Erotic fiction author Janine Ashbless, aged 45, Yorkshire, talks about her latest book, how she got published in the first place and gives valuable tips for would-be professional authors…
Book name, publication date, who book is published by.
“Red Grow the Roses”: officially launched March 2012 (already available), Mischief Books
Is this your first book? If not, how many other books have you published?
This is my eighth book. And Number Nine is due out as well, from Sweetmeats Press. Publishers are like buses…
What is the book about? If you have published other books, is this in
a similar style or something different?
Red Grow the Roses is a mosaic novel – a novel made of separate but connected short stories – about six vampires locked in power-struggle in contemporary London. It’s full-on erotica with quite a lot of the kinky stuff. Not for the easily shocked.
I write erotica that ranges from the romantic to the scary hardcore. Red Grow the Roses sits toward the “not romantic” end of my range.
When did you start writing/what gave you the idea to write a book?
I was given a Black Lace erotic novel about King Arthur’s knights by a friend, back in 1998, and I thought “WOW! I could write this sort of thing!” Until that point I had no idea that the stories I had in my head were the sort of thing anyone was allowed to print!
How long did it take to write? Was it difficult (for example to fit
around family life or a regular job?
I write full-time now.
My books take about nine months to write … just like having a baby! I’m not particularly fast as a writer, I admit, largely because I find the creative process fulfilling but exhausting. And I tend to get distracted by doing short stories for various anthologies.
If it’s an erotic book, how did you feel about that? Did you set out
to write an erotic book or did things just turn out that way? Were
friends and family surprised or shocked to read it at first?
I set out to write erotica and I’m very proud of what I write. My books are literate (without being literary), dramatic, and very rude. I assume my readers are smart people who won’t accept half-hearted descriptions, plots with holes in them or dumb heroines . I very much write what I want to read, not to a market formula. 
My husband is very proud of my work. My parents are staunch Christians so … not so proud. They sort of wish I would write something more tasteful that they could show off to their friends.
How did you get published? Did you approach a literary agent first or
go directly to a publisher?
I approached Black Lace directly with my first book, Cruel Enchantment – a collection of short stories with fantasy and paranormal settings.
Was it hard to get published? Did you try a number of places or was it easier than you
thought?
It was easier than I had any right to expect at the time. Black Lace snapped up Cruel Enchantment and I’ve never looked back. That was in 1999 when “mass market” meant paperbacks.
Now that e-publishing has taken off, it’s easier for writers to get a publisher because the romance market is just ENORMOUS and the turnover so fast.
Where your book is on sale?
Any advice for other book writers?
• Write the best possible book you can. Approach it like it’s your last legacy to the world – it has to be perfect before you offer it up for publication.
• If you’re serious about writing, you’re going to have to give stuff up – nights watching TV, social time, sleep.
• Listen to the inner voice that tells you which bits of your novel are weak, and fix them.
• Ignore the inner voice that tells you you’ll never make it and you should give up now.
• Keep writing. When you’ve finished one book, start the next straight away – don’t expect to take time off while you find a publisher.
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