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Rachel Kramer Bussel
Proliferotica
Rachel Kramer Bussel
is one of the most prolific writers of erotica today. Her writing has
appeared in over 60 anthologies over the past six years, she has
contributed to over a dozen publications and currently writes for three
magazines, two web zines and two blogs. It’s a miracle she finds time
to sleep! But believe it or not, she also curates a reading series, is
producing a comedy show and she attends all sorts of Manhattan events
that you’d imagine would appeal to such a seasoned smutmeister. Here
she takes some time away from tip-tapping on her keyboard to have a few
words with ErosZine.
ErosZine: You are by far one of the most prolific smutmeisters around!
Your work has appeared in OVER 60 anthologies? Where do you find the
time?
Rachel Kramer Bussel: Well, those 60 anthologies go back to 2000, when
my very first erotica story, "Monica and Me" (a fictional story about
Monica Lewinsky, and, well, "me"), was published. I feel like I kind of
fell into writing erotica, back when I was in law school and reading a
lot of smut and just started writing down some fantasies. I've been
really pushing myself to write about things I might not otherwise
cover, moving beyond my early autobiographical stories to write gay
male erotica, foot fetish erotica, hot weather erotica, etc. Sometimes
I just wake up in the middle of the night and have a random story idea,
and play around with it—sometimes they just come out perfectly right
off the bat, and sometimes I have to futz with them for a long time.
Also, it's been amazing how in the last five years the erotica market
has just exploded. I can barely keep up with all the calls for
submissions passing through my inbox, so there are a lot more
opportunities for us smutmeisters. I like that because it challenges me
to write about things I might never have thought of.
EZ: What's it like working at Penthouse?
RKB: Unfortunately for those who might imagine otherwise, it's really a
very normal job. Our office is pretty much like any other office. Our
Variations staff consists of only three people, which is nice, because
we each do our work and there's not a lot of bureaucracy or paperwork,
so we can just focus on the smut.
EZ: Variations is known as the fetishy title. Is it still that way? What kind of stuff do you write for them?
I'm Senior Editor there, and I'm in charge of the letters, which are
shorter than the stories and usually capture one, possibly two, sex
scenes. Yes, we're still very fetishy, but we really have a wide range
of things we cover, from anal and oral sex to threesomes, exhibitionism
and voyeurism, to all the kinky stuff like spanking, bondage, female
domination, and general SM. Within those, there's room for everything
from a fetish for fishnets to meeting people online, but we cater to
the BDSM folks and to couples and other people who want to read about
all kinds of sexy fantasies. I edit letters that come in via email and
snail mail. My favorite are the handwritten ones, because you just
don't see that too often. You can visit Variations.com for some free
sample stories to get a feel for what we do.
EZ: How does it differ from what you write for The Voice?
RKB: The main difference is that the Voice is nonfiction, and not
necessarily erotic. What I love about the Voice column is that I can
write about anything that strikes my fancy, from having sex with Betty
Dodson's boyfriend to threesomes to posing nude to being pro-choice to
professional submissives. I have some upcoming ones on boobiesexuals
(straight women and gay men who are into women's breasts) and drunk
sex. The Voice has such a wide readership that I don't try to cater to
one specific segment, I just cover the things that fascinate me. I'm
always surprised at what people respond to. I'll write something I
think is provocative and not hear a peep, and then I'll write something
I think is just fun and breezy, like about taxicab hookups, and get
hate mail!
EZ: And how does what you write for online sites like MediaBistro.com
and Gothamist.com differ from printed media like Variations and the
Voice?
RKB: I think the main difference between writing for online
publications and print is that you don't have the space considerations
and the feedback is more immediate. The instant something goes up, I
can let people know, and it's so easy for them to click through. I
really like writing for the web because I'm very big on immediate
gratification. If I turn something in and have to wait four months for
it to be published, I've likely forgotten about it by the time it comes
out. But with the faster turnaround times online, I think the work is
fresher. Even with the Voice, which is a print publication, my column
is also on their website, and usually goes live a few days before the
paper hits the stands.
EZ: You also blog quite a bit. How is that as an outlet for your
writing? Is it more personal? Or just more immediate and/or spontaneous?
RKB: Ah, blogging. I have a love/hate relationship with it, probably
90/10 in favor of it, but sometimes I get sick of blogs altogether and
need to take a little break from reading blogs and posting on mine. I
am so addicted to blogging; it's where I go to share both professional
news like new publications and events, and my most personal thoughts
and feelings. Sometimes I can write things there that I can't tell even
my best friends in person, but they understand. Most of my friends blog
as well, so that makes it easier. It's also a way to respond to what's
in the news, even if it's just with a link, and sometimes themes start
to emerge and show me what I might be interested in covering in another
forum.
EZ: I see Naughty Spanking Stories is now in its second volume. Are
there really that many sexy spanking stories? And are they all
BDSM-ish, or across the board across the knee? Tee-hee....
RKB: I was surprised, too! I was worried at first that all the stories
would tend to sound the same after a while, even for a huge spanking
fan such as myself. But what's been totally fun is how many different
angles people bring to it. Some are serious and intense and some are
lighthearted and funny. For some writers and practitioners, spanking is
sort of a game, a purely physical erotic activity, and for others it
taps into really deep psychological issues, and I think the anthologies
capture both those aspects of spanking really well. The second volume
is coming out in September, and I can't wait. My favorite story is by a
brilliantly devious and naughty writer named Stan Kent. It's called
"Solemate" and is about a woman who gets spanked with some very
high-end designer shoes.
EZ: You curate a reading series: In the Flesh Erotic Reading Series.
How do you choose people to read? Based on their writing or their
delivery? Both?
RKB: I've mostly been booking people I know or who I've seen read. I
also go for a mix of people and styles, like I'll have one or two
"erotica" authors and then maybe some erotic poetry and a fiction
writer with a particularly hot scene in their novel. I'm actually
looking for more of that—I had Danyel Smith read from her novel Bliss
and she really blew everyone away, it was that steamy, but those books
aren't going to be found in the "erotica" section so they have to be
recommended to me as being racy. I'm a total people person so I love
getting the chance to meet some of my favorite writers in the flesh, so
to speak, and to host one-of-a-kind events. On March 15th, we have
Maxim Jakubowski (Mammoth Book of Erotica) coming from London, and he
almost never reads in the U.S., along with kinky erotica writers Laura
Antoniou (The Marketplace series) and Debra Hyde (pursedlips.com), and
in April we're doing true sex confessions. It's fun, sometimes sexy and
always very intimate—there's a lot of audience/reader interaction. I'm
always looking for good readers though, and you can visit
http://inthefleshreadingseries.blogspot.com to find out more.
EZ: Aside from your reading series and appearing at other readings,
you're mostly an in-print/online person. Any plans in the future for
doing anything on video?
RKB: I feel like I'm at my best in front of the computer. I'm much more
articulate in print, when I have time to ponder what I'm writing. That
being said, I am actually hoping to do some talking head commentary. I
love pop culture and celebrities and while I get nervous being in front
of the camera, I'd like to give that a whirl. I'm a huge fan of the
downtown comedy scene and sometimes will do stuff for my friends'
shows. I was just in a Valentine's Day show where I had to put condoms
on as many bananas as I could in 30 seconds (I made it to three), and
I'm doing a comedy show called Brutal Honesty
(http://brutalhonestyshow.blogspot.com/) on March 7th, talking about
stealing food from the supermarket when I was in college.
EZ: Any interest in doing a porn video? Or sex on camera?
RKB: You know, having sex on camera is one of those things I think
would be cool, but I'm way too chicken to actually do it. Like the
fantasy me would be totally into it, but I'm really much more of an
exhibitionist one step removed. I'm fine with having my photo taken and
can get into that, because it's one on one, but having sex live in
front of other people kind of freaks me out. I get really
self-conscious, so I don't think I'd actually be able to do a porn
video. Even masturbating—Betty Dodson was casting for her masturbation
video and I just didn't think I could do it.
EZ: If it's not too personal a question, do you consider yourself a bisexual?
RKB: Yes, I'm bisexual, have been for about a decade now. I've had
girlfriends and boyfriends, and kind of go through girl crush and boy
crush stages. I think ideally I'd like to have a male lover and a
female lover, either a triad situation or one on one, but who knows?
EZ: You mention having, well, not much of a sex life. Why do you suppose that is?
RKB: Since I started my Voice column, I've definitely had less sex than
in previous years. In large part, I think it's that as I've gotten
older (I turned 30 last November), I don't feel the need to "prove
myself" by having as much sex as possible all the time. I'm a little
better able to handle rejection and wait for the right person rather
than just hook up with someone because they're there. Maybe I value sex
and who I share my body with a little more because I'm surrounded by it
all day. I think it's in part that I'm more choosy and I tend to like
very "normal" people who I think are sometimes a little thrown by what
I do for a living so I wind up having a lot of unrequited crushes.
EZ: Do you sublimate with your writing? Or are you too busy writing to go out?!
RKB: Oh, I go out quite a bit and it's funny because I'll say to myself
"you need to stay in more and write," but it's often when I'm out and
about, talking to people about whatever topics come up, that I get
story or column ideas. It can be anything from a particularly hot
outfit or shoe, or someone mentioning a sexual fetish or problem they
have, that'll just spark a train of thought and a conversation. I'm a
total voyeur and I love to hear about other people's sex lives.
EZ: You write about almost everything sexual....but what do YOU enjoy personally?
RKB: I like spanking, both giving and getting, but it really depends on
who I'm with. If my partner is really submissive, I love being able to
top them and tell them what to do and have them listen to me. That's so
hot, but not if they're just going through the motions. I really like
flirting with people and anyone smart and good with words who can just
kind of surprise me, plant some hot idea in my head that just won't
budge, gets me going. I also really like dirty talk. There's no set
script or anything, but I definitely get off on having people say
naughty things to me in bed, and I always remember what they've said
long after we're done.
EZ: What would be your ultimate sexual fantasy?
RKB: This is one of those things I can't really answer in the abstract.
It totally depends on the person. Some people make me want to be really
crazy and exhibitionistic, and with some people the hottest things we
could do happen in private and are just very sweet and intimate. With
some people, my fantasies are very tame, but hot to me, like I want to
wash their dishes wearing just high heels, or give them a really
erotic, long backrub. Other times it's more getting-naked-in-a-taxi
type of thing. It's very person-specific; each person I'm with I have
very elaborate fantasies about, but they're about things unique to them.
EZ: Well thank you, Rachel! We’ll keep an eye on your blogs and columns to keep track of your sexcapades!
[Written March 2006]
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