Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
“Castle of the Heart” is my first attempt at romantic erotica.
Otherwise . . . pretty vanilla life: late twenties, Bay Area, freelance tech writer, in my own on again/off again romance.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
“Castle of the Heart: A 2% Erotic Romance.”
I saw a movie called “Same Time Next Year,” about a couple (married to other people) who have a once-a-year affair. I took off from there.
I’m interested in the idea that there can be people in our lives whom we genuinely love (and with whom we can be sexual dynamite!) but really would have no chance of sustaining a 24/7/365 relationship.
A “2% Erotic Romance” is my attempt to imagine what an affair like that would be like.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Would sitting on the couch with my bare feet in a tub of warm spaghetti count?
Well, the couch part is true–and I find 4AM to 7AM a good, tranquil, time to think my thoughts with minimal interruption.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
I like some of the work Anne Rice has done under a pen name (and I admire that she just calls it straight-up “Porn”–feeling that when we say “erotica” we are “ducking”).
What are you working on now?
Mostly promoting my first effort, “Castle of the Heart: A 2% Erotic Romance.”
Will eventually move on to further work in the same genre.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Some luck w/ Goodreads.
But not much luck over all . . .
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Write for yourself.
You can control whether or not you write. After that . . . very little is within your control. The most painful book isn’t the one you can’t publish; it’s the book you didn’t write.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
SO hard to say anything that isn’t cliche!
“Find your audience,” which applies both to “paying readers” and, perhaps more importantly, to the people from whom you get feedback as you write and edit.
Out of ten people: six likely just “won’t get you”; one will be too harsh; another will be too soft; #9 will lack the ability to give useful feedback.
And, if you’re lucky, #10 will be . . . JUST Right!
What are you reading now?
Bruce Springsteen’s memoir
What’s next for you as a writer?
Keep writing–likely in the same general genre: romantic erotica (with perhaps a soft core splash of power exchange)–and . . . keep trying to figure out the whole “promotion puzzle.”
What is your favorite book of all time?
“Catch-22”
Would you call that a “madcap heartbreaker”?
Not sure. Also quite enamored of the narrative structure (kind of a “spiral,” really).
Author Websites and Profiles
Sapphire Jones Amazon Profile
Sapphire Jones’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile