A warm welcome to my fellow author Robin Watergrove!
EXCERPT:
I sigh. If we could step back from this conversation and see ourselves from behind mirrored glass, two lonely people taking different paths out of the loneliness labyrinth, then I’d ask if she really wants to know. I’d ask if hearing about this beautiful girl who’s caught my eye is really want she needs right now. But all we can see is what’s right in front of us and it’s impossible to walk away from an unanswered question from your best friend. “She works out at my gym.”
“What does she look like?”
“Nice ass.”
“Shut up. Tell me what she looks like.”
I smile despite myself. “Long, dark hair. Long legs and long arms. Looks like a cyclist. Super lean, like she’s been training her whole life. She’s got pretty eyes but she wears a… closed off face. You know what I mean? Like nothing effects her.”
“You’ve talked to her?”
“A couple of times.”
“You flirted?”
“Sort of?” I check out of the conversation. I’m looking at plugs for my earlobes online. The pearly white ones I have in don’t feel right any more. I’ve barely stretched my lobes. I wear six-gauge jewelry so everyone thinks I’m just getting started.
I’m not ready to do this; I don’t want to dissect this crush in front of Jean. It’s sticky and I can tell, without looking too closely, that it’ll reel in a bunch of other things I won’t want to dredge up.
And since I’m sitting here, carefully keeping my thoughts cloudy and incomplete, I can tell there’s another part of my hesitation that’s harder to explain. The voice that muses in my mind talks too loud when I’m thinking about this girl. It yells and pops, like some creature rattling a cage. It’s scary.
I ask Jean about her apartment, with its five roommates and view of a brick wall.
She tells me a story about a rat in the kitchen and ruthlessly returns to the subject of searching, “We should make want ads.”
Interview With Robin Watergrove
1) What led you to write erotica/romance? Where does your inspiration come from?
Ah, great question! The truth of it is, I hadn’t read much erotica or romance until a few years ago. I stumbled into the world of erotic comics, quickly discovered erotica, and started writing my own three days later. My motivation has always been to articulate erotic experiences and share them as erotic stories to see if other people experience the world the way I do. When I write, I’m always looking for recognition in the mind of the reader, or, if the described sensation/emotion/thought isn’t a familiar one, then empathy. I want it to feel real.
2) What types of stories (themes) do you enjoy writing the most and why?
I love writing about anxiety. (Haha! What fun!) That sounds strange, but I think anxiety/worry/doubt/uncertainty are an integral part of the sexual experience for a lot of people. I love writing characters who feel real, whose concerns and doubts feel real, and how they find pleasure around, through, because of, in spite of those worries. I love writing stories where people embrace the chaos of reality and find erotic ecstasy right where they are. Sort of the opposite of escapism.
3) What's your newest publication about? (I took this to mean ‘what have you published recently besides the anthology we’re in?’)
I recently published a short story called Midnight Lunch. It’s an exploration of the stop-start game of meeting someone, of intimacy in public and private spaces, and the vulnerability of wanting to give someone pleasure. Much like Looking for a Soft Center, it follows a character as they define what they want, have new experiences, and redefine that want with new-found perspective. That process of redefinition is definitely a recurring theme for me!
4) What do you hope to inspire in your readers/what is your goal for the story?/what do you wish readers to walk away with?
Confidence! Curiosity! Courage! I just want everyone to be excited about sex. As much as I write to know I’m not alone, I think many readers read to know they aren’t alone either. Erotic experiences can be so intensely personal that I think many (maybe most!) of us end up feeling like we might be the only ones who experience something.
I do my best to write imperfect people who aspire to feel good, people who are willing to be wrong, or embarrassed, or patient, or transparent with their partners. I try to write people at all stages of their sexual journey and hope that readers at all stages of their own sexual journeys find something encouraging in the mix.
5) What are you currently writing about? Something new?
My writing calendar is *stacked* right now! I have all these exciting projects I want to work on all at once. My past few stories have focused on new relationships, so I have a few in the queue about established and growing relationships. I’m particularly interested in exploring how established couples introduce new sexual dynamics. (But ahead of all that, the piece that’s open on my desktop right now has the working title, “I won’t touch you, but I’ll tell you what I’d do to you.”)
6) What would you like to share about yourself with your readers? (actives other than writing, goals, hobbies, favorite foods, favorite authors, etc.)
Oh let’s see…
Goals:
- Eat more protein for breakfast (I’m told eggs are the only way, but I’m holding out as long as I can)
- Successfully try out vests this winter (I am so skeptical that they will keep me warm)
Hobbies:
- Swiping lines I overhear in the Whole Foods checkout line to use in stories
- Buying milk when I have plenty of milk in the fridge and forgetting to buy milk when I have none
- Collecting hotel pens
Favorite foods:
- Buffalo sauce. Hands down. I’m vegetarian, but I will eat any non-meat food with buffalo sauce on it.
- Lately it’s been a lot of greek yogurt with oats mixed in.
- I just got really into Trader Joe’s Jalapeño Hot Sauce and I’m putting it on everything that doesn’t already have buffalo sauce on it.
Ah, great question! The truth of it is, I hadn’t read much erotica or romance until a few years ago. I stumbled into the world of erotic comics, quickly discovered erotica, and started writing my own three days later. My motivation has always been to articulate erotic experiences and share them as erotic stories to see if other people experience the world the way I do. When I write, I’m always looking for recognition in the mind of the reader, or, if the described sensation/emotion/thought isn’t a familiar one, then empathy. I want it to feel real.
2) What types of stories (themes) do you enjoy writing the most and why?
I love writing about anxiety. (Haha! What fun!) That sounds strange, but I think anxiety/worry/doubt/uncertainty are an integral part of the sexual experience for a lot of people. I love writing characters who feel real, whose concerns and doubts feel real, and how they find pleasure around, through, because of, in spite of those worries. I love writing stories where people embrace the chaos of reality and find erotic ecstasy right where they are. Sort of the opposite of escapism.
3) What's your newest publication about? (I took this to mean ‘what have you published recently besides the anthology we’re in?’)
I recently published a short story called Midnight Lunch. It’s an exploration of the stop-start game of meeting someone, of intimacy in public and private spaces, and the vulnerability of wanting to give someone pleasure. Much like Looking for a Soft Center, it follows a character as they define what they want, have new experiences, and redefine that want with new-found perspective. That process of redefinition is definitely a recurring theme for me!
4) What do you hope to inspire in your readers/what is your goal for the story?/what do you wish readers to walk away with?
Confidence! Curiosity! Courage! I just want everyone to be excited about sex. As much as I write to know I’m not alone, I think many readers read to know they aren’t alone either. Erotic experiences can be so intensely personal that I think many (maybe most!) of us end up feeling like we might be the only ones who experience something.
I do my best to write imperfect people who aspire to feel good, people who are willing to be wrong, or embarrassed, or patient, or transparent with their partners. I try to write people at all stages of their sexual journey and hope that readers at all stages of their own sexual journeys find something encouraging in the mix.
5) What are you currently writing about? Something new?
My writing calendar is *stacked* right now! I have all these exciting projects I want to work on all at once. My past few stories have focused on new relationships, so I have a few in the queue about established and growing relationships. I’m particularly interested in exploring how established couples introduce new sexual dynamics. (But ahead of all that, the piece that’s open on my desktop right now has the working title, “I won’t touch you, but I’ll tell you what I’d do to you.”)
6) What would you like to share about yourself with your readers? (actives other than writing, goals, hobbies, favorite foods, favorite authors, etc.)
Oh let’s see…
Goals:
- Eat more protein for breakfast (I’m told eggs are the only way, but I’m holding out as long as I can)
- Successfully try out vests this winter (I am so skeptical that they will keep me warm)
Hobbies:
- Swiping lines I overhear in the Whole Foods checkout line to use in stories
- Buying milk when I have plenty of milk in the fridge and forgetting to buy milk when I have none
- Collecting hotel pens
Favorite foods:
- Buffalo sauce. Hands down. I’m vegetarian, but I will eat any non-meat food with buffalo sauce on it.
- Lately it’s been a lot of greek yogurt with oats mixed in.
- I just got really into Trader Joe’s Jalapeño Hot Sauce and I’m putting it on everything that doesn’t already have buffalo sauce on it.
Robin Watergrove
Twitter: @robinwatergrove
Tumblr: robinwatergrove.tumblr.com
Website: robinwatergrove.com
This was beautiful. A lot of what you said truly resonated for me.
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