammoth Book of Best New Erotica	Reprinted in the Mammoth Book of Best New Erotica, in one of the volumes that didn’t have a number so it’s hard to describe which one. The story was also a selection of RandomHouse Audio for their web site Audible.com — you can hear it online! Buy the audio download here.
Bodies of Water	December 2004	Mammoth Book of Best New Erotica, Vol 4	Reprint. Anthology edited by Maxim Jakubowski (Carroll & Graf).
Bodies of Water	2003	Hot Women’s Erotica	a fever-dream story I wrote after waking up from a nap in Century City, CA, after channel flipping between a Discovery Channel show on deepsea archaeology and promos for Disney’s Atlantis… appeared in Marilyn Jaye Lewis’ Venus Big Book of Hot Women’s Erotica in 2003 (bookclub ed. only) and then the book was reprinted as the Blue Moon Books edition Hot Women’s Erotica.
Touch Pain	December 2003	Necrologue	was originally in Asimov’s, was reprinted in the U.K. in Necrologue: The Diva Book of the Dead and the Undead, edited by Helen Sandler, Diva Books/MPG. Fall 2003.
Lexicon	January 2003	Other Magazine	a literary short-short I wrote in grad school, appeared in Other Magazine, Issue #3. “The magazine for people who defy categories.”
Thought So	December 2002	Best Women’s Erotica 2003	Appeared in Best Women’s Erotica 2003, edited by Marcy Sheiner, from Cleis Press.
Rough, Trade	October 2002	Sex Machine	Reprint. Anthology edited by M. Christian for the Venus Bookclub. Was originally in the anthology Eros Ex Machina, also edited by M. Christian, published by Masquerade Books.
Rite of Spring	June 2002	Wet: More Aqua Erotica	In an anthology, edited by Mary Anne Mohanraj, published by Crown Books — another waterproof book and the sequel to Aqua Erotica.
Crooked Kwan	April 2002	Desires	This story was reprinted in the anthology DESIRES (very short run by AmirMira Press) now being resurrected by the Venus Bookclub by editor Adrienne Hendricks.
La Money Girl	December 2001	Hot & Bothered 3	Reprinted in this anthology ed. by Karen X. Tulchinsky, Arsenal Pulp Press.
Touch Pain	December 2001	Asimov’s	Yes, as in Isaac Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine.
Tune In	November 2001	Nerve Magazine	Flash fiction published alongside an autobiographical essay about me being the maven of erotic science fiction, in a special edition of Nerve.com edited by Scott Westerfeld.
Baseball Fever	February 2001	Starf*cker	a story about a certain baseball player, for an anthology of erotica about famous people entitled “Starf*cker“, edited by the fabulous Shar Rednour and published by Alyson Publications
The Little Mermaid	September 2000	Aqua Erotica	edited by Mary Anne Mohanraj, a very intriguing and neat-sounding anthology of erotic stories involving water… published by Crown in September 2000. The book is waterproof, too!
Penetration	August 2000	Best of the Best Lesbian Erotica	appeared in the omnibus “Best of the Best of Best Lesbian Erotica” (Cleis Press) and an Italian-language anthology in Italy, called “LATEX” from Mondadori, in summer 2000.
La Money Girl/Tune In	July 2000	Blue Food	Two flash fiction stories, first appearance in debut literary journal Blue Food.
In Silver A	April 2000	Absolute Magnitude	Cyberpunk story. First appeared in Absolute Magnitude magazine. Was later (2003) reprinted in The Mammoth Book of Future Cops, edited by M. Christian.
Bullseye	March 2000	The Academy	Published by Mystic Rose books in the "novelogy," a novel by Laura Antoniou, with short stories by other authors embedded, all taking place in the Marketplace.
The Hard Sell	February 2000	Fatbrain.com	One of a collection of short stories I sold to Fatbrain’s eMatter site, along with shorts by M. Christian, Hanne Blank, and Thomas S. Roche.
Always	January 2000	Best Lesbian Erotica	edited by Tristan Taormino
Now	January 2000	Viscera	Anthology edited by Cara Bruce and published by website VenusorVixen.com. Story is slightly experimental fiction, space opera, erotica. Reprinted in Edge Plays
Drumbeat	December 1999	On Our Backs	a lesbian marching band uniform fetish story, in On Our Backs magazine, issue arrived in the mail in December 1999. It also came out in the anthology UNIFORM SEX ed. by Linnea Due (Alyson Publications) in Fall 2000.
The Darling	September 1999	Gothic.net	A short story, appeared in the web magazine Gothic.net
Ziggy Stardust	August 1999	STARPHKR	A zine of celebrity erotica, edited and published by Shar Rednour.
Lip Service	July 1999	Edgewords	Edgewords was first published as a chapbook by MOB New England (women’s BDSM community group) and then in an updated form by "@ The Edge" Publishing.
Dragon’s Daughter 2: Hall of Mirrors	April 1999	To Be Continued 2	This anthology, edited by Karen X. Tulchinsky and Michele Karlsberg for Firebrand Books, is a sequel to the anthology "To Be Continued" which was all stories that ended on cliffhangers. These are what happened next.
Always	February 1999	Herotica 6	Anthology edited by Marcy Sheiner for Down There Press.
Balancing Act	Winter 1999	Blithe House Quarterly	The online journal of gay literature. You can read the story online here. Another story an MFA instructor told me could never get published.
Penetration	January 1999	BEST AMERICAN EROTICA 1999	Latest volume of the series edited by Susie Bright
Three of Cups	January 1999	BEST LESBIAN EROTICA 1999	selected by Chrystos, series edited by Tristan Taormino or Cleis Press.
Eyes Open and Closed	January 2001	Strange Horizons	A contemporary fantasy story. First appeared in a newsletter publication for Borderlands Books in San Francisco, and then in Strange Horizons online magazine (under the title "With Eyes Open" because the Kubrick movie had just come out). Read it online at Strange Horizons. It was also later in a Best of Strange Horizons anthology published by Lethe Press.
Dragon’s Daughter	October 1998	To Be Continued	Fantasy short story in an anthology of lesbian genre fiction/pulp fiction where every story ends with a cliffhanger, edited by Michele Karlsberg and Karen X. Tulchinsky for Firebrand Books.
Juno	September 1998	CROSSING THE BORDER	ed. by Lisa Tuttle for the Indigo/Gollancz imprint in the U.K. Subtitled “Tales of Erotic Ambiguity.” I don’t think it got a US edition, but I was thrilled to be in a book with Neil Gaiman and Angela Carter.
Three of Cups	July 1998	Mammoth Book of Best New Erotica	edited by Maxim Jakubowski, Carroll & Graf/Robinson publishers. This is the first story I wrote using Tarot cards to determine character and conflict.
Rough, Trade	March 1998	Eros Ex Machina	in EROS EX MACHINA, mechanical erotica, edited by M. Christian, Masquerade Books.
Love’s Year	February 1998	HOT & BOTHERED	Lesbian erotic short short stories, edited by Karen X. Tulchinsky, published by Arsenal Pulp Press.
Penetration	February 1997	BEST LESBIAN EROTICA 1997	edited this year by Jewelle Gomez, series editor Tristan Taormino, published by Cleis Press.
Pearl Diver	1996	BEST AMERICAN EROTICA 1996	Third time this story’s in print. Best American Erotica edited by Susie Bright and published by Touchstone/Simon & Schuster.
Porn Flicks	April 1996	Herotica 4	Herotica 4 was edited by Marcy Sheiner and published by NAL/Plume.
The Nightingale	October 1996	Once Upon A Time	Fairy Tales for Women, edited by Michael Ford, appeared in October 1996. (Masquerade Books) The story I wrote was given honorable mention in the 1996 “Year’s Best Fantasy and Horror.”
Rock Steady	July 1996	Backstage Passes	Anthology edited by Amelia G and published by Masquerade Books. In 2016 a new edition of Backstage Passesis available in ebook.
Daydreaming	April 1996	Switch Hitters	Anthology of lesbians writing gay male erotica and gay men writing lesbian erotica (but actually lots of the authors were bi), edited by Carol Queen and Lawrence Schimel. Cleis Press. Lambda Literary Award winning book.
Wonder Woman	May 1996	Porn Free	Published in “The Magazine Dedicated to Getting You Off For Nuthin’” It’s a humorous parody starring Wonder Woman and a satirical commentary on anti-s/m lesbians.
Crooked Kwan	March 1996	Noirotica	an anthology of noir-ish erotic fiction edited by Thomas S. Roche for Masquerade Books.
Larceny	February 1996	Queer View Mirror	a short short of literary flash fiction in queer fiction anthology edited by Karen X. Tulchinsky & James Johnstone and published by Arsenal Pulp Press.
The Tale of Christina	October 1995	Dark Angels	An anthology of lesbian vampire fiction edited by Pam Keesey for Cleis Press.
Pearl Diver	October 1995	On A Bed Of Rice	"An Asian American Erotic Feast," an anthology edited by Geraldine Kudaka for Anchor Books. The story also appeared in Ms. Magzine’s “sex” issue in Nov/Dec 1995.
Whipmaster	July 1995	Looking for Mr. Preston	a hardcover anthology in tribute to John Preston edited by Laura Antoniou for Masquerade Books.
Heart’s Desire	April 1995	By Her Subdued	an anthology of erotic fiction about dominant women edited by Laura Antoniou for Masquerade Books.
The Game	November 1997	No Other Tribute	an anthology of erotic fiction about submissive women edited by Laura Antoniou for Masquerade Books.
Jean-Michel and Juno	1994?	Paramour magazine	In Paramour, volume 2, #1. Not sure when it was published, but most likely in 1994 since the magazine started in 1993.
Career Track	July 1994?	Penthouse magazine	An erotic short story about wish fulfillment on a train.
Summoning	July 1994	SexMagick	A story I wrote for the SexMagick anthology, which I edited for Circlet Press.
The First Whip	July 1994	SandMUtopia Guardian	In issue 17. Editor Pat Califia published it as fiction, but it’s more of an essay on my true life experience of getting whipped for the first time.
A True Story	June 1994	Herotica 3	an anthology of women’s erotic fiction edited by Susie Bright for Plume Books.
Cat Scratch Fever	March 1992	Telepaths Don’t Need Safewords	First published in the Telepaths Don’t Need Safewords chapbook (1992) and then later podcasted in audio on the Nobilis Erotica podcast
Telepaths Don’t Need Safewords	March 1992	Telepaths Don’t Need Safewords	First posted on alt.sex.bondage in November 1991. I then self-published the story in a chapbook of the same name to found Circlet Press in March 1992

(I’m sure there are some additional stories I’ve forgotten to list, too!)