SEELIE KAY: Postcards from The Ledge: This week in The Loft: Author Lil DeVille!

Joining me today in The Loft is author Lil DeVille. Lil puts the naughty in Naughty Netherworld Press. With her cheeky sense of humor, big imagination, and quirky characters, she spins one-of-a-kind tales that never to skimp on love and lust. Lil writes erotica in the fantasy, science fiction, and paranormal or supernatural sub-genres. Lil is a disabled former nurse who no longer works outside the home. When she isn’t cooking up hot stories, she enjoys baking, reading, crafts, and playing mobile games. Lil lives in a remote rural town in the Colorado-Wyoming-Nebraska triad with her adult son and three cats.

Lil DeVille's Calling Card

S: Good morning, Lil. Thanks for joining me in The Loft again.

If you were suddenly transported back to Victorian England as a member of the aristocracy, would you be thrilled or appalled? Would you be willing to stay there permanently?

L: I would hate it and I would be looking to hitch a ride with The Doctor in any of his or her incarnations back to the present. I love reading Regency romance, but I would hate dwelling in that era. While women have not yet achieved the degree of respect that we have damn well earned, at least we are no longer considered the property of our fathers, brothers, or husbands.

S: Personally, I would love to see you in Victorian England. I think you would be marvelously disruptive. That would be quite fun to watch.

What is the best/worst thing that has ever happened to you as a writer?

L: Realizing that writing erotica wasn’t as easy as those “make big bank by writing erotica” articles make it sound. That was both the best and worst thing that ever happened to me as a writer. My first attempts were kind of cringe-worthy, although they have some redeeming aspects. I pulled them from publication and may someday overhaul and re-release them.

S: If you had to do it all over again, would you still choose to write books?

L: Most days, I’d say yes. I just wish it paid better!

S: I tell my friends that writing romance keeps me in Cheetos.

What famous book do you wish you had written? Why?

L: I’m not sure I would want to write anyone’s stories other than my own, but the work of Anais Nin is so exquisite. I wish I could paint pictures with words the way she did.

S: What’s the best advice you have ever given?

L: If it makes you miserable, it’s the wrong choice. Even if everyone else is telling you it’s the right path.

S: I wish more people would realize that. Life is too short to be miserable.

What’s the best advice you have ever been given?

L: Same as the best advice I’ve ever given. I stole that bit of advice from a wonderful great-aunt who performed on Vaudeville back in the day!

S: What inspired "The Shape of Heat: Awakening?"

L: I write non-erotic fiction under a different pen name and enjoy submitting my work to anthologies. I did a search for publishers seeking erotic stories for anthologies and found the website for Cobblestone Press. Their Naughty November anthology expressed a special interest in stories with a MFM menage. I initially started writing a story about a female warrior trainee in a post-apocalyptic society, but kept getting stuck with where I wanted to go next. I brought my story and characters back down to Earth and "The Shape of Heat" was born. I ended up going with a FMF menage rather than MFM. The story also contains an explicit MM scene.

S: Is there anything special you would like people to know about "The Shape of Heat: Awakening?"

L: When I submitted the story to Cobblestone Press, I got a lovely reply—from a Mailer Daemon. I learned from a fellow author that Cobblestone Press is no longer active. Initially, I was frustrated to have wasted a month pouring my heart and soul into a manuscript that no one was going to use. Then I said to myself, “Lil, you numpty, you are an indie author! Format it and publish it yourself!”

Here's the blurb:

When you’re surrounded by lust, an awakening is inevitable.

Candi knew hot things happened behind closed doors at the Pearl Beach Resort. After all, the place was owned by bisexual billionaire playboy Boris van Donk, who had a reputation for taking on all comers.

Candi's family of origin was strictly religious, and she has never given or received more than a chaste kiss in her 21 years. Between bad-boy Boris and her geeky, fun-loving, porn-writing housemates, an awakening of her desires is inevitable.