Author Interview – Lucy Felthouse

Hello everyone! It’s very exciting for me to have visiting my blog today, Lucy Felthouse. I met Lucy via Twitter and I’m pleased as anything she was able to join me here today. Lucy is also the founder of the new site Erotica For All.

Welcome Lucy!

What or who inspired you to first start writing?

I’ve always written, as long as I can remember. I’ve just always loved reading and writing. When I was little I used to produce reams and reams of writing – I wish I could churn out that many words now! I started writing erotica in my first year at University. Somebody dared me to write a smutty story – and so I did! I showed it to the person that dared me, and a few others and they were all pretty impressed. I realised I had a knack for erotica, and I’ve never looked back!

If you could go back in time and lay claim to any book written, which one would you want and why?

Oooh, I love so many books that I can’t really say. How about the one that’s still earning tons of royalties?

When you are writing and hit a stumbling block, what do you do to try and get over the hurdle?

Have a skive for a few minutes… or sometimes more than a few. I’ll see if there’s anything going on Twitter or Facebook, or maybe play a computer game for a little while. I try to take my mind off the story, because I find if I force myself to write, it comes out as complete trash.

What was the strangest thing that ever inspired a scene/book? What was the end result?

I’d say the dare (see above)!

If you could have supper with any of your characters, which one would you choose and where would you take them?

Probably Dane. He’s a vampire that stars in my short story Shattered Resistance, recently published in Fang Bangers, by Ravenous Romance. He’s a very, very sexy guy, pretty sarcastic but a nice guy at the same time. I have much longer work planned which includes him – I can’t wait to reveal more about him. It wouldn’t matter where I take him for supper – he’s a vampire after all – it’d be more what we did afterwards!

Is there a type of story you would like to write, but are terrified you wouldn’t do a proper job? What is it and why?

Most of my short stories have been pure erotica, rather than erotic romance. I would like to work more on the romance element because I think it lends itself much better to longer pieces of writing. I’m not scared of it, per se, but I’m used to pure erotica, so I just hope I can do a good, and convincing job of writing in some romance too!

If you could sit down with one author from any time in history, who would it be? What questions would you want to ask them?

To be honest, I have the utmost respect for any author who can write firstly, a novel, then a series of novels all on the same topic, with the same characters. Writers like J. K. Rowling, Charlaine Harris, Rachel Caine, Richelle Mead and many, many more have written several books in the same world, with the same characters. Yet, instead of running out of things to say about them, or the books becoming dull – more and more layers appear in the characters, new situations arise and must be dealt with, and it gets to the stage that you really care about the characters and can’t wait to see what happens next!

Basically, I’d sit down with any, or all, or the above and ask how on earth they do it! How do they keep track of who said or did what, and make sure they stay consistent throughout many books?! Please teach me!

If someone gave you a minion tomorrow, what would be the first task you’d ask them to complete?

I’d send them to work for me, so I could stay home and write. Then I’d get them to do the ironing and the housework, freeing up yet more writing time. It’d be great! When can they start?

E-books vs print books? E-readers vs. paper? Can’t we all just get along? What’s your preference?

A year ago, I’d have turned my nose up at eBooks. The UK is way behind the US in terms of adopting eBooks and eBook Readers, so the main option was the read eBooks on a computer screen, which I really dislike. It’s a personal thing, but I don’t like reading reams of text on a computer. However, when I got an iPhone, I discovered that you could download the Kindle App, amongst others, which was a much more comfortable option for reading in bed (where I do most of my reading), despite the smaller screen.

Since then, I’ve embraced eBooks and realised they’re no better or worse than print books. They’re just different. From a writer’s perspective, eBooks increase your chances of getting work published, and the payment rates are better. From a reader’s perspective, the choice is wider, particularly when it comes to erotica. I’ve finally succumbed and ordered an Amazon Kindle, recently made available in the UK. I’ve got a few weeks to wait until it arrives, but I think its release, and the creation of the UK Kindle store is going to be a game changer in the UK. It’s a huge step forward, and hopefully one that will make the market mature and catch up with the US.

In terms of preference, I don’t really have one. I can see pros and cons for both. Naturally, it means I’ll be able to more easily read books which are only available as eBooks, but I’ll never stop buying print books either. I think in my life, certainly, the two will live very happily alongside one another, steadily draining my bank balance dry.

What project are you working on next?

I’m working on a few calls for submissions from various editors. I’m also working on editing an anthology myself. I’ve wanted to edit one for some time but have never been given the opportunity through a publisher, but thought what the hell – and am doing it myself! The call is for an erotic uniform anthology – find out more here (http://lucyfelthouse.co.uk/index.php/call-for-submissions-uniform-behaviour/)

If you could have supper with any character, which one would you choose and where would you take them?

It would probably be Damon Salvatore from The Vampire Diaries. Failing that, Anne Rice’s Lestat. They’re both very sexy. Supper would be negligible, but I’m sure we could find something fun to do!

What story types/characters are you sick to death of seeing?

I should probably be sick of vampire stuff by now, but I’m not. Rather than getting bored with it, I keep stumbling across more and more authors that have written vampire stories, whether erotic ones or not, and I just read them all. I can’t get enough! I guess if I want to write more of that kind of thing, it’s great research!

How excited do you get when you find out a new book by your favorite author is coming out soon? What do you do?

I’ve read such a silly amount of books that I couldn’t possibly name a favourite author, though I do have lots that I really like. I get fairly excited – then put the book on pre-order and hope that I’ve finished what I’m currently reading when it arrives!

OMG if I see another author promo of “celebrity” autobiographies I’m going to scream! Why?

The autobiographies of so-called celebrities are just trash filling the shelves. Don’t get me wrong, they’re not all bad, like the ones of genuine celebrities. But it’s all the crap from people like Jordan/Katie Price and Kerry Katona. They don’t have anything interesting to tell us, they’re hungry for fame and aiming to make a quick buck, at the expense of proper writers whose books could, and should, be on those shelves.

I know it will never change, but there’s too much emphasis placed on these kinds of books because they’re pretty much guaranteed sellers, as opposed to quality writing from genuine people who are doing it because it what’s they love.

How can readers find out more about you?

I have my own website, which is http://lucyfelthouse.co.uk. I’m also often rambling about various things on Twitter (http://www.twitter.com/cw1985) and I also have a page on Facebook (http://fb.me/lucyfelthousewriter) – hope to see some of you around!

Thank you for joining me here today! *does a snoopy dance*