50 Shades of Grey changed the face of erotica forever. Books from the genre were previously hidden in the XXX back section of stores (if they had a section at all). Some writers felt strange writing it and readers felt dirty even picking the books up. Through the combination of accessibility and digital anonymity, people started reading these steamy books out in the open. They’re everywhere. A friend who works at an airport bookstore told me that erotica is all they sell now! Erotica has officially joined the mile high club.

I’ve always loved writing erotic scenes, but I never considered the challenge of writing erotica because it felt like there was too much of a stigma behind it. In addition, I like infusing my scenes with comedy. I didn’t think that sex and comedy went together in this genre, until a bunch of parody books trying to capitalize on the success of 50 Shades began to pop up.

They were funny and sexy.

That settled it. I was going to write a sexy and funny book, but I wanted to base it not on 50 Shades but on a classic tale that everybody would know. Romeo and Juliet almost immediately popped into my head. I’ve been a bit of a Shakespeare nut for years and the thought of revisiting his most popular work for the sake of erotic parody made me very excited. The bard is already funny and sexy, so my biggest challenge has been making the work my own. I think I’ve done that, but I’ll let all of you be the judge of whether or not I’ve been successful when it comes out at the end of October.

If the book is a hit, I’m not going to stop there. I’m going to make it a part of the Sensual Shakespeare Series. My challenge: adapt all 37 of Shakespeare’s plays into erotic parodies. Can I do it? Would people want me to do it? Sound off in the comments below or send me a message to let me know if you think it’s a good idea.

Thanks for visiting the site!

Sincerely,

M.A.