In this, our first erotic stories virtual book tour we meet Aurelia Bliss. She was kind enough to take our questions and provide answers for all of us to get to know her, and her writing, better.  I have known Aurelia since I first started on Twitter and she’s been a very kind, friendly, and professional acquaintance.  Her erotic stories, as she tells us, incorporate a lot of her in fun situations. She has fifteen stories on Medium, each are unique and fun to read.

LET’S GET TO KNOW OUR AUTHOR

Author’s Name: Aurelia Bliss

Twitter: https://twitter.com/aurelia_bliss

Website: https://aureliabliss.weebly.com

Medium Profile: https://aurelia-blissful.medium.com/membership

Medium Stories: https://aurelia-blissful.medium.com/the-seduction-of-jenny-thompson-63642d1eb479

Let’s start the erotic stories virtual tour:

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

What inspired you to write erotica?

I’ve published a few articles on this very question.  But in a nutshell, I guess when my husband got a new job in a new city, I started feeling a little lost.  Even though the move first felt like an adventure, I found myself getting kind of mopey.  Years ago, I started writing and let it drop.  When I started thinking about it again, I met a wonderful group of women writers that gave me so much support I tried again.  And now I write on a regular schedule, even if I don’t intend to publish everything I write.

How difficult was it for you to write erotic fiction? What is the perception of your writing by family, friends, and acquaintances?  What did you edit out of your book?

Good question!  So, when I write erotica it can be very personal.  By that I mean I draw a lot on my own life experience to make it real for my readers.  So sometimes I feel funny when “friends, family, and acquaintances” ask me pointed questions.  My stock answer is writers write from imagination, but I do have a circle that knows better.  The only thing I have ever edited out of a story would be something that might be hurtful or give away who a character is modelled after.  Other than that, I am pretty open and bold.

Tell me about your book, something I won’t find on the blurb at the back of the book.

Well, I am writing a book and putting short stories aside for a bit.  I’m so superstitious about talking too much about a story in progress, but I will tell you it’s about a Siren in the age of ancient Greece who falls in love with a ship captain.  There are sea monsters, and ship battles, and angry families, with sex and romance in a deep-sea grotto.  Oh, and a twist in a special jar.

Explain the meaning of the title of your book, and if you considered other titles before settling on the final version.

If we’re still talking about my WIP, then I am calling it The Siren and Her Sea Captain for now.  But I guess that can always change.

The next part of our erotic stories virtual tour is to understand more about the Author’s process.

AUTHOR’S PROCESS

What would you say is your most interesting writing quirk?

Well, I'm not sure it's actually a quirk or not.  It goes hand in hand with what I said about content.  My main protagonists are women and I always write them as if they were me.  Not so much that they all act and look like me, but that my main characters and I share the ability to be each other even when we are not the same.  My writing motto has been "She is me is she."  I guess maybe that does start sounding a little quirky.

How much research goes into each book?

Oh my god!  I love the research part!  Imagine all the fun I had with building up a world 2000 years old with sea monsters in it.  I can get lost in research.  Google is both my friend and my tormentor.  There is always one more book to read, one more link to click, one more article to save.  If there were more than 24 hours in a day, I would be in so much trouble.

How do you get in the mood to write sexy, sad, tense, scenes?

Once I discovered the “She is me is she” rule for me, I started thinking about method acting.  Method actors like Charlize Theron or Christian Bale get themselves worked up in all kinds of ways to place themselves inside a role.  I go back through my own life first to find things to trigger me, and if that fails I look to things I’ve read or watched.  It seems to work well enough that my husband has asked me for a warning when I have been doing this kind of thing although he doesn’t seem to mind at all when I'm working on a sex scene.

Getting to know the author’s style in our erotic stories virtual book tour is important, in my opinion, so let’s take a look at it.

STYLE QUESTIONS

Are you a plotter, pantster or a combination of both?  How do you develop the plot and character arcs for your books?

So is it too wishy washy if I say I’m a bit of both?  When I first get an idea, I try not to lose any time and burst it onto the page while it’s hot.  So pantser.  Then, once I have enough down that it won’t be one of those amazing, world-shattering ideas that get lost in the shower, I plot on paper.  Even after plotting has been done, I feel absolutely free to change things with one caveat.  Every change is a potential domino and I have to be careful, like all of us, to make sure that nothing sneaks by.  Or simpler, that changes are made to accommodate an addition.  I am working on a story now that was all but completed before I realized the main character was not only pregnant, but the story didn’t make any sense at all unless she was.  That change affected both contents and off-screen background that played little direct role, but I needed to know.  So, am I a plotter or panster?  Yes!

Do you edit as you go along?  Or, do you wait till the draft is done before you give it a thorough editing?

I know this is the biggest no-no.  Don’t edit as you go.  Hemmingway said – and I have this quote hanging where I can see it from my writing desk – “The first draft of anything is shit.”  So, I should be okay with bad prose.  But I’m not.  I do stop myself when I see myself editing as I go, but only if I see it happening too much.  Like everything else, I commit this sin with some moderation.

What is your preferred point of view (POV) for your stories? First Person past, First Person present, Third Person Intimate, or Third Person Omniscient?

Since I put myself in the stories, all my erotica is First Person Past.  I find it’s more immediate and intimate, especially for erotica.  When I write in other genres, I will use a Third Person POV, just because I know other genres “prefer” that.  My first drafts in anything but erotica always come out a mix of First- and Third Person that I fix in edit.

Every erotic stories virtual book tour has its own general interest topics, so we added the following interaction to get more information about Aurelia’s method of writing.

MISCELLANEOUS TOPICS

How do you pick the names for your characters?

Depends, sometimes it’s obvious and sometimes I have to work at it.  One this is true though; I need names early on or the characters can fizzle out.

What is the most difficult thing about writing a character of the opposite sex?

This is my biggest problem.  Far too many people say that men are easy to understand but really we all know they aren’t.  I do struggle with male characters sometimes, I’ll admit.  I often wish we had a man in our writer’s group – then remember that no, I don’t really want that.  So my husband is my best source for helping me with this.  I have a couple male friends online that will read my drafts but often they are more interested in telling me how the main character should be acting and we all know who SHE is.

How do you keep your erotic scenes fresh and non-repetitive?

One thing I know about writing erotica is that if I can’t get myself all hot and bothered then I sure can’t expect my readers to feel it.  So, if it doesn’t work for me then I delete it and start over.

What do you think makes a good story?

Action, interest, something to resolve.  A hook is important but giving a good ending is like paying off a contract.  Characters that evoke emotion are important too, with at least one of them that readers empathize with or straight up like.

How strong is your antagonist?  Do they have any redeeming traits?

So, I’ll take this back to The Siren and Her Sea Captain.  I think my main character is “good” and she is certainly likable.  She may do questionable things, but then so do I.  The captain is strong and brave but suspicious and rash, even reckless.  But they fight together and….  That’s all you get.

What would you tell someone starting this journey?

I would urge them to not stop.  I would tell them that writing is like the best movie house you could ever want because the stories are yours, and can surprise you even still.  The colors are bright, and the men are strong.  But it’s hard work and there seems to be a hump that has to be crossed for the fun to start.  So, find a group you like and trust, talk to your partner for support, prepare a place where you can get lost inside your head with enough room for a keyboard or notebook, and go go go!