The Facts About Me (#amwriting #erotica #author)

by Cameron D. James

I find the reality of being an erotica writer very different from people's expectations.

I've made no secret of the fact that I write under a variety of pen names, ranging from more vanilla than this one to ultra-kinky. When I present as those other pen names on Twitter, I attract a lot of attention -- particularly on the kinkier end of the spectrum. And it leaves me in an awkward spot.

I have a female pen name. My presence on Twitter for that name is largely automated promotional tweets. It is very rare that I go on and pretend to be this person. I also don't have a profile picture that pretends to be an image of this author -- it's a generic stock photo that I used for one of my covers.

Yet, this pen name gets hit on through private messages on Twitter quite regularly. Particularly by Nigerian soldiers. I don't know what draws people to that Twitter account and makes them think they should hit on me when they have no idea what I look like. (When I explained this to a friend of mine, she said, "Welcome to being a woman on the internet!")

For my ultra-kinky name (which is a male BDSM dom persona), I do sometimes tweet as if I'm that person. It's my biggest selling pen name so I want to put some effort into it. I get frequent private messages from men wanting me to be their dom. Like with my female pen name, I've never shared a photo that I pretend to be a real photo -- I use a stock photo there too. When people ask me if it's a photo of me, I'm up front and say it's not and that I don't share photos. For most people, this doesn't really matter and they still ask me to be their master. I have received a lot of dick pics to this account.

With both of those names, the assumption is the same. I'm a writer of erotica so I must be absolutely sex-crazed, promiscuous, and insanely nuts about dick.

I mean, I like dick. A lot. But that doesn't make me sex-crazed or promiscuous.

People who know me as an erotica writer first (particularly from those names), are shocked to find how boring and plain I really am. I have a little cozy house with my husband and our two cats. I assume I have sex as much as most average people do.

The flip-side is interesting. I generally don't talk about my writing to my friends unless someone spills the beans. So there are friends of mine who have no idea that I'm building a writing career and have nearly 100 publications. Even if they did, they'd never guess that I write about people fucking.

Like I said, I'm boring and plain. Really. And I'm very polite and friendly and innocent (or at least I appear to be). So when people find out what I write (and I don't even tell them about the filthy end of the spectrum), it takes them time to process that information. This then inevitably leads them to thinking that I have a secret sex life that is as wild as the stories I write. It's a running joke at my day job that I'm sex-obsessed and probably have frequent extra-marital hookups.

Sigh.

I let them believe it. I smile my little smile that makes them think I have a secret -- and I don't say a word.

Those who have seen the work side of being a writer -- like my writers group and my mom -- know that this is all work and it's really no different than a day job. (I'm a manager in my day job, but that doesn't mean my private life is full of promiscuous managering. I don't hire and fire friends.)

For the rest of the world, they have a belief of what it means to be an erotic writer. There's a fictional story of what it takes to create these stories.

While I don't really care for the unsolicited dick pics and I generally don't respond to people looking to woo my female pen name, I have come to accept it is part of the job. Really, that fiction helps sell books. Who are people going to buy filthy erotica from? The innocent-looking dork or the BDSM master?



Cameron D. James is a writer of gay smut. His most recent publication is New York Heat.

Pushing the Limits of Erotica (#amwriting #erotica #tabooerotica)

by Cameron D. James



I have a dirty pen name.

Like, really dirty.

It’s far dirtier than this one. In fact, this Cameron D. James name writes stuff that is almost puritanical when compared to what my dirty pen name writes.

It is so dirty that I’ve only divulged to a handful of people what that name is. There are a great number (far too many in fact) that know I have a dirtier pen name, but the people I spill the details to (the name and the subject matter) is extremely limited.

While with my Cameron D. James pen name, I write the stories I want to read, meaning that I am the primary target audience, with my secret pen name, I’ve taken a whole different slant. For a brief while several years back, I ran some Google Ads for my Cameron site and reviewed the keywords that people were using to find my ad and my site. Holy crap was I disturbed. Putting the search terms for illegal content aside, the legal stuff was very eye opening — it told me what secretly turns on a whole segment of the population. (In fact, I think these dark and dirty desires are more widespread than people want to admit — these are just the ones brave enough to type it into a search bar.)

After being disturbed, I cancelled my Google Ad (because paid advertisement is a waste of money) and just let that information percolate for a few years. Eventually, I became more comfortable with those taboo subjects — the information pushed my limits, I guess you could say.

A few years back, I needed a new creative outlet, something vastly different from Cameron D. James. Soon, my ultra dirty and ultra secret pen name was born.

For this project, I wasn’t writing for me — I’m not the target audience of these books. My target audience is that group of people who are searching the taboo search terms and somehow stumbling onto my website.

My first few short stories under this pen name were taboo, but still rather tame. Over time, they got dirtier and dirtier. I also shed the need to somehow show how ordinary people have these dirty desires in my stories — now I just jump right into the extreme smut. I give people what they want.

These readers have pushed my limits, and in return I push theirs.

These stories are not Amazon-friendly. This pen name’s ebooks are available on Smashwords (but not their third party sellers, just Smashwords) and Excitica. To most, that would be a death knell for sales. For most, Amazon is a source of mediocre income, outselling anything else.

Yet, these stories on Smashwords are my biggest source of sales. It’s primarily these stories that make me feel like I’m successful as a writer.

Sex sells. Taboo sex sells even better.



Cameron D. James is a writer of gay smut. His most recent publication is New York Heat.

Name as Mask

By Sharazade (Guest Blogger)

Last September (2011) I attended the Erotic Authors Association conference in Las Vegas, Nevada. To save money, I arranged to share a hotel room with another participant, whom I knew only as Nan Andrews (a pen name). Since she was arriving first, she put the room on her credit card; I was to pay her when I arrived; and she left a room key for me at reception in an envelope with my name on it.

So, upon arrival, I presented myself to the woman at reception and asked if she had an envelope for Sharazade. She did.

“Can I just see some photo ID?”

Ah. Well…

“I don’t have any photo ID.”

“Why not?”

“Because that isn’t my legal name.”

We stared at each other for a few moments, neither one of us quite sure what to do next. Then I had an inspiration.

“How about a business card? I have a business card with my name on it!” And I presented her with one.

I got my room key; but I’m not sure that would have worked anywhere other than Las Vegas.

***

That’s the mask I wear as an erotica writer: my pen name. I often hear people refer having a pen name and a real name. However, that distinction doesn’t feel correct to me. Sharazade is not my legal name; it’s not my passport name. But it’s certainly my real name.

Not everyone would agree. Recently I was approached (online) by an indie fiction writer who wanted some editing. We chatted a bit about rates, and then he asked if he could have my real name. “Sharazade,” I said, “will do, or just Shar.” No—he wanted my “real” name. Even if it was just a first name. Without that, he said, he would not do business with me.

Now, obviously I could have picked anything—I could have said I was Edith or Nancy or Esmeralda or Sarah, and he’d never have known any better. But I was a little put out at being told my name wasn’t real. I mean, I write with this name. I publish with it, and I am published under it. I edit and consult. I blog as Shar. I interact on Facebook, Twitter, and Google+. I do public readings, and I attend conferences, and I give workshops. I’ve done a radio interview on NPR as Sharazade. How is the name not “real”? I declined the work opportunity, and wished him all the best in finding a suitable editor.

I’ve seen erotica authors on forums and lists imply—or outright state—that those who use pen names are hiding. I suppose you could see it that way. To me, it feels more like I’m shining the light on a different facet. It might sound more romantic to say that when I slip on the mask of Sharazade, finally my forbidden sensuous thoughts flow freely from my now-unfettered mind. But that’s not quite the case. It is more like, well, like holding a piece of paper in front of a light. Some of what’s below is now in shadow; some in light. But what’s in shadow is still there. It’s simply not the focus at the moment. In the same way, a physical mask might say, “Don’t look at my face right now—look at my body, or listen to my voice, or watch me move.” Not a lie; a different emphasis.

In many ways, my name division is a work division. Non-Sharazade works in non-fiction; Sharazade works in fiction. Non-Sharazade works in some pretty conservative sectors and countries; Sharazade is surrounded by open-minded and, for the most part, liberal readers and authors. Neither aspect of me is false. Neither one is a part I dislike. None of my roles are resented. They’re just different. A woman might be “Sweetheart” to her husband, “Mom” to her kids, “Melissa” to her friends, “Ms. Smith” to a client on the phone, and “Keith’s mom” to her son’s friends. None of those names are fake. They just show different aspects. Sharazade can assume that the people she’s talking to have an active interest in sex and in fiction. It’s a good bet they’re interested in bookstores and publishing. Many share my love of grammar and words. I don’t have to ask what their opinion of PayPal’s recent moves was. It’s a comfortable community, and I feel at home in it. I feel at home as Sharazade, just as in other circles, I feel at home being called something else.

What would happen, I’ve been asked, if I were outed? Well, not too terribly much. If it got spread all over the Internet, I could lose some job opportunities. I suppose in some of the more conservative countries I travel to, it could cause visa problems—assuming it got that widespread. It could cause some embarrassment to a few family members whom I’d rather not embarrass, though nobody would really freak out much. I have far fewer potential penalties than a lot of erotica writers.

Even if there were no penalties at all, though, I’d keep this mask. I like writing as Sharazade, she who was so sure of her story-telling abilities that she bet her life on them. And won.

(The reason I chose this pen name can be found here.)

Bio: A professional writer, editor, and consultant who divides her time among Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and the U.S., Shar enjoys stories that are realistic enough that they might have happened and fanciful enough that they might not have. She values communication, adventure, exploration, passion, and love. Her first collection of stories, Transported: Erotic Travel Tales, is published by Fanny Press. Her stories also appear in anthologies with Cleis Press and Sizzler. Recently Shar started publishing her own works and those of others under the 1001 Nights Press imprint. Find her on the web at:

http://sharazade.fannypress.com (blog) and http://1001nightspress.com (publishing company).

Levels of Comfort

By Jenna Byrnes

First of all, a big thank you to Sassy Brit of Alternative Reads for the lovely blog award! We gratefully accept and will post it proudly.

Now, to the topic of the week, opening closed doors. I have pretty strong feelings about this subject but hesitate to say to much since my doors are closed and need to stay that way. Lisabet is lucky not to have experienced the sting of this particular prejudice first hand. It's not fun.

Erotic Romance is a guilty pleasure that many people won't admit they enjoy. The fact that authors don't face legal battles anymore, or get 'in trouble' for writing about sex, means we've come a long way, but not all the way, to being an acceptable part of today's society. If it weren't still taboo, then so many authors wouldn't feel the need to write using pen names.

It's true, in the online community of writers, readers, publishers, reviewers and even bloggers that many of us talk to every day, erotic romance is a normal thing. I attended a small author-reader event this summer and found it extremely refreshing to sit in a group of people who enjoyed the same type of books that I read and write. I proudly wore a name tag and never once felt threatened by any of the wonderful people there. Everyone hugged each other when the weekend ended, and many people made plans to meet again next year.

I don't go to a lot of 'events', so that weekend was a new experience for me. I rarely get the chance to sit around discussing erotic romance, which was great. Follow that up with a trip to visit my writing partner Jude. We lounged in her living room, notebook in hand, feet kicked up, sipping diet pop (oh wait, make that hard liquor), brainstorming book ideas. That was a blast.

I am part of a writer's group that meets regularly to discuss the craft and different aspects of it. As nice as that is, I still feel like erotic romance authors are the red-headed stepchildren of the industry. We can write it, talk about it a little, but mainly, it's best to keep it quiet. More comfortable for everyone that way. I've accepted this, and think I finally have it figured out. Comfortable is good.