The Zen Lounge: An interview with A.C. Melody

Welcome to the Zen Lounge, twenty-one floors of customizable carnal pleasures to fulfill your wildest fantasies. Even in the year 2192, it shouldn’t exist but Voryk Kade simply couldn’t ignore the urge to take a closer look. What he finds is a woman bent on ruining everything he’d ever believed to be true. She holds the key to all of Voryk’s darkest, neediest desires and despite her silence, provides the proof behind his belief that there is something far seedier going on under the high-end gloss of professional eroticism.

Enlisting the help of his closest friends, Voryk’s only goal is to keep Nexlana safe, naked and his. Unfortunately, she was already someone’s favorite pet and when Master comes calling, it’s with a vengeance and the intent of never letting her slip away again. Haunted pasts continue to resurface, only Nexlana’s might be far deadlier than any of them could have guessed—connections between her, arson, an assassination and a cold case no one ever wanted to delve into again. To stop the worst case scenario from taking place, they must finally figure out just who in the hell the Master really is.

An interview with A.C. Melody

How long have you been writing erotica, and what inspired you to get into this genre?

I only started writing erotica about five or six years ago. I guess I was a little in the dark when it came to the genre, until I started reviewing e-books for a friend of mine’s business and it really opened my eyes to just how accepted and loved the entire genre was by readers. That was the start of my inspiration.

What gave you the idea for your latest book?

It was just a thought. A question I asked myself about laws and what if they didn’t exist. What if you could go out to a restaurant and sate all of your appetites at once? Would you? What if you wanted that, but still wanted privacy, or what if you didn’t want any privacy at all? How would a business be able to cater to such a variety of fantasies? The rest just kind of unraveled from there. Placing it in the future made it easier to construct, because of the advanced technology and changes in laws that would allow it to even exist. But it just started with the idea of one scene, in a restaurant, where a guy goes to get everything he’s craving all in one place.

Who are some of your favorite erotica writers or other literary inspirations?

Gena Showalter, Jacqueline Carey, Anne Rice (and as Anne Rampling), Nora Roberts (and as J.D. Robb), Mercedes Lackey, Kim Newman, L.J. Smith, V.C. Andrews, Ray Bradbury, Clive Barker, Stephen King, Marion Zimmer Bradley, J.K. Rowling, Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Carly Phillips, Debbie Macomber… just to name a few. I tend to find an author I like and then spend all of my money and time gobbling up everything they’ve written until there’s no more and I’m forced to step out of my comfort zone and read someone new. As a writer, I’m my own worst kind of reader, isn’t that horrible?

Describe your typical writing routine. Where do you usually write? How many words/pages per day? Do you keep set hours? What does your workspace look like?

My laptop usually stays at my kitchen table, which doubles as my “desk,” even though I have one of those, too. I don’t always have the luck of writing every day. Some days my brain just refuses to work with me, but unless I’m sick, I do attempt it. I also keep a notebook by my bed at all times and will carry one with me if I’m in the middle of working on something and have to leave home.

Do you have any favorite foods or beverages that help keep your creativity flowing?

Coffee, coffee, coffee! Also, Greek yogurt, because it’s filling enough to hit the spot, without taking any time away from my writing to prepare. When I’m feeling frisky, I’ll couple it with a Nazook, which is an Armenian pastry that goes really well with coffee due to its mild, nutty-sweetness, but I have to be willing to spend the twenty seconds it takes to put it on a plate and warm it up in the microwave first, ha!

Do you have any writing superstitions or rituals when starting (or ending) a new book?

Not any superstitions or rituals, per se, but sometimes I won’t add a prologue until the book is finished. Also, once I’m done, I’m always super excited, because finishing a book is one of the hardest parts about writing them. So, I always call my best friend to tell her I finished one. That part’s a necessity. But, none of my Beta Readers get it until I’ve polished it at least a half dozen times.

What do you think makes for a good erotic story?

I love action-packed erotica, and am always drawn to the supernatural more than anything else, but honestly, it just depends on the characters. There has to be chemistry, of course, but more importantly, the characters have to stay true to their personality types no matter what. Nothing squelches a good book – erotic or otherwise – than when a character suddenly does something that makes absolutely no sense whatsoever, or reacts in a way that no one with half a brain would react. Realism, true-to-self, common sense, consistency, those are the things that make a really great story and even better erotica.

What’s your favorite euphemism for genitalia?

I really and truly just like the basics. Cock, erection, sex, core, etc. I can’t bring myself to use excessively flamboyant euphemisms and when I read them, they completely kill the setting for me. I tend to laugh and put the book down. That can make it difficult to write erotic scenes, because no one likes to read the same boring descriptions over and over, but personally, I could never exchange “his cock” for “his enormous love rocket.”

What’s the strangest question you’ve ever been asked by a fan? And what was your response?

I haven’t been asked any questions by fans yet (so feel free to be the first)! One of my friends did ask: “So, is this from personal experience or just your imagination?” To which I replied, logically: “Well, I’ve never been in a holosuite before, so let’s go with imagination.”

If you were in charge of adapting a scorching summer romance for the big screen, what book would you like to see made into a movie, and who would you pick to star as the male and female leads?

Hands down, The Nymph King by Gena Showalter! There are so many good reasons for this choice. #1: It would be completely different from any other movie out there. #2: It has all of the necessary elements for a blockbuster hit; action, drama, comedy, supernatural/fantasy and romance (hot, scorching romance!). And #3: The actors: Chris Hemsworth for Valerian, because he’s the closest in size and appearance for the character and we’ve already seen his ability to play a god and a huntsman, so why not a king? And Emma Watson for Shaye (though with appearance changes), because she’s beautiful and young and could easily portray the innocence with subtle naivety and quick wit that Shaye has.

An excerpt from The Zen Lounge

Voryk simply studied her, so she studied him right back. His dark locks were mussed sexily against the sheets, wildly framing his beautiful, masculine face. His lithe, strong body was the perfect combination of sinewy muscles over the sexiest bones she’d ever seen on a man. She loved the way his shoulders were a little sharp, his collar bone defined. It appealed not only to her artistic eye, but to everything about her that was female.

His bare chest, so full of compact power and energy made Nex’s mouth water for a taste, made her fingers curl into her palms with an insatiable desire to feel. No matter how often she saw it, how many times her gaze drank in the vision he made, Nex could never get enough. Starting at that delicious collarbone, she trailed her fingertips down his torso ever so softly and watched him closely. Watched his eyes darken with renewed lust.

Then she felt her own cheeks flush. Her mouth fell open on a surprised breath when he started growing and hardening inside of her.

“Oh,” she exhaled with a burning rush of need. “Oh… yes, please.”

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About the author

A.C. Melody lives in Washington State, is the proud mom of two amazing sons – okay, so they’re typical boys and always keep her on her toes! Stemming from a family of artists and musicians, she thrives in all things creative and would call a day without her MP3 player and coffee a day of reckoning. When she’s not writing, reading, drawing or cheering on the sidelines at football games, A.C. also enjoys gardening, which has honed her ability to dodge raindrops into an enviable skill.

Connect with A.C. on Facebook, Twitter or her blog.