Lacy Alexander talks Seven Nights of Sin by chingpea

Lacey Alexander was the first author I reviewed for Noveltown and boy was I lucky, she writes the kind of erotica you can’t put down. I loved Voyeur from page one and feel the same way with her most recent publication, Seven Nights of Sin.



In Seven Nights of Sin, we meet the ever-so-sweet Brenna Cayton who is still getting over a divorce that left her cynical about love and men. Enter the delicious, Greek God-like Damon Andros, a bad boy and every woman’s dream, but not into long-term relationships. Their paths cross at the famed Blue Night Records where they both work and since Damon got himself and the company he represents into some legal trouble, Brenna has a chance to step up and shine. Problem is she has to deceive Damon to succeed. Their boss sends them to Las Vegas and so begins our erotic romantic adventure…

Every arousing page of this book feeds into the desire every average woman has about a man they think they could never in a million years have. And that is the essence of what I love about Lacey Alexander’s books. She takes an average woman like you and me dealing with everyday issues of self esteem and heartache and puts her in a situation that allows her to discover herself and her sexuality. We as women not only relate, we live the adventures right along with the characters. As in life, once we get beyond the stereotypes and discover the depth of the characters the story and your imagination will take you to places you never thought you would go. All you have to do is let go, and discover how far you and your sexuality can go!



Seven Nights of Sin is a compelling and heated page turner. Keep your man and the vibrator nearby as temperatures rise, you’ll discover yourself and your body and explore places previously unexplored. Seven Nights of Sin is one to read over and over again… and not feel guilty for feeling positively wicked.

Read the interview with Lacey Alexander where she discusses her novel, her fans and why she writes erotica.

Noveltown: I love how Brenna’s character transitions in this story. How did the idea for her character arise?

Alexander: Many of the female characters in my books are designed to feel like “everywoman,” and Brenna fits that mold, as well. I think women connect to my erotica partly because these characters start out feeling like someone they can relate to – they’re very normal, middle-of-the-road women leading normal lives – so when they’re swept up in an erotic adventure, it feels all the more exciting. And insofar as transitions, as a writer, it’s my job to make sure all of my main characters undergo transitions for the better – to me, that’s what makes their stories worth telling.

Noveltown: Vegas is known for its raunchiness. What made you decide to use it as the backdrop for Seven Nights of Sin?

Alexander: Just that. I write erotica, and in erotica, setting is important. It needs to be evocative of the mood I want to create in the book. Where better to set an erotica novel than a place nicknamed “Sin City”?

Noveltown: How do you feel about the saying: “What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas.” Is Seven Nights of Sin an extension and/or play of that saying?

Alexander: In all honesty, I’ve always thought that saying makes no sense whatsoever – it’s a complete cop out with no truth to it. Whatever you’ve done, you’ve done, and you have to accept it and live with it. I’ve set a number of novels in Las Vegas, and I sometimes do have the characters discuss this saying in some way because it’s so well known that it almost has to be addressed, but I always try to inject my own personal beliefs there because, as I said, to me, the saying doesn’t hold water.

Noveltown: This one was sensual, sexual, emotional and erotic all at the same time. Where did you go to find the inspiration to create the scenarios that arise in the book?

Alexander: My imagination. I realize that sounds trite, but it’s true. And I did re-visit Vegas not long before I wrote the book, so that helped, too.

Noveltown: With Voyeur, we discovered “the inner bad girl.” Should Seven Nights of Sin discover more than that?

Alexander: In my mind, all my books are intended to help women discover their inner bad girl. That phrase is built into my website design very strongly, in fact, because I think it pretty much encapsulates every Lacey Alexander book. There is certainly more to each book – little messages about freedom, following your heart, etc., – but the “discover your inner bad girl” part is my simple and ultimate goal each time.



Noveltown: Have you received a lot of feedback from fans on Seven Nights of Sin?

Alexander: Yes, I get a lot of fan e-mail which is always very gratifying. To be honest, when I started writing erotica, I wasn’t sure there was much true redeeming value to it, but my fan mail proves me wrong on that count. Women tell me my books do everything from making them more confident to improving their marriages and they ask me to “please never stop writing this kind of book.” It really makes the work feel worthwhile.

Noveltown: Without giving away too much, Damon knows way more about hidden venues in Vegas. Do you believe (or know) these places actually exist and if so, have you explored any, or was this all from your creative imagination?

Alexander: Afraid it’s all from my imagination, and I have no idea if such places really exist.

Noveltown: What should we look forward to in your next book, The Bikini Diaries?

Alexander: Thanks for asking! As you might guess, THE BIKINI DIARIES takes place at the beach, and it’s about one women’s quest to, once in her life, put on a sexy bikini and be the bold sort of woman who is seeking “sex on the beach” and nothing more. Of course, it quickly gets a lot more complicated than that, and she records it all in a journal that ends up playing an important role in the story.

Noveltown: Thanks for talking with Noveltown again; it’s always a pleasure. I’ll be looking forward to your next erotic adventure… Any last thoughts?

Alexander: Thank you so much – and it’s a pleasure for me, too. I definitely appreciate Noveltown’s interest in my books! I’d also like to invite your readers to learn more about my books at www.LaceyAlexander.net, where they might just discover their inner bad girl.

Be sure to check out Lacey's Myspace and add her as a friend.

Lacey Alexander talks about her novel Voyeur and Erotica – By chingpea

Recently I stepped away from my normal behind the scenes role of marketing relations and printer wars and connected with erotica author Lacey Alexander. She was gracious enough to be my ‘first’ Noveltown book review. I found her to be as ‘deliciously decadent’ as her novel Voyeur and you will too.

In Voyeur, Alexander takes the reader on a steamy ride with Laura a writer suffering writer’s block who travels to Colorado in search of inspiration. She soon discovers more than she bargained for as she embraces her sexuality and imagination. Read Voyeur with a pitcher of ice cold water within arm’s reach. Believe me, you’ll definitely need it!



Lacey Alexander is an intoxicating, erotic writer using sensual and sexual prowess to embrace your inner passions and desires. Sexual discovery at its best, Voyeur entices you from beginning to end.



Typically erotica fiction is predominately read by women, Voyeur, however, is a book that men would enjoy as well. In fact if you dare, read Voyeur aloud with your partner. It might just be the thing to spice up your love life!



An arousing read, I definitely enjoyed Voyeur and would absolutely love to read whatever project she has next!



Alexander had some great insight into the world of erotica fiction. Check out the interview:

Noveltown: I love that Voyeur is super steamy, romantic erotica. You must get a lot of satisfaction from pleasing your audience. Thoughts?

Lacey Alexander: The reader response to my books has been overwhelming and helped me to realize that I’ve unexpectedly tapped in to something a lot of women relate to and even need – the “permission” to explore their most forbidden sexual fantasies. Readers also often tell me that my books have enhanced their marriages and I can’t imagine anything more gratifying than that.

Noveltown: One day you made a decision in your life to become the type of author that you are. Was there a certain influence on your decision? And, do other authors inspire you?

Lacey Alexander: I actually started writing erotica because my mainstream romance career (written under another pseudonym) was in a downturn and the erotica market was beginning to flourish. So it was a strictly strategic move in the beginning, to be honest. Kind of an “I think I’ll take a stab at writing that kind of book” decision. But it worked out to be very serendipitous since I gained a loyal readership very quickly. As it stands, both careers are going strong and I couldn’t be happier.

And no, I actually have avoided reading most other erotica, deciding early on that I was going to make my books what I thought “a woman’s perfect erotic fantasy” should be and that if it worked, it worked, and if it didn’t, then I wasn’t meant to write erotica. But apparently I was meant to write erotica.

Noveltown: Do you consider yourself more sensual or sexual when it comes to erotica? And your audience?

Lacey Alexander: Both, actually. And my readers seem to respond very positively to the combination of both sensuality and sexuality. I actually think that’s what makes them work, and hopefully what makes them feel a little unique among erotica offerings.

Noveltown: I love how your website says, “Discover your inner bad girl.” Do you think erotica fans find themselves discovering their “inner bad selves” when they read Voyeur?

Lacey Alexander: I certainly hope so. I hope every one of my books invites readers to recognize and embrace that part of themselves. I should add that I don’t advocate that people go out and “live the fantasy,” but I think it’s very healthy to recognize that it’s okay to think about “forbidden” things.



Noveltown: Was there research for Voyeur? Dare we even ask?

Lacey Alexander: Ha! No, not really. But the setting came from a vacation home I stayed in a few years ago, and I concocted the idea while on the trip.

Noveltown: Laura Watkins and Braden Stone mirror the characters of Riley Wainscott and Sloane Bennett. Since Laura uses acquaintances as well as herself as inspiration for her characters and character experiences, do you as the author do the same?

Lacey Alexander: No, I never really draw characters from real life. They’re all in my head.

Noveltown: You must receive a lot of feedback from your fans. Give us some of the goods about what men have been saying versus women…

Lacey Alexander: Actually, when I hear from men, it’s usually short and sweet, something like: I enjoy your books. And that suits me fine. I really don’t want to get into sexual discussions with guys I don’t know and when I get e-mails from men who seem to want to have cyber sex, I hit the delete button quick. I’m a happily married woman, after all. So I don’t know exactly how men perceive the books, only that I do have male readers who enjoy them. It’s the women who tell me they find my books very liberating and also the books have made them bolder with their partner, more comfortable with sex, etc., and if that’s all I accomplish before I die, I’m pretty happy with it.

Noveltown: Did anything get in the way of your imagination when deep into discovery and fantasy regarding writing Voyeur?

Lacey Alexander: When I’m writing erotica, it’s very necessary to turn off my internal “edit button,” to simply not censor myself. When I first started writing these books that part was a challenge – I had to pretend no one would ever read them but me. And I will admit that there are a few scenes in my books that I can’t quite believe I wrote, because they’re so contrary to the real me. But I’ve written enough erotica now that it comes pretty easily and is just part of the job.

Noveltown: Thanks for taking part in this interview. Just one more thing. What's coming next?

Lacey Alexander: Thanks for asking! I actually have lots in the works! As you know, VOYEUR came out in May, and it went back for a second printing after just a week on the shelves! In July, CITY HEAT becomes available – which combines the first two novellas of my City Heat series in one print volume (the novellas are available individually as e-books through www.ellorascave.com). In September, I have a short story in an anthology called SEASONS OF SEDUCTION III. My contribution is called THE PIRATE AND THE PUSSYCAT and is a fun Halloween romp. Then in April 2008, Penguin will release my second novel with them, SEVEN NIGHTS OF SIN, which is an erotic odyssey through Las Vegas. Readers can learn more about these and my other books by visiting me online at www.laceyalexander.net.



Thank you so much for a great interview. I enjoyed it!

Pick up your copy of Voyeur here . Also check out Lacey’s myspace .

Robin Slick talks to Noveltown about Big Apple Books and Erotica - By N.L. Belardes

Robin Slick... Erotica or Chick Lit writer?

If I were to crown the most wickedly delicious queen in all of Philly, I would have to give the crown to Robin Slick. Why? Simple reason. Robin Slick has one of the most fabulous names ever for a writer. It’s not long, or drawn out, or overly flamboyant. It’s hip, urban, and has, dare I say it, sex appeal, in a nicely naughty way of course. You have to love the way the name rolls off the tongue.

Robin Slick’s real name? It’s probably something long like Yaminslickovich. Only Robin can tell. But would she? Though Slick writes on-the-edge fiction teetering, and often full on diving into erotica, she is as mysterious as her fiction. She spends time writing books, writing blogs, hovering around LitPark.com—not in a bad way of course—though I would say she lives up to her stylish name—a devilish comment here and there. She’s clearly a blog addict, as even admitted as much in an interview on Susan DiPlacido’s blog, “Sometimes I wonder if I wouldn't be happier as a non fiction columnist. All the energy I used to pour into my writing at 5:00 a.m. every morning I now spend blogging.”

I know the feeling.


Get her book...

Slick self-labels her fiction as “Wickedly Delicious”. Oh it is. Her characters are both sexually conniving and humanly complex. She’s written several published books, including Three Days in New York City and Another Bite of the Big Apple.

How can Robin Slick and her erotic fiction be so mysterious? Believe me, there are mysteries surrounding Slick, her real life and her prose. Let’s dig right in…

Interview:

Noveltown: Robin, I read Three Days in New York City. It’s a story of a woman discovering more than she’s just unhappy with her TV twisted jock husband. She discovers her sexual hunger and her artistic self-center. I’ve read that you don’t really like the erotica label. Is this true? Because, if that book isn’t erotica, I don’t know what is. Straighten me out here.

Slick: Oh, okay, okay. If I’m forced to label the book, and I totally despise labeling, it’s erotica because of all the graphic sex contained therein, but since you’ve read the book, you know that said graphic sex was an integral part of the story and there was no way I could whitewash it. But because I also edit for my publisher and erotica is what they primarily publish, I know it’s not formula erotica because that stuff makes me cringe. I’m serious. When I sit down to edit for my publisher, I don’t get turned on, I get nuts. Where is the sparkling dialogue? The humor? The unique, interesting characters? Oh, right. This is supposed to be about sparkling, unique sex. Okay, yeah, I guess this novel I’m editing contains all that. Interesting. The ones that make me cringe the most are usually the best sellers because they are all sex and that’s what the readers who make up a good portion of my publisher’s fan base are looking for. But seriously, don’t you think Three Days in New York City is really is a chick lit comedy with a sort of warped baby boomer coming of age back story? When I was sending the book out to agents four years ago, I was told the same thing over and over again. We love this but it’s not marketable as is—either take out the sex and make it mainstream or market it as erotica. I was like, Huh? Why can’t it be both? But damn it, my timing was off. A year or two later, erotica suddenly became big business and if I were to sub that book now, I’d probably get a totally different reaction. Anyway, there was no way I could take the sex out of that book—besides, I think the some of the sexual scenes are laugh out loud funny and totally in line with the character/plot, etc. —so I was a rebel and decided to start subbing it myself to small, independent publishers. And that worked. Mundania/Phaze grabbed it, and it was a best seller for them. They came to me and asked me to write a sequel, which I totally never intended to do, and that book (Another Bite of the Apple) been in the top five rated erotic books over at Fictionwise for the past six months. And that’s got way less sex in it than Three Days, trust me.


I stole pics from Robin's Photobucket. Is this Monty the wonderdog?

Noveltown: I was poking around at past interviews you’ve done and I read that you once received 500 emails for threatening to quit your blog, www.inherownwrite.blogspot.com. What particular book or event has caused such popularity? Or should I just start writing about sex to build my audience. Feel free to call me a shallow male.

Slick: Well, I’m pretty lucky because I can draw on my audience from many different places. When I first started the blog in 2004, my readers were about a hundred or so parents and kids from the Paul Green School of Rock Music because I spent the first few months blogging a novel I was writing about them following a two week west coast tour in which I participated as a chaperone for my own two kids, who were just graduating the program at the time. (I’ve since deleted those posts…see answer below).


School of Rock! School of Rock! One of these beautiful people is really Jack Black.

At that time, there was only one Rock School and it was in Philadelphia. Then they went corporate (argh) and they opened up something like thirty branches nationwide and I inherited all of those students and parents from all over the country who would google “Rock School” and find my blog. My big break came when the Picturehouse documentary “Rock School” featuring my kids was released internationally in theaters during the summer of 2005. I landed a bunch of readers who were not only movie fans but diehard Eddie Vedder/Pearl Jam, Jon Anderson of Yes, and Heart fans because my kids played with them at the movie’s premier parties – everyone who googled Pearl Jam or Yes, etc. found my blog because naturally I told little stories about having pizza with Eddie Vedder and posted accompanying photographs I’d taken. In 2006, when Adrian Belew hired my son and daughter to be his new power trio, I got a gazillion more readers from prog rock forum boards all over the world. My son, Eric, is also drummer for Project Object, a Frank Zappa tribute band featuring the original members of Frank Zappa’s band so then I got a strong Zappa fanbase visiting me daily and let me tell you, there are millions of them – who’d have thunk it? So combine this with all of my connections in erotica land – my readers, other writers, as well as all of my friends/editors from Zoetrope, which is a mainstream on line writing workshop sixty thousand strong…and well, it all just multiplied. And for the piece de resistance, when I thought I “discovered” Neil Gaiman and started writing about him…well…next thing I knew I was up to 10,000 hits a week. And then last month, I won fifth place in the Best of Blogs 2006 Award (www.inherownwrite.blogspot.com), diarist, and my numbers skyrocketed. But the million-dollar question is: Are any of these blog readers buying my books? God I hope so. My royalty checks have been decent at times so I’m hoping that’s the case. But it’s a struggle for me because I really do find I prefer writing about music and my kids’ careers a lot more than hawking my books. God I hate that part of the process—being a saleswoman, that is. I’m more of an oral person…err…I mean, word of mouth via people who have read my book is the sales method I prefer but then again, that’s me living in fantasy world, huh.

But yeah, last month was my biggest month on the blog ever—I had 125,00 hits between December 15-January 15. That’s Neil Gaiman territory, baby. Oh god, now I feel guilty. I really should be talking up my books more, as well as those of my friends. Note to self: At least do it weekly for Christ sake, you slacker you.


Does Robin kiss and tell? Does Monty?

Noveltown: OK, so I read more of your interviews than I probably should have. But you called your works in progress, Chick Lit. And then you went on to talk about how you pop open some wine and then add all the gooey sex to your stories when you write them. So really, you don’t write erotica, you write sex-revved chick lit? Either way, I read your work fairly quick. I had to know what happened. Call me shallow, again, please.

Slick: Okay, Shallow be thy name. Yeah, it’s true. I can’t just sit here at the computer stone cold sober and write about down and dirty, nasty sex. Masturbation, yes, sex no. (Why is that, she asked, holding her wrist in agony and wondering if she has carpal tunnel syndrome) So, like I said above, I really don’t consider myself an erotica writer at all. I like writing about twisted/contemporary relationships but since I’ve been successful writing about sex, I drink the wine, close my eyes, and go for it. But I think those days may be over—I’m currently writing a mainstream novel.



Noveltown: As I bestow you with a crown for being the most wickedly delicious queen in all of Philly, I have to ask, is Slick your real name?

Slick: Yeah. Well, it’s not my maiden name, it’s my married name. My husband is a cousin to Jerry Slick, Grace Slick’s ex-husband. It’s been funny to see how this has been whispered down the lane when I google my kids. I find everything from “Hey, Eric and Julie Slick are Grace’s grandchildren” to “their mother is Grace’s sister”. Pretty bizarre. And of course, oddly enough, David Bowie had a guitarist named Earl Slick… I’m not sure about this, I should probably hit Google, but I believe Earl came on board with David after Adrian Belew left. So poor Eric always gets confused with Earl. “Eric Slick plays drums for Adrian Belew? I thought he was David Bowie’s guitarist? When did he change instruments?” It’s all kind of weirdly incestual.

Noveltown: On to the subject of character development. How do you explore? You seem like a wanderer, like your main characters. I mean, you may sit still when you write your blog, but in reality it’s an exploration of your life and rock and roll, and of your mini-travels.

Slick: Oh, without a doubt my mini-travels and tours are the total basis for most if not all of my work. In my current still not quite finished novel—which is about a former groupie/hipster who struggles to come to terms with middle age and a faltering marriage when she reconnects a legendary guitar God from her wild past while accompanying and allegedly chaperoning her young rock star offspring on a tour across America—I directly drew from my experience from the west coast Rock School tour of 2004. Hence why I deleted the aforesaid posts in my blog—I did need to use some of that stuff in my current novel though I trashed most of it.


Monty, what are you doing?

Noveltown: And settings? How does you chose a setting like New York for your stories? Do you just say, “I want to write about New York?” Or what…

Slick: Err…I spend a lot of time in New York. And even living in Philadelphia, I’m a city girl (I live downtown), so I write about what I know. And frankly, I write what I personally would want to read. I know this is going to make me sound shallow (hey, we can be Mr. and Mrs. Shallow), but I could care less.

Noveltown: Last question: Are obsessions a part of your life and part of your stories? I mean, maybe stories are your obsession, but I think you’re a lot more complex than that.

Slick: Well, I’d be lying if I said I don’t get obsessions. And I’m an equal opportunity obsessor—I get fixated over everything from food to sex to music to certain authors living in Bakersfield, California. I mean, I’m not a stalker or anything, but once something or someone interests me, they kind of take over my brain and yeah, I need to write about it. Or them. Or him. Whatever. But do I need to be obsessed over something to write? Nah. Though…hmm…on second thought…my best writing comes from my various compulsions and at the moment, the well is dry. Maybe that’s why I’m currently in limbo.

Okay, that does it. Obviously I need a new obsession so I can finally finish my novel. Any takers?
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