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Author of the Month

January 2008

Author Interview Questions

Interview with Bridget Midway

AWA: Tell me three things that are most important to you in life.

BM: The three most important things to me are the love from my friends, family and my man, my laptop, and my muse.

AWA: What made you want to write Love My Way.

BM: Love My Way came out from my love of reality TV shows. Recently I had gotten hooked on shows like "America's Next Top Model", "So You Think You Can Dance", "Dancing With The Stars" and "Flavor of Love." I found it fascinating to watch the dynamic of the contestants on each show and the lengths they would go through to win, especially on romantic coupling shows. Although I have never seen an episode of "The Bachelor" or "The Bachelorette", I liked the idea of a Dominant searching for his next submissive through a reality TV show. The book was absolutely fun to write.

AWA: How do you juggle a job as an author and your day to day life?

BM: It's very difficult juggling my full-time job with my writing life. During a normal week, I get up at 4 a.m. and I work my day job until 4 or 5 p.m. When I get home, I'm writing or doing promotions until about 10 or 11 p.m. The weekends, I try splitting my time between writing and spending time with my man.

AWA: When you wrote Love My Way, you did an excellent job of making fantasy seem real life. This is one of the aspects that really draws me to a book. Something that could be real, but is total fantasy. Why did you choose to draw the line? Anyone else would have gone in a completely different direction.

BM: In order for me to write BDSM erotica, I've joined a local BDSM group. They have been absolutely wonderful with sharing information about the Lifestyle. Also during demonstrations, they allow me to very hands-on. Because of them, I strive to make the BDSM aspects of all of my stories as real as possible. I want to show the utmost respct for the Lifestyle.

AWA: What books do you have out now and what is coming soon?

BM: Fascination Street, a full-length novel, has been re-released through Phaze last month. It's now available in print and in ebook. The story is about an interracial couple that moves to a small cul-de-sac where everyone swaps partners. There is one FemDomme and submissive couple, a Dominant and submissive couple, and an anything goes couple. I have a series planned for this book called "The Cure for the Common Erotica" series. I plan on writing erotic romance prequels for each of the four couples who live on Fascination Street to explain how they met each other and got to the street.

I'll also have the sequel to Corporate Seduction called Corporate Desires coming out through Midnight Showcase. This is also another BDSM erotic romance novel.

AWA: When did you start writing?

EB: I've been writing since I was about 10 or 11 years old. That's about 26 years.

AWA: Why BDSM?

BM: The BDSM lifestyle has always intrigued me. The level of trust one must have to engage in the Lifestyle has to be tremendous. Plus the Lifestyle itself is extremely sensual. So with the high sensuality level combined with the trust factor, to me, it's the perfect combination for any erotic romance.

AWA: Are you into the lifestyle or just into writing kink?

BM: I'm not formally a part of the BDSM lifestyle, however, the more I learn about BDSM, the more I realize that there are aspects of it that I engage in automatically with my man, and I mean beyond the spankings and hair pulling. There's a deep trust we have with each other that we can fulfill our kinkiest fantasies with each other and feel safe.

AWA: Where is your favorite place to write?

BM: I write on my laptop on my bed. It's comfy. Sometimes too comfy.

AWA: What other genres do you enjoy writing in?

BM: I also write light futuristic erotic romances. I have a three-story anthology planned for Phaze called Original Sin. I would also like to try my hand at time-travel erotica or a historical erotica.

AWA: You had a release in November. Tell us about it?

BM: The release is Fascination Street. This full-length novel was originally released through a publisher called Venus Press. They have since folded. I was fortunate enough to have Phaze pick the story up and release it in both ebook and print.

The story is about a couple that moves to a cul-de-sac where everyone swaps partners. As I mentioned earlier, this story will be part of a series. I can't wait to write the four couples' stories. That will be fun.

AWA: What about the lifestyle matters most to you? And why?

BM: The intense trust is the thing about the Lifestyle that appeals to me the most. Readers want to be able to connect with a story. In an erotic romance, if a writer can offer a great story with high levels of sensuality and an intense personal connection, then you have a winner.

AWA: What advice would you give anyone choosing to write about this lifestyle?

BM: The best and most obvious advice, especially for an author who is not actively involved in the Lifestyle, is to do your research. As a writer, if you're unable to connect with a local BDSM group or attend a BDSM event, then definitely go online to a reputable BDSM site like Alternative Writers Association or CollarMe.com to find out more about BDSM. I can tell you from experience, that when you write in a genre so specific with people who are so active in the BDSM lifestyle, you're going to have readers looking to debunk any and all aspects of your story. If you make assumptions about the Lifestyle and include it in your book that are baseless and way off the mark, you will lose readers who enjoy BDSM erotica, along with losing credibility as an author.

I would also advise writers to not forget the humanity of the Lifestyle. BDSM is more than just whips, chains and spankings. There is a deeper emotional level that should not be left out of any BDSM story. The mental aspect of the BDSM lifestyle is just as important as the physical.

AWA: How do your family and friends accept what you write?

BM: Growing up, my family has always been open to discussing sex. So the subject matter I of what I wrote didn't surprise them. My mother has all of my books and is so very proud of me. She's even thinking of writing erotica herself!

AWA: How long did it take you to get published?

BM: I was actively pursuing publication for 4-5 years before I got my first novella published by Phaze in 2005. Since then, I've been published by more than seven different publishers.

AWA: I don't see interracial done often as it is, and it's almost never done in BDSM writing. You were able to write Love My Way without offending any culture. It just is what it is. How hard was it to stay away from racial sterotyping?

BM: I always write interracial romances. So when I thought about doing Love My Way, I knew I wanted to keep it as an interracial romance. But I also knew that I would have a lot of obstacles with having a white Dom and an African-American submissive. How I chose to tackle that aspect of the story is to talk about the racial dynamics honestly. I thought about what if this story were made into an actual reality TV show. I think the reaction I described in the book would actually happen.

Staying away from racial stereotyping was actually easier than it would seem. Because the twelve contestants were of different races, from white to Asian to Hispanic and African-American, and because Eagan Morton, my Dom in the story, renamed them all for the show, the contestants were almost all on the same playing field. I didn't have to really deal with the racial aspect until the contest in the book got down to the final 5 or 6 contestants. By the time I got to that point in the story, readers were already rooting for the hero and the heroine to get together (at least I hope they were). Race had nothing to do with their feelings for each other or their love. And that's the most important thing.

Miranda, thank you so much for the awesome review for Love My Way and for interviewing me! I'll certainly send you my other BDSM-themed books to be reviewed in the future!

Visit Bridget Midway on the web!

BridgetMidway.com

Bridget Midway's Blog