Since I so much enjoyed having Amber and Devin over to visit, I've also invited a fellow Cobblestone Press author, Jude Liebermann, to come by this Friday to talk about her book, Drew's Awakening, that will be coming out on the same day.
Meanwhile... for those of you who write the "naughty" books, I'm just wondering if any of you experience embarrassment when your friends and family (or coworkers) find out what you're up to in your spare time. My dad found my blog (gasp!) and made mention of my writing in an email to brother, whose wife then asked me what her FIL was talking about, and I didn't answer. Later, my brother asked again, but I told him he couldn't handle the truth. ;)
His wife is a very sweet, lovely woman who would most likely be horrified if she saw my stuff. And really, there is a certain "ick" factor in family knowing about this. My daughter, who does know, has said she could just never read anything I wrote because it would be way too much information. I wholeheartedly agree.
It makes me wonder.... I sometimes won't buy candy because I'm embarrassed for anyone to see the "chubby chick" with chocolate. After that happened a few times, I came to the conclusion that if I'm embarrassed to be buying it, then I really don't need to be doing it in the first place.
I'm wondering if that applies here, as well. Which is NOT to say that I think writing erotic romance is bad, I just sometimes wonder if it's for me if I'm that uncomfortable with people knowing about it. If I can't look my brother in the eye and say, "Hells yeah, I wrote that and I'm damned proud of it!", then I have to take a good look at what the issue is.
I'm proud of my friends who write erotic romance and promote their books, so why am I uncomfortable with people knowing about mine? Am I more prudish than I realized? Or is just a family/coworker thing? TMI for certain people only?
It makes me feel like I'm living a double life because on the one hand, I DO want to tell everyone about it, and say it with pride. On the other hand, maybe some people just really don't need to know...
I know I'd tell my brothers. And my sister. I doubt they'd buy it, but that's their prerogative. But I don't write erotica, so I guess it's easy for me to say.
ReplyDeleteOkay, chocolate, dude! Get over that!
ReplyDeleteAs for the erotica, for me, it's sex. And for me, I write very honestly and openly. I would not open my bedroom door and let my brother watch me have sex, would I? I don't have a brother, but I doubt I would even tell him I'm having sex at all!
Among people, this has come up a TON since I'm not writing full-time. It's very simple, really. I say that I write pop culture essays under my real name, (and then I grin and nearly wink or look embarrassed, whatever mood I'm in) and tell them I also write fiction under a pseudonym that I don't share, because she's a little on the wild side. If pressed, I just say I'm embarrassed or I'm a prude or whatever, and if pressed a lot, I tell them it'd be like opening the door to my bedroom, and I just can't do that.
It gets easier.
Just think of how many woman and how many men have not shared their sexual fantasies with their significant other. (Studies say it's something insane, like 70% or something.) If most people are too prudish to tell their sexual partner their fantasies, I think it's perfectly normal for an erotica writer to have issues with telling the whole world her sexual fantasies. :-)
("since I AM writing full-time," I mean. LOL!)
ReplyDeleteThanks, Edie and Natasha. I needed that. :)
ReplyDeleteAs a beyond-chubby chick, I buy whatever I please, including chocolate or cake, & everyone can kiss my fat @$$ if they don't like it. :)
ReplyDeleteLOL, Lana. Now THAT's the attitude I need to adopt. :)
ReplyDeleteBuy the chocolate. Eat the chocolate.
ReplyDeleteAs to being embarrassed for the family to know what you write, I have to say hmmmmmm. Perhaps it's simply a product of our repressive society? We're told that sex should be kept behind the bedroom doors. So maybe we all keep our erotic fantasies hidden...we don't really want people to know ours and we certainly don't want them to tell us theirs.
And yet...isn't there a very large audience for erotic romance?
I have no idea what I'm rambling about. I should have left it at buy the chocolate, eat the chocolate.
Grr... I hate freakin' blogger! Just erased everything I wrote earlier because it decided I should allow cookies.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, instead of going through all that again, I'll just say, thanks, Travis. :) Good to see you here.