This past Sunday I had the distinct pleasure of sitting down with Stoya and her book club to talk about The Island on The Edge of Normal. We spent a few hours discussing polyamory, writing, erotica, sexuality, and relationships and the audience was insightful and generous in their willingness to share their own personal experiences.
It’s been a while since I’ve talked about my writing in public and even longer since I cracked open this particular book. But I was reminded of how important it is to have these conversations and how meaningful it is for me to have a chance to talk about my work to someone other than myself. I had to think back and really look at the choices I made in writing the book, as well as what I might do differently if I wrote it today.
I commented at one point that much of what I write now is much dirtier than The Island, and while that’s partially true it’s not the full picture. I recently published Portraits of Alice which has a few sex scenes but is largely focused on sexuality more than sex. The Oyster Queen, my latest unpublished novel, also is more mainstream fiction than it is erotica. So as much as I enjoy writing sex for the sake of itself–or maybe for the sake of entertainment–I’m still most fascinated by how humans experience desire and what we do with it.
It was also a good reminder that I need to get out more and attend more talks, readings, and other events like this. It gets me out of my head, introduces me to new people, and churns my brain in ways that it definitely needs churning.
So thank you Stoya for inviting me, and thank you to all the kind folks who welcomed me with great questions and friendly conversation.
I had a great fucking time.