The Moral of the Story
I”ve received quite a number of emails and DMs on twitter asking me what the moral of the last story, Salt of the Earth, was since it read so much like a fable or a parable. Firstly, I’d like to explain a little of how the story came about. I’ve been going through a bit […]
Review of my anthology: Steven Hart at Erotica Revealed
I’ve arrived home in time to find the most wonderful present awaiting me. Steven Hart at Erotica Revealed has reviewed my Coming Together Presents: Remittance Girl anthology. It is the sort of review that any writer would give their eye teeth for. Hugely positive and generous, it’s always nice to read a review and get […]
Disclosure
I just finished reading Dae’s post at Sadistic Excess. It left me in an oddly weepy mood. Not because he’s going to take his writing down, or because he’s decided to embark on something new. I think it made me sort of ashamed. He, like a number of other bloggers I know, is very honest. […]
The Ethics and Eroticism of Non-Consensual Sex in Fiction
Both Kitty Thomas and Pillow Talker wrote posts on this topic. And a long and frustrating twitter discussion then led to a chat session with various other people. Kitty Thomas’ post: “The Short Skirt Defense” is here. Pillow Talker’s: “My Reply to Kitty Thomas” is here. There are very few erotica publishers who will publish […]
Metaphor in Erotica
“The mastodon hours lumber their way into extinction, sinking wearily into the sticky tar pit of the evening†In the last piece of flash fiction, I used the above imagery – a metaphor – that prompted the following comment from Oatmeal Girl: “I could hate you for this. I was going to say I could […]
Setting & Theme
I decided to write this post in coordination with the release of my novel, The Waiting Room, partly because reviewing Emma Holt’s edits forced my head back to Cambodia, and partly because, for those of you who have already read the novel, I thought a discussion about setting in the story might be interesting. Not […]
Cyclone
My demon has returned. I felt him today when I got up. Not immediately but, as I stood there, making coffee, the tips of his gnarled, organic fingers suddenly latched onto the rungs of my spine. First one, then the other, starting at the small of my back, pulling himself up my spinal cortex like […]
On Sleep
I was looking for poems in Spanish on sleep and found this one by Borges. I’ve tried my very poor hand at translating it – not word for word, but for the spirit of it. El Sueño by Jorge Luis Borges Si el sueño fuera (como dicen) una tregua, un puro reposo de la mente, […]
Sexual Deception & Social Constructs
An excerpt of a twitter interchange I had recently: Him: There comes a time when wrinkly women should cut their hair, the woman on Wright Stuff has missed it by 10 years. Me: I’m so relieved I’ve already cut mine. I wouldn’t want to try and pass myself off for hirsute lamb in old bag […]
The Rebuttal: Writing Taboo in Erotica and the State of the Genre
This week, it’s not a story I offer you, but a discussion on writing about taboo subjects and erotica’s future as a genre. This podcast is a response to The Good Parts Podcast, Episode 14. The Good Parts is a podcast produced by three excellent erotica writers: Helen E. Madden, Nobilis Reed & Ann Regentin […]