Swing Anthology Author Tour

SWING! Adventures in Swinging by Today’s Top Erotica Writers

Edited by Jolie du Pré

Through out the month of April, contributors to Swing! are being interviewed by editor Jolie du Pre. My interview is below….

Jolie: Why do you write erotica and what do you love best about it?
Tawanna: I started writing erotica by accident. I created a website for black lesbian erotica, but my goal was to showcase other writers. In one section of the site, The Steam Room, I started a story and invited visitors to the site to add a paragraph or two. Eventually, I grew from just openings to writing whole stories.

Writing erotica forces me to challenge/explore my own assumptions and ideas about sex/sexuality. For example, when we first talked about the possibility of me writing a story for the anthology, my first thought was, “Do lesbians swing?” I knew plenty of people/couples who were non-monogamous, have open relationships, played with other couples, etc but I had never heard anyone describe herself as a “swinger”. So, it was like a ray of light suddenly hit a dusty corner in my mind.

Tell us about your story in Swing! Adventures in Swinging by Today’s Top Erotica Writers and please feel free to give us an excerpt.
In Just Deserts, a lesbian couple who’ve just experienced the family reunion from hell find themselves stranded in an airport. The situation seems dire until they meet a sexy duo.

After doing the boarding pass-bag check-security shuffle, they were at gate 28 waiting for permission to board the plane. The customer service rep announced bad weather in the Northeast was causing delays. Peri bought some magazines and Cru struggled to find a comfortable position for a nap.

 Three hours after their scheduled take off, Cru had a stiff neck and the waiting area had started to resemble a refugee camp. She stood up and tried to stretch the kinks out.

 “I’m glad you’re awake.” Peri pointed to her lifeless iPod. ”My battery is dead and I’ve read the latest gossip on Brangelina twice.”

 “Fine, I’ll keep you company. What’s the latest news?”

 “The weather is so bad that they aren’t allowing any planes to travel in the Northeast.”

 “We’re never getting back home.”

 “In other news, I spotted a couple with a Westin Diplomat shopping bag.”

 Cru surveyed the miserable crowd. “Where? Rebecca would be scandalized.”

 “Gate 27, second row, third seat from the left. The Halle Berry look alike.”

 Cru’s eyes settled on a beautiful, honey brown woman. “Hmm. Is she with the dude on the left or the gorgeous sister on the right?”

 “You mean Iman–that’s what I’ve nicknamed her. Yes, they are together.”

 Iman whispered something to Halle and they both smiled. Peri smiled back and nodded. “While you were scaring children with your snores, I’ve been making eye contact. You don’t mind, do you, honey?” She gently raked her fingernails across the back of Cru’s hand.

 “Of course not.” The touch had send a jolt through Cru that made her tingle from head to toe. Flirting came second nature to Peri and it had led them into all sorts of adventures . . .

Name some other books where we can find your work.
Most recently, you can find my story Operation Butch Ambush in Best Lesbian Erotica 2009. For a complete list and excerpts, please visit the Where You Can Find My Work tab above.

What are you working on now?
Right now, I’m working on a mystery:

Imagine answering the door and finding on your porch a woman who accuses you of murder. It’s a mistake, of course. You’ve never even met the victim, but the amateur detective is determined to dig through your life to find evidence…
The working title is Killing Nancy Drew

If you could offer one piece of advice to a new author, what would it be?
The hardest thing to do sometimes is finishing a first draft. You have to allow room for yourself to just write without self-censorship/self-criticism. The editing and revision process is where you can fine tune your words, fix plot problems, etc. For the first draft, give yourself the freedom to write without worry.

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The next stop on the Swing Author Tour is Emerald.