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"I want to feel like we are our own entity, existing in a private universe that nothing and no one else can pierce. That life is all about looking at her, in her, nothing more, nothing less. Without makeup, she is the perfect combination of girl and woman, and she fills me with a need to hold and protect her that leaves me raw and open and more vulnerable than any person should ever be." 

That's our special guest Rachel Kramer Bussel in her short story, "The End." It was selected for  The Best American Erotica 2006. Today, that sensual writer gives us a sneak peak at her love letter skills. 

If you want to write your lover like that, you should take Bussel's love letter writing class before Valentine's Day. Check it out here. Most recently, Bussel edited Best Sex Writing 2008, and she's been our guest all week.

Welcome to my deceptively simple feature, Five Easy Questions. In the spirit of Jack Nicholson’s mad piano player, I run a weekly set of quality interviews with writing pioneers—delivering some practical, unexpected advice about web writing.

Jason Boog:
You are teaching a class on love letters. Without stealing your thunder what's one piece of advice you would offer to a young lover as they write? What are the best books/writers to read for love-letter inspiration?

Rachel Kramer Bussel:
I'd say being totally honest, open, and raw is key. Continue reading...

If you are really writing a love letter and want to express your innermost emotions, you are going to have to take a risk with what you write. It might seem over the top or outlandish, but that's okay.

You can be simple, as long as you write from the heart and don't just say what you think they want to hear. Also, a "love letter" doesn't have to be sappy. It can be funny or even dark, and can mirror whatever kind of relationship sender and receiver have.

Ideally I think it should be something that only the receiver can truly appreciate and savor because it's about the two of you and your own intimacy.

James Joyce's letters to his wife Nora are some of the dirtiest things I've ever read, but they are also, in every sense of the word, love letters. What I enjoy most about them is how he blends his perversions with the sense that he is passionately in love, and is so unabashed about his feelings.

I also highly recommend Samara O'Shea's book For the Love of Letters: A 20th-Century Guide to the Art of Letter Writing and her love letter website - I've learned quite a lot from her, about love and other kinds of letters.