More me! Week six of my Goddess Tour!

Here’s an author interview with Anna Ellis. Take it away, Anna…

How did you start writing erotica?

Back in 2013, I wrote a book called Coming Home. (I also write women’s fiction and chick lit under the name Holly Kerr) I included several sex scenes, one between the main character Brenna, and the love interest. After it was finished and published, a few months later, I was looking at it again and reread that scene. It really didn’t fit in with the story! It wasn’t that it was gratuitous, but it was too steamy for the genre. So that got me thinking… I had an idea for a story but I wasn’t sure how to write it for women’s fiction. But I thought I could make it work as erotica. And my Husbands and Wives series was born!!

In case you’re curious about the sex scene in Coming Home, I’ve recently republished it, with quite a few changes. I rewrote the scene for the new edition, and while it’s not G rated, it’s not quite as R as it was!

What’s your favourite published work of yours and why?

That’s like asking me which of my children is my favourite!!

But if I had to answer, I’d say The Wives, which is the third of the Husbands and Wives series. It was just so much fun to write. The first book is always horribly scary to get out there, and there’s so much pressure with the second, but The Wives just rolled along for me. Plus, I had a scene with 4 women, and a MMF threesome, so there were lots of new things for me to learn!

Where do you draw your inspiration from?

My latest series, Adults Only, was actually inspired by reading articles about a nudist resort and a man who enjoyed travelling around to visit women, usually someone’s wife. Of course I changed things quite a bit! But usually I have the what if moment, if that makes sense. What if this or that happened, and I go from there.

Do you have any unusual writing rituals?

Not really. I spend most of my writing time at my desk with tea and music, usually alone, especially when I’m writing the sexy bits!

Where’s your favourite place to write?

My desk is in my living room, right by the window, so it gets really cold in the winter. I need a little heater by my feet. It’s good that there’s lots of light, but bad because the window overlooks the sidewalk and I’m very nosy about who is walking by! I wrote series about neighbours, so I’m pretty curious about mine!

Who is your favourite character from one of your stories and why?

Morena, from my latest novel, Shared Accommodations, is my new favourite. She owns a B&B in Nova Scotia that caters to the swinging crowd. She’s older and sexy and has quite the history!!

Do your nearest and dearest know what you do, and if so, what was their reaction when they found out?

Everyone knows and they’ve all been supportive, but their reactions have been different. My father refuses to speak of my books, sort of like I write the genre that must not be named, but he’s really proud of me. My mother thinks it’s fascinating, but is afraid to ask how I came to know so much about sex!

My kids are another story. They know I write ‘adult’ books, but they’re only now getting to an age where they’re wondering what makes them so ‘adult.’ It’s a conversation I’m not really looking forward to having!

What was your ideal career when you were a child?

I think I wanted to be a truck driver at one point. That and an Olympic hurdler.

How do you get yourself in the mood to write?

Earlier this year, I would have said I was always in the mood to write, but after going through a nasty bout of writer’s block, that’s no longer true. These days, I like to plan what I’m going to write that day. I go through it in my head, which usually happens when I’m in the shower, or lying awake in bed. Then I sit down on my computer with my tea and put on a playlist. Certain songs are helpful to write certain scenes!

What’s the best writing tip you’ve ever been given?

Read a lot. And so I do.

If you get writer’s block, how do you get around it?

Like I said, I had writer’s block earlier this year, mainly because I was a bit burnt out. So I took a break. Instead of writing, I would created characters and bios for them and think about writing, but not pressure myself with coming up with anything. It wasn’t fun, but I got through it,

If you could bring one of your characters to life, which one would it be and why?

Lorde, from Shared Accommodations. I’d like to see if he’s really as sexy is he is in my mind!

Which author, erotic or otherwise would you love to meet and why?

I’d like to meet someone like Colleen Hoover or Alice Clayton or Sarah J. Maas. They’re well-known, but not huge. I’d like to pick their brains about how they did it.

What’s your favourite genre within erotica and why?

I like swingers!!

What are you working on at the moment?

I’m working on the second book in my Adults Only series, Room Service. I’m multi-tasking because I’m also trying to finish the third book in my Office Plays series, which I should have finished a long time ago. But they go together because there are characters from Office Plays which show up in the new series.  I’m just trying to keep the storylines straight.

What’s the biggest writing challenge you’ve ever taken on? Did you succeed?

I write under a pen name as well, so it’s like I’ve got two writing careers going on. I have my Anna books to write and market, and my Holly books. It keeps me busy. Am I succeeding? I like to hope so!

What’s your biggest writing achievement? Why?

For me, it’s the fact that I took my dream and decided to do something about it. I call myself an author and that is just the coolest thing for me. Plus, knowing I have people out there who read my books, and like them. It’s still such a thrill for me.

But as far as achievements go, looking back in the last four years, I’ve published 17 novels, 5 collections of short stories as well as 2 short stories. And that’s only under Anna Ellis. I think that’s a pretty big achievement and one I’m really proud of.