Michelle Herrera Mulligan Talks To Us About Her Juicy Mangos

We often take jabs at Latino fiction, but when we heard there was a collection of Latina erotica due out this month, we had to make an exception. After all, it’s not everyday we get to read about tetas and palos. Well, okay, it is everyday, but not necessarily for work. To get the lowdown on this landmark publication, we tracked down Michelle Herrera Mulligan, a one time drinking buddy of ours and the woman brazen enough to edit Juicy Mangos, the world’s first “English-language Latina erotic fiction,” to ask her a few questions.

Guanabee: So Michelle, is erotic fiction just a fancy term for porn?
Michelle: You could call it a “thinking girl’s” porn. These stories are character-driven, you actually get to know the protagonists really well. By the end, you’re really invested in what happens to them.

Guanabee: Hmmm…that’s so different from how we usually experience sex. So, why do you think the editors thought of you to edit a collection of, “thinking girl’s porn?”
Michelle: I edited an anthology on coming of age in America as a Latina, and I pushed the writers to take a raw, uncensored look at their experiences. Some of the stories ended up being really sexual. I guess they liked what they saw.

Guanabee: We see. So you’re kind of a known suelta.

Michelle: I think there’s definitely a secret suelta somewhere inside, but I’m a taken woman. For now, I relegate all my sluttiness to the written word.

Guanabee: Your story in the collection, “Juan and Adela,” is based on your own mom’s marriage to a much younger man. How did that go over with the family?
Michelle: Let’s just say I’m glad that, like many immigrants, they haven’t quite mastered the internet thing.

Guanabee: We know what you mean. You should try hiding an entire blog! Anyway, without giving anything away about your story, did your mom’s real-life story end the same way?
Michelle: My story was based on the concept of an older woman who finds a connection with a younger man, any similarities between that and my mom’s story end there. (There’s no way I’d be able to write a sex scene picturing my mom and my stepdad together, I’m not that twisted!)

Guanabee: Oh, come on, Michelle, we’ve had dinner with you.
Michelle: Really. My mother and my stepdad had a happy ending. They’ve been married over 10 years, even though he’s still young enough to be my brother.

Guanabee: Go Michelle’s mom. So what about you? Have you ever been involved with a much younger man? If not, would you like to be? (Our associate editor, Carlos, wrote that question.)
Michelle: I haven’t yet.

Guanabee: Did you know Carlos bears a striking resemblance to Mario Lopez?
Michelle: Well, if my boyfriend broke up with me, I would definitely consider it. We all deserve a Demi Moore moment!

Guanabee: Word. Or an Ellen Degeneres one. Like how Juicy Mangos starts off right away—bang. Lesbian affair with the sister-in-law. You’re not fucking around. Or you are fucking around. Which shows you aren’t fucking around. As an editor, is there any rhyme or reason to how you ordered the stories?
Michelle: Yeah. We chose to open the book with Mayra Montero’s story, “Diamondback,” because she draws you in from the first word.

Guanabee: There’s no doubt about it: lesbians sell. By the way, since each of the stories takes place during a holiday, we were wondering which holiday you think makes people the most randy.
Michelle: I think most people like Halloween because they get to disguise themselves or take on another persona. Personally, I love Christmas. There’s something about twinkling lights and cold weather that really turns me on.

Guanabee: So you get turned on by defiling the birthday of Baby Jesus. Do you think most Latinas are kinkier than other people?
Michelle: I think we’re more uninhibited and passionate than most. We just don’t talk about it!!

Guanabee: Until now, Miss Wordy Pants. Speaking of modesty, have you had a chance to see the Noelia sex tape? Would her story have made it into your anthology?
Michelle: My boyfriend told me about it, and I just watched it right now. From what I’ve seen, I’m not sure her story would have made it in. It seems a little staged to me.

Guanabee: You think? So, speaking of bogus sex stories, Carlos writes to Penthouse Forum all the time, but no word on a publishing date. Any advice for him?
Michelle: Keep at it! Your day will come.

Guanabee: And finally, to save our readers some time, what do you think is the nastiest thing in the book? And on what page will we find it?
Michelle: I have to say one of the best, and nastiest, moments comes in Elisha Miranda’s, “A Kiss For Lares”, pages 208 to 211. Let’s just say the concept of a juicy mango is taken to new heights.

Guanabee: Ah yes, they really get that mango up there. Well, thanks so much for answering our questions, Michelle. Anything you’d like to leave our readers with before you go?
Michelle: A word of advice: don’t read the book in public. My male friends have told me this can have embarrassing consequences.

There you have it, folks. Buy a book, hide your woody. Advice to live by.

The book launch for Juicy Mangos is tonight and tomorrow in New York City. For times and places, click here.

Juicy Mangos [MySpace Page]
Michelle Herrera Mulligan [MySpace Page]