The Texas College Students Who Invented “Dinosaur Erotica”

What started as a joke about dinosaurs having sex with humans has since evolved into its own literary subgenre, thanks to two women — and their “warped imaginations.”

By Jessie Schiewe

If Alara Branwen has any advice for aspiring writers, it’s this: 

“Make sure you do everything you can to stand out.”

She’s one to talk, because that’s exactly what she and her co-writer Christie Sims have done. About seven years ago, while attending college in Texas, the two friends (who both use pen names) invented a new literary subgenre. It’s called: dinosaur erotica. 

Like Clan of the Cave Bear if it had been written by Danielle Steel, the duo’s stories — which they self-publish on Amazon as audiobooks and Kindle editions — usually revolve around a prehistoric heroine who must have sex with a (male) dinosaur to save her village, prove her womanhood, or avenge the deaths of others. (This being fiction, the heroines also occasionally have sex with the creatures’ parts. Think: the horns of a Triceratops or the “bony head crest” atop a Pterodactyl's head.) 

With attention-grabbing, alliterative titles, like “Running From the Raptor” and “Taken by the T-Rex,” Branwen and Sims’ steamy tales have introduced readers to an entirely new realm of “monster porn.” As one Amazon customer wrote in their review of Branwen and Sims’ bestseller, “Ravished By the Triceratops”:

“Utterly ridiculous in every fashion. So ridiculous, it became sort of amazing. … If like myself, you read the title, and thought to yourself, ‘How can I *not* read a book with a title *that* silly?’ Then you'll love it. You'll be disturbed, but you'll love it.”

Their works have also inspired other writers to pen prehistoric smut of their own and you can now find Kindle and audiobooks about gay dinosaurs who can dance, lesbian relationships between humans and dinosaurs, and Spanish language editions. 

But when Branwen and Sims first started penning dinosaur erotica around 2013, they had no idea it would be a hit. In fact, they thought of it as a joke. 

“One day I was walking and I thought about the movie Jurassic Park,” Branwen told The Cut. “My perverse mind immediately...pictured dinosaurs having their way with women. I died laughing. I was about to dismiss these thoughts as the workings of my freaky mind, but then I had an epiphany. Dinosaur erotica was something new that I’d never tried before.”

Prior to this revelation, Branwen and Sims were already writing and self-publishing erotic tales — about humans, that is. The 20-year-olds, who were studying math and accounting, had been inspired by the success of E. L. James (of Fifty Shades of Grey fame) and were hoping their own writing ventures would take off similarly. In addition to being full-time students, they each had side jobs. Branwen worked at a supermarket and Sims tutored. 

Within about a month, the stories they wrote — which average about 15 pages and take only 10 minutes to read — started earning money. Soon they were making more by writing erotica than working their jobs. Not long after, Branwen decided to quit her supermarket job and attend school part-time so that she could dedicate herself fully to writing. 

When the pair added dinosaurs into the mix, their earnings multiplied even more. As Branwen told The Cut: 

“We don’t want to get into actual numbers, but let’s put it this way: Combined, Christie and I make more money than our friend who has been working as an engineer at Boeing for a few years and Christie’s friend who is a five-year accountant in Dallas, Texas.”

In addition to their tales of human-on-human and human-on-dinosaur action, the friends have also ventured into more fantastical realms. Outside of dinosaurs, dragons are one of their most-featured creatures, however their heroines have also had sex with a compendium of other horny beings, including goblins, minotaurs, ogres, centaurs, aliens, werewolves, and lizard men, to name just a few. 

While some readers have taken umbrage with the bestiality promoted in their works, other have applauded it for its quality prose and well-researched details. Though clearly intended for an adult audience, there have even been some who have read the books with their kids. As one customer on Amazon wrote: 

“My six-year-old son absolutely loves dinosaurs, so I bought this book to read to him while he's going to bed at night. Some parts can be [a] little awkward, like when he asked me what a clitoris was, but I just think of it as an early chance for sexual education, something this generation is struggling with!”

Despite the fact that their stories are “based on [t]her own desires” and “personal experiences,” not much is known about Branwen and Sims. From their Amazon profiles, we know that Branwen likes watching the sun set over the ocean and playing with her pets, and that Sims is “just a plain old, everyday Midwestern girl that lives a normal life.” 

But that, apparently, is only one side to their stories. 

In their interview with The Cut, the writers left a few more breadcrumbs about their personal lives. Branwen is reportedly straight, Sims is bisexual, and they’re both “pretty kinky.” Not “sex with a dinosaur” kinky, as that would be impossible in this day and age, but both Branwen and Sims are clearly comfortable exploring their sexualities — be it on paper or in real life.

As Branwen noted in the interview: 

“If I were to describe us both in a nutshell, I would basically say we were nice, quiet girls...who have really warped imaginations.” 

JESSIE SCHIEWE IS THE EDITOR OF OK WHATEVER. SHE BELIEVES IN UNICORNS AND SHE THRIFT SHOPS FOR EXERCISE.

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