Writing Erotica At The Age Of 80

How I came to write an erotic romance novel at age 80 by Peggy Hinaekian

There is the misconception that women lose their sexuality as they grow older. Well, I proved everyone wrong by writing a somewhat erotic romance novel at age 80. People might think it strange that I chose eroticism as a subject  Why not? When I presented my novel last year in Geneva, Switzerland, the local newspaper put my photo on the front page and dubbed me “Naughty grandmother”.

I had to reach the ripe old age of 80 to become a celebrity.

I am of Armenian origin and was born and raised in Egypt.

Fortunately, I have done most of the things I have wanted to do in life despite my traditional upbringing. I was considered a rebel. Writing is my fifth career. I was a secretary in Egypt, a model in Montreal, a fashion designer in Manhattan and a well established internationally recognized artist/painter in Europe and the U.S. I have been married for 45 years. I have always believed that when one wants something badly enough one gets it at the end. One should focus on one’s dreams however impossible they might seem to be.

There was one thing, however, that I had always wanted to do and not yet done: Be a writer. I started writing many times but tore up the pages because what I wrote sounded phony and superficial. So, I let it go for a while and took up painting. I never gave up writing though and I just jotted down random thoughts on scraps of paper and kept a diary since age twelve.

The idea of writing this novel came to me in a strange way. I wanted to do a catalog of my etchings which are sensual and erotic in nature and decided to combine them with a novel. I wanted the story to be different from the usual romantic novels where the main characters are quite sweet and you can guess the ending after reading a couple of chapters.

Real-life is not like that. There is adventure, pain and loss. I invented a seductive heroine who is quite promiscuous.  And, why not? Men are often promiscuous whether married or not, so why should women not have the same urges and experience sex with different partners?  If you don’t love someone, but still enjoy his company, why not go to bed with him just for fun with no strings attached. It is called “friends with benefits” nowadays. But remember, this was Europe in the 1960s.

As for the cover of the book, I wanted it to be different and to stand out on a shelf. Almost all romance novels usually have the same type of illustration – an embracing couple. I therefore chose one of my etchings, entitled “Girl on a Flying Carpet” which fits the subject of the story as the heroine is flying from one man to the other.

Being outrageous by nature, I wanted my novel to be sexy and spicy and full of intrigue. I created a heroine who has love affairs with different men without actually loving them. Most women confuse love with sex. You may love one or two men in a lifetime but you can have sex with a lot of them.

I chose the setting of the story to be in Egypt of the 1950s and in Europe of the 1960s – a period of the full bloom of the Women’s Liberation movement.  Women were on the pill and there was no fear of AIDS then. These were happy and decadent times. The settings are very authentic as I have lived in the places described in my novel.

I do admit that some of the passages are autobiographical in nature. Writing is quite a hypnotic experience. The characters can do and say as the author wishes, however outrageous. No boss to tell you how to behave.  At one time I thought the computer was writing the story by itself as my thoughts came faster and faster.

The story is about a seductive young Lebanese woman called Julia, and her men. She is brought up in a traditional environment in Egypt and breaks away to have a career. After a failed first marriage she is in constant search for passion and wants to find a man of marriage material who is well educated, passionate, wealthy and exciting. A difficult find.

Most women know that passion flies out the window after marriage, and excitement ebbs as familiarity sets in. My heroine ends up in Switzerland where she has several boyfriends before falling in love and getting engaged with a suave Swiss banker. She has finally found her man. She then accidentally runs into an old flame whom she had met many years ago in Morocco. A seething love affair ensues and she is torn between her love for the two men who both want to marry her. Julia’s double life goes on for a few months until an unexpected event creates a dilemma.

It is a tale of love, passion and forgiveness.

Available on amazon.com with great reviews.

www.peggyhinaekian.com (the site includes my three books) – it is not yet operational but will be soon.

www.peggyhinaekian.artspan.com (my artist website)

 

OF JULIA AND MEN

The story of beautiful, seductive Julia—a young Middle Eastern woman—and her men, spanning three continents. After a failed first marriage, she is constantly in search of a man who would be husband mate-rial. She is engaged to be married to a Frenchman of noble ancestry.

During their year-end trip to Morocco, she meets an Argentinian grain merchant who pursues her. However, she is attracted to his son Luis, a dashing young man, seven years her junior. She rebuffs the father’s advances but does not forget the way Luis kissed her during an impromptu dance.

After having separated from her fiancé, she meets a prominent Swiss banker with whom she seriously contemplates marriage. She has finally met the love of her life. She now lives in Geneva and accidentally bumps into Luis. A seething, tumultuous love affair ensues and she is torn between her love for the two men who both want to marry her.

The banker offers her a stable future but she is rather doubtful about a volatile future with the much younger Luis. Her exhausting double life goes on for a few months until an unexpected event complicates her dilemma. In desperation she turns to her ex-husband who she coinci-dentally meets on a trip up the Nile. The story starts in Egypt of the 1950s and takes twists and turns through Morocco and Europe of the 1960s and ends in La Jolla, California with a surprise ending.

It is a story of passion, love and forgiveness.

BUY HERE

Tags: featured, women writers

Category: On Writing