For Books’ Sake Talks To: Suzanne Portnoy
With the demise of Virgin‘s Black Lace and Nexus imprints two years ago, one could have assumed that erotica was over. But the likes of Belle Du Jour, Abby Lee and Suzanne Portnoy seem to have given the genre a much-needed boost. And it’s finding a captive audience on the Kindle with the release of Portnoy’s latest project Sex Blogyssey, a compilation of the best erotic writing from across the globe.
To find out more, For Books’ Sake talked to Portnoy about why erotica is still going from strength to strength and why she believes it is such a good fit for the Kindle:
FBS: Can you tell us a bit of background and how you started out writing erotic fiction – was there any particular event in your past that triggered it?
SP: First off – I only write about my real sex life. I’m a great believer that the best stories are the true ones. I started writing short stories about the men I met when I was in my late thirties, partly as a way of storing memories and partly as a way of making sense of the relationships I was having.
It wasn’t until 2005, a year after a boyfriend’s death, that I sent Virgin Books a proposal for a book of short non-fiction stories that eventually became The Butcher, the Baker, the Candlestick Maker.
FBS: How did your new project Sex Blogyssey come about, and do you think it could help revive the erotica genre?
SP: I started blogging in 2003 for a year and then again in 2006 as a way of marketing The Butcher, the Baker, the Candlestick Maker. As part of my marketing campaign I got to know many other sex bloggers, both in the UK and the US.
Like myself, they were writing about their own sex lives. Sex Blogyssey came about after I was given a Kindle for my birthday and realised the popularity of the genre while looking at the blog charts.
I contacted my sex blogging pals to ask if they wanted to become involved in a sex blog compilation and it was a unanimous ‘yes.’ Within three weeks it was available on the Kindle through Amazon’s blog publishing programme.
FBS: Sex Blogyssey has only been released on the Kindle. Why did you decide to do that?
SP: It seemed like the natural home for the material due to its anonymity, ease of use and portability. I take my Kindle everywhere and I read a bigger and greater variety of books now than ever before. I think it’s fantastic. It gives new writers a real chance of being read and makes a whole range of books much more accessible.
FBS: What place does erotica have in modern day society? Do you think it’s a dying breed?
SP: As long as people keep having sex, there will always be erotica. It’s never going to go away completely. Adults enjoy titillation. From 2005-2008, erotica was in demand, thanks to Belle du Jour, Abbey Lee, myself and other writers.
But publishing is a fickle industry and the erotic memoir was bound to fall from favour at some point. When Virgin’s Nexus and Black Lace imprints were cancelled, I did wander if it was the end of the genre but then the Kindle came along, those books were republished in a digital format along with new erotica. I don’t think that would have happened without the Kindle.
FBS: Who are your favourite female authors?
SP: I really love Susie Bright. She’s smart and funny and I’m really looking forward to reading her latest autobiography. Stella Black is my favourite erotic author. Daddy’s Girl is as good as it gets. It should have been a bestseller but slipped through the net when Virgin was acquired by Random House and, as a result, was never properly marketed.
I don’t read books based on the sex of the author and, if I’m honest, men wrote the last three books I’ve read. Currently I’m halfway through a massive work of historical fiction called The Crimson Petal and the White. It’s absolutely riveting.
FBS: How much do your sons know about what you do and what do they think about it?
SP: They know far too much and are funny and laidback. Let’s just say, there is not very much that shocks them.
FBS: What kind of reaction have you had from women in general towards your work – is it largely positive or do some people think that it betrays modern feminist principles?
SP: I would have to say that the reaction to my book from women has been primarily positive. I have had women write to me and say that I helped to transform their sex life. I have had couples say that that I have helped to reinvigorate their marriage. I don’t have many critics but the ones I do have are mainly men.
FBS: Do you feel like you live a sort of double life with your job as a PR executive on one side and your erotic writing on the other side?
SP: I used to, although I’m ‘out’ to most of my clients now so I no longer feel quite so schizophrenic. When Butcher, Baker came out my children were quite young and I made a promise to them that I wouldn’t reveal my identity. Now that they are older it isn’t such an issue. Working in the entertainment industry, I’m used to being around ‘alternative’ types so I can be myself.
Want more from Suzanne? Purchase a monthly Kindle subscription to Sex Blogyssey for £1.99 from Amazon.
Interview by Karen McCandless
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