Wednesday 14 January 2009

Does Your Mother Know You're In?

When you have a piece of erotica accepted for publication, whom do you tell?

Unseasoned as I am in the world of lubricious lit, I had the rather thrilling impression that I was joining a pseudonymous coven of secretive storytellers lurking beneath the respectable facades of our respective towns in a David Lynchian kinda way. Since then, I have read a few blogs that completely give the lie to this - writers who are quite open and happy to share personal details along with snippets from their books. So is erotica writing - gasp! - respectable?

I cannot imagine telling either of my parents about my forthcoming print debut - particularly my dad, who has smoked 40+ a day since running away to sea at fifteen and doesn't really need the additional strain on his cardiac muscles.

And besides, I like the idea of keeping myself veiled and partially obscure, perhaps beneath something like the black lace mantilla my overdramatic twelve year old self liked to wear to Mass. Black lace! Was it a portent?? Erm, no. I have precious few opportunities in life to be enigmatic, and I find I enjoy it.


This is me, for the time being...

5 comments:

  1. Hee hee! I love the veil. You are tres mysterious.

    I always remember my Mum coming back from the doctors. She had read an article about a Black Lace author and told me all about it, cos she knew I liked them books. Apparently, the author's husband didn't even know she wrote for BL, and she was terrified of him finding out!

    I always wondered who that was. My Mum couldn't remember the name. As you can tell from this little rambling story, my relatives and my husband are not in any way disturbed by my naughtiness- though my Mum can't read my stories. I think because it's sort of like incest.

    But Charlotte Stein is a psuedonym, and my pic on my blog is clearly not me unless you think I'm a very perverted Dorothy Gale. There's definitely something to be said for the coven, in some ways. My husband keeps saying- what if you get weeeeirdooess, afffter you!!1! Never give out your real name!11!!

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  2. My husband is my number one (ahem, only) real life fan, but there's no way I could let the rest of the family in on things - I have an aunt who is literally a nun, so I'm not sure she'd approve. Though I could always cite the parable of the talents or something...

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  3. My Mum knows what I write but persists in believing that I do it all as some sort of ironic joke...
    Hey, parental approval is something you need when you are a child, say I.
    More power to your writing elbow Justine!

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  4. Oooh, Janine, I've gone all dithery at having your erotic majesty on my obscure blog! Wow! Dark Enchantment is waiting under my bed for when all these ruddy deadlines are past - it keeps calling me like a siren though...is it darkly enchanted itself, I wonder?!

    You're dead right about not needing their approval; I shall move forward and try to act like an adult!

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  5. Erotic majesty? - tee hee hee! Maybe I should tell my mum that one! I've delighted you've got DE under your bed and I do hope you enjoy it Justine.

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