By Felicia Pride

Controversy is surrounding bestselling erotica author Zane's new book. The woman known for her racy writing recently edited a lesbian erotica collection, Purple Panties: The Eroticanoir.com Anthology. The book's cover and content have been deemed offensive by some folks.

On AALBC.com, a literary site for African Americans run by Troy Johnson, Zane posted a note about the controversy. Here's a selected portion of "Zane's Apology for the Status of Today's World":

At first, I was going to hold my tongue about this issue; I really was. When one of the biggest National chain bookstores informed my publicist that my latest book was "too racy" for me to do signings there, I discussed it with a few people and let it go. When a book club service that has carried every last one of my other titles decided "to pass" on this one because they did not feel it fit their demographics, I let it go. But, there is always that proverbial last straw and that straw broke the camel's back last night.

I received an "Apology" email from a person who runs an online magazine. It was an apology to her subscribers because someone was offended by her promotion of my latest title. She vowed to not promote any more erotica or books that were not PG-13 rated. I emailed her back to ask if that includes street fiction or roughly 85% of the novels on the market that have some form of violence, profanity, or sexual content.

The only difference between "Purple Panties" and the nearly two dozen other titles that I have written or edited is that it is a collection of LESBIAN EROTICA. To that, I say shame on it all. It saddens me that we still live in a world that is so sexually oppressed. Now I am not saying that people need to rush out and read the book, or any of my books.

I am saying, point blank, that people have a ton of sexual hang-ups that they need to get over.

Everything is not for everybody but to "be offended," to claim that a book is "too racy" for booksignings but "Succulent" was not too racy a couple of months ago, nor "Dear G Spot" before that, or the book before that and so on, makes the real rationale behind it obvious.

Will they feel that same way when "Honey Flava" comes out two weeks from now or "Another Time, Another Place" in early June? "Zane's Sex Chronicles" in August? "Sensualidad: Caramel Flava 2" in August? Will they feel that same way when my next full-length novel "Total Eclipse of the Heart" comes out in November? "Head Bangers 2: An APF Sexcapade" in March? Will those books be "too racy" for booksignings or to be featured?
Read Zane's entire letter.

What do you think? Is this homophobia at work? With Terrance Dean's crusade to spark dialogue in the African American community about homosexuality and now the controversy surrounding Zane's book, do black people have issues with certain types of sexuality?

Felicia Pride is an author, speaker and welcomed voice of her generation. She's the founder of The BackList (www.thebacklist.net), an organization dedicated to using the power of words to uplift individuals and their communities. Felicia facilitates writing, publishing, and other creative workshops, curates events, and develops community initiatives. Shes a featured speaker at schools, universities, and events around the country, and has written for an array of publications. Her most recent book is The Message: 100 Life Lessons from Hip-Hop's Greatest Songs. Visit her online at www.feliciapride.com.