Aphrodisia Authors :: Blog

Sometimes I get to do wonderful things as an author, and yesterday was one of those days. I was asked to participate with other local authors in a fundraiser for an adult literacy program in a small New Mexico town. The event went on for about six hours, and each of the authors spoke for seven minutes, then we spent the rest of the time signing books and talking to readers. Besides my Aprhodisia title, I have nearly a dozen romance and mysteries in print, and most are more or less appropriate for libraries where young readers may run across them. Since the event was sponsored by the library, that’s what I signed. But I always carry my cover flats with me, and Sexy Beast VI was a big hit. (No one even commented on the drool marks I’ve left on my copies!)

I loved the idea of helping raise money for adult literacy, but I didn’t really feel the importance of the project until one of the last authors got up to speak. He was a former adult literacy pupil who learned to read at 51. He talked about his experiences reading his first book — Bram Stoker’s Dracula. He described the excitement of riding in the carriage through the dark Transalvanian woods, the fear of visiting Count Dracula’s eerie castle, and the thrill of plotting to kill the vampire. I hadn’t really considered what a miracle it is to get drawn into a book; the experience is something I take for granted. I thought back to my parents reading Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland to me when I went to bed. And then I remembered the thrill of living Will James’ tale of Smoky the Cow Horse, and all of Walter Farley’s adventures in the Black Stallion series. (Can you tell I wanted to be a cowboy when I grew up?) I’d forgotten the magic until I was listening to this new author talk (he has written the story of his life ). I have to admit, it brought tears to my eyes.

If I can figure out how to do it between working full time and writing, I’d like to tutor adults learning to read. What a gift to give someone! I hope you all lose yourselves in books tonight until way past bedtime, and then, as you’re turning off your lights, you send good thoughts to those in your lives who taught you all to read. I know I will.

As some of you may already know (if you read my last blog), I work as an engineer. Some of my coworkers know I write romance and mystery, and a very select few know I write the “hot” stuff, but almost no one at work knows I write as Lydia Parks. There’s a reason for that. I just can’t imagine walking into a meeting to discuss the pros and cons of treating drinking water with reverse osmosis with a bunch of fellow engineers who might be wondering where I got the idea for that group sex scene on page 63. I need to maintain some level of professionalism.

I also understand how important professionalism is in my writing life, although I do believe in enjoying myself. One of my characters once told me “if you ain’t havin’ fun, you’re just wastin’ space.” That has become my motto. Life’s too short not to enjoy.

But I digress.

I realized I needed an author photo for Lydia Parks. I can’t use the same one I use for my other writing because it would be too easy to make the connection, so I decided to come up with a new one. The first requirement was for the photo not to actually look like me. The second was for it to reflect my body of work . Since I write mostly vampires, I opted for fangs and sun glasses.

I spent a fair amount of time over Christmas break shopping for just the right outfit. Then I talked my husband into being my photographer. We started inside where we got a few decent photos, but nothing either of us much liked. We decided natural lighting–as incongruous as it was with a vampire photo–might help. (Did I mention that I’m not in the least photogenic?)

Now, I live in a condo complex, and I don’t know many people living around me. Most of us work and keep to ourselves, and I don’t mind that. I selfishly love having lots of time to write. The only people we’ve really met are the young couple directly across from us. They’re sweet and have a cute puppy. The guy’s a boxer and his wife is a teacher; we say the usual hellos when we’re all outside at the same time. They don’t know I write erotica. Or, at least, they didn’t.

Back to the photos. My husband and I walk outside to take photos, and it’s still Christmas break, so almost no one is around. This is a good thing since I’m wearing fangs, a black shirt buttoned at the neck, a hat, and sunglasses. I peek around each corner before slinking to the next, and spot a wall to use as a backdrop. I trot over to it, pose, and guess who comes around the building. Yep, the young boxer. What can I do but smile and say hello? He tries to carry on a normal conversation with us, but he keeps looking at my fangs. We finally gave up and told him what we were doing. Why is it people are always around the one time you’re doing something you don’t really want them to see?
The good part is that his wife flagged me down a day or two later to ask for my booklist.

So what do you think of the photo? Engineer or erotica writer? Do I look like someone whose book was just nominated by RT for a reader’s choice award in paranormal erotica??

Okay, I’ll agree that not all writers process information the same way I do. Let me start off by explaining that I’m an engineer. Believe it or not, there are quite a few engineering-type erotica writers out there, or at least more than you’d probably expect. I’m not sure why that is; we all know the “insert tab A into slot B” type of writing isn’t what makes erotica great. Or even good. Good erotica has to have a story that tugs at your emotions while it’s tugging at other body parts. The one explanation I can offer is that you can only write so many technical papers before you have to cut loose and have some fun! That may or may not have anything to do with it.

So, what does an engineer do when her first Aphrodisia erotica comes out? Exactly what they tell you not to do. Every day or two, I hop over to B&N and Amazon and check my rankings.

I know, I know. Lots of writers do that. After all, you’ve poured your soul (or at least a bunch of sweat and tears) into this book, and it’ll be quite some time before you see any royalties. No matter how many great reviews you get, there’s a certain amount of nail biting that goes on.

But engineers don’t just go online and check rankings. We graph them! What could possibly be better than a graph?? Well, okay, a really hot vampire story is better. But a good graph runs a close second for those of us living half our lives in our left brains.

I realized right off the bat that some people might think I was wasting time graphing my online rankings. We all know the rankings don’t directly relate to sales. So I worked on finding a meaningful way to use the data. I’m checking my marketing ideas. If I find that the graphs both make a strong jump in the right direction, I’ll know I’ve hit on something.

Okay, at least that sounds reasonable. Doesn’t it?

So, what’s my point? Writers need feedback. Beleive it or not, writers love to hear from readers! We need some reassurance that our books aren’t sitting out there gathering dust. I’ve taken to sending emails to authors whose books I’ve really enjoyed. Granted, there’s at least one incredible writer out there who thinks I’m stalking him, but most of us really appreciate those emails. So next time you finish a book and think, “Man, that was great,” please send the poor, lonely author a note. She/he will keep that note forever in a file marked, “fan mail by book.” Especially if she/he is an engineer.

I hope you all enjoy the holidays! I’m off to hit the online bookstores…

Lydia

www.LydiaParks.com
Addicted and Sexy Beast VI from Aprhodisia

I can’t tell you all how excited I am to be here. (No, really!) I’ve been writing romance and erotica for eleven years, which I think makes me an overnight success. Some of you internet erotica junkies may even recognize my name. My first book from Aphrodisia, Addicted, is coming out in a few days. It’s two vampire novellas featuring those cuddly, sexy fiends so many of us enjoy reading and writing about. One of them is even a former lawman from the Old West. (Vonna – I used to break horses. Let me know if I can help with your research.) I’m still dancing around the room because of a 4 and ½ star rating from Romantic Times!

So I thought I’d introduce myself. I’m an engineer by day, and an erotica writer by night, weekend, and federal holiday. I grew up in New Orleans, which means I have voodoo and heavy metals (from the drinking water) in my blood. I’m also fortunate enough to be asked to talk about writing to groups now and then. I realize most writers are introverts; I’m not. I had a great time at my first Romance Writers of America national conference last year getting to know all those shy writers. What a wonderful group of people! I hope to get back to RWA national next year and meet some of my fellow Aphrodisiacs.

One thing I’ve discovered after a few years in the business is the definition of a writer. A writer is someone who can’t not write. The thing I believe many of us have in common, besides the fact that we hear voices, is that we’re persistent. In my case, I think I may even be compulsive. Fortunately, I’m not a psychologist, so I don’t know enough to be worried.

I’m looking forward to working with the wonderful authors in this group. After Addicted, I’ll make an appearance in Sexy Beast VI, which I know will be a blast. My hero in that story isn’t a vampire – something new for me. I hope you’ll find him worth drooling over. (I did!) I had fun drawing on my time in Alaska and Siberia for that story. Unlike Susan Lyons, I can’t wait for summer to end! It’s hot here in the Southwest. We have way too much sunshine.

Please feel free to visit my webpage (www.LydiaParks.com), sign up for my newsletter, and drop me a line when the mood strikes you. I love to keep in touch with readers! In the South, we’re taught that if you can’t say something nice, you shouldn’t say anything at all, but my skin’s pretty thick, so I appreciate all kinds of feedback. Without feedback, writers can’t improve.

Y’all take care now, y’ hear?