Today we have the lovely and talented Hedonist Six stopping by my blog for a quick Q&A session. She is the author of the popular Just Another Day at the Office series as well as a few stand alone titles. It is an absolute pleasure to have her here and I hope you all enjoy our little chat.
1.) Why Erotica for you?
I'm a dreamer and have always enjoyed finding a quiet place to escape to and let my imagination run wild. What I tend to think about on a daily basis are elaborate romantic / sexual fantasies involving imaginary characters; it was only recently that I felt like these fantasies of mine deserve to be written down. Ironically I never considered myself to be particularly adventurous or even sexual, yet here I am writing erotic fiction.
As a reader I might enjoy a wide range of books, from thrillers to horror as well as literary works. However if I had to write in any other genre I'd be completely lost. You could say that I have a bit of a one track mind, not that I'm complaining!
As a reader I might enjoy a wide range of books, from thrillers to horror as well as literary works. However if I had to write in any other genre I'd be completely lost. You could say that I have a bit of a one track mind, not that I'm complaining!
2.) What subgenre of erotica most influences your writing? (bdsm, spanking...etc..)
Although I feel I'm only just getting started, my work already demonstrates a clear preference for Erotic Romance. I enjoy the emotional aspect of what happens, how two people find each other and how they choose to express themselves. So far there hasn't really been any fetish content in my stories, it's all vanilla sex. I don't plan to venture into BDSM, spanking, etc. because I strongly believe in writing about what turns me on personally and such themes just don't work for me. Perhaps I'll write about some other 'niche' interests further down the line, I haven't decided yet.
Despite the vanilla sex, some of my characters might not be what you'd expect; I like big, cuddly men (is that a subgenre? I think it should be!).
It's a shame that only one 'type' is idealised in popular culture; whether men or women, they're all meant to be skinny or muscular. Yet at the same time clearly the average person you come across in real life does not fit this image! To me, that's very sad, because there are so many of us out there who don't just not mind a few extra pounds, but actually prefer a larger partner when given a choice. This can be a little scary to admit because it's not socially accepted, but it never will be either if everyone just keeps quiet about it.
Despite the vanilla sex, some of my characters might not be what you'd expect; I like big, cuddly men (is that a subgenre? I think it should be!).
It's a shame that only one 'type' is idealised in popular culture; whether men or women, they're all meant to be skinny or muscular. Yet at the same time clearly the average person you come across in real life does not fit this image! To me, that's very sad, because there are so many of us out there who don't just not mind a few extra pounds, but actually prefer a larger partner when given a choice. This can be a little scary to admit because it's not socially accepted, but it never will be either if everyone just keeps quiet about it.
3.) Readers love series and characters they can return too. Can you tell us about your series Just Another Day at the Office?
Just Another Day at the Office came about as another one of those strong, persistent fantasies I couldn't shake. It revolves around two people; Cath and Jonathan, who work together. Even though they want each other desperately, they have a few obstacles to overcome before they can come together.
I don't enjoy some of the formulaic characters that seem to be so common in the genre nowadays; the naive, innocent girl who falls for the bossy prick and tries to "fix" him with her love. Instead in Just Another Day, they're essentially both shy, but he is just a bit more so. She aims to show him that you don't have to be an alpha male with washboard abs to be desirable and the most enjoyable part of the story for me is watching him get used to that idea and slowly fulfill his potential.
The story started out well planned and outlined as a novella and I only published it in multiple parts after a lot of indecision about where I wanted things to go. Changing my mind every other week had meant that after many months of writing, I wasn't getting anywhere fast. When I read through what I had, I found natural breaks in the story line where splitting it up just felt right. The resulting feedback I get from readers asking about the next part of the story is a strong motivator to sit down and be productive!
Parts one (http://ja1.hedonistsix.com/), two (http://ja2.hedonistsix.com/) and three (http://ja3.hedonistsix.com/) have been out for a little while now and I'm currently working on the fourth and final part. I don't enjoy some of the formulaic characters that seem to be so common in the genre nowadays; the naive, innocent girl who falls for the bossy prick and tries to "fix" him with her love. Instead in Just Another Day, they're essentially both shy, but he is just a bit more so. She aims to show him that you don't have to be an alpha male with washboard abs to be desirable and the most enjoyable part of the story for me is watching him get used to that idea and slowly fulfill his potential.
The story started out well planned and outlined as a novella and I only published it in multiple parts after a lot of indecision about where I wanted things to go. Changing my mind every other week had meant that after many months of writing, I wasn't getting anywhere fast. When I read through what I had, I found natural breaks in the story line where splitting it up just felt right. The resulting feedback I get from readers asking about the next part of the story is a strong motivator to sit down and be productive!
You're absolutely right that readers love characters they can return to, as a writer I do too. I think once the final part has been written, I'll miss John especially.
4.) What can readers expect from future projects?
I have tons of ideas which revolve around similar themes to what I've already written about. A character without flaws feels artificial to me, so all of mine will invariably have some quirk or issue; even just an imagined one. Another definite trend in my work so far is the combination of a more assertive female lead with a slightly shy or insecure male character; I don't expect this to change because it's something I enjoy writing and thinking about. And as I mentioned above, I write about my own fantasies; so my preference for men of a certain stature will continue to feature prominently.
Once I finish Just Another Day at the Office, part four, I will have to decide between a few ideas. One I've been especially obsessed with lately could be a bit controversial; about a 20-something girl who runs a shop and a school boy (don't worry, he's 18, just about). What follows is a an odd relationship where the girl offers him a part time job and sort of becomes his mentor. At the same time she struggles with an inner conflict; despite feeling like a creep for potentially taking advantage of her position, she can't ignore her attraction towards him.
Once I finish Just Another Day at the Office, part four, I will have to decide between a few ideas. One I've been especially obsessed with lately could be a bit controversial; about a 20-something girl who runs a shop and a school boy (don't worry, he's 18, just about). What follows is a an odd relationship where the girl offers him a part time job and sort of becomes his mentor. At the same time she struggles with an inner conflict; despite feeling like a creep for potentially taking advantage of her position, she can't ignore her attraction towards him.
5.) Do you think there is a difference between Brit written erotica and American erotica?
I'm not sure I've read enough of either to be able to make an informed judgement. Specific phrases, grammar and spelling don't bother me at all and I have no particular preference for reading only British or American English. I feel the various authors I've read can be differentiated much more accurately based on their own voice or subgenre rather than nationality.
6.) You keep very busy. Can you tell readers about your side projects that relate to Erotica?
Most of my days are spent in some way or other researching self publishing and book marketing in addition to writing or plotting. One thing which has been working well for me is giving away a book for free, especially if it's the first of a series. The idea is, if the free book is good enough and an accurate representation of the rest of my work, I might get some new fans out of it (so far, this has indeed been the case).
There are already some brilliant book club or book suggestion pages out there where erotica authors can get their (free or paid) work noticed. However, relying on the goodwill of the admins of these pages is a risky basis for a promotional strategy. Also, I don't know if you're aware of this, but it seems that Amazon is clamping down on affiliates who largely promote free books; as a result, those websites and pages that rely on affiliate income from paid listings will be less inclined to post our free promotions anymore. Independent websites and Facebook pages that post only free books already exist too, but most of these exclude erotica.
This prompted me to start my own page - http://www.facebook.com/
There are already some brilliant book club or book suggestion pages out there where erotica authors can get their (free or paid) work noticed. However, relying on the goodwill of the admins of these pages is a risky basis for a promotional strategy. Also, I don't know if you're aware of this, but it seems that Amazon is clamping down on affiliates who largely promote free books; as a result, those websites and pages that rely on affiliate income from paid listings will be less inclined to post our free promotions anymore. Independent websites and Facebook pages that post only free books already exist too, but most of these exclude erotica.
This prompted me to start my own page - http://www.facebook.com/
More information about me and my work can be found on my website; http://www.hedonistsix.com, my Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/
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Hedonist Six - Erotica Author
Thanks for having me, Chase! :)
ReplyDeleteI'm loving these interviews Chase! And i got to say even though i love reading and dreaming about strong alpha hot men I'd love to read some erotica with what i would call 'normal' women and men, i love cuddly men too! :-) Also very excited to see Jason Jaxx working on The Medallion. 'rubs hands together'.
ReplyDeleteIt's really nice to think that those of us men who aren't alpha males and tend towards cuddly might one day have a chance of a successful romantic relationship. So thank you, Hedonist Six for giving us hope!
ReplyDeleteOf course there's hope :) I really dislike this big lie so many people seem to push that you have to look / act a certain way in order to be attractive. It's just not true, there are as many opinions and preferences as there are people.
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