We asked each writer: “Why did you do a threesome? Tell us about the sex, but also, how it affected you sexually and in your personal life. Tell your story in the way you feel most comfortable.”

Seven men and seven women submitted their stories with humor and depth, straightforwardness and lyricism. Six are previously published writers. Ten stories are written in the first person, two are in the second person, and two in the third person. One was written from the other gender’s point of view, and three were first verbally submitted and written by an editor or their partner. Our contributors range in age from late twenties to early sixties. Three reside in New England, six hail from the Mid-Atlantic, one from California, two from the Midwest, and two have Floridian sand in their veins.

Each of the stories is original, and first published in this anthology. To protect the privacy of the writers and their partners, most of the characters’ names and some identifiers in the stories were changed, and each writer had the option of using a pseudonym or real name for authorship. Our stories are not necessarily a demographic representation of threesomes, but rather a meaningful and illustrative collection.

The beauty of the human form is especially provocative when grouped together in threes. Our nude images, were created during two studio and four casual shoots, through the distinctive eyes of our six photographers. The tri-themed landscape and object-focused works were separately shot by our two book designer-photographers.

Each of our model sessions was a unique collaboration with its own approach and momentum. Yet for every one of us, though the nudity quickly felt natural, there was both a reverent innocence and inspiring awe.

Over 30 people posed for this book. Models for five of the shoots reside in Philadelphia, New York, South Jersey, Wilmington and Baltimore. Ranging in background from people answering our on-air radio invitations to modern dancers, gymnasts and photography students, they demonstrated as amazing a skill in choreography, as they did in their physicality and presence.
Our first shoot was a test-run in Los Angeles with friends graciously posing, thanks to Julio’s Mar Vista house, John’s enticing cooking, and quite a few good bottles of wine. After about 15 minutes in front of the lens, nude bodies entwined under umbrella-lit ambience in the transformed art-deco living room, someone proclaimed what the rest of us thought, “Wow, this is like Hollywood.” Well, we were just 10 miles away.

Philip Isaiah Katz, New Hope, PA, studied under Ansel Adams, specializes in art, sports and editorial photography, and maintains an international corporate clientelle. Nicole DeGeorge, New York, is also a model, and often works in front of and behind the camera at the same time. Her recent showings have been at Asbury Arts in Asbury Park, NJ and a group show “Seven” in New York. Scott Miller is a Los Angeles fashion photographer. Jason Laub, Philadelphia, works as a videographer, photographer and photo editor. Justin Mongroo, Philadelphia, is a fine art and commercial photograher, playing the “fine game of reality” in his work and in his life. Sandra C. Davis, Burlington, NJ, is a photography educator. Her landscape images have exhibited nationally. Christine Ott, Merchantville, NJ, is a photo hobbyist, and some of her photos have appeared in various New Jersey newspapers and magazines. The second of our eighth photographers, due to a court order settlement, revoked our ability to credit his/her name and images on this website.

In III, a picture accompanies at least every thousand words. Selecting, preparing, and designing the visuals to complement the text required versatility and re-inventiveness. Our goal for the book design was to create a gutsy, yet sophisticated and welcoming feel. Being a self-publish, the project was produced during everyone’s seperate time availabilities. It took two years, under many constraints and transitions (including the placement of 63 new images from that of the galley to the limited edition), to coordinate our team’s efforts.
Christine Ott, cover and limited edition book designer, is a freelance graphic artist and writer. Sandra C. Davis, galley book designer, co-designed and edited B-Side Magazine for over a decade. Jason Laub, galley photo editor, prepared many of the images, including the selection for our final cover choice. Bob Pennise, Point Pleasant, PA, designed our company logo for its first use in this book. Matt Powers, Los Angeles, and Philadelphians Christopher P. Jordan, Meredith Laub and Arthur Y. Wendler, each contributed independently to the book’s design.

WEB DESIGN
We first launched our website www.sexualtriads.com in January 2002, renamed the site www.threesomebook.com in early 2004, closed the site on October 2004 due to our legal dispute and reappeared again in our current incarnation November 2005. Our webmasters have given of themselves when ever they could find time, even though there often there was no quarantee of compensation.

Dan Swift, has diligently worked our site since December 2002. Masha Levina, juggled her work for our transitional site, in between raising her baby and three dogs. Matt Powers and Ryan Packeb got us started in 2001 with prototype marketing pages on angelfire.com

Maintaining the integrity of each writer’s voice and intent is paramount to the openness that this project values. Thus, copyediting was an integrated process nvolving the writer’s active participation and final agreement. Since understanding is essential to our premise for sexual exploration, inclusion of the number three’s cultural significance throughout the book further extended the vision of our inquiry.
Laura Heffernan, copy editor, is a doctoral candidate in English at the University of Pennsylvania. Kate Newell, copy editor, is a doctoral candidate in English at the University of Delaware. Anne Thalheimer, support, received her doctorate in English at the University of Delaware. Aldona Middlesworth, support, is a Visiting Assistant Professor of Intellectual Heritage at Temple University. Sarah Hayford, proofreader, is a doctoral candidate in demography at the University of Pennsylvania. Karen O’Sullivan, proofreader, has a BA in liberal arts from Trenton State College, NJ.

PROJECT DIRECTION
Crystal Syben Haidl, editor and publisher, is a community project activist. Her story, “Sway of the Ride” is included in this book, and she posed in the photos shown on pages 29, 54, 99, 108, 109, 137, 143, 144, 149, 164, 188, 199, and 210.