I'm going slightly mad...

[redzinger]

...trying to find some stories to enjoy.

Life is currently really shit: I'm spending days, weeks, and months by myself, I can't walk more than twenty metres without going for a rest and codeine after, everything is breaking and costing more money, and I spend an alarming amount of time trying not to cry.

I need some fucking good, cheap or free distractions.

I've asked for recommendations elsewhere and I don't know what's happened to people's tastes or standards but, here's a tip: if you're gonna publish a book, please get it edited professionally.

Real people use contractions in conversation, at least most of the time. Unless you want your characters to sound like robots, or foreign.

Fucking headhopping too, so much that I felt dizzy. E.g. Hero-heroine-hero-heroine-random watcher-heroine-hero. I could not go on, even though I was in the mood for a sexy werewolf coupling at the time.

'Books' that are barely short stories. 3 quid for < 50 pages? Fuck off. Or boxed set that go on and on and on and on with pointless scenes and miss any kind of story arc. If you find yourself unable to justify a scene, leave it out, ffs.

Boxed sets. The whole, rancidly stinky mess of them. 99p/c for a shot load of stories may sound good, but few are actually readable.

I read a book the other day where the couple were having sex everywhere, which sounds great at first, but it was the most samey, tiresome unsexy sex which was nothing to do with the story.

Also, if someone wants a not-dark romance, don't recommend novels where the woman gets sexually assaulted, in great detail. Or, where the book opened with a woman getting raped.

Anyway, Lit story recs, Lit author recs pubbed elsewhere, and anything which'll help me keep my sanity much appreciated. Happy, funny, well-written. Contemp-rom, non-human, erotica to closed door. I'm not that fussy. Or, I never used to be.

No violence against women, no fucking slut shaming, fat shaming, skinny shaming or shit like that, nothing dark, nothing illegible. MC, mafia and morally ambiguous stuff can go fucking itself with a rusty forktoo.

I've checked out a few of the links on the sticky and most are ded, or seagull posts.


I'm happy to leave reviews or feedback, but it will be brutally honest, not lies. You're welcome to tell me to fuck off.

 

[Bramblethorn]

Not certain if these two fit your criteria, but I'll throw them out and you can judge for yourself.

Stjepan Šejić's graphic novel "Sunstone". You can read the whole thing for free on his DeviantArt page (free registration required due to adult content) or buy in print or e-book format in any of the usual outlets. From one of the later chapters I think he was a Literotica author at one stage, but I don't know if he still has any stories up here.

Ally and Lisa meet online, get into kinky online roleplay, decide to meet up, and it turns into a romance between two people who (stop me if you're heard this before) aren't good at admitting their feelings to one another. F/F with some M/F backstory. Strong themes of BDSM (100% consensual, written by somebody who sees the funny side) so it depends on what you're counting as "violence against women".

Chapter 4 is a bit of a downer, with a relationship breakup. If you're feeling fragile, I would not recommend launching into this one until you're ready to steam through it and finish Chapter 5, where our heroines finally get their shit together and earn their happy-ever-after. But overall, it left me feeling warm and fuzzy - it's about people who have their flaws but nevertheless work their way to happiness. It gets good reviews from lesbians, straight folk, BDSMers, and non-BDSMers, which is no mean feat.

Two minor criticisms: the DeviantArt versions have a few spelling mistakes, which I think are mostly fixed in the published editions, and they could afford to include a wider range of body types.

Self-rec for my Riddle of the Copper Coin. Also F/F romance: Penny is feeling miserable about a breakup and a broken ankle, her housemate Rafi cheers her up with an Arabian-Nights-esque story about two women who fall in love, and gosh, it's like there's a hidden message in that...

The fantasy side has a rapacious prince with designs on the heroine. She outwits him and humiliates him, but I'll leave you to judge whether that's too much VAW/rape-y. Happy to give more info if you like.

 

[ElectricBlue]

Do you like tall women?

https://www.literotica.com/s/the-floating-world-pt-06-madelyn

Five parts. And if you really like it, you can go buy an ebook or a print version (available in two sizes, what's more!).

If you want something longer, a retell of the Arthurian myth, there's my Dark Chronicles.

 

[Desiremakesmeweak]

This is a broad social phenomenon you are talking about here.

The cities are not yet all dysfunctional - the people and societies and the governments all are.

The leading lights of public mass folklore and storytelling are simply not reflecting reality in any way and the consequence of that is this sense that we are at the effete stage.

For me it has become difficult to suggest anything because of the whirlpool of 'idea theft' that is everywhere these days - and I'm not talking about the motives of the OP; those are clearly NOT about idea theft, they are a valid complaint about the inadequacy of um, the entertainment world? ...And a lot of other things as well, no doubt. I have somewhat, maybe SOMEwhat similar complaints.

...As writers, the very least we can do now, is plainly reflect what we are able to observe at this critical point. This does not mean BE boring and repetitious, it means acknowledge that much about general society and stop pretending there is any such thing as 'the elite' (elite of what?!), or that billionaires mean anything to the social fabric of the human race, or that what has been presented too much by the 'accountable media' are things and people, that edify and uplift.

They don't do that. We do that. And we don't get paid. So we probably do less than we might otherwise.

 

[KeithD]

I seriously doubt whether most readers of erotica want raw realism. I think most of them want arousal serviced with at least slight exaggeration/superlative and glorification.

 

[Handley_Page]

Do you like tall women?

https://www.literotica.com/s/the-floating-world-pt-06-madelyn

Five parts. And if you really like it, you can go buy an ebook or a print version (available in two sizes, what's more!).

If you want something longer, a retell of the Arthurian myth, there's my Dark Chronicles.

You might also appreciate:-
Officers and Men. by Androgynousother

Nice to see you again, Red.
Just take it steady, eh?

 

[SimonDoom]

I started a thread called "Recommend a story by another Lit Author" a couple of weeks ago, and it received many suggestions. You might try that. You can see it still on the first page of the AH.

It's hard to make a recommendation for another person because individual tastes vary so much. Perhaps if you gave some examples of books or stories you like others could do a better job giving you recommendations.

If you are interested in published erotica that doesn't have the dark stuff you are trying to avoid, you might try Molly Weatherfield's Carrie's Story, and its sequel Safe Word. It's a kind of American update on Story of O. It's surprisingly well written, it has good characters, and it has a more coherent story line than Story of O. Although it's about BDSM, its tone is rather light and enjoyable. The female protagonist is spunky and interesting. It's light years beyond the 50 Shades series, or its imitators. It's nothing like that.

If you like science fiction, you absolutely cannot go wrong with the anthology Science Fiction Hall of Fame, Vol. 1, edited by Robert Silverberg. It's a collection of 16 of the best and most famous science fiction short stories of all time. Or read Andy Weir's The Martian. Good luck, and I hope the hard times pass.

 

[jomar]

In the shameless plug category give my White Trash series a try. I just reread it and it still brings a smile to my face.

Hope things take a turn for the better.

 

[oggbashan]

In the shameless plug category give my White Trash series a try. I just reread it and it still brings a smile to my face.

Hope things take a turn for the better.

And I'll plug mine as well.

Most fit your description:

No violence against women, no fucking slut shaming, fat shaming, skinny shaming or shit like that, nothing dark, nothing illegible.

Except my low-rated story Donna...

 

[TarnishedPenny]

I seriously doubt whether most readers of erotica want raw realism. I think most of them want arousal serviced with at least slight exaggeration/superlative and glorification.

I have to agree. Realism just ain't hot.

The CDC says that the average adult woman in the USA is 5’ 4” and weighs 166 lb. The Journal of the AMA assigns an average BMI for US women of 28.7 - overweight and just short of obese. The average man is no different, being 5’ 9” with a 40” waist. That’s Reality now and it's hardly inspiring.

Despite the best efforts of those who would glorify being overweight, it really hasn’t caught on. For the majority of developed societies, the classic narrow-waist-broad-shoulder body type for men and that infamous 0.7 waist-to-hip ratio for women does seem to be important. (Spare us all, please, mention of this obscure tribe or that isolated culture. It’s a broad trend, leave it there.)

I suppose what I am trying to get as is that, while fashions change and while everybody is entitled to their own choices, deep down inside, we all have our own ideal of what is sexy – and our current reality just doesn’t cut it. We prefer attractive partners and an increasing slice of the population doesn’t come close. That’s not entirely the fault of Hollywood and anorexic female models. Most of us would rather curl up with a pizza and a glass of wine than hit the gym, so the blame lies with us, too.

And it’s not just physical attractiveness, it’s a willingness to commit, to make a relationship work. Japan, in some ways the canary in the coal mine, is having a seachange in romantic relationships. The Guardian noted a couple of years ago that almost two-thirds of unmarried men and half of young women there were not in a romantic relationship and had no interest in such.

IMHO, we’re in the midst of a perfect storm WRT romantic and sexual relationships. We as a society have allowed ourselves to become less physically attractive at the same time that our expectations for physical attractiveness have increased. Normal men and women are judged against impossible perfection – and themselves seem to expect that perfection. Our gender rôles, rightly or wrongly, are in a blender, making it harder and harder to know what to think or how to behave and at the same time less and less likely that we'll be satisfied with reality.

Is it really all that surprising that a huge tranche of society wants to escape, however briefly, into an idealized alternative, be it porn or Harlequin romance novels?

We could all write stories about porcine men and slovenly women coupling missionary style for two minutes, with him then falling asleep and snoring and her taking out her frustration on a gallon of Ben and Jerry's. How well would that Reality sell? Who would read it?

WRT the OP's original question, SimonDoom's 'Recommend A Story' thread is a great place to start.

 

[gunhilltrain]

I seriously doubt whether most readers of erotica want raw realism. I think most of them want arousal serviced with at least slight exaggeration/superlative and glorification.

Mostly true, but if I have a downbeat story in mind I just write it in the way that seems to fit.

For the OP: continue writing your own stuff too. Sometimes I feel like, "I've lost my touch" or "I've never had it in the first place." When that's happening I know that something is percolating in my mind. ("Never let a crisis go to waste.")

If I sit down and start working one something - there are several stories in the works - then my mood is improved.

 

[Zeb_Carter]

If you haven't already read them, I have a bunch of stories without any sex in them at all. One is a space opera sci-fi set in the future. The other is also a future sci-fi set way, way, way in the future.

I also have some mystery stories and a series of sci-fi time travel stories.

Warrior One - Fleet Action a seven part series

Walker Brigade - Book of Incidents

OFM Orchard Falls and OFM Jack O'Hara - One For a Kill These are the only ones with some romantic sex in them.

JAA Aftermath the series all have JAA in the title except the last one Winds of Change.

Most of these are long, over 30,000 words. Some are really long 88,000 words.

 

[Etaski]

I heartily second Bramblethorn's recommendation of "Sunstone."

In the spirit of excellent graphic stories, if you like fantasy, the original "ElfQuest" epic by Wendy Pini is available to read for free.

Original publishing spanned the late 1970s-1990s; excellent, immersive story and characters you grow to care about. Happiness and joy with eroticism and some higher-concept exploration of sexuality to balance the challenges and darkness.

Just read them in the order presented. Generous quantities of distraction.

http://elfquest.com/read/digitalEQ.html

 

[Bramblethorn]

Life is currently really shit: I'm spending days, weeks, and months by myself, I can't walk more than twenty metres without going for a rest and codeine after, everything is breaking and costing more money, and I spend an alarming amount of time trying not to cry.

I need some fucking good, cheap or free distractions.

...

No violence against women, no fucking slut shaming, fat shaming, skinny shaming or shit like that, nothing dark, nothing illegible.

The CDC says that the average adult woman in the USA is 5’ 4” and weighs 166 lb. The Journal of the AMA assigns an average BMI for US women of 28.7 - overweight and just short of obese. The average man is no different, being 5’ 9” with a 40” waist. That’s Reality now and it's hardly inspiring.

Despite the best efforts of those who would glorify being overweight, it really hasn’t caught on. ...
We could all write stories about porcine men and slovenly women coupling missionary style for two minutes, with him then falling asleep and snoring and her taking out her frustration on a gallon of Ben and Jerry's. How well would that Reality sell? Who would read it?

When OP says she's down and looking for some pick-me-up reading that does not get into shaming people about their weight, that might have been a clue that this isn't the time or place to write about how unsexy you find fat people.