I've been writing since I was a kid, and it used to be just about my favourite thing in the world. I used to spend hours in front of the computer writing sci fi and fantasy stories. I stopped as I got older though, and once I hit about 18 I didn't write again for years. I came back to it around age 30, when I was stuck in a bit of a rut. Someone told me, or I read somewhere, that it's useful to think back to what gave you joy as a child, because that's often a good clue as to what you'll enjoy now. When I thought about it I realised how much I used to love writing, and how much I missed it. I also realised that my dream job was to be a writer, yet I'd never done anything to make it happen or to even see if it was a possibility for me. When I realised that, I knew I had to get back into it.

I wanted to write, but I felt really paralysed by the idea that every sentence had to be this perfect masterpiece. At that time I had a really judgemental attitude towards erotica - I thought it was trash, basically. Looking back I think that's totally the wrong attitude, because erotica needs to be able to evoke some pretty visceral feelings and to do that it needs to really engage it's reader. But that attitude was quite freeing to me at the time, because it meant I could just write what I thought was hot, without the pressure of feeling like it needed to be any good.

At the same time, when I started I was in a relationship that was pretty sexually unfulfilling, and where our communication wasn't great. I had all these fantasies that I felt like I couldn't act on, and I didn't feel like I could share them with my partner for fear of judgement. So writing about them was a way for me to live out my fantasies in my mind, when I couldn't in my real life.

I have an old, wooden desk that was given to me by my sister about 15 years ago after she finished university and didn't need it anymore. Right now it's in a state of being half-sanded back, because I started and never finished (that is a theme in my life, demonstrated by how long it takes me to finish my books!). I always used to like keeping my desk clear other than an A4 tray of "to do" documents, but when the first covid lockdown started and I had to work from home I invested in a screen and docking station, so now there's a bit more going on. I like to keep my desk as clear as possible though, because it helps me focus when I'm doing creative work.

I usually start with a rough idea, and from there I make a rough plan. For example, I decide what the single main thing will be that's going to happen in each chapter.

I've had to experiment with some different approaches over the last year. My natural style is to flick between different chapters or parts of chapters, depending on what I find interesting at the time. I leave gaps and placeholders for the bits where I don't know what to write or I'm just not feeling it. I know (or hope?) that for those bits, I'll return to them later and find them easier to do then. The upside to that is that I can make really good progress by getting on a roll with a part I really enjoy. The downside is that I leave all the hardest and least interesting parts till last, which makes it really difficult to complete the story.

Last year though I did my first commission. The way I arranged it with my client is that I would write a chapter, send them a draft, get feedback, and then finalise the chapter. What that meant is that I had to do it in chronological order, and I didn't start on the next chapter until I'd finished the current one. This was really good for making sure I finished what I started. But it meant that when I was stucK I was really stuck, because I couldn't just skip it and go onto the next bit.

My process within a chapter depends on whether I've got a clear story in my imagination. If I do, I just start writing, and write till I'm done. If I don't or I'm struggling to figure out how I want it to go, I plan the chapter out. I work out each thing that needs to happen. For example: "They have to get from the kitchen to the bedroom. They have to get their clothes off. They have to have that particular line of dialogue that's crucial to the chapter. And so on." Once I've done that I usually have a list of about a dozen things that need to happen. And I know that describing each of those things will take 100 words or so, which means by the time I've described them all, and linked them together in a way that flows, then I have a solid chapter. Then after a first draft I do an edit - usually when I've finished all the other chapters so I know if there are details I need to change for continuity - and then a proof.

I like the idea of illustrating my covers. With illustrations rather than photos it leaves more room for the reader to imagine their own version of the characters, and it means you don't need to go through all the hassle of finding an image that will suit - trawling through stock photos, getting your own photos shot to create the specific composition you want, and navigating the world of securing rights, etc. It's also an opportunity for me to learn a new skill - although I've got a long way to go!

Other than that, I like bright colours, bold fonts, and simplicity. I know my covers are not very consistent with the established norms for erotica, and maybe that puts people off buying them. But I want my covers to reflect me and my aesthetic, even if that makes them less marketable.

Omg I have too many things! I am much better at starting than finishing, so I always have new ideas I want to get started on. But I'm trying to be restrained and finish things before I start new ones.

After book three is released in April 2021, I'm going to be working on short stories for a little while. One or two stand-alone ones, a commission, and I'm going to start a series. I'm also working on a sci-fi novel (although I've been "working" on that for about ten years and it hasn't got far!). On top of that I have a day job which keeps me pretty busy.

It's so hard to get out of bed each day because I wake up to my beautiful, hot, adorable boyfriend and I just want to hold him and never leave. But I guess what gets me out of bed each day is the sense that I've only got one life, and I need to work hard to leave behind a legacy before it's all over. Part of that means making a difference in the world, and part of it means creating things that I think are cool - and that's where writing erotica comes in.

I've just started out so I don't have many fans (yet!). But I have a few, and it totally blows me away that people appreciate what I do. I feel so grateful and so validated that there are people out there who think my writing is good, because as a new writer I'd resigned myself to the assumption that I'd start off terrible but hopefully improve over time.

Because my writing is erotica, having fans is also cool on another level because it means there are people out there getting turned on by the same fantasies that get me going. When I first got into cuckolding as a kink, I felt like I was so weird and wrong for being turned on by it. But seeing this huge community of guys who are into it helped me to embrace it. I love that I can create something that's a turn on for other people. Hopefully I inspire a few couples to try it out!