Sylvia Day On the Erotic Fiction Revolution

When it comes to erotic fiction, a lot has changed in the last few decades. What was once a big taboo is now quickly becoming no big deal at all.
In the late ’80s and early ’90s, when I managed bookstores, erotic fiction—like Anais Nin’s Delta of Venus, Pauline Réage’s The Story of O, the Sleeping Beauty trilogy by A. N. Roquelaure, and an ever-changing assortment of forgettable “literary porn,” as my father used to call it—always got shelved way up on the highest shelf under the fluorescent lights, like suspected criminals in a police line-up.
And don’t tell me there wasn’t a stigma. Watching customers purchasing books like these was like watching a panicky teenager trying to buy condoms for the first time at the local pharmacy: I saw embarrassment, a little bit of shame mixed with excitement, and glorious relief once the transaction was completed and the book as safely hidden away in a bag.
Today, it’s a different world.
While waiting to pick up my six-year old daughter from her dance class last week, I sat across from not one, but two mothers reading Bared to You, the first installment of Sylvia Day’s phenomenally popular Crossfire saga. (The latest release, Entwined with You, peaked at #4 on BN’s Top 100 last week.) And the Fifty Shades novels are being sold at grocery checkout aisles—can’t get much more mainstream than that!
It’s undeniable: erotic fiction is in the midst of a revolution. Millions of people are reading this stuff. The question is: why is erotic fiction resonating so strongly with so many readers right now?
An interview with the reigning queen of erotic fiction, Sylvia Day, offered up some invaluable insights…
In an interview I did with you last year, you talked about how popular erotic fiction has been—long before the Fifty Shades trilogy—and how the press (and many publishers) are just now beginning to understand its significance. Over the last few years, I’ve been amazed by erotic fiction’s largely inconspicuous growth. I’ve seen a dramatic rise in the amount of genre fiction that is being blended together with erotica: sexually supercharged romance, fantasy, science fiction, horror…
As an author who has found success writing both erotic fiction and erotic urban fantasy, do you see this saturation of erotica into other genre categories as a natural evolutionary step for erotic fiction?
Intense sexual interaction between characters can bring an added dimension to any story and therefore has a place in all genre fiction, when appropriate to the storyline. Perhaps we’re not too far off from the time when explicit sex in novels isn’t newsworthy for its shock value, similar to how nudity on premium cable is par for the course.
In the ‘80s and ‘90s, I managed bookstores in New York, and erotic fiction back then was very much segregated. Men and women did not buy the same kind of literary erotic escapism. There was a real stigma, for example, associated with a man purchasing anything from the Romance section. But today, I don’t see so much of that anymore. I’m not embarrassed to say I read a ton of paranormal romance. Since you began writing, touring, signing, etc., have you seen your male readership increase at all?
Absolutely. It’s not uncommon for men to show up at my book signings or to send me emails with their thoughts about my books. I’ve also heard from a number of female readers who were introduced to my works by men in their lives.
With that in mind, why do you think there aren’t more male erotica writers?
Well, we just found out that Natasha Walker is actually John Purcell. I know of a few writers who are husband and wife teams. Who knows how many other erotic writers using female pseudonyms are actually men? But why would they hide their gender? Because there is a perception that male writers focus more on the physical mechanics of the act of sex, rather than the emotional connection, and it’s the emotional impact of the story that engages readers, not Tab A into Slot B descriptions. We have to care about the characters in order to care about them having sex.
The latest Crossfire novel, Entwined with You, was recently released and—wow—what a read! There were so many memorable lines and downright incendiary sequences between Eva and Gideon… and the ending! To paraphrase a line from When Harry Met Sally: “I’ll have what they’re having!” Has writing this series been fun? And how does it feel knowing that so many readers are living vicariously through your characters?
I’m so thrilled to hear that you enjoyed Entwined with You. Thank you! Because writing Crossfire is so emotionally draining, I can’t say it’s been fun exactly, but it’s been very rewarding. I’ve heard from so many readers around the world who connect with Eva and Gideon on a very personal level and I’m touched that something I’ve written can have such a profound effect. The Crossfire demographic is all-encompassing. Age, gender, religion, culture… it doesn’t matter. It’s astonishing and wonderful that Crossfire is a #1 bestseller in 20 countries and counting. We can all connect with the struggle to be a better person for the one we love.
Can you give your readers any nebulous hints as to what will transpire in the next Crossfire novel?
The first 2.5 Crossfire novels were Eva’s story. By the mid-point of Entwined with You, she’s in a good place. Her skeletons are out of the closet, she’s confronted the issues that have plagued her, and she’s made a powerful commitment to support Gideon. That opens the door to the last 2.5 novels being able to focus on Gideon’s story. He really needed her to be strong and stable in order to anchor him through his own healing, and we’re finally there.
I think a lot of people—men and women—read erotic fiction not so much for the sex but for that ideal, that notion that, yes, there is such thing as a (near) perfect relationship where two people can be insanely attracted to one another forever, have godlike sex, but also be each other’s best friend for life. Entwined with You, for example, was ultimately about the healing power of love, perseverance, and trust. The sexual sequences were jaw-dropping, yes, but the story was so much more than that. Do you believe in the notion of the (near) perfect relationship?
I believe that if you work hard at a relationship, devoting time and energy to it, being willing to grow and experiment, and never take it for granted, that you can continue to feel the initial attraction and excitement indefinitely. Gideon and Eva are putting in the work and making each other a priority, and that’s why their relationship is as powerful as it is.
Thanks for your time, Sylvia—and good luck with the rest of the Crossfire saga!