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All Mitzi's books are available on
Amazon.com
WordDabbler@yahoo.com
As M. S. Valentine, Mitzi
Szereto is the author of The Martinet, The Captivity of Celia, The
Governess, Elysian Days and Nights, and The Possession of Celia, along
with numerous short stories in collections. She also wrote Erotic Fairy
Tales: A Romp through the Classics, and has just edited Erotic Travel
Tales 2.
Read
Mitzi's Excerpt from her story Melinda
SENSUOUS SADIE:
Some might think that because you write erotica, you wander
around in an erotic daze. Is this true? Or it more like the muse comes
to visit?
MITZI SZERETO: “If I wandered around in an erotic daze, I
wouldn’t get very much work done, would I? The muse that comes to
visit – that’s a pretty accurate analogy. I don’t find the writing
of erotica any different than the writing of anything else. The creative
process is the same. At least it is for me. It’s just the muses who
are different.
“You get an idea, you scribble a few notes, you sit down and write.
The story carries the story, not the sex. This is where I differ in my
approach from some other erotica writers. They can’t see the forest
from the trees. I think the forest is just as important as the trees. Of
course the erotic content is an integral part of the work, but you’ll
have a very weak foundation if you let this carry the entire thing.
Readers should be caught up in what’s happening, have a vested
interest in the characters; they should be taken somewhere else – a
journey, if you will. That’s what makes the reading experience all the
richer.”
Sadie:
You describe your writing as having a British slant. I’m
assuming that’s not a la Benny Hill. What do you mean by a British
slant?
Mitzi: “There’s a lot to be said for Benny Hill! But no, that
wasn’t quite what I meant. Rather it’s the overall tone of the work.
My M. S. Valentine novels are British sounding, the Celia books being
sort of an eroticized Jane Eyre. As for Benny Hill, I do
occasionally incorporate some English-style humor into my erotica, but
it’s a more tongue-in-cheek quality that would probably be too subtle
for Benny Hill. My M. S. Valentine novels The Martinet and Elysian
Days and Nights have quite a bit of this, The Martinet being
a Marquis de Sade meets the powdered wig brigade, whereas Elysian
is a sexed-up and more twisted Road to Wellville. I should add
that my collection of stories Erotic Fairy Tales, A Romp Through the
Classics has some classic British kinks in it – rubber fetishists,
spanking, CP – all those charming pastimes so adored by the English!
Though in this particular instance, that tongue-in-cheek quality comes
into the picture again. They say you can’t have humor in erotica. I
believe I’ve proved this wrong. It’s a fine balancing act to
incorporate humor into erotic literature, and still retain the
eroticism. You just need to know how to play it.”
Sadie:
You’ve said that, “The idea of travel in itself -- of leaving
behind the known for the unknown -- is a very erotic concept.” What is
it about travel that is so hot for you?
Mitzi: “You just never know what’s lurking around the corner.
Everything is new, untested, untried. Anything can happen. And you’re
a stranger. You can be whoever you want to be, then go back home to your
safety net. If you think about it, you can remake yourself every time
you travel somewhere. The anonymity is probably what makes people behave
in ways they would never do in their normal environments. That can be a
heady feeling. But then, you don’t really have to travel to feel this
way. Just read Erotic Travel Tales!”
Sadie:
In referring to your book Erotic Fairy Tales, you
commented that, “I did not consciously select what fairy tales to
use—they selected me.” What do you mean by that?
Mitzi: “I had no idea what fairy tales I was going to use when I first
started. Essentially I approached it as a research project, bringing
home lots of fairy and folk tale collections from libraries. I skimmed
through the books until something clicked in my head, such as story
elements, scenarios, settings. It was as if certain fairy tales were
reaching out and tapping me on the shoulder, saying ‘pick me, pick
me!’ Or perhaps it was really my fairy godmother operating behind the
scenes. I wonder if she had facial stubble like the one in my Cinderella?”
Sadie:
People might be surprised by the amount of research you do for
your writing projects. How does research help you and how do you go
about it?
Mitzi: “Well, I think a certain amount of research is necessary in
everything you write. I operate under the assumption that there’s
always somebody out there who has first-hand knowledge of what I’m
writing about, even something as minor as whether such and such
restaurant I might mention is open for lunch on a Sunday. As a reader I
am appalled by the amount of errors I find in people’s writing – the
types of things a few minutes on the Internet would have corrected. I
remember reading a book by a very well known and respected English
author who had Pico Boulevard in Los Angeles intersect with a street
that it doesn’t physically intersect with. That completely put me off
her novel, even though it was a really good novel. These types of errors
are just plain sloppy. As an obsessive-compulsive perfectionist, I
can’t abide sloppy. Not in my work, not in the work of others. Which
means I often end up annoyed with people!
“When you’re writing erotica, I think it’s even more important to
get things right, because there are some people out there who don’t
consider erotica a legitimate form of literature – and they’re just
looking for yet another reason to relinquish it to the dung heap of
literature. I’m not just talking about accuracy with regard to sexual
practices, though that’s important, obviously, as is having some
knowledge of anatomy and proper terminology. I admit to referring to
Taber’s medical encyclopedia on occasion. After all, I’m not a
physician! But you need to be accurate on all fronts, sexual and
otherwise. As writers of erotica, we must aim toward even higher
standards in our work to show the naysayers that we are real
writers, not half-witted hacks.
“The fairy tales book – specifically the introduction – took me
about six months to research. Those intros were a killer, especially
those for some of the more obscure fairy tales. My M. S. Valentine novel
The Martinet also proved a time-consuming venture, in that I
needed to research costuming of the period, along with the geography and
history of 17th Century Spain. While researching something to
do with costume, I accidentally came across this thing called a clyster.
I couldn’t resist incorporating into the book, since it was such a
bizarre instrument that lent itself to some very kinky exploits. I used
to use the library a lot – both public libraries and university
libraries, but since I’ve moved to England I pretty much rely on the
Internet. (Probably because the libraries here are not very well
funded!) To be honest, you can find anything you need on the Web. You
just need to make sure the sources are reliable and accurate. Cross
check and cross check and cross check. I also email just about everyone
in the world, so that’s another way I do my research. If I’m not
looking something up on the Web, then I’m emailing an authoritative
source with questions. It’s probably my journalism background that’s
honed my researching skills.”
Sadie:
It’s unfortunate that so much of the erotica that we read is
such junk. It almost seems that erotica writers feel that they don’t
need to follow standard grammar and style because they are “expressing
their inner selves.” Do you think writing erotica is fundamentally
different than writing any other kind of fiction? Along these lines what
are some of the things you teach in your erotica writing workshop?
Mitzi: “My philosophy is that it isn’t fundamentally
different from writing other forms of fiction. That’s what I stress in
my workshops. I could care less about people expressing their inner
selves. I say, for Christ sake, just give me some good writing! I can
tell you that as an anthology editor, I get in lots of stories from
established names in erotica. I also pass a lot of them up. The main
problem is that these people rely on standard sex writing style –
using terminology that, in my opinion, is just plain tacky, if not
downright sleazy. My biggest pet peeve is getting in a story with the
word ‘cum’ in it. Once I see that, I’m ready to bin it. I’m like
that character in the old vaudeville sketch who goes berserk when he
hears anyone mention his wife’s name (Martha). Occasionally the story
is pretty good, and I must go to the writer and ask her or him to kill
the porn speak. They end up agreeing that it’s awful, but this is what
they see out there and this is what they think they’re expected to
produce. Well, not in my books!
“Interestingly, some of the best work I see comes from people who are
not erotica writers at all. They may need some editorial guidance on
tweaking their material so that it has more of an erotic zing to it –
and I’m happy to spend the time working with them, because I know it
will be worth it in the end. On a more general editorial front, it might
be that the story needs help in other ways: plotting, characterization,
conclusion. That’s why it says ‘Editor’ with my name on the cover
of my anthologies. I’ve earned that title!
“As for my erotic writing workshops, I conduct them very much like a
university course in creative writing. We aren’t sitting in a circle
passing around dildos and discussing what brand of lube works best.
Writing is a serious pursuit – and yes, that includes erotic writing!
Essentially I try to get people to shed their literary shyness, their
inner censor. I work with them to explore their erotic muses as well as
get them to think beyond themselves. I must stress the latter in
particular, since a lot of erotica out there is simply an ego trip for
the writer. You read work by people who can only write about their own
sexual exploits or rather, wished-for exploits. Sorry, but this gets
awfully boring after awhile. After a couple of stories it becomes fairly
obvious what makes that person tick sexually. I defy anyone who reads my
work to figure me out. I’m not even sure if I’ve done that
myself!”
Sadie:
As an editor you’ve said that you do not use your own level of
arousal in choosing stories to include. What are the parameters for good
erotic writing then? How do you know that these stories will both arouse
and be good literature?
Mitzi: “This relates to my approach as a creative writing tutor.
Again, one person’s idea of what’s arousing is not necessarily
another’s. I think it’s pure hubris for an editor to set her or
himself up as the goddess or god of arousal. We’re all different
people – that’s what makes the world interesting. If we had the same
opinions and the same feelings about everything, life would be pretty
dull. The same goes for an erotica anthology. I include a whole range of
material, some of which I don’t personally find arousing at all. I
don’t think it’s possible to be aroused by every story, yet this
shouldn’t mean that the ones that don’t arouse you lack
merit. The material will be arousing to someone. Again, it’s
the story, the author’s voice, that special something which sets the
story apart from the great unwashed masses, so to speak. I look for that
spark, that edge, a fluidity to the writing. It’s a hard thing to put
into words, but I know it when I see it. I try very hard to include a
variety of voices and styles, from the more traditional to the esoteric.
I want to give readers something they can’t find anywhere else.
That’s my goal as an anthology editor.”
Sadie:
As a self-described cynic, how do you keep your feelings about
writing and erotica fresh and imaginative?
Mitzi: “Since I don’t set out to write a story based solely on the
sexual element, it’s never a problem for me. I focus on the story, the
characters, the mood, the setting. The sex comes as a natural element to
the story. But if all you do is think sex when you write, it’s bound
to get stale and boring – and all the more so for the reader. I think
that’s the mistake many people who write erotica make. You find that
they parrot themselves over and over in everything they write. Or else
they use a formula, which soon becomes glaringly obvious to the reader.
They incorporate stock elements like from out of a porn video – you
can practically predict which sex act will happen and when. In fact, I
know writers who use the exact same sex scenes in everything they do;
only the names of the characters have changed. The sex should be an
element of the work (an important one, yes!), but not the sole
motivating force of it. There’s got to be a solid structure beneath
it, some literary style. That’s what distinguishes quality from
crap.”
Sadie:
I have found some interesting contradictions in myself that I
write non-fiction but only read fiction. I understand that you rarely
read erotica, but there you are writing it. Why is this?
Mitzi: “In a nutshell, I find much of contemporary erotica just plain
boring. Too much of it reads like something that’s been churned out in
fifteen minutes – and that’s because it probably has! I don’t see
enough craft, enough blood spilled for one’s art. Prolific doesn’t
necessarily mean quality. I want to read something that has some
richness of language, some content, some originality and thought. I want
high art, not low art. Having said that, since I must read and edit so
much erotic material when putting together an anthology, I suppose it
isn’t surprising that I don’t want to spend my ‘off’ time
reading still more erotica! Though in all honesty, when I did read
erotica for the sake of reading erotica, I stuck with vintage material,
the classics. It’s probably safe to say that I saw so much inferior
material in the contemporary sphere that I decided to write the stuff
myself, if at least to produce something I’d actually want to read.
Fortunately a few others wanted to read it as well, or else you
wouldn’t be bothering with this interview. I guess I’ve always been
a big believer in the ‘If you want something done right, do it
yourself’ school. No double entendre intended!”
Sadie:
You said in another interview that, “pornography does not have
any real artistic value -- it’s brainless and disposable. It’s
simply a tool to sexual stimulation. Junk food for the libido, if you
will. Erotica involves the brain. It seduces the reader, whereas porn
masturbates the reader.” Those might be fighting words to some. Can
you expand on this?
Mitzi: “Fighting words are fine with me. I’ve got my gloves on! In
Miller v California, one of the tests in defining pornography is to
judge whether it has artistic value. This is the key to how I look at
it. I am a big believer in artistic value, and that is my litmus test
for erotica. I don’t have any problem with sexual explicitness,
unless, of course, it serves no other purpose than to be ‘smutty.’ I
don’t think anyone who has read one of my M. S. Valentine novels can
accuse me of being shy in the explicitness department! Nevertheless,
erotica has for too long been maligned as a form of literature, so the
more distance we put between it and pornography, the better. We need to
preserve the integrity of erotica by elevating it to a higher form. And
one of the best ways of doing this is to bring it more into the
mainstream. Take it out of the closet, so to speak. But to do this, it
must offer something beyond junk food status. It’s got to exist for
the brain, not just the genitals.”
Sadie:
There was an article in a recent issue of Prometheus by Julian
Robinson regarding whether erotica should always use things like safe
sex, or in the case of BDSM – safe, sane, and consensual practices. Do
you think of your writing as total fiction in the sense that it
doesn’t need to include condoms for example, or are you a stickler for
fiction reflecting life?
Mitzi: “I suppose it’s all a matter of who your audience is. Since I
am not writing a sex manual or some how-to book, I don’t see why I
need to include any of these things unless they’re in some way
integral to the plot. I am producing erotic literature. Fiction.
I don’t imagine you’d ask someone who writes crime novels to
incorporate a proviso into her/his books to absolve the author of
encouraging murder and mayhem. Again, it’s all a matter of your
readership. If you want to learn about safe sex practices, buy a
non-fiction book on safe sex. I’m sure there are plenty of good ones
out there.”
Sadie:
For much of your writing career you used the pen name M.S.
Valentine. Aside from no longer being in the closet as an erotica
writer, What do you feel that using your real name has added to your
marketability as a writer?
Mitzi: “Well, for one thing, I am producing a different kind of
erotica now that I’m out of the pseudonym closet – work that is much
more oriented toward the mainstream reader than the top shelf reader. I
think writing and editing under my real name gives my work a real stamp
of legitimacy now that I’ve put myself out there as myself, not
as some fictionalized character. To me it’s of primary importance to
legitimize erotic literature, not send it further into the denizens of
the adult bookstore. The fact that I’m not hiding behind some persona
indicates that I’m not ashamed of what I’m doing. Not that I was
hiding behind the Valentine name. That was more a matter of setting up a
brand name, so to speak, than anything else. But yes, when people see
you standing up and saying: ‘This is me,’ it can only enhance an
author’s marketability. I have to thank Cleis Press for helping me
make this decision, since they encouraged me to drop the Valentine
moniker when I did my Erotic Fairy Tales book. Ironically, a
friend of mine said he thought I should never have taken a pen name in
the first place. Live and learn, eh?”
Sadie:
You have commented that using a pen name has something to do with
erotica not being taken as seriously. And yet, other writers (like
myself) are very aware that people in their local community are quite
simply not ready for a kinky writer amongst themselves. What was the
process like for you personally to come out?
Mitzi: “You can’t live your life worrying about what everyone’s
going to think of you. There will always be someone who doesn’t like
what you do, even if you do something as innocuous as flipping burgers
at Denny’s. When readers and writing contemporaries found out that I
was M. S. Valentine, I got a very positive response. It was really nice
to hear that so many people liked those books. Last autumn I received a
few raised eyebrows when a feature article on me appeared, color photos
and all, in my city newspaper. Some people had no idea I wrote erotica.
But no one displayed the slightest negativity toward me. In fact, my
landlady went around boasting to everyone that I was her tenant!
“I imagine if I lived in a small town in the American Bible Belt the
reaction might have been different. My response to those members of the
local community who are not ready for this is for them to read my work
– or to not read it! As for other writers, you have to do what
makes you comfortable. Obviously you don’t want to lose your day job
or end up being stoned to death by the locals. Granted, those locals
might in all probability play the banjo and tell you that you ‘shore
have a purdy mouth’ before they kill you. Unless, of course, they’re
too busy molesting their daughters. Sorry, but I tend to be suspicious
of people who have such a huge problem with anything to do with sex.
It’s like those guys who go around gay bashing. What are they so
scared of? Makes one wonder, doesn’t it?”
Sadie:
You described reading The
Romance of Lust when you were quite young, and your mother
discovering you with it. What was her reaction to this? How do you feel
that your upbringing contributed to, or limited to your erotic
imagination?
Mitzi: “She was shocked, obviously. Though in truth, I’d borrowed it
from a school friend, who pinched it from her parents’ library. I
didn’t have any repressed or heavily religious type of upbringing, so
it’s not as if I suddenly exploded with sexuality when I reached legal
age. I was an avid bibliophile throughout my childhood and teens. In
fact, I could pretty much read whatever I wanted to, so my reading
material was probably a lot more sophisticated than what others my age
were into. I was reading Jacqueline Susann when other kids were reading
Nancy Drew. But then, as an only child who preferred the company of
adults to other children, I was very precocious anyway. As for The
Romance of Lust, the lure of the forbidden is not an easy thing to
disregard. I finally got to finish it some twenty years later.”
Sadie:
Is there anything else you’d like to share with our audience?
Mitzi: “Yeah! Erotic Travel Tales 2 is just out, so go buy it!
I guarantee readers a whirlwind adventure ride. I’ve got a really
exciting group of writers on board, including erotica’s first-ever
Royal Fellow of Literature. Seriously though, it’s an amazing
collection of stories. I am really excited about the book and am already
hard at work on volume three. Blue Moon has also just released my M. S.
Valentine classic The Captivity of Celia. And The Martinet
is now available worldwide from Chimera. So get with the program,
people. You’re got some reading to do!”
Sadie:
Thank you for chatting with me!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sensuous
Sadie is the author of It's Not
About the Whip: Love, Sex, and Spirituality in the BDSM Scene (http://www.trafford.com/robots/03-0551.html).
She is the founder and leader (1999 - 2001) of
Rose
&
Thorn
,
Vermont
's first BDSM group.
Comments, compliments and complaints, as well as requests for reprinting
can be addressed to her at SensuousSadie@aol.com
or visit her website at www.sensuoussadie.com. Sadie believes the universe is abundant, and that sharing information
freely is part of this abundance, so she allows reprints of her writing
in most venues.
Copyright
2003 Sadie Sez Publications
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