Media – Eris Adderly

Bio

Eris is an author and graphic designer with a degree in fine art and a background in esoterica, ancient history, and mythology. She loves troublemakers of all stripes and, true to her namesake, the goddess of discord, writes subversive romance for people who hate romance novels. Her stories are the stomping grounds for badass heroines, untamable alphas, a spectrum of sexuality, and a serious disregard for convention. She is a complete nerd and possible crazy cat lady. She will annoy you with puns.

FAQ

Q: How did you get into writing?

A: I’ve always been a voracious reader. Fantasy, Sci-fi, history—you name it. In my teens, writing something like a novel was a pipe dream. I dismissed the idea, thinking there was no way I’d ever be able to put that many words together in one place. It wasn’t until my early thirties, after a combination of reading quite a few wonderful stories on the free site, Literotica.com (if you don’t already know, most of my stories have sex in them), and the pop-culture explosion of a very popular erotic romance novel, that I decided to take a crack at writing something of my own. I anticipated it being a lark. It was not. My first story (the original version of The Eighth House), with all its flaws, received more attention than I ever could have imagined. I posted it on Literotica. Its final chapter won a Reader’s Choice award. I was astonished, but from that moment, it was off to the races. I’d discovered a joy in expressing and exploring ideas through language, and have never looked back.

Q: Why erotic romance? Why the need to write about sex?

A: Well first of all, why not? Sex is just another part of life, and a big one, for most people. Why ignore it? But it’s not just for thrills (though there’s nothing wrong with those!). I’m fascinated by human sexuality. The whole spectrum. All orientations, any and no gender. The social, cultural, psychological, and theological influences that shape our sexuality in different ways across nations and time are a source of endless curiosity for me. And all the ways sex weaves in and out of our relationships; with our significant others, with our communities—it’s amazing and vastly complex. I love it! And I should say, sex is usually a mere medium for exploring other ideas in my stories. There’s usually larger themes to do with fate vs. free will, the polarities of life and death, and the quest for the true self.

Q: Do your friends and family know what you write?

A: They sure do! Pretty much anyone who gets to know me in person knows what I write. I figure anyone who’d be disapproving is probably not someone I want to be spending a ton of time around, anyway. Now whether they try to read it is entirely up to them!

Q: A lot of your content is fairly niche. Why not write to more mainstream interests and capture a larger audience?

A: I firmly believe if an author writes in genres or themes that don’t really interest them, the reader can feel it on the page. They can feel the difference between a passionate muse and a homework assignment. Yes, I could probably make a little more money by “writing to market” (researching sales trends and writing those), but I know my voice is going to ring at its most authentic if I write on topics that interest me. I write the stories I want to read and, let’s face it, I’m weird, so my stories are going to be weird, too.

Q: What else do you do besides write?

A: Graphic design. I design book covers and other graphics for authors. I’m also an astrologer (yes, really!), and am involved in a variety of metaphysical areas. Aside from that, the standards: music, movies, nature. I spend most of my time with my husband and our cats.