Interview with Nik.A Lezz

Published 2014-11-05.
How do you approach cover design?
I try to ensure that the cover reflects the story it relates to. I know that it is petty, but there is nothing more annoying, for me, to discover that they don't match, eg. the story is about a blonde and the cover shows a brunette.
When did you first start writing?
I have been writing for quite a while now, but it is just over five years ago that I began to get serious. I confess that there is usually more that one story on the go at once, some can spend months, years even, without being touched again and not all of them get finished and published, but I find it easier that way. So if one piece of work is not flowing then I can move to a different one and make some progress, it helps me avoid the frustration of complete writers block. A lot of writers are escapists and for me it often feels a bit like going to visit different friends, or even enjoying an alternative life, for a short time, and you don’t even have to leave the house!
What is your writing process?
I find that inspiration can strike from the strangest and most innocuous of things, and later improvement can then, sometimes, lead the story off in a completely different tangent from originally intended. I often find that my mind will wander to possible story ideas, or dialogue, when doing the boring and routine jobs of life, like cutting the grass, vacuuming, and grocery shopping or just sitting at the traffic lights waiting for them to change. However, I would like to point out that although I write erotica, it does not mean that I think about sex all day!
Sometimes I find that a story will flow from start to finish in natural order, including the sex scenes. Other times they get written in chapters out of sequence and later reviews pull them into line and order. Alternatively I will get the basic outline of the story down and then go back and put the flesh, naked and otherwise, to it!
What is the greatest joy of writing for you?
I enjoy having a ‘giggle’ as the piece develops; writing always gives me a buzz when it’s going well, which can be quite addictive. If only one person has enjoyed reading the story as much as I enjoyed writing it then it has been worth it, more people liking it are just a bonus. The satisfaction that I get from writing is one of the reasons that my work is always free.
Describe your desk
I don't really have a desk per say, generally I work on a lap top, which can be moved around, but sometimes if the computer is not handy I will write longhand on various bits of paper and then type it up later.
My favourite time of day to write is early morning, just as the sun is coming up on a new day and the household and surroundings are quiet enough to concentrate. Tucked beneath the nice warm duvet whilst getting new sentences down on the keyboard is a great way to start the day. Most frustrating is when an idea or a character development comes to you at an inopportune moment, when there is no pen and paper to hand.
So, if you see a desperate person out in the street, or in a shop, frantically patting their pockets, they probably haven’t just been robbed, they are more likely to be an inspired writer looking for something to jot down on! Although a hastily scribbled note can sometimes take a while to decipher, it is better than thinking that ‘I will be sure to remember’ that vital character direction, which has just come to me and then finding that I haven’t, and actually, it’s just beyond recall no matter how hard I try.
Do you remember the first story you ever wrote?
Honestly, I don't remember the first story that I wrote but I do remember the one that made me decide that I wanted to do more writing on a regular basis.This was years ago, long before I began writing erotica, and it was about a cricket ball going through someones window. I sat down in front of the keyboard and the story just flowed, everything was right about this piece of work. I really enjoyed writing it and I felt I had achieved something. It was the first time that I got that addictive 'buzz' of satisfaction, which inspires me to create more work.
What do you read for pleasure?
I admit that 'high brow' Literature is not my thing, but I have a wide library of books featuring Adventure, Espionage, Thriller, Crime, Paranormal, Erotica, Romance. I have read a lot of stories on an e-reader but, for me, you cant beat holding an actual paper book in your hands. I have this really annoying habit that if I begin a book and am enjoying it, I get fixated reading it until I have finished, so I try not to read anything tome like!
What do your fans mean to you?
I find it quite annoying, the modern worlds desperation to have everybody review and rate everything all the time, for me if you don’t enjoy something e.g. shop service, book, restaurant etc, then you don’t go back. If you did like it, then repeat custom shows, they must be doing something right, so I recognize the greatest compliment to my work is the silent majority who save the story into their library, giving them the opportunity to re read it at a later date.
For those who have taken the time to leave a comment and review my work, I appreciate it. It is always nice to receive positive feedback but negative comments can also be helpful in a writer’s development.
What inspires you to get out of bed each day?
I sometimes suffer from mild depression so getting out of bed can be harder on some days than others. However, I find my writing a useful tool - you can always make one of your characters have a worse day than you're having!
I have discovered that sitting before the keyboard and letting everything just flow from your mind, through your fingers and onto the screen really helps. You don't have to be writing an actual story just put down whatever comes to mind, it doesn't need to make sense or be grammatically accurate but trust me it really helps. It isn't even necessary to type, it works the old fashioned way- with a pen and paper, just as well. The secret is to keep going until you have got everything down in one go, its very cathartic.
What are you working on next?
There are a couple of projects on the go, for those who enjoyed You Really Shouldn't Have Done That, one of them introduces Tony's sister and its almost finished, I know where I want the ending to go but I just have to find a realistic scenario to get it there.
The second one is longer than my usual work and is in the final review stages, its more of a sci-fi genre and is set on an alien planet where a woman has been abandoned into slavery.
I know from personal reading experience that not every book / story written appeals to everyone, wouldn't life be boring if it did? I hope that people enjoy reading my work, if you didn't I am sorry to have wasted your time, but at least you can give the delete button some exercise, and life’s too short to battle through a story you really don’t want to finish.
How has Smashwords contributed to your success?
Like I have mentioned before, I do not write to make money and Smashwords is an easy and effective way to share your work with other people and I would recommend the site to other budding writers thinking of publishing for the first time.
Smashwords Interviews are created by the profiled author or publisher.