Ashley Lister Submits

Diary of an Erotic Fiction Writer

Sex, Cigarettes & Erotic Fiction

Sex, cigarettes and erotic fiction: I’m seriously thinking of quitting one of those three.  I won’t bother trying to build to a big surprise.  As you’ve probably guessed, it’s the smokes that I’m trying to lose.

Speaking from experience, I know it won’t be easy.  Admittedly I’ve quit before: thousands of times, if I’m being honest.  But this time I’m hoping to quit for good.

And, as it if often does when I’m quitting smoking, my thoughts have turned to cigarettes.  Particularly, cigarettes in erotic fiction. 

I have to admit I’ve created characters who smoke.  Whether you’re writing hetero or homoerotic fiction, there’s something sexy about a character putting something between their lips and sucking.  I won’t bother trying to broaden the analogy: I suspect you’ve already made the connection. 

The intimacy of a post-coital cigarette is also a common scene in erotica.  Whether it’s a sweat-slick couple sharing a single smoke, or a macho hero lighting two and then passing the redundant cigarette to his partner, it remains a striking image that is powerful because of its familiarity in most of our personal realities. 

Then there’s the femme fatale – cigarette poised in front of her mouth, waiting for a rock-concert of lighters to erupt at the tip. 

All these images are clichés of fictional smoking.  And I’m beginning to wonder if they’re part of the mythology that makes smoking appear sexy.  Of course, we all know that the reality of smoking is far from sexy.  My teeth are yellow and my fingers are brown.  If you take into account me blue eyes and my green thumb, I swear, I only need a black ball and I’ll have a snooker set.  

And smokers tend to smell as well.  Nicotine and smoke produce a distinctive fragrance that, at its most pleasant, is best described as dirty.  I know I’m not selling this well but, trust me, I’m trying to quit and I’m desperate to see the unglamorous side of smoking.

I’ve spent some time reading Allen Carr’s Easy Way to Stop Smoking.  Friends recommended it to me although, I must admit, my copy has a few cigarette burns on the pages.  And it stinks of tobacco.  That said, one of the points Carr raises is that fiction (films and literature) are responsible for our perception of smoking as something glamorous.

He notes the heroic image of a soldier in front of a firing squad.  Again, it’s a scene that’s been done more times than a cut price hooker.  And he rightly points out that the scene elevates the importance of the cigarette to the most coveted experience a person can hope to enjoy.

GUARD: Any last requests?
SOLDIER: I’ll have a cigarette.

When you think about it, the soldier should have asked for sex.

GUARD: Any last requests?
SOLDIER: I’d like to have sex with a woman who’s got a really fat arse.  You know, one of those that wobbles a lot, even when she’s standing still. 

The least he should ask for is a blow-job.  Admittedly (and somewhat ironically) I know if I was in that situation the choice of the cigarette would probably make my life last longer.  But it would be nice to think I was going to my death whilst someone else had to brush their teeth to get the taste from their mouth. 

Which is my roundabout way of saying: I’m going to quit smoking.  I’m also going to ensure that all of my characters also quit smoking because I’ll be damned if I’m going to do anything further to make cigarettes appear glamorous, or desirable or vaguely sexy. 

Now, I’ve got to get on with writing the end to a war melodrama.  The villain of my story is standing in front of a firing squad and the heroic Captain has promised to honour his last request.  It’s going to be a thrilling climax…

Ashley Lister
July 2010

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  Read more of Ashley's Diary of an Erotic Fiction Writer in ERWA 2010 Archive.

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"Ashley Lister Submits" © 2010 Ashley Lister. All rights reserved.

About the Author:  Ashley Lister is a UK author responsible for more than two-dozen erotic novels written under a variety of pseudonyms. His most recent work, Swingers: True Confessions from Today's Modern Swinging Scene (Virgin Books; ISBN: 0753511355), a non-fiction book recounting the exploits of UK swingers, is his first title published under his own name.
Ashley's non-fiction has appeared in a variety of magazines, including Forum, Chapter & Verse and The International Journal of Erotica.  Nexus, Chimera and Silver Moon have published his full-length fiction, with shorter stories appearing in anthologies edited by Maxim Jakubowski, Rachel Kramer Bussel and Mitzi Szereto.  He is very proud to be a regular contributor to ERWA.
Websites: www.ashleylister.co.uk / ashleylister.blogspot.com

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