Author Alexa J. Day on writing her erotic story "Just Inappropriate"

Alexa J. Day is the author of the novels Passing Through and 1-800 and describers herself in her bio as a writer who "loves stories with just a touch of the inappropriate and heroines who are anything but innocent. Her literary mission is to stimulate the intellect and libido of her readers. She lives in central Virginia with her cats." Find out more about her at alexajday.com and follow her on Twitter @alexajday on Instagram @alexajday and on Facebook.

How long have you been writing erotica? How and why did you get started?

I’m not sure how long I’ve been writing erotica! I know I’ve been writing sexy romance stories for many years because I wanted to see stories where the heroine could have a full and rewarding sex life and still find happiness in a long-term relationship. Eventually, I started writing stories that focused more on the sex and what sex taught my characters, what sex could do to them, and how sex changed them and the way they moved through all their relationships. I really wanted to pay more attention to how sex played a role in the character’s lives beyond any one relationship, and that journey into erotica has been really rewarding.

What was the inspiration for your story “Just Inappropriate” in Best Women's Erotica of the Year, Volume 5?

It occurred to me that a lot of people are more comfortable sharing a sexual fantasy with a complete stranger than with someone they’re in a relationship with. I really wanted to explore the idea of the improper fantasy, something we’re tempted to hide from a partner. Everyone has a fantasy that their partner doesn’t know about, and I thought, what if sharing it made things hotter for both parties?

How does your story relate to the book's outrageous theme?

“Just Inappropriate” centers on a professor-student fantasy that’s inappropriate on a few levels, combining workplace fantasy with power imbalance fantasy with age disparity. I wanted it to be relatable on the one hand—an idea a lot of people have thought about privately—while at the same time, it’s something that would cause tremendous problems if anyone involved acted on it in reality.

What's your favorite line or paragraph from your story?

"Something darker waits back there, hidden away from me behind his placid eyes. I’ve been trying to get to his secret stash of fantasies for months, the closely guarded hoard of desires that he uses to gratify his powerful mind when he’s not in bed with me. He already knows everything I want. The dirty things I like to hear were just another language for him, something to practice and repeat until he achieved mastery of it, until even his thoughts were possessed by words no longer foreign.

I want a chance to become fluent in his language, but first I must hear him speak it."

What were the most enjoyable and most challenging parts of writing your story?

The double layer of consent presented a challenge for this story—I needed real-time consent and then an additional in-fantasy consent. I enjoyed handling that while maintaining the elements of power exchange that came into play. But the story touches on a lot of my favorite things, especially the notion that even the sweetest-looking people might have dark sexual fantasies. Anybody might be a pervert, and that’s such a lovely idea, isn’t it?

What are you working on next?

I have a lot of stories in the works right now, more couples’ stories and some erotic horror stories, too. Next in line, I have a postapocalyptic novella that I’m working on, with a political suspense story (if that’s even a thing) and a science fiction story right behind it. There’s a lot going on! I hope I can keep up.

Anything else to add?

It’s been so lovely to hear everyone’s kind words about my story! I really wanted it to be the sort of thing couples might read to each other, or maybe use as a jumping-off point for additional sexytimes. And I love being in Best Women’s Erotica of the Year, Volume 5 with such fantastic company! This is a wonderful group of authors and a wild mix of stories, and I’m proud and thankful to be included among them.