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Buy it now from Rebel Satori Press.

I have been reading gay erotica since I was old enough for it to matter and writing and/or editing it for the last ten years. Frankly at this stage of the game for me, it’s less about the sex and more about the set-up; less about cock and more about character. But I have to say, Natty Soltesz’ Queer Mojo release Backwoods bypassed my cerebral instincts and went straight to my lap.

This fine collection of fuck stories takes place in fictional Groom, PA at various locations throughout the town. Not all the pieces share the same characters, but some appear in more than one story (like Michael Graves’ excellent Dirty One). And, also like the Graves book, the town is another character rather than simply the setting. Nowhere is this better embodied than the opener, “The Train,” which sees a masturbating conductor guiding his steel steed through the small burg:

                        “ The train tracks, though, they’ve been there forever. They’re

part of the landscape. Most of these towns are built from the, not

the other way around. So the train runs behind things—past

backyards and back doors and on through the woods’ a town’s

hidden places and secret spots.”

Among Groom’s many secret spots is the residence of an out gay couple and the object of public scorn among the population. In the two-part “Homo Hut” that bookends the rest of the stories, Randy and his husband Dom have all manner of sex with both single and married guys as well as the young thug Randy catches defacing their house with a can of spray paint. There’s also gym sex, parked car sex, teen circle jerks (complete with come-covered cookies), treehouse sex, teacher-student sex, father-son sex, and brother-in-law sex.

Cliches? Well, yes. But Soltesz embraces and inhabits them so fully, with such lustful wonder and horny detail that he makes them new again. You’re halfway through the scene before you realize that you’ve seen this done before—though rarely so well done. He manages to defibrillate the sexual heart of these worn devices and send the blood flowing straight to the readers’ genitalia. 

However, Soltesz’ talents are many. As one of my favorite pieces, “The Opera House,” proves, he can also create wonderful characters. In this story, ostensibly straight roommates Cody and Britt begin a sexual relationship by “helping each other out,” soon breaking all their taboos as they graduate to oral and, finally, anal play. After all, it’s just sex. Or is it? Cody finds out how emotion can creep into a strictly good-time relationship. And ruin it.

Backwoods is a hot read—made even hotter by Michael Kirwan’s great illustrations. Altogether, it’s a wonderfully well-stuffed package. I can’t believe I just typed that.

Yes, I can…

Reviewed by Jerry Wheeler