Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’m from a small town in the Midwestern United States. When I was eighteen, I left for college and later enjoyed a career for a long time in biotech. My real passion has always been creatively expressing myself either written or orally. Recently, this led me to finally begin a writing career, beginning with an erotica book about myself. I’ve published my first book and am part way through my second. I have a series of four in total that I will be writing.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The name of my book is “Veronica’s Erotica: Budding Discoveries.” It was inspired by the first few years of my sexual exploration, a period I am particularly fond of as it really opened me up and defined who I am today. College, travel and my career have been amazing journeys for me, but the exploration of myself and my partners is what truly defined me. That process of discovery gave me the confidence and belief in myself to pursue, and accomplish, everything in my life.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I think a writing habit I have is to switch between telling stories in the first person and the third person. Perhaps that’s not as unusual as I think, but even in telling stories about myself, I enjoy writing in the third person at times. It gives me permission to write more about others in the story and how they perceived the situation and what they were thinking or feeling at the time. It requires plenty of conjecture on my part, but it adds an element of freedom to my writing that I would be allowed otherwise.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
Penthouse Forum. When I was young, I was a bit sheltered, having not been exposed to certain topics and sex was certainly one of them. It was never dirty, just a means of expressing ourselves in marriage and to have children. The letters in Penthouse Forum taught me everything I needed to know and more. To be honest, I think it was the best way for me to learn. It allowed me to realize that there isn’t simply one way to approach sex. I could also use my imagination, visualizing everything that was happening, how the participants were feeling and experiencing each other. I became a big fan of the power of writing.
What are you working on now?
I’m working on my second erotica book, which will actually be the third stage in my exploration. I’ve decided to write them a bit out of order because in the third book, I’ve settled into an interesting relationship with more than one person. At that point of my life, my husband and I shared a girlfriend.
It was particularly intriguing to me personally because I came to the realization, or more aptly an epiphany, that our love can be shared with more than one person at a time. In all of our other relationships (parents, friends, children), we share our love with everyone equally and give one hundred percent to all. In a monogamous relationship, however, we’re taught that we only have enough for one other person. I believe in marriage but I also believe that I have enough love to go around – to friends, to family, and to lovers.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
As a new writer, I’m learning as I go along. I’m coming to realize that I am not alone in this process. I’ve found many great websites, like pretty-hot.com, that are great resources for getting my name and my books out there. In hindsight, I should have built a following on social media, websites, and blogs so that I could tap into that audience when I released my book.
To be honest, I took the rather naïve approach of simply wanting to share my stories with others. Like many authors, it wasn’t about money, fame and fortune. In fact, I’ve been very careful not to disclose details in my stories about where I grew up and with whom I associated. People in small towns in rural America like to discuss other people’s lives, so I’d rather not help them easily identify me. So, promoting my book has proven a bit more challenging than I had anticipated.
As I’m finding out – use popular sites, create a social media following, and get your name into the circles of people that would be interested in your work.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Advice I would give is to take your time in your writing. Don’t rush the process and don’t try to get things down on paper (or computer) as quickly as you can, assuming you’ll just edit everything once it’s written. Editing is a critical part of the process and the better you write your draft, the easier the editing process will be. As you develop your first draft, think about the clarity of your writing, the flow of the language and the general progression or build up. It will save you countless hours of editing later on and you’ll tell a better story along the way.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
I think everyone has been given the advice of “Write what you know.” I decided to follow that rule rather explicitly and it made my writing much easier than it would have otherwise been. I write about things I have experienced, places I’ve been and people that I’ve met. Identities have been concealed out of respect (and love) but retelling stories that I’ve personally experienced has allowed me to better describe everything that happened. I was there for all the sights, sounds and sensations, so it’s much easier to express in greater detail exactly what occurred.
What are you reading now?
I’m reading Dan Brown’s “Inferno”. I had read his previous books but got wrapped up in my career and hadn’t delved into that book just yet. I think he’s an extremely talented writer and has developed an intriguing angle to story-telling – the use of symbolism to unravel a mystery. Also, I’m certain that he’s visited the places he’s writing about given the amount of detail he is able to add. That goes back to my point about writing what you know.
What’s next for you as a writer?
Once I’ve completed my four part series about myself, I have some ideas about unique ways to retell other’s stories. I’m playing with a few concepts and am confident that at least one of them will pan out.
What is your favorite book of all time?
My favorite book is really a set – The Lord of the Rings. I’m a geek at heart, I guess. There are plenty of authors that have created very complex worlds to base their books on. Tolkein, in my estimation, did such a great job of describing those complex worlds in simple and compelling ways. They’re so entertaining and engrossing, I’ve read the whole series several times through. Hmm, maybe it’s time to read them again!
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