by Kathleen E. Morris
Short Story/Erotica
161 pages
Rating: 1/2 out of 5
Sometimes sweet, sometimes sour can best describe these
outrageous tales of lesbian passion in Kathleen E. Morris’ SPEAKING IN
WHISPERS: AFRICAN-AMERICAN LESBIAN EROTICA.
Morris has compiled 14 stories of lesbian lust with candor, with four
interludes named for a season thrown in as a quick tease. The style
and characters are contemporary, and some will leave you hot and
bothered. Here, black lesbians are referred to as “wimmin” or a
“womon,” Morris own term she coined.
In “HER,” a womon meets HER on a crowded train and lives out her
never forget. Jaime gets a “Second Chance” at love with a new wommon after boarding up her heart.
Speaking in Whispers does manage to venture out for pleasure. A trip to “The Movies” gets a little
freaky for one pair, and a spicy encounter with a womon at “The Club” gets Tita’s blood racing. In
“The Painter,” an art student finds a new source of inspiration with a sexy classmate, while an
overworked womon gets a different kind of treatment at “The Spa.” “Appetizers” are what’s on the
menu for Carmen and Paula, two wimmin wanting to taste the rainbow.
Making time for love is also a theme in Speaking. At “The Festival,” a security guard at a wimmin’s
camp can hardly find sometime alone with an exotic, dreadlocked beauty vying her a little of her
attention. “The Honeymoon Cottage” is where it all goes down between Hillary and Sonia, two
passionate wimmin with no time for each other between their busy schedules. Kimberly finally gets her
fantasy with “Pongee,” a professor she’s lusted after for years and gets her chance with years later.
Other tales include a lover getting caught looking in her girl’s “Honey Eyes,” while there’s nowhere for
desire to hide in “The Exit.” “The Gateway” leads Patrice to another dimension, one where an erotic
alien is taught the real meaning of human sexuality.
Morris’ stories are titillating, but a few didn’t hit the spot. There were a couple of stories that left me
hanging with how short they were, and there were a couple that just didn’t do it for me. And I’m not
quite sure what the seasonal interludes were supposed to do. Morris also should focus more on making
her stories more varied and wide-ranging, as sometimes I felt I was reading the same story twice.
But most of the tales I enjoyed, and those managed to do their job, leaving me craving for more.
Reviewed February 2006
