Lucy's stories are so good that you may wonder about her sexuality. And that is why I found her account of a recent talk that she gave particularly interesting. Take it away, Lucy!
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Luscious Ladies
I did a talk for a local writer's group a couple
of months ago. I was nervous beforehand, because previous appearances I've done
have been at erotica-related places or events. This was a writing group with
members ranging from 17 to 93, and although they knew the speaker was an erotic
writer, I still wasn't sure what they'd make of me.
There was a great turn out – people were
obviously curious enough to turn up and see what I was like. I don't know if
they were disappointed by my normal appearance or not, but everyone was really
friendly and interested in what I do.
Anyway, after I did my talk, I then had a
Q&A session, and happily, lots of people asked me questions. One of them
(from the 93 year old, in fact) was along the lines of, "If you have a
boyfriend, how do you write lesbian fiction?"
I answered by saying that I can write about two
women together, because I am a woman.
I have the right equipment, I know what things look and feel like, and what
feels pleasurable. As a writer, I have the imagination to duplicate that into
two (or more) women in a story – and there you have it! Sexy lesbian or
bisexual fiction.
My answer seemed to satisfy the group, though
they couldn't quite get their heads around who reads lesbian fiction. I
answered that I read lesbian fiction. I also read straight and gay fiction.
Many people will read all kinds of fiction just because they love that type of
story – it doesn't have to have any bearing on their sexuality or preferences.
When I let slip that my lesbian fiction outsells my straight fiction, there
were lots of raised eyebrows around the table. They weren't rubbishing my
claims, or the genre, I suspect it was just something they'd never considered
before.
This led the conversation onto gay fiction, and
when I said it was mainly women writing and reading it, there was a great deal
of confusion. But then I pointed out that it's similar to when straight guys
(not all of them, of course, I'm not generalising!) say things like "Ooh,
lesbians! Hot!" I believe their mentality is that they like women and
women's bodies, so two women together is twice the sexiness. This brought lots
of nods from the group – why wouldn't women think exactly the same thing about
seeing two guys together?
Overall, it was a fun evening with a group of
people who were very curious about what I do and the erotica and erotic romance
genre in general, which prompted several discussions similar to the ones I've
just mentioned. One comment that sticks in my mind is when I said that my
luscious ladies outsell everything else, someone basically told me that I was
obviously doing something right, and to keep writing it! A "go girl"
if ever I heard one. So, with that in mind, I shall leave you in peace and go
and write some more Sapphic sexiness, and smile as I think about the education
I gave the local writing group. I suspect I was their most controversial
speaker in a while!
More info, excerpt and buy links: http://lucyfelthouse.co.uk/published-works/the-cottage-in-the-woods/
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