I recently discovered a new website that piqued my interest: FrolicMe.com. In recent months I’ve been thinking and writing about the similarities and differences of romance novels and erotica versus pornography, so when I found that FrolicMe combines short erotica stories with still shots and video of actors portraying what happens in those stories, I got excited.
Here, in one place, are all the basic mediums through which humans titillate themselves with sexual fantasy. On one website! What a cool idea! The site’s elegant, sleek aesthetic got me very interested, indeed—as if high-end erotica had morphed into films that are sensual without the standard “porny” feel. They felt very much as if someone had stepped into a romance novel and filmed the action while keeping the romantic, not-as-hardcore feel.
Needless to say, I had a few questions for the sites founder, Anna, so we did an interview!
How did the idea for FrolicMe come about, originally?
It is something that just grew from a blog I started a few years ago now. I was writing a personal diary really, it wasn’t meant to be a sex blog, but I found it a fabulous outlet for my naughty chats and adventures. I was just fun and feminine; I had reached that classic age of 40! As I developed the blog with naughty diary stories, I wanted to infuse them with gorgeous images that I found to be sensual and sexy and offer a little more interest to anyone looking. They were images I liked; I thought [they were] sexy, not vulgar or explicit, but definitely naughty, I admit that. Thereafter I asked myself, why weren’t there films that had this sort of imagery? Why were all the films—and here I say “porn” films—just full of showing more internal parts than I found pleasant? Rarely did the imagery ever look beautiful, sensual, or erotic, so for me it was simple… I wanted to see the sort of imagery I was using in my blog come alive and be brought into life with erotic stories… focused on fantasies that we can all quickly grasp and enjoy. Not complicated, just luscious morsels of arousing words offering lust and hot-blooded passion, something to keep us alive through our daily lives, make us twitch when we look and read them! I also wanted my films to feel real—real enough [that] we could imagine being in it ourselves, caught up in a passionate moment with someone or many. How we might envisage our ultimate hot passionate moment to be, or how we would see our fantasy come to life.
I love the idea of combining erotic writing with still photos and videos; tell me how you came to the conclusion that having all three forms of sexy entertainment in one place was your mission.
The stories developed early on when I started to write and see erotic tales when looking at some images. I wanted to add a little depth to what people saw, so to me it seemed an obvious development to add stories which would provide a more intense pleasure and build more erotic excitement to the pictures. That naturally followed on when I started to produce my own films. Words can add where the visual element couldn’t. Also, erotic literature is a huge part of our erotic lives, reading erotica is often the first step, but to also allow that story to come to life and give a visual stimulus seemed very obvious to me, and something I thought people would enjoy.
What is your target audience in terms of demographics and preferences?
Well initially I thought I would offer a more female-friendly approach to erotica by offering stories, galleries, and films, so I had that view initially, but what I am surprised about is how I am appealing far more broadly, too. The age range is varied from young students through to older ladies and gentlemen that hadn’t until now found something that ticked their naughty box. I do think it helps being a woman and I am keen to message and speak to members of the site. Many people are messaging me who had until now never actually signed up to any form of erotica, but found my site and felt it offered them the level of quality and desirability they were looking for.
Do you think that the tenor of the writing matches the visuals on the site?
When I started I was keen to provide a variety to the style of the writing, just as I wanted to offer different compositions to the films. I reached out to a variety of erotic authors and allowed their style to come through; I just gave a skeleton to the story as I saw it, and requested that the story was always written in the first person so the reader could get into the mind of the individual in the film. I admit I have my favourites, but as the site grows, so too does the extent of the stories and I believe there will always be something for everyone. One of my latest films, Sir, is written by a submissive herself who also happens to be an author. I loved her approach, her clipped and intense view of what it feels like to be controlled in such a way.
I’d call the overall aesthetic “elegant.” Do you agree? Is this your goal? Are you planning to experiment with any other aesthetics or themes?
Thank you, I hoped people would think that. It’s my style, and I think sometimes too often lacking when it comes to sex. Yes, I want it arousing, sensual, intense, passionate, ultimately something I would enjoy. Those who know me would probably say elegant does also sum me up too, so as I happen to be the one producing and creating the content it can’t help but come through in the work and look of the site. I am not your normal erotic producer, far from it, so FrolicMe is my vision coming purely from within me in the way I portray the site.
The site uses the “erotic film” nomenclature, not “porn.” Do you see these films as being not porn, or just a genre thereof? I know some people have very strong feelings about this terminology.
I have never liked the word porn, not that it doesn’t quickly sum up the nature of the films… I think we would all say it would conjure up sexual activity caught on film. However porn sadly has too many negative aspects to it and two very different meanings. Porn has for too long be used just to depict sex in an unrealistic way, suggesting more primal instincts within the viewer in a base and unimaginative way, more often demeaning but with the intention of arousal nonetheless. However it is often vulgar, not sensual, and in my eyes poorly created. However, to me, erotica—which is the term I prefer to use ,or even “fashionable erotica”—I think is more acceptable to many women. It offers more story depth and plays upon the fantasy aspect, encouraging the watcher to imagine themselves more involved in the scene. It can be equally graphic and certainly there for arousal too, showing semi or fully naked bodies in the full sexual context, but I feel it has a more balanced approach and [it’s] not just all about focusing on the male pleasure. If anything, my films [are] more focused on the female pleasure.
Do you do the filming yourself?
Yes, I am involved in all and every aspect of the work and filming. I have, to date, created the theme for each film, props, sourced models, etc, and have been hands-on in all aspects of the production. Yes, I am behind the camera directing what I want to see and working with a very small team of people. I have to say I have loved being on set and seeing my ideas come to life. I am only at the very beginning of this exciting adventure and I know my films will just get better. I look at some of my very first films and know what I would do in future, but I have still been pleased with the execution.
Tell me about the process. Do you locate a story you love first, then set up the film? Or vice versa? Or neither?
No, I always have a theme for the story first, maybe an image has sown a seed of an idea, whether it be a voyeuristic one or an idea
for a clandestine meeting. Then I see the story unfold. From that, I have a brief in my mind of the tale before we shoot—this helps with the location and the props and models, etc. Thereafter, we create the film and then the story is written up later, but the skeleton of the story is already there before we shoot the film, so we make sure we keep the film interesting and each one different.
Where are you located?
I actually live in England, you could say ‘I’m] a very English person! But we are shooting at the moment in Europe as well as the UK. I am keen to move around and keep it all interesting and fresh.
How long has the site been up? How is it working out so far?
The site is still very much in its infancy, although I do feel now we are getting some pace to our offering and some wonderful feedback. We launched in March, though naturally I have been working on it for far longer behind the scenes, building up my plans and thoughts for how I wanted it to feel and look, as well as creating the content and material you are getting to see today. So far I am thrilled at how it is going. I also am loving it and don’t want to stop. I feel I have found my feet and am so keen to develop it further and further.
What are your plans for the future?
Ah, my plans, well they keep developing at a rapid rate. I have many plans to build the site into an all-encompassing erotic offering, not just films… though it is already not just films. We are films, stories, picture galleries, now an online shop for [a large] selection of sex toys as well as an online magazine/blog which I have great plans for, and will soon be shut down to only members. I have further plans to add to this and plenty of ideas, too. FrolicMe.com is something I believe is different, a highly approachable and very sexy site for erotica.
I bet you’re curious by now, readers! Go check out FrolicMe.com and let me know if you enjoy it! I’m super-interested to know what other people think about this hybrid of sexual entertainment. (Pro tip: if you subscribe to the newsletter on the homepage, you get a free download of one film!)