I have wanted to be a published author since I was nine. That was when my fourth class teacher introduced us to the creative writing process, writing drafts that were polished and then “published” into a special folder. I was good at it and I got a lot of gold stars for my work. Since then, it’s been the dream to have a my name on the cover of a paperback.
By that standard, I’m still not a published author. Sure, I’ve been writing since 1997. I’ve had articles appear in newspapers and magazines, contributed chapters to non-fiction works and had short stories published in compilations. I’ve been blogging since 2004 and publishing my own writing on my two subscription sites since 2003. I’ve effectively made my living from writing and filmmaking for 26 years.
Even so, I’ve never had a real live hard copy book with my name on the cover.
And I suspect it’s never gonna happen. The publishing industry is down to bare bones and competition is insane because absolutely everybody has the same dream of being a published author. Meanwhile, AI waits in the wings to come and destroy all commercial creative endeavour.
So if the mountain doesn’t come to you, you must turn to self publishing.
I’m about 20 years too late to do this but I’ve finally released my first book on Amazon. It’s called Not Until I Say and it’s a collection of erotic fiction written under the Louise Lush pseudonym. I gathered up and expanded five stories I’d previously written which featured edging — the act of drawing out pleasure but denying an orgasm. The focus, as always, is on female pleasure and it features a bit of kink and an awful lot of teasing.
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I actually compiled the book ages ago but got caught up on the vagaries of submitting a title to Amazon and gave up for a bit. It took a LOT of online research to get to this point. As with all adult business, getting your erotic fiction published on Kindle can be precarious. You need to navigate a lot of unwritten rules about the cover, the title, the categories and how the book is promoted. You can’t imply nudity on the cover, it’s best not to show full faces, you need to be careful about how the book is described, what’s in the excerpt and so on. There’s no official guide on the best way to do things and your book can be sent to “the dungeon” on a whim without appeal. The “dungeon” is where your book is labelled as too adult and it disappears from any search results, making no sales.
I’ll admit, I was offput by the idea that I had to deal with more sex-negative discrimination. I’ve said before how tired I am of dealing with censorship, banking discrimination, unwritten rules and the whole anti-porn shebang. It felt like publishing erotic fiction was probably going to be more stress than it was worth. I would make more money via my sites anyway.
But I figured I’d do an ebook anyway. What the hell, might as well get a few titles out there, even if they make a total of $5 and get pirated to oblivion. I’ll have my name on the cover of something, at least.
By the way, I’m proud of my cover. You’re not supposed to design your own but I thought this one came out looking classy. No nudity, no faces, simple text. It gets the idea across well enough. I spent WAY too long perusing stock photo sites trying to find just the right image.
I’ve used the Louise Lush pseudonym for my writing because it sounds more like a real name. I should have been using it for everything but ah well. I’ve created a separate author site at LouiseLush.com. The focus is on books there and it’s also far less porny. One needs to be an upstanding citizen if Amazon decides to check your bio link.
The book is available through other non-Amazon retailers if you want to avoid Bezos. Alas, Kindle remains the main ebook marketplace so I’m listed there and following their rules. I actually wanted to sell ebooks from my own site but as usual billing is impossible because it’s erotica.
Not Until I Say: Edging and Denial Erotica For Women
Smart, literate, seriously hot erotica.
Five stories about stretching out the pleasure and making it last as long as possible. Five women balancing on a knife edge of bliss, waiting for their lover to give them permission to tip over the edge. This collection of edging and denial stories explores gentle edging kink within hetero relationships, focusing on female pleasure and male control. It will stimulate your fantasies and leave you wanting more – but not until I say.
Inside:
The Feather Duster
A playful swipe with the feather duster leads to spanking and a long, slow session of edging and delayed pleasure.
One Word
He promises that he’ll make her come… eventually. But only when he says that one, magic word.
Ten Times
She’s so horny she could come in ten strokes. He decides to test her, eking out the pleasure in ten kisses, ten rubs, ten licks…
Stroke Of Midnight
On New Year’s Eve a couple aim to get off at midnight. But it’s only 8pm and she doesn’t think she can hold out that long…
Tied Up For The First Time
Strapped to the bed, she submits to his ministrations for the first time, squirming as he uses toys and his body to draw out the moment into endless pleasure.
This collection of edging erotica for women is all about female pleasure, told from a female point of view (POV). These women are taken to the edge of orgasm by their lovers and then given just enough stimulation to leave them hanging. The result is exquisitely sensual erotic fiction, well written and very readable.