This week’s Great Escape is about sex. And rescuing dogs.

Let me explain. Eve Marx, locally famous for her sharp, witty writing—View from the Porch is her humorous collections of essays about life in Bedford—loves animals. And she’s also a professional “sexpert.”

That’s the title of her newest writing gig at ThirdAge media, an online community for baby boomers. Her credentials extend much further than that, however, having authored seven other books on sex and flirting, such as Read My Hips: The Sexy Art of Flirtation and FlirtSpeak: The Sexy Language of Flirting. Plus she used to review adult porn films. While vacuuming.

But back to you and what Marx has to do with your great escape on Valentine’s Day.

On Monday Feb. 14, at 6:30 p.m., she will deliver an “informative, frisky and fun” talk during Via Vanti’s aphrodisiac special dinner, featuring tips from her 2009 book 101 Things That You Didn’t Know About Sex. What better way to celebrate you and your partner than a romantic dinner, featuring foods to get you in the mood—and some advice on after-dinner fun?

We sat down for a Patch chat with Marx to find out more about the evening, and just how one gets to be known as a sexpert.

Patch: Tell us about the book and how you came to sign on for the Via Vanti event.

Marx: It’s not really about the sex. It’s about connecting people to Rescuzilla [a rescue and rehabilitation program in New York City that finds home for shelter dogs]. I’m into their cause because I love animals. I have two dogs, a cat and a horse. Rescuezilla is successful—they just found a group of Yorkies [Yorkshire Terriers], and Tara DiLuna from Pawfection gave them all gratis groomings and they were all placed in homes. They need funds and I wanted to help.

Patch: Aside from helping dogs find homes, why else would couples want to attend the dinner?

Marx: The dinner will be romantic and it features known aphrodisiacs like figs, oysters and chocolates. And I will offer tips on married sex, boomer sex, sex after 40. I try to make people comfortable with whatever they’re comfortable with—sex is not a dark and dirty subject and to have it that way it not good for anyone. Over the years I’ve given a number of talks. Once, to the sisterhood at a local synagogue, I spoke about boomer sex, which sometimes means post-menopausal women seeking things to boost their libido and either the husbands have a lot or none, or it is enhanced by Viagra. So it was funny—I thought the older people would be more concerned but they were not—it was the younger people that were prudish.

Patch: Can you share some tips for married couples now—give us a preview?

Marx: Get out of your rut—use it or lose it. Go out with couples that are overtly into each other. Desire is contagious. Vacation sex is good because it’s different—so have sex in a different room or at a different time of day. Get a lock for your door if you have kids. Get rid of the coffee-stained bathrobe—it’s not a turn-on. Though it’s really not about how you look, it’s about how you feel and you can make yourself feel more sexual. And remember, bank accounts and household chores are not foreplay.

Patch: How did you get to be a sexpert?

Marx: I went from compulsively reading my boyfriend’s Penthouse magazines to sending a resume in for an editorial job there. I was hired in 1979. I think I got the job because I wore leather pants to the interview, and the man interviewing me had them on too. I was also editor of Swank magazine. I used to review adult films for a company called AVN—it was good money during the time I was an at-home mom. I’d watch them while my son was napping—and while I was vacuuming.

Patch: And now?

Marx: I stopped reviewing films years ago. I’m bothered by the increasing sexualization of girls—what some of the stores are selling to them. I’m still writing books, and I write for the Bedford Record Review.  I’m more than halfway through my next project, a fictional novel set in Bedford. I’m really excited about it.

 Via Vanti's All-Aphrodisiac dinner begins at 6:30 p.m. in Mt. Kisco. Reservations are recommended and may be made by calling 666-6400.