Great Expectations

No, your eyes aren't deceiving you. Heather Hunter, the legendary performer who made a splash in the skin flick biz in 1989 at the barely legal age of 18, is throwing her hat in the literary world with, Insatiable, a story loosely based on her life. "I'm a Libra, so it fits. The title alone should have everybody pick up the book.”
But, don't be too surprised with her new career path. Since the New York City bred sex goddess retired from the game, she's dabbled in the music game (her hip-hop album, The Unexpected) and showcased her painting skills in her own gallery, Artcore-NYC, in Brooklyn DUMBO area. So all you 80's babies whowatched Hunter in all types of positions with all types of races and genders, get those images out of your head. The talented 37-year-old wants you to understand she's much more than just a beacon of masturbatory fodder.
"The beauty of my career is I've been able to work with a lot of talented people in different fields of entertainment, so within that I've been able to take in a lot of knowledge and learned a lot of crafts,” the AVN Hall of Famer says. "I've really took advantage of the situations where you can learn from another person, and to this day I'm still learning.” And despite what our significant others bitch about, we love to be taught.

KING-MAG.com: What made you decide to come out with the book?
HEATHER: I've been writing this book for about ten or twelve year. It was taking me some time for the simple fact that I was still really living life. There were more experiences that I wanted to fictionalize in my story.

Experiences, like what?
Life. The unknown, is the greatest thrill in the journey of life. Not knowing what's coming next. I wanted to put true essence inside the book, in some sense, to the character, Simone Young. Some of the experiences from her come from my life, so I really didn't want to do an autobiography but at the same time I wanted to tell the story of a young girl growing into a woman that's going through the journey of life through the adult business, through mainstream entertainment, through the streets and the struggle, and the mystery of not knowing what's next.

So how much of Simone Young's journey is actually your own?
I can truly say it's 50/50.
We don't believe you, you need more people.
[Laughs] Everything in life I work on is based on balance. So I can truly say it's definitely 50/50. I was able to have so much fun with the different characters and that's the beauty of fiction. It takes imagination that you can go wild with. And to be able to mix that with some true essence from my life, it makes it a beautiful book. I can definitely say it's very stimulating in an educational way and an erotic way, and really in a way that you have compassion for Simone Young by the end of the book. This girl is really searching for love in all the wrong places and she becomes the prize people desire and through that she becomes famous.

Sounds like your life in a nutshell. So why not make this an autobiography on your life?
You have to understand I'm not a pitch and sell type of person. I have respect for the code of silence, and I believe in privacy. I think people should be able to keep things sacred. And at the same time as a writer, I want to write several books. I've already had in my mind that I'm going to do ten and up. That's why I decided to write this book in a fictionalized way.

Do you have any regrets in your life, personally?
I can truly say that I don't have any regrets, especially after writing this book. It was very cleansing for my soul. I should've done this a long time ago. But if I had one regret, it would be not knowing the difference between love and lust.

Explain.
Love is something you can't even explain. I've been fortunate to feel it. Now I truly know there is a difference between love and lust. My problem is I think coming out of the adult business you're like a machine so you're not really taught to love. So when I got out the business ten years ago, I didn't know the difference. Throughout my journey of life now, I know the difference.

Do you think it'll be hard to have your fictionalized book picked up considering you have books by Karrine Steffans and Carmen Bryan retelling their real life sexual exploits?
That's the thing I don't judge anybody for whatever they do in their life. Would have I done a book like that…personally, no. I definitely wouldn't go that route. I have respect for people's privacy, and I respect my own. That's not my style. I know everyone has his or her own style, but that's not mine [laughs].

Well you have had plenty of sex on camera, why not?
Cause I gave so much of myself in the adult life, you've seen me for my flesh and the fantasy. I've evolved into a different woman in that area but even then my personal life is very private. I like to keep it that way. That's how you live a very harmonious life.

Fair enough. What does this book add to your legacy?
Accomplishment. As a human being the fact that I've been able to express what I've done out of all of my talents, the accomplishment of that makes me very happy. That keeps me moving forward to tackle all of the impossible.

Have you been paying attention to the adult industry as of late?
Honestly, I haven't been paying attention. I've been out of touch when it comes to the adult business nowadays. I've been really busy, but I can tell you this. I miss the old days in the sense that there was not really much. There is a lot of porn out now, so you get confused [laughs].

Guess there weren't any videos of hillbillies bucking broncos floating around in the early 90s. Anyway, anything else about the good old days you miss?
Oh my God, I don't miss doing films, but I do miss my colleagues in that business. You have to understand that whole world is very addicting, and there are so many addictions in this world. But I made a choice in my life and that's the greatest option you can have in life, you can make choices and stick to them.

Well, one thing that hasn't really changed much is the treatment of African-Americans in the adult business…
I really believe that there's a lot more that they should be doing, and it's going to take unity to make that happen. I'd like to see a lot of African-Americans get behind productions and open their own companies. There is only a handful, but it would be a beautiful thing if there were more. But regardless, I love that world. The adult business is my second family, and I wouldn't be where I'm at today if I didn't live that type of life. But the world I'm in now I love more. I am looking forward to going to the next AVN, though [laughs].

In the HBO documentary Thinking XXX, you recalled a one-night stand experience where after you were sexed up, your partner asked for your autograph. Do you still run into situations like this? Will you ever not be Heather Hunter in men's eyes?
Yeah that's still going on today. The only difference now is I know the difference between love and lust. That's when it smacks you in the face, and that's when you realize what you've created. You're a fantasy and I've learned to accept that in my life that I am a fantasy to fulfill something for them. It's up to me to know the difference whether they love me or lust me. I'm a great one-night stand—you can't beat that—but it's like dodging bullets [laughs].

No worries, we'll just set you up on another blind date like we did in our Jan/Feb '06 issue, with you and Avant.
[Laughs] Oh my God, all I got was porno questions from him—I felt like I was being interviewed. All he wanted to know was about the porno business.

Like you said, you are what you create.
I get a lot of love and it's in such a respected way, but you have two kinds of men; the guys that are real excited and say the first thing that comes to their mind and then you have those who are really shy. It's a beautiful thing. But the women are sweethearts…the women are great [wink].
***You can see excerpts of Insaitable and check out Heather's art work on Heatherhunter.com, artcore-nyc.com and myspace.com/heatherhuntertheunexpected***