Lucy Felthouse Guest Post: The Truth About Erotica

I'm thrilled that my guest post today is from the highly prolific and hugely energetic writer Lucy Felthouse (I wish my output was as productive as Lucy - I feel positively lazy by comparison!).  Lucy is talking The Truth About Erotica and dispelling a few myths.  Check in tomorrow for an excerpt from one of her latest titles, The Perfect Dom.   Over to you, Lucy!

Firstly, I want to say thank you to Elizabeth for inviting me here today to discuss the truth about erotica.

So... what is the truth? I can only speak from personal experience, of course, so here goes:

Most erotic writers only write from experience to a certain degree. For example, I know a writer that was penning erotic stories while still a virgin—all it took was a little imagination on their part. Now, I’m not a virgin, and haven’t been for quite some time, so yes, I write from experience in as much as I’ve had sex with a man.  However, my fertile imagination means that I have written about vampires, werewolves, policemen, policewomen, shifters, dominatrix’s, doggers, ghosts, succubi, incubi, jackals, male dancers... the list goes on. And surely no one can accuse me of being all those things, can they? I’m a straight woman who’s never had sex with another woman, and yet I’ve written about lesbians and gay men.

How? Because with the lesbian stuff, I know what naked women look like (I’ve seen one in the mirror!), how things feel, how things work, etc. And with the gay stuff, it’s because, equally, I know what naked men look like (shocker, I know!), how things feel, how things work.

So, although I’m sure some erotica writers are probably gay, lesbian, dominant, submissive, exhibitionists, voyeurs and doggers, it doesn’t mean we all are. Many of us are people in traditional relationships that do nothing out of the ordinary, except on the page. And there’s nothing wrong with that.

Another myth I’d like to dispel is about how we write. I don’t mean with pens and paper, or laptops, or dictionaries and thesauruses. I mean what we physically do. There are rumours that float around that we all sit around in sexy underwear and outfits, wielding whips. It’s bullshit. Okay, so maybe some writers do that, but I know for a fact that a great deal of us don’t. We wear whatever clothes we feel comfortable in—for me that’s usually jeans and a t-shirt—probably no makeup—sometimes I don’t even brush my hair!—and we work. You know why? Because it’s a job. On the whole (E.L. James excepting), it’s a very badly paid job, but we love it, and we do it because we want to, because we enjoy it. Yes, many of us do other things to supplement our bank balances and squeeze writing in around that, but it doesn’t make it any less of a job for us.  We don’t sit around in our pyjamas, either, watching daytime TV. If we did that, we’d make even less money. Also, we’re very busy people. We don’t write 24/7. We have jobs, children, pets, partners, houses and lives to contend with, as well as our ever-present Muse.

I always said to myself when I started working from home, that if I ever found myself watching daytime television, it was time to get another job. So far I haven’t even been tempted. If I’m ill, I’ll read or watch a DVD, or sleep. The day I watch Jeremy Kyle or Loose Women is the day I get back on Monster.com. For now, I’m going to stick with being my own boss and doing what makes me happy.

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The Perfect Dom 
Four kinky and erotic BDSM tales from the smutty pen of Lucy Felthouse.

Balancing the Books

Philip’s a well off man, and doesn’t need a job. But when he sees the gorgeous owner of his local bookshop, he applies for the role that’s being advertised there immediately. He’s totally stricken by the stunning Giovanna, and when it turns out she wants to boss him around in a sexual sense as well as an employment sense, he has no intention of refusing.

Feeling the Heat

Taylor and Maisie’s car has broken down. Luckily, Taylor’s handy with engines and is working hard to get them back on the road. Unfortunately, Maisie is getting annoyed at the amount of time he’s spending in the garage and confronts him. Instead of arguing back, though, Taylor comes up with an ingenious plan to keep Maisie quiet.

The Perfect Dom

Part of Mia’s nightwear is a pair of hotpants with SPANK ME emblazoned across the arse. Normally, that wouldn’t be a problem, but when she forgets that she has a houseguest and heads to the kitchen for a drink, she’s shocked to find Alex in her living room. Immediately spotting what he sees as an invitation written across Mia’s bottom, Alex makes an offer and Mia soon discovers that he is, in fact, the perfect dom.

Meet Me at the Spanish Steps

Darby is working at a holiday camp on the outskirts of Rome and is getting along just fine, with the exception of her sex life. For various reasons, she’s not getting what she wants in the bedroom, and her tastes are very particular. She turns to the Internet to get what she needs, and when she discovers William, it seems that he’s more than willing—and capable—of scratching that particular itch.

More info, excerpt and buy links: http://lucyfelthouse.co.uk/published-works/the-perfect-dom/

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Lucy Felthouse is a very busy woman! She writes erotica and erotic romance in a variety of subgenres and pairings, and has over seventy publications to her name, with many more in the pipeline. These include Best Bondage Erotica 2012 and 2013, and Best Women's Erotica 2013. Another string to her bow is editing, and she has edited and co-edited a number of anthologies. She owns Erotica For All, and is book editor for Cliterati. Find out more at http://www.lucyfelthouse.co.uk. Join her on Facebook and Twitter, and subscribe to her newsletter at: http://eepurl.com/gMQb9

Related posts:
http://elizabeth-cage.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/the-truth-about-being-erotica-writer.html