Django Wexler

As you may or may not know, I have a story in an anthology of SFF coffeehouse erotica from Circlet Press called COFFEE: HOT. We’ve got each of the authors in the book to interview another, and now it’s my turn to ask questions of R. Ann Sawyer. (Here’s the interview of me by Kristin Noone.)

Let’s get started!

How did you get involved with this anthology? “SFF erotica set in coffeehouses” is an awfully specific topic – how did this story come to be?

I love Circlet, and have been published by them before, so I was watching their anthology offerings when I saw this story prompt post. I have two small children, so coffee is an absolutely necessary part of my life, and I thought it would be fun to play with erotica that had the bitter sweet bite of coffee.

For the scene itself, I was a little stuck. I asked a good friend what she was in the mood to read, and she requested some hot smuggler/lawperson action. I couldn’t figure out why someone would be smuggling coffee in the modern world, though, so I decided to play around in a sci-fi world–and the rest happened so fast it shocked me. I wrote the first draft of the story in about four hours.

Your story is definitely science fiction – is that your genre of choice? Is there anything in SF that you particularly like for erotica?

This is actually my first foray into any kind of sci-fi; I’m much more comfortable in the worlds of dark fantasy or urban fantasy. I loved sci-fi when I was a kid, but fell out of touch with the community as I got older. I’ve been slowly worming my way back in, finding progressive sci-fi that includes a broader sort of fan than some of what I read when I was a kid.

Do you do both erotica and non-erotica writing? If so, is it hard to transition between the two?

My day job is as a content and copywriter for a variety of clients. I’ve tried to write fiction without any kind of erotic element, but I love writing about relationships and people, and I also really love writing about sex. Even when I try to behave myself, someone ends up touching someone else. I lead a hard life (not really).

And of course: how do you like your coffee?

Way too much sugar and milk. I’m ashamed of myself. I managed a coffee shop within a bookstore for several years, and I know all the reasons why coffee should be served black, but I just can’t.

I have a deep love of cold brew, and rarely drink my coffee hot unless it’s the depths of winter. I have been known to curl up with my laptop, fingerless mitts keeping my hands warm, blanket around my shoulders, and still I’m drinking iced coffee.