Indie author L. M. Allen has just published Lay Me Bare, the first in a planned trilogy of erotic romance novels that dare to break with the tired conventions of the genre. To mark this, we caught up with her to find out 10 things that readers should know about her. 

Lay me bare

Lay me bare

Author L. M. Allen
Author L. M. Allen

1. I share the same editor as one of the world's bestselling erotic romance authors.

When I decided to start writing my own trilogy of erotic romance novels, I must have read a small library. All in the name of research, obviously. So, when it came time to find an editor I went back through the books I felt were similar in writing style and contacted a very talented lady, Selina, who had edited bestselling British erotic romance author Jodi Ellen Malpas's This Man series. I was so nervous when I sent the manuscript over to her! I was fully expecting a 'don't give up your day job', but what she actually sent me was much more useful.

2. I decided to write an erotic romance novel that was deliberately different from the norm.

Don't get me wrong, I love Fifty Shades as much as the next woman. But I must have read that story one hundred times over now in one guise or another. I wanted something that was very different but just as hot. You won't find any ‘doms’ or ‘submissives’ in my work. At all.

3. I’m part Native American.

My grandmother married my grandfather just after the Second World War. He was stationed in the UK at an airbase in Northamptonshire from the United States.

Shortly after their marriage, they moved to his hometown in Oklahoma and had five children. It was my grandfather’s mother that was Native American and she actually appears on the Dawes Roll, aged two. (The Dawes Roll was a census of Native American tribes.)

I don’t know an awful lot about that side of my family since my nan moved back to the UK with my mum when she was just six months old, but I’d love to visit and find out more about my American cousins. 

4. I’m also part Romany Gypsy.

Yep. I’m a proper mongrel! My fathers’ maternal family, if you go back a couple of generations, were water gypsies, so of course, my dad is totally convinced that they were Peaky Blinders!

Again, I don’t really know much about them, except that my great grandmother on that side of the family used to read tea leaves and they worked on barges. I imagine them sleeping under the stars and telling ghost stories around a crackling fire. I also suppose it’s why I’ve moved around so much myself.

5. My dad was born in a workhouse.

Seriously! He was born in the early fifties to a single mother. Life was very different then. My nan was a very tough woman. She took absolutely zero nonsense, but she made the best cup of tea in the world.

She worked in a shoe factory in Northampton, with my grandparents on the other side of my family. They all knew each other and worked together. Northampton is famous for its shoes and I’m proud that they all worked in the industry.

6. I originally intended to be a children's author.

I still might be one day! I have one in mind but it turns out I'm better at writing erotic fiction.  Who knew?

7. I prefer animals to people.

I love dogs and horses in particular. What’s not to love? Speed and power with one, and soft, snuggly play time with the other. Way better than people, in my opinion.

My dogs are border collies (far too clever for their own good!), and they love flyball and agility. I’ve also taught them to play hide and seek with doggy chocolate buttons. They one hundred percent cheat!

I started riding aged about six and have been hooked ever since. I’d spend every school holiday up to my knees in mud and muck, having the time of my life, early mornings ‘n’ all.

8. I love to dance!

This is something I’ve done since childhood. I even did a few years of majorettes which means I am dangerous with a pool cue.

These days I drop into a local salsa class whenever I get the chance, but it’s mainly me boogying around the kitchen while cooking dinner, singing into a wooden spoon with the door firmly shut!

Lay Me Bare
Lay Me Bare

9. I'm now hard at work on turning my novel into a trilogy.

The trilogy is essentially already written. First drafts anyway. However, the editing process for book one made some fairly huge changes and so the next two books need to reflect those. I'm working on book two right now, getting into the head of my male love interest, Will Hunter, and pulling out his secrets.

10. I'm the creator of a new online marketing platform for self-published authors.

E-Lectory  is a social sharing platform for authors and readers. I'm pulling my hair out building that as we speak, but it'll be worth it. The idea is very simple: readers share a pre-made post relating to the author or book they're reading to unlock the rest of the book. Free books for readers and social media reach for authors. It's a win-win.

‘Lay Me Bare’ by L. M. Allen is out now on Amazon and Apple Books, priced £3.99 as an eBook. Visit www.authorlmallen.co.uk