Every month, we do a spotlight feature on one Australian author on our blog and Krissy Kneen is our chosen author for May. Her new novel, The Adventures of Holly White and the Incredible Sex Machine, is a literary sci-fi superhero sex romp.

What’s the book about?

Holly wears a ring that says True Love Waits and worries because her boyfriend isn’t trying to persuade her otherwise. Then a boy in her English tute invites her to join his book club. Shocked to find herself at ‘sex club’, plunged into in the classics of erotic literature, Holly soon becomes fascinated: by the strange new world of Eros, by the increasing power she senses in her own body – and by a weird blue glow emanating from the most private part of her self…Read a short extract from the book here. (Please note, this is a PDF download.)

What did our reviewer say?

Our reviewer says, ‘Holly’s sexuality can’t be suppressed. This desire – insatiable, tangible, an increasingly potent magma substance – transfers into both Holly’s lust for literature, and to the reader’s own delight. … In mapping out Holly’s sex machine, Kneen has also mapped out a vivid heroine’s journey: a very sexy sci-fi–erotica hybrid with an inspired, Cronenbergian premise.’ Read the full review here.

The story behind the book

We asked Kneen what inspired her to write a book about other books. She said: ‘I like to think of novels as batteries. … I have often read my erotic work in public and you can literally see a change in the audience as the power of the erotic imagination overtakes them. You see people shifting uncomfortably as they become aroused. Listeners feel flushed or restless.’ Read her full response here.

The last five books Kneen has read

We asked Kneen to share the last five books she’s read and we were delighted to discover she is a fan of David Vann. She said: ‘Since I discovered his wonderful dark, precise prose in his novella Legend of a Suicide (arguably his best piece of writing), I have been avidly consuming his work as soon as it hits the shelves.’ Find out which five books Kneen read here.

Meet the author

Kneen will be chatting about her book with Melbourne author Christos Tsiolkas at our Carlton shop on Thursday 14 May. Find out more here.