Exclusive Q&A with Author Alexis Hunter

My good friend, Nick Lion, told me about Alexis Hunter and her remarkable memoir about her relationship with actress Joi Lansing, A Body to Die for: A Love Story. I reviewed her book last summer. Here, we finally get to talk. http://djbuddybeaverhausen.blogspot.com/2015/08/beaverhausen-book-nook-joi-lansing-body.html

Buddy Beaverhausen: What ultimately compelled you to write about your relationship with Ms Lansing?
AH: It was on my mind a very long time, so I had to get it out of my system, I wanted to share with everybody what a lovely human being Joi was. And I wanted to write a warning about the complications caused by plastic surgery and, especially silicone injections.

BB: Staying beautiful exacts a price on one's health, yes?
AH:  Yes. I myself had a double mastectomy from injections and they were removed. But it's still an issue. They're using silicone now in faces to fill in wrinkles and to make cheek bones fuller... breasts and buttocks for enlargement. The problem with injected silicone is that it moves. You can have it in one place and it can migrate to another area leaving permanent lumps in your face. Priscilla Presley came out a few years ago talking about the problems she had after going to a "pumping party" where silicone was injected into her face. She's had problems since it was done. It can be disfiguring. Joi had it in her breasts and I believe that the silicone injections and the use of prescribed estrogen, when she didn't need it, contributed to her death from breast and ovarian cancer.

BB: How have you stayed looking so good over the years?
AH: Why, thank you! I try to stay on a healthy diet and get some exercise.

BB: Was it difficult or painful for you to write this memoir?
AH: Yes, terribly difficult but I knew I had to push ahead with it. It felt very cathartic after I finished.

BB: Did you have a ghost writer help you?
AH: No. I wrote it all myself and from my recollections. It was too personal for me to share that with anyone else.

BB: Is there anything you'd like to tell us about Joi that's not in the book?
AH: No, I think I got it all down, really. I just hope I conveyed everything clearly to my readers.

BB: Anything you'd like to say particularly to our LGBT readers?
AH: Well, of course, read my book as it's about a lesbian relationship in the days before the Stonewall riots and gay liberation. And the LGBT community -- especially the transgendered -- new to know about the affects of silicone implants, injections, and of plastic surgery.

BB: As an "out" lesbian yourself, have you found happiness in a relationship since Joi's passing?
AH: Not currently but any woman I might have a relationship with someone whomwould need to understand from the start that I am open to meeting someone and hoping to beat the odds by having two great loves in my life.

BB: You are a fairly passionate animal rights supporter, aren't you?
AH: Oh, very much so! I'm totally anti-fur. We're here to co-habit the planet with other creatures. I'm concerned about animals facing extinction, and about the ecology and global warming. It's all related.

BB: I see you currently live in Palm Springs, CA. Were you born there?
AH: No, I'm from L.A. and had a very happy childhood growing up. I now make my home Palm Springs. So I'm a California girl. Have you ever been to Palm Springs?
BB: Yes. It's beautiful. A friend moved there in the '90s and I visited on occasion. How's the weather right now?
AH: Sunny, warm,, but the nights get a bit chilly this time of year. Come out and visit! It has a large LGBT community.

BB: Any plans to come to NYC to promote your book?
AH; Not right now but God willing, this interview might help get me there if it gets attention.

BB: Any last shout outs to your readers and fans?
AH: Please read my book. It's a very personal memoir I think you'll enjoy. And please heed its warnings about implants and plastic surgery on your health.

BB: Thank you so much, Alexis, for this interview!
AH: And thank you, Charles! It was wonderful speaking with you.