My First Smut is a recurring feature where we talk about our formative smut experiences. These short confessionals may include such details as: What book did you read? How old were you? Were there other people involved? What made the experience special? What role does smut play in your life?
This week, romance and erotica author Jason Z. Christie talks about the influence Jackie Collins has had on his writing.
First romance novel you read:
Chances by Jackie Collins
How old were you?
11?
How’d you get your hands on the book?
It was my aunt’s. She also had a lot of super trashy paranormal paperbacks that I can’t even discuss the contents of here.
What was the reading experience like?
I had previously only read Scholastic stuff, Newberry/Caldecott award-winning kid books, and things like I, Robot by Isaac Asimov. It was eye-opening, for sure. This thing beat comic books all to hell!
I read all the time anyway, but this was my entrance into a whole secret world, and one I’ve never returned from. Life-changing, to be melodramatic about it.
What made the experience special?
Well, I was an adolescent male. More or less. This was…an awakening. Other than Playboy, I had no experience with anything like this. It gave the written word an entirely new set of powers over my mind. Jackie Collins put adult film material in my head before the advent of VCRs, and I love her for it.
It’s only recently that I’ve realized how much of an influence she has had over my own work. She wrote smutty parts, but they were encased in grand stories that would have stood on their own regardless. It was only after I had written several myself that I began to understand that it was largely her influence at work. I definitely didn’t get it from Judy Blume.
What role does smut play in your life?
I recently wrote a two chapter (long chapters!) mass adult film tryout that occurs in the Palladium in L.A., if that’s any indication. Even my attempt at toning things down and writing a Young Adult novel still managed to have the, erm, P-word in it.
At the same time, I tend to write characters that are very much in love, in most cases. That allows for richer stories, and gives the characters the freedom to explore some pretty wild fantasies, while remaining grounded in each other. I’m a romantic with a raging libido.
It’s such a part of my life, in fact, that I’ve even channeled my novel writing abilities into my first book of pure erotica. Even then, they’re self-contained little tales that manage to convey some aspects of a good relationship, while remaining utterly filthy.
It’s my lifestyle, for that matter, and extends off of the page and into the real world.
Author Jason Z. Christie tries to temper his smut writings with deep romance, and has learned that it’s far harder to shock soccer moms than he had ever imagined.
Check out Jason’s books here | Connect with Jason on Instagram
Have an early smut experience you’d like to share with us? If you’d like to see your story featured, send us an email or fill out our questionnaire and we’ll post it in an upcoming week.
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