“Symphony Amore” Author Interview: Laura Callender
Today, I am pleased to introduce Laura Callender. Her story in Symphony Amore: Erotic Stories of Love and Music is titled Crescendo. Her story, like an actual crescendo, is beautiful while filled with tension and ends with exquisite resolution. She lives in the UK with her two young daughters, who rarely afford her time to write. She is the founder of CWC (Collaborative Writing Challenge) and spends a good chunk of time organizing numerous ongoing writing collaborations. She also organizes and publishes various anthologies, alongside working as a professional cover designer.
Is this your first published story? Is this your first published story in a Sexy Little Pages anthology? I have a few short stories published in anthologies I have organised, along with numerous chapters in the collaborative novels I coordinate. This is my first story to be published completely independently of my own writing circles, so that’s been very rewarding for me.
How long have you been writing erotica? How and why did you start? This is my first completed erotic story. I did start a novella many years ago which I hope to complete at some point. I enjoy the challenge of writing a sex scene. I like the build-up of interpersonal relationships, and finding the right ingredients to translate that chemistry to the reader.
What inspired you to write this story? Actually, this is a true story, embellished to fit the submission guidelines. Sadly, the real story didn’t have such a sweet ending, but the chemistry that drove the story forward was something I experienced first-hand.
What were the most challenging and enjoyable aspects of writing it? It’s very hard to write something that actually happened, because you have to ignore the truth to make the scene as fulfilling as possible for the reader. I do like to use reality in all aspects of stories I write, and when I let go enough to let the story come out of the memory, I know I’m on the right track.
Does your story fit into your body of work? No. I have mostly written fantasy stories, so this has a different feel to it entirely.
What is your favorite line from your story? As the story is quite personal to me, there are too many parts I like. However, this couple of lines start to build the tension between the characters: “My hands impatiently traveled along the contours of his muscles. A light scattering of short black hairs on his chest fascinated me, as I took in every inch of his soft black skin. He had a faint distinctive scent that lulled me like a distant pot of brewing coffee.”
Being as this is a collection about music, what is your favorite song or piece of music? Oh gosh, that is an impossible question. I grew up listening to Whitney Houston and Michael Jackson. I still love their music to this day. I find I also like music that is very emotive. I loved “Hide and Seek” by Imogen Heap. It’s the type of song I listen to really loud and just let the sound overtake me.
What can we expect from you in the near future? Life has been throwing me a few curve balls of late, so I’ve had to slow down my schedule somewhat. However, I have thoroughly enjoyed perfecting a few short stories and will likely look for another open submission that calls to me! In the meantime, I still work on book covers for numerous clients and find that work very rewarding.
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Be sure to read Crescendo and eight other erotic short stories in the collection, Symphony Amore: Erotic Stories of Love and Music, to be released on September 19, 2017. The links are as follows:
