“This Book and I Could Be Friends” reviews Cthulhurotica

The opening piece, Gabrielle Harbowy’s “Descent of the Wayward Sister,” does a great job setting the tone for the rest, turning Lovecraft on his head by centering on a bold female character who greets the monstrous with open arms (literally). An unapologetic thief and prostitute, she’s a rule-breaker on the margins of Victorian society already, as opposed to some stuffy New England aristocrat. Don Pizarro’s “The C-Word,” on the other hand, is a quiet modern tale of two lovers, a young man and a woman seventeen years his senior. Except she lives in Innsmouth, which adds another layer to the issues of aging and physical change that have caused her to push him away.

Plus the reviewer gives “thumbs up” to the idea of Cthulhurotica 2!

Read more at This Book and I Could Be Friends

Interview: Leon J. West

Name: Leon J. West

Author of: “Amid Disquieting Dreams”

Age: Honestly around 40

Geographic Location: Eugene, Oregon

Original Hometown, if different: Reno, Nevada

Twitter: Chitter.

Website: http://leonjwest.wordpress.com/ It used to have a whole bunch of stories of horrible thing I’d done as a teen, but I took them all down so I could get a job, and now all that remains are some book covers and a couple videos of a robot I built in school.

Past publications: Writers of the Future, Polyphony 3, Fundamentally Challenged, Robots and Time

What’s your favorite H.P. Lovecraft story or other Mythos story? The Dreamquest of Unknown Kadath. I lived in a martial arts dojo and religious commune when I read it at age 14, and I had been reading lots of books on shamanism and practicing techniques to induce lucid dreaming and stuff like that, so I guess it really resonated with me.

What comes to mind when you think “Lovecraft” + “Erotica”? Phallic tentacles and gaping holes with teeth.

How did you hear about Cthulhurotica? My writer’s group, The Wordos.

What inspired your story? Depravity, drugs, and the dreams both induce.

What is your favorite bit?

You cook the powder down to a brown puddle and inhale the smoke with your straw.  You feel like a whore with a mouthful of someone’s hate, and you hate yourself for loving the feeling.