Pollygraph (inteviews with erotica authors): Kali Lowe

Why erotica? 

It's fun to write and people love to read it!
Erotica, I'm hoping, will eventually let me make a living doing something I love. I've always loved to write, and if I can manage to find success in erotica, I can see myself branching out creatively in all directions. Erotica, for me, means freedom in a lot of different ways.

What kinds of erotica do you write?I write erotica shorts, usually around 4,000 words. They're quick stories about situations that lead to sex. That's it! That said, I do prefer to avoid cliches and have more interesting setups, and I like to inject just a little bit of humor and wit into my writing. But above all, I want to write what people want to read and whatever gets them really hot, and I imagine I'll eventually test the waters in a lot of different subgenres. So far, I haven't tried to specialize.

Tell us about your experiences as an erotica author. What have the big challenges and successes been?I've only been in the business for about a month, but it's been a very exciting month which has far exceeded my expectations. It's totally a rollercoaster, though. Everything can seem great one week, and the next week it's the end of the world. The greatest challenge is learning to look past the temporary highs and lows and think about my growth over time. Self-publishing, regardless of genre, requires long-term thinking, which isn't something that comes easily. It's natural to want instant gratification and quick success, but that's rare and happens only to the very lucky. For the rest of us, it's a lot of hard work.

Of course, writing erotica faces a lot of external threats as well, some of which have hit us hard in the last month. As independent, prolific, and adaptive authors, we're a huge threat to larger publishers, and our subject matter makes us an easy target. Censorship can never win in the end, though. People will always want to read about sex, and we'll still be willing to write about it.
Do you write in other genres, too? Oh, yes. I suspect that very few erotica authors write only erotica. Similarly, I'm sure a lot of respected, mainstream authors have a secret pen name or two for the naughtier side of publishing. Sex is a huge part of people's lives, and if you can write, it's perfectly natural to write about sex.

I've been writing for my entire life, beginning with one page, single paragraph stories painstakingly typed on the family typewriter when I was eight years old. I usually write short stories in the science fiction or fantasy genres. I also have a huge fantasy novel that I've fully intended to finish for, oh, about nine years now. One of these days!
Do the people around you know what you write? How have they reacted, or how would they react?A few people know, but usually I just say "Oh, I've started self-publishing" and then carefully dodge the question of genre. I'm certainly not ashamed (you can't afford shame in this business) but it would be a very awkward conversation. Among my friends, it's basically turned into a running joke, so no problem there. I have a lot of open-minded friends.

Tell us about your most recent titles.
I've written two stories in a new "Sex In Space" series. They're about a female space explorer named Zarah whose job is to set foot on potentially dangerous Earth-like planets before anyone else does. Someone has to be first, right? They're a lot of fun to write because science fiction lets you do about anything, and I've been taking full advantage of that.

I've always enjoyed writing science fiction, and I knew when I started this business that I would eventually meld that with erotica. I've had good, early success with those titles, and I'm very glad that people are enjoying them. Science fiction erotica is definitely something I'll continue to write.
Do you have a favourite, or favourites, among your stories?I've been surprised by how much I've liked a few of my stories once I've finished writing them. One is "Night Visitor," a story about ghost sex. I know that people enjoy paranormal erotica and I wanted to try writing it myself, but I was afraid that it would just turn out silly. But it took on a life of its own, and ended up being an emotional little story about a woman coming to terms with a hard breakup that, you know, just happens to have ghost sex at the end. It may not be for everyone, but I really enjoyed writing it!

My other favorite is "Anal Favor," which is about a woman who wants to try anal sex with her boyfriend, but doesn't want it to be one of those awkward first times. The logical solution? Ask her male best friend to give her her first anal experience instead. I was surprised to find myself writing a sweet little ending to this story, and I like the transformation in the relationship of the main characters.

I suppose what I'm trying to say is that I enjoy it when I'm trying to write a simple erotica short and my characters surprise me by coming to life, just a little, and telling a bit of their own story in between all the hot sex.
How do you normally go about writing an erotic story? Is there much, ahem, research involved...?My first step is to brainstorm ideas and think about which characters to put in which situations: a sort of mental assessment where I just ask myself, "What's turning me on today?" I like to always have something new to think about in terms of sex, so I'm always trying to think up new ideas. And sometimes an idea just strikes me out of nowhere. "Sex In Space: The Aphrodisiac Flower" originated with a throwaway joke that a friend made, and I just went all the way with it.

As for research... well, yes, sometimes! Only erotica authors can look at porn and be able to call it work. Sometimes you need to know how the position you want to describe would really work. If you're lucky, you might even have a partner to try it out with. Naked research: just another reason why we have the best job.
Do you have any favourite erotica authors?Even as new to this as I am, I increasingly see erotica authors as colleagues and friends rather than just other writers. There is really no sense of competition in this business; we all help each other out constantly, and it's an amazing little community. In particular, I'd like to mention Kitty Meaker, Lula Lisbon, Zara Black, Erika L. Foster, and all the rest of us who started in 2012. We're basically a support group, and we're all each other's cheerleaders. Carl East, Selena Kitt, and the other big names in the business, I don't know as well but they're my heroes and they're awesome for taking the time to dispense advice to us newbies. And last but not least, Delilah Fawkes is amazing, full of excellent advice and always ready with an encouraging word when we need it the most. I wouldn't have gotten anywhere in this business without her.

Oh, and yes, they can all write a good, hot story, too!
And finally, what can we expect to see from you soon?I tend to write stories in triplets, and it's looking like my next three are going to be about sex in public. In my next release, a shy woman attending her bachelorette party comes out of her shell and ends up having a bit too much fun with the male stripper hired by her friends. It'll be called "Stripped by the Stripper" and it should be coming out any day now.

More about Kali Lowe:Website: http://kaliloweerotica.com/Amazon Author Central: http://amazon.com/author/kaliTwitter: @KaliLoweEros