Erotica

Q: Two questions. First, you say that sex is one of those things you do not talk about along with religion and politics, but I have read with pleasure your erotic stories. What's up with that? Second, What are your favorite erotic stories?

A: I do not discuss sex, religion, or politics in public--it makes too many enemies and it usually ends up with one party espousing a belief rather than defending an argument. I do not talk about these topics but I do write about them. A lot!

The stories that I found to be so hot that I started writing my own erotica are listed here in no particular order and I apologize in advance for not including in some instances the author's name.

Michael Hemmingson's THE DRESS and THE NAUGHTY YARD. Sweet Jheezus, I still re-read these two lengthy (novella length) stories from time to time for inspiration to write my own pieces. Hemmingson is a very dirty boy with a wicked sense of humor and an even wickeder way with describing bedroom delights. I read most of his stuff in Maxim Jakubowski's MAMMOTH BOOK OF SEX anthologies. He's got about ten of them out there--and they're all full of good sex writing.

A short story called PG DIARY is also great for sexual inspiration on the part of yours truly. I apologize because I cannot recall the author's name without consulting the book which I do not have here in front of me, though she and I communicated via email for a while after her story came out in one of Suzy Bright's anual anthologies: I think it was Best Erotica of 2000? 2001? It's a great story about two pregnant girls who are roommates at one of those special schools for wayward teens. The story is sweet and sexy and poignant and it rings of truth.

In that same Suzy Bright anthology there was a story called SWEATING PROFUSELY IN MERIDIA that was DAYUMMM hot too. I need to go find that book and give you the names of the writers.

I found the book! It is Susie (not Suzy) Bright's THE BEST AMERICAN EROTICA 1994. The author of PG DIARY is Linda Hooper, and Carol Queen is the author of SWEATING PROFUSELY.

In my hand I also have Susie Bright's 2001 edition of that collection and there is a story called THE MAN WHO ATE WOMEN by Damian Grace. DAYUMM. This one took me back to college life and its wayward ways.

REASONS NOT TO GO TO FT. LAUDERDALE by Liz Clarke (clark?) was in an anthology I lost but need to re-purchase called SLOW HAND by Michele B. Slung. I used to read that one a lot for inspiration. There is another story that nailed college sex antics in the 80s.

Brian Fawcet (Fawcett?) wrote a story called Cuckoo in Maxim Jakubowski's MAMMOTH BOOK OF INTERNATIONAL EROTICA. If you want to learn how to write well and earnestly about threesomes, this is a good story to begin with. Very erotic. Very meaningful.

Marge Piercy's novel THREE WOMEN has a DAYUMM good section in it that I have seen anthologized somewhere. Or you can just buy her novel. It's the scene when Elena and Evan invite the new kid Chad into their sex games. Another good section to study to learn how to write threesomes earnestly and well. Too often in so-called erotica the threesome is drawn from cookie cutter and porn-flick cliche.

I'm a big fan of Anais Nin, so I love pretty much everything she has written--excluding her autobiographical stuff. Check out LITTLE BIRDS or DELTA OF VENUS.

Now let me tell you about the landmark collection EROTIQUE NOIR. That's my bible. The story in it I return to the most is THE THREE TOKEN STRADIVARIUS by R. Pope.

In the BROWN SUGAR anthologies by Carol Taylor (in which my works appear), the stories I return to the most are DRAG by Leone Ross, MOVIE LOVER by Michael Gonzales, and HOW I BECAME A WRITER by Lois Elaine Griffith.

Of course, THE STORY OF O is a favorite erotic read of mine--many scenes in that book are returned to time and time again.

Eric Jerome Dickey's BETWEEN LOVERS has a great threesome scene when Nicole and her wife make love to the narrator--DAYUMM.

A goodly number of my favorite erotic stories and scenes came as a surprise to me because they showed up in novels and story collections that had little or nothing to do with sex. If I have time I will make a list of them.

Three that come to mind are KISS OF THE SPIDERWOMAN by Manuel Puig, KINFLICKS by Lisa Alther, INVISIBLE MAN by Ralph Ellison, and RULES OF ATTRACTION by Brett Easton Ellis.

I'm out.


Preston