Greg Wharton says he is compelled by the Furies to write. His
inspirations are diverse: Richard Brautigan to Barry Gifford to Jim
Thompson. His works span Dangerous Fiction, Suspect
Thoughts, and the Velvet Mafia. Clean Sheets
caught up with him between gigs promoting his latest anthology, Of the Flesh: Dangerous New Fiction, which he
also published.
CS: Let's start with the writing, Greg. Like many authors, you've said
it's the sensuous details that often get you started: tastes, images,
sounds, sensations. But what kinds? What are the types of sensations
that can haunt a writer until he puts them down on paper?
GW: I think that can be different for each writer. The sensations, thoughts,
or mental images that haunt me are usually small or subtle, such as a phrase
or name I've heard, or a single line of dialogue that stays trapped in my
head. Physical descriptions, like a smile with a gap between the front teeth,
have inspired entire stories. I also feel inspiration from memories of
things I've lived and people I've known, and most of my characters have -- at
least in part -- been built from real people. I have a journal that I scribble
all these little things into as they happen, or I think of them or remember
them, then quite often when starting or working through a story, I'll read
through it and see if anything fits or inspires.
CS: And Dangerous Fiction? Where does that come in? Do you think a
lot of readers, for example, have fantasies they'd never really want
to experience in real life, but reading about them gets their juices
flowing? Do you have "tough sex fantasies"?
GW: The "danger" that is the theme of the pansexual anthology Of
the Flesh is many things. The authors all interpreted the theme
differently: from more obvious dangerous sex to the more complex
dangers of even having sexual thoughts or fantasies to the dangers
that come with the emotional part of sex.
Fantasies are great. I assume -- but could be wrong -- that everyone
has sexual fantasies, many of which they never truly intend to live
out. Living them isn't always necessary. Letting yourself have the
fantasies is, whatever they are. Now, every so often being able to
experience something new that you've always dreamed of can be a real
kick! Me, personally? Yeah, I like to experience what I dream, as
often as possible. As far as my fantasies being "tough" or "rough," I
guess that's just an interpretation isn't it?
CS: And what about softer erotic gay fiction? Is there room on the Web
for seduction, romance, and gay love that isn't so dangerous?
GW: Hell yes! The Web is without end, is it not? Just as every person is
different, so are our feelings regarding sex and love and what we wish to
read. But the reason I've focused on "danger" isn't just for the hardcore
sex, but also to delve into the strong emotions that come with sex and love.
Velvet Mafia is a new site focusing on gay male fiction and
erotica that I co-edit with Sean Meriwether of Outsider Ink.
It also uses danger as a theme. Again, there is a great mix of
interpretations regarding what the danger is, and Issue 1 featured
work that focused on the emotional side of sex, as well as more kinky
"rough" sexual appetites and activity.
CS: As a writer and editor, how do you think transgender issues will be
addressed in erotic fiction? Will there always, say, have to be a
backstory that explains who was what when?
GW: Well, the world holds its religious beliefs and societal mores tightly.
And that means that most folks need to know He/She/Part A goes in PartB/etc.,
and that also includes clearly stating He was a She/Had part B changed and
now has part A.
I personally enjoy work by and from many voices, including transgendered,
and have featured quite a few pieces in suspect thoughts:
a journal of
subversive writing that were either directly transgender in
theme or less easily defined, by authors transgendered and intersexed,
and lesbian, gay, bisexual, and heterosexual as well. And I enjoy the
blur, when the sensual, physical, or sexual orientation is not so
clearly classified or fitting of a niche.
CS: What prompted you to create the Of the Flesh anthology? Did you
have a compulsion to generate your own publishing company and which came first,
the idea or the business concept?
GW: Actually, the journal came first. I wanted to create a home for erotic
fiction online that was open to any sexual voice as well as any genre or
mixing of genre. Then I started planning the press. I didn't want to just
"self-publish," but wanted to start a press as a business, with a future,
able to offer more than just one title.
Of the Flesh: Dangerous New Fiction is one of many ideas I've worked
through. It was a great way to launch Suspect Thoughts Press.
CS: When someone starts a new erotic publishing venture, what kind of
support or challenges do you get from the "erotic community" of other editors,
writers and publishers?
GW: I have such great friends within the erotica community: artists,
authors, editors, and publishers. Unlike many businesses -- or perhaps even
other writing markets -- smut folks are great and very supportive.
CS: You've admitted before that you're a pretty committed computer
person. but as a writer seeking inspiration from the world around him,
you must go out, hang out, and party some. What are the
kinds of places in Chicago that make up the sensual world of Greg
Wharton?
GW: Chicago is quite fantastic and has so much to offer: great architecture,
the lake, parks, museums, galleries, restaurants, clubs.
I'm really a horrible homebody though. I know: how boring! I love time with
friends, going out to a movie (most beautiful theater: Music Box; most
comfortable theater: Landmark's Century Centre), or eating out (favorites:
Mamacita, Flat Top Grill, Hi Ricki), but I cook dinner at home and stay in
most evenings.
The advantage of living in a city like Chicago is when I do want to go out
and experience something, it's there for me.
CS: Apart from writing, what are the turn-ons for you? Hobbies,
reading, activities, great food, wild sex?
GW: Hmmmm. I guess one of my biggest turn-ons is writing, and
the feeling I get when I finish a piece. And despite all the editing I
do and all the reading that comes with it, I still read like crazy. I
usually have several books going at once: at least one novel
(currently: Troublemaker by Brian Pera, and Flesh Wounds
and Purple Flowers by Francisco Ibanez-Carrasco) and usually
several collections/anthologies (currently: The Burning Pen
edited by M. Christian, and Public Sex by Patrick Califia),
as well as work from some of my friends (authors) which I happily read
before it reaches the public, and when possible, in progress. Writing
is my favorite art form.
I do love movies and am hugely turned on by a great flick on a big screen
(yes, I'm a size queen). And I'm addicted to a few TV shows (yes, big screen
there too) that thankfully aren't usually running new episodes at the same
time: Six Feet Under and Oz. (And I'm not ashamed to
admit that I'm watching my reruns of the best soap ever: Knots
Landing -- again!)
I'm a tennis junkie, and play and watch as often as possible. I've got a very
large and quite bizarre collection of antique squeak toys.
So, to sum up Greg's turn-ons: reading, writing, great cinema, bad TV,
tennis, and rubber toys. Add in some music, goat cheese enchiladas
with mole sauce, and long evenings of intense sex with multiple body orgasms
and I'm blissed out!
CS: I understand you're also getting involved in some live readings?
Is that scary or exciting? How revealing is it to stand up in front
of strangers and read erotic stories?
GW: I am new to reading my work in front of others and get very
nervous. But it's the reading, not what I read, that makes me
nervous. I could read anything and it would be that way. I have no
problem with the erotic part, just that I'm reading my
work. But I enjoy it, and hopefully my nerves don't always show. And
it is revealing, but also great to get reaction. Silence is the
hardest part to deal with -- which is what you get when reading more
serious work. Reading something funny is a lot more satisfying -- to
me at least -- because you get the laughter as feedback.
CS: What's the most outrageously erotic thing you've done in public?
And would you do it again?
GW: I'm sure my most outrageous public acts of eroticism have occurred when
under the influence of, well, okay, probably Margaritas -- the evil, evil
Margarita! So, the answer is easy, I don't remember!
CS: Could you tell us a little of what readers can expect to find in
Of the Flesh: Dangerous New Fiction?
GW: Of the Flesh contains twenty pieces interpreting the
dangers of sex and love: from hard-boiled writing about rough sex and
violence and bad men and women and weapons in sex and sex as a weapon
and being in the wrong place at the wrong time, to lyrical, lovely,
and poetic interpretations of the danger that comes with the emotions,
wants, lusts, and needs of sex and love.
This is a pansexual anthology with work by Lawrence Ytzhak Braithwaite, Cara
Bruce, Hertzan Chimera, M. Christian, Wayne Courtois, doll yoko, Jamie Joy
Gatto, Beth Greenwood, Debra Hyde, Francisco Ibanez-Carrasco, Susannah
Indigo, Maxim Jakubowski, Sean Meriwether, Marshall Moore, Ian Philips,
Carol Queen, Thomas S. Roche, Simon Sheppard, horehound stillpoint, and
Emanuel Xavier.
CS: Any parting wisdom, seductions, comments for your fans?
GW: If you know one good joke and can tell it well, do so over and over to
your friends for years on end. They'll love you for it.
Never salt your food before tasting it.
Sex is a good thing, enjoy it as often as possible.
Buy Of the Flesh: Dangerous New Fiction at your
favorite bookstore. And if they don't have it in stock, insist that
they order it!
