The not-so-secret lives of erotica writers

In some ways, erotica authors are just like the rest of the population. But not in every way.

Ebook recommendation website The Fussy Librarian recently surveyed 103 authors of erotic romance novels, with some interesting results.  The vast majority of respondents were heterosexual married women aged 24-54. The average age that they lost their virginity was 17.8, compared to the U.S. average of 17.1. 28% of them have had more than 11 partners, compared to the national average of 9%.

Apparently, erotica writers don’t have sex any more frequently than average Americans, but they are more likely to have engaged in threesomes, practiced BDSM, and had sex in unique locations such as offices, cars, planes, and outdoors.

Speaking of unique locations, the really salacious responses came when the survey asked respondents for the most unusual place they’ve had sex. Even just among these 103 people, folks have had sex on stage at a concert, on a horse, in a canoe, on a stack of drywall in a home under construction, in a cemetery, on the Haunted Mansion ride at Disney World, and… at The Louvre.

46% of respondents have had sex as “research” for a book, and 76% have based a scene in one of their books on something that actually happened to them. So, don’t worry about whether that hot scene you love was plucked out of the sky — it was more likely to have been based on a true experience!

Finally, in case you were wondering, respondents would rate the novel Fifty Shades of Grey 2.2 stars out of 5. Ouch.