Book presentation “Susan Wayland – Erotic Latex Fetish Glamour” Part 1/2: Leipzig Book Fair

It is already a while ago that I have made a noticeable entry into the column here where it says ‘Life & Travel’. As you know I really love to report from all the stuff that is happening to me, particularly in regards to modeling, unfortunately the time is too short for all the duties I have to perform, otherwise I would have had this entry done ages ago. I do not want to barrage you with platitudes, like ‘better late than never’ or ‘Rome wasn’t built in a day’, but I am finally ready to deliver!

For that reason I owe you a report about everything that happened at the book premiere, which took place during the Leipzig Book Fair in March of 2011. Thank you, you may stop clapping now.

My first illustrated book

Just the possibility to have my first pictorial book published was already a monumental experience. It took us months where Norman Richer and I, together with the team from Horgenbooks, our publisher, went through tons of material, reviewing pictures, sorting them, picking and choosing and again rethinking everything. Finally we achieved a result that made all of us happy. You cannot imagine what feeling it is to hold such a freshly printed book of your own in your hands! Suddenly there it was, in hardcover, my book, my experiences throughout the years and the work of months bundled in so many pages. Holding it and taking all the wonderfully scented freshness in, it was sheer joy and delight. I was stunned with happiness, proud almost like a mother with a newborn baby, holding my first book in my hands. These are the highlights of life that come very seldom, where you find out that all your hard work, energy and dedication finally are bearing fruit, where you see an important part of your vision, your dream fulfilled. It almost felt like when I held my first magazine cover in my hands, but only almost. Nothing is like the first time, right?

Leipzig Book Fair

The pictorial book “Susan Wayland – Erotic Latex Fetish Glamour” was presented at the Leipzig Book Fair 2011. It was a daring and new attempt to present a pictorial book about latex fashion and related photography at a book fair, but there was no reason not to do so. I was very antsy in any case, such a book presentation with press and whatnot, all the associated hubbub was a completely new experience for me. Sure, I am already used to public appearances, I was countless times on stages and have walked the catwalk presenting fashion numerous times, but this was something completely different.

It was very clear from the get go that a lot of press and a myriad of visitors will wait for me there, very inquisitive and curious what it is about latex that is so great, what kind of material that is and who knows what else. The Leipzig Book Fair generally has a five-digit visitor count and approximately 2000 booths –  four days of sheer action!
In that view, my anxiousness was justified, am I right or am I right?
I chose two different but awesome latex outfits, which I designated for the Fair visits. There were for once the high-cut black latex jeans and a black latex top. Both pieces fit perfectly together and looked quite debonair, fashionable yet sexy with a touch of ‘je ne sais quoi’!
The second outfit was the one that is depicted on the cover of the book, the beaming red latex catsuit in combination with a red latex corsage and red high-heel boots. I was in the red for day one and the final day, the black combination was for the days in the middle.

I have no idea how to put in words the happenings at the Fair. For once, there was the press circus, which was really spectacular and even resulted in being featured in the ‘Bild’ newspaper on two days in a row. The response was incredible and I bet that nobody really expected such a success. For another, there were literally thousands of people milling around and most of them were genuinely interested in the works Norman Richter and me managed to accomplish. Many had no knowledge about latex and I was positively surprised to find that not a single enthusiast had any misgivings towards latex fashion in general or the photography art we represented in particular. There was so much positive feedback that we received from men, women and adolescents alike in regards to our pictorial book, that we all were elated beyond comprehension.
Incredible! Mainly female visitors were very interested and enthusiastic about the esthetics of the photos. This was as much a surprise as it was an incredible delight to hear, since that at all our shooting sessions the esthetic quality is one of our main concerns and that latex is being presented in good taste and with panache. This is exactly the reason why we make such an effort to show latex as something beautiful and exciting, which does not necessarily have to mean BDSM, porn or something down that alley. In any case, the time just flew by. I had wonderful and inspiring conversations, I gave plenty of autographs, made pictures with fans and visitors and also met people I only knew from Facebook and Twitter.

During these days I was almost unable to find any time to have a look around the Leipzig Book Fair. What I managed to see took my breath away. It was a mesmerizing mixture of interesting, gripping and funny reading matter, paired with the engaging feeling of having been teleported into a dream world. Wherever you look, there were elves, goblins, fairies, knights and other characters from fables and fantasy fiction. Leipzig Book Fair also provided a separate hall as space for fans and avid followers of role-play games and cosplay enthusiasts, allowing all these people to let it all out for once and openly enjoy their fun with similarly minded individuals, which they very much did!

Is this the right place for me and my extravagant latex outfits, or what?

The whole time at the Leipzig Book Fair was stimulating, exhilarating and successful. My thanks go out to all the great visitors and guests we had the honor of meeting and, of course, the team from Horgenbooks, which made this wonderful booth possible in the first place.

I hope you enjoyed reading about my days at the Leipzig Book Fair and regarding the book presentation there. There will be a second part, which will be all about the photo vernissage that took place in the ‘ Boutique Bizarre‘ in Hamburg.

Lots of love and sweet kisses
Yours, SWAY

My latex pictorial book can be bought in Susan Wayland Store. We are shipping worldwide and if you like I can also sign the book for you. I’m looking forward to your visit in my shop!