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| Gustve Moreau: Oedipus and the Sphinx (1864) |
When the call goes out for an erotica anthology, there's almost always a standard set of restrictions: NO incest, NO bestiality, NO non-consensual, NO underage, NO scat or watersports.
So last week I wrote a story for a submission call, and naturally I chose the theme of Oedipus and the Sphinx ... because that's two Forbidden Topics (yes, he shags the Sphinx) right there already. Writing at the borderlines ... it's like picking a scab - how far can you push it before you regret it?
Oh dear.
I don't know yet if the story will be accepted by the editor. I don't know if it'll get past the publisher. But I was asked for a story that "told everyone it was written by Janine Ashbless," and it doesn't get much more Ashbless than that!
But it's probably a good job I ran out of space on the wordcount, because if I'd had another 1000 words it would have been even dirtier :-D
(BTW, my Sphinx is MUCH bigger than the one in the pic at top.)
You know, I keep hearing that watersports are almost always categorically barred from erotica submissions, but that hasn't been my experience at all—not in 2006, not in 2013. (Please know that I'm not trying to quibble or criticize you; but these ideas perpetuate themselves, and so I thought maybe I should take the opportunity to speak up. This is an important topic for me! (:v>)
ReplyDeleteinteresting use of ther old riddle - three legs in the evening....Yup! that's normal for a lusty chap! xx
ReplyDeleteI love a punning/comedy/sly title :-)
ReplyDeleteJeremy, my experience is that watersports is now LESS acceptable in erotica than it used to be - possibly because Erotica is trying, post 50 Shades, to go more mainstream and "female-friendly". No one batted an eye when it was included in my first collection, but it's not allowed by Black Lace now. And it's definitely on the forbidden list for the erotic romanc imprints I write for.