When Did You First Start Writing?
I began writing erotica in the spring of 1989, just after I moved from California to the Midwest. There'd been an erotic fantasy that had been rambling around my mind for years. At the encouragement of a dear friend, I finally decided to put pen to paper and so I began to write. The backyard of my home was just beginning to burst with a new Spring. Green grass. Daffodils and Tulips. Fresh new leaves on the old Maple Trees that surrounded me. The scent of fresh turned earth. My senses were heightened and my imagination seemed to take flight as I sat in the warmth of that April afternoon and began the story that would lead to my first novel, Alexandra's Awakening.
What's the story behind your latest book?
My latest book, Spontaneous Combustion, began with a lengthy email conversation between myself and the new man in my life. We were in the "getting to know you phase" of our young relationship, exchanging likes and loves and little pieces of ourselves. That conversation continued for six weeks before we actually met face to face, including the two weeks of my vacation to France that June. While I explored Paris and traveled through the South of France, there was an air of romance and adventure that I reported to my new man every evening on that trip. As the correspondence continued, I could feel myself waking to new possibilities for my life. I was opening to love and romance for the first time since my husband of many years passed away. The sadness and grief of the previous two years began to lift and my dormant creativity began to stir again.
I've learned over the over 30 years that I've been writing, to take inspiration from whatever is going on within my life, from the books I read to the movies I watch to the people I meet and the interactions I have in everyday life. That email conversation was no different. Within those emails were the beginnings of a story that almost begged to be written. It was fun and sexy and at times more than a little outrageous. I even included a part of my book that takes place in Paris, which is so rich with romance and inspiration. As the story moved from autobiographical to fiction and back again it seemed to gain energy and took off on its own.
It has been several years since that book was released. I thought it would be the last erotic novel of my erotica writing career. But alas...just this winter (2018-19), the writing "bug" struck again. Soon to be released on Smashwords is The Glass House. Look for it soon.
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