Why don’t you start by telling us about yourself (Where are you from? What do you write/do in the publishing world? What do you do when you’re not writing — your “day” job, hobbies, obsessions, etc.?) Thank you for having me over, Adriana. I’m originally from Toronto, Ontario, but have since relocated to a small city bordering the upper peninsula of Michigan with my husband and two daughters. During the day I work in the telecommunications industry, which satisfies the geeky side of me. In my spare time when I find some, I collect tarot, gargoyles, gardening and researching new ideas for stories.

If you were stranded on a desert island with only five books and five CDs, what would they be? (We’ll just imagine you can play the CDs – after all, this is fiction!) Be prepared to be shocked. I listen to a wide variety of music. Sarah Brightman – Symphony, Fleetwood Mac – The Very Best of Fleetwood Mac, The Mediaeval Baebes – Mirabilis, Type O Negative – October Rust,  Jesse Cook – Free Fall. As for books, here would be my choices: The Wedding – Julie Garwood, When Strangers Marry – Lisa Kleypas, Bitten – Kelly Armstrong, The Duke – Gaelen Foley, The Chief – Monica McCarty.

Do you read primarily print books, ebooks, or both? I read a combination of the two. Most of my historical novels are in paperback. As for my erotica/erotic romance collection, I prefer to keep those in ebook format, away from prying eyes (my daughters). lol

Tell us about your writing: How long have you been writing? What genre(s) do you write in? What have you written (short stories, novels, etc.)? What works are currently for sale? Where?  I’ve been writing on and off since high school, but professionally for three years. I write paranormal romance, but I’ve dabbled with some sci/fi and contemporary. I have a few completed short stories, with one out on submission. Aside from that, I have one novella and novel in the works.

What made you decide to write? My obsession started only as way to relieve stress. Who knew it would eventually become an addiction/way of life.

What made you chose to write your genre in particular? Is there any other genre you’d like to write? And if so, why? I have to admit, I think the genre picked me. I love anything to do with vampires, ghosts, weres and demons. So why not? Now that I’ve built some confidence with my writing I’ve decided to try my hand at historical and contemporary erotica. They’ve always been favorites.

Are you a plotter or a pantser? I’m a little of both. Goodness knows though, no matter how many times I try and stick to a plan, things always change.

How do you get ideas for your stories? What inspires you? For the most part music plays a huge influence in what I write. When I’m in a classical mood, I write historical pieces, rock and ambient music inspire my paranormal and contemporary pieces.

Which comes first when you’re starting to write a new story: character, setting, plot, or theme? For me a character is what drives a new story. Nothing beats having fresh meat to work with. It’s those first moments with your characters that make it, or break it with the plot.

Any advice for those who want to write? This is going to sound cheesy but the only advice I can offer is to remember the three p’s. Patience, perseverance, pride. Writing doesn’t happen overnight, and neither does becoming the next hot release on the NYT bestsellers list. Take it one step at a time. The experience is humbling.

Perseverance should be that nagging devil on your shoulder, pushing you on to prove everyone wrong. Only you can put your ideas on paper, and only you can prove to the world your characters are worthy. So don’t give up. You’re the only person in-charge of your dreams.

While pride can have a negative definition, be sure that your work is the best it can be before you submit. You’ll save yourself a sh*t load of embarrassment, if find yourself a compatible critique group/partner to work with.

Is there a way for fans and others to contact you? Absolutely. You can find me at:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/LaynaPimentel

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100001239355168&ref=tn_tnmn

Romance Novel Center: http://www.romancenovelcenter.com/laynapimentel

Tell us about your work – we’d love an excerpt, too! Here’s a sneak peek into a little something I’m working on right now. This excerpt is from Crushed Velvet, my contemporary erotic novella with some D/S elements.

EXCERPT

Brent gazed into her eyes, hoping she wanted him as bad as he did her.

“Tell me sweetheart, has there been anyone else since your husband passed?”

She studied him as if discerning whether it was safe to let the truth out. And what was the truth? Had she been with others, or had she found solace in being celibate? He waited for what seemed an eternity for her response when she finally shook her head. A subtle but noticeable blush swept across her cheeks, and she shook her head while cupping the bulge in his leather pants. Her response shook him to the core.

How was it possible for her to have gone so long without being kissed, loved by another man? Yes, she would have required time to mourn, but to isolate herself from human touch was unhealthy. Everyone had needs, and hers were no different from anyone else. He would have died if he’d gone without sex for such an extended time. The past three days he’d longed for her had been hard enough. Mental images of spanking her perfect ass, binding her to his bed and driving himself, hard and deep, tortured him. His throbbing cock would have to wait. He wanted to remind her of the simple pleasure life had to offer. Right now, he wanted her to need him.

Desire coursed through his veins. He slid his hands up her toned thighs, lifting the hem of her dress, until he cupped the globes of her ass. Understanding his queue, she wrapped her arms around his neck. He backed her into the draped corner across the lounge, not caring whether they were in public or not. They were in Crushed Velvet, and the likelihood of the patrons complaining was nil. He’d have her more focused on every stroke of his fingers sliding in and out, and every tweak of her sweet and swollen clit, instead of entertaining any of the clubs voyeurs. Not only would he reacquaint her with the sensations a man could bring her, but he would give her a lesson in submission.

You’ll need your highest brain power to solve these fabulous puzzles – I think I’ve got the first one figured out, and it took me a while, but I finally solved the one for my own book, so I’m sure you can do it, too! You can even use these ten clues for your daily “brain teaser” dose to keep your brain alert and functioning at top capacity.

The hunt runs for one week, today through May 20 (9am GMT, to be precise). Good luck!

Love It or Leave It

(The joys of writing erotica)

Beth Wylde

www.bethwylde.com

Hi. My name is Beth Wylde and I write lesbian erotica! My stories feature graphic sexual descriptions between consenting adults of various kinks, colors, genders and orientations.

There, I said it. I meant it, too.

Now that may sound like the introduction for a twelve step program but I can promise you it isn’t intended to be. Group meetings are for people who want to give their habit up. I’m just fine with what I do. I’m not ashamed of what I like and I’m not doing it for fame or fortune. (If I was, I definitely wouldn’t be writing GLBT erotica. I’d have picked something a lot more mainstream. LOL)

If writing smut is an addiction, I’m definitely not looking for a cure. I’m proud to be an author of kinky, naughty, graphic, girl on girl sex. When writing legitimate sex scenes between consenting adults becomes a crime I’ll gladly bend over and assume the position. Someone remember the handcuffs please!

When I first got the acceptance for my story, Born to Ride, in DL King’s The Harder She Comes anthology, I let loose with a shout so loud I’m sure people in foreign countries heard me.

I’d been trying to get a story in a Cleis antho for quite some time, but what I was writing just wasn’t clicking with the calls or the editors. My rejection emails were pleasant, telling me the stories I sent in were well written and extremely HOT, but they just didn’t fit in with the other submissions. I knew what the problem was but I had no clue how to fix it.

I was trying to mold my stories to fit the submission calls instead of writing a story from the heart. I write erotica because I enjoy it. I put a piece of my heart and soul into every tale I type. There’s just something different that shines through when a storyline is based on something the author is passionate about instead of the essay feeling you get when you try to force out a story based on a subject you’re given. When I saw DL King’s butch/femme call I knew fate had finally shined on me. I didn’t have to tailor a story to a sub call, there was a sub call tailored to my story.

Writing about sexy femmes and hot, muscular butches getting horizontal and vertical and kinky, or any combination of the above, is something of an obsession of mine. There’s just something about a strong strapping butch showing her femme lots of love and affection that gets my juices flowing. No pun intended.

And if the butch is inclined to get a bit rough and introduce some off the wall interests too? Well that’s even better. I have a kinky streak that’s rather wide and still developing so I like exploring new territory.

That’s another fun thing I often included in my writing. Though my stories are published as fiction, and a lot of what I write comes directly from my twisted imagination, quite often my storylines originate from real life events. Readers will always find a bit of reality thrown in. I love it when everyday occurrences find a home in one of my books. It makes the characters come alive for me and I believe it makes the story better for readers too.

You can tell the difference right away between a sex scene someone is trying to force their way through and something taking place on the page that really turns the author on. I think writing about sex should get the author all hot and bothered. I wouldn’t do it if it didn’t. Writing action scenes should get you pumped up, sad stories should make you cry and good erotica should leave you wet and panting.

Lately I’ve become a bit like Pavlov’s dog. Just sitting in my computer chair and hearing the sound of my comp roaring to life can get me aroused. It makes getting into the mood to write something sexy so much easier, but it’s been hell on my budget. Computer chairs don’t seem to hold up as well as they once did. (I’ll leave those details to your imagination.)

The day I stop getting turned on is the day I stop writing erotica. Until then I’ll leave you, the reader, to guess what’s real and what isn’t.

For a peek inside my mind and my fetish with motorcycle riding butches, all you have to do is pick up a copy of The Harder She Comes.

Happy reading!

Beth

b.wylde@yahoo.com

You can find The Harder She Comes at: Cleis Press or Amazon or anywhere books are sold!

Follow the tour:

May 1  D. L. King  http://sacchi-green.blogspot.com/

May 2  Anna Watson  http://dlkingerotica.blogspot.com

May 3  Evan Mora  http://donutsdesires.blogspot.com/

May 4  River Light  http://sapphicplanet.com/blogtour_sapphicplanet.php

May 5  Sinclair Sexsmith  http://www.sugarbutch.net/

May 6  Crystal Barela  http://kathleenbradean.blogspot.com/

May 7  CS Clark  http://bethwylde.wordpress.com/

May 8  Valerie Alexander  http://pomofreakshow.com/

May 9  Andrea Dale   http://lulalisbon.wordpress.com/

May 10  Beth Wylde  http://adrianakraft.com/blog/

May 11  Kathleen Bradean  http://cyvarwydd.blogspot.com/

May 12  Teresa Noelle Roberts  http://lisabetsarai.blogspot.com/

May 13  Shanna Germain  http://lantoniou.blogspot.com/

May 14  Charlotte Dare  http://madeofwords.com/posts/

May 15  Rachel Kramer Bussel  http://lustylady.blogspot.com/