Alan Mathews

His only contribution to ASS* was the sadly unfinished &qu ot;The Watching Trilogy." It's a beautifully told, romantic story of two teenagers that fall in love with each other and face the world to fulfil their love. It's quite a poignant, tenderly sweet and extremely sensuous tale; one that arouses you, brings you to the brink of tears, makes you smile, laugh, hate... I hope that someday Alan will finish it. -- Rui Jorge

Anne Arbor

The gloriously graphic sex scenes in Anne Arbor's prose, as exciting and intense as any written anywhere, never fail to serve the story. With precision and passion Anne Arbor's stories plunge us into the intimatecenters of characters coming to terms with themselves and their relationships, and the deft mix of plots and passion and people catches us up, squeezes us in ways both exciting and troubling. Everywhere are undercurrents of tension, promises of exquisite release. Her stories are like sex. Read them all at Anne Arbor's web site: -- Mat Twassel

A. Syed Masood

From English as She is Spoken to the instruction booklet in the dollar store toy that you bought night, mangled English has entertained many people over the centuries. However, few people have mangled English as lyrically as A. Syed Masood did in "Sophia," "Mom," and the unfinished novel, "Daisies and Lillies". Ze* combined fulsome metaphors, highflown phrasing, and literary quotes into a mixture that would have been pretentious if it had aspired to any deep meanings at all. Too untheaterical to be high camp and too well constructed to be bulldada, Masood's stories exist in a quality category of its own. -- Christine "Green Leafy Dragon" Indigo

*Note: 'Hir' and 'Ze' are experimental nongendered pronouns, not typos.

Bitbard (aka Sandman)

A prolific writer who got better as he went along, Sandman was very active in ASSD, always ready to answer questions, a person who was always ready to help out -- he helped me a great deal when I was a newbie, and I know of others he helped. He was a valuable assistant to Celeste for a while, and was part of the small group that kept her review column going when she pulled out for a while. His web site was not only beautiful, it was an important resource for many of us. His stories may be found at his Bi bliography page --Jane Urquhart

*** *** ***

Bitbard helped me get noticed by adding my stories to his much missed web site. He was always there to answer any question that I had, no matter how stupid or simple the question was. As much as I miss being able to go to his web site for some excellent stories, including his own, I miss him much more as a mentor and friend. He said in his farewell that he may show up again, maybe as BitBard, maybe under another name. It may be wishful thinking, but I hope he returns soon. --Maria Gonzales

Celeste

For more than five years, most of the well- known authors whose works appeared in alt.sex.stories posted their stories and then held their breaths: What would Celeste say? She reviewed stories, and her word mattered.

Most of the stories I posted appeared between March, 1998 and February, 1999. One of Celeste's guest reviewers, Sandman, gave my first effort the highest possible accolade--three tens. I was utterly thrilled. As I posted more, I got a little jaded, and began to weigh fan mail against Celeste's opinion. But let's face it--I always wanted to know: What would Celeste say? And I wanted to know badly. I had a number of friends among the other authors; I know they felt the same way, and I strongly suspect nobody was immune.

Celeste never minced words--she told people what she thought about their stories. She undoubtedly had immense influence on the development of the sex story groups during her tenure as queen of reviewers, which lasted from her very first day in July, 1995, until she posted her final column on December 17, 2000. An English teacher, she cared about writing in all its aspects--content, style, structure, grammar, punctuation.

If Celeste liked a story, she said so, and if she didn't she said that, too. In her earliest columns, she used only one figure, from one to ten, to indicate her rating. Later she adopted a system of three categories: Athena (technical quality); Venus (plot & character); and Celeste (appeal to reviewer). Some of us hated the grading system--I myself called it something like a childish reversion to elementary school--but others didn't mind. Some of us verbally vomited when she began to top her column with jokes. Occasionally people blasted her in ASSD for reviews they considered unfair or otherwise unpalatable. Most unpopular, probably, was her use of guest reviewers, some of whom were disastrously unsatisfactory, even though most did the job well. But Celeste never wavered--she went her merry way, ignoring the attacks, whatever they were, whoever they came from. In one of her later columns, she deigned to explain why she used guests--largely a matter of overwork, she said--but she never changed her practice. As far as I could see, she never let criticism affect her reviews. The last story I posted on ASS she gave three tens, despite the fact that I had attacked her unmercifully on ASSD for various perceived misdeeds. She had integrity.

Besides her columns, Celeste occasionally ran story contests that many people liked. She also posted lists of her choices as best stories of the month and the year, and a long list of ASS writers she considered worth reading.

She sometimes helped writers in trouble. Early in my career I ran into a crisis in my writing that threatened me; it had to do with fans, not with writing per se. I posted a note about it on ASSD, asking for help, and from Celeste I received a long and helpful reply. She was not the only one who helped me then, but she proved her concern for people, as well as authors, with that gesture.

It's worth mentioning that Celeste had biases, and let people know she had them. She preferred not to review pedophilia stories, or stories that contained "mindless violence"; she said she was not interested in stories of magic and sorcery, or stories based on TV series or novels with which she was unfamiliar. First on her list of dislikes, however, were stories that looked "utterly illiterate." Some writers of stories that fit those definitions faulted her for not writing those reviews; others simply understood--we all have our preferences. In any case, she had plenty of stories left after subtracting those, so she asked writers who particularly wanted reviews to send her copies of their stories.

Celeste avowed that her purpose was to improve the quality of stories posted, and I think nearly everyone agrees that she did. She is credited with inventing "the blow-job principle," which urges readers to write and thank authors whose stories they enjoyed, the idea being that such praise would spur the authors on to write again. It worked for me. She also published an online grammar, and urged writers to use it. Whatever the cause, it seems to me that authors' grammar did improve during her tenure. And her reviews often discussed the structure of stories, the quality of character presentation, and many other aspects of the craft of writing. For those great favors, readers and writers both owe her a debt of gratitude.

When she ceased writing her column for several months in 1999, those of us who were active noticed her absence immediately. ASSD carried long arguments about whether we should be glad or sad that she was gone. Most people, I think, believed that on balance she was a good influence, someone we needed, no matter that we might object to some of her methods, or even to the very notion of reviews. Her writings served as a central focus for the writers of ASS, and helped to make a reasonably cohesive group of a flock of writers whose interests varied widely and who otherwise often were at cross- purposes. Most of us were glad when she returned.

In 1997, Celeste also published "Virt uous Reality," an 8,000-word story attacking would-be censors of Internet erotica. The major characters were SueNH, one of the first women sex-story writers on the Net, and Celeste herself. Sandman's review of this story is at http://www.asstr.org/~BitBard/library/celeste/ R511.HTM.

Anyone interested in learning more about Celeste would do well to begin by reading her at http://www.asstr.org/files/FAQs_a nd_Information/Celestial_FAQ_3.0.txt. The next thing to do would be to read some of her reviews; many of them are interesting in themselves. Sometimes she devoted most of her review to a discussion of what she herself would do if put in the position of the characters in the story; that usually irked the author concerned--it certainly did me--but it also gave us all more insight into the world of this powerful woman.

She was between forty and fifty years old; she taught English; she had children, and went to PTA meetings. She had a husband she seemed to like, and was monogamous.

Rui Jorge asked me to write this, and I think he chose well, simply because I neither loved nor hated Celeste-- she was there. She retired when family concerns began to require more of her time. Like all great women, she had her admirers and her detractors; not everything she did pleased everybody; she probably made some errors. Make no mistake, however--other reviewers have come and gone, some very good and some incompetent, but it will take a long time for anyone to prove a worthy successor to Celeste. This was the Queen of ASS, and she earned her crown.--Jane Urquhart

*** *** ***

She perhaps contributed more to the ASS* community than anyone else ever has. She *definitely* was the most widely read person in ASS*, though she may not have posted a single story. From July, 1995, until December, 2000--380 issues worth--the Celestial Reviews were there. And often awaited with great trepidation. "Will Celeste review my story? Will she like it?"

Ask any of the writers who received 10,10,10 from Celeste if they valued that--perhaps a very few didn't, but most were thrilled. Ask those of us who came on the scene and wanted to find something good to read. Many of us will say, "I read the Celestial Reviews and looked up the stories which sounded good." *I* certainly did.

Celeste was far more than 'just' a reviewer though--she helped many writers improve. She wrote and posted two of the best grammar/usage pieces I've ever seen. Clear, to the point-- and in language appropriate to ASS*. Celestial Grammar and Advanced Celestial Grammar were by no means her only remarks on the matter though. Especially in the first couple of years, she put many a mini-tutorial on this point or that in the Reviews.

Even those who disliked her and/or her reviews should be well-aware of the effect she had. I saw many, many threads begin with an issue of the CR--and these threads often went on and on. Sometimes 'fluff'--but more often, they discussed matters pertinent to writing.--Denny Wheeler

*** *** ***

I was one of Celeste's first victims, reviewed several times in those first editions of the Celestial Reviews. Fortunately, those stories have all been lost in the winds of net-time. In those days, good ASS writing was by far the exception, and the complete domination of poor writing led many of us to take the forum as being anything but serious. Why bother worrying about the quality of your story when no one else was? Hack it out and try again.

That, for me, was where Celeste made the biggest difference. In this pit of hot & horny readers who really only cared if the story turned them on, Celeste arose and told us that she, at least, did care if our participles were dangling and our climaxes resolved our conflicts. And the fact that a hundred readers might have told us we were fucking awesome didn't save us the shame of being told in public that our writing really and truly sucked. Celeste took us seriously when we did not and in doing so created a standard, a literary standard, for ASS erotic writing. Some of the writers took heed to her call, rising to the challenge she created. Her persistent commentary on the writing of ASS transformed it into a quasi-serious forum for a growing community of writers. And given the flak she took for her efforts, she should also be commended for her bravery. Writers can be such nasty beasts when someone picks on their work.

As with all critics, we often took exception to the subjective qualities and philosophy of her criticisms. But even those of us who largely ignored her reviews were affected by them, for as the quality of the writing improved due to her prodding, we were forced to take ourselves more and more seriously. The readers grew to expect more from us, and the writers expected more from each other. There is no question that others contributed strongly to the rise of this community (a bow to Lady Cyrrh, who had an equally influential role in our development) but for most of us Celeste was the ringmaster, cruelly flogging us into new and greater heights.

Celeste, I salute you.--Malinov

Dark Dreamer

"Dark Dreamer wrote stories for A.S.S. back in the early nineties and, unfortunately, hasn't been seen since. You'll find his classics such as ' Farm Girl ' and ' The Junkyard Family ' all over the internet, especially on any site that prides itself in violent fantasies... which isn't to say DD only wrote such stories. When he did, however, he was able to make the victim's plight realistic, yet at the same time arousing. He wrote in a very crude, blunt manner but his stories were told well and never failed to satisfy. To all of us who still enjoy your writings to this day, Dark Dreamer, thanks!" --S. Bockman

deirdre

Deirdre wrote something like 150 or more stories, and by that feat alone, I think she should be in the Hall of Fame. The stories covered all topics, many codes, most kinks and squicks. They were always well written, and often ended with interesting twists. Often, the characters got themselves into the oddest situations, some compulsion they just couldn't help, and they traveled further and further down the slippery slope. The stories were usually sexy, although the build-up often led to something that occured after the story was over. Deirdre could write about women or men, same sex or hetero, or interesting combinations thereof. She was willing to try her hand at almost any type of story, and did a superb job. There was a list of her stories once, and I went searching them all out until I had read them all. Every once in a while, I'll come across one and read a bit, smiling or grimacing as I remember what the characters in the story had to go through. "Oh yeah, that was a good one." Her stories may be found at &q uot;Deirdre's Bibliography" page at Bitbard's site, or at her FTP site. --BlueWords (David)

Delta

Delta announced retirement in August of 2001

I would like to bring to your attention the artist known as Delta. Some of Delta's work may be found at Stories Online, I've found more at Delta' s FTP site. The beauty of Delta's stories, many of them, is that they feature characters who have a realistic, even fatalistic grasp of the world. They see the dirt, the workaday existance, the drab exterior and shabby furnishings. And despite this, some small part of their souls lifts them above, even if only for a moment. Some small act of kindness with no expectation of return; some act of charity despite cynicism; some tenderness when the first impulse is indifference turns these people into heroes. And sometimes they are rewarded. Delta didn't exactly write romance - Delta wrote romantically. Delta's stories have captured a bit of my heart. I consider Delta a must-read. (Start with the taxi stories.) --Gary

Dulcinea

Dulcinea began posting in June 1995. Her many stories were all short, MF rom pieces about devoted couples, full of playful banter and with a wholesome feeling. While engaged in a project to write a story for every letter of the alphabet (reaching the letter F), she died in the middle of 1997. Her stories are a delight to read.--Apuleius of Madaura

*** *** ***

Dulcinea had a simple style; graceful, genuine, cheery and unassuming; and it fit her sweet stories perfectly. She wrote of ordinary people, couples who could be your neighbors, and of the delights, pleasures, goodness and small surprises they discover in each other and in sex. The plots contain sometimes some tease or twist, but invariably one that works towards bliss or at least happiness. My favorite Dulcinea story is "Helping Hand," which may be found at http://www.asstr.org/~BitBard/forray/dulcinea /hand.html. Most of her stories may be found at & quot;Dulcinea's Bibliography" page at Bitbard's site --Mat Twassel

Eli the Bearded

For several years Eli moderated ASSM as a labor of love, and he occasionally wrote witty little stories. That group was in many ways the heart of the community, a place where we could post stories of any length simply by mailing them to Eli, and could read stories without being bothered by spam. We took ASSM and Eli for granted, and groused when something didn't go right. But we who used the fruits of his labors owe him a great deal. --Jane Urquhart

Eros

Eros was a long time and prolific author of erotic stories, starting in the BBS era with the "Blue Moon" BBS and continuing on up until he ran afoul of the Australian authorities in 1998. In between, Eros authored better than 50+ tales, most all of them involving some sort of a happy, loving family--and I do mean loving. It was not unusual for one of his stories to feature a pair of horny teenage brothers, an even hornier sister, and a lonely Mom in the center of it all. I know it sounds formalistic, but he had the panache (and the writing skills) to pull the reader into this world. However, what really set him apart from others working the genre (and from every other writer as well) was his approach to sex. Eros understood, at a gut level, what erotic fantasy was about, and for pure, unadulterated, lusty, joyous, unapologetically pornograpic sex Eros is unmatched. Read one of his stories then tell me you didn't get aroused, I dare 'ya.--Stephen

Estragon

Mat Twassel, Chairman of the Boards, knowing of my admiration, has suggested I might want to nominate Estragon for the ASS Hall of Fame. The which, now that I've heard that there is such a place, I'm delighted to do.

Estragon wrote the following about his work in 1997, when I was still unsuccessfully urging him to go above ground into print and gain the fame (and notoriety) he'd earned.

The Estragon Stories are dedicated to a single theme: the happiness that comes to both sexes when they accept the full-time domination of men by women. I am convinced that, in the human species in any case, the evolution of our bodies and our minds has given almost every advantage to women. Their power over us men is built into our genetic code, even if it's sometimes obscured by culture's gender code - that crumbling rampart of self-protection we lads have shored up over the years to make ourselves and those lovely beings who have little choice but to associate with us miserable. The Estragon Stories depict the elation and vast relief of men rescued from the myth of male superiority by women who have learned or are in the process of learning that men were born to serve them. my characters are not theatrical; they're not into "role- playing," and sex is not a fantasy-realm for them from which they walk away when the lights go up. The women in my stories are the women I know: self-possessed, talented, stylish. They enjoy their power over men but aren't obsessed with it. It comes to them naturally and they mostly feel its exercise as a casual fact of life, though sometimes, as in the real world, a shadow of doubt crosses their minds. I am also interested in the way such women happen in this man's world, in the things that do or don't occur in girlhood to give them their beautiful strength. As for my men - more memory than imagination goes into their creation. "My life," as the song says, "is good."

I myself (Vickie) wrote the paragraph on Estragon immmediately below for OleJoe's Guide, several years ago when Estragon and I could still delight each other with obscure plays on phrases used by 16th century poets or modern wits, as incorporated into our stories. It remains true that for literacy and respect for the language, for bemused, ruefully ironic exploration of the absurdities of human desire, above all for rapt philosophical and psychological exploration of male sexual submission and female domination (as often as not to precocious teenage girls), Estragon has never been surpassed. My own teen domme "JayCee" was modeled on Estragon's several cleverer and more insouciant young heroines.

ESTRAGON is a meticulous stylist for whom femdom is very nearly a religion Male subjection or worship especially of young women is a deep natural instinct in men and boys, he believes, and a privilege some women grant some men, appropriately testing their willingness to endure pain and humiliation. Most of his stories are long on philosophic exploration of the phenomenon and short on action, but they can have an analytic intensity which is awesome (as in "I Meet Toni's Mom," or "Travels with Aunt Paula") or hilarious (as in "I Learn to Think" and the earlier "War Games"). Estragon died February 12, 1998.

Addendum (still Vickie): He was still writing a few days before he died ("Pommel Horse," "Fashion's Slave," both unfinished) doing what he loved doing. His work was collected by the femdom writer Mule shortly before his death and placed on Mule's Webpage, where it may still be. He was gratified that Celeste respected his literacy and care and usually awarded his stories straight 10s. When he received scores any lower he was miserable despite himself, despite knowing that Celeste was a cheerfully unsophisticated amateur critic and he was himself an established professional.

His writing brought extraordinary dignity, force, wit, intelligence, and respectability to erotic fiction -- especially to femdom -- in the unruly early days of the Net. In that way he made our work much easier. Once someone like Estragon has written, those who want to call what we do "trash" stand self-condemned by their own ignorance. --Vickie Tern

Jack of All Trades

I nominate Jack of All Trades for the ASSTR Hall of Fame. He ceased to write more than a year ago, is now incommunicado and I am informed that he shall not return. Jack was an intelligent writer, and a good and popular one but I believe that his claim, as a writer, for being in the ASSTR Hall of Fame rests on being one of ASS*'s great romantics (although his stories sometimes take a dark turn), and on being a master of the sex scene.

Jack was also an innovator and organiser within the community, concerned with raising the standard of writing appearing on ASS*. He formed a working partnership, which grew into friendship, with his formidable editor, Ruthie.

This fruitful relationship led to the "Ruthie's Foursome," a co-operative writing exercise between the four ASS* authors edited by Ruthie. This, in turn, was a stepping stone to a community outgrowth, a further level to which top ASS* writers might aspire: Jack, with Ruthie and the other members of her Foursome, was instrumental in establishing Ruthie's Club (www.ruthiesclub.com), a commercial web-site offering illustrated adult fiction. His last story, "The Adventures of Cody Wellbaugh, Professional Cowboy" was written for Ruthie's Club. Jack's stories are bequeathed to Ruthie's Club and are archived there. -- Father Ignatius

Katie McN

Katie was, and is, a particularly good friend of mine, and she asked me to write this entry for the Hall of Fame. I was glad to do so, having had hours of enjoyment from her stories <g> and the pleasure of her company online from the time she first appeared.

Katie McN wrote 44 stories in her two years of writing. In her first year (2000) she won Best Newcomer in the Clitorides Awards (awards for writing voted on by readers and other authors) and in her second year (2001) she won the Award for Best Author.

She wrote one-off stories and series, covering a wide range of themes, and did all of them well. Her Mary Kay and Mallory stories were particularly good examples of Lesbian Romance and were worth awards on their own. She was also a person with a good sense of humour and a fair number of her stories were parodies, lampooning particular genres, and managing to make the reader both laugh, and get aroused, at the same time.

All in all, Katie was a woman proud of being a lesbian, and proud of her ability to write. And, that, she had in abundance. Losing her creativity and humour is a loss indeed, and ASSM and the Archives at ASSTR will be poorer for not having any more Katie stories.

So, thank you Katie for a wonderful two years worth of writing. And if you haven't read her stories yet, do so now, and have a feast. -- Hecate

Kim (aka Ghost ex Machina)

Her stories varied tremendously in quality, and some of them were very good, but what I remember most about her was her energy. For a long time she kept ASSD a very lively place. She so often shot from the hip and apologized almost immediately that some of us felt deprived when she hadn't insulted somebody for a few days. Some people called her the "Queen of ASSD," which irritated others no end. She made nearly everybody angry at one time or another, but everybody knew she was there, whether they liked her or not. She was a presence. --Jane Urquhart

*** *** ***

Speaking purely about Kim's story telling abilities, I found her to be one of the most adventurous writers around. There was a period when most everything she wrote was a three tenner from Celeste. She even scored an A+ from Lady Cyrrh. Not many could write to please both camps. Her writings varied from straight 'stroke' to deeply moving love stories, from chilling drama to strange, almost experimental pieces. Above all there was an energy there. Behind the words, even at their most challenging, you could see an infectious smile. She made me laugh, she made me wince, and more than once she made me cry. She was also one of the very best guest reviewers Celeste ever had. She was a one of a kind, and I miss her. -- Tom (of Tom, Dick and Harry)

Losgud

Incest was Losgud's primary theme. Few have handled that subject with Losgu'ds combination of grace, humor, and good-natured sexiness. One of Losgud's great talents was his ability to give us a narrator with whom we could identify even if in real life we'd never find our relatives or wife's relatives of the slightest sexual interest. A typical Losgud story manages to mix the comic with the serious, the wild with the ordinary, lust and desire with love and loveliness, invariably to brilliant and entertaining effect. Losgud's world is mostly a good place. I miss his brand of story and storytelling.

You can find Losgud's stories by doing a Google search for "Losgud" on "alt.sex.stories.moderated." --Mat Twassel

Maria Gonzales

I am speaking of the "missed" Maria Gonzales . . . Missed by those of us who knew and remember her, of course.

As for specific qualifications for the Hall, she has done the following:

If she did not initially "propose" she was instrumental in the establishment and assisted greatly in the running of "The Fantasy Train" and her site has been it's permanent home since the "orgy" was run in 1999.

It was she who proposed and originally "ran" the Golden Clitoride competition whic so many of us authors strive to win (or at least be nominated for).

She is the author of 20+ stories of her own including (but not limited to):

"The Famous Donkey Girl of Tijuana"

"The Package"

"Witches"

"The Auction - Lisette's Story"

and - of course -

"Dr. Rui's Amazing Love Potion in a Can"

A long standing participant in ASSD, a staunch supporter and rooting section of/for new writers and a long standing supported and cheerleader for ASSTR itself, I believe she deserves a place within the hallowed halls of our recognized compatriots . . .

For any of you who are not familiar with any of the stories I have mentioned - or (the stars forbid) The Fantasy Train itself . . . everything can be found on her site within the author's directory at:

http://www.asstr.org/~MariaGonzales/

Enjoy the reading - I did when most were written and have since . . . --Ray

Mary Anne Mohanraj

Mary Anne Mohanraj's stories are uniformly excellent. Her work covers a wide variety of situations and subjects, from masturbation ("Just Reading News," "A Jewel of a Woman") to arranged marriages ("Season of Marriage," "The Devouring Night") to BDSM ("Attraction," "Blind," "Mistress Molly") to encounters with the divine ("Diana," "Feather"), but all of it is marked by skillful characterization and elegant use of the English language. She is also a talented poet.

While no longer active on ASS, Mary Anne maintains an extensive website . Mary Anne is one of the very few online writers to have published a book of her work. (The book, "Torn Shapes of Desire," is available from Amazon.com, but it may be out of print soon. I highly recommend it to anyone who has enjoyed her stories, as it contains several that are not available on the web.) A pioneer in the field of Internet erotica, Mary Anne is the founder and moderator of the Internet Erotica Writers' Workshop, and editor of Clean Sheets , an online erotica magazine.

I have had the distinct pleasure of meeting Mary Anne in real life during the 1998 World Science Fiction convention, and I found that she is every bit as thoughtful, funny, and charming in person as her writing would suggest. -----Jacques Leblanc

M1ke Hunt

Many people thought his stories were the best combinations of humor and sexiness ever posted on ASSM. He also wrote one or two very serious stories that were masterpieces. Not everybody would agree, but I think he was a great writer. For me personally, he was also a great inspiration, though he was gone before I came aboard as a writer. His stories can be found on Bit Bard's Library--Jane Urquhart

Miss Behavin

For almost three years, Miss Behavin' wrote some of the very best sex stories, most of which are MF romances. Although Miss Behavin' wrote stories with plots larger than just the sex, her sex scenes were hot and erotic. Nevertheless, her talent shined through most in her ability to write characters and plots worth caring for. Her characters seemed real to me, and I cared what happened to them as I read her stories. Her stories touched me very deeply, and I'm grateful I had the opportunity to read them--and even to help polish some of them through proofreading. -- John R.

Ole Joe

Not a writer at all, he was an archivist extraordinaire . Some us still have the last edition of his voluminous list of writers and their stories. If you wanted to know who wrote what, his list was the place to go. He performed a very valuable service.--Jane Urquhart

Parker

Parker was a prolific writer from 1993 to 1996, when, for reasons known only to him, he chose to terminate his career as a writer of erotic stories. To my knowledge he has written more than thirty works ranging from short to medium- sized stories, including a full-length novel. In his own words, he wrote about "blackmail, humiliation, semi-consensual sex, D&S and all that sort of bad stuff." He also made a point of warning the reader about his lack of political correctness. His magnum opus, "Stacy's Senior Year," stands as testimony to his talent. Imitated by many, equaled by few, surpassed by none, Parker was, simply put, a master of the trade.--Robin Lovejoy

Pred

Open the dictionary to the word 'iconoclast' and you'll see a picture of Pred. He used his exceptional talents to shock and disturb readers in many categories of porn. It is hard to imagine that he missed a single squick with his wonderful stories. Some people took him seriously and for them he was serious threat. Others realized that he was making fun of all the things others held sacred and we laughed with every new post. I can't say what his best story might be. They all have qualities that set them apart. Tiny Toy probably more than any other highlights his skill in raising emotions with a well written story. --Katie McN

Steve Jensen

For years, Steve wrote out of (I believe) Rustie and Edie's BBS. Then, when for a while the laws seemed to get sticky, and before the Net opened up fully (around the time of the first CDA, I think) he dropped out of sight, and nobody has heard from him since. If you liked consensual pedo stories (OK, so many don't) then his were some of the best; especially for the times. Even now, five or six years later, you still get requests for reposts. His "Brittany 3" story ("Amanda's Conquest"), I still rate as one of the most erotic "little girl" stories of all time.--Frank McCoy

*** *** ***

Steve Jensen is another author whose stories were found mainly on BBSs. Steve wrote mostly about sibling incest, but unlike others his tales usually had a a darker edge to them. Often, it was the girl who had the upper hand over the guy. The "Brittany" series was my introduction to incest stories, and to this day they remain among my favorites. --Stephen

Tammy and Deidre Ng

Tammy and Deidre Ng (aka the Sisters Ng) were quite active at one time, and often wrote their stories as letters to each other. A few times, Backrub joined them for a threesome. Deidre has appeared and posted a new (or old) story once in a blue moon. I believe that their email address is still valid. --Daphne Xu

Taria

She simply was one of the greatest writers this community has ever seen. She was rather shy, though she was sometimes boisterous, and she was in a few very big fights that took place before my time, but all that pales into insignificance when one looks at her stories. Many people think "Art Appreciation" was her best; I am most taken by the tremendous emotional realism in "Power and the Word;" her last major story, "One O'clock Jump," is another masterpiece. Her stories may be found at "Taria's Bibliography" page at Bitbard's site. -- Jane Urquhart

Tom Bombadil

Tom Bombadil was one of the best authors around here, with a wide variety of topics. If you haven't read his novels "Brenda - A Love Story" and "Elizabeth and Anastasia", then go look them up. He also wrote at least 20 short stories, some very moving with no sex at all, some sexy and strange or funny. His stories can be found at " Tom Bombadil's Bibliography" page at Bitbard's site. --MT Head

Walter Slaven

Walter Slaven wrote the erotic fantasy story entitled "Tie Fighter," set in the Star Wars universe. Well written, with in-depth character development and a lengthy plot line, his story enthralls the reader. Slaven apparently is not a prolific writer-- "Tie Fighter"is his only erotic work as far as I know--but he makes up for this with a 'must read' story that I highly recommend to everyone. The story can be found at this search results page in the ASSM Archive --Wlliam Reed

Wollstonecraft

Episodic stories about ecstatic sexual awakenings disguised as stories about women forced and/or tricked into becoming pregnant. Ze* wrote in a coy romance-novel style distinguished by its clinical-but-poetic sexual descriptions and strong sense of irony. Hir best story was "Tales of the Seeding," about an unnamed and undescribed primitive society that has reduced sex to a series of passionless rituals used in the service of procreation. I was particularly impressed by hir assured use of multiple viewpoints, something that is difficult to do well in a short story. All of hir stories can be found at Bitbard's web site. -- Christine "Green Leafy Dragon" Indigo

*Note: 'Hir' and 'Ze' are experimental nongendered pronouns, not typos.