This blog post is by Elizabeth Black, who writes erotic fiction and dark fiction. Friend her on Facebook and visit her web site at http://elizabethablack.blogspot.com/.

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It’s Christmastime,
and the man knocking at your door is wearing warm, red clothes. He carries a
walking stick. His long, white beard reaches his belt. He may even have horns.
When you answer the door, you see a pulkka, which is a type of toboggan pulled by
reindeer that can’t fly. The man turns to you and asks “Onko täällä kilttejä lapsia?” (Are
there (any) well-behaved children here?) You should invite him inside since he
came all the way from the Korvantunturi mountains. He’s had a long trip.

No, that man is not Santa Claus. He is a Joulupukki, or “Yule
Buck”, which is a pagan tradition found in Finland. I learned this after
watching the Finnish movie “Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale”. It’s
kind of a combination of the story of Santa and his elves and “The
Thing”. Very bizarre but good. According to the Internet Movie Database,
this movie is about the following: “On
Christmas Eve in Finland, Santa Claus is unearthed in an archaeological dig.
Soon after, children start disappearing, leading a boy and his father to
capture Santa and, with the help of fellow hunters, they look to sell him back
to the corporation that sponsored the dig. And then there’s Santa’s elves, who
are determined to free their leader…”

Intriguing, isn’t it? This isn’t your usual Christmas
story. I like unusual folklore and it influences my erotic fiction. I
specialize in erotic fairy tales. Most people look to Hans Christian Anderson
and Grimm for their fairy tale inspirations. I’ve done the same with my two
tales “Climbing Her Tower” (erotic Rapunzel) and “Trouble In
Thigh High Boots” (erotic Puss In Boots). I’m about to publish an erotic
version of “The Little Mermaid” but this one won’t resemble the
sanitized Disney version at all. Great pain stabs into the mermaid’s legs and
feet with every step she takes, like in the fairy tale. She also does not win
the prince in the end, as in the fairy tale. Looking to the dark origins of
such stories make the erotic tales much more exciting.

Even more interesting are stories based on unusual
legends. Two of my earlier erotic short stories were based on Japanese
folklore. In the first one, entitled “Mud Licker”, rather than rely
on the usual (and somewhat tired) vampires, werewolves, and zombies, I created
an erotic creature based on the Japanese akaname. This creature lives in
bathrooms and cleans them with its two foot long tongue. Imagine what else it
can do with that tongue, and you have a cracking erotic story. My other story
entitled “Fountain Of Youth” is based on a Japanese shapeshifting
tale about a … you guessed it … fountain of youth. The lesson of that story
is to be careful what you wish for. Both stories are available at Amazon. The
first appears in the “Like A Myth” anthology published by Circlet
Press. The second is a stand-alone short story published by Romance Divine.

My point is that writers need to look outside the box
when they are considering inspirations for their fiction. European folklore
tends to be the most common inspiration. Look outside Europe to Africa and
Native American folklore as well as Indian, Japanese, Chinese, Korean, and
other Asian influences for some very unusual folklore. Hence my interest in Finnish
folklore during the Christmas season and Japanese lore. If you wish to write an
erotic vampire story, rather than the usual blood-sucker who dresses like a
head waiter, why not test-run the Indonesian jenglot? Aren’t familiar with it?
Look it up. And get excited over the possibilities.

When you broaden your gaze outside your normal comfort
zone, all sorts of riches await you. Yes, you are treading in unfamiliar
territory, but isn’t that the point of writing? You test your resolve and
stretch your writing muscles. If you want to stand out in the crowd, you have
to do something different. Standing out in the crowd is very important since
these days there is a glut of writers creating erotic fiction. It’s easy to get
lost in that sea of books. Here’s a great New Year’s resolution: Give your
readers the treat of something they’ve never seen before. Not only will you
expand your vision, you will gain some new fans. And new fans are always
wonderful.

About Elizabeth Black

Elizabeth Black
writes erotica, erotic romance, speculative fiction, fantasy, and horror. She
also enjoys writing erotic retellings of classic fairy tales. Born and bred in
Baltimore, she grew up under the influence of Edgar Allan Poe. Her erotic
fiction has been published by Xcite Books (U. K.), Circlet Press, Ravenous
Romance, Scarlet Magazine (U. K.), and other publishers. Her horror fiction has
appeared in “Kizuna: Fiction For Japan”, “Stupefying Stories”,
and “Mirages: Tales From Authors Of The Macabre”. An accomplished
essayist, she was the sex columnist for the pop culture e-zine nuts4chic (also
U. K.) until it folded in 2008. Her articles about sex, erotica, and
relationships have appeared in Good Vibrations Magazine, Alternet,
CarnalNation, the Ms. Magazine Blog, Sexis Magazine, On The Issues, Sexy Mama
Magazine, and Circlet blog. She also writes sex toys reviews for several sex
toys companies.

In addition to
writing, she has also worked as a gaffer (lighting), scenic artist, and make-up
artist (including prosthetics) for movies, television, stage, and concerts. She
worked as a gaffer for “Die Hard With A Vengeance” and “12
Monkeys”. She did make-up, including prosthetics, for “Homicide: Life
On The Street”. She is especially proud of the gunshot wound to the head
she had created with makeup for that particular episode. She also worked as a
prosthetic makeup artist specializing in cyanotic blue, bruises, and buckets of
blood for a test of Maryland’s fire departments at the Baltimore/Washington
International Airport plane crash simulation test. Yes, her jobs are fun.
 😉

She lives in
Lovecraft country on the Massachusetts coast with her husband, son, and four
cats. The ocean calls her every day, and she always listens. She has yet to run
into Cthulhu.

Visit her web
site at http://elizabethablack.blogspot.com/

Her Facebook
page is https://www.facebook.com/elizabethablack

Follow her at
Twitter: http://twitter.com/ElizabethABlack