Veronica Hardy: Thank you for agreeing to interview, your work seems very interesting. Especially
The Billionaire Cowboy. Definitely a twist I was not expecting, usually Billionaires are
businessmen but not Texas Tycoons. Can you tell us what your inspiration was for a piece like that?
Silvia Waters: Hello Veronica. I saw masses of these billionaire erotica books being written, many of the cover photos were men in suits that had a business feel to them. I thought it would be mind numbingly boring to write about somebody that has just made money in business and wears a suit all the time. I wanted to create a character that was more than just that and had a bit more personality than just being labelled "billionaire."
VH: What made you want to write a man like Chuck? Can you tell us a little bit about him and what drove his character?
SW: Chuck is a regular, simple guy that has just got a big break. I always believed Chuck had a kind heart and was endearing in that he was using his money to live out his childhood fantasy of being a cowboy. I don't think I included it in the book but I always pictured the mother of James, Chuck's son was always after his money and had recently divorced him.
Jenny is equally kind hearted and likes Chuck for who he is, rather than his money, although unfortunately things do not work out between them.
VH: What inspired you to write in this genre? Do you hope to branch out into any other areas? Have you already written in other genres?
SW: If I am being completely honest, I initially began with the genre because it is popular. Writing about billionaires does go further than just money however. I can not speak from experience but I assume meaningful relationships are one of the only things a billionaire can not acquire at the snap of the fingers
My next set of books to be released are all in different genres and I intend to follow whichever genre is the most popular.
I am aiming to write some sillier stories, I saw somebody mention they write 1 alternative story for every 3 of their niche. An idea I had was Tentacle and Juliet, I just got this image of a woman leaning out over a stone balcony, shouting into the skies,
"Tentacle, Tentacle! Wherefore art thou Tentacle?"
The thought made me giggle but I don't think I would write it, the tentacle genre does not appeal to me. If anybody wanted to write that, 10% cut sounds fine.
I eventually hope to branch out away from erotica, my aim to create a steady cash flow that allows me the freedom to pursue the dream of being a respected author. I already have a number of unfinished stories that are currently in hiatus I plan on finishing should I get the opportunity.
VH: You have a good library of confessional sex. What made you gravitate towards that area?
SW: I had the idea of somebody that had found true love and then thought about all the boyfriends she had in the past, picturing what life would be like had she married them. The series did not prove popular enough so unfortunately I am writing different stories now.
VH: Have the actions of your characters ever separated from the plan? Do they ever have a mind of their own?
SW: I begin with a plan of maybe one hundred words or less and then begin the writing, usually the stories stick to the plan but there have been many times when things have deviated. I have written a line of dialogue and thought "No, he/she would not say that." I think due to the length of the stories, it is difficult for the characters to veer too far away.
VH: What have you learned about your writing style, as you write and publish? Is there anything that has
changed radically in the process?
SW: I have learned my writing process is quite fast. At the moment I am writing near 3,000 words a day. The day of my very first sale I was so excited I wrote something like 4500 words.
I forget who it was but I was reading an article about an author in the mid 20th century. He started as a lawyer and the article mentioned he wrote 3,000 words every day. The article italicised the number and said that averaged over a million words a year and accompanied it with a series of exclamation points. I thought, Hey! I'm doing that many. I did not think it was particularly impressive, although I must applaud him for doing that much with a job.
I also noticed, a bit unrelated, after an evening of drinking with my friends, the next day my productivity was shot. My mind wandered all over the place and I got about 500 words written that day. How Hemingway managed to do it is amazing.
In the process of writing, I gave dictating a trial. I got the software set up and had a microphone in hand and began speaking. The software did not seem to agree with my thick British accent, after a few minutes I had a paragraph containing sentences such as "the elbow man five car." I promptly deleted the paragraph and after telling the software to "Fuck off" uninstalled it. Funnily enough I think that phrase was the first one it spelled correctly.
My writing has definitely got more explicit as I continue to write. I initially began trying to be tasteful and avoided using crude words to describe sexual acts, that has changed. I think in this genre it does not pay to hold back, something titled "My True Love" will probably not sell as much as something named "Fucked by A Giraffe."
In that way I think this genre is very unique. Authors of non-erotic fiction often have their editors and publishers completely change the feel of the story if they want them to, in erotica the rules are different. A family member managed to organise an interview with a famous author, I won't mention his name but his most famous work is a Hollywood movie including A list stars. He said to her he was on his seventh revision of his newest book, his publisher kept telling him it was too dark.
My opinions on editors and publishers doing that are mixed. While I think they would be very useful in helping the prose stick to the story, altering the story to what the author had not intended is something I do not like.
Consider with me, if you will, other art forms such as painting. Can you imagine da Vinci finally finishing the Mona Lisa, he hurriedly runs to his editor, "It is finished!" He cries. The editor takes a look at it and says, "It is good, but people really like glasses at the moment." The editor walks up and draws a pair of glasses on her, stands back and admires the work. "Now you can release it."
That is essentially what some publishers and editors do.
VH: What do you enjoy the most about the writing process?
SW: I think finishing a piece is a uniquely satisfying feeling and is probably my favourite part. Having a picture of a story in your head and putting it down in-front of you. That's what this is all about, isn't it?
I have a friend that talks about a story in his head that he wants to write, I keep telling him to sit down and write it but he is waiting for the right time. It is a real shame, that book will never get written.
On the flip side, finishing a piece is also my least favourite part of the writing process because that means editing begins. I did not realise before writing how dull editing was. I wake up in cold sweats from nightmares where I have a novel to edit.
I dream of the day I can sit in a reclined deckchair, watching the sun disappear behind the horizon and never have to edit a piece again.
VH: What is your latest project? What was the most difficult aspect about writing it? The most
rewarding aspect?
I have four books I am writing at the moment, two are 90% done. One of these latest works is in the werewolf genre. I would say the most difficult part is writing the werewolf's actions, I find it hard to imagine how they would react in certain ways.
Good endings I find more difficult than the other parts to produce. At the pace I am writing, I struggle to think up memorable and unpredictable endings for all the stories I complete but it is something I am working on.
I would say the most rewarding aspect is getting sales and not for monetary reasons. When I see the sales number increase, I can't believe somebody, somewhere in the world is reading my story right now. I often step back and think about what the internet has done, someone that could be at the other side of the world is now reading a story I finished less than a day ago. Fifteen or so years ago, if you proposed this idea it would be unfathomable.
Sylvia Waters is a 30-something year old single mother that lives by the sea. Between juggling kids and a job, she finds the time to read and write erotica
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