Product Description
An intelligent erotic novel that explores intimacy outside the gender binary.
“Underneath all the androgyny and fluctuation, the book’s about human connection. Rosenthal’s use of sex and gender identities to illustrate how we reach toward and away from relationships is merely a new approach to an old idea: We all need intimacy with others to deepen our understanding of ourselves.” — Time Out Chicago.
Black Tape For A Blue Girl (and Projekt) founder Sam Rosenthal turns erotic novelist within the pages of Rye. ‘Look Inside’ Rye with a pdf, or at Amazon by clicking the book cover on the upper left of the page.
Purchase Rye for your Kindle at Amazon:

WARNING: Rye contains mature themes and situations; it is not intended for minors.
A money-shot across the bow of outdated sensibilities, Rye takes a sexual somersault through the complexities of desire in a penetrating portrayal of twenty-first century intimacy.
“I spent some time devouring Rye and really really enjoyed not only the story and the characters and the death snark, but also the way that Sam tackled the new thing about relationships. It’s the same as it ever was, and it’s not the same as it ever was. And that melds so beautifully in Rye. Thanks for the good read!” – Carol Queen, The Center for Sex and Culture, San Francisco
Matt is dating Rye, a willfully free androgynous school teacher. Attracted to Matt’s kinkiness and groundedness, Rye develops a taste for his masculinity and her submission. At a weekend SexxCamp retreat, Matt meets Rain, a charming and snarky twenty-something GenderQueer woman with both an attraction and aversion to sex. An unconventional three-way relationship develops, expanding their understanding of polyamory, identity, love and connection.
“Rye is as intellectually stimulating as erotically charged. As for the erotic content, I can’t hope to list of all that is covered, toys, BDSM, roleplay, gender fluidity in sex… the list goes on. A sense of realism triumphs; don’t expect to read erotica with paper-thin characters you are only meant to overlay with your own fantasies (although if some of the book’s scenes push your fantasy buttons in a good way, that’s great too!). These characters have their own concerns and fears they are working through and the reader is not left to forget that, even, and perhaps especially, when they are getting it on. With fully developed characters who struggle through relationships, gender, and sexuality in an erotic context, Rye is a unique work that I would very much recommend to anyone who is looking to see some genderqueer representation in erotic fiction, and those who are interested in or are themselves poly and/or kinky. After my tireless struggle with erotic fiction previously, Rye was quite the refreshing read!” – Marilyn Roxie, http://genderqueerid.com/
“Rye is like Fifty Shades of Grey if it were written for intelligent adults who actually have sex. With authentic top-bottom, it’s pretty damn hot! Come to think of it, I guess it’s nothing like Fifty Shades.”
Intelligent erotica. An engaging page-turner, Rye takes a sexual somersault through the complexity of desire. It’s not just about the hot, sweet sex, though. The gender non-conforming characters discover themselves: delicate, tender, wounded and hopeful. Told through the prism of polyamory, sexuality, and the top-bottom dynamic, Rye sparkles with wit, emotion and honesty. They grow to accept themselves, even the parts that society tells them are not acceptable.
“Rosenthal’s characters and their stories are realistic and engaging, his attention to detail is fantastic, and the larger interpersonal issues that he skillfully raises in Rye are rarely tackled in erotica, queer or otherwise. The novel focuses on the joy, challenge, and surprise experienced by Matt, Rye, and Rain as they explore their polyamorous, and at times deliciously kinky, relationship. Matt is wholeheartedly and optimistically in love with Rye, whose desire for both intimacy and independence spurs him to keep Matt at a distance. Rain’s insight, quirky charm, and death-snark are a fun and welcome counterpoint. What is genuinely surprising is that Rye isn’t so much an erotic novel as it is a well-crafted novel about the human condition that happens to be erotica.” — W.D. Wilkerson, Amazon reviewer
If you chose “first class” in the USA, we will ship the book Media Mail (as the $2.75 for first class doesn’t cover the cost to ship it. Thanks for understanding.
Click to Join, hit send, and I’ll add you to the list. – Sam
Reviews Editor –
There has been a bunch of press leading up to my Midwest Readings in Chicago, St Louis and Bloomington (IN). Time Out Chicago ran an article on-line and in the print edition. Wow!
But underneath all the androgyny and fluctuation, the book’s about human connection. Rosenthal’s use of sex and gender identities to illustrate how we reach toward and away from relationships is, on one hand, merely a new approach to an old idea: Sweaty with lust or dry as wheat, we all need intimacy with others to deepen our understanding of ourselves.
padmin –
“Rye is probing — in every sense of the word — in both its critical exploration of gender identity and its display of those personal tensions within real life relationships. …It raises plenty of provocative questions about sexuality and polyamory, while telling a pretty good story. I think there are theories worth digging for in Rosenthal’s jumble of words and bodies — ideas that will probably mean different things to different people, and will probably also leave most readers with some previously hidden sense of curiosity, a new insight into queer lifestyles, or at least a more intellectual way to get off.” – The Villager, New York City
Rye Reviews & Mentions
Review #9 butchatstic.net. 5-30-13
Author interview with Sam @ msbehaved.com, 5-29-13
Review #8 Erotica For The Big Brain, 5-26-13. “It is a work of unique vision; the product of a serious passion; one of those unusual efforts that genuinely transcends the sum of its parts. Well worth a download.”
Sam Podcast interview @ The Undiscovered Goddess, May 2013. 3min in, 10 min long.
Rye excerpt @ msbehaved.com, 5-17-13
Review #7 @ Erotica Revealed, May 2013. “I’m glad I read this, which is likely the best thing I can say. I think there’s so much in this novella that made me stop and ponder and rethink some of my own points of view that I came out of it with a few new ways of looking at the world – which can never be a bad thing.”
Review #6 @ Life on the swingset, 4-16-13
Mention @ Slut on a Budget, 4-15-13
Reading preview @ Glamorosi, 4-14-13
Interview @ Spectrum Culture, 4-10-13. About Rye, Goth Music, Projekt Records.
Interview @ the erotic salon, 4-9-13
Review #5 @ Sex-Positive St Louis, 4-4-13
Review #4 @ Time Out Chicago “Sexplorations in fiction”, 4-4-13. Web + full page in print edition.
What They’re reading @ The Kinsey Institute’s Kinsey Confidential, 4-2-13
Mix Tape Link @ homoground, 4-1-13
Review #3 @ alanandmichele.com, 4-1-13
Interview @ Queer Fat Femme five-questions for Sam, 3-31-13
Review #2 @ Gay City News “A queerly engaging novel”, 2-1-13
Included @ boyculture.com “Four takes on self-publishing”, 1-25-13
Review #2 @ The Villager “A queerly engaging novel”, 1-24-13
Review #1 @ GenderQueer Identities here, 1-20-13
Tomas Roche blog about Good Vibe reading: 12-12-12
Queer Magazine Online: 11-29-12
MK Ultra Blog: 11-29-12
Side-line Magazine: 11-28-12
I would like to interview Sam
Sure, no problem, contact sam: Email me!