Literotica Authors 15: Eosphorus

For about eight years I have been conducting a series of interviews with authors on Literotica. This is the 15th in the series, with the author Eosphorus. This author currently has 56 stories, many of them multipart, almost all with a rating of 4.5+ (the standard to have a story labeled "hot"), and has almost 1,000 followers. I hope you'll appreciate the insights that he has shared with us.

I hope that you enjoy this series of interviews. Please feel free to send me your feedback, including suggestions of some of your favorite authors you would like to see interviewed. These are the words of the authors themselves; I have conducted a light edit only for formatting, typos, and consistency.

Is there anything about you and your background, beyond what is in your Literotica profile, that you would like your readers to know about you?

First off, Bob, thanks for the opportunity to talk to you.

So much of myself is infused in my work. Many of my male characters are on the slim side with handsome Irish features and disarming blue eyes. Not to mention a dazzling smile. They tend to be excellent cooks, especially when it comes to Italian food. They really like bike riding, books, bourbon, and boobs. Of course, I tone down my real-life sexual prowess in the interests of believability. Really.

Do you remember when you first discovered that you liked reading erotic literature? How old were you and how did this come about?

I love writing erotica. Love, love, love it. Reading it, though? Until not long ago, it wasn't a genre I'd actually read much of. That surprises people.

Recently, I've found a small group of Literotica authors whose work I admire. I'm honored that some of them have also become regular readers of mine. And guess what? It turns out I do like reading erotica. It was just a question of finding the right authors.

What prompted you to begin writing your own erotic stories?

A whim. I happened upon Literotica one day, read a few stories, and wasn't impressed. I decided to try writing one of my own. A few weeks later came Sharing Rachel.

Erotica was the perfect fit for me. I needed to improve as an author and writing lots of short fiction is the best way to do that. You learn more from writing ten 30-page stories than one 300-page novel. Writing erotica has also forced me to push my boundaries and to explore my sexual imagination deeper. It's helped me know myself better. It's also become a crucial element in my practice of self-care.

You write across a number of different categories, but many of your stories contain BBW and Mature/MILF themes. Can you tell us what it is about these themes that attract you?

What can I say? I have a wide-ranging view of female beauty. Short women, tall women. Slender ladies, BBWs, all sizes in between. Red hair, blonde hair, black hair, green hair. All races. Young women, sure, but more often their moms. Especially their moms.

I'm not certain if this is atypical. But I am sure that this broad range of attraction is reflected in my writing. My affinity for BBWs is a prime example. It's not a kink or a fetish, just one end of the spectrum of body types I like. There's something about an abundance of womanliness that's always appealed to me. You either get it or you don't.

Lately, though, my interest in mature women has dominated my writing. My long list of works in progress--I've dozens of rough drafts awaiting attention--are almost all in the Mature category. I've found that particular category affords flexibility while allowing me to celebrate the many sexy ladies out there over the age of 40.

What is your typical writing style - do you work in shorter bursts, writing a section of a story and then putting it aside and returning to it? Or do you sit down and write a story from beginning to end? Do you work on just one story at a time, or do you work on multiple stories at once?

Nowhere is my ADHD more apparent than in my writing approach. It's a total shitshow. Periods of frenzied activity, multiple stories in assorted stages of development. Chaos abounds.

I'm all about the short bursts, too, whenever I have a little downtime. A few minutes here, a few minutes there. Before work, over lunch. The voice typing feature on my phone even allows me to write while walking, body and mind in motion.

And I'm never working on one thing at once. As of this writing, I have four different projects in active development. A total of 14 separate stories. Dozens of rough drafts await my attention afterwards. All this while also writing new content. Pandemonium reigns supreme.

Somehow, I bring order out of the chaos. I find my way to the destination but take the most circuitous path possible. And I wouldn't change a thing about any of it.

How do you decide if a story will be a single entry or multiple parts?

Sometimes, it's not up to me.

I often start with a clear conception of a story as a stand-alone entry or one with multiple parts and it remains so. Other times, I change my mind. Mrs. Mandalucci began as a one-and-done before I realized there was more to Jessica's story.

There are also times the characters themselves decide. This is what happened with Rose Colibrí from Hummingbird Rose. Her tale was intended as a trilogy. But something happened as the writing proceeded. Rose became self-aware. She started talking back. Asserting herself. One night, she sprung from my laptop fully formed and wearing a bright red cocktail dress.

"Listen, jackass." Rose punctuated her words by poking me in the chest. "You may be my creator, but I'm the one calling the shots. And I'm here to tell you, you're not getting rid of me so easily. I'm expecting nine--no, make it ten!--ten installments. Now get back to work, boy!"

Okay, maybe it didn't go down exactly that way. But kinda. Looking back, I never stood a chance against her.

Most readers read erotica in order to be aroused, and many (hopefully!) are also looking for a good plot. How do you balance the need for plot in your stories with the "hotness" factor necessary to get attention and high ratings on Literotica?

Hot and plot should harmonize. The key, at least for me, is what I call ambient horniness. That's my fancy name for the idea that sexual tension should almost always be present in some form. Even if it's lingering under the surface.

Compelling characters are the glue connecting hot to plot. If the reader doesn't care about the characters, they won't care whether or not they fuck. But if you've created compelling characters the readers are desperate to see together? Then you're on your way to balancing hot and plot.

When you're not busy writing your own stories, what are your favorite kinds of stories to read on Literotica (or other platforms) and why? Are there other platforms for erotic stories that you write or read on?

I only read or write erotica on Literotica. I tend to enjoy short-form erotica, though I stink at writing it. But I also like long stories from authors whose work I enjoy.

Beyond that, I don't have favorite kinds of stories. But I do have favorite authors. Remember that small group of authors I mentioned? For short-form erotica, my hands-down favorite is Prettylynne. I've become a fan of both Rob_Royale and DJMac1031, too, whose stories tend to be longer than hers. PadTy is a newer writer here with tons of talent, and I also enjoy the sex-charged sword and sorcery tales of StillStunned. Lastly, the work of your prior interview subject, EmilyMiller, has done a lot to help expand my writing horizons.

You have a few entries of WIWAW - What I Write and Why. Why do you enjoy writing these? What do you hope your audience gets out of these?

I like being able to talk about the process not just of writing but of writing erotica specifically. I can't discuss that with most people in my life, but a WIWAW allows me to do so. If readers enjoy the look behind the curtain, so much the better.

Do you receive much feedback from readers on Literotica? If so, how do you use that in your future writing?

Literotica authors are all Feedback Vampires. Feedback is our drug. Feedback sustains us. Feedback reminds us our stories are being engaged with and hopefully enjoyed. Even short comments are appreciated.

Some of my stories have gotten a lot of feedback, others not so much. Hummingbird Rose has gotten almost none. That's why it was meaningful recently when I got my first comment on the final installment.

The vast majority of comments over the years have been positive, including constructive criticism. I've used these to submit edits of stories with minor stylistic changes. But the best comments are those which have inspired new stories. This has happened twice. The title of an upcoming work, for example, which was inspired by a reader comment.

So was the series on Literotica I'm most proud of. A My Sweet Sandy reader remarked that the story could've used more conflict. Fair enough. It got me thinking. How about an erotic story in which everything was on the line for the main characters? This train of thought led directly to the writing of The Bluebells of Nineteen Eighteen.

Outside of your erotica, do you do other types of writing, either for work or pleasure?

I've been a writing machine my entire life. Stories, songs, plays, a few novels. Writing is my way of coping with the world. It's self-care. I do at least a little writing every day, even if it's editing or revising a work in progress. Everyone should have a creative outlet.

Any specific advice you would give to authors new to writing erotic literature on Lit?

Read widely, both fiction and nonfiction. Including books about writing. And pay attention to the world around you. Always think of yourself as a student of human nature. This will help you understand how people operate and your work will benefit.

If you can, find a community of Literotica writers. Even if it's only one or two authors, having people who read, comment, or consult on each other's works is invaluable.

Anything else about you or your writing that you would like our readers to know?

No one's ever asked me about the name Eosphorus. In the face of this utter lack of any interest whatsoever over the last 12 years, I'm going to tell you about it anyway. Buckle up.

I decided I wanted my Literotica handle to be something from Greek mythology. I Googled it and Eosphorus was described as the embodiment of erotic fire. Sounded good to me. Much later, I learned that his name means "dawn bringer" in Greek and is associated with Aphrodite in her capacity as the morning star. In English, the name is sometimes translated as "Phosphorus." In Latin, as "Lucifer." So it turns out I'm the devil himself; I had no idea.

Thus was a legend born. Not really, but I've had a lot of fun writing under that name. That includes this interview. Thanks again, Bob. This sparked a lot of thought and self-reflection for me.

Thank you Eosphorus for taking the time for this in-depth interview!