Working with Alison Tyler

The galleys for Never Say Never arrived this week and I got to see excerpts from my work in Alison Tyler’s upcoming book, used to illustrate some of the many tips and tricks this book offers for lovers.

My stories that are excerpted in this book:

• “Compersion”, first printed in  I Like To Watch
• “Strong”, first printed in Say Please: Lesbian BDSM Erotica
• “Nervous Boy”, first printed in Love at First Sting: Sexy Tales of Erotic Restraint

I am so excited to be included in Alison Tyler’s upcoming book. She was the second erotica editor I worked with, and she has printed 6 of my erotica stories, more than any other editor. She was an early influence on my erotica; working with her made me feel like I could succeed as an erotica writer.

Alison Tyler pushed me as a writer, particularly around asking me to make shorter pieces full length, flesh them out. The work of lengthening stories in response to those requests made it possible for me to understand the need for deeper characterization and context in erotica. I learned so much about writing erotica from being pushed in this way; it pushed me to read more and analyze the genre, in order to figure out how full length erotica stories work, how they arc, what kind of context is given and how it’s given, what the sex does in the story, how kink can reveal character and resolve conflict. It seemed possible to stretch like that because someone like her wanted to support me as a writer enough to ask me to do that, instead of just rejecting my work. It felt so good to have her want my work enough to ask me to make it longer, to flesh it out more.

As a result of her support, some of the work I’m most proud of has been included in her books. The first lengthened piece she printed was “Nervous Boy“, and I am so glad she asked me to stretch that story out to a deeper conclusion. Of particular mention is the award-winning story “First Time Since”, which was printed in her award-winning anthology Hurts So Good: Unrestrained Erotica. In addition, some of the work I love dearly was sparked by these requests, even though the finished work ended up in anthologies edited by others: “Missing Daddy“, which was printed in DADDIES: Gay Erotic Stories edited by Richard Labonte, and “Strong“, which was printed in Say Please: Lesbian BDSM Erotica, edited by Sinclair Sexsmith.

So it was a particular thrill to be included in her recent list of favorite authors, especially among such amazing talents. For Alison Tyler to call me stellar…that is an awesome moment!