Fun Facts about Erika Pike

By Erika Pike (Guest Blogger)

[When I signed up with Erika to do a post on her blog as part of my Quarantine blog tour, she introduced me to her "ten fun facts" format. I thought it was so much fun, I asked her to do one for me! ~ Lisabet]

Thank you, Lisabet, for having me over!

I’m Erica Pike, but before we start it just so happens that today, on July 7th, my College Fun and Gays short story, Grade-A-Sex Deal, is available for FREE! This is only today, it’ll be back up for sale tomorrow. So go on, click the link and download it :)

Here are some fun facts about my books and writing:

My books inspire me! *Gasp*

The Walls Have Ears was inspired by the first erotic scene in A Life Without You, where Jesse and Adam masturbate on either side of a wall, all hot and bothered because they can hear each other.

Before I got signed…

I had written all but one publisher-published books that will be published this year. I’m currently working up a stash for next year. This is why it looks like I’ve been churning out books.

My stories are my life. Literally.

I relate to each of my stories in some way. In A Life Without You it’s Adam’s obsessive thinking (though mine wasn’t about a guy) and immaturity; in Absolutely Eric it’s the slow development of a dysfunctional relationship (I didn’t realize it until the relationship was over); in Hot Hands it’s being bullied; in Grade-A-Sex Deal it’s the depression; in The Walls Have Ears it’s the anxieties and insecurities (and a bit of stuttering); in Little Stalker it’s the questioning of sexuality; in Cold Skin it’s working through the difficult experience of being bullied; in Half-Baked Promises it’s the return to a small home town I couldn’t wait to leave in the first place. Okay, I don’t really relate to anything in In His Pocket, but it’s so short and was written just for fun.

They may be serious topics, but…

To make the serious topics in my stories more readable, I spice them up with humor.

Are gay men all about the sex?

Some reviewers say that I think gay men are all about the sex. I say that college guys do think about sex a lot - come on, you can’t deny that! That goes for gay AND straight guys. But I most certainly don’t think gay men in general are all about the sex. This brings me to…

I write gay male erotic romance!

If I were writing male/female erotic romances, I would be writing the exact same amount of sex with the same explicit scenes, but no one would ever accuse me of thinking m/f relationships were all about the sex. So for me, it’s not about the sexuality, it’s about the genre and what readers expect from that genre.

What people like and don’t like…

In my series of short stories, College Fun and Gays, I try to release a light/funny story after a heavier one. Grade-A-Sex Deal is serious, so is Little Stalker, but the ones on either side of those are lighter, with more humor. I’ve discovered that people don’t like the serious ones so much, so I might stick with humorous ones in the future (and tuck in the serious issues). People also seem to like sweet stories, so I might lean more in that direction - not that I’m trying to write only what people like, I also like writing sweet and funny. But I am writing for myself AND my lovely fans.

I am my characters…for a while…

I write from a single point of view and it’s hard for me to get out of character after I’ve finished writing a manuscript. I’m stuck in their humor and mindset for a while after. Is that weird? Eric, in Absolutely Eric, was the hardest to shake off.

His opinions, not mine!

My characters and I sometimes don’t share opinions and views. I hope readers understand that. I don’t, for example, believe that as a gay man, you can’t use “shopping” and “hate” in the same sentence, as Eric jokes to Alex in Absolutely Eric. Those are Eric’s views. I happen to know a gay man who abhors shopping. I do know another who loves it though, but then I know straight guys who love shopping as well. It’s to do with the person, not the sexuality.

Racial diversity.

I include non-Caucasians/ethnic people in my books. This really has nothing to do with me trying to be politically correct, it has more to do with me finding non-Caucasians/ethnicity attractive/interesting. That might have something to do with blue eyes, fair skin and blond hair being very common in Iceland. In fact, I was one such until my hair grew dark in my twenties. You can’t imagine how happy I was with my long dark hair! So yeah, opposites attracts and all that.

Okay, this has been fun!

You can find information about my books on my webpage: www.ericapike.com. My latest release is Absolutely Eric (Boston Boys #2). It’s the second in the series, but it can be read as a standalone. Well, technically, my latest release is the short story, Half-Baked Promises. It’s a FREE read, so go ahead ˆ.ˆ

If you’re curious about me, I have a:

Webpage/Blog

Facebook page

Twitter account

Goodreads page

Amazon page

[By the way, don't forget that all your comments at Beyond Romance in July count as entries toward the grand prize in my Quarantine blog tour! ~ Lisabet]