Category: My First Smut

My First Smut

My First Smut: A Goodly Amount of Canoodling

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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, author Nicole E Kelleher talks about the eye-opening experience of reading Princess Daisy.

First romance novel you read

Princess Daisy by Judith Krantz

How old were you?

Way too young for Princess Daisy…12

How’d you get your hands on the book?

My mom and dad were avid readers. They were members of BOMC and they never paid attention to what my four sisters and I were reading, as long as we were reading something.

What was the reading experience like?

Eye-opening to say the least. I’m sure that I probably read some other romance novel before, but this is the one that I remember. There was just so much dark in the book. If you haven’t read it yet, be warned—there’s rape and incest. Sheesh…I was 12!

What made the experience special?

My parents left things to me and my four sisters and public education to teach us about the birds and the bees. Something had to fill that gap! And as a terribly shy GenX-er, a lot of what I learned was self-taught…sex education inevitably came from books. Romance novels explained a lot!

What role does smut play in your life?

I don’t think that I would be the feminist that I am today without romance novels. Where else in this world can a woman be an executive, a warrior, a kick-ass single mom, anything really, AND find happily ever after? And now that I’m a writer as well as a reader, I make sure that my female main characters discover their own strengths first, and only after are they free to rescue their heroes. Of course, I add in a goodly amount of canoodling along the way.

About Nicole

I love connecting with readers and other authors. You can find my social media links, details about my books, and more on my website: https://nekelleher.com/. Happy reading!

Thanks Nicole! Our review of Nicole’s third book, The Naked Moon, is dropping tomorrow!

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.

My First Smut

My First Smut: Epic Multigenerational Saga Edition

smutreportteam

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, author Mia Tsai shares her memory of the first romance she read. The title is a mystery, but the story sure was exciting.

First romance novel you read

I can’t even remember the title of the book–it was a historical romance set during World War II, though.

How old were you?

Early high school

How’d you get your hands on the book?

I found it in the attic, in a box belonging to my mother, which was a surprise, since she doesn’t read romance.

What was the reading experience like?

Fascinating. I had never read adult romance books before, especially not historical fiction, and especially not with sex scenes. I went back and reread some sections several times, but it didn’t cross my mind until much later that there would be more books like this one and that there would be a whole subgenre devoted to it.

What made the experience special?

It was a memorable book in the sense that I’d never read a historical romance; in hindsight, this was a terrible book to start my romance journey since it was a multigenerational saga about Jewish people falling in love, not always with each other, during World War II. It was incredibly problematic, which I had a feeling about but couldn’t put into words. There was a Nazi romance element. There was a blond and blue-eyed Jewish character who was written to be the most sympathetic. There was, if I remember correctly, nominally a happily ever after, maybe. I’d actually love to have someone tell me that no, I didn’t read a romance, I read a historical saga with sex in it, just so I could redo my answer and pick a different book.

What role does smut play in your life?

I love it, full stop, and I also read it when I have the time and inclination. That doesn’t always mean I want it in everything I read, but I have the highest respect for authors who can craft wonderful scenes that get you to put the book down and take a break. I feel like I was forged in the smut fire of lemons, fanfic communities on LiveJournal, and “why does Ao3 keep logging me out and forcing me to hit the ‘I agree’ button again.” There’s a joy inherent in reading, writing, and recommending smut, a glee I think is delightful.

Mia Tsai is an author, editor, and musician whose debut contemporary fantasy (with lots of romance), BITTER MEDICINE, arrives March 14, 2023 from Tachyon Publications. She adores a lyrical turn of phrase, a rhythm section in the pocket, and that one Reddit user who said BITTER MEDICINE “has some of the most loving and hot sex scenes I’ve ever read.” She can be found on Twitter at @itsamia, on Instagram at @mia.tsai.books, and on the web at https://www.miatsai.com. She blogs seldomly and has a newsletter at https://www.tinyletter.com/miatsai.

Thanks Mia! Anyone have any ideas about what this multigenerational saga was, so we can tell Mia that she actually read a historical epic with sex in it? Either way, we look forward to reading Bitter Medicine in March.

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.

My First Smut

My First Smut: Disappointed by Guinevere

smutreportteam

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, author Jane Yolen shares her experience reading the legends of King Arthur for the first time.

The first truly romantic book I ever read at about nine years old was a version of King Arthur. When Guinevere finally showed up, I cheered.

But since she didn’t get a sword and battle armor I was disappointed.

And when she ran off with Lancelot, I was totally disillusioned. I mean–I was already in love with Arthur. What was she doing? It seemed anti-romantic to me. Which is why when my younger brother, best friend Diane, and I played at King Arthur in New York City’s Central Park which was right across the street from our apartment house, not a one of us wanted to be Guinevere. We traded off being Arthur, Sir Kay, Merlin, but never Lancelot or Guinevere. They were cast out forever. Well, perhaps not forever, because as a writer I wrote a bunch of Arthurian short stories and a novel with Guinevere as tough-minded young woman.

Jane Yolen has been called the Hans Christian Andersen of America. She is the author of more than four hundred books, including children’s fiction, poetry, short stories, graphic novels, nonfiction, fantasy, and science fiction. Her publications include Owl Moon, The Devil’s Arithmetic, Briar Rose, Sister Emily’s Starship, and Sister Light, Sister Dark. Among her many honors are the Caldecott and Christopher Medals, multiple Nebula, World Fantasy, Mythopoeic, Golden Kite, and Jewish Book awards; as well as the World Fantasy Association’s Lifetime Achievement Award, and the Science Fiction Poetry Grand Master Award. Yolen is also a teacher of writing and a book reviewer. She lives in Western Massachusetts and St Andrews, Scotland.

Her next book, The Scarlet Circus, is a collection of love stories, and will be available in mid-Februrary.

Connect with Jane:

Website: https://www.janeyolen.com

IG: https://www.instagram.com/jyolen/

Twitter:https://twitter.com/janeyolen

FB: https://www.facebook.com/jane.yolen

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.

My First Smut

My First Smut: Seduced by Grandma’s Harlequins

smutreportteam

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 author Hanna Park talks about stealing her grandmother’s Harlequins.

First romance novel you read:

Can’t recall the name – but I was hooked on my grandmother’s Harlequin romances. The beautiful people on the cover – the far off destination.

How old were you?

I believe I was 12 years old when I read my first romance ….gawky and out of sorts with the world….too shy to talk to a living and breathing boy….ye gods!

How’d you get your hands on the book?

Ah..grandmother was never looking, and she would never miss one or two. Those books were pretty tame, but they made my 12 year old heart sing. Much later in life I discovered the Lords of the Underworld by Gena Showalter. Hot. Hot. Hot. I was hooked. Then came along, Fifty Shades of Grey…clench your thighs hot!

What was the reading experience like?

Addictive—totally addictive. Slam the door shut, I was hooked from the first Harlequin. The handsome rake and the alluring, often headstrong, beautiful woman….falling in love in the most exotic destinations…a world away from mine. How exciting!

What made the experience special?

The heat. Losing myself completely. Burning through those steamy pages with a nice glass of wine (the older me, not the 12 year old me…lol). Hot Damn! I need me more!

What role does smut play in your life?

Smut obsessed. Reader turned Writer, naturally. My end game – sharing happily ever after moments with every smexy reader in Romancelandia. Sláinte!

Bio

I began my writing career in the pre-dawn of a winter morning while my husband snored like a train. We could call my husband the catalyst. If it weren’t for him, I would never have gone to the kitchen to make a pot of coffee, feed the cat, and sit on the loveseat in front of the fire. It was there, in those moments of wondrous quiet, that I did something I had never thought possible. I opened my laptop, and while the coffee went cold, I wrote a story. My husband had no idea that these sojourns to the loveseat in front of the fire would become a daily occurrence, that writing would become an obsession, but the cat knew. She knows everything. I write stories that make you laugh, make you cry, and make you love. Thank you, friends, for reading!

In the beginning, there was an empty page.

I am a writer who lives in Muskoka, Canada, with a husband who snores, a hungry cat, and an almost perfect canine––he’s an adorable little shit.

Website: www.hannapark.ca

Thanks Hanna! We look forward to reading Hanna’s book, Sorrento Seduction—sounds like a fun read with beautiful people in an far off destination, which is exactly what winter reading calls for. Watch this space for a review coming soon!

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.

My First Smut

My First Smut: From Reluctance to Passion

smutreportteam

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 author D.J. Russo talks about using books to explore her sexuality.

First romance novel you read:

A Rogue By Any Other Name by Sarah Maclean

How old were you?

28 (I started late)

How’d you get your hands on the book?

A Book Riot subscription box back when they sold them. The theme of the box was books people usually don’t pick up. So it had YA, fantasy, and romance inside the box. I was surprised because I knew that romance was the highest-selling genre in the industry, but the stigma was there. I mean, I was reluctant to read it because growing up, my mother didn’t let me read romance. In fact, she told me that romance novels were somehow ‘beneath’ me! Yikes!

What was the reading experience like?

Surprising. I was surprised by how much I enjoyed the book, and then I wanted more. But I quickly moved out of the historical romance subgenre and moved onto fantasy and sci-fi romances. Not that there’s anything wrong with historicals, they just aren’t really my cup of tea. I enjoy them in moderation, but it was exciting to find other subgenres.

What made the experience special?

That one book set me up for a whole career in writing romances. I took a class in romance writing, where I learned about genre conventions, reader expectations, and story beats. I really enjoyed myself. I’m 38 now, so I’ve been reading and writing romance for a decade now and I’m the happiest I’ve ever been.

What role does smut play in your life?

I’m asexual. I didn’t realize that until much later in my life, too. But I realized that I love smut/erotica and erotic romance. It’s just the right amount of sex for me. It’s difficult to explain my sexuality, so I won’t. But I feel most comfortable exploring my sexuality within books, I’ll just put it that way.

Connect with D.J.

Thanks for sharing D.J.! We look forward to reading D.J.’s book, Abduction Seduction (sounds perfect for fans of aliens and/or polyamory!)—watch this space for a review coming soon.

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.