Frequently Asked Questions (or, okay, things I felt like sharing)

Q: So is everything they say about erotica writers true?
A: *raised eyebrow* Other than the fact that we seem to be a pretty open-minded lot, I have no way of knowing. ;-)

Q: So if all the things they say aren't true, why did you choose to write erotica?
A: Honestly--like I say in my bio--I hadn't thought of it until a few friends suggested it to me. At that point in time I was strictly a romance girl, even if I was a romance girl who skipped ahead to the sex scenes (hey, I know I'm not the only one!). Once the suggestion was made, though, I couldn't get it out of my head. So I started reading erotica. Some of it I liked, some of it I hated, and there were a few stories I absolutely loved. The first time I picked up a Harlequin Blaze, though, was the first time I really thought, "Hey, I think I would like to write this." It was the combination of a romance with some very sexy elements that did it for me.

Q: Is that why you prefer to call your writing "sexy romance" rather than erotica?
A: Partially, yes. For me--as both a reader and a writer--the romance is the central part of the story. The sex has to fit the story, the characters, the plot, etc. A story can be sexy without the hero and heroine boinking every other page, or even every other chapter. It's all about the tension. Women read romance because we like to relive the experience of falling in love. I think we read erotica partially because of that, but also because we like to experience the tension that leads to that first kiss, the first time you see each other naked, and ultimately falling in love.

Q: What's it like being a newly published author?
A: Surreal. I'm not lying when I say "Heavenly Bodies" was the first erotica I wrote, and I realize that I got lucky by finaling in the March Madness contest. Not that I don't think I deserved to final, but let's face it, in publishing luck does play a role in whether or not someone gets published.

Q: So was "Heavenly Bodies" the first story you'd ever written?
A: Oh, no. *laugh* By the time I graduated from high school I'd already written two (bad) romances, one an historical and one a contemporary with some paranormal elements. By the end of my freshman year of college I'd finished another contemporary romance, which partially got slammed in a creative writing course I was taking at the time (let's just say those folks didn't appreciate genre fiction *grin*). After that, I took a bit of a break from fiction and wrote a lot of really angsty poetry. About three years ago I decided to start writing fiction again, and started re-working something I'd tinkered with off and on over the years. That was what got me into the WPF program, and ultimately turned into my thesis novel. So, no, "Heavenly Bodies" was not the first thing I'd ever written.

Q: You make sure people know you only write plus-sized heroines. Is there a reason why you're so dedicated to that?
A: Oh, is there ever. As a curvier woman, I'm very passionate about plus-size acceptance. Moreso, I'm very passionate about body acceptance period. The problem with that, though, is that our society generally doesn't give bigger girls anyone they can relate to. I mean, I don't know about you, but I've never met anyone who looked like Kate Moss or Paris Hilton or even Cameron Diaz. The average woman in America is a size 14, and yet the heroines in romance and all its subgenres, until the past five years or so, have mostly been willow or reed thin, with tiny waists that a man could wrap his hands around and perky boobs, a firm, heart-shaped ass and gently swelled hips. They have tiny hands, perfectly arched eyebrows, tiny feet, lithe limbs, etc. That makes no sense to me, as a woman, writer or reader. I think our romance heroines (and heroes, too) should be diverse and representative of women as a whole, and that women should have a choice. No, the size of the heroine doesn't always matter, but at the same time it can be discouraging (especially when you're a chubby teen reading romance novels) when the curvy chick is relegated to being the best friend or the older mother figure. We're leading ladies, too, and we deserve love stories just like everyone else.

I could honestly go on and on about this forever, so if you're interested in reading a much more cogent argument, feel free to check out this essay, which was a part of my grad thesis (it's titled Body Image In Chick Lit because my thesis novel was chick lit, however, it applies to all genres, IMO). :-)

Q: Where do you get your story ideas?
A: From everywhere. Sometimes, a line will pop into my head. Sometimes I'll read a news story that gets my imagination going. And sometimes a conversation will spark something. For example, the idea for "Heavenly Bodies" came to me during an email conversation with my best friend. I'd actually critiqued a short story she'd written, but somehow during the conversation I made a random comment, which spurred another random comment, which turned into a, "Oh, but wouldn't it be great if this happened, and then this happened, and oh! how about this?" sort of thing, which ended with her saying, "oh my God, you have to write this." I let the idea simmer for probably about two years before I decided to flesh it out for the Loose Id contest.

Q: Do you plan to stick with e-publishing, or do you want to move to the print market?
A: That's a tough one. I love e-publishing. Well, so far. *grin* The turn-around is so much faster than in print, you have more creative freedom, and electronic media is better for the environment. That being said, I do write m/f erotica, which is a harder sell in the e-pub market. Like a fellow author pointed out to me--readers can get m/f erotica in a bookstore, whereas they can't get m/m or menage or polyamory in a bookstore (generally speaking, of course, since Yaoi has a bookstore presence--at least it does at my local Books A Million). Right now, I'm trying to just take it one day at a time, get more stories under my belt (no pun intended, I promise), and see what happens. That being said, I would love to write for Blaze in the future, but we'll see. One market at a time. *grin*

Q: So what's next?
A: Right now I'm working on Blessed Be, which is scheduled for a December 23rd release. It has a bit of a fairy tale feel to it, I think, and is about The One That Got Away. I've always loved stories about The One That Got Away, and there's a reason why they sell--because it's a common female fantasy, IMO. We've all experienced that, we all have that one person we look back on fondly and wonder, "what if?" and "where is he now?" I'm really looking forward to diving further into the book and really getting to know my characters, as I have a feeling they're going to be quite interesting. *grin*

After that, I have several ideas lined up, including one featuring a plus-size selkie. So all I can say is, "stay tuned!"