My Sexy Valentine Series - Sascha Illyvich

Our final day of the My Sexy Valentine promo is a special one. Why you the ask? Because it brings the editor of the hottest anthology this year to my blog... *laughs*


Sascha Illyvich, writer and editor extrordinaire has been kind enough to answer these questions for me. I do appreciate it too, since i know the man is busy. (He puts up with me) ;) Anyway, here he is giving answers the only way that he can, Sascha style... enjoy...

MM: This anthology you put together is indeed a great mix. Is that what you were going for? No two stories are the same.

Sascha: Yup. I wanted something diverse enough for sales purposes and something that the readers would take away a piece of the author with each story.

MM: About how many submissions did you have for this anthology?

Sascha: Enough j/k

MM: The writers all look up to you and appreciate your honesty and kind feedback. Would you like to work with these same four writers again?

Sascha: I like to work with any author willing to shut his or her mouth and listen to experience, act on it and at the same time willing to ask questions and try new ideas on me. I’ve been around a long time and have been where you are, where you will be. But I’m not so jaded that I can’t recognize that there are more than one road to Rome.

MM: What anthology is next on the list?

Sascha: Our Erotic Bondage Anthology! We wants stories of love, eros, complications of the heart, and BONDAGE! Creative bondage works best from what sales say, but what I want specifically is stories about love and how bondage plays a part in that love. Why or how is it integral to the story? How does it help or hinder the romantic conflict?

MM: From a personal standpoint with your own writing what is coming up?

Sascha: Forced Pleasure is the working title of two novella of BDSM romance. In the first story, Francine is overstressed and the only relief is her boss. With her dominant out of town, Micah feels he can address the growing heat between them using domination until he realizes she’s getting too close to her heart. Fed up with his games, Francine finds her way to one of San Francisco’s hottest bondage/Goth clubs and stirs the passion of a younger man. When he leads her away to a private room, she finds herself surrounded by him, her boss and her Dominant. Can the foursome come to some sort of agreement in dealing with Francine’s stress levels and Micah’s need for her in his heart?

In the second story, young Gawith has been trained by Nick and Micah, forced to submit along with Francine in order to make him a better Dominant. At twenty seven, he’s more sure of himself than the average young man until he meets Samantha, an older woman willing to submit to him even as she tests his boundaries. In a previous edge play scene, he royally screws up but vows with Francine’s help to re-establish his dominance over Samantha and give her what she deserves through forced submission; his heart. This is for Sizzler Intoxications.

The other story I’m working on will be sent probably to another house when Saritza has looked at it. But it’ll be based loosely on Bing Crosby and Bob Hope’s movie “The Road to Singapore.” I’m even going for comedic effect AND ménage!

Find more at http://saschaillyvichauthor.com

MM: When doing a collection such as this one, do you have tough choices as far as who to not accept?

Sascha: I don’t accept poor work, authors that can’t follow directions and those who are not willing to grow. It’s never a tough choice.

MM: What do you want readers to take out of this anthology?

Sascha: That’s up to the individual authors as they wrote them. My overall theme was a celebration of Valentine’s Day, one of the two holidays I still LIKE! The other thing I wanted to get across to my readers is the new (talented) blood in the industry that we BADLY need along with some old hat authors to guide and expose their audiences. I think I did all right J/k

MM: As an editor, what kind of stories do you look for to put in your collections or at Sizzler?

Sascha: It’s an easy choice for me. I want authors to push personal writing boundaries, I want them to bleed and sweat for their work and I want their characters to grow throughout the story but most importantly I want stories that stir the heart as well as the groin. We’re talking erotic romance here so the romantic conflict is key to defining the story . I want stories that could come from authors who may eventually win RITAs or be nominated for RT awards.

Thank you Sascha for that great Q & A. This has truly been fun, listening to all the other authors as well as our editor, and learning new things. I have never had so much fun being part of an anthology. It is the closest knit group I have ever worked with. I hope that we will get the chance again.

Readers, thank you for following, hope you enjoyed this series and don't forget to go buy the book!