Page 28 - AVN October 2016

WHO’S WHO
SHELF TALKER
enjoy Asa Akira’s latest book, Dirty
Two types of people will thoroughly
Thirty (Cleis Press): anybody who’s
worked on an adult set, and anyone
who’s curious about what it’s like on one.
Wait a minute—isn’t that pretty much
everybody?
In her second memoir—the first, Insatiable:
Porn—A Love Story (Grove Press) came out
in 2014—the Wicked Pictures contract star
delves deep into her life, both before she got
into porn and afterward. There’s seemingly
nothing Akira won’t talk about ... so we
asked her a few questions about the book,
which is available on Amazon as an e-book
as well as in paperback and audio CD.
In your books, you seem willing to
expose yourself completely and write
about anything. Are there things that you
WON’T write about?
There’s very little I consider hands-off. I
try to respect my parents’ privacy as much
as I can, so while I do mention them from
time to time, I do it as little as possible.
Sometimes I worry I’m revealing too much
about Toni [Ribas, Akira’s husband]—I
mean, he didn’t sign up to have his personal
life displayed like this—but he’s very
understanding of the fact that it would be
impossible for me to write about my life
without mentioning him … a lot.
How do you decide whether to change
someone’s name? For the names you
don’t change, did you get permission in
advance to include them in your book?
When I’m working on the first draft,
I write with everyone’s names intact.
Somewhere around the second or third draft,
I use the “Find & Replace” feature to change
28 | AVN.com | 10.16
Dirty Talk Q&A with author and Wicked star Asa Akira
them. In the first book, I changed most everyone’s name
except for [Mark] Spiegler and Toni. I figured changing
their names would be pointless, as most people who follow
me at all know who my agent and husband are. Once the
book was released, a lot of people were like, “Why did you
change my name? You could’ve kept it!” So in the second
book, I was less careful; I only changed names of those
who aren’t in the public eye. So porn people, for the most
part, are mentioned by their known names. Out of my non-
porn friends, I only included their real names if they gave
me explicit permission.
Have you ever regretted writing about something?
Surprisingly—even to myself—no. If anything, the
things I’m most hesitant to reveal are the most rewarding
once they’re printed. I think, maybe, the things I’m
ashamed of or embarrassed by end up being the most
relatable parts of me.
What did you do right after you finished writing Dirty
Thirty? How did you feel?
I slipped into somewhat of a depression. Part of me was
relieved to have the manuscript done on time, but another
part of me was like, “Now what?” For over a year I had
been working toward a very specific goal, and then it was
done and my strict self-implemented routine was no longer
necessary. I ate a lot of delivery food and watched a lot of
television. It was also the slow season for shooting porn
(around the holidays, right before AEE/AVN) so I didn’t
have much to keep me busy or distracted.
Which book cover do you prefer? Do you have the
original artwork?
Right now I don’t have the original artwork, but it’s
been offered to me by the artist, my friend David Choe.
I definitely want to hang them up in my house, probably
in my office. It’s hard to say which one I prefer, because I
love them both so much. The first one feels more iconic,
though. It’s so simple and yet so beautiful. Of course
there’s also the sentimentality of it being the first, so I
think it’ll always have that additional specialness to it.
You’ve said you enjoy reading comments about your
work. What was your favorite review of Insatiable?
My favorite reviews are always the ones by people
who started the book assuming they’d hate it/me/the
porn industry, but finished it with a different opinion
completely. I think so much out there regarding our
industry is negative, and so many of the stories that have
been told are sad ones. Of course I’m not denying that
those stories exist, because they absolutely do, but it’s
only fair that people see the positive sides too. I’m a happy,
confident, healthy woman in the porn industry, and I
wanted my voice to be heard.
On the promo trail, you visited your hometown of New
York. What was your favorite media event there?
The book signing at Barnes & Noble Union Square was
great, because I worked there, at that very location, when
I was 15. It was my first job, and I was ultimately fired for
being just the worst employee, but it was a very profound
moment for me to go back there as an author. It feels like
a million years ago that I was there as a cashier, yet it also
feels like it was just yesterday. I feel really lucky, not only
to have had the chance to enjoy a moment like that, but to
have spent my adult life doing what I love to do. Life could
easily have gone very differently for me, had I not chosen
porn as a profession. Although, if I weren’t shooting porn,
I wouldn’t be dieting all the time—but I suppose watching
what I eat is a small price to pay to have my dream job.
Do you miss living in New York? Would you live in L.A.
if it weren’t the porn capital?
If it weren’t for porn, I’d probably be living in New York.
It’s still my favorite place in the world, and I miss it a lot.
My parents are there, my friends are there, and I was so
spoiled growing up there—not a day goes by in L.A. that I
don’t complain about the geography. I’m a city girl: I grew
up walking everywhere, with a great public transportation
system, and the convenience of 24-hour-everything. I
always say there are only three things I like about L.A.:
porn, the weather, and the ability to go everywhere in
pajamas without being judged. In that order.
What’s next? More writing? You’d be a great columnist.
Thanks! Currently I’m working on my next book, which
is very different than the memoirs. It’s an anthology, and
I’m the editor. I can’t say more than that for now, but it is
scheduled to release in 2018. I’m always open to writing
pieces for any publication/outlet that’ll have me, so I do
those as they come.
What were your favorite adult projects this year?
I just finished a movie called DNA for Wicked Pictures.
It’s directed by Brad Armstrong and stars jessica drake,
Small Hands and me, and I’m so excited for that to be
released [it comes out September 30]. I had sex with Small
Hands for the first time, and I think he’s about to be a very
big star. The movie called for the most intense acting I’ve
ever done, and I’m thankful to Brad for the chance and
guidance, not to mention patience. When jessica and I get
on a set together, it can be pretty annoying for the people
around us—first, because we are friends and like to goof
around, and second because once we are fucking, all bets
are off and we go into our own world where we are no
longer able to hear directions like “Get back in front of the
camera please,” and “CUT!”
Are there any more things to cross off your bucket list
in porn? Perhaps a screenplay?
I would love to someday write a screenplay. I’d love to
direct something for Wicked. I’d love to have a three-way
with identical twin brothers who fuck each other before
d.p.ing me. There is still so much unchartered territory for
me in porn, and I’m not at all ready to leave the industry
yet, so I really just hope people still want to jerk off to me.