Author interview with Kristina Lloyd
Interview with Kristina lloyd
Q. What was your childhood ambition?
To be a teacher. My world was quite small.
Q. What ambitions do you still have?
To be a better writer, always. And to publish in a different genre. I love erotica but there are other areas I’m hungry to explore more fully.
Q. What was your first job?
Working on a fruit and veg stall on an outdoor market in a small Northern town. It was bitterly cold in winter and we had to wear so many layers it was a struggle to move. I spent all my money on music, clothes and nightclubs.
Q. What are the most important components that go into making good erotic fiction?
As with all good fiction, conflict and tension. The conflict might be internal (say, the sex busts some personal taboo of the characters involved) or external (the situation could land them in trouble) but either way, conflict, and a narrative leading towards a resolution, draws the reader along, gives them a reason to keep reading other than curiosity about sex. Basically, I aim to trick people into having a wank.
Q. If you could have any celebrity pictured carrying one of your books who would you choose and why?
Lady Gaga. I’d have my second novel, Asking for Trouble, as product placement in one of her videos then I’d shift loads of copies, earning me enough money to write full time.
Q. And what aspects of your job do you enjoy the most?
I love those moments when something comes together, be that a sentence or a paragraph or an idea to bring the next chapter alive. A lot of writing is a slog; a lot of words and ideas get discarded. But those moments when something finally works shine like jewels among the dross.
Q. How do people who don’t know you react when you tell them you’re an erotica author?
They’re generally amused or intrigued, and often slightly stuck for words. I have a good instinct and don’t tell anyone I suspect might be a creep about it.
Q. What makes you cross?
Sexism. I’m one of the co-founders of Erotica Cover Watch, a blog campaign seeking to challenge the sexism in erotica publishing. We protested about the lack of hot guys on erotica book covers. Invariably, a semi-naked women is used to represent the erotic, meaning lots of women who like to lust over muscle are being ignored as consumers. I’d like to see more men and couples on erotica covers. Time constraints meant we had to close Erotica Cover Watch earlier this year but I still feel passionately about the issues we raised. We had masses of support and some great successes, in particular with Xcite books who, after listening to us, started to feature sexy men on their book covers. I’m enormously proud of what we achieved and I hope more publishers follow Xcite’s lead.
Q. What’s the best thing that has happened to you in the last 12 months?
On a professional level, I was ridiculously happy to get an article on female ejaculation published in The Guardian Online. When I pitched the piece, I’d feared the topic might be too ‘out there’ for them so I was thrilled when they took it. On a personal level … oh, it’s probably best I don’t say!
Q. Tell us something about yourself that would surprise us?
I find slivers of smoked salmon weirdly erotic.
Asking for Trouble (Black Lace)
Sally Jones
Lucy Felthouse
missstresscat
Alana James
scrivener13
dorlamoorehouse
