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Monday 31 December 2012

Amanda Fox


Five tips on writing erotica from Amanda Fox

1) When writing, take breaks often to refresh and reset.

2) Exercise. It'll help get the blood flowing to your brain. And it'll prevent love handles LOL. No really.

3) Leave some things to the imagination. Not every single thing needs to be said.

4) Edit, edit, edit. Then leave the piece for a few weeks (or longer) and go back and edit some more.

5) Read your work out loud, or have someone read it to you. It's a good way to see if things flow, and to find mistakes.

Amanda Fox is the author of many pieces of fiction including 'Once You Go Black' from Cole Riley's 2011 collection Too Much Boogie. More of Amanda's writing can be found on: http://thefurfiles.com/.

Friday 28 December 2012

What do editors look for? Lucy Felthouse



 Lucy Felthouse is a writer and editor of erotica and erotic romance. She likes variety, so is usually working on several projects at once. Published anthologies include: Uniform Behaviour, Seducing the Myth, Smut by the Sea and Smut in the City. The latter two are co-edited with Victoria Blisse. 


1) Read as many books as you can get your hands on—especially in your chosen genre. 

2) Learn to edit your own work—don’t risk editors being put off by poor spelling and grammar, repetition and so on.

3)  Don’t use crazy fonts. Something plain and easy to read like Times New Roman or Arial is fine. 

4) Research what editors/publishers actually want. If they give instructions for submitting to them, follow them to the letter. 

5) Be professional and polite in your covering letter. You don’t have to write much (unless it’s specified) but let the editor know what you’re sending, what it’s for (bear in mind they’re probably working on several projects at once) and the word count. You can include a bio and story blurb if you wish, but if it’s needed straight away, an editor will usually ask for it.

Find out more about Lucy’s writing and editing projects at http://lucyfelthouse.co.uk

Wednesday 26 December 2012

Guest Author - Kay Jaybee


 Write Erotica and Smile!

 Many thanks Ashley, for inviting me to your wonderful new blog site!
 
I have been writing erotica for the past seven years, and I can honestly say that they have been the happiest years of my life.

It all began with a random (extremely naughty), thought which came to me from nowhere, as I sat in a coffee shop in Scotland the day my youngest child started school. I was day dreaming out of the window, and suddenly my head, usually full of what to cook for dinner, and trying to remember if we had bread in the cupboard, was bursting with images so kinky, that they simply had to be recorded!

The result, a few hours later, was a short story called Jen and Tim (now in Lips Like Sugar, Cleis Press), a poem called Regrets (Oysters and Chocolate), and the biggest smile on my face you have ever seen. For the first time in my life I was doing something that felt totally right. It may well have been a million miles from what I thought I’d spend my life doing- but boy, did it feel good!

Of course there have been hundreds of rejections running alongside the acceptances. Each ‘No thank you’ however, rather than driving me to despair, has made me more determined to do better. Each ‘Yes please’ on the other hand... now the receiving of those letters and emails are moments of pure pleasure. Nuggets of time never to be forgotten. They are also a total drug. The second you lose the flush of happiness from an acceptance message, you want another one!!

I didn’t have aspirations to be an author as a child. It wasn’t until the age of 33 that I took up my pen to write kinky stories. I had written poetry for a few years though; a discipline which proved to be an excellent starting point from which to make the transition into short stories. For with poems, as with short stories, every single word has to count! Poems and short tales simply don’t allow for waffle. If you don’t grab your reader and hold them in mini pieces of work, you’ll lose them; and I never wanted to have anyone lose interest in my writing halfway through it!

It was for this reason that I wouldn’t allow myself to write anything longer than a 6000 word tale until I had a minimum of 40 shorts and poems published. I considered them my apprenticeship. I used to tell myself, as I sat writing in various Scottish coffee shops in those early days, “If my short stories can cut it- and if I can make each one a little better than the last- then maybe one day I will write something longer”

So here I am seventy short stories, three novels, three novellas, and four solo anthologies later! I had no idea that things would take off for me as well as they have, and I never underestimate how much luck I’ve had along the way. The timing of my arrival into this world has had a great deal to do with the fact I’ve had so many publications, be they short or long. I came into erotica just as the “women writing erotica for women” movement really took off.  If I hadn’t, then who knows? Perhaps those first two pieces of work would never have been taken, and I’d be back at University teaching Medieval Economics.

2012 in particular was tremendous fun for me. It was a year when, more than ever, I felt as if my work has made other people as happy as it makes me.

One of the high spots was when I was asked by Xcite Books if I’d like to celebrate my work so far with an anthology of my favourite short stories. How could I refuse? It was so much fun picking out 14 stories to place in The Best of Kay Jaybee collection!

Here’s the blurb for you-

Fourteen of the very best erotic tales of dominance, submission, bondage, and romantic lust, are delivered with lashings of kink from the pen of Kay Jaybee. From the sexual adventures recalled by a woman as she stares at her favourite shirt, to a deliciously dirty orgy on a bed of cardboard boxes, the after-hours education of a rookie soldier, and the bizarre obsession of an Egyptologist, each story shows why Kay Jaybee has been hailed as ‘a master of the craft of erotica’ (Oysters and Chocolate). As a girl writes messages of lust on the body of her best friend’s lover, and a mistress’s employment of ropes and chains on her slave co-insides with the application of emulsion, we discover just how Kay has earned her reputation for producing ‘super-heated kinky stories,’ (Kd Grace), which are ‘a sublime pleasure to read’ (Violet Blue)

When it came to deciding which stories to include in this anthology, I deliberately opted for a range of stories which reflected the kinky, controlling, and (dare I say), erotically romantic dimensions to my work.
Here’s an extract from one of the included stories to tease your erotic taste buds...




Perks of the Job


Rachel shook slightly as she sent the text. Do I have the correct number? Is that you, sir?

She cupped her hands around her mug of tea as she sat in the cheap and cheerful café, her gaze fixed on her phone – waiting with a stomach full of uncertainty for a reply.

Rachel nearly slopped its contents all over the plastic tablecloth as her mobile began to ring. She snapped her phone to her ear quickly, her heart thudding so hard she could feel its beat in the pulse of her neck. She hadn’t expected a call. She had been sure that Ryan would stick to the more anonymous medium of the text message.

‘Yes, you do have the right number. Are you in the café as arranged?’

‘Yes.’

‘Right, this is what is going to happen.’ His voice was a lot rougher than she’d ever heard it before. But then, Rachel thought as she pushed the phone closer to her ear, afraid that the few other café dwellers might accidently overhear what she was about to be told, he hasn’t been turned on when we’ve talked before. She knew he was now - everything about Ryan’s tone spoke of a man with a hard-on. ‘Is the regular waitress there? The student one with the tits that are fighting to break out of her shirt, and the tight black cardigan that should make her look like an old maid, but actually makes her look like a hooker?’

Rachel lowered her voice further, worried the girl in question would hear her, ‘If you mean the one with brown hair and blonde streaks, then yes.’

‘I want you to stay sat exactly where you are. Fix your eyes on her. Picture her behind the counter. I am standing in front of her. You are behind her. I want you to imagine her on all fours. My cock is in her mouth. I want to watch your face as she brings me off. How does it feel? Tell me now. How would seeing that make you feel?’

Colour infused Rachel’s face. As she watched the waitress move around behind the counter, sorting out glasses and bottles of cola, Rachel tried not to make her observation of the younger girl’s movements obvious.

Even though Ryan wasn’t there, Rachel felt as though his eyes were unwaveringly on her. There was something about him - she knew her boss was dangerous, she knew he was taking advantage of the fact that she needed to earn some extra cash, and yet that seemed to arouse her rather than annoy her.

It didn’t take much effort for Rachel to visualise the waitress on her hands and knees, her short black skirt hooked up over her hips and backside, her thong in tatters on the floor, and her tights ripped in the haste of their removal. Ryan had his combats at his ankles, his boxers yanked to one side to allow his solid erection room to manoeuvre towards the lapping and sucking mouth of the café girl.

‘Talk to me, dirty girl. Tell me right now, I don’t have much time.’ Ryan’s voice seemed to be coming from further and further away as Rachel began to see the image he’d created for her with growing clarity. ‘Tell me, bitch, how does it feel?’

‘Can’t I text you instead?’

‘No.’

Conscious of being overheard, Rachel murmured, ‘But someone might hear me!’

‘We had a deal.’

Rachel swallowed. They did have a deal.

Speaking so she was only just audible, picking up the grease-spotted menu that had been languishing before her, using it to hide her mouth from those on the neighbouring tables, she began, ‘My tits are so hard. I can see everything as though it was really happening - I really can. You’re pounding into her; I can feel her arse pushing back against my legs with each thrust you make. Her body is rocking, but she doesn’t want to stop, and I know from the eager noises coming from the corners of her mouth that, despite her messed-up state, she’s loving it.’

‘Are you wet? Right now - as you sit there, are your knickers sticking to your nasty little snatch?’

Caught up in the hungry pace of his voice, Rachel nodded as well as spoke, almost forgetting this was a conversation over the phone and not in person. She had to remind herself that she couldn’t really feel the touch of his rough hands against her chest, as much as she longed to. ‘I am. My jeans are beginning to get damp. My liquid isn’t being held by my panties alone.’ She took a deep breath, and carried on her narration. ‘I have my gaze hooked into yours as the waitress milks you off. You don’t say anything, but I know what you want me to do, and so I bend a little, smacking the rounded flesh of her arse with the flat of my hand.’

The voluble gasp from the other end of the phone told Rachel that she had judged her caller’s fantasy correctly. ‘As I spank her, she shifts forwards, her throat taking your dick in deeper. As you push your hips harder, she gags a little, and her butt comes back to my waiting hand, which strikes her once more, leaving a pleasing pink patch of flesh in its wake.’

‘Then what will you do?’ He didn’t have to tell Rachel that he was wanking; she could tell. She sped up her erotic scenario, unsure how she was going to prevent herself from coming in sympathy with him, and thus giving the café customers more in-house entertainment than that establishment had seen in years.

‘I have knelt down. My hand is burning so I’ve stopped the spanking, but I am running my hand over her rump while I slip a finger inside her.’

The waitress behind the counter had turned towards a new customer, and while Rachel whispered to Ryan, she could see the battle that the girl’s chest was having beneath her works blouse, not to burst free against the strain.

A fresh gush of pussy juice escaped from Rachel’s channel, and she knew she had to finish her kinky commentary fast. ‘Her muscles have tightened around my finger, and I’m easing my thumb around so it can push against her nub.’ A ripple of intense desire shot from Rachel’s chest to her crotch as she kept talking, her voice urgent. ‘I’m flicking her clit now, and oh my God, she is gonna come! I’m stroking my free hand inside my own knickers so I can rub myself off as well. Fuck, that feels good. You should see her face, she is so beautiful when she’s climaxing.’

‘Shit, girl.’ A suppressed groan issued from Ryan’s throat, and for a moment or two the line went faint, as if he could no longer keep his hand on his phone, but had other places where his fingers were needed.

Rachel was surprised to find herself panting, and even more surprised to find herself sat on her own in a busy greasy spoon, the oblivious subject of her shared sexual fantasy now wiping off sticky table tops with an unpleasant-smelling detergent.

‘You OK?’ Now that he’d come, Ryan’s voice had returned to its usual light, casual tone.

Gathering herself together, managing to keep the speed of her pulse and the unexpected need for her boss’ touch to herself, Rachel spoke with commendable calm. ‘Apart from sitting in a puddle of my own juice, I’m fine. You?’

‘Hell yes. I knew you’d be good at this. I have just come like you wouldn’t believe.’

Infused with a perverse pride at having made Ryan shoot his load by the force of their combined imaginations alone, Rachel asked, ‘So, where are you?’

‘Lay-by on the A4. I’m on my way to paint a kitchen.’

‘A lay-by? You’re kidding me!’

‘Nope, I just came all over the kerb.’

‘Really?’

Ryan laughed down the phone, ‘Yes, really. Look, I have to go now - but I look forward to hearing from you very, very soon.’

The phone went dead, and Rachel cradled it in her hands for a few seconds, staring into the still full, but now cold mug of tea. Her crotch felt hot, and her hands felt cold. She had never wanted sex more. Not daring to risk eye contact with the waitress in case she could somehow read her mind, Rachel put the correct money for her drink on the table and headed outside...



Many thanks again to Ashley for inviting me along today!

*****

You can buy The Best of Kay Jaybee from Amazon

Bio-
Kay Jaybee wrote the novels Making Him Wait, (Sweetmeats Press, 2012), The Voyeur (Xcite,2012), and The Perfect Submissive (Xcite, 2011), as well as the novella's A Sticky Situation (Xcite, 2012), The Circus (Sweetmeats Press, 2011), and Not Her Type: Erotic Adventures With A Delivery Man (OCPress, 2011). She has also written the anthologies The Best of Kay Jaybee, (Xcite,2012), Tied to the Kitchen Sink, Equipment, (All Romance, 2012), Yes Ma’am (Xcite e-books, 2011), Quick Kink One and Quick Kink Two (Xcite e-books, 2010), and The Collector (Austin & Macauley, 1st Ed 2008, 2nd Ed 2012).
Kay has had over 60 short stories published by Cleis Press (inc. Best of Best Women’s Erotica 2, Best Women’s Erotica 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2012; Best Bondage 2012, 2013, Sweet Love, Gotta Have It, Sweet Confessions), Black Lace (Sexy Little Numbers), Mammoth (The Mammoth Book of Lesbian Erotica), Xcite (inc.Ultimate Sin, Boy Fun, Power Play, Threesomes, Finger Music, Tricks For Kicks), Penguin (Oysters and Chocolate; Erotic Stories of Every Flavor), Seal (Oysters and Chocolate; Nice Girls, Naughty Sex),and Sweetmeats Press (Immoral Views).
Details of all Kay's work can be found at www.kayjaybee.me.uk
You can follow Kay on Twitter- kay_jaybee

Monday 24 December 2012

Tenille Brown


 Five tips on how to write erotica from Tenille Brown.

1) Read and familiarize yourself with the erotica genre as to avoid redundancy and so you know what type of writing/stories are most popular and most desired.

2) Put your best foot forward - Submit properly formatted work to editors that adhere to their guidelines and fits their specific call.

3) Research your market - That way you don't end up sending anal erotica to an editor looking for bondage stories.

4) Create believable characters and settings - Remember, it's still a story, not just some pages with some sex.

5) Make the erotic portions believable - Avoid too much gymnastics-like sex. Also, sometimes a little goes a long way. Subtle can be sexy, too.

Tenile Brown is the author of many pieces of fiction including 'Cling' in Rachel Kramer Bussel's anthology, Sex and Candy. Tenile's blog can be found at http://therealtenille.com and her twitter handle is @TheRealTenille.

Friday 21 December 2012

What do editors look for? Sacchi Green


 Sacchi Green is an award-winning writer and editor of erotica and other stimulating genres. Her stories have appeared in scores of publications, including Best Lesbian Erotica, Best Women’s Erotica, Best Lesbian Romance, Best Transgender Erotica, Best Fantasy Erotica, and Penthouse. In recent years she’s taken to wielding the editorial whip, editing nine lesbian erotica anthologies, most recently for Cleis Press.

A collection of her own work, A Ride to Remember, is out from Lethe Press. Five of her books were Lambda Literary Award finalists, and Lesbian Cowboys, co-edited with Rakelle Valencia, won the Lambda for lesbian erotica in 2010. Two books, Lesbian Lust and A Ride to Remember, were winners of GCLS awards.



Below are Sacchi Green's tips for writers, and a couple of her pet peeves:

1) Tell a story as only you can tell it. Be familiar with other writing in your genre, but don’t imitate anyone else. As an editor I look for an original approach and a distinctive voice; something to set a story apart from all the thousands I’ve seen before. Surprise me!

2) Make your characters so real that the reader can tell them apart just by the way they act and speak, even when you don’t specify who’s speaking.

3) Pay attention to the rhythm of your prose. Vary the length and structure of your sentences (unless, of course, you use short, choppy sentences or long, rambling ones to make a certain point or define a character.)

4) Don’t assume that grammatical constructions you see over and over must be correct, or should be used over and over. There’s no need for sentence after sentence, or even paragraph after paragraph, to begin with a participial phrase such as “Opening the door, she crossed the room.” Think about that. Is the room so small one could cross it while still in the process of opening the door? Even when there’s no such grammatical problem, overuse of “ing” looks amateurish (and is, obviously, one of my pet peeves.) There are other more varied ways of avoiding too many sentences that start with “she” or the character’s name.

5) And speaking of pet peeves, particularly when dealing with erotica, PLEASE be sure you know whether your character’s movements and actions are physically possible. I’m not talking about superhuman endurance, or strength; I’m just considering logistics. Remember whose various parts are where, and don’t tie the reader’s (and editor’s) mind in knots trying to figure out how what was up is suddenly down, and why what faced one direction (and was, in fact, tied that way) is suddenly available for full frontal play. This sort of thing can apply to any scenes of concentrated action, erotic or otherwise, but interrupting the flow of a sex scene is especially, well, frustrating.


Find Sacchi online at http://sacchi-green.blogsot.com, FaceBook. Live Journal (http://sacchig.livejournal.com/ ), and the Lesbian Fiction Forum (http://www.lesbianfiction.org/viewforum.php?f=53)

Monday 10 December 2012

A Word from the Author


 By Ashley Lister

 When it came to producing How to Write Erotic Fiction, I was lucky enough to be in an ideal position. 

I’m the author of more than two dozen erotic fiction titles and countless erotic short stories. I also teach creative writing. This means I have some idea of how to construct an erotic story and I know of some of the more appropriate methods to help novice writers (in all genres) develop their talents.

I was also lucky in the fact I review a lot of erotic fiction and associate with many erotica authors. Over the course of the past two decades I’ve interviewed dozens of talented authors from the genre and reviewed hundreds upon hundreds of titles.

And so, when I was looking for illustrative passages to complete How to Write Erotic Fiction, I already knew which authors to approach and which passages most appropriately illustrated the points I wanted to make.

How to Write Erotic Fiction is a book that I’ve wanted to write for a long time. It contains my thoughts on the most exciting genre on contemporary bookshelves and it includes examples of good practice from writers I’ve honestly admired.

Over the next few months, as I get ready for the book’s launch, this blog will showcase tips from some of those writers as they share their thoughts and tips on the subject of writing erotic fiction.

There will also be tips from writers I didn't manage to include the title and a few words from editors who explain exactly what they look for when receiving submissions.

So, if you ever had an idea to pen an erotic memoir or write a risqué tale, I hope you'll bookmark this page and consider the advice each week on How to Write Erotic Fiction.

Thursday 20 September 2012

Blurb

 How to Write Erotic Fiction and Sex Scenes 
 By Ashley Lister

 Writing a convincing sex scene can be one of the most difficult challenges for any fiction writer. For every capable storyteller, able to produce a scene that’s sexually exciting, there are a dozen or more writers crafting material worthy of the Bad Sex in Fiction Awards.
New writers and seasoned professionals alike can falter when faced with the challenge of writing about sexual intimacy. How to Write Erotic Fiction and Sex Scenes is a practical guide to help every writer rise to this challenge.
Using a sensible approach, showing how contemporary masters of the craft are currently producing successful, effective and award-winning erotica, this book considers every aspect of the genre. With information on preferred vocabulary, the limitations of the genre, erotic characters, sex-positive writing and literary erotica, How to Write Erotic Fiction and Sex Scenes demonstrates some of the most effective ways that convincing sex scenes can be portrayed on the page.
With examples from a broad range of writers, and using exercises that have been tested successfully in workshops and classrooms throughout the country, How to Write Erotic Fiction and Sex Scenes is the indispensable guide for anyone wanting to include compelling, well-crafted and saleable sex scenes within their fiction.