Whipped Cream in pleased to welcome Lauren Wilder, whose latest book Eternal Desire was released in July by Siren Bookstrand.
Lauren didn't set out to write erotica; her first inclination is to write truly romantic stories with a strong, realistic plot and likable characters that the reader can root for. As she started writing Her Heart's Desire, her debut novel, she found it very easy to describe the build up and the actual lovemaking scenes.
"The sex is really sexy and romantic and for me that’s the key to a good erotic romance story. After all why shouldn’t there be a bit of spice in a romance story? Everybody has sex and I am not shy about writing it, so it went in, the whole process was very organic. The characters just revealed their desires as I went along. I was lucky. I wrote it almost without stopping. I may have given birth to idea for the story but the characters lived and breathed all on their own. It was effortless."
I asked Lauren how she distinguished between erotica, erotic romance, and pornography.
"The distinction between porn, erotica and erotic romance for me is whether there is a real story in there, real emotions, conflicts and resolutions. If a story focuses on sexual rituals and variants of sex without any real feeling from the characters then I would not class that as erotic romance; I would call it erotica. If the story was purely about graphic sex acts, for me, it’s porn, depending on the language used. Sometimes I find it difficult to get my head around the fact that books with BDSM and multiple partners are sold under the Romance genre. I do not find BDSM stories and tales of orgies romantic at all and no matter how hard I try, I cannot understand how one woman can love five men at the same time and live happily ever after!"
She thinks that a lot of people hear the word "erotica" and expect pornographic content.
"This, of course, is a huge misconception as erotica can be sexy without being crude," she said. "That’s the whole point of it for me; to be able to describe a love scene that is sexy and realistic without being distasteful."
If Lauren is writing a story and finds herself thinking Oh, god, that's hot! and finds herself feeling a bit bashful that it came out of her own head, she knows it's erotic. If the scene flows naturally and she doesn't even have to think about the words as she types them, she knows it's good.
"How do you do your research for your books?" I asked.
"Depends on what it’s about. Sometimes I will simply use the internet or draw on personal knowledge and experience. Other times I may feel the need to explore a little deeper, in which case it’s time to pack a bag and take myself off on a research trip. I am currently working on a story that involves the characters spending time in Hungary, so I am going back to Budapest in September to refresh my memory and take notes on the sights and flavours of the city. Also to dig a little deeper into the history of Budapest, because that story is set in the seventeenth century. Actually being in the place where I am setting my story makes it very real to me and totally inspires me. Plus, any excuse for a holiday!"
Lauren not only writes erotic romance, she also writes "straight" romance. She doesn't find either one more challenging than the other, because her characters are what drive her plots and the relationships between them evolve organically either into an erotically charged romance or a sweeter, more innocent one.
"It just depends on what they are doing and with whom," she explained. "I have found myself trying to write an erotic scene into a story and thinking, no, she wouldn’t do that or he wouldn’t want that and that’s when I know it will be an erotic romance or it won’t. Sometimes the story simply doesn’t require intimate detail and sometimes it does."
And, sometimes, her characters lead her places she never would dream of trying to take them, as in an scene in her upcoming To Have and To Hold, a sequel to Her Heart's Desire.
"Marcus takes his lover into the forest and proceeds to fuck her roughly, up against a tree, anally," she told me. " I shocked myself with that one but he is a cold, calculating sexual deviant and he just did it after he prepared her using his fingers and tongue, oh lordy! Absolutely no input came from me! I left it in because it suited the character and the plot. Marcus is a baddie and he doesn’t care if people like him which really made him fun to write! I was actually verging on pornography with that one. The book isn’t out yet, and I am a tad nervous about reactions. Marcus is a little bit hardcore. He is just a secondary character, though. My hero, James St John, doesn’t behave like that, most uncivilised. He is my erotic gent, my dear beautiful James St John! AKA my imaginary husband," she added with a sigh.
"If you could entertain a character from a book, who would it be and what would the evening be like?" I wondered.
"That’s easy too, my imaginary husband James St John of course!" she said. "He would pick me up in his vintage sports car and whizz me off to an elegant restaurant in London. He would spend the whole evening being attentive and gorgeous to me. After dinner he would drive me home and the sexual tension between us would be palpable. James would stop the car suddenly, parking off a quiet leafy road because he wouldn’t be able to wait a second longer to touch me. He would turn to face me, his eyes deep blue and demanding glinting in the dark, making me shiver with anticipation. I would fall into his strong embrace and shudder with desire and longing as he kisses me deeply. The moment his lips touch mine I would melt, aching for his touch and he wouldn’t disappoint me! Oh the joy of his soft, expert hands exploring me, the intensity of his passion as his body presses up against mine, fuelled with desire...right better stop there! (phew, feeling a bit hot!)"
Finally, I asked, "If you could give a new writer one piece of advice, what would it be?"
"Believe in yourself. I spent years doubting my own abilities, putting off submitting, terrified of rejection. I spent most of my youth avoiding the very thing I craved and it made me miserable. I finally found the courage to send my story out to e publishers, because it seemed less intimidating to me than sending it out to agents. I wish I had done it years ago. I am now working on several books to submit to agents and mainstream publishers because I know I am good enough. If you believe in yourself and feel it in your heart that you should be writing then do it!"
You can keep up with Lauren on her blog, http://wilderromance.blogspot.com
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