inspiration

A Dead Queen and Other Plot Twists

dead queen, erotica, inspiration, queue 15th September 2022 Musings, writing

A dead queen, like war, pestilence, famine and all the rest, can be a bit of a nuisance to the writer of contemporary fiction, particularly contemporary erotica. There might well be another blogpost in the relatively near future about the … Continued

Write What You Know – or don’t

authenticity, event, fiction, inspiration, politics, writers 9th November 2019 Musings

“Write what you know” is one of those pieces of writing advice that everyone’s heard of. People either love it, hate it, or completely misunderstand it – sometimes wilfully. You get those who point out that JK Rowling didn’t really … Continued

New Release: Smut Marathon/Enigma Variations

anthology, authors, books, erotic fiction, erotic fiction. writers. writing, erotica, inspiration 2nd October 2019 New Books

smut marathon, writing, writers, erotica

Smut Marathon has been running for a few years now, but this is the first time the winning entries have been compiled in a book. It’s an annual challenge for sex bloggers and erotica writers, run by Marie Rebelle. Entrants … Continued

New Release: United In Love

anthology, charity, inspiration, love, Red Cross 27th September 2017 Uncategorised

There are all sorts of inspirational quotes about being the change you want to see in the world, and it’s always good to see people acting in the spirit of them. United In Love is a fundraising anthology (all profits … Continued

Not Just A Dream After All

fiction, inspiration, m/m erotica, writing 18th September 2017 Musings

One of the earliest things any aspiring writer learns is never to finish your story by having the character wake up and discover that everything that just happened was ‘Only a dream, after all’. I remember getting that pretty much … Continued

Writing tools and wishful thinking: stationery porn.

author, erotica, inspiration, stationery, typewriter, writer, writing 10th April 2017 Musings, Other Things

Typewriter, fetish, erotica, writers' rituals

Who (at least among writers) doesn’t have a sneaky weakness for a stationery shop? I know I’m not the only one who can never resist the temptation to wander up and down, looking at the array of pads and pens … Continued

HARD-WORKING WRITERS and other jobs

fiction, inspiration, money, sexting, work, writers 8th March 2016 Musings, Other Things

Marion ZImmer Bradley (I think) mentioned writers and their strange other jobs in the intro to one of her Sword and Sorceress anthologies, years ago. Of course, this was decades before the current horrorshow of the gig economy and the various … Continued