Welcome to another edition of Purple Night Lights, a place to spotlight writers of erotica. We will have intimate conversations about sex, love and writing about it. Today our guest is April Rencher, author of “Love, Pain & Ecstasy”. Let’s do this.

 

LL: How did you get into writing erotic tales?

AR: I started writing this genre when I was 16. I was very hormonal and growing into my own woman. But, I wasn’t doing anything sexually. So, I wrote erotic poems for my friends in chemistry class for their girlfriends. I have probably seduced a lot of teenage girls sadly.

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

AR: Yes, I do. It wouldn’t be authentic if I left myself out of it.

LL: How do you do your research?

AR: I love researching all the time. I will read plenty of articles and go through forums to see what people are saying.

LL: Tell us about the “Love, Pain & Ecstasy” series and who or what inspired you to write it?

AR: After I graduated college, I had written down most of the experiences my friends had gone through. So, I asked for permission and I started writing after I got their blessings. There was a moment when I thought I would have uterine cancer. So, I wanted to have a legacy if I couldn’t have kids. Thankfully, I don’t have that issue anymore. If it wasn’t for my friends especially Kiera, there would be no books.

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

AR: I get some of the most disturbing messages. I handle it by saying a joke or putting them in their place. I was told I couldn’t be a woman since I don’t post many pictures of myself but just marketing for the books. If you know me in real life, I take tons of pictures but never post them. I just don’t feel the need to display myself like that. It depends on my mood on how I respond and if I feel like feeding into that energy. Men are allowed to be sex symbols, but they are taken seriously as well. I am more than just my books. I am not one dimensional. Some people cannot separate my business life from me personally.

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

AR: I love Terri McMillian. She is real and gritty. She doesn’t sugarcoat and laughs at herself. She became successful from doing it her way.  I love that. It would be Waiting To Exhale.

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

AR: I actually write around the sex scenes. So that way, I can decide if it truly needs to be there. In my opinion, there can be too much. There needs to be a build- up. You don’t want to be riled up all the time when you reading. I always have to go back and add them back in there since I will focus on the story itself.

LL: What is your ultimate goal for your writing?

AR: My goal is to be on the New York’s Best Seller and to be a sex columnist or radio personality.

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

AR: I love shower scenes where you have to be picked up or your foot has to be on the edge. Water is just sexy to me.

LL: Are you a fan of toys?

AR: I am actually not a huge fan. Dildos are too rubbery and stretch me out. I don’t mind handcuffs. I prefer new scenery than a toy. As I get older, I am more excited to pop up in an adult store just to look around. I will buy maybe liquids and miscellaneous things.

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

AR: I would say urban. It is about my people and the visuals in my head can automatically be black people. I love nudity, but it is something about the black body that is so alluring and beautiful.

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

AR: The kink is too far when you are talking about having sex with animals, pedophiles and anything involving feces, pee and blood. If it sounds like a horror movie, you have gone too far.

LL: Describe your writing process?

AR: My process is wild and has extreme procrastination. I will write out the timeline for the book. I will write and edit at the same time before I get an editor. So, my draft looks like a finished book most of the time. I will go reread my books and will have them side by side to make sure it makes sense. I will put on some sexy 90s R&B music when I do my sex scenes. I get embarrassed reading what I write so I got to build the courage to read it aloud which takes up time. Sometimes, I will ask my friends to read snippets. Eventually, I look for an editor. My mind is all over the place when I am writing. I have to force myself to be satisfied (no pun intended).

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

AR: I have a few more radio interviews this year. I will be in the September issue of All Pleasure Magazine and was in the August edition as well. I should be writing a fourth book, but I am being lazy.

***Bonus Question***

LL: Have you ever been so turned on by a scene you are writing that you needed to stop writing to take care of business?

AR: For the last book, I didn’t stop writing. I would finish whatever I was working on and then take care of business.

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