Alison Tyler (born 1969) is the pseudonym of an American author, editor and publisher of
erotica
Erotica is literature or art that deals substantively with subject matter that is erotic, sexually stimulating or sexually arousing. Some critics regard pornography as a type of erotica, but many consider it to be different. Erotic art may use ...
living in Northern California. She has authored over 20 explicit novels, hundreds of short stories and has edited more than 60 erotic anthologies. She runs her own publishing company, Pretty Things Press ("Pretty on the outside, dirty on the inside").
Tired of getting mixed up with the porn actress with the same name, she now blogs on Patreon as Alison Trollop.
Career
Tyler began writing professionally in the 1990s, selling stories to Penthouse Variations and
Playgirl
''Playgirl'' was an American magazine that featured general interest articles, lifestyle and celebrity news, in addition to nude or semi-nude men. In the 1970s and 1980s, the magazine printed monthly and was marketed mainly to women, although ...
. Her first novel was published by Blue Moon when she was 23. Tyler went on to write twelve novels for Masquerade Books before moving to
Virgin Books
Virgin Books is a British book publisher 90% owned by the publishing group Random House, and 10% owned by Virgin Group, the company originally set up by Richard Branson as a record company.
History
Virgin established its book publishing arm ...
'
Black Lace
Black Lace are a British pop band, best known for novelty party records, including their biggest hit, " Agadoo". The band first came to the public eye after being selected to represent the UK in the 1979 Eurovision Song Contest, in which they ...
and Cheek imprints in 1999.
Her short story fiction appears in a range of anthologies, including titles edited by
Violet Blue
Violet Blue is an American journalist, author, editor, advisor, and educator. Blue wrote a weekly sex column for the ''San Francisco Chronicle'' until 2010. In her podcast, Open Source Sex, she reads erotica and discusses topics such as feti ...
,
Stephen Elliott Stephen Elliott may refer to:
Entertainment
*Stephen Elliott (actor), (1918–2005), American actor
* Stephen Elliott (author) (born 1971), American author and activist
Sport
*Steve Elliott (footballer, born 1958), English footballer
*Steve Ellio ...
,
Maxim Jakubowski
Maxim Jakubowski (born 1944) is a crime, erotic, science fiction and rock music writer and critic.
Jakubowski was born in 1944 in England to Russian-British and Polish parents, but raised in France. Jakubowski has also lived in Italy and has tr ...
,
Rachel Kramer Bussel
Rachel Kramer Bussel (born 1975) is an author, columnist, and editor, specializing in erotica. She previously studied at the New York University School of Law and earned her bachelor's degree in political science and women's studies from the U ...
,
Tristan Taormino
Tristan Taormino (born May 9, 1971) is an American feminist author, columnist, sex educator, activist, editor, speaker, radio host, and pornographic film director. She is most recently known for her book ''Opening Up: A Guide to Creating and Susta ...
,
Zane and Tyler herself. She has edited numerous erotic anthologies for
Cleis Press
Cleis Press is an American independent publisher of books in the areas of sexuality, erotica, feminism, gay and lesbian studies, gender studies, fiction, and human rights. The press was founded in 1980 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It later moved to ...
and Pretty Things Press, the small publishing company Tyler runs.
Tyler writes in an intimate, semi-autobiographical style, focusing on themes of
female submission,
spanking
Spanking is a form of corporal punishment involving the act of striking, with either the palm of the hand or an implement, the buttocks of a person to cause physical pain. The term spanking broadly encompasses the use of either the hand or im ...
,
bondage,
bisexuality and
group sex. In August 2006, Tyler began blogging intensely about a former
BDSM
BDSM is a variety of often erotic practices or roleplaying involving bondage, discipline, dominance and submission, sadomasochism, and other related interpersonal dynamics. Given the wide range of practices, some of which may be engaged ...
relationship, described by
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
as "a sulphurous personal memoir of past sexual activities which put
Belle de Jour's timid exploits in the shade."
Initially intending to write confessionally each day for a month, Tyler continued with her story for 16 months, gaining a broad and loyal daily readership.
Described as a "trollop with a laptop" by East Bay Express,
Tyler continues to blog regularly, using the platform to engage with readers, and to promote emerging writers by showcasing their work in competitive "Smut Marathons". In 2013, the first in a trilogy of novels based on Tyler's diaries and personal blog entries is published. Billed by the publisher,
Cleis Press
Cleis Press is an American independent publisher of books in the areas of sexuality, erotica, feminism, gay and lesbian studies, gender studies, fiction, and human rights. The press was founded in 1980 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It later moved to ...
as a "work of
autobiographical fiction
An autobiography, sometimes informally called an autobio, is a self-written account of one's own life.
It is a form of biography.
Definition
The word "autobiography" was first used deprecatingly by William Taylor in 1797 in the English peri ...
, a meta-novel with reality at the core", ''Dark Secret Love: A Story of Submission'' takes its title from the
William Blake
William Blake (28 November 1757 – 12 August 1827) was an English poet, painter, and printmaker. Largely unrecognised during his life, Blake is now considered a seminal figure in the history of the poetry and visual art of the Romantic Age. ...
poem,
The Sick Rose
"The Sick Rose" is a poem by William Blake, originally published in ''Songs of Innocence and of Experience'' as the 39th plate; the incipit of the poem is O Rose thou art sick. Blake composed the poem sometime after 1789, and presented it with a ...
.
Tyler's work has been translated into several languages and her short story fiction appears in her collections ''Blue Sky Sideways'', ''Bad Girl'' and ''Exposed''. Her non-fiction includes ''Never Have the Same Sex Twice: a Guide for Couples'' and ''Never Say Never ''(forthcoming).
Tyler is an upbeat supporter of non-mainstream sexualities, erotic fiction and pornography, asserting, "People try to make you feel bad by saying, 'You write porn.' But I won't feel bad for it."
Select bibliography
Novels
* ''The Blue Rose'', Rosebud Books, 1995,
* ''Dark Room'', Masquerade Books, 1995,
* ''Dial L for Loveless'', Masquerade Books, 1996,
* ''Venus Online'', Masquerade Books, 1997,
* ''The Silver Key: Madame Victoria’s Finishing School'', Masquerade Books, 1998,
* ''Learning to Love It'', Black Lace, 2000,
* ''Strictly Confidential'', Black Lace, 2001,
* ''Blue Valentine'', Magic Carpet Books, 2002,
* ''The ESP Affair'', Magic Carpet Books, 2002,
* ''Sweet Thing'', Black Lace, 2002,
* ''Sticky Fingers'', Black Lace, 2003,
* ''Something About Workmen'', Black Lace, 2003,
* ''Rumours'', Cheek, 2005,
* ''Tiffany Twisted'', Cheek, 2006,
* ''With or Without You'', Cheek, 2006,
* ''Melt With You'', Cheek, 2008,
* ''Dark Secret Love: a Story of Submission'', Cleis Press, 2013,
Collections
* ''Blue Sky Sideways'', Masquerade Books, 1996,
* ''Bad Girl'', Pretty Things Press, 2002,
* ''Exposed: The Erotic Fiction of Alison Tyler'', Cleis Press, 2006,
As editor
* ''Naughty Stories from A to Z'', Pretty Things Press, 2002,
* ''Down and Dirty: 69 Super Sexy Short-Shorts'', Pretty Things Press, 2003,
* ''Hers: 30 Erotic Tales Written Just for Her'', (co-edited with Thomas S Roche), Pretty Things Press, 2003,
* ''His: 30 Erotic Tales Written Just for Him'', (co-edited with Thomas S Roche), Pretty Things Press, 2003,
* ''Best Bondage Erotica'', Cleis Press, 2003,
* ''Naked Erotica'', Pretty Things Press, 2004,
* ''Luscious: Stories of Anal Eroticism'', Cleis Press, 2006,
* ''Slave to Love: Sexy Tales of Erotic Restraint'', Cleis Press, 2006,
* ''Caught Looking'' (co-edited with Rachel Kramer Bussel), Cleis Press, 2006,
* ''Got a Minute?: Sixty Second Erotica'', Cleis Press, 2007,
* ''Love at First Sting: Sexy Tales of Erotic Restraint'', Cleis Press, 2007,
* ''A Is for Amour'', Cleis Press, 2007,
* ''B Is for Bondage'', Cleis Press, 2007,
* ''F Is for Fetish'', Cleis Press, 2007,
* ''H Is for Hardcore'', Cleis Press, 2007,
* ''J is for Jealousy'', Cleis Press, 2008,
* ''K Is for Kinky'', Cleis Press, 2008,
* ''Open For Business: Tales of Office Sex'', Cleis Press, 2008,
* ''Frenzy: 60 Stories of Sudden Sex'', Cleis Press, 2008,
* ''Never Have The Same Sex Twice'', Cleis Press, 2008,
* ''Hurts So Good: Unrestrained Erotica'', Cleis Press, 2008,
* ''Afternoon Delight: Erotica for Couples'', Cleis Press, 2008,
* ''Playing with Fire: Taboo Erotica'', Cleis Press, 2009,
* ''Pleasure Bound: True Bondage Stories'', Cleis Press, 2009,
* ''Got a Minute?: Sixty Second Erotica'', reissue, Cleis Press, 2010,
* ''Hide and Seek: Erotic Tales of Voyeurs and Exhibitionists'', reissue, (co-edited by Rachel Kramer Bussel), Cleis Press, 2010,
* ''Smart Ass, Bad Ass, Kiss My Ass: The Trilogy'', Pretty Things Press, 2012,
* ''The Big Book of Bondage'', Cleis Press, 2013,
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tyler, Alison
Living people
1972 births
American erotica writers
BDSM writers