Intimate Interviews

Anything but Ordinary with Orchid_27

AfterDark Team: First, can you introduce yourself for our followers who haven't heard of you yet? And maybe tell us something about you that your readers don't know?

Orchid_27: I'm E.M. and I go by Em or Orchid. I live on the West Coast with my husband and sentient furballs, I'm a full-time architect, and now I write for Wattpad! Erotic romance and steamy medical dramas are my brand. My works include The Widower, The Professional Lover, and Saving Grace.

While I don't go in trying to be a cliché killer, I love sinking my teeth into new ideas and hitting my readers with that sweet, sweet twist. My characters are often quick to bed, slow to love. One thing some of my readers may not know about me is that I am demisexual/demiromantic, which I believe is the source of the off-kilter approaches to love in my stories.

AfterDark Team: An architect who lives on the West Coast and writes erotica romances? You seem so cool!

What kind of buildings do you design?

Also, we love representation here, and I think it's so important to see different kinds of people and thus loves in stories.

Orchid_27: Hahaha thank you! I mainly do multifamily, so mid- and high-rise apartments with a few rowhouses thrown in. It's a flashy job title, especially since I'm one of a very small number of Black women in my field, but it's actually very chill. My job was the inspiration for the workplace struggle theme of Saving Grace, but architecture is one of the least dramatic professions you can be in. Forgetting to save a Revit file isn't nearly as heart pounding as trying to save a life, you know? Lmao

AfterDark Team: Haha! Yes, indeed, though books can be life-saving in some way, and you're a writer too, so you're a true heroine in some way!

Speaking of your characters and the inspiration behind it, what is your biggest inspiration for your stories?

Orchid_27: That's a big question! I would say the one unifying inspiration for all my stories is to open minds. My subject matter can be controversial and uncomfortable for some. Humans kind of suck sometimes. We have a habit of not caring about something unless it affects us, so if I can get a reader to fall in love with a character and show them an experience or perspective they wouldn't have seen otherwise, I've given them a reason to have compassion for the real humans who resemble them.

I feel like I need to crack a joke. I'm rarely serious for this long, haha

AfterDark Team: Haha! We love this, the lightness but also the seriousness!

Personally, most of our favorite books are the ones challenging our view and beliefs, and well, making us rethink everything.

What about you writing them? What did you learn about yourself or the world through your books? (Sorry, I guess we're staying in the seriousness lol)

Orchid_27: I learned that I needed therapy, lololol. Seriously though, I did need therapy—just not the kind Karens in my comments say I need.

Writing is a great way to process and put difficult thoughts into words. It took me a while to realize the "bad" parts of my personality I was using to humanize my characters were healed by the end of the story. It was a big flashing sign saying "OMG STOP BEING LIKE THIS! WORK ON YOURSELF!"

Five years ago, I didn't realize it wasn't healthy to see every relationship as a life or death situation, or to not be able to get out of bed for days each month. There was a lot of pain and grief that I hadn't processed yet, and realizing that was one of the biggest contributions to my growth.

That annoying "it gets better" shit is 100% true. I still live with the same mental health issues, and I probably always will, but I have learned to love and accept the person that pain and trauma has made me. I'm a much healthier and happier person today than I was before I started sharing my stories with the world. I hope my writing helps someone else do the same.