"One Favor" by S. Leigh Farmer (alias@pseudo.nym.org). Guest review by Robert (Citizen@GalaxyCorp.com).
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In light of the recent discussion on a.s.s.d. regarding the cinematic influence in erotic (and other) writing, a review of this story seems particularly apt. According to the author, "One Favor" started life as a screenplay. Unfortunately, she was unable to find a producer willing to bid for it and so altered the tale by adding a generous dose of hot sex and stronger focus on the transgender theme. I can't help but wonder how the movie would have turned out.

Valerie is a workaholic research scientist studying the effects of intense magnetism on living tissue. Due to a careless bit of sexual fun, she winds up pregnant by Barry, her husband of five months. This sends her into a deep depression, since she feels she's not ready for pregnancy, much less children, what with her research and all. She needs to put in long hours and already feels less energetic. What to do?

As she's dejectedly reviewing some anomalies from her lab notes, she has a flash of inspiration. She realizes that she has inadvertently discovered a process to swap minds! This gives her an idea... Since Barry's job keeps him mostly at home, she begs him for "one favor": to swap bodies for a few days, just until her heavy workload eases up. Barry reluctantly agrees. He loves his wife dearly, and it _is_ for the good of the baby after all. Besides, it's only for a few days...

This story is a great read. It is quite long, but I got so caught up in the plot I didn't really notice it. Farmer provides plenty of time and a variety of situations to get to know both Barry and Valerie well. It is also one of the more intelligent treatments of this type of transgendering. Both Barry and Valerie discover many of the joys (and complications) of being man or woman. As an added bonus, there's plenty of sex, well-described and very exciting.

I also like a story that stretches my vocabulary. I had to get out my twenty- pound unabridged Webster's to discover what a "fourchette" is.

The ending surprised me - twice! And to find out what _that_ means, you'll need to read the story yourself.