Purple Light Nights – Eddie Cleveland

Welcome to another edition of Purple Light Nights, a place to spotlight writers of erotica. We will have intimate conversations about sex, love and writing about it. Tonight our guest is Best Selling author Eddie Cleveland, author of Virgin for the Woodsman. I am super excited to have a man in the house! Let’s do this.

LL: How did you get into writing erotic tales?

EC: I’ve always loved writing, and even more so storytelling. My parents tell me that even as a very young child I would create stories to tell them, ensuring there was always a beginning, a so called “bad part” and a happy ever after. As I grew up, that fascination with stories never left me. In my early teens, I was reading Steven King and doing my best to come up with my own horror tales to share with my friends. Though out my twenties I continued to write, making up characters from people I met in my travels. But it wasn’t until I was in the Navy that I began to write erotic tales. Since time at sea can be pretty boring, I began reading a lot. Kindle unlimited had just come out so when I was in port I would load up my kindle with books. It was during this time that I discovered indie romance publishing. I read a few military romance books and felt I had something to offer to the genre. Fast forward a couple years and I left the military to make writing sexy tales my full time job. And couldn’t be happier.

LL: Do you put a little of yourself in your characters?

EC: Yes, I always put a little of myself in there. Actually, as I think of it, there’s a lot of me in there. Each one of my leading men have had facets of my personality, experiences and beliefs.

LL: How do you do your research?

EC: Most of my stories have the foundation of real life experiences woven in them. However, when there are things I’m not sure about I do some online research. And, depending on the scene, maybe a video or two.

LL: Tell us about ‘Saved by the Woodsman’ and who or what inspired you to write it?

EC: Saved by the Woodsman is about a man who chose to live alone in his forest cabin, rather than live in a society that he blames for the blackness and despair that lives in his heart. During, a winter supply run he stumble across a nearly naked woman passed out in the snow. Knowing that she would surely die out there, he brings her back to a cabin.

It turns out she is a social media socialite and Instagram model who was running from her own life wrecking events. A huge snow storm hits and these two very different people are trapped in the cabin and have to come up with creative ways to keep warm. Although this is a fun and HOT read, I also wanted to tackle the issue of still feeling alone even with countless online ‘friends’ as well the real damage that misinformation or ‘fake news’ can cause.

LL: Do you ever get negative or unwanted attention because of the genre you have chosen? How do you deal with it?

EC: My brother will bust my balls a little about writing romance, but it’s just in good fun. Besides that, I have received nothing but support form both writers and readers.

LL: Who is the one writer that has influenced you the most in the genre and what is your favorite work by them?

EC: I would have to say Deborah Bladon, I read her ‘RUIN’ series early on and and it really inspired me to try and write hot stories with strong plots and an emotional connection.

LL: What is your take on how many sex scenes to include in a novel? Can there be too many?

EC: I recently asked this question to my readers and the overwhelming majority said there can’t be too many. I use the analogy of the straw that breaks the camels back, with the straw being sex scenes. Now, I don’t want his break his back, but I sure as hell want those knees to buckle.

LL: What is your ultimate goal for your writing?

EC: I’m lucky enough to say that I have already reached my goal which is to make a living from doing something that I love and that allows me to spend time with my family.

LL: What is your favorite sex position to write about in your novels?

EC: Is eating p*ssy a position? Lol. Either way, I make sure that my leading ladies enjoy it in every book.

LL: Are you a fan of toys?

EC: Sure, I think a big part of sexuality should be exploring new experiences. That being said, I also enjoy the spontaneity of sex, which I find is sometimes challenging using toys.

LL: What is your favorite sub-genre of erotica to read?

EC: When it comes to sub-genres of erotica I may still be a little green, but I do enjoy a good spanking scene.

LL: When does the kink go too far in your opinion?

EC: I think as long as it’s between consenting adults, nothing is too far. It’s all fair game.

LL: Describe your writing process?

EC: I usually write a very loose outline based on on something in the media that has really hit home for me or something from my life I feel like I need to write about. From there, I write a loose outline for the story. I find using an outline saves a lot of time in editing. I grab a pen and paper and go old school, I’m not sure why, but I have a hard time typing out the first draft. Something about putting pen to paper makes the words come easier. I’m not a huge editor/revisor so the story I publish is very close to my first draft.

LL: What’s next on the agenda for you?

EC: I just recently got my new Facebook group ‘Quickies with Eddie’ off the ground. In the group it’s the readers that share their dirty story ideas with me. I then write and email them the story we come up with collectively. Also, I’m just beginning a project where I will be reviewing other Indie Authors, I hope to use my platform to help others in this industry to promote their books. And finally, I have a new release that should be out right around the time this interview is published called ‘Virgin for the Woodsman’.