I’ve always been suspicious (and not-so-quietly envious) of writers who can throw out a whole novel in a matter of weeks. When I come across others who’ve finally launched their story into the wild after much agonising, re-thinking and revision, I feel as if I’m among other mortal humans. I find that far more encouraging.
Big Ed Magusson is a seasoned author who is also fellow member of my online writing group, Storytime, over at the Erotica Readers and Writers’ Association. I’ve seen this story in its first iteration, and then later as a fully-developed novella, so I was delighted to see that it has finally gone into print.
Here’s the blurb!
Master James, seasoned Dom and gourmet extraordinaire, craves a taste of something new. The BDSM scene bores him the way warmed over scrambled eggs disgust him. Once known for his creative food play scenes, he now wonders why he’s even attending BDSM events at all.
Submissive Sapphira, also food obsessed, seeks a strong guiding hand. Emotionally expressive and with a fondness for spankings, she’s heard the tales of Master James and hopes he still ‘has it.’
James happily shows her how food, spankings, and bondage can delightfully mix. But to win her heart, he must overcome his scars from the past and her secret compulsion, while walking the line between too much control and not enough.
I caught up with Big Ed a few days ago to see how he’s doing now that ‘Hungry’ is available for purchase.
Emotionally and psychologically, ‘Hungry’ seems incredibly real to me. Did you find this story prodding you and hassling you until you got it written?
Ed: Absolutely, as you well know. 😉 This story started out with the vision of James walking into the dungeon in Chapter One. I based it on the Thunder in the Mountains BDSM convention, which has had a huge play room in the evenings. Before I knew it, my subconscious had introduced him to Sapphira and we were off.
So nice to have such a cooperative subconscious!
Ed: Originally, the story was a novella (the current Part One). But after sharing that with ERWA and others, I realized the story wasn’t really done. We had a happy-for-now ending, but it was awfully quick.
Your story shows James overcoming an unimaginative slump and bringing himself back to life as the revered Dom he once was. Redemption and self-reinvention are themes that will resonate with a lot of readers, though a tiny proportion will find themselves walking in James’ shoes in their lifetime. Many a writer may need help being hauled from the depths, though. What’s your best advice for people suffering writer’s block?
Ed: We have two ‘types’ of thinking: creative mind and analytical mind. The critic lives in the analytical mind. Most of the time when I see someone who’s blocked, it’s because they can’t make the transition to creative mind and let the subconscious spill out through their fingers. You have to shut that front part of your brain up. There are a lot of ways to do this, from setting the mood (background music, etc.) when you write, to giving yourself permission to have a ‘crappy first draft’ (if that’s what the analytical mind is scared of), to simply writing every day at the same time so it becomes a reflex.
The big one that works for me is switching stories. If I’m blocked on a particular story and don’t know what comes next, I’ll go write something else. That usually frees up the stress and then a week or two later, I’ll be in the shower and go “Oh! That’s what comes next in the first story!”
What was the first thing you got published?
Ed: Ever? An article for a game magazine when I was in junior high. Under this pen name, my first sale was “A Mall Tale” to Ruthie’s Club, about a middle-aged guy who gets rewarded for covering for a young woman having sex with her boyfriend in a changing room.
James is allowed five items to make up his Dom’s treasure chest. To make his dreams come true – what’s he allowed to put in there?
Ed: James would want a blindfold and his gloves. That’d give him the most flexibility for teasing his sub and for administering over-the-knee spankings. After that, he’d probably add handcuffs. The last two would be food of some sort, and the exact food would depend on the scene he had planned. He’s particularly partial to very flavorable bites that are hard to eat while handcuffed. 😉
If you could learn any foreign language fluently in six hours through dodgy science, which would you pick?
Ed: French. I’m the only one in my household that can’t speak it.
For me it would be Dutch so I could do a better job of teaching my son, and cope better while visiting the out-laws! Okay – so with ‘Hungry’ on the loose, what’s your next project?
The next project out of the gate will be a mainstream fantasy novel under a different name (which means, alas, I can’t talk about it here). As for erotica–that’s hard to say. If something grabs me like James does, that’s next. Otherwise, I expect to dabble here and there as the mood strikes.
Happy dabbling, and thanks for talking to me! Keep me posted on that mainstream fantasy novel.
Folks – this is a great read. Buy links and cover immediately below 🙂
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Hungry-Big-Ed-Magusson-ebook/dp/B076VLTMXS/
Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Hungry-Big-Ed-Magusson-ebook/dp/B076VLTMXS/
Amazon Canada: https://www.amazon.ca/Hungry-Big-Ed-Magusson-ebook/dp/B076VLTMXS/
Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/hungry-24
Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/hungry-big-ed-magusson/1127308462
Sam Thorne Scribblings 