How to Balance Everything and Look Flawless Doing It…

Riiiiiiight.

Hello again, Readers!

It feels like it gets longer and longer between posts at the moment, but that’s largely because I’m moving slower with my writing too.

I’ve mentioned before that I’ve got a new job which actually comes with a massive training course alongside it, so I’m pretty damn busy at the moment.

And let’s not forget that we have officially entered the craziest time of the year: Holiday Season! My family celebrates Christmas and I’m sure we all know just how much that gets in the way of everything else. Have I done any writing today? Nope; I’ve been busy wrapping presents for neighbours I don’t know and relatives I don’t like. Ho, ho, ho!

To be honest, I’m so charmed by the season since I became a Mum that none of the annoying aspects of it bother me at all anymore. I was even blasting the Christmas radio station (oh yeah, that’s a thing) in my car the other day. When I see my boy writing letters, looking out for reindeer, decorating a tree, baking cookies…frankly, you’d be hard pushed to sour my eggnog.

Anyway, back to writing. Because I’ve had to slow down in pretty much every aspect of my life to balance it all, I’ve actually had to look a lot more closely at my writing to make sure I’m using my time effectively. As such, I’ve found another weird niche that I’m quite good at; erotic horror/sci-fi. I’ve done a few stories in this genre before, mostly because the occasion (Halloween) called for it.

But having this time constraint has meant I’ve had to write what comes the most naturally to me, and it seems that the weird stuff is just pouring out of me uncontrollably. It’s my first high school party all over again!

So, I’m currently working on my new Erotic short, tentatively named, ‘Slime Lake.’ Though the title may yet change. It’s an erotic horror and a loving homage to the films I loved in the 90’s. It’s a little tongue in cheek, and a little tongue in anus.

Sorry, I’m in that kind of a mood.

On that note, I leave you with a quote from a British politician who absolutely would not have ended up starring on I’m A Celebritity…

‘Success is stumbling from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm.’ – Winston Churchill

It should be noted, he was a big drinker, and ‘failure’ may have been code for ‘pub.’

Take care,

Strange

I guess I’m selling… in?

Hey Strangers!

So, remember a little while back, I said I was considering expanding my horizons somewhat? Well, I’ve decided to take the plunge: I’m writing a full on, in-one-piece, romantic-rather-than-erotic novel!

And, to top it off, I’m actually going to try to submit it to a publisher and see if I can get it published traditionally.

I should note that I have a few pros and cons for this decision. The pros are mostly that it’s going to serve as a milestone for my writing: it’s mainstream, full length and I may actually get critiqued (rejected) by someone in ‘the biz.’

There’s also the obvious pro that in some wonderful universe where I need to buy a lotto ticket, I might actually get published! Live the dream: book release…public appearances…a movie? Dinner with RuPaul? The sky’s the limit.

Now for the cons. The genre of the book is paranormal/ adventure/romance so I still get to be a bit flirty and dirty in my writing, but it’s much more vanilla than the Strange brand usually presents. Not that I mind that, it’s just going to be a learning curve for me. I mean, I find whips and chains super romantic, but where’s the line for the rest of the world?

Also, it means a lot of my energy is being put into one place. I’ll still be writing my shorts on the side, but they won’t be as regular and that worries me because I don’t want to lose the 5mph traction I’ve built over the last year and half.

The scariest thing for me though, is I won’t be writing under my pen name, I’ll be writing under my real name. Because this isn’t erotica, I don’t have to hide my identity. Which is great for the most part, I can actually stand up and take credit for my work. But I’m actually a little sad to shrug off K M Strange. I feel like I’ve grown so much with her, the writing style, the colours, even the colour scheme. It’s all very me. I know I can apply the same style to my real name, but I still can’t risk being connected.

Of course, if I hit the big time I can quit my day job and come out of the stationary cupboard once and for all. Then there will be no shutting me up! Muhahaha!

Anyone out there had any experience in traditional publishing, I’d be very grateful for your tips, tricks or even just your stories.

(Sorry, not your stories; I’m not trying to steal your work. I meant your experiences. I swear…)

Saul Bellow said, “You never have to change anything you got up in the middle of the night to write.”

If someone wakes me in the middle of the night to write they’ll have to redo it completely because I’ll have made them eat it. I’m a Mum.

Take care!

Strange

A Note on Sexy Storytelling

Good morning world!

Strange here. Just had a little inspiration for some thoughts I’d like to share. I don’t often give advice on any platform where I can avoid it. This is for two reasons;

1) What the hell do I know? On a scale of the whole world who access the internet, I am certainly no scholar on any topic. Who am I to tell someone what to do?

2) Who needs the aggro? Most topics these days are considered highly controversial by someone. And I rarely care enough about any given topic to fight a passionate stranger over the web about it. Everyone’s entitled to their opinions, of course, so I tend to just keep mine to myself.

However, I heard something today that made me chuckle, and also made me want to sit someone down for a quick ‘girls-chat.’ But since I don’t know her, I figured I’d just put this out into the world to see if it helps anyone.

So, a friend of mine received a voice message from friend with benefits, (for the sake of the post, we’ll call her Elle) detailing her saucy exploits at a BDSM club the night before. Let me tell you, the stuff she saw and did was hawt! I actually found myself becoming somewhat excited by content of what she was describing.

My friend on the other hand, was a little grossed out. Not because she doesn’t like what was being described, quite the contrary, but something about the recording just set her teeth on edge.

Now, being an erotic writer doesn’t give me claim to many occupational skills, but sexy story telling is definitely one of them. As I considered our different reactions, I started to realise what Elle had done wrong.

You see, Elle had sent this recording to my friend with the intention of getting her excited with her outrageous adventures, but she wanted to seem subtle and cool, as if my friends approval was a bonus but not necessary.

I get that, when you’re flirting with someone, you want them to be interested in you without seeming too bothered by it. The problem was, Elle tried to achieve this by telling the story as if she were doing stand up. For example, ‘So, I was at the club and I look over and Georgia is getting fingered by the barman! Hahaha. I don’t know if the bar will pass their next health inspection after that!’

…You see what I mean?

Now, anyone who has read my work will know I love lacing a little comedy into my stories, but you can’t have a punchline to a sexy scene. All it does is make the whole thing feel awkward and uncomfortable. If someone is cracking jokes at a time like that, it’s usually a good sign that they’re not hot for you. Sorry about it.

So, what I would like to say to Elle is this; if you’re telling a sexy story, then tell the sexy story. Commit to it, go all in. Let your voice become a little husky while you remember the way the barmans shoulders bulged while he thrust his fingers in and out of your friends wet pussy. Tell us how her moans of pleasure made you want to place your lips on hers and taste her gasps, to adsorb some of her ecstasy into you.

The sexiest thing in the world in confidence. If she had told that whole story with honest arousal in her voice, she’d have been getting an invite to dinner and drinks with Mr Strange and I. As it is, I don’t think Elle will be hearing from my friend anytime soon.

So there you have it folks, a few words of wisdom from a humble erotic writer.

As a side note, I’ve just finished the first draft of Beast of Backar 2, (Title still pending), I’m really excited about this ending, I’ve definitely gotten a little wrapped up in the drama of it all, but I think it worked. I’ve loved writing this story, and I’m sometimes surprised by the pleasure I still experience from writing. Every time I think, ‘God that was so fun, I’ll never love writing a story like a did that one!’ I fall in love all over again. It’s a wonderful feeling.

Also, I think I’ve accidentally invented a writing genre. A lot of the ideas I’ve been coming up with seem to include some kind of a murder or crime with the protagonists having to solve it. Is erotic-crime a thing? If not, patent-pending! 😆

Oh, one final thing. I think only the most expert of erotic storytellers can use the word ‘squirt’ and make it sexy. Note, you’ll never see it in any of my stories because I can’t pull it off. Elle used it at least four times. 🙄

The Horror! The Sexy, Sexy Horror!

So, I’ve finally done it, I finished my sexy horror(ish) story! I say horror-ish because I don’t know if everyone would find it scary, but it’s definitely in that genre.

I did, of course, write a monster-inspired Halloween story last year, but that was a little more subtle, whereas this one is pretty on the nose.

I don’t want to give anything away, but I have to say I’m particularly invested in this one artistically speaking. It’s shorter than my other work, only around 9,000 words, and it was very much a labour of love. Usually, when I write my stories they’re based on things I have at least some experience in, and they’re written for particular audiences that I have a good understanding of.

This is none of those. Mr Strange mentioned the idea, as he’s a huge horror fan, and even suggested a structure. At first, I wasn’t sure, but as I started writing, I found myself just loving the whole story and going completely off the structure I was planning on. Much to Mr Strange’s dismay.

In truth, I’ve always liked this theme, you know, in a sexy way, but it’s not my main fantasy go-to. It’s more like a special-occasion when I’m in that-kind-of-mood-fantasy. Still, it never occurred to me to write it, but as soon as I did, I was enthralled by the idea.

The end result is that I have a story that I love and that was super exciting for me to write, but I have no idea how it will translate for readers. BSDM enthusiasts may be left bewildered, horror fans may be underwhelmed, who knows?

The story also tested my technical skills too. There are a lot of scenes that shift between reality and fantasy, and though I understand it, I’ll be interested to see if the flow from one to other will work for readers.

So, if that fantastic sales-pitch hasn’t left you itching to download my latest work, I don’t know what will! It’s called ‘Unravelled’ and it should be available on Amazon any minute now. Damned delays.

H.P Lovecraft said, ‘I fear my enthusiasm flags when real work is expected of me.’ I feel like he and I may have been kindred spirits…

Oh look; incest.

Got your attention, huh? I thought it might. Perverts 😏

I just finished writing my newest story – Sibling Seduction, which is about, you guessed it, sort-of incest.

Who knew this was such a popular topic? I mean, I’ve definitely fancied a few brothers in my time, they were just my friends’ older brothers. And I was their sisters’ weird friend who breathed a little too hard outside their bedroom doors.

But after writing a story based on two step-siblings exploring their passion for each other, I have to say I kind of get it now.

I’ve always been something of a brat- you tell me I can’t have something, I’ll just wait outside his bedroom door until he finds my raspy breathing adorable. And the whole step-brother/sister thing is very much is the forbidden fruit vein. The fact that my characters secretly fancied each other despite being told by their parents that it wasn’t okay, was pretty freaking hot.

My favourite thing about writing erotica has been having the opportunity to explore different kinks, and Sibling Seduction has been my biggest exploration yet.

So, if siblings are your thing, don’t waste your weekends grinding up against your friends’ brothers legs. Indulge your fantasy with my newest tale.

Alternatively, wait until they go out for the night, then steal a pair of their boxers. That works too.

Sibling Seduction is available to download here!

Bound: Garden of Eden 2

Yay! I’m so excited to say that Bound has been submitted to the editors at Amazon and should be released for purchase any day now.

Writing the second book in this series was certainly an interesting experience. The first book had roots in some of my own experiences and in some ways it almost wrote itself because of that. With Bound I had the opportunity to really get to know some of the other characters in the series and experience new things with them.

All my stories so far have had a running theme of Dominance and submission, which, as they say, is probably more telling of the author than the characters. I love exploring this particular dynamic from various angles as it’s something that I find fascinating and enjoyable. The fun thing about writing stories, however, is that I’m forced to explore whole new ideas and experiences in order to write them. My research has so far been enlightening to say the least!

In case you’ve already read the first book, Devoted, I should explain that Bound runs alongside and even slightly before (rather than after) the first one, giving a different view point on the events that occur.

If you’re now screaming at your screen- ‘No! I wanted to know more about the ending of the first one!’ Don’t panic! There are more clues in Bound to add to your theories from GOE 1.

As ever, if you do end up reading my stories, please let me know what you think! I’m always interested in what people enjoy and learning ways I can develop my writing.

Remember, live every moment to the fullest. But, when you can’t do that because you’re like, waiting for a bus or whatever, maybe read some erotica instead.