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SUSANNAH BRESLIN

susannahbreslin@gmail.com

Books I Read: American Ecstasy

July 27, 2025  /  Susannah Breslin

I can’t remember the first time I encountered Barbara Nitke’s American Ecstasy series, but it was a very long time ago. And more recently when I realized I’d never owned the book version, I wasn’t sure why. Then I remembered that I was sick when it was published. So, finally, I ordered it. And this book just dazzles. During my career, I have spent quite a bit of time on adult movie sets as a journalist, and I have never encountered a woman who had a similar experience, which is captured in this magnificent volume. In her own words, the words of the performers and crew, and her dazzling photos, she brings to life the often hidden adult business, what it’s like to insert yourself into its making, and what we can learn when we take the time to look at and listen to a part of capitalist production that due to its preoccupation with erotic fantasy is often misunderstood and frequently vilified. I read and pored over this book at a glacial pace because I didn’t want it to end. This is better than Larry Sultan’s The Valley. This is the real thing.

Books I Read

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tags / SEX, PORN, BOOKS, REVIEWS, BOOKS I READ, PHOTOGRAPHY

Jerky Boys

July 26, 2025  /  Susannah Breslin

Recently I’ve been tracking down print copies of my older work and posting the stories online. The latest is the October/November issue of Nerve magazine. You may remember Nerve.com. For a spell, they published a print magazine. This short piece focuses on one of the most extreme things I saw in the adult industry.

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tags / MAGAZINES, SEX, PORN, ARCHIVES, JOURNALISM, NONFICTION

Photo City

July 25, 2025  /  Susannah Breslin

Photo City, in Studio City, California, is a great place to get passport photos (if you’re me) and film developed.

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tags / PHOTOGRAPHS, FILM, SAN FERNANDO VALLEY, PHOTOGRAPHY

The Audition

July 24, 2025  /  Susannah Breslin

Awhile back I pitched a story to a podcast. It would involve talking about one of the most out-there, extreme things I ever witnessed as a journalist on adult movie sets (and there were a lot!). The production team requested that I create an audio audition of what the story might sound like. That prompted me to revisit everything I had created that was about that out-there thing: photos, art, writing. I also viewed the adult movies that were created on those sets, which I found on adult streaming sites. During this research process, I re-read “They Shoot Porn Stars, Don’t They?”, which I wrote in 2009 and is about the Great Recession’s impact on the adult industry. I had always felt that I hadn’t gotten the ending right, but when I read it this time, I thought I did. In fact, I think it captures what’s at the heart of my writing on the adult industry: the relationship between fantasy and reality and what happens when you insert yourself into the tension between the two. In any case, I’ll post more thoughts on this audition process down the line. For now, that’s it.

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tags / SEX, PORN, AUDITIONS, JOURNALISM, PODCASTS

Adult Movie Set, North Hollywood, 2001

July 23, 2025  /  Susannah Breslin

An adult movie actress poses on a North Hollywood set, 2001. For more of my photos, follow me on Instagram.

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tags / PORN, PHOTOGRAPHS, INSTAGRAM, WOMEN, SEX

What I'm Watching: "The Dog Days and Your Creative Juices"

July 22, 2025  /  Susannah Breslin

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tags / VIDEOS, ART, WORK, PSYCHOLOGY, WHAT I'M WATCHING

It's Like This and Like That

July 21, 2025  /  Susannah Breslin

In this week’s newsletter, I share more about my next book—which is part of Bloomsbury’s 33 1/3 books series and focuses on Dr. Dre’s 1992 album, The Chronic—including a peek at the proposal and the other contenders.

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tags / THE REVERSE COWGIRL, NEWSLETTERS, HIP HOP, DR. DRE'S THE CHRONIC, BOOKS, NONFICTION

The Actress

July 20, 2025  /  Susannah Breslin

An adult actress reads her script before shooting her scene. For more of my photos, follow me on Instagram.

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tags / PORN, PHOTOGRAPHS, INSTAGRAM, SEX, WOMEN

Books I Read: Moord in Rotterdam

July 19, 2025  /  Susannah Breslin

Moord in Rotterdam is not for the faint of heart. It compiles crime scene photos taken by the Rotterdam police between 1905 and 1967. The cover features a woman who un-alived herself. She appears to be napping. Her lookalike doll is at her side. Is it creepy, beautiful, tragic? The scene is in the eye of the beholder. Flipping through the pages of homicides, suicides, and crimes of passion, one is struck by the grand artistry of it all. I don’t know whether to credit the Rotterdam police for their photography skills or chalk it up to fantastic editing of a gruesome body of work. A great pick for fans of Joel-Peter Witkin and Wisconsin Death Trip.

Books I Read

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tags / BOOKS, BOOKS I READ, REVIEWS, PHOTOGRAPHY, DEATH

What I'm Watching: "The Discipline of D.E."

July 18, 2025  /  Susannah Breslin

via The Art of Noticing

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tags / VIDEOS, PHILOSOPHY, WEIRD, WHAT I'M WATCHING, WORK

Triptych (Playboy)

July 17, 2025  /  Susannah Breslin

I made this triptych the other day of various Playboy-related things I own for my most recent newsletter, which details my time on Playboy TV. There’s a vintage Playboy mirror, a few magazines, and a branded basketball.

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tags / PLAYBOY, TRIPTYCHS, PHOTOGRAPHS, NEWSLETTERS, THE REVERSE COWGIRL

Books I Read: A Guest in the House

July 16, 2025  /  Susannah Breslin

E. M. Carroll’s A Guest in the House is a tricky book to review because about 90% of it is terrific. It’s a dark, weird, gloomy story about what happens when you marry a man who seems normal and it turns out he may have murdered the wife before you. One of the most exciting things about the book is how it occasionally explodes out and across the page in moments of colorful surrealism. So, mostly, I really liked this book. But the ending left me baffled. It felt rushed, patchworked together, and I had to search the internet to try and understand it. Your experience may vary. But in general, this is a great work. She didn’t nail the ending.

Books I Read

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tags / BOOKS, GRAPHIC NOVELS, REVIEWS, BOOKS I READ, WEIRD

Announcing My Next Book

July 15, 2025  /  Susannah Breslin

I’m happy to announce my next book: Dr. Dre’s The Chronic. It’s part of Bloomsbury’s much-loved 33 1/3 series. I’ll be writing about the seminal album and its influence. Thanks so much to Bloomsbury for the opportunity.

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tags / BOOKS, MUSIC, HIP HOP, NEWS, DR. DRE'S THE CHRONIC

Scenes From My Life on Playboy TV

July 14, 2025  /  Susannah Breslin

“My shtick was that I was the sarcastic one who covered the most deranged, out-there subjects.” Read my latest newsletter, which explores the five years I was on Playboy TV. Subscribe to get it in your inbox weekly.

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tags / SEX, PLAYBOY, TV, NEWSLETTERS, THE REVERSE COWGIRL

I'm a Comic Book Character

July 13, 2025  /  Susannah Breslin

In my recent review of Desolation Jones: The Biohazard Edition, I mentioned that a character in the comic book series is based on me. Her name is Filthy Sanchez, and she’s a porn czar in Los Angeles. What you see here is a snippet of their interaction. She appears to be accompanied by her gimp. I think it’s hilarious.

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tags / COMIC BOOKS, FUNNY, ART, PERSONAL, PORN

Nice Words

July 12, 2025  /  Susannah Breslin

Thanks to John Wooden, who gave me my first editing job, for these nice words about my memoir, Data Baby. John has a new newsletter on Substack called EPOSTASY, where he rails against the all consuming “ebyss.”

You should subscribe to it.

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tags / DATA BABY, MEMOIRS, NONFICTION, BOOKS, NEWSLETTERS

What I'm (Re)Watching: "Apocalypse Now"

July 11, 2025  /  Susannah Breslin

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tags / WHAT I'M WATCHING, WAR, VIDEOS, MEN, VIOLENCE

Books I Read: Frank Sinatra Has a Cold

July 10, 2025  /  Susannah Breslin

I’ve read Gay Talese’s “Frank Sinatra Has a Cold” several times, so when I saw Taschen had produced this oversized version with photos by Phil Stern, I had to have it. I really enjoyed re-reading Talese’s work this way, Stern’s photos, and the ephemera that includes Talese’s hand-drawn outline for the work. A good buy.

Books I Read

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tags / BOOKS, REVIEWS, BOOKS I READ, PHOTOGRAPHY, MUSIC

Triptych (Porn Valley)

July 09, 2025  /  Susannah Breslin

A triptych of photographs I’ve taken in Porn Valley, from yesterday’s newsletter. Subscribe to get it every week.

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tags / PORN, PHOTOGRAPHS, SEX, NEWSLETTERS, TRIPTYCHS

Creeping Around the Valley

July 08, 2025  /  Susannah Breslin

Adult actress in backyard, Los Angeles, Calif. | Photo credit: Susannah Breslin

In my latest newsletter, I share what my novel, the adult industry, and fictional literary maps have in common.

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tags / PORN, NOVELS, FICTION, NEWSLETTERS, THE REVERSE COWGIRL
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