The Samantha McFiction Interview: Using Erotica to Bring Our Deepest Desires to Life
"The beauty of fiction is that ANYTHING can happen!"
I interviewed Samantha McFiction by email. Here is what she has to say:
What made you decide to write erotica?
That's kind of complicated, in that I never really set out to write erotica, or really, write anything at all!! But I suppose it started out, maybe, five years ago. In different conversations with some of my early non-vanilla playmates, we talked about fantasies and different scenarios.
Most centered around different D/S roles, with some being accepted, some extremes shied away from by them. But quite often the cliché of "that'd make a great story" was said. That stuck in my mind as a useful tool.
At some point, I wrote a story, trying to show how exciting and hot a rejected scenario might be, trying to entice them to live it out. It was done almost jokingly. But I had sooo much fun doing it, and, I can't lie, it was a turn on. After that, I've just continued writing erotic tales for myself and a few friends here, and there, ever since. Oh, and my enticement worked by the way!
Who are some of your favorite authors--erotic and vanilla?
Favorite authors...that's actually a bit tough! As far as erotica, I've never been much of a dedicated reader. Over the past few years, I've scrolled through countless pages on Literotica, but couldn't name a single one that stands out, although I can admit being a repeat offender concerning Xyta Mydnytes audio stories there. As far as on Substack specifically, I'm still discovering new writers daily, and there's so many great ones... its a case of naming them all, being terrified of leaving one out. Maybe ask again next year, forcing me to choose??
In the vanilla world, my reading habits are...different. I'm a total history nerd, with chronic nostalgia, and honestly don't read lots of fiction. I find 1850-1950 to just be a such an epic period. Governments, empires, powerful families, and industries grew like weeds, and were often swept aside just as easily.
I also love other odd topics, like the Bermuda Triangle, UFOs, Bigfoot, The Loch Ness monster, etc, as well as a bit of the supernatural. So my collection looks more like a reference library than anything. Oh, I'll admit one more oddity. My most read fiction author over the last decade—Clive Cussler. A shame we lost him. His mix of historical mysteries, epic villains and grandiose plots, is great, especially in his earlier books. Great cast of characters too. And what girl doesn't love a good looking, resourceful hero??
How much do your personal experiences with sex color your erotic writing?
The answer to this is a bit sad. Until just a few years ago, my life was painfully vanilla. Like, pasteurized, processed, colorless, odorless, nearly flavorless vanilla. Ugh.
'So there's only a small (but rapidly growing) amount of real experience built into the naughtiness I scribble down. But that's the beauty of fiction—ANYTHING can happen.
Your characters can go places you can't, wear what you want, and do things you couldn’t or wouldn't (or haven't, YET...) do. Sane, crazy, principled, evil, trampy, mysterious, straight-laced... Any character you need, in order to express a fantasy, is just waiting to be created. And honestly, that's what I enjoy about writing—taking a fantasy, sculpting characters, and making it a sharable, fun tale.
You are working on a spinoff of
's "The Crow Party." How did that come about?This was mostly just serendipity!! So there I am, on Substack, and suddenly...the algorithm glitches, and it sent me Ginger Cook. Shes amazing, by the way! Til that day, I didnt even know there was erotica on Substack!! Sidetracked, I went ahead and read her posts, but the Crow Party reached out and grabbed me by the throat. It had me... like nothing Ive read in a while.
The concept of the party just hit me as epic! I was totally in love with the plot and the dark vibe/theme. I was saddened that there was no prequel/sequel. But after finding instant parallels between a character I'd created years ago, and the rejected woman in Gingers story, I immediately had a plot for another chapter. I jotted it down pretty quick.
Afterwards I shared it, and discussed it with Ginger. Her emoji-filled approval of what I wrote was the inspiration for creating this Substack and starting to share things I write. But... my initial idea of just another chapter or three quickly died, and a longer, ongoing tale began to evolve in my head. So, expect to see the Crow Party series as the long term bedrock of my Substack!! Id like to say a last, quick, heartfelt thank you to Ginger for being the trigger and inspiration for all this!!❤️
What are the most important things you've learned about publishing on Substack since you got started?
I'm quite new to Substack, so I probably won't overwhelm anyone with publishing wisdom. Plus, I think different goals are attained by traveling different paths, so it depends why you're here.
But, one thing that stands out so far, is participation and engagement. Find others that are in your same genre and style. Snuggle. Make friends. Share, restack, and write comments. Be involved with the writers you admire and enjoy. Everyone here is super supportive, so give back to your genre. You'll get what you give.
One likely obvious thing—pace yourself and your posts. We're all busy, so find a pace you can realistically maintain. Don't worry, even if you only show up once a week, your friends and fans will be there for you. Just show up.
Also, there are Substacks that are oriented towards writer/publisher improvement, some even erotica focused. Some of them have vast knowledge, and excellent recommendations. If they pop into your comments or DMs, LISTEN!!. You'll just know the ones to pay attention to right away!!
What's next for Samantha McFiction?
What's next? Well, like I said about writing fictional characters—there's no limits. I came here initially with the simple goal of sharing. No thoughts (or worries) about audience size, likes, or the other social media trappings. Just to share, and hopefully entertain (excite??) a few people. That hasn't changed, and I don't plan/expect it to.
But, having said that, I'd like to work on improving what I do. Its funny how downright dirty my initial story visions are, but, I struggle with writing the more graphic sections. I never like how they turn out, and so I use my love of allusion to sidestep penning them. But I want to work on that, as well as the overall flow and quality of my posts.
I truly think the erotica community here is great, and I'm looking forward to meeting and supporting more of it's members. I'd like to become a bigger, stronger, accepted part of it along the way.
As far as posting specifics, like I'd mentioned earlier, the Crow Party series will be the ongoing regular base of my Substack. So expect to see that continue for a long time. I'm going to wrap up the "Innocent til..." series with a few more posts over the next couple weeks. I've been approached with collaboration ideas from some awesome authors here, and will be diving in to at least one of those in the coming week. My daytime life is busy, but after my initial flurry, I'm hoping to maintain a fairly steady three-ish posts a week. Depending on how the collabs go, I DO have some other deviant storylines simmering. I seem to be stuck in multi-episide story mode, but I'd like to try crafting some one-and-done posts in the near future. So expect those attempts to trickle in soon.
Thanks so much Ari, for giving me an opportunity to share a little about myself!!
💞-Samantha
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Emoji filled approval 🤣🤣🤣🤣