cocoa2 - December 2007

lilypad

It is an incredible honor to have you here in the spotlight Cocoa. It is long over due that is for sure. You are an incredibly passionate writer and we are proud to have the opportunity to feature your work here on mindspired.

Lily - Would you like to share any personal information with us regarding your age, marital status, children, pets, hobbies and such?

Cocoa - I am retired, married to my beautiful wife, have one beautiful married daughter, and two beautiful Springer Spaniels. I have had various hobbies, in the past including flying, scuba diving and a wide variety of sports, but my wife and I currently enjoy touring the foothills and mountains of north Georgia on my motorcycle. One other passion of mine is anything having to do with outer space, the makeup of the universe.

Lily - When did you start writing Literotica?

Cocoa - I started several years ago. After reading a copy of “Penthouse“ I became disenchanted with the sameness of the stories, thinking “I can write better than this” and have spent several years trying to prove that thought to myself. I think I have succeeded several times, but the jury is still out on some of them.

Lily - Well I would have to say you've been very successful in catpturing the readers attention.

What was your first story and what influenced it to be written?

Cocoa - Though not the first, I believe “A Debt Of Honor” was the most influential for a lot of reasons. I had to receive permission from my wife to write it, and she was actually surprised by its accuracy and detail of feelings, and enthusiastic about publishing it, as anonymously as possible of course. She considers it one of the best erotic stories I have written and has since encouraged me to continue in the erotica vein.

Lily - Sounds like your wife is quite a woman. I'm sure there are many who wish they had supporting spouses. You're a lucky man.

What/who was the influence - if any for the feature story?

Cocoa - An old classic movie I was watching on TCM gave me the idea, when the wealthy female star checked into a hotel and the next morning had breakfast with an old boyfriend. My mind began to wander and the premise was born. I wrote it some time ago and just recently re-edited it for publication. As I remember, I was not totally comfortable writing it and did several re-writes, including twenty or so edit sessions, before finishing it the first time, then several more edits just recently, before I was finally happy with it. It was difficult to get the interplay between the two main characters the way I wanted it to be, without too much arrogance on his part or complete mindless submission on hers, and much of my editing focused upon that challenge. I have not tried another in that style since.

Lily - Do you have one source of inspiration for your writings?

Cocoa - There are two main sources, either my reading, or my writing of other stories. In the middle of one of them I will suddenly be inspired to write about a particular segment of it, making it erotic. In some instances, I will have to abandon what I am reading or writing, to get the basics of my “inspiration” on “paper” so I can go back and concentrate on what I was originally doing.

Lily - Do you write a lot about fantasies that you have? If so, do you find that they are less or more desired after being written about?

Cocoa - I have written about fantasies, but not often. I would say it makes little difference unless my wife reads one and decides to make it happen, which she actually did one time.
Say … that gives me an idea … Hmmmm.

Lily - *smile* I can't wait to read about this idea! Well.. I guess that's if you plan to write about it. We just love details here - you know that.

Do you engage in cybersex/phone sex at all? Meaning more so.. are you open to the ideas and are you currently taken in that area?

Cocoa - Phone sex not at all. I have never had an opportunity or an inclination. I am not familiar with cyber sex and am unsure what you mean by “taken in that area.”. I must be “cyber sex” challenged.

Lily - Meaning... do you have one person that fills your needs in the cyber world? It seems there are many people who prefer to develop an intimate relationship with one person vs trying to find someone to meet your sexual cyber needs. Anyway... keep us posted if you do decide to dabble a bit! Besides, being a cyber virgin is a HUGE turn on to some of us gals! *wink*

Lily - Do you have any advice for the other authors here that you think would be helpful to them?

Cocoa - Yes. Edit, edit, edit, and edit again. Stop for several days then edit some more. In my experience, the true beauty and character of a story is developed in the editing, not the original writing. I get frustrated with myself, sometimes, for not editing enough. I have seen too many great ideas which are poorly written as stories and could have been outstanding, had someone taken the time to re-write some areas and edit the content. As writers, we need to remember, if the reader doesn’t “get it” in most cases, it is our fault.

Lily - Do you have any advice to offer a potential writer that is tyring to put it all on paper?

Cocoa - I believe a writer should begin writing about what they know, what makes them feel comfortable, while they develop their ability. Wait until later to fulfill a desire to write about an unfamiliar topic, and when they finally do, research the hell out of it. Not only will they learn a great deal, their storytelling will improve in the process.

Next, read all the suggestions and tips they can. A good place to start is here on this site at “Writers Corner” the topic “Guide for (Amateur) Writers of Erotica.” Lushi also has some good tips in “How to Write a Short Story.” and there are many sites on the “net” offering guides for writing.

Finally, do not get discouraged if others do not like their first attempts. I still write many that I trash in frustration (and, I suspect, some think some of my published stories deserve the same fate) A better example might be one of my heroes, Edgar Allen Poe. Most of his stories are brilliant, but if one reads his entire works, there are several which are really not that good.

Lily - What are you working on now and when can we expect it to be published?

Cocoa - Interesting that you asked. I had just begun a re-write of “The Night Before Christmas” when I saw Nightwatcher’s excellent version recently published, and have delayed my thoughts on my own version for another time.

I am currently finishing two stories (not erotic) for other venues. One is a “Sci-fi” story, the other a short non-fiction story about Proxima Centauri, the nearest star to our sun. It was during this writing when I was inspired to write “What Are the Odds?” published here last month. To the point, however, I have nothing in the works currently, but am reviewing my archives for a story which may fit, or at least an idea to develop.

Lily - You write in many different areas of erotica.. is there one that you enjoy more than the rest?

Cocoa - Not really. There are areas I do not write in, such as anything fully gay or lesbian, since I know very little about those subjects, and s&m, bondage, etc. do not interest me. I have said before, I do not attempt to write a particular story to fit into a particular theme, but when writing, I tend to get stuck on a specific genre for several stories, then move on to another, then another, and I don’t know why that happens. I have recently been on a “humor” binge, and I’m not sure how long that will last.

Lily - Thank you so much for spending some time with me and offering the readers a little more insight about who you are. You are very talented and a very classy, handsome man with a very supportive wife. Wow, I must say, what most every man wants.

Thanks again Cocoa. *shakes your hand* we are very happy to have you as part of mindspired!

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