Bitten: An Irresistible Anthology of Sex and Shadows

I’m going to jump ahead in my narrative for a wee bit today and tell you about a very happy surprise waiting in my mailbox when I returned from my Magical History Tour. In keeping with the theme of ghosts, demons and sexual mysteries of our nation’s past, my welcome home gift was a contributor’s copy of Bitten: Dark Erotic Stories, edited by American erotica’s guiding visionary, Susie Bright.

I’ve just finished reading the book to the very last sexy, unsettling story and it’s magnificent. It will definitely please readers with a taste for the supernatural, fans of "True Blood," and other cutting-edge cool readers, but, as with all Susie Bright anthologies, the depth and sophistication of the stories provides enjoyment beyond any particular theme. These are simply beautifully written and very sexy stories that show erotica can be multi-layered, complex, and thought-provoking. When a story excites my body and my mind, the combination is utterly bewitching.

I really did enjoy every story in the book, but I’ll mention a few personal favorites. Sera Gamble’s “The Devil’s Invisible Scissors” immediately drew me in with its provocative imagery. A literal femme fatale is charged by the devil with the task of snipping one “energy string” from her lover’s soul (and she has many victims) each time they join in carnal union. Without giving too much away, this story is definitely as seductive as its protagonist and the final erotic scene had me remembering all too viscerally what erotica is supposed to do to you when you're reading it in bed at night.

Whew.

I also enjoyed Allison Lawless’ “The Unfamiliar,” about a neophyte witch who unwittingly conjures a lover who can take many forms. Especially loved that scene in the shower. Perhaps I should come clean myself at this point, but although I’m a fan of historical ghost stories—they feel like a bridge to the past for me--I’m pretty particular about my supernatural stories. They need to be smart, the images must rise above cliche, and this story definitely delivers the goodies. A nice follow-on was Tsaurah Litzky’s “The Witch of Jerome Avenue,” a bracing move from a witch’s shadowy spell room to the wry and all-too-real landscape of Brooklyn. Litzky’s sense of humor is marvelous as always and I found her throw-away descriptions of the father’s coupling with his mistress in the basement strangely compelling and sexy. A kind of alchemy in itself.

That’s the thing about Bitten—the magic is everywhere.

I have room for two more favorites: Shanna Germain’s “Smoke and Ashes” is full of foreboding, and the ghostly presence of the lover who "directs" the narrator's adventure in absentia is absolutely mesmerizing. “Nothing” happens and everything does. E.R. Stewart’s “Cross-Town Incubus” was another story that bewitched me totally with a sentence here, an image there, that linger still in my memory.

Really, they’re all good and they’re all “dark” in a way that will surprise you.

I also wanted to give a little background about my story, “The Legacy,” which is, admittedly one of the more subtly dark of the stories in the anthology. However, the genesis of the tale is as bloody and creepy as you could wish for. You see, this apparently ordinary tale of a book of explicit photographs was inspired by the murder of Bob Crane, the actor who played Colonel Hogan in that rather bizarre comedy about a German POW camp, “Hogan’s Heroes.” During seventh grade, I was a big fan of this show and watched it every afternoon after school, even then aware of what a strange premise this was. Of course, the good guys always won by guile and smarts over the bumbling Germans, so it was also immensely satisfying.

I never was attracted to Hogan himself. Obviously he had Fraulein Hilda (later his real-life wife) to keep him busy, and he struck me as kind of…oily, all the way down to the gleam on his flyboy’s jacket. Anglophile that I was, I liked Corporal Newkirk for his accent (little did I know what a huge womanizer Richard Dawson was in real life) and the African-American communications engineer James Kinchloe, who was so smart and always pulled off the fancy schemes thanks to his expertise in radio, telegraph and his fluency in French and German. I regularly fantasized about sneaking into the camp through the tunnel and offering comfort to my favorite prisoner of the moment. Said prisoner was always terribly in love with me and spent every waking hour dreaming of me and waiting for my midnight arrival.

My obsession with “Hogan’s Heroes” gradually faded, but I was still affected by the news of Bob Crane’s murder, a bloody affair apparently triggered by his huge collection of pictures of naked women, whom he’d personally photographed before and/or after having sex with them. Who knew Colonel Hogan really did lead a dark secret life behind his smiling exterior? When I first heard about this, the murderer was suspected to be the boyfriend or husband of one of Crane’s “models.” But later I saw a very interesting movie on the topic, Auto Focus, which suggested a different scenario. I recommend the movie merely for the bizarre sex scene in Colonel Klink’s office. Talk about an image that’s hard to get out of your mind…

Anyway, this idea of a secret collection of photographs of naked women—not commercial porn, but self-produced photographs that represented sexual conquests—really intrigued me. The idea simmered in my creative pot for years before I was finally ready to write it down. When I did, it came out fast. I finished the story in a week. This is the story that appears in Bitten, and I thank Susie for feeling the occult sense of doom bubbling away beneath the apparently sunny exterior—just like everyone’s favorite hero, Bob Crane.

So, if you’re a fan of the mysterious, the uncanny, the inexplicable, do pick up a copy of Bitten. Even if you think you aren’t, I’d say there’s a good chance you’ll be seduced by this gorgeous and beautifully written book.

X Goes Audio!

I'm very excited to announce that the most sensually luxurious erotica anthology you can get your hot little hands on, X: The Erotic Treasury, is now available as an audiobook. For the aurally inclined--and I include myself in that persuasion--this means you can just lie back and enjoy steamy stories by erotica writers such as Rachel Kramer Bussel, Susan DiPlacido, Shanna Germain, P.S. Haven, Bill Noble and yours truly, slithering softly into your ear. Best of all you'll have both hands free to do, you know, whatever! Can you think of a better way to spend a sultry summer afternoon?

You can hear some excerpts at Susie's Blog. An advance reviewer told me my story "Yes," was read by a man with a nice, deep voice. Can't wait to hear him murmur those naughty commands for myself....

Eroticafest Xtraordinaire: Martha Garvey and “Night Train”

Rachel Kramer Bussel’s monthly erotica reading series “In the Flesh,” at the Happy Ending Lounge at 302 Broome Street in NYC, is a beacon for our genre—not to mention a great place to get your date in the mood (see Marcelle Manhattan’s “Second Date” in X: The Erotic Treasury). However, this coming Thursday, February 19, the Happy Ending Lounge is going to be white-hot with star power. Here’s the official invitation:

The legendary author, editor, activist and sexual provocateur Susie Bright joins us from Santa Cruz, California to celebrate her beautiful new hardcover anthology X: The Erotic Treasury (Chronicle Books), which includes a story set at In The Flesh which you will hear! Joining Susie will be contributors Paula Bomer, Ernie Conrick, Martha Garvey, Nicholas Kaufmann, Tsaurah Litzky, Marcelle Manhattan, Lisa Montanarelli, Chelsea Summers and host/curator Rachel Kramer Bussel (Best Sex Writing 2008, Spanked). Special guest Maxim Jakubowski, editor of the Mammoth Book of Best New Erotica, also joins us from London. Note special start time (for February only): 7:30 pm. Doors open at 7. Arriving early is highly recommended. Books will be available for sale by Mobile Libris. There will be a Q&A with Susie and book signing after the reading.

I wish I could make it, although I’m expecting the place will be so packed, it’ll be like the Gion Festival in Kyoto where I was wedged in the crowd so tightly, my feet weren’t touching the ground, but I was still moving (a simultaneously exhilarating and terrifying experience).

One of the main reasons I wish I could be there is to meet up with the wonderful Martha Garvey again. Martha was one of the first people ever to write me a nice note about one of my stories—“The Cunt Book” when it appeared in Clean Sheets. Martha’s poignant and lovely story “Bottle” (which later appeared in Best American Erotica) was also up around the same time, and I was so flattered to earn the praise of such an accomplished writer, my feet didn’t touch the ground for days (and it wasn’t even the Gion Festival). Martha also paid me the great honor of coming to my Kinokuniya reading last October which I’ll discuss in my next installment of my New York City Book Tour Diary—coming soon! And, last but not least, she has a story in X called “Night Train," which is hot and gritty and very New York. A woman buzzed on lattes meets a younger tattooed stud and there’s chemistry aplenty beyond the caffeine. However, he refuses to give her his last name, so she refuses to take him home. But he comes up with an alternate arrangement for a memorable evening—and a trademark MG memorable story.

Here’s Martha’s interview for X about all the things she does besides write world-class erotica--with a little of that thrown in, too.

Susie Bright: Have you received any awards or condemnations in your career as a writer?

Martha Garvey: My short story about having sex with John Quincy Adams ("How to Fuck a President So It Means Something") won 1st prize in Clean Sheets’ Sex and Politics contest.

My short story about a Frankenstein dog won a fiction contest sponsored by a Frankenstein festival at Stevens Institute of Technology.

Condemnation? I was once accused of betraying feminism because of the very story we are publishing in X:The Erotic Treasury!

What's your publishing history, book-wise?

I have published two books about pet health, My Fat Dog and My Fat Cat: 10 Simple Steps to Help Your Pet Lose Weight.

Do you have a scandalous or noteworthy theater life?

Yes. My one-woman show about my mother’s obsession with the actor Brian Dennehy called “My Mother’s Imaginary Husband,” was at the Knitting Factory.

I have also worked as a literary manager and dramaturg, and once worked on play reading that featured David Strathairn and Kevin Bacon…so I am one degree away, baby.

A Noble Ending to the X Bay Area Tour

This Friday night is the final Bay Area Reading for X: The Erotic Treasury over at Book Passage in Corte Madera. Unfortunately, I can't make this event, but Susie, Greta Christina and Bill Noble, the editor of the fiction department at Clean Sheets will be reading from their work.

Since the last X reading, Susie has posted her book trailer, A Day in the Life of the Erotica Editor, which is a real treat and a must-see for all of us dirty-story-scribes. It's not on Youtube yet (and I can't figure out how to embed it), but I'm sure it will catch a lot of eyeballs.

I am especially sorry not to be able to make tonight's reading because I always love getting together with Bill. He was the first erotica editor to publish my work online and he's been a support and inspiration for me from the beginning, as well as a mentor to countless other writers, new and veteran.

He's also inspired me in a more direct way. The gorgeous and evocative portrait Emily and Bill (2001) which appears on the cover of Photo Sex: Fine Art Sexual Photography Comes of Age was the direct visual inspiration for my story "Portrait," which appears online at Fishnet. (The characters are purely fictional of course).

Bill's story in X, "Salt," is an intensely poetic, yet dramatic tale of a couple brought together by an adventure that brings them to the brink of death. And nothing sparks sensual intensity like a brush with mortality. The lush Hawaiian setting doesn't hurt either. Here's what Bill says in his interview for X:

Susie Bright: Have you ever won an award or condemnation for any of your talents?

Bill Noble: The National Looking Glass Award for Poetry (1999); Fiction Award, Southwest Writers Conference (1997); a couple of Pushcart nominations, reader selection as one of the “Erotic Stories of the Decade” in Susie Bright’s Best American Erotica; The Cable Car Associations award for public service advertising (about 1980

Tell me how you would cast the film version of your story that we're publishing in "X"... just for fun!

Neat question. Marilyn Chambers and Peter Fonda.

What's your history with the Hawaiian Islands?

My wife and I used to lead natural history and backpacking trips in the islands, and my wife’s grandfather was Te Rangi Hiroa’s (Peter Buck’s) biographer and friend.

Best swim? Far out to sea to find spinner dolphins off the Kona Coast, and (not swimming) an entire day kayaking far offshore with a pod of hungry, copulating humpback whales.

I think I’d want to go back and make love in a friend’s tiny little bamboo-and-thatch hut on the lava just above the surf line on the Big Island.

What other occupations do you hold, or have you held, besides being a writer?

Nova Scotian farmer, physics technician, museum curator of birds, gas station attendant, cab driver, school bus driver, “boiler-room” telephone salesman (repulsive job), teaching naturalist, wilderness and mountaineering leader, international drug runner, college administrator, ED and board chair of a variety of environmental nonprofits.

Are you now, or have you been a sex worker?

In every respect except the financial, I firmly believe that writers of erotica are sex workers.

How old are you? Where were you born and raised?

I just turned seventy this year. Born and raised in the Berkshires of Massachusetts, where my direct ancestors were the first European settlers.

My dad, who in his early years was a timber-topper and high-tension lineman. Or my great-great grandfather, an Ojibwa who died in Andersonville during the civil war as a lieutenant in a Massachusetts regiment.

As Sweet as a SeXy Box of Chocolates

Thursday, January 29 marked the second stop of a very Xciting book tour for X: The Erotic Treasury. This time the location was Books, Inc. on Market Street in the Castro district of the world’s premier tourist destination: San Francisco.

Although I’ve lived in the Bay Area for 23 years, I always feel like a tourist when I go to San Francisco, but in a good way. The city really does have a magic about it, a glow of exotic possibility, sexual, cultural and culinary. Perhaps that’s why Books, Inc. seemed to shimmer with a welcoming golden light as we walked inside and found our way to reading venue set up in a cozy corner of the store.

The place had a definite theatrical flavor, from the posters advertising the reading, to the funky stove pipe podium artfully decorated with copies of X—which are lovely and lush enough to serve as eye-pleasing stage props. Again all seats were filled and Susie began her introductions to a standing-room-only crowd.

Susie mentioned, with an eye to the advent of February no doubt, that she saw X as a box of chocolates, each story a different bonbon for the reader’s delectation. I’d agree this is an apt comparison. The boundary-testing “Must Bite” by Vicki Hendricks is chipotle-chocolate. My story, “Yes,” would be more like a sea salt caramel with a hint of macadamia brittle—classic with a noticeable crunch of the unusual. Or maybe Tahitian vanilla crème with roasted almond, but let me wipe the drool from my lips and get back on topic here. As I listened to the introduction, it occurred to me that readings, too, are like mixed hand-dipped chocolates in a box. You’re never sure quite what you’ll get, but each has its own character. While Diesel was bright, intellectual and airy, Books, Inc. started off warm and intimate and continued in that flavor throughout.

Next Susie mentioned the passing of the great John Updike, without question one of the twentieth century’s leading American male writers. There is no doubt he was a pioneer of intelligent, poetic writing about sex and has influenced American erotica profoundly. Susie added that she was honored to have included his work in Best American Erotica. To which I’ll add, when I received my contributor’s copy of Best American Erotica 2006, the thrill of holding this dream-come-true book in my hands was only surpassed by the discovery that my story was three pages away from John Updike’s excerpt from Villages. THREE pages—there must be some literary equivalent of six-degrees-of-separation, or perhaps it’s more like almost shaking hands with the Queen?

Okay, I have my feminist issues with some of Updike’s inarguably honest portrayals of twentieth century manhood, but I can't deny that his work has influenced me--and for the good. Couples (the top-selling “family saga” on Amazon now and sold out so it's good I still have my parents' decrepit copy from the 1960s!), the Rabbit books, the hypnotically lovely “Women and Museums,” countless other New Yorker stories and memoirs—I’ve read them all. Coincidentally, last fall I wrote a story about swinging that was a homage to Updike called “John Updike Made Me Do It” which will appear in Jolie du Pre’s Swing! this coming spring. So the talk of Updike’s death was bittersweet—sad of course that he will write no more, but admiring of his truly deathless prose (for most writers that, of course, is a joke, but not for Updike).

Next came the introductions of the readers and again I went first since it had worked out well enough the last time (note my new "lucky dress" for the new setting). However, there was no microphone, so instead of purring intimately through loudspeakers, I had to dust off my high school thespian auditorium voice and PROJECT. That tended to smooth out the nuances but gave the reading a certain rhythm and passion and maybe even a kind of pride. Standing there belting out dirty words at top volume is pretty liberating, as if I needed any more of that! Because of a longer roster of readers, I left my audience hanging, wondering what the narrator’s Secret Desire might be. Warm applause greeted me after my last line—and what brightens a writer’s heart more?
The next reader was Susie Hara, whose witty story of female empowerment, “Puffy Lips,” had delighted me when I first read it. Susie admitted this was her first time to read in a bookstore, but she clearly had a feel for performance (from earlier theatre work I learned later). Hearing Susie read the story aloud was even more of treat—the humor really shone and the audience was laughing and glowing by the sweet conclusion, all of us wishing we could toast the reading with our own Labia Majora cocktail.

Greta Christina went next with a somewhat shorter reading from “Deprogramming.” Like every good story, repeated readings yield new treasures, although it certainly adds even more to the experience that Greta’s rich voice is perfect for the topic, a troubling, complex tale of the strange roots of sexual desire. Greta mentioned my story and her support of its message—a woman saying “yes” to sex—then mentioned a blog she’d written about how men claim they want women who like sex, but are scared shitless when they meet one. Hear, hear, that observation is alas all too familiar and I think is part of the reason erotica is so threatening to the mainstream.

Rachel Kramer Bussel carried us to our grand finale. She began by reading a short passage from Marcelle Manhattan’s “Second Date” which is about a couple who has sex in the restroom at one of Rachel’s “In the Flesh” readings in New York. The author describes Rachel herself as “looking more like an Ivy League classmate of mine…than an erotic reading organizer.” Yet another familiar refrain ("you don't look like an erotica writer"), except of course, we actually are Ivy League classmates of someone or another, perhaps even people who’ve had sex in the bathroom at Happy Ending Lounge?

With these images whirling around in my happy little mind, Rachel began to read from her story, “A First Time for Everything,” the account of a woman who arranges her own bukkake party (where a group of men ejaculate on a woman) with the help of a gay male friend. On the page, it’s witty as well as hot, but with Rachel reading and providing the proper intonations, the story shimmered with laughter and sexiness. This was a case of story and voice being a perfect match, the two parts making a greater whole. Live readings are supposedly a dying entertainment, but I’d say any doubters in the audience were converted by hearing “A First Time” in the flesh. Again there were hearty claps of appreciation.

This time there was no question-and-answer period, but the audience was invited to come up and ask questions of us individually and/or get their books signed. Instead of the more formal “walk up to the panel” set-up of Diesel, everyone mingled, chatting as if we were at a friendly party. I’d brought along a few copies of Amorous Woman even though at the last event I hadn’t sold any. Perhaps because I was prepared, perhaps it was something in the air—although no one ever knows why these things happen—but I was suddenly taken over by the same shameless spirit that possessed me at the West Hollywood Book Fair last September. Innocent readers would approach me to sign their book and as I scribbled my note “I hope you find many chances to say ‘yes,’” I asked them if they were interested in Japan because I had my novel with me which is like a trip to Asia for $8, etc, etc. Two nice, intelligent and very cool women actually bought the book (smooch, I love you!) and a few men, no doubt put off by my upfront passion, demurred but took a bookmark. Still, it made me happy to have done something for my baby!
Besides chatting with a good many people with nice things to say about my story, I got to talk with my fellow readers a bit as well. Susie Hara was as warm and funny as her story and I got to ask Greta about her AWESOME tattoo of the Jabberwocky, pictured here. I could spend an hour just staring at the intricacy of this thing—a true work of art requiring patience and endurance from both parties, I’m sure.

Susie Bright was off early this time as she was leaving on a trip at dawn the next day, so we didn’t get a chance to try out her favorite San Francisco watering hole, The Bourbon and the Branch. But my husband and I have it on our date calendar. The bartenders at this former speakeasy will mix custom drinks, and I for one plan to order a Labia Majora. That’s mango juice, a touch of cherry, a touch of orange, soda water, swirls of cream, Grand Marnier and a twist—and we’ll definitely toast Susie Hara and all the authors of X: The Erotic Treasury, a perfect box of chocolates to warm and satisfy on a chilly winter evening.

An Xciting and Exotic Evening with Susie Bright

This has been quite a blogging week for me, and it’s been fun revisiting my New York book tour, but Thursday night’s reading for X: The Erotic Treasury at Diesel Books in Oakland, CA brought me right back to a very exciting here and now. It was a wonderful evening and while any account can’t do it full justice, I’ll try my best!

My expectations were already high after reading the stories and interviews of Pam Ward and Greta Christina, my fellow contributors to X. And of course, I knew from experience, beginning way back when I heard Susie read Anne Tourney's “Full Metal Corset” from Best American Erotica 1994 at the now defunct Cody’s Bookstore on Telegraph, that Susie’s events were always provocative and enlightening (This story also appears in X). I also knew I’d have six friendly and familiar faces in the audience to cheer me on, including Jane Black—she made my week with her generous comment posted below.

I’d practiced my excerpt several times—the narrator was male and I felt I needed a little extra work to approach a tenor range. And fortunately I managed to fit into my “lucky dress” as EllaRegina dubbed it, although it was still a wee bit tight from December’s cookie madness.

Because some of my friends needed to leave early, I asked to read first and Susie graciously obliged. All of the chairs were taken by the time we got started—say about 40-45 people seated and more standing around in the back. After a very nice introduction from the Diesel events coordinator, who affirmed his support of erotica and free speech (Yay!), Susie came to the podium to talk about the genesis of X and her vision of the book. Then it was on to the topic of yours truly and our first project together, Best American Erotica 2006, which included my first story on a Japanese theme, “Ukiyo” (still one of my favorite pieces!)

And then, I was on with my story “Yes”! I’d say my reading went pretty smoothly, except for a wee bit of nervousness about shuffling my pages in proper order. I decided to dive into the action with only minimum scene setting—within a few sentences the narrator was ordering his girlfriend to strip for his old college buddy and otherwise forcing her to push her limits in exactly the way she secretly desired. Although on the surface the story of a man “on top,” I drop plenty of hints that the woman is really in control. My excerpt lasted about 12 minutes, all the way to the final “Yes!” which I emphasized by closing my eyes in a timid—or maybe you’d say lightly suggestive—mimicry of an orgasm. (Oh, and don't my breasts look misleadingly HUGE in this photo?)

The audience was warmly appreciative and I returned to my seat, relieved, relaxed and ready to have fun. The next reader was Pam Ward, who lit up the stage with her positive energy and humor. She read the opening section of her porn noir story, “A Clean, Comfortable Room,” then took us right into the lustiest scene and then…left the poor audience hanging just moments from the shocking climax. I shared Susie’s sentiment that even though I’d already read the story, I craved more, more, more.

Greta Christina then read from her thought-provoking story “Deprogramming,” after warning us that the story dealt with a topic foreign to her—the eroticization of non-consensual sex. Greta read the first section of her story and her rich, resonant voice gave the piece even more power than it has on the page. By this time, I think the audience was totally blown away.

A question-and-answer period followed, and these can be excruciating, but the Diesel crowd was thoughtful and lively. I found it interesting that a number of people asked Susie basically the same question in different form—in your view, how have attitudes toward sexuality changed over the years since you first began editing and writing erotica? Susie gave some interesting answers as you might expect. As a writer, the one that intrigued me was the patterns in the types of stories she receives as submissions. Around the advent of AIDS awareness, she got a lot of vampire and blood-letting stories. During times of war, male submissive stories were more common. And in our new era of hope? Susie shared a dream she’d had where she was Barack Obama’s “comfort woman,” refilling his water glass while he met with dozens of church ladies.

I haven’t had any Barack Obama dreams yet, although I did have a Clinton dream in early 1993, so maybe it’s only a matter of time?

My fellow writers had some interesting things to say as well. I was impressed with Pam’s confidence as an erotica writer—she totally refuses to buy into the mainstream’s attempts to belittle what we do, and I’m going to remember her spirit the next time I deal with another snooty bookbuyer (which should be next week, unless I decide to give this up for good, which might be a different way of showing my pornographer's pride….)! Greta took a few questions about abuse and recovery, a complex and still taboo subject. I know we all left the event with some things to think about. And a very nice lady came around with homemade truffles for the panel, which I believe should become a tradition at such events.

All in all, it was a great reading. But the best was yet to come.

For those of us who could stay—me and Greta—Susie had a wonderful treat in store: a quick get-away to Polynesia, or rather Forbidden Island, a gourmet Tiki bar in Alameda. Wisely traveling by cab, we talked shop in the backseat, while the courteous driver switched on some mellow jazz. Greta made my evening by telling me how much she’d enjoyed “Yes,” and the positive portrayal of a woman who said “yes” to sex. That was pretty much the whole point of the story and it was gratifying to have someone capture it so perfectly. We also talked about the whole culture of “sex sells” where the kind of sex that sells is superficial, dishonest and unsatisfying.

Susie also mentioned that she often gets questions asking her to summarize changes in our sexual culture over the decades as she had that night, and while she has her own answers, she really wants to ask the questioner to weigh in as well because we all have our own view and our own truth. In my own less experienced way, I totally related to this—we are all encouraged to look outward to get validation about sex. To our partners, to the stupid magazine articles that supposedly give answers but really just try to sell us things, to experts. But to really be empowered, we have to make our own observations, draw our own conclusions, look within to figure out what sex means to us and how we’ve changed. I think erotica can be more than a way to get off—it can help you learn about your sexual desires. I didn’t say this then, I just got to thinking about it later, but I’m sure the cab driver’s mind was inspired to interesting conjectures as well after he dropped us off at our watering hole.

What can I say about Forbidden Island? First of all, I’m a Tiki girl from way back. My roommates and I had a Tiki god statue in our room junior year of college and we took a series of photos—me teaching “Zamboozo” from the Norton Anthology of English Literature, my chemical engineer roommate tutoring him in organic chemistry, and my peer sex counselor friend teaching him about condoms and foam. I also have several books on my shelf like Tiki Road Trip, plus The Enchanted Tiki Room is a must-visit attraction every time I go to Disneyland. Secondly, it struck me that in a figurative sense, Susie Bright has been whisking me away to Forbidden Islands since the mid-nineties with Best American Erotica. Suffice to say, I almost had to pinch myself to make sure this was real!

Susie had first heard about Forbidden Island from a book, Sippin' Safari: In Search of the Great "Lost" Tropical Drink Recipes... and the People Behind Them by Jeff “Beachbum” Berry (sorry, I just bought the last immediately available copy on Amazon). The décor was appropriately Tiki, although not overwhelmingly tacky—booths with thatched roofs, romantic lighting, carved wooden statues. But the real draw of the place was the cocktails, concocted with fresh juices and house-made cordials. The drink menu was as overwhelming as a tropical garden—too many delicious choices—but Susie pointed us to the Nui Nui made with the bar’s own allspice liqueur and cinnamon syrup, fresh citrus juice and of course rum. It was absolutely exquisite, the perfect balance of spice, sweet and tart—like Thanksgiving in Tahiti. Of course, Tiki drinks need the proper snacks as accompaniment, and we feasted on coconut shrimp (the perfect blend of sweet coconut, tender shrimp and crunchy coating), sweet potato fries (perfect for the Thanksgiving flavor theme and not greasy), and crab Rangoon (fried wonton with a fluffy crab-cream cheese filling). The food came in simple paper trays, the drinks in tall chilled glasses with fresh mint sprigs, which shows where the owner’s passions lie. As a chaser, Susie ordered a house specialty, the Sidewinder Fang with passionfruit juice and rum. A “hearty goblet” was promised and indeed the glass took up most of the table—rather like a slightly smaller version of a honeymooner’s champagne bathtub in the Poconos.

But what better way to lubricate our literary discussions? Susie told us about Chronicle Books' very positive attitude toward promoting X in creative ways and her upcoming book trailer, which sounds like lots of fun (I’ll let you know as soon as it is released). Although both Susie and Greta are long time veterans of publishing, they were very supportive about my newbie trials in the business. Both had gotten their start at On Our Backs and I loved hearing about the early days of the Erotica Revolution. Hanging out with them just proved what I’ve been discovering in this year of making connections: erotica writers are very witty, warm and generous people. I’m not sure which comes first—you have to be open-minded and creative to take the dare of writing erotica or exploring that edgy territory opens you up? Maybe both, suffice to say, there’s nobody I’d rather quaff tropical drinks with!

I could have lingered on and drunk myself into a South Sea Islands stupor but we all had places to be by midnight, so we cabbed back to Diesel Books and said our goodbyes. Parting is always bittersweet, like a bracing taste of grog, but I knew I’d be joining Susie, Greta, Susie Hara and Rachel Kramer Bussel next week at Books, Inc. in the Castro.

It’s bound to be another Xciting evening!

The "X" in January

But there's no "X" in January, you say?

Gentle reader, you are mistaken. January is X month for me, as in X: The Erotic Treasury, a fabulously gorgeous and deliciously addictive anthology of erotic stories edited by Susie Bright. As a long, slow warm-up to Valentine's Day (do you like your warm-ups any other way?) I'll be posting reviews and interviews of some of the stories in the book. For those of you in the Bay Area, you can come hear these juicy tales read aloud by the authors themselves in the flesh, including yours truly. I'll be wearing my lucky cheongsam, if I can shed my Christmas-cookie tummy in time! If you've never seen Susie Bright in person, you are in for a real treat--she's a riveting and entertaining speaker, and my story in the anthology, "Yes," is one of my steamiest.

The X events where I will be reading include:

Where: Diesel, A Bookstore (Oakland, CA)

When: January 22 at 7pm

Who: Greta Christina
Donna George Storey
Pam Ward
Susie Bright

AND

Where: Books Inc. (in the Castro at 2275 Market Street, San Francisco, CA 94114)

When: January 29 at 7:30pm

Who: Rachel Kramer Bussel
Greta Christina
Donna George Storey
Susie Hara
Susie Bright


I'm going to start off the X interviews with my own--since interviews with me have been popular around here lately. This one's short and sweet, a sort of quickie for me. Enjoy!

SB: Have you ever won an awards for your talents?

DGS: I like to think I do it all for love, no reward required, but I’ll admit I enjoy a little recognition now and then.

A few years back Sunset Magazine gave me a “Good Cook” award for my recipe for Bavarian Mousse Rice Pudding. That creation has gotten me some of the best in-person reviews of my career—who can resist a rich, fluffy pudding spiked with rum?

I also managed to snag a special mention in Pushcart Prize Stories 2004 for one of my more restrained stories about sex and Japan, but frankly I prefer no-hold-barred sex stories such as “Ukiyo” in Best American Erotica 2006, which is the prettiest jewel in my tiara!


SB: Tell me how you would cast the film version of your story...

I would love to cast "Mad Men’s" Jon Hamm as the narrator who pushes his lover on to ever-edgier adventures. I love how his hair gets all mussed in those scenes of illicit, untrammeled sex.

For the lover who is sweet and proper on the outside, but wild and experimental (even pit bull-like?) in private, well, someone dared me to suggest Sarah Palin. While she seems willing to give in to the whims of her political party, I doubt she’d sleep with her mate’s best friend just because he ordered her to do it. So let’s go with Liv Tyler—lovely and elegant, but that sensual mouth suggests an intriguing sensuality we all want to see more of.

SB: How would you describe yourself in a phrase, school-wise?

An apparently minor incident in my junior year English class may be responsible for my career as an erotica writer. One morning, I overheard a boy behind me say to his friend “Donna George is cute. I’d go out with her if she wasn’t so smart.”

I blushed and pretended not to hear, but I heard all too well. He’d summed up a well-accepted dilemma in our society, bookish women (and men) are not considered sexy. I think I decided then on some level that I would prove smart and sexy DO go together. And so I went on to assemble a date-defying list of academic credentials.

I’m a Phi Beta Kappa Princeton graduate with a Ph.D. in Japanese literature from Stanford. I know, you wanted to fuck me— but now you have second thoughts?

Fortunately, somewhere along the way men did consent to sleep with me, thus giving me plenty of material for my erotic writing. My readers may not know it, but every time one of my stories makes them spring a boner or get nice and wet down there, it’s a victory for girls-who-wear-glasses everywhere!

SB: Any interesting felonies or misdemeanors you'd like to mention?

Not quite to that level. But I prevented a miscarriage of criminal justice. I once spent a summer working at the IRS, copying the tax returns of British rock stars about their US income—and I saved The Moody Blues from an audit.

Erotic Encounters Under the Blossoms

The Amorous Woman blog tour has pulled into Grand Central Terminal, baby, with a toot-your-whistle visit to Susie Bright’s Journal. Join me for an illustrated journey through the Gion I described in my Best American Erotica 2006 story, “Ukiyo.” Some stops are familiar, some brand-new, and you definitely won’t want to miss the provocative manga showing misbehavior under the cherry blossoms in as lascivious detail as the Japanese censors allow (I’m sure you can fill in the blanks)!

Bon Voyage! And please leave a comment on Susie's blog if you have the chance....