Q&A: Lisabet Sarai on ‘Her Own Devices’

I’m truly honoured to have erotica legend Lisabet Sarai as a guest on my blog today. Ladylit recently published her F/F erotica short story collection Her Own Devices, and she has stopped by to answer a few of my burning questions. Before we continue to the questionnaire, I don’t want to miss the opportunity to tell you that Lisabet’s lesbian erotica is of absolute excellent quality. Her stories are real, sometimes painful, always sensual, and written with an expert pen. In my humble (and, admittedly, somewhat biased) opinion, Her Own devices is a must-read for F/F erotica lovers.

Take it away, Lisabet!

Sell us your book in one sentence.
I hate being a salesperson, to be honest. But I’ll give it a try:
“Her Own Devices goes beyond arousal to explore the lives and desires of women you’ll care about.”

Favourite line (or paragraph) from Her Own Devices?
Come on, Harper, that’s like asking a mother to choose her favourite from among her children! These stories are my offspring and I love them all.

However, here’s one bit, from “Clean Slate”, that I am especially fond of:

“Tension crackled between us. I saw raw desire flicker across her face, shattering her usual calm. My body tightened, nipples in aching knots and pussy clenched like a fist. My heart slammed against my ribs. Adrenaline coursed through me. I wanted to grab her. I wanted to run.”

Last book that blew you away?
Flight Behavior by Barbara Kingsolver took my breath away. The prose is achingly beautiful, the characters show astonishing depth, and the author entwines personal and universal themes with devastating skill. I was also incredibly impressed by the intimacy with the heroine that Ms. Kingsolver manages to evoke, while still using the third person point of view. Since reading this novel three months ago, I’ve been recommending it to everyone I know.

Which celebrity is at number one of your imaginary to-do list?
I’m not all that interested in celebrities, to be honest. I can’t remember the last time I fantasized about somebody famous. However, if I were forced to choose someone, maybe I’d nominate Salma Hayek. I recently saw the trailer for her film “Everly” — she’s spectacularly beautiful, and gutsy as hell.

What’s your favourite sexy song?
Quite a few come to mind, but “Come to my Window” by Melissa Etheridge is definitely up there, partly because for me, it has a D/s vibe:

“You don’t know how far I’d go to ease this precious ache,
And you don’t know how much I’ll give, or how much I can take…”

Melissa sings with such raw passion. I melt every time I hear it.

What are you most proud of?
I’m particularly proud of the work I’ve done for the Coming Together charitable erotica imprint. I’ve contributed stories to nearly twenty altruistic anthologies, as well as editing six single author collections for Coming Together Presents and a multiple-author anthology of vampire stories entitled Coming Together: In Vein, that benefits Doctors Without Borders. Other causes my work has supported include Planned Parenthood, Amnesty International, the ACLU, the National Center for Lesbian Rights, the Coalition for Positive Sexuality and the National Organization for Women.

As your prototypic starving author (!) I don’t have a fortune to contribute to these organizations. I’m glad I can use my creativity and my editing skills to make a small difference in the world.

Who’s your favourite TV Character?
I haven’t watched television in decades. When I was a teenager, I was a big fan of Ilya Kuryakin, in “The Man from U.N.C.L.E.” and Barnabas Collins in “Dark Shadows”. That dates me, doesn’t it?

Which author’s books are a must-read?
I’ll eagerly read anything by Remittance Girl, Cheyenne Blue, Giselle Renarde or Annabeth Leong. But honestly, I have so many talented colleagues, it’s very difficult to choose.

Anything else you want us to know?
Actually, I’d like to offer a few words of praise for Ladylit. (I’m not just brown nosing here, either!) I first heard about the press when Cheyenne Blue chose my story for her Forbidden Fruit anthology. That book was handled with such skill and professionalism that I was eager to work with them again. There are so few publishers these days dedicated to lesbian fiction. I’m so pleased to see Ladylit stepping in to help fill this void.

What’s next for you?
Alas, I have far more ideas than I have time to write. In the past two months, I’ve watched deadlines for three F/F anthologies whiz by. I would have loved to submit to them all— I have four different stories kicking around in my mind—but with the demands of my regular job plus some business travel, I just couldn’t make that work.

Anyone who wants to know what I’m up to can join my VIP mailing list, by sending me email at lisabet [at] lisabetsarai [dot] com. That’s how I keep my readers up to date on my new releases and frequent giveaways. I also host a monthly contest exclusively for list subscribers.

I’m not on Facebook for privacy reasons, but I’d love to connect on Goodreads. I am active there more as a reader and reviewer than an author, though I do have an author’s page:

I also have a lively blog with lots of guests and a website that features information on all my books, plus lots of free stories and other goodies.

Thank you for visiting my blog, Lisabet! (And for the kind words about Ladylit!)

All information and retailer links for Her Own Devices can be found here >>