Writer's Note -- Does erotica HAVE to have a thick story? As we continue to shop Heart of Death and The Portalz, I am reflecting on the evolution of my stories and how they grew from where they began. Both stories were largely erotica based when I started, Portalz in particular, which was called spirit Gum then. Because of this, I focused on creating sexual tension and sexy scenes primarily. Character development was important but not seen as relevant to the action. In most erotic art communities I hung out in, plotlines were light at best. Busty elves and monsters--oh my! Think porn--no one is even gonna say that porn has to be WAR AND PEACE, cause, let's face it, people aren't viewing to have their brains tickled. Same thing with erotica. It makes me laugh when people go on and on about storylines in erotica like they have to be award winning fiction. Indeed, I don't see erotica ever winning any literary awards no more than DEBBIE DOES THE PIZZA BOY will win an Oscar. The point of erotica is the same as porn -- to sexually excite. If it manages to do that it has done it's job, no matter how poorly the tale may be written by other literary standards. With this thought in mind, I focused on sex and not so much on cultivating the storyline. As time went on however, I really got into the characters and found that I wanted to make the stories more "character driven". Portalz and HOD slowly moved from the realm of strict erotica to what one may call an erotic drama or as my agent calls them "fantasy operas". From there, to an erotic dramatic fantasy. This put it in place of being able to be on TV as it were and places like, I dunno--maybe STAZ *cough, cough*. So, now we are in a realm of a character driven narrative and I love it. I have always been a dialogue and character driven writer with other genres, so why not this genre as ell. To that end, I see my stuff more like a Dark Shadows or Next Generation style fantasy opera. Magic is a supporting character it is not the primary focus. I love Lord of the Rings and such, but I prefer tales that delve into the hearts of men and aren't particularly action driven ( which is probably why I preferred the first LOTR although I loved them all.) There are gonna be those who are drawn to the concept who wonder why there isn't a magic fight every five seconds. To them, I will point them to Narutu or Dragon Ball Z and tell them to have a nice day. That ain't what I am doing and plenty of that stuff exists. At the end of the day, I am doing my thang--and I love it.