One of the stories is dedicated to the late writer Bernard Malamud. When she was his student at Bennington College in the early 1960s, they had an affair. He was middle-aged and married with two children. The affair lasted a couple of years. Their friendship lasted until his death. There's a special 'knotty' niche in the comics world, as in the real world, for S&M and bondage comics that feature long-legged, high-heeled mistresses who feel compelled to discipline anything from naughty schoolgirls to high-powered businessmen. These stories can be anything from the soft bondage of Saudelli to the violently sadistic scenes of Pichard... Stanton, Eneg and Willie (in his book 'The Adventures of Sweet Gwendoline') have brought this genre to artistic heights. GROSS: He died in his early 70s. I'd like you to do a brief reading from that story. And in the story, the female character, Leda, is a 19-year-old undergraduate art student. And Murray, who is a very successful painter in his late 40s - Murray is married to a woman named Sigrid. They have a couple of children together, and Leda and Murray are having an affair.

HEYMAN: I think the woman may be 65 and the man 70. Well, one could be 70 and one 75 - I think 65 and 70. The guys looked up and they all made comments, that T-shirt made it obvious she had nothing on under it. One day, on my birthday, some of my maintenance co-workers were standing outside near where I park and as I came out. They were all laughing and gabbing about something..That night I asked her in bed - "does it feel a little strange to feel the breeze moving around up in there .....so far up between your legs?!" HEYMAN: Yes. There is a level of truth that I try to get to, though I try to get to it very differently in the two media. In one, you're accreting a character. In the other, you're trying to thin down what you're hearing so that you can say something useful, you can understand the connection of a symptom to the whole history of a person. But truth - truth is very important in both, you're right. So you mentioned that you brought with you some short stories you've written when you were still a student. And those stories have notes that Bernard Malamud wrote on them 'cause he was one of your teachers. So would you read some of those notes for us? And then they kiss. I think it's for the first time that they kiss after that. And I read that, and I thought, yeah you're going to regret the things that you didn't do, and you're going to regret some of the things that you did do. And this might be one of those things that you regret. I mean, you know, having an affair when you're married and you have two children - that's something you really might live to regret. And so I'm wondering how the idea of regret entered, if at all, in your life in terms of your relationship with him.

And so I could see how that kind of relationship would help you grow as a writer and help you learn things that you didn't know. I could also see how it could be a little stultifying to be in a relationship with somebody who you are not his equal. You're not his age. You haven't had his experience. And you have not developed, you know, his kind of literary talent. You know, and few people ever do, but still, at, you know, 19 or 23, like, you don't know what you're going to become. GROSS: Arlene Heyman is the author of a new collection of short stories, "Scary Old Sex." After we take a short break, Maureen Corrigan will review two historical suspense novels. This is FRESH AIR.HEYMAN: Yes and no. I think even after he died, I still thought there should have been an intervention. Princess Diana died three days after my husband died, my first husband. So that was '97. And it - they didn't save her. She died. And I remember having a thought, well, if Princess Diana can't be saved then maybe Shepard - maybe he couldn't be saved either. So I think that idea of an intervention, that possible intervention, it goes on, even after the person's dead. There should've been something. This can't be true. It's so contrary to what I wish that it just can't be true. And he was a physician, and why can't he take care of himself? You know, he should be able to avoid death. So it takes a long time to appreciate that someone has really died.

HEYMAN: She knew because at some point - and I don't understand why - at some point 15 or 20 years later, when we were no longer having an affair, for some reason he told her. I don't know why. At any rate, when I called her up - and I remember - she said, how old are you now? And I think I was 65. She said, I can't imagine you being 65. So I said, Ann, what do you want me to do? This biographer, Philip Davis, has called me several times. Do you want me to talk to him or not? And she said to me, I gave him your name. And then she said, it was a very long time ago; just tell it as it was. And then she said something contradictory, which was use your good discretion. When we left off, we were talking about Malamud's novel, "Dubin's Lives," which has a character modeled on Heyman. In the book, the main character is a biographer. And the biographer, in talking to the young woman in the book - the young woman who's his lover - says, (reading) what stays with me most from the biography as I write is that life is forever fleeting, our fates juggled heart-breakingly by events we can't foresee or control, and we are always pitifully vulnerable to what happens next. Therefore, what the poets say about seizing the day, dear Fanny, is incredibly true. If you don't live your life to the hilt or haven't for whatever reason, you will regret it, especially as you grow older, every day that follows. At this her best friend jumped up and down from excitement, causing her raven haired companion to laugh."This is going to be so much fun I promise!"Margaret proclaimed. "It'll be a night to remember"

‘The Graduate’

Aunt Doris wanted to take me to lunch. At a real restaurant, she said, not a teenage hamburger grease-pit. After that, she wanted me to take her for a ride in the wooded hills around College Town. Honestly, I really like the music and the house is super nice"She replied." Normally, I don't like parties, but it seems like a nice opportunity to talk to a bunch a different people " HEYMAN: I read the story again this morning 'cause I had a free hour. So I read that again and I thought he's right in what he said, that he spotted an emotional strength that was there. But some of the characters were underdeveloped. And I think, well, with two weeks to work on them and 19 years old they would be. So I appreciated that he was respectful of me enough to say what was the matter and to say how to fix that and also to see the strengths of it. That's what one wants. E.L.: Yes, after other people dying around them, even. Annie lost two partners to cancer. She and John met five years ago, so they’re still a new couple, in a way. When you see people of that age, you tend to assume that they've been together for a long time. But no — later on in life, you can have other experiences with new people and evolve, sexually and as human beings. As for being his muse - a book that he wrote after our erotic relationship was finished - but we went on being friends, you're right, until he died - was "Dubin's Lives." I'm not sure what date that was written, but it probably was at least 15 years after our affair was over. And in that book, there's a biographer and he's married and he has an affair with a young woman. And I am the model, it seems to me, for that character.

She pulled him in closer, and kissed him softly before pulling away. "Your lips are so sweet and delicious" He said, with a groan."I need more" private]Since home life was the way it was, I stayed in school, hit the library when school let out. School plus library equals college scholarships. You better believe I went to college. She sighed and rolled her eyes a little, “Okay… but next time you want to tie me up, just ask me, you don’t have to chloroform me!” E.L.: I definitely made this film with the intention to arouse, because that's what I do. It's just another kind of arousal than what we are used to. Most of the XConfessions stories are fictional, but lately, I've been making films in which we get to know real couples and we get to see the kind of sex they have in their ordinary lives. The idea is that these documentaries will show you different ideas around sex, because I think that people — we have so many questions.Tha story was turning me on and its a great story. I love older women. I would of came all over her face too, thanks for making my day Tallulah shook her head. "No, I'm free as a bird" She replied, shrugging her shoulders. Tallulah looked at her friend, who now had a Cheshire catlike grin on her face. "Do you have plans tonight?"Tallulah asked suspiciously. In response to this, Margaret immediately clasped her warm olive hands together." I'm glad you asked, "Margaret answered." So, there's this party I got invited to. There's lots of good food, drinks, music, it's going to be great" Some comic artists cater to several specific fetishes, such as feet, high heels, leather boots, nylon and rubber. Italian artist Franco Saudelli (together with his artistic wife Francesca Casotto, who often modelled for him) was a master at depicting feet in such a way, that even the ones that have no sexual interest in them, start to understand the fascination some others have.