IAm Megan Hart, A NYT and USA Today bestselling author of erotic fiction, erotic romance and more! AMA

Would you rather write one Gone with the Wind sized erotic fiction book, or 100 Death Not be Proud sized erotic fiction books?

Hmm. I'd rather write 100 books, I think. Because I want to keep writing, and not write only one book for my whole life!

Amused by this comparison. Partly because the Death be not Proud my brain went to was the cancer book and not the John Donne.

:)

How and why did you start writing erotica. And I haven't read any of your work so a book would nice

I began writing porn, actually -- my first paid piece was for Playgirl. A "confession" piece. I went then to write for letters digests. The money wasn't great, but it WAS money for writing. I've always liked stories with a sexual edge, so when I started writing seriously, trying to get published, and I focused on the romance genre (for several reasons, personal enjoyment one of them, practicality the other -- romance was at the time and remains the highest selling genre) -- I wanted to write books that left the bedroom door open.

Fortunately for me, as I started writing sexier stories, they became more accessible and popular, directly due to the growing popularity of ebooks! And then voila, erotic romance exploded all over everyone's face and those of us who'd been writing it for a long time got to get our books in the hands of people who'd never have considered reading it before.

I'd be happy to send you either an erotic historical fantasy romance OR the advanced copy of my erotic novel (NOT a romance) -- just send me your mailing address to me (I think you can send me a DM, here, right?) with your preference. If you're not sure we can talk a little bit about what you like and I can help you decide.

And then voila, erotic romance exploded all over everyone's face

I see what you did there.

I'm new to Reddit. But not that new. :)

One of us! One of us!

secret handshake

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Playgirl had like, confession pieces. I wrote one. But it was fiction. All the "letters" I wrote were fiction, but they all were supposed to read like real things.

What was your most porn-like encounter ?

HA! Personally? My most porn like encounter. Hmm. Gosh...does anyone ever think of it that way when it's going on? I guess once I was at a party playing truth or dare and they dared a girl to kiss me, and I did. Later found out she wanted a threeway with me and the guy I was there with, but he didn't think I'd be into it, so he said no...what was his problem, anyway?

Man, now that I think about it, my porn encounter was ruined by him being a wimp!

:)

Haha! Thanks for the story, and it's never too late to try again ;)

Heh.

Challenge Question: Do you think you could write erotica for a Christian audience?

Personally? No. I'm not Christian, so I'd find it hard to write anything for a Christian audience.

Could anyone? Hmm. Well, I presume Christians have sex...so...? I don't know. Haha.

Jim Bob and Kelly Sue go home after church and have awkward missionary sex for 4 minutes total and then go to sleep. The end.

eeek!

What's your favorite flaw in your favorite flawed character?

My favorite flaw in my favorite flawed character would of course have to be Alex Kennedy's secret feeling that he's not worthy of love, even though everyone who meets him thinks he is the cat's pajamas. Since he is probably my favorite character of all time, and because he seems to be my most popular character, I'd gonna go with his flaw as my favorite.

For those who don't know him, Alex Kennedy appears in Tempted, Everything Changes and Naked, and he's delicious.

the cat's pajamas

I bet you would not have used that phrase had it not been for /u/catsinpajamas asking you a question.

Ha! I actually use the cat's pajamas in my regular life, but I bet seeing that did prompt me to use it.

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Sympathy for the Devil.

Good choice. :)

what's yours?

Same. I've always been fascinated by that song.

I also really like Paint it Black.

That one is my favorite!

hooray!

This thread sounds like a good start to an erotic novel.

"He was voted her up and up and up..."

Paint it Black is, without a doubt, my favorite Stones song. Sympathy for the Devil is also up there for me.

Gimme Shelter used to be up there but, like CCR's Fortunate Son, it got to the point of oversaturation for me. If a movie take place in the late 60's and at least mentions the Vietnam War, then you'll find those two songs in it.

I saw them in concert once, and let me tell you. If I could move like Jagger...

1) Do you e-publish? If so, what have you found are differences between traditional and e-publishing?

2) What does your sales curve look like - initial spike and fall off rapidly, slow increase-peak-fast drop, fast increase-plateau-slow fade, etc.?

3) How much do you make from (or sell if you prefer) a) new release, b) your previous bestsellers, c) your entire back catalog

4) Do you find your sales increasing significantly as you build your catalog?

5) You said you're not Christian; is that from childhood or disaffectation later in life? Do you ascribe to a religion or philosophy now?

I've never read your work, but I have a friend who is working on, as she describes it, "my smutty novel." I wish you and her the best!

1. I do -- I began in digital publishing and then published with traditional publishers, but those publishers also put out the books in digital format. So almost everything I've ever published is available as an ebook, if it's still available at all. The differences, for me, was in advance money. E publishing gave me no advance, traditional always has.

2. Gosh. I really try to avoid looking at those, so I'm not sure. I'd say overall, steadily growing. AFter 50 Shades, HUGE peak.

3. At this point, my back catalog just paid off my house. So, there's that. But every new release spikes sales, as far as I can see. Long term, they all then become back catalog. I think I answered that wrong? If I didn't answer what you wanted to know, ask me to clarify.

4. Yes.

5. I am Jewish now, I converted to Judaism as an adult. However, I am personally perhaps an uncertain agnostic with a lot of spiritual views that don't necessarily match the "rules" of my chosen faith.

6. Thank you! And good luck to her! If you'd like a book, I can send you a smutty one or a mainstream one, just DM me your address with what you'd like. Or I can send your friend one. :)

Why persuaded you to write porn? For most people it would be awkward, even though it is a guilty pleasure.

Does it pay well?

When I was starting out, I wanted to make money writing. The places that were buying lots of material were the digest "letter" magazines. Twenty, thirty bucks for short pieces. Not the best money, but it was something. And I like writing about sex! The erotic romance market didn't really exist at that time, and...well I did it for the money. Which might be why most people create porn, I guess?

How many different names for sexual organs do you know?

I'll start: love wand.

Now you.

Sword of love!

as long as were using 2 word terms that include love and a slight medieval theme,

love lance

Ha! Nice one.

Do you think 50 Shades of Gray has had a positive or negative effect on the erotic fiction genre?

Overall, as far as getting people interested in reading it and exposing us to the mainstream world? Overwhelmingly positive. Those books opened the door for everyone else who's been writing erotic fiction for years and years. On the downside, we are all now judged by those books, and some people really hate them and assume that ALL erotic books are like that.

having never read the shade series nor much erotic fiction, what would you say is the difference between your view of erotic fiction and how the shade series has portrayed it?

I haven't read Fifty Shades so I can't really comment on the content of it. It's my understanding that it's erotic romance, in that the main couple gets together at the end and the main point of the series is getting them together romantically, committed, etc.

So, really, that's NOT different than a lot of previously published books.

Because I haven't read it I can't say if my view of what erotic fiction is, is different than how 50 portrayed it, all I can say is that some books are better than others. :)

How do you get around writers block?

How do you get motivated to write every day?

I'm really fortunate in that I haven't experienced what I'd think of as writer's block -- I haven't run out of ideas. Motivation, on the other hand...let me tell you. Here I am on Reddit, which is WAYYYY more fun than writing my book.

Haha!

At this point, it's not so much a matter of motivation. It's my job. If I don't do my job, I don't get paid. So I just...do it. I can fix crappy words, I can't fix NO words, right? So I write through that down period until I find joy in the story again, then edit it later.

Basically, I love what I do, and when you love what you do, it's a lot easier to do it.

Do you find the story structure very different between YA, erotic romance, erotica, and our old favourite porn? Ditto pacing?

Yes, although I approach writing all my books in the same way, the...thrust...if you will, of the story is different.

Erotic romance focuses on the romance, getting the two main characters together (or more than two, as the case may be.) Happily Ever After, that sort of thing.

Erotica for me, is more about the individual journey of the main character, in my case almost always female, and how sexuality defines or changes her as she grows.

Porn is meant solely to get you off. Not think much about anything. Get you off, that's all. So the pacing is definitely different there. Faster. Harder. Faster. Harder...faster! HARDER!

And YA story structure would be the same, but I don't write sexy YA so the pacing and stuff is different only in that the story is focused on different character elements or plot points than the sexual relationship.

But all my books, really, at the heart, are about relationships.

At last an understandable definition of the differences. :)

Am I really going to have to read all the YA blurbs to try and guess which author is you? I will if necessary.

haha. Em Garner, the book is called Contaminated and will be out in July from Egmont.

Do you worry being seen as an author that only writes erotic fiction or do you want move away from this being your main area in the future?

I have always written other than erotic, so I don't worry about it. I have three mainstream titles out -- oh, two, the third comes out in June. I have a YA novel, horror, coming out in July. I have written lots of different things, including a horror serial. So while I'm most widely known for writing erotic, I have been able to write other stuff and have more contracted for the future. I don't want to move away from erotic work, though. I love writing it. I just want to keep writing whatever I want to write!

When you write sex scenes do you ever try to push the boundaries of your readers? By which I mean, do you purposely write something just to shock them or to make them interested in trying something new?

As a reader, I despise feeling manipulated, so I try hard to never do that to my readers. If I write something, I'm maybe pushing my own boundaries, but it's to write a good story. NOT to shock. It might be shocking, but that's not the reason I'd do it. If that makes sense. It still has to serve the story.

I recently started exploring pain in relationships. Physical pain, I mean. Not my normal thing; I don't really "get" it. I don't like it, myself. But I'm fascinated by that dynamic, so I'm starting to explore it in some writing. Some of the stuff I'm writing about might seem shocking, and it's definitely new to ME. But I'm not doing it for the purpose of being shocking.

Can you elaborate a bit more on what you mean by making your readers feel 'manipulated'?

Yes. I will tell you about once when I read a very successful book by Jodi Picoult (the one about the family that had another kid to provide an organ donation for their older one) -- I got to the end and literally threw the book across the room, because of what happened. I felt completely and utterly manipulated into experiencing an emotional reaction, rather than just being allowed to FEEL as I was reading. If that makes sense.

So...I try hard to make sure the story stays on track, that whatever is going on is organic and comes out of everything else that happened. That I'm not adding anything to get a rise out of anyone, or to push buttons just for the sake of pushing buttons. So if there's something in one of my books, it's because I wanted it in there as part of the overall story arc, not as a way to push someone into feeling a certain way about the book. Was that helpful?

Hmm that's really interesting. That definitely cleared things up, thanks!

As a side note: You have some awesome hair.

thank you. I grew it myself.

Go, sissy, Go!

I'm waiting for the really tough questions.

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I try not to judge anyone's personal turn ons as weird or sick, but yes, there are things I won't write about. I won't eroticize rape or abuse or pedophilia. I might write about them, but not in a way designed to be erotic. I don't personally see the appeal of some fetishes so I would find it hard to write about them -- hard core pain stuff. Humiliation and degradation. I won't write about sissification because the idea of being a woman as a punishment or reason to humiliate someone goes against everything I believe about being a woman. So yes, there are things I won't write about at all, but others I wouldn't write about erotically.

I'm not familiar with the genre but I find it interesting that your main interest is the protagonist's personal and sexual journey. I've always liked it when a character's sexuality is explored to achieve a deeper character understanding, I think it's a significant trait mainstream media ignores. My questions are:

What are your favorite love scenes in a Hollywood movie?

What gender issues appears the most in your erotica work?

The scene in Red Shoe Diaries when she goes to break it off with him and he makes her sit on his lap. GUH

That's the one that comes immediately to mind. I'm sure there are others. Oh! In Unfaithful, the first time they make love, and she's shaking and crying.

Gender issues. Hmm. I'm not sure I have any gender issues. Can you give me an example of what you're thinking about?

Oh! Sadly, I must admit I haven't seen those movies :/ I shall check them out, I'd be a fool not to trust your judgement!

Ha! Well, said! I imagined something like a period novel where a female character breaks taboo or social standards of her time or something like an insecure character overcoming a repressed sexuality and learns to embrace it?

Thanks for the quick response!

Ohhh, ok. Well, when I wrote Dirty, I was specifically looking for an erotic read that showed how the main character was brought UP by her sexuality, rather than down. A lot of "erotica" I'd read punished the heroine for having good sex. Even my favorite, 9 1/2 Weeks, does that in a way. So I wanted to write a book in which the sex heals the main character.

I write a lot of fucked up, damaged people who find their way to healing via sexuality.

brought UP by her sexuality, rather than down.

That's what I meant. That sounds really good actually, I'm interested in checking it out. What really bugs me of mainstream media is the negative connotations implied with open sexuality, it's something our culture negates and I like counter points to it.

One of my favorite love scenes in a movie is from Rust and Bone. It's a French movie starring Marion Cotillard, who plays a woman whose legs are amputated in an accident and with the help of her friend regains the will to live through her (as you put it) "healing via sexuality."

It's surprisingly touching and there's no fuss about the sex which was very surprising considering the subject. It feels very organic. If you haven't seen it, I think you would really like it. It's an all around excellent movie.

That sounds excellent, I will check it out. Thank you!

Thankyou for making my GF horny.

Hooray! The pleasure is mine. Or yours, I guess.

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Well...no. I mean, yes, when I'm writing do I sometimes become aroused by it? If I didn't turn myself on while writing, how could I expect anyone to become turned on by what I'm writing? I also cry when the book is sad or get angry, or whatever. But no, I don't stop and have a little wank while working, I'd never get anything done.

Will you show your boobs in spirit of your book?

This is my favorite booby.

Would you consider yourself talented?

Yes. There's no point in acting like I don't think so -- I write for a living, if I didn't think I was good at it, I'd have to wonder why on earth I'm doing it. Do I think I can improve my skills? Absolutely. Do I think I can grow as a writer? Yes. Always.

I have always wanted to know where you get your inspiration for your erotica?

If you have never read anything by Megan it's time for you to start! Ladies her books are amazing!

I get inspiration for the erotica in the same place I get my inspiration for everything. I buy it in bulk from Costco!

Actually, writing erotica isn't that different than writing mainstream -- the stories come from things I've seen and yes, done, or wanted to do, or I'm afraid of doing. I like to say that my books are everything I'd like to do or am terrified of experiencing.

Sometimes they're both at the same time.

There's no good answer. Inspiration comes from imagination, mostly.

When I loan out my books, I tell the future reader you have a great imagination. But, yet your writings are so down to earth. Real people with real life issues and desires.

thank you very much

Aspiring writer here, how did you go about finding the right publisher?

In the olden days, I looked at Publisher's Marketplace to find out who was buying what I was writing. These days, I'd do an internet search for pub guidelines. I'd check out who published the sorts of books I'm reading, see who's publishing what I'm writing.

Educate yourself about the publisher, that's my best advice. What can they offer you? What else have they published? What's the quality of their product?

Since you seem to have a Jill-of-all trades approach to writing fiction from your description, what is your take on on the 21st century's take on the vampire? Vampires certainly fulfilled a need for smut during the chaste Victorian era with all the elongating of teeth and the exchanging of bodily fluids. With True Blood and Twilight there seems to be an over emphasis (for my taste anyway) on the emotional connection between predator and, essentially, prey.

To put it another way, what does it say about us culturally when we turn our villains into anti-heroes who hold a spectre of true love?

Honestly, I prefer zombies.

And seriously, I prefer vampires as the monsters, not the heroes. It is an interesting point -- what do we love so much about cold (literally) dead heroes?

Maybe it's the bad boy thing. OR at the heart of it, being that one special girl to get the coolest guy in school? How awesome is it to be the one that arouses the love and adoration of a creature that, in reality, should be INCAPABLE of arousal?

...how do vampires get hard without blood flow?

That didn't answer your question, I guess. I'm not sure I have one for you.

I like zombies better!

The zombie thing has blown up since Sept. 11. Zombies have the unique trait among monsters in that while they feed on humans it is actually civilization that they are destroying, and the humanity of both their victims and the survivors.

Zombies post 9/11 are hugely fascinating to me although as an archetypal villain, vampires have so much swagger, when done correctly. The clothes, the bloodlines, the infighting, factions, cools houses. There is no accounting for taste. Oh, did you see my username?

So true. Zombies can't have much swagger, bits fall off. :)

The thing about vampires that I DO like is that they could pass among us, which is really fucking terrifying, right? But I feel sort of sad for them, living forever would suck after awhile.

Of course I saw your username! I was shamelessly pandering! (Kidding. I do love zombies more than vampires, even if they are becoming super trendy now and all the cool kids are doing it.)

Have you always wanted to become an erotic writer? What do your parents think of the career choice and have they read your stuff? Also last question is which book of yours would you recommend for someone who's never read anything of sorts?

I always wanted to be a writer. Not necessarily an erotic writer, though I always liked books with sexy scenes in them.

My parents are proud of me and support my career choice. My dad doesn't read the books but he passes them along to people. My mom reads them and claims she "skips over" "those parts" but honestly, sometimes that means you'd have to skip like, the whole thing. Sure, Mom. Sure. :)

If you've never read anything by me, or erotic fiction in general? I'd still recommend Dirty. It's indicative of my style and voice and if you like it, chances are you'd like others. Broken is also a really popular choice, though beware, my books tend to be a bit on the dark side.

If you send me a DM, I can tell you what I have here that I could send you, see if anything appeals. I don't have copies of either of those, unfortunately.

You mentioned that you want to air cannon books, how do we know you won't show up like an R.I.O. agent when given the address?

Also I don't have any other serious questions other than to say I enjoy your work, and please keep writing.

HAAAAAAAAA!!!!!

Operative MGN3271 never engages her weapons inappropriately. :) You're safe.

Talk dirty to me? Always wanted a professional dirty talker to do so haha

Grime. Mud. Filth.

DUST BUNNIES!

Your novels kept me company in Prison, that's all I wish to say... thank you :)

you are welcome!

Do you use your own sexual fantasies as models for your writing?

Sometimes yes, sometimes no.

What is your ideal alien penis?

I'd like to say away from anything with barbs or that ejaculates acid, I'll say that right up front. Other than that, one that was able to extend and retract (kind of like the secondary mouth in Alien? but not with teeth) while internally would probably be kind of fucking amazing.

If someone is sexting you and uses Comic Sans as the font, is that really a buzzkill?

I've never had anyone use Comic Sans while sexting me, but I think it would depend on how good they were. I might forgive Comic Sans if they were really good. ;)

Can you describe a pineapple and jalapeño pizza in erotic terms?

Spicy and sweet, thick crust, gooey cheese...what ISN'T erotic in the terms you use to describe pizza?

I've never read anything of yours so does this more cater towards women?

Most of my readers are women, and most of my stories are told from a female perspective, but I do have male readers and would never say a dude couldn't appreciate my work.

I thought your name sounded familiar-I looked you up on Amazon and I read Stranger a few years ago. I loved it! So, just wanted you to know I'll definitely check out more of your work!

hoorayyyyyyyy!

What do you think of Clive Barker?

I love Clive Barker.

My son is extremely well spoken and can write wonderfully. He is very interested in writing. Where would you suggest he start in trying to get published? Thank you for your time.

I'd say that he should write a book, figure out who'd publish a book like what he wrote, and find out where to send it. :) That's the short answer, but the truth his, honestly, write the best book he can. Educate himself about the publishing world. Join a writer's group, possibly. Get feedback. Write and write and write, and then find out who's publishing what he wrote, and learn how to submit there.

I've always been a little put off by romance novels, because every one I've ever picked up has had a really contrived plot to bring the main characters together, or the writing has just been... disappointing.

From your answers to some of the questions people've asked here, it sounds like you're as interested in character/relationship development as the romance, which is cool. I may look for one of your titles next time I'm in my local bookstore!

Obligatory question: if you could meet any person in the world, past or present, who would it be and why?

thank you! I hope you do! Much of my work is erotic fiction with romantic elements, not exactly romance though it's often put in the romance section. But yes, I do try to write about characters and relationships rather than a "situation."

If you send me a PM I can send you a book to try!

Hmm. Who would I meet. I would meet...Keanu Reeves. (NO HATE!!!) I love him.

Yes! That's exactly it. Most of the books I've picked up are a bunch of "situations" awkwardly strung together.

You're awesome! I shall PM you directly :)

Your choice made me giggle a little. I think he'd be a pretty cool guy to meet, though. I think I'd choose Keith Richards; he's led a pretty fascinating life.

Yes! Meeting him would be interesting too, but you said pick one. I'd pick Keanu. I was in a room with him once. I breathed his air! haha.

Haha yeah, picking just one is hard.

Go you, sharing air with famous people ;) (The only time that has ever happened to me is at concerts, which I don't think really count because then you're breathing in all sorts of other things and yeah. So I'm legitimately impressed.)

Well...it was at a concert. But it was the closest I ever got! haha!

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Oh my gosh. Hmmm. As I've said, it's often more my emotional response than an actual play by play event, or maybe some parts of the scene really happened but not in the same order...

Let me think.

I'm drawing a blank!!!! Let me ponder this and get back to you.

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I hope that erotic novel fans DEMAND better writing in their fiction! And yes, it does frustrate me, but every taste is so different that people who thought Fifty was excellent don't like my work and feel it's not as "good." So...shrug. :/

What are your thoughts on these writers http://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/1eo7d4/til_a_group_of_writers_purposely_wrote_a_terrible/ ?

I think they made a lot of money? Ha. Money is nice.

The closest I have come to reading Erotica is probably Penthouse letters ...which I like quite a bit, but I understand it is porn.

What do you think makes the difference, and other than your stuff would you recommend any other authors?

To me, porn is designed to get you off without thinking much about anything else. Purely physical. Erotica gets you off while making you think or even sometimes feel emotion beyond sexual arousal.

I would recommend Lauren Dane's work, she's amazing. Carrie's Story by Molly Weatherfield is very erotic. 9 1/2 Weeks.

In a choice of all of your favorite Morningstar Manor Characters who would you say is your favorite!?

By the way, it's amazing to see you here!

JONATHAN VISION, obviously!!!

How do you know you're on to a real juicy story line? (pun not intended at first but now…)

Also, what kind of living do you make? Like, what kind of car do you drive?

A really juicy story line. Hmm. I guess when I can't stop thinking about it, and when I'm really eager to get to my desk instead of scrubbing the toilet, instead.

I make a very nice living, but I drive a 2000 Suburban with 178,000 miles on it. Which tells you nothing. :)

Do you want to get a 12 pack and work on some new material together?

Do you have a six-pack? I find I get a lot more inspiration from guys with a six-pack.

I have a six pack. I volunteer as tribute.

I'll meet you in the arena.

Not quite, but close. I could work on it.

...a four pack? A Tupac?

What's your favourite genre when reading?

I love horror and science fiction. I'm reading The Twelve right now, the sequel to Justin Cronin's The Passage. It's like...zombie vampires. I'm really enjoying it!

I just started reading The Twelve. I was amazed at writing quality of The Passage. I guess I didn't have such high expectations for a book taking on zombie vampires. How much of the craft of writing do you try to put into your work? Do you look for making your erotic fiction literary? Or is it better to make something easily digestible? (I haven't read any of your work, so I don't want this to come across insulting.)

I have always written other stuff besides erotic, and I approach writing any genre the same way. I want to tell a great story. I want to make people FEEL when they read my work. So, I try to be the best writer I can be. I do not write "down" for any reason. Whether or not I'm a good writer or story teller is totally a matter of opinion, but I never try to write anything but my best. If that means some people don't get it, well...I don't write for the people who don't like what I do. I write for the readers who do!

I loved The Passage. The Twelve is good, but it seemed a bit less perfect. If that makes sense.

I'm midway through it, and I'm enjoying it, but I read The Passage awhile ago and so I'm not comparing them, really.

Now that I know some of your places, I wondered where your characters come from? Do you people watch and say to yourself, "That person would fit right into my world"? And do your characters, once formed, conform to your will and story needs or are they as individualistic as actual people?

Characters are usually a mixed up mash of people I know or have met, but not always. Many times I figure out the character's motivation as I go along through the story. What would happen in this situation? How would this person react? How would I react? I don't always agree with my characters' choices, but I have to believe THEY would make them, if that makes sense. I do people watch. Haha. I do glean from personal experience. I shamelessly steal mannerisms and turns of phrase. After the characters are formed, they fit the story, I'm not a writer who says the characters "speak" to me -- I visualize my books like a movie as it unrolls in my head while I'm writing it, but I don't view the characters as real in any way. Some I like better than others, for sure. But really, they're there to do what I want them to do.

I think some of your titles could become fantastic films! Anything in the works? An HBO series set in Harrisonburg with all those wonderful characters would be awesome.

I'm totally up for that. Who can make that happen?

Well, not the current mayor. But I bet the former mayor would have found museum $ for a project like that.

LOL. Ouch.

I haven't read your work, but I'm pretty intrigued. What sexual orientations do your write towards?

Most of my work is hetero, male/female, though I have explored sexual ambiguity and homosexual relationships. I've written a few menage books -- Tempted is m/f/m and The Space Between Us is f/m/f with some f/f overlap. I've written gay characters, though I have not yet written gay romance. I skew more toward m/m when I do write gay characters, not sure why, since I'm a girl. :) My historical fantasy books, which range from sensual to erotic, feature fluid sexuality with same sex relationships being common. The titles are Virtue and Vice, No Greater Pleasure, Selfish is the Heart and Pleasure and Purpose. Shoot me a DM if that sounds interesting to you and I'll see which of those I have in my office. I'd be happy to send you one!

What is your favorite erotic novel by another author?

I haven't read any of your work, but have read a lot in that genre. I'll make sure to check out some of your stuff!

I love 9 1/2 Weeks. It's a classic, but I really love it. I loved Carrie's Story by Molly Wetherfield. I think I spelled that wrong...! I liked the Beauty novels by Ann Rice. I love Lauren Dane's work. She writes excellent contemporary erotic romance, often with BDSM elements.

What do you like to read? I can send you a book. I have historical fantasy romance, erotic, or straight up erotica, not romance. DM me! Or PM me, whichever it is called. :)

Hi! Can I get a book too or are you only giving out a limited number? My interest in peeked and I'd love to read something of yours!

What are you interested in? I have some mainstream left, a few historical erotic romance, and some erotica. Send me a PM.

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I'll answer the second one first: If I can't figure out why it would turn someone on, I can't write it. So, my wants and desires are often but not always incorporate into the characters, but I do have to understand them.

Basically, when I'm writing erotic material, my goal is YES of course, to move the reader emotionally and also turn the reader on. If I'm writing horror, I want to scare you. If I'm writing sexy, I want it to BE sexy.

But I'm not my characters. So, they do or like things I don't necessarily do or like. I haven't done everything I've written about. (...who'd have time?) But I have to be able to understand why it would turn on the character, even if personally, it doesn't turn ME on.

My turn on's, personally, are dominant female, sub male, but NOT degradation or humiliation. So when I write femdom flavored stories, you'll see that. I like dancing. I like laughing during sex, so you'll read that my characters often laugh together naked. I like male forearms. I like nice abs. I like smart people.

Do you ever look back at your earlier works? If/when you do, do you ever think "Man, I was an idiot"? - Basically, can you look at your books and see how your perspective and mindfulness has changed?

Ha. Yes. Of course. I think I've grown a lot as a writer, and also as a person since I started writing, so definitely.

Do you have a particular 'process' that you like to follow in writing a new book, from initial ideas to completion? How long does it usually take?

Also, do you have a particular 'flavour' of erotic story that you prefer, both in terms of writing and reading?

Thanks :)

I can write a book in a month. I can write a book in six months. The process is the same -- I sit at my desk and write one word at a time. It just depends on how long it takes between each word...

I'm not a huge plotter. I don't outline. I have a basic premise or idea and I know the beginning. I know the ending, most of the time. The middle part is a vast wonderland of WHAT IF? So I just write and imagine and keep going until I'm done!

Hmm. Flavor? I like realistic stories. No feather masks and country manors for me. However, I loved Carrie's Story which featured selling slaves and pony play, which I just...can't...does that happen for real? Does it??? LOL. Maybe it does? But I had a hard time believing it, yet I really liked it. If that makes sense.

I prefer D/S to BDSM because bondage and stuff doesn't flip my switch. So I like to read and write stories that explore power and control, not so much pain or humiliation or things like that.

I like stories about people and relationships. That's my flavor. Also damaged people. I think I like that a lot. :)

Do some of your books come from personal experiences?

Everything is fiction, and all of it is true.

:)

Of course! But very rarely is anything I write specifically, exactly the way it happened. Everything is filtered through fiction. But yes, most of my books use my personal experiences, maybe not in the plot points, but definitely in the emotional responses. So while I might not have done what my characters do, I have FELT the way they feel.

Is you family okay with you writing erotic novels?

Absolutely.

what do you think has been lacking from sexual discourse here in the USA?

Hmm. Do you mean as in general discussion? Portrayal in the media?

Both I guess. Or rather why do you think some people still believe that sexual orientation is a choice rather than something you born with?

I have no idea how anyone can honestly believe sexuality is a choice. I think we can choose how to express our sexuality, but what turns us on, who we fall in love with? Phew, wouldn't life be so much easier if that were a choice?

You ever turn yourself on too much while you're writing something?

How much is too much? Can that happen?

touche...I guess inspiration has to come from somewhere right. In all seriousness though, congratulations on your success. I imagine it would be quite difficult to have any piece of work published and/or taken serious.

Thank you. :)

How do you feel about 'Fifty Shades Of Grey' becoming such a popular erotica book, despite how bad it is?

A book that gets people excited about reading is a good book. I do not love that it's being held up as an example, though I guess I can only hope that by comparison, other books will seem so much better? Those books gave mine a boost, because people read them who'd never picked up an erotic book and would never have thought of doing so before it became trendy or acceptable. So for that reason, I'm thrilled it became so popular.

Hi! I have a close friend who works with a lot of romance/erotica writers and wondered if you might know them. Any chance that you've heard if Fresh Fiction? I crave one of those small world moments on reddit. Maybe today will be my day.

Of course I have!

Awesome! I love those ladies with all my heart. I'm not familiar with your books but I'm definitely going to pick one up.

wheee!

What are some of your favorite books? Or favorite authors? Especially those who have inspired you to write? Made an account just to ask this :D

Also I'd love a book if you still have any!! Thanks for doing this AMA!

Favorite books: The Stand, by Stephen King. Kushiel's Dart by Jacqueline Carey. Boy's Life by Robert McCammon. Imajica, Clive Barker. Tully, Paullina Simons.

I was 12 when I read The Stand and realized people could make a living writing stories, so I'd consider King a huge inspiration.

Send me a DM!

As a fan of Boys life have you read his book swan song? Very awesome as well

OMG YES. Love that book. Love it so much. I'm going to World Horror Con in June and he will be there -- I'm going to fangirl so hard!

How did your parents react when they found out you wrote porn?

I'm not sure I ever told them about writing porn. They've been supportive of me writing since I was small, though, so when I started publishing erotic stuff, they were supportive about that.

Hello.

Why is it okay for a married woman to read erotica but it's wrong if a married man wants to watch porn? I know a lot of people on here would say watching porn is okay, but I don't think that's how it's perceived in the real world.

I don't think it is wrong for anyone to watch porn. I think if you consistently choose porn or erotica over making love with your partner, you probably need to have a discussion about your relationship, though.

Look, sex with a partner is awesome, but sometimes you need a little self maintenance. If porn or an erotic book help you, that's great! When it replaces real human interaction, that's not so great.

Do you get to choose the cover art or do the publishers decide?

For different publishers, I have different levels of input. Most of the time they ask me about themes, or what the characters look like, etc. But in the end, I have no veto power over the cover. For example, they re-released a number of my books with new covers...all flowers. The covers are lovely, but they didn't ask me ahead of time if that was okay. Nor do they have to! :)

Thanks for the response :) I was always curious about that.

You're welcome! I think if you're like Stephen King level you might get final say. But I don't. :)

What inspires the cover art on your novels besides the obvious nature of the content? Every good reader knows not to judge a book by its cover, but damn! Some of the cover art in this genre is downright corny! I respect the urge to show skin tangled in sheets, but I sometimes find that it cheapens product. Maybe the cover is a place where less is more. Thoughts?

I've had explicit covers and non. Recently they re-issued a bunch of my books with flowers on the covers -- nice for marketing and being placed in Walmart and stuff, which was great for sales. But the original covers were so beautiful and really evocative, that I miss them. I do think that less explicit covers allow people who'd be embarrassed about their reading choices to pick up books with more confidence. So that's good. I don't like super explicit covers, however, my all time favorite cover feature three naked people on it. It's one of the ones that got a new cover, but I have a poster of the original in my office. If I could figure out how to post a picture...hold on, let me figure this out...

Imgur

Hope that works.

Do you have to turn yourself on when writing your best material?

If I can't turn myself on, how can I expect to turn anyone else on?

I guess you could fake it.

I could, but only I would know.

Do you think that erotic novels can "ruin" or "spoil" the sexual expectations of a reader, similarly to pornography?

I have thought about that. But really, if expecting to have orgasms every time ruins sex, that's sad. :( Porn is a bit different, because it's so much more visual (often, I mean video porn, obviously) I think it can be hard to live up to the physical expectations. We aren't all thin with huge tits or big cocks. And a lot of what I see in porn wouldn't actually get me off, whereas what I read, esp if I can use my imagination, would. Does that answer you?

1. Do your characters use contraceptives?

2. Have you written any characters who have trouble in the bedroom (like coming too early or not at all)?

3. What's your record for sex scenes within a single book?

1. Yes, when it's necessary, and condom use is often described unless there's a reason for them not to use contraception or condoms or otherwise take care of their sexual responsibility in that way. The historicals don't talk about condoms though. And not all the characters use protection if they have reason not to.

2. Hmm. Yes, I have. I have an man who can't get hard in one story, but it's not out yet. I wrote a quadraplegic character who's not able to make love in the usual ways. I've written awkward sex.

3. I have no idea, but you've made me curious. :)

Hi Megan,

I might PM you as well, but what sort of advice do you have for erotica authors trying to break into the field? Do you recommend seeking out an agent or publisher, or is it possible now to have success publishing on your own? I'm working on my first book and I hope to have it ready by the summer to start shopping around, and I can't decide whether to self publish or wait and see if I can't find an agency. I look forward to reading your advice!

It's entirely possible to have self publishing success, but my advice is to really and truly look at your work with as much honesty as you can. Seek editing, critique, etc. Don't skimp. Be prepared to put some money into making your product professional. Don't seek self pub just because you don't want to wait for traditional publishing (even digital publishing can take awhile.) I'm happy to talk further if you want to message me when this AMA is finished. Both avenues really have their ups and downs.

Hi Megan,

How would you say the genres of romance, erotic romance, and erotic fiction differ?

Also, as an aspiring writer, I think its awesome of you to take the time for an AMA -- and that you found success writing all different types of stories; I do the same, and its nice to not feel like its somehow a distraction or waste from staying in a specific type.

Romance: the story is about the romantic relationship between the main characters, and no matter what else is going on in the story, the POINT of the story is to get them together, happily ever after. The sex can be graphic or not, but the point of the story is that romance.

Erotic romance -- romance with perhaps a sexual premise in how the characters meet. Definitely hotter content. Lots more sex, more graphic language, etc. But ultimately, the point of the story is getting them together.

Erotic fiction -- may or may not have a romance. The point of the story is not the romance, but about the journey or growth of the characters, often with a sexual premise.

I love writing what I love to write. Um. I mean, I like to write all sorts of things!

You mentioned below that you're coming out with a YA zombie novel - have you read Warm Bodies or the Generation Dead Series?

I haven't. Should I? Are they good?

How do you inject emotion into scenes? I'm My "friend" is super good at describing the scene, but it always feels too clinical and emotionless. Tips? xD

Ha. Well first of all, mine deep. I mean, dig into your guts and make yourself sick with it, if you have to. Relive the worst and best moments, imagine yourself in the character's place...then descrive it. You gots to feel it to write it!