Back to Spotlight Interviews
How did you choose your pen name (and/or what does your pen name mean)?
My pen name coydelight means just that- shy/bashful joy. It is the best description of my personality that I can come up with. I used it once for e-mail address and it just stuck.
Why (and how) did you begin writing erotic fiction/poetry?
My writing has always bordered on erotic even without me intending it to be that way. When I would write short stories in junior high and high school, there was always a hot love scene somewhere in there. Then when I was older, a guy friend of mine gave me an anthology of erotic writing which I read from cover to cover. This was all new to me and I knew that this wasn’t the sort of thing you see every day, so there was a definite market for it. From then on my writing took a completely different turn.
How long have you been writing?
I have been writing poetry for fourteen years. It began with a poem I wrote for my fifth grade teacher. I have been writing short stories for maybe ten years. I have been writing seriously for more than six years.
How do you get ideas for your stories?
As much as I try not to make my writing autobiographical, I still find a lot of myself in the characters I create and the situations involved seem to always be derived from something I or someone close to me has experienced. I don’t feel that I can tell a good story if I have never worn that character’s shoes and I have never felt the emotion they are feeling. In most cases, these things are embellished a good bit, but there is still a lot of me there.
How long does it typically take to write a story?
I am a person who responds well to pressure. I absolutely need deadlines. Yes, I am a procrastinator, but I also need sudden bursts of inspiration. When I get it into my head to just sit down and do it, I can produce a well-written story in a day or so.
How do your stories reflect (or compare to) your real life experiences?
Anyone who knew me well would know that my stories parallel my life most of the time; the thing is there is no one person that knows me that well. I put a bit of myself in each of the characters. For instance, In Midnight Letter to Fran, I made Fran look like me, and I gave Pat my personality. The last story I wrote and have yet to publish, reflected my feelings and reactions to a situation I was going through with my husband, yet I made the male character look like an ex-boyfriend and act like my husband.
What stories (or creative projects) are you working on right now?
I have just finished a short story that is being considered for publication in an anthology and I have begun writing my first novel.
Have you published stories anywhere else? If yes, where?
Midnight Letter to Fran is being published in an anthology that is to be released on November 9, 2001.
When can we look forward to reading something else by you on Kuma?
I have written more letters between Fran and Pat, but have not published them on Kuma because I am deciding whether or not to turn them into a novel length project, but I have started one that I think I will submit soon.
If you had to choose, which one of your own stories published with Kuma would you say is your favorite?
Although I got the biggest response for Midnight Letter to Fran, my favorite is the second letter, A Breakdown of Sorts; I thought it was more detailed and well written.
Have you written under any other names on Kuma? If so, do you want to share that name with the audience? If yes, please list the items have you published with Kuma under that name.
No, I have only used Coydelight.
Tell us a little about your upcoming publication? (For instance, what is the name of the anthology, when will it be released, how did you go about getting your work published in an anthology, was there anything in particular about the process you would like to share?)
The name of the anthology is Best Bi Women’s’ Erotica edited by Cara Bruce and its expected release date is November 9, 2001. The editor just got in touch with me and told me that the publishers informed her that there are too many stories and they will have to remove some. I am hoping that Midnight Letter won’t be one of them. There was an open call for submissions. I am on a mailing list for open calls for poetry and short stories and that’s how I went about getting published.
Please tell us one thing you do for fun.
I really am a homebody. To me, reading and writing is fun. But every now and then my husband and I go bowling or play pool. I like to roller blade, but he can’t, so I don’t do that anymore either. But if I have to name one thing, I like to play wrestle with my husband. That’s major fun for me!