SATIN'S BOOKISH CORNER: AUTHOR BLOG SPOT!!

Hi, could you tell us a little bit about yourself, for those who don't know who you are and haven't seen your work. 

Hello Satin – thanks for having me here on your blog!

I’m Janine Ashbless and I write erotica (with occasional forays into erotic romance). Most of my work is based on folklore and mythology, or has a fantasy setting of one sort or another.

My 9th published book is out now – an outrageous BDSM fairytale called “Named and Shamed,” which comes with 19 luscious and VERY naughty interior illustrations by John LaChatte.

2. When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer, what was the very first idea you came up with for a story...did it take long for you to get your first book published..

I’d always wanted to be a writer, but for years I thought that what I wanted to write was horror stories. I had a ton of erotic stories churning around in my head but no idea that there was any legitimate outlet for fantasies like that. Then I was given a an erotica novel about King Arthur’s knights (“Avalon Nights” by Sophie Danson, published by Black Lace) and I saw the light – this was what I was born for! I wrote a book of eleven short stories, sent it off to Black Lace, and it was accepted straight away and published as “Cruel Enchantment.” It’s still in print.

3. When writing a story what comes first, the character or the idea for the novel?

A scene comes first. I work quite visually. I see the scene, with one or more characters in it, and I play it forward and
backward in my head until I understand the dynamics and can work out who the people are and how they’ve got themselves into that mess. The plot comes from there. The characters evolve as I write them.

4. We all have things going on in our lives, so I was wondering if there has been anything in your life that has influenced your work.

When I was in my twenties I went through a couple of years of intense depression, and it was as I was coming out of that that I started to write short stories and started to understand the real power of both sex and the world of the imagination. I quit my nice comfortable job as a computer programmer and began to chase my dreams. I did stuff I couldn’t have possibly foreseen, and took risks, and discovered that writing was one of the absolutely vital ingredients to staying happy, for me. So the influence of this incredibly awful time in my life has been, in the end, to drive what I do and am now.

5.I was wondering if you could tell me what catches your attention when you're not writing, how do you spend your free time.. do you have things you like doing by yourself or with your family.

Me and my husband are both Live Action Role- Players (in a casual middle-aged sort of a way). I’ve got two rescued greyhounds, so my day revolves around looking after them. I like movies, comics, hanging out with my geeky friends, travelling abroad, gardening and visiting museums among other things. I’m currently in love with “Game of Thrones.”

6, Ok random question time. I love these. What’s the biggest secret you have ever kept?

Hold on – this is trick question, right? You were expecting me to blurt out my biggest secret over teh interwebs? Sneaksy hobbitses!

Though, to be honest, my friends have probably guessed my ‘big’ secret - It’s been five years now, for heaven’s sake, and I haven’t put any effort into lying about it. If they haven’t worked it out, they’re a whole lot dumber than I think they are. . .

7. It's been really nice having you here at Satin's Bookish Corner, are there any last words you would like to share with my followers.

Can I quote Aron Ralston, the guy who got stuck in a canyon and had to cut off his own hand to escape?

“Our purpose as spiritual beings is to follow our bliss, seek our passions, and live our lives as inspirations to each other.”

I think that’s the best advice I’ve ever heard.

xxx

Janine Ashbless

www.janineashbless.blogspot.com

http://sweetmeatspress.com/erotic_stories/illustrated_erotic_stories_named_shamed.html

Janine Ashbless has written books for Black Lace, Ellora’s Cave, Samhain, Mischief Books and Sweetmeats Press, as well as short stories for Spice, Cleis, Nexus and others. Her erotica has been described as “hardcore and literate.” Violet Blue called her “one of the hands-down masters of erotic writing.”

Cover Blurb:

"Once upon a time . . .  a naughty girl called Tansy stole a very precious manuscript from a kindly antiquarian. But all of the world’s ancient and powerful magic, lost for centuries, has returned - and now there is much more at stake than a few sheets of parchment.

Thus begins a rude and rugged fairytale the likes of which you NEVER read when you were little! Poor Tansy is led though the most pleasurable trials and the most shameful tribulations as her quest unfolds before her. Orgasmic joy and abject humiliation are laid upon Tansy in equal measure as she straddles the two worlds of magic and man.

From debauched dryads to oversexed ogres, fantasy and BDSM slither together to make Named & Shamed the consummate adult fable – all lusciously illustrated by John LaChatte. Immerse yourself in this dark and depraved fairy tale, and may all your endings be happy ever after!"