Dead set on improving my writing. Following a stricter, albeit tougher schedule. My life has been overhauled since the new year.
So far, I’ve written a couple of short stories, part of a long work of fiction likely to become a novelette and am in the midst of a new novel. Great. Right?
Well, yes. In a word. Actually doing the work in this ‘work’ manner is a challenge. You see, before I used to slip writing inbetween breaks, early mornings, evening, night etc. Now it’s become a daily ritual. My writing is no longer a past time. It is still a hobby but one that I now take to a whole new level.
Passed the hurdle of newbie, beyond the scope of aspiring author and into the realm of something around full time. This is not a choice or event that I believed would happen this year. I made the new year decision to simply go at it like a full time job. And, in the payoff I’ve been more productive than ever. I didn’t want it to replace working, but it has.
Now, the task of actually writing stories people read and enjoy. I believe the market for the stories I’ve already published to be massive, but acquiring the readers, traffic and reviews is the hard part. Marketing.
Quite literally an update on my writing. A chance for me to say how happy it is making me. Truly. Follow your passion. They say you never work a day in you life when your job is your passion. Or something like that.
Welcome to yet another wonderful and insightful author interview. This time we are allowed to meet the No. 1 Bestselling Author, of #smut!
Alexa took the time to chat to me initially over social media to discuss this interview, and I found her work titillating and somewhat wildly different to the usual as she does not have the usual alpha males in her stories but rather the geeks and gamers of our world. I found Level Up to be branding ingenuity. There also seems to be plenty to read from her too!
Alexa Sommers is a best-selling erotic fiction author with a taste for both the sweet and the nasty.
Alexa’s Philosophy: The sexual experience, be it written, read, or enacted, cannot be rushed. It must be savored and prolonged to push forth the lust and desire. It must not only be loved but lived, for only then can we reach the heights we seek.
Where do you live? I’m currently bundled up in a toasty igloo north of the border, eating poutine, watching hockey and waiting for my pet moose to deliver a Timmy’s double double.
Why are you a writer? My standard reply to this question is “to stop the voices in my head from taking over my life” and, while humorous, that’s not far from the truth. When I’m really feeling a story it plays out in my mind on repeat. Spinning constantly and forming until I finally start to put it down and let it free. Writing is cathartic, it’s a form of freeing myself and finding peace. I’ve been a writer my entire life and I always tell people that you write for yourself, you write for the art, the joy, they feeling… you publish for money. That last step was something I didn’t decide to do until early 2020.
What do you enjoy about writing? For me it is an escape, almost like meditation. I can regress internally and let the story flow, freeing my mind from all the everyday rigors and concerns of life. When it works it’s perfect. When it doesn’t it is one of the most frustrating things I know of.
Tell us about your most recent works: Oddly all my published work is “recent” or at least within the last 2.5 years, but I am currently working on a number of projects. I have sequels to both Terms of Service and Spiritual Awakening underway. Both of these are often requested and in the case of Paranormal Bondage (the Spiritual Awakening sequel) it’s become a running joke that I may never finish it. I have a collaborative project with 14 or 15 other authors planned for this fall which will revolve around a Comic/Game Convention and I have what I call the “epic”, which is a long term novel project I’m working on, it leans fantasy but as with all my work the sexual experience is ever present.
If you could write a book in a new genre, which would you choose? Mystery. I have always wanted to try my hand at a detective novel and may make it a priority sometime in the future.
Do you have any role models or people who inspired you to write? I’m an avid reader so that list is long but Agatha Christie was a big influence at a young age as were Nora Roberts and Nicholas Sparks in my teens and twenties. In recent years I’ve tried to stay away from taking inspiration from other authors so as to find my own voice.
Are you working on anything at the moment? I’m aiming for a Halloween release for Paranormal Bondage and have a few small projects I’ll be working in over the summer. I just released a short “charity” project, Cucked by a Cop, which is part of my “eviscerate you in fiction” series of satire erotica.
What advice would you give to an aspiring writer? Write… don’t worry about everything that will follow. The first step is to get your story down, no matter how error riddled and in desperate need of editing it may be. Far too many people give up before the first draft is down because they don’t think it has value. Your draft will be a disaster. It’s supposed to be. Fixing it comes later.
Where can people buy your books? All my work can be found on Amazon at :
Alexa was happy for me to post this interview and I am humbled to have had a chance to gain insight into the authors life and works! Many thanks for reading and show your love by liking, commenting, reblogging and everything else. Have a wonderful day.
I had the pleasure of interviewing a very talented writer of erotica; Rosie Banks! She took the time to talk to me over Twitter as I began to read some of her blog posts on Medium. From there I became pretty obsessed with her work and decided to ask her on this spotlight! She said yes, I blushed, shook and went weak in the knees. I’m not going to ramble but I am so glad to be able to share this with you all, she is a wonderfully vivid writer, with a great taste and talent that will grow from seed to flower in no time, it will transform from caterpillar to butterfly before you know it.
Rosie Banks is the author, editor, and curator of kinky bitesize erotica on Medium and Amazon Kindle. She has been writing professionally for nine months, and writing erotica professionally for three. Her already extensive catalogue contains stories in the BDSM, hypnosis, and cuckoldry kinks, although this is by no means exhaustive. In addition to her erotic short stories, Rosie keeps a semi-regular blog, where she talks about her experiences as an erotic writer, advice she’d give to those interested in entering the erotica field, as well as musings on the genre in general.
Why are you a writer?
Starting with the easy questions I see. Ehm… hmm… I guess I’m a writer because I have this insatiable, and at times perverted, imagination, and writing is the only medium I’ve found that as near as possible captures what’s in my head. Writing comes fairly naturally to me, and I enjoy it. Sure, it can be a chore sometimes, and when the ideas aren’t coming it’s absolutely infuriating, but most of the time writing is fun and a little exciting—on occasion, very exciting… I love it and I wouldn’t want to do anything else with my life, and probably won’t.
What do you enjoy about writing?
Two things: One, I love that I can sit and let my imagination flow without any boundaries. I always feel such excitement when I sit in front of a blank screen, wondering where I’ll be taken to today. It’s marvellous! Two, I honestly enjoy the process of trying to convert what’s in my head into cold, hard scribbles on the page. It’s like a puzzle with no right answers. And the satisfaction of hearing your story made an impact on someone, there’s no other way to describe it: pure joy.
Tell us about your most recent works
Most recently, I’ve been writing approx. 1,200-2,500-word stories on Medium that I publish about twice a week. Almost all of these have been erotica, although a couple have been more straightforward blog posts. My erotic stories generally deal with someone who’s craving something: satisfaction, excitement, danger, ecstasy—perhaps a combination of these. I usually write from a first-person perspective, as I find it the most intimate and vulnerable. I also often write in the present, as the immediacy helps create suspense… and arousal.
Essentially, when you read my stuff, I want you to feel the same pleasure the protagonist feels: be in bed with them, feel the cord around their wrists—the gag in their mouth, whimper as someone caresses their body, lose control in the ecstasy of the moment. Whether or not I succeed in that is up to the reader to decide.
If you could write a book in a new genre, which would you choose?
I’d choose horror, or at least spooky (is that a genre?) Anyway, as I believe I’ve written elsewhere, I’m a big fan of classic Victorian and Edwardian ghost stories, as well as the Weird Fiction of the early twentieth-century. I regularly listen to recordings of these classic spooky stories (you can find them on YouTube), and they’re a huge influence – oddly – on my erotic writing. I won’t bore you here, but I could go on and on about how similar good horror and erotica are. To me, they’re just two sides of the same coin.
Do you have any role models or people who inspired you to write?
Hm, that’s an interesting question. Yes and no. Inspired me to write? No really… My grandfather, after he retired, wrote short stories for a while. I knew about it as a kid but didn’t really care. I regret that I didn’t take a more active interest in his work, but I wouldn’t say he “inspired” me.
On the other hand, there are plenty of authors whose writing has directly influenced my work. I don’t have time to name them all, but here are the top five. Hopefully, in a future blog post, I’ll be able to go into more detail on how they’ve influenced my work.
In no particular order, except for maybe Wodehouse, my influences are:
P. G. Wodehouse
A. J. Alan (aka Leslie Harrison Lambert)
George MacDonald Fraser
M. R. James
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Are you working on anything at the moment?
At the time of this interview, I’m in the process of editing about ten erotic short stories that (fingers crossed) will be going up between now and the middle of July. I write pretty voraciously, so I’m always juggling more stories than I know what to do with. I try to follow a strict schedule, but sometimes the hypnotic call of a particularly juicy story is too good to resist.
The three that will be going up next are as follows: one about the fallout of a one night stand; another about the answer to a voyeur’s prayers; the third is… well… something a little different. It’s called, “Seduced By The Sea.” It’s a mix of erotica and… horror? Not quite sure. You can see for yourself what that one’s about when it eventually gets published.
Where can people buy your books?
If people are interested in my work, they should go to my Medium page. This is the best place to find my stories and blog posts, receive updates on upcoming projects, and support me through reading. People can (if they’d like) buy a few of my longer stories on Amazon Kindle or read them for free with a Kindle Unlimited account.
What advice would you give to an aspiring writer?
Yikes, there’s so much I want to say. Hmm… well, with brevity in mind, I’d recommend that anyone interested in writing professionally should just start. Like today. Sit down with a favorite drink, maybe a little snack, and bang out some writing. It doesn’t matter if you think it’s good or not. What’s important, I’ve found, is the consistent practice of writing. Over time, with enough patience and practice, you’ll get better at translating what’s in your head to words on the screen.
And also bear in mind, there are no gatekeepers in writing—not any more. Unlike the good old days when you had to rely on publishers for your weekly bread, today, you can make money by writing and publishing directly online like I do: either on a site like Medium, or Amazon Kindle, or on your own blog.
Starting is so hard. But really, once you get going, it’s so easy to make a habit of it. Find a time that works for you, dedicate that as your “Writing Time”, and just do it every day, or every other day, or whatever. As long as you’re persistent, you’ll start seeing progress.
Writing is difficult. Anyone who says otherwise isn’t a professional writer. It’s okay to feel discouraged and angry and upset and depressed and everything else. In fact, it’d be weird if you didn’t sometimes feel that way. Just remember to keep going. And little by little… well, you know.
Oh, and have fun! Because, I mean really, if you’re not having fun, what’s the point?
Any other comments?
I’m sure I’ll think of something later, but for now I’m happy with these.
*You can find Rosie Banks work at the following. I already follow her on Medium and recommend you do the same.
Rosie, thank you again for taking the time to do this interview around your busy writing schedule. We all appreciate a good writer, and especially one who can take us deep into the erotica experience and spit us out leaving us wanting more. She had these remarks about allowing me to publish this post:
“Yes, I am; and thank you again, Thomas, for offering to do this. I really appreciate it!”
Well, there you go! Enjoy your day and as always, like, comment, follow and reblog! Go check out the writer!
I had the pleasure of being able to talk to yet another talented author. This time getting to chat to a very unique individual who is converting her scripts into novels! Without further introduction please enjoy reading this post because it was a pleasure for me to meet Juliet Delta.
Juliet Delta was born in Wales, an entrepreneur, trained actor, and writer, with a love for fashion and the arts. She moved to London in 2012 where her work as a screenwriter grew, creating dramas and thrillers over the following decade. Recently converting her scripts into novels, the first, of several to come, being the crime thriller DI ADAM JAEGER: The Cleansing, in 2019, released in 2022 as an ebook and paperback.
Why are you a writer?
I started as a screenwriter due to having an imagination that acting wasn’t quite fulfilling. I then found a new path, that I could convert my decade of screenplays into novels, and found some of them would fit the medium extremely well.
What do you enjoy about writing?
I think the process of planting your imagination onto a computer screen, or be it paper, can be quite cathartic and exhilarating, especially when there’s lots of ideas speeding around your head and they slowly begin to connect. There’s real satisfaction in that part.
Tell us about your most recent works
My debut novel, DI ADAM JAEGER: The Cleansing, is a crime fiction novel based on the idea of ‘what if’…what if a persons family had been wiped out by the Nazi’s and they wished to take revenge? It’s more than just a revenge story, it’s a character reveal with sub plots, which are the real juice in this fruit.
If you could write a book in a new genre, which would you choose?
I’m not sure a ‘new genre’ is possible as the main stream will always bundle it in with a current genre. However, I would like to have the skills to write an action book where you can choose different paths, to go to different pages, and finish on a different ending. If you remember those books?
Do you have any role models or people who inspired you to write?
I dont have any certain authors to name, as I generally read autobiographies, but I am impressed with Neil Gaiman books. I read ‘Neverwhere’ a while ago and it was super eerie, his expressive description is quite detailed and I do envy the pictures he paints with a few well placed words!
Are you working on anything at the moment?
At the moment I am toying with the next screenplay to convert into a novel. I have a true crime story or an anti-hero fiction that I’m deciding between. I think it has to be a clever and conscious decision when following up on a debut. I am multi-genre, so I also have some dramas, action, and an apocalyptic sci-fi story to come too.
Where can people buy your books?
So far, the debut novel is self published and for sale only on Amazon as an ebook or paperback, but I am currently looking to get it onto other platforms as well.
What advice would you give to an aspiring writer?
There’s too much advice to actually take in and utilise, so I would only ever really believe that any artist should simply learn the technicalities from others or courses. The art itself will come from the artist in which ever style they connect with. Once you’re at that stage of flowing, just go with it and put the hours in!
Thank you for reading and be sure to like, comment, reblog and follow if you enjoyed this writer spotlight! Juliet was happy for me to post this on her behalf so for her time I am very grateful. If you would show her support then that is greatly appreciated as ever. Have a wonderful day!
I’ve managed to have a chat with yet another incredible writer. This time Sandra S. Frankowska is telling me about her writing journey and about her incredibly inspiring fantasy series! I hope you enjoy what she had to say, I know I loved every minute and thank you for taking the time to read!
S.S. Frankowska
Sandra S. Frankowska is the author of the epic fantasy series Heroes Of the Shadow. When she is not writing, Sandra is either working at the ed-tech start-up, reading, painting or rock climbing.
Some of Frankowska’s favourite reads include The Lord Of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien, Journey to the Center of the Earth by J. Verne, The Chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis, Dark Tower by S. King, Jurassic Park by M. Crichton, The Drift by C. Aufenthie and The Hunger Games by S. Collins.
Where do you live?
Recently moved out from London to a small village in Kent, UK called South Darenth.
Why are you a writer?
My passion for writing comes from my passion for reading. For as long as I can remember, I always enjoyed discovering other worlds and losing myself in them. Writing was about the same, just on the brand new levels. I plotted my series in my head long before I wrote the very first word on paper. I drew places and creatures that existed nowhere but in my mind to get them out of my head. Drawing soon wasn’t enough. I painted, sculptured, and tried other forms of expressing it, but with time, nothing worked. My characters began to appear to tell their stories, and I found myself plotting it all on paper before I even realised that this was what I was doing.
Eventually, writing became a coping mechanism for me. It was a way to take a step away from the crazy world we live in and immerse myself in the new place, which only I could explore. It became a way for me to process things I found difficult to process otherwise. To express things that matters to me, that I often felt no one else cared about.
As the first chapters formed, I realised I have a story to tell. A story that I couldn’t find anywhere else, and that I enjoyed. A story that I was looking for in other books, but it wasn’t there. How could it be there? It was inside me this whole time.
What do you enjoy about writing?
There are many things I love about writing.
First one is plotting. I spend a lot of time daydreaming, with my mind travelling across different worlds and timelines to see how the story will develop. I treasure these moments a lot. Being able to see all of that in my head makes me to realise how gifted and lucky I am. Detaching myself from excel tables, grocery planning and paying bills to figure out how the world with dinosaurs and dragons living in one place could look like makes me feel complete. I may be physically still here, but with my mind, I can be just anywhere. Isn’t human brain amazing?
Second thing I love about writing is how it makes me feel the emotions that not only are not mine but also belong to a fictional character. Yet, they are real to me. I write a scene and I catch myself smiling. I write a scene and suddenly realise that my heart is speeding up. My characters are somewhere high up and I feel dizzy. None of this happened, and yet I felt it all.
Finally, writing is self-discovery. My plot and my characters force me to ask myself questions I wouldn’t ask myself otherwise. To understand the complexity of thousands of different experiences that impact the smallest decisions we take. To see how resilient and brave I am. Writing and publishing isn’t an easy process. Many of us experience self-doubts on regular basis, struggles to be seen, and receive little to no support on the way. Realising how much strength you have to continue, nevertheless, should be a huge thing. It was for me. I never knew I had it until I started to write.
Tell us about your most recent works
My debut epic fantasy novel came out last year. “Heroes Of the Shadow. Blue Scar Indeabinito” is a first book in the 24-books-long planned series. It’s a story of a soldier, Thomas McCartney, who was taken to another world called the Indeabinito. It’s a world filled with mythical creatures and other humanoid races, some of which remind him of things he knew (like mermaids and centaurs), some are completely new to him.
While the Indeabinito world has a lot to offer, Thomas actually spends most of his time trying to find a way back to his home. His father is a soldier, and so is he. Taken to another world, he’s worried that people will consider his disappearance a one thing that he would never do: a desertion.
If you could write a book in a new genre, which would you choose?
Based on books that I love, my first choice to try something new, would be a dystopian fiction.
Do you have any role models or people who inspired you to write?
I rarely take people for role models (too easy to get disappointed). There are, however, authors whose art inspired me to write. The two key series that made me to write were The Chronicles of Narnia and Jurassic Park + Jurassic World. The first one, for the simple reason: I loved the idea of the portals that existed in our world and could take you to somewhere else. Exploring Narnia made me to fall in love with fantasy and limitless possibilities it offers. That was my “what” to write.
Jurassic Park and Jurassic World made me to realise the impact of a good story. While I enjoyed the movies, these books carried so much more in them. Particularly Jurassic Park has this one scene that explains how systems used in the park were designed with logical error, and how simple and easy to miss that error was. Everything that happened later was just a huge consequence of one wrong assumption. The way M. Crichton plotted important messages into the world that didn’t exist but felt as if it could be real, was my “why” to write.
Are you working on anything at the moment?
I’m currently working on getting my second book in the series ready to publish later this year, while also outlining book #3.
Where can people buy your books?
My books at the moment are only available on Amazon.
What advice would you give to an aspiring writer?
First of all, you are only aspiring until you start to write. As soon as you started, you are a writer, and never let anyone take it away from you. Other than that, treat anything you hear regarding the writing process as an advice, not as a rule. Writing is an art. There is no such a thing like one size fits all. We all do it in different ways. That’s why our stories are unique. Try different things, experiment, but never force yourself into something that doesn’t work for you.
Writing is not easy, but you should enjoy it. Otherwise, what’s the point?
It was incredible to speak to such a talented author. I thank you for your continued support and for reading, so if you liked, like, comment and follow and reblog!
psychedelicwizard 