You're A Writer? What Do You Write?

%w%w%w%w%w%w%w%w%w%w%w%w%w%


My guest is Erotica Romance author, Tymber Dalton aka Lesli Richardson. Tymber/Lesli write various types of Erotica, Romance, and, as she says, "other things".

While I've read some Erotica and even critiqued it, there are some forms I've never read and probably never will. Yet, it's an increasingly popular and lucrative genre.

Tymber explains her fascination with certain aspects of Erotica. Why people make the choices they do and how she does her research to make her characters and stories realistic.


When I’m asked what I do and say, “I’m a writer,” I usually get an eyebrows-lifted, wide-eyed, “Oh, really? What do you write?”

Hmm.

Well, frankly, how do I answer that? If I know a little about the person and suspect they won’t be totally freaked out and edge away from me like I’m a rabid raccoon, I’m honest and I say, “Romance, erotica, and some other things.”

Sometimes that response will earn me a semi-confused expression and an, “Oh.”

A lot of the time, however I’ll get an, “Oh! Really? Like what other things?”

Hmm.

Those of you familiar with my writing, you know that I write a lot of—BDSM. I mean, a LOT of it. And you know, again, depending on the circumstances, how I approach the answers (usually while wanting to smack my husband for bragging his wife’s a bestselling author and leaving moi to try to explain to a ninety-something conservative Baptist woman what I write about) varies with the situation.

It’s not that I’m not proud of what I write, because I am. I’m just smart enough to know not everyone wants to read what I write about. The only reason the pen name Tymber Dalton came about was we weren’t sure if my husband’s employer would be…comfortable with him having a pervy writer wife and we decided to play it safe. By the time we realized no one gave a damn about what I write as long as it’s legal, I’d already been published under both Lesli Richardson and Tymber Dalton.

So back to the cocktail conversation of me trying to adapt my explanation of how I research the topics I write about. The truth of the matter is, I just sort of…fell into it.

It’s all my dogs’ fault. Get your minds out of the gutter. I’ll explain, keep reading.

I have six dogs. We used to be service dog puppy raisers. Watching my dogs is something I can sit back and do…forever. Forget shiny object distraction, I have fuzzy furry distraction. There is something fascinating to me about watching dogs interact, the pack hierarchy,the dynamics and interplay between them. Because when you have six dogs like we do, let’s be honest, you have a pack of dogs.

When I read my first BDSM story, it was more a M/s story about a Master and a pet, and I had that brain squeeze speechless reaction that watching the film “Secretary” gave me the first time I saw it.

I wanted to learn more about the dynamics. The more I learned, the more fascinated I became. Much like watching my dogs. To me, the sexy part of BDSM is the foundation of trust the players have to have with each other. To research, of course, I had to meet and talk with people in real life, go to play parties to watch and learn. I’ve met a great group of people, some of whom I’m lucky enough to call friends now.

My dogs trust that I will drop kibble into their bowls every day at approximately the same time. (Although my bulldog frequently tries to start the daily insurrection early if she’s not happy.) My dogs trust I will take care of them. They don’t question I’m “alpha” in the pack. I just am. Yeah, sometimes they act out, but that’s normal and natural.

BDSM is a lot like that, when you’re dealing with the psychological aspects of it. I’ve met people in the lifestyle who are part-time players, and those who literally live a 24/7 Master/slave life. Most people don’t know what they do in private, of course, but I’ve seen a Master drop a slave into subspace just with a touch and a few words.

There is a trust and a bond that is beyond description. To me, that is far sexier than spankings or bondage or anything else.

That’s why when I write about BDSM, my primary focus is on the people, the interplay and dynamic, not so much the toys or the big “O” scenes. Although, yes, I do try to write sexy scenes as well.

My dogs know I am their owner, their protector, their Mom, their world. While I’m not trying to say a M/s or D/s relationship is that simple, because people can think and reason (usually *LOL*) at a much higher level than dogs, in some ways, it is that simple. The reason these people can turn themselves over to their partner is because of one basic and yet extremely powerful thing: trust.

In my latest release “Safe Harbor” (and it’s something I explored to a certain extent in “Love Slave for Two: Beginnings”) the main theme is trust. Lack of, earning, and total complete trust. Trust in yourself and in others. It’s a strong secondary theme in “The Reluctant Dom” as well. In my upcoming release “Cardinal’s Rule” (Captiva Press, early 2010) I explore what happens when that trust is shattered beyond repair and what happens next for the people involved.

I personally find the trust issue to be the sexiest thing, so that’s usually my focus. I like to explore the “real” side of BDSM. It’s not all I write, but you’ll see some common themes appear in my writings across various genres.

Life happens, and it adds the edge of humor and reality to a story that might otherwise be too intense or too…fake. In “Safe Harbor,” a miniature Yorkie likes to steal sex toys. (Okay, so my dogs partially inspired that one. We don’t have Acts of God in our house, we have Acts of Dog.) In “The Reluctant Dom” I wrote the scene where Leah wants to shave Seth in the shower before his first solo trip to the club with her and his less than enthusiastic—but extremely funny—reaction to that.

It’s real people, not cardboard stereotypes, which have the best stories to share. Personally want to read a story that isn’t sex scenes strung together, but a story about people I can invest myself in and see the reality of the world created by the author. That’s the kind of writing I strive to create, and I’m extremely grateful to my readers for their fantastic response to what I do.

Hey, it keeps my dogs in kibble, and I know that makes them happy.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Tymber Dalton lives in southwest Florida with her husband (aka "The World's Best Husband") and son. She loves her family, writing, coffee, dark chocolate, music, a good book, hockey, and her dogs (even when they try to drink her coffee and steal her chocolate).

When she's not dodging hurricanes or writing, she can be found doing line edits or reading or thinking up something else to write. She's a multi-published writer in several genres (and rumor has it she bears a striking resemblance to Lesli Richardson). She loves to hear from readers. Please feel free to drop by her website to keep abreast of the latest news, views, snarkage, free reads, and releases.
Website: www.tymberdalton.com

Writing Happy Endings—The Beauty of Romance.

I know I’ve mentioned, a time or two, that I love a good romance. One of the reasons I do is the happy ending. The fun is seeing what the characters go through to get that happy ending—sometimes parroting life, at times holding love as something worth fighting for. Life is full of horrific happenings. Love is strong and I happen to think it’s one of the strongest and most enduring qualities. It survives being poor, wars, sickness, and even death. It holds hands with hope and the belief the world isn’t so bad if you have love and share love.

My guest today is Romance author Stephanie Julian. She shares why she likes happy endings. Pull up a chair and join in the discussion.

There is coffee, tea, and yes, now a nice pot of hot chocolate, plenty of scones and muffins. *sliding a crystal bowl of Junior mints near Stephanie. We can’t have withdrawal pangs, Steph, lol!

Thanks for having me, Sia. Do you mind if I bring hot chocolate? I don’t do coffee. Or tea or alcohol (though I love Fuzzy Navels and Mojitos). I don’t smoke either but I do have a wicked addiction to Junior Mints.

And romance.

I’ve been a romance reader all my life, since I first discovered Harlequins in the mid 70s. I think I was eight or ten. I was a pretty precocious reader, graduating to Bertrice Small and Rosemary Rogers by the time I was twelve.

I also read a lot of fantasy, including Tolkien, Eddings and Brooks, and every Stephen King. But even as I enjoyed those stories, I was always looking for more romantic elements. And was vaguely disappointed when a book didn’t have enough romance.

At college, I majored in English. I loved Shakespeare but of course I was the one who wanted to rewrite the ending of “Romeo and Juliet.” The greatest love story of all time and they both die? What the hell? Yes, it’s an amazing written work but I’ll stick with “As You Like It,” thank you very much.

That preference for a Happily Ever After is why I write romance. People who don’t understand or look down on the genre don’t fully understand the appeal.

Why do you want to read a book where you know the ending? That question is one you hear a lot from people who read books where all the major characters die at the end, usually in horrible fashion.

I read romance because I like to believe that life isn’t always so dire. That there is hope and love does triumph even when your world is crumbling down.

Pollyanna much? Maybe. But isn’t that the beauty of romance?

When Rhett Butler walks out of Tara and away from Scarlet, I knew one day she’d follow him and win him back. Same goes for Ilsa and Rick in “Casablanca.” Actually, I just finished working on a ménage so maybe Ilsa and Rick and Victor… Maybe not. But Ilsa and Rick are meant to be together, even if they have to wait until Victor dies heroically liberating death camps.

In my Magical Seduction series for Ellora’s Cave, an entire society of Etruscan magical users has hidden itself in our society, clinging to their old ways while trying to fit into modern life. They still retain their magic; they worship deities (who just happen to be living among us, as well) and fight to keep themselves and their families safe in a world that, if they were exposed, probably wouldn’t look too kindly on them.

Some of them have horns, wings and pointy ears and can change into wolves and other animals. But these stories are first and foremost romances and the central story is always two (or three) people falling in love amid turmoil, suspense and conflict.

How they overcome their obstacles to live Happily Ever After is the best part for me. Yes, writing the sex scenes is fun and exciting but having the story unfold before my eyes is even better. I’m not a detailed plotter. I have a general idea of the story before I start but I typically just start to write when I finally have the main characters in my head.

I had a leg up on that plot for “Seduced by Danger,” the sixth book in the series, just released from EC. It’s a continuation of the story told in “Seduced by Chaos.” I knew Michael and Cara before I started their book and I knew where their journey would take them.

They were going to have a pretty rocky road but, at the end, they would come through and be stronger for it. Together.

And isn’t that what we all want?

***

Stephanie Julian is an avid reader, who used to have a book-a-day habit. Then she realized she not only wanted to read books but write them, too. Romance has always been her first love, the sexier the better. Hot men, strong women and a heaping helping of magic dominate (and she does mean dominate) her blazing hot stories.

When she's not writing, she's, well... she's certainly not cleaning. And she only cooks when her guys complain that they're hungry. Otherwise, she's got her fingers on a keyboard, her butt in a chair and her head in the stars.

For other books in the Magical Seduction series by Stepanie Julian, visit Ellora's Cave http://www.ellorascave.com/

This and other titles in the series are available now.

STEPHANIE IS OFFERING A PRIZE TO

ONE LUCKY COMMENTOR TODAY:

SHADOW MAGIC (on the left) Featuring Seduced by Magic and Seduced in Shadow, books one and two of the Magical Seduction Series.

Ravenous Romance: The Importance Of Writing Environment

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

Setting the Mood

My guest today is Dana Fredsti, author of MURDER FOR HIRE: The Peruvian Pigeon. Dana also writes erotica under the nom de plume Inara LaVey. Her latest release is Ripping the Bodice. Dana is a fascinating woman who has worn many professional hats in her career, but today she talks about the contrast of writing before being published and what it's like to write under contract.

When I write, I like to set the stage. Kind of like a woman preparing for what she hopes will be a super romantic date. You know, candles, the right music, the perfect food, and no distractions. Creating an atmosphere conducive to a particular outcome.

When I lived in Glendale (part of Los Angeles, near Griffith Park and the L.A. Zoo), we had a fireplace in the house so on days that were chilly enough (we don't really do 'cold' in the majority of Southern California); I'd build a fire. I confess to using a lot of non-environmentally, unfriendly faux fire logs back in the day. I’d draw the curtains to shut out the noise of the neighborhood (we lived on a busy corner, complete with bus stop and the only roundabout in Glendale), light some candles, and settle in on the couch with my computer and whatever music best suited the mood of my current project. The cats would curl up the couch next to me or in front of the fireplace and I'd write for a couple of hours. It didn't always insure a productive writing session, but it generally helped keep distractions to a minimum. The fact I worked at home doing freelance transcription also helped; I could pick and choose my writing schedule.

Then I moved to San Francisco and I lost the fireplace, but I gained a four-block walk to the beach, a quiet neighborhood and several cats. Easy access for a beach stroll and the lack of shrill, obnoxious teenagers improved the ambiance for writing. The cats? Not so much. Nothing says 'distraction' like a thundering herd of felines racing through the house, using one's lap and laptop as part of the racetrack. And I can light all the candles (and matches) I want, but when you're fostering kittens during the phase of weaning them from kitten kibble to adult food...there aren't enough matches in the world to mask the gaseous warfare that ensues.

Now if I'm working on one of my hard-boiled cozy mysteries, kitty poots can inspire such lines as 'he hung around like a fart in a phone booth.' But when working on erotic romance for Ravenous...not so much inspiration as watching my muse hightail it out of the room with a promise to come back when I've bought her a gas mask.

I also gained a full time job; including a 40-minute commute each way. The necessity of paying bills not yet covered by my writing income has severely cut into my creative schedule. However, over the last year and a half, I've been published three times. One traditionally published mystery novel, and one short story and novel for Ravenous Romance, an erotic romance e-publisher, co-written a non-fiction book about what women really want in bed (sleep!) with my childhood pal Cynthia Gentry http://www.cwgentry.com/ and have a contract for seven more books with Ravenous.

I don't have time to create the perfect ambiance for my writing now; I get home from work, toss down some dinner, park in my rocking chair, and fend off felines while working for a couple of hours. Sometimes I work with one or two cats draped on the top of my arms, my hands and laptop keyboard barely visible below the furry bodies.

Weekends are better: I get up and go for a long walk on the beach (Must. Collect. More. BEACH GLASS!), come home and putter for an hour or so, and then settle in around noon to write for most, if not all of the afternoon and evening. Some days I listen to music. Other times I have a movie playing quietly in the background. Something about bad Sci-Fi original movie about giant snakes/dragons/alligators/spiders and zombie movies just fires the creative juices. I think it best not to analyze why this helps me write erotica. Some things are better left to the mystery of the muses, doncha think?

What does this all mean? I'm not entirely sure, but it seems the less time I spend trying to set the perfect mood for my writing, the more time I spend actually doing the work.

And I finally understand what people mean when they say 'writers write.' It still makes me want to smack 'em, mind you.... but at least it makes sense now!

***
Dana has been involved in the entertainment world for many years as an actress in film and theatre. She has worn the hat of actress, producer, and writer much of that time.

Dana's love of all things feline has involved her in volunteer work with both large exotic cats with Exotic Feline Breeding Facility/Feline Conservation Center, and ongoing urban feline rescue. She has been writer and associate producer of several award winning documentaries on the subject.

Dana was co-producer/writer/director for a mystery-oriented theatrical troupe based in San Diego. These experiences were the basis for her mystery novel MURDER FOR HIRE: The Peruvian Pigeon. She is at work on the second in the series, Murder for Hire: The Big Snooze. Writing as Inara LaVey, she has a short story, Succubusted, and a novel, Ripping the Bodice, and is currently working on Champagne with Ravenous Romance, http://www.ravenousromance.com/ a new e-book site focused on erotic romance.

MURDER FOR HIRE: The Peruvian Pigeon is available through all fine bookstores in the US and Uk, on-line through amazon.com, barnesandnoble.com and other internet sites. Also available direct from the publisher at www.rockpublishing.com