Featured Author: Gail Bridges

[Tawdra Kandle]

Can you share a little about your journey to publication?

There is a rather humorous story about how I came to be published in erotica. I’d never written anything sexy in my life – in fact, even though I’d written numerous novels and short stories, I found myself shooing amorous couples behind closed doors and making them do their thing in private. I would sweat over a simple kiss or caress. I knew I had to address my blind spot as a writer, so I challenged myself to write a sexy story: I would go all out, to be as explicit and hot and outrageous as possible, no holds barred.

Guess what? I loved it. No – I adored it. Who knew that writing sizzling, burning, passionate sex would be so easy, so fun! The words flew from my hands so quickly I could barely keep up. To my amazement the first erotic story I ever wrote, “Paint Job” was shockingly good, so I submitted it to the best publisher of erotica and erotic romance around, Ellora’s Cave. And they accepted it.

How long did it take to get published?

There are two answers to this question. First answer: It took about…oh…eight years to be published, give or take. Second answer: It took about a week! Writing “Paint Job”, revising it, polishing it, and sending it off to the Elloras’s Cave submissions editor was quick and exciting, a whirlwind. After that, it was several months before I received the official “yes” and the contract, and after that, about six months more until it came out in ebook form.

Do you have a favorite genre in books (to read and/or to write)?

Surprisingly, I do not read much erotica or erotic romance. My tastes in reading are more mainstream – I loved “Gone Girl” by Gillian Flynn, for instance. I also have a soft spot for Science Fiction. Octavia Butler – oh, she’s wonderful. And I thought “Wool” by Hugh Howey was amazing.

Tell us about your latest release.

“America’s Darlings” is the story of…wait for it!...SEX in the Olympic Games! As in, a sport, complete with teams and coaches and judges and scoring markdowns. I had more fun writing this admittedly outrageous concept into a daring novel of Olympic Athletes whose sport is a bit…shall we say…unusual.

Can you tell us a little about your current WIP?

“Inn on the Edge” is going through final editing with my lovely editor at Ellora’s Cave. It will soon hit virtual bookshelves everywhere!

I’m so excited about this novel that I can barely contain myself. “Inn on the Edge” is erotic horror – a challenging combination to say the least. In the book, my newlywed characters have just checked in to a lovely bed-and-breakfast Inn on the Washington Coast, only to find they’ve been taken captive by a sex demon.

What is the nicest thing a reviewer has ever said about one of your books?

I was so excited about this review! It was for “Paint Job”, my first book, the one I spoke of earlier. Book reviewer The Jeep Diva wrote: “Short, yet incredibly erotic, the ménage scenes are detailed and unbelievably hot. I’ll definitely read more by this author after picking this one up!”

What made you want to be an author? At what age did you start telling stories and then writing them down?

I have a detailed memory of myself, age twelve, making up novels with huge casts of characters and convoluted plot lines and clever titles. Every morning, on my way to school (I walked about half a mile, but seemed much longer), I let myself get lost in dreams of my future adult self – the world-famous author! 

If you had one piece of advice for aspiring authors, what would it be?

It’s supposed to be fun. Write because you love it, because you love creating something where nothing existed before.

Erotic romance or erotica – what is the difference in your view?

Good question. Someone at a recent Romance Conference (the Emerald City Writers Conference) just asked me this – and luckily, I had a good answer for her. Erotic Romance is hot and explicit and may have as much sexual action as straight-up erotica, but the story lines of all Erotic Romances follow the arc of the romance. If there was no romance, there would be no story.

Erotica, on the other hand, follows a character’s sexual journey. There may be romance and many of the same elements found in erotic romance, such as great storytelling – but the romance itself does not take center stage, the sexual journey does. In my mind, this opens up a story for more interesting plot lines.

I write erotica, in case you’re wondering.

Where can readers find out more about you and your books?

Thank you so much for reading this interview! I’ve enjoyed thinking about these insightful questions and writing about my work.

My books:

America’s Darlings purchase link: http://www.ellorascave.com/america-s-darlings.html#

Paint Job purchase link: http://www.ellorascave.com/paint-job.html

My website: www.GailBridges.com

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