Interview and Giveaway with Eden Bradley!

Eden Bradley

Maidens, we have erotica author Eden Bradley here today.  We are very excited to be chatting with her.  Come take a sneak peak into her brain with us!

Who is Eden Bradley? List 5 things about you that no one else would know!

Yikes-5 things? I’m so open about everything…lemme think…Okay:
1-When I was 4 or 5 I wanted to marry Kimba the White Lion, despite the fact that he was a cartoon character. And a lion.
2-I’m shark phobic. It’s so bad that I can barely make myself wade in the ocean (and never alone), and I can’t even look at them on TV. During Shark Week I can barely turn the TV on. *shudder*
3-My 1st album was Rubber Soul by the Beatles. I was 8. (That album was only a few years old at the time!).
4-My hair color is all fake-I’m 80-90% gray under here. I had my 1st gray hair at 15-it runs in my family. I’ve been coloring since I was 30. Thank goodness for my awesome hairdresser!
5-I feel naked if I leave the house without my toes painted, perfume, and a minimum of jewelry (earrings and my rings).
(*side note: on my favorite writer’s forum, RomanceDivas, there was thread once asking for everyone to tell something weird about themselves. There was some awesomely crazy stuff! Which made me feel so much better about myself-lol! Creative people are generally a strange, neurotic bunch, but I think that’s part of what drives our imaginations).


Your book, The Lovers is a f/f/m menage, something that we don't see that often published by a mainstream publisher. Why did you decide to push the envelope on this one?

This story just came to me, and I loved the idea of exploring a really complicated love triangle and the psychology of my heroine, Bettina, in a very deep way, which is why I wrote it in first person. And it came to me all at once, with the full ensemble cast of characters. I love every one of them.
I wish there was more f/f/m out there. It’s interesting to me that studies show that sex with another woman is one of the top two female fantasies, yet the erotic romance publishers shy away from these stories, saying readers won’t buy them.
I really think female sexuality can be very fluid, and I wanted to address that in this book. I know it’s not for everyone, but this is, IMO, my best work to date. And this book played like a movie in my head the whole time I was writing it-it was a very visual experience for me. I’d love to see it made into a film!


In your Midnight Playground series, you explore the darker side to eroticism. Where did the inspiration for this series stem from?

I’ve always adored vampires, and have wanted to write them forever-and vampires are naturally dark creatures. My vampire Aleron came to me first, demanding to be written (he can be a bit bossy). Mixing some BDSM into these stories seemed natural to me-after all, if you’ve lived a few hundred years, you’d need more extreme forms of stimulation to hold your interest.
The bisexuality seemed natural, too. It didn’t make sense to me that these primal creatures who live on human blood would have any sort of boundaries about sex-and they don’t!

In Eversong, most of the sexual interactions are m/m/f. Why do you think this worked for this particular book?

Ever is a thousand years old, and since he lost his first love, Vérún, his companions have all been male-he hasn’t been able to bond with another woman for more than a night of sex. He’s been involved with the characters in BLOODSONG and THE TURNING KISS, both male and female, so this is nothing new for readers. What is new is Ever discovering an irresistible combination in Mercy and Deo. I think a dual partnership was necessary for Ever-he couldn’t try to echo his one-on-one relationship with Vérún. And he’d need both a male and a female partner to satisfy his tastes.

What would you say are the essential elements of a good erotica story?

A consistent sensual pacing (not actual sex) is the probably the most important aspect. The sex/sexual tension has to drive the story, relationship and character arc. If a writer veers too far from the sexual tension between characters, then I believe something is lost. In one of my favorite erotic novels there is only one fully realized sex scene, but it’s still one of the most erotic books I’ve ever read. That said, I like to read a really well-written sex scene, and that means one that includes as much attention to response as to who’s putting what, where.

What's the best thing about being an erotica writer? The worst?

Writing sex is fun! And I get to write off erotic novels and sex toys on my taxes. *G* The worst? Family members who think it’s okay to ask for details about my sex life. I swear this happens! Do they really want to know? Really??


What would we find on your bookshelf?

A little of everything! Looking over, I see a lot of Anne Rice and Tanith Lee (huge influences on my work!), sci-fi, classic erotica, contemporary romances, romantic comedy, fashionista chick lit, a lot of women’s fiction, mainstream titles like The Lovely Bones and The Secret Life of Bees, some YA, a volume of Shakespeare’s complete works, and of course my treasured signed books from my fellow Smutketeers (authors RG Alexander, Crystal Jordan and Karen Erickson).

Tell us, what's next for Eden Bradley?

A lot! Right now I’m working on finishing my third ‘Edge’ book for Berkley Heat (written as Eve Berlin, my evil twin), TEMPTATION’S EDGE. After that I’ll finish my fourth Celestial Seductions book for Samhain, FALL EQUINOX , which will be out early next year, and is another contemporary ménage story with two very hot heroes I think readers will love!
Next up will be my steampunk erotic romance, THE DREAMBOX GIRL-I can barely wait to get started on this book-it’s been in my head forever, and it’s taking me on an unusual journey already (and it’s just in the early planning stages!). I’m also going to start another self-pubbed novella as soon as possible-this one will be my first shapeshifter story, and I’m very excited about it because it’s part of a continuity series the Smutketeers are working on together!
After that-or maybe somewhere in between-I’m dying to write a multiple-partner contemporary erotic romance (think BIG multiples!) for a new publisher, hopefully, but I can’t say more yet.

If you could switch places with one of your characters, who would it be and why?

Oh no! So many books, so many hot heroes, and so little time-lol! I suppose it would have to be Mercy in EVERSONG, because I would love to get my hands on Ever, my favorite vampire! Plus, she’s immortal, and she also has Deo, who is gorgeous and sexy and is madly in love with her-she’s one lucky girl!

Thank you so much for stopping by today!! 

Ms. Bradley has been kind enough to offer an exciting giveaway to you!  We are giving away and ebook of THE SEEKING KISS and an ebook of SUMMER SOLSTICE





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