Rather than talk about motivations for writing, which any writer knows in her heart and which Taylor outlined very well in an earlier post, I've decided to focus on genres. In particular - how to choose one and why I've chosen historical fantasy and paranormal crossovers. I will also dabble in avoiding the pitfalls of aping other authors, how to create your own niche and what do do with writer's block.
In my case, it has always been a very organic choice to take it to a fantasy world. With a background in Slavic studies, I'm of course drawn to eastern Europe and especially the old tales of the Magyar, Boyar and the Rus. In my regular novels, of course written under a different name, I explore these themes quite extensively. That said for erotic fiction, the world and characters must be somewhat relatable to the modern reader, so you can't go too deeply in. Perhaps in a way you can consider it dumbed down or fantasy lite, if only because the world and the environment are not really a focus of the story and are only there to contribute to the mood.
I love cities like Budapest and Warsaw; Bucharest and Sofia. Almost as much I love the deep forests of Russia and Ukraine and the mystery of the Trans-Siberian. There's so much there to work with. I have also always thought that the trend for modern shifter romances and Twilight-style teen vampire tales were a little too airy, too Hollywood and were never a good fit for the genre. Dracula was Romanian and the witch Baba Yaga unabashedly Russian. Dark tales need dark woods, not a John Carpenter set with a shining moon, but endless forest and deep winters; isolated hamlets and mysterious castles. Swords, not sideburns. James Dean doesn't live here.
The other advantage to fantasy is control over the environment. I personally think it is ridiculous there are so many 'Billionaire' stories out there. The world's not exactly full of them as it is. Not only are these copycats of a book itself that let's not forget, started as Twilight fanfic, but EL James has already eaten up that pie and everyone else is only fighting for the crumbs. Besides what makes this fantasy guy a Billionaire? For all his faults, Christian Grey is not a wooden character. yet in all these shorts trying to ride on his coattails, Billionaires seem to just spring into the world, unchanged, fully-formed and with no explanation as to how they got so damn rich in the first place. That should be what make's them interesting - how they got there, not the money itself. But sadly the label seems to be all that's required, hence so many titles with 'Billionaire' in them. It's just another trope. Might as well make them lottery winners, oh but then they wouldn't be 'Alpha' - another overused label.
I try to 'show' rather than 'tell' (and we've had endless 'discussions' over the value of each - ed), and just saying someone is an Alpha or Billionaire is not enough. There are too many covers and blurbs out there that reduce these characters to mere labels.Yet if you want to really give life to an environment and set of characters then surely you have to know something about them. Write a romance in a law office, and you should at least have seen the inside of one: worked as a paralegal or intern if not an actual lawyer. Is the story about an Alpha roadie? It would help to know something about concerts and stage productions, or at least have a background in the circus. And if you want to write a Georgian pirate story then you should know some of the history of the era.
Which is why fantasy is such an easy choice. Take a fictional world, where magic is real and you get to make the rules. Yes it would help to have some background in history or literature, but apart from that you could probably get by just watching Game of Thrones for inspiration. You own it, you make the rules and set the parameters. It is what you say it is and it's easier to sell. Run out of ideas? take a walk in the woods or watch an old fantasy movie like Willow or Dragonslayer. Play a video game in the genre like Skyrim or The Witcher and see if you can adapt your own adventures to an erotic story. The possibilities ought to be endless.
And so we come to sub-genres. Why be the small fish in a big pond? Reddit's erotic author boards are full of tail-chasers going on about 'research' and catching trends. Everyone is trying to ride the last wave: "Oh, Billionaire Shifter Cuckolds are hot so I'll bang out a few of those." For me it's better to be a trend setter than a follower (that goes for all of us - ed) even if it takes longer. Write something you love - not just to make a few bucks. If it's genuine, there is a market out there for it, somewhere. Build your worlds with love, build your niche with more than just a quick buck in mind and one day they'll come to you.
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