I’m all over the internet lately.  Well, me and Fairy Tale Lust.  Romance at Heart Magazine interviewed me last week about the book, writing, critique groups and what the future holds…

What do you think of critique groups in general?

A good critique group can make the difference between almost published and published. A bad critique group can make you want to claw your eyes out and give up writing entirely. I’ve belonged to both. I had a wonderful critique group for several years and I really do credit them with helping me get published. In fact, I dedicated Dangerous Curves to them. But we drifted apart over the years as each of us switched genres or came to different places in our careers. If I ever found the right combination of personalities and experience, I would love being part of another critique group.

You can read the rest of the interview here. And you won’t be surprised that my answer to “How do you recharge your batteries?” was “Coffee, coffee, coffee!”

Thanks to Romance at Heart for shining the spotlight on my corner of the writing world.

Posted by Kristina in Writing at 10:20 AM Permalink

I first heard “Trust Me I’m a Thief” by the Irish duo The Guggenheim Grotto at Starbucks a couple of weeks ago. (Say what you will about the corporate machine, but Starbucks does seek out unusual, obscure and international music for that “indie coffee house” feel.) Something about the lyrics and the melancholy sound of this song got into my brain.  My story for Dream Lover is called “Thief of Dreams,” inspired by this song and a wild, sad, beautiful dream I had several months ago.

Careful what you wish for
Careful what you wish
Oh, the devil’s in the details

Trust me, trust me
I’m a thief

Posted by Kristina in Writing at 08:50 AM Permalink

Last week, I was interviewed about Fairy Tale Lust and my writing career by Night Owl Reviews.  One of their questions was about my advice to other writers. I always hate questions like that because-- hey-- what the heck do I know? I still read the advice of other writers!  But I took a stab at it:

Do you have any advice for other writers?

Ignore the inner voice that says, “You’re not a real writer” and keep writing. Because that’s what real writers do: they write through the self-doubt.

Don’t talk about what you’re currently writing. Put your enthusiasm into the story and talk about it only after you’ve sold it.

Remember that a rejection is one person’s opinion about one specific story on one particular day. That’s all. Don’t give it more power than that.

Read a lot and read critically. Learn from other writers by reading what they’ve written, not by what writing advice they give.

Write, write, write. And when you’re tired and discouraged and don’t think you can write another word, write another word. It really is just that simple. And just that hard.

I re-read my “advice"-- especially that last little nugget-- and feel like a fraud. Maybe I should take my own advice, hmm?

You can read the rest of the interview here. Thanks to Night Owl Reviews for interviewing me, even if I give lame advice!

Posted by Kristina in Writing at 11:05 AM Permalink

My fabulous editor and friend Rachel Kramer Bussel has made this bubbly book trailer to promote her newest anthology Fast Girls: Erotic for Women, which includes my story “Chasing Danger.”

Enjoy!

Posted by Kristina in Books and Reading at 11:29 AM Permalink

Doesn’t that sound enticing?  I’m the book club moderator of Eden Fantasys Naked Reader Book Club and I’ll be moderating tonight’s discussion about Alison Tyler’s Red Hot Erotica. Won’t you stop by?  It’s easy to create an account!  The discussions go at break neck pace for almost four hours and are as wild and fun as you’d imagine an erotica book club to be. 

Just when you think it can’t get any hotter acclaimed author and editor Alison Tyler returns with a stunning collection of steamy and scorching erotica sure to set all your desires ablaze. With 19 sweltering stories, Tyler has arranged a fantastic set of tales that incorporate a number of genres all with one central but all too familiar theme-heat. Whether it’s the heat of bodies melding together under the sheets, or the dog-days of summer, these stories will crank the thermostat up past the breaking point.

In Red Hot Erotica, literary goddess Alison Tyler takes the concept of heat and spins it around in 19 different delicious ways. In this collection, the question isn’t “Hot or Not?” it’s “Hot, Hotter or Hottest?” What qualifies as “hot” erotica is a matter of personal taste. Erotic heat is as much about an author’s storytelling ability as it is the reader’s own interests and imagination. In other words, it’s only hot if you, the reader, thinks it’s hot!

So, what makes for a steamy story that stays with you after you’ve read it? Does reading about sex in a tropical locale, such as “Las Agridulces” by Shanna Germain put you in the mood? Do you like the voyeuristic heat of stories such as Bill Noble’s “Stardrift” or do you prefer to read about a character who is the center of attention, such as Rachel Kramer Bussel’s stripper in “Cruising?”

Are first person stories ("I’m walking down Fifth Avenue on the hottest day in July.” ~ Tsaurah Litsky, “No Panties") what steams up your glasses? Do you prefer the slow burn of third person ("Put plain and simple, Ella wanted to fuck the aristocracy.” ~ Saskia Walker, “It’s Not Just Cricket")?

I want to know what it takes to makes a story sizzle for you, dear readers. What stories in Red Hot Erotica resonate with you? What makes erotica red hot for you? What steamy scenario do you want to experience? What sizzling fantasy do you want to write?

If you haven’t read Red Hot Erotica, you are still welcome to participate in the conversation. Stop in and tell us what kinds of stories you like to read and we will be delighted to point you toward some of the hottest erotica around!

Posted by Kristina in Books and Reading at 12:57 PM Permalink