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.
My books on Amazon Kindle:
Let Me Sing A Song Inside Your Mind…
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!
psychedelicwizard 