feature
Happy
Black
S
ince its auspicious start in 1993, over
the past 15 years Black Lace has
emerged as the leading purveyor of
erotic fiction for women. By publishing a
series of books based on female sexuality,
Black Lace has single-handedly created a
whole new genre of fiction written for wom-
The fact all of their writers are guaranteed to
be women has been a valuable aspect of their
marketing strategy
en, by women, and to date has sold over
four million books worldwide.
When Black Lace originally launched
amidst a media furore, one Sunday tabloid
branded them ‘disgusting’ and accused
them of corrupting the nation’s women. But
the shops were selling their books by the
truckload and the first four titles had to be
reprinted five times in one month to keep up
with demand. They have now had over four
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hundred titles published and are translated
into all manner of languages, indicating that
the nation’s women were pretty keen to be
corrupted.
Black Lace accept submissions from
female authors only, with no exceptions, as
they argue that, in this genre, authors tend
to write better for their own gender. The fact
that all of their writers are guaranteed to be
women has also been a valuable aspect of
their marketing strategy. ‘Although some
Black Lace books are read by men,’ they
say, ‘they are designed to appeal to women
in terms of both image and content.’
The past few years have seen a number
of changes in British society regarding wom-
en and sexuality and since the publication
20/3/08 10:30:49
 Birthday
Lace
Rhalou Allerhand celebrates
15 years of Britain’s
groundbreaking erotic
imprint for women

>>
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feature
of the first Black Lace book 15 years ago,
erotic fiction has also changed significantly.
A whole range of new influences, technolo-
gies and media has affected sexual habits,
lifestyles and opportunities for women and
Black Lace have followed suit. They explain,
‘Our editorial policy has sharpened to keep
pace with the demands of the market, and
our guidelines, image and preferred writing
styles have changed considerably from the
early days. Black Lace will continue to be
a broad church in terms of storylines and
characters, but the bottom line is the actual
writing.’
Winner of the 1997 Erotic Writer Of The
Year Award, Cleo Cordell wrote one of
the earliest Black Lace novels, The Cap-
tive Flesh. ‘I never expected to be writing
erotica,’ she says. ‘A member of my writing
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group saw an article in a newspaper, inviting
writers to submit partials for a new imprint,
which would be Virgin Publishing’s Black
Lace. It specified that women only should
apply, as the list would be “erotica written for
women by women”. I sat down and started
writing and then sent in three chapters and
an outline of The Captive Flesh. Two days
later, the editor phoned me and commis-
sioned the book. I had found that I had an
aptitude for writing erotica. It was as much
a surprise to me as anyone!’
More women than ever are reading and
writing erotica and fighting their corner in
what has traditionally been seen as a male
preserve. Cleo went on to write seven erotic
novels for Black Lace. ‘It was really excit-
ing and hugely enjoyable to be part of this
groundbreaking new list and I think a lot of
the earlier writers got caught on the crest of
this wave of enthusiasm. Ideas seemed to
flow easily and inspiration came from eve-
rywhere; my own fertile imagination, fanta-
sies which friends shared with me, watching
films and reading other erotic novels — all
the usual places where writers get ideas.’
Black Lace have maintained their con-
sistently high level of original and well-writ-
ten fiction. As they say, ‘We’ve always fa-
voured writing that hits the ground running,
takes no prisoners and entertains as well as
arouses its audience. Some titles could eas-
ily be classified as literary, others are popu-
list — we just publish the best erotica we
see that is written by women.’
‘I think Black Lace was so successful be-
cause it touched the pulse of the time,’ says
Cleo. ‘Women were ready to explore their
fantasies within the pages of a book, which
is so much more intimate and stimulating to
the female imagination than the rawness of
20/3/08 10:33:57
 “butcher’s slab” porn on a screen. I think most
women enjoy a measure of subtlety in their
love lives. They prefer to be teased and tick-
led with a feather than slapped with the whole
darn chicken. Which is why I think that wom-
en write better for women. Being women, we
understand what goes on in women’s minds.
The brain, after all, is the most sensitive erog-
enous zone.’
Portia Da Costa, one of the original writers
for Black Lace and a long-time Forum con-
tributor, agrees. ‘I think Black Lace has been
so successful maybe because they were the
first to publish erotica specifically for women
and they established a quality reputation
that’s stood the test of time. I think women
writers understand the minds of women read-
ers much better.’
Although Portia has written erotica exten-
sively, she admits that she’s a romantic novel-
ist at heart. ‘When I started out I had trouble
breaking into the extremely tough romance
I wrote about pure fantasies. That’s really what
erotica is all about
market. Then, a writing advisor friend recom-
mended that I try writing erotica because she
thought that I wrote brilliant sex scenes, and I
might have a flair for erotic writing. She reck-
oned that I’d stand a better chance of becom-
ing published if I shifted focus… I’m actually
writing erotic romance now, so I’ve returned
to my first love, but with a twist. I much prefer
erotic romance to straight erotica. I’ve always
enjoyed writing about emotions and giving my
black lace.indd 75
characters happily ever afters.’
Portia has found tapping into your emo-
tions is the key to writing good erotic fiction.
She says, ‘To someone considering writing
erotica, I would advise that they read the gen-
re extensively, and when you’re writing, con-
centrate on the emotions, not the plumbing.’
To keep pace with an increasingly sophis-
ticated audience, Black Lace books have
moved with the times and developed consid-
erably over the past 15 years. ‘In the Nine-
ties,’ they recall, ‘we published many stories
with historical themes, but at the start of the
new millennium our readership wanted up-
beat contemporary stories with loads of out-
rageous sex — in line with cultural trends and
lifestyle changes heralded by the Sex And The
City phenomena, and that’s just what we gave
them.’
Georgina Brown wrote The Stallion for
Black Lace in 1995 and went on to edit the
first nine titles for Xcite Books, an imprint
featuring erotic short stories. ‘It took guts to
start writing erotica, but I did it,’ she says.
‘My daughter thought it was cool. My hus-
band reckoned he was responsible for the re-
search. Now that is fiction! I started because
it was a new market and the time was ripe. I
wrote about pure fantasies. That’s really what
erotica is all about.
‘Black Lace broke the mould, did the re-
search and their marketing was second to
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 none. I think it’s elementary that women write
better for women. Women empathise with
women. Men are from Mars, after all…’
Georgina agrees that societal views have
changed somewhat. ‘People’s attitudes to
sexuality have changed over the past 15
years. Sex is everywhere; television, adver-
tising, mainstream novels and of course the
Internet. It’s accessible.’
But she argues that well written erotica re-
mains the same. ‘I hear tale that erotica has
changed over the past 15 years, but I don’t
really think so. Not the good stuff… To some-
one considering writing erotica, I’d say go for
it. It’s a great way of letting loose and you can’t
let loose and enter characters unless you can
be incisive about your own. This isn’t about
writing dirty, it’s about telling a story.’
Roxanne Carr was another one of the im-
print’s launch authors and wrote various nov-
els for Black Lace including Black Orchid and
Avenging Angels. ‘I was writing romance fic-
Most women like emotional connection in their
erotica as well as all the squelchy bits
tion and discovered that I was good at go-
ing “beyond the bedroom door”,’ she says. ‘I
just gave free rein to the feminine side of my
imagination.’
She agrees that the policy of women writ-
ing for women owes to the books’ success.
‘Black Lace was the first imprint from a main-
stream publisher that made it okay for women
to like reading about sex. Having proofread
many novels by both sexes, I can honestly say
black lace.indd 77
that it’s a rare man who can accurately imag-
ine the female experience of sex. Male writers
tend to be too anatomical and in too much of
a hurry to get to the climax of the scene.
‘To write good erotica you shouldn’t take
yourself too seriously, except in terms of be-
ing professional — meeting deadlines etc.
Take time to set the scene and involve all the
senses and don’t forget emotional response.
Finally, never underestimate the power of sex-
ual tension… I believe that most women like
emotional connection in their erotica as well
as all the squelchy bits.’
Fredrica Alleyn wrote Cassandra’s Conflict,
the first published Black Lace book, and went
on to write various novels including Fiona’s
Fate and Deborah’s Discovery. ‘I thought the
idea of erotic fiction for women by women
was a fascinating concept, and wanted to be
part of it,’ she admits.
Fredrica also took an original approach to
her research. ‘I got my female friends to come
round for evenings of wine and chat, and per-
suaded them to talk about the kind of thing
that they would like to read about in erotic fic-
tion, and also to say what they did not want to
read about. They were my inspiration. I didn’t
use any previously published erotic works be-
cause I wanted the books to be entirely differ-
ent from anything that had been done before.
The only book that influenced me at all was
Jane Eyre, because so many of my friends
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feature

said that the relationship between Jane and
Rochester was one that they found very
sexy. So, in Cassandra’s Conflict, I did use
the premise of a governess and her employ-
er, but there all similarity between the two
books ends!’
She agrees that Black Lace has been so
successful because women’s erotica tends
from throughout Black Lace’s history, along-
side a revelatory new book of sexual fanta-
sies, so look out for the original authors. ‘I
believe there are still women out there who
would enjoy these books but haven’t yet
discovered them,’ says Fredrica. ‘Hopefully
this anniversary will bring the books to the
attention of a new group of readers, who

The right atmosphere, the right chemistry and a

good storyline with believable characters are a
vital part of a good erotic novel
to be more emotive. ‘Women write better for were too young to appreciate them at the
women because women understand that for time of the launch.’
them the right atmosphere, the right chem-
istry and a good storyline with believable For more details of the complete Black Lace
characters are a vital part of a good erotic booklist, including the 15th anniversary spe-
novel. On the whole, men write in a more cial editions and The New Black Lace Book
basic way, and frequently use language that Of Women’s Sexual Fantasies, visit www.
turns women off rather than turning them blacklace-books.co.uk.
on. A lot of women find the use of certain
words very unsexy.’
Fredrica has also found that times have
changed. ‘I think people are more broad-
minded now. In general they tend to accept
people for who they are, regardless of their
sexual preferences, which is a good thing,
as it means that everyone can be more
open about their feelings. There is still a long
way to go before this is totally true, but the
situation is far better than it was 15 years
ago. I think it’s absolutely terrific that Black
Lace is still going strong after 15 years, and
I’m tremendously proud to have been one of
the four launch authors.’
To celebrate their 15th anniversary, Vir-
gin Books are reprinting a range of the most
popular and groundbreaking classic titles

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