Finding My Way...

My journey, like countless others, of becoming a writer has not been easy.  It began when I finally overcame my own trepidation and started writing romance and erotica.  Once I did, it was as though a light had turned on.

It felt so natural.  I'd read what felt like a thousand novels in these genres as a fan before I attempted to write them.  After finishing each one I would imagine alternate endings, or continued the stories in my head.  The stories flowed and I didn't look back.

But my fear of what family and friends would think still held me back.  I was afraid of what their perceptions would be about not just erotica, but romance as a whole.  There are so many people that look down on romance as the black sheep of the literary world.  It's either viewed as the naughty little cousin to serious writing or all fluff and no substance. 

It pains me to say it but, once I did start writing, I hid it from some that are close to me.  And truth be told, of the few people I did work up the courage to share my journey with there were a couple who's reactions were less than enthusiastic.  But growth begets confidence.  As I continue to evolve as a writer, so does my understanding that not everyone will understand or love what I do, and nor should they.

 

I did not start writing to please anyone else but myself.  I started writing because I dream whole stories at night.  During the day the stories whisper in my ear as I ride the train, or while I am standing in line at Starbucks.  The characters are there bumping around in my mind in every quiet moment and even in some not so quiet moments.

People will either love what I write or they will hate it.  But regardless of either opinion, they can not change what I have to say.  Its my path, my story, come what may.

A Tease and a Taste...

I thought I would share a little tease...a bit of a taste...of my short story from the "Tie Me Up" Anthology.

 

"Love on the Line"

 

 “Let me take your coat.” She unbuttoned it without turning to him, letting it slip past her shoulders as she turned.  “I see you got the lingerie I sent you.”

            “I did.”

            Taking her coat, he tossed it on to the same chair as her bag.  Damon swept her hair back off her shoulders, sending shivers down her spine as he moved around her.  She faced him, and he backed her up against the closet door.  Her heart pounded in her ears, from a mixture of fear and excitement.  Running his fingers over her jaw as his thumb skimmed over her bottom lip, he let out a low hum of pleasure.  Slowly he moved his hand further up into the nape of her neck. She licked her lips, and watched as his eyes became heavy with want.  Fisting her hair lightly, he angled her ear to his lips. 

            “Open your mouth wider, and lick your lips again for me.”  She obliged drawing out the movement, reveling in his eyes locked on her mouth.  “Do you know how long I’ve been thinking about those lips?  I wanna see those pretty thick lips…” He tilted his head, eyes locked on her mouth.  “All over me.” 

Her body ignited.  Wet did not even begin to describe what he’d just done to her with just his words.  Her knees felt weak at the mental image of placing her lips over his most delicate parts. 

            “Are you ready for me?” he questioned.

            “Yes.” She panted as he tightened the grip in her hair.  Kissing her hard, his tongue plunged into her mouth finding her own.  Nina felt on the verge of coming just from that penetration alone.  He broke away from her, leading her to the doorway of the bedroom, leaving her standing there alone.  He quickly returned with red satin ties in his hands. 

 

Like what you read?  Want more?  Check out the full Anthology now available in print and ebook.

 http://riverdaleavebooks.com/books/5173/tie-me-up-a-binding-collection-of-erotic-tales

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/tie-me-up-Solomon?store=allproducts&keyword=tie+me+up+solomon
http://www.amazon.com/Tie-Me-Up-Binding-Collection-ebook/dp/B00VKNO6II/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1428256329&sr=8-1&keywords=tie+me+up+solomon

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25277314-tie-me-up-a-binding-collection-of-erotic-tales?from_search=true

The Stories I love...

There are so many love stories that have made me want to write.  Stories that showed me the beauty of the written word.  Stories that left me in awe...heartbroken...in love...and everything in between.  Books that I love and cherished so much I can remember everything about them down to when and where I purchased them.

 

I can still vividly recall strolling on a Saturday afternoon through Hell's Kitchen in New York as a teenager with my boyfriend.  We came upon a flea market.  It was stocked with a million and one random things, some treasures, some junk, and among them I found a stand of used books.  There I purchased for $2, a 1931 a hardcover translation of the play Cyrano De Bergerac By Edmond Rostand.  It was illustrated and had a periwinkle blue cover with a brown leather spine  It was old, fragile and perfect.

I can still remember reading it for the first time.  How my heart broke so completely for Cyrano as Roxane stood before him and professed her love for another.  My innocent heart, still believed that love was magical and enough to conquer all things. How could she not see how much he loved her?  How I wished I could change it and make Cyrano profess his love and win her heart from Christian.      

 "She goes out.  Cyrano remains motionless, his eyes on the ground. Silence."

-Cyrano De Bergerac, Edmond Rostand

But like all great tragic romances it was not to be.  I tell you that I rewrote that story a thousand times in my mind even though I knew deep down I would never change a word.  It is within his heartrending unrequited love that the beauty and sorrow of the human experience revealed itself. 

 

As I've said before my dear Constant Reader, at a certain point in my life I couldn't get enough of tragic romances.  But as young love faded into the haze of memories, my tastes changed and I searched for a new type of romance to reveal in.  And eventually to want to create stories of my own.  

 

But through it all, Cyrano stayed with me.  Made me want to give the all the underdogs of the world their Roxane's to love and to be loved by them in return.  It made me want to create stories that moved people in the same way, and make them believe in the magic of love all over again.

 

-Vita

 

Why I Write.

Before I was ever a writer, I was first and foremost, a reader.

At an early age my parents instilled in me a love of books.   Good behavior was rewarded by a trips to the bookstore.  

Even as I write this, I can still recall the feeling of walking through the racks at the Walden Books on Montague Street in Brooklyn.  So many to choose...no Internet or no Google search... just digging through the rows of shelves and finding the one that looked good.

With each book read,  my imagination built new stories of its own.  For me it was a easy extension of all characters I read about and loved.

Now in my late thirties,  I can say with all confidence, I write because of my love of the written word in all its forms.  I write because of after all these years my own characters and stories fill my head day and night.

I write because I always have been and always will be a Constant Reader.   I write because it is an intrinsic part of me. 

I write because I must.