Retro-style "Risque" Fiction

[KristyLeigh]

Hi gang, Kristy here again. I was talking recently to someone who enjoys pin-up art of the "golden age", and some of his observations got me thinking. I'm wondering if anybody here is into the "spicy" fiction of the pulp era. Personally I'm a big fan of old-school "girlie" mags and short films (Beauty Parade, Stripperama, Betty Page, etc) and would be interested in doing something with a "nostalgic" flavor.

I realize that most people here enjoy more explicit, hard-edge erotica, but at the same time, I think this kind of image holds great potential for ideas and inspiration:

Saucy Stories

(that's actually one of my favorite covers from the pulp era; it's inherent sauciness suggests so many possibilities). For my part, I'd like to try my hand at doing some "nostalgic" art and fiction, something which harks back to the days of seamed stockings and stiletto heels. Maybe we could work together in group project, produce a faux illustrated magazine in the style of the spicy pulps.

Well, that's my pitch for today, folks. Feel free to add your thoughts to this thread if the idea strikes your fancy. Any concepts, outlines or feedback on the subject will be most welcome.

 

[Grimfalcon]

Cool idea – I’ve always been a bit of a fan of pulp fiction, fishnet and stockings, and movies with a darker, altered perception of reality like Sin City, and more recently Sucker Punch. (Awesome movie btw if you haven’t seen it)



Bomber girl artwork on the side of WW2 aircraft that comes to life. The sexy, yet oddly dangerous female client that goes to a detective to solve the murder of her dead husband. (Nothing new, but it does have lots of stockings, garter belts and high heels around any variation of that). Larger than life heroes with a damsel in distress in the heart of the amazon jungle. Classic horror with a capture/ rescue theme. And we can't forget the inherently naughty banter of overt sexual innuendoes beneath the exotic, smoky eyes, when a female spy attempts to seduce our hero on a long train ride in order to steal some sort of secret plans from him afterwards.

Think you may be on to something; there’s a reason this kind of writting was, and still is, so popular today.

 

[Grimfalcon]

I find it really hard to believe, that one one else is interested in the classic 1920's thru 1950' era of erotic fiction; it just takes a little bit more imagination on a writers part. It's what the modern style is based off of for the most part, hence a bump. I think the idea deserves at least that much.

 

[jeninflorida]

I find it really hard to believe, that one one else is interested in the classic 1920's thru 1950' era of erotic fiction; it just takes a little bit more imagination on a writers part. It's what the modern style is based off of for the most part, hence a bump. I think the idea deserves at least that much.

oh, I'm into it! have 2 books on my nook based in the 20's.

 

[HBwoodrose]

I'm totally new to writing erotica, but I love the idea!
Could someone possibly recommend any books/stories that are similar
so I can get an idea of how it's done?

 

[Star of Penumbra]

I find it really hard to believe, that one one else is interested in the classic 1920's thru 1950' era of erotic fiction

I find it interesting, but I've had trouble tracking down examples so I don't have much to contribute.

Now, I have some art from those eras on my hard drive that I like a lot. It seems... I hesitate to call anything "more artistic" than anything else because I think all art is entirely subjective (which is why it's art,) but the classic pictures have... a sense of subtlety about them.

While I can't say I think ignorance is ever a good thing, sometimes a sense of mystery can enhance the experience and help draw and keep one's attention because it makes you use your imagination. On the one hand I think people being open with their sexuality is a lot healthier than being repressed about it, but on the other hand when something is openly and freely talked about it loses something of its specialness- like a secret.

When I was a kid finding pictures of naked people was a lot harder, so the ones I found were rather precious because they were so rare. But now that it's 2011 and porn is actually kind of hard to avoid if you spent any time online at all I've become a lot pickier- a picture I'd have loved to have as a kid I might spend all of a couple seconds looking at now because I've seen a thousand others like it. But art from older eras focused more on subtlety and implication than outright statement, which can kick ones imagination into overdrive.

This brings to mind an incident that happened last year- my motherboard died so I wasn't able to use my computer for about a week while I got it repaired. I spend a lot of free time in front of it so a break was probably good for me. But... since I didn't have access to the internet and the ability to look at porn whenever I wanted, my imagination started heating up. While normally seeing a flash of cleavage or a woman's thong as she bent over wouldn't get a second glance from me, I found myself starting to find my attention drawn to that kind of thing more and more. After a couple days I found myself masturbating to the thought of a girl in a bikini with her arms around my shoulders and my hands on her ass- the kind of thing I thought about before getting easy access to the internet.

Where I'm going with all this is that the classic pulp style stuff is written to appeal to a specific audience. If it's the only kind of erotica you consume you'll find your imagination filling in a lot of the gaps, and it can be great... BUT, if you have more blatantly sexual things you can turn to it's going to seem lackluster in comparison.

 

[Star of Penumbra]

Oh, hey, look at that, I killed the thread.

 

[Grimfalcon]

Oh, hey, look at that, I killed the thread.

I don't think you killed the thread. I sent an email off to Kristy, and finally got a reply back. (This is conjunction with the 'Spicy Tales' thread as well.) She's just been really busy lately with work and other things and hasn't had the time to comment on the board. Everything as far an illustrated collection of short stories is still a go at this point. As for me, I’ve been on a 12 hour shift for the last week, and unavailable.

All you have to do is google the pulp era fiction, , and numerous publishers and options will come up. Think back to the old Doc Savage and twisted tales by H. P. Lovecraft.

Here's a quick link to some things, and if nothing else, it should be able to point you in the right direction. Loots of different types of stories, and it all depends on the content you looking for.

http://www.goldenagestories.com/lrh-storiesfrom1


Have to agree with you on the art work, Star of Penumbra: It's very suggestive and sexy, but that's what makes it stand out from the crowd without being pornographic. Pulp fiction, was in many ways, the precursor to erotica and adult entertainment during an era where if a woman wore makeup or showed her knees, it was considered risqué. It was also the time of the sexual revolution and empowerment of women, in a way. It’s during this time period where you first see the introduction of stocking, nylons, garters, and shorter dresses, as well as women starting to openly smoke and drink. Very interesting period to explore, and why I decided to write a story for the ‘Spicy Tales’ collection with an erotic horror theme.

 

[J.Q. Hack]

I think many of you should check out the "Hard Case Crime" book series. Many of the books are reprints of pulp crime noir from the 40s, 50s and 60s that are pretty gritty and the newly written ones are in the same genre. The covers feature new cover art done to imitate that style from the 50s and 60s.

I remember when I ran across the first one in a local B&N a few years back and I was instantly hooked on all the old reprints and even the new ones. Sure it's not the same as the sex books but they're still pretty good.

Anyhow, here's a link for a book I just recently saw in the library: http://www.amazon.com/Sin---Rama-Sl...=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1311110796&sr=1-1

J.Q.