Posted January 18th, 2010 by Blog Editor

  By: Jatana Williams, author of “In My Prayers with My Legs Wide Open.”

   I enjoy getting emails from readers after they’ve allowed their minds to be taken to another place by something I’ve written. I believe one of the best compliments I can get as a writer is “I saw the words come alive on the page” or “I pictured the scenes in my head.” As one who writes what many label as “erotic literature” (I label it “sensual tense”), I enjoy this feedback.

   My purpose in writing is to take readers’ minds to another place. Not only do I strive to take their minds but I also want to take their bodies as well. Yes, I said it. I want the body to go there as well. When reading a sexy scene in my writing, I want a reader to imagine he or she is the character being touched, kissed and caressed. I want them to see themselves in place of my characters. This is no easy task for any writer. Writers must be comfortable in their own skin when it comes to writing about sex.

  I assume if you have made a decision to write this genre, you already have a sensual inner being you want to release. One of the biggest challenges to writing in the “sensual tense” is learning to be open with your own sexual desires. In order to write sensually or sexually suggestive story lines, a writer must be willing to let go. You have to tap into the part of you that wants to be stimulated. If you are aroused by what you have written, then most likely so will your reader. If readers continue reading after the first few pages, it is because they want to receive gratification from the story you are telling. So let yourself go.

  When writing stories of strong sexual content, you are setting the readers up to be voyeurs. They are taking a peak behind the red curtains at the video store or looking over their newspaper at the couple kissing on the bus. You will want to draw the readers into your story. Everything from the room color and furniture to what the characters are seeing, smelling, touching or tasting needs to be descriptive. How far is one to go with being descriptive when it comes to sex? It all depends on the story you want to tell. Is your focus to be more romantic or to have a raw approach? You can be sexually suggestive, stimulating or get straight to the point. It all depends on your story. Just because you’re writing sexual content doesn’t mean you don’t need to tell a story. The most important thing to remember when it comes to writing in the sensual tense is not to write about sex for the sake of writing it, but to entertain your readers.

  Now, what do you think is important when writing erotic literature (sensual tense)?

Posted December 16th, 2009 by Blog Editor

  By:  Carmen Ana

  Many people confuse being [a] great [writer] with the fact that you have to be published. No. Being great involves that your readers live through your work, that it becomes real and convincing to them, even when it is fiction.

  Writing a great story involves many things.

  1. Your work must be convincing and real to you first.

  This means that you must live your characters in order for you to give them life in your tale. Let me get clearer in my meaning: You MUST become your character, feel and act like them. When you are in tune with that character, then you will write with their passion, personality and feelings. You’ll be writing from your heart with your character in mind and your readers will sense it also.

  2. Write a background for your characters.

  Yes, I know, there are times I don’t need one to make my story flow. But! There are times when secondary characters can become very important to the story, but when we don’t make a background for them, we end up going back to rewrite and fix our glitches we could have avoided. Background also helps us get to know our characters better, making them more real to us.

  3. Analyze your plot and storyline.

  Have someone read your work. If you or they can see how your story is going to end before the fifth chapter, be humble to accept you have a weak plot. Give twists to your story, stump your readers and make them work hard in guessing your ending. If you don’t do this, I guarantee you will have unsatisfied readers.

  4. Check for inconsistencies.

  This is one that we need to be very careful [about] when overlooking our work. I have seen characters change their personalities with no reason. For example, if you have a strong-headed independent woman in the first few chapters, then have her become weak and dependant without something happening in the tale to trigger that change, you are being inconsistent. If you’re writing a tale about someone who’s never seen the outside world and you’re using similes with modern things the character has never seen or heard of before, you’re being inconsistent. If you have your character speaking with an accent, then later on he’s not, uh-uh you’re being inconsistent. If you have a character in a party getting it on and then he/she appears somewhere else without an explanation, then you have another boo-boo to fix.

  5. SHOW, don’t TELL.

  It’s not a sin to tell a little in a story, and it even happens to the best of us. And if we never told at all, that would great! But too much telling kills the story. For example, instead of telling your readers your character is mad about something, portray it by the use of descriptive actions and dialogue. Your readers have a brain, and believe me, they like to use it. So, show your readers how your character thinks and feels about something by using the above method, without telling them every little detail. It can be annoying to find too much telling in a book.

  6. In fiction and fantasy anything goes, as long as there’s a logical
explanation to it.

  When inventing the use of technology and sci-fi gadgets, don’t become the scientist who wants to explain the slightest detail of their invention nor who invents things that make your readers roll their eyes and say, ‘Yeah right, whatever.” Nowadays almost everyone knows how time travel, teleportation, laser guns, space ship, identification scanners, etc. works. All you want to do is show your readers what your new device looks like and what it does, without going overboard with your explanations. This also goes with new mythological creatures — please do not overdo it.

  7. Writing skills.

  You can have strong characters, one heck of a plot and story idea, but if your writing skills are poor or terrible, then you’re getting the boot. I personally have improved tremendously, but I still have my misusage of words and awkward sentence structures to deal with. But I know that without going through them tediously and fixing it, my writing would get nowhere toward getting published. So if you’re one who needs help, take writing classes, be determined to work hard and learn how to get better and better. Be humble to accept constructive criticism to heart and apply it.

  My fellow writers, it is good to see you all working hard to share your work and improve. I want to thank BookRix for having me here and for giving us this wonderful site that presents our work professionally and beautifully. May we all continue to grow as writers and human beings.

  Always remember, the future of your writing depends solely on you. So don’t give up!

Posted November 17th, 2009 by Blog Editor

By: Katherine Angela Yeboah

  Los Angeles…a city of high-rises, palm trees and sunsets that melt you on the inside. I first set foot here in the early 1990s and instantly fell in love with the place. During one of many visits, I was staying in an inn for young travelers. It was a wild place, with fascinating characters coming and going by the van-load and parties that never seemed to end before the dawn broke. The names and the faces of some of these curious people have long since been forgotten. But the conversations I had with them are imprisoned in my memory for good. I recall being shown how to use the Ouija board in a drafty dining room at two in the morning. I recall being instructed on how to astral travel…and how to lucid dream.

  After deciding to stay in L.A. permanently, I moved into a third floor apartment with a view of the Hollywood sign through the bedroom windows. The past-its-prime building had creaky wooden floorboards and poorly lit corridors and a roof that would leak every time the rain fell. It was the perfect setting for a mystery story. The perfect abode for a carefree, young college student named Sloane, the main character in my novel, ‘Lucid’.

  It was in this ancient, red-brick building that I had my first lucid dream. In the dead of night, I ‘found myself’ in the corridor outside the apartment. My mind drifted back to one of those conversations I’d had during my travels. I had been told that, if I ever suspected I might be dreaming, I should center all my attention on my hands. I later learned that this ‘reality check’ is a widely recognized technique for confirming that you are dreaming and therefore inducing a lucid dream. So as I stood there in the hallway, I raised my palms toward my face and peered intently at them until they came into focus. And as soon as they did, everything appeared to change. This was no longer just your everyday, garden-variety excursion into dreamland. This was unlike any dream I had ever had before. The world around me seemed to intensify, to liven before my eyes, and I understood instantly what lucid dreaming was.

  I continued to concentrate on my hands, not wanting to let the dream slip away. Brushing my fingertips over the uneven surface of the wall as I wandered up and down the corridor. I awoke…my dream went no further. But the character from my story, ‘Lucid’, is not so lucky. Although her first lucid dream begins harmlessly, as mine did, Sloane’s dream quickly turns into a horrific nightmare. She gets a glimpse inside her neighbor’s apartment…and a glimpse at the dirty, little secret he’s been hiding there. Is her mind playing tricks on her, or are her dreams actually based on reality? Is her neighbor as ordinary as she once thought him to be, or is he really the savage monster who haunts her nightmares?

  It was the strange and vivid dreams that I’ve been having for as long as I can remember that inspired me to write my first novel, ‘Lucid’. In fact, more than half of the dreams described in the book are based on dreams that I actually experienced.

  Lucid is out now in e-book edition and Amazon Kindle edition. For more information, please visit my website: katherineangelayeboah.blogspot.com

Posted September 8th, 2009 by Susanna Zaraysky

Ann Leverette discusses her two BookRix books, Take My Serenity and  A Beautiful Lie.

1. What does the title of Take My Serenity mean?

In reference to Take My Serenity , its meaning is peacefulness. Take My Serenity is to say take my peace away.

2. What point of view is the story from?

I believe we all have a conscience and the bad and the good sitting on your shoulder, the devil and the angel. This story is told from the devil’s side, the bad side.

3. What is the cover of Take My Serenity about?

The cover is a picture of a girl who is half demon and half angel. It represents confusion, anger and doubt because one of those sides is going to take over and it is up to you to choose which one you surrender to.

4. What is the meaning of this line from Take My Serenity, “How am I living my life with out me in it?”

It means you are just drifting by yourself physically but your spirit is already dead. It’s the demons argument. Why are you still living life this way? Release yourself to me and the pain will be gone.

5. What is the eternal fight?

The eternal fight is an internal fight that we all face that will never end; it is an everlasting battle within our mind and spirit that taunts us. The winner will be whichever you feed the most because that will be the one that grows.

6. What does the title of A Beautiful Lie mean?

A Beautiful Lie is a figure of speech because how can a lie be beautiful? It simply means it’s a lie that you refuse to see negatively. A lie is something that is not real.

7. From whose point of view is the story?

This story is told from every lover’s point of view. From every one who has loved and lost to every one who has hurt someone, everyone who regrets losing the one they let go.

8. What does the cover of A Beautiful Lie mean?

The cover of the book is more than what meets the eye; it’s a broken heart. The heart is also plastic as is almost saying “if I had a heart to have a heart”, meaning that its feelings are real, but it is an artificial heart trying to conjure real emotions.

9. What is the meaning of this line from A Beautiful Lie, “I want a sugarcoated life I know I could do better, but the good book told me to think twice” mean?

Have you ever heard the saying I’m not going to sugarcoat it for you? Well it means I’m not going to make things seem better than they really are for your benefit. The line”I want a sugarcoated life” really means that I don’t want to face reality.

“I know I could do better but the Good Book told me to think twice.” What does this line mean? Actually it is a contradiction towards the bible in a way; it’s looking at the meaning of values. You should always think twice before making a decision. That’s the moral this statement is taking it into context.

10. Why does the book say “We all  regret our sins”

To answer that question, you have to determine what you call a sin. Losing a lover is not the sin, but this book is referencing committing adultery. You just have to look deeper.

Posted August 25th, 2009 by Susanna Zaraysky

Martina is a German author who writes in English.

1. Your name

Martina Osterndorff

2. Titles of the work you have on Bookrix

In her shell

3. What is your writing method?

I actually am a morning person in everything I do. Whenever I start early in the morning, I can go for hours. That also fits for my writing as for other things as well.

4. How long have you been writing?

I started back in second grade, already, when I began to rewrite those little texts we had in our textbooks. I kept on writing ever since.

5. How do you maintain your regular job while writing?

I still am a full-time student, so I actually am pretty free in organizing my time and space. That is how I can make myself some writing time when I really need it. I will be finishing my studies, soon and have no clew how I will be developing my writing maintenance then.

6. Do you have special places where you go to write?

Although it’s not very asthetic, I admit I just write on my old laptop. so i’m mostly sitting in my room while writing. I do keep a notebook, wherever I go, though, just to write down thoughts that cross my mind. I realized, that there are sentences that will never come back to you, once you didn’t wrote them down.

7. Do you want to make a living from your wordsmith skills or are you doing this for fun?

I would really like that, actually. I dreamt of becoming a writer when I was a kid. Athough, I feel there is still a pretty long way to go until I might be skilled enough, I keep on writing and following my dreams – no matter if they ever come true or not.

8. What are your stories about? Are they fiction or non-fiction?

My stories are mostly non-fictional, though never biographical. I love to observe small things and to analyze them in my stories. I observe the society, as it is and try to bring that observation into my stories.

9. Do you have a lesson in your stories? Do you have a philosophical or moral mission you are showing in your work?

My mission is probably to achieve a new view on society and to offer that view to others. I try not to judge, though.

10. What advice do you have for other authors?

Just be yourself, in anything you do. Although, you seem small in comparison to the world, you can still make a change.

11. Please write anything else you’d like for the Bookrix blog.

In the end, it should be all about the pure love for writing.

Posted August 18th, 2009 by Susanna Zaraysky

1. Your name

My name is Michael Alan Pennington. My web site can be found here.

2. Title of your work on BookRix:

My book is entitled “Zhena“.

3. What is your writing method?

I am currently assigned to a team at the Naval War College in Newport, RI. As part of my job, I travel a great deal all over the world (about a week to ten days a month). As a result, I have a lot of free time in
airports, on planes, and in hotels. This is the time I use for writing most. My brain does not idle well and I had always had a few ideas floating around in my head so about a year ago, I decided to see if I could make them work.

4. How long have you been writing?

I started writing a little over a year ago.

5. How do you maintain your regular job while writing?

As I said, as an officer in the Navy, it was always difficult to find time to write. With my current job, I have more free time while on the road. It’s still difficult to juggle my job, my family, and being an author but I’m finding it fun and challenging.

6. Do you have special places where you go to write?

I really don’t need anywhere special to write. It seems the more free time I have, the more I’m able to let my mind wander and ask myself, “What if?” That is entirely how my first novel “Zhena” came to pass. “What if there were Soviet sleeper spies in the US who were forgotten about when the Cold War ended?” I use the same thought process within the book as well.

7. Do you have any quirks when writing?

As a submarine officer, I’m trained to multi-task.  Thus I actually sometimes do better when I have a few things on my mind.  I will be working on whatever my current work project is and yet in the back of my mind, I’m still trying to advance my story.  When I have time, then I write down what I’ve thought about.  I never know how my stories are going to end.  I just take them to a logical conclusion after the “what if” question.  My main goal is to make sure the reader never says “oh come on, that would never happen.”

8. What’s inspires you?

I get inspired by current events as well as other authors. I like to look at news releases and see how I could apply them to current plot lines.

9. Do you want to make a living from your wordsmith skills or are you doing this for fun?

I would love to be able to write full time, especially after I retire. I realize it’s unlikely, but right now I’m just looking for fun as well as a little money on the side.

10. What are your stories about?

My one novel (currently working on the sequel) is about a woman named Susan Anderson. She is married to a submarine officer who is on deployment. She has two children and was raised in an orphanage. One day she received a mysterious phone call which awakens in her numerous latent abilities including martial arts and weapons skills. It also activates a mysterious “voice” which is continuously giving her advice on how to complete the current “mission” though she has no idea what the “mission” is. Her goal is to solve this mystery and keep the truth about it from her family before her husband returns from sea.

11. Do you have a lesson in your stories?

There is no deep morale meaning here. I just want the reader to have fun and not be able to put the book down.

12. What advice do you have for other authors?

For other authors, write about what you know. I know many people say this but it’s true. Every major event and place in my book is somewhere I have either visited or am familiar with. It made the writing flow so much easier and the story truly plausible.

I am currently working on the sequel to Zhena and it will be entitled Dohch. I hope anyone who reads it enjoys it and I keep them guessing till the end.