BDSM RTV MEDIA NEWS!!!!


06 august 2009


An interview with erotica author D.L. King


Source: www.examiner.com Examiner.com - USA


Erotica author D.L. King has a way with words. This writer is sure she could wield a mean whip, too. King celebrates sexuality on all its levels. Fortunately for her readers, she writes about it as well. Her stories bring realistic characters together for hot and honest sex. She writes all kinds of erotica, choosing not to confine her talent to just one area. She has contributed her short stories to erotica anthologies on subjects from vampirism to male submission. King has now also edited her first erotica anthology, Where the Girls Are, an urban lesbian erotica anthology. She discusses what makes a good erotica story, identifying as a female top, and her fantasy lunch date.


IG: How do you identify regarding your sexuality?

DLK: I came across an interesting term on FetLife and I’ve taken it for myself-heteroflexible.

IG: How long have you been writing erotica?

DLK: I’ve been writing erotica for seven years now.

IG: How did you get into it?

DLK: Good question... I don’t really know. I started writing my first novel, The Melinoe Project, Thanksgiving weekend the year after 9/11. Why it came out as erotica I don’t really know. I’ve been writing erotica ever since. I can’t really imagine writing anything that didn’t have erotic content at this point.

IG: I guess it’s safe to say you’re a very sexual person?

DLK: I guess you could say that (laughs).

IG: What do you feel are essential components to a good erotica story?
DLK: With any story, you need good characters the reader can care about and a plot that interests the reader. You also need some kind of conflict and some way to come up with a solution to that conflict. And of course with erotica, you need lots of hot sex. Actually, for erotica to be successful, as far as I am concerned, it has to be really hot or something that the reader can fantasize about living. Erotica is very personal to both the writer and the reader.

IG: I just finished reading the new anthology you edited, Where the Girls Are, in which the unifying theme is the location of each story being in a big city. How did you get the idea?

DLK: Well, I live in New York and I love the city. I’m a very urban person. I had been thinking about doing a theme series of books about sex in the city. I approached Cleis Press about editing some anthologies for them and they were interested in me editing this, which is like a sister companion to Where the Boys Are.

IG: In the introduction you state that no anthology of yours “would be complete without its share of dominance and submission.” Why is that?

DLK: Well, as I stated previously I’m a kinky person and I’m into kinky sex. I’m into bdsm. I write a lot of erotica and it’s usually about female domination. I not only write those kinds of stories, but I read them as well.

IG: Do you think that BDSM will ever be accepted by the mainstream?

DLK: You know I think it’s become more and more accepted but I don’t think the mainstream can fully understand it. Most readers are titillated by stories of bdsm but don’t actually understand the dynamics. Earlier when you asked me how I identify in regards to my sexuality, I knew what you meant, but I wanted to say as a female top. That is really how I identify. I like bodies…female bodies, male bodies, trans bodies…I like sex.

IG: If you could have lunch with any person, alive or dead, who would it be?

DLK: Probably somebody who’s alive. Somebody who’s dead wouldn’t be very conducive to a good meal (laughs). I would really like to eat with Stephen King. It’s hard to answer because you’re keeping me to one person; there are lots of people I’d like to have lunch with. Since it’s always best to go with your first instinct, I’ll go with Stephen King.

IG: If you can change one thing about the world what would it be?

DLK: I think the world would be better off run by women. I think that would help to ensure peace. I don’t think that women have a natural urge to be the king of the hill. Women want to get along with people more than men seem to. If things were based on a matriarchal society I don’t think we would have as many problems as we do now. Like the issues of gay marriage and government invading the privacy of people’s bodies and bedrooms. I think a lot of problems we have in the world today are male-inspired.

IG: What GLBT public personalities do you feel are making the most difference?

DLK: I think the everyday people that you meet are the ones making the most difference like teachers and people out about their sexuality. The more the homophobic population sees the less homophobic they become. And people such as teachers set a good example showing that everyone is just the same.

IG: Name three items that you take with you when traveling.

DLK: I take my laptop; I take my phone. And it depends on where I’m going (laughs). I always take too many shoes (laughs).

IG: Name three of your favorite books or authors.

DLK: Currently I’ve been reading books by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child. They don’t write erotica-it’s more like a modern day Sherlock Holmes. I love the Charlaine Harris books that True Blood is based on. I love Susan DiPlacido’s work. I have communicated with her a little bit. She wrote an erotic anthology set in Vegas called American Cool. She can really write. Writing with a hard edge. I read her words and I am transformed. And that’s amazing.

IG: What would you say to young adults who are struggling with their sexuality?

DLK: I would say hang in there and then I would try to be a little bit more helpful. I would try to steer them towards websites or people who can help them. There are a lot of good sexuality sites for young adults like www.scarleteen.com and www.sexetc.com. I would try to be a friend to any young adult who came to me. Young adults often struggle with their families not understanding what they are going through. They just need a friend who can listen. After all, we are who we are.

As far as kinky sex goes, I find that people kind of grow into it. I think you might be born with “the kink gene” but you kind of become aware of it as you get older. But maybe that’s just me.


IG: Where can you be found online?

DLK: I have my personal website, www.dlkingerotica.com. I am also the publisher and editor of www.eroticarevealed.com. We write and publish erotica book reviews.

IG: What’s new?

DLK: My second anthology edited for Cleis Press is called The Sweetest Kiss. It’s vampire erotica and comes out October 1st. I also have a story in Best Lesbian Erotica 2010 and The Mammoth Book of Best New Erotica 09. I just found out that I’ll be in an anthology edited by Rachel Kramer Bussel called Please, Ma’am. I have a story in Girl Crazy, which is an anthology of lesbian coming out stories. I have a West coast book tour coming up in a week and a half. We’ll be touring for Where the Girls Are and Girl Crazy. [Writer’s note: Tune in next week for a book review of Girl Crazy as well as an interview with Girl Crazy editor, Sacchi Green].
Come back Thursday, 8/6, for my review of Where the Girls Are!

Meet author D. L. King:

First stop-Los Angeles
Wednesday 8/12 @ 8pm
In the Flesh LA-Hustler Hollywood
8920 Sunset Blvd. West Hollywood

San Francisco
Friday 8/14 @ 7pm
The Center for Sex and Culture at 7pm
1519 Mission Street

Portland
Sunday 8/16 @ 2pm
The Q Center
4115 N. Mississippi Avenue

Seattle
Monday 8/17 @ 7pm
Center for Sex Positive Culture
1602 15th Avenue

Back in NYC
Thursday 8/20 @ 8pm
In The Flesh
302 Broome Street

See more pictures at the examiner: