Just when it seems I've moved on, I do, indeed return. I wish I had better news as to the advancement of my novels, however, I have made the decision to acquire a Masters degree in computer sciences. It will prove quite challenging to work full time, attend classes part time, live life at the speed of sound and.....write.
I promise I shall attempt to continue on with both novels and to post here more often.
~LGL
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
Saturday, April 17, 2010
Thought for the Day
Conversations tastefully spoken on passion, good sex, and classy erotica are never inappropriate.
~ LGL
~ LGL
Thursday, January 28, 2010
What Inspires Us?
My muse is entertained by the damnedest things. And I feel certain most of the writers who frequent my blog will agree theirs does also. It never ceases to amaze me the tiniest encounter can produce Technicolor inspiration. Music and song, photographs, movies, news articles, the glass of milk I spilled all over the table...and the list goes on. Even praise from a beta reader can send a muse in a different, more colorful direction.
As a writer of erotica, my muse looks at the world through kink-tinted glasses much of the time. Caressing a pashmina scarf never fails to put a twinkle in my eye. Ah, the endless possibilities my characters could have with one. Shopping for leather boots always reminds me of my heroine in "Michael's Training." Watching a man with long hair shake out his ponytail after a hard day at work (no pun intended) produces volumes of text.
But not everything I write is wham-bam-and-spank-you-with-my-hairbrush. My repertoire also includes romance, horror sci-fi, poetry, and the ever-professional technical documentation and communications. Yes, even technical documentation requires inspiration so as not to have it spill out like dry sand from a cracked hourglass.
A whole story can exist, frozen in time, within one single image or painting.
A very dear friend of mine and I always enjoyed the twisted humor of whenever I needed to "off" a character, nothing influenced my muse more than listening to Celtic Woman's version of Carrickfergus while driving in the car. Odd, but it worked every time—and still does. Twisted, yes and worth its weight in literary gold.
And why all the excitement on inspiration? The first chapter of Vignette is done...and I am very pleased with its outcome. All of the snarling and swearing was worth it. It has been a monumental undertaking to get the manuscript restarted but it is finally under way.
I hope to have a finished product for submission by the end of the year.
What inspires you?
As a writer of erotica, my muse looks at the world through kink-tinted glasses much of the time. Caressing a pashmina scarf never fails to put a twinkle in my eye. Ah, the endless possibilities my characters could have with one. Shopping for leather boots always reminds me of my heroine in "Michael's Training." Watching a man with long hair shake out his ponytail after a hard day at work (no pun intended) produces volumes of text.
But not everything I write is wham-bam-and-spank-you-with-my-hairbrush. My repertoire also includes romance, horror sci-fi, poetry, and the ever-professional technical documentation and communications. Yes, even technical documentation requires inspiration so as not to have it spill out like dry sand from a cracked hourglass.
A whole story can exist, frozen in time, within one single image or painting.
A very dear friend of mine and I always enjoyed the twisted humor of whenever I needed to "off" a character, nothing influenced my muse more than listening to Celtic Woman's version of Carrickfergus while driving in the car. Odd, but it worked every time—and still does. Twisted, yes and worth its weight in literary gold.
And why all the excitement on inspiration? The first chapter of Vignette is done...and I am very pleased with its outcome. All of the snarling and swearing was worth it. It has been a monumental undertaking to get the manuscript restarted but it is finally under way.
I hope to have a finished product for submission by the end of the year.
What inspires you?
Saturday, August 1, 2009
Why Mother's Eat Their Young...
...and why authors shred their manuscripts. Yes, admittedly, I have been obviously MIA. The new "first" chapter of Vignette is eating my soul. My eyes are going to bleed out from staring at a white screen.
Some of you may know, Vignette never started out as a manuscript; simply something to occupy my overly-active Muse. Until, at the encouragement of several dear friends--one being a published author, I finally decided to re-write it in pursuit of publication.
Work and life both push the manuscript to the backburner at times. The luxury of spare time has eluded me these past two years, still I push onward with a sentence here, paragraph there. This isn't very helpful when one is "stuck"--not writer's block, per se, simply stuck on a section of text.
When does an author simply trash reams of carefully tended words and start over? That depends. Last night was the last straw for me on this new first chapter. It's creation was intended to eliminate a chunk of backstory from the original first chapter and I was decidely not feeling it. We are all our own worst critics at times.
Poised with the delete button under my right index finger I took a breath then stopped short. This morning I'm happy I did. Sometimes the threat of abandon pulls words from uncharted depths. Or possibly the Muse simply doesn't appreciate the smite.
Some of you may know, Vignette never started out as a manuscript; simply something to occupy my overly-active Muse. Until, at the encouragement of several dear friends--one being a published author, I finally decided to re-write it in pursuit of publication.
Work and life both push the manuscript to the backburner at times. The luxury of spare time has eluded me these past two years, still I push onward with a sentence here, paragraph there. This isn't very helpful when one is "stuck"--not writer's block, per se, simply stuck on a section of text.
When does an author simply trash reams of carefully tended words and start over? That depends. Last night was the last straw for me on this new first chapter. It's creation was intended to eliminate a chunk of backstory from the original first chapter and I was decidely not feeling it. We are all our own worst critics at times.
Poised with the delete button under my right index finger I took a breath then stopped short. This morning I'm happy I did. Sometimes the threat of abandon pulls words from uncharted depths. Or possibly the Muse simply doesn't appreciate the smite.
Thursday, May 7, 2009
What I Write, and Why I Write It
Many of my colleagues and friends know of my writing skills due to various communications I have authored. A few know about my passion for writing erotica. An even smaller number have read excerpts from my manuscripts. It is a subject on which I will always answer honestly if asked, however, may not bring up directly in conversation.
At a recent dinner party someone, upon learning I was an aspiring author, asked me what I wrote. I get this question often, and reply with one word: erotica. Most times, an awkward hush briefly pauses the conversation. It amuses me to stand quietly and wait while they struggle for what to say next. Shades of old Victorian propriety still course through contemporary society, reminding us it is impolite to speak of such topics in public. Yet modern curiosity abandons all mannerly sensibilities. Once over the initial shellshock of my answer, many will continue on with additional questions.
Surprisingly—or not—the next two answers they seek are: “What is the difference between erotica and porn,” followed by, “Why do I write it.” To address the first question, I find many people believe erotica and porn are one in the same. Although an erotic story can be just as steamy as porn, there is a huge difference between the two.
Porn is designed to do one thing: Make the reader hot. The end. Throw the plot, character development, and most likely the romance pretty much out with the bathwater.
Erotica is about the sexual journey of the character(s) and how it impacts them/their lives. Character growth, emotion, etc. are all key elements of an erotic story. But erotica is not specifically designed to show the development of a romantic relationship, although the story can, should the author choose to do so. And erotic stories do not need to have the stereotypical "Happily Ever After" (HEA) element, although they very well may.
For more information on comparisons, Sylvia Day wrote a lovely article, offering clear definitions between sexy romance, erotic romance, erotica, and porn.
That being said, what does all of this have to do with why I write erotica? Very simply, I enjoy it—and I am good at it. Yes, I enjoy dabbling in other genres and writing an occasional poem. But erotica is where my passion lies. No pun intended. Erotica lets the reader indulge their fantasies. Moving my audience and giving them the opportunity to escape the mundanity of life is something on which no one can place a price tag.
At a recent dinner party someone, upon learning I was an aspiring author, asked me what I wrote. I get this question often, and reply with one word: erotica. Most times, an awkward hush briefly pauses the conversation. It amuses me to stand quietly and wait while they struggle for what to say next. Shades of old Victorian propriety still course through contemporary society, reminding us it is impolite to speak of such topics in public. Yet modern curiosity abandons all mannerly sensibilities. Once over the initial shellshock of my answer, many will continue on with additional questions.
Surprisingly—or not—the next two answers they seek are: “What is the difference between erotica and porn,” followed by, “Why do I write it.” To address the first question, I find many people believe erotica and porn are one in the same. Although an erotic story can be just as steamy as porn, there is a huge difference between the two.
Porn is designed to do one thing: Make the reader hot. The end. Throw the plot, character development, and most likely the romance pretty much out with the bathwater.
Erotica is about the sexual journey of the character(s) and how it impacts them/their lives. Character growth, emotion, etc. are all key elements of an erotic story. But erotica is not specifically designed to show the development of a romantic relationship, although the story can, should the author choose to do so. And erotic stories do not need to have the stereotypical "Happily Ever After" (HEA) element, although they very well may.
For more information on comparisons, Sylvia Day wrote a lovely article, offering clear definitions between sexy romance, erotic romance, erotica, and porn.
That being said, what does all of this have to do with why I write erotica? Very simply, I enjoy it—and I am good at it. Yes, I enjoy dabbling in other genres and writing an occasional poem. But erotica is where my passion lies. No pun intended. Erotica lets the reader indulge their fantasies. Moving my audience and giving them the opportunity to escape the mundanity of life is something on which no one can place a price tag.
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Encouraging News...
...for both writers and readers of erotica.
Recession Fuels Readers’ Escapist Urges
The article presents a well-rounded view of today's readership. And to reference the author's opening statement, nothing could be more true. At the end of the day, I do ardently believe everybody wishes for a happy ending.
Recession Fuels Readers’ Escapist Urges
The article presents a well-rounded view of today's readership. And to reference the author's opening statement, nothing could be more true. At the end of the day, I do ardently believe everybody wishes for a happy ending.
Saturday, May 31, 2008
Data File Management
It has been three months since my last post in which I officially announced my writing journey. The reason for this particular blog was to record said journey. In the words of my dear friend, Posh, "FAIL." I shall promise to be more attentive in the future.
Upon reading others' writing journals, the familiar voice of doubt began to seep to the front of my thoughts. Their blogging contained historical information, subjects worthy of workshop moderation, tips from inside "the business" (publishing world), and the like. The thought struck me, if I remained only within my genre, following suit with other writers, fairly soon readers would exclaim, "The only subject on which Greyson blogs is SEX." Which, I might add, isn't necessarily a bad thing.
This is my journey--it will be sexy, erotic, groused, frustrating, fun and full of folley.
And speaking of folley, I should share a recent scare, that I am sure, every writer in the business has experienced at some point or another. CORRUPTION. I am not speaking about underhanded deals, plagarism, or broken contracts--I am speaking of file corruption--the kind that sends one's heart racing and stomach in full reversal.
Error: Please select a format in which to open your file.
!?!?!?!!!
In today's world of electonics, data is nowhere unless it is in TWO places--meaning both hard storage media and physical location. A back up copy in the same location as the computer is not "two places." I keep a copy of my writing on a separate jump drive which I carry with me. One never knows when one will have a few spare minutes to jot down a line or two, so the perks are two-fold. (And yes, there are copies on one other computer, including an occasional email to myself.)
Last Wednesday found me on a four-hour airplane ride with nothing to do but write. Imagine the horror to plug in said jump drive only to be greeted with the above error. 33,000 feet is not the place in which to experience the terror of possibly having a corrupted file. Not only could I not use the spare time to work on my current ms, but I had no idea whether the original file on my computer (half way across the country and 33,000 feet below me) was corrupted--six weeks of writing and editing potentially lost.
After eduring an entire week of suspsense, I arrive home to find the file intact. The issue? Originally the file was saved down to a Word 97 format. Somehow I managed to save it back up to a Word 2007 document. The laptop which accompanied me on the flight runs Word 2003 and does not contain the logic to open a file created in Word 2007.
Crisis over.
Upon reading others' writing journals, the familiar voice of doubt began to seep to the front of my thoughts. Their blogging contained historical information, subjects worthy of workshop moderation, tips from inside "the business" (publishing world), and the like. The thought struck me, if I remained only within my genre, following suit with other writers, fairly soon readers would exclaim, "The only subject on which Greyson blogs is SEX." Which, I might add, isn't necessarily a bad thing.
This is my journey--it will be sexy, erotic, groused, frustrating, fun and full of folley.
And speaking of folley, I should share a recent scare, that I am sure, every writer in the business has experienced at some point or another. CORRUPTION. I am not speaking about underhanded deals, plagarism, or broken contracts--I am speaking of file corruption--the kind that sends one's heart racing and stomach in full reversal.
Error: Please select a format in which to open your file.
!?!?!?!!!
In today's world of electonics, data is nowhere unless it is in TWO places--meaning both hard storage media and physical location. A back up copy in the same location as the computer is not "two places." I keep a copy of my writing on a separate jump drive which I carry with me. One never knows when one will have a few spare minutes to jot down a line or two, so the perks are two-fold. (And yes, there are copies on one other computer, including an occasional email to myself.)
Last Wednesday found me on a four-hour airplane ride with nothing to do but write. Imagine the horror to plug in said jump drive only to be greeted with the above error. 33,000 feet is not the place in which to experience the terror of possibly having a corrupted file. Not only could I not use the spare time to work on my current ms, but I had no idea whether the original file on my computer (half way across the country and 33,000 feet below me) was corrupted--six weeks of writing and editing potentially lost.
After eduring an entire week of suspsense, I arrive home to find the file intact. The issue? Originally the file was saved down to a Word 97 format. Somehow I managed to save it back up to a Word 2007 document. The laptop which accompanied me on the flight runs Word 2003 and does not contain the logic to open a file created in Word 2007.
Crisis over.
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