“You write what?”

When you write erotic fiction, that question is generally accompanied by wide eyes or a knowing smirk. If you’re like most people I meet, you may wonder, “is she into that stuff in real life? Is she a voyeur? Or a Dominatrix? Does she really think polyamorism is acceptable?”

You may even be brave enough to come right out and ask if I “do the stuff I write about.” It’s one of the most common misperceptions erotic fiction authors face. Which makes every erotic romance author I know roll their eyes and mutter to themselves, “Do fans of the television show Dexter believe the writers of that show are serial killers? Or that Agatha Christie went out and murdered people to research her books?” While there are a few erotic fiction writers who are into the lifestyle they write about, most of them aren’t—like every other author, we use our imagination.

So who are erotic fiction authors? We’re the people next door, just regular folks. Of all ages from our twenties to our seventies, male or female, we may be heterosexual or homosexual, it doesn’t matter. Some of us are married, some are divorced, and some are single. Many of us have college education or university degrees; we may be your manager, your banker, your lawyer or your doctor. If you sat next to me on a train or in a coffee shop, you’d see a middle-aged middle-class woman. If we started talking, you’d learn that I have been married for over thirty years, was a computer instructor before I became a stay-at-home mom, that my children are now grown allowing me the freedom to become a full-time author.

I'm not so different from most of the erotica readers that I’ve met either. Readers who were tired of reading their politically correct grandmother’s chaste stories; they wanted the proverbial bedroom door left open. Wide open.

Let’s face it, you can learn a lot more about a person when you get to see them behind closed doors because that’s when they shed their social inhibitions, or when their fears become much more personal. By leaving their bedroom doors open, I get to explore my characters’ intimate secrets, their fears and expectations as I ramp up their internal conflict.

Conflict? Wait a minute – that makes it sound like there’s a story or a plot, but isn’t erotic fiction just porn without plot? Now there’s another myth that makes us roll our eyes. Good erotic fiction will have a plot and delve into topical subjects—discrimination, loss, need, power, envy, greed, just for starters. Deliberate Deceptions, book #3 in my Hauberk Protection series from Samhain Publishing, follows a couple attempting to reconcile while dealing with their divorce following the death of their child; Tangled Past, my historical from Harlequin’s digital-first Carina Press, explores life in 1880s Texas for a native American woman who is forced into a marriage with a bisexual man and his partner.

Whether serious dramas or light-hearted comedies, erotic fiction covers all genres–contemporaries with Navy Seals or FBI agents, lawyers or doctors, or just the regular girl-next-door exploring her naughty side. Historicals with gladiators in ancient Rome to lords and ladies dallying in Victorian boudoirs; paranormals with shape shifters, vampires or fallen angels. Or maybe you prefer cowboys—be they riding the range in Texas or flying a spaceship in a science-fiction space fantasy.

No matter the genre, you shouldn’t be able to skim through the love scenes without fear of missing something important about one of the characters—a secret revealed, a conflict conquered, something that advances either the character’s growth or external plot. Ultimately, the characters may or may not remain in a long-term relationship, they may just be two ships that pass in the proverbial night, but the protagonist should come away having learned something about themselves, having changed somehow, grown.

Despite the muttered comments I’ve heard that “anyone can write a romance” or that sex is easy to write, neither assumption is true. Most authors I know who write explicit sex scenes say they are the most difficult scenes to write. In addition to keeping track of what body part is where, and making each scene unique, the author has to ensure the reader connects with the characters. A scene that is strictly about putting tab A into slot B is boring and far too easy to skip over. The reader needs to be inside the character’s mind and understand why that particular encounter is necessary, or how it’s triggering something from the character’s past or allowing them to get past some mental or emotional barrier.

In fiction, as in real life, sex can be a great source not only of conflict but also of empowerment. For the characters, and for the reader. Sex can enlighten, draw people closer, reveal their most intimate desires and yes, even titillate. So if you ever find yourself face-to-face with an erotic fiction author, just remember, they’re just people who work really hard at their craft to make each story they write the best it can be so that you, dear reader, can enjoy it in the comfort of your favourite chair.

After a conversation with her eldest son about how he needed to follow his dreams, Leah Braemel decided to follow her own advice and make her dreams of getting published come true. She was thrilled when her first sizzling romance, Private Property, was published in 2009. In January 2010, the reviewers at The Romance Studio nominated Private Property for a CAPA award for Best Erotic Romance. Leah was also nominated in the Best Erotic Romance Author category. Reviewers have since awarded her books numerous Top Pick and Recommended Reads designations. Leah now has five books published, with a two more scheduled to be released in Spring 2012.