I started writing erotica this year after a couple of years of having short stories published in women's magazines. I had no idea that there was such a market for erotica and so many publishers! A friend of mine commented recently that she's surprised I didn't do it years ago as I was always the one who had to explain smutty jokes to the rest of my circle of friends at school... That's probably what you get from being allowed (encouraged) to read Jackie Collins and Jilly Cooper from a young age! (Thanks, Mum!)
I have discovered that I absolutely love writing erotica. It's so liberating to be able to write what I like without dampening down the heat or resorting to painful euphemisms. I find that most of the time I'm grinning away while I'm writing!
As far as having a favourite erotic story goes, strictly speaking I don't have one, although I've really enjoyed a lot of the short stories I've read so far. I find it a challenge to just sit back and enjoy what I'm reading if it's a genre I write - I almost feel I should be taking notes!
Most of the books I find erotic aren't strictly erotica at all. In fact, at the mention of the word 'erotic', the first book I think of is Jane Eyre. I've been mulling this over a lot since Elizabeth invited me to do this post, and what I find immensely erotic is Edward Rochester's desire for Jane. He knows he shouldn't marry her, but he also knows it's the only way he's going to get her - and what he plainly wants is to crush her bird-like frame in his manly arms and ravish her. (Oh, and what a ravishing it would be on his part - although she may be rather more reserved!) He wants her to stay with him even after their failed wedding and would take her as his lover if she'd allow it. There's so much smouldering passion beneath his heavy brow and he definitely has a need to dominate. If Jane wasn't such a good little girl and Charlotte Bronte hadn't been a good Victorian, the story could have been very different! Reading it as a young teen, I was disappointed (following my previous diet of Collins and Cooper) to have discovered so little about the moment they finally got it together. I wanted to know how it felt to be made love to by Mr Rochester. Ah well, I suppose that's what the imagination is for!
The erotica I've written so far has been published by Xcite Books and is available on Xcite's website and also on Amazon: http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=ntt_athr_dp_sr_2?_encoding=UTF8&field-author=Bel%20Anderson&search-alias=digital-text
At the moment I'm working on another erotic short and also on an erotic novella, so there's plenty to grin over the keyboard about!
Please pop across and visit my blog : http://belandersonwrites.wordpress.com/ . It's a new blog and I haven't quite got to grips with it yet, but I'd love to 'meet' you!
Thanks so much for having me, Elizabeth!
Bel x
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Hi Bel - I really enjoyed your post and thanks for sharing your thoughts about erotic literature. Have you read Wide Sargasso Sea, the 1966 novel by Jean Rhys - her vision of the relationship between Mr Rochester and his first wife? It made me think of Mr Rochester in a new way!
ReplyDeleteHi Elizabeth! I already replied to this but I don't know what happened as it hasn't appeared! No, I haven't read The Wide Sargasso Sea yet - it's one I've always been meaning to read. Have just ordered a copy! Thanks again! Bel.
ReplyDeleteGood post ladies :o)
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Hi Vikki - thanks! Have either of you gals seen the film of Wide Sargasso Sea? Very sensual, I thought, and it's what got me reading the book. It actually inspired one of my stories in Kissing Velvet. It's also profoundly sad and made me very angry with Mr Rochester! Grrr. It's a story that will definitely elicit a strong response as a woman.
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