Bridget Midway writes what everyone else fantasizes about but won't admit. An avid writer for all things fun, unusual and passionate, Bridget enjoys making her readers laugh as much as she likes seeing them fan themselves down after reading a hot, sexy scene. She writes long contemporary romance, single-title romance, light paranormal romances, science fiction, historical and erotica, all with multi-racial characters and/or with interracial romances (because when you have a box of chocolates, you have to taste each one and enjoy the differences). http://www.BridgetMidway.com

Here is her interview:

How would you describe yourself? Who is Bridget Midway?
Bridget Midway is a very quiet and, surprisingly, shy woman who likes to write about the people who could be someone you work with or live next door to in real life. In perverted terms, I would be classified as a voyeur. However it sounds better if I describe myself as a constant observer. I'm also someone who still finds is shocking that readers not only buy my books but that they dig them. I still find it hard to wrap my brain around that concept.

What sort of books did you enjoy as a child and what do you like to read now?
I started off reading light mysteries and coming-of-age stories. It would be nothing to see me with a Nancy Drew or Hardy Boys book when I was younger. I also loved some C.S. Lewis and Laura Ingalls Wilder. Yes, I was a Little House on the Prairie junkie. When I became a teenager and sprouted up like a weed, I started reading some adult fare. First it was Judy Blume's Wifey. Then I went on to Jackie Collins. I still think she's the true Queen of Steam. There's always that one person in life that you truly want to meet before you die. Jackie Collins is that person to me.

I started writing sexually-charged books because of her. As for now, I hardly have any time to read. If I'm working on a book, I try not to read other people's books because I tend to adopt their writing style and voice. I don't do it on purpose. I can usually catch myself when I do it. However, when I do read, I find myself reading my friends' books. Right now I'm reading Jane Millionaire by Janice Lynn. Next I'll be reading "Strictly Classified" by Denise Jeffries. My to-be-read pile is huge. Fortunately so are my to-be-written requests.

What were your dreams or ambitions as a child? How do these compare with where you are now?
I was all over the place with my ambitions as a child. I wanted to be everything from a nurse to a veterinarian to a photographer. Deep down I always knew that I was most happiest as a writer. I love putting pen to paper. Now the sound of clicking keyboard keys does it for me. When I got my first typewriter at age 13, that was it. I could spend whole summers inside typing away. Even back then I wrote 100,000-word manuscripts. Not a lot has changed since my teenage years. I still write long novels and feel happiest at my laptop.

Do you think you were "born a writer"? Or did the writing bug take awhile to find you?
Because writing is such a lonely endeavour, I never got "bitten" by the writing bug. To be bitten, I would think one would have to observe someone else doing it. For example, many people say that after watching a movie or play, which they got the acting bug seeing people perform. It wasn't as though I watched a writer at her/his typewriter or computer or with a pad and pen in hand. As you call it, I was a "born writer". For as long as I remember, I enjoyed books and respected the written word. I remember as a child holding a book, feeling the pages, seeing the names of the authors under each story and hoping one day that my name would appear in a book.

Are there any particular authors who've been influential to your work?
I mentioned two above. Jackie Collins, my guru, and Judy Blume. I also like Jeanette Winterson. I still debate with myself if the protagonist is a man or woman. I've amped up my sensuality as opposed to my sexuality in my work because of up-and-coming authors like Laura Bacchi. I think she's truly gifted in writing sexual tension and wringing out the sensuality in a scene.

Have you seen an evolution in your writing? What steps did it take?
Definitely! My writing has changed in grand leaps and bounds. I used to say that I would never write anything futuristic or something with a science fiction background. And now I have one published called "Adam and E-V-E" and I have it's longer sequel coming up called C-A-I-N and A-B-E-L. Although writing contemporary works seem to be my thing, I've recently toyed with the idea of doing a historical/time travel story. The idea has been nagging at me for years. I'm also learning to write at different lengths. When I first started writing, I would only write short works. I never thought I could write a full-length novel. Then when I did write one, I didn't think I could go back to writing shorter works again. Now I enjoy a delicious balance of the two. Writing keeps my skills sharp. I also am involved with a local writing group and I learn a lot from them.

What was it about your genre that interested you enough to choose to write in it and not in another genre?
I like writing erotica and erotic romances because there's something so taboo about them, even to this day and age. It's the same reason I like writing interracial romances. I like shaking things up a bit. Yes, this quiet wallflower has a sneaky streak inside of me. I also enjoy writing erotica and erotic romances because despite what some people may think; I think stories are deeper, richer, and fuller when sex is involved. You mine into your character's psyche a lot more when they're naked, sated and vulnerable.

What do you find helps you when inspiration is lacking and motivation even more so?
Reading news stories helps with the inspiration. I've gotten some great ideas from just headlines. As far as motivation, I want to be in this business for the long haul. My motivation is to keep my name out there and to keep my readers and myself happy.

As a writer do you have any eccentric habits while writing?
I always check my e-mails before I write. Sometimes I'll leave my e-mail folder up while I write. I'm so obsessed and I think that I'll miss something if I don't check my mail every 5 minutes. I also found a game on a BDSM website called Hexxagon. It's a very tame game. It's like Othello if anyone has ever played that. I play against the computer. Sometimes I'll play a game. If I win, I know my writing will go well that day. If I lose, I feel let down and I think my writing will suffer. I know. I'm a weirdo.

What do you think is the most important piece of advice to writers trying to turn their hobbies into professions?
The advice I give to new writers is don't sell yourself short. Some publishers' bank on the fact that you've been rejected so many times, and when you finally get a contract offer they know you'll sign it right away. I have seen contracts where the publisher wants the full rights and then some to your work. So please, when you finally get a contract offer, don't rush it. Read it over carefully and consider that it's your work that you put forth blood, sweat and tears. You want something to show for it at the end of the day. Other than that, have fun writing. If it's not fun for you, then you need to re-evaluate why you're writing in the first place.

How do you market yourself, and what have your experiences in self-marketing been like?
Marketing myself has been really difficult. I've done everything from on-line chats to banner and book cover advertisements on different websites and print ads. As an author, you have to promote yourself and your work, especially when you're with a small publisher or an e-book publisher. Promoting myself has been a great experience. It's taught me to think outside of the box. For that reason, I developed a website to my full-length novel Fascination Street as well as start a forum and a chatroom. Readers want something else to hook them. So as an author, I have to do something totally different from other authors.

If you could assemble your fans and readers, say, in an interview, what would you like to say to them about how to improve their erotic perceptions?
Readers are very savvy about how they perceive erotica. They know what they want and how to go about getting it. It's the reason why so many publishers actually break down the type of book they sell, for example they'll have listings for interracial romances, science fiction, dark fantasy, man-on-man sexual situations, etc. It's me who has to improve because I have to keep readers interested.

For more of your erotic/interesting scenes do you visualise them before you write them?
Yes, I do visualize my scenes. I have to figure out where the noses go. The orgy scene in Fascination Street was very difficult to write. So much going on at once. I tried very hard not to make it sound too technical and more sensual.

The relationship dynamics that you create for your characters. Are they drawn from your own personal experience or are they more reflective of how you see couple's in society today?
Some stories I have pulled from real life, not necessarily my own. For example, my novella "Chances" through Erotique Press is about a young African-American woman who falls for a guy from work she's only talked to on the phone and has never seen. He's much older than her. I pulled the age and race differences from my own relationship for that story. And for a story like Corporate Seduction, there was a manager like my character Winston Biggers who worked in the same office. So I based that character on him. But I'm not like Maybelline Davenport. All of my other characters or a reflection of society or, rather, pop culture.

It's said that there is a little part of the writer in that what he/she has written. Do you agree with this? And, if so, which areas of your novels does this relate to?
I definitely agree. There's a writer saying that goes, "Write what you know." Many writers, myself included, do pull from their lives and incorporate that into their stories. For me, I try not to delve into what I'm thinking or feeling and put that into a book. I'll just pull situations, the funnier the better. Writing can be stress-relieving.

With the internet there has been what I believe an increase in the amount of sexual related sites available e.g. blogs and journals. Do you feel that this has helped to liberate more women with their own sexual feelings?
I'm always surprised to see sexual-related sites that are geared toward women instead of to men. I don't know if the sites have helped liberate them or if women were already liberated enough and they're putting these sites and their feelings right in your face. Quite frankly, I love the shift in thinking. Hopefully we women will want to keep up these feelings for a long, long time. Erotica is another man's/woman's porn.

What would you say are the differences between the two?
Porn is in the eye (and loin) of the beholder. I think the biggest difference between erotica and porn is that readers get to know the characters more in erotica than they do in porn. Porn is a quick fix. No delving into back stories and character development. Whereas erotica and erotic romances deal with emotions and feelings. The one thing they all have in common is that they all have a satisfying ending. The ending doesn't have to be a happily-ever-after one. Just one that satisfies the reader.

And finally, what are you currently working on and what are your goals for the future?
I have lots of irons in the fire right now. Currently I'm working on one of the prequel stories to Fascination Street for Venus Press. I'm also working on submissions to Red Sage Publishing and Harlequin Spice. My goal for the future is to make it into larger publishing houses. I would look to have books with Berkley Heat and Kensington Aphrodisia. I'm working on it.

Thank you so much for interviewing me. If there's anything else you need, please let me know.

Thank you, Bridget Midway!

Published on The Erotic Woman.com

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