writing

Eroticon 2018: t-shirts and snowflakes and mugs and oh, my!

authors, erotica, Eroticon 2018, festival, sex blogging, sexy, writing 20th March 2018 Events 3 Comments

Well, the haul this year includes three mugs, two t-shirts, and a wonderful woolly hat courtesy of Doxy, who probably ought to have a special prize for picking the most unexpectedly useful promo item, given the weather we had. Yeah, … Continued

Challenges and opportunities – writing righteous fiction

anthologies, erotica, fiction, rules, writing 1st February 2018 Musings, writing

It’s OK. No one is forbidding you to write the fiction you want to write. No one’s forbidding other people to write the fiction you want to read, either. Billions of people are writing billions of books, all the time. … Continued

2018: What’s Happening This Year

anthology, erotic fiction. writers. writing, erotic romance, fiction, genre fiction, kink, sexy, writers, writing 5th January 2018 Events, Fairs and Markets, Other Things

LAM books, bookselling, event, happening

Hangover cleared? Roughly. Tree put away? Do that tomorrow. Bloody January again… So it’s time to make a few plans for the coming year. It’s not so much a matter of resolutions (never could be arsed with those. I like … Continued

You had ONE idea and…

#Darker, 50 Shades, erotica, idea, writing 4th December 2017 New Books, Rantings

Can you hear that collective howl of ‘OH FOR FUCK’S SAKE!’ yet? Apparently, EL James has put out a fifth 50 Shades book – this time, it’s the second part of the original trilogy, only written from Creepy Christian’s POV. … Continued

Small Moments of Joy

authors, excitement, joy, prize, reading, writing 28th November 2017 Musings

You may be feeling that joy is in short supply at the moment, even as we move into the most officially joy-laden time of the year. But maybe that makes it even more important to recognise, or look for, or … Continued

Nancy Friday: a personal tribute

bloggers, erotica, fantasy, sex, women's sexuality, writing 8th November 2017 Musings, Sex stuff

Nancy Friday died last Sunday. I never met her, and I haven’t even read all of her books, but I do have to acknowledge her influence on my life, my views and my writing career. I discovered her work when … Continued

Current affairs and genre fiction

current affairs, erotica, fiction, politics, writing 25th September 2017 Musings

It can be interesting to read old genre fiction from time to time: the stuff that was published in the 90s, the 80s or earlier. Not just because it can give you nostalgic thrills if the story is one you … 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

Rejection: Coping and Not Being A Dick

acceptance, authors, harassment, Rejection, writing 13th September 2017 Musings, Other Things

No one likes being rejected. No shit, Sherlock. However kindly the rejection is worded, however reasonable the grounds for saying No might be, it’s always going to sting – a little or a lot. You offer something you think is … Continued

Hot Topics, Taboos and Self-Censorship

authors, censorship, taboo, writing 27th August 2017 Musings, Other Things

Is there anything you shouldn’t write about, when it comes to fiction? I made a quick trip to Chaptercon on Friday, to take part in one of the discussion panels, and the concept of taboos was something we touched on. … Continued