Peep Show author interview with Nobilis Reed

How did you come up with the idea for your story, “Glass,” in Peep Show?

The story started life as the first segment, all by itself, an inspiration that drew from my job during college as a security guard. Part of my job included manning a camera bank and making recordings of anything I saw that would be of interest to my employers, basically anything illegal or unethical. There was a good deal of debate on the security team about what that actually meant and what we should be recording.

Ever since then I've had little fantasies dancing around in the back of my mind.

Did the story change as you were writing it from your original conception of it?

I dislike stories that don't have some kind of twist in them, and I tend to avoid writing stories that have a clear-cut “victim.” Those two influences, together, guided my efforts in completing the story. Once the inspiration dawned, writing the rest of the rough draft was fairly simple. The fact that I could add in a little meta-voyeurism was a bonus.

What’s your favorite line or paragraph from your story?

The last one, which unfortunately I can't reproduce here without spoiling the story!

Is your Peep Show story similar to or different from your usual erotic writing style?

Usually I write more "speculative" fiction, that is, science fiction or fantasy. I probably could have set this story in a "total information awareness" society but it wasn't really necessary. In retrospect it's probably a better story for having left that element out. The focus on the thoughts and feelings of the characters involved is very much my style, however. Aside from the speculative elements I don't believe this story is much different from what I usually write.

What do you think is sexy about exhibitionism and/or voyeurism?

For the exhibitionist, there's a kind of validation to it. "If a complete stranger likes me like this, then I must be really hot/macho/whatever!"

For the voyeur, it's more like "This person is putting on a show just for me!"

If you care to answer, are you more of a voyeur, exhibitionist, or neither?

Both. I'm not paraphiliac about it -- I don't need to be engaging in it to get off -- but there's definitely a charge for me both in being watched, and in watching. The "shower scenes" from the movies Porky's and Private School were some of the first times I saw naked bodies on screen!

Do you think there’s something inherently exhibitionistic about writing, especially writing erotica?

And yes, there's definitely an exhibitionist quality to writing and publishing erotica. One of the most fulfilling qualities about it is putting aspects of my own sexuality (fictionalized and disguised, of course) out for public consumption, and having them accepted, praised, and even rewarded. It's an incredible rush!

What are you working on next?

Currently, I'm writing the outline for my second novel, Pirates, while I gear up for the publication of my first novel, Scout, which will be coming out in mid-2010 from Logical Lust.

Nobilis Reed (”Glass”) takes care of his disabled wife, teenage kids, and too many cats, occasionally taking flights of erotic fancy that then become enmeshed in his brain until writing exorcises them. His career in smut has so far produced four novellas, which you can find at www.nobiliserotica.com.

Below is an excerpt from "Glass" by Nobilis Reed. To read the whole story, check out Peep Show: Erotic Tales of Voyeurs and Exhibitionists. Read excerpts from all 18 stories in Peep Show by clicking here.

The glass dildo, this time. Yes, definitely the glass. Mira unlocked the bottom drawer and selected the hard transparent shape from the jumble of torpedoes and plastic phalluses and laid it on the desk in front of her.

A gentle curve, a pleasant shade of blue, a few tiny bubbles trapped inside: it could almost pass for a work of art. She smiled at the thought of just leaving it on the shelf alongside the walkie-talkie and the heavy ring of keys. Would anyone say anything? She doubted it.

The couple on her monitor stopped kissing and pulled at each other’s clothes. Mira looked up. It wouldn’t be long now, but where was that damned lube? Bit by bit, their bodies came into view. They were beautiful, both of them. Every Friday they showed up, performed their pas de deux, and left again. She had invented a hundred stories to explain their presence in the depths of the darkened parking garage. Not for the first time, she thanked the nameless engineer who’d invented night-vision video cameras.

She leaned back in her chair, pulled open two buttons of her blouse, and moved one hand into the gap.