In a previous article, I let you in on a secret. Who writes erotica? Older women! Now to help back up my words as well as let you in on a whole bunch of interesting authors you may have missed by reading only the “bestsellers” I’ve embarked on a new venture. I’m interviewing some of these wonderful sexy, still-got-it grandmas!

First up is a big name in the erotic romance industry. Charlotte Boyett-Compo. “Charlee,” as she’s called by friends and fans alike, has published over 80 books! I asked her to tell us how this mayhem began.

Charlotte Boyett-Compo:

I turned fifty in June of 1998 - just a bored housewife who spent her days writing dark fantasy and horror novels. In November, I took a job as the parish secretary of our church because no one seemed to want the job. My first book had been published in 1996 and by the time I went to work at St. Mary's, over twenty of my books had been released but they weren't making any real money for me. However, none of them were erotica. They had steamy sex scenes in them, but they weren't overly explicit.

Ashlyn Chase:

A church secretary writing hot sex? Wow! Who would have guessed? So what happened that turned you from sweet secretary, sending out pledge envelopes, to sexy grandma, pledging to write more than 80 sizzling sexy stories?

C.B.C.

In 2000, my first Ellora's Cave book came out. I was stunned by the sales numbers. The most important thing for me has always been readership and the money was just icing on the cake. I decided erotica was where the reader base was and so that's what I have been concentrating on ever since. I try to weave believable, steaming hot sex in with a whole lot of plot and heaping amounts of character creation and world building. For me it has to be more about the story than the sex, more about the love than the lovers, more about the bonding rather than the actual physical bond, but the sex is guaranteed to steam your glasses and make you sweat.

A.C.

What a gift you have! Many readers probably don’t realize how difficult it is to write extremely graphic scenes. How it’s more than a matter of keeping track of arms and legs and who is where doing what. When you add your dark fiction, your action scenes, credible dialog and weave everything together seamlessly, it’s truly an art.

How does your family feel about what you do?

C.B.C

My husband reads everything I write. He will tell anyone who ask - and many who don't - that his wife is a writer. He carries my business cards and postcards of my cover art with him everywhere he goes. His car has magnetic signs with my website on them. Although my sons won't read what I write - most kids don't want to know their parents are sexual beings - they have told me many times they are very proud of me. My grandchildren - 13 and 8 - brag about having a gramma that writes and sells books. No one in my family or my husband's has ever been judgmental about what I do. They've been nothing but supportive. As for my friends, they think it's cool. Many have shown up in my novels - much to their delight. My neighbors don't shun me; they still wave hello, so I'm not a pariah in the subdivision.

A.C.

That’s really great. Not all of us have been so lucky! I’ve heard some horror stories of authors discriminated against for exercising their first amendment rights. One woman I know was even asked to quit as a leader of her daughter’s brownie troop! Like she was going to corrupt little girls just by her presence or something! The only thing that ever happened to me was a stroke of luck. My neighbors no longer invite me to Tupperware parties. Boo hoo. Oh well. More money to add to my sexy book collection!

Do you mind my asking if your husband reads your stories too? If so, what does he think of them? Do they create any fireworks?

C.B.C.

My husband gets really turned on by what I write and after he's read a scene he finds… shall we say particularly 'entertaining'… I reap the benefits. Some of the scenes that I have written that really interest him have been re-played in the privacy of our bedroom and yes, there have been some things I've learned about during research that have found their way there, as well. J

A.C.

Thank you for letting me get up close and personal with you, Charlee! Would you like to give readers an idea about how they can find your work or get in touch with you?

C.B.C.