Interview with Morgan Hawke
RomanceNovelTips.com
1. What made you decide to write Erotica?
Well, I like sex, I had several
years experience in the Adult Industry so I had plenty of experience to write
from, and I love writing.
S+Exp+W = Author
However, the main push toward
writing Erotica, and Erotic Romance in particular, was that there was so little
respect or care for any book labeled 'Erotic.' Back when I first started
posting stories; years before Erotic Romance had been invented, Erotica was
known for having the absolute worst writing out there. Poor plots, poor
characterization, poor description, poor everything – and this stuff was
Published!
I wanted to fix that. I wanted to
prove that Erotica could be written with as much care, research, and respect as
a sci-fi or a mystery novel. Truthfully, this very motive is what propelled me
into writing Erotic Romance.
2. Would you ever write for Harlequin/Mills & Boon?
Hell No! They have the absolute
worse reputation for screwing their authors in the publishing industry.
Would I write that type of novel?
If the publishing house was NOT
Harlequin/Mills & Boon, or Dorchester, and they offered me the right kind
of money to do it?
Absolutely. I'm a mercenary
author; I write what pays the bills. At the moment, Erotic Romance is the most
lucrative and fastest paying genre out there.
3. What is the one piece of advice you would give aspiring Erotica / Romantica
Erotic Romance writers?
Before you consider plot,
character, or setting, learn to write in Chronological Order, the order in
which things actually happen --> Action THEN Reaction.
The fastest way to do this is by
dropping the word "as" from your vocabulary. If you see the word
"As" in your sentence, nine times out of ten, you've written the line
Backwards. The events are written in the Reverse of what actually happened.
Example:
The vampire drank his fill AS he crouched over his victim. < -- WRONG!
Which really happened first?
The vampire drank his fill.OR?The vampire crouched over his victim.
Obviously, the vampire had to
crouch before he could drink his fill, therefore...
The vampire crouched over his victim AND drank his fill. < -- RIGHT!
If you want a full explanation,
go here:
Read that.
4. Do you think that Sci-Fi elements in erotica enhances sales or would the books sell just as well if set in a present day earth?
I follow Azimov's rule of Science-Fiction:
"If you can remove the Science from the Fiction and still have a viable story in another genre, you did it WRONG."
However, doing it Wrong doesn’t
mean it won’t get published. It just means you missed the point of the genre.
Just for the record, I’m firmly of the opinion that if you’re going to do
something, do it RIGHT. Why? Because if you do it Wrong, and someone else does
it Right, guess who’s gonna grab all the readers?
5. What is your favorite book you have written and why?
Truthfully, I don't have a
favorite, not yet anyway. Sooner or later, I'll write a world I want to keep
coming back to, but that hasn't happened just yet.
6. Who is your favorite character you have created?
I don't have a favorite, not yet
anyway. Each character; hero, heroine, villain, ally... was created to make
that particular story happen. Unlike many writers, I come up with the plot
first then craft my characters to make that story happen.
7. What are the top three characteristics every Heroine should have?
First of all, when you're writing
a Romance or an Erotic Romance, you should never forget that the Main Character
is an Avatar for the Reader. Because of this, one should always make the Main
Character someone the reader would like
to be. With this in mind, I craft my characters to have these three
characteristics:
- An Emotional Flaw
- A Physical Limitation
- A professional-level skill
The first two are the literal,
"two strikes against them," and the last is the hidden key to their
success in the story.
8. Do you believe in avoiding Mary-Sue's in writing romantica Erotic
Romance?
Yes and No. I believe that the
author should avoid creating OBVIOUS Mary-Sues; they look, act, and talk like
the author only Better! Or worse, a character that is Too Good To Be True.
Give the character some major
personality flaws and it won't matter if it is a Sue or not. American readers
in particular adore underdog characters, the one who keeps trying in spite of
the fact that they can't seem to win. Perfect people, on the other hand, are
their favorite targets to bash out of sheer Envy.
9. Where do you find inspiration for your stories ?
EVERYWHERE. Everything I see,
everything I do, everything I experience becomes food for thought in my
stories.
10. If you could write one book in the mainstream fiction sector, what would it be about?
LOL! It depends on the publisher,
literally. I never write a book without knowing exactly who I plan to send it
to. I believe in reading a publisher's Submission Guidelines FIRST then crafting
the story to be exactly what that publisher is looking for. It's the fastest --
and easiest -- way to guarantee that a publisher will take a manuscript.
Morgan Hawke
March 22, 2011
