Skin to Skin: Erotic Lesbian Love Stories, 1998, New Victoria Publishers: Norwich Vermont, soft cover, ISBN 0-934678-86-3, is Martha Miller's first book. It is a collection of nineteen short stories. The book is filled with real everyday women. No fancy clothes, no fancy cars, and no fancy degrees. 

 

Some of the stories were previously published in Common Lives/Lesbian Lives, Lesbian Bedtime Stories, On Our Backs, The Evergreen Chronicles, Herotica 2, 3 & 4, Ex-Lover Weird Shit, Bad Attitude, and Penthouse.  

“Martha Miller is one of my favorite erotic writers.” – Susie Bright.

“These are warm, generous, sexy stories about women you will recognize.” – Tee Corinne The Cunt Coloring Book.

“. . .realistic characters with sexual exploits you can relate to. . . . relationships so intensely romantic and seductive, sex becomes secondary.  The plotlines are so enticing you’ll actually be surprised when the fucking starts.  Call the U-Haul—this one’s a keeper.—On Our Backs

“After reading hundreds of lesbian stories about beautiful blondes with bodies to match, it was such a refreshing change to read about real women known lesbians. . . the overweight ones, the ones with children, the ones who live nightmare worlds of drugs and alcohol.  These characters were easy to like and hate. “—A. Steiner. Amazon

“There’s no adolescent embarrassment in this book, unless the reader brings it herself.  There are no apologies, no pleas for understanding.  It’s just a collection of women being themselves, going to work, feeding fruitcake to their dogs, searching for love and often settling for sex, never forgetting that, to quote one of the characters in Skin to Skin ‘being touched is a powerful thing.’” – Carol Manely The Illinois Times.

“I almost didn’t finish this collection, because the third story contains what may be the most cruel sentence I’ve ever read.  “I just wanted to be with someone pretty.”  It took my breath away, that calculated bit of meanness, but after a few days of shuddering at the thought, I was able to go back and finish both “Pretty” and the rest of these remarkable tales.

 “Martha Miller is an artist with words.  Using not one more than absolutely necessary, she sculpts small universes, peoples them with real and individual characters, then shows the way love hurts or heals or entertains.  Filled with honest laught and painful tears, Skin to Skin is a brilliant collection.  I only hope Miller writes much more, and soon.” – Deborah Piefer—Bay Area Reporter.