It specializes in science fiction erotica, a once uncommon genre, and its publications often feature BDSM themes.
Cecilia Tan founded the house in 1992 after researching the markets for publication of her own stories, which combined science fiction plotlines with explicitly sexual themes.
The first tentative forays into "spicier" material by many of the mainstream science fiction imprints bore fruit in the form of strong sales and good reviews for titles such as Polymorph by Scott Westerfeld and The Black Jewels Trilogy by Anne Bishop.
Hamilton's "Anita Blake" books have grown sex-focused and explicitly sexual, and legions of "paranormal romance" writers and readers have followed in her wake.
Reviews praising Circlet's efforts appeared in Publishers Weekly,[3] Lambda Book Report,[4] Feminist Bookstore News,[5] and many other publications.