Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Interview: Jeremy Edwards



The first thing I discovered about Jeremy Edwards is that he has a wicked sense of humor. The second thing I learned was that his talent with crafting puns and double entendres is but one of his gifts with words. Winning the most creative award for his story title, "Gildi and the Unwieldy, Ineffectual Committee of Bears," Jeremy has written a very different kind of Goldilocks story.


What inspired you to retell this particular fairy tale?

I liked its potential for blending the erotic with the comedic. With the Goldilocks story in my mind, it was very easy for me to envision a protagonist wandering around a strange house on a sexy mission, and having misadventures en route to accomplishing it--while being sort of underfoot with respect to the characters who live there.


How long have you been writing erotica?

I began writing some erotica in 1995; but for the most part I didn't disseminate it, and I only wrote in the genre very occasionally. It was a full decade later that I began writing erotica regularly, and for publication.


What is your writing routine like?

Typically, my stories first go through a "preproduction" phase where I'm making notes as things occur to me--little bits of dialogue or narrative for a story that I'm planning on writing, but haven't yet focused on. Often the first paragraph or so of the story will be drafted in this phase. Then, when I sit down to work on the story in earnest, I tend to write in chunks, not necessarily drafting things in order. As I add content, I'm continually looking at what I have, and revising as I go along to polish things and make sure all the chunks transition well into each other.

So by the time I have a complete draft, I've already done a lot of revising. At that point I go through one or two more times to polish. Then I print the manuscript out and go through with a purple pen. This is a "fine-tooth comb" phase, where I try to catch anything that's awkward, and also mark any words whose spelling or precise meaning I think I'd better double check. (It's also where I tend to replace character names with pronouns wherever I've repeated a character name unnecessarily.) Then, of course, I take the purple-pen mark-up and go back to the digital file, to deal with all this.

Finally, I run a "concordance" program over the file to generate a list of words contained in the story, in descending frequency order. I scan this for words that I may have overused, finding alternative vocabulary where it's called for.

Whew!



What do you enjoy reading? Favorite authors? Favorite genres? Recommendations?

Outside of erotica (which I read a lot of!), my reading tastes run to comic novels (think P. G. Wodehouse and E. F. Benson), humor essays (think Robert Benchley and young Woody Allen), whimsical children's books, and stage farces. Much of the literature I enjoy most dates back several decades, or even a century.


What’s next for you? Upcoming publications and current projects?

Thanks for asking! I have an erotic-story collection coming out soon: Spark My Moment, an e-book from Xcite (which may also appear in print down the road). Meanwhile, my erotocomedic novel Rock My Socks Off (also from Xcite, in print and e), which was released in the UK earlier this year, is scheduled for U.S. release in the fall.

16 comments:

  1. That's quite a writing process. Whew indeed!

    Your story idea sounds like a fun romp, uniquely Jeremy!

    I look forward to reading it!

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  2. Kristina, thank you so much for letting me play in your fairy-tale world, and for hosting me here today—and for that sweet and wonderful introduction!

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  3. That's quite a writing process. Whew indeed!

    : ) And that was the short version, heheh. I recently wrote a whole essay about the concordance phase!

    Your story idea sounds like a fun romp, uniquely Jeremy!

    Thanks, Craig! Can't wait to read yours, too! I've been hearing great things about it in the reviews.

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  4. Okay okay, I am now officially frustrated, reading this interview with the wonderful Jeremy - and others - and yet not having a copy of the book in my hand. Argh!

    Oh, the suffering that art entails
    ;-)

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  5. So many things I noticed my writing process has tended to have in common with yours (like writing things in chunks and not necessarily in order), but wow, if I revised as I went along, I don't feel sure I'd ever complete something, lol. I've tended to become fixated during the revision process enough—I at least want to have some semblance of a rough draft done by the time that begins!

    Thanks for sharing, J!

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  6. At least we're all mutually frustrated together, wonderful Janine! Here's to the mutual "release" that's on its way to us!

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  7. It is tough sometimes knowing where to stop with the revising, isn't it, Emerald? That process can definitely be an exercise in "letting go," ime.

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  8. Oh, there's so much frustration here! That won't do at all! :-)

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  9. I dig you, J-Man. A funny, smart, tongue-in-cheek class act. XO A

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  10. :*)[blushing]
    The admiration is mutual, Alana! You are brilliant and brave, wise and warm.

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  11. Hi Jeremy

    Nice to 'meet' you! I love your interview and particularly enjoyed reading about how you like to blend the erotic with the comedic. That's something I love too and I can't wait to see how it plays out in your story.

    I also enjoyed reading about your writing process - it's great to hear how other writers go about the business (and reassuring that I'm not the only one who does lots of revising!)

    All the best,
    Louisa x

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  12. I found myself nodding as I read your writing process. With novels it's slightly different for me, but short stories are often like jigsaws in my mind.

    Can't wait to read your story! You're one of the few writers who can combine sex and humour and make it work so well. I always know I'm going to have fun when I pick up your work.

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  13. I was smiling just reading people's comments and your responses, Jeremy! As Saskia said, you do have the gift of humor ... I thought your story was witty and had an interesting theatrical flair in both the characters and the use of language. Thanks so much for sharing your story. I look forward to reading your other work!

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  14. Whoops! Sorry to be late getting back here.

    Louisa: Pleased to meet you, too, and I'm looking forward to delving into your work! I see from your website that you have a lot of stories coming out in the near future—congrats!

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  15. Hi, sweet Saskia! Your praise makes my day. And it's always a great honor to ride in the same book with you!

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  16. Hi, Michelle. I'm so glad you enjoyed "Gildi," and I'm glowing from the things you said about the piece! I'm going to phone Gildi herself to read her your words. ;)(Of course, I'll probably just get her manager.)

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