Sharazade

I know sometimes people wonder how erotica writers do what they do — how exactly they turn out all that achingly poetic and arousing language that touches the cores of our human souls.

Frankly, some days we wonder how we do it too.

I asked fellow erotica writer André Santhomas to give us a look into her writing process, to show us how the magic happens to create her popular Realm of Janos novels and other masterpieces of erotic domination and submission. Let us part the curtain and watch her day:

Fifty Shades of Grey Hair

Me: Go in the living room. I have work I need to do.

Them: OK.

Garrett ties Botany up and fucks her silly.

Kid 1: Mom, do you want something to drink?
Me: Nothing you can bring me.
Kid 1: What?
Me: Nothing. No thank you.

Garrett ties Botany up and fucks her silly. She

Kid 1: OK.

Garrett ties Botany up and fucks her silly. She thinks

Kid 2: Mommy, I love you.
Me: I love you too baby. Go play.
Kid 2: OK.

Garrett ties Botany up and fucks her silly. She wonders

Kid 1: Mommy, do you have a pencil?
Me: Look in the homework supplies box.
Kid 1: OK.

Garrett ties Botany up and fucks her silly. She wonders what

Kid 1: Where is the box?
Me: Where did you leave it?
Kid 1: I didn’t touch it.
Me: Here it is. Take this, and go!
Kid 1: OK, OK, I’m just trying to do my homework.

Garrett ties Botany up and fucks her silly. She wonders what. What? What does she wonder? Oh, yeah. She wonders

Kid 2: I want a pencil too.
Me: Fine, take it. Just go.
Kid 2: I need some paper.
Me: Fine, whatever, here’s a stack.

Garrett ties Botany up and fucks her silly. She wonders what he’s thinking

Kid 1: MOMMY! She — Ow!
Me: What?
Kid 2: Never mind.

Garrett ties Botany up and fucks her silly. She wonders what he’s thinking about

Kid 2: Mommy, if Nicole tells you that I was in Daddy’s office and got into something, you should tell her to go in the living room because I didn’t, really.
Me: You didn’t what?
Kid 2: I didn’t get into Daddy’s printer paper.
Me: I gave you paper.
Kid 2: I needed some more. But I didn’t, really. I swear with all my heart.
Me: Living room!

Garrett ties Botany up and fucks her silly. She wonders what he’s thinking about

WOOF! WOOF WOOF WOOF!
Me: Let the dog out.
Kid 1: What?
Me: LET THE DOG OUT! Can’t you hear him barking? You’re two feet from him.
Kid 1: What?
Me: LET THE DOG OUT!
Kid 1: OK, OK, sheesh.

Garrett ties Botany up and fucks her silly. She wonders how he’s going to use that riding crop

Kid 1: I just have to tell you –
Me: Is someone spurting blood? No? Then go.
Kid 1: Sheesh, all I wanted to do was say I love you.
Me: [insert mommy guilt here]

*  *  *

André SanThomas is the mother of two delightful girls, ages 8 and 6, and the keeper of a 120-pound lab. She’s also the author of the Realm of Janos series and Sensual Submission: Driven. Sensual Submission: Pursuit is due out… well, it might be a while. Her author page on Amazon, from where her books can be purchased, can be found here.

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A haunted ocean liner, a woman with a family mystery to solve, and a man who can talk to ghosts—what do they have in common? A timeless love and the very real threat of murder, that’s what.

Lisa, a host for the TV program Ghost at Home, and Michael, a medium also for the program, share a past together. But it remains to be seen if they have a future…

When the program gets offered to spend a weekend of ghost-hunting on The Gem of the Sea, Lisa sees her chance to discover what really happened to her mother the day she died on the great ocean liner. But over the course of one passion-filled weekend, Lisa and Michael must fight a malevolence the likes of which neither has encountered before.

Will they win or become two more of the unquiet spirits haunting the old ship?

*  *  *

I loved the teaser I first saw for Lynne Connolly’s Rendezvous at Midnight: “A sexy, steamy love story in an unusual location.” That is just my kind of thing. Her location is a boat — and I have been on that boat! Well, at least the boat she used for inspiration. But that still counts. Anyway, let’s hear about it in Lynne’s own words:

*  *  *

A sexy weekend on an old ocean liner with ghosts!

How could I resist writing the story of Michael and Lisa, once the idea had come to me? A sexy, steamy love story in an unusual location, I couldn’t miss with this one!

When medium Michael Scott takes the assignment with the TV company “Ghosts at Home” to explore the old ocean liner Gem of the Sea, he does it with one aim in mind. Lisa Perez.

The liner is based on the old “Queen Mary,” currently moored in San Francisco, and a luxury hotel. I had the opportunity of staying there last year, but after doing a lot of research into the ghosts aboard, I chickened out! Yes, I know, a complete coward, but I’ve encountered enough ghosts in my life to know I don’t want to meet any more! However it’s Lisa and Michael’s jobs, and both of them revel in it.

Michael had wanted Lisa for a long time. She already knew about his ability to communicate with ghosts, but not his deepest, darkest secret. Would she object when she discovered he was the son of a vampire?

Michael wants Lisa in his life. A casual affair didn’t feature in his plans. So he has to tell her everything. And prove it, too. Lisa has had some weird experiences in her life, and while others don’t believe that Michael is genuine, she has never doubted his gifts. But now she has to accept everything he is and everything he stands for.

Lisa was desperate to discover why her mother died on Gem Of The Sea all those years ago. And she wanted Michael for his gift, but she also wanted him. With her revengeful ex and a malicious ghost onboard, Michael and Lisa might not survive the weekend.

In my paranormal world, the children of vampires aren’t always vampires themselves, but they have the gift of being able to communicate with the dead and give restless spirits peace. This can include reconciling something that has remained unsolved or undone, and this is what happens in this book. Lisa’s mother died a violent death on board the “Gem of the Sea,” and she wants the people responsible brought to justice. She will sacrifice anything, even her daughter, to see this happen. This puts Lisa in danger of her life.

If they want their passion to survive, they have to fight the living. And the dead.

Lisa’s vengeful ex adds to the tension. Although he doesn’t want her dead, he has other plans, so they have to watch their backs, as well as what is happening in front of them. Once they give way to their passion for each other, all bets are off, as they fight to win the day—and the night.

Rendezvous at Midnight is published by Decadent Publishing, and is available from Amazon UK, Amazon US, All Romance eBooks and all other good eBook retailers.

About the author:

I was born in Leicester, England, and lived in our cobbler’s shop with my parents and sister. It was an old house and most definitely haunted, but I didn’t find out until I left that my great uncle had hung himself in the living room! But I think our ghost might have been older than that. It was built on the site of the old Roman cemetery, and the land had been constantly inhabited, being in the centre of town. Then, when the council bought the house from us to build a road, my grandfather retired and my father went and worked for the Post Office. My mother was a sample machinist; that is, she worked with designers on the prototypes (models or samples) of garments. So I was very well dressed! We bought a relatively modern house in the country, and my mother was blissfully happy. It’s all very well living in a large old house, but it’s a dreadful task to keep it clean and warm!

My mother’s side of the family are Romany gypsies, although sadly we haven’t any of the old trailers that are so astonishingly beautiful. I was taught to read the Tarot cards, and I usually use two packs; the Rider pack for simple readings and the Crowley Thoth pack for the complex stuff.

I’ve always had an interest in the paranormal and it’s been a delight to be able to put some of this into my novels.

Website: http://lynneconnolly.com

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Erotica writers –  and those who’d like to be erotica writers — and erotica readers — check out this announcement of a sexy seaside get-together, and also the call for submissions for an erotic anthology. (I vouch for these people.)

Note that the conference is in England. Scarborough, to be exact, and no, I don’t know if that’s the parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme one or some different one. But it sounds lovely.

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Scarborough, UK to Host Saucy Seaside Smut Convention

April 2012, The North, United Kingdom.

Convention for erotica readers and writers to be held in the

seaside town of Scarborough on June 22^nd, 2013.

Do you like to be beside the seaside? Or more specifically, do you like to be smutty beside the seaside? If so, then the Smut by the Sea Convention and Erotic Marketplace is for you!

The brainchild of Victoria Blisse and Kevin Mitnik, with help from their glamorous assistant, Lucy Felthouse, Smut by the Sea promises to be a smut-filled extravaganza in the beautiful seaside setting of Victorian Scarborough. The town’s library will be hosting the event.

Forget fish and chips, candy floss and ice cream – visit the dedicated Erotic Marketplace, including exhibitors Xcite Books and House of Erotica, with many more yet to be confirmed. Buy toys and books and all manner of saucy things. And don’t forget to get those books signed by the authors in attendance!

You’ll be wriggling in your seat when you attend a range of sexy readings from erotic authors including Victoria Blisse, Lucy Felthouse, K D Grace and Lexie Bay.

Or perhaps you’d like to attend informative panels on getting published, marketing your work and other smut related activities? It’s all covered, so you can check out whatever tickles your fancy!

It’s certainly going to be a fun-filled day – but it doesn’t stop there! In the evening will be the official launch of the Smut by the Sea anthology

(calls for submissions available at

http://smutbythesea.co.uk/call-for-submissions/

closing date 1^st June 2012 – edited by Victoria Blisse and Lucy Felthouse)

with readings from the authors, and some seriously saucy swag bags with gifts from sponsors Sh! Women’s Erotic Emporium, Total-E-Bound and Lovehoney, to name but a few.

Just as you’re settling down from hearing all those fabulously naughty stories, your heart rate will be rising once more as the result of an intermission with burlesque dancers!

Finally, there will be a Q&A panel with a range of authors, book signings and some good old fashioned networking and socialising.

It’s still early days so there will be lots more authors, sponsors, exhibitors and attendees coming on board as the conference draws closer, but hopefully this has given you an idea of what to expect from Smut by the Sea.

So, what are you waiting for? Mark your diaries for Smut by the Sea, 22^nd June 2013. Early Bird tickets have been released, and there are less than 200 available at this bargain price, so make sure to grab yours quick, before it’s too late!

http://smutbythesea.eventbrite.co.uk/

Keep your eyes on the following links for further information on sponsors, attending authors, exhibitors and more:

Website: http://smutbythesea.co.uk

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/smutbythesea

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/smutbythesea

Also, just for a bit of fun, you can share your seaside themed photos on the Pinterest page: http://pinterest.com/mitnik/smut-by-the-sea/

The event is still taking on more exhibitors, sponsors, speakers and readers, so if you’d like to get involved, please http://smutbythesea.co.uk/contact-us/

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About Smut by the Sea

 The brainchild of Victoria Blisse and Kevin Mitnik, the Smut by the Sea Erotic Readers & Authors Convention & Erotic Marketplace takes place in Scarborough in June 2013. It will be a smut filled extravaganza with readings, burlesque, panels, Q&As, workshops, erotica and more. See http://smutbythesea.co.uk for more details.

About Blisse UK

Blisse UK is the team of Victoria Blisse and Kevin Mitnik. Specialising in bespoke creations, working together they strive to bring originality and excellence into all that they do. Victoria is an award-winning author & Kevin is a twice Webbie winning web designer. They have over 15 years experience of creating successful websites with a portfolio of recent works available on http://blisseuk.com. Smut by the Sea is a new venture as they combine their love of the seaside with a love of erotica.

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Four-star Hotel

The Crystal Hotel was one of the oldest structures in the downtown area and owned by arguably the wealthiest family in town. It was a dream come true, and probably a once in a lifetime event to go to an upscale gathering at such an elegant establishment.

Giant marble columns supported a pastoral painted ceiling. Radiant crystal and gold chandeliers hung from ornate plaster medallions like bejeweled earrings. She looked around in awe, speechless at the grandeur of the stately old building so meticulously cared for.

– From Number 69 by Casey Sheridan

During the summer a few years ago, my mom and I spent four days/three nights at the Grand Hotel (http://www.grandhotel.com) on Mackinac Island, MI (USA). It was (and is) the fanciest place I have ever had the pleasure to stay.

Mackinac Island has not automobiles. People get around by walking, riding bicycles or horses, or by horse drawn carriages and taxis.

The Grand Hotel was built in the late-1800′s as a retreat for the wealthy, and it shows. To this day, you’re required to dress for dinner – and what a dinner! The hotel and its staff made me feel like royalty.

It was my stay at Grand Hotel that inspired the Crystal Hotel in Number 69. Tell me…. when was the fanciest place you stayed and what was your favorite part about it?

* * *

A matchmaking party was not Melodie’s idea of fun, and wearing vibrating panties was just plain weird. Or was it?

Should she go to the party? After all, she just might meet Mr. Right. And if he doesn’t show, she has the vibrating panties to keep things interesting.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B006PHOIE6

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B006PHOIE6

http://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-number69-665388-144.html

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/number-69-casey-sheridan/1108565608?ean=2940033008247&itm=3&usri=number+69

http://www.breathlesspress.com/number-69

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Casey Sheridan wrote her first erotic story on a dare, and  loved it so much she never stopped. Casey’s work has been published by Breathless Press and Cobblestone Press, and has appeared on The Erotic Woman, Every Night Erotica and RSVP-Erotica. She loves reading, writing, chocolate, book stores, and art museums.

You can find her on the Web at:

Website: http://www.casey-sheridan.com
Blog: http://casey-sheridan.blogspot.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/CaseySheridanAuthor
Twitter: http://twitter.com/casesheridan

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If you’re ever in Philadelphia, at any time near the 3rd Tuesday of the month… I’d highly recommend arranging your travel plans to include a visit to the Erotic Literary Salon’s monthly Salon event.

Hosted by sexologist Dr. Susana Mayer, the Salon features one erotica reader and holds a sort of open mic (through reservation, though — and spots fill up fast!) for other attendees. The featured reader gets 10 minutes, and other readers get 5.

I’m very pleased I was a featured reader if only to get those 10 minutes! Honestly, I find choosing a 10-minute excerpt to be very challenging, and 5 minutes would throw me into a complete panic. That’s as a reader, though. As a listener, I can assure you that 5 minutes can pack quite a punch, and the readings I heard were fantastic.

I got lucky — I’d chosen a humorous excerpt from “Sales Pitch,” one of my favorites from Transported: Erotic Travel Tales. It’s not the one that usually gets special mention from reviewers, but … well, I like it, and I get to make the choice. Quite a few other people also chose to do humorous pieces (like Rochelle Lewis and her hilarious “Skanky Ho”), and the audience was very responsive and engaged. I had a blast.

It’s a nice space, too: the upper floor of a restaurant (The Bohemian Absinthe Lounge), which features a bar and food service as well. The event ran about two and a half hours, with a 15-minute intermission, and unfortunately not everyone who was on the waitlist to read got a chance (though of course they could still read next month. That’s why I said, be sure to sign up early if you’re interested in reading!). I’d guess there were about 100 people there; standing room only by the end, but not uncomfortably crowded.

I was particularly pleased to meet in person some erotica writers I’d met and known only online, such as erobintica and Riccardo Berra, who happened to be in town that Tuesday for the Salon.

For more information about attending the Salon, the direct link is here. Again — I highly recommend it! But even if you can’t make it ever, it’s worth checking out the Salon homepage for daily news on issues of sex, sexuality, and erotica.

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Clive Mostyn is bidding to become Prime Minister and put the finishing touches to his plans for a slave-owning society in England.

* * *

Excerpt:

Clive sat forward as the two women were led on. Just the one girl led them, their leashes running between their legs and into her confident hand. The black girl held herself proudly and glared at the audience of prospective buyers, promising them some difficult times before she was fully subdued. Clive knew exactly what she needed and his eyes devoured her strong frame that was so plainly capable of taking it. But then he looked at Kath.

She looked just as good as she had in her hologram. But she also looked scared. Her eyes were huge as she looked around her and she shrank against her lover. Her fear aroused him far more than he had been prepared for. Physically she was still a superb specimen, but it was that fear which turned him on so that all of a sudden he had a raging stand on and had to shift in his seat to ease the pressure.

From the next table along came the sounds of orgiastic delight as three slaves were put to use.

Clive sat forwards further. He didn’t know whether he wanted to protect her or to convert that generalised fear into fear of him specifically – or both. But for whatever reason when the auctioneer opened the bidding at ninety thousand, he found his right hand immediately going to the green pad on the arm of his chair.

“Ninety thousand I’m bid!” the auctioneer called and looked around. “Ninety-five! One hundred thousand! I have one hundred thousand!” he paused and looked at the smoked glass behind which Clive sat. Kath’s eyes were filling with tears of terror that shone under the lights. Clive’s finger jabbed twice.

“One hundred and ten thousand! Any advance on one hundred and ten thousand?” the auctioneer looked around. “Come on now ladies and gentlemen! A fine pair of mature and experienced slaves! Good for years of use yet! Going for one hundred and ten thousand…!”

The gavel banged and Clive let out his breath as he sat back. On the next table along, two of the women climaxed noisily as two slaves tongued them vigorously. Two men came in close succession and roared their release as they plundered both ends of the first slave, who they had stretched out across the table.

He closed his eyes and wondered what impulse had driven him to buy the pair. True he could run them as a two-in-hand in the grounds of his country house. They would do sterling service at dinner parties and the black girl looked as if she could still take the lash from sun up to sun down. Then he thought of the fear he’d seen in Kath’s eyes and smiled. When she saw who her new owner was – the mix of surprise, terror and excitement was going to be something to see. And he would make it his business to ensure that she had every reason to be fearful – and every reason to be excited.

*****

Anna Chatham’s life is suddenly ripped apart and her catastrophic fall from fame and fortune to criminal takes only a few days. And in the Britain that she knows, some twenty years in the future, when a pretty girl is condemned for anti-social behaviour, it can mean only one thing. In his relentless drive towards power Clive Mostyn has steered through slavery legislation. Anna Chatham now faces fifteen years as the legal property of an arena. But there is a sinister purpose at work behind her downfall and as she learns to submit to her Masters, a devastatingly cruel plot is revealed. Page-turning action as always as Sean takes us to the climactic Demolition Derby – the arenas’ latest and harshest test for its slaves.

Available from:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1908593474/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=lucyfelthouse-21&linkCode=as2&camp=1634&creative=19450&creativeASIN=1908593474

http://www.bookdepository.co.uk/Bound-for-Glory-Sean-OKane/9781908593474

http://www.waterstones.com/waterstonesweb/products/sean+o27kane/bound+for+glory/8850691/

The book is also available from all outlets of WHSmith Travel in the UK.

*****

Sean O’Kane came to writing erotica via various routes. He was a successful author in other fields before the erotic bug bit him!

Since first appearing in the Silver Moon canon he has written several best-selling titles and ‘Bound for Glory’ is the ninth novel in the acclaimed Arena series. Readers have kindly supplied him with a lot of feedback over the course of the series and even suggested ways in which the various plot lines might develop. He is very gratified by this proof of his books being enjoyed. In the erotic genre, that degree of reader feedback is rare!

He has another Arena novel planned but after that is not decided in which direction he might turn.

Sean lives a full life beyond his hours at the computer. He is keen on gardening and cooking as well as reading – he likes to see what everyone else is up to! He has many friends on the SM scene and is proud to class Francine Whittaker as being among them.

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Like the title says, I’m over at the Oh Get a Grip site. This week’s theme (on which my post is the final one) is “masks.”

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Are you in the Philadelphia area? I’d love to meet you! I’ll be doing a reading on Tuesday, March 20, at the Erotic Literary Salon. Afterwards, we can talk about Amazon and piracy on the erotica list, and, well, anything else that people are interested in. There’s an open mic, too, so other hot authors will be reading their works. I mean, other authors will be reading their hot works. ;)

More information can be found here.

Hope to see you there!

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KISMET—FATE—DESTINY

You know, you can’t fight fate. Sometimes you are just where you’re supposed to be and you might not even have a clue as to why.

That’s the premise of Haste Ye Back.

When I visited a Scottish pen-pal of 30-some years in 2007, it was like I’d been there before. Like the two of us had known each other in person all that time. Like her family was my family. My pal, Shelagh, and I were destined to be friends, probably so I could write this little story!

Doesn’t matter if you believe ‘fate’ happens, it does. People who cross your path in life, cross it for a reason. They’re placed in the exact spot they need to be, and where you can stumble upon them, for a specific reason.

And, somehow, unconsciously, that always seems to be the underlying storyline in my works.

In Haste Ye Back, the main character, Bryn, has had an affinity for all things Scottish all her life. Might have something to do with the fact her last name is Wallace as in William Wallace. Anything she has experienced in her life, good and bad, the people she has encountered, plays a part in a dream trip she takes to Scotland.

Things which have transpired well-before she was a gleam in her father’s eye, plays a part in why she’s on this vacation.

Let’s leave it at that, I would hate to give away more than I need to.

When it comes to writing, the ‘Gods of Fate’ were with me as well. My husband owns a catering company, which just happened to be hired to cater a writers’ conference. So, I attended—where I met a couple of crazy women from the Maumee Valley Romance Writers of America. They sucked me in—and a few years later, I’m published. Everything happens for a reason.

And, that’s true in Haste Ye Back. To get some ‘visual’ sense of the story, check out the video for the book.

And, if you comment on this blog you could be the lucky winner of my first Decadent Publishing –  1 Night Stand story, The One He Chose.

Thanks for finding this blog today and reading. You might not understand why at this moment, but you stumbled upon this site for a reason!

Blurb:

All her life something had drawn Bryn Wallace to Scotland. Even dumped by her fiancé just weeks before their trip to Edinburgh, Bryn is still determined to have a good time. But touring the romantic Highlands is a bit boring alone. Not wanting to troll the pubs, she goes out on a limb and signs up with Madame Eve’s 1NS service.

Divorced Ian McCallum is tired of making decisions, especially when it comes to women. When an old schoolmate suggests 1NS, he figures he has nothing to lose. But, what he doesn’t know, is his match through Madame Eve’s 1NS service was centuries in the making.

Wendy is a displaced Cheesehead, proud to have been born and bred in Wisconsin. She was a migrant worker for years in the radio business, until she landed in Ohio and refused to leave. When she isn’t writing for pleasure and publication, she is a TV newsroom assignment manager – a great job for her as she gets to tell people where to go and what to do! She shares her clean, yet perpetually dusty, house with her chef husband and two spoiled rotten cats. Decadent Publishing has been a godsend as she can finally stop talking to the people in her head and allow them to speak for themselves!  Find her at her blog, on Facebook – Wendy Burke author, and on Twitter @WendyBurke1994. You can send her an email too – wendyburke1994@bex.net.

Haste Ye Back Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bakdXVOhc60

MVRWA: www.mvrwa.net

DECADENT PUBLISHING: www.decadentpublishing.com

1 Night Stand:  www.decadent1nightstand.blogspot.com

THE ONE HE CHOSE: http://www.twolipsreviews.com/content/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=7061&Itemid=36

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So I was interviewed recently by Guy Raz for NPR’s weekend edition of All Things Considered. Which was pretty exciting for me — I mean, I listen to that program all the time, and here I was actually going to be on it. It’s as exciting as describing the funny sound your engine makes on “Car Talk,” or being a contestant on “Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me!” The program segment was a follow-up to the two articles Fast Company ran on Amazon, erotica, and piracy, here and here; I wrote my version of the events here.

First, a staff member from NPR contacted me by email and we had a few exchanges; then she called me and we talked for about half an hour (probably to establish that I wasn’t a nutter). I checked out OK, so she said that they’d have me go down to the local recording studio for my area’s NPR station, and I’d be interviewed and recorded. She said Guy would ask essentially the same questions she did.

Now, an interview is easy, right? Someone asks you questions, and you answer them. And if you know the topic in advance, and you’ve even already more or less walked through it on the phone with someone, there’s nothing you need to prepare. You just show up.

And so I did. And … well, he asked me a question I hadn’t expected.

He asked, “What are your books about?”

I know! I know! Of all the possible questions you could ask an author, surely that one would be the most likely one of all. It ought to be the question I expect the most, not one that catches me by surprise. I can’t explain my surprise rationally, I can only tell you that I felt it.

Fortunately, I did not say the first thing that popped into my head, which was, “Oh, they’re about ten pages.” Unfortunately, though, I did say the second thing that popped into my head, which was, “They’re about sex.”

Now, our interview lasted about 20 minutes, and he did follow up that question by asking me to relate the plot to one of my stories, which I did… but the total time for the segment was under ten minutes, and there were other people to be interviewed as well, so I knew that a lot of that would be cut.

Not, of course, the quip of my books being about sex.

*wince*

Because the thing is… they’re not about sex. Sex is the vehicle, the conveyance, yes; but my stories are about desire, or attachment, or doubt, or adventure, or growth, or any of the many things that other novels and short stories are about. I almost always have a core idea that I wish to explore: Is it wrong to need reassurance of one’s attractiveness? What role do observers play in defining a couple? How does being covered (physically and metaphorically) affect your view of yourself? What circumstances drive us to ask directly for what we want? and so on.

Readers don’t always pick up on whatever issue it is that I think I’m exploring, I’ve noticed — and that’s perfectly OK. The “message,” if there is one, is really for me. But I never sit down to write thinking, “I know! I’ll describe two people fucking!”

I have no idea why I didn’t say that on the air. But I do think it’s a good question, and it’s one that every author should be prepared to be asked, I think; and it’s worth answering for yourself, whether anyone else puts it to you or not.

For those who wish to hear my embarrassing answer on the air, the link is here.

For my fellow writers, I offer the chance to answer the same question here: What are your stories about? How important is it to you that your message be apparent? Do you always know your “about” before you begin, or do you ever look back at a finished story and discover it then?

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