Naked Reader Book Club Discussion: Red Velvet and Absinthe - Paranormal Erotic Romance, Edited by Mitzi Szereto (December 13, 8-10 PM EST)

Have you tried just free-writing without any goals? I'm not much of a writer, but back when I was in school, I would sometimes just free-write -- start writing and not stop even if all I write is, "I need to think of something to write" over and over -- in order to get started on papers.

Maybe if you just write for yourself, not for any kind of goal, it will be fun again. less

Here's a good example of an unexpected approach to the theme, from Anna Meadows:

"The first seed of “Painted” came from a nineteenth-century portrait of a Russian princess. She poses in a way so sensual it would ruin her if it weren’t for the respect her position demanded. It felt like a perfect fit for erotica. As women, princesses or not, we get away with the sensuousness that is expected of us, but also forbidden." less

My last contribution from one of the authors, Ashley R. Lister, fits right in with our discussion of writing:


I had a lot of fun writing ‘Scratched.’

It’s set in one of my favourite parts of the world: the Yorkshire moors. It deals with one of my favourite aspects of the supernatural: werewolves. And it’s set firmly in one of my favourite genres: erotica.

I recently used the first two pages of ‘Scratched’ as an exercise in a creative writing class I teach. We’d been discussing horror stories, students were given the first two pages of ‘Scratched’, and they were told to continue the story in the direction they wanted.

It was fascinating to see how many different interpretations students came up with from the same beginning. No two stories were alike. Some of them were so radically different it was difficult to believe they’d started from the same place.

And I think that’s one of the things I love about this Red Velvet and Absinthe - no two stories are the same. Every writer has explored the blend of erotica and supernatural with their own unique style, which means it has a treasured place in my personal library.

Ash R Lister less

My last contribution from one of the authors, Ashley R. Lister, fits right in with our discussion of writing:


I had a lot of fun writing ‘Scratched.’

It’s set in one of my favourite parts of the world: the Yorkshire moors. It deals with one of my favourite aspects of the supernatural: werewolves. And it’s set firmly in one of my favourite genres: erotica.

I recently used the first two pages of ‘Scratched’ as an exercise in a creative writing class I teach. We’d been discussing horror stories, students were given the first two pages of ‘Scratched’, and they were told to continue the story in the direction they wanted.

It was fascinating to see how many different interpretations students came up with from the same beginning. No two stories were alike. Some of them were so radically different it was difficult to believe they’d started from the same place.

And I think that’s one of the things I love about this Red Velvet and Absinthe - no two stories are the same. Every writer has explored the blend of erotica and supernatural with their own unique style, which means it has a treasured place in my personal library.

Ash R Lister less