Up In Smokey: About Me And Why I Write

Up In Smokey: About Me And Why I Write


Author Smokey125 is one of the most prolific writers for lesbian erotica on Noveltrove. In his guest blog entry, he allows rare insight into his world.

Welcome! Glad you could join me here today. Or, tonight. Or, whenever you happen to be reading. My name is Smokey. Thanks so much for dropping by my little corner. You look good, I’ll tell you that much. Whether you’ve read any pieces in my modest library or are visiting with me for the first time, glad to see you! My collection of erotic stories is constantly being added to and further built on. I like to experiment with different types of content, though many of my tales overlap in nuance and kink.

So, out of all the genres of literature from which to choose in my writing journey, one question that may come to mind is: why erotica? Well, putting the writing factor aside for a bit, let me explore this by altering the question to: why sex?

Why sex indeed? Some would be content to reply, “Why not sex?” and leave it at that. And while I find that reasoning perfectly valid, I’d like to add some more input.

Bring up the topic of sex to any stranger at random. Go on, I dare you. What’s your average reaction? While varying globally, many of our world’s nations and provinces embrace sex with open legs—er, arms. In the United States where I live, we are not quite so conventionally encouraged to be free with our sexuality. And we are after all taught from an early age that sex is a fundamentally taboo subject, something “dirty.” I understand powers of suggestion, and societal standards and expectations. But at the same time, I think once you grow up, you have to start coming to your own opinions.

This in mind, I proudly proclaim to you that sex is in fact a natural human practice, that I harbor a natural interest and fascination with, and am not afraid to say so. And I do believe just about everyone bears an ember at their core that grows excited at the prospect and surrounding acts of sexuality. Even if they’re shy or reluctant to admit it.

As far as goes my writing, about half of my stories are nice, sweet, light, fluffy pieces with happy endings. The other half are wicked, cruel, evil, sadistic, devilish works involving more hardcore elements, such as BDSM, torture and agony, rape, prolonged/denied orgasms and so forth. And just about all of them include some good humor and fun, and of course a dose or two of hot, passionate sex.

Most of my stories (the Smokey Sagas, as I refer to them) are written in simple third-person. I prefer third-person as opposed to the popular first-person (though I have written a few from a first-person perspective). As third-person narrator, you can provide the Reader with as much information as is needed in any area. Whereas in first-person, you’re restricted to what the protagonist knows. Not that there’s anything wrong with this; lots of wonderful tales have been spun from the protagonist’s point of view. Sometimes it’s advantageous. Sometimes less so.

As part of my process, the third-person Sagas have been numbered since January ’14. Also from this point, all the even-numbered stories are tender, loving stories which don’t involve BDSM (but can be hardcore nonetheless). The odd-numbered ones do involve BDSM, and normally some form of torment or humiliation. Some of these are suitable for Noveltrove and will find their ways onto the site in time. Others aren’t and won’t.

The Smokey Sagas feature characters, both main and supporting, from different parts of the world. But in the grand tradition of horror King Stephen (whose stories are definitively set in his home state of Maine), all of my stories are set and take place in an enormous fictitious Minnesotan city called Juniper. A town, a countryside and a downtown metropolis in one. It’s not very close to Garrison Keillor’s Lake Wobegon in terms of geography or popularity, but Juniper is about halfway between Minneapolis and Chicago. Early on, I didn’t worry about choosing a set location. It’s not vital in all cases, but I do feel it’s good to give the Reader geographical context, as some like having this sort of info to help carry them throughout.

Another thing I like to do is open stories with an image of the natural and meteorological scene, depending on the given time of year. Every story is given a date and time for establishing purposes. This is often strategically chosen to play into the storyline. Other times it’s congruent to when the story is written. A couple stories have been set in the recent past, and a few in the far past (i.e., as far back as the 1980s).

I do consider my style fairly unique. I write with a whimsical, playful demeanor, and enjoy exploring ideas I haven’t seen done before. I like to create relatable, three-dimensional characters with detailed backgrounds. Most Readers respond to well-developed pro- and antagonists, as this gives them the opportunity to find character traits they themselves share. I do my best to give my fictional figures a balance between accessibility to your average Reader, and uniqueness with some sort of quirky flair.

I consider a story good if I can shape it with an arc that nicely moves things along, and clearly holds the Reader’s interest. It’s also fun to give it a bit of a twist that may or may not have been seen coming. To throw in something wacky or illogical here or there, to make the Reader sit up and say, “…Huh?” With all the literature out there already, legendary and otherwise, elements that draw the Reader’s attention are key. Keeping the keen Reader’s mind guessing is also a yes-yes. If things get stale and predictable early on…no good.

I am extremely grateful for support and feedback, and for those who’ve shown their approval, on single or multiple occasions. More experienced writers have told me that if I wrote and posted enough, eventually I’d begin garnering a fanbase. Unsure at first if this was true—particularly if the quality of my stories was less than stellar—I now feel I’ve certainly been doing something right. This has become such a prominent part of my life, it has me all but obsessed by this point. It’s a wonderful feeling knowing these stories are all directly from my imagination. A little inspiration has been lifted from here and there, but the stories in whole are true originals. And I love writing them. It isn’t often I come across activities I’m skilled at and genuinely enjoy. I try to put some real heart and emotion into my works, and like to think it shows. And at times, even shines.

Putting together any sort of story and posting it online can serve a number of purposes. One aim in publishing a free story online is to provide Readers a bit of entertainment to occupy their free time—time they hopefully won’t want back afterwards. What writer, after all, doesn’t want her or his Reader to be moved, even riveted, even engrossed? I treasure my Readers, and love being able to create something that can be so enjoyed.

Another reason I enjoy writing so much is admittedly ulterior, for my own peace of mind. It’s an outlet. It’s a way to let frustrations out, blow off steam, get things off my chest, even to grind my proverbial axe, if you will. Writing a story, in which things happen that ordinarily plague me, but shaping them in a way that doesn’t, helps me deal better. It’s very much like a form of therapy. “Autherapy.”

While I’ll perhaps elaborate in another post, this is one of the things that keeps me so obsessed with this activity. When I write stories that make me feel good—and are, yes, skewed to my interests and appeal—and well-received by others, that’s a very hopeful, rewarding feeling. Of validation, and acceptance. It gives me faith that this fantasy world of mine could one day come closer to reality.

Since March 2015, everything I’ve written and posted online has been Sapphic. To date, I only write lesbian stories. As a genuine, extremely femmy lipstick lesbian inside a gentleman’s body, I basically spend the whole of my days loving women, and wishing I was one. Gynephilia, in case you’re unaware, is the state of being romantically/sexually interested in and attracted to women. As opposed to androphilia, the converse interest in men. And so gynephiles, as logical reason dictates, are straight men and gay women. Of which I happen to be both: the former on the outside, the latter on the inside.

It stands to reason, thusly, that fellow gynephiles are my target audience. Although I’m pleased to say a few members of the other team have thrown their hats into my ring. But if writing lesberotica causes my reception to fall short to those who write heterotica, well, that’s just the way it is. Lesbians have a very small community. There are fewer of them than almost any other group on Earth. I have, however, successfully hunted and tracked down a healthy heap of lebbi material available, so there’s enough to keep me occupied while not writing it. I wish they could be represented in a brighter light, the way gay men and heteros are, though I’m trying the best I can to do my part.

I didn’t always write only lesbian stories. The first fifty Sagas I wrote were basically divided between the heteros and lebs. If you visit my Literotica library, all of those stories are still there, stories that focus on straight men and women having straight sex. They’re really only different in this regard. I even later adapted one of them to a lesbian version. But due to the circumstances that be, most of the stories with gentlemen as main characters would only work with males in those roles.

I don’t yet know if I’ve a future in writing gay female erotica, professional or otherwise. But I’ve still got lots of ideas in my mental queue, and the next couple stories in mind, which I hope will always be the case. But I should make it known that should you have any new ideas for lesbian stories you’d like to see come to life, feel free to share them with me! I’m always open to new concepts. I’ve got my terms, like anyone else, so I can’t guarantee that if you give me an idea it’ll become a story, but I’ll be glad to discuss it with you and see where it goes. In the meantime, happy reading, my friends!