The J.K. Mill Interview: "I am so happy to be an erotic writer now, learning what I am learning, to have met some incredible people."
"I can’t think of anything much hotter than having your pervy, freaky sex partner also be your life partner who shares the day to day chores, the kids, and life’s ups and downs."
J.K. Mill was an award-winning Canadian journalist until they discovered the joys of erotica writing. Mill wrote their first story for their partner, and they love to write about couples having hot, mutually fulfilling sex.
J.K. publishes
on Substack and also writes for FrolicMe and edits Exceptional Erotica publication on Medium with Celia McKinley and Jordan Riley. Mill’s collaboration with Posy Churchgate on The Priestess and The Queen won a 2023 Golden Pigtail award.Subscribe and try a taste!
How did you begin writing erotica?
I started writing erotica simply because I wanted to write an erotic story for my partner. And then I had another idea, and then another, and I just kept going. I eventually found Medium, and met Posy Churchgate, May More, Marie Rebelle, and others, who were so welcoming and encouraging, and so I kept going from there. It was wonderful to meet other writers, read other stories, make connections and friends, and to learn.
Wow, that’s similar to my story. I started writing erotica because my Mistress told me to write about us. Without your partner inspiring you, do you think you would be an erotica writer today?
No, I don’t think I would be. I wrote every day as my day job for years (and still do) so when I had leisure time, I didn’t want to do more writing. Plus, I find fiction very difficult to write. I was trained to write news stories, profiles, editorials, and columns. In those last two, there’s more of “me” in them, but nothing like the personal, intimate thoughts and feelings that go into erotic fiction. So, if I hadn’t had the extra motivation to write something for my love, it probably never would have occurred to me to try to be a fiction writer, let alone an erotic fiction writer.
If I hadn’t had the extra motivation to write something for my love, it probably never would have occurred to me to try to be a fiction writer, let alone an erotic fiction writer.
That said, I am so happy to be an erotic writer now, to be learning what I am learning, to have met some incredible people and fantastic writers, and to know writing and reading erotica is something to enjoy, not to be ashamed of.
Did you read much erotica before you started writing erotica? Who were and are some of your favorite erotica writers to read for pleasure?
No, I didn’t read much erotica before writing it. I think I may have read a few stories on Literotica over the years. I don’t remember who I read then, but now there’s a huge list: Celia McKinley, Posy Churchgate, Paragonas Vaunt, Hazel Porter, Kat Abad, Megan Landon, CQ White, Ryn Rehnard, Jordan Riley, Tabitha Rayne, Elena Dawne, Olive Spencer, and Simone Francis would all be at the top. They all write beautifully and originally, going light years beyond what a good friend calls Hot Plumber World stories, you know, the plumber/pizza delivery boy/repairman comes to the door, he’s buff, and fucks the horny homeowner. They are real artists.
Many erotica writers I have interviewed began writing during the pandemic. Whether that is because they were bored at that time, because they had more free time, or simply because of recency bias and me interviewing new writers... Do you think the pandemic changed how you or people you know approach erotica?
I’m not sure how the pandemic affected how people approach erotica. I’ve also heard a number of writers say they started writing during lockdowns. I mean, there are far worse hobbies people could have taken up during lockdowns! Me, I mostly played video games and laughed at the face-diaper fuckheads and the Ottawa convoy cunts.
How does it feel to writing erotica versus writing and working as a journalist?
It feels much, much harder. I always knew I wanted to be a writer, but journalism was attractive for a few reasons. For one, it didn’t require the scary step of exposing your imagination to other people. Two, publication with a built-in audience was guaranteed. And most importantly for me, reporters work on deadlines. For years, my life revolved around the pressroom schedule. The paper prints on these days at these times, every week.
So you had no choice but to write something, edit it, and then submit it. You couldn’t get editing paralysis or writer’s block; the paper had to be filled, the editor needed something covered, so you wrote whether you wanted to or not. We called it feeding the beast. With fiction writing as a hobby, I mostly don’t have deadlines, and I’m not constrained by the inverted pyramid news story template, or by much else. It's like tightrope-walking without a net. So I find it extremely hard to overcome procrastination and imposter syndrome, to untangle the knots of plot points I create for myself, and to finally feel ready to put a story out into the world.
I know writers give themselves self-imposed deadlines – “I’ve set a publication date on Amazon, so know I need to work hard to meet that date” – but those don’t work for me, and I’m not very interested in book sales. I just muddle through, reminding myself that this is a hobby, not a chore, and the story will come when it comes; I will write when I write. I’d rather have one story I am proud of every few months than a garbage story every week or every month because I’m feeding the beast again.
You are one of the editors of Exceptional Erotica, a Medium publication. This publication also features dozens of contributing writers including Simone Francis, Melanie Russell, and Kate Granger, who have previously been featured in my interview series. How has the internet and social publishing websites allowed you to connect with other writers and changed the erotica scene?
Discovering Medium has been life-changing, in that I’ve seen the best and worst of erotica publishing. I was so fortunate to meet the wonderful women of Tantalizing Tales, who encouraged me and helped me improve my writing. I met so many more amazing people through Medium: Celia, Jordan, Hazel, Ryn, Olive, Megan, Kat, Simone, and others, and some absolutely sublime writing.
I’ve also seen the worst of online publishing. Frauds using AI to flood the zone with slop, looking to make a quick buck. Slapdash people who fire off daily microstories to cash in on Medium’s algorithm and other slapdash writers, all also flooding the zone with shit to make a quick buck. Sloppy people who churn out complete trash without even spellchecking, because they’re rushing to get a 5,000-word “book” on Amazon each week to feed a so-called erotica “addiction.” They are trying, you guessed it, to make a quick buck. So are people “chasing the market.” I have a lot more respect for the people who care about the craft more than the cash. Luckily, the same Internet that has become flooded with shit also allows the writers who care about the craft to connect and share.
I’d also like to suggest there isn’t an erotica “scene,” per se, if by scene we mean community. There’s friend groups and cliques and collaborators, but not one homogenous community. There are too many people with too many different personalities, writing styles, goals, and agendas for all of us to form anything but the loosest definition of community. We’re not all in the same harbour, and that’s OK; a rising tide doesn’t need to raise all boats.
As a writer for FrolicMe, what does ethical porn and couples erotica mean to you?
Ethical porn, for me, is porn produced and performed by people paid well, who have a say in the performance, and who are not exploited. I think sex tapes produced by two or more people with everyone’s knowledge and consent is ethical porn, and certainly more intimate and powerful than scripted, cheesy porn. Women especially are treated like shit in the porn industry, exploited, hurt, abused, and raped, and it’s a fucking crime.
I also think ethical porn means non-exploitative porn. Where a scene doesn’t necessarily end with the money shot; where the woman’s pleasure is just as important, if not more important, than the man’s in a heterosexual scene. Too often, porn is just an extreme male fantasy acted out on screen. What about a woman’s fantasies? And what if sex can be hot as hell without schoolgirl outfits, stepfathers, racial exploitation, money shots, or any other artifice? Two people or three, or more, enthusiastically having sex, a healthy sexuality, on screen. That doesn’t mean it can’t be rough or kinky, but it does need to be real.
Hotwife, cuckold, freeuse, and paranormal erotica are very popular right now, and I think they scratch a taboo itch for people. They are extreme fantasies in their own ways, and kinks and fetishes are so, so exciting. So is the idea of an intense, supernova-hot, only-time-only encounter with a stranger (my friend Celia McKinley is an absolute master at writing this fantasy in a taboo and hot, but non-degrading way).
But I don’t think sex between committed or long-term partners needs to be, or is, boring. A couple married for 25 years can get up to kinky, depraved hijinks just as easily – more easily – than strangers. Familiarity can breed contempt, sure, but it also breeds intimacy and trust and respect. And that is a solid and necessary foundation on which to build kinky sex. Plus, I can’t think of anything much hotter than having your pervy, freaky sex partner also be your life partner who shares the day to day chores, the kids, and life’s ups and downs with you when not in the handcuffs or the cock cage. You get to have your kinky cake and get to eat it too!
Some of those more extreme fantasies just don’t do it for me. I’m familiar with and turned on by sex between committed partners, so that’s a lot of what I write. But if you browse my stories on Medium, you will find monsters, strangers, one-night stands, a rape roleplay, a few threesomes, and even a dastardly St. Nick. Some writers have a specific niche or a lane and stay in it; I sometimes like to wander -that’s what fantasies are for! - but home base for me is always sex between committed couples.
Previous Interviews
The Queen Nazz Interview: "I’m always curious about the world. I want to go deep. I want to push the boundary and see how far we can go."
Queen Nazz is my girlfriend, my mistress, and my muse. She is a woman who discovered BDSM later in life, but she has come to love it. In this interview, we explore her journey into kink—the misconceptions she once held, the lessons she learned, and how BDSM unlocked new dimensions of intimacy and self-discovery.
The Jessica Ackles Interview: "I do a lot of my erotica writing while shackled."
Jessica Ackles writes some of the steamiest eroticas about BDSM and bondage that I have read. Her stories draw on her experiences. They include a lot of men and women in shackles and cuffs. Metal cuffs are her favorites. She also enjoys putting herself into self bondage and posts
The Kate Granger Interview: "Writing erotica has been an enormous benefit for me."
Kate Granger is a prolific author of over 1,000 stories, which together include over 4 million words. She writes on almost every sexy topic you can think of, including BDSM, slow burn romance, femdom, thrillers, swinging, LGBTQ, threesomes, and ultra taboo sex acts, and she publishes her stories
The Melanie Russell Interview: "There's also something so beautiful about a man (or anyone really) giving themselves entirely to their partner."
Melanie Russell is one of my favorite erotica writers. Her stories are fast-paced. Her characters are relatable. The scenarios she creates are scintillating.
What an open and frank interview by the highly-talented JK Mills. I'm not sure I deserved all those shout-outs, but I am very proud of the many 'budding' erotica writers I encouraged and assisted during my time as an editor on Tantalizing Tales and JK's erotica has risen to great heights since those early days.
I admire a very similar bunch of writers to those JK listed. I too prefer sexy scenes between loving partners, but erotic fiction is fuelled by fantasy and that's important too. I'm very proud of the erotica JK and I collaborated to write, we have plans for more when our busy schedules align.
I'd encourage everyone who enjoys classy erotic scenes to subscribe to Intimate Ink, it's a banquet of hedonistic delights.
I love erotica that stimulates the mind (as well as other parts) and often brings forth a naughty giggle - J.K. excels at all of these. Great interview J.K. and thanks for the shout outs.