Please share your name

Rei Hertzler

Lillian Glazer

Emerald Elaine Johnson

Khrysta Novalis

How would you describe what you do? Your practice, your craft, your cash machine?

RH [FOUNDING EDITOR]: Exotika is an art magazine focused on erotic or libidinal fantasies. Art, sex, and adult entertainment have always intersected, even if it isn’t always acknowledged. It’s a big part of creative expression. So it’s a way to explore different topics through that lens, while also just being a fun way to showcase all these talented people.

Can you tell us where you are from?

LG [JOURNALIST]: Originally I’m from San Bernardino, but moved to LA over a decade ago. I started off as a journalist, working for some local and then some very prominent publications, but kept getting fired for sleeping with my interview subjects. Now I work as an investigative journalist at Exotika Magazine, and they let me fuck whomever I want!

What does your morning routine look like?

EEJ [WRITER/COLUMNIST]: I’ll get up at 6 AM, make myself a pot of coffee, and flip through some old Playboys or read one of Khrysta Novalis’ old pieces. I used to observe the news and demented social media feeds, but once I swapped doom-scrolling for centerfolds I’ve seen a real uptick in my mental health. Once I’m in a flirty enough state, I start writing for at least thirty minutes. It’s mostly garbage but it’s more effective than meditation!

Where do you look for inspiration? A place, a person, a book, an action?

KN [WRITER]: For each issue, I consume any media I can find that has to do with the theme. For Issue 3 that means a lot of alien abductions and otherworldly orgasms. Issue 2 (the obsession issue) was partly inspired by the early social Internet, 2012-2016 Tumblr, and just being young, dumb, and horny. Beyond that inspiration is anywhere and everywhere, from the magazine’s contributors and readership to the undercurrents of sleaze all over LA. Hollywood alone is one big engine of desire, and it’s everywhere you look—all you have to do is scratch the surface.

What work are you most proud of?

EEJ: I’ve written a short erotic X-Files script for the upcoming issue of Exotika that I'm quite proud of. It’s a culmination of a lifelong David Duchovny crush, an obsessive reviewing of the series, and my fantasy of being one of the millions of aspiring screenwriters in Los Angeles who work at horrible chain coffee shops. I felt the characters coming through me in an almost possessed fashion. I intend on expanding the episode and have a framed photo of Gillian Anderson in that thong dress hanging in my writing den for constant inspiration.

What has been the biggest challenge on your journey?

RH: Probably IBD lol or (likely related) inability to make a living in a conventional way. But it’s a reminder to slow down, go at my own pace, and appreciate the pleasures in life.

How do you define success? What are the goalposts you look out for?

LG: I imagine myself poolside, sipping a Cosmo as a cabana boy brings me a refill and my phone. Said phone is filled with messages from admirers who’ve read my latest piece and find me irresistible. I casually set it aside, noticing from the cabana boy’s stiffened bulge that he, too, is lightly aroused in my presence. Having the financial freedom to do as I please, I stretch luxuriously and ponder my next move.

On a more regular, day-to-day basis, I just make it my priority to enjoy what I do. I love meeting people, possibly having sex with them, and getting the juiciest possible scoop—that’s reward enough for me.

What's the best advice you've gotten from someone?

KN: Just do it—simple but very effective.

Who is someone that has helped you get to where you are now? How were they impactful?

EEJ: Steve Buscemi. If he didn't turn me on so much, I doubt I'd have been able to live life as I do. He's this charismatic, eccentric, ex-firefighting hunk and watching him do his thing has more effect on me than Lexapro.

More recently, I’m inspired by Exotika colleague Lillian Glaser—she lives life on her own terms. One time she invited me to someone’s beachfront bungalow to discuss Exotika Magazine and she had three scantily clad cabana boys fawning over her. Three! Last I heard, Diablo Cody is penning a screenplay about her called “Lust for Life”.