from www.seattlest.com – Tera Patrick is among the biggest movie stars in the world. Which is odd, because plenty of people don’t know her work — or at least purport not to know her work.

Patrick has appeared in dozens of adult films and her frequent TV appearances on shows like Howard Stern and VH1’s Supergroup make her one the most recognizable porn stars of all time. Her latest media endeavor is a literary contribution. Her new book, Sinner Takes All lets fans and interested parties alike get the down and dirty details on the personal and professional life of one of the biggest names in a multi-billion dollar industry that no one will admit to supporting.

She’ll be reading from the book and signing copies tonight at Borders in Tacoma, and your Seattlest got a few words with Patrick about the book, her career and the adult film industry in general before her reading.

Why did you first get involved in the adult film industry?

I don’t think anyone really knows why. I was just looking to have a good time, and for me it was all about a new opportunity and a new career choice, a new life.

Obviously it’s something you’ve enjoyed, and you’ve made a phenomenally successful career of it – what do you like best about the industry?

Really, what’s not to like? I mean, there have been ups and downs, obviously, if you read the book, you’ll learn that I’ve been through a lot, but it’s been really good to me, all in all. I’ve met some good people, been able to open up my own company, and I had a lot of opportunities come my way because of it, both mainstream and adult.

What would you change about adult film as an industry, if you could?

I would probably make the business more run by women than by men. We’re the ones that make the money, but a lot of the girls don’t end up with anything after they’re done. I would change it probably so that girls could collect royalties on their movies — a lot of girls don’t get to reap the rewards of their movies selling for a long time. Someone makes that money, but they don’t.

You’re active a number of charities involved with adult entertainment — can you talk about that briefly?

I work with the Free Speech Coalition. I do BABE (Breast Awareness Benefits Everybody), which is a breast cancer charity that my good friend Dan Davis set me up with. It’s good to give back, to be able to help the industry and other people.

What drove you to get involved in the business end of things?

I wanted better for myself. I wanted to make the money. I was tired of all the companies that I worked for making all the money. I wanted to make the money.

As for Sinner Takes All, is writing something you’ve been drawn to in the past, or is it something that just came up?

It’s something that just came up, and I think that it was finally time. So many fans have asked me “When are you going to write a book?” and I couldn’t wait to do it. It gave me a platform and it gave me an opportunity to share my story, and hopefully it’s inspiring. I hope that people will take away good things from reading the book, and maybe a little bit of life experience that I’ve learned.

Is the writing process something you enjoyed, and can we expect to see more in the future?

Oh, I hope so, absolutely. Working with Carrie [Borzillo, co-auhor of Sinner Takes All] was so much fun. We sat down every night with a bottle of champagne, so you can imagine how much champagne we went through, and I literally told her my life story. It was cathartic, and it was a good experience and I hope to do it again.