Naked Reader Book Club Discussion: Foreign Affairs, Edited by Mitzi Szereto (August 23, 8-10 PM EST)

Evocative indeed. Of course my first thoughts were of the the famous Ingres painting "La Grande Odalisque", but I could see the main character as a person distinct in herself, but sharing to some extent the ancient role from the painting.
(If you've never seen it, google it and you'll see why it's memorable.) less

I was startled by the ending to Cheyenne's story, but I do love everything she writes (especially when she's writing for one of my books--so far she's been in every one of my seven anthologies.) Still, I wondered what the reaction here would be. Unfortunately revealing what happened would be an unforgiveable spoiler. less

Speaking of stories that not everyone would like, I asked Cheyenne Blue to give me some backgound about her story, set in the Colorado mountains. Here's what she said:

Cheyenne Blue

My story “So Cold the Night” is included in “Foreign Affairs” and I have never been more surprised to receive an acceptance. For starters, the story is not set in any exotic island location – it’s set in the Colorado Rockies and the characters are a dreamy girl from Kansas and a church boy from Memphis – hardly a cultural stretch for many people. Of course that’s the America-centric viewpoint and Rocky Mountain scenery and those characters could be unusual and strange to someone from Europe. (I’m living in Australia, and 30 feet of snow and church boys seem very unusual to me right now!).

Secondly, the story has at best a bittersweet ending, at worst a downright depressing one. Sad or bittersweet endings don’t seem to be that common in erotica (certainly, I have a drawer full of rejections that state a story wasn’t upbeat or romantic enough). Personally, I love a bittersweet ending where everything isn’t wrapped up tidily. I wish there were more of them in anthologies, but obviously my view isn’t a popular one. J I imagine that most readers here would say they prefer a happy ending? less

I already gave them a big raspberry. I posted an article in the Huffington Post stating my case. Some of the readers' comments had to be deleted! What can I say? People will assume what they wish. I just find it funny how much they had to say while never having read my book. In fact, most have never read anything of mine. Such odd people. less

I was startled by the ending to Cheyenne's story, but I do love everything she writes (especially when she's writing for one of my books--so far she's been in every one of my seven anthologies.) Still, I wondered what the reaction here would be. Unfortunately revealing what happened would be an unforgiveable spoiler. less

Hi everyone--I'm scrambling to keep up.

I was particularly struck by how the foods of different countries played roles in so many stories. I asked Mitzi about that beforehand, so here's our conversation:


Me: I love the way food and food imagery are woven into so many of the stories, especially your own. Is that something you particularly wanted to see?

Mitzi: It was probably inevitable that food would play an important role, considering many of the story locations. Since my story "Odalisque" was set in Dubai during Ramadan (I'd actually been there at this time), people tend to be very preoccupied with food. If you're Muslim you're supposed to fast till sundown, so there's a lot of thought, preparation and anticipation that goes into the business of eating! Aside from this, food, like sex, is a pleasure. Well, hopefully it is if done right! less