Donna George Storey: A Truly Amorous Woman

Donna George Storey. Just the name alone should be enough to give you quivers of desire. If it doesn’t, then you haven’t read any of her erotica. Storey writes stories and novels that sizzle with sexuality, culture, characters and smarts. From her silky and sensual shorts like Blinded to her newest novel, Amorous Woman, Storey always delivers.

This week, she agreed to take a break from writing and have a little chat with us here at Lust Bites. Even better than that, she’s granted us a peek at something sexy from Amorous Woman--as well as the chance to win a copy of your very own. Your very own copy of the book, not of an amorous woman, of course. (Although, talk to us--we might be able to arrange it).

Welcome Donna. There are so many things we want to know about you, so let’s get right to the questions! You’re known for walking the line between literature and erotica. Can you talk a little about your processes? Are they different to write? The same?

When I write “literary” fiction, I know the editors are going to require that the sex be bad. Bittersweet at best. Seriously, check out the erotic scenes in most contemporary literature. Sex is either boring or neurotic, and can only be enjoyable if it’s adulterous. But when I write erotica I can let loose and celebrate the pleasure and humor and perversity of sex to the utmost. The hands-on research for erotica is also a lot more fun.

However, I’d say there are more similarities than differences between the two genres and they can blend very well. The principles of good storytelling apply to both. You need conflict, complex and interesting characters, vivid detail. A touch of humor doesn’t hurt. Although mainstream publishers assume explicit sexual writing only touches us below the waist, the best erotica--as illustrated by the work of the writers on this site!--arouses the mind as well as the libido. It challenges assumptions. It tells the truth.

That was my goal with my novel, Amorous Woman--tell my truth about a Western woman’s encounter with Japan, and show how her erotic yearnings interplay with the Japanese desire for things Western. The hands-on research for that was pretty enjoyable, too. I actually tried to write a “literary” version of the same story, but it was boring. And neurotic. I had a great time writing the “dirty” version, and I hope that comes through to the reader.

We’re always interested in a "typical day" for a writer. How much time do you spend writing? Do you outline your stories, or do they come to you in flashes of inspiration, or both? What is your favorite part of the writing process...and what part would you love to make disappear?

On a typical day I wake up at about 5:30 am and take a brisk walk. This is when my current set of characters talks to me and tells me what naughty things they’d like to try next. The shower is where I often get my inspiration for new stories, probably due to all that steam and nudity. Then I usually get about three to four hours of actual writing time at my computer. More than that tends to be counter-productive and for some reason I’m more likely to think I’m a no-talent hack in the evening, although I can work at night if I’m under a deadline.

I’m all for baring secrets, so here are my no-fail writing tricks. First I make an “ideas” file for each story, just typing in all the images, snippets of dialogue and a rough outline very freely, while I keep that internal editor bound and gagged in small dark room (he secretly enjoys this). Then I start the first draft by making a copy of a file of a story that did well. You know, one that made a “best of” anthology and was reprinted five times. Superstitious, yes, but can it hurt? At this point I give myself up to the flow of the prose and go where the feelings take me, rather like sex. For the next draft, I generally need some help with details of the erotic action, so I enlist my husband’s cooperation, and then I don’t care if the story gets published because good things have already come of it.

The part I love best about writing is when I’m in the “zone” and lose myself in the story. The part I’d make disappear is the formulaic rejections—“this isn’t for us.” And editors get so huffy when writers use clichés?

Who are some of your favorite contemporary Japanese authors? Which authors do you find most erotic among Japanese writers in the 20th-21st century?

Okay, more revealing confessions! Before writing erotica, I spent about ten years in academia studying mid-20th century Japanese literature, which meant plenty of appropriately depressing literary sex scenes. Although they can be dark and obsessive, I love Tanizaki Jun’ichiro’s novels, especially The Makioka Sisters and Some Prefer Nettles. Nosaka Akiyuki has written some hilarious, if bittersweet sex tales—The Pornographers and “American Hijiki” are two favorites. I also enjoy perusing erotic manga, mainly to learn dirty Japanese words and get a sense of cultural turn-ons. I have a section in Amorous Woman where my protagonist is leafing through comics penned by her best friend and I use the opportunity to describe some common taboos. Nice girls always flush while they’re peeing so others can’t hear, for example. Other popular themes I borrowed are transgressive sex at the office and in the public bath at a hot spring.

S&M and bondage are big, too—a reasonable obsession given the importance of hierarchical relations in Japanese society. One of the many things I love about Japan is the whole-hearted acceptance of sexual fantasy, as long as it’s kept in its place. We seem to be more squeamish about such things in the West.

Oh, and I love shunga, or erotica prints. Here’s one of my favorites--“Autumn Moon of the Mirror Stand” by my favorite artist Suzuki Harunobu. No huge genitals here, just elegance and subtlety. Check out what the samurai is doing with his hands.

Is your fabulous last name a nom de plume or were you destined to be a writer from the day you were born?

I don’t use a pseudonym. It’s part of my lifelong mission to make erotica a respectable endeavor for a nice girl like me. (Well, not too respectable). “Storey” is my husband’s last name and I added it because I was tired of having a boy’s first name as my last name. But I think it was destiny. He’s a wonderful partner and an inspiration. And very cool about enduring those crème de menthe blow jobs for my latest story.

What do you read for inspiration?

I’ll pick up the latest Cleis anthology or peruse the latest on Clean Sheets. If I’m feeling nostalgic, I’ll dig back into the past for some Diane di Prima or a naughty Victorian tale. Those always get the juices flowing.

What's next for you?

I’m currently plotting out my second novel, an erotic romance that is a peek through the bedroom keyhole of American history in the 20th century. There’s something sexy about those more repressed times and I’ll pay homage to Sally Rand, the famous 1930s burlesque dancer, Bettie Page and camera clubs in the 1950s, John Updike’s spouse-swapping suburbia and lots more. The research for this one should be fun, too.

Out of all your work, you have a favorite character or story that you've written? Can you talk about how it came about or the inspiration behind it?

The heroine of Amorous Woman, Lydia, is definitely my favorite character because I’ve spent so much time with her. She’s wilder than I am, but we have more in common than I’d planned. Her story is borrowed from a Japanese classic about a sexually insatiable woman who experienced every type of pleasure 17th-century Japan had to offer, but a lot of my experiences in Japan—the texture, if you will--found their way into the final draft. Amusingly enough, by the end of the novel-writing process, Lydia and a few other characters were telling me what they were and weren’t going to do next. I like cheeky characters who don’t follow the rules!

You promised us a look at that cheeky character of yours, so upcoming is an excerpt from Amorous Woman. Anything we should know beforehand?

The following scene takes place in a traditional hot spring bath in the mountains of Gunma prefecture—a real inn I’ve visited several times where I really feel in touch with the heart of old Japan. In the midst of this beauty and purity, Lydia is unfaithful to her husband for the first time with an anthropology professor. Naughty professors often appear in my stories. This one is very naughty and he turns the tables nicely—instead of having his student lick his ass, he licks hers!

Thanks Donna. It’s been great having you. Now, on to a sexy bit from Amorous Woman!

I suppose you could call it sorcery, the way my flesh suddenly seemed to soften and flow, transforming me from a good wife—although was I ever truly a “good” wife to Yuji?—into a silky, sinuous seductress. With a provocative smile, I inched the bathing towel slowly over my chest, rising up just far enough that my breasts floated like white lilies on the surface of the water. My nipples immediately tightened in the cool air.
The professor stared, as if his eyes were bound to the movement of my hands with steel cable. I’d forgotten how much I loved to have a man in my power.
I took my breasts in both hands, lifting them in offering.
He swallowed visibly.
At first, I was just showing off for him, rolling my nipples between my fingers, licking my thumbs to stroke them over the sensitive tips. But soon enough, I let one hand creep between my legs beneath the cover of the water, just as if he’d never come to interrupt me. Except, of course, there was a real man sitting across from me, his face suspended in the ghostly vapors hovering over the bath. From his hooded eyes and faint grimace, I knew he was touching himself, too, lost in his own dream.
“Will you touch me?” I asked in English, the language of selfishness.
The professor’s face twisted into a frown. He wanted to touch me, I could tell, but something held him back. Was it professional ethics or some less lofty obligation like a wife? I decided not to ask.
“It is best….” He swallowed again. “…If I do not.”
But I thought it best he did.
I rose to my feet, the water gliding from my body like a silk robe. My skin tingled from mild sting of the wintry air, but inside I was still warm from the long soak, my flesh plumped, glowing, hungry.
The professor’s eyes widened and leapt toward me, but his body remained frozen in place.
On impulse, I turned and bent over the edge of the bath, doggy-style, a primal position most men found irresistible.
I glanced back over my shoulder. As if drawn by leash, he moved closer.
I had, finally, made him an offer he couldn’t refuse.

You can buy Amorous Woman in the UK at Amazon, Blackwell and some Waterstones bookstores. It will be released in the US in June 2008, but Donna has copies available through her web site. To enter to win a copy, leave a comment in the post. Who knows? You might end up with your very own Amorous Woman!